Chapter 1624: The Shimazu Clan Rebels

During the retreat, no longer needing to worry about hitting their own men, the Great Han army brought their cannons back into action and resumed the bombardment. The shogunate troops, already scattering in every direction, suffered horrific casualties, but no one spared a thought for the comrades fallen on the ground — they simply fled in chaos like headless flies.

Soga Kousuke and the others could no longer rally their forces in the pitch-black night. Under the gloomy black curtain, only utter chaos remained. Fortunately for them, the Great Han soldiers, wary of the darkness, did not pursue, and so they managed to escape. By the flickering light of fires and the dim glow of the stars, Soga Kousuke and his men finally stumbled their way back to their original point of departure.

This forest was deathly still and eerily cold, its branches clawing menacingly under the starlight, like the dwelling place of ghosts.

Covered in blood and grime, Soga Kousuke trudged unsteadily through the woods. The shogunate soldiers around him passed by in clamorous disarray, but he was oblivious to it all. He had not set out brimming with confidence, but at the very least he had been full of high spirits, determined to repay the shogunate and the Shogun with his life. Yet now... after suffering such a crushing defeat, his spirits had utterly collapsed.

Having gone to such lengths and still failing to defeat the Han invaders, what more could he possibly do? He asked himself this in his heart, but no matter how he searched, he could find no answer.

Without realizing it, he had arrived at the spot where the Elder, Lord Naitō Tadashige, had halted. In the dimness, the Elder stood with a dark expression, speaking to several people beside him. His face looked far worse than it had earlier.

As if suddenly jolted awake, Soga Kousuke abruptly raised his head and strode toward the Elder — he wanted to demand why the man had not come to his support just now!

As the Nagasaki Magistrate, no one blocked his path. He quickly reached the Elder's side and then shouted out.

"My Lord! Why did you not come to support me just now?!" His heart burning with urgency, he had almost forgotten all decorum, and he demanded in a most improper tone, "If we had received your support earlier, perhaps we would not have been defeated!"

Hearing his words, Naitō Tadashige turned his head and swept a glance over him, but said nothing.

At this moment, Soga Kousuke managed to calm his emotions slightly and looked at the person beside the Elder.

"You... what are you doing here?!" He was stunned to discover that this man was none other than Kuroda Tadayuki, the lord of the Fukuoka Domain.

According to the arrangements made by Soga Kousuke and Naitō Tadashige, he was supposed to be resisting the Great Han army's invasion at Hakata Bay, with both sides maintaining contact and supporting each other.

Now, as he looked closer, he noticed that Kuroda Tadayuki's body was also covered in ash and grime, looking utterly bedraggled. He glanced again at Naitō Tadashige, and even before Kuroda Tadayuki could answer, he had more or less guessed the outcome.

"... Hakata Bay has fallen? The Han invaders have defeated you?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Under Soga Kousuke's gaze, Kuroda Tadayuki nodded with great difficulty. "Yes, my lord... Yesterday, the Han invaders launched a sudden assault and broke through our lines. We... we fought with all our might, but alas... alas, the Han invaders were simply too ferocious. We had no choice but to retreat..."

"Yesterday... yesterday... that means you were broken in a single day!" Soga Kousuke's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted. "You... you, with your domain army, couldn't even hold out for one day? And you still have the face to complain to me that the Great Han army is ferocious? Even if you couldn't beat them, you should have kept holding on, fought to the very end, not fled! You... now that you've run, isn't your domain completely exposed to the Han invaders' blades? You... how can you face your ancestors?!"

This tirade of his was extremely harsh, but because Kuroda Tadayuki felt guilty in his heart, he dared not offer any defense, merely lowering his head and listening to the reprimand in silence. Yet inwardly, he was unconvinced — hadn't you yourself just retreated in a major defeat from the battle line? What gives you the right to tell me to stay there and die?

"Enough, Soga." It was Naitō Tadashige who stopped him. "Now is not the time for scolding. The Lord of Fukuoka withdrawing when his strength could not match the enemy cannot be called a grave error. The Han forces are overwhelmingly powerful right now; staying at Hakata Bay would have been like throwing eggs against a rock and would have served no purpose. If he had fought to the death there without retreating, once the Han won, wouldn't Fukuoka Domain still be lost? Now that he has withdrawn here, at least he can add some strength to our numbers..."

"Thank you, Lord Elder!" Kuroda Tadayuki finally breathed a sigh of relief and hastily expressed his gratitude to Naitō Tadashige. In his heart, he secretly rejoiced that he had made the correct decision back then, bringing some men with him when he withdrew from the battlefield. Otherwise, if he had arrived here all alone, the shogunate would probably not be treating him so politely.

Ever since retreating from Hakata Bay, Kuroda Tadayuki's days had not been easy. The Great Han army had been pursuing them relentlessly from behind, seemingly intent on using this opportunity to annihilate his forces in one fell swoop. The domain soldiers, their courage already shattered, naturally had no heart for resistance. Everyone was fleeing for their lives, so men following him kept dropping out of the ranks along the way. By the time he arrived here, he had only a few hundred men left under his command. But even a few hundred men were better than arriving alone; the shogunate still had use for him, after all.

"Very well then, since Your Lordship believes preserving his forces is useful, we now have more men. Lord Elder, let us simply turn around and fight our way back!" Soga Kousuke immediately shouted to Naitō Tadashige. "Those Han invaders have already been cowed by our assault, and their ammunition must be nearly exhausted. If we strike again now, they surely won't be able to hold out! We can definitely wipe them out!"

"No, we cannot..." Contrary to his expectations, Naitō Tadashige shook his head. "We cannot take that place, nor can we go and attack it anymore."

"Why?!" Soga Kousuke could no longer restrain himself and directly demanded of Naitō Tadashige, "My Lord, could it be that you are afraid? Do not forget that you are an Elder of the shogunate, bearing the heavy trust of the Shogun!"

"It is precisely because I am an Elder of the shogunate that I can no longer squander everyone's lives!" Naitō Tadashige replied in a low, grave voice. "If we do not leave now, there will be nowhere left for us to go! The Shimazu clan has defected. Yesterday, they mobilized their troops and marched on the Nobeoka Domain. If we ignore this now, Kurume will also fall under their blades. If even Kurume cannot be held, then we... we will have no path of retreat and can only sit and wait to be annihilated!"

"The Shimazu have defected..." Upon hearing this news, Soga Kousuke, already reeling from a massive blow, now looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He stared at Naitō Tadashige in utter shock. "My Lord, is this news confirmed?!"

"It is confirmed." Naitō Tadashige answered in a deep voice. "The Nobeoka Domain has now been completely overrun by the Shimazu domain. The domain lord, Arima Naozumi, has already died in battle alongside his retainers. The Arima main family has sent a messenger to find us, begging us to dispatch additional troops to defend Kurume Castle. Otherwise... otherwise, they may not be able to hold their domain castle! Tell me, can we still stay here and fight the Han invaders to the death right now?"

"At this moment of dire peril, the Shimazu clan... the Shimazu clan would actually exploit our misfortune! These traitors, these shameless wretches, they truly are born with rebellious bones! Back then, the Divine Lord should never have spared the lives of these treacherous curs — otherwise, how could today's calamity have come about!" Soga Kousuke erupted into furious curses. "Do they not understand that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold? Do they think that if we are finished and the Han invaders occupy Kyushu, they will be spared?"

"Perhaps they really will be spared." Naitō Tadashige said coldly. "Since they dare to make their move at this moment, and it seems they were well-prepared for it... then it is very likely they have long since reached a tacit understanding with the Han invaders."

"They... they..." Soga Kousuke felt a sweetness rise in his throat, nearly coughing up blood. "They are worse than dogs, a pack of shameless traitors!!"

"Cursing is useless now. Think about how we should respond." Naitō Tadashige, however, did not show anger on his face as Soga did. "Now you see it too, don't you? The situation we face is extremely perilous. The Han invaders are pressing in from the west, and the Shimazu clan is rebelling in the east... What is even more terrifying is, besides the Shimazu, have the Han invaders been in contact with other domains? How many more domains plan to follow the Shimazu and defect? In short... there is no longer any truly safe place for us on the entire island of Kyushu. All we can think about now is how to delay for as much time as possible. Forcing a charge against the Great Han army's formation right now will only cause us more losses and accomplish nothing!"

Soga Kousuke suddenly understood. Elder Naitō's stance was tantamount to admitting that the shogunate and domain forces in Kyushu no longer had the capability to face the Great Han army in open battle. He wanted to argue, but when the words reached his lips, he could not utter a single one.

Indeed, with things on their side having come to this, if they continued fighting, could they really gain any advantage? Whether it was his own men, the Lord Elder's subordinates, or the men Kuroda Tadayuki had brought over, all had suffered irreparable losses before the Han invaders. More importantly, their courage had been utterly shattered. Continuing to fight on would probably offer no further chance.

"We will leave shortly. If we wait until daylight, I fear we may not be able to leave even if we want to." Naitō Tadashige shook his head. "Take this time to rest, and also gather up the men who have fled back in rout. Gather as many as you can."

In such pitch-black night, with routed troops no less, even maintaining the men who remained was difficult — what talk was there of gathering more? Soga Kousuke smiled bitterly.

"My Lord, what should we do next?" After a long silence, Soga Kousuke lowered his sword and let out a long sigh. "Now we are surrounded by powerful enemies on all sides. Where else can we retreat to?"

"Retreat to Kurume and join forces with the Arima family." Naitō Tadashige answered his question immediately; he had clearly been considering this for a long time. "By now, you must see it as well — we have no chance against the Great Han army in open battle, nor can we buy much time that way... That being the case, we can only defend a castle. With the aid of castle walls, we can at least hold out a little longer... Now, we can only fight with this objective in mind. The Arima family now bears deep hatred toward the Shimazu clan, and the Han invaders certainly won't tolerate them either. Their loyalty should still be assured."

"We can only... only buy time?" Soga Kousuke asked in return, but then stopped himself mid-sentence.

Yes, now they could only buy time — and purely to buy time for others.

He had originally thought that by resisting to the death in Kyushu, they might perhaps hold out until the shogunate's great army came to their rescue. But now it seemed he probably would not live to see that day. He could only do his utmost to buy the shogunate time to muster the forces of the entire realm.

He could only hope that his efforts might one day be repaid with the restoration of Kyushu.

"Then what about Nagasaki? Are we no longer defending it?" Although he already had a premonition in his heart, he still could not accept it and pressed the question.

"Do you think we could hold it even if we tried now?" Naitō Tadashige smiled bitterly. "The Great Han army has already fought its way here. Nagasaki will soon become an isolated city, cut off from food and military supplies. Even if we wanted to defend it, how could we possibly hold it? We need to be realistic now."

"What Your Lordship says makes sense... but... but as the Nagasaki Magistrate, to abandon Nagasaki just like this, I truly cannot resign myself to it!" Soga Kousuke still found it hard to make a decision. "How about this, my Lord: while the Great Han army has not yet completely surrounded Nagasaki, I will return there. When the time comes, I will die with the city... Your Lordship can continue the resistance in Kurume..."

"Nonsense!" Naitō Tadashige finally grew angry and loudly rebuked him. "Do you think now is the time for acting on impulse?! If you go to Nagasaki, what use will it be? Can you kill a few more Han invaders? You would merely be waiting to be killed or to die of hunger and thirst! That place can no longer be held — how many more of our men do you intend to waste!"

"But..." Soga Kousuke still wanted to say something.

"There are no buts!! Now you must obey my orders!!" Naitō Tadashige no longer intended to argue with him. "Listen, you are forbidden to return to Nagasaki. As for the city of Nagasaki... we cannot simply hand it over to them for nothing. How many people are still left inside?"

"Probably... probably still a few hundred." After hesitating for a long time, Soga Kousuke said.

Nearly two thousand men had originally been left inside Nagasaki Castle, but for this plan to coordinate with the Lord Elder in besieging the Great Han army, and also to avoid Nagasaki being completely surrounded by the Han forces, Soga Kousuke had brought most of them out with him.

However, their offensive had now been thwarted, and the majority of Soga Kousuke's men had scattered in rout, unlikely to ever return to Nagasaki. Thus, the men remaining inside, even at the most generous estimate, numbered no more than a few hundred. Relying on them to stop the Great Han army was nothing short of a fool's dream; Soga Kousuke had merely intended to go and die with the city.

"A few hundred... very well, that should be enough." Naitō Tadashige did not seem disappointed; he merely nodded slightly. "Good. Send word with your orders: have them burn Nagasaki down immediately. Burn it all!"

"Burn it all?!" Soga Kousuke was stunned once again. "Because of the Han's previous bombardment, parts of Nagasaki have already been reduced to broken walls and ruins. If we go on to burn everything completely, how will we provide supplies for the people left? There are not only our soldiers there now, but also many civilians... some who didn't have time to flee, and some who were driven back by the Han invaders... what will become of them then?"

"Is there any need to worry about them now? Even if they fight to the death, how long can they hold? A day? Two days? It's meaningless. Rather than sit and wait for Nagasaki to fall, better to burn it all with one torch." Naitō Tadashige cut him off once again. "Better to burn Nagasaki to a barren wasteland than to leave it to the Han invaders just like that! As for the people inside... at a time like this, there is no need to concern ourselves with them any longer! Even if they die, it is better than falling into the hands of the Han invaders. What is there left for you to hesitate about now!"

"Your Lordship's meaning... I... I understand." Under the Elder's gaze, Soga Kousuke finally nodded. "Then it shall be done according to Your Lordship's command... Your Lordship is right. Nagasaki, even if burned to a barren wasteland, absolutely cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Han invaders for nothing."

Then, his eyes suddenly widened. "I will go and rally the troops immediately. I'll pull back as many men as I can, and then bring them all to Kurume. The more men defending the city, the better, after all. As retainers of the shogunate, we will at worst fight a bloody battle within Kurume Castle and die a martyr's death for the shogunate and the Shogun."

"No, you will not go to Kurume." However, Naitō Tadashige's reply once again caught him completely off guard. "After you gather the remaining men, leave them all to me. Then take a few men and flee north. While the Han invaders have not yet occupied all of Kyushu and sealed off the entire sea, hurry to Honshu, and then... then find a way back to Edo!"

"My Lord! What is the meaning of this!" Soga Kousuke asked urgently, almost suspecting he had misheard.

"Is my meaning not clear enough?" Naitō Tadashige gave a cold laugh. "There is no need for two high-ranking shogunate officials here now. You must leave at once! As for me... I will stay in Kurume and die a martyr's death for the Shogun when the time comes."

"How can the glorious deed of martyrdom be undertaken by the Lord Elder alone? I... I also want to go to Kurume and accompany Your Lordship!" Soga Kousuke, however, utterly refused to accept Naitō Tadashige's proposal. He shouted his reply, tears nearly streaming down his face. "My Lord, as the Nagasaki Magistrate, I have the duty to defend the Shogun's land. Now... now that we are on the verge of abandoning Nagasaki, my crime is already unforgivable. How can I then flee as well? If I flee, then I am a coward, disgracing the name of my ancestors! I would only invite ridicule... To me, that would be a fate worse than death."

"Even if living is worse than death, you must stay alive and go to Edo." Naito Tadashige did not yield a single step. "Right now, we are the only ones who have fought the Great Han. We have experience — especially you, who personally took the field and killed Han pirates with your own hands. So... your experience can help the Shogun, so that our future armies can make better preparations! Can you really let the Shogunate fight the Han pirates in total ignorance from now on?"

"Then, my lord, why not simply go back yourself? I... I will stay here and die for the Shogunate." Soga Furuyoshi still refused to give up.

"Though you are the Nagasaki Magistrate, you have only just assumed the post. The Han pirate invasion and the fall of Nagasaki cannot be blamed on you — you can return with your head held high... As for me, if I go back, I can do nothing but cut my belly to atone. Why should I return in the posture of a criminal? If I must cut my belly, I can do it right here." Naito Tadashige gave a bitter smile. "Besides, at my age, why should I endure such hardship and wander homeless, bearing the curses of ten thousand people? Soga, grant me this wish — let me at least die with some dignity, and let me do you one last small favor."