The news that the frontline troops had retreated made Li Ju almost go crazy.
"Jin Zidian was incompetent and lost his army when he was defeated. He should be held accountable."
In the court hall, listening to Li Zhu's roar of filial piety, all the officials were as silent as cicadas.
No one expected that the situation would become so bad.
It was fully believed that Jin Zidian would lead an army of 30,000 people to the south. Even if the rebellion of Jin Sangxian and others had been planned for a long time, it would definitely be a disaster and it would be decided day or night.
Unexpectedly, the battle situation turned out to be quite unsatisfactory.
More than half a month has passed, and Jin Zidian has not yet reached Busan. Not only that, the logistics supplies were also lost. As a result, the 30,000-strong army was hungry and had to retreat to Daegu to reorganize.
Li Zhu's hope for a quick victory was completely ruined.
The news coming back from the front line made the North Korean monarchs and ministers even more panicked.
"Your Highness, if there are tens of thousands of Xia's troops in Busan, they will be far more than North Korea can resist alone. If you are not careful, the danger of destroying the country is close at hand."
Cui Mingji spoke earnestly and tried hard to give advice.
He never imagined that the situation would become so complicated.
The Xia Kingdom's dispatch of troops suddenly made the situation in North Korea strange.
Although they have never had any dealings with the Xia State, the Xia State was able to defeat the Ming Dynasty to the point of defeat. It must be even better in terms of force.
North Korea has long known how powerful the Ming Dynasty is.
The rebellion supported by Xia Guo can no longer be quelled by North Korea's own strength alone.
"How do officials know... Isn't this a way for Jin Zidian to exonerate himself?"
Li Zhu was extremely angry and did not believe even a word of Jin Zidian's report.
As for Jin Zidian's virtue, many people in the court were also aware of it.
Cui Mingji couldn't guarantee whether Jin Zidian was lying.
After thinking about it, he suggested again: "Your Highness, why don't you ask the guardian envoy, Mr. Li Shibai, to lead the imperial guard battalion. Firstly, you can strengthen the military strength, and secondly, you can control the situation."
This proposal finally satisfied Li Zhu.
"The guardian envoy, go to Gyeongsang Province immediately and report back truthfully."
If the most worthy of Li Zhu's trust among the military generals, it was naturally Li Shibai.
During the years when he was trapped in Nanhan Mountain City, Li Shibai's loyal appearance was all seen in his eyes.
Moreover, Li Sibai's younger brother Li Shifang, the Jeolla Province Observer, was also the most active in the rescue among the various reinforcements. He also killed the famous Manchu general Yang Guli.
Although the Jeolla Province reinforcements were later defeated by the Manchus, and the defeated troops fled back and caused great harm to Jeolla Province, Li Zhu no longer cared.
Because of the actions of Xia Jun's scouts, Jin Zidian's food and grass were cut off, and the North Korean army had to withdraw and returned to Daegu. For a while, the smoke on the front dissipated somewhat.
However, things are not easy here in Busan.
Zuo Hua, Zhang Keda, E Honglue, and Bai Dasheng, the four naval generals, came together and presented the battle plan to Zuo Mengeng.
"Now we have a total of thirty-six Fu ships, each equipped with five light naval guns. There are also one hundred and thirty Haicang ships, each with two light naval guns. We plan to use the Fu ships as The baseline is to form four columns and form four lines of defense in the Tsushima Strait. Each line of defense is subject to a round of artillery bombardment when engaging in battle. After the end, the column withdraws from the battlefield and then circles back from the flanks to supplement the last line of defense. If this cycle continues and the Japanese warships continue to be consumed, we should be able to block the enemy from the land."
Zuo Mengeng compared the map and made some additions.
"A small team must be sent out to monitor the Tsushima clan to prevent the Japanese from bypassing here and attacking. In addition, your defense line should move forward and get as close to Fujiang Island as possible. In this way, you will have enough space. Perform array rotation."
Zuo Hua and the four others understood his intention.
Whether the Tsushima Strait is wide or narrow, it doesn't matter if we just line up and fight face to face. But if we want to fulfill the navy's rotational formation requirements, we must have enough room for detours.
small book booth
The only way is to move forward as much as possible, approach the Japanese coast, and strike with firepower as soon as the Japanese fleet appears.
Only by relying on a wide enough sea area and continuous investment of firepower can we hope to destroy a large number of Japan's warships, weaken Japan's military strength, and complete the defense of the sea.
This plan sounds simple, but it is not without its difficulties.
Bai Dasheng sighed: "In this case, I'm afraid our scouts will take great risks."
Since the fleet is approaching the Japanese coast, in order to grasp the movements of the Japanese army as much as possible, the reconnaissance ships must be closer to the Japanese mainland.
It is impossible for the Japanese not to see it, so they will naturally send troops to encircle and suppress it.
This will be a great test for Xia Jun's maritime reconnaissance force.
"This is your first independent battle at sea. There will definitely be many shortcomings. But you still have to be bold and make up for the shortcomings in time. The biggest fear is to be cautious and miss the opportunity. I will not interfere. As you command the battle, do it with confidence and boldness."
Zuo Menggeng carried out a complete delegation of power, and naval warfare was completely handed over to these generals.
He also knows that the sea is far away, the transportation is inconvenient, and the communication is poor. If he rashly conducts remote control on land, it will delay things.
Besides, Zuo Hua and the four others are all experienced people and possess advanced weapons in their hands, so they are completely worthy of trust.
The commander-in-chief's absolute delegation of power freed the four Zuo Hua from the pressure. After rushing back, they began to make corresponding arrangements.
The four men each led a column to leave the Port of Busan and headed towards the opposite side of the Tsushima Strait.
In front of the main fleet, countless Cangshan ships and Centipede ships have been released.
They are the eyes of the entire fleet, flying towards the coast of Japan like moths.
They have only one mission, which is to find the location of the Japanese fleet and check the movements of the Japanese people. Once anomalies are discovered, report them quickly.
Satsuma Domain.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa didn't wait long. Kato Chuhiro, Mouri Mitsuhiro, Yonda Hidemune and other foreign daimyo and Kansai daimyo came with their armies.
The armies of all the daimyo combined totaled more than 40,000 people.
Countless ships crowded the port, and the flags of each company were colorful. I don't know how many years Japan has not seen such a grand event.
"I am really lucky that Uwajima Domain can come. It seems that Oku also supports us."
Intatsu Hidemune is the son of Intatsu Masamune, although he is a foreign name like the Satsuma Domain, Kumamoto Domain, and Choshu Domain. However, Masamune Yonda had already defected to the Tokugawa family and was regarded as a traitor among the daimyo.
But this time the arrival of Yin Daxiuzong not only greatly enhanced the strength of the coalition forces, but also obviously represented Tokugawa Iemitsu's thoughts.
It seems that the shogun who tried hard to seize the country obviously also had unknown ambitions deep in his heart.
