The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 158 Battle of Xuanchuan
"Only our Emperor Shenzong showed pity for the small nation of Korea and sent troops and food from all over the world to save our country from disaster. This is truly a rare event in a thousand years." (Note 1)

On the eighth day of the fourth month of the second year of Taichang, at the west gate of Yizhou, Korea.

The gates of Yizhou were wide open, and teams of Kaiyuan soldiers marched straight in through the corridor.

Ping Liaohou's hand was tightly held by an old Korean man, who was crying bitterly and seemed extremely emotional.

The Korean soldiers from Yizhou standing around had put down their spears and halberds, and stood there blankly, listening to the old man reminiscing about the past.

On the distant city wall, Korean musketeers were still busy shooting into the sky.

Qiao Yiqi looked at the fantastic scenes before him, opened his mouth wide, and was speechless for a long time.

The Korean soldiers guarding Yizhou had basically participated in the Battle of Sarhu and belonged to the Eastern Army under Liu Jing.

In the 47th year of the Wanli reign, Ping Liaohou, who was then Liu Qianzong, led this group of Korean soldiers back to Kuandian safely from Liaodong, saving their lives. Finally, before crossing the Yalu River, he gave each of them five cents of silver.

These Korean soldiers were so grateful to Liu Qianzong, no, now Liu Zongbing, of the Celestial Empire that they wanted to build a shrine for Liu Zhaosun.

It should be noted that the civil officials in Seoul were even more excessive in withholding wages from their soldiers than those in the Ming Dynasty.

After the Imjin War, in order to guard against Japanese pirates, the Korean military deployment changed from focusing more on the north and less on the south to focusing more on the south and less on the north.

Because the Korean soldiers in Yizhou lost face for Korea at Sarhu, they were sent to the northern border. Their food and wages were often in arrears and their morale was low.

When they heard that Liu Zhaosun led his troops to pursue the Jiannu, the soldiers clamored to join the heavenly soldiers.

Two guards in the city who wanted to fight the Ming army were captured alive by the soldiers and handed over to Lord Liu for disposal.

Liu Zhaosun generously let the two generals return to Seoul.

He hoped to use these two people to tell Gwanghaegun that the end was near, thereby exacerbating the chaos in Seoul.

"Smecta! The Ming Dynasty saved our small country. Emperor Shenzong's kindness to our small nation is something we will never forget!"

Liu Zhaosun smiled politely and tried hard to break free from the old man's hand.

"It's all I have to do. The Tartars are ravaging Seoul, and Gwanghaegun is powerless to resist. As the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, I've been ordered by Emperor Shenzong to pacify the Jiannu. I will preserve the Joseon Kingdom, just as my adoptive father did. Old man, the streets are full of soldiers, hurry home."

After Liu Zhaosun said this, he hurriedly rode his horse forward a few steps to get rid of the group of fanatical Yizhou people behind him.

He waved Yuan Chonghuan over and ordered Yuan Dudu to distribute food to the people.

"General Liu, our army barely has enough food. If we give it to the Koreans, what will the soldiers eat?"

General Liu patted Yuan Chonghuan on the shoulder and pointed to Kuandian on the other side: "Do you see it?"

Yuan Chonghuan looked bewildered: "What?"

"It's just across the water, yet so close to us. Yizhou is a window to North Korea and a springboard to Kuandian. What's wrong with sending them some food? People's hearts are more important than food. What we send out, we can take back from Seoul. Let's go!"

Yuan Chonghuan nodded silently.

~~~~
On April 9th, the Kaiyuan army passed Yizhou and headed south along the coastline, passing through Yanzhou. The Korean soldiers fired their guns into the air, but they offered no resistance. Yuan Chonghuan also left some food for the local people.

That night, the Kaiyuan army set up camp thirty miles south of Yanzhou. The soldiers did not take off their armor and the cavalry did not dismount. The two thousand headquarters sent additional night scouts to the south, and the central army guards also strengthened their protection for General Liu.

Nothing happened all night.

The next day is dawn.

Jin Yuji prepared soup noodles for her husband. Liu Zhaosun took a bite and looked up and said:
"I don't want to kill anyone in Joseon, and Gwanghaegun doesn't have to die."

Jin Yuji's eyes flickered. These days, she had been secretly worried that the Korean people would suffer from war.

Although she married the Marquis of Ping Liao of the Ming Dynasty, she was still a Korean after all and could not bear to see her compatriots suffer.

"Gwanghaegun harmed the Eastern Army back then, so it's okay for you to kill him!"

Liu Zhaosun put down his bowl and chopsticks and began to tidy up his armor.

"During the Imjin War, Gwanghaegun was trapped behind enemy lines, yet he persevered in resisting the Japanese invaders and cooperating with the Ming army. He was truly a hero. At Sarhu, he foresaw the Ming army's defeat and dispatched Kang Hong-lip to negotiate peace with Dae-seon, also safeguarding Joseon's interests."

Liu Zhaosun pressed down the iron helmet on his head and sighed deeply:
"Gwanghaegun had a tragic life. He was not favored by his father and was expelled by his subjects. He did his best for Joseon and was a good monarch. I will not kill him out of anger. At most, I will exile him. There are still some forces in Joseon that support Gwanghaegun. I don't want to kill too many people. I want to accumulate virtue for future generations..."

Jin Yuji smiled sweetly and reached out to touch her lower abdomen.

After my husband got married, his temperament became more stable and he was more thoughtful in handling affairs.

In Kang Yingqian's words, Ping Liaohou has even more dragon and tiger spirit.

Could it be that these changes in the official were caused by her? Thinking of this, Jin Yuji was delighted.

Considering that there was no threat to the flanks of the soldiers, Liu Zhaosun ordered Burhanggu to stop being responsible for the cover. Only a small number of elite cavalry were left in the cavalry battalion as night guards, and the main force moved forward quickly.

On that day, Burhanggu led 500 elite cavalry to Xuanchuan, an important town in northern Korea.

The commander of Xuanchuan was a close confidant of Gwanghaegun and a military officer named Jiang.

Burhanggu sent a Korean interpreter to the city to explain his purpose to Jiang Yuhou. They came from Liaodong to help Seoul resist the heavenly soldiers of Jiannu.

After hearing this, Jiang Yuhou ordered the city to be closed.

He didn't even see a single Tartar hair in Xuanchuan, so how could there be Tartars in Seoul in the south?

The Ming army before us was too perfunctory in telling lies.

Seeing that the cavalry was still approaching, Jiang Yuhou ordered the Korean archers to shoot arrows, preparing to disperse this group of cavalry of unknown origin.

No matter whether it is the Liaozhen or other soldiers, they will never open the gate to let them pass unless the king has an order.

Burhanggu lost his temper and did not ask General Liu for a fight. He prepared to order the cavalry to attack the city.

Song Yingxing, the accompanying military supervisor, advised:

"General, think twice. It would be best if we could achieve this without bloodshed. At the last military meeting, General Liu said that we came to North Korea to discuss business."

"I don't understand what Governor Song is saying. 'A bloodless battle' doesn't mean no killing. Heaven knows, it was these Koreans who shot the first arrow!"

While the two were still talking, they suddenly heard a muffled groan. Ten steps ahead, a spearman was hit in the face by an arrow and fell to the ground.

"How dare you attack!"

"Eternal Heaven will not spare you! Flag Captains, spread out your formations and attack around the city! Gunners, prepare to fire!"

The cavalry from each camp immediately dispersed and shot arrows around the city. At this distance, the power of the horse bows was almost negligible.

However, the flintlock pistol showed its power, exploding continuously and causing casualties to the Korean soldiers on the city wall.

"Dismount, switch to bows, and shoot at close range!"

Bamboo whistles sounded in each camp, and the cavalry dismounted one after another.

White smoke rose from the foot of Xuanchuan City.

The Korean archers fought back with bows and arrows. Their arrows were accurate, but because the distance was too far, they posed little threat to the cavalry battalion wearing two layers of iron armor.

After a while of fighting, more than a dozen people were injured on both sides.

Burhangu became even more angry when he saw the casualties among his subordinates.

The archery skills of these Korean soldiers on the city walls are even better than those of Bayara of Jianzhou.

The gunners supporting the cavalry combat were finally deployed. They set up the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Divine Fire Flying Crow in front of the moat. After the adjustments were completed, they began to bombard the top of Xuanchuan City.

This tiger squat cannon, improved by the Kaiyuan workshop, is lighter, has a longer range, and is more powerful. It is loaded with ground-exploding bombs. When a city explodes, a rain of blood will fall around it.

Fifty divine fire crows slowly rose into the air and slammed into the top of Xuanchuan City, turning the city into a mess.

The North Korean army lacked large artillery, not to mention the Franco-Japanese machine guns, even the number of tiger squat cannons was very small.

Although Xuanchuan is an important city in northern Korea, it is actually equivalent to an ordinary county town in the inland area of the Ming Dynasty.

Hearing that Yizhou and Yanzhou in the north had fallen one after another, the morale of the Xuanchuan defenders was low. After the Ming army's artillery bombardment, the casualties of the Korean archers began to increase. Dozens of corpses were left on the city walls, and the remaining soldiers began to retreat into the city.

In the later years of the Imjin War, to strengthen Joseon's military capabilities and reduce Ming casualties, the imperial court instructed the commanders of the southern troops sent to Korea to help train the Korean soldiers according to the standards of the Qi family army. Liu Zhaosun's adoptive father, Liu Jing, was one of these instructors.

Due to the Korean king's suspicion of the Ming army, the weakness of their national strength, and the obstruction of some conservative forces, the training of the Qi family army ultimately ended in failure.

After learning the basics of Qi's army, Korea also had its soldiers study Japanese swordsmanship, and then began to learn Mongolian cavalry tactics. An ordinary soldier would receive training in about five martial arts, including the goose feather sword, Japanese sword, long spear, halberd, musket, etc.

The result of this is that they will bite off more than they can chew, and will end up with an army that is neither fish nor fowl.

After the Korean army was defeated on the city wall, the pro-Ming forces in the city immediately opened the city gates and welcomed the royal army into the city.

Burhanggu raised his sword and led the cavalry to rush through the city gate corridor.

Notes:

(1) Li Taishou, Records of the Zhou Dynasty, vol. 30, p.
(End of this chapter)