The fall of the Kofu defense line meant that Kyoto had been completely exposed to the artillery fire of the Ming army, and although Ashikaga Yoshimochi was furious, he also knew that no matter how angry he was at this time, it would be useless, so for Harano Saburo, who led the army to defeat and retreat, Ashikaga Yoshimochi had a rare open side.

"Forget it, since the Ming army landed, there have been a lot of generals with broken jade, let's make meritorious contributions."

Although Ashikaga Yoshinori was unwilling to punish the crime, Saburo Harano chose to commit suicide by seppuku in his barracks after retreating.

"Kneel down and worship the face of the gods, and sprinkle your blood in front of the king."

Japan's aristocratic samurai had a hobby of writing desperate poems before they died, and although Saburo Harano was not a nobleman, he was willing to prove his loyalty and fearlessness in this way.

Ashikaga Yoshinori forgave him, but as a proud samurai, the shame of defeat and incompetence tortured his dignity, and it was obvious that the honor and dignity of the family could not forgive him, so Saburo Harano chose to die.

Although Ashikaga Yoshinori praised Harano's death, and even took great pains to find Shihito and ask for a reward, intending to spread the word to the whole army and preach it to call on the guards to learn from Harano Saburo, but when the first Ming artillery shell fell on the defense line outside Kyoto, panic was still inevitable.

The only difference is that as more and more shells fell, these Japanese troops calmed down.

"Death is death."

At a wartime meeting, Ashikaga Yoshitoshi's calm calmed the morale of the army: "The Central Plains has a good saying, it is called the country breaks the mountains and rivers.

This is the land of our Yamato nation, it was and is still in the future, the blood of our generation will always be sprinkled on this land, and the loyal and brave heroic spirits will always protect and encourage the people of Yamato, and they will continue to resist the thieves for generations.

As soon as he dies today, his descendants will also drive out the enemy and thieves and recover the rivers and mountains. ”

Hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers, who had long regarded death as their home under the encouragement of Emperor Minohito, felt Ashikaga Yoshito's determination, and were not dissatisfied, not only stabilizing the defensive line, but even organizing death squads to launch a death-defying charge towards the artillery of the Ming army.

One thousand, two thousand.

Eight thousand, ten thousand!

The death squads of the Japanese army braved the artillery fire that covered the sky and the sun, held traditional long knives, and set out on the journey of charging to the death with simple armor.

"Stupid, fearless."

From the perspective of a soldier, Xue Ke still has a certain amount of respect for these trapped soldiers: "Annihilate them." ”

On the two flanks of the artillery array, two whole musket battalions set up defensive lines, and when the Japanese death squad soldiers rushed through the nearly 200 zhang artillery fire coverage area, they were greeted by a row of metal bullets.

Although the Cyborg Arquebus was not as easy to reload as the flintlock pistol, the quick firing method still allowed the Musket Battalion soldiers to shoot more than five times a minute.

Almost all of the Japanese soldiers who were trapped died in front of the musket battalion, and only a few survived.

"Kill!"

A Japanese soldier who rushed out carrying the corpse of his comrade with red eyes, raised his katana in his hand, and was about to do it, when several Mitsubishi bayonets pierced his body at the same time.

Up to the cheeks and down to the lower abdomen.

This batch, the Japanese squad, which had only 100 surviving people, was completely wiped out in the dust, and none of them were spared.

The shelling lasted for nearly an hour, and then it was the cool-down period known to the Ming army, and this time was also grasped by Ashikaga Yoshimori, who decisively issued a counteroffensive order.

He had long known from Saburo Harano's report that although the artillery of the Ming army was hugely powerful, it often only lasted for one hour and needed up to two hours of cooling to cool down the muzzle of the gun, so as not to explode.

This is an opportunity that belongs to him Ashikaga Yoshito.

"This Ashikaga Yoshitsu still has three points of courage."

When he learned of the Japanese army's movements, Xue Ke asked: "How many are there rushing into battle?" ”

"Twenty or thirty thousand."

The staff officer reported a number, and found that Xue Ke shook his head with some disappointment: "It's still prudent, then let's fight according to the conventional tactics, and don't show the back hand first." ”

The herald left, and the conventional fighting method in Xue Ke's mouth was the traditional positional battle.

In the face of the frontal charge of the Japanese army, the Ming prepared a full 200 guns, which were the so-called shotguns.

Arquebuses can be improved, and shotguns have naturally improved a lot.

Not only has the number of projectiles increased, but the gunpowder primer cauldron used to boost power has also increased by several sizes.

Two hundred guns, this is the real metal storm.

Not a single intact corpse could make it out of the covered area alive, except for the soldiers who were hiding behind their teammates.

The power of lifting the gun is significant, and the disadvantage is just as obvious, that is, there is no chance of reloading and reloading again.

Da Ming also doesn't need a second round.

Rows of oar-and-shield hands wrapped out of the wings and inserted the oar-shield into the dirt, relying on the two sharp wheels under the oar-shield to effectively penetrate into the ground and enhance the anti-collision force, and the hole behind the slot between the oar-shield and the oar-shield was filled with a rod of spears.

Looking down from the sky, the Japanese army was like a flood crest crashing into an impregnable embankment, only stirring up a blood-red wave, and then there was no room for further advancement.

Even when brave men step on the corpses of their comrades and try to jump over the shield wall, they are often shot several times in the air before they have even landed.

There were unlucky ones, who were hit head-on with a few muskets at close range, and their whole faces were smashed, and they didn't even look like a person when they landed.

There are also lucky people who survived, but before they could stand firmly, they were also in a different place.

The steelmaking level of the Ming Dynasty, even if the raw materials are slightly worse, the sharpness of the cast steel knife is not much worse than that of the Damascus knife.

It's too easy to cut the neck of a fleshy body.

20,000 people, not even a big mess, was almost completely annihilated, and for two hours they rushed back and forth, and those who could escape back were afraid that there were not even 5,000 people.

"We have more than 460 casualties in total, all of whom are in the army."

The casualty report was quickly counted, and the staff officer was amazed: "White-knuckle hand-to-hand combat, five hundred for ten thousand enemies, this, this is incredible." ”

Compared with the staff officer's amazement and joy, Xue Ke's face was grim: "What is really worth thinking about is not the tenacious will of this group of dwarves?" ”

Of the 20,000 people, more than half of whom were killed, the survivors were willing to retreat to Kyoto rather than collapse and flee.

The proportion of casualties in this kind of battle formation can reach such an army that is still unbroken, and there are few things that the Ming Dynasty before Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne can do.

"The Japanese merchants in Quanzhou have introduced the history of Japan, and during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, their daimyo battles would never have appeared in such a strong-willed army."

Xue Ke sighed with emotion: "For them, we are an invading alien race after all. ”

The domestic princes are fighting, that is, the brother wall, and the soldiers are only a few, so it has become the norm to fight and disperse.

For the Japanese army defending Kyoto at this time, the Ming army was an invading alien race.

Fleeing Kyoto, losing the war, and surviving as a slave.

With such a simple truth, it is obvious that the Japanese army in Kyoto had this awareness.

"yes, so they're going to fight to the death."

The chief of staff exhaled: "It is better to live than to die in battle than to destroy the country and the species." ”

"Kyoto can definitely be conquered, Ben Shuai has never doubted it." Xue Ke looked at Kyoto City not far in front of him, and the murderous aura in his eyes became more and more intense: "But once we enter the city, our army will inevitably fall into more brutal street battles." ”

Under the killing opportunity, the staff officer fought a cold war, and he smelled the rich and substantial blood in Xue Ke's words: "Xue Shuai, do you want to?" ”

"There are only winners and losers in wars, and there is no distinction between justice and evil, this is what Your Majesty said."

Xue Ke said coldly: "I, the Ming Dynasty, have always wanted to help the ignorant, poor and backward people in this land to join the Ming Alliance, learn civilization and progress, and achieve common prosperity, but I was rejected by the narrow-minded and selfish Emperor Chengguang and Ashikaga Yoshinori, so this just war arose."

All those who try to stop my Ming Dynasty are the real national sinners of the so-called Yamato nation, staff officer, do you say that ten years later, will the history books of this land of Japan describe everything today? ”

"Yes." The staff officer sighed: "Because if you don't write it like that, you will die." ”

"So we are the side of justice, as long as we win this battle, and everything about justice is right."

Seeing that the staff officer agreed, Xue Ke laughed, and then completely tore through all the disguises, and gave the order.

"Then, let's destroy all of Kyoto."