My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 116: Northern Expedition, set off!
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw the sweet potatoes and potatoes piled up like small hills, he couldn't stop smiling. The output was truly amazing!

According to Li Han's suggestion, he ordered the officials in charge of agriculture in the Ministry of Revenue to select sweet potatoes and potatoes suitable for breeding, store them well, and prepare to transport them to Guangdong, Guangxi, Qiongzhou, Yunnan and other places to promote their cultivation.

After the selection, there was still some left. Based on the spirit that it would be a waste if not eaten, he kept more than a few hundred kilograms for himself, and gave the rest to Yang Siyi and others.

In the following days, everyone was preparing for the Northern Expedition, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's order to set off immediately.

After communicating with Li Han, Li Han did not interfere too much in Zhu Yuanzhang's decision-making, but only gave some suggestions.

Suggestions for Goryeo!
The northern expedition to the Yuan court would naturally deter Goryeo, which was plotting against southern Liaoning.

The powerful Goryeo minister Yi In-im and the puppet king Sin-ho must be eliminated, and opportunities must be found to directly incorporate Goryeo into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

There are garrisons for troops, a provincial government and a provincial surveillance agency, and at the same time, there is a key person who can be used.

That was another powerful official in Goryeo, Lee Seong-gye!
Lee Seong-gye was not a pure Korean. His ancestors were a mixed race of Mongolians, Goryeo people and Jurchens. His father, Lee Zichun, was a Darughachi, or governor, of the Shuangcheng General Administration in the Yuan Dynasty.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Lee Seong-gye and his father helped King Gongmin of Goryeo to seize the Ssangseong General Administration and then surrendered to Goryeo, thus becoming a Goryeo citizen.

And Lee Seong-gye has another identity, the founding king of the Joseon Dynasty!
The reason why Lee Seong-gye could become the founder of the Joseon Dynasty was that he eliminated Sinho, surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang for the name of his country - Joseon!
However, Lee Seong-gye's position in Goryeo was not stable due to his background. At the same time, he was regarded as a thorn in the side of the Yuan court because he betrayed the Yuan Dynasty. It just so happened that Lee In-im and Sin-ho's faction were flirting with the Yuan court, so naturally they did not get along with Lee Seong-gye.

Such a person who is not popular on all sides is the perfect person to be used as a puppet of the Ming Dynasty to control Korea.

"Using barbarians to control barbarians, the conflict was transferred to the minority of Yi Seong-gye and the majority of Goryeo. As an arbitrator, Ming Dynasty could mediate and check and balance, not only staying out of the matter, but also achieving the goal of controlling Goryeo."

These are Lao Li’s original words, and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed with them very much. This is the application of the method of checks and balances to the extreme!
Of course, all this is based on the strong strength of the Ming army.

But he himself did not expect that he would give such a good country name "Korea" to Goryeo.

However, now that we know the character of the people from that tiny place, we naturally cannot give them the name of a country anymore. From now on, we should just call it the Goryeo Chengxuan Zhengshisi.

Or, the Three Guards of Goryeo?
In addition to communications, Li Han also sent a large number of radio handheld devices and telescopes. Some of the telescopes were binoculars, and the observation distance was greatly increased compared to the previous batch.

Some of the walkie-talkies and telescopes were distributed to the Jinyiwei and the border army night guards, and information about the deployment and movements of the Yuan court army was also continuously transmitted back to Yingtian Prefecture.

On September 15, the 15th day of the 9th month, the Imperial Palace of Yingtian Prefecture, Fengtian Hall.

There was a solemn atmosphere in the court!
The faces of the civil and military officials were no longer as relaxed as before, and they all frowned. Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, with a blank expression and sharp eyes, but he was intimidating without being angry.

A piece of military intelligence sent back from Liaodong made everyone nervous!

"The Yuan court's Liaodong governor Nahachu has sent his two generals, Batu and Wujier, to lead 30,000 elite cavalry to attack southwards, aiming at Daning!"

As Li Wenzhong reported the intelligence, his expression became increasingly ugly and his voice became louder and louder.

"At the same time, several Goryeo armies also frequently appeared in the Yalu River area, plotting against southern Liaoning!

Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the Yuan army marched southwards to invade Daning, while Goryeo harassed the southern part of Liaoning. The Yuan court and Goryeo are in collusion with each other, and they have only one goal, which is to seize Shanhaiguan!
Your Majesty, now is the time of urgency. I beg Your Majesty to send troops to the north immediately!"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not say anything, but the anger in his eyes was growing. He had expected the Yuan court to move south, but Goryeo's move directly touched his reverse scale!

Many ministers were also extremely angry.

"The remnant Yuan Dynasty has evil ambitions and has repeatedly invaded the borders of our Ming Dynasty. They really deserve to die and should be eliminated as soon as possible!" "Goryeo is a barbarian tribe that appears to be friendly with our Ming Dynasty, but I didn't expect that they would do such things behind the scenes. They are so hypocritical. Your Majesty, I believe that if the Yuan Dynasty is to be destroyed, Goryeo must not be spared!"

Many ministers stood up to speak out for justice. On the one hand, the collusion between the Yuan court and Goryeo had posed a serious threat to the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, many people were indeed angry at Goryeo.

Xu Da stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I second the motion!

In order to ensure the stability of the people in the border areas of the Ming Dynasty, to completely pacify the Yuan Dynasty in the desert, to deter the scoundrels of Goryeo, and to protect the Ming Dynasty forever, I implore Your Majesty to send troops to the north! "

As for the Northern Expedition, Xu Da and Li Wenzhong could be said to be impatient.

In the fifth year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty launched the third Northern Expedition, divided into three armies: East, Central, and West, with 50,000 people in each.

The Eastern Army was led by Li Wenzhong as the Left Deputy General, who marched out of Juyong Pass and into Helin. The Central Army was led by Xu Da, who marched out of Yanmen Pass and lured the Helin Yuan army to attack, creating conditions for the Eastern Army to directly attack Huanglong.

The Western Army, led by Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, left Jinlan to attack the Ganzhou area, using it as a decoy to lure the Northern Yuan army into dispersing its forces. After eliminating the remnants of the Yuan court's army in Gansu Province, it crossed the desert from Yijinai and joined the Central and Eastern Armies in Horqin.

What no one expected was that Xu Da's central army suffered a crushing defeat in the area north of the Ling Mountains, while Li Wenzhong's eastern army barely managed to draw with the Yuan army.

Only Feng Sheng's Western Army had a slightly better performance, but due to the problems with the Eastern and Central Routes, they were unable to capture Helin.

Xu Da and Li Wenzhong regarded this battle as a lifelong shame. Although ten years have passed, they can never forget it!

Although several northern expeditions were launched afterwards, the main generals were Mu Ying, Fu Youde and others, which made Xu Da and Li Wenzhong always hold their breath!

Now that the Yuan court has invaded again, this is a great opportunity to avenge the previous humiliation. Moreover, your majesty’s target is not only the Yuan court, but the entire desert!

Moreover, the two men had strong confidence in the musket battalion they trained, especially Li Wenzhong. He was specially trained to be a night sniper and now could use night vision goggles to come and go freely in the dark night, and taking the heads of enemy generals was as easy as taking something out of a bag.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the indignant civil and military officials in the court, knowing that the time for the Northern Expedition was ripe, and said:

"How is the Musketeer Battalion preparing?"

"Your Majesty, we have trained 25 musket battalions, totaling 12,500 men, all equipped with muskets. If we encounter the Yuan army on the battlefield, we will surely defeat them without a fight!"

Zhu Yuanzhang then looked at Li Wenzhong again. Li Wenzhong understood and said:

“Your Majesty, I have selected a thousand elite soldiers from the Yebushou and Beijing camps of the border army to form a sniper rifle team, divided into ten battalions, all of which are equipped with muskets. Each battalion is equipped with four radio handheld radios and ten telescopes.

Whether it's going out to investigate the enemy, or raiding the enemy camp at night to take the enemy's head, he can come and go as fast as the wind!"

"very good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth slowly. Although his voice was not loud, it was like a drop of metal and stone, full of unquestionable majesty!
"I have received the mandate of Heaven to rule the world. Now I see that the Yuan court is rebellious and Goryeo is treasonous. They have invaded our Shanhaiguan Pass and humiliated our Ming Dynasty.

I am extremely angry and I vow to fight against them and clear the world of them to demonstrate the majesty of the Great Ming!
Wherever the flags point, the Yuan court will be destroyed; wherever the cavalry reaches, Goryeo will be shaken. Heaven and earth are witnesses, and my words will be carried out!

I have decided to lead my army northwards and launch the Northern Expedition from today!"

I am really sorry, my boss came down to inspect today, and I accompanied him for a whole day, so I only had time to turn on the computer now. Thanks to book friends such as 魂刺666、、好随行、素人E个 for their rewards and votes. Garlic will continue to work hard!
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(End of this chapter)