The sea in the northwest of Hakata Bay is light and foggy.

In the early morning, before the sun came out, the gray sea was shrouded in white mist, like clouds floating on the sea. A Japanese warship with its sails open was moving slowly on the water.

At this moment, there was a "clang" sound from the bow of the ship, and a sailor with a black bowl turned his rice bowl to the ground and looked ahead in amazement. Several people were attracted to the attention and turned their heads to watch.

I saw that in the mist, two huge black shadows as big as a city slowly drove out, like ancient monsters drilled out of the mist. A moment later, more shadows revealed a cloud of mist. The people who saw such a scene were stunned for a while.

Finally a scream came from the ship: "I'll touch the chicken!" Then the clanging gongs sounded, and there was a commotion throughout the boat, and the leader of the boat, waving his fan, kept giving orders for everyone to go to the oars at once.

The wooden boat soon began to turn around, and most of the young men grabbed their oars in order to get the boat moving faster.

When the ship turned around and headed back, the leader of the ship looked back, and his face had changed drastically. There were so many ships on the surface of the sea that there was barely the edge in sight, and the large sails seemed to obscure the entire surface of the sea.

Although there have been rumors that the Ming army will launch a large-scale attack on Japan, people are still shocked to see the Ming army's fleet with their own eyes. More than 100 years ago, the army scene of the Yuan army, the people who saw it have long been ancient, and no one in the Japanese at this time has ever seen such a magnificent and terrifying sailor.

In the mist behind them, two fires suddenly lit up, and when people heard the thunderous "boom" of two cannon shots, the sea not far away had already stirred up white spray by cannonballs. At such a distance, Mingko's cannonballs were so fast that they arrived almost at the same time as the sound.

After a short time, the Ming army, with two medium-sized ships on each flank, left the vast formation and pursued at a faster speed.

The Japanese crew did not need to shout from the leader, but all paddled desperately. All around was the sound of people gasping for breath, and everyone swinging the oars was working hard. However, the warships and distances of the Ming army are still gradually shrinking.

Behind him, you can already hear the "whooshing" sound of the water wheels on the Ming ships, and even the sound of the gears and wood squeezing and rubbing. The ships were slender enough to be flanked with several ships in quick pursuit; When the wind is low, ordinary wooden boats can't run at all.

"It's dead." A Japanese sailor.

But the sound of the wheels suddenly became quieter. Some Japanese were wondering when they realized that two Japanese ships were turning around in the distance on the southern sea, also turning around and preparing to flee.

Seeing this, the leader breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the friendly ship in the distance and said, "Mingkou just doesn't want us to go back to report the news, but it's no longer necessary. ”

The people had palpitations and continued to paddle hard away from the Ming fleet.

To the east of this area is Kumakojima and to the south is the village of Imajuku in Hakata.

More than 100 years ago, the Japanese army resisted the Yuan Dynasty's "Yuankou Fortification" beach, near the village of Imatsu in the northwest; The Japanese army had already deployed troops and sentinel ships near the Yuankou fortification, but no one knew why the people over there did not notice that such a large Mingkou fleet was passing by.

The Japanese ship decided to continue southward in order to reach the shores of Hakata Bay as soon as possible and report to the generals on land.

…… The Japanese army had already made defensive arrangements in the vicinity of Hakata Bay.

Due to the signs of the Ming army's long-term activities on Iki Island and Tsushima Island, Muromachiden judged that the Ming army would attack from Chikuzen Province, and the judgment was obviously not wrong. The Ming army also had no intention of concealing the direction of the attack.

Such an offensive position seems to be the same as that of the Yuan army more than 100 years ago. However, the naval division of the Yuan army did not penetrate deep into Hakata Bay, and landed in Shima-gun, at the northwest tip of Chikuzen Province; The Ming army chose another direction of attack, entering the depths of Hakata Bay, and their target coast was mostly between Eto and Sara (Nishi-Fukuoka).

At this time, the Japanese troops near the Yuanko fortification in Shima County had already been in full formation. In the Port Hakata area, tens of thousands of reinforcements are arriving in the battlefield one after another.

There were two main ways of Japanese reinforcements, and the main force had already entered Chikuzen Province.

The commander of the northern route was the governor of Muromachiden, Yoshishige Spo, who mainly commanded the coalition forces of Honshu Island and the Kanto Kamakura Principality. The commander of the southern route was another commander, Hosokawa Mitsumoto, who commanded not only the headquarters of the Nambakyo (Osaka) area, but also the allied forces of Shikoku Island and the Kyushu exploration area.

On the mountain road north of Chikuzen Kuniya-gun, a large number of people and horses pass through a torii-like torii gate one after another, and the undulating road is filled with smoke and crowds like dragons.

Samurai wearing helmets like bull's heads and ashigaru with pointed bamboo hats marched in front of and behind colorful banners. In the midst of the flag hunt, the spear is like a dense forest that has lost its leaves.

Ouchi Morami led a group of cavalry and greeted him at the foot of the mountain. After a while, a small group of horsemen and horsemen from the army came up to meet them.

The person who came was the thirty-year-old leader of the steward, Sibo Yoshige. This man's uncle, General Spooy, was very powerful, and very skilled in strategy and force, but he was dead; Now this new governor of the Spo clan, Ouchi Morimi doesn't know much about it.

Sibo Yizhong's side, there is another acquaintance, it is the mountain name Shixi.

Ouchi Morimi's face immediately showed a look of surprise.

The Yamana clan and the leaders of the Muromachi Hall have old grievances. At that time, the Yamana clan sat on the eleven kingdoms and was as powerful as "one-sixth of the hall", which was on a par with the powerful power of the Ouchi clan. It is because of the instigation and rebellion of the Muromachi Hall that the Yamana clan now only has the territory of the Three Kingdoms, which is weaker than the Ouchi clan.

Ouchi Sheng saw that he was silent, and when he saw that Spo Yoshishige was approaching, he bowed and saluted.

One of the attendants knelt beside him, and Spoey stepped heavily on the man's back and dismounted. Then both Yoshishige Shiba and Yamana bowed to Ouchi and returned the salute.

Spo Yoshishige seemed to see Ouchi's surprise and said, "Ming Kou is invading, and we must fight the enemy with all our hearts. ”

Ouchi Morimi also has a grudge against the Muromachi Palace, and they, like the powerful guardians such as the Yamana clan, have been greatly suppressed and weakened. But because the Ouchi clan's territory is now facing annihilation, the last time Ouchi saw Kamiraku and the shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, he had already let go of his resentment.

Hearing Spo's words, Ouchi Morimi suddenly felt excited, and said: "The deep affection for the rivers and mountains, the responsibility of protecting the family and the country, let us abandon the past suspicions." ”

After hearing this, Spoyi immediately bowed solemnly to Ouchi Morimi. Ouchi Morimi hurriedly followed and bent over. Si Bo Yizhong's eyes were blazing, and he raised his head to the southwest: "Go to the camp of Shan Wu County." ”

Several people remounted their horses and continued to move forward with a mighty procession.

The army marched to the flat areas of Hangwu County, and the population gradually increased. Along the way, they met some common people, who were kneeling on the side of the road, and their eyes were filled with fear and vigilance, after all, samurai were not easy to mess with.

Without waiting to set up camp, Ouchi Morimi urgently recounted some of the military situation in the last two days to Spo Yoshishige on the way. Roughly speaking, Myeongko has arrived on the coast of Eto-gun. Eto-gun is located in the south of Shima-gun.

"I have sent a messenger ordering the defenders of Shima County to retreat south." Ouchi said in a way.

"The south is mountainous, and the east coast has been occupied by the Ming Kou, so the Shima army can't participate in the big war?" ”

Ouchi Morimi explained: "Ming Ko landed in Yitu County in the southeast, and the Shima defenders could not be evacuated, otherwise they would be besieged there and become a lone army, and they would be the first to be besieged and destroyed.

Moreover, there was a valley at the southern foot of the Mt. Bofu, and they could take that road back to the county; However, if you stay at the southern foot of the Bofu Mountain, you can be responsible for defending Mingkou and taking the path to the east. ”

Spooy nodded and said no more.

Ouchi Morimi said, "General Hosokawa arrives in Hakata, or in two or three days. I still have some deployments, and I will report to Commander Spo in advance; When General Hosokawa arrives, we'll talk again.

When I learned that Myeongko had landed in Yitu County, I had already sent heavy troops to the northeast of Bofu Mountain, Xiashan Gate and other places to set up defenses and build fortifications.

As a result, the defenders of Shima County held the narrow valley at the southern foot of Mt. Hafushi. Our army can defend with fortifications from the north of the Bofu Mountain to the coastal mountains and occupy a favorable position.

But at the same time, our army should monitor the Ming fleet day and night to see if it has crossed the east of Kumakoshima. Once the Ming Kou re-landed by sea, they detoured to the coast of Aowu County and threatened the belly of our army; Our army should immediately withdraw eastward, march towards Dazaifu, and reconstruct the defensive line by relying on the terrain of Dazaifu's obstruction. ”

Si Boyi said coldly: "Your strategy is too decadent, and you can only be regarded as a family if you are bent on backing the mountain and being beaten." ”

Ouchi Morimi persuaded him: "Although the strength of our army is three or four times that of Mingkou, there is still no chance of winning the decisive battle in the open field, and the management must be cautious. ”

Si Bo said solemnly: "How about the night battle counterattack? ”

Ouchi Sheng said: "There are many people in Mingkou, even if our army succeeds in a sneak attack, it cannot hurt its muscles and bones, but it is easy to lose control of the overall situation due to small losses. I suggest that we wait until Hosokawa receives it before making a decision. ”

Spoyi snorted heavily, noncommittal.

Ouchi Morimi said, "The night attack may be used on the water." On the sea route east of the Shimonoseki Strait, our army should hide their ships in the estuaries and other places, fill them with firewood and firewood, and be ready to attack the naval warships of the Ming Kou eastward at any time. ”

Spoyi thought about it again and said, "Mingkou has landed in Hakata Bay, what are they going to do to the east of Shimokanto?" ”

Ouchi Mori said: "Cut off our army's water food route." ”

Spoy frowned in contemplation, as if he felt that there was some reason, so he nodded slightly.

Ouchi Morimi said again: "If this battle is fought in an open field, our army has no chance of winning. If you take advantage of the situation in Mt. Hafushi, Dazaifu and other places to hold on, you will end up fighting grain and grass. Now that tens of thousands of troops have gathered in Hakata Bay, the food in Chikuzen Province and Toyozen Province will not last long. ”

He paused for a moment, then immediately increased his tone and said again: "Military rations are a matter of survival. ”