Beihai Town first followed the order of each battalion and company. The soldiers walked down the gangway and boarded the catamaran passenger ship through the springboard.
After the passengers were full, the catamaran sailed to the beach carrying two companies of soldiers. When the catamaran stopped two hundred meters away from the beach, the soldiers, in the order of each squad, got down from the stern of the ship into the assault boat towed behind, and quickly headed towards the beach. Each catamaran tows four assault boats behind it, which can bring two squads of soldiers ashore at a time.
On the hillock of Pinggen Mountain, a samurai wearing red armor, holding a monocular and staring dumbfoundedly at the black boat in Beihai Town, did not need to paddle at all, as long as one person sat on the stern of the boat and held the hand. A short stick protruding from a square box. With the white waves rising from the back of the boat, they quickly washed up on the beach.
"What kind of ship is that?" The warriors on guard were shocked. They could not imagine that there was a ship in the world that could be driven by one person without the help of sails.
As for the Thor, they all thought it was the same as the ship, except that the mast was lowered when the ship was stopped.
Tanzawa Hisaemon, who was standing on the beach and was in charge of contact, noticed that none of the soldiers in Beihai Town were wearing swords on their waists. Instead, there was a semi-hidden gun under the muzzle of the blunderbuss they carried. The sharp dagger.
"It turns out that these people all carry a blunderbuss sword on their iron cannon. It is estimated that after the projectiles are fired, it can be used directly as a spear. However, the length of this iron cannon is only three feet. Even with the blunderbuss sword, it is still longer than two guns. It’s much shorter!”
The Beihai Town soldiers who landed first rushed to the beach and immediately sent out sentries in groups of two. These sentries were placed around the formation, with each group 50 meters apart, monitoring every move of the shogunate personnel.
After a company of soldiers from Beihai Town completed the landing, the company commander Yoshiro (Yaichiro) ignored the officials of the Uraga Office on the beach and immediately sent a platoon and ordered them to quickly occupy the top of Mount Hirake on the right.
After receiving the order, Monk Zhou first ordered his men to form a team, and then ordered them to form a triangular battle formation and march towards the top of Pinggen Mountain with an altitude of only more than 20 meters.
This stung the hornet's nest of the shogunate's army. When they saw more than thirty people forming a very loose formation on the beach, rushing towards their own side, the Hatamoto samurai on the mountain immediately began to scream.
"They're coming!"
Several warriors wearing red armor pulled out their swords and ordered the warriors: "The enemy is coming, form a formation!"
"Ho!"
The bearded warrior wearing leather armor mustered up his courage and stood behind the antler fence with a spear in hand. Behind him, a dozen bow-wielding warriors had already nocked their arrows and were ready to shoot.
"Stop whoever comes! Don't come near!" Hatamoto Samurai, the captain, raised his sword and shouted.
"Platoon leader, what should I do if there is someone on the top of the mountain?" an infantry squad leader from an island country asked Monk Zhou.
Monk Zhou said nonchalantly: "Stop advancing, squad one fires a warning in the air, squad two and three get ready for battle."
As the ping ping ping ping pong of gunshots rang out at the foot of Hiragen Mountain, the Hatamoto samurai leading the team was the first to lie down, shouting: "The enemy's iron artillery is attacking! Lie down!"
Before the captain could finish speaking, all the Hatamoto samurai and ashigaru, including the bearded samurai, were so frightened that they immediately fell to the ground, all of them with pale faces.
After a while, everyone waited for the gunshots to subside, and then they realized that there was nothing wrong with them, and there was not even a single bullet hole on the wooden shield behind the antlers.
"Hey! It turns out you were just trying to scare people." Seeing that the wooden shield was intact, the bearded warrior jumped up and down happily. The other warriors slowly climbed up one by one and cautiously looked down the mountain.
"Sir, what do you mean?!" On the beach, Tanzawa Hisaemon, who had not slept all night, glared at Mishiro and asked.
Mishiro looked at the warrior wearing a dark blue shoulder jacket, and after a while he said: "We are going to set up a guard post. Do you have someone on the top of that mountain?"
"You are now standing on the soil of our country. Please take all actions in accordance with our requirements!"
"Sorry, we have to trust ourselves to protect our safety. Don't worry, our people will evacuate immediately after the negotiation is over. We have no interest in occupying this remote and remote area."
Hearing that the other party spoke with a Mutsu accent again, Tanzawa Hisaemon felt that his entire worldview had collapsed! I thought to myself, "Why don't you be a good obedient citizen and go hang out with Tang Yi?" These bastards from the Sendai clan!
"Please wait a moment. I'm going to ask the acting official for instructions. In the meantime, please don't be impulsive, lest something unspeakable happen to both parties."
Faced with Tanzawa Hisaemon's plea, Moshiro thought for a moment and agreed, and then ordered a soldier: "Inform platoon leader Zhou to stop advancing and stay alert."
At this time, as more and more soldiers from Beihai Town landed, the warriors standing guard around the Whale Cutting Field found in despair that they were surrounded by the opponent.
When Sadanobu Matsudaira and his men at the Gobansuo heard reports from the front that Tang Yi was planning to set up a "warning line" and almost had a conflict with the guards on the top of the mountain, they couldn't help but be furious.
He first ordered people to send an urgent report to Edo, requesting additional troops; then he ordered Tanzawa Hisaemon to inform Beihai Town that every plant and tree on the Mitsuri Peninsula was under the jurisdiction of the shogunate, and no one had the right to invade it.
At present, the opposition in Edo City are paying close attention to his every word and action. If Matsudaira Sadanobu dares to agree to this matter, he, the Marquis of Shirakawa, will be in trouble, let alone the senior middle and high position.
When he heard Songping Tashin's reply that he did not allow Beihai Town to set up guard posts on Pingen Mountain, Zhao Xinluo thought about it and knew what the other party was thinking. He then ordered: "Let Pan Xiucheng line up on the beach! Prepare the artillery, and aim the muzzle at Pingen." Top of the mountain!"
The drone operated by Ding Guofeng had long noticed the shogunate defense line at the top of Pinggen Mountain and on the northwest side. The dignified shogunate was actually frightened into this kind of behavior, which shows how bad the military equipment is.
Zhao Xin decided to let the Thor enter Edo Bay after today's discussion and let the drone fly over the castle to see what the Tokugawa family's Ooku was like.
As Zhao Xin's order came out, 1,500 people had landed on the beach in battalion units, surrounding the formation on three sides.
It was impossible to climb Pinggen Mountain, but each battalion still sent out sentries to both sides of the beach to keep a tight watch. The fishermen and residents of Uraga Town who tried to get closer to watch the excitement were frightened by Beihai Town's actions and fled in all directions.
At noon, when Baihehou Songping Dingxin, surrounded by a group of gun-wielding warriors dressed in red, appeared at the right moment, Zhao Xin, wearing a white captain's uniform, also began to board the ship.
Monk Zhou's platoon was sent by Pan Xiucheng to serve as a guard for Zhao Xin, so when Zhao Xin and Songping Dingxin sat with the north and south facing each other, behind them were a group of ten warriors and thirty Beihai Town soldiers. .
Uraga Moriyuki, who is responsible for the security of the venue, takes a look at this! At the moment, the shogunate has nothing to ask for, except face. So he immediately mobilized twenty more armed warriors and stood on both sides of Matsudaira Sadanobu. Now they were evenly matched.
Seeing Zhao Xin, who was tall and wearing clothes that were not Han Chinese at all, Matsudaira Sadanobu was a little dizzy because of the snow-white captain's uniform.
At this time, I only heard Zhao Xin say: "My name is Zhao Xin, and Gui Chang is the Marquis of Baihe, right?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu couldn't help but be shocked when he heard that Zhao Xin spoke with a Kanto accent. He thought for a moment before saying slowly: "You are the big boss of Tang Yi?"
"No!" Zhao Xin looked at the thin young man opposite who was wearing a black tasseled crown, a red hat string, and a black court uniform, and said with a smile: "It's Beihai."
After saying that, he nodded to Monk Zhou behind him. Two Beihai Town soldiers immediately came out, slowly opened a map produced by Beihai Town, and faced Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"The red areas marked on the map are all our territory."
Matsudaira took a closer look and couldn't help but grit his teeth and clenched his hands tightly on his thighs.
The entire map covers the eastern part of the Qing Dynasty and the vast area from the Kamchatka Peninsula to the island of Ryukyu.
On the map, the four northern islands, the Thousand Islands, Kuye Island, and even the vast area belonging to Jilin General Mansion outside the Manchuria Pass are marked in light red; while the Ezo land is marked in light blue.
These places were too close to the island country, and Matsudaira Sadanobu felt the pressure instantly.
Matsudaira Sadanobu pointed at the map and asked: "Are you very close to Kamosigadouga Country?"
In the ninth year of Hōreki (1759), when the Matsumae feudal lord Minato Kakushin was investigating the southward escape of the Ezo people, he learned from them that there was a kind of "red Ezo" haunting further north. These red Ezo hunted furs and imposed heavy taxes on the local residents, accompanied by strong force to suppress them. Kakunoshin reported this matter to the Matsumae Domain and the shogunate, so the shogunate initially called it "Kaga" based on the location where the Cossacks appeared. Touch the country of Xigeduga." (Note)
Zhao Xin nodded and said: "Yes, we have completely wiped out the Lu country bandits on Bitter Leaf Island, and even captured many of them and went back to work as coolies."
Because Zhao Xin is a Han Chinese, and the island country at this time believed in Zhu Xi's theory of "loyalty and righteousness", all the warriors, including Matsudaira Sadanobu, showed extremely complicated expressions when they heard Zhao Xin's answer.
"When did the Ezo people establish themselves as a nation?"
Zhao Xin said to Matsudaira Nobunobu with a serious face: "One of the purposes of my coming here in person this time is to hope that the shogunate can understand that Ezo Land is not your place. The Matsumae Clan, which has been violently conquering, has been expelled by the Ainu, and the three shogunate The two attacks were not worth the gain. This is an agreement. As the protector of the Great Ainu Kingdom, we require your country to declare that it will give up its ambitions for Ezo Land and open up trade with the Great Ainu Kingdom and Hokkaido Town. , and set up a commercial store in Yokohama.”
The reason why Zhao Xin wants to trade and open business embassy is to influence a group of island scholars of this era and use the strength of Beihai Town to suppress their expansion ambitions in East Asia.
Twelve years ago, with the release of the anatomy work "New Book of Disintegration" translated by scholars such as Sugita Genpaku, it caused a huge response within the island country. Many people in the medical field went to Nagasaki to learn the most advanced medical concepts; This influence has also spread to other groups in different scientific fields.
Suddenly, a large number of Orchidology intellectuals appeared in the island country. They held Orchidology seminars, opened Orchidology schools, etc., which opened the prelude to the rise of Orchidology in Japan, and the term "Orchidology" began. Only when it entered the public eye did it begin to rise to the ideological level.
Opinions on coastal defense, enriching the country and strengthening the military, and even opposing the shogunate's autocracy also began to emerge. Lin Ziping, known as one of the "Three Wonders of Kanzheng", proposed the famous "Coastal Defense Theory" in his book "Hai Guo Bing Tan" completed five years later, in 1791, advocating that neighboring areas should be targeted for aggression.
Later, Akira Honda believed in his works such as "Secret Strategies for Managing the World" and "The Story of the Western Regions" published in 1798 that island countries should take conquest of the world as their ultimate goal. To this end, he proposed to conquer Kamchatka Peninsula, Manchuria, Sakhalin, etc. territorial expansion and the implementation of the European colonial system. This person even fancifully hoped to move the capital of the island country to the same latitude as London and become the England of the East.
It's only 1786 now, and neither Lin Ziping nor Honda Toshiaki's expansion theory has yet taken shape. Only by suppressing these people and following the science and technology culture of Beihai Town as a guide, when Sakamoto Ryoma, Katsura Kogoro, and Saigo Takamori emerge one after another in a few decades, these people will become loyal lackeys of Chinese civilization.
The expression on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face was indifferent and he said, "Is there anything else?"
"Sixty years ago, Hagi Domain committed the crime of killing Tang people in the 'Susakarabune Incident'. This time we demand repayment. If the shogunate does not deal with it, we will send troops to attack Hagi Domain."
"What if we don't agree?"
"It's easy to say that what Baihehou sees now is only half of the people I brought with me, and the other half are on the boat." Zhao Xin pointed to the soldiers of Beihai Town lined up on the beach, and continued to Matsudaira Sadanobu: "I'm afraid it will be difficult to capture the entire island country. No, but capturing Edo Castle is easy and simple."
"Sixty years have passed, and things have changed. Besides, those people are not your subjects, but people of the Qing Dynasty. Do you still want to fight injustice on behalf of the Qing Dynasty?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu keenly grasped the loopholes in Zhao Xin's words. He did not talk about the agreement that Zhao Xin came up with, but asked aggressively: "Your Majesty separatist party, you should know that governance is based on morality and conduct is based on benevolence and righteousness. Therefore, those who hold high positions but have no virtues will be deposed; those who are rich but have no righteousness will be punished; those who are humble but love virtues will be honored; those who are poor but have righteousness will be honored.' As a Chinese person, how is your behavior different from that of barbarians?"
Zhao Xin did not know that what Matsudaira Sadanobu said later came from "Xinyu Benxing" written by Lu Jia of the Han Dynasty, but he also caught the loopholes in the other party's words.
"Those who are humble but virtuous are respected, and those who are poor but righteous are honored? Haha, your words are really ridiculous! Are the untouchables in your country considered human beings? Are the poor people in your country considered human beings? If they are considered human beings, please ask me since Tianming Who are the millions of farmers who have starved to death in ditches every day for three years and been eaten by wild dogs? The Ainu people live in poverty and contentment, but why do they still endure the oppression of Omi merchants and the Matsumae clan?"
Zhao Xin cleared his throat and continued: "Marquis Baihe, I heard that you have governed well and not a single person has died in your territory. I'm afraid you haven't counted the peasants who have lost their land, that is, the untouchables, have you? You said that if I conquer the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, If a household distributes the rice in the warehouse to surrounding farmers, what will happen?"
"You!" Matsudaira Sadanobu finally couldn't hold it any longer. His lips trembled because of Zhao Xin's anger, and his face turned blue and white.
Zhao Xin laughed and kept up his efforts: "To tell you the truth, I have enough food and ammunition on the ship to stay in Edo for half a year. I won't take a grain of rice after conquering Edo, and I will give it all to the farmers. Do you think the people will support it? Does the shogunate still support me? There are still 10,000 such soldiers in Beihai. As long as I am willing, they will come over in an iron ship twice the size of the Thor in three days. Marquis Baihe, this agreement, the shogunate is You have to sign even if you don’t sign, I’ll beat you to sign!”
As soon as Zhao Xin said this, Matsudaira Sadanobu and dozens of warriors all changed their expressions.
Songping Sadanobu was gone, and he did not dare to agree to Zhao Xin's conditions. Not to mention that he is not a veteran yet, as long as he dares to nod, tomorrow someone will be shouting to attack the national traitors, and even destroy him on behalf of the sun.
So when Zhao Xin returned to the Thor, the two D30s launched a shocking bombardment on the shogunate's defense line on the top of Pinggen Mountain. Pan Xiucheng then ordered two companies to attack. After one charge, the shogunate lost its two camps on the top of Pinggen Mountain. Not long after, as the number of casualties continued to rise, the shogunate army's main formation on the west side of Mount Hirake finally couldn't hold it anymore and began a hasty retreat.
The breakthrough of the Hironeyama defense line meant that there was no longer a heavy military barrier between here and the Uraga Administrative Office. The troops from Beihai Town quickly crossed the plain area southeast of the "Royal Palace" and captured the entire Nishiurahe in one go.
When Matsudaira Sadanobu heard the first sound of the cannon, he immediately abandoned his sedan chair, mounted a fast horse, and galloped towards Edo Castle with his men.
In the evening, those who struggled to resist, including the few ashigaru, retreated to Uraga Town to resist. As the fires ignited in Doshin Town and Youri Town, the gunfire gradually subsided in Uraga Town.
After nightfall, Beihai Town soldiers searching everywhere finally found Uraga Acting Official who had committed suicide by caesarean section in the imperial palace.
At dawn the next day, when the horrified town residents and nearby villagers arrived near the Imperial Palace, they were surprised to find rice bags stacked outside the warehouse, with white rice flowing along the damaged straw packages. On to the ground.
Next to where these rice bags were piled, there were three big words written on a makeshift signboard, take whatever you want!