There were constant shouts of killing at sea, and both sides were immediately red-eyed, and the war entered a fierce stage.
It can be said that there is no enmity between the Tang army and the Japanese. The two countries have had exchanges with each other for a long time. The Japanese sent envoys to the court from time to time and were quite respectful. In the former Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains even paid a return visit.
They seemed very friendly at first, and could be said to be neighbors separated by a strip of water. But when they suddenly met on the sea, a horrific bloody battle soon broke out.
They were entangled together like a feud, spilling blood and using their lives and the lives of others to pursue the chance of winning this competition.
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Overall, the Tang army had an absolute advantage. If they met on land, I believe they would not have given the Japanese too many opportunities. The Tang army, which had experienced the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, would have defeated the Japanese resistance as soon as possible.
But this was on the sea, and even though the Tang army had the upper hand, it was still in a stalemate with the Japanese.
The Japanese relied on the advantage of having more people on board and the smaller boats were more agile, just like in a real siege, they desperately climbed onto the Tang army's ship and fought with the Tang army, hoping to defeat the Tang army in a boarding battle.
According to the thinking of the Japanese generals, as long as they capture one or two Sui ships, they can see the dawn of victory. They are the descendants of Amaterasu and the darlings of the sea. They believe that the Sui people from land only occupy the ship.
, the weapons are sharp and cheap. Once they take control of the big ship, they will definitely be able to carve out a bloody path in this war.
The sea breeze was still blowing slowly, but the wind gradually became smell of gunpowder smoke, and there was a faint smell of blood.
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A Tang Army warship caught fire. This was the first Tang Army warship to catch fire. Starting from the sail curtain, it quickly burned to the cabin.
The number of Japanese warships surrounding it suddenly increased. Even the Japanese who fell into the water, as long as they were still alive, tried their best to get closer to the big ship, hoping to climb aboard and die together with the enemy.
This is Liu Rengui's ship, and the sailors are commanded by a navy captain.
Liu Rengui was born in the Wei family of Henan Province. His family had been officials for generations. By his father's generation, the family had declined, but he still had no problem becoming an official. Liu Rengui was stoic by nature, studied hard since he was a child, and was very knowledgeable.
He became an official at the age of sixteen and later became a county captain. After Wang Shichong was defeated, he was taken to Hebei by Duan Da and joined the army for six years.
He served in Wang Cong's army. After Wang Cong surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he took advantage of the situation and entered the Zuoyuwei Mansion. General Wei Chiqie saw that he behaved well and was both civil and military. He appreciated him very much and entrusted him to record affairs in the Zuoyuwei Mansion.
The job of joining the army.
This time I led five thousand elite troops to the east, and I was entrusted with an important task. However, I didn't expect to find myself in danger at sea.
Liu Rengui's troops were all soldiers from the North and were not familiar with the water. After practicing in Donglai for a few days, they could only stand firm on the ship. When the fire broke out on the ship, he had to lead his men to help the navy kill the enemy.
There were about a hundred people beside him, barely standing on the boat despite the thick smoke.
Liu Rengui threw away his helmet, with his hair disheveled, took off his armor in three strokes, tore open his robe with force, tied the robe tightly around his waist, with his strong and powerful upper body naked, and with a ferocious face, he drew out his sword and shouted
Kill the thief.
Without hesitation, he took the lead and jumped towards the nearest enemy ship. The Japanese were caught off guard and knocked around by him. Liu Rengui jumped up and immediately killed several people with a knife.
The general was so courageous that when his subordinates saw that he was taking the lead and showing such bravery, their blood suddenly surged and they could not control themselves. They jumped on the enemy ship one after another and fought desperately with the enemy.
There is no need to mention the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. Even though Liu Rengui and his men were not used to water warfare and their combat effectiveness on the water was greatly reduced, the ferocious energy honed in the war still made the Japanese terrified.
After a while, the Japanese on the boat were either driven into the water or killed by them.
Liu Rengui's intention to kill the enemy was still not over, so he ordered a few sailors to take control of the rudder and sail the captured boats across the battlefield, specifically looking for Japanese to engage in boarding battles.
In about half an hour, Liu Rengui and his men were covered in blood. Liu Rengui himself was also covered in wounds, but he still shouted for a fierce fight without taking any notice. So after the war, people called him the "shirtless general."
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They continued to kill all the way, seizing several ships, killing countless Wu family members, and countless ordinary Japanese.
When their eyes were clear, they had already killed the Japanese fleet and came to the rear of the Japanese formation. Liu Rengui did not rush to fight back, but asked people to sail farther away and watch for a long time, and then pointed at the Japanese.
The direction where the most ships gathered said: "Let's go there and kill for a while. I will live and die with you all."
At this time, his subordinates had already worshiped him like a god. They responded in unison, turned around in their boats and rushed towards the battlefield. The direction they were going was exactly where the Japanese army was.
The so-called killing of generals and capturing the flag still applies at sea.
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During the melee, Liu Rengui's ship fell crookedly in the fire. This was the first warship lost by the Tang Army, but it was not the last. When they lost their speed advantage, ships followed one after another.
It was set on fire by the Japanese or dug through the bottom of the ship.
There is no need to say more about what this means in naval battles.
But even if the Japanese were so powerful, they still could not offset the Tang army's tactical and equipment advantages. What's more, the Japanese could not take any advantage in the boarding battle. Their ferocity was actually just that in the eyes of the Tang army.
Everyone is used to seeing all kinds of powerful and cunning enemies in wars, and the Japanese are really countless. Moreover, they are so short that they look like jumping monkeys in front of the Tang army.
The situation faced by the Japanese also fully proved this point. At this time, the Japanese army was already in chaos.
The battle lasted for nearly two hours, and Wang Xiongdan commanded his ship to finally approach the Japanese flagship, which was Soga Ezo's ship.
Within a distance of less than ten miles, they encountered increasingly tenacious resistance from the Japanese. The Japanese drove small boats and constantly attacked and blocked the large ship, just like a pack of wolves attacking an elephant.
They were trampled to death by elephants one after another, but they still rushed forward without hesitation.
The building ship Wang Xiongdan was on was not the warship Liu Rengui was on. It was the second largest ship in the Tang army after Du Fuwei's flagship. Japanese attacks could not shake such a sea monster.
The building ship kept adjusting its direction, and under Wang Xiongdan's urging, it unswervingly approached Soga Ezo's flagship, and finally achieved its goal.
Soga Ezo was completely panicked. He was a standard Japanese royal noble, not a military commander, and his experience in naval battles was very shallow. Otherwise, he would not have made such a stupid mistake when he first encountered the Tang army.
At this time, seeing the behemoth finally approaching, the Sui people on the ship first rained down arrows on his flagship. They saw that the usually brave and famous Wu family members were shot to death on the ship.
He was so frightened that he ran back to the warehouse to hide.
Compared with the bravery of the Japanese fishermen and the Wu family, he, a great nobleman and the leader of an army, performed so poorly at the critical moment.
Again, if they were on land and encountered a large army led by such a commander, the Tang army would be able to defeat them in one fell swoop, but on the sea they have yet to achieve a decisive victory.
After the rain of arrows, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty stretched out their long hook spears and first cut off the ropes connecting the sails on the ship so that the enemy could not escape.
Then, from a high position, he knocked down the Japanese who came up one after another, climbed on the side of the opponent's ship, and pulled with all his strength, firmly controlling the Japanese flagship beside him.
Groups of Tang troops jumped aboard in an orderly manner and began to clean up the remaining enemies on the ship in a formulaic manner. Before that, the flags flying on the Japanese flagship had already been swept down by hook guns.
The nearby Japanese warships seemed to be attracted by magnets, and ants gathered in, desperately trying to rescue the flagship.
But everything was irreversible. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty let out a burst of cheers. They captured Soga Ezo in the bottom of the Japanese flagship and dragged him. The armor was very gorgeous, and he knew it was a Japanese at a glance.
The big shot guy got it on the deck.
They pushed him to the side of the ship to show it to the Japanese. All the Japanese who saw Soga Ezo were dumbfounded. He was a descendant of Amaterasu. He was high in the Japanese country and had always been like a god.
When he was captured by the enemy on the battlefield, he was just like the emperor of the Central Plains who went on a personal expedition, but lost his life on the battlefield. The effect was unbearable.
The Japanese offensive came to an abrupt end, and their courage quickly disappeared without a trace like snowflakes under the sun. Even if Soga Ezo died in battle, it might not be able to achieve this effect.
Being captured... is always the most humiliating outcome in East Asian cultural circles.
What the Tang army did not expect was that some Japanese began to throw down their weapons in a daze, knelt on the boat, kowtowed, and muttered something that the Tang soldiers could not understand.
Their gestures were universal and could not be understood any more. Tang Jun immediately knew that they had indeed captured a big shot among the enemy and had to protect him.
Some Japanese yelled in panic for a while, and then ran away in the boat. They were obviously guys who were often pirates. Unlike ordinary fishermen, they lacked loyalty to anyone.
Seeing this, Wang Xiongdan immediately made a decision and ordered people to get Soga Ezo to his flagship. He tied Soga Ezo to the tall mast with ropes and let several captives hang on the side of the ship.
People on the side kept shouting to the Japanese.
The boats began to cruise around the battlefield. Wherever they went, the Japanese knelt down and asked to surrender. A few of them no longer had the will to resist and turned around and fled.
When Liu Rengui led his men to seize another small boat, some Japanese people around him suddenly shouted. They dropped their weapons one after another and knelt down on the boat. This scene spread rapidly outward like ripples in the water.
Liu Rengui still had murderous intent in his chest, but was exhausted. Seeing this, he sat down on the boat and laughed loudly. His subordinates also staggered down while cheering.
There were more than a hundred people fighting. By this time, apart from those who were separated, fell into the water, and died in the battle, there were only thirty-four people left around Liu Rengui. Each of them had killed countless enemies, and his clothes were stained with blood.
This chapter has been completed!