"Everyone, do you know this person? The former Datong Commander-in-Chief, Ma Shuai, is now my professor at the Ming Dynasty Royal Military Academy."

"Hehehe, Ma Shuai naturally recognizes it."

"The last general, Ma Gui, has met all the superior officials."

After greeting each other, Zhu Youdong asked the ministers to sit on the high platform beside the venue, and then nodded towards Ma Gui in the center of the venue.

"My superiors, I have been entrusted by the Grand Sun to review the recent war for you."

After saying this, Ma Gui turned around, took the baton handed over by Cao Wenzhao, and pointed it accurately at the Korean Peninsula.

"The last general will talk about the war situation on the Eastern Front. From the beginning of April to the middle of July, three and a half months later, all eight Korean routes have fallen. According to the report of the Jinyiwei under Commander Tian, ​​during this process,

The losses suffered by the Japanese pirates were minimal..."

"Hmph~!" "Hey~"

After the ministers sighed for a while, Zhu Youdong stood up and said: "Yesterday, the General Administration Department just received an urgent report from the governor of Liaodong. Well, I just saw it on the way to the meeting this morning. That, King Li Hui of North Korea, has already arrived in September.

A few days ago, he crossed the Yalu River without the permission of the governor of Liaodong. He was accompanied by the entire Korean royal family and some ministers, guards, and maids...a total of more than 2,700 people."

"Your Highness, this North Korea is so useless!"

"Not only is it useless, it's also shameless!"

After waving his hands and letting the ministers calm down temporarily, Zhu Youdong said: "He is the king of a foreign vassal after all. How to receive this, please ask the Ministry of Rites to come up with a way, and then hand it over to Mr. Wen Ge for approval. Don't bother Gu again with this kind of thing.

"

"Yes, I will take your orders."

After saying this, Zhu Youdong motioned to Ma Gui to continue.

"Now, the vanguard of the Japanese pirates has arrived at the Yalu River. However, according to the latest Jinyiwei intelligence, after the Japanese pirates arrived on the south bank of the Yalu River, they only built various forts and pretended to be entrenched. They had no intention of continuing to invade the north bank. Therefore.

, currently the eastern front that I am heading towards is still generally quiet.”

After saying this, Ma Gui pointed his baton to the south again: "On the southern front, the Siamese thieves have retreated from Qiongzhou Prefecture. Our Ming Dynasty's Shendian Guards, Nanhai Guards and other guards have landed in Qiongzhou. After investigation,

On the day of the death of Zhang Qi, the prefect of Qiongzhou, the local garrison had been wiped out by Siamese thieves. When the thieves retreated, they took away more than 6,300 people on the island."

After everyone nodded gloomily, Ma Gui continued: "According to the recent intelligence received, Siam currently has stationed heavy troops in the Mekong Delta and built fortresses there. At the same time, the Annan Ruan family also asked me, Daming, for help, saying

It was Siam who put forward harsh conditions for it, requiring it to provide food, gold and silver for the local garrison, and civilian husbands. The Ruan family did not agree at first, but after a huge defeat with Siam last month, they had to accept it.

Luo's request. According to the general's estimation, Siam has not completely swallowed up the Ruan family's idea for the time being. However, after having such a burden, the Ruan family's strength has been severely weakened and will be unable to resist the Zheng family in the north. Therefore, the Ruan family

I desperately hope that Ming Dynasty can drive away the Siamese as soon as possible...

In addition, our Penghu Inspection Department was destroyed two months ago. The Spanish built a fortress on Taiwan Island, and it is said that they are currently building a port in the northern part of the island.

Generally speaking, the current situation is that the Japanese pirates are entrenched in North Korea, putting tremendous pressure on our Liaodong. The Spanish occupy northern Taiwan and are constantly expanding their sphere of influence. The Siamese occupy the Mekong River Delta and lock up the We have established a channel for Ming ships to go south. However, so far, none of the three countries has taken the initiative to attack."

"Well..." Wang Xiangqian stroked his gray beard: "Ma Shuai, what do you think these three thieves are doing now? Are they just getting a small profit and calling it a day, or are they planning the next attack?"

"Reporting to Grand Sima, the general believes that the next large-scale invasion is of course being planned. As for the basis, I would like to ask Commander Tian to explain it."

After getting Zhu Youdong's permission, Tian Ergeng stood up: "Your Highness, gentlemen, since Xu Qianhu's warning last year, the Jin Yiwei has been fully mobilized and sent a large number of people into North Korea, Siam, Annan, Myanmar and our southeast direction. Coastal areas and other places. Based on the existing intelligence, we at Jinyiwei can be clear that at present, the Japanese pirates have completed the second increase in troops in North Korea. The total military strength has increased from more than 70,000 to more than 100,000. The Spanish are on Taiwan Island The number of Siamese troops in the Mekong Delta has also increased from five to six hundred to more than 3,000. There are too many Siamese in the Mekong Delta, and my subordinates cannot count them clearly. But in any case, there will be no less than 100 soldiers. Fifty thousand, and the number of civilians is over 100,000.

At the same time, it is now clear that our Jinyiwei has received help from the fishermen along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. Currently, there is an endless stream of ships on the sea route from Annan - Taiwan - Ryukyu - Hirado - Busan. Mainly from Siam transporting food to the north. When this fleet returned, we haven't found out what exactly it was carrying. But based on the location of the waterline, we roughly infer that it should be gold and silver from Japanese pirates.

Well, I would like to add that in late June this year, Ryukyu fell. The King of Ryukyu failed to escape..."

"Damn it! My Ming Dynasty has lost another vassal state!" Wang Xiangqian hammered the armrest of his chair: "Where is my Ming Dynasty's fleet? It's such a long route, why don't we hit them?"

"I was about to explain this matter to Your Highness and all the superior officers." Tian Ergeng also walked to the sand table and raised a baton: "The matter of the three thieves communicating with each other by sea, I, the Jin Yiwei, quickly handed it over to Yu Shuai and Yan Shuai. Yan Shuai led Jinling-class battleships to attack twice, and both times they encountered the opponent's main escort... This, I am not a military officer, but it is said that our second-class battleships Although it has the superior speed, its tonnage is only half of that of a first-class battleship, and its artillery range, its own protective power, etc. are not as good as the opponent."

"Where is our main fleet? Is this guy Li Guozhu back?"

"Uh, Grand Sima, forgive me. I haven't received any news from Commander Li yet."

"Bang~!" Wang Xiangqian slapped the armrest hard again: "Your Highness, everyone, the Ministry of War has received news that in the past two months, ten Beizhili-class ships have been launched at Chongmingsha Shipyard. In this way, If Li Guozhu's main fleet comes back, our Ming Dynasty will have thirty first-class battleships. And the Spanish fleet is said to have been mobilized, so even if the first-class battleships of Siam and Japanese pirates are added together, there will only be twenty Multiple ships. Our army, plus Yu Shuai's fleet, calculated deliberately and unintentionally. If we set up an ambush on the route that Commander Tian just mentioned, it is completely possible to fight! I now understand clearly, and we must completely reverse this passivity. In this situation, we still have to win on the sea and gain control of the sea! Therefore, starting the decisive battle at sea as soon as possible is the key!"

"Da Sima, please be patient." Fang Congzhe, who had never had much sense of presence, stood up now: "A decisive battle is easy to talk about, but hard to do. Although my Ming Dynasty's navy is weak now, it can still be more or less capable.

It acts as a check and a threat. You see, now that Siam wants to send food to the Japanese pirates, it is forced to use its main fleet every time. The losses involved are not small. Isn’t this the value of our fleet? If we

If we start a decisive battle, what if we lose?"

"Yuanfu, when it comes to fighting, according to the rules of the military leadership in the early years, as long as you are more than 40% sure, you can give it a try! Is this really a dangerous war? How can you be 100% sure on the battlefield?
Chapter completed!