"What, you can be rewarded with land just for achieving military merit?"
"Yes, almost all the officers and soldiers who fought against the Jianlu were assigned to grain fields! Thanks to their hard work, wow, that field is really huge!"
"..."
Whether it is the people of the Ming Dynasty or the original Korean people, for them, the most important thing is land. Not to mention, the vast majority of North Korean people do not have land and can only work in other people's fields throughout their lives.
Therefore, when they heard that they had achieved great military exploits as soldiers, and that they were happy in exchange for large grain fields, their feelings were very different. It could even be said that they were much more excited than the people of the Ming Dynasty.
If the people of the Ming Dynasty in the pass were still worried about the bitter cold in Liaodong and North Korea at this time, the North Korean people who fled to Jeju Island had no such idea at all. For them, it all comes from a good place.
At this time, they thought of the entire Liaodong and Korean Peninsula, which had been completely deserted by the rebels, and almost all of it was now ownerless land. They thought that there was so much land waiting for their masters, and they could no longer sit still.
At first, he was still smart and asked the imperial officers and soldiers about how to become a soldier and whether he could become a soldier. Later, other people in Jeju Island who heard the news also followed suit. After there were too many people, they simply went to the local government office, that is, Lin Qingye, to petition and wanted to become a soldier.
Maybe the profession of military household was not a good choice for the people of Ming Dynasty in the past.
However, after Emperor Chongzhen traveled through time, he not only made up for the back pay, but also led the army to continuously win battles, and he was not stingy with military merit rewards. These things were found out by the people of Jeju Island. Compared to their current situation, it would be strange not to envy them! The basic conditions of being a soldier, including food and military pay, are enough to make these former Korean people who fled to Jeju Island envious.
Lin Qingye saw so many people requesting to join the Ming Dynasty army. After being surprised at the beginning, he thought about it and understood the key.
Generally speaking, if someone wants to be a soldier, there is absolutely no reason to refuse, because no one is willing to be a soldier in normal times. But at this time, Lin Qingye remembered the original Battle of Pyongyang. It was because of the drag of the North Korean army that the army led by Governor Lu almost turned from victory to defeat, and he became a little worried.
However, he couldn't handle the large number of people who came to the Yamen to request, so he finally had to come to Zheng Zhilong and report the situation to him.
After finishing speaking, Lin Qingye sincerely interceded for them: "My lord, their combat power is far from comparable to that of the imperial officers and soldiers. However, most of them are fishermen. I thought that if they were allowed to serve as soldiers in the navy, If so, it might still be of some use. Sir, the people's support can be used, what do you think?"
Zheng Zhilong had already heard the noise outside, so he was not surprised when he heard it.
He led the navy south, and there was still a lot of pressure. After all, this time we were fighting on the tip of the Korean Peninsula. Although it is now nominally the territory of the Ming Dynasty and the war is still fought on the mainland, in fact, it is not much different from the expedition to the Japanese country. This is different from his previous naval battles.
In addition, although we had sufficient food and adequate preparations for this trip south, the continuous rain and heavy rain also made many soldiers in the army sick and required a period of rest.
However, Zheng Zhilong was worried that time and opportunity waited for no one. If he could not complete the emperor's instructions, the navy would miss the opportunity to make a great contribution.
Therefore, he originally thought of recruiting some fishermen on Jeju Island to work on warships to make up for the shortage of sick soldiers. At this time, Lin Qingye came to his door, which was like meeting a pillow when he was dozing off, which made him very happy.
However, if he wanted to expand his army privately, he would not have any scruples if he was in his hometown in Fujian. But at this time, Emperor Sheng was on the throne and he was in North Korea, so he still had concerns and explained the reason to Lin Qingye.
Seeing Lin Qingye's disappointed look, Zheng Zhilong changed the subject and said: "However, I can first recruit some of them for the army by recruiting civilian husbands, and then report the list and reasons to the emperor. As long as the emperor is accurate, they can As expected."
At this point, he paused slightly and then added with a smile: "Based on my understanding of the emperor, there should be no problem. In the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, all the people have to serve as soldiers. Now the people of Jeju Island are also the people of the Ming Dynasty. , there should be no problem. And the emperor is always generous to those who serve the country wholeheartedly. Maybe they will be rewarded for their contribution to the people during this period."
When he said that he would be rewarded, he naturally meant that he would be rewarded as a soldier, not as a civilian. Because when the people come to reward, he, as the collector, or Lin Qingye, as the local chief official, can give the reward.
The reason why Zheng Zhilong said this was to increase the enthusiasm of these Jeju Island people to perform meritorious services.
Lin Qingye may be worried that the North Korean soldiers are too bad, but Zheng Zhilong has no problem. Not to mention the old Chinese saying that a raging army can lead to a den of raging animals. Zheng Zhilong once traversed a large area of the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea. Among his pirates, there were no people from anywhere, and the Koreans were no exception. There are also brave ones among them.
Lin Qingye was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't expect Zheng Zhilong to be so easy to talk to. In the past, I had always heard that the Shangguan of the Ming Dynasty was difficult to deal with, but after the arrival of the New Dongjiang Army, this feeling basically disappeared, including the famous naval commander of the Ming Dynasty.
So, I quickly thanked him and quickly conveyed the good news.
Upon hearing the good news, the people of Jeju Island burst into joy. If there was anyone in the family who was suitable to be a soldier, they would immediately queue up at the gate of the military camp and wait for the imperial officers and soldiers to come and select them; while those whose families did not have someone who was suitable to be a soldier, could only shake their heads and sigh in envy.
"Look, why is it not the one with the handle? This is a big loss!"
"Why weren't you born a few years earlier? You're still under age. What a big loss!"
"..."
Zheng Zhilong felt a little emotional when he saw the grand scene outside the military camp. This situation is really rare. It seems that it is the Ming Dynasty that has won the hearts of the people, the emperor is a sage!
He did not delay, and immediately sent people to start selecting those suitable to join the ship as soldiers.
The rain has stopped for several days, and the wind and waves on the sea have become much lighter. There may be some movement from the Japanese army.
Sometimes, good things either don't come or come one after another.
He was selecting manpower and making preparations for the expedition when Lin Qingye came to him again and said with excitement: "Sir, some fishermen returned to the island and said they saw many Japanese troops landing in Busan. Their The navy’s stopping point is in Busan.”
The Japanese army would use Busan as their landing point. Emperor Chongzhen had reminded Zheng Zhilong before setting off, saying that the first batch of Japanese troops would land in Busan, and that they would probably land in Busan in the future. The edge is the base. However, no matter what, after so much time, the military situation still needs to be verified. Now that there is clear news from Jeju Island, it naturally corroborates the speculation. This is the best thing.
Therefore, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be overjoyed, it was more purposeful. From this, he thought of other things, and asked Lin Qingye about the topography and sea conditions around Busan, as well as the conditions of nearby Geoje Island and Tsushima Island on the other side.
After Lin Qingye heard this, he immediately told everything he knew about the situation. Feeling that it was not enough, he went back and started collecting relevant information from the people. Finally, he happily ran to report to Marshal Zheng.
When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. It made him feel that it was almost the same as fighting in his hometown of Fujian and Guangdong. Soon, he had a relatively detailed understanding of the Korean Strait, including the tip of the Korean Peninsula, Tsushima Island, and the hydrological conditions of the Korean Strait, and he had a much better grasp of the war.
Therefore, as soon as the situation became clear, he immediately ordered the army to set off.
When the navy was dispatched, the people of Jeju Island all ran out to see him off, shouting "The Ming Dynasty will be victorious", which resounded in the sky above Jeju Island. The grand occasion of the army's expedition made the naval officers even more proud of their identity.
Lin Qingye led his officials and also saw Zheng Zhilong off. In his eyes, there was deep envy of Zheng Zhilong for being able to make military exploits. Before leaving, he said to Zheng Zhilong: "Don't worry, Commander. Your subordinate will definitely do a good job on Jeju Island so that the army will have no worries. In addition, the island sealing order will continue until the news of the victory of the army comes back!"
The so-called island closure order was implemented on the day Zheng Zhilong arrived in Jeju Island. All people on Jeju Island are allowed in and out, unless there is a military order.
Although this situation caused some inconvenience to the people of Jeju Island, no one complained. They all hoped that the imperial army would win the battle and they could return to land as soon as possible.
"You can do the work, I can rest assured!" The cooperation has been very pleasant these days. After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong patted Lin Qingye on the shoulder and said with a smile.
After finishing speaking, I turned around and saw that the coast could be described as a sea of people. They were all shouting and trying their best to express their wishes in Ming Dynasty Mandarin.
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
"Beat the stupid Japanese to death!"
"..."
After listening to all this, and then turning to look at the morale of his soldiers, Zheng Zhilong couldn't hide the smile on his face. Without further ado, he turned around and boarded the flagship, giving the order to set off.
So, amid the cheers of the people of Jeju Island, the mighty Daming Navy left Jeju Island and began their journey.
…………
As reported by the people of Jeju Island, the Japanese navy did take action. This was Tokugawa Iemitsu's reaction after receiving the urgent letter from Matsudaira Nobutsuna.
