Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1772 Aid Korea and Anti-Japanese ([-]) Kato enters Xianjing

Not long after Yi sun-shin set his sights on Busan, there was an ensuing meeting in Pyongyang.Toyotomi Hideyoshi's confidant, Ishida Mitsunari, who also served as the governor of the ship before the start of the Korean War, came to meet with President Konishi.

Seeing Ishida Mitsunari's arrival, President Xiaonishi was very excited. He clasped Mitsunari's hands tightly and asked each other how to feel warm.As I said earlier, these two are important figures of the Fengxing faction among Toyotomi's retainers, and they have always had a good friendship, so there is such a situation.

After exchanging pleasantries for a long time, we finally turned to the topic.President Xiaonishi asked: "The young assistant of Zhibu also served as the ship to supervise the transportation of supplies. It was really hard all the way, but I don't know why I came to Pyongyang today?"

Mitsunari Ishida patted Chief Konishi on the shoulder affectionately, and said: "His Royal Highness Yoshitsugu Otani and I were ordered by the Taige to supervise the various armies and liaise in addition to supervising the transportation of supplies. If I feel unwell, I will stay in Hanyang and be taken care of by the general, and I heard that Mr. Xiaoxi is in Pyongyang, so I came here to meet you."

Ishida Mitsunari didn't explain why he came here, but as Toyotomi Hideyoshi's confidant, Konishi Governor was asking him something, so he didn't go around in circles, and hurriedly asked: "His Highness Ishida, does His Highness know about our army?" What is the current real situation in North Korea?"

Ishida Mitsunari keenly found that this question was very problematic, and his eyes were fixed: "What do you mean by Xiaoxi-kun?"

"It's literally!" President Xiaonishi looked very serious, staring into Ishida Mitsunari's eyes, and said seriously: "Now the water supply is in danger of being cut off by the North Korean navy, and Jeolla Province has not yet been occupied, and there are many North Korean rebels in each province Constantly harassing, Pyongyang is spreading endemic diseases, which can be described as full of internal worries.

In addition, although the cavalry sent by the Ming Dynasty last time was defeated and retreated, the number of cavalry was not large, and no matter how defeated they retreated, their muscles and bones would not be damaged.Considering the size of the Ming country, it is very likely that reinforcements will be sent again.

I heard that when the Ming army sent troops to Mongolia in the first half of the year, it used nearly a million troops. From the last battle in Pyongyang, even three thousand cavalry were almost impossible for us to parry. According to this strength estimate, the one million troops... How amazing is that?Therefore, if the war is prolonged too long, I am afraid that we will all die. "

Ishida Mitsunari shook his head and said: "The sea is separated, and the battlefield is changing rapidly. His Highness Taige doesn't fully understand the situation here. What are your plans, Mr. Xiaoxi? In addition, you said that the Ming Dynasty used a million troops to fight against Mongolia in the first half of the year. You may be sure that the situation is true? Even if you are sure, do you know their final loss?"

"Even if the army of one million is exaggerated, there must be a half discount. As for the loss, according to the information obtained by the North Korean side, it should not be large. My personal judgment is also inclined to agree with this news, because the Ming Dynasty was against the enemy after the war. The meritorious officials are rewarded very heavily, not to mention the rest, there are two honored officials in civil and military affairs, each waiting for an uncle, it can be seen that the battle results are brilliant and the losses are not great."

Speaking of this, Governor Xiaonishi couldn't help sighing: "Now that the Ming Kingdom has joined the war, the war is not limited to Japan and North Korea. North Korea has been defeated. Although there are rebels in various provinces, they cannot affect the situation of the war. Next will be the Ming Dynasty. China and us will lead the direction of the war. With the current situation of our army, if we fight to the death with Ming, I am afraid that the outcome will be unpredictable, and it is very likely that we will be trapped to death in North Korea."

Ishida Mitsunari frowned, and asked, "Could it be that Mr. Xiaoxi, you plan to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty? What are the conditions for negotiation?"

President Xiaoxi solemnly said: "Cease the land."

Ishida didn't understand what he meant, and frowned: "Cutting the land? Who ceded the land?"

Xiao Xixing said: "Naturally, let the Ming Dynasty recognize our occupation of North Korea—or at least admit that the land we are currently occupying belongs to Japan. As for the land that is criss-crossed, it can be negotiated, such as leaving North Korea with two lands." .”

Ishida Mitsunari shook his head, thinking that this proposal is not feasible, because neither the Ming Dynasty nor Taige should agree to it.

President Xiaoxi said solemnly: "Of course I won't agree, so we must find a way, otherwise it will be difficult for us to embark on the road back to our hometown. The way for our army to keep the victory and retreat unscathed is to make the Ming Kingdom recognize Apart from the cession of territory by North Korea, I am afraid there is no other way at present."

After listening to President Xiaonishi's statement, Ishida Mitsunari was frowning, thinking that the Ming army was powerful, and the Taige was too tough. They were really restricted at both ends as ministers, and there was no good solution for a while.

While in Japan at this time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi heard again that the Korean naval forces had won great victories in Hansan Island and Angupo. He was so angry that he cursed and almost fainted. Only by going to North Korea myself can I destroy Yi Sun-shin? If that bastard hadn’t blocked the sea route, my navy could rush to the west coast to join the army and completely wipe out the last strength of the King of Joseon!”

But after a pause, he suppressed his anger again, and said sullenly, "But I'll go there in person... It's still a bit difficult. Maeda, how do you think I should deal with Jiugui Jialong and others? And how should I deal with Li Sunshin?" ?”

Maeda Toshiie suggested: "His Royal Highness, I really can't figure out why the North Korean navy led by Yi Sunshin is so powerful. However, the sea route is still under our control. Haven't been able to shake my sea transport yet.

It's just that you and I are not familiar with the navy, and to decipher the tactics of the North Korean navy, we still need to rely on Jiugui Jialong and others. If we are all sentenced to death, we will be even more unable to fight against the North Korean navy.

According to what I see, His Highness Taige should not severely deal with the crime of defeating the naval army. It is better to reprimand first and then comfort, to show His Royal Highness's magnanimity and inspire the army's morale.

If the art of war is strong, then avoid it, and now the navy should temporarily stop fighting against Yi sun-sin at sea, and guard the harbor; at the same time, the army should be ordered to help, must invade Jeolla-do, occupy the stronghold of the Korean navy, and deploy coastal defenses.

In this way, if the foundation is broken, Yi sun-shin is just a lonely soul at sea. Soon he will run out of ammunition and food, and his soldiers will be exhausted.If at the same time, Nine Ghosts Jialong can have a strategy to defeat the enemy, then he will get twice the result with half the effort. "

After hearing this, Hideyoshi thought it made sense, but after thinking about it, he finally couldn't help asking: "How about...how about temporarily transferring the new fleet to Kuki Yoshitaka, and let him lead it to destroy Yi Sun-shin first, and then send it back to Osaka?" ?”

Maeda Toshiie didn't say whether it was good or not, but just asked: "The strength of the Kanto Fleet in Misaki Castle is well known to the Taiko. If they still stay in Misaki Castle and the attitude of the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance is still ambiguous, Then Daban City may be threatened by those ship-borne giant cylinders at any time."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi shook his head and said: "I have confidence in the defense of Osaka, but... Osaka is the city where I have devoted my whole life. When I think that my Osaka Castle will be poured countless shells by such a giant cannon, I can't do it." Tolerate this kind of thing from happening." In other words, forget about mobilizing the new fleet, Osaka Castle is more important than anything else.

Maeda Toshiie didn't have much to say, instead he reported Konishi Yukiyuki Yu Pyongyang's repulsion of the Ming reinforcements, and briefly described the various battle situations.When Hideyoshi heard that the Ming army had been defeated, he didn't think about the difference in strength between the two sides and the differences in various situations. He was just ecstatic and immediately ordered awards.

Let’s talk about North Korea again. At this time, the Second Army led by Kato Kiyomasa set off from Hanyang, crossed the Imjin River, and went all the way north into Hamgyong Road.The Second Army Corps captured the mountain people as guides, passed through Gushanyuelaolijian, and easily defeated an army led by Li Hun, a soldier of the South Hamgyong Province, and was able to enter Yongxing.But then, Kato Kiyomasa saw a bulletin in Yongxing that read: The second prince traveled northward through this road.

Naomi Naoshima, another daimyo from Kyushu under his command, was quite suspicious of this, and pondered: "It is reasonable to say that it is understandable for the place where the prince of North Korea passed by to set up a sign, but at this moment, there is a list here, but I It always feels like they are deliberately leaking the whereabouts of the prince to us."

Kato Kiyomasa also felt weird, but after all, he thought it was always a good thing for the Joseon prince to be in front, so he was still very excited, so he responded to speed up and capture the Joseon prince alive for future use.

Prince Linhai of the Joseon Dynasty and Sunhe Jun, who was still a child, went to Hamgyong Province to recruit soldiers under the order of their father, King Li Yan of Joseon. After staying for a long time, he entered Huining via Motianling and asked Han Kejian, the military envoy of North Hamgyong Province, for help.

When Han Kejian heard that the prince was coming, he hurriedly greeted him.Mr. Linhai trekked all the way day and night, his body was weak and extremely haggard, he was overjoyed to see Han Kejian coming to welcome him, so he hurriedly asked for help, and urged Han Kejian to send troops to resist the Japanese army's advance.

Han Kejian immediately comforted Linhai Jundao: "Prince, there is no need to panic. The iron cavalry in the six towns of Hamgyong North Road have been stationed at the border all year round to fight against Hu Di. They are the most powerful army in the world. I also know that the Japanese pirates have few cavalry to help out. Therefore, our army in Hamgyong Road With all the advantages, if the Japanese pirates come to the fore, they will seek their own death."

Lord Linhai and Lord Shunhe suddenly felt at ease, and then they settled in Huining under the arrangement of Han Kejian to recuperate their bodies and minds.

Han Kejian immediately gathered nearly half of the elite riders from the six towns of Qingxing, Qingyuan, Huining, Zhongcheng, Jingcheng, and Funing in North Hamgyong Province, and marched south from Jingcheng to Motianling to stop the Japanese army.But what he didn't know was that Kato Kiyomasa's second army had already crossed Motianling due to traveling day and night, so the two armies met suddenly at Haitingcang on the [-]th.

Hamgyong-do is a place of bitter cold, and it was already winter, so the Japanese army felt uncomfortable about it.The soldiers of the Six Towns are almost the only remaining elite soldiers in North Korea today. They are good at riding swords and swords.

Taking advantage of the relatively flat terrain here, Han Kejian ordered the soldiers of the six towns to divide into about 48 small teams to move out one after another, scatter and avoid firearms, gallop and shoot, and encircle in a roundabout way.

The elite soldiers of the six towns made full use of the vast terrain to give full play to their mobility advantages.The tactics of the Japanese Iron Artillery Team were much more rigid than the hollow phalanx created by Gao Pragmatism. When the Korean cavalry moved, they had to change their facing direction, making it difficult to aim, but they were repeatedly shot and killed by bows and arrows. Unexpectedly, the cavalry was nimble and good at shooting, and the morale of the Japanese army plummeted, and they gradually became unable to support them.

Seeing this, Kato Kiyomasa hurriedly ordered the front team to desperately cover, while the rear team retreated into the Haiting warehouse first, moved out all the grain and stones in the warehouse, and placed them in the city as a cover to resist the arrows.In this way, the entire Japanese army withdrew into the Haiting warehouse, and after separating the valley stone bunkers, they could not defend with matchlock guns, so the situation was stabilized.

Han Kejian wanted to take advantage of the situation and ordered the soldiers of the six towns to attack twice, but the advantage of the cavalry was lost in this way, so they were all repelled by the Japanese army.The Japanese army was on the defensive, and the arquebus guns showed their advantages. The Korean cavalry were not good at attacking fortified positions, and 300 people under the Funing Mansion envoy Yuan Xi were killed in battle.

It was getting late, and the two armies were tired. Seeing that it was difficult to succeed, Han Kejian ordered the whole army to retreat to the mountain and defend it.

At night, Kato Kiyomasa wanted to attack Han Kejian at night, so he advised Naomi Naoshima and Sagara Yorifusa: "This Korean army is really good at fighting. If we fight with it, our army will inevitably suffer heavy casualties. I heard that the Korean army is stationed in the mountains. There's a huge swamp nearby for my use...

Mr. Sagara, you lead eight hundred elite soldiers to attack the mountain at night, and you must lead the entire Korean army down the mountain; Mr. Nabeshima, you can gather all the iron artillery teams to one side, and when the Korean army descends the mountain, you will shoot with all your strength to disrupt the army. Potential.Then I personally led [-] troops to rush in and drive them into the swamp, so that the Korean army will be completely wiped out. "Nabeshima and Sagara took orders and left.

That night, Sagara Seto widely spread the banners and acted as the main force to attack the mountain with all his strength at night.As expected, Han Kejian fell for the plan. Seeing the Japanese army attacking at night, he ordered the cavalry from the six towns to rush out, condescending and launching an assault.This kind of battle is of course suitable for the cavalry. The cavalry uses the terrain to charge down the mountain, which is daunting like a tiger descending the mountain.

Sagara Laifa hastily led his troops to flee, and the North Korean army took advantage of the situation to pursue them down the mountain. Seeing the opportunity, Naomi Naoshima ordered the entire army to shoot multiple bursts of matchlock guns.Under the darkness of night, the cavalry was suddenly shot intensively, and they were in chaos.

Kato Kiyomasa dispatched a large-tube team to fire cannons again and again in one go. At this time, the cavalry of the Korean army was dense, and there were countless casualties.

Han Kelian was furious, and led his team to attack the Datong team with the help of cover.The Japanese army retreated after being wounded, and quickly moved forward with the iron artillery team (fire gun team) and the big tube team behind, firing interlaced fire from far and near.

Han Kejian was about to regroup his army, but Kato Kiyomasa had already led his army out from the flank, and the Korean army hurriedly resisted. Although it was still possible to fight, most of the cavalry was gradually forced into the swamp.Han Kejian secretly screamed that something was wrong, and urgently ordered the entire army to gather on the flat ground to regroup. At the same time, he urgently allocated several death squads to try to contain the Japanese army and cover most of the transfer.

In order to prevent North Korea from breaking out, Kato Kiyomasa shouted for a strong attack by the whole army. Naomi Naoshima led his troops to fight, which enabled Kato Kiyomasa to lead the main force of the Japanese army to repair the encirclement network in a detour and prevent North Korea from breaking out.

Under the full-scale attack of the Japanese army, although the two armies fought desperately, each suffered casualties, but the main force of the Korean army gradually sank into the swamp, and it was difficult to move.

Immediately, the Japanese army laid siege to the remnants of the six towns. The morale of the North Korean army collapsed, and each of them collapsed. Han Kejian also fled on horseback.However, after this battle, Kato Kiyomasa's troops suffered a lot of casualties and were exhausted, so they had to rest on the spot first, planning to wait until dawn before continuing to chase north to seize the land.

Kato Kiyomasa went all the way north after the battle of Haitingcang. The North Korean side had lost all their elites and had little resistance. Wherever they went, the guards collapsed.

The remaining troops in the six towns of North Korea were defeated by the main force, and the whereabouts of the main general were unknown, which led to low morale and rumors.Moreover, they were scattered in various cities, outnumbered, or were attacked by surprise, or lost their fighting spirit. Except for being annihilated, defeated, and surrendered, the rest began to gather in the northwest intentionally or unintentionally, and could not hold out.In short, the entire North Hamgyong Province is in a state of fear.

Because of its bitter cold and remoteness, North Hamgyong Province has been a place where sinners were exiled over the years, and they were often exploited by the court. The suffering people hated the royal family and the two groups of nobles.Seeing the defeat of the six towns, the garrison officials also began to think of ways to protect themselves, so the Korean prince who stayed in Huining became their common goal.
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PS: After posting today's chapter, I will go to the countryside first, but even if it is tomorrow or the next two days, there should still be updates.

(End of this chapter)