Chapter 1514 Testing each other
Although Mei Shengchuan was the Minister of War and not the Minister of Household Affairs, he also understood that to rebuild the Han-dominated area in Liaodong, it was far from enough to rely on military garrison. Whether Haihan can settle enough people in the Jinzhou area, reorganize social production, and provide logistical support for the garrison here is the basis for whether they can achieve long-term rule here. After all, in the field of logistics supply, anyone with a discerning eye can see Haihan's obvious shortcomings. It is impossible to rely on thousands of miles of maritime supply lines to maintain the military operations of the Liaodong garrison for a long time.
Haihan's achievements in this regard indeed exceeded Mei Shengchuan's expectations. Moving the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town from Pidao back to Liaodong was undoubtedly a bold and effective arrangement. The soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town were originally from Liaodong, and their adaptability to this place is much better than that of immigrants from other places. Moreover, after returning home, they may be more grateful to Haihan than to Ming Dynasty.
According to the civil affairs officer in the resettlement area, Haihan is currently responsible for more than half of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of these immigrants. Although the relief money will need to be repaid in the form of taxes and labor in the future, it ultimately gives these immigrants a way out. . The current situation in Dongjiang Town seems to be on the verge of disintegration. In the future, it is not impossible for Haihan to recruit troops directly in Liaodong. Once Haihan achieved actual rule over the Jinzhou area at the civil level, it would be impossible for the Ming Dynasty to take back the area from Haihan - just like the territories in the south that were occupied by Haihan.
Although Mei Shengchuan felt that there was a big problem with this situation, he also knew that Ming Dynasty was currently unable to intervene in Liaodong affairs. Even if Ming Dynasty knew about Haihan's various transgressions in Liaodong, there would be nothing he could do. Although Haihan has stated that it can verbally admit that Ming Dynasty still has sovereignty over this area, the reality is cruel. Sovereignty does not equal the right to rule. It is probably difficult for this area, which is the area occupied by Haihan, to change hands again.
But thinking on the bright side, at least Haihan did not have any obvious hostility towards the Ming Dynasty. It was much better to let Haihan occupy Liaodong than to let this area be under the rule of the Later Jin Dynasty. Moreover, both Hao Wanqing and Sha Xi made it clear that they would exert long-term military pressure on Hou Jin in the direction of Liaodong in order to share the worries of the Ming Dynasty. To put it bluntly, compared to the current situation, Haihan's occupation of Liaodong has some practical benefits for Ming. If Haihan is driven away, Ming will not be able to defend Liaodong, but it will be cheaper. Of course, this is just a hypothesis. After all, driving Haihan away from Liaodong is not as simple as talking.
What made Mei Shengchuan feel most helpless was that Haihan seemed to have no intention of concealing his intentions and measures, so he arranged for him to see it so generously. If he wasn't too worried, or he was convinced that it would be difficult for Ming to take any countermeasures, he didn't have any scruples about it at all. Obviously, with the sophistication of the Haihan people, the latter situation was only possible.
Mei Shengchuan originally wanted to see if Shen's uncle and nephew had any other ideas after meeting with the generals of Dongjiang Town, but he didn't even see Shen Zhixiang after coming for a few days, and Shen Shikui didn't know when he came from Pidao. , he is alone in Liaodong, and he has no access to first-hand intelligence information, so it is difficult for him to take the initiative in the negotiation process.
However, two days after Sha Xi announced to him that North Korea would send envoys to participate in the talks, another new news came that Shen Zhixiang from Dongjiang Town would return to Liaodong with the North Korean envoys. Only then did Mei Shengchuan realize that Sha Xi had released false news a few days ago that Shen Zhixiang was performing tasks on the front line, but his real destination was North Korea.
As for Shen Zhixiang's purpose of going to North Korea, Mei Shengchuan boldly guessed that it must be related to Haihan's invitation to North Korea to send people to Liaodong for talks. Shen Zhixiang was most likely to act as a lobbyist. Of course, he never could have guessed that Haihan sent an almost full fleet to North Korea to show off his military power, and then successfully persuaded the North Koreans to proceed with the next step of peace talks.
On June 6, 1636 in the Haihan calendar, the Northern Fleet of the Navy finally returned from Korea and arrived at Port Arthur in Liaodong. This time, North Korea sent a minister with a higher ranking than Rod Heon as a negotiator, namely Kim Sang Heon, who was famous for his opposition to peace negotiations with Hou Jin in the North Korean court.
Sha Xi held a reception banquet for Kim Sang-hyun at Lushun Fort, and also celebrated their triumphant return from Wang Tom, Shen Zhixiang and his entourage. Their operations in North Korea were relatively smooth. Apart from the ammunition consumed in the military exercise on the Han River, there were basically no other major losses.
Accompanying Kim Sang-hyun are several young North Korean military attachés. They will be stationed in Liaodong as military observers for several months. During this period, they will go to the northern front to observe the combat situation between the coalition forces and Hou Jin, and they will also receive naval training. Free military training provided by Han. Of course, this kind of military assistance must first sign a cooperation agreement with Haihan before it can be implemented. However, after Haihan’s army demonstrated its strong strength and Shen Zhixiang’s desperate advocacy, the North Korean king and senior officials have basically determined that Haihan will be The opportunity for Jin's enslavement after Korea broke away. Let Jin Sangxian lead the team to Liaodong for inspection just to implement this point of view, and then he can confidently and boldly cooperate with Haihan.
Of course, there is another important reason that prompted this trip, and that is that Wang Tom claimed to the North Koreans that the Ming Dynasty would also send senior officials to participate in the subsequent cooperation talks. Even if the North Koreans cannot trust Haihan, they still have a high level of trust in the Ming Dynasty, so they sent Kim Sang-hyun to take action, at least at the official level, to show how much North Korea attaches importance to this.
Naturally, Mei Shengchuan was invited to attend the reception banquet, and Sha Xi introduced both parties in a very grand manner. Mei Shengchuan and Jin Sangxian were a little surprised when they heard that the other party had also come to Liaodong to discuss cooperation in the fight against Jin. After all, based on the past relations between the two countries, such things should not be hidden from each other. As the suzerain state, Ming Dynasty did not notify North Korea, and as a vassal state, North Korea also did not report its plans to Ming Dynasty. This was a bit embarrassing.
However, with the eloquent Sha Xi as the intermediary, this embarrassment was resolved relatively easily: "The Ming Dynasty and North Korea have always been friendly neighbors, and now they should join forces to defeat the same enemies. As for the military disadvantages, our country can I will make up for this shortcoming for you. As long as we are in the Three Kingdoms Alliance, do we still need to be afraid of those barbarians in the north? I can assure you that as long as we work together with our country, we can defeat them in at most three to five years. Disappeared from Liaodong region.”
Sha Xi’s words are not bragging, but there will be certain practical difficulties in implementing them. If we want to eliminate Hou Jin within three to five years, then at least Ming and North Korea must send tens of thousands of troops, and Haihan will take the lead in directing this national war. If we just rely on Haihan to send troops and the other two families wait and see, Houjin's vitality will be severely damaged at most in three to five years, but it is impossible to destroy the country. But it would not be easy for the two countries to hand over the command of their armies to Haihan.
Of course, Sha Xi didn't really intend to help the military win such special powers. He just wanted to use this kind of rhetoric to make the representatives of Ming and North Korea realize that Hou Jin was not invincible. What they lacked was just Haihan is such an ally with strong military strength. As long as the three countries can form a military alliance, resisting Hou Jin's invasion or even destroying it are goals that can be achieved through concerted efforts. After Sha Xi finished speaking, he winked at Shen Zhixiang. The latter understood it and immediately took over the conversation: "Master Mei, Master Jin, the last general has led his troops to fight in Liaodong for several months. During this period, he has been cooperating with the Haihan Army, fighting big battles and small battles." Many battles have been fought, but none of them have been lost! This Jinzhou was lost and recovered, thanks to the help of the Haihan Kingdom. If we want to relieve the worries of the Ming Dynasty and North Korea, we should put pressure on the enemy in Liaodong. It is difficult for him to be distracted. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Only a small number of troops and horses can be used as a bone-breaking nail on the Jinren's body!"
Wang Tom also said: "The areas ruled by the Hou Jin Dynasty are all in bitter cold areas. Their population and products cannot be compared with those of the Ming Dynasty and North Korea. Even if they fight for national power, they will be exhausted. Now that our army has joined us, everyone is still What are you worried about? I know what you are worried about. When you go to the front line and see the situation on the battlefield, you will understand that what we say is not exaggerated at all, and it can even be said to be very modest."
Hearing is false, seeing is believing. No matter how much you talk, it can't match what you see with your own eyes. People who had doubts about Haihan's military strength will basically dispel their doubts after seeing the combat situation of Haihan Army on the spot. Wang Tom believes that Mei Shengchuan and Kim Sangxian will be no exception.
Mei Shengchuan and Jin Sangxian have both witnessed the drills of the Haihan Army in different places. Of course, they also know that this army is terrifyingly strong, but what kind of performance it will have on the battlefield? The information they have is only Just a narration from someone else. No matter how vivid the verbal or written expression is, it will never be as strong as the impact of witnessing it live. So no matter how much we say, it is better to take these foreign high-ranking officials to the battlefield and let them understand how big the advantage the Haihan Army has when fighting Houjin.
This arrangement was originally planned by the military. Since Haihan advanced into Liaodong, military observers and inspection teams of various statuses have gone to the front line almost every month to observe the fighting between Haihan and Hou Jin. Now it is necessary to arrange for the ministers of Ming Dynasty and North Korea to take a look, which is also something the military is familiar with.
The only one who felt that this process was a bit too fast was probably Sha Xi. His negotiation mission failed to achieve the expected goal well. If the ministers of the two countries were sent to the front line, then the military would have to take over the subsequent matters. When Bai Kesi needs to come forward, many agreements that should be finalized in advance may have to be slowly negotiated. This may be regarded as Shaxi's dereliction of duty.
The issues that Mei Shengchuan and Jin Sangxian considered were not limited to Haihan's attitude. They actually still had some doubts about the other party's true purpose of appearing in Liaodong. After all, the two countries had not reached an agreement in advance about forming an alliance with Haihan. If Haihan hadn't arranged this tripartite meeting, this matter would probably have been hidden from each other for a long time.
As a result, there was a very strange atmosphere at this welcoming banquet. Haihan officials wanted to persuade the ministers of the other two countries to accept the alliance proposal, while the ministers of Ming and North Korea focused on testing each other. In terms of attitude, they kept talking to each other, trying to find out the other party's true attitude towards the alliance.
Comparing the two countries, North Korea's willingness to form an alliance is stronger. After all, there was no conflict of interest with Haihan in the past, and the alliance has obvious benefits for North Korea. In addition, the North Koreans also want their country to have A powerful army. What Ming Dynasty cannot give North Korea, but the Haihan people seem to be able to do it, and they do not ask North Korea to betray Ming Dynasty, so it is logical to choose this partner.
Because Ming Dynasty has many unresolved territorial sovereignty issues with Haihan, there are obstacles in cooperation that are not easy to solve. If the Ming Dynasty wanted to get Haihan's help, it would have to hold its nose and admit Haihan's interests in the south, and this was not a condition that the Ming Dynasty court was willing to accept. Moreover, the Ming court's opinions on the war in the north were not unified. Some people suggested negotiating peace with their opponents. Some people believed that Hou Jin's annual visits to the south were not enough to affect the rule of the Ming Dynasty. There were no ministers who really regarded war as the only way to solve the problem in the north. Not many, even the Ministry of War is not necessarily the main war faction.
As a result, a problem that was difficult to solve arose. The coalition plan to break the gold that Haihan advocated was not the only solution in the eyes of the Ming court. After all, it was still eight years before Chongzhen was hanged in Meishan. The big shots in the court could not foresee that the life of the dynasty had entered a countdown state, and still believed that the Ming Dynasty could survive the difficulties. The plan provided by the Haihan people also had certain risks for the Ming Dynasty. After all, it was easier to ask the gods than to send them away. Not even an inch of the land occupied by the Haihan people in the Ming Dynasty was returned. If he is allowed to lead his troops into the country to fight, it will be difficult to send him out again in the future.
Because of this, Mei Shengchuan has been very tight-lipped and has not easily agreed to Haihan's various proposals. But now that North Korea has joined, Mei Shengchuan has to consider the situation that may arise after the alliance between North Korea and Haihan. By then, Haihan can obtain supplies and manpower from North Korea, and there will be no need to get help from the Ming Dynasty. In this way, Haihan's "invasion" of Liaodong will be even more unscrupulous, and the Ming Dynasty will most likely completely lose its influence in Liaodong. opportunities for the future direction of the situation.
What made Mei Shengchuan even more wary was that North Korea kept the alliance secret and never informed Ming Dynasty. Kim Sang-heon said that he had only recently started discussing an alliance with Hae-han, which sounded to him like a perfunctory excuse and was not credible at all.
(End of chapter)