The conditions of the Shimadzu family are definitely unacceptable to both sides of the coalition.
Just kidding, what kind of idea is this in exchange for Ryukyu, which does not originally belong to the Satsuma Domain? And from Zhao Xin's point of view, he wants to make the island kingdoms chaos, otherwise he will not be able to complete the peace plan.
That secret plan can only be exploited if it gets messed up, right?
On the other side, when Shimazu Kyushu returned to Tsurunomaru Castle, Shimazu Sainobu, who learned that the negotiations had broken down, was left with two options: commit suicide in the city or fight to the death. Now his father is still ill, and he
The ministers were waiting for him to make up his mind.
Shimazu Sainobu came to the back house and saw that his father Shimazu Shigehao had woken up, and finally felt relieved.
"How is the Chief Marshal doing?"
In response to the feudal lord's inquiry, several doctors from the Soshikan Medical Clinic said: "The Chief Shou is just temporarily sluggish, and he should be fine after resting for half a day."
"How did they reply?" Shimazu Shigehao, who was lying on the couch, saw his son coming, and immediately asked someone to help him up, and asked the question he was most concerned about.
Shimazu Sainobu shook his head sadly, Shimazu Shigehao suddenly burst out laughing, and everyone present was surprised.
When Shimazu Shigehao stopped laughing, he first asked the maids and doctors to retreat, leaving only one person nearby. After everyone had exited, he said to his son with a solemn face: "Gather the feudal lords from all over the mountain towns to prepare for the war."
Get ready for the decisive battle!"
"This! Father, even the shogunate can't resist the Northern Navy. How can we, Satsuma, defeat it?!"
Shimazu Shigehao grabbed his son's clothes, pulled him close to him, and whispered: "Don't fight to the death! Tsurunomaru Castle is too close to the sea, we can't hold it! When we retreat to Satsuma County, we must hold it back.
They will wait until reinforcements from other vassals arrive!"
Shimazu said: "Father, can reinforcements from Kumamoto Domain, Fukuoka Domain and Saga Domain come?"
Shimazu Shigehao sneered: "I have promised to hand over Ryukyu's sugar trade to the three of them, and they will definitely be tempted."
Shimazu Sainobu was shocked. The Ryukyu sugar trade was the lifeblood of the Shimadzu family. If it was divided among those three families, the Satsuma clan would be able to survive this war. If so, what other way out would it be?
"Masaburo, please remember this!" Seeing his son's hopeless look, Shimazu Shigehao called him by his nickname and shouted in a low voice: "That Zhao Wangdian is determined to win the thirty-six islands of Ryukyu. We, Sama, can't win."
Come on, no one from the other three families can get it! Even if we win, we won’t be able to keep Ryukyu, but we can do business with Zhao Wangdian; but if we don’t win, the Shimazu family will perish!”
Shimazu Sai Xuan explained in confusion: "If Zhao Wangdian just wants Ryukyu, we have agreed to give it to him? Why are we still being aggressive?"
Shimazu Shigehao concentrated for a while and said: "This is also what I am puzzled about. There must be something else in this domain that has fallen into his eyes, and he will never give up until he gets it. But what is it?"
Shimazu Sai Nobuxin said that all Satsuma Domain was poor was the big radish. Could it be the little gold mine in Hisikari County? They had dug it all up a long time ago!
Shimazu said: "Father, do you think reinforcements from Edo will come?"
Shimazu Shigehao sighed and said: "We can't count on you. Now that the Sendai Clan has the support of Zhao Wangdian, it has become an open rebellion. If the shogunate takes action, the Sendai Clan will be the first to deal with it. And
That Zhao Wangdian..., when the time comes he slaps his butt and leaves, and in the vast sea, no one can do anything to him!"
"Then what should we do now? Send the navy to fight?" Shimazu said in his heart, the navy of this domain is just a dish in front of the big ship of the Northern Navy, and there will be no return if it goes away.
Shimazu Shigehao narrowed his eyes and shook his head slowly: "No! We must delay the time! Send food, wine, and beauties, as long as you can delay it, it will be a day!"
"What if none of these work?"
"Then you send assassins! Remember, if it comes to that, everyone must first withdraw from Tsurunomaru and go to Satsuma County! We cannot withstand the cannons of the Northern Navy."
"I understand." Shimazu nodded, then bowed and left.
In the afternoon of the same day, the Shimazu family began to send people to deliver rice, seafood, and later sake and karaoke to the coalition forces. Even Yokoyama Town sent people to deliver a lot of pickled radishes and tangerines. Regarding these things, the coalition forces also
None. The reason is very simple. Date Shigemura was poisoned to death. He is crazy enough to dare to eat the food sent by the Shimadzu family! The compressed biscuits of the North Navy are so delicious.
However, tens of thousands of people staying at sea for one day would consume a lot of fresh water, not to mention that some people in the Sendai clan's army had already begun to fall ill. So the day after the negotiations, the Northern Navy began to move.
Among the four large ships, the Thor was at the head, the Hokkai No. 1 and No. 2 were in the middle, and the Thunder was at the end, slowly entering the strait between Kagoshima and Sakurajima.
Shimazu Sainobu in Tsurunomaru Castle received the news and understood that the previous plan had failed, so he hurriedly started a city-wide evacuation. However, he left like this without firing a single shot. Some people were unwilling to accept it after all.
In fact, strictly speaking, during the Edo period, except for the Tokugawa shogunate, which had a naval force, the other vassals did not have a naval force; or it could be said that they only transported armies by water. Specifically speaking of the Satsuma clan, whether it was "shipping enforcement" or "ship reform"
"Pursuance" has nothing to do with the navy (some books even include the weird position of navy general.) Of course, if there is a war, the royal ships will also be drafted into warships.
Ships in the Edo period were divided into models according to the number of sails on the deck, ranging from 1 sail to 23 sails; and the small morning boats with one sail were the most used for maritime security.
They were unwilling to give in, but they didn't have many cannons, and even if they had cannons, they knew they couldn't hit them, so these people's method was to set fire to the ships to block the Northern Navy. Fortunately, the Satsuma Domain had already prepared it, and the Satsuma Domain's shipyard was located on the Kotsugawa River.
At the mouth of the river, there are many boat owners, sailors and boatmen living nearby. Even river sailing boats can be used as fire boats.
When the Northern Navy's fleet was still several miles away from the Kabutuchuan River, seventy or eighty fireships came towards the Northern Navy from the mouth of the Kabutuchuan River.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Although the fire ships of the Satsuma Domain are small, the Northern Navy is equally careless, because once the fragments of these ships damage the stabilizer fins and balance wings below the waterline, the ship will
It will sway from side to side, and everyone on the boat will feel sick and unable to bear it.
So the Thor began to slow down rapidly and turned the ship sideways; at the same time, the Thunder also accelerated forward and turned sideways. The two ships blocked Beihai No. 1 and No. 2 behind.
"fire!"
Following Zhao Xin's order, the two regiments of thirty-six mortars, five D30s, and the machine guns on the ship's side deck all opened fire on the Thor and Thunder. This formation, let alone the Shimadzu family, opened fire.
How to react? The soldiers in the cargo holds of the two ships were in trouble.
Every time the five-seat D30 fired, the huge sound shook the Hokita Navy and the Sendai Domain Ashigaru in the cargo hold. They covered their ears and opened their mouths wide, squatting on the ground, praying for the fight to be finished quickly.
Come ashore.
0.50 machine gun bullets tore the boats into pieces, turning them into debris on the water and floating on the waves. At the sterns of the Thor and Thunder, a group of sailors operated fire water cannons, clearing away large pieces of shipwrecks and leaking nets as they approached.
All the fire ships rushed away.
On the hill outside Tsurunomaru Castle, the Shimazu family warriors and local residents stood on the hillside to watch the battle. I saw the water jets splashed by countless explosions in the fleet of fireships heading towards the Northern Navy.
, the ocean surface near several giant boats seemed to be boiling.
Everyone stared at the scene in front of them with their mouths open. Some people had already started to kneel on the ground and cried loudly, and those guys who encouraged Shimazu Sainobu to launch the fire ship attack were now ashen-faced.
A samurai said sadly: "Let's go. Tsurunomaru Castle can't be defended!"
In the crowd, a warrior said bitterly: "If I see that Zhao thief, I will kill him with a knife!"
Everyone turned around and saw that it was the feudal lord Togo Minoru, who was a master of gengen-ryu.
Another samurai said: "Stop talking about those useless things. The Beihai navy uses rapid-fire muskets, and you can't even get close!"
Taito-ryu's Tsunazaki Oyama looked very frustrated and said, "Their blunderbuss are so sharp, what's the use of practicing martial arts!"
While they were talking, a feudal lord ran over and shouted: "The master of the family ordered everyone to evacuate immediately!"
Dongxiang Shiyi said: "Where to evacuate?"
"Junshan foothills!" the feudal lord shouted, then turned and left.
At 11 o'clock in the morning, the Hokuri navy, having cleared the fireships, began to bombard Tsurunomaru Castle. Because no drone was sent to calculate the precise coordinates, the fire caused by the bombardment immediately raged in Kagoshima Town. The feudal lords followed the Shimadzu family's team.
, but the remaining townspeople began to frantically put out fires and demolish houses after the North Navy stopped shelling.
At noon, the residents of Kagoshima Town were surprised to find that the large ship of the Northern Navy did not anchor near the Kobutsu River at all, but headed north without any trace.
"It's broken! They are going to Kajiki Town!" Shigehao Shimazu was shocked when he got the news. "Shira County and Kuwabara County are in danger!"
From the time when the Northern Navy arrived in Sendai Domain and started dispatching troops, until the fall of Ijuku County, the Edo shogunate remained stationary. As the leader of the old army, Matsudaira Sadanobu knew that even if he sent reinforcements, the distant waters would not be able to quench the thirst for immediate relief.
Since taking over the throne of Laos and China, the ambitious Matsudaira Sadanobu finally understood what kind of black hole he inherited. The fiscal deficit is bottomless, the victims are displaced in all directions, and there are constant voices from all over the country demanding a reduction in annual tribute. And now we have to send troops again.
, various places can only forcibly collect annual tribute, and the rule of the shogunate is already in danger.
In May last year, the riots that spread to 35 places across the country because of an altercation shocked the world. In four days, 980 rice shops, 8,000 hotels and pawn shops were destroyed in Edo Castle, which was the worst since the founding of Edo City.
Nothing has changed.
Matsudaira Sadanobu knew that his first task was to reduce the burden on farmers so that the people would not starve to death again. The first order he issued after taking office was "frugality", suppressing entertainment and commercial activities, trying to use limited manpower and other resources.
Invested in restoring agricultural production. Promoted the grain rationing system across the country, mixed many grains and other ingredients that were not used for food in the past. At the same time, began to promote hometown crops - cold-resistant Shirakawa buckwheat.
It is said that it was the promotion under this disaster that finally made buckwheat an important part of the island country's diet.
However, when Hokkai Town transported another regiment of troops to Sendai Domain, Matsudaira Sadanobu could not sit still. He knew that if he did not act, the world would be divided again. As a descendant of the Tokugawa family, he would never allow this to happen.
After consulting Tokugawa Ieki, Matsudaira Sadanobu decided to send troops to attack Sendai Domain.
In the Edo period, the common name for Hatamoto was "Hatamoto 80,000 Riders", which included the Hatamoto of the shogunate, the imperial family, and the imperial family's attendants. Except for the early period of the Tokugawa Three Dynasties, the number in the middle and late period was probably more than 60,000 to 70,000 people.
By the seventh year of Tenmei, the number of the shogunate's banners was 5,000, and the number of direct retainers, including the imperial family members below Omami, totaled 22,400.
For such a huge team, the daily military ration consumption alone was an astronomical figure. However, considering the Northern Navy's initial offensive in Uraga, Matsudaira Sadanobu gritted his teeth and ordered the shogunate Tenlords and various daimyo to collect the annual tribute.
As a representative who had face-to-face negotiations with Zhao Xin, Matsudaira Sadanobu knew very well how cunning and arrogant Zhao Xin was. He would never forget the look in that man's eyes at that time, domineering and contemptuous.
Yes, contempt. Although the guy always had a smile on his face, the contempt revealed in his bones made Matsudaira Sadanobu feel on pins and needles.
If we want to conquer the Sendai Domain quickly, we must attack both by land and water. Because we have received news that the three giant ships from Hokkai Town have headed for Minami Kyushu, in order to reduce the consumption of military rations, a group of veterans finally decided to feign a land attack on Shiroishi Castle, the key point in the southern part of the Sendai Domain.
, the sea route goes directly to the mouth of the Hirose River.
After hearing the news that the shogunate was preparing to send troops, the Sendai clan immediately got busy. Now that they had food and money, and the help of a regiment of the Northern Navy and the Aoba Battalion, Ishikawa Murafumi was not worried at all.
Because Zhao Xin had made an agreement with him three times before, the Northern Navy and Aoba Camp could not be commanded at all. Therefore, the Sendai clan was very cunning and deployed their soldiers in Igu County, Watari County and Miyagi County. As for
The Date family has sent lobbyists to the feudal clans in northern Mutsu and Dewa.
By the way, the shogunate is now so poor that it is almost like underwear. How about it? Return to the embrace of the Date family. If you want food, you will have food, and if you want money, you will have money. What? Are you afraid that the shogunate will send troops to attack us? What a joke, there is a North Navy in this domain
With more than 2,000 people stationed there, you don't know how powerful the Northern Navy is, right? Even the shogunate was beaten to a pulp last year.
After some lobbying, all the northern vassals were said to be a little excited. However, if the rebellion fails, the whole family will lose their heads. At the moment, the Sendai clan is very angry, but whether it can survive this disaster, everyone is waiting to see.
state.
In such a strange atmosphere, the curtain of the biggest war since the "Shimabara Rebellion" has slowly begun.
Except for the Satsuma Clan, which was unable to protect itself, all the vassals in the world were now fixating on every move of the shogunate and the Sendai Clan. For a time, the streets of Oshu, which should have been sparsely populated due to the arrival of the war, actually became bustling, with disguised people from all walks of life.
Spies come and go.
At this moment, Heita, who had already arrived in Kyoto, brought his two companions from Beihai Town and started to attack the Takaji family according to the previous plan.