After being beaten, Lord Watanabe felt that all the bones in his body were about to fall apart. After all, he was a local official and had a certain reputation here. Who would dare to beat him under normal circumstances? But to the Tang Dynasty soldiers on the boat, you are just like those Fuso soldiers on the river bank, nothing more than an enemy. We will do what our general says. If you don’t listen to our general, then we will just show off our fists and feet.
They didn't get a place in the commando team, so the people on the boat were feeling depressed. Just then, a sandbag came along for exercise, and they all worked very hard.
"The famous name of Fukae Urari, Watanabe Ichiro..."
After hearing his answer, Ding Tu looked at the translator next to him, and then after the explanation from the person next to him, he understood what this guy was talking about. It turned out that he was just like the local officials in our place.
Fuso has not yet entered the shogunate era, so their emperor still holds power, and local officials have not yet established their own regimes.
Because of the Tang envoys, all parts of Fuso society were learning from the Sui and Tang dynasties. Many aspects were similar to those of the Tang Dynasty, but they also had their own Fuso characteristics.
But today they never expected that the Tang Dynasty, which they regarded as the Celestial Empire, would actually send such a powerful fleet here. According to Watanabe Ichiro's idea, didn't those envoys to the Tang Dynasty say that they had a good relationship with the Tang Dynasty when they came back?
"Tell me about your defenses here, where the troops are roughly located, and the situation of the surrounding civilians. The more detailed the better. Don't expect me to let you go."
At this moment, the dock has been taken. Hundreds of soldiers have come to support the dock again. Together with the artillery on the ship, they can defend the entire dock tightly. While Ding Tu was speaking, he also pulled Watanabe Ichiro up and asked him to see the situation at the dock in the distance.
In fact, there is no need to look at all this. Their armed forces are only four or five hundred people, and they are no match for the Tang Dynasty army. When Watanabe was caught just now, he knew this would be the result.
"Why on earth is this happening? Why are you..."
Watanabe Ichiro still didn't quite understand. According to people who had been to the Tang Dynasty, the land there could produce oil and was much more fertile than ours, so why would they be interested in our shabby place?
And as the pirate captain said just now, they own much more fertile land than us, and ordinary people can eat a dry meal every day, but we here may not even be able to eat a meal in a month. What is it about us that you are interested in?
Watanabe Ichiro's impulsive behavior didn't result in a response. Instead, he was beaten again by the person next to him. This was already the third time. Are you not making any progress at all? Or do you want to use our fists to exercise your body? If that's the case, then we really have plenty of people.
"We have three patrol battalions here, each with 800 men..."
According to what this guy said, there are nearly three thousand regular troops. As for the soldiers from various villages, the number doesn't matter. The combat effectiveness of the regular army is not that good, let alone those second-line troops.
Ding Tu remembered what Li Xiang said, that most of Fusang’s population lived in coastal areas, not inland areas like us, so the coastal areas had the strongest defense.
Fuso has undergone significant development in this era. The total population of the country should be more than two million. If some hidden populations are included, the number would be at least more than three million.
According to what Watanabe Ichiro said just now, there are 30,000 to 40,000 people in their small prefecture, which is indeed more populated than the places captured by the Tang army in the past.
It doesn't matter if the land here can't support so many people. We in the Tang Dynasty have reclaimed a lot of land, and the Goguryeo model has been proven to be effective. At worst, we can transport you away by ship and let you go to other places to farm for us. In this day and age, having land and food means having a population, and having a population means strong strength.
"You've seen the current situation clearly. As the saying goes, a wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. You can no longer hold on here. Either you surrender to the Tang Dynasty now, or I will appoint you as the garrison commander here..."
Ding Tu still remembered what Li Xiang said, that it would be best to persuade the local officials to surrender after landing. Having such a person to help us could save us a lot of effort, but if we had to do everything ourselves, the chances of problems arising would be too high.
Watanabe Ichiro does need the enthronement of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but definitely not in this state. If he were in this state, wouldn't he be a traitor to the country?
"Report to the general, the man has been brought here. He has no sons, only a younger brother."
After the soldiers finished speaking, Watanabe Jiro was brought up. He looked to be about ten years old.
"What are you doing? He's just a child, don't hurt him."
Watanabe Ichiro said with some concern that now there are only two brothers left in their family. Although Watanabe Ichiro has several wives, he has no children so far. If his younger brother dies, it is very likely that the family will be extinct.
"Don't worry. Didn't I just ask you to submit to us? I think it might be difficult for you. If that's the case, then why don't you just jump off here today? Then your brother will successfully become the daimyo here and even be granted an honor by our Tang Dynasty."
Ding Tu's words made Watanabe Ichiro feel cold from head to toe. He thought that the other party was using his brother as a threat to force him to side with the Tang Dynasty, but he didn't expect that the other party had no such idea at all.
"Wait, wait, wait, I'm willing to cooperate. I'm willing to accept the title bestowed upon me by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. My brother is still young and doesn't know much about Fusang. I've been the local daimyo for many years..."
Watanabe Ichiro was a spineless man, and having seen the Tang army kill people before, he immediately surrendered. Doesn't the situation on the shore speak for itself? Their army was already reorganizing and would soon launch an attack on the surrounding patrol camps.
Ding Tu had thought so earlier. Although Watanabe Jiro could accept the emperor's appointment, he was just a child after all and didn't know much about the local situation. If Watanabe Ichiro was willing to defect, this guy would be more suitable.
