Chapter 3549
From the moment he learned that Haihan had instigated the Japanese Civil War, Li Zhi had been trying to directly intervene in the civil war. He has made several requests in person to senior officials of the Executive Committee, but the goals of the Executive Committee are different from his, so he has never been able to obtain permission.
Li Zhi believes that this civil war is a rare opportunity for revenge for North Korea. After sending troops, not only can it take the opportunity to attack its old enemy Japan, but if done properly, it will even become a great opportunity for North Korea to expand its territory.
After Li Zhen ascended the throne, he has always cherished the dream of a great power, but he knew that if the territory was always limited to the Korean Peninsula, then this dream of a great power would only be a dream. Only by opening up new territories to the outside world is the way to strengthen national power in the future.
North Korea is full of bitter cold land and cannot be developed even if it is occupied. As for the mainland to the west, let alone the mainland, North Korea has no qualifications to intervene. Ryukyu, Taiwan, and Luzon to the south are all under Haihan's sphere of influence, and basically they can't make any plans.
Only the Japanese archipelago, which is the closest to the east, is the target that North Korea can take action against.
During the Imjin Japanese Rebellion more than sixty years ago, if Korea had not received reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty, it would have been almost destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army. Nowadays, the situation has changed. Since North Korea embraced Haihan's thigh, its national power has become stronger and stronger. Now its strength has surpassed Japan, its old rival, and Li Zhi has long been eyeing it.
After watching the fighting situation in Kitakyushu for more than a month this time, Li Zhi was very sure that the combat effectiveness of his army was definitely higher than that of both sides in the Japanese Civil War, but the mobilizable force was not as good as the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Of course, if the small court in Pyongyang City in the north can completely obey his orders, then the combined forces of the north and the south will definitely be enough to deal with the Tokugawa Shogunate, and it is not impossible to even capture the Kyushu Allied Forces.
Every time Li Zhi thought about this, he couldn't help but lament the bad luck. If there was no north-south division in the country, there would be no need to look forward and backward, and just send troops to attack the shogunate directly. There is no need to look at Haihan's face.
Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the treatment of being excluded from the battlefield by the Executive Committee, Li Zhi's position was actually the same as that of Haihan. He hoped that the two sides in this civil war would fight as fiercely as possible until Japan's war resources were exhausted. After that, it will be much easier for North Korea to find opportunities to take advantage of the situation.
However, Li Zhi did not expect that it was not Haihan who gave him the opportunity, but the Japanese who came to him.
When Zong Yizhen came to visit, Li Xie thought that the other party wanted to purchase weapons and equipment made by Haihan from him, but he never thought that when Zong Yizhen opened his mouth, he actually asked North Korea to send troops to assist in defense.
Li Zhi asked with some disbelief: "Master Zong, do you mean to let our country send troops to Tsushima Island to help you prevent the shogunate's attack?"
Zong Yizhen nodded and said: "Your Majesty probably also knows that for this battle with the shogunate, the Satsuma clan sent almost all its capable soldiers to the front line, and there were very few troops left at home. A few days ago, the Satsuma clan My home has been attacked by the shogunate army once, and I have to be on guard against this. However, if my cavalry army withdraws its troops from the front line, it will inevitably make our allies suspicious. After thinking about it, I can only ask for help from your majesty!"
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"I hope that your Majesty will help us because of our years of cooperation! As for the military expenses and material consumption related to your country's sending troops, I will be responsible for Ma Fan!"
Although Li Zhi was happy, he did not immediately agree to the other party because he still had unanswered questions: "Master Zong, Haihan's Sasebo base is in Kitakyushu. Why don't you ask Haihan for help?"
Zong Yizhen said: "To be honest with your Majesty, I have already mentioned this matter to General Shi Diwen, but he refused the request to send troops to help defense on the grounds that Haihan would not directly intervene in the Japanese civil war. As for coming to your country for help, this In fact, this is what General Shi Diwen meant. "Li Zhi definitely didn't believe what the Haihan people said about "not directly participating in the Japanese civil war." He has been here for so long, and has already met Haihan's military adviser in the Kyushu Allied Forces, and the Allied Generals who report military information to the Executive Committee every three days. If he can claim not to intervene, then I'm afraid Haihan will not intervene. The definition is to directly send troops to join the war.
Moreover, Li Zhen had previously mentioned the plan to send troops to help defend the Jiuzhou participating companies in the war with the executive committee. Tsushima, as a middleman in trade between Korea and Japan, is closest to North Korea, so it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain Tsushima's consent. But at that time, the executive committee rejected his proposal on the grounds that the war situation was still unclear.
Now the Haihan people suddenly changed their minds and asked Zong Yizhen to come to him. Li Zhi couldn't help but wonder if there was some information that he didn't know.
As a guest spectator, although he could see the battle between the two armies in Kitakyushu, he also understood that there must be many interest disputes behind the scenes that he was unaware of, and Haihan had always acted with a strong purpose, so what exactly was it? What drove Haihan to change his attitude?
Seeing Li Xie being silent, Zong Yizhen thought that the other party was not satisfied with the conditions he had given, so he quickly added: "Your Majesty, after we defeat the shogunate and gain power, we will definitely give your country more preferential trade treatment. .”
Li Xie was dissatisfied with this condition in his heart. What he wanted was more than just the most favorable treatment in trade. If he wasn't afraid of Haihan's attitude, he even wanted to annex Ma Fan.
Seeing that he still didn't express his position, Zong Yizhen couldn't help but said anxiously: "If your country is really in trouble, your Majesty might as well say it directly."
Although Li Zhi had many doubts in his heart, he did not want to miss this rare opportunity to send troops, and quickly responded: "Master Zong, there is no need to worry, I am just thinking about how to arrange the deployment of troops and generals to meet the needs of Tsushima. . Since Haihan has expressed his attitude on this matter, I will naturally try my best to help.”
Zong Yi was so happy that he quickly thanked Li Xie.
However, Li Zhi was wondering whether he should talk to the executive committee again and ask what the purpose of this arrangement was.
"Purpose? The purpose is very simple. It is to take this opportunity to temper the ambitions of the North Koreans."
While Li Zhen was meeting with Zong Yizhen, Shi Diwen was explaining his thoughts to his colleagues on the executive committee: "Haven't you noticed that the North Koreans' ambitions have increased in recent years, especially when they met Japan this time? Li Zhen mentioned the opportunity of civil war to me several times, hoping to send troops to participate in the war.”
"Since he wants to fight so much, then give him a chance to show off. Tsuima Fan needs someone to help defend his home, so let the Koreans earn this favor."
Tao Donglai said: "Zong Yi is really not afraid that this will attract wolves into the house?"
Shi Diwen said: "I pulled the strings for Tsushima in this matter. The Koreans probably don't have the guts to slap me in the face. As long as this is started, if the subsequent war does not go well, Tsushima will probably be killed." North Koreans will be quietly introduced to serve as mercenaries.”