Kato Kiyomasa looked at the Daming cavalry in front of him with a gloomy face. In the face of 10,000 Daming cavalry, Kato Kiyomasa knew that it would only take one charge to defeat him.
Looking at the cavalry beside him, Kato Kiyomasa decisively chose to retreat.
His cavalry was definitely not enough to fight against the enemy. This was not only based on equipment, but also on the horses.
Compared to the Ming Army's warhorses, his horse was far inferior.
Kato Kiyomasa decisively found a hillside and set up camp there. His goal was to prevent the Ming Army cavalry from displaying their power.
Zu Chengxun stood at the bottom of the hillside and looked at the Japanese pirates with a pair of binoculars. His face was expressionless.
As someone who had followed Li Chengliang in battle for many years, Zu Chengxun had seen this kind of ending many times.
He had brought cavalry without cannons. If they attacked the hillside from the back, they would not be able to display their power at all.
The Wokou pirates were taking advantage of their geographical advantage. Their bows, arrows, and cannons were firing in unison. Zu Chengxun wasn't that stupid.
Looking at Bu Zhai beside him, Zu Chengxun said directly, "Have the soldiers dismount and prepare to fight on foot."
Bu Zhai looked at the hillside and then at the cavalry behind him. His face suddenly showed a bitter expression.
"General Zu, the Japanese pirates have set up camp on the hillside. If we dismount and fight on foot, attacking from the back is really disadvantageous!"
Bu Zhai thought about it and could not help but advise, "A stone thrown from the hillside can kill us."
Zu Chengxun looked at the Japanese pirates' camp on the hillside and then at Bu Zhai. "Don't worry, my men are in front."
Zu Chengxun's meaning was very clear. He wanted to give Bu Zhai a peace of mind. Don't worry, I am a man of honor. I will definitely not let the Yehe tribe become cannon fodder, so you can rest assured.
Hearing Zu Chengxun's words, Bu Zhai immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but he also felt a little awkward.
"General Zu, why do you say that? Fighting for the Daming and being loyal to His Majesty is what the Yehe tribe should do."
Bu Zhai patted his chest loudly. "But the cavalry dismounted and fought on foot. The losses were too great."
"Why don't we surround them at the foot of the mountain and not attack them? Anyway, the Japanese pirates have been blocked by us. They can't cross the Tumen River anymore."
"We're not in a hurry. The ones who should be worried are the Japanese pirates. Are they going to go deeper into the mountains?
If they enter the mountain, we will follow them. My subordinate Yehe Erlang will not be afraid of the Japanese pirates in the forest. "
Zu Chengxun believed Bu Zhai's words. The Jurchen tribes lived by fishing and hunting. They were very familiar with the mountains. In the forest, with their bows and arrows, the Japanese pirates wouldn't be able to find their way north.
However, Zu Chengxun did not want to waste time. He needed to destroy the Japanese pirates as soon as possible.
Firstly, this was the rear of the army. Even the slightest mistake would cause trouble. Secondly, Zu Chengxun really did not want to waste time here just because of these five thousand Japanese pirates. So what if he killed all these Japanese pirates?
How much credit could there be?
Fighting and leaving was the right thing to do. Wasting time here was purely a waste of effort.
Besides, it was not that Zu Chengxun did not have a way. He was very confident that he could destroy the Japanese pirates on the slope in one battle. Even if they were on the mountain, it would be useless because he had a secret weapon.
"Come!" Zu Chengxun shouted behind him with a serious expression.
A general of the Ming Army came behind Zu Chengxun and said loudly, "I am here!"
Zu Chengxun nodded and said, "Cha Dashou, I give you a mission. Immediately organize a vanguard army of two thousand people and transfer all the hand cannons we brought this time to them."
The so-called hand cannons were actually hand grenades, Daming Ordnance Department's native hand grenades.
This thing was really, really powerful. It was very useful in breaking formations.
In this era, formations were very important for marching and fighting. Once the formation was broken, both the cavalry and the infantry would be useless.
"Equip the vanguard with four guns to open the way up the mountain. The vanguard army will follow closely behind. Fourth Pingbo, let your people use bows and arrows to follow behind the artillery."
"This time, I will let the Japanese pirates have a taste of our power!" Zu Chengxun said loudly.
Bu Zhai was still a little hesitant, but Cha Dashou did not have the slightest hesitation. He turned around and prepared.
Kato Kiyomasa looked at the Ming Army at the foot of the mountain with a serious expression. He was very afraid that the Ming Army would directly camp at the foot of the mountain without fighting. However, when he saw the Ming Army's actions, he suddenly felt relieved and a cold smile appeared on his face.
Although the Ming Army had more than ten thousand people, Kato Kiyomasa was not worried.
He had the geographical advantage, and Kato Kiyomasa did not believe that the Ming Army could rush up.
Soon, the Ming Army had completed the arrangement. More than five hundred vanguard soldiers stood in front of them with serious expressions. Each of them carried four short guns, all of which were the best revolver guns.
"Go!"
Zu Chengxun did not stand on ceremony. After he shouted, the vanguard army rushed up.
Kato Kiyomasa, who was on the mountain, sneered and told the people around him, "Tell our cannoneers and archers to wait until the Ming Army is closer before fighting."
The Ming Army began to rush up the mountain slope. The Japanese pirates were ready to give the Ming Army a head-on blow.
Soon, the battle began. On the mountain slope, there was a lot of gunfire. The archers kept shooting. On the side of the Ming Army, a row of the vanguard army fell. It was very tragic.
Soon, the Ming Army also began to fight back. The guns began to fire quickly.
More Ming Army fell, but more than two thousand artillery soldiers finally rushed up. They pulled the ring in their hands and threw the grenades. They directly smashed the Japanese pirates' battle formation.
Kato Kiyomasa was ready to rush down the mountain with his men. He wanted to use the mountain slope to give the Ming Army a hard blow.
However, there were still dozens of meters left. Kato Kiyomasa wanted to get closer before rushing down. Suddenly, grenades rained down from the sky. The grenades fell into the Japanese pirates' battle formation. Instantly, there was an earth-shattering explosion.
More than two thousand people threw grenades at the same time. More than five thousand grenades fell on the mountain slope.
In an instant, the entire mountain slope was filled with earth-shattering explosions. The Ming Army, who originally wanted to rush up, could not go up at all.
The effect of the explosion was the splashing of soil and stones. There were rolling stones everywhere on the mountain slope.
Before the Ming Army could rush to the Japanese pirates' battle formation, they retreated in a sorry state. Many people were injured by the stones.
"Retreat!"
Zu Chengxun's face darkened when he saw the scene. Although he knew the power of the hand cannon was not small, he did not expect it to be so powerful. It was not safe under the mountain slope.
The rolling stones on the mountain slope could easily hit him. Along with the rolling stones, the bodies of the Japanese pirates also rolled down.
When the explosion stopped, there was no smoke on the mountain slope. Zu Chengxun's face suddenly became very ugly. There were bodies everywhere in front of him. There were many bodies of the Ming Army.
Looking at the mountain slope, there were no traces of the Japanese pirates.