When Master Xiu Jing was found, he was sitting cross-legged on the battlefield, looking serene. According to his disciples and the Ming Army, when Xiao Ruxun announced the victory drum, according to the battlefield practice, the soldiers would stop fighting and sit down to rest to recover their strength.
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Master Xiu Jing was the same. He put down his iron rod, sat cross-legged, and held the prayer beads in his hand. At first, everyone thought that Master Xiu Jing was too tired and needed a better rest, so no one went to disturb him. When everyone was about to get up and clean up the battlefield, a disciple went to help Master Xiu Jing, only to find that he had passed away.
In order to defeat the Japanese pirates, Master Xiu Jing, at the age of 72, had supported a high-intensity battle for more than four hours, squeezing out his last bit of energy. He was like a lamp that had run out of oil, but he had held on during the battle. After the battle ended, he had breathed a sigh of relief, and the master had passed away. As a monk, he had performed a martyr's deed and died for his country.
Looking at Master Xiu Jing's peaceful face that looked as if he was sleeping, the Ming generals, with Xiao Ruxun as their leader, all saluted him. Master Xiu Jing's disciple recounted the arrangements that Master Xiu Jing had made for him before the war. Xiao Ruxun held a cremation ceremony for Master Xiu Jing on the battlefield, then returned his sarira to his disciple. After recovering Korea, Xiao Ruxun personally wrote the funeral oration to comfort Master Xiu Jing's soul in heaven.
After the farewell ceremony for Master Xiu Jing and his fallen comrades, Xiao Ruxun ordered the troops to regroup, set up camp, cook, and rest for a night. He also ordered General Chen Xie to lead 2,000 troops to bring more than 28,000 Japanese pirates back to the Kaesong camp for a rest, and then send them to Pyongyang.
Since they were laborers who needed to eat, it would be a waste not to use them. First, let them repair Pyongyang. After the battle at the frontline was over, and after reporting to His Majesty the Emperor, they would be brought back to Daming as laborers.
Xiao Ruxun also wrote a letter for Chen Xie to bring to Song Yingchang, who was presiding over the overall situation in Pyongyang. He asked Song Yingchang to make proper use of this group of valuable laborers and not abuse them casually. If they were all killed, they would not be able to squeeze more value out of them.
Xiao Ruxun's idea was to suppress them for as long as possible and squeeze out as much labor as possible. Anyway, porridge and rice did not consume too much food. It was also good to help the North Koreans repair the city, so they could provide food. They only had one month's rations.
However, Xiao Ruxun had also underestimated Song Yingchang. He had not been in charge of Liaodong for so long in vain. Previously, he had collected 80,000 dans of rations for Xiao Ruxun due to the lack of time. Now that there was plenty of time, the frontline situation was good, and the imperial court's response was good. The rations were also delivered relatively quickly. Therefore, Song Yingchang now had a total of 150,000 dans of rations in his hands, enough for Xiao Ruxun to use for four months.
Moreover, the 1,000 Liaodong Han Cavalry and 3,000 Jurchen Cavalry, commanded by Zu Chengxun, were only three days away from Kaesong.
After dinner, all the troops rested. Li Rusong came to Xiao Ruxun's tent and proposed the idea of attacking Seoul at night. Xiao Ruxun shook his head and rejected it.
"Seoul is not Pyongyang or Kaesong. It is the commander-in-chief's headquarters since the Japanese pirates arrived. Its defense is much better than Pyongyang and Kaesong. Although I have annihilated the main force, there are at least tens of thousands of troops defending. If the Japanese pirates do not run away, it will not be difficult for us to take Seoul, but we must do so with sufficient firepower.
In the previous battle, we have used up most of the gunpowder and cannonballs in reserve, and we have consumed a lot of matchlocks. Now there are only 30 to 50 usable cannons and 1,000 matchlocks. With such firepower, we cannot take Seoul. It is not appropriate to use human lives to pile on the city. "
Li Rusong said, "But the main force of the Japanese pirates in Seoul has been annihilated, and the Japanese pirates are afraid. It is very likely that they will escape without defending Seoul. If we attack tomorrow morning, Seoul will be an empty city, and we will get nothing. If we attack now, we may be able to catch those Japanese chieftains who have escaped."
Xiao Ruxun smiled and said, "I understand what Commander-In-Chief Li means, but the army has been fighting for days and is exhausted. If we force them, they will not be able to catch up with the Japanese pirates. Even if they do, will the Japanese pirates be unprepared? The Japanese pirates are not fools. If we can think of it, the Japanese pirates may not have thought of it. If we attack the enemy with our exhausted army, although the Japanese pirates are afraid of our Daming, they will not be afraid to fight. The remaining cavalry under Commander-In-Chief Li will not be able to create a greater result. "
Li Rusong's expression froze. He knew that the Jurchen and Han cavalry under his command added up to less than 1,000 men. In the previous high-intensity battle, even Nurhaci was injured, not to mention the remaining cavalry. Without mobility, it was unreasonable for the infantry to pursue them on the plains. Moreover, the army only had enough rations to last for two days. There was still a day's journey before the scheduled supplies would open, and the army could not advance any further.
"The retreat of the Japanese pirates is not necessarily a bad thing. At least Seoul has been taken, which means that North Korea's Gangwon Province and Gyeonggi Province have also been taken. The Japanese pirates are only left with Gyeongsang Province, Chungcheong Province, and Jeolla Province. Among them, Jeolla Province still has the North Korean Navy, Yi Sun-sin, and the 6th Army Kwon Ri 'suo resisting. The Japanese pirates in Chungcheong Province will not dare to stay for long and will definitely retreat.
The last of the Wokou pirates' main force must be entrenched at the southern end of Gyeongsang Province. They might not dare to stay in Jeolla Province for too long. As long as my army continues to advance, the Wokou pirates will not dare to stay in Jeolla Province for too long. I heard that the Wokou pirates entered Daehan from Pusan in Gyeongsang Province. In that case, Pusan should be the Wokou's last stronghold. With the support of the Wokou navy, they can attack and retreat as they please.
If we want to wipe out the Japanese pirates so that they will no longer have the strength to invade North Korea, we will need the navy to cooperate with us. The North Korean navy only has one unit under Yi Sun-sin. They can attack and harass, but it is impossible to cut off the Japanese pirates' retreat. Therefore, I am trying to get the imperial court to send the navy to cut off the Japanese pirates' retreat. Therefore, we cannot force the Japanese pirates too much. "
Xiao Ruxun pointed at Seoul.
"This Governor has decided that after taking Seoul, our army will rest for a few days. When Commander Li's 4,000 cavalry and supplies arrive, we will advance again. We will take Chungju, enter Gyeongsang Province, capture Shangzhou, and station our troops in Shangzhou. After that, we will send troops to coordinate with the Korean army in Jeolla Province to recover Jeolla Province. We will threaten the Japanese pirates in the southern part of Gyeongsang Province from both sides. We will form a pincer attack and trap the Japanese pirates in Pusan. This is the safest strategy."
At this point, Li Rusong had nothing else to say.
After Li Rusong left, Yuan Huang looked at Li Rusong's back and smiled. In a low voice, he said, "It looks like Li Rusong is at least somewhat convinced by you. This is a good thing."
"How Li Rusong views me is not important. It cannot affect the overall situation."
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