Chapter 1505
The demeanor of a strong man
Chapter 1505 The demeanor of a strong man
Absolutely powerful force, it is difficult for people to come up with the idea of ​​confrontation, and the ruthless destruction of the target ship by the Haihan Fleet is precisely to achieve such an effect.The old ship didn't even last long enough for the entire fleet to complete a single blow, and by the time the last few ships entered the firing zone, less than a third of the ship was still afloat.However, the navy still strictly implemented the exercise plan, and continued to pour artillery shells at the wreckage of the ships on the water.Although some cannonballs will inevitably be hit in the air, the high water splashes have more visual impact on the audience.
It is not that the Korean monarchs and ministers have not seen naval battles, but the long-range firepower of the Panok and Turtle ships listed by the Korean navy is simply incomparable to the Haihan warships.In the Battle of Luliang in 1598, although the coalition fleets of Daming and North Korea also used artillery and guns as firepower output, the tactics used in the battle were still dominated by side-to-side battles, such as the Haihan Fleet. It is unheard of for North Korean monarchs and ministers to bombard the target at the end.
"It's true...it's amazing!" After watching this shelling drill, Li Zhen could only express such emotions.If North Korea had such a powerful fleet at the beginning, the North Korean army would not have fought so hard in the two naval battles against the Japanese invasion of Mingyang and Luyang more than 30 years ago.
The generals around Li Yu saw more things. The Haihan Fleet's staggeringly high speed maintained its formation while advancing on the river, and even the rhythm of firing guns was very regular. The sound of the naval guns showed that the fleet was well trained.If it is inferred from this, Shen Zhixiang's claim that this fleet has very rich combat experience, and even wiped out Houjin's maritime armed forces, is indeed not bragging.
As the general of the Ming army, Shen Zhixiang respected this fleet so much, which also showed another thing. The strength of the Haihan fleet was above the Daming Navy Division.If it is more powerful than the Ming army navy, then for the generals of North Korea, it can basically be equated with the strongest in the world.
Li Yu's idea is very intuitive and simple. The tactical literacy and equipment level displayed by the Haihan Fleet are indeed not pretentious. If the Haihan people can completely suppress Houjin at sea, then the performance on land should not be too bad.According to the information brought back by Luo Xian, the Haihan army could hang the Jin army in a fancy way on the Liaodong battlefield. Although the Korean monarchs and ministers did not believe it at that time, after watching the exercise of this fleet, everyone understood that Luo Xian Shouldn't brag for Haihan on this matter.
"General Shen, since the Haihan people are so powerful, why didn't they start exchanges with our country two years earlier? If they had contacted earlier, maybe they wouldn't be so nervous now." Li Yu's seemingly regrettable remarks were actually intended to pass The relationship between Shen Zhixiang has eased the tension between the two sides. After all, when the Haihan Fleet landed on the shore, it seemed that the countdown to the outbreak of the war had already entered the countdown, but now I know that the Haihan people did not intend to go to war with North Korea, Li Qi felt it necessary to restore the impression that his country left on the other side.
Shen Zhixiang replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Haihan's entry into Liaodong only started last winter, only about half a year ago. But at that time, if an alliance was proposed to North Korea, Haihan would not be able to show a record that would convince your country. , most likely will be rejected by your country. Therefore, Commander Haihan decided to open up the situation in Liaodong first, and then discuss the alliance with your country, so that it is safe."
This is of course just a high-sounding statement. In fact, when Shanghai Han planned the invasion of Liaodong, he did not consider the existence of North Korea too much.Because Haihan executives are actually aware of the situation in North Korea, and know that this country is actually a bit unreliable, and they are used to sitting on the wall to see the wind direction.At that time, Haihan's advance into Liaodong was still a highly confidential plan, but to attract North Korea to join them, they had to tell them the secret, and the possibility of leaking military information would become very large.In addition to the official messengers stationed in Seoul, Houjin also had many ears and ears for the people. Once he was informed of Haihan's plans in Liaodong, the difficulty of action would be greatly increased.
The Ministry of Security also specially warned the military not to take risks because of temporary interests, so in the end, the military did not try to discuss the possibility of military cooperation with North Korean high-level officials before advancing to Liaodong.And he also specially warned several high-level generals who knew about Dongjiang Town not to disclose Haihan's plans in Liaodong to the outside world.
Of course, Shen Zhixiang knew about it. He was instructed to keep it secret from the North Koreans, so naturally he didn't talk about it.The root of this matter is that the Haihan people do not trust Korea. Considering the issue of their face, of course, this kind of thing cannot be said directly to the king of Korea.
Li Yu suddenly realized: "General Shen's words are reasonable. In this way, General Haihan has considered it very well." Between the words, it seemed that he did not notice the problem at all. Of course, even if he did, Li Yu would not A fool would not express dissatisfaction in front of Shen Zhixiang.After all, Shen Zhixiang's position is obviously on the side of Haihan. His words and deeds will definitely be communicated to Haihan later. Now that the Haihan fleet has not left on the Hanjiang River, only words and deeds can avoid misfortune. out.
Li Yu's statement set the tone for the next contact between the two sides. Not only did Shen Zhixiang receive such a signal, but the civil and military ministers around Li Yu also immediately understood what the king meant.
The Haihan people have already taken out their bargaining chips, and Li Yu should be more satisfied with this. After all, an army that can completely suppress Hou Jin on the battlefield is an elusive existence in North Korea at present.If even the Ming military has endorsed the reliability of the Haihan Army, then North Korea has no reason to believe that Haihan can help North Korea get out of the predicament of being enslaved by Houjin.
Of course, Li Yu and his ministers will definitely not accept all the logistical support Haihan requested from North Korea, and there must be a process of bargaining.But as long as the North Korean side relaxes, the rest will be relatively simple. Haihan is very good at this kind of negotiation, not to mention that there is an armed fleet waiting here, and the next negotiation pace will most likely come from Haihan. control.
One hour after Li Yu made his statement, Tom Wang received the good news from Shen Zhixiang.Although this is the trend that everyone expected, it is also the result of the coordination of the military, intelligence, diplomacy, logistics and other departments to be able to let the North Koreans relax so smoothly.And if you think about it carefully, the cost of this operation is also very considerable. The fleet is almost concentrated on more than [-]% of the combat ships of the Northern Fleet, and the entire marine corps is also accompanying in case of emergency.All equipment and ammunition rations, as well as expenses during the operation of the entire fleet, were carried out according to wartime standards.If an armed conflict really breaks out outside Seoul, Tom Wang is also confident to teach the North Koreans a good lesson.
"Save money and trouble." Wang Tom gave a four-character comment on the compromise of the Koreans.Now that the North Koreans know the current affairs at the last minute, the expected armed conflicts and troubles arising from extravagances should not appear, which is indeed good news for Haihan.Although Haihan had already wiped out Houjin's water armed forces, the Northern Fleet had been away from Liaodong for too long and it was not very stable. Wang Tom also hoped to get the Korean side as soon as possible and let the Northern Fleet return to Liaodong to carry out the real combat mission.
But before that, he also had to be patient and deal with the things that should be dealt with with the North Korean monarchs and ministers first.After a day and a night of negotiation between the two sides through Shen Zhixiang, the middleman, it was finally agreed to hold a meeting between the king of Joseon and the commander of Haehan in a palace courtyard at the foot of the Namsan Mountain in the south of Seoul.
Tom Wang was not worried about what tricks the North Koreans could play, and only brought a platoon of people ashore to go to the appointment.In order to show the style of the Haihan Army, Tom Wang also specially applied for a group of war horses to accompany him this time, which came in handy.The Koreans saw that the Haihan Army actually led dozens of war horses from the boat to ride, and they even believed that the Haihan Army came to Seoul this time with the determination to start a war if they could not negotiate. Otherwise, if it was just a water demonstration, why bother Carrying so many war horses is clearly used to prepare for landing operations.
Wang Tom's own mount is a very strong and tall black Andalusian horse, which was introduced by the Portuguese from the Iberian Peninsula in Europe the year before.After being a stallion at the horse farm for a year, it was handed over to Tom Wang last year.It's a pity that Tom Wang spent more time at sea than on land. This precious mount was transported from Sanya to Zhejiang, and then from Zhejiang to Shandong and Liaodong. During this period, there was not much time for riding, and Harugong scolded him. He is a waste of money, and plans to find a time to take the horse back and continue to be a stallion.
After Shen Zhixiang came to meet Wang Tom, the group went to Nanshan under the leadership of the North Korean military attache.The hill located in the south of Seoul is only more than [-] meters high at the highest point, but it is already regarded as the commanding heights near Seoul.The Nanshan Mountain is covered by lush vegetation, and at the foot of the mountain is used as a holiday hunting palace by the kings of the Li Dynasty, and a courtyard is built here for living at any time.
When Tom Wang lived in Jiangnan, he also saw the courtyards of many rich and noble families in the coastal prefectures, but the courtyards built by the Korean royal family are really not luxurious, nor have much artistic sense at all. They are basically ordinary Korean dwellings. Just an enlarged version.According to Shen Zhixiang's explanation, this is also because North Korea is relatively backward in architecture and it is difficult to design and build Chinese-style courtyards by itself.Even if you are a king, the layout of this palace courtyard is actually similar to the courtyard of the nouveau riche in the countryside of Daming, but the area is larger.
However, the king of Joseon was still quite proud of his palace courtyard, and he was very hospitable to introduce the origin of every brick, stone and plant to Tom Wang, who met for the first time.Although transporting a rockery from a hundred miles away, or moving a big tree from somewhere in the mountain sounds great, in Wang Tom's view, this is simply a pediatrician. There's not much to behold.Just standing in the position of the guests, politely expressed appreciation and envy to these details that the host is proud of.
But in Li Yu's eyes, he could not help adding some drama to Wang Tom. He thought it was a manifestation of General Haihan's friendly attitude towards himself and the Korean state.The next negotiation between the two parties should be based on this friendly atmosphere.
Of course, after he sat down and started negotiating with Tom Wang, he realized he was wrong.In the negotiation of the alliance between the two countries and related rights and obligations, Tom Wang has no intention of being polite to him.
"Food and manpower are two resources that your country must provide to Liaodong, and our country will have some specific requirements for quantity and supply time." Wang Tom rudely reiterated Haihan's request to Li Yu: " In addition, such as livestock and poultry, timber, iron, coal, and other living materials, please also ask your country to provide the source of goods, we will not ask for it for free, but will offer you a reasonable price for trading."
Li Yu was not a monarch who was good at negotiating, but Tom Wang only talked to him by name. Li Yu couldn't even push his ministers out to fight on his behalf.Li Yu didn't seem to find a suitable way to refuse Wang Tom's aggressive demands.For the first time, he discovered that in addition to the envoys of the Ming Dynasty and the envoys of the Houjin, there were other people who could overwhelm his heart with just words.
"General Wang, these matters can be discussed later. This king believes that since your country wants to form an ally with our country and is willing to provide military shelter for our country, can we also consider training the army for our country, or sell some properties. Excellent weapons for our country?" Li Yu decided to try to control the rhythm of the negotiation into his own hands.
Tom Wang understands why Li Yu has such an idea. One of Shen Zhixiang's tasks is to introduce to the Koreans the many assistance that Dongjiang Town has received from Haihan, including training the army, training officers, providing new weapons, etc. The purpose is to It is necessary to encourage the North Koreans to seek military assistance from Haihan on their own.
Of course, the purpose of instigating Shen Zhixiang to do this is not really to help North Korea improve its military strength. The military just wants to find a place to dispose of the old weapons that have been eliminated in the early years or are about to be eliminated.A country like North Korea, where people have a lot of stupid money and is easy to bully, is of course a very ideal target.In the name of military assistance, the old-fashioned arquebuses and flintlock guns in the warehouse were sold to North Korea at a "reasonable" price, or exchanged for various logistics services that North Korea can provide at a discount. For Haihan All are good deals.
(End of this chapter)
Absolutely powerful force, it is difficult for people to come up with the idea of ​​confrontation, and the ruthless destruction of the target ship by the Haihan Fleet is precisely to achieve such an effect.The old ship didn't even last long enough for the entire fleet to complete a single blow, and by the time the last few ships entered the firing zone, less than a third of the ship was still afloat.However, the navy still strictly implemented the exercise plan, and continued to pour artillery shells at the wreckage of the ships on the water.Although some cannonballs will inevitably be hit in the air, the high water splashes have more visual impact on the audience.
It is not that the Korean monarchs and ministers have not seen naval battles, but the long-range firepower of the Panok and Turtle ships listed by the Korean navy is simply incomparable to the Haihan warships.In the Battle of Luliang in 1598, although the coalition fleets of Daming and North Korea also used artillery and guns as firepower output, the tactics used in the battle were still dominated by side-to-side battles, such as the Haihan Fleet. It is unheard of for North Korean monarchs and ministers to bombard the target at the end.
"It's true...it's amazing!" After watching this shelling drill, Li Zhen could only express such emotions.If North Korea had such a powerful fleet at the beginning, the North Korean army would not have fought so hard in the two naval battles against the Japanese invasion of Mingyang and Luyang more than 30 years ago.
The generals around Li Yu saw more things. The Haihan Fleet's staggeringly high speed maintained its formation while advancing on the river, and even the rhythm of firing guns was very regular. The sound of the naval guns showed that the fleet was well trained.If it is inferred from this, Shen Zhixiang's claim that this fleet has very rich combat experience, and even wiped out Houjin's maritime armed forces, is indeed not bragging.
As the general of the Ming army, Shen Zhixiang respected this fleet so much, which also showed another thing. The strength of the Haihan fleet was above the Daming Navy Division.If it is more powerful than the Ming army navy, then for the generals of North Korea, it can basically be equated with the strongest in the world.
Li Yu's idea is very intuitive and simple. The tactical literacy and equipment level displayed by the Haihan Fleet are indeed not pretentious. If the Haihan people can completely suppress Houjin at sea, then the performance on land should not be too bad.According to the information brought back by Luo Xian, the Haihan army could hang the Jin army in a fancy way on the Liaodong battlefield. Although the Korean monarchs and ministers did not believe it at that time, after watching the exercise of this fleet, everyone understood that Luo Xian Shouldn't brag for Haihan on this matter.
"General Shen, since the Haihan people are so powerful, why didn't they start exchanges with our country two years earlier? If they had contacted earlier, maybe they wouldn't be so nervous now." Li Yu's seemingly regrettable remarks were actually intended to pass The relationship between Shen Zhixiang has eased the tension between the two sides. After all, when the Haihan Fleet landed on the shore, it seemed that the countdown to the outbreak of the war had already entered the countdown, but now I know that the Haihan people did not intend to go to war with North Korea, Li Qi felt it necessary to restore the impression that his country left on the other side.
Shen Zhixiang replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Haihan's entry into Liaodong only started last winter, only about half a year ago. But at that time, if an alliance was proposed to North Korea, Haihan would not be able to show a record that would convince your country. , most likely will be rejected by your country. Therefore, Commander Haihan decided to open up the situation in Liaodong first, and then discuss the alliance with your country, so that it is safe."
This is of course just a high-sounding statement. In fact, when Shanghai Han planned the invasion of Liaodong, he did not consider the existence of North Korea too much.Because Haihan executives are actually aware of the situation in North Korea, and know that this country is actually a bit unreliable, and they are used to sitting on the wall to see the wind direction.At that time, Haihan's advance into Liaodong was still a highly confidential plan, but to attract North Korea to join them, they had to tell them the secret, and the possibility of leaking military information would become very large.In addition to the official messengers stationed in Seoul, Houjin also had many ears and ears for the people. Once he was informed of Haihan's plans in Liaodong, the difficulty of action would be greatly increased.
The Ministry of Security also specially warned the military not to take risks because of temporary interests, so in the end, the military did not try to discuss the possibility of military cooperation with North Korean high-level officials before advancing to Liaodong.And he also specially warned several high-level generals who knew about Dongjiang Town not to disclose Haihan's plans in Liaodong to the outside world.
Of course, Shen Zhixiang knew about it. He was instructed to keep it secret from the North Koreans, so naturally he didn't talk about it.The root of this matter is that the Haihan people do not trust Korea. Considering the issue of their face, of course, this kind of thing cannot be said directly to the king of Korea.
Li Yu suddenly realized: "General Shen's words are reasonable. In this way, General Haihan has considered it very well." Between the words, it seemed that he did not notice the problem at all. Of course, even if he did, Li Yu would not A fool would not express dissatisfaction in front of Shen Zhixiang.After all, Shen Zhixiang's position is obviously on the side of Haihan. His words and deeds will definitely be communicated to Haihan later. Now that the Haihan fleet has not left on the Hanjiang River, only words and deeds can avoid misfortune. out.
Li Yu's statement set the tone for the next contact between the two sides. Not only did Shen Zhixiang receive such a signal, but the civil and military ministers around Li Yu also immediately understood what the king meant.
The Haihan people have already taken out their bargaining chips, and Li Yu should be more satisfied with this. After all, an army that can completely suppress Hou Jin on the battlefield is an elusive existence in North Korea at present.If even the Ming military has endorsed the reliability of the Haihan Army, then North Korea has no reason to believe that Haihan can help North Korea get out of the predicament of being enslaved by Houjin.
Of course, Li Yu and his ministers will definitely not accept all the logistical support Haihan requested from North Korea, and there must be a process of bargaining.But as long as the North Korean side relaxes, the rest will be relatively simple. Haihan is very good at this kind of negotiation, not to mention that there is an armed fleet waiting here, and the next negotiation pace will most likely come from Haihan. control.
One hour after Li Yu made his statement, Tom Wang received the good news from Shen Zhixiang.Although this is the trend that everyone expected, it is also the result of the coordination of the military, intelligence, diplomacy, logistics and other departments to be able to let the North Koreans relax so smoothly.And if you think about it carefully, the cost of this operation is also very considerable. The fleet is almost concentrated on more than [-]% of the combat ships of the Northern Fleet, and the entire marine corps is also accompanying in case of emergency.All equipment and ammunition rations, as well as expenses during the operation of the entire fleet, were carried out according to wartime standards.If an armed conflict really breaks out outside Seoul, Tom Wang is also confident to teach the North Koreans a good lesson.
"Save money and trouble." Wang Tom gave a four-character comment on the compromise of the Koreans.Now that the North Koreans know the current affairs at the last minute, the expected armed conflicts and troubles arising from extravagances should not appear, which is indeed good news for Haihan.Although Haihan had already wiped out Houjin's water armed forces, the Northern Fleet had been away from Liaodong for too long and it was not very stable. Wang Tom also hoped to get the Korean side as soon as possible and let the Northern Fleet return to Liaodong to carry out the real combat mission.
But before that, he also had to be patient and deal with the things that should be dealt with with the North Korean monarchs and ministers first.After a day and a night of negotiation between the two sides through Shen Zhixiang, the middleman, it was finally agreed to hold a meeting between the king of Joseon and the commander of Haehan in a palace courtyard at the foot of the Namsan Mountain in the south of Seoul.
Tom Wang was not worried about what tricks the North Koreans could play, and only brought a platoon of people ashore to go to the appointment.In order to show the style of the Haihan Army, Tom Wang also specially applied for a group of war horses to accompany him this time, which came in handy.The Koreans saw that the Haihan Army actually led dozens of war horses from the boat to ride, and they even believed that the Haihan Army came to Seoul this time with the determination to start a war if they could not negotiate. Otherwise, if it was just a water demonstration, why bother Carrying so many war horses is clearly used to prepare for landing operations.
Wang Tom's own mount is a very strong and tall black Andalusian horse, which was introduced by the Portuguese from the Iberian Peninsula in Europe the year before.After being a stallion at the horse farm for a year, it was handed over to Tom Wang last year.It's a pity that Tom Wang spent more time at sea than on land. This precious mount was transported from Sanya to Zhejiang, and then from Zhejiang to Shandong and Liaodong. During this period, there was not much time for riding, and Harugong scolded him. He is a waste of money, and plans to find a time to take the horse back and continue to be a stallion.
After Shen Zhixiang came to meet Wang Tom, the group went to Nanshan under the leadership of the North Korean military attache.The hill located in the south of Seoul is only more than [-] meters high at the highest point, but it is already regarded as the commanding heights near Seoul.The Nanshan Mountain is covered by lush vegetation, and at the foot of the mountain is used as a holiday hunting palace by the kings of the Li Dynasty, and a courtyard is built here for living at any time.
When Tom Wang lived in Jiangnan, he also saw the courtyards of many rich and noble families in the coastal prefectures, but the courtyards built by the Korean royal family are really not luxurious, nor have much artistic sense at all. They are basically ordinary Korean dwellings. Just an enlarged version.According to Shen Zhixiang's explanation, this is also because North Korea is relatively backward in architecture and it is difficult to design and build Chinese-style courtyards by itself.Even if you are a king, the layout of this palace courtyard is actually similar to the courtyard of the nouveau riche in the countryside of Daming, but the area is larger.
However, the king of Joseon was still quite proud of his palace courtyard, and he was very hospitable to introduce the origin of every brick, stone and plant to Tom Wang, who met for the first time.Although transporting a rockery from a hundred miles away, or moving a big tree from somewhere in the mountain sounds great, in Wang Tom's view, this is simply a pediatrician. There's not much to behold.Just standing in the position of the guests, politely expressed appreciation and envy to these details that the host is proud of.
But in Li Yu's eyes, he could not help adding some drama to Wang Tom. He thought it was a manifestation of General Haihan's friendly attitude towards himself and the Korean state.The next negotiation between the two parties should be based on this friendly atmosphere.
Of course, after he sat down and started negotiating with Tom Wang, he realized he was wrong.In the negotiation of the alliance between the two countries and related rights and obligations, Tom Wang has no intention of being polite to him.
"Food and manpower are two resources that your country must provide to Liaodong, and our country will have some specific requirements for quantity and supply time." Wang Tom rudely reiterated Haihan's request to Li Yu: " In addition, such as livestock and poultry, timber, iron, coal, and other living materials, please also ask your country to provide the source of goods, we will not ask for it for free, but will offer you a reasonable price for trading."
Li Yu was not a monarch who was good at negotiating, but Tom Wang only talked to him by name. Li Yu couldn't even push his ministers out to fight on his behalf.Li Yu didn't seem to find a suitable way to refuse Wang Tom's aggressive demands.For the first time, he discovered that in addition to the envoys of the Ming Dynasty and the envoys of the Houjin, there were other people who could overwhelm his heart with just words.
"General Wang, these matters can be discussed later. This king believes that since your country wants to form an ally with our country and is willing to provide military shelter for our country, can we also consider training the army for our country, or sell some properties. Excellent weapons for our country?" Li Yu decided to try to control the rhythm of the negotiation into his own hands.
Tom Wang understands why Li Yu has such an idea. One of Shen Zhixiang's tasks is to introduce to the Koreans the many assistance that Dongjiang Town has received from Haihan, including training the army, training officers, providing new weapons, etc. The purpose is to It is necessary to encourage the North Koreans to seek military assistance from Haihan on their own.
Of course, the purpose of instigating Shen Zhixiang to do this is not really to help North Korea improve its military strength. The military just wants to find a place to dispose of the old weapons that have been eliminated in the early years or are about to be eliminated.A country like North Korea, where people have a lot of stupid money and is easy to bully, is of course a very ideal target.In the name of military assistance, the old-fashioned arquebuses and flintlock guns in the warehouse were sold to North Korea at a "reasonable" price, or exchanged for various logistics services that North Korea can provide at a discount. For Haihan All are good deals.
(End of this chapter)