Daming talker

Chapter 736: My Heart is Cold (asking for monthly ticket)
After repeated consideration, Marshal Lin decided to focus his main attack on Ulsan in the next stage.

After making the decision, Marshal Lin ordered Li Rusong: "The nine columns of Li Rubai's troops on the left wing of your First Corps will be temporarily placed under my direct command.

Give you three days to prepare and recruit troops, and then follow me to Gyeongju on the eastern front to prepare for the attack on Ulsan.

In addition, mobilize 200 heavy artillery pieces from your First Corps to accompany Li Rubai's troops."

Because Li Rusong's First Corps had a large number of troops, it was divided into three routes: left, middle and right. The left route was led by Li Rubai.

Li Rusong was inclined to keep his second brother by his side, and did not want to send him to Ma Gui on the eastern front, so he asked, "Can we choose one of the other two official armies to accompany the general?"

Marshal Lin said without allowing any objection: "We only need Li Rubai's troops."

So General Li said nothing more and just followed the order.

The factions within the Ming army were also extremely complicated. The northern and southern soldiers, and the Li family's eastern army and Ma Gui's western army all had their own factions.

In the original history, the Ming army fought hard or even retreated in some battles. One of the reasons was internal conflicts and conflicts with the Korean side.

Fortunately, in this time and space, Marshal Lin had accumulated enough prestige due to a series of brilliant victories in Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia in the northwest.

In addition to his own bravery, as well as his mythical status as the Nine Yuan True Immortal, and the effectiveness of his PUA technique, he was able to completely suppress all military leaders and minimize internal conflicts.

In addition, Marshal Lin used physical methods to completely eliminate interference from the Korean side and avoided being held back by the Korean government and army, effectively ensuring the smooth progress of the war.

Three days later, Marshal Lin set out for Gyeongju on the eastern front with 3,000 soldiers from the Jinglüe Battalion, 11,000 soldiers from Li Rubai's army, and 200 heavy artillery pieces.

At the same time, he ordered Li Rusong's First Corps with 20,000 troops and Li Xun's Fourth Corps with 15,000 troops to put pressure on the Japanese pirate group from the north and west respectively, and to tie down as many Japanese troops as possible.

However, these two directions mainly focus on seeking field battles and avoiding offensive operations.

A few days later, Marshal Lin arrived at Gyeongju, the easternmost part of Gyeongsang Province, only seventy or eighty miles away from Ulsan where the Japanese pirates were entrenched.

A normal march would take a day to reach the destination, and if we rode at a faster speed it would only take an hour.

Ma Gui, commander of the Second Corps, had been waiting for a long time and had already cleared out the Qingzhou Governor's Office and handed it over to Marshal Lin.

Marshal Lin, who was exhausted from the journey, washed his face and called Ma Gui in for a talk.

After General Ma sat down, he said nervously, "There is something I must let the Marshal know first."

Lin Tailai asked in confusion: "What's going on? You acted on your own and concealed your defeat?"

"No!" Ma Gui said quickly, "We went south through Gangwon Province and northern Gyeongsang Province, and more than 3,000 Korean volunteers came to surrender.

Yang Dengshan stayed in Hamgyong Province with 3,000 men, so I only have 14,000 troops heading south.

I always felt that it was not enough, so I accepted those Korean volunteers as a supplement to my army."

Marshal Lin frowned and complained: "What's the point of taking in these volunteers?

If it really comes to a tough battle, do you believe that these Korean volunteers will definitely die in dozens and flee three thousand?"

However, Marshal Lin didn't say anything more and still had to give General Ma some face.

"Just take it, and don't do it again." Lin Tailai said, "Have you tried hard to gather intelligence? What is the situation of the Japanese army in Ulsan?"

Ma Gui replied, “Previously, the Japanese army in Ulsan forcibly conscripted all the Koreans in the surrounding area, and then built a fortress on the island mountain south of the city day and night.

In order to speed up the progress, even the lower-level Japanese soldiers were ordered to participate in the construction.

Because they needed stones to build the island castle, the Japanese pirates also demolished the old walls of Ulsan Castle.

Lin Tailai commented: "It seems that the Japanese also knew that they could not defend the city with a low wall, so they urgently built a new castle on the mountain."

Ma Gui also echoed, "So it seems that the Japanese army does not intend to hold on to the old city of Ulsan. It is estimated that they will retreat to the newly built Dosan Castle and defend it."

Marshal Lin was stunned for a moment, sighed deeply and said: "If the Japanese pirates don't defend the old city, then the merit of being the first to land will be in vain?"

The city walls of Joseon are generally not high, and the old city of Ulsan is definitely no exception, so it is relatively easy to climb them first.

The newly built island city in the south of the city was built on the mountain, and its walls must be very high, making it easy to defend but difficult to climb.

"These bastards should be cut into pieces! Why are they demolishing the old city wall?" Marshal Lin could no longer bear it and started cursing.

Ma Gui was speechless. Marshal, is your focus a little bit special?

Ma Gui then continued, "Many Koreans could not stand the hard work of working day and night and found ways to escape.

In addition, several Japanese soldiers who were conscripted to work on the project could not bear the hardship and fled with the Koreans.

From these people, we also gathered some intelligence about the Japanese army in Ulsan."

Marshal Lin seemed to have lost most of his passion and asked calmly, "Who is the opposing defender?"

Ma Gui said: "The commander of the city defense is Fukushima Masanori, commander of the Japanese Fifth Corps. After Seoul was defeated, the remaining 14,000 to 15,000 men of the Fifth Corps were responsible for garrisoning Ulsan.

I heard you mention this guy before, Marshal, and he seems to be the leader of the Seven Spears of Jianyue? And Kato Kiyomasa, who was killed by you, Marshal, can only be ranked second?"

Lin Tailai said, "Oh, it's him. The Fifth Corps was supposed to have 25,000 soldiers, but now there are only 14,000 to 15,000. It seems that the Fukushima Corps lost more than 10,000 people in Seoul."

Ma Gui continued to explain the situation and said, "In addition to Fukushima Masanori, the Japanese Fifth Corps also has two generals, one is Hosuga Iemasa."

Lin Tailai added casually: "This man should be the son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's son Suga Koroku, and he can be regarded as the nephew of the old villain Hideyoshi."

Anyone who has played Taiko Risshiden knows Hachisuka Koroku, an NPC that will definitely appear at the start of the game.

General Ma has become accustomed to Marshal Lin's "annotations" and doesn't know where Marshal Lin got the information from.

"There is another general in the Japanese Army's Fifth Corps, his name is Chosokabe Motochika." Ma Gui paused intentionally when he said this.

As expected, Marshal Lin casually commented: "This man dreamed of unifying the Shikoku region of Japan, but was slapped in the face by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and could only become the lord of Tosa Domain."

Magui concluded: "In short, Fukushima Masanori, Hosuka Iemasa, and Chosokabe Motochika commanded the remaining 14,000 to 15,000 men of the Japanese Fifth Corps.

In addition, there is a river called Taehwa River in the south of Ulsan, which can be connected with Seosengpo in the west by water.

The 14,000-man Fourth Japanese Army Corps is stationed in Nishisei-pu, and they may come by ship to support them. "Lin Tailai sneered and said, "The old thief Shimazu Yoshihiro couldn't stand the pressure from the old thief Hideyoshi, and finally dragged his 10,000 soldiers across the sea to Korea.

But I don't think Shimazu Yoshihiro would risk his life to support Ulsan. First, he wants to preserve his strength, and second, the Japanese army in Ulsan is not on the same side as Shimazu Yoshihiro, so Shimazu Yoshihiro has no motivation to risk his life. "

I thought Ma Gui had finished his report and Marshal Lin was about to issue various instructions, but then I heard Ma Gui say:
"In addition, there is another piece of latest intelligence that we received yesterday. A Japanese reinforcement force has entered Ulsan.

The number of reinforcements may be around 3,000. It is unknown where they came from. The leader of the reinforcements is a young man.

According to people who escaped from Ulsan, this young man, who was less than 20 years old, seemed to be named Asano and should be a nobleman. The three generals of the Fifth Corps all respected this young man very much.

That’s all we know so far.”

After a brief thought, Lin Tailai immediately gave an answer, "This young man who is less than 20 years old should be Asano Yukinaga.

His father was one of the five magistrates of the Toyotomi family, and was said to be the chief clerk, responsible for managing the gold and silver mines for Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

His mother was called Mimi, the younger sister of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's legal wife, Nene. In other words, Asano Yukinaga could call Toyotomi Hideyoshi his uncle.

His fiancée was the daughter of Maeda Toshiie, the second most powerful magnate in Japan.

Although such a person is young, both Fukushima Masanori and Hachisuka Iemasa must show respect to him. "

General Ma was so convinced that he almost prostrated himself on the ground.

I only said the last name "Asano" and that he was less than 20 years old, but the Marshal immediately dug out all of this person's background without even having to count on his fingers!

Knowing both ourselves and the enemy to such an extent, it would be really unfair if the Japanese pirates were still not defeated!

Lin Tailai suddenly laughed a few times and said, "Ulsan is quite interesting nowadays.

Fukushima Masanori was a descendant of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's maternal relatives and an absolute direct descendant who was promoted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself. Hosuka Iemasa was the son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's childhood friend. Asano Yukinaga was the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife's family.

So many of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s relatives, friends, and young people who were being trained gathered in Ulsan.

If they could be wiped out at once, I wonder how Toyotomi Hideyoshi would feel."

Later generations said that one of the main reasons why Toyotomi Hideyoshi started a new invasion of Korea was to consume the strength of the daimyo.

But now it seems that quite a few direct descendants of the Toyotomi clan were sent out.

Not to mention the current Fukushima Masanori, even the previously captured Konishi Yukinaga and the killed Kato Kiyomasa were actually considered to be Toyotomi's direct descendants.

Ma Gui smiled and replied, "But this situation also shows that the Japanese pirates may not have expected that Ulsan on the eastern front would become the Marshal's main attack direction.

The Japanese pirates would probably guess that our army would use Jeolla Province on the western front, which has the shortest supply distance and better logistical conditions, as its forward base, and attack Jinju from west to east.

That’s why Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his friends gathered in Ulsan on the eastern front, perhaps because they thought it was relatively safe.”

Marshal Lin said: "If we can catch the enemy off guard, that will be a good thing."

In the original history, the Battle of Ulsan was very difficult. Due to various reasons, and the Japanese pirates' good luck, the Ming soldiers attacked Ulsan twice but failed to capture the island city.

However, in this time and space, the Japanese pirates are not so well prepared, so the difficulty should be reduced a lot.

That night, Konishi Yukinaga, who was with the army, heard that Asano Yukinaga appeared in Ulsan, and quickly reminded Lin Tianshuai: "The situation is not that simple!"

Lin Tianshuai asked without any shame: "What do you think?"

Konishi Yukinaga said: "I can confirm that the Asano father and son were not originally on the list of those to be sent to Korea, and the Taiko did not want the Asano father and son to go to Korea.

It is unlikely that Asano Yukinaga, who is only 18 years old this year, came to North Korea independently. He should have come with his father Asano Nagamasa.

The Taiko now sent an important official like Asano Nagamasa to Korea, which must be because he was extremely dissatisfied, so he let Asano Nagamasa supervise the war!
It is estimated that Asano Nagamasa will not come alone, there must be a large number of reinforcements and generals accompanying him to Korea, but I don’t know who the new general is. "

Lin Tailai thought thoughtfully: "So, Toyotomi Hideyoshi still refuses to give up? So he sent more reinforcements in an attempt to fight again?"

Konishi Yukinaga analyzed: "The Taiko might be planning to use the advantages of the southern coast to retreat and defend, causing great casualties to the heavenly soldiers, and then make plans later."

Marshal Lin said with great confidence: "No matter how many come, my heavenly soldiers have nothing to fear! Let me take Ulsan first!"

After resting for another two days, Marshal Lin ordered the entire army to move out on the eastern front!
A total of 31,000 troops, including 3,000 soldiers from the Jinglüe Battalion, 14,000 soldiers from Ma Gui's army, 11,000 soldiers from Li Rubai's army, and more than 3,000 Korean servants, left Gyeongju and headed for Ulsan.

The Marshal's headquarters was set up at the foot of Hakseong Mountain, northwest of the old city of Ulsan. He then launched an attack on Ulsan City with Li Rubai's troops on the left and Ma Gui's troops on the right.

Marshal Lin led the standard battalion to supervise and provide support between the east and west routes.

The Japanese army did not seem to have any intention of defending the periphery. When they saw the heavenly soldiers attacking, they fired several rows of cannons and then abandoned their camps one after another, decisively retreating to the mountain city on the island south of the city.

When Marshal Lin saw with his own eyes the old walls of Ulsan City that had been torn down and shattered, he was immediately disappointed.

No matter how thick-skinned you are, you wouldn't want to be the first to get in here.

The various armies advanced in unison, pursuing the retreating Japanese army and easily recaptured the old city of Ulsan.

Then they marched to the south of the city and arrived at the foot of Daoshan Castle, the real stronghold of the Japanese pirates.

Marshal Lin also saw the appearance of Daoshan City and gasped.

This island castle is indeed built entirely on the mountain, using traditional Japanese craftsmanship. It is divided into three levels, which are called Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru at the bottom in Japanese.

There is a city wall on each level, built against the cliff and with stones. It is much taller and steeper than a normal city wall. It seems that the hook ladder cannot reach the top of the city wall.

The passage between the three floors is not straight up and down, but zigzags.

In this layout, there is a steep wall next to the passage, and the defenders on it can attack the passage with full firepower.

The front is like this, and the sides are mostly cliffs. There is not even a road, let alone any chance of attacking.

The back is close to the Taihe River, and the area below the mountain is all mudflats, so it is impossible to attack from here.

After circling Daoshan City for half a circle, Marshal Lin's heart was completely chilled.

The risk of attacking a city is too great. It is impossible to go there first unless you are willing to die for your country.

(End of this chapter)