Gathering water to fight in Busanpo, Yi Sunsin defeated Busan

Because Yi Sunsin commanded the Jeolla Provincial Naval Army since the Japanese invasion of Korea, and Yi Yiqi and Won Gyun cooperated with each other in successive battles, and made many great achievements, which was inspiring, the Imperial Court specially promoted Yi Sunsin to the position of the envoy of the Three Naval Forces, and commanded the three naval forces of Chungcheong-do, Jeolla-do, and Gyeongsang-do. Yi Sunsin was also full of enthusiasm for winning every battle, and hoped to take advantage of the situation to annihilate the Japanese naval army in one fell swoop and cut off the sea route. This idea has become even stronger since it was promoted to the Three Ways of Water Army.

On this day, Yi Sunsin gathered Li Yiqi, Yuan Jun, Song Xilie, and Zheng Yun to discuss, and Yi Sunsin greeted them one by one and took their seats, and then said to the four of them: "The Japanese will be defeated in every battle, and the enemy will be defeated wherever our army goes. Since Okpo, most of the Japanese army is now retreating in Busanpo, and if they can annihilate and recover Busan in one fell swoop, and cut off supplies, the day of the defeat of the Japanese will not be far away. What do you think? ”

Won Jun, the right water envoy of Gyeongsang Province, had doubts about attacking Busan: "You are now the envoy of the Sandao Water Army, and you should have obeyed your orders, but I don't approve of Busan's rush to attack at this time." There are many fortified places in Busanpu, which are interlocking, and it is very convenient for water and land to cooperate with each other. After repeated defeats, they will think hard about how to take precautions, although they do not know what preparations they have, but going to Busan must be extremely dangerous. ”

The right water of Jeolla Province made Li Yiqi in a dilemma: "I heard that the Japanese have mobilized the army to attack Jeolla Province and want to destroy the garrisons of our naval army with strong troops from the land, I wonder if Jeolla Province can resist it?" Our army should have taken advantage of the victory to fight again, and if we were afraid of the enemy's land attack, we would have missed the opportunity. However, I don't know if the enemy in Busan is fully prepared, and if we fail to win this way to Busan and the way back is blocked by the Japanese from the land, then our army will fall into a dead end. It's hard to choose. ”

Hearing this, the deputy general Song Xilie comforted: "Your Excellency, don't be too worried, this time the chief water envoy invited you to come is to discuss carefully, we have been worried about the risk before every big battle, but so far every battle will be won, this is not caused by reckless and light advance, the enemy has a strategy and our army also has a tactic, the last general is convinced, there are three adults joining forces to break the enemy." ”

The deputy general Wanhu Zheng Yun has always been surging, and after listening to what Song Xilie said, he immediately got up and said: "Our army's warships and artillery are stronger than the Japanese invaders, and after several battles, it shows that the Japanese water battle cannot be compared with our army at all. ”

After a moment's thought, Yi Sun-sin said: "It has been reported that more than 100 Japanese warships have been moored in Punai, Busan, and the rest of the warships are concentrating on Pusan. If it is really helpless to concentrate all its forces, and since the Japanese have already made a strategy to attack from the land, our army should take advantage of the fact that Jeolla Road is not lost, take Busan and sink the enemy ships before the Japanese concentrate all their strength in Busanpo, and then it will be difficult for the Japanese to have the strength to return to heaven. ”

Won Jun, the right water envoy of Gyeongsang-do, said: "In this case, then our troops will obey the military order to attack Busan together, and it is also the duty of our Gyeongsang-do naval army to recover the Gyeongsang-do water army, and we must do our best." ”

Jeolla Provincial Right Water Envoy Lee Yi-ki also said: "I think that the deployment of the Japanese army in Busan must still be based on holding on as the only way to take it, and I will never dare to easily fight a decisive battle with our army at sea. ”

Yi Sunsin replied: "The ironclad warship is indeed extremely strong, and it is difficult for our firepower to inflict rapid wounds on it, and it is difficult for the turtle ship to shake it easily. ”

Wanhu Zheng Yun shouted: "Without further ado, we need to prepare quickly, please give an order, the last general will be the first to take Pusan for this battle, and personally cut off the head of the enemy general." Yi Sunsin was overjoyed, but many of the Busan Japanese army repeatedly told Zheng Yun to be more careful, and Zheng Yun received the order. Yi Sunsin immediately issued an order to concentrate three warships and prepare to attack Busan, and Yi Yiqi and Won Gyun also returned to their base camp to mobilize warships to rendezvous.

In Punai, Busan, the Japanese Navy General Kuki Yoshitaka summoned Fujido Takatora, Wakiita Yasuji, Kato Yoshiaki, Kurushima Tsuto, and Kanno Masakage to defend Busan. The Japanese navy was defeated in every battle since the encounter with Yi Sunsin, and was deeply ridiculed by the major celebrities and reprimanded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the naval army general Kuki Yoshiryu was once again accused of ineffective combat when he participated in the military conference in the Korean royal capital, so the nine ghosts and all the naval generals were eager to defeat the Korean naval army and save their reputation.

The Nine Demons Yoshitaka convened a military meeting, Fujido Takatora, Wakiita Yasuji, Kato Yoshiaki, Kurushima Tsuto, and Kanno Masaki each took their seats, and the Nine Demons Yoshitaka spoke first: "We have experienced a hundred battles since becoming samurai, and we have never suffered a great humiliation here, and Yi Sunsin and the Korean naval army under his command are really a great trouble for our army, and if we do not annihilate them, it will be difficult for our naval army to come out." The great names also laughed at our incompetence, and His Royal Highness Taiko and the chief captain Ukita Hideya both blamed the navy and strictly ordered us to defeat the Korean navy, and now our army is gathered in Busan for this purpose, and the sea route will be abandoned in this battle, if this battle is defeated again, we will have to apologize to His Royal Highness Taiko. What are your plans? ”

Fujitang Gaohu was the first to be defeated by Yi Sunsin, and he had a deep hatred for Yi Sunsin, and Fujitang Gaohu spoke: "The momentum of the Korean naval army is positive, and it is precisely the time when the enemy is careless, and this is the same as the cause of our army's first defeat, I propose to concentrate 400 warships in Pusan, ambush 100 ships, and then make full use of the advantages of Pusan's defense to completely annihilate Yi Sunsin's naval army." If they concentrate all their warships to attack us, if they can win this time, they will destroy all the Korean naval forces in one battle, and then our army will be unimpeded to attack all parts of the coast. His Royal Highness Taiko will also reward us. ”

After hearing this, he was very disdainful: "It's really whimsical, it is a fact that our army really cannot defeat Yi Sunsin in a water war, otherwise why would he lose in successive battles, saying that Li Sunsin's tactics are appropriate, in my opinion, there is no clever tactics." Therefore, I propose to abandon all warships to anchor at Busanpo, and our army should adopt the strategy of luring the enemy into going deeper, assuming that there is only a small garrison in Busanpo, and inducing Yi Sunsin and others to disembark and land to occupy Busan, and that it is the best policy for our army to destroy the Korean naval forces on land and then take possession of the Korean warships and artillery for itself. What other tactics are there? ”

Fujitang Gaohu said angrily: "You are whimsical, when you and I fought Li Sunsin again, you were arrogant and laughed at me for my incompetence in water warfare, and now you are also afraid, abandon the sea and defend the shore, and only dare to ambush and break the enemy, and call me a brave general, so you dare to laugh at me?" ”

Kato Yoshiaki asked Wakiban Yasuji rhetorically: "Wakiban-kun just wants to give full play to the advantages of land warfare, but how can you be sure that Yi Sunsin will definitely land on the shore?" Just a small number of garrisons under false pretenses? You and I are both at war with Yi Sunsin, and there are heavy troops guarding the huge Pusan, supplying our army with vital points, and suddenly there are no ships, and the defense is weak, who can believe it? And everyone in Korea knows that our army is brave in land warfare, which will surely make Yi Sunsin suspicious, and your ambush soldiers will do nothing. ”

Wakiban Anji also said angrily: "This can't do this, that can't work, how can you defeat Yi Sunsin!" Annihilation of the North Korean naval forces. I would only like to personally take off the head of Yi Sun-sin and present it to His Highness Taiko, and I will never survive the humiliation after the war. You also heard the order of His Royal Highness Taiko, the opportunity is only once, Kato, what are your clever plans? It's not just land warfare that can win. What do you think? ”

At this time, Mr. Waijima offered advice: "I think that in the current situation, our army is indeed not easy to fight at sea with the Korean navy, and it is precisely because the combat strength of our warships is weaker than that of North Korea that we should adopt the most favorable combat method at present. Busan is the most unloseable place for our army and is also a place where Yi Sunsin will come to seize, Yi Sunsin knows that there is a heavy defense here, and he will definitely concentrate a large number of warships to attack, and our army should withdraw most of the warships from Busan, leaving only a dozen ships is enough, not only to hold on, a large number of warships will be easily injured by Yi Sunsin, if only a small number of warships are left in the harbor, they can lure the Korean navy into the port, and there is also enough space and water to make a detour, give full play to the flexible advantages of our warships, and cooperate with the land defense will be able to inflict heavy damage on the Korean navy. Most of the land resources of the DPRK are owned by our army, and the building materials needed for building and building in the DPRK will be in short supply day by day, and if half of the enemy can be annihilated in this battle, the strength of the DPRK naval army will be greatly reduced. Since then, our warships have mainly focused on escorting supplies by sea, and are not allowed to engage the Korean naval forces in addition to this. ”

Kanno Shokage agreed: "What Kurishima-kun said is very true, and I very much agree with it, this is indeed a way to defeat the Korean navy. Even so, the defeat of our army was rarely captured by the North Korean naval army, but our warships suffered heavy losses. However, if we want to inflict heavy damage on the DPRK, we must firmly contain it in Busan-Purnai, can our army's firepower achieve this goal to contain the DPRK naval army? If Yi Sunsin saw that our army was in formation, he would have known that it was a plan to withdraw from the harbor after a short battle, and by that time almost all of our troops would have been stationed on the shore, and it was not known whether the ships in the harbor were still alive. ”

The Nine Ghosts Yoshitaka said: "Since Busan Pu is a strategic place for our army, North Korea has been built for decades, defending both sides, and after our army occupied Busan, it also rebuilt more, didn't Kanno-kun pay attention when he came?" There are many artillery formations on both sides of Pusanpo, 300 new hidden forts, and the triple defensive wall front has been strengthened along the coast, and there are 10,000 troops stationed here. ”

After hearing this, Fujido Takatora was ecstatic: "In this case, let's deploy according to the general plan of Kurishimatsu, withdraw most of the warships from Busan, and wait for Yi Sunsin to lead the army into the port, I am very much looking forward to the scene of the Korean navy being subjected to intensive fire and not escaping." If I have the chance, I will definitely board the Korean warship and kill Yi Sunsin to take revenge. ”

Wakiban Anji immediately got up and shouted Fujitang Gaohu: "Fujitang, Li Sunsin's head is not your turn to claim it, Li Sunsin's head should belong to me, not only that, but I also hope to be able to fight with Li Sunsin on land, if I don't kill him with my own hands, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart, even if I am defeated by him, I am not as good as others, I have nothing to be ashamed of." ”

Kato Yoshiaki said with a smile: "Li Sunsin may not necessarily go ashore to fight you alone, absolutely not, there is no need to be obsessed with the head of Li Sunsin, if you can kill some Korean naval generals in this battle, it is also a martial honor." We still need to complete our duties as planned, and even if we kill Yi Sunsin, we will fall into the sea, and it is unknown whether we can salvage them. ”

Mr. Laidaotong said sharply: "This battle must not be obsessed with the head of the enemy general, our army only left a dozen warships for the purpose of luring the enemy, our army can only defend on the shore in this battle, and cannot go to the sea to attack the enemy!" Otherwise, you will lose if you go to sea. The generals of all armies should scrupulously abide by their duties and act in accordance with military orders, and if this battle can inflict heavy losses on the Korean naval army, it will be extremely beneficial for our army to engage in another naval war in the future, and the head of the enemy general can be easily taken. So don't be rash this time. ”

Kanno Masakage also persuaded later, and the nine ghosts Yoshitaka saw that the plan had been decided, and because he did not know when the North Korean naval army would attack Busan in the future, he immediately ordered all the warships berthed in Busan to leave the port, and ordered the shore defense to be reorganized, and each general was on standby.

In the twentieth year of Wanli, on September 29 of the first year of Wenlu in Japan, Yi Sunsin and Li Yiqi led the fleet to set off from Yeosu Port and rendezvous with Yuan Jun the next day, and the total number of the three Korean naval forces at this time was 74 large war ships, 92 hijacking ships, and 5 turtle ships, a total of 117 warships. After passing through Dadapo, Seopyeongpo, and Jeejangdo Island, it arrived near Busanpo on October 4.

Seeing from a distance that there did not seem to be many enemy ships in Punai, Yi Sunsin was suspicious and asked Zheng Yun to investigate carefully. Zheng Yun was overjoyed to find out that there were only a dozen Japanese warships anchored in Pusan, and the rest of the Japanese troops were all on the shore, Zheng Yun was overjoyed and said: "Before leaving, I heard that there were more than 200 Japanese warships in Pusan, so it seems that this Japanese must be worried that their warships will be destroyed by our army in the harbor and withdraw from Busan, but unfortunately there are still more than a dozen ships that have not been withdrawn. However, our army still needs to keep in mind the military order, shoot the enemy on the shore with all its strength after entering the port, pay attention to guarding against the Japanese iron artillery, and listen to the orders of the chief water envoy when to land on the shore and recover Busan. "The general commanded.

Seeing that the Korean naval army was approaching Busan, the Nine Demons Jialong ordered the whole army to only shoot sporadically, leading all the Korean fleets into the port. Sure enough, the pioneer Zheng Yun saw that the rhythm of the resistance of the Japanese was chaotic, so he ordered the pioneer fleet to break into Busanpo, and Yi Sunsin followed closely behind, and Yi Sunsin thought to himself: "Busan is an important place for the Japanese invaders, why don't we see a large number of Japanese ships anchored, although there are many Japanese troops, the resistance is scattered, what is the reason?" It is better to concentrate combat power and artillery to destroy the fortifications first, and then see if it can be landed for operation. Yi Sunsin ordered the turtle boat to take cover in front and lead the main force to follow into Busan, and the three naval warships drove into Busan one after another to shoot at the Japanese army.

Seeing that most of the North Korean fleet had poured into Busanpo, Kurijima immediately ordered the entire army to return fire with all their might. The three-sided shore defense of Busan Pu frantically fired iron cannons at the North Korean naval army by means of the danger of closing the wall and the hidden fortress caves, and for a time, thousands of iron bullets were sprayed out like rain in each round, and the decks of the Korean warships were covered by firepower in an instant, and the soldiers were killed and wounded many times, and the large iron guns of the coastal defense and the captured North Korean artillery had great damage to the North Korean naval warships, and in addition to the damage to the hull, the general order of Kurishima Tong focused on bombarding the masts and oars of the North Korean warships to make them unable to move.

The Korean naval forces were also divided into four teams to return artillery fire on the Japanese troops, and five turtle boats were also ordered to approach the shore and shoot the enemy, and the entire Busan Pool was filled with gunpowder smoke, the flames soared into the sky, the sound of killing was everywhere, the sound of artillery was repeated, and the smoke and smoke of gunpowder almost enveloped the entire Busanpo, and it was difficult for the two armies to easily identify the direction between each other, and they turned into indiscriminate firing battles, but the Japanese army relied on strong fortifications and dangerous places, and the overall casualties were insignificant compared with the Korean naval army. More than a dozen Japanese warships in the harbor had already been sunk by the North Korean artillery, but it didn't matter to the Japanese army, the nine ghosts Jialong saw that the Korean naval army had been pinned, and felt that victory was in sight, so he once again ordered the whole army to keep shooting, pay attention to the rhythm of the series, in the battle there were several times when the Korean warships forced to land on the shore, and the Japanese army fell into a melee, but the strength was invincible, and several landings were annihilated by the Japanese army.

Yi Sunsin knew the plan and ordered the whole army to withdraw from Busan, and the generals and soldiers of the Korean Navy at all levels insisted on fighting in the dense fire of the Japanese army, and many were killed and wounded. Yi Sunsin later saw that Zheng Yun was dead, and strictly ordered to snatch Zheng Yun's body out of the port, Gyeongsang Dowon's saw that he ordered a retreat, and led the fleet to withdraw from Busan, and Li Yiqi followed closely behind to lead the fleet to withdraw, and the deputy general Song Xilie advised Yi Sunsin to evacuate quickly, and Yi Sunsin also knew that the naval army had been defeated, and if he did not withdraw from Busan, he would be captured or shot by the enemy, so he had to withdraw from Busan with the rest of the fleet. Seeing that the Korean naval forces had withdrawn from Busan, the Nine Demons Jialong strictly ordered the whole army not to pursue, and immediately cleaned up the battlefield and collected the damaged Korean warships and artillery ammunition. Seeing such a great victory, the Nine Ghosts Jialong laughed wildly, and ordered him to immediately report his merits to the general Ukita Hideya and His Royal Highness Taiko, and prepare a big banquet to celebrate the achievement.

In this battle, the Korean naval army suffered many losses and countless casualties, and several generals such as deputy general Chung Yun were killed in battle, Yi Sunsin and the Samdo Navy returned to their base camps, and Yi Sunsin led the Jeolla Province Left Water Battalion back to Yeosu Port, and held a memorial service for Chung Yun and the fallen soldiers. Zheng Yun was a bold man, extremely brave and familiar with the art of war, relied on Li Sunsin, and was more loved by the soldiers on weekdays, and all the soldiers of the army were bitter about Zheng Yun's death. Yi Sunsin felt bitterly that he had underestimated the enemy's advance and failed to see through the Japanese army's treacherous schemes, resulting in heavy losses to the Korean Sandao Naval Army, and the deputy general Zheng Yun was also killed because of himself, Yi Sunsin burst into tears and was heartbroken, and vowed to avenge Zheng Yun and all the fallen soldiers. The next day, the spy ship was sent to spy on the information, looking for fighters for revenge. However, after that, the Japanese army assisted in the defense of various ports by land and sea, and concentrated a large number of warships for transportation and escort, and Yi Sunsin led the naval army to attack several times but could not win, and the gains were small, and it was impossible to recover the occupied ports and cut off the sea routes, so he had to temporarily abandon the attack.