Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 407: The Shogunate’s Death Struggle (Part 2)
"Ii Naoki?"
"Hi."
"What is the current military situation?"
"Your Highness, regarding the army, seven divisions have been organized in the country, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. New iron cannons and fifty cannons for each division have been distributed. However..."
"Just what?"
"According to your highness's request, each division is equipped with a cavalry regiment, each regiment has 1,500 knights and 2,000 war horses. Last year, the Spanish sent 300 Western horses, but due to time constraints, we did not breed enough horses. Therefore, most of the cavalry are still riding Japanese native horses. The shoulder height is really short."
"...Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Anyway, cavalrymen all have horses, right?"
"Well, each cavalry regiment has 2,000 horses."
"That's it, go on."
"Hi. In addition to the more than 100,000 new troops in the army, the Tokugawa family, the relatives of the clan, and the hereditary daimyo have also mobilized 60,000 troops. Other daimyo have also mobilized thoroughly in their own territories, and according to statistics, there are about 80,000 people. All of the above troops and new troops are deployed along the Tokaido line. The 60,000 troops of the Tokugawa family are all concentrated around Edo Castle. The troops of the daimyo in various places are stationed in their respective territories.
As for the navy, we currently have seven first-class warships, fifteen second-class warships, and seventy newly built fast ships (300-ton clippers). According to your highness's order, twenty-two warships led by Sakakibara Musashimori Tadatsugu will temporarily lurk in the Seto Inland Sea. Once the whereabouts of the Ming transport fleet are clear, they will rush out from the Seto Inland Sea and raid the Ming troop and grain transport ships. The clippers will continue to patrol the waters near Tsushima and Nagato, in order to determine the exact landing location of the Ming army as soon as possible. "
Japan is an island country. Its core territory, Honshu Island, is a large island with high in the middle and low on both sides. In other words, the closer you get to the middle of the island, the more mountainous it becomes. Only along the coast are there flat plains. Therefore, at this time, most of Japan's transportation was along the coastline.
The so-called Tokaido refers to the Kanto region with Edo as the core. Because our fleet suffered heavy losses in the East China Sea War last year. After nearly fifteen months of recovery, only less than ten warships were added. Therefore, Japan, an island country, could be landed everywhere. And because it was impossible to determine where the Ming Dynasty landed, Tokugawa Yoshinao had to disperse the new army: Of course, this dispersion is not scattered all over the country. After all, this time traveler himself still knows some military common sense. His dispersion is only along the line of Tokyo Bay, Kanagawa (Yokohama), and Owari (Nagoya).
After Ii Naotaka finished his report, Tokugawa Yoshinao cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, although we have not yet obtained accurate intelligence, and therefore cannot be sure where the Ming people landed, based on the current situation on the battlefield, we can still make some guesses."
He stood up, walked to a model of the four Japanese islands in the center of the venue, and raised his baton: "Let's talk about the northeast of Honshu Island first. It is too far away from Ming Country, and the roads here cannot support the transportation of equipment for the new Ming army. Therefore, unless the Ming people are stupid, they will not land here.
Secondly, Kyushu Island and Shikoku Island would not be the choice of the Ming people. The reason is very simple. Since it is a landing, landing once is enough. How can we land twice? It doesn't matter if we wait twice. What matters is that once the Ming people land in Kyushu or Shikoku, if they land on Honshu Island again from these two places, their landing locations will be completely fixed, which is very convenient for us to concentrate our main forces and wait for them. Therefore, the Ming people will never choose these two places.
As for the remaining places, the Ming people would not choose Honshu Island, which is adjacent to the Sea of Japan. The reasons are very clear. First, the journey is long and the sea conditions are unknown. Second, after landing here, they must cross various mountains to march towards Kanto, which is also a huge logistical pressure.
In this case, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to land and invade Japan, its choices of locations would be Nagato (the westernmost tip of Honshu Island), Osaka, or Edo.
Before the Ming conquered Korea, I was afraid that they would just ignore Korea and land in Osaka or Edo. After all, if we lost the war in Japan, it would be the same whether we fought against the 100,000 Korean troops or not. But now the Ming attacked Korea first. This shows that the emperor of Ming realized a problem. "
"May I ask your Majesty what the problem is?"
"Hahaha, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty realized that Japan is not Siam after all, and our people are extremely capable in resisting foreign humiliation. Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty does not concentrate an army of more than 200,000, there is absolutely no hope of winning. And to organize an army of more than 200,000 to land, the logistical pressure will of course be extremely heavy. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty must first take over Korea, and then stockpile enough food and ammunition in Busan, Korea, and finally consider the issue of landing.
If they sail out from Busan, the enemy will only have one place to choose, and that is Nagato Province. More specifically, it is Akagama Port."
"I see. Your Highness is very smart!"
"As expected, you are His Highness, the Highness who is under the protection of Amaterasu. We are sincerely convinced."
"Then, Lord Kufang, should we transfer all of our main forces, such as the new army, to Nagato Province and prepare for battle?"
"Hehe." After two dry laughs, Tokugawa Yoshinao shook his head: "No way."
"Your Highness, why are you doing this? Haven't you heard that they attacked halfway across the river?"
"Haha, attacking halfway across the river is good, but that has to be done. Now, first, although the Ming people will land at Akagami Pass 99% of the time, it is not 100% certain after all. Second, the Japanese in Korea collapsed too quickly due to the betrayal of Date, Uesugi and others. As a result, some people in the country have thoughts that they shouldn't have. What if we move our main force to Nagato at this time, and the other side changes the landing site directly after receiving this news? You must know that the foundation of my Tokugawa family is still in Tokaido and Kanto. As long as this place is not lost, everything is still hopeful."
"…Your Highness, what you said makes sense. So how should we respond?"
"It's simple. Keep the current troop deployment unchanged. Let the Ming people land in Nagato."
"ah?"
"Hahaha, don't panic. I've been to the Western Country. It's a place with poor mountains and bad waters. The coastal plains have long been invaded by the sea. Not only are the products poor, but the roads are also extremely difficult to travel. After the Ming people land there, if they want to attack me, they will have to travel hundreds of miles, and the logistical pressure will be enormous. By then, as long as we hold on to the dangerous areas of Guandong for a period of time, the Ming people will collapse!"
After saying this, Tokugawa Yoshinao started giving orders continuously without caring whether everyone reacted or not.
"First, we will ask Fujido Takatora to go to Kyoto and have him bring His Majesty to Edo. We need to do this quickly, and it must be done before April. Second, the clippers will temporarily stop patrolling and let them hide in the harbor near Hizen Province. After the main force of the Ming Kingdom lands in Hirado, they will harass the route from Busan to Hirado from the side and rear. Third, our warships will continue to be stationed in the Seto Inland Sea, but we will begin to selectively deploy newly developed mines in the inland sea to block the waterway. Then, when the Ming army marches along the Sanyo Road (the line facing the Seto Inland Sea in the western part of Honshu Island), our warships will be ready to bombard the enemy's army at any time, or to support the ninjas who burn the enemy's food and grass.
Everyone, although we are at a disadvantage at the moment, if the Ming people dare to land, they will surely destroy themselves! I hope you will continue to be loyal to the shogunate and share the difficulties with me. As long as we win this war that concerns the survival of Japan, your territory will at least double! Your heroic deeds in defending Japan will also be praised forever by our descendants! Everything is up to you! "
"Hey! We will obey the orders of His Highness Gongfang and serve His Highness with all our heart and soul until our death!"
