Why did the Tokugawa shogunate and the upper echelons of Japan act so quickly?
It's just a small Hirado, with an area less than 1% of Japan. Why bother to mobilize so many troops and launch a nationwide movement to send an elite army of 150,000 to crusade? Isn't this too fussy?
The Tokugawa shogunate did not think this was a fuss at all.
Instead, it feels like the sky is falling!
What to do?
What is Xujiazhuang doing?
They quietly won the household and established a firm foothold. Not only did they recruit workers and carry out construction, but they also wanted to build Hirado into a big port. They also introduced various laws and regulations to win over people's hearts and spread the word. I can't wait to see it.
Let all Japan know.
Have they been consulted?
Did you get their nod and consent?
Who allowed Iesou to come over without permission and occupy the Hirado Domain?
This is the land that belongs to the Land of the Rising Sun. Get out of all outsiders. We welcome no outsiders!
The deepest reason is that Xujiazhuang's various policies have actually given hope to those at the bottom who only eat two or three rice balls per meal, allowing them to gain the right to be human beings and enjoy such and such freedoms.
He was engaged in cracking down on gangsters and killing dozens of noble warriors.
How can this be done?
This is simply rebellious and daring!
The clay-legged people cannot be overfed. Three rice balls per meal is the limit. If Xujiazhuang feeds them thirty rice balls, wouldn't it increase the cost of raising these clay-legged children tenfold?
The wages of twenty or thirty cents a day are enough, which can buy about 1 catty of rice, which can support their family. The people in Xujiazhuang live in ninety cents, so how can the mud-legged people work easily?
As for giving freedom to the mud-legged people, giving them equality and justice, if they have this, what do they need the samurai to do? What do they want the daimyo feudal lords in various places to do? If they don't oppress and exploit the mud-legged people, how can they live a life above him?
Xujiazhuang is here to destroy them!
I want to destroy their fine traditions that have lasted for hundreds or thousands of years.
If he doesn't take decisive action and immediately defeat Xujiazhuang and drive him away, his roots will be dug out, his innocence will collapse, and his days of being a bully will no longer be possible!
This is why their movements are so efficient and rapid.
…
Yoshimanro Hirata, a native of Shikamachi, is an ordinary fisherman who makes a living by fishing. He has been fishing since he was eight years old. He has been fighting the wind for most of his life. He has been used to seeing countless strong winds and waves, and has also dealt with all kinds of people.
Have dealt with.
It can be said that he has rich life experience.
His understanding of many things is like his understanding of the sea in Machi Bay. He knows where there are reefs, where there are many fish, and the daily weather changes, and his mind is like a mirror.
Therefore, he always catches fish and never returns empty-handed.
He can also avoid danger many times and avoid evil forces such as mountain bandits, ronin samurai, and pirates from causing harm to himself and his family.
Just like his name, Yoshiro, he seems to be the kind of person who is lucky ten thousand times, always much luckier than others.
even so)
Yoshimanro Hirata is still very poor.
His only possessions were a dilapidated wooden house, a fishing boat, and a few fishing nets.
Oh, there is also an old wife, three sons and a daughter, all of whom have been raised to adulthood.
He goes to sea almost every day, often leaving early and returning late, just to keep his family fed.
But he feels very happy and very contented. Such a life is no longer good. As long as he can successfully pass on his fishing skills to his eldest son Hirata Fukuichiro, his mission in this life will be basically completed. He can just close his eyes and go there.
.
But this peaceful life was very disrupted.
Especially after the foreign forces from Hirado Island took over, Yoshimanro Hirata felt that he was going to be doomed and that the sky above his head was about to collapse.
Because of the fish he catches from the sea, except for a small part that he eats himself, most of them are sold to merchants and people in Hirado Port. This is his main source of income. Now that Hirado is occupied, what should he do with his family's livelihood?
?
There are many similar ones (this chapter is not finished yet!)
Chapter 239 Battle of Shikamachi Bay
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The worry of his fishermen is that although there are a lot of fish and shrimps in the sea, and everyone has to catch them according to their own skills, if they can't sell them and realize them as money, they can only watch them rot and have to throw them all away, let alone replace them.
into coins to buy the rice, flour, oilcloth and other daily necessities they need.
That is to say, their economic chain is broken.
I'm afraid that before long, the thousands of fishermen who rely on Hirado Port for survival will all go bankrupt and be doomed.
As for the outsiders occupying Hirado, the nearby fishermen are extremely afraid of them. There are various terrible rumors, saying that these outsiders are murderous and love to eat human flesh. Once they fall into their hands, there is absolutely no way they can survive.
Only when the shogunate sends troops to expel and defeat him can life return to normal.
At that time, Hirata Yoshimanro also had the same fearful mentality. He did not dare to contact the outsiders who occupied Hirado, and hoped that they would be driven away quickly.
Only a few days passed. The family began to run out of food, and his daughter began to cry from hunger. Yoshimanro Hirata had no choice but to take his eldest son out to sea, take half a boatload of fish, and then go straight to Toko.)
The eldest son Fukuichiro asked him what he was doing. After learning that he was going to Toko to sell fish, Fukuichiro thought that he was crazy and was going to die. However, Hirata Yoshimanro cited three phenomena he had observed and thought that those outsiders
He won't kill people indiscriminately.
First, after some outsiders occupied Hirado, they did not burn, kill, loot, loot, or cause wanton destruction. They did not behave like bandits.
Secondly, Yoshimanro Hirata witnessed with his own eyes that an outsider's warship with an iron-clad surface was sailing into Hirado Port. When it encountered a small ship blocking the channel ahead, it stands to reason that this large iron-clad ship could just crush it.
, but turned the steering wheel and took the initiative to avoid the small fishing boat, which surprised Hirata Yoshimanro.
Then, just two days later, countless cheers and the sound of fireworks and firecrackers were heard on Hirado Island. I don’t know what they were celebrating. But if they lived in a prison-like system, how could they be like this?
What about celebrating?
To sum up, Hirata Yoshimanro believes that those outsiders may not be bad people, at least not completely unreasonable people.
The eldest son Fukuichiro still hoped not to go, but he couldn't disobey his father, so he decided to go to Hirado Port.
As a result, all the fish on board were sold out.
It was also sold for ten times the price!
When we came back, there were 50 kilograms of rice bags in the cabin, two meat cans, seven feet of cotton cloth, and 1,357 pieces of light money - seed money is also a hard currency in Japan and has strong purchasing power.
Returned fully loaded.
This time it was the biggest harvest in his life. The eldest son Fu Yifu admired him and said he would go there tomorrow to sell the fish, but he must not let other fishermen know, otherwise he would not be able to sell the fish at a high price.
Hirata Yoshimanro must understand this. He doesn't need his son to teach him. It's just that he only took such a bonus for two or three days. Other fishermen also discovered it. Then all the fishermen continued to sell fish in Hirado Port, and the price naturally dropped rapidly.
, but because the staff of Xujiazhuang purchased unlimited amounts of fresh fish, the price seemed to be 2 cents/catty, which was still much higher than the original price of 1 cent/catty, or 1 cent/catty, Hirata Yoshimanro
The income is still pretty good.
Life at home has also been significantly improved.
Finding a partner for Fukuichiro, who is about to turn twenty this year, is no longer a problem. Many daughters have agreed to marry Fukuichiro.
This caused dissatisfaction with the second son Fukujiro and the youngest son Fukuzaburo. They were both older and wanted to go out to sea to learn fishing and find a partner to start a family. However, they only had so few resources and the family's fishing boat was only so big, so they could not allow it.
More people get on board.
Conflicts within the family arise again.
Just at this time, the news came that Hirado Port University was recruiting workers. Not only did they have to pay, but they still had at least 80 mon per day to work. So Fukujiro and Fukuzaburo got married, and they both went to Hirado Port to work. After working for a year, they would be rich.
Got a wife.
Not only that.
As the number of recruiters increased, and the Hirado garrison also needed a lot of cooks and maids, Yoshimanro Hirata asked his 13-year-old daughter Hirata Miko to apply for the job, and she successfully entered the garrison and became a trainee.
Maid, including food and accommodation, the monthly salary is 5 silver dollars, which will increase to 10 silver dollars if you become a full-time employee. It is a high-paying position!
Until this time. (This chapter is not finished yet!)
Chapter 239 Battle of Shikamachi Bay
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Hirata Yoshimanro discovered that among his family of six, except for his old wife who had to take care of the housework, he, three sons and one daughter, a total of five people, were all serving or working for Xujiazhuang, and their combined monthly income amounted to
20 silver dollars, which may be increased to 30 silver dollars in the future.
This income level is ten times higher than before!
This is the change that Xujiazhuang brought to his ordinary fisherman family after occupying Hirado.
If we can persist, the two- or three-story concrete brick houses that started popping up in Hirado Castle, the problem of finding a partner for the second son and the third son, changing to a bigger and better fishing boat, etc., are not things that cannot be imagined and considered.
.
It's over.
Hirata Yoshimanro felt bad. It was too extravagant. He actually had such extravagant expectations and dreams? No, no, no, how could he dare to think about those things? He had been poor for hundreds of years, how could he change this fixed fate?
?
He tried his best to stop himself from thinking about it, but those things were like seeds taking root and sprouting, and they began to grow wildly in his heart. Even though he thought it was an unrealistic fantasy, he just couldn't help thinking about it.
…
August 10th, morning.
Hirata Yoshimanro, who was fishing off the coast of Zuomachi, noticed that a large number of cavalry, samurai and ashigaru, at least ten thousand people, carrying the flag of Satsuma Domain, were marching along the coastline, heading towards Hirado at a rapid marching speed.
Go in the direction.
The fiery fantasy in Hirata Yoshimanro's heart was immediately extinguished.
really.
As expected, the shogunate and the local feudal lords would not ignore it and took action so quickly.
it's over.
It seems that all this is coming to an end, and the fantasy is just a fantasy after all.
"Fukuichiro!"
But for some reason, he suddenly shouted loudly to his eldest son: "Throw away the fishing nets, return to Hirado Port immediately, and tell the garrison that the Satsuma Domain army is attacking. Be sure to be prepared to deal with it!"
"Father, it's useless. There are so many teams and they can't survive." The eldest son Fukuichiro said extremely pessimistically.
"Then go back quickly. Say goodbye to your younger brother and younger sister, who are all working for Xujiazhuang!"
"yes!"
Fukuichiro Hirata had no choice but to throw away the fishing net, and the father and son shook the oar desperately and returned as quickly as possible.
…
In the afternoon, they arrived outside Hirado Port and found that Hirado Castle had entered a state of war readiness, allowing ships to enter at will. Fortunately, through various methods, they succeeded in reporting the news of the Satsuma Domain's attack.
I went to the governor's office and received the approval and encouragement from the governor's office - twenty silver dollars.
It's just that at this time, Hirata Yoshimanro's thoughts are not on silver coins. He just hopes that Xujiazhuang will come and send more troops. Otherwise, under the joint attack of the shogunate and the feudal lords from various places, Hirado may not be able to hold on for long.
Fell.
On the 11th, the army of various vassals that entered Matsuura County exceeded 100,000.
On the 12th, a firefight broke out between the two sides. The Xu family's navy team fought and retreated, losing a lot of ground.
On the 13th, before the reinforcements from Xujiazhuang arrived, the construction of Hirado Port actually resumed. This phenomenon made Hirata Yoshimaruo stamp his feet and get angry with anxiety.
On the 14th, go up.
Shikamachi Bay, this sea area where Hirata Yoshimanro often fishes)
Standing on the fishing boat, Yoshimanro Hirata saw today that the Xu Jiajun Marine Corps, which numbered only about a thousand, had retreated to a flat beach under the attack and oppression of hundreds of thousands of vassal coalition forces.
Just a few dozen steps away is the sea water.
Even though the weapons used by these marines were very advanced, they could fire several rounds or dozens of rounds in a short period of time, killing more than 10,000 vassal coalition forces one after another. But if 10,000 were killed, there would be hundreds of thousands more behind them, and each one of them would be killed.
Not afraid of death, he launched wave after wave of surprise attacks, even though the beach had turned into a blood-red beach, and countless troops came forward.
"Woooooo~"
Finally the horn of the general attack sounded.
The remaining more than 100,000 people in the vassal armies stopped engaging in refueling tactics and chose a stud battle. Everyone from the generals to the ashigaru charged at the fastest speed.
The scene suddenly became extremely passionate.
The purpose is to submerge these thousand marines and put them (this chapter is not over yet!)
Chapter 239 Battle of Shikamachi Bay
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Drive them into the sea and kill them all!
Hearing this passionate cry that resounded throughout the mountains and seas, Hirata Yoshimanro's expression changed drastically. It was over. This was definitely unstoppable. He had to row the fishing boat closer and get a few more people on board later.
But this time.
Four behemoths clad in iron armor appeared behind the fishing boats at some point, facing the beach with their broadsides, and opened the gun windows, revealing black gun barrels.
"Conduct fire support, launch!"
"boom!"
Forty 75-caliber rapid-fire cannons opened fire simultaneously.
And with a rate of fire of twelve to fifteen rounds per minute, it poured artillery shells crazily towards the back of the beach.
If the gun barrel overheats, turn the ship around and bombard it with the rapid-fire cannon on one side.
Boom boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
Even though there were a large number of 100,000 vassal alliances, in this devastating artillery fire, in less than half an hour, the vassal alliance collapsed with heavy casualties. How powerful the charge just now was, how powerful the escape at this moment was.
Embarrassed and collapsed, they fled cleanly after a while, and those who couldn't run knelt down and surrendered)
Yoshimanro Hirata, who witnessed the entire battle with his own eyes, was stunned and in disbelief.
"We won, Xujiazhuang won, but we actually won?
"Hahaha, hahahaha!"
"Okay, great, we can live a good life!"
Hirata Yoshimanro laughed wildly and danced happily, as if he was crazy.
Chapter 239 Battle of Shikamachi Bay This chapter has been completed!