When the North Korean sub-dynasty's request to the Ming Dynasty to enthrone Guanghaejun Li Hui as the Crown Prince was rejected, Li Rusong sent a memorial that surprised the court. In this essay, Li Rusong, who has always been a desperate man, expressed the hope that the court would buy him two months as a buffer, because he hoped to send troops into North Korea when spring is about to begin next year.
The effect of this essay was to shock everyone in the court. No matter the Xin School, the Practical School, or the traditional neutral officials of Neo-Confucianism, they were all stunned for a while.
Is this really what Li Rusong said? Could it be a mistake? The answer is yes, it was really Li Rusong's suggestion, because he suddenly decided to patrol Manchuria - to patrol Manchuria with troops. And the reason why he suddenly made this decision was that he had to go back and talk about the battle in which Kato Kiyomasa was defeated not long ago.
I have to say that although the inertia of history is remarkable, any interference or intervention may form a chain reaction. When the reaction is small, it may be just a ripple. When the reaction is large, it may be a wind and wave. If it is larger, it may be a direct tsunami. . Li Rusong's reaction at this time was probably not a ripple, but it couldn't be said to be a tsunami, it was probably at the level of a wind wave.
In the original history, there are different opinions on whether Nurhaci intervened in Kato Kiyomasa's expedition to North Korea. However, in the current history, he not only intervened, but also on a larger scale, because he also had helpers for this intervention, namely Ye He, Hada and other ministries all sent troops to assist Nurhachi because of Xiao Ruxun's military order.
Why is this situation important? Because of this battle to counter Kato Kiyomasa's invasion, the Jurchens actually formed a "Manchurian coalition" instead of a certain "guard" fighting alone.
The Ming Dynasty's rule over Manchuria has always been to divide and rule, but to put it bluntly, the so-called divide and rule, in fact, the most basic one is to prevent them from forming any unified command other than the "Ming Dynasty Order". However, this time Manchuria actually formed a unified command to fight against the Japanese invasion.
Li Rusong had already rushed to Liaoyang with his main force. He was just waiting for the money, supplies and servants promised by his father to be replenished before heading south, but something like this happened. Considering that Liaodong was the home base of their Tieling Li family, he immediately became cautious as soon as the news came back to Liaoyang.
He first wrote to Xiao Ruxun, who was staying at the border between China and North Korea to supervise grain and grass, asking whether this happened under Xiao Ruxun's instructions or whether Nurhaci acted on his own. Then he wrote to Nurhachi, asking him to immediately put down all the important things at hand and come to Liaoyang in person. Meet yourself.
As a result, Xiao Ruxun, who had just returned to the new city of Dandong from the small fortress-like Jiulian City on the border (one of the two cities previously proposed to be built by Gao Pragmatic, the other being Fuxin) quickly wrote back, saying that it was indeed appropriate for the Jurchen ministries to be careful to guard against the Japanese army's northward advance. Following his order, this order was actually Gao Ge's idea.
But the important thing is that Xiao Ruxun also said that the formation of the Jurchen coalition was not his instruction. As for the specific reasons, it is still unclear.
But on the other hand, Nurhachi was very sensible. After receiving Li Rusong's order - if the private letter was also an order - he immediately put down everything at hand and rushed to Liaoyang. There were more than ten people, and when they entered, they were so honest that they simply entered alone.
As a result, Li Rusong, who had gained face, could not be too harsh. In addition, he could not directly ask Nurhachi why he commanded the "Manchurian Allied Forces" - it seemed that Li Rusong was afraid, so he had to ask in detail about the battle process. .
This question was not a big deal, but I was really shocked after asking it. It turns out that the reason why the Japanese army attacked North Korea was not because they were prepared and unprepared, but simply because of their combat effectiveness.
As for Zu Chengxun's report and summary after the previous defeat, although Li Rusong said that he completely believed it when reporting it, he actually discounted it a lot. He actually felt that Zu Chengxun probably lost because he underestimated the enemy, and that the non-Japanese army did have better combat effectiveness. powerful.
Now comparing the intelligence provided by Nurhaci, we find that the Japanese army may not have much difference in terms of light firearms strength compared to the Liaodong Army. Only artillery and war horses are the two areas where the Liaodong Army definitely has an advantage.
But there is a big problem here: it is winter now, and not only Liaodong has been extremely cold in recent years, but North Korea is also equally cold, with the kind of cold that turns the breath into ice. If the army goes south for an expedition at this time, the transportation of artillery and the maintenance of war horses will become extremely difficult, resulting in the inability to effectively use its advantages.
Although until this time, Li Rusong firmly believed that the Liaodong Army would be able to defeat the Japanese army - even if he sent troops now, Li Chengliang's warning to freeze his financial rights was still lingering in his ears, and he had to consider the consequences of too much loss.
During the Battle of Fayuan, he was "active" because he was eager to gain credit, which resulted in the Li family's army suffering the largest non-combat losses among all the troops on the expedition. If he doesn't restrain himself now, God knows what else dad can do to choke him?
Apart from anything else, as long as Li Chengliang told the generals of the Liaodong Army to let them fight passively, Li Rusong knew that he would feel as uncomfortable as eating a fly, which was unbearable.
However, it's not ridiculous to make a fuss. The filial piety is really bad these days. A face-conscious person like Li Rusong is even less likely to endure being stabbed in the spine and scolded: "This is the traitor of the Li family". That would be even worse than killing him.
Therefore, I need to take some care of my father's thoughts, and at the same time strengthen preparations, and at the same time learn more about the Japanese army. Considering that the hidden danger of Nurhaci "naturally" becoming the actual commander of the previous "Manchurian Allied Forces" also had to be dealt with, Li Rusong thought about it and came up with the idea of leading troops to inspect Manchuria by taking advantage of the inconvenience of an expedition in the winter.
Fortunately, although this incident surprised everyone in the court, the reason Li Rusong gave on the surface seemed to be enough: the current winter is too cold, the artillery cannot be transported, and the war horses may not be able to move because of the North Korean supply line. Reliable and likely to kill a large number of frostbite, so we need to wait for the beginning of spring next year.
By the way, according to tradition, Li Rusong also listed some other reasons. For example, after the Liaodong Army has retired from the war, it would be good to have one more winter to recuperate; for example, from the defeat of Zu Chengxun, it was discovered that North Korea had a strong intention to interfere with the Ming army's use of troops, and the emperor needed to order North Korea in advance not only not to interfere, but also to Comprehensive cooperation is required; for example, the North Korean navy performed well (the news of the defeat of Busan has not yet reached the Ming court), and the North Korean navy can be asked to actively attack the Japanese army's maritime food routes to increase the chances of victory for the Liaodong Army's southern expedition in the coming year, etc.
However, that night, guests came to Nanning Marquis Mansion. The steward of Ningyuan Bo Mansion came to the door in person and told Gao Jingshi all about Li Rusong's considerations. He also asked Gao Jingshi about his views on Nurhaci and was worried about Nurhachi's command. Gao Pragmatic acquiesced to the "Manchurian Allied Forces" incident, lest Li Rusong do something to offend Mr. Gao Ge, which would be bad.
Of course, Gao Jingshi did not acquiesce in Nurhachi's command of the "Manchurian Allied Forces", but Gao Jingshi did not think it was a particularly big problem. According to his thinking, the most critical situation at that time was probably that Nurhachi contributed the most.
Because Shuerhaqi is his biological brother after all, it is not surprising that he accepts the command of his elder brother even though he is unable to contribute as much as he can. It is not surprising that he has no psychological resistance;
Ye He's reinforcements were commanded by Fei Yingdong. Fei Yingdong's father Sorguo was just a little Su Wanbu Beile, and his status was obviously lower than that of Nurhachi, not to mention Fei Yingdong himself. At that time, Nurhachi was responsible for taking command on his own, but Fei Yingdong saw that he was commanding appropriately and did not express any objection;
Since Hada's decline, it now basically depends on Ye He's face. Moreover, Hada does not send many troops, less than a thousand. The attitude is of course "Ye He can tolerate it, what can't I tolerate?"
Looking at it this way, if the coalition forces at that time can really be said to be the Manchurian coalition forces, it is not impossible. Nurhachi did command the coalition forces once, but the main premise of his command was that the fox pretended to be the tiger's power.
Gao Pragmatic asked Xiao Ruxun to inform the Jurchen ministries to pay attention to the Japanese invasion. Xiao Ruxun did not consider other aspects, nor did he expect that the Jurchens would form a coalition. Instead, they defaulted to each other to clean up their own troubles, so they did not explain it in advance, leaving Nurhachi to their own devices. Got a bargain and stole the show.
However, Gao Pragmatic was very satisfied that Li Rusong would pay so much attention to Nurhachi's movements, and he immediately approved the plan of "sending troops before spring". But Gao Pragmatic felt that the court might not agree so easily because the court had to consider the political impact.
Sure enough, during the cabinet meeting the next day, although everyone felt that what Li Rusong said was not unreasonable, the problem was that North Korea was now in danger. Not only was it extremely urgent, but it also looked really pitiful. Apart from anything else, just the fact that North Korean King Li Huo has expressed his willingness to annex several times already makes people feel pity - North Korea is a relatively obedient vassal after all.
When things have reached this point, everyone is worried that North Korea may be wiped out at any time by the Japanese army that continues to advance north. This is not only Korea's own misfortune, it is also embarrassing for the Ming Dynasty - look, you can't even protect your most loyal vassals, what kind of celestial country are you?
The imperial court had just experienced the impact of the great victory over Yuan Dynasty, and everyone from the emperor to the officials were extremely high-spirited. Although the Japanese army said they wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty, they were dismissive of it, but it would not work if they attacked North Korea. That would not give me, the great country of China, face!
Therefore, regarding this matter, everyone said that although Li Rusong has difficulties, the current situation is critical and he still needs to overcome it - if it doesn't work, Mr. Gaoge, do you think you can allocate more money to Li Rusong?
To be honest, giving an extra sum of money is really not a big problem. For example, giving two hundred thousand taels. If you are very pragmatic, you can make a decision on the spot even without looking at the account books. But this is not a question of whether it can be done, but a question of whether it should be done, so he decided to change his mind.
Gao Pragmatic made an analysis of the situation of all parties for them, saying that although the situation in Korea was difficult, it was precisely because it was winter, and it was always extremely cold in these years, that the Japanese army would definitely not feel comfortable.
Nowadays, the Japanese army is not only facing the severe cold that they are not used to, but also being overwhelmed by various insurgents in North Korea. Konishi Yukinagawa's First Army may not have planned to continue marching in the first place - otherwise, how can we explain Kato Kiyomasa's exploration of Manchuria? , found it difficult to fight and immediately withdrew?
Although the cabinet elders also believed that most of these were facts, they were all "mature and prudent ministers." After pondering, they all asked: "What if Governor Konishi continues to advance north?"
This kind of "just in case" is the most difficult to deal with, because even if he is highly pragmatic, he can't guarantee that President Konishi will not even have this "just in case", let alone bet on this matter with all his plans. reputation, so things froze.
Zhu Yijun learned about it in the harem and was too lazy to wait for the cabinet to argue. He simply went to the Wenhua Palace to summon the cabinet ministers. By the way, he also summoned the Grand Sima Zhou Yong and other relevant important ministers.
After explaining the situation and arguing with each other without going into details, Zhu Yijun, who understood the whole story, saw that the cabinet could not come to a conclusion, so he simply spoke up and asked: "Is there any way to ensure that the Japanese army can be delayed for two or three months?"
There are some pragmatic methods, and there are more than one, but he doesn't want to say any of them or use any of them, because these methods are somewhat detrimental to his reputation.
Coincidentally, all the pavilion elders seemed to have this intention, but they didn't say anything. Zhu Yijun looked around and suddenly named Zhou Yong, Minister of the Ministry of War, and said, "Da Sima seems to have a good plan?"
"Your Majesty, I have some thoughts, but I don't dare to give you a good idea." Zhou Yong replied.
Zhu Yijun waved his hand happily and said: "Da Sima, you don't have to be too modest. If you have any clever ideas, just ask."
Zhou Yong replied: "What Li Rusong said is indeed true. Preparing military supplies, selecting soldiers, gathering troops, and choosing the right time to send troops are all time-consuming, and there is no room for sloppiness. It is a good thing for him to be cautious.
However, what Mr. Gao Ge said was because he knows soldiers well and is good at fighting. It is reported that the Japanese pirates are currently not moving forward in Pyongyang. On the one hand, they are suffering from water and soil diseases and harassment from the rear, and they are in urgent need of stability; on the other hand, they are deeply worried about our Ming Dynasty and dare not easily War of words.
According to this estimate, North Korea will not be worried about destruction if it lasts for another hundred days. If another envoy can be sent to North Korea to intimidate the enemy and make them even more afraid to act rashly, then this worry will be solved.
Of course, the Japanese pirates were despicable and ambitious, and they should not be used as a pretense. Therefore, I thought that there was no need to formally send an angel. It was not the right way to send an angel if it was inconsistent with etiquette and would also put people's lives in danger. I think it may be possible to choose a warfighter among the people, as long as he can scare the enemy invaders. "
Zhu Yijun thought about it and felt that this method seemed feasible. Even if this person did not perform well, since he was not an official or an angel, it would not be considered as a disgrace to the court, so he asked the ministers what they thought.
Zhou Yong's words seemed to be improvised, because he had not had any problems with Gao Pragmatic before, but Gao Pragmatic was not so overbearing that he did not allow the Minister of War to have his personal opinion, but he just suddenly thought of a person - that Ming Ming The most famous fraud in history.
Whatever he thought came to him, Zhu Yijun just asked Zhou Yong if he had any recommendations for this envoy candidate, and he actually had one.
"I would like to recommend a person, his name is Shen Weijing." I saw Zhou Benbing bowing his hands and saying: "Although this person is old, he is as strong as a man in his prime. In his early years, he did a lot of overseas trade, and he is proficient in Japanese and Korean languages. The exchanges were not hindered, and he served as an aide to Hu Xiangmaogong (Hu Zongxian, posthumous name Xiangmao), the Japanese governor of Xiping, and worked under his account. He was a classmate of Xu Wenchang, a great talent in the south of the Yangtze River. I heard that he now makes a living by alchemy, elixir making, and merchant trading. "
Gao pragmatic was stunned and said to himself: What a coincidence? The situation has obviously changed a lot, but this guy can still be allowed to appear?
Zhu Yijun saw Gao Pragmatic's expression a little stunned. It was really a rare sight. He couldn't help but asked curiously: "Why, the Marquis of Nanning has also heard of this person?"
Gao pragmatic woke up with a start, coughed dryly, and replied: "Well, that's right. It is said that this person... is very eloquent."
Zhu Yijun laughed and said: "That's alright! Da Sima, it's up to you to arrange this matter." After that, he stood up and left.
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