After the First Squadron set off with all the officers and soldiers of the First Brigade, it sailed directly to Ryukyu Island.
At this time, after destroying the Japanese army's ships, the Third Squadron also joined the Spanish mercenaries stationed in Ryukyu. The fleet was anchored at the dock of the military camp. At this moment, the Japanese army could only hide in Shuri City. They didn't dare to come out at all. The Chinese businessmen who were hiding in the military camp were all safe. When the Japanese began to attack, they were a little nervous. However, they found that the Japanese attack did not pose any threat to the military camp city at all. , there was nothing to be afraid of. When the third squadron arrived, everyone was completely relieved.
The Japanese army also began to become nervous at this time, because they were the vanguard, and neither the Satsuma nor Hikone feudal clans carried much food. Now that the ship was destroyed, they did not know how long they would stay in Ryukyu, although Shimazu Mitsuhisa was a threat to the shogunate army. Although he had no hope of fighting power, he was not willing to sit back and wait for death in Shuri City. And although the Tokugawa shogunate had always been jealous of the Satsuma clan, Naotaka Ii's identity was different.
The Ii family was an old minister of Tokugawa Iedori when he was still the lord of the Mikawa Domain. Ii Naotaka's father, Ii Naomasa, was known as the Four Heavenly Kings under Tokugawa Iedori along with Sakai Tadatsuji, Honda Tadakatsu, and Kanwara Yasumasa at that time. He belonged to the Tokugawa shogunate and had absolute As a trusted daimyo, Tokugawa Iemitsu could not let the Hikone Domain army perish due to emotions and reasons. So he also sent people to search for food in order to hold on in Ryukyu as long as possible.
Shuri Castle is the capital of the Ryukyu imperial court. There is still some food stored in the treasury. In addition, there are 20,000 to 30,000 Ryukyu people in Shuri Castle. Each family also has a lot of surplus food, so the Japanese army returned to the capital. After entering the city, they also plundered food on a large scale, and of course it was understandable that they also grabbed some money, including women. In the end, the food they robbed was enough to last for two or three months. This did not include the villages outside the city, which was not needed for the time being. They were worried about food, and now they were just waiting for reinforcements to arrive. As for what to do with the Ryukyu people who had been robbed of food, of course Shimazu Mitsuhisa and Ii Naotaka ignored them.
But before the Japanese reinforcements arrived, the first squadron of the merchant army arrived at Ryukyu first. The first brigade landed at the military camp and launched an attack on Shuri Castle. At this time, the Japanese in Shuri Castle had just searched the city. After looting everything, they went out of the city to rob nearby villages. As a result, they were beaten violently by merchant soldiers and they all fled into Shuri City.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa advocated garrisoning in Shuri Castle, but Ii Naotaka didn't know how powerful the Merchant Army was. He felt that the Merchant Army didn't have many troops, and it was coming out of the city to challenge. There seemed to be an opportunity, so he decided to lead the army to attack, and The merchant army fought a battle.
As a result, Ii Naotaka led five thousand Hikone clan soldiers to attack and faced off with a regiment of the Merchant Army. The Merchant Army only dispatched two battalions, forming a three-stage continuous firing formation, spread out five to six hundred meters horizontally, and the soldiers took turns firing. The shooting was continuous, causing rows of Hikone troops to fall to the ground and die.
Naotaka Ii is no stranger to musket shooting. In the Battle of Nagashino that year, the coalition forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu used muskets, called iron cannons in Japan, to defeat the Takeda family's cavalry, and also made Oda Nobunaga's power greatly increased and he dominated Japan. This was also the battle that brought Tokugawa Ieyasu to prominence, so it also attracted the attention of the Tokugawa shogunate.
However, in the Battle of Nagashino, the Oda and Tokugawa Allied Forces built countless horse-proof fences to block the attack of the Takeda Army, allowing the muskets to have the opportunity to shoot calmly. However, the current Merchant Army does not use any fences at all. They stood in three rows from a distance and took turns to fire. The position between the two sides was a vast plain. No matter how hard the enemy attacked, they could not get closer and could only keep falling.
Naotaka Ii also sent men and horses, trying to bypass the Merchant Army from the left and right, and conduct a pincer attack from the front and rear. However, the remaining two battalions of the Merchant Army were to prevent the Japanese Army from encircling the left and right. As a result, the Japanese Army sent two teams of men and horses to bypass from the left and right. However, they were all blocked by the merchant army and could not succeed.
The battle lasted for more than half an hour, and the casualties of the Japanese army exceeded 2,000. Naotaka Ii saw that the battle was really unfavorable, so he quickly ordered the withdrawal of troops and returned to Shuri City. This time, he could no longer show anything and focused on the city. Stationed here.
At this moment, the Japanese battleship fleet finally approached Ryukyu Island. Cheng Gang also ordered that the First Brigade stay on Ryukyu Island and watch the Japanese, First and Third Fleets and Spanish mercenaries in Shuri City. The military fleet went out to fight against the Japanese fleet. The Spanish mercenary captains Morente and Andre also went with the fleet. Morente was responsible for commanding the Spanish fleet, while Andre boarded the Yue Fei and served as his own New position, adjutant to the commander.
This Japanese fleet comes from the Choshu Domain belonging to the Mori clan.
The Choshu Domain was as famous as the Satsuma Domain in Japan. The first feudal lord was the famous general Mouri Terumoto during the Warring States Period in Japan. He was also one of the five great elders in the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era. There were also Chofu, Tokuyama, The three branches of Iwakuni are also one of the powerful vassals in Japan. During the Battle of Sekigahara, Terumoto Mori served as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army (i.e. Toyotomi Army). Therefore, after the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Choshu Domain also became the Tokugawa Shogunate. The major feudal clan that focuses on prevention is second only to the Satsuma clan. However, because of this, the Choshu clan has always regarded the shogunate as the feudal enemy. It is said that every year during the New Year's group worship, the Choshu clan warriors and sub-vassal clan warriors will say "Lord, you can (The curtain fell)?" New Year's greetings.
In another time and space, the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain were both the main forces that fell during the Meiji Restoration. A large number of famous officials and generals in modern Japan also emerged, including Kido Takayoshi, one of the famous three heroes of the Restoration. (namely Katsura Kogoro), as well as Ito Hirobumi, Takasugi Shinsaku, Yamagata Aritomo, Kodama Gentaro, etc.
In addition, the Choshu Domain has always been famous for its navy in Japan. During the Japanese invasion of Korea, the main force of the Japanese navy was the navy of the Maori family. Therefore, although the Tokugawa shogunate was very jealous of the Choshu Domain, If you want to attack Ryukyu, you have to borrow the power of the Choshu clan and let the Choshu clan serve as the commander-in-chief of the navy.
The current feudal lord of the Choshu Domain is Mouri Hidemoto, the son of Mouri Terumoto. Although he also wanted the shogunate to fall, under the current situation, he also knew that he was unable to resist the shogunate. Therefore, after receiving the order, Mouri Hidena acted immediately. Organize men and horses, mobilize warships, and prepare for this war.
Although the shogunate implemented a policy of seclusion, since Japan itself is an island country, internal navigation is still very developed, so the Choshu clan still retains a navy. However, it is not a small number to transport 60,000 troops. Relying on the warships of the Choshu clan was not enough, and it was necessary to mobilize ships from other daimyo. However, at this time, Japan had been without war for a long time. The last large-scale use of troops was also during the Shimabara Rebellion ten years ago. The organization and deployment of the warships were very unfamiliar. As a result, after the vanguard fleet set off, the large group of people still had many things to do.
At this moment, the ships that escaped from Ryukyu reported to Mouri Hide that the Japanese fleet was attacked by the Chinese navy. By this time, the Japanese warships that had arrived in Ryukyu had been completely destroyed.
After Mourixiu heard this, he couldn't help but be shocked. Although after the Satsuma clan was defeated by the Merchant Army last time, he also knew that the Merchant Army's navy giant ships and heavy artillery were very powerful, but after all, they had never fought against each other before, and he didn't know that it was
Ju Ti is such a powerful method, but I didn’t expect it to be sent this time.
More than a hundred warships were completely wiped out. So wouldn’t the Satsuma and Hikone clans who stayed on Ryukyu Island be alone? Since they were Hikone clan, they were veterans of the Tokugawa shogunate.
, if there is an accident on Ryukyu Island, I cannot bear the responsibility.
Therefore, Mourihide immediately sent the clan elder, Yoshikawa Hiromasa, the lord of Iwakuni, as the general to lead the more than 150 warships of the clan that had been gathered and sailed to Ryukyu to rescue the people trapped on Ryukyu Island.
The two vassals dispatched this time were almost all warships, and basically the majority of the Choshu vassal naval force.
The fleets of both sides met in the waters near Iwo Jima and a battle began.
The first and third squadrons of the merchant army, plus the Spanish mercenary fleet, have a total of eighty warships, including fifty-four main warships, nineteen auxiliary warships, and seven clippers. From the number of warships
Judging from the above, the Japanese warships are almost part of the merchant army.
times, but the Japanese warships are still the old-fashioned hachiman ship type, and they are not big ships. The largest ones only have four or five hundred materials. In front of the merchant army's large ships, they are like wild dogs versus tigers. And compared with the merchant army's
Compared with the first and second level battleships, they pale in comparison.
In addition, the firepower of Japanese warships is also very average. Only about one-third of the warships are equipped with a few artillery pieces, and the artillery pieces are exposed on the deck of the ship without any cover. This also shows that the tactics of the Japanese navy
The thinking is still stuck in the old-style boarding and jumping ship battle, rather than the merchant army's tactics of decisive victory with naval guns.
After clearly observing the strength of the Japanese navy, Chenggang also believed that this battle was basically guaranteed to win. What should be considered now is how to eliminate more Japanese warships, because before going to war,
, Chenggang received instructions from Shang Yi. This battle was not focused on attacking the Japanese mainland, but it would deal a heavy blow to Japan's maritime power and must not be merciful.
Therefore, after thinking for a while, Chenggang ordered two second-level battleships, the Tanxiu and Taotie, to lead five and seven third-level cruisers, five and seven fourth-level destroyers, and three fifth-level frigates.
The left and right wings launched an attack on the Japanese fleet from both flanks. The rest of the fleet, led by Yue Fei and Yinhe, formed two columns in the middle, waiting to attack.
After the order was passed, the Merchant Army's fleet immediately separated into two columns and spread out to the left and right, like a big mouth that gradually opened, biting hard at the Japanese fleet.
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