Chapter 290: Battle of Toba-Fushimi
Chapter 290: Battle of Toba-Fushimi (Additional Update)
Japan, Kyoto.
The Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu personally led 15,000 shogunate troops and the Aizu clan's coalition forces to Kyoto to thwart the conspiracy of the anti-shogunate faction.
The allied forces of the Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa clans occupied Toba Castle and Fushimi Castle, and a fierce battle between the two sides had begun.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu waved his military fan, "Give it up! Our military strength is three times that of the enemy, we will definitely win this battle!"
Wearing bamboo hats, shouting "We must win", and holding muzzle-loading rifles, the shogunate soldiers rushed towards Toba Castle.
There were only two thousand Satsuma soldiers guarding Toba Castle. Their morale was a bit low and their counterattack was weak.
The morale of the soldiers of the Meiji Restoration was very high. The Satsuma Domain had close ties with the foreigners, and they were armed with breech-loading rifles and breech-loading cannons.
The Satsuma Domain was richer than the shogunate and was equipped with 583 cannons, while the shogunate's army had only 94 cannons, which were muzzle-loading.
However, the anti-shogunate military commander Saigo Takamori was suddenly assassinated on the eve of the battle. The Meiji Restoration activists were leaderless and had to fight hastily, which made the situation a bit unsatisfactory.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu's eyes were red and he hated these three rebels.
You say that we should respect the emperor and expel the barbarians, reform and reform, so why can't I, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, reform? I also agree to open factories, introduce foreign capital, build guns and warships, and drive out the foreigners.
I agree with your desire to overthrow the shogunate, as I returned power to the emperor last year. I also agree with your desire to abolish the feudal system and establish prefectures.
I am a general, and I just ask to be a powerful official under the new circumstances and still have the final say. You all disagree with this request.
You are not trying to make Fuso stronger, you just want to get rid of me. This feud is irreconcilable!
"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"
On Toba Castle, a Gatling machine gun spewed out flames, and the Shogunate troops fell down in large numbers.
Do you think you are the only reformists who know how to use the latest foreign weapons? I have them too.
The Gatling machine guns on this side also started firing, suppressing the firepower on the top of the city wall.
If the Huai Army soldiers saw this "battle" between the two sides, they would definitely laugh at it as a fight between weaklings. Both sides imported Gatling machine guns from the United States, but each bought only one...
But it's already very good. At least, the Russians are not yet equipped with machine guns. Japan has done a good job in accepting new things.
The shogunate army had a large number of men, but their muzzle-loading rifles were not very powerful, and they were also at a disadvantage in artillery battles. The Meiji Restorationists were "sharp in guns and cannons," but they were few in number and their command was not very good.
The two sides fought very closely, with a casualty ratio of basically three to one. Although the shogunate army suffered heavy casualties, they still charged forward with high morale to safeguard the interests of the Tokugawa family.
"General, our casualties are a bit heavy. Should we temporarily stop the attack?"
The casualty rate was about to reach 20%. If it were not for the influence left by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the loyalty of the shogunate guards, and the fighting of the Mikawa samurai, this battle would have been impossible to fight.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu was hesitating when he saw the other side in chaos. He hurriedly asked his men, "What happened in Toba Castle?"
"General, the scouts reported that Shimazu Tadayoshi just entered Toba Castle in a state of panic."
"Shimazu Tadayoshi? What is this playboy doing on the battlefield?"
Shimazu Tadayoshi was a feudal lord who was sidelined. He was not doing his job and liked southern barbaric things. The Shimazu family was ruled by important officials. What was the point of him, a feudal lord with no real purpose, coming here?
"Reporting to the general, there is news from Kagoshima that the Qing Dynasty's Prince Jingyuan led a fleet to avenge their Ryukyu Domain, and the Satsuma Domain was destroyed."
Tokugawa Yoshinobu was very happy, God is helping me!
He heard that the Prince of Jingyuan of the Qing Dynasty was also a general and had just led his army to the west to seize power.
I am also a general and I am also on my way to Luoyang. We generals should protect each other. Sure enough, you are helping me now.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu stood up and said, "All the reserve troops, go out for the general attack. Shout, the traitor Satsuma has been punished by heaven, surrender immediately!"
The morale of the shogunate army was boosted upon hearing the news, and they shouted "Heaven's punishment for Satsuma!" and launched a general attack.
Shimazu Tadayoshi, who came only to cause trouble, looked at the ferocious shogunate army outside the city and was so frightened that his body felt like a sieve and he lost all his loyalty.
The territory has been reduced to scorched earth. There are only about a thousand of the two thousand soldiers left. But this is the only capital for the Shimazu family to revive. They cannot be lost here. "Follow my orders and follow this daimyo!"
Saigo Takamori, a senior official of the Shimazu family and chief of staff of the Meiji Governor-General, was assassinated. The soldiers lost their backbone and resisted the attack of the shogunate army with only their passion.
Shimazu Tadayoshi was at least a genuine great master of his foot soldiers, and - were his family members safe during the Qing attack? Did they escape?
Will I go to war and come home, my wife gave me a son from the Qing Dynasty? This is secondary, as long as he can inherit the family name. The more sons, the better, no matter how they come from - this can be learned from the upper country, the Tian family of Qi replaced Qi...
The Satsuma soldiers were in a mess and their morale was gone. They followed Shimazu Tadayoshi and turned around.
History was changed. Tokugawa Yoshinobu led the shogunate army and captured Toba Castle with inferior equipment.
The Shogun was full of enthusiasm and said, "Let's go, support the Aizu Domain, besiege and capture Fushimi Castle, and go to Kyoto!"
A day later, Fushimi Castle fell. On the third day, Tokugawa Yoshinobu's troops arrived at Nijo Castle and successfully went to Kyoto.
The young Emperor Meiji immediately turned against the government, declared the Choshu and Tosa clans enemies of the court, and continued to entrust state affairs to the shogunate.
Satsuma was neglected, and it would take a long time for the scorched earth to recover. They had fallen from grace and no longer had a say in Japan.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu was full of pride and ready to show his skills.
Isn't it just abolishing feudal domains and establishing prefectures? Isn't it just building factories, learning technology, building new schools, and sending students to the Western countries? I can do that too. Look at how Fuso, under my leadership, has experienced the Meiji Restoration.
"Report, General, no, it's not good. The Qing Dynasty's Nanyang Navy bombarded Osaka and demanded that Fuso pay tribute to the Qing Dynasty, cede territory and pay compensation for Fuso's years of harassment of Ryukyu."
A basin of cold water was poured over his head, and Tokugawa Yoshinobu was stunned.
So, we have to pay a price for invading the vassal states of the Qing Dynasty?
He turned his hands behind his back several times and said, "This cannot be allowed. I have just regained power. If I lose power and humiliate the country like this, my position will be unstable. I would rather lose Osaka than sign a treaty that loses power and humiliates the country!"
…………
A large amount of debris and the bodies of Japanese pirate sailors were floating on the sea outside Osaka Castle.
The warships of the various feudal domains of the reformists had sunk into the Seto Inland Sea, including two ships from the Satsuma domain, "Kasuga" and "Inuiyuki", one ship from the Choshu domain, "Chomo", and two ships from the Hizen domain, "Denri" and "Mengchun".
Japan followed the world situation closely and still had steam warships. However, the "Stonewall" ironclad warship purchased from the Americans had not yet arrived, and the ships sunk here by the Nanyang Fleet were all wooden steam ships.
The Nanyang Fleet did not encounter steam battleships in Kagoshima because the warships of the reformists gathered together, preparing for a decisive battle with the shogunate's navy.
The shogunate navy had originally gathered in the Seto Inland Sea, ready for battle. However, the Huai Army massacred and looted in Satsuma for more than half a month. When the news reached here, the shogunate navy general Enomoto Takeaki immediately became alert.
Enomoto Takeaki was a student sent to The Hague by the shogunate. He had also visited the Krupp Company and ordered warships from the French. He had a broad vision and was well aware of the irreconcilable nature of the South China Sea Navy.
When we received the news that the Nanyang Navy was attacking the Satsuma Domain, we immediately realized that a fleet of this size could not just attack Kagoshima and be done with it.
The Japanese shogunate had worked so hard to build up its navy, so it couldn't just leave it there. So, it announced that it would "defend Edo" and ran away with the shogunate navy, ran away...
As Tokugawa Yoshinobu complained, the so-called reformists in Japan were actually no better than the shogunate in strengthening the country. Their struggle with the shogunate was just a struggle for power.
The shogunate had smart overseas students, and the Meiji Restoration patriots knew far less about the Nanyang Fleet than Enomoto Takeaki. Seeing that Enomoto Takeaki had escaped, they triumphantly advanced to Osaka, and foolishly ran headlong into the muzzle of the Nanyang Fleet's cannons.
Shao Quanzhong looked at the debris on the sea, scratching the back of his head in thought.
No, I destroyed the Satsuma clan and the navy of the anti-shogunate faction. Wouldn't that help Tokugawa Yoshinobu unify Fuso? I don't have the sympathy of the shoguns.
Is Tokugawa Yoshinobu easier to deal with than Meiji? Not necessarily.
Japan must fight among itself, a single flower does not bring spring. No, the next step is to weaken the shogunate.
Shao Quanzhong pointed in the direction of Osaka and said, "See that tall castle tower? Bomb it!"
(End of this chapter)