Chapter 281 The Return of the Japanese (9) The Emperor is Greedy
Recovering the entire North Korea is still just a step away. After Gao Pingshi arrived at Jinhae, the morale of the entire Ming army was suddenly high, and the goal that everyone had in mind became Busan.
However, at this time, the imperial court had just received news of the victory in the naval battle, which aroused the enthusiasm of the imperial court. Zhu Yijun made a rare temporary stop and held a court meeting, and announced the situation of the Korean war in person with great enthusiasm.
This cannot be blamed on His Majesty's lack of knowledge. The main reason is that the starting point and focus of the Ming army's view of the war situation and the court's view of the war situation are different.
The frontline Ming army obviously viewed the war situation from the perspective of "complete victory". Therefore, as long as Busan has not been conquered and the Japanese army still has remnants of enemies that have not been eliminated, it means that the matter is not finished yet and more efforts need to be made.
Therefore, although the Ming army in the Ming Dynasty also knew that a victory in the naval battle was a great event, they would not be dazzled by the victory. Instead, they immediately began to invest in the subsequent combat analysis, troop redeployment and other matters after the celebration banquet.
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But the imperial court was different. How did the imperial court view the war situation after Gao Pragmatic's expedition? To put it simply: surround Wei and rescue Zhao, move the tiger away from the mountain, and wait for work in leisure... Forget it, let's elaborate on it.
Gao Pangshi did not directly land in the north and central part of Korea, but went to the south, directly threatening the Pusan hub, the most critical hub of the Japanese invasion of Korea, which was to encircle Wei and save Zhao.
After encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao, the Japanese army in Hanyang on the front line faced the huge threat of being cut off from their retreat, and had to give up Hanyang, which had an extremely important political status, and retreat southward - of course it was not giving up on the surface, but only two legions were left to face the main force of the Ming army.
This is de facto giving up.
The reason why the Japanese army did not give up directly was because they had two last resorts:
First, there is no way to explain to Toyotomi Hideyoshi by simply abandoning Hanyang. Before this invasion, almost all the Japanese generals discovered that His Highness Taikaku's temper was getting weirder and weirder, more and more irritable, and completely unpredictable.
, he frequently punished his generals and even other daimyo severely, so no one wanted to hit him;
Secondly, someone needs to be the rear guard of the army. The Ming army has always had two major advantages, one is artillery and the other is cavalry. Hanyang is facing the main force of the Ming army, and these two advantages are even more obvious.
Forget about cannons. After all, when it comes to chasing the Japanese army, even if the cannons produced by Jinghua are equipped with the best artillery carts currently, they may not be able to catch up. But the cavalry is almost impossible for the Japanese army, unless the Japanese army goes all the way into the mountains and forests.
, otherwise it would definitely not be able to outrun the Ming army, which was all equipped with Mongolian war horses.
The main force of the Japanese army was going south. How could all the nearly 100,000 troops get into the woods? Therefore, there must be a strong army behind them to hold back the Ming army, otherwise everyone would not be able to leave.
But the Japanese army never calculated that Shimazu Yoshihiro played a trick on them: "Unexpectedly, I joined the Communists!" In the end, they sold Kato Kiyomasa - in fact, it is more accurate to say that he only sold Kato Kiyomasa.
Half sold, Hanyang City was completely sold.
In this way, the 20,000 elites of the First Army and the Fifth Army truly became the rearguard of the field. Facing the main force of the Ming army, the danger was extremely high.
This is why both sides were so excited when the two of them met with the main force of the Japanese army not long ago - in the eyes of the Japanese generals, the two of them really escaped death this time to cover themselves and others!
Many people even felt in their hearts that they owed the two of them a favor. Even President Konishi didn't say anything to Kiyomasa Kato, so it was probably because of this kind of thinking.
Closer to home, the main force of the Japanese army moved south, thus achieving the second plan: to move the tiger away from the mountain.
However, moving the tiger away from the mountain is only a means in itself. What is really important is what to do after "leaving the mountain". After the main force of the Japanese army went south, what did the Ming army do?
The court believed that the Ming army under the command of Gao Pragmatic did at least three things at the same time:
First, regain Hanyang and completely control the Korean court. Needless to say, recovering Hanyang is a great achievement like regaining the capital of a vassal state. The matter of controlling the Korean court is somewhat controversial within the Ming Dynasty, and it is worth discussing.
carry.
Zhu Yijun was a very practical person, not only under the influence of Gao Pragmatism, but even in original history.
For example, Chinese dynasties have been very particular about the colors of clothing that people with different social status can wear. In most periods, there are even strict regulations that must not be exceeded.
Zhu Yuanzhang had very strict regulations on these things, but it was different when Zhu Yijun arrived. When this man saw an official going to court saying that many people (mainly landowners and wealthy businessmen) were "submissive" without permission, his first reaction was
It's not that they will be severely punished, but that if they are willing to pay a tax for it, then they will be red. It's no big deal.
The problem is that according to Zhu Yuanzhang's regulations, Zhu Ming uses red as his symbolic color, and only high-ranking officials can wear red! Zhu Yijun didn't care, thinking that if he couldn't pay taxes, then he could fine him if he was caught.
So some people criticized the emperor and said, what if they wear bright yellow?
Bright yellow is the color of the emperor's uniform. If you wear bright yellow, it is tantamount to rebellion. What can be done? Of course, you should kill them to make a warning to others. However, Zhu Yijun's point of view is: the problem is not big, just fine more money.
For such an emperor, would he care about the fact that the actual control of the Korean court by the Ming army would damage the "credibility" of the Ming Dynasty? Obviously not!
Besides, based on his understanding of Gao Panggang, even if the latter had not told him in advance, he would have been able to guess part of it. To put it more lightly, he estimated that Gao Panggang must have been extremely dissatisfied with the North Korean court's dictation of the battle.
Judging from his historical experience, Gao Pragmatically emphasized that the court should give him full power.
When he went to war, even the Ming court had to give him full power. How could you, the North Korean court, be a bit of a loser and still want to point fingers at him? What's the matter, your reputation as Li Hao is greater than mine, right?
To put it more seriously, Zhu Yijun estimated that Gao Pragmatic had thoughts about North Korea. Regarding this, Zhu Yijun was not surprised, because as early as more than 20 years ago when they were classmates, Gao Pragmatic, who was the prince's accompaniment,
Pragmatism specifically explained to Zhu Yijun the reasons why Goguryeo was conquered in the Sui and Tang dynasties.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The reason why I say "specialized" is because Gao Pragmatic spent an entire afternoon discussing this matter and clearly analyzed the various reasons for him, so
Zhu Yijun was very impressed by this.
The four emperors of the Sui and Tang Dynasties—Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty—continuously campaigned against Goguryeo until it was completely destroyed. Among them, the three conquests of Emperor Sui Yang were criticized the most by later generations and were considered unnecessary.
, wasting people and money, and ultimately ruining the country.
The problem is, these four emperors are all outstanding among all Chinese emperors in terms of strategy and intelligence, so why do they insist on clinging to such a "small border country" and must eradicate it?
The first person to use troops against Goguryeo was Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian. In 598, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty sent 300,000 troops to attack Goguryeo by land and water on the grounds that Goguryeo was attacking the military garrison in western Liaoning.
A 300,000-strong army was a terrifying presence at any period in the feudal era, and Goguryeo was no match at all. But I don’t know whether it was Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty who was unlucky or whether Goguryeo was favored by God at that time. The land army of the Sui Dynasty encountered heavy rain and the supply of food and grass was
The army at sea was also hit by a storm, and almost all were lost before reaching Goguryeo. As a result, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty's expedition to Goguryeo came to an end before it even started.
The second person to use troops against Goguryeo was Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Guang used troops against Goguryeo three times in his life, and each time he personally conquered Goguryeo. In 612, Yang Guang led more than 1 million troops to attack Goguryeo, but returned without success; 613
In 614, Yang Guang made another expedition to Goguryeo, but returned without success; in 614, Yang Guang prepared to make another expedition to Goguryeo. He was almost ready, but due to continuous domestic uprisings, he had to stop foreign wars.
Judging from the time of Yang Guang's expedition to Goguryeo, it was all carried out at the end of the Sui Dynasty. In other words, the Sui Dynasty was already in turmoil, but Yang Guang still wanted to conquer Goguryeo.
The third person to use troops against Goguryeo was Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. In 644, Li Shimin led an expedition to Goguryeo with 60,000 people. It initially went very smoothly, but later because of the cold weather and lack of food and grass, he had to withdraw his troops. However, this war was from a military perspective.
In terms of the above, it is still a victory;
In 647, Li Shimin sent troops to attack Goguryeo for the second time. This time the attack went more smoothly, but he failed to win completely for some reason. However, he still forced the King of Goguryeo to let his son Moli Zhirenwu enter the court to apologize;
In 648, Li Shimin sent troops to attack Goguryeo for the third time. This time Goguryeo not only lost many troops, but also lost many cities, but it still failed to completely destroy Goguryeo.
In general, Li Shimin used troops against Goguryeo three times. Although the number of troops sent each time was not large, he achieved victory every time and was always in an advantageous position. The only shortcoming was that he failed to destroy the country-maybe later generations will treat Li Shimin
The expectations were too high, and it seemed like even being disabled didn't count as a win.
The fourth person to use troops against Goguryeo was Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. In 655, Li Zhi sent troops to attack Goguryeo and killed many enemy troops; in 658, Li Zhi sent troops to attack Goguryeo again and occupied many cities; in 660, Li Zhi sent Su Dingfang to expedition to Goguryeo.
, this time Su Dingfang destroyed Goguryeo's ally Baekje; in 661, Li Zhi once again sent troops to attack Goguryeo; in 666, Li Zhi continued to attack Goguryeo - this time, the Tang Dynasty finally occupied all of Goguryeo and completely destroyed Goguryeo.
In other words, Li Zhi sent large armies to Goguryeo at least five times, and finally completely destroyed it. The most prosperous Tang Dynasty was not Taizong, nor Xuanzong, nor the empress, but Gaozong.
(By the way, in fact, Gaozong's political skills were so good that Empress Wu was only worthy of being fucked. His only mistake was that he did not expect that he would die too early, and he did not expect that the queen, who was over sixty years old, would actually play with his own son.
She had to go round and round, and even became the emperor as a woman at such an advanced age - no one would have expected this thing to change, right?)
So, here comes the main question: Why must Goguryeo be destroyed?
The most critical point is that the geographical location of Goguryeo is too important, which is the most important reason why the Central Plains Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo. Part of Goguryeo's ruling scope is in Liaodong, and the other part is in northern Korea. For the Central Plains Dynasty, here - especially Liaodong,
It must be within its own sphere of influence, because once it is ruled by other regimes, the threat to itself will be very great.
The reason is very simple. If you attack Yanyun from Liaodong, as long as the sixteen states of Yanyun are captured like the Liao Kingdom, the northern part of the Central Plains will have no peace and will always be in a passive situation of being beaten.
Goguryeo, which is located in Liaodong and northern Korea, borders many nomadic peoples. If they rely on their strong economic strength in semi-agriculture to unify these nomadic peoples, it will be logical to attack the Central Plains next, and they will naturally have to guard against it.
In addition, Gao Pragmatic also detailed a lot of things such as terrain, economy, war horses, and surrounding situations (Turks, Tubos, Nanzhao, if Goguryeo is added, the worst case scenario is that the Central Plains dynasty will be attacked from all sides), etc. Of course, these are not as important as the location.
The “location” here is actually what later generations would call a geopolitical issue.
However, Gao Pragmatic did not stop there. He also expanded on other situations that the Ming Dynasty is currently facing. Such as coastal defense, such as resources, such as controlling the Jurchens, etc.
Zhu Yijun still remembered clearly that he didn't pay much attention to it after hearing it. He just replied with a smile: "Fortunately, North Korea is my loyal vassal today, so I don't have to worry about anything."
Looking back now, Gao Pingshi didn't seem to say anything after hearing his answer, but his face was quite solemn.
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but feel secretly frightened. It seemed that Pragmatic had a premeditated plan against North Korea, and this premeditated plan even existed more than 20 years ago.
Zhu Yijun quickly recalled what things Gao Pragmatic had mentioned back then, especially things that might be his goals.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After thinking for a while, Zhu Yijun secretly wondered: Could it be the Western Regions and Uzang?
It’s okay to go to the Western Regions, after all, it is a big trade route, not to mention that if we continue to show off the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties, we have to go to the Western Regions. However, I heard that the ghost place of Uzang is not for people at all. After the army went there, even breathing became a problem.
You wouldn't really be interested if you were pragmatic, right?
What is the use of a place like this? Even if it is taken over, the tax revenue will not be very much, and there may not even be anyone willing to be an official there... No, I have to ask when pragmatic comes back this time.
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The second thing the Ming army did at the same time was that the southern and central armies took the opportunity to massively recover the Japanese-occupied areas. To the Ming army on the front line, this was just a matter of chasing rabbits and doing it by the way, but in the eyes of the imperial court, it was different.
In the eyes of the imperial court, the news they received was to recover Jinzhou today, attack Chungju tomorrow, capture Gwangju the day after, and conquer Jeonju the day after that... In short, good news came frequently, the recovery of the Eight Routes was just around the corner, and the battlefield situation was excellent -
—It’s not a small thing, it’s a great thing.
The third thing the Ming army did was not only to achieve great victories on land, but also to cut off the connection between the Japanese army and the mainland. The main force of its navy was blocked in the Port of Busan and was not allowed to leave.
As an island country attacks a mainland country, but the navy is cut off, there is no need to think too much about the consequences. At least the troops that have landed have become turtles in the urn, just like Cao Cao said of Yuan Shu: "Sooner or later, I will capture the dead bones in the grave."
This great situation originally made the imperial court full of expectations for the next battle, and as expected, Gao Pangshi quickly delivered the good news of a great victory at sea.
There are two things that make this victory report unusual. First, it suffered almost no losses and the naval battle was a complete victory. Second, most of the enemy fleet was not sunk but captured, including even a Japanese general——
Gao Jingshi said in the victory report that this man was not only a great name with a fiefdom of 70,000 shi, but also a leading fortification expert in Japan.
Such a great victory was rare, and capturing a Japanese general alive was the first in two Korean wars. Of course Zhu Yijun was very happy.
However, he specially held an extra court for this purpose, not just to praise Gao Pragmatism - even if he wanted to reward him, it would have to be after the liberation of all Korea.
So what is he going to do?
"My lords." Zhu Yijun smiled and raised the victory report in his hand, and said: "The Japanese ministers were defeated, and the university scholar Gao reported victory in a pragmatic manner. In this battle, there were a total of fifty-four Japanese ships, large and small, forced to land. What do you think... these ships
How should we deal with it?”
All the ministers were startled, thinking that the captured enemy ship would naturally belong to our court. What is there to ask?
However, the new Minister of War, Song Yingchang, reacted quickly and immediately said: "Your Majesty, although this battle was a great victory for our army, according to the understanding of our Ministry of War, the specific fleet of our army that participated in the battle was a fleet under the name of the Gao Ge Ministry. Of course,
Among them are the private ships of the princes and uncles, and the fleet led by our navy Chen Lin, Deng Zilong and others were still enforcing the blockade outside Busan Port at that time..."
When everyone heard this, they suddenly realized that this battle was mainly won by the fleet of the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance. Chen Lin and Deng Zilong's navy did not participate in the war. In fact, it can only be said that they did not directly participate in the war. In fact, they played a powerful role in the battle.
played a big role.
In this case, His Majesty the Emperor's words are very problematic.
Their private ships won the battle and captured a large number of Japanese warships. According to the consistent "rules" of the Ming Dynasty, there is no such thing as "all seizures must be returned to the public" for this spoil of war - just like when Li Chengliang conquered Gule Village,
Will anyone ask him to hand over what he captured in Gule Village to the court?
There is no such thing as that!
Li Chengliang just handed over some captured symbols such as flags and drums to the court, and handed over a lot of heads by the way. As for the money, soldiers and armor collected from Gule Village, there is no doubt that he
Take it for yourself! Since the Ming Dynasty mainly relied on servants to fight wars, which general in the towns of Jiubian did not do this? Convention, do you understand the convention?
However, Zhu Yijun seemed to just "don't understand". He said without changing his expression and his heart not beating: "I know that Qiu Zhen's fleet won this battle, but isn't his fleet going on a expedition this time?
Since they are on a conquest, doesn't their victory mean our army's victory? Besides, since Qiuzhen has written these captures in the victory report, it is natural that he has no interest in these ships... Can't you see it?"
"All the ministers" bowed their heads one after another.
We cannot say whether the Cabinet is interested in these ships, but it is obvious to everyone that Your Majesty is very interested in these ships.
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