Chapter 159: Invincible

On the ninth day of the first lunar month of the 21st year of Wanli, Pyongyang was victorious!

Li Rusong's reputation was greatly improved with this battle, and the Japanese troops in various places were frightened. Even the most combat-captain Xiaoxi, the most powerful of them, was defeated by the Ming army. What did they use to fight? For a moment, the Japanese troops in various places collapsed without fighting, and they didn't even see the shadow of the Ming army, so they ran away completely.

Within only three days, all the Japanese troops in Huangzhou, Pingshan, Zhonghe and other places abandoned the city and fled. During their defeat and fleeing, they were intercepted and killed by the Korean rebels along the way. The Japanese army burned, killed and looted in North Korea, and the Koreans had long hated them to their core. As long as the Japanese scattered soldiers who were trapped in the team were captured by the Koreans, they were all tortured to death.

When the news of the Ming army's victory reached Yizhou, the Korean monarch and ministers here were joking, and the governors of Song Yingchang also urgently reported to Emperor Wanli to tell the story of his great victory in Pyongyang. Korean Minister Liu Chenglong also rushed to Pyongyang City to reward the Ming army.

After several days of reorganizing troops in Pyongyang City, Li Rusong took advantage of the victory and attacked again. He left Zhang Shijue to lead thousands of troops to guard Pyongyang. He personally led the remaining main force of the Ming army, as well as more than 8,000 Korean troops crossing the Datong River and heading east from the frozen river. The rolling Ming army continued to leave the city. The cavalry brigade at the front, and behind were rumbling chariots, artillery and supplies, etc., and the team could not see the edge at a glance.

During this process, the Koreans inside and outside the city of Pyongyang have been looking at the army with awe, and lined up on both sides of the street to cheer at the Ming army. To be honest, in this era, the Koreans, whether they are kings and ministers, have awe and admiration for the Ming Dynasty from the heart, especially in the context of this great victory, everyone is full of confidence in the Ming army's restoration of the entire North Korea.

The army passed by, and along the way, the Japanese were afraid of the strength of the Ming army and they had already abandoned the city and fled. Only the old capital of North Korea was Kaicheng, and there were more than 20,000 Japanese Second Army stationed, and the main general was the Japanese general Kato Kiyomasa.

Li Rusong stationed a large army in Pingshan and ordered his younger brother Li Rubai to lead 8,000 cavalry to seize Kaicheng.

On the 17th day of the first lunar month of the 21st year of Wanli, the city was opened.

Kaesong was once the capital of North Korea for a long time, called Kaijing. At the end of the 14th century, Lee Sung-gui moved the capital to Seoul, called Wangjing. However, even though Kaesong was one of the old capitals of North Korea, the building was still low, which was far behind Pyongyang.

Although the Japanese army's flag was flying at the top of Kaicheng City at this time, there was a panic in the low mansion residence of Kaicheng. Not only that, the Japanese army in Kaicheng was in a panic. As more and more Japanese troops fled to Kaicheng, the combat power of the Ming army was exaggerated and the fear spread throughout Kaicheng.

Only the Korean people in Kaicheng told each other excitedly in private that the Celestial Army was coming and that the good days for the Japanese were coming.

The guards of Kaichiro Kato Kiyoshi, the commander of the Second Corps of the Japanese Invaders, was over thirty years old and short and strong. He was the adopted son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was known for his bravery and good fighting in Japan. He was indeed invincible in the war against Korea a few months ago, and his military achievements were outstanding, and he was known as the "Tiger Kato".

However, the "Tiger Kato" is now dazed in the official residence. He can't understand why the Tang people were defeated by the Tang people with such ability? A few months ago, he and the South Korean leader each led an army, but the Korean people were frightened and defeated the enemy thousands of miles away.

President Xiaoxi's leadership ability is deeply inferior to him, and the strength of Pyongyang City is far inferior to Kaicheng. Even President Xiaoxi was defeated by the Tang people, let alone him.

Is the Korean army too incompetent, or is the Tang army too powerful? "Tiger Kato" had no time to argue. But when he heard that the Tang army continued to come, he felt more and more worried.

At this moment, his heart felt like fifteen buckets were rising and falling. While he was thinking, a confidant warrior rushed into the mansion and shouted in panic: "Your Excellency, the scout, the main force of the Tang army has arrived in Pingshan and left the city less than a day. How should our army deal with it, please tell me!"

When he called, the followers and warriors standing beside him all looked panicked, which showed that the entire army had no fighting spirit.

Kato Kiyoshi shouted in a serious and stern voice: "If the Tang army comes, I will lead the army to fight to the death with them!"

A flag book walked forward and whispered: "Your Excellency, don't underestimate the enemy. The Tang people are powerful and even Xiaoxijun can't stop them. If our army is in Kaicheng, it will be a disaster. It's better for us to turn to Wangjing, gather the main force, and then fight the Tang people to the death!"

Kiyoshi Kato's face relaxed, looked around, and the confidant generals nodded quickly. He said, "Okay, let these Tang people temporarily let us go, our army will move into Wangjing..."

Soon, he raised his voice again and said viciously: "These Koryo people who opened the city are all ulterior motives. In order to prevent future troubles, we will clear them first!"

What does clearance mean? The generals beside Kiyomasa Kato understand, and immediately they were all overjoyed and howl like a wolf. Kiyomasa Kato is cruel and often kills people and massacres. Since invading North Korea, countless Korean civilians died under his knife. There are many superiors and inferiors. Kiyomasa Kato is so cruel that all his generals enjoy killing people.

At that moment, Kiyomasa Kato gathered his team and began to prepare to evacuate the city. He closed the city gates and killed people and set fires in the city, making fun of the city. Tens of thousands of Korean people in the city died under their swords.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that when he heard that the Tang vanguard had left the city not far, Kiyoshi Kato hurriedly led more than 20,000 Japanese troops and fled from the city in panic and headed towards Wangjing, leaving behind a town with fireworks and corpses on the ground.

When Li Rubai heard that the Japanese army fled and slaughtered the city in Kaicheng, he was furious and led 8,000 cavalry to chase after him. Although Kato Kiyoshi had 20,000 people, he did not dare to turn back to meet the enemy and fled all the way. In the end, Li Rubai killed more than 500 guards left by Kato Kiyoshi, and only six of them were injured or killed.

The 19th day of the first lunar month of the 21st year of Wanli.

Li Rusong led the army into Kaicheng, and what he saw was a mess. All the houses in the city had been burned and the bodies of Korean civilians were all over the ground. Especially the women in the city were raped and killed by the Japanese army, and many children and babies were also killed by the Japanese army with various cruel methods.

Seeing all this, the Ming army was filled with cold air rising from the bottom of their feet and heads. Such behavior was really unconscionable. Fortunately, the emperor was wise and sent troops to rescue the North Korean country. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. The Korean army led by the border envoy Li Yi of the North Korean country were crying and vowed to kill all the Japanese and avenge the people of Kaicheng.

After regaining the old capital Kaicheng, Li Rusong did not stop and continued to advance south quickly. The Japanese army collapsed across the board and retreated to the south. After only more than a month of entering North Korea, the Ming army recovered more than 500 miles of lost territory. The 18th roads of the Three Capitals of North Korea have been recovered, and Pyongyang, the two capitals of Kaicheng, the Huanghai, Ping'an, Jingji, Jiangyuan, and Xianjing have been recovered.

Since the Battle of Pyongyang, the so-called heroes of the Japanese army proclaimed themselves were often frightened when fighting with the Ming army. The so-called famous generals of the Warring States Period who were praised as magical are just like that!

After recovering Pyongyang and Kaicheng's two capitals, the last target was placed in front of the Ming army - Wang Jing.

On the 20th day of the first lunar month of the 21st year of Wanli, King of Korea.

Wang Jing, also known as Seoul, is the capital of the Korean Kingdom, and is known as "Little China". On May 2, the 20th year of Wanli, the Japanese army captured Wang Jing of Korea. After entering the city, they massacred and robbed Wang Jing, burned Wang Jing, which greatly damaged Wang Jing's vitality. Although the Japanese occupied Wang Jing in order to decorate the storefront and then repaired the city, they could not restore the old view and looked like a dilapidated scene.

At this time, Wangjing City had become a large barracks, and Japanese generals came and went, and almost no Korean people could be seen on the street. The Ming army occupied Pyongyang, and the news of Kaicheng had been heard, and every news brought a wave of panic.

Especially a few days ago, when President Konishi and Kiyomasa Kato led a group of defeated troops to retreat to Wangjing, this panic reached its peak.

Governor Konishi and Kiyoshi Kato were close friends of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Their subordinates were well equipped and had excellent combat power. Even when they faced the Ming army, they were vulnerable. How could the rest of the troops block the attack of the Ming army? Since then, the Japanese troops from Heiandao, Huanghaidao, and Jiangyuandao were defeated and fled back to Wangjing, and the morale of the Japanese army had dropped to freezing point.

At this time, in the Japanese Governor's Office of Wangjing, the people coming and going in the palace were all panic, showing their inner panic.

There was also a silent atmosphere in the Governor's Office.

In the conference hall, there are the commander of the Eighth Army and the governor of Wang Jing, the Hideaki Ukiki, the commander of the First Legion, the commander of the First Legion, the commander of the Second Legion, Kiyomasaki Kato, the commander of the Third Legion, and the commander of the Fourth Legion, and the commander of the Fourth Legion, Yoshihiro Shimazu and others.

However, they were speechless and didn't know what to say. Yes, last year, they captured the Eighteenth capital of the North Korean Kingdom in just two months and two days, and captured two princes of North Korea. At that time, they were so energetic that they were so energetic that they would not be in their eyes, not to mention the North Korean Kingdom, even the Tang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, after the Tang people entered North Korea, they beat them to fear in less than a month and recovered the two capitals. Thinking of the crazy words at the time, it was really ironic.

Like Japan, many Tang styles are still retained in the Governor's Office of North Korea. Everyone is wearing Wu robes (the Japanese call themselves Wu robes, but the Chinese call them kimonos), and they are familiar with sitting in the ground. The early spring sunshine shines into the courtyard, bringing only a coldness.

Ukita Hidea's family first said: "You guys, the Tang army has approached Wang Jing. How should you deal with it? What are your good plans?"

Seeing that everyone in the hall was still silent, Ukita Hide's family directly called the President Xiaoxi and said, "Xiaoxijun, you have fought with Tangren, let's talk!"

President Xiaoxi's face was calm. When he returned from defeat in Pyongyang City, he remained silent all day long. He was a devout Catholic. This morning, he prayed specifically to God, which made his heart calmer.

After hearing what the Ukita Hide family said, he respectfully kowtowed to the Ukita Hide family and said, "Your Excellency, I mean that I have many soldiers in Wangjing. As long as I have a strong fortress and fight to the death in the city, under the protection of my superior army, the Tang people will definitely return with a broken feather!"

Governor Konishi's words were also reasonable. At this time, the Japanese army gathered in Wangjing had a total of the remnants of Governor Konishi's First Legion, part of the second legion of Kato Kiyoshi's Second Legion, part of Kuroda Nagamasa's Third Legion, the main force of Shimazu Yoshihiro's Fourth Legion and the Eighth Legion led by Ukita Hideaki, totaling about 50,000 troops.

In addition, the 6th Army of Kobayakawa Takake's 16,000 people and nearly 20,000 people of the 9th Army of Hashiba Hidekaku also came day and night. If they met with the main force of the Japanese army of Wangjing, there would be more Japanese troops in Wangjing. The Ming army would probably have up to 40,000 people. As long as they persist, they could indeed fight the Ming army. Ukita Hideaki couldn't help but nodded slowly. To be honest, he had only one method.

However, after hearing what Governor Konishi said, the commander of the Third Corps Kuroda Nagamasa said: "Konishi, when you were in Pyongyang that day, there were many defenders and the city was strong. Wasn't it also broken by the Tang people? This method is too negative."

Kuroda Nagamasa was known as the "Master of Military Art" in Japan. It is said that he is proficient in military art. When he heard President Konishi say this, he immediately refuted it.

Ukita Hide's family said: "Kuroda, please let Your Excellency Konishi continue to talk!"

President Konishi bowed respectfully to Ukita Hide's family and said, "Your Excellency, I have another plan. I think the Tang people's Shihuo arrow is indeed very sharp. If our army holds the city, under the strong attack of the Tang people's Shihuo arrow, there will be heavy casualties!"

"But I think that the Tang people rely on is nothing more than a stone, fire, arrow, and their iron cannons, swords, etc., except for the few troops, are not as good as our army. I have a plan..."
Chapter completed!