Chapter 161 The Last Drop of Blood!

"I surrender, I give up my weapons, sir, please spare my life!"

"My brother works in Keelung and has been there for seven years. Last time he sent me a letter saying that he had become a naturalized citizen. We are a family!"

"My second cousin married your military master and became his seventh concubine. We are relatives!"

Now, as long as they can survive, the Shimazu soldiers who are kneeling on the ground will do whatever they can to find out their origins with the Keelung Army in front of them, lest these gods of murder turn them into corpses on the ground.

Completely ignoring the truth of the matter, Keelung was only built for four years, so where did the Fusang laborers who worked for seven years come from? There were more men than women in Keelung, and the Department of Household Affairs also stipulated that a maximum of three wives and concubines could be allowed.

An officer who marries seven concubines is doing so knowingly.

"Say it and cut it off." The surrendered Shimazu family laughed so hard that the soldiers fell on their backs and couldn't stop shouting, "Hahaha!"

Post-war issues such as cleaning the battlefield and how to take in prisoners had nothing to do with Han Xian and others. They just mobilized their horses to chase Yokota Katsuto's defeated troops at a short distance.

After riding for several miles, I saw the Shimazu Ashigaru in front of me who were running out of breath. Their eyes seemed to have light, and they rushed across a shallow river, followed the undulating hills, and got into the mountain. Among the dense bushes.

"It seems that this is where Shimazu's ambush is!"

Han Xian looked at the terrain and found that it was indeed a dangerous place.

The terrain is narrow, but many troops can be ambushed on both sides. If you aim at one point, you will have full firepower. Although the creek in front is not wide, it can play a role in blocking the advance of the divided troops. What's even more terrible is that the sound of the waves of the sea can be vaguely heard. It is so close to the sea. If you are ambushed here, you will have to jump into the sea if you don't die!

If you jump into the sea, you will really be dead!

"Report to the lord, we have found the enemy's ambush! Ask him to bring up the cannon quickly!"

"I want to see if they can handle a bowl-sized cannon."

Half an hour later, with the efforts of the heavy troops, except for the three anchored artillery pieces, the other fifty artillery pieces were all gathered three miles in front of the creek. The artillery array was set up, the angle was adjusted, and gunpowder lead was filled.

"Fire!" the gunner shouted.

In an instant, dozens of cannons were fired, and smoke curled up.

........

Takamatsu Yoritada stood on the castle tower of Kumamoto Castle and tried to look north.

The volcanic humus formed by the volcanic ash from Mt. Aso covers the land and becomes fertile. It is a pity that farmland, which used to represent life and wealth, has now become a battlefield of killing.

The land soaked in blood will have a better harvest next year!

After getting rid of the pity in his heart, Takamatsu Yorichu felt even more proud.

This will become the land of the Shimazu family in the future. Let the blood of Keelung’s enemy soldiers create more wealth for our family.

Continuing to look, I saw teams of soldiers and horses rushing towards Kumamoto Castle from the plains over there. Judging from the flags and formations, their morale was high and their military appearance was in good order.

Taking a rough look at the numbers, there were probably more than three thousand people in sight.

In front of the large army column were cavalry sentries with more than a hundred riders. The recognition flags raised high on their backs showed their identities - Keelung Dragon Mounted Cavalry.

They shuttled back and forth between the marching ranks, roaring in and galloping away, their armors shining brightly on their bodies, and their swords and guns shining brightly on their waists. In an instant, he rushed to the foot of Kumamoto Castle and kept running around the city, spying on what was happening on the top of the city.

However, under the strict orders of the garrison general Takamatsu Yorichu, the defenders of Kumamoto Castle only observed with cold eyes and made no movement at all.

These cavalrymen, who carried the flags of the Keelung Army on their backs, circled Kumamoto Castle several times. After seeing clearly what was going on above and below the city, they paused for a moment to discuss, and then some of them galloped back to their own troops.

The rest spread out, observing the landscape around Kumamoto Castle, looking for water sources, and preparing a place to camp.

"The reputation is well-deserved! Katsuto-kun was not unjustly defeated!" Putting down the telescope in his hand, Takamatsu Yori-tada sighed, "It seems this time..."

After Yokota Katsuto's fishing and ambush tactics were first eaten up by two thousand decoys, Qin Hao concentrated dozens of large cannons on the ambush position and launched a fierce artillery fire attack.

The iron gunners who had ambushed in the bushes in advance were prepared to fight against the wind, but they did not have such strong organizational discipline. When they saw the shells flying like raindrops, they immediately screamed and fled from their hiding places. As a result, they were discovered, and they were chased and killed by the iron artillery team, and then fired with iron cannons.

Five thousand men and horses, carrying 2,000 matchlock iron cannons and twenty large barrels, went out of the city to fight in the field.

As a result, the losses were total, less than 500 people came back, less than 100 iron cannons were brought back, and all the big cannons were discarded.

A huge defeat, an unprecedented defeat for the Shimazu family!

"Lai Zhongjun, please pass the order on my behalf, order all the soldiers in the city to arrest the Kumamoto residents, let them work overnight for us to make city defense equipment, count the food reserves, go out of the city to cut down trees, and fill up the wells. At the same time, the Kumamoto men, including the old Young, all enlisted in the army!"

Katsuto Yokota, who has seen Keelung's sharp firearms, is doing everything he can at this moment. Although he knows that this may make the management of Kumamoto more difficult in the future, this is the only way for now.

If you can't keep it, everything is just talk. If you defend it, these sacrifices will not be spared.

"Moreover, we must have enough defensive equipment and defensive forces in the city before the Keelung Army arrives. We must be fast, we must be fast!"

"In addition, please personally mobilize the people to dig a large number of traps, trenches and earth pits around the city walls, and transport the cannons in the city to the direction where the enemy is coming. Let the enemy advance on the ground full of trenches. Even if they have more troops, they cannot rush to the city at once, and eventually become the target of the iron cannons in my city! Let them bleed to death under this Kumamoto Castle!"

Yokotado Yokota, who was scratched by the cannons of the iron cannon but survived by chance, was wrapped in white fine cotton cloth and told Takamatsu Yoritada to make defense adjustments.

"Time is precious! Please, Mr. Yoritada!"

"I will definitely do it!" Takamatsu Yoritada immediately led the personal guards to go down to the city to capture people, and at the same time drove women, the elderly and children out of the city.

Their staying in the city is also an unstable factor. Letting them attack the Keelung army can buy more time for their own arrangements.

As a main city, Kumamoto Castle has gathered a large number of people from the Kumamoto family. There are more than 3,000 women, the elderly and children who were driven out by Takamatsu Yoritada alone.

The impact of a large population forced Qin Hao to order to stop advancing and start taking in these women, while screening them. Although the possibility of female spies appearing is small, it is always right to be cautious.

This plan bought nearly two days of precious time, allowing Gao Songlaizhong to have barely enough time to dig trenches and trenches under the Kumamoto Castle, fortify the walls and clear the fields.

Looking at the sharp bamboo thorns that can be seen everywhere under the city, Gao Songlaizhong smiled with relief.

But before he was happy for long, the Kumamoto laborers in the city had trouble and they wanted to leave the city.

Kumamoto Castle is destined to become a battlefield, and they can't die here. Besides, Gao Songlaizhong promised them that as long as they completed the task within two days, they would be allowed to leave the city and reunite with their wives and daughters.

Now it's time for him to fulfill his promise.

Gao Songlaizhong looked at the laborers in the city who were making trouble with hoes and axes, and his face was cold. If they were smarter, they wouldn't ask him again.

He conveyed several orders to his personal guards with an expressionless face. Soon, the sound of swords cutting heads and a faint smell of blood came from the city. As for the howling and cursing, Takamatsu Yoritada didn't care at all.

At the same time, the First Army also completely solved the problem of identifying and arranging the women of Kumamoto, and asked them to hide in the nearby mountains, which were far away from the battlefield and very safe.

After handling them, a large group of people and horses rushed to Kumamoto Castle, with flags covering the sky.

Soon, several large camps appeared on the north, east and west sides of Kumamoto Castle relying on the terrain of the mountains, surrounding Kumamoto Castle.

Above the large tents, the Keelung flag stood alone, and the other colored family crests and emblems were flying endlessly. Teams of patrol soldiers patrolled the camps in and out of the camps, and the baggage soldiers led some Saga laborers to travel back and forth between the mountains, the river and the camps, carrying water and chopping wood, and leading the war horses to the river to drink water.

At night, the city was brightly lit, fearing that they would be attacked by the enemy.

In the center of the Keelung Army's camp, Qin Hao sat high up, and together with the general Han Xian, he accepted the worship of the generals of the army.

In the battle of Qianye River, 5,000 Shimazu troops, who were good at fishing and ambushing, were defeated, and many prisoners were captured. This victory immediately made the daimyo of Kyushu happy.

When checking the results of the battle, the daimyo's eyes almost fell to the ground.

More than 1,300 Shimazu soldiers were killed or wounded by fire guns, more than 1,000 were killed by large guns, more than 1,000 were captured, and some scattered ones were not counted. More than 1,300 matchlock iron cannons were seized, and 15 large guns were usable. Eight of them were either blown up by gunpowder or temporarily unusable due to parts loss.

The daimyo were salivating over these captured weapons.

Qin Hao also generously handed them these weapons to them, making them feel grateful. Although they envied the firearms of the Keelung army, the general was too strict. Although the Shimazu family's firearms could not compare, they were much better than their own.

You have to eat one bite at a time, and you can't be too hasty about the weapons.

After kneeling and kowtowed to Qin Hao respectfully, everyone began to discuss the matter.

"Tomorrow's battle is to capture Kumamoto Castle! This time, the troops and horses of each family must fight bravely to kill the enemy! No matter which family, the first to climb, the general will reward! One hundred flintlock rifles!"

Han Xian's words were ups and downs, and they sounded very good. Immediately, there was an uproar in the big tent.

One hundred! Flintlock rifles!

It was the kind of musket that could kill the enemy from a hundred steps away and had a very fast firing rate! ?

"That's right!"

After receiving the confirmation from General Han Xian, all the daimyo of Kyushu present were jealous, especially Saga Chaoyi. He had been following the general for so long, and no matter how brave he was in the previous battles, he was only transferred to a new position, rewarded with some money, and increased his stone height.

He had never received a firearm from Keelung. This time, he had to take down such a weapon no matter what!

"Starting tomorrow, the central army will fire a cannon as a signal, and all units will start attacking!"

"Now let's choose the attack direction of each unit!"

As soon as Han Xian said this, the originally warm atmosphere immediately cooled down.

Everyone knows that whoever goes up first will die first in a siege, not to mention this Kumamoto Castle, which is famous for its solidity?

Just looking at the trenches, traps and earth pits in front of the city is enough to make everyone drink a pot!

That would cost lives, otherwise Qin Hao would not be willing to let these daimyo of Kyushu follow him.

They had taken a lot of advantages before, and their pockets were rich, and now it was time for them to pay.

"Which lord is willing to attack the north of the city?"

Everyone was silent for a while, and no one stepped forward.

"Which adults are willing to be the first to attack the city?"

No one spoke. The atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle and awkward.

Qin Hao's eyes began to bulge, "If no one is willing, go back."

"General, goodbye." The head of Jiuzhou Yamashita family was the first to leave the tent. His pockets were full, and he didn't want to work.

Unfortunately, he came back in less than half a moment after leaving the tent, but he was carried back with his head.

"Yamashita kid escaped from the battlefield and has been killed by me. If anyone wants to die, go out and try!" Zhao Dahai was like Yama, grabbing Yamashita's head, holding a bloody green steel knife and standing outside the tent, shouting loudly.

Suddenly, a daimyo was frightened and trembling, and he still didn't say anything to resign.

"Lord Han Xian, how about this! Draw lots to decide which family will attack which side. What do you think?" Saga Chaoyi came up with this muddy idea.

"Alright! The first person to reach the castle will get double the reward!"

The reward of two hundred flintlock rifles temporarily relieved the daimyo of their fear of Kumamoto Castle.

"All daimyo will go to the positions you have drawn and prepare for the attack. Tomorrow, we will use the sound of the central army's artillery as a signal to attack from all sides!"

"The artillery is divided into two groups, north and south. The northern artillery group is mainly composed of the artillery carried by Saga Asaichi and the fifteen large barrels captured this time. The southern artillery group is solely responsible for the Keelung artillery team!"

"Hi!"

Because it is close to the sea and it is midsummer, the air is particularly humid. It rained several times in one day. It was quite slippery when stepped on. As more people stepped on it, it became more muddy.

The sun lazily poked its head out from the depths of the East China Sea, dispersing the water vapor on the sea and spreading huge amounts of heat to the battlefield that was about to be slaughtered.

On the artillery position, the gunners of several 10-pound guns were busy deploying them. The driver led the six horses responsible for towing the gun carriage to a safe area and tied them up. Five gunners, under the command of the gun commander, urged the farmers accompanying the army to move ammunition and organize the artillery.

There were bursts of shouts from the main camp of the Second Army Commander Saga Asaichi.

"The general has ordered! The first person in the Second Army to reach the top of the city in this battle, whether it is a samurai, a ronin, or a farmer, will be rewarded with 3,000 taels of silver!"

"Wow!"

The whole army was in an uproar!

Three thousand taels, that's a lot. Farmers calculated the value of farmland and could probably buy a thousand acres of good paddy fields and become the largest local landlords.

Ronin compared the number of times they went to izakayas, drank the best wine, and played with the most beautiful girls. They could go a thousand times at most with three taels each time. Three thousand taels could support them to squander for ten years without restraint.

Samurai thought of using three thousand taels to buy a few villages from daimyo, and become lords themselves, living a life of scolding the common people.

Everyone was immersed in the joy of three thousand taels, and the greed in their eyes spread like wildfire!

The excited drums and horns reached the castle tower. Takamatsu Yoritada and Yokota Katsuto, who were commanding the battle of the entire city, looked stern and looked at each other, "Finally here!"

"Today, I don't know how many samurai will shed their last drop of blood in front of this Kumamoto Castle."