Just as Xiao Ruxun had predicted, the Japanese pirates on the other side could also think of what he could think of. The cannons were almost complete. When dawn broke, Xiao Ruxun noticed that the Japanese pirates on the other side had changed. A large number of Japanese pirates rushed to the various fortifications by the river. They lined up neatly and raised their cannons, as though they were going to deal with the Ming Army.
Xiao Ruxun would not give them a chance to shoot, whether it was at the Ming Army or the ice on the river.
"Pass my order, aim at the Japanese pirates on the other side of the river. Fire!"
Under Xiao Ruxun's order, the Ming Army's cannons immediately opened fire.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
Countless beautiful sparks exploded on the Japanese pirates' positions on the other side of the river. Fire raged and shrapnel flew. The Japanese pirates were stunned by the sudden attack. Shimazu Yoshihiro was also on the verge of breaking down. He had wanted to gather his troops to prevent the Ming Army from crossing the river and destroy the ice on the other side, so that the Ming Army would not be able to cross the river. However, he never expected the Ming Army to make the first move.
What was even more unexpected was that the Ming Army had so many "Stone Fire Cannons" that could carry out such a powerful attack. He was not sure if there were 50 Stone Fire Cannons in Seoul, but the Ming Army on the other side definitely had more than 50. This important information had been reported by Kuroda Nagamasa to the higher-ups in Seoul, but it did not attract enough attention. The reason was simple. No one had seen it with their own eyes, and those who had were all dead.
What he didn't know was that the machine in front of him was two hundred large and medium Francs.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
After three rounds of firing, the 100 cannons at the front retreated to dissipate the heat, while the 100 cannons at the back pushed forward and started firing.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
After another 3 volleys of fire, the Wokou's position was engulfed in a sea of fire and smoke. At the start, they could still see some Wokou fleeing, but now, they could no longer be seen. This was because Shimazu Yoshihiro had already led his troops to retreat, or rather, he had brought his personal soldiers and retreated. He had abandoned his 1,000 Steel Cannoneers and fled. He was lucky to escape quickly, and was not hit by the Ming Army's cannons.
The river defense force consisting of 2,000 Steel Cannons and 3,000 Ashigaru collapsed in an instant. Those who were not dead or injured saw that their general had fled, and they left the river defense to the Ming Army. Wang Hui came to report to Xiao Ruxun that the Japanese pirates had completely retreated. There were no more Japanese pirates on the other side of the river. Xiao Ruxun nodded his head in satisfaction and ordered his troops to keep an eye on the river and the other side of the river. The moment there were Japanese pirates on the other side of the river, they were to fire immediately!
This time, Xiao Ruxun had miscalculated. He originally thought that the Japanese pirates would have to fight for the Imjin River defense line five or six times before giving up. In the end, he did not expect the Japanese pirates to give up after just one round.
Until noon, when Xiao Ruxun saw that the river surface had frozen solid, he began to arrange for the infantry to cross the river. There were still no traces of Japanese pirates on the other side of the river. The entire river defense line east of the Imjin River that the Japanese pirates had spent a lot of effort to complete was abandoned.
Xiao Ruxun was a little worried. Could this be some sort of plan by the Wokou pirates? They wanted to attack the Ming army while they were on their way across the river. But when she thought about it, she realized that it couldn't be right. Her cannons had enough range to support the infantry on the other side of the river. Even if the Wokou pirates came, they would still be dead.
When the troops crossing the river were reorganized, the lighter cannons were also brought over. After the defense was completed, even if the Japanese pirates attacked while the heavy cannons were crossing the river, it would be useless.
Xiao Ruxun did not understand, but he still arranged for people to start building simple load-bearing bridges that could be used to cross the river to facilitate the use of the heavy cannons to cross the river. The rest of the troops stood in formation and waited for the main force to gather before attacking. He sent Li Rusong's subordinate, Commander Cha, to lead a team of three hundred cavalry to investigate the movements of the Japanese pirates in the direction of Seoul. In addition, they would focus on the situation of the Japanese pirates around the Jade Hoof Hall and the surrounding terrain. If they encountered the enemy, they should retreat as soon as possible.
The Ming Army crossed the river in an orderly manner, but the Japanese pirates did not attack. They defended the river to restrict the Ming Army. Xiao Ruxun could not understand, but from Shimazu Yoshihiro's point of view, it was actually very easy to understand.
When his position was bombarded by the Ming Army's cannons, Shimazu Yoshihiro knew that this line of defense had lost its purpose of restricting the Ming Army. No matter how many obstacles there were, if there was no one to guard it, even a steel fortress would be meaningless, let alone a piece of frozen land.
This piece of frozen land had actually lost its ability to restrict the cavalry. The Ming Army's cavalry would soon be able to move unhindered. When the time came, the cannons and cavalry would swarm in, and the Japanese that had lost the city would become experience points for the Ming Army.
He saw it clearly, and coupled with his fear, he decisively ran away. This was the right decision. If he stayed there, he would only become cannon fodder under the artillery fire, and would end miserably, just like Tachibana Munao. But he escaped, and he escaped completely, so Xiao Ruxun could not catch him even if she wanted to.
Therefore, Xiao Ruxun held a military meeting at Pozhou on the east bank of the Imjin River to discuss the next step of the battle.
"Now that we have crossed the Imjin River, our army only needs to advance one more step to reach Seoul. Once we take Seoul, the Japanese pirates will be defeated, and our army will be able to march to the southernmost tip of Korea without shedding a single drop of blood. The Japanese pirates are also aware of the current situation. According to my judgment, they may mobilize more than 60,000 troops to concentrate in Seoul to fight against us. They have the intention of defending Seoul to the death. According to what I know, there is an important place 40 miles north of Seoul called Jinji Hall. If we attack Seoul, we must take Jinji Hall!"
Xiao Ruxun pointed at the location of Jinji Hall on the map and began to assign tasks to the generals.
Jinji Hall was located 40 miles north of Seoul, near Gongshun Yongling, located at the junction of Huiyin Ridge and the plains.
The geographical environment here was divided by Jinji Hall and the nearby city of Goyang. To the north of Jinji Hall and Goyang was the Huiyin Ridge, with undulating peaks and only a small path in the middle. The terrain to the south was flat, with some hills on both sides of the road that were not too high above sea level, sandwiching the road in the middle. It was the exit of the last mountainous area north of Seoul. Since ancient times, it had been the only way to open the city to Seoul, and because it was the terrain that transitioned from the mountains to the plains, it was a battleground for the military.
Six miles south of Jinji Hall, there was a place called Lishi Hill. It was the last line of defense west of Seoul and also the last mountain pass. After passing through this place, the south was a flat plain. Therefore, Tachibana had to control this place first in order to keep the Ming Army in the mountains near Jinji Hall so that they could not enter Seoul.
Once the Ming Army broke through the area of Jinji Hall and passed through Lishi Hill, the flat plain around Seoul would allow the cavalry to gallop freely without any hindrance. The Japanese pirates who lacked cavalry would have to face the attack with the iron cannons. However, the cannons of the Ming Army had an overwhelming advantage, and the Japanese pirates could not suppress the Ming Army in terms of firepower.
The dense iron cannons had once destroyed the famous Takeda Cavalry, but only the insiders knew how lucky it was. If they wanted to replicate the glory of Oda Nobunaga defeating the Takeda Cavalry here, it was purely a pipe dream. They could only become the live targets of the Ming Army, and all of them would be finished in one round of firing.
If it came to that point, in order to preserve the effective strength, the Japanese would have to retreat into Seoul to defend and give up the field battle. There was no other way. Once Seoul was surrounded by the Ming Army, the entire central high-level command of the Japanese invading Korea would be wiped out by the Ming Army. There would be no need to fight this war. Aside from directly admitting defeat, there was no other way. If they continued to fight, Japan would be destroyed.
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