It's snowing. Snowflakes fell from the sky one after another, some of them melted into droplets of water and soaked the earth not long after they fell to the ground, and some of them fell on the cold grass blades or branches that had long been frozen by the cold wind, gradually accumulating a layer of ice and snow white. The longer the snow falls, the whiter it gets. The black road becomes clearer and clearer in this white world.

"Yaga!" Nogi Noshinori's pale face kicked a box of canned luncheon meat at his feet, and scolded at the mountain pass in the north. The direction of the pass was empty, the fires on both sides of the road leading to the pass had been extinguished, and the black charcoal, the wood that had not yet been completely burned had been covered with a mixture of ice and snow, and it was cold and heatless. The empty cans eaten by the Hokkaido Army were scattered around the pyre, and God knows how long they had been out of here.

"Your Excellency the Division Commander, are we still going to chase after us?" The chief of staff's face was not very good-looking, and the aroma of luncheon meat in the air made him swallow his saliva. In the plan, the Meiji army bypassed a mountain trail and penetrated here, probably blocking the retreat of tens of thousands of Hokkaido troops. However, the Hokkaido army ran like rabbits, and they didn't seem to have any rest at all for two days and two nights, just a vigorous retreat.

In the battle with the Hokkaido Army, the biggest feeling of the Meiji Army was not how strong the opponent's combat power was, but that their equipment was too good. From the time of the Ezo Republic, the equipment of the Hokkaido Army was stronger than that of the Meiji Army. At first it was rubber shoes of the Hokkaido Army to straw sandals of the Meiji Army. The Meiji Army has finally popularized rubber-soled marching shoes, but the Hokkaido Army has popularized rubber-soled boots lined with wool. Nogi Noshinori and the chief of staff wore this kind of captured mid-waisted military boots on their feet, and after experiencing it for themselves, both of them felt the great advantage of this equipment in terms of winter marching ability.

In addition to shoes, the fleece jacket of the Hokkaido Army is light and warm, and the military uniform of "labor cloth" is wear-resistant and durable. Everyone has a military coat and a thick cotton hat. Combined with wool fleece pants, Hokkaido's "livestock" can go to sleep on the cold winter ground at any time, and continue to pull when they wake up. The Meiji army could only carry heavy quilts on their backs, and several people who slept were huddled together.

If you don't rest well, your physical strength will naturally be affected. Even though Japan has a tradition of spiritual supremacy, the real world is a materialistic world. Mental power can be blown on the lips casually, or it can be used to motivate yourself when you are full and warm. When you are cold and tired, the adrenal secretion will be greatly affected.

In addition to rest, it is important to eat. Canned luncheon meat, canned fruit, and marching water bottles were all too expensive and extravagant in the eyes of the Meiji army to ensure the food supply of the Hokkaido army. The officers and soldiers of the Meiji Army ate onigiri, and only cold onigiri. The Hokkaido army put the tin cans in the fire, and the kettle was placed next to the fire, and it didn't take long to eat a hot meal. After eating, take a short rest and move on warmly.

The little bit of the gap accumulated, making the planned perfect encirclement and annihilation plan that could cut off the retreat of the Hokkaido Army half a day earlier become a joke. Nogi Noshinori's anger comes from the heart, Japan has been a herbivorous people since ancient times, doesn't the current style of the Hokkaido Army feel ashamed of its ancestors?

Even if the Hokkaido Army, which was an enemy of the enemy, made such a move that was indignant to the gods, Nogi Noshinori still maintained a minimum of rationality. He ordered not to chase any more, but to stabilize the position first and prevent the Hokkaido army from killing the horses. And the troops are already very tired after a long march, so it is only right to let everyone rest and at least drink some hot water.

As soon as the order was given, the Meiji army began to move. Seeing his subordinates scrambling for empty lunch meat boxes while avoiding the officer's sight, Nogi Noshinori could only equip and didn't see it. Because of some of the captures, Nogi Noshinori himself had eaten this kind of military rations. It smells of meat, but it's not all meat. With a salty and fragrant seasoning, it goes perfectly with freshly steamed rice balls. If you have canned fish from Hokkaido, canned yellow peaches and spirits from China, you can even hold up a banquet in the army.

When ordinary soldiers clean up the battlefield, the first thing they grab is naturally comfortable military boots, followed by this kind of canned food. The junior officers tried to keep these two things as their own, and when it came to giving gifts to their superiors, these two things were the most affordable. The soldiers had no choice but to collect the empty tin boxes and boil water. A little meaty is always much better than no meat.

Nogi Noshinori knew that for these things, there were even deaths in the Meiji army. For the soldier's undignified practice, he could only turn a blind eye and pretend not to see it.

In fact, the Hokkaido Army's broken troops were also taken aback by Nogi Noshinori's appearance. The retreat was hard, which required the decisiveness of the commander, as well as the cohesion of the troops. Even well-fed, warmly dressed, and traveling day and night is a huge challenge for the troops. I thought that the Meiji army would be left far behind by a rapid march, but I suddenly found that if I was a little sluggish, I would be attacked by the Meiji army. The feeling of fear is inevitable.

However, the troops were completely withdrawn, and this fear is only a fear. The Meiji Army, dominated by Choshu and Satsuma Domain, did too many things against the people of Tohoku during the Boshin War more than a decade ago. For more than a decade, the entire Tohoku region did not have the slightest sense of newness to the Meiji government. This time, the Hokkaido Army was based on Hokkaido, but it was also entrenched in the Tohoku region, and each side occupied a reliable base. Japan, with a population of more than 30 million, was divided into the Meiji government of more than 20 million and the Hokkaido government of more than 10 million, and the balance of power began to enter a stage of parity. The balance of power meant that the civil war began to enter a phase of stalemate.

The personnel dispatched by the Liberation Army also understood this, and the leader informed everyone that the report of the successful retreat had been sent to the Military Commission. What we need to do now is to put aside these thoughts and see if we can help the Hokkaido Army complete the defense system of Tohoku Japan.

The political commissar said: "After all, the Hokkaido Army has not returned here for more than ten years, and public opinion against the Meiji government does not mean that public opinion will support the Hokkaido government." Purely from the point of view of public opinion, stopping the war and living well is what the people of Tohoku Japan really need. ”

These clichés did not make most of the young soldiers very interested, but Qi Rui was deeply interested in the words of the political commissar. The people of Tohoku Japan hope that after the Meiji government is ousted, they will never have to fight again, and they will never have to be attacked again. This may seem naïve, but it is not wrong. What we have to do now is to mentally associate the war with the good days after victory.

But after thinking about it, Qi Rui felt that this was too difficult. The stalemate has been reached, and neither the Meiji government nor the Hokkaido government will agree to such a stable division of Japan in two. The civil war needs to be divided into high and low, at least until there is no more blood left on both sides. It was only 20 years after the end of the Chinese Civil War, and tens of millions died in the Yangtze River basin, tens of millions in the northwest, and tens of millions in the Huai River basin, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. With more than 100 million people dying in the war, is it possible that the Liberation Army will stand still?

"I think we can organize some counter-offensives in the winter, and the snow does hinder military operations, but the snow also makes it difficult to move the Meiji government forces. As long as you can seize the opportunity, it is actually a good choice to encircle the point and send reinforcements. Ma Xiaoming does not seem to have reflected on the war, and he made suggestions from a purely military perspective.

Someone took the lead, and these young mid-ranking officers immediately became active. Qian mostly nodded slightly while spreading out the map. "Before withdrawing to the Northeast, the Hokkaido Army was the main army in Tokyo, and the mines in Tokyo Bay caused the Hokkaido Army to suffer a lot of restraint. Now that the Meiji Army is the main army, I think the Hokkaido Army can lay mines in Tokyo Bay. Not only Tokyo, but also the Seto Inland Sea area can also be visited. The warships of the Hokkaido Army have a large tonnage and a long range. The implementation of sea harassment was enough to cause internal turmoil in the Meiji army. It's not a good feeling to be held with a gun in the back. ”

"Not necessarily, the key is the cost. If there is no major success in running this far, it will only make the Meiji Gun's fleet near the Seto Inland Sea more careful. However, I am in favor of harassment in Tokyo Bay. Li Yannian immediately expressed his opinion.

Everyone is involved, and Qi Rui has no reason to immerse himself in the reflection on the war. He settled down and had his own way of thinking. "Whether the Meiji government will move from Kyoto to Tokyo this time is still a question. Tokyo is unstable at this time, and moving the capital in winter is far more troublesome than in other seasons. Tokyo has been fighting for so long, and the food supply is also a problem. I don't think the Meiji government has the ability to complete the food supply in the short term. Without food, are they always ready to bomb the hungry? Staying in Kyoto is no problem, so it's not too late to stabilize the situation in Tokyo and return to Tokyo when the spring flowers bloom or after the harvest season. ”

"Huh!" Ma Xiaofeng sneered, "With the current situation in Japan, what grain can they harvest?" Most of the harvested grain will be requisitioned for military rations. During our civil war, in order to meet the demand for food, His Majesty opened up the grain supply lines of Vietnam and Siam, so that the southeastern provinces as the rear and the coastal cities where industries were concentrated did not lack food. I admire the five-body throw of the strategy, which can improve the people's living standards while fighting the war. Naturally, the people felt that the battle was well fought. Hokkaido may be better, they do have a food supply base, and we have cheap food supplies. As long as they do their jobs as transit stations, they will not lack money to buy food. The Meiji government, on its part, had to eat themselves. If they want to wait for the food to subside, I'm afraid they won't. ”

Qi Rui has always felt that he is already a very discerning soldier, but when he talks to the outstanding people of his generation, he has to realize. The heroes of the world have never been lacking.