Chapter 37 Chapter 16 Bloody Battle of Ulsan (Part 1)

Jiesheng's Battle of Jishan and Yi Sun-shin's Myeongryang Naval Battle were two key victories won by the coalition forces in September.Jishan successfully contained the Japanese offensive and ensured the safety of Seoul; Mingliang made the Japanese realize that they need to do their best to ensure the safety of the supply line.The effects of the two victories were superimposed, leaving the Japanese army in a situation where they lacked the courage to attack and worried about being cut off in logistical supplies. But in fact, the situation in mid-September was quite favorable to the Japanese army.Most of Jeolla Province has fallen, and the gate to Seoul has been opened.The main corps of the Ming army has not yet assembled, and it will take a long time for Yi sun-shin's fleet to form combat effectiveness.

However, the Japanese army did not dare to continue going north because of the land and water battle launched by the Ming army and the Korean army. After they occupied Jishan, they stopped all military operations very abruptly. On September 14th, not long after the Battle of Jisan, the Japanese Left Army that had originally aimed at Jeolla Province held a meeting in Jeongeup, where Yi Sun-sin once held office. It was the whole army that turned south.Jingeup is originally in the south of Jeonju, but you still continue to go south, saying that you are going to level Jeolla-do, who will believe it! ?

The right-hand army of the Japanese army was not much better.In order to prevent the Japanese army from attacking Seoul from another direction, Yang Hao and Ma Gui sent General Peng Youde to Qingshan, southeast of Seoul, near Gyeongsang-do.There, Peng Youde did not encounter the attacking Japanese army, but encountered the retreating Japanese army.How could Peng Youde let go of this opportunity and led his troops in pursuit.As soon as the two sides confronted each other, the Japanese army began to retreat, with no intention of fighting at all.Peng Youde chased and killed for a while, but when he realized that the Japanese army was too strong, he stopped.

Although the scale of this battle was small, it was still called the Qingshan Victory by the Ming Dynasty, because the opponent who was killed and retreated was none other than Kato Kiyomasa, the most vicious and vicious man in North Korea. Kato Kiyomasa, who managed to get rid of Peng Youde's pursuit, retreated to Baoenyan on September 20, and encountered 400 men from the North Korean army Zheng Qilong's troops.It was heavy fog, and Zheng Qilong shot down more than a dozen Japanese soldiers in one shot, but Kato Kiyomasa didn't rush into the enemy's line with a roar, but "did not move for a long time".Zheng Qilong took the opportunity to lead troops to escort the Korean victims along the way to leave, and both sides retreated.

On October 8th, Kato returned to Xishengpo, the starting point, Kuroda Nagamasa returned to Dongnae, Mori Hidemoto returned to Yangsan, Shimadzu Tadatoyo returned to Sacheon, and other Japanese generals also gave up occupying towns and returned to their garrisons to continue their occupation. Coastal area from Suncheon to Ulsan.The siege of Seoul will be solved without a fight.The high-level coalition forces of the Ming and North Korea could not believe that this was true. It was not until Magui personally visited Jeonju, which was abandoned by the Japanese army, that he confirmed that the Japanese had really withdrawn.

The Ming army headquarters knew very well that this was definitely not a problem caused by the Japanese army's supplies.At that time, the Japanese army had already occupied most of Jeolla-do, especially after conquering Suncheon, Yeosu Port to the south of Suncheon also fell to the enemy, and Yi sun-shin's small fleet was forced to retreat to Gujin Island, facing Japan across Naro Island. .He will not be able to threaten Busan for a while.What's more, the Japanese army's front is not long, and it is only between Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do, so the transportation will not be too much pressure.

It's not about the weather either.It's only September now, and there are still a few months before the severe winter in North Korea. Besides, won't it be better to take down Seoul for the winter than to go back? It's not a supply problem, it's not a weather problem, so what happened to the Japanese? Ding You fought again. From the beginning of the war to the contraction in October, the actions of the Japanese army showed a particularly distinctive feature-the desire for war was very low, and the actions were very conservative and seemed dull. In the early stage, the Japanese right army bypassed the blockade of the North Korean army and went straight to Seoul through clever feints. During the period, the Japanese army would not pay attention to the North Korean army in front of them at all. They just drew a straight line on the map and strode through the enemy's position.The performance of the Japanese Left Army was also the same. They would only actively kill the enemy in a siege battle ten times stronger than the enemy in Nanyuan. It seemed that tens of thousands of troops gathered together to make themselves less afraid.

Once encountering a battle like Jishan where the two sides were evenly matched, even if the opponent was only a few thousand Ming troops, the Japanese army immediately began to complain, and even Mao Li, who had an army of tens of thousands, still hesitated. All signs are showing that most of the generals of the Japanese army have been scared and tired of being beaten by the Ming army in this war.The Battle of Renchen told them that defeating Daming strategically is an impossible task.The reason why they crossed the sea to North Korea again was no longer for fame and wealth, but to perfunctory Master Hideyoshi.

This can also explain why the Japanese army formulated a combat plan involving only Jeolla, Chungcheong, and Gyeongsang.They lack aggressiveness and try to stop at nothing. After gaining a slight advantage, they quickly retreated when they met the Ming army in an offensive state. Hideyoshi, we have won a battle to give you face, and it is almost over.And the unspeakable subtext that everyone agrees on is: I don't want to use my family property to fight the terrible Ming army for the sake of your face. For the unexpected retreat of the Japanese army, the coalition forces of the Ming and North Korea were not psychologically prepared at all.At this time, the Ming army had not yet fully assembled, so Yang Gao and Ma Gui were very cautious, fearing that the Japanese army was trying to lure the enemy into deeper, instead of pursuing them, they strictly ordered the troops not to advance lightly.This kind of mentality is understandable. The hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly retreated when they had the upper hand, and whoever became the general would have to make a murmur.

Therefore, after the retreat of the Japanese army, the allied forces of Ming and North Korea slowly regrouped and advanced slowly, stretching out their tentacles like snails, and tentatively and quickly tested the front.Throughout October, the Japanese army huddled on the coast without moving, while the coalition forces stood far away, looking vigilant, and the strategic situation basically returned to that before the war. It was Xing Jie, the supreme officer of the Ming army who aided the dynasty, who finally broke the deadlock.After a month of probing and investigation, he was finally convinced that the Japanese army had retreated back to the coastal Wa city without any tricks.At this time, the Ming army has also assembled, and the food, grass, supplies, etc. have almost been stored, and they have the strength to fight.

At this time, the officials of the Ming Dynasty began to discuss again, saying that the Japanese had fled back to the coast in embarrassment, and their courage had lost their courage. Instead of fighting the enemy bravely, Xing Jie, Yang Hao, and Ma Gui stopped fighting. Do you have any other thoughts?This accusation is too serious, even if it is just nonsense from the officials, it will startle the big shots on the front line. Emperor Wanli was also a little impatient.In the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, Yang Yinglong's rebellion in Bozhou intensified, and Yang Guozhu, the governor of Guizhou Jiangdong, was killed when he failed to advance and suppress, and Sichuan and Guizhou were shaken.The court was anxious to end the war in Korea so that it would be free to deal with matters in Banju. Under these overt or covert pressures, Xing Jie issued an order on November 10, and the coalition forces advanced in three ways and began to counterattack.In order to boost morale, Xing Jie entered the court in person and arrived in Seoul on November 29.He arrived in Seoul, forcing Yang Hao and Ma Gui to move to the front line. But the problem is that at that time the Japanese army built a circle of Japanese cities along the coast, like a string of pearls scattered on Gyeongsang Beach, with a total force of more than 100,000 people stationed.The Ming army had only 40,000 soldiers, and the North Korean army was only 60,000 to 70,000. They couldn't cover everything, so they could only choose one key direction to attack. After repeated discussions, they chose the most unlikely target-Ulsan City. Ulsan Fortress is located on the easternmost side of Gyeongsang-do, northeast of Busan, and Seoul is on the westernmost side.From a military point of view, it seems unreasonable to choose such a place. The theory of war tells us that the military can never exist without politics and must serve political purposes. Ulsan City is not a good choice, but there is a general in Ulsan City named Kato Kiyomasa. The Japanese general that Ming Dynasty was most familiar with was Yuki Konishi; while the Japanese general that North Korea was most familiar with was Kato Kiyomasa.The enmity between them and Kato can be said to be beyond words.Is Yi Sun-shin a great contribution?Just because he got involved with Kato Kiyomasa, he was pushed to the end-Kato Kiyomasa is simply a high-tension line in North Korea, and whoever mentions it is in a hurry. If Ulsan Castle can be breached in one fell swoop and Kato Kiyomasa can be killed, it will be an impressive victory.The Japanese army would even be demoralized by this and retreat automatically.The temptation to end the war early, the Ming army was very interested.So the two sides hit it off and began to plan an attack intensively. If Ulsan Castle can be breached in one fell swoop and Kato Kiyomasa can be killed, it will be an impressive victory.The Japanese army would even be demoralized by this and retreat automatically.The temptation to end the war early, the Ming army was very interested.So the two sides hit it off and began to plan an attack intensively. The Ming army was divided into three armies.On the left is Li Rumei, a famous sniper in the Ming army and Li Rusong's younger brother, Gao Ce is in the middle, and Li Fangchun is on the right.Under the leadership of Ma Gui and Yang Hao, the left and right roads will enter Gyeongsang-do from Joryeong near Chungju, follow a diagonal line along Andong and Gyeongju, and point to Ulsan in the southeast.The Central Route Army arrived at Yining, which could not only support the main attacking troops, but also prevent the Japanese troops from Jeolla Province from rushing to help.They also mobilized Dong Zhengyi and 1,500 Ming troops to mix with the North Korean local troops, and went south to Namwon to attract the attention of Xingxiong Zhang in Suncheon. At the same time, Quan Li also gathered the North Korean elite Gao Yanbo, Zheng Qilong, Jin Yingrui and other troops to move to Ulsan to cooperate with the Ming army. On the fourth day of December, the three giants who aided the DPRK gathered in Seoul and held a grand sacrifice ceremony.Xing Jie personally went up to the altar to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and vowed to command the officers and soldiers.When sacrificing the flag, firearms were lined up, and thousands of cannons were fired, creating an extremely grand scene.The North Korean soldiers and civilians watching were extremely proud, thinking that such a powerful army could completely drive the Japanese pirates into the sea. After offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, on the eighth day of December, the Ming army officially started to set off.Before leaving, the king of North Korea Li Yan said that he would personally send Manager Yang to the expedition.Yang Gao readily obeyed.The two rode out of Seoul side by side on horseback. While talking, Yang Gao suddenly left the main road and galloped from a dangerous path. Li Yan, not to be outdone, followed closely behind. The followers and ministers behind him were at a loss and could not catch up go up.The two of you chased me for a while, and Yang Gao suddenly turned around and said with a smile, "Wang Ke is working with you." After bidding farewell to the sympathetic Li Yan, 44,800 members of the Ming army crossed Niaoling majesticly, and arrived at Wenqing County at the foot of the mountain two days later.This is the end point of the first phase of the rush between Konishi Governor and Kato Kiyomasa during the Imjin War. Here, Magui made a request to Quanli, asking him to send a North Korean navy to cooperate in the waters near Ulsan. This request is not surprising.In Magui's view, if the North Korean Navy, which has just won a big victory, can respond to the offensive from the sea, it will not only improve morale, but also cut off all the reinforcement routes of the Japanese army, making the Japanese army in Ulsan a real lone army, thus causing them a strong blow. The pressure and even panic made them realize that Ulsan was already an isolated city as soon as possible, thus speeding up the collapse.But the problem is that although Yi sun-shin's fleet has recovered slightly at this time, it is still an impossible task to bypass the important port towns of Suncheon, Geoje, and Busan to attack Ulsan on the east side.Ma Gui may not be aware of this matter, but Quan Li should know.But Quan Li didn't hesitate at all, and agreed immediately. This incident was first recorded in "Baisha Collection" written by Li Hengfu, and later quoted in "Reconstructing Fan Guozhi". It was not mentioned in other Korean historical materials, but it was mentioned in the Chinese historical material "Huangming Shiji". "Our division's land routes are well-prepared, but the lone sailors have repeatedly failed to arrive." So the truth may be that Magui asked for the cooperation of the navy. Quanli knew that it was unlikely to be realized, but in order not to let the Ming army give up the idea of ​​​​attacking Ulsan, he had to bite the bullet and agree.If you promise, you agree, if you can't do it, you can't do it.Throughout the entire battle of Ulsan, there was no record of the North Korean navy assisting the battle. Quan Li must have broken his promise.For the sake of the venerable, Li Hengfu made some cursive pens in the historical materials, shaping an old general who bit his head and patted his chest into a general who eagerly cooperated with the Ming army. After receiving the guarantee from Quan Li, Yang Hao and Ma Gui continued southward with their army and arrived in Yizhou on December 18th.Yang Hao called Li Dexin to accompany him, and said that although our Ming Dynasty has troops who are good at investigating, such as "Night Not Receiving", but this is North Korea after all, and many of our troops are here for the first time. The problem, why don't you find a few local people to follow our army scouts and go to investigate.Li Dexin slapped his thigh and said that I have a descendant named Lu Yuwen under my command, a native Japanese devil with a good brain, as long as you can give me more money, it would be better to send him to make up the Japanese and sneak into Ulsan. When Yang Gao heard it, his words were reasonable, and he acted on them.So the "Japanese traitor" Lu Yuwen followed the Ming army scout Zong hero one step ahead, disguised as a Japanese soldier and went to Ulsan. The Ming army arrived in Gyeongju on December 20.Gyeongju is only 80 miles away from Ulsan. Arriving here means officially entering the war zone.They took a rest here, and the next day, Lu Yuwen came back in a hurry, and brought back a big gift. After seeing Yang Gao, Lu Yuwen took out a map from his sleeve.The generals were overjoyed when they saw it. It turned out that this was a detailed defense map of Ulsan. The main force of the Japanese army in Ulsan was not in Ulsan City, but on the island on the north side.Dosan is 50 meters above sea level and is located in the hilly area of ​​Ulsan Mountain. It is surrounded by Pyeongsan-dong, Sangan-dong, Gangyo-dong, and Bangujeong in the north, and faces Ulsan City across the Taehwa River in the south.If the enemy attacked from the north and wanted to occupy Ulsan, they had to cross the island first. Here, in order to prevent the attack of the Ming army, Kato Kiyomasa built a Japanese city early, with an altitude of about 50 meters, backed by a mountain wall, and only one waterway leading to the Taihe River.This Japanese city was built completely in accordance with the Japanese style, and the great architect Kato Kiyomasa personally presided over the design, so it was built extremely strong.Not only is the whole city built with stones, but one pill, two pills, and three pills are circled a thousand times in the city, and a triple wooden fence and a heavy earth wall are surrounded on the hillside outside the city, covering the entire Daoshan Wa city with three floors inside and three floors outside. wrapped up.On the outskirts of Daoshan, there are eight camps, including Bangu Pavilion and Taihe Jiangshuiying, which can echo each other. There are two ways of communication between Dosan Wocheng and the outside world: one is to go to Yanyang by land, and then to Busan; the other is to go to Xishengpu by water from the Taehwa River.When the Ming army arrived, the Japanese city had not yet been completed. Kato Kiyomasa himself supervised the transportation of construction materials in Xishengpu. North Korean laborers are desperately building it. Yang Gao was overjoyed when he saw this information from Lu Yuwen.The details of the enemy were revealed before the battle started, and it seemed that there was no suspense in this battle.He readily picked up a vermilion pen and drew three lines on the map. The first line of attack was directed at Daoshan. Li Fangchun, Gao Ce, and Peng Youde were divided into three groups, with the goal of encircling Daoshan City; the second line of attack was Wu Weizhong, who led the southern soldiers to Liangshan to intercept Kuroda Nagamasa who might come to reinforce; the third line of attack fell on the Taihe River, and Lu Jizhong's 2,000 soldiers and horses blocked the river to prevent the enemy from coming and going by water.Yang Gao also sent Dong Zhengyi's troops to Namwon to increase the pressure on the Suncheon Japanese army and prevent them from reinforcing Ulsan. On December 22, all the ministries began to march in accordance with Manager Yang's strategy.The cavalry of the Liaodong Army and the Xuanda Army headed for Ulsan mightily, while Wu Weizhong hurriedly headed for Liangshan with the 3,000 Southern Army under his command.However, he did not expect that the team set off in the middle of the night, and as soon as they arrived in Yanyang in the early morning, they encountered the Japanese enemy—the first battle of the Battle of Daoshan, which broke out again in the form of an encounter. In this war to pacify the Japanese and aid Korea, almost all major battles of the Ming army started with encounters. Eonyang is the transportation throat between Ulsan and southern cities, and its geographical location is very important.The Japanese soldiers that Wu Weizhong encountered were Yukichi Asano, the son of Hideyoshi's confidant Asano Nagamasa, and Kazukichi Ota, the supervisor.They were originally going to Daoshan to work as prison guards. They were resting in Yanyang on the 22nd and planned to enter the city the next day. Most of the Japanese army lived in the city, leaving only 500 people by the river north of Yanyang City.After Wu Weizhong rushed to Yanyang in the early morning, he looked up, huh?There are actually Japanese.He didn't know that the Japanese army was only going to Daoshan to work, so he thought it was reinforcements, and immediately ordered the whole army to start fighting. Needless to say, the combat effectiveness of the southern army under Wu Weizhong's banner, these brave fighters in red rushed forward, broke through the Japanese camp with ease, and sent the sleeping Japanese pirates back to Amaterasu one by one.This small army of 500 people is not even enough for them to squeeze their teeth. The screams by the river alarmed Asano Yukunaga who was resting in Yanyang City.He climbed up to the top of the city and saw that a group of devils in red were chasing his subordinates like rabbits, and he couldn't help bursting into anger.Xingchang is a young man in his early twenties, easily agitated, and immediately grabs a knife and is about to go to the city to fight.Kazukichi Ota said that it is safer to defend the city if the enemy is outnumbered.Asano Nagamasa flicked his sleeves and yelled: "Whatever you like, if I don't repel this enemy, I won't come back." After speaking, he rode away angrily. When the Ming army saw a well-dressed general cavalry rushing out, they thought it was Kato Kiyomasa himself—most Ming soldiers probably knew him, and immediately surrounded him.Asano Yukunaga fought out of the city with the courage of blood, and he probably regretted it now.Wu Weizhong was afraid that he would run back to the city, so he dispatched heavy troops to intervene between him and Yanyang City, intending to capture him in one fell swoop. Yukinaga Asano had no choice but to run to Daoshan because Yanyang couldn't go.The Ming army did not expect that he would take the initiative to go to the place where Daoshan was about to fall, and did not stop him all at once, allowing him to break out of the encirclement.How could Wu Weizhong let him go so easily, with a wave of his hand, chase after him!The Ming army swarmed after Asano Yukunaga's buttocks. Not to mention how miserable the escape along the way was.Asano Yukunaga himself fought and retreated, with dozens of knives in his body, he almost became a bloody man.Seeing that he was out of luck, one of his subordinates, Osumi Kameda, volunteered and turned around to fight hard to stop the Ming army.Asano Yukunaga took advantage of this precious opportunity and ran to the foot of Daoshan Castle to shout. Kato Anzheng, who was guarding the castle, saw that it was Yukinaga, and quickly opened the city gate to take him in.Wu Weizhong saw that there was nothing to do, so he withdrew his troops and returned to Yanyang to continue to carry out the task of blocking aid. Xingchang entered Daoshan, and immediately asked, "Why are there so many Ming troops suddenly appearing nearby?" Kato Yasuo said with a bitter face, "I don't know either. Suddenly a Ming army came to the vicinity of Ulsan this morning, and I sent it out here." None of the people who cut firewood and fetched water came back." The two of them got together and pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with anything, so they decided to go up to the tower to see what was going on outside, and when they saw it, they both gasped. . But in the distance outside the city, densely packed troops gathered in one place, and they are gradually spreading out, like a large net slowly wrapping around Daoshan City. This time the Japanese are in big trouble. Here I also want to mention an interesting detail. Before the coalition forces arrived at Daoshan, they could not find any records of fighting with the Japanese army.Whether Kato Yasama, Asano Yukunaga, including Kato Kiyoshi who was staying in Xishengpu, they were all shocked when they heard that the army was coming to attack. This shows that the Japanese army was completely ignorant of the movement of the coalition forces, without any psychological preparation.More than 50,000 horses had arrived in Gyeongju, but the Dosan Japanese army still didn't realize it, and they didn't remember to be "surprised" until they killed the city. I really don't know where the vigorous Japanese army went. The Ming army did not launch an attack on Daoshan throughout the day on the 22nd, but set up camp slowly and repaired the defense loopholes.On the 23rd, Yang Hao heard that the siege net had been set up, so he took the interpreter, Li Dexin and Quan Li to the front line early in the morning.Before him, Ma Gui, as the first-line commander, had set off early and arrived at the rear headquarters sixty miles away from Daoshan at midnight on the 23rd. Magui summoned some of his favorite generals Yang Tengshan, Baisai, and Qugui, and asked them that the city will be attacked tomorrow. Which one of you would like to be the vanguard?The three generals were very enthusiastic and asked to fight one after another.Ma Gui said that you both caught up with Lao Yang and Lao Po in the battle of Jishan, so let him go first this time, and you will cover him behind. Bai Sai, a rough Mongolian man, was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth after hearing this, and Yang Dengshan was so angry that he wanted to beat him.Bai Sai didn't have the same knowledge as him, turned around and left, ordered more than a thousand elites under his command, and rushed to Ulsan.Yang Dengshan returned to the fight, angry to return to anger, and the task that should be completed must be completed, so he left the commander's tent angrily, took two thousand cavalry, and then set off. Before dawn, Bai Sai had already reached the city of Daoshan.He first fired rockets at the towers indiscriminately, disturbing the Japanese army.Kato Anzheng was afraid that the enemy would approach the city wall, so he quickly sent troops to attack. As soon as the Japanese defenders came out of the city, they met with Baisai.The two armies fought for a while, Bai Sai killed four of them with his own hands, and then retreated back.The Japanese saw that the opponent was only a thousand people, and felt that it would be better to simply knock out this Ming army and destroy the opponent's spirit, so they chased after him without saying a word.After chasing and chasing, the Japanese army chased out of the range of the iron cannon at the head of the city. At this moment, a group of men and horses suddenly came out from Xieli to surround the rear of the Japanese army. It was Yang Dengshan's 2,000 cavalrymen.Bai Sai, who was going to escape, did not escape, and turned around to attack Yang Dengshan back and forth.In the dark, the Japanese army only felt that they were shouting and killing everywhere, and they all panicked and ran around like headless flies.The Ming army was full of energy, and took advantage of the chaos to kill and hack, and wiped out all the Japanese troops. Don't look at Yang Dengshan and Bai Sai who usually don't deal with each other, but they have an amazing tacit understanding when they go into battle.The two performed their own duties, Bai Sai was in charge of luring the enemy, while Yang Dengshan quietly led the team to the flanks, and once the Japanese army broke out of the range of the iron cannon, they immediately launched a surprise attack from behind.It was a textbook ambush, and quite successful.After the war, the number of people was counted, and there were more than 400 Japanese troops in this group. At dawn on the 24th, Yang Gao arrived in Ulsan and set up his headquarters on the northern mountain peak, overlooking the entire battle situation with Li Dexin and Quan Li.As soon as Yang Gao heard that Bai Sai and Yang Dengshan had made great contributions, he was both happy and a little upset.I am happy because the enemy has suffered a great loss and their morale must be frustrated; I am unhappy because the two generals who have done meritorious service are both from the Xuanda family, which did not allow the Liaodong Army to win their first victory——Yang Hao and Li Rusong’s younger brother Li Rumei are good buddies in Liaodong , a friendship that carried guns together. Li Rumei was specially appointed to come to North Korea, hoping to make some military exploits and go back. In view of this, Yang Gao ordered all the troops to move forward and quickly pull out a few nails near Daoshan City to create favorable conditions for the siege. There are also several Japanese military camps near Daoshan City, which were originally intended to be used as horns for each other.The Ming army divided into three groups. The left route attacked Bangu Pavilion on the west side of Daoshan, the middle route attacked Daoshan City, and the right route attacked Shuicing on the Taihe River.The firearms of the Ming army shook the ground, and countless rockets fired at the enemy's positions, forming large groups of black smoke over Ulsan. The progress of the war went very smoothly.These small villages had no natural dangers and no strong camps, and they were soon swallowed up by the torrent of the Ming army.The Japanese soldiers either died in battle or fled back to Daoshan City. The only problem is the waterway.After Li Fangchun and Jiesheng broke through the Taihe River Water Camp, they walked along the river, fighting all the way towards the water channel of Daoshan City, trying to conquer it in one fell swoop.But when they approached Daoshan, they were bombarded by the Japanese army.The artillery of the Japanese is not as sharp as that of the Ming army, but they have also developed several types of artillery called "big barrels". This time, Kato specially mobilized a few of them and placed them on Daoshan, but he did not expect them to be really useful. The passage between the Taihe River and Daoshan is a canal dug by manpower, and the channel is relatively narrow. Even a large tube with inaccurate accuracy poses a considerable threat to ships on the river.Li Fangchun and Jie Sheng tried it out for a while, and then retreated. After all, siege of waterways is not their main task, but blockade is. Seeing that the enemy fled into Daoshan City one after another, Yang Gao raised his whip and laughed in Beishan.Li Dexin and others congratulated, and Yang Hao replied: "This is just a small victory. When I win Ulsan, I will go to fight Sesangpo and Busan. It will not be too late to celebrate then." While talking, Yang Gao looked down, his expression changed Just when the left and right routes broke through the Japanese army, the central route army also made a breakthrough.The vanguards of the Central Route Army were guerrilla Mao Guoqi and Chen Yin. They were all from the Southern Brigade, and most of them were Zhejiang soldiers.This unit has never disappointed on the Korean battlefield.Under the leadership of Mao Guoqi and Chen Yin, the Zhejiang soldiers slashed towards the city of Daoshan like a sharp sword. Mao Guoqi's Zhe soldiers were so brave that they broke through Sanwan and Erwan in Daoshan City with their vigor. The so-called "wan" is actually another way of saying curved wheel.Japanese-style castles are generally composed of multi-layer areas such as Honomaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru, each of which is separated by a curved and narrow corridor and a city wall.Daoshan Castle is a ladder-style castle, and the three pills are arranged in a staircase style, and the terrain gets higher as you go in.When the enemy invaded Sannomaru or Ninomaru, they would be forced to advance along the curved wheel and bear the condescending blow of the defenders, which is a very effective defensive structure. The coalition forces are not familiar with Japanese-style castles, so they call this castle structure "Sanzhai" or "shed" or even "gate" in the records. The last name is because the construction of Daoshan Castle was not completed at that time. Some structures only had time to tie a circle of wooden fences. Mao Guoqi and his deputy Chen Yin chose to break through from Mucha, broke into the Sannomaru in one fell swoop, and then crashed into the Ninomaru, killing more than 600 Japanese devils who tried to escape into the city.The Japanese army at the head of the city was terrified, and concentrated their firepower on this side one after another.Chen Yinquan showed no fear, he just flew across the bullet against the bullet, and attacked towards Ichinomaru.As long as this layer is knocked down, the core of Daoshan City will be nakedly exposed to the Ming army. Chen Yin has made a contribution!Chen Yin is worthy of being a brave general. He has inherited the fine traditions of the Southern Army. He is not fighting alone. A series of generals from Qi Jiguang to Yu Daqiu are possessed by their souls at this moment! At this critical moment, the sound of gold ringing suddenly sounded behind Zhe Bing. Ming Jin, that means retreating.How can we retreat at this time? Mao Guoqi looked back inexplicably, and saw a messenger running over panting, saying that Manager Yang told you not to enter lightly, and you should withdraw as soon as you cut off your head. Mao Guoqi is not a fool, as soon as he thought about it, he immediately recalled it. The problem lies in the matter of "Chen Yin has made meritorious service". The bravery of the Southern Army was noticed by Yang Gao.According to this style of play, Chen Yin will definitely be able to enter Daoshan. No matter how lucky he is, it is not impossible to attack the top of the city.This is a first achievement, and it is very valuable. How can people from the Southern Army get it?What about Li Rumei? So Yang Gao issued this order to let Mao Guoqi withdraw.He was afraid that the Zhejiang soldiers would be unhappy, so he kindly reminded them that cutting off their heads would count as military exploits, which was a consolation prize.Although Mao Guoqi and Chen Yin felt dissatisfied, they couldn't help it. Who would let him be the manager? The Zhejiang soldiers rushed to the forefront, and as soon as they withdrew, other soldiers and horses also retreated one after another, and the Japanese army at the top of the city breathed a sigh of relief.Even if the day's battle was over and the defenses outside Daoshan City were completely lost, the coalition forces would not have gained nothing.Yang Gao encouraged Mao Guoqi and Chen Yin, ordered them to write down their contributions, which was regarded as recognition of their hard work today, and then arranged for Li Rumei's camp to move forward, so that he could go to grab some of the first achievements tomorrow. Yang Gao also dispatched a group of Zhejiang soldiers to guard the river beach in case the enemy came to aid them by water. The Ming army was busy with the division of merit, and the Japanese were worried.In the evening, Kato Yasama and Asano Yukichi together thought that the defense would be over if they continued, and they had to tell Kiyomasa the situation of the city defense immediately.Asano Yukunaga called his subordinates over and asked who of you would risk your life to report the news?A samurai named Kimura Raimo stood up and said I'll go!Asano was very happy, and personally led him a good horse. Kimura got on his horse and sneaked out of the city at night. With his excellent riding skills, he broke out of the siege and rushed all the way to Xishengpu.When we arrived in Xishengpu, Kato Kiyomasa was anxious when he heard the news, and got up to leave.The staff around him persuaded the enemy to be too numerous and outnumbered, so it is better to abandon Ulsan and concentrate on defending Jijang and Seosangpo.Kato Kiyomasa categorically vetoed it, saying that before I left for the expedition, Asano Nagamasa asked me to take good care of Yukinaga, if I refused to save him, how would I go to see his father when I returned home? He immediately ordered five hundred soldiers and horses, carried food and put on armor, boarded a warship and sailed to Daoshan City along the Taihe River. On December 25, the coalition forces began their second attack on Daoshan City. At this time, the Japanese army had recovered from yesterday's chaos, and the defense of the city was better than yesterday. In addition, Daoshan City was already dangerous and difficult to attack, and the coalition forces could not do anything to them for a while.After fighting for half a day, even Ninomaru didn't break through. It is recorded in the "Records of the Court and Field Records" that the Japanese army "the bandit base is very quiet and silent, there is no female wall on the city, and there are corridors around the city, and the guards are all inside. If foreign soldiers come to the city, they will Gunballs are thrown like rain." This is a typical Japanese method of defending the city. Although the Japanese had also defended Pyongyang before, the city of Pyongyang was built in a Chinese style, and the Japanese army did not quite adapt to it, so it was full of loopholes.The Battle of Daoshan was the first time that the Japanese army fought in the familiar terrain of the fortress, so the defensive power naturally gained a lot of bonus.However, the coalition forces of the Ming and Dynasties had never seriously fought against Wacheng, and were extremely unfamiliar with this method of warfare, resulting in heavy casualties, but little progress was made. Yang Hao was a little anxious, he gave up such a good opportunity yesterday just to be able to climb the city calmly today.If the battle is unfavorable, wouldn't it highlight his incompetence?He issued several orders in succession, publicly beheading two soldiers who retreated without authorization during the battle, and took another soldier and cut off his left ear, in order to set an example to others.Quan Li followed suit and beheaded two Korean deserters. Under encouragement and intimidation, the offensive of the coalition forces improved slightly in the afternoon, and the North Korean army once attacked Marunaka, which won the praise of Yang Gao. According to the records of the Japanese monks who were in the city at that time, the tragic level of this battle was unprecedented.The Ming army and the Korean army are almost taking human lives to fill their lives, risking their lives and forgetting their lives, almost crazy.They even tried to pull down the city wall—the wall of Daoshan City is not high, and its thickness is limited, and the stone wall below the city is not complete enough. The Ming army thought that they could hook the wall with a flying hook and pull it down—although this move was quickly taken by Kato. Anzheng was defeated, but the determination of the attacking party was so strong that it can be seen that it is ordinary. It's a pity that until the sun went down, the coalition forces still failed to achieve a breakthrough, and instead lost a general. Chen Yin's battle was as passionate as yesterday, and he was not affected by Yang Gao's unfair treatment at all. Taiqian, was hit by several projectiles, luckily survived, and was sent to the rear of Seoul overnight for treatment. Both sides withdrew their troops and returned to their camps.Worried, Li Dexin asked Yang Gao for advice, and Yang Gao waved his hand: "I have an idea, prepare more firewood piles tomorrow. I looked at the terrain. Although the terrain of this island is dangerous, there is no water or food in the city. There is not even a well, and drinking water has to be transported from outside the city. As long as I follow my attack method, they won't last long. Yang Gao's character is very problematic, and his vision is quite poisonous.Daoshan City is on the top of the mountain, there is no water source, and the only way to get water is to go down the mountain.Although the Japanese built a water curved wheel at the water source to protect it, they could not move it into the city after all. Early the next morning, that is, December 26th.Yang Gao issued a battle order, the Ming army was in charge of surrounding Daoshan City on all sides, while the Korean army and the Japanese soldiers who surrendered each distributed a bundle of firewood in their arms, tried to rush to the bottom of the city, first burned the wooden fence, and then burned the wells. To landfill it. This order is somewhat unfair, and it is clear that the North Koreans are sent to die.But the military order was like a mountain, Quan Li had no choice but to urge the generals to rush into the fence.Each of these soldiers carried an anti-iron cannon and rushed to the top of the mountain while raising their heads.But the iron cannons of the Japanese army were so fierce and condescending that the projectiles could easily penetrate the cards and shoot into the soldiers' bodies.The Korean army and Jiangwa tried their best, but they couldn't break through the Japanese defense, so they had to withdraw hastily. On this day, the only victory came from Jiang Nian. Not long after the North Korean army retreated, several Japanese warships came from the direction of Lanjiang.The Blue River is located in the lower reaches of the Taihe River, near the mouth of the sea.The appearance of Japanese warships here shows that the Japanese navy has been able to approach Ulsan from the sea, which is not a good sign.After the Ming army who was in charge of intercepting the river discovered the movement, they immediately mobilized their firearms and bombarded them violently. The Lanjiang River was narrow, and the Japanese army was a sea-going ship, so it was difficult to maneuver, and one ship was sunk in no time. Seeing that the situation was not going well, the other ships fled back to the outer ocean of Ulsan.There was a small leader of the Japanese army who was desperate and ran to the front of the Ming army to surrender.After Yang Gao heard about it, he felt that this could be set as a model, so he rewarded him with gold and silver, wore red and green, and rode a tall horse around in front of Daoshan City.浅野幸长和加藤安政亲自上城头弹压，总算制止了一部分日军士兵的逃亡举动。 蓝江的小规模遭遇战让明军意识到，日军很有可能派遣大舰队从釜山出发，绕过庆尚以东海域进入蔚山。李舜臣的外洋舰队指望不上，明军的内河战船又不多，必须早做防范。于是杨镐分出一部分守卫江岸的明军和船只，前往东侧蓝江方向防守。 他万万没想到，这一个小小的调兵举动，却最终改变了整个战局。 二十七日黎明时分，这一天正好天降大雨。蓝江的日本舰队又试图趁乱靠近，浙兵没客气，一通乱炮轰鸣把他们炸了回去。 杨镐整顿诸军，正要继续攻城，忽然营外传来消息，说有岛山城内传来一封信。他出帐一看，原来是岛山城的贼倭写了一封书信，挂在竹竿上扔下城下，让朝鲜兵使成允文捡到了。成允文不敢耽搁，连忙送到了主帅营中。 这封信是以加藤安政的名义写的，里面说加藤清正在西生浦尚未赶回，就我们几个人在守城。你们的目标是清正公，别把气撒到我们头上啊。我建议你们派一使者去西生浦跟清正公和谈，免得在岛山这鬼地方浪费大家的人命。 杨镐批了一封回信：“加藤清正如果来投降，全城免死，而且重重有赏。”派了翻译朴大根和一个叫越后的降倭把信送回城里。加藤安政一看，大失所望，只能回帖说：“欲战则战，欲和则和，开一面容我出城，且遣将官则当议和事云。” 写到这里，大家可能已经注意到了。我一直没提一个人，加藤清正。 他不是接到守将的求援了么？怎么到这时候了，还没回岛山？ 这里涉及到蔚山之战一个很关键的问题：究竟加藤清正是哪一天抵达岛山？ 按照《再造藩邦志》的说法，最早有目击在加藤清正在城中的记录是在二十五日，说“有一賊衣綠衣持白旗者。往來號令。問于降倭則曰。卽淸正云。”但这个细节已经被日方资料《征伐记》所否定，《征伐记》里明确说降倭是故意泄露假情报，说加藤在城里是为了吓唬明军。其他明、朝史料也提及清正如何如何，实际上是一种误解。 而《再造藩邦志》再出现加藤清正的记录，则要到万历二十六年正月初一，有岛山城内使者前往明营谈和，信里说清正“前月二十二日來此”。但这个时间大有问题，二十二日明军尚未合围岛山城，浅野幸长尚在彦阳睡大觉，加藤清正不可能在这一天赶回岛山城。 《征伐记》里对于清正的到达时间，记录的毫不含糊：“二十六日，明军将大举攻蔚山，黎明清正才率五百骑，乘轻胢……直入蔚山城。”日历与明历相差一天，日历的十二月二十六日，恰为明历十二月二十七日。 与日方大肆渲染呈鲜明对比的是，在明、朝史料中，对于加藤清正来援这么重要的一件事，居然只字不提。遍览各处记录，没有任何关于这一幕的记载。一直到二十七日上午，日方还写信给杨镐坦承说加藤清正不在城中——这个记载是可信的，因为说谎没有任何好处。 唯一一条可能的记录来自于《惩毖录》，里面说在二十七日这一天，“贼船从西生浦来，列滔水中如凫雁”，加藤清正的五百援军，应该指的就是这一批。 关于加藤清正如何突破明军包围进入岛山，日方史料写的无比华丽，说他头戴银盔，威风凛凛地手持薙刀站在轻舟船头，身后是五百名精锐战士。这支船队顺流而下，穿过明军阵地，在雨中向着岛山城开去。明、朝诸军摄于清正公的威风，都不敢动，只能目瞪口呆看着他进入岛山。 日方的记载实在太过戏剧性了，无法不让人怀疑它的真实性。明、朝联军有的是火枪与大炮，他穿成那副模样，明摆着就是告诉所有人：“我是你们一直要找的加藤清正，赶紧来打我呀来打我呀。” 加藤清正是一员猛将，不是白痴。 如果他真是如此嚣张高调，明、朝两军早就已经万炮齐发，把他打死在岛山城下。这种入城方式，实在不合常理。 那么加藤清正到底是怎么进城的呢？