Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 302 Don’t Panic, It’s Just a Technical Adjustment

The news of the failed palace coup and the arrival of the joint forces of heavenly soldiers and government officials at the edge of Chungcheong Province quickly reached the hands of various noble military generals. Some were worried, while others were happy.

Some nobles and wealthy businessmen are addicted to speculation and have no psychological burden to rely on anyone.

When the Tartars came, they shouted "Long live the Qing Dynasty". When the Ming Dynasty came, they returned to the embrace of the Celestial Empire. When the aristocratic power was at its peak, they hid behind it and made investments.

Now that the new king has joined forces with the heavenly soldiers, they have begun to waver, thinking of switching sides again.

Other nobles were the backbone of the rebels. They were already happy with the status of holding a large number of troops and found it difficult to humble themselves and return to their former status.

The territory they controlled was only a strip and a half of the southern coast. If they retreated any further, they would have to cross the sea to seize Japanese territory...

The new king, who had experienced many rebellions and palace coups, seemed to be more mature. On the one hand, he asked the heavenly soldiers to march south, and on the other hand, he sent letters to various rebel forces to persuade them to surrender.

The new king said that as long as the rebels laid down their arms and surrendered, the royal court would show them mercy and at least save their lives.

The noble army generals knew that the new monarch had demonstrated his military prowess and was now beginning to employ psychological warfare tactics.

The rebels in southern Gangwon Province and northern Gyeongsang Province were the most obedient.

They were defeated by a wave of elite heavenly soldiers, and then repeatedly defeated by the elusive squadrons of officers and soldiers. They fought during the day and encountered night raids, and they had no peace at all.

Experiencing multiple high-pressure battles in a short period of time left them with lifelong psychological trauma, and some even developed hysteria. They would be scared to death when they saw flags and armor that looked like those of heavenly soldiers.

Therefore, when the new king's order to surrender was passed on, they chose to surrender at the first opportunity.

The new king did accept them as promised. Except for the nobles and officers who were extremely unpopular and were executed, all others were temporarily imprisoned and had to do hard labor for a few years after the war.

Most of the Korean officers and soldiers were subdued by the new king, but the main force of the aristocratic army in Jeolla Province and Gyeongsang Province remained tough and would never compromise with the tyrant.

The aristocratic army knew very well that the core of the enemy was the Ming Beiwei Army, and the tyrant's newly formed imperial camp soldiers had little combat effectiveness and were not enough to quickly quell the war in the north.

At the same time, facing the fate of the Ming army, the southern aristocratic army said: We are rebelling against the Korean tyrant, what does it have to do with you, the Ming army?
The southern aristocratic army did not kill the Ming army by mistake.

Moreover, the Ming army was just helpers hired by the tyrant to expel the Tartars. Now that the Tartars have retreated and their rewards are being raised, what authority does this Ming army have to interfere in the affairs of the vassal states? Aren’t they afraid of being held accountable by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?

"I am deeply grateful to the Ming army for helping my country drive out the Tartar invaders. But in order to gain wealth, they actually assisted the tyrant in levying heavy taxes and extorting the people's wealth. I wonder how many good families have been destroyed..."

Zheng Jiadong picked up the teacup and threw it hard on the ground. There was a dull thud and the teacup rolled several times.

"I heard that the tyrant used the 'major case of treason' to launch a massive prison operation, and loyal officials were unjustly killed every day in various prefectures..."

"Tyrant! Tyrant! My dear friend was just a little too harsh and accidentally killed a few servants, but the tyrant ordered the beheading of his entire family."

"Each household has hundreds, if not hundreds, of slaves. If a few of them die of illness or exhaustion in a year or two, are we to pay for it?"

"You're mistaken. This isn't about a bitch. It's clearly a traitor who leaked the list of instigators—Lu Demeng of Quanzhou betrayed us all."

"No wonder his family keeps saying he's not here when we send people to invite him to discuss military affairs these days..."

"How dare this scoundrel do this! His family just took refuge in our army the day before yesterday. Isn't he afraid that we will wipe out his entire clan?!"

"How can such a traitor who sells out his friends for personal gain have eyes that can even look after his relatives and friends? We must wipe out his entire clan so that other wavering people can see the consequences of betrayal!" Zheng Jiadong's eyes flushed red, and he stretched out two fingers of his right hand like a dagger, pointing outside.

When the nobles spoke of the cruel acts of the tyrants, they were filled with indignation. When it was their turn to use violence, they suddenly forgot that they could still choose mercy.

"I heard that the tyrant paid one to three months' wages to the surrendered soldiers from other tribes?"

"Hmph, it's nothing more than buying people's hearts with money. I heard that the tyrant implicated over a hundred loyal families and gained countless money, grain, and land. Giving this little money to the surrendered soldiers is far too stingy."

"The tyrant wants to reward the heavenly soldiers, so naturally he won't have the money to distribute more food..."

"They say the Heavenly Soldiers are highly disciplined, but I think they're the same as the Tartars. They've only been focused on making money for a few months now..."

Another nobleman was indignant, his bloodshot eyes filled with envy and jealousy. As a fellow nobleman like the yangban, he felt a certain sympathy for the others.

Any politically mature regime will prioritize local gentry and powerful people, because the king's personal ability and energy are limited, and it is impossible for one person to take care of all grassroots affairs.

Even if a new king wants to replace the previous king's old ministers, he will wait until he has secured power before taking action, which may be as short as two to three years or as long as four to five years.

All the atrocities committed by the tyrant so far would be directly overthrown in any other country and would be condemned in history books for eternity.

However, the new king, with the help of the heavenly soldiers, maximized the speed of suppression. He was able to successfully suppress the rebellion without relying on the gentry pillars at the bottom, and even did it quickly and well.

This made some nobles wonder, is it true that people like them are not needed to govern the country, or has the new monarch already reached a higher level of governance?

"How much money and grain can the wealth of over a hundred loyal and honest families have?"

The wealth of the murdered yangban varied, but generally speaking, they had around a million taels of silver in cash and grain. If you include their hard-to-cash land, shops, houses, and some cloth and jewelry, the total would probably be two to three million taels of silver...

"After getting so much money and food, the Heavenly Soldiers still think it's not enough?"

"If the tyrant had been more generous and offered each of us a reward of several thousand taels, he would have been allowed to do so according to the Datong Law, and there would have been no chaos."

As the leader of the noble army, Zheng Jiadong certainly would not tolerate such nonsense that would disrupt the morale of the army.

"What nonsense! If the tyrant were so kind, why would we be spending money to recruit soldiers? He's so powerful right now, but he's trying to trick us into laying down our weapons. Once we enter the capital, we'll be like pigs and sheep to be slaughtered, and he can do whatever he wants with us!"

The sudden roar ruined everyone's mood for laughter. The smiles of the nobles suddenly froze and the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became deserted.

Seeing that the atmosphere had fallen into a cold awkwardness, a noble hurriedly brought up a new topic - how to divide the relationship between the heavenly soldiers and the tyrant and win this decisive battle with little chance of success?

Although his aristocratic army was composed of various "heroes" and "righteous men" and had 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, the daily consumption of food and grass was a huge number, which could not be supported by just a piece of land and a half.

A decisive battle was even more impossible. Even if the nobles cursed the heavenly soldiers and the tyrant day and night, they knew that the enemy was full of martial virtue.

Some people think that they should go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to file a complaint——

In fact, when the rebellion broke out, three fleets were sent out in succession. If everything went well, they should have reached Tianjin by now. Even if they drifted to Shandong, they could be reported to the capital through the Shandong government.

No matter whether this tribute was in accordance with etiquette, it was enough for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to know that the heavenly soldiers were interfering in the internal affairs of Korea.

Everyone also speculated that the Beiwei Army's southward march towards North Korea was an "unauthorized action."

After all, a troop that has just recovered lost territory has already achieved greater success than its leader, so how could it be sent to make another great achievement?

If the commander of the Beiwei Army directly occupied Korea and merged Liaodong and Korea into one, wouldn't it become a serious threat to the Celestial Empire?

Therefore, the nobles concluded that the Ming Emperor would definitely order the Beiwei Army to return to Liao. Thanks to the Celestial Empire's military post system, the order to mobilize troops could be notified to the Beiwei Army commander in just over ten days.

The noble army was also prepared to defend the southern cities to the death, and it would be no problem for them to hold out for another half a year.

As long as the Heavenly Soldiers are recalled by the Celestial Empire, everything will be fine. This is the "Stick to the Ming Faction."

Of course, some people also think that it is foolish to pin their hopes on the Celestial Empire, which is thousands of miles away.

What if they were destroyed by the heavenly soldiers as soon as the Ming Dynasty’s transfer order arrived?
What if the ship seeking help never reaches its destination and their hopes are never realized?

It is better to ask for yourself than for others.

No matter which faction the nobles belonged to, they all knew that the "grand formation" of the mountain city fortress could not delay the enemy for too long, and no one in the Korean territory could defeat the heavenly soldiers in a land battle.

So why not change your mindset?
If you can’t win the land battle, then fight a naval battle.

As we all know, Korea was a small country with weak soldiers. It was invaded by Japanese pirates and almost the entire country was lost in just a few months, but its navy was still able to fight.

Although the Korean navy was not evenly matched with the Japanese pirates, it was more than enough to attack their supply ships.

Similarly, the nobles knew that this Ming army had strong land combat capabilities but almost no naval ships.

As long as the aristocratic army retreats to coastal towns and islands, they can rely on the island chain to deal with the Ming army.

There isn't much else along the coast of Korea and Japan, except for islands. They have 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers under their command. Can't they recreate the great pirate Wang Zhi?

This is the "going overseas and becoming independent" group.

There is another group that has differentiated from those who go overseas, the "going overseas to seek the sun" group.

It is well known that North Korea's closest neighbor is Japan. Tsushima Island and Kyushu, Japan, the closest islands to North Korea, are only a two-day flight away.

They felt that fleeing to the coastal islands was only a temporary solution. After all, there were not many ships going out to sea, and there were not enough weapons and food supplies for them to continue harassing.

Therefore, external support is necessary.

The transfer order from the Celestial Empire was far away, but the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan was right in front of us.

There was little hope of getting the Tokugawa shogunate to send troops, but the yangban nobles who frequently dealt with Japanese merchants knew that Japan's current ruler, Tokugawa Iemitsu, was an autocratic "strongman" who was no less tyrannical than the new ruler of Korea.

Tokugawa Iemitsu strictly controlled the daimyo and samurai, often confiscating and changing the territories of the daimyo, causing countless samurai to become unemployed ronin.

Even though the Tokugawa shogunate was powerful, it was still worried about the livelihoods of these ronin.

At this time, the Korean nobles appeared in time to help Tokugawa solve the problem of "armed refugees". Presumably, the latter would be happy to allow a group of unemployed cannon fodder to go to Korea to make a living.

Although the nobles who fled overseas would not have the money to hire soldiers, they could still promise them fiefdoms.

As long as the Ronin help them overthrow the tyrant, they can get as much territory as they want from all over the South.

Even though this meant surrendering to the Japanese pirates and bringing shame to their ancestors who had fought against the pirates decades ago, the yangban class no longer cared about that.

The tyrant sold out national interests in exchange for the support of the Ming army, and they hired Japanese pirates to drive out the Ming army in retaliation.

However, none of the three factions could convince the other.
If you choose to seek Ming, you have to stay and defend to the death. If you choose to be independent, or seek Japan, you have to give up your money, food and property and flee overseas. After all, there are limited ships and it is impossible to take all the money, food and slaves with you.

As a result, the three factions continued to argue, and a stalemate was reached.

At this moment, a messenger rushed into the house and knelt in front of the nobles to report, "Your Highness has sent a letter..."

"I don't want to read it!" The noble who was closer raised his hand and knocked the letter away.

"But……"

"The tyrant has murdered countless loyal and honest people! And he still wants to deceive us with sweet words!" Zheng Jiadong took a few steps forward and crushed the letter under his feet. "I will never coexist with the tyrant!"

Soon, another messenger came running over, crying with a sad face, "The heavenly soldiers are coming to kill us!"

"what?"

All the nobles in the hall were shocked. After careful questioning, they learned that the Ming army and the Korean official army had a combined force of 35,000 infantry and cavalry to attack.

The frontline fortress Licheng was captured by the coalition forces in two and a half days. This was a mountain fortress carefully built by the nobles. Even the Tatars would have to besiege it for a month to take it down.

The coalition forces actually broke through the city at the speed of light? The nobles couldn't even figure out how the coalition forces broke through the mountain city.

This means that the coalition forces are less than 150 miles away from the main force of the noble army.

This was bad. Everyone instantly lost the determination they had just had when arguing about the survival route.

"Mr. Zheng, what should we do next? The heavenly soldiers are coming..." A young noble's voice was trembling, as if he was walking home alone in the dark late at night, trembling with fear.

"I know the heavenly soldiers are coming to kill us!"

Zheng Jiadong felt an uncontrollable anger rushing to his head, but after a roar burst out of his body, his whole body became limp like a deflated ball, followed by a deep and piercing fear.

Zheng Jiadong was dejected. The good feeling he had just had about having all military affairs under control had completely disappeared, leaving only resentment and fear in his heart.

Once negative emotions are embedded in the brain, all that will constantly emerge in the brain is more negative despair.

The messenger said that the heavenly soldiers were less than 150 miles away from here, which is a three-day walk.

But if the message is delayed, the heavenly soldiers will actually arrive at the city the day after tomorrow, or even tomorrow!
too fast!
It's really too fast!
The mountain city that was originally used to block the advance of the heavenly soldiers turned out to be as fragile as paper. In this case, we cannot expect other mountain cities to delay the advance of the heavenly soldiers.

They don't have time to slowly discuss response strategies!

Should he stay and continue to defend other mountain cities and implement the "Road to Enlightenment", or should he immediately march south to seize ships in the port and become a pirate accompanying ronin?

As the death threat from the heavenly soldiers grew closer, nobles from all walks of life found excuses to leave. Some even rushed back to their own camps without even saying goodbye.

"Mr. Zheng, what should we do?"

A group of middle-aged and elderly nobles who still regarded Zheng Jiadong as their leader gathered together and asked him to guide them.

(End of this chapter)