After sending off Yokoyama Takuya, Tokugawa Iemitsu did not immediately summon all the veterans, but continued to enjoy the rain, and by the way, he wanted to figure out clearly the matter of sending troops to the Liaodong Peninsula.
In the next three days, General Zhengyi stayed in his castle, studying the handwritten letter, combat map, and tactical deployment provided by the Ming Crown Prince several times.
Only if you first clarify, think through, and understand the Ming Dynasty's suggestions can you be targeted at the meeting and prevent people with ulterior motives from taking advantage of them.
After believing that the plan was indeed highly feasible and extremely beneficial to himself, Tokugawa Iemitsu summoned the four senior officers under his command in dismay and planned to discuss the plan with everyone.
"Have you all read the Mingguo newspaper?"
The four senior middlemen were ordered to come, but Tokugawa Iemitsu did not receive them directly at first. Instead, he sent someone in advance to show the "Kingshi Daily" to the senior middlemen for reading. They read it for a full hour before General Zhengyi left. Come down from the upper level.
Once the major and minor events that happened in the Ming Dynasty are almost understood, Tokugawa Iemitsu will be able to waste less time and talk about more important things with less effort.
"yes!"
Although the general who conquered the barbarians was young, less than forty years old, he was extremely awed by the senior officers. Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Abe Tadaki, Hota Masamori, and Abe Shigeji stood in a row and respectfully agreed to the family head.
The content described in the "Jingshi Daily" made them extremely shocked. This novel media shocked the old Chinese people beyond anything. All kinds of things were published in the newspaper, which could be said to be all-encompassing and diverse.
But what surprised them the most was that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was unconscious and the prince was now supervising the country's affairs. They didn't know whether the general summoned them this time was for this matter and how it related to future national policies.
"The prince of the Ming Dynasty entrusted the envoy sent by this general to convey a request to this general. That is, the Ming Dynasty hopes that our country will send 50,000 troops to land on the Liaodong Peninsula to help them eliminate the Donglu entrenched there. Our army has since Weapons and equipment were transported by Zheng Zhilong's ships, and the Ming court provided them with food at half a stone per person per month. Every time our soldiers killed a Donglu soldier, their corpses could be cashed in for one hundred taels of silver. If the civilians were captured With livestock, they can be exchanged for corresponding silver taels. Our soldiers who die in battle can receive a hundred taels of silver as a pension. The combat period is three months, roughly from June to August, and by mid-September at the latest, all our soldiers can be What do you think of returning to your homeland?"
Tokugawa Iemitsu had thought about sending troops no less than ten times before. After thinking about it over and over again, he felt that it was a good business worth making a profit without losing money.
You only need to send 5,000 troops and fight for three months, and you will be able to pocket at least 250,000 taels of silver. The other party will also provide you with the food needed by all the soldiers. Other matters have been taken care of, so there is nothing to worry about.
When the four senior middlemen heard the news, they seemed a little shocked. They didn't expect that the huge Ming Dynasty would actually be reduced to the point where they wanted their country to go to conquer the Donglu. It can be said that the world is in a bleak state!
However, the conditions offered by the other party seemed to be very generous, especially if you killed a Donglu, you could get a hundred taels of silver, which was unimaginable during the Warring States Period.
If other famous people heard the news, driven by unprecedented interests, they would definitely come together to plead with the general to agree to send troops to conquer Donglu.
Seeing that the other three people were still thinking, Hota Masamori took the lead and said bluntly: "Your Excellency, the head of the family, if Mingguo can really fulfill what he stated, I think it can be considered!"
On the surface, this statement supports sending troops, but in fact it kicks the ball to Mingting. If Ming Dynasty cannot fulfill its contract, then it is no wonder that Japan hesitates to move forward.
Matsudaira Nobutsuna glanced at Hota Masamori who took the initiative to speak, and then said: "Your Excellency, the head of the family, our country has always only had trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, and has no military cooperation. This time, the Ming Dynasty invited our country to send troops to help, presumably because of its foreign wars." We are already extremely decadent, otherwise we would definitely not abandon the dignity of our superior country and urge our country to send troops!"
The implication is that sending troops is very risky. When the situation between ourselves and the enemy is still unclear, it is best to carefully consider this suggestion. The other party's conditions are so attractive, and the risks must be unimaginable.
Abe Tadaki also agreed with what his colleagues said, and carefully echoed: "Your Excellency, the head of the family, I believe that what Nobutsuna said is true. Although our army is well-trained, brave and tenacious, we have never fought against the Donglu, and we do not understand their tactics." If there are too many troops, rashly sending troops to the Liaodong Peninsula may fall into crisis!"
He heard that the Donglu defeated the Ming army and retreated continuously. Whenever the Ming army approached the city, the Ming army did not dare to go out to fight. He could not say that the Japanese army might be defeated by the Donglu, but it was always right to be careful.
Although Abe's surname is also Abe, his thoughts are completely different from those of Tadaki: "Your Excellency, the head of the family, I believe that we cannot simply weigh the victory or defeat of sending troops, but we should take this opportunity to test the military strength of the daimyo in various places, especially the foreign daimyo. In this situation, if its military strength is extremely strong, I think that the head of the family should be more vigilant than before!"
This troop dispatch was not essentially an external conquest, but an internal test. Abe Shigetsu was thinking of his master wholeheartedly.
Those foreign daimyo who attached themselves to the Tokugawa family after the war were very respectful to the generals on the surface, but secretly the centrifugal force was very strong, and they had to be careful at all times.
Tokugawa Iemitsu sat calmly, with the same expression as before, and did not express his position immediately, but there was no doubt that what Abe Shigeji said was the most consistent with his inner thoughts.
According to the information provided by the Prince of Ming, the Donglu's defense force in the designated battle zone is only three thousand at most. If he sends fifty thousand troops, he will definitely defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.
This is a sure thing to win, there is no doubt about it, and what he cares about the most are those famous names with hidden undercurrents.
Although "one city, one country" and the "participation system" have been implemented, Tokugawa Iemitsu still does not trust these foreign daimyo.
In fact, the starting point of these four veterans was to protect the interests of the Tokugawa family, but they observed things from different angles, so they came to different conclusions.
Now that two people support sending troops, and two oppose sending troops, Tokugawa Iemitsu has to carefully consider whether his previous ideas were flawed.
What Abe Shigetsu said is correct. We must take this opportunity to test it out. Otherwise, if there is no war, we will not be able to tell from the outside what the military strength of the various daimyo in various places is.
Compared with the victory or defeat on the Liaodong battlefield, General Zhengyi was more concerned about the military strength of many foreign daimyo, and wanted to know whether they would threaten the security of the shogunate.
It was easy to refute Abe Tadaki's point of view. Tokugawa Iemitsu pondered for a long time before he said: "Our army does not need to worry about the Donglu's combat strength. First, the Donglu's army stationed in the Liaodong Peninsula is not its main force, and its combat strength is not Terrifying. Secondly, the Donglu troops in the area are only 3,000, or even less. Thirdly, our army has an absolute advantage in strength. If our army of 50,000 is not as strong as the enemy's 3,000 troops, the generals do not need to Back to homeland!”
In addition to the above views, Tokugawa Iemitsu also believed that the Donglu did not know about Japan's sending troops. Even if the Ming court published the good news in the "Jingshi Daily", the Donglu might think it was a plan by the Ming to suspect the troops.
If Donglu really mobilized tens of thousands of troops to the peninsula, then the Japanese army would not need to land for operations. They could simply let the fleet sail away or choose another location to land.
No matter what, the initiative is in our own hands. In this battle, Donglu will be completely passive and beaten, so Tokugawa Iemitsu is not worried about victory or defeat at all.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, the ruling system established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi had completely collapsed.
Three of the five elders have become defeated - Uesugi Kagekatsu, Mori Terumoto, and Ukita Hideie.
There are also three people who are exactly the same in the Five Practices - Nagasuke Masakaya, Masuda Nagamori, and Ishida Mitsunari.
Tokugawa Ieyasu has become the actual biggest winner, but he is still some way away from his heyday.
By the time of his grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu, the strength of the Tokugawa Shogunate had already achieved this goal.
But this does not mean that the third generation of generals who conquer barbarians are invincible. On the contrary, the 700,000 believers in various places make it difficult for Tokugawa Iemitsu to sleep and eat.
In the end, the shogunate dispatched more than 100,000 soldiers and horses to capture the enemy's base camp - Hara Castle!
Tokugawa Iemitsu also accumulated a certain amount of strategic and tactical experience through this battle, and he was no longer a blank slate.
Internally, the general who conquered the barbarians had two enemies, namely, the external daimyo and the believers from various places.
The former is powerful and needs to be paid attention to at all times.
The latter is good at hiding and is extremely difficult to identify.
Although Tokugawa Iemitsu implemented various shackles of government orders, he was still very worried about these two enemies.
Especially for many foreign daimyo, Tokugawa Iemitsu could not be satisfied with the strategies of moving vassals and cutting salaries.
Rushing to use force against such a big name will lead to verbal and written criticism from all over the country, and even a group attack.
Sending troops to Liaodong gave General Zhengyi a good excuse to test it out.
Abe Tadaki saw his master beginning to interpret the strength of the two sides for everyone. He immediately understood what his master meant and immediately said: "Your Excellency, the master of the house, please understand that I was abrupt just now. I hereby apologize! As a result, the strength of the enemy and ours is very different, and our army goes out to fight. , then we can expect a great victory!”
Fifty thousand against three thousand, even if the three thousand are fine cavalry, the iron cannons used by the Japanese army will make the Donglu horsemen complain endlessly, and they will be killed until they are on their backs.
If the Japanese army were defeated, Abe Tadaki would not believe that any defeated general would be willing to bring a group of remnant soldiers back to resume his life, which would be called shameless.
Seeing Abe Tadaki hurriedly turn around, Nobutsuna Matsudaira, who was holding a wait-and-see attitude, also followed up and said: "Our country and the Ming Dynasty have always been friendly and have diplomatic relations with each other. If the Ming Dynasty is in trouble, our country will also lend a helping hand depending on the conditions. If the Ming Dynasty invites The conditions are very generous and the time limit is short, our army can take this opportunity to hone each department!"
Abe once again glanced at the two helpless guys next to him with his peripheral vision, and felt a sudden feeling of contempt in his heart. However, the final decision-making power was still in the hands of the family leader, and the opinions of the four people could only be regarded as suggestions at best.
Later, General Zhengyi revealed more information to the four retainers, and showed the public the personal letter from the Ming Crown Prince and the trade terms signed by the cabinet.
With the certificate issued by the Ming court, the worries of the retainers on the shogunate's side were reduced a little.
From the newspapers, the prince of the Ming Dynasty confiscated the mansions of nobles and morons, so he should have made a lot of money.
In this way, there will be enough money to pay for spoils of war and pensions, and the Japanese soldiers will also receive corresponding rewards.
With the support of money and grain, Zheng's ships taking care of shipping, and the Donglu troops deployed on the peninsula were not many, the four of them were inclined to agree to the Ming court's request and send troops to Liaodong.
Tokugawa Iemitsu did not mean to ridicule the two subordinates who had changed their direction. He just said lightly: "My general already knows what you mean, so you don't need to worry about your words. Regarding the dispatch of troops, we can't say anything for the time being." I still need to think carefully before revealing it to anyone. Well, let’s end it now!”
Today is also a test of the attitudes of the four veterans. Tokugawa Iemitsu has no intention of making a decision on this. A decision that is too hasty will easily make him regret.
Such important matters must be discussed clearly over and over again, and only after comprehensively considering the viewpoints of one's own and those of subordinates, and weighing the pros and cons, can one make a decision that is in line with one's own interests.
Regarding the matter of snow candy, Tokugawa Iemitsu did not disclose this to everyone. This matter cannot be rushed, it must be done step by step. If everything goes well, it doesn't hurt to divide some.
If we think about it further, if we agree to send troops and meet the requirements of the Ming Dynasty, how will the 50,000 troops be distributed?
Their own samurai can fight for eight thousand shares, which gives them the benefit of being loyal to the Tokugawa family, but they must be selected by drawing lots.
As for the distribution of troops among the many famous names, it was the most troublesome thing for General Zhengyi.
At present, according to the relationship between relatives, there are 19 vassal daimyo families, 92 genealogical daimyo families, and more than 100 vassal daimyo families.
In terms of Lumi classification, the number of daimyo from 10,000 to 50,000 koku is the largest, there are also many daimyo from 50,000 to 100,000 koku, and many of the 100,000 to 200,000 koku daimyo are foreign.
The daimyo with 200,000 to 500,000 koku must be won over. The strength of the daimyo with 50 to 1 million koku can threaten the Tokugawa family, and they are the ones that General Zheng Yi needs to guard against.
According to the mobilization regulations, in the event of war, each daimyo must send two hundred ashigaru troops for every 10,000 shilumi, but obviously the current scale of 50,000 is not enough for everyone.
A more balanced standard must be tailored based on the conditions for sending troops overseas this time, and the big names at all levels must be taken into account.
Tokugawa Iemitsu roughly conceived a plan, which was to use 10,000 shi as the bottom line and send at least 100 troops to each Ming Dynasty. This could take care of the weak daimyo with the least lumi and the largest number.
The higher the level, the higher the rank. A daimyo with a rank of fifty thousand koku must send at least five hundred troops. There are not many daimyo above a hundred thousand koku, so they can be divided according to the remaining number of troops.
The "Hatatamoto" and "Gojia" directly under the Tokugawa family sent 8,000 troops, the pro-domain daimyo sent 8,000 troops, and the gushidai daimyo and the foreign daimyo each sent 17,000 troops.
If the troops are distributed in this way, all the daimyo, no matter how close they are, can benefit equally, so there should be no gossip, and it will be easy to see the military strength of those daimyo who are not familiar with each other.
For our own family, sending eight thousand troops is almost equivalent to "drawing one out of ten". It will not hurt the muscles and bones at all, let alone affect the power to suppress the daimyo everywhere. The selected samurai will still be grateful.
Except for the weakest daimyo, the situation of other powerful daimyo is roughly similar to that of the Tokugawa family. The specific amount of troops each family receives will be adjusted in detail before operation.
At least in the opinion of General Zhengyi, the plan he came up with is relatively safe. If it doesn't work, just reduce the number of troops sent by the ten thousand stone level daimyo and subsidize the difference to the powerful daimyo.
But now the Ming Dynasty has something to seek from itself, and this alone is not enough. General Zhengyi is trying to think of whether he can take the opportunity to increase prices to seek the greatest benefit for himself...
