These three "underwater pole mineboats", originally named "Warning", "Fury" and "Shock", were all purchased from the United States and were ramming gunboats of the same class, with wooden hulls and a displacement of 670 tons. The ship is 57.2 meters long, 8.25 meters wide, 3.8 meters draft, using a horizontal two-cylinder reciprocating steam engine, single-shaft propulsion, main engine power of 400 horsepower, speed of 10 knots, the original old breech gun was removed from the armament, and it was converted into a 120 mm Krupp breech gun and four 75 mm breech guns newly purchased from Germany, as well as an underwater lightning strike strut at the bow angle of attack. After these three ships officially entered service with the Japanese Navy, they were renamed "Yukikaze", "Nobun" and "Shiyu" respectively.

Among the many old ships that Japan purchased from the United States through Li Xiande's hands, these three ships were relatively good in performance, and after they were bought, they were not used as "underwater pole mineboats" but as gunboats, and they were deployed in Tokyo Bay together with the "Fuso" and "Kiyohui" ships. In the Meiji government's "Great Counterattack Operation", the Ministry of the Navy added these three ships to the convoy in order to ensure the safety of the troop transport fleet.

The Meiji government was shocked by the fact that the two ironclad ships "Hiei" and "Kongo" ordered from Britain were hijacked by the Satsuma officers and soldiers on the ships on their way home, and the acting naval secretary Kawamura Junyoshi once wanted to commit suicide to apologize to the emperor, but was prevented by the Meiji emperor's special order. Although Junyoshi Kawamura, who was a relative of Saigo Takamori, was still trusted by the emperor and continued to serve in the Ministry of the Navy, another important impact of this incident was that a large number of Satsuma officers and men in the Japanese Navy were squeezed out of the unimportant logistics department, and all the front-line combat units were replaced by officers and soldiers of the Tohoku Domain, a move that greatly reduced the number of combat troops in the Japanese Navy. This was also after the outbreak of the Southwestern War. The Japanese Navy was slow to go to war. An important reason for always taking a defensive stance.

In order to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Japanese Navy, the Japanese Government, while strengthening the training of officers and men of the Northeast Domain, also recruited a large number of foreign sailors into the Japanese Navy to assist in operations.

In order to sink the two Satsuma ironclad ships "Hiei" and "Kongo," which pose the greatest threat to the government navy, these three warships have conducted many coordinated combat exercises, which means that they are "determined to win." It was because Inoue Yoshixin just said something like that.

To put it bluntly, Inoue's confidence comes from the US Navy officers and sailors on the three ramming ships.

"These three mine-striking ships are all operated by retired officers and soldiers of the United States Navy, although they are well trained, but the people of the United States have always despised our country, and this time they went to battle with our ships, I am worried that they may violate the combat orders and act without authorization." Kozo Tsuboi voiced his worries.

"Judging by their performance so far, there is no sign of that." Inoue Ryoshin looked at the three ramming gunboats and said confidently. "Don't worry! It won't happen! ”

Tsuboi was about to speak, but he heard a fierce volley of gunfire in the distance from the shore. There was a faint roar of cannons.

At about the same time, a small Satsuma army was moving quickly through the mountains and forests.

This team is composed of capable samurai drawn from his own guard by Nomura Shinsuke, who led them to sneak into the front line to conduct reconnaissance and obtain intelligence for the newly arrived government forces.

In the face of the sudden landing of the enemy army in the flank, Nomura Shinosuke, as the general of Osaka, did not panic, because of the successive victories of the Satsuma army, he was more optimistic about the prospects of the war, in order to figure out the situation and not get dizzy in the future battle, he recruited local residents who were familiar with the situation as guides, and on the other hand, he drew his own personal guards to form a capable small force to conduct reconnaissance.

Along the way, Nomura Shinosuke heard many Satsuma officers and soldiers along the way talking about the battle with the enemy, and he couldn't help but be secretly worried. He was later led to a Tosa samurai chieftain, who was seen questioning a local villager, an old man who had witnessed a fierce battle between the government and the Satsuma army that had landed, and who had been terrified by the earth-shattering artillery fire. The samurai chief's Tosa words seemed to be swirling on his tongue, so he didn't ask anything.

Nomura Shinosuke met with the samurai leader, and seeing that Nomura Shinosuke only brought a few dozen people, the samurai leader couldn't help frowning and complaining, "Are the support troops sent to me by Lin Jun just a few of you?" What about the cannons? And where are the ammunition, the food, and the porters? ”

Since the landing of the Huai army, there have been sporadic exchanges with the Japanese army, because of the newcomer, the life is not familiar, only the annihilation of these small groups of Japanese troops, the Huai army has paid a great price, not only the consumption of ammunition is huge, but also the casualties of the non-commissioned officers are also many.

Nomura Shinosuke knew that the Tosa samurai leader had misunderstood, and quickly explained that the mission of their small force was to destroy the enemy's headquarters, capture the prisoners alive, and capture the documents and maps, because Lin Yiqing urgently needed to find out the enemy's information.

After listening to his explanation, the samurai leader softened his face and exchanged information with each other at the moment. When Nomura Shinosuke learned that the samurai leader's name was Sasaki Tomomi, who belonged to Tosa's allies, and that their unit had previously been used as a garrison on the outskirts of Osaka and was not equipped with heavy weapons, the samurai leader lamented that fortunately, the enemy army was only a small leading force, otherwise it would inevitably suffer a major setback if they were rushed into the battle in such a hurry.

This small "special forces" led by Nomura Shinosuke entered the front line positions in the evening.

An experienced Satsuma sailor crept up the mountain road, his ears pressed to the cold ground, and they heard a tidal noise from the direction of the village, accompanied by a clear metal strike, indicating that the enemy was hurrying to repair the fortifications.

Due to the rugged mountain roads, the artillery team sent from Osaka Castle could not reach the front line until the second half of the night, and the attack was forced to be delayed until dawn.

Early in the morning, with the help of local residents, four 75-mm Krupp guns finally arrived. With the roar of the Satsuma cannons, the ground shook, and even the air began to tremble. The positions of the government troops were immediately illuminated by the fire of the explosion of shells. Quite a few houses were on fire. After the shelling. Hundreds of Satsuma soldiers began to charge, and Nomura Shinosuke followed the group, and he saw the faint cold light reflected the faint cold light of many shaking bayonets in the brightening sky.

The government forces began to return fire, and Nomura Shinosuke heard that the enemy's fire was not very fierce, it was only dozens of rifles firing, indicating that the enemy had suffered heavy losses and could be wiped out with just one blow.

The Satsuma army successfully captured the village. Nomura Shinosuke saw that the enemy did not drop weapons and corpses on the position, and even the traces of fierce resistance were not obvious, indicating that the enemy was likely to retreat on his own initiative. This anomaly immediately alerted him. His instincts told him that the enemy, who was surrounded by the masses, was unlikely to abandon their positions on their own initiative, and that they should fight for every inch of land until the whole "jade was shattered", unless they had another conspiracy. What puzzled Nomura Shinosuke was, what kind of conspiracy could the enemy play? Could it be that we could not deliberately lure our army deeper? But isn't the enemy's appetite a little too big, you must know that the Satsuma army here is a large brigade of troops!

The enemy fell silent, and the battlefield fell into a brief ominous dead silence.

Suddenly, a breeze blew from the direction of the enemy line, and there was a strange and erratic sound. The movement was fleeting on the chaotic battlefield, but it was picked up by Nomura's sensitive ears that had passed through the listeners. Nomura Shinosuke could hear the neighing of a wounded horse. And there is more than one, indicating that the artillery of the already side may have hit the hiding place of the enemy's military horses.

He was immediately greatly alerted.

Because according to his knowledge of the military system of Western armies and government armies, military horse corps were generally assigned only to infantry brigades, which were used to carry heavy weapons such as ammunition, food, and artillery. Previous intelligence showed that the enemy was only a small group of sneak attack troops, without military horses and heavy weapons, could it be that the enemy had been reinforced overnight and greatly strengthened his troops? If his judgment was correct, it was likely that the reinforcements with the cavalry would have possessed powerful artillery, as carrying these heavy weapons and ammunition was precisely the task of the cavalry, and they would have set a terrible death trap for the attacking Satsuma. Nomura's face turned white, and he jumped up and issued a warning, trying to stop the Satsuma officers and soldiers from attacking rashly.

But late.

The insidious enemy tore off their camouflage, and a dense web of rifle fire mercilessly enveloped the attackers' ranks. Shells rained down from the sky, and the wall of death, made of multiple cannons, collapsed in an instant, and the hideous smoke swept away the flesh and blood of the Satsuma officers and soldiers like a black tide rising from the ground. When the government forces launched a charge to fight back, they were almost as numerous as locusts, and the Satsuma officers and soldiers were taken by surprise. There is no doubt that the hand of time has quietly changed the balance of power on the battlefield, and when the impression of the Satsuma army of the enemy is still stuck in a "small force", the cunning enemy has been reinforced overnight, making this unsuspenseful battle of annihilation into a breakthrough battle.

The first attack of the Satsuma army failed, and about 300 officers and soldiers were killed and wounded, and even Tomomi Sasaki was slightly wounded and withdrew from the village to wait for reinforcements. Nomura Shinosuke managed to find a villager who had escaped from the village, and the information he obtained confirmed that the number of enemies occupying the village had increased to more than 1,000, along with a number of horses and cannons.

"Murata-kun, there is a ninja of the thief army here, who killed several of us and wounded Hasegawa Osa." A Guards officer said to Murata Nobuyoshi Shosa, who was lying down under a tree and resting, "Chief Takai wants you to kill him." ”

"Okay." Murata agreed, sat up slowly, and then stood up and took the French Glass rifle leaning against the tree.

"The other side is also using this long-range French rifle, so you have to be careful." The officer reminded him again, "By the way, this person's swordsmanship is very good, and he uses Satsuma's 'pill self-manifestation flow' swordsmanship, you have to pay attention." ”

"I understand." Murata pulled out his katana and looked at it, put it in its sheath, and carried it on his back, instead of carrying it at his waist like many Tokai samurai in the government army.

"The enemy could also be a Satsuma, a fellow villager of Murata-kun." A Tokai samurai saw Murata Jingfang carrying the sword on his back, and a mocking look flashed in his eyes, "Fellow villagers cannibalize, this world is really cruel!" ”

Although the other party was saying sarcastic words, Murata Jingfang didn't hear it, now 41 years old, he was already experienced in a hundred battles, and all he was thinking about at this time was how to kill the other party.

Murata Nobuyoshi was born in Kagoshima Prefecture and was the eldest son of the feudal lord Murata Nobuyoku. During the War of the Shogunate, he participated in the war as the leading sharpshooter in the domain. Participated in the "Battle of Toba-Fushimi" as the captain of the first team. Later, he moved to various parts of the Northeast. In the fourth year of the Meiji era, he went to Beijing as an imperial soldier, awarded the rank of captain of the army, and in the eighth year of the Meiji era, he entered the Institute of Design and Technology, served as an infantry lieutenant, and went to European countries to study the technology of designing guns, and after returning to Japan, he devoted himself to the research of domestic rifles, and Murata Jingfang was promoted to the army commander in the tenth year of the Meiji era. As an instructor at the Toyama School of the Army, based on the experience gained during his study tour in Europe, he planned to improve the manufacturing process of Japanese firearms by referring to the French gun-making method, but what he did not expect was that this sudden war would push him back to the front as an excellent shooter and instructor.

This may be a fate that he can't escape as a descendant of the Satsuma samurai, right?

"The lion just threw his cubs into a deep valley of a thousand feet." Satsuma boys, in their early 14s, gather at the gate of the feudal prison and wait for the executioners to cut off the heads of death row inmates and rush up. The first to bite off the ear or finger of the corpse is the winner. You will get the chance to stab the dead in the first round and enjoy the most glorious moment of the Satsuma Young Warriors.

Such glory. Murata has had many times.

The Satsuma people have a dark complexion, a stubby body, vigorous movements, and a fierce style, and have been known as the "Satsuma Falcon" since ancient times, and the Japanese palace guards mostly come out of it. Satsuma's samurai upbringing is unique, and Satsuma kendo is an outlier in swordsmanship. It is the royal genre of the Shimazu family. Lower-ranking samurai practiced pill self-manifestation. The latter requires that when attacking, there must be the power to slash into the ground, from the enemy's carotid artery to the thigh with a single blow, ensuring a single kill. This kind of fierce move that puts the death in the aftermath has a light name - "dragonfly".

The ultimate killing spirit and the ultimate softness and elegance are present in the cultivation process of the Satsuma samurai.

After the day's killing, the young Satsuma samurai sat on the banks of the Katu River, lifted his culottes, put away his long katana, and plucked the lute night after night, calming his excited mind through the sad and gentle tone of the lute, away from the bloody Shura field. Rock-solid loyalty, selflessness, and lack of desire are the essence of the bushido of the Satsuma Domain. Tadaya Shimazu, the ancestor of the Shimazu family, specially composed 47 catchy Iroha songs, which are the principles of the Satsuma people's self-cultivation.

There were no private schools in the Satsuma Domain, and the young people were taught by their fathers and elder brothers, from sumo wrestling to Confucian classics. This "village education" led to the creation of samurai everywhere in Satsuma, with an average of one samurai for every four people. During the Tokugawa Shogunate, where only one castle was allowed to be built in a feudal domain, Satsuma samurai gathered together to form an impregnable outer fortress.

In the eyes of Westerners, the Satsuma samurai were the Spartans of Japan: fierce, self-disciplined, and loyal. They are proud of the uninterrupted rule of the Shimazu family for more than 600 years, and they adhere to the spirit of the samurai in their own right. They were unable to communicate with the Edo people in terms of language, and despised the elegance and temperament of the Edo people to this day.

Ignoring the defeated warriors of the East China Sea, Murata examined his French Grasse rifle captured from the enemy.

When he first returned to the army, there were constant reports of defeat from the front, and many battle reports said that the Satsuma army's rifles had a long range and good accuracy, while the Schneider rifles used by the government army could not match the range of the enemy army, and they often suffered losses in battle. At first, Murata was a little skeptical, but it wasn't until he personally participated in the battle and captured a rifle from the enemy that he realized that the battle reports were telling the truth.

And since then, he has been using the captured rifle.

Murata had an instinctive love for new firearms, perhaps inherited from the ancestors of the Satsuma people, who saw arquebuses for the first time before the Japanese in other regions when an unlucky Portuguese merchant ship washed up on Satsuma's Tanegashima Island. Later, the arquebuses made by Tanegashima became famous in Japan, and in the early Japanese language, the arquebus was Tanegashima.

Murata is a collector of firearms, and one of his family's oldest collections is arquebuses from Tanegashima.

Now this French rifle is both his collection and his weapon.

After Murata finished his inspection, he walked into the forest alone, much to the surprise of the officer who had come to give the order.

"Murata-kun, don't you want to bring an assistant?" The officer asked, a little worried.

"There is only one enemy, no need." Murata Jingfang waved his hand and said without looking back.

Watching Murata Jingfang's lonely figure walk into the depths of the forest step by step, the East China Sea samurai who had laughed at him just now stopped laughing.

"This guy wants to be a hero again!" An East China Sea warrior said indignantly.

"Although this guy is annoying, I can't help but say that his marksmanship is really accurate, and many of those terrible ninjas were killed by him and his students!" Someone said.

"Yes! He's a great guy! ”

"I heard that he is also very proficient in designing rifles, and he was once summoned by His Majesty the Emperor!"

"And such a thing?"

"It's true!"

"Shall we help?"

"People like him shouldn't like others to help, right?"

Just when people were talking, Murata Jingfang's figure had disappeared into the forest. (To be continued......)

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