Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The Ming army came from the west and left the Lanshan Valley. In this section of the Guichuan River, which flows north to south, it is located in the plain at the foot of the mountain on the east side of Lanshan.

This kind of formation is the same as when Zhuge Wuhou left Qishan. He established a large camp at the exit of the valley. Even if there is an emergency, he can retreat calmly and not be chased by the enemy without even a foothold.

This is what a military strategist thinks about defeat before thinking about victory.

The allied forces of the shogunate came from Sagano in the west of Kyoto. Sagano is located in the north of Arashiyama and entrenched at the eastern foot of Mount Kokura. It was originally a wilderness, but as the nobles enjoyed the red leaves and played boating here, the scenery of pastoral fields and bamboo forests gradually expanded. , there were many temples at this time, and Emperor Kameyama escaped from here not long ago.

Similarly, the shogunate coalition built its main camp under the hills of Sagano for the same purpose as the Ming army. In case of defeat, they could escape back and stabilize their position.

The two sides were separated by the Guichuan River, and their camps stretched for dozens of miles. At this time, their troops had been organized and arrayed.

The wind in the sky was like a knife, cutting through the thick clouds on the horizon, revealing the undercurrent of the battlefield below.

Under the banner of the commander of the Ming army, Duke Cheng Zhu Neng stood like a mountain, his Mingguang armor shining sharply in the sun. His eyes were like torches, scanning the surrounding generals.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Cao Guogong Li Jinglong stood aside quietly, his face was calm, but the corners of his mouth were pursed tightly, not knowing what he was thinking in his heart.

Prince Zhu Gaoxu, on the other hand, was dressed in military uniform and looked very heroic. As a pioneer, he was already eager to take the lead. He only needed an order to lead the Ming army's armored cavalry to charge into the battle.

Li Yuan, Liu Cai, Fang Kuan and other infantry and cavalry generals were also preparing, but their faces had no expressions. These generals were all experienced in fighting, and there were many battles larger than this during the Jingnan period.

Ping An was not with the commander at the moment. As the commander of the firearms unit, he was carefully patrolling the rear, asking the gunmen to carefully check the guns and ammunition in their hands.

Outside the Ming army's array, there were 40,000 Japanese servants. The heraldic flags of the Kikuchi, Sagara, Ito, Ouchi, and Yamana families were fluttering in the wind. At this time, the Ming army threw them to the two wings to suppress them. We dare not put them in front.

The reason is also very simple. If this group of servants collapses on both wings, they will automatically disperse and will not affect the Ming army. However, if this group of people is rolled over by the shogunate coalition forces in front and collapse, they will fall directly. They were rolled into the front of the Ming army's formation and formed a counter push. At that time, the Ming army would have to kill them first and then face the shogunate coalition. On the contrary, it was a waste of firepower and seriously affected the Ming army's attack efficiency.

Once this happens, it is impossible for the Ming army to let go of the front and let these servant troops come back.

Because in this era, even if the Ming army was a mixed force with hot and cold weapons, in a battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, it still needed to maintain a strict formation in order for the army to accept command in an organized manner. A battle of this scale would be a huge crowd. , the only thing soldiers can rely on is strict formation. Without formation, no matter how elite the veteran is, he can only fall into the panic of being trampled by the crowd and unable to gain a foothold, let alone fight back.

Throughout the ages, countless battles have been defeated because the formation was broken up by the enemy, and the army lost the ability to organize resistance in the panic.

Moreover, the servant army was a Japanese army, and the shogunate coalition army was also a Japanese army. Even if there were conditions to open the gap, the Ming army would not be able to tell clearly whether the rear of the servant army or the vanguard of the shogunate coalition army came in last.

Therefore, for the Ming army, it is not a siege now, and these servant troops are not even qualified to be cannon fodder in a formal field battle.

The senior leaders of the shogunate coalition forces may not have thought of this, but the shogunate coalition forces do not have this problem. On the surface, they are a coalition of various families, but the shogunate has organized operations in this way for many years, and the degree of coordination is very high, so one plus and one minus , which is equivalent to the 100,000 people that the Ming army can really use, including the auxiliary troops. Also counting the auxiliary troops, the strength advantage of the shogunate coalition is even greater than on paper, although it does not reach 2: 1, but that’s about it.

Zhu Neng's voice echoed around the handsome flag: "Everyone, today's battle is no small matter. The shogunate coalition forces are strong, but we also have our advantages. Our army's firearms are sharp and our armored cavalry are far more elite than the shogunate coalition forces. Your Highness the Prince Bravely championing the three armies and leading the cavalry straight into Huanglong, we will surely deliver a fatal blow to the enemy at the critical moment."

Li Jinglong took over the conversation: "The Japanese army is much inferior to ours. You are all generals who are accustomed to fighting. As long as you can reasonably deploy your troops and give full play to our army's advantages, you will definitely defeat the Japanese army in front of you."

After hearing this, all the generals nodded in agreement, and the doubts in their hearts were slightly relieved.

The soldiers of the Ming army were already ready, and they would charge into battle and fight bloody battles as soon as the drums beat.

In fact, everyone knows that this is a tough and fierce battle, but the Ming army is the most powerful army in the world after all. Even if it is not the most powerful army in the Ming army, as long as they unite as one and fight the enemy bravely, , victory will eventually belong to the Ming army.

The dark clouds are getting thicker.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the sky and remained silent.

"What are you thinking, teacher?" Zhu Gaoxu tightened the bag he had just taken off and turned to look at Jiang Xinghuo.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at Zhu Gaoxu who looked like a golden-armored war god, pursed his lips and said, "Think about my plans over the years."

After years of planning, and now that the day has finally come for Jing to sweep away the Japanese slaves, Jiang Xinghuo's heart was so agitated that it was hard to explain.

But seeing the 300,000 troops from both sides arrayed in the field for a life-and-death battle, Jiang Xinghuo felt a little unreal in his heart. Everything had really been changed by him.

"Don't you see, the scholar is whirling in the calligraphy and ink field, studying and writing articles in his poor years. At dawn, he peeks into the quiet window of Yun Pavilion, and the green light continues in the short day and dusk.

Relying on a horse and saying a thousand words is not enough. A pearl of luminous light mixed with the eyes of a fish is not as good as a three-foot sword with its bright light, wielding it across Yiling Valley day and night. "

"Don't you see, my husband is traveling all over the world, talking about how powerful the gods are in destroying the mountains, and would rather die than escape, and live in peace and quiet in the hills and valleys.

I heard that there are many barbarians in the world who are not qualified. Whoever supports Qiu can draw up the plain policy. I would like to move forward with my bow behind my back and lead the Milky Way to wash my soldiers and armor. "

Zhu Gaoxu heard clearly that the first sentence was about Jiang Xinghuo himself, and the latter sentence was about him.

He grinned widely and said, "Li Shimin was the King of Qin when he captured the two kings in one battle. Teacher, just look at my horse riding in the capital and capturing the two dog kings of the north and south."

"What a saying, 'He is just the King of Qin'."

Jiang Xinghuo couldn't help but smile.

However, the surrounding generals were infected by Zhu Gaoxu's heroic spirit.

"Since ancient times, many things in the world have been decided by an armored horse!"

Zhu Neng pulled out his waist knife and slashed it hard.

"—March!"

Suddenly, the sound of beating drums echoed across the plains like a thunderstorm and wind.

In the distance, the shogunate's coalition forces were even larger, with a force of 170,000 troops that was earth-shattering.

The Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshimichi is also under the banner of the shogunate. The four generals Hatakeyama Motokuni, Shiba Yoshinori, Akamatsu Yoshinori, and Isshiki Mitsuki are on both sides. Their temperaments are either sinister, arrogant, calm, or Cunning, but without exception exuding a strong fighting spirit.

At this moment, on this battlefield where storms and clouds gathered, a war concerning the fate of the two countries officially began.

"Dong dong dong——"

The drumbeats of the shogunate's coalition forces were also like the waves crashing on the shore, shaking the Katsura River between the two armies. The river also stirred up thousands of whitecaps like snowflakes, as if inspired by something.

"Woo~~~"

The horn sounded.

The shogunate coalition forces on both wings also began to move forward slowly. They lined up in irregular steps, trampling leaves and grass, and were slowly adjusting their status.

Just as sports require warm-up, so does fighting. A battle involving 300,000 people is destined to be impossible to determine the winner in a short period of time. Therefore, in a long and fierce battle, how to adjust one's physical and mental state becomes One of the differences between veterans and new recruits.

The military formation was not neat, let alone fast, but as the march progressed, slowly, a kind of synergy began to appear, and along with the sound of "squeaking", it seemed that the footsteps began to become unified.

This group of shogunate coalition forces has been conducting coordinated operations for more than 20 years since the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. They have experienced a series of large-scale wars such as the Yingyong Rebellion and the Meide Rebellion. It can be said that the ability to coordinate operations has been fully developed.

In other words, looking at the entire world, the current shogunate coalition's combat effectiveness is also ranked among the best.

Although Jiang Xinghuo hated the Japanese, he never looked down upon them.

The two armies were still twenty miles apart, with the Guichuan River in between. Many people were walking, and they were walking faster and faster.

But soon, under the guidance of the command flag, the marching speed in the middle slowly slowed down, and everyone's eyes became more intense.

Huo Fei, the commander of the Eagle Guard of the Ming Army who took off, looked down from the sky and couldn't help but look solemn for a moment.

The shogunate's coalition forces deployed a formation for more than ten miles, and at this time they were evenly matched.

Don't underestimate this. Due to differences in physical strength, equipment, speed, and command transmission, it is simply impossible for ordinary armies to consciously coordinate and level the front without exposing the protruding point to the enemy.

"ha--"

They suddenly burst into a shout, and the Japanese pirates in armor also held up their shields and swords and stopped in uniform steps.

In an instant, the 170,000 shogunate coalition troops used square formations to form a magnificent Iron Curtain!

This is the elite of the shogunate, this is the most powerful army of Japan!

The idea of ​​the shogunate coalition forces was very simple, that is, wait for the Ming army to cross the river!

They are the defenders, with Kyoto behind them. There is no need to worry at all. But the Ming army is different. If the Ming army can't cross the river, it will be safe in the Arashiyama camp, but it is wishful thinking to defeat the shogunate coalition forces. Moreover, the Ming army has come from afar, even if the supplies are prepared Adequate, transportation is also a big problem.

Therefore, the shogunate's coalition forces can afford more.

The Ming army obviously didn't want to delay it.

"Report, the scouts in front are back to report. The main force of the Ming army has all come out of the camp and arrayed." A Japanese warrior galloped on his horse and ran under the flag of the shogunate army scout Sato Yoshiyuki. He knelt down on one knee and reported respectfully. Report.

"How many people are there in the Ming army, and what are their specific movements?"

Yoshiyuki Sato, riding on a pony imported from North Korea, lowered his head and asked.

"The Ming army has about 150,000 troops," the warrior replied.

Sato Yoshiyuki frowned: "Where are the trends?"

The warrior lowered his head and said, "Still investigating. According to what the scouts know, the Ming army is probably out in full force, and they should be going to a decisive battle with us."

Sato Yoshiyuki added: "Send more scouts to continue to collect intelligence, and find out clearly the flags of each Ming army, as well as the locations of the troops of the Kikuchi, Sagara, Ito, Ouchi, and Yamana clans. I'll report back after I find out more."

"Hai!"

The samurai followed the order and left.

On this plain, the light cavalry of both sides were galloping and crossing each other, and the scouts of both sides were detecting the movements of the other side.

However, the Ming army clearly has the advantage at this point, because although the clouds are relatively thick in the sky, there are no signs of rain yet. The hot air balloon can have a clear view of the battlefield situation on the ground. , especially the Ming Army's Flying Eagle Guards, which are equipped with the latest high-magnification telescopes as standard.

However, the only shortcoming that cannot be called a shortcoming is that the transmission of information is not timely.

For example, if the shogunate army dispatches the elite "Yima Hui" cavalry at the bottom of the box and is detected by the Ming army's hot air balloon, then the battlefield detection hot air balloon in front must descend to the same height, and then "observe the heat of the hot air balloon" to the rear. "Balloon" semaphore, and then the simple instructions conveyed by the semaphore are verified in both directions, and then the "Hot Air Balloon Observing Hot Air Balloon" semaphore to the "Hot Air Balloon Observing Hot Air Balloon" further behind, and the information is written in pen Come down and throw it down along the rope behind "Observe the hot air balloon of the hot air balloon of the hot air balloon" and then send it to the coach.

That is, front hot air balloon A → relay hot air balloon B → rear hot air balloon C → coach.

The military information must be absolutely accurate. In order to ensure that there is no joke like "I said the city gate building, you said the bad old man" during this process, both sides must have the observer and the flag operator conduct a two-way check. This two-way check must be carried out twice. , and counting the time for both parties to lower or rise in altitude, a simple message transmission would take even a well-trained Eagle Guard to burn an incense stick.

A stick of incense is enough to change a lot of things on the battlefield in the cold weapon era.

However, even if the process is so cumbersome, having air control is much better than not having it.

The reason is very simple. The time it takes one stick of incense for the Eagle Guard to send a message seems very slow, but in fact, if there are no Eagle Guards to detect intelligence from the sky, then the enemy may have finished mobilizing and moved to a position quite close to you. Never found out.

However, the Flying Eagle Guard cannot replace ground scouts, because in addition to detecting enemy intelligence, ground scouts also have an important role, which is to shield battlefield information and prevent enemy scouts from detecting intelligence.

For example, on the current Guichuan battlefield, 300,000 people from both sides were arrayed for more than ten miles in front, and the scouts had to spread out double or even triple the distance to be alert to whether the opponent's troops were making a sneak attack from other places.

The confrontations between scouts are often the most brutal.

——————

In the dense jungle downstream of Guichuan, a lightly-armed Ming Army scout team was quietly walking through. They were led by General Banner Yang Futian, who was born in the Southern Army and experienced battles such as Dongchang, Gaocheng, and Jiahe. This is an experience Rich and intuitive scout.

He led this capable team and was responsible for detecting the movements of the left wing of the shogunate coalition forces (the right wing of the Ming army) and collecting intelligence. They were already some distance away from the main front.

Yang Futian wore a dark robe and cowhide armor that was different from ordinary Ming soldiers. He had a sharp dagger hanging on his waist and a bow on his back. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, constantly scanning the surrounding jungles and rivers. , looking for any possible traces of enemies.

The scouts behind them also maintained a high degree of vigilance. The movements of these scouts were light and fast, like a group of ghosts traveling through the forest.

Suddenly, a burst of rapid horse hooves broke the tranquility of the jungle.

Yang Futian immediately waved his hand to signal the team to hide, and they quickly rode around to the dense shrubs and trees on the other side.

The sound of horse hooves got closer and closer, and a group of cavalry wearing Japanese samurai armor appeared in sight. Their general was a burly, ferocious-looking samurai, holding a long sword in his hand. He was the Japanese soldier. The scout general Yoshiyuki Sato.

The Japanese scouts on the front were obviously at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the Ming army scouts. Therefore, he was forced to personally lead the team around from the south to detect the movements of the Chinese army. There was no way, the Japanese army had neither Hot air balloons also don’t have telescopes, so there’s no other way to do it except manual reconnaissance.

Moreover, Sato Yoshiyuki is also responsible for exploring the path for the Japanese army.

Because the Japanese army fought locally and there were many temples near Kyoto, a surprise Japanese army was hidden in Xiangxi Temple not far away.

Sato Yoshiyuki led his cavalry team to march quickly along the path. Their eyes scanned the surrounding environment with vigilance. Sato Yoshiyuki suddenly reined in his horse and stopped.

His peripheral vision just scanned some traces on the ground that seemed to have been cleaned since then. Looking at the branch with leaves that had been chopped off on the other side, Sato Yoshiyuki realized something.

Just when he was about to speak.

Suddenly, a whistling arrow pierced the air, and a Japanese scout beside him fell off his horse.

The Japanese scouts immediately realized that they had fallen into an enemy ambush. After finding out the direction, Sato Yoshiyuki roared and rushed towards the hiding place of the Ming army scouts brandishing his sword.

Since the Ming army was aware of the traces they had just covered up in a hurry, they no longer evaded at this time, and launched attacks from hiding one after another. Even in the bushes, their bows and arrows were very accurate, and they soon caused a certain amount of damage to the Japanese scouts. There were casualties, but the Japanese scout cavalry team was large in number and well-trained. They quickly dismounted and formed a battle formation, and rushed towards the Ming army with bows and crossbows in hand.

In the fierce mutual archery, the Ming army scouts showed their tenacious fighting will and excellent technical and tactical level. They relied on the jungle terrain to lead their horses and fight and retreat. However, due to the numerical disadvantage, the Ming army began to Gradually, the Japanese army pulled them into the distance.

"We can't fight anymore, retreat! Pass the information back. It's too unusual to encounter a large group of Japanese scouts here. It's probably the enemy who wants to retreat from the south."

Yang Futian gritted his teeth and said: "I am the queen, you guys retreat."

Everyone fell silent.

"I stayed!"

"I'll stay too. If I can't go back, I'll bring a letter to my wife and children. Leave it in my tent."

At this time, Liu Xingzuo and Li Zhong stood up. Liu Xingzuo was a burly warrior, and Li Zhong was a scout with extraordinary wit.

Liu Xingzuo wielded a huge ax at the front. Every time he swung the ax, the enemy screamed and fell to the ground, buying precious time for the Ming army to retreat.

Liu Xingzuo said loudly: "Brothers, go quickly! Burn some paper for me next year. I, Liu, am here to thank my brothers!"

"Good man!"

"Let's go!"

Li Zhong bent his bow and arrow and shot another Japanese soldier.

"Don't worry, we will take care of your wife and children."

Yang Futian cupped his hands and said, "Please, everyone!"

Then the Ming army scouts gathered their horses and injured colleagues. Under the cover of Liu Xingzuo and Li Zhong, the Ming army scouts successfully evacuated the battlefield from the other side of the jungle.

While the two were fighting and walking, they went deeper and deeper into the jungle, and they were still unable to move with their horses.

Liu Xingzuo killed another Japanese soldier who rushed up, and then hid behind a tree to avoid the arrows. He still had time to ask Li Zhong: "Why didn't you leave? Aren't you afraid of death?"

Li Zhong shot down the Japanese soldiers with arrows one after another. The Japanese soldiers were suppressed for a moment and did not dare to step forward. He grinned: "How can you be afraid of death, son of the Han family? This is not much better than dying in the civil war."

"Besides, who said you will die here?"

Li Zhong shouted: "Listen to me. When I tell you to run, run to the east. I still have a smoke can here."

Li Zhong was very alert. He quickly observed the surrounding situation and found a possible retreat route.

That is to run towards the Buddhist temple in the distance.

Li Zhong threw out the smoke canister newly installed by the Ming army for the scouts. This thing mainly uses ammonium chloride as the smoke agent. It is a by-product of the workshop's attempt to make alkali according to Jiang Xinghuo's instructions. The raw materials are not easy to prepare, and the volume is too small. It is large, so it can only be produced in small batches, but it is perfectly fine to use it for the scout team.

"not good!"

Sato Yoshiyuki's expression changed, Xiangxi Temple still had a surprise force hidden in it!

Li Zhong covered Liu Xingzuo and began to run in the jungle towards the Buddhist temple. At the same time, he did not forget to leave some marks and traps to confuse and block the enemy's pursuit.

——————

And on the frontal battlefield.

When the two sides approached within visual range, they could clearly observe the dynamics of the opponent's military formation.

When the Ming army was about a hundred steps away from the river and the Japanese army was still several miles away, the Ming army's front army stopped advancing, and the Japanese army also began to slow down, and both sides were wary of each other.

In the front army of the Ming Dynasty, Li Jinglong and other generals were riding on horses, wearing armor, holding their hands on the handles of swords at their waists, staring sharply at the Japanese camp in front of them.

This was a true head-on confrontation. The total strength of both sides reached 300,000. With scouts covering all positions around the battlefield and a river in the middle, there was almost no surprise attack at all. The outcome is determined by the mere tactical prowess of both sides and the quality of their ordnance. Both sides know this very well, and no one dares to be careless in the slightest. The atmosphere created by the cold murderous aura can even make people hold their breath.

"There seems to be something about the formation of the Japanese pirates. There are five large square formations in front."

"Yeah, I saw it."

"Deputy Commander, should our army launch a surprise attack while the enemy's foothold is unstable and directly break through the Japanese pirates' defense line?"

Li Jinglong shook his head and said: "Don't worry. The former army will build a pontoon bridge to cross the river as planned to see if the Japanese army comes. If they come, they will bombard them with artillery. If they don't, our army can cross the river calmly."

In fact, in front of a hundred thousand Ming troops, small rivers like Guichuan, not to mention small rivers, are real rivers and are really not an obstacle.

With the Ming army's pontoon bridge level, the troops all carried a large amount of equipment and professional engineers. It was only a matter of time to erect dozens of pontoon bridges on the Guichuan River.

Moreover, the Ming army still relied on the most important thing, which was artillery.

The field artillery of the Ming army was much lighter than the artillery carriages of the shogunate coalition forces facing them, and their accuracy, range and power were even different.

Therefore, the Ming army was not afraid of "attacking halfway across the border" in the traditional sense.

As long as you dare to come, the artillery can be fired across the river.

After the hydrological conditions of Guichuan were thoroughly determined, Li Jinglong, the deputy commander in charge of commanding the front army, issued an order.

"Cross the river!"

All the generals showed joy. These Japanese soldiers had been holding back their nerves for a long time. During the years in Shandong, they were training for amphibious landings while resisting the urge to kill these Japanese slaves, for fear of alerting the enemy and causing the plan to go awry. But now It was finally time to launch an attack.

The shogunate coalition forces in front of them.

Hatakeyama Motokuni asked: "Are you going to advance to stop the Ming army's front troops from crossing the river?"

"no."

General Siboyi denied it without thinking, but in order to save the opponent's face, he directly gave the answer: "Although I can't see what is behind the Ming army's front army, but without even thinking about it, it must be artillery. Place it between the front army and the middle army. Only in this way can the Ming army dare to cross the river calmly."

"It's impossible to say that the Ming army was convinced that we thought so, and that's why we let them cross the river calmly."

This is the question of whether "I predicted your prediction".

"Just try and you will find out."

Ashikaga Yoshimochi was holding the reins tightly at this time, biting his lip and said.

Yes, practice brings true knowledge. In fact, instead of guessing here, it is better to go up and give it a try.

Soon, Hatakeyama Motoguo led two thousand mounted Japanese troops up to plunder the formation.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

When the engineers heard the shouts of the Ming army in front, they suddenly became a little commotion.

But they soon felt at ease.

"boom!"

The Ming army's artillery shells came over, and the explosive shells fell on the open space in front of the front army's formation, like a brilliant and dazzling firework exploding.

This is calibrating ballistics, and at the same time, it is also a warning.

——No need to test, I tell you clearly that the artillery is behind us, and we are going to force the Katsura River to be crossed and fight head-on.

The Ming army's artillery fired far away, obviously to avoid accidentally injuring its own people.

There seemed to be nothing unusual on the side of Hatakeyama Motoguchi. They continued to move forward according to the original plan without being moved at all. Their formation did not change at all, and everything was in order.

Seeing that Hatakeyama Moto Kunito was so determined that he had to test whether the Ming army was using a cannon to deceive them or whether the main artillery group was there. After receiving the order from Zhu Neng, Ping An, who commanded the artillery, did not hesitate and directly ordered to fire.

Although artillery fire is not easy to hit the high-speed moving cavalry, since the Ming army has chosen to fight openly and openly, as the attacker, crossing the river is the first priority. With the main artillery group appearing in the middle, it is not something that requires too much cover.

"Bang bang bang!"

The sound of the artillery was dense and fierce, and as the gunpowder smoke filled the air, clouds of fire spewed out from the muzzle. A cannonball hit the middle of the Japanese cavalry array in front, and Japanese soldiers fell instantly.

These Japanese troops also behaved relatively calmly when they were hit by artillery fire. Although their horses were a little out of control, they still began to retreat in an orderly manner.

Seeing this situation, the Ming army officers and soldiers also continued to cross the river.

At present, the Ming army is mainly infantry, not much cavalry. Otherwise, they will have to chase them five miles away.

And this side tested the location of the Ming army's artillery, and the shogunate coalition also had concerns.

Chi Songyi said: "We can't act rashly now. Apart from firearms, there is nothing special about the formation of the Ming army. Moreover, our cavalry is not good at fighting in the formation. We cannot attack rashly to avoid suffering losses. We should defend instead of attack." It’s good.”

All the generals nodded in agreement.

The army stopped advancing, spread out in front of the Ming army, and began to set up their formation.

Field battles are different from city defense battles. In field battles, the Japanese army has many more choices. They can rely on vehicle formations or dig trenches, which can be used to fight against the frontal phalanx of firecrackers and avoid artillery fire.

Although the artillery of the Ming army was sharp and dealt a huge blow to the Japanese army, these high-level officials of the shogunate were not fools, and there were many who could be called famous generals. Therefore, they quickly figured out how to avoid the superior firepower of the Ming army. Out.

The Japanese army had a limited number of chariots, so the ones that appeared on the battlefield were all modified carts. They did not need horses. They only needed people to push these chariots and position them to form a cover, and then let the soldiers hide behind them. It was much safer than hiding behind the shield wall. On both sides, the Japanese troops, who had no conditions due to insufficient numbers of tanks, also began to dig earth and dig trenches.

Li Jinglong, who was commanding from the front, watched with a telescope for a while and said: "Let the cavalry who have crossed the river come forward, and the Chinese army will form an array behind the artillery position."

As soon as he turned his head, he immediately ordered the deputy general: "Go and ask Duke Cheng to decide whether to move the artillery position since the front army has crossed the river."

This is also the reason why the Ming army is not afraid of the artillery position being exposed. The Japanese army does not have hot air balloons anyway. They cannot see how the Ming army artillery position moves. The position they were in just now may not be there later.

Although it is troublesome to move the artillery positions, on the other hand, a battle of this scale cannot be completed in a short time.

The Ming army had never had a direct field battle with the enemy since the landing. At this time, the morale was quite good. As the Ming army's center army and the servant armies on the left and right wings also began to cross the river, the pressure on the battlefield was immediately put on the Japanese army in front of them.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The war horn sounded, especially passionately.

The warriors at the front of the Japanese army's array suddenly started to commotion. They were obviously a little nervous. After all, the Ming army's terrifying artillery was famous, and the Ming army's lineup opposite was also extremely spectacular. Although the Japanese army only had 100,000 people, it showed The momentum is far more than 100,000.

Among the front troops of the Ming army, Li Jinglong had a stern face, holding up a telescope and staring unblinkingly at the Japanese army in front.

From his point of view, the front of the Japanese army was densely packed with infantry, but the formation was very particular. There were an unknown number of small phalanxes inside the five large phalanxes, with cavalry vaguely hidden in the middle of each small phalanx.

"Scattered use of cavalry? Or communication troops? It's not like communication cavalry. There are too many people."

Li Jinglong was not afraid of the Japanese cavalry attack, because the Ming army's cavalry was also very strong, and no matter what, in a battle of this scale, it was impossible for the Japanese light cavalry to break through the defense of the Ming army's infantry and charge forward directly. If there is such a fool, all they need to do is beat them hard with cannons to ensure that their cavalry will suffer heavy casualties.

Even if the Japanese army did use cavalry to charge into the formation, it could only be the "Omahui", the shogun's imperial guard army. It is said that this army has a small number of armored cavalry.

The positions of the two sides are getting closer.

At this time, the infantry of the servant armies on both wings of the Ming army also crossed the river one after another, and reorganized their formation with some delay to form a horizontal array.

"Sir, do you want to attack?"

Under the premise that the advance process of the front army and the middle army of the Ming army is integrated, the servant armies on the left and right wings are like the leftovers in the dance troupe who can't keep up with the rhythm. It is said that persimmons are too easy to pick, so Can the shogunate coalition not be tempted by the obvious flaw?

But Ashikaga Yoshimochi held back.

"You can't move. The Ming army placed the Kikuchi clan, Sagara clan, Ito clan, Ouchi clan, and Yamana clan troops on both wings. This already shows that this is a flaw deliberately sold by the Ming army. What if one of the wings is defeated? The Ming army has 100,000 people. The front, middle and back are all huddled together, and they have two wings. It is useless and a waste of strength and energy."

Isshiki Manji's analysis is still very accurate.

To be simple, the formation of the Ming army is actually not complicated and can be understood at a glance.

Left wing. Front army. Front army. Right wing.

Left wing. Center army. Center army. Right wing.

——.The rear army. The rear army.——

In this formation, once the two wings are broken through, it will be difficult for the Ming army, whose forces are concentrated in the middle, to be broken through continuously.

If the shogunate coalition forces choose this tactic of breaking through on two wings or on any one wing, then the Ming army will shrink into a ball, have lost part of its strength and assault capabilities, and the front line has been seriously stretched. How should the shogunate coalition deal with the Ming army? Possible heavy cavalry counterattack?

In the fight between the two sides, in order to obtain intelligence or confuse the enemy, they carried out many probing actions, just like two cautious boxers, aiming for a fatal blow.

And the openings shown to you by smart enemies are not necessarily real openings. They may be traps to lure you to attack with all your strength, and then take advantage of your stiffness to deliver a fatal blow.

But just retreating is not a good thing, because the enemy with very heavy fists is already pressing forward step by step!

If you don't take action to stop it, I'm afraid there will be no room for maneuver, and having no room for maneuver often means getting beaten.

The Ming Army's cavalry was still approaching, and soon the Ming Army's cavalry also stopped on the position.

The attitude of the shogunate coalition forces was very decisive. They directly sent the three large phalanxes in the middle forward. It was clear that they would not let the Ming army continue to erode their strategic space. At the same time, they were prepared to use their superior forces to abandon the breakthrough on the two wings and engage in a head-on decisive battle in the middle.

There is no problem with this strategic decision. The front, middle and rear armies of the Ming army are all 30,000 people, and the left and right wings each have 20,000 people. They throw the servant armies with small numbers and poor combat effectiveness to the two wings. It is clear that they want to break through in the middle. , these servant armies on both wings can break through as you like, anyway, the Ming army is not afraid.

The formation of the shogunate coalition forces has been completely fixed. There are still some hills on the west side of Sagano. Although they are not high and look like dirtbags, they can still be used.

The center of the enemy's array is a basically flat plain, while on the hillsides around the two wings, there are many temporary sandbag earth walls built. The enemy's formation can be said to be tight and seamless, with the wings being thin and the middle thick.

At the junction of the central army and the two wings, the shogunate coalition forces stationed a large number of experienced armored infantry. These Japanese soldiers were very powerful in combat, and their formations were strict and orderly. They were definitely more difficult to deal with than the Ming army's servants in front of them.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Neng in the middle muttered: "The Japanese army is indeed powerful. If our army attacks directly, we will suffer huge losses and it is not advisable to take risks. But this war must be won, otherwise it will be in vain."

"Let's figure it out slowly."

Fang Kuan next to him said: "The general thinks that the commander-in-chief is overly concerned. According to current observations, the Japanese cavalry's equipment seems to be much worse and they lack armor. In this case, it should not be difficult for our army to win."

Liu Caidao: "My idea is exactly the opposite of yours. They must have a tactical system."

"etc!"

Jiang Xinghuo suddenly interrupted Liu Cai's words, turned to Fang Kuan and asked, "What did you just say?"

"The Japanese cavalry's equipment is poor."

Fang Kuan didn't seem to realize what was wrong. He had just passed by the Japanese army's array with his cavalry. He observed that the Japanese army used cavalry dispersedly, in units of hundreds or thousands of people, scattered in the gaps of the large square array. middle.

"Where did the Japanese cavalry's equipment go? Did it all go to the imperial horse?" Jiang Xinghuo captured this point keenly.

"impossible."

Zhu Neng also reacted: "Yuma Hui is the shogun's personal army, and there is no shortage of equipment."

"has a problem."

Zhu Neng also thought of the biggest possibility at this time - the Japanese army might have concentrated their equipment and hid an elite cavalry force somewhere, and the Japanese army knew very well that the Ming army could see the situation below from a high position, so It must not be hidden on the front.

So, where will it be hidden?

The Ming army set out from the Lanshan camp in the northwest. The entire west is Lanshan, the east is the Guichuan battlefield, and the north is the direction the Ming army came from, so there is only one possibility.

There are still enemies to the south, and there should be quite a few of them.

"Is it to sneak around the rear and attack the rear army, or is it to sneak attack on the artillery position?"

Zhu Neng is unknown.

At this moment, a piece of information reached Zhu Neng.

Yang Futian, the commander-in-chief of the scout cavalry, reported that the enemy's elite scouts had been discovered in the south, and that the battlefield information in the south had been obscured.

This is equivalent to the enemy knocking out the "eye" of the Ming army in the south and hiding behind the fog of war.

Zhu Neng made a quick decision: "Let the Eagle Guard send out hot-air balloons to search south, and at the same time send additional scouts to the south. Be sure to investigate clearly."

At this time, on the frontal battlefield, the Ming army's front army had already begun to engage the Japanese army.

The Japanese army had a car formation in the front, and it was difficult for fire cannons to cause any decent damage to the people behind the car formation. Therefore, the front army of the Ming army did not apply for the use of a fire cannon square formation, but used the most traditional infantry offensive tactics.

The heavy infantry of the Ming army's front army moved neatly, like a surging flood, rushing towards the enemy's position.

In the Japanese infantry array behind the car formation, there were many soldiers holding spears and shields. At this time, the Japanese forward archers began to counterattack. Arrows rained down on the front of the line. For a while, the armor of the Ming heavy infantry was filled with arrows. It's inserted like a hedgehog.

The two torrents of steel collided without any tricks, and the Japanese army's array seemed to be very strong and was not torn apart by the first wave of Ming army's impact.

Moreover, the Ming army was not without its disadvantages. In order to maintain the same front length as the enemy's central army, the Ming army paid the price in terms of the thickness of the front. At the same time, the Ming army had fewer people, more cavalry, and more firearms troops. This also meant that There are far fewer traditional crossbowmen who can provide projectile firepower to the frontline battlefield. In fact, the number of crossbowmen on both sides on the front line is completely unequal. The Ming army's fully armored heavy infantry can still withstand it, but not The light infantry is facing a great threat.

However, the infantry of the Ming army are still fighting hard. There is indeed a gap in physical fitness and combat effectiveness between the two sides. The Japanese soldiers are far less tall than the Ming soldiers, and their endurance is also worse. These are reflected in the battle, which is the collective accumulation of individual advantages. Advantage. As the two wings began to fight, the Japanese army's array kept retreating slightly. The Ming army had an absolute advantage and was slowly eating away at the Japanese army's defensive line.

Both sides used elite cavalry as a weapon, and no one was willing to take action first. The Ming army also uncharacteristically did not send out gunmen. The senior shogunate speculated that the Ming army planned to use the firearms phalanx as a reserve force, or perhaps Strengthen the firepower of the left/right wing depending on the situation, and conduct a single-wing breakthrough against the shogunate army.

In fact, the Ming army was preparing for a possible cavalry attack from behind.

But the war situation soon took an unfavorable turn.

The Ming army finally knew what the cavalry in the middle of the Japanese army's formation was used for.

When the Japanese army in the front began to be unable to support, these cavalry began to use their mobility and played a role in harassing the sluggish Ming army's line. The Japanese army took the opportunity to partially disengage. Immediately afterwards, the new forces behind the Japanese army began to partially fill in the line.

This kind of tactical operation is very difficult. If you are not careful, it will cause the area to collapse or soldiers to trample each other. However, the Japanese army apparently used this complicated tactic more than once and successfully completed it.

As a result, the shogunate's coalition forces numbered 170,000, and the troops in the middle were far more powerful than the Ming army. The physical strength of the Ming army's heavy infantry in the front row began to be unable to keep up. After all, wearing armor all over the body has amazing defensive power, but the cost It is very physically demanding.

Ordinary people would collapse to the ground from exhaustion if they went to the boxing ring and fought shirtless for a few minutes, let alone soldiers in full armor slashing at each other with swords for so long?

On the battlefield, numerical superiority is an advantage, and physical superiority is also an advantage that cannot be ignored.

Seeing that although the soldiers in the Ming army's front army were brave, they showed a bit of fatigue, Li Jinglong was no longer calm now. If the soldiers were allowed to resist, the consequences would be serious when their physical strength was exhausted.

However, the Ming army also had a way to deal with it, and that was artillery.

In a battle that may last a whole day, the Ming army's artillery can't fire infinitely. This is not playing games.

In fact, the Ming army's artillery had to consider not only how long the shells they carried, especially the explosive shells, could last, but also how long the gun barrels could sustain overheating if they continued to fire.

Therefore, the senior generals of the Ming army did not immediately put the repositioned artillery group into the battle.

The cannon is very powerful, but even if there are 170,000 pigs on the opposite side, it is impossible to kill them all with the more than 100 cannons of the Ming army.

This is also the reason why the Japanese army dared to fight head-on with the Ming army. The Ming army's cannons were very good at attacking fixed targets, because the rhythm was in the hands of the Ming army. It was up to the Ming army to attack how and where they wanted to attack. Forget it, but field battles don’t have this logic.

Therefore, good steel should be used on the blade.

This is the time to use artillery.

Li Jinglong said: "Go and tell Ping An that we will use light field artillery to bombard the enemy's formation later in order to destroy the enemy's formation!"

The messenger next to him hurriedly took the order and left.

At this time, the Ming army's artillery formation began to adjust its formation and move slowly, preparing to enter the artillery range.

Pingan said: "Send the artillery team to prepare."

"Yes!" The flag bearer immediately conveyed the order.

Soon, dozens of light field guns were pushed to the rear of the Ming army's front army.

The four artillery formations are also fully prepared and can open fire just waiting for an order.

"Here!" A member of the household immediately turned his head and shouted: "Push the bombs forward too!"

Suddenly, twelve large carts were pushed over. Their carriages were tied with wooden bars, obviously used to transport artillery shells.

"Ready to shoot!"

After hearing the order, the artillery officers began to load the ammunition. The gunners skillfully moved the barrel and gun mount, and then the loader stuffed the shells inside.

As the order to fire was conveyed, the soldiers on the other side began to light the match ropes. Suddenly, the cannons aimed at the enemy position and roared.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Swish swish!"

Accompanied by a deafening loud noise, dense artillery shells flew in the air, then hit the enemy formation, exploding in an instant.

Smoke and dust filled the air, tongues of flames flew around, and the Japanese army, which had been rushing forward just now, suddenly became a mess.

All kinds of screams came one after another. Japanese soldiers hurriedly avoided or used shields in front of them to resist, but they were still knocked to the ground by explosive bombs. The injured continued to rush to their nearby comrades.

The fear caused by the bombardment caused the Japanese army to be in chaos.

Although they tried their best to organize a counterattack, it was already too late. The heavy infantry of the Ming Army was rapidly approaching and would soon pose a threat to the Japanese troops in the array!

On a low hill at the end of the line, Ashikaga Yoshitomichi stood on a rock with an angry look on his face.

The scene of the shelling just flashed through his mind, and the shells drew meteor-like trajectories in his field of vision. What a thrilling feeling it was?

Cold sweat broke out on Akamatsu Yoshinori's forehead, and he couldn't help but gritted his teeth: "The Ming army's artillery is so shameless!"

Ashikaga Yoshimichi suddenly turned to Akamatsu Yoshinori and said: "You lead the cavalry on the left wing (for the Ming army, the right wing) to press forward. Don't worry about the Kikuchi clan and the Sagara clan in front of you, and go directly to the Ming army's line! Since there are at least a lot of Ming army artillery in the front army, let’s just cut through!”

"Hai!"

Chi Songyi took the order and immediately turned around and led his troops to attack.

Although the artillery of this era was powerful, it was far from the situation where the 155mm howitzer of later generations could evaporate all the infantry within a hundred steps with one shot. The attack of the Ming army's front army was quickly captured by the Japanese army.

——The Ming army's front army was out of touch with the Kikuchi and Sagara clan servants on the right.

After the two sides were in a stalemate for a period of time, Akamatsu Yoshinori finally led the family cavalry in person to launch a fierce charge.

A red fish battle flag with a black background fluttered in the cold wind.

"Send it to!"

The Japanese cavalry roared, and Akamatsugi, surrounded by his retainers, launched a swift charge towards the junction of the right wing of the Ming army's front and the central army.

In an instant, smoke and dust rose up, and the cavalry team was like a wolf in the darkness. The Japanese troops of the Kikuchi clan and the Sagara clan collapsed at the first touch. They were originally small princes of Kyushu Island, and they were at the bottom of the battle in terms of combat effectiveness.

Therefore, the lines of both sides were quickly cut by Akamatsu Yoshinori's cavalry.

Akamatsu Yoshitsune was watching the battle while riding his horse.

His eyes always stayed on the artillery behind the front and rear of the Ming army. If these artillery could be destroyed, the Ming army's firepower advantage would be greatly weakened, which also meant that the numerically superior shogunate coalition had an even better chance of winning.

He had already seen that the armies of the Kikuchi clan and the Sagara clan began to collapse and flee.

However, Akamatsu Yoshinori had a bad feeling in his heart, because the central position of the Ming army's military formation still maintained a complete formation, as if waiting for something.

Soon after, strange musical instrument sounds came from the Ming army array.

This is the sound of suona.

The Ming army's formation suddenly changed.

During this period, the Japanese cavalry led by Akamatsu Yoshinori had rushed to the junction of the Ming army's front army and the middle army. These Japanese cavalry were desperately drawing their bows and arrows to shoot at the light infantry on the right wing of the Ming army's front army.

However, at this moment, a dazzling fire suddenly lit up in the Ming army formation, followed by a deafening roar, which were bullets!

The Japanese cavalry were caught off guard, fell down one by one, and died on the spot!

The two phalanxes of muskets arranged by the Ming army around the light field artillery positions worked wonders, and the Japanese troops who came to raid the flanks were beaten head-on.

Unfortunately, Chi Song Yi was really unlucky. A bullet directly penetrated his breastplate, and Chi Song Yi fell to the ground.

The retainers around him tried their best to carry him to the horse. The morale of the Akamatsu family's cavalry plummeted and they were forced to retreat. Even their formation was disrupted.

Zhu Neng had a keen sense of battlefield. At this time, he immediately sent the Ming army cavalry deployed on the right wing of the central army to take the opportunity to chase him out.

The Ming cavalry galloped across the front line, slashing and killing the enemy with their swords, while the Japanese cavalry who retreated in defeat even caused chaos in the main Japanese army behind the formation.

But this chaos did not last long, because the Japanese army quickly restored order. Forced by the rain of arrows, the Ming army cavalry bit off a large piece of meat from the Akamatsu family cavalry and then calmly withdrew with satisfaction.

Even though the Japanese army attacked from the left wing (the right wing of the Ming army) to no avail, they did not lose heart. With the sound of war drums, the Japanese army in front raised their swords and guns again and bravely launched a counterattack against the Ming army.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Ming army's artillery fired again, and a shell hit the enemy's position, sending up bursts of dust and drowning the enemy behind the position.

The Japanese army's forward position became more messy, but they still rushed forward unswervingly.

The archers of the Ming army were also trying their best to shoot arrows at the enemy, but the enemy's front line was too large and the lethality of the bows and arrows was limited. The Japanese army charged desperately, seemingly trying to overwhelm the Ming army's line with the advantage of their numbers. ,win.

The two sides were deadlocked again.

"Oh……"

"puff……"

The screams and the sounds of broken flesh and bones intertwined into a chaotic noise. The battlefield that had been fought for more than an hour seemed to have become a Shura purgatory. Both sides suffered countless casualties. Blood mist rose in the battlefield, and a strong and pungent smell of blood floated. It's suffocating.

On a battle line that was more than ten miles long, both sides were fighting furiously. Everyone seemed to have forgotten their fatigue, slashing and fighting crazily. The battlefield was full of broken limbs, and the grass and leaves of the forest were dyed red with blood.

"Wow~"

The shields of the Japanese army and the Ming army collided together, making a loud noise and the sound of metal friction. Along with screams and muffled groans, soldiers from both sides fell to the ground. This was a sign of physical exhaustion.

The frontal battlefield seemed to be a tug-of-war, while on both wings, the battle lines were still unable to be pushed.

——The Japanese army also went crazy.

They showed their cruel and crazy side. As nobles, many warriors did not hesitate to take the lead and launch a desperate charge.

Obviously, they are both Japanese soldiers, but they are also different.

Compared with the Kikuchi clan, the Sagara clan, the Ito clan and even the Ouchi clan, the combat effectiveness and fighting will of the shogunate's coalition forces are much higher. I am afraid that only the Yamana clan's army can compare with them.

Ashikaga Yoshimochi seemed to be waiting for something.

Soon, he was waiting.

Ashikaga Yoshimochi didn't have a radio, and he couldn't control that strange force even though he was separated by a battlefield dozens of miles away.

But that strange force still appeared.

And with the appearance of eight thousand Japanese cavalry on the south side, it seems that the battle situation is about to take a turn for the worse!

At the shallows downstream of the Katsura River, the Japanese cavalry rushed over. The horse hooves stepped on the muddy and slippery tidal puddles, splashing waves of water as fast as boiling soup and snow!

A general in the Japanese army's formation shouted: "Get into formation!"

All the cavalrymen drew their swords and guns, and then quickly formed a formation.

The horn sounded in the Japanese formation, and nearly 10,000 war horses began to sort out their formation. These war horses had obviously been strictly trained. Although they ran very fast, they were not chaotic.

"Boom!"

The Japanese cavalry began to charge towards the Ming army's rear army with great momentum. However, when they rushed fifty steps in front of the formation, they suddenly changed to a diagonal charge and fired a round of arrows.

The Ming army was all too familiar with this tactic, the Mongols' classic front-line swooping tactic.

And these Japanese cavalry were extremely flexible on horseback. They quickly avoided most of the arrows and quickly rushed to the front row.

The Japanese army's lance took the lead in launching a fierce thrust. The tip of the spear penetrated the body of the Ming army soldier, and then was immediately withdrawn with blood stains.

The Japanese cavalry in the rear also swarmed and charged.

These Japanese pirate cavalry kept brandishing their long swords, and their horses had a strong impact. They swept left and right in front of the formation, and many Ming army soldiers began to waver.

However, is this really the case?

Since Zhu Neng and Jiang Xinghuo were aware of the problem, they could not be unprepared.

In fact, since Ashikaga Yoshimochi dared to boldly gather together these eight thousand elite cavalry, second only to the "Goimai", and released them as surprise troops, he also filled the front with a large number of scattered cavalry to confuse Ming Ming. Although the army has achieved the ultimate in strategic confusion, it failed to rely on this cavalry to defeat the Ming army.

Flying in the sky and running on the ground, the Ming army had too many reconnaissance methods, and it had long been aware of the enemy's retreat at the tactical level.

Ashikaga Yoshimachi didn't know this, but he just had no choice.

"Yu Ma Hui" needs to fight against the heavy cavalry of the Ming army, and he cannot be released. But if he does nothing and just confronts the Ming army head-on, he will definitely not do so, because it will be a waste of his military advantage.

Therefore, whether there are dates or not, he has to take a shot.

Although Ashikaga Yoshimochi has great expectations on this surprise force, it will not completely rely on it.

It can only be said that there are no more tricks up to this point in the fight. Even the so-called "surprise soldiers" are actually tacitly agreed upon by both parties.

Qianhu from the rear of the Ming army shouted: "Hurry and stop them!"

But the Japanese cavalry rushed to the front row, and the Ming army's light infantry couldn't resist it. Especially since these people were all good players among the Japanese cavalry. They were very good at rushing into formations, and in such a battle they occupied more ground than the ordinary infantry of the Ming army. Advantage.

But the Ming army's rear army didn't look so panicked.

Soon, the Japanese cavalry knew the reason.

The Ming army's rear army began to change formations, revealing the large hollow square array inside.

Their formation was completely different from that of the Japanese army. They were not even as neat as the ordinary Ming army infantry, and they did not even have any defensive posture. Instead, they were distributed in a curved micro-fan shape, with gunmen on the front, back, left and right.

Next to it are two rows of temporary low walls.

Only the head and shoulders of the gunman were exposed from the low wall. At the same time, he raised his gun and took aim.

The effect of this kind of low wall is obvious. Even the Japanese cavalry would not dare to ride their horses across it unless they were crazy.

In this battle, both sides used long-range shooting. The Japanese army's feather arrows had a shorter range, only fifty steps, while the Ming army's fire blunderbuss had a much longer range. In the wars of this era, the range of long-range shooting suppressed the advantage. It is obvious, and the secret of where the remaining artillery pieces of the Ming army are hidden is also revealed. There are many artillery pieces here.

The Japanese cavalry general's face was ashen and he shouted: "Hurry in from the middle! Don't go to the walls on both sides!"

This was a helpless move, but it was too late.

The artillery roared, and a shell fell on the enemy's position, blowing away several Japanese soldiers in the front array. Those people fell to the ground, clutching their stomachs, their mouths twitching, and their bodies were dripping with blood.

And the bullets were like a violent storm, killing the Japanese cavalry formation wantonly.

The sound of firearms caused fear to the horses, causing the Japanese cavalry to panic.

The Japanese cavalry looked around in horror, their hearts almost jumping into their throats. They felt like they were trapped in a city of flames, and those cannonballs were raging around them.

The Ming soldiers on the opposite side were still lining up motionless and repeating the movements of their hands. They looked at all this with contempt on their faces, as if they were used to this way of fighting.

A Japanese cavalryman clutched his stomach and lay down in the mud. Blood flowed from his legs and dyed his trouser legs red. The soldier shouted loudly, but unfortunately no companions could save him. Everyone was too busy to take care of themselves now.

This unexpected force of the Japanese army was disgraced in front of the Ming army's hollow phalanx. At the same time, the surrounding Ming army, which had been prepared for a long time, also removed its hiding place from the rear of the right-wing servant army and began to cut off the Japanese cavalry's retreat. .

The Japanese cavalry took the road and fled, but the Ming army had already prepared and laid a dragnet. How could they let you escape?

Soon, a Ming army appeared in the direction they came from, on the west bank of Guichuan River.

On the frontal battlefield, he saw smoke and dust rising from the rear of the Ming army, and his own troops were surrounded by the Ming army's rear. Ashikaga Yoshimochi's heart on the small high ground was as if it was dripping with blood.

But there is no other way.

He didn't have many choices at this time, and the best option was to launch the most critical assault while the Ming army's forces began to concentrate backwards.

"Return on horseback, all attack!"

The final battle begins.

Both sides were like gamblers who had gambled away everything. The Ming army also chose to put 6,000 armored cavalry on the battlefield.

In fact, the fierce battle has reached this point, even a arrogant person like Zhu Neng has to admit that the group of lunatics on the opposite side are indeed as Jiang Xinghuo said and must not be left behind, otherwise they will become a big problem in the future.

Prince Zhu Gaoxu recreated Li Shimin's heroic appearance on the battlefield of Hulao. Zhu Gaoxu led the Ming army's heavy cavalry to charge into the formation, attacking the most elite "Yu Ma Hui" of the shogunate's coalition forces.

Zhu Gaoxu held a spear in his hand and faced a Japanese general to stab him. With just one shot, he flew into the air with his gun and his body. But before it was over, Zhu Gaoxu took advantage of the situation and hit the Japanese warrior behind him on the head with the barrel of his spear. The Japanese warrior was beaten so hard that his head was stuffed into his chest.

Zhu Gaoxu carried the bloody spear and continued to attack. He rushed all the way, and the Japanese cavalry fell off their horses wherever he passed.

I don’t know how long it took, it could be a moment, or it could be a long time.

His horse was already in disgrace. An arrow hit its leg. Zhu Gaoxu jumped down and sat on the saddle of the spare horse sent by his guards, and then continued to charge.

Almost all the six horses in Zhaoling were covered with scars. Li Shimin was like this back then, and Zhu Gaoxu was not immune to it either.

This is a cavalry battle. The armored cavalry of the Ming army are at a relative disadvantage in terms of numbers, but they are equipped with sophisticated steel armor and tall and majestic horses. In terms of experience in grouping heavy cavalry into battle, they are far superior to their opponents. More importantly, they have a leader who is unparalleled in the world.

The cavalry of "Yima Hui" was composed of hundreds of armored cavalry, 3,000 iron armored cavalry, and the remaining 6,000 leather armored cavalry. Although these Japanese cavalry were extremely brave, they lacked sufficient armor-breaking means. , unable to pose an effective threat to the Ming army's iron cans.

But even so, they were a rare fully armored unit among the Japanese army, which lacked steel.

But the cavalry duel is so cruel, and the time to achieve results is much faster than the infantry pushing each other's lines.

Soon, the "Yu Ma Hui" was dispersed by the Ming army's armored cavalry. Regardless of exhaustion, Zhu Gaoxu led the armored cavalry to continue to help the Ming army's infantry break through the enemy's lines. This often means that the armored cavalry will cost hundreds of millions. When the power is exhausted, he will fall into the enemy's infantry and be unable to stand up, or even die.

But Zhu Gaoxu did not retreat, and neither did his subordinates.

After the Ming army's rear army eliminated the Japanese army's surprise force, the Ming army finally had no scruples, and the cannons and musketeers placed on guard by the rear army were thrown into the battlefield.

In an instant, the ground shook.

With the joint efforts of the Ming army's heavy cavalry and firearms troops, the Ming army's infantry mixed with the front and middle armies finally broke through the Japanese army's long-standing resistance line.

It's like a tug of war between the two sides. If you let it out in one breath, it's gone.

The process was extremely difficult, but at this point, there was no suspense anymore.

The Japanese army was defeated across the board!

Ashikaga Yoshimochi saw that his men were retreating steadily and the battle situation was irreversible. He did not dare to fight, so he had to turn his horse's head and flee southeast to Kyoto.

In this battle, the Ming army was completely victorious! Kill forty thousand enemies!

After the war, 80,000 prisoners were killed and the Katsura River was cut off!