The reason why Lee Sun-sin made the mistake was that he was anxious to relieve the pressure on the Army and to contribute to his country.
A month before Xiao Ruxun sent troops, Lee Sun-sin learned that Daming had decided to send troops to assist North Korea. In order to coordinate with Daming's actions, Lee Sun-sin decided to take the risk and lead the navy to attack Busan City, completing the ultimate strategy that Xiao Ruxun had envisioned for a long time, cutting off the Japanese army's supply line to Tsushima and Kyushu. If it could be completed, when the Ming Army sent troops, the war could in fact end and end.
However, the Japanese navy had already received the news and was prepared. They closed their doors and shot the North Korean army from the city. The North Korean general, Jung Yun, was shot and killed. Lee Sun-sin, who was almost captured, fled to Gad Island. The result of this battle was only the burning of more than four hundred empty ships under the city of Busan. The North Korean navy, which had won every victory, suffered heavy losses. Lee Sun-sin no longer fought easily and turned to attack the transport ships without warships to reduce the Japanese's supply capacity.
After this battle, Lee Sun-sin understood that the number of ships and troops in his hands could not achieve the goal of cutting off the Japanese supply line, so he decided to fight steadily and attack the Japanese transport ships, thus causing great trouble for the Japanese.
At first, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's supply plan was to hope that the Japanese navy could advance westward along Jeolla Province and cooperate with the Army. The Army would fight on land and water along the way. This way, they could effectively avoid the mountainous terrain of North Korea and improve the efficiency of supply and transportation.
But now, Lee Sun-sin firmly blocked the Japanese navy north of Yeosu, eliminating the possibility of the Japanese navy transporting supplies from Jeolla Province. This was equivalent to cutting off one of the Japanese army's arms. The Japanese could only rely on Namwoo, Tsushima, and Busan to transport supplies to North Korea, and then through the mountain roads of Gyeongsang Province, the speed was terrible.
If it was only food, the Japanese could still eat locally. What really made the Japanese generals at the front line uncomfortable was the lack of other strategic materials, such as iron cannons, bullets, gunpowder, and matches. The Japanese army used iron cannons as their core tactics. These materials were the key to ensuring combat effectiveness. But in North Korea, except for a small supply of gunpowder, the rest had to be transported from Japan.
Iron cannons could be produced in Japan, but the production of saltpeter, one of the key raw materials for making gunpowder, the lead used to make bullets, and the cotton thread used to make matchlock were extremely low in Japan. They also needed to be imported, so it was extremely difficult to collect them. The shortcomings of Japan's small territory and lack of resources were exposed at this time.
It could be said that President Konishi stagnated after the capture of Pyongyang, and the fundamental reason why Kato Kiyomasa gave up on going north was that Lee Sun-sin was very active on the sea. Lee Sun-sin destroyed half of the Japanese Army's transportation and supply capacity on his own, and the other half was constantly being attacked, giving the Japanese a headache, but there was nothing they could do.
Such a naval combat talent was quite familiar with the combat power of the Japanese navy, and so on. If Xiao Ruxun did not ask him for advice, who else could he ask?
So Xiao Ruxun invited Lee Sun-sin and personally welcomed him.
When Lee Sun-sin received Xiao Ruxun's transfer order, he was a little hesitant because he did not know why Xiao Ruxun was looking for him. But Xiao Ruxun was now the actual person in charge of the entire campaign. Not only did he have the right to command the Ming Army, but after recovering Seoul in the battle of Green Hoof Hall, in order to express his trust and gratitude to Xiao Ruxun, Lee Sun-sin had also given the command of the North Korean army.
Xiao Ruxun could now not only mobilize the Ming Army, but also the North Korean army. The order to concentrate the main forces of North Korea on Jeolla Province to expel the Japanese army and guard Gyeongsang Province was issued by Xiao Ruxun.
So Lee Sun-sin now had no reason to refuse.
He handed over the command of the navy to his right-hand man, and then set off with a few bodyguards and a son to the Daegu camp.
As of now, the commander of the Heavenly Army, the illustrious Admiral Xiao Ruxun was already a savior in the eyes of Daehan's monarch and ministers. She hadn't deployed her troops for three months, but as soon as she did, she reclaimed all three of Daehan's capitals with lightning-fast speed. She annihilated a hundred thousand Wokou pirates and sent them scurrying back to Pusan like cowardly tortoises. Admiral Xiao's feat of reclaiming half of Daehan in a single month was already well known to the people of Daehan.
Lee Sun-sin was naturally aware of this, and so he felt a little uneasy. He did not know why Admiral Xiao was looking for him. Was he going to reward him for annihilating one-third of the Japanese pirates, or was he going to punish him for underestimating the enemy and returning home in Pusan?
When he arrived at the entrance of the Daegu camp, Lee Sun-sin saw a general in a red cloak standing majestically at the entrance. He could not help but be stunned. He dismounted from his horse and walked forward. When he saw the general in red, he saluted and asked, "Commander of the Samdo Navy, Lee Sun-sin, is here on Admiral Xiao's orders. May I know who you are?"
"Xiao Ruxun, the person who invited General Lee here."
The general in red smiled.
Lee Sun-sin was stunned. Xiao Ruxun laughed, took Lee Sun-sin by the hand, and led him into the camp.
"General Lee has repeatedly defeated the Japanese pirates, and this Admiral admires you greatly. Now that the Daming Navy is about to move, I urgently need someone who has a deep understanding of the Japanese pirates to perfect my plan. That's why I thought of you, General Lee."
Xiao Ruxun smiled as he comforted the stunned Lee Sun-sin. Only then did Lee Sun-sin understand the real reason Xiao Ruxun had summoned him. It turned out that the Daming Navy was about to move against the Japanese navy. This made him inexplicably excited. His earliest plan was to capture Tsushima Island and cut off the Japanese pirates' supply route. He wondered if this admiral had the same idea.
"May I ask, Admiral, how many of the Daming Navy are there? What's their purpose? "
"Five hundred warships, and about ten thousand navy officers. Their purpose is the mission that General Lee failed to complete."
Lee Sun-sin's face reddened. "Could it be … Pusan?"
"No, it's not Pusan." Xiao Ruxun shook her head. "Our first target is Tsushima Island. I intend to use the navy to wipe out the main force of the Wokou Navy there. Then, I'll bring the soldiers ashore and capture Tsushima Island. Once we seize Tsushima Island, we'll completely cut off the communication between the Wokou Pirates and Daehan. At the same time, we'll trap the Wokou Pirates at Pusan and push the battle line forward so that we can attack the Wokou Pirates at any time.
"Attack the Japanese pirates' homeland?!"
Lee Sun-sin was stunned. To be honest, although he wanted to cut off the Japanese pirates' supply route, from a strategic point of view, it was only to save the Korean peninsula. He had never thought that North Korea's national strength could counterattack the Japanese pirates' homeland. The only time North Korea had taken the initiative to attack the Japanese pirates was during the Sejong era of North Korea more than a hundred years ago. North Korea had sent 20,000 troops to attack Tsushima Island and drove away the Japanese pirates.
Tsushima Island was located in the middle of the Korean peninsula and the Japanese mainland. It was about 50 kilometers away from the Korean mainland. On a clear day, one could overlook the Korean peninsula's Pusan from a high platform on the island. The Mongolians had captured Tsushima twice during their eastern expedition and massacred the islanders. Today, Tsushima was the fief of the Zong family, which was also the fief of Zong Yizhi, who had been killed by the Ming Army in Pyongyang.
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