Li Laiheng's difficulties were actually similar to Huang Taiji's, they were also logistical issues.
Phi Island, like the surrounding Shemi Island, Yamato Island, Xindao Island, Tan Island, etc., are islands formed by the sinking of the Jiangnan Mountains. They are mainly composed of crystallized gneiss. The highest point, Yantai Peak, is 345 meters above sea level.
Basically, there is no agriculture on this island. Historically, it was said that "the land on Pi Island is all sand and gravel, and there is no arable land." The residents on this island mainly make a living by fishing.
In Mao Wenlong's era, it was actually limited by the poverty of Pi Island. However, Mao Wenlong tried his best to do this.
Historical records: "After that, all the people of the Liao Dynasty were involved in the island, and the houses were very prosperous. It became a city, with merchant ships coming and going from the southeast, and the coastal vegetation was all in Qiaosu."
In other words, because Mao Wenlong was from Zhejiang, he found a way to attract businessmen from the southeast to do business on Pi Island, thereby bringing food.
However, Pidao, which has no arable land, is ultimately unable to support itself, so it must rely on food, wages and other materials transported by sea from Denglai and Tianjin.
However, shipping by sea was actually very inconvenient in the past. In addition, Dongjiang Town was under the jurisdiction of Governor Jiliao at that time. The reason why Mao Wenlong was eventually killed by Yuan Chonghuan was that Yuan Chonghuan used his power to block Mao Wenlong's logistics, forcing Mao Wenlong to please Yuan Chonghuan, but in the end he ushered in a murderer.
Mao Wenlong also forced North Korea to provide food support. After all, it is close and it is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, so there is no reason not to support food.
According to the "Records of the Joseon Dynasty: The Record of Injo": North Korea's expenditure on supporting Pido accounted for one-third of the country's annual expenditure.
Hong Hanzhou's "Zhishui Nianbi" records that during the Chongzhen period, the Ming general Mao Wenlong came to Pi Island with his troops, but because he was short of food, he moved to ask for rice. It was difficult for our country to lose peace, so we had no choice but to issue an order to the two wests, and collect three measures of rice for each knot from the people, and send it by ship. At that time, it was called gross rice. After Wen Long was killed by Governor Yuan, the rice should be stopped, but it is still subject to the annual tax. For hundreds of years, the rice collected has been changed under different names and mixed with the Yuan tax.
From this, we can see how difficult the logistics of Pi Dao are.
Now, Li Laiheng is also facing the same problem.
Although at this time, there was no logistics for Governor Jiliao, transporting grain from Denglai and Tianjin was really time-consuming and labor-intensive. Pi Dao itself does not produce food, and North Korea has been squeezed dry by the captives. For now, the relationship between us and the enemy is already one, and it is impossible to obtain food.
Therefore, the food shipped from the mainland of Ming Dynasty must be cherished very much.
If Zheng Fusong led the main force of the Navy to find the Jianlu Navy for a decisive battle, it would cost a lot of money. Instead of doing this, Li Laiheng meant that the Navy should continue to wait and see, and the main force of the Navy should hide in the strait between Tan Island in the southeast of Pi Island. There are many small harbors here, which are conducive to shelter from the wind, and have always been a place for large ships to dock.
In this way, if the navy does not move, it can save a lot of money and food, and catch fish to supplement food consumption.
The Jianlu Navy cannot just sit back and watch Pidao, and will definitely attack. If the Jianlu navy came to attack from afar, Jianlu would consume more money and food. As time goes by, Jianlu consumes more food, while Dongjiang Town consumes less food. The only price is that the main force of the navy will be held back on Pi Island.
Li Laiheng's career as a thief made him understand how to care about food. Although Zheng Fusong was a little dissatisfied with this, he won the strong support of Zheng Hongkui, and in the end that was all he could do.
At this time, when he heard Li Laiheng ask him if he was happy, Zheng Fusong was gearing up and said to Li Laiheng excitedly: "Commander, Jianlu definitely didn't expect that we would take the initiative to attack. How about we go for a sneak attack? Frustrating The spirit of Jianlu? This is called a soldier who never tires of deceit!"
When Zheng Hongkui heard this, he winked at Li Laiheng from behind Zheng Fusong, meaning, don't agree.
Li Laiheng was a little amused, but he didn't show it. He just asked Zheng Fusong, "You have defeated Jianlu's spirit, and then what?"
"Then?" Zheng Fusong asked a little unclearly upon hearing this, is there any more?
After hearing this, Li Laiheng explained to him: "Wars always have a purpose. If the enemy attacks with great momentum, we are worried that once the enemy's morale is too high, it will be very detrimental to us. Influence. Then it is possible to take the enemy by surprise, attack him unprepared, take the initiative to send troops to win the battle, demoralize the enemy, and improve the morale of our army."
Having said this, he paused, looked at Zheng Fusong and asked: "But for now, the key to this war is the naval battle. Do you think we will be worried about not being able to defeat the Jianlu Navy in this naval battle?" "
"How is that possible!" When Zheng Fusong heard this, he immediately shouted. Then he was stunned for a moment, and he obviously understood something, and said a little embarrassedly, "We are sure to win the naval battle, so there is no need to continue to let the enemy be arrogant. When there is a real fight, give the enemy a fatal blow?" "
"Yes, this is the strategy!" Li Laiheng still admired Zheng Fusong. He was born as a young master and was very smart. However, he had never experienced war training before, so he took many things for granted.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Zheng Hongkui behind Zheng Fusong. No wonder someone would accompany him, and he was obviously worried about Zheng Fusong!
While he was thinking this, he saw Zheng Fusong saying to him with great admiration: "Commander, you don't know many words, why do you know so many?"
Li Laiheng listened and said with a smile: "If you have been fighting since childhood, as long as you can survive, your intuition about war will not be wrong."
"..." Zheng Fusong was speechless after hearing this.
He obviously would not have had this kind of experience.
While they were chatting, someone suddenly came to report that Jin Bok, the leader of the Korean rebel army, had come to ask for a meeting.
When Li Laiheng heard this, he was a little surprised that Jin Fulai came in person instead of sending his confidants as before. It was probably because there was something important, so he immediately informed him.
After a while, a short Korean man was brought over. When he saw Li Laiheng, he saluted respectfully, and then reported with a somewhat anxious expression: "Commander, the king is leading the army to Iron Mountain. He should be attacking Pi Island with Jianlu."
After a pause, he immediately explained: "I want to stop it, but the troops are too weak to fight against the imperial army. If the commander-in-chief sends troops to intercept, it may be possible to prevent him from coming to Tieshan!"
After hearing this, Zheng Fusong said angrily: "This King of North Korea really wants to die. I think North Korea will no longer need to exist in the future. Let's first destroy this ungrateful North Korea that helps the tyranny of evil!"
In the past, Li Laiheng had never used troops against North Korea. Even if the Korean rebels came to seek refuge, he was still a little hesitant. After all, North Korea has been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years. Emperor Taizu even listed North Korea as a country without conquest.
The reason why North Korea surrendered to Jianlu was also forced by the situation, which Ming Dynasty can still understand to some extent. Not to mention, there are always pro-Ming factions in the North Korean court.
But now, North Korea has given its navy to Jianlu, which poses a serious threat to the Ming Dynasty. The pro-Ming faction in the court has also been betrayed by them to Jianlu. This time, the King of Korea actually led his troops to join forces at Iron Mountain to join the captives. His intention was self-evident, which made people angry.
When Jin Fulai heard Zheng Fusong's words, he nodded repeatedly, obviously he liked hearing this.
He was originally a low-level officer in the Korean army. He could not stand the oppression of the court and his family was harmed by the rebels. He eventually joined the rebel team and because of his understanding of military affairs, he eventually became an important leader of the Korean rebel army.
What Jin Fulai wanted most, of course, was to overthrow the decadent Korean kingdom, so he immediately followed Zheng Fusong's words and persuaded: "If the imperial officers and soldiers and Jianlu are united, they are familiar with the terrain and have naval forces. As long as they cross Once we cross this strait and land on Phi Island, the consequences will be disastrous!"
After a pause, he used all the gestures with his hands and said bitterly: "Why don't we gather our troops to kill the dog king before the Jianlu navy arrives, and go to Jianlu to help him, I hope he can still fight!"
After hearing this, Li Laiheng shook his head and said: "Don't worry about the war on Pidao. If the King of Korea wants to please Jianlu, just come. After this battle, there will be plenty of time to settle accounts with him."
Hearing this, Jin Fulai was obviously a little hesitant, but finally said to Li Laiheng with a grimace: "Commander, now... now other rebel armies are wavering. If... if the heavenly soldiers can't boost their morale, I'm afraid... I’m afraid there will be a rebellion!”
The slave chief Huang Taiji personally led the army, and the King of Korea led the army to join them. The momentum was unprecedented. This put the Korean rebels under great pressure, and some people could no longer hold on.
And this was the reason why Jin Fulai came to lobby in person, wanting the Ming army to win the battle first.
Li Laiheng knew as soon as he heard it that this was the news that he had blocked the main force of the navy, which made the outside world think that the strength of the Ming army was not enough to withstand the slave chief's offensive.
In this regard, he said calmly: "Everyone has his own ambitions. If they want to join Jianlu, we will not force them. However, after the incident, they will definitely have to pay the price!"
After hearing this, Zheng Fusong said with a bit of anger: "Yes, whoever dares to betray the Ming Dynasty will be punished later! Just take this opportunity to see who else in North Korea is loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and who is People who work day and night!"
Jin Fulai couldn't help but feel moved when he saw them like this.
He is not a fool. Looking at this, he knows that the Ming army must have support to act like this. With a roll of his eyes, he immediately expressed his stance: He stood most firmly on Daming's side.
However, when he returned, he did not say what he meant. He just sighed, indicating that the army did not listen to the advice and did not send troops.
