The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 673 Tsushima Island

On September 18, the fourth year of Guangde, at Entsuji Temple in Saga County, Tsushima Island.

The mountain peaks covered with layers of snow were dyed the dark red of human blood by the thin afterglow.

The evening stars rise, and the coast is as steep and rugged as a broken arrow.

Under the thousand-foot cliff, the surging waves hit the huge rocks, splashing a sea of white.

The sea breeze howled.

It was as if the evil god from billions of years ago was lurking at the bottom of the strait, turning the rivers and seas upside down and causing huge waves.

Yuantong Temple, built in Shanyin, was on the edge of the storm. Perhaps it was because of the blessing of the Great Emperor Zhenwu or the divine power of the retired emperor, but it was surprisingly calm.

Only the densely packed black dragon flags in front of the mountain gate fluttered in the wind.

Soldiers in black armor patrolled around the temple, and engineers were busy setting up tents in the sheltered valley.

The empire's three elite corps gathered on Tsushima Island, and the vanguard Eighth Corps had already crossed the sea and headed south. According to the battle plan, Zhao Lujiao was now leading his troops to sweep across Iki Island.

Night falls.

Qi Jin, commander of the Third Corps, walked into the gate of the ancient temple under the escort of two guards.

In the front yard stands the Fox Inari Shrine (Note 1). The head of the statue of an old man with a long beard riding a fox is twisted into a strange shape and is covered with blood.

It is estimated that the Eighth Corps killed a lot of people when passing through here.

More than fifty Japanese monks in Yuantong Temple were killed by Zhao Lujiao the day before yesterday.

The Eighth Corps went on a killing spree on Tsushima Island, fighting from north to south. The number of Japanese pirates killed by their swords was at least 10,000, if not 8,000.

"No one will be left alive."

The retired emperor and the high priest said that Japan is one of the most difficult places in the world to land and conquer.

In the 17th century when steam power was not yet popular, the right time and place were undoubtedly more important on the battlefield than "harmony among people".

In the first Eastern Expedition, the Ming army only made a brief attempt, but this time, the goal of the retired emperor was to immediately conquer Fuso and burn down Edo, so the difficulties and pressures encountered by the Qi army were far greater than those fifteen years ago.

Japan is mountainous and has a fragmented terrain. The broken terrain caused by earthquakes and volcanoes is not conducive to the deployment of large troops.

In addition, the climate in the Sea of Japan is difficult to describe.

According to North Korean businessmen traveling between Tsushima Island and Busan, the surrounding waters experience two extremely unstable periods every year.

Typhoon season (summer and its surroundings), winter storms (winter storms)

Every time this time comes, the endless typhoons make it difficult for people to move.

According to Japanese legend, an ancient giant beast lurks at the bottom of the Tsushima Strait, an indescribable ghost of the deep sea.

On full-moon nights, when the tide rises, it is summoned by the monks to devour fifty-seven human hearts.

The emperor is not afraid of ghosts and gods because he is a god himself.

The Central Army, with the Eighth Corps as the vanguard, first attacked Tsushima Island, then conquered Iki Island, and finally chose to land in the Hakata area of Kyushu.

As for why they did not continue to occupy or open up other landing sites along the Kyushu coastline, this was because of the Kuroshio Current, which is unique to the Sea of Japan.

The Kuroshio Current, also known as the Tsushima Current and the Japan Current, is said to be the strongest warm current in the western Pacific.

The Kuroshio Current is about 400 miles wide, moves at an extremely high speed, and is often accompanied by typhoons.

During the first Mongol invasion of Japan, the poorly made Goryeo ships had almost no resistance when they encountered such large-scale ocean currents.

Today, the Da Qi fleet is facing the same dilemma. Although the empire's shipbuilding technology is far superior to that of Kublai Khan's era, the fleet cannot escape if it really encounters a typhoon.

The retired emperor knew very well that he could not stay in waters with strong ocean currents such as Tsushima Island for long, so after conquering Tsushima Island, he had to quickly capture Hakata.

After repeated screening, the Southern Route Army determined that there were three suitable landing sites in the southern part of Kyushu Island:

Kushikino on the west side of the Satsuma Peninsula;

Shibushi Bay on the east side of Osumi Peninsula;
Miyazaki, located in southeastern Kyushu;
I don’t know what the current situation of the Southern Army is.

Qi Jin thought about it and walked into the inner courtyard of the temple. The howling sound of the wind turned into the ethereal sound of bells, as if he had stepped from the Asura Hell into the Buddhist temple.

Waves of strange fragrance wafted over.

Pushing open the door of the Zen room, Deng Changxiong and the instructor Guan Shiming gathered in front of the map and gestured.

Fang Shiming said loudly:

"What brings Marshal Qi here? Please take a seat."

Deng Changxiong took his eyes off the map, personally moved a chair for Qi Jin, and asked the old general to sit down.

Looking around, there were still traces of blood in the Zen room.

Qi Jin was used to seeing life and death, and didn't care about the life and death of dozens of Japanese monks.

"Old Deng, when do we start the battle? We've been staying on this island for several days. The Eighth Corps eats meat, so at least they should leave us some soup."

Deng Changxiong hesitated to speak, and the Second Corps Instructor said helplessly:
"Marshal Qi, this typhoon keeps coming, and the ships dare not sail out. If we're not careful, we'll end up like the Mongols did when they attacked Japan, and end up buried in the sea..."

Fang Shiming patted Qi Jin's shoulder as he spoke, his eyes inadvertently glancing at Qi Jin's gray hair, and he estimated in his heart that the old general was 52 years old this year.

Without waiting for Qi Jin to reply, Kong Chi, the training officer of the Third Corps, stood up from beside him, pointed at Fang Shiming and said angrily:

"As for the Mongols, they're too far away to reach. I just want to ask, if Zhao Rujiao can lead them, why can't I? The Third Corps is at least the main force. Except for the First Corps of the Emperor, among the other thirteen corps, if our Third Corps says it's second, no one dares to say it's first. Think about when our Third Corps fought from Liaodong to Jiangnan..."

Fang Shiming had heard that Kong Chi, the instructor of the Third Corps, was a tough guy who talked incessantly and never gave the other party any room to talk. When he saw him today, he found that his reputation was well-deserved.

He listened patiently to Kong Chi's words before saying:

"Commander Kong, don't talk nonsense. The Eighth Corps is the vanguard of the Central Army. When they landed in Kyushu, they must be the first to attack. Besides, Commander Zhao has always had an irreconcilable feud with the Japanese pirates. Everyone knows what happened fifteen years ago. When we set out from the interior, the Emperor nominated the Eighth Corps to take the lead to avenge the arrow shot at us. Are you deaf or have you been fooled by someone? Now you want to take the first credit." Kong Chi saw that the other party's words were reasonable and well-founded. He was stunned for a moment before muttering:

"Of course I know the Eighth Corps will be leading the charge this time, so I'm worried about them. The Eighth Corps has captured Iki Island, and now a typhoon has hit, and they can't advance or retreat. What should we do if they're running out of food and supplies? We have to find a way to help them."

"You don't have to worry about that. The Emperor has already performed a ritual in Ebipuura, and the storm will soon subside. Besides, there's plenty of food and fodder on Iki Island, enough to feed the Eighth Corps for a year or so."

"A year and a half?"

The chief instructor of the Third Corps was surprised at the same time.

Thanks to Tokugawa Iemitsu's plan to launch a large-scale westward expedition to Qi State - although it has not yet been actually carried out - the various feudal domains had already stored the food, gunpowder, ships, etc. needed for the westward expedition on Iki Island.

There was no way around it, since the Shogun had ordered each domain to provide half of its own food and supplies.

In order to prevent unscrupulous merchants in Osaka from raising prices after the Western Expedition began and taking the opportunity to exploit the daimyo of various domains, the island warriors, who had a strong sense of crisis and were good at preparing for a rainy day, were more cautious than hamsters this time and stored food and fodder on Iki Island early.

"The Japanese pirates piled up a lot of food on Iki Island. How much food was there?"

Qi Jinkongchi asked in unison.

Fang Shiming didn't look at Kong Chi, and said to Qi Jin:
"Judging from the tone of Tokugawa Iemitsu when he captured Nanjing in three months, at least one million grains and fodders are enough for the Eighth Corps to use for a month."

Although the Japanese are good at taking food from the enemy, the supply consumption must be solved when traveling from Iki Island to Tsushima Island and then landing in Busan.

After all, the island warriors are not green plants that can survive and fight solely by relying on photosynthesis.

"That's good, that's good."

Kong Chi clapped his hands and laughed.

"It was always the Japanese pirates who came to our coast, burning, killing, and looting. Now it's our turn."

Qi Jin looked at the map of Tsushima Island spread out on the desk and frowned.

"Old Deng, how long will it take for the Emperor to stop the typhoon?"

Deng Changxiong shook his head. He didn't know the exact date either.

Deng Changxiong was an expert in marching and fighting, but he knew nothing about ghosts and gods.

"The other two armies have begun to attack."

Deng Changxiong nodded without comment and sighed:

"Japan is difficult to defeat."

There were dense footsteps outside the door, and someone was walking quickly towards the meditation room.

Two guards appeared at the door, escorting a Japanese monk.

The messenger reported: "This evil monk hid in a secret passage and was discovered by the soldiers. There were also more than a dozen Daqi women in the secret passage. Their hearts and livers were gouged out..."

Everyone was horrified.

Deng Changxiong drew his sword and pressed it against the monk's chin.

"Keep your head up!"

The old monk slowly raised his head, and a pair of empty eyes appeared in front of everyone. His eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his eyeballs seemed to have been sucked into the stomach of some monster.

"What kind of monster are you?"

There was deathly silence all around.

The blind monk's throat moved, as if he wanted to say something.

Deng Changxiong nodded, and the guard let go of his hand.

"To dedicate oneself to our God is an honor."

After saying this, he sat on the ground like a puddle of mud, his face pale.

"Take him away and torture him severely!"

Fang Shiming whispered:

"When I was in Zhejiang, I heard someone say that a Japanese monk possessed the art of immortality. This man was able to survive amidst a massive army, so he's definitely not an ordinary person... To avoid any further complications, I killed him directly."

Kong Chi sneered:

"What kind of demonic monk? A blind man scared you so much! Now that the armies are expanding and preparing for war, there's a mix of good and bad people. Any random person can become a disciplinary officer? No wonder the emperor is launching a purge."

Fang Shiming was about to curse back, but Deng Changxiong turned around and waved at the guards.

Two guards pulled the blind monk towards the door.

The blind monk suddenly spoke, twisting his hands into incredible shapes, posing like the rice god statue at the door.

He faced the Tsushima Strait and muttered to himself:

"You Tartars, die!"

“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!

In the deep sea of eternity - my God is waiting for you to fall asleep.

Though gone, I am not forgotten. I await you at Cthugha, the bottom of the sea beneath Tsushima, and I pledge my death to you!

"Come down, your servant is calling you!"

Note:
1. The god of rice and wealth in Japanese mythology. He is particularly worshipped by merchants and artisans, and is also the patron saint of swordsmiths, brothels, and entertainers. He is sometimes depicted as a bearded old man riding a fox, and sometimes as a woman with long hair holding a sheaf of rice.

(End of this chapter)