Daming talker

Chapter 695: Inside and Outside Hamhung City

Seeing that Ma Gui, the old military leader, obviously didn't believe it, Lin Tailai suddenly took out three copper coins and said to Ma Gui: "Then I will use the copper coins to tell fortunes and calculate the military situation of the Japanese soldiers."

Then he pretended to shake the three copper coins in his big palm, and then pretended to throw the copper coins on the table six times in a row.

After writing down the positive and negative results each time, he closed his eyes and pondered for a while.

Ma Gui and Dong Yiyuan stopped talking and just watched quietly from the side.

Suddenly, Lin Jinglie opened his eyes and said confidently: "Ask the heavens, I already know everything!"

Then he pointed to Hamheung Prefecture on the map and said, "There are 12,000 Japanese soldiers here. The commander is Naoshige Nabeshige, who is over 50 years old and is considered a provincial-level general."

Ma Gui asked in confusion: "What is a provincial town level junior general?"

Lin Jinglue thought about it and said casually: "It's like the four great generals of Xuanfu, who are well-known in a region."

Ma Gui couldn't help but curl his lips, "The Japanese are really short of talent. How could such a person lead more than 10,000 soldiers and guard a big city?"

Lin Tailai pointed to Jizhou and said, "There are 10,000 Japanese soldiers here, and the chief commander is Kato Kiyomasa!

It is said that this man is a close confidant of the Regent of Japan, known for his bravery, nicknamed Tiger Kato, tall and strong, and excellent in marksmanship!"

Hearing this, everyone nearby felt that “tall and strong, with outstanding marksmanship” sounded very familiar.

Lin Tailai snorted coldly: "But to say that this man is tall is only in comparison with the Japanese. In fact, he is one-third of a foot shorter than Honbu-in."

So everyone felt that this Japanese general named Kato Kiyomasa was nothing, after all, they had even seen the Nine Yuan True Immortal.

Lin Jinglue pointed his finger at the entire Hamgyong Province again, "It can be said that the Second Japanese Army Corps is mainly composed of these two groups!
We have now occupied Yongxing and completed the idea of ​​closing the door and beating the dog!

The next task is to take advantage of the fact that the Japanese army has not reacted and completed the combination of forces, and eat up these two scattered groups as quickly as possible!

First, attack Hamheung Prefecture and annihilate Naoshige Nabeshige, and then formulate a new plan based on Kato Kiyomasa's movements."

Ma Gui really couldn't understand it. Could it be that this information was really calculated? This really overturned his cognition. It was too much of a joke!
"It is indeed calculated." Lin Jinglue said seriously, "The accuracy rate is over 80%."

Previously, Lin Tailai knew that the Second Corps of the Japanese Pirates consisted of two groups, namely Kato Kiyomasa's Kumamoto soldiers and Naoshige Kōbe's Saga soldiers.

However, we do not know the exact locations of Kato Kiyomasa and Naoshige Nabeshima, nor do we know where each of them is stationed.

The rough intelligence obtained by the North Korean spies just filled in this last link.

The information that Hamheung Prefecture and Jizhou each had a large number of Japanese soldiers seemed too vague to others, but it was enough for Lin Tailai.

Anyway, among the two groups of Japanese soldiers, one must be Kato and the other is Nabeshima.

Judging from Kato's style of advancing northward, the Japanese soldiers in Jizhou further north were probably Kato's troops, and the other Japanese soldiers stationed in Hamheung Prefecture were the Nabeshima troops.

Ma Gui's corps would be the main force to attack Hamhung Prefecture, so Ma Gui asked again: "Please tell me more about the commander of Hamhung Prefecture, Naoshige Kojima."

Now I have a basic understanding of the Japanese soldiers' combat effectiveness and combat mode. What I mainly want to find out is the information about the Japanese generals.

After a brief thought, Lin Tailai replied, "Naoshige Nabeshima has been traveling around Kyushu Island in southern Japan for decades. He is a veteran of troubled times and has always worked hard to create a loyal and brave character."

Ma Gui was a little confused, "What do you mean by always creating a loyal and brave character?"

Lin Tailai continued to answer: "Loyalty means being loyal to the lord and giving advice at the risk of death several times; courage means being brave enough to fight bravely and to fight against the majority with a small number of people."

"What's the problem?" Ma Gui was still confused. He sounded like a person of excellent qualities.

Lin Tailai said leisurely: "Then the lord's territory has now become Naoshige Nabeshige's own territory."

Ma Gui: “.”

Seeing that Lin Jinglie knew everything about the Japanese pirates, Dong Yiyuan, who had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but ask: "General, don't just talk about Hamgyong Province, you might as well estimate the Japanese soldiers in Gangwon Province to the south."

If Ma Gui's troops went north to attack Hamheung, and Dong Yiyuan stayed in Yongxing, they would most likely have to face the Japanese soldiers in Gangwon Province in the south. If the Japanese soldiers in Gangwon Province came to support Hamgyong Province.

Lin Tailai replied: "The number of Japanese soldiers in Gangwon Province is probably between several thousand and fifteen thousand."

Dong Yiyuan: “.”

What difference does it make whether you tell me the error range of this number or not?
Lin Tailai said distressedly: “The main force of the Japanese troops in Gangwon Province should be Shimazu Yoshihiro’s troops, but this is an even older veteran.

Logically speaking, the Japanese regent asked him to send out 10,000 troops, but he kept procrastinating and pretending to obey, so who knows how many troops he has actually sent out now. "

Then he instructed Dong Yiyuan, "Anyway, your 10,000 soldiers are enough to defend Yongxing.

Yongxing must not be lost at any cost. I don’t want any casualties, I only want Yongxing!

At the same time, we must cooperate with the Korean volunteers to sweep around Yongxing, try our best to intercept the Japanese messengers, and block the communication between the Japanese in Hamgyong Province and other places!"

"I understand!" Dong Yiyuan responded.

At this moment, Ma Gui suddenly became confused again, "Hamheung Prefecture is a big city in the northeast of Korea. According to the military commander, there are 12,000 Japanese soldiers guarding the city.

Our corps consists of 17,000 soldiers plus 6,000 soldiers directly under the governor, which makes a total of only 23,000 soldiers, less than twice the number of Japanese soldiers defending the city, and the number of heavy artillery is not large either.

Should the general reconsider this? Even if we can conquer the city, it would be extremely uneconomical if the casualties are too high."

People who often attack cities know that, under normal circumstances, the attackers should have at least three or four times the number of troops as the defenders.

But now it is less than twice as much, which makes Ma Gui feel conflicted again.

Lin Tailai slammed the table and shouted at Ma Gui: "Our department has already made the decision, no need to think about it anymore!
The worst thing to do in a battle is to hesitate and look ahead! Don't say any more!

After your regiment has rested for two days, immediately set out with the headquarters' battalion to Hamhung Prefecture!"

After Ma Gui returned to the camp, he summoned the generals of each column to further convey the order.

In fact, the generals were also very concerned about the future battle plan. Yang Dengshan, one of the four fierce generals of Xuanfu, asked:
"There is nothing wrong with us fighting bravely, but what is the Duke of Jinglüe thinking? He doesn't want to be the first to take the credit, does he?"

They all knew about the depressing experiences that Li Rusong's army had endured when attacking Pyongyang.

Now, the minister of strategy who is more ferocious than the generals is already on their side.

Before entering the Kingdom of Korea, they never dreamed that the biggest threat to their frontline military achievements would be the Minister of Strategy.

The most terrifying thing is that this minister of strategy was not putting on a show, but really went into battle. How could these generals not know the significance of "going first" twice and killing dozens of enemies with their own hands?

Ma Gui smiled bitterly and said, "General Lin is truly unfathomable. How can I guess his depth? Let's wait and see when we get to Hamhung." Two days later, the eleven columns of Ma Gui's Corps plus three battalions directly under the general broke camp and marched towards Hamhung Prefecture, which was more than a hundred miles away.

Among the eight provinces of North Korea, Pyongyang Province and Hamgyong Province were the last to be incorporated.

In the eyes of North Korea, these two regions are frontier areas, belonging to the "Northwest Confinement" and are areas of blatant official discrimination.

Therefore, the ruling foundation of the Joseon Dynasty in these two places, especially in Hamgyong Province, was very weak. This was one of the reasons why Kato Kiyomasa's troops were able to advance straight into Hamgyong Province.

Hamheung Prefecture was considered a large city in the Joseon Dynasty and was the birthplace of Lee Seong-gye, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty.

At noon on the third day after departure, the Ming army arrived outside the city of Hamhung.

Ma Gui, commander of the Third Corps, asked Lin Jinglue how to set up camp.

Lin Jinglüe ordered: "Your corps will be divided into 2,000 soldiers and horses, and the headquarters will be added to the three Jinglüe battalions, totaling 8,000 soldiers and horses, and will camp in the north of the city.

The remaining 15,000 soldiers of your regiment will camp south of the city."

Ma Gui just felt that this arrangement sounded really amateurish, but after thinking about the combat effectiveness of the Japanese soldiers, he still endured it.

Even if there are only 8,000 people setting up camp, it should be enough to withstand the attack of tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, and there will be no problem with safety.

Then I heard Lin Jinglue give the order: "The heavy artillery will be deployed to the south of your city. The south of your city will be the main attack direction. The siege will begin tomorrow, and our headquarters will supervise the battle in the north of the city."

When he heard the words "main attack" and "support", General Ma's face couldn't help but twitch.

When we attacked Pyongyang, General Lin, you let Li Rusong lead the attack on the west city, and then you, the supporting officer, secretly broke through from another direction.

Lin Jinglue saw through Ma Gui's thoughts and said sincerely: "Believe me, this time our department really provided support."

When Ma Gui returned to the camp, he pointed to Yang Dengshan and said, "Your column will temporarily be directly under General Lin's command. Go to the north of the city and set up camp!"

Yang Dengshan was surprised and asked, "Why is it me?"

General Ma's reason was very sufficient, "Because Lin Junmen's martial arts student Black Wind Tiger is under your command!"

The Japanese garrison commander of Hamheung City, Kaga no Kami, and lord of the 360,000-koku Saga domain, Naoshige Nabeshima, stood on the city gate tower, silently watching the army in the distance.

This was an army with an extremely unfamiliar appearance. There were as many horses as there were people, and the chariots were well-trained in formation.

Without giving it much thought, this strange army must be the Ming Dynasty soldiers mentioned by the Koreans.

Three days ago, we received news that Yongxing in the south had fallen, but at that time it was still unclear which army had occupied Yongxing.

Now this doubt can be completely resolved, it was definitely the Ming army that captured Yongxing.

But Lord Nabeshima still couldn't figure out where this Ming army came from?

For a moment, I didn't know what happened in other places. Could it be that the useless Konishi Yukinaga on the western front had been defeated quickly?

Otherwise, how could the Ming army that entered Korea from the western front have enough strength to allocate troops and appear on the east coast?

Now Lord Nabeshima felt a little regretful that he should not have brought his eldest son Katsushige out with him.

This kind of opponent, judging from their military appearance alone, is much stronger than one might imagine.

Meeting such an opponent might be the most difficult hurdle in his decades of debut. If his eldest son is also killed, it would be a huge loss!
I really don't know what was wrong with Toyotomi Kanpaku. He was so arrogant that he fantasized about establishing the capital in Ming Dynasty and conquering Southeast Asia and India.

When faced with this situation, there are generally two options: one is to defend the city to the death, and the other is to abandon the city and break out.

However, after observation, Naoshige Nabeshima decisively gave up the idea of ​​abandoning the city and breaking out, and could only defend it to the death.

Given the number of the enemy's horses, how could we break through? Two legs?

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from outside the city, followed by dozens of loud explosions like thunder.

Even one of the corner eaves of the city gate tower was blown off, and Lord Nabeshima hurried down from the city gate tower.

In the face of artillery fire, the city gate tower, which was an obvious target, had become the most dangerous place.

Outside the South City, General Ma shook his head, very dissatisfied with the results of these rounds of artillery fire.

The number of heavy artillery pieces weighing more than 100 jin is still too small. What can a few dozen pieces do? When Li Rusong attacked Pyongyang a while ago, he used more than 300 pieces.

Alas, let's just make do with it! General Ma sighed, deployed more than 20 siege points, and ordered each column to start taking turns to attack the city with infantry.

While giving orders, General Ma also paid attention to the situation in the North City. A scout reported that the General did not launch a large-scale attack on the North City, but only set up a cloud chariot to shoot arrows into the city.

The defending general Naoshige KOBESHIMA was personally supervising the battle in the South City when he suddenly saw his teenage son KATSUMA running towards him with a letter in his hand.

"Father! A lot of sealed arrows were shot in, written in two languages!"

Naoshige Kojima was puzzled. The two sides did not speak the same language and had huge cultural differences. What could they communicate about? Did the Ming army want to persuade him to surrender?
When he unfolded it, he saw the words "A letter to the soldiers of Ryuzoji - Naoshige Nabeshima was originally a retainer of the Ryuzoji clan. He pretended to be loyal, but he deliberately killed his lord Takanobu and his four great generals on the battlefield. Later, he secretly colluded with the regent Hideyoshi and was able to usurp the throne of Saga Domain.

I heard that most of the soldiers in the city are old members of the Ryuzoji clan, so there must be many loyal and righteous people among them.

In order to promote the doctrine of loyalty and righteousness, if anyone captures Naoshige Nabeshima or beheads him and presents him to the court, the Ming Dynasty is willing to reward him with a thousand taels of silver and send him back home with courtesy. If he does not wish to return to Japan, he can be rewarded separately."

After reading this slanderous article, Naoshige Kojima almost fainted. How come even the Ming army knew about this little thing he had done in China?

And it's not just a general knowledge, it's a level of knowing it like the back of your hand.

He had only been the feudal lord for a few years, and many of the Saga domain's soldiers and generals were from the time of the old feudal lord, Ryuzoji, and their relationship with him was very sensitive.

Also, because the relationship between himself and his soldiers was extremely sensitive, he usually had to treat it with caution, for fear of causing problems and turmoil.

As a result, these arrow books were able to accurately grasp this point, directly and blatantly slandering and sowing discord.

"Where did these arrows come from?" Naoshige Kobe asked his son.

Katsushige Nabeshima replied, “They all came from the North City.”

So Naoshige Nabeshima no longer had time to supervise the battle in the South City and hurried to the North City.

Anyway, the South City doesn't seem to be in much danger for the time being, and it is the people in the North City that make Naoshige Kojima more worried.

(End of this chapter)