New Shun 1730

Hagi Castle, in the cold weapon era, was a mountain city that was difficult to capture.

There is a river called Awu River here. About seven or eight miles away from entering the sea, it divides like a urine bifurcation, forming a delta with a length and width of five or seven miles.

The part of the delta that protrudes into the sea is a mountain called Yueshan.

Hagi Castle was built on Mount Tsuki, surrounded by the sea on three sides and connected to the castle town delta on one side. If the defending side had a strong naval force, or if it was just in the cold weapon era, this place would be easy to defend but difficult to attack.

However, at this moment, the Dashun Army fleet assembled here did not find a few naval warships that could fight. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, it meant that it could be bombarded from three sides. I couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with the minds of the people who built this city.

It’s not that Hagi Castle was not built well, but that times have changed.

The navy first bombarded Hagi City, disrupting the peace of Hagi City and causing huge panic.

The Marines who landed first did not land at the castle town, but landed on the south bank of the Awu River. A company of soldiers quickly rushed up the nearby hills and continued to attack eastward, occupying a hill on the east side.

The follow-up troops were still floating on the sea, relying on small boats to transport more than 200 people at a time and slowly landed. Disturbed by the fleet's bombardment, the troops who landed early successfully occupied the undefended south bank of the Atake River.

There are no defenses, fortresses, or forts on the hills on the south bank of the Atake River near the sea.

Wu Fangrui led his staff and surrounded the general Li Huan to the top of the mountain. After observing the terrain, he built the command post on the top of the mountain.

In order to facilitate his command, he named the mountain at his feet as Hagijo Sanka, and the mountain on the east side as Hagijo Sanb, and named them in sequence.

The Hagijo Sanka where he is located is only a hundred steps away from the Abutugawa River. Across the Atakewa River, through an open space of three to four hundred meters long and wide facing the sea on both sides, you will find the Hagi Castle and the isolated Tsukiyama Mountain that enters the sea behind it.

To the east of Hagijo Sanka is a plain two to three hundred meters wide, and further east is Hagijo Sanyi.

Hagiro Mountain B is closer to the Avugawa River. There is only a path at the foot of the mountain that can only accommodate two people, and it is close to the river.

Further east from Shanyi is a plain four or five miles long and wide, which can be called the Great Plains.

According to the plan, there were only two to three thousand troops responsible for the siege. Too many troops could not be deployed in such a place.

The main force of the field battle was gathered in a village called Sanjian, a few miles south of the hill where Wu Fangrui was.

After all the local people were driven away, the roads were defended, and the navy patrolled the sea to completely block the news, making it difficult for the Japanese to know how many troops had landed.

Wu Fangrui's Hagi City Sanjia offers an overview of the whole situation.

North can clearly see what's going on in Hagi City, and South can control the main force hidden in Misami Village.

Li Huan also set up his tent here. Looking at the surrounding terrain from a distance, he couldn't help but mutter: "This place is very poor. There are many mountains and few plains. Even if the main force of the Changzhou clan returns to support, they will be cautious and it will be difficult to ambush."

Wu Fangrui pointed to the great plain east of Qiucheng Shanyi and said: "Your Highness is very worried. If I are the lord of the Changzhou vassal, I must send forwards and scouts out to avoid being ambushed on the way back to help."

"What our army is doing is to bring reinforcements, not to block them. If the surrounding terrain is like this, there is no need to ambush midway. The battlefield can be placed on that plain, that is the only way for the Japanese to return to reinforcements. "

"Just set up a battle formation and fight. The Privy Council wants us to call the feudal lords on Kyushu Island to let them know that our field battle is very strong. We must uphold and implement it."

"And if we fight here and the Japanese are defeated, we can intercept and pursue them along the valley path."

Li Han thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Yes. Or, don't come back for help. But as long as the help comes, it's close at hand, and he can only make a desperate move. Otherwise, he might as well not come back. Wu "General, how long does it take to conquer this city if we don't think about sending reinforcements?"

Wu Fangrui looked around, smiled and stretched out a finger. After thinking about it, he bent it half way.

"long time."

"Your Highness, please take a look. This Hagi Castle is huddled on a promontory protruding from the sea. There are no rocks on all sides, and it can be bombarded from three sides. This is what I said, there is a navy, this is a dead place."

"For example, Weihai forms a bay with a military port included. There are forts on both sides of the bay, and there are also forts on Liugong Island. This is the place that is truly suitable for a military port and a fortress."

"Hagi Castle is just the opposite. It is all alone deep into the sea without the protection of its horns. A hundred years ago, it was a true hero pass; a hundred years later, it is a true fool."

Following Wu Fangrui's gaze, Li Han nodded, which was indeed completely opposite to Liu Yuxuan's Weihai.

Wu Fangrui added: "The city is built on the mountain. Although it is scattered, there is no anti-cannon slope. The navy can bombard three sides, so there is nowhere to hide. The walls are all stone walls, and if they are like Ying Suo Bo Xiu Weihai Fort, they are all made of thick soil. Covered with rocks, they were all injured by shells and debris.”

He then pointed to the moat of Hagi Castle: "There is only one road into Hagi Castle. Although it is convenient to defend, it also eliminates the possibility of attacking. Only one company and two cannons can block the passage out of Hagi Castle. Therefore, if I, a Japanese general on the defensive, see our warships appear on the sea and His Highness has ascended this mountain to raise the flag, I should order all the warriors to withdraw into the city. "

"It's a pity that they don't even have the brains to do this. Maybe they have only fought conflicts with swords and never fought with so many artillery and muskets."

"But I estimate that when the Japanese feudal clans fought, the Mori clan of the Choshu clan should have a naval army."

"He would have put the main city here only if he didn't have a naval force or if he had lost his mind."

"But if you don't have a brain, how can you survive in troubled times? So, based on common sense, the Mori clan in Hagi City must have had a navy at the beginning, and the navy was very strong, so they chose this place to build the city. ”

During the Mao Li clan's Warring States Period, Wu Fangrui didn't know whether there was a naval force.

But looking at the terrain, he guessed that there should be something there, or there was something wrong with the people who originally chose this place as their city.

Wu Fangrui was not sure whether there was something wrong with the brains of those who chose this as the main city. But he can be sure that the person responsible for guarding this place definitely has something wrong with his mind.

Now that the situation is so obvious, there are actually a large number of warriors arrayed outside the city.

The best way at this time is to retreat into the mountain city. On the mountain behind the promontory, disperse the anti-guns and block them with city walls. With the sea on three sides, you can't escape.

When the war begins, wave after wave of people are on the front line of the mountain city, and they may be able to hold on for a while.

But now, the Japanese formation made Wu Fangrui look a little confused, wondering how long it had been since these people had fought?

The castle entrance bridge of the mountain city is only six or seven hundred meters away from the hill where Wu Fangrui is.

When Wu Fangrui reached the river, there was still a hundred and thirty-four meters and a hundred meters wide Awuchuan River. After crossing the Awuchuan River, it was still three to four hundred meters to the entrance of the mountain city.

This three to four hundred meter open space is extremely flat. To the northeast is the sea, to the west is the sea, and to the south are the hills where Wu Fangrui is and the artillery position of the Dashun landing force.

I don’t know who among the Japanese was responsible for setting up the formation. More than a thousand warriors lined up in this area that could be bombarded from three sides, and faced off against the Dashun army that landed on the south bank of the Avuchuan River.

In the castle town further east of Hagi Castle, there are about 1,500 people, who are arrayed opposite the small plains of Akinari Sanka and Akunari Sanyi, separated by the Abu River.

It seems that they want to take advantage of Dashun's attack in the west and cross the river from here to threaten Dashun's army's flanks.

After listening to Wu Fangrui's explanation, Li Han understood that in Wu Fangrui's eyes, such a defense was indeed full of loopholes. Then he asked: "If General Wu defends, is there a way to break it?"

Wu Fangrui shook his head directly, thought for a moment and said: "Actually, there is still a chance when our warship is discovered. We should make an immediate decision and divide the troops into three parts."

"One part defends the city, one part occupies the hill that His Highness occupies at this time, and the other part occupies Hagi Castle Mountain Oto. They are the horns of each other."

"In this way, our army can only land at the castle town in the north. However, after landing, if we attack Hagi Castle directly, our flanks will be threatened. The Japanese on the two mountains of Akisei Mountain can cross the river and attack."

"So, in that case, our army can only knock down these two hills before besieging Hagi Castle."

"But when these Japanese saw us, they panicked under the bombardment. There was not a single soldier to defend the crucial Mount A and Yi. Hagi Castle is already an isolated city and can be bombarded from all sides. How can we defend it?"

Li Han thought about it and suddenly realized: "That's right. If we had divided our troops before and acted as horns, our army would actually only occupy the north side. If we ignored the Japanese on these two mountains and attacked the city directly, then these two The Japanese on the mountain can attack my flank."

"Therefore, these two mountains must be captured first, and then the city can be attacked. If they are horns, they will gnaw at one mountain after another. It will take at least four or five days to complete the siege of Hagi Castle. From now on, Waka Otoyama If it is captured, you can retreat to Mount Ko, and if Mount Ko is captured, you can retreat to Hagi Castle."

"Don't the Japanese learn the art of war?"

Wu Fangrui smiled and said: "Wen Tianwuxi, after a hundred years of peace, he just forgot how to fight. When we, the staff officers, were in Weihai, we were looking at various maps and thinking about various formations and marching possibilities. Without him, Only if you are familiar with it.”

Li Han held up his hands and laughed and said: "You are so familiar with me. What should I do now?"

He knew his own level and did not dictate the chief of staff's deployment. He was obedient and gave the final order himself.

"Your Highness can order the fleet not to bombard Hagi Castle, but to suspend it. The fleet is divided into two, one in the west and the other in the northeast. They will form a cross bombardment on the more than a thousand samurai who are preparing to form an array in front of Hagi Castle. But first Stop firing."

"Our army has only landed a thousand people now. The Japanese will probably try to drive us down. I guess they will launch an attack first, otherwise there is no need to form such a formation."

"When the Japanese attack, there will be two companies of our army and three light artillery on the second mountain of Hagi Castle. If we defend according to the danger, we will not lose anything."

"Once the Japanese attack, the fleet fires cross fire. The main force that has landed is here. First, defeat the Japanese in front and force them to retreat into Hagi Castle. The fleet blocks the way out of Hagi Castle. The main force of our army turns eastward and encircles and annihilates the Japanese across the river to A and B. The Japanese in the mountains intend to harass our army’s flanks.”

"If the Japanese attack, after this battle, they will surely retreat into Hagi Castle and defend it."

"If the Japanese don't attack, our army will land step by step, and the engineers will build a simple dock. Anyway, they have neither a navy nor a fort to threaten them, so just take their time."

"As soon as he went out of the city and formed an array, he had two possibilities: attack or not. When soldiers come to block it, when water comes and earth comes to cover it, each has its own response. Attacking means death, and defending means death."

"He missed the opportunity to divide his forces into three areas to compete with each other from the beginning, and he never got the chance again."