Mitsuyuki Kuroda was successfully won over by Chen Jinnan to Zheng Chenggong's side.
However, the Ming army did not immediately launch any substantive actions, because in order to maximize the effect of the rebel traitors, they still need to wait patiently and make decisions.
Zheng Chenggong did not want to rashly expose Mitsuyuki Kuroda, only to gain a small fortune in the end.
Either his traitors are not used, or if they are used, they must completely annihilate the Kyushu vassal alliance with one blow.
Therefore, in the remaining ten days of April, the Ming army still maintained the previous fighting posture and strategy, as if nothing happened.
However, at the rear, Zheng Chenggong asked Zhu Shuren to order the North Korean leader Li Hao to further increase the supply of grain and grass, regardless of the cost, and continuously transport grain from Busan to Hakata Port through the Tsushima Strait.
At the same time, Zheng Chenggong acted very low-key on the surface. The grain ships only entered the port at night, and the security around the port area was very tight. This was to prevent the Japanese army from carefully understanding the Ming army's logistics situation and allowing the Japanese army to underestimate the Ming army.
Reserve military rations to prepare for surprise in the future.
As for Kuroda Mitsuyuki, he also showed more loyalty to friendly forces during this period, and this change was very gradual, further breaking down the wariness of Kumamoto and the Satsuma people.
Here in Fusang, by the end of the fifth lunar month, the typhoon season will arrive, and the density of windy days will gradually increase. Zheng Chenggong knows very well that once that season is reached, he will transport reinforcements, military rations, weapons and ammunition, and supplies from the rear of North Korea.
The difficulty will be much higher than in late April and early May.
The Fuso people also have high psychological expectations for the "divine wind". In addition, the previous dynasty relied on this thing to destroy the Mongolian army. Therefore, once the typhoon season enters, they know that Zheng Chenggong can only rely on the luck he has already received.
The island's stock of supplies is used for combat,
The Japanese army will become more courageous than it is now. They may no longer be content to hide and fight in the Aso Volcano Mountains, but dare to go out to fight with the Ming army in the field again, or make a desperate attempt to destroy the Ming army's logistics base.
At that time, it will be the best time for the traitor to strike out.
…
Zheng Chenggong's plan is very good, but whether it can be implemented or not is not up to him alone. After all, a stalemate will require more food and grass costs and will also bring uncertainty.
So he must have Zhu Shuren’s full support,
Just like Wang Jian wants to continue the stalemate with Xiang Yan and paralyze Xiang Yan, you must first have Ying Zheng to allow you to lead an army of 600,000 to eat for nothing for a year.
Fortunately, Zhu Shuren's support for this little brother is still very firm, and it is impossible for Zheng Chenggong to rely on the Ming Dynasty to transport grain across the sea. The freight would be too expensive and the cost would be too high. The Koreans originally provided the grain.
The Ming Dynasty only paid them fair grain prices based on the price they shipped, but did not bear the freight costs of the Koreans——
As an aside, in fact, during the Japanese Rebellion more than 60 years ago, when the Ming Dynasty went to Korea to fight the Japanese army, they also paid for food at local prices. The Ming Dynasty was really kind that time, since it was helping the Koreans in Korea.
If people are being beaten, the Koreans should be asked to provide food, not even a tael of silver.
This time, after all, the Ming Dynasty took the initiative to attack and fought on the territory of the Fuso people. Therefore, it is appropriate to give North Korea the basic grain price but not freight or losses. Otherwise, the poor place in North Korea will not be able to hold on, and thieves will cause trouble.
The rising of bees is troublesome.
While Zhu Shuren ordered North Korea to expedite and continue supply, he also brought a piece of bad news to Zheng Chenggong via courier that was not directly related to the war ahead, asking Zheng Chenggong to weigh it himself and not to waste too much money.
"General, the prince wants you to save some money. Until May, he can get North Korea's full support. If the typhoon comes later, it will be all up to you.
At the court in Nanjing, there were some complaints about the excessive investment in the Battle of Fusang, feeling that there was little benefit from these places. Ordinary gentry and bureaucrats could not see the importance of sea power, and there was no need to rush.
In addition, there is the biggest bad news. The deputy minister of the cabinet, the South Korean minister, fell ill and was bedridden last winter. He was in bed for more than two months and passed away at the end of last month. Now the cabinet needs to be reorganized, and the Ministry of Revenue is not as easy to talk to as before. North Korea and China
Support for sea power also declined slightly.
What's more important is that the prince plans to show off to Ding You for a while. Even if he doesn't have to observe mourning for twenty-seven months, he still needs to be in the limelight for a while and wait for his majesty to win his love.
So at this time, he hopes that you will not cause trouble to the court and make more demands, otherwise he will not be able to explain to the world."
Zheng Chenggong was slightly surprised after hearing what the messenger said. It was because Fusang and the Central Plains were far apart after all, and he only knew about what happened a month and a half ago.
Shen Tingyang was born in the 22nd year of Wanli and is now sixty-five years old, which is considered a long life in this era. Historically, he died in the Qing army's attack in Luyuan Port in the first year of Yongli. Now because of his son's success, he is already older than history.
During the same period, he lived for twelve more years and was still in charge of the power of the imperial court. He was considered to have enjoyed all the blessings he deserved.
Although Shen Tingyang was a little regretful that he could not see his biological grandson become the emperor, this is normal. Who made him more than ten years older than his in-law Emperor Longwu? Under normal circumstances, Shen Tingyang should have been older than him.
Predeceased by relatives.
It is said that after Shen Tingyang's death, Longwu Emperor Zhu Changzi also resigned from the court for a few days for his in-laws and gave high-level care and treatment, which was much more preferential than normal princes.
As for Zhu Changzi's inner thoughts, it is not difficult to guess: he has already confirmed that his son-in-law will not usurp the throne, and he is not in a hurry to let young Zhu Ciyu take the throne.
But Zhu Changzi's only remaining worry was that Zhu Shuren wanted to fulfill some of his biological father's wishes and watch his own grandson ascend the throne. If Shen Tingyang was healthy and strong enough to die later than his relatives, or could delay his death, Zhu Changzi would
I have delusions of victimization.
But now it seems that the age gap of more than ten years is an insurmountable obstacle after all. Shen Tingyang eventually died of illness. Zhu Shuren didn't care whether his biological father saw that day.
Therefore, the last ten thousandth risk to Zhu Changzi's life safety no longer exists. Zhu Changzi has convinced himself that the palace maids and eunuchs around him will not damage his health, allowing him to enjoy the last moment of his natural life span.
Zhu Changzi got such a large insurance, but in comparison, spending a few extra dollars to organize the funeral of his in-laws was nothing.
…
Zheng Chenggong can also understand Zhu Shuren's decision to worry a little about his biological father's death.
After all, Zhu Shuren has been given the surname Zhu by the late emperor, which is different from his biological father's surname. In this life, he is still a little short of filial piety. Now that Shen Tingyang has passed away, he should really demonstrate Zhu Shuren's style to the world, and not easily steal love directly.
.
There is a secondary reason behind Zhu Shuren's decision: he wanted to use this incident to emphasize that Chongzhen only "gave him a national surname", but it did not mean that Zhu Shuren needed to change his patriarchal clan.
I would like to emphasize to everyone in the world that his surname Zhu is not the result of the current emperor's son-in-law.
In this way, assuming that a few years later, Emperor Longwu Zhu Changzi also died, Zhu Shuren would not have to guard Zhu Changzi for too long, there would be no Ding You, and the pressure to win his love would be less.
Because if you are the emperor's son-in-law, and the emperor dies, the new emperor can "exchange the sun for the moon" and exercise power normally after twenty-seven days. But as a son-in-law, you will have to leave behind your power for a long time.
As a minister, you are not qualified to "exchange the sun for the moon".
Therefore, since it is destined to choose a period of time to temporarily let go of power, it is of course safer to choose a time when one's own father passes away to slightly let go of power, and it will not be necessary when his father-in-law dies in the future.
In Zhu Shuren's view, the most dangerous point in his future power transfer is the early stage when his father-in-law dies and his son takes over the throne as the emperor's grandson.
Because if there are other princes named Zhu who question the new monarch's bloodline, they will all explode at that time. After Zhu Ciyu is firmly seated, no one will be able to jump out. During that transition period, Zhu Shuren will never let go of his power for a day.
Yes, be careful when sailing the ship of ten thousand years.
…
The support from Ming's rear will be weakened for the time being, and now Zheng Chenggong can only rely on himself to lure the enemy with limited power to expand the results.
Several of his most trusted generals initially advised Zheng Chenggong to keep secret what happened in the court, so as not to shake the morale of the army or make the enemy arrogant and domineering.
Zheng Chenggong also felt that it was right to keep a low profile at first.
However, Chen Jinnan opposed all opinions and suggested that he use the etiquette of a nephew's mourning for his uncle and organize a ceremony at his own expense in the military camp. It would be better to forcefully seize Fuso folk white cloth, white gauze, white silk, and other materials in Fukuoka and Fuuchi.
The textiles to be used were given to some troops.
Zheng Chenggong thought it was unbelievable at first, but after thinking about it, this move seemed to be very suitable - what he was afraid of now was that the Kyushu vassals would fight in the Aso Volcano Mountains, and he hoped that the opponent would underestimate the enemy.
Deliberately showing some flaws and expropriating white textiles from the people, and then pretending to force some Fuso people to side with the Kyushu Allied Forces, causing a swarm of thieves, wouldn't it just embolden the Kyushu Allied Forces?
Therefore, starting from mid-to-late May, nearly 20,000 Ming troops on Kyushu Island and the same number of Korean soldiers under Li Yu began to collect folk textiles and ransacked the weaving workshops of the Fuso people.
Many Fusang people resisted for this, and the Ming army happened to take care of them. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty's original rule plan was to keep only illiterate Fusang farmers in the future, and try to completely cleanse the Fusang warrior class who had a sense of family and country.
Those who can run textile workshops are obviously not the poor farmers of Fuso. These industries have long been controlled by lower-level samurai with brains. Anyone who resists will be killed.
With the swarm of thieves, the news quickly spread throughout Kumamoto, Satsuma, Shimazu Mitsuhisa and others were filled with anger. After some investigation, they found out that Zheng Chenggong's army was offering sacrifices to his "uncle" in the distance.
"Isn't Zheng Chenggong's father the eldest son in the family? How could Zheng Chenggong have an uncle?" Shimazu Mitsuhisa couldn't understand at first.
Later I learned that it was about Shen Tingyang. Shimazu Mitsuji felt a little contemptuous after hearing this: "Such a flattering and flattering person! The regent of the Ming Dynasty did not really have a sworn relationship with him, but he actually had the nerve to marry him. Does the other person’s biological father consider him his uncle? Shamelessly trying to attach himself to a dragon and a phoenix!"
At the same time, it was inevitable that I had contempt for Zheng Chenggong’s character.
Due to multiple factors, and the fact that it was late May and early June, the typhoon season around Fuso had indeed arrived. A few days later, Mitsuyuki Kuroda brought them some more good news.
The time has finally come for Mitsuyuki Kuroda, the traitor, to come into play.
"Brother Shimazu! I'm so happy! I got the news that because the Ming army was afraid of the kamikaze season, after two ships were capsized the day before yesterday, they no longer dared to transport military supplies and ammunition to Hakata Port.
Our domain's detailed operations around Hakata have fully revealed the details of the enemy's military supplies!"
After Mitsuyuki Kuroda brought this good news, Mitsuhisa Shimazu was of course rarely excited. After all, there has been too little good news in the past two months.
After learning that the support of the Ming army would be temporarily cut off for several months, they finally had the urge to rush out of the mountainous area and stop fighting the Ming army. After all, the Japanese army was nestled in Aso Mountain, and it was very difficult to resupply every day. It was just an inside battle. , I can barely hold on by eating wherever I go.
However, relying on the supply of the people in the mountainous areas for a long time, the Japanese army has forced back countless bear raiders in Mount Aso in the past two months. The mountain people could not bear the forced and intensive food requisition, and they fought with the Japanese army and killed many people. People.
After a comprehensive review, Shimazu Mitsuhisa finally thought of a question: "Didn't Zheng Chenggong know that the Kamikaze season was coming and that their supplies would be cut off? Isn't he afraid? Is it possible that he was deceitful?"
Faced with this question, Mitsuyuki Kuroda quickly gave the answer: "If you ask others about this matter, you will never understand it, but fortunately, Brother Shimazu, you asked me.
Although I lost the territory of Fukuoka, after all, the centipede is still alive, and there are still countless feudal lords lurking in the area. The businessman is interested in me and helped me find out a lot about the detailed movements of Zheng Chenggong's army!
The younger brother learned from this that Zheng Chenggong had anticipated this moment a month ago. In order to fight for a long time, he had shipped enough military rations from North Korea for at least three to five months in advance, as well as a large amount of ammunition reserves, and stored them in a warehouse not far from Hakata Port. In Saga Castle.
Saga is located in a plain, with many rivers passing through it. Although it is not the closest port city to North Korea, it will facilitate the distribution of goods to various places in the hinterland of Kyushu. Zheng Chenggong is counting on the food and ammunition in Saga City to last through the entire kamikaze season. , his inventory is extremely rich, and he can’t finish it in several months.”
After Shimazu Mitsuhisa listened, he finally understood what Zheng Chenggong relied on.
It turns out that Zheng Chenggong knew that shipping could not be carried out during the kamikaze season! So he had already stored enough inventory before the kamikaze season came!
Therefore, it is impossible to expect the kamikaze season to kill Zheng Chenggong! The only chance of winning is to burn or rob Zheng Chenggong's inventory after the kamikaze season arrives!
I heard that one and a half months ago, the Ming army used this trick in Aozhou, using methods similar to the Battle of Guandu and Wuchao's grain robbery, to gain a firm foothold! Zhang Mingzhen destroyed the rear grain-harvesting city of the Oyu coalition in seconds. ! Then the Ming army in the direction of Ezo Ou will have enough food for a year!
What the Japanese army needs today is a replica of its offensive and defensive positions!
"Unfortunately, although Zheng Chenggong has been cut off from backup and can only rely on inventory, he still has more than 30,000 soldiers. Even if he has suffered recent losses, it will never exceed a few thousand. His available soldiers still remain at more than 30,000.
It’s inevitable…it’s probably not easy to get food and ammunition in Saga.”
Shimazu Mitsuhisa couldn't help but hesitate.
Fortunately, a friend in need is a friend indeed, and a strong wind knows the strength of grass. Just when Shimazu Mitsuhisa hesitated, Kuroda Mitsuyuki jumped out:
"Brother Shimazu! I have heard that your Shimazu family is good at fishing for wild ambushes and luring the enemy away from the mountain. This time, I am willing to design a plan for you to divert Zheng Chenggong away and launch a diversionary offensive in other directions on Aso Mountain!
If you really have the guts to get into the tiger's den and catch the tiger's den, you can take advantage of my younger brother to divert Zheng Chenggong's main force and launch a surprise attack on Saga from Kumamoto along the west coast mountain road!"
Shimazu Mitsuyuki heard this and thought about it for a long time. He couldn't help being moved by Kuroda Mitsuyuki's loyalty and accepted the condition.
On June 20, the time for their planning finally came.
Mitsuyuki Kuroda launched a wave of counterattacks against Chikuzen at the main road just north of the Aso Mountains. Zheng Chenggong's main force was finally mobilized. It seemed that because he had not fought a hard battle for two months, he rushed forward like a fly seeing blood.
It seemed that it was going to swallow up all the Fukuoka Domain troops who dared to come out.
After Shimazu Mitsuhisa observed the movements of Zheng Chenggong's army, he also sent out special forces in advance to confirm the defense situation of Saga and confirmed that the special forces they sent could destroy the city defense, so he assembled the Kumamoto Satsuma clans. Several of them could gather in the past few months.
All the combatable troops arrived and launched a desperate attack on Saga.
However, when Shimazu Mitsuhisa reached the valley plain below Saga Castle, he suddenly discovered that the Ming army appeared from all directions. Even their way back to the Aso Mountains was blocked by the Ming army.
.
Zheng Chenggong himself suddenly appeared at the top of Saga City, causing countless scolding soldiers to shout with loudspeakers to disturb the enemy's minds:
"Shimazu Mitsuhisa! You have fallen into my trap! I didn't go to Chikuzen at all. Can Kuroda Mitsuno's trivial tactic of luring the enemy fool me? My main force of the Ming Dynasty has been waiting for you in the Saga Valley for a long time! Open fire.
!Fire the arrow!”
Following Zheng Chenggong's order, cannons fired loudly on the city wall, muskets fired, and arrows rained down.
On the surrounding roads leading out of the valley, there were also loud shouts and killing sounds, and guns and cannons were fired randomly.
The encirclement of the Ming army was extremely wide, and they put their pockets in the delta depression of Saga, where many rivers flowed into the sea. The upper reaches of the rivers were surrounded by mountains, and there was no way to go on three sides. The last side was also the sea. Unless the Japanese army surrendered directly.
Swim in the sea, otherwise there is no way out.
On the opposite side, Shimazu Mitsuhisa spent a lot of money this time. Except for the troops of the Fukuoka Domain on Kyushu Island who were taken away by Kuroda Mitsuyuki to "lead the tiger away from the mountain", everyone else who could fight and fight in the field was pulled over. There were several more.
Wan Qiang conquered Mount Aso and attacked the barbarian mountain people, as well as the reinforcements smuggled to the island in batches by the shogunate during this period.
The regular Japanese army had about 60,000 to 70,000 troops, and there were even more peasant soldiers and Xiong Xiong Barbarians. The total number of troops exceeded 150,000 to 150,000. It was a desperate move.
The number of the Ming army was actually only a quarter of the Japanese army, or slightly less. However, the Ming army was a regular army, with more than half of the musket equipment. Compared with the Japanese army, which was mostly peasant soldiers and strong men, there was certainly no suspense.
The Ming army firmly packed their pockets, did not skimp on ammunition, and fired their weapons in rows. Tens of thousands of Japanese troops fell down like headless chickens and were completely defeated.
The Ming army used three-sided stacked formations to press forward step by step. Because the battlefield was vast, this compressed battle lasted for two days and one night. The Japanese army's positions gradually lost and shrank, and finally shrank to the Saga Estuary Delta. The morale of the soldiers collapsed directly.
They threw themselves into the sea in batches. They felt that their water skills were good and they had a chance to swim out of the circle.
But in fact, there are very few people who can swim more than tens of miles in the sea. Most of the fearful Japanese soldiers overestimated themselves. After the war, there were at least a few drowned floating corpses found in the Saga Estuary Delta.
Thousands of them.
According to Zheng Chenggong's estimation, the number of people who were driven into the sea and drowned by the Kyushu vassal coalition forces may be more than those who were killed by muskets.
The lord of the Satsuma clan, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, and the generals he brought with him were all killed in this battle. The lord of the Kumamoto clan was also massacred.
The most stubborn feudal clans on Kyushu Island were uprooted and destroyed.