The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 669: A Hundred Generations of Vengeance
In March of the fourth year of Guangde (1645), Li Zong took his trusted ministers from Wangjing (Seoul) to Liaodong, and then fled to the Daqi Pass through the Liaoxi Corridor.

The Koreans marched southward, passing through the various prefectures of Da Qi. They saw soldiers preparing for battle, the military stations along the way were crowded with people, and the roads were blocked by war horses and artillery. The scene was spectacular.

When crossing Shanhaiguan, the sea was covered with ships coming from the south, and the Simidas were shocked.

"Oh my god, the Great Qi army is so powerful. As a vassal state, we are honored!"

On the eighth day of May, the Korean king and his ministers finally arrived in Nanjing after many hardships.

At this time, the retired emperor was busy preparing for the invasion of Japan and left the Korean king and his ministers alone for three days. On the fourth day, Simida threatened to commit suicide and ate three cans of kimchi in a row. Fortunately, he was saved by the imperial physician.

Upon seeing this situation, the retired emperor felt compassion and arranged to meet with the rulers and ministers of the Eastern Frontier in Wuying Palace on May 13th.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates are attacking with a million troops, and the Kyushu vassal states have 50,000 Japanese pirates as the vanguard. They are also colluding with the Zheng pirates and the red-haired foreign merchants. They will soon use Korea as a springboard to invade Da Qi. I beg the Celestial Empire to send troops to rescue Korea..."

"Oh? Is that true? Tokugawa Iemitsu actually managed to gather one million Japanese soldiers?"

Liu Zhaosun looked at his "nephew" Li Zong with suspicion.

"I'm afraid there are more than one million Japanese pirates! Your Majesty, Korea is in danger! Liaodong is in danger! I beg Your Majesty to consider the relationship between uncle and nephew and agree to Korea's submission! Set up a province, or even make it a prefecture or county of Da Qi!"

Forty-nine-year-old Li Zong fell to his knees in Wuying Palace, sobbing and crying like a child who had been beaten.

"Please stand up quickly. What's the point of this? Someone, please find a seat."

The retired emperor waved his hand and ordered the King of Korea to take a seat.

Although Lee Jong was a complete ungrateful person, Queen Dowager Cisheng was Korean after all, so she had to give Lee Jong some face.

"Zhang Dong, are there over a million Japanese pirates? Have the Japanese pirates from Kyushu reached Korea?"

Zhang Mazi stepped forward, glanced at the Korean monarch and his ministers, and shouted, "Your Majesty, there's been no news of the shogunate sending troops to Tsushima Island. As for the million-strong Japanese pirates, that's likely a rumor. According to the intelligence analysis obtained by the Mino Guard, the Japanese pirates number at most 150,000, including half of them unarmored foot soldiers. Moreover, these people are scattered throughout Japan and cannot be assembled in a short time."

The Emperor nodded and looked at Li Zong. "Did you hear that? There's no need to scare you like this when the thieves haven't even shown up."

Li Zong knelt down for a long time and continued to cry.

"Smecta, I heard you ate three cans of kimchi at the guildhall last night. If your attendants hadn't discovered it in time, you would have gone to see Gwanghaegun."

Li Zong hurriedly explained, "My humble prince, upon hearing the news of the Japanese pirates' invasion, was thrown into disarray. Your Majesty, please forgive me. Daqi is the parent country of Joseon. How can a parent sit idly by while their children suffer? I again request that Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheong-do, and Jeolla-do be incorporated into Daqi. I will immediately abandon my title of king and serve Your Majesty with my inner court officials..."

After listening to Li Zong's declaration of loyalty, the Emperor nodded slightly, revealing a look of reluctance:
"Korea was a fiefdom of Jizi, and aside from the Han dynasty, it has never been under direct jurisdiction... Although our dynasty has long stationed troops in Korea, I am an honest man. Under these circumstances, I simply cannot bear to seize it. Besides, the Ryukyu Kingdom has only just annexed the country, and the King of Annan only petitioned last year to restore it to Jiaozhi Province... Even if I agree, I'm afraid there won't be enough quotas. Alas, even the motherland has its own difficulties. You want to enter the palace, but Da Qi already has enough eunuchs. So, you two should go back first."

Obviously, the emperor mistook the word "eunuch" for "eunuch".

He thought Li Zong would follow Wei Zhongxian's example, be castrated and enter the palace to serve him for the rest of his life.

After Liu Zhaosun finished speaking, he stood up and walked out of the hall.

Li Zong didn't care about the inner palace officials at this time. He went forward and hugged the retired emperor's thigh, crying loudly:
"Uncle, I would rather die in my parents' country than at the hands of Japanese pirates! As subjects of Korea, being a dog of the Great Qi is a blessing! I beg Your Majesty to grant me the right to submit!"

"Your Majesty, please take North Korea in!"

The Korean ministers knelt down and cried along with the king.

"Hey!"

Liu Zhaosun sighed, his eyes moistened. He lowered his head to glance at the people kneeling down and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Dongfang Zhu also advised, "Your Majesty, saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, let alone so many people. If you can truly save Korea and save millions of lives, it will be a great merit and will greatly benefit Your Majesty's ascension to immortality."

I don’t know whether the emperor had a change of heart or was moved by the last sentence.

He bit his lips, shook his head and sighed, and finally seemed to have made a great decision.

"Now that things have come to this, whatever, who made me soft-hearted?"

High Priest Dongfang Zhu and others beside him nodded repeatedly.

The huge rock that was pressing on Li Zong's heart was immediately removed, and he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

But the emperor changed the subject: "It's just that the Great Qi is in a state of bitter fighting, the people's livelihood is in decline, and there is a shortage of food and grass. Although I want to take over Korea and save the people, the food and grass supply..."

When Li Zong heard this, he finally understood what the emperor was up to. He stamped his feet, gritted his teeth, wiped away his tears, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I can gather some food and fodder. The Supreme Emperor can just take over Korea and send troops to the east..."

Before the great complainer could finish, the emperor laughed and clapped his hands:

"it is good!"

He stepped forward to help Li Zong up, turned around and said to Dongfang Zhu with a smile:

"There's no joking in the army. Bring me some pen and ink and record the amount of food and fodder promised by Simida. The Great Qi is not like the Great Ming. I'm not as wealthy as Emperor Wanli. I don't have to prepare my own food when I go to Korea to fight. Hahahaha!"

Li Zong:...
~~~~~~~
On June 18th of the fourth year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde announced to the world that Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheong-do, Jeolla-do, and Gyeongsang-do of Korea were annexed to the territory of Da Qi, and the name of Korea was abolished and changed to Changbai and Dongning provinces, which were respectively under the jurisdiction of Shandong and Liaodong provinces.

The Joseon King Yi Jong was renamed King of Hanyang and was granted fiefdom in Wuchang, Hubei.

The eight provinces of Korea were pacified, with two million households and 8.3 million civilians.

The shadow of the Sino-Japanese War began to hang over the Korean Peninsula.

The southern province of Gyeongsang had been infiltrated by Japanese pirates, and Liu Xingzuo of Zhangdong also sent a large number of Suoyi Guards to Korea to fight against them.

Before the war broke out, the intelligence war between the two sides was already fierce.

At the turn of spring and summer in the fourth year of Guangde, the Qi State's Minoyi Guards and the shogunate's ninjas exchanged deaths in places such as Tsushima Island and Iki Island between Korea and Japan, with a casualty ratio of one to three.

By the end of June, all fighting across the country had stopped.

Except for leaving a small number of troops to guard against rebellious invasions in Sichuan and Guangdong, the main forces of the fourteen corps were successively transferred to Korea, Fujian, Zhejiang and other places, totaling 200,000 combat troops and auxiliary troops, who would attack Japan from three directions.

In early July, hundreds of thousands of tons of grain, supplies, and military equipment were transported to Liaodong and the southeast along the extensive network of highways.

As food, warships and artillery arrived one after another, on the seventh day of July, Emperor Guangde announced a large-scale campaign to sweep the country and clean up the house, accusing Tokugawa Iemitsu of 108 crimes, including his long-term absence from court attendance, his refusal to implement the Treaty of Niuguan, his condoning of Japanese pirates invading Shandong, and his acceptance of Zheng Sen, a remnant of the Ming Dynasty.

The emperor called on all soldiers and civilians to launch a war of annihilation against the Japanese pirates. All people in Qi, regardless of age or region, would be rewarded for killing the pirates.

Beheading a Japanese pirate of the first rank will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver (in cities in southern provinces) or fifty work points (in farmers' associations in northern provinces).

Considering that one work point is equivalent to what a young and strong laborer earns from ten days of work in the farmers' association, such a reward can be said to be very generous.

By the end of July, in addition to the 200,000 troops of various corps, there were 80,000 retired soldiers, young and strong men from various provinces who volunteered to join the army on the eastern expedition with their own food, ships and weapons.

~~~~
On the first day of August, on the eve of the Eastern Expedition, Nanjing Fengtian Hall.

After Liu Zhaosun finished offering sacrifices at the Taimiao, he specially summoned the Grand Secretary Zhang Pu.

This elderly minister knew a lot about Japan. On the eve of the war, the emperor wanted to hear his views on Japan.

Although a large army has gathered, although they are full of confidence in Immortal Fuso, and although they have formulated a complete plan to eliminate humans from the island nation.

However, Liu Zhaosun knew very well that there was still a strong fear of Japan in the hearts of a considerable number of people in Da Qi.

"Grand Secretary, I'm very curious. Great Qi's military strength is already superior to that of Japan, yet many people in Jiangnan are still terrified when they hear the word 'Japanese pirates'. Why is that?"

Zhang Pu coughed lightly and said leisurely:

"Your Majesty, great powers have always weakened their people. This has been the case since ancient times. Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty implemented a policy of keeping the people ignorant, and the Ming Dynasty has long been afraid of Japan! Fifteen years ago, Yuan Shaobao died in Kyushu, and our army was defeated. The public's fear of the Japanese pirates reached its peak."

"Oh?"

Liu Zhaosun certainly didn't know that the Ming people had long been afraid of Japanese pirates.

The "Japanese pirates in the south and the barbarians in the north" during the Jiajing period were by no means groundless.

During the Ming Dynasty, there was not a complete lack of diplomatic exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang sent an envoy to the east, but they were all killed by the Japanese.

At the same time, Japanese envoys to the Ming Dynasty either extorted huge amounts of money or brutally killed Ming people.

"Your Majesty, you may not know that the diplomatic relations between Ming and Japan are superficially about the Japanese paying tribute, but in reality, Ming is making concessions, or even groveling."

Zhang Pu introduced the history of official exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

Liu Zhaosun was quite surprised. Although in the 21st century, there are still a number of pro-Japan people active on the Internet. These reverse nationalists worship Japan in all aspects, from agriculture to industry, from cooking rice to flushing toilets.

However, this was the first time he heard that people in the Ming Dynasty were afraid of the Japanese.

During the Imjin War, Right Vice-Minister of the Imperial Court, Li Yi, passed through Gu'an County, Shuntian Prefecture, and was surprised to find that the people had abandoned their homes and fled south. It turned out to be a rumor that the Japanese pirates in Korea were about to attack the capital. Li Yi was at a loss for words and kept explaining it, but the people of Gu'an "never believed it" and "feared and quickly left their homes." (Note 1)

"In the 2nd year of the Wanli reign, more than years after Qi Shaobao's victory over the Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirates had long since vanished. However, in Wuxi, rumors of the pirates' coming spread far and wide, causing widespread panic and panic. "People in the city and the countryside, including the people of Zhejiang Province, fled in panic. The old and young in Wuxi scrambled to enter the city, and many were trampled to death" (Note ).

Liu Zhaosun was speechless.

Zhang Pu continued:

"Two months later, a boat arrived at the Menghezhuang ferry crossing outside Changzhou. A man on board spoke a foreign language, which was misinterpreted as Japanese. Rumors of a Japanese invasion spread again, and "the people were terrified and fled. Children were lost, and countless young and old were crushed to death." (Note 3)

It is extremely strange that such a great country with billions of people is so afraid of the Japanese pirates.

In the fourth year of the Jingtai reign, a Japanese delegation passed through Linqing, Shandong, and looted houses along the roadside. The Ming army commander approached to question them, but was severely beaten by the Japanese ("beaten nearly to death"). (Note 4)

"In the fourth year of the Chenghua reign, the Japanese envoy, Madajiro, got drunk and acted violently in the capital, then openly drew his sword and murdered civilians! Afterwards, the Ministry of Revenue only ordered the pirates to pay ten taels of silver in compensation, and the matter was dismissed."

"In the ninth year of the Hongzhi reign, a Japanese delegation passed through Jining. They were attracted by the wealth and goods of ordinary people along the way, but when they failed to force their purchases, they resorted to brutal violence again, drawing their swords and killing them!"

·······
Liu Zhaosun was shocked.

This was an official delegation from Japan, yet they dared to act so arrogantly and tyrannically in the Ming Dynasty, beating officials and killing civilians.

The Japanese pirates wreaked havoc in the southeast, which was unimaginable.

"I remember that the Grand Secretary is from Taicang. Taicang was often harmed by Japanese pirates, right?"

Zhang Pu's face turned pale: "The Japanese pirates are determined to die" and are fighting against the government troops who are "cowardly and determined to retreat" (Note 5).

"During the battle, the Ming army's 'one man killed, thousands of men collapsed'."

"Three or four Japanese slaves came with their swords drawn, and the officers and soldiers, numbering in the hundreds, were defeated." Countless.

Zhang Pu coughed violently, and his voice became more and more excited. When the emperor listened to him, a series of tragic scenes flashed before his eyes.

“In the 6nd year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing, Japanese pirates plundered the suburbs of Taicang, capturing local officials, scholars, and civilians, both men and women. None of the officials or civilians escaped” (Note ).

In addition to killing the acting county magistrate Xi Shiliang and the instructor Lu Yaozuo, 6 students, 17 Jinshi, 53 Juren, and 356 Xiucai were also killed. "About people were killed... and the number of women who died for refusing to be humiliated and cursing the bandits is unknown."

All the property in the city, "treasures, gold, jade, brocade, or those passed down from the Tang and Song dynasties, all became the property of the bandits."

"The fire was set by the wind, and tens of thousands of houses, halls, and streets in the city were burned to ashes, with only one in ten surviving" (Note 7).

·····
"The Japanese pirates committed heinous crimes, slaughtering our people, our townspeople, and our people. From the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, more than a million people were killed by the Japanese pirates! Yet, for hundreds of years, the Ming Dynasty dared not send a single soldier to Japan, nor fire a single arrow into their lair. How tragic! How lamentable!"

Zhang Pu sobbed and cried loudly!
The Emperor stepped forward and gently patted the Grand Secretary on the shoulder, comforting him:
"The Japanese are so brutal that no human can compare. Zhu Ming only cares about appearances, but I care about substance! Zhu Ming cannot avenge the victims, so I come to report. The Eighth Corps, as the vanguard, will soon land in Kyushu. Wherever the army goes, no one will be spared."

"All fear stems from insufficient firepower. After this battle, the fear of the Japanese pirates will no longer exist. Because the Japanese pirates will no longer exist. Grand Secretary, rest assured. This time, Zhao will lead them to do it more cleanly and thoroughly than he did fifteen years ago."

Note:
1. See "Memorials to the Imperial Selection of Ming Ministers"

2. Ji Liuqi's "Northern History of the Ming Dynasty"

3. "Records of Emperor Shenzong," Volume 5, page 020

4. The Veritable Records of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, Volume 3, Page 022

5. Lang Ying's "The Beginning and End of the Japanese Pirates in Zhejiang Province")
6. Taicang Prefecture Chronicle, Volume 7047

7. Records of the Ming Dynasty's Control over the Japanese

(End of this chapter)