History Park: Starting with the Imjin War

After settling in Yizhou, the Ming army did not stay for long.

From the moment he entered Korea, Li Rusong gave Konishi Yukinaga no time to calculate.

The next day, before dawn, the night guards went out first, followed by the tang horses.

The infantry of the vanguard began to break camp, spears at their shoulders, shields on their arms, and continue their southward advance.

The firearm carts rolled over the frozen ground, their wheels creaking and groaning.

The axles of the supply wagons, which had been freshly oiled, were now frozen into white frost.

In January 1593, the temperature in the Ping'an Road area was already minus twenty degrees Celsius.

Outside Uiju Castle, Korean civilians stand by the roadside.

Someone was wrapped in a tattered quilt.

Some people were walking barefoot in the snow.

Some people were holding children, with only the children's frostbitten, red eyes showing.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Liu Gao couldn't help but turn around and take a look.

A barefoot woman stood at the back, holding a child in her arms, her eyes following the movement of the group, but her face was expressionless.

He paused for a moment, then whispered:

"Brother Qin, why aren't they saying anything?"

Mochin did not turn around.

"They've said it, they've said it all."

Liu Gao only half understood what he was hearing, so he could only tighten his shield.

Shen Weijing was helped onto his horse. Although his leg injury had not fully healed, his mouth was still busy.

"This time, my leg has rendered a great service to the Ming Dynasty, to Korea, to Commander Li, and to all of you."

Liu Gao glanced back at him.

"A toad trying to swallow the sky, what a boastful tone! Did you achieve this with your legs and your mouth?"

"The mouth does the most work."

Shen Weijing spoke with righteous indignation.

"If it weren't for my mouth, how would you all know which of the Japanese words you can believe and which you can't?"

Mo Qin, walking beside him, casually asked:

"Then tell me, what is Konishi Yukinaga thinking?"

Upon hearing this person's name, Shen Weijing's playful laughter subsided slightly.

"Konishi Yukinaga is essentially a businessman."

"He calculates gains and losses when he fights."

"If we can avoid fighting, we will. If we can drag it out, we will definitely drag it out."

Shen Weijing pointed south.

"Delay it until our supply lines are strained, delay it until the morale of the North Koreans collapses, delay it until the defenses of Pyongyang are even stronger."

"He made a profit."

"So, he's definitely willing to talk."

He's afraid that no one will talk to him.

"I'm even more afraid that Li Shuai will flip the table as soon as he comes in."

Mochin nodded.

"So we need to be quick."

"right."

Shen Weijing said:

"Before he could finish his calculations, a knife was already at his throat."

Over the next two days, the army accelerated its southward march.

The scenery along the road became increasingly dilapidated.

A burned-down thatched hut, a broken-down car abandoned by the roadside.

The wellhead had been smashed, and dark red ice still clung to the well rim.

On the morning of the third day, the vanguard reached the vicinity of an abandoned post station south of Yizhou.

Tangma then galloped back through the wind and snow, "Twenty miles ahead, there are traces of Japanese soldiers."

Zhou Hu has already reached the forefront.

"How many?"

"The night watchmen saw more than a dozen people earlier. But the smoke behind them is strange; there are probably more than that."

Zhou Hu glanced to the south.

The grayish-white snow clouds hung very low, a typical feature of the Little Ice Age, with thick, murky frozen snow clouds.

Once this low-pressure snow cloud forms, it will definitely snow within half an hour.

First came fine snowflakes and granules, then quickly turned into heavy snowfall.

Several plumes of black smoke were still visible in the distance, being dispersed by the wind.

But it was clearly not cooking smoke; cooking smoke is thin, wispy, and disperses very slowly.

The smoke was in clumps and clumps, swirling and billowing, the smoke from burning something!

Zhou Hu said in a deep voice:

"Hold the line at the front."

"The night watchman will investigate again."

"Moqin, you guys, follow me from the left."

With his gun held horizontally, Mo Qin responded with a "Yes."

Liu Gao, shield in hand, immediately followed.

Lin Jun tucked the knife into his sleeve and held the short stick horizontally behind his waist.

Yan Qi had just turned back from the front.

"There is a village ahead."

"The fire is new."

"There was more than one group of Japanese soldiers."

Zhou Hu nodded and glanced at the black smoke that was being dispersed by the wind.

"I'll lead my men to clear the flanks."

"The village entrance and forest road must not be empty."

He turned to look at Mochin.

"You should go in from the back of the ancestral hall."

"Don't go too far."

"I'll be there as soon as the bone whistle blows."

Mochin nodded.

"clear."

Yan Qi went first and led the way.

The group left the main group and carefully made their way south along the old road, which was half-buried in snow.

The further you go, the stronger the smell of smoke becomes.

At first, it only had a faint burnt smell.

Further on, the smell of blood began to mingle in.

Upon smelling the aroma, Liu Gao's steps slowed by half a beat.

"What does it taste like?"

Lin Jun put her index finger to her lips, signaling him to shut up!

The village is not big.

But it no longer resembles a village.

The barn was half burned down, its black beams leaning precariously in the snow.

Three corpses hung from the old locust tree at the village entrance, their hands and feet bound with ropes, their clothes torn to shreds.

A gust of wind caused the three corpses to sway slightly.

The rope creaked as it cut into the branch.

Further in, there was a bamboo pole standing by the village road.

There was a person tied to the bamboo pole.

His head was tilted to the side.

The skin and flesh were frozen and then roasted by the fire, turning them a dark color.

There were drag marks on the ground.

The drag marks led to the entrance of a cellar.

It was pitch black inside; you couldn't see anything.

Such a horrifying scene left Liu Gao choking and speechless.

Mochin didn't stop; instead, he quickened his pace.

He walked to the entrance of the cellar and glanced inside.

It was pitch black, and the smell was even stronger.

He closed the broken wooden lid of the cellar again.

The group then arrived at the half-collapsed ancestral hall, where two people were curled up.

An old woman, half of her face was purple from the cold, and she was holding a little girl in her arms.

The girl looked about seven or eight years old, with messy hair, a split lip, and wide-open eyes.

He was holding a small handful of rice in his right hand.

The rice grains, soaked in sweat and snow water, froze into a ball.

Lin Jun squatted down and slowly handed over the bag of dry rations.

"Don't be afraid," the old Korean woman said, but she had no idea what to do and instinctively shrank back.

She couldn't understand Lin Jun's words.

But some things don't need translation.

Lin Jun did not approach again.

After placing the dry rations on the ground, she took a step back.

The old woman stared at her for a long time before finally reaching out her hand, her fingers trembling.

Liu Gao clenched his teeth so hard they made a grinding sound.

"These damned Japanese bastards!"

On the other side, Yan Qi had already climbed halfway up the crumbling wall.

He crouched on the wall and whispered:

There are people behind the village.

The next moment, a scream came from afar.

Judging from the voice, it sounded like a woman.

Mochin grabbed his gun and charged out.

As he walked around the barn, the sacks on the ground made him stop.

The bag was half-open, and several clumps of dark brown stuff rolled out.

He didn't understand it at first.

Only by taking a closer look can you see clearly.

nose!

A person's nose!!!

Frozen solid, the bloodstains dried and black, piled up layer upon layer in the burlap sack.

Liu Gao followed, glanced at it, felt a wave of nausea, and almost vomited.

"them……"

"Why would they cut this?"

Lin Jun's voice came from the side.

"record merits."

"The head is too heavy, the nose is too light."

"Easy to carry, easy to count, and easy to report credits."

Upon hearing of this brutal act, Liu Gao stood frozen in place.

Mochin closed the sack and looked in the direction where smoke was rising from behind the village.

"This account doesn't need to be recorded."

He picked up the white wax spear.

"Let's settle things with the Japanese today."

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed out.

Dozens of Japanese soldiers were searching for grain by the frozen fields behind the village.

Someone was dragging sacks out of the cellar.

Some people were stringing live chickens and ducks onto ropes.

Several other people were holding three North Korean civilians hostage, forcing them to load rice onto a cart.

Two people dressed differently stood on the edge of the snow slope.

One of them wore a Japanese-style short armor, but had a Ming-style waist tag hanging from his waist.

The other was draped in a black feathered cloak and held a Nanban tube in his hand.

The barrel is longer than that of an ordinary musket, and the barrel is inlaid with fine silver wire, which gleams coldly in the snow.

The Nanban-tsuba (Southern Barbarian Tube) was considered a divine weapon due to its exquisite craftsmanship, and only high-ranking samurai or elite arquebusiers could use it.

Mo Qin could tell at a glance that the two were not ordinary Japanese soldiers.

It's a player.

Players who have infiltrated the Japanese army.

At the same time, the person wearing the waist tag also saw Mochin and the long spear.

"A nine-headed bird?"

He speaks fluent Mandarin, so he might be Han Chinese.

"They came quickly."

"Lord Ghost Head said your head is worth a Class A reward!"

"What a pity."

"If you stay with us, you might survive until the mission is over."

Mochin did not reply.

The player in black didn't speak, but quietly changed the angle of the Southern Barbarian Tube.

With his body slightly turned to the side, the mouth of his tube was not pointed at Mochin, but rather at three North Korean civilians.

The meaning is clear: are they coming to kill them, or to save them?

Two breaths later, the player in black pulled the trigger.

boom!

A burst of fire erupted.

Lead pellets flew straight towards the people of North Korea.

Yan Qi's arrow, however, left the bowstring a second too early.

The target is the barrel.

The arrow tip grazed the silver inlay pattern on the side of the Nanman tube, a spark flashed, and the mouth of the tube was deflected by half an inch.

A lead bullet grazed the shoulder of an elderly North Korean man, then struck the mud, sending mud splattering everywhere.

The old man instinctively lay down on the ground; he wasn't dead, but his legs went weak.

The player in black clicked his tongue and reached for his waist again.

There was also a short gun hanging there.

Mochin did not give him a second chance.

He leaned forward, aiming the white wax spear straight for the black-clad player's right arm.

The player in black had just touched the short barrel stock when the gun arrived.

Snapped.

It struck his wrist bone.

The short tube flew out of my hand and rolled twice in the snow.

The player in black grunted and retreated hastily.

They retreated decisively, without lingering in the fight.

Mochin was faster, turning the spear tip to aim straight for the ribs.

The player in black dodged to the side, barely avoiding the spear tip by half an inch, but the spear tip still grazed his ribs.

A long tear appeared in the quilt.

Blood splattered out.

The player in black turned pale, retreated into the group of Japanese soldiers, and shouted a stern command.

しとめろ! (Kill him!)

Four Japanese soldiers immediately stepped forward.

Two Japanese swords, two long spears.

His sharp positioning is that of a veteran.

The retreat of the player in black made the battlefield seem to be sliced ​​in half.

Facing Mochin were four Japanese soldiers who had come up on top of him.

And on the side, there's the one with the waist tag.

Mo Qin didn't have time to chase after the players in black, since he was now facing multiple opponents.

Since things have come to this, then let's take up arms and press the attack.

Don't rush to kill people, break the formation first!

With a flick of the spear tip, the Japanese sword on the left was forced aside.

The spear shaft was held horizontally, pressing down on the long spear on the right.

He turned halfway around, exerted force with his rear hand, and struck a Japanese soldier on the shoulder with the butt of his spear.

Click.

The man's shoulder bone collapsed, and he knelt in the snow.

Liu Gao quickly filled in, and he also bumped into someone.

The lion-head shield was held horizontally forward, knocking off a Japanese sword from the edge.

"Get out of here!"

With a roar, he slammed his shoulder down, knocking the Japanese soldier to the ground.

Lin Jun emerged from the side of the shield, his short sword grazing his forearm, and pierced the back of a Japanese soldier's knee.

He drew his sword, dodged, and retreated to the side of his shield.

The player with the waist tag was very shrewd and didn't step forward.

While the others were entangled by the Japanese soldiers, he quietly changed positions and circled around to Liu Gao's side and rear.

He now held something in his hand: an iron ruler.

The tip of the ruler was ground to an extremely sharp point, like a narrow, short cone.

This solid iron ruler is extremely heavy; when it strikes a breastplate or helmet, the force can penetrate the armor plates.

It could easily break ribs and injure internal organs.

If you get hit, even if you're wearing armor and look fine on the outside, you've already lost your fighting ability inside.

This thing isn't for cutting people; it's for breaking armor.

He spotted it clearly: the thinnest part of the seam under Liu Gao's cotton armor.

Liu Gao was holding off two Japanese soldiers.

He was gritting his teeth and pushing forward, his attention focused on what lay ahead.

But he didn't notice the cold light from his side and behind.

Lin Jun didn't see it either.

Her dagger was piercing the wrist of the third Japanese soldier.

Yan Qi saw it.

But his arrow was already on the bowstring, aimed at the fourth Japanese soldier in front of him.

It was too late to adjust the arrow.

Yan Qi called out:

"Liu Gao".

Liu Gao understood, and without turning around, he simply swung the lion-head shield to the side and back.

clang.

The sharp tip of the iron ruler pierced the copper ring of the lion-head shield, and sparks flew all over the man's face.

The force was so great that Liu Gao staggered.

In the blink of an eye, the player with the waist badge was hit by the shield and his hand twisted to the side.

The iron ruler missed its mark, only managing to make a shallow cut under Liu Gao's armpit.

The man's eyes darkened, and he immediately changed his target.

This dark-skinned man reacted quickly, but he wasn't the most dangerous.

The most dangerous one was the spearman.

And that archer.

He decisively abandoned Liu Gao, rolled to the side, and using the corpses of the Japanese soldiers as cover, crept towards Yan Qi again.

"Yan Qi! To the right!"

Lin Jun gave a timely warning, but she was trapped between two Japanese soldiers, and it seemed that rescue was not possible in time.

The player with the waist badge suddenly sprang up from behind the corpse, his iron ruler aimed straight at Yan Qi's right rib.

Yan Qi didn't have time to nock an arrow, so he could only block it with the arm of his bow.

The iron ruler struck the bow arm with tremendous force, causing the bowstring to vibrate with a hum.

The bow wasn't broken, but Yan Qi's hand was already split open.

Upon witnessing this scene, Mo Qin stabbed the Japanese soldier in front of him to death with a single shot.

At the same time, he scooped up a frozen piece of broken tile with his left hand, twisted his right hip, and pulled his shoulder and back backward.

Tiles flew off.

Zhao Tou had taught him how to throw stones, but his own accuracy was always too much of a stretch!

But this time, the location is closer and the target is larger.

And this blow was extremely powerful; the tile flew past with a whooshing sound and struck the man squarely on the back of the head.

*Crack*, the tile shattered into several pieces.

The man stumbled forward, and the iron ruler slipped from his hand.

Yan Qi did not miss the opportunity.

Ignoring his still-bleeding right hand, he pulled an arrow from his waist with his left hand.

Just use a stab.

The arrowhead pierced the back of the man's hand holding the iron ruler with great force.

Just as the man screamed, Liu Gao's reinforcements arrived, thrusting the lion-head shield forward.

The shield struck his chest, sending him flying and crashing into a dead tree.

With a sprint, Mochin rushed forward and kicked the iron ruler off the ground.

Then she looked down at him.

The waist tag, made in the Ming Dynasty style, was hanging on that person's waist.

Liaoyangwei, a certain battalion and a certain team.

The handwriting is clear.

This shouldn't be on Japanese players.

Mochin tore off the waist tag.

Turn it over to the other side.

There is a small character engraved on the back.

It's probably the original owner's name.

It's a bit blurred from being worn down, but the strokes are still legible.

Mo Qin put the waist token into his pocket.

Lin Jun walked to his side and whispered:

"They are preparing to go undercover."

Mochin did not answer.

Lin Jun added another sentence.

"We need to let Li Shuai know."

Mochin nodded.

"Report back upon returning to camp."

After he finished speaking, he looked down at the man again.

The man was panting, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were filled with panic.

"Don't kill me, I can..."

May you be a good person in your next life.

Not wanting to hear any more nonsense, Mo Qin raised the tip of his gun, then brought it down, and the sound stopped abruptly.

Yan Qi glanced at the wound on his tiger's mouth, tore off a strip of cloth from the hem of his clothes, and slowly wrapped it tightly.

Mochin walked over to him.

"It can still draw a bow?"

"able."

Yan Qi bit the strip of cloth in half.

Thanks.

Mo Qin nodded and turned to pick up the Nanman tube from the ground.

The player in black is no longer where he was.

He was wounded in the ribs by Mo Qin and lost his Nanman Tong. Taking advantage of a lull in the fighting, he escaped with the remaining Japanese soldiers.

Only one set of footprints pointing south was left at the scene.

"Should we pursue them or not?"

Liu Gao ran over, looking anxious.

Before Mo Qin could speak, Zhou Hu's voice came from behind.

"Don't chase after them."

Zhou Hu approached with several servants, their spear tips still stained with blood.

He had obviously cleared out a batch as well.

"Let him run."

"It's good to run back; let them know we've come."

Mo Qin handed the Nanman tube to Zhou Hu.

"This thing isn't cheap."

Zhou Hu flipped through it.

"Nanban Tsubasa".

"The Japanese call it a 'tetsu cannon'."

"This is no ordinary rod; its walls are thick, so it can absorb more medicine."

He handed it to Feng the scout beside him.

"Take it back and show it to Li Shuai."

Zhou Hu looked at Mo Qin.

"You didn't take credit for it, that shows you have a brain."

Mochin paused, firing his gun.

"I've always had it."

Zhou Hu glanced at him and shook his head.