Daming talker

Chapter 698 No martial ethics
After taking the north gate, Lin Tailai's personal guard battalion had only a thousand men, while Lieutenant General Yang's troops were exhausted in the tug-of-war at the city gate.

Therefore, Lin Tailai did not dare to rush into the city at this time. After all, apart from the two thousand people killed tonight, there should be about 10,000 Japanese soldiers left in the city.

They could only guard the north gate for the time being. Soon Wu Weizhong and Ye Bangrong annihilated the Japanese soldiers who came out of the city for a night attack, and brought their own troops to the north gate for support.

Lin Jinglüe asked the injured Yang Dengshan to lead his troops back to the camp, and left another thousand soldiers in the camp to guard it.

The remaining 5,000 soldiers entered the city together. They did not go to sweep away the Japanese soldiers in the city first, but rushed straight towards the South Gate along the North-South Street.

After the fighting broke out at the north gate, the noise also alarmed Ma Gui, the commander-in-chief of the Second Corps in the southern camp.

But General Ma did not dare to act rashly for the time being. How could he know that the Japanese army was not deliberately creating noise to lure them out of the camp?
Moreover, there was no notification from the North Camp, which made General Ma feel uncertain.

So Ma Gui ordered all columns to prepare for battle on the one hand, and on the other hand sent several groups of scouts to the north for reconnaissance.

More than half an hour later, two groups of scouts came to report that Lieutenant General Yang was fighting with the Japanese soldiers for the north gate and the battle was very fierce. Lieutenant General Yang had personally led the team to charge towards the gate.

Upon hearing the news, Ma Gui was so shocked that he was speechless for a moment!
First, I was shocked that the North Camp attacked the city secretly in the early morning without any notice!
Lin Jinglüe had promised before that South City would be the main attack direction, and North City would only serve as a support!
During the day, the North Camp was still fine, and Lin Jinglie had been acting as a support officer in a proper manner, which made me let down my guard.

As a result, at night, the North Camp began to attack!
The second was that he was shocked that the North Camp had actually begun attacking the city gate, which was much easier than climbing the city wall.

After being shocked, General Ma could no longer sit still, and quickly gave orders to each column, leaving only 2,000 men to guard the house, and the remaining 13,000 men to immediately set out to attack the city!

It was too late to go around to the North City, so we had to rush to attack the South City!

When General Ma rushed to the bottom of the South City, it was already dawn and the light was still dim. He could only vaguely see some defenders on the city wall.

As the soldiers pushed the shield cart and ladder cart forward, torches were suddenly lit on the top of the city wall, and a tall and majestic figure appeared in the firelight.

Then the man shouted towards the outside of the city: "Ming Dynasty's Minister of State Affairs Lin Tailai is here, you don't have to bother any more!

Immediately start clearing the wood and stones blocking the South Gate. Wait for a moment and enter the city directly through the city gate!"

Ma Gui: “.”

He was wrong, he was really wrong. He shouldn't have laughed at Li Rusong before.

It turns out that "Xi Ma"'s rival is not "Dong Li" but General Lin.

Not long after, the archway of the South Gate was cleared, and the 5,000 soldiers from the North Camp and the 13,000 soldiers from the South Camp joined forces.

Except for those guarding the camp and the casualties, all the troops that can be deployed are here.

Ma Gui entered the city from the south gate and met Lin Jinglie with a bad look on his face.

Lin Jinglue asked, "Laoma, we have been able to break into the city with relatively few casualties after only one day of siege, why are you still unhappy?
It's not like you won't get credit, as long as the city is captured, everyone gets credit."

Ma Gui replied, "General, you promised me that I would lead the attack in the South City, and you would provide support in the North City."

Lin Tailai sighed and explained helplessly: "The headquarters originally only wanted to bluff and support, but the Japanese soldiers took the initiative to go out of the city and attack the headquarters at night!

So there is nothing the headquarters can do. They can't just ignore this fleeting opportunity, right?
We could only seize the opportunity to counterattack, and then our headquarters accidentally climbed up first and broke through the north gate and entered the city, and then opened the south gate to welcome you into the city."

If brothers Li Rusong and Li Rubai were here, they would definitely feel that this scene was familiar.

Ma Gui was speechless for a long time, because what Lin Jinglie said was so reasonable and could not be refuted.

Who can be blamed for this? Can it be blamed on the Japanese soldiers for being so blinded by greed that they had to leave the city and attack the northern camp at night, which exposed their flaws?

Even if it was General Ma who encountered such a flaw, there was no reason for him to let it go.

And although Lin Jinglie spoke of "being the first to climb" in a very understated tone, not just anyone is capable of successfully climbing the mountain first.

It can even be said that a warrior who possesses the quality of being the first to arrive is already one in a thousand.

There are probably only a few people in history who have the qualities of Lin Jinglie, who can climb over a wall while wearing eighty kilograms of heavy armor and wield a mace weighing dozens of kilograms to fight for a long time. He is simply the "first to ascend to the holy body", and there is nothing you can do about it even if you are unwilling to accept it.

According to Ma Gui's private comparison, ancient Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde would not be able to stand up to Lin Junmen. The lower limit of Lin Junmen's military strength might be Lu Bu, and the upper limit might be Xiang Yu.

Just as General Ma was daydreaming, he heard Lin Jinglue say impatiently: "Alright, alright, we have only broken through the gate, and have not yet taken the whole city. You don't have time to waste time here worrying and haggling over trivial matters!"

The old military leader Ma Gui said without any temper: "Please give the order, General!"

Lin Tailai ordered: "The officers and soldiers of the North Camp have participated in the night battle and are a little weak. They will be responsible for guarding the city gates and street corners to block and intercept the fleeing Japanese soldiers.

And the 13,000 soldiers from your southern camp will be responsible for sweeping the city and clearing out the Japanese soldiers!"

Ma Gui obeyed the order and said, "Yes!"

Lin Tailai also instructed, "The Japanese soldiers have a habit of using streets, courtyards, and earthen ramparts to resist to the end after the city gates are breached. So you in the South Camp should not think that you are just cleaning up. Your task is still very heavy!
According to my estimation, there are still about 8,000 to 9,000 Japanese soldiers in the city. They have become frightened and are scattered everywhere. Your South Camp has enough troops."

There were nine columns following Ma Gui into the city. Although Hamhung City was known as the largest city in northeastern Korea, its area was limited, and nine columns were definitely enough.

Ma Gui received the order from Lin Jinglie and was about to turn around and leave when he was suddenly stopped by Lin Jinglie.

After a little hesitation, Lin Tailai reminded Ma Gui: "Refer to the experience of Pyongyang City and learn more advanced experience."

Ma Gui didn’t understand for a moment. What advanced experience did Pyongyang City have?

Lin Tailai hinted that “after Pyongyang was breached, the government troops suffered very few casualties and eliminated the Japanese troops at the lowest cost.

Our Ming army has traveled thousands of miles to fight in foreign countries. Every soldier is so precious. The fewer soldiers we can sacrifice, the better. "

General Ma suddenly realized that the "Pyongyang City Experience" that the military commander mentioned was that when facing the Japanese soldiers who fought street battles relying on courtyard walls and earthen ramparts, they should use more fire attacks and less manpower attacks.

I heard that after Pyongyang was captured, the whole city was charred and large areas of the city blocks were burned down.

The smell in the city was so bad that even Li Rusong didn't want to live in the city. He would rather live in a tent ten miles outside the city.

Ma Gui couldn't help but ask, "I've read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms very well. Even Zhuge Liang, after burning the rattan armor soldiers, lamented that it was against the will of heaven and would shorten his life. Aren't you afraid of punishment from the gods, General?"

Lin Tailai snorted coldly and said forcefully: "I am acting on behalf of Heaven and carrying out Heaven's punishment! If the gods dare to punish me for this, I will kill them as well!"

Ma Gui: “.” He suddenly felt that he and Lin Junmen seemed to be of different species. Is this the true face of the banished immortal from heaven?
After sending Ma Gui, who had been spiritually baptized, to work, Lin Tailai took off his heavy armor and rested on the city gate tower.

If he takes the first step and then breaks the door, he has completed his job and can leave the rest to others.

Lin Tailai is essentially a kind-hearted person. He cannot bear to watch many cruel scenes with his own eyes.

I was eating to replenish my energy when suddenly a burnt odor drifted over with the morning wind, the same smell that I had smelled enough in Pyongyang.

“Zongsang!” Lin Tailai put down the food in his hand fiercely, “How can anyone eat this!”

At this time, an old friend from Suzhou took the opportunity to come over and said, "Master, many brothers would like to make a suggestion. Can we not use maces?"

"What's wrong? Are you scared by what you see?" Lin Tailai asked unhappily.

The old fellow from Suzhou said, "Since you don't need military merits from heads, let me pick up the heads and earn some merits.

But if we use the mace to smash the skull at will, the brothers will just watch in vain without any heads to pick up, which is really a big loss. "

Lin Tailai: "."

Do you think I don't want to show off by using normal weapons?
But in the often one-on-many combat environment of climbing a city wall, the mace is indeed the most convenient to use. It can be used for heavy strikes, armor-breaking, skull-crushing, stabbing, etc. It is truly versatile.

Just as Lin Zuoguan and his old friend were discussing the trade-off between practicality and handsomeness, the middle officer Dayun ran up and reported: "General Ma has encountered an obstacle and he can't make the decision. Please ask the general to take charge!"

Lin Tailai was puzzled. What was wrong with burning all the way? Even if the whole city was set on fire, what would happen?

How could Ma Gui be so incapable of taking responsibility? He is much worse than Li Rusong!

So Lin Tailai had to interrupt his rest, got up and rushed over with his personal guards.

I covered my nose and walked through three or four streets, and then I saw Ma Gui again.

In front of Ma Gui, the Japanese soldiers built an earthen rampart along the street, and behind the earthen rampart there seemed to be a wide gate.

Looking from a high place, the specifications of this gate are not low. A closer look reveals that it has five bays, and the walls on both sides of the gate are much taller than ordinary walls.

Inside the courtyard, one can vaguely see pavilions, towers, palaces, and a large number of dense cypress trees.

Lin Tailai asked in confusion: "Naoshige Kojima is holding out here with his remaining troops?
Why hesitate? Aren't there only wooden buildings inside? It's easy to set fire to them, right? "

Ma Gui said with a bitter face: "I asked a few Koreans and they said this is Hamheung Palace."

Lin Tailai did not know much about the history of Korea, but he also knew nothing about it. After all, Korea did not produce an outstanding historical strategy game nearly a hundred years later.

"What is the Hamheung Palace?" Lin Tailai asked again in confusion.

Ma Gui answered in detail: "The founder of the current Joseon Dynasty, Yi Seong-gye, was born here. He also lived here for most of his life before he became the King of Joseon.

Now this place is called Hamheung Palace, and it is used to worship Emperor Taizu Lee and all the ancestors of the past generations.

After hearing this, Lin Tailai finally understood. No wonder Ma Gui felt he couldn't bear it anymore. This was not a technical problem but a political problem.

It turns out that this large courtyard is the place where the "python" of the Lee Dynasty of the present-day Korea flew, and it is also used to worship the founding emperor of the Lee Dynasty and earlier ancestors.

If we were to find an analogy for the political status of the Joseon Kingdom in the Ming Dynasty, it might be similar to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, the Imperial Mausoleum, and the Ancestral Mausoleum combined?
When faced with a place like this, we do need to consider the political consequences a little more.

At this time, on the Fengpei Tower in front of the main hall of Hamheung Palace, the Japanese general Naoshige Nabeshima was talking to his son Katsushige Nabeshima.

Sheng Mao said: "Father is indeed resourceful. We are here to defend and the Ming army has indeed stopped attacking."

Naoshige Kojima sighed, "The situation is over, a little bit of wisdom is ultimately no match for absolute strength.

I really regret taking you to conquer Korea, but I am even more worried about leaving you alone in the country. But it is useless to say anything now."

Sheng Mao asked, "What should we do now?"

Naoshige Nabeshima was silent for a moment, then replied: "I will commit suicide here, and then you can surrender to the Ming army on the pretext of saving your father's body!
We are hiding in the main palace in Hamhung, making the Ming army afraid to act rashly. All we want is to give you an opportunity to surrender.

Otherwise, the Ming army would have set fires all along the way, and it would have been difficult for them to surrender properly."

Sheng Mao cried and said, "Father! Why do you have to do this? I am the son who follows my father!"

Naoshige Kobe closed his eyes and said, "If you commit suicide, my Kobe family will be completely cut off!
There is no point in me surrendering. I will just be humiliated, which is far worse than committing suicide.

When you surrendered in order to preserve your father's body, you could at least preserve a reputation of filial piety. As for your future path, you have to rely on yourself.

If you can still return to your country, perhaps someone will be able to take care of you because of your father's suicide.

This is the best solution that a father can think of in this desperate situation. "

Shengmao knelt down in front of his father and cried loudly.

Naoshige Nabeshima rebuked him, "Stop crying! Go downstairs first! Then come back up to collect your father's body!"
The Ming people also value propriety and righteousness. If you bring your father's body and surrender, they will accept it!"

Shengmao stood up, but before he went downstairs, a rocket suddenly shot in and ignited the wooden railing.

Naoshige Kobe's eyes widened, and he subconsciously stood up and looked outside, only to see rockets continuously fired into the compound, and the gate in front had been set on fire.

It was obvious that the Ming army didn't care where this place was at all. They started setting fire again to minimize the cost and had no intention of leaving any survivors.

Shengmao, who hadn't come downstairs yet, started crying again, and this time he really cried.

Baka! What a beast! Naoshige Kobe was so angry that he spat out blood. How could the Ming army have no moral principles at all?

This is the residence and ancestral temple of Taizu, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty. As a friendly country, are you, the Ming Dynasty, setting fire to it so wantonly?
As people of Greater China, can't we abide by the Confucian rules of propriety and morality even when two armies are at war?
Couldn’t we give the father and son, Nabeshima, a chance to demonstrate their loyalty and filial piety?
Looking at the flames rising from the Hamheung Palace, Ma Gui anxiously asked Lin Jinglue, "Are you okay?"

Lin Tailai sighed, "Our army failed to stop the vicious Japanese soldiers from setting fire to the Li Dynasty's Hamheung Palace. This department will be impeached and criticized again, and may even be severely reprimanded by the emperor."

Don't refuse the self-degrading material that comes to your door.
(End of this chapter)