Chapter 110: Demands on the Japanese battlefield
After Fu Youde made this plan, everything revolved around one thing. Of course, there were other wars, such as the navy's harassment of various parts of Japan, such as Fu Youde's private communication with the Kyushu daimyo, trying to get them to switch to the Ming Dynasty, etc. There is no need to go into details.
After He Xi finished talking about the overall situation of the Japanese battlefield. The prince asked: "Well, it seems that Marquis Yingchuan's sword is still young. What does he want?"
He Xi said: "There are quite a few."
The prince said, "Speak."
He Xi said: "The first is to ask the prince or your majesty to name the Shimadzu family of Japan."
The prince raised his eyebrows and said, "Shimazu?"
He Xi said: "Exactly."
The reason why the prince knew about Shimazu. It's because Shimadzu in this era is not very conspicuous. He is not even the top daimyo in Kyushu, Japan. But after the Shimazu family, it developed very well. I have only vaguely heard of the surname Shimazu.
The prince said, "What's so special about the Shimazu family?"
He Xi said: "At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was also a war in Japan, which the Japanese called the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Today's Ashikaga Shogunate is the Northern Dynasty. The Shimazu family originally served the princes of the Southern Dynasty. They fought many battles with the Northern Dynasty forces on Kyushu Island. There were wins and losses every time. Later, the Southern Dynasty court surrendered. Shimazu also surrendered to the Northern Dynasty."
"But you can imagine, Your Highness, what the Ashikaga family thinks of the Shimadzu family?"
"It's just a remnant." The prince said calmly.
He Xi said: "Officially. The base of the Shimadzu family is in the southeast of Kyushu. It is quite far from Nagasaki. The Ashikaga family has repeatedly attacked the Shimadzu family. The Shimadzu family suffered losses in the battles of Busan and Nagasaki. Tragic. More importantly, the head of the Shimazu family saw that the situation was not conducive to Japan and wanted to surrender to the court. But he was worried that the court would go back on its word, so he wanted a guarantee." Chinese website
The prince said, "He has so many demands. What do you think about He Xi?"
He Xi said: "I think that I should agree to this matter and give Shimazu a name, which is enough to calm the Shimazu family's feelings. Moreover, the battle of Nagasaki lasted three months. Judging from the Shimazu family's actions, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu has reached the point where he can no longer support us. He can neither advance nor retreat."
"The Shimadzu family is likely to be a breakthrough."
The prince asked: "What is the origin of this Shimazu family?"
He Xi said: "The Shimazu family claims to be the descendants of Qin Shihuang."
The prince smiled calmly and said: "Climbing a dragon and attaching a phoenix has been around since ancient times, and it seems inevitable in foreign countries. Since he claimed to be Qin Shihuang, he gave him the surname Qin and asked the head of the Shimazu family to go to Nanjing to express his gratitude. How about that?"
He Xi said: "I thank Your Highness for your support."
The prince's words also have implicit conditions. That means there is no problem in naming the Shimadzu family. But we must ensure that the Shimadzu family's affairs cannot become a joke. The court gave names here, but they rebelled over there. Wouldn't this be a slap in the face of the court?
Therefore, the prince wants the head of the Shimazu family to go to Nanjing as a hostage.
For He Xi, this is not important. Shimazu is the most important one now, and the one among the Kyushu daimyo who is most likely to defect. Once the Shimadzu family changes sides. The impact on the war would be far-reaching. As for the future, even if the imperial court orders the execution of the nine Shimazu clans, Fu Youde will not care.
The reason why the Shimazu family is so easily shaken is also very simple, and that is trade.
Although it is said that Nagasaki, Hakata Bay and other places are the core of trade between Japan and Ming Dynasty. But there is a place, too. That is Tanegashima of the Shimadzu family. The Dutch came to Tanegashima very early. Later, Tanegashima became the center of Japanese orchid science and the manufacturing center of fire gun.
This shows Tanegashima’s geographical advantage.
The Shimazu family even went from Tanegashima to Ryukyu, and then to the Ming Dynasty to participate in maritime trade. Although not as good as the Ouchi family and the Otomo family. But he is also a member of the maritime trade players.
On the one hand, it is a battle with no chance of winning, and on the other hand, it is the benefits brought by cooperation with Ming Dynasty. That's why the Shimadzu family was the first to waver.
Perhaps, some people say, in this case, Ouchi who participates in trade
Family, why don’t Dayou’s family waver?
As mentioned earlier, the Ouchi family has been controlled by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu from top to bottom. As for Dayou’s family. It just means that the territory where the Ashikaga family is currently stationed belongs to the Otomo family. With the army on their side, the Dayou family naturally did not dare to do anything. These two families suffered the most losses in the Battle of Nagasaki.
It can be said that if Ashikaga Yoshimitsu can really agree to win the Battle of Nagasaki. Then maybe he can really take advantage of the power of the war to hold the entire Kyushu in his hands. Even if they can't occupy all of it, half can be placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Ashikaga family.
But the premise is that you win.
The prince said, "Is there any more?"
He Xi said: "One more thing is that Marquis Yingchuan wants to recruit soldiers and horses from Goryeo."
The prince said: "Isn't it already there?"
Yes, the Goryeo servant army existed in the Lanyu era.
He Xi said: "Not enough."
The prince said, "As many as he wants."
He Xi hesitated to speak, but after a moment, he said: "One hundred thousand."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked. This number was a bit too high. The Ming Dynasty's entire army in Goryeo and Japan totaled only a few hundred thousand, and now it is directly recruiting 100,000 Goryeo soldiers. This is an exaggeration.
The prince frowned and said, "Why so many?"
He Xi said: "These Koreans are not used for fighting. They are used for guarding. There are too few soldiers in the Ming Dynasty. If they are dispersed and stationed in various places, there will be no time to react if something goes wrong. But if you leave the place alone. Or Allowing Japan to surrender its troops would easily lead to loss of control. Koryo and Japan were originally feuding. The small court of Koryo was destroyed by Japan. Most Koryo people did not have much favorable impression of Japan. When they arrived in Japan, they could only rely on the Celestial Empire. . In this way, both Goryeo and Japan were able to consolidate their regions and save a lot of military expenses."
He Xi didn't say something.
In fact, many people are worried about Korea. Also included is He Xi.
After all, Goryeo had been a country for hundreds of years. How could it be so easy to say it was gone? There are some hidden dangers that cannot be dealt with. It will bring disaster to future generations.
And if the young Goryeo men were brought to Japan, even if they complained against the Ming Dynasty, they would not be able to rebel in Japan, because when the Japanese rebelled, the first people to be killed were the Goryeo people. After all, Goryeo's temperament made it impossible for them to treat the Japanese people well when they were in power in Japan. A born bitch.
He Xi even felt that Fu Youde might have deliberately allowed many Koreans to settle in Japan. Let them be tied to Ming's chariot.
Some people may want to say that many of the strong men of Goryeo migrated to Liaodong, and now they have migrated to Japan. How many people are there in Goryeo?
Yes, Korea’s HR department is limitless. In fact, it is almost done now. Recruiting more people will affect agricultural production. However, Fu Youde has someone in his hands. Japanese. It would be enough to place Japanese prisoners of war in Goryeo to work. These Japanese prisoners of war would not make any splash in Korea.
Naturally, the treatment, rations, and other aspects of the Goryeo army cannot be compared with those of the Ming Dynasty's army, which saves costs.
The prince could also think of this. He thought deeper and thought to himself, "The Marquis of Yingchuan is sharing my worries."
The prince came here apparently for the Northern Expedition. But more importantly, they want to grasp the situation in the north and regain the northern frontier army. But no matter what, the Northern Expedition will always be fought. If we want to fight, we must have enough supplies. If we have enough supplies, we must reduce Japan's battlefield consumption.
This is the reason why Fu Youde did not want reinforcements, but wanted some Koreans.
The prince asked, "I have agreed to this matter. Send an order to select a group of hundreds and thousands of households from Peiping and let them go to Goryeo to train the Goryeo soldiers. When they are well trained, they will all be under the command of Marquis Yingchuan."
The people below immediately obeyed the order and ignored it.
Although the prince believed in Marquis Yingchuan, he still cared about the checks and balances of military power. He transferred officers from Peiping to train the Koryo army, so that the Koryo army formed a structure with Han Chinese at the top and Koryo at the bottom. Most of the middle and lower-level officers in Peiping had their families in the Hebei guards, and it was impossible for them to follow Fu Youde in rebellion.
Of course, neither does the prince.
I think Fu Youde will rebel, but whether he will rebel is one thing, and whether he can prevent it or not is another matter.
