Qingzhou, Linzi.
After receiving Yang Gao's order, Lai Hu'er, who had been staying on the coast, immediately led his lieutenants Zheng Chenggong, Zhang Bianding, and Lai Zheng ashore to discuss the plan for conquering Japan with Qi Jiguang.
Qi Jiguang also had a lot of talents under his command. Guo Zhiyun, Gan Ning, Zhang Yu, and Zhang Jue were all brave and good at fighting. Yang Gao believed that such a lineup was enough to deal with several little devils, so he did not continue to summon them.
The generals on both sides gathered together and found that the Japanese country was isolated and surrounded by the sea. After discussing with Qi Jiguang, Lai Huer and Qi Jiguang immediately made the decision to annihilate the Japanese navy first. They could advance, attack, retreat or defend, forming an invincible situation.
After the policy was determined, the Sui army immediately set off. Navy Vice Admiral Zheng Chenggong led 20,000 soldiers and set off first on hundreds of sea ships. As the vanguard of the Japanese expedition, the troops pointed directly at the Japanese Kyushu Island.
Hundreds of sea-going ships set sail, with hulls like mountains and masts like forests. Thousands of sails gathered together, covering the sky and the sun, making it a spectacular sight.
Naturally, such a big movement could not be hidden from Oda Nobunaga, who had been coveting the Central Plains. The Japanese envoys who were beaten out of Luoyang were still on their way back, and Oda Nobunaga had already received the news of the Sui army's conquest of Japan.
"Why was the Sui Dynasty emperor so petty?"
Oda Nobunaga was immediately dumbfounded. It's not that the emperors of the Central Plains like all nations to come to court. As long as these small overseas countries submit their vassals and flatter the emperor with a few words, the great emperor will forgive their past sins. , and even rewarded them with gold, silver, wealth, and silk, and married royal princesses. Why was this emperor of the Sui Dynasty different from the emperor of the Central Plains he knew.
However, Oda Nobunaga no longer cared to delve into this issue. The Sui army was already on the way to conquer Japan. He could only dispatch the navy to fight and find ways to stop the enemy from outside the country.
. . . . . . . . . .
On the long East China Sea, the two fleets met head-on. The horns on the sea were wailing and the drums were rumbling. The Sui navy ships took the lead in launching an attack on the Japanese navy.
"Kill the Japanese pirates!"
The officers and soldiers of the Sui army shouted loudly and drove their warships towards the Japanese fleet. The archers on the ship drew their bowstrings full and shot arrows forward.
"Cum again!"
The Japanese naval force was commanded by General Toyotomi Hideyoshi under Oda Nobunaga. As soon as he gave an order, the Japanese soldiers also opened their bows and nocked arrows to shoot at the Sui army. The arrows on both sides were like locusts, weaving into a web. A dense web of arrows.
It was summer at this time, and the southeast wind was blowing on the sea. The Japanese country took advantage of the wind, but fell to the disadvantage. Because the Sui army was well-equipped, the bows and crossbows in their hands were powerful and had a very long range, while the bows and arrows in the hands of the Japanese army were weak and weak. Even with the help of wind, they could rarely hit the target. Even if they did, they would not penetrate the Sui army. The armor caused very little damage.
Looking at the warships of both sides, the Sui army's warships have tall and strong walls and are well-designed. Zheng Chenggong's ship is more than 20 feet long and more than ten feet high. It looks like a giant on the sea. The Japanese army's bows and arrows even It didn't hit the deck at all, and softly hit the hull of the ship, making a crisp sound before falling into the sea.
Seeing that the two fleets were about to get closer together, they were ready to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Zheng Chenggong suddenly raised the corner of his mouth, waved his flag, and the Sui fleet suddenly separated on both sides.
The Japanese fleet hit the air, and soon passed by each other. Only a few ships on the flanks collided, and the result was no doubt. The strong Sui warships hit the Japanese ships, causing wood chips to fly. Overturned on the sea.
"What's going on? What is Sui Jun doing?"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was confused and looked puzzled. On the giant ship facing him, Zheng Chenggong's face showed a smile of victory. He waved the command flag in his hand and shouted loudly: "Get on the rocket!"
Whoosh whoosh! ! !
Following the sound of sharp arrows piercing the sky, countless rockets streaked across the sky, roaring with the force of the wind, and rushed towards the Japanese fleet.
"Suffer it!"
Seeing the sparks flying down from the sky, Toyotomi Hideyoshi suddenly realized that the Sui army wanted to seize the downwind and use the wind to launch a fire attack. He quickly waved his flag and shouted loudly: "Quick, let the ships disperse!"
But it was already too late. Countless rockets fell on the Japanese ships like meteors. The Japanese ships were all wooden ships and were ignited in an instant. For a while, the smoke and flames rose to the sky and the sea water was red.
The Japanese fleet was suddenly in chaos. In order to survive, the Japanese soldiers abandoned their ships and jumped into the sea. But there was no way to survive in the vast sea. What's more, the Sui army facing them did not stop firing arrows. The Japanese soldiers who fell into the sea were not shot by random arrows. To shoot dead means to drown from exhaustion and be buried in the sea. For a time, the sea was full of floating corpses. The Japanese soldiers screamed and screamed.
"Quickly retreat! Quickly retreat!"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi had no choice but to order the entire army to evacuate quickly and escape from the sea of fire area.
"Crash into it!"
The Japanese fleet scrambled to escape from the sea of fire, with no formation at all, all the ships derailed, and there was no defense at all. Zheng Chenggong immediately waved the flag and commanded the fleet to kill them.
The ships of the Sui army rode the wind and waves, cut through the waves, and rammed towards the Japanese army with a fierce attitude.
Just hearing the roar one after another, the Japanese warship was sunk and broken by the Sui army's strong ship as easily as tofu, and the soldiers on the ship fell into the sea screaming.
The Sui soldiers on the warships held bows in their hands, strung arrows, and wantonly harvested the heads of Japanese soldiers struggling in the sea.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi knew that the defeat was certain, and he ignored the soldiers shouting for help on the sea, and kept urging his soldiers to escape quickly in their warships.
In this battle, Zheng Chenggong made full use of his own advantages and used his weak force to defeat the Japanese navy. He annihilated more than 26,000 Japanese naval personnel and burned more than 400 wooden ships. Toyotomi Hideyoshi managed to escape with only a thousand remaining soldiers.
The Japanese navy's vitality was severely damaged and it was unable to stop the Sui navy. The main force of the Sui army led by Lai Gouer landed at Hakata Bay unimpeded, and thus set foot on the Japanese mainland.
Laihuer wanted to take advantage of the victory and advance along Hakata Bay to attack Imatsu. However, Qi Jiguang dissuaded him and said: "Old General, our army has come from afar and knows nothing about the terrain of Japan. It is not appropriate to extend the battle line too long in a hurry. In my humble opinion, it is better to rest for a while and wait for the surrounding area to be clear." The terrain is marching again.”
Qi Jiguang's suggestion is indeed very important. In history, the Yuan Dynasty's first expedition to Japan was because they were not familiar with the terrain and encountered stubborn resistance from the Japanese army. Later, by chance, they encountered a typhoon, a stormy night, and the battleship hit the rocks. Yaduo was defeated and lost nearly half of his troops.
During this sea voyage, the commander Lai Hu'er had many exchanges with Qi Jiguang. He admired Qi Jiguang's methods of training and using troops. He praised Qi Jiguang loudly for having a successor to the Sui Dynasty, and immediately adopted his suggestion without hesitation and sent out capable scouts. After investigating, they spent a lot of money to bribe Japanese natives to learn more about the topography of Kyushu.
