I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 486: Conquer Pyongyang to Survive the Winter

The commander of the naval fleet was soon invited.

His name was Wu Shunchang, an old subordinate of Li Chao. He came from Dinghai Camp and went to the outpost on the top of Xuanmiao Mountain with six adjutants and staff officers.

"Wu Shunchang, the commander of the left squadron of the Weihai Battalion of the Navy, pays a visit to the Earl of Kaiyuan."

"Wudu Yuhou, these are my colleagues, Wei Jianping from Qingyang, Gao Ce from Huining. Li Dayong, the lieutenant general of the Sushen Army, Zhang Erhe, the garrison commander, this is my personal soldier E Husheng, and these are my staff officers and adjutants."

"I am here to see Qingyang and Huining!"

After introducing each other, Zhou Guotai brought Wu Shunchang to the platform of the sentry post.

"This is a great location, with a panoramic view." Wu Shunchang exclaimed in admiration.

Zhou Guotai pointed at Pyongyang City and said to Wu Shunchang: "Wu Yuhou, Xuansi should have explained the mission you were assigned here."

"Kaiyuan Earl, there is a saying that difficulties that can be solved with cannons must not cause the blood of Ming soldiers to be shed."

"Haha, bright! Staff officer, bring me the map."

E Husheng carried a table and put it on the platform with a bang.

Zhou Guotai looked at him approvingly, asked the staff officer to put the map on the table, and pointed at the city of Pyongyang in the distance.

"The section from Jinghai Gate in the west of Pyongyang's inner city to Suzaku Gate in the south, which is closest to the river, is only a hundred meters. But this section is too narrow with the river on the left and the city on the right, so the troops cannot deploy.

Even if you guys blow open the city wall, we brothers still have to rush forward along this narrow alley. The enemy troops are on the right wall, commanding us from a high position. By the time we rush to the gap, we will suffer heavy casualties."

Wu Shunchang nodded and continued to listen to Zhou Guotai.

"We chose and chose again, and found that the section from the north gate of the central city, Qingchang Gate, to the northwest water gate, Shuide Gate, was the most suitable. It is only 200 meters away from the river.

You concentrate your artillery fire on the Shuide Gate section, and we will gather our troops on the open space in front of the Qingchang Gate. Once you have destroyed that section of the city wall, we will rush forward.

Before that, we will block the water inlet on the north side of the moat and fill in this dry section of the moat.”

Wu Shunchang looked at Zhou Guotai and said, "Lord Kaiyuan, this is a big deal and will require a lot of manpower."

"There is no shortage of manpower. The Korean people around here are starving to death. If we give them food every day, we can gather 100,000 young and strong men. If there are defenders on the city walls, I can ask these men to dig down the city of Pyongyang."

"That's good. Lord Kaiyuan, is this section of the wall strong? I need to calculate how long we need to bombard it."

"This section of the wall is 200 years old and has been repaired several times, but the most recent repair was more than 20 years ago. North Korea has been poor in recent years and has no surplus grain to repair it.

There were three major floods in the Taedong River, the most recent of which was the year before last, when the water level was more than two meters high and it was said to have lasted for five days and five nights. If you look carefully with a telescope, you can still see obvious traces of water bubbles on the city wall.”

Wu Shunchang's eyes lit up, "This is a good thing. We were ordered to bombard several coastal cities in North Korea before. Their craftsmanship in building the city was a bit rough, and they cut corners a lot.

It is good in every way except that it cannot be soaked in water. Once soaked in water, it becomes like a steamed bun dropped into water. It looks hard on the outside, but it is completely soft on the inside.

We will arrange for a few staff officers to bombard this section of the wall and observe carefully to find out which section is the softest and most likely to collapse."

Zhou Guotai was surprised and asked, "Brother Shui has this skill?"

Wu Shunchang chuckled, "We bombard the coastal cities of East Japan twice a year, and make a summary after each bombardment. After the Boshin Incident in Korea, we were ordered to bombard the coastal cities occupied by the rebel army, and we also made a summary after each bombardment. Even the idiots have gained experience from fighting.

It's nothing, it's nothing!"

Zhou Guotai laughed loudly, and then said, "Marquis Wu Yu, I have another favor to ask of you."

Wu Shunchang immediately replied: "Please speak, Lord Kaiyuan."

"We want to borrow gunpowder from our navy brothers."

"gunpowder?"

"Yes." Zhou Guotai pointed at the map and said, "We secretly dug three tunnels at the intersection of the outer city and the middle city wall of Pyongyang, which is the area around Hanqiu Gate.

All the soldiers used were from the engineering battalion. The young and strong North Koreans were just helping out outside. The operation was very secretive and the defenders should not have noticed it so far.

Now there are two tunnels that are about to reach the wall of the central city. It is said that there are large urns in Pyongyang City that are specially used to monitor underground movements. Once we dig in, we will be easily discovered. "

Wu Shunchang immediately understood and gave a thumbs up, saying, “So the Earl of Kaiyuan asked us to bombard the city wall continuously to disrupt the defenders’ eavesdropping and to cover you in digging a tunnel under the city wall.

The brothers in the army are really particular! "

"Haha, fighting a war means finding ways to defeat the enemy. We can't put all our eggs in one basket. We need to rely on our navy brothers' artillery to open the city, but we also need to find ways on our own.

Digging tunnels is our specialty. But we are all light cavalry in the Sushen Army, so we don’t have many firearms or gunpowder. So we need to borrow gunpowder from our navy brothers.”

"Kaiyuan Bo, how much do you need?"

"Look, how much gunpowder do we need to blast a 200-meter-wide hole here?"

Wu Shunchang touched his chin and said, "Let's arrange one ton first. It's never too much of this stuff, but too little. If there's too little, it'll just make a noise and make a fool of itself. If there's too much, the bigger the hole will be, the better."

Zhou Guotai smiled and said, "Brother Wu is a wise man. I wonder if the navy brothers can lend us so much gunpowder?"

"Lord Kaiyuan, I have fifteen ships with more than six hundred guns in total. If I can't find enough gunpowder, we are not here to fight, but to go fishing.

But according to the rules of our navy, I dare not transfer such a large batch of gunpowder to the army brothers without authorization. Please ask Kaiyuan Bo to write to Xuansi and Liu Gong. After getting the approval, I will give you as much as you want. "

Zhou Guotai certainly knew that gunpowder could not be lent out just because he wanted to. That would cause chaos. He was just testing the waters to get a feel for the situation. There would definitely be a written process to follow.

Zhou Guotai was one of the main generals of the Eastern Expedition Army. The allocation of gunpowder was a major matter for the capture of Pyongyang City, so Liu Tao would definitely approve it.

"Okay, I will immediately write to Mr. Liu and ask him to allocate one ton of gunpowder to us. Mr. Liu is on Ganghwa Island, which is very close. It only takes five or six days to go back and forth.

We can also make full preparations here.

Now that we have finished our business, let's go and start to worship our five internal organs! Adjutant, "Here!"

"Is the welcoming banquet for our navy brothers ready?"

"Master, I'm ready."

"Okay, let's go, let's get started!"

Arriving at the command post at the foot of Xuanmiao Mountain, Zhou Guotai led everyone to the "canteen", which had more than a dozen long tables with long benches on both sides.

The room was bustling with noise. Three or four hundred officers and non-commissioned officers from the headquarters' General Staff Department, Surveying and Mapping Department, Intelligence Department, Military Law Department, Secretariat and Guard Battalion sat on benches, holding their own dining trays, and leaned over the table, eating voraciously.

According to the new military system formulated by Zhu Yijun, officers and soldiers must eat together during combat.

The granary kitchen cooks the same meals, and the officers and generals eat the same food as the soldiers.

During non-combat periods, they can eat separately, and officers and generals can have their own meals.

Zhou Guotai led everyone to a room next door. "Today we are entertaining the navy brothers, so I asked them to order a few more dishes. When we capture Pyongyang and hold a celebration banquet, I asked them to serve you the roe deer, rabbits, and fish from the river.

Wu Yuhou, let me tell you, our headquarters chef Lao Yang used to be the chef of Liaodong Governor's Mansion. Mr. Tan, Mr. Wei, and Mr. Guo have eaten his dishes and praised them highly. "

Wu Shunchang asked with a smile: "How did Kaiyuan Bo bring him here?"

"I told him, Lao Yang, this time we are going to the East to help North Korea fight the bandit army. The risk is small and there will be military merits to be gained. You are also in your forties, do you want to gain some military merits and pass them on to your descendants?

Without saying a word, he packed up his things and followed us."

Everyone laughed and sat down. Zhou Guotai said, "During combat, drinking is prohibited. This is the iron rule set by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I will take the bone and radish soup that Lao Yang made and use it instead of wine to toast my navy brothers.

When we capture Pyongyang, we will have a drink to celebrate our victory!"

"it is good!"

Everyone cheered in unison and raised their bowls of hot soup.

After drinking a few sips of soup, everyone sat down and started eating. They finished a bowl of rice first to fill their stomachs, and then started chatting while eating the second bowl.

Wei Jianping asked curiously, "Wu Yuhou, did you come from Ganghwa Island?"

"Yes, we were stationed on Tanegashima Island and cruised between Korea and Japan. Then we were ordered to go north and patrol the coastal areas of Jeolla and Chungcheong Province. When we were resupplying on Ganghwa Island, we received a military order to urgently move north to support you."

Gao Ce asked, "Has Seoul been taken?"

"It's down."

Zhou Guotai, Wei Jianping, Gao Ce and others looked at each other, feeling unwilling.

Wu Shunchang noticed the strangeness of the crowd and comforted them, "The mess in Seoul was not taken by force, but was taken over directly by the army.

I heard from the captains and sailors of the merchant ships carrying supplies that Seoul was in ruins, everything was burned, and there was not a single good house to shelter from the wind and rain.

"So miserable?"

“It’s not that tragic!
The city was full of wild beasts, and there were few living people to be seen. The streets were full of wild dogs and wolves, tearing up corpses. Those beasts were not afraid of people, and they bared their teeth and stared at you with their green eyes.

If you are alone, these wild dogs and wolves dare to pounce on you and bite you. The Shenwei Army that entered the city was busy hunting. Deputy Master Xue ordered that all the beasts that had eaten people in Hancheng be killed, and their bodies were not allowed to be eaten, but burned. "

Everyone couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement.

"No wonder Li Zandao didn't even want the royal capital and just stayed in Pyongyang."

"What Wangjing, the ghost city!"

"Wu Yuhou, where is the Divine Might Army heading to now?"

Gao Ce asked with concern.

The Shenwei Army and the Sushen Army were rivals.

There are only so many bandit troops. You have eliminated more of them, while I have eliminated fewer, and my military merits have also been less.

Wu Shunchang thought for a moment and said, "I heard that the Shenwei Army chased them to Yangzhou City."

Wei Jianping asked curiously, "Is there also a Yangzhou city in North Korea?"

"North Korea has learned everything from the Ming Dynasty. We have Yangzhou City, Jiangling, Xiangyang, and Huaiyang! Stop interrupting, Wu Yuhou, continue."

"Okay, I heard that more than 40,000 bandits led by Cui Guangzhong have gathered in Yangzhou, and the Shenwei Army is going there to fight them."

Zhou Guotai stopped eating. "After Choi Kwang-jung was defeated by Lee Chan-do, he withdrew from Pyongyang and has been active in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do. After Park In-yong fell out with Lee Chan-do, he led his troops south to Chungcheong-do and Sanggyeong-do, and established himself as king in Sangju.

The Shenwei Army conquered Yangzhou and eliminated Cui Guangzhong. We conquered Pyongyang and destroyed Li Zandao. The only famous person in the Korean bandit army is Park In-yong. "

Gao Ce said, "We have to work harder to capture Pyongyang before the heavy snow, so that the army can catch its breath. When the roads are open in the spring next year, we will go south to destroy Park In-yong and other bandit troops."

Wei Jianping echoed, "We fought Li Zandao, Xue Yi fought Cui Guangzhong. We conquered Pyongyang, Xue Yi recovered Seoul and Yangzhou, so it's a draw. We'll compete with him next year!"

Wu Shunchang smiled and said nothing.

The various parts of the army were secretly competing for credit, but he, as a navy officer, remained silent.

This situation often occurs in all naval divisions and camps and is commonplace.

Zhou Guotai raised his head and looked at the gloomy sky outside the house. "I hope that the brothers of the Shenwei Army can fight smoothly, wipe out Cui Guangzhong's troops as soon as possible, recapture Yangzhou City, and spend the winter in peace.

Let’s compete again next year!”

(End of this chapter)