I

  Chapter 321 319 [North Korea Deposed Lord]

  The sails meet the scorching sun, and the fleet cuts through the waves.

  Hu Dinggui took out the binoculars and saw that there was a big island connected to the land in the distance, so he asked, "Is that the Phi Island where Gudongjiang Town is located?"

  A businessman explained with a smile: "General, Phi Island is still further north."

   "How is Phi Island now?" Hu Dinggui asked again.

  The merchants replied: "There are only a few places in Phi Island that can grow food, and they cannot support too many people. After the Dan slaves captured Phi Island, they sent troops to garrison it for a while, but they gave up quickly. North Korea took the opportunity to take Phi Island back."

  The merchant's surname is Meng, and his name is Meng Huai'en.

   This fellow sold cotton from Shandong to Zhenjiang. Due to the Caobing uprising in the north, Meng Huai'en was temporarily unable to return to his hometown, and was hired by Hu Dinggui as a translator and guide.

   "Did you often go to Phi Island?" Hu Dinggui asked.

Meng Huai'en explained: "When Mao Zongzhen (Mao Wenlong) was there, Phi Island was full of business travelers. Ming merchants brought silks, satins and blue cloth, and North Korean merchants brought ginseng, leather goods, and rice. After the two parties traded on Phi Island, North Korean merchants Transport the goods to Zhongjiang, and the Tartars will buy Ming goods from North Korea."

   "What about now?" Hu Dinggui asked again.

Meng Huai'en said: "I can't do business now. Since the lord of North Korea surrendered the Tartars, North Korea has been capricious and often intercepted and killed merchants from the Ming Dynasty. I used to come to Phi Island for trade, but now I can only make a living in China. , I’m afraid we won’t be able to do domestic business in the future.”

   While the two were talking, thick smoke billowed up from Ganghwa Island in the distance as a warning.

  The Zheng family's fleet sailed for a while, and the North Korean Navy came from behind Jianghua Island.

  The Zheng family fleet has six warships and ten armed merchant ships.

  The Korean navy has more than 30 warships, most of which are turtle boats and plank boats.

   Turtle Ship let a small boat over and shouted in Korean: "Which country's fleet is it?"

  Meng Huai'en replied: "Daming King Zhao!"

   "The Deming Fleet is not allowed to come to North Korea for business!" The North Korean kept making small movements, pointing south with his hands on his chest, probably wanting the Chinese fleet to trade further south.

  They did not dare to offend the Qing Dynasty, but wanted to do business with Ming Dynasty, so they secretly smuggled it in the southern port of Hanyang (Seoul).

   Meng Huai'en understood, and turned around to explain to Zheng Sen, Hong Xu, and Hu Dinggui.

  As the leader of the fleet, Hong Xu said with a sneer: "These Koreans really have no eggs, and they dare not buy or sell goods in their own capital."

  The Zheng family's fleet turned its sails and turned around, and the North Korean Navy immediately followed up.

  A little farther away from Ganghwa Island, the small boat rowed over and was hoisted onto the battleship by ropes.

The Korean envoy said: "Brothers from the Tang Dynasty, let's go to Dafu Island, and I will guide you. Please also fire a few cannons into the sea to make the sound of naval battles, all for the Jinnu (Manchu) to see. "

  Hong Xu laughed dumbfounded, and ordered: "Fire a few shots at the sea!"

   "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

  The Zheng family fleet fired indiscriminately, and the North Korean Navy followed suit. The shells fell on the sea and splashed a lot of water.

   Before reaching Dafu Island, the North Korean asked to turn around and drove to an estuary on the bank.

  At the same time, he asked the Zheng family what commodities they brought, asked for a detailed list, and took a boat to the shore to contact merchants.

  The next morning, countless offshore fishing boats came to buy the goods brought by the Zheng family.

  Some merchants didn’t have enough money, so they simply bartered, mostly ginseng and leather goods, and asked the Zheng family if they needed grain and copper ingots.

  Hu Dinggui said to Hong Xu: "General Hong, as much grain and copper ingots as you want, they can be purchased by the government in the south of the Yangtze River."

   Immediately, someone asked about medicinal materials, especially fragrant medicines, which are not produced in North Korea.

  After tossing for half a month, the goods brought in were emptied, and food and fresh water were replenished, and then they went south with a full load of North Korean goods.

  These North Korean sailors seem pitiful, and they dare not even engage in serious trade.

  In fact, it is very hateful. If the Zheng family fleet is not strong enough, it will be robbed by the North Korean navy.

  Before leaving, Hu Dinggui specifically inquired about the news: "I heard that Jeju Island can buy horses?"

  The merchant replied: "The horses and cattle in Jeju Island are all tributes. Jeju pastors have no right to sell them, and must obtain the permission of the country's lord."

  The tribute was not to the Ming Dynasty, nor to the Qing Dynasty, but to the King of Korea from Jeju Island.

  It was a place where prisoners were exiled. The former king of North Korea was raising horses on Jeju Island at the moment.

  Hu Dinggui asked again: "How many cattle and horses can Jeju Island pay tribute every year?"

  The North Korean merchant replied: "200 annual tribute horses, 60 annual tribute cattle, and 700 annual tribute horses."

  Shinian is the Zi, Wu, Mao, and You years, which occurs every three years.

   In conversion, Jeju Island tributes 433 horses and 60 cattle to the King of Korea every year.

  The North Korean merchant said: "If you want to buy horses, I will go back and report to the king."

  With the permission of the King of Korea, merchants can choose horses from time to time and directly conduct commercial transactions of cattle and horses.

  Hu Dinggui had some calculations in his mind. It seems that Jeju Island has a large number of horses. It pays hundreds of horses a year, and there are still some leftovers to sell to merchants.

   Three days later, the fleet arrived near Jeju Island.

   There are three cities in Jeju Island, Jeju Pastoral City in the south, Dajing County in the east, and Jingui County in the west.

  The highest officer of the whole island, the official title is "Jeju Soldiers, Horses, Water Army Jiedu Envoy and Jeju Shepherd Envoy".

   "Should we start the fight directly?" Hong Xu asked.

  Hu Dinggui said: "Fight directly, destroy the Jeju Navy first."

  …

  The pastoral envoy of Jeju must be surnamed Li, and he was in charge of the Korean clan, which shows that this island is mostly valued by North Korea.

  In broad daylight, Li Hengzhong was drinking for fun.

   Other than that, there's not much else to do, and there's nothing else to do on Broken Island.

  Concubine Ji was dancing, Li Heng clapped her hands in praise, and took another sip in a daze.

  A soldier rushed in, knelt down and shouted: "Master Shepherd, there is a fleet of Ming Dynasty coming, and there are many warships!"

"roll!"

  Li Heng was very angry, he was disturbed.

  In Jeju Port, more than a dozen North Korean warships dare not sail out at all, for fear of being attacked by foreign fleets.

  These guys are also stubborn.

  More than 20 years ago, a fleet of merchants from Daming and Annan drifted to Jeju Island due to a storm.

  At the beginning, the pastor of Jeju warmly received them, and soon found that the ships were full of goods. As a result, hundreds of Han and Vietnamese were ordered to be killed by the pastor of Jeju, and reported to the King of Korea that the Japanese pirates had been beheaded.

  This incident was exposed, and there was a lot of trouble at the time.

   "Fire!"

   "Boom boom boom!"

  Six warships and ten armed merchant ships bombarded the North Korean navy in the port.

  The main ship of the Jeju Island Navy is a wooden house boat, which is slow and brittle, and it will be a hole if it is fired.

  The Zheng family's fleet fired dozens of artillery shells, and the North Korean sailors jumped into the sea one after another, without any resistance.

   In this way, all the ships of the Jeju Island Navy were captured. This thing is useless, the Zheng family doesn't like it at all, even if it sails to Shandong, there is a risk of sinking.

   "But the Kingdom of Jin is calling?"

  Li Hengzhong suddenly sobered up when he heard the rumbling cannon.

   This guy doesn't care about concubine Ji, so he gets up and runs away. He rushed to the stables, asked his servant to help him get on the horse, and then galloped away from Jeju Pastoral City, driving drunk all the way without accident.

   Seeing that the shepherds had all fled, the North Korean soldiers fled one after another, and the officials also fled.

  In a side hall, the soldiers in charge of guarding went home in panic, took away their belongings, and ran away with their wives and children.

  Li Hun heard the chaotic shouts outside, and said to himself happily: "Could it be that King Qin's army has come?"

   This guy is the former king of North Korea, who sent 13,000 troops to help Ming Dynasty fight the Houjin Tartars. As for the combat power, it is no different from the troops of the Daming Guards.

   Li Hun eavesdropped behind the door, and the shouts became farther and farther away. He was sure that the soldiers guarding him had really left.

  Li Hun walked out of the place of house arrest carefully, but saw the people running around in the city.

   In fact, there are not many people. Most of the islands are herdsmen, and the urban area is very small. There is not even a serious city wall, just a wooden fence, the main purpose is to guard against wild animals.

   "Where is King Qin's army?"

  Li Hun was puzzled, he thought it was his son who led the soldiers to rescue him.

  His son is currently under house arrest in Ganghwa Island.

  Suddenly saw a group of soldiers rushing forward, Li Hun hurried up and shouted: "I am the lord of North Korea, I am the lord of North Korea!"

  Meng Huai'en was advancing with the army. Hearing this shout, he was immediately delighted and said, "General, the deposed ruler of Korea is on the island. You can use this person as a puppet to recruit the enemy and herdsmen."

   "Bring him here!" Hu Dinggui was also overjoyed.

   Li Hui was dragged in front of Meng Huai'en by two soldiers. He asked in confusion, "Aren't you North Korean soldiers?"

  Meng Huai'en said: "This is Zhao Tianwang's subordinate, General Hu Dinggui Hu!"

   "Who is King Zhao?" Li Hun was even more puzzled.

  Meng Huai'en said: "Zhao Tianwang has already occupied half of the Ming Dynasty."

  Da Ming rebels?

  Li Hui suddenly trembled in fear, knelt down and said: "Meet the general!"

  Hu Dinggui said: "Tell this person that he wants to go back to be the king, and he will be obedient. I just want Jeju Island to raise horses, and I don't care who becomes the king of North Korea."

  Meng Huai'en translated: "His Royal Highness, General Hu said that he wants Jeju Island as a land for raising horses. If the Lord can appease the army and herdsmen on the island, he will help the Lord return to the country and restore the country when Zhao Tianwang wins the Great Ming Dynasty."

   "Thank you, General," Li Hun said ecstatically, kneeling on the ground, "Can the General lead the troops to Jianghua Island to save the crown prince?"

  Li Hun is over 60 years old, and has been exiled and under house arrest for many years. His physical condition has always been poor. He wants to bring his son over as a puppet.

  Hu Dinggui said ambiguously: "As long as you do things for me with all your heart, I will consider saving the son of the king of North Korea."

   Li Hun was so excited that tears filled his eyes, and kowtowed to Hu Dinggui on the spot.

  This old man doesn’t have much affection for Daming. When he was established as the heir, Wanli was considering abolishing the elders and establishing the younger ones, and somehow got involved in the battle for the crown prince of Ming Dynasty.

  Just because Li Hun is not the eldest son.

  North Korea asked Daming for the establishment of an eldest son three times in a row, but was rejected by the civil officials of Ming Dynasty, and insisted that North Korea establish an eldest son.

  From the son of Joseon to the king of Joseon, within 14 years, Daming refused the canonization five times, and finally the Ministry of Rites paid a lot of money to get permission. For North Korea, this is unprecedented; for Li Hui, it is a great shame and humiliation.

   Li Hun was afraid that Daming would change his mind, so he could only imprison his queen mother and slaughter his brothers, so that he could be king with peace of mind.

  The Ming Dynasty deserved to be subjugated, and this Zhao Tianwang is not bad.

  Li Hun hoped that Zhao Tianwang would quickly aspire to the Central Plains, and then send troops to **** him to Hanyang (Seoul) to become king.

  …

   (Only during the day, there are only two shifts.)

(In addition, to reply to the question of the book friend. Horse breeding in Shandong began in the fourth year of Xuande, and it was mainly raised by the common people. The entire Shandong, plus Henan, only has more than 200 hectares of pasture. How many horses can be raised on this pasture? Horse politics in the north forced the ruins of countless people’s families. The Liuliu Liuqi Rebellion in the Zhengde Dynasty was caused by horse politics. Wang Shizhen’s rectification of horse politics only lasted for more than ten years, and then it completely collapsed. There were no horse farms in Shandong during Chongzhen.)

  (end of this chapter)