Chapter 1501 The attitude of North Koreans
In his heart, Liu Shang did not quite agree with General Haihan's decision to use force to intimidate North Korea, but he also understood that the current situation in Liaodong did not allow Haihan to handle relations with North Korea slowly. Cutting the knot with a quick knife may be the best way to deal with both Haihan and North Korea. North Korea will definitely be in a much better situation after relying on Haihan than being squeezed by Houjin, but North Koreans may not be able to appreciate Haihan's painstaking efforts. This country was almost destroyed by the Hou Jin Dynasty in the past few years when it conquered the capital. In the end, it did not completely fall to the Hou Jin Dynasty. Haihan wanted to overwhelm North Korea with a show of force, but it was too simple to think about things.
However, facing a powerful figure like Wang Tom, Liu Shang would naturally remain silent and wisely not to express any personal opinions that were contrary to his boss's opinions.
Shen Zhixiang, who was traveling with him, had a far better understanding of North Korea than Liu Shang, and his view was more optimistic: "North Koreans admire the strong, and after Ding Mao's chaos, most of the upper-class people had a relatively big psychological shadow on the war and were unwilling to let it go again. The country has been dragged into the flames of war. As long as the envoy goes back and honestly reports the situation in Liaodong, the Koreans will surely understand what choice is best for them."
Liu Shang couldn't help but responded: "I'm afraid that the Hou Jin's prestige is too strong, and the Koreans won't believe that our army can suppress the Jin army on the battlefield. If the envoy goes back to report the battle situation, it might be regarded as bragging after receiving benefits."< br>
Wang Tom said: "There are not without smart people in the North Korean political arena. They should be able to figure out whether the news brought back by the envoy is true or false. Besides, isn't General Shen still here? If they can't trust the envoy, how can they not trust General Shen?"
Although the Ming army in Dongjiang Town were just bereaved dogs driven out of Liaodong by Hou Jin, to Korea, they were the heavenly army from the Kingdom of Heaven, and they were existences that needed to be treated with respect. North Korea will send envoys to Liaodong to inspect, precisely because of the invitation made by Shen Shikui, the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town. Tom Wang took Shen Zhixiang with him on this errand, and the purpose was also to have someone trusted by the other party to come forward to negotiate with high-level officials in North Korea. Even if Luo Dexian's report back would be met with suspicion, and Shen Zhixiang personally endorsed Haihan, the North Koreans could not even question the Ming army's position.
However, it was the locally stationed North Korean army that responded faster than Seoul. Seven hours after the Haihan fleet arrived at Ganghwa Island, a group of approximately 500 North Korean armed personnel appeared in the sight of the Haihan army.
The lookout soldiers on the mast of the "Majesty" were the first to spot the group of people coming from the east. However, no one regarded them as North Korean officers and soldiers at first, because the outfit of the group of people seen through the telescope was really not worthy of the name. It was neat and orderly, and the team was also sparse, with no one who looked like a regular army. However, given that this group of people were armed, the lookout post dutifully issued the warning as soon as possible.
"The North Koreans are coming." When Wang Tom told Shen Zhixiang and Liu Shang the news, his tone was very calm, as if these people came specially to see him.
The North Koreans were very cautious and did not approach the unidentified armed fleet rashly and stopped about a mile away. After fumbling around for a long time, they finally sent a few people over to find out what was going on.
Of course, Wang Tom was not interested in meeting these small characters like soldiers and generals in person, so he asked Shen Zhixiang to come forward and send them away. After Shen Zhixiang's Ming army general's attire appeared in the opponent's eyes, the several Koreans who were still a little afraid suddenly became much more relaxed and quickly came over and knelt on the ground to greet Shen Zhixiang. Of course, I didn’t forget to ask Shen Zhixiang’s identity and name.
Shen Zhixiang understood that the reason why he participated in this errand was because of his status as a general of the Ming Army, and immediately reported his official position and name. When the Korean soldiers heard that the officer in front of them was indeed a Ming army general, they were even more submissive. They did not dare to ask how to check their identity, but only asked Shen Zhixiang if he needed anything.
After Shen Zhixiang asked Wang Tom for instructions, he asked him to first try to get some fresh food to supply the fleet. These people did not dare to neglect and quickly took the order and left. As for whether they are going to rob local wealthy households or think of other tricks, then it is none of Shen Zhixiang's business.
"These North Koreans... are not afraid of encountering someone pretending to be someone!" Liu Shang, who was watching the entire negotiation process, couldn't help but complain.
Shen Zhixiang smiled and said: "Look at these ships on the shore, can this be fake? In the eyes of Koreans, only the Ming Dynasty can build such a large warship."
"I'm afraid only Haihan can build such a big ship now." Liu Shangxin said. In recent years, the official shipbuilding institutions in the south have been hollowed out by Haihan using various means. Most of the old shipwrights who have been in the industry for many years are resistant. Unable to resist the attraction of high salary, he became an employee of the Haihan people, and even immigrated to Hainan Island. He had seen hundreds of Ming shipwrights at the Victory Port Shipyard. Haihan's advanced shipbuilding technology, coupled with the addition of these skilled craftsmen, has surpassed Ming's shipbuilding level in just a few years. If the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding technology was at its peak when the Sanbao eunuchs went to Nanyang, now no place in the Ming Dynasty can build a ship with the tonnage of the "Majesty".
Of course, in the eyes of ordinary Koreans, the Ming Dynasty is still the omnipotent Ming Dynasty, and it is only reasonable that these large sailing ships docked on the coast of Ganghwa Island naturally come from the Ming Dynasty.
Shen Zhixiang's identity was really useful. After more than an hour, the team returned and delivered 500 kilograms of grain, fresh fruits and vegetables, some poultry, two fat pigs and two goats each to the Haihan fleet. Although these things cannot be said to be of much value, it must have taken some effort to follow Shen Zhixiang's instructions and obtain these things from nearby in such a short period of time. Shen Zhixiang did not hesitate to praise him. He praised the officer who led the team for knowing the rules and doing things well. He was so happy that the officer was overjoyed, as if this praise was enough to get him a promotion.
When Shen Zhixiang saw that the other party did not mention the cost, he knew that most of these things were kidnapped from nearby people's homes. However, the victims of this evil were all Koreans, so Shen Zhixiang would not interfere. And Tom Wang wouldn't care about these little things, as long as these Korean soldiers didn't overestimate their capabilities and challenge Haihan's force. He didn't want a war between the two countries to suddenly break out because of a group of miscellaneous soldiers. As for the other party mistaking his troops for the Ming army, Wang Tom would not go out of his way to explain this in order to save trouble.
The fleet did not wait for a response from Seoul that day, but this was also within the military's expectations. After all, Luo Dexian left for Seoul not too early, and considering that it still needed to be reported to the court for discussion by the king and ministers, It is true that responding is not something that can be done in a moment. The fleet was stationed on Ganghwa Island that day, and the North Korean garrison on the island believed from the beginning to the end that it was a fleet from Dongjiang Town of the Ming Dynasty, and had no doubts about their identity or purpose of coming. Of course, the Navy did not relax its vigilance because of this. After all, Lud Xian's mission was not 100% sure to be completed smoothly, and the North Koreans still had the possibility of resorting to military confrontation. Wang Tom specially mobilized two clippers and quietly entered the Han River after nightfall and went upstream to monitor North Korea's movements. In addition, the Marine Corps also dispatched a reconnaissance platoon to set up defenses outside the station to prevent the North Korean garrison on the island from playing tricks at night.
The next day, there was still no movement in the direction of Seoul. Shen Zhixiang was the first to lose his composure and took the initiative to ask Tom Wang for a visit, planning to go to Seoul himself.
Wang Tom did not agree to his application: "Luo Dexian will definitely bring the news back to Seoul about the Ming army in Dongjiang Town fighting side by side with our country in Liaodong. If the Koreans choose not to trust Dongjiang Town, then it will be useless for you to go. We will Wait and see how things get better. If North Korea’s political arena is full of idiots who don’t understand current affairs, then take this opportunity to give them a good beating. If there are smart people who can understand the situation, then you might as well help them.”
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When Haihan dealt with countries such as Ming Dynasty and Annan in the past, it was a common practice to support the spokesmen in the officialdom of that country. Those with low official positions may only be magistrates of a single county, such as Zhang Pucheng, the magistrate of Fushan County, Dengzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. Those with high official positions may be Xu Xinsu, who now holds military power in Fujian.
It is said that the imperial court has recently planned to transfer Xu Xinsu to the Ministry of War as a minister, but Xu Xinsu himself has not relented. After all, he also knows that his roots and connections are in the south. The Ministry of War transferred to the capital will immediately become a barebone, Mo. Speaking of the minister, even if he was appointed Minister of War, it would be difficult to command the Ming army in each province. On the other hand, if he stayed in Fujian, he could continue to be a local emperor and accumulate wealth, and on the other hand, he could hold on to Haihan's thigh.
Haihan is also very happy to train officials like Xu Xinsu, who share many common interests with Haihan and have certain authority in the country's official circles or local areas. The benefits that Haihan can bring to Haihan are often beyond money. Measurable. For example, the Dongjiang Town Ming Army collected in Liaodong, although it was just a cumbersome force with little significance to the Ming Dynasty but cost a lot of money and food to maintain, it was an excellent cover for Haihan to march into Liaodong openly. Spending money to rescue Dongjiang Town in exchange for the opportunity to enter Liaodong is still a good deal in Haihan's opinion.
Although North Korea is a traditional vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, in Haihan's view, since this country can become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, it is certainly possible to become a vassal of Haihan in the future. In particular, North Korea has always been under the military threat of Hou Jin. The person who can really save them is not Daming, but Haihan, who only started to officially confront Hou Jin last year. If suitable candidates can be found, Haihan certainly hopes to support a few "own people" in North Korea's officialdom, and Luo Dexian can be regarded as a test subject of this strategy.
If Luo Dexian can handle this matter more beautifully and win the opportunity for Haihan to talk directly to senior figures in North Korea, then Haihan will designate him as a liaison officer in the future, and a slight raise of his hand will be enough for him to establish himself in North Korean officialdom. It's a great success.
It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the messenger from Seoul finally crossed the Han River, crossed Ganghwa Island and arrived at Haehan Station, and handed them a diplomatic letter drafted by North Korean Chief Secretary Kim Sang-heon.
In the letter, Kim Sang-hyun expressed his welcome to the Haihan Fleet from afar, and invited Wang Tom and his party to visit Seoul Mansion. However, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Kim Sang-hyun hoped that the Haihan Fleet could continue to stay on Ganghwa Island, and the invited Wang Tom could take a ship provided by North Korea to Seoul Mansion in the upper reaches of the Han River. The letter even clearly stated that Wang Tom could bring fifty warriors with him. This obviously meant that he did not want the Haihan fleet to go to the upper reaches of the Han River on a large scale.
But the purpose of Haehan's trip is to show force to the upper class of North Korea. If he doesn't go to Seoul and the other party doesn't come to Ganghwa Island, how can he show this force? Tom Wang was not worried about any safety issues when bringing fifty people into Seoul, but if he followed the rules set by the other party, the mission would definitely not achieve the expected results. Tom Wang didn't want to go through all the trouble to make such a trip, only to go back in despair without achieving his goal.
"Order, all troops board the ship and return to their positions, prepare to set off!" Wang Tom quickly made a decision. Since the other party is going to resort to such covert methods, let's just get straight to the point and let the fleet go directly outside Seoul Mansion. , tell the North Koreans with facts who should have the final say here.
As for the risk of armed conflict, Wang Tom believes that the attitude of the North Koreans has minimized this possibility. If they had been tougher in their letter, maybe Wang Tom would seriously consider this possibility, but since the other party showed great fear of the Haihan Fleet in the letter, Wang Tom naturally knew the other party's weakness.
Tom Wang does not want to go to war with North Korea, but if force is really necessary, he will not have the slightest hesitation or scruple. A country like North Korea can just fight when it hits, and there is no need to worry about what retaliatory measures the other party can use. Maybe they will comply after a fight. After all, this is what Kim did before, and it seems to have achieved good results.
After receiving the order, the Marines stationed on the coast began to break camp and return to the ship. Under the stunned gaze of the Korean soldiers, the fleet bypassed Ganghwa Island from the north and sailed into the Han River. Any ship that saw this fleet on the river would move out of the waterway as soon as possible. More than thirty sailing ships lined up in two columns on the river, guarding the flagship "Majesty" and slowly sailing upstream.
At this time, the officials in the Seoul government naturally did not know that the object of their dispute had already moved from the sea to Seoul. Soon they would see the most powerful armed fleet in Northeast Asia appear at their doorstep.
(End of chapter)