Chapter 715: A Good Beginning

Zeng Shengyu felt deep sympathy for the suffering of the Korean people. This was a matter of sentiment, but making court decisions based on sympathy was irrational. Carrying someone else's coffin to one's own home to weep was a foolish act. The "meat-eaters" (the ruling class) of the Korean King were harming their own subjects for their own interests; this was none of the Great Ming's business.

The main reason he proposed sending troops was for the strategic consideration of the Great Ming army entering Korea to fight; they needed a strong and powerful foothold, and Yizhou was the key to that.

Most national boundaries with long histories are natural boundaries—that is, those formed by geographical environments such as rivers, mountain peaks, and mountain passes. The boundary between the Great Ming and Korea was no exception.

After the Tang Dynasty conquered and destroyed Goguryeo, it occupied the northern part of the Chaoxianbandao, but it soon abandoned this territory. The reason was that the northern part of the Chaoxianbandao was simply too barren, lacking sufficient land and rainfall, with numerous mountain ranges and inconvenient roads—all these were reasons why the Tang Dynasty abandoned the northern part of the Chaoxianbandao.

Since the Xuande era, when the Yalujiang was established as the border, the Great Ming had not managed the Korean direction as a strategic priority. Or, under the influence of the trend of "meticulous calculation," the Beiping Regional Military Commission, the Hetao region, the thirteen commissions of Jiaozhi, the Old Port Pacification Commission, the Luzon Governor-General's Office, and the Three Pacification and Six Comfort Commissions were abandoned one after another. The Great Ming presented a posture of complete contraction.

Natural boundaries meant that if the Great Ming wanted to intervene in the situation on the Chaoxianbandao, it would have to pay a huge cost in manpower and material resources. This was not cost-effective and could even affect the Great Ming's overall strategy. If more was invested in the Chaoxianbandao, the Great Ming's opening of the seas, the reopening of the Western Regions, and the management of the Indochina Peninsula would all be correspondingly reduced. It would become a foregone conclusion that the Chaoxianbandao would drag the Great Ming down.

However, this battle had to be fought; the Japanese pirates must never be allowed to land.

Under these circumstances, the sooner Yizhou was taken, the sooner a port could be built, and the sooner a foothold for strategic offensive could be obtained, the more precious it became.

Zeng Shengyu was an extreme conservative; all his decisions were based on the priority of the Great Ming's interests.

"Then what do you all think?" Zhu Yijun asked for the thoughts of the Great Ming ministers.

The Six Ministries expounded their own ideas. In the end, the court deliberation concluded that they should urge the Vanguard Battalion led by Ma Lin to quickly rush to Jiuliancheng. The moment the cavalry battalion arrived, the two thousand soldiers of Jiuliancheng were to immediately cross the river and enter Yizhou.

The specific details of the campaign were to be formulated entirely by the military generals on the front line.

"General Qi, the Great Ming cavalry battalion has traveled a long distance. Rushing from Liaodong to Yizhou, crossing mountains and rivers, sleeping in the open, and climbing over ridges—the soldiers are at their most exhausted moment. Is it inappropriate to attack at this time?" Zhu Yijun had no doubts about the overall decision, but he felt sorry for the Great Ming cavalry battalion. The Vanguard Battalion led by Ma Lin had just arrived at the mouth of the Yalujiang and had to prepare for battle without rest.

"Your Majesty, the Korean side has been defeated too quickly. In just nineteen days, Hancheng has been lost. How much longer can Kaicheng and Pyongyang hold out?" Qi Jiguang said helplessly: "I also want to let the cavalry battalion rest, but time waits for no one. If Yizhou is also taken by the Japanese pirates, crossing the river will become even more dangerous."

"Your Majesty, the cavalry battalion is the elite of the Beijing Garrison's sharp soldiers. I have great confidence in the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison."

"Then let it be as General Qi says." Zhu Yijun thought it over and finally trusted Qi Jiguang's words, adding a burden to the three thousand men of Ma Lin's Vanguard Battalion. The change in the situation was beyond the expectations of everyone in the Great Ming; the moment to test the sharp soldiers of the Beijing Garrison had arrived.

And the performance of the Beijing Garrison did not disappoint the Emperor. Just like the slogan of the Beijing Garrison, they were "always prepared."

There was a very obvious information gap between the Great Ming court and the front line. This was because of distance. The Great Ming Emperor issued the order to attack, the order was transmitted to Li Chengliang in Liaodong, and Li Chengliang then issued the order to Jiuliancheng. This road was very long. This information gap caused by distance made Zhu Yijun very worried that the court's orders would have lag, which was why he wanted to give Li Chengliang the power to act at his discretion.

But for various reasons, before the war started, this chaotic command system could only be so for the time being. Once the war started, the front-line generals would have more leeway, and this chaotic, lagging command would be greatly improved.

"When a general is in the field, he is not bound by the orders of his sovereign."

The cavalry battalion led by Ma Lin had three thousand men. Because they were the vanguard, they did not need to carry too much baggage. Five horses for one person, a set of armor, weapons, and equipment. When he arrived at Jiuliancheng, the Great Ming Emperor's imperial edict had not yet reached Jiuliancheng. The Vanguard Battalion rested for a full five days. The cavalry battalion was so idle that they were preparing to go hunting as a training mission when the Great Ming Emperor's imperial edict finally arrived.

The courier rode at full speed to Jiuliancheng, learned that Ma Lin was at the drill ground, and rushed over in a hurry.

It was not that the courier ran slowly, but that Ma Lin's cavalry battalion was too fast, and their mobility was brought into full play. Originally, each person in the cavalry battalion only had three warhorses. When the Vanguard Battalion marched, Li Chengliang provided an additional six thousand warhorses, which was why they had such speed.

The military general of Jiuliancheng was Zhao Ji, a Battalion Commander of the fifth rank, and a fierce general under Wang Rulong.

Zhao Ji was the seventh child. He was originally a vegetable farmer in the Caohu Camp of the Shuntian Prefecture capital. The Sun family in the city owed money to the Caohu Camp. Zhao Laoqi filed a complaint, but it turned out to be the commoner who was wronged, not the master. At that time, the Miyun County Magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture did not dare to shield the Sun family and asked the Sun family to pay back the money. The Sun family was furious and brought their retainers to the door to fight.

When the Miyun County Magistrate heard this, he took the yamen runners and rushed over, fearing that Zhao Laoqi would be beaten by the Sun family and that things would become even more troublesome. As a result, under the obstruction of the yamen runners, Zhao Laoqi hammered a retainer of the Sun family to death with one hammer, and then hammered a litigation rascal to death with another. It could be said that he killed anyone who stood in his way, incomparably fierce.

In the end, Zhao Ji was exiled to Yingchang for military service. This was an exile almost equivalent to a death sentence. At that time, even the Tuman Khan was still running rampant on the grasslands.

Before the exile, Zhu Yijun met Zhao Laoqi once. Hearing that Zhao Laoqi was fierce, Zhu Yijun was delighted to see a talent and wrestled with Zhao Laoqi. The number one expert among the Great Ming youth who ate fine grain won, but his hands were shaking. And at that time, Zhao Laoqi was eating coarse grain, and at sixteen years old, he hadn't eaten meat many times in total.

Zhao Ji's fierceness made him like a fish in water in Yingchang Prefecture.

At this time, on the drill ground of Jiuliancheng, Zhao Ji and Ma Lin were shirtless, half-squatting, their bodies leaning forward, constantly circling and testing each other. They were wrestling.

The way to solve problems in the army was always simple. Of course, in the eyes of scholars, this shirtless fighting was really a bit unrefined and was a barbaric act.

But one general had subordinates who were all elites, and the other was a fierce general who had been through many battles and guarded the border. Even if the two met and were friendly, the elites of the Beijing Garrison and the soldiers guarding the border would not be convinced by each other.

In the eyes of the border soldiers, the sharp soldiers of the Beijing Garrison were a bunch of "flower-fist and embroidered-leg" young masters who had never been on the battlefield; in the eyes of the Beijing Garrison sharp soldiers, the veteran soldiers who had been through a hundred battles were undisciplined and sloppy. How could they entrust their backs to them on the battlefield?

It was too normal to be angry. Therefore, Ma Lin and Zhao Ji started wrestling shirtless. Whoever won would be the powerful one, and everyone would follow their lead.

As soon as they started, Ma Lin and Zhao Ji both put away their contempt for each other. An expert knows if there is one as soon as they make a move; the opponent was too tricky.

Ma Lin's technique was better, but Zhao Ji's strength was simply not the strength a human should have!

This was the first time Ma Lin felt that his strength was not as good as the opponent's. Even Li Rusong's strength was only on par with Ma Lin's.

Moreover, Zhao Ji was only sixteen when he was exiled to Yingchang. He had grown a few inches taller in the past few years. In the army, everyone called Zhao Ji "General Bear," with the nickname "Xiong Pi" (a type of bear).

General Bear was just like his name, looking like a bear, and his weight was more than ten catties heavier than Ma Lin's.

"Ah!" Zhao Ji's eyes rolled, and suddenly he let out a violent roar and pounced on him. In a very short time, he had figured out his advantage: if your technique is not as good as others, use brute force to overcome it!

He grabbed Ma Lin and started the purest test of strength: pushing.

Ma Lin secretly thought it was bad. Zhao Ji, whose face was flushed and whose veins were bulging, used all his strength to push Ma Lin. At this time, Ma Lin's technique was useless. As long as he had any other relaxation, he would be pushed out of the boundary, so he could only muster all his strength to push back against Ma Lin.

"Ya!" Zhao Ji let out another roar, erupted with all his strength, and started to push Ma Lin. Ma Lin's strength was slightly inferior, and he was pushed out of the boundary step by step, slowly but firmly.

"Good!" The border soldiers of Jiuliancheng burst into huge cheers because their General Bear had won.

Before, when comparing archery, Ma Lin won. Ma Lin could draw a tiger-strength bow and hit the target three times out of three arrows, while Zhao Ji could also draw a tiger-strength bow but only hit the target twice out of three arrows.

Now Zhao Ji had regained his ground and won back a round.

"I can't beat you." Zhao Ji panted and pulled Ma Lin up, saying quite loudly. This was not to give face to the descendant of a military merit family, but because he really couldn't beat him, and he also told his soldiers not to misunderstand.

Wrestling in the army had rules. Many moves targeting the lower body or killing moves could not be used. If it were really on the battlefield, Zhao Ji might be killed by Ma Lin in a dozen rounds because Zhao Ji's moves were all wild.

"After this battle is over, I will ask my father to recommend you to the Lecture Hall." Ma Lin stood up, reached out his hand, bumped his shoulder hard against Zhao Ji's, and held Zhao Ji's hand, saying: "Ten thousand men with one strength, invincible in the world!"

"Ten thousand men with one strength, invincible in the world!" Zhao Ji revealed a simple and honest smile and shouted loudly to everyone.

"Imperial edict arrives!" A fast rider ran into the drill ground of Jiuliancheng. The courier on horseback handed the urgent imperial edict with the golden plaque to Ma Lin.

"His Majesty has an edict: on the day the Vanguard Battalion arrives, immediately enter Yizhou." Ma Lin opened it and looked at it for a moment, then said: "Battalion Commander Zhao, prepare to enter Korea to fight. I will hold the line for you."

After Zhao Ji confirmed the imperial edict, he immediately started preparing to cross the river. In fact, he had been ready for a long time, just waiting for the order.

And Ma Lin looked at the imperial edict, and he tasted a different meaning. The Great Ming Emperor had completely abandoned the Korean royal family and that group of "meat-eaters." Before, all the Great Ming's decisions had to consider one problem: what the Korean royal family was thinking. That was treating the Korean "meat-eaters" as people, but now, the Great Ming no longer cared about the Korean royal family's thoughts at all.

Ma Lin was a military general. It was normal for military generals to raise some hawks and hounds, but some military generals raised them until these beasts could no longer distinguish between master and servant, and even dared to bare their fangs at their master. Baring fangs was not enough; they even wanted to bite people. These dogs that dared to bite people had only one end, and that was a dog meat hot pot.

Ma Lin had no understanding of politics. He felt that the relationship between the Great Ming and Korea was the relationship between master and hawk/hound. Before, the Great Ming still cared about the Korean royal family's thoughts, so these hawks and hounds started to bare their fangs, started to climb up the nose, started to bite people, and even made the court's ministers a bit caught off guard.

The moment the Great Ming court stopped treating the Korean royal family as people, it meant that the Great Ming had truly made up its mind to completely solve the problem in the northeast direction. Solve it once and for all, completely occupy and transform it, and not let the northeast direction become a burden for the rising Great Ming again.

Ma Lin was happy to see this change in attitude.

"There is a 172-li stretch of the Yalujiang that will not freeze. You take one thousand men to cross the river at the Ji'an ferry in Jiuliancheng. I will lead one thousand cavalrymen to follow closely behind. If the Korean side surrenders, we must build a bridge at the Ji'an ferry within three days, striving to connect Jiuliancheng and Yizhou." After Ma Lin changed into his armor, he came to the main military tent and started to make specific deployments.

"If the bridge is not built within three days, prepare to retreat. If the bridge is not built within five days, retreat immediately." Ma Lin made further deployments.

To take it down and then have to retreat because the bridge was not built was Ma Lin's conservative combat plan because of the timing. The lives of the Great Ming soldiers were more important than anything else. Without a bridge for supplies, once the Yalujiang started to have ice jams, the consequences would be unimaginable.

On the 23rd day of the first lunar month, it was already past the beginning of spring. The ice in the upper reaches started to thaw, which would block the river channel, and ships could not pass normally. An army without logistics was just waiting to die, especially when fighting in Korea, not fighting within their own territory. The Great Ming had a total of five thousand troops in Jiuliancheng. Losing two thousand men was an unbearable price.

If the vanguard was defeated, the army would collapse like a mountain, which would easily cause a great rout. If the Japanese pirates were allowed to break into the Great Ming, then he, Ma Lin, would be a historical sinner. Even if the Emperor didn't kill him, he would have to commit suicide to apologize.

Ma Lin said with a solemn face: "If the Yizhou defending general wants to defend the city, then break the city, detain him, and pay attention to detaining all the defeated soldiers. If they do not obey discipline, kill them on the spot to prevent chaos."

The court completely abandoned the scruples about the Korean royal family, which brought a lot of convenience to the combat. Without the pressure from top to bottom, the Great Ming army became more calm in the process of fighting.

The next morning, when it was just getting light, hundreds of small boats at the Ji'an ferry started to slide slowly and sail slowly toward the opposite bank of the Yalujiang. As soon as Zhao Ji went ashore, he took the lead and headed toward Yizhou. At the same moment Zhao Ji went ashore, Ma Lin put down the telescope in his hand and waved his arm. The tooth flag waved, and the boat under his feet started to slide.

Ma Lin was actually quite worried. The Great Ming army's movements were not small, and Jiuliancheng and Yizhou on the opposite side were in frequent contact. The movements of Jiuliancheng must be clear to the Yizhou side. If the Yizhou army attacked halfway across the river or set an ambush at the ferry, the Great Ming army might have to pay some price.

However, none of this happened.

After Ma Lin crossed the river, good news came that Zhao Ji had taken over the defense of Yizhou, and everything was very smooth.

The general defending Yizhou was very clear about the news that the Great Ming was crossing the river today. When Zhao Ji rushed to the foot of Yizhou city, the city gate of the earthen wall was wide open, and the civil and military officials in the city had been waiting for a long time, waiting to surrender.

The Great Ming felt that the Yizhou side would resist, while the Yizhou side was worried that the Great Ming army would not come. It was truly a case of both sides being afraid. The Japanese pirates' ferocity was overwhelming, and the Yizhou civil and military officials were also worried that one day the Japanese pirates would come and the Great Ming heavenly soldiers would not have arrived yet.

Now, the Great Ming heavenly soldiers had finally arrived!

The Japanese pirates landed on the Chaoxianbandao from Tsushima Island and only took nineteen days to fall Hancheng. Under these circumstances, the Yizhou civil and military officials no longer had any confidence in the Korean King. When they were panicked, they suddenly heard that the Great Ming army was coming. Regardless of whether there was an order from the Korean King or what they were coming to do, the Yizhou civil and military officials had found their backbone.

The Great Ming army quickly took over all the defenses and then sent out scouts to collect various intelligence. Soon, a huge problem was placed in front of the Great Ming army, which was that there were simply too many refugees fleeing to Yizhou city.

The front line was collapsing, the people were fleeing, and the Korean King Li Yan had transferred all the grain and grass of Yizhou to Pyongyang, and Li Yan shouted the slogan of "coexisting and dying with Pyongyang," deciding to fight the Japanese pirates to the death in Pyongyang.

"The scouts found out that Li Yan shouted such a slogan in Hancheng, shrinking his forces, and all the grain and grass entered Hancheng. Before the Japanese pirates reached the city, Li Yan abandoned everyone, took the royal family and civil and military officials, and fled to Kaicheng. Hancheng fell without a fight." Zhao Ji said with a solemn face.

Hancheng was one of the only three cities in Korea with brick and stone walls, along with Kaicheng and Pyongyang.

Hancheng had a circumference of thirty li. If Li Yan didn't run, a gentleman would die for the country. Even if the Japanese pirates were given a year, they wouldn't be able to take it down in nineteen days.

The Japanese pirates came from afar and lacked siege firearms, but Li Yan took the royal family and ministers and ran away, so the hearts of the people were immediately scattered. The most critical thing was that the grain and grass in southern Korea were concentrated in Hancheng and were all left to the Japanese pirates.

"The same mistake, actually committed twice!" Ma Lin frowned as he looked at the map.

The grain and grass in northern Korea were also concentrated in Pyongyang. This time Li Yan swore to coexist and die with Pyongyang, but no one believed it anymore. The refugees in Yizhou were increasing.

"What to do? Should these refugees be saved or not? If not saved, they will be alienated, and there will be endless troubles in the future. If saved, where will so much food come from?" Zhao Ji asked for Ma Lin's opinion.

This difficulty was like disaster relief. "Work-for-relief" was a universal solution, but before work-for-relief, they had to have something to eat so they wouldn't turn from refugees into bandits. Moreover, organizing production was a very cumbersome task, which was a huge challenge for the Great Ming soldiers.

"Can we ask for some grain and grass from Pyongyang?" Zhao Ji proposed his own solution.

"Can't get it, we have asked many times." The officials who surrendered in Yizhou had faces as ugly as they could be. Surrendering directly was a difficult choice. If they had a choice, who would want to be a traitor?

But the royal nobles in Pyongyang were simply too excessive! Yizhou was flooded with countless refugees, and they were still increasing. Yizhou asked for grain and grass for relief, at least to set up porridge sheds to keep people alive, but Li Yan did not agree.

"Report!" A scout ran into the main hall of the Yizhou State Yamen in a hurry, bowed his head and said: "Report! The Japanese pirates' First, Second, and Third Legions, led by Konishi Yukinaga, Kato Kiyomasa, Kuroda Nagamasa, and others, besieged Linjin and broke it in three days. The Linjin garrison fought to the death and died, and Kaicheng is in danger!"

After the New Year, the Japanese pirates split into three directions from Hancheng and started to continue their attack. Under the encirclement from three sides, Linjin was broken.

"Kaicheng is already the last line of defense. If Kaicheng is broken, Pyongyang cannot be defended. Defeat is already a foregone conclusion." Ma Lin quickly made a judgment. When an army is defeated, it will keep losing. Only by winning a great victory can the scattered hearts of the people be gathered.

Linjin was originally a good opportunity, but the Japanese pirates' offensive was extremely fierce.

"There will be more refugees pouring into Yizhou. Should we save them or not?" Zhao Ji asked for Ma Lin's decision.

"Save them." Ma Lin said immediately: "The Great Ming cannot save them; they must save themselves. Now, immediately implement military control over the Yizhou area. All grain and fields in the city will be confiscated and supplied by ration. Of course, we must save them, but all refugees must work—reclaiming wasteland, building bridges, building roads, and building ports and wharves."

"Yizhou itself has a population of seventy thousand. Refugees are constantly pouring in, and the number of refugees may exceed one hundred thousand. The summer harvest is in mid-June. For these nearly six months, at least three hundred thousand shi of grain are needed. Does Yizhou have so much grain?"

Ma Lin's cultural lessons had passed under his father's whip. Regarding the question of how much so many people would eat, Ma Lin quickly got an answer. To prevent accidents, Ma Lin made the most conservative estimate: three hundred thousand shi.

"Don't know." The officials on the Yizhou side looked at each other, and they didn't know how much grain Yizhou could collect.

"Battalion Commander Zhao, you go find the grain." Ma Lin immediately made arrangements. The Korean people could not be counted on at all.

Any article needs logic, but when interests are at stake, logic is often not considered.

As the King of Korea, Li Yan had already abandoned his people once in Hancheng. In this battle of Pyongyang, would Li Yan abandon his people again? Ma Lin believed that Li Yan definitely would; this guy was a habitual offender.

Ma Lin and Zhao Ji hoped to solve the problem of war refugees in Yizhou, which also had interest considerations. Once these refugees were truly pacified, these refugees would be the greatest support for the Great Ming's campaign in Korea, and even the greatest support for the Great Ming's war to destroy the Japanese.

To pacify these refugees, Ma Lin chose to take action against the local landlords in Yizhou.

By the third day, the bridge was successfully built. It was a huge stone bridge, two li long and three zhang wide, with thirteen bridge piers and twelve arches. The only problem with this stone bridge was that it would block the river channel, but it was a bridge built during wartime. If they really wanted to carry out shipping, they could tear it down and rebuild it after the war.

And by the fifth day, Zhao Ji finally confiscated all the granaries in the Yizhou area. On the second day after the Great Ming army occupied Yizhou, rationing started. By the fifth day, Zhao Ji had collected a total of four hundred and thirty thousand shi of grain and grass from the Yizhou area. In addition to being enough for Yizhou to save the refugees, it could also supply the Great Ming cavalry battalion for two months.

"A total of four hundred and thirty thousand shi of millet, wheat, buckwheat, hemp, and broomcorn millet have been put into storage, and another one hundred and fifty thousand bundles of forage have been put into storage. It will be no problem to last until the summer harvest. These one hundred and fifty thousand bundles of forage will be used to build thatched huts near Yizhou, and each family will be given twelve catties of forage for warmth." Zhao Ji looked around and continued: "Currently, 1,200 Liaodong soldiers have been broken into pieces to lead the Yizhou people to reclaim wasteland. Because porridge sheds have been opened, the enthusiasm for work is very high."

Building thatched huts to settle the people was because they would freeze to death if they didn't, and giving forage for warmth was because forage was the only thing the poor and bitter laborers could use to keep warm.

The most work these 1,200 soldiers did in Yingchang was not fighting, but reclaiming wasteland, digging ditches and wells, and building camps. After all, the Great Ming had not taken Yingchang for long, the Tuman Khan had become a prince in the Great Ming capital, and the Altan Khan was beheaded and displayed by the Great Ming in the ninth year of Wanli. Large-scale wars ended, and the rest were all bandit suppression.

After Wang Rulong arrived in Liaodong, Zhao Ji was assigned to Jiuliancheng because he was very good at fighting. The main duty of these 1,200 soldiers now was not fighting, but leading the people to produce.

Korea had effectively perished, and the Great Ming could not transport grain and grass indefinitely. The refugees who fled to Yizhou could only save themselves. The Korean King did not save them, and the Great Ming could not save them. Self-reliance and abundance—this was the significance of reclaiming wasteland.

Like most of the Great Ming people, the Korean people were also very hardworking. After a short five-day small-scale riot, they slowly stabilized. It was mainly because the Great Ming army was there, and these people chose to believe in the Great Ming army.

"We have received new news. Li Yan has left Pyongyang and is coming toward Yizhou." Ma Lin told everyone a piece of bad news with a solemn face. Li Yan had run away again.

Fleeing in Hancheng, fleeing in Kaicheng, and now fleeing in Pyongyang, he abandoned his people, abandoned his soldiers, and took the royal family and civil and military officials toward Yizhou.

Zhao Ji's mouth twitched, and he said sternly: "This beast."

If Li Yan could hold out for three months in Pyongyang, the Great Ming army would be able to reach Korea. At that time, in order to unite and destroy the Japanese, the Great Ming Emperor might hold his nose and let this beast become an "offline prince" in the Ming. As a result, Li Yan ran away again. The fall of Pyongyang had become a matter of time.

"Should we go to reinforce Pyongyang?" Zhao Ji frowned and said: "Without Pyongyang, if we go further north, there will be no city to defend. Pyongyang is at least a big city."

Ma Lin took a deep breath and said: "Reinforcement must be done. Yesterday, the civil and military officials of Dingzhou and Anzhou surrendered. I will lead the Vanguard Battalion to Anzhou, ready to support Pyongyang at any time. If I meet Li Yan, I will arrest him. After you take over, lock him up in Jiuliancheng. Do not let the Korean royal family stay in Korea."

"Yes." Zhao Ji agreed. He thought about it carefully and did not persuade Ma Lin not to go to Dingzhou. The Vanguard Battalion would not be in any danger because the Japanese pirates had no cavalry. One person with five horses—even when the Golden Family was at its peak, they had never been so extravagant.

This Vanguard Battalion of Ma Lin had to ensure that before the cavalry battalion arrived in Yizhou, the flames of war would not burn to Yizhou, this strategic foothold.

Ma Lin wrote the situation into a battle report and sent it to the Great Ming capital, while leading the three thousand Vanguard Battalion to set off for Dingzhou again.

"A good beginning. The Great Ming Beijing Garrison can move." When Zhu Yijun received the battle report, he highly praised the contributions of Ma Lin and Zhao Ji. ===== CHAPTER 716 =====