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Chapter 1344: Bloody Battle of Panama City 8
"You really shouldn't be soft-hearted. He has himself to blame. If the local government didn't take charge of your plantation...what does this have to do with your transformation?"

Mukuhara Daigei did not support what happened to Kabayama Shigeyoshi, but he instinctively did not want to praise the Ming government for enforcing the law impartially, so he simply skipped the matter and asked directly about the result.

"Because my brother told me about what he gained from traveling between Ming and Kagoshima over the years, including his observations and summaries of the lives of the people in Ming, but the most important thing he gained was the law.

In my father's generation, Ming officials were generally corrupt. However, this has changed over the years. They now act according to Ming laws and only act on their own when there are no clear provisions in the law.

But my brother believes that this is precisely the foundation of the Ming Empire's strength. Only by making most people abide by the same standards can we get rid of the old and innovate and move forward. However, in Japan, it is very, very difficult to do this.

Without a set of effective laws, the new army alone cannot make the country strong. To achieve this, it is necessary to take the lead in compliance like the Ming emperor, which is also difficult in Japan. "

After going through so much trouble, Kabayama Qingyu just wanted to make one point. He was not against the radicals in the new army, but he felt that the new army alone could not solve all the problems in Japan.

"…What do you think should be done to put Japan on the right track?" This conclusion made it difficult for Taigei Mukuhara to refute for a while. After a long silence, he decided to ask his friend for advice.

"First, we must win this battle. After returning home, we can gather together those who are willing to dedicate their lives to the rise of Japan. There is always a way, but the premise is that we cannot let the Ming court think that the new army is useless. Without their help, we will accomplish nothing."

Karayama Qingyu should have already had a solution, but he didn't want to say it now. Instead, he proposed to involve more officers and soldiers of the new army, and also pointed out the impact of this battle on the future of the new army.

"I will get in touch with the other thousand households. I believe they don't want to be considered cowards. But the guys in the third thousand households will never stand together with us. You must be more cautious and take care of yourself."

Mukuhara Taigei agreed with Kabayama Qingyu's suggestion and walked to the deck, intending to ask the Ming Navy officer on this ship for a small boat to go to other ships to discuss tomorrow's tactics with his colleagues. But before leaving, he remembered Kabayama Qingyu's team and felt a little worried.

"Don't worry about me. There's nothing to be afraid of those guys except snitching. As long as we fight bravely and get the instructor's approval, no one will dare to arrest us in the barracks even if we are blacklisted. Great Whale Palace, take care!"

Kabayama Qingba exhaled a puff of smoke, shook the cigar and smiled easily. Without waiting for Muhara Taigei's answer, he turned around and walked down the stairs, disappearing into the darkness.

"Huh...Come on! Don't be afraid!" Looking at the backs of his companions, Mukuhara Taigei let out a long sigh and whispered to himself to encourage himself.

Tomorrow is destined to be a fierce battle, but what needs to be worried about is not life and death, but whether the new army can achieve victory without arousing hostility from another group of officers.

Most of them were from hereditary daimyo and belonged to the faction supporting the shogunate. Although they were few in number, they were very good at informing on others. If they discovered the movements of the radicals in advance, it would have a very bad impact on the future of the new army.

“Ding ding ding… Ding ding ding…”

At daybreak, the sound of bronze bells could be heard in the anchorage. The soldiers of the First Guard of the Japanese New Army, who had already eaten breakfast and put on their equipment, walked onto the deck and lined up in an orderly formation under the command of the officers, ready for landing operations. Just like yesterday, the two Qin-class warships anchored near the landing site, with their gun ports open, ready to suppress fire at any time. Cargo ships carrying the Japanese New Army approached the landing site one after another, lowered small boats, and transported personnel and equipment to the beach.

With the experience of the attack and defense yesterday afternoon, the Spaniards in Panama City learned a lesson and no longer easily went out of the city to fight. This saved the landing troops a lot of trouble, and two thousand households landed smoothly before the sun rose.

"Let the cargo ships postpone landing, leave one thousand households to build fortifications on the spot, and another thousand households to attack the city wall and occupy the west bank of the river to build a camp." At this time, Du Wenhuan issued a new order to the landing troops on the flagship.

He did not rush to attack the city, but adopted a more cautious approach. He first sent more than two thousand troops ashore, expanded the landing site, built temporary docks and warehouses to facilitate the docking of subsequent cargo ships, and looked for a suitable location to establish a forward camp to prepare for the siege.

It is about 20 kilometers from the beach of the landing site to Panama City. Launching an attack from such a long distance is not only not conducive to ammunition supply and treatment of the wounded, but also difficult to command and coordinate.

There is a small river about 6 kilometers away from the east of the city. It is not wide and the water flows slowly, so it is not difficult to build a temporary bridge over it.

If another camp could be established on the west bank of the stream for the new army to use, it would not only facilitate siege operations, but also further compress the enemy's activity space and prevent them from leaving the city from time to time to harass the landing site.

"Well trained, much better than the navy!"

As the fleet commander, Settle also stood on the rear deck holding a telescope to observe. When he saw the assembly speed and marching formation of the Japanese new army, he gave Du Wenhuan a thumbs up.

I'm not flattering you. Compared with the new navy trained for the Japanese, this new army is much better. Although it is easier to form an army because the soldiers don't need to learn too much cultural knowledge, the hard work of the army instructors cannot be ruled out.

"I have read the report of the General Staff. It seems that the Japanese are particularly good at obeying the strong. It takes little effort and time to correct discipline problems. From this aspect, they are born to be soldiers.

If your majesty approves, the next step will be to allow low-ranking Japanese officers to serve in the Ming army, and plan to send them to Enniao Port for a few years. It would be a waste to leave such a good source of troops unused!"

Speaking of the new Japanese army, Du Wenhuan, as the army commander, must have known something about it. Judging from his tone, he should not be opposed to such military exchanges, and he is very fond of the Japanese spirit of obedience.

"There is one thing I never understand. Why didn't Your Majesty make Japan a vassal state, or simply occupy it? At such a short distance, with the support of the navy, the army shouldn't have to spend too much effort to break through Edo and capture the emperor, right?"

But Settle was obviously not very good at dealing with Japanese issues. After joining the navy, he spent more time serving in the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean and had no chance to have much contact with Japan.

(End of this chapter)