Chapter 277 Aiding Korea and fighting against the Japanese (37) Two battles and two victories
A few days later, Admiral Yi Sun-shin, the Jeolla-do Zuoshui envoy, received a message from fishermen from his own country, saying that Japanese warships were gathering around Geoje Island. Yi Sun-shin realized that the Japanese navy must have a big plan brewing, and that there was a high possibility that it might be aimed at
Therefore, he immediately called for Li Yiqi, the envoy of Yousu of Jeolla Province, and Wonjun, the envoy of Yousu of Gyeongsang Province, to discuss it together.
Yi Sun-shin did his duty and took the lead in speaking: "Japanese warships are gathering in the area of Geoje Island. It is reported that the number is very large, at least more than sixty. Looking at our army's wooden house ships, we still have twenty-four warships here.
"Li Youshi has twenty-five warships, and Yuan Youshi has seven warships. Although there is a slight gap between them and the Japanese army, they are not incapable of fighting."
Yuan Jun mused: "Judging from the location where the Japanese pirates gathered this time, they are coming with great force, and they must be seeking revenge. We must be cautious and not fight easily. If we fall into the trap, all the results of the Korean navy's previous battles will be lost."
All previous efforts are wasted.
I believe that the Japanese pirates are cunning and cruel, and have a strong desire for revenge. Their commanders will avenge their shame. I am afraid that this is not the only gathering now. There should be follow-up support from a large fleet... In short, for our army,
From now on it will be a tough battle."
Yi Sunchen nodded in approval, but quickly said: "I have already made a plan for this battle. You might as well ask for details: I plan to set up an ambush in the waters of Hansan Island. The water here is deep, the waves are flat, and it is extremely wide, which is conducive to a large fleet.
Ambush and unfold.
Specifically, I will first dispatch several warships to fly my flag to lure the Japanese ships away from Geoje Island and chase them to the waters of Hansan Island. At this time, although our military fleet is far away, I will order the lure ships to
When they arrived at the designated position, they fired a series of artillery messages. When each team heard the artillery message, they sailed towards the enemy ship.
It is expected that if this happens, our army will be able to surround the Japanese army in the Crane Wing Formation, keep a distance, and bombard with all-out force. Our four turtle ships will also break into the enemy's formation, disrupting the formation of the Japanese fleet, making it difficult for them to fight on their own.
Combat strength."
This plan sounds good, but Li Yiqi, the envoy of Yousu River in Jeolla Province, still seemed a little uneasy. He frowned and pondered for a long time, and then slowly said: "Even so, it seems that there is no guarantee. You two, the experience of the Japanese army
Even if he is defeated in a series of battles, he will definitely have to deal with it. Whether he can be easily seduced is still unclear.
In addition, the scale of the Japanese warships this time is huge, and it may be more difficult for our army to attack proactively to ensure victory. Moreover, the Japanese army may also disperse their actions. If they turn around and encircle our army, I wonder what Li Zuoshui should do?
Li Zuoshui, the Japanese ships are faster than our army. Once they seize the opportunity and engage in close combat, our army's advantage may be lost. I think this battle is extremely critical. No matter what, we must consider it carefully.
"
Yi Sun-shin was quite confident, or he was well-informed, and he answered calmly: "As you two said, the Japanese ships gathered for revenge, so if this is the case, once the lure ship has my flag, the Japanese pirates will naturally pursue it with all their strength.
, Otherwise, how can we talk about revenge?
Although the Japanese pirates gathered a large number of warships to embolden them, it can be seen that they are still wary of the previous naval battle, so they will never disperse before seeing the main force of our army to avoid being defeated by our army one by one. However, because of this, our army lured the enemy.
The plan is bound to succeed, but when the Japanese pirates realize that they have already fallen into the heavy siege of Heyi, they will be defeated.
Of course, please rest assured, if it really fails to lure the enemy, then I will wait until then to make another plan, but it will not be too late."
Li Yiqi and Yuan Jun saw that although Yi Sun-shin was confident, he was not incapable of listening to his opinions, so they both agreed after a moment of thinking. Then they each returned to their base camp, assembled warships, and met with Yi Sun-shin's troops.
On the other side, Wakisaka Anji's troops were anchored on Geoje Island when they suddenly received a report that a North Korean navy warship was attacking. Wakisaka Anji led the crowd to inspect and saw six North Korean warships with wooden houses, swaggering towards Geoje Island.
Come.
Wakisaka Anji took a closer look and saw Yi Sun-shin's flag clearly visible. He became angry and immediately ordered all the troops to board the ship to pursue him. Seeing his appearance, Wakisaka Anji was afraid that he was angry and raised his troops, so he quickly advised Wakisaka Anji to be careful.
This is a tactic to lure the enemy.
However, Wakisaka Anji was impatient and shouted loudly: "Yi Sun-shin is close at hand, and his strength is weak. The opportunity cannot be missed, and it will never come back! If we catch up with the enemy ship as soon as possible and annihilate Yi Sun-shin, the Korean navy will collapse. Even if it is
This is a ploy to lure the enemy, but our warships are more flexible and maneuverable than the Korean warships. As long as the enemy ambush appears, we can disperse and encircle them as planned, so there is nothing to fear!"
He was determined and immediately issued an order: Anyone who captured Yi Sun-shin alive would be rewarded 5,000 guan! Faced with such a huge reward, the entire Japanese navy was excited and clamored to board the ship and set sail. At one time, the 73 Japanese warships moved as fast as possible.
The speed is overwhelming.
In the early morning of the 7th, the three Japanese fleets had been led to the waters of Hansan Island. The North Korean decoy ship arrived at the designated position, fired a series of artillery messages and fired back at the Japanese fleet, but the Japanese navy was still pursuing them.
Within half a moment, Wakisaka Yasuji and other generals were shocked to realize that a large number of Korean warships were approaching from three sides of the sea. They had become surrounded by cranes and wings. There was a turtle ship on each side and two ships on the front, heading towards the Japanese navy.
Advance.
Wakisaka Anji saw that the navy had been surrounded, and although he regretted it in his heart, as Toyotomi Hideyoshi's favorite general and one of the Seven Guns of Kage, he was already a successful and famous person, how could he leave without fighting? Not only did Wakisaka Anji not
Instead, he became furious and ordered the three teams to advance separately and fight to the death with all their strength.
Yi Sun-shin was overjoyed when he saw this. In his opinion, given the size of the Japanese fleet, if he made up his mind to concentrate on breaking out now, his own encirclement might not be able to stop him. Although he could win, the outcome would be uncertain.
Hard to say.
Now that Anji Wakisaka refused to evade, and instead attacked in three separate directions, he was really on the receiving end of a gun. How could he, Yi Sun-shin, let go of such a great opportunity?
Therefore, Yi Sun-shin immediately sent an order to the entire army, requiring them to keep a distance and fire immediately. The Japanese fleet was surrounded by Korean wooden house boats and was bombarded continuously, and was constantly lightly or severely damaged. Each ship wanted to rush in, but it was also shelled.
, Under the Fire Arrow was seriously interfered with, and the execution effect was really poor.
Although the matchlock guns that Japan is famous for are relatively well-made, the range of the guns against the cannons is limited, and they have little effect in the chaos of the shelling. In addition, four turtle ships ran rampant in the enemy's formation, causing the Japanese army to be in a state of disarray.
Chaos makes it more difficult to form synergy.
Fortunately, there were enough Japanese warships after all, and their desire for revenge was indeed strong. Even if they just launched several counterattacks as if they were fighting independently, they gradually approached the North Korean fleet.
Seeing this, Wakisaka Yasuji immediately ordered the Anzai ships to be divided into two teams, one at the front and the other, with the small and medium-sized warships moving to the middle to assist each other and charge towards North Korea.
When Yi Sun-shin saw the Japanese army changing formations, he naturally would not remain indifferent. He also ordered the bombardment of the Anzhai detachment to contain it, and then ordered four turtle ships to ram the Japanese small and medium-sized warships to disrupt their changing formations.
The Japanese Anzha ship was restrained by firepower, and it was difficult to detach smoothly for a while. In addition, there was a disturbance by a turtle ship in the middle, and the small and medium-sized warships had to scatter. As a result, the Japanese army's formation was once again in chaos. They could only form a formation with scattered ships, but they still tried to counterattack.
As for the North Korean navy, due to clear pre-war planning, the various units led by Yi Sun-shin, Li Yi-chi, and Yuan-kyun promptly adjusted their front lines according to the advance deployment, moved ahead of schedule, and maintained an encirclement and continuous offensive at all times.
The Battle of Hansan Island lasted from early morning to dusk, and the Japanese army, which became more and more chaotic as they fought, was finally defeated again. Wakitazabei and Watanabe Shichiemon were killed on the spot. Naoko Sama Yun was so ashamed and angry that he committed seppuku. The commander-in-chief, Wakisaka Yasuji, was
To save the last warship, they could only endure the humiliation and survive, leading the remaining troops to fight to the death and escape in embarrassment.
During the Battle of Hansan Island, Yi Sun-shin reported to the Korean court, indicating that the Japanese army had 36 large ships, 24 medium ships, and 13 small ships. The Korean navy destroyed a total of 63 enemy ships, threatening the general.
Ban Yasu led the remnants of his troops to flee. The Korean navy warships were quite damaged, but fortunately none of them were sunk.
In fact, there is another copy of this battle report, which was written by a Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance merchant ship in North Korea that accompanied the North Korean navy in the name of "observation". Naturally, its war report will not be disclosed to the North Korean court.
, but sent it directly to the direction of the Ming Dynasty capital after returning to Hong Kong.
In this battle report, in addition to the record of the battle situation, it also specifically mentioned why the Japanese army failed to achieve the result of sinking or destroying any Korean warship.
The reason is very simple: the Japanese navy seriously lacks heavy firepower and is unable to seriously damage North Korean ships at long distances, let alone destroy them. And because North Korea only has four turtle ships in close combat with them that are not afraid of fire attacks and are inconvenient to climb, so the Japanese
Although he was excited and resisted for a long time, it was all in vain.
In fact, this battle report only proves that the warship development plan that Gao pragmatic formulated for the Ming Dynasty Navy and the Liangyang Fleet and the Xungui Fleet is very forward-looking. To a certain extent, it can be regarded as the result of the battle with the Japanese Navy.
It disproves the correctness of the highly pragmatic theory of naval construction, and the other meanings are of little significance.
After all, although Gao Pangshi may not have known that there would be a battle today, he could at least be sure that as long as the Japanese navy did not transfer the "new fleet" to North Korea, it was almost destined to be beaten by Yi Sun-shin, and there would not be many surprises at all.
.
Not to mention that it would take several days for Gao Pangshi to receive his side's "observation report" of this battle, but after the war, the North Korean Navy rebelled against Hong Kong and rested, and Yi Sun-shin got another report, saying that Japanese Navy Admiral Kuki Yoshitaka's fleet was in Anhui
Mooring at Bonepool.
Since winter had begun to enter at this time, the weather became bad, which was not conducive to maritime operations. The weather was not good, and Yi Sun-shin had no good solution. It was not until the tenth day of the lunar month that he was able to lead the entire army to attack Angupo.
Forty-two Japanese warships are moored in Ankopo, including 21 Oyasaku ships, and an iron-clad Anya ship, the Nippon Maru.
It brought Japan's original shipbuilding skills to its peak, and added many "advanced technologies" brought by "Ming Dynasty craftsmen".
Since this "Nihon Maru" dares to be named after the country "Japan", it is naturally not a general one. Not only is it the largest among all Japanese Anzhai ships, the materials used are also extremely luxurious - oh, extremely strict and meticulous.
Select carefully.
Not to mention other materials, Nippon Maru spent 31,100 taels of silver just on the top-grade shipbuilding teak imported from southern Xinjiang through the sea trade alliance. It is not yet clear whether this Nippon Maru is Japan's most capable warship.
It's easy to say, but if we talk about the high cost, it must be the highest in Japan, and it is more expensive than the ships bought from the Sea Trade Alliance.
Of course, it's not just the wood that's so expensive. The hull of this ship is also very Japanese-style, with iron armor laid everywhere to prevent fire, and it looks even stronger.
Furthermore, thanks to the guidance of Ming craftsmen, the warship itself was much larger than the previous Japanese ships. It could store 1,500 shi of food, set up 100 oars, and carry 800 troops.
The deck has three attic levels, and there are many narrow rooms on both sides of the ship, which can be used for iron cannons, bow shooting and roasting. There is a Keihua No. 2 large barrel (artillery) on the front and both sides of the hull. It can be said that it is the first of its kind in Japan's history.
The giant ship that has never been seen before. Kuuki Yoshitaka was responsible for supervising the construction of the Nippon Maru and has been proud of it since its completion.
But it was said that Kuuki Yoshitaka and Kato Yoshiaki were in Nippon Maruchi at this time, and they had already received the military report of Wakisaka Anji's defeat at Hanzan Island, and they were quite worried.
Kato Yoshiaki sighed and asked: "The seventy-three main warships of our army are extremely powerful maritime forces no matter how you look at them, but we did not expect that they would suffer such a defeat.
Your Highness Ohsumi, although I have fought against Yi Sun-shin, I still don’t know the reason for the defeat. If it is the turtle ships, the number of turtle ships is extremely limited. It is really impossible to let them go without fighting.
Why do we always have to fight with Turtle Boat?
Now the North Korean navy has another great victory on Hansan Island. Considering that Yi Sun-shin loves to take advantage of victory to pursue, I predict that he will attack Angupo immediately. If so, how should we respond?"
Jiuki Jialong said: "I am also quite surprised by the performance of the North Korean Navy, but I can't think about it in detail at the moment. As a naval general, it is natural for Yi Sun-shin to come to me, and now the North Korean Navy
The morale of the army must be strong...
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In view of the previous defeats, we cannot rush into battle this time. Angupo is mostly shallow water, which can easily cause warships to run aground, which is not conducive to large-ship naval battles. If Yi Sun-shin comes, there will inevitably be another
They tried to lure me out to sea, but I just couldn't hold on.
It is difficult for North Korean navy ships to enter the bay, and small boats are no match for our army. What can they do to us? The key now is to try our best to avoid entering the range of North Korea's large ships and large barrels, and only need to stand firm and wait for reinforcements. What's more, our army
There is also Nihon Maru in charge. Once the reinforcements arrive, they will attack from inside and outside, and Yi Sun-shin will be killed and avenged!"
Since the two places were not very far apart, the North Korean naval forces reached Angupo one day later.
When Yi Sun-shin saw that it was difficult for the wooden warships to enter Angupo, he ordered the front to lure the enemy, and bombarded the enemy again to show weakness and evacuate. However, Gugui Galong was unmoved and strictly ordered not to leave. Yi Sun-shin's several attempts to lure the enemy had no effect.
Worried that if the stalemate lasted for a long time, there might be reinforcements from the Japanese pirates to attack at any time, so he ordered all the warships in the army to shell inward along the harbor. The wheels were replaced, and the artillery fire was fired without giving the enemy a chance to breathe.
Kuuki Yoshitaka also ordered Kato Yoshiaki and his troops to make full use of the terrain of Ankopo, cooperate with water and land, resist counterattacks, and fire alternately with warships and iron cannons, and wait for reinforcements.
At this time, the Keihua No. 2 cannon equipped with the Nippon Maru caused trouble for the North Korean navy several times due to its huge power and long range. One of the warships was even hit by a shot from the side string and almost sank on the spot.
With great difficulty, he was rescued through emergency repairs and exited the battlefield early.
However, judging from the overall battle situation, since the overall firepower configuration of the Japanese warships was still lower than that of the North Korean navy, the situation was gradually suppressed.
The North Korean navy repeatedly shelled the harbor, but it was difficult to aim due to its long range. Fortunately, it was also difficult for Japanese ships to move easily in Repulse Bay. In the fierce battle, the ship's position was inevitably misplaced. The two sides fought until nightfall, although the North Korean navy fired indiscriminately day and night.
By nightfall, the Japanese warships had been damaged by twenty large ships and several small and medium-sized ships.
Kuki Yoshitaka saw that so many navy warships had lost their combat effectiveness without fighting, and he couldn't help but feel furious, but at the same time he felt that the situation was over and there was nothing he could do to save the day. Remembering that the Japanese navy was not without powerful firepower, it was a pity that the "new fleet" was not something he could do.
Mobilized, I was filled with resentment for a while.
He was also worried that he would not be able to withstand the anger of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In despair, he wanted to commit seppuku and apologize, but was immediately stopped by Kato Yoshiaki. Subsequently, in order to preserve the dignity of the pirate daimyo, Kuki Yoshitaka strictly ordered the entire army to cover Nihonmaru to break out.
Nihon Maru was actually quite unlucky. During such a chaotic battle, the sail mast happened to be broken by North Korean artillery fire. At this time, he could not raise the sail and had to row with his oars.
But having said that, if you spend more money, you will see results after all. Not only is this Nippon Maru made of excellent wood, but it is also covered in solid iron armor and is majestic. Its firepower is not bad for this place. In addition, the other small boats are trying their best to cover it.
For a while, it was really difficult for the North Korean naval forces to cause serious damage to the Nippon Maru.
Of course, this also had a lot to do with the fact that the artillery shells of the North Korean navy were almost bottomed out at this time. In short, Yi Sun-shin ordered to stop the attack upon seeing this, and Kugui Yoshiro and Kato Yoshiaki's troops were finally able to leave Angupo and return to Busan.
After the war, North Korean deputy generals Song Xili and Zheng Yun congratulated Yi Sunchen and asked for advice: "Li Zuoshui, the Japanese pirates were defeated again, and the main force of the navy suffered heavy losses. How does Zuoshui think the Japanese pirates will act in the future?"
Yi Sun-shin thought for a moment, and after taking stock of the Japanese navy and land forces, he replied: "If I were a Japanese general and saw that the navy was difficult to defeat, I should call in the army for rescue and destroy the port base first.
I heard that the Japanese army was brave and good at fighting, and each of them fell one after another. However, our army lacks war horses, and it may be difficult for the Japanese pirates to defeat them on land. In this case, we should request the court to allocate war horses as soon as possible, or send a large army to guard the port to prepare for the Japanese pirates.
Attack. The main focus of our navy is still on water warfare."
Zheng Yun first agreed with Yi Sun-shin's opinion, and then said that the Japanese navy only had one place left to occupy, Pusan, and if Busan could be captured, the Japanese water and land transportation lines would be completely cut off, so he advised Yi Sun-shin to continue the march.
Yi Sun-shin naturally agreed. After all, since the beginning of this all-out war this year, he has led the navy to achieve almost all the real victories. Once he can continue to capture Busan, the last port stronghold of the Japanese army in North Korea, he will be able to win the victory in North Korea.
No matter how brave and skillful the Japanese Army was, it was nothing but a rootless force with no stamina. As a result, a complete victory against the Japanese army was just around the corner.
Thinking of this, Yi Sun-shin couldn't help but feel a little excited. It took him a long time to calm down and start thinking about how to organize and organize the Battle of Busan.
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