Zhu Shuren ordered Li Yu to return home in full glory and win over North Korea again, but this would take time after all.
It takes time to mobilize the troops and raise equipment and pay.
Although there is a northward monsoon after February, in previous years it was used for water transportation to and from Tianjin, and the wind direction was slightly westward. If it wanted to blow eastward to the Korean Peninsula, it had to wait for the opportunity to anchor at Denglai.
Taking into account all the factors, plus the half month required for sea navigation, basically it would be good to arrive in North Korea in mid-to-late March.
After arranging these things, Zhu Shuren could hardly enjoy another month or two of leisure in Nanjing and spend time with his family.
Ming Dynasty's follow-up frontal military operations will basically have to wait until the busy spring plowing in March is over before they can be advanced one by one.
It’s not that the Ming Dynasty lacked so many manpower for fear of delaying the busy farming season. It’s that Zhu Shuren didn’t want the people in the Heluo area to miss the farming season. When the autumn harvest comes, the Ming Dynasty officials will have to provide relief——
In Zhu Shuren's eyes, even if Kaifeng was left alone and the people in the Qing-occupied areas around Luoyang did their spring plowing, anyway, by the summer harvest, or at most the autumn harvest, this land would definitely no longer belong to the Qing.
So the food now being planted in the spring was grown for the Ming Dynasty. How could the Ming Dynasty destroy its own production?
As for the land north of the Yellow River, it cannot be taken this year. The production status has nothing to do with Ming Dynasty.
From January to early to mid-March, the frontline troops basically maintained a state of stalemate and alert, and both sides were in peace. This timeline can basically coordinate perfectly with North Korea's actions.
By April, both the Central Plains and North Korea can launch coups, and the Qing government will naturally have too much time to take care of itself.
…
During the two months that Zhu Shuren stayed in Nanjing to accompany his family, he had no leisure time. Every day there were still some major daily government affairs, and whether he needed to handle them or not, he had to listen to reports and understand them.
In the back house, he also had to accompany Fang Ziling and Bian Yujing. The two Shu accompanied Zhu Shuren to Hefei for half a year last year. This was also the first time that Zhu Shuren took his concubines and concubines on a long trip after he adopted his legitimate son and moved the palace to a stable place.
.
Facts have proved that Zhu Shuren's body is still very strong, especially when he travels in the military for a long time and often rides horses to keep fit. He had few heirs before, but it was just to ensure that the princess's wife came first and prevent the legitimate concubines from being disturbed.
Now that the ban has been completely lifted, the firepower is full, and regardless of the time, before Zhu Shuren left Hefei, Fang Ziling and Bian Yujingdu had already been targeted.
Fang Ziling was infected early. He discovered it shortly after arriving in late summer and early autumn last year. It was probably before he left Nanjing and went north last year. Bian Yujing discovered it a little later and only discovered it in winter.
At that time, Zhu Shuren finally returned to Nanjing ten days and a half ahead of schedule, otherwise it would be inconvenient to have women around him, so he could only temporarily recruit a few beautiful maids to make it happen.
Now, Zhu Shuren has lived in Nanjing until the beginning of April, just in time to catch up with Fang Ziling's delivery. The medical research institute in Nanjing is now more complete than when the princess gave birth two years ago. There are many small results, and the practice is much better.
few.
Fang Ziling successfully gave birth to a son without much hardship at all. So far, Zhu Shuren can be considered to have one legitimate concubine. Among them, the legitimate son was adopted by the royal family and is not counted as his. After all, this concubine can be considered as the son of a concubine, and his maternal lineage is better than that of Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan.
After all, birth is much more noble.
If the princess cannot give birth to another son in a few years, Zhu Shuren is prepared to let this bastard inherit the title of Prince E. In the future, if there is a more humble maternal lineage, he will be separated to inherit the Shen family's family business. Anyway, let's not do it now.
Be in a hurry to confirm, so as not to worry about fighting for the home, everything can be waited and seen.
After all, this kind of child is not the one to inherit the throne, so there is no need to "select only the eldest son". You can just watch his growth at three years old and seven years old to determine whether the child is virtuous before making a decision.
Bian Yujing has to wait a few more months, and it is estimated that the results will not be available until July or August. However, many female obstetricians have looked at it and said that the belly looks like a daughter. If it is accurate, Zhu Shuren has two sons and three daughters.
With Fang Ziling giving birth, Zhu Shuren's other concubines were also a little jealous, so from the Chinese New Year to April, they were obsessed with her every day for three months, personally cooking and making nourishing soup for Zhu Shuren.
Especially Chen Yuanyuan is the most fearful in her heart. She and Zhu Shuren were the first to meet each other in the twelfth year of Chongzhen Dynasty, the sixth year of Chongzhen Dynasty and the fourth year of Longwu Dynasty. This is already the tenth year.
Chen Yuanyuan is also the eldest among Zhu Shuren's wives and concubines. She is only two or three years younger than Zhu Shuren. They were twenty-eight years old when they first met, and now they are twenty-six. As for Zhu Shuren, he is already twenty-nine in the New Year.
In comparison, after all, Li Xiangjun is still more than two years younger than her, and Bian Yujing is one or two years younger. Now Bian Yujing, who is twenty-two and three years old, is about to have a child. Chen Yuanyuan, who is twenty-six, is not pregnant yet. According to the standards of the ancients, how can
Don't be in a hurry.
There is no way, Zhu Shuren is also a person who values love and justice. After all, Chen Yuanyuan is the first woman he accepted after coming to this world, and the love is there.
He had no choice but to comfort him every day and work hard. At the end of the spring plowing season, and on the eve of the resumption of war between the Ming and Qing Dynasties on the front line, Zhu Shuren's daily spring plowing work at home finally bore some fruit.
In April, Chen Yuanyuan was pleasantly surprised to find that her relatives finally failed to come on time, so she quickly asked a female gynecologist from the Medical Research Institute to carefully examine her and finally confirm the good news.
As for Li Xiangjun, he has been getting some scraps from time to time in the past few months, but he has not done anything yet, maybe because the opportunity has not come, and there is nothing to force.
…
Time soon came to April of the fourth year of Longwu.
With the busy season of spring plowing completely over, both sides also slightly repaired their water conservancy facilities and checked for leaks and filled the gaps. The Ming army in the Henan direction also quietly increased the intensity of military operations.
The line between Yingchuan and the Ancient Canal is a plain with no danger to defend, and only some gentle rivers can serve as barriers. Therefore, after either party has gained a greater advantage, it will not support the weaker party to defend step by step. Basically, once it is pushed
, which is the rhythm of pushing directly to the Yellow River.
Last autumn and winter, the Qing army suffered heavy losses. After Azig died, the Qing army on the Huaixi Road withdrew north to Kaifeng, but they also had no intention of fighting.
Although Dorgon newly appointed Beile Baiyintu to temporarily take over the retired Azig army, as well as two other Beizi Shuosai and Gong Adai as associate commander, these people had no choice but to choose under the heavy firepower attack of the superior Ming army.
avoid.
The steady attack in Kaifeng Prefecture gradually advanced, and the fighting lasted for nearly two months. By the summer grain harvest season, the entire territory of Kaifeng Prefecture had been occupied by the Ming army. After more than a month, the summer harvest and autumn planting season ended, and the return of Shangqiu next door was over.
The German government was also forced to retreat because there was no danger to defend.
A part of the defeated troops of the Qing army withdrew directly across the old route of the Yellow River and retreated to Huaiqing Mansion and Weihui Mansion. Baiyintu was responsible for the commander-in-chief, but he really did not dare to disobey the order and retreat across the Yellow River, so he had to divide his troops and retreat westward, hiding through Sishui Pass.
The Heluo Basin relies on the eight dangerous passes of Luoyang for delay.
Fortunately, in the Ming Dynasty, the old course of the Yellow River was relatively south. Henan Province originally had three or four prefectures located north of the Yellow River. Therefore, the loss of Kaifeng and Guide was nothing more than the loss of the provincial government of Henan, and it did not count as a complete fall.
One province.
Luoyang is an ancient capital that has existed for thousands of years. Relying on the favorable geographical location to temporarily defend Luoyang, we can barely hold on to it as a fig leaf.
However, with the fall of Kaifeng, the road that the Qing army in Luoyang directly entered into the North China Plain through Henan Road was completely blocked. If the Qing army in Luoyang encountered a strong attack and siege by the Ming army again and wanted to evacuate or ask for help, they would have to
It is expected that the Qing army in the direction of Shanxi and Hanoi will cross the Yellow River through Mengjin Ferry and go south.
Luoyang itself is not connected to canals, and the cost of relying on transshipment of supplies in the river will be very high. Once the stalemate lasts for a long time and there are too many troops stationed, the Qing army in Luoyang will bear a very heavy burden on the Qing court.
In addition, the military affairs of the Qing court in the Shan and Shaanxi directions are still fully in charge of Prince Su Hauge, who was assigned to deal with Wu Sangui last year.
And Hauge is definitely the group of people in the world who have the least dealing with Dorgon - back then, they had a feud for the throne, and this festival is a complete fight to the death.
Historically, it was indeed in this year (1648) that Hauge was framed by Dorgon and deprived of his title, and was eventually murdered in prison. But now, because the butterfly effect is too strong, Dorgon, the regent, has lost his prestige.
He can't deal with Hauge,
What's more, Hauge is now considered to be the only one among the four Qing armies sent last year that has not suffered an obvious defeat. The other three armies have lost troops, some have lost more than half of their troops, and a large area of land has been lost.
Although Hauge had no merit, he only fought a war of attrition with Wu Sangui and Yuan Zongdi of Xi'an, and they fought each other's hair, but at least he did not lose a large amount of land, and the battle damage was not worse than that of Wu Sangui.
In this case, even if Dorgon wanted to frame Hauge, the people below would not be convinced.
Therefore, how could Haug look good on those generals who were completely obedient to Dorgon's troops? If you want to get more military supplies from Haug's territory, you have to get some letters of nomination to choose sides.
If he refuses and still wants to be completely loyal to Dorgon, then Prince Su will not mind exerting moderate pressure to wear small shoes. The combination of kindness and power will gradually penetrate and gradually transform Azig's old troops who retreated to Luoyang.
In the following months, Hauge continued to completely control the Qing army in Shanxi and Shaanxi, while gradually purging the part of the Qing army in Henan that had fled to the Luoyang Basin, and gradually gained control of the military strength of two and a half provinces.
…
The flowers bloom at two ends, one on each side.
The Ming army gradually captured Kaifeng Prefecture during the summer offensive in the fourth year of Longwu. At the same time as Guide Prefecture, the Korean Kingdom in the remote Dongyi also encountered some unexpected situations.
One day in early April of this year, the North Korean guard of Ganghwa Prefecture at the mouth of the Han River, more than a hundred miles east of Seoul, suddenly discovered that there were at least a hundred giant ships off Ganghwa Island, meandering from the west, their masts and flags covering the sky.
The local magistrate was shocked and quickly followed the usual exaggerated rhetoric of the North Koreans, describing the "more than a hundred" giant ships as "hundreds" and directly reported to Seoul without even having time to wait for the other side to dock or send a navy.
The teacher intercepted and questioned him.
Fortunately, the visitors did not have any ill intentions. After just two hours of sailing across dozens of miles of sea, they arrived at the shore. The visitors simply sent out a sentinel boat to identify themselves, saying that they were the navy of the Ming Dynasty and sent the envoy of the Ming Dynasty.
When the local magistrate of Jianghua Prefecture heard the news, he couldn't tell whether he was happy or sad.
It is said that the Kingdom of Korea has now been forced to become a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and it has been changing its flag for seven or eight years.
If the Qing navy came, it would theoretically be regarded as the suzerainty. But North Korea was very afraid of the Qing army approaching, because every time the Qing army approached, it would be accompanied by burning, killing and looting. Even if it had become a vassal state, it would inevitably suffer disaster.
In contrast, although the Ming Navy is now theoretically considered an enemy's army, the Koreans are relieved because the Ming army has always been a civilized army. When fighting against Japanese pirates fifty years ago, the Ming army entered North Korea.
It's very civilized.
"I heard that there was a truce between the Ming and Qing Dynasties a few years ago, and the Tatars' southern expedition suffered a heavy setback. Last year, the two countries started fighting again. I don't know if the situation is clear now.
Folks say that the Tatars were defeated again, but when I went to Beijing to inquire about the news, the news from the Tatar envoy said that countless Ming troops had been annihilated. I don’t know who to believe..."
When Jianghua government officials were waiting to be contacted, they could not help but think so.
Although the decisive battle in the Central Plains was initially determined in October last year, everything was already finalized by the twelfth month. Unfortunately, Dongyi, a remote area in North Korea, had very little information.
In the past few months, the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing was not in a hurry to communicate with them across the sea. Most of the information obtained from official channels in Beijing was beneficial to the Qing army. For more than four months after the victory was clearly decided, North Korea still
Didn't understand the situation.
As several battleships in the Ming fleet docked, the largest ones, which were made of one thousand and two thousand white materials, the Koreans were so amazed that they could hardly stop at the harbor berth of Ganghwa Island.
The Ming generals and official envoys on board the ship, escorted by rows of Wuchang riflemen with shining bayonets, gracefully boarded the dock.
Each of the riflemen wore a solid forged breastplate that was as bright as a bayonet. The finely polished steel curves barely gave it a bit of a mirror effect, but it only made onlookers feel horrified.
Of course, the team sent by Zhu Shuren this time cannot only be led by Li Yu, as that would be an invasion of North Korea. There must also be a formal envoy with both civil and military skills.
Wen was responsible for submitting credentials to the King of North Korea, and Wu was responsible for reopening Dongjiang Town and recruiting and training troops to garrison in North Korea in the future.
The envoy only needed to be eloquent and have a literary name, so Zhu Shuren asked Gu Yanwu, who had been idle recently, to make a trip. His official position was "Recorder of the Governor's Mansion of the Ming Dynasty", and then asked Emperor Longwu to give him the order of imperial envoy.
There will be no problem.
Li Bing, who was left behind in Jianghua Mansion, immediately greeted Gu Yanwu as soon as he stepped onto the pier: "I am here to stay behind in Jianghua Mansion. I didn't know that the angel from the kingdom of heaven was coming, so I missed the welcome from afar."
In North Korea's official system, the government officials are from the second rank, which looks scary. But in fact, the territory of North Korea is too small, so the land must be divided into eight lanes first, and then there are government offices and counties below the lanes. In fact, even a second-rank official only cares about shit.
Bigger place.
After the scene was finished, Li Bing said tactfully: Now North Korea is forced to become a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, so the envoys from the Ming Dynasty should keep a low profile and not cause trouble for North Korea.
Otherwise, if the Qing government finds out, it will inevitably send troops to suppress North Korea. North Korea does not reject the Ming Dynasty in its heart, but it does not have the courage to show it openly.
Gu Yanwu was considered a great scholar in the world, so he naturally knew how to deal with this kind of honorable work flexibly. After introducing his identity, he immediately hinted to the other party that Ming Dynasty was going to reopen Dongjiang Town, and Ming Dynasty was sure about the matter of using the knife, and he also provided several
A message of victory and encouragement.
"Li Shoubei, are you so ignorant about North Korea? You don't know that our Ming Dynasty has counterattacked the puppet Qing Dynasty and won a great victory, killed the puppet British Prince Azig, wiped out 200,000 enemies, and liberated two provinces?
I came here this time to accept the imperial edict of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, to give North Korea a chance to abandon darkness and surrender to the light. As for defense, I, the Ming Dynasty, will work together. Li Shoubei will only lead the way to Seoul, and the rest will be left to your king and others.
Make political decisions."
Li Bing was shocked again when he heard this. He still didn't believe the results of the war told by the Ming Dynasty envoy. At this time, the generals needed to take action. Gu Yanwu's words were unfounded. He gave Li Yu and others a look, and Li Yu immediately took the topic forcefully:
"The puppet British Prince Azig was killed by this general with a cannon. How can this be false?"
Li Bing glanced at him suspiciously: "I wonder if this general..."
Li Yu looked arrogant as if he had returned home in fine clothes: "This general is the concubine of Bing Cao Li Panshu. He was originally a hostage in the Tatars. At the battle of Bijia Mountain seven years ago, he had the opportunity to lead his troops to abandon the secrets and join the bright side. Ming Ming Dynasty reused him, and accumulated merits year by year until he reached Dongjiang Town.
Commander-in-Chief, lead the General Anton!"
When Li Yu mentioned his father, he couldn't even mention his nickname to avoid being disrespectful, so he only referred to him by his official title.
Li Bing became more and more surprised. While saying that he would entertain them well and stabilize them, he also gave a few instructions to the people next to him.
After a while, under the leadership of Li Bing, everyone went to the garrison to have a banquet. After resting, they would arrange to go to Seoul tomorrow. Then during the banquet, a young military attache who was also less than thirty years old was brought in. Li Bing gave the order
He said a few words and pointed to him to recognize him.
The North Korean military attache followed Li Bing's instructions and hesitated for only a few seconds, then immediately looked shocked: "Fourth brother?"
Li Yu also noticed it. After a brief hesitation, he finally recognized from the other person's expression that this person was his third brother Li Yue - eight years ago, his father asked him to pretend to be his third brother and go to the Tatars as a hostage.
"Isn't this the third brother? Why are you still hanging around here? Father hasn't always loved and supported you." Li Yu was also angry, and of course he would not say nice things to this third brother.
Li Yue smiled miserably in embarrassment: "Fourth brother is laughing at me... He was taken as a hostage under someone else's false name, and my brother's life in Seoul was not easy.
The so-called wrong step, the wrong step. In order to avoid being used as a hostage, my brother could only use your identity to continue to make a living. My father was afraid that if he stayed in Seoul, people would be too distracted, and he would eventually become a gangster, so he finally asked me to go to the Ganghwa Island Navy.
The camp is appointed as the commander of the soldiers and horses, so I want to be isolated from the outside world so as not to leak it, alas."
Li Yu took Li Yue's identity and went to Shenyang. Of course, Li Yue, who stayed in Seoul, had to change his apparent identity, so he lived as his younger brother from then on.
If Li Yu could be released by the Qing Dynasty, it would be possible for the two brothers to switch identities again and pretend that nothing happened in the intervening years.
But Li Yu faked his death in the Qing Dynasty and turned himself in. Li Yue's original identity was completely useless. In the eyes of the world, the identity of "Li Yue" was already a dead person.
Their father, Li Shibai, has also regretted this matter in recent years. If he had known better, he would have let his legitimate son be a hostage. It was really self-defeating.
So now Li Yu wants to make it clear again that he is "resurrected", which is also good for Li Yue. At least he no longer has to live under a false identity and can live an upright life.
Li Liushou on the side saw that General Li and Superintendent Li were indeed brothers and did not admit their mistakes, so he knew that this matter was beyond his level to intervene, so he should send it to Seoul as soon as possible and let the king and Judge Li worry about it.
…
After resting for a night in Jianghua Mansion, the Ming Dynasty delegation continued to ride horses to Seoul the next day. The ninety-mile journey took only one day on horseback.
There is really nothing to elaborate on in the subsequent drama.
The King of Korea, Li Ju, was fifty-four years old at this time. He was seriously ill and seldom managed the government in person. Historically, he only had one year left to live. However, he heard that the Ming Dynasty envoys came with heavy troops, so he still had to personally manage the government.
receive.
As for specific affairs, he was afraid of power, so he had to leave them to the prince Li Hao and the military officer Li Shibai. In addition, he also specially recalled the prince's young master Song Shilie who was living in seclusion on Zhongqing Road to serve as Li Hao's adviser. Incidentally, he also asked Ming Dynasty
To show goodwill.
Li Hao and his brother Li Wang both went to the Qing Dynasty as hostages and were brainwashed by Dorgon for many years. His brother Li Wang was brainwashed even more thoroughly. Dorgon has been trying to put him back and succeed him in the future, so that he can get someone close to the Qing Dynasty.
King of Korea.
However, the anti-Qing forces in North Korea were not small, so after the brothers Li Wang and Li Hao returned to China in the second year of Shunzhi, Li Wang was poisoned to death by pro-Ming ministers. However, everyone unanimously said that Dorgon was "really sick".
"Death", Dorgon couldn't find any evidence and had no choice. Then it was the turn of Li Hao, who was not so thoroughly brainwashed, to become the heir apparent.
As for the prince's young master Song Shilie, he was responsible for teaching Li Hao to study in his early years. Later, when the pro-Qing faction came to power, he abandoned his official position and lived in seclusion. This time the king recruited him again, which was also a signal.
Song Shilie originally wanted to pretend to be noble, but he heard that he was asked to receive the Great Angel of Heaven, so he came back to serve as an official.
Gu Yanwu did not play tricks with Li Shibai or Song Shilie in private. He directly asked Zhang Mingzhen and Li Yu to show off their muscles and military prowess, emphasizing that the Ming Dynasty was no longer what it used to be and could definitely counterattack the Tatars. The Hulu would not be lucky for long and their luck was running out.
All!
After winning over the hearts and minds of North Korea, Gu Yanwu discussed with them some details of the conditions for returning to the Ming Dynasty.
It was nothing more than a first promise that as long as Korea returned to the Ming vassal, the Ming Dynasty would lift the saltpeter, sulfur and other trade embargoes that had been in place for sixteen years since the fifth year of Chongzhen.
The original embargo in the Ming Dynasty was mainly due to the discovery that North Korea was under pressure to trade with the Qing Dynasty, and some arms raw materials were resold to Liaodong through North Korea. However, because Mao Wenlong was killed in the Ming Dynasty, the anti-smuggling and inspection capabilities of Dongjiang Town were greatly reduced, and the Ming Dynasty had to ban North Korea across the board.
Imports are also banned.
Now that Ming Dynasty dares to reopen, of course it can be managed well.
In addition, Ming Dynasty also reiterated this time that the new Dongjiang Town and North Korea can purchase military rations at a pre-approved official price. Although it is still required to be cheaper, at least there are rules and regulations to follow, so that North Korea will not be exploited by executioners at all levels.
——
As a vassal state, North Korea was supposed to provide some military rations to the Ming Dynasty's garrison. However, this policy was not implemented well in previous years, mainly due to increased levels of exploitation and corruption.
Of course, the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, the eunuchs who supervised the army at all levels, and the officials who handled local money and grain, also did this to their own troops, and it was not specifically aimed at North Korea.
Now it's just that Zhu Shuren has completely rectified the Ming Dynasty's military supply and salary system. His father Shen Tingyang has rectified a lot in the past years when he was the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He also killed and demoted a lot of garbage interest groups in the north and south Beijing.
Twist the unspoken rules a bit.
The Koreans received so many guarantees, and in the end, the crown prince Li Hao himself suffered years of humiliation when he was a hostage in the Qing Dynasty, which made him determined to accept this condition.
The main reason is that Li Hao also realized that Li Shibai's concubine had become the dog of the Ming Dynasty. He had three battalions of guards and 12,000 elite soldiers, and 2,000 of them had weapons that he had never seen before.
New rifle.
Now his father is seriously ill again. If Li Shibai is attracted by the Ming Dynasty and wants to "replace a Korean king who is close to the Ming Dynasty", things will be in trouble.
Rather than waiting for Li Shibai to sell it, it would be better for him to sell it himself without a middleman to make the difference.
The matter was settled. North Korea began to secretly prepare for war, resumed trade with Ming Dynasty, and exchanged information on whether it could provide the military rations required by Ming Dynasty.
Of course, North Korea is not in a hurry to show off. This kind of thing must be blocked and delayed as much as possible to give it more time to prepare.
Therefore, the Qing court did not realize the problem immediately. It was not until a few months later, almost at the end of summer, that the Qing court realized that something was wrong. It sent several envoys to investigate, and finally delayed it until the autumn harvest.
I am completely convinced that North Korea has rebelled.
Dorgon was of course furious, and immediately asked for his troops to be sent back to the Yalu River to reconquer North Korea by force.
However, Dorgon's order has been questioned by more people. Everyone feels that since North Korea is only in a defensive posture and has not taken the initiative to provoke, why make more enemies. The Ming Dynasty has already fought like this, so why make more messes?