“Great General, it’s not that we were afraid of death, but that Prince Qi’s firearms were not much different from the Dutch’s firearms, and this was the real reason for our defeat…”
In the almost stagnant atmosphere, Sakai nervously elaborated on the details of what happened on the battlefield.
“Besides flintlock guns, Prince Qi’s army also had a large number of cannons, and our soldiers suffered heavy casualties during the advance,” Makino Haruaki also explained.
Sakai then added, “Great General, this is a flintlock gun we seized from Prince Qi’s soldiers, as proof.”
In the center of the daimyo mansion, a robust man of about fifty sat cross-legged. He wore a gusoku haori and a black kazao-eboshi on his head. Beneath his thick eyebrows were a pair of tiger-like eyes.
He was Yamada Nobunaga, the Sei-i Taishogun. After ten years of conquest, he unified the country, making numerous daimyo submit to his feet.
And to control the country, he ordered the construction of Yamada Castle, which was now a large city with a population of five hundred thousand.
His general’s residence was within this Yamada Castle.
Yamada Nobunaga took the flintlock gun from Sakai’s hand and carefully observed it from top to bottom.
“This is indeed not a Dutch flintlock gun; you haven’t lied.” Yamada Nobunaga slowly put down the flintlock gun, his brows tightly furrowed. “This Prince Qi is too unusual. How much do you know about him?”
When Sakai served as a mercenary for the Dutch, he obtained information about Prince Qi from the Dutch. He said, “General, this Prince Qi is the Seventh Prince of the Great Yu Empire. Three years ago, he was just an ordinary prince, but after a serious illness three years ago, this prince’s personality suddenly changed drastically, and various strange policies and technologies emerged continuously. It was also thanks to him that the Great Yu Empire drove the Golden Horde from outside Cangzhou City to outside Shanhai Pass. His enfeoffed territory is west of Dengzhou, which is exactly where we planned to land.”
“He was able to arm such a large flintlock army in three years?” Yamada Nobunaga said in disbelief.
Sakai nodded, “The Emperor of the Great Yu Empire also questioned it, but this Prince Qi said he once studied with a missionary from the West.”
“How is that possible? We also have missionaries in our country. Why can’t they bring about such great changes for us?”
Sakai shook his head, “We don’t know that, but the Dutch and the General think the same way. They don’t believe that this Prince Qi could develop his enfeoffed state to this extent in just three years with only the help of missionaries. However, the facts are before us, and we have no choice but to believe them.”
Yamada Nobunaga closed his eyes, seemingly pondering a profound question. After a long time, he opened his eyes and said, “This Prince Qi will surely be a grave concern for us in the future. If that’s the case, we need to change our original plan. Now, we must first occupy Goryeo.”
“Goryeo?” The other daimyo began to discuss among themselves. One person said, “Great General, Goryeo is currently a vassal state of the Golden Horde. If we attack Goryeo, it will surely provoke the Golden Horde’s anger.”
“Exactly, the Golden Horde is much stronger than the Great Yu Empire,” another daimyo said.
Yamada Nobunaga suddenly raised his hand to stop the discussion of the other daimyo. He said, “Today’s Golden Horde is not the Golden Horde of the past. Now, the most important enemy for the Golden Horde is the Great Yu Empire. Facing the threat of this Prince Qi, they will not fight on two fronts. So, we can take this opportunity to occupy parts of Goryeo’s territory. I believe the Golden Horde will have no choice but to acknowledge this fact then.”
After a pause, he continued, “Moreover, Goryeo is mountainous and not very suitable for cavalry warfare, and the Golden Horde lost to Prince Qi’s musketeers. Their infantry may not be able to defeat us either.”
All the daimyo nodded, Yamada Nobunaga’s words made sense.
With a domineering smile, Yamada Nobunaga continued, “As long as we can occupy Goryeo, we can slowly deal with the Great Yu Empire, and only Prince Qi in the entire Great Yu Empire has excellent firearms. Don’t forget that our soldiers are all equipped with matchlock guns.”
“However, Great General, this Prince Qi is equipped with flintlock guns. The range and reloading speed of these firearms are incomparable to our matchlock guns,” Sakai reminded him.
Makino Haruaki also echoed, “Yes, Great General, we have fallen out with the Dutch now. It’s impossible for them to teach us how to manufacture flintlock guns. Why don’t we directly imitate the Great Yu Empire’s flintlock guns?”
Upon mentioning this, Yamada Nobunaga’s expression suddenly turned grim. He said, “Do you really think our craftsmen cannot manufacture flintlock guns? Although there are no machines like the Dutch described, we can still manufacture them by relying on the number of our craftsmen. It’s just that we have no flint.”
Sakai and Makino Haruaki lowered their heads upon hearing this. They finally understood why, despite having the ability to manufacture flintlock guns, they had always been producing matchlock guns.
After discussing the flintlock guns, Yamada Nobunaga changed the topic, his gaze becoming sharp. He said to Sakai and Makino Haruaki, “Even so, your defeat is still a disgrace to warriors. However, considering that you still have some use, each of you can keep one finger.”
Sakai and Makino Haruaki were overjoyed. They had thought they were certainly going to die, but now Yamada Nobunaga had given them a chance to live.
“Thank you, Great General, for sparing our lives.”
Sakai and Makino Haruaki simultaneously drew the short swords from their waists and, facing the assembled daimyo, they cut off their own fingers without hesitation.
Blood flowed from their fingers onto the ground. Sakai and Makino Haruaki gritted their teeth tightly.
Yamada Nobunaga glanced indifferently at the fingers lying on the ground. He said, “Now the maritime routes are occupied by the Dutch and Prince Qi of the Great Yu Empire, and these should belong to us. Even if we failed in Ryukyu, we cannot let them have it so easily. From now on, you can attack any merchant ship belonging to the Great Yu Empire and the Dutch.”
“Yes, Great General.” Sakai and Makino Haruaki responded.
Waving his hand, Yamada Nobunaga dismissed Sakai and Makino Haruaki.
At this time, a daimyo asked, puzzled, “Great General, why must we conquer the Great Yu Empire?”
Yamada Nobunaga then looked at the world map hanging in the main hall, which was a gift from the Dutch. He pointed at the map and said, “Our country is surrounded by the sea on all sides, and our territory is very narrow and long. When I see this map, I always feel that one day our country will sink into the sea. We are an excellent nation and should not live here. What we need is the land of the Great Yu Empire, and the lowly people of the Great Yu Empire are not worthy of living on that rich land. They are only fit to be enslaved by us.”