unclear

Chapter 213 Military Support
"Since I asked, it's not groundless... The Japanese have lived on the islands for a long time. The land is barren and the products are scarce. They have been coveting the mainland for a long time. A few small profits cannot satisfy their appetite. If the entire country's troops invade again, how should you deal with it?"

Before getting a face-to-face reply, Hong Tao was not sure that North Korea was having secret talks with Japan. He just remembered that there was a "Jiyou Treaty" signed by North Korea and Japan in later generations, and its content was probably about trade.

By coincidence, 1609 happens to be the year of Jiyou. You will know if it is right or not by asking.This North Korean second-rank official obviously does not live up to his name. His inner strength is still far from being cunning, and he can't even hide his lying eyes.

"...With His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty soldiers here, the Japanese bandits will never dare to come again!" Under the aggressive gaze, Huang Shi became even more panicked. Cold sweat appeared on his temples, and his brain was seriously confused. He hesitated for a long time on the standard answer that should have been blurted out. , which greatly reduces the credibility.

It’s not that he has been in office for a short period of time and has no experience, nor is he poor at work and mentally tough. To reach the position of a second-rank official in North Korea, the competition is no less intense than in the Ming Dynasty.

Just when Emperor Ming raised his head, an indescribable aura suddenly burst out, covering his whole body. He suddenly felt the pressure doubled, and then his heartbeat accelerated and his breathing became difficult, which confused his mind.

"That's wrong! How can a high-ranking official, Cao Cao, a counselor, and an important minister of the imperial court say such childish words? How can the country and the country be entrusted to others at will! Ridiculous... extremely absurd... Bang! Bang... Bang!"

The emperor's tone suddenly increased a lot, and his speech speed also increased a lot. His tone was very stern, as if he was reprimanding his own officials, and he scolded them all over the face.In the end, he still felt angry and slapped the imperial book desk hard.

The fine pen holder and glass cup were shaken up to a height of more than a foot, and rolled and landed on the carpet.By chance, they fell together. After colliding with each other, the tea cup fell into pieces.

"Your Majesty, calm down... I have little knowledge and poor answers, and I deserve death!" This time, Huang Shi didn't hesitate any longer. Before his body even slid off the stool, he blurted out the standard answer, very skillfully and smoothly.

But as the ancients said, misfortunes never come singly. There was a fragment of a tea cup just under the knee, and it was still painful through the robe and trousers.I no longer cared about whether the prick had penetrated the flesh or not, so I pursed my lips to hold back.

"Just know you're wrong, get up...Wang Chengen, clean up this place!" The act of kneeling down and breaking the glass seemed to make Emperor Jingyang's unknown anger subside a lot. As the little eunuchs came in to clean, Huang was doing it for the third time He moved his butt to the stool.

However, he has been mentally prepared to leave for the fourth and fifth time. Looking at the road today, there is no hope of leaving the palace easily. Being able to keep his body without losing parts is a blessing among misfortunes!

"As heaven moves forward, a gentleman strives for self-improvement. A country, no matter how big or small, must be self-reliant and bravely face all challenges. I know that North Korea's national power is weak, but we cannot always rely on others just because it is weak."

The Ming Dynasty has been plagued by internal and external troubles in recent years, and it is true that it cannot afford to spend more time on expeditions, but I can send skilled craftsmen to help North Korea refine steel and make sharp blades.I'm afraid you don't know yet, but my royal ironworks can produce a thousand kilograms of fine steel every day. If you use it as a cluster, you can wear armor a hundred steps away.

If the Korean monarchs and ministers were determined to defend their homeland to the death, sharp bows and crossbows could help.If you are ignorant and do not expect to make progress, you will still fail if you wear steel armor from head to toe.

Peace is not negotiated, nor is it bought with favors, but is fought with the blood of men.Although our country is big, if we like war, we will perish; although the world is safe, if we forget to fight, we will be in danger. Do you understand? "

As soon as the little eunuch came down, the emperor picked up the topic again.This time the tone was calmer, but the tone was very heavy, as if he was not talking about North Korea, but the Ming Dynasty. He turned around from behind the desk as he spoke. "Pfft... the words your Majesty said were deafening and enlightening, but I am so stupid that I cannot think of their charm. I deserve death!"

Huang knew that the emperor was approaching, so he didn't dare to raise his head or look straight, and his heart was in a mess.The amount of information is too great, the content is too astonishing, and the brain cells are completely insufficient.But the emperor stopped just one step in front of him. Sitting by himself was obviously inappropriate, so he might as well continue to kneel.

"Korea is a country that Emperor Taizu has designated as a country without conquests. For more than 200 years, the etiquette of ruling the monarch and his ministers has never slackened. However, the Ming Dynasty's national power has been weakening day by day, and it is unable to make further expeditions before it recovers.

I plan to select one or two coal- and iron-rich places in North Korea, and build a steel-making plant under the supervision of Ming craftsmen. The refined steel will be used to make hard crossbow blades for the North Korean army to resist the harassment of the Japanese and Jurchens. Do you think it's feasible? "

This time Hong Tao didn't ask Huang Shiping anymore, he just condescendingly clarified the suggestion he just made, then walked slowly back to the desk, picked up a folding book and threw it on the carpet.

What is written in the booklet is exactly what I just said, but in more detail.The idea of ​​arming North Korea has long been in the recovery plan, but it is not a necessary step. Whether the ancestors need to start it depends on the situation at the time.

Since Liaodong will soon be abandoned, the plan to arm North Korea should also be put on the agenda.The content is very simple. Use relatively advanced weapons, such as steel crossbows, pure steel crossbows, and half-body steel plate armor to arm the North Korean army.

With these weapons, the North Korean army, which is not too weak in the first place, will definitely make great progress, and then it will be ready to take action. The target is most likely the Liaodong region, and its attitude towards Japan will also become tougher.

If this plan can be implemented smoothly and no major accidents occur, the Liaodong Jurchens and Japan will find that there is suddenly an unstable factor around them, and they must allocate part of their energy to deal with it, thereby reducing the pressure on Ming Dynasty.

As for whether there is a hidden danger that the tail will not fall off, Hong Tao thinks there is no need to worry at all.Arming North Korea is just to buy time. Steel crossbows and steel plate armor are not atomic bombs. They can only partially increase their combat power, but cannot completely crush them.

The North Korean army equipped with new weapons has the ability to compete head-on with the Jurchens and Japan, but it will not be able to threaten the Ming Dynasty in a short time.The reason is very simple. There are only two ways to invade the Ming Dynasty, and neither of them is feasible at present.

Taking the land route must pass through the Liaodong region, and the Jurchens must be completely defeated. It seems difficult to achieve this at present.If the power of the Jurchens cannot be eliminated, the road to the Ming Dynasty will be unusable. Without a stable supply line, no matter how ambitious the Korean king and nobles are, they will not rashly go to war with the Ming Dynasty.

If you want to take the sea route, I'm afraid it will be more difficult than the land route.The bandit-suppressing Admiral Yamen Navy warship equipped with naval guns can destroy enemy ships at any time. Even if it is only a front-loaded gun, it is still not something the Koreans can fight against.It's okay if you don't come, but once you come, it's hard to go back because you have to feed the fish.

In addition, no matter how South Korea escapes in later generations, North Korea during the Ming Dynasty was definitely a loyal supporter of the Ming Dynasty. The surrounding environment and its own characteristics determined that North Korea could not lose the support of the Ming Dynasty. Unanimous foreign policy was the best choice.

(End of this chapter)