Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 416 Battle of Lake Biwa

"Now we rely on heaven and earth, drive water and land together, and use the good and the strange together. The army reaches Japan, spreading the virtues of the Han family, and promoting the majesty of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Anyone who kills a Japanese rebel will be rewarded with five swords. If he captures the enemy and turns it over, the team will be equally divided and the victory will be won..."

Amid the roaring waves, nearly a hundred tall warships arrived at Wakasa Bay in Japan at some unknown time.

On the deck, scribes from each household read out the documents of this war. The contents were basically the same as the Ming army's combat situation in recent years, except that the rewards for the Japanese pirates were lowered.

In fact, it is not just Japanese pirates. Most of the enemies faced by the Ming army now have their rewards reduced as the Ming army continues to grow stronger.

Regardless of whether they are beheading prisoners at the moment, the Hu soldiers in the north have only ten soldiers each, the chieftain soldiers in the southwest and the Japanese troops in the northeast have only five soldiers, and the natives in Nanyang have only one soldier.

But even so, if there was no malaria, the Ming army would have a choice. They would rather fight in Nanyang.

There are millions of natives in Nanyang, but the number of Japanese troops is only tens of thousands. Although there are also tens of thousands of Hu soldiers in the north, they are scattered throughout Mobei and are difficult to find.

With that kind of effort, it is estimated that the Ming army in Mobei only killed a few Hu soldiers, while the Ming army in other areas had killed dozens or hundreds of enemy troops, and in Nanyang, hundreds or thousands of local bandits were killed.

On the deck, Chen Xuan watched his own troops landing on Tsuruga and couldn't help but give an order.

Anyway, as long as tomorrow's trade continues, Japanese civilians will continue to be squeezed by the guards and shogunate everywhere.

The character "朙" fluttering in the wind announced that the Ming army or the Han army had landed in Japan for the first time, and this was also the most worth writing moment.

Before the Ming army landed on the coast, Imagawa Takamasa led the army to withdraw from the city. While fleeing to the south, he also sent a message to Imagawa Norizheng in Ono in the north.

Therefore, taking this place is conducive to the Ming army's maritime supplies, and it is also conducive to the Ming army's long march.

"Uuuuuu——"

The reason why the Ming army knew this news was mainly because Zhu Gaoxu opened the "Military Newspaper" in the army. It contains the general contents of the areas under the jurisdiction of each military governor's office, but it basically describes the life of the soldiers, and there is little information about military intelligence.

"Restrain the armed forces and do not use knives on civilians."

Representatives of these are Wang Yi, Muchun and Cui Jun from last year.

"Seduction?" Xu Zengshou, who is ninety-nine in his thirties, frowned. Now he is no longer the junior in the Duke's Palace back then. He was somewhat resistant to what Chen Xuan said.

Ashikaga Yoshitomichi thought he had control of the situation, but the situation grasped by the station in Japan Nishi Factory was more detailed than what he grasped.

As long as you don't go deep into the forest, the chance of contracting malaria is still low.

After all, if the war fails and the imperial court sends more reinforcements, there will be even less reward money in their hands.

"Go to hell!"

According to the Ming army's equal distribution of reward money, only 1,500 guan went into the hands of the soldiers, and 1,500 guan was divided among the 5,000 men. It was purely hard-earned money.

Because Chen Xuan knew that as long as the army launched a landing, Tsuruga's Japanese army would retreat, so there was no need to destroy Tsuruga.

"Although His Highness said not to attack civilians, we can lure them."

Although the reward was only 100,000 guan, the Ming Dynasty's garrison in Nanyang was only 20,000 people, each of whom could receive 5 guan, and the casualties were not too many.

With a scream, the shogunate flag of Tsuruga Castle was kicked off and replaced by the Ming Dynasty's red sun flag with a yellow background.

Compared to the north, in the south of Muchun, even though Guizhou's return to native land has ended, there are still many chieftains from Yunnan, Guangxi, and Daxueshan who are causing trouble.

Ashikaga Yoshitomichi's military order had already been known to Nishichang and passed to Oki. Because of this, the Ming army did not launch an artillery attack on Tsuruga.

On the boat, as Zheng Jun drew his sword and pointed to the sky, sand ships began to be lowered one after another. The four thousand Ming army as the vanguard first boarded the ship and began to land on Tsuruga in Wakasa Bay.

Therefore, going to Nanyang to serve as a soldier is almost the best choice for ordinary Ming troops at the moment. However, the number of troops stationed in Nanyang is too small. Except for a three-year rotation, the number of troops will basically not be increased.

"Yes!" Chen Xuan nodded and said, "I know Japan. The common people here can't even afford ordinary rice. We can lure them to go to places like Treasure Island and even Donghai Mansion to mine mineral deposits. Anyway, the imperial court needs miners."

This was the transit supply place during the previous battles between Ashikaga Yoshinori and Uesugi Zenhide, and could accommodate some not-too-large warships.

The military scribes of each army constantly recorded the actions of the Ming army entering Tsuruga Castle. Compared with the armies guarding each country in this era, the Ming army and the Japanese people truly made no mistakes.

Because of this, facing the horn sound of the Ming army's charge, Imagawa Takamasa stationed here immediately ordered the burning of supplies and retreat to Kyoto.

Although there was no major war, the total number of enemies killed in various places to suppress the rebellion was more than 16,000. After being divided equally, the number of soldiers and horses under his command was almost equal to each one.

Before that, establishing the image of the Ming army was undoubtedly the most important thing they needed to do.

Last year, Wang Yi led five thousand fine cavalry to patrol the west. Since the Tatar tribe had surrendered and could not be killed, and there were military officers in the army who were responsible for rectifying the army's morale, Wang Yi and the five thousand fine cavalry traveled for two days. Yue Cai captured more than 300 level Hu soldiers and received only more than 3,000 guan in reward.

After all, he is here to gild, and if the Ming army kills too many people in Japan, he will inevitably be implicated in the future.

This order was given by Zhu Gaoxu before Chen Xuan went on the expedition. After all, it is very likely that the Ming Dynasty will take over Japan in the future.

Tsuruga is just a small fishing port town. Even though Ashikaga Yoshimichi had expected that the Ming army might choose to land in Maizuru and Tsuruga, he did not have enough troops. There were only two thousand troops stationed in Tsuruga.

They received orders from Ashikaga Yoshitomichi. Once the Ming army began to attack, they should not hesitate to retreat to Kyoto immediately and send the news back to Kyoto.

Intensifying the contradiction between the two sides, causing Japan to have class divisions and falling into serious internal strife, and finally using the Ming Dynasty as the savior is what Zhu Gaoxu wants.

Compared with the few casualties caused by the Ming army to Japanese civilians, such a situation can more effectively damage Japan.

When he stepped on Tsuruga Castle, Chen Xuan glanced around the Tsuruga Castle, which looked like a small country, and discussed with Xu Zengshou sideways:

"Log in!!"

As for Nanyang, it is even worse. Last year, Cui Jun, Jiang Gui, and Shi Jinqing destroyed 92 Tube strongholds in Jiugang and Luzon, and killed nearly 100,000 prisoners.

Therefore, when the reward money for resisting the Japanese was reported, the Ming army officers and soldiers who participated in the expedition were all pumped up and ready to show off their talents in the next war.

Since there was no cinchona tree bark, the Ming army cooperated with the sea and land to destroy the Tube strongholds in coastal areas.

"What are you going to do?" Xu Zengshou nodded. What Chen Xuan said was indeed the truth.

"As long as the shipping routes are opened, I estimate that the people of Tsuruga can move to Treasure Island at once."

Chen Xuan is very confident because in the past many years, although various countries have prohibited citizens from going to Treasure Island, countless people have smuggled across.

Compared with the oppression of the people by the guards of various countries, the life of the miners on Treasure Island can be regarded as a paradise.

"It's up to you. It would be good for Treasure Island to produce more gold and silver."

Xu Zengshou stood on Chen Xuan's side. When Chen Xuan heard this, he looked at Yang Wen who was silent and saw Yang Wen nod, seeming to agree with this approach.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xuan ordered the military scribes to spread the word, and at the same time ordered the army to march towards Kyoto.

"Do you want to bring the leader of Japan to Tsuruga?"

Xu Zengshou looked at Tsuruga's situation, but Chen Xuan shook his head: "Anyway, the war only lasts a few days. We can just bring him back from Yinqi when it is completely over."

"But before that, we have to deal with the current false king..."

The false king in Chen Xuan's mouth was not Ashikaga Yoshimichi, but the emperors of Gokomatsu and Gogameyama, the two dynasties of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Get rid of them, and then let Ashikaga Yoshitsugu succeed the emperor as the adopted son of Emperor Komatsu. This will muddy the waters in Japan.

Of course, if you want to muddy the water, you can't kill both groups. You must leave people alive. Only then can all countries have someone to support.

With the deterrence of the Ming army, there would be no domestic chaos in Japan.

Once the Ming Dynasty declines, it will be time for them to fight among themselves.

While Chen Xuan and others were discussing, Zheng Jun had already taken the lead in taking control of Tsuruga with 4,000 people, and recruited thousands of local people as civilians to carry food and grass, and went all the way south to recruit civilians for the army.

In order to highlight the difference between the Ming army and the Japanese army, the daily wages for the recruited civilians were two catties of rice, which was also two catties of silver relics.

Such a precious existence is something that many people at the bottom of Japan have never tasted in their lives. Many people nervously carried food for the Ming army and touched their arms from time to time, fearing that the silver relics in their arms would escape.

The Ming army recruited civilians and distributed one pound of rice before setting off, and another pound before dusk.

In addition, these peasants were organized into small banners of ten people, and each banner was given a salt crystal and a can of pickles.

Thanks to the generosity of the Ming army, civilians continued to join the ranks of civilians along the way, taking on the task of escorting grain and grass for the Ming army.

Although they were short in stature and could carry fifty kilograms of grain on their backs, they managed to keep up with the marching speed of the Ming army.

From the time when Tsuruga was captured at noon, to dusk, the 4,000-man army led by Zheng Jun was followed by a team of nearly 10,000 civilians, stretching the entire supply line.

Since there is a mountainous area south of Tsuruga, it took them an afternoon to cross the mountainous area and reach the northern area of ​​Takashima Castle on the west side of Lake Biwa to camp.

Almost in front and back, Imagawa Takamasa, who had evacuated from Tsuruga, had just entered Takashima Castle when he saw the Ming army following behind.

"Shut up!"

Pulling the reins, Zheng Jun led the five hundred cavalrymen to a place not far from Gaodao. Taking advantage of the afterglow of dusk, he used binoculars to look at Gaodao City from half a mile away.

"The city is not big. There are at most three thousand defenders. Counting the three thousand who just escaped, the maximum number is six thousand."

"Where have the field artillery arrived?" Zheng Jun turned around and asked the generals. A commander bowed and said: "It is less than twenty miles away from the camp, and we can arrive at Haishi."

Knowing that there would be a battle tomorrow, Zhu Gaoxu asked Zheng Jun to transport horses to Treasure Island and Sado Island for herding very early.

Because of this, the horses needed for the Ming cavalry could basically be obtained from Yinqi and Sado, and there were also a lot of draft horses for transporting artillery.

The roads in Japan are indeed rugged and narrow, but two draft horses and seven or eight civilian men can fully enable the field artillery and artillery carriages, which weigh less than a kilogram, to keep up with the marching speed of the army.

During this expedition to Japan, Zheng Jun left 1,600 people to take care of Yinqi, Jinghai, and Jinyin respectively. The other 4,000 people participated in the war and promised to divide the 1,600 people equally. tips.

The artillery he brought with him numbered 800 men, and the number of operable field guns was 40.

It would be effortless for forty field guns to deal with a small Takashima City.

"Is the road we came on passable for siege artillery?"

Zheng Jun asked about the command, which was crucial to whether the Chinese army could keep up with the vanguard.

"Yes, but it won't go any faster, not even if it rains. Fortunately, it hasn't rained in the past few days."

The commander's answer made Zheng Jun's heart sink: "It seems that we can't wait. I am ordering the three armies to bombard Gaodao City tomorrow morning. I will capture it before dusk." "Yes!" The generals bowed, and some even said He said loudly: "No need for dusk, noon is enough!"

"Yes! Noon is enough!"

The generals are very confident, but there is a reason for their confidence. After all, Takashima City is not big, and since it is a flat city, it is not difficult to conquer it.

In front of forty field artillery pieces, not to mention Japan's Pingcheng, even Pingshan City and Mountain City could not withstand a whole day of indiscriminate bombing.

"I will be on duty tonight with five hundred banners. If the three thousand Japanese pirates who fled into the city want to withdraw, I will be the first to stop them!"

Zheng Jun did not intend to let go of all the Japanese troops in Takashima City, especially the three thousand Japanese troops who had previously fled into it.

After this discount, it will be 15,000 guan. The brothers under his command can get at least 4,000 guan. How can he let it go?

"Asshole!!"

On the wall of Takashima City, Imagawa Takamasa looked at the Ming army building a camp three miles to the north, and could only be helpless and furious: "Obviously they are Japanese people, but now they are helping the enemy to transport food, grass and supplies!"

"Don't they know that these grains and supplies will become weapons for the enemy to attack Japan?"

Imagawa Takamasa's words made the surrounding samurai filled with indignation, but they did not want to think about why Japanese civilians were willing to help the Ming army.

Compared with the Japanese army who could cope with just some brown rice, the Ming army gave them too much.

Just like now, with the end of the camp, a scribe who had been around for a long time led dozens of Ming troops and escorted a supply truck to hundreds of civilians, and said skillfully in Japanese:

"Now that the camp is over, you can make a fire and cook in this designated area. This is an iron pot, pickles, and rice."

"Keep your rice for yourself. It will be enough for you to eat the army's rice while in the army."

"Tomorrow you must get up at midnight and start dismantling the fence of the camp, do you understand?"

After the scribe finished speaking, a man who was no more than four feet tall and looked like a dwarf stepped forward cautiously: "Sir, do we have any work to do tomorrow?"

"Of course." The scribe smiled and said, "We still need you to transport supplies to Kyoto and support your country's leader, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, in ascending the throne before leaving."

"Great!" Upon hearing this, the man and the people around him breathed a sigh of relief and were full of energy for tomorrow's life.

Especially when they returned from cutting firewood and watched the silver relics that they could only look at in the past being cooked in a pot, their inner vanity was greatly satisfied.

"good to eat!"

“Such a soft texture.”

"Is this the silver relic that only warriors can eat?"

"It's so delicious. I feel like I can eat two kilograms without pickles!"

"Momotaro, aren't you afraid of bursting your belly?"

"Haha, if you can be choked to death by a silver relic, that would be a happy thing!"

The civilian camp was filled with laughter and laughter. At the same time, in Takashima City, ordinary soldiers could only receive a wild vegetable dumpling made of brown rice and wild vegetables.

While they were eating wild vegetable balls, they probably never dreamed that the group of guys outside the city were actually eating silver relics.

Time passed little by little, and as the sky turned completely dark, Imagawa Takamasa in Takashima Castle also began to mutter.

Although he did not think that the Ming army could transport artillery through today's mountain roads, he was still a little nervous, so he was thinking about whether he should break out southward at night.

Takashima is less than eighty miles away from Kyoto. As long as you move fast enough and set out now, you can reach Kyoto at dusk tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Imagawa Gaomasa decisively ordered: "Send the order to the three armies. At this time, the entire army carefully leaves the city and retreats to Kyoto."

"Hi!" The surrounding generals responded and soon informed the three armies of the news.

At midnight, under the cover of darkness, Imagawa Takamasa led two thousand soldiers from Takashima Castle and three thousand troops under his own command to start leaving the city.

This scene was difficult for the malnourished Japanese troops, as many suffered from night blindness.

But for the Ming army, although they could not eat meat every day since the Yongle Dynasty, they still could not escape one meal of meat and vegetables every day.

Because of this, their situation was much better than that of the Japanese army.

Zheng Jun, who was on night duty, had just finished patrolling the camp when he was approached by a fellow commander.

"Uncle, as you expected, the Japanese pirate general really wants to retreat under the cover of night."

"Okay!" Hearing this, Zheng Jun's face lit up, and then he said: "I will lead five hundred cavalry in a roundabout way to ambush them on their retreat."

"You watch the timing right, wait for me to set off, and then the entire army will set off. You and I will attack from the front and back, leaving these thousands of people behind completely!"

"This..." The commander hesitated: "Would it be too dangerous for you to personally lead the five hundred cavalry to stop these thousands of people?"

"Of course there is danger, but their methods cannot defeat me. I can only rest assured if I personally stop them."

After Zheng Jun said that, he patted his armor to indicate that he was safe and told him not to worry.

Seeing this, the commander could only wish him victory.

Not long after, Zheng Jun led 500 cavalry in a detour from behind the camp and headed south along the woods.

Like them, there was Imagawa Takamasa who led five thousand people out of the city.

However, Imagawa Takamasa chose to go from the east of the city, so he did not meet Zheng Jun.

"Beep--"

An hour later, the whistle woke up the entire Ming army in the camp, and also woke up the Japanese army who retreated with a guilty conscience.

"No, the entire army will speed up its retreat!"

Hearing the bursts of whistles from behind, Imagawa Takamasa knew without even thinking that this was news that his side had been exposed.

He began to order the entire army to retreat, and the sound of their retreat also alerted the Ming army at the same distance as them.

"what sound?"

Zheng Jun heard the sound coming from the lake. Although he was more than a mile away, he could still vaguely hear the noise.

The footsteps of thousands of people were difficult to hide, so when Zheng Jun and his team began to listen carefully, they realized that they had actually come so close to the Japanese army.

"God is really helping us, they didn't see us."

Zheng Jun spoke to the left and right, and at the same time said: "Untie the cotton cloth on the horses' hooves, prepare to follow my orders and touch them, and launch a side attack on them."

He gave the order excitedly. After all, after careful calculation, he had not fought in a decent war for ten years.

Taking advantage of the darkness, the five hundred cavalrymen carefully led their horses towards Lake Biwa.

"Light the torch and march quickly, don't wait any longer."

At the critical moment, Imagawa Takamasa made a fatal mistake. He felt that the Ming army was about to leave camp to pursue them, and the lakeside hills of Takashima City were long and narrow. As long as the Ming army caught up, they would be able to see them.

In this case, it is better to light the torch and speed up the march than to delay like this.

Because of this, under his military order, the Japanese army began to light torches.

The dim environment allowed them to see the road under their feet clearly, so their marching speed was increased.

But equally, their firelight also illuminated the direction for Zheng Jun and the others, making them living targets in the dark night.

"Mount!"

Following Zheng Jun's order, the five hundred Ming troops mounted their horses. At this moment, they were less than half a mile away from the Japanese army.

"Don't blow the trumpet, just charge directly."

While Zheng Jun gave the order calmly, he shook the horse's reins in his hand and took the lead to charge towards the Japanese army.

"Buzz rumbling..."

"what sound?!"

The power of the five hundred cavalry's attack reached Imagawa Gaomasa's ears at the first moment. At this moment, the Japanese troops who were in charge of patrolling the outskirts of Butang discovered Zheng Jun and others who had arrived in front of them at some unknown time.

"The whole army attacks!!"

When the fire lit up, Zheng Jun held a torch in one hand and held a spear in the other, performing superb equestrian skills. Perhaps even he himself had forgotten that he was once a cavalryman in Liaodong.

"Be prepared for the enemy!!"

The moment the fire appeared, Imagawa Takamasa shouted at the top of his lungs, and the harsh whistle began to sound.

Caught off guard, the Japanese army began to form a formation in a hurry. However, for this group of underfed and weak Nagasaki Ashigaru, they had not undergone much training in night attacks, and the formation was in chaos.

This situation gave Zheng Jun enough opportunities.

"Build meritorious deeds right now, kill enemies and receive rewards, and be rich for a lifetime!"

"kill!!"

Like a mountain falling apart, the five hundred tall Arabian and Hequ mixed-blood horses, coupled with the Ming army's naturally being nearly a foot taller than the Japanese army, made the gap between the two sides fully exposed at this moment.

Lin Luan's spear array was overwhelmed in an instant. Many of the spears were completely horizontal in the air, and only a few of the spears were buried in the soil at the end, causing considerable casualties to the Ming army.

But compared with the casualties suffered by the Japanese army against the Ming army, the casualties suffered by the Ming army against the Japanese army were more fatal.

After the cavalry rushed into the formation with a side attack, they did not rush to retreat. Instead, they continued to fight hand-to-hand in the formation. The spear and pumpkin hammer became the sharp weapons that took away the lives of the Japanese soldiers at this moment.

Regarding this battle, the warriors who survived and fled into the mountains recorded this...

"The Ming army trampled our formation with its four hooves"

(End of this chapter)