Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Shimadzu's Defeat

When Otani Yoshitsugu's head was chopped off by Yuasa Gosuke, the outcome of the Sekigahara Battle was completely decided.Miura Kitao, who was present, hurriedly wrapped the severed head of Gosuke in his clothes and left in a hurry.But Kitao Miura and Gosuke Yuasa also died in battle afterwards. Therefore, no one knows where Kichitsugu's head fell. At this time, the situation of the battle has completely changed.Kobayakawa's troops killed from Mt. Matsuo, together with Yasuji Wakisaka, Motozuna Kuchiki, Yutada Ogawa, and Naoho Akaza who had defected to the Eastern Army, went directly to Ukitabe at the foot of Mt. The defeated remnants of President Konishi launched an attack.

At this time, Ishida Mitsunari in the northernmost area was also attacked by the Eastern Army for the last round. Among them, led by Fujido and Kyogoku, who drove straight in, Oda Yuraku, Takenaka Shigeto, Yoshida Shigekatsu, Sakuma Yasama, and Kanamori Nagaki Kazumasa, Ikoma and others all scrambled to join the attack. Ishida's troops collapsed at the first touch, and fled from Mount Aikawa to Mount Ibuki. In front of Shimadzu's position, which stood still, the eastern and western armies fell into a melee.There is absolutely no difference between moving and not moving.The question now is who will be the first to get Yoshihiro Shimadzu's head.

Although he is sixty-six years old, Yoshihiro Shimadzu is still as heroic as a man in his prime.He has been standing still, probably in order not to waste any energy and prepare for the final decisive battle. "Report! The Ishida tribe is routing in the direction of Mount Ibuki, and our army is full of fleeing soldiers in front of the formation." After listening to Sakyo Ryo Kawakami's report, Yoshihiro asked, "What time is it?" "It's about time." "Okay, lead the horse." Only then did Yoshihiro stand up.He seemed to have anticipated this situation.With only two thousand troops, there is absolutely no chance of victory.

"Let Zhibu lie to me." Yihong flew on his horse and climbed up a small hill on the right.If, as the report said, the Western Army was routed towards Mount Ibuki like a tide, and no one fought back against the enemy.Yihong shook his head and said, "Call Zhongshu and Sheng Chun." Zhongshu is Yoshihiro's nephew, Zhongwu Daifu Toyohisa, and Shengchun is Changshouyuan. Before the two arrived, Yoshihiro had been staring at Ieyasu's base camp outside Wuliu Town.If it is sunny, Ieyasu's golden fan and horse seal must be shining brightly.There was light rain falling in the sky, and there was no trace of dust on the ground. The overcast sky made people feel unspeakably lonely.Yihong said bitterly: "Hmph! I have never lost to anyone."

Feng Jiu and Changshouyuan Pegasus rushed over, covered in mud and water. "Zhongshu, who is the bravest among the enemies?" Feng Jiu was taken aback, unable to immediately understand the meaning of Yoshihiro's words, "You mean the number one in military exploits?" "No. I'm asking who's the toughest looking guy right now?" "Of course it's the main force of the Inner Palace... Except for Jing Yi and Honda, the others have hardly participated in the battle yet." "Oh." Yoshihiro nodded, pointing to the north, "The ancestor Yi Chaogong was defeated, and Lai Chaogong was also defeated. Both were defeated, not God's will. But today's battle will make me regret it for the rest of my life. I was born in a famous family since I was young. Defeat, even crossing the sea to North Korea to participate in the war did not miss a single time. I didn't expect to lose my life today, leaving a lifelong hatred. I hope you will understand. I will go to the headquarters of the inner government now. Even if I die in the battle, I will die in the most brave In the hands of the enemy general."

After saying that, Yoshihiro glanced at Feng Jiu, who seemed to want to untie his armor.Yoshihiro said, "Zhongshu! What are you doing?" "My lord is determined to die, so my nephew has to make some preparations." "You bastard! What I said just now was to fight to the death in the inner court camp, not to cut seppuku here. I think your ears are not listening." "My nephew heard right. My lord is finally going to fight out. My nephew wants to exchange armor with my lord." "Why?" Feng Jiu untied his armor and said: "Hurry up, please exchange armor with your nephew. My lord rushed into the enemy's camp with the heart of death, but my nephew knew that my lord would die in battle, but sat idly by and passed it on to future generations. Being laughed at?"

"Toyoto, are you laughing at me?" "Nephew has absolutely no intention of laughing at your lord!" Feng Jiu had a wry smile on his face, and put the untied armor on the ground, "Your lord, go in, and if the enemy is frightened and gives way to your lord, your lord will use it." There is no need for a bloody battle. At that time, Toyohisa will put on his uncle's armor and be your rear guard. Otherwise, Shimadzu will be laughed at for being timid from the beginning." "Hahaha, Zhongshu can speak well." "Please change your armor quickly."

"Haha," Yoshihiro suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed, "hahaha. It's a shame to hear you say that. Well, I will enter the enemy camp with the heart of victory. Shimadzu Yoshihiro will neither escape nor I will not hide. No matter how big the enemy is, I will not be afraid. Hahaha, Zhongshu boy. Okay, I will go. But, I will not exchange armor with you." Feng Jiu raised his head and glanced at Yoshihiro, and put on the armor again, he knew his uncle's strong temperament.Putting on the armor, he stretched out his hand in front of Yoshihiro: "Then, please uncle hand over the haori to my nephew as promised."

"What agreement?" "Please give the array to your nephew. You just said that you want your nephew to wear the armor." "What time is it, you are still playing smart!" "Why do you say that, my lord? If Feng Jiu was playing tricks, I would rather be killed by you than let my uncle die in vain. It was Feng Jiu's stupidity that made you fall into Ishida's trap. To give my nephew some pride , please give me the feather weave no matter what. My lord said just now that you are determined to die. But my nephew doesn't think so." "What do you think?"

"No matter what your lord's determination is, Feng Jiu and Sheng Chun vowed to help you break out of the encirclement. If we don't do this, if you die in vain, your lord, the inner palace will become the young lord's loyal and unshakable enemy. In this way, it will be difficult in the future Negotiating peace, who will be able to preserve the Shimadzu Clan at that time? Right now, your lord's intention will directly affect the life and death of the Shimadzu Clan. If you don't ask your lord Jin Haori to come over, you will have no face to face Mr. Zhongheng for a long time."

Shimadzu Yoshihiro stared at Toyohisa, his eyes seemed to burst: "Have you even considered this step?" Xiaoyu wet Fengjiu's hair, but he still stared at Yoshihiro firmly.After a long stalemate, Yoshihiro took off the Jinhaori and threw it in front of Toyohisa. "Thank you for the reward, my lord." Seeing that Fengjiu got the feather weave, Sheng Chun from Changshouyuan also came over: "My lord, please reward Ma Yin." "You even want my horse seal?" "Yes. Your Excellency can also reward me with the military fan, it would be even better." Yoshihiro's military fan was distributed by 30% to the generals in Ogaki Castle.Yihong silently took off the horse seal and military fan on his back, handed them to Sheng Chun, and said, "Here, go." Afterwards, he took off the knife hanging from his waist, and held it high above his head. Everyone also drew their knives out of their sheaths one after another.The wind and rain are getting bigger and bigger, blowing the white blade raised high above the head.Shouts sounded, and Shimadzu's troops, led by Yoshihiro, rushed to Ieyasu's front with lightning speed. I thought that almost all the Western Army was chased to the direction of Mount Ibuki. Faced with this sudden torrent, the Eastern Army's forward split into two and made way. The ministries of Sakai and Tsutsui didn't know for a while whether the visitor was an enemy or a friend.Anyone who is caught off guard will be thrown into chaos.Facing the devil-like troops attacking from north to south, the Eastern Army did not react for a long time.When they finally figured out that it was Shimadzu's army, it had been a long time.The vanguard of the Eastern Army has advanced to the front line of Tera Valley, west of Guandao, and Shimadzu's surprise attack is just in time. "It's Shimadzu's army! It's not my own, it's Shimadzu!" "Shimadzu is attacking the main battalion." Once the Eastern Army comes to its senses, how can Shimadzu's troops resist it?In fact, so far, Ieyasu's losses have been minimal. The Eastern Army shouted and outflanked Shimadzu's troops, and Shimadzu's army had to use muskets as a cover.Sekihara Town is just around the corner, but at this moment, a group of powerful enemies has already quietly cut off Shimadzu's retreat—Naomasa Ii, who once attacked in front of Ishida's headquarters, but is now retreating.Naomasa laughed loudly: "I already knew that old Shimadzu would do this." "Okay, then I'll kill him." A person beside him said nonchalantly.This person is Ieyasu's fourth son, Matsudaira Tadaki.Under the leadership of Naozheng, Zhongkichi has killed a lot of people on the battlefield, which seems to make this young man who doesn't know what fear is even more daring. "If you don't remove Yoshihiro's head, you will definitely be scolded by the old man afterwards." "Don't worry. Shimadzu's long sword team is one of the toughest guys in a hundred." "Hmph, I already knew." "Rush to the south of Guanyuan first, don't disturb the main formation." "Then attack again?" "Don't talk too much." In the south of Sekigahara, there is the Makita River where the Tera Valley River and the Fujikawa River meet. The road along the Makita River is called the Makita Road.When catching up to Makita Road, Shimadzu must be attacked no matter what, and Naomasa Ii imagined this. Naomasa was inseparable, so Matsudaira Tadakichi had no choice but to pursue the enemy reluctantly.If Zhizheng was not by his side, and he was alone, he would not have pursued him, but directly blocked the enemy's path and started a bloody battle with the opponent. The shouts sounded again, it was Honda Tadakatsu who was ordering by Ieyasu to attack Shimadzu's rear tail from the left flank. "It's Zhongsheng. Zhongsheng took away our credit!" Not only because of his youthful vigor, this younger brother, who is a sibling of Hidetaka, is completely opposite to his elder brother's serious and steady temperament. Once he gets angry, he is exactly the same as Ieyasu when he was young, which is very similar to Yuuki Hideyasu. Hearing the cries of Honda's followers, Zhongkichi suddenly lashed his mount severely, and in the blink of an eye he entered Shimadzu's formation. "Hey! Shimono Mori, Shimono Mori!" Naomasa and the guards hurriedly chased after him. Seeing Shimadzu's troops go straight to Ieyasu, the Sakai family, who was caught off guard, retreated a little bit and stood up to protect Ieyasu; around the tomb of Xibei, Tsutsui Joji's old Nakabo Hida and his son led the soldiers to block the island. Tianjin way. When almost all the Eastern Army was chasing Ibuki Mountain, the Fukushima Masamori Department was also broken by the enemy, and Nakabo Hida Mori and his son were particularly eye-catching.Sanshirō, the third son of Hida Mori, died bravely in battle, and Hida Mori himself almost died. Fortunately, Ii and Honda came to the rescue in time. Matsudaira Zhongji left Naozheng and insisted on killing the enemy.His target is none other than veteran Yoshihiro Shimadzu.If you kill a fierce general like Yoshihiro, not to mention all the generals, Ieyasu will definitely look at him with admiration.In order to show those Tokugawa descendants who always love to make fun of him, Zhongkichi vowed to take down Yoshihiro's head. The target of Zhongji's pursuit is a veteran with the Shimadzu flag on his back.In fact, this person is not Yoshihiro, but Sheng Chun of Changshouin.As soon as Zhongji saw Sheng Chun, he chased after him. "Stop! Matsudaira Shimono Mori Takakichi is here!" Because he didn't know anything about war, Tadakichi looked a bit rough. "Oh, Matsudaira Shimono? The son of the inner palace?" If he kept silent, those Shimadzu soldiers would only focus on retreating, but once they heard that he was Ieyasu's son, how could those coveted hunters flee again?In an instant, he was surrounded. Without saying a word, Zhongji raised his hand and beheaded the two soldiers. He was very unwilling to waste time on them. "Stand back! What does it matter to you? Yoshihiro Shimadzu, where can we escape!" Just as Zhongkichi urged his horse to catch up, a knight on horseback stabbed him with a spear, and the point of the spear brushed against his armguard. "Hey!" Zhongji shouted.However, this is not a bamboo knife that is usually used, but a real knife and gun.Zhongji felt a pain in his right arm like being burned by a hot iron, and the knife came out of his hand immediately. "Saburo Matsui follows his wish and fights against Matsudaira Shimono-sama!" As soon as the words fell, the second shot came again.For the young leopard whose knife had already been removed, this was a fatal blow. "Come on." Zhongji opened his big hand, trying to hold the opponent's spear.The tip of the gun brushed against Zhongkichi's left side, and Saburo Matsui was hugged by Zhongkichi.The two rolled off their horses together, roaring like wild beasts, fighting and rolling on the wet grass.Not long after, this incomparably fierce leopard was pinned down by Matsui Sanlangbei, and the dagger in Sanlangbei's hand gave off a dark and cold light, and rushed towards Zhongji. Seeing the dagger approaching his throat, Zhongji tried desperately to block it, but his injured arm couldn't do anything.He pressed against the enemy's arm to keep the point of the knife away from himself.However, the more he struggled, the more his body sank into the mud, and it was difficult for him to even move, and he worried deeply: How could I die in a battle like this? Even though Saburo Matsui had completely suppressed Zhongkichi, the more anxious he was, the more slippery his hands became. The dagger could not be aimed at Zhongkichi's neck no matter what, and there was no one nearby to help. Suddenly, Zhongkichi who was crushed under him yelled: "Jinemon, kill this guy!" Just when Zhongji was in extreme despair, his own person suddenly appeared in front of him.The person who came was the messenger Yokota Jinemon.Seeing that Chukichi's life was in danger, Jinemon hurried over.He was just about to pull Saburo Matsui's hair, but a voice stopped him: "Jinemon, the person under the pressure is Shimono-sama. Don't make a move!" Jinemon hastily withdrew his hand. Chukichi was furious, and looked up, Oguri Dairoku Tadamasa, who was also the messenger, was standing next to Jinemon as if nothing had happened.Zhongji shouted: "Da Liu, get rid of this guy!" Unexpectedly, Zhongzheng said to Jinyoumen: "Don't make a move!" Zhongji, who has always been pampered, has never been so angry.Seeing that he was in danger, but his father's retainers refused to help. Could it be that they usually hated him? "I don't beg you anymore! No...no one!" Zhongji pushed with all his strength, and Matsui fell to the side.At this time, Zhongji has no time to take care of Oguri, Yokota and others.He bounced up and threw himself desperately at Matsui who had just got up. When Zhongkichi fell into the mud again, he heard a scream, and Matsui Saburobei suddenly fell backwards.At first glance, Matsui was decapitated. "My lord, are you alright?" It was the retainer Kamei Jiuhei who managed to catch up with him. "Kuhei, don't let them escape, Oguri Dairoku and Jinemon..." Chukichi looked up, and the two of them had long since disappeared.A group of Shimadzu soldiers surrounded him again.These people didn't know that the mud-covered samurai in front of them was Matsudaira Tadakichi. Even though they surrounded him, they didn't fight with all their strength. They just cared about Yoshihiro in front of him. While desperately fighting the enemy soldiers, Zhongji couldn't help venting his anger: "These bastards are so desperate..." He thought he would lose his life in Huangquan, but he lost his life. Zhongji, who survived the desperate situation, went crazy. When Ii Naomasa arrived, Zhongkichi was still fighting the enemy desperately in the mud.He could no longer hold the knife in his right hand, so he swung his love knife Zuo Wenzi desperately with his left hand, but sometimes it was the back of the knife that he slashed at the enemy.He was almost insane, and he didn't even know how to use the knife. Naomasa shouted from his horse, "Ya Goemon, give your horse to Shimono Mori-sama." "yes." "Liu Taifu, you and Ya Goemon dragged Shimono Mori back together." Konokumabe Yagoemon agreed, got off his horse, and put the reins into Tadakichi's hands.Muto Rokutai did not say a word, and carried Zhongkichi to the horse. "Let me go back! I haven't killed Yoshihiro yet! I'm going to chase Yoshihiro!" "This is the main order. The young master is injured and must be treated." "Shut up! I want to chase. Give me chase!" But the two ignored him, and immediately turned the horse's head and led it back. Seeing Zhongkichi turn around, Ii Naomasa breathed a sigh of relief and continued to pursue Yoshihiro.At this time, he was surrounded by Honda Tadakatsu's vanguard who was also chasing Shimadzu's various units. Naozawa passed through the middle.During this period, he heard the cry of "Yihong was killed" twice.But the first time, the person who was killed was much younger than Yoshihiro, and the head that was cut off the second time was not Yoshihiro.The slightly younger head seems to be Toyohisa Shimadzu, and the older one is Chojuin Morijun. Shimadzu's men and horses seemed to be dwindling sharply, and there were at most eighty horses left.The battle-tested Zhizheng knew very well that Yoshihiro must be among these people.At this time, those who lost the heir to Shimadzu may have been wiped out by the heroic Honda. Naozawa’s calculations were not wrong at all.If possible, he would cut off Yoshihiro's head with his own hands, and then claim that it was the spoils of his son-in-law Matsudaira Tadakichi's victory in the first battle. Ahead is the Makita River Ferry.Once Yoshihiro was allowed to cross the border and flee to Ise, even with great abilities, there was nothing he could do.Naomasa confirmed the proud red-clothed army following him, and then drove to the river beach.There are patches of miscanthus all around, and the figure of Shimadzu Yoshihiro is 20 or 30 meters away.Naomasa was about to run up, when he heard a bang, and a bullet shot from the miscanthus on the left. "Ah!" Zhizheng suddenly felt that his left thigh was being attacked by scorching pain, and his horse also let out a long howl, and kicked up its front legs.It turned out that the bullet that penetrated Zhizheng's thigh got into the horse's back again.Zhizheng was thrown down immediately, unconscious. The attacker was Kawakami Shirobei, a subordinate of Shimadzu. Seeing the general fall off his horse, the red-clothed warriors behind hurriedly chased him up and guarded Zhizheng's surroundings. Then he quickly rescued Zhizheng and sent him to a nearby home.Zhizheng, who was unconscious, was injured not only on his thigh, but also bleeding from his left elbow.The pursuit of Shimadzu came to an abrupt end. The sky and the earth darkened, and the remnants of Shimadzu were fleeing along the Makita River towards Mt. Dora, like a thin line, getting farther and farther away, more and more blurred. "It's better to let him run away." But it's not regret or regret, Zhizheng feels refreshed in his heart.The pursuers chased happily, and the retreaters counterattacked beautifully. Ii Naomasa came to his senses, and ordered with a serious expression: "The injury is not serious. But, don't chase anymore." Due to the need for treatment and worrying about Zhongji's injury, everyone withdrew back. In this way, veteran Yoshihiro Shimadzu managed to escape. Nagasogabu Mori, who was stationed in Kurihara Village at the foot of Nangong Mountain, learned of the Shimadzu battle and ordered the troops to retreat to Ise. This actually became the signal for the end of the Sekigahara War. Under the suppression of Ikeda and Asano's two parts, Shengqin has never dared to act rashly, and, until the end, it seems that the whereabouts of the Mori department is still difficult to determine.The retainer Yoshida Sonemon, who had been placed in Sekigahara in advance, came back and reported that due to the collapse of the Shimadzu Department, there was no Western army in the Sekigahara area. Almost at the same time, news of the disastrous defeat also came from the Changshu Zhengjia camp.And when Zhengjia sent people to the Sancheng camp on foot, Ishida's main force had long since disappeared. Chang Zeng and our troops retreated first, and Chang Shu's troops also retreated.As soon as they retreated, the Maori tribe on the mountain shouted in unison.What the cry meant, no one knew.In the Maori army, far more people hope that the Eastern Army will win than those who want the Western Army, so this may be cheering for victory.However, the mountain was just shouting and did not move. Before that, Huiqiong's troops had already started to flee. On the mountain road leading to Ise, there were discarded warriors and armor everywhere.I don't know what kind of calculation it was, but Hui Qiong returned to Xiuyuan's main camp on Nangong Mountain, perhaps to bear the responsibility for the defeat, and to cut seppuku with Xiuyuan.But since Maori had already reached an agreement with the Eastern Army, he naturally ignored him.So Hui Qiong took off her armor, disguised herself as a little monk and fled quietly. Night is about to fall, and the cold battlefield hides endless blood, sorrow and joy in indifference.At dusk, Tokugawa Ieyasu's wet golden fan horse seal solemnly crossed Fujikawa and advanced towards the western highland...