Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 698 Retreat
Nagasaki Port, located in the west of Kyushu Island, is the most prosperous port city in Japan. Every day, a large number of fishing boats go out to sea and bring back boatloads of seafood. Every day, a large number of merchant ships carry fruits, rice, swords, copper ingots, etc. produced in Japan. Sulfur, calico, swords and other goods sailed out of the port, heading for North Korea, China, Vietnam, Southeast Asia and other countries. Similarly, a large number of ships from foreign countries entered the port every day.The fleet from China brought silk, porcelain, and tea; the fleet from the West brought muskets, cannons, and glass products. The pirates under Zheng Zhilong’s banner ran to Nagasaki City in droves to find flower girls, and the Western missionaries were full of excitement. Go ashore, walk into a simple church and start preaching... All in all, the entire port of Nagasaki is an important base for cultural exchanges between the East and the West.Of course, this prosperous land is not ownerless. How could the Tokugawa shogunate let go of this fat piece of meat overflowing with grease?From the day the Tokugawa shogunate was established, Nagasaki Port has been firmly in their hands, and the customs taxes collected every year have made the shogunate full of fat.

But now, this prosperous treasure land has turned into a purgatory!

Purgatory indeed.Yang Menglong led his fleet and his snowballing army to outflank both land and sea, and began the seven-day offensive and defense of Nagasaki.Now even Yang Menglong himself doesn't know how many troops he has. Anyway, from the fort outside Nagasaki to the sea, the land and sea are covered with clouds, and you can't see the end in the east and the end in the west.Along the way, people kept volunteering to join his army. Apart from the Japanese, there were also the pirates of the Ming Dynasty who were in the Sea of ​​Japan, the Koreans who came here after hearing the news, and the Portuguese sailors who were struggling to make a living in Japan. When the miscellaneous soldiers spoke Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean loudly, the noise suppressed the roar of the tide, and the Japanese soldiers on the city wall couldn't hear their mouths talking to their ears clearly.There were only [-] shogunate troops in Nagasaki City, and they were all terrified to see such a terrifying scene.But it's useless to be timid, Yang Menglong will not let them go just because they are afraid.

Alfonso looked at Nagasaki City, frowned and asked, "Do you really want to destroy Nagasaki?"

Yang Menglong asked: "Why, have you softened your heart?"

Alfonso said: "No, we have caught enough young men. During this period, more than [-] Japanese young men have been escorted to Formosa. There is no need to continue the beating, right? Nagasaki is an excellent port, wouldn’t it be better to continue doing business with Japan?”

Yang Menglong snorted: "You have fished enough, but I haven't fished enough yet! I need a lot of manpower to develop the coal and iron mines in Shandong. I need a lot of manpower to go to Qiongzhou to cut down the bushes, drain the swamps and reclaim farmland. I need a lot of manpower. Go to Hunan and Hubei to build roads... In a word, I need a lot more people than you!"

This guy was determined to fight, and Alfonso had no choice but to mourn for Nagasaki for three seconds in his heart.

Yang Menglong sent a well-known little feudal lord into Nagasaki to convey his order: Surrender within one day, or turn Nagasaki city into a sea of ​​flames!
Then, the head of the little feudal lord was chopped off and hung on the city gate.

Now there is no room for relaxation. With Yang Menglong's order, the Transformers fleet has a total of 48 naval guns, 85 120mm howitzers for the Denglai New Army and labor camps, 32 10,000mm long-barreled mortars, and 300 guns. Two rocket launchers, plus [-] ship-borne rocket launchers installed on the armed transport ship fired at the same time, the Nagasaki Port defenders unfortunately tasted the most violent artillery fire ever.The landslide-like artillery sound and continuous rocket screams, the continuous explosion flashes and deafening explosion roars broke the hearts of the Nagasaki defenders, and the cries of [-]+ civilians shook the sky The ground was shaking, running wildly, shells rained into the city, and almost every shot was filled with blood and flesh.The Japanese army used all their cannons to fight back, but as soon as they fired, the bombs smashed into pieces. The front-loaded smoothbore gun with an effective range of less than [-] meters met the rear-loaded rifled gun with an effective range of one kilometer. It was expected to be hanged. things.

In just one day, all the forts on the outskirts of Nagasaki Port were destroyed, hundreds of bombs fell in the city, and countless civilians were killed or injured.

After using artillery fire to riddled Nagasaki City, Yang Menglong ordered his motley army to launch a fierce attack on Nagasaki City.European sailors, Korean pirates, and Japanese ronin rushed towards Nagasaki City with messy weapons, and climbed up the city wall like a bunch of ants.Although the Japanese army was beaten out of their souls by the terrible artillery fire, they still clenched their teeth and endured at the critical moment of life and death. Their bows, arrows and muskets were fully fired. Bullets rained from the city wall, and sharp arrows blocked the air. Japanese civilians also rushed to the city wall to help in the battle. Throw rocks at the cannon fodder attacking the city, or pour down pots of boiling oil. The cannon fodder that was hit will fall down in clusters, and the dead bodies will soon accumulate in a thick layer under the city wall.However, the fanaticism of this group of cannon fodder far exceeded the imagination of the Nagasaki Port defenders. After their first charge was repulsed, they immediately launched a second charge without taking a break. If they failed the second time, they would do it again. Like a rising tide.The defenders of Nagasaki Port fought hard, and there were piles of dead bodies above and below the city, and blood flowed like rivers.

The Denglai New Army and the archers of the labor camp were not idle either. They advanced to a place only 50 meters away from the city wall and fired at the Japanese army on the city wall with their crossbows, suppressing the Japanese firepower and covering the cannon fodder to attack the city.In just three days, they shot all the 30 crossbow bolts brought in by the big ship. Every battlement of Nagasaki City was so densely nailed with crossbow bolts that all those who shot up behind were caught.With the help of the Ming army, the cannon fodder finally occupied a section of the city wall after three days of hard work, and the Japanese army was beaten back after several counterattacks.

After occupying that part of the city wall, Yang Menglong did not take advantage of the victory to pursue it, but ordered the cannon fodder to consolidate the occupied city wall. The engineers and soldiers of the Denglai New Army swaggered past. Dongdong dug fiercely against the city wall.First, they dug a small hole, stuffed it with a small bag of picric acid explosives, and exploded the city bricks, then pried them off with an iron drill, dug out a bigger hole, and then exploded... After tossing for a long time, they succeeded in breaking the bricks on that section of the city wall. Three holes the size of the Eight Immortals Table were made, and hundreds of catties of picric acid were fed into each hole.Almost ready, with an order, the cannon fodder who were fighting hard on the city wall retreated, and Japan took the opportunity to regain this section of the city wall.

Then, when the Japanese army raised their knives and cheered on the recovered position, a thunderous violent bang cracked the ground, and the entire 30-meter-long city wall turned into an erupting volcano. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers were wrapped in broken Flying into the air amidst the bricks of the city... The soldiers and civilians in Nagasaki Port thought it was an earthquake, they knelt on the ground in fear and kowtowed violently, praying for the blessings of the gods and Buddhas in the sky, and forgiving their crimes. There was a 30-meter-long gap in the originally solid city wall. The cavalry of the Ming army rushed in against the falling rocks and choking smoke, and behind them were thousands of cannon fodder with bloody eyes and swords screaming...

The end of Nagasaki has come.

The composition of the cannon fodder is very complicated. There are Japanese samurai who were defeated and captured, some Japanese young men who were captured and captured after the city was destroyed, some Japanese farmers who voluntarily joined, and some were originally weak and humble but full of ambitions. Small feudal lords who made a lot of money during the invasion, bankrupt sailors, pirates, etc. The composition of this group of guys is extremely complicated, but they have one thing in common, that is... poor!

What would happen if a group of poor guys rushed into a bustling big city with open fire?I can think of it with my knees.Killing, looting, arson, these atrocities spread like a plague, figures were distorted in the raging flames, wild laughter and mournful cries became the main theme of the city.

Yang Menglong expressed his helplessness. As soon as the gang rushed into the city, they immediately lost control and no one could stop them.Besides, he still has to rely on this to maintain the morale of these cannon fodders. Even if he wants to stop it, I'm afraid Yuan Zongdi and Colonel Metz won't agree.

Just when the burning, killing and looting in Nagasaki City was at its climax, a sea boat came across the sea. Wu Yong jumped off the boat, and under the guidance of Denglai's new army officers and soldiers, he stumbled and ran to Yang Menglong, beating him all the way. He yelled: "Xiao Shuai Yang, it's not good, something serious happened!"

Yang Menglong frowned, and supported the old man to prevent him from walking without looking at the road and falling down. He waited for him to catch his breath before asking: "What's the matter?"

Wu Yong lowered his voice and said, "Jiannu! There is a change in Jiannu!"

Yang Menglong was taken aback. Although the situation in Liaodong has improved, it is still relatively fragile. It has been relying on Denglai's new army of [-] elite soldiers and Transformers. Later Jin dared not act rashly. Now Denglai Half of the new army's strength and the four main warships of the Transformers fleet were all transferred to Japan. Hou Jin jumped out to make trouble at this time, which is really not an ordinary trouble!He glanced left and right, and said in a low voice, "Go, go to the tent of the Chinese army!" He took Wu Yong into the tent of the Chinese army in a hurry, ordered the guards to strictly guard against anyone approaching, and poured a cup of tea for Wu Yong. , and then asked: "What happened to Jiannu?"

Wu Yong said: "According to reports from Dongjiang town spies, the transfer of slaves in the direction of Yingkou was extremely frequent. The Zhengbai Banner, Xiangbai Banner, and Xianghuang Banner all converged to Yingkou, and deep ruts were also found on the road. Next, Li Zongbing thinks that Jiannu intends to send troops to the Liaodong Peninsula again, so he has urgently appealed to the imperial court!"

Although Dongjiang Town has regained its vitality at this time, it is far from reaching the level that can compete with Houjin head-on in terms of psychology and strength. If Houjin really wants to use the huge force of the three banners to attack Lushun, they still can't stop them in all likelihood.In the past, when Lushun was lost, it was lost. A piece of land with a small population was nothing to be regretted, but now it is different!Fuzhou Salt Farm and Dalian Fishing Farm have been operated on a considerable scale. The fresh sea fish and white sea salt have made the Dongjiang army make a lot of money every day. Attracted a large number of landless farmers from Shandong and Hebei to farm and reclaim wasteland. There are as many as 15 Han Chinese engaged in drying salt, fishing, farming, and planting fruit trees in the Liaodong Peninsula. If the Dongjiang Army can’t stand it, these 10,000+ people will either be slaughtered If they are empty, they will either be looted and become Houjin's coated slaves to replenish a large number of young men for the lack of human resources, and the results of several bloody battles between the Heluo New Army and the Tianxiong Army will be ruined.Yang Menglong frowned more and more, and asked: "Jiannu has the intention to attack Lushun? What is the basis for Li Zongbing to make such a judgment?"

Wu Yong said: "The basis is that since the fall of the Eight Great Merchants of Shanxi, the channels for Jiannu to obtain salt, cloth, tea, grain, steel, gunpowder and other materials have been cut off, and the price of goods in Shenyang has skyrocketed, especially the price of food. Nine taels of silver is one stone of brown rice. Coupled with the severe drought in southern Liaoning and western Liaoning, the rice fields and wheat fields cultivated by Jiannu have lost their harvests. The slaves must wage a war to obtain enough supplies for the winter, and Lushun is their best choice!"

Yang Menglong remained silent.

Wu Yong was in a hurry, and said: "Xiao Shuai Yang, don't hesitate anymore, withdraw your troops quickly! There will be opportunities in the future if you want to attack Japan, but if you let Jiannu invade Lushun, it will be troublesome, and it will cost 10,000+ lives!" He added. He said in a calm tone: "Besides, when you send troops to attack Japan, the DPRK and China are already talking about it, and many ministers are against it. If Lushun makes a mistake, you and the emperor will be drowned in saliva!"

Yang Menglong gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, withdraw the troops! Damn it!"

On November [-], after the Ming army captured Nagasaki, they suddenly boarded and retreated with tens of thousands of captured young and strong people and property. The island was returned to Japan.When Tokugawa Iemitsu led [-] cavalrymen to Nagasaki day and night, all they saw were ruins. They didn't even know that the Ming army had withdrawn, and they continued to kill and set fire to Japanese samurai.The shogunate army wiped out these drunk guys without any effort, beheading more than a thousand people and winning a big victory.

However, such a victory was not what Tokugawa Iemitsu wanted.Half of Nagasaki's population was either killed or robbed, and the port was razed to the ground. In addition to Kagoshima, Hagigi, Kumamoto, Osumi and other cities, the number of Japanese casualties and prisoners in this battle exceeded 20. Most of them were young and strong, and such losses were enough to bring the southwestern vassals to their knees.However, the shogunate mobilized tens of thousands of troops and spent hundreds of millions of money on thousands of miles of expeditions, but did not even touch the hairs of the Ming army. How reconciled he was to such a result!

In anger, Tokugawa Iemitsu rushed into the sea, slashed wildly at the sea with his samurai sword, and roared while chopping like crazy.

In fact, there is no need to be angry, he still has many opportunities to compete with Yang Menglong in the future.

(End of this chapter)