After listening to Kawakami Hikosai's words, Yoshimura Torataro's eyes became complicated and unspeakable again.
The other party’s voice continues:
"Gaochei City is one of the few fortified cities in the world."
"We have a unique geographical advantage... In this case, why should we not continue to fight?"
"Even if we only have this few troops left, as long as we are determined to die and defend the city, we will have a chance to turn defeat into victory!"
"The number of troops under that Ju Qingden's command is only 3,000."
"Even if we only have a few hundred soldiers available to defend the city, it's enough to make Ju Qingden helpless!"
"If he launches a strong attack without hesitation, he will definitely knock out a lot of teeth!"
"If he can't attack for a long time, he will have no choice but to withdraw his troops, even if he is itching with hatred."
"At that time, our vitality and chance of victory will come!"
Speaking of this, Kawagami Hikosai paused, seeming to be brewing emotions.
"Your name is 'Yoshimura Torataro', right?"
"Yoshimura-kun, make up your mind!"
"Are you going to gather your troops and fight against Koya Castle?"
"Or do you just admit defeat in such a dejected manner and become a lost dog?"
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were focused on Yoshimura Tontaro.
"..."
Yoshimura Tontaro lowered his head and stared at his toes, making it difficult for people to see clearly his expression.
About 5 seconds later, he slowly raised his head, revealing his bloodshot eyes.
"How could you just admit defeat like that!"
He gritted his teeth loudly.
"Nasu-kun, Kawagami-kun, thank you."
"Thanks to you, I'm completely awake!"
“At the beginning of the uprising, I had already made up my mind to ‘do it or die’!”
"How can there be any reason to run away when something happens now?"
"I want to fight!"
"I will fight to the end!"
"I will fight until the end!"
Having said this, Yoshimura Tontaro suddenly turned his head and looked at his comrades.
"What about you? What do you think?"
"If you want to continue fighting alongside me, I warmly welcome you!"
"If you want to leave, then go ahead. I will never blame you or stop you."
"The battle that follows will be very brutal."
"In such a cruel battle, people with weak will will not only be of no use, but will actually hold us back!"
"So if anyone wants to quit, just leave!"
Matsumoto Kuitou followed Yoshimura Torataro's example and gritted his teeth.
"Mr. Yoshimura, what are you talking about!"
"Like you, I put life and death aside when I decided to start an uprising!"
"I will fight too! Even if I die, I will fight to the death!"
Under the leadership of Yoshimura Torataro and Matsumoto Kuido, the atmosphere at the scene was completely "ignited".
The rest made passionate declarations in twos and threes:
"Me too!"
"That's right! We still have Takatori Castle! We haven't reached the end of our rope yet!"
"Even if we are defeated in the end, we will make the damn Shinsengumi pay a heavy price!"
…
Looking at his re-energized comrades, Yoshimura Tontaro silently squeezed both hands, and then looked at Kawakami Hikosai seriously:
"Heshang-kun, can you please give us a helping hand!"
Heshang Yanzhai smiled slightly:
"I'm so happy!"
"It is precisely to support you that we have gone all the way here!"
"As a dignified and honorable man, how can I surrender to the shameless and despicable lackey of the shogunate?"
…
…
The flag with gold characters on a red background fluttering in the wind.
On the vast land, a light green swimming dragon meanders forward.
As the order to "move out" was issued, three thousand combat soldiers and four thousand auxiliary soldiers, a total of seven thousand, a so-called one hundred thousand army, marched southward in such a mighty way, with the front pointed directly at Gaochei City!
Playing forward for the 7th and 9th teams.
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th squadrons are in the center.
The Fifth Division and the Sixth Division followed closely behind, responsible for protecting the baggage troops.
The 10th Division is located at the end, watching the "butt" for the entire army.
Qingdeng still carries forward his heroic nature of "personal investigation".
He left Hijikata Toshizo to command his army, and led Kondo Isamu, Shannan Keisuke and others, as well as a small number of bodyguards, to rush to the next battlefield in advance.
After a whole day's trek, they finally arrived at the foot of Kotori Castle.
Kondo Isamu's eyes widened with a dull look on his face.
"What's this……?"
Shannan Keisuke on the side responded calmly:
"This is Takatori Castle."
"I know this is Takatori Castle! What I mean is: is our next goal to attack this mountain?!"
You must see the true appearance of Takatori Castle with your own eyes to deeply understand what "a castle built on a mountain with an altitude of 584 meters" means!
In front of Qingdeng and others, they saw a group of winding and verdant mountains, with a peak reaching into the sky and several streams of water surrounding it.
The cliffs are like carvings, and the mountains and forests are lush and green.
Perhaps it was because it had just rained last night, and there were misty clouds and mist lingering on the mountain tops, making the outline of the mountains blurry.
Gaotori Castle is hidden in this cloud.
Anyone with better eyesight can see a majestic and majestic city standing majestically on the top of the mountain.
Covered by clouds and mist, it looks like a fairyland where gods live.
Gaotori Castle is a mountain city with an irregular shape and continuous outline.
The so-called "continuous pattern" is a design in which the Honmaru, Ninomaru, Sannomaru and other curved wheels are juxtaposed.
[Note: Kurun: Different areas in the city separated by a hill, a stone wall or an earthen rampart, such as Honmaru (the center of the castle), Ninomaru, Sannomaru (the area expanding outward with Honmaru as the center), Nishi no Maru
Maru (the area to the west of the main maru), Mizu no Tezune (a curved wheel with a well and other water sources).]
At first glance, Takatori Castle looks like a big octopus clinging tightly to the mountain peak.
If you had better eyesight, you would be able to see a large number of flags flying on Takatori Castle.
Among them, the most conspicuous flag is the one placed on the castle tower with the words "Seven Lives of Thieves Destroyed and the Empress of Heaven to Watch" written in large characters.
Shannan Jingzhu saw this and said in a deep voice:
"Mr. Ju, the most undesirable situation has arisen...the Tenchu team has gathered the remaining soldiers and is preparing to fight us in a cage battle."
Qingdeng looked as usual and said calmly:
"No need to lament, this is something we have expected a long time ago. Anyway, let's observe it carefully now."
As he spoke, he tightened the reins in his hands, tapped the cow's belly lightly, and ran towards the foot of the mountain not far away.
…
…
Two days later, various units of the Shinsengumi arrived at the foot of the mountain one after another.
The same as before - continue to practice Qingdeng's combat strategy of "be invincible first and wait for the enemy to be victorious".
The old guys from the Shinsengumi show off their power again.
The four thousand auxiliary soldiers serving as logistics personnel also put down the carts in their hands and the rice bags on their shoulders, picked up hoes and shovels, and joined in the process of digging soil and building walls.
Under the guidance of professionals, trenches, fences, and wooden walls were built at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Shinsengumi surrounded every road down the mountain and reinforced the blockade with fortifications.
Unless the people in Gaotori City grew wings, they would never be able to escape such a tight siege.
On the night when the entire army arrived at the foot of the mountain, Qingto held a military meeting in which all cadres from the squad leader and above were present.
…
…
Shinsengumi camp, main formation——
Shannan Keisuke stood and reported the battlefield situation to everyone present.
"There are 5 key facilities in Takatori Castle."
"From north to south, they are the Kunomi Oar, Sannomaru, Ninomaru, Honmaru, and the castle tower."
Oar - a very classic defensive facility in Japanese cities.
It can be understood as a towering bunker, which can be used as a watchtower or an arrow tower.
"Yesterday, we sent out the fifth and eighth squadrons to launch a feint attack on Gaoche City to test the enemy's defensive strength."
"As a result, the soldiers of the 5th and 8th squadrons couldn't even climb over the city wall, and as many as they climbed up were killed and injured."
As soon as these words came out, Shinami Nishiki and Toudo Heisuke both buried their heads with shame on their faces.
Upon seeing this, Shannan Jingshu immediately said:
"Arimi-kun, Toudou-kun, please raise your heads, I'm not blaming you."
"Takatori Castle is a unique and famous city. Just climbing a mountain that is more than 5 towns high is not easy."
"It is natural that we will end up like this."
[Note: Town: 1 town = 109 meters]
Shannan Keisuke did not say "You will end up like this", but quietly changed the subject to "we".
Shannan Keisuke can always speak accurately and take care of everyone's emotions, which is one of the reasons why his popularity is so good.
"Let's get back to the topic - the enemy's resistance is much stronger than we expected."
"Judging from such a strong defense, the total number of enemy troops currently trapped in Gaotori City is at least three hundred."
Three hundred - upon hearing this number, everyone at the scene frowned.
Nagakura Shinpachi directly questioned:
"Why are there so many people? Didn't we kill them to pieces in the previous battle? Where did they get 300 men?"
Hijikata Toshizo answered for Shannan Keisuke:
"There are only two possibilities."
"First, the enemy has deployed a large number of defenders in Gaotori Castle."
"Second, the enemy has received foreign aid."
"Judging from the current situation, the only force that has the spare capacity to send reinforcements to Takatori Domain in a short period of time is Choshu."
Shannan Jingsuke nodded gently and answered:
"Why do the enemy still have so many troops? We can't figure it out."
"All in all, they have now adopted a stance of 'vowing to live or die with Gaoche City and fight to the bitter end'."
"The situation is very difficult."
"The hillsides on the south, east and west sides of Gaotori Castle are very steep."
"Only the northern slopes are a little gentler."
"If you want to storm Gaoche City, the only feasible attack route is to attack from the north."
"However, the construction idea of Gaotori Castle originally revolved around 'the siege party can only attack from the north'."
"If we attack from the north, we must capture the Kunomi Oar, Sannomaru and Ninomaru before we can reach the Honmaru and the castle tower."
"In other words - we have to penetrate the entire Takatori Castle!"
"According to this method of fighting, we will have to leave behind at least three to four hundred corpses before we can even claim victory."
"Therefore, in my opinion, the wisest choice at the moment is to fight a war of troops and rations."
"The Changshu Army has been defeated and returned to the domain."
"The Tianzhu team currently does not have any foreign aid and can only be trapped in the isolated city."
"We only need to trap them to death and make it difficult for them to obtain supplies. Sooner or later, they will be cornered and the city of Gaotori can be recovered without spending a single soldier."
Japan is a mountainous country, with not much else but mountains and hills, so many cities are built on steep terrain.
And Japan happens to be a country with very underdeveloped productivity and lacks firearms, especially artillery.
In the absence of artillery, we can only rely on the sea of people and fighting spirit to chew through these tortoise-shell fortified cities.
Even Oda Nobunaga, who was the most powerful and almost ended the Warring States Period, suffered repeated setbacks when he attacked Ishiyama Honganji Temple (today's Osaka).
It took him a full 10 years to finally conquer this fortified city.
Therefore, in ancient Japan, the most limited method of siege was the battle of soldiers and supplies.
"Taiko" Toyotomi Hideyoshi was an expert in fighting the battle of troops and food.
Because he was good at fighting for soldiers and supplies, he left behind the idiom "Kill Miki when thirsty, kill Tottori when hungry".
As soon as Shannan Keisuke finished speaking, a refutation came from behind:
"I object!"
Isamu Kondo raised his voice.
"A war for soldiers and rations? This will last until the end of the Year of the Monkey?"
"Gaochori City is adjacent to a river, so there is no way to cut off their water source."
"Without being able to cut off their water source, it would be impossible to force them to surrender just by relying on pure hunger for a year and a half!"
"A famous city like Gaotori Castle must have sufficient supplies."
"If there is a war for soldiers and rations, there is no telling who will run out of rations first!"
Anyone with a little common sense knows that if you don’t have anything to eat, there will be no problem for at least 1 or 2 months, but if you don’t have water to drink, you won’t be able to survive even 3 days.
Kondo Isamu’s words continued:
"In my opinion, we should go all out and launch a direct attack! Take back Gaotori City with brute force!"
Having said this, Kondo Isamu stood up and approached the map in the center.
"Everyone, please look!"
Hearing what he said, everyone at the scene leaned forward and looked at the detailed map on the central table.
Just the day before yesterday, Aoto and others found the escaped monarchs and ministers of Takatori Domain.
Naturally, the emperors and ministers of the Takatori domain burst into tears of gratitude for the Shinsengumi who came to liberate their territory.
In order to support them, they provided a detailed map of Takatori Castle.
Isamu Kondo stretched out his finger and pointed at the map:
"You see, the defense on the south side of the main pill is very empty."
"As long as you climb over the high wall on the south side, you can get directly to the main pill!"
"Therefore, I advocate dividing the troops into two groups."
"Attack all the way from the north to attract the enemy's attention."
"The other way is to sneak across to the south and attack Honmaru by surprise!"
The biggest feature of the chain-style castle is that the Honmaru, Ninomaru and other curved wheels are side by side, instead of being layered one above the other like Russian matryoshka dolls.
This will make the two sides of the pill become weak points.
In order to make up for this shortcoming, other subsidiary defense facilities are usually built next to the main pill.
However, Gaotori City is not like this.
The defense on the south side is very empty, directly adjacent to the city wall.
As long as you climb over this wall, you can get to the main pill directly.
Of course, the reason why the craftsmen who built Kotori Castle left such a "big gap" is actually very simple - there are towering cliffs to the south, and there is a river running through it.
It is not that easy to surprise Honmaru from the south.
As expected, Kondo Isamu's proposal immediately received opposition from Shannan Keisuke.
"Kondo-kun, I can understand your thinking."
"Indeed, war for supplies has risks that are difficult to avoid."
"However, your plan is also full of risks."
"With all due respect, at this stage, we do not have the troops capable of climbing over the cliffs south of Honmaru."
"Even the first, second, and third divisions, which are all elite teams, can't do this."
"Not to mention the success rate, even if we win in the end, there will definitely be countless casualties."
"No matter what, we must avoid the situation of 'killing one thousand enemies and damaging oneself eight hundred'!"
"It took us a lot of effort to accumulate this little wealth, but just to deal with these low-class rebels, we lost so many soldiers and horses. It's really not worth the gain!"
Shannan Keisuke's rebuttal did not receive a response from Kondo Isamu.
Isamu Kondo lowered his eyelids and looked as if he wanted to argue with the opponent to the end.
Shannan Keisuke stared at Kondo Isamu without timidity - I will not change my opinion - he said with his eyes.
At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly interrupted the dispute between the two people.
"...Okay, everyone, sit down."
Kondo Isamu and Shannan Keisuke were both stunned, and then turned to look at Aoto on the main seat in perfect agreement.
After hesitating for a while, the two of them looked complicated and sat back on the horse in no particular order.
Qingdeng's sudden voice made everyone at the scene look at him subconsciously.
When everyone's eyes were focused on him, Qingden folded his arms in front of his chest and said quietly:
"I, as early as the first day I arrived here, I thought of a wonderful way to destroy the city."
His words immediately cheered up everyone present.
One by one, they sat upright and looked at Qingdeng expectantly.
Qingden pointed at the map:
“The cliffs south of the Honmaru are too steep.”
"Crossing the southern city wall and attacking Honmaru by surprise... This plan is not very realistic."
Hearing this, Isamu Kondo had a look of frustration on his cheeks, while Keisuke Shannan had a look of joy on his face.
However, Qingdeng's next words made his facial muscles freeze.
"However, fighting a war for soldiers and supplies is not what I want."
"I don't want to waste too much manpower, material resources and time on this group of thieves."
"So, my plan is as follows -"
"A Wu and I, who have outstanding physical skills, will serve as the 'Special Forces'."
"We will launch a surprise attack at the city wall between Kunimiura and Sannomaru."
"After climbing over the city wall and entering the city, I will attack directly to the south...that is, attack the Honmaru to attract the enemy's attention."
"As for Ah Wu, he took advantage of the chaos to attack north, opened the gate to the north of Gaoqi City, and led the army into the city."
"The above is my plan."
Qingdeng finished speaking.
The whole place was completely silent...with gasps interspersed among them.
No one spoke...or they didn't know what to say.
Everyone's expression was dominated by intense shock.
After a moment, the general manager said slowly and dumbfounded:
"Tachibana-kun, are you planning to... capture Takatori Castle alone?"
Qingden replied calmly:
"If it is possible... I will try to achieve it."
*******
*******
Today is another five thousand leopards! Leopards are really working hard to evolve! For the sake of Leopards working so hard, please be sure to vote for this book! (Leopards shed tears) I will try to publish it in June
Evolve into ten thousand leopards!
Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation vote! (Leopard Head Cries)
