Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 338 The Shimazu Family's Ironclad Ships

After signing an unequal treaty with the shogunate, the Qiongzhou fleet left Edo Bay.

On the vast ocean.

Gao Jie asked, "Should we go back to Nagasaki or go directly back to Lingao?"

Liu Ye shook his head repeatedly: "Didn't you see the agreement I signed with the Shogunate? The first clause is that we can capture the murderer ourselves. We're going to Kagoshima. We have concerns about bombarding Edo, but we have no concerns about bombarding Kagoshima."

Liang Xiaoming broke out in a cold sweat: "Are we really going to attack the Satsuma Domain? Although there was an attack, thankfully you weren't injured. Is it too much of a price to pay to fight a powerful western domain just to save face?"

At this point, Liu Ye seriously rebuked him: "You're wrong. Going to attack the Shimazu family isn't about saving face, but about making an example of them. If we don't take down this ringleader, what if others follow suit and try to kill me whenever I show up in Japan? Even if they don't kill me, what if they attack our people stationed at the Nagasaki trading post? After all, our actions have damaged the face of the Japanese people, and we can't ignore that possibility."

Liang Xiaoming suddenly realized: "Now that you mention it, we have no choice but to fight. But like that old Chinese official in the shogunate said, that woman is a candidate for the future head of the Shimazu family. Even if we bombard Kagoshima, how could they possibly hand her over?"

"It doesn't matter. Even if the Shimazu family pulls a switcheroo and gives me a fake Shimazu Chiyo, I'll accept it. At least all Japanese people will know that the Shimazu family has bowed to the cannons, and my goal will be achieved. Demanding the murderer is just a pretext; making the Satsuma Domain submit is the real objective."

Kagoshima, where the Satsuma Domain is located, is the southernmost region of Japan, only a little over 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) away from Nagasaki. A mountainous area dotted with volcanoes, it has little plain and is not well-suited for large-scale rice cultivation. Before the nationwide isolation edict, the Satsuma Domain engaged in unauthorized trade with foreign countries, which became their main source of revenue. Through contact with Western culture, they also surpassed other domains in the manufacture and use of firearms. The famous "Tanegashima arquebus" originated when a Portuguese merchant ship was blown by a typhoon to Tanegashima, south of the Satsuma Domain, and was replicated by the craftsman Hachiita Kiyosada. This was Japan's earliest matchlock gun and the progenitor of the "arquebus," bringing about significant changes in Japanese history. As the birthplace of the "arquebus," the Satsuma Domain has always been renowned for its high-quality firearms.

When the Qiongzhou fleet arrived at Kagoshima Castle, where the Satsuma Domain was located, both Liu Ye and Gao Jie were overjoyed to see the castle. Kagoshima Castle, the residence of the domain lord and his samurai, was actually built right on the coast! At such close range, attacking with naval cannons would be incredibly easy.

Gao Jie optimistically estimated that with a 5° elevation angle and maximum range, there was a chance to strike the core area of ​​the city—the castle tower where the lord resided. If the castle tower could be hit, its significance would be no less than cannonballs from outside Beijing landing on the Forbidden City; it would be a fatal double blow to the defenders, both militarily and politically.

Kagoshima Castle's layout is typical of Japanese hilltop castles. The Satsuma Domain itself called it Tsurumaru Castle. Construction began in 1601 and was completed in 1604. At that time, the Shimazu clan had suffered a defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara, and their lord, Shimazu Yoshihiro, took all the blame and committed seppuku. To stabilize the situation, Tokugawa Ieyasu preserved the Satsuma Domain, and Shimazu Yoshihiro's third son, Tadatsune, became the new lord. Tsurumaru Castle was built under his rule. Before construction, Shimazu Yoshihiro believed that building a castle on the coast posed a risk. However, after his seppuku, his successor, Shimazu Tadatsune, disregarded his father's wishes and insisted on building the castle on the coast. He never imagined that thirty years later, this willful decision would nearly bring him annihilation.

The garrison of Tsurumaru Castle quickly noticed the approach of a large fleet. Their response was efficient: a Japanese-style Atakebune immediately sailed out of the harbor and approached the fleet. The Japanese samurai on board warned the fleet in broken Japanese that it could not advance any further.

Out of professional habit, Gao Jie carefully observed the Atakebune and exclaimed in amazement, "This ship is actually covered entirely in iron! I swear to God, apart from our ships being covered in copper below the waterline, I've never seen a ship like this at sea." The Qiongzhou naval vessels covered their hulls in copper below the waterline primarily to prevent seawater corrosion and also to reduce friction and increase speed. The iron covering on the Atakebune, however, clearly served as a form of armor.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ye and Liang Xiaoming both came to the bow of the boat to watch the excitement.

Liang Xiaoming was also astonished: "Could this be the legendary ironclad ship? I thought Oda Nobunaga's ironclad ship was just a fabrication, but I didn't expect it to actually exist."

Liu Ye asked, "Could it be that the Japanese shipbuilding technology is more advanced than ours, and they even use iron armor? That doesn't make sense!"

After careful observation, Liang Xiaoming shook his head: "It's obvious to the naked eye that this can't be called armor at all. At most, it's just a thin sheet of iron, with a thickness of two to three millimeters at most. It might be somewhat useful for preventing fire attacks, but it can't stop artillery shells."

Gao Jie also said: "This may be a deformed product of the use of fire attack tactics in naval warfare. Although it can prevent fire to a certain extent, it increases the overall weight of the ship, and the bottom is widened in order to maintain balance. Such a ship runs slower than a tortoise and has a very low cost performance."

Liu Ye was relieved to hear this; it turned out to be just a useless tin turtle. He ordered, "Give this tin turtle a few shots and let them know how powerful we are."

Although this enhanced version of the Atakebune was already one of the largest ships in the navies of the major Japanese lords, it was like the difference between a child and an adult compared to the 500-ton or even 1000-ton warships of the Qiongzhou Camp. The Yongle-class ships were unnecessary; the Wuyi-class ships would suffice.

Several Wuyi-class warships, including the Lingao and Chengmai, aimed at the target and then fired solid shot from their Caron guns.

"Boom boom boom!" More than a dozen 30-pound solid shot hit the ironclad ship. The thin iron sheet was no match for the powerful kinetic energy. The shells easily penetrated the hull, causing a devastating penetration effect, and seawater slowly poured in.

The samurai on deck were both shocked and furious. They drew their katana and shouted at the large ship opposite them. Although few people in the Qiongzhou camp understood Japanese, their expressions and actions suggested that it was not a pleasant thing to say.

With a deafening boom, another cannon shot rang out. A shrapnel shell fired by the "Rinko" swept across the deck of the Ataka-sen, turning several chattering samurai into sieves, their brains and flesh flying everywhere, and the world instantly became quiet.