Early the next morning, before dawn, Daming's camp began to move. The army was divided into four directions and moved toward Pyongyang.
They blocked off the four directions of Pyongyang, and they had no intention of leaving one out.
President Konishi stood on the city wall of Pyongyang, and his expression was a little ugly.
Everyone knew how to surround a city and leave one out. However, the Great Ming Empire didn't do that. They didn't surround the city and leave one out. Instead, they surrounded the city from all four sides. Didn't they know that this would only cause the defenders in the city to fight for their lives?
There were two reasons for this. One was that the generals of the Ming Army did not know the military law. Even if President Konishi looked down on Daming, he knew that it was impossible. Even the North Koreans knew, so how could Daming not know?
Then there could only be another reason. They wanted to wipe him out.
Regardless of whether the commander of the Great Ming Dynasty was overconfident or truly believed that he could do it, President Little Xi felt insulted. This was an insult to himself and his subordinates.
"Kuroda Nagamasa, get your third army ready. This time, we will give Daming a show of strength and let them know how powerful we are!" President Konishi said, gritting his teeth.
"Don't worry, commander. Our two armies are in Pyongyang. It is wishful thinking for the Ming Army to take Pyongyang."
Kuroda Nagamasa smiled and said, "If you were not cautious, I would want to go out of the city and fight the Ming Army head-on."
President Konishi glanced at Kuroda Nagamasa and said, "No, it is better to be safe."
Although the intelligence gathering ability of the East Military Execution Hall was quite good, after the war began, the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly. They were still mistaken about one thing, and that was that President Little Nishi's First Division was not the only one in Pyongyang.
Kuroda Nagamasa's third army was also in Pyongyang.
The Japanese pirates had three advance corps. The first and third corps were in Pyongyang, ready to attack Uiju and capture the king of North Korea.
The second corps was heading north to Hamgyong and then entered Daming from there.
After the fall of Pyongyang, Dongchang's intelligence was not updated in time.
East of Pyongyang.
Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong stood on the hillside with binoculars strapped to their chests. From time to time, they would glance at the North Korean city walls. Behind them, Daming's artillery soldiers were setting up their positions.
"Look at the number of people on the city wall. It doesn't seem to be only 16,000 like what Dongchang said!"
Cao Wenzhao put down the binoculars in his hand and said in a deep voice.
He Renlong didn't care and said disdainfully, "So what if there's more?
Isn't it better if there are more of them? We're here to fight them. Otherwise, do you think you can stop fighting? "
"The Grand Marshal said three days, so Pyongyang must fall in three days."
"I, He Renlong, don't want to be laughed at. Later, you'll take command. I'll lead my men to attack the city. I'll be the first to reach the top of Flatland's wall."
Cao Wenzhao glanced at He Renlong and shook his head, too lazy to talk to him.
"Alright, the artillery is ready, and the battle is about to begin. Let's go down!"
He Renlong didn't mind Cao Wenzhao's silence. Instead, he said, "I don't want my ears to ring."
Cao Wenzhao didn't object to this. He nodded and said, "Then let's go down!
I don't want to stand guard here for 15 minutes. I don't know if the Japanese pirates on the city wall can hold on for 15 minutes. "
He Renlong said disdainfully, "Who cares if they can hold on?"
"Speaking of which, should we send someone to blow up the city gate?" He Renlong looked at Cao Wenzhao with a burning gaze.
Both Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong knew that defending a city and sealing the city gate was a must in a battle.
Some used earth and stones, while others used rocks. Therefore, it was easier to blow up the city wall than the city gate.
However, there was an exception. If the city gate wasn't sealed, it could easily be blown up.
Cao Wenzhao looked at He Renlong and shook his head gently. "I won't send anyone. There will be casualties. Let's fire a round of cannons first. Take a look at the city wall yourself."
"I'm really worried that this thing won't be able to withstand a quarter of an hour of bombardment."
He Renlong was still unwilling to give up. When he heard Cao Wenzhao's words, he immediately panicked. "That's not right. Even if we fire the cannons on all four sides, what if the other three sides blow up first?"
"While the artillery is firing, we can send someone to blow up the city gate. We can also blow up the city wall. If we blow it up, we'll be the first to enter Pyeongchang. That'll be a great achievement."
"Although the Grand Marshal said that we'll take Pyeongchang in three days, I think one day is enough."
Although He Renlong's words made sense, Cao Wenzhao still wanted to try firing the cannons.
According to the capital's military structure, there were 24 guards. The East and West Camps each had 12 guards.
This time, Zhang Weixian had brought six guards. The other six were in Qi Jiguang's hands.
Each guard had four battalions, two infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, and one cavalry battalion.
The two infantry battalions had 3,600 people, while the cavalry battalion had 5,000 people. Other than the 3,600 cavalry, the rest were auxiliary soldiers.
The artillery battalion had 2,700 people, and they were equipped with more than 500 cannons of various types.
Although they didn't bring any heavy cannons this time, Cao Wenzhao was very confident in his artillery troops.
The city walls of Pyeongchang wouldn't last long under the bombardment of the cannons.
Under these circumstances, sending people to blow up the city didn't seem to be worth it.
In the Imperial Martial Arts Lecture Hall, the instructors often said that the lives of soldiers were the most important. This was because it cost the imperial court a lot to train a soldier. If they could solve the problem with cannons, then they shouldn't use people.
Seeing the enemy being destroyed on the way was something that countless people regarded as the truth.
However, Cao Wenzhao also knew that He Renlong's words made sense. After thinking for a while, Cao Wenzhao smiled and said, "Get people to prepare. Let's try firing a round of cannons. I asked the artillery troops, and they said that it will take at least 15 minutes. Let's see."
He Renlong curled his lips and said, "I think those people haven't fired cannons for a long time, and their hands are itching!"
Although that was what he said, He Renlong still seized the time to prepare.
While the two of them were chatting, the artillery troops were almost ready. Hearing the report from his subordinate, Cao Wenzhao nodded and said, "Then let's begin!
Let the artillery troops fire well. This is our East Camp's first battle, and we have to show our might! "
"Don't worry, General, we won't let you down!" The artillery troops were immediately overjoyed. After saying that, they turned around and ran.
Cao Wenzhao shook his head helplessly. These guys really made people speechless.
Cao Wenzhao's side was almost ready, and so were the people in the other three directions. Soon, the cannons started firing. First, it was test fire, and then it was a volley.
The sound of cannons rumbled all around Pyeongchang. Each of the four guards was equipped with more than 500 cannons, and 300 of them could reach the city walls. All of them opened fire.