Chapter 755: Oboi Goes to Fight the Japanese

In the eighth year of Shunzhi of the Great Qing, in the fifth month — half a month after the death of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Edo bakufu in Japan — Dodo, Prince Yu of the First Rank and General of Shengjing of the Great Qing, finally ended his long journey and arrived at the new town of Nurgan, near the mouth of the Heilong River.

The new town of Nurgan lay on the north bank of the Heilong River, about seventy li from the river's mouth. It was a bastion of timber-and-earth construction built on a beachhead against the north bank of the Heilong.

The fortress was triangular. One side ran along the river beach of the Heilong, while the other two sides were protected by moats two zhang wide and one zhang deep. At each of the three corners of the triangular bastion stood a projecting solid bastion-platform, and on the platforms were mounted six-pounder bronze cannon produced in the Holy Roman Empire or Italy — all original goods shipped over on Spanish galleons.

South of the bastion, along the Heilong River, a port and market had also been built. It was now summer, the best season of the year around the mouth of the Heilong. The Solon tribes around Nurgan brought furs, eastern pearls, ginseng, and whatever other mountain goods could fetch a bit of money to sell at the Nurgan market. Merchants from the Nine Banners beyond the Pass and from the Bordered Green Banner used the waterways of the Songhua, Nen, and Heilong Rivers to ship grain, salt, and ironware to Nurgan, to trade for the Solon people's special products.

There were also a dozen or so 3,000-dan bird-boats run by Joseon merchants who spoke Shandong and Huizhou dialects; they had been plying the Nurgan—Haishenwai—Busan route since the fourth year of Shunzhi.

These merchant ships generally sailed north from Busan in summer, carrying cloth and assorted goods to the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, then carried furs, eastern pearls, and various medicinal materials to Haishenwai. At Haishenwai they unloaded the furs and eastern pearls, loaded more medicinal materials (ginseng, deer antler, tiger bone, and the like), and shipped them to Busan. They made only one round trip a year, but the money they earned was several times more than running the northern sea route!

It was precisely because of these "Joseon bird-boats" that the port and market of Nurgan flourished in a very short time. A place once regarded as a bitter, cold backwater was now growing more prosperous by the day, driven by the Pacific fur and pearl trade.

"Heh heh, Murima, you've done well! Even this godforsaken place has gotten rich!"

Standing on the wall of the triangular fortress at Nurgan and looking down at the bustling market and docks below, Dodo raised his thumb and praised Murima.

Murima dared not take credit. "My Prince, you truly shame this slave. How could this be the work of this slave? It is all thanks to the far-sightedness of His Imperial Ama and Your Highness, who made contact with the Spanish — only thus did Nurgan prosper."

"Merit is merit," Dodo said with a wave of his hand. "What is there to be modest about? This prince rewards and punishes clearly, and will certainly memorialize the throne to seek recognition for you.

Oboi! Your brother has done well. How is the training of your Solon cavalry coming along? You won't disappoint this prince, will you?"

Ever since his defeat at the hands of the Cossacks, Oboi had been busy with two matters. The first was burying himself in reorganizing the defenses along the Heilong River. Besides the Nurgan fortress, he had also built four great fortresses — Boli, Aihui, Lahasusu, and Hailanpao — and had also built a walled town at Acheng near the Songhua River, to serve as the base of the Heilong amban-jianggin.

The second matter was organizing and training the Solon Vanguard Battalion. The so-called Solon Vanguard Battalion was the new-style cavalry that Oboi had earlier proposed to Dorgon specifically to counter the Cossacks: no armor, no mounted archery; instead they were equipped with lances, matchlocks, sabers, and fine Ili horses, and employed tactics of dismounted shooting, mounted charges, and massed assault.

At first, the Solon Vanguard Jalan had an establishment of only 1,000 men. But later the able-bodied men of the Solon tribes along the Heilong River all eagerly enlisted, and the Oirat Mongols and the Spanish sent sufficient quantities of Ili horses and matchlocks. So Dorgon approved the plan proposed by Dodo and Oboi to expand the Solon Vanguard Jalan, increasing its establishment to 3,000 men.

Now the first 1,000 Solon cavalrymen recruited had completed their training and formed two niru, all following Oboi to Nurgan.

The reason both Dodo and Oboi had come to Nurgan was that they had received secret intelligence from the Kingdom of Joseon that the Japanese Tokugawa shogun was planning a large-scale invasion of Kuye Island. The matter was causing a great stir in Japan, and the Kingdom of Joseon, which had paid close attention to Japanese movements ever since the Imjin War, had naturally learned of it and immediately notified the general's office at Shengjing.

The moment Dodo heard that the Japanese were coming again to contest the Great Qing for furs, he of course could not allow it. He therefore ordered Oboi to lead 1,000 Solon cavalry to Nurgan at once, and himself left Shengjing in person to take command at Nurgan.

"Rest assured, my Prince," Oboi immediately declared, thumping his chest. "This slave's 1,000 Solon cavalry are elite troops trained and trained again, fully capable of holding off 3,000 Japanese soldiers!"

He no longer dared boast now, not daring to claim one against ten; being able to fight one against three was already quite good.

"What if more than 3,000 Japanese troops land on Kuye Island?" Dodo asked.

"Then there is still nothing to fear," Oboi said. "This slave's Solon soldiers are all hunters by origin and accustomed to bitter cold. They can wage a war of maneuver against the Japanese on Kuye Island."

Dodo nodded. "Then it will be hard work for you."

"This slave does not fear hardship. So long as this slave can serve the Great Qing, serve His Imperial Ama, and serve His Majesty, even death holds no terror!"

Oboi's words were finely spoken, and Dodo nodded with satisfaction. "Good! With those words from you, this prince can rest easy. This prince will take command here at Nurgan. If the Japanese troops on Kuye Island are too many to defeat quickly, you must find a way to delay them. Next year, when all the Solon cavalry have finished training, this prince will personally lead them onto Kuye Island!"

He paused. "In addition, this prince has brought half a niru of red-barbarian light cannon — three light red-barbarian cannon in all. Take them with you onto the island."

"Zha!" Oboi hastened to accept the order.

Dodo asked again, "Are the boats for landing on the island ready?"

Murima took the question and answered, "In reply to my Prince, the boats are ready: one Spanish sailing ship and two Joseon merchant ships."

"Is there anyone on the island to receive us?"

"There is, there is," Murima said. "The Hezhen, Fiyaka, and Ainu people on the island have always paid us tribute in sable pelts, and the chief of the Fiyaka is even related to Your Highness."

"Related?" Dodo laughed. "Some relative eight poles away, I suppose?"

Murima laughed. "Still a relative!"

"Fine!" Dodo nodded. "Then send over some cloth and ironware, as a gesture of kinship."

The Aisin Gioro clan had many relatives back in their old northeastern homeland — aunts and uncles of every degree. Count them on your fingers, and anyone of any standing could be traced to some connection. And even if no kinship could be found, they were still fellow northeasterners; go back two or three generations, and they might well have hunted together in the old forests!

This was a connection that Russia and Japan did not have, so once Oboi's men landed on Kuye Island, they would enjoy home-ground advantage!

"In the fourth year of Hongxing, in the fourth month, Tokugawa Iemitsu, shogun of the bakufu of Japan, died. Five thousand Japanese soldiers, led by Kusunoki Masayuki, crossed the sea to Kuye Island in three waves. This is a memorial forwarded by the Grand Marshal's Office? Why not the Ministry of Rites?"

The Forbidden City, Nanjing. The Hall of Fengtian, the Eastern Warm Pavilion.

His Majesty the Great Ming Emperor was presiding over the routine joint council of the two offices. Today, as usual, there were sixteen major matters to discuss, and the first among them was the despicable Japanese imperialist dispatch of troops to Kuye Island.

This matter — should it not have been reported by the Ministry of Rites? And it was not anything particularly urgent. The Great Ming could not possibly send troops to Kuye Island to fight the Japanese, could it?

"Your Majesty," replied Li Yan, military counselor of the Grand Marshal's Office, "the Grand Marshal's Office believes this is our opportunity to recover the Kingdom of Ryukyu. The Kingdom of Ryukyu has always been a vassal of the Celestial Court, yet it was seized and occupied by the Satsuma Domain of Japan. Now it nominally serves our Celestial Court, but in secret it is controlled by Satsuma — a true injury to the Celestial Court's dignity.

Now Annam, Siam, Chenla, and Laos have all signed the Treaty of Suzerainty and Vassalage. Among the Great Ming's vassal states in the southeastern seas, only Ryukyu, Sulu, and Brunei have not yet signed."

(End of Chapter)