Listening to Kondrachenko's agitation, the low morale of the Russian army became somewhat high again, and the tenacity and optimism of the Russian nation once again played a role here.

Under Kondrachenko's arrangement, the Russian troops entered the designated positions and began to carry out underground tunnel operations according to the plan he had formulated.

The first underground attack of the Russian army in Japan began.

Due to the underground blasting operation of the Satsuma Army caused heavy casualties to the Russian army, Kondrachenko, who was born in the Engineer Academy, was resentful of this, and also wanted the Russian army to use the same tactics against the Satsuma Army, he risked his life on the battlefield to investigate in many ways, summarized a number of combat examples, and carefully formulated a combat plan similar to the Satsuma Army, and reported to the Russian Command, for the use of this kind of concealed tactics that do not require too much artillery, the Russian Command was quite skeptical, but due to the heavy casualties of the Russian army's previous attack, After spending a lot of artillery shells, it was still impossible to achieve the goal, so the plan was finally approved, and Kondrachenko was appointed as the implementer of the plan.

Kondrachenko finally got the punch he'd always dreamed of.

But Kondrachenko could not have imagined what would happen next.

Late at night, on the outskirts of Osaka, village roads.

The Satsuma samurai Ijiin Toshiyoshi walked along the side of the dirt road, he was already far from the position, but he didn't want to turn back.

As a samurai, he was tasked with protecting the famous Yusaku Uehara, the captain of the Satsuma Combat Sappers, but now, he has left his duties without permission.

The farther he went, the more he felt that it was possible to find his daughter, Mika Ijiin, in that small manor in the distance, and he kept reciting her name in Japanese. Looking forward to her daughter appearing in front of her next moment.

But. There's a smart Toshiyoshi Ijiin in the back of his mind. As if on an island, he laughed at the "visionary" Toshiyoshi Ijiin who thought everything was possible.

"Toshiyoshi Ijiin, you're such a weirdo!" The clever Ijiin Toshiyoshi said with a sarcastic sneer. "How can you be sure that Mika Ijiin is here, in this small manor? You, an old samurai, have lived for more than forty years, have seen the world, and now suddenly believe that in this ghost place. You'll find your daughter in no time—go back to your brethren and go to sleep......"

But Ijiin Toshiyoshi stubbornly walked forward. He thought back to his daughter, Mika Ijiin. She had just turned fifteen when he first set foot on Osaka soil, and she was a tall, pretty, dark-skinned girl. But what was most valuable to her father was her shrewd and humorous wisdom, which was hidden in a humble silence in front of people befitting her age. When Toshiyoshi Ijiin talks to his daughter and discovers new qualities in her—an understanding of people, a strong will, and a great talent, he finds it very pleasant. Of course, he also tried not to indulge his father's emotions: he was always quite strict with her.

Toshiyoshi Ijiin remorsefully remembered the incidents of the trouble-seeking that he only now felt unjust, and it was foolish to make a fuss about her childhood love affair with Kosuke Ueno, a lovely, laughable young man who later died in the war.

When Saigo Takashi raised the banner of rebellion, Toshiyoshi Ijiin was the first to respond. He took part in the attack on Kumamoto Castle. He was wounded in the battle and was taken to the hospital in a bumpy wagon during the night. There he was well treated and cared for, and soon his injuries healed.

After healing from his injuries, although he was said to be a professional samurai, and his martial arts were quite good, but now the battle was mainly fought with guns, because of his lack of experience in military affairs, he was then sent to the coastal area to guard, he was sent to the garrison stationed in a remote village with several grain depots, where he learned the use of Western firearms, and also learned how to cast Western cannons, but Ijiin Toshiyoshi was a samurai after all, and he longed to return to the battlefield and kill the enemy with real swords and guns, But his wife and daughter were happy with his situation, because they could take care of him close to him without worrying about the artillery fire flying on the battlefield.

At that time, Toshiyoshi Ijiin often looked at the sea and the endless autumn night sky in a depressed manner, but his heart longed for the battlefield, and he missed the battle life of the sword and the banner. But he was relieved to stay because he realized that everyone had their own home, and that everyone as a whole was fighting for the ideals of General Saigo and for the great cause of King Qin, and individually everyone was fighting for their own home.

The good news ahead, Osaka was conquered, and then the Konoshi swept through Honshu with a thunderous force, Kyoto was conquered, Kobe was also conquered, and the entire southwestern half of Japan fell into the hands of the Konoshi, which made Ijiin Toshiyoshi and his comrades excited.

In the opinion of Toshiyoshi Ijiin, the conquest of Tokyo was a matter of great speed, but he and everyone else did not expect that the battle line would be fixed from then on, until the arrival of the barbaric Russians.

Soon after, the order was issued, and Toshiyoshi Ijiin and the samurai guarding the grain depot were transferred to Osaka to participate in the battle against the Russians, while the grain depot was guarded by a number of peasant soldiers.

Itijiin Toshiyoshi vaguely sensed that the arrival of the Russians might turn the tide of the war in a direction unfavorable to the Qin Wangshi, and his guess turned out to be correct.

The offensive of the Russian army was extremely fierce, and Ijiin Toshiyoshi and his comrades fought with all their might, killing many Russians, and Ijiin Toshiyoshi clearly remembered that the Russians who died under his sword and gun, by the time he was wounded, there were six in total.

That was the second time Toshiyoshi Ijiin was wounded, when his rifle ran out of bullets, and the Russians had already rushed up, and instead of fighting with the Russians with bayonets, he chose to engage with a katana, and as a result, when he cut off the Russians' heads, he was also stabbed by the Russians with bayonets.

After recovering from his injuries, he returned to the residence of his wife and daughter, who was with the army to take care of her. He stepped through the door, embraced his wife, and stood in the middle of the room for a long time. He didn't understand why she was crying so sadly, he vaguely guessed the reason why she was crying, which was related to his daughter Mika Ijiin. But he didn't dare to ask what was going on. Mika Ijiin is not at home. So the house seems to be empty. And it seems that no one needs this home.

Later, the neighbors came running, and it was then that he learned what had happened to Mika Ijiin, who had disappeared and seemed to have been taken captive by the Russians who had come to attack her. He began to comfort his wife, and at the end he put on a disconfident smile and promised her that he would find his daughter as soon as he returned to the front. Although the wife did not want to believe his words. But she didn't answer a word, just wept quietly.

Now he is on the front line, has participated in many battles, and is not only alive and well, but also unscathed!

But for him, nothing else mattered, his daughter came first, and his daughter was probably here, less than a mile away from him.

However, there was always a sad thought that welled up in his heart. He couldn't get rid of it: "My daughter is a beautiful girl, what man wouldn't look at her?" Who wouldn't smile kindly at her? If such a beautiful girl became a slave. And the host is a savage Lucia......"

Small estates appeared. It is a large house surrounded by a tight stone wall, like a castle. The small arched door in this wall is exactly the same as the door of the castle. The doors were made of thick planks and nailed with iron stalls. The small door was closed.

Toshiyoshi Ijiin kicked hard at the door with his boot and shouted, "Open the door!" ”

A dog barked ferociously.

Hurried footsteps rang out. The footsteps stopped at the small door and then left again. So Toshiyoshi Ijiin knocked on the small door with the butt of his rifle.

"Open the door...... Anyone! Hurry up and open the door! Or I'll shoot! ”

The footsteps were more hurried, and there were not just one person, but several people. At the end, a Japanese voice timidly asked at the small door, "Excuse me, do you have any orders?" ”

"I told you to open the door!"

The small door opened.

Standing in front of Toshiyoshi Ijiin was a thin old man with a lamp in his hand. There were two figures clinging to the door of the stable. They suddenly raised their hands and slowly walked towards Toshiyoshi Ijiin. He saw that it was a Russian soldier.

"It's over." The two of them looked at each other, sighed, and spoke in Russian.

"That's right, so you'd better be honest!" Toshiyoshi Ijiin spoke in Russian, and as a precaution - out of military tactics, he shouted in Japanese out of the door in the silence of the night: "Wait a minute, brothers! "It looks like there's someone else out there.

He said this not so much to convince the two enemies as to save them from repentance.

"Is it just the two of you?" He asked, pushing each Russian soldier in turn with his fingers.

"Two, two, only two." The old man stammered.

"Turn back!" Toshiyoshi Ijiin ordered, holding a rifle and making it look like he was going to shoot.

They turned around and walked through a wide yard filled with horse manure and straw, and stuffed with many carts with high brims.

They walked into the master's house. Toshiyoshi Ijiin ordered them to stop in the foyer with the well-known command of Russian soldiers, "Ritsusho".

"Where are your weapons?" He asked, patting his hand on the butt of the rifle, "Where is this, the weapon?" ”

"Nothing." One of the Russian soldiers replied in Russian.

"No weapons," replied another Russian soldier, "thrown away." He gestured as if he were throwing away something.

"Thrown away? ......" Ijiin Toshiyoshi frowned and muttered in a low voice.

Perhaps, the best thing to do would be to shoot the two big, lanky, gray-haired Russians. But Toshiyoshi Ijiin would not do that—not out of fear of the superiors, but because they forbade it—though no one would ever know about it. But Ijiin Toshiyoshi would never do this, and doing so violated his principles as a samurai.

Toshiyoshi Ijiin walked over to a door and pushed it open. He called the old man to him, and in the light he saw a large stove, tatami mats, and several buckets and pots. Both windows were closed with shutters. He gestured to the kitchen door for the two soldiers. They all walked in obediently.

After Ijiin Toshiyoshi locked them in, he pointed to the keyhole and said, "Lock it up." ”

The old man panicked and ran out, his footsteps ringing on the stairs of a distant room in an empty room. He finally came running with a bunch of keys. Locked the kitchen door.

After watching him do it all. Toshiyoshi Ijiin asked again, "Where are the other Russians?" ”

The old man had some ears behind his ears, and did not hear his words clearly, but stood blankly, with his gray-haired bird-like head on his side. Ijiin Toshiyoshi asked again, and when he understood, he waved his hand.

"Gone, gone, gone." His voice was like a frog's croaking. "They're all gone, they're all gone."

"Where have they gone? Are there women among them? Ijiin Toshiyoshi asked again.

The old man finally understood what he was looking for, and waved his hand again.

"Gone, gone! ......" the old man stomped his feet comically, gesturing with his hands, pointing in one direction.

"So you saw a woman among them, didn't you?" Toshiyoshi Ijiin asked hopefully, "Are those women young or old?" ”

The old man did not answer, but beckoned to him. Then he turned and walked away, and Toshiyoshi Ijiin followed him. They came out of the house. At the end of the yard. There was a hut against the wall, like a swallow's nest.

They walked in. Toshiyoshi Ijiin saw the faces of several frightened and twisted women. It was an old woman and three young women, all Russians.

Seeing them, an inexplicable panic surged into Toshiyoshi's heart. He looked at the three Russian girls carefully, and for a while he took a deep breath and came back to his senses.

"Woman, have you ever seen a Japanese woman? ......" Toshiyoshi Ijiin asked anxiously in Russian, not very proficient, "Hmm...... Do you see where they go? ”

The Russian women apparently understood him, but they understood him in a different way of thinking. After a few words of conversation with their mother, they began to prepare. They weren't even panicking. They put their clothes in the package. The mother didn't cry a word. It's as if they all think it's fair and reasonable. The Japanese women were taken away, and now it was the turn of the Russian women. Only the youngest trembled, though she restrained herself with all her might, for fear that her actions would anger the Satsuma people in front of her. Then they all got up and began to wait.

It was a tragic scene. Toshiyoshi Ijiin understood what was going on, and he suddenly laughed. His white teeth flashed, and only a kind-hearted person could smile like this, and the Russian women understood it. They looked at the laughing Satsuma soldier in amazement and hope, and he waved his hand and said, "I won't want you...... Don't worry...... I don't care about you! ……”

Resentful that he had no hatred, he yelled at the joyfully chattering Russian women, and they immediately fell silent. He said to himself: "They took your daughters and ruined your home, and you have pity on them? ”

But he caught a glimpse of their thick, reddened hands, the hands of peasants accustomed to long years of labor, and to tell the truth, he did pity them in his heart: "Were they taken by these men?" Could it be that these people are sabotaging? ”

With this in mind, Toshiyoshi Ijiin walked behind the Russian soldiers he had captured and returned to his own troops.

When he returned, he could no longer find his troops in the same place. Toshiyoshi Ijiin handed over the Russians to the troops who took over the defense, and chased after Yusaku Uehara.

On the way, a carriage from the staff base camp caught up with him. Sitting in the carriage was a combat staff officer who recognized Toshiyoshi Ijiin, and after learning that Toshiyoshi Ijiin was chasing Yusaku Uehara, he asked Toshiyoshi Ijiin to get into the carriage.

With the help of the carriage, he quickly caught up with Yusaku Uehara, and when Yusaku Uehara saw him return to the team, he did not blame him for acting without permission at night, but just casually asked him where he went.

"I've taken two captives," replied Toshiyoshi Ijiin, and then added to explain what had happened, "I'm looking for my daughter......

Seeing Yusaku Uehara's puzzled gaze, Toshiyoshi Ijiin explained in a tone of asking for forgiveness, "My daughter, she should be here, and they took her away. But there was no one in that little manor anymore. They were taken away......"

Yusaku Uehara's gaze suddenly became trance-like and gloomy. He didn't speak anymore and began to look ahead with his binoculars.

Horses, carts, and tired people, in the damp mist of dawn, moved along the road. A field mail wagon carrying letters to Russian soldiers approached, passing many empty wagons with ammunition unloaded. The bare branches of the trees trembled uncontrollably in the wind. The shawls of the Cossack cavalrymen rattled.

The people walked silently, the sound of the Gatling guns sounding close, but not dense, and after a while, they stopped, and the Russians were shooting scattered and weak, very different from the battle a few days ago.

"What are Lucia doing?" Yusaku Uehara said to himself.

His gaze rested on the empty carriages.

"The shelling of the Lucians seems to be a show." Eisuke Minamino put down his binoculars and said, "It's strange, I thought they were running out of shells, but now it seems that it shouldn't be, isn't it because these wagons are not carrying shells?" But something else? ”

"It's not a shell, it's explosives." Yusaku Uehara's voice became indescribably cold, "Lucia wants to learn from our ......" (to be continued......)

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