The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 290: Japan is shocked
Hyogozu changed its owner.

The battle lasted only an hour before it was over.

The main reason is that the combat quality of the soldiers on both sides is not at the same level at all.

The 10,000 soldiers led by Tang Hao this time were the elite of the elite selected from the six major divisions of the Beijing Army. They were all elite soldiers bought by Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao with real money. They only needed to train on weekdays and did not need to perform any corvee labor like before.

Because of this, after years of training, these elite soldiers who eat well, dress well and sleep well are all tall and mighty. If they don't have some muscles on their bodies, they can't be called elite. The battle formation has become something deeply rooted in their bone marrow memory, and they can form a formation with their companions to strangle the enemy at any time.

Not to mention that all the soldiers this time were equipped with Rumi guns and three-eyed guns. Needless to say, the lethality of these two guns was irresistible and terrifying in Japan where firearms were not yet popular.

Japan has a small territory and scarce arable land, so their farming technology and handicraft level can be considered backward compared to the Ming Dynasty, which leads to the scarcity of many materials, such as armor.

The only samurai who actually owned and could afford to use armor were probably members of the nobility like Akamatsu Goro. The rest of the samurai wore all kinds of inferior armor. Not to mention resisting the horrific lethality of muskets, they couldn't even block the bows and arrows of the Ming soldiers.

In addition, the night attack was unexpectedly successful due to the careful planning.

Because from the head of the Akamatsu clan, Akamatsu Goro, to the Japanese people in Hyogozu, they never thought that these Ming people were not here to do business, but to massacre them.

For a long time, the Japanese had the impression that the Ming Dynasty was a suzerain state that advocated benevolence and righteousness. It had never bullied the weak, but instead, in order to maintain the face of the suzerain state, it had always implemented a tribute system of "giving more and receiving less". Whenever the Japanese went to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, they could make a lot of money from the gifts given in return by the Ming Dynasty.

To put it nicely, this is the grandeur and majesty of the Celestial Empire.

To put it bluntly, this is definitely the stupid son of an aristocratic family!

However, today this silly son got angry and he suddenly attacked and killed someone!

Due to various reasons, this was essentially a one-sided massacre.

All the young and strong warriors of the Akamatsu clan were quickly killed, and the Ming army successfully took control of the Hyogozu port. This meant that the Ming army temporarily had a retreat in this battle, and could quickly evacuate from Hyogozu if the war went badly.

Tang Hao boarded an eagle ship and set foot on the land of Japan with a sword in hand.

"Finally, we have set foot on Japanese soil!"

Lord Zhongshan uttered a terrifying whisper.

The Ming soldiers invaded Hyogo-zu, Japan, and set foot on land not far from Kyoto, the core of their regime. This is something that every passionate Chinese in later generations has fantasized about...destroying Japan!

Unfortunately, the damn Chicken Foot Basin realized that China was rising again and became honest again. At least on the surface, they did not dare to provoke the Chinese dragon. They just colluded with the Americans in secret and tried to curb the development of the Chinese Empire. Unfortunately, it was always just a trick.

The Japanese people in the port were already trembling with fear. They closed their doors and windows and looked with fear at the Ming soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield in the port.

Seeing this situation, and taking a glance at the low houses at the port, Tang Hao suddenly felt that conquering Japan did not seem to give him much sense of accomplishment.

People in later generations will have such a strong desire, that is to lead the army to flatten Japan and take their revenge.

However, the problem is that Japan at this time was not comparable to the Ming Dynasty in any aspect, and even seemed extremely backward, with firearms not even popularized.

It's like, Tang Hao regarded Japan as a powerful enemy, but he easily opened the door to Japan with one battle, and witnessed the ridiculous fighting power of these Japanese people with his own eyes. Lord Zhongshan just found it boring and ridiculous.

In this era, the real enemy of the Ming Dynasty is still the Northern Barbarians and the leader of the Northern Barbarians' revival!

Compared to the so-called leader of the revival of the Ming Dynasty, the one from the Northern Tartars was the real leader of the revival of Mongolia. He unified the various tribes in Eastern Mongolia, ended the chaotic situation of the dictatorship of powerful ministers of different surnames, internal strife and tribal separatism in Mongolia for hundreds of years, and single-handedly integrated the originally disintegrated Mongol Empire together again.

It is now estimated that the leader of the Mongol revival is currently planning to lead his troops to conquer the right wing. Once he defeats the Mongolian right-wing army, he can unify the eastern Mongolian tribes. At that time, a powerful Mongol Empire will rise again on the grassland.

This is definitely not good news for the corrupt Ming Dynasty.

Tang Hao felt the urgency of time and his mentality changed.

“It’s time to speed up!”

"Go straight to Kyoto, the core of Japan, and completely eliminate this damn country!"

"Then, we should consider the Northern Tartars. I hope Yang Tinghe will make a wise choice!"

Just as Tang Hao was lost in thought, Tang Mu arrived in a hurry.

"My Lord, the Akamatsu clan has been completely dealt with. Hyogozu is now ours. What should we do next?"

“All the generals also arrived, and all looked at Tang Hao with fanatical expressions.

"What are the casualties like?" Tang Hao did not rush to speak, but asked instead.

"It's still ideal. Twenty-three brothers died in the battle, more than sixty were injured, and only about thirty were seriously injured."

Tang Mu gave an answer and seemed quite satisfied.

"They were all injured by the Japanese bows and arrows. There is nothing we can do about it."

Ten thousand soldiers fought in a foreign land and launched a surprise attack on the Akamatsu family that controlled Hyogo-zu, destroying nearly five thousand Akamatsu family warriors with less than a hundred casualties.

This number of casualties is indeed ideal.

Tang Hao waved his hand.

"I plan to leave behind a general to lead 2,000 soldiers to control Hyogojin. While guarding the fleet, it will also leave a way out for us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Hao looked at the generals.

His meaning was very clear. He volunteered to take on this arduous task.

The generals looked at each other, and no one spoke.

Staying here to defend the city is not as satisfying as following the Marquis to kill people everywhere!
What's more, defending the city is not an easy task. You must know that there are a large number of Japanese people in the port of the city. God knows whether these despicable Japanese people will cause trouble again. In addition, we must always be on guard against attacks from nearby Japanese daimyo. Just thinking about it makes people's scalp tingle.

There is no doubt that this is a very troublesome and responsible task, so the generals did not speak for a while.

In the end, after much thought, Chen Jizu volunteered to stay in Hyogozu.

Seeing this, Tang Hao nodded with relief.

Chen Jizu was a descendant of Chen Heng, the famous general of the Jingnan Rebellion and Duke of Jing, and had a prudent temperament.

Since following Tang Hao, he did not provide advice like Tang Mu, nor did he have the personal bravery like Chang Kuohai. His performance was not very outstanding, but he was a very down-to-earth person. He had been diligently training soldiers and doing his job well, so Tang Hao was very optimistic about him.

"Ji Zu, you have to pay attention to two things."

"The first is the Japanese in the port of this city. Anyone who causes trouble will be killed without mercy!"

"Alternatively, we can use the name of Ashikaga Yoshitane and pretend that the Ming army came to help Ashikaga Yoshitane restore the throne. This will temporarily eliminate the hostility and hatred of these Japanese people towards our army."

At this time, the reputation of righteousness becomes very important.

If the Japanese viewed the Ming army as invaders, they would find every possible way to rebel and resist, and might even resort to such drastic measures as poisoning the wells.

However, if the Ming army fought for the position of shogun under the pretext of helping Ashikaga Yoshitane to restore the throne, the Japanese people would be much less hostile to the Ming army. At least they would think that these Ming troops were mercenaries of Ashikaga Yoshitane, and once Ashikaga Yoshitane took the position of shogun again, they would immediately withdraw and leave, and their lives would not be affected.

That's the difference!
Chen Jizu nodded in agreement and kept the matter in mind.

"The second is the surrounding Japanese daimyo, including the 36 Akamatsu families who are on their way here. Kill them if you can, but forget it if you can't. Defending Hyogo-jin is your first priority."

"Don't worry, my Lord. I understand. I will never lose Hyogojin. Otherwise, I will never live in shame!"

This sentence is equivalent to issuing a military order, which is very rare for an "honest man" like Chen Jizu.

Tang Hao patted him on the shoulder, gave him some instructions, and then looked at the other generals.

"Lead your troops, gather the army, and attack the Japanese capital immediately!"

"Except for short-term food and firearms, all other things must be abandoned. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" All the generals obeyed the order in unison, looking very excited.

After all, that is the capital of Japan, where the Japanese emperor and the Japanese shogunate are located!
As long as their army captures the Japanese capital, the war will basically be declared over. The only thing left is to use some political tactics to support a puppet to take power.

Tang Hao arranged a retreat and immediately led eight thousand soldiers straight to Kyoto.

However, as he conquered cities and strongholds with great force, the entire Japanese country became shaken and uneasy.

To the west of Kyoto, not far from Kyoto, the coalition forces led by Ouchi Yoshioki and Ashikaga Yoshitane received shocking news. The Ming army brazenly dispatched troops, and Zhongshan Hou Tang personally led 10,000 soldiers to land at Hyogo-zu in the name of helping Ashikaga Yoshitane to restore the monarchy, and then rushed to Kyoto with an overwhelming force!

After learning this shocking news, everyone present fell silent, and then looked at Ashikaga Yoshitane in unison.

"The Ming army?"

"Help me to restore the throne? How is that possible?"

When Ashikaga Yoshitane heard this, his eyes widened and his face was full of disbelief.

"Yes, it's the Ming army. Hyogo-jin is full of Ming warships. There are hundreds of them, most of them are large ships. Hyogo-jin port has been occupied by the Ming army."

"That Ming Dynasty Zhongshan Marquis left two thousand soldiers to garrison Hyogo-jin, and then personally led eight thousand soldiers to Kyoto. He was unstoppable all the way, in the name of helping you, the general, to restore the throne!"

The person who came to report the news explained hurriedly.

Ashikaga Yoshitane was dumbfounded.

How is this possible?
Why would the Ming Dynasty suddenly send troops?

And there were a total of 10,000 soldiers, led by the brave and warlike Marquis Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty!
"How many soldiers?" Ouchi Yoshioki asked.

"Ten thousand soldiers, two thousand are left in Hyogojin, and the remaining eight thousand are rushing towards Kyoto!"

When Ouchi Yoshioki heard this, he was completely panicked.

In Japan, although the daimyo in various places appear to be princes and each has his own army, they are generally not too many. Even if a powerful daimyo has more than 10,000 people, it is considered a lot. For example, the Hosokawa clan that previously controlled the shogunate, only this kind of overlord force had 10,000 samurai. The rest generally have only a few thousand people. Even the Ouchi clan has only five or six thousand people.

Therefore, the wars in Japan's Warring States Period were basically battles between a few hundred people, with a few battles involving a few thousand people. As for large-scale battles involving tens of thousands of people, there were basically no such battles. Once a battle involving more than ten thousand people broke out, it would basically determine the fate of Japan.

There is no way. Japan has too little land and scarce resources, and there is no way to feed such a large population. Naturally, the daimyo in these places will not have too many troops.

Now, the Ming Dynasty suddenly sent out troops, and with them came 10,000 elite soldiers. What should we do?

"Ashikaga Yoshitane!"

"What exactly is going on?"

"What exactly did you collude with Ming?"

Ouchi Yoshioki shouted angrily, like a lion about to go mad.

He certainly has reason to be angry!
After Hosokawa Masato died, the Hosokawa family fell into division.

Now the only thing standing in the way of his grand ambition is the capture of Kyoto!

At that time, Ouchi Yoshioki could become the next Hosokawa Masato, depose and enthronize shoguns, manipulate the shogunate, and become the uncrowned ruler of Japan!
Ouchi Yoshioki naturally did not take people like Ashikaga Yoshitane seriously.

However, he never imagined that this damn bastard was secretly colluding with the Ming court. In addition to hiring two thousand Ming soldiers, he also instigated the Ming court to send troops suddenly!

Those are 10,000 elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty!

During the attack on Kyoto, all the Japanese witnessed with their own eyes the terrifying combat effectiveness of the two thousand elite and powerful Ming soldiers led by Ma Yong and Deng Boyan.

There is no comparison at all between the Japanese army and the Ming army!
Ouchi Yoshioki was already extremely wary of these two thousand soldiers, but now suddenly another ten thousand Ming soldiers appeared and charged all the way to Kyoto with great momentum!

If the Ming Dynasty's Zhongshan Marquis had occupied Kyoto first, then wouldn't all of Ouchi Yoshioki's painstaking planning have been just to help the Zhongshan Marquis?

Damn thing!
Ashikaga Yoshitane was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he frantically explained: "I don't know! This has nothing to do with me!"

However, the Ming Dynasty had already sent out its troops. The Marquis of Zhongshan of the Ming court was leading 8,000 elite soldiers and was about to attack Kyoto. Who would believe Ashikaga Yoshitane if he said now that it had nothing to do with him?
In an instant, the atmosphere became tense.

Ashikaga Yoshitane looked at the furious Ouchi Yoshioki and a light flashed through his mind.

"Yes! I understand!"

"It must be Ashikaga Yoshihide!"

"This little bastard went to Ming Dynasty before!"

"He must have colluded with that Ming Zhongshan Marquis to do this good thing!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Ouchi Yoshioki couldn't help but frown, and then he reacted.

The two thousand soldiers led by Ma Yong and Deng Boyan showed little respect to him as the head of the Ouchi clan, and they also totally ignored Ashikaga Yoshitane. Only Ashikaga Yoshine could command these two thousand Ming soldiers!

In other words, what Ashikaga Yoshitane said is very likely to be true!

"Someone, go find them!"

Ouchi Yoshioki pounded the table in anger, scaring everyone present to tremble.

A moment later, Ashikaga Yoshihide walked in leisurely, accompanied by Ma Yong and Deng Boyan.

Apparently they had also received the news and learned that Marquis Zhongshan was personally leading 8,000 soldiers to attack Kyoto, so they were much more confident at this moment.

"Ashikaga Yoshimi!"

"You really have good means!"

Ouchi Yoshioki roared with red eyes. He had never paid attention to this useless young man before, but he did not expect that his grand ambitions would be ruined by this man.

Ashikaga Yoshihide chuckled and then called him by his name.

"Ouchi Yoshioki, make your choice!"

"We continued to attack Kyoto, but were ultimately defeated!"

"Or support me, Ashikaga Yoshihide, as the shogun and enter Kyoto to negotiate with the Ming army!"

This choice makes a big difference.

The former is most likely the truth, because Ouchi Yoshioki was well aware of the gap between his own army and the Ming army, which could not be made up by numbers alone.

For example, the five thousand warriors of the Ouchi family under his command might not necessarily be able to defeat the two thousand Ming soldiers under Ma Yong and Deng Boyan!
Not to mention that there is a brave and warlike Marquis Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty and eight thousand elite soldiers in Kyoto.

Therefore, Ouchi Yoshioki had no power to choose at all. He could only support Ashikaga Yoshihide as the shogun and then negotiate with the Ming army.

In fact, Ouchi Yoshioki was still dreaming.

He thought that the Ming court just wanted to support an obedient spokesperson to take charge of the power of Japan, and someone like Ashikaga Yoshihide was undoubtedly an excellent choice, so he sent troops to support Ashikaga Yoshihide.

When Ashikaga Yoshihide takes the position of Shogun, the Ming court troops will naturally retreat. At that time, the most powerful person in Kyoto will still be Ouchi Yoshioki!
Thinking of this, Ouchi Yoshioki did not completely lose hope, but a smile appeared on his face.

"In that case, what else is there to say?"

"Ashikaga Yoshitane, if you don't want to die, just be a puppet. When you restore the throne, immediately pass the position of shogun to Yoshitane. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Ashikaga Yoshitane was struck by lightning.

He never thought that he would be abandoned!
Why?
He is the tenth shogun of the shogunate!

He is the shogun who truly accepted the emperor's appointment!
How dare these traitors and villains do this?

Not to mention that Ashikaga Yoshitane was only the adopted son of Ashikaga Yoshitane, and his biological father was Ashikaga Yoshizumi who snatched the position of shogun from Ashikaga Yoshitane!
Therefore, it was impossible for Ashikaga Yoshitane to agree to such a thing at this moment.

Ashikaga Yoshihide didn't say much, just glanced at Ashikaga Yoshitane with contempt, and left with Ma Yong and Deng Boyan.

After they left, Ouchi Yoshioki sighed, then drew his sword and placed it across Ashikaga Yoshitane's neck.

"Either you die now, or you cooperate obediently and still be able to survive!"

The other daimyos saw this and did nothing.

Ten thousand Ming soldiers, this is a terrifying force that is enough to crush any of their thoughts!
So, that's the only way!
Ashikaga Yoshitane trembled, but finally chose... to live!
(End of this chapter)