The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 224 Recovery
After Sun Chuanting was dismissed from his post, the position of Fushun chief officer became vacant. Ping Liaohou temporarily had no energy to take care of Fushun affairs, let alone select new officials to take office.

For the entire spring, Kaiyuan was in chaos, with complicated affairs, declining business, and rumors everywhere. Han merchants and foreign merchants were killed one after another. Zhang Chao led his men to investigate for several days but still found no clues.

Liu Zhaosun realized that the mastermind behind this incident was no ordinary person and was not someone Zhang Chao could deal with.

Kaiyuan urgently needs to establish a professional intelligence force.

~~~
Yuan Chonghuan and Kang Yingqian returned to Kuandian with more than 3,000 soldiers.

Before leaving, Liu Zhaosun specially summoned Yuan Dudu.

As usual, Ping Liaohou encouraged his subordinates, encouraging Yuan Chonghuan to work hard in Kuandian, continue to recruit soldiers and horses, do a good job in military farming and horse management, and supply more food and war horses to Liaodong.

Yuan Chonghuan assured Ping Liaohou that Kuandian would always be ready to cross the Yalu River at any time to save the suffering people of Sinuiju on the other side.

Liu Zhaosun's strategy towards the Kingdom of Korea was to nibble away at it and gradually digest the land. The method of cultivating agents would not work in Korea.

The intelligence brought back by Xu Xiake showed that after the Battle of Sarhu, the activities of Japanese merchants in Korea increased, which attracted the attention of Liu Zhaosun.

Unlike the divided and warring Mongolia, Korea has its own independent cultural history, and its level of feudalism is not comparable to that of the grassland tribes. More importantly, the size of the Korean nation exceeds 10 million people, and its strength should not be underestimated. During the reign of Zhu Di, they even had ambitions to attack the Ming Dynasty.

Facing such an opponent, one can only slowly nibble away at it. If one launches an attack like Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Gaozong of Tang did, one will ultimately be defeated in this bitter and cold land. Liu Zhaosun will not repeat the mistakes of his predecessors.

Yuan Chonghuan’s mission in Kuandian next year is to continue to absorb Korean refugees, further hollow out Sinuiju on the other side of the river, and put pressure on the Korean king in Seoul. When the time is ripe, he will send troops to annex Sinuiju and incorporate it into the territory of Kaiyuan.

In the second year of the Taichang reign, the Little Ice Age caused a decline in grain production across Korea, with Sinuiju in the north being the hardest hit. The dry, cold weather left farmland abandoned, prompting a large number of Korean civilians to flee to Kuandian, a city on the other side of the river. Under the guidance of Marquis Ping Liao, Yuan Chonghuan had already stockpiled over 100,000 dan of grain in Kuandian. The following spring, when Sinuiju was facing a harvest shortage, more people would cross the river to Kuandian. Yuan Chonghuan, familiar with this situation, incorporated these people into garrisons, allowing them to contribute their modest efforts to the Kaiyuan campaign.

At the end of their conversation, Liu Zhaosun thought of the more powerful and troublesome neighbor next to North Korea. After a moment of silence, he said to Yuan Chonghuan:
"There is one more thing I need Yuan Ducha to pay attention to and help me with it!"

"Please ask the Marquis of Ping Liao for instructions."

Seeing Liu Zhaosun's serious expression, Yuan Chonghuan quickly obeyed his orders.

"Master Yuan, are you aware that after the Imjin and Dingyou campaigns (Wanli's aid to Korea), Emperor Shenzong issued an edict to pacify Japan, ordering the surrounding vassal states to join the Ming in blockading Japan and forbidding any sailing to Japan?"

Yuan Chonghuan had been in Lingnan for a long time. Since the Jiajing period, Guangdong had been repeatedly invaded by Japanese pirates. The people of Guangdong hated the Japanese pirates to the core. He naturally knew about the economic blockade of Japan by Emperor Wanli.

"Of course I know that in the 1th year of the Wanli reign, Emperor Shenzong issued an edict removing Japan from the list of ' nations not to be conquered' stipulated by Emperor Taizu, labeling it a 'primary evil' and adopting a policy of prohibition and defense against Japan. ... That same year, when Liaozhen's single guerrilla met with Japanese general Tachibana Tomomasa in Busan, Korea, he asked him to convey: 'Tell Ieyasu to concentrate on studying well and not to pretend to negotiate peace with Korea while secretly harboring ulterior motives.'" (Note )

Liu Zhaosun nodded with satisfaction. Yuan Chonghuan was not only a man of practical ability, but also well-read and paid attention to every detail.

We must make early preparations for our neighbor Japan.

At this time, Japan was in the early days of the shogunate rule. The second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, like his father Tokugawa Ieyasu, faced a situation in which there were numerous daimyo and frequent religious rebellions in the country, and he urgently needed a stable international environment.

After the Imjin War, Japan was isolated from other East Asian countries.

The two shoguns changed the aggressive and expansionist foreign policy of the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era, hoping to establish direct trade relations with the Ming Dynasty and strive to enter the enfeoffment system centered on the Ming Dynasty.

In order to restore friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty, the shogunate adopted a completely servile attitude. Tokugawa Hidetada sent envoys to Korea many times, hoping to "pass through to pay tribute", but was ruthlessly rejected by Korea.

In the 22nd year of the Wanli reign, Tokugawa Ieyasu instructed Shimazu Yoshihisa to write a letter to the Ryukyu King Shang Ning, asking him to help mediate between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

"China and Japan have not had any commercial exchanges for over thirty years. My general is concerned about this and wishes to establish long-term negotiations with your country. We will have our ships come to your country year after year, and the Ming Dynasty and Japanese merchants will exchange goods and money."

In the 24th year of the Wanli reign, Honda Masazumi, under the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu, wrote a letter to Chen Zizhen, the Governor-General of Fujian. Although the letter was nominally addressed to the Governor-General, it was actually intended for the Ming Emperor to read.

The letter referred to the Ming Dynasty as "China" and "Great Ming", but called Japan a "state" and "a tiny country", all of which expressed Japan's own humility and respect for the Ming Dynasty.

Liu Zhaosun decided to take advantage of the Tokugawa shogunate's eagerness to join the East Asian tributary system, and play both sides between the Ming Dynasty and Japan to gain the greatest benefits.

"I have heard that Japanese merchants are actively trading with Korea, yet Korea has been keeping this a secret from the Ming. Emperor Shenzong, during his reign, was very kind to me and helped Kaiyuan. I am not one to be ungrateful. Upon your return, thoroughly investigate the details of their trade with Japan and send the evidence back to Kaiyuan so we can take action against Yi Jong in the future."

Yuan Chonghuan quickly agreed. He pondered for a moment and said cautiously:
"Does Ping Liaohou want to replace Korea and trade directly with Japan?"

"No, I want to conquer Japan."

"Wakoku's population is several times greater than Korea's. It has powerful daimyo (vassal states) and a wealth of martial virtue. The Mongol army invaded Japan three times, only to return disastrously. I am no match for Kublai Khan. We cannot rely solely on force to defeat Japan; we also need commerce. Previously, trade between Liaozhen and Japan was too small, and it had to pass through Korea. From now on, we will directly take over Korea's trade, using the Ming court's name and the Liaodong Trading Company as a spearhead. We will erode Japan's commerce through more profitable goods. We will support some daimyo, instigate civil war in Japan, and defeat them one by one, ultimately incorporating them into the Kaiyuan system."

Yuan Chonghuan was dumbfounded. He never expected that Ping Liaohou would be so concerned about Japan.

"General Liu, Taizu personally designated fifteen countries that should not be conquered, and Japan ranked first..."

Liu Zhaosun knew that landing in Japan sounded too fantastic, and he didn't want to explain much. However, he felt it necessary to say a few more words to Yuan Chonghuan, the chief officer who was at the forefront of the conflict between East Asian civilizations.

"Yuan Ducha, what country in the world is unconquerable? It's simply a matter of whether or not it can be reached. What is within reach is the homeland of China, and what is unreachable is unconquerable." "You are well-read, and you should know that twenty years ago, Emperor Wanli planned to send troops from Korea to land in Japan, completely eliminate the Japanese threat. Unfortunately, after three major expeditions, the treasury was empty, and the plan was opposed by the ministers, and ultimately abandoned. What Wanli failed to accomplish, we will complete."

Liu Zhaosun paused for a moment and said meaningfully:
"Do you think I've spent so much money developing the navy just to rob Tianjin? Of course not. Japan has a dense population and abundant resources, including abundant silver and sulfur reserves. We must capture it so that we can consolidate our forces and fight against more dangerous enemies."

Yuan Chonghuan seemed to understand:
"Your Excellency, are you talking about dealing with the red-haired people?"

Yuan Chonghuan had met European missionaries in Guangdong. He himself had had many contacts with the French and Portuguese, and could vaguely feel the power of the red-haired people.

Liu Zhaosun said with a smile, without comment:
"Okay, that's all for today. When you return to Kuandian, you should focus on dealing with Korea. Conquering Japan is a major undertaking that requires long-term planning. It can't be explained in a few words. First, send people to the south of Korea to establish contact with Japanese merchants and build good relations to lay a solid foundation for future trade between the two sides."

As Ma Shiying returned to Qinghe and Song Yingxing returned to Tieling, the soldiers returned to their respective garrisons one after another. Only two guards were left in Kaiyuan, namely the First Guards Army and the Fourth Guards Army.

The commander of the Fourth Army is still Qi Jin. This veteran of the Qi family army will now focus his main energy on army building. Taking advantage of the newly established Guards, Ping Liaohou is carrying out military reforms.

The tasks of recruiting and training soldiers, which were previously handled by Qi Jin, were handed over to his adjutant Yu You.

Yu You was a veteran of the Qi family army. Before joining the Kaiyuan army, he was the captain of the Zhejiang troops and had followed Qi Jin for many years. Like Lin Yu, he was from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Marquis Ping Liao ordered a pilot program for the combat soldier representative system within the Fourth Guard Army.

After many discussions and consultations, Liu Zhaosun and Qi Jin finally established this organizational form similar to the party representatives of later generations.

Fifty literate soldiers and five junior officers were selected from the six thousand soldiers, forming a soldier delegation of fifty-five people. The soldier representatives represented the interests of the soldiers, and three people were selected from the delegation as permanent representatives to supervise and advise the commander-in-chief's decision-making behavior, and also to supervise military pay expenditures and death and injury pensions.

Before becoming representatives, they had to swear an oath in public to pledge allegiance to Ping Liaohou and Kaiyuan.

The content of the oath has not yet been finalized, but you can refer to the oath taken when joining a certain country in later generations.

If nothing unexpected happens, the combat soldier delegation will be elected once a year, with all combat soldiers voting, and the final list must be finalized by Ping Liaohou himself.

Thanks to the private schooling consistently promoted by Ping Liaohou and the literacy training provided by the battalion instructors, the literacy rate among Kaiyuan soldiers had risen to 12%, far exceeding that of other armies of the era. This improved literacy rate, coupled with strong enforcement, allowed the implementation of this primitive and simple electoral system.

~~~~
Ping Liaohou has fully recovered and is able to ride and walk on his own.

Early in the morning, the restless commander-in-chief, without telling his wife, secretly took his guards and went to inspect the army, workshops, shops and schools with a small entourage.

He inspected the First Army and the Fourth Army successively. When the soldiers saw this brave and skilled commander who had killed dozens of Bayara commanders of the Later Jin Dynasty alone, they immediately burst into shouts of victory. This fanatical mood soon infected Liu Zhaosun himself.

4th Guards Army.

When Qi Jinsenti accompanied Ping Liaohou past the front of the war troops, fifty-five newly elected soldiers stood at the front of the queue and shouted "Long live Ping Liaohou" to the fully armored and slowly walking past.

"Long live Kaiyuan!"

"Long live the Marquis of Ping Liao!"

Led by the delegation, five thousand soldiers burst into thunderous shouts, shaking the entire city.

Liu Zhaosun was shocked, but he pretended to be fine and continued waving to his soldiers.

At this point, personality cult is inevitable.

He had no choice but to accept it.

Sen Ti followed Ping Liaohou on the inspection and felt uneasy. Judging from the situation, this group of representatives would soon replace the instructor.

He began to feel the pressure.

On February 28, another Jurchen merchant was secretly killed and his body thrown on the street with inflammatory words written on it.

Zhang Chao and his men still failed to make a breakthrough. They searched the entire city and arrested dozens of Han merchants. However, after interrogating them, they got no results and had to release them.

Kaiyuan's intelligence capabilities were originally blank, and various intelligence was originally maintained mainly by foreign merchants. Now that he had offended them, Ping Liaohou immediately became blind.

Zhang Chao was a skilled martial artist and a good guard, but not a good intelligence officer.

Kaiyuan relies on commerce, and foreign merchants are frequently killed. If this happens a few more times, who will dare to come and do business?
Liu Zhaosun looked towards the capital and said leisurely:

"Shen Lian, where are you?"

References:
Note 1: Chinese Historical Materials in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Volume 1980, Zhonghua Book Company,
(End of this chapter)