King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 596 Before the decisive battle
[There is an easter egg at the end of the chapter: decisive battle situation map]

October 25, North Korea, Seoul.

It snowed heavily and the temperature was extremely low. Li Hui, who was standing by the stove, couldn't help but shudder.

The weather was cold and his heart felt even colder. Because Yizhou's conspiracy to rebel had already implicated him, so today, for the sake of his family, he was placed under house arrest by his father in the Yijin Mansion.

"Uiju was captured, and the Northern Army suffered heavy losses. The Ping'an Road was no longer safe to defend. There was only the small Yellow Sea Road in front of it, and there were no soldiers to defend it..."

"Do you think you can stop the imperial army with only the 20,000 soldiers and horses in Seoul, plus the 20,000 people recruited?"

Originally, the combat effectiveness of the remaining troops was mediocre, but now the morale of the troops has been turbulent due to the huge defeat on the front line. In addition, the Korean scholars are restless. It is extremely difficult to defend Seoul.

Therefore, in Li Hui's opinion, if his father has not yet reached the extreme level of insanity, he should quickly surrender at this time, pray for the emperor's forgiveness as much as possible, and leave the responsibility to his subordinates.

Compared with worrying about his father, Li Hui is actually more worried about his own fate.

His family knew about his family affairs, and if he was really found guilty, he would most likely be killed by his furious father.

"The first thing for you right now is to survive, and then you can make other plans!"

"Madam... I am lucky to be able to marry you!" Li Hui stood up and said.

After hearing this, Li Hui finally understood, and his mood improved a lot.

Just when he was thinking wildly, his wife Cui Xiuqing walked into the room and then retreated from the few people serving in the room.

Cui Xiuqing said word by word: "Remember, those things were all done by Li Jiong. You are a pure and filial good son!"

Although King Xiang alone has the final say in who owns the throne, no one can deny his right to speak.

So now Li Hui was so panicked that the lunch on the table was cold and he didn't even move his chopsticks.

"I……"

Seeing Li Hui thoughtful, Cui Xiuqing said slowly: "As long as this one is killed, you will be fine!"

"I see!"

Cui Xiuqing broke away and said: "When I have nothing to do on weekdays, I pay attention to everything. I can always buy and read the newspapers from the Ming Dynasty. I can control these news!"

If Lord Mingchuan is really hated by King Xiang, he might be highly recommended based on his friendship with Zhu Jinghong.

Few women in this era pay as much attention to practical matters as Cui Xiuqing, which shows that her ambition is not small.

"It must be so!" Cui Xiuqing confirmed directly.

"Other plans? Do you still think I have a chance?"

"Shun Chuanjun has made great contributions, how can I still have a chance!" Li Hui shook his head helplessly.

"It's not like the sky is falling, so why are you so panicked!"

After getting closer, Cui Xiuqing grabbed her husband's hand and said, "Remember...those things were all done by your uncle and have nothing to do with you at all!"

"Okay... you can rest easy for now and get through this difficulty. Let's talk about the future!"

"Besides, King Xiang doesn't have the final say on who will succeed him. It also depends on His Majesty's wishes!"

The so-called opportunity here refers to succeeding Li Shuo as king, which Li Hui thinks is impossible.

Cui Xiuqing smiled and said, "It is precisely because His Majesty has the final say that I say we still have a chance!"

"Why?" Li Hui became increasingly puzzled.

"What does this mean?"

"What's the news?" Li Hui asked quickly.

This is not to blame Cui Xiuqing. She has lived in the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years and has seen too much of the world. She even almost chose to be the prince and concubine.

While Li Hui and his wife were discussing countermeasures, the palace hall was also discussing countermeasures.

Li Hui looked up at his wife and sneered: "You put it lightly, this time a disaster is coming, I'm afraid I won't survive for a few days!"

The Cui family is a large family in North Korea. There are currently more than twenty people in the family serving as officials. It is extremely normal for someone to be in Anzhou.

"It means that he does not believe in King Xiang, and the officials in the court are extremely at odds with His Highness King Xiang. He went to find those people... What do you want His Highness King Xiang to think?"

"My uncle told me that Li Jiong has sent envoys to the capital of gods to promote himself to the throne!"

Cui Xiuqing asked, "He has made great contributions, but does he have any friendship with Prince Xiang? Are there any female relatives in his family who are close to Princess Xiang?"

"Seriously?" Li Hui was still a little panicked.

"It's just madam...how do you know the news here so clearly?"

"This is a charge of treason!" Li Hui lowered his voice and patted the table.

Li Hui shook his head repeatedly. He understood what his wife meant, but he still said: "King Xiang has always been very clear about rewards and punishments. I'm afraid he won't pay attention to these relatives!"

"I just want you to stay in the mansion temporarily, why did you think of that?"

"My uncle was stationed in Anzhou before. Later, Anzhou was occupied by the imperial army. He fled back to the capital a few days ago and revealed a piece of news to me!"

Therefore, when she came to North Korea, she would feel superior to others, and if she didn't make a difference, she would always feel at a loss.

"What does the charge of treason have to do with you?" Cui Xiuqing asked.

"The reason why you are being slandered is because someone is driving a wedge between you father and son and wants to see the royal family make a fool of yourself!"

Now that the Ping An Road is almost completely lost, for Li Shuo and his son, if they don't stop the Ming army as soon as possible and wait for it to cross the Yellow Sea Road and advance towards Gyeonggi Road, they will be finished without fighting them.

During this North Korean meeting, the Japanese envoy was also present, discussing countermeasures with North Korea.

The final result was that they would try their best to draw troops from various places and rush to Hwanghae Province to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Ming army.

If this battle is won, North Korea still has a chance to turn around. If it loses, it will be completely defeated.

The strategy was agreed upon. In addition to retaining basic defensive forces on Hamgyong Road, North Korea collected the defeated troops on Ping'an Road and mobilized garrisons from various places, including Seoul, to form a total of 40,000 troops.

Including the 30,000 Japanese troops who landed and the young men recruited to fight, the number was almost 100,000.

As for Zhu Jinghong, he only has more than 30,000 troops at his disposal, and it is difficult for troops from other directions to support him in a short time.

On October 29, twenty miles north of Changyuan City on Huanghai Road, Zhu Jinghong was stationed on a high mountain, observing the situation ahead with a telescope.

On October 15th, he captured Yizhou, and nearly half a month has passed.

The main force of the Uiju Imperial Army was defeated. In the past half month, he had traveled southward without encountering much resistance. The main factor that restricted his marching speed was the supply of grain and grass provided by the Liaodong Navy.

Now he is marching close to the coast. On the one hand, it is a plain for traveling, and at the same time, it is also convenient for receiving the grain and grass transported by the navy.

Recently he drove into the Yellow Sea Road, and the journey was still very smooth until he came to the outside of Changyuan City.

In order to ensure the safety of Seoul, North Korea mobilized a large army for defense, and its 100,000 troops were stationed inside and outside Changyuan.

Because Changyuan is located at the throat, if the Ming army wants to continue to advance towards Seoul, it must defeat Changyuan. The military strength is ten to three, and North Korea has a city as a barrier, and they are waiting for work... Objectively speaking, they have a huge advantage.

It is already the middle of winter, and even if the Ming army is well prepared to withstand the cold, it is really not easy to conduct such a high-intensity battle in the snow.

So at this moment, Zhu Jinghong frowned, thinking about how to make a decision.

Should he retreat dozens of miles north to the city and fight again in the spring next year? Or should he capture Changyuan in one go... Zhu Jinghong hesitated for a while.

Taking Changyuan means destroying the main force of North Korea. Li Shuo will no longer have the capital to suppress various factions. Almost all the scholars who submitted to him will abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side.

In other words, as long as Changyuan wins the battle, North Korea will be basically pacified.

While Zhu Jinghong was thinking about it, the staff officers who followed him were personally leading the team to investigate and recorded the situation in detail.

After delaying for half an hour, Zhu Jinghong still could not make up his mind, and then he returned to a market town in the rear, where the Ming army was stationed.

When Zhu Jinghong returned, all the soldiers he met along the way saluted him, just because they had made a lot of money by fighting along the way.

There was no way, there were too many spoils of war, even excluding the things handed over to the court, there was still enough left for everyone to share the profit.

Arriving at the center of the market town, Zhu Jinghong jumped off his horse, and Yu Hai came up to tell him: "Your Majesty... Lord Sunchuan Li Jiong is here, and he has brought a lot of food, wine and meat. He is waiting in the house now!"

"Yeah!" Zhu Jinghong's attitude was cold.

Just as Li Hui and his wife thought, Zhu Jinghong had already learned from Jin Yiwei that Li Jiong sent people to the capital to build relations.

Zhu Jinghong was already very unhappy with this overly active Mr. Sunchuan, so he was not very happy even if the other party came to reward the army.

After entering the gate, he saw Li Jiong coming out, which made Zhu Jinghong very uncomfortable.

"See Your Highness!"

Instructing Li Jiong to stand up, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "I heard that you brought beef, sheep, wine and meat, I can't help you!"

Although he was dissatisfied with this person, Zhu Jinghong did not show it. After all, he had to put on a show for the Korean scholars.

Li Jiong was loyal to the court and worked hard to raise food and grass to supply military supplies. He was not treated politely. What do you want others to think...

"Your Highness is serious, this is all my duty!"

"You are a loyal and hard-working person. I will definitely go to the meeting to ask for credit for you!"

If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it. Since he knows what Li Jiong cares about, Zhu Jinghong doesn't mind giving him a little sweetness.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness!" Li Jiong suddenly smiled.

"Okay... I have something else to do, so I won't talk to you any more. Let's talk some other time when we have time!"

"Yes!"

Although he only said these two sentences, Li Jiong still felt very satisfied. At least Zhu Jinghong had a good impression of him.

Zhu Jinghong entered the inner house and stood in front of the map, thinking about how to choose.

In Changyuan City, more than 20 miles away, the North Korean generals were also worried.

Although they had the advantage, successive defeats had made the army lose confidence. Only the Japanese who assisted in the battle still maintained strong combat effectiveness.

In order to ensure the success of this battle, the crown prince Li Xuan personally came to Changyuan to supervise the battle. At this time, he was facing a problem.

The Japanese who came to help in the war were too beastly. They committed acts of prostitution, robbery, murder, and arson everywhere, which aroused serious public indignation in various places in Changyuan.

This morning, when the young men who were drafted saw their compatriots being brutalized, they couldn't bear it and fought with the Japanese, eventually resulting in fifteen deaths and forty injuries.

The leader on the North Korean side is Park Jundae, who fights bravely.

This guy is really lucky. He has survived so many battles and has reached the position of Qianhu.

If the war had not broken out, Pu Junda would never have dared to imagine that he would have been able to meet the crown prince.

"Why is this? You don't know that the Japanese are our allies?" Li Xuan asked in a deep voice.

Pu Junda replied: "Those beasts harmed the people, and their cruel methods were simply inhuman. I couldn't bear it... so I led others to take action!"

Li Xuan is a careful person, so before meeting Park Jundae, he specifically learned about his resume.

If he had not learned that Park Jundae was a tiger general, Li Xuan would not have chosen to meet him at all, but would have handed him over to the Japanese directly.

After staring at Pu Junda for a while, Li Xuan said; "You should know that now our country relies on Japan for help. You killed his people...it makes me very embarrassed!"

Hearing these words, Pu Junda couldn't help but feel sad, because these words were so hurtful. As the crown prince, Li Xuan didn't care about the people at all.

"Now, there are two ways... One is to hand you over to the Japanese and let them do whatever they want!"

"Second, I will give you two thousand troops, and you can go out of the city to reinforce the Yuandong Mountain garrison!"

On the east and west sides of Changyuan to the north, there is a mountain overlooking the city. In order to ensure the safety of the city, North Korea sent troops to defend it.

The current situation is that there are too many people crowded in Changyuan City, and the numerical advantage cannot be reflected at all, so Li Xuan thought of sending troops out of the city for reinforcements.

"I am willing to go out of the city for reinforcements!" Pu Junda said without hesitation.

"Very good... just go out and someone will tell you how to do it!"

"Yes!"

Pu Jun saluted and turned to leave. When he reached the door, he heard a voice from behind: "You did a good job today!"

Turning around, Pu Jun saluted and said, "This is what I should do!"

"Go!" Li Xuan rarely smiled.

He released Pu Junda, so how to appease the Japanese became a headache for him again.

As soon as Pu Junda left the courtyard, someone came to him and took him to a military camp.

In this nearly month-long battle, Pu Junda's fellow countrymen and friends either died or dispersed.

The hundreds of people he is leading are the defeated troops he recruited himself, and now he has to add another two thousand people, which makes his strength even stronger.

But when he arrived at the place and saw that the so-called two thousand soldiers and horses were all young people recruited from various places, his heart instantly became cold.

Can these people fight? In particular, guarding is the most dangerous place. Park Jundae is really unsure about this.

Now that the military order has been issued, they have to take it whether they can or not, so after Pu Junda complained a few words, he led the group of "soldiers" out of the city.

Pu Junda was not idle on the way. He first went to the lower-level officers of the army, told them the situation and made demands.

Since there is Yuandong Mountain, there is also Yuanxi Mountain.

These two mountains are both to the north of Changyuan City. They can be said to be a pair of hands stretched out by Changyuan, and they serve as horns to each other to protect the city.

As long as these two places are guarded, the gate of Changyuan will be preserved, and everything will be safe and sound.

(End of this chapter)