There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 485 Shimazu Shigeaki: "Qi Xuan, go and wipe out the Han army!"

The news that Amami Oshima had been captured by the Han army finally reached the Satsuma Domain.

However, it wasn't a battle report that was sent; rather, the fleet that the Satsuma Domain was preparing to send to Shuri Castle for negotiations ran head-on with the Han army that had already captured Oshima.

The Han army did not kill anyone, but seized most of the ships, leaving only one small boat to go back and report the news.

Kagoshima Castle.

Shimazu Shigehiro could hardly believe his ears: "The entire Amami Islands have fallen?"

The disheveled retainer of the Shimazu clan hurriedly replied, "When I went to Ōshima, the kayas in Ōshima's port were indeed gone, and the port was now filled with Han Chinese warships flying Chinese flags. They even detained our ships, only allowing us to return in small boats to report to Your Excellency!"

Shimazu Shigehiro took a deep breath and continued, "Now that Oshima has fallen, what about the samurai and retainers of my Shimazu clan on the island? Were they all captured, or have they already surrendered?"

The retainer hesitated to speak, but still said, “They are all dead, Your Excellency. When we arrived, those Han Chinese soldiers were beheading my Shimazu samurai one by one. I tried to negotiate with them on behalf of the Shimazu family, but the Han Chinese general refused my request, saying that they were Japanese pirates who had invaded the Ryukyu Islands.”

Upon hearing this, Shimazu Shigeo finally lost his composure and swept all the tea utensils beside him onto the ground with a wave of his hand.

The bittersweet matcha was spilled all over the ground, much to the regret of the many retainers present.

Lord Kazusa no Mamoru is not appreciating the precious matcha!

Shimazu Shigehiro waved his hand, knocking over the tea set, before realizing he had been somewhat out of line. He then waved for Hiroto Tsushō, who was in charge of overseeing the tea, to leave.

Shimazu Shigehiro said, “Gentlemen, the situation of my Shimazu clan is no longer what it used to be. The Shimazu clan does not want to fight against the Han army, but the Han army has bullied my Shimazu clan in this way. Not only did they occupy my Shimazu clan’s Amami Islands, but they also cruelly killed many samurai on the islands, and even seppuku was not allowed. This is already a declaration of war against my Shimazu clan.”

Before Shimazu Shigehiro could even finish speaking, he hadn't even uttered the words that he wanted to start a war.

The retainers below had already all knelt down, and Matsui Okawa, a trusted confidant, said bluntly: "Your Excellency, do not worry. This time, the Han army took the initiative to provoke the conflict, and the Satsuma Domain was forced to fight back. Even if the shogunate finds out, it will not punish the Satsuma Domain and the Shimazu family. The Matsui family is willing to provide all its ships, samurai, and foot soldiers to help Your Excellency defeat the Han army!"

Seeing that Matsui Taikawa had taken the lead, Akamatsu Sake quickly followed suit, saying, "The Akamatsu family is also willing to mobilize all its samurai and foot soldiers to fight against the Han army!"

Ichida Moritsune said, "The Ichida family is willing to fully support you!"

"..."

All three trusted retainers expressed their support, and the remaining retainers and warriors had no objections, all saying they were willing to send men to help their lord fight.

Shimazu Shigehiro suddenly looked at his son, Shimazu Nariaki, and said in an unquestionable manner, "Nariaki, you should come along this time too! You must conquer and drive out all the Han army and uphold the honor of my Shimazu family."

"Hi!"

Shimazu Nariaki nodded in response.

As the strongest domain in Kyushu, the Satsuma Domain, considering its overall resources, could muster at least 5,000 to 10,000 troops in times of war. However, less than a third of these troops were directly controlled by the main Shimazu clan.

The remaining troops, along with the land, were distributed among the retainers, who in turn distributed the land among the warriors.

They were layered and mutually constrained, only joining forces to fight when faced with a unified and powerful enemy in times of war.

This system of feudal lords and samurai, which is very similar to the feudal system of European nobles, originated from the unique terrain of Japan.

Japan's topography can be seen as a long and narrow "Fujian," with mountains everywhere dividing what appears to be a complete country into countless small, fragmented areas.

This meant that even if a strong regime emerged in Japan, it was virtually impossible to maintain national unity for long. The only alternative was to maintain nominal unity through a series of decentralized fiefdoms, which also weakened the power of local daimyo and prevented them from posing a threat to the shogunate.

Meanwhile, in Kagoshima Castle, Shimazu Shigehiro, upon hearing that the Amami Islands had been conquered by the Han army and that all the samurai on the islands had been killed, could no longer contain himself, even though he had intended to hold back.

The Amami Islands were extremely important to the Satsuma Domain, not only because they were a vital trade and smuggling route, but also because they were crucial to the Shimazu family's authority over the Satsuma Domain.

If Shimazu Shigehiro could tolerate the loss of his island and the deaths of his retainers and samurai, he might as well commit seppuku instead of continuing to hold power.

To ensure the success of this great battle, Shimazu Shigeo specially named it "Oshima Conquest".

While the Satsuma Domain was busy preparing for war, the Han army had already taken the opportunity to march north and capture the last island in the Amami Islands—Kise Island.

As before, all Satsuma samurai were killed, and any resisting foot soldiers were also beheaded. The foot soldiers who did not resist were all converted into Ryukyuans and taken over by the Han army.

Three days after the Han army had taken control of Kikai Island, the Satsuma Domain's warships finally set sail from Kagoshima.

The Satsuma Domain was willing to invest heavily and attached great importance to the Han Chinese army that conquered Ryukyu. They mobilized a total of 4,000 troops and dozens of warships, which accounted for almost half of the Shimazu clan's fighting force.

Two days later, the two sides clashed at Kasari Bay, northeast of Amami Oshima. This was also the route taken by the Satsuma Domain when they invaded Ryukyu. They first landed at Kasari Bay, then captured Yamatohama and Nishikomi, and then marched south, conquering Ryukyu within a month.

Now, Shimazu Shigehiro wants to replicate the tactics of the first lord, Shimazu Tadatsune, and directly break through Ryukyu, driving all the Han troops back into the sea.

However, fantasy is beautiful, but reality is too real.

The Han army was not the Ryukyu army, and the Han army's warships were not the same dilapidated ships as those of Ryukyu. Their tonnage and displacement were significantly larger than those of the Satsuma Domain's warships, and almost both sides of the hull were covered with protruding gun emplacements.

Shimazu Shigehiro was still prejudiced and overlooked the fact that he was not fighting the Ryukyu army, but the powerful Han Chinese fleet.

When Shimazu Nariakiro, dressed in samurai armor, came to the deck to inspect the enemy situation, he was almost dumbfounded.

How could the Han army's warships be so big?!

Shimazu Shigehiro was fond of Dutch studies and built many Dutch schools. He also purchased a lot of novel Western goods, so Shimazu Nariaki also had rare items such as telescopes.

When he looked through the telescope at the massive Han warships in his field of vision, with their protruding cannons, he was completely bewildered.

While Shimazu Nariakiro was stunned, his retainers were not dumbfounded. They saw their Han army fleet and were also accelerating their approach.

Once the warships of both sides were within a suitable distance, the Han army's warships fired first.

"Boom boom boom!"

The naval guns fired in unison, bombarding the sea and causing the waves to surge. The shells crashed into the seawater, creating large sprays of water.

"Baka! Counterattack! Counterattack!"

"Boom boom boom!"

In a panic, the Satsuma fleet hastily launched a counterattack. However, this counterattack was extremely weak and feeble.

Unfortunately, the Satsuma Domain's fleet consists of small ships, and their technology hasn't been updated in over a century.

Even the Satsuma Domain, which has been involved in smuggling for years, has warships that are all old relics from many years ago. The cannons on the ships were only installed temporarily, and their power was ridiculously weak, not to mention their range was far from sufficient.

It's only natural that shipbuilding technology would decline due to years of isolation and the absence of war.

"Boom boom boom!"

After several rounds of exchange of fire, the Satsuma Domain fleet's cannons not only failed to hit the Han army's warships, but a considerable number of their cannons also frequently went silent.

On the contrary, the Han army's artillery, relying on long-range firepower to continuously bombard the Satsuma Domain's ships, leaving them in a sorry state.

After several rounds of bombardment, five warships of the Satsuma Domain were sunk.

Almost every round of shelling resulted in at least one warship being damaged and sunk.

The losses were so high that even Shimazu Nariaki was alarmed and could only urge his retainers and samurai to engage in boarding action in an attempt to turn the tide of the battle.

Unfortunately, it's of no use.

Many of these Satsuma Domain samurai were indeed fearless and willing to fight to the death for the Shimazu clan, but this was a naval battle, and individual bravery and desperate fighting could not change the overall course of the war.

Even in the only hopeful boarding maneuver, the Satsuma warships were too small and too low to make contact with the Han army's large ships.

They managed to get close to another ship, but ended up colliding with it, unable to even reach the deck of the Han army's warship.

Someone came up with a plan: they took out a rope and hooked it, intending to climb up.

Halfway up, they saw Han soldiers grinning and joking, taking out long spears and poking them randomly as they climbed.

There were also riflemen who had nothing better to do, so they took out their rifles and aimed them at the Satsuma samurai, practicing their marksmanship and accuracy.

In its first battle, the Satsuma Domain fleet was completely overwhelmed by the Han army.

Their artillery range and firepower were inferior to those of the Han army, and their warships were not large enough. The only battle they could fight was boarding maneuvers, but they couldn't even get close to the Han army's ships.

How the hell are you going to fight like this?
(End of this chapter)