Bright Spring

This battle is doomed.This large army mobilized from all over Japan may not be much left after World War I.

At this time, if the Japanese army retreated to the Xiashanmen area of ​​Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt.It is estimated that the Ming army will not go into the mountains to clean up the land at all, but will only deploy troops to besiege and monitor.

If the Japanese army retreated through the Shimoyamamon area to the west toward Shima County, the terrain was not open, and it would be difficult not to be driven to the terrain of the peninsula.

At this time, the only way was to pass the pontoon bridge and retreat towards Kasuya County; when the Ming army could not stop the pursuit, the Japanese army burned the pontoon bridge.The lower reaches of the river are close to the mouth of the sea. The river is wide and deep, and soldiers and horses cannot wade through it.The Ming army wanted to pursue the remnants of the Japanese army, so they had to detour upstream and cross the river before pursuing.

However, the Ming army had powerful cavalry to undertake the pursuit.Most of the subordinates of the defeated Japanese army were busy running, and they might not be able to form a position, nor could they stop the cavalry charge.At that time, the defeated Japanese army will form a rout, and at least they will have to run across dozens of miles of plains under the pursuit of the cavalry, and it is estimated that they will suffer heavy losses.

If you think about it deeper, Ming Kou has a foothold when he is stationed in the plains of Kasuya County.And Dazaifu should not be able to defend it anymore. The Chikugo Plain to the south is one of the four plains most suitable for farming in Japan.

The Ming Kingdom takes Chikuzen and Chikugo as their base camps, with their great national strength and large population; if they are determined to conquer the Japanese islands, there may be no hope for Japan in this war.

Ouchi Shengjian turned his head and saw a few cherry trees on the grass, he sighed secretly.The faintly remaining cherry blossoms fell one after another in the wind, and there were not many left.The cherry blossoms in Hakata, like the souls of Japanese warriors, were scattered and withered in a short period of time.

Perhaps those cherry blossoms were transformed by the souls of the soldiers, turning them into a sad and hopeless scene.

Ouchi Shengjian silently touched the handle of a knife at his waist.He wore two Japanese swords, long and short, and now he is holding a short sword.Warriors usually don't use short knives, but they often use this one for self-cutting.

Tao Jing, who was beside him, saw Ouchi Shengjian's movements, and hurriedly said in a deep voice: "If the lord goes, the Ouchi family will definitely cease to exist. And those daimyos who were shouting everywhere before the battle may suddenly change their appearances and push the blame away. To my lord. Why don't they go-die instead?"

If the Ouchi family completely disbanded, the retainers and samurai would either go to other daimyo cities to beg for shelter, or they could only become impoverished ronin without fief and salary.

After everyone understood the situation, they all knelt down around Ouchi Shengjian and said, "We will live and die with the lord."

Ouchi Sheng Jian's hand, which was tightly holding the handle of the knife, was gradually soaked with sweat.

At this moment, Yiqi galloped over and was quickly stopped by two warriors.Tao Jing glanced at it, hurriedly walked over there, and said something to the man.After a while, Tao Jing came back and whispered in Ouchi Shengjian's ear: "Shiba Guan sent someone to send an order to Wang Family Governor to lead the rest of the palace to the rear, and then try to retreat to Mount Bofu to fight against the enemy and be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor..."

Anger slowly seeped out of Ouchi Shengjian's eyes.He immediately removed his hand from the dagger, looked around and said: "We should try to break out, return to Zhou Fangguo, and continue to fight against the enemy!"

Chapter 8 New Deal East China Sea

By the second day, the battle had long since ended, but the Ming army in front of them pursued separately and continued.Sheng Yong led the crowd towards the main road to the east, but there was no movement of fighting on the road.

It rained again in the sky, and the rain was flying obliquely in the wind, making the scene on the plain hazy.After the rain in the morning, this is the second time it has rained today.

"God does not help Japan." Sheng Yong sighed with a complicated expression as he raised his head and felt the raindrops.

Usually the armies at war are unwilling to fight in rainy days.Of course, all kinds of firearms cannot be ignited and fired if they are exposed to rain; even if the bows and crossbows are used in the rain, they will be degummed and damaged.In addition, the ground will be muddy due to rain, making it difficult to march and mobilize, so the battle is always chosen on a sunny day.

However, the situation is different for armies such as the Ming army and the Japanese army.The Ming army was obviously unwilling to give up its firepower advantage and was forced to fight hand-to-hand, while the Japanese army had no firearms.Rainy weather will cause disadvantages to the long-range firearms of the Ming army; both sides in the war, the disadvantage of one side is the advantage of the other side.

Sheng Yong sighed.The idea of ​​the right time, place and people put forward by ancient Sun Bin is still valid on today's battlefield.

Along the way, corpses can be seen everywhere in the muddy dirt roads, rice fields, and wasteland; the corpses scattered along the way seem to be continuous on the entire plain of Hakata Bay.The pursuit and killing of the Ming army for tens of miles must have caused many more casualties than those on the battlefield.

In the humid air, there was a complex and strange smell, and after one night, most of the corpses could already see the corpse spots.This piece of Japan is one of the rich and rich areas, as if it has just experienced a plague or famine at this time, the scene is very bleak and terrible.

This is the trace left after victory, and Sheng Yong is used to it.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and in the hazy sky, a small village appeared in sight.A general suggested: "The commander-in-chief can go to the village to take shelter from the rain, and then go on the road after the rain stops."

Pei Youzhen, the attendant of the Ministry of War who accompanied him, said: "It was reported earlier that a large camp has been set up ahead, the commander-in-chief might as well go to the barracks and try to repair it."

The Chinese army had received news that the Japanese army had hidden spies and assassins in some villages and towns first, and Pei Youzhen's reminder was very tactful.Sheng Yong said conveniently: "Pei Shilang's words are reasonable, so we will discuss accordingly."

The crowd continued to ride on horseback in the mud.The people were all splashed with mud, and finally arrived at the barracks at noon.

Not long after Sheng Yong arrived at the place, someone from the west soon found a station and reported the situation in the north of Mount Bofu.

Last night, the Japanese army at the northern fortress of Bofu Mountain marched westward and attacked the camp of the Ming army on the beach. Of course, the Japanese army failed to break through the camp.

This morning, a part of the Ming Army's Eastern Front Army occupied the northern fortress of Bofu Mountain, Xiashan Gate and other places, and continued to attack westward for reinforcements.The soldiers found that the Japanese army was vulnerable, most of them surrendered, and some fled into Bofu Mountain.After interrogating the prisoners, it was learned that Ouchi Sheng Jian, the governor of the Ouchi family, rode south with a group of samurai overnight, leaving most of them without officers, and they naturally had no fighting spirit and would collapse at the first touch.

In the barracks, Sheng Yong quickly issued several more military orders.The men and horses pursued by the Ming army on the front line crossed the Kasuya County Walled City and retreated.Dispatch troops to clean up the battlefield and search for the wounded and dead bodies of the Ming army.Send people to gather the Japanese villagers in all directions to bury the dead bodies of the Japanese soldiers to prevent the plague from rotting.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Sheng Yong asked the guards to put paper and ink and other things, began to consider the words and sentences, and wrote the victory report with his own hand.

But before Sheng Yong finished writing, many generals came to the big tent one after another, including Liu Sheng.Then Hou Hai, Pei Youzhen and other civil officials, Zhou Quan and other eunuchs also gathered here.Only safety has not yet arrived, and it is estimated that they are still chasing the enemy at the front line.

"The Japanese army is vulnerable." Finally, a general couldn't help but began to speak, "Our army can re-board the ship, go eastward from the Kanmon Strait, disembark at Namba-kyo, and go straight to Kyoto. Capture the emperor and the shogun and go back Beijing offers prisoners."

Sheng Yong glanced at the general, but didn't say anything for a moment.Sheng Yong is already the Duke of the state, and it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to have a living king with a different surname. Of course, he does not need to be greedy for merit, he just wants to implement the will of the emperor.But the generals under his command are very concerned about military merit, so Sheng Yong can't say that military merit is useless.

"And then?" Sheng Yong said.

The general was stunned for a moment: "Then go to Beijing to present the prisoners and receive the reward."

Sheng Yong said: "I'm going to talk about the next thing. We're going back to offer prisoners after the fight, and the Japanese territory should be treated like this. The imperial court spent so much military expenditure, why did you come here?"

The general didn't seem to have thought about that far, and was speechless for a while.

Sheng Yong said again: "There are big and small names around Kyushu Island. Should Hakata Bay stay with the officers and soldiers? There is no fixed situation in the army. As long as there are wars, there will be various variables. Our army will drive straight in by land and water, stretching the front and supplying food. However, there is no guarantee of quick victory. Even if Kyoto is captured, the Japanese dignitaries will surely retreat to the east; then Kyoto will have to stay behind.”

Another general said: "Our army is based in Boduo Bay, please send someone back to Beijing, and ask the imperial court to send more reinforcements."

Sheng Yong shook his head and said, "Japan is no smaller than Annan. The Ming Dynasty wanted to occupy the islands of Japan by force alone. Without more than 20 people and spending a lot of money to set up a large number of post stations and fortresses, I am afraid it would be difficult to do so."

"The handsome is wise!" The person who spoke was Pei Youzhen, who first praised Sheng Yong.Pei Youzhen went on to say: "There are too many soldiers and horses stationed in Japan, so they can only expropriate various expenses from the local area, and bullying | oppression and robbery and other things are likely to arouse the resentment of the local people; This kind of situation has happened many times in An Nanguo. However, after the court bears the military expenses, there is no profit, otherwise the court can transport the rice from the occupied land back to the capital?"

Pei Youzhen said: "This situation is inconsistent with the new policy of the imperial court. Our dynasty once completely occupied the Annan Kingdom, and now we have also voluntarily revoked the chief envoy of Jiaozhi and returned the power to the Chen family. It is the reason for the new policy implemented by the imperial court. , Grand Marshal Sheng should refer to the example of An Nanguo to deploy the affairs of Japan."

The eunuch Zhou Quan, the eunuch who was sent to Japan, immediately seconded, "Our family believes that this should also be the meaning of the Holy Majesty."

The civil servant Hou Hai also faced Sheng Yong and nodded slightly.

Hou Hai thought for a while, then quietly suggested: "Why don't we try to negotiate a peace now?"

One of the generals immediately said angrily: "Anyway, it's civil servants who die. Are scholars really not afraid of death?"

Hou Hai looked at the general and shook his head, and smiled with a smirk, "This time it's different. The main force of the Japanese army was defeated, and more than half of it was lost. Kyoto is in danger, and the Japanese dare to kill envoys? Could it be that they grew pigs?" brain!

The official believes that the richer the Japanese, the more they want to keep what they have.How many mansions, farmland and shops should the emperors and shoguns of Japan have near Kyoto?We can threaten to attack Kyoto, but we can't act rashly, so as to form a threat. "

Pei Youzhen said: "The lower officials seconded the proposal. Right now, our army should temporarily cease fighting and try to contact the people in power in Japan. Try to gain control of Ishimi Kingdom and Hakata Bay at the lowest cost. It is not easy to govern Japan. It's easy, but it has to be considered in the long run."

The eunuch Zhou Quan said: "Get the money first, then we'll talk about it."

Hou Hai and Pei Youzhen looked sideways at the same time, and couldn't help showing admiration for the eunuch, Zhou Quan's words were really concise.

Sheng Yong, who had been silent for a long time, said at this moment: "If you screw up the important matter of the Holy Majesty, you should not ask for credit, and you will have to thank you if you are not punished!"

Liu Sheng clasped his fists and said, "Commander, please make a decision." After hearing this, the generals agreed one after another.

Sheng Yong looked back and forth, and he was aware of the appeals of the high-ranking and various people of the Ming army in the big tent.He said calmly: "At present, our army should stabilize the base camp in Hakata Bay, build forts and docks, and try to communicate with the Japanese dignitaries. As for the long-term plan, we should wait for the memorial to be sent to the court, and the court will make a decision.

Among the king's orders, this general has the right to act cheaply.At this time, if Kyoto, Japan is willing to make concessions and seek peace, we should first draw up some conditions.