Chapter 778: Yutian Domain

Yutian Domain, Andong City.

Domain Lord Mansion.

Beitiao Chuanqing and his son Beitiao Cang were checking the accounts of Yutian Domain, preparing to send this year's taxes to Edo City.

After confirming the accounts were correct, Beitiao Cang complained, "Between the war in Gaoli and the construction of Sailing Warships, the Shogunate has apportioned the expenses to every domain. This year's tax levy has increased by thirty percent. The North Territory is bitterly cold and already impoverished; this is simply demanding the lives of the people of Yutian Domain."

Upon hearing this, Beitiao Chuanqing furrowed his brows tightly.

Thirty years ago, Watanabe An led an army equipped with firearms and Artillery from the south to the north.

The northern domains, which were still holding swords, spears, and Armor at the time, were terrified and surrendered one after another upon hearing the news.

He was young and hot-blooded then, and Yutian Domain was a major northern domain, so he naturally felt very unconvinced and led thirty thousand men from Yutian Domain to meet the enemy.

At that time, Watanabe An only dispatched twenty thousand men to engage him in battle.

Yet his thirty thousand men could not hold their ground, and in the end, they were defeated by Watanabe An's firearms.

Afterward, like the other domain lords, he surrendered his military power and served only as a civil official to govern Yutian Domain.

But since then, life in Yutian Domain had grown worse with each passing year.

The reason lay in the portion of taxes that the domains had to pay to the Shogunate every year.

Previously, the taxes they collected were kept for their own use.

Now, these taxes went to the Shogunate, only for Watanabe An to use them to develop the south to cater to the Westerners.

This naturally made the south increasingly wealthy and the north increasingly poor.

For this reason, many northern domain lords harbored resentment.

Especially in the last two years, Watanabe An had squandered vast amounts of wealth to stir up internal chaos in Da Song.

But the Silver for these expenses ultimately fell upon their heads.

"Do not speak these words outside, lest you invite trouble," Beitiao Chuanqing glared at Beitiao Cang.

There were many who were dissatisfied, but they could only suppress it in their hearts.

The war back then had broken the spines of many, including his own.

Now, they had no choice but to submit to Watanabe An, pledge loyalty to Watanabe An, and work for him.

As the two were speaking, a burst of urgent hoofbeats suddenly rang out in front of the Domain Lord Mansion.

A Cavalryman arrived in a hurry, his expression anxious, "Lord Domain Lord, it is bad. A massive fleet has appeared on the sea, and the ships at the front of this fleet are emitting smoke."

"What!" Upon hearing this, Beitiao Chuanqing nearly jumped up.

News of the Edo naval battle had just reached Yutian Domain.

The Eastern Japanese fleet and the British Fleet had been completely wiped out.

At this time, there could be no fleet appearing in Dongying other than the Yan King Fleet.

Moreover, the ship that the soldier described as emitting smoke perfectly matched the image of the British Steamship.

It was said that in the Edo naval battle, the Yan King Fleet also possessed Steamships.

Therefore, while the soldier did not know what the smoking ship was, he was clear about it.

"Why have they come here? There is no profit to be found in the North Territory."

Beitiao Cang felt a chill run through his entire body.

Beitiao Chuanqing said, "We know nothing of the situation in the south; perhaps the south has completely fallen, and the Yan King Army has fought its way here."

Speaking of this, the father and son looked at each other, feeling even more terrified.

After a moment of silence, Beitiao Chuanqing was the first to calm down; after all, he was also a man who had experienced war.

He said, "Immediately seal the city gates and mobilize the troops to man the city walls."

After a pause, he continued, "Send a team of Cavalry to the coast to continue observing."

Upon hearing this, Beitiao Cang sighed.

There were only five thousand Eastern Japanese soldiers and six pieces of Artillery in Andong City.

If the Yan King Army had truly fought its way here, it would be impossible for him to resist.

The father and son waited anxiously in the city, and then news arrived continuously.

The Yan King Fleet had docked at the Andong City Pier, and over twenty thousand soldiers had landed at Andong City and were heading toward Andong City.

At this moment, they climbed the city wall and, sure enough, saw the Yan King Army appear in their field of vision.

Just by glancing at the Yan King Army, the hearts of the father and son sank to the bottom.

These Yan King soldiers wore uniform dark green military attire, and their military bearing was orderly.

Each of them carried a finely crafted firearm on their back, and a sheathed short blade seemed to hang at their waists.

They did not recognize the Bayonet and could only guess as much.

Besides this, there were also soldiers pushing Field Artillery and a type of cannon that resembled Field Artillery but was different.

"Your Highness, this is Andong City."

While the Beitiao father and son were trembling with fear, Zhou Yi pointed to the city ahead and said to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu nodded.

From south to north, the wealth of the south and the poverty of the north in Dongying were visible to the naked eye along this journey.

This was exactly in line with the intelligence provided by the Four Courts.

The strategy derived from this intelligence should also be correct.

"Watanabe An does not seem to value the north; this Andong City and the northern Dongying cities must be poorly defended. We shall turn everything upside down with our raids during this time," Zhao Xu said.

In Zhao Xu's view, the Eastern Japanese admired strength; if they were not given a beating, they would not be convinced in their hearts.

Therefore, this battle was unavoidable.

Once the fighting was over, he would let the northern domain lords think carefully about whether they wanted to submit to Da Song.

In this way, the situation in Dongying can be controlled at the minimum cost.

These words from Zhao Xu were essentially an order to attack.

Zhou Yi gave Pan Zhang a look, and Pan Zhang immediately ordered the attack on Andong City.

This Andong City only had five thousand soldiers, with each of the four walls only able to be assigned a little over a thousand.

Over twenty thousand marines surrounded it, with each side being assigned six thousand soldiers.

With both numbers and weapons at a disadvantage, the Beitiao father and son both swallowed hard.

If this battle were to be fought, it was feared that not a single one of these five thousand Eastern Japanese soldiers would survive.

But if they did not fight, they were afraid they could not make the decision themselves.

The commanding general within the city was loyal to Watanabe, not the Beitiao family.

This was the method Watanabe used to control the Yutian Domain.

It was just that they were overthinking things.

The key to the war was not held in their hands.

Yan Wang's army surrounded the city and immediately dispatched soldiers in loose formation to approach the city walls.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The six pieces of Artillery on the city walls opened fire immediately.

However, the Cannonballs could not hit the individual Yan Wang soldiers who were spaced very far apart.

And once within two hundred paces, these soldiers raised their guns and fired, and the Eastern Japanese soldiers on the city walls fell in response.

In particular, the Artillerymen were shot and killed instantly, and the Artillery went silent.

At the same time, more soldiers approached the city walls.

Because they were suppressed by the enemy's fire and could not lift their heads, the Eastern Japanese soldiers were completely unable to defend themselves.

Just then, Hand Grenades were thrown onto the city walls one after another.

"Boom!" Amidst bursts of loud noises, the Eastern Japanese soldiers suffered heavy losses.

The Eastern Japanese soldiers on one section of the city wall were suddenly mostly wiped out.

In a short half-hour, Andong City was breached.

The Yan Wang soldiers who climbed the city walls occupied them, opened the city gates, and a large number of soldiers poured into Andong City.

Compared to Changqi, Andong City was a small city, with only one hundred thousand people living inside.

The marine soldiers easily controlled Andong City, simultaneously cleared out the Eastern Japanese who were putting up desperate resistance, and firmly took control of Andong City.

When Zhao Xu and Zhou Yi entered Andong City, Pan Zhang brought the Beitiao father and son before the two of them.

When the city walls fell, the father and son had fled back to the secret chamber of the Domain Lord Mansion, but they were still searched out.

Zhao Xu looked at the two of them, his gaze deep.

His plan was about to be set in motion.