Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 258: Summer Battle in Osaka (Part 4)
Japan had two naval commanders at this time.
One was called Yagyu Kanbei, and the other was Fujido Takatora, who became increasingly famous in the middle and late Warring States period in Japan.
As the heir to the shogunate, Tokugawa Yoshinao did not have many retainers, many of whom were former retainers of Ieyasu and were assigned to serve him. The only family that really relied on him was the Yagyu family.
As a lower-ranking samurai who came from a swordsman background, the Yagyu family's fiefdom was very small, never exceeding 10,000 koku. But Tokugawa Yoshinao liked such a family: the samurai from such a family were always full of enthusiasm for success and fame. In this way, such talents had room for improvement, and it was also convenient for him to control them.
Kanbei was one of the few confidants of Tokugawa Yoshinao who had a talent for naval command. Yoshinao trained him for many years, and he basically had the ability to command a modern fleet of sailing warships, mainly galleons.
As for the other commander, Fujido Takatora, it doesn't matter if you are not familiar with him. You only need to know: this guy has changed eight bosses in his life, and he was promoted in position and fiefdom every time he changed jobs - his IQ, EQ, and ability to do things are extremely high!
When Gao Hu followed Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he was the commander of the Japanese navy invading the Korean army and had defeated all the enemies in Korea. Although he quickly became a drowned chicken after Yi Sun-sin was appointed to the throne in Korea, he was still a veteran in the navy.
At this time, Kanbei led 25 new warships, including five 1,200-ton large ships and 20 700-ton ordinary galleons.
The fleet led by Fujido Takatora was naturally Japan's traditional surface fleet, which included 20 ironclad ships, 100 Ataka ships, and 500 Kan ships.
And what appeared in front of them from the sea level in the south was the Ming Dynasty Joint Fleet composed of Chongming Sand Station and Funing Town.
"Report to the general, a Japanese pirate fleet has been spotted ahead. The enemy fleet is divided into two groups, based on the ship types, they are..."
"Hahaha, it seems that the Japanese pirates also know that warships from two different eras cannot be mixed together for combat." Li Guozhu picked up the binoculars and carefully observed the enemy's lineup. He said, "Although the enemy's new ships look good and are equipped with a lot of cannons, their number is too small. Our Chongmingsha fleet alone is enough to deal with it. Send a signal to General Yu. I will go first. Please support us."
Li Guozhu had no choice but to say such harsh words at this moment, because the Crown Prince had more money in recent years, so the orders to Changsha Shipyard had never stopped. This time, Li Guozhu brought out all the new warships of the Ming Dynasty - a total of fifteen 1,200-ton Beizhili-class warships, each equipped with ten 24-pound (145mm) cannons, forty 18-pound cannons (130mm) and twenty 6-pound cannons (90mm).
Below the Beizhili class were the sixty 600-ton Jinling class ships, each equipped with 40 twelve-pound guns (115mm) and 20 six-pound guns.
In general, although Li Guozhu's fleet was at a slight disadvantage in terms of tonnage of second-class battleships, compared with Japan's new fleet, the number of ships and firepower configuration were more than three times that of the opponent.
"Marshal, the merchant Li Guozhu ahead sent a signal, asking us to stand aside and watch!"
"Yeah." After confirming the other party's signal again through the telescope, Yu Zigao smiled slightly: "Why, you are not convinced?"
"Of course! Marshal, who are we? The strongest navy of the Ming Dynasty! If Li Guozhu hadn't been appreciated by the Crown Prince, he would have been just a pirate. How dare he give orders to you, Marshal!"
"So what do you think?"
"Send a signal and tell them to get out of the way. We're done fighting. If we feel like it, we can just give them some leftovers."
"Hmph..." Yu Zigao, who was in his forties, was not a young man who would explode at the slightest provocation, but he was still a middle-aged man with blood and energy. At this moment, his inner thoughts were actually similar to those of the generals below.
However, before this battle, the order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, as well as the repeated instructions given by Governor Yuan Keli when he personally came to see him off, all emphasized that Li Guozhu should be the main force in this naval battle!
Therefore, no matter how unwilling he was, he could only grit his teeth and say to the people below: "Send the signal, congratulations to General Li for a complete victory!"
"Ah? Marshal, this..."
"What's this? Hurry up and follow the order! Then we will go around to the southwest and rear, and see how Li Guozhu defeats the thieves!"
After receiving the banner of "Congratulations on the victory" from Yu Zigao in the rear, Li Guozhu breathed a sigh of relief - he was afraid that this guy would think he was a legitimate and senior person and would not obey orders. Now it seems that everything is fine.
After calming down his thoughts, he began to issue orders: "My fleet will be divided into two columns, the Jinling class in front and the Beizhili class in the back. We will enter the battlefield from the southwest to the northeast. The speed of the entire fleet will be controlled at around five knots!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the Ming army fleet gradually approached, the Japanese fleet on the opposite side naturally saw clearly the Ming army's plan.
"Hiss~~ The commander of the Ming Dynasty is so confident that he didn't even send the old-fashioned Fuchuan fleet to help. Well, that's right, the number of our new ships is still too small. Messenger, send a flag to Sado no Kami, and ask his fleet to get out of the way first. After our fleet and the enemy fleet are in a stalemate in the frontal battle, ask his fleet to attack from the flank!"
"Damn it! How dare a fool , give me orders!"
Fujido Takatora, this person's past fully proved that his IQ and EQ are extremely high. But on the one hand, he didn't know what the combat mode of the new battleship would be after it was put into scale, and on the other hand, he was already in his sixties - of course he still had the flexibility and humility of his youth, but only when facing Tokugawa Ieyasu. In front of a low-level samurai like Kanbei, Takatora didn't have the same good mentality as Yu Zigao!
Therefore, he had no intention of carrying out Kanbei's request.
Of course, this man was able to change so many lords in the chaotic Warring States period and still get better and better. He must have some real skills. At least, the annihilation of the Shimazu family's navy in the past attracted his great attention and serious research.
Unfortunately, in order to cover up his incompetence, Kabayama Hisataka, who had his ears cut off, repeatedly emphasized in the battle report that the fleet was trapped in the port and was blocked by the enemy. This gave Fujido Takatora an illusion: as long as I spread the fleet on the sea , there will be no problem!
"Order! Close the ships and attack! The enemy ships' artillery has a long range, so have the people below spread out the ships a bit."
"Hi Yi!"
"When our ships attack, in addition to spreading out a bit, they should also move slightly to the northeast. The enemy ships are heading northeast at this time, and that Kanbei's fleet is also in the northeast."
"I understand. We must stop Kanbei's fleet behind us. The entire victory of this battle will belong to our Fujido family!"
"Yoshi! Although I am very dissatisfied with Your Highness Yoshinao's promotion of a ragtag general like Kanbei to lead the new fleet, I have to say that the flag signals issued by Your Highness are still very good. In this way, after all the Guan ships rush out, our large ships, with the ironclad ships as the core and the Ataka ships surrounding them, will advance steadily!"
"Hi Yi!"
