Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 225 Unstoppable Momentum: I bet there's no flood in this river!
"go ahead!"

General Yoshishige Otomo suddenly swung down the iron fan in his hand, and an army of tens of thousands under his command roared and broke through the border between the two countries.

The most numerous were the foot soldiers, who wore straw hats and carried cross-shaped spears; followed by the samurai, who wore tunomaru (cloaks of flesh and blood) and carried katana at their waists.
Behind them were archers, arquebusiers, cavalry, and even "Guo Beng" cannons pulled by mules.

By converting to the Church of the Holy Cross, the Otomo family possessed the most advanced and numerous firearms in all of Japan. Most of their matchlock guns were original imports from the Frankish army, rather than inferior imitations made locally.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to contend with Mori Motonari, whose power extended to ten countries.

"Armor unit, move out quickly, three-volley fire, open fire!"

[Reggae] Tachibana Dōsetsu wields a "saipei," a baton made of leather strips tied to a short handle, which is a rank lower than the "gunpei" of the general, and issues military orders to his troops.

boom!boom!boom!boom!
Smoke filled the air, and blazing fire swept straight towards the opposite camp.

Faced with the hastily organized Japanese auxiliary troops at the border outpost, the Ōtomo clan, like a lion hunting a rabbit, immediately dispatched their most elite arquebusiers.

In present-day Japan, the proportion of arquebus equipment among the most powerful clans in the country is about five percent, but the Ōtomo clan has a full ten percent!
The total number of arquebusiers was nearly three thousand, one-third of whom were the elite troops directly under the Tachibana family.

[Reggae] Tachibana Dōsetsu improved upon the complicated procedures before firing arquebuses by inventing a method called "Hayako-no-miko" (meaning "early mixing of ammunition and projectiles").

They also prepared many mixed bamboo tubes, which were then tied together with straw ropes and hung on their shoulders. When in use, they could pour in a batch of gunpowder and a bullet at the same time, eliminating the shooting steps and greatly increasing the shooting speed.

Furthermore, the use of a three-stage firing method significantly increased the firepower density, which was somewhat close to Wang Cheng's "linear tactics" of using cardboard fixed ammunition with a three-stage firing method.

As mortal enemies, we must never underestimate the heroes of the world.

The greatest respect you can show your opponent is to completely eliminate them!
The Japanese officers at the front lines, who had long since become "money slaves" to the "golden evil master," clutched their gunshot shoulders and, following Wang Cheng's orders, offered only a brief resistance before leading the fleeing troops in a panic.

The border outposts, which were not particularly strategic, collapsed completely.

"Shadow Stream Slash, kill!"

A group of Shadow Warriors wielding five-foot-long swords pursued them relentlessly, turning the already scattered fleeing group into a complete rout, losing its last vestige of organization.

This combination of arquebus firing and longsword-wielding troops is the Tachibana family's secret "aggressive attack tactic".

After a three-fold collective arquebus attack, the surprise attacking force took advantage of the enemy's chaos and used the Shadow Flow "Slash In" technique, which uses long swords, to pursue from the side.

Unfortunately, the feedback from the people's wishes is not strong enough, and the results achieved by the Tachibana family are not particularly sensational. This secret military strategy has not been transformed into the "Secret Scroll of Military Strategy," which would have given them special array enhancements.

"Pursuit!"

The Otomo clan's army advanced rapidly, sweeping through enemy lines and capturing outposts throughout the Eastern Sea Kingdom.

All the results of the battle proved that the army on the territory of the Eastern Sea Kingdom, which could only make extensive use of auxiliary troops, was indeed vulnerable, and they were also unprepared for the fierce surprise attack by the Otomo family.

In the following days, a series of defeats unfolded in the Donghai Kingdom:
In the border grain-producing area of ​​Zaoliang City, the rice paddies shimmered with golden waves under the setting sun. However, one of the thirty-six fierce warriors from the Five Peaks Banner ordered the burning of the granaries and fled ahead of time with the gold and silver treasures he had plundered.

[The Undefeated General] The samurai of the Takahashi Shōun family were the first to scale the castle and cut down the five flagpoles standing on the castle tower.
Faced with overwhelming military might, the Japanese garrison at Takatoyama Castle mutinied and fled in the night.

The Wufeng Banner garrison could not control the situation and had to use excessive amounts of gunpowder to destroy several heavy breech-loading cannons that they had not been able to take with them.
Tachibana Dōsetsu reached out and touched the crack in the cannon barrel, pondering to himself:

"The East Sea Kingdom is indeed not good at land warfare, but this war has gone too smoothly."

Putting aside their combat capabilities, they didn't even have a strong will to resist.

Of the renowned Twenty-Four Generals and Thirty-Six Fierce Warriors, not a single one perished along with the city. Could it be that the Tanka people, having spent so long at sea, have become less valuing of the land?

Before he could figure it out, he was interrupted by a messenger from Otomo Yoshishige:
"Cristal Knights, continue forward!"

When Tachibana Dōsetsu and his samurai heard this title, they all unconsciously frowned.

The issue of faith had already created a huge rift between the ruler and his ministers in the Ōtomo clan. As time went on and the war situation improved, the prestige of the Supreme Commander grew daily, and there was a trend of further strengthening.

Tachibana Dōsetsu sighed deeply:

"Once we defeat the Donghai Kingdom, I must advise my lord not to sink any deeper into this mess."

The Dazhao people are fierce tigers, and the Frankish people are jackals.

If this continues, the Ōtomo family may offend the royal family that controls religious authority and become the common enemy of the entire island of Yōju!

Compared to the Frankish gods, at least the Three Officials of the Great Zhao Dynasty belonged to the superior system of Yingzhou, sharing the same origin, and were less likely to incur backlash.

Although he was a monster, he was well-versed in human nature. He believed that those who were not of his kind were bound to have different hearts, and that traitors were more hateful than enemies.

With external enemies at hand, they couldn't deal with this internal threat for the time being and had to put it aside for the time being.

The army obeyed the order and continued its advance.

In this agricultural era where transportation relied on walking and communication on shouting, the daily "march" was only about thirty to forty li.

A march of more than 100 li in a day is the maximum speed that can be achieved by discarding supplies and traveling light.

The former's speed belongs to the Ōtomo clan, while the latter's speed belongs to the Outer Five Banners Auxiliary Army of the Tōkai Kingdom.

The chase and escape quickly penetrated deep into the heart of the East Sea Kingdom.

Three days later, after a relatively easy battle, the Korayama Fortress fell. Overjoyed, Yoshishige Ōtomo knelt before the cross and prayed, believing it to be a gift from God. After personally presiding over the Mass of the Church of the Holy Cross, he hosted a banquet for his retainers at the Korayama Fortress.

They were arranged on both sides according to their different statuses.

The highest-ranking official was the "Kera," who served as the chief retainer of the daimyo and managed many political affairs of the domain through a council system. His status was second only to the daimyo.

【Reggae】Tachibana Dōsetsu and 【Invincible General】Takahashi Shōun are undoubtedly the top choices.

The next group, the "one-family retainers," consisted of the Ōtomo clan's main relatives. Their status varied depending on the daimyo's attitude, but the Ōtomo clan's one-family retainers were treated fairly well.

Both Otomo Jinshu and Otomo Shotetsu were fierce generals who were over 1.55 meters tall.

"Genealogical retainers" are retainers who have served their master's family for generations. In the context of the Great Zhao Dynasty, they were the personal guards or servants of powerful and wealthy families.

"Hatamoto" refers to a highly capable retainer who is directly promoted by the daimyo.

The last group of "outsiders" consisted of newly surrendered samurai or daimyo, and quite a few of them came this time, many of whom were former exiled daimyo, noble families, and samurai from the seven domains.

Not only were there retainers, but also summoned courtesans to accompany them. The entire army looked relaxed, feeling that victory was assured.

The outlaw daimyo who was hoping that Yoshishige Otomo would help him reclaim his territory rose humbly to offer a toast:
"This foreign official respectfully offers a cup of wine to the palace guards."

At the current pace, it won't be long before you've recovered the seven kingdoms, unified the nine islands, controlled the Western Sea, and become the true governor of the nine kingdoms.

A group of people around echoed this sentiment:

"The head of the royal family who wrote 'The Influence of Sea Power' is all talk and no action. He can't compare to the military genius of Buzen no Kami-no-dono."

"That's right, respect to our war god!"

Some of the retainers who followed Ōtomo Yoshishige in converting to Christianity were even more blatant in their flattery:
"Once we unify the nine islands, and then promote the Church of the Holy Cross throughout the islands, with your achievements, you might become the patron saint of Yingzhou after your ascension!"

These consecutive victories had already made Yoshishige Ōtomo quite proud, and the compliments from his retainers were exactly what he wanted to hear.

At this point, no one could stop his ambition to become a saint.

Halfway through the banquet, the ninjas who had gathered intelligence returned to report:
"It was discovered that the enemy had established a defensive line in the hilly area of ​​Takara Mountain on the east bank of the Chikugo River, thus securing the only passage across the river."

This should be the main force assembled by the Donghai Kingdom.

The Chikugo River originates in the mountainous region of the Kyushu Islands and is 300 li long, making it the longest river on the island.

It is also the last natural line of defense for the Donghai Kingdom.

Once they crossed the Chikugo River, the Ōtomo clan could then advance unimpeded along the official road to Pinghu Port, the ruling center of the Tanka people.

Many of them clearly remembered that the reason why the Donghai Kingdom was able to conquer such a large territory a few years ago was entirely because the first generation of the Wang family's leader, the Jinghai King, was a second-rank "White Water Gentleman".

Taking advantage of the rainy season, he led his 3,500 peaks along the Chikugo River, which is rich in water, and swept through all the feudal states along the way.

This great river changed the fate of many of them.

The senior retainer, Tachibana Dōsetsu, examined the map and bowed to Ōtomo Yoshishige, offering his advice:
"My lord, it is now June and the rainy season has begun. We must be wary of the East Sea Kingdom's specialty: water attacks!"

We must not repeat the same mistake we made once.

Otomo Yoshishige was still quite clear-headed and knew the seriousness of the matter, so he summoned a sixth-rank Onmyoji who accompanied the army and ordered him to divine the weather.

Although Onmyoji did not hold high official ranks, they were often relied upon by powerful ministers and nobles, and their status far surpassed that of ordinary officials and warriors, much like the Taoist priests of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

After the sixth-rank Onmyoji performed the ritual, he respectfully bowed to Ōtomo Yoshishige.

"Bungzen no Mori-dono, June to August is the peak season for rainy season and typhoons in the Kyushu Islands. Before that, the Chikugo River does not have much water."

The courtier has already used the Rain Maiden divination method and can guarantee with his life that there will only be light rain in the Chikugo River basin for the next five days, which is completely insufficient to create the conditions for a water attack.

Even if someone builds a dam upstream, it will not pose any threat to our army.

Great joy in Otomo Town:

"Excellent! God is indeed watching over us!"

He grabbed a few gold coins from the box beside him and gave them to the Onmyoji.

Looking up at the sea, I felt exhilarated:
"Baron Carlo should have already led his fleet to Hirado Port, the main base of the East Sea Kingdom, by this time."

Once the Wang family loses its base at Pinghu, we, the powerful clans of the seven kingdoms, can rally the people of our former territories to rebel and drive the Tang people back into the sea in one fell swoop.”

"The only uncertainty now is whether the second-generation head of the Wang family will die by our swords or by Baron Carlo's cannons."

"Pass down the order: whoever can secure the marriage of Prince Jinghai for me, I will marry my daughter to him, making him the son-in-law of the Ōtomo family!"

"Roar!"

The army was in high spirits. After a short rest, they marched towards Chikugo River.

(End of this chapter)