Chapter 1743: Zhu Di VS Takeda Shingen
The main reason why Zhu Di took action personally was that he had no talented people under his command, and Xu Shiji could not be easily transferred from the front line, so he became the most suitable candidate.
Although Zhu Di's ability to command troops is somewhat inferior to that of Zhu Yuanzhang, he was taught the art of war by Zhu Yuanzhang since he was a child. He currently has a commanding attribute of up to 99 points, so he is very confident in his own ability to command troops.
In Zhu Di's view, this group of pirates who only knew how to burn, kill and loot were just a mob, and the regular army would definitely not dare to do this.
And since it is not a regular army, its combat power must not be high, but its whereabouts are difficult to pin down. As long as the opponent's traces can be found out, it will be easy to destroy the pirates.
Zhu Di was not a fool like Sun Quan. Although the massacre of the people behind him made him angry, it still did not make him lose his mind. What's more, Zhu Yuanzhang taught him since he was a child that a lion should fight a rabbit with all his strength.
With this idea in mind, even if Zhu Di thought that this group of pirates was a rabble, he still did not have any contempt or carelessness.
After Zhu Di secretly went to the East China Sea, while investigating the pirates' traces, he also secretly mobilized troops from various counties to prepare to annihilate this group of eight thousand pirates.
Zhu Di sent out the Sun Moon God Sect and factory guards to find out the traces of this group of pirates. After several days of exploration, he finally discovered that the pirates' next target was Ling County, Guangling County.
Naturally, Zhu Di could not let go of this opportunity. He immediately mobilized 10,000 county soldiers and prepared to ambush the opponent's march, but he discovered something was wrong during the march.
"The whole army will stop marching immediately." Zhu Di shouted violently.
Under the order, the 10,000 Ming army immediately stopped and stayed where they were.
Xiang Zhuang caught up from behind and asked, "Master, why don't you leave?"
Zhu Di looked around with a scrutinizing gaze and said solemnly: "This place is extremely suitable for setting up an ambush."
"Huh? It's impossible. He's just a pirate. How can he use the art of war?"
Seeing Xiang Zhuang's disbelief, Zhu Di asked: "How can ordinary pirates have more than 8,000 people?"
"Um...this..."
Xiang Zhuang was immediately speechless.
Yes, with an army of eight thousand, you can completely occupy the city. How can you be a pirate when you are a small warlord?
"Then what are the origins of this group of pirates? They can't be Jiangdong navy in disguise, right? Sun Jian is busy competing with Liu Xiu for Jiangxia. It's impossible for him to raid the rear of our bureau at this time?" Xiang Zhuang looked confused. He said in confusion.
Not only Xiang Zhuang, but Zhu Di also looked puzzled. He had also thought about the origin of this living pirate, but the major forces around him couldn't believe it. This pirate seemed to appear out of thin air.
"The origins of this group of pirates will be exposed sooner or later."
After saying that, Zhu Di looked ahead again and said in a deep voice: "Anyway, just to be on the safe side, for the sake of caution, it's better to divert."
"promise."
More than a thousand meters away, Takeda Shingen, who was ambushing him, felt disappointed when he saw that Zhu Di had changed his direction.
That's right, the news that the next target is Guangling County Ling County was deliberately revealed to Zhu Di by Takeda Shingen in order to ambush Zhu Di halfway.
But Takeda Shingen never expected that Zhu Ming's army had already reached the ambush circle, but did not walk in.
Takeda Shingen is known as the "No. 1 General of the Warring States Period" and the "No. 1 Military Strategist of the Warring States Period". He is Japan's top military master.
Takeda Shingen's ability to command troops was so strong that even Oda Nobunaga was no match for him. He could only win by relying on overwhelming force and strength. In Japan, only Kananobu Kamegi could match him.
Of course, just because Takeda Shingen couldn't find an opponent in Japan doesn't mean he couldn't find one in China, and Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was no weaker than him.
"You clearly didn't notice our army's intentions, but you were still able to avoid the ambush. The Central Plains is really a place of outstanding people."
After sighing softly, Takeda Shingen placed the long sword at his waist and decisively ordered: "Give me the soil thorn."
Eight thousand Japanese troops rushed out together and directly attacked the Ming army in the distance.
Seeing this, Xiang Zhuang couldn't help being shocked and said: "Damn, there really is an ambush."
When Zhu Di saw that the opponent's formation was relaxed and orderly without any chaos, he immediately said in a solemn voice: "The terrain here is not suitable for fighting. Give the order and the whole army will retreat five miles.
Xiang Zhuang, you can lead an army of one thousand and seize the rear of the entire army, then fight and retreat at the same time. "
"promise."
Xiang Zhuang immediately took the order and left, and a thousand Ming army soldiers were also ready to go.
"Kill, don't rush to chase, I will destroy this group of Ming troops who have been cut off first." Takeda Shingen ordered.
Under the command of Takeda Shingen, the eight thousand Japanese troops were divided into three directions and fought together with the thousand Ming troops in Xiangzhuang.
In Takeda Shingen's view, this group of Ming troops were just county soldiers. A thousand-strong army could not stop his eight thousand elite troops for much longer.
But soon, Takeda Shingen was slapped in the face, and he looked in shock at the tenacious Ming army on the battlefield, and Xiang Zhuang, who still had the upper hand in a one-on-one fight.
The 1,000 Ming army was indeed defeated by 8,000 Japanese soldiers, but they also defeated 600 Japanese soldiers and bought enough time for the main force of the Ming army.
What shocked Takeda Shingen the most was that the general who commanded this Ming army could actually gain the upper hand against the five tigers of the Takeda family by one person. His strength was probably comparable to Honda Tadakatsu of the Tokugawa family.
Takeda Shingen didn't quite understand. Such a strong general was the pillar of the army everywhere. How could the Ming army commander be willing to treat him as an outcast?
Is it because of factionalism?
As soon as he thought of this, Takeda Shingen immediately rode forward and persuaded him to surrender in broken Chinese: "Warrior, your general has given up on you. I really can't bear to kill you. If you don't want to die, please surrender."
Xiang Zhuang was stunned for a moment, then sneered and roared: "Support me, sir."
When Xiang Zhuang broke out, the pressure on the Five Tigers of Takeda suddenly increased. Xiang Zhuang valued the opportunity, raised his sword and killed two of them in an instant.
The Five Tigers of the Takeda family are not actually the real Five Tigers, they are just the five local generals who were canonized after Takeda Shingen was born.
Under the stunned gaze of Takeda Shingen, Xiang Zhuang, who was showing off his power, killed all the Takeda Five Tigers by one person, and then led dozens of cavalry to break out easily.
"This, this... a divine general."
Takeda Shingen's face was full of shock, and he said excitedly: "This general must be one of the best even in the Central Plains. This general must be conquered this time. With the help of this person, there is no need to worry about defeating Oda Nobunaga."
"My lord, the Ming army has set up a formation five miles away. Do you want to continue the war?"
Hearing this, Takeda Shingen remembered again that a thousand Ming troops had just faced off against eight thousand of his own elites, but they were still able to defeat 600 of his own elites. Suddenly, he was no longer so confident.
"Retreat first. This battle has just begun. I want to take my time with this Ming army general." Takeda Shingen said with a playful expression.
"Hai."
