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Chapter 746: Arrancar
So, is it possible to attack Korea with the navy first, forcing King Yi Hun to withdraw from the alliance and turn to the Ming Dynasty, thus posing a real threat to the Jin Dynasty from the flank and rear?
Theoretically, it is possible, but it is only theoretical. The navy has less than 50,000 people and the land forces are just over 20,000. This amount of force is enough to occupy coastal cities, but it is basically impossible to completely control North Korea with a population of more than 10 million.

If Yi Hun was determined to fight against the Ming Dynasty, and the navy failed to capture him and the pro-war ministers of the Yi Dynasty by a surprise attack on Seoul, the situation would likely turn into a protracted war. It was hard to say whether the Jin Dynasty would send troops to support the Korean War, but the navy would definitely be involved and would have no time to withdraw.

The Mongolian left wing and the Great Jin Kingdom will not only not be greatly affected, but they can also sit on the sidelines and watch the fight between the two tigers, using Korea to consume the financial, material and human resources of the Ming Dynasty.

Wars are fought for money, and Hong Tao is best at using weapons to fight quickly and decisively in order to save money. Once dragged into a war of attrition, even if the country wins in the end, it will greatly consume the country's strength.

The problem is that the Ming Dynasty had more than just three enemies: Mongolia, Jurchen, and Korea. To put it bluntly, almost every country or force around the Ming Dynasty was a potential enemy, such as Japan, Annan, Burma, Tibet, and the Dutch who were eyeing the sea.

When the Ming Dynasty was strong, these countries and forces might not have any hostility, but as soon as the Ming Dynasty showed signs of decline, there was no doubt that one or even all of them would immediately bare their fangs, pounce on it and bite it hard.

By then, he would be surrounded by enemies on all sides. In addition, the bureaucratic gentry groups in the country who had been suppressed by the new policy were ready to make moves. Not to mention continuing to implement the new policy, it would even become a big problem whether Hong Tao could keep sitting on the throne.

Therefore, no matter defense or offense, it seems that the problem cannot be completely solved in a short period of time. This is the key point to test the leader's wisdom.

No matter how many good things you have done before, if you make the right choice this time, you can easily become a wise ruler or the greatest emperor of all time; if you make the wrong choice, the title of a foolish ruler or even a king who destroys his country may come to you at any time.

Being an emperor is like a gambler who bets everything every time. No matter how many times you have won before, you will lose everything if you lose once.

But Hong Tao is not a gambler, and he does not have the courage to take all the winners. At any time, he likes to make rational analysis and try to use his strengths to cover up his weaknesses.

Since attacking the Jin Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty first were both bad moves, would it be possible to attack Ligdan Khan from the north? The answer is still two words: no!
The capital of Ligdan Khan was called Chahanhot, which means Diamond White City in Chinese, or White City for short. It is located on the north bank of the Ulijimulun River in Alukeerqin Banner, Chifeng City, and 150 kilometers to the east is Tongliao City.

Why was the city built here? The reason is simple: the geographical location is good. To the north of Baicheng is the Abaga Mountain, which is located at the southern foot of the Greater Khingan Range. To the south is the Ulijimulun River, and not far to the south is the Xilamulun River.

This river originates from the Mongolian Plateau and passes through the mountains at the southern foot of the Greater Khingan Range into the Songliao Plain, forming a corridor connecting the Mongolian Plateau and the Northeast Plain. It is obvious that Lin Danhan built his capital here. He was not satisfied with occupying the Songliao Plain, but also kept an eye on the west so that he could enter the Mongolian Plateau at any time.

How far is Baicheng from the Ming border? This question was very difficult for the General Staff, because it was too far and almost no Han people had ever been there. They only heard some rumors from the Jurchen and Mongolian captives, which varied widely, with the shortest saying five or six hundred miles and the longest one or two thousand miles.

Even if it is a thousand miles, there are either mountains or grasslands along the way, and there are almost no cities for supplies. For the current Ming army, it is 100% impossible to pass.

However, if Ligdan Khan's lair is not destroyed, it will be impossible to severely damage the Mongolian left wing. Attacking the tribes on the grassland alone will not be very effective because they can migrate at any time.

From the map, the capital of the Ming Dynasty is under the protection of the Yanshan Mountains, like wearing a steel helmet. However, this steel helmet is not tight, and there are several cracks that can be used. The two largest ones are the Luanhe River system and the upper reaches of the Liaohe River system, the Laoha River. If you want to pass through the mountains, the easiest way is to follow the river. After millions of years of erosion, the soft water will cut gullies in the hard mountains, some long and some short. Most of the gullies washed out by the Luanhe River and the Laoha River just pass through the Yanshan Mountains.

Thousands of years ago, people living here found these two relatively flat and wide river valleys among thousands of gullies to connect the north and the south. Later, after continuous dredging by the Liao, Jin, Mongolian and other dynasties, two mountain roads were formed, Gubei Road and Lulong Road, which could pass large troops and baggage.

"Here... we'll build a city here first, completely cut off the Gubei Road and Lulong Road, and cut off the passage of the five Chahar and Khalkha tribes to the south, in preparation for the attack on Baicheng!"

Hong Tao stared at the map on the wall, tapping his pen in his hand as he pondered. After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, he suddenly stood up, walked to the map, and drew a small circle with a pen.

"Fuyuwei... His Majesty wants to rebuild the Beijing Xingdusi!" Looking in the direction where the emperor's pen was pointing, Yuan Keli was the first to exclaim.

"During the Hongwu period, this place was called Fuyuwei, and belonged to the Beijing Xingdusi together with Huizhouwei in the south, Xinchengwei in the north, Daningwei and more than ten other guards. Most of the territory was occupied by the three guards of Duoyan. During the Yongle period, it was changed to Daning Duzhishisi, and the seat of government was moved from Daning to Baoding. All guards north of the border wall were abolished."

Seeing that the emperor and his staff were all confused, Yuan Keli quickly gave a brief introduction to the history of the Beijing Xingdusi. It was all old news, and it was normal not to know about the past events of more than 200 years ago.

"Oh, it's the old fief of Prince Ning, right?" The staff were relieved after hearing this explanation and continued to study the map. The emperor seemed to understand more, and his expression was a little strange.

"Uh...that's right..." Yuan Ke immediately became alert and didn't dare to say another word except nodding.

The topic of Ning Wang has been very delicate since the Yongle Dynasty, and no one would easily talk to the emperor. Ning Wang Zhu Quan was the seventeenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. His fiefdom was the Great Ning Dusi, and he was a neighbor of his fourth brother Zhu Di.

Later, Zhu Di started a rebellion, but he was not strong enough, so he borrowed troops from Zhu Quan and promised that the two brothers would share the throne after victory. At that time, Zhu Quan certainly did not believe Zhu Di's lies, but compared with Emperor Jianwen who wanted to reduce the power of the princes, he had no choice but to side with Zhu Di, so he lent the most capable Doyan Three Guards cavalry to his fourth brother.

Zhu Di won in the end and became the Yongle Emperor. Zhu Quan's bet was right, but he didn't get any benefits. Even his fiefdom was revoked and he was transferred to Nanchang. So the three guards of Doyan were free and continued to roam in the original Daningdusi area.

During the Zhengde period, the Ning Wang passed to Zhu Chenhao, and the current emperor was Zhu Houzhao. According to seniority, the emperor should call Ning Wang "uncle". But this uncle was not sure if he was crazy, he actually wanted to rebel, and was defeated by Wang Mingyang, which was known in history as the Chenhao Rebellion.

But as descendants of Zhu Di, their ancestors' betrayal and inconsistency towards Ning Wang Zhu Quan were exposed clearly, so the civil and military officials in the court were very taboo about this topic and would not mention anything about Ning Wang if possible.

(End of this chapter)