Daming: I help my wife be the empress

Chapter 751 The ship passed Yokohama, the general was critically ill

Kenjiro looked up, and sure enough, he saw a large group of sails and shadows of black ships appearing on the sea in the distance.

Unlike his little-knowledgeable nephew, he has lived at sea for 20 years, and he can tell at a glance that those boats are unusually big, and most of them are bigger than the Hongyi galleons he saw when he was young!

But the most eye-catching thing is that there are dozens of black and thick smoke columns in the cloud-like sails.

This made Kenjiro unable to understand.

'Could it be that other barbarians' big ships were still fighting at sea and set the ship ablaze? '

Although he was very curious about what was going on, Kenjiro didn't intend to stay here and wait and see, but greeted: "The barbarian's boat is coming, quickly collect the net and go back!"

The other fishermen on this sea also gathered their nets and drove their fishing boats back to the shore.

At the same time, Hideyori Kimura, the Japanese military attache in Yokohama, also noticed the fleet on the sea.

After watching for a while, he was shocked.

Since General Tokugawa ordered the country to be locked down more than ten years ago, Japan has only traded with Ming Dynasty, North Korea, and the Netherlands in Nagasaki.Since then, few sailing ships have come to Edo.

As for the warships of the shogunate, they were much smaller than these ships.

Before that, he had not received an order saying that a foreign galleon was going to pass through Yokohama.

So many galleons came uninvited, most likely with no good intentions.

With this speculation, Kimura Hideyori did not dare to delay, so he quickly recruited a confidant samurai and hurriedly ordered.

"Quick! Hurry up and go to Edo and tell the general that there are dozens of barbarian galleons breaking into Edo Bay!"

"Roms!"

The samurai responded, took the command flag, rode on a horse, and left Yokohama towards Edo.

The Japanese horses at this time were not the oriental horses of the later generations, they were very short, and if they were tall like Yan Yingyuan's, they would have to drag their feet on the ground.

Fortunately, most of the Japanese samurai at this time were short, and those over 1.6 meters were rare, so riding a pony was just right.

Kimura Hideyori sent a messenger, and then took a group of samurai to the port to watch.

It didn't take more than a quarter of an hour to find out that those galleons that looked far away before had already approached the sea due east of Yokohama.

At the same time, he also saw clearly the appearance of these large sailing ships.

"Oh my god..."

For a moment, Kimura Hideyori and the samurai around him couldn't help but widen their eyes and mouths, their faces full of horror.

After finally regaining consciousness, the samurai began to chatter in low voices——

"What a big boat! I've never seen such a big boat in my life!"

"I once saw Hongyi's warship in Nagasaki. I thought it was the largest ship in the world. I didn't expect to see a bigger one today!"

"Look, those jet-black boats actually reflect the sunlight, as if they were coated with a layer of iron?"

"It's just a layer of iron armor, and it's fine iron! I promise in the name of my blacksmith grandfather, I will never admit my mistake!"

"Can ironclad ships float on the sea?!"

"···"

Unlike the samurai behind him, Hideyori Kimura, who was the bannerman, first paid attention to the flags on those black monster ships.

Although he was still a little far away, he could vaguely see that the flags seemed to be Chinese characters!

And the largest one, the Sun Moon Red Banner, allowed Kimura Hideyori to completely determine where these strange ships came from.

"Da Ming is a warship of the Ming Kingdom..."

Thinking of something, Kimura Hideyori's voice trembled.

···
Edo.

It was first named after the rule of the powerful Edo clan. Since Ogiya Uesugi's retainer Ota Michikan built the castle here, it has become a strategic location in the Kanto region.

However, it became the political center of Japan after Tokugawa Ieyasu became the general who conquered barbarians and established the shogunate.

Today, Edo has been the ruling center of the Tokugawa shogunate for about 50 years, and the urban development has reached a considerable scale.

Shitamachi (similar to a castle) as a slum area, and "Yama no Te" as an aristocratic area have both taken shape.

In Shitamachi, many small merchants and handicraftsmen are looking for a living, and there are also some low-level samurai and ronin who have lost their masters. It seems to be prosperous.

At the port, the Hishigaki return ship and Taru return ship, which have the characteristics of Japanese shipping at this time, are moored in hundreds, or go in and out, transporting various goods to Edo, a city with a population of 40 to [-] .

In the inner city, the daimyo, banners, and imperial family directly belonging to the Tokugawa family lived in distinctive and elegant wooden houses, served by their servants and guarded by many samurai, and lived quite comfortably. .

In fact, after Tokugawa Ieyasu, experienced the governance of Tokugawa Hidetada and Tokugawa Iemitsu. Now the Tokugawa shogunate’s rule in Japan has not only stabilized, but its power has also been greater than that of Tokugawa Ieyasu. stretching.

In this way, from the daimyo down to the people in the countryside, the war-torn period before the day intersected was naturally much better.

However, the atmosphere of the Tokugawa shogunate in this bustling Edo city was quite tense, even a little sad.

Because the current patriarch, Tokugawa Iemitsu, has been bedridden for several months, and the stones are difficult to cure. He is drowsy every day, and has very little time to wake up, almost on the verge of death.

The worst thing is that Takechiyo Tokugawa Ietsuna is only ten years old now, and it seems difficult to take on the important task of conquering the barbarians.

In the outer hall of the general's mansion, the gray-haired, short and thin elder Sakai Tadakatsu walked back and forth with his brows tightly wrapped.

Because a famous doctor invited from Nagoya is treating Tokugawa Iemitsu today, if this person can't do it, Tokugawa Iemitsu may not have much hope of surviving.

After an unknown amount of time, the doctor finally came out and came to the outer hall.

Tadakatsu Sakai went up to meet him and asked, "How is the general's condition?"

The doctor frowned, shook his head and said: "The disease is terminal, and the gods can't save it."

Although he had expected it, Tadakatsu Sakai's heart still sank when he heard this answer.

Then he looked around, leaned into the doctor's ear, and asked in a low voice, "Then how long do you think the general will live?"

Talking about this kind of thing, even if this doctor is very famous and a guest of many big names, he is very nervous at this time.

He lowered his voice, raised a finger and said, "I'm afraid it won't last a month."

After speaking, the doctor took his leave and went back to his residence in the shogunate.

Sakai Tadakatsu pondered for a while, then returned to his usual place where he handles government affairs.Not long after sitting down, the family hurried in as soon as they opened the door.

"Boss, Yokohama Kimura Hideyori quickly sent an urgent report, saying that dozens of barbarian galleons broke into Edo Bay!"

"What?" Tadakatsu Sakai stood up anxiously, almost knocking down the low table in front of him, "Dozens of galleons? Is there any news?"

"No." The family shook their heads, "The messenger sent a message, but if it is true, there should be a message later."

Tadakatsu Sakai paced back and forth a few times, then stood still and said, "Dozens of galleons? How is that possible? I'm afraid that Hideyori Kimura has too little experience to make a fuss."

As the "founding hero" of the Tokugawa shogunate and a veteran of three generations, Tadakatsu Sakai was well-informed at this time.

He has seen Xiyi, Puyi, and Heyi, and he also knows something about the sailing warships of these Westerners.

As far as he knew, there were not many sailing warships that could be called galleons in the general barbarian fleet.

For example, in recent years, the Dutch-Yi sailboats traveling between Japan and Southeast Asia are basically armed merchant ships, and it would be nice to have a few light warships inside.

If the galleon Kimura Hideyori mentioned was a battleship, it would be impossible.Even if it is the light warships of the Yi people, it is unlikely that there will be dozens of them.

However, it is possible for a dozen Yiren light warships and dozens of other armed merchant ships to come to Edo together.

But why did the barbarians choose this time to come?
Could it be that the news of the general's serious illness leaked out, and someone passed the news to the barbarians?

The Yi people thought there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, so they sent many ships to threaten Edo?
Thinking of this, Sakai Tadakatsu frowned even tighter.

　Second more.

　　Good night~
　　[Historically, Tokugawa Iemitsu died of illness on April 1651, 21. 】

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)