1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2120
Speaking of Hirado in Japan, people immediately think of the unique local foreign trade environment, and a well-known "specialty product" is the Hirado Navy.

The Hirado area is located at the western end of the Japanese archipelago, relatively far from China and the Korean peninsula. Because of this unique geographical advantage, Hirado Port has gradually become an international trade port connecting Japan and the outside world.Prosperous maritime trade has created a developed nautical industry and shipbuilding industry for Hirado, and on this basis, the Hirado navy established by local tyrants is naturally at a high level in Japan.

For a long period of time, the Goto Islands area under the jurisdiction of Hirado was once the base camp of the Japanese pirates, and the combat experience of these Japanese pirates going to the Korean Peninsula and the eastern coast of Daming and other places to burn, kill, and plunder was gradually recognized by Hirado. The navy has absorbed and utilized it, so the combat effectiveness of the Hirado navy is far stronger than that of the navy armed behind closed doors in other parts of Japan.

In the past few years, a large number of Eighteen Zhiyu Party fled to Hirado to hide, which brought more advanced military technology here, and further strengthened the strength of Hirado Navy.

Today's Hirado Navy is no longer entirely based on Japanese warships such as Ataka and Sekifune. The armed Fuchuan brought by Shibashiba has become the main warship in service in recent years.Most of the Japanese warships can only operate in offshore areas due to hull design problems, while the armed fuchuan not only has a wider range of movement and faster speed, but also can be equipped with Western-style artillery on board, and its combat effectiveness is far superior to that of Japanese warships.

Although the cost of armed Fuchuan is correspondingly much higher, this is not a big problem for the wealthy Hirado Clan.What's more, after the upgrade of the Hirado navy, it will also play a very direct role in the future external expansion. The previous military investment will definitely be able to get a sufficient return, and the Hirado clan is extremely optimistic about this.

Compared with the cost of shipbuilding, the real big cost is actually personnel.After the scale of the navy expands, it is necessary to train a large number of sailors who master the sailing skills of sailing warships and the gunners who are proficient in using artillery on board. The sailors on the Ataka ship who can only operate the oars are still unable to be competent for these jobs that require professional skills, and a lot of work must be invested It takes financial resources to train them for a long time.Moreover, the military salaries of these people can no longer be paid according to the standards of low-level sailors, and the daily operating costs of the navy will also increase a lot.

However, despite certain economic pressures, the Hirado Clan still gritted their teeth and substantially upgraded the naval equipment in just a few years, and now has nearly [-] new warships equipped with artillery.Although such an armed force still has a big gap compared with the Shibazhi in its heyday, it can already be claimed to be the strongest navy in Japan.

Of course, the so-called strongest title is actually only aimed at the domestic level of Japan during this period.If the scope is enlarged to the surrounding areas, the Hirado navy can probably only bully countries with relatively weak maritime armed forces such as North Korea and Ryukyu, and there is still a gap between the Daming navy.As for Haihan, it is simply incomparable. Whether it is the East China Sea Fleet or the Northern Fleet, their overall strength is far above that of the Hirado Navy.

Wei Zhi, who was in command of the Hirado Navy at this time, was born in Shibazhi, but when he was in Shibazhi, he was just a small leader with five boats under his command, but now he has become the commander of the Hirado clan's three thousand waters. A senior officer of the army holds the power of life and death. This is also a situation that he could not have imagined a few years ago.

Wei Zhi was able to get the opportunity to command the Hirado navy, of course not only because he had led troops in Shibazhi.From 1630 to 1633, he participated in many combat operations, and his opponents in these operations were almost all the Haihan Navy and the Fujian Navy under Xu Xinsu's command.Although he didn't have any dazzling achievements in these battles, these experiences did allow him to accumulate relatively rich combat experience.

Compared with Shibazhi, which has a large number of armed sailboats, when Wei Zhi first arrived in Hirado, he believed that the navy here could only be regarded as a paramilitary organization, and its professional level was not even as good as that of civilian armed forces like Shibazhi.The military and nautical skills he has mastered have far exceeded the level of the Hirado Navy. After showing his skills to Tagawasuke, he was quickly recommended by Tagawa to the lord and entered the navy. Responsible for daily training.

With the secret support of Tian Chuansuke, Wei Zhi took several years to gradually control the Hirado navy, and through his position, he trained a group of subordinates in the navy who obeyed his orders.After Tian Chuansuke overthrew the Matsuura clan, Wei Zhi also logically replaced the navy general who had been loyal to the Matsuura clan and became the commander of the Hirado navy.

If the normal development track is followed, the Hirado clan will continue to build warships and expand the size of the navy in the next few years. Domestically, it will try to annex the Kyushu region eastward. Foreign countries have conflicts of interest with the Qing Dynasty, Spain and other countries and some in the Ming Dynasty. Tu's forces kept cooperating, slowly accumulating strength before going to war with Haihan and the Fujian Xu family.

However, due to various reasons, the Hirado Clan attracted the attention of the outside world prematurely, making the Haihan Army organize a cross-sea expedition at any cost, and Wei Zhi and the Hirado Navy had no choice but to fight when they had not yet reached their ideal state. You have to go to the battlefield to face a powerful enemy far superior to yourself.

However, Tagawasuke also knows that the navy is the biggest reliance of the Hirado Domain. If the navy is allowed to fight the enemy first, once they lose, there will be no way out. .Keeping the navy maintains the possibility of copying the opponent's back from the sea at any time. If the battle is unfavorable, the navy can still have the opportunity to take important people away from Hirado Island.

Therefore, at the stage of formulating the battle plan, Tian Chuansuke did not intend to let the water army stand in front of the enemy, but let Wei Zhi lead the water army to lie in ambush, waiting for a suitable fighter to attack.If the battle on Hirado Island goes well, then the navy can safely stay away from Hirado Island to cut off the opponent's supply line. If the battle is tight, the navy will have to assume the function of the escape route when necessary.

Both Tian Chuansuke and Wei Zhi believed that even if the enemy was powerful, it was unlikely that they would capture the Hirado Port area that was preparing for battle within a day or two. Therefore, they chose Hirado Port as the temporary hiding place for the navy. Thirty miles to the north is a place called Shanda Island.

The area of ​​Shanda Island is about [-] square kilometers. On the north side of the island is a harbor comparable in size to Boxiang Bay. The hydrological conditions are also quite good. It is very suitable as a temporary station for the navy fleet.This place is only half a day's flight away from Hirado Port, and there is time for reinforcements at critical moments.Moreover, the direction of the harbor is facing north, and the enemy's range of activities at sea is unlikely to go to the north of Sanda Island. The probability of finding the Hirado Navy is very small.

Of course, Wei Zhi didn't just hide the fleet in this secret bay.After the East China Sea Fleet entered the Hirado Strait, Wei Zhi also sent several fast boats to monitor the enemy's movements from a distance on the sea at the northern end of Hirado Island.If the enemy tried to send ships to disperse them, these ships would separate to the east and west, so as not to lead the enemy to the direction of Shanda Island.

And if some signals with special meaning are released on the island, these Clippers will also act as messengers, sending the frontline news back to Shanda Island as soon as possible.And Wei Zhi himself was on one of the ships. He believed that only by observing the battle situation with his own eyes could he make an accurate judgment on the battlefield situation.

The artillery battle that started in the morning reminded Wei Zhi of the time when the Haihan Army and the Fujian Navy joined forces to attack Penghu. Although the enemy's attacking warships in the Hirado Strait did not seem to be as many as in the past, the artillery battle The intensity is not inferior at all.And the fortifications of Hirado Port were able to fight back and forth with the opponent. This was indeed a situation that Wei Zhi had never expected beforehand.

"This guy Lu Yuanlong can do it!" Wei Zhi felt itchy when he thought that his colleagues commanding the battle in Hirado Port had such an outstanding performance, and he was eager to fight.

However, Wei Zhi was not overwhelmed by the idea of ​​making meritorious service. He knew very well how difficult it is for warships to attack land targets. If the opponent is replaced by his own fleet, the situation of the battle may be quite different.Moreover, the Haihan Fleet did not press on with all its strength, and there were several warships waiting outside all the time, obviously also guarding against sneak attacks from the sea.

Wei Zhi has no doubt that if the Hirado Navy appears outside the Hirado Strait at this time, the attacking Haihan Fleet will immediately give up attacking the port and give priority to fighting the Navy Fleet—or it will use the Hirado Navy as a It is more accurate to hit the target first.

Under the current situation, it is obviously irrational to choose to take the initiative to show up and fight with Haihan, so Wei Zhi still only kept observing, and did not order any measures to participate in the war.But in the afternoon, he noticed a black smoke signal rising somewhere in Hirado Port, which notified him to take some kind of action according to the predetermined plan.

After nightfall that day, Wei Zhi ordered his boat to sail to a certain coast at the northern end of Hirado Island.According to the prior plan, he had to arrive here the night he received the signal to meet the important people who were evacuated from the island.It is certainly impossible for the feudal lord Tian Chuanjie to sneak away at this time, and there are only a few people on the island who can enjoy this kind of treatment. Before Wei Zhi arrived at the place, he could roughly imagine who he would receive this time. .

When he was approaching the coast, Wei Zhi asked people to put down the boat, and boarded the boat himself to pick up people from the shore.After the boat docked, Wei Zhi ordered two lanterns to be lit, and after a while, several people rushed over from the shore.

"For humble duty, please see my wife, and my young master!" Wei Zhi immediately knelt down on one knee to pay his respects to the visitor after he saw the visitor clearly.

"Uncle Wei has worked hard, get up and talk!" It was Tagawa Qizaemon and his mother Tagawa Matsu who came.According to Tian Chuanjie's arrangement, the mother and son evacuated Hirado Island from here at night.Although Tagawa Shichizaemon considers himself a Japanese, he is not very interested in the great cause of restoring Shibashiba, but he does not feel bad for these Han leaders who want to regard him as the young master. Treat each other as identities.

Of course, this attitude is different in the eyes of Wei Zhi and others. This is not only approachable, but also the trust shown to them, the old people who used to serve under Zheng Zhilong. One of the main reasons for its effectiveness.Even if there is only Hirado clan without Shibazhi in the future, it will eventually allow Zheng Zhilong's blood to be passed on in an excellent way.

Wei Zhi stood up, helped Tianchuan mother and son to the small boat, and then conducted a brief handover with Tianchuanjie who escorted them here, and immediately ordered the boat to leave the place.

After returning to the ship, Wei Zhi first arranged a cabin for the mother and son to rest, and then ordered to sail to Kyushu in the east overnight to carry out the order given by Tian Chuansuke, and send the mother and son to a certain place to temporarily avoid the war.

Wei Zhi was not in a hurry to ask Tagawa Shichizaemon about the battle situation on the island at this time. In fact, Tagawasuke decided to send the mother and son away less than a day after the battle. This arrangement is already very self-explanatory.If Tagawasuke didn't feel that Hirado was in danger of falling, and even the sea channel might be cut off by the enemy, he probably wouldn't be in a hurry to notify him to pick them up overnight.

Wei Zhi felt that this seemed to be somewhat different from the battle situation he observed at sea during the day, at least the Haihan fleet did not show any signs of landing at Hirado Port.However, the person who escorted Tagawa's mother and son said that the enemy had already landed in Boxiang Bay. It seemed that the enemy did not gather all their troops on the east coast, but played a trick to sneak into the warehouse while attacking Hirado Port.

Wei Zhi felt a little aggrieved. Before the battle, he suggested to Tian Chuansuke that he should be careful of the enemy's surprise attack on the west coast, but Tian Chuansuke believed that the opponent had to try his best to shorten the combat time without knowing the terrain of Hirado Island. The safe approach is of course to concentrate forces to attack the core area of ​​Hirado Port, and reject the proposal to fortify the west coast at sea.

Of course, Wei Zhi also understood that Tian Chuansuke was worried that if the naval army collided with the enemy's main fleet on the west coast, it might be wiped out by the opponent in one fell swoop.After all, if the enemy puts the main attack on the west coast, the navy fleet will definitely not be able to resist it, and may even be locked up in Boxiang Bay and Gujiang Bay. What a waste of money.Whichever is the lesser of two evils, the most important thing is to keep the navy first.

But when he heard the news that the enemy troops had really landed on the west coast, Wei Zhi was still a little frustrated.Judging from his past experience in fighting the Haihan army, once the opponent's large force lands on the island, it may be difficult for the feudal army to stop the opponent on the frontal battlefield. People send away.

How long can the vassal army on the island hold on without the support of the navy from the sea?Wei Zhi was not optimistic about this. After he was going to send Tianchuan mother and son to the place, he immediately returned to Shanda Island to gather the navy fleet and try to reduce the pressure on the defenders on the island.

(End of this chapter)