【271】Bombardment of Edo

On May 5 of the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty, seven Ming warships, Zhenyuan, Laiyuan, Jingyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, Jiyuan, and Pingyuan, suddenly appeared on the sea surface of Uraga Bay, Xiangzhou, the choke point of the Tokugawa shogunate. Amid the rattling of machinery, the guns on the side of the battleship opened one after another, and one by one, the powerful Koferin cannons were pushed out by the sailors, and the thick barrels were pointed directly at Uraga. Under the stunned eyes of the Japanese on the seashore, with an order from Gan Hui, one hundred and forty cannons opened fire almost at the same moment.

Boom boom boom ~~

A huge roar resounded in Uraga Bay, and many Uraga citizens who did not know the truth walked out of their houses one after another, looking up at the sky, "Why is it thundering on a sunny day?" ”

The sky in Uraga was darkened at this moment, and I saw an overwhelming field of cannonballs covering the harbor like raindrops, violent explosions, skyrocketing fire, and smoke and dust...... In an instant, the entire port of Uraga was shrouded in boundless gunsmoke.

The Japanese, who were still standing in the harbor, were dumbfounded and did not know what was happening, watching the fleet cannons fire in unison. The Japanese, who had not recovered until the shells landed on their heads, were blown to pieces at the first moment, and pieces of mutilated limbs and bloody scraps of flesh were thrown high into the sky, and then scattered everywhere like brilliant cherry blossoms.

"Wow~!"

The Japanese, who were lucky enough to dodge the salvo of the first ** cannon, were frightened one by one, except for a few crazy samurai who were brandishing long knives and shouting hoarsely, those young Ashigaru who had not fought for decades were all panicked, scrambling to drop the weapons in their hands, howling and crying loudly, and running around with their heads in their hands. What's more, his legs were so frightened that his legs were weak, and he didn't even have the courage to escape, so he could only collapse on the ground, watching the shells fly towards him, and then tear himself to pieces.

"Don't run! You bastards! Give me all back! ”

The Japanese troops on the wharf were a patrol under the command of the Uraga Division, and were responsible for policing the area around Uraga Port. The leader of the team, Shinnosuke Sakamoto, was from a samurai family, although he had never seen such a fierce artillery fire, and in the sound of a huge explosion one after another, his companions around him were either thrown into the sky by the air waves, or the flying fragments were all over the body. However, fortunately, Shinnosuke Sakamoto did not have any flesh injuries except for the shock wave that shook him to the ground and his internal organs seemed to have been slashed by someone.

When Sakamoto Shinnosuke's head gradually came to his senses from the concussion, he was surprised to find that there were not many soldiers left around him. When he turned his head to look, he saw that several survivors of the team he led were all running desperately towards Uraga City with their heads in their hands. As a samurai of the shogun's family, Shinnosuke Sakamoto, who has always boasted of his martial prowess, suddenly became angry, hurriedly grabbed the long knife that had fallen to the side, got up from the ground and chased after him.

"Coward~" He glared angrily, and the horizontal knife blocked the way of these fleeing guys, "Don't run!" ”

Although the hellish bombardment made these ashigaru extremely frightened, the concept of hierarchy that penetrated into their hearts still made them subconsciously stop.

"Eight squares! As a samurai, you must have the consciousness to die for the general at any time. You cowards, you who run away, are all going to die! With a stroke of lightning, one of Sakamoto Nobuyuki's assistants, he slashed one of the unlucky ghosts in two with a lightning swing, "You cowardly fellows! Give me all back! Whoever dares to run away again, this is the end! ”

Sakamoto Shinnosuke was very satisfied with his slash, every muscle on his fierce face was tense, and the corners of his mouth licked a few drops of blood on his lips, wielding a bloody long knife to intimidate these ashigaru people who had never fought.

The corpse that had been split in two was still twitching slightly on the ground, and the bloody scene frightened these poor Ashigaru, and coupled with Sakamoto Shinnosuke's expression that was even more terrifying than a demon, everyone turned around and ran back to the port.

When Sakamoto Shinnosuke saw that his might had stopped the rout of Ashigaru, he suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction and pride in his heart. He straightened out his somewhat messy clothes, and then inserted the knife into the scabbard in what he thought was the most graceful position. But before he could take a step to follow, the second salvo of the Ming fleet began, and the first shell after the extended fire fell from the sky with a whistling, smashing Sakamoto Shinnosuke, who was still dreaming of making a great contribution to the Tokugawa family. There was only a loud bang, and in the blood mist that rose into the air, Sakamoto Shinnosuke's soul and flesh mixed with the shrapnel flying everywhere, blending into the sky and the blood-colored sand......

A few ashigaru who hadn't run a few steps glanced at each other, and then said in unison: "Run~!" "Then everyone will run away

Boom, boom, boom

The shelling of the Ming continued

The port of Uraga burned ablaze, and the shogunate in Edo Castle, which was just a stone's throw away, was in chaos.

When the first cannonball landed in the harbor, Tokugawa Iemitsu was praying at the shrine with Kasuga. When the earth-shattering explosion sounded, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was completely unprepared, shuddered, and the valuable tea set he was holding in his hand also fell to the ground and shattered.

"What's going on? What's wrong? Tokugawa Iemitsu, who had come to his senses, asked with some annoyance

At first, the retainers in the seat were also confused, and a few unresponsive guys even wondered if there was thunder outside. Until the continuous rumbling of cannons came, the entire Uraga Castle shook like an earthquake, and at this time, the cries of the earth-shaking outside and the sound of tragic help were faintly heard. Hearing this, everyone woke up to the fact that Uraga had suffered a blow that they had never suffered before.

Uraga's shogunate forces also counterattacked, although most of their artillery was copied from Portugal, the Netherlands, and other countries. But in terms of range and firepower, it was inferior to the red-coated cannons of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the same period. So the Ming army on the sea watched as shells were fired from the opposite battery, smashing deep pits on the soft sand. Occasionally, a few shells that shot far away could only frustratefully hit a few huge columns of water. And there is still a long way to go from the Ming army's fleet.

After the fourth salvo, the shogunate forces in the port of Uraga gave up resistance and withdrew to Edo Castle. The Ming fleet approached Edo further from the sea, and a large number of land forces landed in Uraga by means of small boats laid down from large warships. Headed by Yui Masayuki and Nagamune I Sheng Cheng.

"Kill into Edo and take the head of Tokugawa Iemitsu!" The former retainers of the Nagamune family, the fierce generals Yoshida Masaemon Masashige, Yoshida Sun Saemon Yasutoshi, and Toyonaga Fujibei Katsumoto rushed to the front with a spear in hand. Yui Zhengxue held the military equipment in one hand, and commanded Ashigaru to move forward bravely with the sword at his waist with the other. Behind them were the Ming army generals Zhou Guoqing and Wei Daheng.

The entire Shogun's Mansion was already in chaos, and the ashigaru and samurai kept coming in and out, and everyone had a panicked look on their faces. The news of the Ming army's large-scale entry into Edo had already reached the Shogun's Mansion, and the feeling of doom soon permeated the hearts of every Japanese in the Shogun's Mansion!

It's really a terrible thing, but how did the Tang people enter Edo so quickly? There was no warning at all. Edo, this is the center of all Japan, does this mean that Japan is really facing the crisis of national destruction? Tokugawa Iemitsu sat there expressionless, watching his retainers run around in a panic. His mind was empty at the moment, he didn't want to think about anything, he couldn't think of anything.

His father gave the whole of Edo to himself, but he had to face a miserable and helpless defeat. Could it be that Amaterasu had really abandoned Japan at this moment? He shook his head unwillingly. What the retainers said to him, Tokugawa Iemitsu didn't hear it clearly, and he didn't have to hear it clearly, and now the only thing Tokugawa Iemitsu was thinking about was how to maintain the dignity of the Tokugawa family in a decent way.

The sound of the battle was getting closer and closer, and Tokugawa Iemitsu could clearly hear the gunshots outside, and Tokugawa Iemitsu knew that this was the Ming Dynasty army that had begun to attack the general's palace. He smiled sadly, stood up, and staggered out.

He saw that his retainers had done their best, and with the absolute superiority of firearms of the Ming army, they launched a near-suicidal counteroffensive. But under the terrible musket attack, the soldiers of the General's Mansion fell in a pool of blood one by one. The battle continued, but in Tokugawa Iemitsu's eyes, it had become pure slaughter.

"Stop the fight and retreat~~" Tokugawa Iemitsu said loudly

Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly gave such an order, and the soldiers and samurai who were still preparing to continue to resist to the end looked at him in amazement. Sakai Tadashi, in particular, was holding tightly the sword that Tokugawa Iemitsu had given him. He looked at Tokugawa Iemitsu with a pained expression and shook his head incessantly

Tokugawa Iemitsu smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, the battle has been going on so far, and it's time for it to end. Let's put down our weapons! Stop making unnecessary sacrifices. ”

The soldiers of the shogunate finally knew what Tokugawa Iemitsu was talking about, and when their leaders had lost the courage to continue fighting, what could they do more? Some of the soldiers threw away their weapons and suddenly crouched on the ground to hide their faces and wept bitterly...

Tokugawa Iemitsu glanced at his retainers numbly, and then numbly walked towards the enemy on the other side. Oddly enough. No one stopped him. All of them silently watched as Tokugawa Ietsuna walked in front of them......

"Lord Shogun~" Kasuga Bureau grabbed Tokugawa Iemitsu, "I'd better go~ At least there's more room for maneuver!" ”

Zhou Guoqing, who was attacking the general's mansion by the Ming army, saw an old woman walking towards him completely regardless of life and death, and he glanced at Yui Zhengxue beside him a little strangely.

Yui Masayuki took a closer look and replied: "General Zhou, that person is General Tokugawa Iemitsu's nurse Kasuga Bureau!" ”

"Nurse? It's a nurse, right? Zhou Guoqing said with a smile: "Even if you want to make a beauty, you have to send a delicate little girl, how to get an old and ugly nurse?" ”

Yui Masayuki replied: "This Spring Army is not an ordinary old woman, but a strategist that Tokugawa Iemitsu relies on very much!" ”

"Strategist?" Secretary Zhou was puzzled

"That's what the big fish means by the strategists!" Yui Masayuki explained

"Looking for a nurse to be a counselor? It's really his grandmother's~" Zhou Guoqing said disdainfully: "Are you going to lose the battle!" ”

While the two were talking, the Kasuga Bureau had already come to the front, "I am here to negotiate with the Ming Kingdom on behalf of His Royal Highness Tokugawa Iemitsu, the general of the Great Japanese Expedition!" As he spoke, Haruhi glanced at Masayuki Yui, his gaze full of disdain and resentment