Chapter 990: A Guide to Conquering the Country of Japan (Seeking Subscriptions)

"Japan is a feudal country with a fine military tradition, and at the same time an island nation made up of numerous islands. Moreover, the terrain of the Japanese archipelago is extremely complex, with mountains densely packed and plains narrow and small, which is highly conducive to the existence of small separatist regimes.

Therefore, hoping to use massive land and naval forces to deliver a short-term blow to Japan and make it completely submit is very difficult. Instead, one would face a situation where the gains do not match the losses. You must understand that Japan's military strength is composed of countless feudal samurai families, extremely dispersed, and usually small but potent. An invader is unlikely to annihilate them through a few large-scale pitched battles. Even if one heavily damages the assembled samurai armies of Japan, that does not mean colonial rule can be quickly established. Because Japan's military strength, based on samurai families, can be rapidly replenished several times over. After all, a samurai family usually does not have only one able-bodied male who can take the field.

However, Japan's military strength also has a fatal weakness! As an island nation, Japan has long pursued a policy of seclusion, so it has no outstanding seafaring capability, and the country severely lacks sailors and maritime merchants, making it unable to build a powerful navy."

The one currently aboard the Flying, explaining the strategy for conquering Japan to Zheng Jiangong and Li Yuanyin, was none other than the allied fleet's admiral, Tasman.

Tasman had gone to sea despite illness. His health had not been good these past two years, and he was getting on in years. He had not intended to go to sea again, but unable to withstand Zheng Jiangong's entreaties, he had no choice but to come out of retirement and serve as admiral of the allied fleet. In fact, as admiral he no longer had the stamina to command in battle, nor could he manage the fleet's day-to-day affairs, all of which were handed over to David Jones and Zheng Jiangong.

However, he was not drawing the admiral's generous salary for nothing. He had already drawn up for the Great Ming a "guide" to conquering Japan — it could not be called a plan, because it contained few concrete methods of implementation, only a broad policy direction.

Do not underestimate this old Dutch sailor's understanding of Japan — the Dutch East India Company was extremely "Japan-savvy," and Tasman had long traveled back and forth to Japan, so he was very familiar with conditions there.

Moreover, the Dutch East India Company had itself planned to "conquer Japan" in earlier years, only to abandon the idea because the cost was too high.

Of course, what the Dutch meant by "conquest" was not establishing the autocratic rule of the Prince of Orange in Japan — the Prince of Orange could not even exercise autocracy in the seven Dutch provinces, let alone Japan.

The Dutch conquest of Japan was really just about keeping Japan thoroughly in line, so that the samurai of that country would have strength but nowhere to use it.

In fact, the strength of the Japanese samurai, tempered through the Warring States period, had always been considerable! Such a small country, and yet two to three hundred thousand warriors could be mobilized at any time, and they were quite fierce and brave. If their equipment and training were up to standard, even the Ming army of the Zhu Emperor could not be certain of annihilating them all.

But the strength of Japan's samurai lay only on land!

The so-called Japanese maritime civilization full of pioneering spirit that later generations praise to the skies was something no one believed in during the 17th century. How could the foundation of a maritime civilization possibly be feudal samurai ranked by "koku"? Japan in the 17th century was a very typical land-based feudal state founded on land, with no maritime merchant class existing at all, and therefore severely lacking in sailors and without large-scale shipbuilding capacity.

And for the Great Ming, strong in both sea and land, the best way to bring Japan into the Celestial Court's circle and make the fierce samurai thoroughly obedient was not to conquer the Japanese archipelago with a great army, but to use naval superiority to occupy some important small islands around the Japanese archipelago with a small force, and then use those small islands as naval bases to control the chokepoints of Japan's external sea routes.

As long as these small islands are held in the Great Ming's grip, whoever rules Japan will have to serve as a running dog for the Celestial Court.

"Therefore, the first objective of the allied expedition against Japan is the Goto Islands! And the second objective is Tanegashima!" Tasman continued explaining his plan. "The Goto Islands are close to Nagasaki, guarding the sea lanes out of northern Kyushu, and also watching over the western exit of the Tsushima Strait. Moreover, in the northwestern part of the Goto Islands there is a fairly ideal anchorage, a bay protected by several long, narrow islets. One only needs to build batteries on two of the islets and deploy artillery to effectively protect the entire bay. And the area inside the bay is very large, containing four small deep-water bays, enough to hold the entire naval fleet of the Great Ming!

And Tanegashima lies in the sea south of Kyushu, exactly guarding the exit of Kagoshima Bay. Although Tanegashima has no excellent harbor capable of accommodating a large fleet, the island's soil and water are quite good, and there is much flat land, so there is also much good farmland. If the Celestial Court occupies Tanegashima, it will not only gain a base for keeping Kagoshima Bay under close surveillance, but also secure a grain supply base for the fleets and armies stationed around the Japanese archipelago.

Once the Goto Islands and Tanegashima are in hand, all westward traffic from Kyushu will be completely controlled! And once westward traffic from Kyushu is controlled, Japan's complete submission will be only a matter of time."

The proposal Tasman offered was not the most thorough, but it was certainly the lowest-cost strategy for conquering Japan!

Zheng Jiangong, who was very familiar with conditions in Kyushu and Japan's foreign trade, nodded repeatedly as he listened, and the trace of worry that had been floating on his face vanished without a trace.

He knew that the Goto Islands were currently ruled by the Goto Domain (the Goto family), descendants of the famous wokou daimyo Goto Navy of the Warring States period. The domain lord was named Goto Morikatsu, holding a fief of twelve thousand koku. Because of the seclusion edicts, the Goto Navy had long since become history, with at most a few fishermen left!

The Goto family, having lost its navy, was nothing more than a petty domain lord of twelve thousand koku. Being able to raise an army of two or three hundred men would be doing well — how could it withstand the fifteen thousand celestial soldiers of the Great Ming?

As for Tanegashima, it was no longer the territory of the famous Tanegashima family, but rather the direct domain of the Shimazu clan. Because of the "one province, one castle" decree, the castle on Tanegashima had already been demolished, leaving only the Shimazu clan's fortified residence.

With no castle, there should also be few samurai garrisoned there, so Tanegashima would be just as incapable of withstanding a single blow when facing the celestial soldiers of the Great Ming. After taking Tanegashima, the allied fleet would begin blockading Kagoshima Bay and would also attempt to land on Sakurajima, the large island within Kagoshima Bay.

If batteries could be successfully established on the western side of Sakurajima, then Kagoshima Bay would be under Ming army control!

"Boom—boom—boom—"

The faint sound of cannon fire reached the stern cabin of the Flying at that moment. It was the batteries on the Goto Islands opening fire to warn off Ming warships attempting to approach!

Tasman nodded and said with a smile to Zheng Jiangong and Li Yuanyin, "It has begun. The Goto Islands will soon be territory of the Celestial Empire!

And after that, Tanegashima and Sakurajima in Kagoshima Bay!"

"Your Highness, the realm of Japan originally belonged to the Toyotomi house. The daimyo and samurai who received the favor of His Highness the Taiko and who are dissatisfied with the Tokugawa shogunate are all eagerly awaiting Your Highness to step forward and raise the banner of overthrowing the shogunate! So please hesitate no longer, Your Highness. Give the order to raise the Toyotomi banner in Funai Castle! The imperial banner of the five-seven paulownia and the golden gourd horse standard have already been prepared for you! Please give the order, Your Highness!"

"Please give the order, Your Highness."

Just as the Goto Islands were suffering the Ming invasion, inside Funai Castle in Bungo Province, a farce of being begged to take the blame was unfolding.

Toyotomi Kunimatsu, who had been forcibly pushed onto the throne, was merely a hatamoto of five thousand koku, and thanks to the favor of the third shogun Iemitsu, his life had always been quite comfortable. He had never once thought of reviving the Toyotomi house — in his view, the matter was simply impossible! The Toyotomi house had no strength, and its line was thin, with only himself and his two sons, Nobuchika and Nobuaki — three Toyotomis in all. How could the Toyotomi house be revived? Relying on the Shimazu? Relying on the Mori? The very thought was unreliable!

In the old days of the Winter Siege of Osaka and the Summer Siege of Osaka, the Shimazu and the Mori had indeed sent troops, but they had stood on the side of the Tokugawa house, watching the Toyotomi house be reduced to ashes!

(End of Chapter)