The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 384: Cold Wave
The strange trick that Wanli came up with worked again.

The iron hammer breaks the iron shield formation!
This move really caught the Japanese pirates by surprise.

Kato Kiyomasa's Second Legion was beaten so badly that they fled back in disgrace.

However, the Japanese pirates were not without any way to deal with it.

This time, Konishi Yukinaga came up with the tactic of wrapping the iron shield with a wet quilt.

Moreover, this time Konishi Yukinaga was prepared to personally lead the First Legion into battle.

They hurriedly prepared for two days, then gathered their troops and prepared to attack.

On this day, both sides began to gather their troops from around the hour of Mao in the morning.

When the hour of Chen arrived, both sides arranged their battle formations and confronted each other.

The two sides did not agree on when to start the fight.

The reason why Lee Sun-sin was able to prepare at the same time as the Japanese pirates was that he sent scouts to use telescopes to observe from the hilltops on both sides. As soon as the Japanese pirates moved, he would naturally move as well.

He was much calmer now.

If the big hammer can really break the iron shield, he won't have to worry about anything.

However, when Konishi Yukinaga led the First Legion to deploy into a charging formation, he couldn't help but frown.

The Japanese pirates actually wrapped their iron shields with wet quilts!
How to solve this problem?
It seems that there is no way to break it, so we can only fight in close combat.

He scanned the area with the telescope for a while, then raised his hand and said loudly, "Send the order. Order the Zi, Chou, and Yin battalions to quickly enter the trenches for support."

With a sudden rush, more than 30,000 troops rushed into the trench and ran forward at a rapid speed.

This iron shield wrapped in a quilt is indeed difficult to break.

The Ming Dynasty's military candidate was not foolish enough to order people to throw kerosene on it and burn it.

They squatted silently in the trenches, waiting for the Japanese pirates to rush over and fight.

This time, Konishi Yukinaga was not so foolish as to order his Japanese pirates to raise their shields and step onto the earthen wall in front of the trench.

When the shield formation advanced to the front of the trench, they pushed the iron shields into the trench, then roared and rushed into the trench on the iron shields.

The brutal hand-to-hand combat began.

The Ming Dynasty's military candidates were able to deal with ordinary Japanese pirates with ease.

The Korean soldiers under their vassal state were also equipped with spears, but they had not yet been equipped with machetes.

This is not a big problem. The spear has advantages when dealing with Japanese pirates who like to use Japanese swords.

They simply taught their men to practice a simple mandarin duck formation.

That is, at a long distance, the long spear will stab like a hedgehog. If the Japanese pirates break through the spear formation and get close, they will swing a few machetes at them.

It shouldn't be a big problem for a group of ten people to resist a dozen Japanese pirates.

The Japanese pirates were actually held back by their simple Mandarin Duck Formation.

The two sides started fighting in the first trench.

The moat was filled with people fighting desperately, and no one knew how many people fell every moment.

Originally, both sides had about 30,000 troops deployed in the battle.

However, Lee Sun-sin sent reinforcements immediately.

Konishi Yukinaga was there watching the situation while fighting.

If the remnants of the vassal state of Korea and the rebel army were not strong enough and could be quickly defeated, he would naturally not hesitate to let Kato Kiyomasa, Kuroda Nagamasa and Shimazu Yoshihiro lead their troops to rush over and seize the trenches.

The problem is that the situation is not at all what he imagined.

The remnants of the soldiers and the rebel army of the vassal state of Korea seemed to have been reborn and were fully capable of fighting against them.

The elite soldiers of the Ming army were extremely skilled. If only a few people surrounded them, they would be killed. Even if more than ten people surrounded them, they would not be able to suppress them.

They had been fighting for less than a quarter of an hour when the enemy reinforcements in the trenches behind them rushed towards them as fast as long, winding dragons.

In this situation, he had no choice but to shout loudly: "Retreat, retreat quickly."

Upon hearing this, the Japanese pirates who were fighting immediately left their enemies behind and turned around to run away.

The Ming Dynasty military scholar who was commanding in the trench did not seek credit and lead others to chase and kill.

Anyway, as long as they hold the trench, they will win. Their mission is to fight the Japanese pirates here.

The casualties on both sides in this battle seemed to be similar, several thousand each.

However, Konishi Yukinaga did find out that if they charged forward with their iron shields wrapped in quilts, the enemy would not be able to break through, but there would definitely be no problem for them to rush into the trenches.

The problem is that the remnants of the vassal state of Korea and the rebel army are almost as strong as them. Even if they can rush into the trenches, they will not have any advantage. They can only pay with their lives and fight with the enemy.

Do they really have to fight the enemy so hard?

He has no say in this matter.

Because if they do this, it won't just be a matter of a few thousand casualties, it's possible that tens of thousands or even all of their 100,000 troops will be wiped out.

He didn't dare to make the decision on this matter, so he could only report it quickly and ask Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi to make the decision.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi hesitated when he received the urgent news.

What if we really use up 100,000 or even 200,000 troops but still fail to capture Jeolla Province?
Did he continue to send reinforcements?

This definitely won’t work.

They have to work so hard to be effective. If they use up more than 200,000 troops and still fail to take Jeolla Province, then all these troops will be wasted.

So, what to do?

Should we continue to recruit troops and send reinforcements, and then start to consume the enemy when we have a certain advantage?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi hesitated because he had almost recruited all the samurai who had fought in the battlefields of Japan. If he recruited any more, they would have to be able-bodied men who had never fought in the battlefields.

The main force of the Ming army hasn't even been seen yet, so are they going to conscript men?
The problem is that if we don't conscript men, we may not be able to win the battle.

He can't afford to lose this battle.

What should I do?

While Toyotomi Hideyoshi was hesitating, a cold wave swept from north to south. Wherever it passed, the sky, the earth, the flowers, the trees, the rivers, the lakes, the seas, and even the mountains and the land seemed to be frozen, and were instantly covered with a layer of white frost.

The Little Ice Age is wreaking havoc!

This cold wave is really terrifying.

The waters of Gyeonggi Province and Chungcheong Province, which were previously impossible to freeze, have begun to freeze, and the land is even colder, with water turning into ice.

Fortunately, at this time, the Ming Navy's express ship had already arrived in Jeolla Province before the cold wave, carrying 200,000 sheepskin coats made by Wanli's order.

In the harbor near Jeonju, Lee Sun-sin was already standing at the dock waiting early.

The howling cold wind blew past, and he couldn't help but shiver all over.

This winter is really cold.

It's only November, and the surface of the lake has already started to freeze.

He was shivering when a dense mass of black spots appeared in the northern sea.

This should be the arrival of the Ming Dynasty Navy fleet.

He quickly raised his telescope and scanned.

When he saw this, his eyes almost popped out.

Ocean-going giant ship!

There are many huge ocean-going ships on the sea that are as tall as city walls!

There were so many centipede ships on both sides of the ocean-going giant ship that it was impossible to count them.

He received news from the Ming Navy's express ship.

The Ming Dynasty navy fleet will arrive around noon today.

He originally thought it was just the same as last time, with thousands of centipede ships.

Who knew that this time, not only centipede ships were coming, but also huge ocean-going warships.

There are three long dragons on the sea, so long that you can't see the end even through a telescope. How many ocean-going warships and centipede ships are there?

Is the Ming Dynasty preparing to counterattack Japan?
He glanced around for a while and saw that a group of centipede boats had already left the huge fleet and were rapidly paddling towards this side like a long dragon.

A familiar figure soon came into his sight at the bow of the first centipede ship.

Qi Jiguang, the Grand Marshal of the Ming Dynasty!

After a while, the first centipede boat docked at the pier.

He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This humble general greets General Qi."

Qi Jiguang nodded slightly, then asked with concern: "General Li, how are you? Are you cold?"

The weather is naturally cold.

Li Sun-sin said with a determined face, "General Qi, I can still hold on."

You won't be able to bear it in a few days.

Qi Jiguang said solemnly: "This cold wave is so fierce that ice fragments have appeared in the waters of Chungcheong Province. It is estimated that the cold wave will reach Jeolla Province in a few days.

The Emperor was afraid that you would catch a cold, so he specially ordered people to make 200,000 sheepskin coats for you, and also prepared 20,000 sets of cold-proof tents for you.

You must quickly mobilize your men and horses to unload the sheepskin coats, tents, coal stoves, and other items, and quickly distribute them to your soldiers from north to south."

Upon hearing this, Li Shunchen quickly called over his generals and officers and gave them detailed instructions.

Soon, teams of people pulling various vehicles came over.

The Ming Dynasty navy fleet would always send them reinforcements, so they were well prepared.

Qi Jiguang nodded slightly when he saw this and explained, "This cold-proof tent is for five people. Ten people can squeeze in. We haven't brought enough coal for the coal stove this time, so you can use firewood instead.

As for the coal, I'll send a speedboat to the Huai River to get it once the navy fleet settles down. You should have it in ten days or so."

The Ming Dynasty Navy Fleet is going to be stationed here?

Upon hearing this, Li Shunchen said cautiously, "General Qi, I'm so bold as to ask, isn't the Ming navy fleet coming here to annihilate the Japanese pirates' navy?"

You can't just stand here and shout loudly.

Qi Jiguang pulled him to a corner of the dock away from the crowd and whispered, "The time has not yet come. We came here in advance to prepare.

You send a reliable confidant to lead the naval fleet to the largest safe harbor nearby, the kind that can build many docks. We should not only build docks here, but also build docks in the bay south of Shuntian Prefecture.

You must keep this strictly confidential, there are too many pro-Japanese people here."

The harbor south of Shuntian Prefecture?

This is preparation in advance to block the Japanese pirates!
Upon hearing this, Li Sunchen nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Qi Jiguang explained in detail, "This cold snap is indeed extremely fierce. I estimate that the rivers here will be frozen in a few days. You should quickly send a message to the soldiers stationed in the trenches to pound the earthen wall in front of the first layer of trench firmly and make it smoother.

Then at night, we draw water and pour it on the trees. We pour it on the trees for a few nights, and then we stop pouring water when the rivers freeze over."

It would be so slippery that people would die if it was poured like this. If the Japanese pirates dared to launch an attack in the cold winter, they wouldn't even have to do anything. The ice in front of the first trench would be enough to make them unable to get up.

Upon hearing this, Li Sunchen bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)