In the last article, I mentioned that the important reason for the two eastward expeditions of the Yuan Dynasty to Japan was the continuation of the "Song-Japan trade", because the Song people fled to Japan and Japan produced a lot of gold and silver.

Marco @Polo, an Italian traveler who had traveled to China for many years during the Yuan Dynasty, asserted: "Such a treasure island full of gold will inevitably make Kublai Khan, the great Khan of the dynasty, want to conquer and annex it." It can be seen that the Yuan Dynasty's eastward expedition to Japan was not only caused by the simple desire of the Mongols to conquer as a nomadic people, but also contained many political intentions and economic factors, as well as the attitude and reply of the envoys between the two countries.

The Yuan Dynasty's eastward expedition to Japan did not exist in isolation, but it was the intricate contradictions between the two countries and the complex domestic environment of the Yuan Dynasty that led to the outbreak of this war.

When the sailors of the Yuan Dynasty army took a sea boat, went through many difficulties and dangers, and crossed the stormy seas, and arrived at the Japanese archipelago, the Japanese army did not take advantage of the Yuan army's landing to make a halfway volley, but waited for the Yuan army to form a formation, and the Japanese army shot a Ming Di to announce to the other side, indicating that "the battle has begun".

The Yuan army's reply was to directly open artillery bombardment. The Japanese army, which had never seen a "cannon" before, was completely disrupted by the fierce artillery fire of the Yuan army and its huge lethality in an instant. Even in the second year of the Ming Dynasty's expedition to Japan nearly 200 years after the Yuan army's eastward expedition to Japan (1466), the Ryukyu envoy, one of the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty at that time, used "iron release" as the "god of salute" when he visited Japan, and the onlookers of the "Muromachi Shogunate" were all shocked.

From this, it can be seen that until this time, the Japanese did not know what "artillery" was. In fact, "gunpowder", one of the four great inventions of ancient China, was first spread to the Middle East and Europe through the Silk Road and the Mongol expedition, and then brought by European colonists across more than half the world to Japan, which is not too far from China.

In the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1560), it was the later period of the Jiajing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, the Ming Empire's invasion of Korea by the Japanese was shifting from strategic defense to offense. At the same time, Japan, the nest of the Japanese invaders, was in the midst of the so-called "Warring States Troubles".

The princes of all walks of life ("daimyo") fought in a melee for many years, and there was no time to protect themselves, and where did they have time to send an invading army to the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the samurai and ronin who were defeated in the internal fighting of Japan's "Warring States" also became "pirates", and they have been constantly harassing the Daming sea area, and even competing with the Ming official army for a long time.

However, this can't just be a group of stragglers from Japan, because there is still a leader behind it. In fact, a considerable number of the Wu Kou during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty were actually authentic Chinese. As a result of the "sea ban policy" implemented by the imperial court, a large number of people living on overseas trade in the southeast coastal area lost their livelihoods, and some coastal residents began to flee to the islands where the Ming Dynasty was relatively weak to engage in smuggling.

Among them, there is also a figure named Wang Zhi (this "Wang Zhi" is not the chief eunuch of the West Factory) has some ability. For example, in the thirtieth year of Jiajing (1551), Wang Zhi defeated another Chen Sipan maritime group that dominated the sea, and then completely controlled the entire East China Sea region.

In his heyday, Wang Zhi had more than 200,000 people and more than 100 "giant ships" of more than 120 tons. This was the most powerful fleet in the world at that time, and neither the Ming Dynasty nor the Western colonists were sure of victory in the face of this powerful "pirate" force.

As early as the twenty-second year of Jiajing (1543), although Wang Zhi had not yet defeated Chen Sipan and had not yet become the largest maritime power in the East China Sea, he had already carved out a territory overseas for the Chinese, just like the European colonizers. Because in this year, Wang Zhi established a "distribution base" (base area, colony) in Songura County (present-day Hirado in Nagasaki Prefecture) and the nearby Goto Islands in Japan's "Satsuma Domain".

In this regard, the Japanese side has the following record: "Dao Kejun (Matsuura Takanobu) is a person of Fulu and Wuyun Guchang, so there are 'five peaks' from the Tang Dynasty (Ming Dynasty) to Hiradotsu, and build a Tang-style house on the site of today's Yinshan. With its strengths, the Tang Dynasty merchant ships were constantly on the way, and even the black ships of the Nanban (Western colonizers) were also berthed in Hiradotsu for the first time. The treasures of the Tang Dynasty and the Southern Barbarians are abundant every year, and merchants from Beijing and the border countries also gather here, and it is already known as the 'Western Capital'......"

The "Five Peaks" is Wang Zhi's "self-proclaimed" to the outside world, because Japan was deeply influenced by the culture of the Tang Dynasty in history, so the "Tang" replaced the "Ming". The so-called "five peaks came from the Tang Dynasty" refers to Wang Zhi's landing in Hiradojin, Songpu County. The Japanese side not only did not regard Wang Zhi's establishment of a "base" (colony) on Japanese territory as an infringement of its sovereignty, but regarded it as a symbol of the "virtue" of the local lords.

Wang Zhi used this as a "base" to establish the country as king and appoint officials: he named himself "King Hui", and the territory he occupied was called "Song State", and "the razor of the 36 islands was all under his command". At this time, the Japanese princes (daimyos) had no time to think about what such an independent kingdom on Japanese territory meant for their sovereignty, and they even vied with each other to curry favor with Wang Nao, because the "daimyos" at this time were busy fighting each other, so they urgently needed to strengthen themselves.

And Wang Zhi can help them do this, because Wang Zhi has a large number of various strategic materials in his hands. In addition to strategic materials, Wang Zhi also brought the world's latest high-tech to the Japanese at that time, because in the same year that Wang Zhi landed in Japan, he arrived at Tanegashima Island in southern Japan with three Portuguese merchants from Siam (Thailand).

It was through Wang Zhi's recommendation, introduction, and translation that the owner of the island, Shi Yao, purchased and introduced new muskets from the three Portuguese, and at the same time mastered the technology of making ammunition. This sensational event is known in Japanese history as the "introduction of iron cannons".

There is also a story circulating about the details. On August 25, the 22nd year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1543), a Portuguese merchant ship sailing from Macao to Ningbo was adrift to Tanegashima Island in the south of Kyushu Island in Japan due to a typhoon. The islander, Shi Yao, who was curious about these aliens, let them land at Akaogi Port (now Nishinomote City).

At that time, there was a Chinese named "Wufeng" (Wang Zhi) on the cargo ship, who introduced these Portuguese to Shi Yao. Shi Yao found that among the items carried by the Portuguese, there was a kind of "magic stick" that could make a loud "boom", and then something in the distance was hit.

Shi Yao, who was amazed by this, bought two robbers with 2,000 taels of gold, and ordered the "Tanegashima Forging Pillars" eight plates of "Jin Bingwei" to be imitated.

This year, Shi Yao was only sixteen years old. At this time, he did not know that he had inadvertently introduced a "new type of musket" to Japan that would profoundly change the history of the world. "Jin Bingwei" got the musket handed to him by Shi Yao and carefully dismantled it, but he soon found that the manufacturing process of this new weapon was far beyond the scope of the blacksmith's craftsmanship he had learned from his predecessors, and he had no choice but to ask the Portuguese for advice.

However, the Portuguese took the opportunity to make a condition: "Marry your daughter to me, and I will teach you." "Of course Jin Bingwei doesn't want to marry his daughter to this group of barbarians who don't know the details, but if he can't finish what the main bus does, he will be executed! In this way, his entire family, including his daughter, will be implicated. Seeing her father's embarrassment, the sensible daughter expressed her willingness to marry the Portuguese as his wife and concubine.

The following year, the musket was finally manufactured. In this way, it was time for the "Golden Guard" to marry his daughter to the Portuguese as agreed. To the surprise of the Portuguese, the "Golden Guard" claimed that his daughter had died of illness and held a funeral in a pretentious manner. Although the Portuguese knew that it was a plan, they had nothing to do.

In this way, the "musket", which was originally born in China, first spread to the Middle East and Europe through the Silk Road and the Mongol expedition, and then was brought to Japan by the Portuguese across most of the world. The Japanese refer to this new weapon as the "iron cannon", and sometimes they refer to the new weapon directly after the birthplace "Tanegashima". The so-called "iron cannon" is actually an exaggeration, because to put it bluntly, it is just an "arquebus", that is, a "furlong machine".

Compared with the "bird gun" and "bird gun" of the Ming Dynasty, it can only be regarded as a slightly larger caliber "fire gun" at most. This is the source of the "Japanese guns", but due to the lack of resources in Japan, it took the initiative to change its caliber to a smaller size to save resources.

In the same year that the "Tanegashima Iron Cannon" was successfully copied, Tsuda Suzucho of Kinokuni Nerai Temple arrived at Tanegashima, and one of the two "Portuguese Iron Cannons" was also brought back to Kishu Saga by him, and was copied by the famous Japanese iron cannon craftsman "Shibataji Kiyomataemon".

This replication was very successful, because from the following year, Kishu became one of the production centers of "Japanese iron cannons", and Saga's "Neraizhong" (the monk corps of Neraiji Temple) benefited greatly, thus becoming the first powerful army in Japan to "install iron cannons".

"Shibataji Kiyoemon" took "iron cannon technology" to "Sakai", the largest commercial center in Japan at the time, and cooperated with the local craftsman "Tachibana Mataburo". "Tachibana Mataburo" had long learned the manufacturing method of "iron cannon" from "Yaban Kiyoding" and brought back the "iron cannon technology".

The two immediately merged and absorbed the local "Ming Dynasty" (Ming Dynasty) firearms technology, and started the business of producing and wholesale "iron cannons". Sakai's merchants became rich during the Warring States period, only because they had mastered the special supply and exclusive management of "iron cannons".

In February of the 23rd year of the reign of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1544), Shimazu Takahisa, the "daimyō" of southern Kyushu in Japan, presented the "Tanegashima Iron Cannon" to the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu and aroused the general's interest. So under the order of the general, in the village of Kunitome in Omi Province, the "iron cannon" was once again successfully tested.

The "head" of Kunitome Village, namely "Kunitomo Fujijiro", also became famous, and was listed as one of the three major producers of "Sengoku Iron Cannon" in Japan, along with "Shibata Kiyomataemon" and "Tachibana Mataburo". The "Kunitome Village" became a supporter of the Oda family, allowing Oda Nobunaga's army to take advantage of the "iron cannon".

The use of the "iron cannon" is to first pour gunpowder and recharge into the barrel, put the projectile, and compact it with a strip, and then put the ignition gunpowder on the fire dish at the rear end of the barrel, and cover the fire cover to avoid misfire. Be careful to clamp the arquebus during reloading to avoid accidents.

When firing, open the fire cover after aiming, pull the trigger and fire. The whole operation process is complex and slow, even a skilled "veteran" has to get about 20 seconds, while the average "novice" fire speed is 38 to 48 seconds, so after a blow is fired on the battlefield, it is often difficult to have the opportunity to calmly reload and deliver a second blow. If it rains and causes the arquebus to become damp, it will be difficult for the "iron cannon" to exert its power.

Although the Japanese later developed the so-called "rain iron", the effect was not good. In addition, the length of the long burning rope had to be adjusted in real time, and safety became an issue. In fact, the early "iron cannon" was just a cost-effective and impractical toy for the "Warring States Daimyo".

This is not only manifested in the defects of the use of the operation process, but also in the time-consuming and laborious manufacturing process resulting in high costs, for example, the Japanese "iron cannon craftsmen" at that time used a method called the "winding method" to make the "barrel", and the specific manufacturing process is as follows:

First of all, a solid round iron rod called "real gold" is rolled into a refined rectangular iron plate and then forged into a cylindrical "real cylinder"; Then, a fine iron bar is used to spirally wound around this "real barrel" to make it wrap around the "real barrel" like a vine to increase the thickness and strength of the "barrel" and prevent the appearance of "exploding chambers"; Finally, after many forging and cooling, the iron slats and the "real barrel" can be combined into one. At this time, the "real gold" grinding tube can be extracted.

However, don't think that this completes the entire process of making the "iron cannon", in fact it is just a barrel. If you want to complete the production process of a full set of "iron cannons", you need to spend at least 200 yuan (that is, 200 taels of silver), which is equivalent to the sky-high price of 200,000 copper coins of the Ming Dynasty!

However, ancient Japan was rich in gold and sand gold, and one or two pieces of gold could be worth four copper coins of the Ming Dynasty, so the cost of making a finished "iron cannon" was about 50 taels of gold! It can be seen that the prerequisite for maintaining a well-trained "iron artillery unit" is to have sufficient financial resources to support it.

Japan's "Warring States Period" was an era of division and chaos among the princes ("daimyo"), although the territory of each prince ("daimyo") was not large, and some were only equivalent to a county or even a village in the Ming Dynasty, and the financial burden of maintaining the existence of the "iron artillery army" was simply unbearable!

Moreover, the firing speed of the "iron cannon" that cost a lot of money to build was surprisingly slow, until the fourth year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1570 AD), the Japanese invented the "early closing" technology, that is, pre-prepared ammunition that can be fired at one time, and can be fired directly into and tamped in battle, similar to "Zigong".

This reduced the average rate of fire of the "Iron Cannon" to 18-20 seconds. However, this did not overcome the defect that the iron cannon had to wait for the barrel to cool down after firing and could not be fired continuously, otherwise it would explode. And with a waiting time of 18 to 20 seconds, you can sprint to within 300 meters at the speed of a cavalry!

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Haha, thank you for your attention, collection, recommendation, subscription and review of this book! As an author, I am very happy and honored to provide readers with a novel that meets the needs of the general public. As the saying goes, "Life is short, but the tip of the pen is slender." "Therefore, the road to cultivation is long, where to find immortality? There is nowhere to go for troubles, and read the people in the book! I hope that the novel "Heaven and Earth Let Me Go" series can bring happiness and insight to everyone!

This story is pure fiction, if there are similarities, it is a coincidence! Friends, the part-time job is hard, the time is urgent, the creation is not easy, like the collection, by the way, forward, want to know the plot? Next time I break it down! ("The book has its own golden house?") There are thousands of bells in the book? There is Yan Ruyu in the book"? Welcome to my book)