Shortly after leaving the capital, Emperor Chongzhen sent an order and the army marched to Shanhaiguan.
As soon as this decree was issued, all the generals and supervisors rushed to the Central Army to see Emperor Chongzhen.
Previously, they had always thought that the emperor's personal expedition was to conquer the grassland again, where there were Jianlu, who led the Mongolian tribes in the grassland to invade the Ming border.
To deal with this, because the emperor had a record of success before, they all had confidence in the emperor just like the civil servants in the DPRK.
However, no one expected that after leaving the capital, the emperor would go to Shanhaiguan. Wouldn't that mean he was going to attack Liaodong?
"Your Majesty, you must not do it. Liaodong is the home of the captives. Your Majesty, with his wealth of gold, must not go deep into dangerous places!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the troops established in Liaodong have at least 100,000 men and horses, but our army only has less than 50,000 men. There is a huge disparity between the enemy and us, so we must not take risks..."
"..."
Listening to the pleadings of the supervisors in each army, the generals also responded: "Your Majesty, we need to be cautious and think twice before taking action in Liaodong!"
"Your Majesty, if we must attack Liaodong, the general will be willing to go. Your Majesty can just wait for the victory in the capital!"
"Your Majesty, Liaodong has been managed by the Jianruids for many years. It is absolutely unacceptable to set out to conquer Liaodong in such a hurry!"
"..."
Emperor Chongzhen saw these general soldiers and supervisors admonishing him. Instead of being angry, he smiled and shook his hand to stop them from talking, and then said: "It can be seen from your reactions that I will The expedition to Liaodong should be beyond everyone’s expectations, including Jianlu!”
Upon hearing this, Cao Bianjiao and others were stunned. Although there is a saying in the art of war, it is indeed a good move to catch someone unawares and attack them unprepared. But the key point is that Emperor Chongzhen is a man of ten thousand gold, and nothing can happen to him. Even if it were to take him by surprise and attack him unprepared, and the emperor personally led the troops into battle, it would still be too dangerous!
When they were about to speak, Emperor Chongzhen spoke first and said: "Jianlu is now sending people to discuss with Governor Jiliao about the return of King De. The reason why he did this suddenly at this time is because Jianlu wanted to launch a counterattack In the war in Korea, we want to stabilize the Ming army in Ningjin. Therefore, I cannot let Jianlu do what he wants, and send troops suddenly to disrupt Jianlu’s war arrangements!"
Hearing this, the generals and supervisors were stunned again. They didn't expect the emperor to have such news!
"Your Majesty, how many troops did Jianlu send to Korea?" Cao Bianjiao suddenly forgot to persuade the emperor and just excitedly said with clasped fists.
"No less than one hundred thousand!" Emperor Chongzhen raised a finger and said, "But this time the slave chief has a huge appetite. Not only does he want to conquer Korea, but he also wants to take this opportunity to deal with the Dongjiang Army under the Governor of Baoding! Just rely on Guan If Ning Jun is here to support us, I’m worried that we don’t have enough strength!”
"Your Majesty, in that case, I am willing to be the vanguard and fight all the way to Shenyang to take over Jianlu's lair!" Cao Bianjiao immediately said excitedly, "But the emperor only needs to sit in Shanhaiguan personally and wait for the good news!"
"Your Majesty, the Hussars Battalion is most suitable for the expedition to Shenyang. Please give your Majesty's decree and the general will be the first to rush to Shenyang City!" Hu Dawei was not willing to be outdone, and immediately raised his voice and demanded strongly.
The emperor's news was always accurate, so they had no doubts about its authenticity. Now that Jianlu is out in force, this opportunity is really rare, and maybe it will be a great achievement. As a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, if he could be the first to regain Shenyang, he would definitely make his wife Yinzi!
Naturally, the other generals were not to be outdone and rushed to be the vanguard.
Seeing them asking for a fight, the supervisors were stunned. Didn't we agree to come together to persuade the emperor? Why did we forget about this matter in the blink of an eye? Looking at them like this, it's as if Shenyang is easy to get.
However, the centipede insect is dead but not stiff, not to mention that the current Jianlu are not dead yet, so how can they be so easily defeated by others? Even if all the Jianlu army is sent out, there will definitely be enough troops left in the puppet capital no matter what!
Liu Yuanbin, the eunuch of the Supervisory Army, immediately raised his voice, which seemed a bit harsh, and interrupted the soldiers' invitation to fight: "Your Majesty, you must not underestimate the enemy!"
After finishing speaking, for the solemnity of the occasion, he immediately knelt down and said with a sincere expression: "Your Majesty, what if we cannot capture Liaodong for a long time and the army of Jianlu comes back for reinforcements? Your Majesty has a body of thousands of gold, and even if your servants die, you will not be able to do it." I absolutely do not agree with His Majesty putting himself in danger. Your Majesty is determined to go to Liaodong and please behead your slaves!"
After finishing speaking, he kowtowed heavily.
The other eunuchs in charge of the army, including Fang Zhenghua and others, also knelt down and begged the emperor to act with caution.
When the general soldiers saw this scene, they immediately calmed down a lot. Even if all the Jianlu army were sent out, it would not be easy to defeat them. It is indeed dangerous for the emperor to go there in person.
Thinking this way, many of them were not as generous in their speeches as before, and their expressions were obviously hesitant.
"Your Majesty, please sit down at Shanhaiguan and watch the last general kill the enemy!" Cao Bianjiao finally knelt down on one knee and begged the emperor.
Lu Da was the second to kneel down and also advised the emperor not to take risks.
After a while, all the generals, including Hu Dawei, knelt down and remonstrated. They were originally led astray by Emperor Chongzhen, but under the demonstration of the eunuchs, they finally returned to their original intention of coming to see the emperor.
Emperor Chongzhen just laughed when he saw this. To be honest, he was pleased with the advice given by these military commanders and eunuchs. This shows that the three battalions of Yumajian are all his confidants. Between military merit and the monarch's safety, they all chose to put the monarch first.
With this thought in mind, Emperor Chongzhen stretched out his hand and said: "Get up, everyone! How can I be a reckless king? This expedition is definitely not what you thought. We will take this opportunity to regain Liaodong. Get up, I originally planned to give After listening to what you said about the purpose of this expedition, you will know that this is a prudent move by me, not a rash one!"
Hearing this, Liu Yuanbin and others looked at each other and felt a little strange. Wasn't the emperor going to war so violently to take advantage of this rare opportunity to regain Liaodong?
However, thinking about the emperor's performance in the past two years, it seems that he always makes decisions before acting, and does not act rashly.
Thinking this way, they became a little curious, so they stood up and listened attentively to Emperor Chongzhen's true purpose.
At the same time, the slave chief Huang Taiji also led his troops out of Shengjing and sent an imperial edict to Zhenjiang Fort.
Duduo, who had led the army stationed here before, received the order and immediately sent an order to Yue Tuo and Haoge, ordering them both to be the vanguard of the army and enter North Korea, while he himself led the Chinese army to follow up.
On February 18, the 14th year of Chongzhen, the third Korean War broke out.
Jianlu's cavalry rolled southward. The North Korean army never expected that Jianlu would suddenly kill them. Therefore, most generals from all over the country fled after hearing the news.
The difference from the previous two times was that this time, Jianlu no longer held back. Along the way, they were burned, killed, and looted. Everywhere they passed, the villages and towns turned into white fields, and corpses were strewn in the fields. Even North Korean officials or generals who surrendered would not go around, and they were all executed. Even those large cities would end up being burned once they were conquered by Jianlu.
This time, Jianlu did not accept North Korea's surrender! Grab whatever you can, and burn whatever you can't take away.
The entire northern part of North Korea suddenly fell into panic. Before the Jianlu troops arrived, the people in the villages and towns often fled. When they heard that the Jianlu army was coming, most of the soldiers in each city fled overnight. In fact, once captured by Jianlu, the city will be massacred!
In this case, generally speaking, Jianlu's troops should be very fast and be able to attack Seoul, just like the previous two battles.
However, this is not the case. Jianlu's troops advanced slowly and seemed to focus on looting, which gave North Korea an opportunity to ask for help.
In the North Korean court, voices seeking peace once again dominated the mainstream. The leader of North Korea, Li Zhu, was also panicked when faced with the menacing attack of Jianlu. However, there was still some hope, so he appointed Jin Shangxian as the leader to discuss affairs and asked him to rush to Pidao in person to ask for help.
On the Pidao side, Li Dingguo did not dare to make the decision after hearing the news, so he immediately sent a clipper to Lushun.
On the Lushun side, Lu Xiangsheng was arguing with Daishan.
First, Daishan sent an envoy to Lushun, holding a letter written by King De and begging Lu Xiangsheng to save him.
"I, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, feel that the Ming Dynasty has recently released Zhengbai Banner Gushan Ezhen back to Liaodong. Therefore, as long as the Governor-General agrees to the two conditions proposed by me, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, King De will be returned to the Governor-General. How about it?"
In this regard, if possible, Lu Xiangsheng would of course want to rescue King De. However, the conditions proposed by the Manchu envoy were too harsh and he could not agree.
First, Huang Taiji demanded the return of the Qing naval warships;
Second, Huang Taiji asked Lu Xiangsheng to return Lushun to him.
There was no way Lu Xiangsheng could agree to these two conditions. He said to the arrogant Manchu messenger: "This is equivalent to giving Port Arthur and 300 warships back to a German king. Fortunately, you slave chiefs were also part of the Ming Dynasty before. Don't you know how the Ming Dynasty treats the outside world? Don’t even think about ceding land or paying compensation. Since you guys don’t have sincere negotiations, then just wait for King De to die for his country, and I will definitely repay this blood debt for King De!”
After the Manchu envoy returned, he returned soon. This time, his attitude was much better and he lowered his demands, saying that Lushun did not need to be returned, but the Ming Dynasty's naval warships must be returned. Only in this way will King De be returned to Ming Dynasty.
Of course, Lu Xiangsheng could not agree to this, so he refused again.
"Your Highness, Lu Xiangsheng refused again." The messenger went back to see Dai Shan and reported, "Not only will Lushun not be given, but not even one of the three hundred warships will be given. Don't even think about warships. Think. He reiterated that Ming Dynasty will never cede territory or pay compensation!"
After hearing this, Daishan was not angry at all. He waved and said with a smile: "Have a rest for a day and continue to see Lu Xiangsheng tomorrow and tell him that the Qing Dynasty is willing to pay to redeem the ship. In this way, the Ming Dynasty will not count as compensation! "
When Lu Xiangsheng of Lushun heard this, he immediately said angrily: "Ten taels of silver for a warship? Why don't you go and rob it? Let me just speak frankly, will King De give it to you?"
In Jinzhou, Daishan laughed when he heard this and said: "If you are still thinking about getting King De, then go tell him again. Just treat this matter as a business. How much is King De worth? Ten taels of silver." No, just twenty taels, isn’t that what the Han people are said to be good at?”
On the Lushun side, Li Guo, who had been listening, felt something was wrong and reminded Lu Xiangsheng: "Sir, why are you listening to me? Jianlu doesn't seem to be sincere at all. Even if you bargain, the price is too outrageous!"
To be honest, Lu Xiangsheng actually believed Jianlu's words at the beginning. Because he did capture Jianlu's Zhengbaiqi Gushan Ezhen, and judging from this result, Ying Erdai was indeed released back. Although he didn't know whether Ying Erdai was instigated by the emperor to rebel, at least it should be true that he returned to Liaodong.
For Jianlu, it seemed understandable that Jianlu would release King De back in return.
But Lu Xiangsheng was not stupid. After going back and forth a few times, he felt something was wrong. When Li Guo reminded him again, he came to his senses and said, "Maybe Jianlu just wants to use this method to drag me down. The North Korean side may be in danger!"
"It is indeed possible!" Li Guo nodded immediately after hearing this, "The Jianlu were afraid that the Ming Dynasty would send troops to help defend North Korea, so they left the governor here in Lushun, so that they would not have to worry about him going to help North Korea when they send troops. "
Lu Xiangsheng nodded solemnly and told Li Guo: "We must be vigilant to prevent Jianlu from plotting against Lushun. If we really cannot defend it, we will retreat to the island. I will go back to Pidao soon."
Just as he was making such arrangements, the clipper from Pidao arrived, bringing a letter from North Korea asking for help and military information about the Korean War.
"The Jianlu troops sent a total of about 30,000 troops and plundered everywhere. It seems that they really want to take revenge on North Korea!" Upon hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng immediately asserted, "I will go back immediately and cut them off, so that the Jianlu troops can retreat to Liaodong in a hurry!"
It is unrealistic to eliminate all Jianlu. As long as Jianlu divides his troops to plunder everywhere, eats part of Jianlu's troops, and puts enough pressure on Jianlu, Jianlu will definitely not dare to stay in North Korea for too long.
With this in mind, Lu Xiangsheng wanted to gather enough troops, and even took away part of Lushun's troops, and ordered the Ming troops from all the islands to assemble and return to Pidao with him to deal with Jianlu's attack on North Korea.
The Korean War began its second phase with the actions of the Ming army.
As for Daishan, when the messenger he sent to bargain came back and said that he had not seen Lu Xiangsheng and that the Ming army was impatient, he laughed and said: "It seems that Lu Xiangsheng already knows the war situation in North Korea." , has rushed back for rescue."
After reaching this conclusion, he immediately sent an envoy and rushed back to report the situation to Huang Taiji.
"I will definitely cripple this Ming army this time!" Huang Taiji said viciously with a bit of ferocity on his fat face after receiving the news.
With so much effort and mobilization, how can it be just to deal with North Korea!
