The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 501 Food and grass go first
After Emperor Wuding returned to Shenyang, he immediately began to prepare for the Eastern Expedition.

The imperial edict to assemble the army was distributed throughout Henan, Huguang, Shandong, and Mongolia.

The governor and military commanders of the Great Qi Dynasty immediately took action upon hearing the news and dispatched elite troops to Kuandian, Liaodong.

After carefully evaluating the combat effectiveness of the Korean army, the retired emperor and his advisors believed that 60,000 soldiers were slightly insufficient. To ensure that everything was foolproof, they decided to recruit another 20,000 soldiers on top of the original force, for a total of 80,000 troops to fight against Korea.

Recruiting officers from all provinces took action. According to the recruitment rules issued by the Ministry of War, the Great Qi relaxed the recruitment standards and allowed some sons of landlords, gentry, and wealthy businessmen with outstanding performance (recognizing the Qi Dynasty's land system) to join the army.

The training period for new recruits was shortened from five months to half a month, the lower age limit for conscription was lowered from sixteen to fourteen, and some gray-haired veterans of the former Ming Dynasty were also allowed to join the Qi army.

Enthusiasm for joining the army surged across the provinces, especially in the recently annexed Huguang and Henan provinces, where many well-off men were willing to contribute their own money and labor. Once the expansion was announced, the 20,000-man quota was quickly used up, forcing even more men to join the auxiliary forces and fight alongside the army.

However, this warmongering strategy made several neighbors around Da Qi suspicious and ready to take action.

In June, Zuo Liangyu, who was stationed in Hefei, was the first one who couldn't contain his excitement. After learning that the main force of Qin Jianxun's Corps across the Huai River had been withdrawn to the north to attack Korea, he was overjoyed. The "famous general" of the Southern Ming Dynasty believed that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to evade the annual tribute.

Zuo Liangyu hated Qi to the core and decided to take advantage of the situation to teach the Qi army a lesson. As a result, the Ming army was once again defeated by the Kaiyuan troops. Of the 3,000 elite troops Zuo Liangyu sent to the other side, only 200 returned. Qin Jianxun was furious. After repelling the Ming army, he immediately sent troops across the river in retaliation, killing and wounding more than 2,000 of Zuo's troops and looting a large amount of food and fodder.

After Zuo Liangyu suffered a disastrous defeat along the Huai River, Zhang Zicheng in the west and Zheng Chenggong in the east immediately gave up the urge to fish in troubled waters and withdrew their troops who were confronting the Qi army in Shanxi and eastern Zhejiang respectively.

The Daxi bandits and the Zheng pirates all chose to remain in place, watching the outcome of the Korean War and deciding on their advance or retreat based on the battlefield situation.

~~~
The three armies have not moved, and the food and grass go first.

Emperor Wuding summed up the historical experiences and lessons and believed that the Sui and Tang dynasties' several wars against Goguryeo ultimately failed because of logistical problems.

In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of Emperor Yang of Sui and others, the retired emperor strictly ordered the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce to ensure the food and fodder supply for the army on the Eastern Expedition.

Although it was only a blitzkrieg, Liu Zhaosun still asked the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to ensure two months of food for 300,000 people (actually 350,000 people) in Korea.

The retired emperor strictly ordered the chief officers along the route to ensure the absolute safety of the grain routes from Weihai to Lushun, Tianjin to Jinzhou, and Shanhaiguan to Kuandian during the Eastern Expedition.

Fortunately, the security of the Eastern Expedition Army’s food supply routes is not a major issue, so there is basically no need to worry about it.

The Ming army had retreated to Huainan, posing no threat to Liaodong. The Zheng family's leaders, now without the support of the Southern Ming (at least on the surface), were currently squaring off with Wu Aheng in eastern Zhejiang. The heavily fortified forts at Weihai and Lushun made them hesitant to advance north. Furthermore, to secure further support from his family, Zheng Chenggong now needed to raise a large amount of grain, fodder, and gold to deliver to Qi to ensure the safety of his father, Zheng Zhilong, and several hostages.

The food supply for 300,000 people is not a small number, and when combined with the consumption of tens of thousands of war horses, it is an astronomical figure. The Ministry of Revenue of the Qi Dynasty and local civil officials worked hard to mobilize grain from nearby warehouses in Liaodong and Liaoxi, while urgently transporting grain and grass from the interior to Liaodong.

Grain and grass from Hubei and Henan were transported to Shandong in batches, and finally accumulated at the port of Weihai, and then transported to Liaodong by sea ships. In order to improve the efficiency of sea transportation of grain (the canal had been cut off), Emperor Wu Ding personally stepped in and asked the civil affairs and navy to negotiate and requisition three warships to participate in the escort of the grain transport fleet.

In early June, Zheng Chenggong, extremely depressed and unwilling, sent twelve merchant ships north to rescue his father Zheng Zhilong and several other Zheng family relatives who were eager to make achievements in the Great Qi.

Tens of thousands of stones of grain and thousands of pieces of cloth, as well as a considerable amount of tea and southern goods, were transported to Shandong in exchange for two hostages (Zheng Zhilong's two brothers).

On the eighth day of the sixth month of the third year of Taichu, the two sides handed over the battle at Yingzui Port in Weihaiwei.

The officials of the Great Qi who presided over the handover ceremony included the instructor Mori Tei, the Deputy Minister of Rites (foreign affairs) Fujiwara no Kyoji, the chief eunuch Dongfang Zhu, the imperial guard officer Lin Yu and others.

At noon, Zheng Chenggong's younger brother, Tagawa Shichizaemon, accompanied by his uncle Zheng Zhihu and second uncle Zheng Zhibao, quickly stepped off the sampan and looked at the Dongguan boy standing on the shore with resentment on his face.

Sen Ti saw that this Chinese-Japanese mixed-race person came with bad intentions, and said threateningly:
"What are you looking at, you bastard? The Zheng family is fickle, treacherous, and dissolute. Last time, you took advantage of someone's misfortune. The ministers in the court wanted to sentence you to death. My emperor is benevolent and magnanimous, known throughout the land. He has issued an order to release the two of you. This is the utmost kindness and justice for you. Why don't you thank me quickly?!"

Worried that Tagawa Shizaemon might not understand, Mori Tei asked Fujiwara Kyoji to translate his words and tell them to Zheng Chenggong's younger brother.

Fujiwara no Kyoji was quite dissatisfied with this long-winded Cantonese, but out of courtesy, he had to repeat his exact words in Japanese. Upon hearing this, Tagawa Shichizaemon flew into a rage and shouted, "You barbarians! Robbers! You murdered and plundered, forcing the Ming Dynasty to collect taxes in the 81st year of the Hongguang reign, forcing the people of Jiangnan to sell their children. You've done so many evil things, and you're not afraid of divine retribution, yet you still have the nerve to criticize our Zheng family! How shameless!"

Moriti pushed aside the guards in front of him, poked his head out from behind the long sign, pointed at Tagawa Shizaemon and cursed:

"How dare you! Our emperor's goal is the stars and the sea. How can you, a bunch of naive pirates, understand that? You bastard! I grew up by the sea too. My family was broke and I only had one pair of pants! I would rather be a servant in Lord Yuan's house than do anything that harms the world. Seeing your young age, you don't learn to be a pirate, robbing houses, making dumplings and eating wontons, and you still have the nerve to talk about Da Qi. I advise you to keep your mouth clean. This is Da Qi's territory. If you offend me, be careful that this eunuch will send you to the Jingshifang and cut you with a knife! You will become a eunuch too!"

After Sen Ti finished speaking, he turned around and looked at Dongfang Zhu, giving a fawning smile to the popular figure beside the retired emperor.

Dongfang Zhu smiled professionally, waved his hand to interrupt the two people's inexplicable argument, and announced loudly:

"Check the goods and release them!"

So the two parties exchanged goods and people at Yingzui Port.

After counting the cargoes of the twelve ships and confirming that everything was correct, Zheng Chenggong's two uncles, Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhifeng, were released by the Qi army.

"Where's my father?"

"You bad boy, I'm only releasing your two uncles this time. Zheng Zhilong is still waiting to become a high-ranking official in Qi." As soon as Sen Ti opened his mouth, his intention was to kill people and destroy their hearts.

"Haga, くそ, die!"

The Japanese mixed-race man suddenly drew out his samurai sword, and Zheng Zhihu next to him also raised his musket towards Sen Ti.

"You bastards, are you trying to kill yourself?"

Lin Yu, like a black tower, said nothing. He dragged a mace weighing more than 30 kilograms and walked between Mori Ti and Tagawa Shichizaemon, looking down at the uncle and nephew of the Zheng family as if they were dead.

Zheng Zhihu, who was known for his bravery and nicknamed "Luer Er", was not afraid of Lin Yu's powerful aura at all and subconsciously took two steps forward.

The guard team of Qi army soldiers immediately surrounded them without saying a word.

When the two sides were on the verge of a fight, Zheng Zhibao, who had been silent for a long time, grabbed his rebellious brother and young and energetic nephew, and expressed his willingness to accept Qi's proposal and only release Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Zhifeng.

Fujiwara no Kyoji took out a telescope and handed it to Tagawa Shizaemon, pointing to the Hundred-foot Cliff Guard Station two miles away.

Tagawa Shichizaemon took the telescope and looked over there. Under a pavilion on the Hundred-Foot Cliff, his father Zheng Zhilong was playing chess with a fat, white and plump civil servant. Zheng Zhihu snatched the telescope and recognized that the person sitting under the pavilion was the fat man Lu Demin.

"Damn it, Fatty Lu is here too!"

Dongguanzi told Tianchuan Shizaemon that if he wanted to redeem his father Zheng Zhilong, he would need to prepare more food and southern goods, at least to fill thirty large ships...

The Hongguang court was also blackmailed by Qi. In early June, the Southern Ming delivered grain, silver, cloth and tea in Xuzhou as promised.

After receiving a huge amount of material tribute, Qin Jianxun did not forget the instructions of Emperor Wu Ding and randomly detained two people from the Southern Ming delegation. In the words of Liu Zhaosun, this was an "additional human resources service project" of the annual tribute.

In the summer of the third year of Taichu, tens of thousands of shi of grain and supplies shipped from the south by sea were unloaded at ports such as Lushun and Weihai.

Throughout the summer, huge amounts of supplies gathered in Liaodong from major ports in the north.

Kuandian, located in the rear base of the war, was bustling with activity. The small border town was like a festival, with carriages and drivers everywhere in the streets and alleys. Instructors and civil officials, speaking dialects such as Weihai, Liaoxi, and Henan, were clamoring and counting the supplies on their carriages over and over again to ensure that the grain, cotton cloth, and coal in each carriage were correct.

(End of this chapter)