"Sigh the law ......"

In the early morning, with the tired sigh of the war horse, the west side of Lake Biwa was already stained red with blood.

On the shore, countless blood flowed into the lake, and the source was a corpse stripped of its armor.

For the Hu soldiers, the Japanese army, and the Tusi soldiers, the merits of the Ming army were counted according to their armor, so taking off their armor after the war was what they had to do.

Even if it's just a protective gear made of bamboo, it's still a treasure needed to remember your merits at this moment.

Imagawa Takamasa fled with more than 100 cavalry, and most of the remaining 4,000 Japanese troops were killed by the Ming army in the hills on the side of Lake Biwa, and only a small number of Japanese troops fled into the mountains and forests, but they were killed so much that they lost their armor and Zheng Jun did not bother to pursue.

Anyway, as long as the armor is in hand, you can remember the merits, and killing people is an inferior means.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

On the shore, Zheng Jun gasped and kept shouting.

commanded Tongzhi Deng Yan to take off his armor for him, only to find that he was already bruised and purple.

"Your injuries ......"

Deng Yan took a breath of cool air, and the military doctor of the army touched Zheng Jun's injury when he saw this, and he grinned in pain: "Uncle, you can't be so impactful next time, although you don't have broken bones, bone cracks should not be avoided." ”

Zheng Jun was not lucky, and when he rushed into battle, he encountered experienced Japanese veterans, and several of them quickly inserted their spears into the soil and collided with Zheng Jun.

If it weren't for the fact that the other brothers were quick to avoid Zheng Jun who fell down, it is estimated that Zheng Jun would be either dead or disabled at this moment.

Even so, he is not much better, although the injury on his body can still move, but if he wants to charge the battle, he must recuperate for at least half a year.

"It's fine, as long as you can still march."

Even though his face was covered with cold sweat, Zheng Jun grinned and said, "I made a lot of money this time." ”

He looked back at the battlefield, nearly 4,000 Japanese corpses were lying on the ground, their armor was stripped by the Ming army, and their clothes were ripped off by the Japanese people who transported food to the Ming army.

For the people, some blood, just a little washing, is better than not wearing it.

As for the dead or not, they are all poor like this, who cares about this.

Not to mention the clothes, even the crotch cloth that looks like a diaper has been stripped clean.

"Let the people burn the corpses, and don't make a plague to plague us."

Zheng Jun reluctantly put on his clothes and regained some strength after a simple wipe of medicinal wine.

After last night's charge, the Japanese army was in chaos, and Deng Yan also led the main force to arrive two quarters of an hour after the two sides fought, and Imagawa Takamasa fled with more than 100 cavalry when he saw the main force of the Ming army arrive.

Many Ming soldiers didn't notice their fleeing backs at all, because the horses and people were so small that some people thought they were wild dogs running past.

"How many dead and wounded brothers were?"

Zheng Jun asked Deng Hydro, and Deng Hydro also smiled when he heard this: "Speaking of which, my heart was hanging in the air before, thinking that in the face of a siege of 5,000 people, I am afraid that your 500 cavalry will suffer heavy damage." ”

"But after counting, I saw that thirty-two of the five hundred cavalry were killed and eighty-five wounded, and sixteen of my side were killed and one hundred and fourteen wounded."

"All told, the result this time is almost two hundred and forty-seven to four thousand one hundred and twenty-nine."

"The Japanese army had no willpower, and more than 1,000 people were killed when they reached the three rounds of line guns, and then the entire army was defeated and fled, and most of them were chased to death by us."

Deng Yan explained everything, and Zheng Jun nodded when he heard this, looking at the naked corpse of the Japanese army.

"Most of them are half-peasants and half-soldiers, and they have not undergone high-intensity training at all, so it is strange that they can be strong in willpower."

Among the Japanese army, except for the samurai, who could eat a little more robustly, the rest were skinny, like enlarged monkeys.

"It stands to reason that Japan has at least a population of nearly 10 million, and the shogunate as the imperial court should not use this kind of soldiers......

Standing aside, Deng Yan had a whim, but without waiting for Zheng Jun to answer, the prison guard standing on the side shook his head and said:

"Although the shogunate is a court, it is more like the Zhou Tianzi of the Spring and Autumn Period, except for the ability to control the land of Gyeonggi, they can't control other places at all, and its domestic tax revenue is only a few hundred thousand."

"Only half of these money and grain can be used to raise the army, so although the shogunate has 60,000 or 70,000 troops on the surface, in fact, only 8,000 people and nearly 10,000 samurai have strong combat effectiveness."

The prison guard's name is Tang Min, a student who graduated from the first phase of the National Defense University, and is also the grandson of Tang He, the prince of Xinguo.

After graduating from the National Defense University, students are basically delegated to grass-roots officers such as small flag officers and chief flag officers, and then they are promoted step by step through military merit.

In the army, the supervising army is a military attache of the fourth grade, and is mainly responsible for supervising the discipline of the army, as well as the political and ideological work of the army.

The transfer of the supervising army is more frequent than that of the military attache who leads the troops, often every two years.

Generally done well, it will soon be promoted to the commander of the guard.

Although Tang Min is only thirty years old, he has just come out of the war of land reform and return to the southwest five years after graduation, and he has fought more than a dozen large and small wars, which is no worse than Zheng Jun's experience.

As the second grandson of the Changfang of the Xinguo Mansion, Tang Min pursued the same as Fu Rang's pursuit back then, that is, to inherit the title of the Duke of Xinguo.

The title of the Duke of Xinguo has been hanging alone since Tang Hexue's death, and whether it is Zhu Yunwen or Zhu Di, they are reluctant to continue to inherit this title.

It's not that they're stingy, it's that Tang He's credit is not very suitable for Feng Guogong.

Tang He was the founder of the Ming Dynasty and had the worst military ability among the dukes, even inferior to Liao Yongzhong, Zhu Liangzu, Hu Yanrui, Mu Ying, Wang Bi and others among the marquis.

In order to make him a duke, Zhu Yuanzhang also took great pains at the beginning, but Tang He's performance in these battles really disappointed Lao Zhu.

Although in the end, he was given a duke of Xinguo, but everyone knew that this was just because he had a good relationship with Lao Zhu.

Tang Min, as the person who has made the most contributions to the Xinguo Mansion for less than three generations, is the person who is most expected to inherit the title.

Because of this, he studies the intelligence of various countries in his spare time.

The reason why this is so is because Fu Rang, who was in front of him, inherited the title, which was to destroy Annan.

If he can destroy a country, it will be much easier for the Duke to inherit the Duke of Xinguo.

Even though he was thirty years old, the goal was lifelong.

"It's not me boasting, if I give 30,000 veterans who are more than three years old, I can sweep Japan."

Zheng Jun's words are indeed not boasting, in terms of his battle loss ratio today, Daming can pull out 30,000 to him, but Japan can't pull out 500,000 Japanese troops to reimburse.

At present, even if Japan is a unified country, it can only pull out 200,000 ashiki at most.

Just as Zheng Jun was saying this, the sound of horses' hooves was heard in the distance.

"Where is Bohai Bo?!"

Yang Wen led the front army to Lake Biwa and rode first to find Zheng Jun.

"Uncle Pingyue, I'm here." Zheng Jun got up and waved his hand, touching the wound, and he grinned in pain.

Seeing this, Yang Wen in the distance led more than 100 horsemen to come, and Zheng Jun also turned back to Tang Min and Deng Yan with a bitter face and said, "The next battle will have to be a sharer." ”

"Bohai Bo is okay." When the horse came to everyone, Yang Wen was relieved to see that Zheng Jun was fine:

"I heard last night that you were fighting with the Japanese and led the army to come quickly, but fortunately you are unhindered, and you have won so much."

Yang Wen glanced at the corpses of the Japanese soldiers on the ground, he was not in a hurry to make any military achievements, after all, before he set off, Yang Zhan, Zhang Chun and others made it clear to him that he could be knighted regardless of the outcome of this battle.

"Since it's okay, then I'll pass on the military order."

Yang Wen took out the military order sent by the Chinese army from his arms, and read it out after making a gesture: "Bohai Bo Zheng Jun and Pingyue Bo Yang Wen led the army to Kyoto, and Kyoto must be surrounded within three days, and no one can be let go!" ”

"The last general commands!" Zheng Jun responded, and after the general took the order, he smiled at Yang Wen: "Next, I need to cooperate with Pingyue Bo." ”

"But don't worry!" Yang Wen returned the salute, and Zheng Jun also began to order the army to rest for a while, and start to hurry when the time came.

An hour later, more than 7,000 people from the two armies began to hurry, and Imagawa Takamasa, who had fled the battlefield, was fleeing for his life.

Despite the small size of the horses, they arrived not far from Kyoto Castle before dusk and carried the news back to Kyoto.

It was only 60 miles from Kyoto to Tanba, so it was late at night when the news arrived.

"The Ming army has defeated 5,000 people from Takashima and Imagawa, more than 4,000 people are overwhelmed, and there are less than 15,000 people stationed in Kyoto at the moment, please return to the general!"

Kneeling in the tent, the messenger waited for a reply after saying all the information.

Ashikaga Yoshimori, who was called up in the middle of the night, was still in a daze, but when he heard that the Ming army had landed in Wakasa and advanced to Takashima in less than a day, and at the same time eliminated Takashima's 5,000 troops, he immediately sobered up.

"According to you, they will be able to arrive in Kyoto as soon as tomorrow morning and enclose Kyoto."

"Did they use artillery in the battle on Takashima?" Ashikaga Yoshinori asked for key information, and the samurai shook his head: "No, but they used muskets. ”

"Relying on muskets, they killed nearly a thousand of our troops in the first moment of the two sides' battle, causing the army to be routed."

The samurai felt ashamed and slowly lowered his head.

Ashikaga Yoshinori frowned when he heard this, after all, the Ming army did not issue muskets to official ships of various countries, so he did not master the technology of muskets.

If the artillery can still rely on the Hongwu iron cannon to imitate, then the musket will be extremely difficult, and there is no reference at all.

"Pass on my order, the three armies will withdraw their camp and withdraw to Kyoto City, and His Majesty Emperor Komatsu will be notified to evacuate Kyoto."

"Let Fan Zheng lead Ohno's army to attack Tsuruga from the rear and cut off the retreat of the Ming army, and I will personally lead the army to drag the Ming army in Kyoto."

Ashikaga Yoshimochi calmly ordered, but the two generals who were also called, Uesugi Fang Fang and Yamana Toki, were a little hesitant.

"General, our artillery is inferior to the Ming army, once we fight on the plains, I'm afraid it will ......"

Uesugi Fang cautiously opened his mouth to warn, and Ashikaga Yoshinori bowed his head when he heard this: "I know, but they didn't use artillery in Takashima, so now we have to make sure if they came with artillery first." ”

"It was very difficult for us to go to Ono with artillery, and it should not be easy for them."

"If they don't have artillery, then we can take them by surprise and break their morale, and then it's much easier."

It is not surprising that Ashikaga Yoshishi holds such an idea, the Hongwu iron cannons on their ships are all bulky goods loaded onto the ship after Zhu Gaoxu eliminated the Yangtze River Fort, the cannon body is eight feet long, weighs 2,000 catties, and the gun carriage is at least 3,000 catties.

Such artillery, in a war of movement in such terrain as Japan, is simply a nightmare.

Ashikaga Yoshinori felt that since the artillery of the Ming army was so powerful, it should be heavier than theirs.

Because of this, he felt that the Ming army could no longer transport artillery to Kyoto City in such a short time, after all, even he took four days at the beginning, and today was only the third day of the Ming army's landing.

Withdraw your troops to Kyoto by yourself, and arrive at noon at most in the case of a hasty march, when you can test the attacking Ming army, and if they don't have artillery, you can seize the gap between the end of the musket fire and crush them in one fell swoop.

Although it is not known how many Ming troops there were, the front army was frustrated, and the middle and rear armies would definitely stop.

Thinking of this, Ashikaga Yoshinori began to order the auxiliaries to pack up the camp and notify the main soldiers to retreat.

As the sky began to clear, the two armies, one north and one south, began to advance towards Kyoto.

The supply lines of the Ming army were very long, but they could not hold enough people who were willing to be people's husbands.

Obviously, they were fighting in a different place, but because they gave enough, the rear of the more than 15,000 Ming troops was followed by a team of more than 40,000 people.

Without logistics as an obstacle, on the morning of September 15, Zheng Jun and Yang Wensuo led 7,000 men to conquer Ishiyama, Otsu and other Pingshan Castles and Pingshan Castle successively, and entered the border of Kyoto.

Due to the obstruction of the city, Ashikaga Yoshimochi arrived at Kyoto Castle an hour earlier than Zheng Jun and Yang Wen.

Knowing that the Ming army had sharp artillery, he had already arranged a five-foot earthen slope around Kyoto to resist artillery fire before he learned that the Ming army would crusade against him.

Therefore, when Zheng Jun and Yang Wen arrived in the eastern part of Kyoto, they saw not only the distant Kyoto City, but also the small dirt slopes on the plain.

"Are you ready to defend our artillery with dirt slopes?"

Holding the binoculars, Zheng Jun and Yang Wen observed the entire battlefield before they began to evaluate.

"The number of rebels should be around 50,000, which may be a bit insufficient."

"According to the information of the West Factory, they have 52 iron cannons in the Hongwu period that were dismantled from the official ship, weighing 2,000 catties and with a range of about one mile."

Yang Wen put away the binoculars, pointed to the dirt slopes and commented: "We have 1,300 cavalry, there is no need to use artillery to shell them at the beginning, this will only expose the existence of our artillery." ”

"I'm not sure if anyone has smuggled binoculars into Japan, so it's better to hide the artillery in the Chinese army."

Yang Wen said, Zheng Jun also added: "Their soil slopes are too simple, and it is very easy to shell them with artillery." ”

"I propose to wait for their artillery to be exposed, then concentrate the artillery group to strike at their artillery, and then advance tactically in line, with cavalry protecting the flanks."

"In a hand-to-hand engagement, the cavalry roams around the battlefield in a roundabout way, and they cannot be allowed to retreat intact."

"As far as my experience the day before yesterday is concerned, they are very afraid of our cavalry, and they can use the cavalry to surprise and cooperate with the artillery to break the formation."

After Zheng Jun said that, Yang Wen looked at a middle-aged general beside him: "Xiong'er, let you personally lead 1,300 cavalry, do you dare to enter the battle?" ”

"With artillery, why don't you dare?!" Yang Xiongzuo responded to this dangerous task, and Yang Wen looked at Zheng Jun when he saw this: "What does Bohai Bo think?" ”

"There's nothing wrong with that!" Zheng Jun saw that in addition to getting a marquis for himself this time, Yang Wen was mainly paving the way for his son.

It is not surprising that although Yang Wen is a general of Hongwu, he is now sixty years old, and his son Yang Xiong is now just a commander like himself.

Zheng Jun has three out of forty, and Yang Xiong has seven out of thirty, and the two of them are also difficult brothers.

"In that case, go into battle against the enemy!"

Zheng Jun felt that after Yang Wen handed over the command of the battlefield to him, he immediately cheered up, he didn't mind giving credit to Yang Xiong, Yang Xiong seemed to have been explained by Yang Wen before the war, so he didn't show any dissatisfaction.

After all, Yang Wen is the one with the highest qualifications and the most meritorious achievements here, and if this battle is commanded by Yang Wen, it is estimated that it will be better fought, but Zheng Jun is not willing to give up this opportunity to show himself.

Under his command, 7,000 Ming troops marched towards Kyoto with artillery escorts.

Facing the Japanese troops hiding behind the dirt slope, Zheng Jun made a brief observation with a telescope and then began to let the army form a formation and slowly approach the dirt slope.

At the front of the line were heavy trucks filled with sand, and the Ming soldiers in the front row hid behind and pushed the carts hard.

Although there were no tanks, the tank tactics Zhu Gaoxu had long been clear, and the Ming army naturally mastered such tactics.

"What's that?"

"Trying to block the shells with a car?"

"It's worthy of the Celestial Empire, which invented artillery, but isn't it too exaggerated to want to protect against cannonballs just by using a car?"

Behind a dirt slope, Ashikaga Yoshinori and others, who carefully climbed the dirt slope, looked at the Ming army from a distance, and as the Ming army got closer and closer, they saw hundreds of baggage vehicles blocking the front of the Ming army.

Uesugi Fang and Yamana Tokiki praised the tactics of the Ming army, but at the same time doubted whether this kind of car could withstand the attack of artillery.

They didn't know that the Ming army had filled the baggage cart with sand to unload the force, and Ashikaga Yoshinori also saw that the distance between the two sides was less than 200 paces before he began to give orders.

"Artillery out, immediately shell!"

"Hey!"

At Ashikaga Yoshinori's command, a shrill whistle sounded, and fifty-two heavy Hongwu iron cannons were pushed out of the dirt slope.

However, there was room for shelling on the seemingly interlaced dirt slopes, and for fear that it would be overloaded, Ashikaga Yoshimori divided the artillery into four positions for shelling, and once the shelling was over, he withdrew to the dirt slope and waited for it to be reloaded.

"Prepare for the enemy!"

"Beep-"

The piercing whistle sounded at the same time on the side of the Ming army, and the soldiers of the former army who heard the words immediately put down the push hand in their hands and smashed the tail end of the baggage cart with a wooden mallet.

The foot braces used for balancing were buried deep in the earth, and all the Ming troops lay on the ground.

"Boom, boom—"

Different from the dull sound of field artillery, it has been twelve years since the last Ming army was shelled, and now they are suddenly shelled, which makes them feel a little fresh and excited.

"Bang!!"

Because it is not clear that the ballistics of each artillery are different, only 21 shells of the first round of Japanese test fire hit the chariot, and for a time the sand and soil were splashed, and the chariot was shattered, but the flying sawdust did not cause too many casualties to the Ming army lying on the ground and covering the whole body with armor.

"Does it really work?"

Although they had learned the relevant knowledge for a long time, this was also the first time that the Ming army used chariots to defend against artillery, they did not expect chariots to be really useful, and at the same time, Zheng Jun also saw several dirt slopes where Japanese artillery was placed.

"Remember the four positions just now, the artillery Qianhu is always ready to counterattack."

"The cavalry spread to the left and right, and when the reloading time of the Hongwu iron cannon was one word, take advantage of this opportunity to charge."

However, the distance of 200 steps was very short for the Ming army.

Therefore, when Zheng Jun began to give orders, Yang Xiong, Deng Yan and others began to command the battle respectively, and Yang Wen watched the battle, ready to intervene at any time.

The Ming musketeers came to the front, followed by pikemen and knife players, and the artillery and artillery that were hidden at the end.

Before the word was halfway through, the Ming army had already rushed in front of the first dirt slope.

"Rely on the dirt slope to fight the Japanese robbers, don't expose yourself!"

In order to facilitate the gunners to return fire, Zheng Jun deliberately explained to the various armies, but he still overestimated the combat strength of the Japanese army.

The five-foot-high dirt slope was a bit difficult for the Japanese army, but for the Ming army, it was not as difficult as the obstacle to climb during training.

Even if they were wearing armor, the Ming army could jump down the dirt slope with the help of running, and rushed into the Japanese army and waved the golden gourd hammer on their hands wantonly.

"Die!!"

"Kill!!"

After more than a dozen Ming soldiers like an iron tower jumped into the dirt slope, they could easily cope with the siege of dozens of ashigaru.

Between the two sides fighting, it was often the Ming army that smashed over a Japanese soldier with a single hammer, and his teeth were mixed with blood and saliva flying out, and he could not die again.

In the face of the brave Ming army, most of the Japanese army retreated timidly, and only a small number of sword-wielding samurai drew their swords and carried out a sneak attack on the Ming army.

Just before they could stab their knives and spears into the legs under the Ming army's skirt armor, the Ming army had already smashed over most of the Japanese army.

"Mother! Lao Tzu can be regarded as knowing how those fierce generals in the commentary feel when they kill the enemy! ”

"Kill the enemy and get a reward!!"

Some Ming soldiers couldn't help but shout, and such a scene took place among dozens of dirt slopes.

Hundreds of Ming troops retreated from the thousands of Japanese soldiers, Ashikaga Yoshimochi saw it in his eyes, anxious in his heart, and more importantly, the Ming army was already close to the first line of defense.

"General, the artillery is ready!"

"Okay?" Ashikaga Yoshimochi drew his sword when he heard this: "Shelling the Ming army!" ”

"Hey!" The artillery general hurriedly blew the whistle, and Zheng Jun, who heard the whistle, hurriedly blew the whistle.

The Ming army, which had cooperated for many years, avoided left and right, looking for dirt slopes to take refuge.

In an instant, the sixty cannons after the merger of Zheng Jun and Yang Wen appeared, and they were loaded with shells early, and now the arquebus has been lit.

This step alone was already a few breaths faster than the Japanese gunners.

"Boom, boom—"

The artillery sounded, but this time it was not Japanese artillery, but the cannon of the Ming army.

"Bang!!"

In an instant, the gunner, who was standing five or six steps beside Ashikaga Yoshinori and was exposed to the dirt slope, was pierced through the body by an iron cannonball, and his whole body was torn apart, and flesh and blood splashed on Ashikaga Yoshinori's face, and at the same time, seven or eight members of the public were pierced.

The power of the Ming artillery was far greater than Ashikaga Yoshinori thought, and the gunners he was hiding were shelled by the Ming cannons at a distance of less than 200 paces, and many of the cannons were torn apart on the spot.

Some of them were unlucky enough to have their upper and lower bodies broken, their lower bodies were still twitching, but their upper bodies were wailing in pain.

At this moment, Ashikaga Yoshitsu is holding a radius of dozens of steps, like a prison on earth......

"General...... I...... I ......"

The artillery general, who had been pinned on his hopes earlier, was beaten in two, and he tried to climb to Ashikaga Yoshinori and let Ashikaga Yoshinori rescue him.

But Ashikaga Yoshimochi reacted when he saw this, drew his sword and killed him, and at the same time raised his sword and shouted:

"Now we have no way to retreat, relying on the mound to repel the Ming army in order to have a way out."

"Little ones, rush and kill!!"

"Crackle-"

Ashikaga Yoshimori's encouragement did not last a breath, and the line guns of the Ming army began to wield power......

(End of chapter)