Tokugawa Iemitsu also knew about the recent war on the Ming side, and immediately said with a calm face: "This time the Ming Dynasty took the initiative to provoke, that is, I don't want to tear my face...... Darn! Do you really want to end the lockdown?! ”

Monk Guanghai hurriedly said: "The closure of the country is the solid cornerstone of the shogunate, and it must not be changed. ”

Closing off the country, which seemed to be a brain-dead thing in later generations, was absolutely reasonable in Japan at that time.

First of all, it cut off the communication channels between the feudal towns and the outside world, and prevented the possibility of other countries exerting influence on Japan.

Secondly, and most importantly, Nagasaki was the only place in Japan that could trade with the outside world, and trade here was monopolized by the Tokugawa shogunate. It was equivalent to the Tokugawa clan monopolizing the country's foreign trade, thus providing a strong financial guarantee for consolidating its own strength, and the more time passed, the less the other daimyo were opponents of the Tokugawa family.

Tokugawa Iemitsu said angrily: "In this case, how can you send the envoys of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Guanghai said: "My lord, according to the old man's understanding of the Ming Dynasty, they value face the most. As long as we show a little bit and give them some face, the matter will be revealed soon. ”

"What do you mean?"

"It is true that the retinue of the important minister of the Ming Dynasty suffered many casualties, and their warships were also damaged, so it is reasonable to ask for some compensation. If not, give them 300,000 taels. ”

"300,000 taels, more than 600,000 guan!" Tokugawa Iemitsu glared at him, "How could so much money be given to the Ming Dynasty casually?!" ”

Guanghai said with a smile: "The people were killed by the Shimazu family, so naturally they paid for the money." ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu was stunned when he heard this, and immediately smiled. That's right, although Shimazu's invasion of the Ryukyus was tacitly approved by himself, but the shogunate never allowed it on the surface, and now that something happens, of course they are responsible.

Shimazu, as the most powerful of the daimyos, has always been a big problem for the Tokugawa family, and the shogunate is also looking for excuses to beat them every once in a while. Now that it's such a good reason, how can you let it go so easily.

600,000 guan, this is enough for the Shimazu family to break their muscles and bones, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to recover for thirty or fifty years.

He nodded immediately, "Okay, let's do it." ”

……

"Tokugawa Iemitsu wants the Shimazu family to take out the 300,000 taels?" Dai Xiuyuan, dressed in a kimono, looked at the pool in the courtyard and said with a smile, "He really helped a lot." So how did the Shimazu family react? ”

A middle-aged man who had shaved his head was busy saying: "Lord Hui, the Shimazu family is already unable to make ends meet, and the gold mine was confiscated before, and I am worried that the retainers will not be able to settle in the coming year, if they are forced to come up with 600,000 yuan, the Shimazu family will collapse."

"Now the whole Satsuma clan is extremely angry, but they dare not speak out. However, there were a few elders who advocated arming for war and resolutely did not bow to the shogunate. ”

"Okay, I got it. Go down. ”

"Hey!" That person was a widow, a samurai of the Shimazu family who was bought by Dai Xiuyuan with a lot of money.

Dai Xiuyuan waited for him to leave, and immediately wrote a secret letter, asking him to quickly hand it over to the sailors waiting outside Nagasaki Port.

Three days later.

A fleet of ten Galen warships sailed mightily into the waters off Uraga, the key point of Edo Bay.

The leader is the Daming Navy Division fourth-class cruiser Shao Wu.

The Japanese warships fortified nearby hurriedly came to intercept them, but these Ataka ships, which were no more than 1450 tons at the largest, were like mantis arms in front of the Ming warships.

The Daming Naval Division didn't even bother to fire the artillery, so they just lined up in a neat battle line and crashed all the way. After the Shao Wu, which was more than 500 tons, crushed four Anzhai ships, no one dared to come forward to provoke again.

The ten ships then crossed the estuary of Edo Bay and informed the Tokugawa shogunate that they must give an affirmative reply to the previous letter within five days, otherwise the fleet would sail into Edo Bay.

Everyone in the Edo area was shocked, and the shogunate was even more exploded.

Tokugawa Iemitsu didn't expect the Ming Dynasty to be so pressing step by step, and the battleship was about to ride to his face, and he couldn't help but turn pale.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna said in a loud voice: "We must teach these captives a good lesson!" ”

Immediately, there was a chorus of approval, "Yes! They are simply arrogant! ”

"You must kill them!"

Sakai Tadashi said: "I heard that the warships of the Ming Dynasty were as tall as the city walls, and more than a dozen ships had been damaged by the naval army directly under the shogunate, so what can I teach them a lesson?" ”

After a moment of silence, Abe said again: "At present, we can only transfer the warship of the Shimazu family to come, and it is possible to disperse the Ming Dynasty." ”

Since the Battle of Imjin, the Satsuma Domain has been Japan's strongest maritime power. However, Tokugawa Iemitsu had just cut their fiefdoms, confiscated their gold mines, and now let the Shimazu family go out of the army, which is really difficult to say.

Tokugawa Iemitsu thought about it for a long time, and he had no other way, so he had to order: "Pass the order, let Shimazu Mitsuhisa send troops immediately." If I can repel the Ming warships, I will pardon them for their previous attack on the Ryukyus. ”

"Hey!"

However, to the surprise of all the high-ranking shogunates, the fleet of the Satsuma clan only glanced at the Daimei Navy from afar in the Uraga Sea, and fled back to Kagoshima without looking back. They are experts in naval warfare, and they know very well that just one Shaowu is enough to completely destroy their fleet, and this is really going to rush up, isn't it the same as sending them to death?

The five days left by the Ming Dynasty to the Tokugawa shogunate passed quickly, and the Shao Wu sailed into Edo Bay with five warships, including the Kenning and Quanzhou, while the other five ships were on guard at the mouth of the sea.

A number of forts were also built on both sides of Edo Bay, which were the gateways to the capital, and some of them were built with the help of the Lan and the British.

When Tokugawa Iemitsu learned that the Daimei Naval Division was heading towards Edo, he did not hesitate to order the coastal batteries to sink the enemy ships with all their might.

However, the level of the Japanese cannons was really unbearable, and the bronze clay cannons they made were simply tickling on the Shao Wu, and only a few six-pounder guns purchased from Helan were slightly powerful, but it was also difficult to break through the hull of the Shao Wu.

Under the leadership of Shao Wu, the Daming Naval Division surrounded the fort in a fan shape and began to bombard with 10,000 cannons. Where had the Japanese gunners seen such a scene, and after seeing the death of a dozen or so people, they abandoned their guns and fled.

Then the infantry of the sailors went ashore to occupy the battery, destroyed the artillery, and returned to the ship. The sailor ship sailed to the next battery......

In less than a day, four batteries had been lost along the coast of Edo Bay. The people near Edo Castle had been terrified by the roar of the cannons for a day.

The next day, 1,000 soldiers of the Daming Naval Division landed on the north bank of Yokohama, fifty miles from Edo Castle.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna hurriedly mobilized 4,000 Japanese soldiers from Gongwei Edo to resist. Although these horses were the elite of the shogunate, the Ming army was supported by the heavy artillery of the battleship behind them, wearing a stainless steel cuirass, and holding the latest rifled gun in their hands, and almost scattered the Japanese troops who rushed up in front of them.

When the Tokugawa shogunate heard the shock, they immediately dispatched 30,000 troops to protect Edo Castle, and ordered the nearby daimyo to lead reinforcements.