Chapter 173 Ambush at Byeokjegwan

Uesugi Kagekatsu's expression changed, and the other corps commanders also showed horror!

While they were here using attrition tactics against Gaeseong, their home, Wanggyeong, had been raided!

Openly repairing the plank road, secretly crossing Chencang! (idiom for using a feint to deceive the enemy)

"Baga! It's not us using tactics against the Ming army, but the Ming army using tactics to hook us!"

Uesugi Kagekatsu finally understood where one source of his unease lay.

It wasn't entirely his fear of the hidden Ming immortal, but also his concern about the inadequate defense of the Korean Wanggyeong!

But, was it really attacked because of insufficient defense?

There were thousands of troops at Suwon Port. The Ming army's land route couldn't bypass Byeokjegwan. This stronghold stood between Gaeseong and Wanggyeong and was an extremely important strategic location. A city, after all, has places that shouldn't be attacked and places that must be attacked! Byeokjegwan was a city that must be attacked!

Even if all 30,000 of the Ming army's navy were to attack from the sea, they couldn't instantly capture Suwon Port. Even if there were only a few thousand troops, it would take an hour to catch them all, even if they were just a few thousand pigs running around! Wanggyeong would definitely receive the news and defend the city!

Moreover, the navy's combat skills were focused on naval warfare. They didn't have large siege weapons for attacking cities. At most, they could dismantle the ship's cannons for use, but that was limited. Besides, if the navy's siege combat power was higher than the army's, what was the point of having an army?

Therefore, there was only one truth!

"There's a traitor! Stop the siege!"

The entire army retreats!

Uesugi Kagekatsu and the other corps commanders reached a consensus immediately! The fall of Wanggyeong was a major event like the sky falling. It meant that the Korean national prestige they had been using as sustenance could operate again. If it escaped their control, Japan's national prestige would drop significantly, putting them at a disadvantage in the battle against the Ming Dynasty's national prestige!

And it would affect the soldiers' resistance to magic!

Large numbers of soldiers hurriedly retreated in panic. The corps commanders sounded the gongs to withdraw the troops. They were now extremely anxious. The most important thing at the moment was to return to rescue Wanggyeong. The Ming army's surprise attack couldn't have involved too many people, at most ten thousand. There were still seven thousand troops at Byeokjegwan. Coordinating with these fresh troops, plus tens of thousands of soldiers, would be enough to recapture Wanggyeong!

But someone disagreed!

"Baga! Who told you to retreat!"

Date Masamune walked in front of the corps commanders at this time, enraged!

"Even if you know that Wanggyeong has fallen, it's too late to rescue it if you go back now! Are you all idiots! We're already demoralized from this long march back, while the Ming army's morale is high. They can fight or retreat as they please!"

"If we retreat now, the Ming army in Gaeseong will directly come out of the city and attack Byeokjegwan! What's the point of us retaking Wanggyeong then? With the Ming army stationed at Byeokjegwan, it's like they've put an axe to our necks. They can kill us whenever they want with a single swing!"

"We're at their mercy! Don't you understand this! Our only way out now is to capture Gaeseong!"

In his rage, Date Masamune almost swung the two swords in his hand and killed several corps commanders on the spot!

The other corps commanders couldn't tolerate being threatened like this, no matter how good their temper was. The atmosphere became tense, and Uesugi Kagekatsu looked at Date Masamune, whose arrogance subsided slightly, but he still questioned sharply with dissatisfaction:

"Uesugi-sensei, did you issue the order to retreat! Even if you are the supervisor of the front lines, you can't issue such orders arbitrarily!"

"This will cause our morale to collapse completely! What will we do if the Ming army charges out of Gaeseong after we retreat now? In a rout, even a hundred thousand people might not be able to defeat ten thousand! Don't you understand this principle!"

Morale on the battlefield is an important factor in victory or defeat. With full morale, a force like Xiang Yu's thirty thousand would dare to fight Liu Bang's five hundred thousand. But once the morale of a larger force collapses, there's no way to save it. The people in front flee, the people in the middle follow, and finally, the people in the back, who don't know anything, see the front and middle running and follow suit.

That's a landslide defeat!

In such a rout, even hundreds of thousands of people could be chased for dozens of miles by tens of thousands, or even thousands! The casualties would be horrific, with a large proportion caused by people trampling each other to death!

Uesugi Kagekatsu considered and said, "What's the point of capturing Gaeseong? There are no ports here. Our navy can't get in. Gaeseong is surrounded on three sides by the Ming army. They will immediately encircle and annihilate us!"

"Moreover, the outside world probably doesn't know our current situation. I suspect there's a traitor in Wanggyeong!"

Date Masamune was stunned for a moment, then cursed several times, "It must be Kobayakawa Hideaki! Only he has the ability to bring the Ming army into Wanggyeong without anyone knowing!"

It was truly ridiculous. In the past, they invited the lords inside. Now, they were inviting the Ming lords inside!

Uesugi Kagekatsu continued, "And if we can't capture Gaeseong, what will we do?"

"Will the group that captured Wanggyeong, led by the traitor, directly take Byeokjegwan?"

Date Masamune was horrified.

Uesugi Kagekatsu sighed heavily, his face slightly pale, "If you attack Gaeseong, if you take it down, it will indeed give us some breathing room, but only for a limited time. However, Gaeseong is surrounded on three sides by Ming strongholds. Behind us is only Byeokjegwan. Our grain supply will be cut off directly by Wanggyeong and Suwon Port..."

"Are we going to get a temporary respite, and then be surrounded and starve to death here because our food supply is cut off?"

"As long as the Ming army sets up those cannons around Gaeseong, will we still have a chance to leave the city? We'll only be able to break through, right? So why not leave now? Why wait until we're at our wit's end?"

"Moreover, Byeokjegwan is a defensible place. The Ming army won't use ten thousand people to attack Byeokjegwan. This is the place where Li Rusong suffered a major defeat back then. The Ming army is wary of this city. What's more, we, who are entrenched in Byeokjegwan, can regroup at any time and launch a surprise attack on Wanggyeong. As long as we can retake Wanggyeong, our food supply can be restored. As for the rest, whether to fight or leave... we'll see then."

Date Masamune's expression was ugly, but he also knew that Uesugi Kagekatsu was right. Capturing Gaeseong now would indeed only give them "a glimmer of hope." The situation they would face afterward would be even worse. When surrounded, the most taboo thing is to put yourself in a passive position.

Moreover, that was if they could capture it.

Date Masamune looked up and could vaguely see Ma Gui's military flag. The Ming general was standing on the city wall, seemingly laughing loudly at them.

"Japanese dwarfs, why aren't you continuing the siege? Did someone dig up your mother's grave!"

Ma Gui shouted loudly from the city wall.

"Don't pay attention to his provocation! He's stalling for time! Let's retreat quickly. They definitely won't pursue us!"

Uesugi Kagekatsu calmly gave instructions, "The retreat now is somewhat orderly. If the Ming army dares to pursue, they will be counterattacked by us again, and it will be another repeat of the Battle of Byeokjegwan! This time it's still at night. They definitely won't dare to pursue!"

As expected, according to Uesugi Kagekatsu's instructions, although the Japanese army had suffered a certain degree of collapse, the overall structure was still preserved. Even if it was loose, it still had a certain ability to counterattack, while the Ming army remained in Gaeseong, only firing a few cannons for long-range bombardment, and then there was no movement.

Seeing this scene, the other corps commanders were all sincerely convinced of Uesugi Kagekatsu's command. Date Masamune felt uncomfortable, but he had to admit that retreating at this time was indeed wise. During the march, the collapsed state of the army had gradually subsided, and morale had stabilized. In this state, they could meet up at Byeokjegwan around dawn. The next night, they could mobilize the seven thousand fresh troops from Byeokjegwan as the vanguard to counterattack Wanggyeong.

The important thing was to secure their supply lines! The fate of the empire hangs in the balance!

The sky was about to dawn. The white of the fish's belly in the east occupied half of the sky. The morale of the Japanese army had recovered slightly. This was because the feigned defeat itself was within the plan, but now it had become a real retreat. Although the news of Wanggyeong's capture had shocked many people at first, after recovering, they could understand after careful thought that surprise attacks wouldn't involve many people.

The light from the east began to shine on the mountains and rivers.

The warning signs in Uesugi Kagekatsu's heart rose again!

"All troops stop!"

The uneasiness in his heart grew stronger. This time he could be sure it was the scent of death!

"Resentful spirit warriors! Draw your swords!"

Uesugi Kagekatsu gave the order to his forty personal guards. These forty warriors wearing black armor drew their katana, their bodies wrapped in thick Yomi (land of the dead) coldness and resentful spirit energy. A pale color began to cover their armor.

"Why stop? Byeokjegwan is just ahead!"

Date Masamune rode forward at this time, asking again with great dissatisfaction, and pointing to the solid mountain city that could already be seen, "Byeokjegwan doesn't show any signs of being breached. Look, our flags are still flying on it!"

"Are you saying that the Ming army has an ambush in the city! That's impossible. Even if Kobayakawa Hideaki is really a traitor, he can't open the gates of Byeokjegwan. Only our vanguard is qualified to order it to be opened!"

"Are you saying..."

Date Masamune's pupils gradually shrank, while Uesugi Kagekatsu vigilantly turned his gaze to the corps commanders around him!

Who is it? Which one of them is it!

"There are spies in the vanguard!"

Uesugi Kagekatsu was about to curse. What the hell was going on? There were traitors everywhere! Spies who wanted to sneak in had to minimize contact with people. But to get high-level information, they couldn't approach in a short time. So, the answer was that this spy was initially among themselves!

And recently, the corps commanders who had been defeated and retreated in the war, or who had come to Wanggyeong to support and attend meetings, as well as their retainers and generals, including himself and the two fake immortals, were all suspects!

However, there were too many spies. Were so many people dissatisfied with Lord Kanpaku (chief advisor to the Emperor) that they defected to the Ming army?

What benefits did the Ming Dynasty give them to make them so infatuated? Their families, relatives, and clans were still in Japan! Were they really so ruthless as to abandon everything for their own future and go to the Ming Dynasty?

The Ming Dynasty wasn't the Tang Dynasty. Was it worth it!

The corps commanders' faces changed, obviously realizing the problem. But someone still said, "Even if there really are spies, it won't affect us entering the city now, right? We're going to enter it sooner or later anyway... Why are you looking at me! I'm not a spy!"

The corps commander who spoke was stared at by everyone and immediately panicked.

Uesugi Kagekatsu immediately stopped him, "Including me and the two immortals, we are all suspects. Don't panic!"

"However, I'm afraid we can't enter the city. I have a premonition that once we get close to that city, we'll be shot..."

"This is the Yomi energy of death. You should all know my divine position."

Blocking the exit of Yomi, the Daosogojin (god of boundaries) himself possesses the power to sense death and grant death.

"I'll go! In short, those who occupy that city now are neither the Ming army nor our demons, right?"

Date Masamune couldn't hold back, "No matter what's going on, I have the divine position of Kurikara Dragon King. All tricks of poison, curse, and assassination are ineffective against me. If the other side is a demon, then that's even better!"

"I can't restrain my four swords anymore!"

"Besides... I seemed to see demonic energy rising over there."

Date Masamune stared at Byeokjegwan in the distance, his fighting spirit high. He immediately urged his black horse under his crotch to run forward. The other corps commanders didn't stop him, and Uesugi Kagekatsu just nodded.

Date Masamune approached Byeokjegwan and saw that the people on top were still his own troops. He even recognized some of the commanders. So he immediately shouted under the city to let them open the gate. But these people turned a deaf ear, and their gaze at Date Masamune was like they were looking at a dead man.

"Date Masamune, today is your death day!"

Date Masamune saw the armored warrior and was shocked, "Hayashi Michitoshi! You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about? You're my vice-general!"

"Are you the spy?"

Hayashi Michitoshi's eyes were now boiling with demonic energy, "I'm not a spy. I've just seen the truth of the world. What are we fighting for? For Kanpaku's ambition? To lose our lives in a foreign land?"

"I don't want to die yet! Just for this kind of thing, for someone else's ambition, to give up my life?"

Date Masamune roared, "Don't you want to establish merit! If we win, when we return to Japan, won't Kanpaku give you a reward! By caring about your own life, you are betraying your country and even disregarding the lives of your relatives still in your homeland! Hayashi-kun, are you such a foolish person!"

Hayashi Michitoshi sneered, "You're about to become someone else's achievement now, and you're still thinking about rewards, Date Masamune!"

"All I know is that empty promises won't buy lives. The war has reached a stalemate. We've been fighting this war for several years. We really can't see any hope of winning. You took tens of thousands of people to attack Gaeseong, and this is how you came back in such a mess!"

"You mobilized the entire country's army, and this is all the combat power you have. You're still thinking about establishing merit and becoming a general! Without the demons and monsters transformed from those vows to help us, we would probably have been defeated long ago!"

"It's not that I don't want to establish merit, it's just that I don't want to bear the huge consequences of failure! I neither succeed nor fail. I'm not the one who started the war, and I'm not the one who promised to give me merit. It's Kanpaku. If we succeed, the huge benefits will eventually go to you corps commanders, and I'm just your vice-general."

"And if the war fails, who will judge our lives? Is it Kanpaku? No, he's just sitting in his homeland, listening to the news of our deaths, and then sighing softly. He may not even remember my humble and low-ranking relatives! Because I'm not a daimyo (feudal lord), I'm just a humble, masterless, and dead warrior!"

"I'm not fighting for anyone. I just want to know, if this is a war that we have no chance of winning, and we're brought here under the slogan of establishing merit, then what am I fighting for now!"

The demonic energy on Hayashi Michitoshi's body boiled, and his inner demons acted up. Another figure appeared on the city.

Shimazu Tadatsune was wearing samurai armor, lowered his head, stood on the city, and revealed a playful smile.

Date Masamune's expression shook violently:

"It's... it's you, kid! You're from the Shimazu family... How is that possible? What good will you get from doing this! Are you a spy?"

"Your father is the corps commander of the Eastern Army and is defending Wonsan Castle. You actually did such a rebellious and treasonous thing!"

"Wait! If you're a spy, did you also harm Tachibana Muneshige! Did you reveal his whereabouts to the Ming immortal?"

Date Masamune said in disbelief, and at the same time thought of another contradictory point, that he had just seen Shimazu Tadatsune following Uesugi Kagekatsu!

What the hell was going on!

"How did you suddenly come from behind to in front of me?"

Date Masamune asked vigilantly and incomprehensibly.

Shimazu Tadatsune smiled slightly, half of his face turned black under the reflection of the samurai helmet, hidden in the shadows:

"Tachibana-sensei had his own way of seeking death. He killed too many thunder mages. Isn't it normal to be targeted? Besides, that matter has nothing to do with me."

"Besides... when did you get the illusion that I was still by Uesugi-sensei's side?"

"That's just a shadow."

Date Masamune was now furious!

"A shadow? Are you talking about a kagemusha (body double)? What a joke! Do you think I'm an idiot!"

"Shimazu family's little beast! I'll help him clean up his family! I'll kill you here!"

Three of the four swords were the demon swords of the great youkai (monster) Otakemaru, and the remaining one was his own treasured sword, Kagehide. At this time, the shadow of the black dragon rose, his arms turned into four, and all four swords were wrapped with white cloth strips, igniting a raging fire, accompanied by the hissing of dragons and snakes!

Kurikara Dragon King!

The black dragon wraps around the sword, constantly residing in the Fire Generating Samadhi!

"Little beast, Byeokjegwan's national prestige is still Japanese. Do you want to use this broken city to stop me! Attacking your own city, national prestige won't have any effect! I'll see where you run!"

Date Masamune raised four swords!

Shimazu Tadatsune smiled strangely again:

"That's indeed the case. You're very right. The national prestige of one's own country won't harm one's own generals."

"So, conversely, national prestige won't work if you attack your own camp's city or soldiers."

"And you, you have the power to slay demons and monsters and suppress the world's demonic energy. This divine position is too dangerous, so I'm waiting for you here, deliberately letting you come here. When did you get the illusion that you wanted to kill me?"

"It was clearly me who asked you to kill me."

Date Masamune was stunned for a moment.

Then, a divine sword suddenly appeared in the sky above the main camp behind.

A black-clad youth held the divine sword in the sky, appearing abruptly from the void.

A large number of swords fell from the sky!

In an instant, the sky collapsed and the earth crumbled, and everything was destroyed!