Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 217 Invincible

On the ninth day of the first lunar month in the 21st year of Wanli, Pyongyang won!

With this battle, Li Rusong gained a great reputation, and the Japanese troops everywhere were terrified.Even Chief Xiaoxi, the most combative among them, was defeated by the Ming army. What did they use to fight?All of a sudden, Japanese troops from all over the country collapsed without a fight. They ran away without even seeing the shadow of the Ming army.

In just three days, all the Japanese troops in Huangzhou, Pingshan, Zhonghe and other places abandoned the city and fled. During their flight, they were intercepted and killed by North Korean rebels along the way.The Japanese army burned, killed, looted and looted in North Korea. The Koreans hated them for a long time. As long as the Japanese stragglers who fell behind were captured by the North Koreans, they would all be tortured to death.

When the news of the great victory of the Ming army reached Yizhou, the Korean monarchs and ministers here were full of joy, and Song Yingchang, the general manager, also rushed to report to Emperor Wanli about his great victory in Pyongyang.The Korean minister Liu Chenglong also rushed to Pyongyang to reward the Ming army under the order of the Korean king.

After a few days of reorganization in Pyongyang, Li Rusong took advantage of the victory to attack again. He left Zhang Shijue to lead thousands of troops to guard Pyongyang. Head east.The rolling Daming army kept coming out of the city. The cavalry brigade was at the front, and the rumbling chariots, artillery, etc. were behind, and the line could not be seen at a glance.

During this process, the North Koreans inside and outside Pyongyang looked at the army with awe, and cheered for the Ming army on both sides of the parade street.To be honest, in this era, no matter whether they were kings, ministers or ordinary people, the Korean people had awe and admiration for the Ming Dynasty from the bottom of their hearts. Especially in the context of this great victory, everyone was full of confidence in the Ming army's recovery of the whole of Korea.

The army passed by along the way, and along the way there were constant rumors that the Japanese were afraid of the strength of the Ming army, and had abandoned the city one after another. Only the old capital of North Korea, Kaesong, was stationed with more than [-] people from the Second Japanese Army.

Li Rusong stationed a large army in Pingshan, and ordered his younger brother Li Rubai to lead [-] cavalry to rush to capture Kaesong.

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On the 21th day of the first month of the [-]st year of Wanli, Kaesong.

Kaesong was the capital of North Korea for a long time, known as Kaijing. At the end of the 14th century, Li Chenggui moved the capital to Seoul and called it Wangjing.However, even if Kaesong is one of the old capitals of North Korea, the buildings are still low-rise, and it is still far behind Pyongyang.

Although the flag of the Japanese army was flying on the head of the Kaesong city at this time, in the low-slung Fuzun mansion in Kaesong, there was a panic here.Not only that, the entire Japanese army in Kaesong was panicked. As more and more Japanese troops fled to Kaesong, the combat power of the Ming army was exaggerated higher and higher, and the psychology of fear spread in Kaesong.

Only the Korean people in Kaesong excitedly told each other in private that the army of the Celestial Dynasty was coming, and the good days of the Japanese were coming to an end.

Kaesong was guarded by Kato Kiyomasa, commander of the Second Corps of the Japanese Invading Army. He was in his thirties, short and strong. He was the adopted son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the Korean War, it was indeed invincible, with outstanding military exploits, known as "Tiger Kato".

But right now this "Tiger Kato" is just dazed in the official residence, he can't figure it out, with the ability of President Xiaonishi, why was he defeated by the Tang people?A few months ago, he and President Xiaoxi each led an army, but they defeated the Koreans in fear and defeated the enemy thousands of miles away.

Governor Xiaoxi's ability to lead the army is far inferior to him, and the fortification of Pyongyang City is also far inferior to Kaesong.Even President Xiaoxi was beaten by the Tang people, let alone him.

Is the Chao army too incompetent, or the Tang army too powerful? "Tiger Kato" had no time to distinguish.He just heard that the army of the Tang Dynasty continued to come, and he became more and more worried.

At this time, his heart was like fifteen buckets up and down, and he was deep in thought when a confidant warrior rushed into the mansion and shouted in panic: "Your Excellency, the scouts report that the main force of the Tang army has arrived at Pingshan and left." The city is less than a day away. Please show me how our army should deal with it!"

When he called out, all the accompanying warriors standing next to him showed panic in their eyes, which showed that the entire army had no fighting spirit.

Kato Kiyoshi shouted sternly: "Let the Tang army come, and I will lead the army to fight them to the death!"

A Banner stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Your Excellency, don't underestimate the enemy. The people of Tang are so powerful that even Mr. Xiaoxi can't stop them. If our army sticks to Kaesong, we will be destroyed. Why don't we go to Wangjing?" , gather the main force, and then fight to the death with the Tang people!"

Kato Kiyomasa's face relaxed, looking around, all the confidant generals nodded quickly, he said: "Alright, let's let these Tang people go for a while, and our army will transfer to Wangjing..."

Soon, he raised his voice again, and said viciously: "These Koreans in Kaesong are all harboring ulterior motives. In order to prevent future troubles and prevent them from funding the Tang people in the future, let's eliminate them first!"

The generals beside Kato Kiyomasa understood what clearing meant, and they were all overjoyed immediately, howling like wolves.Kato Kiyomasa was cruel and often killed people and massacred cities. When he invaded North Korea, countless North Korean civilians died under his sword.Where there is superior there must be inferior, Kato Kiyomasa is so cruel, all the generals under him take pleasure in killing.

At that moment, Kato Kiyomasa gathered his team and started preparations for evacuating the city, and closed the city gates tightly, killing people and setting fire in the city, massacring the city for fun.Tens of thousands of Korean civilians in the city died under their swords.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that Kato Kiyomasa hurriedly led more than 2 Japanese soldiers when he heard that the pioneers of the Tang Dynasty had left the city not far away, and fled in panic from the city and headed for Wangjing, leaving behind a scene full of fireworks and dead bodies. town.

When Li Rubai heard that the Japanese army had escaped and slaughtered the city in Kaesong, he couldn't help being furious, and he led 2 cavalry in hot pursuit.Although Kato Kiyomasa had [-] people, he didn't dare to turn around to meet the enemy, and just fled all the way.In the end, Li Rubai beheaded more than [-] guards left by Kato Kiyomasa, with only six casualties himself.

The 21th day of the first month of the [-]st year of Wanli.

Li Rusong led the army into Kaesong, and what he saw was a mess.All the houses in the city have been burned, and the corpses of North Korean civilians are all over the ground.Especially the women in the city were all raped and killed by the Japanese army, and many children and babies were also killed by the Japanese army with various cruel methods.

Seeing all this, the Ming army felt a chill rise from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads. This kind of behavior is really devoid of conscience.Fortunately, the emperor was wise and sent troops to rescue Korea, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous if these Japanese invaded Daming from Korea.And the North Korean army led by Li Yi, the frontier envoy of the North Korean state, wept bitterly, vowing to kill all the Japanese and avenge the people of Kaesong.

After regaining the old capital of Kaesong, Li Rusong did not stop, and continued to advance rapidly to the south. The Japanese army collapsed across the board and retreated to the south.In just over a month after the Ming army entered the dynasty, they regained more than [-] miles of lost land. The three capitals and eighteen provinces of North Korea have recovered Pyongyang, the two capitals of Kaesong and five provinces including the Yellow Sea, Ping'an, Gyeonggi, Jiangyuan, and Xianjing.

After the Battle of Pyongyang, the so-called heroic generals of the Japanese army often ran away in terror when they fought against the Ming army.
After regaining Pyongyang and the second capital of Kaesong, the Ming army faced the last target—Wang Jing.

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On the 21th day of the first month of the [-]st year of Wanli.King Kyung of Korea.

Wangjing, also known as Seoul, is the capital of North Korea and has always been known as "Little China".On May 20, the [-]th year of Wanli, the Japanese army captured Wangjing of North Korea. After entering the city, they slaughtered and looted wantonly, and then burned Wangjing, which seriously injured Wangjing.Although the Japanese repaired the inside of the city after occupying Wangjing in order to decorate the appearance, the old view could not be restored, and it was a dilapidated scene.

At this time, Wangjing City had become a large barracks, and all the Japanese soldiers came and went, and there was hardly a Korean citizen on the street.The Ming army occupied Pyongyang, and the news of Kaesong had already spread. Every news brought panic.

Especially a few days ago, when Governor Konishi and Kiyomasa Kato led a group of defeated troops with no banners to retreat to Wangjing, this kind of panic reached its peak.

As Toyotomi Hideyoshi's confidantes, Konishi Governor and Kato Kiyomasa, their subordinates are well equipped and have excellent combat capabilities.Even when they were vulnerable to the Ming army, how could the rest of the troops block the attack of the Ming army?Since then, the Japanese troops in Ping'an Road, Huanghai Road, and Jiangyuan Road have been defeated and fled back to Wangjing. The morale of the Japanese army has dropped to freezing point.

At this time, in Wang Jing's Japanese Army Governor's Mansion, the people coming and going in the mansion were all in a panic, showing the panic in their hearts.

In the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion, there was also an atmosphere of silence.

In the meeting room, there are the Eighth Army Commander and Governor-General Ukita Hideka, the First Corps Commander Konishi Yuki, the Second Corps Commander Kato Kiyomasa, the Third Corps Commander Kuroda Nagamasa, the Fourth Corps Commander Yoshihiro Shimadzu and others. .

But they were all silent, not knowing what to say.Also, last year, they took only two months and two days to capture Shibadao, the third capital of North Korea, and captured two North Korean princes.At that time, how high-spirited they were, in their eyes, let alone the country of North Korea, even the country of Tang Dynasty, they were not in their eyes.Unexpectedly, after the Tang people entered North Korea, within a month, they beat them into fear and regained the two capitals.Thinking back to Kyogen at the beginning, it was really an irony.

Like Japan, North Korea still retains many Tang styles in the meeting hall of the Governor-General's Mansion.Everyone is dressed in Wufu (the Japanese call themselves Wufu, but the Chinese call it kimono), and sit on the ground. The early spring sun shines into the courtyard, bringing only a chill.

Ukita Hideka spoke first: "Masters, the Tang army has already approached Wang Jing, how should we deal with it, and what good strategies do you have?"

Seeing that everyone in the hall was still silent, Ukita Hideka directly called President Xiaonishi by name, and said, "Xiaoxi-kun, you have fought with the Tang people, tell me about it!"

President Xiaoxi's face was calm. When he returned from Pyongyang after a big defeat, he was silent all day long. He is a devout Catholic. This morning, he also prayed to God specifically, which made his heart calmer.

Hearing what the Ukita Hide family said, he respectfully kowtowed to the Ukita Hide family and said: "Your Excellency, what I mean is that I have a lot of soldiers in Wang Jing. As long as the fortress is strong and the city is defended, under the protection of my superior army, the people of Tang Dynasty will also be defeated." I will definitely come back with a feather in my hands!"

What Governor Konishi said made sense. The Japanese army gathered in Wangjing at this time included the remnants of Governor Konishi's First Army, part of Kato Kiyomasa's Second Army, part of Kuroda Nagamasa's Third Army, and the main force of Shimadzu Yoshihiro's Fourth Army. The Eighth Army, led by Ukita Hideka, has a total strength of about 5 troops.

In addition, Japanese General Takakage Kobayakawa's Sixth Army has 6000 people, and Hashiba Hidekatsu's Ninth Army has nearly 4 people. If they join up with the main force of Wang Jing's Japanese army, then there will be more Japanese troops in Wang Jing .The Ming army must have a maximum of [-] people.As long as he sticks to it, he can indeed fight the Ming army. Ukita Hideka can't help but nodded slowly. To be honest, this is the only way for him.

However, after hearing what Chief Xiaonishi said, Kuroda Nagamasa, the commander of the Third Army, said: "Xiaoxi-jun, when you were in Pyongyang that day, there were many defenders and the city was strong, so it was also broken by the Tang people? This method is too passive. "

Kuroda Nagamasa is known in Japan as a "master of the art of war". It is said that he is proficient in the art of war.

Ukita Hideo said: "Kuroda-kun, please let Your Excellency Xiaonishi continue!"

President Xiaonishi kowtowed respectfully to Ukita Hide's family again, and said, "Your Excellency, I have another plan. I think that the Tang people's stone fire arrows are indeed very sharp. If our army sticks to the city, under the strong attack of the Tang people's stone fire arrows, we will not be able to attack." There must be heavy casualties!"

"However, I think that the people of Tang rely on nothing more than stone fire arrows. Their iron cannons, swords, etc., except for a small army, are not as good as my army. I have a plan..."

(End of this chapter)