From the place where Zheng Zhongfu withdrew his troops to Kaesong, the capital of Goryeo, the straight-line distance was only 70 miles.
But if you are marching with a large amount of baggage, you need to go north along a small river first. Then turn east to reach a county town. After passing this town, continue east along the valley. The terrain on both sides of the valley is mostly hilly. Then cross the Licheng River
, winding for nearly a hundred miles in the hilly area is Kaicheng.
A thousand Ming Dynasty knights landed on the east bank of Licheng River Estuary by boat.
After a detailed discussion with the guide, they decided not to cross the river as planned, because if they did, they would have to go north along the river for twenty or thirty miles.
Moreover, wherever they passed were either rice fields or hills, it was inconvenient for cavalry to attack and fight.
They chose to go north along a tributary of the Licheng River, leading their horses on a winding and narrow road for about fifteen miles.
It was impossible to ride a horse and rush on the road, because it was night and the roads were full of freshly harvested rice fields. Due to military conscription and war, many farmers were conscripted to Kaesong and had not had time to plant other crops.
There were many Goryeo people along the way, and they all heard the sound of them marching with their horses.
But no one dared to go out to check, for fear of encountering the defeated Goryeo army, so they all hid in their homes and shivered. Only the dogs in the village kept barking.
At dawn, the guide pointed ahead and said: "That's Kaifengyi. The surrounding mountains are rich in Korean ginseng. Rich families often send people here to buy it, and then transport it to Kaizhou Outer Port to sell to merchants of the Ming Dynasty."
This shabby place in front of us is the hometown of Yi Sun-shin, the cosmic god of war of Joseon!
Du Ruohai, a general of the Ming Dynasty cavalry, asked: "Is the terrain ahead open?"
The guide said: "This is the most open place within a radius of twenty miles. You can go east along a river valley to reach Kaijing. Whether Zheng Zhongfu is leading his army to withdraw, or Kaizhou is sending more troops to the front, they will definitely pass by the place in front of it.
Kai Feng Yi.”
"How many postmen are there in Kaifengyi?" Du Ruohai asked again.
The guide replied: "There are not many post soldiers, and the cavalry raid should be able to catch them all. But there are many farmers around, and there is a rich manor to the east of Kaifeng Post. If we rush out rashly, we will definitely be unable to hide our tracks."
Du Ruohai continued to inquire about the terrain, and then led his cavalry and horses to hide in a nearby valley.
Du Ruohai is Chen Ziyi's old subordinate, a native of Hebei, currently commanding the cavalry unit in Liaoning, and a graduate of the first class of the Ming Dynasty Military Academy - a crash course in the military academy where he was an officer.
He and his knights waited in the valley, taking turns sleeping and resting.
Some cavalry were sent to the entrance of the valley to capture or kill any Goryeo people who approached the valley. Some cavalry were on guard in the valley, capturing or killing any Goryeo people who wanted to approach the valley.
Several people climbed to the top of the mountain and used binoculars to observe the enemy's situation.
Around noon, the lookout soldiers on the mountain rushed down: "General, two to three hundred Korean light cavalry have arrived at Kaifengyi. They are probably the vanguard sent by Zheng Zhongfu to clear the way."
"Continue to observe." Du Ruohai said.
After another hour, Zheng Zhongfu's main force arrived one after another.
From last night to now, if we only look at the straight-line distance, Zheng Zhongfu has only walked less than 50 miles. But he has crossed two rivers, one of which is the main stream of Licheng River.
There was a large amount of baggage to cross the river, and their march was already very fast.
The malnourished peasants couldn't bear it at all, so they lay down and slept near Kaifengyi Station.
Many civilians were woken up by soldiers and forced with sticks to go to the mountains to collect firewood. Others buried pots and washed rice in preparation for making rice.
As for Zheng Zhongfu's 6,000 elite troops, only a few were fully equipped with armor, and they were responsible for security patrols.
Most soldiers took off their armor to be carried by civilians or animals. No one would march with their armor on.
These guys had been traveling for half a day and a night, and were very tired at this time. They leaned together in twos and threes and squinted their eyes to rest.
We didn’t set up camp, so we had to continue on our way after eating!
"Boom!"
A thousand Ming Dynasty knights rushed out of the valley, making the sound of rumbling horse hooves.
This valley is several miles away from Kaifengyi.
Zheng Zhongfu was shocked when he heard the sound of horse hoofbeats: "The whole army is wearing armor and fighting!"
Six thousand Goryeo elites formed a confused mass and ran to find their own armor.
They come from the Six Guards of the two armies in Kaijing, with 100% armor coverage. They are among the elite in Goryeo.
Moreover, after Zheng Zhongfu seized power, he used the excuse of suppressing the rebellion to bloodbath the Kim family in Gyeongju, and stole a lot of money and food to reward the soldiers. The six guards of the two armies were the main recipients of the rewards, and everyone was well fed, and their morale was unprecedentedly high.
With the current combat power of these guys, it is estimated that they can easily defeat the Ming Cao Army.
While the soldiers were looking for armor to wear, Zheng Zhongfu ordered the civilians to carry the baggage and formed a simple fortification with grain bags, grain carts and livestock.
"kill!"
Thousands of Ming Dynasty cavalry rushed closer and closer. The Korean civilians who were building fortifications were frightened by the cavalry's charge and dispersed.
When the Ming Dynasty knights rushed through the messy and shapeless fortifications, less than half of the six thousand Goryeo elites were wearing armor. Most of the soldiers had just buckled their armors on their bodies and had no time to fasten all the leather ropes, let alone form a formation to defend against the enemy.
.
They raised their weapons in a panic, but the general was still giving orders to form formations, and the officers' throats were smoking.
"Let's go!"
Li Junyi was the first to react and fled with dozens of soldiers.
He asked his cousin to run to inform the Ming army and guide the Ming army to occupy Kaijing, so that his younger brother Li Yifang could take the opportunity to dedicate himself to the city and perform meritorious service.
Dedicating the capital of Goryeo to the Ming Dynasty was enough for the Li family to gain a foothold in the Ming Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, the Ming army did not seize Kaijing at all, but instead rushed to set up an ambush halfway. This was completely beyond Li Junyi's expectation!
If he didn't run away at this time, he would most likely be accidentally killed among the rebels.
Li Junyi fled with his own soldiers, which kicked off the rout of the Goryeo soldiers.
It's impossible without escaping.
Half of the soldiers were not wearing armor, and there was no time to form a military formation. How could they fight against a cavalry surprise attack?
The Goryeo soldiers threw away their weapons and tore off the armor they had not yet put on. They did not dare to escape along the road because they would definitely not be able to outrun the cavalry, so they rushed towards the nearby mountains in unison.
"General, leave quickly!"
Zheng Zhongfu fought for his reputation as a warrior, so his prestige in the army was extremely high. A group of hundreds of top elites actually took the initiative to stay and cut off his heir apparent.
Zheng Zhongfu was so frightened that he ran wildly on horseback. After escaping for some distance, he turned around to check, only to see that the troops behind him had been routed.
No matter how elite you are, you can only wear Korean armor.
Most of their bodies were made of leather armor. They reluctantly formed a formation and were hit by arrows one after another before engaging in battle.
The first group of Ming Dynasty knights shot arrows and passed by the formation. They ignored these people and chased Zheng Zhongfu.
The second group of Ming Dynasty knights shot arrows past the formation again to chase down the defeated Korean troops on the other side.
The third team...
The fourth team...
Goryeo elites continued to be felled by arrows, and some soldiers began to flee out of fear, and the barely formed military formation was on the verge of collapse.
The seventh team of Ming Dynasty Knights rushed straight into the scattered enemy formation.
It was like hitting a watermelon with a sledgehammer, smashing the Goryeo military formation to pieces in an instant.
At this point, these 6,000 Goryeo elite and unorganized troops were all defeated at first glance.
Li Junyi, who had fled several miles away on horseback, suddenly stopped and said to the soldiers: "Most of the elite soldiers of Goryeo are here. They will definitely be wiped out. Can we still defeat the Ming army?"
The soldiers were at a loss.
Li Junyi said: "If you want to survive, you can only seek refuge in the Ming Dynasty. Maybe you will be rich and powerful in the future. We will stay here. If Zheng Zhongfu can escape, we will use his head to ask for a reward from the Ming army."
Zheng Zhongfu ended civilian rule and allowed military men to live a better life, so his prestige in the military was frighteningly high.
This is also the reason why Li Yifang stayed behind to open the capital, but did not dare to act rashly. He had to wait for the Ming Dynasty to send troops there before he dared to cooperate and seize the city.
These are all Li Junyi's personal soldiers.
But when Li Junyi said he wanted to kill Zheng Zhongfu, his soldiers actually hesitated.
Li Junyi cried and wiped away tears and said: "Do you know why I want to worship Zheng Zhongfu as my adoptive father? Because he wants to kill our brothers. Zheng Zhongfu is only two or three years older than me. If it is not to survive, why should he suffer this shame and humiliation? He
It has indeed made Wu Ren live a good life, but he actually looks down on Wu Ren, and in the past two months he has often entertained civil servants."
The soldiers stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.
Li Junyi added: "If I am killed by Zheng Zhongfu, and you are all my personal soldiers, will he really treat you kindly? If you don't want to do it, just leave by yourself."
The soldiers looked at each other and no one left.
No matter how high Zheng Zhongfu's prestige is, Li Junyi is their "lord", and he still has to listen to his "lord" at critical times.
The sound of horse hooves is getting closer and closer.
Zheng Zhongfu kept leaving his own soldiers behind, but all of them were killed, leaving him alone and still running away.
More than twenty Ming Dynasty warriors chased Zheng Zhongfu in pursuit.
Seeing Li Junyi leading the troops to block the front, Zheng Zhongfu shouted from a distance: "Hurry and help me stop the pursuers!"
Li Junyi showed a ferocious smile: "Father, don't panic, my child will come to help you fight back the enemy. Kill!"
Zheng Zhongfu was immediately overjoyed: "If you can return to Kaijing, I will immediately promote you and make you a marquis... a traitor!"
Li Junyi stepped forward with his gun, but when he missed the horse, he stabbed Zheng Zhongfu.
Zheng Zhongfu was unprepared for this and was shot hard. Immediately afterwards, Li Junyi's soldiers shot Zheng Zhongfu twice more. The man was knocked off his horse and seriously injured.
Li Junyi reined up his horse and drew his sword, ran to cut off Zheng Zhongfu's head, then led his troops to kneel in the road and said in extremely fluent Chinese: "Here is the head of the traitor Zheng Zhongfu, long live the Ming Dynasty!"
This team of Mingxiao horses reined in their horses and slowed down, taking Li Junyi back to recover.
Seeing Du Ruohai, Li Junyi said: "General, please quickly lead the troops to Kaijing. Troops have been gathering there, and it is estimated that tens of thousands of troops have been gathered now. Many local troops are still rushing to Kaijing. But the chief general there,
He is my half-brother. As long as the Ming army comes to the city and takes Zheng Zhongfu’s head with him, my brother can convince the soldiers guarding the city to surrender!"
Du Ruohai sarcastically said: "Your traitorous methods are quite clever."
Li Junyi said: "The last general was originally a descendant of Yan and Huang, but now he has just returned to the embrace of his mother country."
At this time, there were many high-spirited Ming people in Goryeo, especially those scholars from poor families.
They considered themselves to be descendants of Yan and Huang, and secretly spread this idea, even to generals like Li Junyi.