Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 980 The more chaotic the better
"In your opinion, what should we do if we want to send troops to Korea?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

"It depends on whether Your Majesty intends to attack Korea directly or take other measures." Wang Jinwu replied with a bow.

"Oh, tell me more carefully."

Wang Jinwu said: "Although Korea is small, it is still a country after all. The Lee family has established the country for more than 200 years. Its rule in Korea cannot be said to be deeply rooted, but at least it is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although Korea today is different from the past, the Jiannu suppressed Korea and carried out plundering policies against Korea, which aroused the Korean civil unrest, but from the perspective of the Korean people, I am afraid that the Koreans hate the Jiannu more than the Lee family."

After hearing this, everyone was thoughtful. Wang Jinwu's judgment on Korea was still very accurate. Even though there was public resentment and rebellion everywhere in Korea, judging from the reports from the Shandong Navy and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Korean people were still targeting the Jiannu rather than the Joseon Lee Dynasty. There were even many people in the society who opposed the Jiannu while raising the slogan of respecting the king and expelling the barbarians.

From this point of view, the Korean monarch has not lost the support of the people. In addition, the national conditions of Korea are different from those of the Ming Dynasty. Apart from the monarch, the ruling class of Korea is not the literati, but the aristocratic class of Korea, including local aristocratic families. These people have long been inseparable from the Korean monarch, forming a special political structure of Korea. From this point of view, Korea is similar to the Zhou Dynasty in history. The monarch is high above, but the country is actually controlled by the two classes of nobles of Korea, who take turns in governing.

Wang Jinwu continued, "In my opinion, it would be very difficult for the Ming Dynasty to directly conquer Korea. Not to mention that we would have to send troops to Korea to expel the Jiannu and then depose the Korean monarch. But even so, it would be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to control Korea. As long as the two classes of nobles in Korea remain and the local clans continue to control it, it would not be so easy to annex Korea."

"Then what did Lord Wang mean by the treatment he just mentioned?" Fan Fucui asked.

Wang Jinwu smiled and said, "The so-called treatment is nothing more than imitating the war to aid Korea. Our Ming Dynasty will respond to Korea's request and join the war. We will help Korea drive out the Jiannu who occupied Korea, and then bring Korea back to our country."

"Looking at the current situation, the people of Korea are probably regretting their surrender to Jian Nu. Now the people of Korea are living in misery and rebellion is everywhere. Neither the king of Korea nor the nobles have any good feelings towards Jian Nu. Moreover, the people of Korea are already in two minds. Do you remember the incident with Yuan Chongyu? Although Korea surrendered to Jian Nu openly, it did not dare to offend the Ming Dynasty. They have many clever tricks and little thoughts."

Seeing everyone nod slightly, Wang Jinwu continued, "If we imitate the Wanli aid to Korea war and send troops to Korea again, Korea will certainly be grateful to our Ming Dynasty, and the Korean people will provide food and drink wherever our royal army goes. Although Jiannu has troops stationed in Korea, their manpower is limited, and the local rebellion in Korea is already like fire and water. Jiannu's military can be suppressed without external forces, but once our Ming Dynasty enters Korea, the situation will be completely different. Imagine a two-pronged approach, with our Ming Dynasty outside and rebellion inside, it will be extremely difficult for Jiannu to continue to gain a foothold in Korea. As long as the command is proper, it should be possible to expel Jiannu from Korea."

Wang Jinwu paused and said with a smile: "After the Jiannu are driven away, the people of Korea will be grateful to our Ming Dynasty. It will not be a problem for them to return to our Ming Dynasty. At that time, our Ming Dynasty can station troops in Korea on the pretext of preventing the Jiannu from invading. In this way, we don't have to worry about the Jiannu invading Korea."

"Not right, this is not right." Kong Zhenyun shook his head and said, "How is this different from the Wanli aid to Korea? For a mere Korea, we have to mobilize a large number of troops and spend a huge amount of money. Let's not talk about whether Lord Wang's plan can be realized. What if we can't drive out the Jiannu in a short time?"

"It is well known that Jiannu is strong in field battles. If the Ming Dynasty could directly defeat Jiannu, the battle in Liaodong would not have lasted for so many years. Once Jiannu sees that the Ming Dynasty is reinforcing Korea, they will send troops directly from Liaodong. What if the battle becomes tense? You must know that the Ming Dynasty has fought extremely hard in the Liaodong battle. Now we have to open another battlefield in Korea. Where will the weapons and supplies come from? What will be the consequences if we lose the war? Moreover, if we do this, we will work hard to save Korea from the water and fire, which is not worth the loss."

"Master Kong is right!" Fan Fucui nodded in agreement. He felt that Wang Jinwu's idea was too hasty. If the Ming army had such strong combat power, they would have ended the Liaodong War long ago. Why did they have to stalemate with the Jiannu until today? Moreover, is it worthwhile to spend so much effort to save the ungrateful North Korea? Don't forget the old story of Wanli's aid to Korea. Even if the Jiannu were expelled, the real beneficiary would still be North Korea. The Ming Dynasty asked in return why it paid so much but didn't get any benefit at all.

"Prime Minister, what do you think?" Zhu Shenzhui asked Wen Tiren. Wen Tiren hesitated and shook his head. If he could take over North Korea and destroy the Joseon Lee family, he might give it a try, but he felt that just rescuing North Korea was not worth the cost. The difference between the cost and the cost was too big. It was not worth it at all.

"I think this strategy is not the best. It would be better to directly conquer Korea as Lord Wang said before. But conquering Korea is very difficult, and the Lee family has not lost the support of the people in Korea, so it may not be easy to do."

"What do you think of the Prime Minister's words?" Zhu Shenzhui turned to Wang Jinwu and asked again.

Wang Jinwu smiled faintly and said one word.

"Wait!"

"Wait?" When he said this, everyone was stunned, and then they seemed to be thinking about something. Wang Jinwu said, "The best way for me right now is to wait, wait for changes in North Korea. Now is not the best time to intervene in North Korea, no matter what the purpose is. Although the fire in North Korea has started, I think it is not enough. I have to wait patiently and watch the chaos in North Korea. The more the fire burns, the better!"

"Based on my understanding of the Jiannu, they will never give up just because of the Korean civil rebellion, and now they are mobilizing troops to suppress the rebellion. But as long as the Jiannu do not give up plundering Korea, such a rebellion will definitely intensify and eventually become uncontrollable."

"So I think there is no need to rush about the Korean issue. We can just wait and see. The Ming Dynasty can even do something about it..." Wang Jinwu smiled meaningfully and continued, "You all know very well how harmful the bandits are. Maybe Korea will undergo a huge change soon. By then, the Jiannu will definitely take action in Korea. As long as the Jiannu do something, the Ming Dynasty will have a chance."

Wen Tiren's eyes suddenly lit up. Although he was not good at fighting, he was an expert at politics and conspiracy. He immediately understood the meaning of Wang Jinwu's words, and thought of something along the lines of what Wang Jinwu mentioned. He couldn't help but smile.

"Your Majesty, what Lord Wang said is very true!" Wen Tiren bowed to Zhu Shenzhui and said, "It is indeed inappropriate to intervene in Korea at the moment. It is better to wait and see how the situation in Korea changes before deciding what to do. Moreover, Korea is no longer a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty. The chaos in Korea has nothing to do with our Ming Dynasty. No matter what will happen to Korea because of this, it is Korea's own business. If it is really out of control at that time, our Ming Dynasty can also send troops to help save the Korean people from the water and fire. I think this is the best policy!"

As soon as Wen Tiren finished speaking, everyone came to their senses and started laughing.

Yes! What does the Ming have to do with whether North Korea is in chaos? And judging from the current situation, the more chaotic North Korea is, the better. Anyway, North Korea has already abandoned the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal state of the Jiannu. The affairs of North Korea are only a trouble for North Korea and the Jiannu. There is no need for the Ming Dynasty to intervene at this time.

Moreover, in everyone's opinion, the more chaotic North Korea is, the better it is. The rebellion within North Korea has not yet reached its most serious moment. No one can predict what North Korea will become by then. It is even possible that the entire North Korean regime will be overthrown.

In addition, everyone knows what kind of people Jiannu is. Based on Jiannu's past behavior, they will definitely not be lenient towards Korea. Wang Jinwu just said that the Ming Dynasty can do something when the time is right. This so-called article has a big mystery. What if Jiannu not only attacks the rebellious people of Korea, but also the two-class nobles of Korea, including the king of Korea?

This is not impossible. Even if the Jiannu do not have this idea for the time being, the Ming Dynasty will make them have such an idea. The cabinet ministers are the smartest people in the Ming Dynasty. They must have good brains to be cabinet ministers. They are very good at doing these things. Moreover, the Chinese have always been the ancestors of conspiracies. If all Chinese people in the world admit that they are only second in this field, then no one dares to say that they are first.

In an instant, the atmosphere became much more relaxed and everyone had a smile on their face.

Everyone has made up their minds about the matter of Korea, and Zhu Shenzhu is the same. It can be said that from this moment on, the future fate of Korea is doomed, and the change in the Liaodong war situation will soon begin with Korea.

After this meeting, the cabinet quickly took action. Not only the cabinet, but also the Jinyiwei, under the instruction of Zhu Shenzhui, cooperated with the cabinet to launch arrangements against North Korea.

In North Korea, with Hauge's iron-blooded suppression, the local rebellion in North Korea was not only not eliminated, but became more and more intense.

In particular, Hauge's indiscriminate and bloody methods caused the Korean aristocratic families to suffer huge losses. Even many local nobles were swept up in the rebellion when Hauge suppressed it. Not only did their families become broken up, but some were even directly exterminated.

When the news spread, the two-class nobles of Joseon were furious. You have to know that Joseon had been established for so many years, and the nobles of Joseon had long formed a common interest group. Although they had many struggles in the court, and even divided into various factions, such as the two-class nobles in the court, the local aristocratic families, and relatives by marriage, etc., there were also the old nobles, the Sillin faction, the Dae-in faction, the So-in faction, the Dongin Party, the Seo-in Party, the Nan-in faction, the Bei-in faction, the Dae-buk faction, the So-buk faction, the Noron faction, the Soron faction, etc. It's a headache to read them all.

The forces of foreign relatives include the Yao family of Kaesong, the Han family of Cheongju, the Yin family of Popyeong, the Shen family of Cheongsong, the Kim family of Andong, etc. These large and small groups are somewhat similar to the party struggles in the Ming Dynasty, but they are also different. Due to the special political structure of Korea, these groups not only fight with each other, but also have intricate relationships. In the court, they often use one faction to fight against another. Today you are on the stage, and tomorrow someone else may take the initiative. But in essence, it is nothing more than a pattern of taking turns in power and influencing the court.

As the local nobles, including the nobles of the aristocratic families, were killed indiscriminately by Hauge, how could the Korean nobles bear it? In order to retaliate against Hauge's actions, their attitude began to change. Initially, they would send troops to assist Hauge in suppressing the rebellion, but now they not only delay as much as possible, but also perfunctorily deal with it, and even secretly transport weapons and other military supplies to the rebel army, expressing their strong dissatisfaction in this way.

(End of this chapter)