Di Ming

Chapter 375 "This commander has his own way!"

On the same day that Zhu Yin and Nurhaci captured Shuozhou, Li Rusong and the cavalry of the Yehe tribe also captured Guicheng and blockaded Longchuan.

As expected, the Yehe Jurchen cavalry also suffered heavy casualties, with more than 2,000 killed and over 1,000 seriously wounded or maimed. Out of 10,000 elite Yehe soldiers, 4,000 were lost in a single battle!

Suddenly, he and Nurhaci became sworn brothers.

Buzhai was heartbroken and kept wiping away tears, but he was in a difficult situation and dared not complain to Li Rusong.

Thirty thousand elite Jurchen soldiers went to Korea to fight, but within days of the start of the battle, eight thousand were permanently lost—a truly devastating loss. It's uncertain how many will be left after the war ends.

However, by this time, the Jurchens had already been tied to the Ming army's war machine and had become blood enemies with the Japanese army. In addition, their strength had been weakened and the sunk costs were too great, so they had no choice but to go down a dead end.

Whether it was Nurhaci or Buzhai, these Jurchen nobles, though distressed, never suspected that Zhu Yin was setting a trap for them. At least for now, they all thought Zhu Yin was reliable.

On the third day, Qin Liangyu and Yang Kedong's chieftain troops also crossed mountains and valleys to take advantage of the situation and occupy Anzhou.

In other words, the main forces of the Japanese pirates' vanguard and rear guard had been cut off from each other.

All three major land routes in and out of Uiju were blocked by the Ming army. The rear guard of the Japanese pirates could no longer come to Uiju to reinforce the front guard. They could also avoid these three routes, but that would mean taking a long detour over mountains and valleys, which would not only add at least ten days to their journey, but also require them to abandon a lot of supplies, and they would be exhausted by the time they reached Uiju.

And it was too late.

By then, their situation would only be more unfavorable. Therefore, the Japanese rear army would not choose to cross the mountains and ridges of northern Korea, but would instead desperately attack the three cities of Shuozhou, Anzhou, and Longchuan, intending to open a passage and quickly support the 60,000 Japanese troops near Uiju.

In this way, for the Ming army, there were four battlefields: the defensive battles in the three regions of Shuozhou, Anzhou, Longchuan and Guicheng, plus the encirclement and annihilation battle near Yizhou.

The three defensive battlefields had to withstand the fierce attacks of the Japanese reinforcements and hold out for ten days to block them.

Near Yizhou, the main battlefield, Qi Jiguang will personally command the main force of the Ming army to wipe out 60,000 Japanese troops!

Japanese reinforcements could have actually traveled by sea, but they had already lost control of the sea and their warships were still under construction on the Han River. How could they possibly travel by sea now?
We have no choice but to attack head-on!

Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang's plan was to force the Japanese reinforcements to launch a direct attack.

...

Once the siege of Yizhou was complete, the reinforcements sent by Qi Jiguang to defend the city arrived, naturally to replace the cavalry, as infantry were better suited for city defense.

The force sent to defend Shuozhou consisted of 5,000 elite troops under Xiong Tingbi, skilled in defense, plus 15,000 Joseon soldiers under Gwanghaegun, totaling 20,000 men.

Although the force was mainly composed of infantry, Xiong Jungpil's troops brought a large number of firearms such as cannons. Gwanghaegun's 15,000 Joseon troops were the last elite land forces in Joseon, and they would definitely be able to defend the city without any problems.

With 20,000 troops defending Shuozhou City and a large number of firearms, the Allied forces could hold out for ten days or so even against tens of thousands of Japanese troops.

Zhu Yin gave some instructions and formally handed over the defense of Shuozhou City to Xiong Tingbi and Guanghai Jun before returning to Yizhou with Nurhaci.

In the defense lines of Guicheng and Longchuan, infantry replaced cavalry, and Li Rusong and Buzhai's Jurchen cavalry were brought back.

Only Anzhou remained unreplaced, as the Tusi soldiers were inherently skilled at defending cities. However, to strengthen defenses, Qi Jiguang still dispatched an additional 5,000 men to assist Qin Liangyu and Yang Kedong in defending the city.

By the time Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang met in Yizhou on the first day of the third month, the defensive battles in Shuozhou and other places had already broken out, and the Japanese rear army had finally arrived.

...

At this moment, in Yizhou, the main battlefield, there were 90,000 Ming troops, including more than 30,000 cavalry!
“The advantage lies with us.” Inside the Yishu Shogunate, Zhu Yin said to the generals attending the military council, “But the Japanese army in Yishu is not weak either.”

"It is easy to defeat them, but difficult to annihilate them."

"The Japanese army in Uiju still has 60,000 men, all of whom are the elite troops who were the first to invade Korea. According to intelligence, the Japanese army in Uiju has more than 15,000 matchlock guns, more than 300 cannons, and more than 5,000 cavalrymen who have exchanged their horses for Korean warhorses."

Qi Jiguang, who was sitting next to him in the commander's seat, nodded, his expression somewhat solemn.

The battle was already winding down; he was certain of victory. But what he wanted wasn't just a win, but a complete and utter annihilation!
Zhu Yin continued, "Our army has 90,000 men, while the Japanese army has 60,000. Our numerical advantage is not that great. The Japanese cavalry is far inferior to ours, but the Japanese have the advantage of firearms. The Yizhou Plain is only about 100 li long, and it is surrounded by mountains to the south and east. If we cannot annihilate them all, the remnants of the Japanese army will escape into the mountains, making it difficult to wipe them out."

Zhu Yin knew better than anyone that the Japanese army's matchlock muskets were far superior in both quantity and quality to those of the Ming army. Japan had well-established, standardized musket factories. Because these were privately owned, the daimyo (feudal lords) selected the best muskets, resulting in excellent quality that rivaled contemporary European muskets. Moreover, the muskets were standardized and of uniform specifications, making them a form of standardized firearm equipment.

The same applies to ammunition; it's of high quality and reliable. The Japanese have always been known for their reliability in manufacturing, even in ancient times. Whether it's a katana or a firearm, they never compromise on quality.

In contrast, the Ming army in Yizhou, although numbering 90,000 and possessing a large arsenal, had a wide variety of firearms, including the most numerous three-barreled arquebuses, which varied in specifications and quality.

The quality of the gunpowder was also excellent.

The Ming army's firearms can be summed up in eight words that are both laughable and lamentable: "Advanced in design, poor in manufacturing."

It's not contradictory at all.

In terms of firearm design, the Ming Dynasty's technology was in no way inferior to, and perhaps even superior to, that of the West. However, once they were manufactured, few were of high quality and their reliability was poor.

Not only did they cut corners, but the craftsmen also did a sloppy job.

To put it bluntly, the bizarre state of Ming Dynasty firearms was a reflection of the systemic corruption within the Ming Dynasty. It was also an inevitable result of the low status and poor treatment of artisans.

The Japanese army's matchlock muskets were not only better than the Ming army's firearms, but they had also been fighting with large numbers of firearms for decades, and their firearm tactics were very mature. They were an independent branch of the military with a strategic nature.

What about the Ming army? To this day, there is no independent organization for musketeers; they are all mixed-units, and their tactics are only the simplest three-stage attack, not to mention their status as a strategic military branch.

How did Li Rusong defeat the Japanese musketeers in history?

The Ming army's advantages in artillery, cavalry, and archers, combined with their combined strengths, were used to counter the Japanese musketeers.

However, Li Rusong could only defeat the Japanese army, but could not annihilate them.

To completely annihilate this Japanese force and wipe out 60,000 enemy soldiers in one fell swoop, a better tactic is needed.

Qi Jiguang said, "The Japanese army is indeed cunning. Knowing that their retreat was cut off, they did not give us the opportunity to defeat them one by one. Instead, they gathered 60,000 men together to form a large camp. Although this makes it more difficult to fight, it also saves a lot of trouble and allows us to achieve victory in one battle."

Upon hearing this, all the generals frowned slightly.

This battle isn't difficult to fight; it's just a matter of trapping the dog behind closed doors.

However, the military commissioner and the general had very high demands. They didn't want to defeat them, but to annihilate them completely. How easy was that? The Japanese pirates were tough nuts to crack and had strong fighting power. They were not as easy to defeat as the local barbarians.

Even if they presented the wife of Japanese King Hirai Hideyoshi in front of both armies to shake the morale of the Japanese army, annihilating 60,000 men would not be easy. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been very few battles in which tens of thousands of enemy troops were annihilated. Most were merely routs.

Qi Jiguang stood up, looked at the map, stroked his white beard, and his face was etched with the vicissitudes of a veteran general who had fought countless battles.

Then, the old general pointed, "This is Heduo Mountain. The closest peak to the Japanese camp is West Peak, less than two miles away. The Japanese camp is backed by Heduo Mountain, so setting up camp at its foot is indeed very safe, preventing our army from outflanking them. However—"

"Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Our army can launch a surprise attack when the enemy is unprepared."

After saying that, he pressed his finger heavily on the location of Heduo Mountain.

Li Rusong said, "The commander-in-chief's idea is to transport our artillery to the west peak of Heduo Mountain, set up a gun emplacement, and then bombard the Japanese camp from a high vantage point?"

Ma Gui understood as well. "General, this is a good idea, but cannons are so heavy that even on flat ground, it takes several mules to pull the cannon cart. How can we transport them to West Peak? Although West Peak is not high, it is still more than 30 zhang high. It is too difficult to transport cannons up there."

Dong Yiyuan said, “This humble general has inspected the West Peak. Although the West Peak is not high, it is very steep on three sides. Only the south side is a gentle slope with a mountain path. The problem is that the south side is in the mountains. If the cannons want to go around to the south side to enter the mountains, they must go up through the valley. However, the valley is a rock wall more than ten feet high. Once the cannons are in the valley, it is too difficult to pull them up.”

Qi Jiguang laughed and said, "This commander has his own way!"

He pointed to a spot north of Heduo Mountain, “This is Yizhou Weir, an artificial lake fed by water from the Yalu River. It was originally used for irrigation and is only about seven or eight miles away from Xifeng Valley. Do you understand now? Take another good look at the map.”

The generals looked at the map together and quickly understood Qi Jiguang's intention.

"Brilliant plan, Commander!" Li Rusong clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Perfectly feasible!"

Note: I got heatstroke today, my head hurts so much, I can't write anymore, I need to rest... Sorry... Goodnight
(End of this chapter)