Chapter 516 515 Escape

"How many artillery pieces do you have here?"

Liu Xian asked, looking at the neatly arranged tiger crouching cannons.

"One hundred and twenty doors."

Qi Jiguang said, "This cannon is simple to make, and even the craftsmen of the guard station can make it."

At this time, Yu Dayou had already stretched out his hand to touch the sound of the cannon, and suddenly asked: "Is this an iron cannon?"

"Haha. Jiujiang Wei also has talented people. They can use this iron cannon to replace the bowl-mouth blunderbuss."

Qi Jiguang said with a smile.

"Ha ha."

Liu Xian understood the secret at this time and couldn't stop laughing.

Yu Dayou just smiled and shook his head, not as wantonly and arrogant as Liu Xian.

They are all sensible people. What Qi Jiguang said was actually telling them how to get together the one hundred and twenty squatting tiger cannons.

Copper was extremely expensive in the Ming Dynasty. Relatively speaking, the court would not distribute copper to the army, but it would supply iron.

They have thought that the guy who developed this artillery did it not so much for the purpose of fighting Japanese pirates, but because he was greedy for copper materials.

"It seems that this thing can really be cast in large quantities."

Yu Dayou started to speak, and then he seemed to think of something and said to Liu Xian: "Director Liu, the iron materials in Guangdong are here, please say hello."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Liu Xian said with a smile.

When it comes to money, the three of them all understand each other tacitly, but Qi Jiguang is obviously one step ahead. He is afraid that he has already made a lot of money by doing this in Zhejiang.

However, Yu Dayou and Liu Xian were naturally unwilling to lag behind, and both planned to try this artillery when they returned.

Of course, the prerequisite for this is that the squatting tiger cannon Qi Jiguang gave them is really that useful. Otherwise, if the cannon is not good, they will not be willing to make the money.

In the past, Yu Dayou was really unwilling to get involved in corruption and embezzlement of military pay, but since entering the imperial edict, his mentality has also changed somewhat.

On that occasion, if he hadn't met some friends who helped him, especially Lu Bing who spent a lot of money to smooth over the Third Division, he wouldn't have been so relaxed when he went to court.

Thinking about the fact that he used to lead soldiers and never drink the blood of soldiers, but the life of the big soldiers under him will not actually improve because he does not get involved, but his share will be swallowed up by the soldiers below.

In the end, I have nothing, and I can't even get out the money to clear things up if something goes wrong.

Wei Guangde is right again, within the rules, you still have to take what you should take.

Three days later, the three armies left camp at the agreed time and began to attack Xucuo Wachao. As for the Japanese pirates on Wudang Mountain in front of Wachao, they were left to the Zhejiang soldiers led by Qi Jiguang to eliminate them.

However, both Yu Dayou and Liu Xian tacitly slowed down the marching speed and ruled out multiple groups of scouts to detect the movements of the middle route army.

The purpose, of course, is that once the attack of the central route army fails, they can only form camps immediately to ensure the balance of the entire front.

If the middle road is blocked and they attack Xucuo Japanese Nest from the left and right, then the gap between the three armies will probably give the Japanese pirates a chance to break through the encirclement.

Regardless of the small battlefield area, there may be gaps, and even if the Japanese pirates decide to run away, there will always be someone who can escape.

Regardless of whether it was the imperial court or the Fujian Province, they all ordered that this group of Japanese pirates must be wiped out and killed to serve as a warning to others.

Naval warships have also gathered in the waters outside Pinghaiwei City, and a large number of eagle ships have been sent out to serve as sentry ships to monitor the movements of Japanese ships.

The navy of the Ming Dynasty was equipped with warships at this time, mostly in the style of Fu Chuan. The first and second numbers were both called Fu Chuan, but there were some differences in size, so they were also called Da Fu Chuan and Fu Chuan.

No. 3 is called the sentry boat, also known as the grass boat, No. 4 is the Haicang boat, also known as the winter boat, and No. 5 is the bird boat, also known as the wave boat.

Among them, the No. 3 boat has a smaller hull and is equipped with a rowing oar. When the wind is windy, it can sail and drive, and when there is no wind, it can be driven by an oar, so it has better maneuverability.

In addition, the Ming Navy also had Cangshan ships, eagle ships and black owl ships.

The black-tailed boat was also called the "black-tailed boat" or "black boat" in the Ming Dynasty because its hull and stern were painted black. It was originally a unique boat in Dongguan, Guangdong, and was made of iron pear wood.

Because ironwood is strong and durable, the service life of a black stern boat is quite long, ranging from 50 years to 70 years. At that time, ships generally built with pine and fir wood had a maximum service life of only 10 years, and some even only 5 years.

Therefore, during the entire service life of a black ship, its cost-effectiveness is quite good. An ordinary medium-sized black ship has a plate thickness of 7 inches, a length of 10 feet, and a width of more than 3 feet. The hull is as hard as iron. "Everything is indestructible, and everything that hits it is indestructible." It is extremely strong and can even withstand the shells fired by the Franco machine gun. It can be called a contemporary iron-clad ship.

However, the cost of building this kind of ship is also quite expensive. One ship requires 700 to 800 taels of silver, and 800 taels of silver can build 5 pine and fir wooden warships of similar tonnage in the Fujian and Zhejiang areas, so the Ming Navy also has less equipment. .

When it comes to wrestling in the sea, the lucky ship is naturally the main force, while when it comes to sentinel investigation, the sentinel ship and the winning ship are the best.

The two ships not only have shallow drafts, but also have good maneuverability.

In terms of speed alone, the bird ship is still the fastest and is often used as a communication ship.

The two Ming troops on the left and right tried to stay parallel to Qi Jiguang's troops in the middle and slowly advanced.

As veterans who have experienced battles for a long time, neither Yu Dayou nor Liu Xian will be impulsive on the battlefield, and will not secretly use Tao Zi to sabotage this Japanese suppression campaign just because Qi Jiguang took away the main offensive position.

During the march, Yu Dayou soon received news from Tanma that Qi Jiguang's troops were attacked by Japanese pirates from Wudang Mountain.

At this time, on the central battlefield, Qi Jiguang's troops were slowly marching down the south side of Wudang Mountain. Qi Jiguang did not intend to attack the Japanese pirates stationed on the mountain, which would only increase casualties. Instead, he chose to bypass the mountain from one side and directly attack the Japanese nest.

If the Japanese pirates on the mountain were lured down the mountain to fight, they would be defeated at the foot of the mountain. If the Japanese pirates still held on to the mountain, only two thousand troops would be sent to besiege them.

Wudang Mountain was not big. After surrounding the mountain, they could set up camps on all sides and trap the Japanese pirates to death on the mountain.

However, after the army entered the mountain, the Japanese pirates could not hold their breath and rushed down from the mountain first, hoping to crush the Ming army with a thunderous force.

In fact, such tactics were common in the battles between the Japanese pirates and the Ming army, probably because the Ming army at this time had long lost the courage to fight bravely in close combat.

With strong national strength and a large number of firearms and bows and crossbows, the Ming army has gradually evolved into a force that relies mainly on long-range strikes. Once the enemy gets close, few teams can hold on to the battle formation.

The Japanese pirates often directly break through the Ming army's formation, and even create a record of killing the Ming army's first-level military officer.

The Japanese pirates, after all, are actually a bunch of desperate people.

This desperate fighting style is exactly what the Ming army wants.

For various reasons, the current Ming army still has a firm fighting spirit, and often loses its composure when facing the surging Japanese pirates.

Even the bravery of the Japanese pirates exceeds that of the Mongols in the north.

However, the route of the advance was personally formulated by Qi Jiguang, and a wide open area at the foot of the mountain was left just to prepare for the art of firepower strikes, and in front of the army, countless small mandarin duck formations composed of old soldiers built a large defense line to defend against the impact of the Japanese pirates.

As the Japanese pirates rushed down the mountain, the Ming army's Portuguese cannons opened fire first. When the Japanese pirates approached, a row of bird guns fired continuously. After the Japanese pirates rushed to the Ming army, more than 100 tiger squat cannons fired in three batches, sweeping the Japanese pirates who were in the front again.

However, because the Ming army's queue was long, so much firepower did not have the effect of concentrated coverage of the battlefield, and the Japanese pirates in some areas were still not defeated by the Ming army.

However, after the brave Japanese pirates fought with the first-line defense infantry of the Ming army, the familiar mandarin duck formation appeared, which prompted a large number of Japanese pirates to flee.

Yes, during this period, only Qi Jiguang's troops would fight in this way among the Ming army in various provinces who used the mandarin duck formation.

There is no doubt that after the melee broke out, the Japanese pirates knew that they were facing the Qi family army that frightened them, and the morale of the Japanese pirates declined rapidly.

Even the Japanese pirates in Fujian were familiar with Qi Jiguang and the Qi Family Army led by him. Many of the Japanese pirates here had the experience of looting in Zhejiang before, not to mention that Qi Jiguang had led his troops to Fujian last year to assist the Fujian government in suppressing the Japanese pirates.

The Japanese pirates who did not collapse in the face of the powerful firepower of the Qi Family Army began to collapse after discovering that they were facing the Qi Family Army.

The contact between the two sides lasted only a short time, and the Japanese pirates began to retreat on their own initiative and break away from the contact with the Qi Family Army.

As they fled, their backs were constantly hit by the Ming Army's bows and crossbows and bird guns.

Leaving behind a field of corpses, the remaining Japanese pirates finally rushed out of the Ming Army's firepower range.

At this time, the Japanese pirates also knew that escaping back to Wudang Mountain would only be a dead end, so they chose to retreat directly to Xucuo Japanese nest, ready to join together and rely on the camp to resist the attack of the Qi Family Army.

Of course, there is also a way to report to the Japanese pirate leader in the nest and discuss what to do next.

In the past two years, as the new army trained by Qi Jiguang was completed and continuously put into the ranks of fighting against Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirates had long been deeply afraid of Qi's army.

Not to mention those Ming Japanese pirates, even the extremely brave real Japanese were either killed or injured when facing the small formation of Qi's army.

Because of the discovery of the strength of this Ming army, Qi Jiguang was nicknamed "Qi the Tiger" by the Japanese pirates.

On the other hand, Liu Xian, Yu Dayou and other generals, because they were the commanders of the common Ming army, even if they won one victory after another, the Japanese pirates had no impression of them.

After the Ming army on the left and right learned that the Japanese pirates were fighting with the central army, they naturally slowed down their marching speed until they received news that more than a thousand Japanese pirates were killed and wounded, and the remaining Japanese had retreated back to the Japanese nest in Xucuo, and then they resumed their marching speed again, thinking of setting off from the Japanese nest.

By the afternoon of that day, the three armies had gathered outside the Japanese nest in Xucuo and set up camp. As it was getting dark, Liu Xian, Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang met and discussed and decided to launch an attack on the Japanese nest after dawn the next day.

However, what they didn't know was that because of the arrival of Qi's army, the Japanese pirate leader in the Japanese nest in Xucuo had hurried back to Pinghaiwei City to discuss with several other Japanese pirate leaders. The Japanese pirates who stayed in the Japanese nest were only ordered to strengthen their vigilance.

If the three Ming armies attacked the Japanese nest in Xucuo at this time, there might be unexpected surprises.

After all, although there were more than 3,000 Japanese pirates gathered in the Japanese nest, they were actually in a state of being leaderless because of the departure of the leader.

As long as one of the three armies made a breakthrough in attacking the Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirates would definitely flee in chaos.

When the Ming army set up camp, several Japanese pirate leaders in Pinghaiwei City were also discussing whether to stay or leave.

Now they are blocked here, and the only way to escape by land is to break through. But even if they succeed, most of the gains from the attack on Xinghua City will be lost.

What's more, they had packed most of the looted property and placed it on the Japanese ship outside the Weicheng. They would set sail immediately when the wind direction changed and head to Dongfan Island for repairs.

The Japanese pirate leaders certainly would not regret not robbing and running after breaking through Xinghua City. It was too late to regret it, but they were still very wary of the Ming army's dispatch of tens of thousands of troops, especially with the appearance of the Qi family army.

"At the beginning, I thought that the two camps in Wudang Mountain and Xucuo would have to resist the Ming army for a month. After a month, the weather would be about the same."

"If it really doesn't work, give up Xucuo, and we will take the brothers here on the ship overnight and run to Hui'an."

"Quanzhou is not bad. Many people died of plague last year. It's not easy for us to be discovered by the court if we go there."

The Japanese pirate leaders were naturally very clear about the situation around them.

Wan'an in the north is behind Fuzhou. As the capital of Fujian Province, the armed forces deployed by the Ming court are naturally sufficient. And Wan'an itself has a thousand households stationed.

Fleeing to Wan'an is like walking into a trap, while the direction of Quanzhou after the plague is much better. It is a time when the land is vast and sparsely populated. Even if they land, they may not be discovered by the Ming people.

The decision was made quickly, and they were naturally prepared to escape.

No Japanese pirates were willing to fight the Qi family army directly. It was really that the small formation composed of a few soldiers was too powerful.

Unless there is an absolute advantage in military force, it is possible to surround such a small formation and kill them from all sides.

Simply attacking from one or two sides will not be effective.

The changes in the small formation are too complicated, at least the Japanese pirates have not thought of a solution.

And the military formation of the Qi family army is composed of countless such small formations on the battlefield, relying on each other and covering each other, it is really difficult to achieve the effect of surrounding and killing from all sides.

Only in areas with narrow terrain will the Qi family army appear alone with a small number of military formations.

However, due to the limitations of the terrain, the Japanese pirates could not achieve the goal of surrounding and destroying them.

Just as the Japanese pirates were preparing to flee by boat, several Japanese ships that had been sent out to scout the sea situation returned, and the news that the Ming navy appeared in the open sea also reached the ears of the Japanese pirate leaders.

This time, knowing that the situation was urgent, the Japanese pirate leader did not let others speak and discuss, but directly made a plan.

"Everyone gather their brothers on board and retreat according to the old rules."

"Boss, should we let the brothers in front withdraw overnight?"

"There are too many people, it's too late, and if we call too many people, the boat can't run. Now is the time to compete with the Ming army's ships."

"Go to Penghu or Wanggang?"

"Penghu, I have seen the sky these days, and the wind has risen, but it is a little weak. It should be okay to run to Penghu."

After the Japanese pirate leader made the decision, he said fiercely to others: "Let's go to sea tonight. Before breaking through the Ming navy, we are not allowed to tell our subordinates our destination. Keep your mouths shut."