Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 276 The Shogun's Navy Hit the Iron Plate
After capturing Nishiuraga, Beihai Town did not cross the sea to attack Higashiuraga, but took part of the captured prisoners and withdrew them all to Pinggen Mountain, and began to dig trenches nearby and set up a circular defensive position.

At this time, the owners and fishermen of the whale cutting field had already run away, so Pan Xiucheng set up the headquarters here.He released the guard posts 2 kilometers away, on the north, south and west sides, and arranged fixed guard patrols on the beach in the east.

As the platoon leader, Monk Zhou didn’t know that his impromptu act of “cracking down on local tyrants and dividing up the fields” in the Imperial Palace was later recognized by the shogunate as a plunder by the “Northern Navy” due to the cunning of the farmers in the island country and recorded in the case.However, the shogunate did not dare to pursue Beihai Town after that, so it was not until many years later that the true face of the incident was clarified because the peasants involved drank too much and told the truth.

After leaving two bases of ammunition and three days of food supplies for Pan Xiucheng's troops, the Raytheon lifted anchor at ten o'clock the next morning and sailed into Edo Bay.

At this time, the Tokugawa shogunate, which had received news of Beihai Town's invasion, dispatched its navy overnight.By the time the Thunder God entered Edo Bay, hundreds of small morning boats and a dozen Guan boats had spread all over the ocean of Edo Bay.In addition to the Guan Ship and the Early Ship, more than a dozen biancai ships trapped in Kanagawa and Edo were also requisitioned by the shogunate navy.

The water army of the Tokugawa shogunate was born out of the Takeda water army in the Warring States Period. It was called the "boat hand group". It was founded in the ninth year of Kanyong (1632) and was responsible for managing warships and maritime transportation.The official in charge is called "Mifune Hand Pursuit", also known as General Supervisor, and has been inherited by the Mukai family for generations.

It is said that the most famous secret skill of Mukai's family is "swimming technique", which is learned by all the navy from all over the shogunate.Whether it is useful in war or not is another matter, at least diving to escape will not drown you.

The current generation of Mukai Shogun is the seventh generation, named Mukai Masaka.

"Yuan Shou Fu Xing" consists of five teams, and each team has a team leader with the same position as Ruo Nian Ji, with an annual salary of 40 shi.There are more than 100 to [-] people in the water master Tongxin (Qi Ben), and sometimes there are about [-] people, with an annual salary of [-] bags of rice and two people supporting them.

Like other shogunate officials, Mifune Tetsuko is also in two groups, each group only works for half a year, and the other will take turns in the second half of the year.The navy of the Tokugawa shogunate is mainly responsible for the coastal land route from Edo to Osaka to Kyushu, as well as the coastal patrols of Xikaido and Sanyodo.

Because Zhao Xin bombarded Nagasaki the year before last, the financially troubled shogunate transferred half of the Mukai Sui Army based in Ejiri to Edo, stationed in Uraga, to strengthen the shogunate's coastal defense forces in Edo Bay.

Masaka Mukai, who was standing on a five-hundred-stone ship, was wearing a bright full-foot armor, holding up a binoculars to observe the Thunder God in the distance.

It wasn't until this moment that Mukai Masaka was shocked to find that Tang Yi's big white boat had no sails!He tried to figure out what such a huge ship was relying on to move, but because the Thunder God was too big, after watching it for a while, he noticed that there seemed to be white smoke coming out of the "castle tower" on the top of the ship.

After all, the world of the island country has been in peace for almost 200 years, and the current shogunate navy has degenerated to the point where it is not even as good as the Warring States period.The combat techniques are nothing more than iron bombardment, rocket shooting, or walking on a fire boat, or sending people into the water to dig the boat.

The Guan ships are all equipped with super-large matchlock guns with a caliber of 30-40 mm. This thing is full of firepower, and it may not sink a Nanjing ship with a thousand shi After fighting for two days, the Nanjing ship did not sink until it finally set fire to itself), let alone deal with the super-large Thor.

So Mukai Masaka decided that all the ships under his command should be arranged in a trapezoidal formation to meet the enemy, with the main Guan and Biancai ships in the formation, and a large number of small early ships distributed on the front, rear, left, and right wings.

To sum up Mukai Masaka's strategy in one word, he does not seek to annihilate the enemy in Edo Bay, but only seeks to scare the opponent away with more people and more boats.

Of course Zhao Xin will not be scared away.When he saw the shogunate navy set up a formation to intercept, he came to the deck and ordered the eight M2HBs on the left and right sides to remove the gun jackets and install ammunition, ready to shoot.

In order to prevent the enemy from attacking close to the bow and stern of the ship, more than 30 PKM machine guns in each squad under Jiuzang were divided into four groups, which were specially responsible for defending the stern and bow.

Because of Beihai Town's aggression against Nishiuraga yesterday, the shogunate no longer had to worry about it, so when the Thor came within 1000 meters of the shogunate navy's closing ship, the dozens of cannons erected on the closing ship and the debate ship, Do not!It is a large arquebus and start shooting together.

"My God! What are they using?" At the bow of the Thunder God, an observer from Beihai Town held a telescope and saw spearheads that reflected metal light inserted into the gun barrels of the other ship. , shouted in surprise.

"Get down!" As the observer lay down with his head in his arms, more than two dozen machine gunners and deputy machine gunners who hadn't received the firing order also hurriedly crouched on the deck.

"Boom! Boom!"

Gunpowder smoke filled the dozens of closed ships, and thick metal arrows flew across the sea, some fell into the water, and some hit the Thor's bow.

Only a few muffled "dong dong dong" sounds were heard, and the thick fire arrow was immediately bounced and fell into the sea.

"Iron plate!" The samurai and ashigaru on the warship were all dumbfounded!

"My lord, is this ship all made of iron!"

"Impossible!" Masaka Mukai was stunned for a long while before shaking his head.

What a joke!If a ship is made of iron, it will not sink to the bottom of the sea.

"They must have covered the hull with a layer of iron!" Mukai Masaka thought that such a big boat is actually covered with iron armor, how much iron it takes!
Yes, they must have covered the bow with only one layer of iron, and the rest was wood.No wonder the other party wanted to paint the whole body of the boat white, it turned out to be a deception!

He immediately ordered to his subordinates: "Two wings separate and advance, prepare to outflank, set fire to the ship to meet the enemy!"

After receiving orders from Mr. Feng Xing, more than [-] small morning boats filled with firewood and sprinkled with whale oil set off for the Thunder God.With the north wind blowing on the sea right now, it is just right for the fire boat to meet the enemy!
When Zhao Xin learned that the other party had sent more than 20 fully loaded boats, he guessed that it should be a fire boat, so he gave the order to attack.

As more than a dozen machine guns began to shoot at the sailors on the fire boat, the shogunate sailors on board were shot and fell into the water.However, most of the people still struggled to ignite the fire boat before they died, and rushed towards the bow of the Thunder God with the wind.

"Water cannon ready!"

"coming!"

Following the order of the boatswain of the Thunder God, the two fire-fighting high-pressure water cannons installed on both sides of the bow started.As two jets of water sprayed out from the bow of the ship, those early boats that were on fire were extinguished one after another, and then washed aside by the high-speed water.

At this time, Mukai Masaka's mouth was big enough to stuff a duck egg into, and the shogunate sailors on each ship were all ashen-faced.

The shogunate navy, who did not dare to fail, took the next step, and the early ships that lined up on both sides of the Guan ship began to advance to the sides of the Thunder God.The sailors on board rowed hard, trying to surround the Thor.

Beihai Town would not give them such an opportunity. When hundreds of early boats split into two columns and entered the sides of Thor, eight M2HBs opened fire.

In the dense rain of bullets, the flimsy little early ship was smashed to pieces, whether it was the samurai behind the plank or the sailors rowing the boat, as long as they were shot, they would be bloody and bloody.

Before a sailor had time to react, blood was splashed all over his face, and half of a steaming broken arm flew into his arms. He was so frightened that he threw away his oars, and while yelling, pulled the severed arm into the water. inside.

Ding Guofeng in the cockpit was very itchy at this moment, but as the captain, he could not leave his post without authorization.This fellow is holding on to the rudder, and at hand is his HK416A7 with a variable magnification mirror.He looked at the rifle several times, suppressing the urge to rush to the compass deck.Beside him, the two crew members watched the navigation radar intently, telling Ding Guofeng to adjust the course at any time.

"Quick! Row quickly! Don't stop! Get around behind the white boat!" The people on the early boat saw that the front could not be moved, and the side could not be approached, so they tried their best to go around the back of the Thunder God, trying to find a weak point to attack.

"Don't shoot! Wait until they get close!"

At the stern of the Thunder God, a few soldiers in charge of observation squatted on the stairs or on the side of the ship. When they saw more than a dozen early boats rushing out of the hail of bullets around the sides of the stern, they vigorously waved the small flags in their hands.Jiuzang, who was in charge of the command, immediately blew his whistle.

"Da-da-da! Da-da-da!"

More than a dozen PKMs began to shoot at the targets on the early boat.At the same time, several fire-fighting high-pressure water cannons at the stern of the boat sprayed head-on and face-to-face at the approaching Xiaozao boat. The warrior on the Xiaozao boat was about to aim the iron gun when he saw a white water column hit in front of him. The samurai was thrown back a somersault, and fell into the water holding the iron cannon.

Seeing that the big white ship was like a solid moving castle, unable to move forward, backward, left, or right, the sailors of the shogunate were completely desperate.

"It's over, let's run!"

"This is not a human thing, this is a sea monster!"

"How could this happen!" Looking at the bloody fire in front of him and hearing the desperate howls from the surrounding ships, Mukai Masaka couldn't help but burst into tears. He knelt down on the deck and first bowed in the direction of Edo Castle to salute. Then he looked at the men on the boat.

"My lord! This is you." The subordinate Tong Xin seemed to understand what the boss was going to do.

Mukai Masaka said to the crowd in grief and indignation: "This war is not a crime of war, it is God who has not blessed us! I have no words to face the public, and I can only die to apologize! Who wants to drive a boat with me to hit the enemy! "

As soon as the words fell, more than 30 Tongxin and other sailors on the deck stood up to respond.

"Count me in!"

"And I!"

It is said that the Tokugawa family has supported soldiers for 200 years. Although the military equipment is getting worse and worse, there are still many generous people.After all, at most the first half of the year works, the annual salary is paid, and the country also pays a salary of more than [-] square meters in Dabieye, which is difficult to meet in another time and space.

Mukai Masaka knew that even if she fled back to Edo, what was waiting for her would be death, and it would harm her family.Mifunete Fushin has always been hereditary in the Mukai family. If he apologizes and commits suicide or dies in battle, his son can smoothly inherit the family business.

As for what the shogunate navy will become in the future, he can't care about that now.

At this time, some warriors on the deck imitated the tone of Yang Shen in the Ming Dynasty, and said loudly, "The country has supported the soldiers for 180 years, and they are loyal to the country. Today!" The heart of the same hatred and hatred.

Seeing other large ships fleeing westward one after another, when only one Guan boat was rushing towards him 500 meters away, Ding Guofeng in the cockpit immediately increased the speed of the ship to avoid it; There was a dense rain of bullets.

A 0.50 caliber armor-piercing incendiary bomb hit the Guan ship, and a fire soon ignited.Mukai Masaka, who was standing at the bow of the ship and directing the shooting, was quickly hit by several bullets because the armor was so eye-catching, and was blown into a pile of minced meat in the fire.

Seeing that the main general died in battle, the sailors and Tongxin on the Guan ship had no intention of fighting again.At this time, the secret swimming skills of the Mukai family finally came into use. These people jumped into the water one after another, followed the half-body breaststroke strokes, and swam towards the other fleeing ships.
The blocking battle of the shogunate navy ended in less than an hour.The Thor then sailed east and dropped anchor three kilometers from Shinagawa Beach.

After the UAV detected the shogunate defense position on Shinagawa Beach, Zhao Xin made some calculations, and then issued the shooting parameters to the gunners of the two D30s, and started shelling.

The samurai of the Tokugawa family soon understood why the great white ship was called "Thor".Whether it was the Ieyasu cannon, the bronze franc machine, or the big bells transported from the monastery, they all flew into the air with the explosions of flames, and then smashed heavily into the fleeing crowd; The coastal defense force soon suffered heavy casualties.

When rescuers arrived after the incident, more than a dozen black and white bomb craters were scattered on the defensive position of Shinagawa Beach, and there were stumps and broken arms everywhere, which was horrible.

When the sound of rumbling guns spread to Edo Castle like thunder, all the towns in the city were in chaos. Countless townspeople went home and wrapped their household belongings with cloth, or pulled carts, or carried hands on their shoulders, helping the old and the young. Fleeing to Ueno; from Nihombashi to Kyobashi, crowds of refugees were crowded inside and outside the gates of various towns.On the channel of the Sumida River, fishing boats of all sizes lined up in a long line, and all of them were people who had fled.

Tongxin, Muming and the town officials who were in charge of suppressing the unrest of the civilians could not stop the torrent of refugees in front of them, so they could only dodge to the side of the road, allowing these people to break through the fence and flee to Ueno screaming all the way.

In the Hitotsubashiden mansion under the imperial castle, the 13-year-old Tokugawa family sat on the main seat, weeping and said to the head of the imperial family and imperial family in front of him: "The bones of the imperial palace are not yet cold, and now Tang Yi is bombarding Shinagawa again. What is your strategy?"

Although Tokugawa Iezai was asking the six people present, his eyes kept looking at his biological father, Tokugawa Jisuke.

Perhaps because he felt that his time was running out, the 58-year-old Tokugawa Harasada, the Patriarch of the Kishu Clan, sighed and said, "General, I think it's better to agree to Tang Yi's request first."

Seeing that someone finally came out as a scapegoat, Tokugawa Jiji also said: "Send someone to negotiate with Tang Yi first, so that they stop bombarding Edo."

"And then?" The Tokugawa family looked at their biological father eagerly.

"General, I implore Ji Yihou to come forward to negotiate with Tang Yi on behalf of the shogunate. As for the location, choose the accommodation in Kanagawa. It is far away from Edo. After the white ship passed by, those merchant ships that were blocked in Yokohama and Shangzong Traffic can also be resumed, and the hearts of the people in the city can be assured."

Tokugawa Harasada glanced at Tokugawa Jiji at this time, and said in his heart that if he did not take revenge, he would not be a gentleman, and this Liang Zi was settled.

Tokugawa Jiaqi asked again: "How to calm down the chaos in the city?"

Tokugawa Jiji said: "Let Shirakawa Marquis come forward and lead the officials of the two towns of the north and the south to appease the people and quell the turmoil."

Tokugawa Jiaqi looked at Tokugawa Harasada, then at his father, seeing that the other patriarchs of the feudal lords did not speak, so he nodded and said, "That's it, at the request of Marquis Kii."

After the bigwigs reached an agreement, the actions of the shogunate began quickly.

First, Uraga Makoto, who ran back to Edo Castle, took people out to sea, held a white flag to appeal to the Thunder God, and informed the shogunate that they agreed to start negotiations on the agreement proposed by Zhao Xin. The place was set in Yokohama Village near Kanagawa. .

Then, Sadanobu Matsudaira sat in the Edo Kitamachi Magistrate's Office, and sent people to the streets to distribute notices. At the same time, he sent a large number of people to Ueno to inform the white ships that they would evacuate tomorrow, and discourage those fleeing people from returning to the city as soon as possible.

After such a toss, the turmoil in Edo Castle finally subsided until the Thunder God left the next morning.

　Note: According to the family tree of the Mukai family, the Mukai family came from the Ashikaga lineage of the Kiyowa Genji family. Because of his military exploits, he was granted the fief of Xiangzhuang in the Iga Kingdom by the general Ashikaga Yoshichi, so the Miao character was changed to Mukai.After that, the Mukai family was involved in the dispute between the general Ashikaga Yoshinaka and the Kamakura government, the Ashikaga family. road.In the Warring States period, the Mukai family joined the Kitabata family, the Imagawa family and the Takeda family successively.After the Battle of Nagashino, the desperate Mukai family joined Tokugawa Ieyasu, and has since become the first of the four generals of the Tokugawa family's navy (the other three are Abe Zenkuro Masakatsu, Honda Yataro Masanobu, Okubo Shinjuro Zhongtai).

　　
　
(End of this chapter)