Chapter 2141
Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen did not spend much time meeting the envoy from Nagasaki. After all, Tomohiro Imai was just a businessman who came to inquire about information, not an official who came to negotiate on behalf of the shogunate. There was no need to discuss in-depth discussions with him. topic.
Of course, perhaps the Tokugawa shogunate had already learned about the outbreak of war in the Hirado Domain at this time, but the big shots in Edo City, more than two thousand miles away, must first determine the direction of the situation in the Hirado Domain before they can consider what attitude they should take. To deal with this emergency, officials will be sent to Kyushu to deal with the matter. According to the estimates of the Kaihan Army, the entire process may take more than twenty days to go step by step. Before the officials sent by the shogunate arrived in Hirado, the Kaihan Army should have successfully retreated.
Therefore, for Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen, they were not prepared to contact and negotiate with the shogunate in advance, and the possibility of war was extremely slim. If the Tokugawa shogunate really planned to organize a counterattack, it would probably take a month or two just to mobilize troops and supplies from all over Kyushu. What's more, from the perspective of the shogunate, as long as the invaders do not continue to expand the scale of the war, but target the Hirado clan on one side, then sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight is the best choice with more advantages than disadvantages. There is really no need to go out and wade through this muddy water in person.
The most important thing Qian and Shi are currently worried about is to seize the time to empty Hirado Island as soon as possible. This eagerness is not only to avoid extraneous problems, but also to save costs and material consumption in the process. Every extra day the operation in Hirado lasts means that the Ministry of National Defense will have to pay tens of thousands more military expenditures, and the pressure on logistical supplies will gradually increase as the operation time increases.
Therefore, in the conversation with Imai Yuki, they stated that all military operations were only against the Hirado Domain, not the shogunate or Japan, and that the Kaihan Army would withdraw from Hirado in the near future and had no intention of occupying land here.
Tomuki Imai only stayed in Hirado Port for half a day before boarding the ship and returning with Haihan's official reply. For him, the visit went much more smoothly than expected. Not only was he received by senior officials from Haihan, but also the other party He also expressed his attitude very straightforwardly. Although they did not elaborate on why they wanted to go to war with the Hirado Domain, Imai Tomuki believed that that was not the point. The Kaihan people had promised not to let the war spread to a wider area. This was the really valuable news. .
In Imai Yuki's view, as long as nothing happens to Nagasaki, it doesn't matter even if the Hirado clan is razed to the ground by foreign enemies. What's more, based on what he saw in Hirado Port, the local urban area did not seem to be in the tragic situation of a city full of beacon fires, and he had not heard of the whereabouts of the feudal lord Tagawasuke and others. Presumably the local fighting situation was not tragic, but the defenders were forced to Just exited the Hirado city area. Besides, the Haihan people are planning to withdraw their troops. Obviously the war is over, and Nagasaki no longer has to worry about being harmed.
The news that Tomuki Imai brought back to Nagasaki will of course also be sent to Edo, and this news will definitely cause some deviations in the shogunate's judgment of the situation in Hirado. It is impossible to predict the extreme treatment that the Kaihan Army will take in Hirado. Way. Even the shogunate, who wanted to weaken the trade status of Hirado Port, probably never thought of erasing it from the map.
In the next few days, naval ships continued to transfer people from Hirado Island to the temporary resettlement site in Seogwipo Port on Jeju Island in batches. After receiving the order, Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaodong and other places have also begun to dispatch civilian ships to Jeju Island to perform population transfer tasks.
The Fuzhou Navy, which had obtained the authority to operate, finally had full room to display. Xu Yuzhuo led the fleet like a mad dog and launched a search along the northern coast of Kyushu Island, determined to find the Hirado Navy before the Haihan Army issued a withdrawal order. The main force of the army.
But this goal is not easy to achieve. The coastline in northern Kyushu is winding and winding, and there are many large and small offshore islands. There are many places where dozens or twenty warships can be hidden, and the Fujian Navy has An area is completely unfamiliar, and the search efficiency is not high. Moreover, Xu Yuzhuo did not dare to completely let down his guard and rush in. If he was ambushed by his opponent, it would really be a joke to the Haihan people.
The hard work paid off. After several days of searching, the Fujian Navy found traces of the enemy in a bay called Qiya Bay about 80 miles away from Hirado Port.
In fact, the reconnaissance ships dispatched by the East China Sea Fleet have arrived in this nearby area before, but because they are not familiar with the environment enough, they have never entered the depths of the Kataya Bay. Therefore, it is difficult to find Hirado hiding in a hidden port somewhere in the bay. Navy warship.
After realizing that Gyozo was exposed, the Hirado navy did not sit in the bay and wait to be beaten. Instead, they raised sails and anchors in a very short time and broke out of the bay in a battle formation. It can be seen that they have also been waiting for a beating. They are all on guard against their opponents suddenly knocking on their door.
Xu Yuzhuo obviously couldn't let the enemy slip away from his nose anymore, so he immediately ordered an all-out interception, and the warships of both sides launched a close fight on the sea at the entrance to the channel of Jiwu Bay.
In terms of equipment level and combat experience alone, the Fujian Navy undoubtedly has obvious advantages. In addition to some of the warships in the formation being purchased directly from Haihan, more than 70% of the naval guns equipped on the ships are It is provided by Haihan. In addition, the Fujian Navy has participated in various military operations carried out by Haihan overseas all year round. It has rich practical experience. The naval battle tactics used are also directly inherited from Haihan and can be fully utilized during the battle. The power of weapons and equipment.
However, the Fujian Navy was fighting on the road after all, and was completely unfamiliar with the environment here. This somewhat affected the performance of the Navy fleet during the battle. Although the opponent was discovered first, he did not have time to occupy the favorable terrain in advance to fight. He could only choose to engage in close combat with the enemy ship, which greatly reduced the advantages of weapons and equipment.
The main force of the navy commanded by Wei Zhi had been hiding here for many days with a lucky mentality, but in the end they still failed to escape the enemy's search. This also frustrated Wei Zhi's plan to preserve his strength. But the only thing that made him feel lucky was that the enemy fleet that caught up with him was carrying the banner of "Xu", and it was obviously the Xu family army from Fujian. Although it was menacing, it was not as desperate as the Haihan fleet.
Almost all the new warships built by the Hirado navy in recent years are here, and these warships are equipped with several cannons cast by the Hirado domain themselves. Although their combat performance is limited, their destructive power in close combat is also unparalleled. Neglect, so that it can gain something when it fires with the Fujian Navy.
One side wanted to block it desperately, while the other side wanted to break out of the encirclement. The two fleets began to pour firepower on each other without reservation at the moment of the battle. The roar of artillery kept echoing in the bay, and the knocked-out ship planks and Broken masts continued to scatter on the sea amidst the miserable cries of the sailors, making the combatants either feel blood boiling with murderous intent, or tremble and be at a loss. Various hidden aspects of human nature were exposed at the moment of life and death. Completely released.
This was not the first time that Xu Yuzhuo had experienced such a naval battle. A few years ago, when he was just the commander of the navy, he had a similar battle experience with Shiba Zhi who dominated the Fujian Strait at that time. However, at that time, neither the navy nor the opponent had such advanced warships equipped with multiple cannons. The two sides decided the winner through a relatively primitive boarding battle. Obviously, the fighting method at this moment is more intense and dangerous. The cannonball will ruthlessly harvest all lives on its path, and it will not change in any way because of his special identity. But this made Xu Yuzhuo very excited. He brought his fleet all the way to Hirado, wasn't it just to be able to complete such a life-and-death battle at sea?
By defeating the opponent in this way, Xu Yuzhuo can fully appreciate the sense of accomplishment that only belongs to the winner, instead of like before, he could only fight for the Haihan Army throughout the whole process, and won the war without even engaging the main force of the enemy. victory.
Xu Yuzhuo believed that it was only a victory for the coalition camp, not his personal achievement. The task of defeating the Eighteen Zhiyu Party must be completed by oneself, rather than once again relying on the hands of the Haihan people to achieve the goal. If he hadn't had such an obsession, he probably wouldn't have hurriedly brought the fleet back from Fukue Island.
Wei Zhi, who commanded the Hirado Navy, did not have the same ambition as Xu Yuzhuo. At least at this moment, he no longer dared to think about such an unrealistic goal as annihilating the enemy fleet. Escape from Jiwu Bay first was the first step. One priority.
Courage can support people to accomplish feats beyond their abilities, but it will also be slowly worn away by time and environment. After you give in for the first time, your courage will dissipate little by little.
When Wei Zhi was still a member of the Eighteen Zhi, he had already retreated once and did not stay in the south to share life and death with his companions. He had always told himself that he came to Hirado to endure the humiliation and bear the burden of revenge. As long as he was prepared, he would naturally have the opportunity to exact revenge on the Haihan people and the Fujian Xu family when the time came. But a few days ago, when he saw the densely packed enemy warships in Furue Bay, he involuntarily chose to retreat again. Later, when he learned that Shota Ishimura, who was sent to lure the enemy in the Hirado Strait, was almost wiped out, and even I'm a little glad that I made the decision to retreat.
Wei Zhi believed that his evacuation was to preserve his strength, allowing the Hirado clan to maintain a flexible maritime force, and after that, he successfully assisted some people to evacuate Hirado Island. His motives are understandable, but after retreating again and again, Wei Zhi has gradually lost the courage to fight his opponent. So when he saw the Fujian Navy coming to attack today, his first reaction was not to fight to the death with his opponent, but to fight to the death. Break out from Jiwuwan as soon as possible.
Surviving has unknowingly become Wei Zhi's combat goal. If he fights against a strong enemy with this mentality, he may be able to escape again and again with good luck, but it is absolutely impossible to defeat his opponent. .
Based on this mentality, the fighting spirit of the Hirado Navy comes more from the desire for survival, rather than from having a strong desire to fight like their opponents. When the purpose of fighting is to escape rather than win the battle, there is not much suspense about the outcome of the battle.
Although at the beginning of the battle between the two sides, the warships of the Hirado Navy were still able to deal a certain effective blow to the Fujian Navy, but the battle soon began to favor the side with stronger strength and more determined fighting will.
Objectively speaking, the gap between the two sides in weapons and equipment is not so large that it is insurmountable, but the gap in the technical and tactical levels of the combatants is obviously larger. The Fujian Navy, which has a lot of actual combat experience, can calmly fight under heavy artillery fire. Maintain the intensity of firepower output in the environment, and many sailors of the Hirado Navy have never experienced such a big scene. In the rush, the combat efficiency will inevitably be reduced a lot.
In order to prevent the Hirado navy from escaping, the naval warships, which originally had the advantage of equipment, did not hesitate to use collision to complete the interception. Then, under the cover of the cannon shells, the sailors used the ancient method of jumping gangs to close the enemy. Fighting at a distance.
Although this crude combat method is not efficient, it can fully stimulate the combat potential of the soldiers. Face-to-face fighting is ultimately much more exciting than a firearms exchange twenty or thirty feet away.
When more than ten warships from both sides collided at the entrance and exit of Jiwu Bay, which was less than a mile wide, the channel leaving the bay was blocked. Even if Wei Zhi wanted to escape, he couldn't let Captain Zhan take out his wings and fly out of Qiwu Bay.
The only thing he should do now is to give up the idea of escape, lead his men to fight to the death with the Fujian Navy, and maybe fight with a glimmer of hope.
But unfortunately, something has slowly developed inertia in Wei Zhi's mind, affecting his judgment of the situation. When he found that he could no longer escape from the sea, the first response strategy he thought of was not how to open the blocked channel. Instead, he gave up escaping from the sea and instead chose to land on the shore, trying to abandon the fleet. in exchange for a chance to escape.
But his intention was soon discovered by Xu Yuzhuo, who was experienced in combat. Xu Yuzhuo had been paying attention to this warship flying the signal flag to command the Hirado navy for a long time. He judged that the enemy's commander should be on this ship. Seeing that the other side was showing signs of leaving the battlefield, Xu Yuzhuo immediately commanded his flagship and another warship to quickly outflank the warship, sandwiching the warship trying to leave the battlefield, and then violently bombarded it with full firepower.
Although the ship was also trying to fight back, after taking more than a dozen shells in succession, obvious water leaks appeared in the belly of the ship. The hull began to slowly tilt and sink, and finally ran aground on a shoal less than a hundred feet away from the coast. . At this time, the kerosene bombs thrown from the navy warship had ignited the upper deck of the ship. The wind helped the fire, and soon the stranded warship turned into a large fire.
(End of chapter)