Chapter 307: Jiangdu Army who has no martial ethics
Tianwanjun's change quickly spread throughout the world.
The other leaders of the rebel army only thought that Xu Shouhui was secretly plotting and finally regained power. Only Zhang Yangquan knew that Xu Shouhui's death was getting closer.
Zhang Yangquan once carefully weighed whether to find ways to prevent Chen Youliang from ascending to the throne.
Logically speaking, Xu Shouhui is easier to deal with than Chen Youliang, so it would be better not to let him rise to power.
But if Xu Shouhui is always in charge of the Cheonwan Army, although it is easier to deal with it militarily, as long as this person does not die, the Cheonwan Army will be extremely united.
If the Jiangdu Army forces a forceful attack, even if they can win, the troops will be unknown and it will easily arouse their tenacious resistance. It is not known how many years or months it will take to capture Jiangyou.
On the other hand, although Chen Youliang acts decisively, his behavior is more like a gambler, keen on taking risks.
Fighting with such people is indeed more difficult militarily, but as long as you win militarily, the opponent will fall apart internally, and you can capture the entire Jiangnan in one fell swoop.
Therefore, in the long run, it is better to let Chen Youliang take over. Moreover, this person is keen on water warfare, which happens to be the strength of Jiangdu Army.
In fact, just a few days ago, Jiangdu Navy fought a great victory and defeated the Japanese Kyushu Allied Forces.
This battle will take place before Cheonwanjun’s coup.
When the Eto navy arrived in the Japanese waters, the Japanese were already ready and even Emperor Go-Daigo would ask about the situation of the Eto army every day.
After learning that there were only more than 10,000 people attacking, Go-Daigo breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the Kyushu daimyo to form a coalition army, led by Ryuzoji Yoshimitsu, to defeat the invading enemy.
Ryuzoji Yoshimitsu's reputation rose sharply due to this incident.
He personally visited many guardians and assembled a total of more than 30,000 troops, all of which docked at Imagawa Port in the west of Hizen Province.
When Jiangdu's army attacked Hizen Country, the coalition forces also faced them head-on.
The two naval forces met near a small island thirty miles east of Iki Island.
This water war completely subverted the Japanese people's understanding.
Just as the Japanese daimyo were preparing to charge, the battle had already begun.
Jiangdu Army's artillery poured in, new artillery and old artillery fired volleys, and the Japanese fleet could only be hit like a target.
There was an unlucky guardian daimyo who was directly hit by the first salvo and his ship sank into the sea.
Jiangdu's army fired volleys one after another, while the Japanese were stunned.
How far is the distance between the two sides? How can we attack at this distance? And the sea breeze is so strong, how can we attack so accurately?
The Japanese were brave by nature. Even though they saw that the enemy was strong, they would not retreat. All the famous people drew their sabers, stood on the bow of the ship, raised their swords high, and shouted: "Come on, kill them!"
All the Japanese sailors waved their sails and rushed towards Jiangdu's army.
However, Jiangdu's military firepower was too strong, and he did not respect military ethics. He even adjusted the sails and direction and retreated towards the rear.
While retreating and firing continuously, the Japanese seemed to be chasing a mirage, but they couldn't catch up with them, and the casualties continued to pile up.
Before long, the Japanese army's losses reached an astonishing one-third.
Several rational daimyo realized that if they continued to fight on the water, their entire army would be annihilated, so they ordered them to return to the shore and fight the Central Plains people on land.
After these daimyo led their troops to retreat, other daimyo had no choice but to retreat as well.
Only Ryuzoji Yoshimitsu did not retreat. He knew that after this battle, no matter he won or lost, the Emperor would definitely punish him.
Even if the emperor spares him, other daimyo who have suffered heavy losses will unite to attack him.
It was better to die gloriously than to die in a subjugation, so he led the soldiers of Hizen Kingdom to fight to the death to stop the Jiangdu army.
Although they all died in the battle, it also provided time for other daimyo to retreat.
Chang Yuchun and Geng San will naturally not give up.
The two men led the army all the way to Imagawa Port and bombarded the port.
The Japanese were not stupid either. After seeing the range of Jiangdu's artillery, they knew that the port had no defensive value, so they retreated to a wasteland three miles away from the port early and waited in formation.
Chang Yuchun and Geng San docked at the port, and then Chang Yuchun led three thousand cavalry off the ship.
Each five-masted warship can carry 700 soldiers. Jiangdu Army dispatched a total of fifty warships this time, which can theoretically carry 30,000 naval troops.
However, the actual number of people was less than half, because the ship also carried an additional 3,000 war horses.
Water battles alone are not enough to deter the Japanese. To make them feel the danger of destroying their country, they must also be defeated in land battles!
In order to maintain the fighting strength of these three thousand war horses, Chang Yuchun even spent two days on Iqi Island to train and feed the horses with good fodder for this battle.
The Japanese allied forces also had cavalry.
There were six thousand cavalry in total, twice as many as the Jiangdu army. However, the Japanese cavalry used native ponies, which were less than three feet tall and looked like ponies.
Only a small number of generals rode Mongolian war horses bought from Goryeo.
Therefore, from the perspective of cavalry alone, the Japanese cavalry has no advantage.
However, in terms of numbers, the Japanese still have the upper hand.
The Japanese cavalry and infantry totaled about 20,000 people, but Chang Yuchun only led 3,000 cavalry to face the enemy.
For the Japanese people, they did not feel the shame of being looked down upon and humiliated. Instead, they were secretly happy, feeling that the Central Plains people looked down upon them so much that they could take advantage of this weakness to kill them.
So without any hesitation, they pressed all 20,000 people over and decided to eliminate the 3,000 cavalry first.
Only after the Japanese fought against Jiangdu's army did they realize their mistake.
Jiangdu's army has rich combat experience, well-equipped weapons and equipment, strong morale, and strong horses. In addition, it is led by Chang Yuchun, a super fierce general.
The combination of these advantages caused the war to once again become a one-sided situation.
Chang Yuchun's three thousand cavalry were like an awl, with him as the head of the awl, rushing back and forth in the Japanese ranks.
Although the Japanese army was not afraid of death, the disparity in strength was too great, and there was no cooperation or tacit understanding among the various coalition forces, and they soon became a mess.
As a result, a strange scene formed on the battlefield.
Obviously, the number of Jiangdu troops was less than 20% of the opponent's, but in the eyes of the Japanese soldiers, Jiangdu troops were everywhere, but they were isolated and helpless, as if they were surrounded.
Even the Hyuga family’s ‘magic sword weapon’, known as the most famous one in Kyushu, has no power to fight back.
In the middle of the battle, Geng San led his five hundred musketeers to come over for reinforcements. Just by hearing the sound of musketry, some Japanese would fall down.
Faced with this almost monster-like method, the Japanese army's will finally collapsed.
The peasant soldiers at the bottom either broke up and fled, or surrendered. Only the warriors were still fighting to the death.
In the end, Chang Yuchun killed all the daimyo and samurai of the Kyushu Allied Forces, and personally led the army to pursue the fleeing soldiers.
Chang Yuchun was so angry that after returning to Jinchuan Port, he ordered all the surrendered soldiers to be executed.
After the news of this battle spread, the Japanese people became frightened.
Hou Daigo urgently sent an envoy to bring Shen Wansan to ask for peace.
After Chang Yuchun and Geng San asked for a large amount of gold and silver as military supplies, they agreed to each other's request for peace, led their troops to leave the Japanese country, and returned in triumph.
When Chang and Geng returned to Jiangdu, it was already the fifth day after the Tianwanjun coup.
Zhang Yangquan personally took Qin Lingjun and Shen Qianqian to greet them at Heyuan Pier.
It is now May, the weather is getting warmer, and the sky is clear and blue, like a bright blue brocade. The warm breeze makes people very comfortable.
"The general will pay homage to the king!" After Chang and Geng got off the boat, they both raised their hands.
Zhang Yangquan took a glass of wine from the wooden tray held by the guard next to him and said loudly: "The two generals returned victorious and displayed the majesty of our Jiangdu Army. Come on, I'll toast the two generals!"
They both picked up a glass of wine and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhang Yangquan toasted all the soldiers again, and then turned his attention to Shen Wansan.
"Commissioner Shen has suffered so much!" Zhang Yangquan said warmly.
Shen Wansan's complexion was actually quite good, and he didn't look like he had been detained for a long time. He hurriedly said: "Because the common people are alone, and the army is on an expedition, the common people are terrified!"
Zhang Yangquan waved his hand and said: "You are not only a citizen of our Chu Kingdom, but also an effective general of Tongfan. Regardless of emotion and reason, I will not sit back and watch you being detained by the Japanese!"
Qin Lingjun smiled and said: "Executive member Shen, you don't have to be polite. In a short while, we will be a family."
Shen Wansan glanced at Shen Qianqian and saw that her complexion was slightly red and her face had changed. He knew that she had obtained her status and couldn't help but be greatly surprised.
Suddenly, he loudly said: "This time, the dedicated soldiers are working for Shen, and Shen is willing to contribute money to reward the three armies for the king!"
As soon as they finished speaking, Chang Yuchun and Geng San both glared at Shen Wansan, and even Qin Lingjun's expression instantly became stiff.
Shen Wansan suddenly woke up and realized that he had said the wrong thing. How could he, a businessman, reward the soldiers for the king?
"Your Majesty... common people... I..." Shen Wansan hurriedly knelt on the ground, his head covered with cold sweat.
Shen Qianqian followed him out of the queue, knelt down on the ground, and cried: "Your Majesty, the family was in a hurry, and I said the wrong thing. Please deal with it leniently!"
Zhang Yangquan remained silent.
I have to say that from the perspective of a king, it is really not pleasant to hear someone say this.
He helped Shen Qianqian up and said calmly: "Executive member Shen also has good intentions. I won't care about this matter. You all can get up."
Shen Wansan breathed a sigh of relief, and his feet were still trembling slightly after he stood up.
Chang Yuchun suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
Zhang Yangquan knew what he wanted to report, so he waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
He got on the carriage with Shen Qianqian and Qin Lingjun and headed back to the palace.