Chapter 435 Sun Yuanhua's helplessness, Sino-DPRK cooperation
Guo Dajing and Mao Wenlong did not have much extravagant expectations about how much help Denglai or Shandong could provide to Dongjiang Town.
As long as the grain and grass that should be given are paid on time, saltpeter, sulfur, iron and other materials are supplied as much as possible, and the immigrants to Liaodong are not hindered, it will be enough.
Even the imperial court was able to get rid of it, and the internal and external operation system formed in Dongjiang Town was basically self-sufficient.
Of course, the support of the imperial court and Deng Lai can greatly speed up the process of improving the strength of the Dongjiang Army and enable the great cause of Ping Liao to be realized earlier.
On the other hand, although Guo Dajing had never met Sun Yuanhua, from the information in his memory, he still had a good impression of this famous person who studied Western learning.
At the same time, because Sun Yuanhua provided sufficient support and help in terms of money, food and immigration, Mao Wenlong also felt that his nominal immediate boss was pretty good.
Therefore, when reporting on the success, both Guo Dajing and Mao Wenlong had some kind words for Sun Yuanhua. Such a great contribution will be made again in the future, and Sun Yuanhua is very grateful to be able to take advantage of it.
This has a lot to do with Sun Yuanhua's temperament and the goals he pursues. As mentioned before, he is a technical official and is more interested in introducing and promoting Western learning than getting promoted and making a fortune.
Compared with other civil servants, Sun Yuanhua does not have so many twists and turns, and his thoughts of despising warriors are not so serious. This determines that his relationship with Dongjiang Town will be relatively relaxed.
But he didn't know much about Sun Yuanhua in Dongjiang Town. Although his dazzling achievements made him admire and shocked, he also wanted to know more details.
Therefore, Sun Yuanhua agreed with Wang Zheng's proposal to go to Liaonan. In fact, if he were not afraid of causing unnecessary trouble and time did not permit, he would have wanted to go and inspect it himself.
"To be able to defeat the enemy, the Dongjiang Army must have unique tactics. When you go, you still have to inspect it carefully. Especially the artillery casting, you need to pay more attention."
In response to Sun Yuanhua's instructions, Wang Zheng nodded and said with a smile: "Don't worry, sir, this is exactly what I am interested in. I will definitely not miss it by mistake."
Sun Yuanhua nodded and said: "Since this is a great victory, I am here to purchase some wine, meat, pork and chicken, so that I can reward the meritorious soldiers on my behalf!"
"I understand, let's go and do it now." Wang Zheng bowed and accepted the order. Seeing that Sun Yuanhua had no explanation, he left.
Sun Yuanhua was the only one left in the room. He sat in the chair and stroked his forehead, thinking about another thing, feeling very distressed.
A few days ago, old people from Liao Town came to visit and brought a letter from the commander-in-chief Zu Dashou. In the letter, Zu Dashou complained bitterly about the suppression by the court, saying that the reduction of pay and grain would put the officers and soldiers of Liao Town into trouble.
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As the governor, Sun Yuanhua had no control over Liao Town, and he did not want to speak out about the imperial court's suppression and punishment of Liao Town, lest he get into trouble.
Fortunately, Zu Dashou did not make excessive demands. He only proposed the idea of using Juehua Navy to purchase grain and grass supplies from Dengzhou to alleviate the difficulties in Liao Town, and asked Sun Yuanhua to provide some convenience.
Sun Yuanhua had a hard time making a decision and was also confused about Zu Dashou's move.
Purchasing supplies in Dengzhou does not require approval from him as the governor. You can just come in the name of a merchant. If you insist on dragging him into trouble, I wonder what Zu Dashou's intention is?
What's more, Liao Town doesn't have its own way of making money like Dongjiang Town, such as selling specialties from Liaodong. With Liao Town's family fortune, how long can it last without going out?
Suspicious and hesitant, Sun Yuanhua did not agree immediately. Anyway, the court had not taken action yet, it was just a rumor, and Liao Zhen's move seemed to be a precautionary measure.
The Dongjiang Army won another great victory, and its importance in the eyes of the imperial court increased again. Sun Yuanhua was worried that the imperial court would really attack Liao Town.
Out of his feelings for Liao Town, Sun Yuanhua did not want to see Liao Town disintegrated, but he had no other good way.
Even before taking office as governor, his teacher Xu Guangqi warned him not to get involved in the court's decision-making, but to concentrate on learning artillery from the West and help pacify the Liao Dynasty and destroy the captives, and he would definitely achieve great things.
Where will Liao Town go? Does the imperial court really want to destroy this army that is still capable of fighting? If Liao Town wants to save itself, will it go to any extreme?
Sun Yuanhua thought wildly for a long time, but finally he still had no clue. He could only sigh helplessly and wait helplessly for things to develop and change.
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Without the Dongjiang Army, or without the development and growth of the Dongjiang Army, the cancer in Liao Town would still grow, spread, and suck the last drop of blood from the Ming Empire.
But people like Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan and others were just the targets of the generals of Western Liaoning. Their superficial obedience was just that their opinions could bring huge benefits to the generals of Western Liaoning.
As for the friendly troops who were transferred from various places and fought side by side with the Guan Ning Army on the battlefield, it was a routine operation of the Guan Ning Army to be betrayed by the Guan Ning Army.
The foreign generals were even more squeezed out and had no place to stand. Those who reluctantly stayed could not command the senior officers of the Guan Ning Army under their command.
In the twelfth year of Chongzhen in history, the Qing army invaded Ningyuan. Jin Guofeng, who was the training commander of the Ningyuan regiment at the time, wanted to lead the army to attack, but no one was willing to go with him.
In anger, Jin Guofeng rushed out of Ningyuan City with only his two sons and dozens of servants, fought to the death with the Qing army, and later died in the battle.
Jin Guofeng was not from Liaodong, he was from Xuanfu, and was an outsider in the eyes of Guan Ningjun. So, more than ten thousand soldiers watched helplessly as their general went to die.
Hong Chengchou, then the governor of Jiliao, felt scared after Jin Guofeng died in the battle, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He hurriedly reported to Chongzhen, begging the emperor to issue an edict "Only obey the orders of the commander-in-chief" to make Guan Ning's army restrained.
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For this reason, he also took the initiative to show his goodwill to the generals in western Liaoning and took the lead in recommending that Wu Sangui, a rising star in Guan Ning's army, should take over the post of Ningyuan regiment training commander.
Hong Chengchou also understood clearly that if Guan Ning's army was to be commanded by a foreign general, it would still end up being tricked to death. It might be better if it was led by someone from the Liaoxi general.
Unfortunately, at the Battle of Songjin, Wu Sangui used routine operations to trick Hong Chengchou and other Ming troops. He and the commander-in-chief Wang Pu fled first, disrupting the entire deployment and leading to the collapse of the Ming army.
But even so, the court did not dare to punish him severely afterwards. Wang Pu was beheaded, but Wu Sangui was still able to lead Guan Ning's army, but the punishment was extremely light.
It was precisely because of all the bad deeds of Guan Ning's army that Guo Dajing hated them deeply and decided to deal with them with deadly force.
Of course, the military leaders in western Liaoning cannot be driven to a dead end at once. Guo Dajing's plan is implemented in stages, which is like boiling a frog in warm water, causing the town of Liao to gradually decline until it completely disappears.
This far-reaching attack on Jianzhou, spanning hundreds of miles, was invincible, and nearly 10,000 people were beheaded. This should shock Liao Town again, making it weigh the pros and cons and not dare to act rashly.
It is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and no one would jump into a pit of fire with open eyes. The decline of the Jianlu forces was like a big fire pit. In Guo Dajing's opinion, Liao Town would not seek death.
At this time, Guo Dajing submitted a memorial to the court through Fang Zhenghua to gradually dismantle Liao Town, and he felt a lot relieved. Lin Qingye, Cui Xiaoyi and others from North Korea were in Zhenjiang to discuss the strategy of jointly fighting the enemy.
Although there had been meetings before, after a big battle, the situation was different, and consensus still needed to be regained in order to achieve better and sincere cooperation.
"After the Zunhua War, when the Jiannu slaves in Shenyang City learned of the disastrous defeat and most of them were wiped out, they cried loudly in the streets." Lin Qingye toasted to each other and said with a smile: "Now that our old nest has been destroyed, we have suffered heavy losses. I don't know what will happen next."
What kind of tragic scene is it?”
Cui Xiaoyi laughed and said: "It must be like ghosts crying and wolves howling, like mourning a heir."
Guo Dajing was also happy when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Jianlu has not yet understood the situation clearly, so he was defeated like this. In future battles, he will be more cautious."
"The general trend dictates that it is difficult for Jianlu to recover." Lin Qingye said seriously: "As long as Commander Mao and Commander Guo are commanding the Dongjiang Army, the situation will not change significantly."
Cui Xiao nodded repeatedly and said: "As Guo Shuai analyzed, Jianlu will shrink again. This will add some difficulties to our army, but it is not insurmountable."
A long-distance attack meant transportation of grain and ammunition was difficult. Guo Dajing did not want to guard everywhere and pushed forward step by step, which made it even more difficult to solve this problem.
The establishment of a secret camp can alleviate logistical problems, but there are limits to the number of troops it can support. Therefore, Guo Dajing set an upper limit of 12,000 to 3,000 troops for the special operations camp and asked North Korea to provide help.
This is the biggest difference between Liaodong and Liaonan. Liaonan has a sufficient population, can produce sufficient grain and grass, manufacture sufficient ammunition and weapons, and can supply tens of thousands of troops nearby.
Liaodong does not have these favorable conditions. Even if the special operations battalion has some military garrison, most of the grain and ammunition supplies still need to be transported from southern Liaoning.
Although Pi Island can be used as the safest base, it does not have the conditions for farming and production. Even firewood harvesting cannot be guaranteed.
This is why Guo Dajing wants to withdraw the soldiers of the Infantry Association and leave the limited resources to the special operations battalion. Even so, some help from North Korea is needed.
"Brother Lin, Brother Cui, Guo will remember your great help, and I am deeply grateful." Guo Dajing toasted to each other and said sincerely: "If you can use Guo in the day meeting, Guo will be obliged to do so."
Lin Qingye drank the glass and said with a smile: "Guo Shuai is serious. Since Jianlu is the enemy of the Ming Dynasty, how can he not be the mortal enemy of North Korea? It is the right thing to face the enemy side by side. There is no need to say thank you."
Cui Xiao nodded in agreement and said: "Speaking of which, we have benefited from Guo Shuai and Dongjiang Town, so we can train an elite army to resist foreign aggression and protect our country in the future."
You don’t need to speak too clearly, everyone can hear you clearly.
Lin Qingye, Cui Xiaoyi and others, including Shen Qiyuan and other Korean pro-Ming factions, all expressed their gratitude to the Ming Dynasty for their full rescue and reconstruction when the Japanese invaded and Korea was almost destroyed.
Everyone has this period of humiliation engraved in their hearts, and it is naturally their ideal to strengthen the army and defend the country. And through Guo Dajing and the battle against Jianlu, the ideal is gradually being realized.
Shen Qiyuan may have a longer-term plan, not only to make good friends with Dongjiang Town and contact the Ming Dynasty court through Dongjiang Town, but also to train a strong army to lay a solid foundation for him to abolish the faint and establish a new one.
Just imagine, the army that can compete with Jianlu doesn't need to be large, just ten or twenty thousand, which is enough to gain an absolute advantage in the coup.
After all, situations are stronger than people.
Without the victory of Zunhua, the attitude of the Korean royal family would not have changed so obviously. Shen Qiyuan and other pro-Ming factions would not have been so powerful, and Lin Qingye and Cui Xiaoyi would not have dared to cooperate so boldly with the Dongjiang Army.
The great victory in the attack on Jianzhou undoubtedly strengthened their confidence, and they believed that the imperial court would acquiesce or even condone their actions.
Guo Dajing was also satisfied with the negotiations. A group of 3,000 Korean volunteers organized to assist in the battle, led by Jin Chongguo, An Kecheng, Zhang Xifan and others.
These officers have been trained in the Dongjiang Army for a long time and have rich practical experience.
There are another 2,000 Korean volunteers who have been dispersed and placed in special operations camps. They have also undergone rotation training in the Dongjiang Army and can be used as elites.
In the Dongjiang Army in southern Liaoning, the rotation training of Korean volunteers has not been interrupted. However, from now on, the number will decrease, about a thousand per year.
To put it simply, the training base for North Korean volunteers will be mainly in nearby Liaodong in the future, and the artillery training base in southern Liaoning will be mainly used.
In this world, there is no such thing as a poorly trained soldier. It just depends on whether your method is correct or not. When the Japanese and Japanese invaders invaded North Korea, they did very poorly, and most of the North Korean soldiers were also weak.
But there were also famous anti-Japanese generals like Yi Sun-shin, and Korean volunteers who bravely resisted the Japanese invaders.
In Guo Dajing's view, even the Guan Ning Army who was huddled in the city and did not dare to fight could still become soldiers who dared to fight if they were rigorously trained and dispersed among the Dongjiang Army.
Of course, this refers to the soldiers at the bottom, not the military leaders in western Liaoning. Retaining soldiers but not generals is Guo Dajing's unchanging idea.
As for Lin Qingye and Cui Xiaoyi's generous help, Guo Dajing was not stingy. A batch of heavy muskets and mortars would greatly enhance the strength of the North Korean army.
North Korea can also provide considerable help in spying on espionage and military intelligence. There are many North Koreans in the Jianlu-controlled areas.
Win-win cooperation has always been Guo Dajing's inherent purpose of communication. He was not condescending or arrogant to North Korean generals and officials just because he was the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty.
"I heard that the civil unrest in the Ming Dynasty was very serious." After drinking, Lin Qingye raised this question hesitantly, "This will not have any impact on the great cause of Pingliao in Dongjiang Town, right?"
Cui Xiaoyi also showed concern and looked at Guo Dajing.
Guo Dajing gave a helpless smile and said slowly: "Although it is regrettable and a bit embarrassing, Dongjiang Town is basically self-sufficient. The Ping Liao extermination of the captives will not change because of the difficulties of the court."
After a pause, he added: "In two to three years, strive to pacify Liaodong. Even if we fail to achieve this goal, we must cripple the rebels so that they can no longer pose a threat."
"Based on the talents of Mao Shuai and Guo Shuai, it will take two or three years to achieve the goal." Lin Qingye breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Guo Shuai is so honest and admirable."
Guo Dajing waved his hand and said: "This major disaster will have an impact on Dongjiang Town and even your country. Moreover, it will last for more than ten years, so Brother Lin and Brother Cui must also be prepared."
"The weather is getting colder every year, and our country's food production has indeed been affected." Cui Xiaoyi's face became gloomy. "The lives of North Korean people are very miserable and sad."
Guo Dajing saw Lin Qingye also showing an ugly expression, and said slowly: "Guo has some coping methods and will also provide help. Brothers, don't worry too much."