was talking about sending troops, but Li Di opened his mouth and asked the Qing Emperor how old he was this year, which was really a bit laughable. The Korean ministers in the pen & fun & pavilion www.biquge.info palace were also stunned, and they all felt that the king was a little childish.

Although Han Juyuan didn't know what the king of Joseon meant when he asked the emperor's age, he still replied: "My emperor is twenty-three years old this year. ”

As soon as the words fell, the Korean king, who was a few years younger than the Qing Emperor, asked again worriedly: "Is Beijing's armor still fine?" ”

This time, not only the North Korean ministers were stunned, but even Han Juyuan was also stunned, because this question is not what a king should ask, it sounds really childish, just like when a child is fighting, he suddenly asks Does it hurt to hit someone with your fist.

However, Han Juyuan still said with a smile: "My Qing Dynasty armor is no different from before, and the emperor has recently specialized in learning literature and is not hunting. ”

Han Juyuan's remarks refer to the fact that the Qing Dynasty's military power was prosperous as usual, and the emperor recently advocated literature and etiquette, and no longer loved hunting as he did in the past. The reason for this answer is, firstly, that Han Juyuan must exaggerate in order to convince the Korean monarchs and ministers that the Qing Dynasty is still strong; Second, because on the way to Seoul, he found that North Korea attached great importance to Confucianism, and officials and ordinary people respected scholars very much, so he emphasized that the Qing Emperor specialized in learning literature, which would make the whole country have a good impression and help in sending troops.

Li Di let out an "oh" and asked Emperor Shunzhi what his hobbies were on weekdays. Han Juyuan was amused by this young king's freewheeling, but his eyes rolled, and he blurted out that the emperor often patrolled the Taiye Pool, played ice there in winter, rowed on the lake in summer, and occasionally played some puppet games.

"The Qing Emperor is a saint."

Li Di had no way to confirm what Han Juyuan said, and only secretly said in his heart that the Son of Heaven of the Qing Dynasty was not the martial artist Hu Huang he originally imagined, but admired Sinicization, and like me, he had great respect for Confucius and Confucianism, which could be called a human king. In this way, China will definitely be ruled by the Qing Dynasty forever, and if North Korea continues to hold the idea of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, it will be tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. He simply sent troops to help the Qing Dynasty pacify the Ming Dynasty stragglers in the south, and completely pleased the Qing Dynasty.

"Angels, please take a seat, come on, serve tea to the angels!"

Li Di, who had made up his mind, got up and ordered someone to give tea to Han Juyuan, and his words and demeanor were very polite.

Seeing that the king treated the Qing envoy so kindly, the two groups of old ministers of North Korea who were bent on the Ming Dynasty were very angry, and Zheng Taihe, the minister of the leading government, stepped forward a few steps in front of the king and said to Han Juyuan: "If the Celestial Empire really wants me to send troops to Korea, but I don't know what rank of official my country should send to lead the army?"

Han Juyuan glanced at Zheng Taihe, who had a gloomy face, and said: "Since you should enter China as a general to listen to the Hou dispatch, firstly, you can let the recalcitrant Ming army in the south see the strength of the Korean elite soldiers, and secondly, it can also show your country's sincerity in respecting our Qing Dynasty." ”

Li Di couldn't help nodding when he heard this: "Yes, yes, send a general to lead the elite soldiers to suppress the thieves, so as not to make the Celestial Empire look down on our country." ”

The king said this, Zheng Taihe and the others were anxious, but it was not good to stop it in front of the Qing envoy.

"But I don't know how many troops the Celestial Empire wants our country to send?" Li Di finally asked a straight question.

Han Juyuan got straight to the point and said: "Five thousand shotguns are enough." In addition, my dynasty will raise troops to invade the south, and it is very difficult to feed them, so please prepare your own grain and grass for June. ”

"What? Do you want my country to prepare its own grain and grass for half a year? ”

When they heard that the Qing Dynasty not only wanted North Korea to send troops, but also North Korea to provide its own grain and grass, all the Korean ministers were furious. But King Li Di didn't seem to see the anger of his courtiers, and he didn't care about bringing his own grain and grass, so he only asked curiously: "Can the angel tell me what is the enemy situation in southern China?" After the arrival of our army, how will the Celestial Empire arrange? ”

"The enemy has no more than 30,000 or 20,000 soldiers, and they rely only on firearms. Your shotgun master will then go south with our army, so don't worry. ”

Han Juyuan's words dispelled Li Di's concerns, he was worried that the Qing Dynasty would send Korean soldiers to fight alone with the Ming army in the south, which would definitely cause heavy casualties, and now he heard that it was just a coordinated battle with the Qing Dynasty army, so he was relieved.

"That being the case, then please return the angel to the Qing Emperor, and our country will send troops to help the Celestial Empire!"

Li Di didn't wait for Zheng Taihe and others to speak, but actually agreed to the matter. When Han Juyuan left the palace, Zheng Taihe and others immediately cried and admonished the king not to send troops, and they brought out the deeds of the former king Li Liang who "did everything in the country to repay the great grace of the restoration of the Ming Dynasty", and tried their best to prevent Li Li from sending troops.

"The Manchurians have always been cunning, and since they have already taken control of China, why can't they pacify the scattered soldiers of the Ming army in the south? Maybe the Ming army in southern China is strong, and the Qing army is invincible, so he coaxed my country and lured me to send troops to help him, so that my country and the Ming Dynasty completely broke up. ”

"According to the minister, this is clearly a treacherous plan, first deceive our country to send troops, and after our soldiers cross the Tumen River, we will cut off our army's food supply, so that our elite soldiers will die without a place to be buried, and then we will definitely wave our army to attack, at that time, our country will definitely not be protected!"

"Your Majesty, if you promise the Qing Dynasty, then the troops sent by our country will be strong soldiers, and if they are overturned in southern China, then our country's door will be opened.

The DPRK ministers spoke out one after another to dissuade them, and they all spoke earnestly.

"The king must take back his order, this soldier cannot be released. You might as well send someone to China to find out the truth about the situation in the south and then make a decision. Otherwise, it will be easy for the Qing people to take advantage of it, force me to pay for food and money, and seek my land on the other! ”

Zheng Taihe hoped that Li Di would not send troops, but could make a decision after going to China to find out the truth, so as to keep the elite of North Korea and not be consumed by the Qing people. In addition to his affection for the Ming Dynasty, he opposed the dispatch of troops because Hoeryeong and other important towns in the north of Korea were the homeland of the Jurchens in Guhaixi, and he was deeply afraid that the Qing Dynasty would force Korea to surrender these lands after depleting the Korean soldiers.

Shen Zhiyuan, the minister of the Left Parliament, who had gone to Beijing many times to pay tribute, also said: "Weichen was ordered to send an envoy to Yanjing the year before last to secretly spy on the internal movements of the Qing court, and found that it was full of dangers...... It can be seen from this that the domestic situation of the Qing Dynasty was not what the Qing envoy had previously said, but a small trouble, but a major disaster, and even Manchuria was in danger of losing China. If Manchuria really loses its rule in Guannai and retreats to Shengjing, and the Ming Dynasty restores Yanjing, then Korea's move to help the Qing Dynasty will definitely lead to a catastrophe. ”

"The leftist politicians are very good at what they say, and our country is not very clear about the situation in China at present, and when we send people to investigate in detail, we must not make a hasty decision." Zheng Taihe said.

"You don't need to say it anymore, it's rare that the Celestial Empire wants our country to send troops, how can you be mourned at this great opportunity? You say that you should brake quietly and wait and see before making a decision, but you must know that the Qing Dynasty was full of talents, and its country was at the peak of its founding, how could there be a decline? The Southern Ming Army insisted on it for more than ten years, and there had been a funeral of the Prince of Manchu before, but in the end, the Qing Dynasty was still powerful, and the Southern Ming Army turned to dissipate, so the king thought that Manchuria had a prince in the south, and it would not have an impact on the Qing Dynasty's unification of China. Taking a step back, when the Ming Dynasty occupied China, it was not the enemy of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and today it only occupies an inch of land in the south? Even if the Ming Dynasty regained possession of the south, this China is only facing each other across the river from the north and the south, and my North Korea is behind his Qing people. .... If you don't take this opportunity to improve the relationship with the Qing people, he will raise troops to blame the king, how can the king resist? Who among you can stop the Qing army for this king? If the Qing army really wants to come to Seoul again, it will be a catastrophe for the country! ”

Li Di couldn't listen to the persuasion of his subordinates at all, and he said categorically: "Even if the Celestial Empire wants me to bring my own money and grain, my country should also comply." Even if it is difficult to transport grain, you must not stand idly by! After finishing speaking, he ordered the Korean soldier Cao Jin Yinghai to quickly select elite soldiers and good generals, and choose a date to enter China to support the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

Jin Yinghai is a close confidant of Li Di, holding military power, and he also strongly advocates responding to the call of the Qing Dynasty. After receiving the king's order, Jin Yinghai immediately dispatched 3,200 shotgun soldiers from the Imperial Camp Department, 1,500 northern border soldiers, 35 generals, 2 interpreters, 138 attendants, and 239 people with horses and horses, a total of 5,120 people, carrying enough grain and grass for 5,000 troops to eat for 6 months.