Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 472: The Trend of the East
In the autumn of the 20th year of Taichang, the Ming army from the north and south finally began to land on Kyushu Island in large numbers.

Previously, the vanguard general of the "Go-Ibari Army" Naoshige Nabeshima was in the Reitoku province of Hizen. He had been helping the shogunate control the Nagasaki Port, which was directly managed by the shogunate, as a hereditary daimyo.

Now, the remaining families on Kyushu Island that lean towards the shogunate are the Kuroda family that controls Chikuzen and the Hosokawa family that controls Buzen.

These two families naturally became the main targets of the Ming army in the north, because they controlled the strategic point of the Kanmon Strait. In the past, they and Naoshige Nabeshige divided the Mori family in the north and the Shimazu family in the south, and were the main force of the shogunate to defend against the outer daimyo in the southwest.

And in this summer, because the situation changed and he was no longer indifferent to political affairs, Shimazu Yoshihiro made some decisions with his last breath, so he passed away a year later, but he still died this summer.

His son Shimazu Tadatsune did not really gain power until this moment, but he did not dare to leave the territory because Shimazu Yoshihiro died when Denraku arrived in Nagasaki. Then suddenly, the Kato family, who owned Kumamoto Castle, suddenly took advantage of the power transfer of the Shimazu family to attack the Shimazu family's territory.

Kato Tadahiro, who inherited the Kato family at the age of ten and is now only nineteen years old, is confused.

Who directed this?
The retainer sent by the Shimazu family to welcome Denraku had already been secretly arranged by Yanagawa Tiaoxing, and had ulterior motives.

The island of Kyushu suddenly became chaotic. New feudal lords who were "loyal to the shogunate" began to attack the Shimazu family, which had previously attacked Naoshige Nabeshige. The Ming army also launched a fierce attack on the Kuroda family and the Hosokawa family who controlled the Kanmon Strait. Many of the Shimazu family's retainers no longer believed in Shimazu Tadatsune.

Amidst the chaos, the Ming Dynasty's East China Fleet arrived at the bay east of Tsurumaru Castle in Kagoshima Prefecture.

……

The Shimazu clan's new residence, Tsurumaru Castle, was built only a dozen years ago.

Shimazu Tadatsune sat in the city that he had led to build, and now had no intention of appreciating the beautiful scenery of Sakurajima towering in the bay to the east.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" His eyes were about to spit fire. "From Hyuga to Shikoku, and then from Awaji to intimidate the Imperial Army headquarters in Harima and Osaka, isn't this what Mori Terumoto wanted us to do in Satsuma? Now, how can he accuse us of not participating in the new Battle of Sekigahara?"

"Master Jiu, don't you understand?" A brave retainer stared at the people opposite him, "This was a scheme from the beginning!"

Shimazu Tadatsune's current name is actually Shimazu Iekyu - to avoid the name of Tokugawa Hidetada.

The man who called him by this name was named Hirata Masamune, and the person he was staring at was also a brave veteran with thick eyebrows and a broad nose.

"Kabayama Zaemon!" Hirata Masamune shouted angrily, "As the general commander of the Satsuma domain who is negotiating with the Mori family, don't you have anything to say to Lord Iekiu?"

The man he called Kabayama Zaemon was actually named Kabayama Hisataka.

He was a very important retainer in Satsuma Domain. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Shimazu Yoshihiro temporarily retired and he was appointed as the retainer.

Now, Hirata Masamune scolded him using the ordinary name of Saemon, and pointed out that his current position as the general general of the Satsuma domain of the allied forces was really quite strange.

Kabayama Hisataka simply said calmly, "I am already 62 years old. If Hirata-kun does not trust my decision, then Lord Tadatsune will appoint you as the general commander."

"You!" Hirata Masamune stood up angrily, thought for a moment and sneered, "Now that Satsuma has already attacked Saga, it's too late to say anything. But now the Ming people have broken their agreement, and their warships have appeared at the entrance of Kagoshima Bay! As the general commander of the Ryukyu expedition, do you think you can be forgiven like this?"

Shimazu Tadatsune's face was as gloomy as water, and he suddenly asked, "Is it because I didn't agree to your request to increase your territory?"

"How could I be that kind of person?" Hisataka Kabayama was still respectful, but he said, "Tsurumaru Castle is in danger now. The Ming warships will soon arrive on the sea east of the castle. Satsuma Domain still needs your guidance."

"...I'll guide the way?" Shimazu Tadatsune muttered to himself before becoming furious. "I've been the head of the family for eighteen years! Now that my father is gone and the world is in a grim state, why are there suddenly so many retainers who don't obey my orders?"

Hisataka Kabayama didn't answer.

"Ijuin family, Ono family..." Shimazu Tadatsune was very excited, "How did the Kumamoto clan invade Satsuma? You were once the adopted son of the Ono family, don't you know anything?"

"If I was like what Lord Tadahira thought, how could I be in Tsurumaru Castle right now? Would I be murdered like Mr. Tadashi?"

Shimazu Tadatsune couldn't help but feel stunned.

Ijuin Tadamichi died at the hands of Shimazu Tadatsune before the Battle of Sekigahara. He was the patriarch of the Shimazu family before Kabayama Hisataka.

It was just another story of an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow his superior, a retainer who was so successful that he threatened his master.

Regardless of the origin of the story, what Hisataka Kabayama said at this moment was true: if Shimazu Tadatsune wanted to kill him, it would be easy.

Shimazu Tadatsune was confused for a moment. Even though he was known for his bravery and courage, he couldn't tell who was loyal and who was treacherous.

"Hirata-kun is right. Since we have already attacked the Saga Domain, we can no longer expect the shogunate to be lenient this time. But I didn't expect that they seemed to disdain us even though it would be more beneficial to the Ming Dynasty's plan to keep us. It seems that they will eventually hold us accountable for our responsibilities in Korea and Ryukyu. Hirata-kun, you are the deputy general of the Ryukyu expedition. There is no reason for you to doubt me like this."

Hirata Masamune couldn't help but look angry and embarrassed.

"Don't worry about the retainers in other counties." Kabayama Hisataka continued to say to Shimazu Tadatsune, "If the shogunate wins, Satsuma Domain will definitely be dismembered. Because of my merits and the future of my family, I hope to get more territory, and they will have their own ambitions. If the shogunate loses, they don't have to bear the main responsibility for Satsuma Domain. I'm afraid they have already contacted the Han people in Nagasaki and received promises. The guy you sent to meet the Ming minister on your behalf, hasn't he come back yet?"

Compared with Hirata Masamune's inexplicable suspicion, what Kabayama Hisataka said at this moment was logical.

Shimazu Tadatsune was also somewhat embarrassed and at a loss: "Does the Ming Dynasty have to get rid of the Satsuma Domain first?"

"Looking at their battle plan, they have been preparing on Tsushima Island for so long. Of course, they need a larger headquarters if they want to take further action. What place is more suitable than Kyushu Island? And if they want to settle down on Kyushu Island with peace of mind, what better way is there to intimidate the other clans on Kyushu Island into submission than to eliminate the power of the shogunate and then eliminate the most powerful Satsuma clan?"

After saying this, Kabayama Hisataka just sighed and said, "Lord Tadatsune, you should have listened to Lord Yoshihiro's advice and not built Tsurumaru Castle here."

Shimazu Tadatsune opened his mouth, but no words came out.

At that time, the Shimazu family participated in the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara. Shimazu Yoshihiro put the Shimazu family in danger. He then found ways to save the Shimazu family and passed the position of family head to his son Shimazu Tadatsune.

Although he still held the real power in his hands, he had to give some respect to his son, who was the head of the family. Therefore, he planned to listen to Shimazu Tadatsune's opinion on the location of Tsurumaru Castle.

Although Shimazu Yoshihiro opposed building the castle so close to the coast, he did not completely oppose it in the end - after all, although it was closer to the sea, the strength of the shogunate and the navy of other feudal domains would not necessarily threaten Tsurumaru Castle.

Now, Tsurumaru Castle is less than two miles away from the nearest coast, and the approaching enemy is not the shogunate.

We had already known about the news that the Ming warships had destroyed the city along the coast of Korea, but Tsurumaru Castle had already been built by then.

"If it's as you said, then we..." Hirata Masamune finally became nervous.

"The only way is to fight to the death, Master Tadatsune." Kabayama Hisataka said calmly, "Let the branch family and the Kitago family take Saburo and Shiro away separately. If Tsurumaru Castle is destroyed in a fight to the death, the purpose of the Ming Dynasty will be achieved. Don't bring more trouble to the other retainers. They will eventually understand your painstaking efforts one day."

Shimazu Tadatsune's face turned pale.

Up to now, he had only four sons, and the eldest son had died early. The eldest daughter had married into the Kitago family, and the other three daughters were going to marry various retainers or other feudal lords.

But isn't it possible for Satsuma to deal with the Ming army by relying on its still relatively large territory?

The one who responded to him was the warrior who broke in from outside: "My lord... I'm... I'm coming!"

Shimazu Tadatsune walked quickly to the corridor outside the house.

Tsurumaru Castle is also a mountain castle, built at the foot of a mountain by the sea. The residence of the Shimazu family is naturally located in the best view of the entire mountain castle.

In the past, it had always been a special pleasure for the head of the Shimazu clan to stand under the corridor and look out at the towering volcano on Sakurajima in the distance, as well as Tsurumaru Castle and the castle town that stretched out beyond the castle walls to the sea.

Now, the volcano on Sakurajima seemed to be about to erupt again - but that was just the black smoke coming out of the huge Zhiyuan ship in the nearby sea.

The people in the castle town were in panic and swarmed towards the mountain castle like ants.

Shimazu Tadatsune and his retainers' pupils shrank. They had never seen such a huge warship before, and it was not like other warships that still had a sail raised. It did not raise its sail at this moment, but it was slowly approaching with the other warships, just spewing black smoke, like a giant dragon emerging from the bottom of the sea. On the Zhiyuan, Shen Yourong asked Tian Ergeng: "Prime Minister Tian said, just attack?"

Tian Ergen nodded: "Just fight. If the barbarian chieftains here think that the Ming can only rely on dividing them, then it will be difficult for Kyushu to have peace in the future. Following Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attack on Korea, and then attacking Ryukyu on the pretext of an excuse, the Satsuma clan was the most enthusiastic. Among the outer daimyo, the Shimazu clan is also one of the clans that the shogunate fears the most, and they will never come to rescue."

Shen Yourong was a little surprised: "But haven't they already joined the coalition forces of the Maori family?"

"Mori Terumoto has his own explanation." Tian Ergen said with a smile, "Besides, as long as they don't become the shogunate's lackeys, we don't need them to fight."

Shen Yourong nodded: "Well, let's follow Prime Minister Tian's plan. Give the Kumamoto Domain ten days to gather as many people as they can from the Satsuma Domain. After ten days, the southern army will first clean up the Satsuma Domain, and then clean up the east coast."

There was no extra greeting, the first thing that happened was the roar of the ship's guns after the formation was formed.

And what Tian Le has done in the past three years is nothing more than to reduce the resistance behind as much as possible before waiting for the arrival of the Oriental Fleet, so as to make the situation in Japan more turbulent and the people's hearts more confused.

The Ming Dynasty is going to bring about earth-shaking changes, so why would it worry about too many details? And why should it worry about too many details?
On this day, the volcano on Sakurajima did seem to erupt.

Tsurumaru Castle, less than two miles from the coast, is indeed the most suitable place for the Oriental Fleet to perform. It also happens to be the capital of the most powerful clan on Kyushu Island.

For the naval guns on the Zhiyuan and Jiguang, this target is the best target.

The cannons on the battleships were not small ones like the tiger squat cannons. Even though the coast was relatively shallow, it was still nothing for the battleship cannons to hit a target less than three miles away - as luck would have it, Tsurumaru Castle was built at the foot of the mountain, so it did not need a large elevation angle. The shells only needed to destroy the city walls and gates first, which would not only completely frighten the enemy, but also suppress them in the city with firepower, giving the landing troops time to assemble.

"What about Edo Castle? Do you have a map?"

Amid the roar of the ship's guns, Shen Yourong was already studying the real target behind him.

He already had sufficient confidence in the capabilities of the Zhiyuan. As long as the clean coal was transported and supplied and routine maintenance was done well, the Dongyang Fleet would be invincible at sea.

Tian Ergeng had been in Fushun for many years, and Li Dan and his men had seized the opportunity, and there were also people who surrendered, such as Kumamoto Domain. Thanks to the Sankinkotai system, many people had gone to Edo.

"My Lord, please take a look! Once you get to Edo Bay, it's very similar to here. However, although there are many streets outside the city, warships can't go in. It's five or six miles from the sea, so I'm afraid it's best to just clean up the periphery first. In addition, some artillery batteries have been built on the seashore in the past two years..."

Shen Yourong looked at the map here and finally had to frown.

"Nearly two thousand miles..."

This is the problem that needs to be faced if we head directly to Edo Bay.

"My father ordered me to persuade the Marquis to proceed step by step." Tian Ergeng said cautiously, "First seize Kyushu, then Shikoku. After clearing the capital and Osaka, the northern army will go to what they call Kanto, and the Marquis will use Izu and Sagami as bridgeheads. This way, there will be no worries in the rear, and Edo is just around the corner."

Shen Yourong sighed: "Let's take over Kyushu Island first. How dare you call such a tiny island Kyushu!"

In the south of the Yangtze River in the Ming Dynasty, the armies of the Qianjun Military Governor's Office and the Nanjing Zhenwu Camp began to gather for the expedition.

At this time, some people feel that they are a little anxious, as if they shouldn't have had any thoughts at the end of the previous year.

But what's the point? The emperor was probably just taking advantage of this time difference: if he wanted to mobilize the army, he could just start to implement the new money law, at least to control the unrest to the point where some people wanted to cause trouble but didn't dare to rebel openly.

Now, so many people have been killed, and many emerging forces have joined the ranks of supporting the court's policies.

The imperial court did provide more benefits to those who supported the national policy, such as the official positions that had been vacant in the past two years, the land and industries that had been confiscated, and the reshuffle of the interest structure under the new currency system and the new tax system in the future.

The expansion of territory also brought new benefits: after three years of transition, North Korea will establish the Haedong Province in the 21st year of Taichang.

From top to bottom, there are countless good positions and opportunities.

After many twists and turns, the Tao family of Taoyan in Kuaiji is now prosperous. Li Sancai is old, and Tao Chongdao has become the most powerful candidate for the first governor of Haidong.

The rest of the Tao family, including Zhang Yaofang and Zhang Dai, father and son from the Zhang family, Tao's relatives by marriage, were still able to get involved in Japan.

Zhang Dai was now 24 years old. He married the daughter of a local family and took as his concubine the sister of a recent successful candidate in the last Korean imperial examination from a humble family.

Li Hongji, who was fifteen years old, asked, "Master, do you really want me to go to Japan?"

"Go!" Zhang Dai smiled happily, "With the knowledge you have gained from following me for so many years, you will have a chance to make a name for yourself in Japan no matter which king's court you serve in."

Li Hongji did not change his name to Li Zicheng in this life. Instead, he went to school with the young master Zhang Dai, and now he is a young scholar.

"The heavenly soldiers have landed on Kyushu Island. I will write a letter and you can take it with you to join the prince of Lu. You are only two years older than him, so it is a good time for you to join His Highness now." Zhang Dai patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "If you become successful in Japan, remember to help me find a lovely concubine from Japan!"

Li Hongji couldn't help but feel excited when he thought of the wonderful future, and choked up and said: "Master, thank you for your kindness, I..."

"Well, Master, I have watched you grow up." Zhang Dai said solemnly, "You have already achieved fame, although it is a Korean fame. I let you go to Japan because I hope you can settle down there. Remember, you can take one or two concubines there first, you still have to be the son-in-law of the Zhang family, but you have to gain a firm foothold in the next two or three years!"

Li Hongji nodded solemnly.

He knew that the Zhang family did more than just one favor for him, but that didn't matter.

Since meeting them father and son on the road many years ago and following them all the way to North Korea, Li Hongji's fate has indeed been different.

Now, there is a wider world waiting for him.

Because of the experience of "going to Guandong", his parents did not take him to Shaanxi, but went to Korea to become superior people. Although he was a servant of the Zhang family, he was superior to the locals. He was not rich, but his son was ambitious, had no worries about food and clothing, and had a future.

So they are still alive.

"Dad, Mom, you guys just stay here and relax for now." Li Hongji said goodbye to them, his eyes full of determination, "When your son has made a name for himself in Japan, I will take you two to enjoy a peaceful life!"

"Oh... it's good here." His mother was actually reluctant. The sea breeze was unpredictable. Although she had given birth to another son, how could she bear to let her eldest son take risks?

"It's right to listen to the master!" his father said, "Just go there without worry. There are officers and soldiers for war. Now that you have studied, you can get a position in the court over there!"

"My son knows."

Li Hongji was packing his luggage with a smile. Some Korean clans were also packing like him.

The days when the Li family was in power are long gone. Now that this place is about to become a province of the Ming Dynasty, many families that have not accumulated much in the past few years will face huge competition.

But Japan is different.

Since the Ming Dynasty has been winning victory after victory, and with their identities as Ming people already registered as citizens of Haidong Province, things should be very different when they go to Japan, right?

There are not many people willing to go to North Korea, and there are probably even fewer people willing to go to Japan.

His Royal Highness Prince Lu's father was the King of Korea for a few years. He would be more willing to use Koreans, right?

Change is urgent, and if change were unstoppable, most people would adjust to it.

Nowadays, not many ordinary people are so obsessed with their own identities. They only think about how to adapt to the new identity and always seek greater benefits and a better future.

The ocean is vast, and many people are destined to have no way out on the isolated islands of Japan in the deep sea.

(End of this chapter)