Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 155 Dongjiang Town and North Korea
With the conclusion of this meeting, the imperial court's strategy for Hou Jin was generally finalized.

A blockade against Houjin, consisting of the Great Wall as the core, the Liaodong Army as the core, and the participation of grasslands and North Korea, is beginning to take shape.

The imperial court's goal in recent years has been to establish and improve this blockade. They even developed the blockade into an encirclement, trapping Hou Jin inside and compressing Hou Jin's living space.

Using this period of time, Zhu Youjian wanted to rectify the internal affairs and at the same time make Liaodong achieve self-sufficiency in food and reduce the domestic burden of Liao wages.

Although he expected that Hou Jin would not settle down and would definitely find a way to break through this blockade. However, Zhu Youjian felt that he could be stable for a few years, and he tried to eliminate the Liao salary in the north and reduce the number of refugees.

If the civil unrest in the northwest can be controlled to a smaller scale, and the She'an Rebellion in the southwest can also establish a victory, the pressure on the imperial court will be greatly reduced, freeing up its hands to concentrate on dealing with Hou Jin.

The current two-point-five-line battle puts too much pressure on Ming Dynasty. And as the natural disaster intensifies, the northwest side may become a third front at any time.

This made Zhu Youjian not have enough power to deal with them even if he knew about Hou Jin's threat. Not to mention the millions of frontier troops on the nine sides who are in arrears and waiting for food, all of which are destabilizing factors.

Unless these are resolved, Zhu Youjian will have no time to deal with Hou Jin.

It can be said that the current situation between Ming Dynasty and Hou Jin is that Ming Dynasty seems to be strong, but it can only defend passively, and there are even loopholes in the defense line, which may be broken through by Hou Jin.

Although Houjin's power was weak, it was on the offensive and could launch an attack on Ming Dynasty at any time and cause harm to Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian could only try his best to strengthen his defense and prevent Hou Jin from breaking through the defense line and causing greater harm.

At the same time, in order to cause some trouble for Hou Jin, Zhu Youjian deliberately kept Mao Wenlong and planned to make good use of Dongjiang Town.

He and Mao Wenlong came to Xiyuan and looked at the Zi Pavilion which was being repaired. Zhu Youjian said:
"Do you know what that is?"

"Any ideas?"

Having never been to Xiyuan, Mao Wenlong certainly didn't know what it was.

But when he thought about what the emperor had said before about renovating the Purple Pavilion, he knew what it was.

This made him excited. At the same time, he also realized that if the emperor communicated with him privately here, wouldn't it be the Xiyuan Conversation that was much talked about in Beijing?

The term "Xiyuan Talk" was first heard by Mao Wenlong after he came to Beijing. It is said that it was in a private conversation with Yuan Keli that the emperor decided on matters such as the restructuring of the Three Laws Division, the Grinding Law, the Martial Law Law, and the reform of the imperial examination.

There are still people who are exploring the content of Xiyuan's conversation, hoping to know what the emperor wants to do next.

It's just that this kind of private conversation is not recorded at all. Except for the emperor and Yuan Keli, no one knew at all.

It was impossible for anyone to ask the emperor. Yuan Keli was tight-lipped, so how could he ask?

It can be said that the Xiyuan Talk is extremely mysterious and highly desirable in the capital.

Everyone knows that the emperor summoning ministers to talk in private represents the emperor's trust.

If important conclusions can be reached, we will be entrusted with important tasks.

Now, the emperor was talking to himself on such an occasion, and specifically letting himself watch the Purple Pavilion that was being repaired. What was his purpose?

Mao Wenlong thought about this problem, and then thought that the emperor specifically named Qi Jiguang among the names of the heroes of the Purple Pavilion, and he understood a little:
Yu Qian and Zhang Juzheng were civil servants, but Qi Jiguang was a military general.

Could it be that the emperor meant that he could also be listed in the Purple Pavilion and become a hero of the Purple Pavilion?
He didn't dare to think about this, because Mao Wenlong knew that although he had some achievements, he still had to compare with whom.

Compared with Qi Jiguang, who suppressed the Japanese rebellion and reorganized border defense, he was not even the main force, let alone comparing his achievements with the opponent -

I am afraid that only by pacifying Liaodong as the main force and receiving the reward of a feudal lord can he be ranked in the Zi Pavilion and be ranked alongside Qi Jiguang.

"Could it be that His Majesty intends to reuse Dongjiang Town alongside the main force in Liaodong?" 』

"I am a partial force. Will I change it to the main force in the future?" 』

For a moment, Mao Wenlong's heart skipped a beat, feeling that he had seen an opportunity.

As a partial force, the imperial court's position on Dongjiang Town has always been to contain it.

Mao Wenlong was of course unwilling to accept this. Under the leadership of Yuan Keli, he and Denglai Town led by Shen Yourong regained southern Liaoning, intending to conquer Houjin from here.

What only embarrassed him was that Dongjiang Town was still holding back the battle to regain Liaonan. Later, he forced Yuan Keli and Shen Yourong away, but Liaonan lost most of them.

This fact made him even more embarrassed.

Fortunately, the emperor did not mention this matter, but asked about North Korea:

"How much does Mao Qing know about Gui Hai?"

"Why did North Korea still have contacts with Hou Jin after all? Even reached a peace agreement?"

"Is Gwanghae Jun's affair with Hou Jin really true, or is it just a tool for North Korean party strife?"

Mao Wenlong used to support the current king of North Korea and said good things to him. However, after Jin invaded North Korea this year and Ding Mao's chaos occurred, his relationship with North Korea began to take a turn for the worse.

North Korea accused him of not sending a single soldier to rescue him, but Mao Wenlong couldn't tell the story of his suffering. Not to mention the difficulties in Dongjiang Town at that time, his soldiers and horses were still encouraged to flee——

Yuan Chonghuan, the then governor of Liaodong, sent Xu Fuzuo and others to take advantage of the shortage of food and wages and the instability of people's hearts. He promised Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan to give one hu of rice and two taels of silver every month, and recruited more than 20,000 strong men. Many generals took the opportunity to go west. escape.

How can this give him the energy to aid North Korea and deal with post-Kim soldiers and horses?
Thinking of this matter, and also thinking that Yuan Chonghuan had been transferred to the southwest by the emperor to serve as an army guard, Mao Wenlong had no scruples and took the opportunity to say to the emperor:

"It's true that Gwanghae Jun communicated with Hou Jin. It's also true that North Korea and Hou Jin have contacts now. They even reached a peace agreement this year."

"But it's hard for Ming to blame him for this matter."

"Last year, Yuan Chonghuan privately sent monks to mourn and negotiate peace with the rebels, which gave North Korea an excuse."

"North Korea believed that Yuan Chonghuan was indulging in Jianlu's invasion, and that he and Jianlu had reached a private peace agreement. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain that when Jianlu invaded North Korea in the east, the hundreds of thousands of Liaodong troops in the west did not move at all."

"Moreover, when Yuan Chonghuan was resisting Jianlu, he not only failed to rescue him, but also sent Xu Fuzuo and others to recruit Dongjiang soldiers and disrupt the morale of the Dongjiang army."

"Yuan Chonghuan stood still during the Battle of Ningjin and was considered to be very angry. I thought it was not because he was incompetent, but because he was motivated by peace talks."

"His Majesty transferred him to the southwest and also explicitly ordered that peace negotiations were not allowed. This is a very popular move!"

Listening to what Mao Wenlong mentioned, Zhu Youjian frowned tightly.

Mao Wenlong mentioned in "Five Unjust Things" that Xu Fuzou incited the morale of the army, causing Lushun General Li Kuang to burn the camp and throw weapons and seize the ship to escape. But Zhu Youjian only thought it was a trivial matter, and he didn't expect it to be related to Yuan Chonghuan.

What made him even more unexpected was that this incident happened during the war between Houjin and Dongjiang Town. As the governor of Liaodong, Yuan Chonghuan was also the governor who replaced the governor of Liaodong, Wang Zhichen, and took over the power of Liaodong, but he did such a thing to his subordinate Mao Wenlong, which was really bad.

When Zhu Youji thought about this, he felt that the Ming army needed to be reorganized from top to bottom. Otherwise, how could we defeat Hou Jin if our superiors were allowed to cause harm to the frontline generals?
Moreover, he also feels that the problem of the Liaodong army is huge. The 20,000 strong men mentioned by Mao Wenlong did not appear at all on the Liaodong soldiers.

Perhaps the 20,000 strong men are an exaggeration, but after being reorganized by Sun Chengzong into 110,000 soldiers and horses, Liaodong has been paying wages according to 140,000 soldiers and horses. Some time ago, the eunuch who oversaw Liaodong requested that the money for fur coats be distributed to Liaodong was also based on 140,000 soldiers and horses.

So how many troops and horses in Liaodong are now? Whose pocket does the extra money go into? In the past, Zhu Youjian had never dared to check the accounts, fearing that a mutiny would occur in Liaodong if he was forced to do so.

But now that Sun Chengzong is sent to Liaodong to supervise the division, it seems that we can prepare.

He decided to let Sun Chengzong inventory the Liaodong troops and horses as he did in the future to determine the specific number. Food and wages should be distributed according to actual troops and horses, and generals should not be allowed to embezzle them.

At the same time, we need to resolve the land issue in Liaodong, which is related to the well-field system. Sun Chengzong should be more attentive. As long as the land issue is resolved, the foundation of the Liaodong generals will be gone and a thorough investigation can be carried out.

Thinking about this matter, Zhu Youjian once again felt that the problem in Liaodong was very difficult and he could not be impatient.

Regarding Mao Wenlong's complaint, Zhu Youjian immediately responded:

"There is a war going on at the front, but there are people behind the scenes inciting people to flee. What kind of logic is this?"

"Report the names of the instigators and those who fled, and let Sun Chengzong, the governor of Liaodong, deal with them."

Mao Wenlong was excited and secretly said that it was different to talk to the emperor in private. The things that made him angry before were easily solved this way.

Thinking of the culprit Xu Fuzuo, Mao Wenlong said:

"I heard that Xu Fuzou, Li Kuang and others were ordered to be punished according to military law in April."

"Later, for some unknown reason, not only was he not executed under military law, but he was reinstated."

"The reason why I feel unjust is that this matter is so unfair."

"If they are reinstated, how can I lead Dongjiang Town in the future?"

His brows furrowed even more tightly. Zhu Youjian really didn't know that Xu Fuzhuo and others could still be reinstated after doing such bad things.

But thinking about the Battle of Ningjin in May, he probably understood again. It may be that Yuan Chonghuan took advantage of the emergency of the war to fish these people out.

Thinking that Yuan Chonghuan had instigated this incident, Zhu Youjian's impression of him became even worse. This person is not only very courageous, but also has no regard for the overall situation——

No wonder Jiao Zhao later killed Mao Wenlong, and Yuan Chonghuan also ended up being killed.

Zhu Youjian made a serious note to Yuan Chonghuan in his heart. Of course, Zhu Youjian must deal with this kind of thing that disregards the overall situation and harms friendly troops and undermines the frontline war. He ordered:

"The crimes of Xu Fuzou and others are obvious, so Sun Chengzong asked him to be dismissed from his post and questioned."

"Let Yuan Keli speed up the establishment of a military court to try this case."

"Those who have merit in the past will be sent overseas to serve based on their merit."

"Those who have no merit, use them to clarify military law."

"If you talk to Yuan Keli and Sun Chengzong about this matter, just say it is my will."

"I authorize you to write a secret report with a silver seal. If you feel wronged in the future, you can tell me directly."

Mao Wenlong happily accepted the order and felt that the current emperor was really a good man. Not only did he become the admiral of southern Liaoning, he was also given the right to secretly report with a silver seal.

With this power, he doesn't have to fear anyone in Liaodong——

As the admiral of southern Liaoning, except for Sun Chengzong, the governor of eastern Liaoning, who can be called his superior, everyone else in Liaodong is at most the same level as him.

Coupled with the fact that he had the power to report secretly with the silver seal, Sun Chengzong, the governor of Liaodong, had to be polite when discussing matters with him.

Otherwise, whenever he encounters injustice, he can complain directly to the emperor. From now on, who in Liaodong will dare to look down on him?
After Zhu Youjian dealt with this episode, he had another headache when he thought about the peace negotiations between North Korea and Hou Jin.

He really didn't expect that the private peace negotiation between Yuan Chonghuan and Hou Jin had such a great impact. It not only caused controversy in the court, but also led to the resignation of Yuan Keli and other main combatants. It also has an impact on North Korea, which needs to be eliminated by itself.

Even thinking about Lin Dan Khan’s previous migration to the west, I’m afraid it has something to do with this incident——

The Ming Dynasty had already made peace with Jianlu, so why were they still fighting to the death with Houjin? Maybe he was sold by Ming Dynasty and used as a tool to please Hou Jin.

This made Zhu Youjian happy. Fortunately, Yuan Chonghuan had been exempted from the battle of Ningjin, otherwise he would have had to work hard to eliminate his influence.

Yuan Chonghuan's legacy was so great that Zhu Youjian was glad that he did not follow the advice of some people and revive him in Liaodong.

Otherwise, after Grassland and Houjin heard that Yuan Chonghuan was in charge of the Liaodong War, the previously planned blockade that had not yet been formed would collapse in an instant.

Even now, it will take some effort to bring North Korea in.

The consequences of peace talks are too great and require great efforts to eliminate them.

Just like Zhu Youjian, he originally planned to justly accuse North Korea of ​​secretly collaborating with Hou Jin, but now Mao Wenlong pointed out that Yuan Chonghuan, governor of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, had negotiated peace with Hou Jin, and it was the Ming Dynasty that negotiated peace first. This made Zhu Youjian really embarrassed.

Because from North Korea's perspective, the Ming Dynasty, as the suzerain state, had negotiated peace with Hou Jin Dynasty, so why did it accuse me as a vassal state?
Could it be that what you, the suzerain country, can do, but I, North Korea, as a vassal country, cannot do?

Therefore, it is no longer feasible to accuse North Korea of ​​secretly communicating with Hou Jin.

Zhu Youjian wants to take advantage of North Korea and needs another reason.

Thinking of the so-called Injo, he was still regarded as a usurper by many people in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Youjian said to Mao Wenlong:
"Is Gwanghae-kun still alive?"

"What is the reputation of the current King of North Korea in North Korea?"

Mao Wenlong used to praise the current King of North Korea very much. Now that the King of North Korea started to criticize himself, he naturally had nothing good to say and immediately replied:

"Kwanghae-kun is still alive and is exiled to Ganghwa Island."

"The reputation of the current King of Joseon is not much better than that of Gwanghae-kun."

"The King of Joseon did not give back the land that Lord Gwanghae had allowed the powerful to plunder. Instead, it was given to the meritorious officials."

"So many North Koreans think he is no different from Gwanghae Jun, and after the chaos caused by the Jianlu invasion this year, his reputation has become even worse."

"Also, when he succeeded to the throne, he only named his father the Lord of the Courtyard. Last year, when his biological mother passed away, he wanted to name his biological father and mother the king and queen, but he was blocked by the ministers."

"This matter is still going on now. His meritorious ministers and other ministers who are not meritorious officials are quarreling with each other."

His eyes slowly lit up. Zhu Youjian did not expect that North Korea would be like this now.

This country is not big, but it has a lot of things going on. Nowadays, the North Korean king's posthumous title to his parents is very similar to the great ceremony initiated by Emperor Jiajing back then.

Emperor Jiajing used the Great Rites Conference to drive away a group of ministers and completely take control of power. Is this the same for the North Korean king?

Can Ming Dynasty use this incident to bring North Korea back?

(End of this chapter)