Bright Spring

Yao Ji's vermilion lips moved upwards slightly.Zhu Gaoxu continued: "But it has been almost ten years, and now I am getting more and more reluctant."

When she heard this, she finally showed a satisfied smile.

Just now she was still in a heavy mood, but now she is obviously more relaxed and happy. Perhaps because of the narration and Zhu Gaoxu's understanding, she got some kind of healing.

"My lord's book, my concubine wants to read it privately, and then return it to my lord, how about that?" Yao Ji asked.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "It's okay, the first edition is going to be destroyed anyway. Concubine Xian is interested in that kind of science?"

Yao Ji said: "Ever since Yao Fang got that book, I heard that he meditated and enlightened in Qingshou Temple all day long. I'm just curious, what made big brother become like that."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said: "It seems that Yao Fang is a very thoughtful person. Concubine Xian doesn't have to worry too much, people will always find a concept that suits them."

"The Holy Majesty has treated him generously, and he appreciates it in his heart." Yao Ji expressed her gratitude.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Yao Fang also helped me. Not to mention the previous credits, even recently, he roughly figured out the situation of Japan and Tsushima Island, which is also very useful. Otherwise, I would not be able to make up my mind so easily and send troops to Tsushima island."

When he said this, he was also thinking about it: counting the days, the naval fleet going north will almost arrive at Tsushima Island.

Chapter 773 The Torii

The Ming army fleet has arrived at Tsushima Island, consisting of more than 20 warships of different sizes.In addition to fifteen Ming warships, there were also some North Korean ships accompanying them.

The two two-thousand-material-class treasure ships in the navy floated on the narrow sea surface of the "Qiangang" of Tsushima Port. The scale was extremely shocking, like two cities floating on the water.

The treasure ship "Yin" was the flagship of the fleet, and it was carrying the eunuch Zhou Quan, the commander-in-chief of the Lu Division, Wan Liang, as well as the Jinshi civil servants and generals of the Jinyiwei General of the Jingshi Xingren Division, and more than 200 officers and soldiers of the Lu Division.

Wan Liang was not in charge of commanding the water battle. When he went to the bow deck and watched the sea surface of the port, the water battle ahead had already started.I heard that the vanguard warships of the Ming army suddenly appeared at the port, blocking some Japanese pirate ships that had not set sail in the bay, and then began to fight.

As a military general who commanded more than 20 soldiers of the Lu Division, Wan Liang was not a high-ranking military general. He was a thousand households before he set off.However, Wan Liang is a general in his [-]s, and it is not easy to be a thousand households at a young age.The reason why he was able to be a fifth-rank military officer was because his father was a hundred householder in the Sichuan Weisuo; then he encountered the "Battle of Criminology", and after being incorporated into the King of Han Army, almost all generals were promoted.

It's amazing to think about it. Wan Liang was indeed a navy general before, but he was only active on the Tuojiang River and Dajiang (Yangtze River). This expedition was the first time he saw the sea in his life.

However, the water battle on the sea at this time looks similar to the battle on the river.The navy officers and soldiers first attacked with long-range weapons, and then boarded the ship to fight.

The sea is full of smog, thick smoke everywhere, black smoke from burning ships, and white smoke from gunpowder burning.Countless flames danced in the sky, like fireworks in a festival.The sacred fire flying crows and various fire|arrows all showed arc trajectories in the air, flying into the sky above the Japanese pirate ships on the opposite side.

Those rockets screamed in the air, but most of them couldn't control their aim and flew around. Only the rockets that were close could hit the enemy ships.After a divine fire crow hit the enemy ship, the gunpowder ignited and exploded, emitting a dazzling light in the smoke.

The noise of the sea wind and waves made people's shouts and the sound of firecrackers dim, and they all merged into the noisy wind and waves.In the direction of the Mengchong warship in the distance, rows of flames the size of beans first appeared, and after a while, the sound of "crackling" like fried beans was vaguely heard.

Most of the mainsail of the treasure ship Yin has been lowered, and it is gradually approaching the distant pier at a very slow speed.

On the sea where the treasure ship passed, Wan Liang saw a person who fell into the water.They were screaming for help, some were swimming desperately, some were holding boards and shouting.

However, the soldiers of the Ming army on the deck did not save those people.Sporadic "bang bang" sounds of firecrackers and strings came one after another, and the soldiers were shooting people in the water as targets.

The eunuch Zhou Quan said: "Those ships belonged to Japanese pirates, and all of them were unforgivable Japanese pirates, who were engaged in plundering the coast and committing all kinds of crimes. The soldiers and civilians of Ming and North Korea hated them deeply. Rescuing them is also a capital crime, and they will be punished on the spot." The easiest way."

Wan Liang nodded in agreement.

When the treasure ship got closer to the pier, the battle on the sea was basically over.A boat approached the flagship, mounted a ladder, and brought up the men they captured in the boarding battle.

A group of captives made a noise and were bound together by ropes.There were actually people speaking Chinese in there, and they called out "My lord, spare your life" there.Wan Liang has also heard people say that among the Japanese pirates, there are not only Japanese |

There were actually a few naked women who boarded the boat behind.Their hair was disheveled, each of them was in a panic, and their skin exposed to the sea breeze was frozen pale.

"Amitabha..." As one of the interpreters on board, a Korean monk hurriedly turned his back.

Zhou Quan, Wan Liang, the two pedestrian officials, and the navy general discussed briefly for a while, and quickly made a decision.Japanese pirates are all capital crimes, and direct execution can avoid the trouble of guards, save fresh water and food; and those women are mostly women who were robbed, so they should be released without charge.

After a while, under the command of the general, several soldiers went up with felt blankets and gave them to the women to wrap their bodies.

Then a pedestrian (official position) and an interpreter walked over and announced in three languages: Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Kyoto Japanese: "According to the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", you are guilty of conspiracy | rebellion, homicide, robbery | robbery , Rape|fornication, arson|arson, death according to the law!"

The captives who had just boarded the boat struggled and yelled, but they couldn't break free from the ropes, and they were surrounded by hard-wearing soldiers, and they were in a mess.A group of soldiers from the Ming army had already lined up and raised the loaded Chunhan Light Gun.

"Bang bang bang..." There was a sound, and the screams were deafening.The woman's desperate screams made people's ears hurt.

Then the soldiers with cherry guns rushed up and stabbed at the wounded criminals who were lying on the ground.The yelling soon became smaller and smaller, and the criminals all fell into a pool of blood.The sergeants lifted the body and threw it straight into the sea.After a long time, several buckets of seawater washed onto the deck, and dark red blood flowed out along the drain holes.

At this moment, a raging fire ignited on the pier by the sea, and several puffs of thick smoke rose into the sky.The Japanese on shore had burned the docks, and many were retreating towards a town in the distance.

Everyone watched the scene on the shore, and a general said: "The Japanese in Tsushima Port should have been frightened by our navy and gave up the dock defense."

Wan Liang couldn't help but said, "It's also possible that we killed the prisoners and they saw them. The Japanese army wanted to defend the town and resist."

Eunuch Zhou Quan said: "The next step is to capture Tsushima City, it will be a matter of thousands of households. However, Master Lu can no longer go ashore from the treasure ship, and can only go up by sand ship."

Wan Liangdao: "Order Wang Baihu on the treasure ship 'Yangzhou' to lead the army first and land on a sandboat. Wang Baihu should build a simple ditch wall fortification on the pier, arrange a defense line to guard against the enemy's counterattack; at the same time send scouts, Search for nearby military intelligence."

A general behind him said: "Decree!"

Because the navy's flag and drum signals can only transmit pre-determined messages such as attack, retreat, and formation, Wan Liang's military order just now is a bit complicated, and the army can only send people to deliver the message.There were several slender and light sentry ships around the flagship, and one of the sentry ships was ordered to sail towards the treasure ship Yangzhou on the other side of the fleet.

The Japanese army had completely abandoned the pier, and no armed forces were found on the coast or on the "front mountain" on the right.Because the wharf facilities were destroyed, the landing of the Ming army was a bit troublesome, but it went smoothly.

In the evening of the same day, the Ming army built barracks fortifications on the coast, and more and more soldiers landed on sandboats.Felt tents, food fodder, horses, and some artillery ammunition were also transported to the barracks one after another.Thousands of households and Wanliang went ashore and were in charge of commanding the marching formation of the Lu division, making the eunuch Zhou Quan still on the treasure ship.

There are only more than [-] people in the Lu division. Even if they rely on sand boats for transportation, most of the soldiers and luggage can go ashore within a day tomorrow.Only the "Tian" brand Hanwang Cannon, which weighs several thousand catties, will be troublesome. Wan Liang estimates that the landing can be completed within three days.

After Wan Liang landed, he quickly figured out the nearby terrain.

As far as the Tsushima Island is concerned, there are mountains everywhere, and a large area does not look like a populated mountain forest.Tsushima Port is located in the southwest of the island, divided into Qiangang in the south and Hougang in the north; the place where the Ming army landed is Qiangang.

The land between Qiangang and Hougang Bay is surrounded by mountains on the east coast, with only a relatively flat piece of land in the middle; and a larger mountain range to the west of the flat land.The Tsushima Walled City is on the west side of that flat land.

For the mountains on the east coast, Ming army scouts asked local farmers and learned that the southern mountain was called "Front Mountain" and the northern one was called Back Mountain.The burned wharves and Ming army barracks are located at the foot of the west side of the "Mount Front" and southeast of the Tsushima Walled City.

There is a spring on the front mountain. After Wan Liang tasted it, he found that the taste was not very good; but compared to the salty and astringent sea water, everyone finally found a reliable source of fresh water.

The next day, after the Ming army occupied Qianshan, Wan Liang took more than ten riders and began to go northward along the dirt road on the west side of Qianshan to observe the fortification of Tsushima Walled City with his own eyes.

The weather was fine, and after more than ten riders walked through the dirt road, they left behind a cloud of dust.On the left side of the dirt road is the bay, and on the right side is the front mountain.Wan Liang turned his head to look at the hillside on the right, and saw a flag of the Ming army on the hill, and his heart became more at ease.

A general flag leader beside him pointed to a wooden building on the mountain road to the west and said, "What kind of archway is that?"

At this time, the Korean monk said in Chinese: "General, that is not a torii, but a torii. According to the Japanese | people, as long as you pass the torii and go up the mountain, you will arrive at the territory of the gods."

Everyone looked sideways after listening.The Chief Banner still muttered: "It looks too much like an archway."

Wan Liang also felt the same way. He had a strange feeling that the things here were somewhat familiar with those in Daming, but they had completely different meanings.

A group of people rode across the front mountain and arrived at the slightly flat open land.Scattered villages have appeared in sight, as well as some small rice fields and vegetable fields.But the Walled City is not in the open land, it is easy to see here, it is located on a hillside of the western mountains;

When they got closer, Wan Liang saw clearly that the walls around the city were actually made of wood and mud.He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This wall can't defend against artillery, and it's easy to capture the city."

The Korean monk reminded: "General Wan, be careful. Most of the Japanese walled cities have defenses inside the outer walls. In addition to the circuitous inner wall lanes, the taller house in the middle is also a fortification, called 'Honmaru'."