The Ming army's total strength on land for this expedition against the Satsuma Domain reached 150,000; and there were more than 700 warships assembled at sea. It can be said that at this scale of troops, they can absolutely crush the Ming army.
In the Kagoshima area, just along the bay, with Sakurajima as the center, Japanese troops were stationed. At a glance, it is endless.
Matsudaira Nobutsuna had actually expected that the Ming army would implement the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing out the wilderness in Satsuma Domain, so he was not surprised.
However, when he arrived at Satsuma Domain, he was still very surprised by the countermeasures taken by the Ming army.
Because the warships of the Ming Dynasty did not guard the bay here, and when they knew that the shogunate navy was coming, they all fled the bay.
The war between the Ming army and the Japanese country first broke out at sea, just outside the Satsuma Domain.
Matsudaira Shinzuna and various daimyo could watch the battle from the seaside.
It can be seen with the naked eye that there are only more than a hundred warships of the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the more than 700 Japanese warships, they appear to be very few.
Whether it was the daimyo or the ordinary Japanese soldiers, they all started talking easily when they saw this scene.
"The Ming army will definitely lose in this battle."
"That's absolutely true. Just this Ming warship is not enough to fill your teeth!"
"Yes, no matter how powerful the Ming warships are, if we have three or four warships against one Ming warship, we can always win!"
"..."
However, in the midst of their discussion, they suddenly saw thick smoke coming out of most of the Ming warships. This time, they were shocked.
"What's going on? You know you can't defeat us, so you set the boat on fire?"
"What do the Ming army think? If I were to defeat them, I would still defeat them. At most, I would destroy the ship if I really can't win!"
"Haha, it's not obvious at first glance that we can't win, so why bother to fight? At this time, they committed suicide and destroyed the ship. Maybe the Ming Dynasty will be tough and say that they didn't fight, so it's not a defeat. They committed suicide themselves. That’s all!”
"..."
In response to these people's comments, Matsudaira Nobutsuna immediately frowned.
According to the information previously collected by Yagyu Jubei, when some Ryukyu people explained that the Ming warships easily defeated the Satsuma navy, they said that the Ming warships that could emit smoke were very powerful. They also said that these Ming warships were Those who eat coal.
Therefore, when he saw the black smoke rising from the Ming warships, he said nothing and stared closely at them, hoping that Date Tadamune, who was commanding the navy, would respond correctly. If it doesn't work, Yagyu Jubei who is with him will definitely remind him.
Sure enough, when Date Tadamune on the Japanese naval flagship saw this, he immediately became vigilant.
At the same time, Yagyu Jubei, who was supervising the army, immediately reminded him: "Pay attention to the information I heard from the Ryukyu people before, saying that the smoking Ming warships are very flexible and very fast."
After hearing this, Date Tadashi immediately nodded and said: "Only in this way can we explain why the Ming warships did not stay inside, but all came out to fight!"
So, he immediately issued an order, trying to take advantage of his military strength to launch an encirclement and compress the space for Ming warships to move, thus forcing the Ming warships to join forces.
As long as the Japanese warships are approached and one of them can engage in a boarding battle, then the other Japanese warships will be able to arrive, and the advantage in military strength can be fully utilized.
I have to say that his approach is indeed the best way to fight.
However, there is a saying that goes like this, ideas are beautiful, but reality is backbone!
Because the Japanese warships mainly relied on wind power, it would take a lot of time to complete Date Tadamune's military orders.
As for the warships of the Ming Dynasty, once the war started, they began to be mainly powered by steam, so the influence of wind force and wind direction would be minimal, which meant they were very flexible.
Just when the Japanese warships tried to encircle them, the Ming warships jumped out of the encirclement and actively attacked the Japanese warships from the outside.
As soon as the battle at sea started, the Japanese army was shocked.
The Japanese troops on land saw that their warships looked like a bulky buffalo, while the Ming warships looked like a pack of wolves. Although it is not as powerful as the Japanese navy in terms of size, it is more flexible than the Japanese navy. It attacks around the Japanese navy, which makes the Japanese navy's warships feel like they are focusing on one thing and losing the other.
What surprised them even more was that the legendary Ming warships' cannons were indeed not rumors, but true.
This point was most deeply felt by the Japanese navy.
When they thought this distance was still too far, the Ming warships had already opened fire. Moreover, the landing point of the shells is very precise, and they often fall next to the Japanese warships, making it easy to concentrate the Japanese warships.
Thanks to the fact that the cannonballs of this period were all solid bullets, even if a warship was concentrated by cannonballs, there would usually be a big hole at most. If a few unlucky people died, the warship would not be damaged enough to withdraw from the battle. Unless you are very unlucky and a solid bullet hits a major location.
But even so, Date Tadamune, as the commander of the Japanese navy, immediately felt the pressure.
The flexibility of the Ming Dynasty's warships made him immediately understand that the previous rumors that the country had killed the Dutch and the Spanish in Luzon were true.
Because he has also seen the sailing warships of the Western Yi. In terms of flexibility and speed, they are really not as good as the smoking Ming warships, not to mention that the Ming's artillery is much more powerful.
Relatively speaking, the Japanese warships were not even as good as the Xiyi sail warships, and their artillery was also inferior. How could they fight the Ming warships?
Naval warfare is different from land warfare. The advantage of military strength lies in the sea. Once the performance of warships is very different, it will be difficult to exert the advantage.
"You can't fight like this!" Yagyu Jubei immediately realized something was wrong and quickly reminded him.
Under such a passive attack, more and more warships will be lost, and the impact on morale will be very serious.
Of course Date Tadashi knew this, so he decisively issued an order and ordered the Japanese warships to cover the injured warships and retreat into the bay.
His intention was not to fight with your Ming warships at sea. Aren't there still some of your Ming army left on Sakurajima? I will take advantage of my military strength and go to the bay. I can help the army cross the sea to fight the Ming army on Sakurajima. Will your Ming warships follow to stop it or not?
If you don't follow, will you watch the Ming army on Sakurajima being wiped out by the Japanese army?
If you follow, the battlefield area in the bay is limited, and you can give full play to the advantage of many warships, limit the flexibility of your Ming warships, and win this war!
Upon hearing Date Tadamune's order, Yagyu Jubei immediately understood his intention without the need for him to explain, and immediately praised with a smile: "This move is very wonderful, and it is worthy of my father's style!"
Date Tadamune's father was Date Masamune. He fought in both north and south throughout his life and destroyed many opponents. Due to his high position and authority, even Tokugawa Iemitsu personally went to the bedside to wait for him before his death.
He praised Date Tadamune so much, which was quite a bit of flattery. Because if you really want to talk about it, he and Date Tadamune's father are of the same generation, and they both came from the late Warring States Period.
After hearing this, Date Tadashi just smiled and did not refute. Instead, he looked at the smoking Ming warships in the distance and said confidently: "When you hit a snake, you should hit it seven inches. This time, look at these Ming water How does the teacher respond?"
"Wonderful, wonderful!"
Even Nobutsuna Matsudaira, who was known as the Wisdom Izu and was watching the battle on the shore, couldn't help but praise Date Tadamune's countermeasures, "As soon as this move is used, the Ming army will be defeated!"
Obviously, at this time, he was in a good mood, and he even took the initiative to explain to the daimyo around him: "The commander-in-chief of the Ming army is a man named Li Dingguo, who is on Sakurajima. If the generals of the Ming navy do not pursue them, In the bay, the army who watched Sakurajima being wiped out by our army would definitely be punished even if he escaped back to the Ming Dynasty. And if the Ming Dynasty Navy pursues the bay, then our army’s warship numerical advantage will be If it can be fully used, no matter how flexible and fast the Ming warships are, at most it will cause our warships to lose a little more, but the end result will be that they will be destroyed by us, no doubt!"
After hearing his analysis, the big names began to flatter Matsudaira Nobutsuna even if they themselves had noticed it.
"After listening to the words of the old and middle-aged adults, the young man suddenly realized that it turns out that our victory is determined!"
"Look at what those Ming warships are capable of. No matter how powerful they are, it seems like they can only die obediently!"
"Haha, I think the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was so bragging that he actually wanted our Japanese country to cede territory and pay compensation. Is that just the reason?"
"That's right, even if we don't have the help of the divine wind, with our wisdom Izu, we can still prevent the Ming army from coming back!"
"..."
Matsudaira Nobutsuna was actually proud that the biggest crisis of the Tokugawa shogunate was resolved so easily.
However, on the surface, he did not look too proud. Instead, he gave a serious order to the army in the bay to prepare immediately. Once the Japanese warships entered the bay and docked, they would board the ships and land on Sakurajima to fight.
On the sea, the Ming warships discovered the new countermeasures of the Japanese navy and withdrew into the bay one after another. Instead of destroying them at sea first, they obviously felt a little anxious and sped up their attacks. It seemed that they had become a little nervous. They went crazy and "bited" the Japanese warships they could "bite".
The Japanese warships wanted to withdraw into the narrow bay precisely because there were too many warships, so their movements would inevitably be slower. Once they were attacked wildly by the Ming warships, the losses would suddenly increase.
However, Date Tadamune, the commander of the Japanese navy, did not waver at all. He just regarded this crazy attack by the Ming army as a reflection before his death. They could do whatever they wanted, as long as they ensured the final victory of the war, it didn't matter if they lost some warships.
He was right to think so, but the names of those who came out of the warships made him feel a pain in his heart. I just thought that when the war was over, I would cry more and drink some milk instead.
