In the autumn of the 37th year of the Emperor's reign, Xue Ke, the commander-in-chief of Dingwei and the Marquis of Yongcheng, issued a general attack order.

The 200,000 Meilian troops left Kobe and attacked Kyoto.

On the Japanese side, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu also built several lines of defense in order to defend against Kyoto, and the first line of defense was the Kofu area.

Here, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu released nearly 40,000 people, and was confidently ready to be garrisoned for at least a month.

The second line of defense was the periphery of Kyoto, where Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's main Chinese army was stationed, with 150,000 men.

The last one was placed in Kyoto Castle, and the fortifications were built based on the buildings in the castle, with the Imperial Palace as the core.

According to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's ideas and plans, these three lines of defense would be supported by the Ming army for at least four to six months, which would give him enough time to mobilize the daimyo from all over the country to participate in the Great Patriotic War.

The artillery of the Ming army is of course extremely powerful, but if you want to say that you can blow up hundreds of thousands of troops with just a few hundred cannons, it is obviously unrealistic.

When the battle was fought later, once the logistics and military supplies of the Ming army could not keep up, at that time they still had to fight to see the truth.

At this point, both Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and Xue Ke have a number in their hearts.

The only role of artillery shells is to break down the enemy's psychological defense line, because this is a weapon that transcends the cognition of the times, has a long range, great power, and strong lethality, and it is easy to crush the enemy's military morale.

If it is said that relying on 1,800 cannons can kill hundreds of thousands of troops in heaven, the naval equipment of the Ming Union does not need to recruit hundreds of thousands of people.

And although the Japanese were a little pedantic and stubborn, they were not really all fools, and when the defense line from Osaka to Kobe was breached, the fortifications built by the Japanese army on the Kofu line began to develop underground.

Anti-artillery holes began to be born.

In addition, the criss-crossing ravines on the ground of different depths also greatly slowed down the movement ability of the Ming army's artillery array, which created great trouble for Xue Ke's breakthrough.

"It's not going to be a good fight."

The weight of a cannon requires several people to push, but because of the existence of a ravine, it is filled with water and causes mud, once the axle frame of the gun carriage is trapped, several people cannot push it, and they have to use ropes and rough wood to make beams, and they are lifted and moved by manpower.

This is not the asphalt road of Nanjing and Quanzhou, this kind of muddy road section is carried by people carrying cannons, and how many miles can they walk in a day?

By the time Xue Ke saw the defense line of Jiafu, almost six or seven days had passed.

"It's not interesting to fight, but if it's a thunderous posture all the time, it's not interesting."

The staff officer saw it through and smiled: "Anyway, don't we have two months left before the three-month battle plan formulated by the headquarters?" ”

"They don't have two months to live."

Even if he encountered a thorny problem, Xue Ke never thought about whether he would delay the battle plan of the General Staff Office, in his eyes, if he could not capture Kyoto and capture the emperor alive in three months, he would lose the face of the Ming general.

What else to talk about?

"Qing Rongma has been in the past 20 years, and seven out of 30 have destroyed the country, and when Japan is destroyed, I will have my own reward."

Before the expedition, along with the combat order of the General Staff, there was also a handwritten letter from Zhu Yunwen, a simple sentence was enough to make Xue Ke's blood churn.

The highest glory of the Ming warriors is already close to him.

"Xue Shuai, the artillery array is settled, and the preparations are complete."

A messenger soldier walked into the tent and brought this good news that made Xue Ke's heart uplifted.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xue Ke spoke decisively and gave the order to attack.

"Fire!"

The artillery battalions of the First Fleet, Second Fleet, and Third Fleet of the Ming Alliance Navy, with 800 heavy guns, roared angrily at the Japanese defense line in the distance at this moment.

Hundreds of shells poured on the Japanese positions, fortresses, and camps, and in the roar of the explosions, the masonry and stone were in the air, and the smoke and soil were filled, and the earth began to tremble, and a cry of pain was released.

Countless Japanese soldiers were blown away by the explosion, and their torsos disintegrated in the take-off, scattering patches of blood mist, organs, and stumps and severed arms.

This is the war of thermal weapons, and human life is cheaper than water.

To deprive a living life and destroy a happy family, it is enough for the gunner to fill the cannonball barrel and light the fire lightly.

It wasn't until all the shells on the base were empty that the messengers waved a ceasefire flag on the tower.

In this wave, more than 10,000 shells were fired!

"Do you want to attack?"

The staff officer asked, and saw Xue Ke shaking his head: "Rest for two hours, and then come again." ”

Xue Ke's eyesight was very good, and he could clearly see that on the defensive line of Jiafu, the artillery fire on the originally almost uncrowded position stopped, and a black pressure appeared again.

The birth of the anti-artillery hole greatly protected the survival chances of the Japanese army under the bombardment of the Ming Dynasty.

"If one round of explosion does not collapse, there will be two rounds, and then three rounds."

Xue Ke's tone was very cold: "Ben Shuai must blow them up until they collapse on their own, until our army's assault is smooth and unimpeded." ”

Putting the whole army on top now and engaging in a white-knuckle battle is not what Xue Ke thinks.

What about the 30,000 people in Jiafu, how many casualties does the Minglian have to pay to capture it?

If you fight a Jiafu, you have to pay thousands of lives, and Xue Keshi doesn't know how to return this battle report to Nanjing.

Xue Ke's will was well implemented, and after two hours of cooling, the three artillery battalions roared again.

"General!"

On the defensive line of Kofu, a Japanese general touched the rear command and anxiously told everything that happened on the front line: "The artillery fire of the Ming army is too fierce, and the people of the great god of Rizhao have already paid thousands of casualties before they see the face of the Ming thief, hundreds of anti-artillery holes have been blown down, and many sons have been buried alive, you can give me an idea." ”

Zhen Qiying sat in the first seat, silently wiping a brand-new shiny Tang knife, which was the heirloom treasure of their Zhen Qi family, a good knife that flowed into Japan from the late Tang Dynasty and was given by the emperor.

"There is no way, His Majesty the Emperor's high hopes are pinned on this, His Excellency Ashikaga's order hangs on the top, Kofu must be held for a month, and it is only the eighth day, the first day of the official war.

If you can't keep it, Ben will be seppuku and thank the emperor for his kindness, Harano-kun, you can be the wrong person for Ben general. ”

Zhen Qiying was ready to die in Kofu, and when the commanders of an army were not afraid of death, this resolute emotion could infect the people around him.

Every mid-level officer has this bravery.

"The glory of the samurai family must not be desecrated, we can die in battle, we can cut our stomachs, and we must not surrender and flee."

As he spoke, Shin Ki Ying raised his head and looked at Saburo Harano in front of him: "Go, fight bravely, we are the first line of defense to defend Kyoto, this great patriotic war will definitely end with our Japan winning the final victory, long live the holy war, long live the emperor!" ”

Harano Saburo looked at Zhen Qiying in a daze, and only after a long time did he puff up his chest and answer loudly.

"Hey! Long live the Holy War! Long live the Emperor!! ”