Chapter 207: Clean up North Korea!

The eighth day of September,

The King of Joseon, Yi Jong, dressed in Qing Dynasty clothes, personally opened the palace gate, led all the civil and military officials in the court to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and submitted a letter of surrender.

Li Banghua accepted the surrender letter handed over by Li Jong, and then Li Jong led all the civil and military officials of the Joseon court to perform the ceremony of three bows and nine kowtows to the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

It took only three days from the time when Ming soldiers landed in Incheon to the fall of the Joseon royal city.

The country has been destroyed.

"Korea has been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty since ancient times. Now it is being oppressed by the Later Jin. Your Majesty is deeply disturbed, so he sent us to help you subdue these evil spirits."

Li Banghua ordered the soldiers of the five major camps to bring all the Manchu Tartars in Seoul to him at a command.

Blood splattered everywhere and heads rolled around.

Among them, the head of Manchu minister Suo Xunchen rolled in front of Li Jong, frightening Li Jong so much that he trembled all over.

"Please!" Li Banghua stretched out his hand and asked Li Zong to enter the Ming court's central military tent.

"please!"

Li Banghua negotiated with Li Zong for a long time and elaborated on the ideas of the Ming Emperor in detail.

"When your Majesty came, he told me that the Byeongja Rebellion was not the king's fault. My Ming Dynasty also sent a fleet, but unfortunately, as soon as we arrived in Korea, we heard the bad news..."

"It's really our incompetence..." King Lee Jong of Joseon nodded continuously throughout the process, "We unconditionally agree to all the terms of the Ming Dynasty."

Once a person's knees are weak, it is difficult to harden them up.

If you can kneel once, you can kneel a second time.

No reason, because he wants to survive.

……

Last year, Dorgon occupied Ganghwa Island and captured the Korean queen, princes and wives of ministers. King Yi Jong was shocked and cried bitterly, and everyone in the city from east to west was howling.

But the defeated country has no bargaining power, and now the Ming Dynasty is more powerful than the Qing Dynasty.

When the Korean King Yi Jong and all the civil and military officials arrived at the Ming military tent, they felt as if they had fallen into an icy cave, and their mouths were full of bitterness.

However, Li Banghua's words stunned them all.

"Ah? This... Daming has no other requirements?"

"this is all?"

"Yes, that's all!" Li Banghua said it very clearly. The Ming soldiers came here not for anything else, but to help Korea seek justice from the Manchu Tartars.

They will also provide them with some muskets and artillery to help them rescue 50 Korean subjects.

Eliminate all Manchu Tartar forces in Korea.

King Lee Jong of Joseon was in disbelief at first, then he was so moved that he burst into tears, "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is so kind and righteous~"

"We will never be able to repay the kindness of the Central Plains!" The Korean leader knelt on the ground and shouted:
"The great Ming Emperor is benevolent and righteous...Every time I think of this, I can't help but shed tears."

"It is a pity that the country of their father's king has to kneel down and pay tribute to the king of the barbarians. It is regarded as a great shame and humiliation by the people of Korea. Now that the Ming army is stationed there, we feel much more at ease."

"..."

One after another, the civil officials knelt on the ground and spoke in a firm voice.

Huang Degong looked at the behavior of Li Jong and his ministers and couldn't help shaking his head. "Given their behavior, why should the commander-in-chief treat them with courtesy? And why should he be willing to support them with weapons? And why should we stay to protect the royal city of Joseon? Why?"

The two sides were talking between the commander and the civil officials. As military generals, they were too idle and were also farther away, so they couldn't help but whisper a few words.

"Do you understand the pattern? This is called buying people's hearts." Zhang Shize was born a duke, and he was well-informed, much better than Huang Degong, the fool. "Huang Taiji did not massacre Seoul at the beginning, but let Korea sever its vassal ties with the Ming Dynasty, and then plundered 300,000 young and strong men from Korea to Liaodong, in order to leave a weak and non-threatening Korea, which was in line with Huang Taiji's interests."

"Now, the Ming Dynasty is going to do the opposite. We can just throw away the obsolete artillery and muskets and give them to the Korean army to harass the Qing Dynasty. This is also in our interests."

To put it bluntly, even the backward artillery and muskets were not given to Korea for free, but were used to serve as pawns in the fight against the Qing Dynasty.

Huang Degong stared at Zhang Shize blankly, "I didn't expect you to be so cunning?"

"Better than you." Zhang Shize chuckled, "But your majesty's vision and height are simply beyond our reach."

Ma Xianglin also interrupted at this time and said, "My mother told me that the Qing Dynasty adopted the strategy of "cutting down big trees" against our Ming Dynasty. Now it seems that our Ming Dynasty has used their own tactics to retaliate. Now that Mongolia and Korea are bordering the Qing Dynasty, these two knives are turned around and cut towards the Qing Dynasty. Let them have a taste of their own medicine."

"Yes, that's what I mean." Zhang Shize said excitedly: "Look, it won't be long before His Majesty will attack the Later Jin. That will be a good opportunity for us to truly achieve success."

"Hiss~" Huang Degong's eyes suddenly lit up, "No wonder His Majesty summoned me back from the south, it turns out that there are greater merits waiting for me!"

He was in the middle of suppressing bandits in the south and competing with Sun Yingyuan for military merit when he was suddenly recalled by the emperor. He was a little unhappy about it.

Now it seems that the real prize is waiting here!
"I understand what the commander said yesterday." Huang Degong's eyes suddenly widened.

"What do you understand?" Zhang Shize and Ma Xianglin both turned their heads.

"Huang Taiji's original plan was not to completely destroy the Joseon Dynasty, because after that, another dynasty would take its place. What he needed was a vassal state that could be weak and give him blood transfusions."

Huang Degong's eyes suddenly widened like bells, and he suddenly realized, "We are not like that..."

……

Let's put aside for now the scene where the King of Korea and the Prime Minister hugged each other and cried bitterly.

At this time, the Later Jin had already sent the Eight Banners Army to Korea. As soon as Dorgon heard the news, he sent Ajige and Yuetuo to support.

Dorgon once personally conquered Korea, so how could he not understand the importance of Korea?
So troops were sent to provide assistance as soon as possible.

Now, the 80,000 Manchu and Mongolian troops led by Ajige had just passed Anzhou when they were caught up by a messenger, "Report! The Ming court troops have invaded Seoul!"

Ajige, Yuetuo hurriedly pulled the reins of his horse upon hearing this, and stood there in a daze, "Defeated? Defeated just like that? The country was destroyed in just three days?"

They were even 300 miles away from Seoul when North Korea surrendered. How could they continue the war?
"Prince Wuying, do we still want to move on now?" Beile Dudu rode over and asked the two.

Ajige thought about it and did not dare to make a decision on his own. "Now that Korea has surrendered, if we go, we will face the combined forces of the Ming court and Korea. The situation has changed. He knew his brother best and knew that Duoduo's death was a great blow to Dorgon. No one believed it.

He cannot interfere in other people's affairs, so he immediately sent the battle report back to Shengjing and let His Majesty make the decision!"

All the troops could only rest in place.

……

The next day, the news of North Korea's defeat and surrender reached Shengjing. Dorgon's face twisted with anger, "Idiot, idiot... How could I trust the words of such an idiot?"

Suo Xunchen was a member of the Hesheli clan and a member of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner.

This man swore in his memorial that his operation in Korea was as strong as an iron barrel, and that he could launch a revenge against the Ming Dynasty. Unexpectedly, he was so vulnerable!
Not only that, it also directly destroyed the business that the Qing Dynasty had been running in Korea for several years.

How could this make him not angry?
Korea and Mongolia were the only two blood transfusion vassal states of the Qing Dynasty. The Mongolians south of the Gobi Desert were defeated by the Ming court. Dorgon has been trying his best to appease the descendants of the Eight Banners of Mongolia these days.

Mongolia south of the desert is the root of these Mongolian descendants. Now that their tribesmen have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, their sense of belonging to the Qing Dynasty will naturally be reduced a lot.

But... as soon as one problem is solved, another one pops up.

Now that North Korea has been defeated again, it is conceivable that the 500,000 slaves abducted from North Korea last year have now become an unstable powder keg.

Dorgon hadn't sorted out his thoughts when he heard the messenger run in from outside, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, the Ming court's Ji-Liao Governor Hong Chengchou led his troops to invade the border."

"Hong Chengchou?"

……

On the Liaodong front, Hong Chengchou chose to launch military action against the Qing Dynasty as soon as he received intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard that the Qing Dynasty had launched military action against Korea.

The historical evaluation of Hong Chengchou is full of contradictions. In the 44th year of Wanli, he became a Jinshi, and was promoted to the position of Shaanxi Provincial Governor and Political Counselor. He made many military achievements in the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. In the 4th year of Chongzhen, he was appointed as the Governor-General of Ji and Liao, and was ordered to guard Shanhaiguan.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, he was transferred to the post of Governor-General of the Three Borders of Shaanxi, and later he was given the titles of Prince Taibao, Minister of War, and finally Taifu.

Some people regard him as a hero, some people regard him as a traitor.

In the Battle of Songjin, Hong Chengchou was besieged in Songshan for half a year with his food and grass exhausted. He went on a hunger strike for several days and refused to surrender.

In Zhu Changgan's view, Hong Chengchou did have his complexity and versatility, but it was not to the point where he would abandon him.

Hong Chengchou advocated a gradual approach, setting up camps step by step, fighting and defending at the same time, and not fighting rashly.

Zhu Changgan dealt with Hong Chengchou and transferred Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyou, two doctors from the front line.

To show trust!

The eighth day of September,

Hong Chengchou left Shanhaiguan and confronted the Qing army on the Guanningjin front. In the many attacks, both sides won and lost.

In this battle, Hong Chengchou found that the enemy's military was weak and insufficient for defense, so he requested Xuanda Governor Lu Xiangsheng, Shanhaiguan General Ma Ke, and Miyun General Tang Tong to lead their troops to support. In addition, he also invited Ningyuan General Wu Sangui, Liaodong General Wang Tingchen and other troops under his command to engage in a fierce battle with the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty.

The situation in the Qing Dynasty is urgent, and we must continue to provide military support.

……

Ajige's memorial was sent back to Shengjing. Dorgon understood that the defeat of Korea was irreversible. "The Ming court already knows that our military strength is weak. Let Ajige and Yuetuo return to the forest!"

"Whoo!"

Dorgon sat on the throne, holding his forehead, completely unaware that there was a gentle touch on his back from behind.

Borjigit Bumbutai held a bowl of Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup and said, "Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, but you must also pay attention to your health."

When Dorgon saw the beauty, his expression eased a little. "You don't understand the importance of Mongolia and Korea. If we lose these two at the same time, the situation of our Qing Dynasty will be very bad."

"The efforts of the previous decade or so were thus destroyed, and the smooth entry of the Qing army into the pass would also come to an abrupt end."

"This also means that the previous strategy of 'cutting but not destroying' against the Ming Dynasty has completely failed. Instead, we are now being chopped down by the Ming Dynasty with axes again and again, and each time the cuts are deeper than the last."

Dorgon drank a few sips and put the bowl down again. "Under such blows that are heavier than the last, the manpower of our Qing Dynasty has been greatly consumed and the economic foundation has been severely damaged."

"The Ming Dynasty was content to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. It never directly attacked the Shanhaiguan defense line, but just chopped down the Qing Dynasty with one axe after another. This big tree that had not yet grown up was gradually tottering and about to fall."

"If something else happens at that time, the Ming court will take the opportunity to accumulate strength and complete a fatal blow to our Qing Dynasty."

Dorgon clenched his fingers and looked at the map of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. "If we want to break through, we can't just sit there and wait for death..."

……

Unlike Dorgon in Shengjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was full of jubilation.

The Ming Dynasty took revenge in the first battle and opened the second knife to chop down the Qing Dynasty. It rebuilt the Dongjiang defense line again, which not only controlled Korea but also weakened the Qing Dynasty.

Military Aircraft Department,
Sun Chengzong saluted the emperor and said, "In this battle, our Ming Dynasty completely cut off the two arms of the Qing Dynasty, thus curbing the source of the Qing Dynasty's capable soldiers, while the elite troops outside the Great Wall were pinned down by our Ming Dynasty."

"After this battle, our Great Ming interior will usher in a period of prosperity."

Mongolia south of the desert and Korea were completely conquered, and it became extremely difficult for the Qing Dynasty to enter the country again.

Given the bitter cold outside the Great Wall, and now that the Shanxi merchants have been purged, the resources and population that the Qing Dynasty wants cannot be replenished.

As one rose, the other fell, the Ming Dynasty's national fortune rose, while the Qing Dynasty's national fortune declined.

"Report, the governor of the three borders, Sun Chuanting, defeated the rebel 'Cao Cao' and killed more than 6,000 enemies!"

Zhu Changgan was overjoyed and said, "Great! Promote Sun Chuanting to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Censor-in-Chief, and reward him with 10,000 gold coins."

He looked at Yang Sichang, "Wen Ruo, what do you think?"

Sun Chuanting had a conflict with Yang Sichang, and Sun Chuanting was so upset that he even became deaf. Everyone in the court knew about this. Now that the emperor asked him this, he could only reply awkwardly: "I think he should be rewarded!"

"Well, since Wen Ruo thinks so, let's draft the decree."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Changgan excitedly called up the properties box.

"Main quest: Save the Ming Dynasty Completion: 6724/10000"

"The National Fortune of the Ming Dynasty: 3072 (The National Fortune is positive. The trend of natural disasters and the cooling of the small ice age has stopped, and the temperature will gradually warm up. Although the people are living in dire straits, everything is stable and improving."

"The Ming Dynasty has lasted for 2500 days"

「Modern lifespan bonus: 2500 days」

「Funding reward: 68493151 yuan」

Sure enough... the main storyline suddenly improved a lot, and other data also soared across the board. The Ming Dynasty's national life span directly increased by a thousand days, and the bonus reached 68 million.

"Good, great good, I'm almost out of it."

……

"Minister of Personnel Kim Yun-seok colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, colluded with the Qing Dynasty, and framed important officials of Joseon. He is a traitor to the court and should be exterminated."

"Prime Minister Kim Hyun-joong accepted 80,000 taels of silver from the Manchu Tartars and sent his compatriots there as slaves for a long time. They are worse than pigs and dogs and their clan should be exterminated."

"..."

After surrendering, the Korean King Yi Jong did not need the Ming soldiers to take action. He ordered his guards to lead the people to purge the pro-Manchu faction within the court.

For a time, the blood of the people killed in Seoul flowed like a river.

In addition, the Joseon court also supported the relatives and friends of the pro-Ming faction Minister of Rites to show their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. Li Banghua also accepted all of Joseon's requests for Ming troops to be stationed.

This is a long process and cannot be rushed.

However, another small incident occurred in the Ming Dynasty court.

"Prince Fu Zhu Changxun was kidnapped by bandits." Zhu Changgan was a little confused when he saw the news sent back by the Jinyiwei.

The man who kidnapped him was named Li Dingguo.

He was one of Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons. Zhang Xianzhong originally asked Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo to ride away on horseback to divert his pursuers. As a result, the two men escaped and he was caught instead.

Now that Sun Kewang had joined Prince Xin's team, Li Dingguo had also thought about joining him. However, he did not have many soldiers and could not, like Sun Kewang, capture a county town as a token of his surrender.

He wanted to flee to Sichuan, but was defeated by Sun Yingyuan and retreated to Henan. He fled in the opposite direction and finally arrived in Luoyang after a difficult escape.

Coincidentally, Luoyang suffered a rare drought and locust plague this year, and the grain harvest was completely lost. The people could not make a living. The tragic scene of cannibalism appeared outside the city of Luoyang. The streets were filled with refugees, and people were in panic. People who starved to death could be seen everywhere on the roadside.

As a vassal of the royal family, Prince Fu was extremely extravagant and licentious. He ate until he became a fat man weighing over 300 pounds and was despised and cursed by the people.

Li Dingguo had an idea and took his men to lurk inside and outside the palace for two months. Finally, he found an opportunity when Prince Fu went out to burn incense and took the opportunity to kidnap Prince Fu.

At this moment, they were transporting the fat man to Wuchang Prefecture.

What was even more confused was Chongzhen, as he also received the news from Li Dingguo.

"The people of Luoyang are eating each other, but the Ming Dynasty's vassal states are so dissolute that they not only refuse to open their warehouses to release grain to help the victims, but they continue to demand grain and rent, drive up grain prices, and make a fortune by taking advantage of the disaster. The people of Luoyang hate Prince Fu to the core... Now we have captured Prince Fu and come to him for help."

Who?
Prince Fu? My uncle?

Li Dingguo actually kidnapped his own uncle just to make him come to rely on me. What the hell is this?
(End of this chapter)