Daming talker

Chapter 686: The Favor of the Ming Dynasty

After returning to their residence, Right State Councillor Ryu Seong-ryong and Minister of Personnel Lee Deok-hee, two core members of the Southern Party, discussed the "Lin Tai-rae Four Articles" until midnight.

Finally, Li Dexin made up his mind and said, "Promise him first!"

Liu Chenglong said in confusion: "What do you mean by agree first?"

Li Dexin analyzed: "Now we actually have no choice. If we do not agree to Lin Jinglue's conditions, and other party members are willing to agree, then we will be completely passive.

So now we can only seize the opportunity and agree to Lin Jinglie's conditions in order to obtain Lin Jinglie's full support!
Anyway, the territory has not been recovered yet, so those conditions do not need to be fulfilled immediately. As for the future, we can talk about it in the future!"

This means that you should get the benefits first, and then find ways to deny it if it doesn't work later.

Liu Chenglong then sighed: "Even if it is like drinking poison to quench thirst, it seems that this is the only way."

The next day, Liu Chenglong and Li Dexin hurried to visit the Jinglüe Shogunate again early in the morning.

But when they reached the gate, they saw Yin Doushou, the leader of the Western Party, walking out.

Liu Chenglong and Li Dexin felt nervous, not knowing what Yin Doushou and Lin Jinglie had talked about, or whether they had reached an agreement.

But they also knew that even if they approached and asked, Yin Doushou would not give a clear answer.

Therefore, the two of them just exchanged glances with Yin Doushou at the gate and passed by each other without saying a word. Not fighting directly was a sign of respect from the Southern Party and the Western Party to the Shogunate.

When Liu Chenglong and Li Dexin entered the shogunate, they saw Lin Jinglie dressed in a Qilin suit ready to go, so they asked, "Where are you going, Master Jinglie?"

Lin Tailai replied, "I am just about to go and pay my respects to your Majesty the King, to ask about his well-being, and to demonstrate the courtesy of the Ming Dynasty."

Li Dexin: “.”

Mr. Lin, do you have any misunderstanding about the four words "courtesy and consideration"?
As a "distant reception envoy" and "accompanying reception envoy" with whom he had dealt several times, he understood Lin Jinglüe's diplomatic etiquette very well.

However, when Liu Chenglong heard that Lin Jinglue was going to see the king, he immediately said, "I agree to the four points you mentioned yesterday!"

When Lin Jinglue meets with the king, they will definitely discuss military and national affairs and cooperation matters. This is a perfect opportunity to recommend himself for the position.

Lin Tailai looked at Liu Chenglong, "These four points were proposed yesterday. Since you only agreed to them today, we have to add one more! Judicial power!
If a Ming citizen in Korea committed a crime, he could only be tried by Ming officials according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. "

Liu Chenglong was slightly stunned. Why was there a temporary addition?
Lin Jinglie said maliciously: "What? You want to go back and think about it again?"

"No need to think about it anymore, I personally agree to everything!" Liu Chenglong gritted his teeth and said, "As long as I can govern."

He knew very well that if he didn't agree this time, he might add another one next time! Anyway, he had already agreed to the garrison, port, tariffs, and mining, so he didn't care about adding another judicial provision.

Liu Chenglong originally thought that Lin Jinglie would ask him to write a document or something, but he didn't. It seemed that Lin Jinglie just wanted a verbal agreement.

"I understand. When I meet your king later, I will recommend you to assist the heavenly soldiers." Lin Tailai said lightly.

After leaving the shogunate, Lin Tailai went to the mansion to meet the King of Korea, Yi Sun.

"Your Highness, how did you sleep yesterday? Are you used to the food?" Lin Jinglue asked symbolically.

Lee Sun replied very politically correctly: "Under the protection of the Ming Dynasty, I can finally sleep peacefully."

"Alas!" Lin Jinglie sighed, "Your Highness slept soundly, but I am worried and unable to sleep."

Li Cheng was speechless. Is there such a way to chat? How can others respond to this?
However, Lee Sun, who was living under someone else's roof, still asked, "Where does worry come from?"

Lin Tailai sighed again and replied, "Every time I think about the cost of at least three million silver taels in the coming year, I can't help but worry."

Lee Sun: “.”

Even if he was the King of Korea, three million taels of silver was an astronomical figure.

"Are there so many?" Li Cheng couldn't help but question.

Lin Tailai immediately responded, "Your Highness, please sit down and listen to my calculations on how much it would cost to mobilize 100,000 troops to the east.

The first thing is food and fodder. I have discussed with Li Dexin before that we need to transport 800,000 shi of food and fodder to Korea every year. If we reduce the cost, we can convert it into 1 million silver taels.

Then there was the salary of the officers and soldiers, one tael per person per month, plus five cents per month for clothing and hats, and rewards, totaling one tael and five cents per month.
In this way, each person's annual salary is 18 taels of silver, and 100,000 soldiers will have a total of 1.8 million taels of silver.

Therefore, the total amount of food, fodder and military pay alone was already 2.8 million taels.

Add to that other items, such as the loss of war horses, pensions for the dead, purchase of mules and horses, emergency shipbuilding, etc., three million taels a year is already too little!
My Great Ming spent millions of taels of silver, all for Your Highness!"

King Li, unable to bear such a great favor, wanted to pretend to be deaf and shouted "I can't hear you", but Lin Tailai was just about to smear the number on his face, making it impossible to avoid.

He could only say something that was free and irresponsible: "I am deeply grateful for the great kindness of His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and it is difficult for me to repay you even a little bit!"

Lin Tailai suddenly added: "In fact, if your country is sincere, it is not impossible to repay."

King Li was stunned and said, "Our people are weak and poor. Even if we use up all our money and food, we can't give much to repay the kindness of three million taels of silver."

Lin Tailai solemnly advised: "Your Highness is wrong! Farming and rice are the foundation of the country. They are related to the lives of tens of millions of people. The foundation cannot be harmed in any way.

The Ming Dynasty has always been benevolent and will never use kindness to collect money and food from your country, putting your people between life and death!

Therefore, we should repay the kindness of His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty with mines, ports, tariffs, and other things that do not harm the foundation of the country. "

King Li was a little confused by what he said, and habitually said, "I will discuss it with my ministers."

Lin Tailai did not expect to be able to do things according to King Li's orders today. He just made a draft first, and then started talking about other things:
"This time the Ming army is entering your country, and we need your powerful ministers to assist us and ensure that your army and civilians cooperate with the Ming army.

I have talked with several officials from your country in the past two days, and I feel that Right State Councillor Liu Chenglong is the most courageous and has a broad perspective, and is the most suitable person."

Lee Sun did not hesitate and readily agreed, "Yes."

The Ming Dynasty's official army has absolute control, so they can only send whoever Lin Tailai specifically requests. There is no other choice.

If you insist on replacing someone else, it won't be of any use at all, and it might even be confusing.

King Li then issued an order to appoint Liu Chenglong as the Inspector of the Three Provinces, Governor-General of all military affairs, and to coordinate with the troops on the northern route.

Having said what he needed to say, Lin Jinglüe took his leave and said before leaving: "After Liu Chenglong expresses his gratitude, I will let him go to the Jinglüe shogunate to plan the army's campaign against the Japanese.

In addition, the army will soon cross the river from Jiuliancheng to the east, so Your Highness is requested to set off for Kuandian as soon as possible to avoid hindering the army's passage through Jiuliancheng."

Immediately, Yi Sun summoned all the ministers and asked, "Lin said that he wanted our country to repay the emperor's kindness with mines, ports, and tariffs. Why?" Jin Ronggui, who was in charge of the Central Government, said, "If this is the beginning, then Korea is not the king's!"

Most of the ministers agreed, saying that this was the general truth.

Li Dexin glanced at Liu Chenglong and said, "The heavenly soldiers are about to march. We can pretend to be cautious and respond to the situation later."

King Li hesitated for a moment and then gave the order: "Go to Kuandian Fort tomorrow and avoid Lin for the time being."

Lin Tailai's aura is too strong. Even as a king, the pressure of contacting Lin Tailai is too great. It is better to hide for now.

Are all the powerful officials in the Shangbang Dynasty so imposing?

Lin Tailai returned to the shogunate, and in the afternoon, Liu Chenglong, who was appointed as the Inspector General of the Three Provinces and Governor-General of All Military Affairs, came to "report", and he seemed to be in a good mood.

"Thank you, Lord General, for your support!" Liu Chenglong was even in the mood to thank him, and for a moment he might have forgotten that he also had to pay something.

Lin Jinglue was completely indifferent to these official positions in the Kingdom of Korea. He patted the map on the desk and said to Liu Chenglong: "Don't be self-indulgent and start working!"

Liu Chenglong looked at Lin Jinglie in surprise. Wasn't it enough to just "sell out the country"? Why did he have to do anything else?
Lin Tailai didn't care what Liu Chenglong thought, and directly introduced: "It is said that although Konishi Yukinaga, the commander of the first corps of the Japanese army, stopped advancing north after arriving in Pyongyang, he planted many spies in Sunan, Sukchon, Anzhou and other places north of Pyongyang.

Most of these spies are bastards and slaves, and they will report all the military intelligence and developments they have discovered to the Japanese soldiers in Pyongyang!

Therefore, these Japanese spies scattered around the north of Pyongyang will hinder the actions of our Ming soldiers, so let the Pyongyang Japanese soldiers be warned as soon as possible! "

The Japanese First Corps stopped advancing when it arrived in Pyongyang. There are still several hundred miles between Pyongyang and the Yalu River, which has been acting as a buffer zone.

In this area, the power of the North Korean government can still play a role. Of course, the area where the North Korean government can play a role is only this small area.

Liu Chenglong was not a fool after all, and he understood what he meant. "Lord General wants me to go to the northern part of Pyeongan Province to eliminate these spies?"

Lin Tailai nodded and said, "Yes! I will send you to do your best to catch all these spies and execute all those suspected of treason!
My opinion is that it is better to kill three hundred people by mistake than to let one escape!"

Hearing this, Liu Chenglong was a little surprised and realized that Lin Tailai attached great importance to eliminating the spies in the court.

Lin Tailai explained perfunctorily: "Only by completely eliminating these traitors can we catch them by surprise as much as possible after the army crosses the river!"

Liu Chenglong thought that the heavenly army was trying their best to keep their marching movements secret in order to advance to Pyongyang.

In fact, Lin Tailai had a plan in another direction, which required the march to be kept secret, so he attached great importance to eliminating the traitors in the northern part of Pyeongan Province.

After Lin Tailai gave the task, he asked Liu Chenglong, "How long will it take you?"

Liu Chenglong frowned and thought for a while, "It should take a month."

"Too slow!" Lin Tailai said bluntly, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. How can we wait for a month?"

Liu Chenglong defended himself by saying, "It is not easy to search and identify the people in several places."

Lin Tailai pointed out impatiently, "The leader of this group of spies in northern Pyongyang is called Jin Shunliang. He may be active in Anzhou or Sukchon. You should go find this person!

As long as we catch him and torture him severely, we can get a list of dozens of key members, and then catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Liu Chenglong: “.”

What does this mean? Did the Ming Dynasty's heavenly soldiers and generals really open their eyes?

"Ten days, I only give you ten days!" Lin Jinglue ordered, "No matter what, in ten days, my Ming Dynasty soldiers will cross the river! How much support you can get depends on your performance."

Listening to Lin Jinglue's unquestionable node instructions, Liu Chenglong suddenly felt like he was caught in a high-speed war machine.

At this time, a military officer with an odd temperament walked into the lobby and saluted Lin Jinglie.

"What's the situation?" Lin Tailai said coldly.

The military officer replied confidently, "I have accomplished my mission! I have convinced Konishi Yukinaga to agree to a peace agreement!"

Hearing the word "peace talks", Liu Chenglong, who had not yet left, was suddenly shocked!

How could this great minister of strategy of the Ming Dynasty secretly negotiate peace with the Japanese pirates? Where would that put the Kingdom of Korea?

If they were to "negotiate peace" under the current situation, wouldn't the Korean monarch and his ministers just surrender directly?

Lin Tailai glanced at Liu Chenglong who was in a daze and asked tentatively: "What do you think?"

Liu Chenglong said with a bitter face: "I don't understand, please enlighten me, Lord Jinglüe."

Lin Tailai's evaluation of Liu Chenglong was slightly higher, because Liu Chenglong did not jump up and criticize him righteously without thinking twice.

That is why Lin Tailai explained: "The so-called peace talks were only to confuse Konishi Yukinaga, reduce his defensiveness and vigilance, and lower the fighting spirit of the Japanese soldiers."

Then he pointed at the military officer with a strange temperament and introduced him to Liu Chenglong:

"This is Shen Weijing, the fake guerrilla commander. He is well versed in the Japanese situation and asked for a long rope to pretend to rush to the Japanese camp to discuss peace with Konishi Yukinaga.

Now that the weather is getting colder, the Japanese soldiers in Pyongyang are from Kyushu, Japan. As they are not used to the climate, many of them are homesick and tired of fighting.

If they hear about the peace talks, the Japanese soldiers will surely be excited and relax, which will be beneficial to our army's siege of the city.

Besides, Konishi Yukinaga was originally a businessman. He had no strong desire to fight and was inclined to negotiate peace, so he was easily deceived.

Before the siege, even if he discovered our army's tracks, he could still argue that he came to negotiate peace."

Liu Chenglong was stunned. Lord Lin Jinglie's war preparations were so detailed that every aspect was taken into consideration and utilized.

He is worthy of being the person sent by the Celestial Empire to turn the tide. He is truly extraordinary.

After Lin Tailai finished speaking, he warned Liu Chenglong, "Send Shen Weijing to contact Konishi Yukinaga. This is a confidential matter!

Now, apart from me and Shen Weijing, you are the only one who understands it best. If the matter is leaked, it can only be leaked from you!"

Liu Chenglong lowered his head and said, "I understand!"

"Go do your work!" Lin Jinglie waved his hand, "Remember, you only have ten days!"

Then Lin Jinglüe issued an order to all the troops, asking them to be ready to go to war at any time from today onwards.

(End of this chapter)