Zheng Mingshou made a rough estimate and found that there were at least five thousand taels of silver in the box.
It was already a lot for him.
As the saying goes, taking money from others can help you avoid disaster.
Since he accepted benefits from the King of Korea, he had to solve the problem for the other party.
Otherwise the other party won’t send it next time.
Zheng Mingshou cleared his throat with a light cough and said in a condescending tone: "Since the Korean people are also in trouble, I will submit a petition to the emperor to request less military rations."
Li Hao quickly thanked him: "Thank you, Lord Zheng, for your help!"
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then Zheng Mingshou stood up to say goodbye.
Before leaving, he whispered to Li Hao, "Can we gather 50,000 dan of grain?"
"Yes! Yes!" Li Hao said the word "yes" twice in a row.
Compared with the previous 100,000 shi of grain, the task was directly halved.
That's great.
Zheng Mingshou continued, "Then prepare 50,000 dan of grain in advance. The emperor usually won't reject my memorials."
"Thank you, Lord Zheng!" Li Hao thanked him again.
Zheng Mingshou nodded and asked his followers to carry the silver and leave with him.
After watching Zheng Mingshou go away, King Yi Hao of Joseon immediately said to the people around him: "Urgently summon the governor of Gyeonggi Defense Office, Yeonseong Prince Yi Sibang to the palace."
Before the guard who delivered the message left, someone outside came to report: "Your Majesty, Lord Yancheng Li Shifang wants to see you."
"Let him in now."
The king and his minister met in a side hall of Changdeok Palace.
Seeing Li Hao's bitter and resentful look, Li Shifang bowed and asked, "Why is the master so depressed?"
(Lord is the name given to the King of Korea by the Korean subjects.)
Li Hao pointed to the north and said, "The Tartars sent envoys to demand 100,000 shi of grain. After much persuasion and bribery, I was exempted from the temporary payment of 50,000 shi of grain. The remaining 50,000 shi must be prepared and sent to the Eight Banners camp within half a month, otherwise we will have to fight."
(Tartar is the name given to the Jiannu in Korea.)
Li Shifang asked: "What does the master mean?"
Li Hao replied: "I mean to ask how sure you are!"
"What are you sure of?"
"Of course, we have the confidence to defeat the Tartars."
Li Shifang counted on his fingers for a long time before slowly answering: "I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it."
"Just say whatever you want to say, no need to hide it."
Li Shifang took a deep breath: "There is almost no chance of winning."
Li Hao was silent for a long time before he asked, "I remember that the Gyeonggi Defense Office has 30,000 elite soldiers, while the Tartars have only more than 10,000. How come there is no chance of winning?"
Li Shifang explained: "The Tartars do have only more than 10,000 people, but almost all of them are cavalry, and all of them are wearing armor. The 30,000 people in the Capital Defense Office are all infantry. Although they have many firearms, less than 30% of them are wearing armor! If they are attacking or defending a city, they can still fight. If it is a field battle, I am afraid they will be defeated in a hail of arrows."
"Even if we win the field battle, our infantry won't be able to catch up with the Tatar cavalry and won't be able to expand our victory."
This is the embarrassment of infantry fighting cavalry.
Even if we win, we cannot catch up and expand our victory.
If you lose the battle, you can't escape and will be hunted down by the enemy's cavalry.
Li Hao said helplessly: "Sending food to the Tartars is like carrying firewood to put out a fire. If the firewood is not exhausted, the fire will not be extinguished!"
Li Shifang asked: "What does the master mean?"
"It's the same thing again."
"What does your lord want to ask?"
Li Hao glared at him and said, "Of course it's about submitting to the Ming Dynasty!"
"Ah!" Li Shifang sighed: "The envoy just returned, and he said that the Ming Dynasty still refuses to accept our surrender."
Li Hao was very disappointed and said, "Why...why is this? Why don't you accept our surrender? Does His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty like war?"
"Definitely not!" Li Shifang shook his head and denied, "If they liked fighting, the main force of the Ping Liao army would have entered North Korea to fight long ago. But they didn't, instead they stationed troops on the border and kept harassing."
"Could it be..." Li Hao looked up at the top of the palace: "Is the Ming Dynasty waiting for the right time to turn Korea into one of their provinces? If that's the case, I'll accept it. Being a prince of the Ming Dynasty is better than being a dog of the Tartars!"
Li Shifang lowered his voice and said, "My Lord, don't think too much about it. The situation in the Ming Dynasty is more complicated than we know."
"What's going on?"
"According to the envoy who just returned from the Ming Dynasty, the people of the capital are spreading the rumor that the Ming Emperor is ill."
Li Hao was stunned: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is ill? Is the news true?"
Li Shifang nodded: "This news is not groundless! His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty has not attended court for more than a month, and he also urgently summoned the imperial physician to the palace late at night one day, so the people of the capital are spreading the news that His Majesty is ill."
"Sick..." Li Hao was horrified: "You can't be sick! We are about to completely destroy the Tartars. If His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming is really sick, the army that is pacifying Liao will be affected or even retreat. In this way, the Tartars will be able to breathe a sigh of relief and get through the current crisis."
Li Shifang didn't know how to answer and could only stand there without saying anything.
Whether Chongzhen was sick or not was not something he could control.
After a while, Li Hao gritted his teeth and said, "There is a hundred-year-old ginseng in the palace. Send the envoy to Ming Dynasty again with the ginseng and be sure to give it to His Majesty."
"I obey your command." Li Shifang turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait," Li Hao stopped him again, "When you go back, prepare 50,000 shi of grain and fodder, and send it to the Tartars when the time comes. We should not anger the Tartars unless it is absolutely necessary."
"Yes." Li Shifang bowed and said goodbye.
On the first day of October in the twenty-fifth year of Chongzhen, Jiazhou, Hamgyong Province, Korea.
In the Eight Banners camp, Dorgon sat by the brazier and warmed himself by the fire.
Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng stood on his left, and Wu Sangui stood on his right.
Suksaha was guarding the door, seemingly on guard against something.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Wu Sangui knelt down and said, "My original intention was to lure the Ming army deep into our territory, and then set up an ambush to kill them. Unfortunately, my soldiers lost their fighting spirit after seeing the Ming army, and surrendered one after another. My plan failed, and I can only withdraw."
Dorgon gritted his teeth and asked, "How many troops were lost?"
Wu Sangui was hesitant and didn't dare to say it out loud.
Suksaha said, "Your Majesty, the King of Pingxi led 3,000 soldiers and horses when he went to war, but when he returned, he had less than 2,000 men left."
Dorgon was a little surprised: "More than a thousand people were lost?"
"almost."
Dorgon originally planned to reprimand him, but after thinking it over he felt that it was pointless.
After entering North Korea, soldiers were deserting every day.
Wu Sangui's men were running, and the Manchu, Mongolian and Han Eight Banners soldiers were also running.
The current Qing Dynasty’s top leaders have no goals.
The middle class sees no hope.
The lower-level soldiers cannot get enough to eat.
It would be strange if he didn't run.
Dorgon patted Wu Sangui on the shoulder and said: "Although the King of Pingxi suffered a defeat, his loyalty is commendable. Keep up the good work!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wu Sangui knelt down and kowtowed again.
Just when Wu Sangui was about to leave, Shang Kexi walked in with a smile on his face.
As he walked, he shouted: "Good news, good news!"
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