Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

North Korea.

Huang Taiji was a little at a loss after learning the response from the Korean king and his ministers.

Before capturing Seoul, the Eight Banners soldiers all had a clear goal, which was to capture Seoul and capture the capital of Korea.

However, many people had different ideas about what to do after taking Seoul.

Some people think exactly like Amin and want to completely occupy North Korea.

Some people think that they should just make North Korea submit to them, and completely turn from a brother country into a vassal, and let North Korea pay tribute to them and provide the necessary materials.

Huang Taiji also agreed with this idea.

So after taking Seoul, he learned that the Korean king and his ministers had fled to Yeongjong Island, so he ordered Ying'erdai to take his letters and negotiate with the Korean king and his ministers.

But he really didn't expect that the Korean king and his ministers would not even meet him and directly drove Ying'erdai back.

He also asked Ying'erdai to bring back a manifesto, which read, "Regardless of north and south, young and old, everyone has the responsibility to fight against the Tartars."

This made Huang Taiji angry, and at the same time, he was secretly worried:

"North Korea has a population of nearly 10 million. Even if one out of a hundred people stands up to resist, that would be 100,000 people."

"If more people resist, we might be trapped here!"

He was on guard against ambushes along the way and knew that North Korea was not without the ability to resist.

It was just that the generals who fought in the war were too incompetent, so they failed to display their combat effectiveness at all.

It would be easy to deal with if the 100,000 or 200,000 Koreans who were resisting were led by such a general. He would be confident that he could defeat them in one fell swoop and even capture 100,000 or 200,000 slaves, saving the trouble of capturing them.

But the previous harassment of Amin was disgusting. Even if they won every battle and killed all the harassers, they could not kill many people in one battle.

This would inevitably lead to a prolonged war and the loss of Eight Banners soldiers. For the Jin Kingdom, which had a small population, it could not afford the loss at all.

What he is more worried about is that he might be infected with diseases if he stays in North Korea for a long time.

For example, when Seoul was captured, because of the outbreak of smallpox, he and other high-ranking officials who had never had smallpox did not enter Seoul, in order to avoid contracting smallpox and accidentally dying there.

Now they all live in tents outside Seoul, and if anyone wants to see them, they need to go through a lot of confirmation.

This is also the reason why Huang Taiji did not want to stay in Korea and wanted Korea to surrender so that he could lead his troops away.

But now the Korean monarch and his ministers were unwilling to see even the envoys, and he suddenly didn't know what to do:
"Continue to fight. Which city do you want to attack?"

"Could it be like some people say, that we attack Busan and occupy North Korea?"

This was an idea that Amin had long had, and he was strongly opposed to it, because it would greatly increase Amin's power and might compete with him, the Khan.

Moreover, the current situation of the Jin Kingdom is not suitable for dividing troops, as that would make the strength more dispersed.

Therefore, Huang Taiji had no intention of continuing to fight. He glanced across the city in the south and looked towards Yongzong Island:

"How far is Yeongjong Island from the shore?"

"Can our warriors climb up there?"

Ying'erdai did not land on Yongzong Island, but he knew just by looking that Yongzong Island was at least four or five miles away from the coast.

So he replied:
"Yongzong Island is four or five miles from the shore. If it is covered with thick ice like Juehua Island, our warriors can climb up there."

"It's not that cold now, so it's hard to cross the sea and land."

Huang Taiji frowned, knowing that the coldest time was in the twelfth and first lunar months, about a month away from now.

Thinking that the climate in Seoul was obviously warmer than that in Liaodong, he asked:
"Will there be thick ice on Yeongjong Island during the coldest time?"

"Have you ever asked?"

Ying'erdai did ask, but the North Koreans said it wouldn't freeze, which made him a little unconvinced. He replied:
"The North Koreans said no, but my subordinates thought their words were untrustworthy."

“We can send the North Koreans who have surrendered to us and ask them to inquire about the locals.”

Huang Taiji nodded slightly and ordered people to send out investigations.

Then he pointed to Ganghwa Island on the map and said:

"Last time we attacked, the Korean king and his ministers hid here, right?"

"Why didn't you hide in Ganghwa Island this time, but went to Yeongjong Island instead?"

The strait of Ganghwa Island was only two miles wide, which seemed too narrow to him. Even some larger rivers were wider than it.

If the Korean king and his ministers were still on this island, he would immediately order his men to attack.

But now we can only think about it. The Korean king and his ministers have hidden in Yeongjong Island this time, so there is no point in capturing Ganghwa Island.

Ying'erdai inquired about this carefully and replied:

"I heard that the Joseon king and his ministers wanted to go to Ganghwa Island, and the Ming generals suggested that they go to Yeongjong Island."

"There are still Ming troops protecting Yongzong Island now."

"Including the Korean troops, there are about 20,000 people."

This number of troops made Huang Taiji frown again.

If it were only North Korean soldiers, he would be confident that he could defeat them easily.

However, with Ming generals leading them, it is hard to say how well these soldiers will perform.

Even if the waters around Yeongjong Island are really frozen, there are still some risks in forced sea conscription.

This made him even more angry with the Joseon king and his ministers, blaming them for not accepting his good intentions:
"As long as you surrender, it will be fine. Why do you have to make things difficult for me?"

"Wouldn't it be a great joy for everyone if they surrendered and stopped fighting as soon as possible?"

He had this idea, not to mention others. Tudor shouted:
"The King of Joseon doesn't know what's good for him, so let's teach him a lesson."

"My Zhengbai Banner is willing to serve the Khan."

Huang Taiji watched this scene with satisfaction, knowing that the victory in the attack on Korea had restored his prestige among the Eight Banners.

However, attacking Ganghwa Island involves crossing the sea, and the Korean king and his ministers are not there, so there will not be much benefit in conquering it.

So he pointed to Incheon and said:
"There is no need to attack Ganghwa Island for now."

"Send some troops and have your brother Dorgon lead them to capture Incheon."

"I will deploy troops on the seashore and let the King of Korea see what they are like."

This greatly encouraged Duoduo, and Dorgon immediately took the order and led the two white flag troops to the battle.

Incheon is only sixty miles away from Seoul, and Dorgon led his troops there in just one day.

Moreover, he didn't have to spend much effort to capture Incheon City, which was not defended by many people, and then led his troops to the coast closest to Yeongjong Island.

Holding a telescope seized from the Ming army, Dorgon saw from afar that many ships were parked on the island, and the Korean king and his ministers came to welcome them with a simple but grand ceremony.

This made him curious and asked:
"What happened on the island?" "What are the North Korean king and his ministers doing?"

The Korean interpreter under his command made careful inquiries and finally heard from the fishermen after a while that it was an envoy from the Ming Dynasty court who came on a large ship.

The ship was huge, much bigger than a fishing boat. A high-ranking official also came on board, and it was said to be the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.

All the Korean kings and ministers on the island came out to greet them.

This made Dorgon extremely angry, and he wondered what the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty was doing here?
At the same time, he was also thinking about whether he could find a way to capture the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.
-
When Shi Fenglai arrived at Yongzong Island, he had no idea that someone wanted to capture him.

As the second assistant to the cabinet, he did not like this job very much because the sea was windy and rough, and no one knew whether they would encounter danger.

But after boarding the latest large ship built in Tianjin, he realized that he had been worrying too much. This Chinese sailing ship, built on the basis of the Manila galleon, is very suitable for sailing.

The boat was not as stable as the ground, but ordinary winds and waves could not do anything to them.

Not to mention that it is winter now and the typhoon has subsided.

After just a short stopover in Lushun, he and Zhou Yongchun and others successfully arrived in North Korea.

Moreover, he was treated with great courtesy on Yeongjong Island.

This made him, who was almost invisible in the cabinet, very proud.

Regardless of his actual power in the cabinet, he is a well-known assistant minister outside.

In Korea, he was even the prime minister and was revered by the Korean monarch and his ministers.

Looking at the objects that the Korean monarch and his ministers had tried their best to place, as well as the surrounding atmosphere, Shi Fenglai nodded with satisfaction, opened the imperial edict and read:

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims:"

"In ancient times, the kings granted fiefs to the vassal states and protected the country. Joseon is the descendant of Jizi and served the Ming Dynasty with great loyalty, so it was granted a fiefdom to wait for it."

"I think of the loyalty of Joseon and grant the Joseon king Yi Jong the title of Prince of Shuncheon Fuyun Tui Chengren, with an official salary of 10,000 koku to honor him and pass down the salary to his descendants forever. You are so great!"

The imperial edict conferring the title of Prince In on King Yi Jong of Joseon was read aloud, and Yi Jong knelt down to accept the decree and express his gratitude according to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty.

Shi Fenglai gave him the seal and took back the original seal.

Zhou Yongchun then read out the edict conferring other titles, including the Crown Prince of Korea who was not present, and his younger brothers Fenglinbo and Linpingbo.

There were also Choi Nam-yi, the Count of Jagang, and Park Yi, the third-class baron, who came specially.

He was the Korean soldier who shot Yangguli. Because Yangguli was painted on a hundred-character plaque and offered a bounty, and was in charge of the entire Yellow Banner when he died, his bounty was raised to one thousand households, and he was made a hereditary baron with a fief of a hundred miles.

This was something he had never thought of before, and he knelt on the ground excitedly, thanking the emperor for his grace.

Choi Nam-yi is much better in comparison, after all, he was born into a noble family.

However, he was also very excited that the Ming Emperor really conferred him the title of Earl and allocated him a piece of territory. He was determined to be loyal to the Ming Emperor, obey the orders of the Ming envoys, and help the Ming Dynasty to keep Korea.

After being conferred the title, Shi Fenglai and other Ming envoys held a grand banquet with the Korean king and his ministers.

Whether Ming people or Koreans, everyone present was very happy, and their relationship became closer.

Just at this moment, Zhou Yuji received a report that someone was found on the shore, watching this side.

"Just look at it, can you cover it up?"

Zhou Yuji didn't care much about this because the Jianlu's artillery and catapults could not reach such a long distance.

But the soldier's next words almost made him jump. It wasn't because he was frightened, but because he was too happy:
"Dorgon, the leader of the Bordered White Banner!"

"Did you recognize this man?"

The soldier who reported the news said:
"Of course I recognized it, and I confirmed it repeatedly."

"Our Ming telescopes are far superior to those of the Jianlu."

Zhou Yuji could be sure of this because the equipment in the imperial camp was first-rate.

After Bo Jue, the genius in telescope making, joined the Equipment Institute, their telescopes became better and better. It was only four or five miles away, so of course they could see clearly.

This made him stare at Dorgon over there, thinking about how to get this credit.

Now that Choi Nam-yi and Park Yi have just been awarded titles and their bounties have been redeemed, he dares to say that if this news gets out, even North Korean soldiers will dare to go ashore and take risks.

Once Dorgon is killed, he will have the wealth and honor of a hereditary viscount.

However, before he could figure it out, he suddenly heard the sound of cannons coming from the large sailboat on which Shi Fenglai and others were riding.

This made him so angry that he slapped his thigh, realizing that the navy had taken the lead.

These people fired directly on the boat, bombarding in the direction where Dorgon was.

Dorgon was still observing with a telescope when he suddenly saw a cannonball flying over and smashing the soldiers around him, including their horses.

This startled him, and he knew that he had been discovered by the Ming army. He hurriedly rode away from here.

The naval gunner on the ship was also so angry that he slapped his thigh, hating that the artillery was not accurate enough and failed to kill Dorgon directly.
-
This episode caused a dispute between Zhou Yuji, an army general, and a navy general.

However, it did not affect the atmosphere of celebration on the island at all. The Deputy Minister of the Cabinet Shi Fenglai even said that this was a salute to celebrate Korea's formal submission to the Ming Dynasty and becoming a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.

He also represented the Ming court and formally signed the "Treaty of Rules and Regulations Concerning the King of Korea's Conferment of the Title of King Sunin" with the King of Korea, Yi Jong.

The content is basically what was discussed previously, and serves as the norm for interactions between Ming Dynasty and Korea.

Then Shi Fenglai said meaningfully:

"Yongzong Island is a good name, which fits the meaning of Yongzong Ming Dynasty."

"I hope that Prince Ren will always regard Ming as his suzerain."

Li Jong repeatedly promised that he would always regard Ming as his suzerain state, and asked Ming to send heavenly soldiers to rescue the people of Joseon from their suffering.

Now that Korea has become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it also has this responsibility according to the terms of the treaty.

Shi Fenglai brought a lot of soldiers and weapons with him this time, but he did not inform the Korean king and his ministers immediately. Instead, he said:
"How could such a prosperous era not have a stone tablet to record it?"

"Shi believes that a monument should be erected to commemorate the event, with the four characters 'Yongzong Daming', as well as the contents of the imperial edict and the terms of the treaty engraved on it."

"This is a testimony to the relationship between Ming and Korea, and the people of Ming and Korea should keep it in mind."

Li Jong was a little hesitant when he heard this, and was not very willing to make the contents public. He did not feel that it was humiliating to accept the title from the Ming Dynasty, but simply thought that ordinary people should not know about it.

However, the ministers of Joseon believed that a stele should be erected. They hoped that the words engraved on the stele would protect their own rights and constrain the king's power.

If the King of Korea dares to act recklessly in the future, they can point at the stone tablet and loudly teach the king a lesson.

This is the same as how Ming Dynasty officials liked to use ancestral rules to restrain the emperor. Moreover, the treaty signed between Ming Dynasty, the suzerain state, and Korea was more binding than the ancestral rules.

With their support, Yi Jong finally agreed to set up a stele pavilion and built a stone stele on Yeongjong Island. The front of the stele was engraved with the four characters "Yongjong Da Ming" and the contents of the imperial edict. The back of the stele was engraved with the treaty clauses and the signatories of the treaty.

This stone tablet has become a witness to the relationship between the two countries. Many people visit the island to see it when they come to Incheon. (End of this chapter)