During the Battle of Sichuan, the Zhejiang soldiers were at the forefront. They broke into Shimazu Yoshihiro's fortress several times. Because the Ming army did not follow up and support in time, the Zhejiang soldiers were defeated several times. In the end, when the Ming army was defeated, the Zhejiang soldiers once again failed. As the rear army, thousands of brothers died at the hands of the Shimazu family troops. The old foundation of the Qi family army was greatly weakened.
The "Shimanzi" mentioned by Luo Quanxiu, the leader of the Yiwu Gun Soldiers, is Shimazu Yoshihiro. "Shimadzu" is pronounced as "西马子". It was written as "Shimanzi" at that time. Because Yoshihiro was able to conquer the Korean battlefield. He was famous for being good at fighting, so the Ming Dynasty called him "Ghost Manzi".
Yin Feng immediately agreed to Luo Quanxiu's request, but he temporarily kept Luo himself by his side as an adviser on the battle against Shimazu. At a meeting held overnight with all generals, Yin Feng asked him to introduce the story of the war with Shimazu. Experience and lessons learned from the Tianjin Army’s operations.
Yin Feng looked at the densely packed small boats docking in front of him. However, there was no movement in the direction of Shimazu Furniture City Tsurumaru Castle. He couldn't help but frowned. He looked left and right. He saw old general Chen Di still holding his telescope. He watched non-stop. He smiled helplessly and said, "Old General Chen, how did you experience fighting the Japanese pirates back then?"
Chen Di shook his head: "That happened a long time ago. I never thought that I would be able to visit the Japanese pirate's hometown in my lifetime." He reluctantly handed the telescope back to Yin Feng. He praised it full of praise: "That one When I went to Manila last year, it seemed that the telescope couldn't see that far."
Yin Feng nodded and said: "Of course. This is the first batch of telescopes produced by Taiwan. General Chen, it will be our turn to land ashore in a moment. Look, our artillery battalion has already landed."
Chen Di seemed a little hesitant. He sighed and said, "Master Yin, you have used weapons against the Japanese country without authorization this time. How do you plan to deal with the criticism of the princes of the court?"
Yin Feng sneered: "I never expect them to be able to help. Am I avenging my wife? This is their responsibility."
He pointed to Tsurumaru Castle at the foot of Seongsan Mountain in the distance: "Now we Chinese have hit the hometown of the Japanese pirates for the first time. We have to fight the strongest infantry in Japan. Which of the princes in the imperial court can do it?"
Foreign mercenaries were boarding boats and rafts. They walked past Yin Feng and shouted slogans in various languages. The general meaning was that they were cheering for Yin Feng.
Yin Feng allowed them to be relieved of military discipline in the castle town area for one day after defeating the enemy.
"Old General Chen, please rest assured. We are at least 70% sure of winning this battle. Now we are attacking suddenly. The Shimadzu family is caught off guard. Any successful long-range surprise attack must meet certain conditions. First. First. Good material preparation and smooth transportation lifeline; we have control of the sea and control of sea and land transportation. Moreover, Miyako Island, Ryukyu, and Tanegashima are all under our control and have become our logistics base. There is no problem with this: Second. The attacking side must have an absolute superiority in troops. At least it must have superior firepower; our army has more than 5,000 combatable troops. If Brother Zhao's troops can arrive in time, we will have nearly 8,000 troops. And we also have a firepower advantage; on the other hand, looking at the island The Tsu family's elite troops are currently far away in Ryukyu and cannot return. The number of samurai, Ashigaru and others that can be mobilized by Tsurumaru Castle and the castle town is only 3,000 at most..."
Yin Feng raised his telescope and pointed at the China Company ship anchored in Kagoshima Bay. He continued: "Third, we want to end this battle and military operation in a short time. Therefore, I demand a quick decision. Once the war starts, it will be a decisive battle; and The Shimazu family has always been brave and warlike. They will never be trapped in an isolated city... Fourth, it cannot be a war of attrition. Therefore, I will devote all my strength to this battle and strive to defeat the main force of the Shimazu family in one battle; Fifth, the enemy's military strength It must be within my expectations. Sudden changes and unexpected enemies must not occur. After all, we are fighting on someone else's territory. It is difficult for us to guarantee that we can grasp all the situations of the Shimadzu family. The final sixth point is that no other emergencies may occur. Events. Such as weather, disease, etc."
"Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty..." Chen Di suddenly said: "This is a lesson from the past."
"Yes. That's why I said our army has a 70% chance of winning." Yin Feng said with a wry smile.
"Captain Yin, according to your usual approach, you have to be 90% sure before fighting."
"This is not just revenge for Taiwan's sneak attack. It is also for Taiwan's long-term peace and stability. The Shimazu family of Satsuma Domain must be defeated. Otherwise, Taiwan will never have peace. The best defense is offense. Have you heard of this sentence? ." Yin Feng asked Chen Di.
Of course Chen Di had never heard of it. Yin Feng had no choice but to make up nonsense and say that it was a statement made by a certain Western military master.
At this time, the main force of the Chinese United Company's expedition to Satsuma had begun to land.
The 1,000 sailor musketeers who made the advance landing marched about 100 steps westward along the bank of the Inari River and formed three rows facing the direction of Tsurumaru Castle.
After shouting and shouting, the Yiwu soldiers and the foreign mercenary soldiers rushed to the coast. They first occupied the Inari River fort position and the gunpowder depot abandoned by the Shimazu family's troops. At noon, a small group of Shimazu family warriors numbered more than 300 people. Under the leadership of Shimazu family retainer Shinna Tadahisa, they launched a charge towards the fort from the direction of the Kobutsu River in the south. They used Tanegashima Iron Cannon, the most famous matchlock gun of the Satsuma Domain, to shoot at the Chinese troops occupying the fort. The Shimadzu family paid for it. Some of the self-fired iron cannons and flintlock guns obtained were given to the Tokugawa shogunate. The rest were in the hands of the soldiers of Kaguyama Kudaka's expedition to Ryukyu. Therefore, when things came to a head, the Satsuma clan headquarters had only old-fashioned matchlocks to use. And there aren’t many.
The range and rate of fire of the Tanegashima iron cannon were not as good as the homemade flintlock muskets used by the Chinese army. The shooting by Shinna Tadahisa did not cause much damage. However, it provoked a fierce counterattack from the Chinese army. Not only the three ships of the Feizi turned their guns They bombarded Shinna Tadahisa with their mouths. Yiwu soldiers, foreign mercenaries, and the artillery battalion that had just landed turned their firepower to the south. Shinna Tadahisa's samurai team was beaten to pieces by shells and bullets. At the Li Inari River Fort It collapsed less than a hundred meters away.
The Yiwu musketeers crossed the forts and pursued these Shimazu warriors. They rushed into a part of the castle town on the north bank of the Kodochi River and then slowly retreated.
In the afternoon, Shimazu samurai from near Kagoshima came one after another from all directions. Shinna Tadashi seemed to have received some reinforcements. More than 500 people gathered again. Led by several Hatamoto samurai, they headed from the mouth of the Kodachi River to the sea. The Chinese army launched a charge at the beachhead. However, as soon as their team deployed on the coast, they were repelled by the intensive artillery fire of the Yin Feng fleet. The Shimazu family warriors were very frightened by the intensive artillery fire they had never seen before.
At this time, the main force of Yin Feng's troops had basically landed.
It’s not that the Shimadzu family didn’t want to attack the Chinese halfway, but something happened suddenly. All the elites of the Shimazu family’s army were in Ryukyu. The country was actually very empty. In the era when the Shimazu family was fighting for hegemony in Kyushu, the Satsuma clan was the only country in the world. It was able to organize an army of 50,000 to 60,000 people; but now, after many years of fighting, the Shimadzu family's famous generals have withered. In Korea, Sekigahara has lost countless elite soldiers; because the Tokugawa shogunate has cut off many of the Shimadzu family's fiefdoms, they still have to bear the responsibility of building Sunpu Castle. Huge expenses. The Shimadzu family now has no manpower or financial resources to organize an army of more than 4,000 people.
Shimazu Tadahashi was woken up by a waiter this morning. Before he could put on his clothes, he saw the amazing scene of Kagoshima Bay on the top floor of Tsurumaru Castle Castle Tower.
In Tsurumaru Castle, which had just been built not long ago, drums were beaten for the first time to urgently summon retainers.
The first person to arrive was the old retainer Tadashi Shinna. The old man, who was over eighty years old, happened to be visiting the head of the family at Tsurumaru Castle. Hearing the sound of drums, he immediately came with the help of the servants. He also brought his grandson. Shinna Gendo, Shinna Jiro Shiro Tadashi, Lao Dang Yizhuang. He is the origin of the Shinna family, a branch of the Shimazu family. He is a confidant of Shimazu Yoshihisa. He is a brave general known as "Onimusashi". He is also a man of both civil and military skills. He has served the island for a long time. The rules for the education of retainers formulated by the Tsu family. Attacked Minamata Castle. He once interacted with the castle's canine boy Ryan and entertained him with Japanese songs. When the Shimazu family sent troops to Korea, he stayed behind in his own country. It can be seen that he was a trusted loyal minister of the Shimazu family. He commanded a small force to attack. Shinna Zhongjiu, who was at the landing site of the Chinese Army, was Zhongyuan's adoptive brother. He was much younger than him.
Then came Tadanobu Shimazu, the son of Shimazu Tadahashi's fourth uncle, Iehisa, and his son Hisaki Shimazu. They brought 300 samurai from their own city. Both of them were people Shimazu Tadahashi didn't like to see. He was an opponent who was fighting for power with him overtly or secretly. As soon as they arrived, the father and son asked: "Have you notified your father, Mr. Weixinsai of Kajimu?"
This refers to Shimazu Yoshihiro. At that time, he lived in seclusion in Kajigi. After entering Taoism, he changed his name to Yuishinsai. Shimazu Tadashi felt as if he had eaten a fly. But he had no choice but to reply that he had sent someone to inform him. Shimazu Yoshihiro was here The influence and actual control of the Satsuma Domain is still unchallenged by Shimazu Tadahashi. In fact, the military power of the Shimadzu family is still under the control of Shimazu Yoshihiro; the real power in the territory is still controlled by Shimazu Yoshihisa (the so-called " "Twin Hall System"). Because Yoshihisa had no sons, he married his third daughter Kamehisa to his adopted son Tadashi and designated Tadashi as his heir. However, the relationship between the two of them was very bad. Although Shimazu Tadashi was appointed by the Tokugawa Shogunate However, as soon as Tadahenge took office, he killed Ijuin Tadou, the family elder during Yoshihiro's term, causing the "Shouchi Rebellion". This led to Yoshihiro expressing strong opposition to Tadahenge's plan to attack Ryukyu and Taiwan.
Now, the enemies on the sea of Kagoshima Bay have opened fire on the mouth of the Inari River. It can be known from the flags flying on their ships that these enemies are the Chinese company's army composed of Chinese maritime merchants from Taiwan. This is undoubtedly related to the island. It has something to do with Tatsuhiro's attack on Taiwan. Shimazu Yoshihiro would have some unpleasant words to say about this. Shimazu Tadahiro knew it without even thinking about it.
It was almost noon. Yamada Ariei, Kawakami Hisaro and other close branches of the Shimadzu family. As well as Aiwa Kutora, Osumi's wealthy family Ijichi Dahei. The dog boy Ryan and Gansuke Kane who used to work for other famous ministers and now surrendered to the Shimadzu family. Ryo and other important retainers came one after another. These Shimazu retainers brought samurai one after another, totaling about 800 people in Ashigaru. They were capable of temporarily mobilizing combat troops around Tsurumaru Castle. Now the Shimazu family has We now have an army of about 2,000 people.
In the main hall of Tsurumaru Castle Honmaru (the main castle), dozens of important retainers of the Shimazu family and their retainers gathered here for a meeting to discuss. Neither the predecessor of the Shimazu family, Shimihiro nor the senior Yoshihisa, could come yet. Shigetomi's elders, Kaguyama Hisaka and Hirata Masumune, were also fighting in Ryukyu. Therefore, Shimazu Tadahashi unceremoniously dominated the meeting.
"...The enemy is from Taiwan. They are the soldiers and horses of the Chinese maritime merchants. They have captured the mouth of the Inari River and the dock area. They have a large number of large iron cannons... From this point of view, most of the troops we sent to Taiwan We have failed. Everyone, how should we face the enemy?"