Qi Jiguang was born in Penglai, Shandong. He was an outstanding military strategist, calligrapher, poet, and weapons expert. He transformed and invented various firearms; he built large and small warships and chariots, making the Ming army's equipment significantly better than that of the enemy.
When he was young, he fought against Japanese pirates on the southeast coast for more than ten years. He eliminated the Japanese pirates who had plagued the coast for many years and ensured the safety of lives and property of the coastal people. Later, he built the Great Wall in the north to fight against the Mongolian invaders. For more than ten years, it has protected the security of the northern border.
In his spare time, he also liked to write, and wrote famous military books such as the 18-volume "New Book of Jixiao" and the 14-volume "Records of Military Training", as well as "Zhizhitang Collection".
The years when Heng Ge Ma ascended
In April of the 40th year of Jiajing, 10,000 to 20,000 Japanese pirates invaded Zhejiang on hundreds of ships. On the morning of the 22nd, Qi Jiguang led the main force to Ninghai. When the Japanese pirates got the news, they divided into three groups to attack the empty Taizhou. One group of more than 500 people invaded Taozhu, the other group of 2,000 people invaded Boyujiantiaoqitou, and the other group of more than 500 people invaded Xinhe. After Qi Jiguang's analysis, he believed that the threat from the enemies of Taozhu and Jiantiao was not urgent yet, but the enemy of Xinhe was very harmful and should be eliminated quickly.
On the 24th, Japanese pirates looted everywhere near Xinhe. At that time, all the best soldiers in Xinhe went out to fight, and the city was full of old, weak, women and children, and people were in panic. Mrs. Qi Jiguang happened to also live in Xinhe. She was a courageous and resolute woman and ordered the arsenal to be opened. The soldiers guarding the warehouse were in a dilemma and said, "Who dares to open the warehouse without the general's order?" Mrs. Qi said, "The situation is urgent now, and I will take on this responsibility." So she took out the armor weapons and gunpowder, and launched Women, let them wear military uniforms like the soldiers guarding the city, line up on the city wall, spread flags densely, and shoot guns and shouts. The Japanese pirates looked from a distance and thought that the city was already prepared, so they did not dare to attack the city. Mrs. Qi's adaptability helped the Ming army gain valuable rescue time.
Qi Jiguang ordered Lou Nan, Hu Shouren and other generals to rush to Xinhe's aid. On the morning of the 26th, reinforcements and Japanese pirates encountered Xinhe City. The Japanese pirates could not resist and hurriedly retreated to a large courtyard. After several battles, the Japanese pirates were defeated and fled to Wenzhou. The Qi army caught up and defeated the Japanese pirates in Wenling.
At this time, the Japanese pirates in front of the regiment had already fled due to the arrival of Qi Jiguang's main force. And the enemies of Moozhu have already invaded Jingjin Temple. Qi Jiguang analyzed that the purpose of this group of Japanese pirates was to take the opportunity to invade the capital of Taizhou, so he led his troops back to Taizhou at dawn on the 27th. When Qi's army went to Ninghai on the 22nd, the soldiers only brought three days' worth of dry food, and they were already out of food. The entire army marched 70 miles on an empty stomach and arrived at Taizhou Fucheng at noon. Sure enough, the Japanese pirates also learned from spies that the city was empty and the city walls were in decay, so they stopped and ran all the way. They had already entered Huajie, which was only 2 miles away from the city. It was a critical moment. The soldiers of the Qi Army were tired and hungry, and complained quite a lot, but Qi Jiguang decided to attack the enemy immediately. He encouraged the soldiers to defeat the enemy first and then eat!
The two armies faced each other. The Qi army first fired with firearms, and then the large troops charged forward bravely. The warrior Zhu Jue took the lead and killed a Japanese pirate leader, and then killed seven Japanese pirates in a row, which greatly boosted the morale of the army. The two armies started a fierce battle. The Yiwu soldiers trained hard by Qi Jiguang were indeed powerful, and the Yuanyang Formation was even more magical. They quickly defeated the Japanese pirates and immediately pursued them. The left wing of the Japanese pirates was oppressed by Qi's army, and they were all pushed into the river, where a large area drowned. The right wing fled ten miles and was overtaken by Qi's army and all were wiped out. The battle ended quickly, and Qi Jiajun's lunch had just been prepared. Qi's army won a complete victory in this battle, rescuing more than 5,000 captive people, and only three of his own were killed.
The Battle of Huajie fully demonstrated the superior military quality of the Qi Army. They ran long distances hungry and quickly defeated and annihilated the enemy. Qi Jiguang's superb judgment and commanding skills also played a key role.
At this time, the 2,000 Japanese pirates moored on the Jiantiao Sea had also landed and entered Datian Town, northeast of Taizhou Fucheng, on the first day of May. At this time, Qi Jiguang's troops were stationed in Xinhe, Aiwan and other places, with only more than 1,500 people around him, so they were at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. However, Qi Jiguang encouraged his soldiers to confront the Japanese pirates. When the Japanese pirates saw that Qi's army was prepared, they retreated to Datian Zhongdu and then to Dashi, intending to attack Xianju and spy on Chuzhou. Qi Jiguang judged that if the enemy wants to go to Xianju, they must pass through Shangfengling and out of Baishuiyang. So he led his troops to Shangfengling to ambush.
He ordered each of the soldiers to cut down a pine tree to cover themselves. From a distance, it looked like a jungle.
On the fourth day of May, the Japanese pirates braved the rain and walked along the mountain road in the valley below Shangfengling to Xianju, marching in single file, stretching for 20 miles in front and back. The Japanese pirates' forwards and rearguards are the strongest elite soldiers, while the middle part is relatively weak. Qi Jiguang waited until the Japanese pirates were halfway through before giving the order to attack. Qi Jiajun put aside the disguise of pine branches and rushed down the mountain bravely. Although the number of Japanese pirates was larger than that of Qi's army, they were scattered within a 20-mile radius and were far less concentrated than Qi's army. Its elite troops came intermittently from the beginning to the end and used a fueling tactic, so they were defeated by the Qi army. Qi Jiguang also set up a white flag at the foot of Beishan Mountain and declared: "Good people who are forced to surrender to the Japanese pirates should come to this flag and surrender quickly to avoid death." So hundreds of people ran to the flag to surrender.
The Japanese pirates could not resist, so they rushed to the boundary ridge and resisted. Shangjie Ridge is as steep as a pillar. Although the top is wide, there is only a small path to go up. You have to climb in groups to get to the top, otherwise you will fall down the mountain stream and die. However, the brave soldiers of the Qi Army used shields and spears to attack upwards, and actually reached the top of the mountain. When the Qi Army troops swarmed forward and formed a mandarin duck formation, the Japanese pirates had no chance. Countless people were killed and fell from the cliff. The remaining bandits climbed down the mountain desperately, ran to Baishuiyang, and hid in the Zhu family compound. The Qi family's army attacked with cannons, demolished the courtyard walls, and used wolves to sweep down the stubborn Japanese pirates on the roof. The Japanese pirates had no way out, some knelt down and begged for mercy, some committed suicide, and some burned themselves in the fire. In Shangfengling, Shangjieling, and Baishuiyang, the Qi army won three consecutive battles, annihilating all enemies, rescuing more than 1,000 captive men and women, and only 3 of his own were killed.
On the 15th, the Qi army won another victory in the battle of Tengling. On the 17th, 2,000 Japanese pirates who had escaped from the front of the Ninghai regiment landed in Changsha, southeast of Wenling. Qi Jiguang made careful arrangements and cooperated with water and land to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese pirates on the 20th. The Japanese pirates were caught off guard and retreated, seizing the boat and escaping. However, the boat was burned down by Qi's army's surprise troops. Those who swam to escape encountered hurricanes and were all drowned; while those who were stuck on the beach were all annihilated. The 300 Japanese pirates who had divided their troops to plunder in advance escaped by boat at night, but were also eliminated by the Qi Jiajun navy.
In this way, the Qi army completely annihilated the Japanese pirates who invaded Taizhou in a month of fighting. And he only lost a few people in each battle, almost zero casualties. From then on, Japanese pirates no longer dared to invade Taizhou, and the Japanese pirates in Zhejiang were completely eliminated. This is simply a miracle in the cold weapon era.