While Han Wantao and others were actively preparing to capture the city, Tao Min and Tao Gong also stood on the beach of Tsushima Island.

Tsushima Island is about 50 kilometers from the Korean Peninsula, 82 kilometers from north to south and 18 kilometers from east to west, with an area of 696.29 square kilometers and a population of less than 40,000 in the 21st century, let alone now. So Tao Min and Tao Gong didn't have much effort to lay down Tsushima Island.

Tao Min's operation was two months later than originally planned, and the two Dutchmen worked overtime to complete the four warships by the end of the year. Although Tao Min was anxious, he had no choice but to wait.

Tao Min went to Shengjing again before attacking Tsushima Island and told Huang Taiji about his intentions. Originally, Huang Taiji was a little uneasy about Tao Min, but now that he heard that he was going to conquer Japan again, Huang Taiji's heart was even more reluctant. Tao Min secretly visited Dolgon when he was in Shengjing, and Dolgon was dazed by Tao Min's flickering, and tried his best to encourage Huang Taiji to agree to Tao Min's request.

Huang Taiji was undecided, but Fan Wencheng gave Huang Taiji an idea to fully support Tao Min's attack on Japan. Fan Wencheng's real purpose is that once Tao Min goes to Japan, he will definitely bring out the main force of the Korean New Army, so that Korea will be empty. And Huang Taiji can take advantage of this time to send eight flags to North Korea to control North Korea.

Huang Taiji finally agreed to Tao Min's plan, and Tao Min also knew Huang Taiji's plan, but he didn't care. Because Tao Min believes that North Korea has now implemented land reform, even if Huang Taiji controls North Korea, if the current land system of North Korea is changed, then the opposition in North Korea must be fierce, so North Korea will definitely not fall to the Qing Dynasty. As long as he can successfully defeat Japan, he will be able to eat Huang Taiji in turn, not to mention that now Dolgon has also begun to support him.

With evil intentions on both sides, Tao Min set sail for Tsushima with 60,000 new Korean troops and all ten warships. North Korea only left 20,000 troops, but Ji Tonghai was left in North Korea this time.

Tao Min has been suspicious of Ji Tonghai for a long time, but he has never received any conclusive evidence. But Tao Min has a feeling that if Ji Tonghai is asked to choose between himself and Huang Taiji, then Ji Tonghai should choose himself. Therefore, Tao Min left Ji Tonghai a task, firmly control the 20,000 new Korean troops, and do not have any conflict with Huang Taiji, everything will be said after he defeats Japan.

Tsushima Island is more than 90 kilometers from Nagasaki, and Tao Min held up his binoculars and looked at it for a while but saw nothing.

"Brother, what should we do next?" Tao Gong asked, "Now that Tsushima is under control, should we rest or attack Nagasaki directly?" ”

Tao Min did not answer his brother, he has been thinking about a question these days, how to conquer Japan.

Tao Min knew very well that he must make a quick decision against Japan, and he must not drag his feet in the mud and water. North Korea can't stay so empty, although Huang Taiji's side is still good to say, but Yulin Bay will definitely not sit idly by and watch his attack on Japan. According to the information sent back by Xie Tian, it is likely that Yulin Bay will end its affairs in Vietnam in a few months. And once Yulin Bay pacifies Vietnam, their next spearhead will be Japan.

I only brought 60,000 troops this time, and if I pushed Japan, even if my new Korean army could beat the Japanese army, I am afraid it would take a few years to occupy all of Japan, but I didn't have that much time.

Tao Min was keen to follow the example of Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy and sign an alliance with Japan. Of course, Tao Min's purpose is not to let Japan open its doors, but to get Japan to agree to station its troops in Japan and recruit and train a Japanese army. Tao Min knew very well that according to the personality of the Japanese, as long as he could garrison troops in Japan and show the combat effectiveness of his new Korean army, then the Japanese would definitely flock to him, and worshipping the strong was the consistent style of the Japanese.

But is Japan easy to fight, Tao Min's heart is actually bottomless. The current Japan is not the Japan of 1853, and the Japan of later generations is a real closed country, and they are not the same era as Perry of the United States. The Japanese saw steamships for the first time during the Black Ship Incident, and Perry's four battleships had a total of 63 cannons, while the Japanese coastal defense guns in Edo Bay at that time had only about 20 guns in range and firepower compared to these four warships. But now, although its own army was armed with flintlock pistols and 6-pounder guns, Japan still had iron cannons. This Japanese-made arquebus, made by the Yabankanebei in imitation of the firearm structure of the Grape People, has spread throughout Japan.

This gun has a killing distance of 200 meters and an effective killing distance of 50 meters, which brought great deterrence to the Ming army aiding Korea during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea. Its own new Korean army, like the Yulin army, was also unarmoured, and was armed with less than 20,000 flintlock muskets.

"Brother, what the hell are we going to do?" Tao Gong saw that his brother didn't speak, and asked again.

"Let's get some rest." Tao Min finally said, "Looking for someone to explore the terrain of Tsushima Island and build fortifications, no matter what, we can't lose Tsushima Island, this is our springboard." ”

"Brother, why are you worried about losing Tsushima Island?" Tao Gong asked, "Could it be that the Japanese will come to attack Tsushima?" ”

"Not Japanese." Tao Min shook his head, "The Japanese shouldn't come, but Yulinwan and Zheng Zhilong will definitely come." ”

Tao Min didn't explain more to his younger brother after speaking, and turned his head back to the barracks.

Tao Min kicked everyone out of the house, sat down and quietly thought about his next move. Tao Min's mind has changed a little, because the attack on Tsushima was two months later than originally planned, and now the possibility of a quick settlement with Japan has been greatly reduced. Tao Min did not want to repeat the mistakes of Hitler later, and when he attacked the city of Moscow, he became the last crossbow, and he could not advance a single step when he was only 15 kilometers away from Moscow.

Tao Min made a time calculation in his mind, it was already early May, and if Yulin Bay really pacified Vietnam in July or even earlier, then they could unite with Zheng Zhilong to stop their own invasion of Japan at the end of August at the latest.

Tao Min knows too well the thoughts of Xu Lang and Jiang Beiming and others, Yulin Bay will never go to Japan to fight to the death with him, and they will definitely come to Tsushima Island. As long as Tsushima is lost, one's retreat will be blocked, which will be fatal to oneself.

He brought 60,000 people with him, and Tsushima Island is only 50 kilometers away from North Korea, so if he defends Tsushima Island by himself, he will not lose to Yulin Bay in terms of troops and supplies. Yulin Bay could not afford to drag on this war, their supply lines were too long. His ten warships will definitely not be able to defeat Yulin Bay, but in three months, he can build Tsushima Island into a strong fortress to resist Yulin Bay. However, in this way, the attack on Japan will be dragged down, and without Japan's resources and troops to replenish it, and if you fight to the death with Yulin Bay on Tsushima Island, then you will probably spend your strength here and the gains outweigh the losses.

After the pacification of Vietnam in Yulin Bay, their forces are likely to reach 40,000 to 50,000. Although it is impossible for all these troops to come to Tsushima Island, because Yulin Bay cannot have such a large capacity, what should they do if they go to attack Nampo in Korea, which is their base camp.

The more Tao Min thought about it, the bigger his head became, but in the final analysis, there were still too few troops to divide his troops to fight.

"Someone." Tao Min shouted, "Go and call Lord Belle." ”

Tao Gong hurriedly ran in from outside: "Brother, what's the matter, why are you looking for me in such a hurry." ”

Tao Min beckoned his younger brother to the front of a simple map of Tsushima Island: "If you are Yulin Bay and want to attack here now, where are you going to attack from?" In other words, where do you think we can defend Tsushima? ”

Tao Gong looked up at his brother: "Brother, are you going to build a city here?" So when are we going to fight Japan? ”

"Leave Japan alone and answer my question first."

Tao Gong looked down at the map for a while: "Tsushima Island is mountainous, according to its topography, I think Yulin Bay should choose to land in the middle of the upper island and the lower island, only this place is the most suitable for landing, we came up from here." ”

Tao Min nodded: "But in this case, we will build two cities to defend Yulin Bay." ”

Tao Gong asked again: "Brother, why do you have to be stationed on Tsushima Island, isn't our purpose Japan?" ”

Tao Min told Tao Gong in detail about his thoughts, and Tao Gong also felt that his brother's analysis was very reasonable: "Brother, so let's not attack Japan now?" Now to consolidate Tsushima first? ”

"That's what I meant." Tao Min replied, "We have a total of 60,000 people, and we should be able to build two cities in three months." As long as we can defend Tsushima Island, there is nothing we can do about Yulin Bay. And only if we hold Tsushima Island can we say that we have a basis to go to Japan, otherwise once Yulin Bay occupies Tsushima Island, our back road will be cut off. ”

"But brother, have you thought about a question?" Tao Gong asked, "If we don't go to Japan, will Yulinwan and Zheng Zhilong go to Japan?" If they conquer Japan, our lives will be even more difficult. ”

Tao Min had thought about this question for a long time, but he had never made up his mind: "Brother, do you think that if Yulin Bay and Zheng Zhilong jointly attack Japan, how many men and horses can they use?" ”

"It's hard to say, it's possible to have as little as 20,000 or 30,000 or as much as 50,000 or 60,000."

Tao Min listened to his brother's answer and didn't speak for a long time, he estimated in his heart that the strength of Yulin Bay to attack Japan was likely to be about 30,000, and if there were more, I was afraid that there would be problems with transportation capacity and logistical supplies.

30,000 people can't defeat Japan, and now there are a few choices in front of Tao Min. The first was to consolidate Tsushima Island and send troops from Tsushima to aid Japan in order to form an alliance with Japan when it attacked Japan in Yulin Bay. The second is to repeat the old trick, and then contact the Westerners, taking advantage of Zheng Zhilong's coming to Japan to let the Westerners attack Taiwan, so that Zheng Zhilong's backyard will catch fire. The last option is what Tao Min hopes the most, but it is also the most unlikely, to make peace with Yulin Bay again.

Tao Min knew that he could not stop Yulin Bay from conquering Vietnam, Yulin Bay had already taken the entire Hainan Island, and if he took Vietnam, he could basically stand on his own, although Yulin Bay may not want to do so. And now he only has North Korea in his hands, and he has to guard against Huang Taiji and himself, and his strength has fallen far behind Yulin Bay. If he can make peace with the truce in Yulin Bay, and turn back to help Dolgon kill Huang Taiji and control the northeast and Mongolia, it will not be a good thing. In this way, he can completely change his strategy, attack Xinjiang, Tibet, and even West Asia, and encircle the Ming Dynasty from the west.

The meaning of letting Dolgon replace Huang Taiji has been vaguely revealed to Dolgon, and I don't know if Dolgon didn't understand or he didn't dare, anyway, he didn't give himself a clear answer. But Tao Min could clearly feel that Dolgon was not adamantly against anything.

Just to make peace with Yulin Bay, Tao Min knows that this is almost impossible.

In any case, the common denominator of these three choices is that Tsushima must be controlled, which is the basis of any choice.

"Brother." Tao Min made up his mind, "Immediately find someone to explore the terrain and choose a location to build the city." Suspend the attack on Japan and hold Tsushima. ”

"Okay, I'll listen to you, brother." Tao Gong was convinced by his brother, "I'll arrange it right away." ”

"You wait a minute." Tao Min took out a sketch from his body again, "Look at what this is, can you understand it?" ”

Tao Gong took it and looked at it for a while: "Brother, what are you drawing, why is there a big wheel here." I can understand this one more or less, this should be a kind of rifle. ”

Tao Min took the sketch back from Tao Gong's hand: "We can't help it. Brother, neither you nor I came from science and engineering, and we don't know anything about machinery. This picture is a picture that I asked a lot of people when I was in Yulin Bay, and I also looked up some information to draw a steam engine and a rifled gun. I don't know if it's right or not, Yulin Bay hadn't come up with this when we came out. ”

Tao Gong felt a little difficult: "Brother, you don't know how to be practical." ”

"It's up to you." Tao Min smiled, "After you arrange the affairs of Tsushima Island, you will return to North Korea, and I will take care of the rest here." You have two tasks when you go back to North Korea, the first is to recruit a group of craftsmen in North Korea, tell them about the rifled gun, explain the principle to them, and see if anyone can understand this. Don't be stingy with silver, who can make this reward of ten thousand taels of silver. Second, inform Xie Tian that to recruit Western craftsmen from Macao and Nanyang, from anywhere, we must get a steam engine, otherwise we will be pulled down too much by Yulin Bay. ”

"And." Tao Min lowered his voice, "You personally select reliable people, and you and I can only be Han Chinese." Let them infiltrate Yulin Bay, and the only task is to break into the military research institute in Yulin Bay and get the latest information out. But we must remember that not a single internal line in Yulin Bay is now used, whether it is the prisoners of war we put back or the ones we sent over, the new ones must be kept strictly confidential. ”

Tao Gong felt that his brother's idea was a little difficult, because he knew that the current secrecy measures of the Military Research Institute were the highest level in Yulin Bay, and it was difficult for ordinary people to get in, and even if they did, they would not be able to access the latest scientific research results. Especially this kind of person must understand this, otherwise even if you tell him clearly the principle of technology, he will not understand. What's more, all the research and development work of the current military scientific research institute is separated, and each person only develops a certain part, and only Shen Daxing can grasp the whole.