Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 106 North Korea’s Letter of Complaint

Three days later, the Kuai worshipers withdrew.

"Admiral Li, the general has returned from the investigation. Wang Jing is surrounded by the main force of Japanese pirates." Kuai Bai reported.

"Oh, you have worked hard, old general. How is your record? Are there any captures?" Li Rusong asked.

"Because previous military orders stated that reconnaissance of the enemy does not count heads, our troops did not bring back any heads this time. Our army pretended to retreat, but a group of Japanese soldiers dared to pursue them. Many of them were shot and killed by our army, and the number of people killed was Probably one or two thousand, many Japanese were shot down and I don’t know whether they were dead or injured. As for the capture, our army encountered the main force of the enemy before they could penetrate deeply, so we only captured some food and grass that the Japanese deliberately left in Kaicheng. I heard that the Japanese like to do some messy things, so we need to test whether the food and grass can be used," Kuai Bai said.

"Okay, old general, you have tested out the Japanese this time. I will write down the credit of your department in the report. As expected, the Korean intelligence is not trustworthy. They actually told me that there is no Japanese army near the royal city. Sorry, you are really going to hurt us." Li Rusong said.

. . .

However, what Li Rusong didn't expect was that before his new good news was successfully sent out, the letter of complaint from the King of North Korea arrived first, and was sent to the capital by sea at the risk.

Because it was a letter from the king of the vassal state, and the envelope was personally signed by the Ming Emperor, no one dared to touch the letter and delivered it directly to the palace.

"Your Majesty, everything in this letter is normal. Please take a look at it." Chen Ju carefully checked the letter inside and out before handing it to the emperor.

"Why is the King of Korea so anxious to send a letter? Let me read it." The emperor took the envelope. As a result, when he took the letter and looked at it, his expression became more solemn.

"Chen Ju, please take a look. There are also spies from the imperial court in North Korea. Is there any consistency between the news reported there and what the King of North Korea said?"

Chen Ju took the letter and read it carefully, but his expression was very exciting after reading the letter.

"The king of North Korea said that Li Rusong respected his troops and negotiated peace with the Japanese pirates in private. These words are very important." The emperor sighed.

"Your Majesty, I think you still can't listen to the words of North Korea's monarchs and ministers. Li Rusong conquered Pyongyang and killed countless Japanese soldiers, and he was a great favor to North Korea. But now that North Korea has sent such a memorial, there must be a reason for it. The surface of this letter is When you criticize Li Rusong, you should actually be testing my attitude, Daming."

"Oh, why did you say that?"

"After Li Rusong led his troops to conquer Pyongyang, he indeed did not lead the army to attack further. The letter from the King of North Korea said that Li Rusong also wanted to allocate military supplies to North Korea. I am afraid that Li Rusong's troops are also in short supply of food and grass now, and North Korea is supplying our army. Not enough, so a conflict broke out. Li Rusong refused to go south immediately, and North Korea was also afraid that the Ming Dynasty would negotiate peace with the Japanese pirates, so they ceded their territory." Chen Ju analyzed. "Even so, it's still quite troublesome. The Korean monarchs and Li Rusong are in such a stalemate, and the war may have some twists and turns. After all, although the Japanese army lost their troops, the main force is still there, and Wang Jing is also under their control. , the war is still likely to repeat." The emperor also said with some embarrassment.

"Reporting to your majesty, the factory guard's informant in North Korea reported that Li Rusong did have conflicts with the monarchs and ministers of North Korea. In particular, Li Rusong also had a big quarrel with North Korean Prime Minister Liu Chenglong because of the issue of food and salary supply when marching south. So. I am afraid that both sides have some responsibility for this matter. However, what changes have occurred in the military situation on the front line, the letter from the King of North Korea did not say anything about it. Therefore, now we cannot force Li Rusong to march based on a letter from the King of North Korea. That would also be detrimental to the frontline battle situation."

"This is a serious matter, so I'll call the cabinet later... Forget it, call Zhang Xiao first." The emperor ordered.

Zhang Xiao came excitedly. He originally wanted to report to the emperor about the sales volume of the special issue on the Battle of Pyongyang, but when he saw the solemn expression on the emperor's face, he also looked at the letter of complaint from the King of North Korea handed to him, and his expression changed. .

After taking a few deep breaths, Zhang Xiao finally realized that he was not mentioned in this letter. The effect of my tips seems to be a bit too big, and it is about to become a serious political incident. If he had known that Li Rusong would have openly quarreled with the North Korean monarchs and ministers after listening to his words, Zhang Xiao wonders whether he would have put these tips in his bag.

"Zhang Xiao, North Korea is my inner vassal of the Ming Dynasty. Now the king of North Korea has complained to me. I can't ignore it. How do you think this should be handled?" the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, I think this matter should be handled with caution. After all, the king of North Korea has just lost his country and is displaced. It is inevitable to feel panic. Your Majesty can reply to the letter and express my Ming Dynasty's attitude, which is to completely expel the Japanese from North Korea and will not jump. Go directly to Korea and negotiate peace with the Japanese. As for Admiral Li, he still needs to understand the ins and outs of the good things. He can let Admiral Li explain the reason for not marching immediately, and also remind Admiral Li that the relationship with the Korean monarchs and ministers should not be so stiff. But Admiral Li He must be thinking of making further achievements and not negotiating a private peace with the Japanese. However, the time is not yet ripe. When reinforcements such as Liu Wei’s troops arrive, Admiral Li will launch an attack. Maybe by the time he receives this letter, Admiral Li will have already We are launching a new attack," Zhang Xiao said.

"Oh, then how long do you think it will take for the Japanese to be defeated? This time the Japanese invaded North Korea rudely, and my Ming Dynasty spent a lot of money and food. Can they compensate my Ming Dynasty? For example, is the Iwami Yinshan you mentioned also the same? You can provide me with silver on an annual basis."

"The Japanese army of hundreds of thousands invaded North Korea, and it was very difficult for them to supply military supplies. As long as our army cuts off their supply lines, the Japanese army of hundreds of thousands will have no choice but to withdraw. But the Japanese are afraid that they will not give up, and they will get closer The Japanese built fortresses and cities along the coast and stationed troops and horses. They would not be willing to withdraw all of Korea, so don't even think about the Japanese paying compensation. Now they are afraid that they still want to divide Korea equally with me and the Ming Dynasty."

"Then we have to fight the Japanese for a long time? Now the imperial court does not have much money and food. The troops heading to North Korea only seem to be tens of thousands. They are basically the most elite troops of our Ming Dynasty. Now the Mongols are still ready to move in the north. The Jurchen Ye He tribe is also restless, as well as Yang Yinglong in the southwest. Why is this Japanese country so overestimating its capabilities?" the emperor sighed.

"Your Majesty, in fact Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan had an arrow on the string and had to fire. But since he has decided to invade Korea, this war cannot be stopped."

"Oh? What's the reason for this? Is it because, as you said, the warriors of the Japanese country want to expand their territory? Toyotomi Hideyoshi can't afford so many warriors?"

"This is one reason, and another important reason is that the regime established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very unstable, so he needed a war to divert the internal conflicts of his regime. Therefore, entering Korea was a big deal for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It’s a cup of chronic poison that has to be drank,” Zhang Xiao explained.

(End of this chapter)