Chapter 637 Arrive at the battlefield! Become a civil engineer! Dig trenches!
Build a fence!【4700】
The next day——
Compared with yesterday, today's road conditions are obviously more complicated and much more difficult to walk.
After leaving Nara, the Shinsengumi turned east and plunged headlong into the vast mountains without stopping.
Mountains are connected to mountains, and there are mountains outside the mountains. They are surrounded by high peaks. The gray-brown rock cliffs are covered with green trees and vines, and there are stubble bushes on the top of the cliffs.
There was silence all around, except for the chirping of wild deer and the growling of wild boars, which sounded and stopped.
Looking up, you can sometimes see some unkempt mountains and hills, walking through the hidden mountains and forests.
[Note: Yamabushi: The collective name for those who practice Shugendo in Japan. Also known as Yamabushi, Shugendo practitioners, and practitioners.]
Walking in a place like this, Qingdeng couldn't help but think:
——Suppose I am the attacker and attack the enemies entrenched in Iga. What will I do?
Thinking of this, his scalp instantly felt numb, and he couldn't help but murmured:
"This is simply a natural fortress..."
When reading history, when I read the passage "Oda Nobunaga raised his army twice before finally capturing Iga", it is easy to have this misunderstanding: The invincible Oda army seems to be nothing special!
It took so much effort to hit a small area as big as a pellet!
But when you actually arrive in Iga and see the landform conditions of the place with your own eyes, you can truly feel that it is not easy for Oda Nobunaga to completely capture Iga with only two expeditions.
The whole territory of Iga is just a pile of mountain nests, and the only bits of flat land are sandwiched in the gaps between the hills.
Even if the enemy doesn't build any defensive fortifications and just defends against the mountain, it can cause the attacker a lot of headaches.
Not to mention that the Iga people built an insane number of bunkers on all strategic locations back then.
If you want to capture such a huge fortress, unless you use a clever strategy to break it from the inside, you can only send out a large army, form a camp, fight in vain, and grind it out bit by bit.
Suddenly, a loud call came back to Qingdeng's consciousness:
"Tachibana-sama!"
At the same time, a series of rapid, increasingly approaching hoofbeats were heading straight towards him.
Aomori followed the sound - Sagawa Kanbei, the elder of the Aizu clan and the most powerful general of the Aizu clan, was riding a white horse, galloping towards him at a lightning speed.
Matsudaira Yongho is really interesting.
The 20 cavalry, 20 archers and 20 iron gunners he delivered to Aizu were all top-notch elite men in the Aizu army.
Whether in ancient times or in modern times, "reconnaissance" is a technically difficult task.
You need to know how to identify the direction in the wild; you need to have excellent survival ability in the wild; you need to know how to find water sources, highlands, open areas and other important places... It cannot be done without the elite soldiers selected from a hundred.
Therefore, it is most appropriate to hand over this important task to the Aizu Cavalry, which has always been known as the "elite cavalry".
The main horse-producing areas in ancient Japan include Kiso horses from Shinano, Taishu horses from Taishu, Kusatsu horses from North Kanto, Nanbu horses from Tohoku, Noma horses from Iyo, and horses from Satsuma.
Generally speaking, the horses from the north are better, and the horses most suitable for use as war horses are undoubtedly Shinano's Kiso horses and Tohoku's southern horses.
During the Warring States Period, the two major princes who controlled Shinano and Tohoku respectively - Takeda Shingen and Date Masamune - both formed powerful cavalry teams.
The Takeda Akabi Cavalry, formed by Takeda Shingen, is known as "the most powerful army in the world" - of course, this title cannot withstand scrutiny.
The generals of Japan's Warring States Period had no other skills but the ability to brag about themselves and others.
This dragon, that tiger; this monster, that ghost...the names are better than the others, and the achievements are worse than the last.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was once beaten by Takeda Shingen in the Mikata original war, was so defecated on his saddle that he admired the Takeda family's military system very much.
After the demise of the Takeda family, Tokugawa Ieyasu absorbed a large number of Takeda family members, copied the military system of the Takeda army, and formed a Tokugawa Akabi cavalry unit.
Although the Tokugawa Red Army had its moments of glory, it has long since disappeared in the long river of history.
The disciples of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty could not even ride a horse not long after entering the customs, so don't expect the direct warriors who did not have a profound horseback culture to have superb riding skills.
On the other hand, the Aizu Domain - because it shoulders the important task of "guarding the Northeast and monitoring the Northeastern feudal lords", and also has the geographical convenience of being "close to excellent horse-producing areas", the Aizu Domain has always maintained a strong cavalry force.
The horses they ride on are all superb horses, and the knights are all brave men who are skilled in equestrian skills.
Seito sent out all the Aizu cavalry led by Sagawa Kanbei and ordered them to search for water sources and traces of the rebels.
Every once in a while, Sagawa Kanbei would send someone, or come in person, to report the latest reconnaissance results to Ayoto.
Aoden looked straight at Sagawa Kanbei, waiting for his arrival.
After a while, Sagawa Kanbei reined in the horse steadily in front of Aoto.
"Lord Tachibana! A large village was found deep in the mountains to the southeast! The village is deserted, and the villagers have all fled!"
Qingdeng raised his eyebrows and said immediately:
"Take me to have a look."
As he spoke, he lightly knocked on the belly of the cow, drove the radish out of the queue, followed Sagawa Kanbei, and ran towards the small village hidden in the mountains.
He turned his head sideways, glanced at the strange mount under Qingdeng's crotch with a look of neither sadness nor joy, and said lightly:
"This cow is so powerful... it can climb over mountains and ridges as if it were on flat ground."
Qingden smiled, with a faint smile on his lips.
"Carrot is indeed an extraordinary cow! To be honest, I find it incredible myself. Why can this big black cow run as fast as a horse?"
"Moo~~"
Carrot raised its head, turned around, and said "moo" several times to its owner. The cow swung its tail, looking very happy.
Sagawa Kanbei glanced at Radish a few more times, and then spoke again:
"...Lord Tachibana, I have something to say, I don't know whether I should say it or not."
Qingden raised his chin and said:
"Please tell me!"
After receiving Aoto's "permission to speak," Sagawa Kanbei said quickly:
"Lord Tachibana, isn't our current marching speed a little too slow?"
"I know that the reason why you adopted such a cautious marching method is to avoid being surprised by the bandit army midway."
"But our opponents this time are just a bunch of bandits who are useless except for wielding hoes."
"Why do we need to be so cautious when we are against such an opponent?"
"We might as well march boldly and strive to occupy the advantageous location as soon as possible to build the city faster!"
Sagawa Kanbei explained his proposition concisely and comprehensively.
After Qingdeng heard this, he immediately smiled and said:
"Sagawa-kun, I don't understand the concerns you mentioned."
"It's just that basing one's victory on 'taken for granted' is using troops... no, it is the number one taboo in living in this world."
"As of now, we are extremely lacking in intelligence on the bandits."
"What kind of weapons and equipment do the rebels have now, and what is their combat effectiveness... We have absolutely no idea about this important information."
"I think we'd better not underestimate them too much."
"Advance slowly and never underestimate the enemy and advance rashly."
"..." Sagawa Kanbei's reaction was very cold.
He just said "That's it" indifferently and then turned back and looked at the road ahead.
After that, the two never had any communication again.
After walking forward in silence for about 5 minutes, Qingdeng suddenly felt that the vision in front of him gradually broadened - a village located between two mountains slowly spread out in front of him.
Qingden and Sagawa officers and soldiers walked into the village with their oxen (horses), pressed the bridle, and walked slowly, carefully looking at the surrounding village scenery.
The door of every house is open, and when you look inside, you can't even see any valuable things such as money, grain, hoes, etc.
Sagawa Kanbei smacked his lips:
"It seems that all the villagers in this village have fled."
Qingdeng nodded slightly to show his agreement.
He was not surprised by such a result.
If farmers in the feudal era had any pretty powerful skills besides farming, it should be their ability to survive.
As the saying goes, "A bandit's fault is like a comb, a soldier's fault is like a grate, and an officer's fault is like a shave."
When I heard that there was going to be a war nearby, I quickly took my family and all valuables with me and hid in the deep mountains where there were no birds. This was the basic survival skill of farmers in the feudal era.
The villagers of this village must have known that a bandit army was coming, so they hurriedly took their families and hid in the deep mountains and old forests where they didn't even know where to find them.
"What a pity..."
Qingden sighed silently.
"If all the villagers were here, I would have paid to hire them to help us build fences and dig trenches."
"Pay?"
Sagawa Kanbei asked with a confused look on his face.
"Master Tachibana, why do you have to pay? If these villagers didn't run away, wouldn't it be enough to just order them to come over and help? There's no way they would disobey our orders!"
After saying that, he patted the saber on his waist.
As if he was amused, Qingdeng chuckled a few times, "hum hum".
"You ask me 'why'? The reason is simple - because if you don't pay, it will be increasingly difficult for us to find people who are willing to help us without any regrets in the future."
After Yun Danfeng left these words, Qingdeng turned the bull's head and returned along the original road.
Sagawa Kanbei was stunned for a moment, and his expression full of confusion seemed to be the best true portrayal of the phrase "Monk Joji is confused".
Finally, he snorted and murmured, "What the hell...did I say something wrong? We are here to suppress the rebellion. Our task is not more important than farming? Let the farmers help us - this is not natural."
Something?", while riding his horse to follow Qingdeng...
…
…
Although the surrounding scenery is still shrouded in the loneliness of late winter, it does have an atmosphere of seasonal change.
The gentle and peaceful time passed by everyone, and it even felt like being on an outing.
Walking under the green trees along the road, Qingdeng raised his head and looked at the sky - the thick branches blocked the clouds from the sun, and through the gaps, one could glimpse the clear blue sky. The sun had begun to set in the west. In another hour,
, Yesha will arrive as scheduled.
——It should be there soon... huh?
Abruptly, the tips of Qingden's ears trembled slightly - "Wind Perceiver +1" was activated - and he suddenly heard the faint sound of gurgling water.
As the team progressed, the sound of running water became clearer and louder.
Finally... after passing through a large forest of miscellaneous trees, a flat open land came into Qingdeng's eyes like a picture scroll.
All around... including the land at the foot of Qingdeng, are steep mountains.
Only this land surrounded by mountains is plain and wild.
Looking at the magnificent scene in front of him, Qingdeng unconsciously tightened the reins in his hands.
——Finally arrived!
This is the Ueno Basin located in the center of Iga!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...the sound of gurgling water came from afar.
Qingdeng followed the sound and found a clear stream flowing from the top of a mountain not far away.
"Follow me!"
Qingdeng gave a brief order to the soldiers around him, then took the lead and climbed along the stream to the top of the mountain.
I don’t know how long I have been trekking in the mountain forest... With the blessing of his talent "Fire Eyes + 5", Qingdeng finally saw the scenery on the top of this mountain.
I saw that the top of this mountain is not steep. Although it is very messy, with bushes and leafy trees everywhere, as long as you take care of it carefully, you can clear a medium-sized flat land.
The water source of that mountain stream happens to be located deep in this flat land.
Qingdeng narrowed his eyes, held his head high, and looked around.
It is located on the top of a mountain, with a stream of stable water flowing through it. The water source is on the top of the mountain, so there is no need to worry about the water source being cut off. More importantly, you can overlook the Ueno Basin below...
At this thought, Qingdeng raised the bullwhip in his hand without thinking and pointed it directly at his feet.
"Right here, set up camp!"
…
…
Before leaving Kyoto, Seito specially commissioned Iwasaki Yataro to urgently purchase a batch of axes, hoes, hammers, shovels and a large number of bamboo baskets and hemp ropes.
With less than 200 troops lacking cavalry, archers and iron gunners, they faced an army of tens of thousands... The strategy with the greatest chance of winning was undoubtedly city building, that is, building field fortifications!
Relying on strong field fortifications to block the enemy's advance and weaken their strength and vigor.
After the morale of the rebel army weakens, they rush out of the camp and attack with the whole army! Beat them until they are invincible!
Throughout ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, the person who mastered this classic "defensive counterattack" strategy the most... Li Shimin, the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty, is definitely one of them.
Whether it was to pacify Xue Rengao, to defeat Liu Wuzhou, or to capture two kings in one battle at Hulao Pass, Li Shimin always followed this routine: the entire army would stand firm and wait for the enemy's front to weaken, and when the time was right, he would directly take the lead and attack the enemy.
The enemy launched a lightning offensive like a raging storm, taking away the enemy in one wave.
At first glance, this strategy seems clumsy and has little technical content. It is just "defend, defend, defend, then attack, attack, attack, and finally win, win, win."
But in fact, if it were actually put into practice, it would stump more than 90% of the military commanders in history.
Just "how to build a strong camp in the wild that is impregnable and cannot be taken down by the enemy even with all their strength" can leave countless people at a loss.
Under Aomori's orders, the Shinsengumi soldiers instantly transformed into civil engineering brothers!
Those who dig the soil dig the soil, those who chop the wood chop the wood, and those who chop the branches split the branches.
It can not only clear open space suitable for setting up a stronghold, but also save materials for building a city. It really kills two birds with one stone.
Japan is a small country, and the distance from Ise to Iga is not that far.
Even if the rebel army is poorly organized and lacks livestock to transport baggage, no matter how slow their marching speed is, they can climb to Iga in only 5-7 days at most.
In such a short time, there is no time to build such a complicated thing.
Towering watchtowers, city walls several meters high... don't even think about these things.
Therefore, Qingdeng only planned to build two things: fences and trenches!
Use them to slow down the thieves' attack and divide the battlefield!
Don't underestimate fences and trenches...especially the latter.
In the age of cold weapons, whether in the East or the West, trenches were the most important fortifications in field battles and city defenses, and there was absolutely no such thing!
The trenches here are not those small trenches that are shallow and narrow and can be crossed directly with a longer step, just like drainage ditches.
It is a ditch that is so deep and wide that a person cannot climb out if he falls into it!
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PS: The "Aizu cavalry is very elite" in this chapter is completely made up by Bao Baozi. According to historical facts, none of the feudal lords at the end of the Tokugawa period had very strong cavalry (Bao Han)
Before the introduction of Western horse breeds, the average height of Japan's native horses was only about 1.2 meters... The cavalry riding such horses could only show off their majesty in Japan.
