Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 297 Recruiting the soldiers of Kyushu

Two days later, the Japanese coalition forces in the Hidden Mountains surrendered unconditionally under Shimazu Sadahisa's persuasion, and Jia Qiong successfully captured the entire island of Kyushu.

Kyushu Island is not small, almost half the size of Jinling Province.

If Jia Qiong wants to completely control the entire island, he must have sufficient armed forces.

These [-] surrendered troops are all well-trained professional soldiers. If used properly, they can make up for the lack of Chu army's strength.

Based on the experience of later generations, Jia Qiong decided to carry out in-depth ideological transformation of this group of surrendered troops and turn them into "our own people" who maintained the rule of the Chu army.

Jia Qiong did not rush to send troops to Honshu Island, but while reforming the surrendered troops, he also set about establishing the Japanese Protectorate, re-dividing the power system of Kyushu Island, and stabilizing the situation in Kyushu.

As for the war between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, as long as the Southern Dynasties were not completely wiped out, Jia Qiong wished they could use up more strength.

So Jia Qiong just sent Xu Shan with 3000 people to support the Southern Dynasties and help stabilize the situation.

When Jia Qiong captured Kyushu Island, all forces that dared to resist had been eliminated.

This not only gave the Chu army recruits practical training, but also contributed a lot of real money to Jia Qiong.

However, Kyushu Island is so large and has hundreds of large and small forces. Apart from those that were wiped out, there are still many wealthy families and temples that have survived.

Seeing that the Chu army was powerful, these forces directly chose to surrender.

The nobles and major temples and shrines in Japan are like organizations. They all have their own armed forces. If they are retained, it will be a factor of instability.

Of course Jia Qiong wants to cleanse all these forces, but they have surrendered, so naturally they cannot suppress them for no reason.

Therefore, Jia Qiong issued an order stipulating that all wealthy families, temples and shrines on Kyushu Island could only have a fixed number of private soldiers and monk soldiers.

The basic number is twenty places. Of course, if you want to increase the number, you can, but for each additional one, you need to hand over 100 taels of gold or the equivalent of silver to the Japanese Protectorate.

Of course, the existing private soldiers can be retained, and there is no need to pay. You only need to report the list of private soldiers to the Protectorate.

Ten days later, the Chu army will conduct door-to-door inspections. If they find hidden private soldiers, hidden ordnance, or false reports, they will be severely punished.

As soon as this news came out, the major forces quickly reported their lists, and most of them were false reports.

They reported slaves and even farmers as private soldiers to make up the numbers, and they basically reported two or three times more people.

They thought they had taken advantage of the loophole, but in fact they were already trapped.

The Oki clan is one of the largest clans in Saga Prefecture, and they own [-]% of the land in the prefecture.

The Damu Clan's manor supports five hundred One-Touch swordsmen, which is the basis for them to maintain the status of the Damu Clan.

This morning, Zhang Hongqing, accompanied by Ono Shinji, the new magistrate of Saga County, came to the door with five thousand soldiers.

The Damu tribe knew that they were here to check the private soldiers, so they did not panic. They were already prepared in advance.

It didn't take much effort, and [-] private soldiers were already in formation in the open space outside the manor, waiting for inspection.

However, the difference between these private soldiers is very obvious. Except for the five hundred swordsmen who are well-dressed and wear naginata on their waists, the remaining 1000 people are all dressed in tatters, and their weapons are broken iron swords and bamboo spears.

Damu Qiaosan, the leader of the Damu Clan, said to Zhang Hongqing: "My Damu Clan's orders to the Protectorate will be fulfilled to the letter.

Our private soldiers are all here, and there are absolutely no hidden ones.

If General Zhang doesn't believe it, he can enter the manor and inspect it casually. Zhang Hongqing smiled and said: "Of course I believe in the loyalty of Chief Damu. There is no need to check." "

Damuqiao Sanxi said: "Thank you very much, General. I have prepared a banquet for you, General. Please appreciate it."

Zhang Hongqing waved his hand and said: "I brought the latest order from the Protectorate today. The Battle of Guandong is now at a critical moment, and the Southern Dynasty has insufficient troops and needs to be supplemented.

The Duhufu wants to send troops to support as soon as possible, but the troops are slightly insufficient, so the major clans of Kyushu have to send [-]% of their private troops to support the Duhufu.

There are a total of 500 private soldiers in your clan. I will take [-] of them away today.

Chief Damu is loyal to the Protectorate, so he shouldn't refuse, right? "

Damuqiao San was dumbfounded when he heard this, but how could he dare to refuse in the face of five thousand murderous Chu troops.

He glanced at the five hundred swordsmen standing in the middle of the queue, and said stumblingly: "My clan... is willing to donate five hundred private soldiers, and I will choose someone for the general."

Zhang Hongqing casually pointed to the middle and said with a smile: "No need to bother, I want these 500 people."

While Jia Qiong was busy rectifying the Kyushu clan, Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto had already urgently felt the huge threat from the Chu army.

In just over a month, Jia Qiong not only occupied the entire island of Kyushu, but also had [-] surrender troops and nearly [-] private soldiers.

If these [-] soldiers were also trained and put into the battlefield, it would be difficult for the Northern Dynasty to fight against them with all their strength.

Ashikaga Takauji quickly summoned all his counselors and generals to discuss countermeasures, but no one had any good ideas.

In the end, counselor Yoriyuki Hosokawa gave him advice and said: "The biggest advantage of the Chu army is actually the navy. Our maritime power is too weak and we can only passively defend, and they can attack wherever they want."

If we have a naval force that can compete with the Chu army, we can change this situation.

Even if the Chu army has [-] troops, as long as they are not allowed to land on Honshu Island, we can concentrate our forces to destroy the Southern Dynasty. "

Ashikaga Takauji said: "The Chu army has nearly a hundred large warships. Even if we gather all the naval forces from all countries, we probably won't be able to defeat them."

Hosokawa Yoriyuki said: "The Southern Dynasties can ask for help from Chu, and we can also ask for help from others."

Ashikaga Takauji said: "I'm afraid the Koreans don't have the courage to become enemies of Chu. The Jurchen navy is not worth mentioning. Who can we ask for help?"

Hosokawa Yoriyuki said: "As far as I know, "Sea Spirit" Fang Guozhen is now entrenched on Xiabei Island near Goryeo.

He has tens of thousands of pirates and four to five hundred ships under his command. They plunder at sea all year round and are very powerful.

If we can get his help, we can compete with the Chu army at sea. "

Ashikaga Takauji said: "Fang Guozhen is a pirate and has no friendship with us. Why should he help us fight against the Chu army?"

Hosokawa Yoriyuki said: “As long as the benefits are big enough, it’s okay.

No one wants to be a pirate all his life, and I believe Fang Guozhen is no exception.

If the general is willing to give him a distinguished status and give him the entire Kyushu Island as a fief, he will definitely be willing to fight for the general. "

Ashikaga Takauji nodded and said: "If Fang Guozhen can help me repel the Chu army, there is no harm in letting him be the daimyo of the entire Kyushu."

(End of this chapter)