Konishi Governor's Second Army Corps is supposed to be one of the Japanese Army's most combat-effective regiments. Otherwise, he would not have been designated as the vanguard in both invasions of Korea, leading the way with Kato Kiyomasa on the left and right.
However, the Second Legion, including Governor Konishi himself, had been beaten by Li Rusong during the Renchen year. Especially when they saw the Ming Army cavalry, the entire legion felt bad, "Two groups. Fighting, I want to leave first."
This feeling may be like when the Jin Army meets the Yue Family Army, and they just moan about their bad luck before the fight begins. All military morale is suddenly gone.
Governor Konishi reluctantly resisted for a while. Unexpectedly, even the iron artillery team couldn't use it. I don't know if the soldiers' hands were shaking or something. A round of volleys was fired. The Ming army announced that only seven of the cavalry fell from their horses, and then they killed Arrive in front of the formation.
The Japanese iron artillery team had little armor, and the gunmen who rushed forward around them, perhaps because they were too short, could not stop the rampaging Xuanda half-equipped cavalry.
These cavalrymen directly charged into the Japanese battle formation with the support of their equipment. The sabers in their hands were held with their backhands and slanted across their sides. They pressed their arms against the back of the sabers and relied on their horse power to continuously harvest the lives of Japanese soldiers.
Governor Konishi was panic-stricken and gave strict orders to block the Ming army's offensive, but it was ineffective. Soon he saw that his own formation was about to be overrun, and he was so scared that he lost his mind.
At this moment, Mouri Hidemoto, who was in the rear, finally couldn't help but sent reinforcements, and almost helped Konishi Governor stabilize his position.
Mouri Hidemoto's Eighth Army has up to 40,000 troops, which is the strongest among the eight Japanese army. Although it has suffered some losses, it is still not something that can be defeated in one fell swoop.
Seeing that the main force of the Japanese army turned around to intercept, Xuanda's cavalry stopped attacking and retreated quickly. But they did not retreat far. They only lingered about a mile behind the Japanese army. It was obvious that if you dare to leave, I will charge again.
But at this time, Li Rumei, who was in the middle of the Ming army further back, suddenly received a report from a detective, saying that another Japanese army had been found about ten miles northeast of here. The strength was about 17,000 to 8,000, or perhaps It's nearly 20,000, please make a decision with Mr. Li.
Li Rumei was quite surprised. Another 20,000 Japanese troops came? Where did this come out of nowhere? He was puzzled and thought that no matter how courageous the Japanese army in Busan was, they should not come here - how could the Japanese army in Busan know that the main force of the Japanese army had failed in the surprise attack and wanted to flee back? What's more, how did they know that the Japanese troops would choose to take a detour instead of going directly to Mashan, Xiongchuan, and Jinhae when they fled?
It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense at all. But if it wasn’t the Japanese troops coming to Busan, then who would it be?
Li Rumei thought for a moment, but still couldn't figure it out, so she decided to temporarily withdraw her troops, only hanging far behind the main force of the Japanese army.
He and his elder brother Li Rusong have different personalities. Li Rumei is nicknamed "Little Li Guang" because he is a good marksman. Marksmen are usually calm and cautious people. Even if they are brave and strategic, they are mostly bold and careful. .
Li Rumei was being cautious now. He would rather take less credit than to see who this sudden Japanese army was.
Of course, having said that, the results of today's two rounds of battles between the Liaodong Army and the Xuan Army can be called a great victory, if not brilliant, and the credit is actually not bad.
The Japanese army didn't know why the Ming army wandered around for a while and then suddenly withdrew. President Konishi thought suspiciously that this must be another trick of Li Rumei. He probably hoped to use this to confuse the Japanese army and make the Japanese army relax from their tension. Then he Then lead the cavalry and suddenly kill them with carbine.
Therefore, President Konishi insisted that the Japanese army must not relax, never take any chances, and must always maintain a high degree of vigilance, even if it means moving slower.
Perhaps it was because the previous two waves of the Ming army's charge were too powerful, but this time Governor Konishi's reminder was almost unanimously recognized by all the generals. Everyone was a little scared and had to order the troops to close in and advance slowly so that they could fight at any time.
However, when they resumed their march, they soon received good news from Tanma, saying that Kato Kiyomasa, Shimazu Yoshihiro and Nabeshima Katsushige were leading troops to help.
This is really good news for the Japanese army. Unexpectedly, although Kato Kiyomasa and Shimazu Yoshihiro lost Hanyang, they actually maintained their military strength and joined forces with Nabeshima Katsushige, who also fled south.
In this way, the Japanese army outside Busan unexpectedly magically gathered its forces. This was simply the best news the Japanese army had received since Gao Pragmatic personally sent troops.
Ten miles is not very far, especially when the two armies are heading towards each other, so the two Japanese armies successfully joined forces less than an hour later. The generals on both sides were beaming with joy. Except for Kuroda Nagamasa and his son of the third army, the other seven army commanders among the eight Japanese armies gathered together again... Oh, no, it should be said that they were gathered together in one tent.
Ukita Hideie showed a rare smile recently and said to Kato Kiyomasa, Shimazu Yoshihiro and Nabeshima Katsushige: "The three of them can overcome all difficulties and reunite with us. This is the blessing of Amaterasu, and it also shows that this battle has begun." Let's turn the corner. As long as we work together, even if we face the powerful Ming army, we will be able to survive with great success and finally achieve a complete victory, living up to His Highness's expectations!"
He said these words with great enthusiasm, but he did not expect that Kato Kiyomasa, who had always been so high-spirited to fight, froze his smile, and finally turned into a bitter smile, and sighed: "General, Kato is afraid that this time, you and His Highness Taikou will have to fight each other." disappointed……"
Ukita Hideie was surprised and asked hurriedly: "What does His Highness Kato mean by this?"
"Alas..." Kato Kiyomasa had a bitter look on his face, sighing repeatedly, and finally said reluctantly: "The First Army suffered heavy losses, and it can almost be said that it was destroyed."
At this time, not only Ukita Hideie was surprised, but everyone was shocked. Even President Konishi did not gloat, but asked in surprise: "Hey, Kato, are you kidding? The First Legion is the elite among the elite. Wan Jingrui actually lit it up, what’s going on?”
Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga were extremely at odds with each other. Although the latter's words did not seem to mean gloating about his misfortune, Kato Kiyomasa was still unwilling to answer him.
In the end, Shimazu Yoshihiro beside him seemed to be unable to stand it any longer. He sighed and took over the conversation, and said to Yukinaga Konishi: "Your Highness Konishi doesn't know something. Although His Highness Kato's troops are elite and dare to fight, the Ming army seems to be because of the first Because of the great reputation of the first legion, he has special thoughts about it.
The two of us led our troops and ran southward, and were attacked from time to time by the Ming army along the way. However, the Ming army from all directions seemed to have their sights set on the first army, and they often concentrated their main forces to attack Kato's army. You guys have never seen it with your own eyes, otherwise you would have discovered that even if I led the fifth legion to support me, the Ming army would ignore me and attack His Highness Kato with all their strength.
Because of this, when His Highness Kato and I get here, the losses of the First Army will be much greater than those of my Fifth Army. Gentlemen, this situation is not a crime of war. I will also personally write to His Highness Taige to explain that the Ming army is really acting strangely, and it is no wonder His Highness Kato. "
This situation does seem a bit strange, but the Japanese generals were not too surprised when they heard it. They quickly figured out the reason: Kato Kiyomasa was the vanguard of the invasion of North Korea twice, and even captured two North Korean princes in the year of Imchen. This was not only a huge humiliation to North Korea, but also a serious provocation to the Ming army.
The Ming army has a very bad temper, and the Japanese generals are all familiar with this now. In their view, the Ming army was bound to retaliate and could not suffer any losses. As long as they thought that any Japanese army had acted excessively, they would surely wait for the Ming army's fierce revenge.
This is probably what Kato Kiyomasa's current situation is like. He and the First Legion have such great reputations that they may have been listed as key targets by the Ming army. That's why the Ming army left the Fifth Legion alone and focused on violent attacks. Weird things like this happened when we fought against the First Legion.
The Japanese generals thought they understood the truth and began to comfort Kato Kiyomasa. Ukita Hideie even said: "His Majesty Kato has fought so hard for His Highness Taiko. I believe His Highness Taiko will be pleased to hear this. Your Highness Kato, you are great You can rest assured that I will definitely make it clear to you in front of His Highness Tai Ge, and suggest that His Highness Tai Ge fully replenish or rebuild the First Army for you.
The war is now intense, and we still have a long way to go to fight hard. I hope His Highness Kato will not lose heart. Although the Ming army is strong, as long as we work together, this war will be a long time coming, and the winner will not be determined yet. "
Kato Kiyomasa said with a wry smile: "Thank you, General, for your understanding." But that was all. He seemed like he really didn't want to say anything more, and his demoralization was visible to the naked eye.
In fact, the Japanese generals did not know the inside story at all. The reason why Kato Kiyomasa has always been targeted by the Ming army is obviously because the Ming army generals received highly pragmatic orders.
Although there were only a few generals of the Ming army who knew that Shimazu Yoshihiro was one of their own at that time, they just had to give the order. There was no special arrangement for the Ming army below to only go to the top, and they would not ask why they only Beat Kato Kiyomasa, not Shimadzu Yoshihiro.
Of course, what Shimazu Yoshihiro said just now was also intentional. It would be bad if he didn't take the initiative to talk about it but waited for others to guess. Some people will definitely have doubts about Kato Kiyomasa's first army until it was almost destroyed, but his fifth army hardly fought a tough battle with the Ming army.
Now Shimazu Yoshihiro took the initiative to help Kato Kiyomasa, which immediately made the Japanese generals think of him, and they naturally thought that this was because Kato Kiyomasa was so popular that the Ming army regarded him as a leader.
They were talking here, and Nabeshima Naoshima took his son aside to talk. Naoshima Naoshima was very satisfied with Nabeshima Katsushige's performance this time, and even thought that his son had far exceeded his expectations. He praised him without any secret, and then asked about the loss.
Nabeshima Katsushige's losses were either great or small. He probably lost more than 1,500 people. But this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that he fled the farthest way south, so the whole army was exhausted and lost a lot of weapons, armor and other supplies. It would be an exaggeration to say that in terms of combat effectiveness alone, I am afraid that it is no more than ten percent.
The Ming army's previous inspection report said that the Japanese army had nearly 20,000 people, and it should be at least 16,000 or 7,000. However, this was actually a trick of the Japanese army. In fact, the Japanese army only had 14,000 people. Most of the people coming were members of Shimazu Yoshihiro's fifth legion.
Of course, Kato Kiyomasa's First Army was not really completely wiped out. He still had about 3,000 troops left - the First Army had 10,000 troops when it was dispatched, but only 3,000 were left. For an army of this era, , that can no longer be said to be disabled, basically it can be said that he has only his last breath hanging on his life.
The troops of Kato Kiyomasa and Nabeshima Katsushige not only suffered heavy casualties, but also had many wounded soldiers in the army. Their addition only exacerbated the material shortage of the Japanese army.
Of course, even so, Ukita Hideie and Mouri Hidemoto were still very happy, thinking that with the additional 10,000 troops, the possibility of holding Busan would be much higher. Moreover, their joining can be regarded as filling the gap where the Kuroda Army left the main group. No matter how you look at it, this is great news.
Everyone comforted each other and finally got down to business, that is, what to do next.
Originally, everyone had no other ideas this time and thought that the top priority was to return to Busan as soon as possible. However, Kato Kiyomasa seemed to get rid of his previous depression and said: "We can't go to Busan directly like this, at least we can't go to Busan with the whole army."
Everyone couldn't help but look at him. Ukita Hideie did not look down on him just because Kato Kiyomasa's First Legion had suffered heavy losses. He solemnly asked: "What is your opinion, Your Highness Kato? Please elaborate on it."
"Although Busan has been fortified for our army, its scale is limited after all. If our entire army enters Busan, due to the small town and the embarrassment of the city, if the Ming army gathers a large number of large barrels (artillery) to attack fiercely, our army will inevitably suffer heavy losses. This is one of the reasons."
"Secondly, the Ming army probably has no less than 100,000 troops in North Korea now. If they all come to Busan, how can Busan stop them? Therefore, I think it must be defended in separate points outside Busan. It is best to build a mountain city because the terrain of the mountain city is dangerous and can be It is difficult for the Ming army to fully utilize the advantage of the big tube, so it is conducive to holding on for a long time and waiting for the opportunity."
This statement was well-founded and everyone felt it was reasonable when they heard it, so Ukita Hideie immediately ordered people to send a map and opened it to discuss with everyone where they should set up strongholds.
Kato Kiyomasa said: "Originally speaking, Gimhae and Ulsan can be regarded as the east and west gates of Busan. Unfortunately, Gimhae is now in the hands of the Ming army... But at least Ulsan is still there and can still be defended.
Although because of the loss of the Golden Sea, Ulsan cannot guard the east and west gates of Busan, but even if only Ulsan is there, Ulsan and Busan can be the horns of each other. If the Ming army cannot take out the Ulsan stronghold, it will be difficult for them to use all their strength when attacking Busan, so I think Ulsan is the top priority for the next battle! "
He took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Although there are only three thousand left in our First Legion, everyone is ready to sacrifice for His Highness Taige - I, Kato Kiyomasa, am willing to go to Ulsan. I don't know where else. Your Highness, are you willing to come with me?"
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi" and "Altay's Laoxi" for their monthly support, thank you!
ps: No debt...
