I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 678 Japanese “Navy”

The Japanese navy has been called the police force, the pirate force, and the sailor force since ancient times.

The first two are private maritime armed forces, and only the sailors can barely be regarded as regular naval forces. They are usually maritime retainers directly subordinate to a certain daimyo, and they are also the main body of the modern Japanese navy.

The police and pirates are very interesting. Strictly speaking, they should be opposites, but in fact they are one.

If Japanese wealthy families and daimyo hire them, then they are the Japanese navy. If no one hires them, they are Japanese pirates.

Similar to Europeans of the same period, the three identities of pirates, merchants, and government troops can be flexibly switched and seamlessly connected.

Of course, the Japanese term "pirate" has not been a derogatory term since the Warring States Period. Many pirates like to call themselves "pirate generals", and there have even been "pirate names" like Kuki Yoshitaka.

This pirate daimyo helped Oda Nobunaga, successfully defeated the Maori family's navy, and finally captured Honganji Temple and unified Japan.

However, since the unification of Japan, neither Toyotomi Hideyoshi nor Tokugawa Ieyasu paid enough attention to the development of the Japanese navy.

During the Wanli Korean War, the Japanese navy was actually unable to defeat the Korean navy because the warships and naval guns were far inferior to the Korean ships.

"It's a Chinese warship, and the Chinese emperor sent a navy to kill it!"

Several small morning boats (fast boats) quickly crowded into Edo Bay. They all belonged to the police. They were considered pirates hired by the shogunate. It was definitely much more cost-effective than raising a group of naval retainers.

Because they don't need to be given the title of warrior, and they have a high level of fiefdom, even the money given is still a bit expensive.

The speed of the small morning boat was very fast. The pirates had already rushed to Edo to report the news before the Ming fleet even approached Edo Bay.

The shogunate was shocked when they received the news that the Chinese fleet was coming.

The Emperor of China actually sent troops here for the sake of businessmen!

From the general Tokugawa Yoshimune, to the senior officer Mizuno Tadayuki, and Edo's loyal Prime Minister Ooka Tadayuki, everyone was at a loss about this.

Although since Tokugawa Yoshimune came to power, he has been trying to revitalize the shogunate's military, and from time to time he has brought a group of daimyo to engage in "joint military exercises" (eagle hunting) activities, but these are all limited to land-based military affairs.

As for the navy power, it goes without saying that Tokugawa Yoshimune pursued a closed-door policy and believed that foreign affairs would only shake the shogunate's rule.

Since the country is closed to the outside world, why do we still need a navy?

If we push it a few decades ago, the shogunate did (barely) have a regular navy.

Tokugawa Tsunashige, the prime minister of Kofu, was granted a land of sage bushes in Edo Bay, which was also the place where Tokugawa Ieyasu hunted hawks. On this basis, he reclaimed land and built the first Japanese naval base, called "Kofu Hama Yashiki".

Then, Tokugawa Tsusushige's son was adopted as the heir by the shogunate, and Kofu Hama Yashiki was transformed from the shogunate's navy station into the shogun's villa.

Then ten years ago, a fire burned it directly.

In order to revitalize the shogunate's finances and make money for the military, Tokugawa Yoshimune did not repair the coastal defenses here. Instead, he built a weaving hall, a blacksmithing hut, a sugar factory, a salt factory, a herb garden, etc. here for development. industry.

Those policemen in Edo Bay were a group of pirates hired by the shogunate in order to further protect the trading ships after receiving smuggling profits in recent years.

The shogunate was still discussing countermeasures, but the pirates in Edo Bay had already encountered the Ming fleet.

Naturally, these pirates could not be very loyal to the shogunate. Their escape routes were all blocked by the Ming fleet, so they had no choice but to break out of the encirclement head-on.

"Those are the Japanese navy?" Wang Zongtan held the telescope and seemed a little confused.

In his eyes, the Japanese navy's warships are too small?
Even the conventional warships of the Ming fleet were incomparable. To say they were warships was an exaggeration. At most, they were just civilian ships, with not even a few gun muzzles visible.

The Japanese pirates who were employed by the Edo Bay Police actually had a "pirate general". After all, they were pirates hired by the shogunate, so they must still have some strength.

However, when their "pirate general" Kenji Ishikawa came to the deck and took out the telescope he had "bought" from a Dutch businessman.

Then...he was confused.

"Are all Chinese warships this big?" Ishikawa Kenji looked shocked and frightened.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty's navy has not really done anything. Finally, with the emperor's attention, all the military funds it received were used to build new warships.

The first-generation warships have long been eliminated, and even the second-generation warships have become regular personnel. What Ishikawa Kenji saw was the third-generation warships that were officially launched at the end of the previous year. Consistent with the current "version" of shipbuilding tradition, all Ming warships adopt the Galen ship design and are built as large as possible.

The summary is the principle of "big is strong, bulky is beautiful". The more turrets that can be installed, the better, and the heavier the tonnage, the better.

Not only the investment in shipbuilding, the Ming Navy has also begun to learn formal naval warfare over the years. It has long mastered the traditional battle line tactics, as well as the emerging ship maneuvering tactics.

Several third-generation warships lined up in a battle line as usual. No matter which one was a giant ship to the Japanese pirate ship, behind them were smaller ships with more maneuverability.

"The Japanese warship is so small, why bother? Just ram it and don't let them escape!" Wang Zongtan put down his telescope.

With such a huge advantage, it would be enough to just forcefully crush them in a naval battle.

Several third-generation battleships charged forward, and Ishikawa Kenji's main "battleship" did not dare to confront them head-on, so they could only retreat to avoid them.

As for the other small morning boats, they didn't even have artillery, so they could only forcefully get close, intending to shoot with iron cannons (matchlock guns).

"Bang bang bang bang!"

It was of no use. The firecrackers on the Ming army ships had already been prepared.

Both the rate of fire and the range are more powerful than the pirates' matchlock guns.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

From time to time, someone would throw grenades onto the pirate ship, which would knock the pirates off their feet.

Some small boats even wanted to brave the hail of bullets and climb Ming warships to engage in boarding battles. Then, they couldn't climb up. The Ming army's warship was too big and too high, and their ship was too short, as short as their people.

Not only is it short, but it is also extremely brittle, and it literally falls apart when touched.

Japan is only an island nation, not a maritime nation. Even by World War II, their shipbuilding technology was in shambles.

The warships built had no keels or ribs. When Qi Jiguang fought with the Japanese pirates, he quickly discovered the shortcomings of the Japanese pirate ships and directly ordered the ships to collide, so that the soldiers would not have to die in vain.

Even when Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Korea, Japanese ships were still in the era of having no keels and falling apart at a touch.

Even their largest warships cannot be equipped with heavy artillery because it is too brittle, otherwise it will easily crush the ship.

A large number of pirates lost their fighting spirit and began to flee the battlefield in a panic on small boats.

"Fire!" Ishikawa Kenji roared.

His ship also has artillery, and other pirate capital ships also have artillery, but the caliber is too small, the range is too close, and the power is almost negligible.

Anyway, most of the Japanese pirates' artillery fire hit the sea water without causing much waves. Even if a few hit the Ming army's warships, they couldn't even penetrate the hull.

This is a warship made of hardwood that lasts a century, and many of it are top-quality teak wood harvested from the mountains and forests of Guangnan. Just these small Japanese cannons used hammers to penetrate the Ming army's ship planks.

The pirates' artillery can't penetrate the Ming army's warships, but the Ming army's naval guns can smash a hole in the pirate ship with one shot, and then it starts to seep water. Some even explode. One explosion can knock out a pirate ship on the spot. scrapped.

"Run!" Ishikawa Kenji was frightened.

In less than ten minutes after the war started, the Japanese pirates lost almost one-third. Eight battleships were sunk, and two of them were bombed and sunk. They caught fire and sank with one shot.

It's a pity that Kenji Ishikawa wanted to run away, but his ship was too heavy and the speed was too low.

The Ming army's warships, which had a larger displacement than his, were more maneuverable and faster.

This is the awesome level of shipbuilding in my childhood!

Ishikawa Kenji, the pirate general, could only watch helplessly as the Ming warships surrounded him. Hooks and ropes were thrown onto the deck, dragging his ship unable to move.

The Ming Army's musketry soldiers were condescending, shooting at the pirates who were trying to resist on the pirate ship. When no pirates were seen standing on the deck, the rest of the Ming Army's sailors swung down the ropes.

(End of this chapter)