Chapter 2352

By observing the current situation of Hirado Port, the Kaihan Army can basically deduce the progress of the recovery of the Hirado Domain. The rise of the Hirado Domain is closely related to the prosperity of Hirado Port. As long as it cannot continue to obtain wealth through maritime trade, the military of the Hirado Domain will

It will be difficult for the strength to return to its previous level.

Nowadays, there are only two things that interest Haihan in the Hirado Domain. One is the whereabouts of Tagawa Shichizaemon, and the other is the extent of the transaction between the Hirado Domain and the Manchus. However, these two

The inside story of this matter can probably be found out only by arresting important figures like Tagawa Suke first.

Tracking down these two things is not the main task of Wang Tom's trip. It only needs to confirm that the Hirado clan can no longer pose a substantial threat to Haihan in the short term. In Wang Tom's opinion, the exploration of unknown areas is far more important than the

It is more important to contend with the remaining forces of the Hirado clan here.

Kyushu Island, separated only by a narrow strait from Hirado Island, is Japan's third largest island, covering an area of ​​more than 30,000 square kilometers, slightly larger than Hainan Island. To the east of Kyushu Island, it is separated from Honshu Island and Shikoku Island respectively.

Adjacent to each other, there are nine countries on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Bunzen, Bungo, Hizen, Higo, Hyuga, Satsuma, and Osumi, so it is called Kyushu Island. The Hirado clan was seriously injured by the Kaihan army.

, which is the territory belonging to Hizen Country.

In 1633, as soon as Haihan occupied Zhoushan, Chen Yixin led a fleet to the north to conduct reconnaissance in the waters near Kyushu Island. On the one hand, it was to explore the lair of Japanese pirates, and on the other hand, it was also to investigate the maritime trade routes between Ming Dynasty and Japan.

Make a field trip.

Kyushu Island does not have any special products. Only the two trading ports of Hirado and Nagasaki are relatively eye-catching. Haihan has relatively strict standards for the selection of overseas colonies.

Islands, Hong Kong, Penghu and other places, either have high-value properties, such as the Fushan copper mine in Shandong, the Black Tugang coal mine in Annan, the Jinguashi gold mine in Taiwan, etc., or the natural ports with excellent conditions, such as Manila, Camlan Port, etc.

.

Using these standards to measure Kyushu Island obviously does not meet Haihan's requirements. Strictly speaking, only the last one can barely meet the military standards - Sasebo Bay, located on the west coast of Kyushu Island, is a very

It is a suitable location for establishing a naval base. The military conducted two on-site inspections of this place and concluded that if Haihan wants to establish a military base in Japan in the future, this can be the first choice location.

However, the shortcomings of Sasebo Bay are also very obvious. Its location is not a geographical hub, but at the westernmost tip of the entire Japanese territory. It is difficult to establish a base here to have an impact on important cities such as Kyoto and Edo, thousands of miles away.

Moreover, there is not much permanent population in the local area, and a large number of labor forces need to be moved in from other places during the development and construction phase, which is not worth it for Haihan, who values ​​cost-effectiveness.

The senior leaders of Haihan also had a view that if they really wanted to establish a colonial port in western Japan in the future, instead of choosing Sasebo Bay, which had no foundation, it would be better to simply capture Nagasaki and seize this ready-made trading port.

Nagasaki Port is only a hundred miles away from Sasebo Bay, and the natural conditions of the harbor are not bad. Moreover, after sixty or seventy years of continuous development and construction, the population size and port facilities can meet Haihan's requirements. If such a place occupies

Down here, everything including trade objects is ready-made and can be used immediately. Isn’t it much better than a place like Sasebo Bay?

Of course, if Kaihan really sends troops to occupy Nagasaki, it will inevitably lead to a strong counterattack by the shogunate. After all, after the destruction of Hirado Port, Nagasaki has become Japan's main transnational trade port, with goods from the Ming Dynasty and Western countries.

Everyone enters Japan through here, and the profits generated are an extremely important source of income for the shogunate. It is impossible to sit back and watch other countries take away control of Nagasaki Port.

Haihan's previous attack on Hirado did not provoke a strong backlash from the Japanese shogunate because of the competitive relationship between Hirado and Nagasaki. Haihan's move just solved the problem of Hirado for the shogunate. But if Haihan wants to move

Nagasaki, then the war caused by this will probably not be calmed down so easily.

It is precisely because of this risk that the Executive Committee did not make a more detailed plan for sending troops to occupy Nagasaki. After all, Haihan's deployment of troops in Northeast Asia is limited, and the focus of troops has always been Liaodong. For Japan,

Countries lacking mineral resources are not of much interest.

Wang Tom is of course a member of the main war faction. From his point of view, he wishes that there would be Haihan military ports everywhere in the world. Whether it is Sasebo, Osaka Bay, Ise Bay, or Tokyo Bay, as long as it is suitable for establishing military bases

He wanted to occupy all the harbors. However, Haihan's current national strength was obviously difficult to achieve such an ambition, so he could only focus on exploring unknown areas.

Sail two hundred miles northeast along the coast of Kyushu Island from the Hirado Strait to the Shimonoseki Strait between Kyushu Island and Honshu Island. This is the western gateway to the Seto Inland Sea, a strategic hub for land and sea transportation in western Japan, and its strategic value is far greater than that of Sasebo.

, "remote areas" such as Nagasaki. The Fujiwara Hiroshi Rebellion as early as the eighth century and the Genpei War in the twelfth century were both famous wars that took place in this place and were recorded in Japanese history books.

The narrowest point of the Shimonoseki Strait is only about two hundred feet wide. The ocean currents in the strait are turbulent, which is a big test for sailors who are not familiar with the sea conditions here. However, Wang Tom does not intend to enter the Seto Inland Sea through this place. Although Japan's

Important cities are almost all concentrated near the south coast, but if you want to visit these places via the Seto Inland Sea, the additional voyage will take at least ten days and a half. If you want to stay on the way, this time will probably be longer.

Much longer.

Wang Tom believed that there was no need to proactively contact the Japanese shogunate at this stage, so the route he planned was to continue along the north coast of Honshu Island to avoid unnecessary complications.

But even if we take this "shortcut", from the Shimonoseki Strait along the coast to the Tsugaru Strait at the other end of Honshu Island, the entire voyage is more than 2,500 miles. Calculated based on the current average speed of the fleet, it is smooth.

It will take about a week to arrive from Liye. If Tom Wang wants to go further north this winter, he really can't waste too much time on the way.

Since becoming the commander of the navy, Wang Tom has spent most of his time directing combat operations in various places. He has rarely had such an opportunity to freely explore unknown waters. After leaving Kitakyushu, he no longer has any specific tasks to perform. The next trip

He can just trust the horse and make arrangements according to his own wishes. Although the weather gets colder as he goes north, for Tom Wang, this kind of free and easy trip is a great enjoyment, and the impact of the weather can basically be ignored.

.

The fleet's route maintained a distance of about twenty to thirty miles from the coast, passing through Nagato, Hamada, Izumo, and Matsue. It was not until it entered Tottori Domain that Wang Tom ordered to dock to replenish fresh water.

"Ahead is the mouth of the Chiyo River. We will stop there for a while to replenish fresh water before setting off on the road." Wang Tom gave the order, and the fleet turned and sailed towards the coast.

The coastline here is very straight and consists of sandy beaches. The famous Tottori Sand Dunes are located here. Since there is no natural harbor, it is impossible to build a large port. For Wang Tom, this means that everything around here is safe.

area, there is no need to worry about running into an armed fleet here.

The Chiyo River is not a big river, and its mouth is only about a hundred feet wide. After ascertaining the ice conditions at the mouth, the fleet slowly sailed into the already very narrow river channel, and finally stopped at a place only three miles away from the mouth.

Water supply began at the fork of the river.

Some residential houses can also be seen on the banks near the river, but the local people's fear of these outsiders is obviously greater than their curiosity, and no one dares to approach the fleet.

For this trip, Tom Wang specially borrowed his Japanese officer Shiro Amakusa from Qian Tiandun, which came in handy at this time. Shiro Amakusa led the team to nearby villages to investigate the situation, and by the way, to see if there was any way to get the goods from the local area.

Get some other supplies.

Facing the local farmers and fishermen who were inexperienced in the world, the Haihan Army had no need to use force. Amakusa Shiro took the money and went to buy supplies from the people.

However, the poverty of the local products is beyond their imagination. The paddy fields planted nearby do not produce much, and they do not even have enough to eat. There is no surplus food to sell. After winter, there are no fresh fruits and vegetables produced locally. People usually

The only food they ate was pickles and kelp. Amakusa Shiro went around the village and bought more than twenty chickens and ducks. For a fleet of thousands of people, this was better than nothing.

Wang Tom was not too surprised by this result. In Japan at this time, the level of agricultural production was still quite primitive, and coupled with the geographical environment, it was indeed impossible to have production all year round like Hainan Island. When the fleet set off, it brought

The food is very sufficient, and it is enough to complete the voyage plan even if there is no replenishment on the way. The main reason why Amakusa Shiro is asked to purchase is to get some fresh meat, vegetables and fruits. But now it seems that rural places like Tottori are still

It is difficult to meet the needs of the entire fleet.

"Let's rest here for one night and set out again tomorrow." Wang Tom also sympathized with the hard work of his men sailing on the sea for days. Since the waters near this area are relatively safe, he simply ordered to stop and rest for a day. Although there is no harbor nearby, but in recent days

The weather is fine and the sea is calm, so anchoring near the coastline is not a big problem.

It was still early before dark at this time, so Wang Tom took a few followers and went ashore to visit the nearby Tottori Sand Dunes.

The Tottori Sand Dunes are more than 30 miles long from east to west and about four or five miles wide from north to south. The height of the sand dunes can reach up to 20 feet, and there are depressions as deep as more than 10 feet. Looking from the coastline, as far as the eye can see is a stretch of yellow sand.

Such large coastal sand dunes are very rare in Northeast Asia. Even Amakusa Shiro, who was born in Japan, couldn't help but be amazed when he saw such a scene.

"Your Excellency has never been here before, but how did you know that there is such a spectacular scenery here?" After being visually shocked, Shen Xueyi couldn't help but be a little curious about the temporary visit arrangement made by Tom Wang.

Amakusa Shiro next to him responded to Tom Wang's question: "Sir Shen, General Wang has a wide range of knowledge, which is beyond our imagination. This is not surprising."

Shen Xueyi was a little unconvinced and continued to ask: "Then we traveled all the way east from Hirado Island, but only the coast here suddenly had large sand dunes. What is the reason for this? Can General Wang clarify my doubts?

?”

Wang Tom smiled after hearing this and said to himself, "You really want to create an opportunity for me to show off my knowledge. Since he knows that there is a special scenic spot like Tottori Sand Dunes here, how could he not have studied the causes of these sand dunes?"

"These sand dunes are not sand from the sea, but volcanic ash carried by nearby rivers such as the Chiyo River. They slowly accumulated here. It took tens of thousands of years of wind and waves to form the sand dunes we see. This

This kind of scene can only be seen in this place. The coasts from east to west will not have such unique scenery."

Although Shen Xueyi didn't know whether Wang Tom's explanation was true or false, seeing his calm and confident demeanor, he believed him nine points, and now he admired his knowledge even more. In a place like this that he had never been to before, Wang Tom actually

He can know so clearly, no wonder there are rumors that the high-ranking officials of Haihan are descended from the stars in the sky, and their vision and experience are very different from ordinary people.

After Wang Tom finished speaking, he ordered the team to be disbanded, and everyone could move around by themselves. Wang Tom strolled slowly on the sand dunes with his hands behind his back, and his men took the initiative to keep a distance from him, so as not to disturb him when he was thinking about the problem.

In fact, Wang Tom was not thinking about any big deal at this time. He just thought that such a unique landscape might not be appreciated by his warriors, let alone how difficult it is to form such a natural landscape.

Only modern people will understand their own feelings.

It's a pity that there are no other time-travelers in this fleet, which makes the visit itinerary specially arranged by Wang Tom seem a bit highbrow.

King Tom did not return to the flagship that night, so he camped on the sand dunes. At night, he dreamed that he was in the desert of North Africa, but the sand under his feet suddenly turned into sea water, and he suddenly fell into the boundless sea.

In the sea. However, he did not panic. He shouted "Ship coming", and a deck appeared under his feet. Then a warship carried him out of the waves and sailed on the sea.

After Wang Tom woke up and recalled his dream, he felt that it was probably because he had been to the North African desert before traveling, and this time he came to the Tottori Sand Dunes, which subconsciously reminded him of his past experience, which led to such a strange dream.

However, he was very satisfied with his calm performance in the dream, which in his opinion should be a good sign, so he was in a good mood. After breakfast, he ordered to break camp and board the ship, and continue to head east.
Chapter completed!