"If there is a chance, I really want to see how the officials of the Edo Shogunate would react after seeing the Hikari Maru and Calabash Maru that we spent a lot of effort and money to get." Smith put his hands behind his back, smacked his lips, and showed regret. "Will they learn from their mistakes and regret the backwardness of their country's scientific and technological level and the stupid isolation order of their country?"
Hikari Maru and Kuramaru - the names of these two warships of the Toyotomi army.
Hulumaru is the flagship of their small fleet of only two warships - the warship on which Toyotomi Nobuhide, Smith, Kasuga and others are currently on.
"Smith, you think too much." Toyotomi Nobuhide laughed teasingly, "Do you know what the Edo Shogunate fears the most?"
"They are most afraid of 'new things'."
"Because 'something new' often brings about change and transformation."
"And changes and reforms, if not handled properly, could impact the ruling status of the Edo Shogunate."
"That's why the Edo Shogunate issued the 'Seclusion Order', not allowing any new things from the outside world to enter the country."
"'Keep this country unchanged' - this was one of the Edo shogunate's philosophies of governing the country."
“And in fact, they succeeded.”
"It has been nearly 200 years since the establishment of the Edo Shogunate. Whether it is the lifestyle or the level of technology in Japan today, there is almost no difference from Japan 200 years ago."
“So they won’t have any painful lessons to learn.”
The mocking look on Toyotomi Nobuhide's face became more intense at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Smith, I can make a bold prediction for you: if after tonight, our Toyotomi army completely withdraws and no longer attacks the Edo Shogunate, what kind of reaction will the Edo Shogunate make?"
"They will do everything they can to block the news and tell the public that 'battleships as big as hills don't exist', and then the country will continue to operate as it did before."
"You want them to learn a lesson? Then you have to beat them until they are grimacing and feel the real pain!"
"Even if you have witnessed the weakness of your country's scientific and technological strength, you will not easily change your conservative thinking..." Smith looked puzzled, "It is really hard to understand..."
"You have never lived in this country, so it's normal for you to find it hard to understand." Toyotomi Nobuhide smiled and patted Smith on the shoulder, then turned his head and looked towards Osaka in the distance where flames were rising into the sky.
In the midst of the flames, Toyotomi Nobuhide could vaguely see a vague, towering shadow.
That is the shadow of Osaka Castle.
"Osaka Castle is really huge..." Toyotomi Nobuhide murmured, "I wonder which castle is more magnificent, the 'Toyotomi Osaka Castle' two hundred years ago or the current 'Tokugawa Osaka Castle'..."
Osaka Castle, built by the Toyotomi clan, had been burned down in a war with the Edo Shogunate two hundred years ago.
The Osaka Castle that now stands in the center of Osaka City was rebuilt on the original site by the Edo Shogunate after the demise of the Toyotomi clan.
In order to distinguish these two Osaka Castles, which have the same name but completely different builders and owners, the former Osaka Castle was called "Toyotomi Osaka Castle" and the current Osaka Castle is called "Tokugawa Osaka Castle".
"It seems that Soemon, who was in charge of attacking Osaka Castle, listened to my orders very well and did not destroy Osaka Castle. Very good, very good."
Toyotomi Nobuhide showed joy on his face and clapped his hands vigorously several times.
"This way, when we launch an artillery attack on the basically intact Osaka Castle... it will be very satisfying!"
"Lord Toyotomi!" Kasuga's cheeks were now flushed with excitement, "Do we have to wait until Yoshihisa and the others leave Osaka before we can launch an artillery attack on Osaka Castle? I really want to start firing now!"
"Kasu-ho, Yoshihisa and his men are still in Osaka City. If we launch a long-range bombardment on Osaka Castle now, it will easily injure our own people."
"So we still have to proceed according to the original plan - wait until Yoshihisa and his men have finished the 'Osaka Spring Campaign' and have completely withdrawn from Osaka, then fire at Osaka Castle."
"Ahh..." Kasu Bee felt as if he was itching all over, scratching every corner of his body, "I really want to start firing at Osaka Castle as soon as possible... It must be very satisfying to destroy such a big castle..."
"Bombard Osaka Castle?" Smith looked at Toyotomi Nobuhide with a puzzled look, and then looked at Kasugabee, "Lord Toyotomi, are you planning to destroy Osaka Castle?"
"Oh, right. I don't think I've told you, Smith, about the plan to 'destroy Osaka Castle'."
Toyotomi Nobuhide continued to gaze at the towering Osaka Castle in the distance, with a meaningful smile on his face.
"The current Osaka Castle has nothing to do with the Toyotomi clan." Toyotomi Nobuhide said calmly, "The Osaka Castle built by the Toyotomi clan was destroyed two hundred years ago."
"Every brick and tile of the current Osaka Castle was built by the Tokugawa clan."
"It is better to destroy this strong castle with strong marks of the Edo Shogunate."
"But if we just set fire to such a majestic castle, it would be a pity. It would not be impressive or interesting enough."
"So I decided to raze Osaka Castle to the ground in a dramatic way. "
"I gave an order to Soemon, who was in charge of attacking Osaka Castle: After clearing out all the shogunate officials in Osaka Castle, do not destroy Osaka Castle."
"Then give Kasu Bee a death order: no matter what, you must lead Hulumaru and Hikarimaru to the sea outside Osaka before tonight."
"Hulumaru and Hikarimaru have two missions tonight."
"Mission 1: Destroy Osaka Port and all ships in it."
"Osaka Port is one of the largest ports in Japan, and nearly half of the shogunate's official ships are docked at Osaka Port."
"Destroy Osaka Harbor and all the ships in it. The Edo Shogunate's already weak surface forces will be further weakened, and they will completely lose the ability to threaten our Hulu Maru and Hikari Maru."
"As for the second mission, after Yoshihisa's 'Osaka Spring Campaign and Operation Suppression' is over and all personnel have evacuated Osaka, use the cannons of the Hulumaru and Hikarimaru to bombard Osaka Castle from a distance."
At this moment, a look of intoxication slowly appeared on Toyotomi Nobuhide's face.
Also looking intoxicated was Kasuga Bee who was standing next to him.
"It must have been a great sight to see such a majestic castle being bombarded by naval guns and the rubble falling down."
"Should we use naval guns to bombard Osaka Castle?" Smith's mouth opened uncontrollably, "But... Osaka Castle is far from the sea..."
"Even if we get close to the coast and fire, the distance is still very far."
"The accuracy of firing at such a long distance is very low. It is possible that even out of 10 shots, not even one will hit Osaka Castle."
"When the naval guns razed Osaka Castle to the ground, most of the city of Osaka might have been destroyed by the errant shells."
"Lord Toyotomi, please forgive me for being blunt... If you do this... not only will you waste ammunition, but you will also lose the support of the people..."
Toyotomi Nobuhide seemed to have expected Smith to say this, and his expression remained unchanged - he still had a meaningful smile on his face.
Don't speak either.
He just turned his head silently and cast an intriguing look at Smith.
Smith realized that what he had just said seemed a bit presumptuous, so he quickly added:
"Ah, I was just speaking casually just now, Lord Toyotomi, just listen to it casually."
"Anyway, I'm just an arms dealer and I don't know much about politics."
"Lord Toyotomi, since you want to use naval guns to bombard Osaka Castle, what should we do next?"
"The mission of destroying Osaka Harbor and all the ships in it has been completed." Toyotomi Nobuhide said slowly with his hands behind his back, "And as I said just now - if we want to bomb Osaka Castle, we have to wait until Yoshihisa and his men complete the 'Osaka Spring Campaign and Operation Suppression' and withdraw from Osaka."
"After all, I don't want to hurt my own people by mistake."
"So now let's let Hulumaru and Hikarimaru go back to our temporary dock in Kii to rest."
"After Yoshihisa and his men return victorious, we will attack again and blow Osaka Castle apart."
"And I also took the opportunity to go back to Koyasan... to see my sister whom I haven't seen for a long time."
When mentioning the word "sister", Toyotomi Nobuhide showed a nostalgic expression.
"My annoying sister... should have been transported out of Osaka safely by now."
"Once I return to Kii by ship and then return to Koyasan by land, I should be able to see her in the prison on Koyasan."
"Ha, I wonder if she has grown taller after not seeing her for so many years, or if she still can't eat anything hot."
"Are we going back to Koyasan now?" Smith asked, "Are we not going to Osaka to meet Master Yoshihisa and the others?"
"No need." Toyotomi Nobuhide waved his hand, "I have given Yoshihisa full authority to take charge of the series of operations in Osaka tonight."
"Let Yoshihisa help me take care of the affairs in Osaka."
"I will just wait patiently for good news from them at Koyasan."
…
…
Osaka, somewhere——
"Hey, did you find anything over there?"
"No, what about you?"
"I've looked everywhere, but to no avail."
"That Shura...could he have drowned in that river?"
"If he had drowned, his body would have floated on the river."
The four Iga male ninjas gathered together, talking and exchanging information.
They were all ninjas sent to search for Ogata along the river.
Each of the four of them approached this difficult task diligently.
However, until now... let alone finding Ogata, there is not even a clue.
"There's nothing we can do... Let's look somewhere else. Hmm? Who is it? Get out here!"
The four male ninjas heard a strange noise coming from an alley not far away almost at the same time.
Two people stood there on guard, while the other two went to the left and right directions to surround the alley where the strange noise came from.
"Ah! I, I am a resident here! I just happened to pass by here! I didn't hear what you said ! No, don't kill me!"
Before the two ninjas who were heading towards the alley reached the entrance, a middle-aged man with a simple and honest face walked out of the alley with his hands raised high.
He was carrying a thick baggage on his back, and the ninjas guessed that he was probably a citizen who was frightened by the fire in Osaka City and was preparing to escape.
Seeing that he was just an ordinary citizen of Osaka, the ninjas relaxed their hands on their weapons a little.
"...You just said that you are a resident here, right?" A ninja suddenly asked the middle-aged man.
“Yes, yes.”
"You've come just in time. Did you see a very young warrior just now?"
"...I always feel like you are lying." The ninja narrowed his eyes and pulled out the wakizashi from his waist by an inch.
The middle-aged man, whose face was pale with fear, said hastily: "I, I didn't see any very young warriors! But I saw a very young woman!"
"Young woman?"
"Yes! A very young and beautiful woman! She was holding a package and running in that direction in a hurry."
"Woman...does that woman have any distinctive features?"
"Features? Let me think... let me think... she's very pretty... and she's quite tall... and... and... ah! I remember now, her bear is very big?"
"How big is the bear?" *4
The four male ninjas repeated in unison the words the middle-aged man had just said.
The four of them looked in the direction the middle-aged man pointed, and then looked at each other for a while.
"...Hey." Someone lowered his voice, "If I remember correctly...did the superiors say: Doesn't that Shura have a very beautiful and very big wife?"
The ninja who first asked the middle-aged man for information was silent for a moment, then asked the middle-aged man:
"...Since you live here, do you know if there is any suitable hiding place in the direction that woman ran to, such as an inconspicuous abandoned house or something like that?"
"Eh? Hmm... ah! There really is one! There is an abandoned Buddhist temple that is very inconspicuous and can't be found unless you look carefully!"
"Tell us where it is. Just tell us where the temple is and we'll let you go."
…
…
In Osaka, Ogata and Isshikika are currently in the Buddhist temple.
After hearing Ogata say to her in a calm and firm tone, "I will definitely rescue all your family members", Isshiki Ka only felt a kind of feeling... as if she had finally found a way out after being lost for a long time.
Her emotions poured out uncontrollably along with her tears, her body moved subconsciously, and she laid in Ogata's arms, venting the anxiety and pain in her heart.
After her sobbing gradually stopped and her emotions returned to normal, Isshikika belatedly realized that she had already fallen into Ogata's arms twice in less than half an hour.
“…I’m sorry…” Isshikika pushed her face away from Ogata’s embrace with her arms, “I’m so rude to you one after another…”
Looking at Isshikika whose emotions had stabilized again, Ogata smiled slightly.
When he was about to say something——
Gu~~
Ogata's stomach rumbled at an inopportune moment.
The "gurgling" sound drew the attention of Ogata and Isshikika to Ogata's belly.
"Ha... sorry to have embarrassed you..." Ogata smiled awkwardly.
Ogata didn't eat anything tonight.
He had originally planned to "receive the knife from Master Yu Er and then return to the hotel to have a delicious meal with Ating and the others", but he has not eaten a single grain of rice since he was attacked tonight.
I did drink a lot of water when I accidentally fell into the river twice.
"Ah, I just happen to have some food here."
Isshikika quickly stood up and took the cloth bag that Hatsumitsu had given her, which contained food, money and a wakizashi for self-defense.
There was quite a lot of food in the cloth bag, enough to fill five lotus leaf bags, and each lotus leaf bag contained three rice balls as big as a man's fist.
In the eyes of Ogata, who was already starving, these rice balls seemed to be emitting dazzling light.
Ogata picked up the rice balls and ate them without caring about his image. He swallowed three rice balls in one breath before stopping.
The stomach no longer feels uncomfortable because there is food.
However, even though his stomach was full, Ogata still felt uncomfortable and very tired.
While Ogata was eating, Isshiki Ka was kneeling quietly on the side, looking at Ogata with a worried look. His face did not look good even after eating.
"Master Ittosai, I heard from that Hatsumitsu that you are being hunted by the Toyotomi army... So this is true... Are you poisoned?"
After saying that, Isshikika raised her hand and touched Ogata's forehead.
That heat... made Isshikika feel like she was touching a red-hot brick rather than a person's forehead.
"Yeah... since night fell today, I basically haven't stopped, fighting one battle after another..."
"I'm not poisoned... well, it's almost like poisoning... but it wasn't those enemies tonight who poisoned me..."
After saying this, Ogata coughed softly a few times.
Feeling his throat was a little dry, he asked Isshikika softly:
"Excuse me...can you get me some water?"
Snap, snap, snap…
After Ogata asked this question, the first person to respond was not Isshikika.
Instead, it was the sound of footsteps outside the Buddhist temple that were constantly approaching this side.
Ogata and Isshikika heard the footsteps almost at the same time, and their expressions changed slightly at the same time.
"You've found your way here so quickly..." Ogata murmured in a deep voice.
In my current state, I am simply unable to fight.
So Ogata made a prompt decision -
“Miss Isshiki…” Ogata held onto the wall next to him and stood up with difficulty, “Hide with me…”
Isshikika nodded vigorously, and hurriedly took out the wakizashi that was placed in the cloth bag along with food and water, put it on her waist, then packed the cloth bag, put it on her back, and then stabilized the weak Ogata.
She looked around, searching for a place to hide.
After looking around, Isshikika's face immediately turned pale.
The only thing in this abandoned Buddhist temple is... the solid Buddhist altar and the Buddha statue on it...
When Isshiki was at a loss, Ogata pulled Isshiki's clothes, attracted her attention, and pointed somewhere.
Looking in the direction Ogata pointed, Isshikika was stunned.
"Is it okay to hide there?"
"Let's give it a try first." Ogata said lightly.
…
…
Snap, snap, snap…
The footsteps are getting closer...
Along with the footsteps approaching the Buddhist temple, there were also voices of conversation.
"You two go that way, and I'll go this way."
"good."
Bang!
Three windows near the door were violently smashed.
The ones who broke the window were three Iga male ninjas.
The three of them were exactly three of the four male ninjas who had just captured the innocent middle-aged man and extracted information from him.
The three male ninjas did not enter immediately.
Instead, he lay down on the windowsill and looked inside the Buddhist hall with a vigilant look.
Their eyes swept across every inch of the floor and ceiling of the Buddhist hall - there was no trace of a human figure on either the floor or the ceiling.