Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 261: Summer Battle in Osaka (Part 7)
As the Japanese ships were forced to turn slightly, the Ming fleet ships at the turning point finally did not have to bear intensive fire attacks. Although they were still hit by a few shells during the turning process, at most they were only lightly damaged like the Nanzhili, and their basic combat effectiveness was still maintained.
"General, all fifteen of our ships have completed their turnaround. Among them, the Nanzhili, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Shandong ships were slightly damaged, the Huguang and Shaanxi ships were moderately damaged, and the Jiangxi was severely damaged."
"Order the Jiangxi to withdraw from the battle line. The rest of the ships, follow the flagship and seize the T-head of the new round!"
"Yes, sir!"
At this point, the battlefield status of both sides was basically equal, and the distance between them had been shortened to within 1,200 meters - this was the most suitable combat distance for a sailing warship with a 150mm cannon!
The battle suddenly became more intense. The frequent bombardment from both sides made it impossible for the people on the sea to hear the sound of a single cannon. Countless continuous bombardments eventually formed a thunderous sound over the sea!
The huge sound of thunder traveled so far that it could be clearly heard even in Osaka Castle, more than 20 miles away.
"Hahaha, Sanada-kun, what do you think? I told you that our fleet will be here soon. Now seeing this sound, there is no doubt that they are dealing with the Tokugawa navy outside Osaka Bay right now!"
"Hey Yi! Yan Sang is indeed a man of his word!"
"So, hurry up and tell Oono Harunaga that since the Tokugawa army is attacking the city from three sides, we should not defend the castle tower close to the east wall. We should quickly transport the gold pan and other things that the Taiko left for Lord Hideyori to the port area. We will just have to defend the port area then!"
"... Yan-san, you don't know yet? That prince is still reluctant to give up Osaka Castle. He is still dreaming of a counterattack and victory!"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi had a bad reputation in both China and Korea because of his invasion of Korea. But it must be said that he was really a very charming guy. When Toyotomi Hideyori appeared on the castle tower of Osaka Castle in full armor and raised the Toyotomi family's Gosantong family crest and Hideyoshi's horse seal Sensei gourd high, the morale of the more than 30,000 defenders in Osaka Castle suddenly rose to the extreme!
Then, the first to enter the city from the south gate, the Tokugawa family hereditary daimyo, Honda Tadatomo, the second son of Honda Tadamasa, met a tragic end - the 3,000 Honda troops he led quickly collapsed under the full siege of the Osaka army. He himself did not withdraw in time, and his head was taken by Otani Daigaku of the Toyotomi side.
But that was it. No matter how motivated the 35,000 men were, the Toyotomi army's serious lack of manpower slowly became apparent when facing the 150,000 or 160,000 Tokugawa troops that were attacking them like an endless wave.
Especially after Tokugawa Ieyasu followed the advice of Tokugawa Yoshinao and ordered the troops in the north and east of the city to climb the wall and attack, the Osaka side was completely unable to defend more strongholds.
Yan Siqi then made a suggestion to Toyotomi Hideyori: concentrate the main forces, resist step by step, and then retreat to the harbor area to defend with all your strength and wait for reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty.
Toyotomi Hideyori agreed with this suggestion, and Yodohime did not express any objection at first.
As a result, when the rumbling sound of cannons came from the sea, Yodo-hime began to get nervous again: If the Ming fleet won the naval battle, would the Tokugawa family take the initiative to retreat? In this way, wouldn't Osaka Castle be defended?
Yan Siqi was extremely angry at this idiotic idea. Under his instigation, the generals in the city who had long been alienated from Yodohime led their respective armies towards the port area.
But... Toyotomi Hideyori refused to leave - he repeatedly begged Yodohime to leave the castle tower with him, but Yodohime just refused !
This is trouble.
Therefore, Yukimura Sanada and others had to divide their limited forces to defend the castle tower.
In short, fierce street fighting had already begun in Osaka Castle. On the surface , the war was still in a tense state, but everyone knew in their hearts: if this kind of battle lasted more than a day, Osaka would definitely be defeated in the end.
At this time, outside Osaka Castle.
"Father, I just received a report from the lookout on the coast. The battle situation of our fleet is not optimistic."
"Oh? Can you tell me more about that?"
"Hi." Tokugawa Yoshinao bowed slightly and said, "In this battle, Sado no Kami disobeyed my prior arrangements and did not cooperate with Yagyu Kanbei's command. He advanced alone and suffered heavy losses. In the end, the Fujido fleet, which had been greatly weakened, was defeated by the old-fashioned fleet of the Ming Dynasty.
As for the new fleet, the current battle situation is that our Echigo (1,200-ton class) has been sunk, and Kai and Yamato have been severely damaged. Four Edo-class ships have been sunk. Among the enemy's large ships, one has been sunk and two have been withdrawn from the battle line. One of the enemy's second-class battleships that circled behind our army was sunk and three were severely damaged.
In short, in my opinion, our navy can only hold out for two hours at most, and then we will have to withdraw from the battle. There will be a clear path between the Ming fleet and Osaka Castle. And judging from the progress of the street fighting in Osaka Castle, we will not be able to control the port area of Osaka Castle within two hours. So... Toyotomi Hideyori is likely to escape... Ming will have an excellent excuse to interfere with Japan in the future!"
"Hmm..." He stood up and habitually put his right thumb into his mouth. After biting his nails for a while, Tokugawa Ieyasu smiled slightly: "Takechiyo, is Katagiri Katsumoto here?"
"Ah? Ah~~Father is so smart!"
The so-called Katagiri Kimoto was a fierce general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi when he was still alive. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the civil and administrative faction of the Toyotomi family was wiped out, and Katagiri Kimoto became the chief elder of the Toyotomi family.
For the survival of the Toyotomi family, the old man ran back and forth, exhausting his energy. However, when he met a strange ruler like Yodohime, his painstaking efforts, especially persuading Yodohime to go to Edo as a hostage and accept the proposal of the Toyotomi family to transfer the fief, Yodohime thought that he had ulterior motives and even wanted to kill him. As a last resort, he had to escape from Osaka Castle and serve Tokugawa Ieyasu.
At this time, sending Katagiri Katsumoto to Osaka Castle was of course for negotiations.
And this kind of negotiation, haha...
"You mean, His Majesty Edo has agreed that as long as our Toyotomi family accepts the transfer, he will no longer be held responsible for the two wars in the past six months?"
"Hi, Your Highness, the Right Minister. The meaning of His Highness is very clear. As long as the Toyotomi family accepts the transfer, all the previous unpleasantness is a misunderstanding. Even the Right Minister does not have to part with Senji."
"Okay." The face covered with thick white powder shook rapidly, and waves of powder fell down: "I said that Lord Edo is a kind person and will not kill all the orphans of Lord Taiko! I agree to this matter!"
"Mother!"
"Hideyori, my Shimaru." The middle-aged woman stood up, walked to Toyotomi Hideyori, and hugged her son in public: "Why do you want to leave Japan and become a stray dog living under someone else's roof? I, your mother, have done everything I can to save Osaka Castle. This is worthy of His Majesty the Taiko. It's not impossible to transfer your title and become an ordinary feudal lord in peace ."
"Mother, oh, okay." Reluctantly breaking free from Yodohime's embrace, Toyotomi Hideyori said, "Ketsumoto!"
"Your Excellency, the Right Minister."
"Go tell His Majesty Edo that I have agreed to his request. Ask him to immediately order the Tokugawa to withdraw and stop the fighting in the city."
"Well, sir, this is not difficult. But His Highness also said that you should pass on the order to have the Ming fleet on the sea withdraw."
"...Hehe." After a light laugh, Toyotomi Hideyori said, "Ming is the Celestial Empire. How can I mobilize its fleet?"
Huh? This Hideyori is completely different from when I was in Osaka Castle. What happened during this period?
Without waiting for Katagiri Kazumoto to think further, Toyotomi Hideyori said in a decisive tone: "Please go and report to His Majesty Edo as soon as possible. The resistance in Osaka will not stop until the Tokugawa army withdraws from the city!"
"Hey, I understand."
