Ming Taizi's Total War

Chapter 300 Sending troops outside the pass
After cleaning up Seoul, Li Jing entertained Mo Huali and members of the mission and stayed in Seoul for a few days. A tribute from Li Zhen set off to return to the capital.

Although North Korea's army is corrupt, it was vulnerable decades ago, and even the peasant conscripts in Dongying across the sea could not beat it, but North Korea's navy is not bad.

Not only did it perform well in the War to Resist Japan and Aid Korea, but after the war, the navy also maintained a large number of ships and maintained a certain degree of training, which could barely be regarded as a regular army.

Therefore, Li Zhu sent hundreds of naval troops to drive ten warships to escort the Ming Dynasty envoy to show his respect for the Celestial Kingdom.

After landing in Jinmen, there were already eunuchs, servants, and soldiers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs waiting here, so Mo Huali didn't need to worry about apologizing or how to transport the tribute, and returned to the capital in a carriage after getting off the boat.

Zhu Cihong was very happy when he learned that Li Zhen had compensated a large amount of gold and silver treasures and killed Manchurian officers and soldiers to show his loyalty to Ming Dynasty.

Even he didn't expect that this eastern vassal state would be so loyal to Daming. After being forced to become a vassal state by Mi Qing, they sent a team of missions, and they immediately decided to return to Daming's embrace.

Although the value of North Korea's compensation and tribute was only a few hundred thousand taels of silver, for Zhu Cihong, it was an urgent need.

After all, his Son of Heaven's pro-army, as well as Jinwuwei and Wuweijun, are all waiting for the payment of military salaries and allocation of equipment.

These are the troops that Zhu Cilang wants to build into the Central Army, and they cannot be owed.

Moreover, after re-establishing formal contact with North Korea, Ming's merchant ships can trade in North Korea unimpeded.

Originally, sea trade was illegal in Ming Dynasty, but there was no other way, Zhu Ci was poor, so he had to lift the sea ban and allow merchants from all over the world to trade at sea, regardless of the region, but ships had to pay taxes when they docked in China.

Violators will confiscate the entire ship, and the sailors on board will be used as military labor, making weapons and armor for the army, building barracks and fortifications, and the owner of the ship will be directly ransacked.

After the tens of millions of taels of silver obtained by issuing bonds before, after the Battle of Tongguan and the Battle of Beijing, Zhang Yong was sent to the northwest, Gao Jie was sent south to Sichuan and Shu, and Zuo Liangyu, Huang Degong, and Liu Liangzuo were sent to Huguang to destroy Li Chuang.

The silver has been spent completely, and as for the lijin and other sources of income, it is a trickle, although it can earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver every month.

But because the Lijin Bureau is scattered all over the country, it will take a lot of effort and time to transfer it to the capital.

Right now, the only money that Zhu Cihong can control in the capital is the one million taels of silver in the internal funds, and the hundreds of thousands of gold, silver and jewelry shipped from North Korea.

But this is enough for Zhu Cihong's Jinwu Guard, Wu Wei Army, Xiao Qi Guard, Imperial Guards, and Xu Hongji's Yangtze River Navy, a total of 6 people.

Before, Zhu Cihong felt that there were only tens of thousands of relatives around him, and the number was too small, while the other armies were scattered everywhere, and the defense force of the capital was too small, so Zhu Cihong ordered Xu Hongji, the admiral of Cao Jiang, to lead the Yangtze River Navy under his command. Part of it goes north.

One is to serve as an important military force to defend the capital, and the other is to serve as Zhu Cihong's maritime force to attack Mizhou outside the pass.

Although the ships of the Yangtze River Navy are all flat-bottomed boats, which are only suitable for sailing in inland rivers without any storms, but sailing on the seaside and along the coastline, there is no danger if they do not encounter extreme weather such as typhoons.

For landing in Liaodong, it is enough to break through the defense of the Qing army outside the customs. After all, there are more than 1 people. Even if more than 1 pigs land in Liaodong, it will be enough for the people of Mizhou to work hard for a while.

After spending half a month, accumulating enough military rations for an army of [-] for three months, and collecting some fishing boats and merchant ships in Bohai Bay to help the army transfer food and supplies, Zhu Cihong decided to send troops outside the pass.

Of course, he did not forget the 2 people in Abu Nai, but the weather is getting colder now. Zhu Cihong considered that Abu Nai's troops need to return to the Chahar Grassland to help the tribal people move to a place with less wind and snow for the winter. Only soldiers and horses stopped Jierhalang, who was returning to Mite Island from thousands of miles away from Liaodong, so Zhu Cixiang ordered him to return to the Chahar grassland.

Liaodong is a good place. Although it is cold here, the terrain is flat and there are many rivers. The black soil along the coast is very fertile and it is an extremely high-quality agricultural production base.

Zhu Cihong knew that in later generations, Liaodong became an important commodity grain base in China, exporting a large amount of staple grain every year, feeding many people in southern China.

But now, due to the fact that the military aristocrats in Mite Island enclose land and keep slaves, it has caused great damage to this place, so today's Liaodong is not a treasure land that can export a large amount of food.

It is a bitterly cold place where it is difficult to even feed the nobles of Mizhou and the Eight Banners.

Because during the Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen years, the Qing Dynasty gradually encroached on Liaodong and completely expelled the power of the Han court from here.

During the war, a large number of Han farmers died, and many lands were abandoned.

In the later rule, because of the cruel and benevolent rule of the Qing Dynasty and the ineffective management of the people of Mizhou, a large number of Han slaves rose up, either fled to the pass, or bravely resisted the people of Mizhou.

This in turn led to a large population reduction. Even if the aristocrats of Mitezhou returned from plundering the population many times, it would be difficult to restore the economy here.

If Liaodong wants to reach the grand stage of the mid-Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that it can only be achieved after the historical event of later generations breaking into Guandong occurs.

However, with the sudden birth of Zhu Cihong, it may not take long for Liaodong to return to its previous grandeur.

As long as the environment is suitable and the basic living materials can be guaranteed, the reproduction speed of human beings is very fast.

This is why the population of the Central Plains decreases to about tens of millions every time there is a war, and after the day is peaceful, the population will reach tens of millions within a few decades.

The [-] army was divided into land and water routes. Among them, Zhu Cihong personally led more than [-] land troops. They set off from the capital and passed through Shanhaiguan. The first goal was Jinzhou.

The waterway army, led by Xu Hongji, the admiral of Caojiang, drove along the coastline to the vicinity of the Liaodong Peninsula, and then captured Gaizhouwei and Jinzhouwei.

After Zhu Cihong left the city, thanks to the good supply status, coupled with the large number of cavalry guards and imperial bodyguards as scouts, the army's reconnaissance range is very wide, and a large number of infantry only need to bury their heads and walk.

Therefore, the marching speed is quite fast, and they can walk a full fifty miles a day.

You must know that the Ming army was walking in the area occupied by the enemy, and there were no roads, and the soldiers all relied on a pair of iron feet, without any tools to use.

(End of this chapter)