Lord of the House

Vol 8 Chapter 18: Weak State Diplomacy

Goryeo is the old county of Haedong. After the establishment of the country, the king of Goryeo also called himself the emperor of Haedong, so the Central Plains people used to use "Haedong" to call the Goryeo Peninsula.

Donghu was the upper state of Goryeo, and his envoys did not dare to neglect him. In Xinxun's elegant room, three beautiful Korean dancers, wearing long-sleeved dance dresses, were dancing gracefully, and they were slowly descending, showing the ultimate flexibility of their waists. Those brutish men, looking at the graceful curves of their taut legs under their skirts, were not affected by the graceful dancing posture, and thought in their minds that if their clothes were stripped naked, it would be a pleasure to love in this posture.

The charcoal fire in the brazier was vigorously burning, and the sizzling sound was faint. Zuo Honglie, the Minister of Rites of Goryeo, came later, saying that it was to accompany him attentively, or it would be better to prevent the special envoy of the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian from getting too close to the envoys of Donghu. Zhejiang, Fujian and Donghu, one south and one north, and Korea are caught in the middle, so we must be careful.

Na Hexiongqi came on behalf of King Donghuhan, and sat after the main case, the Minister of Rites Jin Chengyue and Qin Zitan sat next to the case, followed by the accompanying guests such as Azige.

Before Jin Chengyue came, Qin Zitan told He Xiongqi about the Danluo Island in general. Jin Chengyue came over, and Hexiongqi caught someone to ask the details of the incident on Danluo Island.

Jin Chengyue also had a bitter look on his face. When He Xiongqi asked each other, he couldn't evade and didn't answer.

The Goryeo at this time is no longer the Goryeo that dared to compete with the Donghu people and the Great Vietnam in Liaodong a hundred years ago. Goryeo is currently the young ruler, and the state minister Zuo Jing is the queen's father, who presides over the government. Zuo Jing killed the Donghu people in the Qingchuan River four years ago, so he was afraid.

A weak country has no diplomatic relations. When it was a vassal of the Yue Dynasty, the Yue Dynasty still relied on the ceremonies of the Celestial Dynasty to be a state. Every year, there is a lot of rewards for tribute. Tributaries can also open up business routes.

The Donghu people are monsters that **** blood and eat meat. Whenever an envoy comes, they come to drink the blood of the Goryeo people and cut the flesh of the Goryeo people.

In the past four years, not to mention cutting the soil and cutting the army, grain, samsung, horses, gold, silver, copper and iron have been extorted from countless, and even nearly 100,000 Koreans and soldiers have been involved in the war between the Donghu and the Yue Dynasty.

Donghu used troops against the Yue Dynasty, and in addition to killing, he also indulged in looting. The Koreans who were involved in the war not only did not consider it hard, but also regarded it as a shortcut to making a fortune. Whenever the Donghu people came to recruit troops on both sides of the Qingchuan River, the Koreans prepared their own armour and horses, and the responders gathered.

The truly far-sighted Goryeo people knew that only the Donghu people could really benefit from such a war. Goryeo’s Ding Zhuang on the front line of the Qingchuan River was exhausted, and they wanted to get the Qingchuan River back from the Donghu people in the future. It's very difficult.

Jin Chengyue really didn't know what kind of unreasonable demands the envoy Donghu would make of Goryeo when he came this time, and felt uneasy in his heart.

He Xiongqi's eyes fell on the dancer's fair chest, but he was thinking of other things.

He came here this time, not only to ask the Koreans to promise to set up a large-scale water camp in Guannei County, but also to obtain shipbuilders from Korea and bring them back to Jinzhou (Dalian, the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula, less than 200 miles away from the northern end of the Shandong Peninsula). ) to build a dock.

During the battles in Yannan, the Jiangdong Left Army borrowed boats to move quickly along the coast, which impressed Na Hexiongqi deeply. With the sails hoisted and the wind blowing, it is a common thing for soldiers to take advantage of the boat to travel two or three hundred miles at night. How much fighting power is left when cavalry horses run for two hundred miles at night?

From then on, He Xiongqi thought that Donghu could have a water camp.

The navy is not the director of Donghu, and there are no shipbuilders in the territory. There are few people who are good at boating. He is even better at managing the navy.

Let the Donghu people set their sights on the sea, it is the many grain ships that are attached to the west coast of the Liaodong Peninsula to the Jinhai Sea.

With the deepening of the Yanbei tug of war, Donghu princes and ministers gradually realized the significance of the Jinhai grain route for maintaining the Yanbei line of defense in the Southern Dynasty. However, in order to cut off the Jinhai food route, water camps and warships are not necessary. To build a water camp in Donghu, the only way is to use the power of the Koreans.

Korea is the old county of Haedong, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the traditional shipbuilding and sea fishing industries are well developed. The surrounding archipelago is easy to hide pirates, and Korea also has navy troops in the coastal states and counties all year round to prevent pirates from invading the land. Taking Shannan County as the most important, it is necessary not only to guard against pirates, but also to defend the Fusang vassal states on the other side of the strait.

At present, the biggest disadvantage of the Goryeo navy is that it is too scattered. The naval forces were not concentrated enough and were controlled by the counties and counties below. The navy forces controlled by the royal capital Hanyang Mansion were only over a thousand people, which was too weak.

The Goryeo navy also focused on guarding against pirates, and lacked strong ships and large ships. If they were more than 30 feet, they were considered large ships. However, there are almost no ships below five feet in the size of the ships that transport grain in the waters west of the Liaodong Peninsula. Those warships that escorted the grain fleet were mostly sturdy and large ships of more than ten feet.

Na Hexiongqi came here this time to urge the Koreans to concentrate the domestic naval forces in Hanyang House, Guannei County, urge the Koreans to build larger and stronger warships, and urge the Koreans to build a batch of large and sturdy ships for Donghu. , urging the Koreans to train a navy for Donghu, provide shipbuilders for Donghu, and prepare for the construction of Shuyingwu Port in Jinzhou.

In order to achieve this goal, Na Hexiongqi negotiated with Azige's envoy to Goryeo, which is only one aspect. On the other hand, the British prince Ye Ji Da-dy led more than 40,000 elites to the cities north of the Cheongcheon River to threaten Goryeo militarily.

In addition, after several captives, the king of Donghu had a lot of gold and silver in his treasury. He asked the Koreans to help build the water camp. This time, Hexiongqi also brought 300,000 to 500,000 taels of silver to reward Korea.

Three to five million taels of silver is not a lot, not too much.

The docks, ports, and camps were all built together. An elite water camp with about 10,000 people started from nothing, and it was not unimaginable to spend millions of taels of silver.

Thinking about the shipbuilding workshop to which the Huaidong Military Division belonged, nearly 600,000 taels of silver were invested. The Sun, Zhou and other clans, as well as Chongzhou, invested almost all the profits from the Jinhai grain route, and in just two years, the current scale of shipbuilding was formed.

But three to five million taels of silver were enough to buy officials in Korea.

Although He Xiongqi was a general in command of the army, he was not reckless in handling matters, and he had also been acquainted with political affairs, so he personally appointed this envoy to King Yezierhan. He knew in his heart that it was easy to coerce Gaoli's monarchs and ministers into submission, but he also had to quell the opposition in Korea so that this matter could go on smoothly.

Before He Xiongqi came to Hanyang, he didn't know about the war on Danluo Island, but he knew at this time that knowing was an excellent excuse for the purpose of this trip.

"Dan Russell is under the jurisdiction of Goryeo, and Huaidong has a foot in it, disregarding morality, attacking Haiyang/Navy Army, robbing Goryeo's territory, and trapping the county governor and four thousand generals on the island, what is the intention of the Goryeo king? "That Hexiong Qi Weng asked Jin Chengyue, Minister of Rites, in his voice.

Jin Chengyue felt bitter in his heart, and it was not a good thing for the envoys of Donghu to intervene, so he had to say: "I can't ask the Ministry of Rites about the use of soldiers, but the lower officials really don't know how to answer the upper envoys..."

"The Minister of Rites arranged that I want to see the left minister tomorrow," He Xiongqi said again, "The Minister of Rites is not a person who likes the wind and moon, why does he stay to disturb our interest?" The implication is that Jin Chengyue should be driven away .

Jin Chengyue had no time to resent He Xiongqi's rudeness, so he withdrew and left. Weak countries have no diplomatic relations, and every time they extort money from the East Hu, in order to quell domestic grievances, the Minister of Rites, who is responsible for direct negotiations with envoys, often becomes a scapegoat.

Jin Chengyue really doesn't know if Donghu's envoy leaves this time, will he become a scapegoat to quell domestic anger and be thrown into prison?

****************

When Jin Chengyue left, He Xiongqi waved the three beautiful Korean dancers away.

Everyone knows that these dancing girls and the official prostitutes in the post house are secret agents of the Korean people. How can they be present when discussing matters?

"There was a naval battle between Zhejiang and Fujian and Huaidong in the East China Sea," Na Hexiongqi looked at Qin Zitan, such a person, not very famous, but as a special envoy, representing the luxury family to cross the sea to Korea, he must not be a simple person, "Huai The truth of the Dongshui Army, Xiongqi wants to ask Mr. Qin..."

Befriending Donghu is in line with the strategy of "friending far and near". Even if Donghu breaks the Yanbei line of defense, there is still Liang clan in Shandong, and Huaidong is the current common enemy of the two.

Qin Zitan thought about his thoughts and said: "The rise of Huaidong in two or three years is not accidental. Your army was slightly frustrated in Yannan. After careful inspection, there was no other. Only Huaidong borrowed water to camp warships, maneuvered along the coast, and transported them. It is convenient, especially better than the cavalry. The Fujian division fought against Huaidong, rushing to the East China Sea, and the defeat was also because the warship was not as strong as Huaidong. The ship is as fast as a galloping horse, and the Sanzai ship is as big as walking on the ground. To sum up, Huaidong's warship, a giant ship, travels on the wind and waves, which is especially convenient. Pay attention to naval battles, and keep your eyes on the sea, and others are not as good as..."

"The She family can have the current situation, and it is also benefiting from the sea. It is much more deeply rooted than Huaidong. How can the battle at sea be inferior to Huaidong?" Na Hexiongqi asked in confusion.

That He Xiongqi is already a veteran Donghu who is diligent in thinking, but from land to sea, the combat mode has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the strategic thinking and the fundamental interests of competition are also completely different. Na Hexiongqi was constrained by the idea of ​​​​fighting on land, and he couldn't see the reality of the Huaidong Navy, so he couldn't really blame him.

Although He Xiongqi's knowledge is not deep, but other generals from Donghu came here, even less than him; otherwise, the king of Donghu Khan would not have chosen him to take charge of this matter.

In addition to the generals of the Huaidong Military Division who were deeply influenced by Lin Fu, how many people in this world can deeply understand the significance of sea control?

To say that there is, Qin Zitan should be regarded as one of the best. He also suffered a lot in the long-term game and battle with Lin Bie before reaching the current depth of understanding.

Qin Zitan hesitated for a while about He Xiongqi's question, not knowing whether to tell the truth or not.

In this world, the core resources are land and mouth, and every battle is to fight for land and mouth, so the army is mainly cavalry and infantry. There are many rivers, lakes and rivers in the south, so there are water camps to cooperate with the battle, and the focus is still on "land and dingkou".

The core purpose of the luxury family's abandonment of land and sea is to open a channel for landing in eastern Zhejiang from the sea. Once they gain a firm foothold in eastern Zhejiang, the focus of military expansion will immediately shift to land.

In the past year, the land controlled by the luxury family stretched thousands of miles, with 100,000 elite soldiers. Although its navy still maintains a scale of 20,000 troops, the investment in the construction of warships and the construction of Fortress on the island is not as good as in previous years.

It is more about collecting civilian ships from eastern Zhejiang and incorporating them into the water camp. How can it be possible to build a large-scale shipyard in Huaidong to build sturdy and fast warships for the water camp?

In the past year, Zhedong Shuiying's ability to sail in the open seas has not been enhanced, but has been weakened. It is mainly based on the defense of offshore waters and the mouths of rivers and lakes.

In contrast, after two years of development, Huaidong has been able to organize an army of 10,000 people to cross the sea.

Qin Zitan was also deeply saddened by the gap here.

But there is no way. Even after the luxury family integrates northern Fujian and southern Zhejiang, the resources that can be used are limited.

The strategic focus of the She family has shifted to the land. In the south, they have to deal with the remnants of Yu Wangao. In the north, they have to deal with Dong Yuan in northern Zhejiang, Jiangdong and Jiangxi soldiers in the state, and finally Huaidong's defense line on the Shengsi Islands.

The She family has invested nearly 3 million taels in military spending in the past year, and the water camp can account for about 20%, about 600,000 taels.

The 20,000 navy soldiers had 400,000 taels of silver for rations, armour, and equipment, and only 200,000 taels of silver could be used to build warships.

The navy needed a large number of warships and little money, so they could only build cheap warships that could carry more soldiers per unit.

Don't look at the Huaidong Military Division in the past year, the pace of expansion of infantry is extremely fast, but the focus of its resource investment is still on water camps. Only Huaidong's investment in Guanyintan Shipyard last year reached an astonishing level.

The Guanyintan Shipyard, which is affiliated to the Huaidong Military Division, has been able to build six large ships with a capacity of more than 5,000 stone at the same time, and can build 18 ships a year. After the She family took over the shipyard in Mingzhou Prefecture, they could only build two large ships at a time. The shipbuilding cycle was longer than that of Huaidong, and only four ships could be built a year.

To talk about the gap between the two in the development of the navy, there is nothing more intuitive than this...

Why did Huaidong invest such a large amount of resources in the navy? After all, Huaidong's current fundamental interests lie in the sea.

Qin Zitan could not yet accurately estimate how much benefit the Jinhai Food Route would bring to Huaidong, but it would definitely not be less. Maintaining the smooth operation of the Jinhai food route is the most fundamental driving force for Huaidong to develop a naval force.

In addition, the profits of the maritime trade route are endless, which is also an important driving force for Huaidong to develop a naval force.

Although the imperial court has always banned business from the sea, but in the early years of Jin'an, there were always private businessmen who crossed the sea to Liuqiu and Fusang to sell goods for profit. Qin Zitan knew a thing or two about the benefits of the maritime trade route.

In the later period, the Fusang feudal feudal war and the breeding of pirates made the risk of going to sea huge, and the scale of sea trade was reduced sharply.

Lin Fu led the army across the sea this time, and his intention to shock and deter was more obvious. Once the Huaidong Military Division takes Danluo Island as the core, straighten out the maritime trade routes in the Haidong area, and expand the scale of maritime trade, Huaidong will be able to continuously gain huge profits from it.

Qin Zitan thought about it for a moment, and felt that if the Donghu people did not have a deep understanding of the marine navy, they would not make every effort to limit the development of Huaidong in the sea. Many of the fundamental experiences, I would like to tell you.

This talk is one night. My QT room is open! More vulgar official QT room number [9167] Click to enter

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