……，…… In September of this year, following the "Dinghai" and "Ningbo" ships, the third "Anlan" of the Poseidon-class frigate was also officially launched and entered the sea trial stage.

As a result of the established policy of moving the office to Iyo, strengthening control over the Murakami Naval Army, and suppressing the Maori Imperial Army, I abandoned the Kono family's Yuzuki Castle and built Imabari Castle under the former Kokufu Castle in Kochi-gun. The castle is based on the experience of Mie Castle, but it is much larger, and the entire castle is as close to the open sea as possible, making full use of the defense and shipping functions of the open sea. The castle tower is five stories high, and it is usually built in Honmaru, and Ninomaru also built a three-story castle tower for the castle keeper or castle to live in, and it is connected to Sannomaru across the inner hori, and the temple is built in Sannomaru, and there are two castle hori, the inner part of the middle hori is close to the samurai house, and the ordinary seiyashiki is inside the outer hori.

It is said to be Waibori, but in fact it only goes around the castle for half a circle, and the two ends are directly connected to the open sea. The mouth of the Aoshe River at the southern end is where the planned Imabari Town is located, so it is convenient to take advantage of river transportation; Beyond the northern end is the Imabari Water Naval Port, where the main force of the naval forces led by Iwamatsu Jingding is stationed, and it is also the docking place for the three ships of the Poseidon class.

The Port of Imabari is extremely important as a key shipping transit point connecting Kyushu and Osaka, and occupies the opposite end of the Eyo Islands opposite the Port of Mihara in Kobayakawa Takakei. The Yoyo Islands have always been the sphere of influence of the Mori family, but due to the destruction of the island navy, the Noh Island navy was severely damaged, and the Mori clan threw themselves on us, and although the Mori clan tried their best to maintain control of the Yunyu islands, they were becoming more and more powerless. I believe that when the main force of my naval army migrates, it will not take much effort to capture the Yunyu Islands and this sea area.

If the port of Sumoto is now an important base from which I control the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, controlling Osaka Bay and Harima, then this port is the key to controlling the entire Seto Inland Sea.

In order to control these two places at the same time, I divided the seven-year-old Keishiro to Awaji and led the Tsu Naguna Prefecture with 20,000 koku, and when I moved to Iyo-Imabari Castle, I took over Sumoto Castle, and was assisted by the elder Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Ataka Kiyoyasu, the younger brother of Ataka Nobuyasu, to command the Osaka Bay Sea Aid Team and Kumano's Ataka Naval Army, and control the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea. Ordered Erjian Guangcheng to come out of the main naval army and build another naval division. This navy was based on the Shiosatsu Naval Army, which joined the Kojima Naval Force of the former Togawa family, and its main mission was to take over the functions of the former main naval force in the central part of the Seto Inland Sea, guarding Shodoshima and Kojima, and protecting the sea route from Iyo to Sanuki.

However, this process is not over, and there are incidents at sea again. The incident took place in Naha Port under Shuri Castle in the Ryukyus, 960 kilometers away from Imabari Port.

The whole thing started with a storm in the Ryukyu Sea in July. During the storm, Janet's auxiliary mast was damaged, which seriously affected the ship's speed, and it had to dock at the nearest port of Naha for maintenance. But for some reason, the Ryukyu Kingdom suddenly detained Janet. In this way, even the other three ships had to stop, because the red copper loaded on the Janet was the tribute designated by the Ming court, and without this batch of red copper, the tribute could not be completed, and trade could not be talked about. In desperation, the mission ordered the remaining three ships to be docked in the open sea, sent people to go ashore in small boats to negotiate with the Ryukyu side, and asked the Toei under the name of Nobutaka Takeda to turn around to Sakai Town to inform Nobunaga of the news.

When Nobunaga heard the news, he was furious and immediately called me and ordered me to conquer the Ryukyu Kingdom immediately. This is a very difficult order for me, and it is also a very dangerous sign, but Nobunaga is on the fire, and it cannot be dissuaded at this time. I can only take a delaying tactic and bring in the serious Niwa Nagahide to speak together, hoping that I will find out the whole thing first, and then Nobunaga will decide whether to send troops or not.

For Niwa Nagahide's sake, Nobunaga finally withdrew the order.

"Three months," he looked at me with blazing eyes, "I'll withdraw the ship and give you three months to find out the facts." But at the same time, be prepared to go into battle! ”

Nearly a month of the three months was spent on the journey back and forth to the Ryukyus, and the time was very tight. However, it is already a very rare thing to make Nobunaga change his mind, and it is impossible to ask for more.

"Your Majesty obeys." I reluctantly agreed, and made up my mind that I must try to turn around as much as possible and avoid sending troops directly, so as to pinch out the signs of Nobunaga's outward expansion.

However, after learning the truth behind the whole thing, I felt even more helpless.

The decision to detain Janet was made by Prince Asari Kitaya, the third official of the Ryukyu Kingdom, whose Han name is Shohuan, and whose official title is Yonaha. He was the fifth brother of the former king of the Ryukyus, Shang Qing, who died four years ago, and was succeeded by his thirteen-year-old sister-in-law, Shang Yong, who presided over the state affairs by Shang Huan. This person is extremely greedy, and he was able to ascend to this position only because Naha, whose fief was under Shuri Castle, was more influential than the rest of the princes who held the head of the clan according to the division, stayed in Shuri according to the ancestral system, and managed the territory according to the division (according to the division is equivalent to the palace family of the book, since the three generations of kings Shang Zhen have all been concentrated in Shuri Castle, the residence is called the palace, the descendants are still the royal family, and the Han surname is still called the Shang family, and can serve as the regent; The second level is called the pro-party, the residence is called the palace, the descendants are reduced to the scholars, and the Han surname is called the Xiang clan, which means that the Shang family is lacking, and the three officials can only be served by the pro-party, in order to lead the actual government affairs). It was when he saw the cargo on the Janet that he took it for himself, and ordered the Hong Kong authorities to detain it.

And the driving force behind this matter is the Shimazu family in southern Kyushu. The Osumi Islands of the Shimazu family, which are bordered by the Amami Islands of the Ryukyus, have always been in contact with the Ryukyus, especially since Shimazu Takahisa, and the relationship with the Ryukyus has been extremely close due to private trade. In 1609, Shimazu Tadashi sent an army to conquer the Ryukyus, turning it into a dual vassal state of China and the Satsuma domain. Shuri Castle, the royal city of the Ryukyu Kingdom, has a special southern hall in the style of the whole hall to receive the envoys of the Satsuma domain. To greet the Chinese envoys, it is to gather all the important ministers in the main hall behind the imperial court, and then set up a banquet in the second Shang's Bodhi Temple, the Linji Sect Yuanjue Temple, which is naturally much more grand.

However, the Shimazu family did not go too far. They probably knew that the Janet was different from the three ships of Toei, Dongming, and Dongmeng, and that there were goods from the Otomo family on it, or they recognized the samurai of the Otomo family on the ship, so they instigated Shanghuan to detain the Janet. They did nothing about the other three ships that belonged to the Oda family and stayed in the shallow sea area outside the port, and even dissuaded Shang Huan, who was about to send his small naval army to hijack the other three ships, on the grounds of lack of strength, so as not to offend the Oda family.

But they didn't know that the 150 tons of red copper on the Janet belonged entirely to the Oda family, and was a tribute designated by the Ming court, which was related to whether the entire exploration trade could be carried out...... "Even if this is the case, it is unforgivable!" Nobunaga angrily banged his folding fan on the floor, as if it was the scalp of Shimazu Yoshihisa, the governor of the Shimazu family, "This phase of trade is almost going to be delayed." Whether it's the Shimazu family, or the Ryukyu country, you have to pay the price! ”

"Perhaps, we can find another way," I thought hard, "maybe I can personally negotiate with the Shimazu family and ask them to persuade the Ryukyu Kingdom to ......."

"Is your brain broken? Isn't your water army very powerful, why should you pin your hopes on others? Nobunaga interrupted me, "That regent is not a retainer of the Shimazu family, and he will spit out the fat in his hand because of the words of the Shimazu family?!" In the end, the only thing that can work is real force! ”

"However, Ryukyu is a vassal state of the Ming court, and if you conquer without permission, I am afraid that it will attract the disgust of the Ming court, and then affect the trade of the Ming court, right?" I tried to advise.

"Now it has been affected," Nobunaga snorted coldly, "Withholding the Ming Court's tribute is an unreasonable Ryukyu first, even if the Ming Court will support our actions!" ”

"That being said, after all, this is an expedition thousands of kilometers away, and it is no more inconvenient than in the Seto Inland Sea, and after leaving the territory, it is extremely inconvenient to supply or contact...... So please think twice! ”

"Are you worried about the situation after you leave?" Nobunaga waved his hand, "Don't worry, Shikoku is very stable, and I don't plan to arrange any tasks in the near future, so just go ahead...... I heard that you have built three new warships, which are about the same size as the Toei. Since the Toei can travel smoothly to and from the Ryukyus, then surely these three warships can also do it, right? That's it! ”

“…… Be. Seeing Nobunaga's obviously impatient tone and expression, I could only reply helplessly.

In fact, of the three frigates, only the Dinghai can come in handy, and the remaining two have completed sea trials, but have not completed training. Unlike ordinary warships, warships equipped with multiple naval guns are particularly troublesome to train, and the command to fire a salvo from a single port requires the men of each gun position to fire sequentially at an appropriate pace, and if two or three guns are really fired at the same time, or the rhythm is not appropriate, and the ship continues to fire before it is reset, then the recoil of the naval guns is likely to cause the ship to lose its balance or even capsize directly. And if it is a salvo of several rounds, it will be even more troublesome, restoring the gun position, cleaning the gun chamber, loading ammunition, ignition and firing must be carried out in accordance with the rhythm norms, the slightest mistake, the artillery may be destroyed and killed.

Of course, this is not to say that I cannot defeat the Ryukyu Kingdom. The national strength of this country is equivalent to the daimyo (marquis in the Meiji era) of about 200,000 koku territory of the Samoto family, and the population at its peak was only 180,000, and because it has not experienced war for a long time, the military strength of this country is extremely poor, and the Shimazu family only dispatched 3,000 troops in history to defeat the Ryukyu Kingdom and sue for peace, becoming a vassal of the Shimazu Satsuma Domain.

The strength of my current navy far exceeds that of the Satsuma Domain thirty years later. Suffice it to say, even if I don't send a frigate, I can easily defeat the Ryukyus. As for the consequences, as far as I know, it is not right for Nobunaga to say that he will have the support of the Ming Court, but he will not be held accountable for it. First of all, the Ryukyu Kingdom did make a big mistake, and at the same time offended the Ming court and Nobunaga; Secondly, unless it is a country with close relations such as North Korea, the Ming court will not intervene and interfere, and the Ming court has not paid much attention to overseas affairs since Zheng He went to the West (including the massacre of Chinese by the natives of other countries, it is good not to block the news). Therefore, after the conquest, you only need to continue to pay tribute to the Ming court, and you can be recognized and canonized by the Ming court.

What worries me is Nobunaga's own ambitions. After the conquest of the Ryukyus, with his surname, he would definitely be interested in Korea and even the Ming Dynasty. If one day, as long as I am still under Nobunaga's match, even if I don't want to, my navy will be the vanguard of course.

- Just like this expedition to the Ryukyus.

……，…… From a military point of view, Imabari Port was not a suitable starting point for the conquest of the Ryukyus. To this end, I requisitioned the port of Uwajima Island of the Minami Iyogamo family, and shortened the distance from 960 kilometers in a straight line to about 800 kilometers. As the main force, it is the Poseidon-class frigate Dinghai, half of the main naval force of Iwamatsu Jingding, and Tsushima Bei, which is directly under me. The Ningbo and Anlan ships also participated in the expedition, but rather than being warships, it was better to say that the 3,500-stone troop transport ships and supply ships were suitable, and relying on them, my logistics support was much easier. On the contrary, I left three ironclad ships at home, because they were too slow and could not adapt to the wind and waves at sea, and if I really took them, the whole fleet would be dragged down.

Drawing out so many elite troops at one time, especially since I myself will also leave Shikoku, will undoubtedly greatly weaken the power of the Kira family. On this point, Xiujing expressed his concern very directly:

"Although my brother entrusted me with government and military affairs, I was not very sure. At least, Awa's Hosokawa Highness, as well as Sanuki's military strength, I can't use it. I don't have the right to command a few adults in the main family, so I have to rely on your wishes to obey to what extent! ”

"The lord said that Shikoku has nothing to do recently, so I can rest assured that I will conquer the Ryukyus," I showed a wry smile, "Shikoku is really fine, but I'm afraid it's hard to say about Settsu, Harima, and Bizen...... It's not self-contained, I think I still have some deterrent power against these three countries, for example, Araki Murashige in Settsu, wasn't it under my hands in the first place? ”

"Brother is saying that His Royal Highness Araki in Settsu will rebel?" Xiujing asked in surprise.

"I can't rule it out!" I shrugged my shoulders, "This person is the same kind as Matsunaga Xiu, but one is good at taking advantage of others, and the other is good at taking advantage of other forces...... Now that the family and the Maori family are fighting, who knows if he will repeat his old tricks and try to fish in troubled waters? ”

"So, what do I do?" Xiujing thought for a while, but still felt that it was difficult to grasp, so he asked this question rarely.

"Hold the four countries for me, and do your part. In terms of the water army, it may have to shrink a little, but if you are not sure, give up Kojima in front of the company! I commanded.

(To be continued)