Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 687 Kyushu Battle 11
Night enveloped the land, and the bloody smell on the battlefield lingered for a long time.The soldiers who survived the bloody battle cleared the corpses aside, lit a fire and started cooking.It is impossible to get any decent meals on the battlefield. The Dutch gnawed biscuits and bread, but the Ming army was more particular, using the rice snatched from the Japanese to cook pots of delicious food. For rice, every ten soldiers gathered around a can of sauerkraut and fatty meat, and the sour sauerkraut whetted their appetites. Shooting crossbows consumes a lot of physical energy, and the arms are sore and unbearable. There is really no way to replenish physical strength without eating some high-fat food.

Of course, the considerate Lao Cook will never forget to make some after-dinner drinks for everyone. After boiling the water, they take out pieces of dry cheese that are as hard as stones and throw them into the pot, then add sugar, tea leaves and a small amount of salt, boil a pot of thick tea soup for everyone to enjoy.This drink is fragrant and delicious. It not only helps digestion, but also can quickly restore physical strength. It is very popular among the Tianxiong Army and the Heluo New Army, and has become an indispensable daily drink for these two new troops.

The Dutch soldiers watched the Ming army throw bags of tea into the pot as if they didn't want money, and swallowed unconsciously.Probably only the Chinese are so wealthy and don’t take tea seriously. How can they be so lucky for these hard-working soldiers? With their pitiful wages, even the cheapest tea in the Netherlands can’t afford it. .Looking at the sumptuous dinner of the Ming army, and looking at the hard, dry biscuits in their hands, and the bread that can be used as a meteor hammer to kill people in a net bag and tied with a rope, they are from the bottom of their hearts. Those who want to cry are also soldiers, why is there such a big gap?
———At this time, Europe faces China, and its heart is full of envy. China's profound culture, huge population base, exquisite civilization, dazzling gourmet clothes, exquisite silk and porcelain, and majestic palaces ... All of this made them amazed, and they were astonished.There is no way, the gap is too big. When the wealth of China in the Song Dynasty was [-] streets away from that of other countries on the earth, Europeans were still eating beans in castles full of cobwebs and poop. Now Europeans have a little money. But the material is still poor. Let’s take the food as an example. Apart from vegetables, fruits, sausages, beef and potatoes, they don’t seem to know what else to eat. It's going to die, facing the big foodie empire that day, eating three dishes and eating the same kind of food for a lifetime, it is absolutely impossible for them not to feel inferior.

Fortunately, the Ming army was not stingy. For the sake of fighting side by side, they generously invited the Dutch over to taste their drinks. Everyone had a mug of tea and drank happily around the fire.

Colonel Mace drank two tea jars in one go, until his belly bulged high and made a rattling sound when he moved. Then he reluctantly put down the tea jar, wiped his lips with his sleeve, and said to Yang Menglong: "Mr. Governor, This group of people is too fierce, too tenacious, and it is not easy to defeat them."

Alfonso was full of resentment: "Yang, I still don't understand why you have always refused to use all your strength to destroy your opponent with overwhelming artillery fire! You know, this is not a difficult task for you!"

Yang Menglong said: "Brother Alfonso, you must know that the range of our artillery is limited, and it is impossible to kill all the enemy troops with a single volley! Besides, we fight to kill all the Japanese samurai. Kill them? Obviously not! What is the purpose of our coming here? Why don’t we catch these guys and let them dig mines and logs for us? Kill them all, isn’t our work in vain!”

Alfonso said angrily: "But now I don't see the slightest hope of turning the Japanese into our slaves and letting them work for us. On the contrary, they are very hopeful that they will capture us and let us work as cattle for them." Be a horse!"

Yang Menglong said: "Calm down, calm down, this is just foreplay, everyone hasn't done their best yet, it's too early to retreat now."

Alfonso's eyes widened, but facing Yang Menglong's cheerful smiling face, he was filled with anger but had nowhere to vent. He drank tea soup fiercely and muttered: "I think we made a mistake in sending troops to Japan from the beginning. We should find someone An easier target..."

Colonel Metz didn't bother to listen to Alfonso's complaints. He was a bloodthirsty and militant man. He had suffered heavy casualties from the fierce Japanese samurai. He was already furious. He was still in the mood to care about other things. He only thought about what to do. Kick the Japanese in the back and make them kneel down and lick their toes!He looked at Yang Menglong and said: "Mr. Governor, I admit that your army's combat effectiveness is very strong, and its own casualties are almost disproportionate to the number of enemies you have wiped out. But don't forget that we face tens of thousands of enemy troops. , and there are thousands of Japanese samurai in Kagoshima City who are staring at us like wild beasts trapped in a trap, waiting for the right time to come out, and work together to defeat us! You, seven thousand people, are enough Can you deal with so many enemies?"

Yang Menglong said with a smile: "Don't worry, when the war starts again, the number of enemy troops fighting us will be reduced by at least half!"

Both Colonel Mace and Alfonso were taken aback: "How do you say that?"

Yang Menglong waved his hands again and again: "I can't say it, I can't say it, it will be boring if it is broken. In short, you can rest assured, this battle, we will definitely win!"

Colonel Mace and Alfonso kept asking, but Yang Menglong didn't say anything, which made their teeth itch, but there was nothing they could do about this guy. They could only bear with it, praying silently that this guy would really have a way to disintegrate the Japanese army. Otherwise, they would probably have no choice but to be driven into the sea.

There was a lot of wailing in the Japanese army camp. The big names blamed and complained to each other, and many generals cried and said that the casualties were too heavy.During the two attacks during the day, the coalition forces killed and injured nearly 3000 people, but the casualties caused to the Ming army were pitiful. This kind of cruel reality, which can only be beaten passively and cannot effectively kill the opponent, will reproduce the heroic ambition of the generals who wiped out the Yuan Kou miraculously. It was shattered, and the endless firearms and terrifying crossbows of the Ming army became everyone's nightmare, especially the firearms, which made them turn pale and shudder!But it's useless to be afraid, the Ming army has forced them to the point where they have to fight, and they can't escape!
"Send more military envoys and ask for help from more vassal states!" Shimadzu said, "Although the firearms of the Ming army are terrible, they always run out! When they are exhausted! We concentrate ten times, twenty times more troops than them, besiege day and night, and exhaust them to death!"

Mao Li Yuanhui's face was gloomy: "Looking at the scale, the Ming army plus the Hongyi is only in the early [-]s, right? Our force is four times that of theirs, but we are firmly blocked by a pile of sand, and it is difficult to advance an inch , hurriedly asking for help, what will the Tokugawa family think of us? What will other daimyo think of us? What will the emperor think of us?"

Shimadzu Nushi said: "Maori-kun, this is not the time to care about face! Our current strength is not enough to defeat the Ming army with strong fortifications. If we fight recklessly, it will have no effect except to incur greater losses. !"

Maori Yuanhui snorted: "It depends on who directs it."

Shimadzu's anger immediately became angry: "Mori-kun, are you questioning my command!?"

Mao Li Yuanhui snorted again: "I didn't say that."

Shimadzu Nushi punched the table: "You clearly mean that! Tell me, what's wrong with my command today? What's wrong!?"

Mori Motoki was also angry: "Shimadzu-kun, your command is not wrong, but you lost nearly 3000 people in vain and did not make any progress. You are always responsible, right?"

Shimazu was so angry that his hair stood on end, and he wanted to draw his sword and fight Motoki Motoki. Everyone quickly stopped him and tried to separate the two.Hosokawa Yuji, Kuroda Shun and others saw this scene, and they felt even more worried: the situation was already not good, and Shimadzu and Mori, the two most powerful daimyo, were still tit for tat at every turn, without any unity at all. How reassuring it is to work together to defend against foreign enemies!
The meeting did not achieve any substantive results and ended with a fierce quarrel. Shimazu Nishiki commanded the remaining time of the team today. Now Motoki Motoki is the commander-in-chief.This man was very satisfied after taking over the command. He issued several orders in succession and made new adjustments to the army's drinking water, camping and other matters, causing the camp to be in a state of chaos again.Hosokawa Xingji saw this, and his heart became even more sad. He returned to his tent gloomily, picked up the wine bottle and drank a lot.Upon seeing this, the handsome chamberlain hurriedly stepped forward and asked softly: "General, what's wrong?"

Yukiji Hosokawa sighed: "The Ming army's defense line is impregnable, its bows and crossbows are extremely powerful, and its combat power is far superior to our army. However, our two commanders do not want to defeat the enemy. Instead, they are tit for tat at every turn, and they are bent on squeezing each other. The entire coalition army is in disarray. How to win this battle!"

The waiter laughed and said, "If you can't win the fight, let's not fight. Anyway, the Ming army is fighting Kagoshima, not Kumamoto. They are not in a hurry. Why are we in a hurry?"

Hosokawa Yukiji snorted: "Naive! The Ming army is coming in menacingly, and the plans are not small. My Hosokawa family is weak. If the Shimadzu family is defeated, we will not escape the disaster!"

Just as he was talking, the captain of the guard walked in quickly and knelt down on the ground: "General, the envoy of the Ming Army wants to see you!"

Hosokawa Yuki was taken aback for a moment: "Ming army envoys? What are they doing here in the middle of the night?"

The captain of the guard said: "I don't know, they brought a lot of precious gifts and said they have something important to discuss with the general!"

Hosokawa Yuki's expression darkened: "Bring a lot of precious gifts? Do you want to buy me? Hmph, my Hosokawa family is poor, but it's not without spine. Let him get lost, or his head will fall to the ground!"

The captain of the guard said: "The military envoy said that if the general sees him, not only will the strength of the Hosokawa family not be damaged in the slightest, but it will be greatly strengthened; if he is kept out, there will be disaster!"

Yuuji Hosokawa snorted: "The catastrophe of extinction? What a big tone!" I was a hundred unconvinced. Kumamoto Castle was built by the famous Japanese warring states general Kato Kiyomasa. How many times have they been besieged, but no one can pry a brick from the city wall, what ability does the Ming army have, dare to talk about it and let them suffer disaster?He really wanted to kill the Ming army envoy, but when he thought of the powerful firearms of the Ming army, he couldn't help hesitating. He hesitated again and again, and finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Bring him in, I want to see them." What kind of tricks do you want to play!"

At the same time, Kuroda Hayao also gave the same order to his captain of the guard: "Bring him in!"

From the moment the envoys of the Ming army stepped into the tents of the Hosokawa family and the Kuroda family army, the death knell of the coalition forces officially sounded.

(End of this chapter)