Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 340 Bombarding Tsurumaru Castle

The term "Kokubun" (国崩) originated in 1551 when Ōtomo Sōrin, the head of the Ōtomo family, acquired a Portuguese naval cannon. He treasured it and placed it on the castle wall, naming it "Kokubun." Later, any large-caliber breech-loading cannon became known as "Kokubun."

The "collapse of the nation" that Shimazu Tadatsune referred to was the large breech-loading cannons he acquired through trade with the Nanban (Southern Barbarians). By the standards of the Qiongzhou Camp, these cannons were obsolete. Normally, such cannons from the last century would only be barely adequate for field battles, and completely unsuitable as coastal defense artillery. However, Tsurumaru Castle was built on the coast, which provided a convenient distance. Combined with the height of the castle, these cannons, despite their relatively short range, could still fire at sea.

Upon receiving the lord's order to activate the Kunikō, the samurai responsible for its maintenance and firing dared not be negligent. After offering a very devout prayer to Amaterasu, they carefully wiped the already smooth barrel. Kunikō was generally maintained by a dedicated person who regularly wiped it with oil to keep it in good condition for firing at any time. Then, the bullets were loaded into the cannon and put into the main gun.

After the tedious preparations were completed, the samurai aimed at the largest ship through the slit.

On the sea, Gao Jie asked Liu Ye, "The garrison in the city has not handed over the murderer. Should we prepare to shell it?"

Liu Ye glanced at the sun's position, estimated the time, and nodded, saying, "Have all the gunners get into their fighting positions. We'll wait another half hour. If there's still no movement, then open fire on the city."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a cannon blast rang out from the opposite city wall. A cannonball flew from the city wall and landed squarely on the deck of the "Guangdong". A sailor who was tidying up the mooring ropes was killed instantly. After the cannonball bounced on the hard deck, it decapitated a guard soldier.

Everyone on the ship was terrified. Gao Jie reacted the fastest, shouting, "Protect the general and get him into the cabin! Suppress the castle with fire!"

Then another "thud" rang out, and a second shell flew towards the "Guangdong," but its trajectory was slightly off, hitting the stern instead, causing no casualties. Although the breech-loading cannon, nicknamed the "National Collapse Cannon," was not particularly powerful, its pre-loaded breech-loading design allowed it to fire at a much faster rate than a regular cannon, enabling it to fire continuously in a short period of time.

Liu Ye flew into a rage and, taking advantage of our inattention, fired the cannons first. He pushed aside the crowd trying to push him into the cabin for shelter and shouted, "These are just Japanese cannons, what's there to hide from? Since they dared to fire first, let them bear the consequences. Blow these cannons to smithereens!"

Seeing that Liu Ye was unwilling to go into the cabin to take shelter, Gao Jie could no longer persuade him and could only try to deal with the cannons on the city wall first.

Before the Qiongzhou camp could counterattack, the city wall fired its third shot. It is estimated that the recoil from the continuous firing of the Franco-Germain cannon had shifted its position, and this time it went even further, landing on the Shandong. However, it still had an effect, killing two soldiers and seriously injuring one sailor.

The fleet's gunners, already in combat positions, immediately began returning fire upon receiving the order. Cannons of all sizes concentrated their firepower on the city gate tower, the firing point of the national collapse cannons.

"Boom boom boom boom!" The fierce cannon fire rang out continuously, and shells rained down on the city gate tower. The gunners responsible for firing the "kokubō" cannons were dumbfounded. They had never seen such a spectacular sight. It was already remarkable for a daimyo to possess a few "kokubō" cannons; no one had ever imagined concentrating dozens or even hundreds of cannons to launch such a dense and intense barrage at a single point. Of course, even if they could, no daimyo in all of Japan could do it, and Tokugawa Iemitsu did not have such a vast fortune.

At such close range and with such a density of fire, the accuracy of the shells and the procedures for test firing and calibration became irrelevant. Even though a quarter of the shells flew elsewhere, the remaining shells still subjected the gate tower to an oversaturation attack. The two Kunikō (traditional Japanese cannons), along with a dozen gunners and that section of the wall, were reduced to dust and ashes under the fierce bombardment. The two Kunikō, which the Shimazu clan regarded as the city's most prized possessions, were thus destroyed.

The remaining garrison was terrified by the overwhelming barrage of artillery fire. It took them a while to react before they scrambled to report to the lord.

Shimazu Tadatsune sat up from his sickbed, surrounded by his children and senior retainers, awaiting good news. But instead of good news, the thunderous roar of cannons filled the air. First came the long-unheard sound of artillery fire, the "National Collapse" missiles, and everyone was still reveling in the beautiful sound, recalling the glorious days when they used such weapons to repel powerful enemies. Then came a torrential downpour of cannon fire, shattering all their cherished memories.

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Shimazu Tadatsune asked, puzzled, "This is... an enemy cannon? But there's no way it could make such a commotion. How many cannons would it take to produce this level of noise?"

At that moment, a samurai rushed in, tumbling and crawling, and reported in a wailing voice, "The national collapse cannon... the jewel has shattered!"

The crowd gasped, and Shimazu Tadatsune nearly fell to the ground, but was caught by Shimazu Chiyo who was standing nearby.

Shimazu Tadatsune gasped for breath and asked tremblingly, "Gentlemen, the enemy is so powerful, what should we do? Who can go out of the city to meet them?"

Shimazu Mitsuhisa, who had just been clamoring to go out of the city to meet the enemy, remained silent, seemingly not having heard the remark. The other retainers and samurai, however, maintained their fierce nature and answered in unison:

"Your subject is willing to go!"

"Please give the order, my lord! We are willing to leave the city and fight the enemy to the death!"

……

Before they could make a decision, a deafening barrage of artillery fire erupted again. This time, the shells seemed to be aimed at the city, and everyone heard the whooshing sound of the shells cutting through the air. The sound grew closer and closer, until they were practically touching.

"Boom!" "Crash!" Various sounds rang out, seemingly the sound of the room collapsing. Immediately afterwards, a violent tremor reached the castle tower. Some elderly retainers lost their balance and fell to the ground, the tiles above their heads began to fall down with a "crash" and then shattered.

This feeling is familiar to every Japanese person. As a country full of volcanoes, earthquakes are commonplace, and this feeling can only be experienced during an earthquake. However, the scene before them was clearly not caused by an earthquake, but by enemy artillery fire.

Everyone present was terrified, and Shimazu Tadatsune was ashen-faced, muttering, "The enemy's cannons... can they really do this?"

On the "Guangdong" ship, amidst the deafening roar of cannons, Liu Ye gritted his teeth and pointed at Tsurumaru Castle, shouting, "Bomb it hard! I want to raze this ruined castle of the Satsuma Domain to the ground!"