Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Jia Cong smiled slightly. These officials not only had good foreign language skills, but also had good eyesight and knew who the big boss of the Celestial Empire was.

Yin raised his hand and said, "Everyone, please stand up. I have important matters to attend to. I am just visiting here on the way and cannot stay for long. You should assist Wu Jiedu and govern Shannan well so that the people can have food to eat, clothes to wear, and books to read."

"We obey your order." Everyone said in unison.

“Speaking of reading, what books do scholars in Shannan read now?”

Wu Lang hurriedly said, "Your Highness, the government strongly advocates reading the Four Books and Five Classics, the teachings of the sages. However, many people only have a superficial understanding of Chinese characters and find it difficult to read them at the moment."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "This is what I expected. Wu Jiedu, you didn't catch up with Shannan's military achievements, but it's a great achievement to catch up with his civil administration. What's your plan?"

Wu Lang said: "Your Majesty, I have ordered private schools and academies in Shannan to strictly prohibit the teaching of the pseudo-dynasty language and vigorously promote bilingual books.

Over a two-year period, gradually destroy the original Goryeo books and regulations, and over another three to five years, completely abolish the pseudo-dynasty language and writing, and vigorously promote Confucianism and the civil and military imperial examinations.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "The writing should be slow, but the language can be fast." Then he stretched out five fingers and said, "I will give you five years. After five years, I will come to Shannan again. I don't want to hear anyone speaking the Yi language again."

Wu Lang said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely do it. What are you guys standing there for? Since you are natives here, Your Majesty has given the order, do you know what to do?"

All the former ministers of Goryeo hurriedly said, "We obey your orders." They also offered suggestions one after another to show their loyalty.

"The officials of the imperial court should be taken as an example. Anyone who receives an imperial salary and cannot read and write Chinese fluently within two years will be dismissed from office. If their family members cannot speak and understand Mandarin within three years, they will also be dismissed from their posts."

"Completely remove all the fake court characters on the city and town signs, plaques, and flags, and use Chinese characters instead. From now on, all examinations in prefectures, cities, and counties will also use Chinese characters."

"Send people to search the houses of the gentry from time to time. If anyone hides books written in the pseudo-dynasty language, they will be severely punished."

"All the people who have received land from the court will have their land taken back if they cannot speak Mandarin within three years."

"We will show no leniency to those who cling to the false dynasty and will sentence them all to exile.

"Send young students in batches to the capital, Jinling, Nanchang and other places where the imperial court flourished to study and experience the civilization of the Celestial Empire."

……

Jia Cong listened to everyone's suggestions, nodded repeatedly, and said with a smile: "As expected, one person's plan is short, but two people's plan is long. What you said is all right. Wu Jiedu will decide for himself."

"I obey your order. Don't worry, Your Majesty. Next time you visit, I guarantee that everyone in Shannan, from the gray-haired old men to the toddlers, will speak Mandarin." Wu Lang said in a deep voice.

"Good. By the way, is Shannan stable now? Are there anyone attempting to restore the monarchy?" Jia Cong asked casually.

Wu Lang said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The benevolent government of the imperial court is like a gentle rain, nourishing the vast majority of Shannan people. Who would be so foolish as to follow the rebels? Some rebels have already been wiped out.

After all, the people are loyal to the court, so why can't the rebels make any waves? Once they show up, the government doesn't need to hunt them down, the people will come and file a complaint themselves."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Well, well, well, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Let's work hard together."

"Your Highness will follow your instructions."

Jia Cong had a meal in the palace and continued his journey. A few days later, he approached Osaka Bay and arrived at Wakayama Castle, the first city he would conquer on this trip.

"Master, the one with lights over there is the castle of the Kii Domain, Wakayama Castle, which is only separated from Osaka by a mountain." Cheng Lingsu stood at the bow of the boat, pointing to the lights on a small hill not far away on the shore.

Jia Cong held her slender waist and said with a smile: "You Kii clan also have a vassal state? You are doing well."

Cheng Lingsu said with embarrassment: "We have only lived here for generations, and we have no say in the feudal state. This is the territory of the Tokugawa family."

"Huh? Isn't the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo?" Jia Cong asked curiously.

"It's a side branch. In order to seize important areas and curb the imperial family, the Tokugawa shogunate divided the clan into three branches, which were divided into the three most important domains of Kii, Owari, and Mito, and were called the Gosanke.

The Kii Domain has a land area of ​​555,000 koku, and the current lord is Tokugawa Munemasa, who has no special abilities and likes Buddhism, but doesn't manage affairs very well." Cheng Lingsu said.

Jia Cong nodded and gave the order: "Peng Cheng, attack after daybreak, and let the Japanese see clearly that the power of heaven is invincible."

"The general will get the order!"

"Master, I will send a signal for Elder Yan and the others to get ready."

"it is good."

Cheng Lingsu took out a firework and lit it. Bang, a bright flame shot up into the sky, exploding into a huge, bright tiger head in the night sky that lasted for a long time.

After a moment, a firework rose from the darkness on the shore in response.

"They received it." Cheng Lingsu said with a sigh of relief.

Jia Cong smiled and nodded, saying: "Don't be nervous, it doesn't matter whether you receive it or not. You will know the power of artillery tomorrow morning."

The sun rises, shining brightly, and thousands of golden snakes leap on the sea.

Wakayama Castle also woke up with the rising sun. Many fishermen went out to sea to fish. Suddenly, they saw more than ten huge unidentified warships lined up in a straight line not far away. They were all surprised.

Seeing the countless black gun muzzles sticking out of the boat, the fishermen fled back to the shore in a panic, screaming and telling the news everywhere.

Jia Cong shook his head in disappointment. Is this what they call a powerful vassal? There are only 20 to 30 warships of less than 1,000 tons in the port of Wakayama City. The city in the distance is visibly simple, and the low city walls are not even as good as any county town in the country.

He said uninterestedly: "Order Peng Cheng to quickly destroy the warships in the harbor and lead his troops to land and attack the city."

"Yes!"

The messenger sent out a flag signal, and immediately thousands of cannons fired at once. Bullets rained down like rain, and the rumbling of the cannons seemed to tear the sky and earth apart, scaring the people on the shore so much that they all fled in panic.

Boom boom boom! After several rounds of rain of bullets, the smoke cleared, and all that remained in the harbor were the wreckage of ships lying in the water, a large number of wooden planks drifting with the waves, and many corpses of Japanese pirates floating on the sea, dyeing a large area of ​​the sea red.

Cheng Lingsu was both surprised and frightened, and asked, "Is this a cannon? With this, I can travel across the oceans."

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "It's not enough, far from enough. But it's enough to fight against Japan now."

Peng Cheng led the way and did not mobilize too many troops. He selected two third-level ships, four fourth-level ships, and about two thousand troops, and rushed straight to the shore for a beach landing.

In fact, there was nothing to steal. The Japanese pirates who were still alive had been scared out of their wits and fled, so there was no one to stop them.

Peng Cheng leisurely transported his men, horses and artillery to the beach, and headed straight for the small town a few miles away along the main road. This was Jia Cong's first time commanding a hot weapon battle, and he also wanted to watch the battle for fun, so he followed Cheng Lingsu and others to watch the battle.

The Tokugawa family finally received the news, and several retainers and samurai hurriedly led two or three thousand soldiers to the scene.

"Line up, light the fire, and shoot!" Peng Cheng gave the order calmly.

Bang! A row of gunshots rang out, and the Japanese pirates who rushed closest to them fell to the ground immediately.

There were two consecutive rounds of gunfire, and hundreds of Japanese pirates fell to the ground, wailing everywhere.

Several leading Tokugawa retainers and samurai were horrified when they saw this. They wondered where the enemy army came from and how they were armed with firearms. They were no match for them and had to retreat immediately. They hurriedly ordered the rear team to become the front team and ran away.

Peng Cheng laughed loudly and cursed, "You cowards." He turned around and said, "I want to pursue the victory and capture Wakayama Castle in one fell swoop. Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty."

Jia Cong waved his hand and said with a smile: "You command this battle, and you can do whatever you want. I am here to enjoy the mountains and rivers."

"I have obeyed your order. Do you think it is necessary to leave some men here to prevent any unexpected events?" Peng Cheng looked at the more than 300 personal soldiers who were accompanying the prince and said with some concern.

"No need." Jia Cong sneered, "How can a small barbarian country hurt me?"

Peng Cheng had no choice but to lead his troops there, and Jia Cong followed behind, leading three hundred heavily-armored Modao soldiers and marching slowly. Now there was almost no need for his personal soldiers to take action, and he kept the Modao soldiers not for fighting but only to show majesty and sentiment.

After all, the Modao soldiers holding long swords look more majestic than the musketeers, just for the sake of appearance.

Suddenly, there were noises coming from the woods on both sides. Two nimble young men rushed out, knelt by the side of the road, and spoke in bird language.

Cheng Lingsu quickly translated, "This is our people. They said there are a large number of ambushes on both sides. Please retreat quickly, Your Majesty."

Jia Cong laughed, thinking that they were the surprise force cooperating with the enemy just now, not knowing that the frontal battlefield would collapse at the first touch, and still stupidly rushed forward.

Yin waved his hand and said, "Let them retreat. Arrange the whole army. It's a rare opportunity for us to come out, so we can see the ambush troops from Japan."

All the personal soldiers burst into laughter and said, "We have received your order!" Then they dispersed and formed a circle with three layers inside and three layers outside, protecting Jia Cong and Cheng Lingsu firmly inside.

Cheng Lingsu was a little worried. If Jia Cong got hurt, she would have a hard time explaining it. So she advised, "Master, why bother with this bunch of rabble? Let's hurry up and catch up with General Peng and the others."

Jia Cong listened attentively and said with a smile: "It's too late. We have been surrounded."

Suddenly, thousands of soldiers emerged from the woods on both sides, some holding bamboo spears, some holding long swords, and more were ragged soldiers holding hoes, sickles, shoulder poles, wooden sticks, and so on.

The leading warrior saw Jia Cong sitting high on his horse, wearing a yellow silk umbrella with gold curved handles on his head and wearing golden armor that shone brightly in the sun. He knew that he had caught a big fish and was overjoyed. He ignored the hundreds of Modao soldiers in front of him, swung the long sword in his hand, and led his men to rush forward madly.

Zhang Yuanba laughed grimly and shouted, "Fight!"

Clang! Nearly a hundred sharp swords were raised high in an instant.

Jia Cong remained motionless, watching the other side charge with a smile, listening to the sound of arrows shot from bamboo bows hitting iron armor and shields, and said, "Ling Su, why are there only 100 or 200 of them charging forward, while most of them are standing back, watching and shouting."

Cheng Lingsu said: "Those are just foot soldiers, just filling in the numbers. The ones who charge forward are the real warriors."

Suddenly, there was a sound of blades breaking through the wind, and a wave of bright blood was rolled up. Screams and exclamations suddenly filled the air. All these fearless and serious warriors were cut into two pieces, and no one escaped.

"You are not afraid of death." Jia Cong nodded and asked, "What is a foot soldier?"

Cheng Lingsu pointed at the soldiers watching from behind and said, "They are the ones. They are farmers in normal times, but they are pulled out to fight in wars. They have to provide their own food, weapons and armor. They are all strong laborers at home. They are all afraid of death, so they can only fill in the numbers to boost morale."

Jia Cong sneered: "Isn't that just like the integration of farmers and soldiers in Goryeo? It's useless."

Cheng Lingsu sighed, "As a small country with few people, this is the only way to get more troops."

Jia Cong asked, "Don't the Japanese like The Art of War? Don't the daimyo even understand that quality is more important than quantity?"

Cheng Lingsu said: "The daimyo naturally understand this, so they only like to raise warriors who are good at attacking and fighting. However, since everyone does this, it seems that there is no harm in having a few more miscellaneous soldiers to make up the numbers and strengthen the army. Anyway, the daimyo does not need to spend money."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Tell them who I am and tell them to get out of here. I won't kill peasants."

Cheng Lingsu hurriedly sent orders to the two ninjas who had just arrived.

When the foot soldiers saw the cold-blooded and ruthless Modao soldiers who were as beautiful as gods descending from heaven, and also saw Jia Cong's priceless outfit, they thought to themselves that it was no wonder that their lord had offended the prince of the Celestial Empire and that they were doomed to fail. They hurriedly greeted each other and turned around and ran away.

Jia Cong led his men through the bloody mud to the front of Wakayama Castle, where a general had already come to greet them and reported, "The city has been breached. Please enter, Your Majesty."

"So fast?" Jia Cong asked curiously.

"Because there was an insider who opened the city, the city was breached in no time."

Jia Cong looked at Cheng Lingsu and said with a smile: "You have made another contribution."

Cheng Lingsu said: "It is Lingsu's great honor to assist the prince in building his career."

Jia Cong patted her hands and said, "Not only for me, but also for the people of Dongying to live a good life."

Cheng Lingsu nodded heavily and said, "I am a thousand times more heroic than any hero in the history of Japan."

"That's true." Jia Cong accepted it shamelessly. He looked up at the small city in front of him and couldn't help laughing: "No wonder the Japanese are short. How can they grow tall when living in such a small place?"

Cheng Lingsu said, "Sir, the city is the residence of the daimyo, core retainers, and samurai. The common people live outside the city. You see that area of ​​houses over there, it's called the castle town, which is equivalent to a market town in the Middle Earth."

Jia Cong was surprised and said, "This small city is even smaller than the castle where I was stationed when I was a defense officer. It can only accommodate a thousand people at most. If there are no civilians in the city, how can we defend it for a long time when a war breaks out?"

Cheng Lingsu smiled and said, "Master, Japan is such a small place with such a small population, how can there be a war like the Central Plains where hundreds of thousands of soldiers fight for several years? All the daimyo are like this, and they don't have the financial resources to build a magnificent city like the Celestial Empire.

Our Kii Ryu has been passed down for hundreds of years, but we don't even have a castle like this. We only have a village, which makes me laugh at how shabby it is."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "Your golden phoenix flew out of your grass nest, which is enough to be remembered for eternity."

Cheng Lingsu covered her mouth and smiled without saying anything.

Suddenly, another ninja came to report the news.

After hearing this, Cheng Lingsu said, "He said General Peng has broken through the Third Pillar, Second Pillar, and Main Pillar, and is attacking the castle tower." Jia Cong was confused and asked, "What does that mean?"

"Just like the meaning of the inner city, the outer city, and the inner city, the castle tower is where the daimyo lives and works, and it is the most strategic. Only daimyo with more than 100,000 koku are qualified to build a castle tower."

Jia Cong didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "It's just such a small broken city, but it has several floors? That's a mistake. Let's go in and see what the castle tower looks like."

They passed through the city gate and two layers of stone walls and arrived at Honmaru.

To the northeast there is a two-meter-high stone platform made of rubble, on which are built two small snow-white palaces. They cover an area of ​​only one or two acres, but have five floors. Although not as majestic and magnificent as the palaces of the Celestial Empire, they are exquisite and unique, and are quite worth seeing.

Peng Cheng has surrounded them, and the Kii-ryu ninjas are trying to persuade them to surrender.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Seeing Jia Cong coming, Peng Cheng hurried over to pay his respects.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "This castle tower is not easy to build. Don't destroy it rashly. It will be needed in the future. Give them three sticks of incense. If they don't surrender, the entire Tokugawa family, their retainers, and samurai will be killed!"

"Yes." Peng Cheng hurriedly passed on Jia Cong's words.

In less than an incense stick of time, a group of people, carrying the elderly and children, slowly came down from the castle tower. All the warriors were unarmed. Two of them waved their spears with their hats on to show their surrender.

Cheng Lingsu hurriedly said, "Master, they surrendered."

Jia Cong nodded, thinking it was good to know the current situation. Japan had a weak foundation and he did not want to cause excessive damage, as it would take a lot of effort to rebuild it in the future.

"Your humble servant Tokugawa Munemori pays homage to His Majesty the Prince Jing of the Heavenly Dynasty." A middle-aged man walked up to Jia Cong and bowed down, and the others followed suit and knelt down.

Jia Cong raised his hand and said, "Stand up. I came here to conquer Japan because you disrespected our country and were arrogant, which led to this disaster."

"Yes." Tokugawa Muneshige slowly bowed and withdrew, secretly complaining, when did we disrespect the Celestial Empire? It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime.

"Don't believe it? Look at the letter sent by your general! It's simply treasonous, I swear to destroy it!" Jia Cong took out the letter from his arms and threw it to him.

Tokugawa Munemasa hurriedly caught it, unfolded it and was immediately shocked and angry. His family was arrogant and ignorant, offending the Celestial Empire and bringing misfortune upon himself. Damn it, who can he go to for justice?
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I am not aware of this fact, and I dare not agree with this false letter, let alone disrespect the Celestial Empire."

Jia Cong said calmly: "You don't dare to do it now, but maybe you will dare to do it in one or two hundred years?"

Tokugawa Munemasa was stunned. What was he talking about? One or two hundred years later, my great-great-grandchildren would all be dead. However, he dared not to defend himself and could only humbly plead guilty.

"For the sake of your last name being Tokugawa, please select a few trusted followers to follow me." Jia Cong glanced at him coldly.

Tokugawa Munemasa did not dare to disobey and quickly bowed his head to accept the order. What demands could a defeated general dare to make? He was lucky not to be beheaded.

"Peng Cheng left 500 people to garrison here. That guy...um, what's your name? You look familiar." Jia Cong pointed to a general in the team.

The man hurriedly stepped out of the line, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fists, saying, "Reporting to the prince, the commander of Anhui is in great trouble. He is currently a guerrilla in the navy and a military scholar in the sixth year of Xifeng."

Jia Cong suddenly remembered and said with a smile, "Stand up. It turns out that you are my classmate. It was not easy for me to defeat you back then." This man had competed with him for the first place in infantry combat in the imperial examination, but he was defeated by Jia Cong.

Feng Bolie saw that Jia Cong remembered, and felt proud of him, and said hurriedly: "Your Highness is a man of heaven, a young hero, and it is impossible for us to defeat him."

In recent years, this group of military scholars who were in the same class as Jia Cong have benefited from his advancement at a very fast pace. Especially since Jia Cong became regent, Wang Ziteng, Niu Jizon and others were the first to be promoted, all of whom were in the same class as him.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "If you haven't made great progress now compared to the past, you will definitely not be able to defeat me. But now you can see that firearms are the king."

"Your Highness is right. That's why I am now concentrating on learning firearms tactics. I just graduated from the New Army Academy last year." Feng Bolie quickly seized the opportunity to say.

Jia Cong nodded with satisfaction and said, "You lead 500 people to guard this frontier. Do you understand what to do?"

Feng Bo Lie hurriedly said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I understand. Punish the tyrants, implement benevolent policies, and win the hearts of the people."

Jia Cong said: "Tell the Japanese that this is the grace of the Heavenly Dynasty. Anyone who dares not submit to the king's rule will be beheaded."

"I will obey your order."

"Let your people cooperate with the imperial army to govern the local area."

Tokugawa Munemasa hurriedly gave orders, and all his retainers obeyed them.

"Let's go. We've wasted quite a bit of time." Jia Cong pulled the reins.

Cheng Lingsu glanced at the crowd and whispered, "Your Majesty, several elders would like to come and pay their respects."

"Let them speak on board. Speed ​​is of the essence."

"Yes."

Jia Cong returned to the flagship and listened to several elders of the Kii clan reporting their ideas on capturing Kyoto.

"Your Majesty, after we take Osaka, we can split our forces into two groups, advancing by land and sea, and take Kyoto directly.

Carrying the baggage along the way, they took boats upstream on the Yodo River, which saved more than half of the transportation distance. Another army went up the river by land to provide support.

Kyoto is more than a hundred miles away from Osaka, and can be reached in two days." Elder Ren said, and presented a detailed map of Kyoto and its surroundings.

"Osaka has a population of over 400,000 and Kyoto has a population of nearly 400,000. They are the second and third largest cities in Japan respectively. If they can be taken successfully, more than 100 fiefdoms in the west will fall into the hands of the prince." Elder Yan said.

Jia Cong sneered, "Do you think my brave soldiers can capture these two places?"

"The heavenly soldiers are invincible. I believe they will be unstoppable," everyone said hurriedly.

The next day, when the fleet arrived at Osaka Bay, Osaka Castle received an urgent report of the fall of Wakayama. Forty or fifty large and small warships hurriedly set sail to fight. Although their numbers outnumbered the more than 20 warships under Jia Cong, their total tonnage was much smaller. From a distance, they looked like small fishing boats.

"Lingsu, how is the firepower of the Japanese warships?" Jia Cong put down the telescope and asked.

"Japan was originally able to build ocean-going ships of more than 4,000 tons, but after the Shimabara Rebellion, the Tokugawa shogunate imitated the Celestial Empire and implemented a policy of isolation, dismantling large ships and prohibiting the people from trading with foreigners.

Now these small boats can only fight pirates. A boat with a few guns at most cannot match my warships."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "So Japan is also practicing isolationism? It is indeed the same as the Celestial Empire. My son is learning from me, so today I will teach him a lesson and open his eyes."

Yin shouted, "All troops, listen up! Blast the small dinghy in front of you into pieces!"

"Understood!" Peng Cheng shouted, quickly passed the order down, and sent out flag signals.

The skilled sailors on each ship skillfully pulled the sails and turned the rudders, and lined up in a straight line in the calm Osaka Bay according to the predetermined order, facing the enemy sideways.

Jia Cong didn't know how far the cannons could fire, so he shouted, "Prepare the cannons, fire closer, don't let the enemy ships escape! Well, Peng Cheng, you will command this battle, and you will lead the battle alone."

Professional matters should be left to professionals. Peng Cheng is already familiar with water battles, and now that he has received foreign education, he is even more confident.

"Understood!" Peng Cheng shouted, "Ship numbers 12 to 21, break away from the formation and encircle from the left and right!"

Suddenly, the ten warships were divided into two teams, slid out from both sides, made a big circle, and encircled the enemy ships.

"Fire!" Peng Cheng looked at the distance and shouted.

Bang bang! Hundreds of guns from more than ten warships fired simultaneously, but most of the shells missed the target, and only a few shells hit the target.

After being hit by a cannon, several particularly small enemy ships seemed to have water taking into their cabins. Their speed gradually slowed down, and they swayed and slowly sank.

Jia Cong shook his head repeatedly as he looked through the telescope. This hit rate was too touching. It was probably less than 5%.

After thinking about it, I felt relieved. In the absence of radar fire control system, on the turbulent sea surface, and hitting a moving target, whether or not to hit the target depends entirely on the gunner's feeling. The whole world is at this level, and at most a few bullets will be wasted.

Soon, the Japanese warships approached and began firing.

Cheng Lingsu hurriedly said, "Master, it's dangerous on the deck, please go down and take shelter."

Jia Cong waved his hand and smiled, "With this hit rate, there's not much danger. It's even less dangerous than when I was in the hail of guns and arrows in Liaodong." He still picked up the telescope and watched the battle without moving.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Cheng Lingsu had to give up and winked at Peng Cheng.

Peng Cheng understood what he meant and quickly waved a flag, instructing the boatmen to withdraw the flagship to the rear and leave the battlefield.

"Hey, hey...why are you retreating?" Jia Cong asked anxiously.

Peng Cheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty is a man of great dignity. You cannot stand in a dangerous place. The same is true for watching the battle from the rear. If there is any mistake, we will lose even if we win."

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and shook his head, knowing that the sea was different from the land, so he could only say, "Forget it, I'll go to the back and watch, and you guys can do whatever you want."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding."

The two sides fired at each other for half an hour without any results. The warships that had been flanking left and right had arrived at the designated position and opened fire. Suddenly the Japanese warships were in danger and most of them were sunk in less than an hour. The rest fled back to the port in a hurry.

The government troops pursued the enemy ships closely, blocked them in the harbor, and destroyed them all in two rounds of salvos.

On the coast, Osaka Castle Lord Inoue Masanori had gathered more than 2,000 loyal retainers and warriors, who were ready to attack them in the middle of the stream before they landed.

Osaka Castle and Kyoto were directly under the jurisdiction of the shogunate, and the castle lord was called a dai, such as the Osaka castle lord and the Kyoto shoshidai. Their main responsibility was to monitor the emperor, nobles and daimyo of Kansai, which was similar to the position of a prefect in the Celestial Empire.

In response to Inoue Masanori, thousands of whistling bullets came like a meteorite shower, blowing his carefully arranged military formation into pieces, with blood splattered everywhere and limbs flying everywhere. No matter how sacrificial the warriors were, they were stunned by the bombardment that seemed like a punishment from heaven, and hundreds of them died in an instant without the enemy even noticing.

"Keep calm, don't panic! Rescue the wounded," Inoue shouted seriously, but the second round of shelling directly dispelled his idea of ​​blocking the government troops from landing.

"Retreat quickly, retreat back to the city! Defend the city!" Inoue Masamune pushed away the samurai who were trying their best to protect him, and took the lead in running away.

Jia Cong laughed as he watched the Japanese pirates fleeing in panic, and ordered his troops to land one by one.

Eight thousand government troops quickly landed, assembled the field artillery brought from the small boats skillfully, harnessed the mules and horses, and headed towards Osaka Castle, which was more than ten miles away.

Osaka Castle is worthy of being the second largest castle in Japan. From the city to the seaside, densely packed villages and households gather together to form a very prosperous "castle town" with a dense population and bustling crowds. The closer to the city, the more lively it is, with vendors setting up stalls, pubs, teahouses, etc. everywhere.

Jia Cong rode on a BMW, looking at the narrow streets and low houses in front of him, and said with a smile: "Lingsu, do you feel like you are in Lilliput Country?"

Cheng Lingsu smiled and said, "After being used to seeing tall and majestic buildings in the capital, it does feel a bit strange to see a small town in the countryside of Japan."

When the people saw a fierce and powerful army approaching, they thought a disaster was about to happen, and they were so scared that they jumped up and down and fled in all directions.

"Tell them that I am an official soldier of the Heavenly Dynasty. I only fight against the rebels and will not harm the common people," said Jia Cong.

Cheng Lingsu nodded and gave an order. More than ten accompanying ninjas shouted at the top of their lungs. When the people saw that this army did not harm the common people at all, they bravely came back.

They saw a general in golden armor riding a divine horse under a yellow silk umbrella, with two large banners behind him, embroidered with "Regent Prince Jia of the Great Wu" and "General Jia of the Celestial Empire" in Japanese. Those who could read read them out loud, and everyone was so frightened that they knelt on the side of the road and did not dare to look up until the government troops passed by.

An hour later, Jia Cong yawned as he looked at the Osaka Castle in front of him, which was slightly larger than Wakayama Castle. Apart from the moat made by diverting water from the Yodo River, there was really nothing to see. It was about the same size as the Juhoji Fortress where he had guarded back then.

"Is this the second largest city in Japan?" Jia Cong shook his head.

Cheng Lingsu smiled and said, "Master, when I say it is the second largest city, it means that its population is second only to Edo. Because the Japanese people don't live in the city, the castles are very small."

Jia Cong smiled and shook his head, called Tokugawa Muneshige over, and asked, "Do you know the lord of this city?"

Tokugawa Munemasa hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I have always been familiar with the Lord of Osaka, Inoue Masanori."

"I'll give you half an hour to persuade the people inside to surrender. If you can't do it, don't come out.

The heavenly soldiers will go in and massacre the city. The only advantage of your shitty castle in Japan is that I won't accidentally kill civilians when I massacre the city. Go ahead." Jia Cong said coldly.

Tokugawa Munemasa was almost frightened to death. He got up trembling and said, "I will do my best." After that, he took two samurai and crawled to the stone bridge to introduce himself.

Jia Cong waved his hand and ordered the soldiers besieging the city to retreat a hundred steps. He watched the city gate open a crack and let Tokugawa and his two companions in.

Elder Ren and Elder Yan were delighted. Since the prince had such a powerful army, it would be a piece of cake for him to destroy the Koga and Iga clans. They were thinking about how to make a suggestion and ask Jia Cong to send troops to wipe out the two competitors together.

Half an hour later, there was no movement in the city. The defenders on the city wall had their bows strung and their swords drawn, still ready for battle. Jia Cong smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Attack the city!"

"Attack the city!" Thousands of soldiers roared in unison, shaking the world. An invisible strong murderous aura instantly rose into the sky.

Boom, boom, boom! Heavy war drums sounded, starting slowly and then getting faster. Hundreds of large and small caliber field guns spewed out flames, and bullets rained down on the city walls and smashed into the city.

The screams in the city had long been drowned out by the sound of war drums and cannons. One could only see from afar the flying of earth and rocks, smoke and dust rising from the city walls. The defenders were all lying on the ground trembling. The fighting spirit that had just been gathered by the strong city was ruthlessly destroyed by the devastating artillery fire. (End of this chapter)