Chapter 3540
Chapter 3540
Chapter 3540
When the Zhoushan arrived at the battlefield at top speed, the shogunate army had already broken through the Kyushu coalition's naval interception. Several troop transport ships had already run aground on the Kyushu coast, and hundreds of infantry were landing.
Most of the warships of the Kyushu coalition were assembled in the eastern part of the strait. There were not many of them deployed in this sea area. Even if they tried their best, they could only barely cope with the siege of the shogunate army and had no time to stop the opponent's troop transport ships from passing quickly.
The main land forces of the Kyushu coalition were mostly concentrated in the hilly positions at the narrowest part of the strait. The defenses there were limited to small patrols and were completely unable to prevent the shogunate army from landing.
This scene shocked the audience on the Zhoushan. Most of them thought that the Kyushu coalition forces had won victory after victory recently and should have taken the initiative in the war, but they forgot that the shogunate army was actually the stronger party.
Only a few military personnel who knew the inside story knew that if the Kyushu coalition's battle plan had not been very detailed, and if it had not been for a certain amount of luck that allowed the shogunate army to choose another location as the main direction of attack, a landing scene like the current one would have appeared on the first day of the war.
"Why rush? It's only a matter of time before the shogunate army lands in Kyushu, and the coalition forces won't be defeated just like that. Don't worry, this war won't be over anytime soon."
Shi Diwen gave his companions who were watching the battle a reassurance, telling them to watch the show with peace of mind and not to worry that the Jiuzhou coalition forces would be defeated.
Of course, having said that, Shi Diwen still ordered his men to intensify their supervision of the Kyushu coalition forces to prevent the daimyo from losing their composure after hearing the news of the shogunate army's landing.
Although the Kyushu coalition forces did not deploy heavy troops here, they did take preventive measures. Before the war, considering that this place might become the landing target of the shogunate army, they had cleared the people within dozens of miles of the coast in advance.
In other words, the area where the Shogunate army has landed has actually become an uninhabited area. It is unlikely to obtain supplies nearby. In the near future, they can only rely on cross-strait logistics supply routes.
This would effectively slow down the shogunate's advance after landing, buy buffer time for the Kyushu coalition forces to regroup, and then rely on the inland mountainous areas to engage in combat with the shogunate's army.
The nearest big city to this landing site is Fukuoka City, which is located a hundred miles away and requires a long journey through mountains and rivers to reach.
If the shogunate army wanted to launch an offensive against Fukuoka Castle by land, it would take at least four or five days to walk after landing, and there would be too many environments that could be used for interception operations along the way. The shogunate army's military advantage might not be effective in special battlefield conditions.
In other words, it might not be difficult for the shogunate army to control this landing point and establish a beachhead, but to achieve substantial results, such as capturing a representative large city or destroying the main force of the Kyushu coalition, it would probably be much more difficult than crossing the Kanmon Strait to complete the landing.
Although the Zhoushan only appeared on the edge of the battlefield and did not intervene in the battle, neither side of the war could ignore the arrival of such a giant ship.
The Jiuzhou coalition forces were well aware of Hai Han’s position, and the arrival of the Zhoushan greatly boosted their morale. This was enough to prove that Hai Han had not given up on the coalition forces, so the battle would not have ended with the coalition forces’ defeat.
The Saga clan daimyo Nabeshima Mitsushige, who personally went out to sea to supervise the battle, gained confidence and immediately ordered his warships to reorganize their formations and concentrate their firepower on attacking the shogunate's troop transport ships that were crossing the strait. When the battle ended that day, the shogunate army had transported more than 3,000 troops to the landing point on the Kyushu side. And this time there were no commanding heights near the beachhead, so there was no need to worry about being attacked from above.
As for the battlefield on the other side of the strait where little progress had been made, although there were still more than two thousand shogunate troops stubbornly stationed there, Tokugawa Ietsugu was not going to send any more troops there, nor was he going to withdraw those troops. Instead, he ordered them to continue launching feint attacks on the local defenders.
As long as the main force of the Kyushu coalition could be tied down, it would be worth it for the shogunate even if the two thousand soldiers were sent as cannon fodder.
The tactics adopted by the shogunate in the new round of offensive were very effective. By noon the next day, the shogunate army had successfully transported more than 5,000 people to land on the coast of Kyushu.
Of course, this achievement was not without a price. The Kyushu coalition forces also opened fire to intercept during this process. In the new round of sea crossing and landing, the shogunate army had sunk more than 20 large and small warships, including several troop transport ships fully loaded with soldiers and horses, and more than a thousand people disappeared in the rapids of the Kanmon Strait.
However, the good news for the shogunate was that the landing force sent out scouts to explore the surrounding area, and no positions of the Kyushu coalition forces were found within a radius of 20 miles.
Tokugawa Ietsugu and his generals agreed that this was a reflection of the insufficient strength of the Kyushu coalition. After all, the military strength of each of the Kyushu vassal states was very limited. Even if they formed a coalition, the actual combat force was only about 10,000 people, and it was impossible to set up defenses along the Kanmon Strait, which was dozens of miles long.
While feeling delighted, Tokugawa Ietsugu also felt a little regretful. If he had not been so hasty in the first round of offensive and had tried several feint attacks, perhaps he would have discovered the weak defense here earlier.
But no matter what, now that the army has successfully opened a real breakthrough in Kyushu, all that needs to be done next is to proceed steadily. Sooner or later, they will be able to deplete the opponent's limited military strength and take down these rebellious daimyos one by one.
This time, Tokugawa Ietsugu was no longer in a hurry to have the landing troops launch an offensive. Instead, he ordered the troops and supplies to continue to be transported to the other side, and then launch an attack on the next target after they had rested properly.
After watching the game for many days, some foreign guests in the delegation began to have the idea of leaving, and one after another they said goodbye to Shi Diwen.
Most of these people are from small countries in the South China Sea. For them, the scale and intensity of this war are far beyond their imagination. Their countries have no chance to participate in such a "war", let alone become a military power. There is not much benefit from continuing to watch the war.
Of course, the weapons and equipment used by both sides left a deep impression on everyone. Especially those small countries that were still in the era of cold weapons, after seeing the actual combat of muskets and artillery, they also submitted arms orders to Hai Han.
Even though they may not be able to train an army with such strong combat effectiveness, it is still necessary to establish good relations with Hai Han under the pretext of arms purchases.
First buy some arms and then ask Hai Han to send some military advisers to help train the new army. This will be considered as paying protection money to Hai Han.
As for the guests who wanted to leave, Shi Diwen would not deliberately keep them, and would arrange for the ship to send them away as agreed. Small countries were not the main target of this multinational inspection activity, and those who were truly interested in this war could not be driven away even if they were driven away.