The fiercest wars of the Meiji Restoration were probably three, or four. The Battle of Fushimi Toba commanded by Takasugi Shinsaku, the leader of the Odd Soldiers who died young, and Fushimi Toba. Because of the intervention of the Liberation Army, the Battle of Fushimi Toba was divided into the First Battle of Fushimi Toba and the Second Battle of Fushimi Toba. The fourth was the Aizu War.

The first three were wars between the Tokugawa shogunate and the fallen shogunate, and the Aizu War was between the Ou Domain Alliance in the north and the Meiji government. After the Meiji government defeated the Tokugawa shogunate by force, it established a policy of abolishing feudal prefectures. This is a future that the local lords of the north absolutely cannot accept. The northern daimyo led by the Aizu clan united against the Meiji government.

At the end of 1868, after the Tokugawa shogunate was completely defeated and Edo was forced to open the castle, the Meiji government did not go north for the time being due to heavy snow in winter. In April 1869, the Shogunate Army began to attack the Aizu Domain in the north.

On April 29, the Meiji government forces broke through the weakest part of the joint defense line of the public military forces, broke through the Munari Pass, and attacked Wakamatsu Castle, the residence of the Aizu domain. On the distant mountains outside the city, more than a dozen teenagers were dumbfounded when they saw the billowing smoke rising from Wakamatsu Castle. They are the White Tigers, which are formed by the young non-commissioned officers of the Aizu Domain. Since childhood, they have been taught to guard the Aizu Domain and guard the shogunate, and these children are dumbfounded.

The boys of the White Tigers got lost while guarding the mountain road, and as they walked around the mountains, they suddenly saw the smoke billowing from Wakamatsu Castle, and the only thing that came to their minds: Wakamatsu Castle had fallen, their feudal lord had committed suicide, and their families in the castle had been killed by the Meiji government forces that had invaded Wakamatsu Castle.

"Mom!" A young man fell to his knees crying bitterly and kowtowed heavily in the direction of Wakamatsu Castle.

The other teenagers also fell to their knees, and it would take at least half a day to return to Wakamatsu Castle from their current position. And even if they returned to Wakamatsu Castle, all they could see was a burning castle. Despair, helplessness, self-blame, all kinds of emotions rushed to the annoyance of these young soldiers. The captain at the head suddenly stood up and shouted: "Gentlemen, since this is the case, let's bravely commit suicide!" ”

Before the words fell, a teenager retorted loudly: "No, the war is not over yet, our enemies are the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain." We're going to fight them to the end! ”

"But Wakamatsu City is gone, where can we go?" The captain shouted angrily.

"Let's go to Hakodate. Before this departure, I heard that Hakodate had been taken by the shogunate army, and that they were going to continue fighting the Choshu domain there. If you die like this without even fighting a battle, this is a shame for the samurai! The dissenting teenager shouted.

The boys of the White Tigers have been embraced by the samurai spirit since childhood, and the life of the samurai is like a cherry blossom, blooming brightly and then quickly withering. The place where this bloom and withering is the battlefield, the battlefield where the feudal lord fought for the shogunate. The teenagers soon came to an agreement, and they began to head north.

In the evening, they found that the smoke coming from Wakamatsu Castle was not violent, but the fire had been extinguished. The boys began to feel that something was wrong, and the impulsive captain came to his senses at this time, and he tried to get closer to Wakamatsu Castle with his small army.

Outside the castle, there were indeed Meiji government forces who were also storming Wakamatsu Castle, but Wakamatsu Castle was still fiercely resisting at this time. Seeing this, the teenagers immediately made a detour to the outside of the city, and when they saw that it was the young soldiers of the White Tigers, the troops defending the city opened the small door and let them in.

The joy of seeing your children back and seeing your parents still alive comes from the heart. However, this joy did not last long, and the follow-up troops of the shogunate army continued to advance, and Wakamatsu Castle was under siege. The shogunate army bombarded Wakamatsu Castle, the outer castle, and the city town with heavy artillery fire. The feudal lord Matsudaira Yoho gathered the troops defending the castle, and his voice was deep but firm. "Wakamatsu Castle can't hold it anymore, and I won't leave Wakamatsu Castle. But you don't have to stay in Wakamatsu Castle. ”

The Aizu War was fought extremely fiercely, and in a battle of tens of thousands of people like Fushimi Toba, only a few hundred people died. The Aizu War has been waged so far, and the number of dead has exceeded 6,000. What shook the alliance of the Ou Domains was the Battle of Nihonmatsu Castle. After the lord of the Nihonmatsu clan fled, the old Niwa Ichigaku organized the Nihonmatsu Junior Team with seniors over 60 years old and children aged 12~18 years old from the Nihonmatsu Domain. The junior team, led by Kotaro Kimura, was deployed at the entrance of the main altar in the south of the city. On the morning of the 29th, the eastern entrance to the central part was first broken by the new government forces, and fierce fighting also began at the entrance of the big altar. Almost all of the boys' team members were killed in the battle, and Niwa Kazugaku committed suicide by disembowelment after setting fire to the castle.

The Meiji government forces not only did not stop there, but continued to set fire to Nihonmatsu Castle. When the fire was extinguished, there were no survivors left in the city. Since Matsudaira Yoho, the lord of the Aizu Domain, said that he would not leave Wakamatsu Castle, he had made a plan to die with Wakamatsu Castle. The feudal lords all made such plans, and the leaders of the garrison were inexplicably saddened and indignant. Many people couldn't hold back their tears, and if it weren't for the minimum politeness in front of the feudal lord, some people might have cried bitterly.

Matsudaira Yoho continued: "But you don't have to stay in the city, you can break through and go to Sendai." Once you arrive in Sendai, you continue north to Hakodate. Now that the shogunate warriors are gathering for Sendai, once you get there, you will be able to continue fighting with Choshu and the Satsuma domain. ”

"Your Highness, come with us." Immediately, a vassal shouted. This remark sparked a chorus of harmony among the old retainers.

Matsudaira Yoho smiled bitterly, "The Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain want my head, if I am not in the city, they will kill the city after it is broken." If I, Matsudaira Yoho, surrender in person while I'm in the city, they'll only cut off my head. There is also a chance that the entire people of Wakamatsu Castle will live. ”

The elders and retainers looked at Matsudaira Rongbao in amazement, they didn't expect the feudal lord to have made such a decision. It is also true of the tradition in Japan that if the feudal lord and his family can "bravely take responsibility", then the people below will be able to live. If the feudal lord dies, the people below will "bravely take responsibility" according to their status.

After defeat and surrender, it is a death anyway, this is the Japanese rule. It is because the feudal lords know this rule, some of them flee and some commit suicide, but few dare to surrender bravely, and then let the enemy cut off their own heads. Matsudaira Rongbao calmly accepted this fate, which is an extremely rare thing. It is also something that his subordinates are moved, but they can't accept it.

Matsudaira Rongbao didn't let the love continue to ferment, he said: "Do you know the Red Newspaper Team? ”

The elders, retainers, and vassals all shook their heads. In these years, the Odd Soldiers, the White Tigers, and the Nihonmatsu Boys, such irregular armies were all named by various team names. The other squadrons were as many as they wanted, and the Red Newspaper was an organization they really hadn't heard of.

Matsudaira said: "The Red Newspaper Brigade was established last year to defeat the shogunate, and they only collected 50% of the tax after the shogunate was overthrown along the way. After the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain used them, they killed the Red Newspaper team. The troops of the Choshu and Satsuma domains outside the castle included troops close to the Akaho team, and we contacted them. They promised to pretend to engage if they encountered our breakouts. Take advantage of this opportunity to escape and go to Sendai. ”

"Your Highness!" People want to convince Matsudaira Rongho to rush out with them.

Matsudaira Rongbao waved his hand and shouted in an irrefutable tone: "This is my order, you obey the order now and prepare to break through immediately!" Above! Go down! ”

The White Tigers, as a cadet corps of non-commissioned officers, can be called "junior military academy" according to later terms. In this era of origin and status, the people who were able to go to school here were loyal to the feudal lords. Seeing that the feudal lord was ready to be generous, he let his subordinates leave first. The captain of the White Tiger Team took a step forward and knelt down in the hall, "Your Highness, please come with us!" As soon as he said a word, the boy was already crying bitterly.

Seeing that it was the boy of the White Tigers who came out to speak, Matsudaira Rongho stood up and walked in front of the boy, he bent down and helped the boy up, "If I leave, what will your parents of the White Tigers do?" ”

Of course, the boy couldn't say anything to let his parents be killed, he choked and grabbed Matsudaira Rongbo's arm, "Your Highness, if you don't leave, we won't leave either." ”

Matsudaira Rongbao patted the young man on the shoulder, and he tried his best to squeeze out a smile, "If you don't leave, who can continue the banner of our Tsu domain." Having said this, Matsudaira Rongho patted the shoulder of the White Tiger boy again, "For the sake of our Tsu Clan, for me, for your parents, please live well!" ”

The boy of the White Tigers couldn't say anything more, he could only kneel down and weep bitterly and kowtow to Matsudaira Yoho, then staggered to his feet and retreated to his seat.

The breakthrough was as smooth as Matsudaira Yoshiho said, including 500 Hirohito of the old Makutoshi army commanded by Otori, more than 500 soldiers of the Aizu domain commanded by Gennosumu Tanaka of the Aizu domain, more than 100 defeated remnants of the Nihonmatsu clan commanded by the old Nihonmatsu clan Niwa Tanba, and more than 50 remnants of the old Shinsengumi under the command of Toshizo Yamaguchi (Saito Ichi). In addition, about 100 soldiers from each clan of the Eastern Army, including Sendai, and 80 Hirohito, young soldiers of the White Tigers, a mixed force of about 1,300 people, began to march towards Sendai in the north.

Finally escaping from the Meiji government army's pursuit, the young soldiers of the White Tigers stopped first. Everyone thought that these teenagers were lacking in strength, because they couldn't support it because they were tired. But I didn't care too much.

However, the teenagers gathered together to say something, and then under the leadership of the captain of the White Tiger Team, the teenagers suddenly knelt down in unison facing Wakamatsu Castle, the residence of the Aizu domain. Under the leadership of the captain, the teenagers drew their knives and cut off their buns.

Holding the bun representing their skull in their left hand, the boys of the White Tigers, led by the captain, shouted:

"We will never give in to the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain in this life!"

"From today onwards, when you see the soldiers of the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain, you will be cut with your sword!"

"If you encounter a battle, you will never retreat, and you will die!"

After taking the vow, the boys put their knives back into their scabbards and threw the bun representing their heads in the direction of Wakamatsu Castle. Then he turned around and followed the team. The young man's expression was stern, and a strange light flashed in his eyes, as if he had grown up in an instant. The sharp eyes and the stern expression made adults feel quite stressed when they saw it.