Chapter 224: Guaranteed to Make the Hojo Clan Howl in Pain
The Edo Bay is bordered by the Miura Peninsula to the west and the Boso Peninsula to the east, enclosed by what would become Chiba Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture. It has a north-south depth of nearly two hundred *ri*, with a bay mouth of only ten-odd *ri* north to south, making it Japan’s premier natural harbor.
In this era, Edo Bay is not the large septic tank of later times; the seawater is clear, and the scenery is quite beautiful. The *ukiyo-e* print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” depicts the scenery here. The fishery resources are also quite abundant. For instance, the “Edo Townspeople’s Diary” records: “The fishery yield of Edo Bay is abundant and can serve as the Shogunate’s granary.”
After 1603, this place will gather a population of one million, with nearly a thousand merchant ships and fishing boats coming and going daily, making it Japan’s most prosperous location.
But the Tokugawa family has not arrived yet; this area is still under the control of the Satomi family, or rather, the Masamune family controls this sea area with Hyakushu Castle as its core.
Now, the “overlord” of this sea area, Masamune Tokitada, has been brought back hanging from the ship’s bow. Whether it’s the Hyakushu Water Bandits left behind or the remnants who just fled back, seeing this audacious display has completely extinguished their desire to sortie and engage in battle. They are cowering in the water fortress of Hyakushu Castle, trembling.
Indeed, Hyakushu Castle is a combination of a mountain castle and a water castle. The castle is built against the mountain, equipped with watchtowers, stone walls, and port facilities, capable of docking dozens of warships. Its scale is quite considerable. Even today, its ruins can be found, serving as a historical site in Chiba Prefecture that charges admission.
This is quite rare, as modern Japan has undertaken extensive land reclamation projects, altering many terrains. It’s fortunate that the ruins of Hyakushu Castle have survived.
Yuan Ye stood on the “Chita” and surveyed the castle, a combination of mountain and sea, finding it quite interesting. He felt that the future Edo Castle likely drew inspiration from Hyakushu Castle’s design, being a larger imitation.
A Man thought he was curious and casually introduced the history: “I heard this place was once called Zokai Castle, built by the Takeda family of Marigaya. However, later the Satomi family attacked here. The Takeda family of Marigaya couldn’t fight back, so they gambled on victory by reciting a hundred *waka* poems. If the Satomi family won, they would open the city and surrender. When the Satomi family won, they found it to be an elegant affair and changed the city’s name to Hyakushu Castle.”
“I see, the Takeda family of Marigaya lost intentionally, didn’t they?” Yuan Ye replied casually.
“Of course. They were quite clever, giving themselves an excuse to step down, and at least they weren’t all killed.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly, but he wasn’t very interested in this messy history. He continued to observe Hyakushu Castle carefully, and after a moment, sighed, “It truly is a good place!”
It’s already well-developed now. Even if it doesn’t compare to future Edo, it’s not the desolate land of Kanto as rumored. Moreover, Hyakushu Castle’s location is excellent. It can threaten the Miura Peninsula, striking directly at its vital points, and it can control nearby river channels and bays, providing ample defense. The water fortress and port are also very large, capable of docking nearly a hundred ships of various sizes, making it easy to accumulate strength.
If Yuan Ye remembers correctly, during the Edo period, Hyakushu Castle was converted into the Tokugawa Shogunate’s “Customs Headquarters,” responsible for patrolling the sea and investigating smuggling. Its selection as a customs location indeed highlights its advantageous position.
A Man looked up at him, sensing a glint in his eyes, similar to when he looked at the Ise Peninsula some time ago. She immediately asked, “Then, should we change plans and capture this place?”
Yuan Ye was indeed tempted by this top-tier natural harbor. Everyone likes a good place, but after a moment of thought, he shook his head. “It’s too far from Wanjin. Even if we take it temporarily, it would be difficult to hold it long-term. Let’s forget it!”
He didn’t bring much army this time, making a forced landing operation somewhat difficult, with at least heavy casualties. Even if they forcibly took it, this is an important stronghold for the Satomi family on the Boso Peninsula. If he were to interfere here, it’s unthinkable that the Satomi family wouldn’t attack the Hojo family and would instead mobilize over ten thousand people to fight him to the death.
If he truly occupied Hyakushu Castle, it would be equivalent to the Hojo family avoiding disaster, and the Hojo family would likely be overjoyed. So, it’s best to drop it for now and let the Hojo and Satomi families continue fighting until they are done.
It’s just a shame about this land. If only this terrain could be moved to the Chita Peninsula, that would be great, but unfortunately, it can’t!
Yuan Ye quickly suppressed his greed and directly ordered, “Begin. Set fire to this place!”
Following his command, the Wanjin Navy quickly mobilized. Kobaya ships began to advance, guarding against the Hyakushu Water Bandits making a desperate sortie. The Kan-sen ships equipped with Falconets also moved forward, preparing for bombardment. The rocket projectile team on the “Chita” quickly determined the wind direction, speed, and distance.
A few minutes later, led by twelve “Wanjin rocket projectiles,” the Wanjin Navy unleashed a barrage of gunfire and artillery, commencing a long-range strike on Hyakushu Castle.
The primary targets were not defensive structures, nor was the aim to inflict casualties. The goal was to sink as many ships as possible hiding in the water fortress, and to destroy production facilities such as shipbuilding docks, timber reserves, and warehouses, to prevent the Masamune family and the Hyakushu Water Bandits from recovering their strength and causing trouble on this shipping route again.
This is likely the first large-scale bombardment of the Japanese Medieval Period. A Man watched the flames flicker on ships of all sizes and saw rocket projectiles soar into the sky. She didn’t feel a sense of glory but rather heartache. “This is too expensive! Each one costs over a hundred *kan*. This barrage will likely cost ten to twenty thousand *kan*.”
“There’s no other way. The old must go, and the new must come. Let’s burn it first!” Yuan Ye also felt a pang of regret. The purity of raw materials and processing technology at this time were terrible. He had managed to make rocket projectiles cost as much as missiles. Moreover, even if he was willing to spend money, production volume had always been low. These things were truly one less each time they were fired, making it impossible not to feel the pinch.
While he and A Man on the ship felt the pinch of money, Hyakushu Castle was also feeling the pinch, not just of money but also of lives.
Even after repeated external inspections, the quality control of the rocket projectiles Yuan Ye manufactured was still somewhat concerning. A small portion flew wildly after launch. Although the targets were mainly facilities near the water fortress and the coast, the unruly rocket projectiles exploded everywhere. Furthermore, to destroy wooden ships, they were loaded with “incendiary warheads.” Before long, several places in Hyakushu Castle and the Hyakushu water fortress were engulfed in raging fires, with the flames growing larger and larger, sending thick black smoke soaring into the sky.
The Falconets on the ships were similar. These cannons had poor collateral fire capability, and the Wanjin Navy’s artillery skills were mediocre. They fired randomly into the water fortress at the edge of their range, aiming for a lucky shot, hitting one if they could. This also resulted in severe damage to “innocent” targets.
After about seven or eight rounds of this, the gunfire and artillery gradually ceased, and the rocket projectiles stopped firing. All weapons needed to cool down.
At this point, Hyakushu Castle could no longer sit still. They had prepared defenses against a Wanjin landing and were confident they could hold out until the Satomi family arrived for reinforcements. However, they never expected that the Wanjin forces would not land at all but would instead block the port and launch rocket projectiles to set fires, seemingly intending to destroy Hyakushu Castle directly.
Of course, the Wanjin Navy’s firepower was insufficient to destroy Hyakushu Castle. However, this was the first time Hyakushu Castle had encountered such a situation. They had no idea how many ammunition the Wanjin Navy possessed. They felt that the enemy’s attack was more like a show of force, intended to compel them to surrender or as preparation for a large-scale landing. Therefore, as soon as the Wanjin Navy’s firepower ceased, they immediately dispatched an envoy to negotiate terms and implore Yuan Ye not to be ruthless.
Upon boarding the “Chita,” the envoy first requested to pay respects to the captured head of the Masamune family, Masamune Tokitada, but was refused and directly brought before Yuan Ye. Yuan Ye wasted no time with him and directly presented four demands:
First, Wanjin merchants should have the right of free passage in this sea area. The Masamune family must promise to guarantee their personal safety and property security, and also restrain the water bandits around the Boso Peninsula to uphold the same commitment.
Second, Edo Bay should be opened – using the place name of Hyakushu Castle, this means opening the ports controlled by the Satomi family in the Musashi Bay area for Wanjin merchants to use free of charge.
Third, hand over the water bandit who insulted the Wanjin envoy during their first meeting.
Fourth, pay a sum of money to compensate for the losses the Masamune family inflicted on the Wanjin Navy.
These four points are simple and clear, representing Wanjin’s basic demands. After all, Yuan Ye could not pose a greater threat to the Masamune or Satomi families. Any further threat would involve landing and attacking the castle, which, being over a thousand *ri* away, Yuan Ye was reluctant to do as it would be too costly with limited returns.
The Masamune family had just suffered a crushing defeat, their lord captured alive and hung up. The enemy was at their doorstep, setting fires with miraculous means. The envoy actually felt that Yuan Ye’s four demands were acceptable. At least they didn’t require the Masamune family to declare submission and become vassals of Wanjin – which was almost equivalent to surrender, but this way, it would be easier to explain to the Satomi family.
If the Masamune family were truly to submit to Wanjin, given the geographical location of Hyakushu Castle, they would have no choice but to fight to the death.
The envoy felt these conditions were acceptable, but he could not make the decision himself. He stated that he needed to return to consult with the Senior Retainers and cautiously proposed to “redeem” Masamune Tokitada, but Yuan Ye naturally refused.
Even setting aside the numerous crimes committed by Masamune Tokitada, which were utterly disgusting, simply because he was the head of the Masamune family, even if he would soon be the former head, he was still a valuable political asset. Holding him would be very convenient for causing trouble in this area in the future. Yuan Ye would have to be out of his mind to release him.
Moreover, A Man, in her anger, had gone too far and shown no mercy to Masamune Tokitada. It was estimated that he now hated Wanjin to the bone, and Yuan Ye could not possibly let him return alive.
The envoy still wanted to argue, at least to secure decent treatment for Masamune Tokitada, as he was, after all, a prominent Samurai. But Yuan Ye was not swayed. If they had the ability, they could come to Chita to bite him. He directly gave the order to expel the envoy.
He was too lazy to say more. Even if the Masamune family refused these conditions, it wouldn’t matter. At most, in half a year or six months, he would return with more ships. In any case, he was determined to remove the Satomi Navy, this thorn in his side.
Warfare is too expensive, and maintaining an army is also costly. His current territory cannot be expanded, so he can only make money through maritime trade. Anyone who dares to prevent him from making money now will be killed.
After expelling the envoy, he paid no mind to the deliberations within Hyakushu Castle and had no intention of ceasing fire. He carefully observed the damage to the Hyakushu water fortress and the coastline again, and immediately ordered a second round of bombardment to continue destroying Hyakushu Castle’s war potential, ensuring that Hyakushu Castle would not pose a threat to him for several years.
This also served as a warning. The next time any water bandits dared to act against Wanjin, they would have to seriously consider whether they could withstand the Wanjin Navy’s retaliation.
For a time, the sea was once again filled with gunfire and artillery. Rocket projectiles flew wildly over Hyakushu Castle, and even the surrounding paddy fields were not spared; some stray ones landed and created craters.
The elders and vassals of the Masamune family were fiercely debating between a peace faction and a war faction. They were stunned by another round of bombardment, and after becoming enraged, they were enraged for a moment before their tempers calmed.
Even if the Wanjin Navy dared not charge the port or land, just one or two months of coming to set fires like this would be unbearable for Hyakushu Castle. Moreover, while the Wanjin Navy fired randomly into the water fortress from outside the port, the casualties among the Hyakushu Water Bandits were not high, but the docked ships had difficulty dodging. Of the dozens of Kobaya ships that had barely escaped, more than twenty sank in two rounds. If this continued, the Masamune family would have to change professions and would no longer be qualified to be leaders of water bandits.
When the second round of bombardment ceased and the Wanjin Navy began sailing along the coast, searching for new attack locations, the envoy from the Masamune family, riding a small boat, caught up. Without a word, he agreed to all of Yuan Ye’s conditions, even abandoning his lord, as if he were going to the Yuan Ye Family as a hostage, to fend for himself in the future.
With matters having reached this point, Yuan Ye was no longer willing to waste rocket projectiles. Instead, he began negotiations with the Masamune family. The two sides formally reached an agreement for future friendly relations, trade, and shared prosperity.
Yuan Ye gained a new ally. However, this new ally was in a rather bad mood, and the samurai who came to sign the agreement had grim expressions.
But Yuan Ye was magnanimous and didn’t mind, even enthusiastically presenting them with a batch of weapon samples.
As long as they were willing to buy, they were guaranteed to make the Hojo family cry out in pain.
