Located in the Sea of Japan, Zodari Island was originally only a place of exile for Japanese aristocrats.

However, in the 29th year of Wanli (1601), a golden mountain was suddenly discovered on the island.

Its abundant reserves are more than all the gold mountains in the Wa Kingdom.

Soon it became the "money bag" of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Li Xianzhong, who came from later generations, knew that Zudu Jinshan had continuously provided funds for the Tokugawa shogunate for more than 300 years.

Its gold production was the largest in the world in this era, even surpassing the gold mines of Manila at the same time.

It was not until the end of the twentieth century that the gold mines in Zuodu were mined, and they were collected for nearly 400 years.

Before the discovery of large quantities of gold in South Africa, it was the largest gold mine in the world.

And compared to the tropical jungles of Manila, it is more convenient to mine here.

Therefore, before Li Xianzhong wantonly attacked the main island of the Japanese Kingdom, he was determined to take its two important outer islands, Tsushima Island and Zuodu Island!

Now that Tsushima had fallen into the hands of Katsuna, it was easy for the Tokugawa shogunate to determine Kaka's next target, Kyushu.

After all, the Mongols attacked the Japanese twice in history, and they also took this route.

Pass through the Falklands as a stopover, and then attack Kyushu Island, which is the closest in a straight line.

Compared with the main island of the Japanese kingdom, it was less difficult to attack the island of Kyushu, at least at that time Kublai Khan thought so.

Tokugawa Iemitsu at this time also thought so.

There is another basis for his judgment, and that is that the relationship between Huaxia and the Satsuma clan is extraordinary.

At the beginning, after Li Xianzhong captured the Ryukyus, he did not make enemies with the Satsuma Domain.

Instead, he chose to trade with the Satsuma clan and further support the Satsuma clan against the Tokugawa shogunate.

Originally, the Satsuma Domain was a large feudal domain with a territory of 730,000 koku, and with the support of a large amount of trade in China, it almost monopolized the silk of China, and earned a lot of money by being a second-hand dealer.

The Satsuma clan then used its own funds to purchase a large number of new firearms from Huaxia.

Originally, the Tokugawa shogunate thought that the Satsuma Domain had lost the Ryukyus and that they would be severely weakened, but the Satsuma Domain was getting stronger and stronger.

The Tokugawa shogunate, aware of the problem, forbade other feudal states to send grain to the Satsuma Domain, in an attempt to use it to limit the strength of the Satsuma Domain.

It's a pity that the shogunate's lockdown decree was like a joke in front of Zheng Zhilong's East Ryukyu Company, and under the cover of warships, his merchant ships continued to sail into the Kagoshima of the Shimazu family.

All the weapons and food needed by the Satsuma clan could be obtained through external channels.

Originally, the shogunate closed the country to prevent the feudal states from using external trade channels to obtain various strategic materials, so as to ensure the dominance of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Seeing that the blockade was unsuccessful, the Tokugawa shogunate attempted to force the Satsuma clan into submission by force.

Soon after, the shogunate attempted to send troops into Kagoshima on the pretext of strictly investigating smuggling.

Shimazu Ihisa is not a fool, and the current Satsuma Domain, relying on the import of food and weapons from China, has armed an elite army of 20,000 people.

Naturally, he refused to allow the shogunate army to enter Kagoshima.

The Tokugawa shogunate then organized a coalition of 30,000 troops from the shogunate and the feudal states of Hizen, Higo, and Hyuga on the island of Kyushu, and launched an attack on the Shimazu family.

Unfortunately, at this time, Kagoshima had been built into a strong fortress based on the cement of China.

In addition, the Shimazu family got the guns and artillery of Huaxia.

The combat power of his subordinate feudal soldiers far exceeded that of the shogunate coalition forces.

The shogunate army was a losing force under Kagoshima Castle, with nearly 10,000 people killed in the battle.

Hizen, Hinata and other feudal states that had been following the excitement hurriedly withdrew their troops.

The Shogunate Coalition was defeated!

The enraged Tokugawa shogunate prepared to organize an expedition to Satsuma with a stronger force.

However, the Maeda, Date, and Mori families, who were also powerful feudal clans, all opposed the shogunate's expansion of the war against the Shimazu family of the Satsuma domain.

They were afraid that after the fall of the Shimazu family, the Tokugawa shogunate would attack them.

Not only did he oppose the shogunate, but he also secretly financed the Shimazu family.

When the Tokugawa shogunate saw it, it was unlikely that it would turn into a joint effort between the major feudal states to deal with him.

And the Shimazu family is not easy to fight, so in the end it can only end hastily.

Of course, in order to save face for the shogun, Shimazu Iehisa also withdrew his troops from the occupied Hinata and Higo domains.

It is precisely because of the unstable factor of the Satsuma Domain on Kyushu Island that Tokugawa Iemitsu will think that the next target of the Huaxia Army must be Kyushu Island.

At this moment, the envoy of the shogunate and the envoy of Huaxia had arrived in Kagoshima at the same time.

This made the Shimazu family, the lord of the Satsuma domain, quite proud.

Although the large-scale invasion of the Japanese kingdom by China was an unprecedented crisis for the Tokugawa shogunate.

But for the Shimazu family, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Without the intervention of external factors, the Shimazu family's 730,000-stone territory alone would not be able to shake the Tokugawa family, which has more than 4 million koku in the directly governed territory.

If you include the territory indirectly controlled by the Tokugawa family, the Tokugawa family itself can reach more than 8 million koku, and directly mobilize nearly 200,000 troops.

Such a force is something that no daimyo of the Wa Kingdom can fight alone.

At this time, Zheng Zhibao said: "The head of the Shimazu family, Your Majesty said that his targets this time are Iwami Silver Mountain in the territory of the Changzhou Domain, and the Golden Mountain of Zudu Island. ”

"As long as these gold and silver mountains are in hand, Your Majesty will not have much interest in the other territories of the Wa Kingdom!"

"In addition, the Tokugawa shogunate, what is it to close off the country, this is not necessary, the Japanese state should open its ports like Huaxia and develop commerce."

"Your Majesty intends to support the head of the Shimazu family to serve as the general of the Seiyi to replace Tokugawa Iemitsu!"

After listening to Zheng Zhibao's words, Shimazu Iehisa was extremely excited.

The Wa Kingdom is rich in silver, and its annual output of silver is 200 tons, that is, 200 million grams, and the Ming Dynasty's one tael is 37.3 grams, which is about 5.36 million taels.

It accounts for almost one-third of the world's silver production.

Among them, Iwami Silver Mountain alone accounted for 3% of the silver production of the Wa Kingdom.

Sado Kanayama was the money bag of the Tokugawa shogunate, which could produce 0.5 tons of gold and 40 tons of silver per year.

Li Xianzhong's vision is really vicious, and taking away these two places almost took away nearly half of the gold and silver output of the Wa Kingdom.

Although it was painful, these two places were not under the control of the Satsuma clan.

Just like when Shi Jingjiao ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Khitan, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were not his jurisdiction at all, but the territory of Zhao Dejun, the envoy of Youzhou Jiedu.

Shi Jingjiao is using other people's territory to curry favor with the Khitan, which is equivalent to being generous to others!

In exchange for the support of the Huaxia Kingdom, the Tokugawa family's Zudu Jinzan and the Iwami Ginzan of the Nagasu Domain, the Shimazu family became the general of the Shogunate and opened an era of the Shimazu shogunate, this deal is worth it!

Although the envoys of the Tokugawa clan also came to Kagoshima and offered generous terms, promising to repel the attack of Kaoka. Let the Shimazu family annex the surrounding Higo, Hyuga and other countries and become the lord of Kyushu.

But this blank check seems too far away.

If the Shimazu family weakened themselves in resisting the invasion of China, would the Tokugawa shogunate, which had survived the crisis, keep its promises? Relatively speaking, the conditions offered by Huaxia are more attractive.

There was no need for the Shimazu family to risk sending troops to fight a bloody battle with the Huaxia, as long as they took the opportunity to expand their territory in Kyushu, they could have the effect of containing the Tokugawa shogunate.

Even if Huaxia turned his face and did not recognize people in the future, he was unwilling to support the Satsuma Domain to take the throne, but the territory he laid down was really in his own hands.

Moreover, Shimazu Iehisa did not think that Huaxia's dispatch of troops this time was ready to directly conquer Japan.

Huaxia supported the Li Dynasty in Annam, and there is no reason not to support himself to ascend to the throne.

A charging "cannon fodder" and a backstabbing "sixth" are, of course, much less risky to be a "sixth".

However, the cunning Shimazu Iehisa agreed to Zheng Zhibao at the same time, as well as Tokugawa Iemitsu.

In case the Huaxia army is at a disadvantage in the contest with the Tokugawa family, he can still fight back.

The Tokugawa shogunate, which thought it had taken control of the Satsuma domain, soon gathered an army of 120,000 troops in the Hizen region of Kyushu.

In addition to the 50,000 troops sent by the shogunate, 70,000 horses were raised by the surrounding feudal states, and the Satsuma domain also sent 5,000 troops.

They arranged the northern part of Kyushu Island on the line between Fukuoka and Nagasaki in order to prevent the Huaxia Army from landing on Kyushu Island from Tsushima Island.

However, Tokugawa Iemitsu didn't expect that Huaxia's sailors were just shooting a shot on the outskirts of Kyushu Island.

They actually sailed directly to the farther island of Zuodu.

As the money bag of the shogunate, the island is naturally also home to the elite divisions of the 8,000 shogunates.

However, Zuodu Island is isolated from the main island of Wakoku, and is in a state of isolation.

The Huaxia Army chose to land at Liangjin Port, the largest port in Zuodu.

There were only a few earthen cannons in the Liangjin port of the Wa Kingdom, which were destroyed in an instant by the huge cannons of the Liaodong Naval Division.

Not to mention the sail battleships of China, even the 800-ton Galen galleons were armed with a large number of 18-pounder smoothbore guns.

Enough to destroy all the defenses of the port.

Although the Japanese soldiers on the island were not afraid of death, they constantly charged the landing Imperial Army.

However, under the combined attack of the artillery and naval guns of the Imperial Army, the charging Japanese soldiers fell in droves.

"Bang, bang, bang"

Relying on the range advantage of their own Lu Mi guns, the Imperial Allied Army completely suppressed the iron cannons in the hands of the Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese soldiers' impression of the Huaxia Army is still stuck in the Korean Battle 40 years ago.

They thought their iron cannons were more advanced than their guns.

The result is naturally no different from sending to death.

After paying the price of more than 1,000 people, the Japanese soldiers finally retreated.

The shape of Zuodu Island resembles a "Z" shape, and the Huaxia sailors landed directly from the narrowest port of Liangjin in the middle of Zuodu Island.

It is equivalent to splitting the Japanese army on the island in two.

There are large mountains on the north and south sides of the island, and only a small amount of flat land is found in the central area.

The largest castle on the island, Zuodu Castle, is located on this flat land.

This attack on Zuodu Island was the 20,000 Imperial Allied Army led by Azig.

After occupying the port of Ryotsu, they quickly marched to the west to Aikawa Castle, which was the largest castle on the island of Zuodu and the base camp of the Japanese soldiers.

Unexpectedly, they actually ran into the cavalry of the Wa Kingdom on the island.

Azig was still shocked when he heard that the other party had cavalry, although the Imperial Alliance Army was originally a cavalry that was good at riding and archery, but they landed this time, and they did not carry many war horses, and there were only 1,000 cavalry in total.

But when he saw the Japanese cavalry galloping from afar, he almost didn't laugh.

Where are these soldiers riding war horses?

It's clearly a bunch of oversized earth dogs.

At this time, the general height of the Japanese soldiers was only about 1.4 meters.

Compared with them, the Liaodong Han, who is more than 1.80 meters tall, is like a child.

The Japanese horses on the island are even shorter, and they are even smaller than the Yunnan horses.

In Azig's opinion, isn't this just a bunch of children riding dogs? Soon, the cavalry of the Imperial Alliance Army rushed towards this group of Japanese cavalry.

There was really not much suspense in the battle, and in just one round, the cavalry of the Imperial Alliance Army directly broke through the formation of the Japanese soldiers.

Then began the chase and kill mode that they do best.

The spears of the Imperial Allies continued to pierce the chests of their opponents, and in a short time, these vassals were crushed.

But what they didn't expect was that behind this group of Japanese horsemen there were also two thousand pikemen from the Japanese Kingdom.

These Japanese soldiers were not afraid of the cavalry of the Imperial Army, and they clenched the spears in their hands and formed a gun formation.

Originally, the cavalry impact of the Imperial Allied Army had been greatly weakened, and at this time they should turn their horses' heads and open the distance to charge again.

However, the previous Wa cavalry was too vegetable, and the Imperial Association Army was inevitably a little arrogant.

They simply killed these Japanese soldiers.

Unexpectedly, although these Japanese soldiers were short, they were very strong, and they did not flinch in the face of cavalry.

Although many people were killed by the Imperial Army, the spear in his hand also pierced the chest of the Imperial Army.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Azig quickly withdrew his troops, but still lost nearly 500 cavalry.

This was the biggest loss since the attack, and the embarrassed and angry Azig directly called the sail battleships of the Liaodong Naval Division to help, and used its range of 18 miles to almost raze Xiangchuan Castle to the ground.

The Japanese in the city were almost completely killed and wounded.

A few days later, the Japanese army on the island was finally cleared by them.

For the Japanese people on the island, Li Xianzhong said first, as long as they don't resist, they will be left with a way out, after all, there are so many mines on the island, and it is also a very troublesome thing to transport miners from outside.

All the Japanese people on the island, except for children under the age of 10 and the elderly over the age of 65, went to the mines.

Zuodu Jinshan, under the control of the Japanese state, produced half a ton of gold and 40 tons of silver every year, but they were short of manpower and backward production methods.

After Huaxia took over, production can definitely be multiplied.

Today, China's annual gold production in Manila is more than the total output of the Spanish colonial period.

The Huaxia Army's sudden attack on Zuodu Island greatly surprised Tokugawa Iemitsu.

At this time, part of the shogunate's main force was concentrated on Kyushu Island to prevent the Katsuka landing, and the rest was concentrated in Edo, the old nest of the Tokugawa shogunate.

The Echigo country, which was closest to Zuodu Island, had no troops and it was impossible to recover Zuodu Island.

He had to watch Zuodu Jinshan fall into the hands of Huaxia.

Just as Tokugawa Iemitsu and many of the Japanese bigwigs gathered in Edo to discuss how to recover Zorodo Island.

The warships of Huaxia actually sailed into Edo Bay.

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(End of chapter)