Chapter 823 The Divine Wall that Protects the Country
Just as Yu Tongjiang was about to order the port to be set on fire, his attention was suddenly attracted by a long wall outside Hakata Port.
"That was built by the Japanese a hundred years ago to resist the Yuan army." Liao Dingguo, who was on the side, also carefully observed the long wall with a telescope and said in a deep voice:
"When the Yuan army first invaded Japan, the Japanese adopted the strategy of letting the Yuan army go ashore for a decisive battle. As a result, the shore was full of open land and the two sides fought in a field battle. How could the Japanese be the opponent of the Yuan army? They were defeated.
.If it weren’t for the fact that the Yuan army was not unified in their thinking and the general was accidentally injured, they might have been pushed away.”
"After that, the shogunate in Japan learned his lesson and decided to resolutely resist the landing Yuan army on the coast the next time the Yuan army attacked. So it took several years to build this forty-mile-long wall." Liao Dingguo continued.
: "The wall is about seven or eight feet high, and there are fortifications built on top."
"It was this stone wall that was not very high, but it caused the Yuan army to suffer a big loss. Their several attacks were repelled by the Japanese troops on the stone wall with bows and arrows and rolling stones. Although the casualties were limited, they were never able to complete the landing.
After deploying their troops, the cavalry they were proud of could not be used, and as a result, they were dragged into a bitter battle by the Japanese army..."
"A full hundred years have passed," Yu Tongjiang observed carefully: "This stone wall looks quite strong, and the fortifications on it are also complete. Little Japan has been well maintained."
"The Japanese later summarized their successful experience in repelling the Yuan Dynasty twice and believed that firstly, the 'divine wind' helped, and secondly, this stone wall restricted the Yuan army's cavalry, so they called it the 'Sacred Wall to Protect the Country.'"
"During the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Japanese were worried about the retaliation of the Mongols, so they invested huge manpower and material resources to maintain this line of defense. The previous shogunate even fell because of this reason." Liao Dingguo explained: "Last year Huai Liang had another
It was repaired urgently, so it’s in pretty good condition.”
"It seems that the Japanese pirates are hiding behind the stone wall." After Yu Tongjiang finished speaking, he asked Liao Dingguo: "Then we should set fire to the port? Maybe those houses on the seaside are still useful."
"Burn, must burn. According to His Highness's instructions, the enemy must be suspected with the greatest malice. The buildings they deliberately left behind are still burned, don't worry." Liao Dingguo said firmly.
"Okay!" Yu Tongjiang ordered each ship to use its reciprocating cannon to fire pyrotechnics canisters at the buildings on the shore.
With a whooshing sound in the air, dozens of fire oil cans were thrown into the densely packed buildings along the coast.
Then the archers stood on the bow of the ship and fired rockets in the direction of the fallen fire oil tank, trying to ignite it.
According to past experience, this process is not easy, and it often takes hundreds or even thousands of arrows to be fired to trigger a fire. However, this time, it took only a few dozen arrows to be fired, and the fire shot into the sky.
The fire was so fierce that it spread throughout the port area in an instant and made a crackling sound, which stunned the Ming army officers and soldiers.
Is our fire attack so powerful?
"What does it smell like?" A gust of wind blew from the shore, and the soldiers covered their noses and coughed.
"Why do you look like a rotten egg?"
"It's sulfur. They hid sulfur in the building!" Liao Dingguo covered his mouth and nose and kept coughing: "Get out quickly! The air is poisonous..."
"Retreat, retreat quickly!" Yu Tongjiang hurriedly ordered loudly. The soldiers coughed with runny noses and tears, and tried their best to sail the warship far away from the shore.
Only then did I feel like I could breathe easier...
"Damn it, how much sulfur have they hidden?" Liao Dingguo panted heavily to relieve the burning sensation in his lungs and said, "Your Highness really said it. These Japanese slaves are really insidious."
"Yes. If you are unprepared and use those empty houses as barracks," Yu Tongjiang rubbed his burning eyes and looked at the entire Hakata Port that had turned into a sea of flames. He said in fear after a few bursts: "If the Japanese slaves shoot a rocket at them, not a single one of them will escape.
No."
"So, no matter how careful you are, you can't be too careful." Liao Dingguo regained his composure, patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go back and report."
~~
On the stern of the flagship of the Japanese expedition fleet.
Zhu Zhen held a telescope and looked at the fire of Hakata Port. The two deputy generals stood on his side and listened to the reports of Liao Dingguo and Yu Tongjiang.
"So, the Japanese pirate fleet is not in Hakata Bay either?" Sea King said slowly after hearing this.
"Yes." Liao Dingguo replied in a deep voice: "The Kyushu powerful forces in Japan are all famous for their navy and have always been the main force of Japanese pirates. According to the investigation, their total number of large and small warships exceeds 2,000."
"With such a large-scale navy, Huai Liang will definitely be entrusted with important tasks," Yu Tongyuan answered: "In my humble opinion, he will let the Kyushu navy lie in wait for our warships to dock in the sea outside Hakata Bay and land the army.
Then he suddenly came out and attacked our army from behind, so I guess the hiding place is not too far away."
"Yes." His Highness the Sea King said solemnly: "There is no need to look for them. It will be useless if we find them. Their boats are small and easy to turn around, so it is easy to get rid of us."
"Yes, but we still need to strengthen our lookouts and set up early warning lines." Yu Tongyuan said cautiously.
"Of course, you have the right to command. You have the final say how you want to fight. I am only responsible for taking the blame." Lao Liu smiled and said: "This is the situation. Tell me how you want to fight?"
"Yes." Yu Tongyuan had already prepared a draft. Hearing this, he said in a deep voice:
"The Japanese are obviously hiding behind the stone wall and want to block us on the beach with the so-called 'National Protectorate Wall'. At this time, we have two options. One is to land in Hakata and break through the enemy's defense line head-on. As long as we break through
Destroying this so-called sacred wall that protects the country will have a devastating blow to the morale of the Japanese pirates."
"The second is to avoid a frontal attack and land on Shiga Island in the north of Hakata Bay. According to accurate information, although Shiga Island is an island, a shoal will be exposed at low tide, connecting to the mainland of Kyushu Island." Yu Tongyuan added: "
Then climb over the Sanriyue Mountain and go around to the back of the stone wall."
As he spoke, he smiled and said: "However, landing operations are not something that the general is good at. Whether this second method can work, we have to ask Marquis Dingyuan for advice."
"No." Wang Bi shook his head decisively and said: "Even if there is a shoal between the island and the mainland at low tide, it is definitely very narrow and long, and there is no way to deploy troops. Moreover, it is either mud or rocks, and it is impossible to pass any vehicles or luggage. The Japanese pirates only need
If we defend one end, it will be difficult for us to attack."
"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded in agreement and said, "I don't think the Japanese pirates are building the city wall there. They must have suppressed it and led us to land on Shiga Island."
"We definitely can't do what the enemy wants us to do." Yu Tongyuan asked for instructions: "Then let's attack from the front?!"
"Yes." Zhu Zhen said solemnly: "The Yuan army suffered an unprepared loss that time, but we have done our homework for this stone wall."
As he spoke, he smiled at Wang Bi and said, "Didn't we specially invite the Marquis of Dingyuan to help us attack the city and build the stronghold?"
