At the same time, the Ming army was in the base camp of Kaicheng. Song Yingchang, the manager, heard that Li Rusong might have fallen into an ambush. He couldn't help being surprised and said: "Li Rusong does not have enough troops. This lone army is surrounded by a trap set by Japanese pirates. The enemy is well prepared." If I come here and know that Li Rusong is close, I will take his life at all costs."
Zanhua Yuan Huang replied: "What Jingtai said is absolutely true. If the admiral is captured and killed, it will not only be extremely detrimental to our army's future operations, but also suffer such a big setback suddenly. The imperial court will definitely be furious... Jingtai, Admiral Li has a special status."
Of course Song Yingchang knew that Li Rusong had a special status, but he couldn't take the trouble. He just asked: "What troops does Li Rusong lead? What military orders are there before departure?"
Liu Huangshang, another praise painter, replied: "Although the number of people led by the admiral is small, they are all elite cavalry from Liaodong. He also ordered Yang Yuan and Li Rubai to lead troops to follow up. This means that all the Li family's soldiers have been dispatched."
All the Li family troops went out to fight, and there was an obvious order, which showed that Li Rusong had an estimate of the possible battle he would face, so this was considered good news. Especially since the Li Jiajun's combat effectiveness is there, since Li Rusong thinks there is no problem, the possibility of problems should not be high.
However, although he was a little relieved, Song Yingchang did not dare to ignore it and ordered: "The situation is urgent and cannot be delayed. If the Japanese pirates know that Li Rusong is there, they will definitely send out all their troops. Therefore, in addition to reinforcements from our army, we need reinforcements from all over the country." The North Korean army must block it.
In addition, our army's reinforcements must be carried out with great fanfare to confuse the Japanese pirates into thinking that our army has been mobilized in full force. If the enemy does not dare to easily fight decisively, they will definitely withdraw. This can save Li Rusong's life. "
Song Yingchang was a disciple of Gao Gong and a member of Gao Dang in the pragmatic school. Of course, all his decisions should take Gao Gong's pragmatic outlook into consideration. There was one thing about the current situation that he did not dare to say clearly, and that was that not only Li Rusong was trapped in the siege at this moment, but also Li Rusong's fifth brother Li Rumei.
Li Rumei's current identity is no longer what it used to be - he is the brother-in-law chosen by Gao Pragmatic in the marriage between Gao and Li. The two families are already exchanging birth dates. How dare Song Yingchang let Li Rumei fall into the hands of the Japanese army at this time, or on the spot Die in battle? That might be harder to explain than Li Rusong dying in battle.
Therefore, Song Yingchang impatiently ordered the Ming and Korean armies, and strictly ordered the coalition forces to rescue Li Rusong's troops at all costs. He ordered soldiers to go out to deliver the message. The Ming army's Yang Yuan and Li Rubai's troops also accelerated their marching speed, changing from a normal march to a rush to rescue. model.
Liu Chenglong also heard that Li Rusong was besieged at this time. After receiving the order from Song Yingchang, he immediately ordered the capital marshals Jin Mingyuan and Li Yi to lead three thousand troops to Gyeonggi Province for rescue. Jin Mingyuan seemed to be a little afraid of the difficulty, and said in a deep voice: "Li Rusong is in danger if he is surrounded by the Japanese army. He is the chief general of the Ming army. Once he is surrounded, the enemy will be all out, and our army is weak, so I am afraid there is no chance of victory."
Liu Chenglong advised: "When our country was about to be destroyed, the Ming army came from thousands of miles away to save it. Now that Admiral Li is trapped in a tight siege, why should we not save him? Although the key to whether we can rescue Li Rusong is not us but the Ming army itself. But we in North Korea must go all out, otherwise we will become ungrateful people?
You only need to be able to effectively block the Japanese reinforcements and delay the time here. There is no need to force other military achievements. "After hearing this, Jin Mingyuan finally reluctantly accepted the order.
Liu Chenglong also sent a message to nearby North Korean officers and soldiers and rebels at the same time, and mobilized troops to move closer to Gyeonggi. After receiving the order, North Korean general Quan Li sighed to his subordinates: "I never imagined that the Ming army would be in such a difficult situation. After I heard that the Ming army came, they were arrogant and arrogant, and they never wanted to look at us.
However, after all, it was the Heavenly Soldiers of the Kingdom of Heaven, and at the request of the Imperial Envoy, we should still go out for rescue. In addition, I heard that the Japanese pirates were constantly increasing their troops, and it seemed that they were determined to take Li Rusong's head. Compared with the fact that the Ming army only thinks highly of themselves, the hatred between the Japanese pirates and our enemies is even more unbearable. I, Quan Li, will never let the Japanese pirates succeed! "So Quan Li also led three thousand troops to help.
Li Yanfu, the leader of the Gyeonggi Province rebel army, detected that Japanese troops were marching out of Hanyang one after another. He was puzzled at first, but he could only guess that there must be a large-scale military operation, so he planned to attack and harass. The subordinate put forward another guess, saying: "I heard that after the Ming army regained Pyongyang, the Japanese pirates suffered heavy losses. The Japanese pirates from all the northern routes were retreating and concentrated on Wang Jing. Is this successive dispatch to prevent the Ming army from attacking?"
Li Yanfu thought it was reasonable, nodded and said: "Perhaps it is not just to prevent an incoming attack, but it is also possible that the battle has already begun. Well... If so, our rebel army cannot just wait and see here, we must also help kill the enemy and perform meritorious service!"
While he was talking, he received a message from Liu Chenglong. After reading it, Li Yanfu realized what was going on and immediately ordered all the rebels to dispatch to stop the Japanese pirates from rescuing Li Rusong.
His subordinates advised him that the Japanese pirates were too powerful to be defeated, but Li Yanfu pushed them away and shouted sternly: "The Japanese pirates will definitely send more troops in the future, and the Ming army will come to rescue North Korea. North Korea has nothing to do in return and can only assist the Ming army." , Just sacrifice your life to kill the enemy, not to mention that expelling the Japanese pirates is what the rebels want!
If the Ming army is defeated because we sit back and do nothing, we will falsely claim to be loyal and righteous, and we will be ashamed of the world. This battle must be fought to the end regardless of life and death! "So Li Yanfu led the rebel army to attack.
The Japanese army is also making urgent arrangements. General Ukita Hideie personally led the army to support, and ordered Kuroda Nagamasa to lead 5,000 troops as the front line, Ishida Mitsunari, Masuda Nagamori, and Otani Yoshiki to lead 5,000 people as the second line, and Kato Mitsui and Maeno Changyasu led 3,000 people as the third formation, and Ukita Hideie himself led 8,000 people as the fourth formation.
As soon as the Japanese reinforcements left Hanyang, they were blocked by the Gyeonggi rebels. After Ishida Mitsunari learned that several troops were marching towards Gyeonggi, he quickly reported it to Ukita Hideie. Hideie did not dare to lose Hanyang, the main support point, and had to immediately order the third formation and Half of the fourth formation went to block the attack.
The Japanese reinforcements in Hanyang were blocked by the rebels led by Li Yanfu. Kuroda Nagamasa was surprised that the rebels would attack head-on this time, and immediately ordered his troops to fight. Soon after, the second formation led by Ishida Mitsunari also followed up. The rebels fought to the death until they were almost completely wiped out. Li Yanfu fought until he fainted and was rescued by his subordinates. Only then did he withdraw from the battlefield.
Seeing the North Korean army attacking in three directions, Kato Mitsui and Maeno Nagayasu immediately formed formations to block the attack. It was difficult for Jin Mingyuan's troops to advance lightly, so Li Yi led his troops to charge from the flank and engaged the Japanese army in a melee, but was repelled soon after. Quan Li was in a stalemate with the Japanese fourth formation. This shows that the North Korean army's combat power has not changed compared to the Japanese army, and the situation of being always at a disadvantage in frontal combat has not changed.
A few moments after the engagement, the North Korean army took the lead in retreating. However, when the Japanese army was about to turn around and continue to support the front, they were attacked by the North Korean army again and had to continue to attack the troops of Kim Myung-won and Kwon Ryul.
The Ming army was still engaged in a bloody battle at this time. Kobayakawa's 20,000 troops had all rushed to the battlefield. However, due to the terrain and the melee ahead, it was extremely difficult to launch for a while.
Kobayakawa Takakage personally went to the front line to boost morale. During the battle between the two armies, Li Rumei saw a person in the enemy's formation who was suspected to be the general from a distance, so she immediately drew her bow and shot at that person. Kobayakawa Takakage was frightened and quickly dodge with his horse. Because the arrow was too far away, he only achieved the result of the arrow hitting the horse. Li Rumei closed her bow very dissatisfied.
But even so, the pained war horse knocked Kobayakawa Takakage to the ground, and the generals were surprised and rushed forward to give first aid.
The battle was fierce, and the arrows on Tachibana Munege's armor were like thorns. The Tachibana army retreated to Mount Komaru to the west to rest, and Hideho Kobayakawa took over to fight and cover. The Ming army was forced to retreat, and many generals, big and small, were killed. Both sides invariably ceased fighting and took the time to rest, replenish and adjust their tactics.
Li Rusong convened a discussion with his subordinates and said: "There are many Japanese pirates. If our army is deeply encircled, it will be difficult to break out. The enemy will soon launch an attack again. Now we must occupy the gap before being completely encircled, fight and retreat northward, and wait for reinforcements to arrive." .”
Zha Damou thrust his knife into the ground and said loudly: "I will fight to the death to protect the commander from the siege. Please order me to open the way!" When Zu Chengxun saw that Zha Damou had taken the job of opening the way, he expressed his willingness to stand behind him and block the way. .
Li Rusong waved his hand to signal for silence, his tone was not very nervous, and he said calmly: "No one can die in the battle before Yang Yuan and Rubai arrive. This time the Liaodong elite have suffered too many losses. You all should stick to your duties and you must not mess up your position. Let me reiterate, what our army has to do next is to break the enemy's edge first, and then retreat to the north. Everything will follow my orders." The generals took the order.
At this time, Kuroda Nagamasa, Ishida Mitsunari, Masuda Nagamori, and Otani Yoshitsugi had arrived first, and their 10,000 troops were following up. The Japanese army also held an emergency meeting. Ishida Mitsunari said: "The terrain here is narrow, which is not conducive to a battle. The Ming army's new reinforcements have greatly boosted their morale. They are in a stalemate with the Tachibana Corps, and they are still facing a gradual encirclement. In my opinion, It is better to retreat temporarily, avoid its sharp edge, and choose another battlefield." Masuda Nagamori, Otani Yoshitsugi, and Kuroda Nagamasa also agreed with this.
However, Kobayakawa Takakage flatly refused, saying: "The Ming army is alone and is surrounded by me. The life of the general Li Rusong is at stake. Although the Ming army is brave and our army is hampered by the terrain, it is the time for decisive victory. If we urgently withdraw our troops at this time, , it will definitely cause our army to be in chaos. If the Ming army pursues us at that time, our army will be unable to advance or retreat, and it will be defeated miserably!
Gentlemen, tens of thousands of troops cannot defeat thousands of Ming troops. If such a record is reported back to Japan, even the people will laugh at it if you talk about how His Highness Taige views it! In today's battle, our army can only move forward with all its strength and behead Li Rusong! Those who bear the name of warrior can follow me into battle to kill the enemy! "
As soon as these words were spoken, other words became powerless. Regardless of whether they approved or doubted, the generals could only express their willingness to fight.
So Kobayakawa Takakage ordered Kobayakawa Hideho, Motoyasu Motoyasu, and Tsukushi Hiromon to lead 5,000 men to outflank the Ming army's left wing from the east side of the mountain, and ordered Tachibana Munege to outflank the Ming army's right wing from the west side of the mountain. He himself led the main attack of the Chinese army, while Yoshikawa Hiroshi Ia, Kuroda Army, Ishida Army and others are in the rear and are on standby as the general reserve force.
At six o'clock in the morning, Kobayakawa Takakage ordered his generals Kuriya Keio and Inoue Keishada to approach the Ming army with three thousand troops each. When the Japanese army launched the charge, Kuriya Keio's troops were attacked by the Ming army's No. 3 and 4 artillery pieces and crossbows. There were also many magical arrows brought for "clearing inventory", and they were all greeted as if they were free of charge. Go up. The Japanese army had never seen such a "fancy" and "enthusiastic" formation, and they were immediately beaten into chaos.
The Ming army was almost all elite cavalry, and they were unable to stand still and fight. When an opportunity arose, they immediately jumped out of the formation to launch a counterattack. Kuriya Keio fought hard, but his troops were soon exhausted. Inoue Keishada was about to support him. Kobayakawa's retainer Masakatsu Sase advised: "Kuriya's team will retreat soon. It is better to retreat to the slope and wait for the enemy to rescue at this time." When our army is chasing the Liwu team, if our army rushes to the flank, we will definitely win." Jing Zhen followed the plan.
Sure enough, when the Kuriya team was defeated and the Ming army cavalry pursued, Inoue immediately led the team to shout and fight out. Kuriya Kexiong also turned around to counterattack, and the two sides fought in a melee.
At this time, Otani Yoshitsugi also led his own troops to come for reinforcements. Otani Yoshitsugi took the lead and commanded the assault. His close ministers advised him: "The Ming army's iron artillery is very powerful. The projectiles flying here are extremely dangerous. If you are hit, you will not be able to save your life." , Your Highness, please take command from the rear!"
Otani Yoshitsugi pushed him away and said: "Life and death are determined by fate. If the bullets destined to end my life are not on today's battlefield, there is nothing to fear even if the bullets are raining down." Then Otani Yoshitsugi continued to lead his team to advance.
At this time, the Ming army was also gradually having trouble, mainly in the supply of firearms. Since it was originally a cavalry reconnaissance, it was not considered a fire reconnaissance, so the gunpowder and artillery they carried were not particularly sufficient. Now they have almost exhausted their ammunition. Except for the thousand cavalry gunpowder pellets brought by Li Rusong, which were enough to last for a while, most of the rest of the Ming army had actually turned into cold weapon troops.
The Japanese army has been emphasizing their terrain disadvantages, but in fact, the area from Toishihyeon to Byokjeokwan is filled with rivers and valleys, which are rugged and narrow, with paddy fields scattered in some areas. Coupled with the heavy rain yesterday and the melting of ice and snow, the roads were muddy. On the contrary, it was more difficult for the Ming army's cavalry advantage to be effectively used.
In this round of fierce fighting between the two sides, the Ming army's firepower advantage was not there, and its cavalry advantage was not reflected. After a hard battle, it was found that it could not be defeated, and it could only resist with its excellent armor. Seeing that this was not a long-term solution, Li Rusong decisively ordered to move the position northward and at the same time reorganized the front line to await reinforcements.
Near noon, the casualties of the Ming army further increased. More than half of the 4,000 soldiers and horses were injured, and many of them died in the battle. Li Rusong's generals were very few who could follow him to kill the enemy. However, the Ming army still Fighting with all his might.
At this time, the Japanese army had completed the encirclement of Li Rusong on three sides and launched a general offensive at the same time. The Japanese army was all over the mountains and plains, with nowhere to break out. The Ming army was already very tired from the battle. As the Japanese iron artillery team gradually formed their formation, Li Rusong also began to become anxious, fearing that he would lose his life here.
He quietly pulled Li Rumei over and told him a few words, but judging from Li Rumei's behavior, she seemed to strongly object and did not agree. Li Rusong sighed, but didn't say anything else. He just patted his fifth brother on the shoulder. Li Rumei was very nervous and followed her eldest brother step by step.
Tachibana Munesege also suffered multiple stab wounds at this time, but he was full of fighting spirit and shouted that Li Rusong would die to boost his morale and attack again. Ishida Mitsunari and Kuroda Nagamasa also asked Kobayakawa to order the entire army to attack.
At the critical moment, Yang Yuan finally led his own force of 1,000 elite cavalry and 4,000 reinforcements to rush to the rescue. He quickly entered the battlefield from the north and launched a fierce charge against the Japanese army. This wave of attacks caught the Japanese troops off guard, and they hurriedly tried to turn their guns around and reload their fire.
However, after all, they were suddenly attacked by a hail of bullets from the Ming army, and the queue was in chaos. At this moment, the elite cavalrymen of the Ming army each opened fire with lances, then changed their sabers and charged forward wildly. Although they were shot by matchlock guns, they quickly broke into the Japanese army's formation.
As a new force, this Ming army came to rescue his own coach, and it was really impressive. On the other hand, the Japanese army's formation was in chaos and their morale plummeted. Yang Yuan therefore opened up a way for Li Rusong's troops to survive. After informing Li Rusong that the rear team led by Li Rubai was following up, Li Rusong felt that he was in trouble and immediately organized his army to counterattack and meet up with Yang Yuan.
At this time, Wu Weizhong also led his troops to make a surprise attack from the mountain trail and headed straight for the Kobayakawa Takkei main formation. Upon seeing this, Kuroda Nagamasa immediately ordered his troops to stop them. Although the Ming army had the upper hand, the Japanese army was far superior in strength, and it was difficult to determine the outcome for a while.
Wu Weizhong ordered all the few No. 3 guns he brought to be fired at the Japanese army's main line, forcing the enemy to retreat. The Japanese army's main line was shaken. Kobayakawa Takakage shouted and asked who can retreat to Wu Weizhong? Yoshikawa Hiroyuki responded and led his troops to support the Kuroda team.
Wu Weizhong and his Ming army fought with all their strength, working with Yang Yuan and Li Rubai to buy time for Li Rusong to evacuate. At the same time, Ming army reinforcements also continued to enter the battlefield. The battle situation in the Bitiguan area became increasingly severe, and the scale of the battlefield became larger and larger.
Kobayakawa Takakage felt disappointed when he saw most of the Ming army's reinforcements. Moreover, the Tachibana Squadron, which was regarded as the main elite force, was almost completely lost. The Sixth Division also suffered heavy casualties, and there was no point in fighting again.
Kobayakawa Takakage intended to withdraw his troops. Ishida and Kuroda did not understand why they were withdrawing their troops at this time. Kobayakawa Takakage explained: "I knew that the Ming army was very strong, but I never imagined that it could be so strong. No wonder Konishi's First Division would Suffered such a disastrous defeat. Now that the Ming army has added thousands of reinforcements, the situation has changed and the fighter plane has been lost. It seems that like us, most of them will follow up later, and this place is not conducive to the main battle between the two armies. Continue here A stalemate is not a wise move.
In addition, this battle has already involved too many troops, and there are continuous conflicts in Gyeonggi Province. This is not the time for a full-scale decisive battle between us and the Ming army. We have completed the task of blocking the Ming army, and there should be no worries about the safety of Hanyang in the short term. "
Therefore, under the military order of Kobayakawa Takakage, the Japanese rear team changed to the front team, began to withdraw in batches in an orderly manner, and returned to Hanyang one by one. Seeing that the Japanese troops had withdrawn, Li Rusong was able to escape the danger. The Ming army returned to Paju to rest and prepare to withdraw to the north of the Imjin River.
Just as Li Rusong was about to leave, Liu Chenglong came to dissuade him. Li Rusong said: "I originally thought it was an ambush by a small enemy force, but it turned out that the enemy's main force was mobilized. What I saw was that the forwards alone numbered as many as 20,000. Based on this estimate, the total enemy force may not be less than 200,000. I The original force was only 50,000, but this time a large amount of gunpowder was consumed and many wounded people appeared. We have to wait for supplies to be replenished and the wounded soldiers to recover before we can consider the next step."
Liu Chenglong was naturally aware of the strength of the Ming army, and its huge consumption of supplies was visible to the naked eye, but he was surprised where the number of "two hundred thousand" Japanese troops mentioned by Li Rusong came from.
Of course, Li Rusong would not tell him that this was what Mr. Gao Ge said. He just suggested that in order to prevent the enemy's main force from attacking, he asked Liu Chenglong to leave this place quickly with him. However, the North Korean scouts came to report that the Japanese pirates had given up the pursuit and had all returned. Hanyang.
Liu Chenglong once again asked Li Rusong to reorganize his army, mobilize reinforcements, and attack Hanyang. However, Li Rusong insisted on returning to Kaesong to rest. Liu Chenglong, Jin Mingyuan, Li Yi, and others refused to let go. There was a conflict between the two sides for a while, and the soldiers below even There are those who fight with fists and feet.
However, these episodes could not change Li Rusong's decision. Soon after, the entire Ming army retreated and returned to Kaicheng to rest.
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