Chapter 1687: No Divine Wind This Time

In the early morning sunlight, the sea swayed gently, murmuring a soft tide-song. Splendid rosy clouds reflected upon the vast ocean, as if a fairy had snipped red silk and scattered it to adorn the sea with extraordinary beauty.

Waves rolled in from the horizon, crashing against the reefs and bursting into spray like shattered jade. Seen from afar, the splashing water resembled clusters of white plum blossoms drifting down like a fine rain. The deep blue sea stretched toward the infinite distance, making one truly understand what it means to be boundless.

This should have been an ordinary day, the sea rising and falling in its eternal rhythm as if it would never cease. Yet beneath that expanse of azure, dark silhouettes gradually emerged from the distant horizon.

At first they were only black specks, then those specks slowly rose higher, until at last their true form was revealed — they were the masts of seagoing ships.

Next came enormous white sails, bellied taut by the sea wind. From a distance they looked like towering white pagodas planted upon the water, and beneath those masts, blue-black warships revealed their formidable shapes.

These warships varied in size — some were large vessels towering several zhang high, others were small, swift craft. At their center, tightly clustered, was a great mass of low-slung transport ships. The formation was dense and vast, a dark mass blanketing a huge stretch of sea.

This was the flower of the Great Han's entire naval strength, and the operation they were about to carry out was the largest seaborne campaign since the founding of the empire. Bearing the will of the Great Han Emperor, they would sweep toward the Japanese shogunate's most vital throat, forcing the shogunate to bow to the Great Han's demands.

In the whistling sea wind, on the deck of the flagship Songshan, Zhao Song — commander of the Japan Expeditionary Army and Xingyang Count of the Great Han — studied the distant land through his telescope. His expression was utterly composed, betraying no emotion, as if he were merely out on a pleasure cruise.

The men around him, however, could not share his ease.

"Commander Zhao, we are now outside Suruga Bay in the Kanto region," said Cai De, commander of this fleet and Langya Marquis, Naval Marshal, as he peered through his own telescope and carefully cross-referenced the sea chart. "We can now close in on the coast and find a suitable landing site as quickly as possible."

Zhao Song did not reply. His gaze did not even shift. He merely gave a slight nod.

Cai De immediately turned and began issuing orders to his subordinates. At his command, the entire fleet slowly changed course, each ship carving a pale wake across the sea like claw marks left by a giant.

The map Cai De was using had been drawn by Western missionaries over a decade ago. Its quality was predictably poor, though the general coastline and terrain were at least sketched out.

Japan's coastline is long and deeply indented, forming several natural bays. Edo Castle lay hidden in the deepest recesses of Edo Bay, which was connected to the open sea by only a single narrow channel — the Uraga Strait. One had to first enter Sagami Bay before passing through the Uraga Strait to thrust directly into Edo Bay.

After the Great Han went to war with the shogunate, although the Great Han held absolute naval superiority and the isolationist shogunate, trapped in its self-spun cocoon, could not contend with them at sea, the Great Han navy had not launched large-scale raids on the Kanto coast in order to safeguard its own supply lines, much less directly intruded into the waters off Edo Castle. But now the situation had changed. The Great Han army had resolved on a decisive battle with the shogunate, and the navy would naturally hold nothing back.

Just days earlier, the main force of the Japan Expeditionary Army under Zhao Song's command had boarded the ships, weighed anchor, and set sail to strike at the shogunate's throat. After departing from Nagasaki, they had sailed northeast along the Japanese coast, rounded Shikoku Island, then rounded the Kii Province peninsula, and finally reached the open waters off Kanto. Now their sea journey was about to reach its end.

According to Zhao Song's plan, the fleet would sail directly into Edo Bay and disgorge the Great Han land forces onto Japanese soil. The army would then advance straight on Edo, forcing the shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, into a decisive battle with the Great Han forces. While the army advanced, the naval fleet would split into detachments to raid in all directions, bombarding every part of Japan with merciless cannon fire to tie down the shogunate's forces and sow panic everywhere.

"Commander Zhao, now that our troops are about to land and fight the decisive battle with the shogunate, the men are all eager, hoping to fight bravely and win glory," said Yan Guang, Zhao Song's chief staff officer, speaking up at his side. "But Kanto is the shogunate's heartland — their great army must be massed everywhere. When our forces land from the sea, we must be exceedingly careful and never give them the chance to strike us mid-crossing."

Since the war began, the shogunate had been continuously concentrating its forces in Kanto. It was foreseeable that the moment the Great Han navy entered Edo Bay, the enemy would be thrown into tremendous upheaval and would rush to converge on the landing zone. As a battle-hardened army, the Great Han forces did not fear a direct confrontation with the shogunate's troops, but being met head-on by the enemy during the landing itself would likely cause trouble.

"The army brothers will naturally have our navy to protect them," Cai De said, fully aware that Yan Guang's remark was in fact directed at him. "Please rest assured, Staff Officer Yan — so long as a single warship of our navy still floats upon the sea, we will never let the army brothers suffer. Once our forces begin landing, we will dispatch the fleet directly to provide cover and will not let anyone get near you."

For the Great Han army, the ideal landing site had to allow the troops to disembark quickly while also being easy to defend against enemy counterattacks. To meet these somewhat conflicting requirements, after meticulous selection, Zhao Song and his staff officers had finally chosen Yokosuka as the landing point.

Yokosuka lies at the tip of the Miura Peninsula. It was originally a seaport with flat terrain, allowing the army to land nearby with ease. At the same time, because it is on a peninsula, even if the shogunate forces wanted to resist, they could only send reinforcements through the narrow isthmus, making troop movements extremely inconvenient.

Moreover, Yokosuka lies within Edo Bay. Once the landing at Yokosuka succeeded, the Great Han army could advance along the waters of Edo Bay and press directly toward Edo, at which point the shogunate would be thrown into extreme passivity.

While the two men spoke, the fleet had already begun sailing into the Uraga Strait. Because this channel was relatively narrow, the Great Han fleet shifted formation, changing from the rectangular array with warships surrounding the transports into something resembling a long snake formation, with the transport ships still sandwiched in the middle.

Leading the way were the main warships of the Great Han navy. These towering vessels were now in battle-ready condition. The gunport lids along their sides had been opened one by one, and cannon after cannon protruded from the ports. The dense thicket of muzzles suddenly made the elegantly lined warships look like steel porcupines.

The inhabitants on both sides of the channel had clearly noticed the fleet's arrival, and an obvious commotion had broken out. The coastline was so close that the men on the warships could plainly see many people on shore shouting and fleeing for their lives, as if they had seen evil spirits.

Having already come this far, the Great Han navy had never intended to keep its movements secret any longer. However, to achieve tactical surprise and deny the shogunate forces time to assemble, the ships paid no attention to the coastal inhabitants and charged straight into Edo Bay.

Once inside Edo Bay, the fleet regrouped, then began turning to port and finally came to a halt in the waters off Yokosuka.

This was a small port town with few inhabitants. It had none of the defensive works common along the Great Han's own coasts, much less any coastal artillery batteries. However, after the Great Han began its war with the shogunate, the inhabitants of the Kanto coast, fearing the Great Han's mighty ships and powerful guns, had been mobilized by the shogunate to set up various obstacles on the beaches — boulders, stone spikes, and the like. Seen from the sea, these obstacles looked like fangs sprouting from the earth.

The Great Han fleet's large warships, drawing too much water, halted in the deeper waters offshore, while a number of medium and small warships began escorting several transport ships toward the land, stopping only when they were close to running aground.

Since there was nothing on shore capable of threatening these vessels, the warships proceeded with perfect composure. They deployed into formation according to naval regulations, came to a halt in sequence, and then the Great Han navy began bombarding the opposite shore.

Thunderous roars erupted one after another across the sea. The booming reports made the waves surge even more fiercely. The sound of the bombardment rolled out in all directions with mountain-toppling force, while rising smoke and columns of water drifted into the sky. Amid the cannonade, the warships rocked gently on the swells.

While the Great Han navy carried out its bombardment, the transport ships lowered several small landing craft. These small boats, propelled by oars, were packed with Great Han soldiers in red uniforms. With the risen sun at their backs, they slowly rowed forward, the golden sunlight setting the brass buttons on their uniforms aglitter.

Because a large-scale landing directly on the beach was difficult, the Great Han army had decided to first send a small force ashore to seize Yokosuka's harbor, then use the port to begin landing the entire army.

The demands on this first wave of landing troops were therefore very high, and the officers and men carrying out today's beach assault had been handpicked from the Liaodong Regiment of the Great Han Japan Expeditionary Army.

Even within the battle-hardened Liaodong Army, these men were considered elite. Their combat experience was extensive, and they were exceptionally brave — which was precisely why they had been chosen for this mission.

With the support of naval gunfire, these Great Han troops encountered no serious threat before nearing the shore. Although sporadic gunshots and the twang of bowstrings occasionally sounded from the opposite bank, they could do them no real harm.

The small boats soon reached the beach. The Great Han soldiers immediately disembarked and began regrouping on the sand, then promptly advanced inland along the coast. Their experience was deep, and their objective was crystal clear — they had to seize the entire town of Yokosuka.

Once the initial regrouping was complete, these officers and men immediately began advancing on the town not far away. The red formation pressed forward step by step.

Just as they reached the edge of the town, a group of armed men suddenly charged toward them.

Their equipment was crude — no armor, no decent weapons. Some held nothing but farming tools in their hands. It was obvious they had been hastily assembled and were utterly unprepared for this sudden landing by the Great Han army.

Regarding the oncoming resistance with utter contempt, the Great Han troops did not slow their advance, nor did they even form ranks to meet the charge. Only when the distance between the two sides had shrunk to very short range did the foremost soldiers fire their muskets at the enemy. The sparse volley inflicted few casualties, but it shattered their courage. The moment they saw men collapse into pools of blood, the group halted in their tracks, then turned and fled, howling.

The Great Han troops did not pursue them but continued their advance, soon entering the town of Yokosuka itself.

By now, the town was filled with wails that shook the heavens. Many people were shrieking and fleeing madly in the opposite direction of the Great Han army's advance. Men and women, young and old — they ran, crying and screaming. Some were so terrified they fell to the ground, but they quickly scrambled up and ran again, as if pursued by demons.

The Great Han officers and men naturally had no interest in hunting down these civilians. They quickly penetrated deep into the town and seized control of the entire harbor area.

Following the signal they sent after occupying the town, the Great Han navy's warships and transports waiting further out at sea began advancing into the harbor. They would occupy the entire town and turn it into a base for the Great Han army's assault on Edo.

Seeing the first step of the offensive go so smoothly, the senior officers of the entire Great Han expeditionary force aboard the Songshan were somewhat jubilant and visibly relieved.

"This town fell so easily — it's clear the shogunate had no preparations against our army at all!" Yan Guang said to Zhao Song, visibly excited. "Commander Zhao, great success is within our grasp!"

"Japan's coastline is so long that even if they wanted to defend every point, they couldn't," Cai De added, rather pleased with himself. "Our naval superiority is so overwhelming that sweeping through Edo will be a matter of a mere snap of the fingers. Soon we will drive straight for Edo and let that brat Tokugawa Iemitsu witness the might of our Great Han navy!"

"We've only caught the shogunate off guard. It's far too early to celebrate," Zhao Song said coldly, cutting them off when he saw his two chief subordinates growing smug. "Hard battles still lie ahead. If you want to underestimate the enemy, wait until we've actually won!"

"Yes, sir!" Yan Guang and Cai De immediately stiffened to attention.

Under Zhao Song's watchful gaze, transport ship after transport ship began gliding toward the shore. Once they docked, they would deliver the Great Han troops they carried onto Honshu Island — the first time they had ever set foot in the Japanese shogunate's heartland.

And this great army, under his command, would drive straight into the shogunate's throat. Who could say whether this venture would bring fortune or disaster?

Whatever the case, as commander, he bore the safety, the lives, the honor and disgrace of the entire army. Whether the situation was good or bad, he could not let it sway him, nor could he ever afford to slacken.

He raised his head and gazed toward Edo's defenses. Though the azure sea stretched endlessly to the limit of sight, seemingly empty, he could faintly discern the outline of Edo Castle in the distance.

There lay the enemy, the shogun, the most important battle of his life so far — and the reward of a marquisate...

"Let us go ashore as well," he said to Yan Guang. "The chaos of the landing must be brought to an end as quickly as possible. Then we must immediately fortify the occupied ground and prepare to meet the shogunate army!"

Before Yan Guang could reply, he turned to Cai De. "Langya Marquis, once we are ashore, all matters at sea are entrusted to you. I ask that you cooperate with us fully and not be constrained by interservice rivalries... Whether army or navy, we are all comrades, all brothers, and we should support one another."

"Commander Zhao, please rest assured — so long as I, Cai De, still draw breath, I will never let the army brothers suffer!" Cai De assured Zhao Song once more. "And when the victory feast comes, Commander Zhao, you must toast me two cups!"

"Good! When the time comes, we'll drink until we're dead drunk!" Zhao Song burst into hearty laughter, then together with Yan Guang and his group of staff officers, boarded a skiff on the Songshan, and along with countless comrades, surged toward the land of Honshu.

…………………………

Night had already fallen, yet within the main bailey of Edo Castle, the lights still blazed brightly.

In the front hall of the main bailey, the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu sat upright in the hall, expressionlessly reading through document after document, while the close attendants beside him also stood in respectful silence, their expressions extremely grave.

On ordinary days, Tokugawa Iemitsu would have long since gone into the Ōoku to enjoy the attentions of his concubines and indulge in wine and pleasure, but ever since Great Han began its invasion of Japan several months ago, such ordinary life had become a luxury. Tokugawa Iemitsu frequently had to hear reports from all sides and review documents, unable to sleep until very late.

Since the war began, his already irascible temper had grown even more perverse, so very few dared to speak before him, and he quite savored this solitude, because it could slightly ease the agony before his eyes.

As the war progressed, Great Han advanced step by step, repeatedly routing his armies and seizing vast swaths of territory. Each piece of bad news added a few more degrees to this agony.

However, to boost the morale of his subordinates, he could not let this agony show; he could only endure it by force and hope that the situation might take a turn.

Recently, he had dispatched his chief minister, the Tairō Ii Naotaka, intending for him to meet and strike the Han invaders, and had constantly hoped he would deliver tidings of victory to him. Yet after waiting so long, tidings of victory had never come.

And the increasingly protracted war had also brought colossal expenditures. When looking at the reports from various regions requesting money and grain, Tokugawa Iemitsu felt only an immense headache.

To ease this pain, he picked up the wine cup beside him — recently, he had been relying on strong liquor to sustain his spirits.

Yet, just as the wine cup reached his lips.

"Boom!" A thunderous roar resounded throughout the entire front hall, and then a burst of brilliant light flared, startling him so that the wine cup dropped to the floor.