Chapter 1613: Bombardment, the Fort

"The first of the three principles: the reason this dispute between our two nations has escalated to such an intractable and thorny degree is that the shogunate has usurped power, disrupted governance, and acted recklessly. Therefore, for the sake of relations between our two countries, your nation's shogunate must, within a set deadline, end its tyrannical acts of usurping power and disrupting governance, and return authority to your nation's imperial court, so that relations between our two countries may return to normal as quickly as possible.

Second, the trade disputes between our two nations have already caused significant losses to our country, and the shogunate's unbridled and reckless actions have also caused us unnecessary losses. Therefore, your nation must provide adequate compensation, in the amount of fifty million taels of silver.

Third, in order to ensure that trade between our two nations remains stable in the future and is no longer affected by such incidents, our imperial court formally demands that your nation cede Nagasaki Port to serve as our commercial port within a set deadline, and recognize that our country's merchants hold special status in your nation, not to be restricted or arrested at will.

These three principles form the basis of the negotiations between our two nations this time; none can be omitted. I ask that you, honored envoy, take due note."

As Kong Zhang laid this out, Yagyu Motoaki, who had been listening in silence the entire time, wore an expression that grew increasingly strange, until finally he stared at Kong Zhang as if looking at a madman.

"Kong... Lord Kong, are these truly the terms formally proposed by your country?"

"Of course they are. As an official of the Great Han, would I dare falsify such a matter?" Kong Zhang smiled as he produced a document from beside him and handed it over. "Here is our written statement. Please review it, my lord, and see if you have misheard."

As if possessed, Yagyu Motoaki reached out with trembling hands, took the document, and read through it carefully. In the end, he found that he had not misheard — these three terms were indeed the Great Han's current demands.

"Lord Yagyu, what do you think of these terms?" Kong Zhang asked unhurriedly once he had finished reading.

A surge of blood rushed to Yagyu Motoaki's face, instantly reddening it. He suppressed the impulse to throw himself at the other man and beat him, and casually tossed the document onto the table.

"These terms... we absolutely cannot accept them — not a single one! And we won't even discuss them! In doing this, does your country intend to rupture relations between our two nations?"

"So, my lord, you are unwilling to agree, then?" Yagyu Motoaki's reaction had not exceeded the expectations of Kong Zhang and the other Great Han officials, and so it drew no particular response. "In that case, I see nothing left to discuss."

"What does my lord mean by that?" Yagyu Motoaki felt a vague sense of foreboding.

"The responsibility for this breach between our two nations rests entirely with your nation's shogunate." The smile vanished from Kong Zhang's face as he looked coldly at the other man. "These terms before you now represent the final effort we have made to salvage the situation. Since my lord refuses to agree, we have no other recourse."

"My lord... what do you mean?" As if sensing what was coming, Yagyu Motoaki's entire body stiffened.

"I have spoken very clearly: we are out of options and can only resort to a final measure to resolve these issues." Kong Zhang remained unhurried. "Since negotiations can no longer salvage the situation, we have no choice but to use military force to restore the situation, to restore order in your country, and to restore the good relations between our two nations."

"Does this mean war?" Yagyu Motoaki understood now. He himself did not know how he still managed to speak.

"Yes, war. From today, from this very moment, our country and yours are in a state of war." Kong Zhang fixed his gaze on him. "At the same time, because the shogunate is neither your nation's imperial court nor its legitimate ruler, we do not consider ourselves to be at war with the nation of Japan. This is merely a punitive expedition and chastisement of the shogunate. I ask that you, honored envoy, take due note."

"Punitive expedition... chastisement..." Yagyu Motoaki repeated the words numbly, as if his thoughts had fallen into chaos.

This was indeed a terrifying and unexpected blow. Before coming here, how could he ever have imagined that today would yield such an outcome?

"Indeed, the chastisement has already begun. Soon your shogunate will understand who truly decides matters under heaven now." Kong Zhang gave a cold laugh. "Furthermore, there is one more thing: until the shogunate changes this arrogant, discourteous, and uncivilized attitude of refusing to submit to the royal domain, our imperial court will absolutely have no further dealings with it, nor will it ever again regard the shogunate as a negotiating counterpart."

In other words, there would be no more negotiations in the future — not even peace talks?

What towering arrogance!

"You villains, don't imagine you have victory in hand!" From some unknown reserve of strength, Yagyu Motoaki suddenly erupted in furious curses at Kong Zhang and the others. "Judging by the situation now, you've probably been preparing to wage war on our country for a long time! Then why did you deliberately hold negotiations? Such treacherous scoundrels... what virtue or ability do you possess to usurp the Central Plains? Ptui!"

Kong Zhang did not answer, merely watching him coldly, with an indifference as if the man were nothing more than a chattering monkey.

"Don't think you can defeat us!" Seeing that the situation was beyond salvaging, Yagyu Motoaki abandoned all restraint and railed at these ministers. "Our shogunate has governed Japan for generations — our military is strong, our provisions ample, and moreover the people of Japan are united as one! Even if your ships are sturdy and your cannons powerful, you absolutely cannot defeat our shogunate! When the time comes, we'll see who suffers! You've barely secured the Central Plains and already you're attacking in all directions, exploiting the people's strength to this degree — sooner or later the people's hearts will grow weary of you, and then you'll be just another Qin or Sui... no, Qin and Sui at least lasted two generations. Villains like you will ruin the realm in a single generation!"

"This fellow's mouth is full of foul and slanderous words, utterly lacking the upbringing of a court official — truly a barbarian from a foreign land." He Jingkun curled his lip in contempt. "Guards, give him some peace and quiet!"

The door was immediately opened, and several guardsmen walked in. Seeing the situation turning against him, Yagyu Motoaki lunged toward Kong Zhang. His fury had burst the dam of reason; the deliberate humility he had adopted to deal with the Great Han officials had vanished, and the pride of a warrior and swordsman, along with the ferocity and brutality in his blood, surged back into him.

Eyes bulging with rage, face contorted, he charged at Kong Zhang. Because it happened so abruptly, and no one had imagined this Japanese would dare to raise a hand inside a Great Han government office, the others failed to react in time, allowing him to rush right up to Kong Zhang and make a vicious grab at him.

Kong Zhang had been somewhat stunned as well, but his experience far exceeded that of the others — he had crawled and fought his way through chaotic times, so his reaction was, after all, a beat faster than the rest. In a sudden flash, he threw himself backward with a strength he did not know he had, but he was still a fraction too slow. Yagyu Motoaki's hand missed his neck, but struck him hard across the face. Had there been a blade in that hand, the outcome would likely have been blood splattered five paces away.

Smack! With a loud crack, Kong Zhang was sent heavily to the floor by the blow, followed by a miserable howl as he rolled on the ground.

"Protect Lord Kong! Get in here, seize him!" He Jingkun had come to his senses by now and bellowed at the guards.

The guards hurriedly surrounded them and rushed at Yagyu Motoaki together.

Yagyu Motoaki staggered, trying to flee, but the room was too small and he was soon forced into a corner. Although he shoved aside and knocked down several guards, the disparity in numbers was simply too great. Moreover, he had been plagued by worry recently and was far from peak physical condition. In the end, several guards tackled him and pinned him to the ground together.

Kong Zhang finally climbed to his feet. The right side of his face was swollen high, his hair disheveled — he looked utterly disheveled and was in considerable pain.

"Beat him! Beat him! Beat him hard!" He stared at Yagyu Motoaki on the floor, seething with fury. "Don't be afraid — he is a criminal now. I will take full responsibility for everything!"

Having received Kong Zhang's authorization, the soldiers immediately began beating Yagyu Motoaki to avenge their lord's grievance. Two of them held Yagyu Motoaki's body down while the others kicked and struck him relentlessly, quickly leaving him bruised and battered all over.

Yet Yagyu Motoaki never begged for mercy, nor did he even cry out in pain. He merely stared at the Great Han officials present with eyes full of hatred — a truly chilling sight.

"These island barbarians are indeed savage and ferocious!" He Jingkun felt a chill in his heart and could not help but exclaim, "In the past, when I heard the elders speak of the Japanese pirates running rampant like evil spirits, I did not believe it... now I see those words were true indeed!"

"Ignoring the diplomatic ties between two nations, breaking faith, launching a sudden attack on our country, slaughtering our people — who exactly are the evil spirits?" Yagyu Motoaki roared back. "You are the evil spirits!"

At his outburst, the soldiers beat him even harder, and soon Yagyu Motoaki's curses became fragmented and inaudible.

"Enough, enough." Seeing that he had been beaten sufficiently, Kong Zhang sighed as well. "I respect you as a man of mettle, so I will not have you further humiliated. The situation between our two nations is now settled; nothing more you do will have any meaning. You would do well to rest quietly."

Yagyu Motoaki tried to say something else, but Kong Zhang cut him off. "When we summoned you today, we never expected you to agree to our terms. However, since you are, after all, the envoy sent by the shogunate, we were obliged to inform you before commencing hostilities. Originally, we intended for you to return to your shogun bearing our proclamation and state letter, to inform him of our terms. But now you have raged inside our Great Han government office and even assaulted a Great Han official — this is an unpardonable offense. So I will not release you to go back. I can, however, release a few of your subordinates in Tianjin and have them carry the state letter back."

He could send men back to report to the shogunate before the war began?

Hearing Kong Zhang's decision, Yagyu Motoaki, even though his spirits had plummeted to rock bottom, still felt a slight measure of relief.

But, as if reading his thoughts, Kong Zhang suddenly gave a cold laugh. "However, don't rejoice too soon, because our great army is about to attack your country. I fear that by the time your messengers return and see your shogun, our country will already have seized vast swaths of territory... Ha, perhaps by then the messengers will have to rely on them just to make it back to Edo."

In other words, the Great Han had already launched its attack? The shogunate... what was to be done?

Yagyu Motoaki felt the pain in his heart was even more intense than the pain in his body.

The agony quickly transformed back into bitter hatred, and he glared at Kong Zhang and cursed again.

"You... even if you want to wage war, you should do it openly and honorably, nation against nation! Yet you resort to such tricks! You call yourselves the Central Flower, you seem to have a court full of high officials, but in truth you are all villains — how many of you are worthy of those official caps and robes! You are all treacherous scoundrels!"

"I am a direct descendant of Confucius — how am I unworthy of the court's official cap and robes?" Kong Zhang laughed heartily. "And what virtue or ability does your shogunate possess to dare call itself a nation? Your country has an imperial court. We are chastising the disloyal and restoring order on behalf of your country's imperial court — this is carrying out the Way of Heaven. Your shogunate has courted its own destruction, and Heaven's punishment awaits. Let us see what end befalls you!"

"The imperial court..." Yagyu Motoaki's eyes widened. "What has our imperial court done?"

"There is no need to tell you that. You will find out in due time." Kong Zhang waved his hand, signaling the guards to take Yagyu Motoaki away. "Keep him under proper guard. Don't let him suffer too much — someone will deal with him when the time comes. There is no need for us to overstep our role."

And so, with Yagyu Motoaki's imprisonment, the Japanese shogunate lost its sole remaining official in the Great Han, formally marking the official commencement of war between the two sides.

The fleet that had already set sail from Busan Port was, of course, unaware of these scenes unfolding in the capital. To them, whether war had been formally declared on the shogunate or not was entirely irrelevant.

At the very noon when Kong Zhang had Yagyu Motoaki seized, the combined naval and army fleet arrived in the open sea off Kyushu. The warships were arrayed at the front, with the troop transports spread out behind them, like an unfurled curtain stretching wide, menacingly enfolding the northwestern coast of Kyushu in its grasp.

The weather today was exceptionally fine. Sunlight flooded heaven and earth, and visibility was extremely high. Aboard the Great Han fleet's flagship, Songshan, a large group of officers crowded the deck. Though the sea breeze refreshed their spirits, the scorching sun stung their exposed skin, yet none had the leisure to care.

Before them lay Hakata Bay, the very place where the Great Yuan had landed during its two expeditions against Japan. Seen from afar, the bay extended deep inland, with mountain ranges stretching along both sides, like a giant with arms outstretched in an embrace.

Vessel after vessel dotted the azure sea, like black specks upon a blue curtain.

The Great Han's naval strength had already been assembled, becoming a maritime force the shogunate could not resist.

The officer standing before everyone was the commander of this expedition against Japan, Great Han's Count of Xingyang, Zhao Song. He stood proudly at the bow, holding a telescope and carefully studying the scene ahead.

The opposite shore was utterly calm, as if completely unaware of such a fleet's arrival. Yet Zhao Song could clearly see that the gun emplacements on both flanks were already arrayed in full readiness. Though the indistinct figures made it impossible to tell exactly how many men there were, they had presumably long prepared to resist.

The gun emplacements on both sides stood like two small hills before his field of vision. The piled-up yellow earth seemed to gleam under the sunlight, almost like a mountain of gold. As for the cannons in those emplacements, their bores looked very small and their shapes bizarre — they inspired little sense of dread.

"We must seize these two gun emplacements before we can smoothly sail the troop ships into the bay." He spoke as if to himself.

"They're nothing but trivial obstacles — we'll just smash them open." Marquis of Langya, Cai De, the naval commander-in-chief of this expedition, who stood beside him also holding a telescope, answered at once. "Two little gun emplacements, a pile of outdated junk — leave them to us to deal with!"

"Bombardment from you alone won't finish the job. In the end, won't the army still have to go in and occupy them?" Zhao Song smiled faintly. "Still, treating them to a rain of shells first isn't a bad idea."

Then he added, "Marquis of Langya, these are our opening shots. Make them resound — don't be stingy with the shells."

"Naturally." Cai De laughed heartily, then waved his hand with emphasis.

"Prepare to bombard!" a naval officer beside them bellowed. In that instant, the entire ship seemed infused with vitality, the atmosphere shifting dramatically. The command room on the deck received the order and at once pulled the bell cord; the lower decks and the one below them shuddered in response.

The duty sailor on the mast waved the signal flags at the same moment, issuing the order for the entire fleet to prepare to attack.

The warships, their great sails taut, turned almost in unison the instant they saw the flag signal, closing in on the gun emplacements and the shore.

Under Cai De's orders, the Songshan continued sailing forward until it reached a position it deemed suitable, then came to a halt.

Next, the ship began slowly turning in place. White trails instantly appeared across the azure sea, like the sharp claws of a giant, only to vanish just as quickly.

Every warship now had one broadside facing the gun emplacement on the left flank squarely. The two tiers of shutters along the broadside were lowered one after another, and black gun barrels extended from the openings, densely packed like the spines a hedgehog bristles when startled.

Then, a single ship and a single gun emplacement held this fixed distance, as if two people were staring at each other — though their respective masses appeared utterly disproportionate.

Everything sank into silence.

Yet very soon, the stillness that seemed as if it might last for eternity was abruptly shattered.

The cannons on the gun emplacement began to roar, but because their range was too short, the shells all fell into the water, raising only some spray and mist, unable to affect the Great Han fleet in the slightest.

And on the Great Han side, at almost the same moment, the preparations for bombardment were completed.

"Boom!" Dozens of cannons roared in unison, nearly shoving the entire ship backward, the sound so loud it pained everyone's eardrums. The iron shells these cannons fired streaked toward the gun emplacement with sharp howls, at speeds the naked eye could not follow, then slammed into the ground of the emplacement.

Lookouts on the mast immediately wrote down the bombardment's effects on paper and passed it down. The ship's officers then adjusted the cannons' firing angles and parameters based on these reports. Hot smoke filled the several gun decks, officers shouted at the top of their lungs, and sailors threaded through this chaotic, frantic environment — it was as if they had descended into hell itself.