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Bang bangâŚ
Gunshots rang out as rifled guns hit targets 400 meters away. At this moment, twelve Dutch soldiers put away their flintlock muskets.
Claire looked proud and said to Xiao Ming, âYour Highness, now itâs your turn.â
âThis is surprising. I have to admit we are a bit behind in firearms. We donât have guns that can shoot 400 meters,â Xiao Ming said.
Out of sincerity, Xiao Ming had Lu Fei and his soldiers perform a demonstration. The results were no different from the Dutch soldiersâ, which already shocked Claire.
In Europe, a ten-thousand-man musketeer unit could easily take a rich colony. And now, the Qi Wang faced who knows how many such armies.
âYour Highness, donât be discouraged. These rifled guns cannot offset the flintlock musketsâ battlefield advantage. For now, they are only a surprise weapon. If you wish, I can sell you the manufacturing method for these rifled guns,â Claire said with a sharp look.
Xiao Ming chuckled. Claire was quite the clever man, already trying to squeeze profit from him. He casually asked, âHow much are you asking for?â
âFollowing Great Yuâs trade style, how about five million taels of silver? Of course, this silver can be replaced with tea, porcelain, or raw silk,â Claire said.
Xiao Ming laughed silently. These three were extremely popular luxury goods in Europe. Shipping a full cargo of these meant huge profits. This was why the Cao family and King Chu had accumulated massive wealth over the years.
To pay for these goods, the Dutch brought large amounts of silver from Europe in exchange. That was how the Cao family could establish a money house spanning Great Yu.
This money house was built on a foundation of vast silver reserves.
Looking northeast toward King Chuâs territory, Xiao Ming couldnât help but drool. When docking at Ningzhou, he saw the bustling scene at the dock. Compared to Qingzhou, Chuâs land was still a gathering place for merchantsâmuch stronger than Qingzhou. These merchants mostly traded overseas as maritime merchants.
But because King Chu provoked the Dutch, these merchants lost their sea trade routes. For Xiao Ming, once he reopened sea trade routes, this group would be the first fat sheep to slaughter.
âNo need,â Xiao Ming said after thinking for a while, giving Claire a disappointing answer. Buying military technology from Europe? What a joke. But he noted Claireâs price; it wouldnât be long before Claire begged him to buy military weapons.
Claireâs disappointment was obvious. He believed that handing flintlock manufacturing to Japan would have them pay millions of taels of silver, yet Xiao Ming showed no interest in this higher-level firearms technology.
Looking at Xiao Mingâs calm face, Claireâs joy from winning earlier faded. He began to suspect Xiao Ming already possessed this technology.
Sighing, he said, âAlright then, letâs start the artillery demonstration.â
Xiao Ming nodded. Next was the field artillery shooting. Like flintlock muskets, Qingzhouâs field artillery and Dutch field artillery were evenly matched.
This gave both sides a clear understanding of each otherâs weapons.
However, Xiao Ming thought Dutch weapons didnât represent Europeâs highest level. By the eighteenth century, the Netherlands had declined. The main European powersâEngland, France, Prussia, and Austriaârepresented the highest standards.
After the brief test, Xiao Ming and Claire discussed troop arrangements. According to the agreement, Xiao Ming would leave two thousand soldiers in Fort Zeelandia to maintain order with the Dutch soldiers.
Claire accepted this calmly and decided to hand over the western barracks of Fort Zeelandia to the Qingzhou soldiers.
After settling this, they decided to rest locally for two days.
On the third day, Xiao Ming and Claireâs fleets began blockading the Ryukyu main island. Some warships patrolled around the island to prevent Japanese pirate reinforcements to Michira Castle.
Their army also started landing on the island. Along with Dutch troops, the landing force totaled twelve thousand musketeers and seventy-two field cannons.
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âYour Highness, our soldiers have completed the siege of Michira Castle,â Lu Fei reported half a day after landing.
Claire looked relaxed. He believed that unless something unexpected happened, the Japanese forces could only fight them after running out of food.
âStay alert. Prevent any Japanese pirates from sneaking in for surprise attacks,â Xiao Ming ordered. In this era, relying only on sight for observation, every defense had gaps.
Though they patrolled the sea, they couldnât guarantee no enemy slipped through.
While Xiao Ming arranged the siege, Sakai inside Michira Castle observed everything on the island.
When a fleet entered Fort Zeelandiaâs harbor, they realized trouble had come. They hadnât expected the Dutch to bring reinforcements, especially Great Yuâs Qi Wang, because they had seen these warships in Dengzhou.
But even after seeing the fleet, Sakai wasnât panicked. Michira Castle was not easily taken, especially with over ten thousand soldiers inside.
However, after the siege circle was completed, his confidence disappeared. He realized they faced a long siege.
âLord Sakai, the Dutch and Great Yu people plan to besiege us. Should we just wait here? Food is running low and wonât last long. Their fleet blocks the coast, so no resupply from the sea,â a pirate leader told Sakai.
Oda Nobunagaâs rise was bloody. These pirates were his wandering samurai, sent to plunder merchant ships and build war capital.
Now Nobunaga could unify Japan after defeating other daimyo, thanks in no small part to these pirates.
âWe samurai will not starve in the castle. That would shame our honor. Lord Sakai, for us samurai, itâs better to die fighting than starve. Let us leave the castle and kill these miserable weaklings. Our samurai swords will cut them in half,â one samurai said.
âRight! For Lord Nobunaga, we can die without hesitation, without regret, without doubt,â another samurai said.
âFight! Fight!â the other samurai shouted.
Looking at the furious samurai, a ruthless gleam flashed in Sakaiâs eyes.