"Shogun Saigo instructs to help everyone in need," said a man who was clearly a samurai leader, smiling, "of course we will carry out the general's orders." ”

"So since you need our help, it's something you can't refuse." The samurai all replied in unison.

Hearing the samurai's answer, Nogi Noshinori's heart swelled with warmth.

Since the morning, all he had seen was wild beasts that had plundered and slaughtered at will, and now he had finally seen people and things that would excite him.

"Let's put out the fire!" Nogi said.

It was getting late, and the shadows of the night had fallen, but the fire was getting bigger and bigger, so that the sky over Kyoto was as bright as day, and now it seemed that the whole world was enveloped in flames, and the sky was red as far as the eye could see.

On this night, the world is a red night.

Saigo Takamori stood on the top of a hill, looking at the sky over the city engulfed in flames, and at this time, the bright moon hanging on the peak of the distant mountain was also like a fire, turning into a scorching red copper color, it also seemed to be looking at this ancient city that was gradually destroying with a confused look, the stars were shining in the red night sky, however, unlike before, the earth was illuminated, and the entire plain was lit up by the huge bonfire of Kyoto, and the mountains, castles, country houses, and temples in the distance, They all clearly emerged from the darkness in the firelight, and the people of the east and west stood helplessly, noisy and arguing. Crying.

At this time, the formidable fire was still encroaching on the new town. Although the Satsuma army had ceased siege operations. Instead, they went into the city to put out the fires, but in a hurry, without any preparation and without the necessary tools, the only way they could think of was to demolish some houses and make way to make way to stop the fire from spreading to the unburned city. But to the surprise of the Satsuma officers and soldiers, some of the urban areas that were originally far away from the fire area were also burning at this time, and there must have been some evil "arsonists" there, and the wind fueled the fire, like a wave of flames from the high ground of the city to the low-lying urban areas lined with houses, those five or six stories high were originally shops, shopping malls, arms warehouses, clothing warehouses, and grain warehouses. The lumber yards all began to burn, and a series of explosions could be heard from time to time in these areas. A lot of flammable and explosive materials were ignited, and these scattered explosives smashed into all corners of the street, and countless small fireballs that burst out from time to time in the sea of fire were like flying fire butterflies, blown around by the whistling wind, and scattered to other urban areas, streets and fields outside Kyoto, so that no matter what the rescue method was, it would not do much.

"Who ordered the fire?" Saigo Takamori asked in a low voice, but his eyes did not leave the burning Kyoto Castle.

"According to the people who escaped from the city, it was ordered by Prince Chihito of Arisugawa Palace." A samurai replied.

"Is he crazy?" Saigo Takamori sighed, "How could he make such a crazy decision?" ”

"According to an official in the city, Prince Chihito had been in some of his senses since that escape from the sea, and he was always worried that Kyoto would not be able to be defended, and stressed at the military council the need for 'scorched earth warfare' and 'fortified clearing'. When our army arrived on the outskirts of the city to fight the enemy, he held an emergency meeting to prepare for the 'burning of the castle' and 'Kiyono', and this official attended the meeting, but the contents of this meeting were kept strictly secret from the people and ordinary soldiers of Kyoto, and the soldiers and civilians in the city only knew about evacuation, but did not know about the burning of the castle. Another samurai replied, "It is said that the burning of the castle was carried out as a fire, but because an ammunition depot was blown up by our ninjas, Prince Chihito thought that the castle was broken, so he ordered the castle to be burned, and immediately raised a fire. ”

"This blazing ren is really a sinner of Japan through the ages!" Saigo Takamori sighed, "Really...... Is there no way to save? ”

"The city is now in chaos, our army lacks fire-fighting tools and equipment, and the fire is only afraid that it will be difficult to extinguish for a while." The samurai replied.

As the samurai said, the chaos in the city was intensifying at all times, and the crowds of people fleeing from the city flocked to the gates, many died in the disaster, many of them set themselves on fire because they had lost all their possessions or loved ones to the fire, and some were choked to death by the smoke, and in the center of the city, because of the dense and chaotic houses in these urban areas, the narrow streets, and the fire breaking out from several streets at the same time, so that many people who fled in panic were trapped by the fire and died alive in the fire.

The refugees fled in all directions, in a panic, and everyone was overwhelmed. Some of the streets were littered with objects, many of them were impassable in areas that were already narrow, some of the intersections were blocked by collapsed houses, many of them fled to nearby markets and squares, and some of the people who fled were trapped in flames as they approached the shrine and the temple, and they were all burned to death. Even in some urban areas where there is no fire, the streets, although people dig up the tiled floors and build small fortresses to escape the heat, and some people even hide half of their bodies in the pits dug out, are still charred to the core. Almost every family living in the central city was killed by the disaster, and the desperate howls and weepings of women resounded through every avenue, every city gate, and every city wall. In hoarse voices, they called out the names of their loved ones who had died in the disaster, some praying to the eight million gods, others cursing the merciless gods, asking them why they had caused this terrible calamity.

In other places, the voices of some Christian refugees praying to Jesus for help could be heard from time to time, and the cries of Jesus believers pouring out of the streets and alleys were heard all the way to the fields outside the city walls, and the cries were filled with sorrow and hope, so that while some of the originally non-religious inhabitants joined them in singing for the Lord of the world, others were very angry and resentful of their ethereal singing. They stopped it with violence. Saigo Takamori and the samurai did not understand what was sung in the song. But these odes, which blend the different voices of men, the elderly, women and children, exude a solemn and wonderful power that moves his heart.

The refugees who had been sleepless all night gathered into a torrent like a raging ocean that surged around the burning city, but the state of affairs was not changed by the despair, the curses and the chants of the world, and the catastrophe showed its irresistible power before the world, as strong and ruthless as the predetermined fate. The cotton warehouse next to the theater was engulfed in flames, and then the nearby oil depot was also engulfed in flames, and for a moment the yellow and clear light of the fire lit up the square, and this scene made the dazed refugees feel for a moment as if they had seen the sun again, but it was not long before a blood-soaked fire overshadowed all other fires, and a huge pillar of fire like a fountain rose into the sky, piercing through the scorching clouds. At the highest point, pillars of fire scattered and splattered, and countless sparks drifted away in the wind. Across the night sky, the howling wind carried some of them to the nearby plains, and the night became brighter and brighter, and the night sky was not only full of light, but also full of heat, and the Kamogawa River became a river of fire, and this city of misery was the most unbearable hell in the world, and the fire still continued to devour every grass and tree around it, like a storm crashing into the mountains, like a torrent washing over the plains, flooding the valleys, recklessly, roaring, roaring, and shaking the sky.

At dawn the next day, when Shinohara Kunikan led the Satsuma army into Kyoto Castle, the fire in Kyoto City was still very strong, and most of the places were already in ruins, and the houses on both sides of the streets that were first burned collapsed one after another, and each collapse caused columnar flames, and the wind also changed direction, these strong winds whistling from the sea to the hills carried thick smoke and ashes, as well as countless sparks dotted with stars, Shinohara Kunigan saw the Satsuma army that had entered the city earlier and was trying to extinguish the flames, He sent people to consult with the commander of the Satsuma army on how to extinguish the fire, and after some deliberation, it was decided that the first thing to do was to demolish the houses near the fire area to prevent the fire from spreading further, and Shinohara Kunikanoshi ordered the houses on the bank of the Kamogawa River near the fire to be demolished, so that the fire would stop expanding in the open area, and then gradually become smaller and extinguish itself, so that the remaining urban areas would be spared, and those that were already burning would be beyond the reach of manpower.

In this fire, the immeasurable wealth of Kyoto was wiped out, and many people's hard-earned wealth was turned into ashes, at this time, hundreds of thousands of people slept outside the city, lacking food and clothing, hunger and cold, from the next day, these people were tormented by hunger, and the spare food in the city was also turned into charcoal in the fire, and because of the chaos and the paralysis of the administrative organs, no one thought of rushing to transfer emergency food from outside to help the victims, and waited until the return of Shinohara Kunikan and Shiro Ikegami, who were commanding the battle outside the city. The official order was issued, but during this period the resentment of the refugees grew stronger. Shiro Ikegami tried to put order in order, but this did not improve in the slightest, and he encountered open armed confrontation in many places, with some unarmed refugees pointing to the still burning city of Kyoto and shouting: "You might as well kill us all before the fire!" Cursing at Prince Chihito, the castle commanders, and officials was heard everywhere, and the riots were so great that when Shinohara Kunikan saw the countless fires around him at night, he whispered to himself that it was like a bonfire in an enemy camp.

Saigo Takamori was anxious to help the refugees, and according to his instructions, in addition to the grain and rice grains, many prepared rice balls were also brought from nearby towns and villages, however, who knows, when the first relief grain arrived at the market in the evening, the refugees rushed in from the city gate, and immediately swept away all the food, and caused a very terrible chaos, the refugees scrambled in the firelight, and rushed to grab the rice balls in a mess, and many of the rice balls fell to the ground, making people trample on the ground, Flour leaking from the bags covered the road between the storehouse and the city gate, and the ground was as white as snow, and the riot continued for a long time, until the Satsuma soldiers occupied every part of the warehouse, and with rifles and bayonets dispersed the rioting crowd.

The magnitude of the disaster in Kyoto was the first since the "Tenmei Fire", and the desperate refugees compared the two fires, they believed. Many houses and shrines survived that time. This time, however, even the Kyoto Imperial Palace was burned to ruins. Although the stones do not burn, when the wind blows away the smoke at night, one can see the rows of towering stone pillars in the palace as red as burning pillars of coal, and from time to time they flash with flames. Moreover, at the time of the "Tenmei Great Fire", all Kyoto people were deeply in love with their city and its many monuments, and the people were united and organized, but the current situation is. Countless people of all kinds roamed around the burning city, and they were indignant, and if they were caught in a situation of cold and starvation, it would be difficult to destroy the city, disturb the order, and confront the army. Fortunately, everyone was frightened and frightened by this sea of fire, and the will of the people to rebel was somewhat weakened and dissipated, and disease and hunger were the calamities that followed, and the bitter cold of the winter strengthened the calamity. The dusty air makes it even more difficult to breathe and makes you feel like you're in hell.

What people see during the day is shocking. This glorious metropolis with a history of 1,000 years was now a roaring volcano, and from its walls to the foot of the mountains, countless tents occupied every place where it could live, and they were made up of straw huts, tents, shelves, carts, and burdens large and small, and the sky was filled with smoke and soot, and the blood-red sunlight through the fireworks sprinkled on them, and the roars, shouts, threats, fears, and hostilities filled every place, and the unkempt men, women, and children constituted a horrific and miserable scene. A sea of refugees surrounds a fiery city, a veritable island of fire.

At the same time, many residents joined the ranks of the firefighters, and together with the Satsuma soldiers who were ordered to fight the fire, they continued to demolish the buildings near the fire zone in the city, so that a large part of the city was saved from the fire, but the countless historical sites and valuable art treasures of the city, the majestic palaces, buildings, and valuable cultural relics that belong to the history and glorious achievements of Kyoto were destroyed in one fell swoop. After the looting of the once prosperous city of Kyoto, only a few marginal towns remained, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and loved ones to the fires.

Despite the efforts of the Satsuma army to put out the fire, it is said that the Satsuma soldiers demolished the buildings in order to destroy the city completely and not to prevent the fire from spreading, and Shinohara Kunikan asked Saigo Takamori to enter the city immediately and soothe the despair of the refugees.

Saigo Takamori immediately prepared to enter the castle, but the strong wind changed the direction of the fire and burned towards the Kamogawa River, and Mt. Hiei was surrounded by flames, and the fire gradually spread around the riverbank, completely destroying the buildings that had not been on fire before.

When the fire subsided, Saigo Takamori rode a white horse and couldn't wait to enter the castle of Kyoto, where he led a group of samurai through the ranks of the Satsuma army and walked towards the angry shouting crowd of black oppression, at this time Saigo Takamori was dressed in civilian clothes, holding only a green bamboo cane that he carried with him, and did not bring any self-defense weapons, not even his cherished saber and pistol.

Saigo Takamori urged his horse to the crowd, and by the light of the fire, he saw the crowd around him, who held all kinds of weapons in their hands high, with a vicious look, their faces were full of large drops of sweat, and the corners of their mouths were full of white foam, and they shouted loudly, and the angry crowd surrounded them, and when he looked farther away, he saw a sea of shaking, screaming, and terrifying human heads.

The shouting and scolding were boiling like boiling water, some even like the roars of beasts, and the knives, forks, and sticks were waved incessantly, and from time to time a clenched fist stretched out to the reins of him and his horse, but he still walked towards the crowd with a calm and haughty and calm attitude, as he usually did in the crowd, and from time to time he touched the heads of the most daring men with his cane, and the angry ones were restrained by this frank and confident attitude of his frankness and confidence. Later, many people recognized him, and many in the crowd shouted, "That's General Saigo Yoshinosuke!" ”

"The Great General is here!"

"The Governor of the New Deal, General Saigo, is here!"

"General Saigo!"

"General Saigo!"

There were more and more shouts around them, and the people shouted Saigo Takamori's name vigorously, and slowly, the expressions of the surrounding faces eased a lot, and the shouting became much calmer.

You must know that although Saigo Takamori, who was a model samurai, did not deliberately curry favor with the people of Kyoto when he was in Kyoto, his magnanimity and kindness made him widely respected and loved by the people, especially after the incident of "writing to ask for sin" because of the assassination of Kawaro Riliang, his reputation became more and more famous, and because he had helped poor samurai in need, people praised him endlessly. (To be continued......)

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