Chapter 149 Pre-War Preparations

Keelung's army rested in Kitakyushu City for nearly ten days before the intelligence personnel sent by the Saga family were able to send intelligence to the front line.

Qin Hao immediately scolded Saga Chaoichi for such slow information transmission.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says: Therefore, wise kings and wise generals can defeat others through action. Those who succeed come from the crowd are also prophets.

A prophet cannot be taken from ghosts and gods, cannot be imitated by things, and cannot be verified by measurement. He must be taken from people, who know the enemy's mood.

"The most important thing in combat is intelligence. If you can't do this well, how can I trust you to guard Kyushu and how can your position be secure?"

In response to the accusation from the main hall, Saga Chaoichi broke into a cold sweat, quickly begged for forgiveness, and promised to rebuild the intelligence team.

He is also aware of his own intelligence organization. They are all wandering ninjas in the mountains. They know one or two tricks, but they are really not good enough.

In this era where fighting is all about walking and damage output is all about roaring, Saga Chaoichi has done a good job. Qin Hao comforted him after scolding him, lest this guy would have any resentment in his heart and cause trouble for himself during the war.

"Okay, I won't embarrass you anymore. All future intelligence will be left to the Kyushu Post Office. You can take charge."

"Thank you, hall."

In response to this, Saga Chaoichi finally let go of his worries and began to report the information.

The Kumamoto family's army has already arrived at Higo, which means that in just one day, the Kumamoto family's army will enter the Saga territory.

"How many troops did the Kumamoto family send out this time?" Qin Hao quickly found "Higo" on the map of Kyushu.

"There are about 3,000 Ashigaru people and about 500 Hatamoto samurai. As for the other military forces, they have not been scouted yet." Saga Moichi lowered his head in shame, and he hated those scouting ninjas in his heart.

It was unbearable to embarrass myself in front of the main hall twice in one day.

After this battle, they must all be removed from their posts and arranged to "deliver express delivery" to the Kyushu Post Office.

"3500?" Qin Hao frowned slightly.

If that was all, he really didn't take it to heart. His vanguard troops had five Shuntian battalions (5,000 people) and one artillery battalion (500 people).

3500VS5500

No matter how you look at it, it will never fail.

What's more, the soldiers of Shuntian Camp are all equipped with 1627-style flintlock guns. Against the old-fashioned matchlock guns still used by Fuso, it is a big fish to eat the shrimps, it is easy.

Based on this information, Qin Hao immediately summoned everyone to discuss the situation they were facing.

"I have never fought a battle with such a large force advantage." After Zhao Dahai learned the news, he was overjoyed and immediately asked Qin Hao for orders, "Lord, as long as you give me three hundred people, I can definitely destroy Kumamoto."

"Master Zhao, be careful. The Kumamoto family has dispatched five hundred banner warriors, and their strength cannot be underestimated." Saga Touichi couldn't help but dissuade him.

In Fuso, whether they are wandering samurai territory Ashigaru or ordinary people in the fields, their promotion path is nothing more than the position of Hatamoto samurai. It can be said that this is the most direct and best life path.

This resulted in the number of Hatamoto samurai in each daimyo not being very large. This time, the Kumamoto family dispatched five hundred at a time, and Saga Chaoichi was still frightened.

The Saga family's Tōhira and Nishiminato couldn't mobilize 300 warriors. Without the support of the main hall this time, it would really be a disaster for the family.

Regarding Saga Chaoichi's persuasion, Zhao Dahai didn't take it to heart at all, "What a Hatamoto samurai, a lead bullet hits him, and he still has to suffer from hatred."

"Sir, you'd better be careful." Shaking his head helplessly, Saga turned his eyes to Qin Hao.

"Come and see, where is this place?"

Qin Hao looked at the map attentively, and then pointed at a place on it.

"Main hall, this is our army's Toyooka Castle."

"How many men are stationed?"

"Less than three hundred."

Toyooka Castle is the leading fortress of the Saga Territory. If it is occupied by the Kumamoto family, they can march straight into it.

The Fuso Daimyo had very little land. If they occupied three or five cities, they would be a powerful and powerful power. Once someone captured a major city, they would be basically exhausted.

If Toyooka Castle is captured, the team will have to take a detour to get out of Saga Territory, which is extremely inconvenient.

Therefore, Toyooka Castle must be defended!

"Zhao Dahai listens to the order!" Qin Hao pointed to Fenggang City on the map, "You lead a battalion of troops and go to this city to garrison. I will not be allowed."

"I accept your orders!" Zhao Dahai knelt down on one knee, his lowered eyes showing sharpness, as if a sharp sword pierced through the glow.

"Haidai, remember one thing, no matter how the Kumamotos attack the city, they must defend it."

It's not that he doesn't trust Shuntianying, but that Zhao Dahai has a bad temper and Qin Hao is deeply afraid that he will be ambushed.

Kumamoto must know the news that the Kirung Army has moved into the Saga family, yet he dares to send troops to attack in such a ostentatious manner.

There are only two reasons, either because he knows it in his heart and someone helps him to know the truth; or he is stupid and has no brain at all.

If you can achieve the position of the head of the Kumamoto family, you will definitely not be an idiot.

There must be a back-up plan. As for what the back-up plan is, Qin Hao knows it without guessing.

"How many people should the Tokugawa family send this time?" After polishing his chin, Qin Hao really couldn't guess this time.

"Lord, why don't you send someone to explore again." Han Xian suggested from the side.

"It's too late, it only takes one day."

Qin Hao rejected this idea, and his eyes fell on the center of the map of Kyushu.

Shimadzu, Kumamoto, and Saga are three pillars.

If compared with the Three Kingdoms, Shimazu is the most powerful Wei, Kumamoto is Wu, and Saga is the weakest Shu.

"Without their own support, Saga is like meat on the chopping board, and can only be slaughtered by others." Looking at the power circles on the map, Qin Hao couldn't help but think of this.

"Saga Asaichi, how did you arrange the Shimazu family?"

"Your Highness, I am your subordinate"

Faced with Qin Hao's question, Saga Asaichi was at a loss. Isn't this a war against the Kumamoto family and the shogunate? Why is it related to the Shimazu family?

But after all, he is an old man. After thinking for a moment, he realized the seriousness of the problem. He was so scared that sweat dripped down his face, and he quickly took out a piece of cotton cloth to wipe it.

Knowing his own stupidity, Saga Chaoyi started to cry and complain: "Your Highness, you also know that our territory is small and the people are sparse. We can't have enough food even if we don't fight. Now we are fighting, it's even worse. Without food, we can't recruit enough soldiers."

The voice of his cry became louder and louder, but he didn't mention the 500,000 shi of rice he had transported from Keelung before.

Qin Hao calculated that these 500,000 shi of rice were enough for Saga Chaoyi to recruit 10,000 soldiers and soldiers, and could make 100,000 low-level farmers in the Saga family stop farming for a year.

"Okay!" Qin Hao was impatient, holding the broadsword on his waist, and glanced at Saga coldly, "I don't want to hear any of your sophistry."

"Now tell me all the soldiers you can mobilize."

Seeing Qin Hao's hand on the waist knife, Saga's heart was in his throat, and his brain was turning rapidly.

After a while, he got the result.

So he began to report pitifully: "Your Highness, I, this time we have recruited a total of 3,000 foot soldiers, but most of them are new soldiers and have not received any training."

Just joining the army means being drafted to be cannon fodder and die. This is the tradition among the Fuso daimyo. After all, they do not have the complete system and production process like Keelung.

The foot soldiers are recruited during wartime and work on the farm after the war.

These foot soldiers are essentially just a group of farmers. It is ok to let them fight in a favorable battle and pick up bargains. If they encounter a strong enemy, they will definitely be the first organization to flee. There will be no accidents at all.

Only the hatamoto samurai are the key force in the struggle between daimyo. Later scholars have calculated the battle of Okehazama between Oda Nobunaga and Imagawa Yoshimoto.

At that time, the Oda family had only 4,500 troops, while the Imagawa family had 10 times as many as that, reaching 50,000 people.

In such a battle with such a huge disparity in military strength, no one in Fuso has ever lost before.

But Imagawa Yoshimoto met the sixth-day demon king, Oda Nobunaga, who did not play by the rules at all.

At that time, everyone in the Oda family was thinking about how to surrender or escape, including Oda Nobunaga's younger brother, but in such a desperate situation, Oda Nobunaga led 1,000 hatamoto samurai and rushed straight to Okehazama. With elite soldiers, he caught Imagawa Yoshimoto off guard and killed most of the soldiers.

1,000vs50,000, a complete victory!

This is why Qin Hao is so cautious. If you ask Imagawa Yoshimoto about the huge number of soldiers and the sophisticated weapons, he will still be defeated.

Qin Hao didn't want such a thing to happen to him from the bottom of his heart.

"My Lord, the hatamoto samurai only recruited 100 people."

Saga Asaichi's answer made Qin Hao come back to his senses, and his thoughts began to become clear.

"100 people!" He was about to curse, but he held back, "Tell me about the arrangement of the troops."

It's better not to count on pig teammates.

"There are 1,000 soldiers guarding the city in each place, including 500 foot soldiers guarding the west gate of the Shimazu family. In addition, there are 1,000 soldiers arranged on the front line, and there are 100 hatamoto samurai in Kitakyushu Castle."

"500 people? Too few!"

The Shimazu family is a powerful clan. If it were the soldiers of the Shuntian Camp, it would be okay, but the foot soldiers of the Saga family would disperse at the thought of it.

"Han Xian, listen to the order." Qin Hao shouted, "1,000 soldiers are stationed at the west gate, and 1,000 are stationed at Kitakyushu Castle. The order must be transferred immediately, and there must be no mistakes."

"I obey the order!"

The deafening sound made the originally dull meeting room lively again, as if the sun was shining into the dust, and the momentum was like a rainbow.

"Master, don't forget to use the big gun troops." Saga was anxious. How could the master forget such a big killer?

It's a pity to leave it unused!

"Disband, everyone, get ready. We will probably meet the Kumamoto army in the next few days. When that time comes, we will definitely face a big war, so everyone should get ready. Saga, you stay for a while, I have something to say to you."

Although Qin Hao ignored Saga's opinion, he kept him.

Saga also knew what was going on and stood obediently beside Qin Hao.

Qin Hao waved his hand and dismissed this temporary meeting.

Everyone saluted, stood up and walked out of the tent.

Saga, who was left behind by Qin Hao, did not look excited at all. He was still kneeling there very calmly.

He is really a smart guy.

Qin Hao glanced at Saga and said in his heart.

After everyone left, Qin Hao said to Saga: "How did you think of using a big barrel (cannon)? As far as I know, in Fuso, it seems that big barrels are not used in land battles. At most, iron cannons are used."

Facing Qin Hao's question, Saga replied: "The main hall, this big barrel, oh no, it's called an artillery piece in Keelung's official dialect. I also learned about its original power from Zheng Zhilong and Mr. Zheng. Fusang is a small country and the people are weak. This The first-class thing is not used much, but I know that it is often used at sea. It was a coincidence. Only after boarding Lord Zheng's ship did I realize its power. It shakes the earth and the earth, and the fire is soaring into the sky. It is truly an extraordinary thing. " , Saga slowly told Qin Hao what he really thought.

"I know Lord Zheng, but he was defeated by the main hall. It can be seen that the main hall's strength is several times that of him."

Qin Hao nodded secretly while listening to Saga's story.

It has to be said that Saga's brains and vision are better than some of the Japanese at the same time.

Unfortunately, he still has the limitations of this era and has not completely transcended.

Because Saga didn't consider the issues of movement and trajectory at all.

Of course, Qin Hao understands Saga very well.

When note-takers encounter a problem, they always want the simplest and most convenient solution. Why go through the trouble when there is an easy way.

Finally, after much thought, Saga thought of the benefits of artillery.

With such a sharp weapon, what should we fear from the shogunate army?

And these days, Qin Hao has indeed unloaded a lot of artillery from the battleships, and Saga has seen these.

For Saga. This young His Highness will never dismantle the barrel for no reason, so there is only one possibility.

Your Highness will use this weapon in the next battle.

But what he didn't know was that the cannons sent down from the navy ships were all 8-pound cannons. In fact, it was not because Qin Hao was unwilling to use larger cannons.

After all, caliber is justice, and the more you hit, the more powerful you will be.

But the problem is that reality does not allow it. Fuso is very mountainous, and Kyushu Island is a typical example. There are no transportation conditions for artillery at all.

As early as the day of landing, the Navy specially sent a large-caliber steel cannon for testing.

One hour, three miles.

This is the farthest distance that artillery can transport, and this is the case when the best horses are used.

There are bumpy muddy fields and hills everywhere. Even soldiers have to fight in the mountains, let alone artillery.

Only the 8-pound gun is most suitable for mountain use. Its lightness and heavy use determine its usefulness.

"Well, it's a good idea for you to have this idea." Qin Hao nodded happily to Saga, and looked at him with a little admiration in his eyes.

Saga had been secretly observing Qin Hao's reaction. When he saw Qin Hao's appreciative eyes, he felt happy.

Just when Saga was thinking wildly, Qin Hao said: "The artillery will definitely be useful, don't worry about that. But I think I can teach you something in the future. If you are interested, I can let you go to Keelung. Learn artillery tactics in the Army Academy.”

"Main hall, I'm old and I'm afraid I won't be able to learn anymore. I wonder if my sons can go." Saga looked at Qin Hao with a smile.

It made him a little uncomfortable, "Okay! What a cunning guy. But if you fail the exam, I won't care if you send him back."

Hearing this, Saga suppressed the excitement in her heart and saluted Qin Hao with a calm expression.

"I will definitely not disappoint the main hall. If anyone fails, I will beat him to death." Saga looked like a strict father.

Qin Hao sat up straight, looked at Saga and nodded with satisfaction.

Then his eyes fell on a certain place on the map: "Saga, where is this unmarked area?"

Qin Hao stood up and asked, pointing to the missing piece of information on the map.

"Main hall, this is Spring River City."

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