Volume 2: The Conquest of Japan
Chapter 131 The prince is also ambitious
"General, the Ming army has been spotted ahead."
A Hatamoto samurai quickly came to Hirata Masunobu's horse and said quickly: "There are no less than a hundred people."
Masanobu Hirata did not participate in the Korean War, and he was very disdainful of the combat effectiveness of the Ming army as told by his ancestors. He believed that it was just Konishi Yukinacho and Todo Takatora at the time who were making excuses for their defeat. After all, there were hundreds of thousands of troops. Doing nothing but breaking out would be a real loss of face for a samurai.
Masanobu Hirata looked back at the samurai behind him, and then said sternly: "The Ming army is vulnerable, show your samurai spirit and be loyal to our country, Satsuma."
"Huha..." A group of warriors behind him shouted in unison.
Here, Hirata Zennobu is rushing to Lingang with more than 200 reinforcements. Over there, Chen Cao is waiting for Shangxian's answer with a look on the world.
Zongxin approached Shangxian with difficulty and whispered: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that Right Guards shouted before his death that he should lead Ryukyu?"
Shangxian turned around, a little confused: "Abandoning Lingang means giving up the entire Ryukyu Islands."
Zong Xin glanced at Chen Cao and the others who were staring at them, and then said with difficulty: "The Ming army came well prepared this time. I thought that they did not simply want to conquer the Japanese country."
Shangxian raised his head: "Ryukyu is the sky//a country designated by Emperor Taizu as a country without conquest..."
Zong Xin looked at Shang Xian with some embarrassment: "Japan is also among them..."
Shangxian's eyes became confused again. At this moment, the interpreter brought a Ryukyu man who was wearing somewhat tattered clothes. Shangxian recognized this person as Wangzhuang from a distance.
"Lord Wang..."
"Your Majesty..."
Wangzhuang cried and ran to Shangxian and knelt down in front of Shangxian, and then cried bitterly: "King, he was killed by the Japanese... They slaughtered the palace..."
Shangxian staggered, and Zongxin immediately supported him. It took Wangzhuang a long time to recover, and said with a sobbing body, "They are preparing to support Shangxian as the King of Ryukyu."
"How did you get here?"
Wangzhuang was stunned for a moment, and then said painfully: "They massacred the palace and sent people to search the city. I escaped only after being escorted by my family. Unfortunately, my family has already..."
Zongxin saluted: "Your Majesty, if you don't make a decision, Marquis Dingwu will definitely leave."
"You only have two choices now..."
Chen Cao opened his mouth and walked up to their small group. Under the gaze of all the senior officials of the Kingdom of Heaven//, Shang Xian bowed to Chen Cao with great difficulty: "Please give me your permission, Lord Marquis."
"I have received news that Prince Shangzhi of Ryukyu and Japanese pirates ambushed King Shangfeng of Ryukyu. His crime is extremely heinous and he should be executed. As an envoy of the suzerain country, I have not received the order, but it is heaven to kill him if he does not kill me.//The Kingdom of the Supreme Court protects The duty of the country;
The Crown Prince of Ryukyu, Shang Xian, cannot escape suspicion in this matter, so I will treat it as a different matter..."
Shangxian was stunned on the spot, and then he retorted after his thoughts came to his senses: "Master Marquis, I was not involved. I am innocent."
"Your Majesty," Wu Chun stood up and said angrily: "The matter has come to an end. Ryukyu belongs to the Ming Dynasty. From now on, it will be governed by the Heavenly Kingdom."
Boom...
Shang Xian sat down on the beach.
..
Hirata Masanobu's home has many Ming army standard armors captured on the Korean battlefield, so he also has a certain understanding of the Ming army's clothing. However, he could clearly see behind the shield formation three hundred steps away from him. The other person’s clothing.
There was no protective armor outside the dark green clothes. If it weren't for the word 'ming' written brightly on their big flag, he would have even thought that these people must be pirates kidnapped by the Folangji from Dongfan Island. .
"General, they are full of muskets."
The Hatamoto samurai rode a short Japanese horse in front of Chen Cao's military formation and then withdrew.
"The Ming Dynasty's muskets have a maximum distance of fifty steps, and our iron cannons can reach a hundred steps, hahaha." Masanobu Hirata was looking forward to facing the Ming army. He wanted to see what his ancestors said about the Ming army. How strong.
At the intersection of Lingang, Chen Cao glanced at the more than two hundred Japanese troops on the flat sand, shook his head and patted Ke Guangxian, who was approaching the formation: "Mrs. Fengsheng hopes that you will be admired by others. Today I’ll leave the battle to you, the Japanese pirates only have a few horses, so I’ll leave it to you to chase them.”
"yes..."
"Master Marquis, the navy has gone to Naha Port in Shanbei Prefecture." Sun Chuanting came closer.
Chen Cao's strategy is to completely annihilate the Japanese army in Ryukyu, then send some people back, and wait until the reinforcements from Satsuma arrive before talking about other things. In order to hide his strength, the navy's warships now include only a few small sea-going ships. All of them were thirty miles away from Hong Kong to avoid being discovered by Japanese pirates.
"Master Hou, Shangxian wants to see you."
Xin Zhao straddled the sword. He didn't think Shangxian would resist. At this time, no one would care about the life or death of the little Ryukyu Crown Prince.
"Why don't I explain to you the two previous paths. First, our Ming Dynasty is in charge of Ryukyu, but you, Shangxian, are still the king of Ryukyu, but the future military and foreign trade of Ryukyu will be all decided by our Ming Dynasty;
You, Shang, are in charge of Ryukyu. The political affairs and taxes in Ryukyu are decided by you, Shang. You can retain 200 palace guards and 50 prince guards. The stability of Ryukyu is maintained by you, Shang. If there is a rebellion, I, the Ming Dynasty, will The garrison was pacified;
If the people of Ryukyu feel that they have been oppressed by your Shang clan and appeal to the Ryukyu garrison, you will have to give a perfect explanation and classify them. The internal affairs of Ryukyu will be left to your Shang clan, and all foreign affairs will be managed by the Ming Dynasty..."
Shangxian's breathing began to quicken. Seeing this, Chen Cao continued: "The second way is for me, the Ming Dynasty, to directly govern Ryukyu. Shang will no longer be the king of Ryukyu. From now on, the political affairs of Ryukyu will be decided by the people of Ryukyu. The title of 'King'."
Trouble at both ends...
Shangxian regretted it. He regretted that he wanted to ambush Pingtian, and he regretted that he had thought of asking the sovereign for help. However, at this moment, the knife was already placed on his neck, and he had to choose to lower his head.
"My minister is willing..."
"Okay..." Chen Cao clapped his hands and said with great joy: "From now on, this place will be called the 'Ming Dynasty Ryukyu Special Zone'. You, Shang, will still be the master, and I will make the decision. From now on, you, Shangxian, will be the new one." The King of Ryukyu."
Even though he became the King of Ryukyu, Shangxian's heart no longer had the joy he had before.
Chen Cao then saluted Shangxian very politely: "I have met King Shangxian, and I would like to ask King Shangxian to move over and observe how our army repels the Japanese pirates. Please..."
King Shangxian is rushing to sell it now, but it finally complies with the old saying of the Ming Dynasty, "People have to bow their heads under the eaves."
If we calculate it carefully, the King of Ryukyu is still at the level of a county king after being canonized by the Ming Dynasty. A marquis like Chen Cao has to bow to others, but a foreign vassal is a foreign vassal. Even if he is at the level of earl, the King of Ryukyu has to take the initiative to be polite when he sees him.
Chen Cao and Shang Xian stood on a temporary high platform, sitting side by side. Chen Cao politely pointed at the Japanese army far ahead and said: "King Shangxian, these Japanese pirates are in our Dingwu Army." In the eyes, they are nothing more than local chickens and wardogs, let’s see how my subordinates defeat the enemy.”
During the training, Ke Guangxian only heard Shangguan talk about the equipment of the Japanese army. They did not have artillery, mainly because of the restrictions on domestic iron materials in Japan. If the iron material of an artillery was made into a Japanese sword, a good sword would at least be enough. Make a hundred.
What they are proud of is their self-improved and produced matchlocks, which they call "iron cannons", and they also have heavier iron cannons that can be used as light grenades.
Chen Cao smiled and pointed at the small number of Japanese firearms troops gathering in the distance: "King Shangxian, the Japanese pirates' muskets can hit a hundred steps, and their largest iron cannon can hit about a hundred and fifty steps. If we are attacking Ryukyu, these is allowed."
Shangxian's face turned slightly red, and then he said: "I am a small country with weak national strength."
"Send the order, if the Japanese pirates reach 150 steps, they will be caught off guard."
"yes..."
Hirata Masunobu looked at the Ming army in front of him mockingly. He didn't think that his opponent's firearms could hit farther than them. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of Ming people was generally very poor.
"Sir, the troops are on the way to return reinforcements."
A Hatamoto samurai came quickly on horseback and withdrew after giving the order.
Masanobu Hirata held a fan in his hand and waved it forward. The iron artillery captain immediately drew his sword and pointed forward: "Iron artillery team, move forward and shoot."
Keguang first commanded a battalion of soldiers and horses. After receiving the order, he immediately ordered people to place heavy shields in front of the formation. According to his understanding of the Japanese army before the war, the shotguns sprayed by their most powerful iron artillery team could not break through. Thick shield.
"Deputy commander, one hundred and eighty steps away," Li Xianyun stood in front of the queue and shouted behind him.
Ke Guang was not a religious man, but now he had military orders, so he immediately ordered: "The whole army is ready..."
"One hundred and seventy steps..."
"One hundred and fifty steps..."
"The Japanese troops are stationed, and the enemy's iron artillery team is preparing..."
"put..."
"Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang..."
Li Xianyun took the lead and fired at the Japanese iron artillery team.
During the Warring States Period, the Japanese army fought, especially the wars involving firearms. The old tactic was that the musketry team first fired in three stages, then the iron artillery team attacked the opponent's cavalry, and finally the infantry engaged, and the two sides fought very hard. polite.
Chen Cao vaguely remembered that when he watched a certain river drama before, the famous names of the two countries fought in a very controlled manner. The war was like a gang fighting in a group, and they would stop after the fight was over.
Bang bang bang...
A lot of shotgun shells from the iron cannon were sprayed on the heavy shield, all of which were embedded in the iron-wrapped shield. However, the few Japanese iron artillery teams suffered a catastrophe. They reflected the Ming army's The matchlocks couldn't even compete with their muskets, so how could they hit one hundred and fifty steps?
The iron artillery team's smile was fixed at a certain stage at the moment when the guns from both sides were fired. It was only when Hirata Masunobu saw the iron artillery team of more than ten people falling to the ground and wailing, that he felt the seriousness of the matter.
The only Hatamoto samurai beside him immediately drew out his Japanese sword, raised his sword and shouted loudly, then he led more than 70 people under his command and quickly ran towards the shield formation with small steps.
Chen Cao shook his head with a smile, then pointed forward and said to Shang Xian: "King Shang Xian, it seems that the battle can be solved with a stick of incense. I was wrong in my estimation. It can only be solved with a cup of tea at most."
