Late Ming Dynasty: Conquering the world starting from riding and cutting

Looking as far as the eye can see along the road from north to south, the eyes are filled with endless hills, blocking the extension of the line of sight.

The already deserted fields became even more desolate and empty due to the war. Several small villages could be vaguely seen in the distance. Everyone had already fled into the mountains with their families, for fear of being attacked by soldiers from both sides. Looting and looting.

Although the mountains and wilderness are more difficult than at home, luckily it is summer and you can still hunt for a living in the mountains and wilderness. As long as you can survive, what does the hardship mean? !

If the war happened in winter, it would be desolate. The severe cold and lack of food and clothing would make it difficult for them. In the end, less than one out of ten people would survive.

After years of "education" in the war environment, the people here have long understood their situation and seen the situation clearly. In the eyes of those ashigaru who seemed to be soldiers but were actually bandits, good and lawful citizens were often their favorite targets for robbery.

The reason is also very simple. They can't really defeat the bandits, so they have no choice but to bully the farmers in the fields.

If you want to avoid being robbed yourself, you have to join them and rob others together.

The sea breeze carries water vapor constantly, blowing it on people's faces and making them wet. Standing on a hill beside the road, the general's flag was erected, and Han Xian looked at the marching team down the mountain.

Approaching Kumamoto Castle, in order to make it easier for the generals to pass, Han Xian asked Qin Hao for instructions and marched the Chinese Army together with the First Army of the Shuntian Camp.

On the road, as the large group of people marched, large amounts of smoke and dust were rolled up. Countless pairs of feet wearing thousand-layer soles stepped on the ground, and a rhythmic sound sounded.

Along the foot of Kumamoto Castle, there are hundreds of elite cavalry scattered. These cavalry teams are solemn and majestic.

The riders are arranged in a row of five, each standing in front of the horse. It seems to be scattered randomly, but in fact it is quite orderly. Fifteen steps apart from the front and back, five steps apart from the left and right, and twenty steps apart in the middle.

If there is a whistle at this time, they can mount their horses to prepare for battle as soon as possible, organize a charge, and meet the incoming enemy.

The riders all wore broad-brimmed hats and iron-pointed helmets. Under the iron helmets there was an iron chain veil. They were all covered with steel breastplates and silk linings. There was a fire gun slung across the back, and a blue steel sword hung on the saddle.

The war horse under his crotch is even taller and taller, majestic and powerful, and the horse's hooves make a "clop" sound.

From time to time, someone in the cavalry would look into the distance to see the enemy troops on Kumamoto Castle.

Waves of sea breeze blew, causing the red tassels on the riders' helmets and the bright red cloaks to dance continuously, as if a dazzling fiery red color was burning in everyone's eyes, looking at them as hot as a sea of ​​fire.

"The world's most powerful army!" A young famous man couldn't help but admired from the bottom of his heart.

"Of course! His Royal Highness the General's team is naturally mighty and majestic!"

The person next to him also looked at the flags and soldiers and horses on the hill with envy, and intentionally or unintentionally exposed the Qinggang long sword purchased from Keelung on his waist, showing off, "I have a good sword, but I only need such a soldier." The horse is gone.”

"Hahaha!" Saga couldn't help but ridicule when he heard his colleagues' unrealistic ideas.

"Just because of you, you are really not afraid of laughing your head off."

"What about me? Why can't I have it? Baga Yalu, do you look down on me?"

"Huh, so what if I laugh at you. Stop daydreaming all day long. Go back as soon as possible and stop being a fool here."

"Baga Yalu, can you do it? I'll chop you to death..."

"Come on, come on, who is afraid of whom..."

Seeing the two of them drawing their swords at each other, they were about to chop each other, but a group of small celebrities from Kyushu around them were startled and hurriedly came up to dissuade them.

Although they like to watch the excitement, if they really die here, then the general will blame them, and they will not be able to walk around; if it causes the camp roar, they will not be able to leave even if they want to.

The general's law is no joke, they don't want to be sacrificed to the flag.

Three or four pulled one by one, and finally separated the two people. After taking away the knife, everyone felt relieved.

"What are you doing? We are all members of the same army, how can we have a stalemate?"

"Just, just, get along, get along."

"Yes, I got a rumor before that after this battle, Keelung will open a special port area in Nagasaki. By then, all the samurai in the family will be equipped with such armor, swords and guns!"

"Real or false, where did you get this news?"

"Of course it's true? My daughter is doing errands at the Keelung General's Mansion, so she is bound to be right."

"It would be great."

The daimyo present at this time all longed for their future as a luxurious warrior.

At the same time, behind the cavalry battalion was a large group of Fuso civilians.

For this battle, it was said that an army of 10,000 people was mobilized. In fact, nearly 3,000 of them were civilians recruited from all over Kyushu to transport food and equipment for the army.

The soldiers had three meals a day, and every meal had meat. Even the civilians also enjoyed the food standard of two meals a day and one pound of rice.

"The morale of all departments is very high!"

Qin Hao watched with great satisfaction as the troops of the brigade at his feet marched southward like a tide.

The people on the mountain were watching the troops on the avenue, and the troops on the avenue were also observing the Chinese troops on the hill.

In Kumamoto Castle.

Looking at the ginkgo tree with lush leaves and fruit in the yard, the two commanders of Shimazu's army sat opposite each other drinking tea, seemingly not paying attention to the crusade outside the city.

"Have you decided?"

"good!"

Takamatsu Yorichu, the governor of the Takamatsu family who came from the direction of Kagoshima for reinforcements, gently sipped the tea brewed by Katsuto Yokota.

"It is indeed good tea. Katsuto-kun's tea ceremony skills are becoming more and more exquisite."

"Hahaha, that's ridiculous, it's all thanks to the tea leaves."

"Tea from Hangzhou Prefecture?"

"Lai Zhongjun is indeed a master of tea ceremony. You can taste it with just one bite. This was just born this year and the taste is just right." Yokota Katsuto smiled lightly.

Tea ceremonies are usually for entertaining guests, so the two of them naturally did not mention the situation outside the city at the tea table, so as not to spoil their interest.

About a quarter of an hour later, Katsuki Yokota asked his attendants to remove the tea sets and discussed with Takamatsu Yorichu how to deal with the upcoming war.

According to Yokota Katsuto's idea, Takamatsu Yorichu led troops and horses to defend Kumamoto Castle, and at the same time, he could rest and prepare. He led 5,000 men and horses carrying 1,000 iron cannons and 10 large barrels to Chiba, using Shimazu. The traditional ambush tactics of fishing in the wild (first luring the enemy into an ambush encirclement using pocket formations, and then cooperating with the main force in the rear to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop), where an ambush battle is carried out.

"The Kumamoto Hills are to the southwest of Chiba Castle, and the western foothills of Mount Aso to the east are the most dangerous areas. The enemy has come from afar, and the geography is unknown, so it is easy to enter. In addition, the troops and horses are tired, so they must be unprepared.

When the time comes, I will set up an ambush here relying on the mountainous terrain, and send out some troops and horses to lure the enemy. After the two sides come into contact, I will order the enemy's decoy team to retreat. After the enemy pursues and enters the ambush circle, I will fire a large number of iron cannons and big barrels.

To the east of the enemy is the sea of ​​fire of Mount Aso, to the south is our iron artillery team, and to the west is the sea. If they don't want to die or jump into the sea, they can only flee north, and the forward force will inevitably scatter their own troops. ,By the time....."

"Wonderful! Then Lord Shengren can use his troops to cover up the enemy! Let's re-enact the Battle of Feishui!"

"That's right! Even though the enemy has backup troops and it's inconvenient for them to coordinate with each other, our army dispersed with a single attack and defeated them in one battle!"

"Then I will congratulate Katsuto-kun on Kumamoto Castle for capturing the enemy general and returning with a great victory!"

"Lai Zhongjun is so well-known, I still count on you to guard the city as a backup."

In an instant, the two of them formulated a battle plan and smiled at each other, both recognizing the scheming tactics between them.

If the enemy army did not understand the Shimadzu family's tactics this time, they would surely lose their troops and generals, and they would return home in great sorrow.

The one-hundred-man iron artillery team took advantage of the cover of night to hand over the defense with the Takamatsu family's troops. Along the north road of Kumamoto Castle, teams one by one quietly drove out of Kumamoto Castle. The one who bit the ring went to Chiba to set up an ambush.

Aso Volcano is the junction of Kumamoto Domain and Bungo Domain, and Mount Waiwa is adjacent to Chiba. Slightly oval in shape, it is 24 kilometers long from north to south and 18 kilometers wide from east to west. It is surrounded by about 120 kilometers and covers an area of ​​250 square kilometers. It is also famous for its high mountains and dense forests. There are many cliffs and exposed lava on the mountains.

Yokota Katsuto had already chosen a location, settled the five thousand troops, and hurriedly ordered them not to rest without permission. Immediately arrange gun positions for Datong.

Following the order, Kumamoto Ashigaru, who was known for his hard work and hard work, began digging trenches and building fortifications without any complaints.

Regarding these forcibly recruited Kumamoto soldiers, Yokota Katsuto believed that he had made the most correct decision before the war. With them, the Otsutsu position that originally took an hour to set up could now be completed in just half an hour.

Everything was ready, and we were waiting for the enemy's entrance. After a while, a sentinel came from a distance to report, and the flag of the Keelung Army appeared more than ten miles away!

"It's finally here! Get ready!"

Yokota Katsuto raised the telescope in his hand and looked into the distance with great interest.

"The decoy team, let's go!"

At the same time, in front of the Chiba River, the forwards of the Second Army, who were advancing mightily, suddenly issued an order, "Stop the advance!". After a flash of flags, the large group of people stopped by the river.

"There is a report from the sentries ahead, and the Shimazu family's vanguard is blocking the way in Chiba!"

"Hurry and report to Lord Saga, the commander of my second army!"

The forward was passed to the feudal lord, and Saga Chaoichi was also worried. He deliberately planned to cross the Chiba River to attack, but he was afraid of being plotted by the Shimadzu family.

For many years, the Shimazu family has been truly the number one fighting force in the Kyushu region.

Their tactics are also well known to everyone, and they are difficult to guard against. His troops suffered a lot when they captured Fukuoka Castle, and they must not suffer any more losses now.

Soon, the enemy situation in front of Qianye River was conveyed to General Han Xian.

"If you want to ambush our soldiers and horses by fishing for wild ambushes, wouldn't it be that our army is overly simplistic!"

Han Xian cursed loudly, but there was still a sentence he didn't curse in his heart.

"This group of guys from the Fuso Second Army are more ferocious than the others when it comes to grabbing credit, property, and territory, but when it comes time to fight, they all shrink back. They are absolutely useless!"

Han Xian then found an exquisite black and gray cowhide map tube in the big tent, pulled out a map from it, spread it on a straw mat made of rushes, and carefully observed and analyzed it.

After a while, he led the officers to the Chinese army's tent and reported the news from the front line to Qin Hao.

"The commander of the Second Army, Saga Toichi, reported that Shimazu Yokota Katsuto's troops appeared in the Chiba area, with about 2,000 troops. Chiba is less than ten miles away from our army and is the only way to Kumamoto Castle. A decision needs to be made early.”

"What's the decision? Just fight, don't worry about them!"

"Yes, if those dwarfs can't do it, let us go over with a pair of volleys to see if anyone can still stand."

Everyone in the Keelung Army disagreed.

Seeing that the generals were full of fighting spirit, Han Xian was afraid that Qin Hao would send out his army, so he hurried forward: "My lord, this is a common trick of the Shimazu family! It's called Diao Ye Fu!"

This plan is to first use a small group of bait, and then use a large number of troops to ambush. When our army pursues them, they will immediately ambush and attack us.

Now our army has mountains to the east and sea to the west. It is the most vicious thing for this person to set up an ambush and use this trick!

A certain person dares to assert that the two thousand enemy troops on the front line are the opponent's bait, and there must be a large army setting up an ambush later! "

I see!

Qin Hao also nodded frequently after hearing this. The Shimazu family is still talented, and they can even use tricks.

However, it is a little simpler and can be summed up in just eight words: "lure the enemy deep and ambush them everywhere"!

In Keelung, these are all tricks used by children to play war!

Not only did veterans like Zhang Hu sneer at this tactic, which was highly praised by General Shimazu, but even Zhao Dahai, a new officer, also laughed.

"Not worth mentioning."

Han Xian walked to Qin Hao and whispered something in his ear: "Master, it's better to be careful!"

Seeing how solemn he was, Qin Hao realized that he and the other generals seemed to be trapped in a confused victory.

The army fought all the way without any defeat, and the desire for victory controlled the heart of caution.

I have been complacent these days and have lost my original intention.

no!

But we can't capsize in the gutter.

With a long sigh, Qin Hao sat upright and looked at the people at the table. The generals also saw that Qin Hao had made a big move. They put aside what they were doing, straightened their backs and stood upright, solemnly and silently.

"I want to apologize to you all here." Qin Hao stood up and bowed deeply, and then continued, "I have been arrogant these days, thinking that the battle for the Shimadzu family must be won, and I am fully responsible for this failure. "

The generals were confused by Qin Hao's words. The battle hadn't even started yet, so why did the lord conclude that he would not be able to win it?

Only generals Han Xian and Zhao Chang saw what Qin Hao meant and remained silent, waiting to see what happened next.

"Lord, our Keelung Army is invincible in the world. The small Shimazu family and Kumamoto Castle are still easy to capture." Zhao Dahai stood up carelessly, not noticing the wink given to him by the adjutant beside him.

You idiot, if you don't punish me, who will I punish you for?

The adjutant felt helpless. Why did he follow such a fool?

"Zhao Dahai, do you think..."