Chapter 3613
Chapter 3613
Chapter 3613
The Japanese imperial lineage claimed to be descendants of Amaterasu, and thus used "Emperor" as their imperial title. However, on the Hai Han side, naturally, they would not have much respect for a puppet in name only, and the official title has always been "Emperor of Wa".
Since the military commander Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura shogunate in 1192, the real power to rule Japan has fallen into the hands of the hereditary shogun, and the imperial family in Kyoto has been completely marginalized from then on, becoming a symbol enshrined on the altar.
Japan has gone through three shogunate periods, namely Kamakura, Muromachi and Tokugawa, but the status of the royal family has not changed significantly. Successive Japanese emperors have always been puppets in the hands of the shogunate, and their power was limited to the small imperial palace in Kyoto.
The security of Kyoto was always the responsibility of the shogunate, and the imperial family only had a small number of armed guards, so they theoretically had no ability to resist the shogunate. Therefore, the successive Japanese emperors did not seem to have much enthusiasm for getting rid of the shogunate's control and regaining the ruling power that should have belonged to them. Instead, they were accustomed to the peaceful life of being kept in captivity by the shogunate.
Therefore, when Shi Diwen proposed to send someone to contact the royal family, he actually did not hold much hope for this. However, if he could persuade the Japanese emperor to speak out, perhaps some ambitious people would be interested in this.
After all, the three shogunates in the past few hundred years were actually playing tricks to hold the emperor hostage to control the princes. If they could obtain royal authorization and then try to overthrow the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, then it would be entirely possible for them to become the shogun of the new era.
Of course, it is not easy to achieve such a goal. The current situation of the Jiuzhou coalition is the most vivid example. Anyone who wants to start a rebellion should first consider their own weight and whether they can defeat the Jiuzhou coalition with Hai Han's backing.
Shi Chengxin also proposed another solution at this time: "Father, I think the Koreans have a strong desire for war. If the Kyushu coalition forces can no longer fight, should we find an opportunity to arrange for them to go to the front line to fight the shogunate army?"
Shi Diwen said: "It's not impossible to do so, but the daimyo in Kyushu may not be happy to let the Koreans steal their limelight. They will think that it was the huge price they paid in the early stages of the war and the consumption of the shogunate's strength that allowed the Koreans to come up and take advantage."
"Also, the troops Li Li sent to Kyushu are all elite troops of the Joseon army. I am worried that once they go to the battlefield, the shogunate army will not be able to resist them. If the shogunate army is defeated too quickly, it will not be conducive to our control of the situation."
The troops sent by Joseon to Kyushu to fight were not voluntary labor, but were charged basic garrison fees on a daily basis. If they went to the front line to fight, in addition to charging combat fees, Joseon would also have to participate in the division of the shogunate's territory after the war, which was also the plan that the Joseon King Yi Ye had already made.
The Kyushu feudal lords certainly did not want to have more people to share the meat in the pot, so unless it was absolutely necessary, they probably would not arrange for the Korean army to serve as the main combat force.
Of course, the Kyushu feudal lords may not have considered how likely it is that the Korean army will win against the shogunate army, but Shi Diwen is very clear about the strength of the Korean troops currently stationed in Kyushu, so he is worried that their participation in the battle will affect the balance of the war.
These troops were organized and trained in accordance with the standards of the Hai Han Army. Their weapons, equipment, and tactics were inherited from the Hai Han Army. We cannot say that their combat effectiveness can catch up with the Hai Han Army, but they are definitely one level higher than the strength of both sides in the Japanese civil war. If the Korean army defeats the shogunate army, the situation will become very delicate. How much military value does the Kyushu coalition have? Should the Korean army replace it? If the shogunate army is defeated, should Hai Han continue to support it? If we continue to provide arms to the shogunate army, will we be harming the Korean army?
The most important thing is that Shi Diwen’s long-term goal is to force Japan into a long-term internal struggle through civil war. Once a different role is added to the war, the civil war may turn into a foreign war, and the goals he set will never be achieved.
After listening to his explanation, Shi Chengxin quickly understood the problem and nodded, "So, we really can't let the Korean army go to the front line to lead the charge. But with the Korean army guarding the rear for the Kyushu coalition, we have created the conditions for them to go out in full force."
Shi Diwen said: "Before the newly recruited soldiers have formed combat effectiveness, we cannot let the Jiuzhou coalition army fight hard, otherwise it is likely to form a situation where there is a lack of successors in the army, and then the combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced."
Although they were unable to come up with any immediate solution to change the situation, they could only try various possibilities at present and contact various forces in Japan through the intelligence department to see if there was any chance to create civil unrest and slow down the pace of the shogunate army's actions.
The response plan formulated by the Kyushu coalition was simpler and more brutal. They planned to launch another sea raid to attack several ports in the Seto Inland Sea in order to disrupt the logistics supply of the shogunate army.
At this time, the Kyushu coalition had already suffered a lot of losses. There were still a dozen Hai Han-made warships, and the rest were slow-moving Ataku ships. It would not be difficult to organize a surprise attack with these warships, but if there were more serious losses, the Kyushu coalition would completely lose control of the Kanmon Strait.
So when this plan was reported to Shi Diwen, he thought that the Jiuzhou coalition was taking a gamble and the risk of the action was quite high. The intentions of the daimyo were also very clear. Regardless of whether this action could achieve its goal, Hai Han needed to provide a batch of usable warships as soon as possible.
After much consideration, Shi Diwen finally agreed to the Jiuzhou Coalition's raid plan and promised to deliver a batch of warships to the Jiuzhou Coalition within a month - of course, this batch of emergency aid warships could not include the Majestic-class warships they fantasized about getting.
If these warships continue to stay near the Kanmon Strait and fight with the shogunate army, they will basically have no advantage. Every maritime conflict will result in the loss of two or three ships or even more. Giving up the main battlefield and raiding the ports in the Seto Inland Sea may maximize the value of these warships.
The Kyushu coalition's adventurous raid was somewhat improvised, more like an action launched to prove their determination to fight to Hai Han. However, perhaps because of this suddenness, the shogunate army did not expect that the enemy, who had suffered heavy losses, would still have the courage to organize a long-distance raid. They neglected to guard against it, and as a result, the Kyushu coalition once again broke into their rear.
Most of the ports attacked this time had been ambushed once by the Kyushu Allied Forces at the beginning of the war. However, as the shogunate army gradually took control of the Kanmon Strait, the Kyushu Allied Forces had to gather near the strait to fight, and the Seto Inland Sea slowly returned to calm.
Unexpectedly, the Kyushu coalition forces actually rushed out under such circumstances, scored twice in the Seto Inland Sea, and looted again the ports that had just restored normal order.