Daming talker

Chapter 742 Psychological Warfare

However, when Konishi Yukinaga heard Lin Tianshuai say "conquer the heart first", he had a new idea.

He asked for instructions, "Before going to the Tokugawa camp, we should go to Shimayama Castle first and pass on the message between the companies. This may have a better effect on winning the hearts and minds of the people."

"Oh? Are you sure?" Lin Tianshuai asked back, "The situation in Daoshan City might be even more dangerous. Do you want to go there?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied, "I'm definitely willing to go!"

Lin Tianshuai became conflicted because it was indeed dangerous for Konishi Yukinaga to go to Shimayama Castle.

On the Tokugawa army's side, whether it was Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shimazu Yoshihiro, or Asano Nagamasa, they were all old foxes who had been involved in the brutal Warring States Period for decades, and their rationality could be trusted.

In Shimayama Castle, Fukushima Masanori, Hachisuka Iemasa, Asano Yukinaga and other people are the new generation of young people. They are only in their twenties or thirties and act more impulsively.

It is very likely that if he didn't like someone, he would directly kill Konishi Yukinaga.

It's not that Tianshuai cares about Konishi Yukinaga's life, but Konishi Yukinaga has already passed the initial test and will have greater value in the future. It would be a pity if he were to die in the small Shimayama Castle.

After thinking for a while, Lin Tianshuai said, "How could I not know that it would be better to attack Daoshan City first? But I am just worried about the unpredictable dangers in Daoshan City.

So I really don't plan to let you go to Daoshan City for adventure. Under the premise of no rigid requirements, do you still want to go?"

Konishi Yukinaga said firmly, "I am sure to go! Since Marshal Tian thinks highly of me, I will naturally do my best."

Shen Weijing, who was translating in the middle, was stunned. How come Xiao Xijun seemed like a different person?

If he was really not afraid of death, he would not have lived in disgrace after Pyongyang was captured!

Is Tianshuai's PUA magic so powerful that it can actually make people look like they have been reborn?

Lin Tianshuai finally agreed, "We Chinese have a saying that goes like this, life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are up to me!
I promise here that as long as you, Konishi Yukinaga, can come back alive, I will make sure you become rich and powerful!"

Konishi Yukinaga said goodbye and left, riding his horse to the Ninomaru of Shimayama Castle in the east, and shouted to the top to ask for a meeting.

Soon, Konishi Yukinaga was brought in and went all the way up to the Honmaru, the highest point of Shimayama Castle.

The hastily built Honmaru was very crude. Several Japanese generals were sitting in a small shed on the high platform in the middle, looking very crowded.

The main general Fukushima Masanori was in the center, with Chosokabe Motochika sitting beside him, and Hachisuka Iemasa and Asano Yukinaga on the left and right respectively.

"The Marshal asked me to do it." Before Konishi Yukinaga could finish his opening remarks, Fukushima Masanori interrupted him and asked directly, "Are you here to persuade us to surrender?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied, "No."

Fukushima Masanori snorted coldly and asked, "Are you here to see us laugh at your generation?"

Konishi Yukinaga once again answered, "No."

The youngest and most energetic Asano Yukichi shouted, "Neither this nor that. Then why are you here? Are you here to die?"

Elder Konishi Yukiko replied calmly, "I have no other intentions, I just came here to inform you of the situation outside.

You are trapped in the island city, completely cut off from the outside world, so you must know nothing about the outside world, right?"

Chosokabe Motochika chuckled and said, "I guess there must be reinforcements coming, and the Ming army has not defeated the reinforcements yet. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here, right?"

Xiaoxi Yukinaga sighed, "Your guess is right and wrong.

The reinforcements did arrive, and the Ming army did not defeat them, but the main reason was that as many as 40,000 reinforcements refused to come out. "

This new information from Konishi Yukinaga caused some ripples in the hearts of the people who had been isolated for several days.

Konishi Yukinaga looked at Asano Yukinaga and continued to give details of the situation, saying, "The general commander of the reinforcements is Tokugawa Dainagon Ieyasu, and the supervisor of the army is your father.

In addition, the two powerful clans of Satsuma Shimazu Yoshihiro and Yanagawa Tachibana Muneshige joined forces, and at least two of the four kings of the Tokugawa family came.

The total strength of the reinforcements is estimated to be around 40,000, while the Ming army facing them has only 17,000 people and is currently only ten miles away from Daoshan Castle.

However, the Tokugawa reinforcements used the Taihe River as their defense line and held their ground for days, forcing the Ming army to confront them.

The facial expressions of Fukushima Masanori and others have changed to varying degrees. This is the case for normal people. The more detailed the news they get, the more complicated their thoughts become.

The question they were thinking about most at this time was why the Tokugawa reinforcements were as still as a mountain when they were only ten miles away from Shimayama Castle?

Asano Yukinaga couldn't help but yelled again: "Are you kidding me?"

Konishi Yukinaga retorted: "Anyone with a little common sense can figure out whether I am deceiving you or not!
The Ming army had previously captured San-no-maru and the situation was already very favorable, so why did they stop attacking Ninomaru of Shimayama Castle?

That’s because the main force was going to block Tokugawa’s reinforcements, so Shimayama Castle was mainly focused on siege and the siege was suspended!

You all know the Ming army's tactics. Whenever a battle starts, they would use heavy artillery to lay the ground. But in recent days, have you heard any artillery sounds coming from the west?
If there is no sound of artillery fire, it means that there is no fighting. Then the two sides can only face off in silence!"

After a pause, Konishi Yukinaga added, "A few days ago, I went to the Tokugawa camp as an envoy and met Tokugawa Dainagon and your father, who was the military supervisor!

I heard from Tokugawa Dainagon that we must hold our ground to the end and never take the initiative to fight a decisive battle with the Ming army!"

Asano Yukinaga asked with mixed feelings: "Is that what my father meant?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied, "Tokugawa Dainagon is the general commander. Whether to fight or defend is all decided by Tokugawa Dainagon. Your father did not say much."

After finishing speaking, Konishi Yukinaga bowed slightly, saluted, and said in a deep voice:

"Today I come to visit you out of friendship with you, so please take care of yourselves. I will leave now!"

The rest of the people were still digesting the new news, and were a little confused when they heard Konishi Yukinaga suddenly leave.

Fukushima Masanori quickly asked, "Are you leaving now?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied, "What else? I just said that I just wanted to tell you the latest news outside. I have said everything I should say. What else can I do if I don't leave?"

Fukushima Masanori then said, “Why don’t you give us some advice?”

If Yukinaga Konishi didn't give any suggestions, they would like to hear what he had to say.

Konishi Yukinaga sighed deeply, "I really don't have any suggestions to give you. Your final outcome is clear to see at a glance!
Either surrender, or be captured when the city is broken, or die, what other outcomes are there? You can choose which path to take, who can give you suggestions?
You have all seen the strength of the Ming army, and there are countless Korean cannon fodder as the vanguard. You don't think you can still win after losing Sannomaru, right?"

Everyone was speechless. What Konishi Yukinaga said was so damn reasonable.

Konishi Yukinaga suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Asano Yukinaga, "Do you want to write a letter to your father? I can help you deliver it to your father, who is ten miles away.

After all, it is possible that you will never see each other again, so it is better to write something in advance to avoid any regrets. "

Konishi Yukinaga's tone was very gentle and full of humanistic care.

Fukushima Masanori seemed to have seen something, "You want to disrupt the morale of the two armies?"

Konishi Yukinaga said disdainfully: "You really don't know how to appreciate a good person! I didn't limit Asano Yukinaga to what to write!
He could express his determination to fight to the death in the letter and persuade his father to fight to the death for the country as well!

If there is a reply from the other side, I can also send it back! Is it wrong to help the father and son communicate?"

In the end, Asano Yukinaga couldn't resist the temptation to leave a message for his father, so he wrote a letter and gave it to Konishi Yukinaga.

After all, no one knows what tomorrow will be like when trapped in an isolated city, and being able to leave a message to relatives can make up for some of the regrets.

After safely leaving Shimayama Castle, Konishi Yukinaga rushed to the Tokugawa military camp without stopping.

And they smoothly entered the main camp of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Asano Nagamasa, Shimazu Yoshihiro, and Tachibana Muneshige also rushed over.

But apart from these few, there was no one else present, unlike last time when a large number of generals were present.

It may be that Konishi Yukinaga's remarks last time were too shocking, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was worried that a similar situation would occur again and continue to cause bad influence, so he deliberately controlled the number of people.

Konishi Yukinaga said to Asano Nagamasa: "The Marshal asked me, no, your son asked me to deliver a letter!"

Asano Nagamasa was surprised and asked, "What's going on?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied, "I went to Shimayama Castle to visit them. Your son wrote a letter home and asked me to bring it to you!"

Asano Nagamasa's mood was very complicated. Why did it sound like a "suicide note"?

However, he had to accept the letter from his son, so Asano Nagamasa took the letter from Konishi Yukinaga, but did not open it.

He was afraid of seeing something that would make it difficult for him to control himself and cause him to lose his composure in public.

Konishi Yukinaga: "I think your son is very strong and brave, and has made up his mind to live and die with Shimayama Castle to repay Taiko's kindness.

I believe his reputation for loyalty and bravery will spread in the future. Your Asano family has given birth to a good son and grandson!"

Asano Nagamasa: “.”

Tokugawa Ieyasu interrupted Konishi Yukinaga's behavior and asked, "Are you here just to deliver the letter this time?"

Konishi Yukinaga replied: "Of course I have a mission. The commander sent me to ask the Grand Councilor whether we will continue the battle.

If the Grand Councilor has no intention of sending troops, then he will first dispatch troops to capture Shimayama Castle."

Tokugawa Ieyasu replied without any emotion: "Thank you for your care, General Lin, but I cannot tell you in detail how I used the troops."

No matter how Tianshuai provokes me, I will stick to myself.

At this time, Konishi Yukinaga showed a very conflicted look on his face, and hesitantly said: "Actually, I have some news about the Ming army, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not."

Tokugawa Ieyasu said: "As long as it is news about the Ming army, there is nothing that cannot be said."

Konishi Yukinaga said, "Yesterday I went to see the Heavenly Marshal. When I walked outside the tent, I overheard the Heavenly Marshal talking with the general Ma Gui.

They said that the 20,000-man Ming navy should soon arrive in the southeastern waters and might land in Xishengpu."

Everyone in the enclosure was moved. Their 40,000 troops came from the direction of Xishengpu! If the Ming navy landed in Xishengpu, it would be like cutting off their retreat!
Tokugawa Ieyasu always felt that this scene was very familiar. In the Three Kingdoms, there was not only Sima Yi, but also Jiang Gan stealing the book!
You, Lin Tailai, never stop using allusions from the Three Kingdoms, right?
Then Tokugawa Ieyasu felt deeply annoyed. This kind of news, whether true or not, only made him more upset.

He couldn't help but question, "Is the news true or false? Did Lin Tailai deliberately let you hear it?"

Konishi Yukinaga said irresponsibly: "How should I know that? I only know that I heard a few words."

Tokugawa Ieyasu couldn't help but look at the lord of Satsuma Domain, Shimazu Yoshihiro, and asked, "What do you think?"
Kyushu Island has always been a window for Japan's "foreign exchanges", and the Satsuma Domain of Kyushu Island was an old comprador spanning hundreds of years, and had relatively more understanding of foreign situations.

Shimazu Yoshihiro frowned and said, “The main trading port of Ming is now in the southeastern province of Fujian, which is a more distant region than Ningbo.

Therefore, the elite of the Ming navy are also in Fujian. From last year to this year, more than half a year is enough for the Fujian navy to arrive here."

Tokugawa Ieyasu continued, "If it is really possible that the Ming navy arrives, then our army should retreat in time to avoid being attacked from both sides and being wiped out."

Asano Nagamasa had a different view, "If the navy news was true, why did Lin Tailai leak it, and why did he keep challenging it?
Grand Minister, you have been keeping your troops on hold. Isn't that exactly what Lin Tailai wants?

If a navy is really about to land, Lin Tailai doesn't have to do anything, just wait for the navy to land and outflank him!
So it should be that Lin Tailai saw that the Grand Minister was holding his ground and could not find any opportunity to take advantage of, so he thought that there was no hope of defeating our army and did not want to continue wasting time.

They deliberately spread the news about the navy to induce our army to retreat, so that the Ming army could focus on conquering the island city without any worries.

If it had not been for the moment of complete despair, Asano Nagamasa would certainly not have easily given up Shimayama Castle, not only because his son was there, but also because there were a large number of Toyotomi family's direct descendants there.

Tokugawa Ieyasu said: "Even if the news about the Ming navy was deliberately released by Lin Tailai, it does not mean that it is definitely false news.

The Art of War says, "When you are real, pretend to be fake, and when you are fake, pretend to be real." Given Lin Tailai's cunningness, it is very likely that he released real news but made us think it was fake news. "

Asano Nagamasa retorted: "Whether we hold on or retreat, can we win?
If 40,000 troops immediately gave up rescuing Daoshan City and retreated just because of a rumor, wouldn't they become a laughing stock in the world?
If you are worried about the Ming navy landing in Xishengpu and being attacked from both sides, there is another way to solve the problem besides retreating!
That is to attack head-on, defeat Lin Tailai in front of him as quickly as possible, and resolve the crisis in Daoshan City!
Even if there are 10,000 or 20,000 Ming navy troops landing in the rear, what can they do to me?"

Shimazu Yoshihiro, who was the first to analyze the issue, remained silent and listened to the two people's heated debate in silence.

Tachibana Muneshige, the lord of Yanagawa Domain, who had never spoken, initially thought that Tokugawa Ieyasu's words made sense, but later he felt that Asano Nagamasa's words also made some sense.

Listening to both sides arguing over and over again, my CPU is about to burn out.

Konishi Yukinaga, who had been ignored for a long time, couldn't help but say, "I'm a Ming army envoy, and you're openly discussing the next course of action in front of me before I even leave. Is that okay?"

Everyone: "."

(End of this chapter)