nashuaworldcup Chapter 344 Everyone has their own thoughts
Chapter 344 Everyone has their own thoughts
This test of Shimazu Chiyo's prowess in one-on-one combat ended in a bloody massacre. The three Shimazu family members (father, son, and daughter) and the remaining samurai remained calm, as if the dead were not their own. The others on the ship were deeply shocked: it turned out that when the Japanese got angry, they could not care about their own lives and kill their own people as if it were a game.
Liu Ye was speechless. He had originally thought that Shimazu Chiyo was a rare madwoman, but he never expected that the entire Shimazu family was full of madmen.
Lin San was the only one among them who observed Shimazu Chiyo's "drawing sword technique" from a technical perspective. He had excellent eyesight and observed very carefully. After pondering for a while, he approached Liu Ye and whispered, "General, the reason why this Japanese woman was able to strike first after being delayed and still have such great strength is that she skillfully used the scabbard. A sword is different from a knife, especially since Japanese swords and scabbards have a certain curvature. She used this curvature when drawing the sword to create an instantaneous burst of power. Its strength and speed are greater than swinging the sword directly in the air. The principle is not complicated. The difficulty lies in the fact that she has perfected this move, so she can kill with one move."
Liu Ye seemed to understand the explanation only vaguely, but he often used launch control when driving in his later life—simultaneously pressing the accelerator and brake to rev the engine before releasing the brake. This made the car start about twice as fast as normal, which seemed to be based on the same principle. It's likely that Shimazu Chiyo used the curvature of the scabbard to create a similar effect of revving the engine, achieving a better result than simply swinging the sword.
Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. If Shimazu Chiyo hadn't attacked him head-on, but instead disguised herself as a stranger and approached him before striking like that, he would definitely be dead; there was no way he could have dodged it. It seems he still has to thank the crazy woman for "not killing him"!
Liang Xiaoming also joined in the fun, explaining his understanding from an engineering perspective: "The key to this so-called 'sword-drawing technique' is not to use the blade to cut people, but to concentrate all the power on the tip of the blade. When cutting, the trajectory of the blade tip is a straight line, but when drawing the sword, the trajectory of the blade tip is an arc. In addition, there is a long enough distance from the handle to the tip, which is similar to the lever principle. The power and speed transmitted from the handle and blade to the tip are amplified, so the destructive power is amazing."
Liu Ye waved his hand, signaling them to stop talking. Anyway, from any perspective, it was clear that Shimazu Chiyo was quite capable. He asked Shimazu Tadahira, "Will your daughter follow the path you've arranged for her?"
Before her father could answer, Shimazu Chiyo interjected, "As long as it can save the people of Tsurumaru Castle, and save the Satsuma Domain and the Shimazu family, Chiyo is willing to do anything. Please don't worry, Your Excellency." Although her expression remained defiant, Liu Ye could hear the softening in her words. It was understandable; faced with the devastating impact of cannon fire, the bravery of any individual was insignificant, and the Shimazu family's will to resist had been completely shattered by the previous bombardment.
After weighing the options, Liu Ye found he couldn't really find a reason to reject the proposal. The Shimazu clan was willing to submit, and the objectives of the trip to Kagoshima had essentially been achieved. As for dealing with Shimazu Chiyo, that was merely a secondary objective. Just as the old man had said, killing Shimazu Chiyo would only be a matter of venting anger, offering no real benefit to himself or the Qiongzhou camp. Keeping her by his side, along with her carefully trained samurai, to protect him was a good idea. With Shimazu Chiyo's samurai inside and Lin San's guards outside, a comprehensive and multi-layered protective circle, combining cold and firearms, close combat and ranged attacks, would be difficult for anyone to breach, ensuring his personal safety.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face, and he said to Shimazu Tadahide, "I like your suggestion very much, so it's settled then. Shimazu Chiyo will stay and come back to Ming with me. By the way, you said that all those samurai should come with us, and they will be under Shimazu Chiyo's command from now on."
Shimazu Tadatsune nodded respectfully, but inwardly he was overjoyed. In this way, a bad thing had turned into a good thing, and an enemy had become a friend. Not only had his daughter's life been saved, but she had also been sent to the distant Ming Dynasty, preventing the tragedy of siblings fighting each other for the headship of the family. It was a win-win situation. He glanced furtively at Chiyo and Mitsuhisa, wondering if the two of them could understand their father's good intentions.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa was even happier than his father. With his sister gone, his position as head of the clan was now secure. Moreover, he had established a relationship with this Ming general, and with his sister as a link, it shouldn't be difficult to acquire some powerful cannons in the future by spending some money and saying a few nice words.
Chiyo Shimazu understood her father's intentions to some extent. She knew that her father had already made his choice; even if she stayed, the headship of the family would not be hers. This unexpected Ming general had given her father and brother a reason to send her away. Although she understood all of this, she was still somewhat disheartened, to the point that she felt little attachment to leaving Kagoshima, the land that had given her birth and nurtured her.
At this moment, Liu Ye mentioned the samurai she had personally trained. Shimazu Chiyo suddenly remembered that the shogunate stipulated that Japanese people could not leave the mainland, otherwise they would not be allowed to return. She asked with some concern, "If my samurai and I leave Japan, will we never be able to return to Kagoshima?"
Shimazu Mitsuhisa thought to himself: It would be best if she didn't come back; she'd just be a nuisance. He was very wary of his older sister, who treated him like a man. Even though she had lost her chance to compete with him for the headship of the clan, her personal martial prowess was still unmatched in the Satsuma Domain, and she was a huge threat as long as she stayed in the country.
Liu Ye laughed and said, "No need to worry. Before visiting Kagoshima, I went to Edo Bay and reached an agreement with Tokugawa Iemitsu. One of the terms was that I could recruit samurai in Japan and bring them back to Ming China. Moreover, they would not be bound by the Japanese restrictions on leaving the country. They could leave whenever they wanted and come back whenever they wanted."
Upon hearing this, the Shimazu father and son looked at Liu Ye with even more reverence and admiration. After the Battle of Sekigahara, how powerful the shogunate was to the various daimyo! It used measures such as fief transfers (Note 1) and the requirement for sankin-kōtai (Note 2) to torment the more distant daimyo, even resorting to direct military suppression, yet not a single daimyo dared to resist, obediently accepting their fate of being slaughtered. And this Ming Dynasty shogun, with such ease, made the shogun lower his proud head and sign what appeared to be a humiliating treaty. Truly, there are always those more powerful than oneself!
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Note 1: Originally, it referred to the removal of officials from their old posts and their reassignment to new posts. However, during the Edo period, it evolved into a punishment measure that stripped daimyo and samurai of their status and confiscated their land and residence, second only to execution.
Note 2: This refers to a system in Japan's Edo period where daimyo (feudal lords) were required to periodically travel to Edo to perform administrative duties for the shogun before returning to their own territories. Given the poor transportation conditions of ancient times, this effectively meant the shogunate kept the daimyo constantly on the move, leaving them little time to manage the internal affairs of their domains.