New Shun 1730

Seeing the Japanese defense method in Xiaguan, Mantou also figured out the Privy Council's idea.

The Japanese are not blind. The navy warships are too big. You can tell that they can't win at a glance. They all hide in the strait and dare not fight a decisive battle on the wide sea.

But in terms of land battles, in fact, the main force of the Japanese has not really fought with the Dashun Army. The previous battles were either clever battles, sieges with the advantage of naval artillery, or defenses. Maybe there are really some brains that are not very good.

In terms of land battles, they are all two shoulders supporting one head.

Dashun has flintlock rifles, and they have matchlock rifles; Dashun has cannons, and they also have them. It's nothing more than shooting close and inaccurate, but after all, they are still cannons, all ignited by fire, and there is no generation gap.

Some people always think that maybe they can fight.

So after all, they still have to fight a field battle to completely destroy their last bit of confidence or luck, so that they can negotiate smoothly.

After thinking this through, we will understand the real purpose of this battle.

This battle is not to capture Hagi Castle, but to annihilate the main force of Choshu Domain, to prove that the Dashun Army is also very powerful in field battles, and can not only use mobility to fight clever battles.

Let the southwestern domains have some ideas, kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. After looking around, Choshu Domain is the most suitable chicken, so we have to use him as the first move.

…………

In the Chofu Domain, in the Domain Office, the lord of Choshu Domain, Mori Munehiro, has just received news that the Dashun Navy appeared on the coast of Ayara Village.

Several important retainers around him, as well as the lord of Chofu Domain, Mori Shigenori, all looked worried.

Choshu Domain is the main branch of the Mori family, and Chofu Domain is its branch.

Mori Munehiro and his wife have been unable to give birth to children, so Mori Shigenori of Chofu Domain is both the lord of Chofu Domain and the heir of Choshu Domain. If Mori Munehiro has been unable to give birth to children, he will have to recognize him as an adopted son before he dies.

Now it is not a question of whether or not to have children, but whether the Choshu clan can still exist.

From the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War to now, Mori Munehiro's mood has been ups and downs.

At the beginning, he was panicked.

After all, this matter was caused by the Shimazu clan.

According to the experience of the Mongol invasion of Japan, the Dashun would definitely attack Tsushima first, then Kyushu, and control Shimonoseki.

Then the Choshu clan would be the first to bear the brunt after the Dashun took Kyushu.

After Tsushima was captured, it can be said that it was in a state of panic.

On the one hand, the Dashun was different from the Mongol Yuan. The Mongol Yuan could only go from Tsushima to Hirado, but the Dashun had gone to Tosa and Edo before.

On the other hand, he knew that if Kyushu Island was finished, he might not be able to defend it. Moreover, the news from Tosa said that the Dashun was not very decent and actually encouraged the people to revolt... The rice tax of the Choshu clan was not less.

However, not long after, panic turned into happiness.

After taking Tsushima, the Dashun did not follow the routine, but attacked Yonago in Tottori.

After attacking Yonago, they attacked Obama.

They were all targeting the hereditary daimyo.

Breaking into Kyoto and capturing the Imperial Palace directly damaged the prestige of the shogunate.

When the news came that Akihito "took the initiative" to negotiate with the Dashun, Mori Munehiro was shocked on the surface and cried bitterly, "a thousand years of shame."

In fact, he was secretly happy in his heart, because the shogunate was humiliated this time.

Not only did the prestige of the face and prestige suffer a great loss, but the hereditary daimyo around Omi also suffered heavy losses.

According to this trend, the Dashun may not land on Kyushu Island, nor attack Choshu, but will target the shogunate.

If the shogunate loses power, Japan will be in chaos, and these remnants of the Western Army will have the opportunity to make a big move.

The empire was won through fighting. The Choshu clan was very rich. As long as the shogunate loosened its control a little, the strength of the Choshu clan would surge.

During the land inspection after Sekigahara, the actual koku of the Choshu clan was more than 500,000 koku.

However, Fukushima Masanori, one of the seven spears of the Toyotomi family in the neighboring Hiroshima clan, who changed his flag and joined the Eastern Army Tokugawa family during the Battle of Sekigahara, only had 490,000 koku for such a great contribution.

The Choshu clan sent the most troops in the Western Army that year.

On one side was the great contributor of the Eastern Army, with 490,000 koku.

On the other side was the remnant of the Western Army, with more than 500,000 koku.

This really made it better to join the army later than to join it early, and it was better to fight to the end than to join it later. It was really unreasonable.

Honda Masanobu, who was in charge of land inspection in the shogunate, gave a 30% discount and reported 360,000 koku.

It also made Fukushima Masanori look better and pass on his face.

In fact, the actual koku of Choshu Domain at that time was about 800,000.

First, the income was high and the land was abundant.

Second, when they went to the court to make reports, they were required to pay 360,000 koku.

The koku was originally a conspiracy to exhaust the financial resources of each domain, and the scale of the koku was closely related to the koku.

Those who felt that the Tokugawa family had firmly established their "kingdom" and would not change for generations not only went to the court to make reports, but also spent more money and put on a show when they went to the court to make reports, and even went to Osaka to ask merchants to borrow high-interest loans to make a show.

Those who had some other thoughts in their hearts and thought that they didn't know what would happen in the future, so when they went to the court to make reports, they did it according to the regulations, saving money and food and not wasting it.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, there has been a legend in Japan.

It is said that every New Year's Day, when the Mori family summoned the samurai to the city, they would ask: "Is it time?" The close ministers would reply: "It's still early!"

Although this story may be adapted from the version of Goujian tasting gall and answering his own questions, the hatred for the original can also be said to be groundless.

The previous lord was quite extravagant, but after Mori Munehiro succeeded, he restored the 360,000 koku standard for the patronage after the Kyoho famine.

Unlike the neighboring Hiroshima Domain, which was so poor that even gold and silver were abolished, and the patronage paper money was forcibly issued, and the patronage was still ostentatious. It led to the anger of heaven and people, and the people's resentment was boiling. A large uprising broke out a few years ago, and now it is even poorer and claims that "after the war with Tang, we must prepare to deal with a larger-scale uprising."

The shogunate actually knew that the Choshu Domain was rich, and the koku was not 360,000 koku.

But Choshu was the remnant of the Western Army. If the Choshu Domain was attacked, the southwestern domains would be uneasy.

Furthermore, under the separation of farmers and soldiers, as long as the number of military service and samurai is less according to the standard of Ishigao, it is fine, so that Choshu can increase the number of samurai soldiers openly.

With spies watching, samurai laws, and the need to report to the emperor and take turns to serve in Edo, the shogunate will turn a blind eye.

The extra Ishigao can be used to accumulate money and food, improve people's livelihood, or indulge in luxury. Anyway, don't use these incomes to raise ronin and expand military equipment in violation of samurai laws.

The construction of the city must be reported, the construction of the artillery must be reported, and the closed-door policy in various places can only be purchased through Nagasaki. The chain has been pulled very tight.

Therefore, Mori Munehiro's real reaction after hearing that Dashun went straight to Kyoto was extremely excited.

The shogunate was weakened, and they were so close to Dashun. As long as they let go and the shogunate lost its authority, the chains on the Mori clan would be broken. With the toll from the Shimonoseki Strait and more than 800,000 koku of koku, they might be able to do something big.

The Shimazu family was finished, and the war was caused by the Ryukyu incident; the Kaga domain was too close to Edo and too far from Dashun to smuggle trade.

Apart from these two families, the koku of Choshu domain was the sky, and it was also convenient for smuggling and receiving new weapons.

As long as Dashun continued to attack the prestige of the shogunate, it would be possible to secretly win over these southwestern daimyos, and Choshu domain could completely maneuver with its sleeves.

However, not long after being happy, Mori Munehiro's mood fell to the bottom again.

A few days ago, Edo sent people to ask the Hiroshima domain's soldiers to go to Kyoto for support, to establish a new king and fight to the end.

As a result, not long after the Hiroshima domain's soldiers left, the Dashun navy appeared in Shimonoseki.

Instead of forcing through the Shimonoseki Strait, they went north to Ayaragi Village and tried to land there. Their intention to attack Nagafu and Shimonoseki from behind was obvious.

Mori Munehiro was so angry at the shogunate's manipulation that he wanted to curse his mother.

The shogunate obviously sold them out!

The Hiroshima clan went to support Kyoto, and only the soldiers of the Choshu clan were left here. The Choshu clan was a small branch clan with only 50,000 or 60,000 shigao, and was actually controlled by the Choshu clan.

In other words, the Choshu clan's flank was completely empty at this time!

Those grandsons on Kyushu Island were afraid that the Dashun would land on Kyushu Island, and they would not send a single soldier across the strait to support them by holding the shogunate's order.

Because they were worried that the Dashun would forcefully attack the Shimonoseki Strait and cut off the way back for the reinforcements. At that time, Kyushu Island would be empty, and it was very likely that the Dashun would land and wipe out the island.

After all, in terms of justice, this matter was caused by the invasion of Ryukyu by the Satsuma clan, and the possibility of the Dashun attacking Kyushu Island was extremely high.

Now the Hiroshima clan has withdrawn; the soldiers of the Okayama clan did not come to support, but returned to Okayama; Ota Sukeharu in Osaka was a member of the shogunate, and he also returned to Osaka with some soldiers of the shogunate and the three great families.

The situation suddenly became ugly.

Now the slogans of the shogunate are loud and clear, and they want to establish a new king, fight to the end, and rather die with honor than live in disgrace.

The problem is that the area between Edo and Kyoto is full of soldiers, and the Dashun can only transport three to five thousand people that far, and they will definitely not fight.

In order to defend their homes, the various clans on Kyushu Island can work together, and they all know that if the Dashun lands, everyone will die.

What should the Choshu clan do?

If the Choshu clan falls, the Dashun may not attack Kyushu Island, but may break into the Seto Inland Sea and continue to fight other places.

Even if the people on Kyushu Island know that the lips are gone and the teeth are cold, they will also think that maybe they are back teeth, and they will not be frozen even if they lose their lips.

In the midst of the panic, Yamagata Masada, a close retainer of Mori Munehiro, suggested: "If the Tang people land here, they must be the headquarters of the Nagafu clan and the artillery fort. They come from Tsushima, so they can't transport too many troops at a time. There are only a few places nearby that are suitable for landing. Ayaragi Village is the closest to Nagafu. Since the Tang people are testing here, they may land here."

"If we station on the shore, the Tang people's ships are strong and their artillery is powerful, and our army will suffer heavy casualties."

"We can line up a few miles away and pretend to be defeated and retreat. Since they come for Nagafu, they must go deep. At that time, we can use the combs to Saki Castle held fast, but the troops were ambushed far away. When they surrounded the city, the whole army came out, and then we could annihilate them with one blow. "

"Although the Tang navy is strong, the strait is narrow, and the navy will not dare to enter, so we can't support them."

"The strength of the Tang is the navy; as for land warfare, it is nothing more than the southern barbarian tactics and sharp firearms. If we use wisdom and strategy, we can win a great victory."

"Don't defend the beach, lure them to attack, stay away from the gunboats under the strong city, and annihilate them!"

"If we can win, all the feudal lords in Kyushu Island will follow our lead and fight against the Tang Kingdom together."