Cha Dashou led his troops back to the temporary encampment of the Ming Army in Pozhou and handed over the Japanese pirates' levels and spoils of war. The Liaodong Army usually would not hand over gold, but the Liaodong Army did not care about the swords and cannons used by the Japanese pirates. They simply handed them over and passed on the news that they had defeated the vanguard of the Japanese pirates and killed a Japanese general. They said that the Japanese pirates must have set up defenses in the area of Jade Hoof Hall and that their combat power was not weak.
Xiao Ruxun nodded and continued to observe the map. He thought that after this battle, the Japanese pirates would definitely set up defenses in the mountains near Jade Hoof Hall. Maybe they would also set up ambushes everywhere to attack the main forces of the Ming Army. The mountainous area was not suitable for a large army to spread out. If a large army entered, the Japanese pirates would ambush everywhere in the middle. It would easily cause confusion in the army's morale, which would be disadvantageous to the Ming Army.
According to the current situation, it was better to bombard the mountainous area where there might be ambushes from the periphery. Then, they would send elite troops into the mountainous area to kill the Japanese pirates and open the way for the army. The cavalry could not be used for the time being. They would be placed at the rear of the army. When the vanguard broke through the line of Sharshi Hill and entered the Seoul Plain, it would be the time for the cavalry to dominate.
"Wu Weizhong, I order you to lead 5,000 troops to be the vanguard of my army. Break through the mountainous area of Jade Hoof Hall, kill the Japanese pirates, and open the way for my army!"
Wu Weizhong immediately accepted the order. "Yes, Sir!"
As he spoke, he ordered 5,000 troops and 50 carriages and cannons to the area of Jade Hoof Hall.
On the Japanese side, a few defeated soldiers fled back and told Kuroda Nagamasa about their encounter with the Ming Army and the death of Kuroda Issei. Kuroda Nagamasa was stunned for a while before he accepted the news of Kuroda Issei's death.
Kuroda Issei was one of the Eight Tigers of the Kuroda family. He had become a Kuroda family general at the age of thirteen, and was only in his twenties now. He was one of the most important retainers of the Kuroda family, and had many military exploits. He had a good relationship with Kuroda Issei, and was someone that the Kuroda family relied heavily on. He was supposed to be entrusted with important tasks … How could he …
There was no time to be sad. He had a more intuitive feeling about the combat power of the Ming Army. Their firepower was extremely strong, and their combat power was also very strong. If they faced the enemy head-on, they would have no chance of winning. They had to find a way to use the advantage of the terrain here to snipe the Ming Army so that the main force could not pass smoothly.
Then, the best way was to occupy the high ground and suppress the Ming Army with concentrated firepower. Then, they would send elite soldiers to sneak attack the Ming Army's formation, and fight with the Ming Army together. This would make the Ming Army's cannons cautious and unable to use their full strength. Only then would they have a chance of winning.
Thinking of this, Kuroda Nagamasa immediately ordered his iron cannoneers to occupy the highest hills here, and set up the few cannons at the highest point. He also set up his command center at the highest point. Then, he hid his only five hundred cavalrymen and a large number of elite infantrymen. When the order was given, they would rush into the Ming Army's formation and fight to the death with the Ming Army.
The troops that Wu Weizhong brought were still the same as when they attacked Pyongyang. They had the cooperation of many troops. Among them, there were five hundred elite Korean monk soldiers who were good at fighting. Monk Xiu Jing volunteered to fight alongside Wu Weizhong. The two were not good at words or wisdom, but lowered their heads to do practical work. They recognized each other and cooperated with each other very well. It always reminded Wu Weizhong of the days when he fought alongside the Shaolin monk soldiers in the southeast to suppress the Japanese pirates.
He didn't know if those people were doing well.
But no matter if they were still alive or not, if they knew that the troops that General Qi brought out had always carried out the mission that General Qi had entrusted to them before he died, they would be very happy. This army was born because of the fight against the Japanese pirates. Even if it ended, it would only end because of the fight against the Japanese pirates.
In his opinion, General Qi's death was not worth it, but General Qi himself did not have many regrets. When he died, he did not regret a day or a minute of his life. He only cared about his army and the soul of the army. As Qi Jiguang's legitimate successor, Wu Weizhong's only hope was to pass on Qi Jiguang's ideals so that the soul of this army would exist forever.
But now, Wu Weizhong seemed to have found a person who was very similar to General Qi in all aspects. He ran the army strictly, was clear about rewards and punishments, and treated all the troops equally. He did not deliberately suppress anyone, nor did he deliberately elevate anyone. Even if it was his own people, he would let them give credit to other local troops. Even the Liaodong army was said to be suppressed, but he still put them in an important position.
A few days ago, Nanbing was not used to the cold weather in Liaodong and felt that winter clothes were a little thin. He wanted to ask for more winter clothes to keep out the cold, but he was afraid of being laughed at by the northerners. Thus, he did not want to lose face and stubbornly endured it.
Then, before the battle, the quartermaster suddenly sent carts after carts of winter clothes to keep out the cold, saying that it was Admiral Xiao's order. There was a big difference in the climate between the north and the south, and the southern brothers did not want to catch a cold because of it.
This action warmed the hearts of the southern soldiers. Although they did not say it, they had long recognized this general. Since General Qi's death, they had not been treated so well by anyone. Since then, this southern army was destined to become Xiao Ruxun's hardcore supporters. No matter what the battlefield was, as long as the general was General Xiao Ruxun, they would not hesitate to go through water and tread on fire.
Even though Wu Weizhong did not know much about the Shandong soldiers and the Xuan soldiers, from the limited communication, he knew that Xiao Ruxun did his best to create the same opportunities for each unit. Xiao Ruxun was good at using firearms to defend and break the enemy. His firearms formation was very effective in both field and street battles, but because of this, the positions of the Shandong gunmen and the Xuan soldiers were a little awkward.
However, Xiao Ruxun would not ignore the feelings of these two units. Xiao Ruxun and the Xuan soldiers were old friends, but he did not have any contact with the Shandong soldiers, so he treated them the same. He also sent a batch of winter clothes to the Shandong soldiers living by the sea to keep them out of the cold.
Xiao Ruxun completely took into account the difference between the north and the south. When he made the new deep-fried pancakes and military rations, he specially went to the Zhejiang camp to ask how they felt, worried that they would not be used to it and have diarrhea.
Although this general was unexpectedly young, he was broad-minded, far-sighted, and fair in dealing with people. Even someone as arrogant as Li Rusong couldn't say a single word against him.
All of this made Wu Weizhong feel as if he was looking at the younger General Qi. Moreover, compared to the younger General Qi, this general was clearly much more capable. From Ningxia to Korea, he had never tasted defeat.
Soldiers loved to follow powerful generals. Powerful generals had the ability to command their subordinates and lead them to victory. They would not throw away the lives of their subordinates for no reason. General Xiao treasured the lives of his soldiers to an unbelievable degree. He would rather use large amounts of precious medicinal herbs to protect the lives of his soldiers. He often said that medicinal herbs were valuable, but lives were not.
As a result, the total number of soldiers that had died in the Eastern punitive expedition did not even reach four thousand, roughly three thousand to six hundred. Over two thousand had died in battle, and over a thousand had been seriously injured and could not be saved. In contrast, the Japanese pirates had suffered over forty thousand deaths, and the army had suffered over seven thousand deaths.
Everyone's morale was still high, because they believed that with Admiral Xiao leading them, they would definitely win. By exchanging their ranks for wealth, they would be able to preserve their lives to the greatest extent possible.
Once the soldiers had developed a sense of trust and respect for their general, they would become like the general's arms and fingers. Their orders would be carried out immediately.
Moreover, even when faced with a difficult situation, as long as the general was still there, even if the army was surrounded by the enemy, as long as the general was there and did not retreat or admit defeat, the soldiers would not surrender even if they had to fight to the last man.
This was the kind of morale that was extremely difficult to obtain for a general since ancient times.
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