The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 515 Madness and Destruction

A chaotic and disorderly sound of bowstrings vibrating came from the shore of Qixingmen.

Until the people on the bridge were shot like hedgehogs by countless heavy arrows at close range, with no place on their bodies where arrow feathers could remain.

"Stop! Stop!"

Pu obeyed the order and yelled at the top of his lungs, stopping the servants around him who were still shooting arrows, and the archers quickly put away their bows and arrows.

Park Congming was originally from the military and had an unusually loud voice. Sometimes when conveying orders from the general, he didn't even need to wave the command flag, he could just shout directly at the soldiers.

"I have already said that everyone is dead, why are you shooting blindly? Do you think the Koreans have too many bows and arrows? Liu Zhaosun is about to attack, so save your energy and fight the Northern Tartars..."

The head of the Seven Stars Gate looked at the energetic and fast-talking Marshal Park and was about to move away from him when Park said coldly:
"You, take a few people and bring down the bodies of the Northern Tartar spies. Hang them on the city walls to boost the morale of the people."

The captain had to bring a few soldiers with him and it took them a lot of effort to carry down the bodies that were full of arrow feathers.

"One, two, three... six in total."

After finishing the total, report to Marshal Park immediately.

Pu obeyed the order and pulled off the scarf from the servant's neck, covered his mouth and nose with it, and walked quickly to the corpse.

"I already knew there were six of them. You didn't need me to tell you. I want to know why they are wearing our army's uniforms and the envoy's official uniforms.
The captain shook his head. Obviously, this question was beyond his comprehension, just like Marshal Park standing in front of him kept covering his nose, and he didn't know why.

"Maybe it's one of ours. Check the index finger to see if there are any calluses..." the servant whose scarf was snatched away said cautiously.

"No need, stay away!" Pu Congming grabbed the servant and warned him, "Be careful of the Qi people, there's plague. The last big plague came from them!"

At this time, Zheng Douyuan, who had been hiding behind the crowd, regained his old state and walked tremblingly in front of Park Congming.

Park Congming stared at the dead body on the ground, then looked at Zheng Douyuan. Both of them were silent. Of the six people shot like hedgehogs on the ground, except for one wearing a mandarin duck jacket who was a spy from Qi State, the others were clearly fifth-rank civil servants who were negotiating with Liu Zhaosun.

"Cough cough."

Zheng Douyuan coughed twice to break the awkwardness:

"Please ask Commander Park to immediately send people to search along the river. We won't have any trouble catching them."

Park nodded noncommittally and waved his hand. His head servant immediately stepped forward. The master and servant whispered a few words to each other. The head servant selected several hundred soldiers and began to search along the banks of the Taedong River.

"Zheng Dujian, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. I am very pleased that you can still come to Pyongyang. Please come!"

In accordance with the etiquette of the Korean officialdom, Zheng Douyuan took out a pre-prepared silver note of 3,000 taels from his sleeve and secretly handed it to Park Congming.

"No! No! I am stationed in Pyongyang to relieve the king's worries. How can I accept gifts again?"

Zheng Douyuan lowered his voice and said:

"General Park, there's no need to refuse! This is the King's reward to the Pyongyang defenders. You must accept it. Don't let it dampen the patriotic spirit of the soldiers."

After struggling for a quarter of an hour, the banknote was turned over and over in the hands of the two men, and finally it was put into Marshal Park's pocket as they wished.

Originally in Wangjing, this pair of scholars and warriors had no connection at all.

Even when they paid homage to the king, the two of them entered the hall one after another, being passers-by to each other.

Of course, the situation is very different now. Since the two of them have just been to the battlefield together (to deal with Qi spies) and divided the spoils together, they should go to the Seven Star Tower together tonight to chat with their confidante.

Besides being classmates, these two strangers are simply a pair of good brothers.

Zheng Douyuan followed Park into Pyongyang. Along the way, he saw that the defenders were in neat order and various fortifications were still being built in the inner city.

In addition to being excited, he had more confidence in defending Pyongyang. The two walked along Pyongyang's North and South Streets, chatting, and finally, the topic naturally turned to reinforcements.

When Zheng Douyuan heard that the defenders around Pyongyang were hesitant and waiting to see what was happening, he became furious.
"These people in the south only want Marshal Piao to lead the charge. When the northern barbarians arrive, not a single one comes to rescue them, as if this country doesn't belong to them."

Park followed the order and laughed, "Old Zheng, don't complain. If you think North Korea is lacking something, you can change it. Blaming others will not help."

Zheng Douyuan was speechless.

Pu Congming said with disdain, "Liu Zhaosun is just a warrior. I know him best. If he doesn't come, then that's fine. But if he does, I will take the initiative to attack him and break his three routes. He will have no way back and will know that I, Korea, am not without people!"

"The battle for Pyongyang concerns the overall situation and cannot afford to lose. I hope Lord Park will be very cautious."

Zheng Douyuan was already optimistic about the situation, but he didn't expect Park Congming to be even crazier than himself.

Pu followed the order and did not hide it from Lao Zheng, and directly told him his battle plan.

"I have already sent people to ask for help from the surrounding commanders. When the reinforcements arrive, Liu Zhaosun will be defeated! But the reinforcements have not yet arrived."

"I, on behalf of the king, will personally go and urge them."

After hearing this, Park Congming was overjoyed and grabbed Zheng Douyuan's hand.

"Alright, with the governor here, Pyongyang will never fall. After this battle, I will commend the governor for his achievements before the king!"

As the plenipotentiary representative sent by Li Zong to Pyeongan Province for negotiations, Zheng Douyuan is actually equivalent to an imperial envoy. In addition, he has some friendship with the chief officers of Huangzhou, Xinchuan and Longgang, so he is likely to bring reinforcements.

The plan is set.

That day, the two toured the city, spending the night at the Seven Stars Tower, drunkenly sleeping among the flowers. Needless to say, the next morning, Zheng Douyuan left Pyongyang early and headed south to Huangzhou and other places to seek reinforcements.

On November 1, the third year of Taichu, the same day Zheng Douyuan left Pyongyang, Emperor Wuding led 25,000 troops from the central army and successfully arrived in Sunan. The army set up camp in the south of the city. The southernmost end of the camp was only fifteen miles away from the main city of Pyongyang.

On the night of their arrival in Sunan, the scouts of both Qi and Zhao did not withdraw at night, and a fierce scout battle broke out in the wilderness north of Pyongyang and south of Sunan. Both sides were testing each other, so the casualties were not heavy.

At dawn the next day, the First Corps dispatched a hundred elite cavalrymen to drive the enemy scouts south. The Qi army's scout line advanced to three miles south of Pyongyang City, and only stopped advancing when it ran head-on into the main force of the Joseon cavalry. The cavalry of both sides engaged in a confrontation.

The Battle of Pyongyang officially began.

Shunan Central Army Tent.

"The key to dividing the troops and joining them together is to unite them. Dividing the troops is easy, but joining them together is difficult. In the Battle of Sarhu, my father-in-law was defeated by this very reason!"

Liu Zhaosun stood up and walked to the huge map of Korea in front of a room full of civil servants and military officers.

Before the Battle of Sarhu, there was nothing wrong with Yang Hao's strategy of dividing the troops and attacking together.

However, if we want to achieve truly synchronized actions of several armies within a radius of hundreds of miles, it will take at least until the emergence of railway transportation technology after World War I.

"Where is Deng Changxiong now? Where is Wang Zengbin? Where did Wu Ahheng go after landing?"

Liu Xingzuo immediately stepped forward, pointed at the map, and explained carefully to Emperor Wuding.

"Okay, the navy's landing was three days late. It really is very different from the plan. It doesn't matter if I don't give it to you."

What Yang Hao, Du Song, Ma Lin, Liu Jing and others lacked on the battlefield of Sarhu was a link in the strategy of dividing the troops and attacking together, a more important link.

"Send a message to Deng Changxiong, Wang Zengbin, and Wu Aheng: On the fifth day of the eleventh month, we will meet at Yangde, and then divide our forces to attack. This is the strategy used by Tang General Li Jing to attack Jie Li Khan. This is the true method of dividing and advancing to attack together."

(End of this chapter)