When the battle at Shanhaiguan was in full swing, the Korean battlefield changed abruptly, and after the Qing soldiers entered the dynasty, they encountered Japanese soldiers who were driving straight into Seoul.

Although Sakai Nobumitsu fought to the death, the Qing soldiers were far superior to the Japanese soldiers in terms of the quality of individual soldiers and weapons and equipment.

Sukh Saha and Daniel Zhang pursued the victory, and Sakai Nobumitsu retreated to Xingzhou, waiting for follow-up reinforcements.

The early spring of Korea was even colder than the bitter winter, and under the biting cold wind, the three warring parties were all soldiers from the bitter cold land, and only a few generals of the Songjiang Navy Division were shivering from the cold.

Zhao Hanwu and the others gathered around a bonfire, stretching out their hands to bake the fire, their faces full of remorse. The situation on the battlefield in the early stage was so smooth that they forgot to take every step of the way, and fought to Seoul in one fell swoop and suffered this defeat. Although most of the losses were Japanese soldiers, the news came back, and it may be the first recent defeat of the Ming Dynasty, which was full of good news.

"General Zhao, the Qing soldiers were beaten by the Northern Expeditionary Army on land and fled, but they defeated us, isn't this the face of the Lost Water Division. However, how did our sailor raise his head in front of the army, when the Northern Expeditionary Army repeatedly spread rumors, saying that our sailor is the treasure of the commander, and he is reluctant to use it and can only be used as an ornament... This time is good, alas. ”

"Shut up!" Zhao Hanwu stood up, his face was red and frightened, he glared at the officers and soldiers under him viciously, and after a while, he still lowered his head weakly.

No army is inherently invincible, even in the early stage of the decisive battle of Jingxiang, the Northern Expeditionary Army lost more than it won. The sailor had a smooth journey and did not encounter any vicious battles, and the psychological quality of the generals was far from reaching the level required for war.

Zhao Hanwu got up and walked to Sakai Nobumitsu's tent, opened the curtain, and it was full of Japanese soldiers, discussing the military situation.

Although Sakai Nobumitsu didn't like him, he was a Ming general after all, and he didn't dare to slack off: "General Zhao, what's the matter?" ”

"What's the matter? Don't you feel ashamed that Seoul is like this? Zhao Hanwu asked angrily.

Sakai Nobumitsu's heart was full of anger, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was ugly. The whole body trembled slightly, and the whole person was like a little explosive.

He was Japan's premier general, the most trusted general of the Tokugawa shogunate, and his grandfather, Sakai Tadaji, known as the head of the four Tokugawa kings, was the elder minister of the Tokugawa world.

And the person on the other side is young, not to mention, he is just a general of the water division, and even a middle and lower-level military general in the water division of the Ming Dynasty. Such a person dares to yell at himself, and in front of so many Japanese generals, many of these people know Chinese.

Zhao Hanwu was unaware of it, and continued to scold: "It is simply a shame that we are fighting with you, a shame that has never been seen before. You are still here discussing how to retreat, and I tell you, hurry up and organize an army to counterattack, and you can still make up for it. Otherwise, just wait and see! ”

After Zhao Hanwu finished speaking, he was a lot happier, turned around and left, leaving a tent of Japanese generals angry.

At the same time, the pursuing Qing soldiers had already arrived at the city of Xingzhou, and the cities of North Korea were relatively low, and in the eyes of these Han Eight Banner Army, they were not much different from villages and towns.

Daniel Zhang restrained his war horse and said, "My lord, if you let the Wu army escape this time, you will invade again next year, and you will kill all over Korea, so that the Wei army will not return." ”

Suke Saha nodded, and after a few battles, he had already discovered Daniel Zhang's strength. Even in Manchuria, where there were fierce generals in those years, generals like Daniel Zhang were outstanding. Hearing this, Sukh Saha said: "General Zhang is right, I am afraid that the sailors of the Ming Dynasty will participate in the war. ”

Daniel Zhang did not participate in the Northern Expedition, he was appointed by the Qing court to guard Gansu, but he heard that the Qing soldiers on the front were constantly defeated, and in his opinion, it was purely incompetent.

Daniel Zhang was full of spirit and raised his voice: "Don't worry, adults, the anti-Ming water division is a water master after all, how to fight our warriors on land." If Korea is lost, we will completely lose our naval division, and then the whole of Manchuria will not be at peace. ”

Sukh Saha pondered for a while and said, "Let's stop General Zhang's." ”

Daniel Zhang really likes this Manchu man, he is different from other Manchus, he completely trusts himself and obeys his words. Daniel Zhang didn't care that the credit was taken by him, as long as he could fight without hindrance. He was in the Ming Army, and when he met that kind of eunuch and supervisor army at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he had to meddle and intervene everywhere if he didn't understand bullshit, which was really uncomfortable.

When he turned his back on the Ming Dynasty, there was no reason for this, and the generals of the Ming Dynasty were bullied too much.

Daniel Zhang was preparing to attack the city, when suddenly the city gate opened, and Zhao Hanwu rushed out with a group of sailor soldiers and the soldiers behind him.

Daniel Zhang froze in place, then was pleasantly surprised, and commanded the army to cover the past.

Also stunned was Sakai Nobumitsu, the general of the Japanese soldiers, and after hearing the voice, Sakai Nobumitsu said angrily: "What is the sound outside? ”

"Zhao Hanwu said that he was ordered by you and rushed out with a large army."

Sakai Nobumitsu's face was as earthy as the color of the earth, he sat down in his seat, and after a while, he stood up decisively and said, "Withdraw the troops!" ”

"What about the soldiers who rushed out?" These soldiers were all samurai of the family, and they had a very close relationship with each other.

Sakai Nobumitsu lost even his armor and retreated with the rest of the people, and his men understood.

....

It is not unwise for a strong man to break his wrist, and it turns out that if it were not for Sakai Nobumitsu's timely withdrawal, the Japanese army would have been wiped out.

On the Korean battlefield, the 70,000 Qing soldiers who came with victory were not an army of this magnitude at all, they were armed forces competing with the Northern Expeditionary Army in the Central Plains.

The tiger and the lion play, the lion loses, but it is not something that wild dogs can humiliate.

In the battle between the Korean army and the Japanese soldiers, after the participation of the Qing soldiers, the taste changed.

The impact of the Battle of Xingzhou was great, not only the boiling Japanese sentiment, but even Hou Xuanyan's side was affected.

Tokugawa Iemitsu personally sent a letter to Hou Xuanyan, stating the reasons for the defeat and interceding for Sakai Nobumitsu.

Hou Xuanyan sent people to appease Sakai Nobumitsu, gave a large amount of gold, silver and silk, and Zhao Hanwu, who died in battle, was written into the negative textbook of the lecture hall and reported to the whole army.

Hou Xuanyan even gave his sword to Sakai Nobumitsu to appease the angry civilian and military generals in Japan.

This move really worked, coupled with Zhu Dadian's eight-sided exquisiteness, he was planned left and right in Japan. Sino-Japanese relations, which had been caused by a huge rift caused by the Battle of Xingzhou, were alleviated.

Under Shanhaiguan, Hou Xuanyan sighed, the expedition to Liao was not as easy as he imagined. After the puppet Qing who left the Central Plains returned to their lair, just like their original state of mind, they also had compatriots behind them who needed to be protected.

Those who defend the country have become the Qing soldiers on the opposite side, and under this mentality, whether it is the Manchu people or the Liao people, they are bound to be more courageous.

"Zhao Hanwu, what a fool!" Li Haoxian scolded.

Hou Xuanyan shook his head and said: "Zhao Hanwu, a general, how can he command an army of 100,000 people, his stupidity is still small, but his courage is really big." ”

The front offensive was mired in an artillery battle, and the Shanhai Pass was shelling each other every day, and the casualties of the soldiers dropped instead.

In the interval of the cannon, Hou Xuanyan gritted his teeth and said: "Shang Kexi, this old turtle, with Shanhaiguan in his hands, is like Wang Ba has a shell, and this turtle shell is really hard. ”

He is not a cool commander, on the contrary, Hou Xuanyan cherishes his soldiers very much, but this does not mean that he will give up attacking Shanhaiguan because he sacrifices too much.

Wars are like that, wars without the undead, and the indecisiveness of the women of one side of the commander tends to kill more of his men. Just like the battle at Shanhaiguan was so tragic, if Hou Xuanyan ordered the withdrawal of troops because there were too many dead, then the soldiers who died in the previous battle would die in vain.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, every time the Tartars entered the customs, they had to plunder hundreds of thousands of Han people as slaves. The number of dead and wounded is innumerable, and the loss of property cannot be counted.

So even if Shanhaiguan is difficult to fight, Shang Kexi can shrink again, Hou Xuanyan knows that he must grit his teeth and knock open Shanhaiguan.

"After the opening of the conquest of Liao, we did not advance an inch, North Korea won first and then lost, and Xia Wanchun in Songjin and Songjin did not bargain in the hands of Wu Sangui. But I still have to say that victory is tilting in our favor. Looking at the few henchmen in the tent, with a sad look on their faces, Hou Xuanyan got up and explained.

Sure enough, everyone's eyes looked at Hou Xuanyan, wondering why the battle was like this, but the prince felt that he had a great advantage...

Hou Xuanyan put his hands behind his back and said: "We don't seem to have built an inch, and we haven't recovered the vast land of the size land yet, but think about it, how many Qing soldiers we have killed and injured this month."

The source of soldiers and baggage are the embodiment of the national strength of a dynasty, and the pseudo-Qing Dynasty will compete with us for something. Hou Xuanyan walked to Li Haoxian's side and said: "When the Agni Battalion reached Shandong, it was like a bamboo, and it was advancing vigorously, but it had to withdraw to Huai'an. Do you remember why? ”

"Zheng Zhilong locked the sea, the imperial treasury was tight, and there was no salary to support the Northern Expedition." Li Haoxian will never forget this matter, so he naturally came with his mouth open, and he didn't need to think about it.

Hou Xuanyan nodded and said, "That's right, now the Manchu Qing is the same as us, fighting on three sides but without the tax revenue in our vast territory. I opened up the South Seas, and countless materials could be obtained from all over the country and transported to the battlefield. What about the pseudo-clear? They are still gnawing at their old roots, and the property they have plundered from the Central Plains is numbered after all, and how long can they hold on.

After the Qing soldiers are killed and wounded, where will they recruit troops to replenish them, and I still have more than 100,000 reserve soldiers in Yinxi, what is still to be gratifying? ”

After Hou Xuanyan finished speaking, the generals in the tent looked a little soothed, although the knot in his heart had not been untied, but he had recovered a lot of self-confidence.

Seeing off the generals, Hou Xuanyan walked out of the big tent and stood on the high post and looked at Shanhaiguan.

Since ancient times, the male lord of the Northern Expedition, how could it be smooth sailing, as strong as Chai Rong, and did not win the sixteen states of Yanyun in his lifetime. What's more, Liaodong, which is further north than the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, is not so easy to defeat.

Under his own leadership, Daming is like a big ship with a smooth wind, but now it is just encountering some wind and waves. In the long run, the prosperity of the Han people has been on the right track, and no matter how majestic Shanhaiguan is, it cannot stop the general trend of the world.

What Hou Xuanyan didn't know was that on the Xiongguan opposite him, Shang Kexi was also overlooking the pass.

The long-term shelling made the city wall of Shanhaiguan full of potholes, smoky black blocks everywhere, the Qing soldiers on the gate were all disgraced, lying under the low wall to avoid the fire and shells, all the soldiers had cotton wool stuffed in their ears, and at the beginning of the shelling, there were not a few people who were shocked and bled to death.

"For half a hundred years, the smoke of gunpowder has continued, and it is not as tragic as it is now, where did Hou Xuanyan get so many shells, will his money be born, and he can't use it up?"

This question has puzzled Shang Kexi for a long time, how did he know that Hou Xuanyan relied on war to balance the excessively rapid economic development.

The rise of maritime merchants allowed a large amount of silver and gold to flow into the Ming Dynasty, especially the imperial court.

The large inflow of silver stimulated the economy of the Ming Dynasty, and the people saw that the production of silk, porcelain, and tea was so profitable, which was much more cost-effective than growing grain, so they would change rice to mulberry and tea to produce cash crops. But as a result, the price of grain rises, and grain reserves decrease. In the event of a natural disaster, there is no food reserves, and the price of food is high, there will be big problems.

Hou Xuanyan's countermeasure was to charge high taxes on exported goods, but this still could not change the current situation of the crazy inflow of silver and gold.

The influx of money into the natural economic system would cause inflation, and if left unchecked, it would lead to the collapse of the country's industrial system, as Spain did, with little benefit except for the squandering of money by the magnates and merchants. Moreover, when it reaches a critical point, it will inevitably trigger inflation, causing silver to be cheap and copper to be expensive, hoarding, triggering a series of adverse reactions, and dealing a devastating blow to the national economy.

From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the present, one-third of the world's silver has flowed into China, but it has not caused significant inflation until the early Chongzhen period. Under the influence of the habits of national consumption and saving, a large amount of silver was stored, and a large amount of silver did not enter the field of circulation, maintaining a strange equilibrium. When the time came, the evil consequences began to show, and Chongzhen once frantically apportioned agricultural taxes, and there were also reasons for this.

Although Hou Xuanyan was not an economist, he saw this kind of thing farther than the ancients, so he vigorously encouraged and supported those businessmen to set up factories.

Through wars after wars, orders flowed into the private sector, stimulating the rise of industry. All kinds of industries related to military merit are related to the long-term fortune of the country and the development of science and technology, which is a very important part of Hou Xuanyan's planning.

These crazy gold and silver flowing into the Ming Dynasty will become real facilities and equipment, and there are already many enlightened and wise businessmen who know how to buy the materials that the Ming Dynasty needs from Fanbang.

In other words, the happier Hou Xuanyan fought, the more cannonball gunpowder he consumed, the more beneficial it was to Daming.

Although the current Shanhaiguan seems to be rock-solid, it is destined to be breached.