Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 331: Ming Prepares to Counterattack (Part 2)
"Everyone, do you know this person? He is the former Datong General, Marshal Ma, and now a professor at the Ming Imperial Military Academy."
"Haha, of course Ma Shuai recognizes him."
"I am Ma Gui, the last general, and I greet all the superiors."
After greeting each other, Zhu Youdong asked all the ministers to sit on the high platform at the side of the meeting place, and then nodded to Ma Gui in the center of the meeting place.
"My Lords, I have been entrusted by the Crown Prince to review the recent war for you."
After saying this, Ma Gui turned around, took the baton handed to him by Cao Wenzhao, and pointed accurately at the Korean Peninsula.
"Let me first talk about the situation on the eastern front. From the beginning of April when the Japanese pirates landed to the middle of July now, in three and a half months, all eight provinces of Korea have fallen. According to the report of the Jinyiwei under Commander Tian, the losses suffered by the Japanese pirates during this process were minimal..."
"Hmph!" "Hey~"
After the ministers sighed, Zhu Youdong stood up and said, "Yesterday, the Tongzheng Department just received an urgent report from the Liaodong Governor. Well, I just saw it on the way to the meeting this morning. That is, the Korean King Li Hui crossed the Yalu River on his own without the permission of the Liaodong Governor nine days ago. Accompanying him were the entire Korean royal family, some ministers, guards, and palace maids... a total of more than 2,700 people."
"Your Highness, North Korea is too useless!"
"Not only is it useless, it's also shameless!"
After waving his hand to calm the ministers down temporarily, Zhu Youdong said, "After all, he is the king of a foreign vassal state. How should we receive him? Please ask the Ministry of Rites to come up with a plan and then submit it to Elder Wen for approval. Please don't bother me with such matters anymore."
"Yes, I will obey your command."
After saying this, Zhu Youdong signaled Ma Gui to continue.
"Now, the vanguard of the Japanese pirates has reached the Yalu River. But according to the latest Jinyiwei intelligence, after the Japanese pirates arrived at the south bank of the Yalu River, they only built various fortresses and pretended to defend themselves. They had no intention of continuing to attack the north bank. Therefore, the eastern front of our dynasty is generally still quiet."
After saying this, Ma Gui pointed his baton to the south again: "On the southern front, the Siamese bandits have retreated from Qiongzhou Prefecture. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's Shendian Guard, Nanhai Guard and other garrisons have landed in Qiongzhou. Upon investigation, it was found that Qiongzhou prefect Zhang Qi died a loyal soldier, and the local garrison had been completely wiped out by the Siamese bandits. When the bandits retreated, they abducted more than 6,300 people from the island."
After everyone nodded with gloomy faces, Ma Gui continued: "According to the intelligence we have received recently, Siam has currently stationed a large number of troops in the Mekong Delta and built a fortress there. At the same time, the Nguyen family of Annan also appealed to our Ming Dynasty, saying that Siam has put forward harsh conditions to them, requiring them to provide food, gold, silver and civilians for the local garrison. The Nguyen family did not agree at first, but after fighting with Siam last month and being defeated, they had to accept Siam's request. According to my estimation, Siam has no intention of completely swallowing up the Nguyen family for the time being, but after having such a burden, the Nguyen family's strength has been severely weakened and will be unable to resist the Zheng family in the north. Therefore, the Nguyen family urgently hopes that our Ming Dynasty can drive the Siamese away as soon as possible...
In addition, our Penghu patrol office was destroyed two months ago. The Spanish built a fortress on Taiwan Island and are said to be building a port in the north of the island.
In general, the current situation is that the Japanese pirates are entrenched in Korea, which has put great pressure on Liaodong. The Spanish occupy northern Taiwan and are constantly expanding their sphere of influence. The Siamese occupy the Mekong Delta, blocking the passage for our Ming ships to go south. However, up to now, none of the three countries has taken the initiative to attack. "
"Hmm..." Wang Xianggan stroked his graying beard and said, "Marshal Ma, what do you think these three thieves are doing now? Are they stopping here after getting a little profit, or are they planning their next attack?"
"Reporting to the Grand Marshal, I believe that they are certainly planning the next large-scale invasion. As for the basis for this, please ask Commander Tian to explain it."
After getting Zhu Youdong's permission, Tian Ergeng stood up and said, "Your Highness, all the superiors, since the warning from the commander last year, the Jinyiwei has been fully mobilized and sent a large number of people to Korea, Siam, Annan, Myanmar and the southeast coast of our country. Based on the existing intelligence, we Jinyiwei can be clear that at present, the Japanese pirates have completed the second reinforcement in Korea. The total force has increased from more than 70,000 to more than 100,000. The Spanish troops on Taiwan Island have also increased from 500 to 600 to more than 3,000. The Siamese in the Mekong Delta, well, this, the number is too large, and my subordinates can't count it clearly. But in any case, the soldiers will not be less than 50,000, and the civilians are more than 100,000.
At the same time, our Jinyiwei has received help from fishermen along the coast of Ming Dynasty. It is now clear. At present, there are endless ships on the sea route of Annan-Taiwan-Ryukyu-Hirado-Pusan. It is mainly from Siam that they are transporting food to the north. We have not found out what the fleet carried on its return trip. But based on the position of the waterline, we roughly infer that it should be transporting gold and silver from the pirates.
Well, I would like to add that Ryukyu had already fallen in late June this year. The King of Ryukyu was unable to escape..."
"Damn it! My Great Ming has lost another vassal state!" Wang Xiangqian slammed the armrest of the chair fiercely: "Where is my Great Ming fleet? It's such a long route, wouldn't it be better to attack them?"
"I was just about to explain this to His Highness and the other superiors." Tian Ergeng also walked to the sand table and raised a baton. "After the Jinyiwei learned about the three bandits' communication by sea, they quickly handed it over to General Yu and General Yan. General Yan led the Jinling-class battleships to attack twice, and both times he encountered the enemy's main escort... This, I am not familiar with military affairs, but I heard that although our second-class battleships have an advantage in speed, their tonnage is only half of that of the first-class battleships. Their artillery range and their own defense are not as good as the enemy's."
"Where is our main fleet? Has Li Guozhu come back?"
"Uh, Grand Marshal, please forgive me. I haven't received any news from Commander Li yet."
"Bang~!" Wang Xiangqian slapped the armrest again: "Your Highness, everyone, the Ministry of War has received news that in the past two months, Chongming Sha Shipyard has launched ten Beizhili-class warships. In this way, if Li Guozhu's main fleet comes back, my Ming Dynasty will have thirty first-class warships. And the Spanish fleet is said to have been transferred away, so the first-class warships of Siam and Japanese pirates, even if added together, are only more than 20. Our army, together with Marshal Yu's fleet, can set up an ambush on the route that Commander Tian just mentioned, and it is completely possible to fight! I now understand that in order to completely reverse this passive situation, we must win on the sea and control the sea power! Therefore, launching a decisive battle at sea as soon as possible is the key!"
"Grand Marshal, please be patient." Fang Congzhe, the Prime Minister who had not had much presence, stood up at this moment: "A decisive battle is easy to say but difficult to do. Although the navy of our Ming Dynasty is in a weak position now, it can still play a role of containment and threat. You see, Siam has to send food to the Japanese pirates now, and every time it is forced to use the main fleet, the loss is not small. Isn't this the value of our fleet? If we launch a decisive battle, what if we lose?"
"Prince, as for fighting, according to the rules I learned when I led troops in my early years, as long as you are more than 40% sure, you can give it a try! War is dangerous, after all, how can you be 100% sure on the battlefield? If you want to be safe, even if my Ming Dynasty has a hundred first-class warships, how can you dare to say that you will definitely win? And I know that if I don't fight, I will definitely not win!"
