Tokugawa Mitsukuni was no longer in the mood to stay in Nanjing to arrange Wei Zaode's visit to Japan, because Japan's peaceful and prosperous age was coming to an end, and he had to go back and report quickly!
Now there are bad guys in the west of Japan. Zhu Cixiang, the hero of the Ming Dynasty and the ZTE, turns out to be a cunning and cunning bad guy who plots to overthrow Japan's peaceful and prosperous age.
And there is a madman in the east of Japan! The Catholic empire of Spain is completely crazy and is actually planning a large-scale raid on the core areas of the Ming Empire!
Didn't they see the huge forts on both sides of Wusongkou in Shanghai? Haven't you seen the Jiangyin-Jingjiang fortress group on the edge of the Yangtze River?
As an envoy visiting China, Tokugawa Mitsukuni was invited to visit Wusongkou in Shanghai and the fortress groups along the Huangpu River, and he was deeply impressed!
Since the cost of building bastions with sandbags is relatively low (not entirely with sandbags, but it can still greatly reduce the cost), the Navy Department of the Ming Dynasty built a large number of bastions and fortresses near important seaports and seaports. Shanghai, as the Ming Dynasty The most important city and trade center of Haikou is protected by a large group of coastal defense fortresses and land fortresses!
Among them, the Shanghai Coastal Defense Fortress Group is mainly located along the Yangtze River on both sides of Wusongkou. It is not one fortress, nor a group of fortresses, but two groups of fortresses! There is a group on the east bank of Wusongkou, and another group on the west bank of Wusongkou! The two fortress groups not only firmly blocked the entrance of the Wusong River, but also guarded two large riverbanks where it was easier to land and build docks.
Although Shanghai is a coastal city, it is actually difficult to land on Shanghai's coastline because most of it is mudflats and the water is too shallow. There is a difference of more than ten to twenty miles between the low tide and the high tide. Moreover, there are no ready-made ports near Shanghai's coastline, only some small fishing ports. What's worse is that there are no official roads in that area, and there are water networks crisscrossing the area, so transportation mainly relies on inland water transport. These water networks are connected to the Huangpu River in the upper reaches of Wusong River.
The Ming Dynasty army stationed in Shanghai built a Jiangpu Fort on the west bank of the Huangpu River and a Pudong Fort on the east bank of the intersection of the Huangpu River and Wusong River. The two bastions firmly blocked the waterway from the beach in the southeast of Shanghai into the city of Shanghai. Even if a brave enemy forces a landing from the beach, they will be blocked by the water network and these two bastions. It is almost impossible to quickly occupy the urban area of Shanghai.
Moreover, the urban area of Shanghai is not without city wall protection. The Pudong area of Shanghai has the 20-mile-long Baoshan Wall (Baoshan was located in Pudong during the Ming Dynasty), which protects the Pudong area and the Baoshan Fortress Group on the east bank of Wusongkou. In the back, there is a manually dug canal outside the Baoshan wall that serves as a moat. The Puxi area of Shanghai is guarded by a Wusong Wall. The Wusong Wall is even longer, extending from the Wusong Bastion Group at the Yangtze River Estuary to Jiangpu Fort, in a semi-circular shape, with a length of nearly fifty miles. There is also a canal on the periphery that serves as a moat.
Although the height of Shanghai's two long walls was limited, there were no prismatic gun towers for protection, and many city gates were opened. But it has a sloping anti-gun wall that is thick enough to withstand heavy artillery. As long as the Shanghai government can organize the workers in the city into a militia before the enemy's army attacks, and cooperate with a small number of regular troops to set up defenses on the city walls, they can defend the city.
There are now 200,000 to 300,000 manual factory workers in Shanghai, as well as three large arsenals, namely Shanghai Shenyang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Shanghai Bogarao, and Shanghai Steel Union, as well as the Shanghai Naval Academy. Not only does it have a large number of personnel who are easily organized and familiar with firearms, but it also has a large inventory of firearms and production capabilities.
Unless the army that raids Shanghai succeeds in a very short time, they will never be able to conquer the city!
In the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in addition to the "Shanghai Fortress", the Ming Dynasty also had the Jiangyin-Jingjiang fortress group. This is a group of river defense fortresses used to prevent enemies from moving up the river and threatening Nanjing. In this era, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River were very wide, while Jingjiang Jiangxinzhou and Jiangyin on the south bank of the Yangtze River together formed a narrow area, so it was natural that it was chosen by the Navy of the Ming Dynasty and became the gateway for defense along the river. A series of bastions formed an impenetrable defense that was almost impossible to destroy with naval guns and could only be captured by landing and storming!
But in this era, the time it takes to attack the fortress is measured in months, and the time it takes to capture the Jiangyin-Jingjiang fortress group is probably measured in years... And how long does it take for the Ming Dynasty's general mobilization?
"The defense of the Ming Dynasty's river mouth can be said to be impregnable! Therefore, I think the Spanish's idea of raiding the southeastern seaport of the Ming Dynasty is completely crazy! It is impossible to succeed!"
Tokugawa Mitsukuni, who had rushed back to Edo after a long journey, was currently in Edo Castle reporting the gains and insights of his trip to China to Lao Naka, Masaki Hoshina, who was assisting the government, and others.
This time he reaped the bitter fruit, met bad guys and madmen, and saw a Ming Dynasty Jiangnan that was already in the primary stage of capitalism.
"So, do you think the shogunate should reject the Spanish and side with the Ming?"
Tadaki Sakai asked the question. In recent years, because Matsudaira Nobutsuna is old and frail, unable to cope with the increasingly difficult internal and external situations, Sakai Tadakichi, who is still young and strong, has gradually become the most vocal veteran.
"This..." Tokugawa Mitsukuni frowned, but he didn't know what to do?
"Lieutenant General (Mitsukuni's official title is Lieutenant General Ukonoe Gon)," said the senior penman Matsudaira Nobutsuna on the side, "You are the heir of the Mito family, what else can't you say?"
Masayuki Hoshina said, "Yes, just say it! You can say anything!"
"Hai!" Tokugawa Mitsukuni nodded, "Then I know everything! I thought that if the Ming Dynasty defeated Spain in the Pacific, Japan would be in danger of overthrowing!
Because there is no way for Japan to join the vassal system led by the Ming Dynasty... The Tokugawa family can become the vassal of the Emperor of Heaven, but it is impossible for His Majesty the Emperor to serve the Emperor of Heaven! "
"Lieutenant General, how could you say such a thing!" Masayuki Hoshina's expression changed drastically, and he immediately began to scold him. Because he already understood what Guangguo was saying? Mitsukuni Tokugawa is talking about the possibility of deposing the Empress and allowing Shogun Tokugawa to be promoted to King of Japan!
Tokugawa Mitsukuni sighed: "What the official said is just the truth!"
Hoshina Masayuki angrily scolded: "As a minister, can I say such a thing?"
Tokugawa Mitsukuni shook his head: "Then, can we return the great power and turn Japan into a country of emperors like the Ming Dynasty?"
"Lieutenant General! What are you talking about!"
"Lieutenant General..."
"Lieutenant General, are you crazy?"
"Lieutenant General!"
All the senior middlemen were shocked by Tokugawa Mitsukuni's words, and they all started shouting without caring about etiquette.
Tokugawa Mitsukuni snorted: "Can't you say anything? I just told the truth! These are the two roads before Japan now!
Either become a rebellious minister and traitor, and with the support of the Ming Dynasty, eliminate all the disobedient daimyo, then let Gongfang become the king, and then make Japan a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.
Or...we all become loyal ministers together, and the shogunate takes the lead in returning the great government, changing the vassal domain into a county, establishing an empire, and then allying with the Westerners to fight against the Ming Dynasty!
There is nothing else to do! "
Is Tokugawa Mitsukuni crazy?
The Mito Domain is about to change its heir...
What should I do! The smartest person in the Tokugawa family is also crazy!
So, is there any other way?
When the veterans heard what Tokugawa Mitsukuni said, their first reaction was that this smart man was crazy! But then I thought about it, and it seemed that there was no third way!
So everyone fell silent.
Tokugawa Mitsukuni continued: "Now is no longer the time to live behind closed doors! Japan must be a country, and to do so it will face two major problems. One is the relationship with China! The other is competition with other countries!
Because His Majesty the Emperor cannot submit to the Celestial Empire, then Japan will not only be unable to receive the protection of the Celestial Empire, but will also be hostile and subverted by the Celestial Empire! If the emperor cannot be abolished and the emperor is replaced by the king, then Japan must unite the power of all the vassals to become one country! Only in this way can all samurai in Japan fight for the country instead of fighting for their own vassals! With the combined strength of Japanese samurai, Japan is enough to fight against China! "
