Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 257: Summer Battle in Osaka (Part 3)
"Your Majesty, Honda Tadatemo's troops have already entered Osaka Castle!"
"Yoshi! Izumo-no-kami's bravery and fighting spirit are worthy of being the son of Tadamasa, the unrivaled warrior of all time in Japan!"
On May 1, 1615, the Tokugawa army arrived at Osaka Castle. Under the command of Yan Siqi, the Toyotomi family, who were trapped in a naked castle, simply opened the south gate of Osaka Castle.
This is a blatant conspiracy: I, the Toyotomi family, do not have enough troops to defend such a huge naked city, so I will simply open the south gate and let you in to fight in the streets. Tokugawa Ieyasu, do you dare?
For Tokugawa Ieyasu, this was not a question of daring or not: the enemy had opened the city gate, but you did not go in through the city gate, but instead drove your soldiers to climb the tall Osaka city wall at the risk of certain casualties. Are you really old and foolish?
Therefore, although he knew in his heart that this was extremely inappropriate, in front of all the generals, Ieyasu still had to happily express his praise for Honda Tadatemo's troops who entered the city first.
"Your Highness Yoshinao."
"Yes, father."
"You fought beautifully in the match at Komatsuyama last month. It was a big surprise to everyone."
"Yes, young master. Three thousand versus twenty thousand, and the opponents were famous generals like Goto Kiji and Sanada Yukimura. Young master only spent most of the day to beat the enemy into a panic. Such a record, I am afraid, except for the record of the Battle of Sekigahara in the past, no other battle can compare to it!"
"Yes, yes, it is a blessing from heaven that my Tokugawa family has such a person as the young master. The young master is truly worthy of being the Son of God who was born under the personal protection of Susanoo!"
Facing a bunch of hereditary retainers with enthusiastic eyes and obvious inclination to please him, Tokugawa Yoshinao gently raised the military fan in his hand, and the enthusiastic flattery stopped abruptly.
Faced with such a situation, Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded with satisfaction: it seemed that his heir was capable of taking on the responsibility of protecting the Tokugawa family and Japan.
"Everyone, although it is a cause for celebration that we have conquered Osaka, the purpose of our expedition this time is to completely destroy the Toyotomi family. Therefore, we have not achieved true victory until we capture Yodohime and Hideyori, mother and son!"
"Young Master is right. It's me who is waiting for Meng Lang."
"Everyone, about ten days ago, huge and bright fireworks rose one after another from the castle tower in Osaka Castle. Not long after that, fireworks also rose fifteen miles southwest of Osaka Castle. After that, fireworks continued to rise in the southwest direction... Just a while ago, my ninjas reported that they had tracked and investigated all the way and found out that on that day and the next day, fireworks rose from east to west on Shikoku Island. There is no doubt that this is the trapped beast in Osaka Castle seeking help from outside."
"Hmm..." Tokugawa Ieyasu pondered for a while and said, "Takechiyo, are you saying that under such circumstances, the Ming Dynasty should still intervene?"
"Hi, father. The reputation of the Crown Prince of Ming for his greed for money has spread throughout the Ming Dynasty. His desire for the rich gold and silver mines in Japan is obvious. However, this prince is not the emperor yet, and there are many internal conflicts in Ming. Therefore, he cannot spare the time to directly invade Japan. However, he sent a navy to pick up the Toyotomi family from the sea in case he has the pretext to invade Japan in the future. This is probably the conspiracy of the Crown Prince."
"Hiss~~" All the people present at this moment were hereditary retainers of the Tokugawa family. In the past, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, the main force was mainly the daimyo of western Japan. These samurai from eastern Japan had basically never been to Korea. But in any case, Japan was beaten badly by the Ming Dynasty in Korea, and these guys still had a certain respect for the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, when they heard that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty had ideas about their country, they were a little panicked for a while.
"Takechiyo, what do you think we should do?" An old and steady voice sounded, instantly calming everyone's hearts.
"Hey, father. At this moment, we are racing against time. On the one hand, our troops entering the city should not rush to the castle tower, but should head west to control Osaka Port. On the other hand, please give orders to Date Masamune in the north of the city and Kanhara Yasukatsu in the east of the city. Although the south gate has been breached, since our forces are so strong, why can't we continue to climb the wall and attack the city? In this way, we can maximize the advantage of our large number of soldiers, which will ultimately help reduce our casualties."
"Yoshi! Takechiyo, the battle of Komatsuyama proved your ability in field battles. The arrangements just now show that you are also very accomplished in siege warfare. Everyone, quickly issue the order that His Highness Yoshinao just gave!"
"Hi Yi!"
After everyone quickly dispersed, Tokugawa Ieyasu said to Yoshinao, "You still have something to say, right?"
"Yes, father. After all, my Tokugawa family is only the common leader of the Japanese lords, not the real king of Japan. Therefore, the financial and human resources of the family are extremely limited. Therefore, although father strongly supports my proposal to build a new navy, but..."
"Hehe, Your Highness Yoshinao, I am old and will soon meet Amaterasu. You don't have to consider my feelings when you speak. As for the water, no, as for the navy, I only gave you a little money to try to build some new ships. So, it's not your fault that the navy is not large-scale at the moment. If in this battle, a man from the Toyotomi family escapes due to the navy's incompetence, this responsibility will be my father's."
"Father, that's not true. Anyway, we now have 20 Edo-class sailing warships (700-ton galleons) and five Yamato-class ships (1,200-ton ships) . In addition, we have a large number of Atakabune and Sekibune. Even if the entire Ming navy comes, we are still capable of fighting."
"Yeah." Standing up, he reached behind his back and tapped his waist, and said in a bleak tone: "Japan is a country with scarce resources and poor production. The people of this country seem docile on the surface, but in fact they are very difficult to manage. Not to mention that there are so many daimyos and powerful families...
If we want the rule of the Tokugawa family to remain stable, we must ensure that these people are neither full nor starving. If they are not full, they will think about how to get enough food all day long, and will think less about other things. If they are not starving, they will not rise up to rebel!
But to do so, there must be a premise, they must not know the situation outside of Japan. So, I have always thought in my heart that after completing the unification and bringing peace to everyone, I will close the door and live a good life. So, I expelled Catholic priests and restricted overseas trade...
Unfortunately, the world is completely different from before. Not to mention those Western devils, even the usually good-tempered Ming Dynasty has coveted Japan. In this case, our national policy really needs to be changed.
Your Highness, I am old and have neither the energy nor the interest to learn new things. Therefore, after this war, I will officially hand over the position of general to you! "
"Father, you are in good health and will live a long life. However, Japan is an island country. No matter what national policy we adopt, the navy is the foundation of this country's survival."
While the conversation between the father and son was still going on, a hatamoto came running over in a hurry: "My lord, young master, the Sado no Kami who is leading our navy on alert on the sea has sent someone to report that a large number of warships have appeared in the south of Osaka Bay!"
