The Japanese army attacked Jinju four times, and the allied forces retreated from the enemy in a bloody battle

In order to seize Jeolla Province in Korea as soon as possible, the Japanese army had to occupy Jinju Fortress, the gateway of Jeolla Province, and if they wanted to occupy Jinju, they had to attack Changwon first, so General Ukita Hideya issued an order for the Seventh Army and the Ninth Army to march together to attack Changwon and then occupy Jinju. As a result, the Ninth Army's Asano Nagashi ordered Hosokawa Tadashi and the Seventh Army's Nagagawa Shuichi and Toyotomi Shigetsu Shigemura to lead a total of nearly 20,000 troops to gather in Busan.

The 20,000 Japanese troops took a temporary break in Busan, repairing swords, armor and guns, practicing skills, lighting fires and cooking, and samurai generals also practiced qi on the side. Hosokawa Tadashi, Hasegawa Shuichi, and Kimura Shigezi met, and after each saluted, they sat on one side, and Hosokawa Tadashi said: "Since Yi Sunsin was repulsed in Busan, the ports around the country are also implementing land and sea defense, so it is difficult for Yi Sunsin to make a difference, the material supply is continuous, and now Busan is refreshed, it is really unforgettable, but unfortunately it will be headed for Jinju soon, is there any report from Jinju?" ”

Hasegawa Shuichi has been sending secret agents back and forth to investigate since receiving the military order to attack Jinju, Hasegawa Shuichi said: "Before going to Jinju, we must first capture Changwon, Changwon has about 2,000 defenders, and the defender will be Liu Chongren, who is a veteran, but most of the Korean generals are incompetent, and Changwon is short and easy to attack. And the Jinju defender is Liu Chongren's subordinate Kim Shimin, I heard that this person has some talent, the Jinju garrison is unknown, in addition to the official army, there are still many rebels, according to the investigation of about 7,000 people, when our army attacked Jinju, whether the rest of the rebel army in Gyeongsang Province reinforced also added a lot of variables to this battle. ”

Kimura Shigeji, who is more concerned about the Korean rebels, also said: "I have also heard that there are rebels surging in various parts of Korea, and there are even monks and soldiers, they are very strong in combat, especially in Gyeongsang Province, and His Royal Highness Taiko and His Highness Guan Bai are very concerned, is this so?" ”

Shuichi Hasegawa replied: "That's right, although the Korean rebels have broken armor and have not trained hard, their fighting spirit is far more determined than that of the Korean officers and soldiers, and now they no longer defend the city much, and they are not used to sneak attacks, although they have cleared and uprooted many strongholds, they are still a very troublesome group of people. There is a person named Kwak Jae-woo, the leader of the rebel army in Gyeongsang-do, who has hindered the activities of our army in Gyeongsang-do, and Lord Mori Terumoto and Kuroda Kanbei have personally presided over the encirclement and suppression, although it has been effective, it has always been difficult to exterminate, this attack on Jinju is presumably this person will also appear, and I am also trying to take this opportunity to annihilate Kwak Zaiyou's troops in one fell swoop, and Gyeongsang-do will also be much more stable. ”

Hosokawa Tadashi said with a smile: "The Korean official army and the righteous army are not lucky for a while, and the gap in strength is still difficult to make up. However, I was also curious about their combat strength, and I heard that Kobayakawa Takakei-sama's sixth team would win every battle, but it would be difficult for them to enter Jeolla Province, and this attack on Jinju was crucial to whether or not Jeolla Province could be captured, and it was also very important for us. ”

Kimura Shigeji was already hungry and thirsty for joining the war as soon as possible, so he immediately proposed: "This time, I will bring 3,500 people to help, and His Royal Highness Sekibai has also told me not to lose the face of the Toyotomi family, I am willing to be the vanguard in this battle, and I will capture Changwon first with you, since Hasegawa has basically explored the situation, it is better for us to leave immediately." ”

Hasegawa Shuichi persuaded: "Lord Kimura doesn't have to be like this, you are a close minister of His Royal Highness Guan Bai, how can you be in danger if you are a retainer of the Toyotomi clan, even if His Royal Highness Guan Bai wants you to establish meritorious deeds again, you are not in a hurry, Changwon Xiaocheng is not enough to worry about in an instant, and our merit is still in the battle of Jinju, and that is the moment of meritorious service for Lord Kimura." ”

Hosokawa Chungheung also echoed: "Yes, yes, it is easy to conquer Changwon, and it is a great achievement to conquer Jinju, and then we will drive straight into and capture the entire territory of Jeolla Province, and then destroy the Korean rebels in Gyeongsang Province and Jeolla Province, you and I will all receive supreme glory, Jeolla Province was originally the jurisdiction of the 6th team, and now the 6th team has gone north, Jeolla Province will be all owned by us, and the occupation of Jeolla Province will also be abundant." After hearing this, Kimura Shigetsu gave up, and then ordered someone to bring food and drink to Hosokawa Tadashi and Hasegawa Shuichi to make a pre-congratulations.

Jinju is known as a fortress like Pyongyang in Korea, but in the eyes of the Japanese army, the Korean soldiers are cowardly and incompetent, even if they are stationed in Jianseong, it is not worth mentioning to the Japanese army, and Jinju is the gateway to Jeolla Province, which has the role of promoting the seizure of grain production areas, ensuring supplies, and many other plans for the Japanese army, such as the defense of the mainland and the sea, so the Seventh Army and the Ninth Army only combined 20,000 troops with the intention of conquering it with strong military strength in one fell swoop.

In Changwon, the right soldiers of Gyeongsang-do made Yoo Chong-in feel uneasy when he heard that there seemed to be a large number of Japanese troops, and ordered the Changwon garrison to strengthen their defenses day and night. On September 23, the Japanese army of 20,000 people had been killed under the city of Changwon, Liu Chongren ordered the officers and the rebels to block together, but the bows and arrows of the North Korea were blocked by the Japanese wooden fence shield wall, the Japanese army took the opportunity to fire iron cannons, the city wall of Changwon was gradually suppressed by the Japanese firepower, Hosokawa Tadashiko saw that the Korean attack had been suppressed, so he ordered the front team of iron artillery to cover, and gradually moved to the city gate, forcing the Japanese army and the North Korean army to attack and defend under the wall, the Changwon city gate was broken in the stalemate, and the Japanese army poured into Changwon to attack the Korean army and civilians, and the Korean officers and rebels fought desperately, Relying on the streets and alleys and houses in the city to resist, but not as well trained and coordinated as the Japanese army, and the strength of the single force soon lost more than half, all the rebels who participated in the battle were killed, Liu Chongren led the remnants of the army of more than 500 people to retreat, and the Japanese army captured Changwon City.

Liu Chongren retreated all the way to Jinju and ran to the city of Jinju to open the door, but Jin Shimin, the guard general of Jinzhou, couldn't help but worry in his heart: "I have been preparing for Jinju for a long time, and although it is a matter of duty for Liu Chongren's defeated army to include him, as a senior official, it will inevitably cause confusion in command. So Kim Si-min ordered that Yoo Chong-in's troops should be forbidden to enter Jinju.

When Liu Chongren saw that Jinju was delaying opening the city gate, he was surprised in his heart, so he shouted to the city gate: "I am the right soldier of Gyeongsang Province, Liu Chongren, why don't you open the city gate?" The Japanese army has captured Changwon and is about to approach Jinju, could it be that the military and civilians of Jinju have become Shun and Wei? The soldiers at the city gate replied: "Your Excellency, we have received a military order that in order to prevent the infiltration of Japanese pirates, all soldiers and civilians are strictly forbidden to enter and leave Jinju, and please move to another place." ”

Liu Chongren was furious when he heard this: "Bastard! As the right soldier of Gyeongsang Province, my military orders must be obeyed, and those who violate the orders should be beheaded immediately and open the city gates immediately, otherwise they will be punished for the crime of rebellion! The answer to the city gate is still the same, insisting on not opening the gate of Jinzhou, Liu Chongren was furious: "When the national disaster is over, we should work together, and the army and the people should work together, how can you hold Jinju if you openly violate the military order?" Where is Jin Shimin, tell him to come out and see me immediately! ”

The city gate replied that Jin Shimin was busy with official business and could not see each other, Liu Chongren repeatedly scolded to no avail, and was full of resentment, so he led the department to turn the horse's head and counterattack to recapture Changwon, the Japanese army saw that the Korean defeated soldiers returned to fight again, they were very surprised and immediately turned to the defense, the Japanese iron artillery was all over the city, the Korean army was difficult to approach, and the casualties gradually increased, Kimura Shigezi saw that the opportunity was coming and led the headquarters of 3,000 people out of the city to break the enemy, the Korean army was annihilated, Liu Chongren was shot and fell to the ground and was stabbed to death by Kimura Shigezi. Shuichi Hasegawa ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up, overtaking the undead of Yoo Chong-in and sending a small force to probe Jinju intelligence.

Shi Jin Shimin had been preparing in Jinju for a long time, hoarding grain and grass, expanding the number of soldiers, rushing to make equipment and stones and wood to defend the city, arranging artillery to introduce flying thunder, strengthening the training of defenders in defending the city, archery, hand-to-hand combat, etc., and sending people to contact the rebels from all walks of life to join the Jinju city defense. According to the information provided by Kim Chung-sun on the structure of the Japanese arquebus, Kim Shimin recruited skilled craftsmen to step up imitation, and has successfully imitated more than 170 arquebuses and prepared more than 500 catties of saltpeter. After studying the use of arquebuses, Kim Shimin selected elite soldiers to distribute guns, and trained them to shoot until late at night.

Li Guangruo, the county supervisor of Kunyang County, asked Jin Shimin: "Why do you want half of the people in the city to change into military uniforms?" Jin Shimin replied: "Our army has a total of only 3,800 soldiers, although it has long been strictly ordered that no one is allowed to enter and leave Jinju at will, but it is difficult to ensure that the Japanese spies will not sneak into the city, so I will bluff just in case, and the people hate the Japanese invaders, and they have long intended to join the army. I have ordered the Gyeongsang-do army and the Jeolla do-righteous army to lay in a covert ambush within 10 miles outside the city, and attack the enemy's flank on the second and third days respectively. I hope that this battle can keep Jinju safe. ”

Later, Jin Shimin asked Li Guangruo about the training of the soldiers today, and after Li Guangruo answered them one by one, Jin Shimin said: "Jinju is based on the river in the south, there are cliffs in the west, and there is a moat in the north, and the terrain is favorable to me, but the Japanese soldiers are strong and strong, and it is really difficult to hold Jinju if you don't rely on the unity of the army and the people." Even so, you must do your best and spare your life, otherwise Jeolla Province and all the people will face a catastrophe! ”

On the afternoon of October 3, Kim Shimin received a report that the Japanese army should attack Jinju tomorrow, and Kim Shimin urgently ordered the whole army to fight, set up and inspect the defense facilities, and contacted the leaders of the rebel army to act according to the plan. The officers in the city called on the people to defend Jinju, and the people were deeply encouraged and vowed to live and die with Jinju.

On October 4, the front of the Japanese army arrived in Jinju, outside the city of Jinzhou, Jin Shimin had ordered people to be covered in military uniforms and bow and arrow posture among the many horse rejection formations, these scarecrows were very meticulously made, and it was difficult to distinguish the real from the fake, and the front of the Japanese army looked at the enemy outside Jinju City from a distance, so they immediately shot on the spot and advanced slowly. Seeing this, Jin Shimin also made his soldiers shout and cheer, firing artillery to help, the Japanese army was confused by the momentum of the DPRK for a while, the iron cannon fire continued but the progress was very slow, and after a while, the Korean army outside Jinju City was still standing, the Japanese army was surprised, and approached again only to realize that the straw men were gathered.

The Japanese army was furious and immediately attacked the city, Jinju City arrows rained down, Jin Shimin will be more than 170 elite soldiers holding arquebuses to imitate the Japanese army queue relying on the city wall three sections of the shooting cycle continuously, next to the 30 artillery guns fired flying thunder blasting scattered pieces to injure the Japanese army, the Japanese army was suddenly shot by the arquebus, the heart was stunned, coupled with the flying attack and thunder disrupted the Japanese ranks, the two armies each according to the cover for a long time, the Japanese army lost the opportunity and suffered heavy casualties, in the base camp Hasegawa Shuichi, Hosokawa Tadashi, When Kimura and the three heard that the North Koreans possessed a large number of arquebuses and new artillery, they ordered the front to withdraw and stop the attack and wait for the order.

The next day, the Japanese army concentrated 10,000 troops to attack Jinju again, a large number of Japanese troops pushed defensive facilities to avoid Korean fire as much as possible, the Japanese army in the central part organized a full range of iron artillery firing cycles, and the Korean firepower formed a stalemate, when the Japanese army approached Jinju nearly 200 steps, the main force of the Japanese army risked death to assault, under the cover of the Japanese iron cannon to build a ladder to climb the city tower, the Korean army threw stones nearby, held axes and saw ladders to block the Japanese troops who climbed the city tower, and continued to shoot with bows and arrows, artillery and arquebuses, in order to hold the city gate without losing, Kim Shimin even deliberately emphasized giving priority to shooting and killing the Japanese soldiers carrying baked jade, and the people in the city also undertook the affairs of transporting weapons and ammunition and treating the wounded.

The number of Japanese soldiers was superior and finally a large number of people climbed the city tower and fought with the Korean army, Jin Shimin ordered the arquebusiers to retreat to the city, called on the army and the people to attack and defend Jinzhou, thousands of people wore military uniforms and cooperated with the officers and soldiers in the Jinju city tower to start a bloody battle with the Japanese army, the battle was almost dusk, the Japanese army climbed one after another, Guo Zaiyou led the 1,200 people of the Gyeongsang Daoyi Army to detour behind the Japanese army to launch a surprise attack, the Japanese army was attacked from both sides, panicked, and withdrew from Jinju to counterattack Guo Zaiyou's department, Guo Zaiyou saw this and led the army to escape into the mountains without entanglement with the Japanese army, and the Japanese army did not love to fight, Evacuated to the camp to avoid further ambushes.

Seeing that the Japanese army did not obey the military order and retreated on their own and suffered 2,000 casualties, Hosokawa Tadashi ordered the leader of the team to commit suicide by disembowelment. Kimura Shigezi suggested: "It can be seen that Jinju City has been prepared for a long time, far from being comparable to the Battle of Changwon, we can no longer wait for news in the base camp, we should go to the battlefield to command the battle in person, I am willing to personally lead the front team to take the city gate and cut off the head of Kim Simin." Hasegawa Shuichi said: "Don't be reckless, the North Korean army has iron cannons, which is very dangerous. This iron cannon structure can be made in North Korea, it should be done by Kato Kiyomasa's subordinate Okamoto Echigo Mamoru after he surrendered to North Korea, and this villain is so hard-working. Hosokawa Tadashi still didn't care about this: "Even if North Korea has iron cannons, but after all, the usage is not as skilled as our army, and the number is small, but as Kimura said, Jinju has already been prepared, and tomorrow you and I will go out into battle and will definitely capture Jinju City!" ”

On 6 October, Hosokawa Tadashi, Hasegawa Shuichi, and Kimura Shigezi personally led the Japanese army to attack Jinju City in batches, and the battle situation was basically the same as the day before, the firepower of both sides was fully opened, the battlefield dust and smoke were billowing out, and the smoke of gunpowder did not disperse, but the Japanese army under the command of the three main generals made timely adjustments to the direction of attack and firepower distribution according to the battle situation, and the Japanese army was outnumbered, well-armoured, well-trained, and there were countless people who climbed the castle tower, and they successfully used baked jade to blow up the city gate, and the Japanese army once attacked Jinju City, and the large iron artillery team followed up. Kim Si-min led the army to fight desperately, killing many enemies, the people in the city, whether old or young, women and children, all rose up to resist, the Japanese army fell into a stalemate, outside the city of Jinju under the order of Hasegawa Shuichi, the Japanese follow-up troops also followed up one after another, suddenly saw an ambush on all sides, there were more than 1,000 people of the Gyeongsang Daoyi Army to which Guo Zaiyou belonged and more than 2,500 people of the Jeolla Daoist Army led by Choi Kyunghui and Ren Qiying to kill the Japanese army from all directions. The rebels arrived suddenly, covering the mountains and fields, and in the panic it was difficult to discern the number of troops for a while, so they ordered the withdrawal of the army.

Late that night, Hosokawa Tadashi, Hasegawa Shuichi, and Kimura Shigeji were discussing in the camp, and Hosokawa Tadashi said: "I really didn't expect Jinju City to be so difficult to attack, and the people in the city are like crazy. However, Hasegawa Shuichi was deeply worried about this battle: "The armies have never encountered such a sacrifice of resistance before, and Jinju has a firm belief in fighting, and the belief will turn into a strong force, and I am worried that our army will pay huge casualties in this battle." ”

Kimura Shigeji advised: "Don't be so worried, our army also has a firm faith, and a bloody battle will test the strength of the faith, and I don't know how long the North Korea's faith can last, and it should be clear if we attack again tomorrow." "Just as he was talking, the rebels suddenly attacked the Japanese base camp at night, the Japanese army was on guard at all levels, and the fierce battle lasted for half an hour to finally repel the rebels, the night was dark, the rebels retreated too quickly, and it was difficult for the Japanese army to continue to search. For the next three days, the Japanese army suspended its attack on Jinju and rested at the base camp while clearing and expelling the rebels.

In the early morning of October 10th, the Japanese army attacked Jinzhou again, this time the rebels have gathered in the city of Jinju and the remaining officers and soldiers and all the people of Jinju to defend the city and the Japanese army to fight and kill, the red-clothed general Guo Zaiyou slashed back and forth in the Japanese army, the blood is more murderous, the rebels from all walks of life are more meaningless, the people in the city even if they are weak women are crazy to bite and kill, the Japanese army is not to be outdone under the bloody battle of the whole people, both sides are doing their best, during which Jin Shimin unfortunately hit several bullets, although not fatal for the time being, but also unable to fight again to be rescued by his subordinates, Although there is no commander-in-chief for the time being, the fighting situation is extremely fierce, and all the soldiers and civilians have no time to obey orders.

After half a day of the battle, the Japanese army still did not capture Jinju Castle, and Hosokawa Tadashi and other Japanese generals watched the battle for a long time, and when they saw the battle situation, they asked Hasegawa Shuichi how to decide? Shuichi Hasegawa said, "It was not surprising that Jinju had iron cannons and artillery of such power, but it was amazing that Jinju was in a state of death for all people. Now if our army is in a quagmire, although our army has sufficient strength, even if we fight to the end, we can take Jinju, but the casualties must be huge and it will be difficult to hold on, and the 20,000 troops cannot suffer such huge casualties because of the first battle of Jinju, which will affect the situation in the entire south. In this way, it seems that Jinju City is not easy to break, so it is better to withdraw and return to Changwon to plan a military plan. If His Highness Taiko is here to choose the strategy with the fewest casualties to win, we should think about it in the long run. ”

At the suggestion of Shuichi Hasegawa, the Japanese army withdrew from Jinju and returned to Changwon. After that, the Japanese Seventh Army and the Ninth Army were in the face of the rebel attacks and harassment during the garrison of Gyeongsang-do, although there was no major problem in defending the city and escorting supplies, but it was difficult to launch attacks elsewhere. Seeing the retreat of the Japanese army, the soldiers and civilians of Jinju hugged each other and cried, and the Jinju garrison general Kim Si-min died a few days later due to excessive blood loss and poor treatment.