I

The Japanese Navy recovered a little during the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He even hired European shipbuilders to build a replica of a Galenic ship and sailed it on missions to America and Europe. This Galen ship built in Japan has been sold to the Spanish in the Philippines for use as a warship.

There is still one Japanese ironclad ship that has iron sheets nailed to key parts on the surface of the Anzha ship to protect against muskets and artillery.

It's unclear whether it can protect against firearms, but it's incredibly slow.

The Anzhai boat is inherently slow, and with the iron armor on it, it becomes a living target in the sea.

"The navy of the Tang Army is coming to kill, the navy of the Tang Army is coming to kill!"

Several small morning boats rushed into Edo Bay. They belonged to the "pirates" because piracy often occurred. It can also be called "Jingguzhong", hired by wealthy businessmen as bodyguards to prevent pirates from plundering them.

Whether it is a robbery or a bodyguard can be unclear.

The speed of the small morning boat was very fast. The fleet coming from Shanghai was still half a day away from Edo. The pirates had already rushed to Edo to report the news.

The reporting location was Hamarikyu Palace, which was built on the remote island of Edo.

Although Edo has begun reclamation, the rate of artificial reclamation is very slow, and the offshore islands are far away from the city. Tokugawa Tsunashige, the shogun's younger brother, built an island courtyard for the navy as the office of the shogunate navy general.

In another time and space, the Japanese Navy after the Meiji Restoration also used Hamarikyu as a naval base.

However, at this time, it was not called Hamarikyu, but "Kofu Hama Yashiki".

The naval generals are all in the castle town, which is their home. The people on duty on the island at this time were all samurai minions. After receiving the news, they immediately took a boat to the city to report the news.

The 22-year-old Prime Minister Tokugawa Tsunashige of Kofu was tall and powerful, with a height of 1.6 meters.

He was the daimyo of the Kofu clan, served as a counselor in the shogunate, and was also in charge of the Japanese navy. Although this brother is young, he is rarely able to do practical things. Not only does he exploit farmers lightly, he also allows his retainers to regulate rivers and dig weirs and ponds in the fiefdom.

Tokugawa Tsusushige was proficient in Sinology and even studied the "Datong Collection". While admiring Emperor Zhao, he requested that the book be banned.

"Prepare for war with me!"

Tokugawa Tsunashige went into battle, ordered the naval generals to be summoned, and even went to the outlying islands to take command in person.

When the Datong fleet arrived in Edo, Tokugawa Tsusushige had already completed his army reorganization.

The shogunate navy fleet consisted of 1 ironclad ship, 3 anzha ships, 21 seki ships, and more than 200 small morning ships (many of which were pirates).

The armored ship is 30 meters long and can usually only be ridden by the shogun. Now it is temporarily used as Tokugawa Tsunashige's ship.

Anzhai is more than 20 meters long, and Guanzhou is even smaller.

These Japanese ships of various colors are all very similar in shape, just accumulated in size, without keels or ribs.

A small morning boat sent out to investigate reported that the Chinese fleet was about to enter the bay. Tokugawa Tsusushige immediately drew his katana: "If we attack the Tang army, Japan will win and the shogunate will win!"

More than two hundred Japanese ships stormed out of the bay.

Tokugawa Tsusushige also had a telescope in his hand. He stood on the deck of the ironclad ship, holding up his telescope and looking into the distance. Then...stunned.

"Are the naval battleships of the Tang Dynasty so big?" Tokugawa Tsusushige was already going crazy.

Although he was familiar with Chinese classics, he was too young and had insufficient experience. He had never even left Edo, not even his own fiefdom. Smuggling was absolutely prohibited in Edo, and Tokugawa Tsusushige had never even seen a Chinese merchant captain.

He always thought that the ironclad ship in Edo was the largest sea ship in the world.

The Chinese Navy also knows battle line tactics. Eight warships quickly formed a battle line. The smallest ones are larger than the shogunate ironclads.

Hong Xu, who was born in the Zheng Group, had retired at this time, and the fleet commander was his nephew Hong Tao. Hong Xu was the first to join the Datong Army and cut ties with Zheng Zhilong. When he retired, he retained the title of Marquis and was promoted to Prince Shaobao.

"What battle line do you want? Just kill them!" Hong Tao ordered.

Eight Chinese warships rushed directly towards the Japanese navy.

On the Japanese side, the largest number of small morning boats didn't even have muskets, let alone artillery. They were just a group of pirates driving small sampans.

Relying on their numerical advantage, they surrounded 8 ships with more than 200 ships, trying to climb aboard the Chinese warships and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The Chinese warships were surrounded but did not stop at all. Along the way, all Japanese boats were knocked over. The pirates tried to throw the hook ropes, but it was difficult to throw them onto the side of the ship. Occasionally, a few hook ropes were thrown up, and they had to climb up slowly, while the Chinese navy soldiers had already raised their guns to take aim.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A series of gunshots were fired, and all the pirates who tried to board the ship were knocked into the sea.

The pirates completely lost their fighting spirit and took advantage of their maneuverability to quickly escape from the battlefield with more than a hundred small boats.

"Fire!" Tokugawa Tsusushige shouted.

Whether it is artillery or muskets, they are called iron cannons in Japan. The armored ships, Anzhai ships and official ships equipped with muskets and artillery all fired at the approaching Chinese warships.

But the caliber of the Japanese ships' artillery was too small, and the warships of the Datong Navy were either built of century-old oak or sturdy century-old teak. There are a large number of old teak trees in the mountains of Vietnam, which are now under control and are prohibited from being harvested by any private forces.

A few shells hit the target, but the shells were unable to cause effective damage to the Chinese warships.

The eight Chinese warships suddenly turned after approaching and aimed their broadside turrets at the enemy ships. The amount of artillery shells fired by a warship is equivalent to more than ten Japanese customs ships, and it is fired at close range, and the target is sieved in an instant.

The ship has no keel and ribs, so it will fall apart if a few more rounds are fired.

"Quickly retreat!"

After the Datong Navy opened fire, in less than ten minutes, seven Japanese ships had been sunk. Tokugawa Tsusushige was so frightened that he wanted to run away.

But the armored ship he was riding was too slow.

Anzaifune and Guanfune both ran away, and he was still moving forward slowly, causing those ships that were able to escape to slow down and come back to protect him. After all, this is the younger brother of the shogun!

"Boom boom boom!"

Two more Kansai ships were sunk, and an Anzha ship was also teetering on the edge.

Tokugawa Tsusushige's ironclad ship was overtaken by two Chinese warships and was caught in the middle in an attempt to capture it because the ship's flagship status was too obvious.

Short spears with ropes were shot out from the Chinese warship and penetrated hard into the deck of the iron-clad ship.

Some navy soldiers were on the side of the ship, shooting at the enemy deck from a high position. As several rounds of gunfire ended, other navy soldiers slid down the ropes and killed the Japanese sailors who were dodging bullets.

The deck was quickly occupied, and Tokugawa Tsunashige hid in the command room, watching the battle outside through the window. He murmured to himself: "Damn it, how could this happen? I have read so many books, why don't I write it clearly in the book? The Tang army's warships are too big and their iron cannons are too powerful. How can the shogunate navy win? ?”

Many Japanese daimyo living in Edo, as well as samurai, ronin, merchants and civilians, gathered on the shore to watch the battle from a distance.

In full view of the public, a large number of Japanese naval forces were crushed to a rout. That scene was not a war, but a powerful man bullying a young child who had not yet been weaned.

"The navy of the Tang Dynasty was so powerful, even more powerful than the Dutch a few decades ago." A famous man who had seen Dutch ships couldn't help but sigh.

The Dutch fleet spans all over the world, relying not on large ships, but on small and medium-sized warships and countless armed merchant ships.

Another daimyo said: "This time there is trouble. The shogunate's seclusion of the country has angered the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty may want to attack Edo Castle."

"Come on, let's retreat to the city."

"Yes, we can't wait any longer. We must retreat to the city to defend."

"..."

The daimyo returned to their residences, took their wives, children and attendants, and swarmed towards Edo Castle.

Except for those who hold important positions in the shogunate, daimyo can enter the city once every two years. He immediately went to the city to meet with the shogun and said that he had returned to Edo to report. But many times, the general just stood on the city wall, and the daimyo collectively stood under the city to pay their respects.

Daimyo's wives had no freedom at all. They could only live in Edo and could not follow their husbands back to their fiefdoms. They were not even allowed to go out, and there was no entertainment. They could only stand on the balcony and watch the street scene.

The gates of Edo Castle have been opened, and the daimyo is pouring in with his entourage, while the samurai are still queuing up.

During the Tokugawa Ieyasu period, the shogunate had 80,000 samurai. Later, there was no war anymore, and the establishment has been streamlined. Many samurai became ronin. Today, there are probably 20,000 to 30,000 samurai in Edo.

Only a few of the 20,000 to 30,000 samurai own houses. The rest of the samurai live in longhouses, which are probably similar to employee dormitories. They dragged their families and wanted to enter the city, but they were ordered not to allow their families to enter. Only the samurai himself could enter the city to defend it.

Edo Castle was so big, how could it accommodate tens of thousands of samurai’s family members?

For a time, at various city gates in Edo, the cries of the samurai family members were loud, and the children were so frightened that they howled.

Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna dragged his weak body onto the city. He didn't know what was going on at sea. He only knew that the Japanese navy was defeated. Now that he saw the chaos below the city, he was immediately anxious and overwhelmed.

Sakai Tadaki stood behind the parapet, looking blankly at the chaos below the city. His mind is also very confused at the moment, and he is just closing the country. The only people affected are businessmen. Why would the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty raise troops for a few businessmen?

Sakai Tadaki couldn't understand, but he knew very well that he was definitely doomed this time.

By guarding Edo Castle, he could continue to be the boss, and after the Chinese army left, he would suppress the daimyo who turned against him. But if Edo Castle insists on defending, no matter what the outcome, he will only end up committing seppuku.

"The Tang Army has landed, the Tang Army has landed!"

Sakai Zhongqing quickly ordered: "Close the city gate quickly!"

The daimyo, their families, and their accompanying ministers have all entered the city, and the high-ranking samurai have also entered. Only a few thousand of the middle- and low-level samurai have entered the city.

It was useless to go in too much. There was not enough food in the city. The Datong army surrounded them without attacking, and they starved to death in the city.

Sakai Tadakiyoshi asked people to shoot arrows to drive back the samurai who wanted to continue entering the city. He also appointed a big name as a general and went out of the city to organize the warriors who had not come in to fight in the streets with the Datong army that was about to kill them.