Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 415 Prelude to the War
"Uuuuuu——"

In September, when trumpets sounded from the mist, a war broke out between nearly 50,000 troops from the north and the south in Ikeda, Echizen region.

Through the mist, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who was riding on horseback, could see the Uesugi army two miles away.

Their number is nearly 30,000, and he only has 20,000 people in his hands after many draws.

Misfortunes never come singly. After the Kyogoku and Ouchi families in Kansai and the Uesugi families in Kanto launched rebellions, Kitahata Manga, the guardian of Ise Kingdom, raised troops to support Emperor Kameyama, the last emperor of the Southern Dynasty, who fled Kyoto for Yoshino.

For a time, the original north-south pincer attack turned into a three-way pincer attack from east, west, and south. On the northern sea, Ashikaga Yoshitomichi also needed to be prepared for the Ming Navy that might land at any time.

Even so, Ashikaga Yoshimochi did not show any timidity. He personally led the army to Ikeda, preparing to first deal with Uesugi Zenhide, then go south to deal with Kitahata Manya, and finally deal with the rebellious Kansai guardians.

Fifty thousand troops were deployed. Although there was a layer of mist on the battlefield, both sides could still clearly see each other's situation.

On Ashikaga Yoshimochi's side, there are mainly 8,000 well-equipped warriors, as well as 3,500 archer ashigaru, 5,000 spear samurai, 2,000 sword samurai and 500 horseback samurai, as well as those obtained from the Ming Dynasty. Fifty-two Hongwu iron cannons and a thousand artillerymen.

As early as the Ming Dynasty agreed that Japan could purchase armed merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshimichi was eyeing the artillery that appeared in the Nanjing military exercise.

"Boom boom boom——"

Hongwu Iron Cannon, this is what he relies on to pacify all directions!

The fist-sized stone bullets struck, and in just a moment, the Uesugi spear phalanx that was still on the way was penetrated, five or six samurai were beaten to pieces, and yellow, white and scarlet things were everywhere.

This is not due to the gunners, but because the phalanx of Uesugi's army is too dense.

It was just a test firing, and nearly thirty-nine stone bullets hit all the fifty-two Hongwu iron cannons that had been eliminated in the Ming Dynasty at a distance of two hundred steps.

In the mist, the Uesugi army on the opposite hill began to advance.

"Hi!" Imagawa Norizheng nodded, and immediately began to send out messengers to deliver the general's orders.

The distance of one hundred steps passed in an instant. When Uesugi's army entered the range of eighty steps, the Ashikaga Shogunate's artillery began the second round of bombardment.

Time passed little by little, and the mist on the battlefield began to slowly dissipate. Among the Uesugi family troops, Uesugi Zenhide, who initiated the rebellion, was riding on horseback, wearing large armor, and holding a weapon in his hand. Use paper fans imported from Ming Dynasty.

He did not know the difference between Hongwu iron artillery, field artillery and naval artillery, but this did not prevent him from disassembling the artillery of the official ships returning to Japan and using it on the battlefield.

Ashikaga Yoshimochi raised his chin and said his plan. He would use artillery to defeat the Uesugi family's formation, and then break up the Uesugi family's formation to push Uesugi Zenhide back to the north.

"What?" Ashikaga Yoshimochi was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the battlefield.

"Help!"

The casualties caused by thirty-nine stone bombs to the Uesugi army were not many, no more than 200 at most.

"Don't panic, keep going!"

"Boom boom boom——"

Although that bloody scene greatly damaged the opponent's morale, they are now slowly approaching.

"General, they are starting to move forward!"

"Continue the bombardment, don't you hear me?!"

Uesugi Zenhide vowed, and the reason why he said this was not simply out of his own ambition, but because he was pushed to complete this matter.

"Bang!!"

What they want is nothing more than to maintain their respective vested interests.

The Chinese lords in Kanto had actually long been dissatisfied with the Ashikaga Shogunate.

"Beep--"

"put!"

As long as they can win this war, then...

Faced with the question, the artillery general quickly explained: "General, the iron cannon needs an hour to clean up."

"Prepare the artillery, and fire when they approach a distance of 200 steps!"

As for the Kunlunzhou gold mine mentioned by the official ship envoy, Ashikaga Yoshimichi had no intention of mining it. His thoughts were on expanding and consolidating the shogunate's rule and ending the humiliation of surrendering to the Ming Dynasty.

On a low horse, Norimmasa Imagawa, who was wearing large armor, reminded Ashikaga Yoshinori on the horse beside him.

"put!"

"Continue the bombardment!"

This time the Uesugi family raised troops, on the surface it was a power struggle between Uesugi Zenhide and Ashikaga Yoshimichi, but in fact this matter was related to the existence of the Kanto lords.

"Seizing this opportunity, we must let the Chi family understand the situation clearly!"

The spears lead the way, followed by the archer ashigaru and the long sword ashigaru, and there are five hundred cavalry cruising on each side of the left and right wings.

Seeing the bloody scene in front of him, Ashikaga Yoshimochi showed a happy look on his face and waved the paper fan in his hand excitedly.

He turned back to question the artillery general who had not been shelling for a long time. This artillery general was just a samurai who followed the official ship to the West.

"What's this!?"

When the sound of cannons sounded, artillery was shining on Japan's battlefields more than a hundred years in advance, and their opponents were just samurai wearing trousers, belly rolls and sufficient equipment.

Compared to his luxury, the Uesugi family, which has a larger number of people, has 30,000 people, but it is mainly composed of longbow, spear, and sword-wielding samurai. Although the number of horse-riding samurai is twice that of Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Ashikaga Yoshimochi is not at all Worried about their cavalry.

As for Ashikaga Yoshitsugu and Ashikaga Mitsuru who were far away in the Ming Dynasty, it was just an excuse for them to rebel.

"Bang!!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Don't panic, we are already in front of them!"

Two rounds of shelling knocked the morale of the Uesugi army to the bottom. All fifty-two stone bullets hit. At a distance of eighty steps, two to three hundred people were killed on the spot, and ricocheting bullets also severely injured an unknown number of people.

"Get ready to shoot!"

"charge!!"

Same distance, different military orders.

The Uesugi family's army launched a charge, and Ashikaga Yoshimichi methodically consumed them with bows and arrows with the help of Imagawa Norimasa and others, slowing down their charge. At the same time, he sent his own cavalry to entangle the Uesugi family's cavalry.

Before Uesugi's Kanto army rushed to the battle, the spears of both sides began to collide. The shogunate's army fought and retreated, and the Uesugi family's army also restored morale as it gradually advanced.

"Is the artillery ready?"

Ashikaga Yoshimochi asked the iron cannon general: "It's already fine, but now if we fire, our people..."

"Fire!" Ashikaga Yoshitomichi ordered decisively, leaving no room for objection.

Hearing this, the Iron Cannon General could only obey the order, and soon the sound of cannons sounded on the battlefield.

Although the troops were notified to retreat, the shells still claimed the lives of many shogunate samurai.

At the same time, this round of bombardment also instantly knocked down the morale of the Uesugi family that was advancing step by step.

"The whole army charges!!"

Ashikaga Yoshimochi didn't have many rules for fighting. He just used his strength to seize the moment when the opponent's formation was broken and launch a counterattack.

For a moment, the two armies on the battlefield changed their positions in offensive and defensive positions.

Compared with the structure of the confrontation between the two armies of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese army during hand-to-hand combat was still mainly brave.

Fighting from early morning to sunset, the Uesugi army gradually became powerless under Ashikaga Yoshimichi's bombardment regardless of the enemy or ourselves. In the end, the entire army was defeated amidst the sound of gold.

On the battlefield, countless corpses were abandoned. After pursuing for more than ten miles, Ashikaga Yoshimichi ordered the three armies to clean up the battlefield. At the same time, he prepared to take advantage of Uesugi Zenhide's defeat to go south to clean up Kitahata Manya.

Due to the small size of the country, they only need four days to reach the south and have a decisive battle with Kitahata Manya.

As long as they are fast enough, they can even return to fight Uesugi Zenhide, whose entire army continues to move south, after destroying Kitahata Manya.

With the help of artillery, Ashikaga Yoshimochi's self-confidence has never been greater.

The results of the Battle of Ikeda were brought to Oki by the warriors stationed in Nishicho. At Oki, an army of four thousand people was gathering here, waiting for military orders to be issued before they could cross the sea and land at Wakasa Bay.

Japan's geography determines that when it faces powerful enemies at sea, it can easily be divided into two.

As long as the military order is conveyed, the Ming army can take over the capital as quickly as possible, leaving Ashikaga Yoshimichi homeless.

Of course, such convenient conditions also caused waves within the Ming army.

Yinqi North Island is different from the white land it used to be. Now it is clean and tidy. The entire street is paved with concrete. There are sewage canals on both sides of the road and uniformly built courtyards along the street. The street is two stories high, and there are two entrances and exits inside. , covering an area of ​​more than half an acre.

The area of ​​Yinqi Town is not large, and the construction of the entire town is very simple. It is just a "ten" intersection divided into four areas. The entire market town has only two main roads one mile long.

There are door shops on the left and right sides of the main road, and each door shop sells different goods without any overlap.

There is no entertainment here, only trade. Once the trade is over, you have to leave here with the goods.

Because of this, it's not easy to raid, but it's also very boring.

This kind of boredom is like a pile of firewood. Once it is ignited, it is difficult to stop the fire.

"Uncle, four thousand people are enough!"

"Yes, four thousand people are enough to sweep across the capital. We have been waiting in the Whale Sea for so many years, and this is the only chance we have to make a difference!"

In the Ship Department of Yinqi City, Zheng Jun, who had led the Jinghaiwei to gather here, was surrounded by dozens of officials from thousands and hundreds of households.

Their eyes were eager and their appeal was very simple, that is, to attack the Gyeonggi area first and destroy Ashikaga Yoshimichi before the main force arrived. It was a good thing that they had such confidence, but their actions made Zheng Jun look gloomy.

"boom!!"

With the sound of the alarm, the generals' hearts tightened and they all looked at Zheng Jun, who was sitting in the chief seat.

With a dark face, he glanced at everyone: "What, you also want to play the trick of forcing the uterus?"

"The general will not dare..."

There were sparse voices, and it was obvious that they didn't think so.

"I say it again, always pay attention to the movements in the capital and don't rush to attack."

After Zheng Jun said this, a Qianhu official couldn't help but said: "Uncle, if we don't attack, then Ashikaga Yoshinori will have to put down the rebellion of Uesugi Zenhide and others."

"Yup!"

"It will be difficult to fight then. Only by marching at this time can we decide the outcome in one battle."

"Uncle, let's send troops..."

The crowd continued to persuade, but Zheng Jun raised his chin, looked down at the crowd and said:
"It's a good time to destroy them. What the imperial court wants is to defeat Japan in one battle. If we send troops now, even if they are defeated, they will think that we took advantage of a weak point and won without force."

"Only when they have solved all the rebellions and gathered an army to fight us can we completely defeat them!"

Zheng Jun's words were not recognized by everyone, but they also saw that Zheng Jun was not willing to use troops at this time.

For a moment, they couldn't help but feel resentment in their hearts. Zheng Jun had only won Jinzhou by teaming up with Cui Jun. The little thoughts of these generals could not be hidden from him.

"You think I don't want to fight?"

Zheng Jun suddenly spoke, making everyone's eyes brighten.

"Although I am Bo Haibo, how many years do you think I have been wearing this commander's hat?"

His words made everyone look at each other in bewilderment. You have to know that Zheng Jun has followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince since Jinzhou. Now, more than ten years have passed. Although he has the title of Earl, his real power is only that of a guard.

Because of this, many Whale Guard soldiers fought for him.

But they didn't know that Zheng Jun was actually willing to be the commander of the guard, because he did not have much commanding experience at the time, and a guard was just right for him.

Now that ten years have passed, Zheng Jun's ambition is not just to be a guard, but to stand alone like Yang Zhan, Cui Jun, and Chen Xuan, and to become one of the few people who will make decisions in the navy in the future.

"In my heart, I am much more anxious than you are..."

After Zheng Jun expressed his position, he quickly added: "That's why we can't rush in and leave clues to the people above the temple."

"We are the vanguard in this battle. No matter who the coach is, it can't change this."

"Although we are only the vanguard, we can use the vanguard as the main force to fight."

Zheng Jun said, stood up and walked to the meeting hall, where a Northeast Asian sand table with a length of seven feet and a width of seven feet was placed.

"The distance from landing at Wakasa to Kyoto, the land of Gyeonggi Province, is only one hundred and fifty miles."

"Although we are a navy, our feet are no slower than the army."

"As long as you land at Wakasa Bay, I require you to rush to Kyoto City within two days and capture Kyoto City within three days!"

"Yes!!" After hearing Zheng Jun's words, everyone stood up straight, bowed their hands, and responded loudly.

"What I want you to do now is to recharge your batteries and wait for Marquis Pingjiang to lead his army to Yinqi."

"Dismissed!!"

After Zheng Jun said that, he turned around and left a silhouette of his back to everyone.

Everyone was inspired by him and walked out of the Shibosi Yamen with blushing faces, excitedly discussing the idea of ​​turning the vanguard into the main force.

As their voices gradually faded away, Zheng Jun, who had returned to the backyard, returned to the meeting hall and said several times: "Mother, this soldier is really difficult to lead."

After cursing, he quietly waited for the arrival of Chen Xuan and others, and at the same time continued to purchase supplies from the Kansai area of ​​Japan in the south.

Time passed little by little. In the next half month, Ashikaga Yoshinori relied on the Hongwu iron cannon disassembled from the "Emperor Japanese Imperial Ship" to take the lead in pacifying Kitahata Manga in Ise Province, and defeated Go Kameyama. The title of Emperor was removed, and he continued to be renamed Taisho Hōōō, and took him and his relatives to Daikakuji Temple in Kyoto.

With Emperor Gogameyama's title removed, Emperor Gokomatsu, supported by the shogunate, continued to become the only emperor.

Kitahata Manya was destroyed so quickly that before Uesugi Zenhide in the north could react, Ashikaga Yoshimichi led his troops to approach Ohno and forced him to fight.

Uesugi Zenhide did not fight in the plains this time with Ashikaga Yoshitoshi, but retreated to the mountains.

Because the Hongwu iron cannon was bulky and had a short range, Ashikaga Yoshimichi could only engage in a protracted battle with Uesugi Zenhide in the Ono area with light troops.

Not long after he was held back, news came from the south that the Kansai Allied Forces had captured Tajima.

After learning that Tajima had been captured, Ashikaga Yoshimichi did not continue to entangle with Uesugi Zenhide. He only left Imagawa Norimasa and 10,000 spears and shooters Ashikaru. As for himself, he led more than 7,000 soldiers and more than 900 gunners. , and the remaining 400 cavalrymen rushed south to aid Kyoto.

On the fifth day of September, Ashikaga Yoshimichi temporarily recruited a group of spearmen from the Kyoto area. Counting the samurai in the Kyoto area, he pulled out 30,000 troops and marched towards Tamba.

In the south, families such as Kansai Ouchi and Kyogoku gathered 26,000 samurai troops to go north because of tomorrow's trade.

On the ninth day of September, the two parties encountered each other in the area of ​​Tanba Kamikeji Temple, and a war broke out.

Relying on the Hongwu iron cannon dismantled from the official ship, the battle ended in victory for the shogunate army. The Kansai Allied Forces were defeated and retreated to Tajima, with more than 4,000 casualties and heavy losses.

At the same time, although the shogunate also suffered more than 7,000 casualties, most of them were compatriots recruited temporarily, so Ashikaga Yoshimochi was not heartbroken.

He began to send envoys to Kansai and Kanto, because he felt that the guardians of Kanto and Kansai countries at this moment should have seen the powerful strength of the shogunate.

At least under his rule, the shogunate could still suppress them.

However, as soon as his envoy arrived in Tajima, he was beheaded by Kyogoku Takamitsu, the head of the Kyogoku family, and his head was sent back to Tanba.

Faced with such humiliation, Ashikaga Yoshimachi trembled with anger, but at the same time he also felt a sense of fear.

All this was because Kyogoku Gaoguang also brought him a letter when he sent his head back.

[The heavenly soldiers are coming, don’t move, otherwise the country will be destroyed]

It was a short sentence, but it seemed heavy because it was written in Chinese characters and stamped with the seal of the Navy Governor's Office.

"General, should we continue our previous policy now?"

Sitting on their knees in the courtyard of Tanba Castle, the two generals Uesugi Fukata and Yamana Tokihiro asked Ashikaga Yoshinori anxiously, and Ashikaga Yoshinori's face was also full of tangles.

Through the past few months of fighting, he had fully understood the power of artillery.

According to the artillery general under his command, a fleet of the Ming army could pull out thousands of such artillery pieces.

With such numbers, if the two sides bombarded each other, Ashikaga Yoshitoshi couldn't think of any reason why he could win.

However, if he surrenders like this, the prestige he has spent two years building up will be wiped out. Moreover, Ming's request has always been clear, that is, Japan must surrender.

Hou Guishan used this reason to raise his troops and used it to say that he was a lackey of the Ming Dynasty. If he agreed to the request of the Ming Dynasty, how would he wash away his status as a "lackey"?

"I heard that the PLA's artillery at sea is very heavy. No matter where they land from, there is no road in Japan that can transport such heavy artillery."

"Without firearms, we are as capable as the Ming army!"

Ashikaga Yoshimochi said with a guilty conscience, and at the same time, a huge fleet also arrived at the Oki Islands that had been waiting for them for a long time after a month and a half of sailing.

"Uuuuuu——"

On the sea, the sound of horns one after another announced the arrival of the Ming army.

On the deck, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, who was nearly a head shorter than the surrounding Ming troops, was currently wearing a Ming Dynasty round-neck robe. Except for the indelible wretchedness between his brows, he was just like the common people of the Ming Dynasty.

"Uncle, look at this fleet and the army that is landing at Yinqi."

"This army will help me become a general and even an emperor!"

Ashikaga Yoshiji's eyes were burning, and next to him, Ashikaga Mitsuru, who was half a head shorter than him, looked around carefully and said worriedly: "If Ming helps us like this, they must have their own agenda, we can't relax alert."

"I know!" Ashikaga Yoshiji replied decisively.

Ashikaga Mitsuru originally thought that Ashikaga Yoshitsugu wanted to say that he knew to be wary of the Ming army, but he never thought that Ashikaga Yoshitsugu said directly:

"His Highness hopes to station troops in Mutsu and build an officialdom. He also hopes that I can continue my father's business and maintain trade with the Ming Dynasty."

"I studied Economics at the Imperial College. According to the meaning above, His Highness hopes that Japan will become a resource importer for the Ming Dynasty and continue to import silver for the Ming Dynasty."

"Since you know, then..." Ashikaga Mitsuru couldn't help but raise his voice, and then thinking of his own situation, he immediately lowered his voice: "Then what are you going to do?"

"What to do?" Ashikaga Yoshitsugu looked at Ashikaga Mitsuru in confusion, then his eyes swept across the Oki Islands, and finally stopped at the Ming army team that was landing on the island.

"I don't care how much silver the Ming Dynasty transported through trade, how many samurai were killed by the pacification of Ashikaga Yoshimichi, how many troops were stationed in Japan, how much officialdom was built..."

"As long as they help me become a general and an emperor, I can give them everything."

"If Japan runs out of silver mining, I can send a fleet to Kunlun Island to mine, or I can mine further afield."

"As long as I can become the king of Japan, I will give anything!"

Ashikaga Yoshitsugu's words shocked Ashikaga Mitsuru. He did not expect that such words could be said by a young man under the age of seventeen like Ashikaga Yoshitsugu.

Compared to his two older brothers, he seems spineless.

But what is the backbone? Can the backbone be eaten as food?
As long as he can become a general of Japan, or even an emperor, he can even say to Zhu Gaoxu that he is his father.

It's a pity that even if he wants to recognize Zhu Gaoxu as his father, Zhu Gaoxu will not recognize such a son...

(End of this chapter)