The Satsuma artillery fired a bombardment, informing the Russian army that the Satsuma army had arrived. On March 4, Hachiro Miyazaki moved the command post to Tamama. At this time, the roundabout force of the Satsuma army had reached 8,000 people, while the Russian army in Gifu Castle was only 3,000 people, and the main force of the Satsuma Army in the north of Gifu City had nearly 20,000 people, which had an absolute advantage over the Russian army. On March 8, the Russian army in Gifu Castle began to organize a breakout force, each carrying 150 rounds of ammunition and two meals of dry rations, determined to desperately assault, regardless of the Satsuma army around them, only to break through in person and get in touch with the aid force. They set out at 4 a.m., happened to find a gap in the Satsuma Army's encirclement, and finally broke through and made contact with ISF. On March 4, the Russian army recruited 2,500 recruits and advanced to Shenglai. In this way, an interesting situation appeared on the battlefield: the main force of the Satsuma Army at Takayazaka and the roundabout troops of Tamada formed a situation of flanking the main forces of the Russian army in the Gifu area, and the main force of the Russian army formed a front and rear flanking attack with the newly recruited troops of the arriving Satsuma Army. Beginning on March 5, the newly recruited troops of the Russian army and the rear guard of the roundabout troops of the Satsuma army fought on the side of Baji, and the two sides fought fiercely until the 19th, when the Russian army suffered a decisive defeat, and the Russian army in Gifu finally failed to escape, except for 500 Russian troops who broke through under the leadership of a military priest, the rest were annihilated by the Satsuma army. Among them, on March 6, the commander of the Russian army in Gifu, Colonel Tapov, was killed in battle, and on the 12th, Senior Colonel Ottel, who was seriously wounded because he was hit by artillery fire in the Battle of Koya, committed suicide by swallowing a gun at the command post to avoid being captured by the Satsuma army, for the Russian army. This is undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Under the attack of the Satsuma army on both sides. The morale of the Russian army is declining day by day. Fortunately, on the 14th. The Russian 2nd Brigade made progress on the right flank, and the 1st Regiment under Major Yelov captured Kawajiri, a key point south of Gifu, that morning. After successive defeats, the main forces of the Russian army desperately blocked the line east of the Nakatsugawa River and Ina, and finally retreated to Kofu on April 10 under the pressure of the Satsuma army. After that, the Satsuma army won successive victories, and on the 14th they conquered Kawajiri, and the Russian troops on the front line east of Nakatsugawa and Kofu were forced to set fire to the fortifications on the 15th, and retreated to the Otsuki, Ueno, Toru, and Chichibu areas around Tokyo. The headquarters withdrew to Mt. Tannon. Hachiro Miyazaki entered Gifu that day. The Satsuma Army's detour changed the dull situation of frontal push and slow progress in one fell swoop, and achieved considerable success, which can be described as a wonderful battle in the Southwest War.

At this time, the Satsuma army was already approaching Tokyo, hearing the defeat of the Russian army, the people around Tokyo were shocked, the rich merchants and the children of the nobles fled one after another, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Lieutenant General Onegin, urgently ordered all the Russian troops around Tokyo to assemble, dig trenches on the spot and defend them, the Russian army concentrated about 30,000 troops in just 10 days, and it was easy to block the attack of the Satsuma army's forward. And then the Russian army kept coming. Toshiaki Kirino was worried that the battle line was too long, and it was easy to be surrounded by a lone army deep in. It was only by giving the order to retreat that Tokyo turned the corner.

For the Satsuma samurai, this advance to Tokyo Castle can be said to be the closest they have to victory, and it can be said that they are only one step away. With the continuous arrival of the brigade of Russian troops, the offensive of the Satsuma army was gradually contained, and this latest step was never taken again.

Tokyo, Imperial Palace.

Aiko Yanagihara once again fell into a nightmare of despair.

She ran desperately in a dark alley, surrounded by Japanese women in kimonos like her. Like her, they had their long hair tousled and cried helplessly in the puddle-filled alleys with their skirts in their skirts. Because once caught, what awaits them will be terrible torture and endless humiliation.

A faint light appeared at the entrance of the alley ahead, and a feeling flooded in her heart—that faint beating light like fireflies was the end of her escape. A black figure walked slowly towards them from the light, and it seemed that the clothes were Japanese, not with the savage Lucia, and the backlight made it impossible to see the man's face, and she had no intention of looking at it, for she had heard obscene laughter coming from behind.

She stumbled past the shadow, which did not stop them, but in despair she found several Lucia soldiers waiting for them with whips in hand. They approached them with a sinister grin, whips in their hands making terrible noises in the air, each one nailing her heart like a viper's fangs, making her shudder. When they tried to turn around, the people who were chasing them had arrived.

The two groups of men gradually converged, and surrounded them in the faint light—a lantern struggling in the night wind hanging in the doorway of a house on the side of the road. The women, who had been in the same direction, were suddenly in a mess, crying and screaming and scattering in all directions, and the Cossacks did not seem to be in a hurry to catch them, and they smiled and flashed to and fro to block their way, and groped them from time to time with their disgusting hands; Or pick up the woman who rushed to the side, kiss it, and throw it back into the center of the encirclement, like a pack of wolves playing with the lambs caught in their encirclement.

Suddenly, Aiko Yanagihara was pushed to the ground, and before she could stand up, a huge body straddled her waist, and she kicked him desperately, but was held down by two other Cossacks. The man sitting on top of her slapped her twice, tore the collar of her dress, buried his head in her chest, and rubbed his drunk, stubble-covered mouth against her. She almost choked on the blood, and then slowly trickled down the corners of her mouth. She cried desperately with every ounce of strength in her thin body, mingling with the screams of the women around her, but it didn't penetrate the dark clouds that covered the sky overhead.

In an instant, she felt as if her surroundings had suddenly become quiet, except for the crisp sound of horses' hooves in the distance, slow and powerful, striking into her body and her heartbeat.

A black-clad warrior slowly passed by them, and the Cossack thugs, as if intimidated by the sudden calmness, stopped all movement and lewd laughter, and only quietly followed his gaze slowly and slowly with his figure. The city, the Cossacks, and the women seemed to have disappeared, and only this warrior was left in heaven and earth. It seems that since time immemorial he has been moving slowly like this.

The samurai's gaze swept over everyone. The shining light from the black eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness around them and shoot at them. Every woman followed his gaze to beg for help. But the samurai's gaze did not linger on anyone, but lowered his head as if burned by the begging.

Since the Cossacks came to Japan, the nightmare of the Japanese woman began, and I am afraid that he is also numb to this kind of thing in front of him, under the same night, a similar group of people, how many times has this kind of thing happened.

The samurai slowly passed by them, and a Cossack reacted. Pushed the girl next to him hard: "Look at what, follow me!" He said in stiff Japanese.

A cyan light streaked through the dreary suffocating air, and the warrior's sword rested silently an inch in front of the Cossack's throat.

"Let go of your claws, if you don't want me to chop it off." Although the samurai's voice was not loud, it revealed a majesty that people did not dare to disobey.

"You ......," the Cossack thug seemed to recognize the family coat of arms on the man's samurai attire, "you leave our business alone, don't forget that it is...... Military ...... of the Russian Empire Saved you ......"

The warrior's eyes suddenly became sharper, and the Cossack swallowed the rest of the expletive.

"She's my friend!" The samurai said calmly.

This is when Aiko Yanagihara found out. The girl who was pushed just now was the black shadow that passed by just now, and she was also wearing a kimono. That's why the Cossack thugs mistook him for one of them. No, maybe the Cossack thugs were simply pretending to be confused. The thug on top of her stood up and walked towards the samurai, who seemed to be the leader of the group, for the rest of the Cossack thugs formed a half-encircled circle behind him.

The warrior sneered, and the sword in his hand slashed out another dark golden light, and the tip of the sword tore at the night wind with a loud roar like a tiger's roar, and pointed directly at the throat of the Cossack leader.

She screamed and turned her head, but she didn't hear the scream she expected. Turning his head, the tip of the warrior's sword rested firmly in front of the throat of the Cossack leader, who sat on the ground, his whole body stiff, his mouth open but not daring to speak, his head held high but desperately lowered his gaze to look at the tip of the sword. The surrounding Cossacks were also faceless.

"Get out!" The warrior said coldly, and the group of Cossacks turned and ran, stumbling and disappearing into the night. It was a similar situation to when they had fled for their lives.

The samurai didn't look at them again, but leaned over to pick the kimono woman up and carried her away.

She looked at their distant backs and was very envious of the kimono woman! But she didn't have much time to sigh, the Cossack thugs left but would soon return, and she had to seize every second to escape.

Bad luck haunted her like a nightmare.

Escaping from a group of beasts is only the beginning of being hunted by another group of animals. Soon, she was caught by another group of Cossacks. They were more ruthless and cautious, tying their hands and feet together with ropes, and she knew that the luck of sneaking out while the guards were drunk would never happen again. Another escort, of course, in their words, was just another batch of "goods", in which she found a few familiar faces - they were all aristocratic women who belonged to the "Jiuqinghua" family like the dead Shizue of Xiyuan Temple, and it seemed that she was not the only one who was haunted by bad luck.

The same night, the same destination, the same place, will you still be as lucky as last time?

She smiled wryly, trying to get rid of this childish thought. But suddenly I saw the black figure in front of me.

The Cossack thugs were only interested in bringing them back to enjoy themselves as soon as possible, and had no intention of clashing with the black-clad warriors, and they kept whipping them and driving them to the side of the road.

The samurai still walked past them with a blank face, the difference was that there was one more person beside him, and Yanagihara Aiko recognized her as the lucky girl from last time, still dressed like last time, but with an extra pale cyan turban on her head.

Some of the women he had rescued last time recognized him, stopped crying, looked up hopefully, and gave him begging glances again. But this time, the samurai didn't look at them as they passed by. Yes, his friends are already with him, so let's put away the boring fantasies.

"Leave those women behind. You can leave! The voice behind him was still so calm. Two paint stars were cast in the darkness. The samurai slowly approached.

Everyone turned around in unison, the Cossack thugs with astonishment and irritation, with longing and hope.

The Cossack thugs lined up with curses, looking at the Japanese samurai who had the audacity to commit a crime.

"Let the women go, get out of here." The samurai pointed the tip of his sword at the Cossacks and said coldly.

The Cossack thugs approached with weapons in hand, and they appeared cautious.

They noticed that the samurai had no gun, and only a Western-style broadsword (not a katana) in his hand. The look of vigilance relaxed again.

"Bastard!" The leader of the Cossacks, who had been leading the group in front, slapped the weeping woman to the side of the street, picked up a spear used by the Cossack cavalry, lined up his subordinates, and strode forward.

"If you dare to look for death, I will tell you to die once and see!" The Cossack leader smirked.

The black-clothed samurai laughed loudly, Yanagihara Aiko had never heard anyone laugh so presumptuously, and in the midst of the long laughter, the black-clothed samurai rushed over like lightning.

The black-clothed warrior slashed the sword in his hand, and the first sword slashed at the shoulder of the Cossack leader with a mountain-breaking force, and even Zhangyu's spear was slashed into two pieces with a single sword. The sword shook off several rays of light and shadow in the slender alley, surrounding the black-clad warrior.

He rushed straight through the crowd of Cossack thugs. The continuous chopping sound was accompanied by the howls of the Cossack thugs. Like the thunder and lightning that the gods punish the world, there is no escape.

The Cossack thugs were stunned. Someone pulled out a pistol, someone raised a rifle with a bayonet, but before they could make any more moves, Yanagihara Aiko saw that in the other hand of the samurai in black, there was an extra revolver

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Piercing gunshots rang out.

Yanagihara Aiko couldn't see the movements of the black-clothed samurai clearly, she could only see the red lines and the cyan sword light, as well as the severed limbs, heads, and blood.

The black-clad warrior charged forward with a steady pace, and with each swing of his sword, a thug fell screaming, and with each shot, a thug's head burst.

The figure of the black-clothed warrior came to a halt on the other side of the street. He put his pistol back into its leather sheath, and pointed his sword at the Cossack thugs who had fallen to the ground without their breath.

The Cossack thugs were all killed.

The black-clothed samurai came up to them, cut a few ropes with the tip of his sword, and waved his hand: "Let's go, the farther away the better, Tokyo is no longer a place where you can live." ”

With that, he turned around and helped the woman away.

Aiko Yanagihara rubbed her wrist that was strangled by the rope and wanted to ask his name, but opened her mouth, but she didn't say anything.

What if you ask? As His Majesty the Emperor's favorite woman, she almost couldn't even keep her innocence, so what could she repay him? Pledge in person? She smiled wryly and shook her head, how could a hero like him look down on a woman like her, who was usually low-eyebrowed? Forget it, let's think about where to escape! She looked around at the cold world, thinking of the girl he saved, and suddenly felt a little inferior and self-pitying.

At this moment, she actually hoped that she was the girl he saved.

It is said that His Majesty the Emperor is a rare generation of heroes, but when she was humiliated, where was His Majesty the Emperor?

The appearance of the thin and weak emperor fighting with those terrible Cossacks was something that Yanagihara could never have imagined.

She thought back to the figure of the black-clothed warrior just now, and somehow, she felt a hint of familiarity.

She searched hard for her memories, and suddenly, her heart flashed like a flash of lightning!

He...... It's the Qianguo man named Lin Yiqing!

"Ahh - "Aiko Yanagihara screamed and woke up from her dream.

Her shout was so terrible that it frightened all the maids around her to straighten up.

"Wow-wow-" In the cradle bed beside her, there was a burst of baby crying, and her child Jiaren, who was sleeping soundly, was also awakened by his mother's terrifying shout.

The waitresses were in a hurry, and someone lit a lamp.

"Are you having nightmares?" A female officer looked at Aiko Yanagihara's pale face and asked cautiously.

Aiko Yanagihara nodded, large drops of sweat dripping down her forehead, and a waitress took a towel and gently wiped her down.

"What did you dream about? So scared? The female officer asked, "Did you dream of ghosts?" ”

"Yes...... Someone I've never met before......" Aiko Yanagihara replied subconsciously, but she immediately realized that such a thing should not be said, and immediately closed her mouth and just shook her head.

There was a rush of footsteps in the hallway, and although the steps were light, Yanagihara Aiko could still hear them, and they were the footsteps of His Majesty the Emperor and his guards.

"Aiko! Son! What happened? Emperor Meiji's anxious voice came from the door.

Aiko Yanagihara did not answer.

The Emperor hurried into the house, came to the woman he loved, and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Aiko, what's wrong with you?" Emperor Meiji asked with concern.

"His Royal Highness just had a nightmare." Seeing that Yanagihara Aiko didn't speak, the female officer on the side replied for her. (To be continued......)

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