On the sea, a treasure ship and five daifuku ships puffed out black smoke and slowly approached the Osama Mountains near the Tsugaru Strait.
Zhao Shiyu sat on the deck of the treasure ship, enjoying the rare warm sunshine.
Because of the nearby mountains, the northwest wind could only occasionally blow the flags high up, but they could not fall on the deck.
Zheng Huai heard the roaring sound, picked up his telescope and looked back. The lookout sergeant at the top shouted down: "It's the fleet of the Southeast Navy."
Seeing that he was not far from landing, Zhao Shiyu ordered the fleet to find a suitable place to anchor.
Not long after the fleet stopped, Xu An and Wang Jinghong's ships chased after them. They changed to a smaller boat and boarded Zhao Shiyu's flagship. After everyone greeted them, Xu An took out three documents and handed them to Zhao Shiyu: "Right now, the navy is working hard to quell the chaos. In this place, many Japanese bandits fleeing in the mountains and forests have been killed or are being killed. Next spring, the remaining local resistance forces will be completely eliminated."
"Considering that it is already October, many things cannot be explained in detail in the document. Zheng He, Luo Guanying, Zhu Neng and others cannot leave for a while. After everyone has decided, I will take some people back to the capital first. Your Logistics matters will be left to Wang Jinghong’s department.”
Zhao Shiyu took the document and unfolded the top document to look at it. It was the document for Wang Jinghong to take over the logistics in the Ezo area. He nodded and looked at Wang Jinghong: "You are also a captain who has experienced a great voyage. You will be responsible for the logistics. We rest assured."
Wang Jinghong smiled and promised: "You entered the Ezo region with the intention of controlling the dispersed population and strength of the Ainu people and assimilating them into the people of the Ming Dynasty. This is a major event for stabilizing the Dingyuan Province, and it will not be a hindrance in terms of logistics. you."
Zhao Shiyu nodded repeatedly.
Xu An looked towards the shore and said with a smile: "Luo Guanying did not choose Lake Bipa and Kyoto as the prefecture of Dingyuan Province, but chose to build the government office in a place called Edo on the Kanto Plain. "
Zhao Shiyu thought about the location and praised: "Edo is indeed an excellent place. The surrounding plains can provide food and grass, and there is Edo Bay and Uraga Waterway as a barrier. As a naval base, it is no worse than Sakai Port."
Wang Jinghong rubbed his cold hands: "Kyoto is uninhabited, so it is not suitable to choose there now. Moreover, Sakai Port has been destroyed several times, and the cost of reconstruction is similar to that of new construction. And Edo is far away from Dingda In the center of the province, the distance to the southwest and northeast is relatively intermediate."
Just as Zhao Shiyu was about to speak, the lookout sergeant typed a message: "There are dozens of people on the shore. They fled after seeing the Ming Dynasty fleet. They seem to be Japanese."
"Take a walk ashore?"
Xu An smiled.
Zhao Shiyu readily agreed and arranged for Zheng Huai to stay behind, while he, Xu An, Wang Jinghong, and Xu Shouwen took five hundred sergeants aboard the boat and went ashore.
This was once the Mutsu Kingdom, but it was caught off guard and destroyed by the Ming people led by the Ainu and Wang Sui, Xue Geng and others.
It's just that under the command of Wang Sui, the Ainu people took more military actions to cooperate with the overall situation, such as a sharp sword thrust straight in the direction of Kyoto to achieve an encirclement strategy.
The troops were limited, and they fought in depth. Although Wang Sui and the Ainu did eliminate many local protectors and won military exploits, because they did not divide their troops to occupy and pursue them, many original protectors still remained in the rear. The warriors of the country support the people who originally protected them.
Although this place is not under the control of Zhao Shiyu, his responsibility is to take over the Ezo region and serve as the prefect and commander of the guards of the Ezo region. But at the moment, other armies have not arrived. The main force is mostly concentrated around Kyoto, Edo, etc., and only If Zhao Shiyu can beat each one when he sees it, it can reduce the pressure on other navy masters.
It has been more than three months since the naval sergeant set off for the expedition on June 23. Most of the time he spent on the expedition, rarely taking more than two days to rest.
Although the sergeants were tired, many of them had already developed an iron will after being tempered by the great voyage. No one complained. They were in an orderly manner, and in groups of ten, they groped vigilantly into the forest.
Zhao Shiyu, Xu An and others are not worried. With the main force protecting the country in various places being defeated, if they want to find a force that can fight against the five hundred fully armed Ming sergeants, they will need at least two to three thousand people, and this Quantity is usually difficult to gather, after all
Unexpectedly, there are only a few thousand people in the local main force to protect the country...
Screams came from the forest, one after another.
Not long after, Xu Shouwen walked over leisurely and said to Zhao Shiyu, Xu An and others: "They are indeed the remnants of the Mutsu Kingdom, but they are only more than forty. They captured a few prisoners. The prisoners said that they are here. He hid the treasure and hoped to exchange it for his life."
"Treasure? Haha, let's take a look."
Xu An was very interested, wondering what treasures could be found in this poor place.
Zhao Shiyu, Xu An and others entered the dense forest. The Ming sergeant had checked the surroundings and found that there was no danger. There were more than thirty corpses on the ground, blood was still flowing, and five or six prisoners were trembling and squatting aside.
Suddenly, two Ming sergeants ran over in panic. Seeing Zhao Shiyu, Xu An and others approaching, they pointed to the forest behind them and shouted tremblingly: "Yes, yes, fire blunderbuss!"
"Firegun?"
Zhao Shiyu, Xu An and others looked at each other and their expressions became solemn.
The Ashikaga shogunate did not have firearms, and they did not even know how to make them. However, Wang Sui and Xue Geng's armies did not reduce their numbers, and they never heard of losing firearms.
The Ainu are not equipped with firecrackers. Besides, for the Ainu, iron weapons are extremely important. Even if a sword falls on the battlefield, they will pick it up and take it away, let alone firecrackers. .
So here comes the question, how could fire guns appear in this land of Mutsu?
Wang Jinghong was also puzzled and said, "Maybe it's a fire blunderbuss from the Yuan Dynasty. Let's go over and have a look."
There were fire blunderbuss during the Yuan Dynasty, and there were quite a few of them. Whether one or two of them would have flowed from Goryeo to Japan, and finally ended up in Mutsu, no one can tell.
This is a crypt, covered with a thick and wide wooden board with extremely uneven edges. The wooden board has been removed. There are many things piled in the crypt, including strange stones, a pair of helmets, and a compound bow. , and a firecracker. ..
Zhao Shiyu's expression changed slightly as he looked at the gun format.
Although this fire gun is full of rust, you can tell at a glance that it is a large open fire gun, an improved fire gun. Although it does not come with a bayonet, this is the model before the bayonet!
Zhao Shiyu stepped forward, picked up the gun, looked at the inscription on the side of the medicine room, and took a deep breath: "In the fifth year of Jianwen, the Second Artillery Bureau supervised the construction! How is this possible?"
Xu An took out the bow, held it tightly in his hand, and pulled the bow string. He didn't know how long it had been left, but the bow was still flexible. He loosened the bow string and said solemnly: "This is a badou bow, which is more common in the army." long bow."
Wang Jinghong held the tattered helmet, stared at the inscription on the back, gritted his teeth and said: "Created for the war."
"What exactly is going on?"
Zhao Shiyu looked confused.
"Look here."
Xu Shouwen pointed to the big wooden board next to him, touched his chin and said, "You haven't noticed that this looks like a broken deck."
Zhao Shiyu and others looked and saw Xu Shouwen stepped forward and turned the board over, revealing the markings.
Whether it is a Ming Dynasty treasure ship or a Dafu ship, markings are usually carved on the deck in order to standardize the position of sergeants and the placement of things. There is no such thing in Japan, let alone a deck. Their sailors are usually small fishing boats without such a thing as a deck, let alone a regular marking.
Zhao Shiyu ordered people to capture the prisoners and ordered the general to ask: "Where did these things come from?"
The prisoner was frightened and confessed: "I picked it up on the beach in July last year."
"Last July?"
Zhao Shiyu and Xu An were even more confused.
Last year was the 10th year of Jianwen. In July of the 10th year of Jianwen, Zheng He led everyone back for less than four months. They were all resting in the capital to spend time with their families. The navy did not make any big moves, and it was impossible to send ships to the Tsugaru Strait. Such a remote area.
Xu An frowned and looked at Xu Shouwen: "At the beginning of last year, did the navy have any damaged warships?"
Xu Shouwen thought carefully for a moment, shook his head and said: "In recent years, the imperial navy has suffered very few losses. Except for the ships that were damaged by storms and dragons absorbing water, there have been almost no losses. This warship obviously has a cracked deck, so
Under the circumstances, it means that the entire ship was broken. I have never heard of this in the Navy. As for whether it really exists, it needs to be verified by the Navy Commander's Office. "
Zhao Shiyu looked at the fire gun in his hand and shook his head: "The situation is not right. If the ship accident occurred in July last year, why was this fire gun made in the fifth year of Jianwen's reign, six years ago? Since Zheng He brought it When the navy returned, all the navy were replaced with brand-new firearms. The fire guns were all bayonet-type fire guns. These old-fashioned fire guns have long been eliminated."
Xu An looked at the prisoner and said, "There is another doubt. The fire gun is made of pure iron. Once this thing falls into the sea, it will surely sink. It is almost impossible to watch the current hit the shore, unless this The fire gun was already very close to the seaside. It washed up to the beach with the rise and fall of the sea water, and appeared on the beach after the sea water receded!"
The general asked questions quickly.
The prisoner mumbled something anxiously, then pointed to the woods behind him.
The manager eagerly translated: "He said that what he picked up at the beach was a person, but that person died not long after he landed on the beach and was buried in the woods. These things all came from that person. found."
"What?"
Zhao Shiyu, Xu An and others were shocked. After the prisoners found the burial location, they immediately ordered the sergeants to dig.
Without digging too deep, I saw a white skeleton and a tattered piece of cloth.
Xu Shouwen took out the cloth, unfolded it and took a look at the black writing on the cloth. His eyes suddenly widened and he exclaimed: "He, he is a subordinate of the great sailing captain Wu Yi!"
"What?!"
Zhao Shiyu, Xu An, Wang Jinghong and others were shocked.
The naval sergeant who heard the news was even more stunned and in disbelief.
The captain of the great voyage has been defined as the sacrifice of the large fleet, and the name of Captain Wuyi is engraved on the Heroes Monument. How could his subordinates appear in Mutsu? !
