Ming East India Company

In September of the fifth year of Keicho, just as dawn was breaking, a dense array of Ryukyu warships appeared on the waters of the Kawawa Inner Harbor in Ōsumi Province, speeding toward Kyushu Island.

Shiro stood at the bow of the ship, looking at Kyushu Island in the distance. In the previous Bunroku-Keicho War, the Shimazu clan had already wasted a lot of troops in Korea.

Since the Shimazu clan joined the Western Army, Shimazu Yoshihiro led the last 1500 elite soldiers of the Shimazu clan into battle, leaving Satsuma with extremely weak military forces.

The Shimazu garrison at Kawauchi Port numbered only a hundred or so, mostly elderly foot soldiers and young ragtag soldiers. They had been dozing off on the watchtower, but when they saw that the warships approaching from the sea were not Japanese merchant ships, but foreign fleets they had never seen before, they were terrified. They hurriedly rang the alarm bell, but in their panic, they had no power to resist.

The Ryukyu warship sailed into the harbor, lowered its gunwale, and Pang Shipu, clad in armor and wielding a long-handled razor, was the first to leap ashore. Three thousand elite Ryukyu soldiers followed closely behind, shouting as they charged toward the harbor garrison.

Since the peace talks between the Ming Dynasty and Japan five years ago, and the cessation of the "grass-cutting" of people in Ryukyu, the soldiers of the Ryukyu garrison have long hoped for another opportunity to gain military merit.

Especially when Shirano announced that the newly acquired territories would be distributed in accordance with the Ryukyu lands, countless Ming Dynasty garrison soldiers who arrived late and missed the land distribution were even more eager for food.

In just half an hour, Kawanai Port fell into the hands of the Ryukyu army. Pang Shipu immediately ordered that two hundred soldiers be left to guard the port and control the retreat route of the warships, while the rest of the troops split into two groups: one heading east to conquer various parts of Ōsumi Province, and the other heading southwest to attack Kagoshima, the core stronghold of the Shimazu clan.

The Shimazu clan's forces had already suffered heavy losses in the previous Bunroku-Keicho War.

The cities within the territory of Ōsumi Province were already weak in terms of military strength. The villages in various places were already terrified by the Ryukyu invasion a few years ago. Now, hearing that the Ryukyu people had come out in full force and that the towns and villages along the way were powerless to resist, many low-ranking samurai fled with their families towards Kagoshima, hoping that this fortified city could protect them.

Ryukyu soldiers stormed through cities and fortresses, but unlike in the past, Hakuno did not burn or kill this time. Instead, he ordered the confiscation of food and weapons from the cities and pacified the people.

To prevent the indiscriminate beheading that had occurred before, Shirano specifically ordered that heads would no longer be counted as military merits, and anyone who violated this order would be executed.

In just over ten days, the Ryukyu army had taken control of the entire territory of Ōsumi Province, and its forces were advancing directly towards the territory of Satsuma Province.

When the news reached Kagoshima Castle, Shimazu Yoshihisa and the retainers and senior officers who remained there were thrown into chaos.

Kagoshima Castle, the ancestral home of the Shimazu family, was fortified and easy to defend. However, the garrison numbered less than a thousand, and most of them were old and weak. They were no match for the three thousand elite Ryukyu soldiers.

At this time, the main force of the Shimazu clan was far away in Sekigahara, and the garrison on the border of Kyushu was tied down by the Eastern Army. The distant water could not quench the fire nearby. For a time, people in Kagoshima Castle were in a state of panic, the people scattered and fled, the retainers had different thoughts, and some even secretly planned to surrender.

Knowing that he had reached a critical moment of life and death, Shimazu Yoshihisa immediately ordered the castle to be opened and the old, weak, sick and disabled to be expelled. At the same time, he conscripted all able-bodied men from the surrounding areas and the castle itself, intending to rely on the fortified castle to prolong his life until the main force of the Western Army returned to reinforce him.

This was a common practice for Japanese daimyo defending castles during the Warring States period. Castle defense was relatively easy, and the defenders often only needed to hide inside the crenellations and throw stones and hot oil to inflict casualties on the enemy.

Therefore, the soldiers guarding the city did not need much training; they could fill the lines by simply conscripting able-bodied men.

At the same time, the population should be evacuated as much as possible. The elderly, weak, sick and disabled are of no use in defending the city and will only waste food. It is better to simply drive them out to reduce the burden on the city.

In addition, Yoshihisa Shimazu also brought all the arquebuses and guns to the castle tower. Kagoshima Castle is located on high ground, and these firearms could inflict great damage on the enemy from above.

Finally, Yoshihisa Shimazu ordered all the fleeing samurai to be brought into the castle. The Shimazu family had been operating in Satsuma for many years, and many of the lower-ranking samurai were Shimazu collateral descendants. They were the last reliance of the Shimazu family.

After doing all this, Shimazu Yoshihisa breathed a sigh of relief. As a stronghold that had been managed by three generations of his family for many years, Kagoshima Castle had been besieged countless times. Even if he couldn't guarantee that it would be foolproof this time, it should at least hold out for a few months.

Outside the castle, Baiye and Pang Shipu arrived at the castle and looked at Kagoshima. Pang Shipu reported the intelligence information he had gathered.

"Master, the north side of Kagoshima Castle is backed by the castle mountain. The Shimazu family built the Tengu Mountain Fortress on it. There are only a few small paths leading up the mountain, but they have all been blocked off now."

To the south lies the harbor, and to the east, the Higashide River encircles the city, forming a natural moat. Only the western side of the city wall can be used for our attack.

"Is it possible to attack from the sea?" Shirano asked.

Pang Shipu shook his head:

"Ever since we drove the Western Army's envoys back, the Shimazu clan has blockaded the port and is relentlessly hurling boulders and nails into the water. If our ships were to venture in rashly, we would likely not even be able to get close to the port."

Bai Ye laughed:

"This Shimazu Yoshihisa is really willing to go to great lengths, even sacrificing his family's cash cow to prevent us from landing."

"Master, according to my suggestion, we should first besiege it for a long time, and then use the navy to cut off the connection between western Honshu and Kyushu. If we besiege it for a year or two, Kagoshima will surely fall when it runs out of food."

Shirano refused:

"No, the entire army only has a few thousand men. If we can't take Kagoshima in one fell swoop, the local forces in the other parts of Satsuma will definitely stand by and watch. At that time, the entire army will probably get bogged down in a quagmire. We must fight a quick battle."

Moreover, in the past few years, we have indiscriminately killed many innocent people in Satsuma in order to behead others, so the people's image of us is definitely very bad. If we cannot break through the city with overwhelming force to intimidate the people, dragging it out will have endless consequences for our army.

Bai Ye looked back towards Jeju Island to the west and said:

"Now, it's time to put Feng the donkey's precious gem to use."

……

On the mudflats of Chuannei Port, the salty sea breeze, carrying the cacophony of voices, crashed against this port that had been closed for a century.

With the arrival of the horse-drawn ship, several colossal beasts, their bodies as majestic as mountains, stepped onto Japanese soil with steady steps.

The Japanese civilians and merchants watching on the shore fell into a deathly silence for a moment, which was then filled with gasps and gasps of shock.

At that time in Japan, the native horses were small and weak, with a shoulder height of no more than four feet, and were mostly used to carry small goods or for rough farm work.

The horse in front of me had a smooth and glossy coat. Its shoulder height was more than half that of a local horse. When it stood with its head held high, its head was almost as tall as an adult man. Its thick neck was taut, its shoulder and back muscles were bulging, its limbs were thick and straight, and its hooves were as big as bowls. Every step it took made the ground tremble slightly.