Chapter 3525
Chapter 3525
Chapter 3525
Tanoura is located at the eastern end of the Kanmon Strait. It has no dangerous terrain and no natural harbor. The terrain is open and flat. The distance from the narrowest part of the strait and the opposite Honshu Island is about the same, both of which are only about four miles.
From the perspective of the attacker, Tanoura is an indefensible place and is undoubtedly an ideal landing site.
Even if calculated based on the speed of a human-rowed boat, it would only take half an hour at most to cross the strait here. The open beachhead is also very suitable for the assembly and deployment of large troops after landing.
However, now that multinational expedition groups have set up camp here, there are two Hai Han army battalions and dozens of large and small ships guarding it. Anyone who wants to use this place as a battlefield must carefully consider the consequences of dragging Hai Han into the war.
Hai Han even brought Sakai Tadaki here before sending him back across the strait to ensure that the shogunate army would know that the Hai Han army and the multinational inspection team were stationed here to avoid misjudgment. The shogunate army certainly did not dare to take the initiative to provoke, and was forced to cross out Tanoura from the target of attack.
Whether this arrangement was unintentional or an intentional effort to use the inspection team to share the defensive pressure with the Kyushu coalition, all parties probably have their own opinions.
There were no towns in Tanopura, only a few farmers settled there, so naturally there was no reception capacity. So whether it was Hai Han officials or politicians from other countries, when they arrived here, they could only live in temporary tents, which were even more rudimentary than the barracks at the Sasebo base.
But everyone knows that they didn’t come all the way here for a picnic, and even if the living environment is a bit poor, they can only endure it for the time being in order to see the next exciting show.
The Korean camp took up a large area in the temporary camp in Tianyepu. King Li Li and the crown prince Li Bai, who had just returned from studying in Haihan, were also in the camp.
Although the environment here is remote, it is an international occasion after all, and the king's guard of honor is still indispensable. A striking royal flag is also specially raised in the camp to highlight Li Li's special status.
Li Yi was not picky about the environment here, and he made himself at home after arriving. But Li Bai, perhaps because he was too young, was already a little impatient after only one night here.
However, the reason he lost his patience was not because of the poor living conditions here, but for other reasons.
When Li Bai came to pay his respects to Li Yi in the morning, he took the initiative to express his thoughts: "Father, Hai Han has brought the inspection team here to station. If the two sides don't start fighting, then won't we have to wait here forever?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "You don't know enough about Hai Han's style of doing things. They always plan before they act, and they must have considered every aspect before making any arrangements."
"Do you think they brought the expedition team here to wait for the conflicting parties to start fighting? In my opinion, it's just the opposite. The battle can only start after the expedition team is in place!"
Li Bai asked in disbelief, “Father, are you saying that Hai Han has the final say on when the civil war in Japan will start?”
Li Yi said, “After watching the drama for so many days, you should understand that this civil war is actually a drama that Hai Han has arranged for other countries to watch. Who is the protagonist and who is the supporting role, the story, and when to say what words and what actions are all based on the script.”
Li Bai asked, "So will the Japanese just cooperate so obediently?" Li Yi sneered, "Of course they will! The root cause of their civil war is the long-standing grievances between the shogunate and the locals. Now the arrow is on the string and has to be fired. Whether Hai Han instigates or not, they have to fight. It's just a matter of time."
“But if we want to win this war, both sides have to rely on Hai Han to provide armaments, so naturally we have to follow Hai Han’s pace. When this drama will begin, Hai Han must give its approval.”
After hearing the analysis, Li Bai took a deep breath and said, “Hai Han can actually control Japan to such an extent!”
Li Yi was depressed and did not continue the conversation. Hai Han could not only control the situation in Japan, but also cause a civil war in Korea if necessary. Of course, judging from the current relationship between the two countries, the possibility of such a situation happening was extremely small.
However, as Japan's old enemy, Li Yi was definitely happy to see Japan suffer this setback. He was also happy to stay here for a while and witness the outbreak of this civil war with his own eyes.
Although Hai Han rejected his proposal to allow the Korean army to join the war, he had already secretly ordered the country's elite troops to assemble at Busan Port and prepare for a blitzkrieg against Japan.
There are only 400 miles between Busan Port and Kanmon Strait. If there is an opportunity, Li Yi would not mind tearing a piece of meat off Japan.
In fact, he didn’t quite understand. If Hai Han’s goal was to overthrow the rule of the shogunate, why didn’t it allow the Korean army to join the war?
After all, compared to the hastily assembled Kyushu local armed forces, the Korean army, which had long been assisted by Hai Han, was clearly superior in strength. If the Korean army could directly participate in the war, it could join the Kyushu coalition forces in attacking the Honshu region, making it difficult for the shogunate to resist from both sides.
This way, even if Hai Han does not personally intervene, it can greatly reduce the time and effort required to overthrow the shogunate. However, judging from the current arrangements, the shogunate does not seem to be Hai Han’s primary target.
Li Li could only interpret this as Hai Han's intention to sell more arms, so it did not want the shogunate to be defeated too quickly. However, he was also somewhat worried about whether the Kyushu vassal states could withstand a war of attrition with the shogunate given their war potential.
Of course, most of the spectators here would not have as many considerations as Li Yi. The fundamental reason they came here was to watch the excitement and take a look at how the expensive Hai Han weapons and equipment would perform on the battlefield.
Several other daimyos who had already led their troops to nearby areas also rushed to the camp the day after the inspection team arrived here.
They certainly did not come to meet the inspection team that came to observe the battle, but to meet with the Executive Committee to confirm the timing of launching the action and the subsequent combat plan.
At this time, the Kyushu Allied Forces had assembled a combat force of about 15,000 people near the Kanmon Strait. Although this number was quite a distance away from the shogunate's military strength on the other side of the strait, the Kyushu Allied Forces had the advantage of fighting at home, had prepared a battle plan for an entire winter, and had thousands of Hai Han troops nearby to provide support, so the daimyos did not panic because of the imminent battle.
The opinion given by the Executive Committee was also very clear. If the Kyushu coalition forces wanted to defeat the shogunate army, they must play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, and try not to give the opponent the opportunity to use their military advantage.
To achieve this goal, first, we must try to avoid large-scale decisive battles on the front battlefield, and second, make full use of the terrain of the Kanmon Strait to disrupt the mobilization and deployment of the shogunate army. Only by doing these two things can we have a chance to defeat the enemy with fewer troops and the weak with stronger ones.