The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 355 Mutual Seduction
Wanli cut off the source of the problem and directly forced the vassal state of Korea, King Lee Sun, to surrender with a group of court officials.

Without this ready-made bait, how would Toyotomi Hideyoshi fish?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi had to find another bait.

Now the only thing that can be used as bait for the vassal state of Korea is the Ming army guarding the city of Yizhou.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi had no choice but to besiege Yizhou Castle and attack the reinforcements in order to gradually attract the main force of the Ming army and destroy it.

This tactic is actually very good. There are many classic examples of besieging a point and attacking reinforcements in history.

If Wanli had not also wanted to fish, the main force of the Ming army would definitely have been gradually attracted and consumed bit by bit.

The pattern of this war at this moment is actually very different from that in history.

In history, the Ming Dynasty was forced to send troops in a hasty and disorganized manner by the vassal state of Korea, whose King Yi Sun sent envoys to beg for mercy.

Li Rusong's move was a typical example of a fierce attack and charge, and he was soon led into an ambush circle in the Biti Pavilion area by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

But Toyotomi Hideyoshi at that time did not expect that Li Rusong would be so powerful and the Liaodong cavalry would be invincible on the field.

Therefore, Toyotomi Hideyoshi could only use peace talks to delay and kill Li Rusong by other means.

Now the King of Korea, Lee Sun, had been taken to Datong Town by Emperor Wanli to submit to the Ming Dynasty. There was no one in the entire vassal state of Korea to urge the Ming Dynasty to send troops to support it.

Wanli naturally didn't need to be anxious, the one who should be anxious was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi quietly moved the ambush circle northward, he thought he had done it without anyone noticing. Little did he know that the hilltop opposite Yizhou City was already filled with elite scouts of the Sichuan Army!
His encirclement hidden in the mountains on both sides of Yizhou City has already appeared on Wanli's map.

At about 4 p.m. that afternoon, as the sky was getting dark, the lights in the capital of the Ming Dynasty were already dotted like stars in the sky.

The side hall of the Qianqing Palace where maps were displayed was brightly lit, just like daylight.

Qin Liangyu, Ma Qiancheng, and Deng Zilong had already arrived, and Wanli also recruited Qi Jiguang, Luo Sigong, Wang Rulong, Chen Dacheng, Lou Nan, Hu Shouren, Chen Ziluan, Zhu Jue, Wu Weizhong, Qi Jin, and others.

A large group of them were gathered around a huge map, pondering it.

Wanli saw that everyone had carefully examined the map, then pointed to Zhendong Fort, hidden in the mountains behind Zhenjiang Fort, and said solemnly, "Liangyu, from now on, this will be your station as General Zhendong.

The burden on your shoulders is heavy. You are the main force in this war with Japan to the south, and you will also be the main force in the subsequent war with the Jiannu to the northeast. I will leave all mountain warfare to you."

Mountain warfare is not a big problem, because the chieftains of Bashu are all trained in the mountains.

The problem is that the place is not big enough.

Qin Liangyu said cautiously, "Your Majesty, Zuoguo sent a swift ship last month to report that there are only barracks for 200,000 troops in Zhendong Fort, and the 100,000 troops he led can only camp outside the city.

This time, I and Qian Cheng are bringing another 100,000 troops. There's simply no room for them in Zhendong Fort. I've heard that the winters in Liaodong Town are quite cold, with water freezing to the touch. I think if we're going to be stationed there for a long time, we'd better build more barracks."

Qi Zuoguo was Qi Jiguang's eldest son. He originally inherited the Qi family's hereditary position of commander of Dengzhou Guard. Later, due to Qi Jiguang's military achievements, he was promoted to the commander-in-chief of Shandong Military Region.

He felt that this was not enough, so he simply transferred him to Qin Liangyu's army as deputy general, commanding 100,000 troops, so that he would have the opportunity to achieve great things.

Originally, he was showing favoritism, but now it seems that Qi Zuoguo is quite thoughtful and took the severe winter cold into consideration when he led his troops there.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "I have already thought about this problem for you. If you want to garrison in Liaodong, you must build barracks. Yuan Jing has already carefully explored the valleys there. There are also several relatively large valley basins to the north of Zhendong Fort, which are enough to build barracks for 500,000 troops.

I have mobilized 50,000 craftsmen for you. After you go there, the craftsmen will rush over, and bricks and wood will be pulled over continuously. You will build three cities that can accommodate 100,000 troops and seal off the east, west and north sides of Zhendong Fort.

Send people to guard all the roads and paths through the mountains over there. Remember, no one else is allowed to enter the garrison area of ​​Zhendong Fort without your order."

It turns out that there were 50,000 craftsmen helping to build the city.

Qin Liangyu nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli pointed at the map and explained in detail, "Liangyu, I leave this part of Yizhou to you.

Remember, our overall strategy is to hide our weakness first, try to lure the main force of the Japanese pirates to our vassal state, Korea, and annihilate them in one fell swoop, and then land on the Japanese mainland and destroy the Japanese pirates.

I will temporarily transfer Luo Shangzhi and his 50,000 Liaodong troops to your command. You must ensure that Luo Shangzhi can defend Yizhou City, but you must not let the Japanese pirates feel that your strength is so strong that they cannot be defeated.

You must maintain this balance. Don't let your sudden burst of strength frighten the Japanese pirates and cause them to retreat. Otherwise, our strategy will fail."

Hide your weakness first? This is not easy, even harder than conquering a city.

Qin Liangyu heard this and nodded slowly, saying, "I understand."

Wanli then warned him carefully, "Liangyu, this battle may be protracted, and it is possible that it will last for one or two years, or even two or three years. You must not be impatient.

I will order the navy's centipede boats to transport the army's food and fodder to Dingliao Zhongwei. I will also order the more than 20,000 grain carts built at the Summer Resort in the past two years to be transported there.

Remember to build the granary as well. It's easy in other seasons, but it's inconvenient to transport grain in winter. At least two million shi of grain are needed to store 400,000 troops for the winter.

There are also beef, mutton and other things. The Beijing Xingdusi will continue to send them to you. As for coal, Fushunwei has opened a coal mine specifically for you, which will definitely be enough for you.

First, let your Bashu soldiers familiarize themselves with the climate there, and then go to the mountains for some training. They can earn quite a bit of money by collecting mountain delicacies or digging some ginseng."

His Majesty is so good to his niece.

The troops under the command of General Zhendong are more numerous than those in the Beijing camp, and His Majesty has even ordered the preparation of food, meat, and even coal for the winter.

When the other generals heard this, their faces were filled with envy.

Qin Liangyu was also quite moved and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will remember this."

Wanli said solemnly: "Sigong, the secret guards will cooperate with the elite troops of the Shenshu Camp and the Shenji Camp to launch a surprise attack.

You have to contact Yun Qing to arrange for a navy speedboat, and you also have to arrange for secret guards who have learned the local dialect to take them ashore on the navy speedboat and set fires everywhere.

Your mission is to disturb their rear. You don't need to show any strength in the early stage. If you encounter a lone Japanese pirate, just kill him, set him on fire and run away. Don't confront a large group of Japanese pirates head-on.

Remember, draw detailed topographic maps of all the places you visit. I need to understand the topography of Korea, our vassal state, in detail so that I can command my army to eliminate the main force of the Japanese pirates."

Luo Sigong bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant understands."

Wanli nodded slightly and asked, "Yunqing, when will Kemai and Yuansheng come back?"

Deng Zilong estimated, "They'll have to travel all over Southeast Asia this time and try to deliver all of this year's goods. I estimate they might not return until August."

This is not urgent.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, when they come back, ask them to come to the capital. Don't rush to pretend that the navy is suppressing pirates."

Deng Zilong bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully again, then asked, "Yuan Jing, do you think there are any other problems?"

There is nothing wrong with these arrangements, but I feel that Toyotomi Hideyoshi might not be so easily fooled.

Qi Jiguang thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, what if the Japanese pirates decide they can't afford the consequences and retreat?"

The Japanese pirates are here, and you still want to retreat?

It's not that easy.

Wanli said confidently: "Don't worry, retreat requires a reason. Toyotomi Hideyoshi mobilized an army of over 100,000 to attack Korea, a vassal state, and was about to conquer it completely. In this situation, retreating without any reason is even more unreasonable.

They are likely to retreat under the pretext of peace talks.

When the time comes, I won't negotiate with him, nor will I allow the King of Korea, our vassal state, to negotiate with him. I will humiliate him, humiliate him as much as I can, and see how he has the nerve to retreat!"

Toyotomi Hideyoshi probably never imagined that he would be stuck with Wanli this time.

The current situation is that the vassal state of Korea only has a small corner of Yizhou left. If Toyotomi Hideyoshi retreats inexplicably, he will probably lose all his prestige.

Those Japanese pirates who attacked the vassal state of Korea would probably have a lot of complaints.

Isn't this a joke?
They are almost taking over the vassal state of Korea, and no one is paying attention to them. They are allowed to rob and play however they want, and now they want to withdraw their troops for no apparent reason?
There's something wrong with your brain!
If Toyotomi Hideyoshi didn't want to lose his prestige and even the morale of his army, he had to find a reason to withdraw his troops, and the only reason he could find at the moment was peace talks.

If he tries to negotiate, he will be severely humiliated. How will he have the face to retreat then?

I'm just kidding. If we fight like this, those Japanese pirates will probably retreat while cursing!
(End of this chapter)