prosperous age

"bang bang bang"

As the gunners on the strait opened fire, plumes of smoke instantly rose around the ship, like smoke bombs, making the already small ship appear and disappear in the eyes of the Ming gunners.

The gun ports were already small, but the Japanese army's unexpected firing had an effect they hadn't anticipated.

After the Ming army finished reloading, the number of Japanese pirate ships hit in the third bombardment was significantly reduced, from more than ten ships hit in the previous attack to nearly half in an instant.

However, the southeast wind was strong at that time, and the smoke was quickly blown away by the sea breeze.

However, the Japanese arquebusiers seemed to realize something, and their gunfire began to ring out continuously.

Unable to stop the Ming warships, the Atakebune ahead also turned at full speed, going with the wind. Although turning at this time was very dangerous, they had no choice but to do so.

As for the Ming army's transport fleet in the distance, they could no longer see it, so they naturally did not know that there was an even more formidable enemy fleet in the distance.

"There are only a dozen or so boats. If we can capture just one, we'll make a profit."

At this moment, the commander of this Japanese navy was pounding with excitement. Seizing a ship was equivalent to seizing a ship full of wealth. Such enormous wealth would be enough for the patriarch to give more money to build more warships.

The Japanese pirate navy began to change course completely, and a surprising scene unfolded in the North Sea: more than ten Ming warships kept turning on the sea, sailing in a figure-eight pattern, while a group of Japanese ships chased after them.

As soon as the fleet approached, intense gunfire would erupt, and the Ming ships would quickly turn to one side, bypassing the enemy's front fleet and gradually encroaching on the smaller warships behind.

The two sides became entangled in a fierce battle in the North Sea, which Japan calls the Sea of ​​Japan.

The Ming navy used its superior firepower to destroy one ship after another. Even two ships from the Atakebune had to retreat into their formation after being bombarded multiple times and dared not show themselves again.

"My lord, we can't continue like this. The Ming warships have powerful cannons. We can't even get close to their ships. They'll just sink us with their cannons."

After several skirmishes, a Japanese pirate officer finally spoke up.

The loss of more than 20 ships and the severe damage to two ships from Atakebune was a huge blow.

Before the battle, this navy had more than a hundred warships of various types, but after this naval battle, more than twenty ships sank and more than twenty others were severely damaged.

The Atakebune is strong, but we can't keep dragging this out.

The previous maneuvers were merely attempts by the Japanese pirate naval commanders to be drawn to the cannons on the Ming warships, who were eager to board them and seize a Ming warship.

But after several attempts, their hopes are now slim. The enemy doesn't engage in close combat with them at all, but instead uses their superior weaponry to strike them from a distance.

After careful consideration, the Japanese naval commanders finally made a decision.

"Order the entire army to retreat to Sado Island. Send several ships to monitor the Ming navy, determine their location tonight, and then we will launch a surprise attack."

The enemy's gunboats could blockade Sado Island, but they clearly didn't transport many troops.

It is impossible to occupy Sado Island with such armed forces alone.

Therefore, waiting passively for a rabbit to run into a tree stump becomes possible.

We should first retreat to the Sado Island pier, and after determining the sea area where the Ming navy anchors and rests at night, launch a surprise attack. It should be possible to seize one or two warships.

Even now, Japanese naval commanders have not forgotten the cannons on Ming Dynasty warships.

Moreover, he had to get these cannons; otherwise, with such a huge loss, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the patriarch and the Nine Ghosts Commander.

On the Ming Dynasty naval ship, Commander Sun, full of vigor, gave the order: "Next time, let them get closer. At a distance of one mile, those little brats will be even more accurate."

"Sir, it seems the Japanese pirates haven't caught up."

The captain of the ship saw the Japanese ships following behind and suddenly spoke up.

"what?"

Commander Sun observed the movements of the Japanese pirate ships and noticed that the distance between himself and the pirate ships seemed to be increasing.

"They turned towards Sado Island."

The captain suddenly spoke again.

"I saw."

Commander Sun stared at the receding Japanese ships, his smile gradually fading.

"How about we catch up?"

The captain suddenly made a suggestion.

They chased after them, and everyone had the wind at their backs. Although they could use their speed advantage to catch up with the Japanese pirates' navy, Commander Sun still shook his head.

I looked up at the sky; it would soon be dark.

"Order the fleet to change course; we need to retrieve the transport fleet."

What use is it to go to Sado Island with the Japanese pirates? His military orders are to blockade Sado Island and cover the landing of two thousand infantrymen on the transport fleet.

They've now lost the transport fleet; they need to find the people.

Although the plan to raid Sado Island had failed, the military orders had to continue.

Thus, the column line quickly became a horizontal line with the two ships seven or eight miles apart, and the twelve Ming warships sailed back against the wind, searching for the transport fleet that had disappeared into the North Sea.

Qi Jiguang, Xu Qiaoan, and others were naturally unaware of the naval battle that had broken out in the North Sea.

Xu Qiaoan led the main force of the East China Sea Navy, more than 30 double-decker gunboats and more than 10 support ships, sailing at full speed northeast to provide full support to Sado Island.

When passing Tsushima Island, ten double-decker gunboats and three Japanese-style ships were left to blockade the island, while the rest of the main force continued towards Sado Island.

Meanwhile, the main force of the Ming army led by Qi Jiguang had already boarded ships and set sail towards Japan.

A detachment was dispatched en route, consisting of five double-decker gunboats protecting more than twenty large Japanese ships as they sailed toward Tsushima Island. The South China Sea Fleet also deployed twenty double-decker gunboats to join the Northern Army's formation.

Three days later, the main Ming army fleet finally approached Honshu Island. The sudden appearance of the huge fleet startled the Mori samurai patrolling the coastline, and they hurriedly sent a messenger on horseback to report to Mori Terumoto, the head of the Mori clan at Yoshida-Koriyama Castle.

While later generations of Chinese are more familiar with Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Mori clan's power in Japan during this era was also not to be underestimated, as they were once the last obstacle to Oda Nobunaga's unification of Japan.

The Mori clan is a prestigious family with a long history. Their ancestors can be traced back to the early days of the Kamakura Shogunate, when they served Minamoto Yoritomo and held the position of Chief Administrator of the State Council, Ōe Hiromoto.

After Hiromoto's death, the descendants of his fourth son, Mori Toshimitsu, multiplied and thrived as landowners of Yoshida-sou in Aki Province. On April 16, 1497, Mori Motonari was born in Yoshida-Koriyama Castle in Aki Province, with the childhood name Matsujumaru. At that time, the Mori family was just a small daimyo struggling to survive among the surrounding daimyo, belonging to the Ōuchi family of Suō Province.

Mori Motonari rose to fame during the Battle of Aritanaka-Ide, and after the death of Yukimatsu-maru, he became the well-deserved head of the clan.

After that, Mori Motonari, with his outstanding strategy, frequently launched surprise attacks and repeatedly defeated powerful enemies, making his reputation "all over the land" and gradually transforming the Mori clan from a small daimyo into a regional lord.

The sudden death of Mori Motonari's eldest son, Takamoto, in 1563 was undoubtedly a fatal blow to the already frail Motonari.

To comfort Takamoto's spirit in heaven, Motohiro appointed Takamoto's eldest son, Mori Terumoto, as the successor to the head of the family, with his two uncles, Yoshikawa Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage, assisting him.

On July 6, 1571, Mori Motonari, the most famous strategist of the Sengoku period, died at the age of 75.

After Mori Motonari's death, Mori Terumoto, with the dedicated assistance of his uncle "Ryokawa," ascended to the position of head of the clan and continued Motonari's unfinished work.

At this time, the powerful Mori clan controlled more than a dozen provinces, including Aki, Izumo, Iwami, Suo, Nagato, Iyo, Bizen, Bitchu, and Bingo, making it the largest of all the major lords in the country.

However, what the Mori family could not have imagined was that the Chinese idiom "to possess a treasure is a crime" already existed.

The Iwami Province under its jurisdiction produced a large amount of silver, which provided the Mori clan with ample financial resources to arm themselves. However, it also unknowingly attracted the attention of the Ming Dynasty. For the desperate Ming emperor, the Iwami Silver Mountain was simply too attractive.

Wei Guangde's intrusion into historical time and space has unknowingly altered the original course of history.

Before the death of Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598, Terumoto was appointed as one of the "Five Elders," responsible for discussing and making decisions and jointly assisting the young lord Toyotomi Hideyori until he came of age.

The Five Elders included Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Ukita Hideie, Mori Terumoto, and Kobayakawa Takakage. After Kobayakawa Takakage's death, Uesugi Kagekatsu succeeded him. Terumoto's power was ranked second only to the Imperial Household Department's Tokugawa Ieyasu, with an annual income of nearly 1.12 million koku.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, his territory was reduced to more than 360,000 koku in Nagato and Suo provinces. He established the Choshu Domain, which he maintained until the end of the Edo period, and together with the Shimazu clan of Satsuma, he led the Meiji Restoration.

When Mori Terumoto heard at Yoshida-Koriyama Castle that a large number of Ming Dynasty warships had appeared in the western sea, he could hardly believe it; it was such a surprise.

He was originally waiting for Toyotomi Hideyoshi to lead his troops to attack again, but unexpectedly, he was met by the Ming army instead.

Especially after news of enemy activity came from Iwami and Izumo, Mori Terumoto realized that the Ming army's target seemed to be the Iwami region.

Iwami is located in the southwest of Honshu Island, bordered by Nagato to the west, Suo and Azumo to the south, and Izumo to the east.

The first intelligence he received was that the Ming navy had appeared between Iwami and Nagato. Half a day later, alarms from the Ming navy also came from the direction of Iwami and Izumo. He naturally knew what was about to happen.

The Ming Dynasty navy's objective this time was very clear: it was aimed at Iwami Province.

At this time, the main force of the Mori clan's army was concentrated on the eastern front, namely the Bizen, Bitchu, and Mimasaka regions, and there was no time to mobilize troops to reinforce Iwami.

Nagato, Izumo, and Suo also lacked sufficient troops, and their naval forces had to resist the Kuki navy. Faced with the sudden appearance of the Ming army, the Mori clan had already shown that their forces were stretched thin and they were overwhelmed.

Previously, the Mori navy, which once dominated the Seto Inland Sea and was considered the pride of the Mori family, had just been defeated by the Kuki navy, which was equipped with "sea monsters," in the Battle of Kizugawa. Currently, it has retreated to Aki and is unable to mobilize its forces to threaten the Ming navy in the western sea.

The "sea monster" that defeated the Mori navy was actually six huge warships built by Kuki Yoshitaka and Takigawa Kazumasu. The hulls were covered with some iron armor and equipped with Western cannons obtained through some unknown means.

Although few in number, a few cannons were enough to change the outcome of a naval battle for the Japanese navy, which lacked heavy firepower.

This is also why the Kuki Navy did not panic and collapse when it was repeatedly bombarded by Ming Dynasty gunboats. The Kuki Navy also had gunboats, but the number of cannons was far less than that of the Ming Navy.

If the Ming navy had appeared in Beihai a few years earlier, the roar of cannons would have been enough to cause the Kuki navy to collapse after the first round of bombardment.

Just as Mori Terumoto was racking his brains for a solution, the Ming army that had arrived on the coast would not wait for the Mori family to make a move. They had to seize the border of Iwami Province before the Oda clan could send troops to rescue them, block the Japanese army outside the Iwami area, and ensure the safety of the Iwami Silver Mine.

On that day, after the gunboats approached the coastline and the few Mori soldiers on the opposite shore fired a volley, a large number of small Fujian boats rushed to the near sea and quickly deployed Ming infantrymen to the coastline via sampans.

On the coastline, the Maori army was outnumbered and offered very little resistance, allowing the Ming army to land successfully.

Following earlier drills, the supply troops, carrying a large number of planks, quickly built a simple dock on the beach for the Fujian ships to moor. The Fujian ships took turns docking, and a large number of infantrymen and supplies were unloaded on the beach.

The infantry who landed first built temporary camps about ten miles from the coastline as defensive fortifications.

They dug trenches and erected fences, completing the construction of defensive positions. As the cavalrymen landed, the Ming army began to send out cavalrymen to scout the surrounding environment.

The vacated Fujian-style ships were moved to the back of the fleet and regrouped to return to Jeju Island to transport other supplies.

Honshu Island did not encounter much resistance, and the landing was successful from the start.

Meanwhile, on Tsushima Island, the Ming army, after seizing the dock, advanced with unstoppable momentum, besieging the Zong clan members within Tsushima Castle.

With the city walls and cannons, the Zong clan could barely put up a fight, but it was only a matter of time before the city fell.

Because the Ming army had already unloaded several large cannons from their warships and transported them to Tsushima Castle in preparation for an assault.

Sado Island, which should have been the first to be attacked and made the fastest progress in the Ming army's plan to attack the Japanese pirates, instead fell into a stalemate.

Although the Ming navy defeated a portion of the Kuki navy in the naval battle with its strong ships and powerful cannons, the Ming cannon ships could approach and bombard the docks and surrounding fortresses during the day.

A large number of ships were destroyed in the harbor, allowing the Kuki navy to retreat directly from the ships to the island, thus denying the Ming army the opportunity to land.

The night raid, of course, was unsuccessful.

In fact, when a small number of ships intentionally or unintentionally followed the Ming navy, especially after the transport fleet of more than 30 Fujian ships was discovered by the Japanese army, the garrison commander and naval commander of Sado Island already understood the Ming's intentions.

Unable to win at sea, they could only seek to defeat the Ming army on the island.

At the very least, they can wait for reinforcements from the main force of the Kuki Navy led by Kuki Yoshitaka.

Among the main force of the Kuki navy, there were also warships equipped with cannons, which were their only hope of defeating the Ming navy.

"Their cannons have limited range; we can simply retreat."

"Once they send their ships ashore, a single volley from our two thousand-plus cannons will inflict heavy losses on the Ming people."

"Indeed, fortunately the navy still has more than a thousand arquebuses, which gives me full confidence in defending Sado."

"Once General Kuki's reinforcements arrive, we can defeat the enemy."

On Sado Island, the naval and army commanders, who were originally at odds with each other, sat down together for the first time to plan the Sado Island campaign.

They all knew that if Sado Island could not be defended, even if they escaped back, they would not escape the fate of committing seppuku.

The Ming army, after suffering heavy losses from a volley of two to three thousand arquebuses during their attempt to force a landing, temporarily abandoned the plan. Instead, they used a small force to lure out the Japanese arquebusiers, then used artillery barrage to eliminate their manpower. (End of Chapter)