1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 736 Gathering Soldiers in Ryukyu
1658, the year of Wuxu, the 16th year of Qianwu in the Great Qi, the fourth year of Guangde in the Ming Dynasty, and the 15th year of Shunzhi in the Puppet Qing Dynasty.

In the past 1657, the Nanjing Guangde court of the Ming Dynasty launched a massive Northern Expedition, reaching Sichuan in the west and the sea in the east. On a front of thousands of kilometers, more than [-] Ming troops invaded the Qing Dynasty to control them like a tide. Areas, successively seized Hanzhong, Hubei (south of the Yangtze River), Anhui, and Jianghuai, and the soldiers pointed directly at the Central Plains and North China.

During this period, a large-scale battle broke out in Xuzhou between the Ming and Qing Dynasties.With an army of 12, the Ming army besieged the more than [-] Qing troops stationed in Xuzhou.The battle lasted from mid-September to November.Under the leadership of the coach Obai, the Qing army was extremely tenacious.Although, with the strong support of the accompanying Qi army artillery, the city wall was smashed down several times.However, the frenzied Qing army drove away countless people, braved the fierce bombardment of artillery, quickly blocked the city wall with bricks, stones and wood, and organized a death squad to repel the Ming army who invaded the city time and time again.

In mid-November, an elite Manchurian and Mongolian cavalry of more than 11 scaled over from Jining, stopped on the west side of the canal, and formed a flank attack on the besieged Ming army.

Li Dingguo, the commander-in-chief of the Ming army, gathered his troops and slowly retreated to Suining and Suzhou in early December, temporarily breaking away from combat contact with the Qing army.At this point, the first phase of military operations of the Ming Army's Northern Expedition came to an end, and began to consolidate and stabilize the order in the occupied areas and restore people's livelihood.

In this Northern Expedition, although the Hubei battlefield was defeated, the Ming army achieved brilliant victories in several other major battlefields. It established a strong strategic support point for the subsequent Northern Expedition.

Moreover, in this great battle, the Ming army discovered that the surrendered Han troops who had been very combative before performed very differently. Without the Manchurian Eight Banners to supervise the battle, the fighting will also appeared to be relatively weak. It became common, which made the Ming army advance very fast.

The large-scale battles in the Ming and Qing Dynasties basically stopped at the end of the year. The Ming army was trying to digest the results of the previous battles, while the Qing army was also licking its wounds, accumulating strength, and preparing for an opportunity to counterattack.

To the astonishment of both the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Qi State, which had been in the mainland situation for a long time, suddenly carried out frequent military mobilization.The more than [-] Qi troops who attacked from Haizhou all the way to Pizhou retreated in a hurry with a large number of immigrants in the early November.

On Jangsan Island, not far from Denglei, there were constant ships coming and going. Ordnance, food, clothing, and teams of armed soldiers were loaded onto the ship, and then they set sail and arrived at Tamna Island (now Jeju Island, South Korea).

In early December, about 12 officers and men of the Ming army under Li Laiheng in Chaozhou were fully armed and boarded several Qi ships.After leaving the port, the fleet headed northeast first, took a rest in Jilong (now Keelung, Taiwan) in northern Taiwan controlled by Zheng Sen, and then continued sailing eastward after meeting with more than ten Zheng Jun navy ships.

At the beginning of December, not far from Guangzhou, the commercial station of Qi State in A Niangxie Island (now Weiyuan Island in the southwest of Dongguan City, on the east bank of the Pearl River Estuary) ordered grain, cloth and silk to many merchants of the Ming Dynasty at a purchase price that was 12% higher than the market price. , medicinal materials, saltpeter and other material purchase orders, the quantity is not limited, but must be delivered to Hanxing Island.

In mid-December, the Gu Rong (Gu Sanmazi) Department stationed in Yazhou (now Sanya), Changhua, and Wanzhou (now Wanning, Hainan) in Qiongzhou Prefecture dispatched more than 12 large and small warships and [-] officers and soldiers. Yu, after gathering in Yazhou, departed from the port one after another and sailed northeast, with the target also Hanxing Island.
-
On January 1658, 1, Hanxing Island.

"At present, Hanxing Island and Xinghe Island (today's Ishigaki Island in Japan) have gathered 8 warships and 5 armed merchant ships of our country. There are more than 300 marines in four battalions, and 500 soldiers from Changshan Island. There are 500 soldiers in Hanxing Island Township, and more than [-] in the four battalions of the Self-Rescue Army, with a total strength of [-]."

"In addition, we recruited 1000 members of the Ming army from Li Laiheng's department, 200 from Gu Rong's department, and 500 from Zheng Sen's department, totaling more than [-] people. If the scale of the war expands, we can also ask Daming Yongwang Yunzhou and Tamna Island, where His Royal Highness belongs, have mobilized troops and horses to support them."

"The fast liaison ships going to the Luzon General Administration and the Annan General Administration should have informed them of our situation at this time. These two places should mobilize at any time according to our war needs, and they will send ships at that time. and Marines came to support."

After finishing his speech, He Yunfeng, Commander-in-Chief of the Qi State Army in Daming, Lieutenant Zhaoxin (Colonel), looked at the Ryukyu General Manager and former commander of the Black Guards, Cao He, who was sitting above him, waiting for him to make the next decision.

"If we only fight against the Satsuma domain, these troops are almost enough." Cao He took a deep breath with his pipe in his mouth, and then exhaled a smoke ring, his face was a bit dignified, "The one who is afraid is Japan's Tokugawa The shogunate will get involved, and in that case, we will be facing a large country with tens of millions of people and hundreds of thousands of troops. Even with the support of Luzon and Annan, we may not be able to cope with it."

"Through the research and detailed judgment of the Japanese shogunate system, coupled with the comprehensive analysis of various intelligence, our staff members have come to the conclusion that as long as the scope of the war is limited to the Satsuma domain, and the shogunate and some pro-vassal daimyos are not provoked, it should be There will be no national response in Japan."

"How accurate is this judgment?"

"Sixty percent."

"Only [-]%?" Cao He was dumbfounded, "Then there is still a high probability that our country of Qi will have an all-out war with Japan."

"Chairman, the probability of [-]% is already very high." He Yunfeng smiled slightly, "Besides, our conclusion is only a conservative inference. Perhaps, when we have a war with Satsuma, the Tokugawa shogunate may Happy to see it happen.”

"Oh?" Cao He was a little surprised, "Isn't the Tokugawa shogunate the actual rulers of their Japan? How could they be happy to see a vassal daimyo go to war with other countries?"

"Let that Tian Xiuhong come in and explain a little bit to you adults." He Yunfeng turned his head and ordered his adjutant.

After a while, an accompanying captain (second lieutenant) of the Black Clothes Guard entered the hall, saluted the military and political officials present, and then stood aside cautiously.

"Tell me." He Yunfeng waved his hand and said, "Don't be nervous. Let the adults here introduce the relationship between the Japanese shogunate and the daimyo, and how the Japanese shogunate will react after we launch a military strike."

"Yes, sir!" Tian Xiuhong promised loudly, then took a deep breath and licked his lips. relationship, and how the shogunate will react after the daimyo is attacked, in order to make specific references for your lords and chiefs."

In the Edo period, the political system was the "shogunate system", in which the shogunate and the vassals jointly managed the country.General Zhengyi is the actual ruler of Japan. He rules the feudal states all over the country through the shogunate. The rulers of each feudal clan are called daimyo (above ten thousand stone).The daimyo is in a semi-independent state and has great independence. Usually, the shogunate does not interfere in the internal affairs of each domain.The general is actually the leader of the feudal vassals, but the general has the largest and richest territory and crushes the local vassals in strength.

In order to consolidate the rule of the Tokugawa family, the shogunate divided the daimyos into pro-vassal daimyos (the relatives of Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose territory was sealed near Kinki, and received good treatment), genealogical daimyos (loyal vassals who followed Tokugawa Ieyasu in the four directions in the early years) , or the daimyo who surrendered before the Sekigahara War) and the foreign daimyo (before the Sekigahara War, he was the same daimyo as Tokugawa Ieyasu, and after the Sekigahara War, he was forced to surrender, and belonged to the group of people who were not trusted), Among them, the Tokugawa shogunate must of course take precautions against foreign daimyos and restrict them in many ways.

Territories of foreign daimyos were generally sealed in remote and outlying places, far away from strategically important places, and the fiefdoms were interlaced with the territories of pro-fans and genealogists, which enabled the pro-vassals and generas to effectively monitor the foreign daimyos.Finally, foreign daimyos could not hold important positions in the shogunate.

At the same time, the shogunate will greatly compress the territory of foreign daimyos.For example, before the Battle of Sekigahara, the Changzhou domain originally had 120 million shi, which was directly reduced to 37 shi after the war.In addition, the "alternate residence" system was implemented, and the foreign daimyo in the country were divided into east and west halves, with one half living in Edo and the other half living in the territory.Every April, these daimyos switch roles, those who live in Edo return to the territory, and those who live in the territory go to Edo.However, the wives of these daimyo must live in Edo permanently, which is equivalent to hostages.In this case, the born sons grew up in Edo and have a sense of belonging to Edo emotionally, thus reducing their sense of identity with the territory.

What's even more insidious is that all the expenses for the alternate residence of the foreign daimyo are still paid for by themselves. After calculation, the amount of money is quite considerable.Not only putting them under surveillance, but also draining their pocketbooks, economically reduces the possibility of their rebellion, killing two birds with one stone.

Not only that, but the shogunate also promulgated the "One Country, One City Order", which stipulated that, except for the city where the daimyo lived, all other cities should be demolished, and the shogunate must be approved for new construction or repair of the city.

Just imagine, in such an environment and being treated like this, how the foreign daimyos would feel. This is to guard them like thieves all the time, how can you hate them.

Therefore, in Japan, you only need to look at the distance between those daimyos and Edo to know whether they are close to the shogunate.The Satsuma domain is located in the westernmost of the four islands of Japan, and the relationship with the shogunate can be imagined.In addition, in the Battle of Sekigahara, the Satsuma clan actually stood on the wrong team and became Tokugawa's opponent.Although, in the end, due to the unremitting efforts of the Shimadzu family, the shogunate's punishment of the Satsuma domain was resolved, but this account must still be remembered in his heart.

In addition, through the Ryukyu, the Satsuma clan has flourished smuggling trade with the Qi State, making the Satsuma clan's financial situation from a total debt of 35 taels of silver to an annual profit of tens of thousands of taels of silver. How can this prevent the shogunate from Be vigilant and be afraid of it.

"Therefore, the humble judge judges that if the Satsuma Fan is attacked by our Qi State, not only will it not receive support from the shogunate, but it may also get their acquiescence and indulgence to a certain extent, allowing our Qi State to use this to weaken the Satsuma Fan. In order to eliminate the potential threat of the Shimadzu family to the shogunate."

After finishing speaking, Tian Xiuhong looked nervously at the military and political officials present, waiting for the adults to send inquiries.

"Approximately how many troops does Satsuma have?" Cao He asked.

"Bizhi believes that after full mobilization, the Satsuma clan can organize an army of about 1 to [-]." Tian Xiuhong replied cautiously.

"How many warships does Satsuma have?"

"Warship?" Tian Xiuhong looked a little relaxed, "If you count by the standards of our navy's ships, the Satsuma Domain doesn't have a single warship that can be used for sea combat."

"There are currently three main types of ships in Japan. One is the large Anzhai ship, which can carry an army of more than a hundred people. In battle, only dozens of sailors can operate flexibly. There are even some Taiko (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) Thin iron plates were added to the bow, stern and sides of the Ataka ship in the period to enhance its protection. However, its clumsy bulk made the ship very slow and difficult to turn.”

"Secondly, it is a Guan ship. It looks like a smaller Anzhai boat. It has a certain impact and speed, but there is no artillery configuration on the ship, and it is not suitable for sea navigation."

"The third is Xiaozao, a small fast boat that paddles forward. The hull is light and narrow. When fighting at sea, it is equipped with archers and wooden shields are hung on both sides for protection."

"Looking at the three main types of Japanese ships mentioned above, none of them can compete with the warships of the Qi State Navy.... These ships cannot even defeat the Fuchuan and Sand Ships owned by the Ming State Navy. Therefore, the naval combat power of the Satsuma Domain can be can be ignored!"

"Commander Luo, what do you think?" Cao He looked at the silent commander of the Ryukyu Fleet, General Guangwei (Major General) Luo Rucheng.

"My opinion is not important." Luo Rucheng shook his head and said, "You are the general manager of the Ryukyu. During the war, you have the right to mobilize and command all the sea and army in the region. Since September [-] last year, the Satsuma clan raided our Ryukyu merchants. It has been more than four months. We have brought together a large number of sea and land armed forces here. Naturally, we have to respond strongly to the unprovoked provocation of Satsuma. If you want to attack To destroy the Satsuma clan, I will lead the army. Even if you want me to attack the Japanese shogunate, as a soldier, I will take orders."

Luo Rucheng said, everyone present turned their attention to Cao He.

Cao He smiled, put the pipe in his mouth gently on the table, and then stood up.

"Now that you are all fully prepared, let's implement it according to the established battle plan. This battle must be carried out with thunderous momentum and heavy pressure to strike the Satsuma clan thoroughly and resolutely. Let those Japanese Everyone knows that I, Da Qi, cannot be humiliated lightly, and my people, Da Qi, cannot be slaughtered innocently."

"Blood debt must be paid with blood!"

(End of this chapter)