Chapter 2121
The territory of the Hirado Domain is not limited to the Goto Islands and Hirado Island. There is also a large area of land at the northwest end of Kyushu Island, separated from Hirado Island by a narrow strait, which belongs to the Hirado Domain. Its area is even larger than the Goto Islands and Hirado Island. Get bigger. However, the terrain of these lands is similar to that of Hirado Island. Most of the areas are mountainous and forested environments that are not suitable for farming. Only some relatively flat areas near the coastline are used for growing crops.
The seat of the Hirado clan has always been set up in Hirado Port. The industries on Kyushu Island are not only farming but also fishing. The degree of development is naturally far less than that of Hirado Island, and there is no bustling urban area like Hirado Port. Before that, neither the Matsuura clan nor the Tagawa clan, who had just taken over the Hirado domain, probably had never thought of turning this area of little value into a wartime shelter, so they could provide a temporary shelter for the Tagawa mother and son. The hiding place was just a farm originally owned by the Matsuura family.
Considering the haste with which the Hirado Domain was preparing for this war, it was pretty good that Tagawasuke was able to make these arrangements in advance. Anyway, after arriving at the place, they had food and shelter, and there were people to protect the mother and son, so Tagawasuke no longer had to worry about their safety for the time being. If the enemy tries to enter Kyushu Island to search for the mother and son, someone will escort them to Hizen Country to seek protection from other feudal lords.
"Please rest assured, young master and madam, no matter what the battle situation is in Hirado, it will not affect your safety. After we repel the enemy, we will send someone to take you back to Hirado as soon as possible." Wei Zhi said to him during the voyage. Tagawa mother and son explained the next arrangements. He tried to keep his tone as relaxed as possible so as not to cause panic to the mother and son.
But after leaving the cabin of Tagawa mother and son, the relaxed expression on Wei Zhi's face quickly disappeared. It was difficult for him to be optimistic about the current battle situation. Maybe after dawn tomorrow, the feudal army would be unable to resist the enemy's next attack. The wave is on the offensive. He must find a way to reduce the pressure on Hirado Island, at least so that the feudal army does not have to be attacked from both sides on the east and west fronts.
Wei Zhi observed the battle situation at Hirado Port from a distance during the day. It was obvious that the enemy fleet was much stronger than the navy, and it was extremely risky to fight with it at sea. On the other hand, since the enemy fleet that landed on the west coast is not responsible for the main attack direction, its strength must be slightly weaker than the armed fleet that attacked Hirado Port. The naval fleet may be able to fight against it. .
Even if they cannot defeat the opponent, if they can be lured away from the west coast, it will at least affect the subsequent supply of the enemy's landing force, which may help the direction of the war.
Of course, all this must be based on preserving strength. Wei Zhi knew very well that if the naval fleet under his command was gone, the Hirado clan would really have no chance of making a comeback.
Before dawn, the ship escorting Tagawa mother and son arrived at a fishing port on the northern coast of Kyushu. Wei Zhi sent several cronies to transport Tagawa mother and son to a nearby reception point, and then the reception point dispatched manpower to escort them to their hiding place inland. After finishing this matter, Wei Zhi immediately returned to Shanda Island by boat, preparing to summon the navy fleet for battle.
In the current establishment of the Hirado Navy, in addition to a dozen new warships built in the past two or three years, there are approximately the same number of old Anzha ships and official ships. However, in Wei Zhi's view, Japanese warships that relied on sailors to provide power were not suitable for naval battles, both in terms of speed and attack methods. These old-fashioned warships can still be used to show off their power in the Japanese waters, but if they want to compete with opponents of the level of Haihan Navy and Fujian Navy, they can only be defeated unilaterally.
Therefore, Wei Zhi's battle plan does not intend for these old Japanese warships to operate together with the new warships. Otherwise, whether it is launching an attack or withdrawing from the battlefield, these slow-moving Japanese warships will hinder the execution of tactics. .
Wei Zhi planned to send these Japanese warships to the direction of the Hirado Strait to attract the attention of the enemy forces outside Hirado Port, while the new warships actually responsible for combat missions would go to the west coast to see if they could find an opportunity to attack and land there. Fighting enemy fleet.
Although it seems that there are two battlefields on the east and west coasts, in fact, the voyage from Hirado Port around the northern end of Hirado Island to the entrance of Hakuxiang Bay is even much closer than the distance from Hirado Port to Shandai Island. If not If they try to hold back the enemy fleet in the Hirado Strait to attack Hirado Port, they can quickly rush to the west coast as soon as they receive the warning and form a joint force with the local enemy forces. Therefore, Wei Zhi could only let Japanese warships with low combat performance act as decoys to buy some time for the main force to conduct combat operations on the west coast.
Doing so would most likely make those Japanese warships and the sailors on board all gone without return, but with the enemy at hand, Wei Zhi believed that it would be worthwhile for the navy to make some sacrifices as long as the current passive situation on the battlefield could be changed. After all, the enemy has already reached our doorstep, and we have no choice but to fight to the death.
The battle that lasted for half a day on Hirado Island finally came to a halt at night. Qian Tiandun set up a temporary command post at Boxiang Fishing Port. The map in front of him had densely marked the locations where each company had arrived. The line connecting these marks extends from Boxiang Fishing Port, bypasses a large mountain forest to the south, and then turns east until it reaches Ono Village on the east coast, which was occupied by the First Battalion in the afternoon, forming an arc blockade between the east and west coasts. . The road on the east coast that connects the north and south of the island has also been cut off in Ono Village.
"According to the report of the First Battalion, they have built fortifications in Onomura, and the East China Sea Fleet's supply ship sent them four field guns before dark. They are currently building fort reinforcements locally overnight to ensure There will be no chance for the enemy tomorrow."
While reporting on the progress of the operation, Takahashi Nan pointed out the location of Onomura on the map so that Qian Tiandun could grasp the battlefield situation more quickly.
Qian Tiandun first had a general understanding of the fighting situation on the front line, and then asked Takahashi Minami: "The intensity of the attack by the Hirado clan army is probably still a test. Do you think they will retreat in the face of difficulties, or will they not hesitate to do so?" At the cost of opening the road to the east coast? ”
"I think they will still give it a try. After all, the strategic depth in the north of the island is almost zero. If we continue to shrink the encirclement, it will be difficult for them to have room to struggle. Only by trying to escape to the mountains and forests in the south of the island can they have any chance." They may continue to deal with us for a long time." Minami Takahashi said eloquently: "But I am not optimistic about their casualty tolerance. It is said that the Hirado clan has not participated in large-scale combat operations for several years. For them, The most lacking thing is combat experience. Considering that a considerable proportion of them are temporarily recruited, I think they may be defeated in tomorrow's battle."
Qian Tiandun nodded, turned to Xu Yuzhuo, who was sitting next to him, and asked: "General Xu, what do you think?" Xu Yuzhuo said: "I'm still a little worried about the whereabouts of the Hirado navy. So far, we are only in the waters of the Goto Islands. Two enemy warships have been discovered, but their main force has not yet appeared. They are obviously trying to avoid us. If we cannot find the Hirado Navy, our mission this time will be greatly compromised."< br>
"Be patient, they should show up soon." Qian Tiandun pointed to the location of Hirado Port on the map and said: "If the navy does not come out to participate in the war from beginning to end, after the war, do you think the Hirado clan can Can we accommodate them? There is not much time left for them. If they don't show up, the Hirado Domain will be gone. Even if they come out to challenge, no one will forgive the navy. "
Qian Tiandun's reasoning was based on something special. He did not analyze the current enemy military situation from a military perspective, but speculated on the possible actions of the Hirado navy from a political perspective.
There are currently many 18 Shiba Yu Party members working for the Hirado government, and these people are well aware of the power of the combined fleet composed of the Haihan Navy and the Fujian Navy. Therefore, the Hirado Navy's reluctance since the beginning of the war will not be revealed in Qian Tian's eyes. Atsushi seems to be in a reasonable situation.
However, in building warships, casting artillery, and training sailors, the investment of the Hirado Domain in these projects is obviously not a small amount, and the purpose of these continuous investments is precisely to play a role in wartime. If the Hirado Navy is seeking To protect itself and avoid fighting, it will definitely lead to internal conflicts. After all, even if you throw so much money into the water, you can still make a sound, and the Hirado navy, which was established with a lot of military expenditures, can't even perform its basic duties, so what's the point of spending so much money.
Therefore, Qian Tiandun was very sure that as long as he continued to exert military pressure on the Hirado Domain, this mysterious naval force would definitely come out on its own initiative. As for whether the opponent will appear on the east coast or the west coast, Qian Tiandun believes that it does not make much difference. Needless to say, the consequences of hitting the Haihan East Sea Fleet, and the Fujian Navy is not a weakling. Xu Yuzhuo almost brought him with him this time. All the elite of the navy came, and there were more than twenty new warships built by Haihan on his behalf. If such a lineup cannot even deal with the Hirado navy, then Xu Yuzhuo can take the blame and resign.
After hearing Qian Tiandun's half-serious and half-joking reasoning, Xu Yuzhuo relaxed a little and responded with a smile: "Then I hope that as General Qian said, the enemy fleet can show up soon."
The next day, the two armies began to mobilize their troops again according to their own battle plans. Kaihan hoped to quickly resolve the effective forces of the Hirado clan, while the Hirado clan tried to expand the scope of its activities on land and sea to delay Kaihan's offensive.
The strategic considerations of the Hirado Domain are not unachievable. In fact, on Fukue Island, where the war started for the first time, it has already fallen into a hide-and-seek battle situation. Since the Ming Army's island landing force only had a thousand troops, it was a task that could not be completed quickly to pursue the enemy on Fukue Island, which was twice the size of Hirado Island. Moreover, Fujiang Island is mostly mountainous, and there are often uninhabited mountains and forests that stretch for ten or twenty miles. This also adds a lot of difficulty to the Ming army's pursuit and suppression operations.
However, the troops deployed by the Hirado Domain on Fukue Island were not considered to be the main force. Most of them were soldiers and horses of the former domain who were squeezed out after Tagawasuke came to power. Tagawasuke was worried about letting these troops stay on Hirado Island, and he didn't want to disband them directly, so he simply sent them to Fukue Island to station them. The result was an unexpected attack, which really had the effect of holding back the opponent's strength. For this reason, the Ming army left Fujiang Island not only with more than a thousand people who landed on the island to fight, but also more than ten warships responsible for transporting soldiers, supplies and providing cover. They were also dragged here.
But now the war on Hirado Island is raging, and even if the warring parties know that the war on Fukue Island is still going on, they will not send troops for reinforcements. Xu Yuzhuo was somewhat eager to try, and wanted to transfer the Ming army from Fukue Island to Hirado Island to participate in combat operations. However, after listening to Takahashi Minami's introduction to the battle situation last night, he felt that the special operations group had already penetrated the land pockets of Hirado Island. Even though he was dead, it seemed that transferring the men and horses from Fujiang Island by himself would not be of much use. On the contrary, it was suspected of taking credit, so he could only secretly give up the idea.
In accordance with the combat plan, the East China Sea Fleet continued to launch an artillery offensive from the sea to Hirado Port. Perhaps because too much ammunition was consumed in yesterday's battle, today's counterattack from the coastal defense batteries has obviously been reduced, and the number of gun positions that fired was only half of yesterday's.
How could Shi Diwen leave a gap for the enemy to recuperate? He even ordered the fleet warships to approach the port, forcing the defenders to use more forts for defense. As soon as the number of troops involved in the battle increased, Shi Diwen quickly ordered the warships to retreat to a relatively safe distance, repeatedly trying to lose patience with the port defenders.
The feudal army led by Tagawa Jiesho once again tried to attack Onomura's defense line, but after overnight reinforcements and increased firepower, this defense line was even more difficult to approach than yesterday. Four small-caliber field guns were deployed overnight in the W-shaped trenches. Each trench was assigned one gun. Although the crossfire formed seemed weak, if the enemy attacked close by, the grapeshot fired by the field guns would But it is a powerful weapon for harvesting dense military formations.
But the actual situation was that the Hirado clan army could not even penetrate the effective range of grape bombs. After they received a hail of bullets at a distance of 100 meters, they turned around and retreated without hesitation.
This reaction was not entirely due to the disillusionment of the Hirado clan army. Gao Hongfu informed Tagawasuke before the war started about the terrifying nature of the trench defense line of the Kaihan Army. If a large force is sent out rashly to charge, then a millstone of flesh and blood will appear in front of these interlaced trenches, and such casualties are probably not something that the Hirado clan army can afford.
After Tagawasuke sent troops to test the firepower, he knew that what Gao Hongfu said was true. If he wanted to use human lives to fill the space within the enemy's effective range, it would be difficult for the vassal troops under his command to complete the task, and everyone would die. It may not be possible to break through this seemingly troublesome line of defense.
(End of chapter)