The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 441: Ming Dynasty's Lightning Speed

The Japanese envoy Xiao Xifei still thought that the Ming Emperor's so-called impoliteness was just verbal.

After all, even if the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really wanted to be rude to Japan, he would need to mobilize a large number of troops and ships.

This national war is no joke. If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really wants to fight against Japan, it will require at least hundreds of thousands of troops and thousands of warships, which will cost an enormous amount of money.

Will the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really take action?
Can such a big thing be dealt with just by doing something?
He thought there was still room for negotiation on this matter, so he hurriedly boarded the Ming Navy's speedboat and headed back.

Little did they know that the Ming army soldiers and the Ming navy ships had already made preparations quietly, and Wanli had already issued a secret order.

He had just boarded the navy's express ship and left the capital alone, while tens of thousands of ships of the Ming navy had already set off in Liaodong.

At this time, in the sea area southeast of Liaodong, the navy ships covered the sky and the sun. Thousands of Fuchuan warships and tens of thousands of centipede ships were densely packed in an area of ​​hundreds of miles.

On the navy's flagship, Generalissimo Qi Jiguang looked at this huge lineup and couldn't help but feel proud and heroic.

He was a famous general who fought against the Japanese pirates. He had been fighting against the Japanese pirates for decades. When the Qi family army had only a few thousand people, he dreamed of destroying the Japanese pirates.

However, the Ming Dynasty at that time was plagued by internal and external troubles, and it was very difficult to wipe out the Japanese pirates on the southeast coast. It was just a dream to destroy the Japanese pirates in Japan.

It’s different now. The Ming Dynasty is so powerful now that it is unprecedented in history. He has never heard of any dynasty that can gather more than three million troops.

During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, when it was at its most powerful, there were only about 2.75 million registered troops.

There is also the navy ships, not to mention tens of thousands of navy ships. Not only had he never heard of them before, he couldn't even imagine them.

How can the Japanese pirates resist such a powerful lineup?

This time I will not return until Japan is destroyed!

He looked up at the cloudless sky and said with great pride, "May the heavens help our Ming Dynasty. With a million strong troops, we will annihilate Japan!"

The weather is really nice.

However, you only talked about the arrangements for taking Kyushu Island, but did not say how to fight afterwards.

Also, where did the million-strong army come from?

Qin Liangyu couldn't help but ask, "General Qi, I'm so bold as to ask you, but you haven't told me how we're going to fight next. After we take Kyushu Island, will we march into Honshu and Shikoku?"

It’s not that I don’t say this.

Qi Jiguang explained in detail: "Since we have started this battle, we naturally want to end it as soon as possible. This cross-sea expedition is really too expensive.

However, His Majesty has instructed us to try our best to avoid heavy casualties among our soldiers, so we cannot just charge in recklessly.

How we fight next depends on the situation. If Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu do not cease hostilities after we take Kyushu Island, or even gather troops to defend it to the death, then we will put on the Mori clan's uniforms and flags and kill our way through.

If Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu reach a truce and frantically conscript men to defend the island, then we'll have to resort to other tactics. For example, we could negotiate with Toyotomi Hideyoshi again and offer to take Kyushu Island as compensation, just to paralyze this guy first."

This tactic can be played like this!

Qin Liangyu was stunned when she heard this and said, "I am not good at this paralysis tactic. I am better at fierce attacks and charges."

You are a little girl. You look like a fairy, but you are extremely brave in fighting.

Your Majesty's perspective on people is truly unique. If I had met you at the beginning, I would never have thought of letting you become a general. Fortunately, Your Majesty met you first.

Qi Jiguang thought about it, then nodded slightly and said: "Well, I hope Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu will not stop fighting, then we can fight fiercely."

Since the Ming Dynasty was so clear about attacking the Japanese mainland, wouldn't Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu stop fighting?

This is not necessarily true.

Because Wanli had already secretly ordered Luo Sigong to distribute the new issue of the Japanese tabloid everywhere.

This issue of the Japanese tabloid was intended to make the Japanese princes believe that the Ming Dynasty wanted to take Kyushu Island as compensation, rather than attack the Japanese mainland and launch a war of annihilation.

The articles in the tabloids are quite misleading.

For example, they accused Toyotomi Hideyoshi of being treacherous, disregarding the lives of prisoners, and saying that the peace talks had no sincerity and were full of conspiracy and calculation.

For example, if we carefully calculate the money and food consumed by the prisoners, if the Ming Dynasty had to feed 200,000 or 300,000 prisoners, it would suffer huge losses.

In short, the tabloid meant that the Ming Dynasty, as the victor, not only did not gain any benefits, but also lost a lot of money and food because of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conspiracy.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was very angry and wanted to take Kyushu Island as compensation. Other daimyos in Japan should not misunderstand that the Ming Dynasty did not want to attack the Japanese mainland, but wanted to take Kyushu Island as compensation.

Also, there is a subtle threat in the tabloids;
The Ming Dynasty really does not want to go to war with Japan, but if any Japanese prince misunderstands the Ming Dynasty's intentions, the Ming Dynasty will be forced to fight you!

This is a warning to all the princes in Japan: after the Ming Dynasty takes over Kyushu Island, don't even think about launching a crazy counterattack. Whoever tries to launch a crazy counterattack will be dealt with.

When the various Japanese princes saw the new issue of the tabloid, they were all shocked and felt extremely complicated.

The Ming Dynasty is clearly planning to send troops to seize Kyushu Island! Will they unite and fight to the death?

If the Ming Dynasty invaded Japan for no apparent reason or excuse, they would definitely unite and fight to the death.

The problem is that the Ming Dynasty did not want to take over Kyushu Island for no apparent reason. The peace talks between Japan and the Ming Dynasty had been about Kyushu Island for a long time, and it had been mentioned many times in Japanese tabloids.

All the princes in Japan knew very well that the Ming Dynasty, as the victorious party, wanted Kyushu Island as compensation.

Although this request is excessive, it is not inexplicable or unreasonable.

It can be said that all this was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's fault. If Toyotomi Hideyoshi had not used his vassal state of Korea to attack the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would not have fought back, let alone come to ask for compensation.

In this situation, would they still unite and fight to the death to defend Kyushu Island for Toyotomi Hideyoshi?

If the melee hadn't already started, they might still go.

The problem is, they are all fighting each other now, how can we go?
Who is willing to go?
While the various Japanese princes were hesitating, the Ming Dynasty navy fleet had already set off.

The wind is blowing from the north now. The speed of the Fuchuan warship is extremely fast. It can travel more than a hundred miles in an hour.

The soldiers on the centipede boat had been well-rested and trained for a long time. The Sichuan soldiers even knew how to row. With everyone taking turns rowing, it was not a problem for them to barely catch up with the Fujian warship.

The speed of the Ming Dynasty navy fleet is extremely fast. It can travel more than a thousand miles in a day.

The vassal state of Korea is less than two thousand miles long from north to south. Add the strait in the middle and the distance to the Karatsu Domain, and the total length is less than three thousand miles.

In other words, it only took the Ming Navy fleet more than two days to reach Japan from the southern waters of Liaodong.

At around noon on the third day, the sun was at its highest point.

Japan, Nagoya Castle.

The Mori clan's general, Shishido Mototsugu, stood on the south city wall with more than a thousand soldiers, and there seemed to be a hint of anxiety on his face.

He was not afraid of the Ming army attacking. The reason he was anxious was that the Ming army had not attacked yet.

The secret decree from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had arrived long ago. The day when the new issue of the Japanese tabloid was distributed was the day when the Ming Dynasty would send troops.

Within three days, the Ming navy ships will surely arrive at the harbor of Karatsu Domain with the Ming army soldiers. When the Mori army sees the navy ships, they will immediately retreat and avoid any misunderstandings.

The reason why Mori Terumoto sent him to guard Nagoya Castle was because he was afraid of misunderstandings.

He is an expert at running away, and the one thousand men he brought this time were carefully selected and are particularly good at running.

The problem is that he can't run away unless the Ming Navy fleet comes, otherwise it would be too fake.

Why hasn’t the Ming Dynasty navy fleet arrived yet?
Time is the most unbearable when waiting for someone. Every moment seems particularly long. He has been waiting for nearly half a day, so he is naturally very anxious.

He was looking at the sea with an anxious look on his face when suddenly a dense mass of black spots appeared to the north of the harbor where the Karatsu clan was located.

The black spots are so dense that they almost form black lines!
This is at least thousands of ships.

Upon seeing this, Shishido Mototsugu immediately shouted, "The Ming army is coming, everyone get ready."

This preparation does not mean preparing to defend the city, but preparing to escape.

The people under his command are used to running. If they can't win, they run away. This is their principle.

At this moment they only have a thousand men and horses, while the Ming army has more than a thousand warships. What a point!

Everyone quickly tightened their gear and prepared to run away.

The Ming Navy warships were still one or two miles away from the port dock, but they rushed down the city wall as if their butts were on fire and ran south.

These guys run really fast!

On the navy flagship, Qi Jiguang held up a telescope and watched the backs of these guys as they went away. He was a little speechless.

Shishido Mototsugu came to convey Mori Terumoto's orders. Wherever he went, the Mori clan defenders immediately packed their bags and prepared to retreat.

When the Ming army rushed over, they would turn around and run away without any hesitation when they were at least one mile away from the city wall.

There is no way, the Ming army is too large.

They have forty to fifty thousand troops to defend the land of nine countries, and each city has only a thousand people at most. The Ming army will come with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops. How can they resist?

The troops of the Mori clan ran so fast. Kyushu Island is nearly 400 miles long, but these guys ran away in less than ten days!

At this time, Mori Terumoto sent a letter to all the daimyos in Japan, announcing that the Ming army was really coming.

More than 200,000 Ming troops and more than 100,000 troops from the vassal state of Korea suddenly landed from the Karatsu domain. My Mori clan's 40,000 to 50,000 troops were simply unable to resist!

(End of this chapter)