Kii Bay, Sakai Port.
There are many tall towers piled up with logs, and strong warriors are stationed in such Yagura, either watching or preparing long bows and arrows.
The completed well tower is one and a half feet high from the ground. The upper, middle and lower floors of the well tower are all built with wooden boards, so that the sergeants can walk back and forth on them to coordinate operations.
Within the heavy defenses, in a large courtyard, Yise Manfan welcomed the monk Manji.
Although Isshiki Mitsuru was the commander of the Sakai Port Navy, he did not dare to be disrespectful in the face of Mitsui. This monk seemed to be friendly, but in fact he was vicious. He was also the most relied-upon counselor around Ashikaga Yoshimochi. After that, many government affairs were handled by Mitsui to assist Ashikaga Yomochi. He can be said to be the second-ranking figure in the Flower Palace after the Shogun.
After all, Yoshitaka Ushiba, Motokuni Hatakeyama, Yorimoto Hosokawa and others, who are more prestigious than Manji, have all left the shogunate and are currently fighting in Korea. As for how they fought, where they fought, and how damaged they were, nothing is known. .
Isshiki Manbei bowed his head and said: "This Sakai Port is much more heavily guarded than in the past. If the Ming Navy dares to come, we will keep it out! No matter how many sacrifices are made, as long as there is one person alive, the gateway to Kyoto will not be lost. !”
Manji was very satisfied with Isshiki Manbori's attitude, and said to Isshiki Manbori and other generals: "There is a saying in the Tang Dynasty (the Ming Dynasty), which is to put yourself in a place of death and then live. Sakai Port is a place of death, you must have the ability to fight to the death." Enlightenment, only in this way can we find a way out."
Isshiki Manbori and others shouted in unison: "I swear to live and die with Sakai Port!"
Manji looked at the well-defended Sakai Port and said worriedly: "When Ouchi Yoshihiro occupied Sakai Port,
, with more than 5,000 men, they blocked the shogunate's nearly 50,000 soldiers. Sakai Port has a favorable geographical location and is easy to defend. It is impossible to disembark from here without paying a heavy price. Now, the shogunate has put 20,000 troops at Sakai Port. You must fight bravely without fear of death! "
"It's just that everything in Sakai Port is made of wood. Back then, when a fire broke out in Sakai Port, the enemies in Sakai Port were forced to fight to death. You must learn a lesson, and things that have water tanks placed in them must not be destroyed by fire again. Defeated. I heard that the Daming Firearms are very powerful, do you have any countermeasures?"
Isshiki Manfan said confidently: "Don't worry, the water tank has been arranged long ago. Even if a fire breaks out, it can be put out. As for the large Ming firearms, I heard that they rely on the fragments of the explosion to hurt people. I have ordered people to build thick wooden ones." Armor and wooden shield, not to mention that Yagura is thick and mostly made of large trees, so Ming military weapons may not be able to hurt people!”
Manji checked it carefully and saw that it was as Isshiki Manfan said, and he became happy: "With you guys here to protect me, the general can sleep peacefully in the Flower Palace."
Isshiki Manbori and others sent Manji away and sent a message again, asking to defend Sakai Port.
Manji hurriedly returned to the Flower Palace from Sakai Port. The distance between the two places was really too close. It was more than thirty miles away. Once Sakai Port fell, Kyoto would be able to leave in an instant!
Ashikaga Yoshinori has gray hair due to worry, and has not had a peaceful sleep since he ordered the expedition. In order to let himself sleep well, Ashikaga Yoshinori thought of countless ways, chanting sutras, handling heavy government affairs, inspecting everywhere, and winning support from the monastery. , and also expanded the "harem".
Unfortunately, heart disease is difficult to treat.
Even though Ashikaga Yoshimichi made him exhausted, it was difficult to sleep for more than two hours, and he would fall asleep from time to time.
Awakening from nightmare.
Seeing Mitsuji's return, Ashikaga Yoshimachi was very anxious and quickly asked: "What's going on at Sakai Port?"
Manji stepped forward and comforted: "General, Sakai Port is still there. Don't worry, Isshiki Manfan has arranged it properly. The shogunate recruited 50,000 people and paid 4,000 lives to build Sakai Port. It is unbreakable. Even if the Ming army has firearms, they will not be able to break it. Don’t try to capture Sakai Port easily.”
Ashikaga Yoshimochi felt relieved. After sitting down, he asked again: "Do you think Sakai Port can really stop the Ming army?"
Manji looked at Kohino, Nijo Ryoki, Zeami and others. They all had solemn expressions, with anxiety and fear hidden deep in their pupils.
"You can stop it! You can definitely do it!"
Manji had to answer in the affirmative.
Nowadays, the Flower Palace has begun to split, and the voices of escape are getting louder and louder. Many people support leaving Kyoto to avoid the Ming army and move to the mountains to preserve their strength.
However, Kyoto is the core of the shogunate and a holy place in the hearts of countless people. If Kyoto is lost, doesn't it mean that the shogunate is dead?
Can't leave Kyoto!
Even if the general dies in Kyoto, he cannot leave Kyoto!
Sakai Port is their only line of defense. If they lose confidence in Sakai Port, they are likely to run away.
Regardless of the defense level of Sakai Port or the overall situation, Sakai Port must be defended!
Ashikaga Yoshimichi looked deeply at Mitsuji, and then lamented: "Since the Ming navy brought the warships over, the situation has been deteriorating again and again. Now the protectorates in various places have fallen one after another, and the remaining forces have been wiped out by the Ming army. We We have lost Shikoku Island and Kyushu Island, and now even Honshu is gradually becoming undefendable. Regardless of whether Sakai Port can be defended, we must make plans.
Increase the number of troops outside Kyoto and prepare for the final decisive battle. "
Yan Hino stood up and said solemnly: "We have recruited all the men within a radius of 500 miles, and now we have only assembled 200,000 troops. We have allocated 50,000 to Sakai Port and hundreds of thousands of troops. The Ming Navy Navy has another How many people can there be, and how many firearms can they carry? Even if Sakai Port cannot be defended, the Ming army cannot easily capture Kyoto! In my opinion, the shogunate needs to make up its mind to defend Kyoto!"
Nijo Liangji's mouth moved, feeling a little unwilling.
The key to holding on to Kyoto is the word "death", but Nijo Ryuki doesn't want to die. Zeami didn't want to die either, but it was a pity that it was difficult to say this directly.
Those who are not afraid of death and those who are afraid of death are not clearly distinguishable at a glance.
Just when an undercurrent appeared inside the Flower Palace, the fleet of the Daming Navy had crushed the waves and sailed outside Sakai Port.
Zheng He looked at the Sakai Port in the distance, which was on combat readiness, and said to Luo Guanying, Zhu Neng and others on the side: "The enemy is ready to fight. It can be seen that there are mostly trees there, and many of them are big trees. In this kind of Under certain circumstances, gunpowder bombs may not be able to completely destroy the opponent's arrow towers and well towers, and even the damage will be limited."
Zhu Neng took a telescope and looked carefully: "Yes, the defense here can indeed weaken the lethality of gunpowder bombs, and may not even be able to damage the Japanese troops in the Daojian Tower. If they attack directly, they will definitely suffer a lot of losses."
Luo Guanying picked his ears and looked at Zheng He and Zhu Neng with some dissatisfaction: "I want you two to talk to each other. These things are made of wood. Just light a fire and it will be better. Mr. Luo is in the book Written about the Battle of Chibi and Taizu’s fight with Chen You on Poyang Lake
I have used this trick every time during the war, and it has always worked. "
Zhu Neng rolled his eyes at Luo Guanying: "You have to give us guidance and command if there is an opportunity. If you come up and attack with fire, how can we discuss it?"
Luo Guanying was speechless.
This group of people, all of them want status and status, why are they pretending like that...
Yang Rong chuckled and stepped forward: "Fire attack is the best strategy, not to mention, it is the most suitable for us, isn't it?"
Zheng He nodded slightly: "It seems that the things we brought with us on the expedition are finally useful. Keeping them in the cabin is not an option. It is quite suitable to use them in Sakai Port."
Yang Rong laughed heartily: "Those officials who talked about the imperial government's taking back Western Xinjiang would only drag down the finances. I wonder if they regret it now. In terms of foresight, he is still the emperor."
Zheng He looked at Luo Guanying and Zhu Neng: "This time the battle of Sakai Port will be left to the flagship and the attached three treasure ships. You must recharge your batteries and prepare for the next battle of Kyoto."
"Take orders!"
Luo Guanying and Zhu Neng agreed immediately.
No one asked whether the shogunate would escape, and no one cared whether they would escape. This land will belong to the Ming Dynasty sooner or later, where can they go?
To the west, it had been cleaned up by the Ming Dynasty. Apart from the corpses that had no time to cover up, there was not much left.
Going east is an optional road, but the Ainu and the Ming army are fighting, and they have already defeated the two guardians of Uzen and Rikuzen. From Kyoto to the east, there are not many guardians for them to escape. .
Zheng He was eager to capture Ashikaga Yoshimichi and others alive, but he would not take the risk of sending troops deep into enemy territory.
, crossing mountains and ridges to outflank Kyoto, which is not very suitable for the navy with limited troops and high reliance on logistics.
Now the navy's combat philosophy has changed. It is no longer about killing the enemy, but about destroying the enemy while preserving its own strength. As long as the enemy is killed, it doesn't matter what method is used.
However, in the opinion of Zheng He and others, Ashikaga Yoshimachi should not leave Kyoto. After all, if he leaves here, where can he go?
The Northern Song Dynasty was unable to escape. It was safe in a corner and had a defense line along the Yangtze, Huaihe River and Yangtze River. However, Japan had no natural dangers and it was unrealistic to rely on a few mountains to survive.
The place is not big, so don't struggle around. Staying in Kyoto and being captured is the best destination for them.
The Ming army's battle began.
The navy of Sakai Port, which had prepared everything, looked at the approaching Ming Dynasty treasure ships, and all of them turned pale. The huge ships were like hills. The Yagura and Jinglou, which were originally thought to be tall, turned out to be insignificant at this time. Inconspicuous, even low enough to be buried in the dust!
It is not unreasonable for the Ming army to reach Sakai Port. The scale of this huge ship has exceeded everyone's imagination.
Isshiki Manbori stood in the distance, staring at the Ming army, and said to Genrong Saidou, Ueno Nagaori and others beside him: "If Sakai Port is lost, we will have no shame to meet the shogun again. This battle can only be won. , can’t be defeated!”
Just as Yuan Rong Xitang was about to speak, he heard a huge roar and black gunpowder bombs soared into the sky.
When the gunpowder bombs fell on the well building, they made a huge noise, and along with the light of fire, several sergeants were severely injured, but most of the fragments were blocked by the wood on the side!
The fire was put out before it started.
Yuan
Seeing this, Rong Xitang couldn't help but laugh: "Firearms are nothing more than that."
Ueno Nagaori had a smile on his face, looked at the Ming army in the distance, and said disdainfully: "Look, they actually took back their firearms and placed wooden shelves on the deck of the ship. Haha, what do they want to do with these shelves? Hey, stupid Ming people, you can’t kill the heroic shogunate sergeant with a wooden frame!”
——
Thanks to Tuxue Wangxing, thanks to Bingwu Changshi and Shui Wuchangxing for their rewards, and thanks to Jingxue.
