Wanli's appointment of Li Xianzhong as Governor of North Korea stunned the cabinet and the Ministry of War.
North Korea was not a territory of the Ming Dynasty, but a governor was directly appointed there.
As for the "Ming Army Garrisoned in North Korea", it is even unheard of. It is said that this army will be stationed in North Korea for a long time to fight against the Tatars.
Of course, the most anxious one is the Ministry of Household Affairs. They are already so poor that they have to borrow money from Wanli's internal funds. How can they have the money to support a Ming army stationed in North Korea for a long time.
When they heard that this army did not need the Ministry of Revenue to pay wages, or even transport food from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue had no objection.
The Ministry of Rites even shouted strong support. These days, the North Korean envoys were mourning every day, and the place was almost turned into a mourning hall. This time, His Majesty sent the Ming army stationed in North Korea, and finally he was able to send away those North Korean envoys.
Xiong Tingbi soon understood the mystery of this. The Ming army stationed in North Korea was actually used to fight the Tatars.
His presence can prevent the Tatars from further plundering North Korea. In addition, it can also contain a considerable part of the Tatar forces, lengthening their front.
The most important thing is that these soldiers are used by the Ming Dynasty, but they don’t have to pay for them to support them. This is a good deal!
So the Ministry of War also agreed with this matter.
Although the Ministry of Personnel controlled by the Donglin Party strongly opposed it, this was appointed by Wanli himself. In the end, Fang Congzhe, the chief minister of the cabinet, approved the appointment.
Nowadays, the battlefields and copper mines in Liaodong are all supported by Li Xianzhong. Although the 20% copper received by the Ministry of Household Affairs is not a lot, it is also a rare new income in recent times.
Although the Governor's reputation is not small, this territory is in North Korea, and it is only in name only. There is no need for him to offend His Majesty for this matter.
After all, being able to solve the North Korean issue without spending money also solved a big trouble for the cabinet.
Li Xianzhong, the behind-the-scenes boss, has not been there in person since the opening of Heaven and Earth. Naturally, his appointment as Governor of North Korea will require him to get together with a group of powerful buddies in the capital.
Although Li Xianzhong's Ning Yuanbo's title is still relatively low, he is now one of the core figures in this circle.
The eldest brother is the one who can make everyone rich. Now he is already a real "money tree" in heaven and earth.
Li Xianzhong's membership system has indeed played a big role. Who would have thought that the more thresholds are set, the more people will squeeze their heads to get in.
In the past few months, several partners in the partnership have made a lot of money.
Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo, said: "Brother Xianzhong, this world is really too small. The reservations for the mahjong private rooms have to be scheduled for ten days, which is delaying everyone's fortune!"
"Brother Zheng and I have identified a large piece of land near Shichahai next to the Victory Gate. The branch of Heaven and Earth must be opened as soon as possible!"
Li Xianzhong cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your trouble, brothers!"
At this time, he discovered that the person accompanying Zhu Chunchen was Ziyun, the top girl in the world before, and next to Zheng Yangxing was a young boy with delicate features, who looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old at most.
It seems that the business of Heaven and Earth is expanding very quickly.
These dignitaries are all human beings. As expected, it didn’t take long for Zheng Yangxing to propose a Korean ginseng business. Once Li Xianzhong was stationed in North Korea, he would definitely open up trade routes. Everyone would make money, so he would naturally not offend Zheng Yangxing. .
But what surprised him the most was that there was a blond and blue-eyed Western missionary among the members of Heaven and Earth.
There are status restrictions for members of Heaven and Earth. They are either noble children in the capital or relatives of second-rank officials in the court. It seems really unusual that this foreign devil can sneak in.
Of course, there are exceptions to everything, such as Cui Wensheng, the eunuch in charge of Yikun Palace, and some collateral descendants of the Li family in Liaodong in the capital.
Mao Yuanyi quickly said: "Let me tell you, Ning Yuanbo, this Catholic Church still has a certain influence in the Ming Dynasty officialdom. This missionary has helped us a lot. This time we were able to successfully purchase new artillery from Macau, all thanks to his matchmaking." .”
Catholicism still achieved certain development during the Wanli period, especially in wealthy areas such as the capital and Songjiang Prefecture.
Italian missionary Matteo Ricci adopted a relatively tolerant approach. He allowed Chinese believers to continue the traditional worship of heaven, ancestors and Confucius. He believed that as long as superstitious elements such as prayer and worship were not mixed in, it did not essentially violate Catholic doctrine.
Matteo Ricci himself even wore the clothes of a Chinese scholar and had considerable prestige and influence among scholars.
Among them, officials such as Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and Yang Tingyun were all devout Catholics and greatly helped them promote Catholicism.
The world map "Kunyu Wanguoquantu" produced by Matteo Ricci was the first world map in Chinese history, and he himself was interviewed by Wanli.
Later Li Xianzhong also read the "Comprehensive Map of Kunyu and Ten Thousand Kingdoms". It can be said that it has roughly outlined the outline of the world's continents, which is relatively accurate.
Except for Australia, which has not yet been discovered, all other continents are shown on the map.
However, Matteo Ricci himself died in the 40th year of Wanli. His death caused a certain stagnation in the development of Catholicism in the Ming Dynasty.
Li Xianzhong was not interested in Catholicism, but as long as Catholicism was not involved in politics, there was no harm in allowing them to spread.
After all, as a person of later generations, he is actually not interested in all religions.
However, much of the advanced Western scientific knowledge possessed by missionaries during this period was still helpful to the Ming Dynasty.
Soon the missionary was received by Li Xianzhong.
I saw a blond foreigner wearing a round-necked and long-sleeved shirt saluted me, and then said in proficient Chinese: "Catholic Deacon Tang Ruowang meets Uncle Ning Yuan!"
Li Xianzhong did not expect that the young missionary in front of him was the famous Tang Ruowang.
Then he should be proficient in astronomy, calendar and firearms. Li Xianzhong has no need for astronomy and calendar for the time being, but he is in urgent need of improving firearms, especially artillery.
Li Xianzhong said: "This time I was able to successfully purchase the front-loading smoothbore cannon from the Bugalao Cannon Foundry in Macao, thanks to the help of Deacon Tang. I would like to thank you here!"
The front-loading smoothbore cannon is also known as the "Red Barbarian Cannon". Historically, it would take a few years for this kind of artillery to be salvaged from sunken East India Company ships by Ming officials for imitation.
However, Li Xianzhong, who has a God's perspective, now asked the Portuguese people to cast this kind of front-loading smoothbore cannon in advance.
The 10 artillery pieces customized by Li Xianzhong are 12-pound cannons. The artillery weighs one ton and has a range of 1,500 meters.
Compared with the Franco machine gun with a range of less than 800 meters, this is already a heavy artillery, but the rate of fire is much slower.
Because it is a mixed copper and iron cannon, the casting cost of the Putao dignitaries is estimated to be no more than 200 taels, but they actually sell themselves 600 taels each.
But now he urgently needs these artillery pieces to attack Jiefan City and force Lao Nu to retreat, so he can only let them earn one vote.
Tang Ruowang said: "The artillery of the Bugalao Artillery Foundry is the best artillery in East Asia. Uncle Ning Yuan has such a bright eye."
"I'm just curious. This kind of artillery has never appeared in the Ming Dynasty, North Korea or Japan. Even the Bugalao Cannon Foundry just completed the production line of this smoothbore gun this year, and it has never even been produced. Sample, how did you know about it?”
Li Xianzhong had already thought of a way to deal with it. He said: "I only heard about this kind of smoothbore cannon from businessmen in Japan. I didn't expect that the Bugalao Cannon Foundry can already produce it."
Then he added: "I also have an artillery factory in Liaodong, but currently it can only produce Franco machine artillery. I heard that Deacon Tang also has a lot of research on firearms. I wonder if I can help my artillery factory improve the casting process."
Tang Ruowang knew that Uncle Ning Yuan probably wanted him to help him create this smoothbore cannon.
These people of the Ming Dynasty were very capable of counterfeiting. Once they obtained the actual firearm, it was only a matter of time before they could imitate it.
There is actually nothing special about the principle of this smoothbore cannon. Even if you don't help them, it will probably take less than a few months for the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty to figure it out on their own.
This Uncle Ning Yuan was a popular figure next to the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I was afraid that he would need his help if he wanted to successfully preach in the Ming Dynasty, so he decided to help him.
Tang Ruowang said: "I am very willing to help Uncle Ning Yuan. I wonder if Uncle Ning Yuan can also do me a small favor?"
Li Xianzhong said: "Although I do not believe in any religion, I advocate religious freedom. As long as you do not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, I can allow you to promote your Catholicism in heaven and on earth."
"Not only in heaven and earth, Deacon Tang Kaiyuan of Liaodong under my jurisdiction is also free to preach."
"If you can help Ben Bo solve enough problems, I can even try to convince the King of Korea to let you spread Catholicism there."
Catholic missionaries followed a top-down route, that is, they first found some religious believers in the upper class of the Ming Dynasty. With the help of these upper-class figures, it would be much easier for them to develop followers.
Therefore, they are very willing to provide some advanced technologies to help the development of Ming Dynasty in exchange for their support for the Catholic cause.
Originally, Tang Ruowang was interested in Heaven and Earth, a place where the upper class celebrities of the Ming Dynasty gathered. Unexpectedly, Uncle Ning Yuan was willing to help Catholicism develop in North Korea. This was really an unexpected surprise.
However, he also knew that there was no free lunch in the world. If Ning Yuanbo was willing to help him in his missionary work, he would definitely have more than just a smoothbore cannon.
So he said: "Dear Uncle Ning Yuan, I will try my best to help you solve the technical problems that are troubling you. What are your needs? It's okay to say so."
Li Xianzhong said directly: "In addition to the technology of artillery and muskets, I also want a ship, a Spanish Galen ship."
Spanish galenic ships generally have four masts, with the front two masts carrying rails and the back two masts carrying triangular sails.
The general standard length is 46 meters to 55 meters, the displacement is 300 to 1000 tons, there are several long decks, and the poop is very high.
The largest large Galen ship has 7 levels of stern deck, a displacement of 2,000 tons, and a draft of 8 meters.
In fact, the Spanish Galenic ships are a bit outdated now. The sailing battleship has not yet taken shape. The English light Galenic ships are actually more suitable for naval battles.
However, for the time being, England's warships have not appeared in East Asia.
The relatively mature Spanish covered steamships are currently the main ships of the Portuguese and Spanish. They can be used for both commercial and war purposes and are quite useful.
Tang Ruowang was shocked by Li Xianzhong's idea. He said: "Dear Uncle Ning Yuan, shipbuilding is a complicated project. Please forgive me for not being able to help!"
Li Xianzhong said: "Of course I didn't ask Deacon Tang to build a ship for me. What I mean is that I need a Spanish Galen warship. You can also buy a second-hand one. Of course, it is best to get the blueprints. And I need some experienced people." Shipbuilder.”
Tang Ruowang was really shocked by Li Xianzhong. He definitely didn't have the ability to build a ship.
So he said: "If it's just a second-hand warship and blueprints, as long as you can afford the money, there is absolutely no problem. I can also help you hire experienced shipwrights in Macau."
Li Xianzhong was not willing to waste money. The Ming Navy had many warships, with dozens of types.
But these free warships are too small.
The small warship is mainly the Cangshan ship, with 37 people on board, 4 sailors, and 33 soldiers. It is divided into three armors, the first armor is French weapons and shotguns, the second armor is cold weapons, and the third armor is firearms.
It is equipped with 2 Qianjin Folang machine guns and has a displacement of about 40 tons.
The medium-sized warship is the Haicang ship: 53 crew, 9 sailors, 44 soldiers, divided into 4 armors.
Equipped with 4 Qianjin Folang machine guns, with a displacement of about 80 tons
The large warships are fortune ships.
The large boat is more than 36 meters long, about 7 meters wide, has 24 cabins, and can carry 1,500 stones. Each ship is equipped with more than 30 sailors and boatmen, and 80 sailors.
It can be equipped with 24 Qianjin Folang machine guns and has a full load displacement of about 240 tons.
However, this 240-ton tonnage has no combat effectiveness when faced with European armed merchant ships that can easily weigh 700 to 800 tons, or even thousands of tons.
That's why Li Xianzhong went to Spain to build ships at all costs.
To be honest, the Fuchuan is sufficient in Liaodong and Korean waters, but if it wants to attack Japan in the future, it will not be possible to go to Nanyang.
Therefore, Li Xianzhong must take precautions and at least build two 500-ton Spanish Galen ships to suppress the situation. Otherwise, he may not even be able to defeat the pirates entrenched in the south of the Ming Dynasty.
After all, shipbuilding is a very time-consuming thing. No matter how fast it is, it is estimated that it will take about a year to build a large warship, not counting the time for building docks and shipyards.
At this stage, it is still necessary to buy two ready-made main battleships.
After taking care of Tang Ruowang, it was time for him, the governor in Korea, to go to Wangjing to meet with the King of Korea.
In the end, Li Xianzhong gave up all the small boats and chose 25 large blessing boats.
Although the Fu Ship with a full load displacement of 240 tons is not large from the data point of view, it was very spectacular when these warships appeared in front of Li Xianzhong.
The huge hull and the huge main sail several stories high still look very spectacular in the port.
The standard configuration of the Fu Ship was 30 sailors and 80 soldiers per ship. However, there were no naval battles near North Korea for the time being. Li Xianzhong decisively reduced the number of soldiers and marched towards Yingkou with two thousand navy troops.
With an order, the anchor was pulled up, the ship began to move slowly, and the huge blessing ships left the port in an orderly manner.
Tianjin is about 250 nautical miles away from Yingkou. It took the cavalry six or seven days, but they arrived at Yingkou Port after two days by sea.
At this time, guerrilla general Zu Dashou had been waiting at Yingkou for a long time.
The 3,000 Ming troops stationed in North Korea this time were composed of 2,200 Ming troops recruited from various passes in Kaiyuan and Tieling, plus the original 800 soldiers from Pidao.
After unloading the artillery purchased from Macau, more than 2,000 Ming troops immediately boarded the ship.
Then they picked up Kong Youde and others on the warship from Pidao.
Since Kong Youde and others had met the Korean King Li Jie before, they led 1,000 people to directly take over Haeju, the capital of Hwanghae Province, to prevent the Jianzhou Tatars from going south again to threaten Kaijing and Hanyang.
Soon the navy of the Ming Dynasty landed near Incheon in later generations.
When the patrolling North Korean naval warships saw so many giant ships, they were frightened.
After all, it was not an invasion, so Li Xianzhong still sent someone to notify the Koreans.
Then they landed directly near Incheon.
About half an hour later, King Li Zhu of Joseon sent his uncle Gu Hong to personally greet the arrival of the heavenly soldiers.
The navy officers and soldiers of Ming Dynasty stayed directly at the port.
Li Xianzhong led two thousand troops into Hanyang, the royal city of North Korea.
Since the North Korean envoy had brought back the news that the Ming army would station troops in North Korea, Li Jian was still mentally prepared to vacate the imperial guard camp in Hanyang City as a camp for the Ming army.
The Ming army wearing heavy cloth armor formed a neat formation and quickly entered Hanyang City.
When the people of North Korea saw how powerful the Ming army was, they immediately rushed to rejoice. With the protection of the Ming army, they no longer had to be threatened by the Tatars, and they burst into loud cheers in an instant!
At this time, King Li Zhu of North Korea had already led North Korea's civil and military ministers in formal attire to wait for Li Xianzhong at the gate of the embassy.
As a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the King of Korea is at the level of a county king, enjoys the treatment of a prince, and can also wear dragon robes.
However, he is wearing a five-clawed dragon robe specially given by the Ming Dynasty. Although it has five claws, the number of dragons on the robe is different from that of the Ming Dynasty emperor.
The young man wearing a red five-clawed dragon robe in front of him must be the King of Joseon, Lee Joon.
After seeing Li Zhu, Li Xianzhong also took the initiative to dismount.
However, he does not need to salute at this time. On the contrary, if the Ming envoy reads the edict, the North Korean monarchs and ministers must perform "five salutes" to the Ming envoy.
The so-called "Five Bows" is recorded in the "Ming Huidian": "The five bows before the emperor's head are made is a courtesy for ministers to meet the monarch."
It is basically equivalent to kneeling down and kowtowing, repeated five times.
Of course, the King of Joseon did not always perform the "Five Bows".
In the 14th year of Orthodoxy, after the "Tumubao Incident", the Ming Dynasty's national power weakened. At this time, the King of Korea refused to practice the "Five Salutes" and only bowed.
It was not until the Jiajing period that the Ming Dynasty's national power increased again, and the King of Korea obediently implemented the "Five Bows" again.
At this time, King Li Zhu of Joseon hoped most to be canonized by the Ming Dynasty, and he could not wait to perform the "Five Worships".
After Li Xianzhong took out an imperial edict, North Korean King Li Zhu took the lead and respectfully performed the "Five Bows" to Li Xianzhong.
He saluted very devoutly and even coughed when he kowtowed.
However, the content of the imperial edict greatly disappointed him. This was not the Ming Emperor's edict to confer his throne.
It was just an edict appointing Li Xianzhong as the Ming Governor-General in North Korea and dispatching Ming troops to North Korea to station in North Korea.
However, Li Jian did not dare to show dissatisfaction, and still expressed his gratitude to the Ming Emperor respectfully. After all, the arrival of the Ming army made them no longer threatened by the Tatars.
Afterwards, Li Zhu held a grand banquet for Li Xianzhong in Changdeokgung Palace.
When the kings and ministers of North Korea learned that Li Xianzhong was Li Rusong's son and is now Ning Yuanbo, they expressed their high respect for him.
After all, Li Rusong led the army to regain Pyongyang and made great contributions to North Korea.
Then there's the compliment.
Li Xianzhong thought to himself that these sticks had really eaten too much for free, and thought that Daming was here to work for them for free.
After all, Li Zhu was also a king of Korea. In front of so many ministers, Li Xianzhong still had to save some face for him.
Directly raising the issue of military pay will inevitably make him a little embarrassed.
So Li Xianzhong suggested that Li Jie go to the military camp to see the majesty of the Ming army stationed in North Korea.
After entering the military camp, Li Zhu initially praised the Ming army for its strong combat power and that it was an elite division.
But the more he looked at it, the more he felt that these Ming soldiers looked familiar. The armor and fire guns were the same as those "mercenaries" in Kaicheng.
Fortunately, Li Xianzhong stopped talking in circles and said, "Does your Majesty think these people have met before?"
"If General Mo had not sent troops to North Korea privately before, I am afraid that the king would have died in Kaijing by now."
After listening to Li Xianzhong's words, Li Zhu was shocked.
No wonder those pirates of the Ming Dynasty were so powerful that even the Jianlu were no match for them.
Li Xianzhong said: "Now that Kong Youde and others have taken over Haizhou City, the king can rest easy!"
Li Zhu had just settled down when he heard Li Xianzhong change the subject and say: "Your Majesty, you should know that our Ming Dynasty is fighting a bloody battle with Jianzhou, and it is impossible to send troops to take care of North Korea!"
"The general promised in front of His Majesty that all the food, military pay, pensions, and rewards for this station in North Korea will be provided by North Korea, so His Majesty reluctantly agreed."
"Although this is the first time that the king and I have met, it is not the first time that we have cooperated. I believe that the king will not make it difficult for the general, right?"
At this moment, Li Shu's face was flushed, and he whispered: "North Korea has just experienced a catastrophe, and now it is also very difficult. The price of Kaicheng is really unaffordable for North Korea!"
Li Xianzhong smiled slightly and said: "Where are you thinking, Your Majesty? There was no appointment from the imperial court before. Those brothers took the risk of being killed by the nine tribes and came to North Korea. The asking price is naturally higher."
"Now North Korea only needs to bear the food, grass and military pay for my five thousand navy and army. The monthly salary of each person is 2 taels. Isn't this excessive?"
He can still afford ten thousand taels a month.
However, Li Xianzhong then said: "North Korea will appropriately compensate our army for the loss of gunpowder and weapons. In addition, we have to renegotiate the reward for killing the Tatars and recovering the city."
Li Xianzhong made another long list.
Li Zhu said that North Korea might not be able to afford these rewards for a while.
However, Li Xianzhong had already thought about it for him. North Korea could compensate with materials, such as ore, salt, or even labor.
Finally, under Li Xianzhong's coercion and inducement, North Korea promised to provide food and grass and monthly wages of ten thousand taels of silver.
In addition, North Korea sent 20,000 workers to work in Liaodong, allowed Li Xianzhong to dry salt on the coast of North Korea, and allowed him to build a city near Incheon.
The money for building the city was naturally provided by North Korea.
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