My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 253 Korea: Daddy Ming, please love me one more time!
Just then, an elderly canal worker with gray hair and a wrinkled face walked out from the crowd carrying a rice bowl.

He has worked in the canal transport industry for decades. Time has etched deep marks on his face, but it has also given him rich knowledge and a calm demeanor.

He strode over to the canal worker, patted him heavily on the shoulder with his rough, calloused hand, and then said earnestly:

"Brother, don't just focus on the things right in front of you."

“This road construction in the capital is different from the canal transport we’ve been doing for most of our lives, but it’s an order from the imperial court. How dare we disobey it?”

"Besides, didn't the official say before that after we go to the capital, we'll receive one tael of silver every month, plus food and lodging!"

“We work on this canal, and although it’s officially we get one or two taels of silver a month, we only actually get about seven or eight qian of silver.”

"Moreover, this money is not available every month. Look at the current state of the canal transport. The waterways are often blocked, and there are fewer and fewer merchant ships coming and going. Business is getting harder and harder every year."

"Maybe this road construction is a new way out that God has shown us, one that will allow us to live a better life!"

The old canal worker's words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.

The expressions on the faces of the canal workers, who had initially looked puzzled and hesitant, gradually changed.

They started whispering among themselves, discussing the matter in hushed tones.

The initial confusion in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by anticipation for the future.

A few days later, at the Eastern Palace.

The morning sunlight streamed through the carved windows, gently bathing the bed in its glow.

Because he didn't have to attend court today, Zhu Cilang slept in, which was a rare treat.

After slowly waking up, Zhu Cilang first stretched and then got up to wash up.

After a simple breakfast, he sat down at his desk in loose-fitting casual clothes, pondering what he should do that day.

But just then, Ma Bao rushed over to report.

"Your Highness, Commander Li Ruolian of the Embroidered Uniform Guard requests an audience, saying he has something very important to report."

Hmm. Looks like I'll have something to do again today!
Zhu Cilang then said:

"Let him in!"

Ma Bao quickly left, and not long after, Li Ruolian walked in hurriedly.

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang, Li Ruolian quickly bowed and greeted him.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects!"

Zhu Cilang waved his hand and said:

"No need for such formalities, let's get straight to the point!"

Li Ruolian then said:
"Your Highness, Commander-in-Chief Cao Youyi of the Tianjin Navy has sent a secret letter, saying that someone from Korea has arrived."

what?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang was slightly taken aback, almost dropping the calligraphy brush he was playing with, seemingly not immediately understanding the meaning of the words.

Seeing this, Li Ruolian could only say again:

"That's what the person who sent the secret letter said, and there's also this secret letter."

As he spoke, he respectfully handed the secret letter to Zhu Cilang with both hands.

Zhu Cilang finally came to his senses, but instead of accepting the secret letter, his expression became somewhat subtle.

Perhaps in modern people's understanding, Korea has long been a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty, so it is normal for Korea to send people to the Ming Dynasty, which is nothing more than a matter of paying tribute.

But is this really the truth?

That was indeed the case before Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne.

But things changed after Chongzhen ascended the throne.

As early as when Chongzhen had just ascended the throne, Huang Taiji led the Jurchen army to launch two large-scale military operations against Korea.

The first of these was in 1627, known as the Dingmao War, which brought Korea to initial submission by the Jurchens.

The second time was in 1637, almost six years ago, when the Jurchens completely conquered Korea and forcibly incorporated it into their vassal state.

Since then, Korea has changed from a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty to a vassal state of the Jurchens, and has not paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty for nearly ten years.

Some people might find this strange: why didn't the Jurchens just destroy Korea?
Wouldn't it be better to just wipe out North Korea and then take over its land and population?

Why must we follow the example of the Ming Dynasty and demand that Korea submit?
There are actually many reasons for this.

Firstly, because North Korea is not so easy to completely eliminate.

Because of North Korea's unique topography, which is mostly mountainous with over 70% of its land covered by mountains.

This led to North Korean soldiers hiding in the mountains when they couldn't win, and then occasionally jumping out to stab the Jurchens in the back.

The Jurchens were not skilled in mountain warfare, so they were helpless against this.

Secondly, Confucian culture is deeply rooted in North Korea, and direct rule could easily trigger continuous rebellions.

Furthermore, Korea was actually a buffer zone between the Jurchens and Japan. Whenever Japan wanted to cause trouble, it had to pass through Korea first.

But if the Jurchens destroyed Korea, then they themselves would be facing Japan.

Furthermore, the Jurchens' target had always been the Ming Dynasty, and they were unwilling to waste too many troops in Korea, which led to the current situation.

Of course, in the current situation, this is no longer important.

Because at present, Korea is completely dispensable to the Ming Dynasty.

However, the fact that Korea suddenly sent people to the Ming Dynasty was clearly because of the previous great victory in Liaodong.

Could it be that because the Ming Dynasty defeated the Jurchens, Joseon wanted to switch allegiance and return to the Ming Dynasty?

Not
This feels like a crappy "Dad, love me again" situation.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang found it somewhat amusing, and then reached out to take the secret letter, opened it, and began to read it carefully.

This secret letter was sent by Cao Youyi, the commander-in-chief of the Tianjin Navy.

The contents of the secret letter were actually quite simple. It said that the Tianjin Navy had unexpectedly discovered a ship while patrolling the nearby waters.

The ship came from Korea, and the people on board claimed to be envoys sent by Korea, requesting an audience with His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. One of them was even the son of the King of Korea.

Cao Youyi was also bewildered when he heard the news. After all, they knew that Korea had long been a vassal state of the Jurchens and had not paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty for almost ten years. How could it suddenly reappear now?
However, this matter involved diplomacy, and he dared not make a decision on his own. He could only pack up the people on the ship and send them to the capital.

Then, a messenger was dispatched on horseback to deliver a secret letter, so that the court could prepare a response in advance.

After reading the letter, Zhu Cilang remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

To be fair, he actually dislikes North Korea to some extent, both in modern times and now.

On the one hand, he was somewhat dissatisfied because Korea had submitted to the Jurchens.

On the other hand, many Korean generals also joined the war in the previous Battle of Songjin, helping the Jurchens attack the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, all those Korean generals and soldiers eventually died at the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and many of them were turned into mounds of corpses.

However, it seems that North Korea cannot be entirely blamed for this.

After all, Korea was originally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. When Korea faced the threat of the Jurchens, the Ming Dynasty failed to extend a helping hand to save Korea in time, which led to Korea being conquered by the Jurchens.

For all these reasons, Zhu Cilang had rather complicated feelings about Korea.

However, in his future plans, Korea was ultimately to be incorporated into the Ming Dynasty's territory.

After a brief moment of thought, Zhu Cilang finally spoke and asked:
Where is the person now?

Li Ruolian knew that Zhu Cilang was asking about the group of people from Korea, and quickly replied:

"Based on the estimated time, we should arrive in the capital tomorrow."

Zhu Cilang nodded, and then said:
"Several cabinet ministers have been summoned to the Eastern Palace for an audience."

"I obey!"

Li Ruolian quickly agreed, then turned and hurriedly left.

Although the current system has been changed to a five-day court session, and cabinet ministers no longer need to attend court every day, they still need to handle government affairs in the cabinet every day, only starting work a little later.

Therefore, the decree was quickly conveyed to the cabinet.

Not long after, several cabinet ministers arrived at the Eastern Palace in sedan chairs.

When everyone saw Zhu Cilang, they were about to bow in greeting when Zhu Cilang interrupted them.

"Since everyone here is family, there's no need for formalities. Ma Bao, please take a seat!"

Immediately afterwards, Ma Bao led a group of people to bring in a few stools.

After all the cabinet ministers were seated, Zhu Cilang handed them the secret letter without saying a word.

"Gentlemen, take a look at this first. This is a secret letter sent by Cao Youyi, the General of the Tianjin Navy, early this morning."

Upon hearing this, although everyone was curious, they still respectfully took the secret letter and took turns reading it.

After reading it, everyone's expressions became somewhat strange.

Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan was the first to stand up, cup his hands in greeting, and said:

"Your Highness, I believe that these Korean envoys have come to ask the Ming Dynasty for help."

"After all, the Jurchens suffered such a great loss in Liaodong before, they would definitely try to make up for it in Korea. I guess Korea is now in a terrible state because of the Jurchens."

Fan Jingwen, who was standing to the side, also stood up and echoed:

"I think so too. However, I feel that we don't need to pay attention to Korea. After all, Korea has been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty for six years."

"If that's the case, why should the Ming Dynasty bother with Korea?"

Zhang Zhifa, however, had a different opinion. He stood up, stepped forward, and said:
"I think this is not right. After all, Korea did not submit to the Jurchens willingly. It was only because the Jurchens were too powerful that it was forced to submit."

"Now it is clear that they want to return to the Ming Dynasty. If that is the case, I think we can re-establish relations with Korea, which would be helpful for the Ming Dynasty's future wars against the Jurchens."

Upon hearing this, Fan Jingwen retorted again:

"That's not right. This matter is not that simple at all. If we really agree to Korea's request, wouldn't we have to send troops to fight the Jurchens again?"

"You should know that the two sides only recently ceased hostilities and made peace, and now the Jurchens are also a vassal state of our Great Ming."

"If this gets involved with North Korea again, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble." "The primary goal of our Great Ming Dynasty should be to deal with Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. We should not waste our energy on such trivial matters."

At the same time, Jiang Dejing, who had remained silent until now, also spoke:

"I tend to agree with Lord Fan's words. For the Ming Dynasty at present, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are the biggest troublemakers. Before we get rid of them, it is indeed not advisable to have any more conflict with the Jurchens."

Seeing the cabinet ministers before him each holding their own opinions, Zhu Cilang listened quietly for a while.

After a moment, he waved for them to quiet down, and then slowly said:
"I think what you all said makes a lot of sense. First of all, Korea was indeed forced to submit to the Jurchens, but don't forget that Korea also helped the Jurchens attack the Ming Dynasty."

"Many North Korean generals participated in the previous Battle of Songjin."

"So you can imagine, if the Ming Dynasty had not won this war, would Joseon have sent people? They would probably have already mingled with the Jurchens and continued to be enemies of the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, each one lost in thought.

But then, Zhu Cilang suddenly changed the subject and continued:
"However, what Grand Secretary Zhang said is not wrong. The reason why Korea did these things was not out of their own intention. So I think this may be an opportunity."

"You all should remember Mao Wenlong, right?"

Upon hearing the name Mao Wenlong, the expressions on everyone's faces instantly turned somewhat strange.

It wasn't just because Mao Wenlong was wrongfully killed back then; another major reason was that some civil officials were actually behind the scenes in pushing things along when Mao Wenlong was killed.

Of course, most of these people had already been eliminated before.

Zhu Cilang didn't intend to investigate the truth behind the matter; he was simply saying that what he was about to say was related to Mao Wenlong.

Just listen to him continue:
"As you all know, the reason why Mao Wenlong was able to restrain the Jurchens and prevent them from attacking the Ming Dynasty at will was because he established a foothold in the Jurchens' rear."

"Then, through guerrilla tactics, they frequently harassed the rear of the Later Jin, forcing Nurhaci and Huang Taiji to divide their forces to defend the coastal areas of Liaodong, which indirectly reduced the defensive pressure on the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong."

"Moreover, history has proven that this strategy is completely effective. At least while Mao Wenlong was still alive, the Jurchens never mobilized the entire nation to attack the Ming Dynasty."

"In that case, could we also do what Mao Wenlong did and station troops in the rear of the Jurchens, that is, near Korea?"

"In this way, we can ensure that the Jurchens will not dare to attack the Ming Dynasty at will."

"Similarly, this can also indirectly help relieve some pressure on North Korea!"

Upon hearing this, the cabinet ministers first lowered their heads and pondered for a moment, then suddenly felt that it seemed to be a really good idea.

After all, they all understood the strategic significance of Mao Wenlong's existence back then, and knew what it meant for the Ming Dynasty.

If we were to replicate Mao Wenlong's strategy from back then, it would seem quite feasible and might even bring new strategic advantages to the Ming Dynasty.

At the very least, when the imperial court quells Li Zicheng next year, it can be ensured that the Jurchens will not dare to attack the Ming Dynasty!

Thinking of this, the cabinet ministers all cupped their hands and said:

"This old minister believes this is a feasible plan! It can both restrain the Jurchens and win over Korea!"

"This old minister also believes this is feasible!"

Thus, Zhu Cilang's proposal was approved by everyone without exception.

However, a new problem then presented itself to them.

That is, how many troops should be sent to garrison Korea, and which general should be sent to garrison Korea?

Moreover, due to the special geographical location of North Korea, it is probably only possible to send the navy to garrison it, but the court only has a few naval commanders available at present.

They were none other than Cao Youyi, the General Commander of the Tianjin Naval Force; Huang Fei, the General Commander of the Shandong Naval Force; and Zheng Zhilong, the General Commander of the Fujian Naval Force.

As for the other naval commanders, they did not have that many naval forces under their command, making it difficult for them to shoulder such heavy responsibilities.

This means that we can only choose one of these three people at the moment.

Cao Youyi is most likely out of the running, as he is in charge of the Tianjin Port area, a geographically important region that cannot be easily reassigned.

Even during the Battle of Songjin, Zhu Cilang did not mobilize him, in order to ensure the safety of the Tianjin sea area and the capital.

After all, Tianjin is too close to Beijing.

Therefore, the only option left is to choose between Huang Fei and Zheng Zhilong.

However, Huang Fei is not actually suitable either, because Huang Fei is currently stationed in the Liaodong area, responsible for containing the Jurchens.

Once he leaves, the Jurchens may retake the area.

Moreover, because of his presence, the Jurchens had no choice but to station 20,000 troops nearby, so Huang Fei could not easily mobilize them now.

Looking at it this way, it seems that only Zheng Zhilong, the General of Fujian, is suitable.

Moreover, Zheng Zhilong was Zhu Cilang's father-in-law and Chongzhen's relative by marriage, making him a member of the imperial family.

Given this connection, it's certainly feasible to let him go.

After all, the place we are going to is far away from the Ming Dynasty, so we must send an absolutely trusted person. If it is not a trusted person, we will inevitably suspect each other, and even cause the logistics to be inadequate.

So it seems that Zheng Zhilong is the most suitable candidate.

As for the fact that Zheng Zhilong was originally a pirate, no one cares about that anymore.

Although several cabinet ministers already had their own most suitable candidates in mind, none of them dared to say it aloud.

Because they didn't know what Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang really meant.

What if the father and son have other, more suitable candidates?

Just then, Zhu Cilang finally spoke again.

"Since you have all agreed, then I will inform Father Emperor about this matter, and once Father Emperor agrees, this matter can be settled!"

"As for the selection of generals for this garrison, you should go back and discuss it with the Ministry of War, then submit a memorial, which I will then report to the Emperor for a decision."

"In addition, since we are not yet clear about the specific situation in Korea, we will discuss the specifics after the Korean delegation arrives in Ming."

Although Zhu Cilang could have made the decision on his own, he still had to put on a show in front of these cabinet ministers.

Otherwise, wouldn't that be a bit too presumptuous?

Upon hearing this, several cabinet ministers quickly bowed and said:
"My minister obeys."

Having said that, there was nothing more to say. Zhu Cilang then continued:
"Alright, everyone, please leave now."

Immediately afterwards, the cabinet ministers bowed to Zhu Cilang again before turning and leaving.

Watching the crowd depart, Zhu Cilang thoughtfully stroked his chin.

He didn't actually know who these people would recommend to serve as a general in North Korea, but he did have a suitable candidate in mind.

However, don't misunderstand, this person is neither Huang Fei nor Zheng Zhilong. After all, Huang Fei was originally stationed in the rear of the Jurchens. If he went to another place, it would definitely have an impact on the strategy.

As for Zheng Zhilong, he is also unsuitable.

Zheng Zhilong could be used when fighting the Jurchen navy, but after the battle, he still had to return to the Fujian area for defense.

Firstly, smuggling is a serious problem in the Fujian area, and Zheng Zhilong's presence will effectively curb smuggling.

Secondly, foreign fleets would attack the Ming Dynasty from time to time, and Zheng Zhilong's presence could deter these people.

It is important to know that in the original history, even though the Ming Dynasty eventually fell, it never lost a naval war against foreign powers, and Zheng Zhilong's contribution to this was indispensable.

However, if it's neither Huang Fei nor Zheng Zhilong, then who is the most suitable candidate in Zhu Cilang's mind?

This person was none other than Zheng Chenggong, Zhu Cilang's brother-in-law!

Although Zhu Cilang initially kept Zheng Chenggong by his side, he knew this was not a long-term solution, after all, Zheng Chenggong was an outstanding general in history.

It would be a real waste to keep such a talented person by his side as a bodyguard. Zhu Cilang will eventually send him out to take charge on his own.

Furthermore, Zhu Cilang later planned to hand over command of the Ming Dynasty's navy to him!

And now, it seems, is the perfect time.

However, there is another matter to deal with before that.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang shouted directly at Ma Bao at the door:
"Ma Bao, bring Li Ruolian to see me."

Upon hearing this, Ma Bao immediately ran out.

Just then, Li Ruolian guessed that Zhu Cilang might have something to instruct him about later, so she had been waiting at the East Palace gate. As a result, Ma Baogang saw Li Ruolian as soon as he stepped out of the East Palace.

After exchanging a few words, Li Ruolian hurriedly approached Zhu Cilang.

Before Li Ruolian could even bow, Zhu Cilang spoke first, asking:
"I ask you, does Mao Wenlong have any descendants?"

Ok?
Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian was momentarily stunned. Clearly, he hadn't expected Zhu Cilang to mention Mao Wenlong's descendants at this moment.

And for a moment he really couldn't answer the question.

Because he doesn’t know either!

Thinking of this, Li Ruolian could only bite the bullet and say:

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I was unaware of this matter, but I can investigate it immediately."

Although he did not receive a satisfactory answer, Zhu Cilang was not angry.

Ultimately, the Embroidered Uniform Guards were just people, not machines.

Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement.

"Then investigate as soon as possible, and report back to me immediately after you have finished."

"As ordered."

Li Ruolian quickly agreed and then hurriedly left.

Although there are many different opinions in later generations about whether Mao Wenlong was a loyal minister or whether he should have died, at least in Zhu Cilang’s view, considering the various events of the time, Mao Wenlong should indeed have been a loyal minister and should not have died.

Because his actions were beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

Furthermore, after Mao Wenlong's death, his sons either entered the Imperial Academy or continued to serve as generals in various military units.

If he were truly a traitorous rebel, how could the court officials and Emperor Chongzhen have allowed his son to study at the Imperial Academy and continue serving as a general in the army?

This situation is clearly unreasonable.

(End of this chapter)