807 Fury, Night Attack

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"Lord, where are we going now?"

Hosokawa Mitsusho, with 3,000 Japanese soldiers and a group of loyal retainers, escaped from Kumamoto Castle and fled westward for more than 20 miles before stopping.

Hearing the inquiries of his retainers, Hosokawa Mitsusang's face was gloomy, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Go to Chiba Castle in the west first, and collect the rout troops who escaped from the city along the way."

After we arrive in Chiba Castle, we are thinking about it in the long run. ”

"Yes, my lord!"

Immediately, Hosokawa Mitsusho took his wife and children, and a group of retainers, under the protection of the guards, and went straight to Chiba Castle, another big city to the west.

Soon, the news of the White Dragon Army's capture of Kumamoto Castle was quickly learned by various spies, and then they quickly went back to report to their masters.

"What? The Kumamoto Castle of the Hosokawa family was captured? How could it be so fast! ”

A day later, in Kagoshima Castle of the Shimazu family in the west, the current lord of the domain, Mitsuhisa Shimazu, was also shocked when he received the news.

"How is this possible! The Hosokawa family mobilized all their men to defend Kumamoto Castle, but it was broken by the Ming army in one day.

You are not deceiving this domain, who can believe such news. ”

Then, the more Shimazu Mitsuhisa thought about it, the more disbelieving he became, glaring at the few Japanese scouts and yelling.

"My lord, what my subordinates said is absolutely true! There is no half-truth, otherwise it will be left to the master's disposal.

According to the information learned by his subordinates, the head of the Hosokawa family has escaped from Kumamoto Castle and has fled into Chiba Castle at this time.

If the lord doesn't believe it, and he sends someone to Chiba City to investigate, he can know that his subordinates are not lying. ”

The scout general reassured.

Looking at the general in front of him and swearing solemnly, Shimazu Mitsu was silent for a long time, he knew that most of the things were true.

"Tell me how the Ming army broke through Kumamoto Castle in one day.

The clan didn't believe that the 50,000 troops of the Hosokawa family were all vegetarians.

In the case of defending the city, even if the Ming army besieging the city has more than 100,000 people, it may be difficult to overcome it without a few days.

And according to the information you sent back before, it was said that the total strength of this Ming army was only 50,000 or 60,000 people, how did they do it! ”

At this time, Shimazu Mitsuhisa had a strong curiosity in his heart, and he was curious about how the White Dragon Army did this impossible thing.

And, at this time, in Shimazu Mitsuhisa's heart, there was a strong fear.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa also has some understanding of the strength of the Hosokawa army, even if it is not as elite as their Shimazu family, but it is not much worse.

Otherwise, the Hosokawa family would not be enough to hold such a large territory, and they would be able to dominate Kyushu Island together with their Shimazu family and Nabeshima family.

Kumamoto Castle, the residence of the Hosokawa clan, is located in the heart of Kyushu, so it is even larger than Kagoshima Castle, their home city, with a larger population and taller walls.

In addition, the Hosokawa family's army has never suffered losses in previous battles, and it can be said that it is at the peak of strength.

Even so, the Kumamoto Castle they guarded was broken in one day, which shows the strength of the Ming army.

Since the White Dragon Army was able to break through Kumamoto Castle in one day, if it were Kagoshima Castle guarded by their Shimazu family, I am afraid it would not be able to hold out for a few days.

Therefore, at this time, Shimazu Mitsu couldn't wait to know how the White Dragon Army broke through Kumamoto Castle in one day.

He now learned about the White Dragon Army in advance, so that he could come up with some ways to prevent them from repeating the mistakes of the Hosokawa family.

"My lord, when the Ming army attacked Kumamoto Castle, we didn't dare to get too close.

But we were far away when we heard a loud bang from Kumamoto Castle, and it was the sound of artillery.

It is hard for his subordinates to imagine how many artillery pieces this Ming army has and how long it can shell continuously.

Even, every once in a while, there will be dozens of loud noises, the loud and scary sounds, we can hear it clearly from so far away.

Moreover, ever since the Ming army began to attack the city, the crisp gunfire has not stopped.

The firearms of this Ming army are the same as the news we got before, they are too powerful.

As for the more detailed situation, the subordinates don't know, and if the lord wants to know, he can only send someone to Chiba Castle to find out about the people of the Hosokawa family. ”

The general, who was 1510, told all the information he knew in a limited way.

"Well, your news is important."

Shimazu Mitsuhisa nodded after hearing this, and then he said: "This clan has to send someone to Chiba Castle to contact Hosokawa Mitsusang, maybe you can get a more detailed understanding from him."

The Han people have a saying that 'knowing each other and knowing oneself will not be defeated in a hundred battles', and this time we have to join forces with the Hosokawa family to deal with this Ming army. ”

Soon, not only the Shimazu family of the Mosa clan learned that the Hosokawa family, Kumamoto Castle, had been captured by the White Dragon Army one day.

Even the other seven small vassals had all known the news, and Kyushu was shaken suddenly.

Those small vassals were all terrified, and even the majestic Kumamoto Castle of the Hosokawa family had not held on for even a day, and the strength of the White Dragon Army had already made them feel hopeless.

In the following days, after the White Dragon Army conquered Kumamoto Castle, it did not attack and seize the territory of the Hita Domain, as it did in Saga Castle, which was the Nabeshima family.

In fact, the White Dragon Army has limited strength and time at this time, and the territory of the Hosokawa family is no smaller than that of the Hida Domain.

It will take a lot of time for them to occupy it all.

What's more, there is also a Mosa clan Shimazu family in the west, although the Shimazu clan army was annihilated by the White Dragon Army at Sano Castle with 30,000 elites.

But at this time, the Shimazu family still had more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers, which was a big threat, and Li Zixiao's next target was Kagoshima Castle of the Shimazu family.

Before the Tokugawa shogunate's army arrived on Kyushu Island, Li Zixiao would defeat the Shimazu family and the Hosokawa family's residence, annihilate the main forces of the two armies, and break their confidence.

After letting Li Zixiao have no worries, he then turned his head to face the army of the Tokugawa shogunate and duel with him.

As long as Li Zixiao can repel the army sent by the Tokugawa shogunate, then at that time, the entire island of Kyushu will be his.

At this time, Li Zixiao didn't need to go to the capture of one city at all.

After he defeats the shogunate army, the entire Kyushu island will be in his pocket, and he can take it at any time.

Therefore, what Li Zixiao cares about this time is not the gains and losses of one city and one place, but how to annihilate the living force of the Japanese army.

Therefore, what Li Zixiao lacks at this time is time.

Li Zixiao believed that if the Tokugawa shogunate had learned that they had captured Kumamoto Castle so quickly, they would have hastened to gather a large army and rush to Kyushu.

At this point, Li Zixiao's guess is correct.

Three days later, the news of Li Zixiao's capture of Kumamoto Castle of the Hosokawa family reached the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo Castle in the Wakuni Kingdom.

"Nani? It only took one day for the Ming army to break through the Kumamoto Castle of the Hosokawa family, how could this be possible! ”

After receiving this news, not only the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, but also the other shogunate officials, the feudal lords of the 'Imperial Three Families', were all stunned.

Immediately, Tokugawa Iemitsu was furious: "Yaga, how could the Hosokawa family be so incompetent, relying on Kumamoto Castle to hold on, and not even a day of persistence."

It's just a shame on the face of my great Japanese samurai, what a bunch of rubbish. ”

"General, the most important thing now is that it is time to immediately send troops to Kyushu Island to annihilate this Ming army, and not let them run rampant anymore."

At this time, an official in the shogunate immediately spoke up.

"How are the men and horses of the various clans assembled?" Tokugawa Iemitsu asked.

"The Shogun, the men of the Shogunate and Kii families, the Owari family and the Mito family, have begun to assemble.

The orders that had been conveyed to the other feudal lords had only just been issued.

I really didn't expect that the Hosokawa family would be defeated so quickly.

We were originally scheduled to land in Kyushu in a month, but now it seems that this is no longer possible, and this time must be brought forward. ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu listened, and then spoke: "Tell all the daimyo who have received the order, and after receiving the order, immediately gather the men and set off."

Within half a month, General Ben will see the 100,000-strong army assembled, and if anyone delays the time and does not arrive, the consequences will be weighed by themselves.

Within twenty days, General Ben will see our 100,000-strong army land on Kyushu Island and annihilate this arrogant Ming army in one fell swoop. ”

"Yes, General!"

Tokugawa Iemitsu was really angry at this moment, and he forcibly shortened the assembly time of many Japanese daimyo armies by half.

"In addition, tell the Maori family of the Changzhou Domain and ask them to send troops to Kyushu Island immediately.

This time, don't play tricks on the shogun, after receiving the shogunate's order, they must immediately send troops, otherwise they will be severely punished. ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu gave several orders in a row, and his attitude was tough.

It didn't take long for the news of the destruction of Hosokawa's Kumamoto Castle in one day to spread throughout Edo Castle, and immediately set off stormy waves and became a chatter among the people after tea and dinner.

At this time, Li Zixiao was also on Kyushu Island, according to the plan he specified, and proceeded step by step.

Li Zixiao stayed in Kumamoto Castle until March 9, when he sent troops to kill the Mosa Domain in the west.

In the past five days, Li Zixiao asked Yoshino Shuiichiro to recruit troops in Kumamoto Castle on the one hand, and on the other hand, he recruited ordinary people and repaired the collapsed Kumamoto Castle wall.

Five days later, Li Zixiao finally waited for the second batch of logistics materials sent by Li Yan from Saga City, mainly ammunition.

Don't look at the battle of the White Dragon Army, it only took one day to break through Kumamoto Castle and create a miracle.

But after the war, Li Zixiao glanced at the ammunition they consumed, and directly jumped him.

In this battle, they consumed three times as much ammunition as before, worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, and more than half of the ammunition they carried was directly consumed.

There was no way, Li Zixiao had to wait for the second batch of ammunition sent by Li Yan before sending troops to attack Kagoshima Castle in the Mosa Domain in the west.

Because, there is an example of this battle of Kumamoto Castle.

Li Zixiao knew that if they wanted to conquer Kagoshima City in the Mosa Domain in the shortest possible time, they had to bombard it with mortars, and ammunition was indispensable.

When Li Yan sent someone to send the second batch of ammunition supplies, it also brought Li Zixiao bad news.

Three days ago, the port of Nagasaki was attacked by a group of Japanese soldiers, destroying two merchant ships and severely damaging one warship.

What's more, a third of the large amount of supplies they had hoarded in the port of Nagasaki was also destroyed, killing and wounding hundreds of White Dragon soldiers.

Fortunately, those Japanese soldiers who attacked at night were discovered in time by the flood sailors, and there was a White Dragon Army garrison in the port.

After a bloody battle between the two sides, the White Dragon Army repelled those Japanese soldiers, preserved the port and most of the merchant ships, supplies, and the losses were still within an acceptable range.

According to Hong Sheng's report, the Japanese soldiers who attacked Nagasaki Port at night were all from the south in small boats, and most of them came from the Mosa Domain south of the strait.

"Mosa, you are looking for death!"

After Li Zixiao got the news, he was also furious, and at the same time, he was also afraid for a while.

Nagasaki Port can be said to be a retreat route left by Li Zixiao for himself and his soldiers, and it is also their only supply port at this time.

Therefore, the military supplies of the White Dragon Army were all transported from Haizhou Port in Jiangbei to Nagasaki Port by Hong Sheng and hoarded in Nagasaki Port.

And Li Yan was responsible for transporting the materials that Li Zixiao needed from Nagasaki to Saga Castle, and then to Li Zixiao's hands to ensure Li Zixiao's needs on the front line.

As a result, the sneak attack from the Mosa Domain almost gave Li Zixiao a blow to the bottom of the kettle!

Once the materials that Li Zixiao had hoarded in the port of Nagasaki were destroyed, as well as the merchant ships and warships parked in the port, it would seriously interfere with Li Zixiao's plan.

Nagasaki Port is the back road that Li Zixiao has prepared for himself, once they fail to conquer Kyushu Island this time.

They could also retreat to the port of Nagasaki, then leave Nagasaki and come back later.

If the port of Nagasaki is destroyed, Li Zixiao will have no way back this time, he can only go all the way to the black, and even the third batch of White Dragon Army reinforcements will not be able to arrive on time.

It is no wonder that Li Zixiao was so angry after receiving this news, and the killing intent of the Mosa Clan Shimazu was a little stronger in his heart.

On March 9, Li Zixiao asked Peng Hao to lead 4,000 city defense troops to stay in Kumamoto Castle, and personally led the 50,000 troops of the White Dragon Army to the west to attack the Mosa Domain.

At that time, Hosokawa Mitsusho, who was in Chiba Castle in the west, happened to be on the way of the White Dragon Army to Mosa Domain, and was so frightened that Hosokawa Mitsusho led the remnants of the Hosokawa Army overnight and left Chiba Castle.

I have to say that in the past few days that Hosokawa Mitsushang has been in Chiba Castle, he has actually allowed him to gather nearly 10,000 Hosokawa family soldiers who escaped from Kumamoto Castle.

Finally, in the hands of Hosokawa Mitsusang, there are more than 10,000 horses, and he is no longer alone.

But unfortunately, the morale of these 10,000 Hosokawa soldiers was low at this time, and they could not fight in a short time.

After Hosokawa Mitsusho led his army out of Chiba Castle, it was originally suggested that they go to the Mosa Domain and join forces with the Shimazu clan to fight against the White Dragon Army.

But it was vetoed by Mitsusho Hosokawa.

In fact, in the battle of Kumamoto Castle, the strength of the White Dragon Army made Hosokawa Mitsusho fearful.

In addition, the Hosokawa family and the Shimazu family had no less conflicts in the past, and the two families had a grudge for a long time, and now he asked Hosokawa Mitsusho to help the Shimazu family, he was not happy and did not dare to go.

In the end, Hosokawa Mitsusho decided to take more than 10,000 remnants of the Hosokawa army to another daimyo Ito's house to rest.

At least, Hosokawa Mitsuru still has more than 10,000 remnants in his hands, and he went to Ito's house, he is confident that he can protect himself, and the Ito family can't help him.

But if you go to Kagoshima Castle of the Shimazu family, you may not be able to say it.

(End of chapter)