Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 417 Battle of Kyoto

"Sorry..."

In the early morning, with the sound of exhausted war horses, the west side of Lake Biwa was stained red with blood.

On the shore, countless blood flowed into the lake, and the source was corpses that had their armor stripped off.

For Hu soldiers, Japanese soldiers, and Tusi soldiers, the Ming army counted their merits according to their armor, so taking off their armor after the war was what they had to do.

Even if it is just a protective gear made of bamboo, it is still a treasure needed to record merit at this moment.

Imagawa Takamasa escaped with more than a hundred cavalry, and most of the remaining four thousand Japanese troops were killed by the Ming army in the hills on the side of Biwa Lake. Only a small number of Japanese troops escaped into the mountains and forests, but they were killed and lost. With his armor abandoned, Zheng Jun didn't bother to pursue him.

Anyway, as long as you get the armor, you can record your merits, but killing is an inferior method.

"It hurts!"

On the shore, Zheng Jun took a breath of cold air and kept shouting.

The war horse was shot and died after running a few steps. If the other brothers had not had quick eyesight and quick hands to avoid the fallen Zheng Jun, it is estimated that Zheng Jun would have died or been disabled at this moment.

After a simple wipe with medicinal wine, Zheng Jun managed to put on his clothes and regained some strength.

Even so, he wasn't much better. Although he could still move due to his injuries, he would have to recuperate for at least half a year if he wanted to fight again.

The commander, Deng Shen, took off his armor for him, only to find that his body was already bruised and bruised.

The supervisors were replaced more frequently than the military attachés who led the troops, often every two years.

Because of this, he studies intelligence from various countries in his spare time.

Standing aside, Deng Shen had a sudden thought, but before Zheng Jun could answer, the supervisor standing by shook his head and said:

Zheng Jun was not lucky. When he rushed into the battle, he encountered experienced Japanese veterans. Several of them quickly inserted their spears into the soil and collided with Zheng Jun.

For civilians, some blood and a little washing are enough, which is better than nothing.

This is not because they are stingy, but because Tang He’s achievements are not suitable for the title of Duke.
Tang He had the worst military ability among the Dukes who were the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty, even inferior to Liao Yongzhong, Zhu Liangzu, Hu Yanrui, Mu Ying, Wang Bi and others among the marquises.

"Most of them are half-farmers and half-soldiers. They have never received high-intensity training. It would be strange if they had strong willpower."

After graduating from the National Defense University, students are basically decentralized to grassroots officers such as small flag officers and chief flag officers, and then are promoted step by step through military merit.

He turned around and scanned the battlefield. Nearly four thousand Japanese corpses lay naked on the ground. Their armors were stripped off by the Ming army, and their clothes were stripped off by Japanese civilians who transported food to the Ming army.

"In total, the result this time is almost two hundred and forty-seven to four thousand one hundred and twenty-nine."

Zheng Jun asked Deng He, and Deng He also smiled when he heard this and said, "I was very worried when I talked about it. I thought that faced with the siege of 5,000 people, you 500 cavalry would probably suffer heavy losses."

"But after counting, I saw that 32 of the 500 cavalry were killed and 85 were wounded. On my side, 16 were killed and 114 were wounded."

Many Ming soldiers did not notice their fleeing figures at all, because the horses and people were too small, and some people thought they were wild dogs scurrying past.

Although in the end he was promoted to a duke who believed in the Duke of the country, everyone knew that this was just because of his good relationship with Lao Zhu.

The supervisor's name is Tang Min. He is a student who graduated from the first batch of the National Defense University and is also the grandson of Tang He, the Duke of Xinguo.

"Your injuries..."

As the second grandson of the eldest son of Duke Xinguo, Tang Min pursues the same thing as Fu Rang, which is to inherit the title of Duke Xinguo.

"The Japanese army lacked willpower. As soon as they got close to the three-wheel line, they lined up with guns and killed more than a thousand people. Then the entire army collapsed and fled. Most of them were chased to death by us."

After the charge last night, the Japanese army was in chaos. Deng He also led the main force to arrive two quarters of an hour after the two sides fought. Imagawa Gaomasa saw the arrival of the main force of the Ming army before fleeing with more than a hundred cavalry.

The title of Duke Xinguo has been left alone since the death of Tang He. Neither Zhu Yunwen nor Zhu Di are willing to continue to inherit this title.

"Let the civilians burn the corpses, so as not to cause a plague to harm us."

"It's okay, as long as you can still march."

The military supervisor is a fourth-grade military attache in the military. He is mainly responsible for supervising military discipline, as well as military politics and military ideology.

"How many casualties did the brothers have?"

Deng He explained everything. Zheng Jun nodded and looked at the naked corpse of the Japanese soldier.

Deng Shen took a breath, and the military doctor who followed him touched Zheng Jun's injury. He grinned in pain and said, "Uncle, you can't do such an impact next time. Although your bones are not broken, fractures should be inevitable." ”

Even though his face was covered in cold sweat from the pain, Zheng Jun grinned and said, "I'll make a lot of money this time."

"Although the shogunate is a royal court, it is more like the Emperor Zhou in the Spring and Autumn Period. Apart from controlling the capital, they have no control over other places. Their domestic tax revenue is only a few hundred thousand yuan."

Generally speaking, if you do it well, you can be promoted to the commander of the guards very quickly.

Tang Min, as the person under the third generation of Duke Xin who has made the most achievements, is the one who has the best chance of inheriting the title.

As for whether people will die or not, who cares when they are so poor?

Although Tang Min was only thirty years old, he had just emerged from the civil war in the Southwest five years after graduating. He had fought in more than a dozen battles, large and small, and was no less experienced than Zheng Jun and the others.

Zhu Yuanzhang also took great pains in order to let him get a duke after his hard work. As a result, Tang He's performance in these battles really disappointed Lao Zhu.

"Only half of this money and food can be used to support the army. Therefore, although the shogunate has an army of 60,000 or 70,000 on the surface, it actually only has 8,000 public servants and nearly 10,000 samurai with strong combat effectiveness."

"Logically speaking, Japan has a population of at least nearly 10 million. As the shogunate of the imperial court, the shogunate should not use such soldiers..."

Not to mention the clothes, even the crotch cloth that looked like a diaper was stripped clean.

Among the Japanese army, except for the samurai who can eat a little bit stronger, the rest are as skinny as a stick, like an enlarged version of monkeys.

The reason for this is that Fu Rang, who was in front of him, inherited the title and destroyed Annan.

If he could destroy a country, it would be much easier to succeed Duke Xin as the duke.

Although he is thirty years old, this goal is lifelong.

"I'm not bragging, but if you give me 30,000 veterans with more than three years of experience, I can sweep through Japan."

Zheng Jun's words are indeed not bragging. In terms of his battle loss ratio today, Ming Dynasty can provide him with 30,000, but Japan cannot provide 500,000 Japanese troops to reimburse him.

Even if Japan is a unified country now, it can only produce 200,000 ashigaru at most.

Just as Zheng Jun was saying this, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance.

"Where is Uncle Bohai?!"

Yang Wen led the front army to Pipa Lake and came first with Qingqi to look for Zheng Jun.

"Uncle Pingyue, I'm here." Zheng Jun stood up and waved his hand, touching the wound. He grinned in pain.

Yang Wen, who was in the distance, saw this and led more than a hundred cavalry on horseback. Zheng Jun also turned back to Tang Min and Deng He and said with a bitter face: "The next battle will have someone who will share the credit."

"Uncle Bohai, it's fine." Yang Wen rode his horse to the crowd. Yang Wen breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Zheng Jun was fine:

"I heard that you were fighting with Japanese pirates last night, so I came with my army at a high speed. Fortunately, you were not in trouble, and you still gained such a good harvest."

Yang Wen glanced at the Japanese corpses on the ground. He was not in a hurry to perform any military exploits. After all, before he set off, Yang Zhan, Zhang Chun and others made it clear to him that he would be knighted regardless of the outcome of this battle.

"Since there is no problem, I will pass on the military order."

Yang Wen took out the military order from the Chinese army from his arms, bowed and read out: "Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Bohai Pingyue Bohai Bohai Pingyue Bohai Prince Yang Wen led the troops to Kyoto. They must surround Kyoto within three days, and no one is allowed to escape!"

"General, take the order!" Zheng Jun bowed in agreement. After receiving the general's order, he smiled at Yang Wen and said, "Next, I will need to cooperate with Uncle Pingyue."

"But don't worry!" Yang Wen returned the greeting. Seeing this, Zheng Jun also began to order the army to take a short rest and start on their way when the time came.

An hour later, more than 7,000 soldiers from the two armies began to march forward, while Imagawa Takamasa, who had fled the battlefield, was running for his life.

Despite the short horses, they arrived not far from Kyoto City before dusk and spread the news back to Kyoto.

It was only over sixty miles from Kyoto to Tamba, so the news arrived at midnight.

"The Ming army has defeated 5,000 people in Takashima and Imagawa. More than 4,000 people have disappeared. Currently, there are less than 15,000 people stationed in Kyoto. General, please come back for reinforcements!"

Kneeling in the tent, the warrior who sent the message waited for a reply after telling him all the information.

Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who was woken up in the middle of the night, was still in a daze, but when he heard that the Ming army had landed in Wakasa and advanced to Takashima in less than a day, and at the same time eliminated Takashima's five thousand troops, he immediately woke up. stand up.

"According to your statement, they can arrive in Kyoto as early as tomorrow morning and encircle Kyoto."

"Did they use artillery in the battle on Takashima?" Ashikaga Yoshinori asked for key information. The samurai shook his head: "No, but they used muskets."

"Relying on muskets, they killed nearly a thousand ashigaru on our side the first time the two sides fought, causing the army to collapse."

The warrior felt ashamed and slowly lowered his head.

Ashikaga Yoshimochi frowned when he heard this. After all, the Ming army did not send muskets to official ships of various countries, so he did not master the musket technology.

If artillery can still be imitated by the Hongwu Iron Cannon, then muskets are extremely difficult and have no reference at all.

"Transmit my order, the three armies will break camp and withdraw to Kyoto City at the end of the day. I will also notify His Majesty Emperor Komatsu to evacuate Kyoto."

"Let Fan Zheng lead Ohno's army to attack Tsuruga from the rear and cut off the Ming army's retreat. I will personally lead the army to hold off the Ming army in Kyoto."

Ashikaga Yoshimochi gave the order calmly, but the two generals Uesugi Fukata and Yamana Tokihi who were also called up hesitated.

"General, our artillery is not as good as the Ming army. Once we fight on the plains, I'm afraid..."

Uesugi Fukata cautiously reminded, Ashikaga Yoshimochi nodded after hearing the words: "I know, but they did not use artillery on Takashima, so now we have to first confirm whether they came with artillery."

"It was very difficult for us to bring artillery to the wild areas, and it should not be easy for them too."

"If they don't carry artillery, then we can catch them off guard and knock down their morale. Then it will be much easier."

It is not surprising that Ashikaga Yoshi holds such an idea. The Hongwu iron cannons on their ship are heavy cargo that was loaded onto the ship after Zhu Gaoxu eliminated the Yangtze River forts. The cannon is eight feet long and weighs two thousand kilograms. Counting the gun carriage, it is at least three thousand kilograms.

Such artillery is simply a nightmare to conduct mobile warfare in terrain like Japan.

Ashikaga Yoshimichi felt that since the Ming army's artillery was so powerful, it should be heavier than theirs.

Because of this, he felt that the Ming army could not transport the artillery to Kyoto City in such a short time. After all, it took him four days, and today was only the third day of the Ming army's landing.

Withdraw your troops to Kyoto. If you march in a hurry, you can arrive at noon at most. At that time, you can attack the Ming army on a trial basis. If they don't have artillery, you can seize the gap when the musket fire ends and defeat them in one fell swoop.

Although we don't know how many Ming troops there are, if the front army is frustrated, the middle army and the rear army will definitely stop moving forward. Thinking of this, Ashikaga Yoshitomichi began to order the auxiliary soldiers to clean up the camp and notify the main soldiers to retreat at Uoshi.

Time passed little by little, and as the sky gradually became clearer, the two armies, one from the north and the other from the south, began to advance towards Kyoto.

The Ming army's supply line was very long, but there were not enough people willing to become civilian husbands.

They were obviously fighting in a different place, but because they were given enough, more than 15,000 Ming troops were followed by a team of more than 40,000 civilians.

Without logistical obstacles, on the morning of September 15th, Zheng Jun and Yang Wensuo led 7,000 people to conquer Shishan, Otsu and other Pingcheng and Pingshan cities, and entered the boundaries of Kyoto.

Due to the obstruction of the city, Ashikaga Yoshimichi arrived at Kyoto City one hour earlier than Zheng Jun and Yang Wen.

He had already known that the Ming army's artillery was sharp, and before he knew that the Ming army would attack him, he had already laid out five-foot earth slopes around Kyoto that could withstand artillery fire.

Therefore, when Zheng Jun and Yang Wen arrived in the east of Kyoto, what they saw was not only the city of Kyoto in the distance, but also the small slopes on the plain.

"Are you going to use the earth slope to defend against our artillery?"

With binoculars in hand, Zheng Jun and Yang Wen observed the entire battlefield before they began to evaluate.

"The number of rebels should be around 50,000, which may be somewhat insufficient."

"According to information from the West Factory, they have fifty-two iron cannons from the Hongwu period that were dismantled from official ships. They weigh two thousand kilograms and have a range of about one mile."

Yang Wen put away his telescope, pointed at the slopes and commented: "We have 1,300 cavalry. There is no need to use artillery to bombard them from the beginning. This will only expose the existence of our artillery."

"I'm not sure if anyone has smuggled telescopes into Japan, so it's best to hide the artillery in the Chinese army."

After Yang Wen finished speaking, Zheng Jun also added: "Their slopes are too crude, and it is very easy to bombard them with artillery."

"I suggest waiting for their artillery to be exposed, then concentrate the artillery group to attack their artillery, and then advance in line tactics, with the cavalry protecting the two flanks."

"During hand-to-hand combat, the cavalry patrolled the battlefield in circuitous ways, and they could not be allowed to retreat intact."

"Based on my experience the day before yesterday, they are very afraid of our cavalry. They can use the cavalry to surprise and cooperate with artillery to break the formation."

After Zheng Jun finished speaking, Yang Wen looked at a middle-aged general next to him: "Xiong'er, if I ask you to personally lead 1,300 cavalry, do you dare to enter the battle?"

"Cooperate with the artillery, why don't you?!" Yang Xiong bowed and accepted this dangerous task. When Yang Wen saw this, he looked at Zheng Jun: "What do you think, Bo Haibo?"

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Zheng Jun saw that besides getting a marquis for himself, Yang Wen's main purpose this time was to pave the way for his son.

It is not surprising to think about it. Although Yang Wen is a veteran of Hongwu, he is now sixty years old, but his son Yang Xiong is now just a commander like himself.

Zheng Jun is 30% in his 40s, and Yang Xiong is 70% in his 30s. The two of them can be considered as brothers.

"In that case, go out into battle and face the enemy!"

Zheng Jun immediately became excited when he felt that Yang Wen had handed over the battlefield command to him. He did not mind sharing the responsibility with Yang Xiong. Yang Xiong seemed to have been handed over by Yang Wen before the war, so he did not show any dissatisfaction.

After all, the person with the highest qualifications and the most military exploits here is Yang Wen. If Yang Wen commanded this battle, he would probably have fought better, but Zheng Jun was not willing to give up this opportunity to express himself.

Under his command, seven thousand Ming troops escorted the artillery and advanced towards Kyoto.

Facing the Japanese troops hiding behind the slope, Zheng Jun made a brief observation with a telescope and then began to form a formation and slowly approach the slope.

In front of the team were baggage trucks filled with sand and soil. The Ming soldiers in the front row hid behind and struggled to push the trucks.

Although there were no tanks, Zhu Gaoxu had long known about chariot tactics, and the Ming army naturally mastered such tactics.

"what is that?"

"Trying to use your car to stop a cannonball?"

"As expected of China, which invented artillery, but is it too exaggerated to want to defend against artillery shells with just a car?"

Behind a slope, Ashikaga Yoshimichi and others who carefully climbed up the slope looked at the Ming army from a distance. As the Ming army got closer and closer, they saw hundreds of baggage trucks blocking the front of the Ming army.

Fusakata Uesugi and Tokihiro Yamana did not hesitate to praise the Ming army's tactics, but at the same time they also doubted whether such vehicles could withstand artillery strikes.

They didn't know that the Ming army had filled the baggage trains with sand to relieve the force, and Ashikaga Yoshimichi also started to give orders decisively after seeing that the distance between the two sides was less than 200 steps.

"The artillery is out, shelling immediately!"

"Hi!"

At the command of Ashikaga Yoshimochi, a harsh whistle sounded, and fifty-two heavy Hongwu iron cannons were pushed out of the slope.

The seemingly criss-crossed slopes left room for shelling, and he was worried that they would be attacked all at once. Therefore, Ashikaga Yoshitari divided the artillery into four positions for bombardment. Once the shelling was over, he would withdraw to the slopes and wait for reloading before continuing the bombardment.

"Be prepared for the enemy!"

"Beep--"

A harsh whistle sounded at the same time from the Ming army. Upon hearing this, the former soldiers immediately put down their pushing hands and hit the rear end of the baggage truck with a mallet.

The foot supports used for balance were buried deeply in the soil, and all the Ming soldiers fell to the ground.

"Boom boom boom——"

Different from the dull sound of field artillery, it had been twelve years since the last time the Ming army was bombarded. Now they were suddenly bombarded, which made them feel a little fresh and excited.

"Bang!!"

Because it was not clear that the ballistic trajectories of each artillery piece were different, only twenty-one of the first round of test-fired artillery shells by the Japanese army hit the tank. Sand and soil flew for a while, and the tank was shattered, but the flying wood chips did not fall to the ground. The Ming army, covered in armor, caused too many casualties.

"It actually works?"

Although they had learned the relevant knowledge long ago, this was also the first time that the Ming army used tanks to resist artillery. They did not expect that tanks were really useful. At the same time, Zheng Jun also saw several slopes where Japanese artillery was placed.

"Remember the four positions just now. Cannon Qianhu is always ready to counterattack."

"The cavalry spreads to the left and right. When the reload time of the Hongwu Iron Cannon is one word, take advantage of this opportunity to launch a charge."

However, the distance of two hundred steps was already very short for the Ming army.

Therefore, when Zheng Jun began to give orders, Yang Xiong, Deng He and others began to command the battle respectively, while Yang Wen watched the battle, ready to intervene at any time.

The Ming army's musketeers came to the front, followed by the pikemen and swordsmen, as well as the artillery and artillery hidden at the end.

Not even halfway through the first word, the Ming army had already charged into the first slope.

"Rely on the slope to fight the Japanese pirates, don't expose yourself!"

In order to facilitate the gunners to fight back, Zheng Jun deliberately informed each army, but he still overestimated the combat power of the Japanese army.

The five-foot-high soil slope was a bit difficult for the Japanese army, but for the Ming army, it was not as difficult as climbing the obstacles during training.

Even though they were wearing armor, the Ming army was able to jump down from the slope during a run-up, rush into the Japanese formation, and wave the pumpkin hammers on their hands wantonly.

"die!!"

"kill!!"

After more than a dozen Ming soldiers who looked like iron towers jumped into the slope, they were able to handle it with ease even if they were surrounded by dozens of ashigaru.

During the fight between the two sides, the Ming army would often knock over a Japanese soldier with one hammer, causing his teeth to fly out mixed with blood and saliva, and he would never die again.

Facing the brave Ming army, most of the Japanese army retreated timidly. Only a small number of sword-wielding samurai drew their swords and launched a sneak attack on the Ming army.

Before they could stab the Ming army's legs with their knives and spears under their skirts, the Ming army had already smashed over most of the Japanese army.

"Mom! I know how those powerful generals in storytelling felt when they killed their enemies!"

"Kill the enemy and receive the reward!!"

Some Ming soldiers couldn't help but shout out, and this scene happened on dozens of slopes.

Hundreds of Ming troops were killing thousands of Japanese troops and retreating step by step. Ashikaga Yoshimichi saw this and was anxious in his heart. More importantly, the Ming troops were all close to the first line of defense.

"General, the artillery is ready!"

"Okay?" Ashikaga Yoshimichi heard this and drew his sword: "Bombard the Ming army!"

"Hi!" The artillery general blew the whistle quickly, and Zheng Jun, who heard the whistle, blew the whistle quickly.

The Ming troops, who had cooperated for many years, moved to the left and right, looking for shelter on the slopes.

In an instant, sixty artillery pieces appeared after the merger of Zheng Jun and Yang Wen, and the shells had been loaded early, and now the match ropes had been lit.

This step alone took the Japanese gunner several breaths faster.

"Boom boom boom——"

Artillery fired, but this time it was not Japanese artillery, but Ming army cannon.

"Bang!!"

In an instant, the gunner who was standing five or six steps beside Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who was exposed on the slope, was pierced by an iron cannonball. The whole body was torn into pieces, and blood and flesh spattered on Ashikaga Yoshimochi's face, and also penetrated Seven or eight people were invited to the public.

The power of the Ming army's artillery was far greater than Ashikaga Yoshimochi thought. The gunners he was hiding in were bombarded by the Ming army's cannon at a distance of less than 200 steps. Many of the cannons were shot to pieces on the spot.

Some were unlucky enough to have their upper and lower bodies broken. The lower body was still twitching, but the upper body was wailing in pain.

At this moment, Ashikaga Yoshimochi's dozens of steps around him were like a hell on earth...

"General...I...I..."

The artillery general, who had previously had high hopes, was shot in two. He tried to crawl to Ashikaga Yoshinori and let Ashikaga Yoshinori rescue him.

But Ashikaga Yoshimochi reacted and drew his sword to kill him, while holding up his sword and shouting:

"Now we have no way out. Only by relying on the mounds and repelling the Ming army can we have a way out."

"You guys, charge and kill!!"

"Crack, crackle -"

Ashikaga Yoshimochi's encouragement could not last for a breath, and the Ming army's line of guns began to show off...

(End of this chapter)