Zhu Youjian had already inquired with Gao Qingyun and learned that historically, the Jurchens first dealt with Goryeo, thus stabilizing their rear.
This gave them the capacity to continuously invade the Ming Dynasty.
However, there are still some issues regarding the Ming Dynasty's officials and soldiers.
If they side with the imperial court, they are nothing but chickens and dogs; but if they surrender to the Jurchens and become Green Standard Army soldiers, they instantly transform into Gundams.
However, the fighting strength of the Goryeo army was very stable.
He was useless under the Goryeo court, and he wasn't much better off under the Jurchens.
Therefore, even if the Jurchens conquered Goryeo, they would not gain much strength; at most, they would only have more food.
Moreover, Zhu Youjian also learned that Goryeo had been frequently hit by disasters in recent years, and the Jurchens would not be able to plunder much grain.
"Therefore, Goryeo is not worth my full efforts to save."
“Over the past few months, the new Beijing garrison has been gradually set up. With another year or two of training, they will be completely transformed.”
"It's really not worth fighting the Jurchens at this time."
But Zhu Youjian also knew that if he really turned a blind eye to Goryeo, there would definitely be discussions about it both in and out of the court.
"Alright, let me discuss this with the Minister of War first."
Zhu Youjian ordered someone to summon Yuan Chonghuan.
Before the emperor could speak, Yuan Chonghuan interjected, "Your Majesty, great news!"
Zhu Youjian was taken aback.
"What's the joy about?"
Yuan Chonghuan had a big smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, I have already heard about the Jurchens' attack on Goryeo."
"If the Jurchens can't even defeat Goryeo, doesn't that mean their fighting strength has declined drastically?"
"This is naturally a cause for great joy!"
Zhu Youjian nodded outwardly, but inwardly shook his head.
"Now I finally understand how Yuan Chonghuan met his downfall in history."
"Given how much he likes to be wishful, it would be strange if things didn't go wrong!"
In Zhu Youjian's view, although the Jurchens' attack on Goryeo was not very successful, it was probably not because the Jurchens' fighting strength had declined.
It was purely because the Jurchens were short of supplies, or perhaps the newly enthroned Hauge wanted to take the opportunity to win more battles.
He wanted to use his military achievements to solidify his position.
After all, if the Jurchens could quickly capture the capital of Goryeo, other places would surrender without resistance.
That wouldn't showcase Hauge's abilities.
However, Yuan Chonghuan misunderstood these things and actually thought that the Jurchens were already on their last legs.
Zhu Youjian sighed inwardly, "Fortunately, I summoned him back from Liaodong!"
Just then, Yuan Chonghuan said again:
"Although the Jurchens have learned many of our Ming Dynasty's systems, in the end, they are still barbarians from the grasslands."
"Its rise was swift, and its fall was sudden."
“From the time I started my rebellion, the Jurchens have been prosperous for twenty or thirty years, and it’s truly time for them to come to an end!”
Yuan Chonghuan raised his head and looked at the emperor with burning eyes.
"Your Majesty, this is truly a godsend!"
"While the Jurchen army is trapped in Goryeo, the imperial court can send a large army eastward out of Shanhaiguan to directly recover Liaodong!"
After hearing this, Zhu Youjian gave Yuan Chonghuan a disapproving look.
"Minister Yuan, with war raging and danger lurking, isn't your suggestion utterly ridiculous?"
In fact, Zhu Youjian was young and impetuous, and not a very conservative person.
But he disliked Yuan Chonghuan, which is why he said that.
Yuan Chonghuan shook his head dismissively.
"Your Majesty, what danger is there?"
"The Jurchens have declined; that's an obvious fact."
Seeing that Yuan Chonghuan kept talking about this matter, Zhu Youjian was already starting to regret calling him over.
He could only wave his hand and say, "Sending troops to Liaodong again is a matter of great importance."
"Alright, tomorrow I will summon several important ministers, and then I will also have Li Ruolian and Qin Liangyu come."
"Let's discuss it together and then decide."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Chonghuan could only nod and say, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
He bowed to Zhu Youjian and then quickly walked out.
When he arrived outside the hall, he took a deep breath, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Unexpectedly, although His Majesty did not adopt my strategy for pacifying Liaodong over the past five years, the Jurchens themselves could not persevere!"
Yuan Chonghuan became happier the more he thought about it.
"His Majesty may truly possess a destiny bestowed upon him!"
Just then, he heard a crying sound coming from afar.
Yuan Chonghuan frowned: "At such a joyous time, who is still wailing in the palace?"
The young eunuch standing nearby overheard the question and quickly replied:
"Lord Yuan, these are envoys from Goryeo outside."
Yuan Chonghuan immediately understood.
"Heh, is this some kind of imitation of Shen Baoxu?"
He shook his head.
"This Goryeo is truly hopeless!"
Yuan Chonghuan instinctively wanted to leave, but before he could take a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
"Wait a minute, the emperor clearly doesn't trust me much now. Even if he really wants to send troops to recover Liaodong, he's unlikely to let me lead the troops again."
"But I'm a little unwilling to accept this!"
Regardless of whether Yuan Chonghuan had any shady dealings with the Jurchens in history, he is now undoubtedly a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty.
He definitely wanted a share of the credit for quelling the Jurchen rebellion.
Since it's a frontal battlefield, the emperor certainly wouldn't let him go there.
If I could get a chance to lead from the sidelines, that would be great.
“Once the imperial army leaves the pass, the Jurchens will definitely want to withdraw their troops from Goryeo after receiving the news.”
"But if someone can tie down the Jurchen troops and prevent them from quickly advancing north, that would be a great achievement!"
The more Yuan Chonghuan thought about it, the more reliable the idea seemed.
"I will go back and write a memorial, volunteering to lead troops to aid Goryeo!"
Without hesitation, he immediately returned to his residence and wrote a memorial to the throne that very night.
The memorial detailed everything, from how many troops the court would send to how the army would fight the Jurchens after entering Goryeo.
The next day, Yuan Chonghuan, with dark circles under his eyes, excitedly went to pay his respects to Zhu Youjian.
"Your Majesty, this is a memorial I wrote overnight."
Yuan Chonghuan was the last to arrive. Before him, civil officials such as Qian Qianyi, as well as military generals such as Li Ruolian and Qin Liangyu, had already arrived at the palace.
They were all curious when they heard Yuan Chonghuan's words.
"Lord Yuan, the imperial court has not yet decided to attack Liaodong. What kind of memorial is this?"
Yuan Chonghuan smiled slightly: "Of course, it's a memorial to resist the Jurchens and support Goryeo!"
He looked at Zhu Youjian, only to find a strange expression on the young emperor's face.
"Uh...supporting Korea?"
Zhu Youjian's eyebrows twitched a few times, and he subconsciously asked, "Lord Yuan, please tell me in detail."
Yuan Chonghuan thought the emperor was also interested, so he quickly spoke up.
"Your Majesty, regardless of whether the court sends troops to Liaodong or not, it cannot stand idly by and watch the Jurchens swallow Goryeo whole!"
"Therefore, I believe that we must send troops across the sea to support the Goryeo dynasty of the Yi family."
Upon hearing Yuan Chonghuan's words, the expressions of those present varied.
Li Ruolian and Qin Liangyu both nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with Yuan Chonghuan's statement.
Qian Qianyi remained noncommittal.
As for Zhou Yanru, he carefully watched Zhu Youjian's expression.
Seeing that Zhu Youjian had been pondering for a moment and then showed a displeased expression, he immediately stood up.
"Lord Yuan, your suggestion is good, but it has a big problem."
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