Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 186: The Emperor and His Ministers Were United to Unite Against the Ming Dynasty. What! Nahachu Surrendered? [Subscribe]

In April of the 16th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang sent envoys to Goryeo to reprimand King Wang U of Goryeo, Minister of the Court Lee In-rin (same as Prime Minister), and Privy Councilor Lin Jianwei for Goryeo's occupation of Heishan Island and its navy's attack on the Beiyang Navy.

Wang Yu was terrified and handed over Cui Renxi, the naval commander who attacked the Beiyang Fleet's exploratory fleet, and returned Heishan Island. He also sent envoys to offer some Korean specialties and ten beautiful women in order to ask for forgiveness.

In May of the 16th year of Hongwu, Feng Sheng and Lan Yu led their troops to Jinshan (located in Shuangliao County, Siping City).

Prior to this, Nailawu fled to the Ming Dynasty because his secret spying for the Ming Dynasty was exposed; later, important generals under Nahachu such as Gaobashi Temur and Hongboyan Temur led their troops to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

By the ninth day of May, when the Ming army approached Jinshan, the Nahachu tribe was already in panic and disunity.

Subsequently, Feng Sheng, in accordance with Zhu Yuanzhang's order, sent Nailawu to the Jinshan camp to persuade Nahachu and his generals to surrender.

Although Nahachu was confident that he still had a large number of troops under his command, his resolve had already wavered. He sent envoys to the Ming army camp under the pretext of negotiating surrender to spy on the situation.

The surrender talks failed, and Feng Sheng led his troops to continue approaching Jinshan.

At this critical juncture, Nahachu's general Guantong, the Duke of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, suddenly led his troops to break away from Nahachu and surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

At this point, Nahachu has been deserted by everyone!

In early June, Zhu Yuanzhang sent another envoy to Goryeo to inquire again about the murder of the Ming envoy in the seventh year of Hongwu, the murder of King Gongmin, and the Goryeo Kingdom's secret occupation of Tamra...
Open Beijing.

Goryeo Royal Palace.

After the Ming envoy was sent away, Wang Yu, who was only eighteen years old, sat high on the throne, but his face was pale and full of anxiety, tension and uneasiness.

Below, Minister of the Interior Li Renren and Privy Councilor Lin Jianwei were at the head of the ministers on the left and right, and both had grim expressions on their faces.

Although Wang Yu was supported by Li Renren, Lin Jianwei was now the most powerful person in the Goryeo court. So after Wang Yu came to his senses, he subconsciously looked at Lin Jianwei and asked, "Privy Councilor, the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is here to question me again. What should I do?"

Lin Jianwei seemed not to have heard Wang Yu's question. He frowned and looked at Li Renren, saying, "Zhu Hongwu questioned the murder of Prince Gongmin and the Ming envoy. It's just a rehash of old matters. We can just deal with it as we did last time. But why is Zhu Hongwu asking about Jeju again?"

Li Renren and Lin Jianwei are actually relatives. Although they are now fighting each other in the Goryeo court, they are not incompatible.

Besides, Li Renren is older and is about to retire, so he is even more reluctant to offend Lin Jianwei.

Li Renren not only had more experience than Lin Jianwei, but was also a civil official, and could be considered "well-informed" in the court.

He frowned, pondering the words as he spoke. "A month or two after the Ming seized Heishan Island, numerous naval forces have been patrolling the southwestern waters, their intentions unclear. Now they're inquiring about Jeju, so I'm afraid they're plotting to seize Jeju Island."

Lin Jianwei was a high-ranking official, but he was corrupt and abused his power in private, and naturally regarded the interests of Goryeo as his own.

Hearing this, he said anxiously, "Heishan Island is small, and there are only a few households on it. It's fine to give it to the Ming Kingdom, but we can't let the Ming Kingdom take Jeju Island away again!"

Li Renren said, "Of course, Jeju cannot be ceded to the Ming, but you heard what the envoy said just now. If we don't give it to the Ming, I'm afraid Zhu Hongwu will raise an army to attack."

Lin Jianwei snorted, "The Ming army can come if they want to. Back then, the Red Turban Army numbered hundreds of thousands and captured Kaifeng. They were so arrogant, but in the end, we wiped them out without a single soldier left. A few years ago, the Japanese pirates repeatedly landed and invaded, but we defeated them every time."

"Last year, the Eastern Jurchens rebelled and surrendered to the Ming, but were also defeated by us. Even if the Ming army came, they might not be our match!"

Seeing Lin Jianwei's stance, his ally, Lian Xingbang, the Left Envoy of the Three Departments, followed suit, saying, "The Privy Councilor is absolutely right. We must not cede Jeju Island just because of Zhu Hongwu's threats."

"Su Che, a famous scholar in the early Song Dynasty, wrote in his On the Six Kingdoms: 'Today we cede five cities, tomorrow we cede ten, and then we can sleep peacefully for one night. When we wake up and look around, the Qin army is here again.'"

"We gave up Heishan Island first. If we give up Jeju Island now, wouldn't we be like the six kingdoms destroyed by the tyrannical Qin?"

The Minister of State Cui Ying was also a military general, and he rose to power through his military achievements. Unlike Lin Jianwei, who had more superficial military achievements and rose to power through family background and political skills.

Cui Ying was only in his fifties, "younger" than Lin Jianwei. He was neither a follower of Li Renren nor a follower of Lin Jianwei. Instead, he was a trusted general trained during the reign of King Gongmin. He was a royalist who was transferred into the court by Wang Yu.

At this time, he also stood up and shouted, "Your Majesty, Jeju Island was recaptured by me and my soldiers in a desperate battle against the Muhu and the island barbarians. We must not give it to the Ming Kingdom like this!"

"If the Ming army dares to attack, I will lead the navy to meet them and destroy them at sea!"

Seeing this, other civil and military ministers, such as Cho Min-su and Lee Seong-gye, also expressed their opinions. The civil officials quoted classics and the military generals bravely asked for battle. Their opinions were surprisingly unanimous, that is, Jeju Island must not be given up.

Zheng Mengzhou, the deputy minister of the Secret Affairs Department, stood at the last position among the important civil and military officials. He was not qualified to participate in such an important court meeting. He was only called here today because he had been sent as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty several times.

Seeing that a number of important civil and military officials were going to fight against the Ming Dynasty through military means, Zheng Mengzhou became a little anxious.

After the ministers had expressed their opinions, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Ming army is powerful. We must not resist them! If a war breaks out, Goryeo will surely be defeated!"

Immediately, several important officials glared at Zheng Mengzhou.

Lian Xingbang even shouted, "Mr. Zheng, we are now united as one, resisting the tyrannical Ming and protecting Jizhou. How dare you spread alarmist rhetoric and disrupt our resolve?"

Then several more people followed suit and scolded Zheng Mengzhou, and some even wanted to take action against him.

However, Li Renren stopped him at the critical moment.

Li Renren said, "Chenshi Zheng has been sent to Ming several times. Your Majesty, why don't you listen to what he has to say first?" Wang Yu nodded and asked, "Why does Chenshi Zheng say that Goryeo will be defeated?"

Zheng Mengzhou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, have I forgotten the memorial I submitted last year after returning from my mission to the Ming Dynasty?"

Memorial?

Wang Yu was young, and while his memory wasn't as imperceptible as Old Zhu's, it wasn't bad either. He immediately recalled something and said with a strange look on his face, "Could it be that an auspicious sign has descended upon the Ming Kingdom?"

Zheng Mengzhou said, "That's right—since the immortal bridge has appeared in the Ming Dynasty, it proves that the Great Emperor Hongwu is indeed destined by heaven and blessed by heaven."

"And the fact that the Ming defeated the Northern Yuan the year before last, and then annihilated the Yuan Liang King and seized Yunnan, illustrates this very point. If our Goryeo army were to resist them, we would be going against the will of heaven. How could we possibly win?"

As powerful officials, Lee In-im, Lim Gun-mi and others naturally also read Zheng Mengju's memorial.

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianwei sneered, "Zheng Mengzhou, you are a learned scholar, but you don't know that the auspicious signs throughout Chinese history were fabricated by sycophants to curry favor with the emperor."

"What you said in your memorial about 'a bridge spanning north and south, turning the Yangtze River's natural barrier into a thoroughfare' is sheer nonsense!"

"The king and I, mindful of your hard work during your several missions to the Ming Kingdom, have spared you the crime of deceiving the emperor with your lies. I never thought you would dare to bring it up again today. Do you think we are all ignorant children?"

Zheng Mengzhou was stunned when he heard this, then his face was full of injustice. He defended himself and said, "Your Majesty, every word I said in the memorial is true. There is absolutely no falsehood. Everyone who accompanied me on the mission to the Ming Dynasty can attest to this!"

At this time, Lian Xingbang said sarcastically, "So what if you say you've seen the Immortal Bridge? Who knows if you've been bribed by the Ming Kingdom?"

Others also expressed disgust or anger towards Zheng Mengzhou.

Obviously, no one believed the story of the "immortal bridge coming to the world".

Although these important Goryeo civil and military officials had never been to the Ming Dynasty, they knew that the Yangtze River was a natural barrier in the south of the Yangtze River and was several miles wide. With such a wide river, it would be an exaggeration to say that the Ming Dynasty built a bridge across it. They even said it was a fairy bridge sent from heaven. Anyone who believed it was a fool.

Zheng Mengzhou never expected that no one in the court believed him, and he could not produce any evidence - he couldn't let these important officials go to Ming Dynasty to see it with their own eyes, right?
Wang Yu, who had previously held Zheng Mengzhou in high regard, now showed a distaste for him. Seeing Zheng Mengzhou trying to argue, he waved his hand and said, "Zheng Mengzhou has deceived the emperor and has shown no remorse. Come, have him thrown into prison and await further action."

As soon as Wang Yu finished speaking, two Goryeo imperial guards came in from outside the hall and took away Zheng Mengzhou, who was crying out for justice.

Now, no one in the hall had any objection to using troops to resist the Ming Dynasty.

Li Renren stroked his graying beard and said, "Your Majesty, the Ming Kingdom is powerful after all. If we want to resist it, it would be best to contact the Yuan Dynasty more often."

"Nahachu, the Grand Marshal of the Yuan Dynasty and Prince of Kaiyuan, dominates Liaodong, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. If the Ming army dares to cross the river by land and enter our territory, Nahachu's forces can strike them from behind, forcing them to flee without a fight!"

Since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongols retreated to the outside of the Great Wall, and the attitude towards China in Goryeo was divided into two major factions.

One faction was mainly composed of domestic Confucian scholars and literati, who were influenced by Neo-Confucianism and believed that Goryeo should be devoted to the Ming Dynasty, draw a clear line with the Northern Yuan Dynasty as soon as possible, and even help the Ming Dynasty attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The other faction was mainly composed of powerful people left over from the Yuan Dynasty, such as Li Renren. They believed that the Ming Dynasty was now powerful and that they should unite with the Northern Yuan Dynasty to fight against the Ming Dynasty.

In recent years, the pro-Ming faction has had a slight advantage.

But now that the Ming Dynasty intends to seize Jeju Island, the pro-Ming faction may change its attitude - but to be honest, at this time none of the important officials in the Goryeo court were truly pro-Ming.

As the leader of the pro-Yuan faction, Li Renren saw this opportunity and naturally wanted to make the relationship between Goryeo and Northern Yuan closer.

To fight against the Ming Dynasty, uniting with the Northern Yuan Dynasty is the best choice, and it can even be said to be a must.

Then Lin Jianwei, Lian Xingbang, Cui Ying, Li Chenggui and others all expressed their agreement.

Wang Yu, seeing that his ministers had made up their minds, said, "Since we want to ally with the Yuan to resist the Ming, we must send an envoy to the Yuan court as soon as possible. Do you have any suitable candidates in mind?"

Lin Jianwei exchanged glances with his accomplices Lian Xingbang and others, preparing to compete with Li Renren for the selection of envoys - if they wanted to ally with Yuan to fight against Ming, then Northern Yuan would be Goryeo's only father in the future, and of course they wanted to send their own people to please the father and gain benefits for their group.

Suddenly, Lin Jianwei had a candidate to recommend in his mind. Just as he was about to speak, he heard shouting from outside.

"Report——!"

"Urgent news from the north! Grand Marshal Nahachu has surrendered to the Ming!"

Although the person who reported the incident had not yet entered the palace, the Goryeo king and his ministers had already heard what he shouted and were all shocked.

Did Naha surrender to the Ming Dynasty?

When did the Ming army attack Nahachu?

Didn't Nahachu command hundreds of thousands of troops? Why did he suddenly surrender to the Ming Dynasty?
It was not until the eunuch responsible for conveying the report entered the hall with the report that Wang Yu and his ministers came to their senses.

Lin Jianwei didn't even bother to save Wang Yu's face. He went straight to snatch the report from the eunuch and took a quick look at it.

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)