Post by ajk on Jul 3, 2015 12:25:19 GMT -5
This just gets more and more frustrating for Ryu. Li Rusong not only retreated but retreated miles farther from the capital than he said he would. All the way to Kaesong. Ryu protests but Li tells him to butt out, and when word arrives that Kato's army is moving south, Li rejects the obvious conclusion that it's to unite with the other Japanese armies at Hanyang, and instead says he thinks Kato will attack Pyongyang. Which is ridiculous. "We have to defend Pyongyang first," he insists, and when Ryu continues to protest, Li has him physically picked up and carried out of the room. And to make things worse, Ryu now gets word that Gwon Yul did move his forces northward to Haengjusanseong like Ryu instructed--but since a main attack on Hanyang is obviously not going to happen now, Gwon's forces are exposed and vulnerable.
Hanyang: Ukita and the Japanese generals know where Gwon's forces are. We learn that Gwon has picked up another 5,000 troops to go with the original 4,000. But with the total Japan forces at around 30,000 and with the Ming army as far back as Kaesong, well...Ukita decides it's worth the risk to make an immediate strike and try to eliminate the southern threat. "I will command this battle myself," he says. Hmm.....
Jeongju: Shen Weijing is lobbying Song Yingchang for peace talks but Song's orders are "to defeat the Wae army, not hold peace talks" and he doesn't want to hear it. But Shen presses. Think of how the emperor will praise you, he says, if you can win a victory without shedding blood. And when Shen tells Song about the movement of Gwon Yul's forces and the obvious plan to attack independently, Song doesn't like that at all. "I warned them. They moved an army without discussing it with us?" Shen figures it must be Ryu's doing and calls Ryu "a dangerous man." They agree that Gwon's army needs to be abandoned and defeated to teach Ryu and Joseon a lesson! But wait, they can tell that to Ryu right now because he shows up and implores Song to order Li Rusong to attack the capital. "Give me some time to think about it," Song says nonchalantly...and then surprises Ryu by saying he knows about the southern army's movement. Ryu is caught totally off guard. Order them not to have any contact with the enemy, Song says to Ryu, and walks out on him.
Haengjusanseong: "Do you think they'll attack us first?" Gwon is no fool, and neither is his subordinate Jo Gyeong. They know it's very possible. And they're going to be outmanned and outgunned if it happens. They even start preparing bags full of ashes "to throw in the eyes of the enemy when we run out of ammunition."
That night: Sure enough, the Japanese emerge from Hanyang and head south. And Gwon Yul gets the news that 30,000 Japanese are headed his way and the Ming army isn't doing anything about it. Yikes. But Gwon isn't fazed at all. Sees it as an opportunity, even. Orders immediate preparations for battle, and quietly rallies his men.
It's nighttime but Ryu goes to the king and begs him to talk to Song Yingchang. Seonjo orders Song summoned immediately. But Song has conveniently disappeared for the night.
Oh wait, he hasn't disappeared, he's gone to see Li Rusong. Has just told him about the Joseon forces moving independently. Li agrees they shouldn't have done it...but then to his credit, says attacking the maneuver "isn't a bad idea" and now he wants to attack Hanyang! But Song tells him "the Joseon army needs to be taught a lesson for you to command them properly" and orders Li to do nothing.
Seonjo is furious with Ryu for creating this mess but absolutely refuses to allow any more Joseon soldiers to be moved to support Gwon Yul. Doesn't want to risk angering Ming any further. So Ryu can't move any soldiers, but he does order extra arrows to be gathered and sent by boat to Haengjusanseong. A boat will get them there faster, apparently...and from what we heard, the arrows will help immensely.
Next morning: Here come the Japanese. But Gwon Yul is waiting for them. His forces faces long odds...but Gwon won his last battle against long odds and he's not afraid of this one either. Fortunately they've set up some strong wooden barricades in front of them, and (although it's not mentioned or discussed at all, surprisingly) we can see that the Joseonese are on higher ground and that the enemy will have to charge upwards at them. That will help, no question. But no more speculating; here comes the first charge....The Japanese charge bravely, and their musket units provide cover and inflict some early casualties. But Gwon's forces stay calm...and with good reason. They've got cannon units up front, and they start firing those time bombs. And good heavens do they work. Entire small pockets of the charge are decimated as each bomb explodes. Very quickly the enemy is slowing and hesitating. Joseon archers are brought forward and so are some of those ingenious "hwacha" setups that fire entire arrays of arrows using gunpowder. And it's absolute carnage. Konishi looks around and knows this isn't going well at all and orders an immediate retreat.
Jeongju: The arrows have been gathered and the boat is set to leave...but guess what, news arrives that the battle is on already. Ryu is devastated, fears the worst. He's so rattled, he actually wants to rush to Haengjusanseong and fight there himself. But his people won't let him leave the premises, sensibly. At least the arrows are on their way.
Wow look at all the dead Japanese. And the silence...after what we just saw, the silence is jarring. A great first result for Gwon's forces. But uh-oh, they're out of ammo. Local women are even bringing stones in their aprons to throw at the enemy, it's that bleak. Gwon knows the enemy will be back.
Ukita has a temper tantrum. But somehow he's learned that that the enemy is out of ammunition so he orders another attack.
And now they're back, staring at the enemy barricades again. "We have to end it this time," Ukita says. Gwon knows it looks terribly bleak...but just in time, the arrows from Jeongju arrive. Ukita orders the attack, and up the terrain they go again. We're shocked to see more cannon-fired time bombs and hwacha arrows from the Joseon side--weren't they out of them? Either way, this time it's not enough to stop the enemy from reaching the wooden barricades. In at least one spot they penetrate them and a furious sword battle breaks out behind the Joseon line. But here's a stroke of incredible luck: Gwon manages to spot Ukita in the middle of it all and orders fire directed at him. From inside a wooden shed, it looks like musket fire! And Ukita falls. As the sword battle rages around him, we can see that even the local women are pitching in, pounding on fallen Japanese with stones to finish them off. Elsewhere, where the barricades are holding strong the Joseon forces are thrusting spears through them to cut down the attackers. Ukita is helped to his feet and can see it's going terribly; he's forced to order another retreat. Konishi and Yoshitoshi are stunned to hear the retreat horn blowing; they had no intention of retreating but they comply.
Uh-oh, something's wrong with Gwon. Wait, maybe just exhaustion, he's not a young guy...he's helped to his feet and he looks okay now. He gets to survey another covering of dead Japanese all over the battlefield. Another amazing victory. But this one wasn't without cost. We see significant numbers of dead and wounded. Even some of those village women who pitched in so bravely. Narration and graphics tell us that the Japanese made a total of seven attacks on Haengjusanseong from multiple directions and that all seven failed. And that they retreated back to Hanyang, their morale and confidence destroyed.
"Thank you, God." Darned right, Ryu, you are very fortunate.
Hanyang: A miraculously healed Ukita learns from Konishi that their rations are too low now to survive a main attack from the north. "You should seek peace talks," Konishi advises, and simply accept all of the land south of the Han River. (Which is less than Konishi asked Shen Weijing for, remember--his original boundary was the Taedong River.) Peace talks with Ming, not Joseon. With the way things are going right now, Joseon won't want peace talks, but Ming is obviously reluctant to fight. Konishi says he'll make contact with Shen Weijing.
"They want to negotiate?" Song chuckles. We might as well at least hear them out, he tells Shen. Shen suggests offering them the three southern provinces if it gets them out of the capital. Song says these have to be secret talks, without the Joseon court's knowledge. And he says that and Ryu needs to be removed from office!
Ryu writes to Yi Sunsin.
Li Rusong is back in Jeongju and before Seonjo, who asks him to advance to Hanyang now. Obviously it's a great time, with the enemy so badly battered. But Li bluffs anger at the battle not being approved by him Joseon didn't start it, Seonjo points out, but Li fires back that they provoked it by moving their forces. He says it must have been Ryu who ordered the movement and he wants Ryu removed. "He interferes all the time. Remove him from office right away!" Seonjo is stunned.
Hanyang: Ukita and the Japanese generals know where Gwon's forces are. We learn that Gwon has picked up another 5,000 troops to go with the original 4,000. But with the total Japan forces at around 30,000 and with the Ming army as far back as Kaesong, well...Ukita decides it's worth the risk to make an immediate strike and try to eliminate the southern threat. "I will command this battle myself," he says. Hmm.....
Jeongju: Shen Weijing is lobbying Song Yingchang for peace talks but Song's orders are "to defeat the Wae army, not hold peace talks" and he doesn't want to hear it. But Shen presses. Think of how the emperor will praise you, he says, if you can win a victory without shedding blood. And when Shen tells Song about the movement of Gwon Yul's forces and the obvious plan to attack independently, Song doesn't like that at all. "I warned them. They moved an army without discussing it with us?" Shen figures it must be Ryu's doing and calls Ryu "a dangerous man." They agree that Gwon's army needs to be abandoned and defeated to teach Ryu and Joseon a lesson! But wait, they can tell that to Ryu right now because he shows up and implores Song to order Li Rusong to attack the capital. "Give me some time to think about it," Song says nonchalantly...and then surprises Ryu by saying he knows about the southern army's movement. Ryu is caught totally off guard. Order them not to have any contact with the enemy, Song says to Ryu, and walks out on him.
Haengjusanseong: "Do you think they'll attack us first?" Gwon is no fool, and neither is his subordinate Jo Gyeong. They know it's very possible. And they're going to be outmanned and outgunned if it happens. They even start preparing bags full of ashes "to throw in the eyes of the enemy when we run out of ammunition."
That night: Sure enough, the Japanese emerge from Hanyang and head south. And Gwon Yul gets the news that 30,000 Japanese are headed his way and the Ming army isn't doing anything about it. Yikes. But Gwon isn't fazed at all. Sees it as an opportunity, even. Orders immediate preparations for battle, and quietly rallies his men.
It's nighttime but Ryu goes to the king and begs him to talk to Song Yingchang. Seonjo orders Song summoned immediately. But Song has conveniently disappeared for the night.
Oh wait, he hasn't disappeared, he's gone to see Li Rusong. Has just told him about the Joseon forces moving independently. Li agrees they shouldn't have done it...but then to his credit, says attacking the maneuver "isn't a bad idea" and now he wants to attack Hanyang! But Song tells him "the Joseon army needs to be taught a lesson for you to command them properly" and orders Li to do nothing.
Seonjo is furious with Ryu for creating this mess but absolutely refuses to allow any more Joseon soldiers to be moved to support Gwon Yul. Doesn't want to risk angering Ming any further. So Ryu can't move any soldiers, but he does order extra arrows to be gathered and sent by boat to Haengjusanseong. A boat will get them there faster, apparently...and from what we heard, the arrows will help immensely.
Next morning: Here come the Japanese. But Gwon Yul is waiting for them. His forces faces long odds...but Gwon won his last battle against long odds and he's not afraid of this one either. Fortunately they've set up some strong wooden barricades in front of them, and (although it's not mentioned or discussed at all, surprisingly) we can see that the Joseonese are on higher ground and that the enemy will have to charge upwards at them. That will help, no question. But no more speculating; here comes the first charge....The Japanese charge bravely, and their musket units provide cover and inflict some early casualties. But Gwon's forces stay calm...and with good reason. They've got cannon units up front, and they start firing those time bombs. And good heavens do they work. Entire small pockets of the charge are decimated as each bomb explodes. Very quickly the enemy is slowing and hesitating. Joseon archers are brought forward and so are some of those ingenious "hwacha" setups that fire entire arrays of arrows using gunpowder. And it's absolute carnage. Konishi looks around and knows this isn't going well at all and orders an immediate retreat.
Jeongju: The arrows have been gathered and the boat is set to leave...but guess what, news arrives that the battle is on already. Ryu is devastated, fears the worst. He's so rattled, he actually wants to rush to Haengjusanseong and fight there himself. But his people won't let him leave the premises, sensibly. At least the arrows are on their way.
Wow look at all the dead Japanese. And the silence...after what we just saw, the silence is jarring. A great first result for Gwon's forces. But uh-oh, they're out of ammo. Local women are even bringing stones in their aprons to throw at the enemy, it's that bleak. Gwon knows the enemy will be back.
Ukita has a temper tantrum. But somehow he's learned that that the enemy is out of ammunition so he orders another attack.
And now they're back, staring at the enemy barricades again. "We have to end it this time," Ukita says. Gwon knows it looks terribly bleak...but just in time, the arrows from Jeongju arrive. Ukita orders the attack, and up the terrain they go again. We're shocked to see more cannon-fired time bombs and hwacha arrows from the Joseon side--weren't they out of them? Either way, this time it's not enough to stop the enemy from reaching the wooden barricades. In at least one spot they penetrate them and a furious sword battle breaks out behind the Joseon line. But here's a stroke of incredible luck: Gwon manages to spot Ukita in the middle of it all and orders fire directed at him. From inside a wooden shed, it looks like musket fire! And Ukita falls. As the sword battle rages around him, we can see that even the local women are pitching in, pounding on fallen Japanese with stones to finish them off. Elsewhere, where the barricades are holding strong the Joseon forces are thrusting spears through them to cut down the attackers. Ukita is helped to his feet and can see it's going terribly; he's forced to order another retreat. Konishi and Yoshitoshi are stunned to hear the retreat horn blowing; they had no intention of retreating but they comply.
Uh-oh, something's wrong with Gwon. Wait, maybe just exhaustion, he's not a young guy...he's helped to his feet and he looks okay now. He gets to survey another covering of dead Japanese all over the battlefield. Another amazing victory. But this one wasn't without cost. We see significant numbers of dead and wounded. Even some of those village women who pitched in so bravely. Narration and graphics tell us that the Japanese made a total of seven attacks on Haengjusanseong from multiple directions and that all seven failed. And that they retreated back to Hanyang, their morale and confidence destroyed.
"Thank you, God." Darned right, Ryu, you are very fortunate.
Hanyang: A miraculously healed Ukita learns from Konishi that their rations are too low now to survive a main attack from the north. "You should seek peace talks," Konishi advises, and simply accept all of the land south of the Han River. (Which is less than Konishi asked Shen Weijing for, remember--his original boundary was the Taedong River.) Peace talks with Ming, not Joseon. With the way things are going right now, Joseon won't want peace talks, but Ming is obviously reluctant to fight. Konishi says he'll make contact with Shen Weijing.
"They want to negotiate?" Song chuckles. We might as well at least hear them out, he tells Shen. Shen suggests offering them the three southern provinces if it gets them out of the capital. Song says these have to be secret talks, without the Joseon court's knowledge. And he says that and Ryu needs to be removed from office!
Ryu writes to Yi Sunsin.
Li Rusong is back in Jeongju and before Seonjo, who asks him to advance to Hanyang now. Obviously it's a great time, with the enemy so badly battered. But Li bluffs anger at the battle not being approved by him Joseon didn't start it, Seonjo points out, but Li fires back that they provoked it by moving their forces. He says it must have been Ryu who ordered the movement and he wants Ryu removed. "He interferes all the time. Remove him from office right away!" Seonjo is stunned.