Yamauchi Tadayoshi is about fifty years old, short, stocky, and powerful. He is the second generation lord of Tosa Domain.

Because his first wife was the adopted daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, she had a close relationship with the Tokugawa family and was a die-hard loyalist of the Tokugawa shogunate.

After receiving the order from the shogunate this time, they immediately collected the ships of their own domain and those of other domains in Shikoku Island. They shut down all the ships, including more than 400 small boats, to guard the Uraga Waterway.

Previously, because the Izu Islands were the territory of Izu Mori Matsudaira Nobutsuna, the ships that went to patrol near the Izu Islands were all under Matsudaira Nobutsuna.

The Izu Hatamoto samurai who escaped from the Sekifune and Yukohayabune and the several ashigaru leaders they led reported the enemy's situation in a vague manner.

It is unclear how many large and small ships the Dutch fleet had, and it is also unclear whether the Ming fleet followed.

Those Hatamoto samurai who escaped back only said that the Dutch warships were as tall as mountains, the sound of cannons was like thunder, and the projectiles were huge. Those who escaped from the ships, large and small, were reduced to pieces.

This kind of report, which greatly increased the enemy's prestige and destroyed the morale of our own army, made Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Yamauchi Tadayoshi and others extremely angry, and Matsudaira Nobutsuna was even more furious.

So that night, several samurai warriors in the domain who were severely reprimanded by Matsudaira Nobutsuna committed seppuku and committed suicide one after another.

And the task of going to sea again to investigate the enemy's situation fell on Yamauchi Tadayoshi's head without hesitation.

Although among the several feudal lords in Uraga, headed by Matsudaira Nobutsuna, only Yamauchi Tadayoshi, who was familiar with navy warfare, had seen the Japanese giant warships with his own eyes.

In this way, in order to thoroughly understand the location of the Dutch fleet and the detailed enemy situation, Yamauchi Tadayoshi decided to take action personally.

He thought that the Dutch had just arrived near Izu Island outside Sagami Bay. Even if the Dutch's leading warship captured Izu Island yesterday, they would still have to take a rest after the Dutch fleet arrived.

After all, the Izu patrol ship that escaped from the vicinity of Izu Island reported that they only saw a huge ship as high as a mountain.

Do the Dutch dare to be so confident that they dare to attack Edo Bay or Uraga Port with just one warship?

Therefore, Yamauchi Tadayoshi believed quite confidently that even if all the giant ships of the Dutch fleet arrived, they would not be able to launch an attack on Edo Bay or Uraga Port early this morning.

However, his judgment was wrong.

The cost of misjudgment on the battlefield is huge.

Yamauchi Tadayoshi took a few carefully selected Kansai ships and a dozen smaller morning boats, and just a few miles away from the Uraga Port where he was stationed, he encountered the Yuga people head-on near the entrance of the Uraga Waterway.

A combined fleet composed of warships and Yang Zhen’s warships.

At this time, all the warships of the combined fleet, headed by five giant plywood ships, were lined up in a wild goose formation, preparing to ride the early morning mist directly into Edo Bay.

The warship sailing at the front of the entire combined fleet, that is, at the head of the formation, is still the giant plywood ship Provencha of the Dutch fleet.

The Provencha was huge, and although its speed at sea was not as good as the Japanese Kanship, which was relatively light, its hull was so powerful that it sank. Just by impact and crushing, it could break the Japanese Kanship, or directly roll it to the surface of the sea.

Down.

In the early morning of September 12th, outside Edo Bay, near the entrance to the Uraga Channel, the Kanbune ship aboard Tadayoshi Yamauchi himself encountered the Provencha commanded by Thomas Pedel.

Amidst the shouting, he bumped into Provincial Number Checker.

The left front hull of the Provencha was only damaged, but the Kanbune boat on which Tadayoshi Yamauchi was riding rolled over directly, and was then crushed into the sea by the huge hull of the Provencha.

Yamauchi Tadayoshi, who was loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, as well as his trusted retainers and the iron artillery ashigaru and Ōtsutsuki teams who were on the ship with him, capsized and were buried at the bottom of the sea before they could fire a single shot.

As for the other dozens of customs ships and small morning ships, several of them collided with the joint fleet led by Lemaia and Yang Zhen almost at the same time.

And the result of them ramming the Combined Fleet warship was no different from the result of Yamauchi Tadayoshi's ship ramming the Provencha.

Because the Japanese warships brought by Yamauchi Tadayoshi were mainly composed of two types of ships: Kanshun and Kobayone.

As for the so-called guan boats of the Japanese, they were not only small in size, but also mostly made of balsa wood, and the hulls were quite fragile.

In particular, the general Guan Ship is almost equivalent to using shields to re-join a closed wooden house on the deck of the flat-bottomed sand ship common in the Ming Dynasty.

Because it is a flat-bottomed boat, its draft is very shallow and its load capacity is not large. Therefore, the plank houses called "general cabins" spliced ​​on the bilge are mostly made of balsa wood or even lighter bamboo pieces.

The so-called main bay on the Seki ship is actually a wooden house built deliberately to protect the iron cannon ashigaru, large tube ashigaru and bow ashigaru carried on the ship.

Judging from this characteristic, the origin of the so-called "gwan ship" of the Japanese is probably that it was imitated from the wooden house ship of the Korean navy on the Korean Peninsula.

As for the smaller so-called morning boat used by the Japanese, or the so-called Gong Xiaozao, it is a small morning boat mainly used to ride on the bow and ashigaru. From its shape, it is just a Kanbune with the wooden house removed.

Because there is not much difference between the small morning boat and the small morning boat. Apart from being smaller in size, the biggest remaining difference is that the small morning boat has a main cabin, while the small morning boat does not.

The reason why the small morning boat did not have a main bay was mainly to allow the archers to draw their bows and shoot arrows, making it easier for them to jump into gangs and seize the boat.

Yes, the naval warfare method of the Japanese navy is still based on close combat. Although it is equipped with iron cannons and even large cannon teams, in the end it still has to rely on grappling hooks to board the ship, engage with the enemy, and board the enemy ship.

To occupy it for the purpose.

Of course, the Japanese navy often had fire arrows, and they could also burn enemy ships by throwing them at close range, thus winning victory.

But generally speaking, from the strategic and tactical point of view, the various naval battles of the Japanese so-called Warring States Period were already far behind the Daming Navy of the same era, and even the Korean Navy of the Korean Peninsula.

To say that they are noobs pecking each other is by no means a deliberate derogation.

Because they are at that level.

Therefore, in this sudden and unexpected encounter, when the Japanese Kanchuan and Kozawanan collided with the United Fleet warships, they were mainly injured.

Apart from causing some vibrations and minor damage to the warships of the combined fleet, including the Yingzhou on which Yang Zhen was riding, there were no fatal injuries.

However, almost all of the Tosa Domain led by Yamauchi Tadayoshi and the dozens of Kanbune and small morning boats recruited along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea were seriously damaged after the collision.

Some Japanese ships turned over directly, locking the entire ship's iron cannon ashigaru or bow ashigaru into the sea.

Some Japanese ships directly crashed into the bow and hull, and cold water poured in. The Japanese on board screamed and jumped off the ship to escape.

But the result of jumping into the sea is not much different from the result of sinking into the sea with the ship.

Because there are a large number of musketeers on standby on every ship of the joint fleet of Lemaia and Yang Zhen.

Facing the Japanese who have fallen into the sea and have no ability to resist, the musketeers standing on the deck of the big ship can kill them one by one leisurely and leisurely.

Of course, the small water sentry horse fleet led by Yamauchi Tadayoshi was not completely wiped out in this unexpected encounter.

The morning fog at sea in Sagami Bay directly led to the accidental collision between Yamauchi Tadayoshi's picket fleet and the joint fleet of Le Maia and Yang Zhen, and directly led to the death of Yamauchi Tadayoshi who volunteered, but it also saved those who did not directly collide.

of other Japanese ships.

Five Japanese ships, although they rushed into the formation of the combined fleet, they did not collide with the large ships of the combined fleet, and luckily took advantage of the morning fog to break away from the combined fleets of Lemaia and Yang Zhen.

Saved my life.

However, their lives were not lost, and it was only temporary.

Because not long after, the combined fleet commanded by Le Maia and Yang Zhen changed their course, followed closely behind these small boats that had a chance to escape, and marched in the direction of Uraga.

Just yesterday afternoon, when Yang Zhen and Lemaia agreed on the next strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west, they immediately made up their minds to follow Yang Zhen's idea and eliminate the Japanese navy in the Edo Bay area in one fell swoop.

Say it again.

For the combined fleet of Le Maia and Yang Zhen, as long as the main force of the shogunate navy on the east coast of Japan is eliminated, the combined fleet will be invincible in the next war.

At the very least, there is no need to worry about Japanese naval warships coming to harass Izu Oshima or other anchoring places of the combined fleet.

Therefore, after making this determination, Yang Zhen immediately took He Tingbin and began to interrogate the prisoners on Izu Island.

There were several Japanese leaders captured on Izu Island, and among them there were also samurai leaders who looked to be wearing armor and having high status.

But no matter how Yang Zhen, He Tingbin and others interrogated them, none of these Japanese warrior leaders who abandoned their weapons and surrendered even opened their mouths.

Even after Yang Zhen ordered the killing of three people in a row, the remaining few still kept their mouths shut and refused to speak when faced with Yang Zhen's interrogation.

Yang Zhen originally wanted to inquire about the situation of the Japanese navy in Sagami Bay and Edo Bay from these captured Japanese warrior leaders, but in the end he asked nothing.

In desperation, Yang Zhen had no choice but to continue to imprison these Japanese warrior leaders who would rather die than speak out, and prepare to be interrogated slowly in the future.

However, several Japanese patrol boats escaped during the day, which always made Yang Zhen feel a little uneasy. It was uncomfortable to feel that the enemy was in the dark and we were clear.

Because as long as a Japanese ship escapes, the whereabouts of the combined fleet must have been exposed.

In this way, if the combined fleet cannot take action as soon as possible, it will fall into a passive situation.

So, that night, at nightfall, Yang Zhen met with Lemaia again and expressed his concerns to Lemaia.

But Lemaia didn't care about Yang Zhen's worries, because his victory in Nagasaki, his victory in Kagoshima Bay, and his earlier victory in Tanegashima and other places gave him strong confidence.

In short, he did not take the Japanese navy seriously at all, and did not think that the Japanese navy could ambush or encircle and annihilate the combined fleet led by him and Yang Zhen.

However, facing Yang Zhen's personal visit, Lemaia was not completely indifferent and sneered. In the end, he agreed to Yang Zhen's suggestion to send troops to Edo Bay as soon as possible.

Moreover, the time for dispatching troops was set for that night.

Of course, the risk of night sailing at sea is not small, but there is also an advantage of night sailing at sea, that is, you can avoid the Japanese patrol boats, and quietly enter Edo Bay through the Uraga Channel before dawn the next morning.

.

The commander of the Dutch fleet, Lemaia, and the Dutch captains of the giant ships, almost no one took the Japanese navy seriously.

However, they were somewhat worried about the coastal forts at the entrance to Edo Bay, that is, at the southern end of the Miura Peninsula and the Boso Peninsula on both sides of the Uraga Water Channel.

Although there are not many forts and no real heavy artillery, even so, there is still a risk of being hit when the fleet passes through the Uraga Channel.

Therefore, Lemaia agreed to Yang Zhen's proposal, which seemed to be a bit fussy, and the other captains of the Dutch fleet also reluctantly agreed.

The goal they set was not to go to Uraga, but to go straight into Edo Bay and the Edogawa estuary outside Edo Castle.

From the perspective of commanders at all levels of the Dutch fleet, no matter where the main force of your Japanese navy is, I will only attack your key points and hit the places you must defend, and the main force of your Japanese navy will naturally appear.

And as long as the main force of your Japanese navy shows up, the combined fleet is confident that it will destroy you.

Although Yang Zhen was still a little worried about this, after much deliberation, he accepted the judgment of the Dutch fleet.

Because even if he doesn't accept it, he has no other choice.

In this way, at midnight on September 11th, the combined fleet, which had rested for half a day and half a night on Izu Island, gathered its entire army and quietly set sail in the direction of Edo Bay.

However, as luck would have it, not long after they set sail and entered Sagami Bay, fog began to form in Sagami Bay, which was originally calm and starry.

Fog on the sea is certainly not a good thing for sailing ships, but it is not entirely a bad thing for the combined fleet trying to rush into Edo Bay in one fell swoop.

Originally, they thought of quietly entering Edo Bay through the Uraga Suidou in the pre-dawn night. Now that there is morning mist outside Edo Bay, even if the long night passes, they don't have to worry about exposing their whereabouts.

However, what they never expected was that they would directly collide with more than a dozen Japanese patrol boats sailing off the water at the entrance to Uraga Suidou.

Of course, at this time, Yang Zhen had no idea that the commander of the Japanese navy, Yamauchi Tadayoshi himself, was among this small Japanese patrol fleet.
Chapter completed!