Chen Zhongji pointed to the Shimazu military camp in the north of the Naha River and said: "The Japanese pirates camped there. The teams were uneven. The camp was scattered. There were only a few wooden stakes as fences around it. The defense was not strict. We can't let them spend the night comfortably and then attack. Brother Cheng. Zhenquan, you take your sentry troops and go for a night attack. I'll ask Zeng Xiren, the head of the security department, to lead you. Are you sure? Just harass the Japanese pirates. Don't fight hard."
After the sun set and after a good meal, Yan Siqi put on a black night uniform. He led the 150-man sentry team and 50 Luo Aquan's special battalion novices. They filed out from the secret passage under the wall to the north of the commercial building and assembled on the river bank. After forming a team, they put a few tarpaulin packages on a temporary raft. Everyone quietly descended into the Naha River.
Most of these Chinese company guardsmen grew up by the sea and were proficient in swimming; a few men from the mountains in western Fujian also learned to swim after joining the guard. So they held their muskets high and went down to the water. It only took ten minutes to sneak across the narrow of the Naha River.
More than a hundred grenades were taken out from the tarpaulin package. The soldiers of the Chinese company's escort team who had gathered on the river beach on the north bank began to crawl forward. They approached the Shimadzu army's barracks covertly. The reconnaissance and careful planning achieved in the night attack were very impressive. The important thing is that once the action begins, given the communication conditions of that era, it is difficult for the various units to cooperate with each other at night. Therefore, after the war, the Chinese company's night raid team must act in full accordance with the pre-planned operations. Each of them works independently. war.
The first batch of grenades was accurately thrown into the watchtower and gate of the camp by specialized grenadiers; the second batch of grenades was thrown concentratedly at the south gate of the Shimazu Army's barracks. The south gate collapsed in the fireworks, along with the watchtower. More than a dozen Ashigaru.
The soldiers of the escort rushed into the camp silently. They turned to the right and used flintlock bayonets, broadswords, and spears to destroy all enemies that appeared around them.
The main tent of Ijuin Hisamoto, located in the center of the military camp, has been surrounded and protected by his retainers and guards. The entire military camp is in chaos. The Japanese pirates are immersed in the excitement of their great harvest in the past few days. They never thought that the Chinese would still return. There will be a sneak attack.
Although the Hirata tribe suffered heavy losses when they attacked the merchant house last time, Masumune Hirata always blamed the reason on the fact that the Chinese used cannons to defend the castle. So Vice Admiral Ijuin preconceived the idea that the Chinese would not leave the merchant hall and take the initiative to fight. Moreover, the Battle of Ryukyu The main combat operations have ended. Most of the Japanese pirates want to return home as soon as possible. Therefore, the defense of the military camp is very lax.
The Chinese night attack team reached the southeast corner of the military camp. They turned to the left and burned and killed all the way along the edge of the military camp. Those who stood in their way were invincible. They left behind patches of corpses and raging fires along the way. The chaotic Shimazu army was helpless. Determine the enemy's main attack direction and run blindly. In many places, Shimadzu soldiers killed each other.
Yan Siqi led the main force of the night attack team to attack the east gate of the Japanese pirate barracks. According to the plan, he planned to open the camp gate and rush out to end the night attack.
At this time, Luo Aquan and his sharpshooters had lurked on the East Gate Watchtower, planning to wait for an opportunity to kill some important generals of the Shimazu Army.
Yan Siqi led 140 people from his team to form five deep horizontal lines. They blocked the East Gate Avenue and began to shoot continuously at the chaotic crowd in the Shimadzu military barracks. At the same time, he covered Luo Aquan's people to open the East Gate and board the watchtower. Yan Siqi hoped that Our team's formation here can attract one or two leading generals of the Shimazu Army, so that Luo Quan can have the opportunity to display his unique skills.
The warriors of the Shimazu Army gradually woke up. The backbone of the battle-hardened Satsuma Domain Army were samurai who had experienced the Battle of Korea and the Battle of Sekigahara. They had rich battlefield experience. They began to assemble their own troops and soldiers of this group. .Find the location of the attacker and launched an attack on Yan Siqi's sentry. At first, groups of warriors in small and five groups were scattered and suicidal. Immediately, high-ranking warriors stepped forward to form a team. A team of hundreds of people was gathered to attack Yan Siqi's line. .However, in the dark night, these leading warriors were particularly conspicuous under the light of surrounding torches. Therefore, these high-level warriors who took the initiative to organize a counterattack were named one by one by Luo Aquan's special musket.
As leaders died inexplicably one after another, several counterattacks organized by Shimadzu officers and soldiers collapsed.
Yan Siqi saw more and more Shimadzu soldiers on the opposite side. A large number of heads were shaking there in the darkness. He felt that the purpose of the attack had almost been achieved, so he ordered a retreat. 10 of the 140 soldiers were shot by bows and arrows shot from the darkness. Fortunately, they missed the critical point. They fired the last salvo before retreating, knocking down a dozen Shimadzu warriors who rushed up rashly. Suddenly, the gunfire that had been ringing stopped. .In addition to the constant wailing in the barracks, the area near the east gate suddenly became quiet.
Facing the intensive musket fire, the Shimazu army warriors were unable to gather enough iron gunners and archers for a while, so they stopped attacking for a while.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yan Siqi ordered: "The third team of defenders, prepare grenades. The remaining teams, withdraw."
Before he finished speaking, a clear female voice suddenly came from near the east gate: "Help. Someone come and help."
This is a well-spoken Minnan dialect in Fujian. At least half of the members of the Chinese sneak attack force present can understand it. Moreover, the voice is very close. It came from near the east gate. Yan Siqi was very curious and busy. He turned around to look for the source of the sound. Several brothers from the special battalion pulled out a girl from a simple tent under the gate. The girl was unusually calm and stood motionless. Yan Siqi stepped forward and grabbed a comrade. When I got closer to the torch, I saw that it was a Ryukyuan girl about sixteen or seventeen years old. She was wearing Ryukyuan clothes and had a slender figure. A pair of bright eyes looked at Yan Siqi without flinching. She seemed to be very interested in him. And There was no panic expression. Yan Siqi avoided her gaze and without saying a word, he said to his deputy, Liu Xiang, the deputy commander of the Ryukyu Special Sentinel Team: "Take this girl with you and retreat quickly."
Liu Xiang is the "Boy Scout" - the youngest among the military cadets. He is only sixteen years old this year. He has participated in many wars with Yan Siqi, but he is famous for his quick mind. He couldn't help but be stunned at this moment: " Brother, why do you bring this girl with you? What a burden."
"Bring it with you as soon as I tell you to. Hurry up." Yan Siqi slapped Liu Xiang on the forehead without hesitation.
Yan Siqi and Luo Aquan led the night attack team in a large circle and returned to the east gate of the Zhonghua Commercial Building just before dawn. Five of the 200 night attack team soldiers were killed and one missing. Most of them died in the Shimadzu military barracks. Inside. There are more than 50 injured people.
They killed each other in the Shimadzu Army barracks. At least hundreds of Shimadzu Army samurai and soldiers were killed. In particular, more than a dozen samurai who served as captains and team leaders were sniped by Luo Aquan when they attacked the east gate. Shimazu's army suffered little loss. However, a fire destroyed a lot of food and equipment, and suddenly lost more than a dozen middle- and lower-level key officers. Ijuin Hisamoto had to reorganize the army. It took two days before he was able to drive. The troops launched an attack.
This time Ijuin Hisamoto put all his troops on board. Together with Hirata Masumune's 500 men, there were a total of 2,500 Shimadzu soldiers.
When the Shimadzu Army launched its first general attack, a group of leaders of the Chinese company's escort team were talking to the Ryukyu girl Yan Siqi had rescued from the Shimadzu Army in the Merchant Inn.
That morning, when the girl came to the store, a group of Ryukyu people who had taken refuge in the store rushed forward. They knelt down and kowtowed around him, with extremely pious expressions. But this thin girl actually calmly caressed some children. head. He was saying something calmly.
Yan Siqi looked a little dazed. He quickly grabbed Zeng Xiren, the special commissioner of the Ministry of Security, who was passing by. He hurriedly asked: "Brother Zeng, what is going on? Why do these Ryukyu people kneel down to worship this little girl."
"Little girl." Zeng Xiren looked at Yan Siqi in surprise: "What? Didn't you participate in the pre-war Ryukyu briefing?"
Yan Siqi blushed: "Um. Um. I was reinforcing the city wall that day..." In fact, when Yan Siqi's troops first arrived in Ryukyu, Chen Zhongji gave the newly arrived brothers a briefing on the situation in Ryukyu. He was basically dozing off. .heard nothing.
Zeng Xiren said: "This girl is a blessing girl in Naha. She is similar to the female priests of our Taiwanese indigenous people. The Ryukyu Zhongshan Kingdom implements a unified administrative and sacrificial system. This blessing girl is called Shuihuaying. She is responsible for the sacrifices in this area. , witchcraft and other things. So these people respect her very much. Brother Yan, you are really discerning. You picked up a treasure and came back."
During the reign of King Shoshin of Ryukyu (1477-1526), the Ryukyu Kingdom also established an organization of goddesses with "Kun De Dajun" as the highest priest, and incorporated it into the ruling organization of "unity of sacrifice and administration". The era of Ryukyu's primitive tribe. There was a goddess in charge of sacrifices, called "Jun Zhenwu". But it was King Shangzhen who organized it and made it part of the ruling body. According to records, it was in the sixth year of Chenghua (1470). The daughter of King Shang Yuan was first appointed as the "Dajun Wende". "Wende" is a good name. "Dajun" is the leader of "the king, the woman, and the title of the priest". Later, among the goddesses The leader was changed to the princess and the queen. Ryukyu has "thirty-three entrusted daughters. They are all members of the king's family. The princess is also among them. After hearing about the king, they are all called kings." It is called "Thirty-three People" It means the majority, and they are all members of the "royal family". In other words, the Ryukyu society at that time was still in the early medieval era of "unity of worship and administration". The status of goddesses was subordinate to the king.
It is said that during the reign of King Shoshin, each of the Ryukyu islands was divided into three sacrificial areas. Each set up a "remote worship site" (also known as the "Sanpei") in Shuri. Three people were appointed as "Daai" She is the goddess who is in charge of the sacrifices in three regions. Her status is under the "Great King Wende". In addition, King Shangzhen also directly appoints the goddesses in various places. Their status is under the "Great Mother". The "Amu" is hereditary. It owns the territory in the sacrificial area under its control. In addition, it also pays Lumi. The goddesses (also called Zhunu) who are subordinate to the "Great Amu" in various places also have hereditary control over one or several Villages. They were promoted from the "root gods" or were appointed because of their merits and virtues in the palace. Therefore, they are also called "gongyi". These goddesses were also granted a certain amount of land or owned mountains, forests, fishing and hunting. Later, with the development of Ryukyu society, the shrine maiden organization was diluted. However, this "miko" culture continued on the Ryukyu Road until the era before Yin Feng crossed over. This is a story for another day.