Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 188 General Mao’s Responsibility
But even though Zhu Tianqi no longer planned to embarrass Jin Sangxian, he still had to say some things in advance. He snorted coldly and said: "What you said sounded nice, but when you betrayed me, the Ming Dynasty, and formed an alliance with Jiannu, Why don't you remember this so-called 'father-son relationship'?
And from my point of view, if I hadn't defeated Jiannu last year, I'm afraid you wouldn't think of asking me for help from Daming now, maybe you would go to Jiannu to beg for mercy, saying something like 'an elder brother is like a father' Already? "

Although Zhu Tianqi's words didn't sound nice, they were rough and rational, and every word of them hit the mark of the Joseon royal court, making Kim Sang-hyun blush.

Because what the Emperor Ming said was right, after the 47th year of Wanli’s Battle of Sarhu, Ming and North Korea united, claiming to have an army of 47, and attacked Jiannu, but they were defeated by 6 Jiannu, with [-] casualties. There was more than ten thousand, but heavy losses.

Affected by this war, the prestige of the Ming Dynasty as the supreme power of the Celestial Dynasty has been ruined, and North Korea has fallen even more. Li Hui, the king of North Korea at the time, even took the initiative to send an envoy to send gifts to Jian Nu. It is said that it was because Jian Nu released Sa. In the Battle of Erhu, North Korea surrendered its soldiers and captured prisoners. From then on, North Korea began to adopt a neutral policy towards Jiannu and the Ming Dynasty.

But anyone can see that the so-called "neutrality" means that they no longer regard the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain state, no longer obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty, unite against the slaves, and have a tendency to make friends with the slaves.

The Battle of Sarhu allowed North Korea to see the power of Jiannu and the weakness of the Ming army, so they began to waver!

This situation did not change until the current North Korean king Li Zhu succeeded to the throne. This was not because Li Zhu was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but because after he launched a coup and seized the throne from his uncle Gwanghaejun Li Hui, in order to He rectified his name, obtained "legal certification" for his throne, and asked the Ming Dynasty, the suzerain country, to canonize him as "King of Korea", so he once again regarded Ming Dynasty as the suzerain.

However, the ministers of the Korean Kingdom may not really be willing to regard the Ming Dynasty as the "Celestial Kingdom". Otherwise, why would the Korean peace faction gain the upper hand in the subsequent Battle of Dingmao and finally sign a contract with Jiannu? This is the "brotherly alliance"!
It’s not that North Korea doesn’t have people with backbone, it’s just that there are too few people with such backbone!

Now that the main force of Jiannu has been wiped out by the Ming Dynasty, the Korean monarchs and ministers once again realized the strong strength of the Ming Dynasty. So this time, when they encountered the threat from Jiannu again, they did not choose to compromise directly, but He placed his hope on Daming.

It is hoped that the crisis faced by North Korea can be relieved through the assistance of the Ming Dynasty and the suzerain-vassal relationship with the Ming Dynasty can be repaired!
Kim Sang-hyun knew that what North Korea had done over the years could not be forgiven by the Ming Dynasty. No matter what explanation he gave, it would be in vain. But no matter what, he asked for the Ming Dynasty's assistance this time, even if he sacrificed his life for it. No hesitation, so Jin Shangxian gritted his teeth, and suddenly said loudly: "North Korea is to blame for the betrayal of the Ming Dynasty!

However, the foreign minister boldly believed that the Ming Dynasty was also responsible for causing Korea to be defeated by the slaves and forced to negotiate peace! "

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately scolded: "Kim Sang-hyun, you are so bold!"

Zhu Tianqi frowned slightly, raised his hand to stop Xu Guangqi, and raised his chin to Jin Shangxian: "Let him say it, I want to hear it, where is the responsibility of Ming Dynasty?"

Since Jin Shangxian had become "bold", he naturally had no scruples at this time. "When Ding Mao was in chaos, the foreign ministers were ordered to cause trouble in the Ming Dynasty, so they immediately submitted a letter to the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of War. Although the Ming Dynasty immediately ordered Liaodong and Denglai to send troops to relieve the siege, Yuan Futai, the governor of Liaodong, did not send troops to rescue in time. By the time the troops from Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty arrived at Pidao, our North Korean army was already defeated!
Liaodong and Korea are across the sea, so it would be understandable if the reinforcements were late. However, General Mao, the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town, who lives in Pidao, refused to send a single soldier to help Korea. He just refused to save him. Bar? "

Zhu Tianqi's brows suddenly frowned. In fact, regarding the follow-up of the Dingmao Battle, Daming had also gone through a period of summary and discussion within the Ming Dynasty. One of the key points was to discuss the merits and demerits of Mao Wenlong, the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town.

It is an exaggeration for North Korea to say that Mao Wenlong did not send a single soldier. However, Mao Wenlong did not have as outstanding military exploits as written in his newspaper. He did not put in much effort to rescue North Korea. Regarding North Korea being enslaved, Defeat comes with a certain amount of responsibility.

However, Mao Wenlong's problem was an internal problem of Ming Dynasty and could not be used as an excuse for North Korea to blame Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Tianqi immediately retorted: "You, North Korea, have been a country for hundreds of years, but you cannot protect yourself in the face of a powerful enemy. Instead, you want to defeat it." Isn't it a bit shameful to push the responsibility of the country to the reinforcements of the Zong Kingdom?"

Jin Sangxian suddenly felt ashamed and angry, speechless.

Zhu Tianqi continued: "We, the Ming Dynasty, have specifically discussed Mao Wenlong's issue. Although there are many falsehoods in his report, it is not like you said that he was unwilling to send out a single soldier. Rescue North Korea, otherwise where would the North Korea you have today be?"

If North Korea is unable to protect itself, then Kim Sang-hyun can only hate his country's incompetence, so he is ashamed and angry. However, if North Korea is saved because of Mao Wenlong, Kim Sang-heon is 1 unconvinced.

However, he is not a fool, and he has not forgotten that he came here to ask Daming for help, so even if he is dissatisfied with Mao Wenlong in his heart, he can't talk about other things now. There is even less hope for rescuing North Korea.

When Zhu Tianqi saw that Jin Sangxian was no longer talking, he slowly put down the tea cup and said: "That's it, that's all, I won't make it difficult for you anymore. I'm thinking of your sincerity to the country and North Korea's sincerity to the Ming Dynasty. If you want to repent, I will help you just once!"

When Jin Shangxian heard this, he immediately raised his head and looked at Zhu Tianqi in disbelief. He did not expect that the Ming Emperor would suddenly relent and agree to rescue North Korea, especially since he was still arguing about Mao Wenlong just now.

But he quickly realized that in any case, now that the Ming Emperor had relented, what he needed to do most now was to give thanks.

Jin Sangxian hurriedly kowtowed like pounding garlic, showing gratitude and bursting into tears: "Foreign minister, I kowtow to the Ming Emperor. Long live the Ming Emperor. From now on, North Korea will serve the Ming Dynasty like its father's country and will always be its vassal!"

Zhu Tianqi was very satisfied with Jin Sangxian's performance. Many of the prerequisites that he wanted to talk about in advance now no longer need to be said.

Zhu Tianqi stood up and walked towards the outside of the pavilion with his hands behind his back. "Okay, get up quickly and accompany me to climb the Long Live Mountain. I have some other things to ask you."

Naturally, Jin Sangxian did not dare to neglect, so he quickly got up from the ground, wiped away his tears overnight, and followed quickly.

Zhu Tianqi then asked Jin Shangxian about the situation in North Korea and the relationship between Jiannu and North Korea in the past few years. Finally, there was the question about Mao Wenlong.

Naturally, Jin Sangxian knew everything and said everything, and he answered truthfully, without hiding anything, because he knew that what the Ming Emperor wanted to hear now was the truth, not nice lies.

Through Jin Sangxian, Zhu Tianqi learned that since North Korea was forced to form an alliance with the Jiannu, it had to provide [-] kilograms of food to the Jiannu every year, either as gifts or by selling them, in addition to a large amount of cloth, furs, spices, and tea. , medicinal materials, etc., to a large extent, solved the urgent need for slavery in terms of food and materials.

However, the current King of Korea, Li Zhu, still loves the Ming Dynasty. He deliberately cut corners when it came to the gifts he sent to the slaves and the mutual market transactions between the two parties. He also never completely cut off contact with the Ming Dynasty, so the situation was not that bad. The Ming Dynasty faced North Korea is also still in a state of disconnection.

It was precisely because of North Korea's negative attitude that it aroused the dissatisfaction of the Jiannu. Then in [-], the Jiannu launched the "Bingzi Rebellion", which completely reduced North Korea to a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.But now that Huang Taiji is dead and Jiannu is about to be destroyed, this "Bingzi recklessness" is impossible to happen.

There is also the issue of Mao Wenlong. Through Jin Shangxian's narration, Zhu Tianqi can feel that the monarchs, ministers and people of North Korea are very resistant and resentful towards Mao Wenlong. It is said that Mao Wenlong was rampant and illegal here and did many evil things.

During the Battle of Dingmao, Mao Wenlong not only covered up his defeat and falsely claimed his military exploits, he even allowed his subordinates to massacre Korean civilians for military merit and make a fortune from the war.

So many ministers in North Korea said that they did not want Mao Wenlong to come to rescue North Korea, because Mao Wenlong's troops were more ferocious than the slave-building troops, and they were full of poison wherever they went.

Even the King of North Korea, Li Ji, once called Mao Wenlong "no different from a beast!"

Zhu Tianqi didn't know whether Mao Wenlong was as miserable as Jin Sangxian said, but now it seems that Mao Wenlong's garrison on Pidao is somewhat similar to the beautiful country's garrison in later generations.

The difference is that today's North Korean King Li Zhu still dares to call Mao Wenlong a "beast", while the Kimchi Kingdom and Xiaoli in later generations are willing to be dogs for the soldiers of the Beautiful Country.

After returning to the palace, Zhu Tianqi summoned all the cabinet ministers. In addition to discussing the dispatch of troops to Liaodong, he also wanted to discuss how to deal with Mao Wenlong.

The reason why Zhu Tianqi chose to send troops was naturally not because he was moved by Jin Sangxian's loyalty and patriotism. Now that the three large sailing ships have been built, and after this year's preparation, many new artillery and muskets have been produced. Equip the Ming army, then the time is ripe to recover Liaodong.

So now that North Korea happened to send Kim Sang-hyun to the rescue, they could simply send troops to rescue North Korea in the name of rescuing North Korea, and earn a favor. It would be much easier to occupy the Korean Peninsula next.

As for Mao Wenlong, letting him stay in Pidao is indeed a disaster. Yuan Chonghuan wanted to mess with Mao Wenlong before, but Zhu Tianqi didn't allow it. That was because he was fully preparing to encircle and suppress the slaves, and he did not dare to touch Mao Wenlong easily for fear of causing other troubles. come, affecting the subsequent encirclement and suppression plan.

However, now that the Eight Banners Army has been destroyed and the domestic situation is very good, he can just use his hands to deal with Mao Wenlong.

Naturally, no one in the cabinet objected to Zhu Tianqi's intention to send troops to regain Liaodong. Now that the Ming Dynasty's troops are well-supplied, it is a good time to regain Liaodong in one fell swoop.

But regarding the treatment of Mao Wenlong, Qian Longxi raised objections, "Your Majesty, I believe that for Mao Wenlong, care should be given priority to!"

Zhu Tianqi nodded slowly and motioned for Qian Longxi to continue.

Qian Longxi raised his hand to salute, and then said: "Mao Wenlong has lived on Phi Island for many years and has deep roots. If he is forced to accuse him, it will be tantamount to forcing him to rebel. Mao Wenlong has tens of thousands of men and thousands of warships. Once he rebels and rebels, It has become a major trouble in Liaodong and North Korea, and it can be said that there are endless troubles.

Therefore, I think that it is better for the imperial court to appease him by commending and rewarding him first, and then transfer him to the capital on the grounds of promotion and transfer, and gradually divide his subordinates and disintegrate his power. In this way, this disaster can be eliminated. "

I have to say that Qian Longxi's brain is indeed very good, and his tricks are quite ruthless, killing people invisible!
Zhu Tianqi then looked at the other five people and asked, "What do you love, how do you feel about this plan?"

Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua both agreed, as did Lai Zongdao, Zhou Daodeng and Liu Hongxun.

So Zhu Tianqi immediately drafted an order and praised Mao Wenlong for his contribution to stationing in Dongjiang Town in recent years. He even said that the reason why the imperial court was able to successfully encircle and suppress the Eight Banners soldiers who established slaves was because of Mao Wenlong's efforts to contain the rear of the slaves.

Then he asked Qian Longxi to send the decree to Liaodong, and ordered Yuan Chonghuan to personally bring the rewards from the court to deliver the decree to Mao Wenlong. Zhu Tianqi was generous and allocated 10 taels of silver and [-] shi of grain in one go.

Naturally, Yuan Chonghuan got Qian Longxi's letter and learned the true intention of the imperial court to reward Mao Wenlong. Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan was very cooperative in this matter. He had long wanted to seize control of Pi Island in order to gain control of the slaves. The rear used troops against Liaodong.

Sending people to load the silver and grain rewarded by the court on the ship, Yuan Chonghuan took only a thousand soldiers and took a boat from Juehua Island to Phi Island.

Yuan Chonghuan was the governor of Jiliao at this time, and he was the immediate boss of Mao Wenlong, the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town. Therefore, he naturally sent someone to deliver a message to Mao Wenlong first. After receiving the news, Mao Wenlong quickly began to prepare for Yuan Chonghuan's reception.

Yuan Chonghuan set out in the early morning, so from Juehua Island to Pi Island, he had to bypass the Liaodong Peninsula, so Yuan Chonghuan's fleet did not arrive at Pi Island until the afternoon.

On the pier of Pidao, flags were fluttering and the queues were clear. Mao Wenlong stood on the pier with Shang Fang's sword hanging from his waist, watching Yuan Chonghuan's fleet slowly dock.

Yuan Chonghuan had already seen Mao Wenlong on the boat, especially the Shangfang sword on his waist, which was very eye-catching. From this, it seemed that Mao Wenlong wanted to give him a disgrace!
It stands to reason that Mao Wenlong is the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town, and he was once named the Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army. He is a first-class military attache. He also has the Shangfang Sword given by the emperor, and his rank and status are no lower than Yuan Chonghuan.

In addition, most military attaches in the Ming Dynasty had eunuchs or civilian officials to supervise the army, but Mao Wenlong had the final say here alone. He had become accustomed to his authority over the years, and he did not take Yuan Chonghuan seriously.

That is to say, Yuan Chonghuan is the current governor of Jiliao and happens to be his immediate boss, so he is only suppressed.

(End of this chapter)