The Japanese army attacked Jinju for the second time, and besieged Gyeongnam on the ninth day

In June, due to excessive destruction in various provinces of Korea, the people were not able to make a living, wars were frequent, and plagues were prevalent, so the Japanese army division Kuroda officers and soldiers were ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to go to Korea again, and the famous Japanese general Date Masamune also led 3,000 troops to Korea to support. Ukita Hideya and Ishida Mitsunari were relieved to hear that Kuroda Kanbei had re-entered the court, and Date Masamune had also rushed to support. As a result, Ukita Hideie, Ishida Mitsunari, and Masuda Nagamori first visited Higashirai Castle, where Kankanbei was staying, to discuss future countermeasures.

At this time, Kuroda Kanbei was chatting with Asano Nagamasa playing chess, and when he heard the next person tell him that Ukita Hideya and others were coming to visit, he asked the three of them to wait in the other room first. Asano Nagamasa asked, "Why don't the ministers meet at once?" The officers and soldiers were reluctant to answer, and under Asano's careful questioning, the officers and soldiers said frankly: "Ishida Mitsunari is unfair, and he will repay him, belittle the generals, distort the battle situation, slander the daimyo, exaggerate the military exploits of those close to him, and apportion high military expenses to the world's daimyo, Masuda Nagamori also tends to be inflammatory, and the Ukita Hideya family is mediocre and incompetent, what is the use of seeing it?" It's better to be played again and let me go back early. ”

Asano Nagamasa strongly advised: "His Royal Highness Taiko ordered you to come again to overcome the predicament, how can you leave in a bad mood?" The officers and soldiers were lazy, and replied with a long sigh: "Didn't you say that peace is being negotiated, and you can just be stationed and guarded during this period." In the past, there were many discords between the generals, but Otani Yoshitsugu also came forward to coordinate and agree that the generals would vow to work together and decide together on large and small affairs, which should play a role in easing the contradictions, and then concentrate more than half of the troops to the west to conquer Jinju. This is also the wish of His Royal Highness Taiko. ”

Asano Nagamasa was puzzled by the need to mobilize half of his troops to capture Jinju, so he asked, "Why is it that only one Jinju city is so prosperous?" Kan Guan Wei replied: "Jinju is a matter of war and the shame of the previous defeat, and our army now has sufficient troops, and it is enough to attack it by force, not only for the sake of speeding up Jinju, but also for the sake of immediately occupying Jeolla Province." In front of the army, they only faced some resistance from Korea, and the Ming army did not dare to act rashly, and at this time the troops would definitely win. Moreover, the one-eyed dragon Masamune also came to North Korea, this guy who has been known as the Burning Sky Pill since he was a child, he will definitely go all out when he first arrives in North Korea, and with Masamune's help, it will be easy to capture Jeolla. As for calming the people's anger and curing the plague, do I need to teach them one by one? It's enough to have you here, and Ishida Mitsunari will also take matters into his own hands. So I just want to go back and wait for your triumph. ”

Asano Nagamasa was worried that Kuroda Kanwei would be questioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi if he went back like this, and Kanbei smiled: "His Royal Highness Taiko and I have known each other for a long time, and when I go back, I will shave my hair and beg for forgiveness to keep my family inheritance, so you don't have to worry about me." Asano Nagamasa said no more and continued to play chess with Kanbei. And Ishida Mitsunari and the others have been waiting in the other room for a long time, but they have not seen Kuroda officers and guards come out to meet each other, and only listen to the sound of Go falling pieces. The three of them left Donglai in a rage, and also had a grudge with the official guard. Ishida Mitsunari immediately asked Toyotomi Hideyoshi to participate in the Kankanwei.

The samurai led by Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori in the Japanese base camp all asked for war, and Ukita Hideya signaled and said quietly: "Attacking Jinju again is a military strategy that has been set from the beginning, you gentlemen, we just need to determine whether the Ming army will assist Korea in the process of occupying Jeolla Province?" ”

Konishi Yukicho replied, "Messengers are being sent right now, and I don't think the Ming army will respond to any action we make in Jeolla Province right now." Just in case, just take a little precautions. We are dealing with nothing more than the North Korean army. Kato Kiyomasa said with a smile: "Konishi, I don't think you should participate in the siege war anymore, you fought hard last time you attacked Xingzhou, and even the North Korean army can't win, so don't be embarrassed here." ”

Ukita Hideya was displeased when he heard this: "Kato, you'd better not talk more, Konishi is not only involved in the first battle of Koshu, if you don't want to be killed on the spot by all the gentlemen here, keep silent." Seeing this, Kato Kiyomasa had to shut up first, and Kobayakawa Takakei immediately proposed: "In order to ensure that Jeolla Province is taken, I suggest that 100,000 troops be dispatched, which is enough to deal with all the battle situations." ”

Kuroda Nagamasa was surprised: "Just to conquer Jinju and capture one, and there is only the Korean army, is it a big fuss to mobilize 100,000?" Seeing this, Kobayakawa Takakei patiently replied: "Since the last Jinju and Xingju wars, it can be seen that the Korean military and civilians are fighting with high morale, and they are not afraid of death, which makes me admire." Moreover, there are many precipitous in Jeolla Province, most of the Korean officers and rebels are gathered here, and the Ming army must always be on guard and not take it lightly, it is no longer the situation where we have just landed in Korea, we can no longer underestimate the combat power of North Korea, and we need to concentrate the army to annihilate it in one fell swoop! ”

After hearing this, Kuroda Nagamasa immediately agreed: "In this way, what Kobayakawa-sama said is very true, and my father also mentioned it, and I heard that Kato's military middle school is developing a tortoiseshell chariot for breaking the city, and I don't know if I can catch up." Kato Kiyomasa said yes, it will take time for the tortoiseshell car.

Shimazu Yoshihiro asked for battle, Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori also invited, Date Masamune was not far behind, and immediately asked for battle: "It is also an honor for me to be able to catch up with this battle when I first arrived in Korea, and His Royal Highness Taiko has also told me many times to set an example, and I am willing to be a pioneer in this battle." Ukita Hideya said: "Everyone is a pioneer in this battle, from the first team to the ninth team, each of them will be reorganized, and you will prepare separately and wait for the military order. ”

In addition to Xu Yuanli, the envoy of the Jinju government, there were 300 righteous envoys led by Kim Qian-kyo, 500 troops led by Choi Qinghui, the right soldier of Gyeongsang Province, 700 troops led by Huang Jin, 700 troops led by Chungcheong-do military envoy, 300 troops led by Zhang Run, deputy envoy Zhang Run, and 400 troops led by Gao Conghou, the son of Gao Jingming of the righteous army, plus reinforcements from Kwon Li, Li Xu, and Li Zongren, the envoy of Gimhae Prefecture, the strength of the army has reached more than 8,000.

On June 15, the Japanese army marched from Busan to Jinju with 93,000 troops, broke through Xian'an on the 16th, and broke through Yining on the 18th. Along the way, the people also fled all the way west and retreated to Jinju for refuge. On June 21, the Japanese army began to encircle Jinju.

At the same time, Liu Chenglong once again begged Song Yingchang, the commander of the Ming Dynasty, to send troops to rescue, but Song Yingchang politely refused: "I have received the emperor's order, and the whole army must not be transferred until the will to deal with the Japanese invaders and ask for surrender comes out." As a courtier, I can't resist the order, and I am powerless to help Jinju. ”

Liu Chenglong was very puzzled: "Where did the matter of the Japanese Kou please surrender come from?" Why don't we know? Song Yingchang saw that North Korea did not know, and knew that Shen Weijing had not communicated with North Korea, and it was doubtful and inconvenient to study it in detail, so he replied: "North Korea doesn't know about this?" Before the reconquest of Hanyang, this matter was immediately reported to the imperial court for a ruling after receiving a letter of surrender from the Japanese invaders, and now it has received an order that it should not be stationed temporarily and not to start a war. ”

Liu Chenglong was angry: "That said, the Ming army knew about this matter but did not discuss it with North Korea at all, and the recovery of Hanyang was a deal with the Japanese and prevented the North Korean from pursuing, and now it doesn't care about the war in North Korea!" Look, my lord, where do the current Japanese invaders look like they are surrendering! Please give me an explanation! Otherwise, North Korea will never give up! ”

Song Yingchang said: "Liu Chenglong, pay attention to your words. The reason why the Japanese withdrew from Hanyang was because our army had won successive battles, and it was difficult for the Japanese to support them, so they passed on their wish to surrender before withdrawing from Hanyang. Such major matters need to be reported to the imperial court, and they are not allowed to pursue because it is useless to pursue them. Nothing to do with the transaction. Liu Chenglong asked again: "Didn't I suggest to your lord that after the pursuit, the soldiers of all provinces of Korea will be able to be uniformly dispatched by the imperial court, and cooperate with the Ming army to encircle and annihilate the enemy, and they can win a complete victory!" ”

Song Yingchang replied: "With all due respect, I have no trust in the combat strength of the North Korean army, and I don't want the North Korean army to be severely damaged by the Japanese army again, so I am not allowed to pursue it. I also have doubts about the surrender of the Japanese invaders, so I am the main battle, and I am also in the middle of the war. Now there is a decree that our whole army will be garrisoned only for the time being. In addition, I heard that the Japanese sent nearly 100,000 troops this time, and the disparity in strength was huge, even if I did not have a will, I would not want to fight this battle, and it would be useless to damage my vitality and the situation of the war. I advise you to abandon Jinju and retreat, the fall of Jinju is inevitable. ”

Liu Chenglong refused to give up, and then persuaded Song Yingchang to send suspicious soldiers, and under Liu Chenglong's hard work, Song Yingchang agreed to arrange suspicious soldiers to confuse the Japanese army. Among the North Korean generals, there are also those who are deeply worried about Jinju, such as Guo Zaeyou and Kim Myeongwon, who are so likely to abandon Jinju if they are unable to fight. However, it was difficult for the Korean court to mobilize a large army to rescue for a while.

The Japanese army's commander-in-chief, Ukita Hideie, summoned the generals to set up a formation, and Ukita Hideya led Date Masamune, Ishida Mitsunari, Otani Yoshitsugu and others to lead 18,800 troops to the east of the city; Kato Kiyomasa led Kuroda Nagamasa, Shimazu Yoshihiro, and Nabeshima Naoshige to lead 25,600 troops to Putrajaya; Governor Konishi led Hosokawa Tadahei and Zong Yoshitomo to lead 26,100 troops to Putrajaya; ordered Kobayakawa Takakei and Tachibana Muneshige to lead 8,700 troops to the northwest to keep an eye on the movements of Namwon and Chungju; ordered Mori Hidemoto to lead 13,600 troops to the northeast to guard against the Ming army in Sangju and Shanshan and other places to come to help; He also ordered Yoshikawa Hiroshi to lead a team to respond in Jiangnan.

The Japanese general Hosokawa Tadaheung was still fresh in his memory because he personally participated in the first siege of Jinju, and he couldn't help but be worried: "During the previous Jinju battle, all the Korean people also helped in the battle, so that the siege was very difficult, and I heard that the people who poured into Jinju all the way have reached 60,000, if they also help defend the city, then we really don't know when to attack?" ”

Kato Kiyomasa was dissatisfied with Hosokawa Tadashi's cowardice, and immediately reproached: "The reason why Jinju failed to capture the city last time was not how many people defended the city, but because you were incompetent in attacking the city. No matter how many people there are in Jinju, weapons are limited. With the city walls, it can still make a difference, and after the city is broken, there is only the life of being slaughtered. The last battle of Jinju was lost because you were too indecisive, and I really feel ashamed for you. ”

Date Masamune also did not want to be defeated when he first arrived in Korea, so he instructed the generals with his honorable position: "The Date family is here to set an example, and secondly, to be ordered by His Highness Taiko to come here to supervise the war." In view of the previous experience, the siege of the city will inevitably take a lot of time, and many of our troops will not be able to fully unfold it. But please remember that this trip is only for the capture of Jinju. If you don't do your best, please apologize after the war. His Royal Highness Taige also doesn't want to see cowardly people anymore. Samurai can only win the reward and die on the battlefield, and unless they plan in advance, they must not be defeated and flee again. Ukita Hideya agreed, and ordered the siege to be laid down today, and the siege began the next day. The Japanese army was deployed outside Jinju City, and the Japanese army on all sides was like a vast sea, and the momentum was overwhelming.

The Korean generals saw that the Japanese army outside the city had blocked the water in the siege of Jinju, and gathered to discuss. Cui Qinghui, the right soldier of Gyeongsang-do, said: "The Japanese are amazingly strong, even if they fight to the end of Jinju, they may not be able to protect it, and now they have led the Namgang River to widen the moat, which can be held for a while." Armament, food, and grass have been exhausted, but it is still insufficient, and tens of thousands of people need to take care of it every day. After the siege of the city tomorrow, everyone can only adapt to their own positions. ”

Jin Qiankui, the advocate of righteousness, asked: "Nowadays, everyone is the same enemy, and tens of thousands of people can also be volunteers, so the comparison is not much worse than him, Jinju can defend once and can defend the second time, but if he can't do it, he will die for the country and fight with the Japanese until the last moment." It's just that there are too many Japanese invaders, after all, after a long war, will the Ming army and the imperial court come to the rescue? ”

Li Zongren, the envoy of the Gimhae Prefecture, replied: "As far as I know, the imperial court has not been back to Wangjing for a long time, and the remaining troops of each province have not been counted so far, except for the army guarding Wangjing, we are the only ones in Jinju now." There are also Quan Li and Li Sui who are still in the Nanyuan area, and the defeated side retreats, and they should not be able to support for a while. Moreover, I heard that many generals in the imperial court thought that Jinju would inevitably fall this time and opposed the rescue. Lord Liu Chenglong went to ask the Ming army for help, but I don't know if the Ming army will come? ”

Huang Jin, the envoy of Chungcheong Province, proposed: "The Japanese have come to the city, and it is best if the reinforcements can come, if they can't come, we can only rely on ourselves, but we still need to inform the army and the people that the reinforcements are coming, so as not to slack morale in the future." As long as the walls of Jinju remain, Jinju will never fall. As long as it lasts a few days, reinforcements should arrive. When defending the city, pay more attention to the strange armor, the armor of the Japanese generals is different, if you can kill them every time, you will be able to effectively force back the Japanese and reduce our casualties. ”

Gao Conghou, the leader of the volunteers, stood up and swore: "My father and brother died at the hands of the Japanese army, and I am also determined to avenge my father and brother by leading the volunteers today. The volunteers I led were also from my father's and brother's old department, and this time they defended Jinju without retreating an inch and never dying. "The generals swear to defend Jinju!

On the second day of the siege, the first Japanese army began to attack the city, only to see that the North Korea had already poured the water of the Namjiang River into the moat, which was about more than a foot wide, and it was difficult to enter lightly. Xiujia ordered the Japanese army to dig a dam to divert the river. Then the Japanese army filled the moat with a pile of soil and straw, and approached the Jinju city wall with a bamboo shield, the Korean army's bow and crossbow were useless, and the Japanese army dug a tunnel in the corner of the city under the cover of the bamboo shield, but the technique was inferior, and the corner of the wall was dug to collapse and crush the tunnel, Li Zongren ordered the Korean army to take the opportunity to pour hot oil and fuel it with fire arrows, the fire outside the city was raging, and the Japanese army retreated.

After a while, the second batch of Japanese troops began to storm Dengcheng, the Korean army resisted desperately, the two armies fought for three days, the Japanese army attacked the city no less than ten times, the Korean army was physically and mentally exhausted, Jin Qiankui led a team to prepare military rations day and night, and delivered them one by one to boost morale, and the dead bodies were everywhere outside the city. Later, Kuroda Nagamasa offered a plan: "You can build a number of high fortresses in the east of the city, and break into the city condescendingly to avoid the bloody battle of climbing the city." ”

Ishida Mitsunari wonders if it's useful? Kuroda Nagamasa said: "Such a bloody battle is not the best policy, just to reduce the casualties of our army as much as possible, so if it is not possible to make another plan, and Kato Kiyomasa's masterpiece tortoiseshell car is about to be perfected, if our army still cannot break through Jinju within two days, I will ask Kato to put this car into battle." Ukita Hideya agreed.

On the fifth day, the Japanese army built a high fortress in the east of the city and prepared to jump into the city by the height, and the Korean soldiers and civilians also built a fortress relatively and continued to bombard the top of the fortress with artillery, and the Japanese army had to give up. On the sixth day, the arrows and stones in Jinju City were about to run out, and Jin Qiankui, Cui Qinghui, Gao Conghou, Li Zongren, Huang Jin and others led the soldiers and civilians to continue to tear and kill the Japanese army, and the two armies fought fiercely until the next day.

On the seventh day, Kato Kiyomasa ordered the Japanese army to put ten newly built tortoiseshell cars into battle, this tortoiseshell car was inspired by the Korean tortoiseshell ship, Kato Kiyomasa was covered with several layers of thick plates on the siege car, the overall strength was strong and durable, the structure was exquisite, and the polishing was fine, and the bow and crossbow could be used to storm the city gate and city wall, and the Japanese army could also use this to help climb the city, but it was clumsy and slow. Cui Qing saw that the tortoiseshell car was all made of wood, so he ordered the tortoiseshell car to be poured with fire oil and ignited, and several cars were burned for a while. Kato Kiyomasa urgently ordered all the tortoiseshell cars to be withdrawn to cover the cowhide for fire prevention, and hurried to build them and transport them to the teams.

On the eighth day, the Japanese army again put in dozens of tortoiseshell cars, a large number of Japanese troops attacked the city again from all sides, the Korean general Chungcheongdo soldiers made Huang Jin was killed by iron cannon shot, Date Masamune led his troops to the city, Date Masamune was extremely brave, several times climbed the tower, Date Masamune's armor was bright, and many beheaded became the target of the Korean army, and the Japanese army covered its retreat in order to avoid Date Masamune's loss. Jin Qianai heard that Huang Jin was killed, so he forced the Jinzhou government to make Xu Liyuan supervise the formation, Xu Liyuan landed in the city, and when he saw the dense projectiles of the Japanese army, he immediately lost his soul and fled to the city without a trace. The deputy general of Chungcheong-do, Jang Run, took over as the superintendent and died in battle two hours later. Several Japanese troops have climbed Jinju Castle again, and Li Zongren and Choi Qinghui once again called on the people to counterattack in the castle tower, at this time it rained heavily, and the Korean bows and crossbows and Japanese arquebuses were already damp, so they could only temporarily withdraw their troops.

However, part of the Jinju city wall has begun to loosen under the continuous impact of the tortoiseshell car for two days, and several walls have collapsed under the heavy rain, and on the ninth day, the Japanese army attacked the city again, and Kato's army broke through a corner of Jinju, and Kato's subordinate samurai and Date Masamune took the lead in breaking into the city from this gap, and a large group of Japanese troops swarmed into the city. The Jinju military and civilians turned into street fighting, and what ushered in was indeed endless slaughter. Jin Qiankui and his son Jin Xiangqian, Cui Qinghui, Gao Conghou and others retreated to the stone building and saw that the general trend had gone, Jin Qiankui said: "I can fight with you here to defend my family and country, and I have no regrets in my life. ”

Gao Conghou felt deeply sad and indignant, and said with emotion: "I feel incompetent, and I deeply hate that I can't personally cut off the head of Kobayakawa Takakei to comfort my father and brother's soul in the sky. The words of my father and brother are still in my ears, my Gao family has no greed for life and fear of death, and has fought hard so far to kill countless widows, and I think I am worthy of my ancestors and ancestors, and I have not disgraced the righteous army. Even if we don't have the power to return to heaven, our bodies must not fall into the hands of the Japanese and be humiliated after death! ”

Cui Qinghui also said: "I am impressed by your loyalty and pride, as the advocate said, this time we were able to fight side by side, although we have no regrets. Although we are in a desperate situation today, I also have the wish to marry Jinlan with you! We can die together today, and in the next life, we will kill the enemy together to serve the country! What if you don't know what to do? Everyone was moved and wanted to drink a farewell wine, but the waiter had already fled. Seeing that the Japanese army had chased downstairs, Cui Qinghui led everyone to kneel to the north, became brothers, and jumped into the Nanjiang River to martyrdom.

Li Zongren was forced to die in Nanjiang by the siege of Li Zongren, so he suddenly attacked and sandwiched two Japanese soldiers under the ribs and shouted: "Jinhai Mansion made Li Zongren die here!" The Japanese soldiers turned around and jumped into the Nanjiang River. Another fierce general, Jin Junmin, fought in the streets, rushed back and forth, and was finally shot off his horse by an arquebus because he was outnumbered, and was hacked to death with a knife. The Japanese army slaughtered the city for half a day, burned the houses, bulldozed the city walls, covered the wells and felled the trees, and Jinju became a ruin. The Japanese army had a revelry all night long, and after resting and recuperating, they marched into all parts of Jeolla Province in batches, and the Korean troops could not stop it.

After the fall of Jinzhou, Song Yingchang ordered Liu Wei to rush into Shaanchuan and Wu Weizhong to march into Caoxi to deploy defenses. The Japanese army division Kuroda Gunwei in Busan also received an order from Toyotomi Hideyoshi to transfer him back to China for questioning. After returning to Japan, Kuroda Kanbei repeatedly pleaded guilty and shaved his hair in July.