I

  Chapter 633 630【Crushing Bureau】

  The Datong Army attacked Amami Oshima, with a total of more than 30 large and small ships, 5,000 troops from the army and 1,000 troops from the navy.

  The islands are surrounded by mangrove forests, and large ships cannot dock at all. Small and medium-sized ships can land in the four fishing ports of Southwest, Northwest, Northeast and Zhengdong. In the rest of the villages, Datong soldiers all landed in small boats, and under the guidance of the guide, they rowed ashore through the mangroves.

   Six thousand soldiers, divided into six groups, set out, intending to end the battle as quickly as possible.

  The main target is the landing point in the northeast, which is the urban area of ​​Amami hundreds of years later. There is the most arable land on the island, and of course the largest population. It is ruled by a Ryukyu royal lord, and all the Japanese are here.

  Zhu Dafu joined the army in the ninth year of Chongzhen.

   He was afraid that there would be an ambush on the island, so he asked Shi Daxuan for fire support.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  The artillery smashed more than a dozen shots and destroyed two houses, one of which was the Japanese office. No coincidence, but the size of the house (there were small thatched cottages everywhere else) and its proximity to the coast made it a prime target for naval artillery.

  After the bombardment ended, many aborigines in the thatched huts on the bank were frightened and ran away frantically, and ran to hide in the forest behind them.

  Finally, Zhu Dafu successfully led his troops ashore.

  After some searching, the soldiers came back and reported that all those who hadn’t escaped were indigenous civilians, and no enemy could be seen here.

  Lin Jingchong took the initiative to communicate with the aborigines. He also comes from the 36th surname of Kume, and may be the ancestor of Yui Aragaki. He will bring his wife and children to settle in Amami Oshima in the future.

Not long after, Lin Jingchong gave half a catty of rice to the natives. He detected the information very smoothly and came back to report: "General, the Ryukyu governor (lord) here left with the Japanese two days ago. He also recruited troops , searched the food of the nearby natives, and it is said that they went to the southern mountains and forests to join forces with another Ryukyu division."

  Zhu Dafu asked: "The family members are also taken away?"

  Lin Jingchong said: "Not only the family, but all valuables have been removed. It seems that they plan to live in the mountains and forests for a long time, and come out after the Chinese army leaves."

   "The island is full of mountains?" Zhu Dafu asked.

  Lin Jingchong said: "The coast around the island is cultivated land, and the middle is full of mountains and forests."

  Zhu Dafu had a headache and said: "If the enemy concentrates on hiding, it will be difficult to fight. You have to search the mountains slowly to find someone."

  The "difficult to fight" here means that the battle cannot be completed within the predetermined time. This time the navy and army were dispatched together, not only as simple as recovering Ryukyu, but also had to quickly resolve the Ryukyu issue and go to Japan for a visit.

  Satsuma often acted as pirates and robbed Chinese merchant ships. This matter must be resolved smoothly!

  If you want to solve it, the navy alone cannot do it. By the time the Datong Navy was dispatched, the Japanese pirates had already run away and turned into the Satsuma Navy Navy, hiding in the port of Kagoshima. In this case, the army must also send troops to go directly to the door to raise troops to question the crime.

   Zhu Dafu ordered: "Carry a few bags of grain off the boat, and let a few more natives lead the way. Tell them, as long as they find the target, each will be rewarded with ten catties of white rice!"

  …

  In the forest fifteen miles to the east.

  Shang Kun sat in the thatched hut, eating fresh fish caught in the mountain stream, worried: "Will these Tang soldiers really leave?"

Shang Hong said: "They will definitely leave. They sent a lot of troops and consumed a lot of food every day. But we took all the food away, and Tang soldiers would leave after eating the food. It would be good to hide in the mountains for a while. If Tang soldiers came , fighting in the woods, their big artillery can't be used, but our bows and arrows can kill people."

Hideo Yamamoto carefully selected the assassins while eating tea and rice, and said: "I heard from my father that Tang's army does not know how to fight at all. It only dares to fight because of its large numbers. I don't think it can be avoided all the time. I sent a small group of soldiers to lure , and set up an ambush in the mountains to defeat them! No matter how big Tang's warships are, can they still sail into the mountains?"

   "It's better to be cautious." Shang Hong objected.

  When the Satsuma domain first invaded Ryukyu, Japanese soldiers burned, killed and looted, making Ryukyu people miserable. At that time, the Ryukyu monarchs and ministers were very hostile to Japan, but in recent years the relationship has eased.

  First, under the pressure of Ming Dynasty, Japan gave up the annexation of Ryukyu and gave the king and officials more autonomy. The second is the Ryukyu royal family, which must send young people to study in Japan, so as to cultivate more pro-Japanese factions.

   Before we finished our lunch, a soldier suddenly came to report the news.

  But two Datong armies on the east coast of Amami Oshima, one with 1,000 people and one with 800 people, are heading towards their hiding place under the leadership of the islanders.

   "Hurry up and go deeper into the forest!" Shang Hong said quickly.

Hideo Yamamoto was unwilling, and said: "The enemy is divided into several groups, and the number of each group is no more than ours. It is just to set up an ambush to lure them one by one. If we keep hiding, we will always be found. At that time, when Tang soldiers gather together, we will definitely be killed." beat."

  Shang Kun nodded and said: "It also makes sense."

  Shang Hong resolutely opposed: "We can't beat Tang Bing, we must hide."

  Hideo Yamamoto asked: "If you don't fight, how do you know you can't fight?"

  The three of them argued about this. After all, the Satsuma samurai was the Supreme Emperor, and the two Ryukyu royal families finally obeyed the order.

  Hideo Yamamoto asked all the Japanese men on the island to take up weapons, including hoes and sticks. So the soldiers were violent again, including the Ryukyu soldiers, and the number of troops reached 1,300.

  They asked their family members to wait where they were, and approached the 800 Datong Army in the southwest on their own initiative.

   An ambush was set up in a forest, and Hideo Yamamoto sent dozens of people to lure him, and the only five gunfire soldiers were also sent out.

  The general of this Datong army is called Li Tang. He is just a battalion commander. He has 500 troops under his command, and the other 300 are navy officers and soldiers. They dispersed into a group of thirty people, and slowly searched the forest, narrowing the area bit by bit.

   The guide for Li Tang was a local chief.

  The prefectural-level administrative unit of the Ryukyu Kingdom, also known as "intermediate cut", can only be headed by the royal family.

  The county-level units are called "Mula", which are generally headed by the clan, but there are also a few indigenous chiefs who are actually village heads.

  These indigenous village chiefs hate the Japanese deeply.

  It’s okay for them to be exploited by the Ryukyu royal family in the past. After the Japanese came, they also came up with a poll tax system. They have to pay the tax twice a year, and villagers continue to starve to death.

  A young man with the appearance of a hunter cut through the grass to look for footprints, and found a broken branch. He ran back quickly and said, "The bad guys are going over there!"

  The indigenous village head is called Du Bo, who doesn't even have a surname. He said to Yang Hao, "It's right in front."

  Yang Hao is a Han Chinese from Kume Island, and immediately translated to Li Tang: "General, we found traces of the enemy ahead."

  Li Tang said to the herald: "Head the order, proceed cautiously, all the ministries must gather at the nearest place, and a team of sixty people will search the mountains."

"boom!"

   Before the military order could be fully communicated, gunshots suddenly came from two miles ahead.

  A Datong soldier fell and was hit by a bullet from the Japanese "Iron Artillery". However, it was only an arm injury, and timely treatment would not be fatal. This is also the first wounded to go to Ryukyu.

   "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

  The Soushan team here has not yet merged, only 30 people. The wounded were ordered by the captain to return, and all the rest of the soldiers pursued.

   "Shhhhhh!"

   During the pursuit, bows and arrows came from time to time, and the Datong soldiers raised their arms to cover their necks, allowing the arrows to shoot at themselves.

  This is a subtropical climate, and it is still winter, the temperature is about 10 degrees, and wearing cotton jackets can just keep you warm. Aboriginal bows and arrows are useless against cotton armor.

   "beep beep beep beep~~"

   A burst of suona sounded, but it was a signal to suspend the pursuit. Li Tang was afraid that the Soushan team would be ambushed.

  The squad heard the bugle and immediately slowed down, waiting for more friendly troops to join them.

  When the enemy army saw this, they even stopped, hiding in the woods and firing arrows from time to time.

  40 minutes later, the Datong Army completed its assembly, but the enemy was still there in a daze.

   "There is an ambush ahead, these are used as bait." Li Tang saw through the enemy's strategy at a glance.

   "Fire the gun!"

  The 800 fellow troops raised their guns in unison and fired into the dense forest ahead.

   "Bang bang bang bang!"

   Gunshots rang out, and gunpowder smoke filled the air.

  Dozens of enemy troops hiding in the dense forest were shot at four of them randomly, and the rest fled in fright.

   "There is still one alive!"

   Li Tang went over to check in person, but the person lying on the ground was a Japanese, who had been held down by Datong soldiers.

   "Hey, there are firecrackers," Li Tang kicked the matchlock away, and asked, "Where is your main force hiding?"

  Accompanying merchant translators immediately ask questions in Japanese.

  The Japanese iron gunner closed his eyes and remained silent, as if he already had the will to die.

  Li Tang said: "Cut some wooden sticks, first pierce his thumbs."

  The wooden stick was quickly cut, and it was aimed at the two thumbs and stuck in. The Japanese soldier screamed in pain and cursed at Li Tang at the same time.

   For such stubborn people, a lesson must be taught.

  The wooden stick pierced his index finger again from between his nails.

  The venerable Japanese soldier suddenly couldn't hold on any longer, and hurriedly shouted: "I say, I say!"

   He said it was true, but Li Tang couldn't believe it completely.

  He divided the 800 soldiers into three groups, and at the suggestion of the native village chief, he climbed the mountain from three directions and surrounded them.

  Hideo Yamamoto quickly discovered the actions of the Datong Army and knew that his plan had been leaked.

  Shang Hong panicked: "Run away, the ambush is impossible."

Hideo Yamamoto drew his sword and shouted: "We have a lot of people, and the Tang soldiers are not terrible. Moreover, we are on the mountain and have the advantage of terrain. The Shimadzu family and the Ryukyu warriors all took up weapons and rushed down with me. Kill the Tang soldiers!"

   Shanghong hesitated to speak. Although he was a Ryukyu royal family, the Japanese were the emperor.

  More than 1,300 miscellaneous soldiers rushed out like this, and rushed to the front of the 300 Datong Army—the other 500 Datong Army divided their troops to outflank the mountains on both sides.

  The enemy army came aggressively, and there were more than a thousand people.

  Three hundred Datong soldiers did not panic at all, but the indigenous village chief who led the way was frightened.

   "Shoot the arrow, let the arrow go!"

  Hideo Yamamoto roared and ordered that there were only about a hundred archers under his command, and most of them were earthen bows for hunting.

  Because of being condescending, these bows and arrows can be thrown at random, and they can hit the Datong army.

   But the forest is very dense, and most of the arrows are blocked by the canopy when they fall.

   "Follow me to kill!"

  Hideo Yamamoto raised his samurai sword, roaring and charging forward. Encouraged by him, the soldiers behind him rushed down with strange screams.

  The two sides approached quickly, and they could almost see each other's eyebrows clearly, Li Tang said: "Blow the horn and let go!"

   "Bang bang bang bang!"

  Three hundred flintlock guns, divided into two rounds.

  Hideo Yamamoto was hit by a bullet in the thigh during the first round of shooting, fell to the ground and rolled down the hillside.

  The smoke from the volley of guns has not dissipated, and the enemy has collapsed.

   The enemy army running in the middle was nearly half dead or injured, and the enemy troops on both sides turned around and ran away in fright.

  The two Ryukyu royal families, Shanghong and Shangkun, stood on a higher mountain to watch the battle.

  They didn't even dare to escape, because this is an island, and they will be discovered sooner or later. Immediately returned to the station where he was hiding, intending to surrender with his family members. Even if he was taken to Nanjing for trial, at least he still had a chance of survival.

  When Hideo Yamamoto was rolling on a hillside, he hit a stone and fell into a coma.

   When he woke up, the wound on his thigh had been bandaged, and then he found himself captured.

   On the second day, he was brought before Li Tang, surrounded by the well-armored Datong army, which made Hideo Yamamoto feel a burst of despair—the feudal lord's elite soldiers couldn't beat such a strong army.

Li Tang smiled and said: "You are the biggest official on this island, so you must know a lot of inside information. It's okay if you don't know, just tell you what to say. If you want, you can live and go to Kagoshima with us. "

  Kagoshima?

   Tang soldiers are going to fight Satsuma?

  Hideo Yamamoto was terrified. He was so arrogant before, but now he is so scared. He nodded and said, "Yes, I will, the villain will be the general's loyal dog from now on!"

  (end of this chapter)