Amid the long live cries of a group of hungry people, Zheng Douyuan shook his head with disdain, led his delegation, and left Ningbyian City, cursing all the way.
The mission walked five miles south and reached a fork in the road. After confirming that there were no northerners watching around, these Korean civil servants did not "return to Wangjing immediately to persuade the king to surrender to the emperor" as they promised. It was a shortcut to Pyongyang.
"Supervisor Zheng, the North Koreans are going to attack Pyongyang soon. Why would a gentleman rush to the battlefield when he stands under a dangerous wall?"
a North Korean envoy asked cautiously.
"Hahaha," Zheng Douyuan laughed while stroking his beard, and said proudly: "The Northern Barbarians are at the end of their war effort. They have been exhausted since they fought here from the Yalu River. They can only win people's hearts by conspiracy. How can they be the opponent of Wang Jun (North Korean Army)? "
Zheng Douyuan's words did not comfort several young men. Along the way, they saw that the Beibei army was neat and disciplined, and food was distributed everywhere. They seemed to be quite popular among the people.
Another young envoy asked in a low voice: "But they are getting closer and closer to Wang Jing. It doesn't look like they are at the end of their crossbow..."
Zheng Douyuan said disapprovingly: "After all, you have not studied enough. Although the Northern Barbarians are strong, can they be stronger than the army of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, or stronger than the Mongolian army of Kublai Khan? The armies of the Sui and Tang Dynasties were so brave, and the Mongolian cavalry was invincible, but in the end they were defeated. But if it is not possible, Your Majesty, you can lead us to retreat to Ganghwa Island. The North Koreans will not be able to stay in Korea for long, and they will eventually withdraw."
"Although the North Koreans now have enough food and grass, so they dare to go around giving porridge like this, but they still don't know how severe the Korean winter is."
Zheng Douyuan coughed twice and wrapped himself in a leather jacket, as if he had already felt the chill of late autumn.
"I watch the sky at night. This winter, Pyongyang will usher in a severe cold. It is a rare occurrence in a hundred years, and it is much more severe than Liaodong. As for winning people's hearts, the people of our country have been writing for thousands of years. They have always been afraid of power but not virtue, and they want to use a few words to win over people's hearts. To win people's hearts with just one meal is to underestimate our Korea. As long as the king follows my plan, step by step, block every layer, and drag the northern captives to the hinterland of Korea, in the cold winter months, their food and grass will be cut off, and rebellions will break out in the country. Chasing troops and rebelling against the people, how can he, Liu Zhaosun, have any chance of surviving!"
"It should be noted that Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty, and Great Khan Kublai Khan were all defeated in this way. How could he, Liu Zhaosun, be so virtuous that he dared to go out in full force? This time, his entire army was destroyed."
Everyone listened to what Zheng Douyuan said, and felt that it made sense. Indeed, as Zheng Dujian said, the several wars between the Central Plains Dynasty and Goguryeo in history were basically due to lack of food and grass and domestic changes, and they were ultimately defeated.
Everyone felt relieved and agreed with Governor Zheng that Lao Cheng was planning for the country. The king should let Lao Zheng take charge of state affairs earlier.
"In short, we must rush to Pyongyang City as soon as possible to explain the situation to the commander-in-chief, General Park, and persuade him to stick to Pyongyang and not surrender to the Northern invaders easily. When the king sends reinforcements northward, attack from the north and south, cooperate from the inside and outside, and repel the Northern invaders in one fell swoop... ····”
After Zheng Douyuan finished speaking, he was about to whip up his horse and spur his horse. At this moment, the voice of a Han boy suddenly sounded in the distant wilderness.
"If you guys want to go to Pyongyang, why don't you give me a lift? I happen to be going to Pyongyang too."
The North Korean envoys looked around like frightened birds, but they saw five or six horsemen standing on the road leading to Pyongyang, all wearing the uniforms of North Korean soldiers. The young man at the head was born with sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, holding a He was looking at Zheng Douyuan and the others with his bloody waist knife.
"You are not North Korean soldiers!"
A young envoy pointed at the young man and shouted loudly in blunt Chinese.
"Who are you? Why are you blocking the way of the envoy? Didn't your Supreme Emperor say that he would let go..."
Li Zicheng clamped down hard on the horse's belly. The horse, which was sweating from its crotch, raised its four hooves, struggled forward, and directly hit the messenger on the opposite side.
"You! What do you want to do?" The Korean quickly let go of the reins and shouted, urging the horse to move back. However, the horse did not move at all. Instead, it looked curiously at the sweaty horse rushing towards him.
Li Zicheng quickly caught up with the North Korean envoy who was speaking. He slashed the North Korean envoy's neck with his sword. He raised the knife and dropped it. The sweaty horse took the young man forward for more than ten steps before stopping.
A human head flew high into the sky, landed with a thud, and rolled like a ball into the dense grass next to the post road.
Li Zicheng looked down at everyone and shouted to the Koreans on horseback: "The Emperor is kind and ordered you to be spared in Ningbian. He did not say that the Capricorn Guards are not allowed to kill you elsewhere."
"I am Li Zicheng, the captain of Daqi's raincoat guards. We brothers are going to Pyongyang to do something. Please ask Mr. Zheng to take us into the city. Zhang Yingguan said, if you have money, give money, and if you are able, contribute. As long as you are willing to contribute, etc. Capturing Pyongyang will save the lives of you and your family members, but..."
Li Zicheng kicked the messenger who was lying on the ground. Seeing that he was not dead yet, he took two steps forward and raised the Xiuchun knife with his left hand. The tip of the knife was pointed at the man's heart. He pressed hard on the handle of the knife with the palm of his right hand and made a popping sound. The sharp blade pierces the heart...
"If you are not willing to help me with this, I will have to send you on your way."
Zheng Douyuan and the few surviving envoys were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground when they saw that this man named Li Zicheng was killing people like he was killing chickens.
Zheng Douyuan changed his previous image of caring about the country and the people. He immediately turned over and knelt on the ground. Together with the other envoys, he kowtowed to Li Zicheng on the horse:
"We are willing to send the Chinese master to Pyongyang."
"Then I'll thank you all, my lords."
It was getting late, and a low horn sounded from Pyongyang not far away, and people who were still outside the city entered the city one after another.
"As long as you escort us into the city, you will be safe."
Li Zicheng cupped his hands with a rebellious look on his face.
He whistled, and a group of raincoat guards in Korean military uniforms immediately rode forward and surrounded the Korean envoys.
Daqi's secret agent, disguised as a North Korean guard, walked slowly toward Pyongyang City, ten miles away, under the afterglow of the setting sun.
~~~~~
Pyongyang has a history of thousands of years. According to legend, after King Wu conquered Zhou and replaced the Shang Dynasty, Jizi, a nobleman of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, fled eastward and entered the Korean Peninsula. He then made Pyongyang his capital. This is what people often call "Jizi Korea".
Because Jizi held an important position in the hearts of Koreans and was worshiped as their ancestor, the Koreans were very excited when Zhu Yuanzhang later conferred the title of Korea on Korea.
During the Lee Dynasty, the Joseon Dynasty established the "Pyongyang Palace" in Pyongyang.
People at that time praised Pyongyang's shape as "it has mountains to block water, controls the northwest, overlooks the Yangtze River, and is far away in the wilderness."
The east and south sides of Pyongyang are close to the Taedong River, the west side is close to steep cliffs, and the Moran Peak stands tall in the north. The situation is the most dangerous.
The city of Pyongyang is divided into four parts: the inner city, the middle city, the outer city, and the north city. The inner city has five gates, the Suzaku Gate in the south, the Datong Gate (with an urn city) in the east, the Qixing Gate in the northeast, the Changqing Gate in the southeast, and the Jinghai Gate in the west. Door.
Outside the inner city is the Zhongcheng. The south gate is Zhengyang Gate, the east gate is Hanzhu Gate, the north gate is Qingchang Gate, and the west gate is Ordinary Gate.
Long before Emperor Wuding's Eastern Expedition, the Hand Army deployed anti-horses and ground artillery around Pyongyang City, and added strong garrison troops on the city to prepare for a long-term defense.
Pyongyang's general was the commander-in-chief, named Piao Congming. He was an old subordinate of Commander-in-Chief Jiang Hongli.
Pu Congming is forty-five years old this year. Twelve years ago, he followed the commander-in-chief Jiang Hongli on an expedition to Liaodong to assist Liu Wei's army on the east route.
Like Emperor Wu Ding, Pu Congming twelve years ago was just a small Yuhou under Jiang Hongli's account and was unknown. When the Ming army massacred the Korean generals that night, Pu Congming survived because his rank was too low. , which corresponds to the word obedience.
After returning to China with the army, he accidentally took refuge with Lord Ayang, also known as King Li Zhu, and gained favor.
Later, in the coup that expelled Lord Gwanghae, the young prince performed particularly eye-catchingly. At the Seoul Palace, Lord Ayang and Lord Gwanghae’s subordinates brandished their swords at each other and fell into a stalemate. Seeing that Lord Gwanghae’s reinforcements were about to arrive, the key point was At this moment, Pu Conming shouted loudly, jumped out of the circle, and killed several people with his hands, which frightened Guanghaijun's guards and turned around and fled.
In the first year of Taichang, with the support of the Kaiyuan Army, Li Zhu finally ascended the throne of Korea.
As the saying goes, if a person achieves the Tao, a chicken or a dog ascends to heaven, Pu Conming was also awarded a reward, and he was promoted from a seventh-rank Xiao Yuhou to a full third-rank Tong Yushi.
In the first year of Wuding's expedition to Liaodong, Pu Conming also participated. He led the Korean army all the way west, burning, killing and looting along the Yalu River. Because he slaughtered several Liaodong cities and killed some Daqi people, he was recognized as being able to resist the Northern invaders. The warrior.
When Zhao led Jiao and Qi Jin to move south, Pu Conming naturally became the commander-in-chief of the front line. He led 30,000 Korean troops and defended Pyongyang from spring to winter. He fought with Qi Jin several times, with half the victory and the other, until Wuding. The emperor led his army southward.
Pu Congming saw that the Qi army had arrived at Ping'an Road and was approaching the city walls, so he immediately made the following defensive arrangements.
He first divided more than 1,000 troops to garrison the dangerous place at Mudan Peak in the north of the city. The troops erected blue and white flags and fired artillery from a high position. He also divided 5,000 troops and stood on the towers from the north of the city to the ordinary gate, holding shields and Waist knife.
Pu obeyed his order and asked his deputy general Zheng Dachang to lead hundreds of troops, raise his general's flag, play gongs and drums, patrol the city, and stabilize the morale of the army.
After receiving the news of Liu Zhaosun Yujia's personal expedition, Pu Congming sent envoys to ask for reinforcements from the governor Jin Yansheng, the observer Pu Luding, and the left-behind Li Gongzuo who were stationed in Longgang, Zhonghe, Fengshan, Huangzhou and other places.
In his letter asking for help, Pu Yushi exaggeratedly said that the Qi army came out in full force with no less than a million troops.
Park Yushi's artistic processing of the Qi army's strength was originally intended to inspire sympathy from friendly forces towards him. Unexpectedly, the millions of troops actually frightened the chief officials of several nearby states and counties.
Since even the most elite troops in North Korea are in fear, why should these second-rate troops take a trip into this muddy water? Besides, what the North Korean army is best at is escaping, or turning in, gaining vitality in the turning and dying alive. opponent.
They have been using this method for more than two thousand years.
However, Pu Luding, the Huangzhou observation envoy, still sent scouts northward. As a result, the scouts reported that the Qi army's strength was more than 500,000 (perhaps he counted the auxiliary soldiers, civilians, and the Korean people who came to eat porridge as combat soldiers). Boundless, more than leaves.
Although Pu Rudin was an upright and patriotic scholar-bureaucrat, at the critical moment, he still wanted to save his life first. He judged that Pu Congming was in danger, so fortunately he gave up Huangzhou and fled to Wangjing without stopping.
Most of the few remaining Korean troops around Pyongyang had dealt with the Kaiyuan soldiers. Seeing that Mr. Park was the first to give up, they knew that they were no match for the North Koreans, so they had to stick to the city, sit on the sidelines, and pay close attention to the battle in Pyongyang.
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