"What? There's thunder in the middle of winter?" Zong Lin heard thunder in the distance and looked around the yard in surprise. It was a sunny day, and there was not a single cloud in the yard.

"No, it's not thunder, it's cannon fire..." Chunzhong suddenly turned pale. It was not the first time he heard such a sound.

"It was cannon fire. The Nanman's large sailing ships were firing cannons. That's the sound." Zong Huan's face also changed. He glared at Chun Zhong and said, "It was you who led the Ming people to Usuki?!"

"No, I didn't!" Chunzhong waved his hands repeatedly, but he felt very nervous inside.

Fortunately, Zong Lin didn't have time to settle accounts with him at the moment. He rushed out of the residence barefoot without even putting on his shoes, and ran to the oar platform to look in the direction of the sound.

A large group of Chinese sailing ships appeared at the mouth of the bay. Amid the rumbling of cannons, white smoke and flashing flames, dense shells whistled and destroyed all the Japanese ships that came forward to block them!

"Damn it!" Zong Lin was so angry that his face turned purple. The people of the Ming Dynasty were too overbearing! He didn't say he wouldn't cooperate with them! Why did they open fire without warning?

"May the Buddha bless you..." But soon, worry replaced anger. The Bungo Navy was too important to him. It was not only related to whether Ouchi Teruhiro could be sent behind enemy lines, but also the key to seizing the Kanmon Strait in the decisive battle!

"My lord, the enemy is coming too fiercely, we must avoid their sharp edge!" Zong Huan calmed himself down and hurriedly suggested: "We should immediately order the navy to move to the Dafen River, and then send someone to make a solemn representation to them!"

"Avoid the attack? What about Usuki Castle?" Muneki said with a stern face, "Do you want my Usuki Castle to follow the same fate as Egawa Castle and Hinogyu Castle? If the troops on the front knew that Usuki Castle was destroyed, they would definitely withdraw immediately! Lord Mori, Lord Mori, you will definitely laugh your head off."

"Yes, I have not considered it properly." Zong Huan quickly changed his words and said, "Then please authorize me as a military envoy to agree to the Ming Dynasty fleet's conditions. This way, Usuki Castle can be saved."

"Hmm." Zong Lin paced back and forth anxiously with his knife in hand. After a while, he made a decision and said, "It would be too passive to talk now. The Ming people will definitely ask for too much. We must first show our determination to fight to the death and fight them to promote peace!"

He gave an order in a deep voice: "Convey my original words to Ruo Lin Zhen Xing. I only want him to sink one or capture one enemy ship, no matter how big or small it is. This request is not too high, right?"

"Hey." Zong Huan wanted to persuade him again. Usuki Castle was a dead object. It could be destroyed and rebuilt. People were more important. Especially since they were about to have a decisive battle with the Mori family, the Bungo navy could not afford to lose any more!

But since his lord had already said so much, it would be unreasonable for him to continue to persuade him.

Zong Huan could only respond in a deep voice.

~~

At Usuki Port, the navy who had also heard the gunfire were boarding the ship in a hurry.

The Otomo family was rich and ambitious. Their long-time rival was the Mori family, which had the strongest navy, so Sorin was willing to invest in the construction of the navy. The Bungo navy was stronger than the Mishima pirates in terms of weapons and protective gear. Not only were they equipped with a large number of "big barrels", but each ship was also equipped with bamboo bundles or iron-wrapped protective plates, which greatly improved their survivability on the battlefield.

Their leader, Wakabayashi Chūoki, was strict in military discipline and methodical in his use of troops, showing the demeanor of a great general. Under his leadership, the Bungo Navy grew into the best navy in Kyushu, defending the maritime security of the Otomo family.

This time, it was Wakabayashi Chōsei who arranged a team of warships at the mouth of the bay as an external alert, which prevented the Ming fleet from directly breaking into the harbor. This gave his main force a chance to assemble and fight, and prevented the entire army from being wiped out like the Fangjin navy.

In the navy residence, after listening to the order conveyed by Zong Huan, Wakabayashi Zhenxing's expression was extremely solemn. As an excellent naval commander, he had been paying close attention to the Ming Dynasty fleet that had been causing trouble in Kyushu for a long time. Naturally, he knew that the lord's order was to send many naval soldiers to die in vain.

As for how much this is, it all depends on how high the killing efficiency of Ming Dynasty firearms is.

"As long as we can sink or capture an enemy ship, no matter how big or small, we can report it. Then we can return home as soon as possible." After delivering the order, Zong Huan left in shame. He knew how difficult this was for a pure warrior like Ruo Lin Zhen Xing.

There was no time to think about it, Wakabayashi Zhenxing immediately went to the courtyard to issue a battle order. After the generals dispersed, he said to his young son Wakabayashi Tongchang: "You stay in the camp."

"Why, father?" Tongchang was young but had great martial arts skills. He was famous for his archery skills and had obtained the Menkyo Kaiden of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. Naturally, he could not accept the arrangement of being a coward in the face of a powerful enemy. "The reputation of our Ruolin family for bravery and loyalty cannot be ruined by me!"

"Don't worry, I will personally fight in this battle to protect the family's reputation." Ruo Lin Zhenxing raised his hands and asked the servants to help him put on his armor, saying, "And you have to protect the future of the family."

As he said this, he solemnly ordered his retainers: "Keep an eye on him, and don't let him step out of the house!"

"Hey!" Several warriors responded in a deep voice, and then asked with a sob: "Master, is it really that serious?"

"Yes, sir. We have stopped the enemy's advance and are waiting for the main force to go into battle. Who knows who will win?"

"How many ships were there in the Ming Dynasty fleet that attacked the Fangjin navy before?" Wakabayashi Zhenxing asked in a deep voice with his eyes slightly closed.

"I heard there were more than a dozen ships."

"What about the one that attacked the Iki navy?"

“There are also more than a dozen ships.”

"Where are the enemy ships that appeared this time?"

"Nearly fifty ships..." The subordinate suddenly realized and stammered, "Master, are you saying that the Ming Dynasty fleet will unite to deal with us this time?"

"Yes." After putting on his armor, he took the iron helmet offered by his warriors, put it on his head and said, "This is an unfair battle. The power of the Ming Dynasty's firearms is beyond our imagination. Before we can produce firearms that can match them, there is no way to change the fate of failure..."

After saying this, he picked up his sword and strode out.

"We have loyalty, courage, and superb martial arts, father!" Tongchang, who was held back by several retainers, struggled desperately behind him.

"So we can only be loyal." Wakabayashi Zhenxing sighed and walked towards his Ataka ship.

~~

In Oita Bay, as all the Japanese ships on the outer line were destroyed, the Ming army's intensive artillery fire gradually ceased.

The Punishment Fleet was not in a hurry to approach Usuki Port, but instead formed two lines of battle at the mouth of the bay, waiting for Otomo Sorin's response.

They followed Omura Juntada, otherwise they wouldn't have come so quickly. After all, the coastal sea conditions are complicated and the ocean currents are unpredictable. Only the Omura navy, who is familiar with the Kitakyushu waters, can know the best route.

Zhao Hao stood on the stern deck, looking at the beautiful Usukiyama Castle and the prosperous castle town in the distance. The combination of Japanese and Western styles was pleasing to the eye.

"What a beautiful city!" Young Master Zhao couldn't help but praise it and said, "It has the flavor of Attack on Titan."

"The Japanese never learn their lesson. Why do they still build their city on the seashore..." Gao Jie said with disdain, stroking his shaggy beard.

"Even if they want to learn a lesson, they don't have enough time to move the built city away." Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile.

"Old Zhongcheng, the Japanese pirates are doing this to make it easier for us to fire!" Wang Rulong also laughed and said, "But if the old monk is smart, he should surrender obediently and not give us this opportunity, right?"

"Hahaha, then you are wrong. They won't turn back until they hit the wall." Zhao Hao smiled confidently, "They won't give in unless they bleed to despair."

"That's really difficult." Wang Rulong couldn't help scratching his head.

"That's easy. Just make them bleed to despair." Zhao Hao smiled faintly. Before he finished speaking, the lookout at the outpost blew a shrill whistle.

"Beep, beep..."

"He's really stubborn." Wang Rulong couldn't help but be stunned. He felt that any leader with a normal mind should not waste his troops in such a meaningless way.

Don’t ask why, the reason is that I didn’t beat him hard enough.

~~

This time, the main force of the Bungo navy came, including five Ataka ships, more than a hundred Seki ships, and countless Kobaya ships. In order to reduce the damage caused by the Ming Dynasty's firepower, Wakabayashi Chōsei also ordered to change the strict formation of the past and rush towards the Ming army from the bay in the most dispersed formation possible.

Although he despised the Japanese navy's arrogance, Wang Rulong did not dare to underestimate the enemy in tactics. The group had too few troops and could not afford the loss!

"Execute tactic number two." Wang Rulong ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes!" The messenger immediately ran down the deck.

Soon, two red lanterns were hung on Ship 101, and the neighboring ships quickly hung the same number of lanterns. The order was then passed on to all warships in sequence.

The navigators on the first row of ships ordered the cablemen to turn the capstan and pull up the long and thick anchor rope. Then they directed the sailors to carefully adjust the angle and size of the sails to make the ship as stable as possible to create better shooting conditions for the gunners.

The gunners were on high alert, waiting for the enemy to enter their firing range. After replenishing their ammunition and replacing the faulty guns, their firepower output had returned to its peak.

Ten minutes later, the Bungo Navy came into range. Ship 101 fired the first shot, followed by the first row of artillery spewing flames and roaring out dense shells.

"Give me the rabbit!" The Japanese samurai with a white cloth tied on his head and a small sword in his hand urged the rowers to row the oars as hard as they could.

Before he finished speaking, a 117mm solid shell whistled in, blasting his upper body into a bloody mist. Then it penetrated the entire ship, stringing together more than a dozen sailors.

Then, shells rained down one after another, and row after row of navy soldiers were shot through!

The Marines who were unwilling to be inferior also began to launch rockets. With a creepy whooshing sound, the rockets, with long tails of flames, flew towards the Ataka ships!

p.s. There is one more update, which will be posted later.