Listening to Yusaku Uehara's words, Eisuke Minamino and Toshiyoshi Ijiin and other Satsuma samurai all changed their faces drastically.

They have seen many times the earth-shattering explosion and the scene of the Russian army blown up all over the sky, and the bloody scene has formed a deep impression in their minds, and they absolutely dare not imagine that the same thing will happen to them, and everyone was taken aback as soon as Yusaku Uehara said this.

"Are you sure? Captain Uehara? Someone asked.

"It's pretty much certain." Yusaku Uehara nodded slightly, "However, for the sake of prudence, we still have to observe some other places and confirm further before we can report to the staff headquarters." ”

"Everybody come with me." Yusaku Uehara beckoned to everyone, and the group gathered and quickly ran quietly in the other direction.

Gradually, the fog rose and drifted towards the woods, and the sky above the war zone was clear. Looking down from the hill, you can see the village in the distance. Two rows of small wooden houses, in the middle of which is a long street, down the street, is a pottery workshop. The house is a straw-roofed shed with two large brick chimneys. These two chimneys make the shed look like a dilapidated steamer. If the pottery workshop is compared to a small steamer, then Gecun is like a group of "barges" dragged back to Linhai by this steamer.

Behind the pottery workshop, there is a large red mud pit, and further down is a large forest. And the trees on both sides of this "barge" are not too dense. It is a conspicuous middle strip of farmland and vegetable fields, with a trail winding through the fields. Direct access to a spring in the woods.

Behind the field. There is another hill. Like a hat, it was fastened to a black and oily field. At the top of the hill is a small temple with a cemetery, which has long since been burned down in the war, and now only a cemetery remains. There rested many people who had died in the war - mostly peaceful residents of the area, including the elderly, women and children, as well as soldiers who had fallen in battle.

The fog left the treetops and rose higher and higher, but no matter how high the sun lifted the curtain, there was still only one thing to see on the horizon - the woods. This forest looks up close. green with a hint of September yellow; But when you look at it from afar, it slowly turns into a lilac, snow-blue, and finally a looming, indescribable color.

Two roads, one vertical and one horizontal, firmly and decisively cut through the vegetable fields and farmland, extended into the reckless forest sea, and disappeared. There are two roads leading to the outside of the village: one that joins the southern end of the street, passes through a grove and crosses the river. Connecting two villages and a market town. One leads in the direction of Nagoya, bypassing pottery workshops and mud quarries. Originally, there was a third way: from the center of the village, through the village. All the way to the large trading village of the bazaar. But today almost no one has taken this path anymore. The highway passes through the "war zone", a terrifying place. People in this area often use this name to scare children: "If you are noisy, I will send you to the 'war zone'", "Don't run into the woods, be careful to run to the 'war zone'".

Previously, the term "war zone" was nothing to be feared, but it was simply a shorthand for the area where the two sides exchanged fire. But after the arrival of the Russian army, in a short time, the Russian army began to build a defensive line in this area, from the impassable swamp in the north to the plain in the south. However, only a few lots were built, and when the Satsuma Army suddenly appeared, these lots were not fully completed. But there were trenches, shelters, bunkers, permanent firing points, inner banks, underground storage depots, communication trenches, fan-shaped firing surfaces cleared of trees, observation posts, etc., which formed a net that became a barren and mysterious city in the woods.

Like all incomprehensible things, this "war zone" has turned the surrounding inhabitants into a creepy place with a superstitious sense of terror. The reason for this is not entirely due to the fact that people are playing tricks. After the Russians launched an attack on the Satsuma Army from this area, the Russian army continued to increase its troops in this area, and strictly forbade the Japanese to enter and leave, even the Japanese government troops who assisted them in the battle.

It stands to reason that this area cannot accommodate too many Russian troops, and they are facing precisely the most strongly fortified position of the Satsuma Army that is encircling Osaka, but after many Russian troops arrived here, they disappeared inexplicably.

Yusaku Uehara crouched there, carefully turning the telescope, carefully observing the situation in the area.

"It seems to be more foggy here than it used to be." Eisuke Minamino looked at the hazy mist and frowned, he had been here more than once, but he had never seen such a fog.

This fog is not big, it is not small, and it is continuous, always hazy and not like to disperse.

Eisuke Minamino's words alerted Yusaku Uehara, who put down his binoculars and sniffed with his nose, as if he had smelled something different from the thin mist.

"Minamino-kun, do you smell it? There seems to be something else in the air here. Yusaku Uehara said to Eisuke Minamino.

"I think it's the smell of cooking smoke. Uehara-kun, do you smell like this, and you're a little hungry? Minamino Eisuke teased Yusaku Uehara, although he and Yusaku Uehara were the captains of the Odd Soldiers and the Combat Engineer Team respectively, but the reputation of Yusaku Uehara, who was younger than him, had overshadowed him, and he could no longer put on a senior brother's stand in front of Yusaku Uehara, but sometimes he would still make some jokes with him.

"That's right, these fogs are caused by cooking smoke." Yusaku Uehara knew that Eisuke Minamino was joking with himself, and he didn't bother to joke with his senior brother by nature, but still kept a straight face and nodded solemnly, "I even smelled vodka." ”

"That means that Uehara-kun wants to drink vodka, how about we go to the enemy to get some to satisfy Uehara-kun's cravings now?" One of the Odd Soldiers suggested, which was immediately echoed loudly by several of his companions.

Although some people joined in the fun, Toshiyoshi Ijiin, who served as Yusaku Uehara's bodyguard, felt that there was a reason why Yusaku Uehara said this.

As he grew older, he had become accustomed to listening to these young men make inappropriate jokes on the battlefield, sometimes which were effective in boosting morale. But he didn't see Yusaku Uehara joking with everyone too much. This young man is always silent. The old age shown is similar to that of a samurai in his forties.

"I don't want to drink vodka." Yusaku Uehara still didn't have a smile on his face, but his face became more and more solemn, "Have you ever thought about it, why is there a long-lasting smell of cooking smoke here, and the smell of alcohol?" It doesn't seem like there are many people here, but where do these flavors come from? ”

Yusaku Uehara's words suddenly became cold,

Eisuke Minamino and several members of the Odd Soldiers heard Yusaku Uehara's words. The smile on his face froze.

"Could it be...... These smells come from the bunker? Eisuke Minamino immediately raised his sniper rifle with a scope again and observed the situation on the Russian front line.

"Lucia's Army...... Digging tunnels?! He lost his voice.

"Yes, you see the entrance to the bunker, right? They are well camouflaged. Yusaku Uehara said calmly, "They have mobilized a large number of people, and they have been digging underground passages day and night," he looked at the Satsuma army position in the distance, "They also want to use the method of underground blasting attack to blow up our army's position, and want to open a gap from here." Attack Osaka Castle. ”

"The enemy's shelling is also to cover the troops operating underground." Toshiyoshi of Ijiin also understood.

"Yes. That's it. Yusaku Uehara nodded.

"You're right, Uehara-kun, I can see that their method of earthwork seems to be very similar to that of your 'thorough team'." Eisuke Minamino took his eyes off the scope, and there was no smile on his face, "We must notify the staff base camp and launch a counterattack to wipe out the Lucia army here." ”

"I'm afraid that if you do that, not only will you not be able to destroy the Lucia army, but you will be surrounded by the Lucia army." Yusaku Uehara shook his head and pointed to the large woods shrouded in mist, "They should have ambushed a large group of Cossack cavalry there, our army is infantry, once attacked, the enemy cavalry will definitely launch a counterattack and surround our army in a roundabout way." Our army is inferior to Lucia's army, and once it breaks away from a strong position and closes with the enemy's cavalry, it will definitely be at a disadvantage. ”

"This time, they really hit our vital point!" Eisuke Minamino understood that Yusaku Uehara's analysis was indeed true, and couldn't help but sigh, "The position here cannot be easily abandoned, behind the position is Osaka Castle, if the enemy conquers here, they can set up artillery here to bombard the city, and the cavalry can also drive in and break into the city." But if we don't abandon the defense, we can't fight back, and once the enemy forces carry out the blasting, our army will all be reduced to dust. ”

Hearing Minamino Eisuke talk about the Russian artillery, Toshiyoshi Ijiin immediately remembered the short and stout cannons that the Russians used to attack the fortified positions of the Satsuma Army (referring to the 279 mm Krupp siege mortars equipped by the Russian army), and his heart immediately hung in the air.

He had seen the terrifying steel beast roar, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like if his home in the city was shelled like this.

"The enemy's preparations should not be completed, let's go back immediately and report the situation to the teacher! Let the teacher decide! Yusaku Uehara said.

"Good! Let's get out of here! Don't let the enemy find out. Eisuke Minamino said, waving his hand and giving the order to retreat.

At this time, in the tunnel, Kondrachenko was carefully inspecting the completed underground tunnel, and at the end of the tunnel, some soldiers were carefully placing boxes of explosives in order.

Looking at the mountains of explosives, Kondrachenko's heart became inexplicably excited.

"Sir, those Poles, five more escaped." Sergeant Orittenko whispered to Kondrachenko with some concern, "I'm worried that they'll leak the news." ”

"How!" Kondrachenko asked with some annoyance, "Didn't you add food and vodka to them?" ”

"I don't know whose rumors, when it comes to the day of the explosion, they will all be buried alive in the ground." Sergeant Orittenko hesitated, but told Kondrachenko what he had heard.

"What nonsense!" Kondrachenko said angrily, "How is this possible? The detonation time must be accurately calculated, and all of our people will be evacuated by then, and not a single person will be left behind, how can such a thing happen! ”

"You know, how those Poles came to Japan." Sergeant Orittenko said helplessly. "And it's not just men. There were also a lot of Polish women who were forcibly conscripted. When they see their women being treated like that, they naturally feel dissatisfied......"

Kondrachenko understood what Orittenko meant, and sighed helplessly.

He understood, of course, why those Poles had come here and why they had fled.

Due to the poor military discipline of the Russian army in Japan, although many people were executed by military law for violating Japanese women, it was still difficult to deter those "lustful Slavic gray animals" (the staff of the Russian Volunteer Army Command), and the Russian army was far from home. Fighting brutally and fiercely in Japan, always under the shadow of death, and personal physical desires could not be resolved, it was a gradual decline in morale, and the Russian military top brass knew this, they knew that only women could help improve morale, but now the reputation of engaging Japanese women was too bad, and it was easy to arouse the anger of the Japanese, and the clever Russian officials quickly came up with a solution, that is, to bring the wives and daughters of exiled prisoners from the Siberian penal colony to Japan. to serve on the front lines, but the number of these women is still not enough. In addition, in order to ensure the number of Russian combatants, many Polish men were also forcibly recruited to Japan to engage in non-combat auxiliary work such as transportation and trenching.

Far from it, most of the tunnels that are now being prepared for the critique of the Satsuma army were completed by the Poles.

"Forget it, leave them alone! Try to explain to them as well as possible, and strive to complete the project as soon as possible! Kondrachenko said to Sergeant Orittenko.

Sergeant Orittenko left, and Kondrachenko checked it again before leaving the tunnel, when there was a burst of artillery outside, and he knew that it was Russian artillery bombarding the Satsuma army's positions to cover their underground operations.

Kondrachenko came to the ground, and he looked at the Satsuma army position in the distance, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, as if he had seen its destruction.

Osaka Castle, the headquarters of the Satsuma Army's staff.

"In other words, our enemy chose a place that was very unfavorable to us to launch an underground attack......" Lin Yiqing listened to the report of Yusaku Uehara and Eisuke Minamino, looked at the map, held a pencil, and pondered.

In front of the map table, Saigo Takamori, Kirino Toshiaki, Shinohara Kunikan and other Satsuma army generals also had solemn expressions.

The current situation is obvious, if the few troops concentrated in this area launch a counterattack, it is easy to be counter-surrounded by the Russian army, which has an absolute advantage in numbers, and if you choose to hold on, when the enemy launches an underground blasting attack, the defenders here will all be killed, and if you use combat engineering units to unite with the defenders to carry out an underground counterattack, it is difficult to ensure that the enemy will not jump over the wall in a hurry to detonate the buried explosives in advance, and even if the number of defenders killed will be smaller, the position will still be destroyed, and it is difficult to continue to hold on.

Now it seems that the best way is to follow Uehara Yusaku's proposal to withdraw all the defenders before the enemy detonates, but in this way, this position, which is very important for the safety of Osaka Castle, will be abandoned, even if the Russian army destroys the position without knowing it, it can still establish an artillery position here and fire artillery bombardment into the city, and the number of artillery of the Satsuma Army is much smaller than that of the Russian army, even if it relies on the walls of Osaka, it is difficult to support it for too long, so that the fall of Osaka Castle is a foregone conclusion.

Lin Yiqing's eyes stared back and forth at the various fronts on the map, his brows became more and more furrowed, and after a while, they became two black bumps, and for the first time Kirino Toshiaki saw him so difficult to decide, and his heart couldn't help but hang.

Kirino Toshiaki looked at Saigo Takamori, Saigo Takamori seemed very calm at this time, he sat there quietly, waiting for Lin Yiqing to think.

After a long time, Lin Yiqing let out a long breath.

"How? Hanpeng, is there a way? Kirino asked a little anxiously.

"The position must be abandoned." Lin Yiqing pointed to the map and replied, "All the defenders here retreat to the city, rely on the city wall to hold on, and at the same time evacuate the residents of this city as much as possible!" ”

"What does Hanpeng mean, isn't it the entire Osaka Castle, and finally ...... Want to give up? Shinohara hesitated for a moment, but still asked.

"Yes." Lin Yiqing sighed, "If we want to implement the method of scorched earth resistance, we can still resist the Lu army for some time and give the Lu army a lot of damage, but at that time, Osaka will inevitably be like Kyoto, the whole city will be destroyed, and hundreds of people will be slaughtered by the war, I ...... Didn't want to conduct such a battle. I was the king of the king, and I was originally to protect the people, but the people suffered because of us, and the righteousness was intolerable, so ......" He shook his head and threw away the pencil in his hand

Hearing Lin Yiqing's answer, the faces of all the generals of the Satsuma Army became a little ugly.

Of course, they understood what Lin Yiqing meant, and Shinohara Kunikan wanted to say "stick to the end", but when he remembered the tragic situation of the Kyoto fire, he felt sad for a while, and he didn't say anything.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

"Just do what Hanpeng says! Retreat the defenders there, hold on to the walls, and hold back the enemy. "For a long time, Saigo Takamori said, "At the same time, the whole city began to evacuate, and those who were willing to leave with our army should take them with them in a boat and go to Kyushu with our army." (To be continued......)

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