Early the next morning, Liu Pei led the fleet to rush to the port of Yokohama. Before entering the port of Yokohama, Liu Pei felt that something was not quite right! Because the inside of the port is lifeless, and it looks like a city port at all.

When Liu Pei led the army to rush into the harbor, he found that there were many ships parked in the harbor. But whether it was the two small batteries in the port or the dozens of ships moored, they didn't react at all in the face of Liu Pei! Even the dock was quiet, which made Liu Pei very confused.

Out of caution, Liu Pei sent someone to search the boat and the dock. The searching soldiers came back and reported that no one had been found!

At this time, Liu Pei realized that the Japanese people in the port of Yokohama were frightened by yesterday's naval defeat and had already fled, leaving only an empty port. Moreover, those ships barely escaped back to Yokohama after the damage suffered in the naval battle yesterday, and none of them were intact.

At this time, another team of scouting soldiers reported that there was no one in the castle on the shore either. However, the rooms are very messy, and there are still many things that have not been removed. It seems that the Japanese people were evacuated in a hurry last night. In addition, the castle tower of Yokohama Castle was full of people, and it seems that the people have withdrawn to the castle tower to defend the castle.

Liu Pei and Wu Yizhou looked at each other and smiled. Wu Yizhou said: "It seems that the notoriety of the handsome man can stop the children's night crying!" ”

Liu Pei said with a smile: "If this reputation is for foreign races, then I will be happy to accept it." Still, I like my people to praise me. ”

After speaking, Liu Pei directly instructed Wu Yizhou and said: "Hold Heng, send someone to inform the army that it can land in Yokohama." Plus, you leave some of the ships on guard in the harbor, while the others go deep into the bay and sink everything that floats! ”

Wu Yizhou took the order and set off. Liu Pei then instructed the officers to bring all the Japanese captives over and search the entire city to collect supplies and build a defensive line.

The officers were ordered to leave. Wu Yizhou also led the fleet to the depths of the bay. He was to sink all the ships that might cause danger and sweep the entire bay before the army landed.

After a day's errand

As a result, Heng Penang was swept away, and the useful supplies inside were brought back to the port. The craftsmen of the army used the collected materials to recast a lot of shells and make a lot of gunpowder, which made up for part of the gap in war materials.

At the same time, Liu Pei also sent troops to search the villages in the distance, and caught some Japanese people as laborers, and also obtained a large amount of food, vegetables and other materials. These materials greatly enriched the food of the army.

The next morning, the soldiers drove the Japanese people to start building fortifications. Liu Pei planned to build eight improvised forts and two low walls to completely protect the port of Yokohama. These people showed absolute obedience and worked very hard. So the whole project is progressing rapidly.

At noon on the fourth day, a long fleet arrived at the port of Yokohama. A large number of soldiers came down from the ship. Most of these soldiers were able to walk waddly after landing, and a few were simply lifted off the ship.

The fleet was full of army soldiers, and these landlubbers were tossed around as soon as they reached the sea. They had to rest in Yokohama for a few days to regain their combat effectiveness before they could carry out their plan to attack Edo. During the whole process, the defenders of Yokohama did not move, they just watched the opponent's movements from the walls of the castle tower.

Two days later, Edo received news that a large number of troops had landed in Yokohama. Tokugawa Iemitsu convened again. The last meeting was two days ago. That meeting was held because of the news of the defeat at Yokohama.

However, Tokugawa Iemitsu did not get angry, and after carefully discussing the gains and losses of this naval battle with his ministers, he confirmed that the responsibility for the defeat was not with Miura Shoji, and that the twenty enemies were indeed very strong! This cast a shadow over the whole meeting.

The samurai who delivered the letter knelt on the floor in dust. Because the sea route was cut off, he had to rush to Edo by land to report the situation. He knelt on the floor, his head bowed, and recounted in detail everything he had seen in the castle tower before retreating.

After a moment of silence in the room, Masakatsu Horita said, "Shogun, it seems that your prediction is correct. A big war is inevitable. ”

Sakai Tadanobu wrinkled

"According to the estimates of the Yokohama defenders, there are about 5,000 to 6,000 enemies who appear there. But now that we have mobilized an army of more than 40,000 men, we already have an absolute superiority in troops. Do we still need to draw troops from everywhere? ”

Shigeyoshi Sakai agreed, "yes, I think we already have enough advantages. Of course, if they can attack the castle of Yokohama, we will have a concrete assessment of the enemy's combat strength. ”

Abe said, "They won't attack Yokohama Castle because it's pointless." Moreover, there were so many castles along the road that they didn't even show up for the army, so it can be seen that their ultimate goal was still Edo. ”

Horita Masakatsu said, "That's right, their purpose must be Edo. And their combat effectiveness will not be low! Otherwise, that pirate wouldn't have been confident enough to send only a few thousand men to attack Edo, that would be stupid! ”

Speaking of which, everyone looked at Tokugawa Iemitsu. He felt everyone's gaze, but still didn't speak. Sakai Tadashi said slowly, "Do you think one of his soldiers can deal with our five soldiers?" That's a bit too arrogant, isn't it? ”

Matsudaira Nobutsuna shook his head and said seriously: "Gentlemen, I want to remind you of one thing, when I was in Nagasaki, this dragon king put out 10 big tubes!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the room was silent for a moment. All recalled this information. Abe Tadaaki sighed and said, "The power of the big cylinder is indeed very great! It's really not something that flesh and blood can stop! If he really moved to Edo with more than 10 gates, I am afraid that more than 40,000 soldiers would be needed. But I think he must have 10 more doors in his hand! ”

At this time, everyone once again looked at Tokugawa Iemitsu. Now it's time for the Shogun to make a decision. Tokugawa Iemitsu was silent for a moment before he said, "Let's continue to draw soldiers, the more the better." Also, what happened after the order to recruit soldiers from the surrounding daimyo was issued? How many soldiers came? ”

Tadaaki Abe said, "Your Excellency, 3,000 soldiers have arrived. Eight thousand more soldiers were able to arrive in five days. ”