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Chapter 817: Blame Its Name

"My friends, the intentions of the Joseon King Yi Hun are very clear. On the surface, he submitted to the Ming Dynasty, but secretly colluded with the Jurchens. Through transactions with the Ming Dynasty, he privately provided ironware, food, craftsmen, and farmers to the Jin Dynasty.

If we allow this to continue, it won't be long before a pair of powerful enemies will appear around the Ming Dynasty. I summoned all the ministers to the palace today to hear your opinions. How should the court deal with this matter? "

When Wang An, who arrived last, sat down, the emperor put half a piece of sweet potato in his hand on the stove, walked to the big map with his hands behind his back, and announced the theme of today's imperial meeting. As expected, it was aimed at North Korea! The names written on the paper should be the ministers and royal family of North Korea.

"……" But the ministers had not seen the paper in advance. When they suddenly heard that the emperor expressed great dissatisfaction with North Korea, they were a little confused for a moment. They looked at each other, and no one dared to speak rashly.

"…Your Majesty, with the advantage of the army, it is not a bad idea to send troops to Korea to restore order. But the journey is long, and without the convenience of the Liaodong post road, it may be difficult to get supplies." After waiting for a while, under the urging of countless gazes from the Chief Minister of the Cabinet Ye Xianggao, the Minister of War Wang Zaijun had to stand up to break the awkwardness.

The court had heard about North Korea's performance in recent years. After Li Hun ascended the throne, he pursued a policy of neither betraying the Ming nor being angry at the Jin. He wanted to be a fence-sitter and not offend either side, which made many Ming officials very disgusted.

If the late emperor had not tightened his belt, emptied the court reserves, and gritted his teeth to send troops to fight Japan, it would be questionable whether Korea could still exist. As a result, the country was saved and the Lee Dynasty continued, but you failed at the critical moment. You have such bad character!
But no matter how bad their character is, North Korea is a country after all, with a large population. Apart from the fact that we know that we can no longer regard it as a firm ally, there seems to be no countermeasures.

When it comes to sending troops to intervene, many counterexamples will come to mind. Since Emperor Yang of Sui, Korea has always been on and off the line, and has never been truly occupied by the Central Plains dynasty.

There are certainly many reasons for this, such as geography. The Korean Peninsula is mountainous, which is not conducive to large-scale cavalry rapid penetration, but is suitable for infantry to defend in dangerous areas. If the battle line is stretched too long, there will be problems with logistics supply.

To solve this problem, they had to firmly occupy the Liaodong region so that the food and supplies collected from the interior could pass smoothly. In fact, just occupying it was not enough. It took more than 1500 miles from Tianjin to Dandong, and the post roads along the way were often interrupted by natural disasters.

After such a long distance of transportation, there would not be much left for a cart of food to eat by the people and horses by the Yalu River. If it was transported over mountains and ridges to the frontline soldiers, it might take another cart.

Such huge expenditure and the inability to guarantee a smooth logistical supply line at any time would be difficult for any Central Plains dynasty to maintain for a long time. The most important thing is, what benefits can be gained by gritting one's teeth and conquering North Korea?

Mountains? There are so many in the southwest, so it's impossible to climb them all. Water? The Huanghuai region is flooded every year, so it's impossible to use up all the water. Food? The North Koreans themselves can't even get enough to eat, so even if they all starve to death, how much can they get back?

Population? The last thing the Central Plains Dynasty lacked was people. There was really no need to pull a truck of coal from Mentougou, cross mountains and ridges, and run all the way to Datong to sell it. This would be really a waste of time.

Therefore, the lack of demand is the reason why the Central Plains dynasties have not fought with North Korea for thousands of years. It also illustrates a problem: when people are poor to a certain extent, they will not even pay attention to robbers, and it will be safer.

Wang Zaijin's words sounded like he was following the emperor's wishes, but in fact, he was using bloody historical lessons to remind the emperor not to act on impulse and use his brand-name leather shoes to step on a pile of stinky dog ​​shit. Even if he stepped on it until it was torn to pieces, it would not make him feel better, and there would be no benefit. It was already torn to pieces, so it didn't matter if he stepped on it a few more times. But the leather shoes might become smelly and unwearable, which was not worth the loss.

"If we don't take the land route, what if we use large ships to transport the supplies across the sea from Weihai Port?" Seeing that the emperor didn't look very good, Ye Xianggao quickly proposed a new plan.

He didn't understand military affairs, but he understood the emperor's mind. This emperor was really an emperor, he would not accept any grievances, and he had a vengeful character. Now that he had set his sights on North Korea, no one could persuade him with just a few words.

It is better to go along with what is said than to go against it. As for whether attacking Korea is good for the Ming Dynasty, he doesn't care. The most important thing is to secure the position of the prime minister of the cabinet and prevent Fang Congzhe, who is eyeing him covetously, from stepping on his shoulder.

"There is no problem with Weihai Port. There is no problem with the number of armed cargo ships of the Navy and the Maritime Command. However... there is no suitable port for berthing in North Korea. If the wind and waves are a little strong, we cannot use small boats to ferry, unless one or two ports can be built in a short period of time.

In fact, even if there is a port, it is difficult to rely on sea vessels for supply. There is a lack of post roads in the interior of North Korea, and the fewer roads there are as you go north, the more difficult it is to deliver the baggage and food to the army after it is transported ashore. The General Staff has not conducted a detailed deduction in this regard, so it is impossible to give an accurate answer at this time. "

Seeing the emperor turn his gaze to him, Yuan Keli glared at Ye Xianggao opposite him calmly before standing up to answer the question. He was very disappointed with the performance of some important officials in the court, and even didn't want to work with them. But he couldn't think of who should replace him, so he could only let it go.

However, he would never compromise on professional issues. Even if the emperor intended to attack Korea, he could not ignore the facts and take the lives of the soldiers on the front line to please him.

"Well... in the spring, when the Korean delegation comes to pay tribute, I will severely reprimand them and force them to stop and turn back!" Seeing that the military leaders did not support the emperor, Ye Xianggao had to smile awkwardly and start to smooth things over. At all events, he must not let the emperor lose face in public.

"Some things can be advised, but some things cannot be advised. I looked at the reports from previous years and found some problems. Li Hun's accession to the throne does not seem to be fair and just. He is suspected of usurping his brother's throne, and he is also murderous of his nephews and imprisoned his stepmother.

This makes sense. Li Hun killed his brother, imprisoned his mother, murdered his nephew, and slaughtered all the loyal ministers in the court. He was afraid that I would find out and hold him accountable, so he acknowledged the enemy as his father and colluded with the Jurchens in an attempt to seek asylum.

Our dynasty has always been based on loyalty and filial piety. How can such an unfaithful, unfilial and unrighteous person be in high position in the temple! I plan to change the king of Korea. Today, I summoned all the ministers to discuss who is the most suitable. "

If time was not tight and the task was not urgent, and the rebels in North Korea were eagerly awaiting a reply from the Celestial Empire, Hong Tao really wanted to let every minister present express their opinions to see whether they were worthy of sitting in the position of the General Staff and whether they had the ability to share the country's worries.

(End of this chapter)