Two quarters of an hour passed in a flash. While Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min were drinking and arguing, Wang Baobao had already gathered three thousand soldiers.
And Tokugawa Hideyoshi, who was just opposite, saw everything. After all, he was a man of some ability, and his eyesight was naturally not bad. Looking at the situation, it was clear that they were going to attack.
Looking at the soldiers in their own camp, tens of thousands of people gathering to retreat were naturally much slower than the 3,000 people on the opposite side gathering to attack.
Tokugawa Hideyoshi said to his guards again: "There is no time. Go and tell Takeda-kun that you don't need to bring any baggage or anything else, and don't worry about the formation. From now on, heading east is still our territory. Whatever you lack, you can just collect it locally."
"Just leave all the baggage here. The Ming army is about to attack. If I can't hold on, I will burn all the baggage. Doing so will buy him and most of the troops some time."
After receiving the order, the personal guard hurried to look for Takeda Nobuo who was already busy and exhausted. Looking at Tokugawa Hideyoshi, he was also frantically preparing for defense. Fortunately, before Zhang Wuji came here, he had already prepared many things. Outside the camp, he had already arranged three large fences. Behind the fences were either spearmen or crossbowmen. With three such fortifications, he didn't ask for how long he could hold off the Ming army, but if he could hold off for half an hour, he would have escaped from the tiger's mouth.
Tokugawa Hideyoshi had never been so nervous in his life.
"Come on, beat the drums, line up, and tell the soldiers to shout. Don't be scared by the Ming army outside. They have come from afar. Even if they won the battle yesterday by chance, they haven't slept for a day and a night. No matter how strong they are, how strong can they be?"
"Let them see the style of our great Japanese warriors."
For a time, the morale in the Japanese camp was really boosted. After all, Tokugawa Hideyoshi, the general, was here to cheer them up. As a general, he personally stayed behind with the soldiers to cover their retreat. This kind of example did have some effect.
And just behind him, Takeda Nobuo, after receiving the order not to carry any baggage, carried out the order quite thoroughly.
Takeda Nobuo shouted loudly: "Don't bring anything with you, just hold on to the weapons in your hands. Hurry, run, and follow the road eastward. As long as we run, we can survive. Although the Ming army is strong, they are all heavily armored infantry. They can't run fast. As long as we run, they can't catch up."
…
On the other hand, the screaming sounds coming from the Japanese camp made Wang Baobao very confused. Those sounds were all high-pitched and mournful, which made Wang Baobao wonder whether the Japanese were going to launch an attack first.
However, just when Wang Baobao was having some self-doubt, Zhao Min, who was not far behind her, shouted loudly: "What are you doing? Attack, there are tens of thousands of troops behind you, what are you hesitating about."
The person who said this was none other than Zhao Min. She was a little angry when she saw Wang Baobao hesitating. It was just a war, and the most taboo thing was hesitation, especially in the current terrain and morale. What was there to hesitate about? Just charge.
Wang Baobao was scolded in public and naturally felt a little embarrassed, but he didn't dare to show even a little bit of his anger in front of Zhao Min. After all, she was his master for more than ten years. Even if Zhao Min slapped him in public, he would still greet her with a smile.
Wang Baobao drew the sword from his waist and said, "My men, we were just spectators last night. Today we finally have a chance to kill someone, and we really can't miss it. Don't be disturbed by the screaming sounds in the Japanese camp opposite. In fact, they are just scared."
"Charge forward and kill them all."
Wang Baobao waved the scimitar in his hand, and the soldiers under his command no longer hesitated.
They lined up in an orderly manner and rushed towards the Japanese camp with unwavering steps.
"Quick, quick, shoot the arrow..."
Tokugawa Hideyoshi on the opposite side was also in a panic. It only took two quarters of an hour from the time the Ming army formed their battle array to the time they launched the attack.
It was so fast that the tens of thousands of troops led by Takeda Nobuo behind him had just begun to withdraw, or flee.
Tokugawa Hideyoshi knew very well that although his soldiers could run much faster than the heavily armored Ming soldiers, it would be a huge trouble if they were caught. Therefore, in order to buy some time for the so-called large army, he had to try his best to delay.
Inside the Japanese camp, countless arrows flew directly towards the Ming army soldiers who were launching the attack.
Fortunately, the Ming army soldiers in the first few rows were not only wearing heavy armor, but also holding large shields. The arrows that hit the shields would at most just be nailed on them without any pain, and could not cause any effective damage. Even if some arrows passed through the gaps in the shields and hit the Ming army soldiers directly, their heavy armor could still provide great defensive effect.
In general, the Japanese's rain of arrows did have a certain delaying effect, but the effect was not great.
Soon, the Ming army soldiers arrived at the first large fence in front of the Japanese camp under the rain of arrows from the Japanese. This fence was the biggest obstacle for cavalry charges.
When Wang Baobao and Zhang Wuji were fighting, they were often troubled by this kind of thing. However, now, it is really not easy to transport too many war horses from the Ming Dynasty for the expedition to Japan. Therefore, almost all of their generals do not have many cavalry under their command. The only few thousand light cavalry are still in Edogawa and have not had time to come over. This kind of large fence is very easy to deal with for the infantry.
Similarly, Wang Baobao, as the first general in this battle, disregarded his image as a general and charged to the front with a shield in hand.
"Archers, get ready, fire."
After he finished speaking, the Ming army soldiers in the front who were holding up their shields slightly lowered their shields, while the Ming army soldiers in the back who were holding strong bows and crossbows shot hundreds of heavy arrows. In just a moment, the Japanese behind the big fence began to wail continuously.
Then, Wang Baobao shouted again: "Hurry, move these damn fences away, don't let these damn things delay our advance."
His blood was boiling. It had been several years since he had fought a war. Wang Baobao was already a bit older, but he still found the feeling of galloping on the battlefield back then.
That feeling will make a man of blood feel young again, and that feeling will make a man of blood feel his heart surge.
…
At this moment, Zhou Zhiruo, Yu Fei, Zhao Linger and others also came behind Zhang Wuji.
They had already found a place to rest, but the loud shouting and screaming woke them up.
"Why did they start fighting again so soon?" Zhou Zhiruo looked a little confused.
Zhang Wuji turned his head and smiled, "I had planned to rest for a day, or fight again tomorrow, or tonight, but the Japanese seem to be trying to run away, so we have no choice but to start fighting."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com