Before Yang Zhen led his team to Jianghua Island, he didn't think so much about it. He had never thought about eradicating traitors and clearing the emperor.

Because before he came, he had no intention of intervening in the internal affairs of Lee's North Korea.

He just wanted to attack Ganghwa Island, which was close to the capital of Lee's Joseon, to achieve the purpose of encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao, and diverting the tigers away from the mountains, so as to give Jinhae East Road to the people who had not yet completed resettlement and reclamation of wasteland for seed potatoes.

But now, with An Yingchang as an unexpected "friendly force", Yang Zhen's original plan of grabbing a vote and leaving has changed.

That night, in addition to asking An Yingchang, who knew some inside information, about the situation in Hanyang City, Yang Zhen also asked him about the detailed situation on Ganghwa Island.

At this point, of course, An Yingchang could only tell Yang Zhen truthfully without reservation.

"Captain Rong reported that Ganghwa Island was originally well-defended, especially along the strait in the east. There were castles all over it. From north to south, there were Wolchodun, Gapchudun, Gwangseong Castle, and Choji Castle. Ganghwasan Fortress was built in the north, and Tripod was built in the south.

Mountain city.

"And on the south side of the mouth of the Han River across the strait, there is the Munsusan Fortress built on the mountain. It should be said that the situation on Ganghwa Island is more dangerous than that of Namhansan Fortress."

When talking about the defense of Ganghwa Island, An Yingchang immediately became interested and talked eloquently. It was obvious that he was very familiar with the defense of Ganghwa Island and was very proud of it.

However, as he spoke, his tone gradually became lower, perhaps thinking of Yang Zhen's unexpected attack on Dingzu Mountain City with his army.

"It's just that after Bingzi's chaos, the city defenses on Ganghwa Island have long since deteriorated. The outer walls of Ganghwafu Castle in the north have been destroyed, and the Qing Dynasty was not allowed to rebuild them. Now only the inner city of Ganghwasan Fortress remains.

"The Yuechuandun, Jiachuandun, Guangcastle and Caozhi forts built and fortified along the east coast were also seriously damaged. At present, except for Yuechuandun and Jiachuandun, which have been slightly restored, Guangcastle and Caozhi fort have been abandoned.

There are no troops stationed."

When An Yingchang said this, he sighed and said nothing.

Yang Zhen was stunned for a moment when he heard that the Qing captives did not allow the imperialists to rebuild the outer city of Jianghua Mansion, but he soon understood.

This shows that the Manchu Tatars are still worried about Li's Korea and do not allow them to set up defenses outside Jianghuafu City.

This is easy to understand, but as one of the capitals of the Lee family in Korea, the Jianghua left-behind mansion, known as Jiangdu, actually allowed the castle on the island to be abandoned. What was going on? Could it be that they couldn't send troops to garrison it?

Yang Zhen thought of this and immediately asked: "There are no soldiers and horses stationed in Guang Castle and Cao Zhi Castle? What does this mean? In addition to the Dingzu Mountain City defenders, how many soldiers and horses are there on Jianghua Island? Where are they located?"

The question Yang Zhen asked obviously touched on An Yingchang's pain point.

An Yingchang took a deep breath after hearing this, then looked up at the night sky, sighed with emotion, then lowered his head and said:

"The last general said that there are no soldiers and horses stationed there, just because General Shen is stretched thin and there are no soldiers and horses to send. The soldiers and horses are only stationed in the most important places, and other places can only be left to be abandoned.

"As for the Jianghua Remaining Mansion, it has an important position. Since Bingzi's chaos, the garrison has increased year by year. However, as of now, there are only three thousand garrison troops in total!"

"There are three thousand troops stationed on Ganghwa Island?"

"Exactly. Of these three thousand garrison troops, the last one will bring one thousand of his own and be stationed in the Dingzu Mountain City area. The remaining two thousand are both inside and outside Jianghuafu City, mainly within Jianghuafu City, monopolizing 1,500 troops."

"Mr. An Yingchang Anqian, you mean to say that when the Japanese governor marches into Jianghuafu City tomorrow, he will have to face the two thousand defenders of Jianghuafu?!"

Dingzu Mountain City is not big. Yang Zhen and the others were walking and inadvertently arrived at one of the tops of the mountain city.

Under the clear moonlight, Yang Zhen stood at the top of the city and looked north. Except for the rolling hills, small fields, and dark forests, he could see nothing else.

However, Zhang Chen and An Yingchang, who were following him, could clearly see his frown and all the questions on his face.

"Captain, don't worry. I've seen what I saw today. The bird gunners in the Imperial Army who are called by the people in the imperial court are also using matchlock guns that we have eliminated. Their range and power are not as good as our army.

"If what Mr. An Yingchang said is true, Jianghua Prefecture has only two thousand troops. There is no need for Lieutenant General Qiu's troops to land at all. He only has a musketry battalion for his humble position. If he uses the sky cannon carried by Yu Haichao to open the way, he will definitely be able to defeat them in one fell swoop.

Defeat."

Zhang Chen was originally full of energy to fight a good battle this afternoon, so that the newly added musketeers under his command could practice their skills.

But when he led his troops to the coast, followed the slope formed by the collapse of the outer wall of the mountain city, and climbed to the top of the city, the defenders on the top of the city had already fled after the fort collapsed.

Zhang Chen led the musket battalion in pursuit, and finally surrounded the escaped mountain city defenders in the Chuandeng Temple. However, when An Yingchang heard that the invading "enemy" was the Ming Dynasty's army, he immediately surrendered with his troops.

At this time, he saw that Yang Zhen was worried about the two thousand defenders of Jianghua Mansion, so he immediately patted his chest and assured Yang Zhen.

It's just that he misunderstood what Yang Zhen meant. Yang Zhen was not worried about the Korean defenders, who were almost all infantry and gunners, but was planning the next action.

If the imperial army really does not have many troops and the city of Hanyang is empty of troops, then what An Yingchang said before about entering Hanyang, eradicating the traitors and clearing the emperor's side may really have a chance.

Because Yang Zhen had never had such an idea before, he brought very few troops this time, especially the elite troops. There were only three sentries from the Musket Battalion and more than 900 people.

It may not be easy to capture Hanyang City with such a 900-person musketry battalion, plus Qiu Zhenhai, and Yu Haichao's hundreds of gunners who can use artillery.

And even if he wins, it will probably be even harder for him to control Hanyang City with this small number of troops and manipulate the small court of Li's Joseon.

Even with the help of Shen Qiyuan and friendly forces like An Yingchang, it would probably be very difficult and very dangerous.

The ancients must not be underestimated.

Especially Li Jie, whose temple name is Injo.

He was able to maintain the survival of the Li family in the crisis of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and he sat firmly on the throne for twenty or thirty years despite ministers' rebellions and palace intrigues, until he died and passed the throne to his successor.

Son, is it easy to deal with such a person?

However, if the troops in Hanyang City were really empty, it would be a bit regretful for him to miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhen shook his head, smiled bitterly, and said nothing.

There are some words that he cannot just say without thinking clearly.

At this time, An Yingchang saw Yang Zhen shaking his head and smiling bitterly. He also thought that he was worried about the attack on Jianghua Fucheng tomorrow, so he followed Zhang Chen and said:

"You don't have to worry, Governor. It's true that Jianghua Mansion has two thousand garrison troops, but there are two hundred and fifty troops at Yue Chuan Dun and Jia Chuan Dun.

"As for the city of Jianghua Mansion, there are only 1,500 defenders at full strength. Among these 1,500 defenders, only five can truly be called the imperial army. They are equipped with the muskets that Vice General Zhang mentioned.

Just a hundred people.

"The remaining one thousand defenders are all force-recruited troops since the restoration of Ganghwa Remaining Forbidden City. They perform labor service in peacetime and military service in wartime. They are not so much an army as they are hard labor without battle formation."

"oh?"

After hearing An Yingchang's words, Yang Zhen nodded first, as if he had suddenly realized something, and then asked: "The imperial camp you are talking about is probably the elite troops directly led by your king."

Okay, how many people are there in this imperial camp? And what is the license plate army you are talking about, and how many personnel are there?"

When An Yingchang saw Yang Zhen asking about this, he smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "If the governor asks about this, it will be a long story!"

At that moment, An Yingchang told Yang Zhen, Zhang Chen and others about the current military system and strength of Li's Korea.

After Bingzi's chaos, the few regular troops in Lee's Joseon were wiped out, and the soldiers and civilians on Ganghwa Island were also slaughtered.

Including around Hanyang City and within Gyeonggi Province, as many as hundreds of thousands of young men were kidnapped and became slaves of the armored men under the Manchu Tatars.

Since then, the vitality of Lee's Joseon has been severely damaged.

Until Li Zhu's death, Li's Joseon not only lost the courage to resist the Manchus, but also completely lost the power to resist the Manchus.

Because, since the Manchu Tatar puppet emperor Huang Taiji personally conquered Lee's Korea, he not only almost wiped out the original Korean army, but also strictly limited the size of the official army, that is, the standing army of the vassal state of Korea.

At that time, the standing army of the imperial camp that had been guarding Li Jie and others and guarding Namhan Mountain Fortress was reduced to 7,000 after the war, with no more than one person added.

The imperial army directly under Li Zhu's guarding the palace was also reduced to 600 people, and there was also no more than one person.

But North Korea not only has one Hanyang City and one Gyeonggi Province, it also has many cities, populations and land in the other seven provinces to manage.

The cities, the population and the land must be stationed with soldiers, and the soldiers and horses stationed in other places in various states are called the "Haipai Army".

This number plate army is somewhat similar to the Inland Guard Army in the Ming Dynasty's military system. The number of people on paper is of course large, but in fact there are very few people who can fight.

Behind the Haopai Army is the Haopai Law, and the so-called Haopai Law is the so-called strategy to strengthen the army that Li Zhu came up with after he came to the throne.

This means that men of military age from all over the country are registered and issued military service license plates. They usually work at home or work as slaves, but during wartime they are called to join the army and fight for their masters.

Li Zhu's idea may be good, but it is very difficult to put it into practice.

At the beginning, the number plate law was strictly enforced. Civilians were required to wear number plates when traveling outside. If they did not, they would be punished. This ensured sufficient numbers of soldiers in a short period of time.

However, the soldiers recruited by this number plate were for military service, not camp soldiers. Therefore, they did not have food and wages paid by the government and could only support themselves with food and wages, so their status was extremely low.

Such soldiers are not so much an army as they are conscripted civilians. No matter how many they are, they will have no fighting power on the battlefield.

Their performance in the midst of Ding Mao's chaos and Bingzi's chaos has already illustrated this.
Chapter completed!