The total cavalry of the Japanese First Army and the Fifth Army was less than 300 horses. They could only maintain about 200 sentry riders at ordinary times. Even the "monojian" errands were not performed satisfactorily. Therefore, this large group of cavalry approaching quickly from the rear cannot be our own cavalry, but can only be Ming army cavalry!
Kato Kiyomasa now understood the meaning of the crazy gold ringing on the tower of Hanyang City. Apparently Shimazu Yoshihiro discovered the traces of the Ming Army cavalry, and judged that their target was the First Army Corps that had left the city to fight the Ming Army's siege troops, so he They didn't care at all whether the First Legion was suitable to retreat at this moment, they just gave a crazy warning first.
In just an instant, the inner clothes of Kato Kiyomasa's armor were soaked with cold sweat, because according to the current battle situation, it was impossible for him to temporarily retreat and change formations, and this meant that when the Ming cavalry came from behind, he was the general behind The back is completely exposed.
If this is the case, the consequences are self-evident - several battles in the Renchen year have already fully proved that the Japanese army cannot defeat the Ming army's armored cavalry in frontal combat, let alone "facing the enemy" from behind at this moment?
Retreating means at least three more rounds of volley fire, and then it is uncertain whether the Ming army infantry will pursue them. If they do not retreat, the Ming army cavalry will definitely be massacred like mowing grass once they arrive.
what to do? Kato Kiyomasa's previous war experience completely failed at this moment, and he stood blankly on the spot, looking as if he had temporarily lost the ability to think.
At this moment, the sound of gold ringing on the Hanyang Tower suddenly stopped, and instead, the sound of "creaking" and "creeping" hinges and the pulling of iron cables could be heard. Then Kato Kiyomasa heard a deep and loud sound: "Peng!"
He finally came to his senses and turned around to look, only to find that the suspension bridge at Hanyang North Gate had been lowered, and the city gate behind the suspension bridge had also opened at the same time.
What's going on? Kato Kiyomasa was shocked and thought something was wrong. Could it be that Shimazu Yoshihiro was planning to surrender?
However, he immediately realized that something was wrong, because Shimazu Yoshihiro rushed out in full military uniform riding a Ming army horse that was obviously captured in the last war. Behind him was a Shimazu family warrior in armor. Of course, the most important thing is that they are all holding weapons and shouting: "Send っPay けて!"
[Note: The general meaning is "kill him" or "destroy him". In many Chinese film and television dramas, it is often inaccurately transliterated as "kill him", but the actual pronunciation is more like "Ahigaigai", and the Roman pronunciation is :ya-ttsu ke te. ]
Ah... Shimazu Yoshihiro went into battle instead of surrendering?
Kato Kiyomasa was at a loss again and thought to himself: What are you doing out of the battle at this time! Isn't it not enough for me to die, you also want to die? Then isn’t Hanyang completely doomed?
However, time no longer allowed Kato Kiyomasa to think too much, because Shimazu Yoshihiro quickly rushed not far away from him, raised his sword and shouted: "The main force of the Ming army's cavalry going south has arrived and is rapidly circling the city from the west gate. The attack is coming, Hanyang Congcheng is out of control! His Highness Kato, please stop hesitating and follow me to break out of the encirclement!"
Only then did Kato Kiyomasa realize that Shimazu Yoshihiro was here to save him from the encirclement. At this moment, no matter whether he agreed with Shimazu Yoshihiro's decision to abandon Hanyang or not, the fact that the other party valued him so much still made him feel warm in his heart, and he subconsciously said: "Thank you, Your Majesty Shimazu!"
With this shout, Kato Kiyomasa had nothing to hesitate. He raised his famous weapon, the sickle, and shouted: "The Shirakawa team is coming closer to me, and we will break out with the Shimazu team!"
The "Shirakawa Honbu" is the elite direct lineage of Kato Kiyomasa, named after Shirakawa near Kumamoto Castle, his residence in Higo Province. Kumamoto Castle was originally the residence of the local wealthy family for generations. It is located in the northern suburbs of the former Higo Palace. In ancient times, it also had the names of Xiongiri, Kuma-no-so, Kumabe and Kuma Benda - here in "ancient times" it refers to Kyushu. Aboriginal "bear raids" on Aboriginal heartlands.
According to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's enfeoffment, Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga almost divided the Higo country equally. Their top priority in Higo at that time was to rectify the territory. In addition to reorganizing Kumamoto's castle town, Kiyomasa also managed several rivers that had been in trouble for many years - Japanese people generally call rivers "rivers".
There is a Shirakawa River flowing southward next to Kumamoto Castle. In order to protect the castle town from floods, Kato Kiyomasa built a tall and strong embankment on the north bank of the Shirakawa River.
In order to show off his achievements, after the embankment was built, Kato Kiyomasa immediately renamed the core direct force under his command "Shirakawa Preparatory Corps". After the expedition to Korea and the formation of the First Army, because they were still under the direct command of Kato Kiyomasa, they were named "Shirakawa Preparatory Corps". It's called "Shirakawa Main Team".
Similarly, the "Shimadzu main team" mentioned by Kato Kiyomasa at this time was also the reserve team directly under Shimazu Yoshihiro. They were all real Shimadzu elites, and none of them had participated in the war that the Shimadzu family swept across Kyushu Island. All are veterans with rich war experience.
In fact, they are not only the "Shimadzu Elite", but almost all of them come from Izumi Castle, which Shimazu Yoshihiro once guarded for a long time. In fact, they are direct descendants of Shimazu Yoshihiro himself. There are currently nearly two thousand people in Hanyang.
Shirakawa's team and Shimadzu's team quickly gathered together, with Shimadzu in front and Shirakawa behind, aiming towards the east city. Kato Kiyomasa now understands that it is impossible to win today. The only thing he can still work hard for now is to preserve the real core strength of the First Army and the Fifth Army.
Therefore, before he and Shimazu Yoshihiro retreated to break out of the encirclement, he issued a very inhumane order: the rest of the First Army Corps moved forward in full force, demanding that "completely defeat the Ming army in front of them within a moment!"
Of course he knew that this was an impossible task, but as the saying goes, Ci does not control troops, his intention was very obvious, that is, to let these non-core troops fight to the death to hold back the Ming army infantry group, so that it could not divide its troops to hinder him and Shimazu Yoshihiro's breakout.
Since the First Army Corps had just been pressing forward with the Ming army's volleys all the way, it was already relatively far away from Kato Kiyomasa's position, so naturally it could not hear what Shimazu Yoshihiro had just shouted.
Therefore, after they received the order, although many people discovered that Shimazu Yoshihiro was also in the battle, they thought that this was Shimazu Yoshihiro and Kato Kiyomasa's concentrated elite plan to outflank and flank the Ming army. Therefore, not only did they not collapse, but their morale was high. Get up, howl and launch a fierce attack forward, hoping to break through the Ming army's chariot formation first.
This sight may sound strange, but it's actually quite normal. Human vision is very limited, especially in a crowded battlefield. Soldiers fighting fiercely at the front can often only perceive the battlefield near them, and it is impossible to understand the entire battlefield. They can only judge the current situation through military orders.
If a military order tells you to retreat, it's probably because the battle situation is unfavorable; if a military order tells you to hold on, it's probably because the opponent is launching a violent attack; and if a military order tells you to attack, it usually means that the opponent's defense line has been shaken. In short, unless the comrades around him die quickly one by one and there is no follow-up replacement, even if the battle situation is somewhat unfavorable, it is actually difficult for the frontline leader to detect it in time.
On the Ming army's side, Qi Jin saw the performance of the Japanese army. He first ordered to stop the bombardment, and then laughed and said to Ma Gui: "Admiral Ma, Shimazu Yoshihiro has opened the city gate to fight. Should we seize this opportunity? Let’s seize the city gate first and then talk about it?”
Ma Gui shook his head slightly and said: "As long as Kato Kiyomasa and Shimazu Yoshihiro leave, Hanyang City will already be in our army's possession. Once the remaining enemies outside the city are eliminated, Hanyang City's mission will be settled, and there is no need to waste troops. Or spread the force.”
Qi Jin chuckled and said: "In that case, can our artillery battalion shell the rear of the Japanese army? To be honest with the admiral, this fake war is too boring, and my brothers are very itchy... Besides, we have gunpowder this time. There is enough, and there is no need to consider the shortage of military supplies after capturing Hanyang."
After listening to this, Ma Gui took stock of the battlefield situation and saw that the remaining more than 4,000 Japanese troops were trying their best to press forward. The formation was not very thick, so he couldn't help but ask: "You won't accidentally injure friendly troops, right?"
Qi Jin patted his chest and said: "Although the Japanese army's lineup has been compressed a lot, there is still a mile wide in front and back. Let's try to be as far back as possible to avoid accidentally injuring friendly forces." He actually didn't finish what he said, and there was only half a sentence left. "But if the Japanese army advances further, the shelling will only last one or two rounds and then stop."
However, Ma Gui had a new idea at this time and said to Qi Jin: "No, if we don't fire at the Japanese troops in front, they will be waiting for the cavalry to arrive on the battlefield. There is no need to bombard them. Look over there..."
As he spoke, he pointed at the two main teams of Shimazu and Shirakawa who were about to escape towards Dongcheng, and said: "Did you see it? Shimazu is leading the way now, and Kato is following behind. You have the artillery battalion facing Kato Kiyomasa's ass." Just a single bombardment is enough - first beat Kato Kiyomasa into a frightened bird, and after a while the cavalry has collected the four or five thousand Japanese pirates who were sold, and then pursue Kato Kiyomasa, which will definitely get twice the result with half the effort."
"The general has an order!" Qi Jin saw that the artillery battalion finally had a chance to fight well, and it didn't matter who to fight or not, so he immediately took the order and conveyed it to the artillery battalion. Soon the artillery battalion quickly turned the muzzle, adjusted the shooting angle, and began to fire at the back of Kato Kiyomasa's Shirakawa unit.
Since we are now beating a drowned dog, and the opponent is fleeing the battlefield, the artillery battalion does not engage in any volleys, and each artillery team relies on its own ability to output wildly. This time is different from usual. The range is limited after all, so it will be more fun if you can shoot more!
The biggest feature of the entire battlefield now is the rush for time: Shimazu and Shirakawa reserve teams rush for time to escape the battlefield, the rest of the First Army rushes for time to execute the "defeat the Ming army in front of them", Qi Jin Artillery Battalion rushes for time to fire one more shot to win the battle, and The Ming cavalry, who were on the sidelines but affected the overall situation, also rushed back to complete the flanking attack in a hurry.
Although cavalry are highly mobile, they generally cannot run all the way. What makes Li Rumei better than Li Rusong is his unique character as a marksman: he is extremely calm when he should be calm, and he will never do anything bad because he is impatient.
Therefore, when he heard the sound of artillery fire ahead, he still maintained a running speed that would not hurt the horse. But when he heard the incomprehensible shouts of the Japanese army, he suddenly raised his sword and shouted: "Clamp the horse's belly and speed up." !”
The main cavalry forces of the Ming Army's southern expedition, the Liaodong Cavalry and the Xuanda Cavalry, are currently led by Li Rumei. Although these two cavalry have somewhat different combat styles, they are both highly trained. In fact, as long as Li Rumei increases the horse's speed, this command does not even need to be said. They can completely judge and adjust the speed accordingly.
Not long after the Ming cavalry increased their speed, the battlefield appeared in front of them. Li Rumei quickly took a look at the overall situation, and kept in mind the direction of the two reserve forces Shimazu and Shirakawa to withdraw from the battlefield. Then she pointed her sword at the remnants of the Japanese First Army and shouted: "The enemy's back is turned to our army, which is the way to defeat the enemy." Good opportunity, brothers - follow me to break the formation!"
Under his urging, Li Rumei's horse suddenly jumped forward and began to run wildly. The cavalry around and behind him also accelerated suddenly in tacit agreement. The Ming army's half-equipped cavalry, totaling nearly 30,000, finally showed their most ferocious features. It was like a flood that was released from the floodgates.
The remaining Japanese troops had also woken up from the crazy attack and discovered the Ming cavalry behind them. These people had just attacked the Ming army's solid chariot formation. Not only had they failed to get past the enemy, they had also suffered heavy losses, leaving at least six to seven hundred corpses in front of the chariot formation.
Compared with the modern army, the feudal army was much worse in terms of its ability to withstand injuries. The Japanese army was obviously a typical feudal army. On the contrary, today's Ming army - especially the Ming army aiding Korea, has some of the early modern armies on many levels. Characteristics, coupled with reasonable tactics and weapon systems, the Japanese army suffered huge casualties in the battle just now, but the damage to the Ming army was minimal.
In this case, Kato Kiyomasa himself had already left the battlefield. The remaining Japanese troops suddenly found that not only had their attack failed, but they were also attacked by the opponent's cavalry from behind. Naturally, their morale plummeted and even collapsed instantly.
When the Ming army cavalry led by Li Rumei rushed behind the Japanese army, they felt that the Japanese army had lost the last of their courage. All formations and tactics were abandoned. They no longer cared about others and only hated their parents for having two children. Legs, while running around aimlessly, he tried his best to throw away the heavy objects on his body - whether it was bamboo armor or iron cannon, whether it was a hood or a sword, as long as it affected his escape speed, he threw away everything.
Generals Wu Weizhong and Mao Guoqi watched with envy as Li Rumei led the cavalry on a rampage to harvest lives, but they had to order to stop shooting to avoid accidentally injuring friendly troops. However, this is not the first time they have encountered this situation. Although envy is inevitable, they can still resist the urge to attack and cut off their heads. Instead, they order the wounded to be counted and sent to the military doctor for treatment, and at the same time, they order their subordinates to clean up the battlefield. preparation.
Li Rumei's charge did not just rely on advantages to charge randomly. He led his men into the middle and directly penetrated the Japanese line. Then the Liaodong cavalry went east and the Xuan cavalry went west, sweeping the remaining Japanese troops in both directions.
Although the defeated Japanese troops abandoned their helmets and ran away wildly, they could not beat the galloping horses in sprinting. Nearly half of them were quickly slaughtered. Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining Japanese troops also acted like soldiers. All of them made surrendering actions in unison, either raising their hands high or squatting down with their heads in their hands.
On the other side, Qi Jin's artillery battalion had fired about two rounds of scattered artillery at the buttocks of Kato Kiyomasa's Shirakawa unit. It was unclear how many casualties it had caused, but at least the two reserve units were frightened and sped up to flee. At this time, they had basically Ran out of the battlefield.
At this time, there were only a few scattered remnants of the enemy left in the First Army Corps. Ma Gui ordered the trumpets to be blown and the flags to be blown, and Li Rumei was ordered to give up the task of capturing prisoners one by one, and instead pursue the two escaping reserve teams. After receiving the order, Li Rumei immediately gathered the cavalry and turned to pursue eastward, while Wu Weizhong and Mao Guoqi were ordered to take over the cavalry to capture the Japanese troops and clean the battlefield.
At this point, the Japanese First Army, except for Shirakawa's own unit, which has basically maintained its establishment, more than 5,000 people were killed in the battle, more than 1,700 were killed, and almost all the rest were captured.
In particular, when Kato Kiyomasa ordered them to "defeat the Ming army in front of them", he handed over the flag of the First Army to them. Now this flag has also been captured, so the First Army can almost be said to have been completely annihilated.
The only thing that remains in suspense is one point: Can Kato Kiyomasa himself and his Shirakawa team escape?
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PS: I fell asleep while typing on my stomach last night. I didn’t know when my wife woke me up in the middle of the night and went to sleep. I didn’t get up until about nine o’clock in the morning to finish typing this chapter. It was embarrassing. This chapter is a make-up for yesterday's update, and today's update is separate.
. Lewen
