After the fall of Saga Castle in the Saga Domain, the remaining domain armies in the rest of Kyushu were almost wiped out.
After the 31st and 32nd Infantry Divisions pacified Saga Castle, they left only two battalions inside the castle to guard it.
Early the next morning, the 31st and 32nd Infantry Divisions launched attacks to the north and east, respectively.
The objective of this battle is very clear.
That was to sweep across the entire Kyushu Island!
In early March, the spring chill lingered.
After leaving Saga Castle, the 31st Infantry Division split into four parts, organized by regiment. The three infantry regiments, along with the division headquarters, artillery regiment, and engineer regiment, launched attacks on Fukuoka Castle, Iwaya Castle, Takarayama Castle, and Kamaike Castle, respectively.
After the allied forces suffered a major defeat, they were then defeated at Saga Castle.
The two consecutive defeats also resulted in heavy losses for the allied forces, with only a mere ten thousand or so escaping.
However, these 10,000-plus men were a mixed force comprised of troops from numerous domains across Kyushu. Some smaller domains had almost entirely lost their soldiers.
Therefore, they had no way to deal with the force of a regiment of the 31st Infantry Division of the Da Gan Army.
Under the sweeping advance of the 31st Infantry Division, they advanced as if they were in an empty field.
In just a few days, soldiers of the 1st Regiment of the 31st Infantry Division had captured Fukuoka Castle, a major town in northern Kyushu.
After the fall of Fukuoka Castle, the 31st Infantry Division continued its offensive towards Kokura Castle in the east.
Meanwhile, the 32nd Infantry Division, led by its commander Zhang Shusen, marched south from Saga Castle, heading straight for the Kumamoto Domain.
Throughout Kyushu, the Satsuma and Saga domains were the two most powerful domains.
Besides these, the most powerful was the Kumamoto Domain.
However, when the allied forces were initially formed, the Kumamoto Domain had already dispatched all its troops. Currently, Kumamoto Castle has very few garrison troops, only a few thousand or so.
When Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the lord of the Kumamoto Domain, heard the news of the approaching army of the Daikan-gun, he was trembling with fear.
During this time, news from Saga Castle gradually came in.
The battles of Hirado and Saga highlighted the formidable strength of the Daikan army, which was further amplified by the remnants of the defeated forces.
The shells falling from the sky were like thunderbolts, rolling down in a torrent.
Upon hearing this news, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the lord of the Kumamoto Domain, had a conflicted expression, his heart filled with unease. He also felt a growing fear of the large army he had never met.
Therefore, when the large army arrived, Hosokawa Tadatoshi was completely panicked.
"What do we do? What do we do?!"
Hosokawa Tadatoshi paced anxiously inside the room, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead onto the floor.
All the retainers inside remained silent.
They don't have any good solutions to the current situation.
After a long while, a retainer stepped forward and said, "My lord, although we participated in last year's sea raid, we joined quite late and didn't do anything too outrageous. My lord, why don't we take this opportunity to surrender to the Da Gan army? Perhaps we can save our lives!"
"If they resist,"
The retainer shook his head with a wry smile and said, "The lesson of Lord Nabeshima Katsushige is right before our eyes! Lord, you should think twice before you act!"
Hearing the retainer's words, Hosokawa Tadatoshi was stunned for a moment, and his eyes narrowed involuntarily.
He thought about it carefully and realized that this was his only chance to survive!
Immediately, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the lord of the Kumamoto Domain, said, "Alright! Let's do it this way! You will represent our Kumamoto Domain, go out of the castle and negotiate surrender with the Oogan army. I can agree to any conditions, as long as our Kumamoto Domain can be preserved!"
"Hai!"
The retainer quickly responded.
Immediately afterwards, he went out of the city on behalf of the Kumamoto Domain and held peace talks with Zhang Shusen, the commander of the 32nd Infantry Division.
Zhang Shusen clearly hadn't expected the people from the Kumamoto Domain to come.
"Here to negotiate peace?"
Zhang Shusen paused for a moment, then said, "If you want to negotiate peace, there is only one condition: surrender the city! There is no other way! Only in this way can we save their lives."
When this request was relayed back to the Kumamoto Domain, Hosokawa Tadatoshi was completely stunned.
The city surrenders!
The meaning of these four words is very clear.
If they choose to do so, it would mean that the entire Kumamoto Domain would fall completely under the control of Ōkan Province. And the Hosokawa family would lose control of the Kumamoto Domain.
this……
Thinking about this, Hosokawa Tadatoshi still felt some regret.
However, with a large army besieging the city and eyeing it menacingly, Hosokawa Tadatoshi had no good solutions under these circumstances.
Hosokawa Tadatoshi had no choice but to surrender immediately!
After Hosokawa Tadatoshi surrendered, the 32nd Infantry Division entered Kumamoto Castle without bloodshed.
At the same time, the imperial edict for the large-scale military campaign spread throughout the entire Kyushu island.
The city surrenders!
Along with the imperial edict came information about the battles of Hirado and Saga.
The news of the near-total annihilation of the allied forces and the fall of Saga Castle caused widespread panic among some of the smaller feudal lords in Kyushu.
After the arrival of the main army, some minor lords surrendered one after another.
By mid-March, the 31st Infantry Division had swept across the entire northern part of Kyushu and was stationed around Kokura Castle.
At the same time, the 32nd Infantry Division swept across southern Kyushu.
The army's advance was aimed directly at Kagoshima Castle, the last major stronghold on Kyushu Island!
Kagoshima Castle was the domain castle of the Satsuma Domain. Due to its coastal location, trade flourished, and the entire Kagoshima area was extremely prosperous.
Because of maritime trade, the Satsuma Domain is also the most powerful domain in the entire Kyushu region.
Therefore, the Satsuma Domain was one of the most active participants in the raid on the Keiyu Trading Company last year!
Therefore, upon hearing the news that all the domains in Kyushu had fallen one after another, the domain lord Shimazu Mitsuhisa was greatly alarmed and appeared dazed.
The Satsuma Domain, skilled in maritime trade, had a relatively good understanding of Daikan Province.
He naturally understood that the Great Gan Guo would retaliate for even the smallest offense!
They also understood what the arrival of the large army meant.
This means that the Shimazu family will be completely wiped out!
no!
I will save the Satsuma Domain!
Shimazu Mitsuhisa thought to himself, and immediately summoned the remaining troops of the Satsuma Domain, as well as Kabayama Hisataka and others, to prepare for the defense of Satsuma Castle.
However, Kabayama Hisataka, who had fled all the way back from the north, had no intention of defending Satsuma Castle.
Having witnessed the might of the Da Gan Army, Kabayama Hisataka directly led his personal guards and killed Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, with a single blow.
Subsequently, Hisataka Kabayama surrendered Kagoshima Castle and defected to the Daigan Army.
At this point, the 32nd Infantry Division of the Da Gan Army was stationed in Kagoshima Castle.
The entire Kyushu island has been completely pacified!
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