Walled city.
The North Korean army's expedition went smoothly. With the city as the center, the surrounding Jurchen villages and gathering places were all swept away. Food was shipped back in large quantities, and many small tribes even surrendered directly. The North Korean side was already thinking about what to do after this battle. , the territory can be advanced to Haixi and Jianzhou, and internal celebration banquets have been held several times.
The morale of the army is high.
On this day, Pu Yuanzong personally led the troops to the expedition. When he came back, he quickly sent the good things he got, some gold and silver jewelry to Tang Yin, and further persuaded Tang Yin to take him back to the Ming Dynasty.
Tang Yin said: "General Pu, are you a civil servant from the imperial examination?"
Park Yuanzong looked very embarrassed. You have known me for so long and you don’t even know where I am from? Do you still need to ask?
"I was born in a martial arts family, and later passed the martial arts examination, and was able to enter the court and be appointed an official." Pu Yuanzong replied respectfully.
"Oh." Tang Yin nodded, "Then since you have a big family background, are you willing to give up everything in North Korea when you get credit for the expedition? You have to know that even if you arrive in the Ming Dynasty, you may not be favored by high officials. Lu, I am just the head of the Sixth Department, so I may not be able to bring you much."
The implication is that you should make a living on your own. If that doesn't work, go back and admit your mistake to your monarch. With Ming's endorsement, maybe your monarch is kind enough not to kill you?
Pu Yuanzong sighed: "The monarchs and ministers in North Korea are stupid. The deafening sounds cannot be heard in the temples, and the people's cries cannot be heard in the palaces. Moreover, the stupid king still wants to expand the palace and massacre the meritorious ministers in the court. Sooner or later, such a stupid king will die. Disgusted by North Korean people..."
"Wait a minute." Tang Yin couldn't listen anymore and waved his hands, "That's your North Korean matter. You don't have to tell me that. If you really want to stay in the Ming Dynasty, maybe I can help you stay in Liaodong as an official. As for It’s hard to promise what the outcome will be.”
Pu Yuanzong belittled Li Dun in front of Tang Yin just to show his determination to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, he almost cried with gratitude: "Tang Shangcha is the future pillar of the Ming Dynasty. I am willing to follow Tang Shangcha and do my best. If I have the opportunity to meet Duke Lai..."
"hehe."
Tang Yin also heard it.
Those who follow him are just polite words. Pu Yuanzong's ultimate goal is to get acquainted with Zhang Zhou, a truly awesome minister, through him, Tang Yin, in order to gain fame and fortune.
…
…
Jianzhou Acropolis, Hetuala City.
This is the home base of the Jianzhou Guards and the main city of the Jianzhou tribes such as the Sukesu Huhe Tribe of the Jurchen Tribe. Although the Jianzhou Guards’ organizational structure is loose, the tribal cohesion has always been very high. The Jianzhou Jurchens have also become the most powerful among the three major Jurchen tribes. The strongest ones have always been known for their individual combat capabilities. Every time they raided the border areas of the Ming Dynasty, it was also the Jianzhouwei tribes.
By the second day of April, Zhang Zhou's troops left Crow Falcon Pass in the direction from which Wang Shouren initially set out to conquer Hetuala City; Wang Shouren returned from the direction of Tonghua, and the two armies met at the home of Jianzhou Guard.
In the previous two months of fighting, Wang Shouren had gradually encroached on the tribes in the outer circle of Jianzhou Guard. Most of the tribes in Jianzhou Guard either surrendered or fled to Hetuala City.
By this time, the two armies of the Ming Dynasty had completed the encirclement of Hetuala City.
After Wang Shouren handed over the more than 30,000 Jurchen tribesmen who had just been captured to the Liaodong soldiers and horses, he also visited Zhang Zhou in person. The last time the two met, it was in Yongping Mansion. This time, even Wang Shouren felt that Zhang Zhou had a high vision in governing the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong. After two months of conquests in the south and north, Wang Shouren had almost resolved the seemingly intractable dilemma, and by the time Zhang Zhou arrived, the decision was basically finalized.
"Thank you for your hard work, Bo'an." Zhang Zhou smiled and walked out of the tent to greet Wang Shouren, who had been running around for the past two months and looked haggard.
Wang Shouren looked much thinner than at the beginning of the year. Zhang Zhou also felt that this expedition should be a great training for Wang Shouren's body and mind. The young military general began to change in the direction of managing the army and tranquilizing the people.
Wang Shouren cupped his hands and said, "General, everything is done according to orders."
Zhang Zhou said: "It's quite humbling not to take credit, but it doesn't matter. I plan to set up a new Dusi Yamen in the future, and you, Bo'an, will govern it here. In addition to the hard core of Jianzhou Jurchen, there are also Haixi Jurchen and so many in the north." It is not easy to educate the chaotic tribes. After all, it is easy to fight, but it is even more difficult to win people's hearts."
Wang Shouren asked: "I wonder how much time I have to take care of the Jurchen affairs?"
"Three years? Five years? I can't tell. You have just entered the court. In fact, the most important thing is the first one or two years. After you have established prestige with the Jurchens, you can work with peace of mind when you return to the court, and then go to serve as an official anywhere. As a general, there will be no shortage of reputation."
As Zhang Zhou spoke, he also brought Wang Shouren to his camp. Then Zhang Zhou unfolded detailed topographic maps of Liaodong, Northern Liaoning and other places, on which he had already planned the march and activities in the next few months or even years. Governance direction.
…
…
That night, Wang Shouren did not return to camp because he was not in a hurry to attack the city.
They were not afraid of the Jianzhou Guardsmen in the city coming out, mostly because the artillery and firearms brought by the Ming Dynasty were sufficient. Once the Jurchens dared to come out, it would be almost like seeking death.
No matter what, it seems that there will be no change in this war, and the result is basically determined by this time.
"Ever since I left Crow Falcon Pass, in the past few days, the Jurchen people from various tribes in Jianzhou have been sending people to communicate. Even in the Jianzhou Guard City, people's hearts have been separated. It is difficult for them to fight against us, but I also I'm thinking about how to govern them in the future." Zhang Zhou said, looking at Wang Shouren with a smile and saying, "Now the problem is thrown to you."
Wang Shouren also didn't expect that Zhang Zhou's method of shifting the blame would be so "smart".
But when he knew that he would stay in Liaodong to govern the Jurchens, he also knew that he could not escape those bad things.
"Mr. Lai Guo, there are still Tang Yin and Korean troops in Duobi City. There is no movement to find out. Duobi City is only 150 miles away from Jianzhou Acropolis. Will we use this route to travel to Haixi and other places in the future? Strategy?"
Wang Shouren was quite concerned about Tang Yin.
Because during this period of time, the person Tang Yin turned to most often for help was Wang Shouren.
Tang Yin regarded Wang Shouren as his savior. Although in terms of the process, Wang Shouren did not help Duobi City in the slightest, judging from the results, it was precisely because Wang Shouren penetrated behind the Jianzhou Guard to attack the city that the Jurchen tribes gradually gave up taking the initiative to attack. Most of the ideas are to retreat and defend, hoping that Ming will not have long-term management ideas, and waiting for Ming to withdraw its troops.
This is the reason why Tang Yin can drink fish soup with peace of mind in Duobi City.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "A multi-walled city? Leave it there and ignore it for now."
Wang Shouren pointed to a patch on the map and said: "I heard that the Liaodong governor's troops have cut a hole through the Ye He tribe of the Haixi Jurchen and are advancing to the northeast. How should this group of troops be relocated in the future?"
Zhang Zhou said: "This group of troops will be transferred to you later, so that your number of soldiers and horses will be expanded to about 25,000. You can recruit about 5,000 more Jurchen tribe soldiers and horses to cooperate with you in some more difficult sieges of cities and territories." In this way, you will have 30,000 horses. In terms of grain and grass, the Ming Dynasty will allocate it to you directly from Shanhaiguan. It will not be restricted by Liaodong grain and grass baggage. In terms of transportation, the imperial court will also send additional people."
What Zhang Zhou said was exactly what Wang Shouren was worried about.
Now the Ming Dynasty wants to set up a new capital in the area north and east of Liaodong, and Wang Shouren will manage it. First of all, there are not enough troops. After all, he only has 4,000 troops. It is easy for him to rebel again after the battle, so it is necessary There are enough people.
He didn't want to be restricted by Liaodong in terms of grain and grass. After all, Wang Shouren's headquarters was in Jianzhou, Haixi and other places, so he couldn't produce his own grain and baggage. Everything needed to be deployed from outside resources.
"What about North Korea?"
Wang Shouren asked seriously.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Why did Bo'an suddenly mention North Korea?"
Wang Shouren said with a puzzled look on his face: "If we want to pacify the Jurchens, the Duke of Lai does not need to come to the land of Jianzhou in person. Now it is the weakness of Korea. If the Jurchens can be pacified, why not take the opportunity to annex Korea?" Take it?"
Zhang Zhou thought.
It is Wang Shouren who is more cunning in fighting. It is no wonder that others say that Wang Shouren's military tactics do not follow common sense. He is "weird, arbitrary, and has a reputation as a cunning soldier." In this era, who can understand Zhang's marching and military strategies? , it must be you Wang Shouren.
Zhang Zhou said: "To pacify Korea, we need to mobilize not a few soldiers and horses, but a hundred thousand soldiers are necessary."
Wang Shouren said: "One person, Duke Lai, can bear fifty thousand troops."
This means that if you lead troops, you can destroy North Korea with 50,000 troops.
Zhang Zhou sighed: "There are many tribes in the Jurchen land. Although they are brave, they only have clan consciousness and no concept of family and country. It is easy to defeat them, but it is not so easy for North Korea to completely conquer them. It is better to support puppets and let them North Korea poses no danger to Ming Dynasty in the next few years."
Wang Shouren asked: "Ping the grassland first?"
"Yes." Zhang Zhou had nothing to hide, "It may take less than a year to defeat North Korea by force, but it will take more than twenty years to completely quell the rebellions in all parts of North Korea and allow them to accept the enlightenment of the Ming Dynasty. The above will not work. Then we will have to deal with rebellions in various parts of Korea every day, as well as those troublesome things, which will indeed not be conducive to the imperial court's plan to flatten the grassland."
Wang Shouren asked again: "What about after the grassland is leveled?"
"Ha." Zhang Zhouyi smiled, "At that time, there will be no problem in pacifying North Korea. If we have enough energy, we can separate our troops and horses, and the supply of food, grass and baggage can be guaranteed."
"so……"
Wang Shouren hesitated and asked, "Should Tang Yin go?"
Such a direct question made Zhang Zhou feel a little embarrassed.
Forget about treating Tang Yin as a tool, now it's like tossing Tang Yin one round and then the next. It's really like balding his outer hair first, and then giving his skin a layer of baldness... In front of Zhu Youtang, Zhang Zhou could say yes without hesitation, but after all, Wang Shouren was a Jinshi in the same discipline as Tang Yin, and he was also working for Zhang Zhou. Just saying so directly pushed Tang Yin into the fire pit. …
Zhang Zhou, a person with such a thick skin, would feel embarrassed at this time.
"Bo'an, everyone has a certain task. Bohu is not as good as you in using troops, and he is not as good as you in reassuring the people. If you want to say that he is knowledgeable, he also has the cunning and philistine of a scholar. Such a person You have to use some special means to unleash his potential."
Zhang Zhou found an excuse for himself to torture Tang Yin.
Inspire potential.
What a legitimate reason, everything seems to explain why Tang Yin has to endure more than others.
"Um."
After Wang Shouren thought about it, he nodded in agreement, which Zhang Zhou didn't expect.
Wang Shouren said: "If Tang Yin is only given 200 men and horses, and there are not enough artillery and firearms, even with the 5,000 Korean troops and horses, I am afraid it will be difficult to accomplish the task."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "So I will give him some more."
"How much?" Wang Shouren asked.
Zhang Zhou said: "Send him another hundred people!"
When Wang Shouren heard this, he almost lost his temper for Tang Yin.
Three hundred Ming Dynasty soldiers wanted to overthrow the North Korean monarchy? No matter how it sounds, this is a situation of no return and certain death.
Zhang Zhou said: "So, Bo'an, once the Jianzhou Guards are captured, your task is to go north and continue to attack the city, and my task is to guard Liaodong, just on the edge of North Korea, waiting for Tang Yin's triumphant return. good news."
"With this backing, Bohu has a greater chance of success." Before Wang Shouren knew it, he and Tang Yin had become a little "sympathetic" to each other.
You, Tang Yin, are no longer capable. This time you have to take on a major event involving the fate of the Ming Dynasty. It depends on you to lead 300 people to overthrow the royal power of North Korea. If you can succeed, you will definitely become famous. From now on, who will dare to say that you, Tang Yin, are a coward?
What if you fail?
I'm sorry... Although I can't help you with the outcome, I respect you as a man.
…
…
The battle of Jianzhou Guards began.
The battle itself has no suspense.
On the first day of the siege, it was a cold attack.
It's not a light cannon, and it doesn't need any yellow gunpowder. It's a heavy cannon. The kind that weighs more than 1,000 kilograms were all brought here by Zhang Zhou. Many of them are used as town cannons to guard the city. They can be fired with one shot. There was a bustle all over the city.
And not only one door was brought over, but thirty doors were brought over.
In the battle of Jianzhou Acropolis, Zhang Zhou also gave a warning to the Jurchens who were still resisting. It was a majestic battle. The result is not important. What is important is to let you know the difference in weapons between you and the Ming Dynasty. .
Thirty cannons fired ten shells from two directions each. Although there were only three hundred rounds of artillery, each shot hit the city head, city walls, city gates and inside the city, shocking the defenders in the city to the utmost.
Hongyi cannons will be considered awesome in the future, but compared to Zhang Zhou's heavy cannons, Hongyi cannons that only use black powder seem to be child's play.
Even though the artillery did not specifically target the city gates and walls, after these 300 shells were fired, there were still many gaps in the city gates and walls, and some weak walls were directly blown down by the cannons.
After the cold attack on the first day, Ming Dynasty was still in no hurry to attack the city.
The muskets and crossbowmen had been prepared long ago, waiting for the defenders in the city to rush out and put up a stubborn resistance, but it was obvious that the defenders in the city had lost their fighting spirit by this time.
That night, from the gap in the north of the city that surrounded the three towers, no less than six tribes sent people out to make peace with the Ming Dynasty.
"Let Wang Bo'an talk about it, and tell the people in the city to accept the plan, go to southern Liaoning to work as farmers, accept the Baojia system, and give up hunting in the future. Their children must receive Confucian education, and the Ming Dynasty must use troops against northern Liaoning. Cooperate with all your heart and soul, only in this way can you exchange for the survival of the tribe..."
Zhang Zhou was very comfortable.
He and Wang Shouren had a small army. Wang Shouren only had about 4,000 cavalry and more than 1,000 naturalized Jurchens.
But Zhang Zhou brought a total of 30,000 soldiers. Although his side was mainly infantry, he could use more than 36,000 elite soldiers to attack a Jianzhou garrison. Without new cannons and gunpowder, wouldn't it be possible? Down?
At critical moments, Zhang Zhou also knew how to pile up people, not just new weapons.
…
…
Wang Shouren met with the tribal envoys from Jianzhou Guard who came out to negotiate surrender.
After returning, he found Zhang Zhou and told him the latest situation: "Except for the commander of the Jianzhou Left Guard, all the other tribes are willing to submit. There has been civil strife in the city, or it may have results before tomorrow morning."
"Jianzhou left guard?"
Zhang Zhou thought for a while. The current commander of Jianzhou Left Guard is named Xibao Qipiangu, commonly known as Shibaoqi. This guy is named Aixinjueluo. Others can ignore it, but if this person... If we let things go, wouldn't the purge of women this time be meaningless?
Zhang Zhou said: "Don't be anxious. The original plan was to capture Jianzhou Guard in three days, but now it seems that it will be extended to four or five days."
"Aren't you in a hurry to attack the city?" Wang Shouren didn't quite understand.
Judging from Zhang Zhou's posture, he was still very calm, as if he was waiting for something.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "The Ming Dynasty's strategy for governing the Jurchens was originally to supplement military extermination. Seeing their internal fighting is quite exciting. Later, when tribes came to come, I told them that I, the Ming Dynasty, had no control over Jianzhou, which was once invaded by the invaders. The Zuowei are more dissatisfied. All this happened because of the Jianzhou Zuowei. They can either follow the Jianzhou Zuowei and continue to rebel against the imperial court, or they can exterminate the Jianzhou Zuowei as a sign of meritorious deeds."
Wang Shouren shook his head and said, "It doesn't have to be so troublesome at all."
"One less person will die," Zhang Zhou said. "If we attack the city in these two days, our soldiers will suffer at least three to four hundred casualties. It would be too cruel for the soldiers who followed us to fight to be buried here before victory. . It can reduce casualties, so what if the offensive is postponed? Originally, I just wanted to see them dog bite dog."
Just as he was talking, a voice came from the door: "My lord, there is a letter sent by Director Tang. Please send troops to help with defense."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Look, how anxious is Tang Yin? Knowing that I led troops into the Jianzhou area, he quickly sent someone to ask for help. He also forgot that he had the authority to mobilize troops. It's true that dog meat cannot go to the banquet."
Wang Shouren frowned when he heard this.
Are you looking down on Tang Yin?
But still entrust him with important tasks?
Zhang Zhou said: "I will not read the letter asking for help. I will bring you a handwritten letter from me later and tell him to wait for now."
(End of chapter)
