Daming talker

Chapter 696 Life is like a play
Lieutenant General Yang Dengshan, who was wandering back and forth outside the northern city of Hamhung and felt like a street urchin, listened to the rumbling of artillery coming from the south city and glanced at the minister named Lin not far away with a bit of displeasure.

When we attacked Pyongyang, weren't you quite brave? Not only did you lead the troops, but you also led your men to achieve merit.

Why did they start to give up when they arrived at the city of Hamhung?

The key point is that it’s okay for you, Lord Jinglüe, to be in a bad state yourself, but you also brought Yang to Beicheng to be in a bad state with you. This is too much.

Several column generals under General Ma of Nancheng are old brothers from Xuanfu, and they are collectively known as the Four Fierce Generals of Xuanfu.

If others made great contributions by capturing Nancheng, but Yang did nothing, could he still hold his head up high?

In fact, we can't blame Lieutenant General Yang for his nagging, it's just that General Lin's current appearance is too abstract.

He did not ride a horse or even walk in front of the army, but sat in a large sedan chair, carried on the shoulders of eight strong soldiers.

He was not wearing any armor, but a gorgeous and loose Qilin costume - I don't know if he had any inner armor underneath.

Wearing on his head was a cumbersome Liang crown, the kind of crown that was only worn when wearing ceremonial court robes at grand court meetings.

Especially in this cold winter, Lin Jinglie was holding a golden folding fan in his hand, and his whole image was extremely flashy.

On both sides of Lin Jinglüe, soldiers held up sixteen oversized tall plaques with Lin Jinglüe's various achievements, titles, and official positions written in gold.

Behind each high-legged sign, there is a knight holding a seven-color flag fluttering in the wind. From a distance, it is a visual feast.

However, in a battle that should have been serious and tense, all this seemed very inconsistent, causing Admiral Yang to feel helpless and complain internally.

The only thing to be thankful for was that Lin Jinglue knew how to pose outside the range of the Japanese soldiers' muskets.

Anyway, Yang Lieutenant General couldn't understand why Lin Jinglue was spreading his wings like a peacock. Was he trying to attract the enemy to come out of the city and fight?
I have to say, this scene is like a pretty boy with makeup on, posing and flirting in front of a group of straight men. It's really despicable and quite asking for a beating.

However, war is not a joke. The enemy cannot lose their mind and rush over to fight you regardless of their disadvantage just because they can't stand your behavior, right?

Besides, there is a cultural gap. Can the enemy understand what you are doing, Lord Jinglüe?

Lin Jinglie just waved the folding fan in his hand lightly, and thousands of soldiers approached the city wall under the cover of dozens of shield carts.

However, these soldiers did not attack the city. Instead, each of them carried a bag of soil, piled the soil under the city wall, and then retreated decisively.

Yang Dengshan shook his head. This method of piling up earth to attack the city was mostly seen in theory. In reality, it was subject to various conditions. How could it be so useful?
First of all, our side did not have a big enough advantage in terms of numbers, especially in the North City where there were only 8,000 troops in total.

Secondly, even if they could successfully build a mound of earth, the entire army would gather around the mound to attack the city.

However, the Japanese soldiers' muskets were sharp and their long-range firepower was not weak, which could easily restrain intensive attacks.

Therefore, Lin Jinglie's strategy of piling up earth hills in the north city while the main force of the Japanese troops was in the south city seemed wise, but in fact it was not very feasible.

Yang wanted to persuade Lin Jinglue, but he was not familiar with Lin Jinglue, so he went to find Dayun, an officer in the Jinglue camp, and said tactfully:

"It seems that the deployment made by the General today is not appropriate. Your Excellency is also a general who has experienced many battles, so you should be able to see it."

Da Yun hesitated for a while and replied, "I followed the General and won seven battles. No, including Pyongyang, it should be eight battles and eight victories. Twice I was the first to enter the city and three times I killed the enemy's main general.

I have encountered many things that are more incredible than what happened today, so don’t speculate or make a fuss about it.”

Yang Dengshan was speechless for a long time. He witnessed such an outrageous thing with his own eyes, but he was the one making a fuss out of nothing?
Sun Tzu said that war is a matter of great importance to a state, a matter of life and death, a matter of survival or destruction. War is no joke!
Therefore, don't fight with the civil servants' style and habits of only trying to curry favor with their superiors and ignoring facts!

Yang Dengshan had no choice but to inform Ma Gui in the south city about the situation in the north city.

At this time on the city wall, the Japanese garrison commander Naoshige Nabeshima was also carefully observing the magnificent scene staged by Lin Jinglüe.

Today was the first time that Naoshige Kōjima saw the Ming Dynasty soldiers in person. He couldn't understand the meaning of the figure in a gorgeous hat and wide robe being carried on a sedan chair in the center of the Ming army in the distance, and the flags around him that blocked out the sun. Was he a "priest" or a "general-in-chief"?
In fact, in their country of Japan, there are also people with similar temperament, but they are no longer popular.

So Naoshige Kojima called over the traitor leader Ju Jingren who was in the city, pointed outside the city and asked, "What does this mean?"

Ju Jingren was originally a local official in Huining, the northernmost part of Hamgyong Province in the Joseon Dynasty. When Kato Kiyomasa attacked Huining, he kidnapped two Joseon princes and several ministers and surrendered to Kato Kiyomasa.

During this period, Ju Jingren happened to come to Hamhung Prefecture and helped Naoshige Kojima manage the area.

Now that he was on the top of the city wall, he heard Naoshige Kojima's question. Ju Jingren also looked out for a while and answered through the translator:

“I heard that the Ming Dynasty is similar to our country, where civil officials control military generals, and the highest commander of the army is often a civil official.

Therefore, judging by the pomp and ceremony, the person on the sedan chair must be the civil official who is in charge of the Ming army."

Ju Jingren was also a person who had only a vague understanding of the Ming system, and he gave an explanation based on his own understanding.

Naoshige Nabeshima fell into deep thought. Was this how all Ming Dynasty officials went out to fight? How arrogant were they, and how much did they look down on their enemies?
The display of the Ming army commander in the distance did not seem like preparation for war, but rather a bit like the behavior of the nobles at home.

Thirty years ago, there was also a person in our country who liked to go out in battle like this.

He was born into a noble family, was known as the best archer in Tōkaidō, and was the strongest daimyo at the time.

He liked elegance and refinement, and even when he went out on a military march, he would always dress like a nobleman.

In the end, he died in a surprise attack by a few enemies amidst the large army, and the ending became the beginning of a new era.

The temperament of this Ming commander is very similar to that of Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Thinking of this, Naoshige Kobe looked at the Ming soldiers who were transporting soil to the city and couldn't help but sneer.

Judging from the strategy of never rushing to attack the city directly and letting the soldiers pile up earth first, this Ming army commander must have been a scholar or Confucian general who liked to show off his wisdom.

Such people are more or less stubborn and conceited, which gives others opportunities to take advantage of them. It depends on whether you can seize them.

At this time, General Ma, who was attacking the South City, received the report from Yang Dengshan and was inexplicably moved.

General Lin was indeed a man who kept his word. He said he would not take credit for the work, and at the same time he was so conscientious and helped divert the attention of the defenders in various ways.

Then the Nancheng side, which I am supervising, will have to put in a much greater effort tomorrow!
Today's siege was just an experimental one, to test the accuracy of the artillery and the strength of the enemy's defense, so we didn't expect it to be successful today.

And tomorrow is the time to truly begin the siege!

Although our military advantage is not as great as Li Rusong's when he attacked Pyongyang, the battle should be over within three days!

Seeing that it was getting dark, Ma Gui called back his troops and ordered the columns to return to camp for rest. In the north city, Lin Jinglue also ordered the troops to return to camp and sent a message saying that the food should be improved tonight and there should be more bonfires!

The middle officer Dayun responded with a bitter face: "It's all dry food, how can the food be improved?"

Lin Jinglue sighed helplessly and gave another order: "Then make more bonfires and pretend to improve the food!"

The three generals of the battalion, Deputy General Dayun, Lieutenant General Wu Weizhong, Guerrilla Ye Bangrong, and Lieutenant General Yang Dengshan who came to support, gathered together in the central army tent, eating steamed cakes soaked in vinegar and drinking inferior wine looted from Yongxing.

Lin Jinglue smiled and said, "Go to sleep when you are full and get up at four o'clock!"

The generals were puzzled. Why did they get up at the fourth hour of the morning? The enemy was in the city, and even if they wanted to launch a surprise attack in the early morning, they would not be able to reach them.

Lin Tailai suddenly asked, "Do you know the most proud battle of Japanese garrison commander Naoshige Kojima in his life?"

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment, almost asking, "Where can I go to find out?"

Lin Jinglüe obviously didn't expect anyone to answer him, and he said, "When he was still a retainer, the lord's family was besieged by the Otomo family's tens of thousands of allied forces, and the lord's army only had 5,000 men.

Naoshige Nabeshima urged his lord not to surrender and suggested using elite troops to launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp.

Then Naoshige Nabeshima protected his lord and set out at dawn with hundreds of elite soldiers, defeating tens of thousands of enemy troops with a surprise attack.

The generals did not feel much about this. Wasn't this just a copycat version of "One Hundred Riders Raid the Camp" or "Eight Hundred Defeat One Hundred Thousand"?

I also heard Lin Jinglue's analysis: "Based on the habits of the Japanese, they particularly like to use sneak attacks, always trying to gain the greatest victory at the lowest cost.

They regard this as a mysterious military strategy, and whenever they feel there is a chance, they want to give it a try.”

What Lin Tailai said was not nonsense. For example, in the original history, when Li Rusong's army was approaching Pyongyang City, Konishi Yukinaga sent 800 soldiers to steal chickens from the Ming army camp in the early morning, but they all failed.

After hearing this, the generals finally understood what Lin Jinglüe meant. Yang Dengshan couldn't help but ask, "Jinglüe, do you think the Japanese soldiers might sneak out of the city and attack us in the early morning?"

Lin Tailai could not help but sigh, "It all depends on whether I act like the real character today, or whether the enemy understands the arrogant, conceited, stubborn, and underestimating character I portrayed.

That Naoshige Nabeshima might really have path dependence, and when he saw an opportunity, he wanted to defeat our army by launching a surprise attack in the early morning."

Yang Dengshan suddenly became excited, and couldn't help but said with a little offense: "Jinglüe Gong really doesn't look like he's acting, even I believe it!
If the Japanese soldiers really dare to leave the city, then the opportunity to seize the gate will be right before our eyes!"

Generally, when defending a city, the defenders would block the city gate with wood and stones to prevent the enemy from breaking through the gate.

But if the defenders want to leave the city on a large scale, they must temporarily clear the road through the city gate to facilitate entry and exit.

But correspondingly, this also gave the enemy the opportunity to directly break through the city gate.

All the generals were looking forward to it. If they could break the city in this way, it would be much easier and the casualties would be reduced a lot.

Lin Jinglue began to speak seriously: "General Yang! If such an opportunity arises and I ask you to attack the city gate, would you dare to do it?"

Yang Dengshan said without hesitation: "Why not?"

Then Lin Tailai began to give orders, "After three o'clock in the morning, the entire army will be on alert. If nothing happens by dawn, we will rest for another two hours after daybreak.

If Japanese soldiers really launch a surprise attack tonight, Wu Weizhong's battalion will be responsible for defending the camp and confronting the attacking Japanese soldiers head-on.

Ye Bangrong's camp used cavalry to encircle or flank the Japanese soldiers who were launching a surprise attack, and tried to wipe them out in the shortest possible time.

Yang Dengshan’s camp did not need to worry about the Japanese soldiers leaving the city, and immediately headed to the north gate and attacked and captured the gate tunnel with all their might!

Dayun Battalion will follow the headquarters as a reserve and mobile force! "

The generals received their orders and then took the time to rest.

The "outsider" Yang Dengshan was particularly excited. It seemed that the Governor-General was a very fair person and had given him the most important task.

In a siege, the merit of breaking through a gate is certainly far greater than that of blocking or outflanking a separate enemy force.

As long as we can capture and defend the North Gate, we will be the first to achieve the credit.

As for what General Ma, who was leading the attack on South City, thought, as long as this fierce general from Xuanfu achieved great success, it would also bring honor to General Ma!

After watching the others disperse, Lieutenant Commander Dayun asked Lin Tailai, "Are you really only treating them as a reserve force this time and letting the generals perform?"

Lin Jinglue replied in a Schrodinger-like way: "The army cannot always rely on me alone to lead an attack.

If the generals fight well, I won’t have to do anything. If they don’t fight well, I will have no choice but to do something.”

As an old officer of Lin Junmen, Dayun was tactful enough not to ask what the standard was for fighting well.
"By the way, prepare a few hook ladder trucks, just in case they may be needed?" Lin Jinglue suddenly ordered.

Dayun: “.”

General Lin, you still say you have no ideas?
On the north city wall, Naoshige Nabeshima climbed to the highest point of the city gate tower again and continued to observe the movements of the Ming army.

One could vaguely see that the Ming army camp was ablaze with fire, as if dozens of bonfires had been lit.

The "adviser" next to him, Chao Jianju Jingren, already knew that Naoshige Nabeshige was planning a surprise attack, and he conservatively advised: "Just stay in the city and wait for Lord Kato to return. Why risk going out of the city for a surprise attack?"

Naoshige Nabeshima did not respond directly, but only said: "From these bonfires, it can be seen that the Ming army is in a very relaxed state.

Moreover, the main force of the Ming army was clearly in the south, but the commander was in the north, which showed that the generals might not be in harmony and that their rescue efforts would probably be slow.

Moreover, the commander of the Ming army was stubborn and underestimated the enemy. Looking at the pomp and circumstance of his battle in broad daylight, it was enough to show that he did not think our army dared to leave the city and fight in the field.

Facing such an enemy, the best strategy is to launch a surprise attack in the early morning, which is the way to defeat the enemy with fewer troops!

Apart from this, I really can’t think of any other military tactics that can defeat the enemy.”

Naoshige Nabeshima was still thinking in his heart, even if he held on until Kato's army returned, what practical significance would it have?
How could Kato's army, which came from afar, enter the city under the repeated harassment and attacks of the Ming cavalry?

If they were to engage in a normal battle outside the city, it would seem that they would be no match for the Ming army.

So after thinking about it, defeating the enemy by surprise is almost the only hope of victory.

(End of this chapter)