In July of the thirty-seventh year of Wanli (AD 1609, the fourteenth year of Keicho in Japan), the fleet of the China United Company appeared in Kagoshima Bay. Then it penetrated deep into the sea of Binchō, not far from the city, and formed a single column. Get into battle formation and stand ready.
In ancient Japan, Kagoshima was known as the Land of Bear Attacks and the Land of Hayato. The Hayato tribe living here surrendered to the Yamato court and then surrendered again. After that, with the emergence of the large manor Shimazuso. As the lord of the Kamakura shogunate here, the Shimazu family continued to expand its power. It gradually came to dominate this place and actively developed trade with the southern islands. Shimazu Sho continued to expand its sphere of influence. Tadahisa Yuizune (who served as the subordinate of Shimazu Sho) ( Later Shimazu Tadahisa) entered the Izumi area in 1185, and subsequently became the guardian of the three countries of Satsuma, Okuma, and Hyuga.
In the early days of the Kamakura shogunate, all the Shimadzu clan lived in Kamakura. It is generally believed that Shimazu Sadahisa's move to Tofuku Castle in Kagoshima County in 1341 marked the beginning of the Shimadzu family's migration to Kagoshima. After that, the Shimazu family moved to Kagoshima in 1387 Qingshui Castle was built in 1550 (the fourth year of the Japanese Era). Shimazu Takahisa built an inner city near Qingshui Castle closer to the coast in 1550 (the 19th year of Astronomy) and settled in the area near this mountain. Because of the concentration of samurai granting titles, it was called "Umachi". The area from the mouth of the Inari River and the Name River to the coastal embankment (later known as Yanagi Town due to the planting of willow trees) was mainly composed of ordinary people's residences and was called "Shitamachi".
Although the inner city is called a "castle", it is actually just a mansion with a moat. It has extremely poor defense. After the defeat in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (the fifth year of Keicho), the issue of relocation was put on the table.
At the end of the Muromachi shogunate, the power of the Shimazu family grew rapidly. However, when it attempted to unify Kyushu, it was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army (1587). It is said that Tsurumaru Castle was completed in 1603 (the third year of Keicho). ). It has tall archery towers and castle towers. (In the original historical time and space, Tsurumaru Castle was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in 1696. However, the rebuilt Tsurumaru Castle did not have the archery towers and castle towers. It was just a simple residence structure. That's right) The buildings at that time were mainly concentrated in Kamemachi. However, in recent years, rows of samurai-granted houses appeared on the right bank of the Kobutsu River, forming a castle town. The residences of high-ranking samurai were distributed along Sensekibaba Street. The lower-ranking samurai lived in Kajiya Town. nearby.
During the Warring States Period, the Kobutsu River ran along the eastern foot of the castle mountain. It passed by Gozhuya and entered the sea near Junkanori. Together with the mouth of the Inari River, it was opened as a port, allowing Kagoshima's overseas trade to flourish.
The Shimadzu family was committed to developing trade with the Ming Dynasty government, North Korea, and southern countries. Kagoshima, Akune, and Yamakawabozu occupied an important position as trading ports at the time. It was precisely because of the open-door policy. Tiegun Christianity was first introduced here.
In the past few years, the Shimadzu family's life has been getting worse day by day. The Shimadzu family participated in the Battle of Bunroku, Keicho and Sekigahara. They paid a lot of military expenses and lost countless manpower and material resources. They struggled to make up for it and solve this serious crisis. This is also one of the basic reasons why Satsuma invaded Ryukyu.
Yin Feng looked at the small fort at the mouth of the Inari River on the Flying Tiger. He coldly asked Colonel Coutre beside him: "How is it? Have you sent an envoy?"
Yin Feng's old battalion operations department chief was Colonel Coutre, who temporarily took over: "Emissaries have been sent. They are a Portuguese missionary and a Chinese missionary from the Taiwanese church. The Fujian businessman Luo Luo who did business with the Shimadzu family Sir also went with them."
At this time, the lookout at the top of the main mast sent a semaphore signal. Lin Yue said word for word: "The lookout reported that the messenger has come ashore. More than ten people from the other side have left the fortress."
Yin Feng nodded and loudly ordered: "Send the flag and prepare for landing."
Chen Di was looking around fondly with Yin Feng's telescope. Hearing this, he was shocked. He turned around and said, "Captain Yin, why don't you wait for the outcome of the negotiation?"
Yin Feng said coldly: "No need to wait. There will be no results; the best way to negotiate with the Shimadzu family is to use weapons."
He gave the order, and all the soldiers took action. The first to prepare for landing were the 1,000 sailors and musketeers on ten two-masted Fuchu ships. Three giant ships, the Fei Zi, and ten three-masted Fuchuan-type gunboats were in front of them. Kagoshima Castle coastline is close.
This fleet is the largest battle fleet that has ever appeared in Kagoshima Bay (the area from the Kototsu River to the Inari River is also called Kinko Bay). In addition to three huge gunboats, there are twenty three-masted ships and More than fifty two-masted lucky ships and other auxiliary ships were densely distributed on the sea east of Kagoshima City. The queue of sailing ships extended all the way to Sakurajima. (Sakurajima in this era was still a veritable volcanic island. History It was not until 1950 that Sakurajima volcano erupted lava and connected the island to the mainland. Sakurajima became a peninsula).
The port manager of the Shimazu family was stunned by the scene in front of him for a while. It took him a while to remember that he should report a message to the lord of Tsurumaru Castle. However, at this time, Shimazu Tadahashi, who lived in Tsurumaru Castle at the foot of Shiroyama Mountain, was already at the castle. I saw a fleet of sailing ships on the sea.
The three Chinese envoys were sent to Tsurumaru Castle by the port authorities. However, the Chinese company's landing operation was already in full swing without waiting for the results of the negotiations.
Regarding the approach of the three giant ships, the samurai of the Inari River Estuary Fortress were indeed very courageous and opened fire first. The problem was that the Shimadzu army's "National Collapse" cannon only had a range of 200 meters, while the three giant ships of the Hiji were still within 500 meters. Meters away, this shell missed without any suspense. But the sound of the gun gave the Chinese army a reason to open fire.
Yin Feng ordered all the artillery troops to open fire. The Conch blew the firing signal. In an instant, the roar of artillery continued. Thousands of artillery shells were fired at the Inah River Fort like a shower. Li Kuiqi's artillery battalion used five cannons. They broke into a place 100 meters away from the fort and opened fire. Suddenly, thick smoke billowed from the fort and the surrounding area, and fire shot into the sky. The only cannon of the Inarigawa Fort resisted for a moment, but was silenced. It was followed by the fleet's cannonballs. Bombarded the dock area and hit a Shimadzu military ammunition depot, causing three consecutive big explosions. Ten minutes later, the Inari River simple fort and the Kagoshima dock area were completely destroyed by Yin Feng's fleet. There were fierce fires and thick smoke. The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke. The Satsuma garrison fled in all directions. There was not a single moving figure along the coastline.
Then, the three giant ships of the Hiji led the artillery force to turn northeast. The ten lucky ships behind the artillery array began to rush towards Kagoshima Beach. They ran aground directly on the shoal. Then countless ant-like figures clung to the side of the ship. The net bag went down to the sea, and boarded dozens of centipede boats---a Chinese copycat version of the Portuguese hand-rowed speedboats. Then they started to land on the beach. The centipede boats were equipped with three Folang machine guns, thirty on each side. Rowing the oars, the sailor musketeers shouted their chants and charged towards the beach.
Immediately afterwards, the troops carried on the three giant ships of Feizi also began to prepare for landing.
…
At the same time, Yamada Masaru was heading towards Qingmizu Castle along the mountain road on the north shore of Lake Ikeda. Lake Ikeda is the largest lake in Kyushu. It is a 265-meter-deep, 19-kilometer-circumferential rock formed by the subsidence of Ikeda volcano due to the eruption of Kaimondake. Crater Lake. At this time, various flowers were blooming on the lakeside. The blue lake water and the brightly colored flowers complemented each other beautifully. However, Yamada Masaru was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery. He was in a hurry to report the news to Tsurumaru Castle.
At the same time, 30 miles south of the mouth of the Kagoshima Castle Kotoku River, troops led by Zhao Tie, Yan Siqi and others were marching in a hurry. On the edge of the mountainous area to the west of the coastline, groups of Taiwanese indigenous auxiliary soldiers were scattered around the mountainous area. Accompany Zhao Tie's troops as they advance and cover Zhao Tie's left flank.
…
When the Air Wolf and other artillery teams circled back to the mouth of the Inari River and fired artillery in the direction of Tsurumaru Castle to cover the landing of the troops, the landing of the Chinese company's troops entered a climax.
A transport sailboat converted from a merchant ship sailed past the starboard side of the Flying Tiger. The soldiers who were about to land on the ship saw Yin Feng standing on the bow. They raised their guns and cheered loudly: "Captain Yin is Wan Sheng. Wan Sheng."
"The commander-in-chief will win. The Chinese army will win." The sailors on the Feihu agreed in unison.
This ship carried more than 200 blackbird gunmen. They would be the first infantry troops to land. So they paid tribute to Yin Feng.
The night before the landing battle, Luo Quanxiu, the leader of the Yiwu Gunslingers and the commander of the Yiwu Sentinel, came to see Yin Feng. This forty-year-old Zhejiang soldier was wearing Western-style plate armor produced in Taiwan. He was holding his own in his hand. wearing a helmet. Kneel down on one knee and salute: "Greetings to Mr. Qianhu."
Several leaders of the Yiwu soldiers had once served as generals and generals in the imperial court. They liked to call him by the official title granted to Yin Feng by the Ming Dynasty. This was the only one in the entire Chinese army.
"Brother Luo, why are you doing this great gift?" Yin Feng quickly stepped forward to help this veteran who participated in the Korean War in Imchen.
"Sir, please arrange for our Yiwu soldiers to lead the battle. Among our Yiwu soldiers, 50 have participated in the Battle of Sizhou, 20 have fought in the Battle of Ulsan, and about half of the rest, our fathers and brothers have participated. During the Korean War, my father and brother died at the foot of Sichuan City in North Korea... We Yiwu soldiers and Shi Manzi had a blood feud and were sworn in. When the Japanese pirates withdrew from Korea and the imperial court ceased war with the Japanese pirates, I once thought that this was the case. I will never be able to avenge my deep hatred against Shi Manzi in my life. The sky has eyes. I met you, Captain Yin. You are the only one in the world who can lead us to kill the Japanese pirates' lair. No matter what, we Yiwu soldiers must not let go of this revenge. Opportunity."
Yin Feng couldn't help but sigh when he heard the words; Who said there were no real soldiers in the whole country in the late Ming Dynasty. These Yiwu gun soldiers are the ones in front of him.
During the Imjin Korean War, the Ming Dynasty sent hundreds of thousands of troops. To be honest, except for the capture of Pyongyang and other early battles, the Ming army's infantry performed pretty well. In the later battles, the Ming Dynasty's army was lackluster. Except for a few thousand Except for the Liaodong cavalry and the thousands of "Qi Jiajun" who were the old Zhejiang soldiers who performed well, the other army units performed very poorly. They were far inferior to the Ming army and the navy.