"I'll stay here and try my best to resist the Han Kou, as long as I can. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Looking at the blurry dark clouds outside the window, Itakura Shigemune whispered, "It's just that other people's thoughts may not be the same as mine, as you can see, many people are now shaken and unwilling to stay here and fight to the death." ”

"The shogunate has previously granted the lord full authority, and the lord can dispatch and punish anyone here, and whoever disobeys the lord's orders will be punished." Takagi Kiyoshi smiled slightly, "When Zaixia left, the old man also explained to Zaixia, now the only priority for the shogunate is to resist the Han Kou and protect the shogunate, if anyone disobeys the order, who is the shogunate's sinner, whether it is a daimyo or a samurai, if it is a sinner, it must not be tolerated." ”

"I just hope that everything can be as expected by the old and middle adults." After getting the support of the other party, Itakura Shigemune didn't seem happy, but sighed softly, "I will never fail the kindness of the general." ”

Originally, according to the general principle, when defending the city, he could not defend the city, but should take the initiative to attack and contain and consume the enemy army outside the city. However, because he was afraid of the strength of the Han field, he did not dare to make such a decision at all, and could only watch the Han take the initiative, and he could only passively retreat in the city and wait for them to attack.

Takagi Kiyoshi went to the Han army before, checked the strength of the Han army, according to his report, in this army that pressed them, the Han officers and soldiers are likely to be tens of thousands, considering the previous performance of the Han Dynasty, Itakura Shigemune really did not have the courage to send troops out to fight in the field.

"During this time, I will try my best to negotiate with the Han Kou, let them face the reality, and compromise with the shogunate......" At this moment, Takagi Kiyoshi spoke again, "My lord, no matter how difficult the situation is, please persevere, every day you hold on, the shogunate will be safer." ”

On the same day, Itakura Shigemune ordered him and his cronies to be deprived of the right to command the army on the grounds that the lord of the Himeji Domain, Honda Masato, was cowardly, and the samurai he brought with him controlled the entire army - when he came to Himeji Castle before, although the original feudal army became his subordinates, Honda Masatomo was still able to command as the lord of the domain, but now he has been directly deprived of all command rights by Itakura Shigemune, and he is only allowed to bring his trusted samurai to help defend the castle.

Honda Masatomo was annoyed by Itakura Shigemune's insistence, but in such a situation, he had no choice but to endure it while complaining angrily to his relatives in the Hondai family, and was forcibly left in Himeji Castle.

……………………

As Itakura Shigemune and others had predicted, the Han army soon pressed under Himeji Castle.

Beyond the towering city walls, a large army of black pressure surged up like a tide, everywhere there were military flags unfurled, crowds of people, and even small noises gathered together, making people's eardrums hurt.

The army camped on the spot outside the city, forming a semi-circle of encirclement under the city.

In the camp area occupied by the army, there was a small mountain bag, and Zhou Pu and Huang Changguo chose this place as the camp and erected the handsome flag.

On this hill, Zhou Pu, Huang Changguo and others took binoculars and carefully observed Himeji Castle opposite.

The long stone walls stood thick on the ground, covered with battlements and shooting holes, and behind the walls, towering castle towers loomed in the dark clouds, like white elephants perched on top of mountains.

"It's really better to be famous than to meet, this city is really dangerous." After observing for a long time, Huang Changguo sighed, and then put down the telescope in his hand, "If we force an attack without the help of heavy artillery, I'm afraid our army's casualties will not be small!" ”

Himeji Castle is a treacherous and well-fortified fortress, and if the defenders are strong-willed, they will definitely be able to inflict heavy losses on the attackers, not to mention that the troops under his command are still uneven, filled with a large number of feudal armies and newly replenished troops, and their combat effectiveness and will to fight are very questionable.

"Thankfully, we now have heavy artillery." Zhou Pu was also very happy, "As long as you use artillery to eat away at the enemy army a little bit, it won't be so difficult to fight." ”

"There are cannons, but the cannonballs are limited after all, although the Goryeo side is already fully supplying us, but after all, there is no way to only take care of our side, so we can't keep bombarding with cannons." Huang Changguo's face was grim, "Besides, no matter how the city is shelled, people will have to be sent in to fight...... If the defenders have no intention of escaping, then this is a fierce battle. ”

"That'...... So what does Senator Huang think we should do? Zhou Pu hesitated a little, "The number of our army is very small, we can't consume it here!" ”

The army in his mouth is, of course, only referring to these Han officers and soldiers under his command. In Zhou Pu's view, except for the Han army, the other vassal armies could not be fully trusted and relied on, and they were just troops used to consume.

"Siege warfare is the easiest to consume human lives, and a ruin cannot give full play to the advantages of our army's array and combat skills...... So my lord, we can't put the Han army in our hands into it. Huang Changguo immediately said to Zhou Pu, "This siege will be left to the Japanese themselves." ”

"Okay, I'll give the order according to this." Zhou Pu immediately agreed with him, and then glanced at Himeji Castle in the distance viciously, "Let those Japanese fight, we will let the Han army be the supervising team, and whoever dares to withdraw will be killed!" ”

After the plan was decided, Zhou Pu called all the Japanese generals under his command to his account.

After this period of evolution, the strength and strength of the Japanese army under him have expanded, but several small circles of influence have also been faintly formed.

On one side is the Daimyo coalition army he brought over in Kyushu, led by the Shimazu family and Tachibana Soshige, these people regard themselves as the heroes who preemptively defected to the Han Dynasty, and they are relatively more trusted by Zhou Pu, and after a long period of training and several actual battles in the Han army, their combat experience and combat effectiveness are the strongest. And in order to compete for war merits and territory, they are also the hardest-working.

On one side are several daimyo of the Western Kingdom who defected to the Han, headed by the strongest Maori family, these people are all in order to achieve the promise of the Han Dynasty, in order to expand their territory and take refuge in the Han, because the foundation of the family business is still there, so they have reservations, unwilling to fight too hard, and compared with the first type of combat effectiveness is slightly inferior.

On one side is the Japanese imperial court in the northward recruitment of generals, led by the right minister Nijo Yasudo and the left guard lieutenant general Hashimoto Minorumura, they want to enter as soon as possible, and then rush into Kyoto to restore the imperial court, the war spirit is the highest, but most of their troops are newly recruited, the combat effectiveness is not high, some are even displaced just for a bite to eat, they are the largest number but the least valued by Zhou Pu and others.

These three forces have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they do not agree with each other, and they often fight secretly with each other, and Zhou Pu is also happy to see this situation, so he intends to encourage their secret struggle, and they check and balance each other, which can naturally improve his authority.

However, now is not the time for them to call infighting, on the contrary, it is time for them to unite and unite...... Be cannon fodder.

After calling these generals over, Zhou Pu told them about his arrangements, especially emphasizing the importance of capturing Himeji Castle as soon as possible, urging them to prepare as soon as possible and then launch an attack.

As he expected, these generals immediately fell into hesitation, they all had some palpitations about the city wall in front of them, and they didn't want to consume their strength here.

"Don't you think that fighting a war is just walking, and you don't need dead people?!" Zhou Pu pretended to be angry and shouted, "Since we have come this far, can we still care about casualties?" If anyone doesn't dare to go into battle, say it now, and the official can let him go home! ”

His roar made the originally chaotic camp tent suddenly quiet.

"I know that you are all afraid of attacking the fortified city and afraid of shedding blood in vain, but now we have the heavy artillery of the great man in our hands, and we have the indestructible siege weapon! With such a sharp weapon to help, the defenders of the city are definitely no match for you! Zhou Pu continued to encourage his subordinates, "Before attacking the city, we will bombard the opposite side with artillery, and when the time comes, you will definitely be able to take it if you rush again." ”

For a while, no one spoke, but the atmosphere was finally relaxed.

Zhou Pu turned his head to Erjo Kangdao, "Lord Youfu, haven't you been urging us to march and enter Jinai as soon as possible?" How...... Backed down when it came to the end? Don't forget, when we enter the country, the biggest benefit is your court, and the land we fight next is also the territory of your court! Wouldn't it be chilling if you all flinched yourselves? And how to establish the prestige of the imperial court? ”

Erjo Kangdao was originally a young and vigorous person, and after being stimulated like this, he was willing to endure it, so he immediately stood up and saluted Zhou Pu.

"My lord, leave the siege to us, we will definitely take down this city at all costs and open the way for the march into Kinai!"

For the imperial court, the most important thing is to enter Kinai as soon as possible and establish the rule in, and now the more people can bear it.

"It's naturally best for Lord Youfu to have such determination, but how can you take on such a difficult task?" Zhou Pu smiled slightly, "I have already decided, the next siege is for the whole army to go together, take turns to fight, and everyone will work hard for the whole army." Of course...... It's not just a vain effort, I've already decided that whoever makes a difference in this battle will be rewarded! ”

As soon as they heard the heavy reward, the attention of the others quickly hit, and everyone looked at Zhou Pu.

But Zhou Pu was unmoved, and said his decision. "This battle is very important and very hard, so it must be rewarded. Whoever leads his troops to break through the city defenses, enter the main pill, and seal the territory of 100,000 stones, whose troops break the outer castle guard first, seal the territory of 150,000 stones, and whose troops take the Great Heaven Castle Tower first, will seal the territory of 200,000 stones! ”

Although his tone was flat, the others all gasped, and it was indeed beyond their expectations that he had directly sprinkled so many rewards for a city, but it also showed that this envoy of the Celestial Empire attached great importance to this battle.

"I personally supervise the battle in the rear, watch you fight, if anyone fights bravely and makes meritorious deeds, he will definitely be rewarded...... But if anyone is afraid to slack off and dare not fight to the death, then don't blame our military discipline for being polite! After proposing a reward, Zhou Pu began to threaten them, "If you are dealt with by military law, not only will you be ruined and killed, but even the family's territory will be taken away, and please don't humiliate the family!" ”

"Yes!" Seeing that Zhou Pu said so decisively, these feudal lords and generals were all awe-struck, and directly touched the ground with their heads and responded. "Obey your lordship!"

In the afternoon of the same day, the formation of the Han army began to disperse, and then pressed further down Himeji Castle, and when they marched, the city was silent and unmoved, as if it had become an empty city, but when they approached the firing distance of the various fortifications in the city, the iron cannons and bows and arrows inside began to fire, and a large number of projectiles and bows and arrows attacked the besieging army with a whistling sound that broke through the air, bringing casualties.

The besieging army soon retreated silently with the casualties and did not attack further - this was only the first temptation, and in order to find out the focus and distribution of the defensive forces in the city, there was no direct intention to start attacking the city.

As the tentative troops retreated, they also threw their slack earthwork and stones into the trenches outside the city, and these outermost trenches began to be slowly filled.

As time passed, the besieging army's most relied upon weapon began to appear. The heavy artillery was carefully pushed under the city by the artillerymen. After the tentative attack just now, these artillerymen had roughly figured out the limits of the attack of long-range weapons in the city, so they confidently and boldly pushed the artillery under the cover of the Han officers and soldiers - of course, this was also because the trenches outside had been filled.

After the gun truck stopped, the cannons were slowly re-erected to the ground, and then the artillerymen began to nervously deploy the cannons, adjusting the shelling of the moto, and under the gaze of the soldiers next to them, the thick barrels gradually raised their heads and aimed at Himeji Castle not far away.

When everything was ready, Zhou Pu and Huang Changguo also gave the order for the shelling.

"Fire!" The officers shouted loudly and at the same time blocked their ears with everyone next to them.

"Boom!" The earth almost trembled.

The artillery fire was dazzling, and the rising fireworks blocked everyone's view. The sky was filled with the terrible shouts of iron bullets roaring in the air. These huge iron cannonballs, accelerated by the gunpowder, smashed like marbles of the gods into the opposite wall.

After the first round of shelling began, the artillerymen paused to observe the effects of the shelling, then resumed their preparations for the shelling, and then resumed firing.

In the space above the defenders' heads, heavy cannonballs struck the stone walls, and then huge blocks of iron and stones cracked, first into the air, and then fell one after another, slamming to the ground. In the sky, obscured by the smoke and dust, it was as dark as when a rainstorm came.

In the bombardment and crackling of the shells, sparks flew in all directions, projecting a blue-gray light in all directions. And in the looming world, from one end to the other, the whole earth seems to shake, sink, split, and melt, as if an earthquake had reappeared.

The infinite expanse of space shakes like the sea. The explosion was so violent that everything lost its color, and many people even found themselves temporarily deaf, and small pieces of broken iron and stones kept falling to the ground as if they were in the next hailstorm. The stump and blood were mixed together, adding to the poignant scene of the horrific scene.

Zhou Pu and Huang Changguo stood on the camp, holding binoculars and watching the shelling of their own army, even if he had been mentally prepared in advance, he still had some palpitations when he watched this scene.

Under his gaze, the originally strong city wall had been opened with many gaps, and even the white city wall had been dyed gray and black, and many of the battlements in the city seemed to have been buried in the ruins.

"In the face of such artillery fire...... No fortress is immune......" Zhou Pu couldn't help but sigh. "As long as there are enough shells, any fortress can only be razed to the ground."

"There has never been a fortress in the world that cannot be attacked, and now we have such a powerful siege artillery." Huang Changguo was also proud, "Unless someone can build a city with steel bars in the future, no fortress will be a problem." ”

"Is there anyone who can build a city out of steel?" Zhou Pu felt a little funny.

"Maybe there will be one in the future?" Huang Changguo also smiled, and then stopped the joke. "Alright, my lord, please order a general attack."

Because of the limitation of artillery shells, the Han army limited the scale and duration of the artillery bombardment, and today they are very satisfied with the effect of using artillery to open the walls of the outer city.

"Attack with all your troops!" Zhou Pu immediately gave an order to the heralds next to him.

And these heralds, too, scattered with his orders, urging every unit around him.

However, as if it had been activated, the entire army's formation began to change. Most of the phalanx began to press towards Himeji Castle, and the formation became more and more scattered, while the Han army gathered in the rear and then lined up to supervise the battle, as if it were a red wall separating the realm.

According to Zhou Pu's order, the Han army will supervise the battle here, and every round of troops who rush into the city to attack, if anyone dares to retreat, they will be shot on the spot, and they will not be forgiven. This is also to cut off the retreat of the besieging army, so that they can only fight to the death.

Then, with the sound of a tsunami of mountains and tsunamis, countless people gathered to the gap in the blasted city wall and squeezed into the city. (To be continued.) )