Chapter 41: Raid on Kyoto and capture the Emperor alive

On this morning, through the heavy fog, the head of the Yaogang warship passed through the Kii Suido to Osaka Bay. The warships lined up outside the port of Osaka and opened fire on Osaka at the same time. Heavy artillery shells are once again visiting Osaka, and the castle of Osaka, which has not yet recovered, is in chaos again. This time, the Yaogang warships did not shell the docks that had just been repaired. But the 12.7 mm heavy machine gun cleared the Japanese from the dock. The speedboat landed with the marines and controlled the wharf, and the two 5,000-ton ships of Yaogang docked at the wharf, and more than 1,000 sailors immediately boarded the wharf and went out to arrange a circular position to cover the large group of men and horses behind to board the wharf.

When the landed infantry rushed to Osaka as planned, four flat-bottomed warships from Yaogang pulled many wooden boats full of infantry into the Yodo River and went upstream.

The Japanese on both sides of the Yodo River were so frightened that they hid when they heard the sound of the "booming" kiln warships. They know very well the power of these big guys, especially after the last time the Yaogang warship attacked here, the Japanese passed on the power of the Yaogang warship as terrifying as the devil.

Soon after the attack on Osaka, the fast horses sent arrived in Kyoto, and the warships from Yaogang also came. The steel-hulled warships could no longer move forward before dragging a string of wooden boats to the shore, and the marines jumped ashore one by one in front of the stunned Japanese.

The first to land were two thousand marines, who quickly occupied the pier and occupied the commanding heights. The Japanese here did not put up any resistance at all. After most of the infantry landed, the Marines took the lead, led two divisions of infantry, and quickly left the dock and went straight to Kyoto. Their goal is to cut off the back road to Kyoto.

The assault on Osaka met with almost no decent resistance. The infantry brigade that landed from Osaka, guided by five artillery carriages, quickly marched along the Yodo River towards Kyoto.

The emperor of Kyoto suddenly received the news that the kiln gang people had been sent from Osaka to attack Osaka, and he was immediately stunned. The emperor knew that if the army on the Osaka side could not stop it, the people of Yaogang would be in danger in Kyoto. However, there were not many troops in Osaka, and in order to prevent the Yaogang army from attacking, many troops were deployed along the coast of the Kii waterway.

The emperor was immediately faced with the question of whether to evacuate Kyoto.

There was also chaos inside the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and most people advised the emperor to evacuate as soon as possible. But the emperor still couldn't make up his mind.

The emperor knew better than anyone else that he was still the emperor even though he had no rights in Kyoto. When you leave Kyoto, you can't even get to the daimyos, and each daimyo has its own territory and samurai soldiers, and you need the daimyo to speak to you. But if you don't leave, a large number of troops will be transferred, and there won't be many troops in Tokyo at all, so do you really want to be a prisoner?

Although the emperor hesitated and did not want to leave, he also arranged for his subordinates to prepare for leaving. The emperor knew that it would take some time for the kiln people to come from Osaka. The emperor sent people to all parts of the country to inform the troops from all over the country to come to defend Kyoto, and he even fantasized that he could gather a large number of troops before the arrival of the kiln people, and if he could fight the kiln people, he would have the opportunity to send them out to negotiate with the kiln people. In that case, at some cost, you may be able to regain your power from the shoguns.

However, the emperor never expected that at the same time as the Yaogang people landed in Osaka, they would divide their troops all the way into the Yodo River and go straight to Kyoto.

The Yaogang Marine Corps, with two divisions, suddenly inserted to the west and north of Kyoto. Although the defenders of Kyoto urgently closed the city gate after discovering them, the marines could see that there were not many defenders of Kyoto. The officer leading the Marine Corps discussed with the commanders of the two infantry divisions and decided not to wait for the brigade from Osaka to break through to Kyoto directly while the chaos had come. The two division commanders, even if they were lively, unanimously agreed to attack the city.

They set up a division on the periphery to intercept the Japanese who had escaped from the city, and the marines and infantry divisions attacked the West Gate, and broke through the West Gate into Kyoto.

Their assault forces did not have heavy artillery, but they did have infantry and mortars. After simple preparations, they took advantage of the cover of night to push the infantry artillery to the front, concentrated their fire and suddenly fired at the city gate, blowing the city gate to pieces, and at the same time the mortars of large and small calibers concentrated fire on the city to suppress the defenders of the city, and the marines and infantry broke into the city.

The emperor in the city never expected that the kiln people would attack the city before he could figure out what to do. The samurai around the emperor persuaded the emperor to rush out after them. Suddenly, the emperor was not in a hurry, and he said, "Everyone, open the door." We are waiting for the kiln people! ”

The task of the group of soldiers who stormed the castle was to go straight to the palace and capture the emperor alive. They captured a few Japanese, and a Japanese interpreter asked them about the location of the palace, and then the group rushed directly to the palace.

They came to the front of the Imperial Palace and saw that the Imperial Palace was very dilapidated, and they knew that the Imperial Palace in Kyoto had been destroyed by the navy once, and it could not be very good. To their surprise, however, the new gate was open, and the soldiers in front of it stood on either side of the door with unarmed arms and torches. This scene made the kiln soldiers a little confused. The officer who led the team was also experienced in battle, and he had never seen such a battle.

However, the officer who led the team did not hesitate, and quickly rushed over with his soldiers, forcing the guards in front of the door with their guns. At this time, a minister came out of the gate, bowed and asked, "Which one is the general's lord?" ”

The officer leading the team was just a regiment commander, and the translator translated it, and the regiment commander thought to himself, Lao Tzu is not a general, and said, "What is so much nonsense? Tell me something! ”

The minister hurriedly said, "I have come to greet the Shogun by order of the Emperor!" ”

"Hey, hey! His mother's, it's weird! Your Emperor sent someone to meet us! ”

"General, don't be surprised! Our Emperor has been waiting for you to come over for a long time. Please come with me, General! ”

This regiment leader is really a little confused, but he thinks to himself, no matter what tricks you play, Lao Tzu will be easy to do when he sees the emperor, and if he takes it directly, he will complete the task! Thinking of this, he waved his hand, "Everyone follow closely, be careful!" ”

The regimental commander held the minister with a pistol and followed them into the palace, where the soldiers behind took over the sentry posts of the palace guards and brought them together to watch.

The head of the regiment followed the minister to a newly built big wooden house, and when he entered, his eyes were a little dazzling, and the oil lamps in it were very bright. When the emperor saw that the minister was being escorted in, he hurriedly got up, came over and handed over according to the Chinese custom, and said, "Shun, greetings to the general!" ”

The Japanese translator who came with me was stunned and thought to himself that this was really the emperor, but how could he give us a gift, but he immediately gave the translator.

The head of the regiment glanced at it and saw that many Japanese ministers around him were all respectful, so he put down the robbery in his hand and said, "You are the emperor of Japan?" ”

"It's me!"

"I'm not a general, and the order I got was to capture you alive. Now you must listen to me, and I will guarantee your life! ”

"I've been looking forward to you for a long time!"

"Huh! Do you want us? "There's something strange about the head of the regiment.

At this time, the minister who greeted him said, "The power of our emperor was taken away by the shoguns of the shogunate a long time ago. Our emperors have always regarded China as a superior state, and it was those rebellious ministers and thieves who launched wars against China again and again. We, the Emperor, want to oppose them, but we have no right. Now that you have called, our emperor is very happy. It can be said that I have been looking forward to you! ”

The regimental commander didn't want to be fooled, and said, "Okay! You should tell us these words slowly! Now you must obey my orders, and no one is allowed to leave this room. Otherwise, I don't care who you are, and there will be no mercy! ”

The regiment commander hurriedly reported the incident to the siege commander on the radio, and the siege commander immediately reported to Zheng Zhilong, who was on the ship.

As soon as Zheng Zhilong heard this, he captured Kyoto without asking for instructions in advance, and he didn't have time to scold this bold Marine commander, so he immediately reported the matter to Mu Yi. Mu Yi didn't care about anything else, and immediately sent a telegram to the kiln command center to report the good news.

The officer on duty in the Yaogang command center did not dare to delay, and immediately reported the good news to Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He in their sleep, and the two of them did not sleep anymore, and immediately came to the command center, and when they met in the command center, Ouyang He said: "Inform Mr. Zhang immediately!" It's too big! The situation in Japan will change a lot in no time! ”

"Hey, hey! Oh, yes! If we don't inform him about this, he will get up and complain about us! ”

When Zhang Zhimu heard the phone call in the middle of the night, his heart was always tight, because something must have happened.

Picking up the phone, I heard Ouyang He say that the Japanese had caught the Japanese emperor, Zhang Zhimu immediately lost his sleepiness, got up and dressed and went straight to the command center.

Zhang Zhimu came to the command center, and the staff officer waiting in front of the door led Zhang Zhimu directly to the restaurant.

As soon as Zhang Zhimu entered the small restaurant, he saw that several dishes and a pot of wine were already on the table.

Ouyang He got up and said with a smile: "I can't sleep anyway, let's drink some wine and celebrate!" ”

"Huh! It's time to celebrate! Zhang Zhimu pulled a chair and sat down, "I think it's time to reconsider the Japanese thing!" ”

After Ouyang He picked up the wine jug and filled Zhang Zhimu's cup, he said, "Let's talk while drinking!" ”

"Come on! Do one for the brothers on the front line! Zhang Zhimu picked up his wine glass and said.

"Drink!"

Three people did one together.

Ouyang He filled three more cups, and Chen Yufeng said: "Good luck this year!" The Myanmar side can also stabilize the overall situation, the Japanese side can also stabilize the situation, let alone the north. ”

"Yes! During the day, they sent a telegram saying that our survey ship had passed through the Norse headland (Bering Strait) through the Liuwei Sea, entered the White Sea and headed westward, and finally entered the Lena River, and the wooden boats built by the cavalry they had sent in that direction had joined them down the Lena River. Thus the entire course of our passage north to the White Sea was opened. According to the map of the Yuan Dynasty, the Lena River and the North Sea (Lake Baikal) were connected. Zhou Yuji's side will stabilize for a while, and after the beginning of spring next year, Zhou Yuji and they should send a boat from the North Sea into the Lena River, and walk along the Lena River all the way to open up this waterway. Ouyang He said.

"I'm also looking at the map of the north these days." Chen Yufeng said, "We are in the north, and we need to take Beihai as the center and open up all the waterways around us, so that the traffic problem in the north can be solved by half." Also, I think that the waters of the Heilongjiang River should be connected to the waters of the North Sea, because many of the tributaries of their two waters are very close to each other, and we should choose a place to connect them with a canal. In this way, the waters of the North Sea can be connected with the waters of Nuergan and Liaodong. In the future, when our Liaodong Grand Canal is completed, the entire Beihai can be connected to our side. ”

"Huh! Uncle Chen was thinking very ahead! Zhang Zhimu said with a smile.

"This is not a big deal, the governance of the north is a big deal, it is too big, we have to ensure that the land and water routes are open over there, so that we can control that side stably. Slowly, without immigration, the population over there will increase. As long as there is money to be made, there will be people who will go! Chen Yufeng saw far away.

"I told Mr. Lu Bingyi in advance that the north would be more stable, and let Mr. Lu send a team of people to conduct a thorough survey of the entire northern mountains and rivers. Then develop an overall development plan for waterways, land routes, and railways. Zhang Zhimu said, "However, this year, all the energy of Mr. Lu's people is on the Songliao Canal, and we will be able to start the canal project next year." Now that Mr. Lu has arranged for a large number of workers to learn how to operate tractors and other construction machinery, Mr. Lu's people will be able to withdraw a batch of them. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Yes! A large number of captives could be sent to Liaodong, and while the canal was built, roads and railways should also be built. Only when the road is open can our control over that side be considered solid. Chen Yufeng said.

Ouyang He smiled and said, "Hehe! How many talents we have is not enough! ”

"That's good," Chen Yufeng said, "It's still Zhimu who thinks far, now we have a lot of college students graduating every year, otherwise there are not enough people." ”

After listening to Chen Yufeng's praise, Zhang Zhimu deliberately said: "At the beginning, I insisted on spending money on this, and it seems that the return on investment is still very high. ”

"Huh! Mr. Zhang, don't boast about yourself! Ouyang He said with a smile.

The three of them drank a little more wine, and Zhang Zhimu said: "Let's go back to the truth, and the situation on the Japanese side will change dramatically soon." How we respond must be decided. Otherwise, Mu Yi and they don't know what to do! ”

"The specific approach can change, but our determination to solve the problem once and for all cannot change." Chen Yufeng said, "If both the shogun and the emperor surrender to us, then let them order to stop resisting." We have to send their men and women to different places, no matter how many people there are, how long we have to transport, and this cannot change. Those who can work are sent to our various construction sites. Those who are unable to work will be left to fend for themselves in Japan. ”

Zhang Zhimu gritted his teeth and said: "The Japanese really can't give them any chance to turn over. The determination to completely solve the problem of the Japanese remains unchanged, and the ways and means can be flexibly mastered by Mu Yi. ”

"And! The Japanese, those daimyo and other cultural people, as well as the samurai, must be destroyed first. Ouyang He said, "Those Japanese women who can work, if they want, can also be sent to our factories and farms to work, and they can't all stay in Japan." But take care of it! ”

At dawn, Zheng Zhilong sent a telegram back, saying: "They have found many Japanese corpses in the mountains on the northern coast of the Kii Suido. It is likely that the women and children who were sent over from Shikoku Island are old and weak. ”

Then, Wu Sangui and the others also reported that they had found many places where large-scale murder of women and children had been carried out. When the captives were interrogated, it was confessed that it was Tokugawa Ietsuna who ordered the killing of those who could not fight in order to save food. In addition, many of the people who fled from Kyushu were also killed in a large number of clusters.

Mu Yi instructed Zheng Zhilong to meet the Japanese emperor first, listen to his opinion, and if he was willing to surrender, he could order the local daimyo to stop resisting and surrender all.

Mu Yi went here to see Tokugawa Ietsuna.

Zheng Zhilong came to Kyoto and entered the emperor's temporary palace, and the emperor immediately stood up respectfully. The head of the regiment guarding the emperor introduced Zheng Zhilong: "This is the emperor of Japan!" ”

Zheng Zhilong saluted the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I am Zheng Zhilong. ”

The emperor hurriedly returned the salute according to the Chinese custom: "I am very happy to see the general!" I have a little thing to ask the general for permission now! ”

"Hmmm! What's the matter? Zheng Zhilong didn't understand.

"That's right, we want to go out and make it easier!"

Zheng Zhilong turned his head and glared at the head of the guard, and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please!" ”

The emperor and the ministers of civil and military affairs hula and ran outside.

The commander of the regiment guarding the emperor said: "This, General Zheng, don't you think they are willing to make me ugly?" If you don't come, no one will say it's convenient! ”

"You bastard, you bared your teeth and glared, do they dare to say it?" Zheng Zhilong knew that these people had scared the emperor so much that he didn't dare to talk to them at all.

After the emperor returned, Zheng Zhilong said with concern: "His Majesty the Emperor hasn't eaten yet!" We have some canned food and fast food. I'll accompany the emperor to eat first. Things to do, let's talk slowly. ”

The Emperor hurriedly said, "Thank you, General Zheng!" ”

Zheng Zhilong said to the head of the regiment again, get some food for the adults.

"Yes!" The regimental commander said yes and turned to go.

After a while, the soldiers made some canned beef, mutton, vegetables and fruits, and soaked two bowls of instant noodles.

Zheng Zhilong and the emperor ate face to face.

Maybe he was too hungry, and the emperor was sweating all over his food, and he couldn't stop praising how delicious the canned food was.

After eating, the emperor was also a little refreshed, the soldiers served tea, and Zheng Zhilong and the emperor drank slowly.

Putting down the cup, the emperor said, "Lord Shogun, we Japanese are sorry for you Chinese. Since Hideyoshi Toyoda, some people have inflated their ambitions and always want to conquer the Celestial Empire. Our generations of emperors are also helpless, and the power has been controlled by those shoguns who hold military power. Not only do we have no rights on the side of the Imperial Palace, but the various daimyo are also forced to obey them. To tell you the truth, from the moment you heard that you were coming, I was looking forward to your arrival in Kyoto. I'm looking forward to you! ”

"Hmmm! Since the Emperor said so, then I have good news for you. The Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ietsuna, has been captured by us, of course he was a little injured, but now he is fine, and he eats and drinks a lot every day! Isn't that good news? ”

The Emperor was stunned for a moment, then said, "Great! It's just great! These shoguns have brought Japan to the brink of misery! ”

"In the current situation, does His Majesty the Emperor have any ideas?" Zheng Zhilong went straight to the point.

"On behalf of all the Japanese, I welcome the Shangbang army to Japan. If possible, I am willing to issue an edict ordering all Japanese subjects to obey the orders of the upper state army! The emperor said.

"I'm afraid that the daimyo from all over the world may not be able to obey you!" Zheng Zhilong said.

"Hmmm! That's what the general said! The emperor said, "But most of the daimyo will listen to me." In particular, the Tokugawa Ietsuna has been captured by you, and the daimyo don't have to be afraid of him, they will listen to me. ”

"If the Emperor can do this, we guarantee the safety of your life and that of your family!"

"I don't have any family!" The emperor said, "The last time you attacked Kyoto, they all died in that fire. You can also see that the palace is in ruins! Alas! ”

"His Majesty the Emperor, please send an edict to inform the daimyo to surrender as soon as possible! It would also reduce the number of deaths. ”

"I'll write it right away!" The emperor was very crisp.

However, Mu Yi over there didn't go so smoothly when he saw the Tokugawa family!

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.