"Abe-san, the front is our Ming territory that was invaded by the Donglu. When you enter Lushun, you can see two cities, which are the north and south cities of Lushun."
Entrusted by his brother Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhibao led a fleet to transport 50,000 Japanese troops from the Japanese mainland. Now they have arrived at the sea off Lushunkou and joined the Denglai Navy commanded by Mao Yuanyi.
The two fleets, plus the ships brought by the Japanese army, totaled nearly a thousand ships. It could be described as a vast water, covering almost the entire ocean as far as the eye could see, and it seemed extremely terrifying.
Originally, Zheng Zhibao thought that the 200 ships he carried should be enough. If not, he could transport Japanese troops in two batches. When he arrived at the Japanese port, he found that there were too many to transport.
In particular, there were thousands of war horses that took up a lot of space. In the end, they had to seek permission from General Tokugawa to temporarily mobilize Japanese ocean-going ships for transportation.
Many Japanese lords insisted on this, and the Tokugawa generals had to follow suit, because many samurai were "horse warriors" rather than horseless "foot warriors".
The large number of iron artillery ashigaru responsible for suppressing fire with thermal weapons can walk, but as an elite unit of "horse warriors", it would be difficult for them to fight without their horses.
Zheng Zhibao has been to the Japanese country many times and can speak the Japanese language, so he naturally knows the secrets. Most of the "horse warriors" are direct descendants of various daimyo, and they occupy a pivotal position even in the Tokugawa shogun's department.
"Foot warriors" were poor warriors who had to fight on foot because they could not afford horses. Any warrior with a little extra money in his pocket would rather save his servants and work hard to save money to buy a war horse.
Distinguishing the book strength of a samurai mainly depends on personal equipment, especially the three major items - sword, armor, and horse.
Sword refers to weapons in general, including melee weapons - naginata or spears, long-range weapons - and bows.
Finally, there is the self-defense weapon - the katana. The long sword is used for self-defense, and the short sword is used for suicide. The samurai believe that committing seppuku can avoid the tragic death of a dog.
The name of the armor is "Dakai", which is a Zha-style armor. The high-grade armor is not only made of iron pieces, but each piece is dyed with a color that symbolizes one's own side, which makes the armor extremely gorgeous and makes the wearer majestic. .
The helmet is embedded with a "front stand", that is, the most common one is a V-shaped ornament, there are also styles such as antlers or horns, and the noble ones are light-shaped ones that emit all around.
War horses start from 20,000 qian. Since Japan is rich in silver, the exchange ratio of silver and copper in the Japanese market is much higher than that of the Ming Dynasty. One tael of silver can be exchanged for at most 500 qian.
For a down-and-out samurai, 20,000 yuan is not enough to achieve military success. It is very difficult to save this money. This has led to the emergence of a large number of samurai on foot...
Generally speaking, "horse warriors" are equipped with good horses, good armor, and good weapons, while "foot warriors" each have their own difficulties, but they all plan to make a comeback in one battle, otherwise they will be poor for a long time.
During the battle, the various Japanese military units were divided and organized into three arms: "horse warriors", "foot warriors" and "teppanyaki ashigaru". Even if the "horse warriors" had servants participating in the battle, they had to be organized into them. Only in the "Teppanyaki Ashigaru" formation.
This is experience gained from actual combat, because not only are most of the "Teppanyo Ashigaru" illiterate without even having a last name, but they also have weak will to fight and are easily influenced by others. Once the war is ignored, the formation will easily collapse. .
Both "horse warriors" and "foot warriors" have received good training, are tenacious and fearless of death. Unless ordered by the commander-in-chief of our army, we will not retreat without authorization. The samurai did not mix with the ashigaru to avoid being affected by the collapse of the ashigaru.
In order to allow the "horse warrior" mount to board the ship smoothly, the entire fleet stayed in Japan for three days longer than originally planned. However, there was no storm at sea. Fortunately, the journey was very smooth.
Zheng Zhibao heard that Mao Yuanyi had led the Dengrai Navy to capture Jeju Island in the Kimchi Kingdom. In the future, he would use the island as an advance base to meet the Japanese troops advancing westward, so that he could help the Wang Division regain the Liaodong Peninsula.
From this point of view, it will become a routine for the imperial court to use Japanese troops. It will definitely not be just this time, and it may happen every year in the future.
Zheng Zhibao felt relieved when he thought about the snowflake candy business jointly run by the prince, his family and General Tokugawa, otherwise General Tokugawa would not be able to receive high returns every year.
"Please rest assured, Zheng Sang. Although our army has never fought against the Donglu, as long as the information is generally correct, our army will have an absolute advantage in strength. In addition, the fleet led by Zheng Sang will assist in the battle. It will definitely help your country regain this fortress in one fell swoop." land!"
As the supreme commander of the campaign, "Conquering General" Abe once again had the right to speak such strategic lies.
"Shogun" was a title that General Tokugawa Iemitsu temporarily requested from the Emperor. He would have to hand it back after the troops returned to the homeland. It was just for the convenience of commanding the frontline units.
The Tokugawa family's title of "General of the Conquering Barbarians" can be passed down hereditary. This is fundamentally different, because the Tokugawa family relies on absolute strength to seize control of the world.
The full names of the two titles are only missing one word, but the status is thousands of miles apart. Abe Shige could only command 50,000 troops and horses, and there were nearly 10,000 servants, that is, handymen without combat effectiveness, responsible for logistics and transportation. Task.
However, this ratio is already very good. When the Japanese army attacked the Kimchi Peninsula decades ago, servants accounted for more than half of the 160,000-strong army...
This time, it was due to the fact that the battlefield was relatively close to the seaside, and the Zheng family could provide great support to its own side through its powerful shipping capabilities, thus saving a lot of logistical troubles.
As the top commander on his first overseas expedition, "Conquering General" Abe Shigetsu felt both happy and proud, but also full of uneasiness and apprehension.
He currently has 50,000 troops, and according to the intelligence provided by the Ming Dynasty, there are only 6,000 defenders on the Liaodong Peninsula at most, and they are scattered throughout the country.
The military town of Lushun on the opposite side has a total garrison strength of no more than 2,000 in the two cities. It stands to reason that it can be captured as soon as possible, but since it is a battle, the outcome will not be known until after the battle.
Today's weather is sunny, the sea is not windy, and the temperature is very suitable for landing operations. Looking at the three-leaf Aoi family crest symbolizing the Tokugawa family flag flying nearby, Abe Shige feels confident again.
If he had such an advantage in terms of military strength, if he couldn't win, how could he have the dignity to go back and meet General Tokugawa?
"Report~! Report to Your Majesty General, there are smokes burning on the top of the mountain on the other side!"
"Oh? Let me wait and see!"
Abe took out his telescope again and took a look, and sure enough, it showed that not only were the defenders on the top of the mountain giving early warning, but they had also reported the situation on the sea to the defenders at the rear.
"...It should be here!"
Zheng Zhibao combined the map and found that the place opposite where the smoke was fired was probably the most strategically important Golden Mountain. The mountain is just south of Lushun Nancheng, close to the seaside, and can have an unobstructed view of the sea.
"Yo Xi~! Please rest assured Zheng Sang, as long as our army lands and Zheng Sang suppresses it with artillery first, our army will definitely occupy the mountain in one fell swoop and then overlook the situation in the two cities of Lushun!"
Abe Shigetsu had never been to the Liaodong Peninsula. If he hadn't gained some geographical knowledge about war zones before, he would have known almost nothing about the situation here.
Normally, asking your subordinates to attack the top of a mountain would cost you a lot of casualties, but now with Zheng Zhibao's fleet providing fire cover, the Donglu on the top of the mountain would be unable to withstand their own fierce attack.
In order to deal with the Hongyi, especially the Relanzha Castle, Zheng Zhilong has transferred most of the warships equipped with the Hongyi cannon to the Dongfan waters.
Among the fleets under Zheng Zhibao's command, there were only a few warships equipped with Hongyi cannons, and each ship only had one Hongyi cannon.
Considering the slow firing frequency of the Hongyi cannon, it is almost negligible. Even if it fires for a whole day, the Hongyi cannon alone will not be able to inflict heavy damage to the Tatars on the Golden Mountain.
Fortunately, the fleet carried a large number of Fuji and Folan aircraft. Although the firing speed of the Fuji was slower than that of the Folan aircraft, it was better in that it had a longer range. The fleet also had a lot of equipment, which was enough to blast the opposing dog Tatars alive. Better to die.
"put!"
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Since the two commanders were both sophisticated and calculating, the entire fleet was not in a hurry to unload its troops and carry out beach landing operations after approaching the shore.
Zheng Zhibao ordered the warships in the fleet to lay horizontally. After giving the order, the flagship opened fire first. As a signal, as long as the artillery equipped on the warship could reach the target, it could fire.
A plume of smoke immediately rose from the sea, filled with dots of fire. Not long after, a shocking scene of gunfire suddenly appeared on the Golden Mountain not far away.
Under the bombardment of hundreds of artillery pieces, the bombardment operation was less like suppressing fire and more like digging the ground.
Some trees in the impact area were broken in half, craters were scattered all over, and bald patches formed on the mountainside.
The Qing army built a large battlement on the top of the mountain. Although it was relatively resistant to attack, it still frightened the defenders when faced with the incoming shells like a tsunami.
There is a Niulu infantry stationed here, commanded by Shen Guanghui, a cousin of Xushun Gong Shen Zhixiang. Excluding the sick and those who have no pay, the entire Niulu army currently has about 250 troops.
"Master~! The barbarian fleet is very powerful..."
A soldier ran back from above with a mournful face. He was almost cut in two by a flying bullet just now. Now thinking about it, he was so scared that a cold sweat broke out down his spine.
"Call you mom? I'm not deaf or blind!"
Since Niu Luzhang, Jing Shen Guanghui discovered the fleet on the sea, he asked his men to light up the smoke and at the same time sent his own soldiers to report it to the Eight Banners masters in Lushun City.
Naturally, the extremely intelligent Eight Banners men would not be able to do such drudgery as guarding the top of the mountain. Of course, it would be shouldered by the coated Aha men.
If Xushun Gong Shen Zhixiang's troops had not been stationed on Pi Island before surrendering and were familiar with the situation at the seaside, Huang Taiji would not have trusted them to garrison at the seaside and would have transferred them to the Jinzhou front line.
Shen Guanghui thought that although there was no money to be made here, life was quite comfortable, with three meals a day and a mother-in-law to take care of him at night. Unexpectedly, Barbarian actually sent a fleet here, which was really unlucky.
The situation on the Golden Mountain is also precarious. The entire mountain seems to be shaking constantly under the bombardment. The situation on the surface is not optimistic. Just like his name, there is "brilliance" almost everywhere.
Shen Guanghui didn't know whether the Barbarian fleet fired a few cannons and left, or whether it really planned to attack his defense area. If it was the latter, then he would have no way to retreat.
According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, if you retreat without permission from your superiors and lose the defense area, you will be executed. At this time, no one dares to say a good word for themselves.
Therefore, no matter how fierce the barbarian fleet's bombardment was, Shen Guanghui planned to continue to hold on as long as the battlement on the top of the mountain was not lost.
Maybe the Eight Banners men behind him will send reinforcements when they see the emergency here...
But this was just Shen Guanghui's wishful thinking. The bombardment was so fierce that the Eight Banners master was beaten to pieces by the bullets when he came.
I'm not stupid. At this time, not a single reinforcement from the defending company could be seen. They were all shivering and living in the battlements, constantly praying to God for blessing so that they could escape this disaster.
Shen Guanghui did not expect reinforcements, but he expected batch after batch of bullets.
Looking at this posture, the barbarians will not give up until the battlements on the top of the mountain are demolished.
Since the Qing Dynasty's seventh year of Tiancong, that is, the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign in the Man Ming Dynasty, when the Qing soldiers captured Lushun, Man Ming was deeply afraid of the strength of the Qing army, and there was no sign of a counterattack.
Prior to this, Emperor Taizu sent troops to capture Jinzhou in the sixth year of Tianming. Then Mao Wenlong, the thief commander who was entrenched in Lushun, sent garrison Zhang Pan to sneak attack Jinzhou, causing Wang Shi's success to be defeated.
Two years later, Emperor Taizu made a comeback, but Zhang Pan, the Lushun garrison, refused to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and beheaded the envoys. The king's army besieged Lushun for several days without success, and finally had to return north.
Two years later, Wang's division attacked Lushun for the second time, killing the bandit general Zhang Pan and his subordinate Zhu Guochang in one fell swoop. Fearing that Mao Wenlong might launch a sneak attack, he destroyed the city wall and returned in triumph.
Afterwards, the commander-in-chief Huang Long captured Lushun again. In July of the seventh year of Yu Tiancong's reign, the Qing army, under the guidance of Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, led by Beileyuetuo and Degelei led more than 10,000 horsemen and infantry to capture Lushun again.
In this battle, the king's division was victorious, killing Huang Long, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, and his generals Li Weiluan, Fan Hualong, Xiang Zuolin, Zhang Dalu and others, and gained more than a thousand prisoners.
Such brilliant results undoubtedly shocked Man Ming, and he did not dare to act rashly for several years.
At the moment, Shen Guanghui didn't know that Man Ming was emboldened by his ambition and dared to attack Lushun.
Man Ming just showed off his power at sea. When he got to the shore, who was the opponent of the Qing cavalry?
A period of shelling is enough. If you really dare to set foot on the land of Liaodong, the Eight Banners masters will definitely make it impossible for the barbarians to come and go!
But as the barbarian bombardment became more violent and precise, Shen Guanghui's so-called psychological advantage was wiped out.
The battlement he relied on had been beaten to pieces by the frequent bombardments of Zheng's fleet.
The defenders above had no intention of guarding, and had already gone to hide in the nooks and crannies.
The seemingly indestructible battlement was completely unable to fight back under the siege of hundreds of fire cannons.
Every bullet that hits the battlement can take away a brick.
Although there were not many, there were too many bullets that could not be resisted, and the battlements were being demolished little by little.
If this continues, within two quarters of an hour, the battlement will be destroyed by cannonballs.
When the time comes, Shen Guanghui doesn’t know that he and his men can still use Shenzi gadgets to hold their position...
