Chapter 151: Landing at Hakata Bay

The banquet dispersed; it was already the third watch. Shimazu Iehisa led Ai Neng back to his residence with an apologetic look on his face.

The two sat cross-legged around a table, on which were placed some pastries and tea.

Lifting the wine bottle to pour a cup for Ai Neng, Shimazu Iehisa began to introduce them in detail: "Brother Ai Neng, my three older brothers are from the same mother. My eldest brother is a kind and loyal man; my second brother has a perverse and violent temper; my third brother is humble and cautious. Among them, my third brother is even on good terms with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and this time, he is the leader of the pro-surrender faction within the clan."

Ai Neng smiled, raised his wine cup, tilted his head back, and drank it down before saying sternly, "Mr. Iehisa, we have an old saying in China: 'He who understands the times is a hero.' You have seen the Great Ming's troops and warships, and you should know that although Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army is not bad, it is absolutely no match for the Great Ming army."

"Rather than surrendering to Toyotomi Hideyoshi only to be crushed by the Great Ming later, it would be better to cooperate with us directly."

"I understand this, but I do not know when your army will arrive?" Shimazu Iehisa asked.

"By the end of this month at the latest," Ai Neng pondered for a moment and replied in a low voice.

Shimazu Iehisa weighed the pros and cons in his heart, and finally nodded slightly, accepting this result.

For the next five consecutive days, Shimazu Iehisa and Shimazu Toshihisa each exhausted their efforts, frantically pouring out their thoughts to the Clan Head.

Shimazu Toshihisa felt that since the Ming Army had come from afar, their troop strength must be insufficient, and furthermore, this was the internal affair of Kyushu Island; if they were to cooperate with them, it would be no different from inviting a wolf into the house.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's strength was formidable, and submitting to him superficially for the time being was the only choice.

Shimazu Iehisa, however, gave a cold laugh and immediately refuted him, saying, "Toyotomi Hideyoshi is as ambitious as a wolf; he doesn't even spare his own Clan Head's son. Third Brother, do you think that even if we submit to him, he will let us off?"

"I fear that as soon as he has the time, he will begin to reduce our fiefs."

Speaking of this, he paused, and two cold rays of light suddenly shot from his pitch-black eyes: "At that time, will we resist, or will we let the Toyotomi clan divide and devour my Shimazu clan?"

"Iehisa, is it possible that the Great Ming won't divide and devour my Shimazu clan?" Shimazu Toshihisa questioned.

"Didn't Third Brother just say that the Great Ming has come from afar? Their purpose in coming here is only to obtain one thing; they have no great interest in the rest of the territory."

"What thing?" Shimazu Yoshihiro asked.

"Iwami Ginzan."

The three of them immediately exclaimed in shock: "You're crazy! That is the largest silver mine on the island; you actually want to give it to the Great Ming people?! The Shimazu clan will become the laughingstock of all the daimyo under heaven!"

"Three older brothers, when did I say I was giving it to them?" Shimazu Iehisa was stunned and asked in return, "That Iwami Ginzan is now the lifeblood of the Mori clan; how could it be handed over for nothing?"

"Drive the wolf to swallow the tiger?" Shimazu Yoshihisa finally understood the implication.

Shimazu Iehisa nodded.

The power of the Mori clan is not small; they are the largest daimyo in the Chugoku region, with a full 1.2 million koku. In addition, they also have an elite navy, as well as two branches: Kobayakawa Takakage and Kikkawa Motoharu.

Even Toyotomi Hideyoshi would not dare to underestimate the Mori clan lightly.

If the Great Ming army could unite with them to take down the Mori clan, even if the Silver Mountain were lost, the territory of the Shimazu clan could still expand several times over.

By then, the Shimazu clan would no longer be confined to a corner of Kyushu Island.

Instead, they would be a daimyo famous throughout the world! The other three looked at each other; neither approving nor opposing, they tacitly accepted it.

Early in the morning, several days later.

The fiery red sun climbed out from the clouds, casting a golden radiance that fell upon the newly awakened seawater, refracting a translucent luster.

High in the sky, seagulls circled and wheeled, sometimes soaring straight up, sometimes diving low, cheering and leaping as if celebrating the arrival of a new day.

Rolling waves, one after another, swirled and crashed against the gravel on the shore, stirring up sharp sounds.

Over a hundred warships fully loaded with soldiers ignored the wind and waves and slowly sailed into Hakata Bay, located in the northwestern part of Kyushu Island.

As soon as the ships docked, five hundred Qi Family Army soldiers immediately stepped off the ships, seized the beachhead, and then picked up their weapons to quickly stand guard on the spot.

Zhang Yunxiu stood on the main ship, pressing his hands against the side of the hull, looking out into the distance. He saw green water and lush forests in the distance, white clouds drifting leisurely, and a small city standing on the coast.

This was a natural military port.

In this era when the Age of Discovery had already begun, Portuguese, Spaniards, Great Ming people smuggling in, and Japanese people gathered together.

When the warships of Zhang Yunxiu and his men sailed in, the merchants who had just woken up raised their heads one after another, looking at these magnificent warships and the orderly ranks of soldiers.

"It's the Great Ming fleet! It's the Great Ming fleet," a Great Ming merchant exclaimed proudly.

"Keep your voice down, are you trying to get yourself killed, damn it? If they run into the business we're doing, will we still have a way to live?" A companion beside him hurriedly covered his mouth and hissed coldly.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed Spaniards and Portuguese were also filled with panic.

They did not know why such a massive fleet would suddenly appear in Hakata Bay.

Could it be that the Great Ming was preparing to colonize this place? After the Age of Discovery began, Spain and Portugal expanded frantically outward. Almost half of the island nations in East and South Asia had become their colonies, and originally, they had designs on this Japan as well.

Just as they were sending people to scout the location, the Great Ming army arrived.

Paying no attention to the sound of everyone's discussion, Zhang Yunxiu tightened his robe, turned, and asked Han San: "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, the Shimazu clan is willing to cooperate with us," Han San immediately stepped forward and replied.

"Good, since we are to cooperate, then we shall let them see our strength first." Zhang Yunxiu smiled, then "stomp, stomp, stomp" quickly walked off the warship, ran straight up to Li Rusong, narrowed his eyes, and said with focus, "General Li, I am a layman when it comes to marching and fighting; I will not randomly command how to fight this battle or where to strike."

Li Rusong nodded, and with a look of urgency, urged: "Minister Zhang, swords have no eyes; you had better return to the warship."

"That is fine, you just keep moving forward; I will take a portion of the Tianjin Guard soldiers to hold this place." Since someone was willing to put in the effort, Zhang Yunxiu was naturally happy to see it happen.

He only needed to ensure the logistics were well-managed; the rest of the business of attacking cities and seizing strongholds could be left to Li Rusong and Qi Guozuo.

Li Rusong gave a few simple instructions, led his own troops, and slowly pushed forward.

He knew that he was the protagonist of this battle; as long as it was fought well, fame and fortune would be right before his eyes.

At noon that day, Li Rusong did not rush to attack, but as usual, first sent people to provoke them. After all, in fighting a war, one must always have a justifiable reason; if the name is not right, the words will not carry weight.

Li Rusong's confidant, Li Kui, was the most adept at this. He grinned, led the guides and his men, and arrived at a nearby village.

This village was not large, with only a few hundred people. Because it leaned against Hakata Bay, the people living there were a mixed bag.

Fortunately, the Japanese pirates were easy to recognize: bow-legged and short, one look and you'd hit the mark.

Walking into the village, Li Kui came to a grocery store along the street. Looking inside, a plump Japanese young woman was smiling happily toward the outside.

Since he was there to provoke, Li Kui didn't care about anything else; he pointed at the woman and looked at the translator, saying: "Translate this, how much money to sleep with this woman?"

The translator smiled knowingly, wearing a smile that all men understood, and trotted inside.

After chattering away for a while, the translator ran out like a rolling gourd, looked at Li Kui, and replied: "She doesn't want silver money, she only wants twenty catties of grain."

"She actually agreed?" Li Kui was stunned, clearly not having anticipated this result.

"Hmm." The guide nodded, then pointed to the bungalow in front and said, "If you don't fancy her, look, over there is a place specifically for serving men."

Hakata Bay was originally a port, and those drifting about were merchants.

Merchants drifting away from home, unable to see their families and having silver in their hands, naturally had to find ways to dispel their loneliness.

Li Kui thought to himself that although this Japanese woman was petite, her figure was quite good, so trying her out wouldn't hurt.

Licking his lips, Li Kui turned to look at his men behind him and said, "Don't you motherfuckers forget the mission; gather here in half an hour!"

"Thank you, Boss Li."

The crowd let out a series of lewd laughs and turned to go find their own fun.

Half an hour later, Li Kui looked at the sweat-stained Japanese woman panting on the ground, pulled up his trousers, and strode out.

As he walked out of the bedroom, a short man walked in from outside the corridor.

The two locked eyes, and without a word, Li Kui kicked out.

"Pah, look at that woman of yours, she made my legs go soft."

The Japanese man took the kick, let out a strange "Wah" cry, and his body retreated rapidly until he hit a pillar and stopped.

He glared viciously at Li Kui and immediately threw a punch.

Li Kui didn't dodge, took the punch head-on, grinned, then lay on the ground and shouted loudly, "Murder! Murder! The Japanese are killing people! Ouch... ouch."

At this, the Japanese man was stunned.

You look so burly, how could I kill you? At this moment, the soldiers outside rushed in one after another. Seeing their boss lying on the ground, one man with a purple-flushed face roared, "Good, very good! You motherfuckers are pulling a honey trap on your military masters! Brothers, what do you say we do?!"

"Fuck him up!" Several people immediately rushed forward and pinned the Japanese pirate to the ground, beating him.

A short while later, the patrolling Japanese rushed in. Seeing their own people being beaten and wailing, they immediately joined the fray.

In the end, three Ming Army soldiers were seriously injured.

Li Rusong was instantly furious and plowed through every Japanese person in the entire village.

All the men were killed, and all the women were sent to the large ships.

Afterwards, he led his army to march on Xiaocang City. Without any effort, in half an hour, Li Rusong stepped over the corpses of the Japanese pirates and entered the city.

Upon entering the city, he set up his command post inside the City Lord's Mansion.

Calling it a City Lord's Mansion, it was actually just a few tall brick houses.

Bypassing the entryway, Li Rusong led them into the inner hall.

In the center sat a dark, low wooden table. There was nothing else on the red-lacquered wooden floor, only small, soft white cushions.

Glancing at the decorations inside, the generals under Li Rusong followed their commander inside, muttering incessantly, "Motherfucker, it's one thing that these Japanese pirates are short, but these tables and chairs are also fucking short."

"Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat's son digs holes."

"Alright, all of you motherfuckers shut up. Let the General speak; we're still waiting to go home for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year."

"..."

The group chatted and laughed, sat down, and turned their gazes toward Li Rusong, who was sitting in the main seat.

Meeting their gazes, Li Rusong nodded with a smile and ordered someone to bring out the map drawn in advance by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He pointed to the northwest corner on it and said, "Look, this is our current location, Chikuzen-no-kuni, this is the territory of the Ryuzoji Clan. Further to the right are Buzen-no-kuni, Higo-no-kuni, and Bungo-no-kuni; that is the territory of the Otomo Clan."

"Further south is the Satsuma Shimazu, which should temporarily count as our ally."

"General, then who shall we strike first?" a Assistant Regional Commander asked anxiously.

"The report says that in terms of strength, the Otomo Clan is weaker than the Ryuzoji. However, if we are going to fight, we will catch the Ryuzoji Clan first," Li Rusong said, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

Qi Guozuo, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly interjected, "I request the General to issue the order."

He was in his thirties, dark and thin, stern and humorless, wearing a suit of specially made, mighty silver armor of the Ming Army, with a saber at his waist.

Just sitting there in that attire made people feel oppressed.

Although both were commanders in name, Qi Guozuo knew well that an army could only have one commander, and since he was a man of few words, he took the initiative to yield the command of the main army to Li Rusong.

Li Rusong was extremely grateful for this. Now seeing Qi Guozuo speak, he smiled at him and complimented, "Brother Guozuo is well-versed in military strategy, resourceful and adaptable, possessing the style of your father. I am shamelessly acting as this commander today."

"General Li, don't give me those empty, flowery compliments. Give the order!" Qi Guozuo remained dark-faced, cupped his hands, and requested the mission.

"Good." Seeing that he was truly willing to take the vanguard, Li Rusong stopped being polite and ordered, "Qi Guozuo, hear my command! I order you to lead three thousand of the Qi Family Army as the vanguard to open the path for the main army and take Zhugo Province to the south first!"

"Understood!" Qi Guozuo immediately cupped his hands and retreated.

(End of this chapter)