Chapter 2315
However, Wang Tom did not have high expectations for how effective the edict issued to various parts of the country in Li Zhi's name would be. This is because Li Zhi's influence in areas outside Gyeonggi Province is still relatively limited, and local officials may not choose to be loyal to him at the moment; secondly, even if the local officials and garrison are willing to help him put down the rebellion, they will because Without enough manpower, material and financial resources, it was difficult to organize an action to send troops to serve the king.
It has been a month since the rebellion broke out in Seoul, and the news should have spread throughout the country. However, currently only a few places have stated that they will continue to be loyal to King Li Zhu and refuse to cooperate with the rebels. Tom Wang believes that the vast majority of people are still waiting and watching, and will not start to take a stand until the situation becomes clear.
Anyone who is not too confused will understand that the factor that determines the future direction of the situation is not only within Seoul, but also depends on the attitude of Haihan. If Haihan thinks that the downfall of King Li Zhu is unacceptable, then even if the rebels kill all the royal family, it will be difficult for them to gain Haihan's approval. On the other hand, if the rebellious party offers certain conditions to bribe Haihan, then it is likely that it will be time to change the dynasty.
Expressing a position too early may make you passive, and continuing to wait and see is the wisest thing to do at the moment. However, with the return of Prince Li Xie, the situation is developing in a direction that is not conducive to the rebellious party. Once the news spreads that the Haihan army is approaching the city, some smart people will probably start to take sides.
Wang Tom said: "When the incident happened in Seoul, there was no large-scale fighting around the city defense, which shows that there was also a big problem with the city defense troops, who were probably directly involved in the rebellion."
Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "So the fifth military camp and the third inner hall can basically be classified into the rebel camp."
Wang Tom added: "The counselors, counselors, and counselors of Bingcao Yamen can also be included first."
The Fifth Military Camp includes five departments: the Training Supervisor, the Royal Camp Hall, the Guard Camp, the Rong Hall, and the Guard Hall. The three inner halls refer to the inner guards, concurrent servants, and Habayashi Guards. These military institutions The troops and troops are located inside and outside Seoul. They are usually under the jurisdiction of Bingcao Yamen and are responsible for the security and defense, troop training, logistics and supply in the Seoul area.
The rebellious party specially selected a military judge, Shen Jingzhen, to start the rebellion when he was not in Seoul. It seemed that they wanted to avoid being harmed by him. However, commanding the actions of these local troops was obviously still the responsibility of the Bingcao Yamen. Therefore, the Bingcao Yamen officials who had stayed in Seoul since Shen Jingzhen might also have participated in the rebellion.
Qian Tiandun said: "With the influence of Bingcao Yamen, it is still impossible to do such a big thing. There must be someone above it!"
Tom Wang said slowly: "Counting further up, it should be those two."
Regarding the mastermind behind the Seoul rebellion, Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun have actually made many calculations and discussions, and have made some preliminary judgments about the truth of the matter. The fact that the rebel party was able to control the Seoul area in one fell swoop without any large-scale armed conflict shows that its appeal and control are extraordinary. Only figures with extremely high power and prestige in the DPRK can achieve this.
Although the other members of the royal family, except King Li Zhu, had noble status, they had no real power in their hands and could not mobilize troops or generals. Even princes like Lord Fenglin and Lord Linping were no match for high officials in the court. At most, they were pushed out and used as puppets after the fact.
Currently, the two most influential senior officials in the DPRK are Kim Sang-heon, the chief minister, and Choi Myung-gil, the current consul-general who was just promoted this year.
The two men have been rivals in the court for many years because of their different political views. Kim Sang-heon advocates a tough foreign policy, refuses peace talks, and uses force to safeguard North Korea's interests, and is called a peace-denying faction; while Cui Mingji insists on peace as the most important thing, and uses a certain degree of compromise to buy the time needed for the country's development. Naturally, It became the main peace faction.
Before the Qing army prepared to invade North Korea on a large scale last year, it put pressure on North Korea many times, asking Li Zhu to sever ties with Ming Dynasty and Haihan, and surrender to the Qing Dynasty. At that time, it was Kim Sang-hyun who advocated resistance to the end in the court. Later, North Korea successfully solicited Haihan reinforcements and repelled the Qing invasion. Kim Sang-hyun's reputation greatly increased, surpassing his old rival.
However, these prestige failed to help Kim Sang-hun reach the peak of his career. This year, King Li Jie unexpectedly appointed Cui Mingji as the new chief minister. Both his official rank and authority have surpassed Kim Sang-heon's.
Regarding this appointment, Haihan's understanding was that Li Zhu was trying to strike a balance to avoid letting Kim Sang-hyun become the dominant family in the court. Moreover, Cui Mingji has always supported the second prince Fenglin Prince Li Hao. This can be regarded as retaining a competitor for the prince and leaving a certain amount of suspense on the succession to the throne, so as to prevent court officials from prematurely joining the prince's camp and affecting his current status. stage of domination.
In order to maintain his ruling authority and take into account the smooth transition of power transfer in a few years, Li Jie must use some means to maintain the balance of power in the court. However, similar imperial techniques have emerged one after another in China's thousands of years of history, and it is not unusual in the eyes of Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun. It's just that I don't know which part of it went wrong. Li Zhu actually messed up even when the situation was getting better.
There are too many possibilities for why some people don't want Li Zhu to continue to be in power. In the absence of more reliable information, there is no need to waste time and energy making unnecessary speculations. Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun only needed to confirm that the rebellion in Seoul was planned by some big shots in the court.
As for whether Kim Sang-hyun or Choi Ming-gil is taking the lead, it’s hard to say yet. Although Kim Sang-heon's reputation is high, the king now obviously intends to use Cui Ming-gil to suppress him. Perhaps he has already accumulated a lot of resentment in his heart. Although Cui Mingji was promoted this year and was already ranked below one person and above ten thousand people, the second prince he supported, Li Hao, was still not the first choice for the throne. One day when Li Hao abdicated, the first thing the new king would do would be to eliminate dissidents. He will definitely not be able to continue in this position of discussing politics by then.
Of course, Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun are still unable to determine what the real motive is. They can only acquiesce that one of these two big shots planned this incident.
But what is the purpose of doing this makes them a little confused. These two high-ranking North Korean officials are the pillars of this country. It is impossible that they do not know the meaning of what they have done. Even if they overthrow King Li Zhu, it does not mean that they can successfully take over the power of this country.
One of the basic conditions to be met is to obtain Haihan's approval. So far, the person responsible for this incident has not taken the initiative to contact Haihan, and it seems that he has no intention of seeking Haihan's approval at all.
"So I have never understood the meaning of this chaos. Even if they kill the king, they will not be able to sit on the throne unless they have our support. But they have not spoken out. Are they trying to compete with us for patience? "Qian Tiandun expressed doubts about the current situation.
"Maybe... they are lost and can't find the way forward, so they can only go around in circles." Wang Tom put forward a very abstract hypothesis. Qian Tiandun raised his eyebrows: "These old foxes must have a comprehensive plan for beheading, and they won't watch every step, right?"
"It's hard to say." Wang Tom shook his head slightly and said, "The plan is not as fast as the change. Maybe some unplanned situations occurred, disrupting their original arrangements."
The larger and more complex a plan is, the more likely it is for unexpected emergencies to occur. This is an objective law that is difficult to violate. Even the various combat plans formulated by the Haihan military are rarely executed 100% as planned in actual combat.
Compared with the Haihan Army, which has strict military discipline, the situation in North Korea is obviously different. Naturally, it is difficult not to make any mistakes in such a complex operation. From this point of view, Tom Wang’s idea makes more sense.
Years of experience in fighting overseas tell them that they cannot underestimate their opponents, but they do not need to think about how complex and sophisticated strategies their opponents can formulate. People in this era are limited by their vision and knowledge, and the strategies they can formulate often only focus on the current environment.
But since the Haihan Army has arrived in Seoul, it is not necessary to delve into the reasons for this incident at this time, but to prioritize how to solve Seoul's dilemma.
The people in the city have not yet taken the initiative to show their willingness to negotiate, so Haihanjun naturally excluded this option. The only solution at this point is to use force.
As in countless battles over the years, Takahashi Minami is still personally on the front line commanding and deploying. After the special forces stationed in North Korea last year, he had been to Seoul twice, both entering and leaving the city through Sungnyemun Gate, so he still had a little understanding of the environment in this area and would not be blind. Moreover, the local stronghold had already prepared secretly drawn city defense maps, which provided a more reliable basis for his troop formation.
There are about ten artillery pieces on the city wall near Sungnyemun Gate. These artillery pieces are old artillery pieces that were given to North Korea cheaply by Haehan in the name of military aid after the war ended last year. Their range and power are relatively limited. However, because the artillerymen and commanding officers are still receiving training at the Datongjiang base, the actual threat of these artillery is actually very limited.
Other information about Sungnyemun Gate is clearly marked on the city defense map, including the size, materials, thickness, etc. of the city gate. With these data, Takahashi Minami can roughly calculate how much firepower output is needed to blast open Sungnyemun Gate.
While the special forces were waiting for the opportunity on Ganghwa Island, Takahashi Minami had already worked out several siege plans with his staff, and even had ample time to make a sand table for deduction.
According to the conclusions drawn from the deduction, the Haihan Army should not encounter too much trouble during the siege, unless the opponent silently piled tens of thousands of troops in the city to form an ambush. Of course, such an extreme situation is unlikely to occur. What is more likely to happen is that the troops in the city flee in all directions after the city is broken, just like the situation when the Qing army invaded North Korea last year and destroyed several cities in succession.
Due to North Korea's unique military system, most of the troops are not composed of professional soldiers, so their fighting will is naturally difficult to guarantee. Although the troops guarding Seoul are considered elite, most of them may have known their identities and turned into rebels. However, the opponent outside the city is the Haihan Army who came to serve the king on behalf of the crown prince. This kind of name is not justified. While the enemy is still ridiculously powerful, it may be difficult to maintain a firm will to fight.
Under the command of Takahashi Nan, the artillery position was deployed directly on the official road outside the city. The muzzle of the artillery was facing Sungnye Gate, only about one mile away. This time, several advanced breech-loading cannons specially transported from the Datong River Base were pushed out. These new artillery had been calibrated at the Datong River Base. Gao Qiaonan believed that their power was suitable for blasting open the city gates. .
According to Haihan's standard combat method, fire strike with artillery as the core is the first step in siege warfare. After blasting open the city gate passage and suppressing the firepower of the city wall defenders, the infantry then advanced into the city to minimize the loss of personnel in the process of breaking through the city defenses.
From Takahashi Minami's perspective, Seoul is definitely not a fortified city. If we attack with all our strength, we can break through the city in about half a day.
Of course, he does not have the final say on when the war will start. He is only responsible for commanding the war. Whether to fight or not, and when to start the war, he must obey the orders of his superiors.
Now that the prince has returned here and the conditions for negotiation have been agreed, neither Wang Tom nor Qian Tiandun intends to let this matter drag on endlessly. While the artillery positions were being deployed, people had already sent letters to the city with arrows, demanding that the chaos and rebels in the city surrender unconditionally to the Crown Prince Li Zhi. The time limit given for consideration was extremely short and would end at sunrise tomorrow. .
Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun did not expect that this piece of surrender letter would really make the rebels in the city surrender, but if they could put enough pressure on them and affect their opponents' will to fight, then it would be considered effective. Moreover, the letter of persuasion to surrender stated that the protagonist of King Qin's return to Beijing this time was Li Xie, who first occupied the moral high ground and pushed his opponent into the camp of rebellious officials and traitors.
"If no one comes out of the city to negotiate tonight, then we will take action tomorrow morning. Then the prince will show his face outside the city, which will make it easier for us to do things."
Later, Li Zhi was also taken to the Haihan stronghold outside the city and followed Wang Tom's arrangements.
Although Li Xie was a little panicked by going to the front line of the battlefield, Wang Tom had already emphasized that he would not be put in danger, and he could retreat to the Han River after showing his face, so there was not much risk at all. , Li Zhi agreed to this arrangement.
As for the list of enemies, Li Zhi did not ask Wang Tom again what he planned to do, and Wang Tom seemed to have forgotten about it and did not even mention it.
(End of chapter)