1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 743 Kagoshima ([-])
April 1658, 4, Kyushu, Kagoshima.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

After three days of continuous bombardment, the city wall was riddled with holes. Through several huge cracks, one could even see the situation on the other side of the city wall.Everyone knows that the fall of Kagoshima Castle is not far away.The officers and soldiers of the coalition army under the city were fully armed and ready to attack the city at the moment the city wall collapsed.

The soldiers and civilians in the city turned pale, with despair and helplessness in their eyes.Yesterday, more than [-] Satsuma troops went out of the city to launch a surprise attack on the coalition forces, trying to damage the coalition forces' heavy siege artillery.However, under the intensive musket fire of the coalition forces, there were more than [-] casualties, and they fled back to the city in embarrassment.

Sadly, the Satsuma army found that even if the opponent did not have fierce firearms, the huge number of troops and sophisticated equipment alone were enough to defeat them.Although, the Shimadzu family promised various benefits to samurai at all levels in the army, issued a number of Lumi, and even took out a large amount of gold and silver from the treasury.However, the morale in the army is still not very high, and they all report a pessimistic attitude towards the fate of Kagoshima Castle.

The Battle of Ryukyu caused the loss of nearly half of the Satsuma Army's elite troops, mainly samurai at all levels.And more than ten days ago, the battle of Aira caused the few samurai class in the Satsuma army to suffer another heavy blow.Although nearly 5000 troops gathered in the entire Kagoshima city, most of them were farmers and untouchables, and the training time was only more than two months at most, so it was difficult to guarantee combat effectiveness.

"Boom!..."

A section of the Kagoshima City wall about [-] meters long finally collapsed under the heavy impact of a shell, and countless rammed earth and rubble fell, causing a burst of smoke and dust.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

A burst of warm cheers broke out from the officers and soldiers of the coalition forces, and everyone's eyes showed joy and eagerness.

"Boom! Boom!"

The two heavy artillery continued to bombard the gap in the city wall for three rounds, trying to clear a smooth passage for the besieging troops.

"The Loyalty Army is ready!" Lu Fucun, the commander-in-chief of the Loyalty Army and Lieutenant Renyong (Lieutenant) shouted loudly.

"Prepare!"

"Prepare!"

"..."

Following the order, more than a dozen squad leaders of the Loyalty Army raised their long knives high and shouted loudly at their subordinates.

More than five hundred loyal soldiers in gray uniforms each wore a pair of simple plate armor to cover their chest and back. Their weapons were mainly long knives and spears, supplemented by a small number of muskets. As the vanguard (cannon fodder) of the Qi army, they will fight in all directions for Qi in Daming and overseas territories.

"It's almost there, let's... go in!" He Yunfeng, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, ordered lightly.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Dozens of tall grenadiers quickly approached the city wall, ignited the bombs, threw them vigorously towards the gap in the city wall, and then turned around and ran back to the army formation.

"Kill!" Lu Fucun, the commander-in-chief of the Loyalty Army, swung his sword forward violently.

More than [-] loyal soldiers shouted and rushed towards the gap in the city wall. After a short battle, they quickly eliminated the defenders and then rushed into the city.

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Jun's Ganhui Division, Chaozhou Hao Yongzhong Division, Qiongzhou Gurong Division, the First Battalion of Weiguo, Hanxing Island Township Soldiers, and the Third Battalion of the Marine Corps rushed into Kagoshima City one after another along the gap in the city wall.

"Shimazu Mitsuhisa ran away?"

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the fighting in Kagoshima City had gradually ceased, and the coalition forces completely controlled the most important city of Satsuma.When the allied forces entered the city, the Satsuma army defending the city began to disintegrate. The temporarily organized farmers and untouchables discarded their bamboo spears and wooden spears and hid in the houses in the streets and alleys.Those who can't avoid it will meekly kneel down and ask for surrender, in order to save their lives.

And some samurai loyal to the Shimadzu clan relied on the complex streets and alleys in Kagoshima City to resist stubbornly and attack and kill the officers and soldiers of the coalition forces who entered the city.In view of the experience and lessons of the Ryukyu Shuri King City, the officers and soldiers of the coalition army followed the same pattern, and set fire to all the streets and houses where the Satsuma warriors hid and resisted.This caused the entire city of Kagoshima to ignite a raging fire, nearly half of the houses were burned down, and thousands of residents in the city were affected and slaughtered.

However, when a group of Marine Corps officers and soldiers invaded the inner city where the Shimadzu lived - Tofukuji Castle (now Shimizu Town, Kagoshima City), in addition to capturing an old man who stayed here, led by Shimadzu Mitsuhisa The main leaders of the Satsuma domain have disappeared.After searching the whole city to no avail, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps severely tortured the left-behind elder, but the other party showed enough "honesty" to keep silent.

At [-]:[-] p.m., General Guangwei (Major General) Luo Rucheng, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, entered Kagoshima City to listen to He Yunfeng's combat report.

"Damn it, he ran away, how do we end this war?" Luo Rucheng smiled wryly, "It's not possible, we took all of this Satsuma domain, right? Who knows, the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo saw this situation , Will you jump out and interfere at any time!"

"With our less than [-] troops, I'm afraid we won't be able to completely occupy the territory of the Satsuma domain." He Yunfeng also felt a headache when Shimadzu Mitsuhisa escaped, "But if Kagoshima is occupied for such a long time, the Tokugawa shogunate will definitely interfere. .After all, as Japan's great general, the Tokugawa shogunate has the responsibility to preserve the security of Japan's territory, and will not allow a foreign force to brazenly seize the territory of a vassal daimyo."

"Although we have absolute sea control, we can blockade the entire Kyushu and prevent the shogunate army from attacking the island, but this is after all a risk of an all-out war with a big country with a population of tens of millions. If so, we will I am trapped in endless consumption here, and I can't do anything." Luo Rucheng shook his head and said: "As a last resort, we should not have a full-scale war with Japan. But if we don't subdue this Shimadzu family, let him treat our country Qi Kowtow to apologize, that also brings down my Qi Guowei, doesn't it?"

"I suggest occupying Kagoshima first, within a month." He Yunfeng said: "If during this period, Shimadzu bows his head and comes forward to admit his mistake, then we should negotiate a truce with him to end this war. If Shimadzu If you insist on resisting, then we will completely smash this Satsuma clan, destroy its foundation, and make him irreparable."

Luo Rucheng nodded, and agreed to He Yunfeng's suggestion. In a month, the Tokugawa shogunate should have reacted. If they keep quiet and let Qi occupy the territory of Satsuma, it will probably make many famous names in Japan feel cold-hearted and breed dissatisfied.

On the second day after occupying Kagoshima Castle, the army of Qi State dispatched military police in the city to maintain order in the city, stop large-scale burning, killing and looting, and organized residents in the city to put out the fire and provide relief to refugees.The coalition command issued an order to implement a 24-hour curfew and martial law throughout the city, and no residents were allowed to go out at will.

At the same time, in order to reduce the pressure on public security in the city and disintegrate the residents’ resistance, in the next few days, the coalition forces opened the official warehouses of the Satsuma Domain, and stipulated that everyone should receive Yiguan rice (the ancient Japanese weight unit, consistent rice) regardless of class, gender, or age. about 3000 to 4000 grams) for ten days.

Unexpectedly, it was this negligible supply of rice that was warmly supported by the residents of the whole city.When they received Yitong rice from the officers and soldiers of the coalition forces, they all bowed their heads in gratitude, expressing their respect and obedience to the coalition forces.

You must know that in this era, rice is nothing more than a luxury in the eyes of Japanese commoners and untouchables, and only nobles and high-ranking samurai can enjoy it, especially in places like Satsuma that are not rich in rice.Commoners and untouchables, as well as some impoverished low-ranking warriors, usually have tares, millet and oats as their staple food.It is this kind of rough food that must be eaten sparingly every day, and it must be mixed with a lot of wild vegetables and roots, and eaten after steaming.

Even though the food of the samurai class was slightly better, they still ate vegetable rice cooked with brown rice and vegetables.The most luxurious meal is made of white rice, vegetables, fish, shellfish, chicken (this needs to be eaten secretly), but it is only occasionally eaten by feudal lords or high-ranking samurai.

In the era of the Japanese shogunate, rice was equivalent to money and goods. The main source of income for Japanese samurai at all levels was Lumi, and the status of the daimyo was also marked by the height of the rice and stone.

Regarding how grateful the residents of the city were to Dade when they received the rice, the coalition forces didn't care about it, except for sending two troops of more than a thousand people to sweep the towns and villages around Kagoshima Castle.The remaining coalition officers and soldiers began to plunder the Satsuma feudal city in an organized manner. The treasury, government offices, workshops, trading houses, and the residences of the escaped elders and senior samurai... were all delineated one by one. The various departments of the coalition forces will search, pick up and carry them.

The young drummer Tian Jiaqi happily picked up an exquisite folding fan discarded on the ground, opened it and looked at it.This is a white sandalwood fan. It is made of white sandalwood chips. The wood chips are carved with patterns and decorations, and there is a faint fragrance.

"Tian Yazi, what are you doing with a broken fan? It's not worth much! Why don't you collect more scattered gold and silver, it's really worth it!"

In a luxurious mansion, a group of Marine Corps officers and soldiers were searching for all kinds of decorations and hidden material wealth. A Marine Corps sergeant saw Tian Jiaqi holding a folding fan and couldn't help laughing.

"This fan is beautiful, I'll take it back for my elder sister at home." Tian Jiaqi closed the folding fan and stuffed it into his satchel.

"Is your elder sister Xu family? Would you like to introduce me to my brother!" Another veteran of the Marine Corps couldn't help laughing and said after hearing this.

"Don't say that my elder sister promised someone, even if she didn't promise someone, she wouldn't introduce it to you." Tian Jiaqi rolled his eyes at the veteran, "Every time I'm on vacation, I drink like a drunk! He keeps smoking a pipe, and his mouth is always dirty. Which woman will marry you?"

"Hahaha..." The officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps around burst into laughter, "Tietou, not only women despise you, but even a child despises you!"

"Bah! What do you know!" The veteran of the Marine Corps named Tietou didn't get annoyed, straightened up and said, "When we enlist in the army, we tie our heads to our trouser waists at any time, and lose them at any time. My life! When I was not on duty, my spirit relaxed, and I couldn't fall asleep for a while. So I had to get myself drunk and have a good sleep! Besides, I am not the only one in the army who likes tobacco leaves. This thing, take a few more puffs, and the hand holding the gun will be a little more stable....It's full of energy!"

"The Japanese have entered the city!... The peace negotiating representative of the Satsuma domain has come!" Suddenly, there was a clamor of shouts outside the house.

Everyone looked at each other, walked out of the house one after another, and looked on the street.

The old Tsuda Junlong of the Satsuma clan and his group saw more and more coalition officers and soldiers gathering on both sides of the road, they couldn't help but straightened their backs a little bit, raised their heads high, and followed an officer calmly marching.

The entire Kagoshima City seemed to be very peaceful. The streets, squares, and marketplaces, except for teams of coalition officers and soldiers, could not see any residents walking around.Some streets and alleys and houses have obviously been burned by fire, and there are faint bloodstains on some roads and doorways.This feudal city, which the Satsuma clan is proud of, has now fallen into the hands of the Qi army. The residents of the whole city must have been slaughtered mercilessly by them. Carriages, carrying the wealth looted in the city, drove slowly. Out of town, toward the sea.

"Tell me, what conditions do you Qi people need before you agree to a truce and withdraw from our Satsuma domain?" After meeting the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Luo Rucheng and several major officers, Tsuda Junlong did not exchange too many greetings, but asked bluntly road.

"You Satsuma feudal lord must solemnly apologize to our country of Qi. I will personally go to the mainland of Hanzhou to meet my king to express my apology."

"My lord is the lord of the Satsuma clan, so he cannot leave Japan without permission and go to the mainland of Hanzhou. But my Satsuma clan can send a noble family elder to act as an apology envoy to your country to express...recognize your mistakes."

"It's a confession!" Luo Rucheng said heavily: "You Satsuma lord may not go to our Hanzhou mainland, but you must go to the city in person, plead guilty to our Qi State, and send important people as official apology envoys to our Hanzhou. Continent, to meet my great king...Of course, if your feudal lord comes to our army, we will definitely guarantee his safety."

"...I need to go back and ask my lord for instructions on this point." Junlong Tsuda thought for a while and said, "Excuse me, what other conditions are there?"

"Deal with the person responsible for the initiation of this war."

"This point, can you point out one or two..."

"In Ryukyu and Yutou Island, the officers and soldiers who committed massacres against the soldiers and civilians of our country need to be dealt with severely."

"...some of the soldiers were just following orders."

"The soldiers are acting according to orders, so one of the three will be chosen. As for all the officers, they must all be handed over to us."

"Can...can you let them kill themselves with honor?"

"Huh?" Luo Rucheng looked at Tsuda Junlong suspiciously.

"We'll let them... kill themselves."

Luo Rucheng and He Yunfeng looked at each other, pondered for a moment, and then said: "When the personnel are confirmed and executed, our personnel must supervise the whole process."

"……Can."

"As for all the losses caused by this war to our country, you Satsuma clan must make compensation." Luo Rucheng continued: "The amount of compensation is 50 taels of silver."

"50 taels of silver!" Toshiro Tsuda exclaimed, "We don't have such silver, so we can't make the above compensation."

"It doesn't matter, you can pay in installments." Luo Rucheng said with a smile: "Five years, or ten years, you can slowly make up."

"Even if you give us 20 years, we still can't afford to pay so much money." Tsuda Junlong shook his head and said: "In this war, not only your Qi country suffered losses, but our Satsuma clan also suffered huge losses. Moreover, You are still in this city seizing and seizing decades of wealth we have amassed."

"No, the losses we suffered were entirely caused by the war you initiated without authorization. And all our actions now are out of a kind of reciprocal revenge. You need to pay the due price for your mistakes .” He Yunfeng said coldly.

After some intense bargaining, the amount of compensation for the Satsuma clan was tentatively set at 30 taels of silver, and the Qi State was unwilling to lower it any further, and demanded that the compensation be paid in ten years with an annual interest of [-]%.However, this proposal still needs to be confirmed by the Satsuma feudal lord.

"Ryukyu affairs should be determined by the Ryukyu country itself, and the Satsuma domain must not interfere any further."

"……Can."

"The land of Ryukyu previously occupied by Satsuma must be returned."

"The Amami Islands have already been settled by our Satsuma clan officials and people. Can we continue to lease them under the name of our Satsuma clan?"

"No! You Satsuma officials must withdraw from the Amami Islands. As for the Satsuma residents who settled on the island, they can choose to be naturalized in Ryukyu, or return to the Satsuma territory on their own."

Toshiro Tsuda was silent for a while, then nodded to acknowledge the clause.Before coming, they were all mentally prepared that Ryukyu might not be able to keep it.

"In addition to the compensation, you also need to cede land as compensation to our country Qi and the Ryukyu Kingdom." Luo Rucheng stared at Tsuda Junlong and said word by word.

(End of this chapter)