One by one, the Japanese samurai shouted at the top of their lungs and fired back with their ship's crossbow.
Collapse! Collapse!
Bang bang bang!
The bow strings trembled continuously, and the crossbows, like spears, were fired towards the Qing army's warships.
It's just a pity that due to the raging wind and waves at sea, the crossbow arrows fired by the Japanese army missed. Just like the artillery shells fired by the Qing army, they were completely inaccurate.
Most of them failed and fell into the sea!
It is true that the Japanese Anzha ship cannot withstand the recoil caused by artillery fire, but it can still withstand the long-range attack of the bed crossbow.
The distance between the two sides is constantly being narrowed.
Cannonballs, crossbows, you come and I shoot!
There were even Japanese soldiers who shouldered large muskets, aimed at the Qing troops on the opposite side, and pulled the triggers.
The so-called large musket is actually a carrying gun.
The gun used to shoot was a three- to four-pound lead. Although it was a musket, its power was actually no worse than that of a small-caliber artillery piece.
It can be regarded as an attempt by the Japanese army to make up for the lack of its own artillery power!
"Fire!"
"Fireship ready!"
"..."
Tokugawa clan retainer and naval commander Yamashiro Yamashiro stood on the bow of his ship and gave the order with a solemn expression.
The battlefield of this battle is a strait!
The water surface was crowded and there was a lack of wind and waves, so the navies on both sides lost a lot of room to maneuver.
This is when fire attack tactics can be most effective!
As the distance between the two sides continued to shrink, thick smoke began to rise from the leading Japanese ship.
Then there was a dazzling fire!
The crackling and exploding sounds kept sounding.
The fire burned quickly, and each dwarf warrior jumped from the lit boat into the sea, and then swam back.
Boom! Boom!
The sound of shelling continued, and the Qing army's naval guns changed their targets and began to shoot at the ignited fireships.
The cannonball hit the ship, instantly sending sawdust flying everywhere.
The fire ships turned into fragments and floated on the sea, but their burning continued.
From a distance, they look like broken stars scattered on the sea.
If this wasn't a battlefield, many people might marvel at its beauty.
However, due to the constraints of the battlefield environment, the Qing army was not able to block all the fire attack ships, and some Japanese fire ships still came close to them.
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A Japanese gunship, burning with blazing flames, crashed into a sand ship.
In an instant, the fire spread and both ships were engulfed in thick smoke.
When the Qing army saw this scene, they were all a little panicked.
Obviously, these Qing soldiers knew something about the power of fire attack ships.
However, Zu Zeqing, the general who commanded the battle, did not think so.
With a calm look on his face, he ordered his own ship to lower the small boat to block the Japanese attack ship.
And ordered his own army to prepare to use fire attack tactics!
Speaking of fire attack tactics, the Qing army also knew how to use them.
As the Qing army saw the fire and released the attack ships, for a while, the entire strait was filled with blazing flames.
"kill!"
"Break the formation!"
"Long live! Long live! Long live the Emperor!"
"..."
As time passed, the battle gradually entered a fierce stage.
The originally burning fire ship gradually extinguished, and the distance between the two sides continued to narrow.
The sound of shelling on the battlefield began to become more and more intense!
The artillery on the Qing army's ships fired continuously, firing shells at the Japanese ships one after another.
As the distance increased, the Qing army's artillery began to hit the ground gradually.
The crispy houseboats were hit by cannonballs and scattered sawdust, turning into pieces of wood floating on the sea.
The sailors on the ship fell into the sea and were struggling.
However, what greeted them was only missing arrows or projectiles.
Soldiers of the Qing army stood on the side of the ship, shooting at the Japanese soldiers who fell into the water from a high position.
The Japanese army also continued to fight back, raising guns, bows and arrows, and iron cannons, aiming at the Qing troops on the side of the ship, and shooting continuously.
A Qing soldier was hit by a projectile fired from a gun, and a huge bloody hole was immediately made in his chest.
Blood sprayed out, and the wriggling internal organs were clearly visible!
Screaming, he fell from the boat into the sea.
In order to save the unfavorable situation on the battlefield, many Japanese samurai even began to prepare to join gangs to fight.
A Japanese samurai with superb martial arts boarded a Qing warship via a pedal.
These warriors either died in the process of joining gangs, or were surrounded and killed by Qing soldiers on the ship after joining gangs.
Although they acted bravely and relied on their own skills to kill a large number of Qing soldiers, they were unable to save the situation for a while.
The two sides fought fiercely, exchanging lives for lives and fighting to the death.
But in terms of the overall situation, the Qing army had the upper hand.
Because now the war between the two sides has turned into a melee.
In the melee, the Qing army could use the artillery mounted on its own ships to kill the Japanese boats.
But the Japanese army had no other choice against the Qing army's large ships!
As a result, as time goes by, there will be fewer and fewer Japanese warships on the battlefield.
This is a very obvious thing.
Both the Qing army and the Japanese army have realized this.
Kangxi looked at the evolution of the situation on the battlefield and ordered with a solemn expression.
"Send the order, our navy is about to win the naval battle, and the whole army will prepare for the crossing immediately!"
After hearing this, Sony, Ye Bilong, Jieshu, Hetai and others all nodded in agreement.
Obviously, they also saw that their navy had the upper hand at this time.
Kangxi's eyebrows were full of joy and he praised.
"Haha, I never expected that Zu Zeqing is also a good general!"
Everyone in the Qing army spoke in agreement, and the atmosphere was very cheerful.
…
On the other side of the strait in Shimonoseki City, the atmosphere was not so harmonious.
Tokugawa Ietsuna stood at the top of the city, looking at the battle situation on the sea, his expression gloomy and scary.
"The Qing invaders' ships are more powerful and powerful than our army!"
"This battle is very detrimental to our army!"
A retainer spoke in front of Tokugawa Ietsuna.
"Yes, General!"
"If our army wants to defeat the Qing invaders, it must change the current situation."
"Your Majesty General, our army needs taller and stronger ships and more muskets and cannons."
"..."
A group of people were all talking about suggestions. Tokugawa Ietsuna said nothing, but his face was gloomy and scary.
"In the short term, it will definitely be too late to build ships. As for cannon casting... no one in Japan knows this skill."
"If Japan wants to build a navy that dares to fight and can fight in a short period of time, it can only spend money to purchase warships and supporting artillery from abroad!"
Tokugawa Ietsuna said this.
It is said that it is purchased from outside, but to put it bluntly, it is purchased from Daming.
Now in the entire East Asia, Southeast Asia, and even Central Asia, only the Ming Dynasty has the ability to sell large quantities of artillery and ships to the outside world.
In fact, the relationship between Japan and the Dutch was originally good.
Prior to this, Japan's docks were only open to merchants from the Ming Dynasty and the Dutch, and they adopted a closed-door attitude towards merchants from other countries.
In the past, in addition to the popular Sinology among Japanese people, many people were obsessed with Orchidology.
That is Western learning!
In the past, if Japan wanted to purchase ships and artillery, it would have had two options: the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands.
But now it's different.
The Dutch power was expelled to the west of Malacca by the Ming Dynasty. Now all the Dutch ships that can appear in East Asia are merchant ships.
The quantity is quite limited!
They did not have the ability to sell ships and artillery to Japan.
In other words, Japan currently only has one choice: Ming Dynasty.
"Your Excellency, General, perhaps Japan should send someone as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty again!"
An elder stood up and suggested.
Hearing this, Tokugawa Ietsuna nodded slightly in approval, and then spoke.
"Well, that's a good statement!"
"But now for our shogunate, the most important thing is to resolve the current war first!"
"..."
As he spoke, Tokugawa Ietsuna began to order the mobilization of troops to prepare for the landing of the Qing army.
Judging from the current battlefield situation, our own defeat in the water war is a foregone conclusion.
No matter how hard the soldiers on the front line fight, the most they can do is slow down the process and cannot change the final outcome.
After this battle, Tokugawa Ietsuna had a very clear realization.
Future naval battles will be an era of giant ships and cannons. The past tactics of swarming with large numbers of people are completely outdated.
After Shimonoseki was ready to meet the Qing invaders who landed ashore, Tokugawa Ietsuna ordered the navy who were fighting fiercely on the front line to retreat.
As for the reason, it is very simple.
Since the defeat of this naval battle is a foregone conclusion, there is no need to continue to invest troops in a war that is bound to fail.
Retreating to preserve strength has become the optimal solution now!
As the Japanese navy retreated in an orderly manner, the Qing army also took advantage of the situation and launched a pursuit.
The ship's sails were fluttering, and the sound of cannon fire shook the heaven and earth!
The Qing navy went to Xiaguan to kill!
Seeing this scene, Kangxi decisively ordered the army to prepare for landing.
Groups of elite Qing troops boarded troop ships and headed towards Xiaguan across the sea.
In order to ensure the success of this battle, the Qing army mobilized a large number of elites to participate in the battle.
Countless ships, large and small, headed towards the other shore.
Tokugawa Ietsuna also quickly made arrangements. On the one hand, he sent people to prepare to meet his defeated troops, and on the other hand, he prepared to block the main force of the Qing army from completing the landing on the beach.
As time passed, Qing army troop transport ships completed the beaching one after another.
The Manchu and Qing Eight Banners soldiers pressed forward against the Korean and Japanese servant armies and rushed forward.
What they had to face was the most elite iron artillery team under the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Accompanied by deafening volleys of musketry and bullets flying across the air, one by one the Korean servants and the Japanese servants and soldiers were hit by lead bullets.
Screaming and falling to the ground wailing!
"ah……"
"Kill!"
"Keep rushing, don't stop, kill all the enemies in front of you!"
"..."
In addition to these iron cannons, there are also guns that are also firing.
The projectiles fired from the gun are so powerful that they can even penetrate several unarmored soldiers, causing continuous damage.
The Qing army's archers began to throw arrows forward and missed. On the one hand, they suppressed the Japanese iron artillery team on the opposite side, and on the other hand, they played a role in supervising the battle.
If anyone dares to retreat without orders, the bows, arrows and swords in the hands of the Eight Banners soldiers will not show mercy!
The fighting became more and more intense, the Qing army continued to advance, and the Japanese army also held on to the defense line.
The two sides have begun to fight hand-to-hand!
A bloody fight can best exercise one's nerves.
Countless people were fighting together, and the entire beach was filled with blood and broken limbs.
The injured soldiers lay on the ground, screaming and wailing, waiting for death to come.
So many people died that even the sea water was dyed red.
White corpses soaked in sea water rise and fall in the sea water, surging with the rolling waves.
The two sides fought hard for two days, and the Qing army broke through the Japanese camp on the beach with great difficulty.
Then the battle line was pushed outside Xiaguan City!
Seeing this, Tokugawa Ietsuna personally led a team to organize a counterattack.
Repulse the Qing army that was attacking outside Xiaguan City!
However, just when he wanted to lead his team to regain the beachhead, the Qing troops who landed had already established a foothold on the beachhead.
And using the camps left by the Japanese army, they built a defensive offensive.
Tokugawa Ietsuna led a forceful charge but failed to conquer.
Apart from the corpses left all over the ground in front of the battle, there was nothing more to gain.
Not only that, even when Tokugawa Ietsuna personally led the charge, he was shot by an arrow from the Qing army.
The Qing army's heavy arrow shot directly through Tokugawa Ietsuna's body, penetrated deeply into the flesh, and then got stuck on the bone.
The powerful kinetic energy brought Tokugawa Ietsuna off the horse!
"ah……"
After falling from his horse, Tokugawa Ietsuna let out a scream.
With a pale face, he left the battlefield surrounded by guards.
As Tokugawa Ietsuna was injured, the Japanese army began to retreat. Seeing this, the Qing army, although their morale was boosted, was unable to continue the pursuit.
On the battlefield and in the camp, there was a soldier lying exhausted!
The two sides began to confront each other around Xiaguan City.
…
Tokugawa Ietsuna was brought back to Shimonoseki, and several military doctors rushed up to treat his injuries.
The barbed arrow pierced Tokugawa Ietsuna's armor. The barbs on the arrow caught the flesh and made it difficult to pull out.
If it is pulled out forcefully, it will definitely cause secondary damage to him.
Several military doctors had no choice but to use knives to cut open the flesh and remove the arrow stuck in the bone.
Then the wound was sutured and Tokugawa Ietsuna was given an injection of penicillin.
Used to ensure that Tokugawa Ietsuna’s wounds will not become infected or inflamed!
Although the unit price of penicillin purchased from Daming was very expensive, for a big shot like Tokugawa Ietsuna, it was really nothing.
For him, life is much more important than money!
The news Zhu Hongyu received was the result of the battle between the Manchus and the Japanese.
Although the Qing army won this battle, it was only a miserable victory.
After paying huge casualties, they only completed the landing, and even failed to capture Xiaguan City.
For the Japanese side, although this battle was lost, the losses were still within an acceptable range.
After all, the Japanese army was fighting on its own territory, so it was much more convenient to replenish its troops than the Qing army.