Chapter 2128
Under Tagawasuke's strong initiative, the previous domain lord invested a considerable part of the Hirado domain's fiscal revenue in the military field in the past few years. Especially in terms of the manufacturing of weapons and equipment and the training of military personnel, the financial resources invested by the Hirado Domain have even reached one of the best levels in Japan. If it weren't for the fact that the shogunate was not concerned about the results of military construction and would find excuses to suppress itself, the Hirado clan might have built fortifications such as city walls outside Hirado City.
Of course, such a huge investment was not just for self-defense. The previous feudal lord also had the ambition to become the overlord of one party, but he didn't know that his subordinates' ambitions were greater than his own. When the Hirado Domain's land and sea armies had developed to a certain level, Tagawa Suke He jumped out and took over the ruling power of the Hirado clan.
If Tagawasuke is given more time to develop and grow, perhaps what he relies on at this time is not the hastily built defense line in the past two days, but a stronger wall. But Haihan did not leave him more time to stop the defense, and such a crude defense line could hardly block an opponent whose firepower was far superior to the Hirado domain army.
It only took the special operations group about twenty minutes to complete the artillery deployment, and then began to shell several targets on the opposite line of defense.
Tagawasuke was originally a little confused that the opponent's artillery deployment was too far away, but after the opponent opened fire, he immediately discovered that the opponent had made such a deployment with confidence. Those seemingly inconspicuous artillery pieces had an effective range far beyond our own, and could actually hit the feudal army's defenses from such a distance.
Although the caliber of the Haihan army's field artillery is not large, its lethality within the effective range is unambiguous at all. After a few shots, it hit a gun emplacement on the southern defense line of the city, and the unfired gun was killed on the spot. The artillery was broken into two pieces. Upon seeing this, Tagawasuke could only order the other cannons to retreat first to avoid being named one by one by his opponents from a long distance.
This kind of battle made Tagawa Suke feel extremely frustrated. He obviously had guns and cannons in his formation, but it was difficult for him to play their due role when fighting against the enemy. These troops, which cost the Hirado clan a lot of money to arm, did not seem to be as powerful as they expected when facing the Han army in Shanghai.
All the weapons in stock have been brought to the battlefield, and all possible rewards have been distributed to the soldiers in advance before the war. Tagawa Suke has basically used all the methods he could use before the war, but the problem is that even if the feudal army is willing to fight to the death In battle, it seems that there is no chance for a fair fight with the enemy.
The only thing Tagawasuke felt fortunate about was that the defensive position in the south of the city he selected before the war was still some distance from the coastline, so he didn't have to worry about being bombarded from the sea at this time. But he still couldn't help but feel a little worried, because he heard the sound of artillery coming from the north becoming increasingly sparse, far less intense than the previous two days of fighting.
Will the Kaihan Army weaken its offensive to attack Hirado Port from the sea today? Tagawa Suke believes that this is obviously impossible. The sparse sound of artillery must mean that one's own resistance is also being weakened. He couldn't help but worry that if Hirado Port was breached by the enemy before the southern defense line of the city, then his troops would be attacked from both the north and the south.
What Tagawasuke could think of, others could naturally think of. These feudal armies had no suitable opportunity to fight at the moment, and they had to worry about the defense line of the port area behind them. It was difficult to concentrate on the battlefield in front of them, and they were a little restless.
After confirming that the enemy had removed several artillery pieces on the defense line, Sun Zhen ordered the infantry to begin advancing northward under the cover of artillery. At this time, the artillery's shooting target also changed, and the attack points were concentrated on the east side of the defense line to suppress the fire counterattack on this section of the enemy's defense line as much as possible, allowing the infantry to reduce casualties during the advance.
In order to ensure the speed of advancement, the soldiers' protective measures were as light as possible. They basically wore two-piece front and rear iron armor to block the vital parts of the torso. This thing can block projectiles fired by traditional muskets at a certain distance. Although the protection area is limited, it is light in weight and does not hinder the soldiers' tactical movements, so it has become one of the standard equipment of the special operations group. one.
In fact, the armor of officers is not much better than that of soldiers. The main thing is that they have an extra helmet to protect their heads. However, such protective measures will not be used in every battle. For example, if it is confirmed before the war that the opponent does not have long-range weapons such as guns and artillery, then there is no need to increase the burden on yourself.
Qian Tiandun still did not dare to be too careless when dealing with a semi-firearmed army like the Hirado clan army, so he made special arrangements for Takahashi Minami before the war, so that the soldiers would wear armor to fight.
However, the fire suppression tactics achieved better results than expected. The artillery and the firepower output of the Kaihan infantry during the layer-by-layer advancement process made it difficult for the Hirado clan troops on the defense line to launch an effective counterattack. The old-style muskets they used could only be most effective if they fired in formation. However, as soon as they started to gather formations behind the breastworks of the defense line, they would be discovered by the Haihan army who climbed to a high place and looked through telescopes in the distance. The artillery fire focused on them, sending them fleeing in all directions.
The skirmishing advance tactics adopted by the Haihan Army further made it more difficult for the defending side to hit. Although casualties still inevitably occurred during the advance, the number was not large.
After quickly advancing to close range, the special battle group's individual firepower advantage was further brought into play. The continuous muskets turned every soldier into a point of firepower that could not be ignored. The Hirado musketeers who tried to shoot against them soon realized that their firing frequency could not compete with the opponent head-on. Instead, they would expose themselves by firing. Position, immediately became the target of concentrated fire from several rifles of the opponent.
The most important thing is that the Kaihan Army invested more troops in this battle than the Hirado Domain Army equipped with muskets on the southern defense line of the city. In this way, whether it was a long-range strike or a short-range firefight, the Haihan Army successfully gained the upper hand.
Although the defenders set up a defense line in advance, there were ultimately too many areas lacking the cover of fortifications, and the span of the defense line was too large. Tagawasuke had to disperse the feudal troops to various parts of the defense line, making it difficult to form sufficient synergy and defense. Depth. The Haihan Army focused on attacking a relatively weak area. As long as a breakthrough was opened, it would be difficult for the enemy forces on this line of defense to organize and block the gap.
When they were still more than ten feet away from the defense line, several Haihan soldiers had already taken out grenades, pulled out the fuses and threw them behind the bunker of the defense line. This kind of weapon was something that the Hirado clan army had never heard of. Explosions were heard one after another unexpectedly. Dozens of Hirado clan soldiers hiding behind the bunkers fell to the ground screaming and lost the ability to continue fighting.
After opening this gap, the soldiers immediately swarmed in, and then relied on this gap to begin defensive deployment in reverse to prevent the enemy from launching a counterattack to retake the gap. At this time, the only option left for Tagawa Suke was to organize a counterattack immediately, otherwise the entire line of defense would soon collapse. However, the enemy's defense line was ripped open as easily as paper, which greatly reduced the will of the feudal army to fight. Although they all received money from Tagawa Suke before the war, the situation at this time was a matter of life and death. When many people saw that the enemy army was so strong, they already had the idea of escape and were unwilling to go forward and fight to the death.
To become a powerful army, it is not enough to rely solely on weapons and equipment. The final deciding factor on the battlefield is the quality of the combatants. Since its establishment, the special operations group has spent almost every year in a state of fighting in the north and south. In terms of rich actual combat experience, it can undoubtedly be ranked first among the Haihan Army. It is precisely because they have experienced various battle scenes that they can calmly execute combat orders and know exactly how they should complete their tasks.
A similar combat mission aimed at tearing apart the enemy's defense line was also carried out in Liaodong a few years ago. However, the opponent that time was much more powerful than the Hirado clan army. The Haihan army fought hard for a long time before breaking through the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line controlled by the Qing army at the time.
The temporary defense line south of Hirado Castle was far inferior to the Kinshu Isthmus defense line in terms of strength and strength of the defenders. The most important thing is that the Hirado clan army has extremely limited combat experience, especially against powerful enemies like the Kaihan Army. The Eighteen Shiba Yu Party can only share their own defeat experience with them. How to There is still a lack of effective means to deal with the Haihan Army's strong attack.
After two consecutive counterattacks were repelled by the Haihan Army, more and more enemy troops were arriving at the gap, and the feudal army on the defense line inevitably collapsed.
Tagawasuke was already exhausted at this time. He sent two teams with a total of more than 400 people to try to regain control of the gap in the defense line. However, even the commanders of these two teams died on the line of fire, and the remaining people were losing The command quickly collapsed, and this triggered a chain reaction on the defense line, causing many people to mistakenly believe that the battle had been completely defeated, and they immediately fled back with the defeated troops.
Although Tagawasuke's team of supervisors killed several people, the span of this line of defense was too large and it was impossible to prevent more people from abandoning the line of defense and escaping into the city. Seeing that the situation was over, Tagawa Suke could only order a retreat to the city to reorganize, so that he could at least control most of the remaining feudal forces under unified command.
The Hirado clan used more than 2,000 people and spent several days to build the southern defense line of the city. In this battle, it only delayed the opponent for less than an hour.
Fortunately, several artillery pieces deployed on the defense line were withdrawn in time and were not captured by the Haihan army. The Hirado clan army could also use these cannons to erect barricades in the city and conduct final resistance. But they didn't know that their opponents were not only good at fighting in the mountains and forests, but were also good at fighting in the cities and streets. The few field guns that had just been beaten to prevent the defenders' artillery from showing up were equally suitable for use in street fighting, and their combat efficiency was much higher than that of bulky large-caliber muzzle-loading guns.
At this time, the artillery battle in Hirado Port has come to an end. The defenders have less than ten artillery pieces left that can barely persist in fighting. However, the position of these guns can still form cross fire in the harbor. Therefore, the East China Sea Fleet is still They did not rashly rush into the port for landing, but were still shelling targets on the shore unhurriedly. However, in order to save ammunition, Lu Yuanlong had ordered to reduce the intensity of the counterattack and planned to wait until the war in the south was over.
However, the battle on the southern defensive line ended much faster than he expected. He had originally hoped that the defensive line would last at least through tonight, so that he might have time to readjust the defense of Hirado City. If you plan carefully, you may still have a chance to severely damage the enemy in the city.
But the actual situation was that the defense line in the south of the city was broken before noon. Hundreds of defeated troops fled back to the city, and the news of the defeat was quickly spread to everyone. Lu Yuanlong also learned of this frustrating result.
For a moment, Lu Yuanlong couldn't help but have the idea of escape. He knew very well that there was no chance of a comeback in the current situation. If he continued to fight, the result would be death. But the problem was that he escaped from Miyako Island a few years ago. When I came out, there was an escape route to Hirado, Japan. Now even if I have to escape again, where can I escape?
Not to mention that Hirado has been blocked by the enemy from sea to land. Even if he could escape, Lu Yuanlong felt that he had no hope of life. Do we need to find another Hirado and spend a few more years supporting the next Tagawasuke? The hope is so slim, the possibility of success may not be greater than defeating the Haihan Army in front of him.
Although Tagawa Nanzaemon has been sent away, Lu Yuanlong does not know the situation outside now, nor does he know whether Tagawasuke has arranged conditions for his adopted son to make a comeback. It is difficult to place high hopes on this arrangement.
They came to Hirado from Miyakojima because they knew that the young master settled here and that it had the environment for Shiba Shiba to rise again. However, if the Tagawa clan's power in the Hirado clan was wiped out, then even if the young master was still there, Today, reviving Shibazhi can only be an unrealistic dream.
Before Lu Yuanlong could make a final judgment on the situation, Tagawasuke had already sent someone to inform him that he was trying his best to hold on to the port. If it was no longer possible to shrink the defense line towards Hirado City.
Lu Yuanlong dismissed the messenger sent by Tagawasuke and saw a plume of smoke rising from near the old site of Hirado Castle. He knew that this signal should be released to the Hirado navy who was still somewhere at sea, but even if Tagawasuke could summon the navy at this time, there would be almost no chance of a comeback, and it would most likely ruin Hirado. As the last armed force of the feudal lord, is this really necessary?
Wei Zhi, who was at sea several miles northeast of the Hirado Strait, saw this signal. He sighed, knowing that the Hirado clan was defeated after all. However, this signal is not for Wei Zhi to lead the navy fleet back to Hirado Port, but for him to send a ship to a place on Hirado Island tonight to respond, so that some people on the island can have a chance to escape.
(End of chapter)