After Shimazu Yoshihiro and Kato Kiyomasa quickly left the battlefield, they knew that since the Ming army had a large group of cavalry backstabbing, the remaining people of the First Army would not be able to resist for long, so the possibility of the Ming army cavalry continuing to pursue them was extremely high. Therefore, the two men led their direct soldiers to flee wildly.
People can always use extraordinary speed and endurance when escaping. At the normal speed of the Japanese army's march, the journey that used to take nearly half a day was completed in less than two hours this time. The two arrived at their destination. The first stop we discussed on the way was Aqishan City in the south of Zengfeng Peak.
Achisan Fortress was built on the top of a mountain, facing the Han River and extending to the southeast. Although the mountain is not majestic, it is enough to provide a panoramic view of the Han River and its surrounding landscape. This mountain city is hexagonal in shape and not too big. Its circumference is about two miles. It is close to the valley and the surrounding scenery is quite beautiful. The name of this city came from the fact that Taejo of the Lee Dynasty of Korea (reigned 1392-1398) changed Adan to Aqie, which means that in earlier times it was called Adan Mountain City.
This city has a long history, which can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period of the Korean Peninsula (4th to 7th centuries AD). At that time, Hanshan, the capital of Baekje, was invaded and fell by Goguryeo. Defeated and killed here at the same time.
This incident stained the name of Adan Mountain City with a touch of blood. This factor may also have contributed to the later renaming of the city by the Emperor Taizu of Joseon.
It was Shimazu Yoshihiro's first time here, but Kato Kiyomasa was not. When he entered Hanyang for the first time in the year of Renchen, he had passed through Aqishan Castle, and today's visit with Shimazu Yoshihiro was also due to his suggestion.
However, Kato Kiyomasa did not come here to garrison here - nonsense, in such a small town, and he and he only had four thousand soldiers, how could they possibly garrison in such a place?
The reason why Kato Kiyomasa came here was to replenish military rations. He had no intention of abandoning Hanyang and escaping today. He just planned to take advantage of the "main force of the Ming army moving south" to leave the city and defeat the Ming army that surrounded Hanyang. Therefore, it was impossible to carry more than one day's rations when he went out.
Now that they are defeated and fleeing, and depending on the situation, they can only continue to flee all the way south, then they obviously need to bring enough food rations. Otherwise, why run away without food? I'm afraid that if I can't run very far, I will be lost.
Although Aqishan City is not big, it is a peripheral stronghold of Hanyang. There is also some food and grass stored in the city. Although it does not seem to be much on weekdays, it is life-saving food at this moment. Even if he and Shimazu Yoshihiro are evenly matched, , they could eat for about twenty days, which was almost enough for the two of them to escape back to Busan with the remaining troops.
Retrieving the stored grain went smoothly, and there wasn't much worth mentioning. Since Aqi Mountain City is located high up, it is easy for Monojianban’s people to observe the situation in the direction of Hanyang from the mountain city. As soon as they took the food, Monojianban told them that the Ming army was approaching. Judging from its advancing speed, at most half The hour must come.
Shimazu Yoshihiro's eyes narrowed, and Kato Kiyomasa was even more straightforward, saying: "Come just as you come, it's no big deal if you expect anything. Your Highness Shimazu, this Achi Mountain City is quite unlucky. I didn't intend to stay for a long time. We are here." Just go.
There is a ferry not far to the south of this mountain city. His Highness Ukita and His Highness Mori have also used it before. There should be many ships controlled by our army now, which are enough for us to cross the river. You don't have to worry about this. "
Shimazu Yoshihiro didn't seem to be very worried about crossing the river. Instead, he asked, "Why did His Highness Kato say that this place is unlucky?"
"A king died in this ghost place a thousand years ago, and he happened to be killed by an army from the north. If the war is divided between north and south, then our army is in the south and the Ming army is in the north. This is why it is very ominous and we need to fight early. Leave." Kato Kiyomasa replied seriously.
In fact, although Kato Kiyomasa has a great temper, he is not an unlearned master. For example, he had high attainments in city building, and this ability was even valued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Perhaps it is precisely because he has a lot of research on city building that he likes to pay attention to the local cities wherever he goes. He often learns about them in depth, and thus understands the unfortunate history of Aqishan City.
Shimazu Yoshihiro thought he had some lofty reasons for not staying here for a long time, but he didn't expect it to be this reason. However, Shimazu Yoshihiro didn't care at all, he just nodded in agreement, and also said that he didn't know much about Hanyang's surroundings. , since Kato Kiyomasa has been here, then ask the latter to arrange the retreat plan.
Time was running out, so the two of them didn't waste much time and quickly led the army and food south to the ferry. However, it was a little bit beyond their expectations. Although some ships were indeed collected by the Japanese army here, the number was not too many. It is said that because the main force of the Japanese army went south in the past two days, the ferry defense was seriously insufficient, so that North Korean civilian ships secretly I took advantage of the chaos to sneak away some.
As a result, the plan of the two groups to cross the river at the same time was foiled, and it was necessary to decide who should go first.
At this time, Kato Kiyomasa was very generous and said that thanks to His Highness Shimazu's help today, he would have a chance to escape from the inevitable battle. Therefore, he was willing to stay behind and ask Shimazu's team to take the lead in crossing the river.
This time Shimazu Yoshihiro did not refuse. After accepting the suggestion, he began to direct the crossing of the river. It’s just that I don’t know if Shimazu Yoshihiro is inexperienced in crossing the river or something else. Kato Kiyomasa felt that the speed of Shimazu’s team crossing the river was really unflattering. After Monomiban reminded the Ming army cavalry that they were about to catch up, Kato Kiyomasa Regardless of Shimazu Yoshihiro's face, he personally intervened and took command, which greatly increased the speed of crossing the river.
After Shimazu's team completely crossed the river, Kato Kiyomasa began to direct his Shirakawa team to cross the river again. However, as luck would have it, just when he himself had just crossed the river and half of his men were still staying in the north of the river, the Ming army's cavalry had already reached the ferry.
Kato Kiyomasa was frightened and anxious. He quickly jumped on the ferry again, planning to return to Jiangbei and command his other half, Shirakawa's troops, to withdraw southward, or even if they could not withdraw smoothly, they would fight to the death to resist the Ming army to avoid losing their prestige - yes, The defeat of the first army may not be a real defeat, but the defeat of the direct lineage Shirakawa's main team is a real defeat. What's more, once these elite veterans are lost, Kato Kiyomasa's dominance in Higo will be greatly weakened.
However, Shimazu Yoshihiro appeared at the right time, forcibly held Kato Kiyomasa, and earnestly advised him not to be impulsive and not to seek death. Naturally, the rhetoric was all cliches, such as leaving green hills without worrying about running out of firewood, etc. In short, Kato Kiyomasa was not allowed to cross the river.
Kato Kiyomasa himself knew that even if he crossed the river now, he would not be able to save the situation. It was just that he couldn't cross the river in terms of face. But now that Shimazu Yoshihiro was so determined to "persuade", he had no choice but to yell and finally acquiesced.
Shimazu Yoshihiro did a complete show, and explained that although the army is cavalry, there must be a way to cross the river. The two of them should not stay here for a long time. It is only right to put down their psychological baggage and quickly "catch up with the left and right armies" .
Kato Kiyomasa let out a long sigh, glanced at the other half of Shirakawa's troops who were being massacred by the Ming army in Jiangbei, gritted his teeth and ordered a southward retreat - oh, it should be "catch up with the left and right armies".
At this time, the Ming army north of the Han River not only slaughtered the Japanese Ashigaru army with half-equipped cavalry, but also had more than 20 times the strength of the Japanese army. It was a completely crushing grass-cutting battle, and almost only took about a stick of incense. In just a short time, half of the elite Japanese army and the core force of the First Army were wiped out, and not even a prisoner was left.
The Ming army's Mongol warriors, who were covered in blood, excitedly suggested to Li Rumei: "Fu Rong Li, we have successfully annihilated about a thousand Japanese pirates. Now we can ask our brothers to blow up rafts and build pontoons to cross the river." .”
"Crossing the river? Crossing the river for what?" Li Rumei smiled slightly: "Send my general's order to withdraw the troops and return to Hanyang."
"Ah?" Bao Sai was stunned when he heard this, and said with a confused look on his face: "Withdraw troops back to Hanyang? Why? The Japanese pirates in front looked like the main force of Japanese pirates staying in Hanyang. Now our army is only across a river from them, and Our army is both cavalry and has the means to cross the river. As long as we cross the Han River, we can catch up with them tomorrow and annihilate them in one fell swoop!
Vice Rong Li, such good opportunities are rare. If we cannot seize the opportunity, not to mention that Admiral Ma will look down on us, I am afraid that even the Marquis will issue strict orders afterwards! "
"Don't worry, it won't happen." Li Rumei said with a smile: "There are some things you don't know. Today's battle is going like this. It's just right. If we continue to chase across the river and swallow up all the three thousand people in front of us, Then you really need to be severely ordered by the Marquis."
"Ah? Why is this?" Bai Sai couldn't understand it at all, and wondered: "If we swallow up the three thousand people in front of us, it will be like annihilating the Hanyang Japanese pirates in one day! This is a great achievement, Lord Marquis Why should we be strict?"
"Uh..." Li Rumei was at a loss for words. After all, only a few people in the Ming army knew that Shimazu Yoshihiro was in Cao Ying and his heart was in Han. He obviously didn't know about it, and he couldn't tell the truth easily. to him.
Therefore, Li Rumei had no choice but to cough dryly and said: "This matter is serious, so I can't go into details. General Bao Sai only needs to know that the Marquis personally took care of this matter."
The reputation of being highly pragmatic is indeed very useful. When he heard that it was "the Marquis personally took care of it", he immediately stood up straight, clasped his fists towards the south and said: "Since it is the Marquis' care, I think there must be a mystery. This is beyond the ability of the general to guess." , as long as the general obeys his orders."
He didn't doubt that Li Rumei was talking nonsense. After all, he was not only the fifth son of the Li family, but also the brother-in-law of the Marquis. What was so strange about knowing the inside story?
After Li Rumei's order was passed on, many Ming army officers were a little surprised. Their idea was actually similar to setting up a match. They thought that the three thousand Japanese troops south of the Han River might have escaped now, but if they were willing to pursue them, they would kill them by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. We will definitely catch up with them and kill them completely. It is a bit strange to withdraw our troops back to Hanyang at this time.
But the Mongolian general Paisai was used to being direct. When he saw the soldiers were suspicious, he simply didn't hide them and said directly that the Marquis had an order to let them go today.
Originally, his words were out of shape compared to Li Rumei's words, but they had a miraculous effect - the admiration of Gao Pragmatic among the nine soldiers of the Ming Army became a complete conditioned reflex. When they heard Gao Pragmatic's order, they all made up their own minds. Reason.
ah! Yes, it wouldn't be a big deal to let these three thousand people flee south, but their escape back into the Japanese pirate army will definitely shock the Japanese pirates - the two major Japanese armies relied on Hanyang Fort to defend themselves, and actually fell in one day. , and even almost wiped out the entire army. So what hope did the Japanese army have in this battle?
What is this move called in the art of war? Ah, by the way, isn't this just "attacking the city is the bottom priority, and attacking the heart is the top priority"? It must be the Marquis who is so powerful, he really has a clever plan!
Gao Jingshi, who was far away in Sichuan, watching the sea and listening to the waves, never expected that Li Rumei and Bao Sai would be able to make inexplicable "magical calculations" no matter what they tried to do to him.
Li Rumei led the main force of the cavalry back to Hanyang before nightfall. At this time, Ma Gui had already entered the city with the accompanying North Korean officials and the North Korean army, which was only more than 2,000 in number.
The people of North Korea were eating pots of wine to welcome the king's army. Although it was getting late, the people in the city were still celebrating the recapture of Hanyang.
Li Rumei shook her head slightly, thinking that the Japanese pirates were just barbarians after all. It was clear that the rule of the King of Joseon was in ruins, but the Japanese pirates occupied Hanyang twice, but they did not win any support from the people.
However, he didn't think much about it. After making some arrangements for the garrison, he immediately went to see Ma Gui and reported the situation of the pursuit. He also handed over the severed heads and asked Ma Gui to send someone to count and deal with them.
Ma Gui learned that Li Rumei had annihilated half of the Shirakawa reserve force but did not fight against the Shimadzu reserve force. He was very satisfied and said with a smile: "Ziqing fought extremely well in this battle. Thank you for your hard work. In this way, the Marquis told us Even if most of it is successfully completed, all that is left is to march the army southward, drive and harass the Japanese pirates along the way, implement the strategy of exhausting the army, and prepare for the final annihilation of the Japanese pirates."
Li Rumei mentioned another thing: "Our army's next battle will naturally be carried out according to the instructions of the Marquis. But now that Hanyang has been recovered, shouldn't it be time for the North Korean royal family to return to Beijing?"
"Of course this matter needs to be done." Ma Gui nodded and said, "So you have to lead the army going south. I will stay in Hanyang for a while until the King of Korea is 'invited' to settle it down. I will lead the troops south again to avoid changes."
Li Rumei frowned slightly and asked, "Will General lead the Liaodong cavalry south first?"
Ma Gui shook his head, then smiled slightly and said: "Why, Ziqing is afraid that I will be reluctant to hand over the Xuanda Cavalry to you? Don't think too much, today you also command the Xuanda Cavalry, have I ever intervened? Intervene?"
Li Rumei hurriedly said: "This is not what I meant..."
"Okay, okay." Ma Gui waved his hand and said: "Whether it is Liaodong or Xuanda, they are all soldiers of the emperor, and they all obey the military orders of the Marquis. I can command the Liaodong Army, why can't you command the Xuanda Army? If this doesn’t make sense, don’t worry about those trivial matters.”
Li Rumei lowered her head slightly and said, "Thank you, Admiral, for your trust."
Ma Gui pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Well... I also have something to ask for when you go south this time."
Although Li Rumei was a little surprised, she immediately said: "The admiral's words are serious. If you have anything to do, just give me your instructions."
"Take Ma Chengzhao with you." Ma Gui sighed softly and said, "It's not a big deal that this kid has always been under my father's command. He has to work hard on his own to become successful.
Ziqing, although you are only ten years older than him, you are still considered his uncle. I would like to ask you to give me some guidance as we go south to fight this time. Especially don't indulge him because of my face. If he dares to make a mistake, you can deal with it how you want. I have no objections here. "
Li Rumei hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said: "Admiral, don't worry, Rumei will do her best."
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi", "soviet2003", and "lyle" for their monthly support, thank you!
Thank you to the book friend "Didi Kaka Club" for your support of 10 monthly tickets, thank you!
PS: Although I was as sleepy as a dog, I finally finished coding before 0 o'clock today...
. Lewen
