Li Congmao, a Taoist from Cholla, North Korea, was awarded the title of envoy and general for his meritorious service in repelling the Japanese pirates. During the Second Prince's Rebellion, Li Fangyuan took sides and was granted the title of Lord Changchuan.
With: good at bow, horse and water warfare, experienced and decisive in battle.
Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but frown when he saw such a brief information from the Security Bureau.
Liu Changge was also in a bit of a dilemma. The branch of the Security Bureau had not yet arrived in North Korea. The ability to collect this information was due to the work of businessmen and border troops. They eliminated a bunch of messy adjectives and exaggerations, leaving only the real ones. , you can use it as you see...
Zhu Yunwen looked at the five words "good at bow, horse and water warfare" and said: "This person is actually an all-rounder, which is rare."
Liu Changge agreed with this point. Anyone who talked about Li Congmao would always say that this person had extraordinary abilities. Not only was he able to work immediately and immediately, but also because he was born at the seaside, he had learned a lot of naval battles and killed several Japanese pirates.
"When they come to the capital, we will arrange an audience with them the next day to discuss matters regarding the Japanese as soon as possible."
Zhu Yunwen couldn't wait.
Liu Changge agreed and saw that Zhu Yunwen had nothing else to do, so he resigned and left.
Zhu Yunwen burned the information sent by Pang Huan to ashes, unfolded the map and looked at the Great Ryukyu Kingdom (Note: at that time, the Little Ryukyu Kingdom referred to the Wanwan Island). This was a string of islands with many hiding places, and it was also suitable for Chen Zuyi to settle down.
What made Zhu Yunwen somewhat dissatisfied was that Chen Zuyi did not go to Shannan or Shanbei in Xiaoliuqiu, but chose Daliuqiu.
If the navy is dispatched now to sweep across the Ryukyu Islands and capture Chen Zuyi and Zhongshan Wang Wuning alive, the navy will not miss and will not let Chen Zuyi escape again. However, once it does so, it will deviate from Zhu Yunwen's southeast strategy.
Zhu Yunwen not only wanted the islands of Da Liuqiu, but also wanted the treasure island of Xiao Liuqiu. Chen Zuyi's trouble was not big enough if he stayed in Da Liuqiu. He should at least go to Xiao Liuqiu to cause trouble, which would also provide a perfect excuse for the Ming Navy to enter Little Liuqiu.
"Pang Huan, you still have to find a way to make Chen Zuyi stretch out his hand. Now that he is a pirate, he should be more bold and not so conservative..."
Zhu Yunwen looked at the map and said to himself.
"Your Majesty, Tie Shangshu would like to see you."
The chamberlain announced.
Zhu Yunwen agreed.
After Tie Xuan saluted, he said: "Your Majesty, please receive the documents from the Western Expedition Army. The army has safely passed through Wushaoling and entered Wuwei on April 10th."
Zhu Yunwen walked out from behind the desk and came to a screen with a map of the Western Regions hanging on it. He looked in the direction of Wuwei and said to Tie Xuan: "It's April 10th, half a month ago. I think King Yan is resting in Zhangye at this time." .”
Tie Xuan sighed: "The King of Yan led the troops very quickly. It took only more than two months to travel more than 4,000 miles. The Grand Governor Wang Jingzhang also sent a document, saying that the soldiers were high-spirited and their morale was like a rainbow. The march was so far away that it was difficult to The loss of spirit shows that his generals are well-equipped."
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhangye. These two words meant "breaking the arm of the Xiongnu, Zhangye". It was a military stronghold established by the Han Dynasty after it opened up the Western Regions. Today it is still an important town, guarding the intersection of the Hexi Corridor.
"It is indeed not easy for King Yan to lead his troops through mountains and ridges and bring the army safely to Hexi. But in my opinion, what is even more difficult is the people who support the logistics in the northwest. They ensure the speed of the army's march."
Zhu Yunwen said seriously.
Tie Xuan repeatedly said yes, then remembered something and asked: "There has been no result yet on the fire at the Huazhou Military Supplies Depot in Shaanxi Province. I requested an order to urge the local government to investigate clearly as soon as possible."
Zhu Yunwen was also a little confused. Zhu Di's army had left Xi'an for more than a month, and the case of the Huazhou munitions fire had not yet been investigated clearly. It was really too slow. There was no local report, and no news came from the security bureau. This matter seemed to have disappeared, and it seemed that it had encountered some difficulties and was unable to progress.
"Order the cabinet to issue a document to the Chief Envoy of Shaanxi Province and ask him to find out the report as soon as possible without delay."
Zhu Yunwen did not believe that the fire in the military depot was an accident.
Although the munitions depots set up along the way are temporary in nature, they are all designed with templates and they know how to prevent fire. Moreover, for every granary set up, there must be rivers and wells within 200 steps, and there are also rivers and wells near the granary. There are a large number of watermen. To put it bluntly, one fire in the granary of the military depot cannot be lit. At least four or five fires are needed.
But the military depot in Huazhou was completely burned down. By coincidence, it was burned down just before the army arrived. There was something strange about this incident, and it was clear that it was arson.
It stands to reason that arson is easy to investigate. The person who set fire to the food must not have any grudge against the food, but wants to hide the fact that the food is insufficient. In other words, whoever has the authority to remove the food will be suspected.
This kind of thing is about following the vine, and it's time to get the vine. Why is it that after so long, you still have a bunch of vines in your hand?
Tie Hyun agreed.
At the end of April, envoys from North Korea arrived in the capital.
Li Congmao, the chief envoy, and Liu Tingxian, the deputy envoy, came to the palace to see Zhu Yunwen. They held a banquet and entertained him without saying much. On the second day of the banquet, Zhu Yunwen invited Li Congmao, Liu Tingxian and others into the Wuying Hall, and also summoned Xie Jin, Tie Xuan, Mei Yin, Yang Shiqi and others to discuss matters.
Zhu Yunwen went straight to the topic: "The Japanese country sent soldiers and colluded with the pirate Chen Zuyi to invade the Daming Yang River. I declared war on the Japanese country. You are already aware of this matter. Do you have any questions?"
Li Congmao and Liu Tingxian shook their heads. After they entered the capital, they were first invited by people from the Ministry of War, and then went to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment to visit the imprisoned Japanese prisoners, which proved that these prisoners were not ordinary Japanese pirates, but Japanese soldiers. , assigned by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
The Ming Dynasty did not lie about this kind of thing. Japanese pirates are Japanese pirates, and Japanese soldiers are Japanese soldiers. You don’t need to read the confessions, but you can also see from these arrogant prisoners that they are indeed soldiers, and they are very arrogant. Japanese pirates But it won't be like this. Even after being imprisoned, he shouted loudly that he wanted to teach Daming a lesson.
Li Congmao looked at Zhu Yunwen and said respectfully: "The Emperor of China and the King of North Korea have appointed me and the two of us to be fully responsible for discussing the war with the Ming Dynasty. We are willing to open up the sea lanes of Jeju Island and provide sufficient supplies for the Ming Dynasty navy."
Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly.
Tie Xuan came out and asked: "So, the king of North Korea wants to stay out of the matter and only provide supplies, but is not willing to send troops, ships, and joint operations?"
Li Congmao saw Tie Xuan's aggressive approach and was not afraid: "Japanese pirates have been raiding North Korea for many years and the coast has suffered greatly. North Korea is naturally willing to send ships and troops to jointly conquer the Japanese country with the Ming Dynasty. However, the foreign minister wants to ask Does the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty intend to completely eliminate the Japanese country once and for all, or does he plan to conquer a place and teach it a lesson?"
Zhu Yunwen's pupils condensed slightly, this Li Congmao is so experienced!
Mei Yin didn't understand and asked: "What's the difference? Whether it's conquering a place or destroying its country, North Korea should cooperate with the suzerain country in the war, right?"
Li Congmao laughed and said to Mei Yin: "The difference between the two is too big. If the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty is determined to destroy the Japanese country, kill all the Japanese people, and occupy its territory, then the foreign minister can say something on behalf of the king of Korea. , North Korea is willing to devote all its strength to mobilize all soldiers and ships to support the Ming Dynasty in this war!"
"But if the emperor of China just wanted to teach the Japanese a lesson and kill some Japanese for revenge, demonstration and warning. It would be difficult for North Korea to fully support it, and once involved, the Chinese navy would withdraw, leaving the North Korean navy empty. , the soldiers and the people are facing the violent Japanese country. When the time comes, the king will have no way to explain to the people, and there will be no way to explain to the soldiers. I also ask the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty to think carefully and understand the difficulties of the vassal foreign ministers. "
Jie Jin, Mei Yin, Tie Xuan and others felt a little headache. Li Congmao was in trouble in front of them. He said such words, which clearly blocked Daming's mouth. People have said that if you really want to fight, then we will Full support, if you don’t really fight, then we don’t want to be involved...
It was the first time that Zhu Yunwen met such a powerful envoy from North Korea.
Indeed, Li Congmao's worries were justified, and his thoughts were very clear. Everything was based on Daming's actions.
Yes, Zhu Yunwen declared war on Japan, but after declaring war, did he really launch a war to destroy the country?
Think, think, really!
But Zhu Yunwen did not have this power now. Zheng He led the main force of the navy to the depths of the sea. It would take at least two or three years or more for them to come back. With the current strength of the navy, it is already used to the limit for basic coastal protection and maintenance of maritime trade routes. It is simply not enough to devote strength to an expedition to Japan to fight a war to destroy the country.
In this case, the Ming Dynasty could only choose local and limited operations to deal with the Japanese state.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Jie Jin. Xie Jin understood. He came out and said to Li Congmao and others: "The main force of the Ming Dynasty navy is still in the west, and it is still difficult to destroy the Japanese country in one fell swoop. Now the Ming Dynasty wants a war to let the Japanese country know completely. The consequences of angering the Ming Dynasty. Do you think the navy can go directly from Sakai Port to the Japanese capital of Kyoto and capture Ashikaga Yoshimitsu alive?"
"Go straight to Kyoto?"
Li Congmao was surprised. Ming's combat plan was probably too crazy. They wanted to use sharp knife tactics to penetrate directly into the heart of the Japanese country and capture Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
It’s unimaginable that Ming Dynasty had such a plan!
but!
Li Congmao quickly advised: "It's not appropriate. I've heard about Sakai Port. Not only is it heavily guarded, but there are also a large number of archery towers built there. Even if the Ming Dynasty Navy tore through Sakai Port, it would be difficult to reach the Japanese Kyoto after landing. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu In order to stabilize their rule, a large number of samurai families were concentrated in Kyoto, which is a large city with a population of more than 100,000. Once Kyoto is in danger, there will be 20,000 to 30,000 troops in an instant..."
Tie Xuan and Mei Yin were a little worried. If this was the case, it would be inappropriate to directly attack the Japanese capital. Zheng He's naval fleet was so large that it only brought more than 36,000 people. What's more, the navy did not have so many treasure ships at this time!
The battle to destroy the country and the direct attack on Huanglong cannot be accomplished by a sneak attack by thousands of navy.
Zhu Yunwen said in a deep voice: "If I can't go straight to Kyoto and capture Ashikaga Yoshimitsu alive, I will feel uneasy. It is not a bad idea to give it a try by gathering the strength of the navy of North Korea, Korea and Ming Dynasty."
Li Congmao shuddered. This kind of thing is not an attempt. The North Korean navy is very weak. It is difficult to go to Kyushu Island, let alone go to Sakai Port.
In order to stop Zhu Yunwen's madness, Li Congmao had no choice but to say: "Please calm down the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty. Foreign ministers think that if they just want to teach Japan a lesson, they might as well choose Tsushima Island first!"
"Tsushima Island?"
Xie Jin, Tie Xuan and others were confused.
Li Congmao nodded seriously and asked Liu Tingxian to take out the map and point it out to everyone: "Tsima Island is located between North Korea and Japan. It is only a hundred miles away from Busan and only a hundred miles away from Kyushu Island and Honshu Island of Japan. . The person who rules this island is the Japanese daimyo Mune Sadashige, an important minister of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. As long as we capture this place and kill Mune Sadashige, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu will definitely regret it."
Zhu Yunwen stood up and walked towards the map and looked at Tsushima Island. This is indeed a magical island, lying in the middle of a strait. From here, you can jump north to Busan and south to the Japanese countries of Fukuoka and Nagasaki.
ps:
Because there is so little information on the ancient maps of Japan, it is not clear whether some place names existed in the early Ming Dynasty. We will temporarily replace them with later world names. If any readers have maps and information, you can contact Jingxue to let us know. Thank you.
