I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 276 Chahar Korea and Haixi Jurchen

Sitting in the Qinzheng Hall of Xiyuan were Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong, Duke Yingguo Zhang Rong, Marquis Yangwu Xue Han, Marquis Zhenyuan Gu Huan, Marquis Lingbi Tang Shilong, Earl Fengning Qi Jiguang, Earl Lanxi Ma Fang, as well as the Minister of War Hu Zongxian, Liu Tao, and Vice Minister of War Xu Wei, all of whom were members of the Military Administration Supervision Office.

Sitting next to them as secretaries were Nangong Ye, a councillor from the Supervisory Office, Pan Yinglong, an experience manager, and Li Chun, a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department.

They had solemn expressions, and their eyes were all turned to Zhu Yijun, who was standing in front of the window, with his hands in his sleeves placed on his abdomen, looking at the beautiful lake scenery outside the window.

Without even turning his head, his voice floated over: "Mr. Wenchang, tell me about Tumen Khan's movements in the past few months."

"Yes. The secretariat of the Supervisory Office received a report from Jiliao Town that the Chahar tribe had launched multiple attacks on border military towns such as Xinghua, Fengning, Guangning, Dongning, Shenyang, and Tieling since the beginning of this spring.

According to preliminary statistics, there were as many as 31 border raids by groups of 500 or more northern barbarians, and the deepest raid was as far as Puhe between Shenyang Zhongwei and Tielingwei.

After Xu Wei finished speaking, Zhu Yijun turned around, looked at everyone, and said loudly: "Since the first year of Longqing, everyone thought that the world was peaceful. There were endless disputes in the court, and it was so lively, but they forgot that there were still the Chahar tribe and the ambitious Tumen Khan outside the Great Wall.

The situation is now very clear. Tumen Khan can no longer hold back and is about to take action against the Ming Dynasty."

Yes, if Tumen Khan does not take action, the Ming Dynasty will suppress the Haixi Jurchens just like the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the offensive and defensive situation between Chahar and the Ming Dynasty will change.

In the past, the Chahar tribe and the Jurchens surrounded Liaodong on three sides.

Now the Ming Dynasty has built three large castles on the Luan River and has taken in all the Jianzhou Jurchens. If it can also take in the Haixi Jurchens, the Ming Dynasty will have surrounded the Chahar tribe on three sides.

Tumen Khan is not a fool or a blind man. He cannot see the changing situation, nor will he sit and wait for death.

"Now things are happening at the same time. The Boshin Rebellion broke out in Korea, and the ruler and his ministers cried and begged the Ming Dynasty to send troops, both by land and sea, to help them quell the rebellion and restore the government.

Should we save him? How should we save him?
The Liaodong Army had just launched a clearing operation against the Haixi Jurchens. In the old Jianzhou area, some Jurchens who had been hiding in the mountains came down and started making trouble again, and they needed to be cleared up.

How to clear out and clean up?
Tumen Khan was ready for battle in the west, and the entire area from Luan River to Tieling was under his command.

More importantly, what was Altan Khan's attitude? Did Tumen Khan secretly collude with him, attacking the Ming Dynasty in order to blackmail us and force us to agree to more conditions?
How to do? "

Zhu Yijun's voice was clear and his speech was neither fast nor slow, echoing in the room.

"Now all these problems are in front of us. How can we solve them? Let's discuss them one by one and express our opinions! Let's start with rescuing Joseon and helping them quell the Boshin Incident."

Zhang Rong, Xue Han, Gu Huan and Tang Shilong could not help but glance at Zhu Xizhong. Seeing that his eyes were bright and he did not say a word, like a statue of a god, they immediately understood what was going on.

What is the purpose of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince promoting the nobles and allowing them to participate in the discussion and decision-making of military affairs?
It was simply a hope that the nobles would work harder and take back the military power that they had lost from the older generation of nobles during the Zhengtong, Jingtai and Tianshun periods.

But everyone knows that today is the first time for everyone to attend such a meeting. The important thing is not to speak actively, but to learn and become familiar with it. If you learn well and become familiar with it, you will have plenty of opportunities to speak in the future.

Today, new nobles such as Qi Jiguang, the Earl of Fengning, Ma Fang, the Earl of Lanxi, and Hu Zongxian, Liu Tao, Xu Wei and others should play the leading roles.

Hu Zongxian spoke up without hesitation: "The Korean monarch and his ministers were ambitious. When they invaded our land in Liaodong, why didn't they think of Ming as their suzerain?
Now that the ruler and his ministers are unjust and have caused a great change, and have become a dog without a home, you think of our Ming Dynasty? You want our Ming Dynasty to send both land and sea divisions to quell the rebellion. Yes, there is no need to mobilize the cavalry and infantry in Liaodong. You can just draw out the land combat battalion. The navy is ready too.

But who will pay for the food and wages? What benefit will the Ming Dynasty get?"

Hu Zongxian's last question was a wake-up call! It also broadened the horizons of Zhang Rong, Xue Han, Gu Huan, Tang Shilong and others.

It’s okay to fight a war, but you have to calculate the benefits first.

Needless to say, as for the Deserted Island (Sado Island), several major shareholders invested huge amounts of money, and the naval and land troops stationed on the island fought several battles with the Japanese lords in the south, forcing them to no longer dare to go out to sea. They also captured a number of young and strong men and brought them back, which solved the labor problem of the miners at once.

If we start withdrawing gold and silver in large quantities now, within two or three years, all the capital will be returned, and several generations of future generations will have enough money to spend even if they have nothing to lose.

Another example is the suppression of the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes in the first year of Longqing. After the great victory, Kaiping Coal and Iron Mine had many more miners, Taipu Temple had many more horse farms, Liaodong Army had many more new recruits, the Ministry of Works received a budget to build several castles in Liaodong, and the General Planning Bureau auctioned off six ginseng franchise licenses. Everyone benefited and everyone was happy!
You can't fight a war at a loss, you have to get something in return.

If there is a reward, it is not called militarism, but following the will of heaven, raising a large army, and pacifying the four directions.

Well, learned it.

Xu Wei spoke up, "The Korean monarch and his ministers have become helpless, relying on the food from the consulate to survive on Ganghwa Island. Can they provide food and wages? Impossible.

The grace of heaven is great, and the kindness of the Ming Dynasty cannot be given away easily. If there is no food and wages, then we can exchange it for land, mining and trade. Li Xing, the consul of Ganghwa Island, followed the instructions of the Lifanyuan and had a preliminary chat with the Korean monarch and ministers. These bastards actually started to act crazy and stupid.

Your Highness, I suggest that since these guys don't learn their lesson, let's give them some time to practice. No matter how tragic the Boshin Incident was, it happened on Korean soil and did not affect the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yijun concluded, “Mr. Ruzhen and Mr. Wenchang’s advice is to ignore the affairs of North Korea for the time being.

First, their ruler and his ministers are ignorant and do not know how to repay their kindness. We must keep them busy. Second, we do not have the energy to look east for the time being. Tumen Khan’s covetousness towards Liaodong and Luanhe is more urgent.”

He glanced at everyone and asked, "What do you think?"

Qi Jiguang and Ma Fang immediately replied: "I second the opinions of Minister Hu and Minister Xu."

Liu Tao replied: "Your Highness, the navy now has more than enough troops, but I understand that it is not easy to fight on multiple fronts at this time.

In addition, the Navy Bureau received news from the south that the Annan Mo family was colluding with the Spanish fleet that was competing with the Portuguese for profits. There might be changes, which would also have an impact on the Ming Dynasty's South China Sea merchant fleet.

The Navy Bureau is dispatching warships to the south to escort the South China Sea merchant fleet. If we use military force against Korea, we won’t be able to take care of the south. So I also agree with the opinions of Minister Hu and Minister Xu. "

With the Lifanyuan dedicated to foreign affairs, and with the guidance of Zhu Yijun, the Ming Dynasty no longer blindly swept all the European countries into submission.

It is already possible to distinguish Portugal, Spain, France, England, the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Rumi in the east.

Zhu Yijun nodded and turned to look at Zhu Xixiao, Zhang Rong and other old-school nobles.

Zhu Xixiao cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, I second the motion."

Zhang Rong and the others quickly replied in unison: "Your Highness, we second this motion."

"Okay, regarding the Korean issue, we will focus on defense and defend Ganghwa Island first. We will deploy cavalry and infantry troops to defend the Yalu River first and prevent the rebellious troops from disturbing the territory."

Zhu Yijun raised his head and glanced at Nangong Ye and the other two.

"Your Highness, I have made note of this."

"Okay, the second item is about the Jurchens. In the old Jianzhou area, we will focus on pacification and construction. After a winter, not many Jurchens who are poorly clothed and lack food in the mountains can survive. Post notices everywhere, and those who are willing to surrender will be well resettled. Those who are unwilling to surrender will be eradicated!

As for Jianzhou, the troops required will not be many, so just ask Tan Lun to make the arrangements.

The key is the Haixi Jurchens. Compared with Jianzhou, Haixi is more vast and sparsely populated. Moreover, it is only separated from the Chahar tribe by a Jinshan Mountain, and they have close exchanges and are in a position to support each other. "

At this point, Zhu Yijun paused for a moment, lowered his head and thought for a while, "I suggest that we combine the military deployment against the Haixi Jurchens with the strategy to deal with the Chahar tribe and consider them together."

Hu Zongxian, Xu Wei and others immediately responded: "Your Highness is wise."

"Okay, now let's think carefully about how to deal with Tumen Khan of the Chahar tribe!"

(End of this chapter)