Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Defrauding and the United Nations Army

Let's say that Jin Yingnan got the opportunity from Li Yan face-to-face and traveled all the way to Liaodong.According to the plan, Jin Yingnan planned to collect information in Liaodong to see if Daming knew about Japan.It didn't matter if he asked about it, his face turned green from fright. It turned out that since this year, there have been strange rumors spreading around Liaodong, saying that the Japanese devils are going to invade Daming, and the Koreans are going to serve as puppet soldiers for the devils.Officials and scholars laughed at these rumors, but ordinary people don't understand, they believe what the rumors say, and the more they spread, the more mysterious they become.

Once, when a Korean prince visited China, he brought a total of ten sedan chairs and happily crossed the Yalu River.I don’t know who yelled that the North Korean army invaded. The people in the eight stations near the Yalu River were frightened overnight. There are stranger stories than this.According to folklore, a North Korean envoy went to Beijing to pay tribute, and stayed at a family surnamed He in Jinshishan on his return journey.The translator of the North Korean envoy said to the host: "You have three or five years of good wine, so hurry up and drink it." The host asked why, and the translator showed an inscrutable smile: "After a while, the North Korean army will kill you." Come here, when the time comes, even if you have the life to collect it, you don’t have the life to drink it.” (Later, this story spread back to North Korea, when the king of North Korea heard it, he was furious, and in order to prove his innocence, he killed many innocent translators. No disaster.)

This story is so provocative that people can't help but believe it.Rumors like this spread all over Liaodong.The origin of these rumors is unknown.But if you think about it carefully, the series of big moves Japan made for the war cannot be kept secret.The passing sea merchants, postmen, and fugitive artisans, too many people have the opportunity to perceive the coming cloud of war. These people are not as enlightened as Empress Xu Yi, so they may not report to the court, but they will always tell their doubts and fears to the people around them.This kind of gossip is extremely valuable for spreading, and once it is passed on to ten, ten to hundreds, it soon becomes a well-known secret throughout the country.What was the legend of Liaodong at that time? "The people of Liao suspected that North Korea had different ambitions, so they had a lot of love and confusion." The commotion was about to explode, causing headaches for the local government and the garrison.

To make matters worse, not only Liaodong, but even Beijing began to become suspicious of North Korea. Since Chen Shen and Su Ba’s reports on the Japanese invasion arrived in Beijing (Xu Baoyi’s report was still on the way), the cabinet quickly came up with countermeasures, instructing border guards from Tianjin to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian to reorganize the troops. To do this, strictly prepare coastal defenses—because based on the experience of Japanese pirate attacks in the past, Ming officials believed that the Japanese should land directly from the coast. After arranging domestic affairs, the Ming officials suddenly thought of a very crucial issue: In the reports of Chen Shen and Su Ba, both of them mentioned Japan's invasion concept—driving Korea as a pioneer.

North Korea is a vassal of Ming Dynasty, if it defected to Japan and attacked Liaodong together, it would be a very serious political event. And North Korea's actions really made Daming feel uneasy.Japan's wolfish ambitions are well known to everyone, even the local overseas Chinese and the Ryukyu Kingdom have written a letter to report. How come North Korea, which has always been the most loyal and diligent, has not said a word this time, and did not immediately report the enemy's situation to the Celestial Dynasty? The officials of the Ming Dynasty were a little bit guilty, could it be that the Koreans and the Japanese really colluded.

Regarding this question, Xu Guo, a university scholar, stood up and said that it was impossible. I know North Korea very well, and it has always been friendly to China. I would not do such a stupid thing.So the Ministry of War sent a message to the capital of Liaodong, asking them to ask what happened to the Koreans. After receiving the official document, the officials of Liaodong Capital Division were not surprised but overjoyed, and slapped their thighs fiercely. It can be said that they have found the root of the rumor!They immediately moved to Seoul and sent out inquiries in a harsh tone.

When Jin Yingnan arrived in Liaodong, he happened to catch up with the messenger of the Liaodong capital who was leaving for Seoul with official documents. Jin Yingnan saw that this Ming Dynasty was full of hostility towards North Korea from top to bottom, and he was extremely terrified.He remembered Li Yan's advice before departure, saying that if Daming already knew about the Japanese invasion, he would quickly set up the banner of reporting Japanese affairs, thinking that the Lord was really good at predicting things, so he quickly raised the North Korean envoy's flag, and it was bright and bright. Go forward along the post road.

Don't mention the hardships along the way... The Li Dynasty has been in existence for two hundred years, and the envoys have never encountered such inhuman treatment.No matter where the car battle goes, as long as someone finds out that they are North Korean envoys, they will either be looked down upon, or they will throw vegetables, melons and fruits indiscriminately, like a bereaved dog. With a bruised nose and a swollen face, Jin Yingnan finally reached the Shanhaiguan Pass, but he almost didn't go in.Seeing that they were Koreans, the common people in the gate pointed their noses and scolded: "Didn't you vote for the devils as the Imperial Army? Have the nerve to come here?"

Jin Yingnan saw that it was not an option to go on like this.The Liaodong people are already so hostile. When the mission arrives in Beijing, maybe they will be pushed out and beheaded right away?He asked Hong Chunyan, the translator, to discuss. Hong Chunyan said that I am very familiar with Yu Shen, a scholar of the cabinet, Xu Guo, or I should rush to Beijing first, and try to get on the line of Mr. Xu Ge. There are people in the court, and we It's easy to talk. This suggestion was a timely help. Jin Yingnan was overjoyed, and hurriedly prepared a letter, asking Hong Chunyan to rush to the capital first.When Jin Yingnan reached Tongzhou, Yu Shen had already come out to greet him in person.Yu Shen said that now there are people in Fujian and Zhejiang who report that Er and others are connected to the Japanese, and Mr. Xu Ge insists that there is no rebellion in North Korea, and has been waiting for you to send envoys.You are finally here now, but don't pretend that nothing happened, or you will sell my family, Mr. Xu.

Jin Yingnan's tears were about to flow down at that time, and he finally met a good person after being on the mission for so long. On August 10th, Jin Yingnan finally met Emperor Wanli, and he confided all his bitterness and grievances, and reenacted how North Korea insisted on integrity and how it resisted Japanese pirates' coercion and temptation in the past two years.After listening, Emperor Wanli was very happy, and the ministers also breathed a sigh of relief, the suspicion was cleared, and the court was full of joy. The Ministry of Rites took the opportunity to come up and said that North Korea, like Ryukyu, took the initiative to report the Japanese situation, and they should try their best to reward them.Wanli waved his hand: "Big reward!"

Jin Yingnan breathed a sigh of relief, this time he finally fulfilled his mission, and was ready to kneel down to receive the reward.The poor North Korean envoy never thought that this reward was completely beyond his imagination. Emperor Wanli first rewarded the platinum silk silk segment, which is a common practice.Jin Yingnan also received extra rewards for his meritorious service.It's all good. Then the emperor smiled and said to Jin Yingnan: "The Japanese are hateful, they must be punished. Go back and tell your king that we have prepared two allies for him. The three of you will join forces to attack and destroy the Japanese kingdom." Jin Yingnan shuddered when he heard this, and almost lay down on the ground.Others may not know the strength of North Korea's military, but he knows it very well—it is barely enough to guard the house, and if you really want to cross the sea to fight the Japanese pirates, it is purely for nothing.He thought about it, and the Emperor Ming said that he still had two allies who might be counted on, so he quickly listened. Emperor Wanli smiled and revealed the mystery. Of the two allies, one is the Ryukyu Kingdom and the other is the Siamese Kingdom. Jin Yingnan didn't spit out a mouthful of blood, this surprise is too big! Ryukyu is a land that is a little bigger than the palm of your hand, and it is lonely overseas, so you can't count on it at all; Siam is now Thailand, and the country is still a big country. I don't know how the army is. I just know that they are very good in single-handed fights, but that is too far away. It's... It's better to wash up and go to bed early if you expect these two brothers to fight back against Japan together. Jin Yingnan wanted to die at the time, and he didn't know how Emperor Wanli came up with such an idea. Fortunately, Wanli did not force Jin Yingnan to find Siam to borrow troops. The tone of this decree was to discuss, and it was only a suggestion that North Korea "to tie Ryukyu and Siam", not a rigid rule.So Jin Yingnan had no choice but to thank God first, and then quickly wrote a letter to report to Seoul, asking them to send another person as soon as possible, so as to end the matter anyway, so as not to cause complications. It has always been an unsolved mystery why Wanli suddenly had the idea of ​​letting North Korea join forces with Siam and Ryukyu.Wanli has always had a good attitude towards Siam. In the fourth year of Wanli, when the Ryukyu king paid tribute, Wanli specially called the envoys of Ryukyu, Siam and North Korea together, and gave a lot of extra rewards.This is an honor that other envoys cannot enjoy. Emperor Wanli probably thought of the scene of the gathering of envoys from the Three Kingdoms at that time, so he had such a bizarre idea. To be fair, although Siam is a small country, its technical ability is not low. They are very good at making firearms-because after the Portuguese entered Asia, they first stayed in Siam, and advanced gun manufacturing technology was also passed there.Siam made guns earlier than the imitation of Fran's machine guns in Ming Dynasty. Even Japan imported large firearms from Siam.Moreover, Siam's navigation skills are not bad, and the reputation of Siamese pirates is quite influential in Guangdong and Guangxi. Such a small and powerful country, if it is not too far away from North Korea, is really a good choice to resist Japanese pirates. While Jin Yingnan was on his way to Beijing, Seoul also received a message from the Liaodong capital.Seeing the harsh wording in the message, Li Yan and his ministers were in constant panic, hoping that Jin Yingnan could act accordingly and explain the matter clearly in Beijing. Fortunately, Jin Yingnan did not disgrace his mission and cleared North Korea's suspicion in Beijing.After receiving Jin Yingnan's reply, all the ministers from the king Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but they frowned again when they saw Emperor Wanli's proposal to join forces with Korea, Ryukyu, and Siam. The bloody facts tell us that the words of the leader may be serious, or they may be a joke, but the people below must all act as one thing, otherwise, if the judgment is wrong, catastrophe will be imminent.When Wanli said this, he might not have taken it seriously, but if North Korea just ignored it and laughed it off, it might cause trouble at some point. what to do?They can only formally send envoys and solemnly decline the leadership's concern. No way, Li Yan could only send another envoy, Li Yuren, to make a special trip to decline the joint troops in Siam and Ryukyu. Just as Li Yuren left, Li Yan slapped his head and forgot about an important event!The inquiry letter from the Liaodong capital has not yet been formally answered!Although the imperial court knew about Japanese affairs, the rumors that North Korea communicated with Japanese people had to be formally defended.When Li Yuren was about to leave, he was only told to decline to join the army, and he didn't accept the task of defending false accusations. The North Koreans did not take the trouble, and on October 26 they sent another Chen Zuo envoy, Han Yingyin, to Beijing to defend against the slander. This "false defense" is a special term in North Korea.North Korea is a vassal state of China. The most feared thing on weekdays is not the collapse of the sky, but the anger of the upper country. Therefore, once there is any disagreement between the two countries, North Korea will quickly send someone to explain it, which is called "debate." For example, Li Chenggui, the founding monarch of the Lee Dynasty of North Korea, the Ming Dynasty always thought that this person was of mixed Chinese and even Mongolian blood, and he solemnly wrote it into official documents.The Koreans quit and did not dare to protest directly, so they sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to conduct a "clan defense" to return Li Chenggui's pure Korean blood.Therefore, the North Koreans are very familiar with the matter of "debating false accusations". Han Yingyin, who "defended the false accusation", walked forward, and Jin Yingnan came back.He gave a detailed account of the situation in Ming Dynasty, including the Japanese memorials in Chenshen, Suba, Ryukyu and other places. Only then did the small Korean court understand how detailed Ming's understanding of Japanese pirates was.After thinking about it, Li Yan thought it was impossible. North Korea is the closest to Japan, and Ryukyu has reported the Japanese situation. If we don't come up with some quality information about Japanese pirates, it really can't be justified. Han Yingyin made a special trip to defend the case, and no task was assigned to him.So Li Yan didn't bother, and sent another envoy named Shen Dian to gather all the information on Japanese pirates that North Korea could collect, and report it to the Celestial Dynasty. Reading the history so far, I can’t help feeling a sentence: Messengers traveling between Seoul and Beijing, you have worked really hard... One more sentence of emotion: "Student Li Yan, is there anything you can't say in one sitting? It was October 17th when Li Yuren, who was in charge of the task of "declining to join forces", arrived in Beijing.He said sincerely, "Siam Ryukyu, a small country, only heard that its country is in the South China Sea, far away and suspended, boats and ships are impassable, and the distance is unknown. Where is Fang Wei, and I have no chance to send a voice now." The translation is as follows: In a word: "We can't find these two places, let alone ask others to help us." After hearing this, Wanli was not angry, but comforted her.The Korean breathed a sigh of relief, before closing his mouth, Wanli said again: "Ryukyu and Siam can't make it, let's change to another boxing helper." Li Yuren's beads of sweat were about to fall off. Daming really treated North Korea preferentially. The Siamese and Ryukyu alliance had just been disbanded, and the imperial court found another ally for North Korea without stopping. Fortunately, the ally this time is more reliable than those two, called Portugal. To be precise, the Portuguese in Macau. As for the fighting power of the Portuguese, Ming had already experienced it in the Tuen Mun naval battle at the end of Zhengde.Although the Portuguese were defeated in that battle, their advanced and sharp firearms also left a deep impression on Daming.After vigorous promotion by famous ministers Wang Hung, Qi Jiguang and others, Frangji has become a brand of weapons and is widely used in Ming army equipment. It is not without precedent to find a Portuguese for help.In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, the Portuguese organized a fleet to go to Ningbo, Zhejiang, and wiped out the pirate Lin Jian; in the second year of Longqing, Zeng Yiben, a pirate on the sea, planned to besiege Guangzhou, but was beaten away by the Portuguese in Macau.These two battles greatly stimulated the officials of the Ming Dynasty. People at the time commented that "Falangji, full of swords and barbarians, the nature is rough, and the weapons are sharp, especially above the Japanese slaves." They can fight more than the Japanese. . So this time when the Japanese Rebellion broke out, it was natural for Daming to think of the Portuguese. It was the idea of ​​Liu Jiwen, the Minister of Guangdong and Guangxi, to send troops to the Portuguese.Liu Jiwen's idea is quite grand, with only six words "capture, cut off and sacrifice in vain", let the Portuguese rely on the strength of their ships and guns, go straight to Japan, capture the leader of the thief, and come to Beijing to offer victory. Emperor Wanli felt that the idea was good, so he raised his mouth with the North Korean envoy and ordered the local officials to contact him immediately. Liu Jiwen went to negotiate with the Portuguese, but the Portuguese ignored him at all.These Europeans all came across the ocean for business, so they wouldn't do such stupid things.It is one thing to destroy pirates, but it is another thing to intervene in a war between two countries.The Portuguese are all businessmen, counting on doing business between China and Japan and strictly adhering to neutrality.If he sent troops to help Daming this time, he would not be able to mess around in Japan in the future. But the Portuguese are also quite interesting.As early as two years ago, Hideyoshi wanted to buy a large Portuguese warship. When they inquired, it turned out that this ship was to be used against Ming Dynasty, so they hastily rejected the request. After the Portuguese businessman refused, Daming completely stopped thinking about joining forces.The North Koreans also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the matter has been settled and there will be no repetitions.Next, Han Yingyin and Shen Dian rushed to the capital one after another, defending false accusations, and notifying them, the emperor was naturally very happy, and he did not hesitate to reward them. As for Siam, Ryukyu, Portugal, etc., they were also caught after a few banquets. Forget about the people... If all these allies that Emperor Wanli sought for North Korea come true, then we can see that on the Korean Peninsula in 1592 A.D., there will be a United Nations army from the East.This United Nations army includes a series of countries or political forces such as Ming Dynasty, North Korea, Siam, Ryukyu, Portugal, and Jianzhou Jurchen (strictly speaking, they are the Ming army at this time). Why was Daming so eager to find allies for the North Koreans?This is determined by the strategic thinking we mentioned in the first chapter. In Daming's eyes, North Korea and Japan are all barbarians, but one is obedient and the other is disobedient.No matter how big a foreign matter is, it is a difficult matter. For Ming Dynasty, the Korean peninsula is not a strategic center of gravity, and it is impossible to use the army of the Celestial Dynasty. Daming's blood can't be shed for some small countries, at most help call a few foreign thugs over - this is still in view of North Korea's always submissive face. After these potential allies died one by one, Daming even considered simply letting North Korea send troops to destroy Japan alone.In February of the 20th year of Wanli, the Ministry of War proposed a battle plan, saying that the Koreans must be very resentful for being slandered by the Japanese pirates. Why not let them send troops to fight Japan while they are passionate and popular? One thousand, say ten thousand, Daming just doesn't intend to use troops for foreign countries. Emperor Wanli probably had some understanding of North Korea's reality, and he did not agree with the plan of the Ministry of War. He only ordered North Korea to collect intelligence on Japan.It can be seen that the Ming court has a clear understanding of North Korea's loyalty and actual capabilities... Historians of later generations have been criticizing Daming for being careless before the outbreak of the Imjin War. This accusation is unfair. Future generations live in a world where Japan plays a very important role in the world.But from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty in the sixteenth century, Japan was just a small and wild country, and occasionally caused some small troubles such as Japanese pirates, which could not even shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.The affairs of Ming Dynasty itself are quite numerous, so there is no need to pay too much attention to the unreliable ambitions of a remote island country. Moreover, all kinds of evidence tell us that Daming did not take the Japanese policemen's frequent calls lightly. The governors of Zhejiang and Fujian, Chang Jujing and Zhao Canlu, began to build new warships, recruit sailors, and add various new types of firearms as early as after submitting the information to the Japanese police. These preparations were not in vain. A few years later, these fleets played a key role in the war-Zhejiang even moved the capital of the Chinese army to Yangzhou, and moved the Xuzhou General's camp to Huai'an, putting on a posture as if facing the enemy. Other coastal areas, such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, and Tianjin, also repaired their war preparations one after another. The imperial court issued two consecutive texts within three months, reminding the frontier generals and local officials to be more vigilant. It can be seen that these strategic deployments of Ming Dynasty are all based on a major premise: "The Japanese pirates crossed the sea and went straight to Zhejiang and Fujian." This was the standard route for Japanese pirates to invade China in the past few decades, so when the news came that Hideyoshi was about to invade, Daming's first reaction was to explore the coast, for fear that a large number of Japanese pirates would come across the ocean and break into the heart of China. In an official document sent by the Ministry of War to various places, it is clearly proposed to "block foreign countries with distant sentries" and keep the enemy out of the country. This is the strategic policy that has been traced for many years against Japanese pirates.Over the years, the Japanese pirates have always harassed the southeast coast, advancing furiously as soon as they landed, and then retreated immediately after the place was corrupted.The best way to deal with this kind of bandits is to build a dense coastal defense, trying to wipe out the enemy on the bow and shore, so as not to harm the village. It can be seen that Daming was not unprepared, but based on the traditional experience of fighting Japanese in the past, it focused its strategy on the coast. As for whether the Japanese will go overland from North Korea, there is no need to worry about this. The North Koreans have already clarified the misunderstanding.Their hearts are toward the Celestial Empire, and they will not be guides for the Japanese.Even if the Japanese really start fighting, there are North Koreans in front of them. Therefore, in the Liaodong area, which is crucial in the future, Daming did not make any adjustments - in fact, there is really no need to make any deployments. The Liaodong area of ​​the Ming Dynasty has been in a state of war all year round, and the forces with Mongolia and other border tribes are basically fighting with each other every March. There has been a big fight in half a year, and it has never stopped. A complete defense system has already been formed. So it is understandable for the Ming Dynasty to think and do so. But the strangest thing is that even the North Koreans have such a mentality, which is very confusing. It really deserves the name of "Little China". The envoys of North Korea succeeded in defending their false accusations, and were encouraged by the Son of Heaven. They returned to Seoul triumphantly one after another, promoted to ranks, and the monarchs and ministers enjoyed themselves from top to bottom.Until the start of the war, the only preparation Li Chao made was to send three ministers to inspect Gyeongsang-do, under the guise of rearranging armaments and building fortresses. As for the actual effect, only God knows. This kind of mentality of sitting on the stove without realizing it will lead to big troubles sooner or later. As a result, a major event really happened, and it was not too late, it was very early.