Ming East India Company

King Shōei of Ryukyu's military mobilization quickly attracted the attention of Hakuno.

Shortly after occupying Nakijin Castle, Shirano ordered Cheng Keqin's fleet to send out a dozen men in sampans to search for and observe the movements of Ryukyu fleets near Naha.

After receiving intelligence that all merchant ships in Ryukyu had returned to port, Shirano realized that Shō Ning was about to launch a decisive battle.

"Master, on what basis do you judge their army's reaction based on the movements of the Ryukyu fleet?"

Shironodo:

"Although Ryukyu is a country that lives by the sea, its understanding of naval warfare is no different from that of the Ming Dynasty and the East. In Shang Yong's view, since we need to concentrate our forces, the sailors on the ships should also be included in the scope of conscription. I can guess his next move by observing the movement of his fleet."

To be honest, if I were Shang Yong, I would definitely use my naval advantage to divide my forces and send a small force to outflank us by water. This would have made it even harder for us, who were already outnumbered, to cope. Shang Yong's move, however, actually gave us an opportunity. We've already won 30% of the battle before it even begins.

Cheng Keqin suddenly realized:

"Master, I, Cheng Keqin, have traveled by sea for decades, yet I am not even one-tenth as skillful as your method of combining land and water."

Bai Ye smiled, but in his heart he was thinking, "As someone who has systematically studied the theory of sea power, how can you ordinary sea merchants who only think about going ashore to become landowners compare to me in terms of how to utilize the sea?"

Afterwards, Shirono directed everyone to begin emergency construction work.

He first herded all the prisoners into the granary of present-day Guiren City, where they were kept in close contact and all their needs, including eating, drinking, and relieving themselves, were met there to prevent them from leaking secrets.

He then ordered everyone to urgently demolish the barracks on the south side of the city and use the dismantled timber to build a simple fence, which, combined with the city wall of present-day Guiren City, formed a simple barbican.

Two gaps were left in the center of the fence, and two horn cannons were installed there.

There was an inward curve at the junction of the fence and the city wall, and the few dozen warhorses were divided into two teams to attack from both sides. Bai Ye himself and Feng Luzi each led one team.

The riders were all recruited from the garrison soldiers, and they could barely manage to ride a horse without wetting their pants.

"Feng, if a battle breaks out, as soon as the signal cannon fires, we'll lead our cavalry and charge."

This greatly puzzled Feng Luzi, who had fought for many years:

"Master, we only have a few dozen horses. Logically, we can't just force our way through. Instead, we should harass and wear them down. Even the Mongol cavalry wouldn't dare to charge a force of several thousand men. Aren't we just throwing our lives away?"

Baiye shook his head:

"No, the Ryukyuans have more muskets than we do. The cavalry we can muster are all second-rate; they can ride but not shoot, so we can't outlast them. We might as well launch a charge. If we win, all is well; if we lose, so be it."

"There's no way you could charge in such a narrow space! If you lose this round, you won't even have a chance to come back and try again!"

Shirane pointed to the horn cannon behind him:

"See this? Our horses are all inferior ones we found in the countryside. They haven't been trained with artillery, and they'd probably run off somewhere as soon as the cannons went off. Only by carrying the fence on their backs can these horses keep running forward instead of backward."

Helpless, Feng Luzi could only go and organize the team on his own.

After completing the ambush, Shirano selected two high-ranking Ryukyuans from among the prisoners and gave them a letter:

"Go back and tell your master that we are waiting for them in the city of Kijin. If they are willing, we will fight them tomorrow."

Early the next morning, Shiro led everyone to the top of the castle wall of Nakijin Castle. On the distant horizon, the Ryukyu army led by Shang Ning gradually appeared.

As the Ryukyuan troops gradually approached the city wall, when they were about seven or eight hundred paces away, they suddenly raised their various matchlock guns and began firing sparsely.

"Are these people idiots?! Who would fire a breech-loading cannon from that far away?" Cheng Keqin was stunned by the strange behavior of the Ryukyuans.

"And they're firing directly at the city wall! Are they expecting these muskets to blow it open?"

Baiye glanced at it and calmed down. Just as he had expected, since the Ryukyu people made contact with the Portuguese more than a hundred years ago, their country had been peaceful and prosperous. However, their isolated island environment had not given them enough opportunities to fight any large-scale land wars.

Island civilizations are prone to the "Tasmanian effect," where a lack of communication over a long period can cause even the simplest technology trees to become malfunctioning.

Take the Ryukyuans' use of firearms as an example. They had seen the Portuguese use firearms and were able to establish a sizable firearms force through arms trade, but before that, their firearms were mainly used for close-range boarding combat at sea.

They lacked a clear understanding that the power of muskets would decrease with distance, and they didn't even have the basic land warfare knowledge of getting close before firing their muskets. They only knew the most instinctive thing to do: fire two bursts without thinking twice.

Everything is developing in the direction Shirano had predicted.

"Open the city gates, riders behind the fence, prepare yourselves, the entire army will withdraw from the city walls and push forward to the front of the fence to fight the enemy to the death."

"Master, what if they don't enter the city? Even a fool could see that we're opening the city gates wide to ambush them!" Cheng Keqin stepped forward to advise.

Bai Ye glanced at Cheng Keqin:

"Don't try to understand the Ryukyuans' decisions with a normal person's mind. Their fighting skills are not much better than the kids in the village who get into brawls."

Inside the city, Bai Ye had completed the reorganization of the troops. In order to boost morale, Bai Ye had consulted Bai Wenzheng beforehand, and all the male members of the Bai family stood at the front of the troops and led the charge.

Even the bookworm Bai Jiancheng was dressed in a full suit and pulled over to fill in the gaps.

Shiro knew the fighting strength of his ragtag group; to maintain morale, he had to have his own men personally take the lead.

In the distance, after wasting a lot of ammunition and ruining gun barrels, Shang Ning's Ryukyu army began to charge forward.

Although Shang Ning was also puzzled by the wide-open gates of Guiren Castle, the Ryukyuans, who had not fought a war for generations, were unaware of the danger. Under Shang Ning's command, they walked step by step into the death trap woven for them by Bai Ye.

Leading the charge were Shang Ning's royal guards, all clad in armor, numbering three to four hundred in total. They were the core fighting force of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Following behind was a group of soldiers wearing only helmets and ordinary narrow-sleeved shirts, considered second-line troops.

At the very back was a group of hastily recruited laborers, their uniforms not even properly made, who gritted their teeth and charged forward under Shang Ning's whip.

Shang Ning himself was carried on a blanket by several servants as he ran between the second-line and some teams.