The battle was fought like this, with more than half of the entire army lost. This was really the first time since Governor Konishi led the army. Thinking about it, since his first army entered the DPRK, it can be said that it has swept through thousands of troops and defeated the Korean army. No matter how famous the masters or generals are, they are just defeated generals.
Even though the Ming army's Zu Chengxun came last time and his troops were very powerful, they were trapped in a tight siege because they were not careful enough in sending troops, and they were eventually defeated.
Although the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in the first battle of Pyongyang shocked Governor Konishi to a certain extent, because the First Army still won the victory in the end, it also brought some illusion to Governor Konishi, thinking that as long as he If you hold on carefully, you can still defeat the Ming army with the powerful power of Pyongyang Fort and the First Army.
However, the second Battle of Pyongyang completely shattered his illusions. Once the Ming army got serious, it was not the first army that could resist. Under the artillery bombardment of the Ming army, which was so powerful that he was stunned, it was difficult to maintain the morale and formation of each department. The Pyongyang Fort was also bombarded to pieces, and even the city gate was bombarded, so that it was lost in just half a day. Outer city.
Although the inner city seemed to be well defended, Governor Konishi could clearly see that the Ming army was not doing its best. Not only was there no sudden attack by soldiers, there was no even large-scale shelling.
This is obviously not because Li Rusong does not want to commit more crimes, but because he does not want to beat the city of Pyongyang to pieces. After all, this city is the largest city in northern North Korea and is very suitable as a strategic support point for the Ming army in the next battle. It is still necessary to try as much as possible Well preserved.
Although the truth was understood, there was no medicine for regret, so President Konishi could only lead the remnants of his troops to flee to Kaicheng and meet Kobayakawa Takakage. Kobayakawa saw that Governor Konishi was in a very embarrassed state, that his First Army Corps had suffered heavy casualties, and that Pyongyang had been declared lost, so he couldn't help but ask the Ming army's combat strength.
Governor Konishi's face looked a little frightened. He swallowed a mouthful of spit before replying: "The Ming army is very powerful! When it comes to long-distance warfare, the Ming army has a large number of large cannons (artillery), at least hundreds of large and small. Tou, our army is out of reach. When the war started, the Ming army's cannons were blaring, and I and the generals felt the tremors inside and outside Pyongyang, as if the sky was shattering and the earth was shattering;
When it comes to close combat, the ratio of iron artillery is also higher than that of our army. When the iron artillery teams of the two sides are shooting at each other, our army is actually at a slight disadvantage. This is an unprecedented situation. Later, it was discovered that a section of the Ming army relied on chariots. They hid in the chariots and shot from the gaps. Our army fired at them like... To be honest, it was like a dog biting a hedgehog, unable to bite it at all;
However, in terms of close combat, the most invincible person of our army is the Ming army's cavalry. Those Ming army cavalry all rode tall horses, one head taller than the horses ridden by our generals. What was even more shocking was that these cavalry were also fully clothed in human and horse equipment. Except for the most heroic warriors, they sacrificed their lives to behead their horses. Except for the legs, no one else can fight with it!
At that time, I saw how many cavalrymen of the Ming army were charging towards me. Every one of our soldiers who was hit had their armor shattered and blood spurted five feet away! Your Highness Kobayakawa, our army must not start a war easily with the Ming army again. If we want to defeat the Ming army, all the armies must join forces. Now that Pyongyang has been lost, Kaesong cannot be saved alone. It is better to retreat to Seoul and concentrate our forces to fight again, which may have a chance of survival. "
Governor Konishi was a businessman, but he had also fought for many years and defeated more than 100,000 Korean troops in Korea. Therefore, Kobayakawa Takakage had to believe his statement.
In Kobayakawa Takakage's view, even if Konishi Yukinaga exaggerated the Ming army's combat power after his defeat, the fact that his first army had fought to this point was enough to show how powerful the Ming army was. Therefore, the combat power of the Ming army is not only far superior to the Korean army, but also superior to the Japanese army. This is obviously an indisputable fact.
Since the Ming army is so powerful, it obviously makes sense to retreat to Seoul and concentrate its forces to fight again. Therefore, Kobayakawa Takakage nodded and said: "I didn't expect that the Ming army was so powerful. If Kanbei said before, our army should We should concentrate our military forces to garrison Hanyang. Now our army is scattered and easily defeated by the Ming army. Kaicheng is indeed no longer reliable, so we should retreat to Hanyang as soon as possible. When the Ming army is proud of its consecutive victories, we can concentrate all our efforts on setting up ambushes. Gather and annihilate.”
Kobayakawa Takakage then sent an order to the Sixth Army Corps to prepare to abandon Kaicheng and move toward Hanyang with the remnants of the First Army Corps. On the Hanyang side, Ukita Hideie also learned the news of Pyongyang's defeat, and was furious at the moment.
Military adviser Kuroda Kanbei advised: "The first division has nearly 20,000 troops. It is also considered an elite in terms of combat strength. It is stationed in the fortified city of Pyongyang and has a favorable geographical location but was still defeated by the Ming army. This shows the combat power of the Ming army." Extraordinary.
At present, our armies are scattered in various directions. They were originally deployed to occupy and stabilize the entire territory of North Korea, but they are not conducive to a decisive battle with a powerful army like the Ming Army. I think it’s not too late, I should order all the divisions from Pyongan Province, Hamgyeong Province, Hwanghae Province, and Gangwon Province to concentrate on Gyeonggi, try to protect Hanyang, and use Hanyang as a basis to defeat the Ming army! "
However, Ukita Hideya refused to agree and said angrily: "How can such an arrangement be made? How would His Highness Taikaku allow it? The defeat of Pyongyang is the biggest shame after our army entered the DPRK. The top priority is to organize a counterattack immediately. How can we instead The frontline is completely abandoned and we retreat south to Hanyang. I wonder who can withstand the thunderous wrath of His Highness Taige!"
Kuroda Kanbei shouted: "Hideie! The situation is urgent! Stop being stubborn! Do you want the entire army to die in North Korea? At present, our army's strength is scattered. If we don't change it, we will only be defeated one after another. Now withdraw from the four northern Tao, show the enemy weakness, paralyze the opponent, indulge the Ming army with arrogance, and concentrate the military strength. Only then can they win a great victory outside Hanyang City!
If God Amaterasu bless us, we may even have a chance to annihilate the Ming army. In that case, North Korea will be completely occupied by our army immediately, and the future march into the Ming Dynasty will be smoother. Please immediately issue strict orders to all divisions and gather them all to Hanyang as quickly as possible. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished by military law! "
As a military advisor, this was the first time that Kuroda Kanbei expressed his position in such a tough tone after entering the court, and even had a hint of an order.
Ishida Mitsunari knew the status of Kuroda Kanbei's military advisor. In fact, Kuroda Kanbei was originally Toyotomi Hideyoshi's military advisor. He was the most famous and most accomplished military advisor in Japan after Takenaka Hanbei's death.
He fought countless battles in his life, and was especially good at strategies. The famous Battle of Eigaura during the Warring States Period, the flooding of Takamatsu Castle in Beinaka, the Great Return of China, the Shikoku Expedition, the Kyushu Expedition, the Battle of Odawara Cage Castle, and the dominance of Kitakyushu were all among them. It is Kuroda's masterpiece, so it is called "the best military adviser in the world" in Japan.
Since Kuroda Nishui supports the concentration of troops and the decisive battle at Hanyang, Ishida Mitsunari, the "battle master", naturally does not need to think too much and agrees: "If Hanyang is lost, then all the northern divisions will face disaster, please hurry up! "
Ishida Mitsunari opened his mouth, and the effect was even more extraordinary. People from all walks of life expressed their support and unanimously agreed on this.
Although Ukita Hideie was the general, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had a personal explanation for him. He did not dare to really oppose the opinions of the military advisor, so he had to obey Kuroda Kanbei's words and convey military orders.
Kuroda Nagamasa, the son of Kuroda Yomizu, asked for orders from the Ukita Hide family, hoping that part of the third division would guard the key roads and block the Ming army to cover the southward retreat of the armies. Ukita Hideie naturally agreed to the request.
Shortly after the Battle of Pyongyang, Song Yingchang, who was preparing the Japanese strategy for the Ming Dynasty, also rushed to North Korea. As the commander-in-chief, Li Rusong naturally went to see him to report his merits. When Song Yingchang heard about Pyongyang's victory, he praised it repeatedly and expressed condolences to the North Korean officers and soldiers participating in the war. He ordered Li Rusong to march to Kaesong after resting in Pyongyang, and Li Rusong took the order.
Since the Southern Army was the first to break the city in this battle, Yuan Huang praised the Southern Army and said to the Southern Army and the generals: "The great victory in Pyongyang is due to the Southern Army as the first contributor to the imperial court. The Southern Army has made great achievements, and Song Jingtai also knows about it. Please wait and see." All you need is a reward." The Southern soldiers cheered and thanked him.
Li Rusong rested in Pyongyang for ten days, mainly waiting for the subsequent shipment of gunpowder and other supplies, and then took advantage of the victory to advance. Kuno Shigekatsu, one of the twenty-four Kuroda generals under Kuroda Nagamasa, and the Kuroda family general Kuriyama Toriyasu led their troops to cover the main forces of the armies retreating southward, and at the same time blocked the pursuers of the Ming army. As a result, they died in Shirakawa.
After receiving the strict order from Ukita Hideie, the Japanese troops in the north did not dare to neglect and retreated southward to Hanyang. The Ming army and the North Korean coalition took advantage of the situation to regain Kaesong, and then regained Ping'an, Huanghae, Hamgyong Province and the northern part of Gangwon Province. The main force of the Ming army moved towards Gyeonggi Province to further intimidate Hanyang.
A few days later, news came out that the officers and soldiers of the Ming Army were asked to take credit. It turned out that each of the first to reach the city had his own person, but the first credit was attributed to Yang Yuan of the Northern Army. This caused trouble.
It stands to reason that the Ming Dynasty has always awarded military merits based on the number of heads captured. This is a common practice. Only highly pragmatic "extraordinary people dare to do extraordinary things" and like to engage in "collective merit", while others do not dare to follow suit easily, because one If you come to the court, you may not agree. Secondly, you may be afraid that the treatment will be unfair and cause trouble such as mutiny, which is not beautiful.
However, before the battle in Pyongyang, Li Rusong ordered those who fought for the heads to be beheaded in order to prevent them from delaying the fight. Unfortunately, this order was not strictly implemented.
At that time, the Southern Army was in the front and the Northern Army was behind. As a result, the Southern Army fought first during the war, but the Northern Army got more heads. That's all, but the credit for the first landing inexplicably went to the Northern Army, which was completely contrary to the previous promise to the Southern Army.
Now things were going badly. Generals such as Qi Jin, Wu Weizhong, and Luo Shangzhi of the Southern Army accused Li Rusong of favoring the Northern Army and lying about his military exploits. The soldiers of the Southern Army were even more resentful and had quarrels with the Northern Army from time to time, and the quarrels even got worse.
Song Yingchang therefore asked Li Rusong: "It was obviously the Southern soldiers who were the first to climb the city to seize the flag. How could Zu Chengxun not know? In the bloody battles at the city gates and even at Peony Peak, the Southern soldiers charged forward and fought tooth and nail, but why were all the military achievements attributed to the Northern soldiers?" merit?"
Li Rusong explained: "According to Rong Bing's summary, according to the last general's knowledge, the first to break the city should be the artillery attack ordered by Yang Yuan to open the Seven Star Gate. As for the southern soldiers, it is true that they first climbed the city, but the first one to break the city was The person is actually the Northern Army.
In fact, when discussing in detail, there are different opinions on the details, and everyone insists on their own opinions. In the end, the general can only remember that each of them had their own contribution to the city, and the first credit should be attributed to Yang Yuan who ordered the cannon fire. Moreover, in the Ming Dynasty, the heads were used to record merits. Nowadays, most of the heads are obtained by the Northern Army. This is what the final generals have to do. Please be careful. "
Song Yingchang disagreed and said: "Before the war, you had issued a strict order to kill anyone who fought for his head. However, the military order could not be carried out, which led to this situation. As an admiral, you lost your face, and you were caught in the middle. Many Southern soldiers have been wronged in this matter, and in order to stabilize the morale of the army, this matter should be investigated carefully and the merits determined again."
Li Rusong advised: "Jingtai, what the general is worried about is that there are currently many northern soldiers in the army. Now that the matter has come to this, if the merits are determined again, it is not known whether the southern army will appreciate it, and I am afraid it will arouse the resentment of the northern army. Jingtai also I know that most of the generals at all levels of the Northern Army belong to general families, which can easily affect the frontier officials... Can we postpone the action, at least until Hanyang is recovered?"
When Song Yingchang saw Li Rusong talking about the influence of the Northern Army, he replied: "The Southern Army has a large number of troops, and the Southern Army is well aware of the Japanese pirates' fighting methods and habits, and there are many artillery, which is an indispensable force in the Battle of Hanyang.
Admiral Li, both the Northern and Southern armies are deeply relied upon by the Emperor, and both...have served under the old guard of Gaoge. What's more, the Southern Army also trained the Northern Army. I have my own opinion on this matter. You can continue to rest and train and wait for military orders. "Although Li Rusong was worried that things were getting out of hand, he could only accept the order.
Has Li Rusong's temper suddenly weakened this time? That's not the case. The main problem is that behind Song Yingchang is actually high pragmatism - although Song Yingchang is from Renhe (belonging to Hangzhou Prefecture), he is not a member of the Xin School. The reason is very simple: he was a Jinshi in the 44th year of Jiajing, and his teacher was High arch.
Of course, if it weren't for this relationship, under the current situation of the imperial court, he might not be able to get into the position of Minister of War. After all, the Ministry of War is now almost the exclusive domain of high-ranking members of the Real School.
Hearing about Pyongyang's great victory, North Korean King Li Ho was overjoyed and came down to hold a grand celebration banquet to reward the Ming army. Liu Chenglong was ordered to attend to congratulate him. During the dinner, Li Rusong suddenly asked Liu Chenglong to kneel down and toast him for some unknown reason.
There is nothing wrong with toasting. After being such a big help, even if Liu Chenglong toasted Li Rusong on behalf of the King of Joseon Li Huan, it would be the meaning of the question and normal etiquette. However, the problem is that Li Rusong asked him to kneel down and toast, and Li Rusong was sitting due north at the moment.
This was a big problem. Liu Chenglong was shocked and even lost his words for a moment. Li Dexin also reacted immediately and stood up and accused: "What kind of etiquette is this? Toasting from the north is a courtesy for ministers to pay respect to the monarch. What does the admiral mean by this move?" ?!”
Ma Dong stood up immediately and said: "The Ming Dynasty conquered Korea, and our army traveled thousands of miles to expel the Japanese pirates for you and rebuild our relationship with kindness. Is it possible that I can't bear to have a glass of wine with you?"
Li Dexin replied: "General, what you said is wrong! Admiral Li is the commander-in-chief of the superior state, but he is not an envoy of the superior state. He cannot represent His Majesty the Emperor. No matter how meritorious and meritorious he is, he cannot be compared with the monarch. He can only occupy the eastern position. By making such demands, you are showing contempt for the Korean royal family and the imperial court!"
Zu Chengxun mocked: "Who saved the Korean royal family and court that were about to perish? If the Ming Dynasty did not send reinforcements, would this despised royal family and court still exist?"
Li Rusong snorted lightly and asked Liu Chenglong again if he could make a toast?
Liu Chenglong cupped his hands and said: "In order to thank those who helped North Korea defeat the Japanese pirates, I am willing to surrender my life, let alone toast from the north? Of course it is not a problem."
After saying that, Liu Chenglong actually stood up and took off his clothes. Under the astonishment of everyone, he showed himself in white clothes and said to Li Rusong: "I cannot violate the etiquette of a monarch and his ministers. It is difficult to toast to the north as a minister of North Korea, so I can only serve as a commoner of North Korea." Thank you God for your kindness.”
After saying this, Liu Chenglong was about to kneel down and toast, but Li Rusong laughed, stepped forward to help Liu Chenglong up, and said with a smile: "I am just joking, I admire you for your loyalty and understanding. Please get up and take your seat."
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Chi Yujing Fengchen" and "Cao Mianzi" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!
PS: I checked and found that the chapter "Ping Japanese" is indeed Chapter 279. The reason is actually that the previous chapter was wrong. It's really shameful.
