In order to show sincerity and save everyone's lives with military exploits, the battle in Suncheon became more and more intense.
Previously, the navy took orders to attack the city.
Now, it is the turn of the Western Route Army.
But the other two roads were a different scene. Ma Gui was lying down wherever he fell. Tens of thousands of troops were facing Ulsan. They occasionally launched several attacks and made up their minds to protect the direct troops——
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Japanese army behaved extremely passively. Even if they had an advantage in military strength, they were still unwilling to take the initiative to try to realize their ambition to swallow up the peninsula.
According to reliable information, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was about to die soon, and all the daimyo under his command had no intention of fighting.
And that's exactly what happened.
Luck was the old monkey's hope for extending his life. As a result, the coalition forces organized several counterattacks to take back the land they had finally captured...
Under Hideyoshi's suggestion, famous names such as Kobayakawa Hideaki, Ukita Hideie, and Mouri Hidemoto returned home early. Because their strength was well preserved and they were either relatives of the Toyotomi family or elites of the Western Kingdom, they naturally supported Hideyori.
The forces remaining on the peninsula are still considerable, and various legions in the Kyushu region have lost their heads, or their combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced.
With the assistance of the Kwantung Allied Forces, they will use Suncheon in the east, Goseong and Sacheon in the middle, and Ulsan and Sesaengpo in the west as three supporting points, backed by the sea, to protect the southern waters of Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces. , creating conditions for the first few daimyo to cross the sea.
Frankly speaking, the Kyushu soldiers were the absolute main force in the two Japanese invasions of Korea. They were responsible for most of the battles. As a result...
The head of the family died in the battle and suffered heavy losses. He still did not receive the reward of Hideyoshi's early return to the country. Instead, he started to do the dirty work of monitoring the movements of the coalition forces so as not to interfere with the large troops crossing the sea.
In this regard, the various big names in Kanto also criticized it. They were at the forefront of the coalition counterattack. They had just arrived and gained nothing. Instead, they suffered heavy losses.
As the leading brother, Tokugawa Ieyasu did not say anything. At least until Hideyoshi died and each family returned to their homeland, this old fox who was of the same era as Oda Nobunaga did not intend to cause trouble.
Moreover, he also realized the deeper meaning of this move——
The monkey still has a glimmer of luck, hoping to retain a foothold on the peninsula so that future generations can plan to invade again.
It is a pity that Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself did not survive and did not wait until this day came.
On the second day after the Western Route Army violently attacked Shuntian, the overlord who had nominally unified Japan ended his life in Sichuan City.
Before his death, Hideyoshi expressed his support to the five elders, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Mori Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, and Uesugi Kagekatsu, hoping that they could assist Toyotomi Hideyori and carry forward the legacy of the Toyotomi family. Continue.
"Until Hideyori comes of age, I ask all of you to help him. This is my only request."
"Let me say it again, I ask the five of you to take care of Hideyori. The relevant details have been informed to the other five (the fifth elder who is second only to the five elders). I don't want to leave the world, but this is my destination."
After the five elders expressed their loyalty one after another, Hideyoshi gradually stopped breathing. He used up his last strength to recall his magnificent life and imagine his son's bright future, and said intermittently:
"As the dewdrops wither, as the dewdrops disappear, this is my body..."
"The past in Osaka is like a dream within a dream."
A farmer's son from Owari Kunaka Village became the master of Japan. Such an astonishing class jump was rare, but everything disappeared like dewdrops under the first ray of sunshine.
The culprit who provoked the war and all the massacres died before the end of the war without seeing the final outcome——
For him, it is undoubtedly a good thing.
In fact, no matter how high Hideyoshi's status is in the eyes of the Japanese, no matter how later generations will exaggerate and beautify it through film, television, literature, and video games.
For the descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the Li Dynasty, Monkey was an out-and-out invader. His hands were stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians of the Ming and Dynasties.
Frankly speaking, this culprit did not receive the punishment he deserved and died on the bed like this. It was really a thing that made the actor sigh with regret.
The invasion of Korea that took place in the 16th century AD was the first time that the Japanese truly launched a major invasion of a neighboring country with the goal of destroying the country.
Its influence is not limited to contemporary times. Hundreds of years later, Hideyoshi's spiritual followers once again set foot on the peninsula, creating bloody incidents for the infamous "Co-Prosperity Sphere".
Aggression is a gene engraved in the bones of this nation.
And on that day, the five old collectives issued an order: withdraw troops as soon as possible.
In order to achieve this goal, they had to try to fight with Ming to buy time for subsequent increasingly larger actions.
"I can finally leave this land of right and wrong and take a sip of water from my hometown."
Tokugawa Ieyasu was relieved.
Whether Hideyoshi was alive or dead, he was the most worried person, because Monkey knew the nature of these people too well. He once swore to be loyal to the heir of his master Oda Nobunaga, but in the end the power was snatched into his own hands.
How many of the top five elders are not people who only care about pursuing personal interests and don't care about their oaths?
Time will tell.
However, now is by no means the best time for internal fighting. Toyotomi's direct descendants have not participated in any bloody battles since the beginning of the war, and they still retain the combat effectiveness of the establishment.
The mess was thrown to the Tokugawa family.
But he didn't find it troublesome, because the Kyushu Legion was worth winning over.
From now on, Tokugawa Ieyasu will issue decrees in the name of Taikaku, because after Hideyoshi's death, the five elders agreed that it should be kept secret and not mourned.
This is a very common thing.
Monkey has been monopolizing power during his lifetime. After his death, there will be a power vacuum period, which will be over-interpreted by the generals and warriors below, causing large-scale panic.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep it secret until the transfer of power is completed and the cake is distributed.
In addition, this invasion war was a failure, and many legions suffered heavy losses. If the news of Hideyoshi's death and the withdrawal order came out at the same time, many frontline generals would seriously doubt that the five elders did not truthfully express Taikaku's legacy——
Too much blood was shed, and in order to make up for the losses, and for the so-called glory, he ignored orders and chose to continue fighting.
In this case, hiding the news of Hideyoshi's death could avoid such trouble.
The following finishing work can be roughly divided into two stages:
An agreement that saves face.
After the Imjin Japanese Rebellion ended, the Japanese side proposed an agreement that was impossible to agree to. This time, they decided to give in proactively, not asking for princesses from the Ming Dynasty, trade rights, or ceding the southern part of the peninsula.
The five elders were willing to give up all their strongholds as long as the Li Dynasty handed over a prince as a hostage.
In fact, Tokugawa Ieyasu felt that if the Li Dynasty refused this, they could just send some rice, honey, and local specialties such as tiger skins, and the agreement could be signed.
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