The Ming Dynasty's Spokesperson

After Li Dexin sat down again reluctantly, she remained silent and did not take the initiative to speak.

Lin Jinglue said that he wanted to "discuss" the issue of military rations, but in fact he just wanted to ask for it from his own side.

But he can't change food and grass, and it's hard for a clever woman to make a living without rice, so what else can he say?

Lin Tailai first introduced the situation and said: "This time the Japanese soldiers are very powerful, and the headquarters plans to spend one year to drive them away. The number of troops required is estimated to be 100,000, and it may even be more than 100,000."

Calculated based on this standard of military strength, including regular soldiers plus civilian personnel and losses, it is estimated that 800,000 dan of military rations will be needed in the next year.

At present, Liaodong only has 200,000 military rations in stockpiles, and there is still a gap of 600,000 that needs to be solved.

This is the situation and this is the problem. I wonder what help your country can provide us? "

After Li Dexin thought for a while, he replied: "As far as I know, there are 40,000 stones of grain stored in Pyongyang City. You can take it first and eat it."

This rhetoric again! Lin Tailai suddenly slapped the case and shouted:

"Three months ago, your country said that there were only a thousand Japanese soldiers in Pyongyang! You induced thousands of Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers to attack Pyongyang, but the result was a disastrous failure!

how? Do you want to do it again this time? To induce Ming Dynasty officials and troops to eagerly attack Pyongyang again? "

Li Dexin could only argue: "There was absolutely no intention to induce it! It's just that our country has three capitals: Wangjing, Kaesong, and Pyongyang, and Pyongyang is closest to the Ming Dynasty.

In any case, the priority should definitely be to regain Pyongyang as the foundation, and there is no second option. "

Lin Tailai said coldly: "Then please tell me clearly whether there are 40,000 shi of food stored in Pyongyang City?"

Li Dexin lowered her head and whispered: "That's unnecessary."

Lin Tailai was really angry and laughed. The unreliability of North Korea was clearly evident. Then he held his chest and felt tired.

Even if Governor Konishi of the First Japanese Legion occupied Pyongyang, he would not be able to eat up the original 40,000 koku of grain in three months, let alone transport it away with enough food.

As a result, North Korea cannot tell whether there is still food in Pyongyang!

It can only be said that the original so-called "forty thousand stones of grain storage" is probably just a book figure. No one knows how much is left in the granary, so Li Dexin can't answer it now.

Lin Tailai endured his temper and asked again: "If Seoul is recaptured and more than half of the country is restored before the spring of next year, how much tax and grain can your government collect in a year?"

Since ancient times, the biggest problem of military rations has been long-distance transportation, and being able to solve it locally has always been the top priority.

Lin Tailai does not expect North Korea to completely solve the military food problem, but it is also good for the local government to share as much as possible.

Li Dexin calculated silently and replied in a low voice: "Even if more than half of the country is restored, the most we can collect is 80,000 shi."

"How much?" Lin Tailai asked again in disbelief.

Li Dexin lowered his head again and said in an even lower voice: "Eighty thousand stones"

Lin Tailai said angrily: "Five years ago, when I was just a rural sage in a county in Suzhou, I could help the court collect 100,000 shi of grain every year!

How can you, a big country in the East, only have 80,000 shi a year?

I have reason to doubt it, because I first said I needed 800,000 shi, and then you took advantage of the situation and said 80,000 shi, which is exactly one-tenth. "

Li Dexin argued: "Our country's mountains and rivers are broken and people's livelihood is in decline. It is really difficult. These 80,000 stones include the supply to the king."

Lin Tailai's expectation was 200,000 dan, but in the end he only got 80,000 dan, and he didn't know whether it would be enough. The psychological gap was a bit big.

Covering his chest again, Lin Jinglue waved his hands feebly and said, "Otherwise, we should disband all your country's official troops and those local rebels!"

Li Dexin said in surprise: "What does this mean? They can all assist the heavenly soldiers to fight against the Japanese."

Lin Tailai said angrily: "Your country only has this little money and food, so what are you going to do if you don't disband these government and army rebels? Do you still want me, the Ming Dynasty, to pay for military food?"

Also, don’t mention assisting. I’m just afraid that your country’s officers and soldiers will assist you, so it’s best to stay away!

Since it's useless in combat, what's the use of keeping it? Forget it, all of them are used as laborers to transport food and grass! "

Li Dexin said anxiously: "No, if there are no officers and soldiers, is the country still a country?"

Lin Tailai said without any hesitation: "Except for the King's Guards and the Transport Team, your country will no longer need any government troops! That's it!"

Li Dexin argued hard: "Even if we are a transport team, there are no mules and horses! You can't just rely on shoulders and handbags to transport grain, right?"

Lin Tailai: "."

Damn it! There is one more thing to do, let you work as coolies and horses, and we need to equip you with mules and horses first, right?

Seeing Lin Jinglue's unhappy expression, Li Dexin plucked up the courage and said, "Even if you kill ten more envoys, our country will not be able to produce 200,000 shi of military rations and the mules and horses needed for operation."

Lin Jinglue couldn't help but close his eyes and sigh. He found that dealing with North Korea could especially cultivate his patience.

"No matter what, give me 80,000 shi next year!" Lin Tailai could only say harsh words.

At this time, Hao Jie, the governor of Liaodong, also came to Jiulian City to discuss logistics matters with Lin Tailai.

After inspection, Lin Tailai felt that Governor Hao was quite talented and courageous, so he entrusted many more trivial matters to Governor Hao.

In the original history, during the confrontation period during the Korean War, Shi Xing, the Minister of War, and Shen Weijing, the great fool, advocated peace and canonized Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

But at that time, Hao Jie firmly opposed the peace negotiation, claiming: "Toyotomi Hideyoshi died unjustly. If the court still canonizes him, it will only make foreign countries think that our country has no one."

Later, Hao Jie was transferred to Nanjing because of his disagreement with the mainstream of the court.

Seeing Governor Hao walking into the lobby of the shogunate, Lin Tailai greeted him and said, "I'm here just in time. Let's sit down and discuss the issue of military food transportation with the Korean envoy."

Then he told Governor Hao: “Due to the long and narrow geographical situation of North Korea and the characteristics of mountainous plateaus, sea transportation is extremely important for the supply of military supplies.

Especially the further south you go, the farther away you are from the mainland of Liaodong, and the more important sea transportation becomes. "

Then he asked: "Have the statistics been completed? How many ships can Liaodong mobilize now?"

Hao Jie replied: "There are currently fifty sea-going ships, each of which can carry three hundred stones.

Food can be transported from Liaodong and Beizhili to North Korea about a dozen times a year. Based on this calculation, excluding losses and risks of storms, hundreds of thousands of grains can be transported a year. "

Lin Jinglue frowned and said, "It's not enough, it's far from enough."

Then he added: "The detailed message sent from Shandong said that Dengzhou has mobilized thirty ships, each with 500 shi.

The general grain can be transported by land from Dezhou and Linqing Ercang to Dengzhou, then loaded on ships from Dengzhou, across the sea to Lushun and then along the islands to reach North Korea.

They expected to be able to deliver six or seven times a year, adding up to about 100,000 shi.

Calculated in this way, the annual shipping capacity of Liaodong and Shandong is about 200,000 shi. Even if land routes are added, how can this be enough? "

Hao Jie then commented: "How big the trees are in Liaodong, we can start emergency shipbuilding, and there should be a batch of new ships available by next year.

In addition, sea-going ships can be recruited and transferred from Nanzhi, Fujian and Zhejiang to Shandong to increase cross-sea transport capacity.

After surviving the first three or four months, it will not be a big problem to double the maritime transport capacity by next year.

The remaining shortfall will be supplemented by land transportation, which should be barely enough to consume the entire army. "

Next to Li Dexin, listening to the discussion between Lin Jinglue and Governor Hao, her heart was almost twisted with envy.

What is the gap in national power? This is the gap in national power. There is really no comparison.

Just like Lin Jinglue said when he was cursing just now, one county in Suzhou may have more money and food than the entire tax revenue of North Korea.

Lin Tailai glanced at Li Dexin and said to Governor Hao: "When the military rations are transported to North Korea, North Korean civilians are still needed to transport them.

But now North Korea wants nothing and can't count on anything. Even mules, horses and other livestock are in short supply.

Therefore, I would also like to ask the governor to purchase thousands of mules and horses in Liaodong and other northern regions and lend them to the Koreans. "

"Yes." Governor Hao agreed. The mentality is similar to that of Lin Jinglue just now - another job has been added to the horse!

Similar to what Governor Hao said, Lin Tailai turned to Li Dexin and said:

“If you want to transport it by sea on a large scale, you need to choose a location on the west coast of your country as a place to unload ships and store military supplies, and then transfer them to other places again.

Your country currently has no soldiers, no food, no livestock, but it should have land, right? "

Li Dexin asked: "I would like to hear the details."

Lin Tailai asked his subordinates to bring the map and display it on the public case. He first pointed to the edge, "The first location is Yiju at the mouth of the Yalu River. It is close to the coast and Liaodong. It can be used as the earliest military ration distribution center.

The second location is Guangliang Town, Jiangkou, Datong. When Pyongyang is recovered and the army continues to move south, it can be used to unload military rations shipped by sea. Firstly, it can support the army nearby, and secondly, it can also make use of the Datong River water system.

The third location is Ganghwa Mansion in Gyeonggi Province, your country. After recapturing Wangjing and Seoul, they can transport military supplies to Jianghua Mansion to support the army that continues to move south. "

Originally Li Dexin was just listening silently, but when she heard about Jianghua Mansion, she finally couldn't sit still and said in a voiceless voice: "No!"

Lin Tailai snorted coldly: "Why not?"

Li Dexin explained: "Jianghua Mansion is the gateway to Gyeonggi. If the heavenly ship comes to Jianghua, my king will not be safe."

In the eyes of the Korean monarchs and ministers, Ganghwa Mansion is only a hundred miles away from Wang Jing. It is the maritime gateway to Wang Jing and Seoul. How can foreign ships and navies be allowed to enter at will?

Lin Tailai said impatiently: "We do extraordinary things in extraordinary times, so why worry too much?"

Li Dexin was so anxious that he came up with another plan: "Our country also has a navy, which can transport military rations to Uiju or near Pyongyang and unload them, and then our navy can transport them south."

Lin Tailai's tone gradually became colder and he asked: "Am I discussing with you?"

"Ah, this" Li Dexin didn't know how to reply.

Then Lin Tailai took a picture of the map and said without any doubt: "My Ming Dynasty has borrowed all the three locations I marked out!

I am informing you, not negotiating with you! Also includes all the things I mentioned today! "

Li Dexin had nothing to say, nothing to say in reply, and the most important thing was that she didn't dare to say anything more.

Lin Tailai asked again: "Is this the end of today's story?"

It was obvious that he had said all that needed to be said and wanted to see the guests off.

Li Dexin stood up and asked, "What about the edict?"

Lin Tailai responded: "Just do as I say and use the dragon pavilion to carry the imperial edict across the river, and I won't go.

By the way, I heard that according to the etiquette and laws of your country, female musicians are always used to serve the Angel of Heaven. Why didn’t I see you this time? Could it be that someone looks down on me, Lin? "

Lin Tailai is not making this up, it is the fact. Serving the envoy with female musicians is a traditional Korean item.

Some envoys from the Ming Dynasty were too self-sufficient to accept the service of such female musicians. The North Koreans were not happy and felt that they were looking down on the North Koreans.

Whether to accept the service of female musicians is another etiquette dispute in the relationship between the two parties besides "bowing and kowtowing and three bows".

Hearing Lin Tailai openly asking for female musicians to serve him, Li Dexin replied with a bit of embarrassment: "Our country suffered from the Japanese invasion, and all the female musicians were killed and scattered. How can we use female musicians to serve you?"

Lin Tailai said disappointedly: "Forget it. After returning, report to your king and ask him to cross the river to Liao as soon as possible to vacate the Yizhou area as the forward base for the heavenly soldiers."

Afterwards, Lin Jinglüe politely sent the envoy Li Dexin to the door of the lobby, and suddenly remembered another thing.

"I want to ask, who in your country proposed that when the Ming official army arrives in Korea, it will be commanded by your generals?"

Li Dexin covered up and said: "It's just a few nonsense, why bother."

Lin Tailai said lightly: "No matter who proposed it, his intention is unpredictable and he should be killed! Behead him and send his head to the Jinglüe shogunate."

Li Dexin: "."

What did I talk about when I crossed the river this time? Could it be that I will become the most humiliating envoy in the history of my country?

Lin Tailai said a little worriedly: "Have you remembered all my requests? Please repeat them to me."

Li Dexin bowed weakly and said: "Don't worry, I've remembered them all."

Whose memory are you looking down on? Isn't it just sending the king across the river into the tiger's mouth, collecting 80,000 shi of military rations, leasing three coastal ports to the Ming Dynasty, disbanding most of the country's official troops, and killing those who tried to command the Ming Dynasty's soldiers, etc.?

Watching Li Dexin leave, Liaodong Governor Hao Jie asked Lin Tailai: "Why must the King of Korea cross the river to Liaodong? Do you want to put the King of Korea under house arrest?"

Lin Tailai replied: "Be careful! How dare I put the vassal king under house arrest at will? I just want to separate the King of Korea from the officials and civilians of Korea, so that the army will not be too restricted after entering Korea, and at the same time let the officials and civilians of Korea adapt to the days without the King of Korea giving orders."

Governor Hao asked again in confusion: "You are so hasty to force Korea right from the start."

Lin Tailai thought to himself, where are we now? Mines and the like have not been mentioned yet, mainly because I am afraid that taking too big a step at the beginning will scare the king and his ministers of Korea.

He replied: "They are afraid of power but not virtue, so we should take advantage of their desperate situation to make more demands, and they will have no choice but to agree.

Otherwise, when my Ming army strikes back at the Japanese soldiers and lets them recover, I want to do something again, and they will be reluctant and make all kinds of trouble."

Governor Hao nodded, said goodbye, and went to various places in Liaodong to prepare for logistics affairs.