Chapter 689: Adding Fuel Tactics
General Zheng nodded and said that this was the only way. The Japanese pirates would soon launch an attack and it would be difficult to resist without reinforcements.
General Li said: We underestimated the stakes that the Japanese island nation had set for invasion this time. The enemy's strength is at least 100,000. We must transfer all the elite troops on the border to the southwest for combat.
Not only that, we also have to guard against the Japanese pirates continuing to increase their troops, and we have to recruit soldiers again in the country as a reserve. This requires going to Xinsong to seek military aid, and the prince really has to make a trip.
The little emperor nodded helplessly and issued an edict to do so.
He asked Wang Dian to go to the treasury to get 500,000 taels of silver, and immediately set off for New Song to purchase military equipment, and to tell New Song that Goryeo was determined to become a vassal state, and asked the country to send troops as soon as possible.
Seeing that his father had only given him oral instructions and no official documents, Wang Dian was too lazy to argue any further and packed his bags to set off.
When this guy came to Shenzhou, Feng Guiqi deliberately refused to see him, and found various reasons to delay him for seven days before summoning him to talk. As soon as he opened his mouth, he told Wang Dian the original words that Yang Zhushi had said to teach Xin Song a lesson, and asked him: Is this what a vassal state official should say?
What's more, we haven't yet fulfilled the covenant between the suzerain and the vassal state.
Only then did Wang Dian realize that their chief Yang had angered Feng Guiqi.
The guy smiled carefully and said: Goryeo was so anxious to deal with the Japanese pirates that it had no time to discuss the matter of joining the vassal state, and that's why he came.
Feng Guiqi waved his hands and said: No hurry, no hurry. He believed that Goryeo only needed to transfer 100,000 elite troops from the border to drive the Japanese pirates into the sea, without the need for help from the New Song Dynasty.
Here he made a promise to the prince: the New Song Kingdom would never take advantage of others' misfortune, would strictly guard and maintain border security, and would never take a single step forward. Then the Goryeo Kingdom could rest assured to dispatch troops to the south to reinforce.
What Wang Dian wanted to hear was Feng Guiqi's words. The basic purpose of this trip was achieved.
The guy felt relieved and further proposed support for military equipment and asked the New Song Kingdom for assistance.
Feng Guiqi said that it should still be a public sale, but the warehouse in Kaijing has run out of reserves and needs logistical allocation. He can guarantee to raise equipment for 10,000 people within half a month, but there will be no more.
Wang Dian had no choice as Feng Guiqi had already made his final decision. He had no choice but to hand over the silver and go to Kaijing to wait for the military equipment to arrive.
Liu Zheng received a military order from Feng Guiqi, requiring the delivery of military equipment in half a month. He immediately did so and praised General Feng happily. He instructed the logistics department not to rush but to carefully clean up and pack the obsolete military equipment and transport them to the Kaijing Port in full quantity.
However, the battlefield in southern Goryeo could not wait for this batch of weapons.
Although Goryeo transferred his elite border troops, their young emperor was still afraid of a surprise attack by the New Song Dynasty, so he left 20,000 troops to guard the pass of the Han River and only 30,000 new troops to participate in the war.
After ten days of rest, the Island Japan launched a full-force attack. The two sides set up three battlefields in the area from southwest to northeast and fought with all their might. Because the Island Japan had accumulated combat experience after successive wars, they sent the wounded back to the country to reduce the burden on the army. New recruits and old soldiers were organized to fight again. Each team had veterans who had rich combat experience and extremely strong combat effectiveness.
Although Goryeo fought back the attack of the Japanese pirates by replacing the old troops that were scattered and exhausted with 30,000 elite soldiers, it was still fighting a tug-of-war with the enemy on its own land. This tactic was like adding fuel to the oil lamp and did not change the situation on the battlefield.
Moreover, because they replaced the old team, sending new recruits into battle required an adaptation period, and the casualties were very severe.
When Wang Dian returned with the purchased military equipment, he learned that his father had done this and was very anxious. After repeated advice, his father still refused to send all the border troops forward, and he could not stop sighing in his heart.
Before he could catch his breath, reports came in from the front line: nearly half of Goryeo's newly joined main force had been killed or wounded, and the battlefield was in a tense situation.
What's even more terrible is that the scouts responsible for reconnaissance at sea reported that the Japanese pirates' ships are still traveling in large numbers and frequently, and there are constantly more and more Japanese pirates landing on the island. This means that the Japanese country is still massively increasing its troops .
General Li, the commander-in-chief of the army, told him: The Japanese island nation is determined to destroy our country. They rely on the fact that they are surrounded by coasts and have no worries, so they have sent all the capable soldiers in the country here.
General Li interrogated the captured prisoners and learned that the emperor of the island country of Japan issued an edict that all men from the age of 60 to 15 must serve in the military and come to our Goryeo to fight. The dead were burned into a jar of ashes and taken back for burial, and the survivors were allowed to share land and women in our Goryeo, settle down and enslave our people.
Prince, please see this is not propaganda or mobilization. They are clearly determined that our country is going to be destroyed and are telling their people that they treat us as fish on the chopping board.
When the Peninsula Prince heard this, he knew that it would be difficult for Goryeo to defeat the Japanese pirates on its own without the help of the Shenwei Army. It must make a comprehensive war mobilization like the Island Japan, recruit more new soldiers, purchase and forge more weapons, and train elite soldiers to join the battlefield in order to win.
This guy brought General Li to meet his father again. The young emperor admitted that it was not right for him to transfer all the border troops to the south to fight, but he also did it for the safety of the empire. It was impossible for Kyoto to be without soldiers.
He thought that they had resisted the attack of the Japanese pirates, which was great. He warned Wang Dian not to believe everything the New Song people said. If they really wanted to help us, they would have sent out 50,000 Shenwei troops to help us and would have driven the Japanese pirates into the sea to feed the turtles.
Haha, no matter who is right or wrong, this lawsuit is going to be difficult.
Wang Dian was speechless and asked General Li to report the battlefield situation and the intelligence collected to his father in detail.
When the young emperor heard that there were sixty-year-old men and naive children among the pirates' new recruits, he was delighted. He exclaimed that it was great and said that the pirates would definitely be defeated and they would not be able to hold on for long.
Wang Dian said calmly, "We are also struggling."
The young emperor agreed and recruited another 50,000 new soldiers according to General Li's budget.
Wang Dian asked him, "He has the soldiers, but where are the weapons?"
New soldiers could bring their own clothes, shoes, hats and bedding, but what about weapons? The fighting was intense, weapons were consumed too quickly, and veteran soldiers were repairing their old weapons. New soldiers couldn't just use sticks to poke the enemy.
General Li said: It seems that we have to go to the new Song Kingdom to purchase, otherwise the new soldiers can only fight with swords and spears.
The weapons of the Japanese pirates were very powerful. They imitated the military equipment of the New Song Dynasty. Although they looked bulky and heavy, the Japanese pirates were well-fed, and each of them was strong and powerful, so they could run even with weapons on their shoulders.
Moreover, we cannot just send in 10,000 or 20,000 more troops like that. We must get enough men and horses all at once, otherwise we will still not be able to drive the Japanese pirates away.
I believe that we need to purchase at least enough weapons for 30,000 men.
General Zheng turned and looked at Wang Dian.
Wang Dian spread his hands and said to his father helplessly that Feng Shuai had already wiped out the insufficient amount of debt for this purchase, and clearly stated that if he went again, the payment must be settled.
The young emperor was excited when he heard this, as this was a matter of great importance to the stability of his regime. He immediately called the head of the Imperial Household Department and asked him to move out all the silver, money and treasures. He collected all the silver and went to the New Song Dynasty to purchase military equipment, such as catapults, mortars, and the New Song Dynasty's red cannon.
Wang Dian saw that his father did not mention joining the New Song as a vassal state, and knew that his father still had ideas and wanted to sit on an equal footing with the New Song to discuss the world. He said indifferently: You can't buy red cannons with silver, it depends on whether the New Song sells it.
The little emperor didn't worry about it anymore. He waved his hand and told everyone to do their work.
Wang Dian came to Shenzhou again to meet Feng Guiqi and proposed to buy military equipment. Feng Guiqi asked him in surprise: We just bought equipment for tens of thousands of people, the war should not have started yet, why are you here again?
The guy had no choice but to report truthfully that they had underestimated the situation and that the reinforcements had become a tactic of adding fuel to the fire. Although the Japanese pirates were consumed, they also suffered a lot of losses and the situation on the battlefield was not changed.
Moreover, the Japanese island nation is also increasing its troops. We must prepare for the worst and mobilize the entire country to launch a critical strike against the Japanese pirates.
Feng Guiqi nodded and said: That's right. The Third Young Master said that to fight the Japanese pirates, we must mobilize the people of the whole country to fight together.
After the treasury counted Wang Dian's gold, silver and jewelry, it was converted into new Song coins and found that the total was less than the silver for the equipment of 20,000 people. However, Wang Dian kept pestering Feng Guiqi and insisted that he give him the equipment of 30,000 people.
Feng Guiqi pretended to be in a dilemma, but in fact he was waiting for Wang Dian to apply to become a vassal of the New Song. As long as he became a vassal of the New Song, everything would be easy.
However, Wang Dian said nothing, and after a stick of incense, there was still no result. He could only say that he could provide equipment for 30,000 people, but the remaining amount would need to be paid in installments within three years after the war. How about that?
Wang Dian was ecstatic. He didn't care whether he could afford the exchange after the war or not. He nodded and agreed like a chicken pecking at rice, and thanked General Feng for his strong support.
Feng Guiqi shook his head and said that they had just come to take away the military equipment, and he didn't have much left, so he would take away 15,000 sets first. The remaining parts would be prepared by the Shenwei Army's logistics and sent directly to Kaifeng for delivery.
The girl was filled with joy and thanked Marshal Feng repeatedly.
The island nation of Japan across the Tsushima Strait was also busy recruiting soldiers, and the armory was forging weapons day and night.
Shogun Fujiwara did not expect that Goryeo would actually turn to the New Song to purchase military equipment and mobilize the entire country to fight against them. He originally thought that he could force Goryeo to surrender in one battle, but he was actually beaten to a draw by Goryeo.
This is not the result that Fujiwara and his Emperor Amaterasu wanted .
Looking back over the past hundreds of years, the island nation of Japan has always been able to easily land on the Korean Peninsula and take control of Korean men and women at will, and even had no problem confronting the once-powerful Tang Empire head-on. So why can't it defeat the tiny country of Goryeo today?
This guy was extremely dissatisfied and directly ordered a general mobilization of the whole country, recruiting a large number of soldiers to fight across the sea, in order to swallow Goryeo in one gulp.
However, the island country of Japan was, after all, a primitive country consisting of several islands and a feudal lord system. Its financial resources and population were very limited. If it wanted to go into a full-scale war with the opposite country, Goryeo, it would have to use all its strength to its advantage.
A large number of men from the island country of Japan were conscripted to the front lines, leaving many rural families without men to farm the fields. Women were forced to take off their kimonos, put on shorts, and take their children to work in the fields.
