Di Ming

Chapter 392 By Imperial Decree of the Grand Coordinator!
Most of the Ming army's 13,000 casualties came from Qi Jiguang's army. Qi Jiguang's army truly lived up to its reputation as one of the strongest armies in the land, fighting the most brutal hand-to-hand combat and serving as the main force of the Ming army's infantry.

The Jurchen soldiers lost another three or four thousand men.

When Zhu Yin received the battle damage statistics, his face was filled with grief, but in his heart he felt a little schadenfreude.

They finally achieved their goal of using someone else to do their dirty work and killing two birds with one stone.

Two months ago, Nurhaci led 10,000 elite Jianzhou troops into battle, but now only a little over 3,000 remain, suffering losses of more than two-thirds!

They were the most elite warriors of Jianzhou, the foundation upon which the Later Jin dynasty was founded in history.

The losses were so devastating that the Jianzhou Jurchens were not merely weakened; their very backbone was broken. Forget unifying the Jurchens and establishing the Jin Dynasty; they would struggle even to defend themselves.

The Haixi Jurchens, led by Buzhai, sent a total of 20,000 troops, but now only 6,000 or 7,000 remain, having also lost more than two-thirds of their forces!
Regardless of whether they were Jianzhou Jurchens or Haixi Jurchens, from the perspective of the entire Jurchen tribe, the Jurchens were essentially crippled.

The Jurchen tribes had been nearly wiped out, and even combined, they couldn't muster many elite troops.

The war against Japanese pirates in Goryeo was not only a national calamity for Goryeo, but also a catastrophe for the Jurchen tribes!

Zhu Yin knew that in September of this year in history, the famous Battle of Gule Mountain broke out in Liaodong.

In this battle, Nurhaci, a master of military strategy and a brave warrior, used 10,000 troops to achieve a great victory against overwhelming odds and defeat the 30,000 elite troops of the nine-tribe coalition led by Yehe Beile Buzhai.

The Battle of Gule Mountain was a turning point in the Jurchen's wars of conquest. Nurhaci rose to power through this battle, becoming the most powerful force among the Jurchen tribes and beginning to possess the strength to unify them.

The Haixi Jurchens, led by Yehe, were devastated by the defeat at Gule Mountain and their power waned. They were then divided and defeated piecemeal by Nurhaci.

But now, Nurhaci has no chance to win the Battle of Gule Mountain again. Even if another Battle of Gule Mountain were to occur and he won, the entire Jurchen population would be severely depleted; what could he possibly achieve then?
As it turned out, the more the Jurchen tribes weakened, the more respectful they became to the Ming Dynasty.

Buzhai, the strongest of the Jurchen tribes, was heartbroken by the enormous losses, yet he was even more trembling in front of Zhu Yin, not daring to show the slightest sign of complaint, for fear of offending Grand Tutor Zhu.

If we offend Grand Tutor Zhu, wouldn't the warriors have died in vain?
Nurhaci was even more distressed, because Jianzhou had an even smaller population and couldn't afford to lose anyone! Fortunately, he still had unwavering faith in Zhu Yin, believing that as long as his little tiger brother was alive, Jianzhou had hope. As for his ambition to unify the Jurchen tribes, he didn't even dare to think about it.

Although Zhu Yin was secretly pleased with the Jurchens' loss, he still comforted Nurhaci, Buzhai, and others, and said he would petition the court to give the Jurchens more rewards, recommend them for higher official positions, and grant titles and privileges to their wives and children.

Only then did Zhu Yin feel somewhat relieved about the threat posed by the Jurchens, but he was not completely at ease.

He still has to keep cleaning up the messes left by the Ming emperor and his officials!
Zhu Yin was well aware that the Ming Dynasty was very short-sighted in its strategy. It wasn't that the dynasty lacked strategists, but rather that even when it had them, they couldn't rise to prominence.

For example, the strategic policies towards Goryeo and Jurchen were extremely short-sighted.

The Korean people are actually quite similar to the Japanese in character. Their intelligence is no less than that of the Chinese, but because they are a small country, they have an extremely strong sense of crisis, making them extremely pragmatic. Strategically, they not only have clear goals, but are also planned and even aggressive.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo's policy toward the Ming Dynasty was consistently "aggressive".

However, this aggression was a soft, covert attack. They used various subtle tactics, taking advantage of the arrogance of the Ming Dynasty, to gradually expand northward, silently incorporating territories that originally belonged to China into the Goryeo territory.

Throughout the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo was constantly "expanding its territory".

Culturally, King Sejong created the Goryeo script, secretly attempting to replace Chinese characters. On the surface, he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but in reality, he had a hundred ulterior motives.

In terms of the assimilation strategy towards the Jurchens, the Ming Dynasty's strategic vision was far inferior to that of Goryeo.

Goryeo incorporated the territory of the Jurchens directly into Goryeo's territory and then promoted the Jurchens in these former Jurchen lands as descendants of Goryeo and national heroes who "reclaimed" Goryeo's homeland.

This move was both despicable and ruthless, directly turning the Jurchen region on the border into part of the Goryeo territory.

Even more insidiously, Goryeo went to great lengths to emphasize that these Jurchens were a people who had been assimilated by the Hu (non-Han) peoples and were not originally Jurchens. Now that they had returned to the embrace of their motherland, Goryeo, they should naturally restore their ancestral customs and traditions.

Therefore, they forced the Jurchens to grow their hair long and wear the right-hand hairpin, abandon their Jurchen names, abolish their old Jurchen customs, and then use Goryeo names, study Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, and intermarry with each other.

The leaders and activists among them were then appointed to official positions.

In addition, they spread their hatred for the Jurchens further north, incorporated them into the Goryeo army, and, under the pretext of revenge, annihilated their Jurchen compatriots, gradually encroaching northward, assimilating each tribe as they devoured it.

With this series of combined measures, within three generations, all the Jurchen tribes that had been annexed had become Koreans.

Through this systematic assimilation policy, Goryeo extended its borders from the Daedong River basin to the Tumen River basin, penetrating into what is now Jilin Province, and extending hundreds of miles northward.

In contrast, how did the Ming Dynasty treat the Jurchens?

The Ming Dynasty actually implemented a system of segregation!

Not only were they geographically isolated, which objectively maintained the relatively independent and closed status of the Jurchen tribes, but they also implemented cultural isolation by prohibiting the circulation of various books to the Jurchen tribes. This objectively prevented the Sinicization of the Jurchens and, in turn, helped them maintain their own ethnic characteristics.

It's as if by implementing this kind of isolation, the Jurchens can remain ignorant and backward forever.

And what was the result? Over two hundred years later, the Jurchen people, who were so close yet sparsely populated, were not assimilated into Han culture!
The fact that the Jurchens were not Sinicized is not because their backward culture was particularly stubborn or dominant; it was purely a deliberate act by the Ming Dynasty to preserve them.

This self-righteous and idiotic move was actually considered brilliant by the Ming Dynasty rulers and ministers. If they hadn't implemented this isolationist policy, the Jurchens would have been Sinicized long ago over two hundred years, and none of the subsequent events would have occurred. They wouldn't have needed to scheme against the Jurchens as soon as they arrived in the Ming Dynasty.

But can he really do without cleaning up the messes left by those foolish rulers and ministers?
……

While the Ming army and the Japanese army were engaged in a decisive battle in Anju, Xiong Tingbi and Guang Haijun, who had recaptured Pyongyang in the south, also defeated the Japanese army from Seoul that came to Pyongyang's aid.

Fukushima Masanori, stationed in Seoul, already had only a little over 10,000 troops left, in addition to 30,000 Korean puppet troops. When Xiong Tingbi attacked Pyongyang, he sent 8,000 Japanese troops north to support him, leaving Seoul vulnerable.

As a result, the Ming army and the Goryeo navy, who had already received Zhu Yin's plan, immediately split into two and acted separately.

Yi Sun-sin, the commander of the Goryeo navy and military governor, led 8,000 Goryeo naval troops to continue fighting the Japanese navy. Then, Chen Lin, a Ming general, led more than 10,000 Ming naval troops away from the battle area and sailed upstream from the mouth of the Han River, directly into the Han River.

The appearance of the Ming navy put Fukushima Masanori and the Japanese army in Seoul on high alert. Unfortunately, they had no navy, and Seoul was also short of troops. They could only watch helplessly as the Ming navy occupied the Seoul shipyard, capturing the Japanese warships under construction, a large amount of shipbuilding materials, and more than a thousand Korean shipbuilders.

The ship materials and craftsmen that the Japanese army spent months looting all ended up benefiting the Ming army, who took them all!

Fukushima Masanori was so angry he was about to vomit blood, but there was nothing he could do.

He was unaware that the Japanese army in Anju had been completely wiped out, and that only his small force remained of the Japanese army in Goryeo.

If he knew, I wonder what he would think.

...

With the victory at Anzhou over, the Ming generals and commanders each submitted their reports of victory.

This time, seeing that the Ming army's great victory was assured, the imperial inspector Qian Shizhen began to impeach Zhu Yin.

After reporting the victory in his memorial, Qian Shizhen impeached Zhu Yin for mistreating surrendered Japanese soldiers, allowing Ning Qingchen to disembowel and drain blood from the surrendered soldiers, and using them to experiment with various strange drugs. In less than two months, thousands of surrendered soldiers were killed. This was an act that violated the laws of Heaven and the wisdom of the Emperor and the benevolent rule of the dynasty. It was not the behavior of a gentleman.
Of course, Qian Shizhen was just stating his opinion honestly, without embellishing or slandering Zhu Yin.

As for the matter of the King of Goryeo asking him to impeach Zhu Yin for being tyrannical and domineering, he didn't write a single one of them.

After the great victory, the Ming army also rescued more than 5,000 Goryeo women from the Japanese camp who had suffered greatly. They had been abducted by the Japanese pirates and forced into prostitution, living a life worse than death.

After rescuing them, Zhu Yin handed them over to the Goryeo court and its officials, leaving them to be cared for by the Goryeo government. Zhu Yin sympathized with their plight and issued an order to provide them with rations and cloth so that they would not go hungry or lack clothing.

However, on the third day after handing them over to the Goryeo royal court, Kangxi hurriedly sent a secret report saying, "Your Majesty, the King of Goryeo has ordered the execution of more than 5,000 Goryeo women, and the Goryeo imperial guards are already arresting them."

"What's going on?" Zhu Yin frowned. "They were pitiful people too. The Goryeo royal court couldn't protect them, which already shows their injustice. Why kill them?"

Kangxi said, "Many of the rescued Goryeo women harbored resentment towards the royal court, saying that it was because of the royal court's incompetence that Goryeo suffered massacres and atrocities at the hands of the Japanese pirates, and that they were subjected to all kinds of humiliation by the Japanese army. Their complaints reached the ears of the Goryeo king, which enraged him. This is the first matter."

"The second thing is that the rations and cloth allocated to them by the lord were intercepted by the King of Goryeo, who only gave them thin porridge. Who knew that they would find out about the interception of the rations, and some of them cursed the royal court for being corrupt and treacherous, saying that the Ming general was not as good to them as the king."

"When these two incidents reached the royal court, how could the Goryeo king and his ministers tolerate them? They immediately convicted them of four major crimes: serving the Japanese, betraying the country and surrendering to the enemy, insulting the king and father, and showing contempt for the royal court. They were called Goryeo traitors and ordered to be executed."

"In fact, the Goryeo king and his ministers killed them to silence them. After all, in the eyes of the royal court, they were a disgrace to Goryeo, and keeping them alive would only damage the royal court's reputation."

Zhu Yin snorted coldly, "Damn it, they can't do anything with the Japanese pirates, they just run away. But they fabricate charges and slaughter all the Korean women who harbor resentment."

Xu Wei also sneered, "The King of Goryeo is truly heartless and insane. The people of Goryeo are incredibly unlucky to have such a ruler."

"My lord should intervene in this matter and save the more than five thousand Goryeo women. Even if they are brought back to the Ming Dynasty, it would be better than being killed by the Goryeo king and his ministers. They have experienced the destruction of their country and the misery of being in the Japanese pirate camp. If they are saved by my lord, they will surely be extremely grateful to him. Even if they are sold into slavery, they can still live."

Zhu Yin nodded and said, "Five thousand lives, such a big matter, even if you hadn't said so, I wouldn't have ignored it."

After saying that, he stood up and gave the order: "Prepare the horses! We're going to the Goryeo Palace!"

Soon, Zhu Yin, accompanied by a large contingent of personal guards and carrying royal flags and imperial envoy regalia, headed towards the nearby Goryeo palace. The imperial guards camp near the Goryeo palace were also mobilized, surrounding the South Market Ward, where over five thousand Goryeo women were temporarily housed.

The Goryeo imperial guards shouted sternly, "By order of His Highness! Arrest the traitorous woman! Anyone who resists will be killed on the spot!"

"Why aren't you surrendering yet!"

The Goryeo women of Nanshi Ward never expected that they would be accused of such terrible crimes so soon after being rescued by the Ming army!

A bold Korean woman angrily asked, "General, why are you arresting us Koreans?"

The Imperial Guard general, who was being questioned, raised his hand and plunged his sword into the woman's heart, twisting it violently. As he pulled the sword out, he kicked her.

"Ah—" the Korean woman screamed in agony as blood gushed from her chest like a fountain, and she died instantly. Even in death, her eyes remained fixed on something filled with resentment.

The women around were so frightened that they stood frozen on the spot, their faces ashen.

The Imperial Guard general brandished his blood-stained Goryeo sword and shouted sternly:
"Why? You have dedicated yourselves to the Japanese, betrayed your country, insulted your sovereign and father, and shown contempt for the royal court. This is your crime! If you dare to utter another word, this is what will happen to her!"

"Take them all away! Move them to a prison outside the city!"

A large contingent of imperial guards rushed forward, pushing and shoving, driving more than 5,000 Goryeo women out of the South Market Ward.

Soon, more than 5,000 Goryeo women were escorted out of Anju City, weeping and wailing, and taken to the banks of the Cheongcheon River.

They weren't stupid; seeing that they were being led to the riverbank, they realized that the royal court might be planning to massacre them!

As expected, the Imperial Guard commander unfurled an edict and read aloud: "...The Goryeo traitor, willingly serving the Japanese pirates, betraying her country and ancestors, insulting her sovereign and father, acting as an accomplice to the wicked... her crimes are outrageous, and only execution can appease public anger and uphold justice. Although I have a merciful heart, the law of the land is inescapable, and she is hereby executed to serve as a warning to others... This is my decree!"

The Goryeo women were filled with both hatred and fear upon hearing the royal decree. The royal court truly intended to kill them!

"Spare me! General, spare me!"

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Besides begging for mercy, many women also shouted:
"We want to see the Grand Commander of the Ming Dynasty, Simida!"

"We want to see the angel, Smida!"

The Imperial Guard general sneered, "You still think Zhu Yin can save you? If you want to see him, go see him after you're dead! Guards, prepare to execute the traitorous woman!"

Amid the woman's screams and curses, a large contingent of Goryeo imperial guards drew their swords and bows, preparing to slaughter their own compatriots.

These Goryeo imperial guards, who had previously fled at the mere sight of the Japanese army, were now filled with murderous intent and showed no mercy to the women.

Because these more than 5,000 Goryeo camp prostitutes had all lost their virginity, and their bodies were covered with filth and dirt that could never be washed away.

Moreover, their existence serves as a reminder to other Koreans of the humiliation Korea suffered under the Japanese army.

The royal court has lost all face because of their existence. They are not only guilty, but their crimes are unforgivable!

Must die!

Just as the Goryeo imperial guards were about to carry out the massacre, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves and saw a troop of cavalry galloping towards them, led by Li Rusong.

The Goryeo imperial guards were startled by the sudden appearance of the Ming cavalry, but they immediately showed respect and did not continue to attack.

The Ming army is now extremely powerful; they can't even stand up straight in front of them.

"By order of the Grand Coordinator!" Li Rusong cracked his whip and shouted, "Pardon all the rescued women! It is strictly forbidden to harm them! Anyone who disobeys will be executed without exception! This is the Grand Coordinator's order! Do you all understand?"

What? The Goryeo women were both surprised and delighted to hear that their lord had sent people to rescue them.

The Imperial Guard commander was Lim Dong-eun, a member of the Yangban aristocracy and a confidant of the King of Goryeo, who was always arrogant and domineering. Although he feared Zhu Yin and the Ming army, he was still displeased to see Zhu Yin issuing an order to stop him from carrying out the king's command.

Under the watchful eyes of his subordinates and the Korean women, Lin Dongyan's face flushed red. He could hardly swallow his anger and could only muster his courage and step forward to say:

"General Li, I am Lin Dongyan, the commander of the Imperial Guards. I have been ordered by His Highness to execute a traitorous woman who has defected to the enemy. I am bound by royal command, and I humbly request that General Li grant me this favor..."

Li Rusong sat upright on his horse, looking down coldly at Lin Dongyan, his tone icy: "Has this official not made it clear? This is the Grand Marshal's decree, have you heard it clearly?"

Lin Dongyan sensed the immense pressure from Li Rusong and couldn't help but take a step back, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat. He swallowed hard, clasped his hands in a trembling manner, and said:
"In reply to General Li, how dare I disobey the orders of the Grand Coordinator? It's just that these Goryeo traitors have already been convicted of betraying their country, insulting their sovereign, and showing contempt for the royal court. His Highness has issued a royal decree to punish them according to the law. I am in a difficult position and dare not disobey the General."

He was naturally afraid, but he dared not back down.

The Ming people considered themselves the superior Celestial Empire, making them easy to deceive and fool. They often didn't take offense and were actually not difficult to deal with. However, if one offended the king, they would no longer be valued or trusted.

Offending Zhu Yin is not a big deal; how long can Zhu Yin stay in Goryeo? But if he loses the king's trust, he's finished.

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong smiled slightly. "So, you'd rather obey your country's king's decree than the Grand Coordinator's order?"

"This..." Lin Dongyan trembled slightly, and said dryly with his head down, "This humble general is, after all, a Goryeo person. Afterwards, this humble general personally went to the General's Palace to pay respects and ask the General to punish me."

He was convinced that Zhu Yin wouldn't hold it against him and wouldn't really do anything to him.

"Good!" As soon as Li Rusong uttered the word "good," he suddenly raised his hand and thrust his spear into Lin Dongyan's chest with a soft thud.

"Ah—" Lin Dongyan never expected that Li Rusong would actually kill him!
Lin Dongyan gripped the spearhead piercing his chest with both hands, his eyes bulging as he stared at Li Rusong, and instantly lost control of his bladder.

With a clang, his knife, still stained with the blood of the Goryeo woman, fell to the ground.

The surrounding Goryeo imperial guards were all dumbfounded and silent as if frozen in fear.

With a single flick of his hand, Li Rusong tossed Lin Dongyan's corpse away, killing as easily as killing a chicken, without even blinking an eye.

"A mere commander of the Goryeo Imperial Guards dares to disobey the Prime Minister's orders? You're courting death," Li Rusong said coldly. "The Grand Coordinator is an imperial envoy of the Celestial Empire, in charge of all military and political affairs in Goryeo. Even the King of Goryeo must cooperate with him. Who do you think you are, to be so arrogant?"

His tiger-like eyes swept across the surrounding Goryeo imperial guards with undisguised disdain. "Hmm?"

Upon hearing this "hmm," the Goryeo imperial guards were immediately jolted awake, as if from a dream. They knelt down in unison, dropped their weapons, and kowtowed, saying:
"I humbly obey the orders of the Grand Marshal, General, please spare my life..."

Li Rusong waved his hand, "Untie their ropes, release them, and then get out of here!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The Goryeo Imperial Guards hurriedly stood up. "We will obey the General's orders!"

Then, they quickly untied the ropes binding the Goryeo women.

Overjoyed at being rescued, the Korean women knelt down one after another, quickly forming a large, dark mass of kneeling women who unanimously thanked Li Rusong.

Li Rusong said, "I am only acting on the orders of the Grand Coordinator. You don't need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank the Grand Coordinator."

"The Grand Chancellor said that you can continue to stay in Nanshi Ward temporarily, and he will have the King of Goryeo return your rations and cloth."

Upon hearing this, all the women couldn't help but burst into tears, deeply grateful to Zhu Yin.

...

At this very moment, inside the Goryeo King's palace, Zhu Yin strode in with a frosty expression.

Upon hearing this, the King of Goryeo immediately led a group of ministers to come out and greet him.

Upon meeting him, Zhu Yin coldly said, "Your Highness, I led the royal army in a bloody battle to recover the lost territory. But now that you've arrived in Anzhou, have you forgotten the dire straits we faced in Yizhou?"

Li Yen's expression changed, and he said with an awkward smile, "Why do you say that, General?"

Zhu Yin sat down with an air of authority. "Those five thousand Goryeo women were pitiful people rescued by the royal army from the Japanese pirate camp. I sympathized with them, so I handed them over to the royal court for resettlement and also provided them with grain and cloth."

"But Your Highness wants to slaughter them and seize their grain and cloth. Is this what a benevolent ruler should do? They are not Japanese pirates, they are Koreans, your people!"

"This involves five thousand lives! Your Highness issued a massacre order without consulting me? Such a momentous matter, why didn't Your Highness discuss it with me before making a decision? Hmm?!"

P.S.: This chapter isn't filler; it's time to explain some non-military details. Thank you, goodnight! Please vote with monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)