Crossing the barriers of sky and sea, Ji Xiang looked back and saw peaks of fortune standing like mountains. The entire Land of the Sun floated on the sea, isolated from the world, with layers of divine power sealing its country. This divine power extended to the distant sea, reaching Tsushima Island and the Korean mainland.
"A large amount of national fortune is surging towards Korea, as if to cover it. Is it too difficult for this current to extend beyond its own territory?"
...
The sea waves churned, while in Korea, Tokugawa Ieyasu and his men had retreated to coastal cities, unable to counterattack. Of course, for Tokugawa, Mori, and Kuroda, who were traitors and rebels, this was exactly the situation they desired.
Next, the intelligence sent to Japan should also cross the sea and reach the mainland. Would Hideyoshi continue to send troops... It was highly likely he wouldn't.
"The general trend is lost, and it's impossible to turn the tide. It's better to go home and farm."
Tokugawa Ieyasu tentatively uttered these words, but to his surprise, he received affirmation from the two "rebels."
"The Commander-in-Chief speaks wisely. The general trend is lost, and further war will only deplete national strength. I fear Hideyoshi may not understand the situation and insist that we fight to the death here, forbidding our return to our homeland."
"If that time comes... I truly don't know what to do."
Mori glanced at Kuroda, and the two understood each other without a word.
If that time truly came, then they wouldn't be blamed for betraying and defecting.
In fact, the letters had already subtly conveyed this meaning. They didn't believe Hideyoshi was unaware of the situation on the front lines, but they feared he might act rashly. If that happened, this war would be impossible to fight.
The premise of preserving one's family was that you, as the Kampaku, wouldn't go mad. But if you were to go mad, then the family would be gone. It was better to save your own life first. If you defected to the Great Ming and helped them fight back later, perhaps your ancestral lands would be returned, and only you, the Kampaku, would be dead.
Xu Fu was indeed powerful, but what of it? He couldn't leave the country.
During these days, the Ming army also sent envoys to negotiate, demanding their side withdraw from Korea. The war would be considered over, and if they didn't receive a reply within sixty working days, they would attack the cities.
"It's fine. Whether I go back or continue fighting, at least I can have a peaceful two months."
Mori Terumoto held this thought.
He decided to simply give up.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, on the other hand, eagerly awaited his return. Once back, he could become the great traitor and cause trouble in a few years. If he managed to kill Toyotomi Hideyoshi and also get rid of Xu Fu, then he could establish himself as an ancestor.
He was only afraid that Hideyoshi would have a fit and tell them to "shatter like jade and sing like a bird," which would truly drive them mad.
Fortunately, after waiting for some time, they finally received Hideyoshi's reply.
Letters crossing the sea were not easy. It seemed a ghost god had crossed the sea last time, and many people had seen it. But later, it was chased away by a Ming immortal. At that time, Ieyasu thought that the reinforcements sent by Xu Fu were indeed powerful, but they always ended up defeated.
He inquired from the surviving onmyoji who were accompanying the army and learned some secrets. It seemed the level of immortals in their own country was far inferior to that of the Ming side. Of course, the immortals on the Ming side had also appeared suddenly.
The Ming dynasty had spies in Japan, and Japan also had traitors in the Ming dynasty. However, these traitors were usually in the coastal areas, entering the Ming dynasty through Japanese pirate raids or the trade of the Longyou merchant guilds. In fact, more entered through the merchant guilds.
Therefore, the Kampaku was aware of some matters concerning the cultivation world of the Ming dynasty. His choice to attack Korea at this time was based on the fact that although private trade was booming in the Ming dynasty, the national power showed signs of decline, which was reflected in the insufficient military strength and prolonged neglect of military preparedness.
There were naturally many internal reasons for the decay of a dynasty. If the Mandate of Heaven descended but was not grasped, at the end of a dynasty's collapse, others would come to claim it. If it could not be stopped, the world would change hands.
It was just unexpected that the Ming dynasty's cultivation world had also shown signs of decline, and then suddenly two true immortals appeared. This was truly exasperating.
Originally, their military strength and weaponry were far inferior to the Ming army. If it weren't for the help of a horde of wishful demons who were unafraid of death, plus the assistance of those fake immortals, they would have lost long ago. But the Ming army's third wave of reinforcements actually sent true immortals. The originally excellent situation, where they were on the verge of swallowing Korean territory, was suddenly pushed back to square one.
It wasn't a complete failure, as they hadn't achieved much in the first place. They had already been routed years ago when fighting against Li Rusong.
Tokugawa Ieyasu looked at Hideyoshi's letter and gradually began to smile.
"Gentlemen, this war is over. Japan has lost."
Mori and Kuroda exchanged glances. Seeing Tokugawa Ieyasu's overjoyed expression, they were momentarily unsure whether to speak or not!
Why do you look so happy?
If one didn't know, they would think Japan had won!
Who exactly was the one preparing to rebel?
"Why is Lord Ieyasu laughing?"
Kuroda gave Mori a look, implying that Ieyasu had hidden intentions and didn't seem so loyal to Hideyoshi.
Perhaps he was frightened by the assassination attempt by Hideaki last time.
As the two exchanged glances, Ieyasu immediately realized his gaffe and quickly changed his expression, his change of face so swift it was astonishing. He suddenly shed tears and cried out loudly:
"I am not laughing, but rather overcome with sorrow. As the saying goes, extreme yin gives birth to yang, and extreme yang gives birth to yin. There is also the saying that extreme joy can lead to tears. I have not yet cried, but my sorrow is uncontrollable, leading to a state of not knowing whether to laugh or cry!"
"It is all due to our incompetence that we have suffered such a great defeat! The Kampaku has not blamed us for our poor performance in his letter, but instead has ordered us to withdraw and return home. This is a great grace. Otherwise, for such a grave command error, I should cut open my belly to apologize!"
Mori and Kuroda immediately followed suit: "Yes, yes, we should also cut open our bellies! Cut open our bellies!"
"It is all because the Kampaku has forgiven our past mistakes and does not hold us accountable for this matter. This is a great kindness and virtue!"
The three looked at each other and then burst into happy laughter, each with their own hidden agenda.
There was no time to delay, for delay breeds change. If they were to run, it should be now. Although Mori suggested sending a declaration of armistice to the Ming army, it was only an armistice. Although it was said to be a withdrawal, the word "defeat" was only spoken by Ieyasu. Therefore, things like surrender letters or petitions for surrender were absolutely out of the question.
This was how the Land of the Sun was. They could lose, but they could not surrender. Even if their entire bodies were broken, their mouths would remain firm.
"Let's leave quickly and sneakily. What's there to show the Ming army? What if they go back on their word and intercept us at sea?"
Kuroda, uncharacteristically, did not align with Mori. He agreed with Ieyasu's opinion and suggested a quiet escape.
"Even if the Ming army didn't plan to pursue us at first, what about the Korean navy? They wouldn't let go of this opportunity, would they?"
Having fought the Seven Years' War with the Great Ming, the Japanese army had a thorough understanding of the Korean army, considering them the best sixth man. Of course, they weren't entirely useless most of the time, but they couldn't be said to be very useful either.
There were only a few brilliant generals, led by Yi Sun-sin. The others were generally mediocre and often made strange moves that detached them from the main force. Although the Korean army rarely fought independently, there were still some instances.
"Yes, that Yi Sun-sin's naval warfare is remarkable. If he leads the navy to pursue us, we might suffer heavy losses. Then let's withdraw tonight without further delay."
Speed is of the essence in war, and the same applies to escape. As night fell, the Japanese army began to gather in large numbers at the port. By dawn, the city was deserted, with everyone gathered on the coast, boarding ships and beginning their eastward voyage.
However, at this very moment, cannon fire suddenly erupted from the shore, continuous and incessant. Ieyasu looked up and saw many turtle ships emerging from the side of the coast, riding the wind and waves. Their speed was not fast, and behind the turtle ships were larger warships, which were clearly Ming army battleships!
"The flag bears the character 'Li'!"
"Yi Sun-sin! Not good, quickly! Have those boarding the ships at the front intercept them! Prepare for battle!"
Ieyasu secretly thought that the Koreans had indeed offered advice. Everything else was fine. In land battles, the Ming army basically ignored the advice of Korean generals. However, when it came to naval battles, it was different. Yi Sun-sin's military acumen was very high, and he had good relationships with several of the Ming army's main generals. His overall attitude was, "It is my greatest honor to be a dog of the Great Ming."
For this reason, it was normal for him to take the lead in naval battles, as long as it wasn't the King of Joseon or those exiled ministers micromanaging him. He was an old rival. Ieyasu felt a headache coming on, his head felt like it was about to explode. He wished he could shout at those turtle ships, "Sir, don't shoot, I'm one of your own."
Oh, I'm the "Sir" myself. Then things were serious.
On the other side, Yi Sun-sin drove his fleet forward to encircle the Japanese warships and sprayed fire from the turtle ships. Instantly, the sea was filled with flames. The warships behind them let out earth-shattering cannon fire, and Japanese warships were sunk from time to time.
Yi Sun-sin was also filled with pride.
Not long ago, the King of Joseon had made a foolish move, losing his entire navy. Then, after the troops were depleted, he sought Yi Sun-sin, who had been imprisoned by him. Upon hearing that he was to be reinstated, Yi Sun-sin was about to say "very well," but the next sentence was that their troops were gone.
The good news was that he was reinstated.
The bad news was that he had to fight the Japanese fleet alone.
Yi Sun-sin immediately told the King, "You truly are something, you always have a way with your tricks."
Therefore, there was no other choice but to borrow troops from the Ming army. Fortunately, he still had some influence with the Ming army, and they were surprisingly cooperative. Yi Sun-sin even planned to achieve a hundred years of maritime peace with this battle, eliminating the Japanese fleet and bringing stability for at least a century.
He would succeed or die trying. To this end, he even brought out the scrapped and broken ships from the warehouse, tied them with straw, doused them with oil, mixed them into the fleet, and lit torches.
"Commander-in-Chief, they are fire ships!"
"Mad dogs!"
Ieyasu saw Yi Sun-sin standing on a large ship holding a torch, and then those small fire ships began to charge desperately, with a spirit reminiscent of Japanese kamikaze attacks. Ieyasu was momentarily unable to distinguish who was the Japanese!
"Use divine power..."
Kuroda Nagamasa had just said this when he suddenly saw gusts of fierce wind blowing from the opposite sea. He saw water gods and flood dragons surging in the storm, wind gods and fog children pushing clouds, and the Four Divisions of Merit Officers appearing and disappearing, with the Twelve Divine Guardians scattered in all directions!
The Ming army had dispatched many divine generals at once!
"We have few divine generals left. The enemy is coming aggressively. I fear the immortal is also here!"
Hideyoshi's letter mentioned that the immortal had caused a great disturbance in Japan and then fled, and even Xu Fu couldn't capture him. This made Ieyasu feel that his role as a traitor was increasingly reliable, but he also feared that the immortal would truly appear on this battlefield.
As for the land in his own country, Ieyasu was not worried.
Mori Terumoto was the one who should be worried. His ancestral lands were in key areas of the Kansai region. It was rumored that the area around Izumo Province had also been ravaged, with landslides and earthquakes. Those were all Mori family properties.
His own ancestral lands were in the Kanto region. Although Hideyoshi had initially made mandatory adjustments to keep his forces away from the political center, Ieyasu was now truly grateful to Hideyoshi's ancestors for eighteen generations.
Haha, you placed your political center in Osaka, and Osaka was blown up.
Kyoto and Izumo were also blown up. This was truly good news. It was as if heaven itself wanted him to rise!
Just as Ieyasu thought he might be doomed here, suddenly a light surged from the sea, followed by the appearance of many warships in another part of the sea.
Todo Takatora, who had long fled to the eastern port and had been observing from the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity, had returned. He brought with him Honda Tadakatsu and others who had orderly retreated from the front lines to the only port in the east. Upon discovering that Ieyasu was surrounded by the Ming army, they immediately came to his aid. Todo Takatora threw a treasure bead.
"Adsumi Isora, Tide-Swelling Pearl!"
Adsumi Isora is an ancient god in Japanese Shintoism, the god of the sea. He possessed two treasure beads, one being the Tide-Swelling Pearl and the other the Tide-Ebbing Pearl. In essence, they could control the ebb and flow of the sea tide. Legend has it that they were dragon pearls from the Dragon Palace and were extremely powerful treasures of Shinto.
In ancient legends, Empress Jingū, the wife of Emperor Chūai, had used these two treasure beads to defeat the Three Han, drowning many Han soldiers with tsunamis and forcing the King of Silla to kneel in submission.
Now, as they were retreating from Korea, the dragon pearls reappeared. Facing the armies that appeared on the land of the Three Han, although they were the Ming army, they were still from the northern land of Korea.
Upon seeing this, Honda Tadakatsu couldn't help but exclaim, "It's like a myth come to life."
Seeing the sea boiling and swirling, with countless flood dragons roaring out of the sea, attempting to reverse the vortex, Todo Takatora held the Tide-Swelling Pearl. As this divine artifact unleashed its power, the sea boiled, driving away all the flood dragons. Immediately, a massive wave surged into the sky and crashed towards the Ming navy led by Yi Sun-sin!