Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 219 The Japanese war begins tomorrow

Matsudaira Nobutsuna frowned and looked at Xu Guangqi and said: "The so-called negotiation naturally involves comings and goings. How can there be such a thing that doesn't even allow room for negotiation? Isn't this too unreasonable?"

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi smiled slightly and said: "From my personal point of view, if you have objections to other items, there may be room for bargaining, but for this one item, I'm afraid There is no room for negotiation. As for the reason, I don’t need to tell you. You should also know it, right?”

After hearing this, Matsudaira Nobutsuna was immediately speechless.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's request for the Japanese country to cancel the title of "Emperor" is indeed not excessive. After all, the Ming Emperor is known as the Son of Heaven and is the common ruler of the world, and the Japanese Emperor is also known as a descendant of the gods. As the saying goes, "One mountain cannot tolerate two tigers." Since the Japanese country wants to become the Ming Dynasty. The vassals of the vassals can only be called "kings", not even "emperors", let alone "emperors".

Of course, if the Japanese country does not become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and the two countries do not interact with each other and each goes his own way, then the Japanese country can be called whatever it wants, and the Ming Dynasty will naturally have nothing to do with it.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna knew that there was probably no room for negotiation on this matter, so he had to rush back to the Japanese country as soon as possible. Since the Ming Dynasty had announced that the war would start in ten days, it was no joke. It must be done as soon as possible no matter what. The news was brought back, allowing the Japanese country to take some precautions in advance.

However, for the Japanese country at this time, it was already too late to prepare for the Ming army's attack in advance, especially when Matsudaira Nobutsuna rushed back to Edo and spent a few more days on the road, there might not be much time to prepare. .

However, the Ming Dynasty was very well prepared for the Japanese war, not only the Ming navy on Jeju Island, but also the Liao army on Kuwu Island.

Zhu Tianqi had already given an order to Nuergandu Division in advance to mobilize troops, horses and ships on Kuwu Island, ready to cross the sea to attack Ezo (Hokkaido) at any time.

At this time, Ezo Island had not yet been completely occupied by the Japanese. There were still many indigenous people (Ainu people) living on the island. These indigenous people were completely uncivilized barbarians. They did not engage in farming and relied on fishing and hunting for a living. For those who were the first to come The Matsumae Clan, which colonized Hokkaido, also occasionally came to plunder.

In the eyes of the Japanese people, the Japanese people are out-and-out barbarians. The Japanese people who consider themselves to be a noble nation naturally look down on the Japanese people. Therefore, as the Japanese people gradually expand their sphere of influence on Ezo Island, the Japanese people Direct conflicts between humans and the Ezo natives also became increasingly intense.

Ezo Island was originally a bitterly cold place in the impression of Japanese people, with temperatures as low as minus [-] degrees in winter. However, after exploring the island, we found that it is an island rich in natural resources and is very large in area, so naturally It attracted many Japanese people to seize the land.

Zhu Tianqi looked down upon such a small place. Judging from the area of ​​the island alone, this little territory was not attractive to Zhu Tianqi.

However, the rich natural resources on Ezo Island made him feel that Ezo Island can still be regarded as a treasure. After checking the information, he found that Ezo Island is rich in forest resources and coal resources, and the coal resources account for [-]% of the total. Half of the country of Japan.

Therefore, for Zhu Tianqi, going south from Kuwu Island to capture Ezo Island was not only a strategic need, but also a resource need.

Lee Banghwa on Jeju Island soon received a military order from the imperial court, ordering him to lead the Ming Dynasty Navy to continue attacking Japan. He first went north to capture Tsushima and Iki Island, then attacked Saga and Fukuoka, and currently occupied Nagasaki. The army continued to march into the interior of Japan and captured Kumamoto.

Because the Ming army has Zheng Zhilong as the vanguard, Zheng Zhilong is very clear about the geographical situation of the Japanese country and the military strength of the various kingdoms. Therefore, the Ming army can know itself and the enemy. Even if it is in a foreign country, it will not be in the dark. fight.

By now, Zheng Zhilong had seen that the Ming Dynasty had made up its mind to conquer the Japanese country, and the Japanese country might not be saved. Fortunately, his property in Nagasaki and Hirado was saved. As for the life and death of the Japanese country, he had no time to care about it.

Now the Ming army is divided into three groups, attacking Tsushima, Iki and Hizen.

Since the Tsushima Domain is Tsushima Island, there is only one Fuchu City on the island, and there are few soldiers and horses. The Ming army captured it without much effort by relying on strong ships and sharp guns.

Yiqi Fan is Yiqi Island to the southeast of Tsushima Fan. There is not even a decent city on the island, and it is unable to resist the Ming army's attack.

The Hizen Domain is relatively larger, including the Goto Islands and more than a dozen counties, as well as five cities including Hirado, Omura, Karatsu, Saga, and Shimabara. There are also more soldiers and horses gathered, and the Ming army is advancing. The speed slowed down significantly.

The shogunate was already in chaos at this time. Although Matsudaira Nobutsuna had brought back the news, informing the shogunate that the Ming Dynasty was about to send troops to continue to attack the Japanese country, it seemed that the monarchs and ministers of the shogunate were still unable to accept the cruel reality, or they could not subconsciously accept it. Want to believe this is true, so act very obtuse.

But now, the Ming army really came over, no longer just attacking the small islands outside, but began to march towards the mainland of Japan. Only then did the shogunate realize that if they did not use all their strength to fight the Ming army, they might face The crisis of national subjugation.

Tokugawa Iemitsu immediately ordered that the lords of all feudal lords across the country lead their troops to Edo to join forces and prepare to fight back against the Ming army.

Although he wanted to defeat the Ming Dynasty, Tokugawa Iemitsu did not have confidence. After all, the difference in national power between the two countries was too great, but to defeat the navy currently sent by the Ming Dynasty, Tokugawa Iemitsu believed that there was still a certain chance of victory.

After all, the total military strength of the Japanese country is hundreds of thousands. If all the people are soldiers, it is possible to gather all the young and strong people in the country to form an army of one million. The total number of naval forces dispatched by the Ming Dynasty this time is less than [-]. Judging from the numbers, they are completely at a disadvantage.

If the Ming Dynasty's navy could be defeated, maybe the Ming Dynasty would change its mind and agree to strike peace with Japan.

In Tokugawa Iemitsu's view, the Ming Dynasty would not focus all its energy on the war with the Japanese. Big countries have a wider territory and a larger population than small countries, but they also bear greater burdens. The long-term war also put a lot of pressure on Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, Tokugawa Iemitsu was self-aware. He knew that the land of the Japanese country was barren and the resources were scarce. The Ming Dynasty spent money, money and food to attack the Japanese country, which was not worth the gain. Therefore, the reason why the Ming Dynasty sent troops to attack was not to seize territory and plunder resources, but to seize territory and plunder resources. To fight for a breath.If it is just to fight for a breath, since the Japanese country has given up, then it will be meaningless to continue fighting. Maybe it is just an impulsive decision of the Ming Emperor, and the Ming Dynasty may not continue to fight this war. , especially if the Ming army suffered a defeat and suffered losses.

Out of such thoughts and considerations, Tokugawa Iemitsu decided that the first thing to do is to shrink the front line and gather troops to deal a head-on blow to the main force of the Ming army. As long as the Ming army's spirit is defeated, the attitude of the Ming court will definitely change.

However, the Ming army did not, as Tokugawa Iemitsu expected, blindly rampage across the territory of the Japanese country just to fight for a moment and vent their anger on the Japanese country. All the troops of the Ming army gradually attacked the Japanese country in a very orderly manner Advance in central locations, one step at a time. Every time an area is occupied, it will be dealt with locally in accordance with the "Occupied Area Disposal Plan" issued by the imperial court.

First, they took over local cities, mansions, and warehouses, and inventoried supplies. Then they established prisoner-of-war camps to centrally deal with local officials, soldiers, and civilians.

Prisoner of war camps are generally constructed by directly borrowing large local buildings, such as farms, pastures, and other places, or directly surrounding a village with fences as a place for prisoners of war.

The so-called prisoners of war include local officials, surrendered Japanese soldiers and local residents. To put it simply, all living people are counted.

The treatment of prisoners of war depends on their status. According to the provisions of the "Disposal Plan for Occupied Areas", officials with status are hostage-type prisoners and can be kept as bargaining chips in transactions with the Japanese shogunate;
The Japanese generals and soldiers who surrendered were potential threats and should be dealt with emphatically. Those who showed obvious resistance and hostility to the Ming Dynasty would be executed.

Those who are willing to serve the Ming army and provide intelligence or other assistance can be organized into the "Ming Xie Army" (puppet army) and allowed to serve in front of the army.

As for those who neither resisted nor served for the Ming army, they were all shipped away from the Japanese country in large ships and sent to Siberia to work as coolies. There was plenty of work over there, and it was a time of shortage of manpower. Not that the Japanese army What people are best at is growing potatoes in Siberia?

The same goes for the people of the Japanese country. Although Zhu Tianqi is not so cruel that he will engage in concentration camps and genocide because he hates the Japanese country in his heart, he will never let them go. After all, the Japanese people cannot be treated with common sense. They are a very strange nation. They do not surrender easily to others. Instead, they like to repay kindness with hatred. Moreover, they are overly superstitious about the emperor.

This leads to a problem: if you tell them about humanitarianism and that the war will not affect civilians and let them go, then it is very likely that these civilians will take up arms and stab you in the back.

Therefore, the Japanese people were all separated and disposed of according to the "Disposal Plan". All the men were shipped to Siberia to open up wasteland, and the women were left behind. Moreover, this policy of diversion and disposal was implemented for a long time. In other words, if these Japanese people were to After a woman gives birth to a child, all boys will be sent to Siberia when they grow up, and girls can stay in the mainland.

Of course, out of humanitarian considerations, Zhu Tianqi specifically added that if the common people of the Japanese country were sent to Siberia, their status and human rights would be slightly higher than those of the Japanese soldiers, but they would definitely not be able to obtain the same status as the Ming people. .

As for how the remaining women would have descendants after all the men from the Japanese country were transported away, you have to ask the Ming army soldiers who fought in the Japanese country. Zhu Tianqi couldn't explain this clearly.

Of course, if there are Ming soldiers or Ming people who come to Japan in the future and really want to marry a certain Japanese woman, then they can also let the Japanese woman leave her humble status and obtain legal status and corresponding human rights rights with her husband, and her descendants can also Will be a legal citizen of Ming Dynasty.

There is even a Ming Dynasty person who wants to keep the child he had with a Japanese woman, but does not intend to bring the Japanese woman back to the Ming Dynasty. According to the policy of the "Plan", he obtained the identity of a Ming person along with his father.

All these things, in short, no matter what the situation is, the rights and interests of the Ming Dynasty must be protected first, and the future status of these Japanese women can be compared to the Jiaofang Division of the Ming Dynasty.

Because there must be a lot of aftermath work to be done wherever they arrive, the Ming army's march can be said to be quite slow. In addition, the Japanese country is mainly in mountains and plateaus, which is not conducive to large-scale operations. Therefore, the Ming army is now also A small force marched into the field.

Fortunately, in order to deal with the Jiannu, the Tiger Crouching Cannon used by the Qi Army, which was suitable for mountain and forest field battles, was improved and mass-produced as mortars and light field artillery for distribution to the Ming Army. Therefore, the Ming Army now carries these new models. The Crouching Tiger Cannon was quite handy in fighting in Japan.

Although the Japanese army also had artillery and muskets, the artillery was mainly relatively backward bronze cannons and iron cannons, and the muskets were mainly bird cannons or matchlocks. Facing the Ming army, which was fully equipped with flintlock muskets, there was no way to fight back. force.

After occupying Tsushima and Iki Islands, the two armies of the Ming Dynasty that attacked Tsushima and Iki became one force. They turned around and attacked the Chikuzen Domain on Kyushu Island in Japan. Although the Chikuzen Domain also consisted of more than ten counties, But there are only two cities, Fukuoka and Qiuyue. After the Ming army landed, the first thing they attacked was the city of Fukuoka in the west, which was closer to the coast.

At this time, the Ming army fighting in Hizen Domain gathered at the northeast corner of Hizen Domain after capturing the five castles of Hirado, Karatsu, Omura, Shimabara and Saga, as well as the three battle houses of Ojo, Hasuike and Kashima. , preparing to join the Ming army of Chikuzen Domain. In just one month, Hizen Domain and Chikuzen Domain had been completely occupied by the Ming army.

There are hundreds of large ships sent by the imperial court, each of which can carry hundreds of people, and tens of thousands of people can be transported in one trip. It can be said that once a place is occupied by the Ming army, it will soon become a Japanese country. Men were no longer visible. As a result, even if the Japanese country could take back these territories from the Ming army, they would not be able to replenish their troops and recruit young and strong laborers on these territories.

However, the Japanese shogunate is still completely unaware of this measure of the Ming Dynasty. They are now concentrating on planning how to organize a large army and defeat the Ming army.

The Ming army was coming fiercely, and the losses of Hizen and Chikuzen domains greatly alarmed the leaders of the Japanese kingdoms. Therefore, when faced with the shogunate's summons, they responded very actively, summoned troops and horses, and rushed to Edo. Join the shogunate's army.

Soon the Japanese army gathered nearly 20 soldiers and horses. Tokugawa Iemitsu personally led the army to go out and prepare for a decisive battle with the Ming army at Kokura Castle, the Bunzen domain's rescue county, in order to defeat the Ming army in one blow.

Hizen Domain and Chikuzen Domain are adjacent to each other, and Chikugo Domain is right at the angle between the two domains. It is estimated that its fall will happen sooner or later. It is obviously unwise to lead troops to Chikugo Domain.

(End of this chapter)