Daming talker

Chapter 685: The King and His Ministers from the Peninsula

Lin Jinglie's original intention was not to force Shuerhaci, but to bring up the topic.

Seeing that Shuerhaci was speechless, he glared at Nurhaci and shouted, "Speak up!"

He went to Shuerhaci for greetings, but came to him for scolding? Nurhaci cursed in his heart, but he had to bow his head under the eaves.

Now, there are countless troops gathering in Liaodong. If they anger Lin Jinglüe, it would be troublesome if he attacks Jianzhou first instead of fighting the Japanese soldiers.

Therefore, Nurhaci could only take a step forward and said humbly: "First, the road is long, second, it takes time to search for the Japanese soldiers, and third, the Japanese pirate Kato retreated too quickly, so we didn't have time to send troops."

"Nonsense!" Lin Jinglue shouted, "If you are afraid of war, then you are afraid of war. What excuses are you looking for?
At that time, my military order gave you two choices: either to encircle Kato's troops or to cut off Kato's retreat route to Duman River.

Kato's troops crossed the river near Huining in Korea, and they must have retreated from here! You immediately rushed to the crossing point after receiving the military order, so how come you were too late? "

Nurhaci further explained: "My Jianzhou soldiers are scattered everywhere, and it takes time to gather them together. Moreover, the mountains are high and the roads are long. It was also the rainy season, so we had no choice but to move slowly."

Lin Jinglue slammed the table and said, "You blatantly disobeyed military orders, how dare you keep making excuses!"

Shuerhaqi stepped forward courageously and said, "Since my brother has been respectful to the Ming Dynasty for many years, I hope we can atone for our sins."

Facing Shuerhaqi, Lin Jinglue's expression softened and he said, "For Shuerhaqi's sake, I will give you another chance to build the state!
You two brothers can each lead 2,000 Jianzhou soldiers and go to the banks of the Duman River to bluff.

Remember, you can only bluff at the riverside to attract the attention of Kato Kiyomasa's Japanese soldiers on the other side, but you cannot go deep into the Korean territory!"

Nurhaci asked with some doubt: "Each of them should lead 2,000 soldiers? It seems unnecessary to divide the troops like this?"

Lin Tailai asked back, "Do you want to disobey orders again? In front of the headquarters?"

Nurhaci lowered his head and dared not speak any more.

Lin Tailai waved his hand and said, "Go! Follow my orders! If you disobey me again, I will kill you without mercy!"

According to the current conception, a force is needed in the north to attract Kato Kiyomasa's attention.

However, he had no extra troops to send, so he could only make use of the waste and transfer the Jurchens from Jianzhou nearby to act as a cover.

By the way, they would accelerate the division of the Jianzhou Jurchens and create internal conflicts. After they had freed up their hands after defeating the Japanese pirates, they could find an excuse to directly "interfere" with the Jianzhou Jurchens and then "finally resolve" them.

Otherwise, if we ignore the situation in Korea and insist on destroying Jianzhou, which has not yet rebelled, the emperor will not agree.

In this way, Lin Jinglüe basically completed the preliminary deployment work, and what he waited for next was "the King of Korea crossing the river into Liao."

As a result, by late September, when Lin Jinglue had become impatient and was considering launching a "burn both sides" plan, the Korean envoy Li Dexin came across the river to negotiate again.

"Does the distant envoy have anything else to say?" Lin Jinglie asked casually while wiping the Shenwei Lie Water Gun.

Li Dexin explained: "Your Excellency, you may not know that the mission of receiving envoys from afar is usually used to welcome imperial edicts and envoys.

Therefore, my role this time is not as a distant envoy, but as a companion envoy, responsible for contacting the commander-in-chief of the Heavenly Army and assisting him in his actions."

In the Ming Dynasty, "Sir" was not considered a very respectful title, and calling a superior "Sir" was equivalent to an insult; but in the Kingdom of Korea, "Sir" was a very respectful title.

"What a lot of tricks." Lin Jinglue muttered, "Whatever it is, just say it!"

Li Dexin, the escort envoy, then formally announced: "My king and his ministers will cross the river into Liao tomorrow."

The emperor's subjects were called ministers. From this perspective, the subjects of the princes were lower, and were called accompanying ministers. Therefore, in terms of etiquette and law, when facing the Ming Dynasty, the ministers of the Kingdom of Korea were called accompanying ministers.

Lin Jinglie put down his powerful water gun and said impatiently, "It's finally here!"

Then he told Cui Wukui, "I will go to the riverside to welcome the king tomorrow! You go and make the arrangements!"

The next day, Lin Jinglie wore the Qilin costume and went out of the city, standing by the river waiting.

Cui Wukui was accompanying him and chatting with Lin Jinglie about the party struggles within North Korea.

"About twenty years ago, the ministers of the Joseon Kingdom split into the Dongren Party and the Seoren Party because of the appointment of an important official position in the Ministry of Personnel. Those living in the east of Seoul were called the Dongren Party, and those living in the west were called the Seoren Party.

Just last year, the Eastern Party won a landslide victory. However, due to different attitudes towards the Western Party, it split into the Southern Party and the Northern Party.

So there are currently three major parties in North Korea, namely the Western Party, the Southern Party, and the Northern Party. "

Although Lin Tailai knew a little about history in his previous life, he was not very well versed in the internal history of North Korea.

All we know is that ancient Korea had a "Yangban" system. These "Yangban" were the scholar-official aristocracy of Korea, and it was completely hereditary.

Under the royal family and the "Yangban", everyone was like cattle and horses. If they were not farmhands or slaves of the "Yangban", they could not survive.

The land economy of Joseon was controlled by the "Yangban" class, and the country was extremely poor and weak.

Otherwise, why would Li Dexin say that even if most of the territory was recovered in the early stage, they could only collect 80,000 shi of military rations from the Ming army.

When Cui Wukui talked about the party struggle, Lin Jinglue asked casually: "Which party is more suitable to be a dog? Or is it closer to the Ming Dynasty?"

Cui Wukui said very rationally: "It's hard to say. In recent years, they have been killing like crazy. They are still fighting even when the Japanese pirates are at the gates of the city. All they see is party struggles. I guess they don't have any sense of family and country.

Even if he showed closeness to the Ming Dynasty, it was only to use the power of the Ming Dynasty to defeat the enemy.

Take the issue of the king crossing the river to Liao as an example. The Southern Party firmly opposed the king's escape to Yizhou, which was close to the Ming Dynasty, and firmly opposed crossing to Liao, while the Western Party acquiesced.

However, the Southern Party firmly supports inviting the Ming Dynasty’s troops to Korea, while the Western Party firmly opposes inviting the Ming Dynasty’s troops to defend against the Japanese.

Even with Lin Tailai's intelligence, he spent a long time trying to figure out the logic behind this. He could no longer bear it and said, "Isn't this schizophrenia?"

For example, the Southern Party opposed the king's approach to the Ming Dynasty, but at the same time supported the Ming Dynasty's troops coming to Korea. What kind of political logic is this?

However, for Lin Jinglie, it doesn’t matter what party there is in Korea. It is just a topic of conversation and has no impact on his eastern expedition business.

"Which party is he from?" Lin Tailai said, pointing at the escort Li Dexin who was standing by the river looking out.

Cui Wukui replied: "Envoy Li should be from the Southern Party, and the first two envoys beheaded by you were from the Western Party."

As they were talking, several large ships suddenly came from the other side of the river. After they approached the shore, the king and his ministers of Korea began to disembark.

Lin Tailai did not rush forward, but waited politely for the King of Korea, Lee Sun, to tidy up and adapt to the environment.

Only after the Korean king and his ministers had arranged their battle formation did Lin Tailai go over to meet them.

Looking at the Korean monarchs and ministers across from him, Lin Jinglue asked a question in great confusion before he even got close, "Which one is the king?" Cui Wukui, who was beside him, was very experienced and seemed to have been prepared. He immediately answered, "The one in the middle with the python embroidered on his chest is him. You can see it clearly when you get closer."

Then he came to Lin Tailai's rescue and said, "It's not your fault, Lord Jinglüe. I have assisted three envoys and each of them asked the same question."

At this time, the clothing of the Joseon Dynasty had a characteristic: the official uniforms of the king and his ministers were all red.
Therefore, when Ming officials first saw this scene of "the emperor and his subjects being the same color", they were often confused. How could the emperor and his subjects be the same color?
Lin Tailai looked towards the center. The current King of Korea, Lee Sun, was in his forties, with a big round face. He looked quite friendly, but he looked very haggard.

Lin Tailai suddenly felt a little ashamed. Wasn't it a bit too much that he gave someone the temple name "Xuanzong" in advance because he was too hasty?

As he thought about it, he clasped his fists and bowed as a gesture of respect, then said, "This department has been waiting for a long time. Your Highness should have crossed the river long ago."

King Yi Sun, who was truly "under the eaves", smiled bitterly and said, "The ministers were arguing endlessly and could not reach a conclusion for the time being, so it was delayed for a few more days."

Lin Tailai looked at the dozens of ministers around the king and said, "We have already encountered a catastrophic disaster, what are you still arguing about?
I have heard about two things happening in your country, which have shocked me deeply."

Li Sun asked, "What did Lin Jinglie hear?"

Lin Tailai replied: "First of all, I heard that a large number of bastards and slaves in your country have defected and are willing to be traitors to the court and work for the Japanese pirates.

For example, to the north of Pyongyang, there were a large number of traitors who served as spies for Konishi Yukinaga, making it more difficult for our heavenly troops to advance.

I wonder what the two groups of officials around His Highness think?

The second thing is that the Japanese pirates issued a notice to pacify the people and exempted them from corvée labor. Many people even enjoyed their jobs. Isn’t that ironic?”

Lin Tailai's words were a satire on the extremely corrupt "Yangban" aristocratic group of the Korean Empire. All the officials present were dissatisfied, but dared not speak out.

The Joseon Dynasty implemented the "Law for the Restraint of Bastards", which strictly distinguished between legitimate sons and illegitimate sons, and only legitimate sons could continue to inherit the yangban nobility.

The illegitimate sons of noble families were not considered nobles at all, and could only sink to become commoners. The psychological gap can be imagined. Therefore, after the Japanese soldiers came, many educated illegitimate sons simply surrendered to the Japanese.

In addition, the yangban nobles severely exploited the common people and slaves, so in some places the people even felt that the Japanese pirates were more merciful than the yangban nobles.

Lin Jinglie came up and fired at his opponent right away, and the atmosphere became tense for a moment.

King Yi Sun was speechless, and the faces of his attendants were livid.

Cui Wukui, who had traveled between the two countries several times, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over with the Korean monarch and his ministers:
"The governor is just angry about the situation, and he speaks his mind. There is no need for our allies to be surprised. Please enter the city and rest! The governor will host a banquet tonight!"

After parting with the Joseon king and his ministers, Cui Wukui could not help but say to Lin Tai: "Why did you embarrass them, Lord Jinglüe?"

Lin Tailai replied with great social wisdom: "If someone is willing to make friends with me after suffering such humiliation, then he is useful."

However, not long after Lin Tailai returned to the Jinglüe Mansion, his escort Li Dexin hurried over.

"There's a problem with the seats at tonight's banquet," said Li Dexin.

Lin Tailai asked in surprise: "What's the problem?"

Li Dexin said anxiously: "How can the governor and our king sit facing each other? According to etiquette, our king should face south and back to the north."

Lin Tailai asked back, "Then how do you say I should sit? If your king faces south with his back to the north, then whether I sit on the east, west or south, wouldn't it be like a subordinate position?

The key is that this is on the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Can I sit like that? Can I be a vassal of a foreign vassal king?"

Li Dexin: “.”

It is a sophistry, but it is difficult to refute.

Lin Tailai said impatiently: "If it really doesn't work, just cancel the dinner! The current military situation is urgent, so it is understandable to keep everything simple.

Besides, your country has been destroyed, so it is only natural for the king and his ministers to cancel the banquet.

Jiulian City will soon be the place where the army passes through. Your country's monarch and ministers should go to Kuandian Fort in the north as soon as possible to stay temporarily!"

Li Dexin was stunned for a moment, then said dejectedly, "That's fine."

In the evening, Li Dexin came to the Jinglüe Shogunate again, but this time he came not for official business, but privately, and brought another person with him.

"This is our country's Right State Councilor Liu Chenglong." Li Dexin introduced him to Lin Tailai.

The name sounded familiar. After thinking for a moment, Lin Tailai asked, "Is he the leader of the Southern Party?"

It seems that this person in history had close contacts with Li Rusong and was considered Li Rusong's number one confidant in Korea. With the help of Li Rusong, he became the prime minister of Korea step by step.

Liu Chenglong: “.”

How do you respond to this? Can it be more embarrassing?
Lin Tailai asked the servant to serve tea, and then said, "Let's be frank and tell you what you want to say."

Liu Chenglong took out a map of Pyongyang from his sleeve, showed it to Lin Tailai, and replied: "I have come to assist the governor to recapture Pyongyang."

The value of a detailed map for a battle is self-evident.

After saying this, Liu Chenglong looked at Lin Jinglie indifferently, waiting for Lin Jinglie, who was unfamiliar with the place, to show his desire for knowledge, and then "ask questions without hesitation."

Lin Tailai was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the map, then stood up and took a scroll of atlas from the shelf next to him.

After unfolding it, he said to Liu Chenglong: "It seems that the map in our department's hands is not bad."

Liu Chenglong: “.”

The routine can't go on any longer, how can we move on?
"Don't go through the motions, just be direct!" Lin Jinglue said impatiently, "I can support you to be the leader of the council and suppress other parties!
I want four: garrison, port leasing, tariffs, and mining!"

Liu Chenglong asked: "How to support?"

Lin Tailai replied: "I ask the king of your country to give you certain military powers, so that you can lead part of your country's troops to follow my Ming Dynasty troops.

Once you recover the territory, you will naturally gain a lot of military merit, and it will be easy to make further progress."

Liu Chenglong and Li Dexin looked at each other. The prospect proposed by Lord Lin Jinglüe was indeed very tempting, and Lord Jinglüe did have the ability to do so.

But the conditions demanded were indeed difficult. The four major items of garrison, ports, tariffs and mines were all suspected of being treasonous, making them unable to make a decision for the time being.

Lin Jinglue waved his hand and sent the guests away, saying, "Go back and think about it carefully!
If you don't want to, I'll go ask Yin Doushou from the Western Party, or Zheng what's that from the Northern Party."

(End of this chapter)