Chapter 3523
Chapter 3523
Chapter 3523
In the second debate, Nabeshima Mitsushige's initiative helped Kyushu win back a point, while Sakai Tadamayoshi had to worry about how to clear the Tokugawa shogunate of the accusation of usurping power.
However, the multinational delegation came all the way to Sasebo not to watch them quarrel. If the debate lasted for another ten days or so, I'm afraid many people would think that this trip was a waste of time.
At this time, it is natural to arrange some other programs to fill the gap before the outbreak of the Japanese civil war, so that the inspection team will not lose interest in continuing to watch the show.
Shi Diwen was really willing to spend money. The activity he arranged was to hold a three-day actual combat exercise outside Sasebo Bay. Watching the exercise during the day and watching the Japanese continue to debate at night was not a big deal.
The troops participating in this exercise are mainly from the East China Sea Fleet and the Sasebo garrison, as well as the escort fleets of the kings of Korea and Annan.
In addition to traditional exercise items such as maritime coordinated operations and amphibious landings, another major highlight is the East China Sea Fleet's new flagship, the Glorious-class ship Zhoushan, which will also make its debut in this exercise.
Although the Zhoushan had been publicly displayed during last year's Hai Han National Day and capital relocation celebrations, this huge warship was still a very novel existence for most of the people in the inspection team.
Even among the time travelers within Hai Han, many have never seen the performance of Zhoushan in combat. This time, by chance, they were able to see Zhoushan participating in an actual combat exercise overseas.
Of course, if there were no dignitaries from many countries watching, perhaps Mitsushige Nabeshima’s fleet would have joined the exercise.
Local forces like Saga Domain, which are very close to Hai Han, receive their existing maritime armed forces with the support of Hai Han. Not only were their warships purchased from Hai Han, but even their officers and sailors almost all received basic training in Sasebo Bay. The entire system is a descendant of Hai Han.
Equipped with a new steam-powered system and a rotating turret, the Zhoushan made the spectators at the scene marvel with just a little bit of its capabilities.
In the eyes of others, the combat performance of this huge sea monster has already surpassed the scope of contemporary warships, and is even far ahead of other Hai Han ships on the training ground.
If the battle were fought on land, they might be able to resist the Hai Han army with their advantage in manpower or solid fortifications, but numbers are useless in naval battles, and the shipbuilding industry is far behind Hai Han. Ordinary sailing ships cannot compete with warships like the Zhoushan, and even getting close is a delusion.
Of course, there were also some indifferent spectators, such as the Ming and Qing dynasties, which had already lost their access to the sea. They knew that it was impossible for them to fight Hai Han at sea at this stage, so they naturally did not need to worry about their own army encountering the Zhoushan on the battlefield.
Although the Zhoushan is not for sale, there are also a variety of warships on Hai Han’s export list. There are also special loans and civilian models prepared for small countries with less abundant budgets. The military exercise was also an opportunity for a successful promotion.
The fleets of North Korea and Annan, which participated in the military exercise together, are the best examples. All countries can learn from them how to build a maritime armed force from scratch.
Some countries that were still hesitant about arms purchases during the Zhoushan Forum finally made up their minds and submitted applications to Hai Han to purchase warships after coming to Japan to observe the three-day military exercise.
During this period, the debate between Nabeshima Mitsushige and Sakai Tadakiyo also entered a white-hot stage. Instead of being resolved through negotiations, the conflict between the two sides became more acute. Even other countries watching the excitement understood that the two countries were using this as a cover to secretly prepare for war rather than negotiating.
The anxious spectators did not have to wait too long. On the day the military exercise ended, the negotiations finally broke down at a very timely moment.
Sakai Tadamasa announced on the spot that he would declare war on the Kyushu coalition forces on behalf of the Tokugawa shogunate to suppress the rebellious areas led by the Saga domain. Not willing to be outdone, Nabeshima Mitsushige also subsequently declared that the coalition forces would fight to the end until the shogunate's rule was overthrown.
The two sides parted unhappily, and Hai Han tactfully announced that the mediation had failed. But the spectators of the expedition knew that the prelude to the outbreak of war had already ended, and the real drama was only beginning from this moment.
In fact, Hai Han has been keeping a close eye on the war preparations of both sides. Needless to say, Jiuzhou's preparations for the coalition forces will not be kept secret from Hai Han, but will require Hai Han's guidance.
Hai Han was required to give detailed opinions on the battle plans, including where to assemble the armies of each vassal state, where to attack first, and whether to divide the troops for the attack.
By understanding the progress of these preparations, Hai Han was able to guide Mitsushige Nabeshima on when to make trouble during negotiations.
It was a little more difficult to obtain first-hand information about the shogunate's preparations for war. However, since last year, the Sasebo base and the Kyushu domains have sent a large number of spies to the Honshu and Shikoku regions in the east to collect intelligence on the shogunate's deployment of troops.
Hai Han judged that with the shogunate's ability to deploy troops, it would be difficult to concentrate tens of thousands of troops in a certain place months in advance. It would most likely order the garrisons in various places to send out troops separately before the war started, and then assemble them at certain locations near Kyushu.
This judgment is basically consistent with the intelligence received later. In order to save military expenses and food, the shogunate only began to implement real troop mobilization in late February.
The shogunate first dispatched troops from the Ou region, which was located in the northeast of Honshu and was farthest from Kyushu, and drew troops from the feudal armies in Dewa, Mutsu, Ezo and other places. The large feudal domains drew one or two thousand men, and the small feudal domains drew two or three hundred men. If they could not gather enough troops for combat, they had to use civilians to perform labor.
However, these areas were vast and sparsely populated, and more than 30 feudal domains combined only managed to gather less than 5,000 combat troops. Moreover, since the straight-line distance between the local area and Kyushu was more than 2,000 miles, if they marched by land, it would take too much time and materials on the road, so the shogunate also specially mobilized a fleet to transport these assembled troops to the front line by sea in advance.
According to intelligence, these troops from the northeast have arrived at Hiroshima Domain, 200 miles away from the west coast of Kyushu.
Next is the Kanto region, which has more than twice as many troops assembled as the Ou region. However, this is not because of how strong the Kanto region is, but because the Mito Domain Tokugawa Clan, one of the three major families of the Tokugawa shogunate, is located in this region.
The first lord of the Mito Tokugawa family was Tokugawa Yorifusa, the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Successive lords inherited the title of "Deputy Shogun of the World", so the level of military equipment was far higher than that of ordinary feudal states.
Among the troops assembled in the Kanto region, the Mito clan accounted for more than half, and the remaining troops were all under the command of the Mito clan.