须知，
Zhu Mo personally directed the Battle of Huating and had witnessed the naval exercises many times, thus he had absolute faith in the power of the Iron Bodhisattva. His sole concern was the speed, as mentioned by Yu Dayou.
Japanese ships, Portuguese ships, even Korean ships, were all faster than those of the Great Ming. It wasn't that the Ming dynasty was incapable, but rather that the fleets of the past, like Zheng He's, had long since decayed, and their shipbuilding skills were lost. Consider this: each coastal guard post was once equipped with a hundred warships, but now they lacked even two or three. How could they possibly contend with the enemy's warships?
Yu Dayou's inspiration struck him, and his confidence grew. He continued,
“Rather than waiting for the Japanese pirates to attack the Hulu Mountain Water Stronghold, it is better for us to take the initiative. Scholar Zhu, your considerations are indeed correct… Hulu Mountain is easy to attack but difficult to defend. Relying solely on coastal defenses puts us in a passive position. I have also realized that we must strike proactively…
If the Fujian navy appears west of Taishan Island, at Hu Gu Shan, the Japanese pirates will be forced to deploy their troops. Scholar Zhu, you see, between Taishan and Zhoushan, there are reefs and islands everywhere. If we establish a water stronghold at Shuanghebi, or even relocate volunteers to cultivate the land, we can advance steadily, slowly approaching Zhoushan main island and Ligang. The Japanese pirates will be uneasy, fearing engagement with us on land, and will thus have no choice but to send out their forces…”
Mm-hmm,
Attacking where the enemy must save…
A feigned attack on Taishan could indeed lure out the Japanese pirates, but how could they then break through to the Ligang area? This sea region may not appear large, but sailing it actually takes several hours.
Yu Dayou smiled and said,
“Scholar Zhu, as long as the Japanese pirates leave their water strongholds in the areas of Yulong Shan and Caihua Shan, our warships, ambushing in advance in the Dapu Kou area, can sail north with the wind. At that time, the Japanese pirates will be sailing against the wind, while we have the wind, naturally allowing us to reach Ligang before them. Then, occupying advantageous terrain, we can set up artillery positions and, waiting for the Japanese pirates to return, we can annihilate them.”
He pondered for a moment more and said,
“However, this is a bit risky… Scholar Zhu, the Japanese pirates are fully aware of the strength of the Fujian navy. If they notice fewer ships in the direction of Taishan, they will not fall for the trap… Therefore, the fleet ambushing in Dapu Kou beforehand cannot be too large, no more than ten ships at most. After landing, they must quickly establish defenses. With even a slight error or delay, these ships, the cannons, and the soldiers might be lost…”
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo knew nothing of the sea climate. Hearing Yu Dayou speak with such confidence, he nodded and said,
“Very well, you are familiar with naval warfare, so you decide. Where is there anything that involves no risk? I think we should do this: the ships transporting the cannons and the arquebusiers will be found separately. Your Fujian navy should move its entire fleet closer to Taishan Island. You must not hesitate to risk your son to catch the wolf! We cannot let the Japanese pirates have any suspicion… However, I only wish to say one thing—”
He suddenly snorted coldly, saying, “When the time comes, after sinking their large ships and inflicting some casualties, we will temporarily cease hostilities…”
Cease hostilities?
Yu Dayou had always assumed he intended to achieve complete victory in one battle. He hadn't anticipated that Zhu Mo might have other tricks up his sleeve, and blurted out, “Why?”
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo’s face held a smile that was not quite a smile as he said,
“We will nurture them for combat! Nurture them for extended combat! We won't let them escape, nor will we allow them to surrender. We will simply seal them off with warships and gun emplacements. If they even run out of food, we will provide some. They will have to remain in Ligang honestly…”
Yu Dayou seemed to understand a little—
Could this be nurturing the rebels for one’s own gain?
But this was a grave military taboo throughout history, and he dared not voice it.
Unexpectedly,
Zhu Mo saw through his thoughts and smiled, saying, “Commander Yu, I will tell you a new term. This is not called nurturing rebels for one's own gain, but rather humiliating rebels for one's own gain…”
Humiliating rebels?
What on earth was that?
Yu Dayou still couldn't quite comprehend it.
Zhu Mo had no intention of explaining further.
Because,
This was, from the very beginning, a political war, a war of showmanship orchestrated by Yan Song and a coalition of foreign villains and private pirates to force the Great Ming to its knees. They believed that with their superior ships and cannons, they could compel the Great Ming to yield and willingly integrate into their private pirate civilization. Unfortunately, they encountered the Iron Bodhisattvas, and these Iron Bodhisattvas would surely make them swallow their bitter consequences!
The intention was to keep the Japanese pirates entrenched in Ligang in a state of perpetual defeat, poverty, humiliation, despair, and disgrace, so that the world, upon mentioning Ligang, would recall a scene of misery. The Japanese pirates would become an international laughingstock!
From a military perspective, Ligang was closest to Zhenhai Wei. The small island in front was called Zhongdai, and the larger island behind was called Jintang. Between them lay a narrow strait, no more than five hundred meters wide. Ligang was located on both sides of the strait’s midsection. After losing Shuangyudao more than ten years ago, the Japanese pirates established their water stronghold here. Because the Portuguese were involved, and Yan Song deliberately suppressed the matter in court, the Ming dynasty had never officially responded.
North of the narrow strait were Caihua Shan, Yulong Shan, Dapeng Shan, and Hengdang Shan islands. At the northern opening of the narrow strait was where the main force of the Japanese pirate warships were stationed in a water stronghold. At the southern opening of the strait was another small island called Daocu Shan.
Just now,
When Yu Dayou was discussing strategy, Zhu Mo had already devised a plan—
By relying on Caihua Shan, Yulong Shan, Dapeng Shan, and Hengdang Shan islands to the north for blockade, and by establishing artillery positions on Daocu Shan to the south, supplemented by warships, it would be sufficient to control the strait. Thus, Ligang would be completely sealed off, becoming a dead port.
The best strategy would be to perpetually surround this dead port without attacking, thereby influencing its internal affairs. Whenever the Yan family dared to oppose the reforms, they would bring up Ligang, launch an attack, report a victory, or capture some Japanese pirates as trophies. This would have a dramatically effective outcome. At that time, the entire empire, especially the coastal provinces, would be filled with enthusiasm, which would serve as the most effective proof of the reforms' success, making them unassailable.
This line of thinking, of course, was best kept to himself.
Seeing Yu Dayou still looking bewildered, he couldn't help but smile and say,
“Rest assured, we will not be lenient this time.”
Yu Dayou, however, said,
“I’m not worried about that, Scholar Zhu. Have you considered what would happen if, even if we took this risk and miraculously won, Japan and Portugal sent reinforcements?”
Zhu Mo burst into laughter, his expression sly as he said,
“Let me tell you another secret: Have you heard of Oda Nobunaga of Owari Province in Japan? I will write him a letter tonight and have a merchant deliver it, arranging a time for us to act together. What timing do you think would be suitable?”
Yu Dayou had indeed heard of this person and asked in surprise,
“He will act? … To attack Kyushu?”
Zhu Mo nodded and whispered into his ear, “I have already given him five hundred arquebuses. Otomo Sorin is very likely to be defeated by him…”
Ah?
With a patter,
Yu Dayou’s leather sea chart fell to the ground, and he blurted out,
“If that is truly the case, this battle is destined to be won…”
He couldn’t help but examine his nephew, whom he couldn't openly acknowledge, more closely. He felt that his nephew was exactly like his mischievous and spirited younger sister, always capable of pulling off inexplicable wonders.