October 15th, the first year of Tianqi.
Sensu Castle of the Hizen Domain on Kyushu Island.
The mountain fire on Asu Mountain gradually extinguished, and thousands of Jianzhou Mongolians climbed up along the ridgeline and reached the mountainside. They wielded axes and long knives to cut off the unburned tree trunks, and the wood was transported down the mountain.
Craftsmen and auxiliary soldiers gathered at the foot of the mountain, set up camp, and worked overtime day and night to make shields, chariots, ladders and other equipment needed to siege the city.
The angry Korean soldiers put on their armor and stared at the small town blocking the way of the army two miles away, with nervous and excited expressions on their faces.
Ping Liaohou's large banner of the Chinese army fluttered in the wind in the open space between Asu Mountain and Qiansu City.
This is the first time since the Eastern Expedition that Liu Zhaosun has been on the front line to command operations.
In the past two hours, Deng Changxiong directed the siege of the city. The Korean soldiers who had already boarded the city were blocked by the Hizen samurai twice under sharp fire cannon attacks.
Fortunately, there were not many casualties, only more than 800 people.
After Pingliao Hou witnessed the battle, he promptly stopped the siege of the city and asked the auxiliary soldiers to build chariots and ladders. Before the siege equipment was completed, the Korean soldiers were not allowed to attack the city at will.
Although the city in front of us is small in size, the attack must be overwhelming and must be fully prepared.
It is a pity that the Hizen Domain did not make any preparations.
The feudal lord Nabeshima Tadashige hastily responded to the challenge, abandoning a large amount of grain and grass outside the city, and the plan to clear the country with strong walls was also incomplete.
At least, the forest where the Kaiyuan Army manufactured siege equipment has not been completely burned down.
The coir raincoat guards roared across the valley, killing the Japanese ninjas who were lurking in the dense forest and setting fires one by one.
These Kyushu ninjas who participated in the arson had no power to fight back in front of the well-equipped and powerful Kaiyuan elites.
The entire pursuit process, in Shen Lian's words, was as simple as catching a rabbit in the bushes.
The ladders and carriages were quickly built. As the Chinese army's infantry and drums sounded, the generals and flag teams of each battalion led the troops in front, and the brutal siege began again.
Liu Zhaosun ordered that all the artillery that besieged the three gates in the southeast and west be removed and replaced with bows and arrows to harass. At the same time, all artillery and divine fire flying crows were concentrated to bombard the north gate.
Three hundred artillery pieces of various types were concentrated in front of the narrow moat. The cannons roared and accompanied by the piercing roar of rockets, the city was plunged into a sea of flames.
The artillery fire that lasted for half an hour was ready to begin, and the rumbling sound of artillery broke the tranquility of this small Kyushu city. Amidst the roar of the Hongyi cannon, iron balls weighing twelve kilograms flew through the sky and hit the low main city gate one after another.
Masonry and sawdust were flying from the top of Qiancangsu City. The warriors dropped their Japanese swords like headless flies and ran around. Many people were hit by the flying sawdust, and their companions dragged their blood-stained corpses to the ground in a hurry. Wengcheng retreated.
Marquis Pingliao looked at the thunderous artillery offensive in front of him, with a satisfied smile on his lips.
Half an hour later, Ping Liaohou called Qiao Yiqi and Zheng Yiguan (Zheng Zhilong) into the tent to discuss matters.
Also summoned was Deng Changxiong, commander of the Guards.
Liu Zhaosun motioned for everyone to sit down and pointed to the two heads placed on the desk.
"The defender in the city was unwilling to surrender and even killed his envoy. Two Korean righteous men lost their lives as a result. How disgusting!"
Shen Lian added:
"Other vassals in Kyushu, such as Chikuzen and Higo, are waiting and waiting for the final result of this battle. We cannot lose this time."
Liu Zhaosun looked at Shen Lian firmly:
"Of course we can't lose."
He turned his attention to Zheng Yiguan.
This famous pirate in the late Ming Dynasty is still a bookkeeper under Li Dan.
Zheng Yiguan was born with a gentle manner and a handsome face. Those who didn't know it thought he was a servant of some adult.
It is difficult to connect the young man in front of him with Zheng Zhilong, the great pirate who roamed the southeast twenty years later.
Li Dan led pirates from various countries south to attack the Ryukyu Islands.
Before leaving, Marquis Pingliao asked him for Zheng Zhilong, saying that he would help him clean up his accounts.
Li Dan was very fond of Zheng Zhilong. Considering the cooperation of Kaiyuan Army, he still gave the accountant to Marquis Ping Liao.
Liu Zhaosun hoped to learn more about the current situation of each vassal through Zheng Zhilong.
Zheng Zhilong grew up on a sea ship, traveling around with his relatives and friends for trade. At the age of thirteen, he was able to go to sea alone and trade with foreign merchants in Nagasaki, Japan.
"What is the origin of Hizen Clan and why is it so stubborn? Not only did he kill the messenger sent by me, but he also said that he would lead the samurai in the city to fight to the death for the shogunate."
Marquis Ping Liao looked at Qiansu City which was reduced to rubble in the distance, the expression in his eyes kept changing.
"Hirayo Marquis doesn't know that the Lord of Hizen Domain is a close confidant of Tokugawa, and he is the thorn in Kyushu planted by the shogunate. He is very unpopular among the feudal lords in Kyushu, and the shogunate regards him as a confidant."
In the Battle of Sekigahara, Hizen was the first Western army to fall to Tokugawa, and played an important role in Tokugawa Ieyasu's annexation of the Toyotomi clan.
"Since you are determined to work for the shogunate, let's help him. Let the Korean soldiers begin to attack the city! Tell the leading generals that this city cannot be captured within half an hour, and behead all the generals above the commander-in-chief!"
Marquis Pingliao gave an order, and the combat orders were passed down layer by layer. A moment later, groups of Korean soldiers pushed forward with neat steps, pushing shield carts and ladders.
A shallow moat was quickly filled in by the Kaiyuan Army, and the horses and caltrops were also cleaned up by the auxiliary troops.
The Hongyi Artillery and the Divine Fire Flying Crow continued to bombard the city head, covering the Korean soldiers in front of the city.
~~~~~
"Ping Liao Hou, when the Japanese invaded in Imchen, all the feudal lords sent their troops here."
Zheng Zhilong, who was tall and handsome, walked up to Marquis Pingliao.
Under Wu Xiao's supervision, Zheng Zhilong carefully unfolded the situation map of Japan.
I'm afraid I'll see you in the next second.
Wu Xiao was angry. More and more ninjas were sent to assassinate Marquis Pingliao these days, making the Chinese guards uneasy.
Zheng Zhilong looked at the densely packed place names on the map and read them all.
"When Toyosei Hideyoshi invaded Korea, almost all Japanese vassals sent troops, including 600 from Kyushu, 500 from Kishu, 400 from Kinai, and 300 from Suruga, Ene, Mikawa, and Izu. To the east of this, Owari, Mino, Ise, Omi 400..."
"Okay, don't read it anymore."
Liu Zhaosun waved his hand to interrupt the pirate counting house:
"Just based on this list, let's start with the Hizen Domain. How many troops did the Hizen Domain send that year?"
The young and handsome Zheng Yiguan blurted out:
"Six hundred warriors and a thousand ashigaru, a total of sixteen hundred people."
Everyone turned their attention to Marquis Ping Liao, but saw his face gloomy and said:
"After the city is broken, we will kill 1,600 people first to thank the soldiers and civilians who died that year. Except for the women and children, all the men will be killed! Until we have collected 1,600 heads."
Qiao Yiqi couldn't help but shudder.
Everyone knew very well that in the small city in front of them, apart from the Japanese warriors who participated in the defense of the city, it was still a question whether there were two thousand civilians in the city.
If you really kill 1,600 people, it is basically equivalent to massacre of the city.
Deng Changxiong hesitated for a moment and quickly accepted the order.
Liu Zhaosun's expression remained unchanged, he stopped Deng Changxiong who was about to go out, and added:
"Commander Deng, don't let the soldiers take action, arrange for the Korean soldiers to do it."
"In the year of the Japanese Rebellion in Imjin, the Japanese pirates burned, looted, and committed all kinds of evil wherever they went. In Jinju alone, 60,000 soldiers and civilians were massacred (note 1), even infants and the elderly were not spared. My adoptive father was in Korea that year. I saw with my own eyes that it was this Hizen Domain warrior who participated in the massacre in Jinshu.”
"So, I now want to help the Japanese country and help them restore their humanity. Only by repaying grievances with grievances can they awaken them. You must remember that only by killing more people will they have a sense of awe."
Many people in the big account had participated in the Wanli Campaign to Aid the Dynasty, and the ferocity of the Japanese pirates was not a distant thing for everyone.
However, Ping Liaohou's theory of "killing people to save others" is still shocking.
Liu Zhaosun was about to tell his subordinates a ridiculous story about how the United States killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese with mushroom eggs and were still grateful to Japan decades later. At this time, the sound of mountains and tsunamis came from outside the camp.
Everyone walked out of the tent and saw from a distance that the Koreans had jumped onto Qiansu City and were killing the ashigaru warriors who had fled.
This time they landed in Japan, they were accompanied by a large number of Korean soldiers, with a total strength of more than 10,000.
The Kaiyuan Army prepared sophisticated siege equipment for the Koreans, and pressed the formation from behind. This fighting force suddenly burst into combat effectiveness.
The Koreans fought from Tsushima Island to Iki Island and then to various cities in Hizen, fighting a smooth battle and gaining great morale.
Most of the fathers of these Korean soldiers from Busan, Inchon, Seoul and other places had personally experienced the Imjin Japanese Rebellion. Many of their parents had been killed by Japanese pirates. Now that their enemies meet, they are particularly jealous and do not need any mobilization by the instructor. Their military morale was all over the place.
Qiansu City was quickly captured.
Half an hour later, the head of Nabeshima Tadashige, the chief of Hizen Domain, was hung on the city wall for public display.
One thousand six hundred Japanese prisoners were pushed to kneel down in front of the city wall.
Amid the strange screams of the Koreans, 1,600 people were beheaded at once.
Sixteen hundred human heads were tied with bowstrings and hemp ropes and hung on the low walls of Qiansu City, swaying in the wind like water hyacinths growing wildly in the castle town.
After dark, heads and noses collided with each other, causing giggles.
~~~~~
At the end of October, Kaiyuan soldiers swept across Hizen and Chikuzen Domain, and marched eastward to the Shimonoseki Strait.
The Kaihara Navy united with the Portuguese fleet to blockade the Bungo Waterway and repel the reinforcements of the Iyo and Tosa clan fleets on Shikoku Island.
At the same time, Li Dan led more than 30,000 pirates to Kagoshima and fought in a melee with the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma domain. The two sides were familiar with each other and knew each other well when fighting, regardless of the outcome.
At this point, the three groups of troops completed the encirclement of Kyushu Island.
On October 20, the central army tent of Marquis Heirayo moved to Moji Port of Bunzen Domain.
Moji Port is adjacent to the Shimonoseki Strait, which is located between Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture at the western end of Honshu and the northern end of Kyushu.
The Shimonoseki Strait is the western gateway to the Seto Inland Sea and has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
More than two hundred years later, the famous "Treaty of Shimonoseki" was signed on the Chunfan Tower opposite.
The Manchu Qing ceded the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan Island and its affiliated islands, and the Penghu Islands to Japan, compensated Japan with 200 million taels of silver, and opened many treaty ports.
However, because of Liu Zhaosun's time travel, history has changed a lot.
Many historical events that should have happened are still happening today, such as the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
Just the content is slightly different.
On October 25, Yamauchi Masayoshi, the lord of Tosa Domain on Shikoku Island, saw the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" on the prisoners who escaped from Kyushu Island. It is said that this was the condition proposed by Marquis Heirayo for peace negotiations.
According to the research and analysis of later historians, this document is the original text of the treaty.
This is quite different from the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" formally signed by the two sides in Shimonoseki a year later (that is, in 1623).
The requirements of Ping Liaohou are as follows:
“The Shimazu Domain must withdraw all garrisons from the Ryukyu Islands and recognize Ryukyu as the Ming Dynasty Domain;
Japan must compensate Ming Dynasty for its military expenses of 30 million taels of silver;
Japan must return Tsushima, Iki Island, and Hizen Islands to Ming Dynasty;
Japan must open seven trade ports to the Ming Dynasty, including Nagasaki, Edo, Izu, Kagoshima, Nara, and Kyoto;
Japan must execute the daimyo of Kaga Domain, Osaka Domain, and Tsushima Domain, and send their heads to the capital of Ming Dynasty;
Except for the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands, other countries were prohibited from trading with Japan;
The shogun's son was sent to the capital as a hostage, and the shogun's daughter was married to the Ming vassal king as a concubine.
…
Note:
1. Ming History Biography 200 Japan
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