1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2121
The territory of the Hirado Clan is not limited to the Goto Islands and Hirado Island. There is also a large area of ​​land at the northwest end of Kyushu Island, which is separated from Hirado Island by a narrow strait, which is even larger than the Goto Islands and Herado Island. up bigger.However, the terrain of these lands is similar to that of Hirado Island. Most of the areas are mountainous and forest environments that are not suitable for farming. Only some relatively flat areas near the coastline are used for planting crops.

The seat of the Hirado Clan has always been set up in Hirado Port. The industries on Kyushu Island are not only farming but also fishing. Naturally, the degree of development is far less than that of Hirado Island, and there is no bustling urban area like Hirado Port.Prior to this, neither the Matsuura clan nor the Tagawa clan who had just taken over the Hirado domain probably had never thought of building this currently insignificant area into a wartime refuge. The hiding place is only a farm that originally belonged to the Matsuura family.

Given the haste of the Hirado Clan's preparations for the battle, Tagawasuke's ability to make these arrangements in advance is considered pretty good.Anyway, after arriving at the place, they have food and shelter, and some people provide protection for the mother and son, so there is no need for Tagawa to worry about their safety for the time being.If the enemy tried to enter Kyushu Island to search for the mother and son, they would be escorted to the Hizen Kingdom to seek the protection of other feudal lords.

"Please rest assured, young master and madam, no matter what the situation in Hirado is, it will not affect your safety. After we repel the enemy army, we will send people to pick you up and return to Hirado as soon as possible." Wei Zhi said during the voyage Tagawa mother and son explained the next arrangement.He tried to keep his tone as relaxed as possible, so as not to cause panic between the mother and son.

But after leaving the cabin of Tian Chuan's mother and son, the relaxed expression on Wei Zhi's face quickly disappeared. It is difficult for him to be optimistic about the current battle situation. The wave is on the offensive.He must try to reduce the pressure on Hirado Island, at least so that the Fan army does not have to face the enemy between the east and west lines.

Wei Zhi observed the battle situation at Hirado Port from a distance during the day, and it was obvious that the strength of the enemy fleet was far greater than that of the navy, and it was extremely risky to fight against it at sea.On the contrary, since the enemy fleet landing on the west coast is not responsible for the main attack direction, its strength must be slightly weaker than that of the armed fleet attacking Hirado Port. The navy fleet may be able to fight against it. .

Even if they can't beat the opponent, if they can be lured away from the west coast, it will at least affect the follow-up supply of the enemy's landing force, which may help the direction of the battle.

Of course, all of this is still based on the preservation of strength. Wei Zhi knows very well that if the navy fleet under his command is gone, the Hirado Clan will have no chance of turning the tables.

Before dawn, the boat escorting Tagawa's mother and son arrived at a fishing port on the northern coast of Kyushu.Wei Zhi sent several cronies to send Tianchuan mother and son to a nearby reception point, and then the reception point dispatched manpower to escort them to the hiding place inland.After finishing this matter, Wei Zhi immediately returned to Shanda Island by boat, preparing to call the navy fleet to fight.

In the current establishment of the Hirado Navy, in addition to a dozen new warships built in the past two or three years, there are about the same number of old-style house ships and official ships.However, in Wei Zhi's view, the Japanese warships, which need to be powered by sailors' oars, are not suitable for naval warfare, whether in terms of speed or attack methods.These old-fashioned warships can still make do with showing off their might in the Japanese waters, but if they want to confront opponents of the level of Haihan Navy and Fujian Navy, they can only be beaten unilaterally.

Therefore, in Wei Zhi's battle plan, he did not intend to allow these old Japanese warships to act together with the new warships, otherwise, whether it was launching an attack or evacuating the battlefield, these slow-moving Japanese warships would hinder the execution of tactics .

Wei Zhi intends to send these Japanese warships to the direction of the Hirado Strait to attract the attention of the enemy forces outside Hirado Port, while the new warships that are actually responsible for combat missions will go to the west coast to see if they can find an opportunity to attack and land there. Combat enemy fleet.

Although there seem to be two battlefields on the east and west coasts, in fact, the voyage from Hirado Port to the mouth of Boxiang Bay, bypassing the northern tip of Hirado Island, is even much shorter than the distance from Hirado Port to Shanda Island. Trying to drag the enemy fleet in the Hirado Strait to attack Hirado Port, then they can quickly rush to the west coast as long as they receive the warning, and form a joint force with the local enemy forces.Therefore, Wei Zhi could only let the Japanese warships with low combat performance act as bait to buy some time for the main force's combat operations on the west coast.

Doing so would probably make those Japanese warships and the sailors on board all gone forever, but the enemy is now, as long as the current passive situation on the battlefield can be changed, Wei Zhi believes that some sacrifices by the sailors are worthwhile.After all, the enemy army has already hit the door of the house, and there is no way for our own side to avoid it, so we can only fight to the death.

The battle on Hirado Island, which lasted for half a day, finally came to a halt at night. Qian Tiandun set up a temporary command post at Boxiang Fishing Port, and the map in front of him had already marked the locations where the companies arrived.The line of these markers extends from Boxiang Fishing Port, turns southwards around a large forest, turns eastward, and reaches the east coast of Ono Village, which was occupied by the first battalion in the afternoon, forming an arc-shaped blockade between the east and west coasts .And the road connecting the north and south of the island on the east coast has also been cut off here in Ono Village.

"According to the report of the First Battalion, they have already built fortifications in Onomura, and the supply ship of the East China Sea Fleet sent them four field guns before dark. They are currently building fortifications overnight to ensure that Tomorrow will not leave any chance for the enemy."

While reporting the progress of the operation, Gao Qiaonan pointed out the location of Ono Village on the map so that Qian Tiandun could grasp the battlefield situation more quickly.

Qian Tiandun first had a general understanding of the battle situation on the front line, and then asked Takahashi Minami: "The attack strength of the Hirado Army should still be testing, do you think they will retreat in spite of difficulties, or they will not hesitate The price is to open up the road to the east coast?"

"Beizhi thinks that they will still fight. After all, the strategic depth in the north of the island is almost zero. If we continue to shrink the encirclement, it will be difficult for them to struggle. Only by trying to escape to the mountains and forests in the south of the island can they It may continue to deal with us for a long time." Takahashi Minami said eloquently: "However, the humble officials are not optimistic about their ability to withstand casualties. It is said that the Hirado clan has not participated in large-scale combat operations for many years. For them The most lacking thing is combat experience. Considering that a considerable proportion of farmers and soldiers among them are temporarily recruited, I think they may be defeated in tomorrow's battle."

Qian Tiandun nodded, then turned his head and asked Xu Yuzhuo who was sitting next to him, "What's your opinion, General Xu?"

Xu Yuzhuo said: "I'm still a little worried about the whereabouts of the Hirado Navy, so far we have only found two enemy warships in the waters of the Wudao Islands, and their main force has not yet appeared, which is obviously trying to avoid us. If we can’t find the Hirado Navy, then our goal of this operation will be greatly reduced.”

"Be patient, they should show up soon." Qian Tiandun pointed to the location of Hirado Port on the map and said: "If the navy does not come out to participate in the battle from the beginning to the end, after the war, you say that the Hirado Domain can Can they be accommodated? There is not much time left for them, and if they don’t show up in Hirado, they will be gone, and even if they come out to fight, no one will forgive the navy.”

Qian Tiandun's reasoning basis is somewhat special. It is not entirely based on the analysis of the enemy's military situation from a military point of view, but on the political level to speculate on the actions that the Hirado Navy may take.

At present, there are quite a few Eighteen Zhiyu parties serving the Hirado government, and these people are well aware of the power of the joint fleet formed by the Haihan Navy and the Fujian Navy, so since the war began, the Hirado Navy has been holding back. Dun seems to be a reasonable situation.

But building warships, casting artillery, and training sailors, the investment of the Hirado Domain in these projects is obviously not a small amount, and the purpose of these continuous investments is precisely to play a role in wartime. To protect oneself and avoid fighting all the time, it will definitely cause conflicts within itself.After all, even if so much money is thrown into the water, there will be a sound, and the Hirado Navy, which was built with a lot of military expenses, can't even perform its basic duties, so what's the point of spending so much money.

Therefore, Qian Tiandun is very sure that as long as he continues to exert military pressure on the Hirado Clan, this mysterious navy will still come out on his own initiative.As for whether the opponent will appear on the east coast or the west coast, Qian Tiandun thinks there is not much difference. Needless to say, the consequences of colliding with the Shanghai Han Donghai Fleet, and the Fujian Navy is not weak. All the elite of the navy came, and there were more than 20 new warships built by Haihan on his behalf.If such a lineup can't even deal with a Hirado navy, then Xu Yuzhuo can also take the blame and resign.

After listening to Qian Tiandun's half-serious, half-joking reasoning, Xu Yuzhuo relaxed a little, and replied with a smile: "Then I hope that the enemy fleet will show up soon as General Qian said."

The next day, the two armies began to dispatch troops again according to their own combat plans.Haihan hopes to solve the vital force of the Hirado clan quickly, and the Hirado clan tries to expand the scope of activities on land and sea, so as to delay Haihan's offensive.

The strategic considerations of the Hirado clan are not impossible to realize. In fact, Fukue Island, where the war first started this time, has already fallen into a hide-and-seek situation.Since the strength of the Ming army's landing troops was only a thousand, it was a task that could not be completed quickly to hunt down the enemy on Fukue Island, which had two Hirado Islands.Moreover, the area of ​​Fujiang Island is mostly mountainous, and there are often uninhabited forests stretching for ten or twenty miles, which also adds a lot of difficulty to the Ming army's pursuit and suppression operations.

However, the troops deployed by the Hirado Clan on Fukue Island are not considered the main force, and most of them are the former Clan soldiers who were squeezed out after Tagawasuke came to power.Tagawasuke was worried about allowing these troops to stay in Hirado Island, and he didn't want to disband them directly, so he simply sent them to Fukue Island to station. As a result, they fought sideways, which really had the effect of holding back the opponent's troops.For this reason, the Ming army stayed on Fujiang Island not only more than a thousand people who landed and fought on the island, but also more than a dozen warships responsible for transporting soldiers, supplies and providing cover were also dragged here.

But now that the battle on Hirado Island is raging, even if the warring parties know that the fighting on Fukue Island is still going on, they will not deploy troops to reinforce it.On the contrary, Xu Yuzhuo was a little eager to try, and wanted to transfer the Ming army from Fukue Island to Hirado Island to participate in combat operations, but after listening to Takahashi Minami's battle situation last night, he felt that the Special Forces had already tied up the land pocket of Hirado Island. If he is dead, it seems that it is useless to transfer the troops from Fukue Island. On the contrary, he is suspected of stealing credit, so he can only secretly dismiss this idea.

According to the combat plan, the East China Sea Fleet continued to launch an artillery attack on Hirado Port from the sea.And perhaps because yesterday's battle consumed too much ammunition, today's counterattack from the coastal defense batteries has been significantly reduced, and the firing positions are only about half of yesterday's.

How could Shi Diwen leave a gap for the enemy to recuperate? Dang even ordered the fleet warships to approach the port, forcing the defenders to use more forts for defense.As soon as the number of troops engaged in the battle increased, Shi Diwen quickly ordered the warships to retreat to a relatively safe distance, so that they had to bear with the defenders of the port repeatedly.

The vassal army led by Tagawa Tsukasa once again tried to attack Onomura's defense line, but after strengthening and strengthening firepower overnight, this line of defense is already more difficult to approach than yesterday. Four small-caliber field guns were deployed overnight in the W-shaped trenches, and it happened that each trench was allocated one gun. Although the crossfire formed seemed weak, if the enemy attacked close, the grape shells fired by the field guns would But it is a sharp weapon for harvesting dense military formations.

But the actual situation was that the Hirado army could not even penetrate the effective range of the grape bullets. After they got a wave of bullets at a distance of [-] meters, they turned around and retreated without hesitation.

This kind of reaction was not entirely caused by the lack of morale of the Hirado Army. Before the battle, Gao Hongfu told Tian Chuansuke the horror of the trench defense of the Haihan Army.If a large force is rashly sent to charge and kill, then a flesh and blood mill will appear in front of these staggered trenches, and such casualties are probably not something the Hirado Army can afford.

After Tian Chuansuke sent troops to test the firepower, he knew that what Gao Hongfu said was true. If he wanted to fill up the space within the effective range of the enemy with his life, it would be difficult for the troops under his command to complete the task. It may not be possible to break through this line of defense that seems to be a headache.

(End of this chapter)