The next day, King Li Wan of Joseon issued an order, ordering Quanli to lead 30,000 Korean troops outside Wangjing City to march eastward to intercept the Japanese Fourth Army's branch that was fleeing south from Hamhung. The decree clarified the command arrangement for this battle: Quan Li would be in charge of the Korean army and the Jurchen coalition forces that came to aid Korea as the marshal of the capital of Korea. However, if Dong Yiyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Ming army, rested and reorganized and moved south, Quan Li and the Jurchen coalition forces would Dong Yiyuan was transferred to the command.
Since it involved the Jurchen coalition and even the Ming army itself, regarding the issue of command authority in this edict, Ma Gui, the Ping-Japanese admiral of the Ming Dynasty, immediately issued an order to confirm Li Hao's statement.
Quan Li was unaware of some political undercurrents at this time. After receiving the order, he immediately went to the military camp outside the city to order troops and began to prepare for the expedition.
However, not long after he arrived at the military camp, someone reported that former leader Liu Chenglong had arrived and was waiting outside the camp gate. Quan Li was taken aback and hurriedly came out of the camp gate to greet him.
As soon as he saw Liu Chenglong, he asked: "Mr. Xiya, why are you here? What happened to Wang Jing?"
Liu Chenglong had a serious face, waving his hands but saying nothing. Quan Li knew that the matter was of great importance, so he quickly asked Liu Chenglong to enter the account, and then retreated to interview Liu Chenglong alone.
When there were only Liu Chenglong and Quan Li in the tent, Liu Chenglong sighed softly and said: "If Marshal Du is in Wang Jing, there will be no big things in Wang Jing. If Marshal Du is away from Wang Jing, then there will be big things in Wang Jing."
Quan Li was startled, with doubts in his eyes, and asked, "What does Mr. Xiya mean by this?"
Liu Chenglong said: "Marshal Du, Jackie Chan is already a commoner, so Marshal Du just calls me by my first name."
"How dare you be so rude? If you don't abandon me when you meet my brother, you and I might as well call each other cousins." Although Quan Li was eager to know why Liu Chenglong came to look for him personally, both of them came from the top families of the two classes, so etiquette should not be discarded. of.
"Well, let me dare to call you Brother Yanshen." Although Quan Li "debuted" very late, Liu Chenglong is actually five years younger than Quan Li, so he said this.
Quan Li cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry for you, brother. If you have any advice, please tell me."
Liu Chenglong immediately sighed again and asked thoughtfully: "Brother Yanshen, I dare to ask: If we look at today's North Korea in terms of the Ming Dynasty, what are the benefits of its existence and what are the disadvantages of combining it?"
If we look at it from the Ming Dynasty's standpoint, what's the benefit of keeping North Korea now, and what's the harm of annexing it?
Quan Li's back lit up, he took a breath of cold air, and suppressed his uneasiness and said: "If you keep it, your righteousness will be clear, and your destiny will be fulfilled; if you merge it, all the vassals will be separated from each other, and the world will have different aspirations."
Liu Chenglong shook his head and asked: "Who is the leader of the vassals, and who is the leader of the four seas?"
Quan Li was startled when he heard this, and frowned: "There are dozens of vassal states in the Ming Dynasty, aren't they all vassals? There are other countries besides the vassals, aren't they the Four Seas?"
Liu Chenglong shook his head and said: "There are dozens of vassals, and those who dare to compete for 'Little China' are North Korea and Annan. Annan has long been attached to it, and the former king of Tiannan is now nothing more than the commander-in-chief of the capital.
Among the other vassals, those that flourished for a while were none other than Siam, Burma, and Sri Lanka. But where are these countries now? Whether it exists in name or in reality is entirely within the control of Ming Dynasty. Since Annan, Siam, Myanmar and other countries all ended up like this, how different is Korea compared to them today, so that it is not coveted? "
Quan Li frowned, and after a long while he said: "During the Renchen Incident, the Ming Dynasty sent troops out of justice, and then did not interfere in the affairs of the North Korean government, and did not even agree to the king's request. He only focused on helping North Korea recover. In this way, how can we do it for no reason? Do you suspect that the country above has the intention to annex smaller countries?
Furthermore, the reason why Annam, Siam, Burma and other countries were suppressed by the heavenly troops was because they first had a disobedient heart and raised unjust troops, which angered the superior country.
This is not the case in North Korea. Our country has been a loyal vassalage for two hundred years. When envoys from other countries pay homage to the emperor, North Korea always ranks first. How can its loyalty and sincerity be comparable to that of other countries?
Moreover, our country, Korea, was listed as a country not to be conquered by Taizu of the previous country, and it ranked at the top of the list. Today, Emperor Wanli has inherited great power for many years. He has conquered the world and besieged all nations. He is indeed a wise emperor rarely seen in ancient times. How can he covet the forbidden land of his ancestors? "
Liu Chenglong smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Yanshen, these words are just for others. Can people like you and me be credulous?"
Quan Li did not answer, but asked: "Brother Jian, since you have said so, why do you suspect that Ming Dynasty already has the intention to covet North Korea?"
Liu Chenglong said: "First in Pyongyang, then in Wangjing, where the King of Joseon is stationed. Except for a hundred palace guards, there is not a single officer or soldier of our court in the city. Brother Yanshen, don't you think this is too much?"
Quan Li shook his head and said: "Admiral Ma's move was indeed a bit excessive, but...after all, everything happened for a reason. In the year of Renchen, we had some disputes that really didn't make sense, especially because we were eager to regain the three capitals, etc., which caused the heavenly soldiers to suffer a lot. A loss. I think it is reasonable for Admiral Ma to act this way."
When Liu Chenglong heard this, his expression became a little ugly, because Quan Li's words actually related to one thing. For Liu Chenglong, it was almost a stain, but for Quan Li himself, it was brilliant.
At that time, just after the battle of Bi Ti Guan, Liu Chenglong reported to Li Huo that he even spoke ill of the Ming army: "The task of suppressing the thieves and restoring the territory was entrusted to the generals, and the troops retreated to the camp, but no one came forward first. "
In this context, Liu Chenglong, who claimed that the heavenly soldiers were defeated and fled at the Byok Pavilion, was relying on the Battle of the Byok Pavilion to make some small moves to reduce his guilt of lying about military information and logistical disadvantages.
"And the generals, Liu Chenglong and others, wanted to rely on the power of heaven and join forces to attack the capital first." So the Battle of Xingzhou Mountain City began as a military adventure.
Xingzhou Mountain Fortress is located in the southwest of Hanyang, about three miles away from Hanyang (about 11,781 meters in Japan), on a hill about 40 feet high by the Han River. The hill is high on three sides, with water in the southeast and southwest. There is only one road up the mountain in the southwest, and it is very difficult and dangerous. There is also a well and spring on the mountain.
At that time, Quan Li, who was the inspector of Jeolla Province, led an army of four thousand, coming from the south to the north to go to King Qin. When passing by the Yangchuan River, he ordered the military envoy Xuan Juyi to lead 1,700 people to defend the river bank, and he led two elite soldiers. Thousand Three Hundred, when the Japanese army was reinforcing the defense of Hanyang, they moved from Suwon Daoseong to Heungjusanseong in Goyang.
At the same time, he ordered the garrison general Zhao Jing to rush to repair the fortress, transform the original old city into a stone wall one foot high, and build an antler gate in front of the city. After receiving the news that the North Korean army had arrived in Xingzhou, a thousand monk soldiers near Hanyang, led by monk Chuying, came to assist in the defense.
Quan Li's stationing was actually a military adventure without any follow-up cooperation. Xingzhou Mountain City "is surrounded by more than 300 steps on all sides, so large troops cannot be stationed." This means that Xingzhou Mountain City itself is too small and cannot garrison heavy troops.
The 2,300 men led by Kwon Ryul at that time only accounted for about 1.334% of the total strength of the North Korean army at that time, 9.2% of the total strength of Jeolla Province, and about 4.3% of the Japanese defense strength of Hanyang. In other words, for both North Korea and the Japanese army, the symbolic significance of the existence of the Xingzhou Mountain Fortress garrison is far greater than its military significance.
At this time and place, Quanli's isolated army, which was out of touch with the surrounding Ming and North Korean coalition forces, was essentially unable to pose an actual threat to the Japanese army in Hanyang. Due to the terrain restrictions of Xingzhou Mountain City itself, in terms of recovering Hanyang, the small Xingzhou Mountain City could not hoard supplies, so it was impossible to gather heavy troops, and it did not have much practical significance for the recovery of Hanyang.
However, regardless of whether it was of practical significance or not, Kwon Yulbu's sentinel soon went to Muakhyeon, a suburb of Hanyang, and encountered a Japanese patrol. Eight or nine Korean soldiers were killed. Then the Japanese army dispatched about 1,200 people to block land transportation in Xingzhou Mountain City.
In the early morning of the next day, the Japanese army marched from Hanyang to Xingzhou Mountain City. The total army was about 30,000 people, divided into seven teams: the first team was Konishi Yukinacho, the second team was Ishida Mitsunari, Masuda Nagamori, Otani Yoshitsugi, and Maeno Nagayasu, and the second team The third team Kuroda Nagamasa, the fourth team Ukita Hideie, the fifth team Yoshikawa Hiroie, the sixth team Motoyasu Motoyasu and Kobayakawa Hidehao, and the seventh team Takakage Kobayakawa, all arrived in the early morning at about five miles northwest of Xingzhou Mountain Castle. on the plains.
In the early morning, due to the narrow roads in Xingzhou Mountain City, the Japanese army attacked in turn. The Korean army used the British monk army to guard the outer gate and stabbed with spears and swords. The regular army relied on the stone walls to help defend and counterattacked the attacking Japanese army with bows, arrows and stones. , mixed with large and small blunderbuss, as well as thunder, paper cannons, large and medium fire and other firearms.
The Japanese army took turns attacking under the firepower of the defenders, and once tried to burn down the wooden fence with fire, but the defenders extinguished it with water. The Japanese war dead "were dragged out one after another, but they were still advancing and refusing to retreat." They charged repeatedly as many as eight or nine times in total.
On the way, the three teams of Yoshikawa Hiroie, Motoyasu Motoyasu and Ukita Hideie's general Togawa Tatsuyasu once broke through the defensive area of the outer city monk soldiers and arrived at the Ishigaki Castle defended by Gonuri. Seeing the strength of the Japanese army, the monk army had no choice but to retreat to the inner city.
Seeing that the situation was urgent, Quan Li personally drew his sword and killed several monks who retreated. Finally, he forced the Japanese army back again and erected a peripheral fence. The fighting lasted from early morning to evening, and the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties. Ukita Hideie, Yoshikawa Hiroie, Ishida Mitsunari, Maeno Nagayasu, etc. were all wounded, and the North Korean army had exhausted its gunpowder and arrows.
The Chungqing soldiers sent Ding Jie to transport two ships of missing arrows and entered the city from the sea. There were also more than 40 watercrafts in Jeolla Province operating at the mouth of Yangcheon. In order to prevent a large group of reinforcements from coming to attack, the Japanese army retreated to Hanyang that night.
However, the Korean generals not far away from the surrounding areas did not have a single soldier to come to reinforce the city either during the war or after the war. Instead, there were a large number of former Korean soldiers among the Japanese troops attacking the city - "Said: Did the thieves shoot arrows from our country? Jing Xi said: If there are many arrows that hit the target, there must be people from our country among the thieves who will join in the fight."
In order to prevent the Japanese army from attacking again the next day, Quanli, knowing that he was unable to resist, burned the Heungju Mountain Fortress and dismembered the corpses abandoned by the Japanese army to vent his anger, and then the entire army retreated to Paju. This is the battle of Xingzhou Mountain Castle, and it is also the battle where Quan Li becomes famous.
Looking back, in fact, the Battle of Xingju Mountain Castle, like the Battle of Byokjeokwan, can be regarded as the preliminary preparations for the planned Battle of Hanyang. The battlefields of the two battles were both three days away from Hanyang.
The Battle of Byokjeokwan was the Ming army’s last failed effort on the eve of food shortage, and they ultimately failed to cross the Toishihyeon. The Battle of Heungjusanseong was the Korean army’s abandonment of the city after the war. In fact, both armies failed to cross Hanyang. Establish a solid outpost in the suburbs.
Of course, in this battle, the Japanese army exposed its lack of ability to attack fortresses and its weakness in heavy firepower; while the so-called great victory of the North Korean army in burning the city and retreating once again exposed the chaos of its army, and it was difficult for various departments to cooperate and even Refusal to cooperate abounded, and Quan Li deliberately placed the monk soldiers in the most dangerous outer city, which also highlighted the embarrassing status of the Korean rebels.
In the Battle of Xingzhou Mountain City, later Koreans actually knew the real reason for this victory - "What happened today in Dago is a blessing from heaven. The generals did not save each other, but there were also generals who relied on each other's strength, so the heavenly soldiers have retreated." , and the thief cannot know whether he is there or not. The thief will not come back the next day, which is also a blessing from heaven." (Note: From "Records of the Ri Dynasty" in Jiyou, February 26, Seonjo's 26th year)
In other words, the Japanese army did not know that Xingzhou was just a lone army, and the Koreans abandoned the city immediately after the Japanese troops withdrew. This also reflects the luck and symbolism of the so-called victory in Xingzhou - and its non-replicability.
Compared with the Battle of Bi Tie Guan, the Ming army originally tried to achieve the purpose of advancing to control the Maoling area. Referring to the terrain around Bi Tie Guan and Xingzhou Mountain City and the city's warehouses, it can be seen that the Ming army was able to stock up on supplies and gather troops around Bi Tie Guan. Far superior to Xingzhou Mountain City.
However, in fact, the Ming army at that time had exceeded its logistical limit. Even after the battle at Bi Ti Guan, the Ming army was still in a state of food shortage even if the army retreated and stockpiled Kaicheng. The military rations that Liu Chenglong had promised to provide before were probably only enough for general-level officers.
As a result, Li Rusong felt sorry for the loss of his servants and worried that the food reserves would be exhausted and the morale of the army would be unstable. Finally, he was forced to return the main force to Pyongyang. As for the performance of the North Korean army, there is no possibility of attacking Hanyang at all.
However, in any case, the battle of Xingzhou Mountain City was caused by Liu Chenglong's failure in raising food, and he also cheated Li Rusong in front of Li Huo. Although the course of the war was a fluke and did not affect the overall situation, it was the first of the North Korean Army. He used his weak force to repel the Japanese army, which was far superior to his own force.
Therefore, no matter what, Kwon Yuldo became famous in one battle, and from then on he became an important minister of Joseon who was as famous as the Navy Admiral Yi Sun-shin and was actually more important. After the war, the situation of all parties gradually became clear. Although Liu Chenglong was not criticized (after all, from North Korea's point of view, they did not lose by providing less military rations), people who know the truth will naturally make public comments.
When Liu Chenglong heard Quan Li mention this matter in such a circumstantial way, he not only looked ugly, but even wanted to leave right away. He thought to himself: Although your background is not bad, Quan Li, the reason why you can become an official is that Or is it because of my recommendation that you don’t want to treat me like nothing even if you have achieved something today? Do you really think that Li Shanhai’s comeback will last forever?
He was annoyed and angry, but thinking about the current situation of the Southern People's Party, Liu Chenglong still had to hold back his anger and said in a gentle manner: "Although the country is strong, it is still a foreign country; although North Korea is weak, it is still a mother country. State. Besides, my two groups of children have been officials for generations. If they are merged into the upper state, how do you know that they will not decline in three generations? Brother Yanshen, do you think so?"
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