New Shun 1730

The army did not stay in Kyoto for too long. This place was not suitable for garrisoning. Instead, it retreated north and stationed outside the city.

Before leaving, Li Han asked people to post an article, explaining the justice of the Great Shun Conquest, which was all caused by Ryukyu, and also complained about the cruel and heavy taxation policy, and the Emperor Dashun punished it on behalf of heaven.

He also pretended to ask people to count the houses that Wu Fangrui had set on fire, and signaled to Dashun that he would pay compensation in the future.

Anyway, the wool comes from the sheep, and there is not much money, and it is not paid by oneself.

When the time comes, use Japanese money to win over the Japanese people.

It may not be useful or useless, it just depends on whether the purpose of the court's negotiation is occupation or something else.

He didn't know the bottom line of the court's negotiations, and many of them were just guesses, so he paved the way first. Who knew if there would be any changes in the court.

The Japanese king Zhaoren, Guan Baiyiyiyijianxiang, etc. all followed the army.

After Li Han received the news that Kobin City had repelled Ii Naosada's army, he knew that Kobin City was really impregnable. He had no worries and did not choose to return from the original route.

First, someone was sent to convey the news of the Japanese king's arrest back to Xiaobin at starry night, and the navy was asked to send someone to inform the court immediately.

Then he walked around Lake Biwa, collecting food on the spot, and even joined Katsuhiko and other major feudal cities to stir up trouble in the Kinki area. It was not until the scouts informed the Japanese that all the Japanese were gathering here that he slowly retreated. To Xiaobincheng.

There are no field mobile troops in the surrounding area, and the scattered city dwellers are equivalent to death in front of light artillery.

After going around in a circle, the reconnaissance cavalry had discovered the troops led by Osaka Castle Dai Ota Shiharu, heading towards Kohama Castle along the coast.

But some troops were left to suppress Tottori's peasants.

The retreating troops of Okayama Domain were at odds with Ota Shiharu's troops.

Perhaps they were frightened by the field capabilities of the Dashun Army. The two armies marched hand in hand, maintaining a posture of being able to support them within two days. The marching speed was not fast and they did not advance rashly.

The Japanese from Wakayama are also marching this way, and there are still some Japanese troops to the east.

Wu Fangrui, who was immersed in the immortal achievement of capturing the Japanese king, was not dazzled by the victory. Instead, after checking the situation with the people from the army staff, he decided that he should not stay here.

In fact, if you are more courageous, you can seize the opportunity and annihilate Okayama Domain or Ota Shiharu's troops.

But Wu Fangrui and his staff studied it and concluded that taking risks was not a big deal, but now that the Japanese troops had been completely mobilized, there was no need to fight such a stupid battle.

A staff officer revealed another reason, and said helplessly: "The navy was led by Ying Suobo. When we were in the Qingzhou Army, the navy was raised by our own mother, and we were born by our stepmother. This is The Marine Corps is the elite of the Marine Corps. We can win, but if there are hundreds of casualties, Ying Suobo will point at us and scold us. "

Wu Fangrui smiled and said: "That's natural. Not only do you have to scold your mother, but you also have to scold me at home. Besides, even if you win the fight and don't suffer many casualties, you will still be scolded."

"Uncle Ying Sao will ask, the Japanese have been mobilized, you have ships, but everything is empty, why are you so foolishly fighting in the field? When you are a staff officer, you don't even have such a vision, and all you learn is steamed buns as pickles?"

The staff officers who gathered around to look at the map all laughed. Thinking of Liu Yu's speaking style that day in Weihai, they all scratched their heads and said, "Forget it, no more fighting."

"There are nearly 20,000 people in the west. A cowardly group march together, not daring to rush in. They walk as slowly as a bastard."

"The troops in the south are not many in number, but they are not moving fast. If we try to turn around, Ota Shiharu in the west will have a change of heart and march in a hurry to surround Xiaohama. There will be tens of thousands of people, which will be dangerous."

"Even if we capture the Okayama Domain's soldiers and fight a battle, those who resist the line will be naval personnel. If you want to fight a war of annihilation, you have to resist the line, change formations, and outflank. A lot of people will definitely die. These people are all Yingsaobo It’s hard to practice hard, but if you really kill or injure a whole battalion, it won’t be easy to explain when you go back.”

"Withdraw."

Wu Fangrui also nodded, reported the staff's opinions to Li Huan, and asked Li Huan what he meant.

Li Han asked: "Now that the troops have been mobilized, let's go back to Mazi to support the local people? Or what? That's a lot of money..."

Wu Fangrui didn't know that Li Han had only been in charge of the navy for a few days, and that he was no longer the prince who didn't like the fireworks of the world, but deeply felt the importance of money.

"Your Highness, I have asked. This silver does not mean that it is just buried in the ground. You can just dig it out and take it away. It needs to be refined like iron and copper. There is no silver in it, so it is of no use."

Li Han snorted and said with a smile: "I don't know that. As a prince, it's not like he doesn't distinguish between the five grains. Every year, he works with his father to plow the plow and make a show for the world. But, he really doesn't know about gold and silver. How did you get it?"

"In that case, let's withdraw to Busan. Does General Wu think it is necessary to retain troops on Yinqi Island?"

Wu Fangrui shook his head and said: "No. It is useless to keep troops. Just take them if you need them. It is impossible for the Japanese to send out more troops to occupy Yinqi Island. The army will stop there for the time being and return to Busan. There is only one thing, please make a decision, Your Highness."

"explain."

"Uh... that's it, Du Feng is supporting the Marines here in Ezo. Should they go back to Ezo? Or should we go to Busan with them?"

Li Han asked: "What does General Wu mean?"

"Your Highness, this is a matter for the navy. Please ask the captains what they mean. My idea is to go back to Busan together. Take advantage of the opportunity when the Japanese troops are concentrated near the royal city to attack other places. Otherwise, we have to transfer the army from Weihai to come, which may delay the opportunity."

"General Wu has made a great contribution, but he has forgotten his comrades who are waiting for meritorious service. Hahaha..." He made a joke in a very kind way. Wu Fangrui thought to himself that this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Japanese troops in the east are completely empty. When the Privy Council receives the news and sends it back to Busan, they will definitely think of taking this opportunity to fight quickly and not give the Japanese a chance to redeploy.

Li Li has already had some understanding of the navy's combat mode, but he has not fought a formal naval battle yet. He does not understand many things in the navy very well. So he followed Wu Fangrui's idea and called several important captains who can stand alone.

The question of whether the Marine Corps assigned to Du Feng should go to Busan or return to Ezo was raised.

Chen Qinghai said, "Your Highness, the reason why Du Feng dared to mobilize these troops for support is that the Strait of Ezo never freezes all year round. Although the latitude is the same as Vladivostok, Du Feng asked carefully and found that the climate is very different from that of Vladivostok."

"He may guess that there is a warm current passing through, so it never freezes all year round. Therefore, the warships on his side are enough to defend. Even if he is given more troops, he is powerless to attack. After all, more than a thousand elite soldiers are too few to capture Sendai. But if it is to defend, those troops are meaningless and cannot be used at all, and the Japanese cannot fly across the strait."

"Ying Suo Bo often said that you should clench your fingers into a fist to hit someone. Now that you have clenched your fist, you don't need to loosen it for the time being."

" The Japanese have been mobilized, and the west is empty. Return to Busan quickly. If the Privy Council has an order, then follow the Privy Council's order; if the Privy Council has no order, why not attack the Hagi Castle of Choshu Domain? "

"If the Choshu Domain returns to help, then attack Shimonoseki. Once Shimonoseki is broken, our navy can travel across the Whale Sea and the Seto Sea. Now we can only land along the Whale Sea. If we take Shimonoseki, we can connect north and south and harass everywhere."

"If the Japanese come to seize, the eastern troops are empty. How can they run faster than the sails with their legs? If they don't come to seize, we can harass the east side of Kyushu Island."

This is not only Chen Qinghai's idea, but also the idea of ​​the navy. They have made up their minds to solve the Japanese war by themselves.

If they really want to solve it, they have to gather the navy's own land forces together to do big things.

If you don't want the army to steal the limelight, you have to play the navy's advantages, mobilize the Japanese with mobility, and turn Kyushu Island into an isolated island.

If it becomes an isolated island, the army does not need to land and fight. To make it an isolated island, just take advantage of this rare opportunity to capture Shimonoseki.

Li Li has tasted the sweetness of relying on naval mobility. After thinking about this plan, he smiled and said, "There is only one problem. What if the Choshu domain defends Shimonoseki to the death and ignores Hagi Castle?"

Chen Qinghai said, "If the lord of the Choshu domain is a general, Shimonoseki can be defended to the death. However, since it is a vassal state, Your Highness, do you think there are vassal states that sacrifice themselves for the country? If there is no Tosa incident, they may not return to help; since there is a Tosa incident, they will definitely return to help."

"Wonderful!" Li Li clapped his hands and nodded, saying, "It's really like clearing the clouds and seeing the sun. I always forget that the chaotic politics of the Japanese vassal states are very different from our dynasty. In this case, everyone will withdraw to Busan!"

The fleet set sail, stayed for a while on Oki Island, and immediately returned to Busan.

As soon as the ship docked, someone hurried over and delivered an imperial edict and an order from the Privy Council.

The imperial edict highly praised the contributions of Li Li and Wu Fangrui.

The emperor was generous with his praise, comparing this battle to Huo Qubing's deep penetration into the Xiongnu and Li Jing's defeat of the Turks and capture of Jie Li Khan.

The highest reward for Li Li was "He is truly my son of the unicorn"!

The highest reward for Wu Fangrui was "He went west to attack Yili and east to capture the King of Wa, he was really brave!"

As for the rewards, gold and silver, and even the title after the event, they may not be as good as these two sentences in the imperial edict. If the emperor wants to make people happy, he can just waste two taels of ink.

After the imperial edict, there is the military order of the Privy Council.

Busan has already increased its troops by 3,000, and ordered the navy to rest for two days, choose an opportunity to fight, attack Hagi Castle, and slow down the attack.

If the Choshu clan returns to help, then siege the city and attack the reinforcements, and defeat the reinforcements of the Choshu clan in a field battle.

If the Choshu clan does not return to help, then capture Hagi Castle.

If they did not come back to help, they would strengthen the defense of Hagi Castle after they captured it. It was convenient for supplies there, right by the sea, and it was also a castle built at the mouth of a river like Obama. Moreover, according to previous reconnaissance, a canal was dug to connect the river and the sea, close to the bay, and as long as the navy was still there, it would be easier to defend than Obama Castle.

At the end of the order, the navy was repeatedly warned that if the Choshu clan came back to help and they won the battle, they could take advantage of the situation to attack Shimonoseki. If they did not come back to help, they should not think of attacking Shimonoseki without authorization, and they could just hold on to Hagi Castle.

The staff officers transferred to the Privy Council were not just for show. Based on the terrain map after the previous reconnaissance, they formulated a battle plan to create a time difference.

Before the navy left Obama, the main force of Japan had already begun to gather near Obama.

Relying on the speed advantage of sea transportation, they could create at least a month of time difference.

With the lesson of attacking Kyoto, the Japanese would not dare to mobilize all the troops deployed in the center, and there was a 90% chance that they would shrink to the line from Kyoto, Osaka to Edo.

Even if the Japanese were crazy and did not play by the rules and went east with all their strength, the staff of the Privy Council calculated that the Japanese were worried that the light troops would be annihilated if they advanced rashly, so they would advance together and support each other.

Even if they head east on the same day that the navy evacuates Obama, based on the marching speed, a month's time difference can be squeezed out.

Therefore, the army can be concentrated on Tsushima to reorganize, and the warships harass Shimonoseki, creating a posture of massing troops on Tsushima to attack Shimonoseki.

It is necessary to allow time for the Japanese in the Choshu, Chofu, Hiroshima and other feudal domains to react. The navy runs too fast, and the elite army and marines are well disciplined and well-trained. Sometimes it is also a trouble. They have to sit back and wait for the other side. reaction.

Half a month later, with favorable winds and ocean currents, they raided Hagi Castle. Encircle and delay the attack for seven days.

If within seven days, the main force of the Choshu feudal lord returns for reinforcements, they can besiege the city for reinforcements.

If the main force of Choshu Domain does not move within seven days, Hagi Castle will be destroyed and the city defenses will be consolidated.

In this way, even if the Japanese are crazy and completely deviate from common sense, they will still be foolproof.

There are various plans for mobilization, logistics, and troop transportation later, but they are not too rigid. Instead, they are left to the army staff to revise and improve.

After the explicit order, there was a more confidential order, which was only allowed to be viewed by a few people such as Li Han and Wu Fangrui and was not allowed to be leaked.

"Hagi Castle can be taken, but not in a hurry. It must be slowed down and the army can be gathered before it can be taken. It is useless to take Hagi Castle alone. It will be more beneficial to annihilate the reinforcements of Choshu Domain in the field."

"If they don't help, it means that the Choshu clan knows that it is invincible in the field, and the Kyushu clan and the Choshu clan will no longer be willing to fight."

"If they are rescued, they will be wiped out and shown to all the feudal lords on Kyushu Island."

"That's why we can only do it slowly and not in a hurry."

"If there is an emergency: if the Choshu Domain does not come to its aid, then the date of peace talks with the shogunate is very close, it would be a good idea to break the city and hold on. If it comes to the aid, the main force is not available, even if it is captured and defended, there will be no problem, but I am afraid that each domain will He didn't know what to do, thinking that the field battle might not be lost, but that the attack on the city was lacking, but it could not deter him. "

"The battle in Kyoto will be shown to the shogunate. The battle in Hagi will be shown to the southwestern vassals."

"If the Choshu clan returns to aid, we will strive for annihilation. When it is annihilated, we will implement benevolent government in Hagi Castle, divide the land of the samurai, exempt the farmers from taxes, humiliate the samurai, and release some of them, so that they can see and spread the news to all the people on Kyushu Island. "

"What the vassals are afraid of is the policy of reducing taxes and levies. If I can gain a foothold, they will not dare to fight."

"A smarter person in charge of the army should have known that we were outmatched when our army broke into Xiaohama and penetrated Kyoto. But not all people in the world are smart, and some are as stupid as cattle. At this point in the battle, those who are difficult to deal with , He is not a smart person who knows how to fight, but he is a fool who doesn’t know how to fight. "

"It is useless for our army to fight for a long time, and it is a waste of money. Your merits are no longer in the world, so you should seek stability."