Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 335 Battle of Kyushu ([-])

As Xiujia ordered the frontline soldiers to make contact, Yu Xiduo's front line slowly retreated.

In fact, the combat power of the Qinglongbei of the Xiu family is still stronger than that of the ordinary soldiers of the Shimadzu family. In just a moment, the kung fu front has moved 20 steps, killing corpses all over the ground.

Following the Hideo's military order, Qinglong Bei began to withdraw from the battle in an orderly manner, and dragged back all his comrades who fell on the ground. The Shimadzu's family on the opposite side went forward a little in the early stage to pursue, but they were also very conscious behind The contact with Qinglongbei was lifted.

Soon, an order came from the opponent's formation, "His Highness Huashan is in charge of the rear, and the whole army slowly retreats to Big Rock City."

So the Shimadzu family also began to retreat slowly after collecting some of the corpses on the ground, but this time they did not return the same way, but passed under Fuliang Castle.

"So the enemy I'm fighting with is called the Huashan team?" Hearing the other party's message, Xiujia silently wrote down the word Miao in his heart, and then ordered to the team, "The two armies are separated by 200 strides, and catch them from a distance." That’s enough, without the need for a contact war.”

For Hideka, the purpose of his appearance this time was to attack Usuki Castle with Chicken Leg Shimadzu, and he didn't want to turn this battle into a decisive battle, so when the opponent retreated voluntarily, Hideka did not embarrass the opponent anymore.

After receiving the order, Ukita's army set up a formation, about 200 strides away from the Shimadzu's broken team, and caught them from a distance.

But soon Xiujia noticed that the Shimadzu family on the opposite side did not continue to retreat, but some enemy troops began to push into Fukura Castle.

What the Xiu family saw, the servants under him naturally also saw it. Toshitsu Endo pointed to the front and said to the Xiu family: "Your Highness, they have retreated into Fukuliang City. I am afraid that they want to use Fuliang as a base to stop us, and then continue There's an attack on Usuki Castle."

Xiujia had the illusion of being slapped in the face for a moment, and she became angry from embarrassment, "I'm going to die. I gave them a chance, but they still want to take advantage."

Then he said to Date Masaheng, "Since the opponent doesn't want to retreat decently, then I will let the opponent not be decent. Let Qinglongbei catch up, and Tie Pao Zhong and Jin Zuo lightly stick to their broken reserve team."

Date Masahiro took the order and nodded, and changed the formation of Qinglongbei. The third battalion, which was originally a supplementary team, was sent to the front, and the iron artillery unit directly under the reserve team lined up with 50 people. Under the cover of the ashigaru holding the shield beside him, the queue quickly advanced to the opposite side for about 50 steps.

Iron Cannon Ashgaru took the loaded iron cannon handed over by his companion behind him, and fired a volley at the Huashan people who were in charge on the opposite side.

The shooting density of 50 iron cannons is actually not very high, but dozens of people fell down on the opposite side after a round of salvo.Seeing that the Xiu family moved out all the iron cannons, the opposite side also put out the iron cannons to shoot at the Xiu family.

It has to be said that it is indeed the place where the iron cannon was first registered. The iron cannon has always been an invincible weapon of the Shimadzu family on the battlefield, and even the Shimadzu family is the location of the earliest workshop in Japan to imitate the iron cannon.

It's like the Huashan people on the opposite side today. Although the Hide family doesn't know which samurai is on the opposite side and how much the family knows, but judging from the fact that they can mobilize nearly a hundred iron cannons at will, it is enough to see that the Shimadzu family has a lot of iron cannons. Pay attention to.

Shimadzu has many skills in the use of iron cannons, the most famous of which is a shooting method called early cooperation.

The so-called "early combination" is to use wood, bamboo, leather or paper to pre-load each round of gunpowder and projectiles in advance, and when needed, they can be quickly disassembled and poured into the front-loaded iron muzzle, which is regarded as modern pre-loaded gunpowder. prototype.

The advantage of this is that it reduces the time for gunpowder loading, and each round of gunpowder is relatively standard and accurate, which greatly reduces the possibility of bombing caused by charging errors.

Of course, the Shimadzu family also learned the advanced shooting methods of other daimyos during the war, such as the three-stage shooting method of the Oda family.However, the Shimadzu family did not plan to gather the iron cannons, and the number was slightly insufficient.Therefore, there are only two people in each iron artillery group, one is responsible for charging and the other is responsible for shooting.

The Xiu family has already brought pre-loaded medicine into the army. Each Tie Pao Ashgaru wears two rounds of red belts diagonally across the shoulders. Use in high-intensity shooting.

Moreover, Xiujia's iron cannons can be switched according to the needs of the queue, and they have trained up to 4 stages of strikes to maintain firepower output.Now there are exactly 50 people in a row at the Xiu's house, and three rows of people in the back are responsible for charging the front row, and their firepower output is twice as high as that of the iron cannons of the Shimadzu family on the opposite side.

The iron cannons on both sides began to shoot at each other under the command of their respective leader warriors. Although the two sides had prepared wooden shelters for defense, the wooden cannons on the Xiu family's side were covered with iron sheets, which were relatively suitable for the iron cannons. The defensive effect of fired iron bullets is better.

The opposite Mudun is simply a piece of wood, and the iron bullets of the iron cannon can even penetrate it directly, reaping the lives of the soldiers holding the Mudun behind it.

Coupled with the fact that Xiu's firepower output was much higher than that of the opposite side, the Shimadzu's iron guns on the opposite side soon began to have problems with the shooting continuity.

At the very beginning, the soldiers of the Shimadzu family on the opposite side tried to come out and pull back the comrades who fell on the ground to treat them, but soon Ukita’s second round of shooting knocked down these soldiers who ran out to help their companions. The soldiers of the Shimadzu family could only watch in humiliation as their companions howled in pain in the middle of the army formations on both sides.

In addition to the iron cannon shooting in front of the battle, the Shimadzu family also needs to face the design of Ukido's arrow feathers. This is the bow and arrow of Qinglongbei. Armor-piercing arrows on the head.

Not to mention ordinary ashigaru hats made of woven rattan and bamboo, even the iron pocket on the head of a samurai can be shot through by you.

Because of the strength of the Marugi bow, the Japanese army did not pay much attention to the shield. After all, the armor of an ordinary samurai was enough to prevent the bamboo arrows shot by the Marugi bow.

Later, after the popularization of iron cannons, wooden dungeons and bamboo beams were found out from the garbage dump of history as front armor, but their purpose was only to defend against the flat fire of iron cannons.

Not to mention the Shimadzu family on the opposite side, even Ukita, who is now the best at shooting bows, still does not have a high popularity of shields.

Now the Shimadzu family is in trouble, because what they encounter this time is no longer a shoddy Marugi bow, nor is it a folk homemade bamboo arrow, but a strong attack made by Ukita Nagabune Military Workshop and Tomakomai Bow Production Workshop. sharp arrow.

"Swoosh swish (sound of arrow feathers piercing the air), chop chop chop~ (sound of arrow feathers piercing armor) puff~puff~ (sound of arrow feathers piercing flesh)"

"Ah! Ah~ah!" The screams of the Shimadzu family continued to come from the formation, and Xiujia noticed that the formation of the Shimadzu family had loosened for a while.

Hideka turned his head to the captains of the bannermen behind him, Ukita Gensanhei Wei Zongquan and Date Masahiro, and said, "After the next round of iron cannon fire, you charge up with the bannermen and break the enemy's line. Qinglong is ready!" Afterwards, we will break the formation against the enemy, but we must not let the Shimadzu on the opposite side really think that we have given way to them."

Futian Zongquan is a cousin of the Xiu family, the son of Futian Zongsheng who was sent by the Xiu family to Ezo, and has the same father for three generations.

In addition to Ukita Gen Sanbei Wei Zongzen, there is also Ukita Sojiro, who is also the cousin of the Hide family, but his relationship is far away, and can be traced back to the third son of the Hide family's great-grandfather Uki Kyo's family, Ukita Kunisaki .

After Futian Zongquan received the order, he took his flag and rode his horse and ran to the left of the formation. After the last round of shooting by the Qinglongbei iron cannons, they charged towards the Shimadzu army with spears in their hands and shouted long live go.

The two armies were 50 paces apart, and the horses collided abruptly before they could even reach full speed.

Due to the physical fitness of horses and soldiers, Japanese cavalry are rarely used for direct charge.

However, the quality of the soldiers is uniform, and the Shimadzu family is relatively malnourished because of the poor land.

In addition, because the gunpowder sprayed from both sides blocked part of the line of sight in front of the formation, Shimadzu had no time to react before being rushed in by the banner crowd.

The physical fitness of the soldiers of the Shimadzu family could not stop the cavalry charge at all. As far as the physical fitness of the Japanese soldiers was concerned, even the castrated version of the cavalry charge of the Hideo family was as fierce as the charge of a giant beast to them.

The cavalry crashed directly into the Shimadzu army at 50 paces before the horses slowed down. The spears that rushed into the formation had long since disappeared. There was a bloody storm in Shimadzu's formation.

Qinglongbei's 300 people followed closely and hacked to death the Shimadzu people who had just been hit and survived, helping the Bannermen to expand the results of the battle.

The Shimadzu side saw the samurai from Uki's family rushing in as if they were in nowhere, so they wanted to challenge them. After all, this is the romance of samurai.

However, in Xiujia's training rules, the individual bravery of the warriors was deliberately weakened, with a special emphasis on team awareness, and orders to prohibit ordinary warriors from beating each other.

The reason is very simple. A ride requires both sides to give up a large open space, and even more so, soldiers from both sides need to suspend their attacks to help them out.

The Xiu family has a natural advantage, how could it be wasted for the so-called romance.

The other party saw that a cavalry was not accepted by our side, and the first formation in front had been broken, so they could only choose to give up support, and instead ordered the second formation of the palace army to hold their spears and wait for it.

At the same time, the second team retreated quickly, within the fire support range of Fuliang Castle.The move of the Shimadzu family is equivalent to directly giving up nearly 500 people in the first team of the palace.

The Xiu family also accepted it as soon as it was good. After eating the reserve team, they reorganized the army.

Fuliang City is in front of them. On the opposite side, they are lined up in the city, and the top of the city is condescending to suppress the Yuxi family with firepower. It is indeed a thankless task for the Xiu family to continue chasing.

If the Xiu family really wanted to continue the pursuit, they had to make a new plan, and attack the palace army below the city while holding back the city.

It's just that all of this is a big project, which was not mentioned in the Xiu family's previous military discussions.Just at noon, the Xiu family decided to suspend their troops for the time being, and then try to repel the Shimadzu family after the military discussion.

More than 2 Ukita troops were deployed along both sides of the Usuki River. In order to ensure the safety of the Hideo family, they were set up in Satsuru Castle, and Hoki, the Ukita Kan family who had already recharged their batteries, and the first team of pioneers, worshiped 500 people in front of the team. Step, and convene the generals to conduct military discussions.

The matter of the first-level inspection can be put aside for the time being. After all, the battle is not over yet, the enemy is only temporarily repelled, relying on the fortified city to defend, the Hide family does not want to repeat the mistakes of the Takeda family in the Battle of Shinano.

Although it is said that the first-level inspection cannot be carried out, the captured warriors can be interrogated and surrendered.

Hideka was sitting in the dilapidated palace of Zuojinliu Castle. Since the castle was too small, the palace could only accommodate more than 20 people. Therefore, only senior military officers were required to attend this military meeting, including Yasuji Wakisaka in Ieno Castle. and Yoshiaki Kato.

This was also the first time for them to participate in a military meeting hosted by the Xiu family. Sitting in the hall seemed a bit cramped, and because they were not core members, they could not sit around the small table in the hall, but were arranged to sit quietly on both sides of the hall.

The ceremony of presenting the captives began with scratching Huaicheng, and was presented by Osafune Tsunao and Chomune's relatives.

What's interesting is that none of the three giants in the Huaihuai city was in danger of their lives, only Ibusuki Tadamasa's retreat was somewhat inconvenient.

Like this kind of ceremony, when the Xiu family reaches the level, there is no need for the Xiu family to initiate it. Anyway, it is a matter of some procedures. The Xiu family only needs to make a final decision on whether to release or kill the captured warrior.

The Xiu family was not familiar with the samurai of the Shimadzu family, and the four Shimadzu brothers were the only ones in the Xiu family's memory.Therefore, neither Yamada Yuxin nor Ibusuki Tadamasa showed any special interest.

That is to say, Akashi Jingqin said in Xiujia's ear, "Yamada Yunobu is the guy who led 300 people to defend Takashiro for 3 months. In an instant, Xiujia raised his eyebrows and had a thought of admiration."

When asking Dojiu Gang, the Xiu family felt a little troubled, and asked him, "You just said that all the Matsuo people you led are here? How many people are left?"

Tu Jiugang was in chaos at the end of the fight. How could he know the real situation of his troops? If he knew, he would not have been captured.

Osafune Tsunao left to help him and answered, "According to statistics, there are 586 remaining Matsuo members, of which 135 were injured."

Don't wonder why every serious injury is reported, because this is a war, and the Matsuo people of the Doji family are the enemy. For the seriously wounded who have no benefit from treatment, they were picked to death and cut off their heads when the battlefield was cleaned.

There are nearly 600 people left, and there are more than 550 people who can fight. It is already a big fighting force. It is really difficult to put it back like this, so the Xiu family tentatively asked him, "The Shimadzu family is accused of being Don’t the Tuchi family know about the enemy? Why do you still help the tyrant?”

Tu Jiugang is worthy of being a wealthy family in the Warring States Period. People have to bow their heads under the eaves. The most important thing is that he is the real only seedling of the Tuji family. Now he is 26 and does not even have a baby. The Jin family swallowed it.

Even before the Xiu family asked him if he would surrender, he had already expressed his willingness to serve His Highness Guan Bai and the Xiu family.

That dog-legged appearance is really disgusting.If it wasn't for being tied up, Yamada Yunobu next to him would like to tear him apart.Do you see that he is now yelling at him for being ungrateful?

Hideya watched the performance of the two of them like a monkey. He also knew that Yamada Yunobu would not surrender, so he turned to look at Ibusuki Tadamasa and asked his opinion. Unsurprisingly, he also refused.

Hideka is aware of Hideyoshi's attitude towards Shimadzu, and it is a blessing to be able to keep Sayu as it has been in history. If a "capable minister" like Yusubu Koyamada cannot be owned by Hideyoshi, Hideka will not let him Be a helping hand to others.

Although Japan's Warring States period was very strict, the captured samurai would usually be given a way out, but this is not a necessary choice. Anyway, this team is all their own people, and Hideka has already given Yamada Yunobu the death penalty in his heart. .

And Ibusuki Tadamasa next to him could have been spared death. After all, a samurai with a leg injury is half useless, and it is only a middle-class wealthy family with a few thousand stones, so it is insignificant to put it back.

But he was the one who participated in the offering of prisoners, so in order to prevent too many people, he could only let him go with Yamada Yunobu.

(End of this chapter)