The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 450: Japan is about to perish

Mori Terumoto's madness this time is truly impressive.

This guy actually defeated Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu in succession!

It seems that Osaka Castle was taken by this guy, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi seems to be dead.

Edo Castle was also surrounded by this guy, and Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't know whether he could save his life.

What will this guy do next?

Maori Terumoto himself didn't know what to do next!
Because the tactics arranged by Wanli last time seemed to have stopped at Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Will he continue to attack other princes fiercely, or adopt other tactics?

To be honest, he really didn't know, and Qi Jiguang didn't know either.

They could only wait for Wanli's order.

This wait will take at least a month.

It was already March when Wanli received the war report, and the capital was already filled with spring flowers.

Early in the morning at about noon that day, after reading the latest battle report and hurriedly dealing with the memorials, he came to the Military Affairs Hall and began to study the latest map of Japan.

What to do next?

Toyotomi Hideyoshi has been destroyed.

Tokugawa Ieyasu also retreated to Edo Castle to survive.

There is no force in Japan that can stop them.

Now, the strongest of the remaining princes, Maeda Toshiie, can only mobilize 50,000 troops at most. Even if only Mori Terumoto is sent, Maeda Toshiie will not be able to resist.

The demise of Japan is a foregone conclusion. Now it depends on how to fight in the shortest time.

What he was considering at the moment was the issue of time.

As for the losses, there is no need to think about them.

Because there are only a few large cities in Japan, and the walls are relatively high and difficult to climb.

For other small cities, you can just form a shield formation and push it to the city wall to build a human wall and then rush over the wall.

Moreover, they had brave generals such as Qin Liangyu, Ma Qiancheng, and Yang Yinglong to lead the way. The Japanese pirates on the city wall could not resist at all, and they would not suffer too many casualties.

The key now is time.

Because he couldn't afford to keep so many prisoners.

They had captured tens of millions of Japanese civilians. Even if they were all fed porridge and not allowed to eat their fill, it would still cost at least two to three million stones of grain a month. He really couldn't afford that. He had to let the Japanese civilians farm and feed themselves.

In other words, this war must end before May, otherwise it would be a huge burden to take over the entire territory of Japan. Japan’s current population is at least 15 million!
If the battle is not over by the time of spring plowing, they will have to spend at least 40 to 50 million dan of grain this year.

These grains had to be transported over by naval fast boats, and the nearest Kyushu Island was more than 2,000 miles away from Liaodong, and the farthest northeastern Honshu was more than 5,000 miles away from Liaodong!
If the loss of grain transportation is included, the 100 million dan of grain he lost this year is probably not enough.

The consumption is too terrifying, no one can bear it.

So, we must act quickly and decisively.

Wanli frowned and thought for a while, then began to write quickly.

It was already mid-March when Qi Jiguang received the secret decree.

At this time, they were gathering outside Edo Castle and preparing for a fierce attack.

However, Edo Castle is not as easy to capture as Osaka Castle.

As for the reason, it is not because the walls of Edo Castle are higher than those of Osaka Castle, nor because the moat of Edo Castle is wider than that of Osaka Castle.

There are too many defenders in the key city.

Tokugawa Ieyasu assembled a total of 40,000 to 50,000 troops to garrison there!
If they attack head-on, there will be at least tens of thousands of casualties, possibly 20,000, 30,000, or even 40,000 or 50,000 casualties.

Fortunately, Wanli's secret decree did not require them to attack by force.

Now Edo Castle is no longer important. What is important is to conquer the territories of other lords before May and then organize spring plowing.

This is a bit difficult.

Because although the remaining few princes had few troops, their territories were vast. The combined territory of Mutsu, Dewa, and Echigo was almost half the size of Honshu. Moreover, it was already mid-March.

To take over such a large territory within a month and a half, we have to divide our troops into several groups and attack the remaining princes at the same time.

After reading the secret decree, Qi Jiguang thought about it carefully, and then ordered his men to bring Qin Liangyu, Ma Qiancheng, Yang Yinglong, Mori Terumoto, Kobayakawa Takakage, Yi Sun-sin and others to the general's tent.

After the generals stood in two lines, he solemnly said, "His Majesty has issued a secret order. We must divide our forces and simultaneously attack the remaining princes. We must strive to capture all of their territories before May and prepare for spring plowing."

Can such a large territory be taken over in just over a month?
When the generals heard this, they couldn't help but look solemn.

Qi Jiguang said calmly, "Duke Ying, please write letters to the other princes later.

You said that spring plowing was about to begin, and the more than 100,000 strong men under your command had to hurry back to western Honshu and Kyushu Island to farm.

Let's stop fighting and plant the crops first. As for whether they will fight or surrender next, we'll decide after we finish planting the crops."

Why does this sound contradictory? Is it because I didn't learn the Ming Dynasty official language well?
Mao Li Terumoto was stunned for a moment, then said carefully: "General Qi, I'm so bold, do you mean to ask me to send more than 100,000 strong men back and then divide the troops into several groups?
what are you thinking?

Qi Jiguang shook his head slightly and said, "This is just a trick to deceive them. What are you giving them as a gift?
We will send the letter by express horse, and it should arrive within two or three days. It will take several days for our army to rush over and attack them.

Tomorrow morning, divide your troops into four groups. Maeda Toshiie's group will have 60,000 troops, and Date Masamune, Gamo Ujisato, and Uesugi Kagekatsu's groups will have 30,000 troops. Raise the flag and charge forward recklessly, scare the Japanese pirates into the city, and round up the civilians and keep them under guard."

Oh, it turns out it was a lie again.

Mao Li Terumoto quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

Qi Jiguang then gave detailed instructions: "Liangyu, you and Qiancheng will lead 100,000 troops to follow the Duke of Ying to attack Maeda Toshiie's territory.

General Yang, General Chen, and General Zuoguo, you will each lead your troops to follow the Mori clan's troops to attack the territories of Date Masamune, Gamo Ujisato, and Uesugi Kagekatsu.

I will order the Ronin and secret guards in the Ronin Camp to pretend to find farm work and disperse into all their cities. Do not attack the city on the first day of the siege. Wait until night to see if they can open the city gates. If not, you can launch a fierce attack.

General Li, you lead twelve battalions to besiege Edo Castle and wait for our navy warships to arrive."

Upon hearing this, the generals hurriedly bowed and said, "I understand."

They haven't used the ronin's city-stealing tactics much yet.

Because the main forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were annihilated in ambushes set by them, and the territories of these two guys were very large, the remaining troops were not enough to defend all the cities.

The cities they attacked before were basically guarded by hundreds or thousands of Japanese pirates, so there was no need to use the Ronin city-stealing tactics at all.

This time it was different. Although Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Date Masamune and Gamo Ujisato had large territories, they had few cities. Each of their cities probably had thousands or even tens of thousands of troops guarding them.

In order to win the battle quickly and reduce casualties, the Ronin city-stealing tactics must be used.

The reason why Wanli asked Mori Terumoto to write a letter to other princes in the secret decree, saying that the able-bodied men would be sent back to farm, was actually to paralyze those princes.

If the princes were fooled, not only would they open the gates of all the cities, they might even send the captured men back to farm!

This would make it easier for the ronin to enter the city, and they would encounter much less resistance.

The next morning, at about 1 a.m., just as the sky was getting light, there were bursts of orders outside Edo Castle, the sound of horses' hooves and footsteps.

The Mori clan's troops and 400,000 Sichuan army soldiers began to assemble, and the huge momentum frightened the defenders in Edo Castle.

Is the Ming army going to attack the city?
When Tokugawa Ieyasu received the news, he hurriedly climbed up the castle tower in the city and looked out in the dawn light.

This guy Mori Terumoto is a traitor, and most of the people outside the city are Ming troops in disguise.

He saw this when Edo Castle was besieged.

He thought the Ming army was getting tired of the siege and was preparing to attack the city.

Who knew that hundreds of thousands of troops outside the city were dismantling their tents and packing up!
The endless tents outside the city gradually shrank, until only a circle remained.

These guys actually formed a long line and headed north!

It is obvious that Mori Terumoto intended to lead the Ming army to attack the territories of other princes.

Japan is finished now!

He really wanted to tell other princes that Mori Terumoto was the traitor who led the way, and that this guy was followed by hundreds of thousands of Ming troops.

However, Edo Castle was surrounded and even the nearby coast was densely packed with Ming army warships, so his men could not leave the city at all.

He could only helplessly watch the army gradually moving away, his face full of despair.

(End of this chapter)