When the ninja sneak attack failed, and Masamori Hikuda was annoyed, the two ninjas behind him suddenly exclaimed in a low voice: "Look, my lord! ”

"Huh?"

Digging Tian Zhengsheng raised his head when he heard the sound, and his eyes widened in an instant.

From the sound of the gunshot, less than a cup of tea has just passed, and the Ming army camp that was still dead silence just now has already been a building of people, hundreds of Ming army officers and soldiers have formed a rigorous shooting queue by the light of the fire, rows of iron cannons have been raised, and the muzzles of the black holes have been aimed at them!

"It can't be!"

Di Tian Zhengsheng hissed and roared, in such a short period of time, the people of the Ming Dynasty actually formed a rigorous shooting formation? Even the most elite warriors did not have such a fast reaction speed, how did these Ming Dynasty people do it? Suddenly, one of the hearts of Digtian Zhengsheng has sunk to the Nine Hells, and it seems that today's sneak attack will not be successful!

When Masamori was about to give the order to retreat, Abe's loud roar suddenly sounded behind him: "Kill the ......"

The howl of the shogunate army instantly resounded through the night sky, and 1,700 shogunate samurai wielded katanas, following behind Abe Tadaaki, like a raging flood, swept towards the Ming army camp, just a ray of dawn bloomed from the dark sky in the east, shining on the shogunate army's bright katana, and suddenly reflected a suffocating killing intent.

Takada was taken aback, and raised his arms and shouted, "Abe-kun, go back, go back quickly!" ”

Abe Tadaaki didn't hear the shouts of Digada Masamori at all, in fact, even if he heard it, he wouldn't pay attention to it at all, Abe Tadaaki's entire brain was already filled with scorching killing intent, at this moment, he just wanted to rush into the Ming army camp and kill wantonly, bringing fear and death to these Ming Dynasty people who dared to invade Yuben.

"Kill the ......"

Wave after wave of beast howls rang out, soaring into the sky, and in the midst of hysterical shouts, 1,700 shogunate samurai were like mad beasts, rushing forward!

Outside the camp of the Ming army.

Three thousand infantry had already lined up, and three rows of firing were set up in front and rear.

Li Dingguo, who was fully armed, carried his waist knife, stood up in front of the formation like a javelin, his face was sinking like water, and his dark eyes did not have the slightest emotional color, just looking indifferently at himself who swept in the distance, and suddenly, Li Dingguo's waist knife was already unsheathed, and the sharp blade was slowly raised over the top.

"Boom la la ......"

The sound of pulling the bolt of the gun suddenly became a loud one, and the 1,000 infantry in the first row quickly fell on the spot and fell to the ground, while the 1,000 infantry in the second row crouched down on one knee, and the 1,000 infantry in the third row stood still, and soon formed a formation in which the front and rear three rows could shoot at the same time.

At the same time, more infantry is gathering in this direction.

"Kill the ......"

Seeing that the camp of the Ming army was already close in front of him, Abe Tadaaki roared angrily, holding high the katana and began the final sprint, and behind Abe Tadaaki, 1,700 shogunate samurai also accelerated their pace, while brandishing the katana frantically, and began the final charge.

In front of the Ming army.

"Fire!"

The raised waist knife slashed fiercely, Li Dingguo burst out a cold sentence from between his teeth, and in an instant, three thousand infantry indifferently pulled the trigger......

A dazzling red light suddenly bloomed in front of the Ming army, and then, the deafening sound of gunfire had resounded in the sky, and the shogunate samurai who were rushing forward suddenly fell down like a cut straw, and Abe Tadaaki, who was rushing to the front with a dancing knife, was also shot twice, and his short and sturdy body ran forward two steps under the traction of his habitual surname, and then stopped and fell straight down......

"Abe-kun!"

In the distance, he was frightened and exclaimed.

In front of the Ming army.

The expression on Li Dingguo's face was still indifferent, but the waist knife in his hand was raised again.

"Boom la la ......"

The sound of pulling the bolt resounded again, and the 3,000 infantry quickly got ready to shoot again after firing the first shot, and the advanced breech rifle was designed with a magazine that could store four rounds at a time, so the officers and men of the Central Army did not need to reload as before after firing, but only needed to pull the bolt.

Of course, after four shots, the entire firing platoon had to be reloaded, and at this point, another firing team was needed to take their place.

"Fire!"

"Boom, boom, boom......"

Li Dingguo's raised waist knife slashed down again, and dense gunfire rang out again in front of the Ming army, this time, more shogunate samurai fell, fell in a pool of blood, terrible howls, desperate moans and angry shouts resounded, and the battlefield had completely become a slaughterhouse!

Of course, the butchers were the central army of the Ming Dynasty, while Abe Tadaaki and his shogunate army were the dogs and sheep that were slaughtered.

The samurai of the Tokugawa shogunate were indeed very combative, and the dense firepower of the central army of the Ming Dynasty did not stop their suicidal charge, after four volleys, more than half of the 1,700 shogunate samurai had been killed or wounded, but the remaining more than 800 people did not have the slightest intention of stopping the charge, and still rushed forward wildly with their katanas.

Another group of the Ming Central Army quickly stepped forward with neat steps, taking over the 3,000 people who had finished shooting.

The firepower of the Ming Central Army was interrupted for less than ten seconds, the alternation of positions had been completed, the dense firepower once again covered the entire battlefield, and the shogunate samurai who were rushing forward ushered in another round of slaughter, and the flesh and blood were finally defeated by steel bullets, and in the face of the absolute superiority of the firearms of the Ming Central Army, the sneak attack of the shogunate samurai completely evolved into a suicidal attack!

The gunfire stopped, and only one shogunate samurai could barely stand, but he no longer had the strength to rush forward.

Looking around, the shogunate samurai painfully found that the battlefield was already full of the corpses of the shogunate samurai, and there were many more shogunate samurai who were only injured and were lying on the ground with bursts of painful groans.

Suddenly, the figure of the shogunate samurai staggered, but with the support of the katana, he still barely stood up, and then slowly turned around, and slowly raised the katana in his hand towards the Ming army formation, and at a certain moment, the shogunate samurai shouted with all his strength: "Kill the ......"

"Boom, boom, boom......"

Another burst of gunfire rang out, and hundreds of scorching buckshots mercilessly pierced the last remaining shogunate's head and body, smashing him into a sieve!

The entire battlefield fell completely silent, Li Dingguo put his knife back into the sheath, his indifferent gaze faintly swept over the battlefield filled with gunpowder, and ordered the two officers beside him: "Take someone to clean up the battlefield immediately, and if you find that you still have gas, make up a bayonet, and you are not allowed to leave any living mouth!" ”

"Yes!"

The two officers agreed with a bang, and each took a group of central officers and soldiers to clean up the battlefield.

In the distance, Masamori Hikuda finally looked back at the bloody battlefield, and ordered the ninja beside him, "Let's go!" ”

■■■

Edo, Shogun's House.

Hearing that Masamori had returned to Edo, Tokugawa Iemitsu hurriedly summoned the shogunate elder Tadashi Sakai, the elder Nakayama Tadashitoshi and Doi Toshikatsu, as well as three daimyos, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Itakura Shigemasa, and Toda Clantetsu, who had just arrived in Edo yesterday and brought 25,000 shogunate troops.

The General Palace.

A grief-stricken Tsuchida Masamori was brought up, and Tokugawa Iemitsu asked urgently, "Digata, why are you the only one coming back, Abe Tadaaki?" ”

"Your Excellency, General." Masamori fell to his knees in the middle of the hall and said gloomily, "Abe-kun has died in battle. ”

"What!?" Sakai Tadashi lost his voice and said, "What's going on?" I only let you scout and monitor the people of the Ming Dynasty, but I did not let you take military action without authorization. ”

Masamori said with a wry smile: "Lord Sakai, I have also tried hard to persuade you, but Abe-kun refuses to listen. ”

Sakai Tadashi frowned and said, "What the hell is going on?" ”

Masamori did not dare to hide anything, and told in detail about the battle that happened in Koga.

After listening to the narration of Masamori Tsuchida, Doi Toshikatsu gasped and said in a condensed voice: "Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty army that landed from Osaka is not an ordinary army, this Ming army is not only well-equipped, but also well-trained. ”

"It's not all." Tsukita Masamori said in a solemn tone, "The iron cannon used by this Ming Dynasty army is very accurate, and the marksmanship of the Ming Dynasty army is also very accurate, and its hit rate is also frighteningly high in 100 steps, Abe-kun and 1,700 elite samurai have not been able to rush within 100 steps until the end!" ”

When Toshikatsu Doi and Masamori Tsugata said this, everyone in the hall felt heavy, and there were signs from all sides that the Ming army that landed from Osaka this time seemed to be very different from the Ming army that had fought against the shogunate army in Korea more than 50 years ago, and the Ming army at that time was not only poorly equipped, but also seemed to be far inferior to the current Ming army.

Tokugawa Iemitsu's face looked a little pale, and he looked around and asked: "Abe Tadaaki is a famous general in our country, and now even he has died at the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and the two thousand elites under him have also been wiped out...... The people of the Ming Dynasty were so powerful, how should this be good? ”

"General, don't worry." Sakai Tadashi took a breath and persuaded, "Although the Ming Dynasty people are well-equipped and well-trained, they are hard to last after all, as long as we can withstand the Ming Dynasty for a while, the war will develop in our favor." ”

With that, Sakai Tadashi turned his gaze to Toshikatsu Doi, the old man of the shogunate, and asked, "Doi-kun, what do you think?" ”

The three elders of the Tokugawa shogunate, Sakai Tadayo, Doi Toshikatsu, and Aoyama Tadatoshi each had their own strengths, Aoyama Tadashi was good at internal affairs, Doi Toshikatsu was good at resourcefulness, and Sakai Tadashi was good at regulating all aspects of the relationship, these three people made great contributions to the stability and development of the Tokugawa shogunate, and it can even be said that the Tokugawa shogunate was perfected by them.

Doi Toshikatsu did not immediately answer Sakai Tadashi, but asked Hikuda Masamori, "Hida, you just said that the battle between Abe Tadaaki and the Ming Dynasty army took place in Koga Prefecture?" ”

Digada Zhengsheng said: "Exactly. ”

Doi Toshikatsu said: "Then do you know where the Ming Dynasty army plans to march next?" ”

"The Ming Dynasty army is currently advancing in the direction of Nagoya, and after occupying Nagoya, it may next cross the Kiso Mountains, the Akaishi Mountains and the Kanto Mountains, and it is estimated that the final target of the Ming Dynasty army may be Edo, that is, the imperial seat of the Shogun." ”

"That's not right." Aoyama Tadashi shook his head and said, "If the goal of the Ming Dynasty army is Edo, then it is enough to land directly from Edo, but now they have chosen to land in Osaka, and then attack Edo by walking more than a thousand miles of mountain roads, isn't this a superfluous move, or is it asking for hardship?" ”

"No, it's not what Aoyama-sama said it is." Doi Toshikatsu shook his head and said, "The ultimate goal of the Ming Dynasty should be Edo, and the reason why they chose to land in Osaka was not an overactive move, their intentions were very sinister, they wanted to induce our shogunate army to fight a decisive battle with them!" ”

Aoyama Shigejun said in a condensed voice: "In other words, the Ming Dynasty army wants to make a contribution to the battle?" ”

Doi Toshikatsu is worthy of being the wise man among the three elders of the shogunate, and he saw through Wang Pu's strategic intentions at a glance.

But this is not surprising, Wang Pu did not have the intention of hiding strategic intentions, what is strategy? Strategy is a macro strategy, which is affected by many factors such as national strength, manpower, and military strength, and people with a little judgment can basically easily judge the strategic intentions of a hostile country.

It is not difficult to paralyze the enemy tactically, but it is not difficult to paralyze the enemy strategically.

"It's all in one battle!?" Sakai Tadashi Huo Ran got up and said coldly, "Forgive the people of the Ming Dynasty who don't have such a good appetite!" ”

"That's right." Doi Toshikatsu also stood up and said viciously, "Since the Ming Dynasty army wants to induce my shogunate army to fight a decisive battle with it, then we will do what he wishes, and have a real battle with the Ming Dynasty army to see if it is their Ming Dynasty people's shield or our shogunate army's spear!" ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu nervously asked, "How should this decisive battle be fought?" Where will it be? ”

Doi Toshikatsu said: "Since the Ming Dynasty army wants to lure our shogunate army into a strategic decisive battle with it, then we have already taken the initiative in this battle, the choice of the battlefield, the choice of time can be determined by our army, unless the Ming Dynasty people do not want to fight a decisive battle with our army, otherwise they can only passively respond to the battle." ”

Since Wang Pu had made up his mind to destroy the living forces of the Tokugawa shogunate, and then destroy his own will to resist, he would definitely not miss the opportunity to engage in a strategic decisive battle with the shogunate army, which was the original intention of Wang Pu to lead the expedition.

In order to achieve this strategic goal, Wang Pu is even willing to take certain risks, including letting him choose the battlefield of the decisive battle, the Ming Central Army has set up a posture from Osaka to Tokyo, which is to give the shogunate army the opportunity to choose the battlefield, from Osaka to Tokyo, more than a thousand miles of road, countless mountains, rivers and valleys in the middle, whatever I choose, Wang Pu has this self-confidence, and the Ming Central Army also has this strength!

Tokugawa Iemitsu said again: "Doi-kun thinks where is the best place to choose the battlefield?" ”

"Uenohara!" Doi Toshikatsu said without hesitation, "Uenohara is the last pass out of the Kanto Plain in front of the Kanto Mountains, and if the Ming Dynasty army does not take the southern or northern coastline, they must pass through here if they want to reach the eastern area!" Of course, if the Ming army had taken the coastline, we would have had a way to change their march route and lead them to Uenohara. ”

"Hmm." Sakai Tadashi nodded, "The mountains around Uenohara are steep, the canyons are long, the terrain is unfavorable to the Ming army, their Hongyi artillery is difficult to play a role, and it is difficult for the Ming army's iron artillery to set up an effective firing queue, and its power is bound to be greatly reduced, this is indeed an ideal battlefield." ”

"And it doesn't stop there." Doi Toshikatsu sneered, "The Ueno Plains are low-lying, and every year after the snow melts in the spring, it will turn into a Ze country, you can imagine that if my shogunate army can trap the Ming Dynasty army in the canyon of the Ueno Plain, just wait for the spring to melt the snow, the Ming Dynasty army's grain, grass, baggage, weapons and ammunition will be flooded with artillery, and their firearms will be completely useless, and at that time, hehe, the Ming Dynasty army will be destroyed without a fight!" ”

"Okay, great!"

Tokugawa Iemitsu struck the festival vigorously, and the excitement was overflowing, as if the shogunate army had trapped the Ming Dynasty army in the Uenohara Gorge, and he seemed to float in front of him the embarrassment of the Ming Dynasty army at the end of the road and disarming and surrendering, thinking of the place of pride, Tokugawa Iemitsu's eyes couldn't help but pass a trace of hideousness, if this battle was won, he would never let go of any Ming Dynasty people who set foot on his own land, never!

"Still." Tokugawa Iemitsu was excited for a moment, and then asked, "How many troops will be gathered for this battle?" ”

"All the armies." Doi Toshikatsu replied without hesitation, "This battle is related to the life and death of the Tokugawa shogunate, and it must not be careless, so the subordinates thought it was necessary to mobilize the army of the whole country, and then form two major cluster armies, the daimyo in the area of, Kyoto, Kyushu, and Shikoku formed the Kansai Cluster Army, which was personally commanded by Lord Sakai, and the combat mission was to follow and monitor the Ming Dynasty army, and once the Ming Dynasty army entered the Uenohara Gorge, cut off its retreat from behind!" ”

Sakai Tadashi bowed his head abruptly and replied, "Hey! ”

Doi Toshikatsu said: "The daimyo of the Kanto region formed the Kwantung Cluster Army, which was personally led by the general, and the combat mission was to assemble outside the Uenohara Gorge at the right time, lure the Ming Dynasty army into the Uenohara Gorge, and then attack from east to west, trapping it in the valley, just waiting for the spring to turn snow." ”

■■■

Far away in the South China Sea.

Shi Lang is leading the battle formation of the Second Fleet to move forward slowly, this battle formation is composed of ten three-masted gunboats, which is already a very powerful naval force in the world at that time, although the old naval power Spain and the emerging naval power England have more than 100 three-masted gunboats, but most of these warships are cruising in European waters, and they rarely have the opportunity to come to the Far East.

Although Shi Lang was a fierce general second only to Huang Degong in seniority among the admirals of the Ming Empire, the newly completed and launched "Yingxing" ironclad ship still joined the Third Fleet and became the flagship of Zhang Yanlan's kid, which made Shi Lang very depressed for a while, and blamed Wang Pu for being eccentric and gave Zhang Yanlan all the good things.

In addition to conducting routine maritime patrols to protect passing Ming merchant ships from piracy, the Third Fleet sailed into the South China Sea in a battle formation to inspect Temasek and establish a permanent military base in Temasek.

Temasek is actually the ancient name of Singapore, located in the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula, close to the Strait of Malacca, the geographical location is extremely important, as a traverser, Wang Pu of course knows the important surname of this small land, if you can send troops to occupy this small land, it will bring endless benefits to future generations!

With the development of industry and commerce, the toll fee of the past merchant ships alone is a huge income, not to mention the important military surname, as long as the Ming Empire chokes the Strait of Malacca, it basically prevents the European powers from intervening in the Far East, but then again, with the strength of the Ming Empire at this time, it is impossible for the European powers to intervene in the Far East, especially in Taiwan, Penghu, Yueben and other places.

The blue sea and blue sky are endless.

When Shi Lang was practicing boxing on the deck, the sentry on the mast suddenly shouted: "Land, find land ahead!" ”

"Land?" Shi Lang retracted his fists, took the towel from the guard's hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, frowned, and said, "Is this Temasek?" ”

The first mate had already come to Shi Lang with a nautical chart.

The two guards spread out the nautical charts on the deck, Shi Lang gestured at the nautical charts for a while, and said firmly: "Well, it should be Temasek ahead, and the herald, all the ships will drop sail and anchor, and send the two wings of the Marine Corps to land in small boats, and see if there are any natives entrenched there, and if so, they will all be resolved." ”

Shi Lang gave an order, ten three-masted gunboats quickly lowered their sails and anchored, one by one small boats were lowered from the side of the ship, and the marines of two wings (after the Central Army was reorganized again, the establishment below the battalion level was changed from a sentry to a wing, and a wing of 1,000 people) quickly got off the ship, and then rowed to the shore.

The occupation of Temasek and the settlement of the local indigenous people are both orders from Wang Pu.

As a traverser, Wang Pu has always lacked a good impression of Southeast Asians.

Even though 70 percent of Singapore is Chinese, Wang Pu also lacks a good opinion of the country, and Wang Pu is full of hatred for the indigenous people of Southeast Asia, because these indigenous people are the ancestors of the Nepali monkeys, Malaysian monkeys, and Vietnamese monkeys, all of whom have brought humiliation to the Han people.

Now, history has changed, the Ming Empire has enough strength, and Wang Pu has a sharp enough butcher's knife in his hands, so Wang Pu doesn't want to hide his face at all, he just wants to slaughter these dirty natives, so that their "descendants of later generations" can no longer bully the Han nation, of course, the premise is that these natives can still have children and grandchildren!

(To be continued)