Although Fukudaura did not have a proper town, it had a wharf that was created due to the Nanman trade. The villagers who made a living from the wharf formed a small village. In order to coordinate the trade with the Portuguese, the Omura family also appointed a retainer named Ogata as the magistrate of this place.
When Father Torres went to the Duke of Goa before, it was a ship sent by Omura and Kogata, so he saw the Ming Dynasty fleet as soon as it arrived, and quickly sent someone on horseback to Sancheng City, which was dozens of miles away, to report.
However, Xiao Fang was not panicking at that time, because he watched the entire Battle of Futian Bay four years ago from the hill behind the pier. He still remembers vividly the scene of the Portuguese defeating the aggressive Matsuura family with their powerful ships and cannons.
From then on, he began to worship the Portuguese crazily, saying all the time that the southern barbarians were invincible and we should serve them well. He also actively joined the Chechen Church and was given the Christian name "John".
He also used a large jar of sake from his private collection to exchange for a soft-brimmed sailor hat from the Portuguese. With a cross hanging around his neck and a sailor hat on his head all day, he felt like a southern barbarian.
When Xiao Fang Fengxing saw those ignorant Ming warships daring to surround the Nanman father, he felt very contemptuous - in his opinion, those invincible Nanman Empire warships would definitely crush the Ming people's broken ships into powder!
So he slept soundly at night until he was awakened by the sound of cannon fire in the middle of the night. Xiao Fang quickly put on his sailor hat, ran to the dock, and danced to cheer for his Nanman father!
The villagers were also awakened by the sound of the cannons, and they all ran to the dock to check what was going on. However, the sea was filled with cannon fire, and it was impossible to tell who was who. All they could see was the Lord Fengxing dancing and shouting "Gan Ba Da! Gan Ba Da!"
"Sir, who has the upper hand now?" the villagers asked, leaning forward.
"Baga, do you still need to ask? Of course, the warriors favored by the Lord will defeat those evil Nephilim of the Ming Dynasty!" Fengxing danced and ordered, "Why don't you dance with me!"
"Ganbaddie! Ganbaddie!" The villagers, who were very obedient, quickly followed Xiao Fang's rhythm and danced together, clapping their thighs and cheering for the barbarians in Futian Bay.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
After dancing tirelessly until dawn, everyone was dumbfounded to see dozens of Ming Dynasty sailboats surrounding the two Western sailboats. Several of the masts of the sailboats were broken, and the remaining masts were bare with tattered strips of cloth hanging on them. It didn't look like they had won a victory at all.
"Sir, have we won?" the breathless villager asked timidly.
Omura Xiaofang ignored him and just stared blankly at the sea, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Are you blind?" someone whispered for him, "Didn't you see the white flag on the sailing ship?"
"How could this happen?" The villagers, all Christians, clutched the cross around their necks and asked, "Could a warrior blessed by God also lose?"
"Baga!" At this time Xiao Fang Fengxing turned around, and everyone saw that the sailor hat on his head was gone. They didn't know whether he fell off while dancing or took it off by himself.
"After all, this is still Buddha's territory. God can't care about things so far away..." Xiao Fang Fengxing silently took off the cross on his neck and said, "Hurry up and report to the master. Nanman has come to pay homage. You should all take your belongings and hide in the mountains."
"Where is the Lord?" The villagers also took down their crosses and felt it was time to go to the temple to burn incense.
"I am the Fukudaura Bugyo appointed by my lord, so naturally I have to stay here." Omura Kokata had a solemn look on his face, full of determination to sacrifice himself for the cause.
~~
Meanwhile, the head of the Omura family, Romeo Omura Juntada, was on his way from Sanjo Castle. When he received the report last night that the Ming fleet had invaded Fukudaura, he was really happy all night...
He had the same idea as Omura Kokata, except that the people of the Ming Dynasty were really stubborn. He was still worried that they would go to Omura Bay, but they ran to Futianpu on their own. If there is a road to heaven, he will not take it, and there is no door to hell, so he will go there. Now he is dead, right?
However, to be on the safe side, he prayed all night last night, hoping to do his best for the Lord's warriors so that they can achieve a great victory in this battle!
Unlike Omura Ogata who simply worships the strong, he wants the Portuguese to win, including believing in Christian religion, because he has practical needs - because Omura Sumitada is not his father's biological son.
It wasn't her mother who gave her father a leek-colored hat!
He is actually the second son of the former head of the Shimabara Arima family, Youma Qingchun... Oh no, Arima Harujun.
At that time, the three families of Omura, Arima, and Goto in Nishi Hizen formed an alliance. In order to better control the two families, Arima Haruzumi, the leader of the alliance, instructed his brother-in-law, Junmae, the head of the Omura family, to adopt his only son Takaaki to the childless head of the Goto family. Then he adopted his second son, Arima Sumitada, as Junmae's adopted son.
It was a common strategy in the Japanese Warring States Period to win over and annex surrounding forces by adopting an adopted son. But for a man like Harujun who was not pure at all, this distorted human ethics was a bit too much.
Later, when the two adopted sons inherited the family business, Goto Takaaki, who was supposed to be the head of the Omura family, was always resentful of Juntada, who had usurped the throne. Although he himself became the head of the Goto family, if he took back the Omura family, wouldn't he be the head of both families?
Therefore, Goto Takaaki had been plotting to drive away Omura Sumitada, especially six years ago, when Omura Sumitada was baptized and became an outlier among the daimyo - the Kirishitan daimyo, which made many of Omura's retainers who believed in Buddhism dissatisfied. At the same time, the voices of the retainers who distrusted Catholicism and believed that it was a heresy were growing, which gave Takaaki an opportunity to regain the family business.
He used his status to incite rebellion, and many Omura retainers really switched sides and joined the Goto family - this was not just a matter of employees switching jobs. Japan implemented a thorough feudal system. Retainers also had their own fiefdoms, and the people in the fiefdoms only recognized their own lords, and did not care who the lord of the lord was.
As the saying goes, 'My vassal's vassal is not my vassal'.
Therefore, once they jumped ship, they took their respective territories and populations and became the property of Goto Takaaki. Seeing that the time was ripe, Takaaki mobilized a large number of thugs to set fire to the streets, burn down churches, and kill believers, destroying Yokozeura, which Omura Juntada had worked so hard to build.
During the rebellion, Yokozeura Bugyo, who was appointed by Juntada, was also killed, and he himself fled to Shimabara in a hurry. His luxurious residence was looted and burned down by the mob.
Later, with the help of the Arima clan, it took Juntada three full years to regain sovereignty over the Omura clan's territory.
That's why he was so hesitant about the Portuguese request to open the port of Nagasaki. If the pressure from the Ming Dynasty hadn't been too great, he might not have agreed so readily.
Now that he had already placed his bet, he certainly hoped that the Portuguese would win a great victory - if they could defeat the Ming fleet that had annihilated the Matsuura navy and the Goto navy and destroyed Egawa Castle, then no one in northern Kyushu would challenge the prestige of the Nanman anymore.
Then, as an ally of Nanman, I naturally don't have to worry about my damn cousin. Even the Ryuzoji family doesn't dare to mess with me anymore. And for the sake of Nanman's muskets, armor and gunpowder, all major forces will befriend the Omura family! That way, I don't have to worry about my safety at all...
As he thought, at daybreak, Omura Juntada immediately assembled a hundred cavalrymen, waved dozens of flags, and rushed to Fukudaura to help his allies. But I don't know what he meant by sending out cavalrymen when they were fighting at sea? Were they riding seahorses?
The road from Sanchengcheng to Futianpu is very difficult to travel. You have to go around the bay and cross the mountain road. It takes most of the day even if you hurry.
While on the way, he ran into Xiao Fang's messenger!
"Why, is the war over?" Chunzhong asked happily.
"Yes!" The messenger said with sweat on his forehead, "The southern barbarian fleet has surrendered, and the man-eating devils are about to invade Futianpu!"
"What?!" Chunzhong's eyes went dark and he fell off his horse. Fortunately, Japanese horses are smaller than donkeys, and their height is no more than one meter, so he didn't fall.
"My lord!" All the retainers quickly jumped off their horses, helped Junzhong up and said, "In this case, there is no point in us going to Fukudaura. Let's hurry back to Sancheng Castle."
"Yes, if the Ming people want to attack Sancheng City, they must go around Xibichu and pass through Zhenwei before they can enter Dacun Bay. We still have time to arrange a good defense." Everyone agreed.
Chunzhong paused for a moment, trying not to think about it for a long time, but shook his head decisively and said, "No, let's keep going."
"My Lord!" Everyone was shocked and said, "Although we are all servants of the Lord now, there is no need for us to be martyred, right?"
"Who said we want to be martyred?" Omura Juntada shook his head and said tragically, "Gentlemen, we are trying to survive. This is the only way!"
"Why do you say that, my lord?" the retainers asked in confusion.
"Ryuzoji Takanobu has long coveted the many good ports of our Omura family. He was just afraid of the relationship between the Nanman and us, so he didn't take direct action, but only supported the Goto family and the Saigo family to press us step by step." Omura Juntada said with a bitter face: "So after the Nanman surrenders this time, we will either follow the footsteps of the Ukyu family and be destroyed by the Ming Dynasty fleet; or be swallowed by that bear."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, it really made sense.
"The only thing we can do now is to gain the forgiveness of the Ming people. Our Omura family has never had any Japanese pirates!" Omura Juntada said loudly, "Our Otomo family is harmless and peace-loving. Why should we be punished for others?"
As he said this, he ordered his men to take off their armor, put on only the clothes underneath and mounted their horses. He said in the most timid tone, "Gentlemen, show us your wisdom! Follow me and surrender!"
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