The February truce was neither short nor long. In the first month of the 21st year of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty army finally officially assembled and entered the dynasty. Due to the failure of the ancestors, the Ming court selected elite soldiers from all over the country. Song Yingchang, the minister of the Ministry of War, was the general manager of Beiwa and was in charge of military affairs. Li Rusong was the chief military officer of Beiwa and admiral of the general soldiers of each town. Next to him, Liu Huangshang and Yuan Huang praised the painting.
He was given the title of deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong and was actually appointed as the general of Kuandian Fort, General Yang Yuan of the Zuo Army. General Yang Shaoxian, the commander-in-chief of the left army, led 1,339 soldiers and horses from Ningqian and other battalions; Wang Chengen, the commander-in-chief of the general military command, led 500 soldiers and horses from Jizhen; Guangning right battalion guerrilla general Ge Fengxia led the vanguard right battalion. There are 1,300 troops and horses; Baoding guerrilla leader Liang Xin has 2,500 troops and horses; Datong deputy commander Ren Ziqiang, guerrilla Gao Yi and Gao Ce lead 5,000 troops and horses; Shenyang guerrilla general Qi Jin, who was born in the Southern General, leads the troops. There are one thousand soldiers, totaling eleven thousand six hundred and thirty-nine.
General Li Rubai, deputy general of the Baoding Army, led the central army, and commanded the left-hand staff of Ningyuan, Li Ning, and Fuxin guerrilla general Zhang Yingzhong, leading 1,189 Liaodong troops; Xuanfu guerrilla general Zhang led 2,500 troops. ; the general guarding Dandong, Li Rumei, led 1,843 people; the general guarding Daomaguan, Li Fangchun (belonging to Baoding), led 1,000 soldiers and horses; the general guarding Tongzhou (belonging to Changping), Luo Shangzhi, led the south Six hundred soldiers; Datong Dusi Fang Shihui led 1,000 troops and horses; Jizhen Dusi Wang Wen led 1,000 chariots and soldiers; Xuanfu guerrilla Zhou Hongmo led 2,500 troops and horses, a total of 11,632 name.
He held the title of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Shanxi Province and was actually appointed as General Ma Dong, General of Haigai Right Army. Under the command of guerrilla Liu Chongzheng, he led 1,534 soldiers and horses in Liaoyang and Kaiyuan. He was originally titled as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong Army and was actually appointed as General Ma Dong. Zu Chengxun, the right-hand general of Jinyi, was appointed to lead a cavalry force of 1,700 men; Sun Shoulian, the former deputy commander-in-chief, led a cavalry army of 702 men in Shenyang; Zha Da, the former deputy commander-in-chief of Baoding, led a cavalry army of 590 men in Kuandian. Ten; Ji Zhen's general Wu Weizhong led the southern troops with 3,000 soldiers; Ji Zhen's general commander Qian Shizhen led the Ji Town's horse army with 1,000 troops; Zhending guerrilla Zhao Wenming led 2,000 horse troops; Datong guerrilla Gu Sui led the army There are one thousand horsemen, a total of eleven thousand six hundred and twenty-six.
There are also 2,800 infantrymen who have arrived in Jizhen, as well as Dong Yikui and other reinforcements from all walks of life. The total strength is 51,585. This time there were more than 50,000 troops, of which more than 30% were cavalry, and another 10% were artillery (the chariot camp was actually artillery). The three branches of cavalry, artillery, and engineering accounted for half of the army. The proportion of infantry was almost unprecedented, only half. To a certain extent, it can be regarded as a true manifestation of the "modernization construction" of the Ming Army.
Since about 10% of this 50,000-strong army has car-camp artillery, that means it has about 5,000 artillery, which allows the Ming army to carry a large number of artillery. Specifically, this time the Ming army dispatched thirty heavy No. 2 cannons, 110 No. 3 cannons, and 160 No. 4 light cannons.
At present, Jinghua is preparing to further innovate the artillery system, but it is still under preparation for the time being, so the description of No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 guns still follows the previous system.
In this system, the No. 1 gun is the largest, heaviest, and has the longest range. It has only two uses, as a naval gun and a coastal defense fortress gun. The No. 2 gun has one more purpose than the No. 1 gun, which is for the army to attack fortresses. However, this gun is not suitable for It is too huge for the army, and a total of ten to twelve gunners are needed for transportation and operation, but only six to seven are needed for naval gun operation. Both of these types of artillery were considered heavy artillery of the Ming Army at this time.
The light artillery is the No. 3 gun and the No. 4 gun. The No. 3 gun is actually more popular because it can be used on both land and sea. When it is used as a naval gun at sea, it only requires three to four gunners, and when it is on land, it only requires six to seven gunners. , sometimes if transportation is convenient, five people can operate it;
Because the No. 4 gun was too light, it was of little use at sea. Jinghua itself was not equipped with it, but some small boats of the coastal navy of the Ming army were still equipped with it. As for the Army, although this type of gun is easy to carry, its power is relatively limited. Perhaps because tough men like big and powerful guns, the Army prefers the No. 3 cannon, which is not too heavy and more powerful. The No. 4 cannon is mostly used. It was given to the cavalry for use.
After all, for cavalry, guns are generally useless. The prerequisite for using them occasionally is not to affect their marching speed too much. Therefore, the No. 4 gun can only be regarded as a "although not necessary, it can be carried with them". A non-destructive auxiliary weapon.
This time, the Ming Army had a large number of artillery troops in the car camp. Even with so many artillery, there were actually "extra manpower". But it didn't matter. The Ming Army also had many sidecars and other tanks, which were used to protect artillery positions and even the entire army. The camp protects them, so there are not too many.
King Li Huan of Korea finally waited for the Ming Dynasty's army. Although the number was far less than the "million army", everyone actually knew that the so-called "million army" was just a name. Although the Ming Dynasty really had it, it was impossible to send them all. Come to North Korea - you won’t be able to make a living even if you come!
Li Rusong was not only the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, he was also the "Uncle Ning Yuan". Since the title of the Ming Dynasty was extremely noble, Li Huo did not dare to neglect and personally welcomed Li Rusong's arrival.
When he saw that the King of Korea was personally greeting him, Li Rusong was quite satisfied and thanked him: "I am well aware of Your Highness's anxiety, so I have led an army to help Your Highness recover the lost territory. Song Jinglue has not yet entered the court, but he has instructed me to act according to the opportunity." Li He even expressed his thanks. .
Li Rusong didn't like small talk to delay business, so he immediately asked how many North Korean troops were available to jointly participate in the war. After hearing Yi Dooshou's answer that there were only 8,000 people, Li Rusong was surprised that the 200,000 North Korean troops had so little possessions, but he did not say anything sarcastic, but after a brief thought, he said that these 8,000 people could Zu Chengxun's subordinates participated in the war together.
Yi Dooshou suggested: "Admiral, the North Korean army has its own organization. If it rashly joins the superior army, the organization will be chaotic. It is better for the two armies to cooperate in fighting."
Li Rusong was as direct as ever and immediately asked: "Does North Korea's inclusion in our army's coordinated operations hurt your self-esteem?"
Yi Dooshou replied: "That's not the case. How can we be more self-respecting in this critical situation? It's just a sudden change in the organization, which will inevitably lead to chaos." Li Rusong shook his head to express his disapproval, insisting that as long as he obeyed the command, there would be no chaos. The king of North Korea, Li Huo, always had the style of "taking the big party" (that is, taking the overlord's lead in everything), and quickly told his ministers not to insist. Then, after Li Huan thanked the Ming Dynasty for his help, he asked Li Rusong and other generals to rest.
After Li Rusong left, Yi Dooshou and Zheng Che asked Li Huo to think twice about the establishment. Li Huo was quite dissatisfied and said: "Why do all the ministers insist on fighting independently? Wouldn't unified orders be more conducive to the war?"
Yi Dooshou explained: "Although our army is far smaller in number than the Ming army, we must first have an equal relationship, otherwise we will be forced to obey the Ming army's command in the future."
Li He said with a look of disdain: "The Ming Dynasty is a kingdom, so it is natural for our army to obey the command. Besides, the Ming army has tens of thousands of people. How can we be equal to our army of only 8,000? Just look at the more than 10,000 cavalry of the Ming army. All the armors and equipment are so majestic and domineering! Not to mention those cannons, they are like hundreds of black iron dragons. Everyone feels their hearts swaying when they look at them - the heavenly soldiers of the heaven are like this, how can you expect to be equal?"
Zheng Che advised again: "Your Highness, although our army is currently small, after the three capitals are recovered, the armies scattered in various places will gradually gather together. If we obey the orders of the Ming army now, it will be difficult to regain military power in the future."
Yi Dooshou was also worried about this, fearing that North Korea would be coerced by the Ming army, so he advised again: "Yes, Your Highness, this war is ultimately a battle between North Korea and the Japanese pirates. The Ming Dynasty only provides assistance, and the leadership of the war should be on the North Korean side." "
Li He looked a little helpless, and then countered: "I don't think so. I think that North Korea refused to let the Japanese pirates go to the Ming Dynasty and started the war. The Japanese pirates attacked North Korea to attack the Ming Dynasty again, and our army obeyed the Ming Dynasty's dispatch and fought." Nowadays, I am just fighting for the emperor, so if you want to say who is the main body of the war, it is naturally the Ming Dynasty."
Zheng Che and Yi Dooshou could not understand Li Huo's theory at all. Li Huo said impatiently: "From the founding of Korea to the clan debate, have we ever been independent? Not to mention the knowledge, ideas, systems, etc., Korea has The foundation is all taken from the Ming Dynasty, you should know better than me! This discussion ends here, if you want to regain the lost ground, just follow the instructions of the Ming Dynasty, no need to discuss it anymore!" Yi Dooshou and Zheng Che Left in desperation.
Yi Dooshou and Zheng Che did not give up, and went to meet Li Rusong again. They said in a consultative tone: "The Tomorrow Soldiers rescued North Korea. The whole country is extremely grateful. However, North Korea is still the main body in this war, and we are familiar with the situation in North Korea. Please Admiral, I understand, it is better to cooperate with each other in fighting."
Li Rusong asked if it was the intention of the King of Korea? Zheng Che explained: "Rather than understanding His Highness's intentions, we care more about the Admiral's opinion, so we came here to discuss it."
Li Rusong immediately understood that Li Hao had no such intention, so he said calmly: "In this case, the North Korean army can naturally be organized independently, and I have no objection. However, since North Korea insists on fighting alone, let North Korea attack Pyongyang first, and our army will Just press back and support." Yi Dooshou heard the implication, was angrily and speechless, and left immediately.
The next day, Liu Chenglong met with Li Huo. Li Huo asked Liu Chenglong for his opinion on the organization. Liu Chenglong replied: "Fundamentally speaking, Yi Dooshou and Zheng Che's opinions are not wrong. However, the priorities must be considered." When a fire breaks out in your own house, whether you use your own water or other people's water, you must put out the fire first. Therefore, I believe that now is not the time to pursue the name. The top priority is to recover Pyongyang. After that, if our army continues to win, the officers and soldiers across the country will When we gather together, it is justifiable and easy to act independently.”
Li Aoshen agreed and felt that this was the right attitude to do things, so he ordered Liu Chenglong to represent the Korean Dynasty to assist the Ming army in regaining Pyongyang, and appointed the Ping An Dao Metropolitan Supervisor to give him the right to do things at an advantageous rate.
Li Rusong's operational thinking remained the same as before, intending to raid Pyongyang while the Japanese army was still unaware of the arrival of the Ming Dynasty army. However, when he was deploying in Anzhou, guerrilla general Shen Weijing came to see him. Li Rusong was very dissatisfied with his title of "guerrilla general", thinking that he was just a merchant, how could he be qualified to be a general?
However, his "guerrilla" was a temporary identity given by Da Sima after all. He might even have Gao Ge Lao's intention behind it. Although Li Rusong was bold, ordinary "Ge Lao" might not really take it seriously, but he did not dare to commit the crime. The power of "Nanning Hou".
He thought for a moment, and suddenly came up with a plan. He asked Shen Weijing to send someone to Pyongyang to convey the peace intention again, saying that he asked President Konishi to come for a while. Then he ordered the swordsmen and axemen to prepare secretly in Fushan courtyard, and wait for the enemy general to come and take them down in one fell swoop.
Governor Konishi received the Ming army's peace request and thought that the Ming Dynasty had agreed to the request. He was very happy. The Japanese generals were equally excited - Zu Chengxun's battle really shocked them with the Ming army's combat power. They really didn't want to fight with the Ming Dynasty. The Ming army with millions of troops has been fighting for a long time.
President Xiaoxi asked the envoy where Shen Weijing was, and the envoy replied: "Shen Guoji is old and has inconvenience in his legs and feet. He has gone to Fushan Courtyard and is waiting for you to meet him." President Xiaoxi met Shen Weijing. , the so-called old age is obviously not an lie, so there is no doubt that he is there, and after sending the envoy away, he is ready to leave.
Zong Yizhi advised: "Father-in-law, wait a minute. I'm worried that this may be a trap for the Ming army. Would it be better for me to explore the way first?"
Commander Konishi waved his hand and said: "No need, Shen Wei respects his elders and has grown strong. He dares to break into the enemy camp alone. How can I be timid and fearful and weaken the reputation of His Highness?"
Zong Yizhi advised again: "What my father-in-law said is reasonable, but after all, it is related to the life and death of the whole army. It is better to be cautious in case of emergency. I will go to explore the way first. If everything goes well, I will report back to you. Please agree. "The son-in-law requested again and again, but President Konishi couldn't help but give him face. After thinking about it, he thought it was more appropriate, so he ordered Zong Yizhi to lead a team of people to investigate first.
Zong Yizhi led 20 people to Fushan Courtyard, and was warmly welcomed by the accompanying officials of the Ming Dynasty. However, the ambush already hidden in the courtyard should have been waiting for the signal. Unexpectedly, Li Ning was impatient and immediately saw the Japanese troops entering Fushan Courtyard. Ordered to be surrounded and killed. Seeing that the situation was not good, Zong Yizhi led his team to fight with swords. The two sides fought together. Zong Yizhi was clever and led several of his followers to break out of the encirclement and fled back to Pyongyang to report the news.
Li Rusong heard that the Japanese general Konishi Governor did not show up and only killed a dozen Japanese soldiers. He knew that the secret had been leaked. Although he was very dissatisfied, he had no time to punish him at the moment. Instead, he immediately ordered the entire army to launch a sudden attack on Pyongyang.
When Governor Konishi learned that the Ming Dynasty army was attacking, he immediately deployed city defenses. At this time, the First Army Corps, which had rested and reorganized, had been replenished and its total strength had returned to 18,000.
Commander Konishi deployed 2,000 Japanese troops each at Qixingmen, Lumen, Hanzhimen, Dongmenmen and Peony Terrace outside the city. He commanded 7,000 Japanese troops to hold down the formation, and ordered 1,000 ambush troops to be placed in the city. The whole city of Pyongyang was heavily guarded, waiting for The Ming army came to attack. In addition, more than 6,000 reinforcements from the Japanese Army's Third Division, the Otomo Gitō Division, have stationed in Fengshan. After thinking about it, Commander Konishi realized that it was not impossible to fight.
Li Rusong ordered the North Korean master Xiu Jing to lead 3,000 monk soldiers to cooperate with Wu Weizhong's 3,000 southern soldiers to attack Peony Terrace; he ordered the middle army Yang Yuan and the right army Ma Dong to lead 10,000 troops to attack Qixing Gate; he ordered the left army Li Rubai and Staff General Li Fangchun to lead an army. Wan attacked the ordinary gate; ordered Zu Chengxun to lead an army of ten thousand to attack the Hanmen gate; Li Yi was ordered to lead eight thousand Korean troops to attack Lumen; and Li Ning and others were sent to lead elite troops to ambush along the river outside the east gate.
Li Rusong, Li Rumei, Li Ruwu and others led 9,000 soldiers and horses to suppress the formation, and ordered that the first priority when attacking the city was to seize Pyongyang, and not to seize the head and delay the war opportunity.
The generals took orders, and the war was about to begin.
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