Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 152: Yanagawa Castle, Forward!
Kokura Castle is located at the border of Chikuzen Province and Buzen Province.

Turning south, you can reach Higo Province, turning east, you can reach Bungo Province of the Otomo clan, and to the southwest is Chikuzen Province of the Ryuji family.

As soon as Li Rusong's army occupied Kokura Castle, Otomo Munerin, the head of the Otomo family, immediately became alert.

He didn't expect that the Ming army was so powerful that they could capture Kokura Castle in just one day.

Nowadays, among the three hegemons of Kyushu Island, his Otomo family is the weakest.

If he were the commander of the Ming army, he would definitely choose to kill himself.

As soon as he heard that the Ming army was approaching, he immediately called his son and the elders of the family to discuss the matter.

A group of people sat cross-legged in a square. Otomo Muneshige sat in the first seat. He looked around and said with some concern, "Everyone, the Ming army is coming fiercely. It seems that my Otomo family will have to fight this time."

A gray-haired elder frowned and said cautiously, "Head of the family, there is an old Chinese saying that goes, 'All the people in the world are here for profit, and all the people in the world are here for profit.' Why don't we give them some money and goods so that they will stop fighting?"

A man in his thirties was not happy at the time, and he retorted in a calm voice: "Family elder! The enemy hasn't even come to our door yet, and you're already shouting about surrendering. If this gets out, how can our Otomo family still have the face to stay in Kyushu?"

"Young Master, this old man is not surrendering, but is thinking about the Otomo clan."

"Well, I think it's for your own good."

"you"

The old man was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at the young man and was speechless for a long time.

Otomo Muneshige glared at the young man and shouted, "Yoshitsugu, please be aware of your identity. The elder of the Kuroda family is a highly respected person in the family. How can a junior like you refute the elder?!"

The young man was none other than Otomo Muneshige's eldest son, Otomo Yoshitsugu.

After being scolded by his father, although Otomo Yoshitsugu was not convinced in his heart, he could only say submissively: "Father is right. I was a little out of control just now. I hope you and the elders will forgive me."

The elder also took the opportunity to bring the topic back to the topic of gift giving: "Head of the family, the Ming Dynasty is short of silver. They must be here for silver. In that case, why don't we just give him 200,000 silver in exchange for peace."

"I'm afraid the Ming army has a big appetite." Otomo Sorin shook his head and sighed.

"Head of the family, defeating the enemy without fighting is the best strategy. The commander of the Ming army fought for money. Since we can give him money, why should he fight us to the death?" The family elder leaned forward, spitting, "Could it be that they are born bloodthirsty?!"

"Okay, you can contact the elder of that family first. If they agree, I will consider it as a way to ward off disaster by spending money." Otomo Sorin nodded and agreed without any difficulty.

At the same time, he also sent orders to Takahashi Shaoyun of Iwatsu Castle and Tachibana Dosetsu of Tachibanayama Castle, asking them to hold their ground.

On the other hand, Qi Guozuo led his army to the southwest, clearing the area along the way, and finally arrived at Yanagawa Castle in Chikugo Province.

This is the majestic castle of the Ryudoji family in Chikugo Province.

It is known as the impenetrable city of Kyushu.

Qi Guozuo stood at the foot of the hillside outside the city, with one hand placed in front of his eyebrows and gazing into the distance.

The city was five zhang high, with towers standing on all four corners, spears and crossbows everywhere, and it emitted bursts of cold air under the scorching sun.

There is a bottomless ditch under the city to protect it.

Layer upon layer of protection and strong barriers.

"This city is not small. This is going to be a bit troublesome." Stroking his chin, Qi Guozuo was secretly shocked.

This city is actually not that big in the Ming Dynasty, but they came from a long distance across the ocean and carried few siege equipment.

If they attack by force, although the Qi family army has strict military discipline, they are still flesh and blood.

This battle will not be easy.

After quickly coming to a conclusion in his mind, Qi Guozuo went down the hillside and set up camp on an open mountain five miles away from the city.

After raising the big tent, Qi Guozuo immediately called the generals in the army to discuss the matter.

He was sitting on the commander's seat, posing as a commander, and said in a very dignified voice: "As you can see, this city has high walls and strong defenses. If we attack it by force, our army will suffer heavy losses. As the ancients said, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their soldiers, and the worst is to attack their cities."

"General, I took a look at the city. The northwest of the city is high, the southeast is low, and there is an open area in the east. I suggest that you attack the southeast and use the cannon to open the way. I am willing to be the vanguard and open the city gate for the army."

The speaker was a forty-year-old soldier, the original commander of this team, Wu Hai.

Although Qi Guozuo was the son of Qi Jiguang, he did not dare to neglect these old subordinates. When he heard him mention the idea of ​​a strong attack, Qi Guozuo kindly advised: "General Wu, a strong attack is not a good idea. You should be patient for now."

Another general also made a suggestion: "I think the soil on the east side of the city is soft. Why not send a death squad at night to dig a big hole and place explosives in it to blow down the city wall. The army can then follow suit and kill them."

"Is there enough gunpowder?" Qi Guozuo asked him worriedly.

"It should be enough. If the general is worried that it is not enough, you can send someone to ask General Li Rusong for some gunpowder." The man was silent for a few seconds, looked up at Qi Guozuo and reported.

"That's not necessary." Qi Guozuo waved his hand quickly, frowned, and said seriously, "General Li's situation is no easier than ours. We can solve it by ourselves. Even if we can't blow down the city wall, we will take this city even if it costs us our lives."

Although he gave up the command to Li Rusong, he did not want to be looked down upon.

The generals in the room also understood the commander's mood. They nodded and immediately clasped their fists and shouted, "General, rest assured. We will fight bravely and take the lead. We will never lose the reputation of the Qi family army."

Qi Guozuo stood up and bumped fists with everyone, then ordered everyone to rest where they were, while he sent scouts to go around the city to find out the truth.

For three or four days in a row, the Ming army showed no intention of attacking.

At this point, the defenders on the city wall inevitably became slack in spirit.

One of the generals sneered and boasted to his companions, crossing his arms: "Fortunately, these Ming soldiers were sensible and did not attack Yanagawa Castle, otherwise I would have let them know how powerful the warriors of Ryuzoji are."

"Mr. Kameda, don't be careless. These Ming people are very cunning. You never know what shady tricks they might use." His companion beside him persuaded softly.

The man called Kameda stroked his beard and shook his head, saying, "Kato-kun, you are too cautious. This Yanagawa Castle is known as an unbreakable city. Unless the Ming army has wings, it is impossible for them to fly over here."

After that, he pointed to the Ming army camp in the distance. Kato smiled and stopped talking nonsense with him. He just clenched the long sword in his hand and narrowed his eyes.

Late at night.

The moon was hanging high in the sky, and the entire Yanagawa Castle was shrouded in the hazy moonlight.

The cold wind blew, stirring the dead trees outside the city, causing the old jackdaws on the trees to flap their wings and make a creepy cry.

Because it was already late at night, and the Ming army had not taken any action for several days, the defenders on the city wall almost forgot that there was such a Ming army outside the city.

The defenders on the city wall glanced down at the city, saw that no one was harassing them, shook their heads, and finally retreated back into the fortress.

They gathered in groups of three or five and talked nonsense.

Just at this moment, a group of guards in black clothes appeared under the city, suppressing their steps and hanging gunpowder on their bodies, and rushed towards Yanagawa Castle like ghosts.

Taking out long ladders and crossing the ditch, more than thirty people quietly came under the wall bricks.

Once they arrived at the foot of the city, the leader immediately put his ear against the wall and gently tapped on the tiles, finding the weak spots.

"Dang Dang Dang"

After about a cup of tea, the leader suddenly smiled, took out a tinder, lit it, pointed to the place where he was hitting and ordered: "Here, do it!"

Upon hearing the command, the group immediately took out their tools and carefully pried the bricks away.

One, two, three, four
The night was getting darker and darker, the moonlight shrank into the clouds, and in the meantime, the ground was already covered with more than fifty bricks.

A large hole three or four feet wide suddenly appeared on the originally neat and tidy city wall.

"Boss, is this okay?" one of them asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"It's not enough. Keep digging. If the city wall can't be blown down, my whole life's wisdom will be ruined." The leader replied, but he didn't stop pulling bricks with his hands.

The group worked hard until the entrance of the cave was filled with gunpowder. Only then did they stop.

After taking a look at his masterpiece, the leader clapped his hands, left two people to light the fuse, and the rest of the people retreated.

Everyone waited for their companions for a while, and suddenly they heard footsteps coming from the front, and two shouts of "Run" suddenly rang out, and everyone ran away.

In the night, thirty people ran rapidly.

In front of the city behind him, the jumping fuse was flying rapidly towards the explosives.

There was a loud "bang" and everyone looked back to see a brilliant firework mixed with flying bricks rushing into the night sky.

"It's done!" one person shouted.

At this moment, Qi Guozuo also rushed out of the camp with his troops.

"Done!" The leader wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, looking excited.

Before everyone could be stunned, the sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance, and the first person shouted calmly: "Gao Yu! Take your people back to the headquarters and charge with us!"

"Yes."

Gao Yu received the weapon and squeezed into the team.

The army held up torches and marched towards the East City of Yanagawa in a mighty manner like a flaming elder.

The explosion just now also woke up the defenders in the city. They looked at the east city and saw broken limbs and blood everywhere, forming a deep pool of blood in the ravine below the city.

A huge hole, more than ten feet high, appeared before my eyes.

They were shocked. Was it an earthquake?
They are not unfamiliar with this thing. Kyushu Island is often hit by tsunamis and earthquakes, so they are no longer surprised.

But why is this earthquake different from the ones we have seen before?
At this time, a general saw the torches in the distance, and he immediately understood what was going on. He shouted at the top of his voice: "It's the Ming army, it's the Ming army, the Ming army is coming to attack the city, quickly return to your positions."

"Hurry, hurry, hurry to the East City. Archers, get ready. Archers, get ready. We must not let the Ming army in."

There was already chaos on the city wall, and the generals ordered their troops to rush towards the east city.

Before the defenders in the city could regroup, the swordsmen and shieldmen of the Qi family army had already squeezed into the city along the broken walls.

"Brothers, kill these bastards!" The officer at the front raised his long sword above his head and shouted loudly!
The Qi family soldiers behind him shouted together, and then formed teams of eleven people and formed a mandarin duck formation to meet the enemy.

This formation was created by Qi Jiguang, with the captain at the front as the commander.

Next, there are two more people, one holding a long sword and the other holding a rattan shield, acting as sword and shield men to cover the team's advance.

The next two people are holding wolf-whips.

There were four others holding spears, two on each side.

Finally, there are two "palladium bearers" holding "palladiums" who are responsible for guarding the entire team.

This formation has both offensive and defensive capabilities, with weapons of varying lengths, and the left and right sides can change formations.

The Qi family army was already familiar with this formation, and as soon as the vanguard encountered the enemy, they immediately deployed it as if by muscle memory.

Two Japanese pirates stepped forward quickly and swung their swords at the soldier in front.

The sword and shield man held a rattan shield to block, and the spearman behind him poked forward. The two men screamed "Wow" and liquid like watermelon juice flowed out of their bodies.

The swordsman with the shield swung his long sword forward again, and the two men fell to the ground and bled to death.

(End of this chapter)