Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 245 The dismissal of the yaban nobility and the redistribution of land.
Zheng Cai's fear was unfounded, because the cavalry could not cross the sea to attack them. He had only heard how ferocious and terrifying the Jurchens were, but this was the first time he had seen a living Jurchen.

The Jurchens truly had something to fear. Amin's Bordered Blue Banner had been fighting against Dongjiang Town for many years and was no stranger to the navy. They had even launched surprise attacks on ports and burned Ming ships on several occasions when the sea was frozen. But this time was different!

The colossal ships on the sea resembled floating cities. They had never seen such massive vessels in the Dongjiang naval forces before, and there were countless of them, not just one. Even if each ship carried two or three hundred people, there must be tens of thousands of soldiers here.
After the war, only 7,000 people remained in the Bordered Blue Banner, 5,000 of whom were veterans and the other 2,000 were just recruited as thirteen or fourteen-year-old child soldiers.

The Jurchen cavalry arrived quickly and departed just as fast, and the two sides ultimately did not engage in battle. Soon after, Korean officials arrived upon hearing the news. Most of them understood some Chinese, and the two sides finally managed to communicate. Then Zheng Cai and his group learned some outrageous news: the Jurchens were retreating north on a large scale, and local officials were willing to defect and assist the Ming army in recovering Korea.

What followed went remarkably smoothly. They were completely bewildered as they reclaimed a significant portion of Korea's territory. Officials kept defecting to their side, and several thousand soldiers inexplicably appeared, eager to be fed. Although their equipment was tattered, mainly consisting of swords and shields, with firearms being extremely scarce, they were undoubtedly an army.

A series of problems arose one after another. Faced with the urging of North Korean officials to advance their troops, Zheng Cai and his men did not know how to respond and could only send a fast ship to inform the court.

The imperial court reacted quickly enough, but Yuan Keli, the Liaodong military commissioner, reacted even faster, having received the news first, while the court only received secondhand information from him. The million shi of grain transported by the grain convoy was desperately needed in southern Liaoning, and because of their lost navigation, time had been wasted, and people in southern Liaoning were already starving to death.

To prevent these unreliable fellows from getting lost again, Yuan Keli immediately dispatched the Dengzhou and Laizhou naval forces to provide assistance, and even personally boarded a ship and fled to Korea. In any case, Mao Wenlong was watching over Liaonan, and Dengzhou was not at war, so his temporary departure was not a big deal. The governor-general was required to travel back and forth and patrol the border.

With the addition of the Dengzhou and Laizhou naval forces, and Yuan Keli taking command, the morale of the various naval units was greatly stabilized. He first ordered Zheng Cai and others to evacuate in batches, transporting the grain to Liaonan for delivery, and then dispatched a detachment to the mouth of the Yalu River, making a great show of force and creating the impression that he was about to launch a major offensive and cut off the Jurchens' retreat.

This tactic was intended to delay the Jurchens' reaction time and allow them to construct a decent defensive line along the Han River. Spring was approaching, and once the ice on the Han River melted, they would have the resources to resist the Jurchens' attack. Even if they couldn't hold out in the end, they would at least have a year to react. During this year, they could either relocate people or vigorously build a defensive line.

A few days later, Yuan Keli received a reply from the court and a secret letter from the emperor. A complex plan involving multiple countries, concerning how to exploit the manpower and resources of Korea and how to weaken the Jurchen forces, was launched. This was a huge test for the Ming Dynasty's incompetent court and for Yuan Keli's personal abilities.

As expected, the news from Korea reached Yi Jong's ears, and he was overjoyed: he had almost given up hope, but sending women to the emperor had indeed worked! However, he couldn't understand why the Ming court hadn't informed him of such a big matter beforehand, but instead had to wait for someone from his own country to travel thousands of miles to deliver the message.

Zhu Youjian did not receive the King of Joseon, but instead sent Sun Chengzong to deal with him perfunctorily. The King of Joseon was still a useful figurehead, but it was not appropriate to let Yi Jong return to his country. After returning, he would most likely be busy consolidating power and purging the Yangban nobles. Zhu Youjian did not have the patience to wait for them to fight to a conclusion.

The complex web of grudges between the Yi royal family, the meritorious officials, and the "Shilin faction" was too much for Zhu Youjian to unravel. He had lost faith in the old bureaucrats of Korea. He needed to use the Koreans, but the middlemen had to be eliminated. He ordered Yuan Keli to send high-ranking officials from the Yangban aristocracy back to Korea under the pretext of serving the Korean king. He also arrested a large number of local nobles on charges of colluding with the Jurchens, confiscating their property and exiling them to the army. Only a small number of those who spoke fluent Chinese and were capable in administrative matters were kept to communicate with and manage the Korean people.

After ousting these nobles, the land was distributed to the people of Korea for cultivation, able-bodied men were incorporated into the army, and the surplus population was relocated.

What Zhu Youjian was trying to do was, in fact, to carry out a radical and reckless reform in North Korea. It might improve the lives of the North Korean people to some extent, or it might go wrong at some crucial step, causing severe social unrest. Or the reform might be completed very well, but if it couldn't be maintained, everything would come to an end.

The Ming Dynasty will not invest too much in Korea. The situation of sending hundreds of thousands of troops to fight in Korea, as was the case during the Wanli Emperor's aid to Korea, will probably not happen again.

The feeling of being dependent on others was unpleasant. After learning of the restoration of the three provinces of Jiangnan, Li Zong had already planned to return to his country.

When he fled, he did not run south, but ran to the island in the west because the Ming army was exhausted and had no intention of entering the battlefield. He felt that running south would ultimately leave him nowhere to hide.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has entered the fray, he feels he's back to his old self, because he can't wait to go back and be his king, even if it's just the king of three of the eight provinces of Joseon.

However, Sun Chengzong gently advised him, telling him that the situation in Korea was not yet stable and that the Jurchens could return at any time. He also told him some of the truth, revealing the fact that the Ming army's forces in Korea were weak.

For his safety, it is hoped that he will not return to his country for the time being, and will be sent back after the Ming Dynasty has recovered the entire territory of Korea. Moreover, in order to inspire the Korean army and people to resist the Jurchens, it is hoped that he will write a few edicts to encourage the people, vow to fight the Jurchens to the end, urge the people to cooperate with the Ming army, and persuade the army and people of Jiangbei to surrender.

Li Zong was no match for a cunning old fox like Sun Chengzong. He was easily fooled and deeply moved. While holding Sun Chengzong's hand, he promised to repay the kindness of the Grand Secretary after the restoration of the country.

This made Sun Chengzong feel a little reluctant, because if Korea were not recovered, it would be fine, but if it were, it could very well be the day King Injo died. At that time, the King of Korea would become the Queen of Korea, and the Crown Prince of Korea would be the emperor's son.

It was indeed inconvenient for the Ming Dynasty to annex its own vassal states, but there were many ways to achieve actual control, form nominal independence, and effectively annex them!
(End of this chapter)