Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 392 Showdown (Part 4)

February 3th, the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign (March 18th, 1639).

Pi Island, General's Residence.

Shen Shikui slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups clang loudly.

"A surprise attack on Seoul?... Have you Xinhua people gone mad?!"

In the dimly lit council chamber, a few oil lamps flickered with a dim yellow light.

The sea breeze seeped in through the window cracks, carrying the chill of early spring.

Shen Shikui's round, chubby face was filled with shock and confusion. He stared at Zhong Minghui, who was wearing a Xinhua military uniform, as if he were looking at a madman.

Zhong Minghui took a sip of tea and lightly traced his finger across the Liaodong map on the table: "General Shen, the Qing invaders are rampaging through the interior of China. Huang Long and his four thousand troops have been almost completely wiped out. Dodo is leading his troops in a fierce attack on southern Liaoning, and Lushun and Jinzhou are in imminent danger. If we do not find another way, the entire Liaodong Peninsula will fall into enemy hands sooner or later."

"In this way, your Dongjiang Town will truly become an isolated force behind enemy lines, without any support or strong reinforcements. Without the restraint of Liaonan Town, the Qing invaders will have no more obstacles and will definitely concentrate on attacking Tieshan and Pidao. This time, the surprise attack on Hancheng, although it is to relieve Liaonan's predicament, is actually to save yourselves!"

"Heh... self-rescue?" Shen Shikui sneered. "I think you Xinhua people are gambling with the lives of the men of Dongjiang Town in order to save Liaonan!"

As he spoke, he pointed heavily at the location of Seoul on the map: "From Pido to Seoul, it's hundreds of miles, with countless fortified passes and cities along the way, garrisoned by tens of thousands of troops. Even if we manage to reach the city by chance, Seoul's walls are high and its moat is deep, with over ten thousand troops stationed there. With our small force, we probably won't even be able to touch the city gate!"

The faint sound of waves crashing against the shore could be heard outside, and a strong wind made the window frames creak.

In a corner, several generals from Dongjiang Town exchanged glances, clearly harboring doubts about this insane plan.

Zhong Minghui gently put down the teacup, the porcelain clinking against the wooden table with a crisp sound.

He stood up, took a long wooden box from his attendant, opened it, and took out a detailed map on mulberry paper, which he slowly spread out on the table.

"General Shen, please look..." He pointed to the mouth of the Han River, "The sea ice has begun to melt, and our fleet can enter the Han River from here. The main force of the Korean navy has been wiped out, and the Han River is virtually undefended. We can seize this opportunity to enter and reach the foot of Seoul. In this way, the Koreans will surely be terrified and helpless."

Shen Shikui squinted and bent down to examine the map.

His shadow stretched long on the wall, swaying with the light.

Oh, by sea!

“Even so,” Shen Shikui’s voice deepened, “the garrison in Seoul numbers at least ten thousand, while we can only muster a maximum of five thousand mobile troops. How can we possibly attack the city?”

Zhong Minghui's lips curled into a slight smile: "We don't need to actually capture Seoul."

He tapped the map lightly with his finger: "Once the Qing army is at the city gates, the Korean royal family will be shaken and will surely seek help from the Qing. At that time, the Qing troops besieging Jinzhou and Lushun will inevitably divide their forces to return to relieve the siege, and the siege of Liaonan will be lifted."

The council chamber was completely silent; the only sound was the breathing of the members.

Wang Shushan, former guerrilla commander and chief of the artillery battalion, whispered, "General, although this mission is dangerous, it is a good strategy..."

"Bullshit!" Shen Shikui suddenly cursed. "What if the Qing barbarians don't come to Korea's aid, but instead take the opportunity to attack my Tieshan and Pidao? Wouldn't my Dongjiang Town's decades-long foundation be destroyed in an instant! ...Don't be so wishful thinking!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Minghui's face darkened.

Old man, are you scolding your own people, or are you talking to me?

"General Shen, if Korea is in danger, the Qing will surely come to its aid," Zhong Minghui said in a deep voice. "You must understand, just two years ago, the Qing had only just conquered Korea and made it a vassal state. If they do not come to Korea's aid in times of crisis, what face will they have as the suzerain state?"

"Does the Manchu chieftain Huang Taiji not fear that we will place Korea back under the Ming Dynasty's vassal state and form an alliance with it, threatening the Qing invaders from the flank and rear? If so, then the Qing invaders are truly lacking in strategic vision!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shikui sat back heavily in his chair, his expression a mixture of emotions.

He stared at the map for a long time, then suddenly looked up: "Even if the Tartars come to aid Korea, will our army just circle around Seoul and then withdraw? Or will the Tartars launch a fierce attack on Tieshan and Pidao, using a strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, forcing us to retreat and lift the siege?"

"As the capital of the Joseon Kingdom, Seoul and its surrounding counties concentrated nearly 30% of the country's population and half of its wealth," Zhong Minghui said. "Although it was ravaged by the Tartars two years ago, it still has some resources. Even if we can't conquer Seoul, we can still gain a lot by taking a stroll around the surrounding area."

Holy crap, the way you're saying that makes us sound like a bunch of bandits!
However, Shen Shikui, perhaps due to his long experience in business, was entirely calculating, unlike Huang Long, a loyal minister who held "the greater good of the court" in his heart. He was driven only by "profit."

"Then what about Tieshan and Pidao?" Shen Shikui was already tempted.

As long as we don't confront the Tartars, there's not much risk in rubbing salt into a weakened Korea.

In the past two years, in addition to continuing its smuggling trade, Dongjiang Town's main task has been to "warn" North Korea by using its superior naval warships to launch frequent attacks on North Korean coastal towns.

Although it is unknown whether these military strikes caused serious damage to North Korea, they at least made Donggang Town very wealthy. In a rare occurrence, despite the frequent shortage of food and supplies from the imperial court, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians within its jurisdiction did not experience widespread hunger.

However, after the repeated upheavals in Dongjiang Town, in order to avoid suffering even greater losses, the Joseon Kingdom began to mobilize the people of towns within a 30-mile radius of the coast to migrate inland in August of last year. Even some county towns and county seats with thousands of people were deliberately destroyed and abandoned.

Donggang Town is located in Cheolsan Fortress, an important stronghold on the northwest coast of North Korea. The surrounding counties, towns and villages were all evacuated, making it an isolated seaside fortress.

Under these circumstances, the gains from the Dongjiang garrison landing and raids on the Korean coast were far less than before.

Those coastal towns that had not yet been relocated also built watchtowers and observation posts on the high ground by the sea. Once they discovered an alarm at sea, they would take their valuables and hide in the heavily guarded fortified city, or bury their valuables in a secluded place and then flee to the mountains and forests.

If we were to actually storm into the vicinity of Seoul, even if we didn't capture the city, the surrounding area would be the most prosperous and lucrative part of Joseon, far surpassing any ordinary coastal town.

However, the only concern is whether the Qing invaders will take the opportunity to raid their base when Dongjiang Town gathers its main force to attack the Han River.

If that's the case, then everyone will have nowhere to cry!
"The Qing invaders have besieged Tieshan several times, but apart from leaving behind a field of corpses, they haven't shaken the city in the slightest. This shows that Tieshan's defenses are impregnable," Zhong Minghui said softly. "Therefore, your Dongjiang Town only needs to retain two thousand troops to ensure the safety of this city. Even if the Qing invaders launch a massive attack regardless of the cost, you only need to hold out for half a month before we can return with our entire army to reinforce it."

"As for the islands at sea such as Pi Island, Yuncong (now Shinmi Island in North Korea), and Jiao Island (now Jiao Island in North Korea), the Qing forces had no navy to rely on, so there was no danger of them being attacked."

After hearing this, Shen Shikui exchanged glances with several generals from Dongjiang Town present.

Everyone's face showed an eager expression.

Clearly, the wealth of the Seoul metropolitan area had captivated their attention.

As for whether they could mobilize the Qing forces to rescue Korea and relieve the crisis in Liaonan Town, they didn't care at all.

With a navy at your command, you can't just come and go as you please.

If the Qing reinforcements are strong, then just take the looted gold, silver and valuables and run back.

Could it be that those Tartars could ride horses and draw their bows to chase us all the way to the sea?

"To ensure a successful breakthrough into the Han River and reach the capital of Joseon, we plan to have Prince Gwanghae make the appearance of advancing on Haeju and Gaeju (present-day Kaesong), creating a significant disturbance to attract and distract the troops stationed near Seoul," Zhong Minghui added.

"Hehe..." Shen Shikui chuckled and nodded slightly.

With the support of Dongjiang Town and the people of Xinhua, and with the Ming Dynasty's newly issued imperial edict granting him the title, Prince Guanghai attracted many former princes and scholars who were dissatisfied with Li Zong's betrayal of the Ming Dynasty and defection to the enemy. A respectable little court was quickly established.

By the end of last year, Gwanghaegun had recruited and formed a 4,000-strong "Liberation Army" through various means. The core officers were personnel sent by Dongjiang Town and Xinhua. Although their combat effectiveness was not great, they were able to fight back and forth with the North Korean "government army" thanks to several fortresses designed and supervised by Xinhua.

More than a month ago, Dongjiang Town decisively defeated Yizhou City, handing over all the officials who had surrendered there and more than 2,000 garrison troops to Prince Gwanghae, which further expanded the enemy's power.

With more people, a larger area is needed to house them, which gave Guanghai Jun the idea to take the initiative.

A small county like Kangling cannot support too many soldiers.

"Mr. Zhong, I'm very curious." After finalizing the specific date for the troop deployment, Shen Shikui leaned forward slightly, staring into Zhong Minghui's eyes, "Why is your Xinhua going to such great lengths to help my Great Ming Dynasty resist the Qing invaders' continuous attacks?"

"Why?" Zhong Minghui pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Our Xinhua does not want the Ming Dynasty to suffer the same fate as the former Song Dynasty, nor does it want the land of China to be tainted by the barbarians again."

"..." Shen Shikui was stunned upon hearing this.

After a moment, a playful smile appeared on his face.

Whom are you trying to fool with these absurd words?!
(End of this chapter)