"The envoy of the King of Korea, the foreign minister Zheng Minshi, pays homage to the Emperor of Heaven, Long Live the Emperor."
Seeing Zhu Daohua's eyes, he looked over.
Zheng Minshi hurriedly bowed his head and paid homage.
"Are you the envoy of the King of North Korea?" Zhu Daohua frowned slightly. North Korea may also be involved in the Liaodong War.
Before that, Zhu Daohua didn't pay much attention to the country of North Korea.
Because the country of North Korea is poor and the people are weak, and you can't make much money doing business, there is no other benefit to accepting the title of vassal. In addition, Zhu Daohua has other more important things to deal with, so North Korea is ignored. .
But now people are coming to visit me.
Zhu Daohua would not avoid it.
"The foreign minister came here this time because he heard that the emperor was coming and came here to pay homage. In addition, North Korea was an old vassal of the Ming Dynasty. It was later forced to call it a vassal of the Qing Dynasty due to the pressure of the Qing Tatars. However, all the countries in North Korea sympathized with the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Daohua waved his hand: "We will discuss this later."
Then Chang Yinghu stepped forward and said: "Your envoy, please come. His Majesty the Emperor will summon you at the appropriate time."
Zhu Daohua's biggest concern now is of course not North Korea.
But the situation on the battlefield.
Starting from the mouth of the Yangtze River, we drifted on the sea for several days.
Of course Zhu Daohua wanted to know how the front line was going.
Just when Zhu Daohua arrived and stationed in Lushun.
Battle reports from the front line also came immediately.
Around a small Tieling fort, both sides assembled tens of thousands of troops.
"Tens of thousands of people from the Eight Banners have been surrounded. It seems that General Shengjing of the Qing Dynasty doesn't want to give up these tens of thousands of people from our ancestors."
Tao Biquan smiled.
Zhu Daohua sneered: "If you don't want to give up, then take human lives to pay for it. I was originally worried that they would use the vastness of Manchuria and Mongolia to deal with us. This would be a bit troublesome."
Indeed, if the Qing army did not take the initiative to fight decisively, but adopted harassment tactics and used the deep mountains and forests of Manchuria and the Mongolian grasslands to deal with the Ming army and delay time.
It is really not easy for the Ming army to take full credit.
After all, although the Ming army had mule soldiers to supplement part of the problem of insufficient land mobility, the number was ultimately too small.
There is no way to have a large cavalry regiment like the Qing Dynasty.
Therefore, facing this kind of enemy on horseback is really "easy to defeat but hard to destroy", which is similar to the situation in the Song Dynasty.
"If you go around, you will go around. Your Majesty, we can control the sea. This Liaodong coastline stretches for thousands of miles. Where can we not attack?"
"Send a fleet to attack Ningyuan, Jinzhou and other places. The infantry will camp step by step, gradually moving northward, compressing their living space, destroying their cities, driving out their people, and destroying their homes! The Qing Tatars must either abandon their land and leave, or they can only Gather an army to fight me."
As the art of war goes, if you attack something, you will save it.
For the Qing Dynasty.
The Eight Banners is the foundation.
And Manchuria is the foundation of the Eight Banners.
If you don't want to watch the Ming Dynasty gradually advance in Liaodong, set up forts in the fields, and gradually occupy and encroach on their fundamental land, then they can only start a war.
But if you fight.
I'm afraid there's a high probability that he's here to die.
"The battle to restore Liao must be won. The key is how to inflict heavy losses on the Qing and Tatars. Manchuria and Mongolia are so vast, and they still have a lot of room for detours. After the restoration of Liao is successful, there will definitely be subsequent battles."
This is inevitable.
Zhu Daohua himself did not have any illusions about wiping out all the Eight Banners in one battle.
The opponent is not a robot, and he rides a horse to die even though he knows he is outmatched.
Manchuria and Mongolia are thousands of miles apart. In history, the biggest problem between the Central Plains regime and the grassland regime is not the issue of combat effectiveness, but the issue of how to seize the opponent's main force and destroy it in one battle.
"The war of reviving Liao is not the end, but the beginning. Since ancient times, the enemies in the north have been great dangers in the Central Plains. The Huns, Turks, Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongolia are all nomadic people gathered on this grassland. People, if the victory is strong, they will gather hundreds of thousands of horses, which is unstoppable, but if the defeat is scattered across the grassland, it is unpredictable. The people of the Central Plains rarely have peace for a few days, not to mention that there is still Russia today."
Zhu Daohua said in a low voice: "So even if the Qingtars are destroyed, this prairie is still a hidden danger, and it is still a problem that Ming Dynasty has to face. If Ming Dynasty cannot effectively control the grassland, it will not be long before there will be new ones. The Tartars rose here."
"Moreover, today is different from the past. In ancient times, the only enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty were powerful enemies from the northern grasslands. Nowadays, on the sea, sails cover the sun, and powerful enemies thousands of miles away can come across thousands of miles of ocean on sailing ships. This The sea is like a grassland, it is no longer a safe rear, but a dangerous place where dangers and powerful enemies may come across the sea at any time!"
"The grassland and the sea are the two major problems I will have to face in the future."
Zhu Daohua's words made the ministers present frown and fall silent. Many historical pictures flashed through their hearts.
It is indeed difficult.
Just one grassland is already a headache.
Now the enemy can still come from across the sea.
Although the Ming Dynasty is strong now, the situation it faces is more complicated than in previous generations.
"So the Qing Tartars can't just let them run away. Even if they escape to Mobei and travel far to the Western Regions, they will still be hunted and killed!"
All the ministers were stunned.
I see
This is what the emperor is paying attention to.
He must continue to pursue the Manchus and expand the power of the Ming Dynasty to the western regions of Mobei.
But how to control Mobei?
Where can’t I farm?
Before everyone could figure it out, Zhu Daohua said: "Invite the North Korean envoy."
Zheng Minshi now knows why the Ming Dynasty can come back.
Just those soldiers and horses seen at Port Arthur, such elite divisions.
It is not something that North Korea alone can imagine.
I'm afraid there are only a few thousand of these tigers, which are enough to sweep through the entire North Korea.
After being summoned by the emperor.
Lord Zheng Minshi, an important minister of the North Korean monarch, a nobleman of the Yangban class, and a well-known figure in North Korea, entered Zhu Daohua's conference room with trepidation.
I just walked in and haven’t had time to salute yet.
He was so frightened by Da Mingzi's words that he almost collapsed to the ground.
"You know clearly that the Ming Dynasty has risen in the south. Why don't you take the initiative to come back? Do you want to join the Qing Tatars in rebelling against the Ming Dynasty?"
Plop.
Zheng Minshi heard this.
He immediately fell to his knees, trembling all over.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, North Korea is a small country and its people are weak. It has always regarded China as its father. How dare it be a rebellious son? It's just that the Tartars are too coercive and North Korea has no intention of rebelliousness."
"Is your country going to return to the Ming Dynasty?"
"Yes, yes, Korea is willing to return, and my lord is also willing to come to Lushun to pay homage to the great emperor."
Zheng Minshi said hurriedly.
Zhu Daohua shook his head: "The rules of the Ming Dynasty are different now. If you want to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, you must abide by the obligations of the vassal state. Have you heard about the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty?"
"I've seen it," Zheng Minshi said.
Another reason why the Korean monarchs and ministers have not made up their minds to contact the Ming Dynasty is the vassal obligation.
This new Ming Dynasty likes to say all the rules in advance and then sign the treaty.
Now that the treaty is signed, it's written in black and white, and the vassal country's freedom is not as great as before.
The rules of paying tribute are waived.
However, the vassal state had no diplomatic power. It had to send troops to fight with the Ming army when ordered by the emperor, and it had no autonomy over the tariff rates for Ming products.
At the same time, the vassal state was also protected by the Ming Dynasty. Attacking the vassal state was equivalent to attacking the Ming Dynasty. If something like the Imjin Japanese Rebellion happened now, then the Ming Dynasty would send troops in accordance with the obligations of the vassal treaty - but the signing Whether Japan dares to invade after the vassal treaty is concluded is another matter.
"North Korea has its own reasons for succumbing to the Tatars, but it has to be punished." Zhu Daohua continued without waiting for Zheng Minshi's answer: "If we want to return to the Ming Dynasty, we must raise two million dan of grain and sign a hundred thousand civilians to fight with the army. ! If you are willing, allow me to return to the Ming Dynasty as a vassal state. If you are not willing, let me continue to be a Qing Tartar vassal state."
Continue to be a Qing-Tatar vassal state?
Wouldn’t that mean being the enemy of Ming Dynasty?
Zheng Minshi was stunned again and again.
But before he could react, he saw Zhu Daohua waving his hand to signal him to leave.
"Go back and tell the King of Korea that I will give him a chance. If he cannot seize it, then the country of Korea will take care of itself."
For Zhu Daohua.
He doesn't want to get entangled in North Korea now.
The key is to capture Liaodong, and then use Liaodong as a springboard to enter the pass and attack Beijing. After destroying the Qing Dynasty, we can then consider destroying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Thus.
The task of unifying the world is basically completed.
And just after Zhu Daohua sent the North Korean envoy.
Chang Yinghu hurriedly ran in.
"Your Majesty, there is news from Nanyang."
Zhu Daohua stood up hurriedly.
Open it and take a look.
“The Indian Ocean is also about to start a war.”
Zhu Daohua whispered.
"The Turtles are back."
Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal.
A huge fleet is slowly moving forward.
The Indian Ocean commander Zhu Xun, who was standing on a three-masted schooner bombardment gunboat, immediately breathed a heavy sigh of relief after hearing the news brought by deputy commander Li Changgeng.
"That's good! We haven't been discovered by the British, right?"
"It is difficult to find them on this sea. Now the turtles are hidden inside the fleet. There are no sails and the boilers are not on fire. How can they be discovered?" Li Changgeng said.
"Where is the British fleet?"
"Yesterday, a reconnaissance ship reported that they have already set off. It seems that they also have new types of explosive shells or other weapons. In addition to the first-class battleship Gang Victory transferred from the West, their fleet also has In addition to twelve second-level battleships and forty-eight third-level battleships, they are also equipped with a large number of light scissor sailboats, which are fast light battleships. This should be the main force of their operations."
In this era when all countries are beginning to transition to the use of bombardment guns, the cost-effectiveness of using light and fast battleships for combat is far greater than that of large battleships.
"They actually have so many large battleships?"
Zhu Xun was a little strange.
"Maybe it's to show off force."
Li Changgeng said.
They all believed that the Britons were not even aware of the existence of the Turtles.
Nor should we send out so many large battleships - such battleships are too expensive.
Therefore, they all believe that the main battleships used by the British are the large number of light scissor-type bombardment gunboats in their fleet.
(End of chapter)
