At this time, the civil war in Japan had been going on for more than three months. The Choshu clan could only retreat to Hagi Castle for defense. However, under the continuous fierce attacks of the shogunate army, Hagi Castle was also in danger.
At this time, Yonezawa, Kasa, Sendai and other feudal clans were still sitting on the mountain watching the fight between the tigers. Watching the fighting between the Choshu clan and the shogunate, Kazuo clan was restrained by the Kumamoto clan and could not move, while the Sendai clan and Yonezawa clan even Zhihuan contacted the shogunate secretly, took the opportunity to bargain, and asked the shogunate to increase his territory.
In fact, this was a great opportunity to divide the collapsed alliance. If Matsudaira Nobutsuna was still alive, he could take the opportunity to give up some benefits and stabilize other clans. First, he would try his best to eliminate the Choshu clan, and even ask Sendai clan and Yonezawa. The domain sent troops to help the shogunate army in the battle. Fortunately, Sakai Tadakatsu, who was now in charge of the shogunate, was more stubborn and ignored the requests of the Sendai domain and Yonezawa domain, and only strengthened the attack on Ogi Castle.
Seeing that there was no hope of domestic reinforcements, the Choshu Domain could only pin all its hopes on China. In just over three months, it had sent three batches of envoys to China asking for help.
For the Chinese Empire, of course they do not want to see the Choshu Domain wiped out by the shogunate. After all, the presence of the Choshu Domain will also be a help for the Empire to conquer Japan. After all, the Empire's goal this time is not to annex Japan. , but to force Japan to surrender to China and become a vassal state like North Korea, to establish Chinese influence in Japan, and then gradually control the situation in Japan. In this way, it is necessary to support Japan There is a group of pro-China forces, and the Choshu Domain is one of the most ideal candidates.
And now that all the preparations for the empire have been almost completed, troops can start to be dispatched. The leader of this expedition has been selected as Minister of the United Front Work Department Cheng Jin. In fact, according to the ideas of the cabinet and the Ministry of National Defense, the attack on Japan this time will only It is enough to dispatch the commander of the Shandong Military Region, Jiang Yiqu. There is no need to dispatch higher-level officers. But now that the emperor is personally conducting the expedition, the accompanying officers cannot be too inferior. Therefore, it must also be raised to a higher level. It can only be done by the Minister of National Defense and the Deputy Chief of Staff. Among the ministers, Cheng Gang, another deputy minister of defense, was born in the navy. In this attack on Japan, naval battles are not actually important. Land battles are more important. Cheng Jin is now the minister of the United Front Work Department and deputy minister of national defense. Of course, he is the most important. The right candidate.
Everything was ready, and Shang Yi did not intend to delay for too long. On May 30th, he led his imperial army, boarded the Yue Fei from Nanjing, led the fleet and set off to catch up with the Yangtze River estuary. The Ninth Army of the Shandong Military Region and the Beiyang First Squadron joined together. After the merger, there were a total of forty-one warships of various types and fifteen transport ships.
The Ninth Army has jurisdiction over the 14th Division, the 4th Brigade and the Special Forces Brigade. This time, only the 14th Division and the Special Forces Brigade were dispatched initially, and the 4th Brigade will set off with the next batch of transport fleets.
But even so, the entire fleet now reaches fifty-six ships, including twenty large ships over one thousand tons, two giant ships over one thousand five hundred tons, and a total of more than forty-five thousand personnel. After merging at the Changkou entrance, a huge fleet formed a huge fleet. After sailing into the sea, they formed a wild goose shape on the sea for more than ten miles, and then turned to the northeast, heading towards Set sail from Kyushu Island, Japan.
The Yue Fei is the Navy's first first-class battleship. In this era, it is definitely the world's leading giant battleship. It has a displacement of about 1,600 tons, a total length of 62 meters, a width of 14 meters, and a height of 24 meters. meters, it is divided into four decks, with more than 120 large and small rooms, equipped with 118 artillery pieces, including 40 heavy artillery pieces, and equipped with more than 1,000 crew members, sailors, and soldiers. The maximum carrying capacity is It can accommodate 2,500 people.
At the time of construction, although Shang Yi had not yet proclaimed himself emperor, it was designed according to the standards of Shang Yi's imperial ship. After Shang Yi proclaimed himself emperor, the Yue Fei underwent a transformation. In the cabin , twenty ship rooms were specially set aside for Shang Yi's use on the ship, ten of which were used as palaces on the ship, and five were used as dormitories. It had long been considered that the emperor would take his concubines on a trip, and The other ten rooms are used to accommodate accompanying personnel.
Although each room is not big, it has its own independent space after all, and it is much more comfortable to live in. Therefore, after Shang Yi boarded the ship, he couldn't help but sigh, this is the "Air Force One" of this era.
However, the only people traveling with Shang Yi this time were Alexandra and Kaoru Toyotomi. In fact, the three of them only use two bedrooms, because Shang Yi will live with at least one person every day. As an emperor, even if it means wasting one room, it is completely necessary to keep his own independent bedroom. However, two rooms were still vacated. Shang Yi also made arrangements and gave them to Count Gonzalez and An. Andre lived there. After all, they were relatives of the country and were different from others. This time, the general Cheng Jin could only be arranged to live in an outer room, but he also enjoyed a small living room.
Of course, after Count Gonzalez boarded the ship, he also visited the Yue Fei up and down, inside and out, and was full of praise for the ship. He believed that there was indeed only the Sea Monarch in the whole of Europe that could compete with this ship. Compared with a huge warship, as a veteran soldier, it is of course a great honor to be able to go to war with this warship.
The only Japanese business group composed of Toyotomi's remnants was also dispatched this time. After all, this was the wish that Toyotomi's remnants had been waiting for for many years, to return to Japan and avenge the Tokugawa shogunate, although with the help of China power, but now this hope is very real before our eyes.
Therefore, Toyotomi Kaoru has now been officially accepted as a concubine by Shang Yi. It is said in the famous meeting that Toyotomi's remnants and China have become one. It is not considered to seduce China to attack Japan, but to rely on relatives. The power of the Japanese businessman to avenge the Tokugawa shogunate openly and openly, so everyone in the Japanese business group was still very excited. After the Congress passed the resolution to declare war on Japan, many people cried bitterly and shouted that Amaterasu finally finally Appeared.
Of course, there are many Toyotomi remnants who have their own little calculations in mind, because they have lived in China for a long time and are very familiar with China's situation. They also know that with China's strength, defeating the Tokugawa Shogunate is not a problem at all, or even Many Chinese people still have confidence. Once the Tokugawa shogunate is defeated, Japan will face a new political change. Although the Toyotomi clan has been extinct, Toyotomi Kaoru has been adopted as a concubine by Shang Yi. , then their grandchildren can completely inherit Toyotomi's status and rule Japan again, and he himself is undoubtedly a major contributor to the revival of the Toyotomi clan, and it is entirely possible that they will all be named daimyo.
In fact, if a Japanese daimyo is thrown into China, it is equivalent to a county magistrate, a town mayor, or even a township chief or a village chief. But in this era, for every Japanese, being able to become a daimyo is a lifelong dream achievement. , for example, as a Japanese swordsman like Yagyu Yanju, becoming a daimyo is the highest achievement that he pursues throughout his life. Even if the Yagyu clan is only the smallest daimyo with a fief of ten thousand koku in the end, it is still regarded as the largest daimyo of the Yagyu clan. Brilliant, and seeing this famous career right before our eyes, how could it not make the remaining members of Toyotomi very excited? You must know that when they first arrived in China, many of them had already been wandering abroad for more than ten years. I was already in despair and didn't even think about revenge. I returned home. As long as I could survive in China peacefully, I would be satisfied.
Therefore, after discussion, the leaders of Toyotomi's remnants, Onodonomaru, Naito Masatoyo, Jinsukeemon, Ishida Yoshizawa and others, decided to leave only a few people to handle the affairs of the Chinese restaurant, and the others all went with the army. Try our best to help China win this battle. In fact, before this, the Toyotomi remnants had sent many people to sneak into Japan for activities, because this time it was not only to revive the Toyotomi clan, but also for their own achievements. If you make great achievements in this battle, there will undoubtedly be generous rewards in the enfeoffment after the war, so everyone is working together to prepare for a big fight.
And Toyotomi Kaoru was even more grateful to Shang Yi. Although her marriage with Shang Yi was said to be a political marriage, Toyotomi Kaoru was not opposed to this marriage. Shang Yi was now not only the emperor of China, but also She is about the same age as Toyotomi Kaoru, and she can help Toyotomi Kaoru avenge his clan. After two months in the palace, Shang Yi is quite fond of Toyotomi Kaoru, and she gets along well with the concubines in Shang Yi's harem. Yes, Kaoru Toyotomi is very satisfied with his current living conditions, and naturally serves Shang Yi wholeheartedly. This journey is also full of charming charm.
After sailing at sea for several days, although there were a few storms and waves, it was generally very smooth. The Chinese fleet also approached the Japanese island of Kyushu.
Before sending troops, China had already made a plan to land on the island. The landing site was set on the west side of the Satsuma Peninsula in the south of Kyushu Island, because the last time the Chinese army attacked the Satsuma Domain, they landed here. The topography, hydrology, and ocean current conditions are relatively familiar, and the certainty of landing is relatively high.
In addition, the Satsuma Domain has now been reduced by the Tokugawa Shogunate to a minimum fiefdom of only 10,000 koku. The territory only includes a narrow area south of Kagoshima Castle and the southernmost part of the Satsuma Peninsula, which happens to be the location where the Chinese army landed. The strength of the Satsuma Domain is already very weak, and it is impossible to withstand the Chinese army's landing attack. Therefore, it first landed here to gain a foothold on land, and then expanded inland to occupy the entire Kyushu Island. For the Chinese military, it is certainly a very correct strategic choice.
Therefore, on June 13, the Chinese army launched a landing operation on Kyushu Island. The war known in history as the third offensive against Japan also officially opened.
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