Zhao Ran had experienced a battle of this level to besiege Lu Zhi before and knew that it would not happen overnight. It could take as short as a few months or as long as a year. Therefore, he was not in a hurry. He just paid attention to the induction in the sea of qi to ensure that he was in Lu Zhi.
When escaping, you can detect the movement in time.
Lu Zhi is good at running and hiding. It can be seen from Zhao Ran's induction that his interference with the changes in the qi of heaven and earth varies greatly and is very unstable. No wonder Linghu has been chasing him for several years but failed. Of course, he can catch up.
It may not be possible to kill it. It is really difficult to kill a big demon that has transformed into a second form.
Now that Dao Sect has joined, it must be difficult for Lu Zhi to escape.
The Ming army exerted force, and the battlefield situation changed rapidly. The Hojo Army was the first to collapse, followed by the Tokugawa cavalry, and finally the reinforcements sent from Kyoto. In the evening, battle reports came one after another.
The ashigaru general of the Hojo Army, Inomata Kuniken, was first beheaded by the formation. The person who beheaded him personally was Zhao Ran's disciple Song Xiong. Song Xiong was transferred from the Matsu Domain Guards to the Three Thousand Battalion by Zhang Lue, and was promoted to the first level after being transferred.
, promoted from a hundred households to a trial of a thousand households, commanding a battalion. Zhang Lue did not even mention this transfer to Zhao Ran. Zhao Ran didn’t realize it until he saw Song Xiong before the war. This was Zhang Lue’s “fellow sect”.
friendship.
Song Xiong carried forward the courageous spirit of the Ming Dynasty's frontier troops. He was the first to break through the Hojo family's five-color military formation and beheaded Inomata Kuniken. He then continued to use his troops to break through the main formation of the Hojo family's general Ujitaka and beheaded Ujitaka. He achieved two great achievements in succession.
Zhao Ran estimated that there wouldn't be much of a problem if he changed his position from a trial of thousands households to a thousand households, and even the command of the guards.
Li Sanhu, who had repeatedly stated before the war that he would kill himself in front of Advisor Zhao's tent if he did not perform special feats, did not break his promise this time. The two forward battalions he commanded went straight to the reinforcements in Kyoto, with more than 1,000 men breaking into the 30,000-strong array, and kept attacking.
Arriving at the opponent's central army, he killed the generals Kuuki Yoshitaka, Ashigaru generals, Hatamoto and more than 20 people, and the result was brilliant.
Zhou Keli, who led the fleet to land, formed an interception line backed by golden soldiers, golden armor and yellow scarf warriors behind the enemy, and stopped the main cavalry of the Tokugawa family, beheading more than a thousand people and surrendering tens of thousands.
General Tokugawa Ieyasu only escaped with his own life.
In addition to countless family members, retainers, and warriors at all levels, hundreds of priests were missing during this battle. It is said that the great alchemist Lan Daoxing had asked Zhao Ran to take a break and returned to Miyake Island for retreat.
According to the pre-war strategy, Zeng Ruming led Li Sanhu, Song Xiong and other battalions to attack Edo. Zhou Keli led his troops into Odawara Castle and welcomed Zhao Ran into the city.
Matsuda Kenhide squatted under the wall of Hakone's stone wall with his head in his hands. The captured Yingzhou soldiers lined up in six rows along the wall and circled the city in a dense circle. They spent a nervous night hungry and thirsty. At noon the next day, they
I saw a group of people walking from a distance, surrounding a Taoist priest in the middle, pointing at the prisoners.
Matsuda Kenhide thought he had been dazzled, rubbed his eyes, and finally confirmed that he had seen correctly. Among this group of people were Ujizawa, a member of the Hojo family, and Nishizono Hatamoto of the White Flag Team. Although he did not recognize the others,
But their faces seemed familiar. The Taoist priest they were surrounded by was none other than Ichikuma Kumamoto, the powerful minister.
Kazukuma Kumamoto came closer, recognized Matsuda Kenhide squatting in the crowd, and smiled at him. Matsuda Kenhide's heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he raised his neck expectantly, and was about to call Gonomiya.
Mr. Si came to rescue him, but was slapped on the head with a long bamboo pole by a Ming soldier guarding him. The Ming soldier shouted something, and Matsuda Kenhide didn't understand it, but he knew what it meant and quickly lowered his head.
Kumamoto Kazuma showed a warrant to the guarding Ming army officer. The officer waved, and the Ming army's long bamboo pole circled around the heads of Matsuda Kenhide and the group, and finally patted him on the head. Kumamoto said to him
Said: "Xianxiu, come out."
Matsuda Kenhide climbed out from the prisoner and bowed to Kumamoto Kazuma: "Master Gonomiyaji..."
Kumamoto Kazuma waved his hand to stop him: "Kenhide, I am no longer the Chief of the Imperial Palace. The shrine is over. Even if it is not over yet, it is almost over. I am now a Taoist priest accompanying the Ming army fleet and participated in the formation of the Kwantung garrison. Kenhide,
Are you willing to join the Kwantung Garrison Army?"
Matsuda Kenhide looked at the family member Ujizawa Ujisawa in front of him and nodded encouragingly, then looked at the other Hatamoto and the other samurai who bowed to him, so he asked Kumamoto Ikkuma: "Kumamoto-sama"
, is the prosperous world you said about to come?"
Kumamoto Kazuma smiled and said: "Xianxiu, the prosperous world has not yet arrived, but under the leadership of Daomen, it will definitely come. Xianxiu, let us build a prosperous Yingzhou together!"
Matsuda Kenhide bowed and said: "I understand, Kenhide will definitely work hard!"
Following Kumamoto, a group of people continued to move forward beside the captives. During this period, Kumamoto Kazuma named a priest or samurai from time to time. As evening approached, Kumamoto was followed by more than fifty people, including eighteen
Priests and more than thirty warriors.
Kumamoto led them into a house under the Joni Maru. It was originally a tavern, but now more than fifty people gathered, making it very crowded. But in any case, it was much more comfortable than sitting under the city wall.
Not only were there couches to sleep on, but the Ming army also asked the restaurant to arrange meals.
Before going to bed, Kumamoto Kazuma came back and said to everyone: "The bathing water has been prepared in the back room. You all go and clean up. Be sure to clean up. Tomorrow morning, I will take you to meet Mr. Zhao, the general advisor of the Ming Army!"
Matsuda Kenhide and others were shocked and obeyed the order in unison: "Yes!"
After bathing, everyone sat around and chatted. They were all asking each other who Mr. Zhao, the general adviser of the Ming Army, was. Mr. Shize, the family man, knew better and explained to everyone: "This is the second most important person in the Ming Expeditionary Army. How do you say this?"
Well, everyone knows that Yingzhou will be naturalized to the Ming Dynasty soon, and the expeditionary army commander Chen Tianshi is equivalent to Guan Bai, Lord Taizhengdian Hideyoshi, and Lord Zhao are equivalent to Lord Lao Zhong."
A high-ranking priest immediately retorted: "No, Chen Tianshi is similar to the Grand Palace Secretary and General, and General Counselor Zhao is equivalent to Guan Bai, Taizheng Palace."
Whether it was the Lao Zhong mentioned by Ushizawa or the Taizheng Palace mentioned by the high-ranking priest, they were all big shots that everyone would never dare to think about. To be received by such a big shot tomorrow, everyone's heart couldn't calm down for a long time.
In line with the habit of giving in to those who are superior, everyone began to call Mr. Zhao "His Excellency Mr. Zhao Taidian".
Matsuda Kenhide didn't sleep well that night, and many people didn't sleep well either. When it got dark, everyone got up to freshen up, put on the new clothes brought by Kumamoto Kazuma, and followed him towards Hayakawa's temporarily repaired residence.
.
After waiting outside the door for more than half an hour, watching countless Taoist priests and military officers coming in and out of Hayakawa's residence in an endless stream, everyone bowed lower and became more sincere in their greetings.
When finally he was allowed to enter, Kumamoto Kazuki turned around and told everyone: "Don't be rude." He straightened his sleeves and went in first.