Ming East India Company

The merchants on the shore were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly, and the children hid in the arms of adults, trembling and not daring to breathe.

The farmer, dressed in coarse linen clothes, looked at the beast, which was much larger and stronger than an ox, with fear and confusion in his eyes. He whispered among himself about what kind of mythical beast it was, fearing that it might go berserk and hurt people.

Ryukyu sailors, leading their draft horses and harnessed them, leisurely drove the heavy cannons and cargo boxes toward Kagoshima.

"Feng, you've really taken good care of this horse!" Bai Ye couldn't help but exclaim.

"How could I dare disobey the master's orders? Over the past few years, Jeju Island has now raised a hundred draft horses."

It must be said that the horses of these Westerners are truly excellent. In the past, to pull such a large cannon, it would take six or seven horses working together, and a highly skilled horseman was needed to handle it. Now, with this behemoth, two horses can pull it. It's a true treasure!

At this moment, the horse pulling the cart was carrying the latest weapon built by the Bugarau Artillery Factory under Bai Ye's orders—a 24-pound field siege gun.

Shirano named it Whale Cannon, referencing European naming conventions, specifically to counter the turtle shells of the Japanese daimyo.

The first batch of heavy cannons consisted of five, and Feng Luzi used sixteen draft horses to pull them.

"Feng, donkey, why are all your draft horses female?" Pang Shipu, who was standing to the side, examined them for a while and then noticed something was wrong.

Feng the Donkey said helplessly:

"Don't even mention it. All the stallions are in heat lately. If the males and females come together, they'll probably be intertwined and unable to move."

"Don't you have a castrated horse?" Shirono asked, a little puzzled.

Feng the Donkey explained:

"Master! What are you saying? We only have about a hundred draft horses in total, and each one is very precious. I'm counting on them to breed! How could I bear to castrate them!"

If a castrated horse were used instead, this cannon could basically be pulled by a single horse.

"Goodness, you really love horses like your life depends on it."

……

As dawn approached and the sky darkened to around 7 AM, Shirano stood on a high ground outside the castle, holding a monocular telescope, quietly observing the defensive layout of Kagoshima Castle.

Based on the range of the whale cannon, he selected the bombardment position—a gentle slope less than 300 paces west of the stone wall of the Otemon Gate of Kagoshima Castle. This position offered a wide view, directly facing the most fortified and central part of the castle wall, and avoided the range of arrows and cannons inside the castle, making it an excellent bombardment location.

Dozens of Ryukyu soldiers were busy in an orderly manner, pulling heavy gun carriages on horseback and pushing five 24-pound whale cannons one by one to their designated positions. The leading artillery officer picked up a shovel and pounded the ground a few times to make sure it was sturdy enough.

He then ordered the soldiers to secure the gun wheels, tamp the gun mount, and adjust the muzzle angle.

On both sides of the position, Ryukyu infantrymen stood in strict formation, armed with spears and cannons, ready to defend against a surprise attack by the city's defenders to destroy the artillery positions.

Shallow anti-artillery trenches were urgently dug in front of the positions, and simple wooden shields were erected to firmly protect the artillery positions.

As the first rays of dawn shone on the ground, the Shimazu garrison on the castle finally discovered these enormous, never-before-seen creatures outside the city.

Standing atop the castle tower, Shimazu Yoshihisa gazed at the five dark, menacing cannons, his face ashen, an overwhelming sense of dread washing over him.

He had fought for many years and witnessed countless battles and sieges, but the enormous cannon barrel and dark muzzle still instilled in him an instinctive fear.

The defenders on the city wall were in complete disarray. Many of them had fought against Ryukyu galleons and knew the terror of these heavy cannons.

At this moment, some of the defenders gripped their long swords tightly, while others drew their bows and arrows. They all understood that with their weapons alone, they could not possibly withstand this unknown and terrifying weapon. Panic spread like a plague throughout the entire Kagoshima Castle.

"Load the shells!" With a sharp shout from the Ryukyu artillery captain, the final preparations before the shelling began.

A dozen or so artillerymen performed their duties, with one man using an oil-soaked brush to clean the cannon barrel and sweep away the gunpowder residue left from the last test firing.

The other two men worked together to lift the heavy 24-pound solid iron shot, carefully inserted it into the barrel, and then tamped it down with the gun barrel; another man filled the gunpowder into the breech and inserted the fuse.

A moment later, all five cannons were loaded, their dark muzzles steadily aimed at the stone wall next to the Otemon Gate of Kagoshima Castle, the cannons slightly raised, and they precisely locked onto the target.

The artillery officer lowered his binoculars, picked up his command flag, and waved it fiercely towards Kagoshima Castle, his voice booming like thunder, echoing across the battlefield: "Fire!!"

Before he finished speaking, the artillery captain immediately lit the fuse, and sparks quickly shot into the breech of the gun.

"boom--!!"

A deafening roar suddenly exploded in the sky above Kagoshima!

The first 24-pound cannon fired, instantly spewing out blazing flames from its muzzle. Thick black smoke billowed across the battlefield. The immense recoil caused the heavy cannon carriage to lurch backward, and the ear-piercing cannon fire was like thunder. The Ryukyu soldiers outside the city instinctively opened their mouths wide and covered their ears to avoid the noise.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third cannons roared in succession. "Boom! Boom!" Two loud explosions rang out one after another, and countless birds in the jungle of Beishan Fortress were awakened by the sound of the cannons and scattered in all directions.

Several solid iron projectiles, each weighing twenty-four pounds, hurtled toward the Kagoshima Castle wall with a piercing shriek as they tore through the air!

The city's defenders were still reeling from the deafening cannon fire when they heard a deafening "Bang! Crack!!"

A piercing cracking sound suddenly rang out as the first solid iron bullet slammed into the stone walls of Kagoshima Castle!

This stone wall was built by the Shimazu family over three generations, using large blocks of Satsuma stone. The wall is nearly three meters high, thick and sturdy, and has remained as solid as ever after hundreds of years of wind, rain and war.

However, under the bombardment of a 24-pound cannon, the seemingly indestructible stone wall was still smashed into cracks!

After a round of shelling, before the thick smoke had even dissipated, the Ryukyu artillery had already begun a new round of reloading.

The gunner took out a wet brush and, disregarding the scorching heat of the gun barrel (several hundred degrees Celsius), reached his hand into the breech and vigorously scrubbed the barrel wall.

In the West, such an action would inevitably be condemned as disregarding human life, but in East Asia, where human life is so cheaply valued, no one thinks there is anything wrong with it.

After quickly cleaning the cannon barrels, the gunners loaded ammunition and lit the fuses, giving the city's defenders no chance to catch their breath.

The second round of bombardment began again, with blazing flames erupting once more and solid iron projectiles whistling through the air, striking precisely the two sides of the breach in the city wall. The already loose stone wall finally collapsed under the continuous heavy blows, and the once solid city defense was completely torn open with a fatal gap.

The hard rock was shattered by the enormous impact, and rubble and clods of earth flew everywhere, hitting the defenders on the city wall. Screams and wails mingled with the sounds of cannon fire and the cracking of the stone wall.