The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 299: New Definition of Kaga Ninja
When the navy was only five miles away from Tsushima Island, a row of enemy ships suddenly appeared on the sea.

The "Japanese red seal ships" quickly formed a horizontal line.

The enemy fleet used the common horizontal bombardment and boarding combat methods in East Asian naval battles of that era, pointing the bow falconets at the approaching Ming navy and waiting for the Ming army to enter the artillery range.

The Ming warships flying the black skull flag and the black dragon banner were like bloodthirsty ghosts.

The warships had a deep draft and their towers were obviously lower than those of ordinary Fujian ships. Some of them even had their towers removed.

In addition, the sails hung on the masts are also obviously different from those of other East Asian sailing ships of this era.

This new type of warship, called Pingjiachuan by Liu Zhaosun, attracted everyone's attention as soon as it appeared for the first time.

The flagship Feilong suddenly beat the passionate war drums. The commanders of each battalion received the attack order and immediately waved the blue flags, commanding the ships to enter the battle formation.

Then, a jaw-dropping scene happened.

Before both sides were about to enter the range of each other's artillery, the Ming navy abandoned the common horizontal artillery battle method and instead formed a column of five ships on the sea, pointing their sides at the Japanese red seal ships that were rushing towards them in preparation for a boarding battle.

With the clanking sound of chains stirring, the window covers on the lower sides of the twenty-five flat-armored ships were pulled open, and a row of black gun muzzles emerged from the cabins.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Ming navy had 25 flat-armored ships, each group of five. At a time, only one warship fired its broadsides at the Japanese red seal ships, while the other four were busy loading ammunition. After the first ship finished firing, the second ship would take over, and so on.

In an instant, the dense sound of naval gunfire resounded throughout the waters of Tsushima Island.

The Japanese "red seal ships" that were rapidly approaching a mile away were hit by artillery fire one after another. Their masts were broken, the decks were flooded, and the hulls disintegrated and sank under the black dragon flag at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Ming fleet plowed through the red-seal ships floating on the sea, crushing all the ships in its way.

The Ming army archers hid behind the side of the ship and shot the "Japanese soldiers" who fell into the water one by one.

At this time, the fleet was only two miles away from Tsushima Island. The sailors on the lookout poles could already see the long wall fortifications built by the Japanese soldiers between the rocks on the coast.

Suddenly, hundreds of divine fire crows rose from the deck. The rockets soared into the sky, dragging long tails of flames, whistling across the surface of the Sea of Japan and descending on the coast of Tsushima Island like the judgment of the sun.

After the rocket attack, the fleet continued to form a vertical battle formation, cruising in the sea more than a mile away from the coast and bombarding the enemy positions.

The stone wall built by the Japanese soldiers on Tsushima Island was quickly shattered by a twelve-pound iron ball, leaving countless gaps.

Accompanied by the sound of rapid bamboo whistles, more than a hundred bird boats were lowered from the flat-armored ships, loaded with Kaiyuan soldiers, and crossed the sea filled with smoke to launch landing operations.

·····
Half an hour later, a large black dragon flag was erected on the "Tsushima Highland". The soldiers of the First Guards Army climbed to the top of the mountain and waved flags and shouted to the fleet anchored on the shore.

The flagship of the Hiryuu.

On the deck, Liu Zhaosun put down the telescope in his hand and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

He looked at the general Wu Aheng standing beside him, walked up to him, patted the naval commander on the shoulder, and smiled at Wu Aheng.

"Captain Wu, the navy is cooperating well. Let's keep training like this. In a few days, bring the other recruits aboard to train. Let these landlubbers experience the Spirit of Tsushima."

After hearing this, Wu Ahheng quickly bowed and accepted the order, but a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

He winked at Meng Jinbao who was standing behind him. Meng came closer to Ping Liaohou and whispered:

"Marquis Ping Liao, the Kaiyuan soldiers are indeed brave. Even with severe seasickness, they still managed to reach the top of the mountain in one breath. However, I am worried about those newly recruited boatmen. If they continue to train with the Spirit of Tsushima, they may not be able to withstand it..."

Wu Ahheng then added:
"Marquis Ping Liao, this is already the third live-fire exercise this month. The ships have consumed tens of thousands of pounds of gunpowder, and fifteen target ships have been sunk. I wonder how much it cost. Is the Spirit of Tsushima too expensive?"

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand and said indifferently:
"What's the big deal? I've already told you that soldiers need to work hard in peacetime so they can bleed less on the battlefield. Getting seasick is better than being shipwrecked! Besides, what's a few wrecked ships? They're just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver. Just let the trading company make a little more money. Seasickness is common in amphibious operations. Soldiers will be fine after vomiting a few times. Don't worry, we still have two months, plenty of time to stop them from vomiting."

Ping Liaohou planned to attack Tsushima Island in mid-October and then land in Kyushu, thus avoiding the monsoon waves.

Meng Jinbao and Wu Aheng looked at each other, both with expressions of astonishment on their faces.

You must know that when the Liaodong Navy was first established, the sailors trained for a full six months. Now Ping Liaohou only gives them two months. Is that really enough?

From June to August of the first year of the Tianqi reign, the Kaiyuan Army completed the recruitment of new soldiers on the Beiyun River. A total of 8,000 boatmen were incorporated into the new army, who formed the Kaiyuan Guards Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Armies.

After more than a month of intensive training by Qi Jin, Zhu He and others, 8,000 trackers were transported to Weihaiwei in batches to participate in this unforgettable combat exercise of landing in Japan.

Ping Liaohou called the exercise the "Soul of Tsushima."

The landing site for the exercise was chosen to be Mazi Island, 20 miles northeast of Wendeng.

Based on the descriptions of Ming Dynasty merchants who had been trading with Tsushima Island for more than a decade, Mao Yuanyi and Qiao Yiqi determined that the hydrological topography of Mazi Island was basically the same as that of Tsushima Island.

In early August, Ping Liaohou was still worried, so he personally took several Korean sailors to Mazi Island, compared them one by one with the map, and finally determined that the island was a landing island for exercise.

Before Ping Liaohou arrived in Shandong, in mid-July, Emperor Tianqi, together with the cabinet, ordered Liu Taifu to lead a large army south on behalf of the emperor to suppress the rebellion of She thieves in Sichuan.

Just as Liu Zhaosun was being surprised, the white-robed general Qin Jianxun, who had disappeared for a full year and a half, finally returned.

General Qin, with a haggard face, sat slumped in front of the moat at Zuoanmen and cried, recounting in fragments the entire process of the annihilation of the Shizhu Tusi's White-Pole Soldiers.

Everyone who heard it was moved.

Upon hearing this, Marquis Ping Liao dropped his feet and stamped his chest.

It was not until then that he learned that She Chongming had been besieging Chengdu for more than two hundred days.

When Qin Jianxun fled, there was a shortage of food and grass in Chengdu, and people and horses were eating each other.

This important southwestern city is about to be captured by rebels.

Qiao Yiqi, Sun Chuanting and others hurriedly explained that from August last year to now, from Huang Taiji's attack on Fushun to the battle in western Liaoning, the people of Kaiyuan have been unable to breathe.

Now Japan is slaughtering Kaiyuan merchants in Korea again. Several powerful Japanese vassal states want to take advantage of the chaos in Ming Dynasty to march into Korea, threaten Liaodong, and fulfill Toyotomi Hideyoshi's dream again.

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand to interrupt his subordinates' explanation.

At this time, a messenger came forward, seemingly with information from the Liaodong Navy.

Liu Zhaosun stood up and said angrily:

dont see!

He rubbed his red and swollen eyes, personally helped Qin Jianxun to his feet, and turned to Wang Erhu and Qi Jin, ordering them, "General Wang, General Qi, go down and prepare immediately. Three days later, each of you will lead 3,000 troops south along the canal. After arriving at Yangzhou Port, you will then advance westward along the Yangtze River into the southwest, link up with the local garrison, and launch an attack on She Chongming. Defend Chengdu at all costs! I will have the civil affairs departments and the grain transport officials from all over the canal cooperate with this operation."

After Ping Liaohou finished speaking, he arranged for Qiao Yiqi to take Qin Jianxun to the Grand Tutor's Mansion to rest first.

Wang Erhu and Qi Jin also took the order and left.

After a while, Ma Shiying came hurriedly with a man who looked like a businessman.

Liu Zhaosun was about to get angry when Ma Shiying hurried forward and whispered a few words to him.

Liu Zhaosun listened, his eyes lit up and he said:
"What? Li Dan is willing to cooperate with me and attack the shogunate together? What are his conditions?"

~~~~~~~~
Busan, Korea, and the Japanese colony of Tsushima.

After nightfall, the lights in this largest trading city in North Korea were dim, and everywhere was as bright as day, with the sound of music and singing incessantly.

The melodious and mournful sound of shakuhachi echoed in the streets, bringing back dreams of Chang'an during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.

In the center of the Wakan, a Japanese singer dressed in exaggerated costumes was showing off her charm and performing Noh.

Outside the entrance, there was a faint sound of light footsteps.

A group of short Japanese merchants sat around the tatami, seemingly oblivious to what was happening outside.

They were staring at the singer's swaying waist and chest, with obscene and greasy smiles on their faces.

Four samurai with shaved foreheads, leaning on their Japanese swords, stood at the four corners of the tatami and yawned.

Lin Yu, dressed in iron armor and a bright helmet, nodded to Jin Yinghe, stretched out his giant tree-like arms and made a charging gesture towards a team of soldiers behind him.

Five fully armed soldiers held wooden sticks in their mouths and tightly grasped their goose-feather knives and short crossbows.

The next second, the giant jumped up and smashed into the gate of the Woguan like a boulder.

Lin Yu knocked open the two-door door and the bolt at the back.

The Korean general immediately drew his bow and shot two arrows into the house without aiming.

The two Japanese warriors who came forward were directly blown away by the arrows and died on the shrine behind the tatami.

"Avenge the brothers of the Chamber of Commerce who died. Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"

Lin Yu roared, covered with armor, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, holding a twenty-pound mace, and rushed into the low house like a steel giant, swinging the mace hard to smash all enemies.

The tragic scene of Shopkeeper Wang and six shop assistants being poisoned to death with blood gushing out of all seven orifices appeared before my eyes.

The two short Japanese men who came forward were directly knocked away by the maces.

The candle burning in the room suddenly went out, and the surroundings were suddenly dark.

"Be careful of the Japanese pirates' hidden swords."

Before Jin Yinghe finished his words, muffled groans were heard from the room, and several soldiers who rushed in were stabbed and fell to the ground.

Lin Yu held his breath and concentrated, only to feel the sound of wind behind his head. He swung the mace violently, and there was a jingle sound. The wolf's fangs and the dagger in his sleeve sparked sparks.

Before he could stand firm, he heard the sound of a bowstring vibrating from his left. He was unable to dodge and the arrow hit his breastplate, causing him to feel a sharp pain in his chest.

Before he could stand firm, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a Japanese sword chopping down at his head through the dim light from the entrance.

"what!"

Lin Yu kicked the other person directly into the darkness.

"Brother Lin, break the wall, there is light outside!"

Jin Yinghe was also injured and struggled and shouted loudly.

Lin Yu roared continuously, and cross nails poured down on his armor like raindrops, knocking the giant back again and again.

Suddenly, he rushed towards the dark red shrine opposite the entrance like a bear.

There was a cracking sound, and a big hole was knocked out by the giant beast, and large streams of bright light shone in.

A few dark shadows flashed by, jumping onto the beams in a self-deceiving attempt to hide.

Lin Yu picked up a Japanese sword and stabbed the five Japanese assassins in blue clothes on the beam to death one by one like herding ducks.

The last assassin had no way to escape and swung his sharp gauntlet hook at Lin Yu's helmet, who was twice as tall as him.

After a feint, he threw down the cigarette ball and turned around to escape.

Lin Yu rushed forward like a hungry tiger, grabbed the assassin's throat and lifted him up with one hand.

The dwarf assassin kicked his feet wildly, fear in his eyes, and kept uttering unclear Japanese.

Guard Lin Yu turned slightly to the side and drew his bow and shot Jin Yinghe.

The Korean general translated for him:
"He said he was a jonin from the Kaga Domain, a leader among ninjas. This time, he was ordered by Tokugawa Hidetada to come to Korea to kill you Kaiyuan barbarians. The lord of the Kaga Domain will soon lead a large army to Korea..."

Lin Yu looked down at the fallen bodies of his fellow soldiers, his eyes filled with deep hatred. He looked at the dying ninja in the air and said:

"What kind of jonin is Kaga? They set fires, poisoned people, and murdered women and children. What a bunch of rats!"

With a little force from his big, iron-like hands, the dwarf assassin's neck was broken.

Lin Yu waved his hand lightly, and the body of the senior ninja slammed into the wall of the hall like a sandbag. With a bang, it turned into a bloody ball of flesh.

"General Jin, the mission assigned by Ping Liaohou has been completed. Do you dare to fight with me to Kaga? The life of the feudal lord will be at stake!"

Jin Yinghe dropped his bow and arrow, leaning on a bloodstained goose feather knife, looked up at Lin Yu, and said with the same emotion as he did on the battlefield of Sarhu:

"Dare you disobey your orders?"

(End of this chapter)