Chapter 2081
Although Hirado Port is one of the most important trading ports in Japan in this era, compared with trading ports such as Sanya Victory Port, Pearl River Estuary Hong Kong, and Zhoushan Dinghai Port that are operated and managed by Haihan, regardless of trade scale or entry and exit, The number of merchant ships in the port is far from the same level. After the two Haihan reconnaissance ships sailed into the waters near Hirado Island, what they saw most were not merchant ships, but some small fishing boats that only moved near the coast. After all, the threshold for fishing is still much lower than engaging in cross-border trade. This industry is more suitable for people who live on the seaside to make a living.
The two reconnaissance ships did not fly any flags or signs to identify themselves when entering this sea area. Doing so may seem to attract official inquiries, but in fact it is just the opposite and can effectively conceal their whereabouts. This little trick came from the guidance of the Portuguese, because many foreign merchants who come to Hirado to trade are more or less involved in smuggling, so they do not want to take the initiative to expose their identities, and generally do not fly flags on ships. markers to indicate identity. If someone did this, it would appear to be a cover-up and attract the attention of the Hirado clan officials.
Of course, the Haihan reconnaissance ship must also actively slow down its speed, otherwise it would be a bit shocking to appear on the sea at full speed, which may be more eye-catching than the effect of flying the Haihan two-color flag on the entire ship.
As long as you slow down your speed and appear calmer when sailing on the sea, no one will actually pay attention to these two sailing boats, which are not very eye-catching in appearance. Therefore, foreigners can easily regard these two ships as local ships, while local people will think that they are two foreign sailing ships.
Shiro Amakusa is no stranger to this place. He left his hometown of Kumamoto to make a living, and he also visited the ports of Nagasaki and Hirado. However, that was more than ten years ago, and now he can't help but feel a bit confused when he thinks about it. The feeling of another world.
Of course, the geographical environment here is no different from that of more than ten years ago. Amakusa Shiro knew that the strait to the north is the narrowest channel between Hirado Island and Kyushu Island. After turning around this bay, you can see the west coast standing The ruins of Hirado Castle are visible at the top.
Hirado Castle was built by Matsuura Jinnobu, the twenty-sixth generation governor of the Matsuura clan, on the basis of the Hinoga Castle on Kameoka Mountain. However, after the Sekigahara War in 1600, Matsuura Jinnobu wanted to eliminate Tokugawa Ieyasu's influence on the Matsuura clan. Suspicious, he took the initiative to set a fire and burned down Hirado Castle, and this act of showing weakness ultimately saved the Matsuura clan's territory at that time. As a result, the ruins of Hirado Castle have become one of the landmarks of Hirado Port. Although more than thirty years have passed, the Matsura family still did not rebuild Hirado Castle and allowed the ruins to remain in Hirado. The most conspicuous place next to the port to show allegiance to the Tokugawa Shogunate.
However, although the old Hirado Castle is gone, it does not mean that the Matsuura family does not even have a decent castle in the local area. In fact, right next to the ruins of Hirado Castle, the Matsuura family surrounded a large area to build their own exclusive castle. The residence is just not built like a traditional Japanese castle.
Amakusa Shiro soon saw the familiar ruins on the top of the mountain near the shore. The visibility today was good, and the ruins of Hirado Castle could be seen clearly even without a telescope. The dilapidated castle was no different from what he saw here back then. The roof collapsed in the fire that year, and the original gray-white exterior walls had long since turned into black. If it was the first People who come here for the first time may find it difficult to believe that this building that was burned down by a fire and only the frame is the famous Hirado Castle.
But even such an inconspicuous place was once the most important foreign trade port in Japan, and the Matsuura clan also obtained an astonishing amount of profits from many years of operations, and gradually became the most powerful feudal lord in the region. . Although the shogunate has gradually supported Nagasaki Port to become a new trade hotspot in recent years, Hirado Port can continue to operate on its laurels for the time being. Merchants from the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands, as well as some smugglers of unknown nationality, still use Hirado as their first destination. Therefore, there is still a certain scale of cross-border trade here, which is enough to provide the Hirado Domain with income to maintain its operations.
Although low-key sailing in this sea area would not be easily discovered, Haihan's reconnaissance ship did not dare to dock at Hirado Port easily. They did not have any goods for trading on the ship, which could easily arouse suspicion. Therefore, Amakusa Shiro could only command the reconnaissance ship to sail slowly outside Hirado Port to gain more observation time to confirm the situation of foreign ships in the port.
At this time, the telescope came in handy again. Both Amakusa Shiro and Yuan Zhi confirmed the approximate number of ships docked at the port berth in a very short period of time. The few Western-style sailing ships here are basically owned by the Dutch, and they are always conspicuous among the many lucky ships. The Fu Chuan fleet basically belonged to Han merchants. There were about twenty large and small boats, and the rest were local sailing ships.
They even saw two Anzha ships docked at the port. This type of Japanese warship is huge and slow, and can carry more than a hundred people. However, not everyone can afford to build this type of warship, which only began to appear in Japan's Warring States Period. Therefore, the main force of maritime armament is still the slightly smaller Kanfune and Kohaya warships.
Of course, the few Japanese warships seen in the port together may not be the opponents of the two exploration-class warships dispatched by Haihan this time, so these ships are inferior in the eyes of Amakusa Shiro and Yuan Zhi. and posed no threat. Moreover, with the Anzhai ship's pitiful speed of less than five knots, it would be difficult to pose a threat to the Haihan warship, and it was not someone they would be afraid of.
What Amakusa Shiro and Yuan Zhi really care about is whether there are Chinese-style armed sailing ships here. When the Shibazhi gained power in the Fujian Strait, the main warships under its command were armed sailing ships based on Fu Chuan and Guang Chuan. Shibazhi relied on a large number of armed sailing ships to suppress its competitors in the southeastern waters of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, no matter it was the Ming army, the Dutch or the Spanish, they all had to give way.
Later, Shibazhi also absorbed some of the advantages of Western-style sailing ships and made new changes in the layout of deck guns. If the Haihan Army had not had a clear advantage in the performance of its warships and weapons, it would probably have been difficult for the Haihan Army to compete head-on with Shibazhi's main fleet at sea.
Although the main force of Shibazhi had been wiped out by Haihan that year, the technology of building Chinese-style warships would not have been lost. If the Eighteen Shiba Yu Party who fled to the Hirado Domain are unwilling to be lonely and want to make a comeback, they will definitely try to build Chinese warships with stronger combat effectiveness, and even exchange relevant shipbuilding technology in exchange for the support of the Hirado Domain. .
Therefore, one of the goals to be searched for in this reconnaissance operation is whether there are a certain number of Chinese warships in this area. If an established Chinese-style warship is really discovered, there is no doubt that Shibazhi's influence in the local area has reached a very dangerous level.
After a cursory observation of Hirado Port, they did not find the existence of Chinese warships, but whether this is good news or bad news is hard to say now.
Two reconnaissance ships sailed outside Hirado Port from south to north, but they did not turn back immediately. According to data, Hirado Island also has several natural harbors, and these places may become the headquarters of certain armed forces. A place for warships.
This place was much closer than they thought. After driving just a few miles north, they found several large docks in a bay near the coast. After observing the bay with telescopes, they found that at least three Chinese-style warships with a displacement of about 100 tons were anchored here. Although several gun emplacements on the side of the ship were covered with oilcloth, their special shape could not be concealed from the two Haihan officers who had fought against Shibazhi.
However, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, the reconnaissance ship did not stop here and continued to travel north until it left Hirado Island and then began to turn around at sea. At this time, Amakusa Shiro took the initiative to send a signal to another ship, requesting to meet Yuan Zhi.
But it is not easy for two ships to get closer at sea, and these two light sailing ships that have been reduced to the extreme will not be equipped with small boats, so the two ships can only go to an uninhabited island in the north first. One of them anchored near the shore first, and the other ship slowly approached. It took a while before Yuan Zhi and Amakusa Shiro finally met. "You should have seen the ship in that place, right?" Shiro Amakusa concisely confirmed the discovery to Yuan Zhi directly.
Yuan Zhi nodded and said: "I see, there are three ships, they should all be equipped with deck guns. In addition, there are two ships under construction in the dock, maybe they are of the same standard. The construction technology of these warships will definitely not It was figured out by the Japanese themselves.”
Being able to anchor a warship so close to Hirado Port was obviously impossible to hide from the eyes of the officials, so it was probably with official permission or even support. Japanese warships and Chinese warships are completely different in appearance, and the hull features that have been improved by Shiba Shiba cannot be imagined by Japanese shipbuilders. The only reasonable explanation is probably that the remaining members of Shibazhi provided relevant shipbuilding technology, or that this group of people was in charge of the construction of these ships.
Of course, to confirm these speculations, they also need more tangible evidence, such as confirming at close range that these ships are the same models as the main warships of Shibazhi back then.
"We need to go ashore as soon as possible to confirm the status of these ships." Seeing that Yuan Zhi also knew that there was a target he was looking for in that harbor, Amakusa Shiro decisively put forward his own idea: "Maybe we can also find Spaniards there to provide information. weapons, so that all the clues can be connected!”
"Today?" Yuan Zhi was a little surprised by Amakusa Shiro's eagerness.
"We'll go when it gets dark." Amakusa Shiro pointed to his chest and said, "I'll do this errand."
Amakusa Shiro took the initiative to ask for help, and Yuan Zhi was also a little surprised. According to their original plan, if Amakusa Shiro wanted to go ashore, it should be carried out in Hirado Port or Nagasaki Port. But it seems that Amakusa Shiro doesn't want to wait any longer and wants to confirm this key evidence as soon as possible.
Yuan Zhi did not object to Amakusa Shiro's proposal. The other party was a veteran who had been on the battlefield for many years. He should be very aware of the risks of such an action and there was no need to remind him of this. Moreover, Shiro Amakusa is of Japanese origin, so there are no big obstacles for him in terms of language or living habits. It will be relatively easy for him to reintegrate into the local area as a Japanese.
However, this errand does not end with sending Amakusa Shiro ashore. Yuan Zhi must also discuss with him when and where to pick him up and board the ship to leave Hirado. If an officer of Amakusa Shiro's level had an accident during an operation, it would be difficult for Yuan Zhi to explain to his superiors when he returned.
"Three days. After three days, I will evacuate according to the original plan and meet you at the predetermined location." Of course Amakusa Shiro would not take the risk of going ashore to take a look at the ship and then come back. He wanted to take this opportunity to go "by the way" A trip to Hirado Port, collecting as much intelligence as possible, and then returning to the ship to implement subsequent operations.
As for how to enter and exit Hirado, they had an action plan. Now they just changed the landing location to another place, and other details have not changed.
Amakusa Shiro and Yuan Zhi are both hard-working people, and they immediately began to prepare for the landing operation at night. Since there is no small boat on the reconnaissance ship, Amakusa Shiro can only be sent to the shore at that time, and then swim ashore in the dark.
As for the various tools needed for swimming, they were fully prepared before departure. Immediately, Amakusa Shiro personally selected the items that needed to be brought ashore.
Clothes, pants, shoes and socks that need to be changed after landing, fire certificates, gold and silver belongings, two daggers, one long and one short, a few poisons in bamboo tubes, just in case, and a day's rations... The things are actually not much Much, it will be ready soon. All these items were first put into a waterproof bag, and then tied to the inflated sheepskin tire. When the time came, a thin rope was used to tie the sheepskin tire to Amakusa Shiro's waist, so that it would not affect his swimming.
Yuan Zhi originally wanted to pack another sleeping bag for Amakusa Shiro, but Amakusa Shiro actively refused: "I will not spend the night in the wilderness. This thing is not needed."
At dinner, Yuan Zhi gave Amakusa Shiro two self-heating rations, plus sashimi made from snapper just caught from the sea. This was the best meal on the ship.
"If things go wrong, remember safety first, find a place to hide first, and don't risk your life. How did we get here, how will we get back!" Before setting off, Yuan Zhi couldn't help but say a few more words.
Amakusa Shiro smiled and said: "Okay, I will be careful."
After dark, the two reconnaissance ships turned around and headed south, stopping near a beach they had previously favored. Shiro Amakusa checked the rope tied around his waist and the sheepskin tire tied to the other end with his personal belongings, and then followed The rope ladder hanging from the side of the ship slowly descended into the sea and swam towards the coast.
(End of chapter)