"Onboard! Onboard!"
In the green desert everywhere, the densely packed Gyeongju warriors cheered loudly. Standing high on a watchtower, Jiaqing King Zhu Cihuan and his two wives, the main concubine Shima Tsunoyoshi and the side concubine Naomi Hoshina, all showed satisfied smiles.
The three of them were all in full military uniforms, painted red and wearing a bit of Japanese-style plate armor. They looked majestic.
Surrounding the watchtower where they were located was a large section of the border wall that had been blasted with gaps one after another by artillery. These border walls were easy to deal with small groups of Japanese bandits, but more than 10,000 fully armed, In front of the samurai legion, which was dragging more than ten cannons, it looked like paper!
As soon as the soldiers arrived and the cannons fired, in less than an hour, the defending Sonora militiamen could not withstand the blow. Some surrendered and some fled. Not only did the border wall, which cost Don Juan Jose a lot of silver pesos, be thrown to the invading Jiaqing warriors, but all the cornmeal stored in several watchtowers was thrown to the invading Gyeongju warriors.
This was an unexpected surprise. Originally, these Gyeongju Japs who didn’t bring enough rations were planning to eat cactus if they couldn’t do it anymore (they had already tried eating the saguaro cactus in the Sonora Desert, and it seemed that they couldn’t kill anyone), but now they can Okay, there is enough corn flour to steam the steamed buns and eat them!
The border wall located in the Sonoran Desert was not built against the Gyeongju City (San Diego) of the Kingdom of Gakyung. The harbor is still 1,200 miles away.
Moreover, the Sonora provincial militia stationed at the border wall will also send cavalry to patrol the desert north of the border wall.
Therefore, the defenders of Sonora's border wall had enough time to burn their food reserves and then escape.
But contrary to Zhu Cihuan's expectations, the Sonora provincial militia stationed at the border wall faced more than 10,000 Gyeongju samurai troops, and actually chose to stick to their shabby border wall... The result was of course helping Zhu Cihuan. A big favor.
Because this attack by the Gyeongju Samurai Corps was actually a battle without logistics!
This is the basic foundation of the Jiaqing Kingdom... If you don't count those who hold the status of Jiaqing nobles but do not live in the Jiaqing Kingdom, the real number of Jiaqing people is only one hundred thousand - this is not Ding Zhuang. number, but the total population!
If the population hadn't been too small, the Jiaqing Kingdom wouldn't have implemented a one-armed system with only warriors and no civilians! However, the one-collar system can only solve the problem of insufficient military resources in the Kingdom of Jiaqing, but it cannot break the dilemma of weak national power... In fact, the one-collar system is just a short-term emergency solution, not a solution at all. Long term solution.
What is accumulated through this system is not real national strength, but only war power. Even this battle cannot be fought well, because all the strong men are warriors. Therefore, once the strong men go into battle, most of the production in the rear will be paralyzed. At best, they can barely maintain a living for the old and the weak. It is simply impossible to support the front line.
Therefore, the King of Jiaqing could only lead an army without logistical support, carrying only enough rations for 30 days (the Jiaqing army did not have many horses, and it would not be able to carry too many), and began a battle that was almost a gamble on life. expedition.
As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Jiaqing King Zhu Cihuan was shocked when he heard this plan from Shimazu Noyoshi - to carry 30 days of food and walk 2,000 miles, he would have to walk more than 60 miles and almost 70 miles every day. , and we have to fight in the meantime!
Although Count Iturbide, the governor of New Spain in Sonora Province, was a veteran with no brains, the border wall built by the New Spain in the Sonora Desert was no different than paper.
But the New Spanish soldiers can also use the method of fortifying the wall and clearing the field to deal with the invading Garching Army - if Count Iturbide can see through the intentions of the Garching Army, he can also gather his troops to defend the port of Guaymas... ..Once the Jiaqing Army cannot seize this supply port, more than 10,000 people will have no choice but to eat cactus in the desert.
Therefore, this kind of no-return battle plan is basically betting on the lives of more than 10,000 people! As long as there is a slight accident, the expeditionary force will run out of food and be defeated, that is, the entire army will be annihilated!
What's worse is that Zhu Cihuan himself is also on the "blacklist" of more than 10,000 people. He had to lead the expedition in person, and he had to be brave enough... To lead more than 10,000 people to fight a war where most of them would starve to death on the front line, he couldn't be stupid or crazy.
Jiaqing King Zhu Cihuan was neither stupid nor crazy, and he rejected Shimazu Noyoshi's suggestion on the spot. But this woman was so cruel that she even threatened to commit suicide!
If Shimazu Noyoshi alone wanted to commit seppuku, Zhu Cihuan would probably not give in, and he didn’t believe that Noyoshi would actually commit suicide... But his other wife, Naomi, the daughter of Masaki Hoshina, actually wanted to follow Let’s make a fuss together and commit seppuku!
This is not possible!
Naomi Hoshina had watched Zhu Cihuan grow up, so he knew this girl's stubborn temper... She said she would do it, and she would do it!
Moreover, this girl only entered Zhu Cihuan's room on behalf of the Baoke family after the death of Baoke Zhenghui's sister, another side room of Zhu Cihuan.
Zhu Cihuan knew his true status in the Jiaqing Kingdom very well!
The Kingdom of Jiaqing was actually a colonial country founded by a group of "Samurai Dingyu" who had no future in Japan through his trademark!
He, the king, was just a memorial tablet. The two samurai families of Shimazu and Hoshina were really in power.
Among them, although the governor of the Shimazu family is Nobu Shimazu, most of the Shimadzu people listen to Nokichi Shimazu.
The governor of the Baoke family is Baoke Zhenghui, and he is Zhu Cihuan's staunchest supporter... It is said that the relationship between the two is extremely unusual!
If Zhu Cihuan loses Shimazu Noyoshi and loses the support of Hoshina Masaki, then his role as King Jiaqing will come to an end.
So even though he knew it was a gamble, Zhu Cihuan had no choice but to risk his life!
I didn’t expect that this life-and-death battle would start so smoothly!
According to the quartermaster's report, the corn flour seized was enough to feed more than 10,000 Gyeongju warriors for 10 days... With 10 more days of steamed buns, King Gagyeong would be more likely to win the battle. increased.
If he is defeated and starves to death in the Sonora Desert, there is no doubt that he is a mad king or a stupid king. But if he wins the bet...then this "war without food" will go down in history. , he will be the founding hero of Jiaqing Kingdom, the invincible king of war!
After announcing the "good news of Wotou" to the entire army, he was greeted by fanatical shouts.
At this time, Baoke Zhenghui, who was also wearing a red plate armor, had already hurried up to the watchtower, arrived at Zhu Cihuan's side, and reported in a low voice: "Your Highness, according to reports from the scouts, hundreds of New Spanish cavalry are rapidly approaching. Here we come! The distance is about 30 miles."
"What?" Zhu Cihuan was stunned, "Hundreds? Is that correct?"
"It's unmistakable," said Masaki Hoshina, "it was the Takeda family's cavalry who discovered that their...maximum number was 500 cavalry."
"Your Highness," Shimazu Noyoshi interjected, "The Spaniards must not have thought that we would send out a large army to invade from the land. They must have thought that we were sending out only a small group of troops, so they entered the army rashly... This is what we will do." A chance to defeat him in one fell swoop!
There are not many Spanish knights in Sonora Province. If 500 come, basically all of them are present. As long as we can destroy them, there will no longer be any force that can resist us in Sonora Province! "
"Okay!" Zhu Cihuan made a decisive decision this time. He just saw him pull out his samurai sword, raise it high above his head, and point to the south. The cheering warriors below all silenced and looked at them. The "Lord of War" held his breath.
Zhu Cihuan shouted loudly: "All armies...hundreds of Spanish cavalry are just 30 miles away! Destroy them, and no one in Suozhou can stop us...to take Suozhou." After that, the door to Seokju will be open... After taking Seokju, Mexico City will be 1,500 miles away! Gyeongju warriors, move forward!"
