On September 18th, the fourth year of Guangtoku, Entsuji Temple in Saga County, Tsushima Island.
The mountain peaks covered with layers of snow are dyed the dark red of human blood by the thin afterglow, the evening stars are rising, and the coast is as rugged as a broken arrow.
Under the cliff, the rough waves hit the boulders and splashed white.
The sea breeze roared low.
It was like an evil god from hundreds of millions of years ago, lurking at the bottom of the strait, turning the rivers upside down and setting off huge waves.
Yuantong Temple, which was built near the cliff, was on the edge of the storm. Whether it was due to the blessing of Emperor Zhenwu or the divine power of the Supreme Emperor, it was surprisingly calm at this moment.
Only the dense black dragon flags fluttering in the wind in front of the mountain gate.
Soldiers in black armor patrolled around the temple, and engineers were busy setting up tents in a mountain col that was sheltered from the wind.
The empire's three elite corps were concentrated on Tsushima Island, and the 8th forward corps had crossed the sea and headed south. According to the battle plan, Zhao led his troops to sweep across Yiqi Island at this time.
Night falls.
Qi Jin, the chief officer of the Third Corps, was escorted by two guards as he walked into the gate of the ancient temple. He glanced at the Fox Fairy Inari Shrine (Note 1) standing in the courtyard in front of him. The head of the statue of an old man riding a fox with a long beard was twisted into a weird shape. There was some bloodstains in the yard. It was estimated that the 8th Forward Corps killed someone here.
I heard that more than 50 Japanese monks living in Yuantong Temple were also killed by Zhao Zhijiao. The Eighth Army Corps went crazy on Tsushima Island and killed not only 800 but also a thousand Japanese pirates. .
Both the Supreme Emperor and the High Priest said that Japan was one of the most difficult places in the world to land and conquer.
In the seventeenth century, when steam power had not yet become popular, the right time and place were undoubtedly more important on the battlefield than "people and people."
In the first Eastern Expedition, the Ming army made a tentative attempt, but this time, the Emperor's goal was to immediately help Sogo and burn Edo. Therefore, the difficulties and pressure encountered by the Qi army were far greater than fifteen years ago.
The Japanese country is mountainous and the terrain is fragmented. The broken terrain caused by earthquakes and volcanoes is not conducive to the deployment of large armies at all.
In addition, the climate in the Sea of Japan is difficult to describe.
According to the description of North Korean businessmen traveling between Tsushima and Busan, there are two extremely unstable periods in Japan and the surrounding waters every year.
Typhoon season in and around summer, winter storm in and around winter (typhoon season, winter storm)
At this time of year, the endless typhoons will make it difficult to move.
According to Japanese legend, an ancient behemoth lurks at the bottom of the Tsushima Strait. It is an indescribable deep-sea ghost summoned by monks to devour living creatures on full-moon nights.
The Supreme Emperor is not afraid of ghosts and gods, because he himself is a ghost and god.
The Central Route Army, with the Eighth Corps as the vanguard, first attacked Tsushima Island, then conquered Iki Island, and finally chose to land in the Hakata area of Kyushu.
As for why they did not continue to occupy or open other landing sites along the Kyushu coastline, this is because of the unique Kuroshio in the Sea of Japan.
The Kuroshio Current is also called the Tsushima Current and the Japan Warm Current. It is said to be one of the strongest warm currents in the western Pacific.
The Kuroshio is about 400 miles wide and extremely fast, often accompanied by typhoons.
When Mongolia first conquered Japan, the poorly made Goryeo ships had almost no resistance when encountering such large-scale ocean currents.
Now the Daqi fleet is facing the same dilemma. Although the empire's shipbuilding technology is far superior to that of Kublai Khan's era, the fleet is still not immune to a real typhoon.
The Emperor knew very well that he could not stay in waters with strong ocean currents such as Tsushima for long, so after capturing Tsushima, he must quickly capture Hakata.
As for the selection of landing sites for the army, after repeated screening, it was determined that there are three suitable landing sites on Kyushu Island:
Kushikino on the west side of the Satsuma Peninsula, Shibushi Bay on the east side of the Osumi Peninsula, and Miyazaki in the southeast of Kyushu.
Walking into the inner courtyard of the temple, the low roar outside turned into the sound of ethereal bells. Qi Jin felt as if he had stepped into the Buddhist dojo from the hell of Asura.
Pushing open the door of the Zen room, he looked up and saw Deng Changxiong and Shi Ming, the training official of the Second Corps, gesturing around a map. Deng Changxiong's guards were about to step forward to search, but Fang Shiming waved the crowd away and said loudly:
"What brings Marshal Qi here? Please sit down quickly."
Deng Changxiong looked away from the map, personally moved a chair for Qi Jin, and asked the old general to sit down.
Qi Jin looked around and found that there were still blood stains in the Zen room. He was used to seeing life and death, so he naturally didn't care about the dozens of Japanese monks.
"Old Deng, when are we going to start fighting? We have been on this island for several days. The 8th Corps eats meat, so we have to leave some soup for us."
Deng Changxiong hesitated to speak, and the training officer of the Second Corps said helplessly: "Commander Qi, the typhoon doesn't stop, and the ships don't dare to sail out. If you are not careful, you will be buried under the sea just like the Mongols fought against Japan..."
Fang Shiming patted Qi Jin on the shoulder as he spoke. He glanced at Qi Jin's gray hair on his temples and estimated in his heart that the old general was fifty-two years old this year.
Without waiting for Qi Jin to reply, Kong Chi, the training officer of the Third Corps, stood up from his side, pointed at Fang Shiming and said angrily:
"The thing about the Mongols is that they are too far to reach. I just ask, Zhao led them to teach them how to move, why can't I? The third corps is also the main force after all. In addition to the emperor's first corps, the other thirteen corps, Our Third Corps is said to be second, but no one dares to say that it is first. Remember when our Third Corps fought from Liaodong to Jiangnan..."
Fang Shiming had long heard that Kong Chi, the training officer of the Third Corps, was a tough guy. He talked endlessly without leaving any space for the other party. When he saw him today, he certainly lived up to his reputation.
He smiled and listened patiently to Kong Chi for a while before interrupting him and saying unhurriedly:
"Instructor Kong Xun, don't say this casually. The Eighth Corps is the vanguard of the Central Route Army. It will land in Kyushu. Of course, they will take the lead. Besides, Chief Zhao has an sworn enemy with the Japanese pirates. For fifteen years, Everyone knows what happened before. When we set off from the pass, the Supreme Emperor named the Eighth Corps to take the lead and avenge the death of the enemy. Are you deaf or have you been fooled by someone? Now that you think about it, you want to take the lead. "
Seeing that what the other party said was reasonable and well-founded, Kong Chi was stunned for a while before murmuring:
"Of course I know that the Eighth Army Corps is responsible for taking the lead this time, so I'm worried about them. The Eighth Army Corps captured Yiqi Island, and now there's a typhoon. They can't advance or retreat. What if we run out of food and grass? We have to try to come forward to help."
Fang Shiming said coldly: "You don't need to worry about this. The Supreme Emperor has opened an altar to practice at Crocopo, and the storm will subside soon. Moreover, there is enough food and grass on Yiqi Island to last the Eighth Corps for a year and a half."
"A year and a half?"
The chief officer and trainer of the Third Corps said in surprise at the same time.
Thanks to Tokugawa Iemitsu's plan to launch a large-scale western expedition to the Qi Kingdom - although it has not actually taken place yet - each clan has already stored the grain, gunpowder, ships, etc. needed for the western expedition on Iki Island.
There was no way, who asked the shogun to order each feudal clan to prepare half of its own grain and grass supplies.
In order to prevent Osaka's profiteers from raising prices after the Western Expedition and taking the opportunity to exploit the daimyo of each domain, the island nation's samurai, who had a strong sense of worry and were good at preparing for a rainy day, were worse than hamsters this time and stored grain and grass on Iki Island early.
"The Japanese pirates piled food on Yiqi Island? How many are there in total?"
Qi Jin and Kong Chi asked in unison.
Fang Shiming did not look at Kong Chi and said to Qi Jin: "Judging from the way they marched west to Da Qi and captured Nanjing in three months, there are at least a million stones of food and grass on the island, enough for an army of 300,000 people for one month."
Although the Japanese are good at defeating the enemy with food, from Qi Island to Tsushima Island, and then landing in Busan, the Japanese must deal with the consumption of materials in the early stage. After all, the warriors of each domain are not green plants and can survive and fight by relying on photosynthesis.
"That's good, that's good." Kong Chi clapped his hands and laughed.
"In the past, Japanese pirates always came to our beach to burn, kill and loot. Now it's finally our turn."
Qi Jin and Deng Changxiong looked at each other, then looked at the map of Tsushima Island spread out on the desk, Qi Jin frowned.
"Old Deng, how many days will it take for the Emperor to stop the typhoon?"
Deng Changxiong shook his head helplessly and said that he did not know the exact date.
When it comes to marching and fighting, Deng Changxiong is an expert, but he knows nothing about this ridiculous thing.
Qi Jin did not ask further questions and continued: "I heard that the North Route Army and the South Route Army also started to attack."
Deng Changxiong still said nothing. Until Qi Jin let out a long sigh: "This Japanese country is difficult to deal with."
Deng Changxiong nodded.
Suddenly there was a burst of footsteps outside the door, and someone was walking quickly towards the Zen room.
Everyone looked at each other, and two guards escorted a monk in cassocks into the Zen room and appeared in front of everyone.
The messenger of the Second Corps loudly reported: "This bald donkey was hiding in a secret passage in the front yard and was discovered by the soldiers. There were more than a dozen female corpses in the secret passage, and their hearts and livers had been gouged out..."
Under the horrified gaze of everyone, Deng Changxiong pulled out his sword and gently pressed it against the monk's chin.
A pair of empty eyes appeared in front of everyone, the eye sockets were deeply sunken, and the eyeballs seemed to have been sucked into the stomach by some monster.
"What kind of monster are you? You even eat human flesh."
The Zen room was deathly silent, and the two chief officers and the instructor stared at the monk who suddenly broke in.
I saw the blind monk and he had something to say.
Deng Changxiong waved his hand, and the two guards released their hands.
"It is their glory to offer to our God."
After saying that, the blind monk sat on the ground like a puddle of soft mud, his face expressionless.
Fang Shiming lowered his voice and said:
"Old Deng, Japanese monks should not be underestimated. When I was in Zhejiang, I heard people say that they believe in evil gods, and some demon monks also possess the art of immortality. The man in front of me can survive among thousands of troops, and he is definitely not hiding in The secret passage is so simple, he must not be an ordinary person... He has long nights and many dreams, so it is better to kill him directly to avoid leaving any future troubles."
Kong Chi clapped his hands and laughed: "Humph, you are pretending to be a ghost? What kind of monster monk? A blind man is so scared. Now the army is expanding to prepare for war, and there is a mixture of fish and dragons. All kinds of cats and dogs can be trainers. No wonder the Emperor's purge campaign is necessary."
Fang Shiming wanted to scold back, but Deng Changxiong nodded noncommittally, turned around and waved to the guard.
The two guards grabbed the blind monk and walked towards the door.
The blind monk suddenly spoke, his hands twisted into incredible shapes, facing the direction of Tsushima Strait, and murmuring:
"ph'nglui mglw'nafh cthulhu r'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
In the eternal deep sea - Raleye awaits you in your dream
Although it has passed away, it has not been forgotten. Cthugha, who awaits the Tsushima Sea, makes a promise of death to you!
クルス is coming! Summon the messenger! (Come, your servant is calling you)
Note:
1. The rice protector and wealth god in Japanese mythology. Especially worshiped by merchants and craftsmen, he is also the patron saint of sword makers, brothels and entertainers. Sometimes he is described as a bearded old man riding a fox, sometimes as a disheveled woman holding a sheaf of rice.
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