“Japanese uprising in Ryukyu?”
At the Qingzhou military camp, the generals, including Niu Ben, grew visibly excited upon hearing that Ryukyu’s main island had been taken by Japanese pirates.
Lu Fei shouted, “Your Highness, what are we waiting for? Let’s attack Ryukyu right now! I’ve been so bored these past six months. Nothing but training every day!”
“Without day-after-day training, how can soldiers win battles? You’re too impatient,” Niu Ben scolded Lu Fei.
Scratching his head, Lu Fei chuckled sheepishly.
Then he added, “Your Highness, the Dutch may not be trustworthy, and Ryukyu is unfamiliar to us. Launching a distant expedition without caution could be dangerous.”
“Exactly what I was thinking. That’s why I’ve ordered the secret guards to gather intelligence. If Ryukyu really has fallen to the Japanese, then we must support the Dutch. Doing so would make us their only ally in East Asia,” Xiao Ming said.
Luo Xin added, “Your Highness, whether it’s the Dutch or the Japanese, if they block our way, we eliminate them. The munitions workshop just delivered 24 field cannons to the artillery unit. We have everything we need.”
“Twenty-four field cannons?” Xiao Ming asked.
When field cannons were being produced, Xiao Ming had ordered Chen Qi to deliver them directly to the military. Apparently, that delivery had just been completed.
“Twelve are six-pound light cannons, the rest are twelve-pound siege cannons,” Luo Xin clarified.
Xiao Ming nodded. The Qingzhou army was now fully equipped with firearms. The 20,000-strong force had completed its firearm modernization.
Along with the newly delivered field cannons, they also had the Tiger Honor cannons. The army’s next task would be to help equip and train the other prefectures’ forces with firearms.
“Since that’s the case, you must be prepared. Unlike fighting the northern tribes, the pirates in Ryukyu are equipped with matchlock guns. You’ll likely face gun-on-gun combat,” Xiao Ming said.
“Yes, Your Highness! We are ready for war at any time!” the generals shouted in unison.
Before leaving, Xiao Ming inspected the field cannons delivered by Chen Qi. These cannons were nearly identical to those used by the Dutch—mounted on wheeled carriages and easily pulled by horses.
“Your Highness, the Qingzhou army now has six hundred war wagons. That’s enough to support the march of thirty thousand troops,” Niu Ben said excitedly. He believed these wagons were the key to dealing with the northern tribes.
With this many war wagons, they could build fortress lines across the grasslands—exactly the strategy Xiao Ming had planned for defending against the tribes.
“Once we take Ryukyu, we’ll head into the grasslands and build our first star-shaped fortress. We’ll call it Ningzhou Fortress,” Xiao Ming declared. He was done with passive defense. It was time to construct a chain of fortresses to push back and contain the enemy.
Sometimes, the best defense is a strong offense. Keeping the enemy outside the border was the true path. With the northern tribes stirring again, he wouldn’t give them the chance they had in Jizhou last time.
For Great Yu’s generals, the tribes had always been the empire’s greatest threat. That fact had never changed.
With Xiao Ming’s promise, Niu Ben grinned. The Qingzhou army had endured tough training in hopes of one day crushing the threat from the north.
After discussing plans to reform the armies in Youzhou and Dengzhou first, Xiao Ming returned to the palace.
On the third day, the secret guard’s intelligence arrived in Qingzhou. Wang Xuan appeared at the palace immediately.
“Your Highness, it seems the Dutch were telling the truth. The pirates attacked them. Over 300 Dutch soldiers were killed at Fort Zeelandia. The Japanese now occupy the opposing fortress and are getting constant reinforcements. It looks like they plan to take Fort Zeelandia too,” Wang Xuan said gravely.
Upon hearing the report, Xiao Ming suddenly laughed. “These Dutch have truly trapped themselves. Japan is like an untrainable dog—now that it’s bitten them, they’ll finally learn their lesson.”
“Your Highness, you seem… pleased about this?” Wang Xuan asked, confused.
“It’s simple,” Xiao Ming explained. “The Dutch have been trading with Japan for a long time. Now that the Japanese have attacked them, the Dutch will no longer trust them. That means we’ll become their only trade partner. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“In that sense, yes,” Wang Xuan realized.
After a brief pause, Xiao Ming instructed, “Keep monitoring Ryukyu and the Japanese movements. Report to me immediately with any updates.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Once Wang Xuan left, Xiao Ming officially ordered Niu Ben to send troops to Dengzhou and prepare for the Ryukyu campaign. Japanese piracy had long been a headache for the Great Yu Empire—since they were pirates, this campaign could rightfully be called a suppression of bandits.
After receiving the order, Niu Ben assigned Lu Fei and Luo Xin to lead 10,000 troops under Xiao Ming’s command for the Ryukyu campaign.
Xiao Ming was pleased with the arrangement. Among all his generals, these two were top-notch. In war, good leadership reduced casualties.
Rhodes was still waiting anxiously in Dengzhou. Once the army was gathered, Xiao Ming led half of Qingzhou’s troops toward Dengzhou City.
On March 16, Xiao Ming arrived in Dengzhou and saw Rhodes, who looked like an ant on a hot pan.
“Prince of Qi, please help us save Fort Zeelandia. We are allies now, please lend your aid in this critical moment!” Rhodes pleaded, grief-stricken.
Rhodes was a mess. his clothes disheveled, his face haggard, his expression filled with desperation. He was no longer the arrogant man he once was. They finally understood how vulnerable they were in East Asia.
“Ambassador Rhodes, calm down. I’ve already learned the situation. But I’ll need you to give us more details,” Xiao Ming replied. In modern history, the Dutch had once been driven out of Ryukyu by 20,000 troops under Zheng Chenggong, proving that even advanced weapons were useless when heavily outnumbered.
Now, the Dutch were experiencing something similar again—the number of Japanese pirates far exceeded their own.
As Qingzhou troops entered the city in neat formation, dressed in uniform and carrying flintlock rifles, followed by horse-drawn field cannons, Rhodes gradually calmed down.
A glimmer of hope rose in his heart. He believed that while Qingzhou’s army might not be superior to the Dutch, they definitely outclassed the Japanese in equipment.
And in numbers, they were sufficient to face the pirates head-on.
“First, three thousand mercenaries attacked Fort Zeelandia. Then five thousand pirates landed on the Ryukyu main island and seized Michira Fortress. More pirates keep arriving by sea—it’s like all the pirates in Japan are coming!” Rhodes said anxiously.
Hearing this, Xiao Ming frowned. “No, that’s only a small part. There are far more Japanese pirates out there.”