The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 345: Order to Enter Tang

The reason why Wanli ordered Deng Zilong to mobilize ships to bring all 100,000 naval officers and soldiers to Fuzhou Prefecture was to clearly support Zhu Guozuo, and that was just one reason.

He actually wanted to use this to paralyze Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

What I mean is, you see, almost all of the Ming cavalry has been sent to conquer the Tumed tribe of Tatar, almost all of the Ming infantry is defending against the Tuman and Jurchen, and the Ming navy has basically been transferred to Fuzhou Prefecture, so why don't you get started quickly.

Sure enough, not long after, Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued a military order and prepared to enter the Tang Dynasty!
The order says:

Since Korea has sent envoys to submit, when the army arrives, do not plunder. If they change their plans, how dare we resist and advance?
As for the Tang territory, it is accustomed to being weak and cultured, and cannot withstand our military might.

Kato Kiyomasa, Konishi Yukinaga, Kuroda Nagamasa and others led the troops from Kyushu as the vanguard, Mori Terumoto and his clansmen and soldiers from Shikoku formed the second team, and the rest sailed one by one.

The envoys from Honshu, Owari Chunagon and Aizu Shosho, stayed behind to protect the imperial capital and build a temple.

Generals who are like dragons and tigers, and soldiers who are like bears and bears, they rush forward and pass by at lightning speed, defeating enemies and taking over territories, singing and dancing before and after. More than 400 states in the Tang Dynasty can be conquered with just a glance.

However, things have a sequence. We should first advance our troops from Korea and set up camp at Nagoya. Daito will come in person to command the military affairs, so as to pass on unprecedented great achievements to the world for eternity. Wouldn't that be a joy?

As soon as the military order was given, the Japanese pirates became extremely excited.

Because the Japanese pirates were aggressive by nature, they had long coveted the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains.

More importantly, they are cruel and greedy by nature, and like to burn, kill and loot.

This is clearly evidenced by the fact that the Japanese invasion of the Ming Dynasty's coast lasted for hundreds of years.

They just like to rob, rob money, rob food, rob women, and after robbing Korea, robbing Tang Dynasty is their dream.

Now that the army was about to enter the Tang Dynasty, they were naturally very excited.

All the Japanese pirates were full of energy. Even the biting cold wind of Kitakyushu in the cold winter could not extinguish the desire in their hearts. In the seaport designated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Karatsu Domain in Hizen Province, countless Japanese pirates were busy building a forward base for entering Tang Dynasty.

On the surface, Wanli pretended not to know that the Japanese pirates were about to attack, but secretly he had already begun to mobilize troops and prepare for war.

In the twelfth lunar month, Qi Jiguang finally rushed back from Liaodong Town.

Early in the morning at about noon, he summoned Qi Jiguang to the hall where maps were displayed to discuss the matter.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, he asked impatiently, "How is it going, Yuan Jing, is the construction of Zhendong Fort finished?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang quickly took out a blueprint and explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the main city of Zhendong Fort has been completed.

You see, this is Zhenjiang Fort. To the north of Zhenjiang Fort is the valley leading to Zhendong Fort. This valley itself is about a mile wide. I have ordered people to fill up the valley, but in order to prevent it from being discovered by spies from the opposite side, the asphalt road has not been paved yet.

Less than five miles into the valley is the main city of Zhendong Fort. Originally, this was a dense valley with low hills and basins within a radius of more than ten miles, with several mountains dozens of feet high in the middle.

I have ordered people to fill up all the valleys around to form a circle, and build several mountains in the middle into lookout towers. If you stand on the lookout tower and use a large telescope to scan, you can see the coast of the opposite vassal state of Korea clearly.

The city walls, barracks, and warehouses are now almost complete. However, to avoid being detected by the enemy, the port terminal along the Zhenjiang Fort line has not yet been expanded."

Wanli nodded slightly when he heard this, and then asked, "How many troops can be accommodated in the barracks inside?"

How do you say this?

Qi Jiguang explained, "Your Majesty, due to time constraints, we haven't had time to build a warm shed for the horses to spend the winter. If it weren't for the freezing cold of winter, we could easily station 200,000 men there.

However, it has already started snowing there, and the river is almost frozen. The horses will definitely not be able to survive without a warm shelter, so we can only station 200,000 infantrymen there now."

Then there won't be much of a problem. If cavalry is really deployed, it means the start of a major counterattack. It doesn't matter whether you hide in the mountains or not. Zhendong Fort was built to garrison the Sichuan Army's white-pole soldiers.

This was also the reason why he appointed Qin Liangyu as the General Zhendong. The Sichuan Army's white-pole soldiers were to intimidate not only the Japanese pirates, but also the Jiannu.

Wanli thought about it carefully again, then said decisively, "Send the order and have Luo Shangzhi find a high point in the city to build the Zhendong General's Mansion. Also, if the weather is not too cold, use food carts to pull infantry to build a road. We will build a wide asphalt road from Zhendong Fort to Dingliao Youwei in the north, and then from Dingliao Youwei to Dingliao Zhongwei and Shenyang Zhongwei by next year."

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli stared at the map again and pondered, "Judging from the conscription order issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, they should be sending troops after the beginning of next spring. The northern part of the Ming Dynasty is also covered in ice and snow, and the rivers are frozen, making it difficult to mobilize troops. The rivers in Liaodong seem to be unfrozen even later than in the capital. By the time we can mobilize troops, Toyotomi Hideyoshi will probably have already invaded Korea, our vassal state."

This is a big problem. I'm worried they won't be able to hold on before we even mobilize our forces."

Is the vassal state of North Korea so vulnerable?

Qi Jiguang was puzzled when he heard this and said, "Your Majesty, if we mobilize enough navy warships, it will only take two or three months at most to transport hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses.

The vassal state of Korea has a depth of more than one thousand miles to nearly two thousand miles, and most of it is mountainous. As long as the pass is guarded, it will be like one man blocking the way for ten thousand.

What's more, Korea, a vassal state, is not without soldiers. They have a garrison-like organization of 240,000. Even if the Japanese pirates are powerful, it is impossible for them to defeat Korea, a vassal state, in just two or three months, right? "

Well, you're talking about normal situations.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Yuan Jing, when fighting a war, we cannot just focus on the terrain and the comparison of the two sides' military strength. We must also consider the internal and external environment.

The Japanese pirates are aggressive by nature, and they only want to burn, kill and loot. This time they have more troops than their vassal state, Korea. They must be full of morale and advance rapidly.

However, there is fierce party struggle within the vassal state of Korea, and the people who control the court now are the pro-Japanese Westerners. It is possible that these guys will act as guides or even surrender.

In comparison, the vassal state of Korea had no ability to resist at all, and the Japanese pirates could really advance more than one thousand or two thousand miles within two or three months.

Moreover, the Westerners who now control power in the vassal state of Korea are likely to try their best to prevent others from coming to the Ming Dynasty for help.

By the time we receive the news, the vassal state of Korea will probably be wiped out by the Japanese pirates."

He didn't remember how long the vassal state of Korea held out, but it was definitely only a few months.

When Qi Jiguang heard this, he was stunned.

This is just a joke.

The Japanese do not have many cavalry. They are mainly infantry. Even if hundreds of thousands or even millions of infantry do not encounter any resistance, it is considered good if they can march forty or fifty miles a day.

The road to the vassal state of Korea is not straight either. The distance is more than one thousand miles or nearly two thousand miles, and the depth is estimated to be two to three thousand miles.

In other words, even if the vassal state of Korea did not offer any resistance, it would take two or three months for the Japanese pirates to come over.

Could the Japanese pirates destroy Korea, a vassal state, in two or three months?
This is impossible.

The problem is that when it comes to the overall strategic direction, it seems that His Majesty has not missed it.

In other words, this seemingly impossible situation is very likely to happen.

Qi Jiguang stared at the map, frowning and thinking for a while, then pointed to the opposite side of Zhenjiang Fort and said, "Your Majesty, this is Yizhou City, a vassal state of Korea. Zhenjiang Fort is not far away across the river.

If that doesn't work out, we will build a pontoon bridge and let Luo Shangzhi lead the 30,000 to 40,000 infantrymen from Zhendong City to help them defend Yizhou City.

We have kerosene cans and thunder bombs. It shouldn't be a big problem for 30,000 to 40,000 troops to withstand the siege of 100,000 or so Japanese pirates. As long as Yizhou City is defended, the vassal state of Korea will not perish.

At that time, we can mobilize a large army to fight a war of attrition with the Japanese pirates, forcing them to continuously send reinforcements."

Well, defending Yizhou City is a good idea.

In fact, if they really went all out and mobilized their giant ships to launch a fierce bombardment, the Japanese pirates would not be able to destroy their vassal state, Korea, even if they reached the riverside.

However, their goal was to try to attract the main force of the Japanese pirates to their vassal state, Korea, rather than to defeat the Japanese pirates in one go.

The force must be controlled well. If you hit too hard and make the Japanese pirates lose their way, they will definitely retreat and defend to the death.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then nodded slowly and said, "Alright, if all else fails, we can help our vassal state, Korea, defend Yizhou City, and then slowly fight the Japanese pirates."

(End of this chapter)