Chapter Twenty-Four: Advancing into Korea

  "Alright, alright, alright!"

  After reading the memorial, Emperor Chongzhen did not erupt in a thunderous rage as his ministers had expected. Instead, he slapped the memorial onto the imperial desk and exclaimed "Good! Good! Good!" three times, his joy beyond words. The officials standing below the steps couldn't help but steal glances at each other, for in their impression, they had never seen the Emperor so delighted before.

  "Your Majesty." Eunuch Wang Cheng'en asked a timely question, "Is it true that Songshan has received good news?"

  "Is it just a swift report? Is it just a swift report!" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly unfolded the letter, saying loudly, "You all take a look, General Wang Pu of Datong led over a thousand iron cavalry to deeply penetrate Liaodong, and in one move destroyed the old nest of Jianzhou, Shengjing, and captured Nurhaci alive. The siege of Songshan and Jinzhou has been lifted without a fight, lifted without a fight!"

  The words of Emperor Chongzhen were like a huge stone thrown into a quiet pond, and the officials were in an uproar.

  "Did Datong General Wang Pu lead his troops to destroy the old lair of Jian Nu in Shengjing?"

  "Dare to lead a lone army deep into Liaodong, General Wang has great courage and wisdom!"

  "Who says it's impossible? We've even captured the Tartar chief, Emperor Taizong! Since our great Ming dynasty has been dealing with the Liaodong affair, we have never achieved such a glorious victory. It's truly magnificent!"

  After the excitement, Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said: "I really want to lead the navy to Lianyun Island to respond to General Wang. Unfortunately, the national fortune is not good, and three rebels, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi, have emerged, causing our Ming navy to suffer heavy losses and unable to cross the sea to attack Liaodong again. However, heaven's justice is clear, these three rebels ultimately did not escape the punishment of the heavens, they have been beheaded by Jian Nu!"

  "Long live Hong Fu, matching heaven's luck; General Wang will surely turn bad luck into good fortune."

  "The Jurchen's fate is about to end, and the great Ming dynasty will prosper for a long time. This is truly something to be rejoiced and congratulated."

  "Long live! I suggest announcing this good news to the world immediately and celebrating it throughout the country."

  It's not easy to see the Chongzhen Emperor in a good mood, and this time the officials in the court took the opportunity to flatter him to death. Even Liu Zongzhou, the left censor-in-chief who always considered himself a righteous person, couldn't help but flatter the emperor.

  "Haha, good." The Chongzhen Emperor was overjoyed and said, "Let's follow your words and announce this victory to the whole world."

  Looking back, Emperor Chongzhen said to the eunuch Wang Chengen: "Chengen, order the imperial kitchen to prepare a banquet. Today at noon, I will hold a grand feast in the Huangji Hall for all officials above the seventh rank in Beijing. Haha, today I am really overjoyed and must get drunk with all of you!"

  "Yes, milord."

  Wang Chengen received the imperial edict and hurriedly ran to the Imperial Kitchen.

  Taking advantage of the ministers' eagerness to pass around the Tang report, Emperor Chongzhen asked Chen Xinyi: "Chen Ai Qie, if I'm not mistaken, this Wang Pu should have been promoted to General three years ago, or was it you who recommended him?"

  "Long live is really good memory, this Wang Pu indeed is a humble servant's recommendation."

  "It's good. If I, Taizong of Tang, had a few more virtuous ministers like you, and if you could recommend more talented generals like Wang Pu, how could I worry that the Turks would not be destroyed or the bandits pacified?"

  "This is all due to your wise and enlightened leadership, I truly dare not take credit for it."

  When Chongzhen Emperor said this, Chen Xinjia was so happy that he almost fainted. To tell the truth, recommending Wang Pu back then was also a helpless move. Because during the invasion of the capital by the bandits, each battle ended in defeat for our side, and there wasn't a single victory to report. Only Wang Pu, the commander of Datong, managed to crawl out from under a pile of corpses, bringing with him a few locks of the bandits' hair.

  Chen Xingjia, adhering to the principle of reporting victories and not defeats, seized on Wang Pu's achievements and had several officials praise him in front of Emperor Chongzhen. As a result, Wang Pu gained a reputation for being brave and skilled in battle, and Emperor Chongzhen, pleased with this, directly promoted him to be the commander-in-chief of Datong.

  Chen Xingjia really didn't expect that Wang Pu, whom he had reluctantly recommended at the beginning, would actually turn out to be a talented general. Today, in front of all the officials, he received such praise from Emperor Chongzhen, which was truly a great honor for him.

  The Chongzhen Emperor asked again: "I remember that General Wang seemed to be very young?"

  Chen Xingjia said: "Hui Wansui, Wang Zongbing is twenty-four years old this spring."

  "Still only twenty-four years old?" Chongzhen Emperor couldn't help but praise, "This is indeed a hero emerging in his youth."

  Chen Xinjia said casually: "Long live, Commander Wang has not married yet."

  "Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen's heart skipped a beat as he listened, and he asked, "Wang Zong is already 24 years old, why hasn't he gotten married yet?"

  Chen Xinjia said: "As far as I know, General Wang originally had a settled engagement, but before the wedding could take place, he suffered at the hands of bandits and afterwards was constantly on campaign with his army, so this marriage was delayed."

  "So it was like that."

  The Chongzhen Emperor nodded, and a faint smile suddenly floated on his face. Chen Xingjia, who was standing at the foot of the stairs, saw it and couldn't help but jump in his heart, thinking that His Majesty wouldn't be thinking...

  ■■■

  When Emperor Chongzhen was having a grand feast in the Huangji Temple, Wang Pu's household troops were having a good time in Korea.

  Since Jian Nu gave up the pursuit, Wang Pu and his men didn't have to rush anymore. From Ping'an Road to Hwanghae Province and then to Gyeonggi Province, a distance of less than 400 miles took them five whole days, averaging only 80 miles per day. This was really not like a light cavalry without heavy loads.

  Due to Wang Bo's indulgence, the behavior of his subordinates became more and more unscrupulous, evolving from initial forced eating, forced robbery, and forced sleep to burning, killing, and looting. Humans have a beastly nature, which, once unrestrained, will spread like a flood that has burst its banks.

  Regarding the behavior of his subordinates, Wang Pu initially turned a blind eye, but later he couldn't control them even if he wanted to. In fact, Wang Pu didn't want to control them. He had always been unfavorable towards the Goryeo stick, thinking that they were either ungrateful or fond of fantasizing and plundering China's cultural heritage.

  This time I've caught the opportunity, of course, I have to take advantage of it and make a good profit from these Korean sticks. The best part is yet to come.

  Wang Pu was dozing off on horseback when Scarface hurried back, excitedly saying: "General, isn't it not far ahead to get to Hanyang?"

  "Are we almost at Hanyang?"

  Wang Pu's spirits lifted at the words, Hanyang was actually Hanyang, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty. Wang Pu and his hundreds of servants wanted to return to the Ming dynasty by sea, they had to borrow warships from the Korean navy, and to borrow warships from the Korean navy, they had to obtain permission from the King of Korea.

  One of Wang Pu's servants suddenly asked: "I wonder if the King of Korea will open the city gate and let us in?"

  Scarface rolled up his sleeves and said viciously: "Damn it, if the King of Korea dares not to open the city gate, we'll break in."

  Wang Pu asked Zhen Youcai: "Youcai, what do you think?"

  Zhen Youcai said: "It's easy for a small person like me to borrow a warship, but it's hard to get into Hanyang."

  Wang Pu nodded and said, "Yes, if we can borrow the ships without using force, that would be best. But it's not easy to make a trip to Hanyang for nothing, so we should at least gain some benefits."

  Zhen Youcai said: "The general means..."

  Wang Pu thought for a moment and said, "You're talented. Take the scar-faced man and twenty brothers to Hanyang to meet the King of Korea. When you see the King of Korea, tell him that the Eight Banners Army needs a large amount of silver to fight against the Ming army. We are here on the orders of Huang Taiji to demand five million taels of white silver from Korea."

  Zhen Youcai was taken aback and said in a low voice, "General, isn't 5 million taels too much? The Joseon royal family has already been plundered twice by Jian Nu."

  "If Jian Nu hadn't come to search, this general would not have accepted less than 20 million taels! Wang Pu sneered, "In that case, if the King of Joseon really can't produce so much silver, then use gold, ginseng and other jewels to make up for it. If they dare not give it, then wait for the Eight Banners Army to flatten the entire Joseon!"

  "Alright, I understand."

  Zhen Youcai led the way with a clever mind, and under the escort of Knife Scar Face and twenty servants, they rushed straight to Hanyang.

  ■■■

  Hanyang, Joseon royal palace.

  King Yi Hwang of Joseon was convening his ministers to discuss the matter, and as early as the third day after the "Qing army" entered the border of Joseon, Yi Hwang had already received the news.

  Although the "Qing army" that entered the border was less than a thousand people, and they burned, killed and looted recklessly along the way, the Korean side did not dare to make any rash moves. The reason is simple: Korea had already been intimidated by the Qing army. When the Qing army invaded Korea for the second time, Dorgon, the Manchu prince, defeated Korea's 50,000-strong loyalist army with just 2,000 iron cavalrymen.

  The powerful fighting force of the Qing army still makes Koreans tremble with fear to this day. Upon hearing that the Qing army was approaching, not a single general in the court dared to gather troops to go and confront them.

  In the great hall, the leader of the government (equivalent to the Grand Secretary of the Ming dynasty) anxiously said: "Your Majesty, we just received news that the Qing army raided Longnanli again last night."

  "These accursed Jurchen slaves!" Li Yanxi cursed in hatred. "I truly should have sent troops to exterminate them."

  "It's not possible, Your Majesty." The prime minister shook his head repeatedly and said, "If we gather the troops from various regions, it may be possible to destroy this Qing army, but doing so will definitely provoke retaliation from the Great Qing Empire. Once the Eight Banners Army of the Qing arrives, our Joseon Dynasty will be doomed to perish."

  "Alas." Li Song sighed, "Then what should we do?"

  Zuo Yizheng said: "Your Majesty, if the Qing army just loots and kills a few people, it's not a big deal. What I'm afraid of is that they have another purpose for coming here."

  "What could be the purpose?"

  Zuo Yizheng said, "I heard that the Qing army is engaged in a fierce battle with the Ming army at Songshan. Since it's a decisive battle, they must need a large amount of grain, fodder, and military pay. It's possible that this time the Qing country has sent troops to demand military pay."

  "Your Majesty." Just as the Left Counselor's words fell, a guard rushed into the great hall, kneeling down to report, "The envoy of the Qing Empire is outside the city seeking an audience."

  Li Nu's anger rose from his heart, and he said sternly: "Do not see."

  "Your Majesty," said the premier in urgent persuasion, "you mustn't let your emotions get the better of you."

  "Yes, since the Qing Empire has sent an envoy, we should still receive them."

  "We must not bring disaster upon our country by failing to receive the envoy."

  The officials in the great hall all echoed in agreement.

  Li Yan reluctantly said: "Alright, then open the city gate and let the Qing envoy enter."