Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 955

The five provinces in the west of North Korea are relatively flat, and there are many plains along the coast, which are suitable for farming. The population of North Korea is mainly in these five provinces, especially the Han River plain. Korea.

Originally, the Qing army wanted to take down Hamgyong-do, Gangwon-do, and Gyeongsang-do to the east in one go, but these three mountains and forests were undulating, which was not suitable for the Qing army to fight. In addition, the North Korean puppet regime had just been established. It is still necessary to integrate forces, recruit puppet troops, and control the West Five Ways, so it took some time.

The Qing army confiscated North Korea’s winter food last year, causing many people to starve to death in North Korea. In addition, they invaded North Korea several times and indeed killed many people. The Korean people still hate the Qing army, but the people of any country are the same. , they always wanted to live, so they quickly succumbed and accepted the rule of the puppet North Korea.

The only problem is the aristocratic class in North Korea. Only those who have enough to eat will want dignity, honor and disgrace, and pursue better things. The upper class in North Korea are deeply influenced by Chinese culture, so they naturally dissatisfied with the Manchu Qing Dynasty. , they became the main opposition class in puppet North Korea.

However, no class is monolithic. In the ruling class of North Korea, there are those who are pro-Ming, and some think that they should not oppose the Manchus.

After all, North Korea is weak, and every time it challenged the Manchus, they were beaten with bruised noses and swollen faces, and they were beaten again and again. Why can't they be more honest?

At the beginning, the Gwanghae-jun faction of the North Korean state wanted to subdue the Manchu Qing. Now Nikan reused them. It took nearly two or three months to finally set up the puppet North Korea's airs and realized the complete control of the five western realms. Take control.

At the end of March, the puppet North Korea gathered [-] puppet troops and began to launch a campaign to collect Dongsan Dao. Unfortunately, at this time, the coalition forces had already received supplies from the Ming Dynasty. Three ways entangled with the puppet army.

Nikan originally thought it would be easy to collect Dongsan Dao, but he didn't want the 2000 puppet troops to come back after being defeated. In a rage, Nikan personally led [-] people and urged the puppet troops to attack again. This time he quickly occupied Gyeongsang-do , but as soon as he left, the coalition forces reappeared, causing the war in North Korea to enter a strange state.

Since the Nanjing imperial court expelled the envoys from the Ming Dynasty last year, the official exchanges between the two countries have been interrupted, and the relationship has deteriorated sharply.

As Hauge fell into a tug-of-war in Sichuan, and the Ming Dynasty had mobilized a large number of troops into the southwest after the Sichuan campaign last year, the number of troops was close to 15, and supplies were piling up like mountains, Hauge became more and more uneasy.

In the Sichuan War, he gained a little profit, but offended the Ming Dynasty and made Dorgon cheaper. Now that he has calmed down, he has to scold himself for being stupid.

Jin Guo could have continued to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, run the Western Regions westward, further expand its own strength, and then conquer the world eastward, but he was anxious and followed Dorgon's way. Now it is impossible to manage the Western Regions. Failure to guarantee is a big problem.

Seeing that the Ming Dynasty strengthened its deployment in the southwest, he became anxious. Before, it was Dorgon who begged him to help him, but now, if the Ming army attacked Sichuan, it was him who asked Dorgon to be there. Henan and Huaibei took action to share the pressure for him.

This really made Hauge extremely disgusted. He didn't expect that the result of the Sichuan battle would be that he fell into a passive position, and the initiative fell into Dorgon's hands.

In order to get rid of the passive situation, Hauge made two preparations. Although he was very disgusted, he still sent people to Beijing, hoping that Dorgon would advance and retreat with him. On the other hand, he sent envoys to Nanjing, hoping to talk to the Ming Dynasty. And, then resume the past relationship.

When the Ming Dynasty increased its troops in the southwest, it wasn't just Hauge who was afraid, there was another person, and that was Sun Kewang.

Although Sun Kewang had a verbal agreement with He Tengjiao, seeing that the Ming army in the southwest was getting stronger and stronger, he began to feel fear in his heart.

In order to confirm the relationship with the Ming Dynasty, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would recognize his status, as the Ming-Western Alliance fought against the Qing army, Sun Kewang also sent his confidant Bai Wenxuan to Nanjing to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty.

As the Ming army pushed the front line to the Huaihe River, the land in the south of the Yangtze River was no longer threatened. Whether it was the battle in Korea or the war in the southwest, it could not affect the development of the south of the Yangtze River. Nanjing was not affected by the war and became more and more prosperous. , presenting a state of prosperity.

Originally, most of the prosperous areas in Nanjing were gathered in the city. However, with the political, economic and cultural centers of the Ming Dynasty, they all returned to this ancient city. A place, so a lot of wealth poured into Nanjing, which promoted the development of Nanjing.

The influx of wealth made every inch of land and gold in Nanjing, and the imperial court also made a fortune.

Some of these foreign gentry and aristocrats bought houses and shops from the hands of lonely nobles in the city, and some of them couldn't buy them, so they had to settle for the next best thing, and began to buy land in the outer city to build houses and shops.

Almost all the land along the Qinhuai River fell into the hands of various businesses. Shops sprang up quickly on both sides. The streets along the river were also very level, with a width of three feet, allowing five carriages to drive side by side at the same time. They are all paved with bluestone slabs and wall bricks.

In addition to the impetus of business names, Nanjing's prosperity was also greatly facilitated by the fact that Nanjing was the power center of the Ming Dynasty, and being close to the power center was the instinct of wealthy gentry everywhere, and it has been like this since ancient times.

If they didn't have their house and property in the heart of the empire, they would be ashamed to call it a wealthy family.

Under the interaction of these two forces, the city of Nanjing is changing with each passing day. Counting the garrison, the population has reached more than 90, and it is still growing rapidly. The scale of Nanjing City has expanded from the inner city to the outer city.

Bai Wenxuan was sent by Sun Kewang as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty. He entered Guangxi from Guizhou, then went to Guangzhou, and rushed to Nanjing by sea.

At the end of March, he was stopped in Zhenjiang. After receiving the customs clearance document from the Ming Dynasty, he set off from Zhenjiang to the Nanjing Wharf. The Ming Dynasty sent Liu Wenxiu to meet him, which can be regarded as a very high treatment.

Liu Wenxiu was also from the Western Army. Not long ago, he was made a Marquis due to his meritorious service. Li Dingguo, another general of the Western Army, was also named a Marquis because of his military exploits. He accompanied Bai Wenxuan into the city, explaining the scenery of Nanjing while walking.

"This is the world-famous Qinhuai River!" Liu Wenxiu didn't take Bai Wenxuan directly into the city, but took him around outside the city.

As he walked, he said, "Grand Yu, this scene in the south of the Yangtze River is prosperous and prosperous, the country is prosperous and the people are peaceful. We have never seen it in the North and Southwest! You look at the banks of the Qinhuai River, full of shops, and there are so many people. How prosperous it is. You are looking at that building. It covers an area of ​​more than 100 mu. It was designed by Xiyi priests and made of marble. , does it look like a fortress to you?"

Liu Wenxiu was obviously a little proud, and he pointed to the faintly visible temple on the southernmost mountain and said with a smile: "That is Longquan Temple. The King of Chu was in trouble there and was rescued by the masters in the temple. Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed by the Qing army. Burn it down, and now rebuild it, it is said that the roof will be covered with gold paper!"

Bai Wenxuan just echoed. He had seen the same shock once in Guangzhou, and he had been shocked a long time ago. Although Nanjing was more prosperous, he seemed very absent-minded. In fact, he was in Nanjing this time. The responsibility is very heavy, Sun Kewang asked the Ming Dynasty to recognize him as the successor to Zhang Xianzhong's throne, but is it possible for the Ming Dynasty to agree?

Back then when Wang Yan and Zhang Xianzhong reached an agreement, there was an alliance treaty and Daxi Kingdom was recognized. If Sun Kewang succeeded Zhang Xianzhong, he would naturally inherit the alliance agreement.

"I don't know when His Royal Highness King Chu will see me?" Bai Wenxuan asked cautiously, not in the mood to look at the scenery of Nanjing.

Liu Wenxiu didn't give a definite answer, but just smiled lightly and said, "I'm not very clear about this matter, but since the imperial court asked Duke Yu to come to Nanjing, he will definitely meet him, so there is no need to be in a hurry."

(End of this chapter)