There was a loud bang, and a thick smoke filled the side of the Hiryu battleship docked in the waters near Sakurajima.
A 20-pound iron ball passed over the heads of the landing musketeers, passed over the black tide of Qi army flags, penetrated the soul, and hit the Zhaoguo Shrine three miles away.
The memorial tablet of Shimazu's ancestor was smashed to pieces.
The shrine collapsed.
A group of Tsuki warriors crawled out of the ruins crying and howling, their faces and bodies covered in dust.
Before they could take a breath, thousands of rockets flew into the sky from the east side of the sea, roaring towards the Shimadzu military position. Two of them landed squarely in the shrine. With a violent explosion, the ancestors of the Shimazu family The souls of all the ancestors return to bliss.
Outside the shrine, which had been bombed into ruins, the Satsuma Domain Maru cross-patterned horse seal flag was still flying fiercely.
The Shimazu family crest is the Maru Cross Pattern. It is said that during the Warring States Period, there was no outer circle, only an inner cross.
By the Edo period, most samurai families added circles outside their family crest, and the Shimazu family was no exception.
Fifteen thousand Shimazu troops gathered in formation to face the Tatar army coming from Sakurajima (Note 1).
Five thousand of them stood at the front of the phalanx, carrying jinkasa flags and ashigaru holding fire cannons.
By the late Warring States Period, both the big princes such as the Takeda family and the hegemons such as Oda and Toyotomi implemented the policy of "separating farmers from soldiers". Ashigaru became a synonym for lower-level samurai and was no longer a battlefield warrior. The presence of soy sauce.
As the Tokugawa world successfully moved from "arbitrariness" to "virtuous government", Ashigaru also transformed from "waiting in defense and waiting for the Duke to take charge of the city" to guarding the palace and city gates and writing about the Ashigaru - that is, grassroots public officials .
Because Tokugawa Iemitsu launched the Western Expedition, each domain was short of troops, and some of the Ashigaru who were originally classified as "subordinate officials" were re-recruited into the army.
The ambitious Satsuma Domain was different from most feudal states.
The Shimazu family never stopped training Ashigaru.
After the Tokugawa shogunate took over the world, most places in Japan entered the so-called peaceful age.
In the Satsuma domain, which was full of military virtues, from one generation of barbarian generals to three generations of barbarian generals, in the thirty or forty years, the Shimazu family either fought against the Ryukyus or the Ming army, and even participated in pacifying the Christians (Shimabara Rebellion) war.
Now, they have to fight against the Tatars again.
Therefore, unlike other vassals that have ceased operations, the Shimazu family has been sharpening their swords, and Ashigaru has been almost trained to become an elite.
~~~~~
Shimazu Hisakei sat under the horse seal flag, looking as motionless as a mountain, looking confidently at the neatly arranged Ashigaru troops in front of him.
Three miles away on Kagoshima Beach, more than 5,000 Qi army vanguard troops, under the cover of naval guns and sacred fire flying crows, were rushing towards the shrine position.
The fortifications built on the coastal tidal flats had long been destroyed by engineers, and the red barbarian artillery that the Shimazu domain had high hopes for had all been silenced before the landing.
Shimazu Hisakei looked at the gun mount still smoking in the distance through the telescope, and at the Shimadzu gunners who were dead and injured everywhere, his fingers couldn't help but tremble.
The Satsuma artillery and Taqi naval guns exchanged fire for only half an hour, and hundreds of red cannons were all destroyed by the enemy.
Those dead gunners all spent a lot of money to get the British to help train them. Unexpectedly, they were all buried here just after the war started. .... After fifteen years of absence, Taqi's combat power has far exceeded Shimazu Jiakei's imagination.
"My old master fought with the Ming army back then, and the two sides were still fighting back and forth."
Shimazu Hisaki murmured to himself that he had participated in the Battle of Tsushima and the pursuit of Kyushu for more than ten years, and was shocked by the combat power displayed by the Qi army now.
Brightly armored samurai rode on both wings to maintain the ashigaru phalanx formation.
The sound of scolding was endless, and the warriors waved their swords as if they were driving animals.
More than two thousand well-trained ashigaru, wearing black hats, body armor, carrying fire guns on their shoulders, hanging short swords on their waists, and wearing straw sandals on their feet - carrying large and small baggage - are said to be used to carry trophies.
It can be seen that Satsuma is still confident in defeating Taqi.
The Qi army ships concentrated in the waters east of Kagoshima, and the soldiers landed on the coast in small boats. After landing, they spread out in groups of sixty people in flag teams, alternately covering the advance.
The vanguard were all musketeers. Except for the auxiliary soldiers who were responsible for beheading, there were almost no cold weapons in the team.
After the more than 3,000 naval guns completed the destruction of the enemy's artillery fire, the muzzles of the guns were slightly raised, and they fired dense barrage thirty to fifty steps in front of the musketeers' line.
Dozens of horsemen in front of the musketeers were spying on the Japanese warriors who were harassing the landing troops. They were instantly covered by intensive artillery fire. The short war horses had no time to say goodbye to their short masters, and they all went to bliss together.
The rumble of horse hooves echoed along the coast, and the dense clouds of Satsuma cavalry came from the west.
"idiot!"
Shimazu Hisakei hurriedly waved the Maru cross-patterned flag and ordered all the Satsuma cavalry charging from both wings to withdraw.
He decided to temporarily switch to traditional Japanese cavalry tactics, letting the Ashigaru fight the enemy first, wait until a gap was opened, and then use cavalry assault to expand the results.
Shimazu Kumoto rode his horse to Kuqing, waved his whip and yelled:
"Didn't you see? The Tatars only use muskets, and there are no spear guards on either side. The boats are tired and it will be difficult to defend against the enemy. I asked the warriors to charge from both sides and defeat them with one blow! Why should I stop them!"
Shimazu Hisamoto was the uncle of the Lord of the Satsuma Domain and a veteran of many battles. He saw the flaws in the Qi army's formation at a glance and led the cavalry to charge into the formation, regardless of the commander's obstruction.
Shimazu Hisakei put down his telescope and said thoughtfully:
"Their muskets seem to be different from before. I heard Mr. Guo Xing said that the Tatars' muskets can shoot three hundred paces away..."
"It's better to let Ashigaru test it out first."
While talking, the Qi army's formation suddenly stopped. Some soldiers walked out of the team and began to set up anti-horse fences around the phalanx. Some light artillery was also pushed out of the phalanx.
Shimazu Hisamoto turned livid with anger, pointed at the defensive position that had been formed five hundred steps away, and said angrily:
"The fighter plane is fleeting, can you see? We missed the best offensive period!"
Shimazu Hisakei remained silent. Just as he was about to wave the flag for the Ashigaru attack, he saw that the cavalry had already launched.
Shimazu Hisamoto turned around and shouted loudly: "Although we missed the best opportunity to attack, if we attack now, we can still win!"
They were divided into teams of 350 people and began to accelerate the attack on the anti-horse fence.
Shimazu Kumoto is five feet tall, wearing a golden plum sandalwood board and a dovetail board, a sunband on his head, and a famous Oyu horse under his crotch, which looks particularly excited. ....He took the lead, loosened the reins, waved his flute and slapped the horse's belly hard.
"Onboard!"
Eight hundred Japanese horses behind them rushed towards the Qi Army's musket phalanx.
During the Warring States Period, due to various reasons, cavalry only accounted for about 10% of the troops, and their numbers were scarce.
But there are exceptions to everything, and the wealthy Satsuma clan is an exception.
Not only could the Shimazu family afford a cavalry force of 800, but they were also equipped with precious horse armor (which was indeed precious to the Japanese country).
Most importantly, the Satsuma clan's cavalry also had lances.
Putting all 800 cavalrymen forward showed that the Satsuma clan really wanted to fight the Qi army.
However, under the overwhelming force of absolute strength, personal determination and will can play only a negligible role on the battlefield.
A brilliant orange-red artillery fire instantly overwhelmed the Satsuma cavalry.
The flying crows of divine fire trailing long tail flames descended on the earth, and the fire roasted the descendants of the evil god like a doomsday judgment.
At the same time, lead bullets as dense as a galaxy covered the front of the cavalry line, and more than 5,000 Mini rifles fired simultaneously in four directions, forming an airtight and extremely lethal net of death.
Any living creature that enters within three hundred meters will be caught by this large net and torn into pieces.
"Onboard!"
Shimazu Hisamoto's body was hit by several bullets. The mini bullets deformed and expanded in the body cavity, grinding his internal organs into pieces. Blood spurted out in large mouthfuls. The front hooves of the war horse under his crotch were empty and he fell limply to the ground. .
Behind him, countless horses galloped past Shimazu Hisamoto, who had long since expired.
The pitiful generation of famous Satsuma generals was reduced to mud and dust, with only the fragrance remaining the same.
After two rounds of Shenhuo flying crow bombings, thick white fog filled the Kagoshima beach, and the sound of intensive rifle shooting swept across the land like a tide, taking away those Japanese pirates who refused to leave.
At this time, warships docked in nearby waters also joined in the massacre of Japanese pirates. ,
The naval guns began to accurately bombard the Japanese cavalry who were trying to approach the phalanx.
Although from a military perspective, after being baptized by divine fire and flying crows, and intensively fired by Mini rifles, when the enemy suffered all casualties, such bombing did not have much military significance. However, the shells still managed to kill a few fish that slipped through the net. Meat paste is better than nothing.
After an unknown amount of time, the thick smoke from various firearms finally dissipated.
Only heart-rending howls remained on the battlefield.
The engineers once again rushed out of the phalanx and began to dismantle the fortifications they had just set up.
As the marching drum beat, the musketeers marched forward in formation.
Five thousand bayonets thrust out diagonally, advancing westward as quickly as razors.
Most of the cavalrymen on the ground who were lucky enough to survive were injured and had nowhere to escape at this time.
The musketeers raised their bayonets and killed the injured Japanese cavalry one by one.
The sharp latch bayonet easily pierced the Japanese pirate's armor, and the blade broke the bones of the evil god's slave. When the Japanese pirate was about to die, it made an unsettling "kacha" sound.
In less than half an hour, all 800 elite cavalrymen of Satsuma Domain were killed or injured, and less than 50 cavalrymen escaped back to their main formation.
A strong sound of golden drums came from the direction of the Qi army's formation. The captains of each banner immediately blew their bamboo whistles, commanding the soldiers to form a skirmish line and accelerate towards the ashigaru phalanx. ….At the same time, each regiment sent its own cavalry to strengthen the protection of the weak points on the two wings of the musketeers.
The tall black cavalry suddenly appeared on the battlefield, like a god descending from heaven, causing a commotion in the ashigaru opposite.
"Boom! Boom!"
The ship docked on the coast of Kagoshima suddenly opened fire. However, the 30-pound cannon was not accurate, and several shots fell far behind the assembled Satsuma Ashigaru.
At the same time, the cavalry was divided into teams of twenty and used wave charge tactics to invade the two wings of the Ashigaru.
Due to the loss of cavalry cover, Satsuma Ashigaru had no power to fight back against this cavalry and could only be beaten passively.
The tall and powerful Qi cavalry caused great panic to the Japanese pirates.
Of course, the greater panic came from the Qi Army Musketeers directly opposite.
Three hundred steps away, the Qi army suddenly stopped, followed by loud gunfire.
What is shocking is that the Qi army did not use salvo tactics, but allowed the soldiers to shoot freely.
As both wings were continuously captured by the Tatar cavalry, Satsuma Ashigaru could no longer bear it and began to imitate the opponent and shoot freely.
However, the range of their matchlock guns was not as good as that of their opponents.
So these ashigaru who were lined up in a square formation were shot by the Qi army's musketeers like targets.
The battlefield soon took on a one-sided massacre.
Note:
1. Sakurajima: A volcanic island in Kago Prefecture, facing the old site of Tsurumaru Castle across the sea, bounded by Osumi Peninsula to the east, and Kagoshima Bay to the north and south. .
Meng Wuyue reminds you: Remember to collect after reading this
