"This is what happened to you!"

A corpse was dropped from the castle by the Shimazu army, and it fell heavily to the ground in an arc in the air, making a muffled sound.

After paying the price of more than 1,000 people again, the shogunate army finally leveled all the obstacles under the castle and uprooted several Shimazu army strongholds outside the castle one by one.

Under the cover of artillery fire from the castle, the daimyo of the shogunate army began to besiege the castle.

This time, the artillery fire of the Nanzhong Army is no longer a work effort, but a taste of what is called artillery warfare, what is precision, and what is speed and furious!

Two mortars also belatedly joined the battle group, and the iron cannon oars and lime walls at the head of the city were cleared one by one.

Under the unified command of the artillery officers of the Nanchu Army, the Shogunate and the Daimyo Franc machine also obtained unprecedented accuracy, and under the report of the rangefinder of the artillery team, the Franc machine adjusted the yuan, opened the cannon, reloaded the gun, and then fired the cannon, which was accurate and ruthless compared to the previous shooting effect. The near-perfect artillery technology is an eye-opener for the shogunate army, and it turns out that this is how artillery is used!

In this way, the Shimazu army, which had been stationed in various fortifications, was unlucky. The cannonballs fell on the fortifications above them, and the heavy cannonballs pierced the civil towers, and the iron cannons collapsed and fell on the soldiers who were stationed in them, who were either struck by the beams of the houses or their bodies broken in two by the shells, and the pink mist of blood splattered in all directions, and the crimson flesh flew everywhere. Or a huge blood hole appears in the body, and the inner intestine of the inner disc is broken. Or the whole thigh, the whole arm is broken, the blood gushes out like a fountain, the severed limbs are fleshy, the blood mist is filled, and it looks even more cold in this cold weather.

After the artillery fire, several huge gaps appeared in the castle, and it looked very incongruous on the neat and majestic Kumamoto Castle, like a beautiful woman showing her teeth.

"The destruction of the city is today!"

Tadayuki Kuroda is in the north of the city. Tokugawa Yoshinao is in the south of the city. They all shouted loudly, encouraging their subordinates to attack bravely.

The black-pressed crowd rushed to the city in a blink of an eye, and the warriors who could discourage countless people in the past looked so pale and powerless in front of the cloud ladder. Some brave samurai. Shouting and dancing on the brick and stone slopes that had collapsed from the city's head. Finger-waving knives and spears tried to be the first to rush to the city.

Under the great temptation of the first to reward him. People quickly erected a ladder and fell to the head of the city, and the ladder was pushed down by the defenders of the city. Soon another ladder was erected.

Eventually, ladders were erected, and the soldiers of the shogunate army swarmed up.

A tidal wave of cheers rang out in the shogunate army under the castle, and the daimyo celebrated each other with their crowns, and began to look forward to the better days after the castle was destroyed.

"Spearmen in array!"

Nabeshima Katsushige played another trump card of his own.

Thousands of spearmen lined up in a dense array of siege ladders, their eyes full of bloodthirsty fire and the desire to kill, and some licked chapped lips with scarlet tongues to keep them less dry in the cold wind.

A soldier of the shogunate army appeared at the head of the castle, and he shouted with joy in his mouth, waving the long sword and banner in his hand, "I, the Ashigaru head of the Kuroda family, have become the first ......"

Before he could finish speaking, the heads of three or four spears had reached his chest.

His body was picked up by the combined efforts of the four spearmen, and he was thrown down the ladder at the head of the city, and the tumbling corpse acted as a rolling stone.

The people on the ladder screamed and fell from mid-air.

In the same way, several nearby ladders, the samurai and ashigaru were still clinging to them like ants, and they were overturned by the defenders at the head of the castle, and a series of screams came and went.

"Fire!"

Taking advantage of the chaos under the city and the inability to launch an offensive against the city, the iron cannons at the city head once again organized a fire on the dense crowd below.

The crowd and the chaotic scene, the gunners didn't have to aim at all, they just went to the place where there were many people and more flags.

"Shoot the arrows!"

As the artillery retreated to reload, a group of archers swarmed forward, drew their longbows and fired their arrows at the crowd below.

Although the Japanese bamboo bow is insufficient, the castle is densely packed with siege shogunate troops, and there is no need for strong bow power. Countless arrows rained down, and arrows like hedgehogs suddenly grew on the ground under the city.

However, more and more ladders come up, and many of them have flying hooks on their heads, and once they hook the city wall, they can't be knocked down. The hook is made of iron, and even if the defenders wield their swords and axes, they are not so easy to cut.

However, you have a good plan, and I have a wall ladder. The many iron cannon turrets on the castle wall and the hidden places behind the castle tower are constantly boiling boiling water in cauldrons, and the boiling water is steaming. Many of the defenders carefully wrapped their hands and faces with cotton cloth, scooped a scoop of boiling water with a long wooden scoop, and fell down to the shogunate soldiers who were on the ladder.

A howl that did not resemble a human voice sounded, and as the boiling water continued to splash down, the exposed skin of the soldiers of the shogunate army instantly turned red, and then immediately a large area of blisters appeared, and the unlucky one was directly poured by the boiling water, and the entire skin was scalded off, revealing the bright red tender flesh under the skin.

Since ancient times, water and fire have been the most ruthless.

"Invite them to tea first, and then invite them to roast the fire!"

With the order of the birch-mountain long guard, the castle suddenly burst into flames, and the Shimazu army on the city continued to throw down bundles of straw.

The straw was sprinkled with gunpowder, drenched with water, and when lit, the flames and smoke rolled at the foot of the city, and ladders were burned. Countless soldiers of the shogunate army were led by straw to their clothes, either rolling on the ground with their whole bodies on fire, or rushing into the crowd screaming with a body of fire. In the thick smoke, many people coughed and gasped, and their eyes were so red and swollen that they could hardly open their eyes.

Taking advantage of the chaos, ladders were overturned. Immediately after that, the iron cannon overhead was fired again, and dense arrows fell from the sky, and bursts of howls under the city continued to sound.

The raindrops of iron cannons and arrows fell alternately, and the shogunate army besieging the city became more and more chaotic, and the people under the hedgehog city were either hit by iron cannons or were shot by several arrows. By this time. The courage of the people has been exhausted.

Whether it's the Ronin of the Volunteers. The Ashigaru samurai, who were still affiliated with the various daimyos, all threw down the ladders or weapons in their hands to recognize the flag, and fled back like headless flies.

Later, after a short period of rectification, someone was beheaded. Someone was ordered to seppuku. With the artillery support of the South Central Army. The daimyo and the bannermen directly under the shogunate once again organized an offensive against the castle.

Spears and thorns, iron cannon bombardment, bow and arrow throwing. Even boiling water and burning bales of straw have become a weapon of protection. These tricks were repeatedly used by the Shimazu army at the head of the castle. The besieging shogunate army was at a loss.

The number of wounded soldiers sent to the camp of the South Central Army was more than one at one time.

Kumamoto Castle has been turned into a huge meat grinder, and both the attackers and defenders have a headache for the huge casualties. But I have to grit my teeth and persevere, once I can't support it, it will give the other party an opportunity to take advantage of it, causing disastrous consequences.

Under the city walls, there are piles of meat and muddy parts, stumps and broken arms in various states, and scattered large intestines and small intestines. Layers upon layers of corpses. And the characteristic castle wall that Kumamoto Castle is proud of, the warrior is even more covered with blood, and before the blood has dried up in many places, another layer of blood is covered, flowing silently from the stone wall downward. The corpses under the city were one after another, many of which had been deformed and unrecognizable, apparently trampled to death while fleeing for their lives.

The city was also covered with blood, and pools of dark red blood and bodily fluids of various colors shone coldly in the cold wind. The artillery fire of the Southern Chinese Army and the iron cannons under the city that provided cover for the siege troops worked very well, and the blood flowing from the wounded and corpses of the various shells and cannons was quickly condensed on the ground in this bitter cold weather, and it was extremely slippery to step on.

In addition to the disgusting smell of blood, the wind blew everywhere with bursts of desperate moans and cries. Many people began to vomit, especially those who had just put down their farm tools and picked up spears and bamboo bows, many of them experienced this bloody scene for the first time, and some people kept vomiting until they couldn't even vomit bile.

The castle was better, and the various departments of the shogunate army sent people to gather the soldiers who had been hit by iron cannons, shot by arrows, scalded by boiling water, and stabbed by spears, and supported each other and sent them to the Nanchu army camp for treatment.

The defenders at the head of the city did not bother to waste their energy on these unarmed peasants, leaving them to take the wounded and dead.

At the top of the city, the soldiers who were smashed by cannonballs, injured their bodies, or hit by cannonballs, they had nowhere to go to heal, and the limited medical power had to be used for the samurai's bodies. They can only wait for death in a cry of pain.

Soon, the offensive and defensive battles, which had caused great distress on both sides, came to an end before the sun set.

In the military tent of the general general, Tokugawa Yoshinao complained to Matsudaira Nobutsuna continuously.

Since the beginning of the war, not counting those ronins, his second army has lost nearly 5,000 casualties, and even his headquarters has also suffered more than 1,000 casualties. As for the major armies under his command, the casualties were even greater.

"Do you want Your Highness to increase the number of artillery? Breaking through Shimabara Castle on the same day, the Nanchu Army can break the city in one day, why did our shogunate army have to delay for a long time under this Kumamoto Castle? In the art of war, it is not a good thing to have troops under a fortified city! In a few outward daimyo camps, there are some rumors. ”

"What rumors?!"

"These people say that the Daimyo came to Kyushu to kill them with the sword of the Shimazu family. Because they, like Shimazu, were both the Western Army at the time of the Battle of Sekigahara! ”

"Bastard!"

The general threw the sake glass in his hand to the floor, and the glass shattered instantly.

"Shimabara Castle is a group of rebels and ronins, can it be compared to the elite soldiers of the Shimazu family? Can Shimabara Castle compare to Kumamoto Castle, one of the three strongest castles in the world? Can our army be compared with the South Central Army?! As for the dead and wounded! ”

The Admiral stopped talking.

It is a secret of the Shogunate Family Center to use the Kyushu Tide War to weaken the strength of the Daimyo and even some genealogical daimyos. If it weren't for the South Chinese Army, they would have taken in the wounded. It's winter again, and infectious diseases are not easy to break out, but I'm afraid that the plague will already break out under Kumamoto Castle!

"That's it! How to siege the city without dying! When Osaka Castle was conquered, our army also suffered heavy casualties! After months of hard fighting, Osaka Castle was taken! ”

Tokugawa Yoshinao, who participated in the Osaka Winter Battle and the Summer Battle, still remembers the battle that forced Tokugawa Ieyasu to almost commit suicide.

"However, no matter what, I must go and visit His Highness, and ask him to increase the artillery fire of the many iron cannons at the head of the city tomorrow to reduce the casualties of our army!"

"That's right! Old and middle-aged adults. I also want to ask His Highness to come to our army's aid with at least 30,000 rounds of medicine! ”

"Your Excellency, Admiral. My lord, His Royal Highness sent his attendants to invite the two of them over to drink, saying that they had important matters to discuss. ”

Outside the tent door, Tokugawa Yoshinao's retainers sent an invitation from Li Huayu.

The two looked at each other. I was surprised. Have something important to discuss? I hope you don't want to retreat! Think of the worst-case scenario. The two immediately threw themselves into their hands and led their retainers from the camp to Huayu.

The large camp of the Nanzhong Army covers an extremely wide area, and almost all the original sites of Zhuqiu City are included in the scope.

The entire camp is divided into two parts: inside and outside.

In the outer camp. Hundreds of military officers shuttled back and forth, inspecting wounds, cleaning wounds, and dressing those wounded. The camp was filled with the pungent smell of medicine and the screams of wounded soldiers as their wounds were cleaned.

Those wounded soldiers who were admitted here early due to injuries were classified according to different injuries, disrupting the original regional vassal framework, exchanging injuries with each other, telling about the experience and experience of recuperating from injuries, and many people had already made up their minds, and after their injuries were healed, they went to Nanzhong with the ships of the Nanzhong Army to make a living.

The wounded soldiers who were burned and the ronins who were injured by the arrows were very friendly with each other, sharing the food of the Nanzhong Army. As people who have signed labor contracts, with the armband on their arms, they can enjoy the food standards of the soldiers and civilians in Nanzhong, and the meals are quite rich in their opinion, and they are steamed rice from completely good japonica rice that many ordinary people do not necessarily have to eat during the New Year, and large pieces of salted fish and beef are stewed and then poured on the rice steaming, so that the wounded soldiers in the outer camp eat even more happily, and forget the pain of their wounds.

"The siege was frustrated, how do you think the next step should be?"

In his big tent, Hua Yu asked the commanders of the shogunate army in front of him very casually.

After a few days of storming, nearly 10,000 wounded soldiers have been accommodated in the camp outside, and after selection, those who do not affect labor are all contained as labor objects, and the side that attacked the fortification suffered so many casualties that the side defending the city did not necessarily get better.

Kumamoto Castle's second day and a dozen iron cannon turrets had been reduced to ruins under the fire, and the remaining building materials had been turned into boiling water and rolling logs thrown under the castle. Although it is not known how many casualties the defenders of the city were, the number of iron cannons fired and the longer and longer stay of the besiegers at the head of the city showed that the defenders in the city also suffered heavy casualties.

What's worse is that they may not have such logistical support as the shogunate army. The South Chinese army fleet kept bringing in food supplies and ammunition, and then transported the prisoners of various divisions as trophies.

"It's been a few days since the city was broken! The ministers also hope that His Royal Highness can transport the artillery in the battalion to the city and strengthen the suppression of the artillery fire at the head of the city! ”

In the inner camp, Liang Kuan and others set up forts at several points on the wall, and aimed more than a dozen cannons at the only way to enter and exit the camp. These cannons have now become Matsudaira Nobutsuna's thoughts, hoping to become the key to Kumamoto Castle.

"The siege must be taken, but I have a way to make Kumamoto Castle unattacked."

Huayu's tone was very well handled.

"However, I need the shogunate to provide two thousand tiger ben elite daredevils, and a general to command these people. As soon as this plan came out, not only Kumamoto Castle could be conquered overnight, but Kagoshima, the old nest of the Shimazu family, was also reduced to ashes in an instant! ”

Hearing this, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Tokugawa Yoshinao, and Kuroda Tadayuki were in high spirits, and they conquered the two castles of Kumamoto and Kagoshima in one fell swoop. With these two castles, the Kyushu tide can be declared to subside. The biggest battle since the world was put to rest in his own hands.

The next day, the sky was just showing the whiteness of the fish's belly, and a new round of offensive began.

Almost all of the Tokugawa family's elite banners were dispatched, and the cannons of the Nanchu Army were all pulled to the city and aimed at the city. Dozens of carts were constantly transporting gunpowder and artillery shells, and these signs made the defenders of the city tremble.

In the north of the city, the banner of the general Matsudaira Nobutsuna appeared in people's field of vision.

In the south of the city, the commander of the Second Army, Tokugawa Yoshinao, shouted and cursed within the sight of Nabeshima Katsushige, urging all armies and units to move under the city.

"Katsumo-kun, it seems that in today's battle, the shogunate army is pouring out. You and I, if you can still stand here before sunset today, it will really be blessed by the ancestral gods! ”

"Jiu Shoujun, why do you say this? Although the shogunate army was outnumbered and had sharp firearms, it was a refueling tactic, and the artillery refused to be used at one time, and the soldiers and horses were also wearing a lot of losses these days. This Kumamoto Castle is where you and I are famous all over the world! ”

"I hope so!"

"Just in case, I've ordered someone to go to Kagoshima Castle again to ask for help!" ……

It's another day of hard fighting, so I won't repeat it.

When a bleak round of moonlight was cast onto the battlefield, the defenders of the city noticed that someone was quietly moving towards the city in the pile of dead people below.

Immediately, he captured this person and sent him to the two governors.

Unexpectedly, this person was one of the first envoys to Kagoshima.

When the ashen and smoky messenger saw the two governors, he fell to his knees and wept bitterly.

"Kagoshima is finished!"

"The shogunate army used one gunboat as the vanguard, four gunboats suppressed on both wings, and four more fireships continued to unleash heavenly fire on Kagoshima Castle, and the castle tower at the head of the castle turned into a sea of fire in a blink of an eye! Then, thousands of elite soldiers from the four troop transports of the shogunate army rushed out and rushed into Kagoshima Castle! ”

"In addition to the sea of fire in the city, it is the banner of the shogunate!"

"Shimazu family, it's over!" (To be continued......)