(16 points)

The sound of cannons on the sea in Edo Bay was loud, and the whole of Edo was in a panic.

The naval battlefield is not far from Edo, but it is more than ten miles away, and the entire Edo can clearly hear the dense and fierce cannon sound like bursts of thunder.

The merchants and the people were all panicked, before they had only heard rumors, but now the clear and audible sound of artillery made them urgently feel that the pace of war was approaching step by step, they could not imagine what kind of disaster would be brought by such a fierce and dense cannonade, the large-scale invasion of foreign enemies made them full of fear who had never experienced war, one by one like headless flies, they did not know where to go.

Wealthy merchants began to flee outside the river with their families, but most of the small traders and ordinary people had not seen the cruelty of war and were unwilling to abandon their family business and flee, so they rushed to various temples to pray, praying that the 'kamikaze', which had twice saved Japan's fate, would come again and send all those hateful invaders to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.

It was not only the people of Hiratou who went to the temple to pray, but also in Edo Castle, Ooku (the shogun's harem), the biological mother of the seventh shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Yu Kishi, who was known as the 'Moonlight Temple' after becoming a monk, also led a group of female dependents to pray devoutly, hoping that the 'kamikaze' would bless Edo and avoid this disaster.

Yotsuyazaka Town, the Tokugawa Shogunate's direct military headquarters, which were called the "Retainer Regiment" and the "Samurai Advance Team", were centered on the banners and royal families of the Tokugawa Shogunate, who were less than 10,000 koku (the stone was the unit that counted the Taroku in the Edo period, and also showed the status of the recipient).

The Tokugawa shogunate's pro-army was called 80,000 cavalry, but in fact there were only more than 20,000 people, and they were organized into fanwa groups. There are mainly Daiban, Shoinban, Junior Guban and Shinban, of which Daiban is responsible for guarding Edo Castle, Shuin Ban is responsible for guarding the doorman, and Kokuban is responsible for guarding various meetings, ceremonies and shogun patrols of the shogunate.

Each of them was called the "Retainer Regiment", and as the retainer regiment, it was actually responsible for the protection of the shogunate and Edo Castle, and the "samurai advance team" composed of bows and arrows and iron cannons was the one who really had combat effectiveness and carried out mobile combat missions.

The de facto ruler of the Tokugawa shogunate, Mabe Kanbo, hurried to Yotanizaka-cho, and after ordering the retainers to leave Oban and Shoin to defend Edo Castle Honmaru, he headed directly to Edo Port with a 'samurai advance team' consisting of 20,000 cavalry and infantry, and the rest of them.

In the face of this sudden invasion, the chaotic Edo, and the empty defense of Edo Castle, none of the feudal lords who lived in Edo dared to take the opportunity to attack, because they knew very well in their hearts that if anyone dared to initiate rebellion at this time, they would definitely die an ugly death.

Out of Edo, the sound of the cannon became very clear, and now, the dense cannon sound has gradually become sparse, and the room has a gloomy face, and his heart begins to feel a little unsteady, he knows very well what it means that the sound of the cannon has become sparse, he really didn't expect that it was only less than a cup of tea, and the sailors of 4,000 people and more than 100 warships were all finished?

How powerful is the fleet of the Qing people, and why can there be such a fierce cannon? As he rode on his horse, he frowned and thought that the sailor had been completely destroyed, and there was not much time left for him to set up his defenses, so he ordered in a deep voice: "Order the troops to speed up." ”

In the waters of Edo Bay, after Yoshiho Otani gave the order to evacuate the battlefield, the remaining Japanese naval warships began to turn one after another, but the turning under the guns of the Nanyang Fleet cost them dearly, and after several rounds of rapid shelling, only fifteen warships were able to successfully evacuate the battlefield. ..., after the tripolar battleship numbered Jiang 015 turned the rudder to full sail, it immediately turned into a tailwind state, and the huge soft sails on three sides immediately swelled, and the speed of the ship also increased instantly.

Captain Zhang Chang'an held a telescope on the bow of the ship and locked a slightly different warship, although he was not sure that it was the enemy's flagship, but he had no choice at this time, so he immediately ordered to bite the ship tightly.

More than a dozen Japanese warships that escaped from the range of the guns of the Nanyang Fleet were full sails all the way to the southwest and fled in a hurry, and more than a dozen fast armed sail warships that served as auxiliary ships also followed closely all the way, frequently shelling at a distance of 800 to 1,000 yards, although the accuracy was poor, but the shells that kept falling near the warships still forced them to constantly change direction so as not to be locked by the artillery, so that the speed naturally slowed down.

The five battleships quickly caught up from behind with a tailwind, and they fought separately, shelling sideways one after another, and the Japanese battleships that were caught on both sides were constantly hit.

Zhang Changan bit the somewhat special warship tightly, rushed all the way forward, and simply ignored the Japanese warships that were hit on his side, only when he was approaching, he ordered the nine-pounder and twelve-pounder guns to shoot, and the gunners of the nine-pounder and twelve-pounder guns on the ship were already depressed.

Approaching the somewhat special ship less than a thousand yards away, Zhang Changan gave a deep order, "The left rudder is full, and the gunners of the eighteen-pound or more on the starboard side are ready." ”

Yoho Otani had been watching the battleship behind him nervously, and seeing that the battleship was much faster than them in a tailwind situation, he knew that he could not delay any longer, and when he saw a huge battleship crossing his ship, he knew that it was all over.

Seeing that the black hole on the enemy's battleship was already aimed at his own warship, Otani Yunho tore off his clothes violently, quickly pulled out the exquisite waist knife inserted in his waist, violently inserted it into his abdomen, and then forcefully crossed, even if he died, he had to take the most glorious way to die.

The deafening sound of "boom" sounded at this time, and under the precise blow of dozens of artillery, the warship where Yoho Ohtani was located was instantly beaten into tatters, and Yoho Ohtani himself was also taken care of, and was directly hit by a twenty-four-pound shell, and it was shattered in an instant, but it was a pity that the good waist knife.

The main force of the Nanyang Fleet did not participate in the pursuit, and did not have time to pay attention to the many unsunken Japanese warships on the battlefield, and under the command of Shi Shibiu, the fleet quickly sailed to the entrance of the channel of Edo Port.

The battleships slowly passed through the battlefield, many warships were slowly sinking, and some warships were in flames, and from time to time ammunition was detonated, making bursts of violent explosions, and there were countless officers and men of the naval division struggling in the water on the sea.

Cheng Kezheng and Cai Wen of the Ryukyu County witnessed this naval battle that can only be called a massacre on the flagship, and their hearts were all shocked, and the three thousand Ryukyu County soldiers who accompanied the expedition also saw the power of the Qing Navy for the first time, and they were frightened and delighted, mixed with inexplicable excitement, this is the navy of their suzerain, and they no longer have to be bullied by the Japanese.

When the Nanyang Fleet arrived at the entrance to the channel of Edo Port, the entire Edo Bay had fallen silent, and the pursuing warships began to return one after another.

The ships that had gone to Edo Port to observe and investigate had returned, and the captain Wu Zhangshun climbed onto the flagship, trotted all the way to the front of Shi Shibi, and after standing up and saluting, he reported loudly: "Report to the general, the waterway of Edo Port is deep and wide, the inner harbor is open, the whole fleet is enough to spread out in it, the port and wharf should be well equipped, and it is completely possible to moor second-class battleships. Hearing that Edo Port was really the same as Cheng Kezheng said, Shi Shibiao couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately ordered: "Order the fleet to enter the port immediately, and all fishing boats and merchant ships in the harbor will be cleared out of the harbor." ”

Fu Anding said at this time: "General, after the Marine Corps landed, they should light the bonfire at night and give early warning to prevent sneak attacks. ”

"Good proposal." Shi Shibiu bowed his head and said: "Accurate." ”

Yinxiang glanced at Fu Anding with appreciation, and couldn't see that this kid was not only bold, but also clever, and the old fourteen promoted him unusually, but he didn't lose his eyes.

Edo Port is less than six miles away from Edo, and it is naturally the first place to be defended by Mabe, and when he led a 20,000-strong samurai advance team to Edo Port, Wu Zhangshun led the reconnaissance fleet to leave shortly after learning this news, he immediately concluded that the Qing Navy wanted to land in Edo Port, and after a little discussion with Lao Zhong (equivalent to the Minister of the Upper Study) Hisashi Shigeyuki, he immediately began to deploy defensive positions in Edo Port.

After issuing a series of instructions, the room was slightly relaxed, no matter how powerful the warships of the Qing Navy were, they could only be majestic at sea, and they could not sail to land, only sixty warships, how many people could there be? More than half of the inhabitants of Edo are samurai, and at the sound of an order, 100,000 samurai can be recruited at any time, even if they are tofu scum, they can also support the 20,000 people of the Qing Navy.

Just thinking to himself, the new master Inoue Hachiro outside entered the door and reported: "Lord, the Edowan battle report just delivered. As he spoke, he bowed down and presented the battle report with both hands.

The room took it and glanced at it twice, then scolded angrily: "Baga." Then he angrily slapped the battle report on the table, "What artillery can accurately hit the target from twenty dings away?" A bunch of rice buckets"

"Hey." Inoue Hachiro bowed down and said: "Lord, there are not a few people who observe the naval battle, their battle reports are all the same, Otani Yoho and the entire water division have all been broken, although in the end Otani Yoho led the team to escape, I think, he should be trying to delay time for the lord." ”

Hearing this, Mabe Quanfang picked up the battle report again and read it carefully, and after reading it, he handed the battle report to Jiushi Shigeyuki, and pondered for a long time before he looked at Inoue Hachiro and said, "What do you think?" ”

Inoue Hachiro bowed down and said: "Lord, the artillery of the Qing Navy is indeed beyond our imagination, the reason why they were able to defeat the Spanish fleet should be because of the superiority of artillery, and the defense of the main Edo Port should guard against their artillery, and the subordinates think that thirty dings is a safe distance." ”

After reading the battle report, he said: "In this battle report, it is mentioned that there are only 32 large and small warships of the Qing Navy participating in the war, all of which are Western sail warships, and the remaining 30 or so are all Tang ships, I think they should all be supply ships, so calculated, the number of Qing Navy is not even 20,000, and the number of them who can land and fight will not exceed 10,000." ”

Is it really arrogant and ignorant, less than 10,000 people, dare to land and attack Edo? The room was silent for a long time with a calm face, and then said: "Order all the horses to retreat to fifty dings away and build the first line of defense." After a pause, he commanded, "Gather all the horses of Edo and recruit the cavalry of all the feudal lords of Edo." ”

"Hey." Hachiro Inoue bowed down and took the order.

Leaning slightly, the intermediary who recruited the ronin hurriedly walked in, bowed to the two, and then reported in a deep voice: "Brother, I heard that the artillery of the Qing Kingdom is dense, and there are many samurai who have been called, and I have recruited 40,000 people. In addition, the feudal lords of each clan and their retainers and samurai also gathered outside to ask for battle. "...", Mabe Quanfang nodded slightly, and said: "There are more than 130 feudal lords in Edo, and each of them has thousands of retainers, even if they are half, there are more than 60,000 people, and our total strength is around 120,000, and the Qing Navy dares to go ashore, as long as it can lure the enemy deep, it can be annihilated in one fell swoop." ”

After a slight pause, he commanded in a deep voice: "Chongzhi Pavilion Elder, you are proficient in the iron cannon array, and the banners of the feudal lords have asked you to command and transfer all the cavalry to me, the Qing navy is about to enter the port, and you must integrate the masters and horses of the feudal lords as soon as possible, you have worked hard." ”

The samurai advance team was well organized, but it was orderly to advance and retreat, and the men and horses of the feudal lords were inevitably a little chaotic because they did not have a unified order, and the newly recruited 40,000 ronin were even more chaotic, and no one knew what the reason was.

When the common people and merchants around Edo Port saw this, everyone knew that Edo Port would soon become a battlefield, and they were calling for their children and daughters, supporting the old and the young, carrying large bags and small bags on their backs, and retreating in panic, and the entire Edo Port was suddenly in chaos to the extreme.

When the Nanyang Fleet slowly sailed into Edo Port, there was no one in sight in the entire Edo Port, and it was too late to evacuate, and the common people and traders who did not want to evacuate were all closed to their respective homes and secretly watched.

Shi Shibiu, Yinxiang, Long Keduo, Lin Wei, Fu Anding and others saw this scene, but they didn't care, the war broke out, where the army went, where there were not ten rooms and nine empty, if the people of Edo were welcome, it would be a strange thing. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe to the mobile network (.), reward, your support is my biggest motivation. Thank you for the eternal reward!) ……，