Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

The edge of Kyushu Island.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's camp.

In the camp, flags fluttered in the wind, swords and spears were deployed in an orderly and imposing manner.

A short man with strange features, like a skinny monkey, led a group of soldiers straight into the camp.

Wearing a set of exquisite armor, he looks quite
It was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

He was originally a subordinate of Oda Nobunaga, the daimyo of Owari Province.

In the tenth year of Wanli, Oda Nobunaga died in Honnoji Temple. He led his army to kill Akechi Mitsuhide. From then on, most of Oda Nobunaga's troops belonged to him.

A few years later, he defeated Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Build Osaka Castle.

He took office as Chancellor and nominally became the number one person under the Emperor.

As early as several years ago, he had the ambition to swallow up Kyushu Island and realize the great unification. Unfortunately, the Ming army intervened in the affairs of Kyushu Island at that time, and the Takeda family and the Tokugawa family were eyeing him covetously.

He did not dare to go to war with the Ming Dynasty easily.

Now that the unrest in the east has subsided, the time has come again for the Kyushu Islands to be unified.

Thinking of this, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was walking in front, grinned.

He came to the big tent in the middle, opened the curtain and walked straight inside.

The crowd behind him followed closely.

The room was spacious and bright, with maps, chairs, and tea sets. Toyotomi Hideyoshi walked up to the first seat and sat down. With a wave of his hand, the others followed the order and sat down one by one.

A middle-sized general on the left of Toyotomi Hideyoshi spoke first: "The Ming army's firearms are sharp. This time, all the warriors who pursued the Ming army were killed. I think we should recalculate the specific combat power of the Ming army."

"It's best not to storm Tachibana Castle."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mao Li Terumoto, who was at the front on the right, snorted coldly: "Konishi-kun, are you afraid?"

The officer of medium build was none other than Konishi Yukinaga.

Konishi Yukinaga smiled and shook his head. He knew that the territory of the Mori family had been occupied by the Ming army, which made him unhappy, so he was too lazy to get entangled with it.

Unexpectedly, Maori Terumoto felt despised and became even angrier. He sneered, "They say you, Konishi Yukinaga, are the think tank under the Kanpaku and the best general in Japan, but I think you are just that."

After these words were spoken, the expressions of the generals under Toyotomi Hideyoshi changed slightly.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi also frowned.

Kobayakawa Takakage, who was sitting next to Mori Terumoto, held his nephew's shoulders and held him down, then looked at Konishi Yukinaga and apologized, "Terumoto is ignorant, please continue, Konishi-kun."

Being scolded by his uncle in front of everyone, Mori Terumoto felt ashamed and very unhappy.

He subconsciously opened his mouth to refute, but when he saw his uncle's gloomy face, he was frightened and turned away with a snort.

Konishi Yukinaga smiled slightly and sighed in his heart: This Mori Terumoto is just a dandy second-generation rich kid. If it weren't for his two uncles planning for him, how could he have become such a famous person that is feared by the world? But this guy still can't see clearly.

But it doesn't matter, the dumber this guy is, the better.

After secretly calculating in his mind for a while, Konishi Yukinaga said something to clear up his previous unhappiness, looked at Toyotomi Hideyoshi and said: "Kanpaku, there are more than 4,000 soldiers chasing the Ming army. Although they are not our elite, they were wiped out so quickly, which shows that the Ming army is powerful."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi and others nodded, indicating their agreement with Konishi Yukinaga's analysis.

Konishi Yukinaga continued, "According to previous intelligence, the Ming army has a total of 20,000 garrison troops, more than half of which are Liaodong border troops, and most of them rely on sharp firearms."

"The other half are the battle-hardened Qi family soldiers."

When mentioning "Qi's Army", many people present were moved and shuddered unconsciously.

His dark eyes were filled with fear.

Although most of them did not face Qi's army directly.

However, the army's great reputation was enough to scare them.

"Konishi-kun, don't talk about these things that we already know. Just tell us what to do!" Seeing that he was leading a wild goose chase, Mori Terumoto, who had been at odds with him before, snorted.

"Okay." Konishi Yukinaga nodded and went straight to the deployment. "Kato and I will lead 50,000 people to Tachibana Castle to confront the Ming army. The Kanpaku and the rest will lead the army to the Otomo family's territory to eliminate the traitor from the Otomo family first."

"At the same time, send someone to contact the Shimazu family and tell them that as long as they are willing to attack the Ming army, they will continue to be the daimyo of Kyushu Island after the success."

The Shimazu clan was stronger, and separated from the Otomo clan, so it was difficult to attack directly. The Otomo clan was weaker and closer, so it was the most appropriate choice to attack them.

Maori Terumoto immediately clapped his hands and shouted, "Great! It's time for the traitor Otomo to pay his debt. When the Ming army invaded our territory, it was the Otomo family that shouted the most. Today, he has to pay his debt!"

As he spoke, his face was filled with excitement, and he couldn't wait to rush to the Otomo family's territory.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi and others laughed when they saw how eccentric he was.

Kobayakawa Ryuki looked annoyed and glared at Mori Terumoto. Mori Terumoto realized that he had lost his composure, so he smiled awkwardly and sat up straight.

Silence returned to the big tent.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi turned his eyes and looked around. Seeing that no one had any objection, he nodded and ordered: "Well, since you all have no objection, then follow the Konishi army's deployment."

"Hi!" Everyone stood up and bowed in agreement.

Then he walked out of the desk and left the tent, leaving only Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa, who had a fierce look on his face.

The three returned to their original positions. Toyotomi Hideyoshi looked at them and said solemnly, "You two, I'll leave the matter of Tachibana Castle in your hands."

After saying that, he bowed deeply to the two of them.

The two men shouted "I dare not", Kato Kiyomasa said sternly: "Please rest assured, it's fine if Li Rusong doesn't leave the city, but if he dares to leave the city, I will kill him without a trace."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Konishi Yukinaga.

As his think tank and one of the most talented civil and military men under his command, Toyotomi Hideyoshi attached great importance to Konishi Yukinaga in military affairs.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi would take any suggestions he made very seriously.

At this moment, Konishi Yukinaga noticed Toyotomi Hideyoshi's questioning gaze and immediately replied respectfully: "Don't worry, Kanpaku. The Ming army is indeed brave, but after all, they are fewer in number. We only need to trap the Ming army in front, and we will win three points in this battle."

"Okay then." Toyotomi Hideyoshi nodded and patted Konishi Yukinaga's shoulder to comfort him. "I'll leave everything up to you and Kato-kun. I hope we can gather together in the Otomo family's territory in three months!"

The two smiled at each other and bowed their heads solemnly. Five days later.

The army of Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa marched towards Tachibana Castle. More than 50,000 people, almost half of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's troops, stretched for more than 20 miles.

The scorching sun of midsummer hung high in the sky, casting its crimson rays upon the marching soldiers.

If viewed from the sky, the soldiers on the ground looked like a long red dragon across the field.

At the front of the queue, Kato Kiyomasa, who was wearing armor, was sweating profusely. He wiped his sweat and cursed: "Damn Ming army, why don't you stay in your own land and run wild in our land?"

"If you feel hot, just take off your armor." Konishi Yukinaga didn't respond to him, but suggested with a smile.

"No, the heat won't kill me." Kato Kiyomasa waved his hands, and as he spoke, hot sweat started to break out again.

Konishi Yukinaga smiled and said nothing, turning around to urge the troops to continue moving forward. That evening, the army finally arrived at a mountain area fifty miles away from Tachibana Castle.

This mountain area is quite spacious, and even if 50,000 people squeeze in, there will still be some space left for them to move forward.

After setting up the camp, Konishi Yukinaga immediately met with the ferocious-looking Kato in the military tent.

The two walked towards each other. Konishi Yukinaga had a map in front of him. He leaned sideways and pointed at the map and introduced: "Look, Kato-kun, we are in the northwest corner of Tachibana Castle. Further west is Hakata Bay."

Kato Kiyomasa's eyes widened, and he said loudly: "What are we waiting for? Let's send people to occupy Hakata Bay first. Without Hakata Bay, the Ming army will have no supplies, and we will trap them to death."

Konishi Yukinaga shook his head, stroking the tuft of black beard under his nose and said, "There are not only Ming troops in Hakata Bay, but also many Portuguese. Their cannons are not inferior to those of the Ming army. We don't need to provoke them."

Kato Kiyomasa was displeased and curled his lips, thinking: Since you are not going to fight, why are you saying this?
"We can't fight, but we can buy some handy things from the Portuguese." Without noticing Kato Kiyomasa's face, Konishi Yukinaga continued, "It would be even better if these Portuguese could help us deal with the Ming army."

But soon, Konishi Yukinaga smiled bitterly and shook his head.

These Portuguese people have always put profits first. Without sufficient profits, how could they possibly get involved in this mess?

Being able to buy some cannons is already the best option.

Having made up his mind, Konishi Yukinaga looked at Kato and gave him an order: "Kato-kun, you lead 5,000 men to Hakata Bay and buy some muskets and cannons from the Portuguese. As long as they are useful, it doesn't matter if they are a little expensive."

Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga were of the same rank.

Seeing him ordering her around at will, she felt unhappy and pouted, "Do I have to go buy guns myself? Can't I just let my subordinates go?"

Konishi Yukinaga heard the coldness in his tone, smiled, stood up and walked in front of him, taking the initiative to ease the atmosphere with him: "Kato-kun, my subordinates' eyesight is not good. I will only feel at ease if you go to buy it."

"Okay, I'll go sell it!" Kato Kiyomasa looked up and nodded in agreement.

After arranging this matter, Konishi Yukinaga talked about the siege plan. The army must move forward tomorrow. He had been to Tachibanayama Castle before. Thirty miles outside the city, there was a plain surrounded by a small river.

That was their final camp.

Kato Kiyomasa stood up and walked forward to look at the map, and saw that the routes of each side's march and the strength of the enemy and our own troops were densely marked on it. He immediately felt admiration: Konishi-kun is worthy of being the first general under the Kanpaku. He has done such a big thing these days. It seems that I am narrow-minded.

He recalled his previous dissatisfaction with Konishi Yukinaga, and felt ashamed. He bowed his head and said, "Don't worry, Konishi-kun, I will definitely bring back all the firearms you want."

Konishi Yukinaga hurriedly helped him up, and the two sat down next to each other. Kato Kiyomasa asked Konishi Yukinaga about his plans.

Konishi Yukinaga smiled and told Kato his plan directly: "The Ming army is now trapped in an isolated city. I only need to surround the city gates on three sides, and the rest will be done by the regent."

"That's right." Kato Kiyomasa smiled and expressed his admiration for Konishi Yukinaga.

In fact, this is also because we have never fought any big battles and have no tactics to speak of.

As for the few people under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, they had only fought "village wars" with a few thousand people in the past. The tactics were also very simple, or there was no tactics at all. They just rushed forward and killed, and saw who had more people alive.

Konishi Yukinaga didn't have any outstanding military achievements, but he was hyped up as the military god of Japan.

If it weren't for the fact that he had more people than others today, Li Rusong in the city would not be so easy to deal with.

By this time the sky had completely darkened. Kato Kiyomasa looked outside and saw that the moonlight outside was dim, with only sparse stars emitting faint light, shining on the dark earth.

A feeling of tiredness unconsciously came over me.

Across from him, Konishi Yukinaga stood up, patted his belly and said with a smile: "Kato-kun, let's go eat. We can talk after dinner if you have anything to say."

"Hahaha, I'm a little hungry too." Kato Kiyomasa's face twitched and he nodded in response.

The next morning, Kato Kiyomasa led 5,000 soldiers westward to Hakata Bay according to the established plan, while Konishi Yukinaga led the rest of the troops and headed straight to the wilderness outside Tachibana Castle to set up camp.

The wilderness is flat, with a stream in the middle dividing the plain into two parts, and a floating bridge connecting the two sides.

It was summer, the stream was rippling, the summer grass was dry and yellow, emitting a parched smell. Konishi Yukinaga crossed the stream on a floating bridge, and accompanied by his entourage, he rode his horse to Tachibana Castle.

But when he saw the towering city walls and the neatly arranged flags on the city walls, he was secretly amazed.

Fortunately, I did not choose to attack the city by force, otherwise I would have suffered greatly.

On the city wall, Li Rusong and Qi Guozuo had heard someone report that a few Japanese pirates had come to challenge them. The two were furious and rushed to the top of the city wall to look down.

Sure enough, I saw several Japanese pirates wandering around the city.

"How dare you!" Li Rusong cursed with a red face.

Qi Guozuo estimated the distance between the two sides and suddenly asked Li Rusong beside him: "Marshal Li, can this cannon hit those Japanese pirates?"

Li Rusong took a look and shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not enough. These pirates are smart. They are four miles away from us. Our cannons can only reach three miles at most. If they are farther away, it will be useless."

"Marshal, I will take my men out and bring back these Japanese pirates!" A burly general suddenly clasped his fists and asked for a fight.

"No." Li Rusong immediately waved his hand to interrupt him, "They are just a few small pirates. If they want to watch, let them watch. There is no need to sacrifice you for them."

The general smiled awkwardly and retreated with his head lowered.

Qi Guozuo suggested: "Since we can't hit them, let's fire a few cannons to scare them."

"That's fine." Li Rusong smiled at him, and immediately ordered his men to turn the cannon around and aim at Konishi Yukinaga who was commenting on the city.

Load and ignite.

boom!
There was a loud noise, and the horse under Konishi Yukinaga was startled and ran back like crazy. On the horse's back, Konishi Yukinaga had a ferocious face and pulled the reins tightly, but it was useless. He could only let the beast run around with him.

Seeing this scene, people behind him hurriedly followed to protect it.

"Hahaha"

Li Rusong on the city wall saw this scene and laughed loudly. (End of this chapter)