Daming talker

Chapter 737 The more the merrier!

Marshal Lin looked at the Taihe River behind Daoshan City and asked Ma Gui, "Do you think there is water on the mountain?"

Ma Gui pointed to a trench leading into the mountain city and replied, "From the topography, this mountain is not very big, so there should be no water source.

That’s why the Japanese pirates dug this trench to divert the water of Taihe River into the mountain city, and built stone barriers on top of the trench for protection.”

Marshal Lin said thoughtfully: "The terrain here is also difficult to attack, but we can try our best to find some dead mules and horses and throw them into the trench!"

This poisonous scheme to pollute water sources may not have obvious effects in the short term.

But who knows whether the siege will turn into a long-term siege? Marshal Lin is also preparing for both scenarios.

After personally surveying the terrain of Daoshan City, Lin Tailai saw that there was still some time, so he ordered a large general cannon to be brought in to conduct a trial bombardment of Daoshan City at close range.

The result was not very satisfactory, because the island mountain city was high, and it was impossible to hit the city with a flat shot, and it was not very useful to hit the mountain. However, if the artillery had a large elevation angle, it would also be difficult to aim and hit the city.

In fact, the mountain itself is not very high, perhaps only about a hundred meters, or even less.

But this situation of attacking from the bottom of the mountain to the top is indeed very unfavorable for artillery.

Marshal Lin sighed to Ma Gui, "It seems that the Japanese pirates have fought so many battles with our army and have gained experience. They know how to restrain our advantages as much as possible."

Ma Gui suggested, “To the northwest is Hecheng Mountain. We can try to pull the heavy artillery to Hecheng Mountain and bombard Daoshan City.

The main camp of the army is at the foot of Hecheng Mountain, so we can give it a try on the way back."

Marshal Lin then ordered the troops to retreat, and the main military operations for the day were completed. The Japanese pirates' outer strongholds were cleared and the old city of Ulsan was recaptured.

After returning to the main camp, the government troops transported another twenty large general cannons to Hecheng Mountain.

Then they aimed these heavy artillery at the direction of Daoshan Castle, adjusted the muzzle angle based on the gunners' experience, and bombarded it fiercely.

At this distance, the effect of the artillery bombardment could no longer be seen clearly, and could only be judged by the reaction of the Japanese troops on Shimayama Castle.

Marshal Lin and General Ma both stood on a high place and carefully observed the Shimayama Castle. They saw that the Japanese troops defending the city were not affected and continued to do what they had to do.

Ma Gui retracted his gaze and said, "It should have missed the target of the island castle. We need to continue adjusting the muzzle."

The accuracy of artillery in this era is still quite impressive. It is normal to miss the target in a test shot.

So after adjusting the angle of the gun muzzle, another round of bombardment was launched on the island mountain castle.

This time the effect was very obvious. The Japanese troops in Sannomaru and Ninomaru on Shimayama Castle were in a state of panic, running around like headless flies.

Ma Gui said with a look of joy, "We hit the target this time! Tomorrow, bring up all the Grand General Cannons and fire them at the same angle!"

Under Marshal Lin's deliberate mobilization, there were about 400 heavy artillery pieces in Ulsan at this time, most of which were general cannons, and a small number were tiger squat cannons, all of which were vehicle-mounted, with more than 200,000 kilograms of various ammunition.

However, Marshal Lin did not respond to General Ma's words, and continued to look at Daoshan City in silence.

"Is there anything wrong?" Ma Gui asked.

Marshal Lin pointed to the island mountain city in the distance and said, "The Japanese pirates are no longer the same pirates that just fought against the heavenly soldiers. They should have adapted to the artillery. Why are they so panicked?"

Ma Gui was confused. What's the problem? What exactly does the Marshal want to express?

Lin Tailai frowned and said, "The Japanese are always cunning, but they are also good at learning and summarizing. We can't always look at things based on old experience.

Is it possible that the heavy artillery actually hit Shimayama Castle during the first test firing just now, but the Japanese soldiers deliberately did not move to confuse us?
The second test firing did not hit the Shimayama Castle, but the Japanese soldiers deliberately pretended to be panicked and ran around, deceiving us into thinking that they hit it?
If we fall for it, we will continue to fire at the same angle as the second test, which will not do any harm at all."

Ma Gui: “.”

It's just a simple and rough artillery bombardment. Do you have to play tricks to this extent?

Marshal Lin instructed: "When we formally attack the city, we should first bombard it from the angle we used in the first test fire to see the actual effect.

I don’t believe that in actual combat, the Japanese soldiers will be able to remain calm and not move at all when facing precise artillery bombardment.”

Ma Gui agreed first, then said: "In short, the heavy artillery can definitely hit Daoshan City from Hecheng Mountain, which is a good thing.

It is just that it is difficult to communicate with the siege frontline from Hecheng Mountain, and it is difficult to coordinate with the siege troops. I am afraid that we can only fight a few rounds a day."

Marshal Lin did not answer, but was silently thinking about something in his mind.

When they came down from Hecheng Mountain, Marshal Lin suddenly said to Ma Gui: "Old Ma! You did a great job! You made up for my negligence!"

When Ma Gui heard this, he was extremely flattered!

Marshal Lin, who is always very picky, actually gave such direct praise. How much merit did he have to accumulate to earn this?

Ma Zongbing, who was totally unprepared, responded incoherently: "If I did something wrong, I will definitely do it again next time! No, if I did something well, I will definitely correct it next time!"

Marshal Lin added in detail: "I want to say that you did a great job in taking in the Korean volunteers!"

General Ma was extremely confused. Just a few days ago, the Marshal had complained to him about taking in more than 3,000 useless Korean volunteers. Why was he praising him again today?

Why is the Marshal's mood so fickle?

However, as an old military leader, General Ma soon guessed that they wanted to use Korean soldiers as cannon fodder to fill the passages of the island mountain city.

However, given the fighting spirit and level of the Korean soldiers, General Ma did not think they had the ability to attack the city.

Then, Marshal Lin said, "Are there any Korean volunteers nearby? Let's take them all together for now. We don't need this little bit of military rations at the moment."

In the next two days, the Ming army had been making special preparations for the attack on Daoshan City, actively deploying artillery positions on Hecheng Mountain and conducting several rounds of test firing from time to time.

At the same time, the government troops took in more than 500 Korean volunteers who came to surrender, bringing the total number of volunteers to more than 3,700.

It is said that there are still many volunteers who are eager to join the Ming army and are on their way.

Although Lin Tianshuai's image among the North Korean upper class is becoming increasingly controversial, Lin Tianshuai still has food in his hands.

In this spring when there is a shortage of food, as long as you are taken in by the Ming army, you can be guaranteed to have food to eat and will not starve to death.

Lin Tianshuai divided the 3,700 people into four death squads, each with 800 people.

The remaining several hundred people formed a supervisory team, seemingly to enforce the rule of North Korea, which in turn made many North Koreans feel reassured.

Two days later, in the morning, after the army had a full meal, Ma Gui's troops were in the front and Li Rubai's troops were in the west, surrounding Daoshan City.

At the same time, Ye Bangrong's troops were sent to the upper reaches of the Taihe River to guard and monitor to prevent the Japanese troops from Xishengpu from coming to support by boat.

At the appointed time, three hundred artillery pieces on Hecheng Mountain launched several rounds of bombardment at Daoshan Castle.

After the artillery fire stopped, the Ming army rushed forward from the front and the west, launching a tentative attack on the city.

It must be said that this kind of Japanese mountain castle is much more difficult to attack than a normal castle. Generally, the walls of a city are built on flat ground, and the attack is also carried out from the flat ground. However, fortresses like Shimayama Castle can only be attacked along the mountain road, so the difficulty can be imagined.

What's more, the Japanese army, completely out of habit, set up a large number of shooting holes on the walls, so they could carry out intensive shooting with muskets.

At this time, Marshal Lin no longer cared about leading the troops, but just supervised the battle from behind.

Although the island mountain castle in front of us is certainly not as solid as the original island mountain castle in history due to the limited construction time.

But the terrain advantage is here, so it is difficult to fight.

The battle lasted from morning until noon. The Ming army rotated three times, but still failed to capture the San-no-maru at the bottom of Shimayama Castle.

Marshal Lin ordered a pause in the attack and allowed the soldiers to eat and replenish their strength.

Then he called over several Korean volunteer generals whose names he could not remember, and gave them instructions: "The soldiers of our great Ming Dynasty will not support idlers!"

After looking at each other, several volunteer generals lowered their heads and pretended to be stupid.

Lin Tianshuai continued, "My soldiers took turns attacking the city this morning. Now they are exhausted and need to rest. It is time for your soldiers to attack the city!"

Several volunteer soldiers sighed. What was to come would come. The heavenly soldiers fed them and would certainly make them fight for their lives.

There was no point in continuing to play dumb; they could not refuse the orders from Tianshuai.

Then, Lin Tianshuai made a big promise: "Now the Japanese pirates will be completely wiped out in the near future, and there is no government management in Jeolla Province and Gyeongsang Province.

If you can make merit in the Japanese city, I can take charge of the military and political affairs of various places."

Regardless of whether the big pie is real or not, coach Lin Tianshuai has shown his attitude of rewarding those who have made contributions.

There was nothing more to say, and nearly four thousand Korean volunteers lined up under the mountain city, ready to go.

The volunteer generals who led the troops did not need to communicate much, as they could understand each other's thoughts with just a glance.

Although you are forced to fight on the front line, you don't have to risk your life too much. The most important thing is to save your life.

As for siege, just get to the bottom of the city wall and pretend to attack, make a few gestures, and that's enough for the sake of demonstration.

Even the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty fought for a whole morning but failed to break into the city. Could they still expect these volunteer soldiers to break into the city?

At noon, the artillery on Tsuruga Castle launched another large-scale bombardment of Daoshan Castle as ordered.

After the shelling stopped, the Korean volunteers rushed up the mountain path, holding huge shields and long ladders, carrying bows and arrows, muskets, and incendiary tools.

Especially at the double-layer city gate that protruded on the side, a fierce offensive and defensive battle unfolded.

When we say it was intense, it might be because the shouts of these volunteers were more intense.

Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking from afar, everything seemed to be a replica of what it was in the morning.

General Ma said helplessly to Marshal Lin who was silently supervising the battle: "These Korean volunteers are really not good at fighting. Sending them to attack the city is a waste of time.

I took them in just to help transport supplies and build camps, but I didn't expect them to fight."

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden burst of thunder-like artillery fire from the direction of Hecheng Mountain.

The three hundred heavy artillery pieces on Hecheng Mountain suddenly began to bombard fiercely again, and the sound of the artillery was even more intense than the previous two times.

Ma Gui was horrified and asked subconsciously, "Why are they firing again?"

Our soldiers are still attacking the city. If we launch a large-scale artillery attack at this time, won’t that mean we will attack both our own troops and the enemy city at the same time?
Could it be that there was a problem with command and coordination that led to such a huge mistake?
Marshal Lin had a blank expression on his face, remained unmoved, and stared fixedly in the direction of Daoshan City.

The volunteers who were attacking the city heard the sound of artillery fire and saw bomb craters appearing not far away from them.

After being stunned, without any orders, the three or four thousand volunteers turned around and ran down the mountain in fear. Even the supervisory team ignored military discipline and turned around and ran back.

But as soon as the volunteers reached the foot of the mountain, they saw rows of Ming troops in the distance, pointing hundreds of three-barreled guns at them.

Several interpreters rode back and forth on horseback, shouting in Korean: "Heavenly Marshal has given an order! Anyone who retreats will be killed without mercy! Only those who climb the city walls can survive!"

Hundreds of volunteers who refused to believe in evil continued to rush forward, and two large groups of Ming Dynasty soldiers holding three-barreled guns fired without hesitation.

The effect of the three-barreled gun was a bit like the shotgun of later generations, which could kill a large number of people with one shot. After more than a hundred three-barreled guns fired at the same time, hundreds of iron-headed volunteers fell to the ground one after another.

Several interpreters shouted together: "Attack the city! Attack the city! Only by climbing the city can you survive!
As long as you can reach the city alive, the officials of the state, county, village and village will be rewarded according to your merits!"

In such a narrow geographical environment, the volunteers could not flee in all directions.

Under the death threat from the Ming Dynasty soldiers, the 3,000 Korean volunteers were helpless and had no choice.

He could only turn around again, pick up the discarded giant shield and equipment, and attack again while braving the fierce artillery fire from friendly forces.

Most of the Japanese soldiers defending the city looked for shelter with their backs to Mount Hecheng to avoid the artillery fire.

The Japanese soldiers on guard saw the enemy troops rushing up to attack the city again. Before they even reached the wall, dozens of enemy soldiers were knocked to the ground by their own artillery shells, and their life or death was unknown. The Japanese soldiers were a little confused at this time.

What kind of kamikaze is this? If the North Korean soldiers were so brave, why did they lose eight battles last year?

Then a spectacular scene appeared on the battlefield. The enemy and our side waged a fierce offensive and defensive battle on the wall, braving the bombardment of at least a hundred heavy artillery pieces that did not distinguish between friend and foe.

More than half an hour later, Marshal Lin, who was taking a nap in the tent at the back, seemed to hear cheers.

Ma Gui, who was supervising the battle outside, came in and excitedly reported, "The righteous soldiers really broke through the first layer of the city wall! The Japanese soldiers are retreating to the second layer!"

Marshal Lin stood up and said, "Quickly send the reserve troops to follow up the assault and expand the results of the battle!"

Ma Gui said quickly: "We have ordered the reserve troops to charge up!"

Marshal Lin asked again with concern: "How many volunteers are left? Are they still capable of continuing the siege?"

Ma Gui smiled bitterly and said, "We haven't counted the casualties yet, but it is said that there are less than a thousand people alive."

General Ma didn't know how to comment on this. He had been a general for decades and had never encountered such a use of troops.

It was extremely cold-blooded and cruel, equivalent to exchanging more than 2,000 lives for a city wall, but it really worked.

Marshal Lin sighed and said with regret: "These Korean volunteers are also heroes!

They must be buried properly afterwards. I will personally write an obituary to mourn them, and then carve a monument here as a commemoration.

We should recruit as many heroes as possible like this, Lao Ma, you have to pay attention to this.

The more soldiers I use, the better! "

(End of this chapter)