Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 219 is over, we've fallen into their trap!

In this era, naval forces and pirates were one and the same. Most pirates would join a daimyo's forces and then become part of the naval force.

The Kijima family is a case in point. They were ordinary local people who took advantage of the infighting within the Satomi family to seize Odaki Castle (now Odaki Castle) in the Kazusa region, consolidated the local Hyakushu pirates (the pirate forces around Hyakushu Castle), and helped the current head of the Satomi family seize the position of head of the family. They then turned into the Satomi family's naval force.

Subsequently, with the support of the Satomi family, they further unified the pirate gangs around the Boso Peninsula, seized control of the sea area between the Boso Peninsula and the Izu Peninsula, and became one of the pillars of the Satomi family.

The current head of the Kisama family is Kisama Tokitada, who is thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old. He is sitting on his flagship "Ryuo Maru" and looking at the "Nohara Navy" in the distance. He estimates that there are about twenty warships, which are slowly leaving the waters near Shimoda Port in order to gain more room to maneuver.

He didn't care about that, but he was very envious of the "Chita". It was the first time he had seen such a magnificent Atakebune. Although it was not much larger than his "Ryuo Maru", he didn't know how many kan of coins it had melted down. The hull was covered with brand-new copper sheets, which reflected the sunlight. Occasionally, a touch of dark green flashed in the golden light, exuding an extraordinary air of wealth. It could only be described as "outrageously extravagant".

This boat should belong to him; it would be perfect as his personal vehicle.

At this moment, a close attendant warrior boarded the ship's deck and angrily reported to him: "Your Highness, the other side refused to leave the Izu Sea, and our envoy was even slapped several times."

"They've really dug their own grave!" Kijima Tokitada grinned, then turned and ordered, "Get moving! Let these guys from Ise Bay see the might of the Kijima family!"

They also have spies in Shimoda Port who have already found out that the Wanjin Navy only has about twenty warships, and the rest are cargo ships. They have a five-on-one advantage, so they can declare victory now.

…………

On the "Knowledgeable Ship," Yuan Ye had just rejected A Qing and Yu Da's suggestion to go to port for temporary refuge. Having been in this era for seven or eight years, he had become accustomed to life here, having seen too many dead people, and had become somewhat numb to life and death.

At least I don't care as much as before, and I'm also very clear in my heart that there is no such thing as gaining the world without taking risks.

Especially as the first generation leader, he should always lead by example to strengthen his subordinates' fighting spirit and maintain his authority.

In chaotic times, no one will respect a coward, and no leader can be one who does not take responsibility or risk.

Furthermore, he had confidence in the "Chido," and the naval weapons he prepared had not been used in actual combat, so he needed to personally command them.

Aqing, Yu Da, and the others tried to dissuade Yuanye but failed and couldn't persuade him. They looked worried, but Aman didn't care at all. Because she had poor martial arts talent since childhood, she turned to practicing swimming. Even when seriously injured, she could swim dozens of miles downstream. Now she was not afraid at all. The "Zhiduo" had not been used in actual combat and looked a bit like a new contraption that Yuanye had come up with in a whimsical way. Aman was also a little worried about whether the boat could fight, but it didn't matter if it couldn't. Even if it sank, she was confident that she could dive and escape to the shore with Yuanye and Aqing.

As for whether other people live or die, she doesn't care much. These days, human life is cheap. As long as Yuanye can return to Wanjin alive, she can just spend money to hire more people. It's not a big deal.

She immediately sent Yu Da away, and took A Qing with her to the deck to prepare for battle. Seeing Yuan Ye directing the internal guards to move a large number of pointed rockets and launchers out of the sealed compartment, she asked curiously, "Will these things really work? Weren't they difficult to hit accurately in the last test?"

“It’s hard to hit one accurately, so I plan to fire twelve at once. As long as there are enough enemies, the single hit rate should be sufficient.” Yuan Ye said casually while personally measuring the wind speed and directing the internal guards to set up the launcher.

He successfully developed the original "casting gunpowder column" technique, which involves selecting high-quality black powder and using high-quality natural pine resin as a binder to mix them into a paste with a certain fluidity. Then, the paste is slowly heated and poured into the mold layer by layer in an extremely slow manner, while trying to avoid generating air bubbles.

After being left to cool and solidify naturally for several days, it is removed from the mold, polished and trimmed to meet installation requirements, and then filled into rockets to serve as flight fuel.

As for rockets, they are even simpler. A rocket in the field is just a metal tube with a flight control device. Even the simplest iron tail fin and bamboo stabilizer bar count as a flight control device. As for the warhead, it is even easier to explain. Since the target of the damage is an ancient wooden ship, it is filled with black powder. A certain amount of accelerant, such as pine oil, has been added to facilitate its explosive combustion.

The fuse is a nitration-delay fuse, which works on a similar principle to a match cord, but burns faster.

In simple terms, this is a simplified and scaled-down version of the "Congreve rocket," with a range of about 2 kilometers. However, it is difficult to aim, and the impact points are extremely scattered, requiring quantity to compensate for accuracy.

Yes, rockets have existed since ancient times. The "Thunderbolt" rocket of the Song Dynasty was propelled by gunpowder and could fly more than 300 meters, while the "Swarm" rocket of the Ming Dynasty could fly more than 500 meters.

Foreign countries also had their own versions, such as the prototype of the Congreve rocket, the "Indian bamboo rocket," which was launched by filling a bamboo tube with propellant. It was said to be able to fly over 1500 meters (data is questionable). When the Congreve rocket was fully developed, its range was about 2500 meters, and it was used extensively during the Napoleonic era and the Anglo-American Wars. This thing seems a bit stupid in modern times, after all, modern rockets are guided, and various accelerants and propellants are more advanced, easily reaching ranges of over 100 kilometers. However, I think it was basically sufficient in the mid-16th century. Even with today's manufacturing capabilities, rockets are very slow to produce, very expensive, and extremely dangerous.

He couldn't create a vacuum, and air bubbles were difficult to avoid during the casting process, resulting in an extremely low yield. The dangers of heating the gunpowder are self-evident; only rigorously trained workers could operate it. Even so, production accidents were frequent, and more than ten people had been injured since production began. Furthermore, his operation involved technical secrecy, meaning only a "factory for elderly daredevils" with no exit restrictions was authorized to produce it. Therefore…

He had been working on this technology for over a year and had conducted four or five corrective test firings, but his ammunition capacity was only a little over six hundred rounds. This was nothing compared to the British during Napoleon's era, who could bring out twenty or thirty thousand rounds to defend Denmark. Those countries had the foundation of the Industrial Revolution and were engaged in nationwide production, while he was secretly manufacturing them in clandestine factories. There was simply no comparison.

At the same time, in order to save money and improve the yield rate, he also reduced the length and volume of the propellant column, resulting in it not flying as far as rockets of the 18th and 19th centuries.

However, it would certainly be enough to fight a group of pirates who are not well-known in history. After all, these days, no weapon can shoot more than 2000 meters away, and wooden ships could not withstand the explosion of gunpowder.

These 600-plus rockets are what gave Yuan Ye the confidence to rush over and open up a shipping route at this time. As for whether they can really be used in actual combat... he has only fired at floating targets, not at ships driven by living people. Whether they are effective in actual combat or not, we can test them with the Satomi Navy.

Of course, even without advanced technology like "casting gunpowder columns" or creating the "Wanjin rocket," he would still dare to challenge the Satomi Navy. The Wanjin Navy was not an army that relied solely on him. With its strict discipline, high salaries, long-term and stable training, widespread respect in society, a small number of breech-loading cannons, and a large number of various types of arquebuses, they originally had the ability to win with fewer troops.

Yuan Ye chatted casually with A Man for a few minutes before silently preparing to launch the rockets. At that moment, the sound of bamboo whistles rang out continuously on the "Zhi Duo" ship. A large number of gunners who had been reorganized from the Wan Jin Army erected copper-clad hull plates as cover at the ship's hull, lit the fuses, and prepared the early firing tubes, ready to launch a salvo at any time.

The sailors also armed themselves, some taking out cannons, others bows and arrows, some bringing out gunpowder canisters, and others simply holding knives and guns, preparing to launch or defend against boarding attacks. Even though they hadn't fought many battles, they still looked very elite thanks to Yu Da's long-term training.

The bamboo-framed sails were lowered, and the rowers' shouts and commands carried through the hull to the deck. The "Chita" suddenly accelerated, and under the command of naval officers such as Oo Dai, it took the lead, cutting through the wind and waves, and led seven or eight shoal boats and more than ten small boats straight toward the "Ryuo Maru," the largest ship in the Satomi Navy.

Meanwhile, the "Ryuo Maru" had already lowered its sails and was ready for battle. Without hesitation, it immediately turned around and fled eastward.

…………

The fact that the Wanjin Navy and the Satomi Navy are about to go to war in the Izu Sea, while the Hojo family, as the host, can only watch, is undoubtedly a tragedy.

Kasahara Yasuhisa and other Hojo samurai stood on the lookout tower of Shimoda Port. Taking advantage of the good weather, they watched the two fleets on the distant sea preparing to ignite blood and fire, and they had this feeling in their hearts.

Kasahara Yasuhisa felt this particularly strongly, after all, the Kasahara family was the leader of the Hojo family's "white guard" and was originally in charge of the navy. However, in a naval battle nearly eight years ago, the Hojo navy was completely defeated and lost its control of the seas. It has now been reduced to a "coast guard".

Yes, the Hojo clan's combat formations are organized in the form of "five-color units". The yellow unit is good at positional warfare and castle defense; the red unit is a combination of cavalry and infantry, focusing on mobility; the white unit is responsible for naval warfare, but now that there is no foothold at sea, it has begun to be converted into a land force; the black unit is responsible for siege warfare and also likes to launch covert attacks; and the blue unit is the Hojo clan's intelligence force, similar in nature to the Oda clan's "Kyodanshu" or the Wanjin "Kusamishu".

Now, as a member of the younger generation of the Kasahara family, Kasahara Yasuhisa, although he has not been at sea for a long time, still retains his basic naval combat skills and is familiar with the tactics of his old rival. Seeing that the Nohara Navy was heading straight for the Satomi Navy's flagship, and that the Satomi Navy's flagship was retreating instead of advancing, leading the Nohara Navy to flee, he couldn't help but feel anxious and blurted out: "Damn it, the Nohara family doesn't know how to fight at sea, they've fallen into a trap."

When fighting pirates, you can't chase after their big ships. Their main attack method is small boats. Now, the Kawazu Navy is chasing the "Ryuo Maru". As long as the "Ryuo Maru" lures the Kawazu Navy into a position against the wind, the Satomi Navy's small boats can use their speed and maneuverability to get to the upwind position and launch an attack with the wind. They can attack with "roasting" or even forcefully ram the ship with fire ships. At that time, the Kawazu Navy will be doomed.

Those who could stay in Shimoda Port were almost all samurai of the "Hojo White Army". If this were in "Taiko 2", everyone would have one or two naval combat skills. Immediately someone agreed: "The Nohara family's navy is really not good. This battle should not have been fought. We clearly agreed to let them enter the port."

Naval warfare is not like land warfare; it's not easy to win with fewer ships, especially since the Satomi Navy had over a hundred ships, more than five times the size of the Wanjin Navy.

Even if the Satomi navy didn't use fire attacks, just by boarding the ship, their sheer numbers would be enough to wipe out the entire Wanjin navy.

"What a waste of that fine ship. That must have been the flagship of the Nohara family head, so magnificent..."

"From now on, it belongs to the Satomi family! These idiots didn't help at all, and instead sent a bunch of ships to the Satomi family!"

The Hojo samurai felt that the Wanjin navy was finished and that it was unlikely that the Satomi navy would suffer too much loss. Frustrated, they didn't say many nice things. While they were getting anxious and worried that the Satomi navy was becoming increasingly difficult to resist, they suddenly saw a commotion breaking out in the port not far away, and the noise was getting louder and louder.

(End of this chapter)