Chapter 280 The Sword Points at Japan (Thirteen) Situation
Magui's army suddenly moved south. Not only was the North Korean side surprised, but the Japanese army was also unexpected. As a result, the Japanese troops deployed forward were easily defeated, and the battle lines between the two sides were suddenly leveled to the Kaesong line.
The Japanese army was both angry and frightened about this. This collapse-like defeat actually had something to do with the way the Japanese army used its troops. Although the Japanese army invaded Korea twice with strong troops, after the last comprehensive battle with the Ming army,
After fighting, they already knew how powerful the Ming army was.
To put it simply, if you have twice your own strength, you can barely defend it. If you cannot concentrate four to five times your strength, there is no need to launch an attack on the Ming army, because it will not be defeated at all.
Even if it is said that "twice the force can defend", that is only when the Ming army on the opposite side is not the absolute main force. If the Ming army on the opposite side is its elite, it must be equipped with a large number of artillery. In this way, even if the Japanese army has twice the strength, in fact
It’s also hard to keep.
In the final analysis, the core advantage of the Ming army is actually that the Ming army is fighting a rich war, while the Japanese army has limited conditions and can only fight hard battles. This leads to another trouble, that is, since it cannot hold it, it naturally has to withdraw, but retreating
It was more difficult than defense, because the Ming army's cavalry advantage was even greater for Japan than their firearms advantage.
The Japanese horses of later generations are quite famous, but historically speaking, although there have always been seven kinds of native horses in Japan, including the Kiso horse and the Miyako horse, they are all relatively short and can be used for daily use, but not at all for war.
In fact, Japan has been paying attention to the study of "horse politics" since the Tang Dynasty. However, due to limited conditions, until the Tokugawa Shogunate period, the height of Japanese horses was still no more than 1 meter, even shorter than donkeys in some countries.
During the Meiji Restoration, Japan actively introduced various European and American systems to develop its own production and carry out national construction. Although it had entered the era of hot weapons, the cavalry was still the main force of the army. Before the popularity of automobiles, horses were still the main means of transportation.
, so the issue of horse politics has been taken more seriously by Japan.
It wasn't until 1867 that the opportunity finally came. At that time, in order to repay Japan for saving the French sericulture industry, France gave Japan 26 Arabian horses. The ignorant Tokugawa shogunate gave them to the daimyo and retainers. After the Meiji Restoration, these horses
Arabian horses were gradually recovered and used as stallions to improve native ponies.
After about ten years of reproduction, by 1887, the average height of Japanese horses increased from 1 meter to 1.3 meters. However, because the number of stallions was too small and most of them were inbred, the effect was not very satisfactory. So Japan established Mita
breeding farm and formulated a 30-year horse breed improvement plan.
Since then, Japan has introduced various well-bred horses from all over the world and learned advanced animal husbandry techniques from the West. By the time the Sino-Japanese War broke out, the average height of Japanese horses had reached 1.4 meters and their weight reached 329 kilograms.
It is worth noting that this standard has completely surpassed the mainstream horse breeds in Tatar at that time. Although there is still a certain gap with Europe and the United States, Japan did not go to war with Europe and the United States at the time, so the impact was not great.
By the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the height of the Japanese war horses had reached 1.47 meters, but there was still a considerable distance between them and the Russian Don horses. Eight Japanese horses could not move a gun carriage, but six Don horses could
Pulling a cannon cart and walking as fast as flying, this is the difference.
In order to narrow the gap, in 1906, after Japan's 30-year horse breeding improvement plan ended, its government immediately established the Horse Affairs Bureau and launched the second 30-year horse breeding improvement plan.
According to data at that time, there were 1.5 million horses in Japan, and 6,000 were selected as stallions. There are generally three types: light horses, including Arabian horses, Anglo-Arab horses, and purebred horses, mainly used for people to ride; medium-sized horses
Horses include Anglo-Norman horses and Hackney horses; heavy horses are mainly French Percheron horses. The Don horses captured later in the Russo-Japanese War also became one of the stallions.
By 1923, six horse administration districts had been established in Japan, specifically responsible for the supervision of horse improvement, and the number of domestic horse farms had grown to three. Soon, studs were spread across the country, and private fillies were also provided free of charge.
breeding.
In order to cultivate horses for specialized purposes, Japan has classified them in a targeted manner: mixed-breed horses from Norman horses are used for cavalry operations; descendants of Don horses are used in Japanese army artillery, heavy equipment, and for material transportation; descendants of Arabian horses are mainly used for cavalry operations.
They are used in equestrian competitions, and a small number of them are used as mounts for senior Japanese officers.
In short, by 1939, the average height of Japanese horses had exceeded 160 centimeters, which was much larger than the horses in China at that time. Therefore, they were called "Oriental horses" by the Chinese military and civilians.
As a history buff and a loyal player of some World War I and World War II games, Gao Pragmatic had a deep understanding of these situations. He had been engaged in horse breeding in Jinghua for more than 20 years. Considering that Jinghua is a Mongolian horse
The main "middlemen" naturally also had an impact on the Ming army's war horses.
Especially after the victory in the Monan War, Gao Pragmatic's influence on the army greatly increased. Most of the war horses in the three towns of Xuanda were already mixed breeds of Mongolian horses. The mixed breeds mainly included Arabian horses and Akhal Tejin horses (Central Asian Khans).
Blood horses) and Ili horses, as well as a small amount of Akhal-Take horses and other bloodlines.
Having said this, those who are more familiar with horses will find that this kind of breeding seems a bit familiar. Yes, in fact, the earliest Russian sword of the Tsar - the Don horse, the loyal companion of the Cossack cavalry, was bred almost in this way.
It turns out that the Mongolian horses obtained by the Ming Dynasty from the Tumut and Ordos tribes were generally around 120-135 centimeters in height (referring to shoulder height), which is the typical Mongolian horse height. However, the horse farm under Jinghua Trading Company has been breeding and selecting them for more than 20 years.
Finally, war horses with a height of about 140-144 centimeters can now be stably bred, initially reaching the level of the early Don hippopotamus (the Don hippopotamus has also been continuously optimized and evolved in history).
However, as we all know, even if Jinghua can handle horse breeding and breeding, it is best to leave large-scale horse breeding to professional groups. Therefore, Gao Pragmatic has also cooperated deeply with Tumut to actively improve the entire Mongolian horse breed.
The Ordos tribe also joined this system after Gao Pragmatic put down the Kuaibai Rebellion.
According to the planned plan, after the victory over the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty regained Chahar, it also began to build its own military horse farm with Daning as the center, taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure the supply of war horses and the continuous improvement and evolution of horse breeds. However, this takes time. At present,
Just started.
It is actually very normal for national policies to take ten years to bear fruit. The reason why Gao Pragmatic has been able to make so many changes in Ming Dynasty in recent years is that as a rising political star of the same age as the emperor, he has experienced personal rise.
The process also ensures the continuity of the policy.
This is like many countries in later generations turning left and right for many years, and the result is nothing. On the contrary, if a country is politically stable, is determined in one direction, and works together as one, then you don't care whether it is going to the right or left.
Whether to the left or to the right, its development must be ten times stronger than swinging.
This is the reason why it is most taboo to change a country's major policies in the morning or at night.
What is strategic determination? As a great man said: "My main purpose is to remain unwavering." Gao Pragmatic originally understood this truth, but did not have a deep understanding of it. Now he himself has dominated the world in Ming Dynasty for thirty years.
After years of reform, my experience of it has been deeply rooted in my bones.
Speaking of cavalry, Gao Pragmatic's biggest imaginary enemy against the Ming Dynasty's powerful land enemy in the future is Tsarist Russia. Considering that the sharp knife of Tsarist Russia's eastward expansion is the Cossack cavalry, his various reforms of the Ming Dynasty cavalry are essentially aimed at the Cossack cavalry in his mind.
Come.
Of course they are light cavalry, but they can also be used temporarily as heavy cavalry when needed. Therefore, the highly pragmatic reform of the Ming Dynasty cavalry has three aspects: on the one hand, the quality of the cavalry requires the cavalry to be reliable on horseback;
It is also necessary to have a war horse with strong comprehensive capabilities, coupled with appropriate weapons and equipment, this is the construction of the trinity.
The construction of this trinity can only be said to have achieved initial results at present, but it is obviously more than enough to crush the Japanese army at this time. After all, the current Japanese cavalry is a joke in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty who just defeated Chahar. The Ming cavalry beat the Japanese cavalry as if three
The strong ten-year-old man taught the three-year-old boy how to fight, so that this time the Japanese army did not even have a few cavalry on the battlefield.
The great difficulty for the Japanese army in this battle north of Kaicheng was that they were unable to defend themselves and collapsed as soon as they were attacked; they were unable to escape and were killed like a whirlwind by the Xuan cavalry of the Ming Army who were the first to complete preliminary reforms.
In less than five days, the Japanese front line that had advanced almost as far as the southern suburbs of Pyongyang collapsed thousands of miles away - er, exaggerated, it was actually two hundred miles - and retreated directly to Kaesong. The original invading vanguard was now concentrated in
As a result, Hanyang in the rear was also nervous, wondering whether Kaicheng could be defended.
At this moment, the Japanese navy also sent another huge bad news in horror: the Ming navy had officially dispatched troops and had sailed eastward from Laizhou, Shandong, and the target was currently unknown.
Upon hearing the news, high-level officials from both the left and right sides of the invading Japanese army immediately gathered at Hanyang Palace in North Korea to hold an emergency military meeting to discuss countermeasures.
Governor Konishi, who has always been known as a peacemaker, still spoke first and said: "Gentlemen, we have seen the strength of the Ming army's land division in the Renchen year. If the land division is like this, can the navy be weak? Our army
Although the navy has almost destroyed the North Korean navy, you will know by comparing how the North Korean land division compares to the Ming army's land division. So, will there be much difference in the comparison of the navy?"
Before he could finish his words, Kato Kiyomasa interrupted him angrily and said: "Xingchang Konishi! What do you mean? Before the war has even begun, if you build up other people's ambitions and destroy your own prestige, what on earth are you doing?"
Where are you from!"
"The fight hasn't started yet?" Governor Konishi said not to be outdone: "The Ming army moved south from Pyongyang and pushed the front line all the way to Kaiping in five days. Who among our army's divisions can find a good way to deal with this Ming army attack?
Okay? Let’s talk about you Kato, how many Ming army attacks do you think your squad can withstand without retreating?”
For this second invasion of Korea, Kato Kiyomasa's headquarters has been changed to the First Army. However, because he suffered a lot of losses the previous time, the number of troops this time is not as large as the first time, with only 10,000 people. This question from Governor Konishi
It pinched his sore foot, and Kato Kiyomasa was so angry that he yelled: "My first division still has nearly 10,000 troops. If the Ming army doesn't come with equal strength, there's no way they can force me to retreat!"
President Konishi didn't say much, and just sneered: "Really?" There was obvious disdain in his tone.
Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel again, Kuroda Ruishui waved his hands and said: "In the current crisis, the most important thing is to work together as one. What problem can be solved by quarreling with each other like you two? Don't argue. Let me ask you first.
Some Problems."
Arguing cannot solve the problem, everyone naturally understands this truth. Besides, after the death of Kobayakawa Takakage, Kuroda Asui has become the only recognized and highly respected wise man in the invading army. Since he wants to speak, everyone must give him face, so Kato Kiyomasa
He and Mr. Konishi sneered at each other, but they both shut up obediently.
Kuroda Rushui asked: "No matter how this defeat came about, at least each team should have an understanding of the strength of the Ming army. Now who can tell me how many troops the Ming army sent this time and who is the commander?"
The most unlucky one in the defeat on the northern front was the Fourth Army. The commander of the Army, Naoshima Naoshige, said with a sullen face: "It has been roughly clarified. The Ming army is still coached by Song Yingchang, and the new admiral who succeeded Li Rusong is called the commander-in-chief."
Ma Gui was a famous general in the elite Xuan Dynasty of the Nine Borders. It is said that his status in the Ming Dynasty was similar to that of Li Rusong, and he was the "Ma" in the so-called "Eastern Li and Western Ma".
As for the strength of the Ming army, based on what Mono Jianban has seen with his own eyes, it is at least 70,000 to 80,000. Considering that the Ming army must still have troops stationed in Pyongyang and other places, it is estimated that the total strength should exceed 100,000 anyway, that is
Twice as long as the year of Renchen."
Kuroda Rushui's expression didn't change much, he just nodded and said: "That means that our army's military strength was slightly reduced compared to the Renchen year, while the Ming army's military strength doubled compared to the Renchen year. That's what it means
Bar?"
Of course that was what it meant, but hearing Kuroda say it outright like that, everyone felt a chill go down their spines for some reason. Naoshima Naoshima took a deep breath and could only answer: "...Yes."
"Okay, thank you His Highness Nabeshima for speaking out." Kuroda Rushui nodded lightly, looked around at everyone, and asked: "What is my naval perspective on the situation of the Ming Navy Navy?"
Todo Takatora said with a straight face: "Because most of our naval warships are not as fast as Ming Dynasty ships, we dare to observe the ships from a distance. The specific number is not detailed. What we know now is that the Ming Dynasty fleet is very large. In general,
There are hundreds of them, including many great fortune ships."
Kuroda Rushui frowned slightly and asked: "Is there only the Great Fortune Ship and not the Jinghua Giant Ship?"
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PS: Holding parent-teacher conferences is really annoying, wastes time, and has no practical significance. I have emphasized it countless times and repeated it again. Parents have to check in and turn on the camera to make sure they are listening. I am really convinced.