On August 29, the 5th year of the Ming Dynasty, as night fell, at the northern foot of Yanran Mountain, the war clouds rolled on the grassland on the bank of the Wengjin River, under the cover of night, nearly 7,000 Eight Banners and Cossack cavalry, with the rank of man, the horse picked the bell, like a ghost and a ghost, and quickly advanced to the camp of the Ming army's mounted infantry.

At the same time, Shi Dakai and Saigo Takayong also issued an order to prepare for battle, and began to patrol their campsites separately.

The soldiers who had been ordered had ended their short, sweet sleep and began to eat their supper in silence, perhaps their last meal. Whether Chinese or Japanese serving in the Ming army, officers or ordinary soldiers, the standard of the meal was the same, air-dried cured pork, dry and hard pastry, some pickles, plus a pot of tea, which the soldiers had to swallow by order, supposedly to allow their bodies to take in some necessary vitamins.

While the officers and soldiers were eating, Shi Dakai and Saigo Takayong patrolled the camp with their hands behind their backs, and from time to time they would say a few words to their subordinates and make jokes to ease the tension in the war. At this time, the officers and soldiers also began to talk in a low voice, saying words of encouragement to each other.

"Three thousand generations of crows in the world have been killed, and they will sleep with you until dawn......

At this time, Takasugi Shinsaku, a young man who served as a soldier in the Prairie Army, pulled his countryman and boss, the tall and handsome Katsura Kogoro, and whispered a waka that represented his heart, and also presented a love letter with both hands.

Takasugi and Katsura were both Choshu feudal clansmen, Takasugi was the eldest son of Sergeant Takasugi Haruki, while Katsura was the adopted son of the samurai Katsura Kuro Guard, who himself came from a family of feudal doctors. Although he was the eldest son, he was unable to inherit the family business because of his illness. My sister recruited a son-in-law. Both of them had great promises. But due to Zhu Tianzi's butterfly effect, they have now become Shugong courtiers to China—Shugong courtiers are openly recruited, and many Japanese samurai will also become Shugong courtiers as an opportunity to go abroad to see the world. As a result, it attracted many middle- and lower-level samurai who were unwilling to be lonely and quite talented.

Takasugi, who came from a good family (it would be nice to be able to eat well), also applied for the name after obtaining his father's consent, while Katsura was selected by the lord of the Choshu domain, Mori Keiko, to study abroad. Maori hoped that he would be admitted to the Royal Army Military Academy in the Ming Dynasty. However, the military academy does not admit foreigners unless the foreigner has served in the Ming army. Therefore, Gui Kogoro took the imperial examination and became the commander of a Japanese mercenary battalion with both civil and military excellence, and thus became the object of worship and admiration of many young samurai......

It sounds like a bit of a ji-based plot, in fact...... It's a base! This kind of thing was not very acceptable in 19th-century Europe, where relations between men and women were quite open. In the East, however, it is very commonplace. Even in conservative-minded China, there are many rich and powerful people who support prostitution children!

As for Japan, the love between men and women is more acceptable to the public, neither taboo nor moral, and even more noble than the love of men and women in samurai society, and has a more elegant sounding name: the way of the people.

Even in the "Bible" of bushido, the Hagakure Document, there is a special content about the various ways, which requires at least five years of observation and understanding of the other party before they can confide their love for the other person. Once the two are happy, they must swear to die like a martyr...... Elder brother.

In short, this man's man's foundation was very popular in Japan during the Edo period. The third generation of shogun Ietsuna and the fifth generation of shogun Tsunayoshi are both "general of the way", and they prefer men and men more than men and women. And there is a saying among Japanese folklore: "If you don't have a brother (boyfriend), you will be a teenager." It's like a girl who has no one to propose. ”

Moreover, in Japan in the Edo period, it was definitely taboo to snatch a man's boyfriend, and if you didn't do it, you would have to make a "love killing". In contrast, lewd wives and daughters and mothers are more acceptable......

"Takasugi-kun, let's fight well, when we finish this war and return to Japan, there is a better future waiting for us."

Katsura Kogoro smiled and took Takasugi's "love letter", and reached out and patted him on the shoulder, but his words were ambiguous. After all, as a "rich and handsome" (Katsura Kogoro's figure is very tall among the Japanese, about 1.75 meters, and he is also good-looking, and now he is the head of a battalion, he is considered a rich samurai), there are many suitors, and he can't answer them all.

"Hay!" Takasugi, who was still a teenager, smiled shyly, and continued to eat his "war rice" with his head down. If it weren't for the fact that there was about to be a war, it might take a few more years for him to confide his admiration to Katsura Kogoro, but now there may not be such an opportunity, so he can only advance it.

"Okubo-kun, you will take Katsura Kogoro's battalion to attack later!"

In a corner of the barracks, Okubo Ritsu, who also had love letters in his pocket, was summoned to Saigo Takanaga. Okubo, who wanted to become Tokugawa Ieyuki's teacher, was pulled by Saigo Takanaga to serve in the Ming Army, and his identity was a major staff officer.

"Sortie ......" Okubo asked a little strangely, "Saigo-sama, do you mean that the infantry should take the initiative to meet the cavalry?" ”

Saigo Takayong nodded: "That's what it means, now is the time when the grass is taller than people, as long as the cat is waisted, you can sneak in the grass, you can sneak close to the Russian Tatar cavalry, and then shoot with a Dreiser firing gun." ”

"But we will also be attacked by the enemy's cavalry, and our losses will be ......"

Saigo smiled faintly: "How can there be immortals in war?" This sortie can get a high level of merit! Anyone who participates in the action will be decapitated for one achievement, and if they win, they can add another achievement...... In this way, you can receive a bonus of 100 silver dollars, and the meritorious person can also get a share of the land! ”

"Land! Where is the land? Okubo Ritsu hurriedly asked. Of course, the feudal samurai in Japan liked land the most, but Zhu Jishi did not allocate Chinese land to them, because China itself lacked enough arable land, and the retainers of Shugong and the Yokohama feudal clan were both Japanese and did not become naturalized.

"The land of the Ryukyu Kingdom!" Saigo said, "The battle to recover the Ryukyus is about to begin!" There are about 100,000 stones to distribute. ”

"100,000 stones...... Isn't there no hiding under the palace? ”

The Ryukyu Kingdom did not have much arable land, and 100,000 koku was already an exaggeration, but the Satsuma clan had 30,000 koku in the Ryukyus and the Shomuro Dynasty had 50,000 koku.

Saigo Takayong smiled: "You can receive an annuity of 100,000 yuan every year under the Shu Palace, which is higher than the income of His Majesty the Emperor, and he still cares about this hidden in the ground?" He nodded: "Go and tell everyone the good news!" ”

As soon as Okubo Ritsu turned to leave, a crisp gunshot rang out from the northwest of the Ming camp, followed by several more gunshots - this was the Ming cavalry on the alert mission exchanging fire with the enemy.

"Quick, throw the gun!" Zuo Guigui, who was sitting on horseback, shouted loudly and threw the Bethesek riding rifle in his hand to one of his subordinates, and took a loaded riding rifle from him, and then raised his gun on horseback to shoot. With a bang, under the bright moonlight, a soldier of the Eight Banners who came galloping on his horse fell from his horse.

"Let's go!" After shouting, Zuo Guigui turned his horse's head and galloped wildly on the grassland under the cover of night with several of his subordinates.

A team of Eight Banners shouted and chased for a while, but when they saw that they didn't catch up, they could only turn back.

"Discovered!" Fu Fang looked at the Ming cavalry that disappeared into the night and sighed softly. Even the title of the person and the horse picking the bell did not escape the eyes of the Ming army's scouts, and the plan for the surprise attack had been lost.

Rosovsky said lightly: "It's nothing, the surprise attack was originally a fluke, and now that it is discovered, it will be attacked." He paused, "The soldiers are divided into two ways, Fu, you take the Eight Banners to attack the north of the enemy, and I take the Cossacks to the west of them...... Also, get your people on torches and move forward! ”

At the sound of an order, in the night, countless torches were suddenly lit, forming a long queue, and rushing towards the camp of the Ming army. The curtain of the bloody battle of Yanran Mountain has officially opened! (To be continued......)