The empire's declaration of war was finally sent to all parts of Japan, and the impact it brought can be imagined.
Edo.
Tokugawa Iemitsu held the declaration of war and felt dizzy, and a sense of fear that the end was coming came to his heart.
"General, the people below must have done something bad. I will deal with them immediately."
Some ministers blamed the incident on the officers who patrolled Edo Bay.
How could the matter have been exposed if it wasn't for their incompetence?
The Tokugawa shogunate would not face the imperial army.
Tokugawa Iemitsu waved his hands tiredly.
He has already seen through everything.
"Now that the matter has come to this, even if this matter hadn't happened, wouldn't the empire have declared war? Haven't you already known the empire's purpose?"
All the Japanese people fell silent.
Yes, the empire's purpose was very obvious from the beginning, which was to completely swallow up Japan.
Nai He knew it, but he knew it, but the Tokugawa shogunate and the daimyō were all in prisoner's dilemma.
Without being able to deal with the enemy in front of them, there is no way to stop the empire's plans.
Both parties have the same mind.
Try to eliminate the opponent as soon as possible, and then unite the power of Japan to resist the erosion of the empire.
However, the more you want something, the less you can get it.
Both sides exhausted all their efforts in order to eliminate each other, and eventually it became a peach-picking situation for the empire.
"Prepare for war with all your strength and ask the general to withdraw."
Tokugawa Iemitsu had no confidence in whether he could stop the empire's attack. But no one is willing to perish, and the Tokugawa family's foundation cannot be easily lost.
Satsuma Domain.
Mitsuhisa Shimazu is away, and the veteran Shimazu Hisakei is in charge of affairs.
Faced with the Empire's declaration of war, the old man was furious.
"This is an invasion! We, the Satsuma Domain, will never surrender. No one has ever been able to conquer the Satsuma Domain, not Toyotomi Hideyoshi, not Tokugawa Ieyasu, and neither can the empire."
However, unlike his crazy shouting, the rest of the Satsuma clan officials remained silent.
How weak the Satsuma Domain is is, we can’t stop it.
The feudal lord was trapped in Honshu, with no hope of retreat.
The naval force that they relied on the most could not be contacted now, so the Satsuma clan had no protection at all.
Once the imperial fleet comes, the Satsuma Domain is likely to be razed to the ground.
"Everyone, cheer up. Our Satsuma clan has a difficult terrain and will never be easily defeated. You go back immediately and prepare to fight."
Shimazu is getting older and stronger.
Since things are irreversible, we can only resist to the end.
What gave him confidence was that the mouth of Kagoshima Bay was narrow. As long as heavy troops are deployed at the entrance of the bay, no matter how powerful the enemy is, it will be difficult to break in despite artillery fire.
As long as the navy comes back, there will always be a chance to turn defeat into victory.
Shimazu Jiakei thought very well, but he forgot one thing.
People will collapse in the face of tremendous pressure.
What's even more terrible is that over the years, many generals from the Satsuma Domain have gone to the empire's military academies to study and further their studies.
In addition to learning military skills, you will naturally be affected by subtle influences.
The empire searched for targets among them, bribed and wooed them, and planted nails in the Satsuma Domain early on.
Now, these people are taking action.
"The Satsuma Domain has no future. If we continue, we will also perish. Only by becoming a member of the Empire and becoming a general of the Empire can we achieve great achievements."
Hashimoto Daishi's eyes were wild.
He was originally just a low-level leader in the Satsuma Domain. Later, he was selected for his bravery in combat and entered the Imperial Military Academy.
There, Hashimoto Taishi felt the value of equality for the first time in his life, and saw many new and powerful things.
In his mind, the power of the empire is invincible.
Being a citizen of the empire is the happiest thing in the world.
He still can't forget the rich and delicious meals in the military academy, the wonderful scenes of classmates helping each other, the kind and subtle teachings of the teachers, especially the spring breeze of encouragement from His Majesty the Emperor.
He didn't even need to kneel when he saw His Majesty the Emperor, but after returning to Satsuma Domain, any general could make him bow down.
That's how people are.
Once you stand up, it’s hard to accept kneeling down again.
Like Hashimoto Taishi, there are many such people in the Satsuma Domain army.
They learned a lot of skills, but in Satsuma Domain they could only become humble cannon fodder, always rushing to the front line of the battlefield.
And those high-flying guys only talk empty words, but enjoy glory and wealth.
This kind of inequality cannot be accepted by anyone who has received experience in the empire.
In addition, Japan's social status quo is extremely depressing, leaving people at the bottom without any hope.
Now that the opportunity has come, it is not surprising how people like Hashimoto Daishi should choose.
Just when the 11th Division landed on Shimabara and prepared to start the attack, civil strife broke out in Satsuma Domain.
Hashimoto Taishi and others secretly contacted a large number of officers and soldiers who had long been dissatisfied with the Satsuma Domain, and suddenly rushed into the feudal lord's residence.
Shimazu Hisakei was unprepared and was chopped into pulp in his sleep. Not only that, the entire Shimazu family was slaughtered.
It was night, and the entire Kagoshima City was in flames, and the tragic shouts of killing continued until dawn.
In the end, Hashimoto Taishi and others won a great victory.
Although there were not many of them at first, as they fought, other soldiers joined in. In the end, even the people of Satsuma Domain became helpers.
It is not difficult to see from this how outrageous and resentful the Satsuma Domain's actions over the years have been.
Hashimoto Taishi was elected as the temporary leader, and he was very decisive. He immediately sent people to Shimabara to contact him and express his submission.
The original mission of the 40th Regiment of the 11th Division was to attack Kumamoto eastward after landing on Shimabara and cut off the communication between the north and south of Kyushu Island. Now that the situation has changed, Chu Huacheng had no time to ask for instructions and directly ordered the 40th Regiment to go south to take over the Satsuma Domain.
Once the Satsuma Domain was under control, Shimazu Mitsuhisa and the Satsuma Domain navy who were fighting outside became lonely ghosts, with no possibility of causing trouble.
As for the subsequent attack on Kumamoto, Chu Huacheng handed it over to the subsequent 41st Regiment.
The civil strife in the Satsuma Domain was not an accidental phenomenon, and the same was true in the Choshu Domain and other places.
The Japanese people and low-level soldiers who hated the feudal lords saw the opportunity to stand up, and they all plucked up the courage to take action.
Under such circumstances, the actions of the National Defense Forces were extremely smooth.
The 42nd Regiment of the 11th Division landed in Nagasaki under the escort of the East China Sea Fleet.
The Japanese officials here had no intention of resisting and simply chose to surrender.
Even if they wanted to resist, they couldn't. Nagasaki's businessmen and people had long wanted the empire, and they didn't want their prosperous hometown to be destroyed by the war.
Northeastern Japan.
Date Masamune exhausted all his efforts and finally defeated the rebels.
Seeing the rebels retreating one after another, and looking at the battered Sendai, Date Masamune was furious and commanded the army to start the pursuit.
The rebels retreated all the way, and he pursued them all the way without stopping.
Date Masamune didn't notice at all that after the rebel army retreated to the rear, the 12th Division had already opened its pockets.
(End of chapter)
