Chapter 201: Eastern Expedition to Japan (V)

Nagasaki, the Northern Dynasty General Ashikaga Yoshiman stood in front of Guangang for a long time. The Guangang was empty, and one meter and one cent were gone. Not only that, there was no Ming army, not even an army, nor an official, but only robbers and mobs. A large group of major landlords in Kyushu whose property was robbed followed Ashikaga Yoshiman and cried, begging the general to send troops to regain their property.

"General, all the 100 cows in my family were stolen by the mob. The general must take them back for me!"

"So too, my family. All the food I hid in the cellar and my wife's jewelry were stolen. Those damn thieves must be spies from the Ming Dynasty and generals. You can't let them go!"

Ashikaga Yoshiman, who was walking in front, was about fifty years old. He had a heroic hook nose, sharp eyes, clear mouth, and long nose grooves showed his arrogance and status. He was indeed the most powerful person in Japan. He was appointed as the Minister of the Northern Dynasties and served as the General of the Conquering Yi. At this moment, the highest powerful person was upset by a group of landlords behind him. If it weren't for the support of these tyrants, he would have ordered them to be killed. In the end, he could not bear it anymore and turned around and shouted: "Shut up all of you!"

Dozens of landlords were so scared that they did not dare to say anything. They were like a group of frightened chickens tremblingly. Ashikaga Yoshiman sighed and pointed at them and ordered the soldiers and said, "Take them down and tell them that if they catch the thief, they will notify them to collect their property."

Dozens of great landlords were taken down. Ashikaga Yoshima sat on the Oshima in frustration. Judging from the information he received, Oshiki Yoshihiro probably had died somewhere in battle. Oshiki Yoshihiro's wife, his daughter, was almost dead. Although he got Kyushu Island as he wished, he knew that Kyushu Island was still far unstable. The key was the strategic intention of the Ming army. He just robbed Kyushu Island and withdrew his troops, or had other plans. If it were the latter, it would be dangerous. Where would the Ming army withdraw from the sea? Should they go after he left before occupying Kyushu, or directly killing Kyoto?

This is what Ashikaga Yoshiman is most troubled. At this moment, Kyushu Island is like a hard meat that can be bitten but cannot be chewed, and it will be even more difficult to swallow. If you give up on it, it would be a pity.

"General, I am worried that the Ming army will intercept us in the Strait of Maguan, so that we can no longer return to the state." The speaker was Ashikaga Yoshiman's second-rank left guard Major General Heiichiro Kitaro. When he found that there was no Ming army in Kyushu, his first reaction was to be trapped. They fell into a pocket, and the Ming army would intercept them in the Strait and tie up the pocket rope.

Ashikaga Yoshiman shook his head slowly, no! He thought of this possibility before crossing the strait, and specially left 30,000 elite troops on the other side of the strait, led by his son, "Don't worry! Yoshiki is on the other side of the strait, and there are also whistle ships in the sea. If there is any movement, he will notify us immediately."

"But..." Kitago Heiichiro always felt something was wrong, but he couldn't explain it clearly. He felt that Ashikaga Yoshima was too confident, and people who were too confident would always encounter setbacks.

Yes, Ashikaga Yoshiman was considerate, but he made a fatal mistake. He underestimated the Ming army's maritime combat capabilities. In fact, it was not his fault. Since the Japanese were defeated in the Battle of Baijiangkou in the early Tang Dynasty, they had not had a war with the Eastern Tu Central Plains for nearly 700 years. They could not imagine the Ming army's maritime combat capabilities. Ashikaga Yoshiman had never seen the Ming army's treasure ship. He only heard that the hull was extremely large and good at transporting troops. As for its combat capabilities, he could not imagine it.

But war is not like playing games. If you find a mistake, you can save it and start over. A small mistake in a large-scale war is enough to affect the overall situation and even change the course of history.

The Strait of Maguan is one of Japan's natural dangers. Its shape is like the Tai Chi diagram of China, with one concave and another convex. One of the two continents of Honshu and Kyushu stretches out a long and thin island to bite together, but it is not tightly tied. There is a long thin slit between the two long islands. This thin slit is the Strait of Maguan. The narrowest point is only 600 meters, and the water flows fast. It has been a place that military strategists must fight for since ancient times. In order to report back and forth, Yoshiman Ashima deployed more than 300 whistleboats in the Strait. Once the movement of the Ming army was discovered, the fire was immediately raised to call the alarm. The beacon alarm lasted for hundreds of miles. After a few hours, Yoshiman Ashima could get the alarm ahead.

That night, the wind was high and the night was dark. In the strait, the undulating waves were slapped on the reefs. More than 300 whistleboats were quietly leaning against the cliffs, just like small fish close to the reefs on the shore. There were troops deployed on both sides of the strait, including 30,000 troops led by Ashikaga Yoshihiko, the son of Ashikaga Yoshihiko, on the side of Honshu Island. This was to prevent the Ming army from entering Shipai and intercepting the return of Ashikaga Yoshihiko's army. Ashikaga Yoshihiko was indeed very considerate. The Ming army was raiding from a long distance, with only 10,000 or 20,000 troops, and the 30,000 troops he deployed were enough to confront the Ming army for three to four days, and these three to four days were enough for his army to return.

Just at the third hour of the silent night, a violent explosion suddenly came from the direction of Xiaguan. The flames soared into the sky. Almost all the soldiers on the whistle were awakened. They suddenly found that the firelight of the report of the direction of the state was rising into the air. This was a war. The soldiers on the boat immediately lit the torches and blew the horns. The flames in the strait were dotted. The flames extended to the shore and were extending westward at a rapid speed, gradually forming a thin and long line of fire. War, the signal of war was sent out!

At this moment, the warships on the sea north of Xiaguan were hazy, and 15,000 Ming soldiers landed on a peninsula called Zhutoujiao. Three thousand cavalrymen quickly penetrated into the hinterland like a sharp knife, sweeping away some sporadic Japanese troops deployed on the edge, quickly seizing enough space for the main force of the Ming army. The Ming army quickly set up a formation and slowly advanced towards the direction of Xiaguan. They stopped five miles away from the main Japanese camp. They were not in a hurry to attack, just as if a fisherman with patience was waiting for the big fish to bite the hook by themselves.

It should be said that the speculation of Heiichiro Kita-Erge was not wrong. This was indeed a trap set by Li Wei-master. After the previous mission, he knew the crucial importance of the strategic position of Kyushu Island to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In order to plan for Kyushu, the Southern Dynasties did not hesitate to give all the Ming army equipment he bought with a lot of money to Kikuchi Fenga, hoping to use this woman's power to open the door to Kyushu; in order to plan for Kyushu, Ashikaga Yoshima did not hesitate to marry his eldest daughter to Yoshihiro Ouchi. When Ouchi Yoshima retreated step by step, Ashikaga Yoshima impatiently sent 100,000 troops to seize Kyushu. At that time, he did not know that the Ming army had intervened. Similarly, Prince Ryoseki also sent troops 100,000 in an eager manner, trying to occupy Kyushu first.

The eager desire of the two dynasties to seize Kyushu made them lose their normal thinking and inevitably exposed their weaknesses. Kikuchi Fengya saw through this point, and she counterattacked the Southern Dynasties army that crossed the sea, and seized the control of the Southern Dynasties in one fell swoop.

Similarly, Li Weizheng also saw through this point, so he used Kyushu Island as bait to set up this trap. He knew that Ashikaga Yoshiman would definitely lead the main force to cross the sea and advance westward to seize the long-awaited Kyushu Island.

The 30,000 troops left by Ashigata Yoshiman in Shigata were just big stones used to tie life-saving ropes to Li Weizheng. It is actually the same if he ignores it. As long as he cuts the rope, Ashigata Yoshiman will never come up in the trap, and this rope is the Strait of Maguan.

Of course, the best time to cut the rope is to climb the rope when the prey falls into the well and prepare to climb up the rope. When you are about to climb to the entrance of the cave, you cruelly cut off his rope and kick him down. Now that the Ming army has landed on the Zhutoujiao Peninsula, it is just to alert the snake. Tell the prey under the trap that you can climb the rope.

At this moment, Li Wei was standing on a hill south of Zhutoujiao Peninsula, looking at the movement of the Japanese camp. He observed with his clairvoyance for a long time. They were five miles away from the Japanese camp. The clairvoyance he made was five miles away, and the Japanese camp five miles away was right in front of him. He could even see the soldiers patrolling the guardhouse.

The gate of the military camp was closed with no movement, as if they had not noticed the arrival of the Ming army. This was impossible. Li Weizheng could conclude that the Japanese generals in the military camp must also be nervously looking for countermeasures.

"Tell me my order and release three thunders!"

The thunder of the sky is mainly used for siege and has little effect in wilderness combat, but it has one characteristic that can be used, that is, the sound of explosions shakes the sky and earth, and is enough to intimidate Japanese soldiers.

The order was passed down, and Li Weizheng raised his eyes and stared at the other side's camp again. He wanted to see the reaction of the Japanese army after the explosion.

In the Japanese camp, Ashikaga Yoshihisa's son Ashikaga Yoshihisa was indeed nervously thinking about countermeasures. Although his father told him that the Ming army might confront him head-on, when this moment really came, Ashikaga Yoshihisa was a little overwhelmed.

To be fair, Ashikaga Yoshiki is not a playboy. He is also a very capable hero. Although he has been living under the shadow of his father, he still proved that he could take over his father's career with his own ability. He is currently the right minister of the Northern Dynasty, which is equivalent to the left prime minister in the Tang system. Later, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Toyotomi Hidera all held this position. Ashikaga Yoshiki had fought several major battles in military affairs and had certain command capabilities. But the problem now is that Ashikaga Yoshiki knew nothing about the Ming army. He also heard that the army had firearms and had seen the Ming army's muskets. But how sharp this kind of firearm was in the group's battles, and whether their armor and shields could resist them, he knew nothing about these. Just like a first-class chef facing modern stoves for the first time, although he could make colorful dishes, he had no idea.

Ashikaga Yoshika was paced back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back. He asked several other generals in the big tent from time to time, "Tell me, how should we fight this battle?"

Several generals were also at a loss. One of them, named Yoshinobu Murata, spoke, "Your Excellency, we have never fought with the Ming army. I don't know their combat characteristics. I suggest that we send an army to test it first, so that we can make targeted deployments."

"But it's midnight now, and it's dark outside. How do we observe?" Another general also interjected: "The first thing we consider now is defense. We already know that the Ming army has thousands of cavalry, so we must first prevent the Ming army from raiding at night."

Ashikaga Yoshiji nodded. What both of them said made sense. They should first send an army to fight the Ming army tentatively and understand their reality. This can only be implemented after dawn. The most urgent task now is to deploy defense.

Thinking of this, Ashikaga Yoshiji ordered: "Transfer my order and transfer ten thousand archers..."

Before he could finish his words, a series of loud thunder-like sounds suddenly came from afar, rumbling and shocking. Then the earth shook slightly, and a large candle in the tent fell to the ground with a "splash!"
Chapter completed!