In 1591, in Japan, at the age of 56, Toyotomi Hideyoshi fell in love with wandering around to relieve the pain of losing his only son, Tsurumatsu. One day, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ascended to the attic of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, looked west, felt something in his heart, and said to his entourage, "When the eldest husband is thousands of miles away with his martial arts, why should he be depressed?" Then, he really did an earth-shattering event, that is, to use the strength of the whole country to cross the sea and expedition to Korea, and then conquer the Ming Dynasty.
In 1592, Governor Konishi and Kiyomasa Kato officially began an expedition to Korea, and in April, the Japanese army arrived in Korea and captured Busan and Donglai. Subsequently, the Japanese army was like a bamboo, besieging the city, and the Korean king Li Fu abandoned the capital Seoul and fled north in a hurry. In May, the Japanese captured Seoul, and in June, the Japanese captured Pyongyang. At this point, almost all of Korea's territory had been lost, and Li Fu was even ready to take refuge in the Ming Dynasty.
Today's Korea wants to defeat the Japanese army, and now there seems to be no other way but to ask the Ming Dynasty for help, but at this moment, a miracle occurred: the admiral Li Shunchen defeated the Japanese water army and threatened the Supply Line of the Japanese Army.
Speaking of Li Shunchen, people familiar with the Wanli Korean War must be familiar with him. When Japan attacked Korea, Lee Sun-chan was one of the few Korean generals who could win many battles, and today, South Korea has a destroyer named "Chungmuro Lee Shun-chen" named after this famous general.
Li Shunchen's film and television drama image
Li Shunchen (李舜臣), courtesy name Harmonious Ru, was born in Seoul, and although his family was a scholar, he preferred the military. In 1576, Li Shunchen, who was already over 30 years old, took the examination for the Martial Arts of the Middle Grade, and from then on embarked on his career. Li Shunchen's first official position was Baopu Wanhu, but it did not take long for him to be deposed and idle at home, and it was not until ten years later that Li Shunchen re-entered his career as an orogen.
In 1587, Li Shunchen went to Lutun Island to take charge of defense. Lutun Island is adjacent to the Jurchen tribe, the Jurchens often come here to plunder the Korean people, unfortunately, Li Shunchen just took office encountered this kind of bad luck, the Jurchens killed more than a dozen people this time, snatched away one hundred and sixty people, Li Shunchen and colleague Li Qinglu led troops to pursue, killed three Jurchens, and recaptured more than fifty people. Although Li Shunchen had meritorious service, it was difficult to make up for it, and his superiors wanted to be dealt with by military law, and Li Shunchen calmly and calmly explained to his superiors: "Before the soldiers were too few and defensive, I asked for more troops, you did not agree, there is your text as evidence." When his superiors heard this, they immediately pardoned Li Shunchen and made him join the army in white and make meritorious atonement for his sins. Soon, Li Shunchen used a trick to trap the Jurchen chieftain Yi Qinai, not only reinstating the official, but also promoting his own reputation.
In 1589, Lee Soon-seng was promoted to the governor of Jeong-eue County, and over the next year, Lee Soon-sun, under the support of his friend Yoo Sung-yong, was promoted by a three-step jump, first as the guard of Jindo County, then as the emissary of the Garypo Water Army, and finally as the emissary of the Left Water Army of Jeolla Province, in charge of part of the water army of Jeolla Province.
Li Shunchen actively engaged in his work, while training the water army, he also transformed the warship, and the famous turtle ship of later generations was born. The turtle boat is shaped like a turtle, made of thick wooden planks made of vaults, blocking the bow board, stern board, bottom plate and ribs, and there is no bare portboard. The outer planks are nailed with many sharp spikes and hexagonal armor pieces of protection, which do not give the enemy the opportunity to board the ship, and when fighting the enemy, it is only necessary to spread thatch on the outer wooden board to attract those who board the ship and commit suicide. The bow of the ship is a dragon head, the dragon head has a hole in the mouth, the stern is a turtle tail, there is also a hole under the turtle tail, and there are six holes on the left and right of the hull. With the turtle ship, the soldiers don't have to worry about danger, just attack on all sides.
Turtle boat restoration map
In April 1592, when japan attacked Korea, I don't know which minister suggested to King Li Fu of Korea to abolish the water army, change all water troops to the army, and land to defend the Japanese army. Li Shunchen naturally did not comply with this kind of stupid behavior of self-destructing martial arts, and he knew that in the future battlefield, the water army would certainly play an incomparably important role.
Gyeongsang-do was on the eastern side of Jeolla-do, and when the army in Gyeongsang-do was completely defeated, the water army not only did not contain the Japanese from the flank, but disappeared without a trace. The person who caused this situation was the Gyeongsang Province Right Water Army Jiedushi Yuanjun, who was afraid of the enemy, he sank all the warships, disbanded all the water troops, and destroyed his martial arts, and then took two subordinates, Yupu Wanhu Li Yunlong and Yongdeungpo Wanhu Yu, ready to find a place to land and stay away from the Japanese army.
Li Yunlong really couldn't stand the commander's nest, so he protested and suggested that Yuanjun ask Li Shunchen for help, and Yuanjun had no choice but to agree. After Li Shunchen received Yuanjun's distress message, he summoned the generals to discuss countermeasures, just like ordinary people do not like to provoke idle things, many of his generals believe that self-protection is not enough at present, where is the idle kung fu to rescue Yuanjun? However, there are also many people who understand the truth of cold lips and teeth, and they believe that to save Yuanjun now is to protect themselves. Eventually, Lee Shun-chan, who wanted to do something big, adopted the second opinion, and he led 80 warships, including the turtle ship, out of his base and headed for Gyeongsang-do.
After Li Shunchen and Yuan Jun met, they encountered 30 Japanese warships at Yupu. The Japanese army won successive victories and did not guard the Korean sailors at all, leaving only a small number of soldiers to guard the warships, and the remaining soldiers landed and robbed the Korean people. Li Shunchen seized the fighter plane, won the victory with ease, and burned 26 Japanese warships.
At Sacheon, Li Shunchen and Yuan jun encountered a small group of Japanese warships moored on the shore. Li Shunchen pretended to retreat, lured the Japanese warships into battle, and then sent turtle ships to rush into the Japanese fleet, the turtle ships showed their might, firing on all sides, the open-air Japanese army was naturally not an opponent, after a fierce battle, the Japanese army lost thirteen warships, and retreated. During the battle, Li Shunchen was shot in the shoulder, and he commanded the battle with pain, and did not tell his subordinates until the end of the battle to let people pick out the warhead with a knife.
Subsequently, Li Shunchen and Yuan both launched an active attack on the Japanese army. At the Battle of Tangpu, Li Shunchen was victorious again and killed a Japanese general. Soon, jeolla Province's Right Water Army jiedushi made Lee Yiqi lead 25 warships to Tangpo and join li shunchen and Yuan jun, strengthening the strength of the Korean water army. Subsequently, three admirals of the Navy achieved a major victory at Tangxiangpu, and the Korean Navy burned more than 100 Japanese warships, beheaded more than 200 classes, and killed a Japanese general.
Battle map of the North Korean Navy
Here I have to say that Yuanjun, Yuanjun is now like the commander of the light pole, named commander, in fact, under the command of Li Shunchen, but he is bent on sharing Li Shunchen's battle achievements, and Li Shunchen is a general with a straight personality and a clear distinction between public and private, of course, he is unwilling to give up his battle achievements, and the contradiction between the two has arisen.
After two months of fighting since Li Shunchen went into battle in May, winning successive victories at Yupu, Sacheon, Tangpu, and Tangxiangpu, the soldiers were exhausted, and the three Korean sailors then returned to their camps to rest for a while and prepare for new battles. In July, the Three-Way North Korean Naval Army re-assembled, this time Yuan Jun was no longer the commander of the light pole, he took the repaired 7 broken ships, and was also ready to do a big job.
The Korean water army marched to see Nailiang, encountered a large group of Japanese troops, the Japanese army even suffered defeat, this time no longer meet to fight, know to hide. Li Shunchen repeated the same trick and once again pretended to retreat, luring the Japanese army into battle. The Japanese army did not remember the pain, dispatched more than 70 warships to pursue the Korean navy, and when they chased after The Island of Idle Mountain, they found that the Korean navy had already set up a crane wing array waiting for them. Needless to say, the people who thought of using the Crane Wing Array to meet the Japanese Army needless to say, naturally it was Li Shunchen, and the Crane Wing Array could concentrate all the Korean water army firepower to attack the Japanese army. The Japanese army was enemy on three sides, and the outcome of the battle could be imagined, their 63 warships were burned, almost all of them were destroyed, and more than 400 remnants of the remaining soldiers abandoned the ship and landed, and fled for their lives.
The Korean navy took the opportunity to pursue, and encountered 40 Japanese warships in Ankuura, the Japanese really knew that it hurt this time, and how Ton Lee Shunchen seduced them, they did not go to war. Seeing this, Li Shunchen had no choice but to take the initiative to launch an attack, and the Korean water army became more and more courageous in the war, and finally defeated the Japanese army, and the Japanese army once again fled in a hurry.
Itaya boats used by the North Korean Navy
From then on, the Japanese sailors did not dare to act rashly, and they concentrated their forces to stick to Busan and Donglai, turning the water army into an army, completely afraid of Li Shunchen. In order to cut off the Japanese supply line, Li Shunchen and others launched an attack on Busan, and because the Japanese army was well defended, the Korean navy failed to succeed and had to burn more than 400 empty ships.
In August 1593, King Lee Pur of Joseon appointed Lee Sun-chan and commander of the Three Water Armies, with full responsibility for the Korean Water Army. Although Li Shunchen's promotion was affirmed by the imperial court, it was a shame for Yuan Jun. Yuan Jun's seniority was older than Li Shunchen's, but his merits were less than Li Shunchen's, and now he was still below Li Shunchen, and he was naturally unwilling.
A month later, Li Rusong led the main force of Ming reinforcements to withdraw from Korea, and the Ming Dynasty and Japan began negotiations, and the situation in the Korean War gradually eased. It was easy for North Korean officials to set aside stereotypes in wartime and agree with the outside world, but it was difficult to maintain this unity after the war. In such a situation, the contradiction between Lee Shun-chan and Won-kyun became the focus of contention among North Korean officials.
Yuan Jun joined the army earlier than Li Shunchen, had already become sleek and sophisticated, and had a wide range of contacts, and he used his hard work to win the favor and support of many officials in the dprk and China, as well as Li Fu.
Although Li Shunchen had great merits, he had a straight personality, was not good at making friends with Korean and Chinese officials, and did not like laymen to interfere in his military affairs, which gave people the impression of supporting the army and respecting themselves. Li Fu had to appoint Li Shunchen, who had outstanding ability during the war, and now that the war had subsided, his ability had become a potential threat. In this way, Li Shunchen's status in Li Fu's heart was slightly reduced, and the relationship between the monarch and the courtier became less trusting.
In 1597, negotiations between the Ming Dynasty and Japan were broken, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent an army on a second expedition to Korea. The Japanese generals had suffered from Lee Sun-sung, and in order to avoid the Korean water army from threatening them again, they came up with a counter-plan. The Japanese general conveyed such a message to Li Fu through the Korean official Kim Young-ri: Kato Kiyomasa would go to a certain island to rest on a certain day of a certain month, and the Korean sailors could easily capture Kato Kiyomasa as long as they ambushed the army in advance. Li Fu believed that this was true, so he ordered Li Shunchen to lead the water army to the location designated by the Japanese army to ambush, and Li Shunchen, who had been in the battle for a long time, knew that this was a trick played by the Japanese army, and he naturally would not believe it, and with his upright character, he would certainly not do it. Soon, Kato Kiyomasa led the Japanese water army to lure Li Shunchen into battle, and Li Shunchen saw through Kato Kiyomasa's plan at a glance and still did not take any action.
Li Shunchen took matters into his own hands and disobeyed the orders of the court, which completely angered Li Fu, and he immediately deposed Li Shunchen, arrested li Shunchen and imprisoned him, and appointed Yuan Du as an envoy to the three water armies. In July, Won-kyun led the Korean water army to launch an offensive against the Japanese army. When Yuanjun was fetching water on Garde Island, he encountered the Japanese army that had already been ambushed, and he panicked and led the Korean water army to hide in the Qichuan Beam. The Japanese water army then surrounded Qi Chuanliang and launched a fierce attack on the Korean water army, the Korean water army was without the command of Lee Shun-chan, like a lamb to be slaughtered, the Japanese water army won the victory without suspense, and the Korean water army was almost completely destroyed. Yuan Jun was killed by the Japanese army, and it was not a pity that he died, and poor veteran generals like Li Yiqi also threw themselves into the water and died, and only the right water army of Qingyuan Province made Pei Wedge with 12 warships luckily escape.
Warships used by the Japanese Navy
After Li Fu heard of the defeat, he hurriedly pardoned Li Shunchen and appointed Li Shunchen as the commander of the three water armies. I wonder how Li Shunchen would feel when he arrived in Lishui and saw that only Pei Wedge and his 12 warships were left with the huge fleet of ships in the past? The military situation was urgent, and Li Shunchen could not be allowed to think too much, and Li Shunchen could only use 12 warships to rebuild the Korean naval army.
In September, the Japanese general Laijima-Tsutsun and others sent more than 300 warships to invade the Korean West Sea, and at Naruyang they encountered the Korean naval forces that had recovered somewhat. Note that the restoration mentioned here is only the morale of the Korean naval forces, and even if Li Shunchen is strong, he cannot build more than 100 warships in two months, and he leads 13 warships (there is no turtle ship in the warship, because the turtle ship has long been destroyed by the Japanese army), and appears in front of the huge Japanese water army with a fearless spirit. Lee Soon-chan commanded the Korean naval forces to confront the Japanese sailors, sinking more than 30 enemy ships in one fell swoop and killing Lyjima Tongzong. When the other generals of the Japanese army saw Li Shunchen's comeback, they withdrew after losing a small number of warships, and no longer touched Li Shunchen's nail.
The Battle of Mingliang gave a shot of strength to the Korean naval forces that had just suffered a crushing defeat, and then the Korean naval forces were gradually restored under the management of Lee Shun-chen, but it was difficult to return to the pomp of nearly 200 ships before the Battle of Cheongcheon-leung, but fortunately, when the Ming Dynasty assisted Korea for the second time, with Chen Lu as the admiral of the water army, hundreds of warships were dispatched to join forces with Li Shunchen and blockade the Korean coast.
The cooperation between Chen Xuan and Li Shunchen was not pleasant. In the battle of Folding Island, Li Shunchen captured 71 Japanese heads, but unexpectedly, Chen Xuan forcibly took 40, and Li Shunchen was depressed for a while. However, the Strategic Objectives of the Ming And Korean Naval Forces were the same for the Japanese Army, and the two sides cooperated to blockade the Japanese army, which accelerated the defeat of the Japanese army.
In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi fell ill and died, and the Japanese army decided to withdraw all of them to Japan. At Luliang, the Ming and Korean water armies fought a final showdown with the Japanese water army, in which the veteran Ming general Deng Zilong was killed in battle, and Li Shunchen was also shot and killed to save Deng Zilong. Before his death, in order not to affect the morale of the Korean water army, Li Shunchen said to his generals: "The war side is urgent, be careful not to say that I am dead." After the words were finished, Li Shunchen closed his eyes forever.
To be sure, Lee Sun-chen's record was outstanding in the Wanli Korean War, especially during the First War, when he commanded the Korean water army to defeat the Japanese water army many times, so that the Japanese water army did not dare to go to sea, threatening the Japanese army's supply line. In the Battle of Mingliang, Li Shunchen faced the seemingly impossible Japanese army with admirable courage, bringing incomparably strong spiritual strength to the Korean military and people. Looking at what Lee Shun-chan did in his lifetime, he is worthy of being a national hero of Korea!