Chapter 1504 Strong means
Kim Sang-hyun thought to himself that I have so many worries, none of which can be explained in just a few words. The important matter of the alliance between the two countries is not just a child's play that can be finalized in a few words. However, the current measures of the Haihan people clearly do not intend to reach a consensus between the two countries through lengthy negotiations, but to use force to force North Korea to accept its unilateral alliance conditions. Although Kim Sang-hyun also admitted that these conditions sounded like North Korea would not suffer a loss, but could actually take advantage of it. But how could he dare to agree so rashly to such a major event that would affect the country's future and destiny? At this moment, Kim Sang-hyun also fell into the same embarrassing situation that Lud-heon had faced on the Liaodong front.
Wang Tom's attitude was aggressive. Kim Sang-hyun was forced by the other party's power and did not dare to refuse directly. He could only say tactfully: "General Wang, the establishment of diplomatic relations and alliances involves many aspects and requires long-term consideration..."
When Wang Tom heard that this guy was about to start playing Tai Chi, he would not let him continue to perform, and he immediately stopped him: "The war in Liaodong is tense. The soldiers of the allied forces of our country and the Ming Dynasty are fighting against the Jin army every moment. If you delay for a moment longer, you will be killed." Several dozen more lives may have been sacrificed. It is a major military and national event. Could Mr. Jin be so hard-hearted that he would sacrifice his life in vain just to wait for the alliance between the two countries? "
Jin Sangxian thought to himself: How can I bear this charge? He waved his hands and said: "I have no intention of doing this. General Wang, don't get me wrong!"
Wang Tom didn't give him a chance to continue, and continued to interrupt: "Master Jin didn't dare to agree, maybe he still has doubts about the strength of our army, right? I don't think it's better to let our fleet fly in the Han River." Please watch the martial arts show with your king and ministers. As the saying goes, seeing is believing. After you see it with your own eyes, you will probably no longer have any doubts about the prospects of this cooperation."
"This..." Although Jin Sangxian had heard about the Haihan people's plan from Luo Dexian, it was undoubtedly a high risk for the king and a group of ministers to go out of the city to watch the Haihan army drill. If the Haihan people are not well-intentioned and take this opportunity to kill all the top officials of North Korea, wouldn't it be a catastrophe for the country?
Wang Tom had speculated on North Korea's possible reaction beforehand, and he already guessed Kim Sang-hyun's concerns at that moment, and explained to him: "Our troops will all board the boats and leave the river bank later. The nobles of your country can make their own decisions." Just watch from the shore at a safe distance. Of course, if anyone is willing to board the boat, I would also welcome it.”
Shen Zhixiang, who had been standing by without interrupting, also spoke at this time: "At that time, I will stay on the shore and watch the drill of the Haihan Fleet with your king and ministers."
Shen Zhixiang offered to stay ashore, naturally to reassure the North Koreans. After all, they were definitely more willing to trust Ming officials than the Haihan people who had just arrived. Although Shen Zhixiang is only a military attaché, his credibility in Seoul is much more useful than that of the Haihan Fleet.
Jin Sangxian's expression brightened slightly when he heard Shen Zhixiang's guarantee. He indeed trusted Shen Zhixiang far more than the Haihan people, even if Shen Zhixiang's current position was obviously leaning towards the Haihan side. When the same words are said from Shen Zhixiang's mouth, the credibility is higher.
What North Korea is most worried about is the threat of force caused by the Haihan fleet approaching the city. However, if the other side is willing to evacuate the river bank and conduct so-called drills and demonstrations, the element of hostility will be reduced a lot. Jin Sangxian thought about it for a while and then agreed, but he still said that he would go back and report it to the king to make the decision himself.
Seeing that Jin Sangxian was finally relieved, Wang Tom finally breathed a sigh of relief. His mission this time is not difficult, but it is by no means simple. If this kind of force threat does not grasp the strength and timing, it can easily turn into a situation where it is difficult to get off. It is not difficult to use force. What is difficult is to make North Korea succumb to Haihan's force and agree to Haihan's request for alliance without using force.
But before Jin Shangxian left, he had one more thing to tell him: "Master Jin, there is something I have to remind your country. Since your country has an alliance with the Jin people before, there must be their envoys living in the city. Sir, the big noise caused by my fleet has probably reached their ears. If you want to be on the safe side, I suggest you try to control them first. The more they know, the better it will be for your future national security. The more unfavorable it is, you can decide on your own.”
Jin Sangxian bowed his head and said: "General Wang is right. After I return to the city, I will immediately go to supervise this matter."
Regardless of whether Haihan eventually formed an alliance with North Korea, Hou Jin would not be able to learn too much about this matter, unless the North Koreans were determined to unite with Hou Jin and take this opportunity to express their loyalty to him. Of course, this possibility is slim. At least at this time, North Korea, which has not experienced the "Bingzi Chaos" that would have happened in history, still has a relatively strong sense of resistance and will not surrender to Hou Jin. If the North Koreans realized that they really had a chance to overthrow the oppression of Hou Jin, they would not be so cowardly that they would not dare to do anything.
Wang Tom ordered people to use a small boat to send Kim Sang-hun and his entourage back to the shore. Shen Zhixiang also went with him. His next task was to accompany Kim Sang-hun to Seoul, trying to persuade the North Korean monarchs to accept Hae-han's proposal as soon as possible, and to watch Hae-han outside the city. Fleet combat exercises on the Han River. As for the content of the exercise, Wang Tom has already communicated with Shen Zhixiang, and he will serve as the commentator next to the North Korean monarchs and ministers.
Liu Shang, who had been watching without playing a role, did not feel regretful. He knew that although he was sharp-tongued, in a meeting between high-level officials from the two countries like the one just now, his strong aura was far more effective than his smooth words. It was because Wang Tom had a clear advantage in momentum that he was able to steadily overpower his opponent. And to be able to witness such an important negotiation, even as a follower, he felt an inexplicable sense of honor. In Haihan's words, he was witnessing history with his own eyes.
If the alliance between the two countries succeeds, this record is likely to be recorded in history books in the future. On May 30, 1636 in the Haihan calendar, Haihan Navy Commander Wang Tom personally led the fleet to Seoul, the capital of North Korea, and presided over the signing of the Haehan concluded a strategic alliance contract with North Korea. Then Liu Shang may also be recorded in the name of an attaché and become part of history.
Civilian officials like Liu Shang are unlikely to make achievements on the battlefield, and this occasion may be one of the few opportunities to be recorded in history. For a small person like him who came from a commoner background, this may be regarded as some form of honoring his ancestors. And Liu Shang also keenly noticed that after he came to the north, the opportunities when he was really taken seriously by high-level officials and given specific tasks were almost always in the diplomatic field. Liu Shang actually didn't know much about the situation of Haihan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his past work, he didn't have much contact with this department, which was equivalent to the comprehensive functions of the Host and Guest Department of the Daming Rites Department, Siyi Pavilion, and Honglu Temple. He had never had any problems with this department before. interest. However, as the war situation in the north has progressed recently, there have been more and more dealings with countries such as Ming Dynasty and North Korea. The number of full-time staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Haihan in the northern region can be counted on one hand, so Liu Shang often needs to be dispatched. Responsible for some foreign affairs activities, and his performance during the completion of these tasks has also been recognized and appreciated by senior officials. Senior officials seem to be very optimistic about his diplomatic negotiation skills. If he works hard in this direction, it seems to be a good way out.
When Jin Sangxian returned to the city, he followed Wang Tom's suggestion and mobilized troops to surround the Houjin embassy in the city and temporarily placed the people inside the embassy under house arrest. Then he went to report to the king about the negotiations just outside the city. Shen Zhixiang also took the opportunity to persuade the King of Korea and let him watch the drills of the Haihan Fleet before making a decision.
Although the North Korean King Li Jie was a little timid when facing Hou Jin, he was actually not a peaceful person at heart, otherwise he would not have launched a palace coup to take power. Hearing that he could watch the Haihan Fleet's exercises on the Han River, he immediately became interested. Since the opponent was not here to start a war, there was no harm in going and taking a look. Even if they knew that the other party was using this to put pressure on themselves, they could at least see if the other party had any real information. Since both Luo Dexian and Shen Zhixiang boasted that the Haihan Army was invincible, some clues must have been gleaned from the drill.
So one hour after the Haehan fleet left the river bank outside Seoul, the North Korean side confirmed that there were no Haehan soldiers stationed on the river bank. The Sungnyemun Gate in the south of Seoul slowly opened, and the king's guard of honor and escorts filed out to protect them. The carriage Li Zhu rode on. The civil and military ministers followed closely behind, marching towards the river bank south of the city.
Following Shen Zhixiang's suggestion, the team didn't go far out of the city and stopped nearly a mile away from the river bank. Then they found a place with a slightly higher terrain and a wider view to use as a viewing platform. Originally, there was a not too high wall in front that blocked the view, but after receiving the order, the escort team tore down the stone wall in three strokes. The efficiency was much higher than the current meeting between the two countries. .
After the Koreans on the shore were ready, Shen Zhixiang set off a fireworks signal as agreed. Wang Tangnan saw a signal flare exploding in the air in the distance on the ship, and ordered the ship to proceed as planned.
The military exercises of the Haihan Fleet are mainly divided into combat formation marches, assaults, encirclements, and the most exciting artillery target shooting. For this purpose, the fleet also specially brought an old warship donated by Dongjiang Town from Liaodong as a target ship. At this time, the empty ship had been anchored in the center of the river.
When the "Majesty", which was spitting out soot and steam, was running at full speed and leading the fleet in a battle formation on the river, the visual impact of that scene actually did not require Shen Zhixiang's explanation at all, as long as his eyes were not blinded. People can naturally see that the speed of this Haihan fleet is far beyond their understanding. With their knowledge, they cannot understand how Haihan can keep such a large ship at a high speed, but there is no doubt that no matter who encounters such an opponent at sea, it will be difficult to escape from its pursuit. Of course, everyone's focus was actually on the sailboat anchored in the middle of the river and used as a target ship.
According to Shen Zhixiang's explanation, the Haihan fleet will pass by the ship at the highest speed, during which it will bombard the target ship with the naval guns equipped on the ship. Use actual results to verify the combat capabilities of the Haihan Fleet. And the part that the North Korean monarchs and ministers are most interested in is also at this point.
Anyone who has never seen a sailing battleship launch a bombardment will inevitably be shocked by the intensive firepower output on the side of the ship, and the North Korean monarchs and ministers who acted as spectators this time were no exception. The "Dignity" took the lead and specially sailed south of the target ship to fully present the shelling process.
The cannons firing off the ship's side one after another, the smoke rising from the muzzles, and the fragments of shipboard flying from the target ship formed a highly impactful battle scene. The Korean monarchs and ministers who had previously been talking about the Haihan Fleet fell silent at this time, and watched the "Mighty" serial bombardment of the target ship with their mouths open in stunned silence.
The warships that followed continued to fire at the target ship without any pause. The heavy shells penetrated large and small holes in the hull, and then fell on the river with a splash of water. In fact, by the time the third warship passed the target ship, the ship had already been beaten into disarray. The two large holes in the bow that were torn out by heavy cannons continued to pour into the river, causing the hull to tilt significantly.
At this time, Shen Zhixiang was still sparing no effort to explain to the Korean monarchs that this was just the result of using ordinary artillery shells. If all kinds of artillery shells such as explosive bombs, incendiary bombs, grape bombs, chain bombs, etc. were also used, then the ship would be in trouble. The damage would be much more serious. Of course, as to how serious it would be, it was actually beyond the imagination of the North Korean monarchs and ministers. They watched the target ship turn into a half-sunken ship in an instant, and in their hearts they were silently comparing it with their own country's surface combat vessels. The generals were even quietly considering whether there was a possibility of confrontation with it. .
Of course, the result was very disappointing. Not to mention shelling such a large ship, even if it directly rammed it, there were not many ships in the North Korean army that could withstand it, and they were not even as strong as the target ship.
Shen Zhixiang said in a timely manner: "The Jin Navy was not strong to begin with. In the past few years, it only made some progress thanks to the rebels who escaped. However, after the Haihan people arrived in the north, they completely wiped out the Jin Navy. From now on, you will no longer be able to threaten our Ming territory from the sea, and your country will no longer have to worry about the Jin navy raiding Seoul from the sea.”
After everyone heard this, they didn't feel comfortable in their hearts. They all had an idea - the Jin people can't come, but the Han people in this country can come if they want! Who can stop such a powerful fleet? Who dares to stop it?
Unconsciously, the North Korean monarchs and ministers no longer doubted the authenticity of the Haihan fleet's claim to be invincible at sea, but began to worry about whether this powerful armed force would protect or threaten North Korea in the future.
(End of chapter)