The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 304 Ryukyu
In November of the sixth year of Kan'ei (1622), the hurricane that had raged in the Sea of Japan for nearly half a month finally stopped, and the vast sea area from Hokkaido to Ryukyu gradually returned to calm.

The "barbarians" in the west did not cross the sea to attack for a long time, and the divine wind that the shogunate and daimyo had been longing for suddenly disappeared. An inexplicable sense of unease began to spread among the western feudal domains.

The more the barbarians remained motionless, the more anxious the daimyos became.

After entering November, all kinds of rumors began to spread among the various feudal domains in Kyushu.

Some say that the invading barbarian army exceeded one million, with warships stretching for hundreds of miles, far exceeding the scale of the foreign war of that year (i.e., Kublai Khan's conquest of Japan);
Some say that the Barbarian Leader is actually a Ming Dynasty daimyo, with the same surname as Emperor Gaozu of Han. He can not only kill white snakes, but also has the ability to summon spirits, and can resurrect the dead on the battlefield like Amaterasu.
Of course, the most credible news is that the barbarians in Liaodong have gathered together hundreds of thousands of people including Tang people, Tatars, Jurchens, Koreans, and even red-haired barbarians and Portuguese, and are about to come by sea and land in Kyushu.

The barbarians have issued a declaration of war to the Emperor, demanding that the Shogun immediately order the release of Catholic believers imprisoned in various domains and declare Catholicism the state religion of Japan;

Immediately cede Kyushu Island to the Ming Dynasty, which has claimed sovereignty over the island since ancient times;

Immediately expel all British and Dutch people from Japan, and only allow Portuguese and Chinese to trade here, and they must enjoy unilateral preferential treatment;

Opened thirteen cities, including Nagasaki and Nagoya, as trading ports, allowing Chinese and Portuguese ships to sail freely there;

Of course, before the war began, the shogunate had to pay the enemy 10 million taels of silver or its equivalent as war reparations.

In other words, Japan had to pay reparations before the war even started.

It was impossible for Tokugawa Hidetada to agree to any of the above terms.

Otherwise, the shogunate's rule would collapse immediately, and the Tokugawa clan's status as the common ruler of the world would disappear immediately.

The most serious threat since the Mongol raids—and only the second time, the other being the Korean invasion of Tsushima—was that foreign invasion came to Japan.

Faced with a powerful enemy, the daimyo of each domain, from Edo to Satsuma, from Kanto to Kansai, should have shared the same hatred and fought together against the national crisis.

However, under the shadow of war, suspicion and struggle began to arise between daimyo and the shogunate, and between daimyo and daimyo.

This is certainly not because the Yamato people are good at internal fighting, but because the enemy added at the end of the declaration of war presented to the Emperor:

"Those who surrender first will be rewarded greatly, and those who come later will be punished unexpectedly."

It was clearly stated that the first three daimyo who surrendered would have their property and samurai retained, and would become the new shogun.

The daimyos all knew the story of buying a horse for a thousand gold coins, so the conditions offered by the Ming army would definitely be fulfilled.

At this time, the Battle of Osaka had only ended for a few years. The Kansai domains had not yet completely submitted to the shogunate, and they had just brutally suppressed Catholic believers. The shogunate had no trust in domains such as Satsuma, Chikugo, and Buzen on Kyushu Island.

Under this mutual distrust, disaster is about to strike.

During the Battle of Sekigahara, the nine feudal domains on Kyushu Island all belonged to the Toyotomi clan, were affiliated with the Western Army, and were in a hostile relationship with the Tokugawa clan.

Edo Castle disliked these nine daimyo who did not obey the shogunate and hoped to strengthen surveillance of them.

At the beginning of this year, Tokugawa Hidetada exiled his nephew, Matsudaira Tadanao, who held 670,000 koku of land in Echizen Fukui, to Kyushu (Bungo) on the pretext of not attending the Sankinkotsu on time.

It is said that the shogunate specially arranged for Tadanao to be exiled to Bungo (Note 1).

This mezuzak was ostensibly used to monitor Tadanao, but in reality it was also a "radar" for the shogunate to detect the movements of the Kyushu daimyo, and became its base for controlling Kyushu.

Upon hearing that Korea was colluding with the Liaodong barbarians to invade Kyushu, Tokugawa Hidetada only symbolically sent a reinforcement force of 2,000 people, including many foot soldiers.

The cunning Tokugawa Hidetada would not easily dispatch the shogunate's elite troops before exhausting the strength of these powerful southwestern clans on Kyushu Island.

Even within the nine provinces of Satsuma, Hizen, and Chikugo, everyone had different opinions on how to fight the enemy.

The lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Tadatsune (Note 2), called on the other domains to gather heavy troops and take the initiative to attack.

Specifically, they used warships to transport samurai ronin to Busan and Incheon for landing, and then attacked from the north and south, adopting the tactics of the Bunroku and Keicho campaigns, plundering the enemy, blocking the barbarians' escape routes to the north, and waiting for the shogun's army to arrive, so as to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop.

However, Shimazu's plan was too bold, and no other daimyo supported it except the lord of Kokura domain.

More people hoped to defend against the enemy on Tsushima Island, or to build layers of defense, lure the enemy deep into their territory, and then fight a decisive battle after the enemy landed in Kyushu. This was how the Kamakura Shogunate army defeated Kublai Khan.

Kagoshima Castle Town, Satsuma Domain, Kyushu Island.

Shimazu Daimyo slammed the table and stood up, angrily shouting at the surrounding feudal lords, "You fools! Don't even mention the Bun'ei Campaign! Things are different now. Back then, the Mongols weren't good at naval warfare, and their warships weren't strong. They lost their supplies the moment they came ashore, which is why they were defeated by the Japanese samurai. This time, our opponents have completely avoided the kamikaze, their ships are even stronger, and they've already stockpiled tens of thousands of koku of grain in Busan."

Shimazu glanced at the people around him and said harshly:

"Only by reaching Busan and burning all their supplies can Kyushu have a chance of victory! Otherwise, we will just have to wait for death!"

At the age of fourteen, Shimazu Tadatsune followed his father, Shimazu Yoshihiro, known as "Ghost Shimazu", to participate in the Korean Campaign. He made his mark on the battlefield at a young age. It is said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had high expectations for this son.

In the past five months, the Satsuma clan sent more than 200 ninjas to Busan, Korea, Liaodong, Ming Dynasty and other places to gather information. Although only a dozen of them came back in the end, Shimazu had a clear understanding of the strength of the Kaihara army from the mouths of these ninjas.

The Lord of Kokura Domain, Hosokawa Tadaoki, who was standing nearby, also spoke up:

"They recruited over a thousand warships, aided by the red-haired barbarians driven away by the shogunate. Their ships were lower than the Fukusen, with their center of gravity below their broadsides, making them faster."

"So, the only way to win is to fight them on land, preferably in Busan."

The feudal lords looked disdainful.

"What if the army is surrounded by the enemy in North Korea?"

"Just like when we were trapped in Pyongyang, Shimazu, you madman, do you want our army to be surrounded again?"

·····
In the end, everyone agreed that the two's plan was too risky and simply not feasible.

To deal with the invasion of barbarians, we should defend ourselves step by step and not engage in sea battles. As for landing in Korea, that is even more wishful thinking.

As a result, the nine daimyo started to cause chaos before the barbarians came to attack them.

Shimazu and Ogura looked at each other without saying anything.

The two were about to continue persuading when they heard a knock on the door.

A panic-stricken warrior came in.

Shimazu recognized this man as Akutsu, a hatamoto warrior stationed in Ryukyu.

"Akuzu? What are you doing here when you're not guarding Okinawa?!"

Akutsu looked terrified and knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly.

"Lord Shimazu, Lord Ogura, something terrible has happened! Has Ryukyu been attacked by barbarians?"

Shimazu Tadatsune was stunned and shouted:

"Asshole! What nonsense! The barbarians have always been north of Tsushima Island! They are going to attack Tsushima Island! How can they appear in Ryukyu! If Ryukyu is lost, shouldn't you commit seppuku?"

Akutsu didn't have time to care about the issue of seppuku, and quickly replied:
"It was Li Dan's pirates. He brought five Ming Dynasty ships, about three thousand barbarians, and powerful artillery. After landing in Ryukyu, they burned, killed, and looted along the way. They have now captured Amami Island and Tokunoshima Island and are currently attacking Okinawa. We escaped on a Dutch clipper! My Lords, I have returned to report the news!"

The surrounding feudal lords exclaimed:
"The Ryukyu garrison has been mobilized north to participate in the Kyushu War. I never thought the barbarians would land in the south!"

"The southern defenses are empty. We must immediately mobilize samurai to the south and have the shogun reinforce us as soon as possible!"

Shimazu looked coldly at the people in front of him, and suddenly remembered what he had heard the Ming Dynasty merchants say in Nagasaki before.

"Back then, the Grand Master of the Ming Dynasty used this very trick to annihilate the Jurchens!"

The Lord of Kokura Domain also murmured to himself:
"Stay true to your principles and surprise us with a feint to the east and attack in the west. You are truly a master of military tactics! Kyushu is in danger now. We will be attacked from both the north and the south by the enemy."

Everyone was still discussing when they heard a "Puff" sound. Akutsu had already slashed open his abdomen with a short knife. He looked up at Shimazu Tadatsune with a ferocious expression and pleaded:
"Lord Shimazu, please be my kaishakunin!"

Note:
1. Mutsuke: The Japanese so-called sentinel means someone who is entrusted with supervision and surveillance.

2、岛津忠恒（日语：しまづただつね，1576年11月27日—1638年4月7日），是江户时代的第一代萨摩藩藩主。幼时喜好武艺，其武名在14岁时随父亲出战朝鲜时就开始流传。

(End of this chapter)