The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 553: This is How a Real Dog Should Be
This is truly the best of times.

The Central Plains is booming.

The Kinshiroku faction of the Satsuma domain had just gained a foothold, and the finances of the Satsuma domain were about to reach the peak of bankruptcy.

On the shogunate's side, Tanuma Okitsugu's Star Absorbing Technique had been used for fifteen years, but it only brought superficial health, but in reality it was like burying a pile of explosives under the throne of the shogun.

The Shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu, was grief-stricken by the death of his son, Tokugawa Iemoto. He was basically devastated, his mental state fluctuated, and he completely lost hope in life.

As for the so-called Emperor Kōkaku of Yamashiro Province, none of the daimyos and samurai in Japan took him seriously.

Confucianists of the Kingly Way, such as the Jinsi Lu School, did not define him as a king who respected the emperor and expelled the barbarians.

Therefore, in a society like Japan that highly respects the strong, an emperor who lives in a mountain city province and has only 30,000 stones of land, where people may starve to death, is really nothing.

Facing the attack from the Chinese Great Yu, the Japanese people seemed to be prepared, but they were not prepared for the worst. They did not realize that this was a war that could cause Japan to collapse and split apart.

Kagoshima Castle of Satsuma Domain should actually be very safe because it is tightly protected by Kagoshima Bay. If the enemy wants to enter Kagoshima Bay, not only is the waterway narrow, but they are also easily bombarded by shore artillery.

But unfortunately, the Satsuma clan did not have enough money to build enough defensive artillery batteries. They did not even have enough artillery to protect Kagoshima Castle.

Therefore, this natural barrier is almost non-existent.

When the strong southeast wind blew, the warships of Dayu's fleet glided into Kagoshima Bay smoothly like graceful white swans.

An hour and a half later, the fleet appeared more than a mile away from Kagoshima Castle Town.

At this time, the samurai of Satsuma Domain had just gathered in the castle town.

At the same time, a volunteer force formed by many servants in the castle town who had combat experience but could not be considered samurai also began to assemble.

Thanks to its geographical advantages, the Satsuma clan had quite a few muskets. After all, the Tanegashima gun manufactured on Tanegashima Island in the Satsuma clan is basically the ancestor of Japanese muskets.

It’s a pity that the glorious era of the Tanegashima gun has passed. Now we have entered the era of flintlock guns, and even lead bullets have evolved into Minié bullets.

As for the Satsuma navy, they didn't dare to show up at all, because the Satsuma navy was still very weak at that time.

More than a hundred years ago, when the Satsuma Domain launched the conquest of Ryukyu, more than 3,000 people were transported using more than 200 ships, with an average of more than a dozen people on each ship, which shows their scale.

At this time, it seemed that almost two hundred years had passed since then, but the Satsuma navy had not changed much at all. They were still a bunch of small boats, equipped with muskets, samurai swords and spears, and almost engaged in boarding battles.

So when Dayu's third-level battleships came in, they wisely chose to retreat and did not go forward to die.

On the Chinese side, Ye Mingyue and his men certainly cannot be the main force in attacking a relatively large country like Satsuma.

Mo Zibu specially recalled the heroic team of Gan Hui that performed outstandingly in the Battle of Trincomalee with the British.

It turned out that after the Battle of Trincomalee, the Gan Hui was severely damaged and had to be abandoned. The officers and soldiers on the ship were specially allowed to return to the mainland, and they went to various naval schools and the Imperial College to tell their heroic deeds while recuperating.

Afterwards, they were assigned to the newly built third-class battleship Wen'anzhi at the Ningbo Shipyard, which was a complete upgrade.

Li Changgeng, who was promoted to captain and fleet commander, was in high spirits. When he saw that Kagoshima Castle Town was within the range, he immediately ordered to open fire.

On the sea, more than a dozen warships were lined up in a horizontal row, bombarding the castle town of Kagoshima from their sides.

In an instant, Kichibei Saigo, who was giving a speech to the volunteer corps, felt as if the end of the world had come.

The specially heated hot shells slammed into the castle town like meteors, immediately collapsing a large number of houses and quickly starting a fire.

At that time in Japan, castle towns were mostly built with low-quality wood. Not to mention being bombarded by heated incendiary bombs, even if you weren't careful on a daily basis, a large area would be burned.

In just three minutes, the fleet fired nearly a thousand artillery shells at the castle town of Kagoshima, and the assembly point of the volunteer team to which Yoshibei Saigo belonged was hit by a shell.

Fortunately, he was very lucky not to be hit, but the dozen or so volunteer soldiers who had just been called up with confidence and enthusiasm suffered. It is not known whether three or four were hit directly.

The reason why Saigo Yoshibei was not sure was that these three or four people were directly smashed into pieces of limbs and arms, and he could not distinguish them clearly.

The other members of the volunteer team were frightened and fled in all directions under the fierce artillery bombardment, so it was impossible to determine their number.

Saigo Yoshibei looked up and saw people fleeing in panic everywhere. The sound of houses collapsing had long been drowned out by the sound of cannons. Only the flames and thick smoke rising from the castle town drowned out the cannon fire from the warships on the sea and the thick smoke emitted by black powder.

"Father, let's get out of here quickly. Once the fire in the castle town starts, it will be difficult to put out."

Just as Saigo Kichibei was about to leave, his son Saigo Takamitsu ran over, covered in blood.

Saigo Yoshibei's heart was in his throat. He rushed over in two steps, grabbed his son's hand, and his voice trembled.

"Jiro, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but Lord Wutou Dashan was hit by artillery fire, and both legs were broken. I was sprayed in the face while trying to stop the bleeding."

Saigo Takamitsu quickly explained that the so-called Monoto was a senior military officer in the domain who was in charge of the foot soldiers, and Oyama was his surname.

Saigo Kichibei sighed upon hearing this, "Monoto's swordsmanship was superb, but I never expected him to die in battle without even seeing the enemy. How sad."

At this time, both of his legs were broken and he was bleeding profusely. Looking at his son Saigo Takamitsu's face covered in blood, it was obvious that the bleeding had not stopped at all, so Saigo Kichibei quickly sentenced Oyama Monoto to death.

"Then what should we do?" Saigo Takamitsu looked at his father and muttered anxiously with some fear of the Tang people.

"The Tang invaders' ships are truly terrifying. They have so many national collapses, as if gunpowder and cannonballs are free." "The castle town can no longer be defended. Wait for orders. I guess they will soon ask us to retreat to the mountain city and wait for the Tang invaders to land before we fight them."

Saigo Yoshibei's guess was correct, and the order to retreat came down very quickly.

Shimazu Shigehiro on the mountain castle of Kagoshima was running around in a panic. He had never expected that the Dayu Navy was so powerful and that the more than 200 cannons were so powerful.

Looking at the castle town engulfed in flames, he was filled with anguish. "Retreat, concentrate on defending the mountain city, and mobilize all the rural warriors in the countryside to prevent the Tang people from easily obtaining supplies."

Although they had decided that the army of Middle-earth was powerful and coming quickly, and if the shogunate did not take any action, the Shimazu clan would immediately act as the guide.

But Shimazu Shigehiro was very clear that even if he wanted to surrender, he could not kneel down as soon as the enemy came, because such surrender would be worthless.

The important reason is that this will cause the feudal lord to lose the support of the people below. After all, as long as they still have some blood in their veins, no one would want to regard a wimp as their leader.

If one cannot control his subordinates and loses the support of the warriors below, there is probably not much value in his existence.

If you can't even stabilize the local area, what use is there to the Emperor of Middle-earth to you?

Therefore, if they want to surrender, they have to fight first, and fight until everyone can see that the Dayu heavenly soldiers are indeed unable to resist.

Then Shimazu Shigehiro made a statement that for the sake of the overall situation and the lives of the samurai, he was willing to endure humiliation and kneel down. In this way, he could retain some of his appeal and become a useful guide.

"Major General, the Matsunohama Beach ahead is a good place for the army to land, and it's also close to Kagoshima Castle.

As for Kagoshima Castle Town, it's best not to let the military get close. I estimate this fire will continue to burn intermittently for several days, so it's not safe."

The one who is desperately trying to show his worth to Fleet Commander Lee Jang-geung is Shimazu Tadamichi, the son of Shimazu Hisahara, the lord of Sadowara Domain, a branch of Satsuma Domain.

As expected, he acted as a guide in advance because he didn't want to be a poor man who was a feudal lord but could only rely on pickled green plums to eat with his meals.

Li Changgeng nodded and immediately commanded the other warships to come and join them and land at Matsunohama not far away.

Ye Mingyue walked over and looked at Shimazu Tadamichi. He asked seriously, "When do you think Shimazu Shigehiro will surrender?"

Shimazu Tadamichi put on an expression that said, "I really want to improve myself." "The Satsuma Domain still has an elite force known as the Crane Special Forces. If we defeat them, Shimazu Shigehiro will surrender."

"Then how can we lure out the Crane Special Forces?" Ye Mingyue continued to ask.

Shimazu Tadamichi gritted his teeth and said, "I will go to Kagoshima Castle right now to persuade Shimazu Shigehiro to come and see the power of the heavenly soldiers."

As expected, as a feudal lord, he seemed to understand this theory very well, so with Ye Mingyue's approval, Shimazu Tadamichi was the first to go ashore.

. . . .

Kagoshima Castle, the inner castle Tsurumaru Castle, and Senganji Temple.

Shimazu Shigehiro looked at Shimazu Tadamichi with uncontrollable anger, and there was even a hint of...

"Shimazu Tadamichi, you are just a bastard from a remote feudal vassal state, a little kid who hasn't even succeeded to the throne yet. How dare you take all the benefits of joining the great emperor for yourself?"

"The Middle-earth fleet was able to rush into the bay so quickly, was so familiar with the hydrology, and knew to land at Matsunohama. It was you who leaked it, right?" Shimazu Shigehide asked angrily.

"That's right, Major General Yang. The future of Satsuma Domain does not lie in the shogunate in Edo, nor in the imperial court in Kyoto, but in the great emperor!" Shimazu Tadamichi was not at all shy about it.

"Keep your voice down. If outsiders knew that the Shimazu family was seeking refuge, it would be troublesome."

Shimazu Shigehiro still couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart. He said nice things, but was afraid that others would say he was a thief who had bowed his head.

"Let the Crane Raid Team go into battle as soon as possible. After they demonstrate their strength, we can proceed to the next step!" Shimazu Tadamichi curled his lips in disdain. After all, they were surrendering, so was there any difference in rank?
Baka! Shimazu Shigehiro cursed in his heart. The fact that he could say this proved that Shimazu Tadamichi was quite knowledgeable.

Such people are much more destructive as guides than those who are frightened and serve as guides.

However, Shimazu Shigehiro suddenly widened his eyes and asked, "Next, what next step are you going to take?"

Shimazu Tadamichi smiled nervously and said in a low, cold voice: "Master, you underestimate the appetite of the Middle-earth Kingdom. How can they be satisfied with just the Satsuma Domain?
How can we even begin to conquer Japan without entering the Seto Inland Sea?"

"You want to take the Tang people to the Seto Inland Sea? Who are you going to fight, the Choshu clan or the Hiroshima clan?" Shimazu Shigehiro asked in shock.

"Of course it's the Choshu domain. The Mori clan is full of martial virtue and is not favored by the shogunate. Taking them down would be perfect as a base for advancement. The Asano clan of the Hiroshima domain would naturally be kept as bait to siege and attack reinforcements."

Shimazu Shigehiro shook his head. "There's no reason for the Tang people to attack the Mori clan. This would only provoke resistance from the entire world, and the consequences would be more than worth it."

Well, what Shimazu Shigetaka said actually meant that the Satsuma clan deserved to be beaten.

"How can there be no reason?" Shimazu Tadamichi glanced at Shimazu Shigehiro.

"The Great Emperor's fleet just discovered that the Mori family's gunboats were coming to attack rudely. They immediately gave chase, captured the culprit, and went to Hagi Castle to punish him."

After hearing this, Shimazu Shigehiro opened his mouth wide. He was about to say that it was impossible for the gunboats of the Mori family's Nagashū clan to arrive so quickly, and even if they came, they would not have the courage to join the battle immediately.

But when he saw Shimazu Tadamichi's sinister face, he suddenly realized, "I think that the rude and bold thief who is wearing the three-star crest of the Choshu clan's Mori family must be you!"

"Hahahaha!" Shimazu Tadamichi laughed. "Master, I have decided to serve the Emperor. You must make a decision quickly, or the Satsuma clan will suffer the same fate as the Choshu clan."

(End of this chapter)