In 1561, the Wokou problem was still a problem for the ming dynasty's southeastern sea frontiers. Because wang Zhi, an absolute authority figure, has been executed by the authorities in an unconvincing manner, most of the small and medium-sized pirate groups have lost their coordination and are not far as willing to endure as before. To this end, they began to redivide according to the region of their hometown, and caused a serious impact on the defense of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. For example, the Battle of Taizhou that occurred in that year was a concentrated manifestation of such a phenomenon.
However, in the past, people always simply regarded the Battle of Taizhou as an easy victory for the newly built Qi family army, and it was easy to ignore many details during the period. In fact, this confrontation, which was arguably the strongest counterattack of the Wokou, was more like a large-scale uprising that affected half of Zhejiang Province.
Since its founding, the Ming Dynasty has been instinctively hostile to the coastal commodity economy
As early as the 14th century, the newly established Ming Dynasty imposed strict sea bans on coastal areas. It is not only necessary to put an end to the supply of materials for political enemies who have fled, but also to fundamentally stifle the non-agricultural economy in the region. Among them, Zhejiang has become a key regulatory object because it is closest to the southern province where the capital city of Nanjing is located. It has been set up with 16 guards and 35 military institutions, and the number of military households under its jurisdiction is as high as more than 297,000 people. In terms of deployment density and armament level, they are better than Fujian and Guangdong, which are more dependent on the marine economy.
Even so, smuggling groups of coastal fishermen, petty traders and bankrupt farmers have not been able to be completely eradicated by the high-pressure situation. Whether it was the garrison of the guardhouse that was regularly attacked, or the Korean doctors who happened to pass by, there were reports or notes depicting the activities of these early Wokou. With the passage of time, many local gentry have also joined the gray industrial chain for economic interests, and have repeatedly used bribery to pull down military households in the system. Their very existence is also a necessary means of maintaining the local economy from complete collapse. Even the expansion and maintenance of many military settlements is inseparable from their secret blood transfusions.
The Jiajing Emperor traveling by boat
Of course, the above balance was challenged by the internal strife of the Ming court. From 1521 onwards, the foundationless Jiajing Emperor suddenly entered the Forbidden City and immediately set off a purge that lasted until his own death. Although the monarch himself did not have much malice toward these conventional unspoken rules, he was happy to use them as a reasonable excuse for his own operation to shuffle. Therefore, he often sent Chincha to Zhejiang to supervise the war, and at the cost of harming economic gains, he eliminated the original team of people who were already in a deep twilight to a secondary position. Thus holding the remaining resources in hand and winning a lot of praise for themselves from the Confucian class.
Unfortunately, the problem of wokou was not alleviated by the strong implementation of the imperial court. On the contrary, every victory that can be called a big victory is immediately followed by a natural backlash of even greater scale. For example, launching a devastating raid on Zhoushan Yuegang led to the concentration of various Wukou groups, which directly achieved the huge momentum of the Wang Zhi clique. This was followed by a sneak attack and killing of Wang Zhi himself, which re-intensified the contradictions between the officials and the people, who had just eased up. Therefore, even if troops are constantly dispatched from other places to carry out bullet pressure, they cannot achieve real results by continuous victory. As for the ordinary people who have remained in the coastal cottages, they have suffered extremely heavy losses as a result of the continuous conflict.
Map of Hangzhou Bay in the middle of the Ming Dynasty
Smuggling merchant boats traveling through the coastal water system of Zhejiang
In the spring of 1561, the consorts who had previously been subordinate to Wang Zhi regrouped to prepare for military retaliation against the Ming army's Zhejiang East Coastal Defense system. Although there was no longer any assistance from the alliances from Fujian and Guangdong, it still relied on the support of the local people and barely cobbled together a total of 20,000 people + 50 ships of armed size. Considering that the largest lucky ship at that time could only carry a hundred people, many of the so-called Wokou who participated in the uprising should have come from the nearby coast and even the inland mountains. At least in proportion, far more than the portion of the sea route that was killed from Places like Hirado Island in Japan.
In terms of strategy, Wokou still regarded Ningbo as his preferred target. Because since the middle and late Tang Dynasty, it is the most important port on the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Even in the Ming Dynasty, which strictly observed trade control measures, it was also the seat of the municipal shipping division that accepted Japanese tributary missions, and there were close ties with the interests of various smugglers. Many of the early clashes with the officers and soldiers were also basically centered on the reform of Hong Kong. Of course, in order to distract the defenders as much as possible, the Wokou still planned to launch a feint attack on Taizhou to the south. In particular, the three health posts blocked between the county seat and the coast have long been a thorn in the eyes and a thorn in the flesh of the hearts of the people. Therefore, this all-out attack will be carried out in a four-way manner.
The Ming Dynasty's tributary trade and coastal defense system in Zhejiang were all based on Ningbo Province as the absolute core
On the other hand, Ming officials also gradually upgraded the level of defense along the coast of Zhejiang after the Battle of Cen Gang in 1558. First of all, because of the extremely long anti-Wu front, there was a serious shortage of mobile units originally dominated by Guangxi wolf soldiers. Therefore, Qi Jiguang's additional recruitment request was approved, and 3,000 new Qi family troops were trained by Yiwu miners in western Zhejiang. The second was the revitalization of the declining admiralty fleet, with the addition of 44 newly built warships to be used to cut the back roads of the Wokou in the event of an outbreak of land warfare. Finally, there is the self-reinforcement of the local guardhouse, at least in the case of a surprise attack.
Because of this, when the news came that the large-scale Wukou were about to attack Ningbo, Qi Jiguang was also able to introduce countermeasures with a plan. He personally led the mobile force to the local area to support the resistance against the enemy, and at the same time, he could safely assign the garrison in Taizhou City to the coastal guard station. However, Qi Jiajun's forwards had not yet set foot in Ninghai, and their own dispatch had been learned by Shangzhoushan's Wokou fleet. The latter also immediately adjusted its strategy and adjusted the main direction of attack to Taizhou to the south. It is hoped that he will take the opportunity to stagger the elite of the Enlightened Army and control this land surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on the other. There were even a small number of subordinates who went to Wenzhou, creating an unprecedented sense of oppression.
The concentrated attacks of the coastal Wokou achieved the peak of Qi Jiguang's personal career
Judging from the subsequent development of the war situation, the strategy of the Wokou generally achieved the desired effect. The main force of the Qi family army was successfully drawn to the vicinity of Ningbo, leaving only the less effective guards to defend Taizhou. It was not until halfway through the battle that it was hurried back from the northern front to the south for reinforcements. The marine fleet is even more "invisible" throughout the whole process, and there is no sense of presence in the confrontation that lasts for several days.
Of course, wokou also comes with many insurmountable defects. For example, although it can be grand in scale, there is no command and coordination mechanism that matches it, let alone a more superior grass-roots tactical system. In other words, once the various groups of people move separately, there is almost no room for adjustment. Due to the absence of the Guangdong and Fujian allies, their ships and weapons were slightly inferior in terms of technology, and they could not form a local advantage over the Ming army that was stubbornly defending the city. More importantly, directly applying the experience of long-term confrontation with the decaying guards, there is no psychological preparation necessary to meet a strong enemy.
The nature of the group determines that the operational organization of the Wokou is relatively low
The Wokou fleet that is landing
On April 19, 1561, the first fleet of Wokou ships set sail from several outer islands in Zhoushan and successfully assembled at the port of Xiangshan in southern Ningbo. Before the nearby Ming army could react, a group of people had already entered Fenghua along the fjord and set up camp in Xifengling. Although it failed to conquer any important towns, it successfully attracted the Qi family army located in the south of Ninghai and the marine fleet of the main city of Ningbo in the north. Because the entire Ming Dynasty front command at that time was based on experience, it was concluded that the Wukou were the main attack on Ningbo, and even sent some of the local garrisons in Taizhou to the northern front.
However, Wokou still misestimated the mobile combat capabilities of the newly formed Qi family army. This gradual recruitment team of Guangxi wolf soldiers almost reproduces all the characteristic attributes of the original version. In the initial selection of soldiers, it was specially selected in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, which also has a mountainous environment. The number of hired miners and soldiers has a more mature self-management system before joining the army, which is very suitable for militarization. Therefore, as long as the food rations are enough, they will march hard and fight bravely, and it is not easy to have a black box contact with the Wokou like their coastal colleagues. Qi Jiguang also relied on such 3,000 elite soldiers to gradually show his prominence on the battlefield in eastern Zhejiang.
Qijia army soldiers in training
On April 22, the beacon of the Battle of Taizhou was first ignited in Ningbo. Because the Wokou had already transferred most of their forces to the south, only more than 2,000 people were directly opposed to the Ming army. However, relying on the results of deception accumulated earlier, it still succeeded in delaying the Qi family army as the main force for several days. It was not until his flank rear was also threatened by the admiral that he chose to hurriedly board the ship and disengage.
At the same time, the other detachments had successfully arrived in Taizhou, besieging the three forts of Weishou in Taozhu, Jianjiao, and Xinhe, and waiting for the opportunity to advance in the direction of the main city further inland. Although the Ming army stationed at all ends desperately resisted, it was still suppressed by this sudden and undimensional attack. In particular, in Xinhe, where there is a large shortage of soldiers, a large number of military family members can only be mobilized to the head of the city, and time can be delayed by arranging more flags and collective shouting.
The members of the Wokou were almost all lightly armored soldiers
At this time, the weakness of the Wokou's lack of ability to attack the stronghold was also quickly exposed. Since most of them were private armed forces in eastern Zhejiang who had returned from the outer coastal islands or from Hirado, Japan, they could not be equipped with large firearms such as the Flang machine like their Fujian counterparts, and even the equipment rate of ordinary arquebusiers could not catch up with the Guangdong Wokou. Most of the members, including local receivers, lacked protective equipment such as armor, and only a small number of Japanese ronin who joined the group had helmets or light protective gear. In addition, the proportion of archers in the team is relatively low, and it is almost difficult to maintain fire suppression against the city that is waiting for the city. The result is that the time difference caused by the raid is consumed in vain, and he can often only be trapped around until the situation changes.
Sure enough, after dispersing the small group of Wokou around Ninghai, Qi Jiguang re-transferred the mobile troops in his hands to the southern front. The first is to solve the problem of the nearby Jump guard on the side, and use the old method of internal and external cooperation to drive a thousand Wokou into the sea. Then land and water merged into Taozhu, which was closer to the main city, and also quickly dispersed the opponents who surrounded the fortress. In the end, the entire Qi family army was divided into two, and taizhou and Xinhe Weishou were reinforced separately. In addition, there was also the garrison of ordinary guards led by general Tang Yaochen, who arrived at the Xinhefen battlefield one step earlier.
Most of the ships used by the Wokou were also relatively small
On 26 April, the Wokou besieging Shinga had lost their previous vigor and began to disperse their forces to solve logistical problems. Tang Yaochen's 2,000 guards suddenly appeared south of the city, quickly eliminating the ships and guards left on the shore, and forcing the other side to quickly concentrate the remaining 1,000 people near the front bridge of the Seongnam Temple.
In order to rescue the family members trapped in the fortress as soon as possible, this guardhouse unit, which was mainly composed of local military households in Taizhou, did not wait for the main force of the Qi family army to arrive and directly started to work. With the assistance of a small number of Haimen reinforcements from Jiangbei, they quickly arranged the front and rear two-line arrays to meet the opponent's counterattack with a relatively dense shield wall. Wokou, on the other hand, was hastily sent out due to the uneven composition of the team, and although he was able to barely dispatch a long snake array before the start of the battle, he could not maintain a frontal alignment in the echelon charge of three or five groups. So much so that paying huge casualties and not shaking the Ming army's position in the slightest, but letting his living forces be broken one by one.
Ming Dynasty ordinary coastal guard uniform
The battle lasted from noon until the sun left work, and finally ended with the initiative of the Wokou side fleeing westward. However, in the case of losing the sea vessel reception, they still relied on the assistance of local supporters to break through, allowing many members to successfully escape from the southwest and the southwest. By the time 1,500 elite soldiers of the Qi family army arrived at Xinhe, Tang Yaochen's partial division had basically solved all the battles.
On April 27, the other half of the Qi family army also accelerated to Huajie Street, which was only a few miles away from the main city of Taizhou, surprising all the Wokou who were nearly 8,000 people. Qi Jiguang himself personally appeared on the battlefield to supervise the battle, and sent people to let the military households and militia in the city assist him in blocking the other side's retreat. Then he calmly arranged the three-talent formation he had painstakingly pondered, and sat and waited for the stubborn enemy who was encircled to take the initiative to attack him. Although the Wokou side has an absolute scale advantage on the books, more than half of them are dragging their families and mouths to the corresponding local villagers, and only 3,000 absolute backbones are really capable of fighting. As usual, they discharged the traditional one-word long snake array and launched an onslaught on the Qi family army, which was completely superior in weapons. As a result, they fell in front of a tight network of hot and cold weapons such as fire bolts and wolf claws, and quickly lost 308 members. The remnants quickly fled to the inland mountains to the west, leaving only 5,000 old, sick and disabled to be re-collected in the name of the "captive population". This clash, known historically as the Battle of Flower Street, was also the first large-scale collision between the Qi family army and the Opponent of the Wokou.
The two armies were mobile deployed in the Battle of Taizhou
The composition of the Qi family's mountain troops allowed them to complete the maneuver at a very fast speed
After the Battle of Huajie on April 27, the multi-faceted attack on Taizhou by the Wokou had largely failed. Their fleet was either destroyed by the raiding Ming army in the beachhead anchorage, or overwhelmed and fled directly into the sea. The level of armament that was too inferior was the root of its inability to break through any fortress.
However, the landing Wokou, who were partially blocked and blocked from retreating, still did not give up their will to resist and hope for survival. Among them, more than 2,000 people regrouped and fled with their families to Lishui, a mountain city in western Zhejiang, in early May. However, Qi Jiguang, who had repeatedly won, was certainly not willing to let them go, and continued to lead 3,000 concubine troops to intercept them.
The Wukou scattered troops fought against the Qi family army, which used the Three Talents Array
The superiority of the Qi family's army in terms of troop sources was also further magnified in the continuous rainy night rapid march. The volunteer miners who have lived in the mountains since childhood have almost no stop crossing multiple paths, and successfully climbed the Shangfeng Ridge northeast of the sea before the other party. When wokou passed through the canyon without any knowledge, he collapsed again due to ambushes. Half of them were killed in the Battle of Shangfengling, and the remaining women and children were once again captured in the name of "captive population".
After that, 2,000 Wokou who had previously attacked Ningbo took 18 ships into Changsha, north of Wenzhou, to camp on May 17. For them, further south would be forced to leave their homeland. The middle area at the time of the two big cities is undoubtedly the last chance to fight for the local base area. However, the Qi family army still boarded the marine division ship provided by Lu Bo, the general of Zhejiang, and pursued it 4 days later on the 19th. First, the opponent's main force was attracted by a frontal three-talent formation, and then the strange soldiers were sent back to the shore to burn the ships. After a whole day of multi-layered deployment, all the Wokou were successfully driven into the sea and killed. At this point, this large-scale and multi-involving Battle of Taizhou ended in the complete victory of the Ming Dynasty officials and troops.
The Captured Wokou in Changsha, Wenzhou
Compared with the previous several anti-Japanese confrontations, the Battle of Taizhou undoubtedly has a special nature on many levels. Although the previous Wokou were also complex and scattered, they had never possessed such a level of single-time dispatch scale. Obviously, neither the outlaws who are stranded in Hirado, Japan, nor the potential danger elements hidden in the outer islands of Zhoushan, will be able to gather so many people in a short period of time.
However, the victorious Ming Army repeatedly mentioned the "captive population" with a considerable number of prisoners, which became the key to deciphering the strange phenomenon for future generations. Considering that since the time of Wang Zhi's capture and killing, the Ming dynasty officials have been constantly working to strengthen the inherent policy of sea prohibition, the local uprising nature of the Battle of Taizhou has become more and more obvious. Moreover, if the Wokou did not have enough sympathizers in the area, they would not be able to be so clear about the dispatch of the officers and troops, and it would be even more impossible to choose to flee to the mountains far from the coast.
The areas attacked by the Wokou were all weishou military household communities
Finally, all the strategic targets that wokou repeatedly attacked during the operation were the weishou jurisdiction of the Ming army to build the city and deploy it. Although many of them lived in a large number of women and children, in terms of the nature of the social identity at that time, they were all registered in the military category of the imperial court. They have their own independent communities and carry out hegemonic policies that are contrary to the interests of one party, so they are completely cut off from the original indigenous peoples. Such gaps can still be whitewashed by Wenzhi martial arts in the middle and early Ming Dynasty, and will become very deadly by the time the Qing army enters the pass later.