A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

That’s what I’ve been waiting for!

Xiaopingtai held William's hand, bit the tip of his tongue, and was immediately moved to tears.

"Your dedication is seen by the Holy Heavenly Father. One day, you will definitely be able to ascend to heaven, sit at the right hand of the Almighty Father God, and enjoy all the promised blessings. Believers all over the world call you holy , be blessed by grace.” [Note 1]

Xiaopingtai knelt on one knee in front of William. William touched Xiaopingtai's bald head with his hand and was very moved when he heard Xiaopingtai's words.

"I will go to the synagogue now, gather believers, and join the battle together!"

As for the East India Company's assistant businessman, there are only a few dozen people left in the Nanman Commercial Office here, and the rest are just servants and handymen with little combat effectiveness. Including the crew of the Nanman trading ship in the harbor, there were only 200 people in total.

Whether they will participate in the war depends on the willingness of the trading ship owners and the willingness of the foreigners themselves. Normally, even those who dare to come to Japan from Europe have the adventurous gene in their bones. But when it comes to participating in local military struggles, most people are relatively cautious.

However, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Taungoo Kingdom, Aceh Sultanate, etc. in Southeast Asia all have records of hiring Spanish and Portuguese adventurers and businessmen to participate in the war. It depends on the personal wishes of these colonists.

Besides, Xiao Ping Tai already had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, so Xiao Ping Tai didn't care if the Christian soldiers could come with a few hundred people. What he cared about was the eight French cannons on the trading ship and the skilled gunners on the ship.

In fact, the artillerymen trained by the Yamauchi family have not left the army at all. Artillery has always been a technical branch. If you don't know it, you just don't know it. I won't reason with you at all.

Otherwise, Xiao Pingtai would not have to perform a bitter love scene with Father William, even biting her tongue, shedding tears, and patting herself on the back. But he just doesn’t know how to fire a cannon to make trouble.

What if you don't know the owner of the trading ship and rashly go up and ask others to unload the cannon from the ship and send the crew to go to Kantong to participate in the war? They will definitely not agree!

The Nanman trading ships are here to do business and open up routes, they are not here to establish colonies.

But with the blessing of the Anglican Father William, it's different. How pious do you think these businessmen are? It is difficult to say, but the prestige and influence of the Anglican Church need not be described. Especially for Spanish and Portuguese crews.

You must know that the most exaggerated moment was when the King of Portugal issued an edict before his death to donate the entire country to the church and the Knights Templar (of course it failed in the end).

If people elsewhere don’t listen to God’s call, the Spanish and Portuguese people will definitely still listen to God’s call.

Nowadays, they are not required to carry guns in person and participate in the battle. They are just firing (shielded) cannons on high ground to boost their momentum. The risk factor is not that exaggerated.

It was not difficult for Xiao Pingtai to help others, and she proposed a foreign soldier with a monthly salary of fifty taels of gold. When Father William goes to mobilize, there will probably not be too much resistance. It is common for merchant ships to stay in port for a month, and the crew members have no time to make extra money.

Sure enough, not long after the two left, bells rang from the Christian church below the city. Chechidan believers from various towns and nearby villages under the city went to the church to gather.

One night later, the result Xiaopingta hoped for came as expected. Nanman Town is willing to provide twenty skilled crews and gunners, forty infantry equipped with matchlocks, armor, and swords, and one hundred and forty armed religious militiamen.

Xiao Pingtai immediately equipped them with enough cattle and horse vehicles to tow the four French cannons that were unloaded from the ship, as well as necessities such as projectiles and gunpowder.

The Chechidan believers did not simply carry the flag of a black cross on a white background. The believer militia surrounding William carried a holy picture of the Immaculate Virgin, and the great saint John the Carpenter, the patron saint of Jesus' father on earth, held a holy picture of the cross.

The foreign soldiers on the Nanman trading ships wore holy paintings of Santiago. Santiago was not actually a place name, but the Spanish translation of St. James, the first martyr for the Lord. His remains were taken to Spain for burial, and he immediately became the patron saint of Spain.

These mercenaries looked indeed elite. There were fewer and fewer infantrymen wearing armor in Europe. With the development of gunpowder weapons, all infantrymen finally went into battle wearing civilian clothes.

In Asia, gunpowder weapons are not so popular yet, and there are still many swords, guns, bows and arrows. These mercenaries wore Milan-style infantry cockscomb helmets and a sailor's half-breastplate on their chests. Those with money would have skirts and armor, and those without money would wear fleece jackets.

There was also an infantryman in the team who had three roles, carrying a flag, a sword in one hand, and something that looked like a whistle or a flute in his mouth. Standing in the middle of the mercenary queue, he is not considered an officer, but he is quite respected by the mercenaries.

…………

The soldiers and horses gathered together, and without delay, Xiao Pingtai broke out of camp and rushed to the mansion with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Uncle Tsuna, Motaka Iwase, Yoshizuna Shimizu, Motoharu Kobayashi and others who stayed behind presented Koheita with winning chestnuts and vinegar cloth, as well as wine to wish him a great victory. I pray that Koheita's rescue of Musashi will go smoothly and the already precarious Yamauchi family can be saved.

Among the main team, the two hundred men and horses gathered into William were even larger, and four pack horses quickly dragged the cannon forward. The Spanish mercenaries were also organized in an orderly manner. They were led by a second mate on the ship as their commander.

Father William was not nervous at all before going into battle. He was riding on a Kiso horse with a shoulder height of 1.2 meters, much like an ascetic missionary riding a donkey in the wilderness.

Holding a rosary in her hand, she recited the words. Behind him were three servants, leading three pack horses. There were a lot of things in big and small bags, and there was even a small wooden cross.

"Father, you brought so much luggage? Did you bring all the sacrificial vessels and the entire altar?"

"Mainly some medicines, medical supplies, and some cotton cloth to tie wounds."

Medical items?

If we go to war together, some people will be injured in the war. You treat people and spread the disease while treating it.

I will use you to fool the gunner, and you will follow me along the pole to harvest a wave of faith and develop a wave of Chechidan.

Sure enough, no one in this world is really stupid!

[Note 1]: The word Amen is actually not a completely special religious word. It's not even pronounced as amen, but more like amian (face). Its meaning is generally that the words spoken before God are without falsehood, full of piety and wholeheartedly.

Because in Christian doctrine God is omnipresent and omniscient. Whether it is a church with tens of thousands of people or a small gathering of two or three people, believers can always end their prayers with Amen. Even blessings and communications with brothers and sisters in the Lord can end with Amen.

The use of the Amen ending here is more to deceive Father William and make him think that Xiaopingta has faith.