Chapter 15: The Generals Divide Their Troops to Attack the Japanese Pirates

  On September 1, Ye Zhiqi sent cavalry scouts to Chengchuan, about 40 kilometers northeast of Ping'an, and learned that the Japanese army had divided into four routes to surround Ping'an.

  There were 3,000 men from the 18th Brigade led by Major General Sato Masashi, who came from Genzan.

  There were about 4,000 men from the Tenth Division led by General Shang Zhenwen, also known as the Shaoning Brigade, who attacked from the direction of Shaoning.

  There were about 4,000 men in the Ninth Mixed Brigade led by ōshima Yoshimasa who had attacked from the middle and rear.

  There were 4,000 main forces of the 5th Division led by Lieutenant General Nozu Michitsura attacking from the direction of Huangzhou.

  The Japanese army's forces were scattered, and each route had relatively thin forces. Ye Zhiwei suggested to Ye Zhicha that they should concentrate their superior forces, first eliminate one of the enemy's routes, and then take advantage of the individual battles. Ye Zhicha summoned everyone to discuss it, and received unanimous approval from all the generals. Ye Zhiwei also suggested that the newly defeated Ninth Brigade of the Japanese army on Taiwan had low morale and had recently added 1,000 new soldiers who were not yet familiar with each other, so they should be attacked first. Old general Zuo Baogui expressed his support.

  On the 3rd, Zuo Baogui assembled Ma Bu's 15th camp with over 10,000 people, divided into left, middle and right three routes to attack Ping'an, Huangzhou and Shuoning directions, with 3,000 people advancing north towards Yuanshan direction.

  Ye Zhi-chao led 4,000 men to station in Pyongyang as a response.

  The Left Route Army, with 5,000 men (including the Ye and Ma detachments as well as a portion of the Zuo's former troops reassigned to Ye), was led by Ye Zhikui and Ma Yukun to annihilate Daishan Island's Yichang.

  Zhonglu Army, led by Zuo Baogui, with 2,500 men, intercepted and prevented Nozu Michitoshi from reinforcing ōshima Naganari. The Right Route Army, led by Toyosuke Araki and Jiang Zikang, with 2,500 men, intercepted the Shuoning detachment. Finally, Wei Rugui led 3,000 men north to intercept the Yuanshan detachment.

  The most important one is the Left Route Army, which bears a heavy responsibility and must first defeat ōshima before supporting the 9th Brigade of ōshima Yoshimasa after other routes have been broken through by the Japanese army, in order to support other routes and then decide whether to retreat or attack.

  On September 5th, at the hour of Zi (11 pm to 1 am Beijing time), Ma Yuquan led the Yi Army's various sentries on horseback with torches in hand, shouting softly as they ran forward.

  "Brother Cao, where are we going to end up?" The squad leader asked his sentry officer Cao Kun in a low voice.

  Cao Kun, who was in his thirties, looked honest and simple. He was indeed a straightforward person, able to endure hardships and hard work, with a generous temperament, loved making friends, and no matter what he thought in his heart, he never showed any dissatisfaction on his face, so the squad leader dared to ask him questions.

  Cao Kun rubbed his head, thought for a moment, and replied: "It shouldn't be much further, we'll definitely make it before dawn."

  The squad leader saw that Cao Kun had finished conveying the order, and whispered to him, "Brother Cao, do you think we can defeat the Japanese this time?"

  Cao Kun smiled and said, "Don't worry, think about who we are under now. Let's not mention our commander-in-chief Ma, just talk about the famous Ye Zhiwei, he has already killed three or four thousand Japanese devils at a young age. The Japanese have long been intimidated by him, do you know Daisho Yoshimasa? He is even higher in rank than our commander-in-chief Ma among the Japanese generals. Ye forced him to cut off his arms and legs, blinded his eyes, and made him eat feces. Can we not win?"

  The squad leader flattered: "Brother Cao is indeed knowledgeable and insightful, hitting the nail on the head."

  Cao Kun and his deputy team leader were chatting, when a group of people rushed past him, stopped and listened to their conversation. Cao Kun took a look at the torch and saw that his own camp officer was leading the way in front, followed by several others riding tall horses. The two leaders, one younger, wore a yellow horse cloak, Cao Kun looked carefully and found it was his own commander Ma Yu-kun. He immediately fell silent and dared not speak.

  The officer glared at Cao Kun and cursed: "Cao San, you fool, what are you mumbling about again?"

  That young man was Ye Zhiwei. Hearing the camp officer's rebuke, he smiled and stopped him, saying: "This brother is right, this battle will be won, and Oshima Yoshihisa is now like a candle in the wind, which will be extinguished with one blow. Don't blame him, time is running out, let's hurry up and move forward."

  Ma Yu Kun nodded in agreement and said: "The military's heart can be used."

  As everyone rode away on horseback, Ye Zhiwei gave Cao Kun a big thumbs up in approval as he passed by. Who made him speak so nicely?

  Until Ye Zhiwei and Ma Yukun left, Cao Kun and the squad leader came back to their senses in a daze.

  The squad leader looked at the silly smiling officer and asked in a low voice: "Brother Cao, who is that person? He has such a big tone, but he's really easy-going."

  Cao Kun patted the little team leader's shoulder and said with a smile: "You don't even recognize him, he is Ye Shao. And look, just now Ye Shao gave us a thumbs up, praising us."

  The squad leader exclaimed in surprise: "He's Ye Shao, I thought Ye Shao had three heads and six arms!" Then he sighed and said that he was indeed young.

  Ye Zhiwei did not know that his casual praise had left an indelible impression on the middle-aged Cao Kun, directly leading to Cao Kun going to rely on him after the First Sino-Japanese War because of this sentence.

  Ye Zhui and Ma Yuqun rode their horses to the front, pointing at the terrain in front of them. Ye Zhui said: "Uncle Ma, what do you think of this place? This road is a must-pass for going from Zhonghe to Pingdu. It's expected that Da Dao Yichang will pass by here tomorrow morning."

  Ma Yu-kun stroked his beard and praised, "Both sides of this road are mountainous, and the mountains are neither high nor low, just within rifle range. There are shrubs to cover them, making it an excellent place for an ambush. The only question is how did Yun know about this place?"

  Ye Zhī Kuí said with a pleased expression: "Young nephew, after entering Pingyang, I obtained maps of the mountains and rivers of various regions of Korea from Korean officials. Today is the first time I've used them."

  Ma Yu-kun praised: "It seems that my virtuous nephew has a draft in his heart, and everything is prepared. The ancients were indeed not deceiving me. According to what you said, the mountain terrain stretches for more than five miles, which is just right for forming a pocket array. What do you think? I and my virtuous nephew will lead the army to garrison on both sides of the south and north, and the two battalions of General Zuo's troops, one battalion as the bottom of the pocket, and one battalion to cut off the enemy's retreat route and prevent the enemy's reinforcements."

  Ye Zhiqi agreed, and the two parted ways. Ye Zhiqi led his troops to ambush on the south side of the road, and ordered Zuo Baogui's army to prepare. At dawn that day, he also ordered Feng Guozhang to pass down an order, requiring each soldier to hold a twig in their mouth, hold their breath, and not open fire or shout even if they were shot at without orders.

  At dawn, the 9th Brigade of the Japanese army, led by ōshima Yoshimasa, gathered to discuss their plan. ōshima stood in front of a military map, his leg bent and one eye covered with gauze. He pointed at the map and said: "Gentlemen, General Nozu has divided our forces into four routes to attack. My 9th Brigade cannot fall behind others; we must be the first to arrive at Pyongyang Castle. As you can see from here, it's only a two-day journey to Pyongyang. Today, we will march hastily. Lieutenant Colonel Takeda's 11th Regiment will lead as vanguard, Lieutenant Colonel Nishijima's 21st Regiment will follow as middle army, and I with the artillery battalion will bring up the rear. Once we arrive at Pyongyang Castle, Lieutenant Colonel Takeda will immediately construct military fortifications."

  Takeda Hidemichi and Nishijima Sukeshige hastily responded with a loud "Hai!", and Oshima Yoshimasa shouted: "Gentlemen, the 9th Regiment will surely kill the Chinese Ye Zhiqi to avenge the grudge of the 9th Regiment's Seikin."

  "Sure-kill Leaf's Chief!" The generals shouted in unison.

  The little bug spits out two sentences, historical books have really fallen, I hope the big guys who like history will see the hard work of the little bug and give their votes, every collection can make the little bug excited, also, Daishima's time has come, everyone can guess how he died, beforehand, it is revealed that he was absolutely not shot to death.