Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 990 Exam Questions
"In your opinion, what will the situation in North Korea be like in the future?" Zhu Shenzhui asked the prince.

Zhu Minlan thought for a moment and replied, "From the current perspective, the chaos in Korea is getting worse and worse, but Korea is far less powerful than Jiannu. If Jiannu continues to send troops to Korea and concentrates its strength to break through Pyeongan Province first, Li Yu may find it difficult to resist."

"Although Li Yu is a member of the Joseon royal family, he does not have much military talent. Moreover, his title of Grand Marshal is only nominal. He has no real power in the Joseon army, and he does not have reliable personnel. Most of the troops he is currently commanding are former Joseon local troops, including the Joseon righteous army that rebelled because of the oppression of the Jiannu. These people are not of the same kind. It is good enough for Li Yu to be able to barely command these groups by force."

"Haha, you don't think highly of Li Yu? He is now known as the wise king in Korea and is very popular!" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

Zhu Minlan shook his head and said, "If it is just a virtuous king, Li Yu can barely be called a virtuous king, but being a virtuous king does not mean that he is capable of doing things. Li Yu has a special status, and Li Jong did not like him very much when he was in power. Otherwise, he would not have lived in Pyeongan Province for many years and was adopted as a prince by Yi Anjun."

"I have learned about Li Yu. Although he is passionate, he is just a Confucian scholar. He has no foundation in the Joseon court. Although he has a good reputation, he has no talent. Although he is raising the banner of rebellion, it is actually just a name."

"Moreover, the political situation in Korea is different from that in the Ming Dynasty. The civil and military officials of Korea are all from the Yangban nobility. These people have complicated relationships with local aristocratic families. The political situation is more similar to the system of pre-Qin China. The nobles and local forces are powerful, and there are many military leaders in the army. Whether they are ministers or generals, they all have their own calculations. It is impossible to make them obey Li Yu. The current situation in Korea is nothing more than because the Jiannu have done too much in Korea, and the people are boiling. They are forced to join forces and form a resistance alliance in the name of Li Yu."

"Such an alliance is not sound from the foundation. Even if Li Yu wants to recover Korea, his subordinates are not united. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Korean army is worrying. The army is corrupt. When the political situation was stable before, these troops were able to maintain local security and oppress the people. However, they are completely useless when they are used to fighting on the battlefield. How can they be a match for the fierce Jiannu?"

"From what I've seen, even though Li Yu is very powerful now, once the situation changes, Li Yu's army will surely collapse. On the contrary, the people who have revolted in Korea may be able to fight. After all, these people are different from the Korean nobles and aristocratic families. They are fighting for their lives, so their nature is different."

"What about the current Joseon ruler, Li Yun? With him around, does Li Yu have no chance at all?"

Zhu Minlan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Dad, you're still testing me with this? Isn't Li Yu just a puppet you supported? Whether it's Li Yu or Li Yu, they are all pawns in your hands. The reason why Korea is in such a mess today is not entirely due to the planning of our Ming Dynasty? No matter what they do, the more chaotic Korea is, the more opportunities our Ming Dynasty will have. Do you really intend to restore the Lee Dynasty of Korea?"

"Hahaha!" Zhu Shenzhui laughed loudly. After laughing for a while, Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhu Minlan seriously, given the current situation in North Korea, what should the Ming Dynasty do next?

Zhu Minlan answered confidently with four words, "wait and see what happens." He told Zhu Shenzhui that it was not convenient for the Ming Dynasty to interfere too much in the affairs of Korea at the moment. It was enough to support a so-called Korean king. Next, the Ming Dynasty only had to protect Jeju Island. As for how chaotic Korea would be and how the war would go, these had nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty. In other words, the more chaotic Korea was, the more beneficial it would be to the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, it was very easy to defend Jeju Island. Jiannu had no navy and could not cross the sea to attack Jeju Island. And the navy of Korea was definitely no match for Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Ming Dynasty had stationed troops on Jeju Island under the pretext of the new Korean monarch. From this point of view, Jeju Island was equivalent to Ming Dynasty's territory, but it still belonged to Korea in name only.

Li Ju, the commander-in-chief of the army, will not be able to jump around for too long. By the time the Jiannu react, he will be the first important target of attack. Moreover, Hauge has already done so and is mobilizing troops in Korea to deal with Li Ju first. Although Li Ju now has a strong army, he is actually just a weakling and is no match for the Jiannu.

Zhu Minlan judged that it was only a matter of time before Li Yu was defeated or even killed. Once Li Yu died, the Korean royal family would lose another important figure. Although this was a tragedy for Korea, it was a good thing for the Ming Dynasty. After all, the more members of the Korean royal family died, the more confident the Ming Dynasty would be in controlling Korea. Once the descendants of the Lee Dynasty died out, there would be no need for the Lee Dynasty of Korea to exist.

After Li Yu's death, the Ming Dynasty could completely support another or several representatives of resistance against Jiannu through the new king of Korea. This person could be a member of the Korean nobles, a member of aristocratic family, or even the leader of the Korean civilian army. No matter which one is supported, the purpose is to continue to fight with Jiannu. Even if they cannot defeat Jiannu, they cannot let Jiannu stabilize Korea. The longer they fight, the more corrupt Korea will be. Jiannu will not only be unable to obtain materials from Korea to feed itself, but on the contrary, they will have to continue to invest troops in Korea and eventually fall into the quagmire of Korea. The final result is that Jiannu and Korea will go back and forth on the Korean mainland, consuming each other. When the time is right, Ming will counterattack Liaodong with heavy troops. As long as the Liaodong Campaign starts, Jiannu will inevitably focus on protecting Liaodong. At that time, they will no longer care about Korea and can only withdraw from Korea. This is the best opportunity for Ming to take advantage of the opportunity and take over Korea. If it is handled properly, Korea will be at Ming's fingertips.

In addition, Zhu Minlan also mentioned the most important point, which is the problem of the political situation in Korea. Because the power of the nobles and aristocratic families in Korea is too strong, if Ming intervenes in Korea too early, even if it conquers Korea, it will not be able to annex Korea because of the existence of these groups.

So through this incident, the foundation of the nobles and aristocratic families of Korea were eradicated by the hands of the Jiannu, and even a group of them were killed, which completely changed the political situation in Korea. After these groups were gone, ordinary Korean people would not care whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the Joseon Dynasty? As long as the court gave the people a good life, so that the people could eat and wear warm clothes, live and work in peace and contentment, wouldn't it be the same who ruled? Changing dynasties is a common thing. Even in the Central Plains, there is a saying that emperors take turns to be the emperor, let alone Korea, which is just a small country? Moreover, the Joseon Dynasty has been nearly three hundred years, and it is time for it to end. At that time, the Ming Dynasty will take over, saving a lot of trouble.

Zhu Minlan's words made Zhu Shenzhu very happy. His son had indeed grown up and understood a lot. More importantly, he had looked at things from the perspective of a superior and had the judgment and ruthlessness of a monarch.

Although Zhu Minlan's views and attitudes were not good for North Korea, they were the right choice from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty. In particular, he not only paid attention to the impact of the Korean changes on the Jiannu, but also paid attention to the political situation in North Korea, and even the root cause of the Korean problem.

Zhu Minlan is right. If the Ming Dynasty wants to annex Korea, the problem does not lie with the royal family of the Lee Dynasty, but with the nobles and aristocratic families of Korea. These groups are the foundation of Korea.

As long as these groups exist, they will fight to protect their own interests and status. The king can be replaced, but the actual interests of these people in Korea cannot be damaged. If the Joseon Dynasty still exists, they can continue to maintain the previous system, take turns in power, and share this big cake. But once Korea is annexed by the Ming Dynasty, although many people appear to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, it is hard to say how much of the so-called loyalty is true or false.

For their own and their family's interests, they absolutely did not want to see this happen. So when the Ming Dynasty intended to annex Korea, these people would definitely oppose the Ming Dynasty, even though many people had previously called the Ming Dynasty the "parent country."

In one sentence, they would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. These people only care about their own status and the continuation of their family's wealth. Once they become citizens of a great country, they will no longer have the privileges they had before, which is intolerable in any way.

Zhu Minlan saw this point and suggested that Korea continue to be in chaos, and even hoped that Hauge would raise the butcher knife in Korea and completely eradicate these groups through the hands of the Jiannu. When all these people are eradicated, or when they are no longer a force to be reckoned with, then the opportunity for the Ming Dynasty will come. Without these foundations, Korea will become a possession of the Ming Dynasty, and it will be much easier to take it down and then annex it.

From this perspective, Zhu Minlan's judgment was correct, and he acted decisively and viciously, which is a necessary quality for a monarch. Looking at his adult son, Zhu Shenzhui was very pleased. The son is stronger than the father, which is what every father hopes for. Although it is often said that there is no family affection in the royal family, royal fathers and sons are wary of each other, and brothers kill each other in history, the Ming Dynasty is different from the previous dynasties. The special system of the Ming Dynasty destined this situation to be unlikely to happen. In addition to Zhu Di and Zhu Shenzhui himself, the replacement of emperors in the Ming Dynasty has never had a bad incident of imperial power dispute.

Furthermore, Zhu Shenzui's mentality was different from that of ordinary emperors. He hoped for the continuation of the Ming Dynasty and the revival and reform when great changes came in this era. If Zhu Minlan became stronger than himself in the future and more suitable for ruling this country, he, Zhu Shenzui, might be able to abdicate and pass the throne directly to himself, the crown prince, when he grew older and less energetic. He would retreat to the second line and become a carefree emperor, enjoying his old age.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly, but did not praise Zhu Minlan directly. After all, the prince was still young, and it would not be a good thing to praise him too much now.

But since Zhu Minlan had thought of all this, Zhu Shenzhui gave him a task. Wasn't Zhu Minlan studying in the military academy? Since learning should be applied, Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhu Minlan to try to do a long-term project based on the changes in the situation in North Korea and Liaodong. This project was not only aimed at North Korea, but also at the future war in Liaodong, so as to plan a comprehensive strategic deployment. Although this project was a bit big, Zhu Shenzhui did not expect Zhu Minlan to come up with results in a short time. He could do it slowly and carefully. Anyway, he still had a few years before graduating from the military academy. He could start from this in the next few years and make adjustments at any time. When he graduated, he could come up with the final plan.

(End of this chapter)