Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 396 "Planting a Splinter for the Qing!"

The morning mist enveloped Seoul, and an eerie silence permeated the streets of this former capital of Joseon.

With the city gates wide open, vehicles loaded with supplies drove out in an endless stream, heading towards the riverbank.

The flags of the Ming Dynasty and the flags of Dongjiang Town have been planted on the city towers everywhere, while the people in the city keep their doors and windows tightly closed, for fear of getting into trouble.

In front of Gyeongbokgung Palace, General Shen Shikui of Dongjiang Town stretched lazily, his armor making a crisp clanging sound.

He turned and looked back at the rather shabby palace, a smug gleam in his eyes.

He stroked his beard and said to Wang Shuo, the Left Assistant Commander beside him, "Pass down the order: the entire army shall begin 'requisitioning' the city's wealth. Remember, not a single thing shall be left behind; pack all the gold, silver, and silk into ships."

"Understood!" Wang Shuo grinned and turned to relay the order.

"Wait a minute."

A cool, clear voice came from the right.

Shen Shikui turned his head and saw Zhong Minghui, the commander-in-chief of the Xinhua Army, striding towards him with several personal guards.

This Chinese man, around thirty years old, was dressed in a spotless dark blue uniform, with a pistol tucked at his waist, leather boots, and a peaked cap. He looked exceptionally heroic and tall, standing out like a crane among chickens amidst the group of Ming Dynasty generals around him.

"What are your thoughts, Brother Zhong?" Shen Shikui narrowed his eyes, his tone tinged with impatience and a hint of wariness.

What, you want to steal things from my Dongjiang Town?

Zhong Minghui stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "General Shen, I believe that it is unwise to plunder Seoul at this time."

"Oh?" Shen Shikui sneered, "Our army has traveled thousands of miles to fight our way here, isn't it for this?"

“General Shen…” Zhong Minghui pointed to the closed shops and houses on both sides of the street, “The reason why our allied forces occupied Seoul this time was because the Koreans voluntarily surrendered the city and we won it without a fight. If our army were to plunder at this time, it would only incite a popular uprising.”

"Hmph!" Shen Shikui sneered. "Two years ago, the Qing invaders plundered Hancheng, almost digging up the ground, and abducted hundreds of thousands of people. Did that incite any popular uprising?"

“General Shen, we are not Qing invaders,” Zhong Minghui replied calmly.

"The Qing barbarians looted it, but our Great Ming can't?" Shen Shikui said with some anger.

These new Chinese, who have abducted countless Korean women, kidnapped countless Korean artisans and entertainers, and amassed countless Korean books and documents in the past month, are now pretending to be good people!

“General Shen, times have changed.” Zhong Minghui said with a serious expression, “Our campaign into Korea this time is under the banner of ‘fighting the slaves and saving the people,’ in order to help Korea break free from the control of the Qing and return it to the Ming Dynasty’s vassal state.”

"If, in the event that the Korean army and civilians voluntarily surrender the city, we instead raise our swords and plunder the city's officials, gentry, and countless helpless ordinary people, what kind of people will the Koreans regard us as?"

"General Shen, this move will alienate the people!"

"Absurd!" Shen Shikui was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. "I led my troops to conquer Korea, a country that refused to submit! Now that we've stormed into Hanyang, are we just going to let them go and return empty-handed? If we abandon all the city's wealth, the thousands of brothers in Dongjiang Town will not stand for it!"

"How much would it take to satisfy the appetites of the brothers in Dongjiang Town?" Zhong Minghui said softly. "In the past, when the two armies were fighting, sweeping away the local areas was a necessary part of military strategy. But now that Seoul has surrendered, it's not justifiable to continue looting. What about those Korean military and political officials who voluntarily surrendered?"

"Seizing Gyeongbokgung Palace and moving several treasuries in the city should be enough! If we push too far and provoke a rebellion from the people of the city, how can our army of only six thousand men cope? What is even more worrying is whether those Joseon generals who raised the flag of rebellion will suddenly turn against us and attack us?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Shen Shikui hesitated.

Wow, that's so true!
If they go too far and anger the North Korean soldiers, they might actually stab them in the back.

"Well, so be it." Shen Shikui looked around with some regret at the surrounding buildings and the few grand mansions hidden on both sides of the street.

"But those Korean officials and merchants who colluded with the enemy must be dealt with, otherwise, there will be no way to deter the treacherous villains who sell out their masters for personal gain!"

"That's natural."

Damn it, they only plundered some surrendered Koreans; they really got off easy.

This must be a loss of several hundred thousand taels of silver!

"General Shen, the Hancheng treasury has a considerable amount of grain and cloth stored up. It would be time-consuming and laborious for ships to transport it back and forth," Zhong Minghui continued. "Instead of emptying it all, why not use some of it to provide relief to the people of Hancheng? What do you think?"

"Oh, when did Brother Zhong become such a philanthropist?" Shen Shikui looked at him mockingly.

"The Qing reinforcements will arrive soon. If they find that the Han treasury is empty, but the people of the city have plenty of grain and rice, what do you think the Qing will do?" Zhong Minghui ignored the other party's sarcasm and said leisurely.

"Huh?" Shen Shikui asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"We might as well take this opportunity to plant a spies in the Tartars' camp."

"Bury a nail?" Shen Shikui didn't react for a moment.

“How could the Qing invaders return empty-handed after coming to the aid of Seoul?” Zhong Minghui said with a smile. “Besides, they came to the aid of Korea from Liaodong with a small force, without carrying much food and supplies. Once they recapture Seoul, they will definitely demand food and supplies from Korea. Oh, and of course, given the nature of the Qing invaders, they will most likely forcibly levy taxes from the people, or even plunder them.”

"At that time, the Koreans had just experienced the 'benefit' of the Ming Dynasty, but in the blink of an eye they would suffer the exploitation and plunder of the Qing invaders. The contrast between the two situations made the will of the people self-evident."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shikui seemed to be deep in thought.

A brief silence fell over the palace gates as several Dongjiang Town generals whispered among themselves, clearly moved by the suggestion.

"General!" Lieutenant General He Ride leaned over, "Marshal Zhong is right. We've been looting for almost half a month already, so why don't we..."

"Why not do a good deed this time?" Shen Shikui glared at him, his mind racing with calculations.

If a portion of this is to be used to aid the people of North Korea, what amount would that be?

half?
That won't do; we need to divide the silver much less.

So... 30%?
Or maybe 20%?
He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then suddenly asked, "If the Qing invaders come and find the city lacking supplies, they will take their anger out on the people. Won't the Koreans resent us even more?" "I don't think so," Zhong Minghui said confidently. "Even if we don't capture Seoul, will the grain and cloth in the treasury be distributed to all the people in the city? As long as we 'reward' them with supplies in the name of the Ming Dynasty, they will surely be grateful and sincerely remember the Ming Dynasty's kindness. When the Qing invaders start to exploit them, the Koreans will naturally understand who is good to them and who is bad to them."

A glint flashed in Shen Shikui's eyes, and he suddenly burst into laughter: "Good! What a brilliant scheme to kill someone with a borrowed knife!"

He slapped his thigh and said generously, "I'll agree with Mr. Zhong's opinion. However..."

He lowered his voice: "The treasures in Gyeongbokgung Palace are not included in this fixed number!"

Zhong Minghui glanced at him: "Yeah, that's from your Dongjiang Town."

"Tsk tsk..." Shen Shikui sighed, "It really hurts to give away tens of thousands of taels of silver all at once!"

“It’s not a gift…” Zhong Minghui corrected, “It’s an investment!”
-
At 3:45 AM, at the South Gate of Seoul.

Thousands of North Koreans crowded at the foot of the city wall, looking at the dozen or so large iron pots set up in the middle of the street and the grain piled up next to them, both surprised and delighted.

The aroma of bubbling rice porridge in the pot mingled eerily with the smell of gunpowder emanating from the city wall.

Several ragged children couldn't resist scooting forward, but were immediately glared back by the North Korean soldiers with spears.

"Line up!" a Korean official shouted, banging a gong. "The Great Ming Dynasty is boundless in its benevolence, showing compassion for its vassal states and their people. Today, the granaries are open to distribute grain! Each person will receive a bowl of porridge and three bushels of rice!"

The crowd immediately stirred, and countless people surged forward in disbelief.

Under the control of the soldiers in Dongjiang Town, lines of North Korean civilians stood cautiously in long queues, slowly moving forward, their eyes filled with anticipation as they looked at the porridge.

A thin, frail man, holding the coarse rice he had just received, suddenly knelt down and wept bitterly: "The Celestial Empire... is so benevolent!"

Standing on the city wall, Zhong Minghui watched as the Korean soldiers poured the old rice from the granary into a pot, and countless people knelt down in gratitude, praising the benevolence of the Ming Dynasty. Yet, a few strange thoughts arose in his heart.

Decades later, the Qing invaders, wielding their butcher knives, turned the land of China into a blood-red wasteland, leaving the world filthy with stench.

Then, he made the false promise of "never increasing taxes," which attracted countless scholars to worship him.

How similar it is to the scene before my eyes!

He heard heavy footsteps behind him—Shen Shikui came up with his personal guards, his face as gloomy as the sea before a storm.

"Are you satisfied now?" Shen Shikui said with a sneer, "In all my years of doing business, I, Shen, have never done a deal that resulted in me losing money!"

"General Shen, don't be so ungrateful for your good fortune!" Zhong Minghui said irritably. "This time, you're using Korean goods to win over the hearts and minds of your Great Ming and your Dongjiang Town, but it doesn't benefit Xinhua much."

"Hmph! Given the current strength of the Qing barbarians, our Great Ming Dynasty has no way to bring Korea back into its tributary state in the short term, let alone protect its security. This attempt to win hearts and minds is probably just a fool's errand!"

“General Shen, you need to broaden your horizons and expand your perspective!” Zhong Minghui smiled slightly. “When fighting against the Qing, we should not be fixated on a single moment or get bogged down in a single city or territory. In fact, given the size of the Ming Dynasty, with a population hundreds of times that of the Qing, and a territory far exceeding the depth of the Qing's domain, we should not have ended up in this situation.”

"Uh..." Shen Shikui gave a bitter laugh upon hearing this, "Yes, why has my Great Ming Dynasty fallen to this state..."

“If the Ming Dynasty wants to defeat the Qing, there are ways,” Zhong Minghui said slowly. “That is to fight the Qing at a loss, blockade them in Liaodong, and then cut off their internal and external communication, so that they cannot get any foreign supplies. Let them become poor, impoverished, and suffocated, until they can’t hold on and collapse on their own.”

"Hehe..." Shen Shikui shook his head: "In the end, I'm afraid our Great Ming will eventually... collapse. The Qing army is so powerful that almost no military town can stop it, and no general can withstand it. Since the Qing army broke into the country last September, they have been ravaging the region for more than half a year. The capital, Hebei, and Shandong have all been devastated. More than 100,000 loyalist troops are helpless and can only let the Qing army run rampant."

"How can we contain them in Liaodong and cut off their access to supplies? If we allow the Qing invaders to frequently enter the pass and sweep through the north, wreaking havoc on the people's livelihood, it will be our Great Ming that will eventually be unable to hold on!"

“It’s just about hurting each other and bleeding each other dry.” Zhong Minghui smiled. “If the Qing invaders raid the pass and ravage the north every year, then we will harass Korea every month and raid the Qing invaders’ rear every day. Let’s see who can’t hold out in the end.”

"Huanglong wanted to bleed the Qing invaders, but he ended up sacrificing himself and most of Liaonan Town." Shen Shikui said with a sigh. "My Dongjiang Town is far less capable than Liaonan Town. How can it shoulder this heavy responsibility?"

Although he and Huang Long had never gotten along and had even almost come to blows, he felt a sense of admiration and sorrow when he heard that Huang Long had been defeated and killed.

I don't know if my final fate will be the same.

“Your Dongjiang Town doesn’t need to confront the Qing forces head-on. You can continue with the previous guerrilla tactics,” Zhong Minghui said. “Liaoning and Korea, with their thousands of miles of coastline, where can’t we land and attack? The Yalu River and Liao River extend deep into the interior, where can we not lead troops to break through? With such a small population and military force, how can the Qing forces possibly defend every place?”

"All we can do is deplete the Qing forces' strength to the greatest extent possible, denying them the opportunity to accumulate and develop. Take Korea, for example. We've turned it into a quagmire, not only unable to provide the Qing with the manpower and resources they need, but also becoming a blood-draining and exhausting place for them, leaving them deeply mired and unable to extricate themselves..."
-
April 26, Kaizhou (present-day Kaicheng).

"The Koreans are truly useless!" Dodo carefully put away the monocular telescope in his hand, tucked it into his pocket, and snorted coldly.

"General, should we chase after that Prince Gwanghae, or march straight to Seoul?" Bahana, the chieftain of the Zhenglan Banner, asked in a deep voice.

"Seoul!" Dodo made the decision without hesitation.

“If we attack Seoul, we might not have enough troops.” Bahana glanced back at the troops behind him and said with some worry, “The main force of troops is still in Huangzhou, more than 200 miles away. If the Ming troops in Dongjiang Town hold the city and defend it to the death, it might be difficult to deal with them.”

"The Ming army won't defend the city." Dodo's lips curled into a mocking smile. "They're probably busy emptying out Seoul right now and then sailing out to sea."

"Ah!..." Bahana was stunned. "Why did they run away?"

"You idiot!" Dodo scolded, "Use your brain! Although Li Zong is a good-for-nothing, he is always quick on his feet. This time, Dongjiang Town broke through Hanseong, but he took advantage of the opportunity to escape with a group of civil and military officials and fled to Cheorwon, which made it impossible for the Ming army to control Hanseong."

"Tell me, if we charge in and they don't run away, are they just going to wait to be trapped in the city and slaughtered?"

"It is said that Seoul was surrendered voluntarily by a group of Korean rebels. What if the Ming army were to incorporate all those rebels into their ranks and use them for their own purposes..."

"Do you think that's possible? Don't forget, Yi Jong is still the King of Joseon, and all the prefectures and counties in the country recognize him as the legitimate ruler." Dodo said coldly, "If the Ming army is reckless and dares to hold Seoul, it will be tantamount to trapping themselves in a dead end. At that time, we can drive all the Joseon armies that come to the aid of the king to surround Seoul and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

"General...you are wise!" Bahana praised sincerely.

"Let's speed things up today and try to reach Gaoyang, then advance on Hancheng!" Dodo cracked his whip and shouted, "Once we've taken the city, we'll give everyone a couple of days' rest!"

"Yes, sir!" the generals roared in response.

"After this battle, Korea is likely to be in chaos!" Dodo glanced back at the smoke-filled city of Kaizhou behind him, a grave expression on his face.
-
(End of this chapter)