The day after the cabinet additions were completed, the Grand Bachelor of Wenhuadian, the Minister of Household Affairs and the Japanese Administrator, and the Hou Gao of Nanning set off for North Korea pragmatically, and traveled by sea within the North China Sea in an official capacity for the first time - it was not that he had not had the opportunity before. , but the emperor was worried that the sea route was unsafe and had always refused to allow him to take the sea route for official business.
The reason why the emperor agreed this time was not that North Korea was in danger and Gao Pragmatic was in urgent need of survival, but that Gao Pragmatic wanted to start from Tianjin Port and go to Shandong to swear an oath, and then lead the navy to aid Korea and march eastward to North Korea.
In recent years, Van Gogh has pragmatically led troops on expeditions in person, and he always has an advantage that no one else can match. That is, he has never left the post of Minister of Household Affairs, so no one can block him in terms of military expenditures. , spend the money however you want, as long as there is no problem with the court's finances in the end.
The dispatch of troops to aid the DPRK this time was no different from the last time. The last time it was the end of the imperial court's ban on the vassal state, and they had just finished conquering Mongolia, so the finances were still somewhat tight. The ability to insist on sending troops at that time largely relied on the accumulation of the previous ten years and the high pragmatism through the Federal Reserve's ability to withstand the situation. All means were exhausted and the scale of troop dispatches had to be controlled.
This time it was different. The land division dispatched 100,000 troops. Although it was far less than the battle against Chahar, the problem here was not money, but the expansion of the scope of military deployment. It was a lack of troops rather than a lack of financial resources.
Looking at the navy in turn, it's really cool. Not only did the main force of the Ming Dynasty navy gather in Laizhou, but also since Gao Pragmatic personally took action, how could his own Beiyang fleet not move? Not to mention the entire army was mobilized, nearly half of them were mobilized.
The dispatch of half of the Beiyang Fleet is scary enough, but that's not the end of the story - the leader of the alliance is dispatched, and the brothers, not to mention personally following up, have to send out the main force of the family's fleet to accompany them, right? So as soon as they heard that Gao Jingshi was going to lead the navy to aid the DPRK, the dignitaries of the Jingnan Department in Beijing immediately came together, led by the three major princes, and more than 20 marquis and uncles, and generously provided support without saying a word.
How supportive is it? According to Zhu Yingzhen's statement on behalf of all members of the Sea Trade Alliance: "Whenever Mr. Hou needs it, the resources of the entire alliance will be allocated."
Naturally, these words can be regarded as mere rhetoric, but since people of their status have made a statement, it is not easy to break their words, which means that they do dare to give this level of support.
The truth is not complicated at all. Since Gao Pragmatic takes action personally, this battle cannot fail at least at sea. What is the strength of the North and South Ocean fleets? Apart from Gao Pragmatic himself, they know best. What can they achieve by fighting a Japanese navy? Accident? Do you know how many times the strength gap between the two sides is?
Japan's invasion of Korea must rely on sea transportation to maintain frontline supplies. Once it is defeated at sea, what suspense will there be in this battle? Therefore, when the battle has reached this stage, in their eyes, it is certain to win. The risk of failure has been extremely low. What they should consider is where the benefits will come from and whether it is worth the heavy bet.
Where are the benefits?
They had already known about Jinghua's acquisition of mines in North Korea, and through analyzing Gao Pragmatic's past behavior, they discovered that only in areas directly controlled by Ming Dynasty or Jinghua directly controlled, Jinghua would go to mine on its own, and vice versa. in partnership with local leaders.
An example of this kind of cooperation: the oral alkali produced in the Tumut Salt Lake is monopolized by Gao pragmatism in cooperation with Bhannaji. Bhannaji is responsible for the main production, and Jinghua is responsible for building a local factory for simple purification, and then in Distribution within Daming and outside Tumut and Ordos is entirely handled by Jinghua.
The relationship between Tumut, Ming Dynasty and Jinghua has become so close. Jinghua has never set up a "sole proprietorship" in Tumut territory. So now Jinghua has actually set up a wholly-owned mine in North Korea. What does this mean? This shows that in Gao Pragmatic's eyes, North Korea will definitely be controlled by Ming Dynasty or Jinghua even if it is not yet in the future.
What is actual control? At least it must be a garrison and control of government affairs!
Through a clue that many people ignored, the nobles who were not good at fighting but getting better and better at making money suddenly figured out that North Korea would soon become a piece of fat meat that could be cut into pieces. Who would be the first to seize it? The share of a certain type of business may lead to the dominance of a certain type of business in the North Korean market in the future!
Considering that North Korea has been beaten to a pulp by the Japanese, post-war reconstruction will definitely be a major event in the next few decades. For the business giants from the Ming Dynasty, it is self-evident how many opportunities there are. Who is willing to miss it?
In addition, the nobles also vaguely felt that Gao Pragmatic might not be satisfied with just winning a mere North Korea. He might also consider Japan itself, which would be a greater business opportunity! After all, although North Korea looks not much smaller than Japan, Japan's population is actually much larger than that of North Korea. Population is the market!
However, the speculation that Gao Pragmatic may take action against Japan is also controversial within the Maritime Trade Alliance. Some people think that he will not do so, and some people think that he will definitely do so.
People who think he will not do this mainly consider two points: first, Japan is a country without conquests, and the court will not agree to send troops to Japan; second, although the Japanese navy is easy to bully, Japan still has a large army. Even if the imperial court agrees to send troops, it currently seems that it cannot send enough troops to destroy the country to fight on the Japanese mainland. Since it cannot be fought, it should simply not fight.
Those who think he will do this have different views: First of all, judging from the scope of application of Taizu's definition of "a country without conquest", Japan, which took the initiative to provoke and actually sent troops to invade Korea, would not be able to do so after a large-scale battle with the Ming army. The concept of “a country without conquests” applies again.
Why do you say this? You have to quote the golden words of Emperor Taizu: "If overseas barbarian countries have troubles for China, they must not refuse to punish them; if they are not for China's patients, they must not raise their own troops at will."
The ancients said: A vast land is not a plan for long-term peace, and the labor of the people is the source of chaos. For example, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty recklessly raised troops to conquer Ryukyu, killed the barbarians, burned their palaces, and captured thousands of men and women. The land he obtained was not enough to provide food, and the people he obtained was not enough to command. All historical records will be ridiculed by future generations.
I have blocked the mountains and seas from the small barbarian countries, and isolated them in a corner. They are not a Chinese patient, and I will never attack them. However, the northwest Hurong (referring to Mobei Mongolia) have always been a Chinese trouble, and we must be careful to keep an eye on them. Your Majesty, please remember what I said and know what I mean. "
Look, Taizu did list countries that would not be conquered, but he had a premise, and the premise was "not to be troubled by China." So what if it happened to be "in trouble"? The first sentence of Taizu's words made it clear: "Anyone from overseas barbarian countries who have done harm to China must not be denied."
It has been clearly stated that "it must be demanded", so how can it be said that Taizu's Holy Instructions hindered the dispatch of troops? It makes absolutely no sense.
Now that the nominal problem has been solved, we can next analyze the actual situation. It is true that the strength of the Japanese army is indeed huge. On this point, the Maritime Trade Alliance understands: before the Korean War, Japan had about 500,000 standing troops, which was close to half of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that it has sufficient strength.
But just seeing this is far from enough, because the Korean War itself changed Japan's military power.
In order to conquer the dynasty, Toyotomi Hideyoshi mobilized all the elite members of his direct lineage in the first wave of attacks, including allies and subordinates from Kinki, China, Shikoku and Kyushu regions, and divided them into nine legions. These alone participated in the front line The total combat strength was approximately 150,000.
What is the condition of this 150,000-strong army? Although the nobles were not good at fighting, they had been in charge of military affairs for a long time and were good at doing statistics. They soon sorted out the Chou Yin Mao.
Let's talk about it one by one: The First Army has 18,000 people. The leader of the Army is Governor Konishi. Although he is a businessman, he fights fiercely and often deals with North Korea.
As the Kyushu Higo daimyo, he also commanded Mune Yoshitomo, Matsuura Jinnobu and Arima Harunobu. These daimyo were basically the powerful daimyo who survived the melee in Kitakyushu. Therefore, Konishi Yukinaga's headquarters is an elite member of Toyotomi's direct lineage, and the daimyo of the various ministries he leads are also quite elite.
The Second Legion has 22,000 men. The commander of the legion, Kato Kiyomasa, is known as Onikato. He is one of the adopted sons of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the leader among the seven guns of Shiyue. This man was cruel and fierce in combat. As the Higo daimyo, he led the second legion composed of Nabeshima Naoshige, a retainer from the Ryuzoji family, and Konishi's first legion to form the vanguard of the Japanese army that entered Korea and fought against the Ming Dynasty. In the Tumen River area within the scope, there was even a war with the Jurchen tribe, with both sides winning and losing.
In other words, Kato Kiyomasa's second army is the same as Konishi Yukinaga's first army. The core is Toyotomi's direct lineage, and the periphery is the Kyushu Hundred Battles soldiers who fight all year round.
The Third Army has 12,000 men, and its commander is Kuroda Nagamasa. Although this man was famous for being a cheat in the original history, there are many famous generals who are good at fighting in Kuroda's Third Army.
For example, Otomo Yoshito and Mori Yoshinari, the former is the governor of the Otomo family, and his men are all elite soldiers of Kitakyushu. Except for Shimadzu, which could not defeat Shimazu in Kyushu, it is not a big problem to suppress the other families; the latter is a direct line of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his son Mori Katsunaga was later one of the Seven Stars of Osaka. In general, although the commander of the Third Army is not very good, the combat effectiveness of the army is not weak.
The Fourth Army Corps consisted of 14,500 men, led by Army Commander Shimazu Yoshihiro. As a daimyo who fought from the middle to the end of the Warring States Period, Shimazu Yoshihiro should be the most experienced in combat among the several legion commanders. He has been introduced before, so I won’t go into details here.
However, due to the dual system of the Shimazu family, very few of the elite Satsuma soldiers under his command who were known for their proficiency and fearlessness were actually brought to Korea. However, this also led to the fact that most of the troops under his command were either direct descendants of Toyotomi or servants of Toyotomi. , obviously cannot be considered weak.
The Fifth Legion has 25,000 men. The commander of the legion is Fukushima Masanori. Fukushima is the leader of the Seven Guns of Saigake. He even ranks before Kato Kiyomasa and is also one of the adopted sons of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Because Masanori Fukushima had strong leadership ability, Toyotomi Hideyoshi placed the Fifth Army, the largest among the direct legions, as a reserve force, and strengthened the elite troops of Hachisuka Kasei and Nagaso Gabe Motochin to the Fifth Army. Legion. In other words, the Fifth Army Corps was originally intended to be used as a fire brigade, so there is no need to say whether it is strong or not.
The Sixth Army has 15,000 men. The leader of the army is Kobayakawa Takakage. He also has Kobayakawa Hidebao and Tachibana Muneshige, who is known as the "Unparalleled One in the West". The overall strength of the army under Kobayakawa Takakage is relatively weak, but Tachibana Muneshige plays a great role. His addition significantly improves the overall combat strength of the Sixth Army.
It was precisely because Tachibana Muneshige's troops were very strong that Kobayakawa Takakage made him the main force during the Battle of Hokutokan - but in the end, he suffered the greatest losses in the end.
The Seventh Legion has 30,000 people, and its commander is Maori Terumoto. This legion is exclusively a Maori army. How powerful the Maori army in the Sanin-Sanyang area is, you can ask the Ouchi and Nizi families back then.
This area has always been rich in strong soldiers, and even the fifth division of Japan's "Steel Army" came out of Hiroshima in this area - this is also the reason why Hiroshima later suffered from mushroom bombs.
However, Mouri Terumoto came to North Korea mainly to gain benefits and was not willing to fight tough battles. As a result, the Seventh Army had no strength but average results. However, the converse benefit was that the damage was not particularly great.
The Eighth Legion has 10,000 people. The commander of the legion, Ukita Hideie, also serves as the general general. The legion is mainly composed of veterans brought by the Ukita Nao family. However, due to Hideie's special status, he is also a direct descendant of Toyotomi. Both training and equipment are very good. He has also fought many battles and is also an elite.
As mentioned earlier, because Ukita Hideie wanted to make military exploits himself, he fought at least two tough battles, and the Eighth Army suffered considerable losses.
The Ninth Legion has 11,000 people. The legion is led by Toyotomi Hidekatsu. This legion is a bit special because it still represents Toyotomi Hideyoshi's main formation. Therefore, it rarely went on the battlefield during the Conquest War, but as a follower of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he started his career. The personal guards were obviously not much worse, and the final losses were relatively small.
The nobles compiled and compared various battle reports with the intelligence collected by the Sea Trade Alliance, and were surprised to find that the 150,000 troops suffered losses of at least 60,000 to 70,000 in the previous battle!
As we have just analyzed, the 150,000-strong army in the first battle was the most elite force that the Toyotomi regime could produce. It lost about 40% of its troops in one fell swoop. Isn’t it an exaggeration to say that it was a crippling force?
However, this was not the end. This time Toyotomi Hideyoshi actually mobilized an additional 140,000 troops to come to the DPRK. Together with the original garrison stationed in Busan, the total force continued to remain at more than 200,000.
The nobles immediately began to hypothesize: If almost all of the 200,000 troops were lost in Korea, would the so-called rule of the Toyotomi family still have a foundation? I'm afraid it's gone.
Therefore, these nobles who believe that Japan will be pragmatic in the use of troops insist that as long as the 200,000 direct descendants and reliable military strength of the Toyotomi family are lost in Korea, the military strength of Japan's central and western regions will be reduced by at least 70%. Eighty percent.
Considering that the Shimadzu family actually obeys Gao Pragmatic's orders, it can even be considered that as long as the Shimadzu family in the entire Kyushu region announces a change of flag, it will probably be a matter of public announcement. And how strong can the resistance of the remnants of Toyotomi in Kinki and the Mori of Sanin-Sanyo be after suffering huge losses?
Looking at it this way, everyone suddenly discovered that if Gao Pragmatic really wants to send troops to Japan, Japan's real resistance seems to be only in Kanto and Ou, because they are the only ones who have suffered almost no losses.
However, the situation on their side is also interesting. Tokugawa is naturally the strongest, but he is surrounded by a circle of daimyo who Toyotomi Hideyoshi has arranged to monitor him. Plus, there is Date Masamune who is known to be ambitious. This picture is really beautiful. .
As a result, the nobles basically formed a unified opinion, that is, it is really possible for Gao Pragmatic to use troops against Japan, and as long as there is enough conspiracy, a large army may not even be needed, as long as one can independently defeat 30,000 to 50,000 Japanese troops. The elite Japanese army might be enough.
As a result, the Jingnan nobles collectively bet on not only North Korea, but also Japan.
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