Xiao Ruxun had also discovered that the root cause of the decline of the Ming Dynasty Army and generals was the Wei system set up by Zhu Yuanzhang. Now that the Wei system had collapsed beyond recognition, the imperial court did not abolish it on the surface. In fact, the strong fighting power of the army were all recruited soldiers, not Wei soldiers.
Only by getting rid of the mess of the Wei system could the Ming Dynasty Army be reborn. Otherwise, no matter how many strong soldiers were trained, they could not become a system. These people died in battle and grew old, and the fighting power of the Ming Army would continue to decline.
At this time, Xiao Ruxun began to plan whether he could rely on destroying a small country to set up a new military town, and then write to the emperor to test it out.
The Daoists and scholar-officials only cared about the land in front of them. It was not easy for them to shift their attention to overseas. This was an opportunity, an opportunity to walk out of their control and walk a new path.
Since this was the case, Xiao Ruxun had his eyes on the Dong Yu Dynasty in Myanmar.
The pace of destroying the pirates had to be accelerated.
On the afternoon of the 14th day of the first lunar month, the second wave of Japanese pirates came to the Daegu camp to see Xiao Ruxun. Xiao Ruxun had just finished arranging the attack plan on Tsushima on the 20th day of the first lunar month. He rushed back to Daegu from Yeosu, ready to let the army attract the attention of the Pusan Japanese pirates on land, so as to create an advantage to attack Tsushima. At this juncture, whether the Japanese pirates came or not was meaningless.
They accepted Xiao Ruxun's request to return the North Korean princes, the North Korean captives, and the property. Of course, no one knew the specific number, and Xiao Ruxun would not know if they kept some for themselves. The most valuable were still the two North Korean princes, which had a strong political significance.
The Japanese pirates also knew the importance of the two princes, so this time they brought a gift of a thousand young North Korean men and ten carriages of property as a token to see Xiao Ruxun. Xiao Ruxun met them and said that he accepted the conditions, and asked the Japanese side to hand over the two North Korean princes and the property as soon as possible to the Ming Army. Only then would he meet and negotiate with Yukita Xiu's family.
On the morning of the 15th, Yukita Xiu's family sent a batch of young North Korean men and property, saying that after the negotiation, they would leave all the young North Korean men and the two North Korean princes in Wu City for the Ming Army, but this must be based on the Ming Army letting them leave safely.
Xiao Ruxun was furious and said that if they did not hand over the two princes and all the young North Korean men and property, he would immediately send troops to attack Wu City. He also drove the Japanese pirates' messengers out of the camp and threatened to teach them a lesson.
That afternoon, Xiao Ruxun sent fifty carriages to launch a punitive shelling on Wu City in Weishan. The shelling lasted for an hour, causing the Japanese pirates in Wu City to wail like ghosts and wolves. He also sent a troop of a thousand people to carry out a feint attack and threw "gas bombs" into the city, which was a kind of smoke bomb that could paralyze people. This was a specialty of the Liaodong Army, and it terrified the Japanese pirates.
Xiao Ruxun didn't know how many Japanese pirates were killed or injured, but on the night of the 15th, the Japanese pirates' messengers came. They knelt down and asked Xiao Ruxun to stop the shelling. They were willing to accept Xiao Ruxun's request, but they asked for the release of one prince and half of the young North Korean men and property first. The remaining half would be left in Wu City for the Ming Army to take after the army retreated.
Xiao Ruxun's attitude was tough, saying that if they didn't let them go, he would continue the shelling! I'll make sure you have no way out!
That night, Xiao Ruxun delivered an ultimatum to the Japanese pirates. At the same time, he ordered the three camps to send gunners to bombard the nearest Wu City. The rumbling of the cannons lasted for two hours, causing the Japanese pirates in Pusan to be restless all night.
The higher-ups of the Japanese Army held an emergency meeting. In the face of Xiao Ruxun's tough stance, they were helpless. They could only agree to return the two North Korean princes and only leave a portion of the young North Korean men as hostages to ensure their safety. This was their minimum request.
They believed that at least the North Koreans were worthy of Xiao Ruxun's fear. Xiao Ruxun would certainly not hurt them unscrupulously.
Only then did Xiao Ruxun agree to the Japanese pirates' request. Therefore, on the afternoon of the 16th, the Japanese pirates raised white flags and sent the two North Korean princes, Lord Linhae and Lord Sungha, to the Ming Army's camp. The generals of the Ming Army, led by Xiao Ruxun, welcomed the return of the two princes.
What was strange was that the representative of the North Korean army, Quan Li, and the representative of the navy, Lee Sun-sin, did not seem to be very enthusiastic about the return of Lord Linhae and Lord Sungha. When they met, they only greeted them as usual, as if they could not wait to avoid them.
On the other hand, Xiao Ruxun was very enthusiastic and treated the two princes well. He had the soldiers boil water for the two princes to bathe and change their clothes, and treated the two princes to a full meal. Then he had the two dejected princes send the young North Korean men and a portion of their belongings back to Seoul.
As for the remaining belongings, they were naturally kindly accepted by Xiao Ruxun and then distributed to the various armies.
This was a great diplomatic victory. Of course, what it meant to the North Koreans, Lee Chi, Lord Linhae, and Lord Sungha was not something that Xiao Ruxun needed to pay attention to, and he would not pay attention to.
On the afternoon of the 16th, after a discussion between Xiao Ruxun and the representative of the Japanese army, they decided to hold a face-to-face negotiation between the commanders of the two armies at the midpoint between the frontlines of the two armies at noon on the 17th. At the same time, Xiao Ruxun sent a secret order to Chen Lin and Lee Sun-sin, ordering the navy to proceed as usual and not be affected by the peace talks.
At noon on the 17th, the negotiation between the supreme leaders of the two armies was held smoothly. Xiao Ruxun personally attended, and so did Yukita Shuka. It was the first time the two of them had a face-to-face conversation. Compared to Xiao Ruxun's arrogance, Yukita Shuka was more or less dispirited. At the negotiation table, he was a little slow to respond to Xiao Ruxun's requests. Basically, it was Ishida Mitsunari who represented Yukita Shuka in the negotiation with Xiao Ruxun.
Xiao Ruxun made many requests that the Japanese army found difficult to accept, such as the request to hand over all their weapons and return to Japan. However, they were rejected by Ishida Mitsunari one by one, saying that it was too unreasonable. Their lives could not be guaranteed, so how could they accept it? Therefore, Xiao Ruxun began to make concessions on the surface, but in reality, he was stalling for time. He always talked with Ishida Mitsunari for a long time, and even after a day, he did not manage to talk much.
For the entire 18th, both sides were in the posture of slamming the table and smashing the benches, ready to go to war if they did not agree. The Japanese, after all, did not have enough momentum. They were submissive and could not even raise their voices. At noon, Xiao Ruxun set up a banquet at the negotiation table, serving chicken, duck, and fish together. He ate until his mouth was full of oil, and he also invited them to eat, appearing full of confidence.
Finally, in the late afternoon, Ishida Mitsunari still accepted Xiao Ruxun's condition of leaving 50% of the ordnance and supplies back to Japan. Both sides signed the treaty, and the Japanese army accepted this grievous request for peace.
Both sides agreed that the Japanese army would withdraw in batches within a month, and not a single person would be left. The Ming Army would then take over everything left by the Japanese army, and promised not to pursue them.
The Japanese thought that this was the end.
On the 19th, the Ming Army did not harass the Japanese army. It seemed that it was indeed a good start for both sides to make peace. This made the Japanese senior officials and ordinary soldiers feel relaxed. They began to pack up and prepare to leave Korea in order. At the same time, the family of Yukito Hideki sent a letter to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, saying that the Ming Army had agreed to his conditions. The Japanese army's strategic goal had been achieved, and they hoped to withdraw.
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