After discussion, Nozu Michikan once again made the decision of "two strategies in parallel", that is, to continue to besiege Kumamoto with two-thirds of the troops, and one-third of the troops to the south, sweep away southern Kyushu, and "cut its wings".

The failure of the assault for three consecutive days has sobered up the heads of government forces a lot.

After that, the government forces adjusted their deployment, and the main forces began to move north. The 4th Brigade was headed for Yamaga, the 1st Brigade was for Taharasaka, the 2nd Brigade and the 6th and 7th Combined Brigades were for Kiru, and the 3rd Brigade was responsible for guarding the coastline. The troops left behind in the siege were commanded by Major General Yamada Akiyoshi, the new brigade commander of the 5th Brigade, and the strength was 1 part of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th brigades, as well as a coordinated team, with a total of 16 brigades and a total of about 30,000 people.

As early as August 13, the Satsuma Defense Force in the southern part of Kyushu Island received an order for reinforcements from the staff headquarters. On the 14th, Hachiro Miyazaki, who had returned to Kagoshima to recruit troops, led a new recruit from Kagoshima. Departing from Hitoyoshi at 4 p.m. on the 17th and arriving at the telecommunications office at 11 p.m., it was learned that government troops had entered Kumamoto Prefecture. On the 19th, Hachiro Miyazaki led his army north. On the 20th, Hachiro Miyazaki formulated a policy of moving along the road and echoing the castle south of Kumamoto Castle. On the 21st, Miyazaki Hachiro set off on a rapid march and arrived at Nanguan at night. The troops led by his subordinate Masano marched towards Yamaga, and the troops led by Sagara Gozaemon and Shinna Kiyoichiro marched towards Takase.

At 6 a.m. on the 22nd, Hachiro Miyazaki set out from Nanseki and, after a short rest at Takase, headed for Ueki at 1 p.m. Arriving in Konoha, Nogi joined up with two other troops outside Konoha Station and learned that Kumamoto was under siege, so he changed his original plan. Decided to take Takase. The whole army entered Kumamoto Castle to assist in the defense. Then continue southward. Advance to Ueki. On the other hand, the government forces also learned of the Satsuma Army's southward movement and sent the 5th and 4th Brigades to Musaka, south of Ueki, to block the attack. Hachiro Miyazaki sent a small force to reconnoitre, and when he learned that the government army was retreating to Oga (it is estimated that this was a small reconnaissance force of the government army), he ordered the whole army to move south to Xiangsaka, where he set up a position and spread out a scattered line to wait for the enemy.

By the time the Satsuma Army launched the straggler line, it was already 6 o'clock in the evening. Hachiro Miyazaki said in his diary that at that time, "the sunset was gone, the dog barked far away, and the four sides were gloomy." The government army waited for the attack of the Satsuma army in the dark, but they did not expect that it was the Satsuma army that quietly approached in the dark night in order to save ammunition, intending to solve the problem with a white-knuckle battle. The government forces first spotted the movements of the Satsuma army and began to shoot, but the Satsuma army feigned retreat, but ambushed the elite knife drawing team on both sides of the road. The pursuing government forces were suddenly attacked by the swords-drawing team and retreated in disarray. As the battle unfolded. Satsuma soldiers who had fallen behind on the march also joined the battle one after another, shooting desperately at the government troops. In the heat of battle. The left and right flanks of the Satsuma Army detoured back to the flanks of the government army and fired on them. The government forces were in a state of confusion and began to retreat, and the officers ordered the ammunition and supplies to be burned, and then retreated to the line of Senbon Sakura. At that time, there were more than ten soldiers of the 14th Wing of the Government Army, Second Lieutenant Hayashi Yuta, and he was responsible for guarding the flag of the wing. However, in the chaotic rearguard battle, Second Lieutenant Kaharashi was killed by the Satsuma Army, and the flag of the 14th Wing of the Government Army also fell into the hands of the Satsuma Army.

The government army invested 4,000 men in this battle, and the Satsuma army was about 5,000 men. Although the casualties on both sides were not significant, the Satsuma army lost more than 300 killed and 125 wounded; Government forces were killed 402 and wounded 225. However, the government army burned the supplies, retreated in disarray, and was robbed of the wing flag, which was undoubtedly a very humiliating defeat. The victory of the Satsuma army led by Hachiro Miyazaki was a great boost to the morale of the Satsuma army, which was depressed in the attack and defense of Kumamoto Castle, and the Satsuma army also specially hung the captured 14th Wing flag in front of the battle to show off its might.

On the day of the Battle of Ueki, the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the government army reached Taoka and then hurried south. Government forces also increased their forces to six battalions from the north, one from Hondo and the other from Yamagaguchi, to Takase. On the 23rd, a battle broke out between the two sides in Konoha. The strength of the government army was 12,000 men in six brigades, and the Satsuma army also invested 9,000 men. The battle still ended in the defeat of the government forces. The government army placed its main force along the Konoha River to confront the Satsuma army's Jinguji team, but unexpectedly, the Satsuma army made a detour from the line of Konoha Mountain and swept the flank and rear of the government army. The government army was routed, the departments completely lost their command, they were crushed and scattered, and the commander of the government army, Major General Yamaji Motoharu, himself almost fell into the encirclement of the Satsuma army, and was able to escape thanks to good luck. It is recorded in the "Biography of the Southwest":

"Thousands of people of the Satan army had already made a detour from Konoha Mountain to cover the back of Inaza and the servants who were carrying heavy loads, panicked and embarrassed, abandoned the car and left, and the officers and troops also collapsed. The frontal army of the Sa Army, taking advantage of the momentum, is like a flood bursting, and it is absolutely difficult to resist. Major General Sanji wanted to gather the rout troops in the rearguard line, and hurriedly drove to the place, and occasionally the Sa army was on the wrong path of Inasa and sniped. Captain Sakatani led two soldiers and died in battle. It was dusk, freezing rain was pouring clothes, gunpowder smoke plugged the surface, and it was close at hand, and I couldn't distinguish between friend and foe. The two armies fought, the white soldiers forced each other, and even fought with their bare hands. It's really a living Shura field, and it's miserable and indescribable. ”

"The officers and troops fought hard for a long time, and Major General Sanji replaced his horse with the fatigue of his horse. Occasionally, if you hit a projectile, you will run away in pain, and you will be trapped in the enemy. Before long, the horse was killed, and the major general fell to the ground. The Saxon army waved its guns. The captain of the bridge wing shielded the major general with his wings, so he fell into a heavy siege and fell into chaos. Captain Orizawa also bravely returned to the battle, and was hit several times. The major general had to walk intermittently, and with a team they crossed the Konoha River and were able to reach Mt. Terada. ”

"The officers and troops were defeated and defeated, and the ranks were not reorganized, and the Saxon army was in a hurry. Captain Yili, Lieutenant Nakayama and others packed up dozens of routs and blocked the Inasa army. ”

There are no exact figures for the specific casualties of the government forces in this battle, and Yamaji Motoji only said in his diary on that day: "In today's battle, the captain of the Ohashi Wing, Yoshihira Daisa, was killed. "Probably because of the defeat too badly, I deliberately avoided it.

Due to the failure of the outer battle, the siege of Kumamoto Castle by the government forces was broken, and after calmly judging the situation, Nozu Michiguan ordered to continue the storming of Kumamoto Castle.

Judging from the comparison of troops at that time, the government forces in the Kumamoto area were at least four to five times larger than the Satsuma army in the castle, and they had an absolute advantage. If the Japanese government forces and the Russian army cooperate closely and implement the tactics of division and encirclement, it is possible to annihilate the Satsuma army that divided its forces to defend the inside and outside of Kumamoto Castle. However, Nozu Michikan was bent on taking Kumamoto, the last stronghold of the Satsuma army, by the government army. As a result, advantageous fighters were lost.

September 2nd. 4,800 people led by Yaichiro Nagayama. Kumamoto was reinforced, by boat from Nagasaki. Government troops came to intercept it. Nozu Zheno personally supervised the battle, and the government of the department killed and wounded more than 1,000 people of the Satsuma army, captured two cannons, and ordered the government troops to attack around the flank, and the Nagayama army fought on both sides, and performed extremely bravely. On the 7th, the government army was repeatedly reinforced, and the Yongshan army was defeated after seven days and nights of bloody fighting. The whole army was scattered, and Yaichiro Nagayama saw that things were not working, so he paid for a private house and set himself on fire in it. After learning of Nagayama's death letter, Kirino Toshiaki sighed: "Our army has lost an irreplaceable brave general. Yaichiro Nagayama was one of the most opposed to raising troops when discussing the uprising, and his death was not necessarily half as cowardly as that of Shinohara Kunigan, who once denounced him as a "coward."

Despite the unfavorable situation of the war, the generals of the Satsuma army still led their troops to fight valiantly, and in order to prevent the land route between Nagasaki and Kumamoto from being cut off, Kijima Kiyoshi led a group of Satsuma troops out of the castle. On the 14th, he fought with the government army and killed many government troops. On the left, Kenhiko Nakajima and Juro Taibu of Hemi. On the 15th, they arrived at the coast to cover the evacuation of the people. In order to prevent the government army from attacking, Satsuma built a temporary artillery battery here, concentrated all the cannons brought out, and sent Sogoro Ado to lead more than 1,000 men to defend it, while the Kumamoto garrison dropped to 33,000 men, and the siege force assembled by the government army reached about 60,000 people.

From the 17th, in order to open up the passage into Kumamoto Castle, the government army stormed the east gate of Kumamoto for four consecutive days, supported by 80 cannons, and was bound to win, but was repulsed by the Shinohara national cadre department one by one. On the 21st, the government army gathered again to attack, and the Russian army dispatched more than 1,000 Cossack horses to outflank it, and fought for nearly five hours. In this battle, Naoji Ito, the Satsuma military supervisor, was killed, more than 3,000 people were killed and wounded in the Shinohara national cadre department, and almost all the Satsuma officers and soldiers guarding the east gate were killed on the position. The government army suffered nearly 5,000 casualties, and the roads were littered with corpses, and people and horses were barely able to move.

When the government forces attacked the East Gate, they also attacked the areas around Kokoji Temple, Arimadai, and Katsuko Shrine, but were repelled by Beppu Shinsuke and Saigo Kobeibu respectively. On the 22nd, Lin Yiqing led the odd army to repel the attack of the government army at the south gate. So far, the Satsuma army has been fighting with the government army for 12 days, according to outsiders: "Although there are few Satsuma soldiers, they are all desperate to fight the enemy, the most fearful, Lin Yiqing's strange soldiers; The Garin army advanced without retreating, and each army was the first of each army, although it was shot and artillery, the former was killed, and the latter advanced again, and its fierceness was indeed unmatched by other armies. ”

On the 23rd, more than 21,000 government reinforcements arrived in Kumamoto under the leadership of Aritomo in Yamaprefecture. Nozu Michikani immediately convened a military council and decided to continue the assault on Kumamoto. The Kumamoto Theater was redistributed in the Kaikai, and the Nozu Province Army was responsible for the west, north, and south sides of Kumamoto, with the south as the main side; The prefecture was in charge of the eastern side and held back the reinforcements of the Satsuma Army coming from the direction of Nagasaki.

From the 25th to the 28th, Kirino Toshiaki personally led his troops to take turns to fight with the Japanese government army, the government army was defeated, suffered heavy casualties, and was forced to retreat, and Kirino Toshiaki once regained the east gate. At the same time, Nomura Shinosuke also led his army to repel the government forces attacking the north gate, and once recaptured the outer positions. The Satsuma Army's spearhead Kono Kiichiro's unit fought hard with the government forces in Tsubasaka for eight days and nights, and both suffered heavy casualties. On the back road, Murata Shinhachi led artillery to attack guerrilla attacks in all directions, reinforcing various units, and inflicting heavy casualties on government troops. Toshiaki Kirino and Lin Yiqing assigned various armies to guard the alleys and passes. At this time, although the Kumamoto defenders suffered heavy casualties after several days of fierce fighting, their morale was still high.

However, at the repeated request of Nozu Michikan, another 14,000 government troops (with 69 artillery pieces) entered Kumamoto, and the total number of government troops under Kumamoto Castle was close to 80,000. At dawn on the 29th, the government army built a fort on the south road of Guangmingsi and stormed the Satsuma army position on three sides. The next day, with a giant mortar artillery attack, the Satsuma army with 12 75 mm guns, 6 120 mm guns to return fire, when the two sides of the artillery battle was in full swing, Lin Yiqing led 300 people of the odd army to take the opportunity to rush into the government artillery position, killing 511 government troops, blowing up 3 heavy artillery. When Shan Chuan Hao learned that Lin Yiqing had appeared, he immediately ordered Shan Chuan Hao Dazuo to lead a sword team to intercept and kill Lin Yiqing, but when Shan Chuan Hao arrived, Lin Yiqing had already led his subordinates to retreat, leaving only dead bodies and destroyed artillery in one place.

On 1 October, 12,000 government reinforcements resumed the offensive and bombarded the city with artillery outside the city gates. Lin Yiqing once again personally led his troops to attack at night. Government troops retreated. The next day. Shan County Youpeng launched another attack despite casualties. Again repulsed.

On October 3, the government army attacked in three directions, Shinohara's national officials personally went to the front to supervise the battle, the government army concentrated artillery fire, and the artillery of the Satsuma army was quickly suppressed by the government army due to the fierce fighting for several days, and the ammunition was insufficient, and the front was shaken. Dressed in a black military uniform, wearing a red cloak, holding a war knife, riding on a horse, galloping back and forth to command, Yamakawa Hiroshi recognized Shinohara, and notified Yamayama Prefecture Aritomo, Yamayama Aritomo ordered to shoot in the direction where Shinohara's Kunigan was, and the government army fired a volley of guns, and for a while bullets rained down. Shinohara Kuni was shot three times and struggled to slash and kill the enemy. The battle to the death did not retreat, and the left and right persuaded him to take refuge for the time being, and Shinohara Kuni said dryly: "On the day of this fatal will, although I will die, I must not take this step back." In a few moments, the guns were shot, Shinohara Guogan, covered with scaly wounds, his clothes were naked, and he was still fighting to command and supervise the battle, and finally the bullet was shot in the chest, fell under the horse, and died in the battle. At the same time, there were still samurai leaders such as Koshiyama Shuzo and Matsutani Hidetaka. However, the Satsuma army was not defeated by the loss of Shinohara Kunikari, who was the actual commander of the former enemy, and still fought bravely and won the battle. Witnessing this battle, Yoshijuro Ikebe, the leader of the Kumamoto samurai who was the leader of the Satsuma Alliance, has a poem: "You don't see the danger of Kumamoto in the city, and the abrupt Mokong Road is grand. The smoke cage is on the side of the Takase River, and the wind sweeps on the peak of the three mountains. Once the police smiled at each other, they suddenly heard the sound of thousands of troops. The smoke of gunpowder is clouds, bullets are rain, and the life of a strong man is light. The shouts and the sound of the cannons, the roar of the mountains and the valleys, the sound of the cannons was silent, and a round of bright moon shone on the camp. It is a true portrayal of this fierce battle.

When Shinohara Kunikan's body was returned to Saigo Takamori's staff camp, he was still wrapped in a cloak as red as blood. When Saigo Takamori saw the body of Shinohara Kunikan, he couldn't help but grieve and cried bitterly. Shinohara Kunikan, who was determined to "conquer the Quartet", died in the final battle on the land of his hometown, and more Japanese samurai on both sides of the warring like Shinohara, like Shinohara, continued to take on armor and fight for the last glory of the Japanese samurai on the battlefield where bullets rained down and artillery stones fell.

From October 2 to 4, the two warring sides organized attacks of several thousand men almost every day, and the fighting was quite fierce, and under the fierce attack of the Japanese government forces, the Satsuma army gradually lost the upper hand due to the lack of troops and ammunition. On October 5, the government army stormed the north gate for the fifth time and breached it. At the East Gate, on the night of October 5, the government army, led by a death squad of several hundred death row prisoners, stepped on a mine planted by the Satsuma Army and stormed the East Gate. The defenders resisted hard, and the residents of the inner city also took advantage of the darkness to shoot cold guns, fire rockets, and slash enemy soldiers with swords, and actively cooperate with the Satsuma army to fight the enemy, but by dawn, the east gate finally fell, and all the defenders were killed. Government troops began to swarmed in from the east and north gates, engaging in street fighting with the Satsuma army.

By October 7, the number of government forces attacking Kumamoto Castle had increased to more than 17,000. On the same day, Nozu Michikan held a military meeting and decided to divide his troops into two routes to attack the inner castle, one route was to advance along the main road with the Nozu Jinosho Division, and the Soga Yusushino Division as a backup to attack the Satsuma Army Fort and the northeast of Kumamoto Castle from the east bank of the Kai River, cutting off the connection between the Satsuma Army in the east bank of the Kai River and the staff headquarters in the castle. The other route was led by Yamada Akiyoshi, with Yamaji Motoji as a backup, and attacked the south gate of Kumamoto Castle.

On the night of October 8, government forces on the east bank of the Jiehe River attacked northward, and at dawn on the 9th, they shelled the positions of Kiyoshi Kijima and other units of the Satsuma Army. At around 7 a.m. on the 10th, government forces shelled a powder magazine outside the trench wall southeast of Kumamoto Castle, causing a violent explosion. The government forces took the opportunity to storm the positions of the Satsuma Army and attacked the Satsuma Army batteries. By 12 noon on the 13th, the Satsuma army was forced to withdraw from its positions and retreated to the southern suburbs, and the government army took advantage of the victory to enter the southeast city. In the early morning of the 13th, government forces on the west bank of the Kaihe River left the earthen wall south of the castle and advanced towards the south gate of Kumamoto Castle through Kokoji Temple, while artillery shelled Kumamoto Castle on the wall of the south side of the castle. The Satsuma Army inside and outside the South Gate resisted, and the Satsuma Army artillery near the West Gate opened fire on the government forces near the Koukouji Temple. Previously, the residents outside the city gate had dug up the embankment of the river, so that the government army was blocked in the vicinity of the Guangming Temple, and after discussion, the government commander decided to build a bridge and storm it.

While the two sides were fighting fiercely, the government infiltrators who had infiltrated the city took advantage of the chaos to inform the government troops of the details of the collapse of a section of the wall at the south gate of Kumamoto. On the morning of the 14th, with the help of powerful artillery fire, the government death squad desperately rushed to the base of the wall, planted explosives, and blew up that section of the wall, and the government troops swarmed in and captured the south gate. The defenders first resisted the city wall, and then engaged in street battles with the government army, killing and wounding more than 3,000 government soldiers, but finally they were forced to retreat because they could not withstand the artillery bombardment of the government army.

After the government army entered the city through the south gate, they went north to cooperate with the government army in the northeast of the city to attack the main battery of the Satsuma army in the city. After killing and wounding more than 1,000 government soldiers, they evacuated and detonated the pre-planted explosives, completely blowing up the fort and killing all the government soldiers who attacked the fort. (To be continued......)