Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

From where Zheng Zhongfu withdrew his troops, the straight-line distance to Kaesong, the capital of Goryeo, is only 70 miles.

But if you march with a large amount of baggage, you need to go north along a small river first. Then turn east to reach a county town, and continue east along the river valley after passing this town. The two sides of the river valley are mostly hilly terrain. Then cross the Licheng River, and wind through the hilly area for nearly 100 miles to reach Kaesong.

One thousand Ming cavalrymen landed on the east bank of the Licheng River estuary by boat.

After a detailed exchange with the guide, they did not follow the plan to attack halfway across the river. Because if they did so, they had to march north along the river for 20 to 30 miles.

And the places they passed were either rice fields or hills, which were not convenient for cavalry to rush and fight.

They chose to go north along a tributary of the Licheng River, and led horses to rush about 15 miles on the winding and narrow road.

They could not ride horses to rush on the road, because it was night and the roadside was full of rice fields that had just been harvested. Due to the conscription and war, many farmers were conscripted to Kaesong, and they had no time to plant other crops.

There were many Goryeo people along the way, and they all heard the sound of them leading horses to march.

But they didn't dare to go out to check, for fear of encountering the defeated Goryeo soldiers. They hid at home and trembled, and only the dogs in the village kept barking.

At dawn, the guide pointed to the front and said: "That is Kaifeng Post. The surrounding mountains are rich in Goryeo ginseng. The nobles often send people here to buy it, and then transport it to Kaizhou Outer Port to sell it to Ming merchants."

This broken place in front of us is the hometown of Lee Sun-sin, the cosmic god of war of the Lee Dynasty of Korea!

Du Ruohai, the cavalry general of the Ming Dynasty, asked: "Is the terrain ahead open?"

The guide said: "It is the most open place in this area of ​​20 miles. Going east along a river valley can directly reach Kaijing. Whether Zheng Zhongfu led his troops to withdraw, or Kaizhou sent reinforcements to the front line, they must pass through the Kaifeng Post in front."

"How many postmen are there in Kaifeng Post?" Du Ruohai asked again.

The guide replied: "There are not many postmen, and a cavalry raid should be able to capture them all. But there are still many farmers around, and there is a manor of a large family to the east of Kaifeng Post. If we rush out rashly, we will definitely not be able to hide our tracks."

Du Ruohai continued to inquire about the terrain, and then took his cavalry and hid in a nearby valley with horses.

Du Ruohai is an old subordinate of Chen Ziyi, a native of Hebei. He is currently commanding a cavalry unit in Liaoning, and is a graduate of the first batch of the Daming Military Academy - a crash course for military academies as officers at the time.

He and his cavalry waited in the valley, taking turns to sleep and rest.

Some cavalry were sent to the entrance of the valley to capture or kill any Goryeo people who approached the valley. Some cavalry were on guard in the valley, capturing or killing Goryeo people who wanted to approach the valley.

Several people climbed to the top of the mountain and observed the enemy with telescopes.

Around noon, the lookout on the mountain ran down: "General, two or three hundred Korean light cavalry arrived at Kaifeng Post. It is estimated that they are the vanguard sent by Zheng Zhongfu to clear the way."

"Keep observing." Du Ruohai said.

Another hour later, Zheng Zhongfu's main force arrived one after another.

From last night to now, if we only consider the straight-line distance, Zheng Zhongfu has only walked less than 50 miles. But he crossed two rivers, one of which was the main stream of Licheng River.

There were a lot of baggage to cross the river, and their marching speed was already very fast.

The malnourished civilians couldn't bear it at all, and they lay down and fell asleep near Kaifeng Post.

Many civilians were awakened by soldiers and forced to go to the mountains to collect firewood with sticks, while others buried pots and washed rice and prepared to cook.

As for Zheng Zhongfu's 6,000 elite soldiers, only a few were fully equipped with armor, and they were responsible for patrolling.

Most soldiers took off their armor and let civilians or livestock carry it. No one would march all the way in armor.

These guys have been traveling for half a day and a night, and they are exhausted now. They are leaning against each other in groups of three or two to rest.

They didn't set up camp, and they had to continue traveling after dinner!

"Boom!"

A thousand Ming Dynasty cavalry rushed out of the valley, making rumbling sounds of horse hooves.

This valley is several miles away from Kaifeng Post.

Zheng Zhongfu was shocked when he heard the sound of horse hooves: "The whole army will fight in armor!"

The six thousand elite Goryeo soldiers were in a mess and hurried to find their armor.

They came from the two armies and six guards in Kaijing, and their armor rate was 100%. They were the elite among the elite in Goryeo.

Moreover, after Zheng Zhongfu seized power, he used the excuse of suppressing the rebellion to massacre the Jin family in Gyeongju, and robbed a lot of money and food to reward the soldiers. The two armies and six guards were the main rewards, and they were all well-fed, and their morale was unprecedentedly high.

The current combat effectiveness of these guys is estimated to be able to easily defeat the Ming Dynasty Cao Army.

While the soldiers were looking for armor to wear, Zheng Zhongfu ordered the laborers to carry the baggage and form a simple fortification with grain bags, grain carts and livestock.

"Kill!"

A thousand Ming cavalrymen rushed closer and closer, and the Korean laborers who were building fortifications were frightened and scattered by the cavalry's charge.

When the Ming cavalrymen rushed through the messy and unformed fortifications, less than half of the six thousand Korean elites were wearing armor. Most of the soldiers had just put on their armor and had no time to tie all the leather ropes, let alone form any formation to resist the enemy.

They raised their weapons in a panic, and the generals were still there ordering the formation, and the officers' throats were smoking.

"Go!"

Li Junyi was the first to react and fled with dozens of his personal soldiers.

He asked his cousin to run to inform the Ming army and guide the Ming army to occupy Kaijing, so that his younger brother Li Yifang could take the opportunity to surrender the city and make merit.

Presenting the capital of Goryeo to the Ming Dynasty was enough merit for the Li family to gain a foothold in the Ming Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, the Ming army did not go to seize Kaijing at all, but instead rushed to set up an ambush halfway. This was completely beyond Li Junyi's expectation!

If he didn't run away at this time, he would most likely be accidentally killed among the rebels.

Li Junyi fled with his own soldiers, which kicked off the rout of the Goryeo soldiers.

I can't escape.

Half of the soldiers were not wearing armor, and there was no time to form a military formation. How could they fight in the face of a cavalry surprise attack?

The Goryeo soldiers threw away their weapons and tore off the armor they had not yet put on. They did not dare to escape along the road, because they would definitely not be able to outrun the cavalry, so they rushed towards the nearby mountains in unison.

"General, go quickly!"

Zheng Zhongfu fought for his reputation as a warrior, so his prestige in the army was extremely high. A group of hundreds of top elites actually took the initiative to stay and cut off his heir apparent.

Zheng Zhongfu was so frightened that he ran wildly on horseback. After escaping for some distance, he turned around to check, only to see that the troops behind him had been routed.

No matter how elite you are, you can only wear Korean armor.

Most of their bodies were made of leather armor. They reluctantly formed a formation and were hit by arrows one after another before engaging in battle.

The first team of Ming Dynasty knights shot arrows and passed by the formation. And he no longer cared about these people, but chased Zheng Zhongfu.

The second team of Ming Dynasty knights shot arrows past the formation again to chase down the defeated Goryeo troops on the other side.

The third team...

The fourth team...

Goryeo elites continued to fall down after being hit by arrows. Some soldiers began to flee out of fear, and the barely formed military formation was on the verge of collapse.

The seventh team of Ming Dynasty Knights rushed straight into the scattered enemy formation.

It was like smashing a watermelon with a sledgehammer, smashing the Goryeo military formation to pieces in an instant.

At this point, these 6,000 Goryeo elite and unorganized troops were all defeated at first glance.

Li Junyi, who had fled several miles away on horseback, suddenly stopped and said to the soldiers: "Most of the elite soldiers of Goryeo are here. They will definitely be wiped out. Can we still defeat the Ming army?"

The soldiers were at a loss.

Li Junyi said: "If you want to survive, you can only seek refuge in the Ming Dynasty. Maybe you will be rich and powerful in the future. We will stay here. If Zheng Zhongfu can escape, we will use his head to ask for a reward from the Ming army."

Zheng Zhongfu ended civilian rule and allowed military men to live a better life, so his prestige in the military was frighteningly high.

This is also the reason why Li Yifang stayed behind to open the capital, but did not dare to act rashly. He had to wait for the Ming Dynasty to send troops there before he dared to cooperate and seize the city.

These are all Li Junyi's personal soldiers.

But when Li Junyi said he wanted to kill Zheng Zhongfu, his soldiers hesitated.

Li Junyi cried and wiped away her tears and said: "Do you know why I want to worship Zheng Zhongfu as my adoptive father? Because he wants to kill our brothers. Zheng Zhongfu is only two or three years older than me. If it is not to survive, why should he suffer this shame and humiliation? He It has indeed made Wu Ren live a good life, but he actually looks down on Wu Ren and has often entertained civil servants in the past two months. "

The soldiers stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.

Li Junyi added: "If I am killed by Zheng Zhongfu, you are all my personal soldiers. Will he really treat you well? If you don't want to do it, just leave by yourself."

The soldiers looked at each other and no one left.

No matter how high Zheng Zhongfu's prestige is, Li Junyi is their "lord", and he still has to listen to his "lord" at critical times.

The sound of horse hooves is getting closer.

Zheng Zhongfu kept leaving his own soldiers to cut off the rear, and all of them were killed. He was the only one left who was still running away alone.

More than twenty Ming Dynasty knights chased Zheng Zhongfu wildly.

Seeing Li Junyi leading the troops to block the front, Zheng Zhongfu shouted from a distance: "Hurry and help me stop the pursuing troops!"

Li Junyi smiled ferociously: "Father, don't panic, my child is here to help you fight off the enemy. Kill!"

Zheng Zhongfu was immediately overjoyed: "If you can return to Kaijing, I will immediately promote you and make you a marquis... a traitor!"

Li Junyi stepped forward with his gun, but when he missed the horse, he stabbed Zheng Zhongfu.

Zheng Zhongfu was unprepared for this and was shot hard. Immediately, Li Junyi's soldiers shot Zheng Zhongfu twice. The man was knocked off his horse and seriously injured.

Li Junyi reined up his horse and drew his sword, ran to cut off Zheng Zhongfu's head, then led his troops to kneel in the road and said in extremely fluent Chinese: "Here is the head of the traitor Zheng Zhongfu, long live the Ming Dynasty!"

This team of Mingxiao horses reined in their horses and slowed down, taking Li Junyi back to recover.

Seeing Du Ruohai, Li Junyi said: "General, please quickly lead your troops to Kaijing. Troops have been gathering there, and it is estimated that tens of thousands of troops have been gathered now. Many local troops are still rushing to Kaijing. But the chief general there, He is my half-brother. As long as the Ming Dynasty troops come to the city and bring Zheng Zhongfu's head, my brother can convince the soldiers to surrender! "

Du Ruohai sarcastically said: "Your traitorous methods are quite clever."

Li Junyi said: "The last general was originally a descendant of Yan and Huang, but now he has just returned to the embrace of his motherland."

At this time, there were many Ming Dynasty people in Goryeo, especially those scholars from poor families.

They considered themselves to be descendants of Yan and Huang, and secretly spread this idea, even to generals like Li Junyi.