Great name!

Chapter 312: The Ming army relied on their four hooves to trample our army...

The Ming Dynasty's general attack was about to come, and Hashiba Hideyoshi, together with Shibata Katsuie, Niwa Nagahide and others, wrote a letter to the country, hoping that General Oda Nobutada would send reinforcements on the grounds of quickly occupying the Kingdom of Korea.

At the same time, Hashiba Hideyoshi stated that the Ming army had arrived in Yizhou and the two sides were about to go to war. He hoped that Oda Nobutada would grant him the authority to act at his discretion on the front line.

After receiving the letter, Oda Nobutada announced the good news from the front line. Some people regretted that they were unable to go and share some of the credit.

This also made them have some complaints against Tsuda Nobutora.

After all, the army at the front occupied a large territory in just one or two months, which was a huge achievement.

During the meal, Xinhu was as calm as a rock and didn't care about the good news.

However, Nobutora was very disgusted with the favor Hideyoshi Hashiba asked for.

Nobutora said, "General, you must not agree to Chikuzen-no-kami's suggestion to act at his own convenience.

They now have 200,000 troops and occupy North Korea. If we loosen the tight ring around their heads, the consequences will be disastrous."

This statement caused dissatisfaction among others.

Hashiba Nagahide did not go to the front line. He stayed behind to serve as Hashiba Hideyoshi's eyes and ears at home. When he saw Tsuda Shingen trying to flatter Hashiba Hideyoshi, he became furious.

He immediately said: "General, I have something to say!"

"My brother and Lord Shibata are fighting for the shogunate on the front lines, expanding the territory. What does Jibu-dono mean by these words? How can this be worthy of the hard work of the soldiers on the front lines!"

Well, what you said makes Nobutora like a treacherous minister, slandering the monarch in front of him.

Oda Nobunaga shouted angrily: "Stop spitting blood at me. My brother is thinking about the general. Why does Chikuzen no Kami need such great power?"

The implication of this statement is to accuse Hashiba Hideyoshi of wanting to rebel.

Hashiba Nagahide was not willing to be outdone and continued to argue with Oda Nobunaga, and neither side gave in.

Oda Nobutada shouted, "Okay, let's discuss this later. Father-in-law, the Ming army is coming, I think we should send some reinforcements."

Xinhu still dissuaded him, saying, "According to the intelligence from the front, the Ming army that arrived in Yizhou only had more than 30,000 men, and our army has 200,000 men. Do we still need reinforcements? If the Ming army can send 100,000 men, our army won't have to fight, and can just admit defeat.

I think it is necessary for you, General, to send someone to North Korea to conduct an assessment.

Of course, our army can gather in Kyushu to take precautions."

Oda Nobutada also thought it made sense. He only sent people to reinforce with supplies and food, and as for the reinforcements, he held off on it.

At the same time, he also sent his younger brother to North Korea to verify the situation.

It was more than twenty days after the Ming army arrived in Yizhou. The Southern Army and subsequent military supplies and food had all arrived.

Li Chengliang also found out that the Japanese army had nearly 20,000 troops on guard in Pyongyang.

In the previous battle of Pyongyang, the Ming Dynasty suffered a crushing defeat, which made Emperor Wanli lose face. This time, he must win the battle of Pyongyang, otherwise, he, Li Chengliang, would have to take the blame.

Li Chengliang immediately made arrangements and decided to send the entire army forward to capture Pyongyang City with a fierce attack.

To this end, he asked his son Li Rusong to lead 10,000 elite cavalry from Liaodong to set off first. He himself led his own personal soldiers as well as 8,000 elite cavalry from Xuanfu and Datong, 5,000 elite infantry from Jizhen and Baoding, 3,000 Qi family troops, and 5,000 Sichuan troops as follow-up troops to march towards Pyongyang City.

Shibata Katsuie only sent a small number of troops for reconnaissance and did not stop the Ming army.

A few days later, more than 40,000 Ming troops arrived at the outskirts of Pyongyang and set up camp.

Sakuma Genban attacked the Ming army while they were setting up camp, but they were blocked by the Jizhen troops. Although they were only one battalion of chariot soldiers, they were equipped with artillery and muskets. They stunned the Sakuma army with a round of shooting. The Ming cavalry attacked from the flank and broke through the Sakuma army's line. The Japanese army was quickly defeated, and Sakuma Genban was dragged back to Pyongyang.

Li Rusong led his troops back and laughed, "The Japanese invaders are so weak that the Korean army was defeated by these people. They are really useless."

The other generals also saw this battle and saw that the Japanese army was defeated very quickly, so they also started laughing.

Li Chengliang was a veteran general. Although he had won for a while, he did not relax and remained on high alert.

The Ming army rested for a night and prepared equipment for siege the next day. They pulled out artillery and bombarded Pyongyang City.

Even though Shibata Katsuie was a veteran of battle, he was still shocked and at a loss when he heard the deafening sound of artillery fire and countless shells falling on the city walls.

The defenders on the city wall were also beaten to a pulp. Shibata Katsuie suppressed his fear and led his men to kill more than a dozen deserters before he could stabilize the situation.

Soon, the Ming army began to attack the city. Shibata Katsuie and Sakuma Genban finally came to their senses and ordered the foot soldiers to use cannons to stop the enemy.

Li Chengliang looked at the Ming army climbing up slowly, so he said, "The first one to climb will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver."

"Commander's order! The first person to reach the summit will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver!"

Upon hearing that there was a bounty, the morale of the Ming army was boosted. Qi's army was the first to enter the city and killed the Japanese army, forcing them to retreat step by step.

In just one day, the Japanese army was defeated and fled all the way to the south. After running a few miles, they were ambushed by the Ming army. Countless people were killed and wounded. Sakuma Genban died tragically on the spot, and Shibata Katsuie only escaped back to Seoul with a few people.

When Hashiba Hideyoshi saw Shibata Katsuie in such a miserable state, he was also horrified and hurriedly asked about the situation.

Shibata Katsuie glared at Hashiba Hideyoshi and cursed, "Monkey, it's all your fault, Xuanfan is dead!
The Ming army will be here soon, and you will die too!"

Hashiba Hideyoshi was not in the mood to argue with Shibata Katsuie, so he immediately dispatched Hosuka Koroku and others to lead 30,000 people to resist the Ming army.

At the same time, the delegation that came to observe was ordered to leave Seoul immediately.

The delegation returned home immediately to report the situation.

Soon, the 30,000 troops led by Hosuka Koroku and others encountered the 10,000 Liaodong cavalry led by Li Rusong, the vanguard of the Ming army, near Bitiguan, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

The Ming cavalry relied on their tall war horses and rushed into the Japanese army without hesitation, trampling on the soldiers.

The Japanese army was defeated. Hosuka Koroku was injured and fled. Maeno Nagayasu and others were all killed in the battle. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands fled.

Hideyoshi Hashiba was horrified by the fighting power of the Ming army and dared not take the initiative to attack again. He held his ground in Seoul and sent Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Terumasa to support him.

When Li Chengliang learned that the main force of the Japanese army was entrenched in Seoul, he did not dare to take the initiative to fight. Instead, he felt a little headache and had to look for another opportunity to fight.

Soon, Li Rusong discovered the location of the Japanese granary, and immediately asked for orders to lead troops to raid the Longshan granary and burn the Japanese granary.

When Hashiba Hideyoshi heard the news, his face turned pale. Under such circumstances, he could only risk everything and fight a decisive battle with the Ming army.

But he had no chance.

The delegation had already returned to the country and conveyed the news that the Japanese army had suffered a defeat in the battle with the Ming army.

This time, Nobutora seized the opportunity and asked to go to Korea immediately.

When Hashiba Hideyoshi was about to fight to the death, Nobutora arrived in Seoul.

(End of this chapter)