In Zhao Tai's impression, Goryeo is now at war with Mongolia.
The Central Plains is relatively peaceful now. The Mongolian-Song peace agreement has restrained the hands and feet of Mongolia and Zhao Tai, making the border between the two sides relatively peaceful.
Zhao Tai took this opportunity to restore Shandong and accumulate strength. However, the competition between the two countries is an all-round competition and cannot be relaxed at all.
If Zhao Tai is happy to enjoy the peace now, he will suffer big losses sooner or later.
Therefore, when Zhao Tai himself recovers and develops, he still has to find ways to cause trouble for Mongolia.
Zhao Tai sent a fleet to Goryeo and Liaodong, hoping to create obstacles for Mongolia in North Korea and Liaodong.
At this time, Zhao Tai heard that the fleet from Goryeo had returned, and immediately ordered: "Let Lu Wende come to Binzhou to meet Gu!"
Zhao Hu saluted, "Here! I'll do it now!"
Zhao Tai waited for him to leave and asked casually: "Sir, can Gao Li use it?"
Wang Wentong shook his head, "This minister is hard to explain!"
Zhao Taidao: "Let's chat casually, I would like to hear your thoughts sir!"
Wang Wentong thought for a while and said, "I don't know the situation in Goryeo, so I can only give you a try."
Zhao Tai nodded, "Sir, please speak."
"If I am not mistaken, the king wants to support Goryeo against Mongolia to consume Mongolia's strength!" Wang Wentong looked at Zhao Tai. Seeing that Zhao Tai did not deny it, he continued: "I thought Mongolia was different from me in the Central Plains. We are fighting. The more they fight, the weaker they become, and the more they fight, the less money they have. Mongolia is different. Through war, they may not only not become weaker, but will become stronger as they fight."
Zhao Tai nodded, "Sir, what you said makes sense. I was worried about this, and spent money and food to support Goryeo, and finally enriched Mongolia!"
Wang Wentong said: "However, it is not absolutely the case that Mongolia will become richer the more it fights. Last year, Kublai Khan attacked Shandong. The king adopted the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the country, which made Kublai Khan unprofitable. Instead, he lost a lot of soldiers and horses, so Mongolia did not gain anything. It’s cheap. Therefore, I believe that whether Goryeo’s support is worth it or not, two points need to be considered!”
"What two points?" Zhao Tai asked.
Wang Wentong said: "First, if Mongolia occupies Goryeo, can it benefit from Goryeo? If Mongolia consumes more than it gains, it can support Goryeo and drag Mongolia into Goryeo. Secondly, whether the Goryeo can cause casualties to Mongolia. If they can kill and kill The Mongolian army can support us, but if we can’t kill or injure the Mongolian army, the money and food will not be as good as training our own troops!”
Zhao Tai nodded, "It seems we have to wait until Lu Wende comes to know whether we should support him or not."
…
A few days later, Binzhou City.
After Lu Wende obtained the stallion, he left half of the people to stay on Chudao and trade with the Jurchen tribe. He took the Korean envoy and the purchased stallion back to Shandong by boat.
After receiving Zhao Tai's order, Lu Wende immediately drove the stallion and took the Korean envoy to Binzhou City.
Binzhou Bohai County, Zhao Taixingyuan.
Lu Wende waited in the hall for a long time before the guards outside shouted: "The king is here!"
Lu Wende quickly stood up and bowed, "Your Majesty!"
Zhao Tai walked straight to the middle hall and took a seat, smiled and said: "Jing Xiu, there is no need to be polite, sit down and talk!"
After Lu Wende sat down, Zhao Tai asked directly, "It's been quite hard for you running around at sea these days. What have you gained along the way?"
Lu Wende saluted and said, "Report to your Majesty, I have fulfilled my humble duty and learned about the situation in Goryeo and Liaodong along the way. I also purchased fifteen stallions from the Jurchens."
Zhao Tai asked: "How is the situation in Korea?"
Lu Wende said: "Reporting to your Majesty, Goryeo is currently at war with Mongolia. However, Goryeo is weak and is no match for Mongolia. Now most of its territory has been lost, and only a few mountain cities and coastal islands are still resisting."
Zhao Tai stroked his beard and frowned, "So, this country of Korea has quite a backbone."
Lu Wende shook his head, "I thought so at first, but later I talked with the Korean envoy and found out that this was not the case."
Zhao Tai couldn't help but wonder, "Oh? Didn't they resist because they didn't want to be ruled by Mongolia?"
Lu Wende chuckled, obviously quite fond of Gao Li.
For contempt, "Goryeo naturally does not want to be ruled by Mongolia, but they really cannot defeat Mongolia. Now Mongolia has invaded Goryeo and occupied the prefectures and counties. The King of Goryeo is hiding in Ganghwa Island and is so poor that he can only eat two meals of kimchi a day. They have long wanted to We are going to surrender to Mongolia."
Zhao Tai frowned, "Since Goryeo wants to surrender to Mongolia, why did it send an envoy here?"
Lu Wende said: "According to my understanding, it is because Mongolia's demands are too high, and Goryeo is too poor to satisfy Mongolia's appetite. In addition, the King of Goryeo did not dare to go to Mongolia as a hostage, so Mongolia has never accepted Goryeo's surrender. .”
After hearing this, Zhao Tai couldn't help but laugh in his heart. The Korean Peninsula was so close to the Central Plains, but the Central Plains Dynasty never had much desire to annex North Korea. This was because for a long time, North Korea was a barren land, with high control costs and little gain.
It seems that Mongolia has not yet figured out the situation in Goryeo, thinking that Goryeo is a quite wealthy country.
From this point of view, Goryeo is very poor, and the Mongolian occupation of Goryeo cannot make ends meet. If the Goryeo army attacks again and causes damage to the Mongolian army, then Goryeo is very suitable and becomes a battlefield that drags Mongolia.
Thinking of this, Zhao Tai had already made up his mind on whether to support Goryeo.
"Tell me about the stallion!" Zhao Tai asked.
Lu Wende said: "I reported back to the king that there were no horses for sale in Korea, so I followed the information provided by the Koreans and sailed north to the mouth of the Yalu River. Because Liaodong was controlled by the Eastern Liao Kingdom that surrendered to Mongolia, I found a horse on the east side of the mouth of the Yalu River. We anchored our boat on the island, and then commissioned businessman Liu Jiyuan to go deep into Liaodong and purchase fifteen stallions from the Jurchen tribe.”
When Zhao Tai heard that Lu Wende had found an island near the mouth of the Yalu River, he couldn't help but ask, "What's the name of that island?"
"Chen Island!" Lu Wende said: "The locals call it Chu Island. Seeing that there were no troops stationed on it, I sent soldiers to build wooden houses and warehouses on the island to facilitate trade with the Jurchens and Koreans."
When Zhao Tai heard what he said, he couldn't help stroking his beard, "Isn't Chudao just Pidao?"
"Your Majesty?" Lu Wende couldn't help calling out when he saw Zhao Tai lost his mind.
Zhao Tai reacted and smiled: "Jing Xiu, you have had a hard journey, go and rest first!"
As soon as Lu Wende left, Zhao Tai stood up and paced back and forth in the hall. After a while, he ordered his subordinates, "Call Mr. Wang over here!"
Not long after, Wang Wentong came over, and Zhao Tai immediately expressed his intention to support Goryeo.
Wang Wentong pondered for a while, "Now we in Shandong are not self-sufficient in food, and taxes cannot support the expenses of the vassal government. How much food and materials are you prepared to provide to Goryeo?"
Zhao Tai frowned, "It depends on how much extra budget the feudal government has!"
Wang Wentong said: "This time the king has captured a lot in Huainan. The expenses are sufficient this year. As for next year, I need to make an estimate first and then give the king an answer."
