Early the next morning, the Japanese soldiers had breakfast early, and then groups of Japanese soldiers marched towards the castle guarded by the Ming army.
These Japanese soldiers were obviously not elite at first glance. Because in addition to the long-handled knives made of bamboo, he wears mostly a variety of clothes, and most of the armor is also made of bamboo. In addition, many people have simple ladders erected around them.
There is no way, the Ming army's castle is built at a high place, and it is not practical to attack upwards with siege vehicles or siege ladders.
As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Matsudaira Nobutsuna was watching the battle from the rear, watching everything indifferently.
The first batch of Japanese soldiers who attacked the city were actually cannon fodder, used to test the Ming army's defense strength and possible defense weaknesses, so that they could adjust their attack methods and carry out targeted attacks.
After giving the order, the horn sounded, and the Japanese army launched an attack from three directions.
There were no surprises in this attack. The Ming army on top of the city easily defeated the attack.
After leaving corpses on the ground, the Japanese soldiers all fled back to the foot of the mountain.
But what was waiting for them was the blade of the Supervisory Team.
Without any mercy, they beheaded them all in front of the formation, hung their heads with the long bamboo knives they had used, and stood at the starting point of the attack.
Matsudaira Nobutsuna watched expressionlessly as the men of Yagyu Jubei carried out the military law. Then with a wave of his hand, a military order was passed, and the Japanese army, which was twice the size of the previous wave, was sent to attack the city again.
This time, there were musketeers from the Japanese army who came forward to cover.
"Bah, bah, bah..."
Although this wave of attacks was more intense, just like the first wave, the Ming army on top of the city took advantage of its geographical advantages. Even under the intimidation of the Japanese soldiers by the supervising team, they did not cause any harm to the Ming army. Without any pressure, he fled back after leaving corpses on the ground.
Without exception, these Japanese soldiers who fled back were beheaded again in public display.
After these two attacks, any Japanese, from Matsudaira Nobutsuna to ordinary Japanese soldiers, understood that the Ming army castle in front of them was very difficult to defeat.
The best way to deal with such a castle is to besiege the city. The defenders who surround the city will run out of ammunition and food.
However, Matsudaira Nobutsuna did not have this time, he was worried about the sea.
If it is ensured that the Japanese navy finally wins, then he can take his time and the Ming army that surrounds the city can starve to death.
However, he could not guarantee that he could only capture the castle as soon as possible, eliminate Sakurajima's Ming army, and prevent the Ming navy from continuing to attack.
While Matsudaira Nobutsuna was thinking about it, Yagyu Jubei, who was personally supervising the battle at the front, came back and said to him with a serious expression: "If we have time, we can continue like this and consume the gunpowder weapons of the Ming army defending the city, but, We have to capture this castle as soon as possible, it’s impossible without spending a lot of money!”
The implication is that elite troops must be sent to attack.
Matsudaira Nobutsuna had already realized this. After listening to his words, he nodded and said: "Okay, let's start in the afternoon!"
After the two attacks, it was already noon.
After lunch, there is no rest. The Japanese army finally sent out an elite army. This can be seen from their uniforms, as well as the armor, helmets and weapons they wear.
Li Dingguo, who was watching from the top of the city, finally passed the first military order.
In the past, the defenders at the top of the city just fought back on their own, and there was no need for him to command them at all.
It has to be said that the difference between being an elite army or not is not just about the equipment.
The elite Japanese troops in this new faction already knew how to cooperate in the attack, knew how to cover, and where to be attacked and where to fight back at the top of the city.
Unlike the Japanese soldiers before, who rushed forward noisily and even before they reached the shooting range, those who had muskets opened fire, and those who carried the ladders rushed forward as if they were stunned.
"This time, it's time to see how strong the firepower of the Ming army is!" Matsudaira Nobutsuna looked at this scene and said calmly and confidently.
After hearing this, Yagyu Jubei, who did not return to the front line, nodded and said: "That's true. After all, the ones sent here are the elites of the Kumamoto clan. They are also the elites of our great Japanese kingdom!"
The Kumamoto clan was also one of the most powerful clans in Japan. To a certain extent, they indeed represent the elite of the Japanese army.
Smoke rose from the top of the Ming army's city. Because it was far away, the gunfire coming here was a bit weak.
When Matsudaira Nobutsuna saw it, he couldn't help but twist his lips and sneered: "It seems that the Ming army in the city finally panicked and started shooting from such a distance. They must be afraid of the elites of our great Japanese country!"
Hearing this, Yagyu Jubei didn't know why, but the disdain that the Ming army commander had towards him immediately appeared in his mind. At first instinct, he felt that what Matsudaira Nobutsuna said was wrong.
Because with his way of looking at people, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Army would never panic! Especially since the war has just begun, it is even more impossible to panic.
Thinking this, he looked intently.
After just looking at it for a while, he was immediately shocked and said to Matsudaira Nobutsuna: "Lord Naka, something is wrong!"
He is a martial arts practitioner, so his eyesight is naturally better than that of ordinary people.
After hearing this, Matsudaira Nobutsuna turned to look at him with some confusion, and said slightly dissatisfied: "What's wrong?"
Yagyu Jubei's expression was a little excited, and he immediately pointed forward with his hand and said slightly quickly: "Those who fired are all sharpshooters in the Ming army. You see, about three or four gunshots can hit the target." One of our soldiers, no, he’s an officer!”
"What?" Matsudaira Nobutsuna was shocked when he heard this. He quickly turned back and looked intently.
After Yagyu Jubei reminded him, he found out that after a few puffs of gunpowder smoke rose up from the Ming army on top of the city, a Japanese officer who was attacking must be hit, causing that group of Japanese soldiers to fall into chaos. .
If one or two Japanese army officers were hit, it might have been a matter of bad luck, just a fluke.
However, what I saw in front of me was that Japanese army officers were hit one after another. It was not just bad luck, nor was it a fluke. He was really a sharpshooter!
"How come there are so many sharpshooters in the Ming army?" After Matsudaira Nobutsuna asked this, he immediately came back to his senses, frowned and continued, "Their muskets are also weird!"
After a pause, he said with great confidence: "Absolutely, their muskets are better than ours!"
It has been proven in naval battles that the Ming army's artillery has a long range and high accuracy. In this way, it is reasonable that the Ming army's muskets have a long range and high accuracy.
Understanding this, Matsudaira Nobutsuna's face suddenly became very ugly. Because at this time, he understood that in this way, the siege would become more difficult!
He was decisive and immediately ordered the troops to retreat.
With the sharpshooters of the Ming army here, killing Japanese officers, this style of play cannot continue, what a loss!
Matsudaira Nobutsuna then issued another order: "Send the order, all officers will change their uniforms, leaving only the logos we know to distinguish our identities."
After a period of panic, the Japanese elite launched another attack.
No surprise, in this attack on the Japanese army, there was no clear distinction between those who were ordinary soldiers and those who were Japanese officers.
However, the sharpshooters of the Ming Army holding rifled flintlock guns on the top of the city were all specially trained. Because they were trained mainly to carry out beheading tactics.
No matter what kind of army they are, and who their officers are, they all have some things in common. Such as words and deeds, or where they are distributed in the formation, etc.
When the Ming army came to attack the Japanese army, the understanding of the Japanese army began with the explanation of the Japanese army. The source of the information is naturally Zheng Zhilong's family who is familiar with the Japanese country, including his son in the Japanese country.
After arriving in Ryukyu, and even in Satsuma Domain, the Ming army was not idle and continued to collect information about the Japanese army and learn about them.
Therefore, in this Japanese attack, although they changed their military uniforms, there was not much difference in the eyes of the Ming army's sharpshooters. In the end, the Japanese army's attack once again retreated because most of the leaders of the Japanese army were killed and they were unable to form effective command.
This day passed like this.
During the military meeting in the evening, Matsudaira Nobutsuna's expression was very serious. He had never seen such a powerful enemy in his life. He understood that this Ming army on Sakurajima was the biggest hurdle in his life, and he had no idea whether he could overcome it.
After asking, other famous names also had no good solution.
It wasn't that they were incompetent, but that the Ming army they faced was indeed an elite army.
At this moment, they all remembered the rumors before, which showed that the country was in peace and prosperity and had become very powerful. The Ming army is an elite force that has fought a hundred battles and is brave and difficult to defeat. The Ming army destroyed the Western Yi and occupied...
Matsudaira Nobutsuna had no choice but to use his life to fill the gap.
He began to mix elite soldiers with ordinary soldiers to reduce the casualties of elite soldiers, consume the ammunition of the Ming army, and find flaws in the Ming army.
At the end of the next day, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties. In just two days, nearly 5,000 troops were lost.
"Hagaga Road!" Matsudaira Nobutsuna was no longer so calm, no longer so calm, and started to get angry. After passing the order, the various daimyo took turns to attack, non-stop, even at night, but he didn't believe it. If we continue fighting like this, we will not be able to capture this castle.
However, for the Ming army, his rage was not easy to use. Apart from adding more than 10,000 casualties, there was still no gain.
If there were any, it would have indeed consumed the Ming army's gunpowder and lead bullets.
However, the crux of the problem is that no one knows how much gunpowder and lead bullets the Ming army has stored in the city! If the fight continues like this, will the Ming army's gunpowder and lead bullets be used up first, or the Japanese's lives will be used up first?
Yagyu Jubei, who had not spoken much, suddenly said to Matsudaira Nobutsuna privately in the evening: "I have been observing for the past few days and there is a way to defeat the Ming army!"
