Chapter 295 The war begins! The attack and defense of Somasan Mountain begins!【
7600】
The author made a small mistake in the previous chapter.
The "Tiger of Fire" is Mizushima Rensaburo, the captain of the Fourth Division, and Kanazawa is the "Dog of Fire".
Moreover, Kanazawa's full name is "Kanazawa Chusuke", not "Kanazawa Katsumi". I confused his name with another character (Leopard Head Cries.jpg).
The author has made changes to the previous chapter, please let me know.
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Enhance reflex nerves... Qingdeng nodded slightly, very satisfied with his new talent.
It just makes up for Qingdeng’s current biggest shortcoming.
"Eagle Eye +1" greatly enhances Qingdeng's eyesight, but this leads to a new problem - sometimes, when facing the enemy's attack, his eyes can keep up, but his body cannot.
Qingdeng has already acquired many and various talents, but he has not yet replicated the talent of enhancing reflex nerves.
The reaction speed of the body does not match the eyesight... When fighting the man in black who was highly suspected to be Ogata Yoshi, Ayoto experienced this "his eyes could clearly see how the opponent attacked, but his body could not cooperate"
The pain of "eyes acting".
He was lucky enough to win a big prize - this should have been a very happy thing, but Qing Teng now had no time to savor the joy of this new powerful talent.
He and Kanazawa Chusuke looked at each other, then turned around at the same time, looking at the "Ryuu of Fire" who was slowly walking towards them with his hands behind his back, the captain of the first team: my grandson Chutaro.
I saw that my grandson, who usually had a faint smile on his face, showed a rare serious expression at this moment.
"My grandson." Kanazawa Tadashi's mouth twitched slightly, "Aren't you already asleep?"
"I have indeed fallen asleep, but I was woken up by the noise you made." My grandson sighed, "Don't you think the march is not tiring enough? You haven't slept at night, and you are still here.
Compete in martial arts."
After hearing this, Kanazawa Chusuke quickly defended himself: "We..."
He had just started to speak when my grandson interrupted him:
"No matter what your reasons are, it is untimely and undesirable to do such a waste of energy during the march. Tonight's competition will not be an exception. Everyone, please go back to the hotel and sleep quickly."
My grandson's tone was very calm, not high-pitched, nor did he yell at the top of his lungs, but there was a strange coercion in it, and the aura of the coach was fully evident.
It's rare to meet a martial arts expert who is both excellent in swordsmanship and practical experience. My body has just warmed up, and I want to concentrate my body and mind on a good fight. However, my grandson suddenly stopped me in the competition with a few words.
Stop.
This feeling of being still...not to mention how uncomfortable it is.
Both Aoto and Kanazawa Chusuke look depressed right now - especially Aoto.
Because there is little contact between the various divisions of the Fire Bandits Kai, Qingden originally planned to take advantage of tonight's great opportunity to learn more about the talents of the other divisions.
However, Qingdeng and the others had to admit: My grandson is right.
They will continue their march tomorrow, and when they arrive at the front line, they will immediately start preparing for battle. The next series of military operations will be a great test for everyone's physical strength, so it is always good to save more physical strength.
--never mind.
Qingdeng thought.
——Anyway, I have gained something tonight.
After thinking this secretly, Qingdeng took the initiative to put down the bamboo sword in his hand.
Seeing that Qingden was the first to set an example, Kanazawa Chusuke and the others stopped struggling and followed suit one after another, put down their bamboo swords, bows and other belongings, and turned around to go back to the hotel to sleep.
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God makes things beautiful.
From the time the conquest army set off from Edo, the weather was always sunny and windy.
There was neither rainfall nor extreme weather such as sudden cold waves.
Kai is worthy of its nickname of "mountain country".
Since entering the realm of Kai, the surrounding scenery has undergone extremely obvious changes.
There are fewer plains and more mountains.
No matter which direction you look, you can see endless mountains as far as the eye can see.
While looking at the stacks of Kai mountains in the distance, Ayoto suddenly realized that this seemed to be the first time since he traveled so far away from Edo.
After spending four days and three nights, the crusade finally arrived at the front line of the battle: a mountain village called "Daohe Village" on a bright afternoon.
Looking up, I saw that at the end of the country road at my feet were woods. The woods stretched all the way to the ridge. On the back of the ridge, there were several smoke curls rising from the stove - that was where Daohe Village was located.
After crossing the ridge, in an instant, gusts of burning and smelly wind hit Qingdeng's nose.
Before he officially entered the village, Qingdeng had already discovered one scene after another of unbearable tragic scenes outside the village.
In the open land not far away, what was probably farmland full of rice not long ago has now been trampled beyond recognition by countless human feet.
The densely packed footprints are like seals, layer upon layer, criss-crossing and carved on the mud of the rice fields.
Withered ears of rice, scattered rice seeds, broken farm tools, and all kinds of junk that could no longer be identified as what they originally were were scattered and scattered everywhere.
There are also many people among them, running back and forth in this "broken" rice field.
There are men and women, old and young - they must be the villagers of Daohe Village.
I saw the villagers of Daohe Village either holding shovels, hoes and other equipment to tidy up the messy land; or using dismantled wooden boards as stretchers to pick up and carry away all the garbage and rags scattered in the mud.
Or standing in a corner of the rice field doing nothing, staring at the rice field that has lost its former glory, speechless and choked.
Gaah! Gaah! Gaah!
At this time, several crows suddenly flew over the rice fields and circled.
Their piercing cries add a strong sense of desolation to this paddy field that has been ruined to a state of disgrace.
When Qingdeng saw this, he couldn't help but sigh secretly.
As one of the top officers in this battle, he naturally learned a lot of information about this Daohe village early on.
Inahe, Inahe... Inaho Fenghe, what a beautiful name it means - however, the villagers living in this village have been living a miserable life that is worse than death.
The target of this western expedition by Ayoto and others was a group of bandits entrenched on Mount Soma.
Soma Mountain: Although it is named after "mountain", it is actually just a small peak with an altitude of less than 150 meters. Although the living conditions are very harsh, due to the dangerous terrain, it is a natural fortress that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The gang of thieves who occupied Soma Mountain as their base called themselves the "Soma Clan" and were very powerful.
According to conservative estimates, the number of bandits in Xiangma Zhong is guaranteed to be 200, including many samurai who had to turn into bandits because they could not survive.
Inawa Village is located at the foot of Mount Soma, so it is often bullied by Soma people. It is precisely because Inawa Village is very close to Soma people that the fire bandit Kai chose this village as the site for this project.
The forefront of the war.
As far as Qingdeng knows, the Sangma people will come down from the mountain in three places to demand "tribute" from the villagers of Daohe Village.
"Tribute" items include but are not limited to: food, drinks, clothes, women...
The Souma clan is so powerful that with just a wave of their hands, the entire Inawa Village can be physically destroyed.
In order not to end up in the tragic situation of "a man dies and a village is destroyed", the villagers of Daohe Village can only accept the situation and endure the humiliation.
If the grain harvest is good and the situation is good, then after the villagers "pay tribute" to the Xiangma people, they will still have a little leftover to make ends meet.
But if the grain harvest fails, the situation will be bad...
This year happens to be a famine year with unsatisfactory grain production.
This year, due to various reasons, the grain harvest was severely poor, and large numbers of epidemics broke out across Japan.
For a time, people were panicked.
The shogunate and the various vassal states spent a lot of effort to finally suppress all the Ichiku.
Ikui: Literally interpreted as "unity", in ancient Japan it was extended to uprising for unity. The vernacular term is civil uprising, civil unrest.
In ancient Japan, all acts of resistance to the rule of the lord were collectively referred to as "一揆".
I don’t know who it is, but I once made up a troublesome saying: “Ten bandits will not rob you, seven will not be taken away, and five will not be allowed to be taken away.” They will not take away wedding or funeral cars, they will not take away from those who marry girls to give wives, and they will not take away poor people.
No grabbing...complete nonsense!
Throughout the ages, no matter which country or region we are in, the crimes committed by bandits who dominate the mountains are too numerous to describe.
Some fools who don't know how long their brains are, even imagine that the bandits are a bunch of brave and reckless heroes, and they imagine that they can become other people's wives who suppress the village or something like that.
You can't grab ten pieces of shit, but you can't take away seven pieces! The weaker you are, the more the bandits will catch you and bully you!
I hope that the bandits can also steal...the so-called wishful thinking is nothing more than this.
What the Xiangma people did profoundly explains why so many people from ancient times to the present hate mountain bandits to the core.
The situation this year is not good, and the life of the villagers in Daohe Village is already very difficult, but Xiangma Zhong still firmly requires the villagers to "pay tribute" on time and in quantity, without missing a grain of rice.
They even directly threatened them with harsh words: Either I will give you money or food, or I will give you your heads!
The misfortune of the Xiangma people has long caused the villagers to hold back a ball of unhappiness and anger in their hearts.
These hateful bandits really pushed people too far this time! This behavior of forcing people to a dead end directly aroused the long-buried anger of the villagers!
The villagers picked up hoes, shovels and other objects that could be used as weapons, and launched an angry counterattack against the Souma people... and then immediately suffered severe retaliation.
The Soma people, who had an absolute advantage in numbers, weapons, and combat effectiveness, effortlessly defeated the simple armed forces formed by the villagers.
A large number of people were killed.
More than half of the houses were burned to the ground.
The rice fields were trampled into a muddy mess.
The bandits dug deep into the ground and snatched away all the young girls and the last remaining property in the village.
Millet hidden in the cellar; pickled radishes placed on the rafters; old cows that were supposed to "live their old age"...
A group of gangsters from Xiangma Zhong took the screaming women in their arms, loaded them up, and left with a triumphant laugh.
This is the origin of the scene Qingden saw...
Seeing the shogunate's troops coming, the villagers who were cleaning the rice fields stopped what they were doing.
The expeditionary army happened to pass through a ridge between two rice fields.
The land in the rice fields is high, so the villagers in the rice fields have to straighten their backs and raise their faces to see the sergeants' faces clearly.
Sensing that many people were looking at him, Qingdeng tilted his head and looked to his left - he happened to meet the eyes of a little girl who must not have been more than 8 years old.
I saw that there was almost no piece of skin and flesh on this little girl's body that was clean. There was either a piece of mud here or a piece of dirt there. From head to toe, only a pair of black eyes were bright - what a pity.
, these pair of very beautiful eyes are glowing with half joy and half fear at this moment.
Qingdeng glanced around and found that all the villagers in Daohe Village, without exception, all looked the same - covered in dirt, the clothes on their bodies were so dirty that they couldn't see the original color, and their faces were covered with weather-stained weather from years of wind and rain.
His expression was dull, and the eyes he looked at Qingdeng and others revealed complex emotions of "happiness" and "sorrow".
After some people met Qingdeng's eyes, their expressions immediately changed, showing a look of fear, and they lowered their heads in a hurry, not daring to look at Qingdeng for even half a glance.
In this closed era where information exchange was underdeveloped, to farmers in small mountain villages, the samurai in the city...especially the samurai in Edo were basically no different from aliens from another planet.
"Aliens" are coming... The villagers are nervous and fearful about this, which is normal.
After passing through the rugged fields, Qingdeng soon saw the dirty roads full of dust and feces, low thatched houses, and the charred ruins burned by the fire...
Looking up, I saw a gray color...
It was as if a thick dark cloud had covered the village.
There is a river that runs across the center of the village, sparkling in the sunlight - this is the only bright color in Daohe Village nowadays.
The river connects the rice fields in the south and the mountains in the north, dividing Daohe Village into neat east and west halves. The "East Half Village" and "West Half Village" are connected only by a few simple wooden bridges.
The villagers had their heads and shoulders drooped, their faces were dull, and they acted like zombies. Their bodies exuded the same smell as the mud they stepped on: wet, muddy, dirty, weak and vulnerable... The river was also affected.
Their temperament makes them appear cold and chilly.
There are no lively streets and alleys here that Qingteng is familiar with.
There is no prosperity scene that Qingdeng is familiar with here.
This place and Edo...are like two different worlds.
What I see now is "real"... Qingdeng thought to himself.
Poverty, filth, backwardness, often oppressed by bandits, ronin and other evil forces - this is the truest appearance of Japan in this era.
Prosperous Edo is just a special case among special cases in this country.
At this time, a sharp autumn wind suddenly swept through the distant mountains and forests. The weeds all over the village were neatly bent. A large mass was mixed with the stench of feces, human sweat, and the scorch of the ruins.
The astonishing stench spread out in all directions under the influence of this autumn wind, reminding Qingdeng and all travelers passing by this place - this is a desolate place that has experienced countless miserable winds and rains, and has gone through many changes in the world.
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That night--
My grandson gathered together a group of generals and held a military meeting in the chief's house of Daohe Village to discuss the next move.
"The base of the Soma people is located at the highest point of Soma Mountain."
Because there were no cushions in the village chief's house, the generals could only sit casually on the floor. They formed an oval circle with my grandson as the center. On the floor in the center of the circle, there was a charcoal drawing.
Simple map.
"Although the terrain of Mount Soma is not high, the terrain is very complex. It is full of gorges and rocks. There are mountain walls that are difficult to climb or undeveloped virgin forests everywhere."
Daohe Village, which was extremely poor, could not have such luxuries as candles. All the villagers could provide Qingdeng and others were some crude lamp oils whose lighting effects were only inferior to Qi's.
Fortunately, the crusade had some candles on hand, so they wouldn't be stuck in a meeting in the dark.
In order to enable the generals to see the map more clearly, when my grandson was explaining the map, he pointed to the lines drawn on the map with one hand and held a candle with the other hand. The slightly swaying lamp and the hand pointing to the map
Move synchronously.
"The only way to get to the Soma Zhong base is through a mountain road adjacent to Inawa Village."
As soon as my grandson finished speaking, Mizushima Rensaburo beside him immediately frowned.
"Is there no other way to climb the mountain?"
"No more. I have asked the villagers of Daohe Village who have lived here for generations. If you want to climb the mountain, this is the only way you can go."
As my grandson answered, he stretched out his right index finger and poked a thick black line drawn on the map.
In an instant, the atmosphere surrounding the generals became slightly more subtle.
There is only one way to climb the mountain... This means that when they launch an offensive against the Xiangma Zhong's base, there are not many offensive options left for them.
"Ha..." Nobuyoshi Kazama, captain of the Eighth Division, smiled bitterly, "What an excellent fortress..."
"The gangsters have been operating on Mount Soma for many years."
My grandson then continued:
"Not only did they make their camp impregnable, they also set up two checkpoints on this only mountaineering road. If they want to attack the Xiangma Zhong's base, they must first try to remove these two checkpoints.
"
After saying that, my grandson raised his head.
"Do you have anything to ask or add?"
The group of generals looked at each other.
The situation is very clear - the number and equipment of the expeditionary army are superior to those of the Xiangma soldiers. However, the opposite side has the advantage of occupying the mountain and defending it.
"Tsk..." Kanazawa Chusuke folded his hands on his chest and murmured softly, "This battle is not going to be easy..."
"Samurai-sama!"
At this time, an old man sitting in the corner of the room knelt down on the ground with a plop. While giving Qingden and others the grand ceremony of sitting down, he said heartbreakingly in a slightly crying tone:
"You must eradicate those thugs who kill a thousand swords!"
This old man is none other than the head of Daohe Village: Fujigoro.
He might have felt flustered when he saw Qingdeng and others looking solemn, thinking that the crusade would retreat or something.
Togoro's accent was very thick, and it took a lot of effort for Qingto and others to understand what he was saying.
"Mr. Togoro." My grandson smiled slightly, "Don't worry. Now that we are here, we don't plan to go back empty-handed. We won't be able to keep up with the officials without bringing the heads of the gangsters back to Edo."
Hearing what my grandson said, Togoro immediately breathed a sigh of relief and looked happy.
"Although the Soma people are not easy to deal with, there is no need to be too afraid of them." My grandson said, "Next, I plan to organize scouts to reconnoiter the terrain of Soma Mountain, and at the same time send people to contact the Soma people.
Try to persuade them to surrender."
"At the same time, we are actively preparing for war. Once the negotiations break down... we will fight them to the death in the mountains and forests!"
"Is there anything you would like to add?"
Scouting the terrain, trying to persuade them to surrender, and actively preparing for war, all three are carried out simultaneously... Right now, there is no better battle plan than this.
The generals looked at me, and I looked at you, and then they all nodded vigorously.
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In the next few days, a solemn atmosphere of impending war enveloped Daohe Village.
Although the villagers of Inawa Village have firmly assured the expeditionary army that there is no other way into the mountain, for the sake of safety, my grandson still sent a large number of people to scout the terrain of Soma Mountain to see if there are any other ways to exploit it.
Mountain road.
During this period, my grandson sent several eloquent people to contact and communicate with the bandits on the mountain.
The leader of the Soma clan is named Yokokura Keinosuke.
From the name, we can tell that he is a ronin who had to turn into a bandit because of his poor life.
Facing the arrival of the crusade, the Xiangma people assumed a posture of clinging to the mountain and defending to the death.
From the camp built on the top of the mountain and the two levels of checkpoints set up on the mountain road, the sound of soldiers and horses being drilled can be heard every day.
Every night, with torches swaying, the figures of countless gangsters swayed back and forth on the watchtowers and sentries.
It's just that Yokokura Kinosuke's next performance showed that his current mentality was not so calm and he would rather die than surrender.
On the surface, they had a tough attitude of "We will fight to the end, and attack if you dare." But when the envoy sent by my grandson went up the mountain under the banner of "negotiation," Yokokura Kinosuke immediately opened the door.
We welcome the arrival of the envoys with great enthusiasm.
It can be seen that Kinosuke Yokokura has obviously heard of the illustrious reputation of Huofu Thieves Kai, and is unwilling to go head-to-head with the famous Huofu Thieves Kai.
In the past few days, Yokokura Kinosuke actively exchanged opinions with the envoys. He patted his chest boldly and said: As long as they agree to the conditions I set, I will immediately instruct my subordinates to put down their weapons!
It would be best if the Xiangma people could surrender voluntarily.
However... Yokokura Kinosuke's surrender request is really ridiculous. I don't know if I should say that he is overconfident or that he has no self-awareness.
To put it simply, he wanted to be the Song Jiang of Liangshanbo - he asked the Edo shogunate to recruit him and his men as officially established samurai.
When receiving the surrender conditions proposed by Yokokura Kinosuke, everyone including Aomori was happy.
The society under the Edo shogunate paid most attention to class, superiority and blood relations.
You are a bandit, but you still want to be recruited as a formal samurai? Are you kidding me?
Without even thinking about it, my grandson refused directly.
There was only one surrender condition that the crusade could accept: all bandits lay down their weapons, surrender unconditionally, and seek leniency - Yokokura Kinosuke said this was unacceptable.
The envoys said: After Yokokura Keinosuke learned that the crusade would not accept any demands other than "unconditional surrender," he was so angry that his entire face turned a strange dark red, his eyes widened, and his nostrils dilated.
"You want us to surrender unconditionally? There is no way! I have more than 200 brothers! They are all good fighters! We need people and weapons! We need weapons and weapons! There is also Soma Mountain as a barrier! It's not like there is nothing.
The power of a battle! Why should I surrender unconditionally? Either accept the conditions I offer! Or come here! Let's see if it is the iron cannon modified by your thieves and the bows and arrows that are sharper, or the blades and guns of our horsemen.
The blade is sharper!”
The two sides could never reach an agreement, and the negotiations broke down completely.
Since peace talks are hopeless...then the only thing left to do is fight to the death!
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In the first year of Wanyan (1860), early morning on November 24th——
The clouds at dawn are like a rose-red flame, burning extremely brightly.
The red clouds in the sky to the east are as gorgeous as flowers. White clouds are scattered among them, as if they are "ministers" who are greeting the sun.
"ha……"
The cold wind of late autumn swept past Qingdeng, who was fully armed, and condensed his breath into translucent white mist.
In order to prevent the hand holding the knife from freezing, Qingdeng frequently brought his palms to his lips, sighing the warm heat into the palms and back of his hands.
At this time, the sun appeared from behind a dark mountain range in the east.
The warmth of the morning sun dissipated the coolness of the night, immediately giving the surrounding air a refreshing flavor.
In the rays of light scattered by the rising sun, the clouds were swallowed up into pieces of bright clouds.
The mist in the mountains and fields turns into billowing silver waves under the morning light.
The swords, guns, armor, iron cannons, bows and arrows of all the generals of the crusade were gleaming in the red clouds.
The morning light gradually expanded, and the silver waves composed of mountain fog quickly disappeared into the deepest part of the mountain and disappeared into the distance.
The sky gradually became brighter, and after the last bit of black veil covering the sky was removed, the murderous military formation was completely revealed.
The expeditionary army formed a neat square formation at the foot of Mount Soma, all eyes focused on a wooden checkpoint on the mountain in front of them.
The autumn wind is blowing, and Lin Tao is blowing. The first checkpoint set by Xiangma Zhong on the mountain road is constantly changing shadows of different shades in the wind and light.
Countless figures of different heights can be seen in the distance, standing firmly on the checkpoint, ready to fight.
Kanazawa Chusuke held the knife on his waist, walked to my grandson's side, and said: "The second division is in position."
"The Fourth Division is in place." Mizushima Rensaburo said calmly.
"Eighth, Eighth Squadron is in place." Kazama Xinyi swallowed hard.
"The third division is in place." Qingdeng looked calm.
My grandson nodded slightly.
"Then...let's begin!"
He waved vigorously to Tongxin, a man next to him who was holding a huge conch.
woo woo woo woo--!
The thick, loud horn sound resounds through the sky!
"Everyone! Follow me!"
Kanazawa Chusuke drew his sword in his hand and charged forward headlong!
Immediately afterwards, the second division, the third division...all the generals rushed towards the mountain road ahead like surging waves! towards the Souma people's checkpoint!
In an instant, the noisy shouts of killing became the only sound that dominated this world!
Kanazawa Chusuke: "Raise the gun!"
The general who was at the forefront immediately stopped, and with the sound of "click" and "click" of iron tools colliding, matchlock guns with their muzzles shining with a striking metallic luster were raised horizontally.
Kanazawa Chusuke: "Shoot!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
The thick smoke from the burning gunpowder drowned the gun array of the punitive army.
The roaring and flying barrages flooded the level of Xiangma Zhong.
The soldiers of the crusade did not fire their guns at the same time, but were divided into three columns and fired in turn: when the first column fired, the second column prepared, and the third column loaded gunpowder and projectiles; after the first column fired, it crossed the gap between the second column and reached the rear column, and the second column stepped forward.
Fire, three columns fill the position of the second column, and the firing cycle repeats in this way to ensure that the barrage is continuous - it is the classic musket tactic: three-stage attack!
Almost at the same time that the matchlock began to roar, the bowstring also began to clang.
"Open your bow!" Qing Deng raised the Dingguishen in his hand high.
Squeak—the soldiers of the Third Division and the Eighth Division drew their bows like the full moon, pointing their arrows at the sky.
"Let go!" Qingdeng swung down the held Dingguishen with all his strength.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
A swarm of black locusts rose up from the back of the crusade, and in an instant they swooped towards the Souma people's checkpoint!
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