Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Bloody Battle Fushimi

For Ishida Mitsunari, the only way to restore the decline is to attack Fushimi.But if it is a siege, the best way is to let the defenders give up on their own initiative and win without a fight.Because once a city is attacked, no matter how small the city is, it is very likely to suffer considerable casualties. If the casualties are large, it is very likely that the Western Army that has been assembled with great difficulty will collapse. How to put it, Fushimi is also a rare city built by the late Taiko during his lifetime.Even if the number of defenders is small, if they swear to live and die with the city, it will not be so easy to win.Because of this, at the beginning, Mitsunari threw out all the bait, trying to persuade Torii Mototada to surrender.In order to achieve his goal, he really tried his best.If there is a fierce battle between Uesugi and Dongzheng's Ieyasu as soon as possible, Motochu, who has no news, will become anxious.

"Hurry up and lead the people out of the city, we will never chase after you, go east and join forces with the Inner Palace." After such an instigation, Torii Motochu, who has always been thinking about the Lord, will respond: "Thank you! Your kindness , Yuan Zhong will never forget." Zihui galloped eastward.This was originally Sancheng's wishful thinking, but the situation in Aizu did not make any progress.Tokugawa Ieyasu was not in a hurry to attack, and Uesugi did not take the initiative to attack.As a result, in order to boost morale, Sancheng had to surround Fushimi Castle.Once the city is besieged, the fighting spirit of Yuan Zhong and others will naturally increase.The siege is really a last resort!

After the envoy was rejected and soldiers surrounded Fushimi, Sancheng still did not give up.Once the two sides are at war, Jibu Shaosuke, who has more than enough wisdom and insufficient combat experience, has nothing to do.And once all kinds of rumors spread, he might obediently hand over the power of command. In order to achieve the goal of winning without fighting, of course Sancheng will not forget Katsutoshi Kinoshita in the city.He didn't want Seung Joon to convince Won Chung.As long as Shengjun is in the city, Gaotaiyuan will not sit idly by.Shengjun's younger brother Hideaki Kobayakawa has joined the siege force.Of course Xiuqiu couldn't bear to attack his brother, he would definitely go to Gaotaiyuan for advice, and then he could use Gaotaiyuan's mouth to persuade Yuanzhong to leave the city.But on the 19th, Katsutoshi Kinoshita actually left the city, which made Sancheng even more anxious.Now that the city has been surrounded, even if there is no Shengjun, it is impossible to withdraw the troops-Ishida Mitsunari had no choice but to attack the city.

Since it is necessary to launch an attack, once the time is delayed, the situation may be very bad.Torii Motochusada will defend the city while waiting for Ieyasu's reinforcements. In fact, Yuan Zhong just followed Ieyasu's order and wanted to defeat the morale of the Western Army through resistance.He believes that once 30% of them feel fear, they will be in chaos.If the Western Army knew that Ieyasu had returned to the army before Fushimi succeeded, the soldiers would not be able to sleep at night. "We have done our utmost to the torii gates. Moreover, if the enemy army is left near Osaka, it will damage the majesty of the young emperor. If things go on like this, it will also hinder east-west traffic. It is better to take down Fushimi in one go, and then go to Mino and Owari. Advance." Sancheng was forced to give an order.

Thus, on July 19th of the fifth year of Qingchang, the siege began.The artillery fire continued to move towards Fushimi Castle, and the city also responded from time to time. On the 25th, Fushimi City was quiet. The fall of the city seemed to be a matter of time, but the Western Army became more and more anxious.Except for the southern gate, all places are heavily surrounded.On the 24th, Ukita Hideka personally commanded the siege. To the east is Hideya, to the northeast is Hideaki Kobayakawa, to the northwest is Yoshihiro Shimadzu, to the west is Mori, Yoshikawa Hiroie, Nabeshima Katsushige, Nagsogabe Mori, Konishi Yukyo, Mori Hidebo, Angukuki Eijun and others. Get in place one after another, tighten the encirclement.The total number of besieged tribes has reached 40,000.

At this time, the two warring parties have long forgotten how much manpower was spent on the construction of the city by the late Taige, how many people's painstaking efforts and wisdom were gathered, and how much wealth was spent!This Fushimi Castle, which symbolizes the great achievements of the hero Toyotomi Hideyoshi, has now become a killing field!There was no grievance or enmity between the two parties, but at this time they had completely become lunatics who only knew destruction and massacre. On the 25th, the general attack order was issued, and amidst the shouts, the city that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had painstakingly managed fell into the attack of rockets, muskets and spears.

The guards and soldiers hid in forts, gun towers, city walls and other places, and fought back bravely with bows, arrows and guns. The enemy retreated when he advanced, and he stopped when he retreated. On the afternoon of the 29th, before that, Ishida Mitsunari, who had been sending the jindai to supervise the siege, finally couldn't bear it anymore and came to Fushimi on the way back to Osaka from Sawa Mountain.He immediately rode around the circle.The siege troops went all out, but because the defenders had vowed to die with the city, he was powerless to change the tragic situation.

When he served as a military supervisor to attack North Korea, Sancheng used to be strict in military law, so he disgusted all the soldiers, but now he dare not reprimand everyone like he did before. Sancheng stopped outside the moat of Songyuan and meditated: he could neither cut off the opponent's grain road, nor launch a water attack.If things go on like this, even if they attack for a month, Fushimi Castle will still remain motionless. Is there anything in the world more difficult to deal with than a person who is not afraid of death?Moreover, almost all the defenders of the city were people who followed Ieyasu since childhood, and their wives and children were not here.As long as everyone sticks together, isn't it impenetrable?

What is the best place to focus on the attack?The city has long been prepared, no matter where it attacks from, it will be repelled on the spot.If casualties are not taken into account, the defenders may give up if the crowd tactics are adopted.However, who is willing to accept such casualties?What's more, the army is pressing down on the border, but the people in the city are not afraid. Even though Terumoto Mori sits in Osaka Castle, no one thinks that Terumoto is willing to make such a sacrifice, and Hideyori is just a puppet.Sancheng stared at Songyuan's archery tower, pondered for a long time, and called the messenger to him: "Hurry up and go to the Changshu Zhengjia formation. One of the Koga congregants named Ukai Fujisuke should be on behalf of Baiwubingwei." let him come quickly."

"yes." "If Wubingwei is not here, it's okay to ask someone else to bring it. You can ask him again if he has made good friends with the Koga people in the city, and if so, bring it together." "Obey!" The envoy promised and galloped away. Sancheng was still staring at Fushimi Castle, and his mansion still remained in the city in front of him.At this time, Komai Inosuke was living there. "Master Ban Gobei brought the man." "Oh, good time!" Sancheng dismounted from his horse, let his companion Gobei and Ukai Tosuke into the tent of Takano Koshichu who was attacking the city on his behalf, and said anxiously: "I guess you already know the general situation."

"Yes. Do you want to persuade the Jiahe people in the city to cooperate with each other?" Ban Wubingwei seemed to have seen through 30% of his thoughts. "Hehe, do you think that after listening to Yukai's advice, the people in Jiahe in the city will be tempted?" "This……" "It's not that simple, is it? They have sworn to live with the city." "Then..." Ban Wubingwei panicked.Sancheng said decisively: "I know that some people in the city are from Jiahe, and I have had their wives, children, parents and brothers arrested. Tomorrow, I will take them outside the moat, and let them see their relatives being killed. Nailed to a cross. Better let the pelican shoot a book of arrows into the city before." "Ah!" Ukai Tosuke couldn't help exclaiming.Sancheng stared into Fujisuke's eyes with a stern expression. "The family members of Sosuke Yamaguchi, Hori Juuchi and others have also fallen into the hands of adults?" Ban Wubei asked. "That's right. The families of Sosuke Yamaguchi and Hori Juuchi have all fallen into my hands." Ban Wubei had already guessed the general situation.Sancheng didn't catch the family members of Yamaguchi and others, he must have lied that he had already caught them, in order to intimidate the Jiahe people in the city.Companion Wubingwei took a quick glance at Sancheng, and cast his eyes on Fujisuke: "With internal support, things will of course turn around. I think you can try to shoot in the meaning of adults with arrows. The defenders are stubborn, I'm afraid You will lose your wife and children.” "Okay. Whether they believe it or not, since it is a matter of life and death for the family, the villain will inform them in advance, which is considered as a kindness of fellow countrymen." Sancheng said with a serious face: "Tell them, if you agree, set fire to Pine Garden, and then open an opening on the city wall. That's it; not only will you not die, but you will also be rewarded. If you continue to resist, I will not force it." , anyway, sooner or later the city will fall." "The villain immediately went to write a letter." "It's only your letter, and the other party still hesitates. With Wubingwei, you also add a note to the letter in the name of Master Changshu." "Obey!" Ban Wubingwei responded, and led Ukai Tosuke to rush to the station of the Nagatsubu archers by the moat. The sun had set, and the bonfires reflected the sky red.The city was still very quiet.After all, it was 1,800 people against 40,000 troops, and they had to minimize their physical exertion. There is almost no one in the area around the Songyuan Archery Tower.Ukai Tosuke brought a young archer who was good at long-distance shooting to the place closest to the tower, and asked him to shoot the letter between the pine garden and the city wall.That area is the place where the Jiahe people patrolled. After nearly half an hour, there was no response inside.Could it be that they are determined to die and don't even care about Jianshu?Just as Yukai thought of this, several black spots appeared on the city wall, and he lowered his voice and said, "We have a bow, this is a reply letter." Seeing that they were extremely careful, Ukai knew that it was a matter--Tori Mototada finally made a secret! The sound of arrows streaked across the night sky, and the letters fell in long beams.Ukai Tosuke picked up the reply letter and hurried to Ban Gobei.Companion Wubingwei grinned, and immediately went to see Ishida Mitsunari. As expected, Jia Hezhong of Songyuan agreed to be the internal responder and asked to let his family members go. After Sancheng read the letter seriously, Fang said: "This matter must be kept secret. A fire in the city will be the time when Changshu's men and horses will make meritorious deeds." After giving instructions to Ban Wubingwei, Sancheng immediately drove his horse to inspect the formations.Once the gap is opened, he can strictly supervise the battle again. The first place he visited was Kobayakawa Hideaki's camp. "How can a general like Lord Jinwu be so procrastinating? He will definitely be laughed at by the enemy." Sancheng subtly instigated.He knew that once Xiuqiu got serious, she would turn into a fierce tiger.Even though Sancheng once encouraged Hideyoshi and reprimanded Hideyoshi for not being a general, but now he twitched his mouth as if nothing had happened. When he arrived at the Nabeshima Katsushige camp, Mitsunari also said the same thing: "Have everyone forgotten the reputation gained on the Korean battlefield? It is unimaginable that it took so much time for a mere Torii Motochu." Young Sheng Mao immediately gritted his teeth and became ruthless. When he arrived at Yoshihiro Shimadzu, Sancheng did not incite him like he did to the young people: "Thirty percent believes that no one can keep pace with adults on the battlefield. Therefore, the important task of attacking the main gate this time falls on the shoulders of adults. I hope you will He can set a good example for young people.” For Chang Sogabu Shengqin and Konishi Yukio, Sancheng opened up and encouraged them.In particular, President Xiaonishi, who was like-minded with Sancheng from the very beginning and started trouble together, he naturally treated each other with sincerity.The wife of Kato Kiyomasa, who is in Higo's territory with the president, has already cleverly escaped back to her hometown. "Since sending troops to Korea, Qingzheng has been at odds with the adults. Moreover, Qingzheng has not marched east this time, but coveted your land in his territory. If you spend time here, you may worry about riots in your territory what." Sancheng's words were like a sharp needle piercing the president's viscera, making him even more uneasy. That night, Sancheng also visited the family of Mori Hidemoto and Yoshikawa Hiroshi one after another, suggesting that they go to Seta.Obviously, Sancheng does not want to spend more time on attacking Fushimi, which already shows his grasp of the overall situation. In this way, under the urging of Sancheng, in the middle of the night, the people from the same city launched a fierce attack on Fushimi Castle again.Under San Cheng's instigation, the soldiers rekindled their anger.Starting from the 26th, despite four consecutive days of strong attacks, the besiegers fought on their own, and it is not surprising that the war has not progressed. The general offensive launched at dawn on the 30th was extremely tragic.By dusk, the two sides had fought four times.Whenever the attacking party approached, the defenders galloped over like locusts, trying their best to repel the enemy.The fierce fighting continued until late at night. In the early morning of the first day of August, flames lit up the sky on the Songyuan Arrow Tower. If war is seen as a bloody race of those irrational, no matter what kind of coercion, conspiracy, or cunning, it is not surprising.What benevolence, righteousness, conscience... Once a war breaks out, these things will be completely wiped out.The warring parties are desperate to compete with each other, just like demons, this is the truth of the war! Some of the Jiahe people in the city were defeated by 30% of the coercion.They are willing to guard the city because they want their children and grandchildren to live a better life.If someone tells them that their death will directly lead to the extinction of their descendants, they have no choice but to betray.On the 30th day, the siege artillery fire became more and more fierce, and they finally betrayed their comrades in arms. First, they lit a fire in Songyuan, informed the enemy about Neiying, and then immediately destroyed the city wall. Upon seeing the signal, Changshu's troops were the first to launch a fierce attack, and the troops of Kobayakawa and Nabeshima also lost no time to approach the city wall. The city is in chaos.Even if there is no chaos, due to the insufficient number of defenders, they will be exhausted by the opponent's full-scale attack. "Pine Garden is on fire!" At first, people thought it was caused by enemy rockets.But when they found a huge opening in the city gate next to them, and the enemy had invaded from there, they realized that things had changed. "Traitors! There are traitors!" The flames ignited in Pine Garden seemed to be mocking the people defending the city, and the tongues of flames rushed fiercely, burning more and more fiercely.When everyone fell into chaos, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's proud front gate also burned.Nabeshima Katsushige's subordinates, Narita Juemon and Kawanami Sakuemon are attacking here with force, and the fire was set by Kawanami Sakuemon himself. Before the gate was burned down, troops from Kobayakawa, Nabeshima, Sagara and others rushed in. Among them, Kobayakawa and Sagara's troops even killed each other for merit. The defenders were no longer able to prevent the enemy from attacking. Seijuro Fukao, who had been resisting in Songyuan and did not know that the Koga crowd had rebelled, was captured alive.Matsudaira, who had been in charge of guarding the front gate from the beginning, rushed to rescue the invading enemies who had resisted the attack on the Nago estate. He fought the enemy with a long spear and died in the city. The enemy's attack became more and more unstoppable, and the breakthrough opened by the Koga people determined the fate of Fushimi Castle. The Nago estate fell, and the eighty-five soldiers under Jinzheng who guarded the main gate were all killed. Xiyuan and Taiguyuan were also surrounded by the enemy... The night gradually receded, and under the blowing of the morning breeze, the fire in Songyuan continued to spread, and the Nago housing estate and Taiguyuan also became a sea of ​​flames. At this time, Hideaki Kobayakawa temporarily ceased fighting and ordered people to negotiate with Torii Motochu, who was still fighting in the city, but Yuanzhong flatly refused: "I have said it more than once, we must stick to it to the end! Don't think that Torii Motochu is like Koga So spineless." There was no room for negotiation from the very beginning of the peace talks, and it only allowed the attacking party to take a breather.Soon, the two sides entered into fierce street fighting.Shimadzu's troops also launched an attack, approaching the residence of Jibu Shaosuke on the left side of the main gate. The sky is bright, and the city that once weaved the luxurious dream of the late Taige is burning, whimpering loudly under the copper-colored sunlight... At that time, Iechu Matsudaira, who rushed to the mansion of Shaofu Shaofu to stop him, sent a message to Yuanzhong Torii: "The mansion has fallen..." Before the other party finished speaking, Yuan Zhong interrupted the reporter: "Where is the Lord's assistant?" "Encountered Shimadzu's general Bessho in the field, and fought hard to kill him, but the enemy rushed up in groups, and surrounded you..." "Stop rambling! What's going on!" "My lord ordered to repel the enemy, and then die of seppuku!" "Oh, I'd rather die than fall into enemy hands." "Yes. Eight hundred servants, all... died in battle!" "understood." "My lord, please kill yourself too..." "Hmph, he asked me to commit suicide too? Did the master assistant say that when he was dying?" "yes." "It's still early. It's not yet time, Yuan Zhong's hands and feet are still very agile!" Yuan Zhong said sharply, "Go and rest for a while." The news that Sano Tsunamasa of Xiyuan had died in battle had already spread.He was originally ordered to guard the West Garden of Osaka Castle, but he handed it over to Sancheng without any resistance. He regretted it very much. Later, he insisted on joining the defense of Fushimi and was shot to death.At this time, only the uninjured Yuan Zhong and two hundred subordinates remained in the city. At this moment, more than 20 Koga people who survived Song Yuan and Nago House rushed over: "Report!" "What is it?" "I am very sorry about the traitor." "Humph!" "There are about forty traitors, all of whom have fled. But we don't know about this matter. We will never betray your lord, and we vow to fight the enemy to the end." "Oh." "Please let me wait and die together with the adults." Yuan Zhong smiled and said: "Okay. There will always be villains in the world. Yuan Zhong doesn't blame you. But you can't fight to the death with me." "Could it be that adults can't trust me?" "No. They all died in battle. Who will tell the world about the traitor's despicable deeds? You are all masters of ninjutsu. Before the city falls completely, you must find ways to escape separately, and then report the traitor to Tokugawa-sama. I didn't miss it, The adults must win." "How can I live alone?" "Hmph! Those traitors must be severely punished. You are the witnesses. Your lord will reward you." After finishing speaking, Yuan Zhong dismissed the Jiahe people and counted the number of people again. It was less than 200 people, and most of them had died. "The moment of righteousness is coming. Everyone has worked hard! Even if I fight for the city with a stick instead of a sword, I think you will never retreat. Come with me!" The enemy launched a fierce attack on the gate from the moat, and the attacker was the central part of Takano Koshi under the command of Dai Sancheng. "Listen everyone, rush out the door and beat the enemy!" Once he threw away his crutches and stood up, Yuan Zhong was as agile and tenacious as a different person.He took the lead and rushed out of the gate, driving the enemy to a corner of Xiyuan. "Withdraw, retreat and rest!" He immediately ordered his soldiers to withdraw to the city and hide. He has been battle-tested and battle-tested, and he has mastered the timing of advance and retreat with absolute clarity, and has even become instinctive.Panting for a while, he led the crowd out of the city gate again.Once rushed out, the enemy will inevitably gather and rush across the moat. "My lord seems to have eyes in the back of his head." One person said with a smile. "Nonsense! On the battlefield, you must have eyes all over your body." Attacked four times, each time the number decreased.Yuan Zhong must give up, he was also injured in five places.He said loudly: "Our face has been saved, this is the last time!" When rushing out for the fifth time, Kono Koshikaka's army rushed towards the door like a tide.When Yuan Zhong hit the enemy, he felt a chill hit his back.Got it!Intuition flashed through his mind like lightning. His premonition came true. Takano Koshizhong had expected that Yuanzhong would immediately withdraw to the main gate of the city, so he quietly ambushed more than 500 people in the moat inside the gate.But Yuan Zhong has no regrets, he has no regrets, and his body is exhausted to the extreme. At this time, the shouts of ambush soldiers sounded behind Yuan Zhong.Hearing the shouts, Ishida's men who had once retreated to Xiyuan turned around and rushed towards Torii and the others.The extremely exhausted defenders were flanked by front and rear at the gate of the city. "Hmph, it's been five times, and now I understand? Hahahaha. Let you discuss it. But I will never die by the side of the road." Yuan Zhong finally retreated to the door, and dismissed the back.He wielded a long knife, slashed left and right in the enemy group, and was extremely brave.The light was a little dim, Yuan Zhong looked up at the sky, the sky was blue and extremely clear. "Click a little, how many people are left?" He finally returned to the hall of the city. "Yes!" Kojiro Mino answered immediately, and immediately counted the number of people, "Sixteen people." "Everyone has worked hard. Five in and five out. This is enough." Yuan Zhong suddenly felt shocked.He was so exhausted that he couldn't get up as soon as he sat down on the tatami.At this moment, he thought of two people, one was Honda Zuzaemon, and the other was Ishikawa Susho.After I died in battle, even in that world, I would never be inferior to them, nor would I feel lonely.Thinking of this, Fang Fang felt that he had been upright all his life, like a stubborn child. "Haha... that's great!" Just as he was talking to himself, bursts of shouts of killing came like a torrent.He knew that the enemy was attacking the city again, so he chuckled, "Oh, my ears are ringing, I'm really a deaf old man." A dozen people resting on the ground immediately ran towards the entrance.Suddenly, someone shouted at the entrance at the back and pointed a gun at Yuan Zhong: "You are Mr. Torii Hikoemon Motochu?" "Who are you?" Yuan Zhong flashed his body and shouted, "Don't panic, let us know your name first, and then fight." "I would like to congratulate Sun Yilang on his return to power." "Whose retainer?" Shocked by Yuanzhong's majestic aura, the other party took a step back: "Nomura Feihou guards his subordinates." "Oh. That's right. I'm the general of the city, Torii Hikemon Mototada." Yuanzhong wanted to stand up with a long sword, but he couldn't stand up anymore. "You were the first to rush in. Good job. I I will take the head with you. Kill me and take my head to ask for a reward." This is by no means blunt, nor is it acting.When one is doomed to die, one should calmly sacrifice one's head and let the opponent take credit for it. This is the cultivation of a general, and it is also in accordance with the law of etiquette. Son Ichiro took another step back.Yuan Zhong was too calm, he flinched even more. "Why don't you come and kill me? I've already said, I'll give you the head. Are you deaf?" Yuan Zhong shouted angrily again, feeling both hateful and pitiful, "It was you who rushed in first. Don't hurry If you start, the credit will be taken away by others!" Hearing this, Sun Yilang rushed to Yuan Zhong's feet and put his hands on the ground: "My lord, don't say that." "What did you say?" "Zaga Sunichiro has never...never met such a brave and bloody general as your lord." "Hey, I just asked you to kill me quickly to claim credit. Don't be timid. Get up, get up and kill me. I have already stretched out this gray-haired head to you." Yuan Zhong hurriedly took off his armor. "Ah!" Sun Yilang was still lying on the ground, passionately, "It's a pity that you are a general of this city, and died at the hands of a nobody like me. Please do seppuku, my lord. In this way, the villain will be rewarded by you. " "You made me seppuku?" "Exactly." "Hey, this is something the old man never expected. I am so noble? In your eyes, Yuan Zhong is really a bloody general?" "Whether it is your brave attack or your words just now, you can be regarded as a model for military generals in the world." "Hahahaha. These are the most beautiful words I have heard in my life. Your words are really better than a million times of chanting." Several people found the invading enemy and were about to come over to rescue them, but Yuan Zhong yelled at them: "Don't come over here. I'm going to have seppuku now, don't let others come over to disturb you." After saying that, he drew out his sword, stabbed it into his abdomen, panting, "Sun Yilang, hurry up! Otherwise, it will be too late." In fact, he didn't even have the strength to cut across. "Yes, the villain is rude." The samurai who claimed to be Zaga Son Ichiro Shigeto jumped up and chopped off Torii Mototada's head with a single knife.He seemed to see through that the veteran in front of him was extremely exhausted.Then, he bowed respectfully to the severed head, picked up the head, picked up the gun, and rushed to the front yard like a rabbit. "My lord committed suicide!" "Master Joshiro has cut through his belly!" At this time, the remaining people also knew that their resistance was meaningless.Of the sixteen people, only five or six remained.They ran to Yuan Zhong's remains, and aimed their sharp blades at the neck at the same time.Just at this time, the attacking army rushed in. Yuan Zhong committed suicide at the age of sixty-two. Three hundred and fifty-four Torii retainers died together with Yuanzhong.From important ministers to junior warriors, no one has survived, either died in battle or committed suicide.As Motochu expected, Fushimi Castle fell after chilling the attacking army.