With the strong northwest wind as the driving force, the Punishment Fleet completely offset the adverse effects of the ocean currents and arrived at the westernmost territory of Japan, the Goto Islands, at nightfall on the 14th. They also successfully found Huangdao Island, which they had visited once before.
Huangdao is a small island located southeast of Fukue Island, the main island of the Five Islands. Originally, there were dozens of fishermen living there, but Wang Rulong led a team to clean up the outer sea and captured more than a dozen families on the island. The dozen families who escaped did not dare to come back, so it was a perfect place to meet with the Tang people who had surrendered to the agency.
Several small paddle boats had been waiting in the bay north of Huangdao Island. When they saw the fire signal on the sea, they quickly rowed out of the bay.
The 406 speedboat cruising around the fleet soon spotted them and after verifying their identities, sent the leaders to the flag boat. Ma Yinglong asked about the situation on Fukue Island and learned that dozens of large and small ships were in the harbor. Wang Rulong immediately made a decisive move and Zhang Manfan rushed directly to the nest of the Goto Navy.
At four o'clock in the morning, the fleet arrived at the harbor at the mouth of the Fukue River. With the help of the lights on the shore, they could see a small castle next to the trumpet-shaped estuary.
The Tang people who led the way said that the Uku family usually did not want to light so many lights. But because it was rumored that the Ming Dynasty fleet was coming to take revenge, the head of the family, Jun Yao, ordered that after nightfall, a thousand pine torches be lit at the dock and Jiangchuan Castle to illuminate the estuary as bright as day to prevent Ming ships from landing by surprise.
But how far could the torches illuminate at that time? As long as the fleet did not land, the people on the shore would be completely dark and unable to see anything.
However, the people on the boat could see through the lights on the shore and the telescope that the pier was right under the castle, with all kinds of ships of different sizes moored there. They could even see that those ships were mainly Japanese kansen and kohayo, with some Chinese sailing ships as well.
"Stupid location." On the deck of the flagship's poop, Wang Rulong put down his telescope and snorted contemptuously. The Uku family actually chose an open estuary with no cover as a naval base. I really don't know how to write the word death.
"It's probably because they are far away from home and there are no birds around, so they don't worry about being attacked." Haier Ge at the side laughed and said, "Too careless."
"It's because we come too few. If we come more often, they will learn their lesson." Young Master Zhao on the other side said dimly.
"Yes, I will always urge them to make progress in the future." Wang Rulong grinned and said to Haierge in a deep voice: "Act according to Plan A!"
"Yes!" Haierge put his legs together, immediately went down the deck, and went to the wheelhouse to give orders.
The messenger passed on the order through the ship lights, and soon all the warships began to turn the rudder with difficulty. The main battleships formed a line and faced the dock sideways, while the small ships and speedboats moved to the two wings for protection, ready to resist any enemy ships that discovered the situation and rushed out.
As for the five supply ships, they stayed behind the battleship. In fact, they also had overwhelming firepower in this sea area. But according to battlefield discipline, supply ships should always focus on self-protection. Unless the captain judged it to be a life-and-death situation, they would be punished for violating discipline if they participated in the battle without authorization.
In addition, there is another ship behind, which is the 101st ship. Although there is no rule for flagships to avoid fighting, there is Master Zhao on board...
Wang Rulong dare not make any mistakes.
~~
At dawn, the fleet had already lined up 400 meters from the dock and 600 meters from Jiangchuan City. Twenty warships were lined up in the coastal waters, forming a battle line that was a thousand meters long.
In fact, there is no need for such a big show to deal with a small Uku clan. Everything is just a rehearsal for the "hunting operation".
After getting into position, the ships began to fire freely. However, the first thing fired was not a cannon, but the traditional program of the Ming army - "Divine Fire Flying Crow"!
This thing was not sent by Zhao Shizhen, but made by Jinke Wang Rulong and others. When fighting against the Japanese pirates, Qi Jiguang used various firearms to attack the pirates, and the "Flying Crow of Divine Fire" was one of the easier to make and more powerful ones.
This object looks like a crow, made of thin bamboo or reeds, filled with gunpowder, and can also be coated with grease. Two "fire starters" are installed on each side of the crow's body, and the bottom of the "fire starter" cartridge is connected to the gunpowder bag inside the crow's body with a powder line. In combat, the thrust of the "fire starter" can shoot the flying crow up to 200 steps. When the flying crow lands, the gunpowder inside is ignited and the whole thing can be burned. It is a powerful weapon for setting houses on fire and burning warships.
The gunpowder produced by Jiangnan Group in a standardized manner was much purer than that of the government army, and it was granulated. After increasing the "fire" charge, the thrust of the Divine Fire Flying Crow could reach 400 meters before falling, just right for attacking warships anchored at the dock.
It is said that there is also a "Fire Dragon Out of Water" similar to a two-stage rocket, which can even hit a distance of one or two miles. Unfortunately, it is a secret of the navy and the Qi family army cannot make it.
The divine fire crows, dragging long tail flames, let out shrill cries, piercing the darkness before dawn, and scrambled to fly towards the Goto Navy ships anchored at the pier.
Standing on the flagship, it looks like a fireworks display, which is very beautiful. In fact, it is based on the same principle as the rockets used during Chinese New Year, but it is larger and has an incendiary function.
On the dock, the sailors on duty stared blankly at this magnificent scene. Some even thought a ghost had appeared, dropped their spears, and knelt down to worship.
It was not until the fire crows landed on the boat and the dock and burned fiercely that they woke up as if from a dream, shouted loudly, picked up buckets and wet mops to go on board to put out the fire.
But the boats in those days were all made of wood, and their awnings and sails were particularly flammable. Soon, raging fires started on ship after ship, and it looked like the entire camp would be burned down!
At this time, the sailors and samurai who were staying at the dock also rushed over. Seeing this, the leader of the Goto Navy, Ukugenya, stamped his feet anxiously. "Damn it, get the boat out quickly, don't burn them all!"
Otherwise, how can we say that people cannot survive without a head and birds cannot fly without a head? The Goto navy woke up as if from a dream... They really just woke up and rushed to their respective ships, regardless of whether they were on fire or not, and rowed away quickly!
The coast guards were waiting for this moment. The sides of the warships were lit with fire, the rumble of cannons was deafening, and countless heavy iron bullets bombarded like meteorites, leaving blood and flesh flying everywhere they touched!
Moreover, solid shells do not cause much damage to the hull, that is for warships built with oak. For ships like the Goto Navy built with pine and fir, a single shot can penetrate them at such a close distance! Dense rounds of shells poured down, sinking most of the ships in the harbor in a short period of time.
A dozen Japanese ships were lucky enough to sail out of the dock, but the shells followed them like a shadow, and they still could not escape the disaster. Under the command of the leader, the Goto Navy desperately rushed towards the demon that was spewing fire snakes. However, when they approached at great cost, the Hongxi cannon on the coast guard ship opened fire!
The short and thick gun barrel looked very merciful, and it could fire hundreds of projectiles at the same time, spraying them on the Japanese ship like a rainstorm. The people on the ship were immediately swept away like wheat being mowed.
The last few shattered Japanese ships all stopped a hundred meters away from the Ming ships. There was no one alive on or off the ships, only countless broken limbs and bodies...
~~
The morning sun jumped up from the sea, dyeing the red estuary of the Fukue River into an enchanting purple-gold color.
There was no one alive on the entire river estuary dock. The survivors of the Goto Navy had already been frightened out of their wits and had abandoned their warships and fled into Jiangchuan City.
As for their leader, Uku Genma, the head of the Goto Navy, he had already fled into the castle and reported the enemy situation to his onii-chan.
Over there, with the help of his servants, Uku Junyao spent twenty minutes quickly putting on his armor that had been passed down for eight generations. Finally, with the help of his younger brother, he put on the helmet that looked like a peacock spreading its tail, and suddenly he felt his breathing become much heavier.
Then, with the help of several warriors, he finally climbed up to the castle tower and looked out.
It didn't matter if he didn't look, but once he did he burst into tears. "My Goto Navy is all gone..."
"Yes, Ani. Those Ming Dynasty ships were too scary. Our warriors of Tuntu were wiped out before they even got close to them." Yuku Genya sighed in frustration: "Fortunately, we have Jiangchuan City, otherwise we would have been defeated this time."
"Yes." Yu Jiujunyao burst into laughter after hearing this and said, "Fortunately, we have Jiangchuan City. If the Ming Dynasty people want to fight a siege, let them pay the price with blood!"
His confidence was justified. Although Jiangchuan City was built on flat ground, with the help of Wang Zhi, this "flat city" was transformed into a "floating city"... that is, the castle was surrounded by the river and seemed to float on the water from a distance. When the suspension bridge was raised, no matter how many enemy troops there were, they could not get close. It was even more difficult to capture than a mountain city.
Moreover, the Uku family made a fortune in the southern barbarian trade, and they built a thick stone wall around the castle. Even the wooden structures such as the roof of the castle tower were covered with thick clay to prevent fire, so as to avoid being attacked by enemy rockets.
In the chaotic times of the Warring States Period, it is always a good idea to spend money on a castle. It can bring an incomparable sense of security. If you are not smart enough, you can just retreat into your turtle shell and you will be safe.
If the enemy wants to attack the city, they must pay a heavy price. Even if they have ten times the number of troops, they may not be able to capture it. It is also unrealistic to want to siege the city for a long time, because the wealthy Uku family has stored two years of food in the city, and there is also fresh water in the city. Not to mention the Ming Dynasty people who can't stay for a long time, even the Ouchi family in Kyushu Island can't afford it.
Thinking of this, the city lord regained his composure, and quickly unfolded his small folding fan, fanning himself with the wind while pointing outside the city and saying calmly, "Look, the Ming people are still too cowardly to get off the ship, and have missed the best opportunity in vain. Now our people can retreat into the city calmly, and not leave them any food or supplies."
"Ani is right, as long as Jiangchuancheng is there, we can still revive the Goto navy!" Uku Genma never forgets to excuse himself.
"Humph." Yu Jiujunyao glanced at him unhappily, thinking that even if you didn't commit seppuku, you had to become a monk to apologize. But now was not the time to worry about this, so he asked how many soldiers were left in the city.
In fact, he was just a village head, and all his troops were naval forces, which had been decimated, with only about 200 soldiers left. However, Japan integrated soldiers and civilians, and immediately issued weapons to farmers aged 12 to 40, and he immediately had 2,000 foot soldiers.
The reason why it is 40 years old is that there are almost no farmers over 40 years old...
P.S. No one is watching the kids for a few days after the holiday, so I can't update three times. Fortunately, the holiday is over soon. I will update two times today, and I will try to write more tomorrow.