From the beginning of this battle, 70,000 Japanese troops raided Jiangdu's coastal defense, while Sheng's army had no more than 30,000 naval forces available to resist.
In addition to those going to support Runzhou, troops are also needed in various places to maintain the most basic defense. These more than 30,000 soldiers have been mobilized as much as possible.
The imperial court had initially given Chang Suining 80,000 troops, and later sent another 30,000, but only a few of these 110,000 troops were actually used for naval warfare, and they were mainly deployed on land. Most of the navy now fighting against the Japanese army was the result of Chang Suining's emergency training over the past half year.
Thirty thousand versus seventy thousand, they are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
What's more, compared with the Japanese army, these 30,000 naval forces are lacking in experience in naval warfare and usually lack the ability to respond when fighting at sea.
In comparison, the 70,000 Japanese troops were ferocious. They held swords in their hands, their boats rushed across the waves, and they shouted slogans that Sheng's army could not understand. The excited and greedy murderous aura was almost overwhelming.
Lieutenant General Jin managed to hold on to the situation, ordered the soldiers to form a battle array, and used novel mechanisms that had never been seen on the warships to intimidate the Japanese army, thus stabilizing the defense for a short time.
However, on the seventh day, among the exhausted army, the commander who had come from Linzhou to support them made an excuse to retreat with his 3,000 naval forces.
He was not a soldier from Jiangdu, nor did he belong to Chang Suining's command. The world was in such chaos now, with many independent forces rising up. He didn't want to be stupid and waste his life here in vain!
If the new governor of Jiangdu had not been too strong, and had been trying to get the coastal states to work together to strengthen their coastal defenses, train the navy, and insist on fighting against the Japanese pirates... he would not have gotten involved in this mess!
If the Japanese army had been fighting guerrilla warfare before, it would have been fine... But this time, the Japanese army's offensive was extremely fierce. They fought for many days and refused to retreat. It was obvious that they were determined to take Yangzhou! Even if he stayed with his men, what would happen? The result would only be to die together!
This man was determined to withdraw his troops, so he first ignored the army formation and forced the ships to retreat to the rear, and then he used the excuse that "Chuzhou's defense also needed to be strengthened" to want to withdraw with his own people.
The formation at the front was in chaos because of this. Vice Admiral Jin suppressed his anger in the chaos and stepped forward to stop it.
Chuzhou has three thousand naval forces. This number is not large, but it is not small either. And at such a critical moment, if they are allowed to leave, the morale of the army will be in chaos!
The Chuzhou general totally ignored Deputy General Jin's advice and was almost at the point of breaking off relations.
At this time, Chang Kuo arrived in time with his troops.
As a first-rank cavalry general and a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years, Chang Kuo did not have the "good temper" and "tolerance" of Deputy General Jin. After asking about the situation, he said nothing, picked up Zhan Xiu, and swung his sword to cut off the general's head.
"Anyone who escapes from battle, encourages the Japanese army, and disrupts our army's morale shall be executed!"
There was a loud sound of fighting in the front, but there was suddenly silence behind this place.
Seeing the torn body of the general falling down, all the Chuzhou navy turned pale.
Chang Kuo looked at them and shouted, "Where is the deputy general of Chuzhou?"
A deputy general stood up stiffly, not knowing how to explain himself to avoid death, and said in a trembling voice: "I was just following orders..."
Chang Kuo interrupted him and said, "You will take over the position of the commander of Chuzhou! From now on, keep an eye on your soldiers. Anyone who tries to escape will be treated as a deserter!"
The deputy general was stunned. The commander’s head was chopped off just like that... Doesn’t he have to cut off his own head?
Chang Kuo looked at him with a pair of majestic eyes: "Did you hear clearly?"
The deputy general suddenly came back to his senses: "I obey your orders!"
"You all must understand that what we are defending today is not just Jiangdu, but the territory of Dasheng!" Chang Kuo leaned on his sword, looked around, and said loudly: "Today there is no distinction between Jiangdu, Chuzhou, or other states. You are all soldiers of Dasheng. You must know that when the nest is destroyed, no egg will be left unbroken!"
"I don't care who you obey, but in this sea area, anyone who dares to escape from the battlefield will be killed without mercy!"
The appearance of Chang Kuo stabilized the morale of the army and stabilized the situation that was once on the verge of collapse.
He leaned on his sword and stepped up to the highest point of the commander-in-chief's ship, waving the battle flag and commanding the battle personally.
A prestigious and experienced veteran plays a crucial role in a war.
The warships were equipped with mechanisms that, combined with the orderly military formations, enabled them to unleash greater power.
The battle lasted until dusk. With Chang Kuo's order, the Dasheng warships formed a siege within a certain range on the side. After the soldiers pulled the trigger, thousands of arrows were fired from the crossbows on the ship, killing nearly a thousand Japanese soldiers in one fell swoop.
This act of killing, which could be described as large-scale, greatly dampened the morale of the Japanese army.
Afterwards, Yoshimi Fumi informed Fujiwara no Maro that Tsukaihara would come in person and board the ship to command the battle.
Seeing that his own morale was crushed, Fujiwara no Maro personally boarded the ship to take command of the situation.
By this time, he already knew that the Sheng army had deliberately concealed the weapons and formations. These Sheng soldiers were not as conservative and incompetent as they had shown before...
But, so what? "The truly strong are like a sharp blade that cannot be concealed. Only the weak need to hide in the dark!"
"Sheng Jun has only just shown his true face, because he knows he is no match for his opponent!"
"It is precisely because the Sheng army knows its own weakness that it attempts to strengthen itself through trickery!"
"Even if it is Sheng Jun's plan to lure the enemy, all the military formations are just trifles. In the hands of these incompetent people, they are like a paper barrier that will be broken with one blow. There is nothing to be afraid of!"
"The fate of Dasheng is over. In this battle, I want my Japanese warriors to occupy Jiangdu within ten days!"
"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Yoshimi raised his sword and shouted, and above the sea, the response was deafening.
The Japanese army, which had just begun to retreat, made a comeback.
On the sea, the sound of fighting continued all night long.
Chang Kuo used all the mechanical military formations to barely hold on to the battle situation, but the exhaustion of the soldiers was also an obvious fact.
The next day, a storm suddenly arose at sea. The Japanese army, which was also exhausted, had to stop fighting, treat the wounded, replenish their strength, and adjust and discuss tactics.
During the battle, Fujiwara no Maro originally wanted to kill Chang Kuo first, but the Sheng army's formation was tight and he had no chance to get close to the enemy's warships, so he was unable to take action.
Through the fierce fighting in the past two days, he gradually saw the clues. Although the quality of the Dasheng navy was far inferior to the Xuan Ce navy of the past, the weapons, mechanisms, and military formations that he had never seen before should not be underestimated.
Those contemptuous words he had said before were meant to boost morale. Some of these words might deceive the soldiers, but if they deceived himself, his death would not be far away.
But asking him to withdraw his troops at this point is absolutely impossible.
They have been wandering in this sea for half a year, watching for a long time. This time he finally gathered a large force in person, and he must capture Jiangdu in one go. Otherwise, the morale will be exhausted, and the next battle will be doomed to be disadvantageous. The emperor and those daimyo will definitely blame them.
Moreover, he was only temporarily blocked, and was by no means at a disadvantage... The one who had the upper hand in this battle was still the military flag of his Fujiwara family! While Fujiwara was discussing countermeasures with his military advisor, a samurai quickly walked into the cabin and brought a very strange news - a batch of supplies that should have been delivered yesterday has not been seen yet.
They sent people to investigate, but there was no news.
Fujiwara no Maro frowned.
Thousands of people were escorting food, weapons and medicines... How could a team of this size suddenly disappear without a news?
"There haven't been any big storms on the sea recently. Even if there was an accident, there shouldn't be anyone who came to report it..." A military advisor said in confusion, "Could it be that they all met with an accident and no one survived?!"
However, to be able to annihilate all of their thousands of soldiers at sea...what kind of a huge force would that be? !
According to common sense, the one who can annihilate all of the other side must have nearly overwhelming strength... The other side may have 3,000 people? "General... Could it be that the Sheng army is cunning and actually attacked our rear?!"
Hearing this speculation, the frustrated Ji Jianfu could not help but pace impatiently: "But these rubbish are not good at naval warfare, don't they dare to take a defensive step! When did they quietly go around to the rear sea area!"
The current situation is far less smooth than he imagined!
"It's all fake." Fujiwara Maro sneered, "To be conservative and stand still is fake. Not daring to take a defensive step to pursue is also fake."
Everything they had seen in the past six months was a false illusion created by Sheng Jun.
Just as he said, no matter how the weak disguise themselves, they cannot change the fact that they are weak, but... in war, too many unknowns mean that many uncontrollable changes will occur.
If Sheng’s army really went around to the rear, I’m afraid there would be more problems with the subsequent supply of materials... Soldiers cannot be without food and medicine.
Sheng Jun's trick of luring the enemy might be more dangerous than he imagined...
In order to prevent any changes, the only way now is to fight quickly and defeat the Sheng army as soon as possible! But with Chang Kuo in charge of the overall situation, there is no possibility of a quick battle... He must kill Chang Kuo first! After a moment, Fujiwara Maru asked with a sinister look in his eyes: "Where are the prisoners captured these days?"
During the battle, they captured nearly a hundred live prisoners.
The Sheng people are hypocritical and like to talk about comradeship. It is necessary to capture the prisoners of the Sheng army alive. If used properly, it can dampen the morale of the enemy.
Since he couldn't get close to Chang Kuo, he might as well force Chang Kuo to take the initiative to stand up! At Fujiwara Maru's signal, Yoshimi Fu took all the captured hundreds of prisoners to the deck of the warship in front.
Fujiwara no Maro sent soldiers to convey a message to Chang Kuo, claiming that he had not seen Chang Kuo for many years and wanted to have a private fight with Chang Kuo. He would uphold the way of the samurai and fight with Chang Kuo fairly and impartially.
He also promised that if Chang Kuo could win, he would release the hundred prisoners and withdraw his troops for ten days. He would keep his word.
And if Chang Kuo refuses to agree...
"Whether you live or die depends entirely on whether Chang Kuo has the courage to accept the challenge!"
Ji Jianfu pushed the bound Lao Kang to the ground, stepped heavily on his back, and said with a fierce smile: "If Chang Kuo doesn't have the courage, I will chop off your heads today and hang them all under my Japanese flag!"
"Before that, I will chop off your hands and feet first, so that the soldiers of Dasheng can see clearly what kind of cowardly person the so-called majestic General Chang is!"
"Oh, and you..." Ji Jianfu grabbed the woman's messy hair, his eyes flashing with a turbid light: "I just saw that there is a female army among us! It seems that we don't have to wait until we attack Jiangdu to let the brothers have a taste of Dasheng women!"
"Then let the Sheng army on the other side see what we Japanese men are capable of!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Japanese soldiers around him immediately responded with dirty laughter.
He spoke in Japanese, and She Cai could not understand a word of it, but she did not need to understand, as she could understand what dirty words they were saying.
The embarrassed shepherd's purse showed a disdainful smile on his face, and glanced at the short Ji Jianfu: "You want to use such a small thing to humiliate me? I'm afraid you will drink water through your nostrils - it's terrible!"
She accidentally fell into the hands of these Japanese pirates because she was trying to save Hao Huan.
Whatever torture or humiliation, just come at her. If she begs for mercy from these Japanese pirates, she is not named Hao!
Even if these Japanese pirates cut off her head, she would still spit in their faces at the end! As long as she refused to give in, held on to her dignity, and didn't bend her spine, no matter what means these Japanese pirates used, they would never be able to dampen the morale of the other side!
Ji Jianfu didn't understand what she was saying, but seeing her disdainful expression, he scolded her: "You ignorant and crude woman, wait until I have my hands free, I will see for myself how hard your bones are!"
Then, he looked at the old soldier who was stepped on by him, with gray hair but no fear at all, and sneered, "To show our sincerity, our army must offer something to General Chang!"
Rain fell from the gray sky, mixed with splattered blood, creating a scarlet blood mist in the air.
Soon, a bloody hand was brought to Chang Kuo.
Suddenly, tears of anger and heartache appeared in Ah Dian's eyes: "...This is Uncle Kang's hand!"
Kang Shu's left hand was injured in the war, and only two fingers were left. He counted them, so he couldn't be wrong! As Ah Dian spoke, tears were already rolling down his cheeks. He raised his hand to wipe away the tears, turned around and was about to walk out of the cabin: "I want to bring Kang Shu back, bandage him, and give him medicine!"
"Adian!" Chang Kuo's eyes were gloomy and he raised his hand to stop Adian.
Ah Dian refused to let any more tears fall, and shouted, "Uncle Chang, they want to fight, I'm going to fight them!"
"Adult matters, children should take a back seat."
Chang Kuo leaned on his knife and stood up with his right leg trembling slightly, but his expression was majestic and resolute: "It just so happens that I also have an old account to settle with him."
The comrade-in-arms who was tortured to the point of being mutilated, pierced by a Japanese spear, and hung on Fujiwara's warship is an old hatred that he can never get rid of.
"The Japanese are treacherous. Fujiwara no Maro suddenly proposed this and forced you to fight alone. They must have come prepared! General, you must not fall for their trick!"
"General, if you..."
Chang Kuo raised his hand and interrupted his subordinates' dissuasion: "I have fought for many years, and I don't know what the twists and turns are. Why do I need you to remind me?"
But this time, the situation was such that he had to stand up.
Thank you all for your monthly tickets. I would like to recommend Yao Yingyi’s new ancient Chinese book: "Jinghonglou" - copywriting: After rebirth, I raised an emperor!
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