In the early morning, what filled the earth was not the slightly moist morning mist, but gunpowder smoke that had not yet dissipated.
The gray-white smoke lingers in the sky and earth for a long time with a choking smell, and it is also mixed with the disgusting smell of blood.
The city is full of broken limbs, broken arms, masonry and rubble. Between the ruins and under the city wall, there are wounded soldiers who are still alive, howling heart-piercingly, helplessly working in vain among the dead.
They stretched out their hands, imagining that someone would give them a hand.
Beside the city wall of Pyongyang, the siege vehicles as tall as the sky still stand, but they are full of scars, and one of them is still burning with raging fire.
The determination of the Koreans to defend their homeland was extremely strong. When the siege engines were set up at the top of the city, the Koreans directly used their hidden backhand and used heavy fire oil.
Facing the Goryeo surrender troops who rushed to the city, the defenders did not show mercy because they were compatriots. The elite soldiers stood at the front to block the impact of the Goryeo surrender troops. At the same time, the dead soldiers jumped onto the city with fire oil cans.
They captured the Ming army's siege vehicles and ignited a raging fire.
In an instant, the exit of the siege vehicle turned into a sea of fire, and more kerosene torches and hot golden dung water vented from the top of the city.
The soldiers who were burned by the fire kept rolling on the soil. Those soldiers who were drenched in excrement and water could pull off the cooked flesh and blood with their hands, revealing the white bones of the forest people.
Until now, after a night, the smell of blood floating between heaven and earth is still mixed with stench and the smell of barbecue.
Zhu Yunxi took his personal guards and strolled through the military camp. Yesterday was a tentative attack, and those who charged were all Goryeo soldiers, which were used to consume the Goryeo defenders. If the city is to be attacked again today, the Ming army will have to attack.
Because more than 4,000 Korean troops surrendered, all of them were killed or injured.
"How many of our people have died?"
At dawn, the soldiers in the camp got up under the orders of the officers. Smoke from breakfast also floated in the camp. Zhu Yunxi stood next to an iron pot, stirring the thick hot porridge inside with a spoon, and asked.
"Back to Your Highness, in yesterday's battle, more than a hundred of our people were killed and more than 400 were injured!" Fu Rang replied respectfully from behind Zhu Yunxi.
Most of the people who died were hit by stray arrows and rolling stones from the Goryeo defenders while supervising the battle under the city. War is about killing people. Although he knew this truth, Zhu Yunxi still frowned in distress.
"Your Highness, there is no one who won't die in a war!" Lan Yu looked at Zhu Yunxi's face and said carefully, "I have the guts to say something unpleasant. The casualties of a hundred and ten people are nothing!"
Zhu Yunxi raised his head and looked at the Goryeo city wall, where figures were busy shaking in the gunpowder smoke. Those two walls were the key attack points of the Ming army yesterday. The walls were already in dilapidated condition. The Goryeo people stayed up all night last night and kept building them.
"Take care of the corpses of the soldiers who died in the battle. It's hot now and we can't send them all back. Let's cremate them all!" Zhu Yunxi's eyes moved to the Ming Dynasty tigers in the camp and continued, "Remember the names.
, pack the ashes and send them home. The pension will be doubled. Tell the Liaodong Dusi that more land should be given to the families of the sons who died in the war. They worked hard for the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty cannot let their families have worries!"
"His Highness loves the soldiers as much as his sons." Li Jinglong said from behind, "I believe that when the three armies are circulated, it shows His Majesty's compassion. All three armies will be even more effective!"
Zhu Yunxi squinted and glanced at Li Jinglong coldly. The latter suddenly felt cold in his heart, and immediately realized that he was flattering and slapped the horse on the leg. He lowered his head and stepped aside, not daring to say anything.
The veteran generals in the army, such as Fu Youde and others, looked at each other silently. They all knew in their hearts that His Highness was leading the army for the first time, and his character had not yet been tempered to the point of being hard-hearted. For these veteran generals, let alone more than a hundred people died.
, even if ten thousand people died, as long as there was military exploits, they would pretend they didn't see it.
It wasn't Zhu Yunxi's kindness as a woman, but the humanity in his heart, let alone his pretentiousness. After all, the more than 100 people who died were all soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.
"Will we continue to attack the city today?" After a while, Fu Youde asked, "Your Highness, despite the fierceness of the Korean defense yesterday, they are actually at the end of their strength. If we attack the city today, I suggest attacking from three sides, first with artillery and trebuchets.
He waited for half a day, and then the heavy armored infantry boarded the city."
"As long as we stand at the top of the city, we can clear out the outer city of Pyongyang in one day, and in two days, we can clear out the entire city of Pyongyang. With Pyongyang captured, the door of Korea will be wide open and the plains will be vast!"
"Don't worry about Pyongyang, it will be a matter of time before the city is destroyed." Zhu Yunxi looked at Pyongyang again, "What I am concerned about now is where are Goryeo's reinforcements?" He said with a slight smile, "Pyongyang is the bait for Goryeo's reinforcements, we
There’s no rush now.”
When encircling a point to call for reinforcements, the key is to encircle it. The city of Pyongyang is now frightened, so just encircle it.
"It stands to reason that there should be a letter from King Yan. If His Highness is not at ease, give me a cavalry and I will go there myself!" Lan Yu pondered and said, "Pyongyang is surrounded by our people, and the commanding heights of Pingcheng are also in our hands.
, if Goryeo reinforcements come, Hinoki is the only way to go. There is no need to stop him, just send some scout horses, watch them from a distance, let them in, and then join forces with King Yan. It is best if we send troops on both sides at the same time while they are marching.
, His Highness is in front, King Yan is on the side, blocking the middle and attacking..."
Jiang is still old and hot, even though the encirclement and reinforcements have been carefully considered by the veterans. But there are very few people who can't talk about the terrain of Goryeo like Lan Yu. And no one can accurately calculate the time difference of the war like him.
.
At this moment, suddenly a general, under the guidance of Zhu Yunxi's bodyguard, strode over.
"Your Majesty Zhang Yu, please see His Highness the Grand Sun!"
Those who came were Zhu Di's trusted generals, and they must have discovered traces of Goryeo reinforcements.
"But we met Koreans?" Zhu Yunxi asked anxiously.
"Going back to Your Highness, the Goryeo army marching north has passed Sui'an and is only thirty miles away from Hinoki. There are about 4,000 cavalry and more than 50,000 infantry. They are under the banner of Goryeo's King Jingxing Rebel Army. King Chitose of Yan led the army to station in Changchang.
In Xingli, we can attack the flank of the Goryeo army at any time."
(Looking at the map, Pingcheng, Changxingli, and Hinoki are shaped like a triangle.)
"Okay!" Zhu Yunxi clapped his hands, "Destroy the reinforcements first, and then break through Pyongyang!" He said solemnly to the generals, "Fu Guogong continues to pose as if he wants to attack Pyongyang. The others will join me and join forces with King Yan!"
Zhang Yu said, "Go and reply to King Yan quickly and tell him to watch the Goryeo reinforcements to death. If the opponent notices something is wrong, he must bite him and not get away!"
"Here!" The generals agreed in a loud voice.
The Ming army's battle line of more than 100,000 troops extended from Pingcheng on the high ground outside Pyongyang City to the foot of Pyongyang City in the shape of steps. When the Korean reinforcements arrived, the Ming army did not need to march long distances. It only needed the front army to cross the shallow Datong River.
The only way to reach the reinforcements of Goryeo is Hicang.
The military situation was raging. Under the walls of Pyongyang, the Ming army continued to assume the posture of attacking by force, accumulating earthen walls with great momentum. In fact, secretly, the large forces had turned their guns.
~~~
In the mountains and forests, King Zhu Di of Yan was hiding in the dark, watching the Goryeo reinforcements marching at the foot of the mountain with some approval in his eyes. He was a vassal king who had fought many battles. He started from the grassroots and valued first-hand military intelligence.
Even when fighting deep in Mobei, he often took the lead in exploring horses.
"You see, the march is rapid but not chaotic. The cavalry is in series with the head and tail, the archers are in the middle, and the spearmen are outside. If you encounter an enemy, you can immediately form a formation on the spot!" Zhu Di whispered to the generals around him, "The leader of Goryeo,
He is a general who knows his troops well!"
Although he said it solemnly, there was still some contempt in the eyes of the proud soldiers under his command.
Qiu Fu, a general under Yan Fan, said, "Chitose, I have something unclear! Why did the Korean reinforcements not take the pine forest road and enter Pyongyang directly, but instead walked sideways? Didn't they come directly to the door?"
"You, you are used to fighting big battles, and your mind has not turned around!" Zhu Di said with a smile, "Koryeo is a small country, and the whole country's strength can only be more than a hundred thousand troops. The reinforcements have entered Pyongyang, which can certainly ensure that Pyongyang is not lost.
But it doesn’t do any good to the overall situation!”
"Goryeo's troops and horses are all hoarded in the Pyongyang area. If Ming Dynasty sends another 200,000 troops and horses to surround them, and then recruits another 100,000 troops to march straight into Seoul, how can he resist?"
"If we want to break the siege of Pyongyang, Goryeo must fight in the field. The only way to survive is to attack from the side. We, the Ming Dynasty, will encircle the flanks of Pyongyang's army, recapture the high ground of Kaesong, and form a horn with Pyongyang!"
Qiu Fu thought for a long time, seemed to understand, and said, "It's still a thousand-year-old sage, but a rough guy like me knows the wheel knife, but he can't think of these joints!"
"It's not what I thought!" Zhu Di smiled and sighed, "This battle was all the work of the Emperor Taisun. From the beginning, what he wanted to fight was to destroy the Goryeo Sheji in one battle!" As he said,
Frowning slightly, "Such a battle is a big game of chess. At first, I thought it was the veteran generals in the army who gave him the idea, but later I found out that it was the veteran generals who persuaded them against all odds!"
As he spoke, he sighed, "You are truly a genius!"
"He?" Qiu Fu and others looked a little contemptuous, "No matter how wise His Highness the Grand Sun is, he can't compare to Chitose who has experienced hundreds of battles. When it comes to fighting, no matter how well you think about it, it will be different in the fight."
At this moment, footsteps were heard in the dense forest behind everyone.
Everyone clenched their weapons and saw a scout coming over anxiously, "Is Chitose here?"
"What's wrong?" Zhu Di asked with a frown.
"Cavalry!" Tan Ma gasped, "Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi came to report that the Korean cavalry was found in the direction of Sichuan. There are about 20,000 people. It seems that they are preparing to outflank our rear!"