Chapter 44 Chapter 23 The Last Sea Battle

Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in August of the twenty-sixth year of Wanli.Shortly after his death, the four regents reached a consensus to retreat.This consensus formed a joint signature document at the end of September, which was sent to North Korea and arrived in Busan in mid-October. In addition to the paperwork, these bigwigs have one more thing to do. To cover the safe withdrawal of North Korean troops, there must be a powerful navy as cover.Tokugawa Ieyasu originally proposed himself, and wanted to take the Kanto elites across the sea to support him, but this proposal was declined by Maeda Toshiie, who was seriously ill.Maeda Toshiie didn't want this unpredictable guy to bring tens of thousands of people over. If the Tokugawa army attacked the Toyotomi family, no one could stop him.

But the navy must be led by someone, so Maeda Toshiie proposed to send Todo Takatora to take on this important task. Fujido Gaohu was evaluated as a house slave of eight surnames in the history of the Warring States Period in Japan. He had served eight lords in total, almost three times more than Lu Bu's record.After Hideyoshi's death, he began to approach Tokugawa Ieyasu and secretly confessed his sincerity.However, with Maeda Toshiie alive, Todo didn't dare to be too obvious for the time being. Maeda Toshiie proposed to send him to North Korea for support. First, he relied on his experience in naval warfare; second, he wanted to give Tokugawa Ieyasu a face;

After Fujido Takatora accepted the important task, while mobilizing the fleet, he wrote to Yoshihiro Shimadzu, asking him to quickly gather all the Japanese troops in North Korea so that they could be transported away at once.Yoshihiro Shimadzu wrote back soon, saying that we are running out, and we are just waiting for you! Fujido was very surprised. They had just arrived in North Korea two days before the evacuation order. Why did they pack up so quickly? This matter has to start with the gold medal undercover Guo Guoan. It is said that although Shimadzu Yoshihiro won the battle of Sacheon, he knew that he was just lucky, and he would not be so lucky next time.The news of Hideyoshi's death has come, but the high-level order to withdraw troops has not yet been issued. (In fact, the order was issued on September 28, but it will take time to be sent to the Korean battlefield.) Facing the crisis, Shimadzu couldn't help hesitating, not knowing what to do.

On October 13, news suddenly came from outside the city that the army's negotiator had come and asked to see him. Shimadzu was taken aback, didn't Dong Yiyuan run away a long time ago?Why did you suddenly think of negotiating? Anyway, beating children on rainy days is also idle, so let's see each other.Soon the envoys of the Ming army were brought to Yoshihiro Shimadzu. One was Mao Guoke, the younger brother of Mao Guoqi; .He didn't know that this envoy had been to his hometown long ago, and he had been asking for food at the door for several months... Yoshihiro Shimadzu did not understand Chinese, so he called Guo Guoan over to act as an interpreter.Guo Guoan and Shi Shiyong saw each other and pretended not to know each other.Guo Guoan asked Mao Guoke carelessly, "What are you doing here?"

Mao Guoke brought a letter from Dong Yiyuan to Shimadzu Yoshihiro.Yoshihiro Shimadzu opened the letter and asked Guo Guoan to translate it. It probably said something like this: Has something serious happened to you in Japan?Is Hideyoshi dead?If you don't leave, you won't be able to go back, right?Your Shimadzu family still relies on you to revive, so you can't give your life here. This letter was written quite sharply, and every sentence touched Yoshihiro Shimadzu's heart. It was not at all like the handwriting that a general of the Ming army should have. How did Dong Yiyuan know that Shimadzu Yoshihiro was in a dilemma?Guo Guoan, who was reading the letter, smiled and remained silent.

Shimadzu Yoshihiro looked—no, after listening to the letter, he was silent for a long time and asked Guo Guoan what to do about this matter.Guo Guoan glanced at Shi Shiyong secretly, and said that we should accept it as soon as we see it. Yoshihiro Shimadzu thought so.He said to Mao and Shi, "I understand what General Dong means, as long as we can retreat safely, this castle may be given to you. This is exactly what Dong Yiyuan meant.So Mao Guoke stayed in Sacheon City as a hostage, and Shi Shiyong went back to report the negotiation results to Dong Yiyuan. After the envoy left.Yoshiro Shimadzu managed to contact Konishi, Kato and the others, saying that Taiko-sama has passed away, and although there is no official order to retreat, it may be too late if they don't retreat.This time the Ming army came with nearly 100,000. We were lucky enough to hold it. How about another 200,000 next time?So let's accept it as soon as we see it, and all the legions start to move closer to Busan, waiting for Fujido to come and pick us up.

Others thought it was true, and they all said that they should follow Shimadzu brother's opinion. Shimadzu Yoshihiro, Soyoshi Tomo, Konishi Yukyochang (signed by Soyoshi Tomo) and Tachibana Munemo jointly issued a circular requesting that all Japanese troops retreat to Busan in turn based on Suncheon, Sacheon, Goseong, and Namhae. Kiyomasa Kato was not included in the name of the joint signature, nor was Ulsan mentioned.Because according to this retreat sequence, the first to withdraw is the Kato Kiyomasa First Army in Ulsan. Kato Kiyomasa had already grown impatient staying in Daoshan.His legion was injured in the Battle of Ulsan and has not yet recovered. If there is another encounter with the Ming army, I am afraid that these thousands of people will have to confess to Ulsan.For this reason, he strongly demanded to return to China first.

Yoshihiro Shimadzu and several others analyzed it, and they also believed that Kato Kiyomasa should be removed first.Because among the three major fulcrums of the Japanese army, there was no threat near Sacheon; Liu Zhen in Suncheon was not to be feared; only Magui near Ulsan, the main force was not damaged, and the morale was not frustrated. On November 18, Kato Kiyomasa voluntarily withdrew from Dosan Castle and retreated towards Busan and Sesangpo. Upon hearing the news, Magui led his army to arrive quickly, and occupied the deserted Dosan and Ulsan without losing a single soldier.He found a few skinny horses in Ulsan City, and a wooden sign left by Kato Kiyomasa. There were a bunch of Chinese characters written crookedly on the wooden sign, which probably meant that our army was going back to the country sincerely. , please don't pursue your army. Although our Three Kingdoms have an unhappy history, we are separated by a strip of water after all. Tomorrow and Japan are so friendly...

Ma Gui came from a good career, and taking Ulsan was already a great achievement, so he couldn't afford to go to Busan to fight the enemy.So he ordered the entire army to stop advancing and rest in Ulsan, and at the same time quickly sent the battle report of the "Ulsan Great Victory" to Seoul and then to Beijing. Kato Kiyomasa soon boarded a ship back home via Busan. The number one executioner of the Korean War left the Korean battlefield with regret and glory.During the long war, his army lost more than 40% of its personnel. After finally sending Tiger Kato away, Yoshihiro Shimadzu began to have another headache: President Konishi.

Xiaoxi's Second Army was the farthest from Pusan ​​among all the troops, and since October 6th it has been surrounded by the Ming army, and has been cut off from other troops.How to get him back is an extremely difficult task. In the previous chapter, it was said that President Xiaoxi and Liu Ting secretly agreed to cease the war and live in peace with each other. In fact, the story is not over yet. After Liu Ting and Xiaoxi made a secret agreement, they kept their promises and did not continue to persecute President Xiaonishi. Instead, they acquiesced to their subordinates secretly doing business with the Japanese, exchanging rice for Japanese swords and treasures.

But Liu Ting doesn't fight, it doesn't mean others don't fight.Chen Lin and Li Sunchen's navy had blocked Luliang, the only way for the Japanese army to retreat, and they were eyeing it. President Xiaoxi was very desperate. There were not many ships under his command. If more than 10,000 people were loaded into it, it would definitely be packed to the brim.These warships had a deep draft and were slow to move. Not to mention fighting, even if there was no one to stop him, he couldn't guarantee that one of them would return to Pusan ​​unsinkable. In order to survive, President Xiaoxi had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Liu Ting again, begging him to forgive him and let the Second Army survive.Liu Ting was very interesting, and he promised you not to go by land. North Korea has too many eyes and ears. If you let more than 10,000 people pass, I can't explain it to you. You should go by sea. Our army will never stop you. President Xiaoxi believed it was true, and first sent more than a dozen boats to Nanhai Island via Cat Island.The west side of Nanhai Island is the Suncheon sea area, and the east side is the Sacheon sea area. It is a key hub connecting the two defense areas, and Zong Yizhi is stationed there.Here, it is not too far from Busan. But just after the dozen or so boats rowed out, when they arrived near Cat Island, they were suddenly surrounded by the coalition navy that had been ambushing for a long time, and they all sank into the bottom of the sea. Konishi Xingchang was furious, feeling that he had been cheated.He cut off one arm of Liu Tianjue, a hostage Liu Ting left behind in the Japanese army, and sent it to Liu Ting, saying, why don't you keep your word? Liu Ting quickly explained: I didn't do it, it was the navy.They are not under my control, you have to intercede with Chen Lin. President Xiaonishi hurriedly prepared a batch of gifts including jewelry and samurai swords, and sent them to Chen Lin, praying for a waterway to be opened.Chen Lin didn't know whether he was greedy for the baby or had kind thoughts in his heart, so he agreed to let them leave.When the envoy left, Chen Lin told Li Shunchen about it.Li Shunchen told Chen Lin solemnly: A general should not make peace easily, and an enemy should not let go easily either.President Xiaoxi is the person appointed by the imperial court, how can you negotiate peace with him? Chen Lin was criticized and felt a little ashamed, saying Lao Li, you can figure it out. But he said that Xiao Xixing got Chen Lin's promise, and happily sent more than a dozen boats out, but was directly sunk by the navy who had been ambushing for a long time.Xiaoxi was particularly aggrieved and sent someone to question Chen Lin.Chen Lin shrugged, and replied that the warships of the army did not do anything, it was all done by the North Korean navy, you have to ask Yi Sun-shin. President Xiaonishi is about to cry, you Chinese civil servants have something that you can't finish all at once.He had no choice but to prepare gifts for the third time and went to find Yi Sun-shin.Li Sunchen weighed the iron blunderbuss and sword they gave him, and smiled coldly: "I have fought countless battles with you, and the things I captured are enough for me. Take them back." The frustrated Japanese had no choice but to go to Chen Lin again.This time they changed their tricks, they didn't mention peace talks, and they didn't mention giving way. They said that I wanted to send some small boats to tell the people on the small islands in the sea and tell them to retreat quickly, so as not to trouble the generals.Chen Lin's character is actually very greedy for petty gains. Later, when he and Liu Ting cooperated in the crusade against the Bozhou Rebellion, he also participated in the activity of bribing Li Hualong's father, and was almost convicted.So at this moment, he saw that the gifts he had received were a bit too much, and he was too embarrassed to refuse them too harshly, so he opened a small mouth and only allowed them to send the boat out. Captain Xiaoxi was overjoyed when he heard that, and immediately sent some of the best fast boats to sail out to sea, taking advantage of the fact that the coalition navy did not change their minds, they rushed to the South China Sea Island. Li Shunchen was shocked when he heard the news, and almost scolded Chen Lin. Old Chen, you are confused!These people are not going to escape, but to report!Now that the thieves in Sacheon and Busan have known the inside story of Suncheon, there will definitely be a large number of fleets coming to rescue them. Only then did Chen Lin realize that he had made a big mistake, and asked Li Sunchen what to do without bothering to explain.Song Xili, Li Sunchen's confidant, suggested that since the enemy will come sooner or later, it is better to take the initiative and fight them head-on at sea. Who are we afraid of at sea? His suggestion was endorsed by the two chief generals, Chen and Li.The coalition forces quickly moved the main force into Gwangyang Bay, one continued to be stationed at Maodao, blocking the retreat of Chief Xiaonishi, and the other was stationed in Luliang, waiting for the arrival of the Japanese army. Two flowers bloom, one for each. Fortunately, the messenger ship of President Konishi arrived at Sacheon around November 16, and quickly reported the plight of the Second Army to Shimadzu Yoshihiro.At this time, Kato had left, and Takahiro Terasawa brought a large fleet from Busan to Sacheon in order to transport Yoshihiro Shimadzu's Fifth Army to Geoje Island—the reason why Geoje Island was chosen instead of Busan as the final retreat The location is because Juji is isolated overseas, which can isolate the threat of the Ming army on land to the greatest extent. After receiving the information, Shimadzu Yoshihiro summoned Tachibana Muneshige, Kobayakawa Hideyoshi, Takahashi Tozeng, Terasawa Takahiro and others, and said that the Ming Army and the Third Route Army have reached an agreement with us and will not affect our retreat. The only thing that has not been completed is the navy of Chen Lin and Yi sun-shin.Now we should mobilize the whole army to drag Xiaoxi out of Guangyang Bay. All the generals said yes, so Yoshihiro Shimadzu ordered on November 18 that the entire army should abandon the city of Sacheon and board the ship, and let the old, weak, sick and disabled go to Geoje first, and then the main force would go westward to serve the small army. Xixing Zhang made a rescue.But Dong Yiyuan saw that Shimadzu Yoshihiro had withdrawn, so he quickly gathered his troops and marched into Sacheon Wocheng smoothly, which was a small shame. Not long after Shimadzu Yoshihiro's fleet sailed out, Zong Yoshitomo came to help from Nanhai Island, so the two armies merged into one and headed towards Shuntian. The total force reached 500 ships, 10,000 More than four thousand people.However, the proportion of naval forces among them is not high, and most of them are the land combat elites of the Shimadzu family. This huge fleet stayed in Yanmokpo for a while, and then headed towards Suncheon along the ocean near Gwangju.As soon as they were dispatched, they were discovered by the reconnaissance ships of the coalition navy densely scattered on the sea. North Korean general Li Chunxin quickly reported this movement to the coalition headquarters in Zuoshuiying. Chen Lin and Li Sunchen opened up the map to look at it, and they agreed that Shimadzu Yoshihiro was eager to rescue Konishi, and he would definitely go through the narrow Luliang Strait between the South China Sea Island and the mainland. That would be the best and last place to intercept Shimadzu. Opportunity. According to the performance of the previous coalition naval battles, Chen and Li discovered a problem. The effect of mixing the Ming army and the Korean army was not good. The two armies each had their own tactics and habits. open.With the enemy at hand, the two commanders unanimously suggested that the Ming and Korean armies be organized separately. After discussion, the coalition forces were divided into left and right alliances: the left alliance was led by the Ming army personally commanded by Chen Lin. Ji Jin was the second team, with Chen Lin leading the main force in the rear; and the right team was Li Sunshin's North Korean army, lurking against the north side of the South China Sea Island.The two associations are like a pair of pliers reaching out to the exposed beam. Once Shimadzu Yoshihiro shows his head out of the strait, he will be crushed by this big pliers immediately. They also sent another navy to monitor Konishi Yukio who was hiding near Cat Island to prevent him from escaping. At about 11 o'clock in the evening on the 18th, the coalition forces began to dispatch.Around the same time, Yoshihiro Shimadzu also began to cross the Luliang Strait by night.The naval forces of Ming, North Korea, and Japan are about to begin their final and strongest collision.On the way out, Yi sun-shin prayed to heaven on the boat, saying that if I can kill these Japanese pirates, I will die without regret.Just finished speaking, I saw a meteor falling from the sky. At about two o'clock in the morning on the 19th, most of the Shimadzu fleet had entered the ocean east of Luliang, approaching Guanyinpu, Nanhai Island.The coalition forces of Ming and North Korea have also entered the ambush position, ready to go. The battleship of the coalition forces as the vanguard slowly drifted towards the Japanese fleet. Many soldiers stood on the side of the ship and watched carefully.According to the combat instructions, they should have been lying on the inside of the ship's side to prevent enemy firearms from attacking.But it's dark now, don't worry about the danger of being discovered, the commander didn't stop it. The most taboo of water battles is night battles; the most taboo of night battles is to expose one's position.Although it was sunny at night, the moonlight was not very clear, and the view of the sea was very poor.But when the Japanese fleet approached, the coalition soldiers were shocked to find that there were rows of slowly moving red dots in front of them. They were regularly arranged on the water, like the bright stars in the sky.After a closer look, I found that these small red dots were all fuzes lit before the Japanese iron artillery fired. After another short while, countless iron cannons sounded from the bow of the ship, and the rain of projectiles crackled and shot towards the position of the coalition forces.The soldiers who were standing by the side of the ship were hit one after another and fell into the water. The coalition forces never expected that the Japanese would be the first to strike. Yoshihiro Shimadzu comes from Kyushu, which has many good ports and overseas trade, and naturally has his own experience in water warfare.Long before he crossed the Luliang Strait, he had already predicted that the coalition forces would lay down heavy troops here and wait for the rabbit.But this is the shortest way to rescue Governor Konishi. Yoshihiro Shimadzu knew that there were tigers on the mountain, so he had to continue to the mountain.He knew that the enemy was near, so he raised his vigilance, like a frightened fox, not letting go of any sign of trouble. As soon as he passed Luliang, Yoshihiro Shimadzu noticed that the coalition forces were slowly approaching. At the risk of exposing the position of his fleet, he ordered all musketeers to fire and aim and shoot into the distance, and he was really caught. As soon as the gunshot rang out, Li sun-shin and Chen Lin knew that they could not hide anymore, they lit the trumpet guns one after another, and launched a general attack.Before the Ming army came to North Korea, it was equipped with three of the latest building ships, which had a huge tonnage and a body like a mountain.At this time, the three giant ships were riding the wind and waves under the leadership of the deputy general Deng Zilong. The oarsmen shouted the chant and rowed the big oars. The huge bow cut through the sea water and rushed to the forefront of the two armies.The two sailors fired guns and beat drums together, and followed Deng Zilong towards the Japanese fleet. Thus, on the surface of Luliang Ocean on November 19, thousands of lanterns, torches, iron blunderbuss matchsticks, and cannon flames were simultaneously raised. It turned into three huge sea dragons, entangled with each other, biting and fighting, and the loud drum sound was its angry dragon howl.This scene at this moment is just like a visual footnote for the entire Imjin War, symbolizing the desperate struggle of the three behemoths Ming, Japan, and North Korea in the East Asian border. As I said earlier, naval battles in the sixteenth century could almost be called blind battles.The sailor's field of vision is extremely limited in the dark, and even with the occasional firelight as a reference, most of the time they still have to rely on intuition and luck to fight.Yoshihiro Shimadzu chose to enter the battlefield at midnight for two reasons: First, the goal of the Japanese army is to rescue Governor Konishi; the goal of the coalition forces is to annihilate the enemy's vital forces.In dark seas, the former goal is easier to achieve.It's like being alone in a room with no light. It's easy for you to ask him to touch the opposite door and return, but it's difficult for you to ask him to collect all the scattered glass balls in the room. more difficult. Second, the naval tactics of the Japanese army were to board ships in close quarters for hand-to-hand combat, and their iron guns also needed a relatively short range; the tactics of the coalition forces relied on large-caliber artillery to kill the enemy at a long distance.Firearms are not easy to aim in night battles, and are more suitable for fishing in troubled waters, which is obviously more beneficial to the former. Based on these two reasons, Yoshihiro Shimadzu took pains to choose to march late at night, hoping to drag the coalition forces into a melee.But as soon as the three parties started fighting, Shimadzu Yoshihiro realized something was wrong.In the dark, he saw Japanese ships burst into flames one after another, and then sank in the sea.The night also restricted Yoshihiro Shimadzu's field of vision, making him wonder what happened, and he was at a loss for a while. In fact, the answer is very simple: firewood. Both Li Sunchen and Chen Lin are experienced water warfare experts, and they will not fail to think of the disadvantages of night warfare.In order to fight more efficiently, the coalition forces piled up a large amount of firewood on the warships.These firewood were all cut into similar lengths, and the branches and leaves were kept as much as possible. Ten or fifteen were bundled into bundles, and they were exposed to the hot sun until they were crisp. When the two armies go to war, there will be special sailors on the warship who are responsible for picking up the fagots and pouring fish oil or sesame oil on them.Once they saw a Japanese ship approaching or passing by, they lit the firewood and threw it on board.When these fagots fall on the deck, they will start to burn and become a striking mark.If you are lucky, you can even start a fire directly on the ship. At the same time, nearby coalition naval guns will aim at these exposed enemy ships for further strikes. This method of warfare is simple and effective. Under this kind of blow, the Japanese army ran around like headless chickens, panicked and lost their way, and their formation was in chaos.Many of the Shimadzu family's land combat elites turned into torches in such a muddled way, and became underwater wandering spirits along with their battleships. Yoshihiro Shimadzu did not expect to lift a rock and hit his own foot. He was so anxious, but powerless, he had to order the whole army to move south, trying to get out of the melee.Naturally, the coalition forces would not let it go easily. Both the Ming army and the Korean army fought to the death, entwining the main force of the Japanese army. This night battle lasted until the early hours of the morning. Only then did Yoshihiro Shimadzu gather up the fleet by relying on the twilight of the morning light, retreat to the sea south of the east and south of Nanhai Island, and dive into the bay area of ​​Guanyinpu Port. This night battle lasted until the early hours of the morning. Only then did Yoshihiro Shimadzu gather up the fleet by relying on the twilight of the morning light, retreat to the sea south of the east and south of Nanhai Island, and dive into the bay area of ​​Guanyinpu Port. Guanyin Pugang is located in the northwest corner of Nanhai Island. The coastline of Nanhai Island in this area is suddenly sunken inward, forming a natural harbor.Yoshihiro Shimadzu's fleet gathered in this small bay, colliding with each other, overcrowded, and panicked like a bereaved dog. Although there was a port behind him, Yoshihiro Shimadzu dared not go ashore.As soon as he landed, the coalition forces would definitely eat up this navy army, and then leisurely cross their legs and watch the more than 10,000 Japanese without boats starve to death on the island. He has no other choice but to fight to the death with the coalition forces here. After a night of fighting, the morale of the coalition forces was very high.Chen Lin and Li Sunchen joined forces and blocked the entrance of Guanyinpu Port tightly, looking at Yoshihiro Shimadzu who had become a turtle in the urn.What Chen Lin meant was that since the Japanese army had nowhere to escape, they might as well slow down their offensive and play slowly.But Li Sun-shin believed that his morale was soaring to the highest point, which should be encouraged but not discouraged. He should go all out and kill all the enemies. Before Chen Lin finished discussing, Li Sunchen had already rushed forward. Li Sunchen's combat style is very similar to Li Rusong's, and it is written in one word: "front".No matter what kind of battle he was in, he would always be at the forefront, rushing to the forefront, and this time was no exception. In the morning light, Li Sun-shin's ship took the lead, rushing into the enemy line like an extremely sharp knife.The North Korean warships followed without hesitation, and followed the greatest commander of the North Korean navy to launch an assault on the Japanese army in Punei. The Japanese army is now fighting with its back to the wall. Desperation has allowed them to overcome the panic of the night before and burst out with powerful combat effectiveness.Moreover, there were many warships in Uurai at this time, and it was very crowded. The Korean army could not exert its superior firepower, but instead gave the Japanese army the opportunity to fight in close quarters and use iron guns. So when Yi sun-shin's flagship rushed in, it was immediately surrounded by groups of Japanese warships, desperately attacking and killing them.The space on the water surface is limited, and it is difficult for other North Korean warships to rush over to rescue them quickly, so they have to make loud noises and increase their momentum.For a moment, Yi Sun-shin was surrounded by dangers and gunshots rang out. Chen Lin looked at it from a distance, and couldn't help but get red-eyed.How could he and Yi Sunchen Enruo brothers sit idly by and ignore them.Chen Lin waved his command flag and ordered his flagship to act as an assault arrow, rushing into Pu Nei to rescue Yi Sun-shin. He did this not entirely out of loyalty.The tonnage of the warships of the Ming army was larger than that of the Korean army, and larger than that of the Japanese army. They could smash away the Japanese ships with their strong inertia and rush into the encirclement. As soon as Chen Lin and Deng Zilong rushed in, they immediately attracted the attention of the Japanese army—no way, their ships were too tall and eye-catching, so they couldn't help being noticed.Shimazu Yoshihiro recognized that this was the flagship of the Ming army, and immediately mobilized elite troops to besiege.Now the top commanders of the Ming and Dynasties are too far ahead and surrounded by the Japanese army. As long as the two giants can be killed before the coalition navy destroys the Japanese army, the Japanese army will still have a chance of victory. Immediately, brave fighters from the Shimadzu family gathered around Chen Lin's flagship. Two brave warriors actually climbed onto the deck with hooks and ropes, brandished samurai swords and rushed forward. go up.Chen Lin's son, Chen Jiujing, was the closest to where they boarded the ship. He saw that it was not good, so he hurried forward to block it. After several confrontations, he was hacked bloody by Japanese warriors, but he fought hard.A flag officer next to him named Wen Wei rushed over with a long dagger in a hurry, and swept it away from a distance. The two warriors couldn't resist, and they were swept into the sea with two plop plops. Seeing that he couldn't survive.Only then did Chen Jiujing save his life. Chen Lin didn't know about this little episode on the deck. At this time, he could no longer care about his son.Seeing many warships of the Japanese army surrounding them, he gave the first order: drop the anchor, let the flagship stop in the water, and then gave the second order: concentrate the naval guns and tiger squat guns on the approaching Japanese ships. bombardment. Chen Lin is an excellent naval warfare commander, he knows the pros and cons of Ming warships and Japanese warships very well.Stopping the ship for combat has two advantages: one is that the stationary hull can increase the hit rate of the naval guns and effectively kill the enemy; the other is that it can attract more enemies to relieve Yi Sun-shin's pressure. As for the melee threat from the Japanese army, Chen Lin didn't particularly care.The ships of the Ming army were several meters higher than the Japanese army. The Japanese army would attack from their backs no matter they were climbing or firing iron cannons. As long as they defended well, the enemy could not attack at all.In fact, a static large ship of the Ming army is almost a fixed fortress at sea, extremely strong. Soon this large ship at anchor attracted many Japanese ships, and they came rushing like ants smelling honey.Some ships were sunk by artillery fire when they walked halfway, but more warships charged forward unrelentingly. A large number of iron artillerymen stood on the deck and fired fiercely at the flagship. hull. At this time, Chen Lin issued the third order: "All combatants on the deck each have a long gun, and lie down under the cards on both sides of the ship and wait." The Japanese fired for a while and found that although the iron cannons could not It caused damage to the hull, but drove away all the people on the deck of the Ming army. If the opportunity was not lost, hundreds of Japanese pirates climbed up towards the flagship in small boats. When they had just emerged on the side of the ship, the spearmen of the Ming army suddenly stood up together, stabbed the unsuspecting Japanese soldiers into the sea with the spears in their hands, and then quickly lowered their bodies to avoid the next burst of bullets. This tactic is very simple, but the Japanese just stared blankly and couldn't crack it.The bright ship is too high, and the jumping attack that the Japanese like can't be used here. It can only be climbed - climbing requires two hands, and you have to guard against the densely packed seven or eight inch long nail hooks on the ship - wait to climb When they got to the side of the boat, the Ming army's long spear was handed over. With just a light poke, these Japanese pirates who were holding the edge with both hands could be killed. This was repeated several times, and the spearmen of the Ming army killed more than a thousand Japanese soldiers who tried to board the ship, their severed limbs and heads fell all over the ground, and no Japanese soldier was allowed to step on the deck. Now the inside and outside of Guanyinpu has turned into a pot of chaos in the Northeast.On the outskirts, the allied forces of Ming and North Korea with superior forces chased and fought the Japanese, trying to open the situation; while the Shimadzu Fleet in Urai surrounded Chen Lin and Yi Sun-shin, desperately attacking them before they perished. Kill the enemy commander before. Chen Lin commanded the flagship calmly. With his rich experience, he forcibly endured dozens of sieges by Japanese warships, and sank dozens of them with naval guns.The Shimadzu fleet attacked crazily with its superior force, but the Ming army remained steadfast. This made all the Japanese soldiers have a hopeless thought: the iron cannon can't move, and the infantry can't climb up. How can this battle be fought? They didn't know, but Chen Lin did. Chen Lin fought fiercely for a long time, looked up at Deng Zilong's three big ships approaching mysteriously in the distance, was overjoyed, and then issued the fourth order: pull the anchor and retreat, and all the people off the deck. how?do not fight? It's not that they stopped fighting, but that the real big killing is coming. On the ships rushing in from a distance, every soldier held a strange weapon in his hand.This is a large copper cylinder with a mouth in the front and a push handle behind the cylinder. It looks like a simple knockoff water gun. But that is not called a water gun, but a spray barrel; what it sprays is not water, but kerosene, that is, oil. The firearms of the Ming Dynasty are full of whimsy, many of which already have the shadow of modern weapons.The Ming army had a weapon called the fierce fire oil tank, which was a large copper cabinet with several straight cylinders inside, with oil injection holes on the side and a push piston behind.When in use, pour oil into the oil hole, push the piston, and the oil will be sprayed out from the straight cylinder first. When it passes through the medicine building, it will be ignited by the gunpowder and turn into a jet-like tongue of fire to hit the enemy. It is a very powerful guard. city ​​weapon. The fierce fire oil tank is the earliest flamethrower in the world.Later, based on this principle, the Ming army developed a series of portable small spray guns, some of which could spray flames, some could spray poisonous smoke, and some could spray both.At this time, what Chen Lin brought was one of the fire-breathing nozzles.This thing is extremely powerful, especially suitable for melee battles in crowded sea areas. The Japanese army had already suffered several losses at the hands of Chen Lin. At this time, seeing him suddenly die down and everyone on the deck disappeared, they were a little suspicious and dared not go forward, for fear that he would play some tricks again. Just when they were in doubt, the Pyro soldiers rushed forward.They didn't play much role in the night battle in the early morning of this morning, but this time is where they really come into play.They stood on the high deck, condescendingly sprayed fierce oil on all nearby enemy ships, turned around and pumped another tube of oil after spraying, and the cycle repeated. These flame boats turned into hell fire gods, spreading heat and death in Guanyinpu.As long as the Japanese army gets a little closer, they will be sprayed into a ball of fire immediately, without any discussion.The screams of the Japanese army could be heard everywhere, and the smell of burnt flesh permeated the sea. Many soldiers would rather jump into the sea than endure the pain of burning their bodies. How badly were the Japanese troops who besieged Chen Lin beaten? "The fire is in full swing, hundreds of pirate ships are simmering, and the sea is completely red." This description in "Xuanmiao Zhongxingzhi" is exaggerated, but it is enough to imagine how embarrassed the Japanese army was under the surprise attack of the flamethrower . The brave fighting of the fire-breathing soldiers of the Ming army changed the situation.The Shimadzu Fleet fell into a panic, and Yi Sun-sin, who was under heavy siege, was finally able to take a breather, retreated slowly, joined the coalition fleet that rushed behind him, and took advantage of the chaos to throw firewood torches to increase the chaos of the enemy.The pressure on Chen Lin also suddenly eased. Crazier than Lee Sun-shin's fight is Deng Zilong.This old general has been fighting on the front line. His style is not like that of Ming people, but more like that of Japanese. He doesn't like talking with guns and cannons from a distance, but fights with swords.He handed over his own ship to his deputy, Shen Li, and continued to command the fire-breathing soldiers to burn the enemy ships, and then he personally led more than two hundred Jiangxi soldiers to jump between the ships. He either rushed onto the Japanese ship to kill the Satsuma soldiers, or climbed onto the Korean warship to drive away the Japanese pirates who were trying to seize the ship. He was simply an ambulance on the battlefield.Thanks to his efforts, many Korean warships survived by luck. Just when Deng Zilong was showing his supernatural power and killing everywhere, an accident happened. The situation in Guanyinpu Bay was extremely chaotic. The desperate Japanese army climbed up to the coalition ships, and the coalition forces desperately set fire to the Japanese ships with various firearms.In this chaos, it is not known whether the fire-breathing soldiers of the Ming army were confused, or the Korean army was too excited to throw firewood, so they accidentally set the Korean warship Deng Zilong just rescued on fire. This mistake was a bit big, and the warship suddenly fell into flames.The nearby Shimadzu warship looked at it, and finally waited until the enemy's ship caught fire. The opportunity was not lost, and a group of Japanese pirates climbed onto the ship.At this time, the ship was in chaos. The North Korean army and the Ming army were busy putting out the fire and had no time to fight back. Deng Zilong was unable to retreat at this time, the fire was raging all around, and the Satsuma warrior was in front of him like a wolf and a tiger.This veteran general in his seventies has no fear. He has never taken a half step back in his life, not when he was young, and even less when he was old. At the last moment of his life, Deng Zilong was like a white-bearded war god, waving his weapon vigorously in the face of Japanese pirates several times his own.Although he was slashed in many places, he still refused to fall down. The Japanese pirates around him couldn't resist the final burning of this veteran, and they couldn't do anything to him for a while. Suddenly there were two gunshots in the distance, and two bullets shot from the iron cannon pierced the hot air and pierced Deng Zilong's chest—he finally fell to the ground.It turned out that the Japanese were afraid of long nights and dreams, so they used the iron cannons they carried with them, which ended the veteran's life. After the Japanese pirates killed Deng Zilong, seeing the fire on the boat was getting bigger and bigger, they didn't dare to stay longer, cut off his head in a hurry, and left the boat.The reinforcements from the Ming army that arrived later only had time to snatch back the body of the old general. Later, when Deng Zilong's body was buried in Fengcheng, he had to use agarwood to carve a head and bury it together with the body. Ironically, the warship burst into flames, to the delight of North Korean soldiers in the distance.They stood far away and couldn't see clearly. They mistook his ship for Shimadzu's Ataka ship. When they saw the fire, they thought they had sunk another Japanese warship.Inspired by this misunderstanding, the North Korean army became more courageous and sank several warships at once. When the Ming army heard the news of Deng Zilong's death, they were all shocked. Shen Li led the team to rush forward, and Chen Can and Ji Jin also moved forward one after another. 岛津义弘根本顾不得沉浸在击毙敌军副将的喜悦，因为在整个战场，日军都处于极度的劣势，全靠着绝望中迸发的勇气才勉强维持着战线。他不得不把最后的预备队派出去——岛津家的大楼船——前往督战。 李舜臣早就看到了这条船的动向，因为在一群小短腿的日舰中，这条大船太醒目了。他吩咐左右包抄过去，火弓齐射。结果这条大楼船刚走出去没多远，就被李舜臣截住了。李舜臣的亲信宋希立亲自指挥放箭，箭如雨落，登时就把大楼船上的一名日军指挥官射倒在地。周围的日军一见，都没命地跑过来解围。 联军看到日军这么疯狂，以为这条船是岛津义弘的旗舰，宋希立射倒的那个人是岛津义弘本人，都齐声欢呼起来，打得更起劲了。陈璘带领着明军威风凛凛地又杀了过来，与李舜臣左右呼应，大炮齐鸣，又形成了合围之势。 在这关键时刻，突然海面传来一声爆响，一条属于宗家的日军大船发生了剧烈爆炸，让周围的人惊慌不已。岛津义弘脑子里一下子闪过泗川城前爆炸的明军火药库，心想难道真是报应不爽？ 这是报应不假，但不是明军在泗川的鬼魂复仇，而是朝鲜人干的。 早在壬辰战争期间，宗义智曾经抓到过一个朝鲜官员，叫郑六同。他觉得这人还不错，一直放在身边，十分信任。这次开战，郑六同被委派去一条船上去当指挥。宗义智万万没想到，郑六同是典型的身在曹营心在汉，一个朝鲜版的郭国安，一直在跟朝鲜军有联系。 他在这个关键时刻，主动引燃了船上的火药库，直接把这条船、自己和其他日军的士气炸了个粉碎。 岛津舰队现在进入了最后的时刻，这时候他们已经被击沉了一半多的舰船，海面上密密麻麻漂浮的都是日军士兵和船舰残骸。观音浦外的封锁线已经被突破了无数的缺口，联军舰队源源不断地冲进来，势不可挡。 岛津义弘无奈地做了一个决定：突围。 此时的日本舰队已经基本无力再战，除了突围撤退，确实没有第二条路可走了。 于是日军以岛津义弘为核心，把分散日军集合起来，攒集了二百余艘战船，一齐朝着观音浦外冲去。大概这就是宿命吧，李舜臣的舰队，恰好位于他们的逃遁路线上，而且按照老规矩，仍旧是李舜臣的旗舰冲在最前。 俗话说，穷寇莫追，急于逃命的岛津舰队看到有朝鲜战船横在前头，船上还有人高高站在台子上指挥放箭射杀不少日军，都急红了眼，纷纷把铁炮集中在一处，朝着那边疯狂射击。 站在高台上的人，正是宋希立。他正指挥着朝鲜弓手射箭，冷不防被日军这一回高密度的射击笼罩，其中一枚弹丸打中额头，噗通一声倒在了甲板上。护卫一见，大惊失色，连忙跑去禀报李舜臣，说宋希立中弹了。宋希立是李舜臣的左臂右膀，一听到他中弹身亡，李舜臣惊得霍然起身，连声探问情形。 这时候日军的密集射击仍在持续，李舜臣这一起身，正好把上半身露出挨牌。一位不知名的岛津铁炮手恰好在这时扣动扳机，一枚铅丸飞出枪膛，在极短的时间内穿过两支舰队之间的海域，从李舜臣的腋下撕扯开血肉，进入他的身体。 李舜臣直挺挺地向后倒去，被他的儿子李荟、侄子李莞和侍从金伊接住。李荟和李莞开始以为他只是滑倒，可再仔细一看，发现腋下血流潺潺，眼看是活不成了。李舜臣在弥留之际，挣扎着给他们下达了最后的指示：“战方急，勿言我死，急命以防牌蔽之。” 李荟、李莞两个人放声大哭，船上的人都很惊慌，不知发生了什么事。这时一个人冲过来，把这两个人的嘴捂住，厉声道：“你们想要辜负李使道的心血吗！”李荟、李莞一看，居然是宋希立。 原来宋希立虽然被子弹击中额头，所幸只是擦伤，虽然流血不止，但总算没伤及性命。他倒地之后，很快就爬了起来，把衣服撕开草草包扎了一下，恰好听到那两个人的哭声，赶紧摸了过来。 对于李舜臣的死，宋希立同样感到极为痛心，但他作为李大帅生前最信赖的副手，深知此时军情紧急，不容动摇。于是他吩咐把李舜臣身上的盔甲解下来，里面填充上稻草，仍旧立在船头，以鼓舞士气，然后让李荟、李莞赶紧把尸体用大红毡裹好，抱回房中，等胜利了再计较。 在另外一个版本里，主动遮掩李舜臣死亡消息的，是李荟、李莞，而宋希立全然不知情。 无论封锁李舜臣死亡消息的是谁，他都做了一件正确的事情。经过这一番混乱，朝鲜军旗舰暂时恢复了正常，继续进攻，进攻，再进攻。而陈璘的明军舰队，也调转船头，开始追着日军尾巴打。 这一场海战一直打到了正午时分，岛津舰队本来就不是联句对手，此时掉头就跑，更是全无战心，在突围过程中死亡惨重，共计被正面拦截的朝鲜军和衔尾追击的明军又打沉了两百余艘。可怜岛津家一世雄名，在这小小的观音浦内被联军打了一个七零八落，无数萨摩武士沦为水鬼，半沉战船燃烧起来的黑烟几乎遮蔽了整个天空。 唯一可惜的是，岛津义弘运气实在是好，他靠着那两百多条船当替死鬼，带着残存的五十艘战舰脱离了战场，仓皇地朝着釜山逃去。 剧战一夜半日的明军和朝鲜军再次聚拢到一处，他们尚不知岛津义弘没死，以为已全歼敌酋。陈璘兴致勃勃地驾船来找李舜臣，商议下一步计划。 这里出现了同一个故事的不同版本。 在《李忠武公全书》里，说陈璘驾船赶到朝鲜舰队附近，看到朝鲜军士兵追赶着日军舰船，争先恐后地抢割首级。陈璘一下子跌坐在甲板上，连声哀叹，说李统制死了。左右问他怎么知道，陈璘说如果李统制还活着，断然不会允许这种事发生。 这个故事很传奇，但真实度却很可疑。这时候战斗刚刚结束，还未正式发丧。试问不；就算这时候朝鲜军上下已经获悉李舜臣的死讯，第一个反应，也该是大哀，而不是追逐财物。一支以军纪严明而著称的铁军，在主帅死亡的一瞬间就没了纪律，这实在不可思议。 另外一本《李忠武公行录》里的故事不同：陈璘驾船来找李舜臣，喊他的名字。李莞站在船头，放声大哭说叔父已经死了。陈璘当时就哭倒在甲板上，扶胸流着眼泪说：“李统制战死以后，还能来救我。” 最后是《宣庙宝鉴卷》的记载，只是简单地说“璘使人于舜臣谢救己，始闻其死，从椅上自投于地，抚膺大悲。” 综合来看，第二、三个故事比较符合实，第一个故事纯粹是出自后人想象和演绎，希望能给李舜臣之死多加一道传奇的色彩。 李舜臣阵亡的噩耗很快传遍了明、朝联军，所有人都不敢相信这有如战神一般的李将军，居然就这么去世了，无不嚎啕大哭，极其悲痛。就连明军都纷纷把手里的肉食投入海中，以示尊敬。他们入朝以后，军纪都归李舜臣管理，他赏罚分明的作风赢得了所有明军的尊重，而这一夜半日的联手奋战，更让他们对将军敬佩不已。 朝鲜军失去了他们最伟大的主帅，明军失去了他们最可信赖的朋友。在这一刻，没有什么朝鲜军和明军的区别，只有二万多名向李舜臣致敬的哀伤者。 这样一位伟大的将军，居然倒在了距离胜利最近的地方，令人不禁想起了英国海军名将纳尔逊。在1805年10月19日，纳尔逊带领英国舰队在特拉法尔加与法国、西班牙联合舰队大战。在激战中，纳尔逊指挥英国舰队，取得了决定性的优势。就在这时，他被一名法军狙击手击中左胸，倒在血泊之中。在得知道英国舰队获得最后的胜利以后，纳尔逊才与世长辞。在世界海战史上，李舜臣和纳尔逊是经常会被相提并论的两位杰出人物，而他们的境遇，也是惊人的相似。 李舜臣是当之无愧的十六世纪东亚海战的王者，他几乎是以一人之力，改变了整个壬辰战争的走向。在战争的前半阶段，他一手缔造出强大的水军，多次以弱胜强，硬生生拖垮了日军的后勤，致使侵略者放缓了脚步，为明军的大举赴援赢得了宝贵时间；虽然在丁酉再乱期间，李舜臣因为朝鲜军的极度衰弱而在战略上无所发挥，但他仍旧殚精竭虑，重新赋予朝鲜水师生命，并在最后时刻发挥出了关键作用——可以这么说，没有李舜臣，朝鲜战争的结果不会改变，但胜利一定会推迟数年。 巴顿将军曾经说过，一名战士最幸运的事莫过于在最后一场战斗中被最后一颗子弹打死。对李舜臣来说，能够在最后的露梁海战时战死，未必不是一种幸运。以他的个性和朝鲜李朝的党争劣根性，假如活到了战争结束后，很难讲会不会再会发生一次丁酉之乱的遭遇。 所以说，一个天才，既要生而逢时，也要死而逢时。 死者长已矣，生者还是要继续把事业进行下去。李舜臣死了，可战争还没有彻底结束。在一片狼藉的观音浦海面上，陈璘没有彻底让自己沉溺在失去挚友的悲痛中，他一边收拢着联军，一边派出斥候四处打探，很快他就得知了一个坏消息。 在联军主力与岛津舰队缠斗的时候，小西行长悄悄放弃倭城，离开了顺天沿海。“以诚实守信为荣“的刘綎刘大刀按兵不动，坐视敌人离开，这才徐徐前进，来捡便宜。这个我们之前已经讲过了。 小西行长很狡猾，知道联军一定在猫岛和露梁之间安排了部队监视自己，所以根本没有选择东去露梁海峡，而是沿着猫岛西梁南遁，从平山洋附近绕着南海岛走了一大圈。这条路虽然比较远，但是胜在没有联军主力阻截。 这时候陈璘才意识到，原来岛津义弘把部队撤向观音浦，还有这么一层含义在里面。 按照原来的计划，联军应该是在露梁西口阻截岛津舰队，同时防备西方的小西舰队。可岛津义弘初战不利，没有调转船头退回露梁，反而左转朝着西南方向的观音浦撤退，把整个联军主力的注意力全都吸引到了这里。 换句话说，岛津义弘牺牲了自己舰队，换来了小西行长的生还。尽管这不是岛津义弘的初衷，但客观上却确实造成了这样的效果。 不过这也是无可奈何的事情，岛津、小西两支舰队，联军只能挑选其中一支予以歼灭。就算没干掉小西，没能完成战前制定的战略目标，能够击破岛津舰队，也算是为泗川明军报了一大仇。 陈璘在想透了这一点以后，没有立即选择追击。明军水师经过一夜加半日的剧战，已经是精疲力尽；而朝鲜水师自从李舜臣死后，仿佛被抽取了主心骨，两军都亟需修整。于是陈璘没有急于东进，而是决定肃清南海岛之残余敌军。南海岛上还残留了不少日军士兵，观音浦一战中还有不少岛津家士兵弃船登岸。这些隐患不得不除——后来这一批部队以岛津家臣喜入摄津守花山权左尾门为首，徒步横穿整个南海岛，最后在弥诸浦附近被宗义智救起。 露梁海战的另外一位主角岛津义弘并不知道自己无意中消除了日军最大的梦魇，他现在一点也高兴不起来。海战要比陆战残酷得多，一旦溃败，就是整船整船地死。露梁一战，他的一万多精锐，五百条战船伤亡殆尽，只有五十多条船逃出生天，战损率高得惊人。 更要命的是，他现在还不知道顺天的小西行长到底怎么样了，不能回去，只得让残存舰队在南海附近徘徊。这时候岛津忠恒碰到一条从顺天跑过来的日本商船，拦住一问，这才知道小西行长早跑回釜山去了。岛津忠恒气得火冒三丈，大骂这药贩子没义气，岛津家为他付出这么大牺牲，他倒好，一声不吭就先跑了，连个招呼也不打。 岛津义弘听到岛津忠恒回报，长叹一声，啥也没说，带着一身烟火缭绕地返回釜山。 露梁一战，岛津家、立花家、高桥家和小早川家损失极其惨重，精锐能战之士几乎十不存一，阵亡在一万人以上，事后光是明军和朝鲜人的斩级就有千余——要知道，这不是陆战，而是海战，千余首级，意味着还有十倍以上的死者沉入海底。就连一贯极力夸大敌人阵亡数字、掩饰自己损失的《岛津家记》，都不得不记录说“从兵半死”。 这一战的损失，深深地影响到了岛津家后来的发展。到了决定日本命运的关原合战之时，岛津义弘所能带出来的萨摩精锐，只有可怜的一千五百人，可见露梁让他们是元气大伤。 岛津回到以后釜山，藤堂高虎的运输舰队已经准备好了，小西行长也完成了登船，万事俱备，只欠一走。 既然能走，那还等什么？难道还要等陈璘、李舜臣他们的大舰队赶过来，把这些日军再一口吞掉么？ 万历二十六年十一月二十日，岛津义弘、小西行长等人匆匆登上归国的舰船，扬帆离开釜山港，一天时间都没敢耽误。临走之前，岛津和小西倒是挺守信用，把茅国科、刘天爵等人质放回船里，让他们自己回投明营，算是对刘綎、董一元两人遵守承诺的回报。 日军舰队离开釜山之后，在对马岛略事休整，于十二月十一日返回博多港。石田三成亲自手捧秀吉遗物前往迎接，带着几位生还者去伏见城谒见了德川家康，这才各自散去回家。 这是最后一批离开朝鲜的日本军团。从此以后，朝鲜半岛除了在一些岛屿上还有少数流寇以外，再无成建制的日军。这一场漫长的战争终于进入尾声。 自从万历二十年四月开战以来，这场东亚战争前后历时七年，自釜山开始，自釜山结束。 仗是打完了，这场战争，到底对这三个国家有着什么样的意义呢？