Chapter 1502 Going upstream

Just as Kim Sang-hyun feared, he brought Nad-hyun into the palace and failed to immediately convince the indecisive King Li Jie. Instead, he quickly summoned the opposition of the Lord and Pai Cui Ming-gil.

The "peace" advocated by Cui Mingji is not to surrender blindly, but to try to avoid armed conflicts with other countries. This low-key strategy is not due to how peace-loving he is, but to his relatively clear understanding of North Korea's armed strength.

After all, North Korea has almost never achieved decent results in its independent wars with foreign countries. If it were not for the protection of the Ming Dynasty, it would probably have been destroyed several times. Once it was beaten, it was beaten once, and then it was endless surrender and compensation. Cui Mingji

Realizing that this situation cannot continue any longer, we advocate avoiding armed conflicts with other countries as much as possible.

According to Luo Xian, the Haihan army was a powerful presence that could crush Houjin on the Liaodong battlefield, and hoped to become an ally with North Korea. However, the Haihan army did not use normal diplomatic channels to send envoys to contact North Korea.

A fully armed fleet was directly sent. Cui Mingji believed that this approach was unusual, so he asked the Haihan fleet not to enter the Han River. Only its generals or envoys could lead a small number of subordinates into Seoul to avoid being taken advantage of by the Haihan people with ulterior motives.

Broken city.

Cui Mingji's worries are not unreasonable. After all, the North Korean army's defense capabilities are limited. If the Haihan Army is as powerful as Lud Xian described, then the risk of letting its army approach Seoul will be too great. For security reasons, he cannot agree.

The plan proposed by Kim Sang-heon and his group to allow the Hae-Han fleet to enter the Han River.

Kim Sang-hyun has a somewhat different view. He believes in the causes and consequences mentioned by Lud-heon, and believes that Hae-han's intention is not to invade, but to fully demonstrate force to North Korea in order to overwhelm the North Korean government and opposition in the shortest possible time, and then form the alliance needed by Hae-han.

anti-gold alliance.

Kim Sang-hyun believes that peace cannot be obtained by praying, but rather by taking the initiative. It is impossible to expect evil neighbors like Hou Jin to repent one day. They can only count on strong aid to solve this foreign trouble for North Korea. In the past, North Korea relied on

The target is naturally the Ming Dynasty, but now the Ming Dynasty is unable to protect itself and has no time to look around. Not only can it not help North Korea, but even North Korea can only pretend not to know about paying tribute to the Jin Dynasty.

And Haihan is not a country in this region. No matter what their purpose is in starting a war with Hou Jin, the result is objectively beneficial to North Korea. In line with the diplomatic principle of distant relations and close attacks, North Korea should also have a good relationship with Haihan.

Yes. Of course, Kim Sang-heon automatically ignored the national strength required for the strategy of distant diplomacy and close-range attack, and forcibly put North Korea on an equal footing with Hae-Han to view this issue.

One party advocated that the Haihan fleet coming from afar should be given a chance to show force, while the other party believed that it was too risky to allow the Haihan fleet to approach Seoul. However, when King Li Zhu asked Cui Mingji if there was any way to ensure that the Haihan fleet could be allowed to approach Seoul,

When the fleet stayed at Ganghwa Island, he still couldn't help but hesitate and couldn't come up with a specific plan. After all, the North Korean navy was weak, and the largest ship only cost about 300 tons. How could it compare to the kind of giant cannon ship described by Luo Dexian?

Compete with each other.

In the end, King Lee Joo chose the side of Cui Mingji, who tended to be conservative, but found a balance and asked Kim Sang-hyun to draft a diplomatic letter to put forward his own demands. However, although Kim Sang-hyun tried his best to use wording carefully, he could ask for the Haehan Fleet.

There is no way to compromise if we give up entering the Han River.

Having stayed in Liaodong for so long, Luo Dexian naturally knows how the Haihan people behave. If this thing is sent to Ganghwa Island, the other party will most likely throw it away as waste paper. But he is so soft-spoken in front of these big shots.

Without the qualifications to make suggestions, he could only follow the arrangements. He originally wanted to try to apply again to negotiate with the Haihan people, but Cui Mingji decisively rejected this request on the grounds that he needed to stay in Seoul to continue to provide Haihan-related information.

information.

Of course, Luo Dexian understood that this was just an excuse. Cui Mingji was trying to prevent the rebuke faction from getting in touch with Haihan through him. Luode Xian also felt for the first time that this kind of intrigue in the domestic political arena was so childish and ridiculous. In Haihan's case,

In the face of such an absolutely powerful armed force, these calculations were simply in vain. But he knew that even if he said it, the big shots in front of him would not believe it. After all, before seeing it with his own eyes, who could imagine that there is such a thing as the Haihan Army in the world?

What about existence?

But even Luo Dexian could not have imagined that after receiving the letter from Seoul, the Haihan Army immediately broke camp and sailed into the waters of the Han River. This was not consistent with the information he had received beforehand. The Haihan Army told him at that time

However, Wang Tom did not intend to fully respect this agreement and did not hesitate to

Alternate plan initiated.

The Han River is formed by the confluence of the South Han River originating from Daedeok Mountain and the North Han River originating from Mount Kumgang in Gyeonggi Province. It flows through Seoul and then flows into the Yellow Sea at Ganghwa Bay. In various dynasties in Korean history, the Han River Basin was the ruler.

The area was vying to control because it was the starting point of the maritime trade route to China. After entering the reign of the Lee Dynasty, the Han River became the main waterway connecting the capital with the outside world.

The Haihan fleet sailed on the river without encountering any obstacles. Although it was going upstream, thanks to the advanced sail design on the ship, it still maintained an average speed of about four knots. Although these warships were designed to fight at sea

, but a river surface several miles wide like the lower reaches of the Han River can fully meet the navigation needs of warships. Moreover, Wang Tom sent a clipper into the Han River the day before. In addition to being on guard against the troops that North Korea might send from the waterway, there are also

An important task is to examine the channel conditions of the Han River from Seoul to its outlet.

Of course, the information provided by Luo Dexian before this is also very important. After all, in unfamiliar waters like the Han River, it is difficult to find out the conditions of its channel in a short period of time. The two speedboats entering the Han River also

The main purpose is to verify whether the conditions of the Han River provided by Luo Dexian are true.

The Haihan Fleet arrived on the river less than ten miles away from Seoul, and finally aroused North Korea's alert. Fireworks and warning signals began to be set off along the river to indicate the invasion of foreign enemies. But the Haihan Fleet obviously would not take this

This reaction was regarded as a threat and still moved upstream unhurriedly.

After traveling for a few more miles, several sailboats with North Korean military flags finally appeared on the river, but their tonnage was much smaller than that of the Haihan battleship. Wang Tom ordered the deck guns to remove their gun jackets, and the lower guns

All the portholes were opened and all personnel entered combat positions. Although these Korean sailing ships were not enough to threaten the safety of the Haihan fleet, Wang Tom still asked the fleet to enter a combat state. If the opponent showed hostility, he would decisively use artillery fire to warn.

Haihan actually has rich experience in fighting in river waters. In the early years of the Annan Civil War, Haihan's few warships entered the area controlled by the southern court from the sea and went deep into the inland rivers to fight many surprise battles.

Last year, Haihan used the Hangzhou fire incident to deliberately create tension. The Haihan fleet entered the Qiantang River from Hangzhou Bay and went straight to the city of Hangzhou to block the river. It was also an extremely sharp waterborne armed operation.

Although the environment of the Han River waters is relatively unfamiliar, the river surface here is wide and the channel is deep. In addition, North Korea's surface armed forces are really weak, so Wang Tom can confidently lead the fleet into this water area.

Seeing the several Korean sailing ships continuing to sail towards this side, the leading ship "Majesty" fired the bow cannon first. The shell hit the water about ten feet away from the opponent's ship, causing a splash of water. Then the ships were almost at the same time.

He immediately turned around and headed towards the north bank of the Han River. He was obviously frightened by this shelling.

"Ignore them and move on!" Wang Tom gave the order very decisively.

At this time, Seoul finally received news that a foreign armed fleet was sailing upstream from the Han River and was about to arrive in Seoul. According to the description in the witness report, the fleet's masts were uniformly hung with red and blue flags. It was obvious that

It was the Haihan fleet that Luo Dexian mentioned.

"Didn't you say that the Haihan people will not take actions at will?" Jin Sangxian was anxious when he heard the news. Although he supported Luo Dexian's idea, if the Haihan people really took the initiative to use force in Seoul, the nature of the matter would change.

.

Luo Dexian was naturally more excited than him. He did not expect that the Haihan people would break the contract. Whether this action beyond his expectation was to come to Seoul to show force or to take further military measures, he had no idea what would happen next.

What happened? But Luo Dexian knew that if he wanted to save his life, he must try his best to prevent the outbreak of an uncontrollable armed conflict between the two countries. Once a war breaks out, he, the only insider, is likely to be regarded as a traitor with foreign ties.

Processed.

"Sir Jin, the purpose of the Haihan people is not to attack Seoul. Please give the order quickly, Mr. Jin, to restrain the defenders and not to engage in any form of fighting with the Haihan people. Even the hostility should not be too obvious to avoid unnecessary hostility.

Misunderstanding!" Luo Dexian knelt down in front of Kim Sangxian and begged him: "I am willing to guarantee with my life that the Haihan people have no ill intentions."

Jin Sangxian actually regretted having listened to Ludxian before and took him to the palace to meet the king. Now the situation is on the verge of getting out of control. He is afraid that the king will not trust him no matter what he says. But as a senior official, he also

Knowing that the more this happens, the more he must try to save himself. If Haihan really uses force, it will prove that all his previous views are wrong, and he will no longer have to hang out in the officialdom. So although what Luo Dexian said is heart-warming

It's unpleasant, but it is indeed the measure he must take now. He must first prevent the armed conflict, and then there will be a chance to solve the problem through negotiation.

"This is the capital of North Korea!" Wang Tom couldn't help but sigh as he observed the city not far from the river bank through the telescope.

This city has been designated as the capital of the Lee Dynasty of Korea for more than 240 years. During this period, it has been repaired and expanded many times. The entire city wall is nearly 30 miles long. Just looking at the appearance of the city tower, it is considered majestic, at least worthy of the Ming Dynasty.

The construction level of an ordinary prefectural city is high, but the city wall is very low, at most the level of Daming County. Seoul is divided into Heunginmun Gate, Sungnyemun Gate, Donuimun Gate, Sujingmun Gate, and Guangxi Gate in the southeast and northwest directions.

The four smaller gates, Hyehwamun, Sodeokmun, and Changuimun, are located at the four corners of the city. There are eight gates in total, four large, four small, and four small. There is also a small river named Kaichuan, which is

The water vein later known as Cheonggyecheon flows through the city from west to east and is responsible for discharging urban domestic sewage.

However, from Wang Tom's perspective, the city's periphery did not make full use of the water sources of the Han River to build a large moat, which was a major failure in defense. The city wall was short and there were no defenses within the moat. It is no wonder that later

When Jin attacked, it didn't take much effort. The princes and nobles in the city had already abandoned the city and fled. Even the Koreans themselves understood that the city could not be defended in a war.

Shen Zhixiang has dealt with North Korea a lot, and he can roughly imagine what Wang Tom thought when he saw Seoul. He explained next to him: "Joseon is a vassal state and cannot overstep its regulations on city walls. In addition, its engineering capabilities are poor, and it cannot even bake masonry."

They are all difficult problems. It is really a huge burden to build such a wall that surrounds the entire city. Therefore, without urgent defense needs, they can only build the city wall shorter to reduce the amount of work."

Tom Wang asked: "Don't North Koreans even know how to bake bricks?"

"North Korea's brick-making technology is extremely poor. Most of the houses where people live are thatched houses with mud walls. Moreover, firing city wall bricks is different from ordinary bricks, so it still requires some skills." Shen Zhixiang explained: "If the chief has the opportunity to go there in the future,

If you walk around the walls of Seoul, you will find that almost all of their walls are made of stones, and only the battlements are made of bricks."

"This is so backward!" Wang Tom couldn't help but muttered, and he underestimated North Korea's military strength. If this kind of city waterproofing was placed in front of the Haihan Army, it would only take an hour or two to destroy the city.

Even if the Marine Corps is not equipped with large-caliber siege guns, it should not be difficult to break through such a low city wall.

Liu Shang also saw the scene of Seoul in the telescope. He did not look down on North Korea's fortifications. Whether a country is strong or not cannot be judged simply by the height of the city walls. Apart from Victory Fort, Sanya, the capital of Haihan, has a continuous

There is no city wall, but which country's army can invade Sanya? Just hearing Shen Zhixiang said that North Korea's brick-burning technology is not perfect, Liu Shang couldn't help but have a similar idea to Wang Tom. Such a backward country, and

How can you compete with Haihan?
Chapter completed!