Dongfang Bufu guessed well, the group of black-clothed people who cut off the pass and left were Togi Takayo and others, but what Dongfang Bufu and the Taiping Army did not expect was that in addition to Togi Takayo, there was another important person, Sakamoto Ryoma.

But how did Ryoma Sakamoto end up here?

It turned out that Sakamoto Ryoma was the leader of the group of men in black who ambushed Togi Takayoshi on the way to death row and successfully rescued Togi Takayo and others.

This qiē seems premeditated.

It should be said that, yes, this qiē was all planned, and the group of people sent by Ito Hirobumi, who was in the shadows, and who followed closely by Togi Takayo, was led by Sakamoto Ryoma.

And after this two groups of people set off, Ito Hirobumi mobilized the army to cooperate with this operation.

Ito Hirobumi divided the army into two parts, one led by Saigo Takamori, feinted to attack the east gate, and tried to attract the attention of the Taiping army, so as to create favorable conditions for the escape of Togi Takayoshi and Sakamoto Ryoma and others, while he himself led the other group to meet Togi Takayoshi and Sakamoto Ryoma and others at the west gate, if possible, Ito Hirobumi also wanted to take advantage of the situation to attack the city to muddy the water and fish.

Hirofumi Ito felt that the risk was worth taking, and the hope of success was also great, so he made up his mind to do it.

Of course, before the action, Ito Hirobumi had already made an agreement with Sakamoto Ryoma, which led to the tacit cooperation later.

And for this operation, Ito Hirobumi can be said to have made a bloody investment, although in the end he still failed to rescue Takasugi Shinsaku, but he fully mobilized the Taiping Army, and let the Taiping Army suffer a big setback, the Japanese army can be regarded as a spiritual victory.

After Ito Hirobumi failed to attack the city, he withdrew to Seoul with Takayoshi Togi and Ryoma Sakamoto and others, and later, on the way, they met Saigo Takamori who had withdrawn from the East Gate, so the two Japanese troops got together and returned to Seoul together.

After returning to Seoul, Togi Takayo knew that he was guilty, and he was also very ashamed of his actions, so after arriving in Seoul, he didn't have time to rest, so he immediately went to Ito Hirobumi's headquarters to ask for guilt and thank him.

Xie is the life-saving grace of Shai Ito Hirofumi, and the plea is for his unauthorized actions this time.

Moreover, Takayo Togi really knew that he was wrong this time, and he knew it was wrong from the bottom of his heart.

And this is what Ito Hirofumi wants, and after this incident, he believes that Togi Takayoshi will definitely obey him with all his heart.

So, a polite face-saving remark, and then a little punishment, the matter of Togi filial piety is over.

And as Hirobumi Ito expected, Takayo Togi no longer dared to have any contempt for him.

At this point, the matter of Togi Takayo has come to an end for the time being.

After this incident, the rescue of Takasugi Shinsaku was put on hold for the time being, and according to Ito Hirobumi, a way was to be found later, and the main task of the Japanese army at this stage was to devote all their energy to stabilizing the defense of Seoul.

Seoul, the capital of the Korean state.

It is the economic, political, and cultural center of Joseon, and it has been the largest city in Joseon since the 13th century when the Yi Dynasty designated it as the capital, and after hundreds of years of continuous construction, Seoul has not only become the largest city in Joseon, but also in the world.

Moreover, the geographical location of Seoul is very superior, it is located in the center of the west side of the Korean country, it is the distribution place of the culture of the north and the south, and it is also the transportation hub connecting the southeast and northwest.

The Han River, the most important inland river in North Korea, crosses Seoul from east to west, and because of this, Seoul, like many large cities surrounded by mountains and rivers, has been endowed with a heritage and connotation that is different from ordinary cities, making Seoul one of the world's famous economic and cultural cities.

After years of painstaking management, Seoul has almost been turned into a military fortification, the city is thick, and various military facilities are built in prominent places.

This shows how strong Seoul's city defense is.

However, since Seoul was such a strong city, how could the Japanese army occupy it so easily.

In fact, the loss of Seoul has nothing to do with whether the city walls are strong or whether the military facilities are complete, and the reason why the Koreans lost Seoul is caused by several reasons.

First of all, the Japanese army's blitzkrieg was too sudden, and the whole Korean country was caught off guard by the Japanese army before they really came to their senses.

Secondly, the supreme ruler of Korea was accustomed to ease, and as soon as he encountered the ferocious Japanese army, his psychology collapsed first, and he was simply frightened by the Japanese army, how dare he do anything to resist, so that the Japanese occupied the fortified city of Seoul almost without a single soldier.

And this also indirectly confirms the fact that even if the infrastructure is good and the conditions are superior, if there is no one to make good use of it, then these good infrastructure will not only become decorations, but also be used by the enemy.

As the saying goes, if people make good use of the world, if they don't use it, they will be useless in governing the world, and it is better to use it well than to use it well.

And although this Kaesong is like tofu scum in the hands of the Koreans, it seems to be like a tiger in the hands of the Japanese army, which is very different.

Now, the Japanese army has fortified the city and gathered heavy troops here, and it may not be easy for the Taiping army to take it down.

And it is precisely because they know the importance of this city, so the Japanese army will definitely rely on this fortified city to fight to the death with the Taiping army, and the Japanese army must do its best to fight with the Taiping army, because, if the Japanese army is defeated again in this battle, they will only retreat to the Pusan line to do the battle of the trapped beasts, and it will bring strict consequences, so that the strategic space of the Japanese army will be greatly compressed, if the Japanese army wants to counterattack the Taiping army, it will be even more difficult.

Therefore, no matter which way you start, holding Seoul will be the only way for the Japanese army to turn defeat into victory.

As a result, the Taiping army vowed to face a bloody battle in Seoul.

In order to deal with this battle, the commander of the Japanese army, Ito Hirobumi, also made careful arrangements for this battle in a targeted manner, so as to be foolproof.

In terms of current military strength, the Japanese army still has a total strength of about 420,000 people, Ito Hirobumi reorganized it into two armies, called the first army and the second army, the first army under the jurisdiction of the fourth, fifth, and sixth army corps, a total of 200,000 people, appointed Sakamoto Ryoma as the commander, Saigo Takamori as the deputy commander, and the second army under the jurisdiction of the original first, ninth, and tenth divisions, with a total strength of about 220,000 troops, Ito Hirobumi himself served as the commander, and Togi Takayoshi was appointed as the deputy commander.

And Ito Hirobumi's initial deployment was to rely on the fortified city and not to fight, and he was ready to fight a protracted war of attrition with the Taiping army.

He believed that it would be impossible for the Taiping army to besiege the city for a long time, and they would also run out of ammunition and food, and after the Taiping army ran out of ammunition and food, the Taiping army would definitely withdraw from the siege, and when they withdrew from the siege, the Japanese army would be able to win a great victory if they were ready to work and go out of the city to pursue.

Hirobumi Ito's wishful thinking is a croak.

Moreover, he was confident that as long as this arrangement was followed, if the Taiping army wanted to storm Seoul, it would almost be sent to death, and he wanted to laugh as long as he thought of the sight of the Taiping army dying all over the field under the city of Seoul.

The Taiping Army suppressed the Japanese army too much during this time, and Ito Hirobumi said that he had to move back to the first game, otherwise, where is the dignity of their Japanese Imperial Army, and where will he put Ito Hirobumi's face.

However, Ito Hirobumi's arrangement is not supported by everyone, and there are also people in the Japanese army who oppose it, these people believe that their imperial army is an invincible heavenly army in the world, even if it is defeated by the Taiping army several times before, it is not a defeat, at most it is a draw, and this is still the result of the Taiping army's deception, and in a strict sense, the Japanese army is not unable to defeat the Taiping army, so since it is not impossible to beat, then why be a turtle with a shrunken head.

In the face of this kind of situation among the Japanese army, Ito Hirobumi knew that this wind could not last, and if it was allowed to spread, it would definitely affect the morale of the entire Japanese army, and in the end there would be big problems.

So, Hirobumi Ito had to come up with a way to put an end to the spread of this trend.

So, on the one hand, he found the three Sakamoto Ryoma and asked them to go back and preach to the army under his jurisdiction about the necessity of holding on and the danger of going into battle, so that everyone could truly understand and understand the importance of holding on to it from the ideological point of view.

On the other hand, he appealed to the emperor and introduced many incentives, such as 50,000 yuan if one of the soldiers could hold out for 10 days, and 200,000 yuan if he held out for 20 days, and he would also make meritorious monuments to some of the soldiers who held out the longest and spread their deeds to the world.

In the end, there is of course a reward and a punishment, and Ito Hirobumi issued a strict order, if there is no order from Ito Hirobumi and dares to go out of the city to resist the enemy, there will be no forgiveness.

After this rectification of grace and power, those who wanted to be the first birds in the Japanese army really quieted down, and no one dared to force their heads.

In this way, the thinking of the Japanese army was unified, and they waited for the arrival of the Taiping army.

The Japanese army has been clearly detected by the branch of the Taiping Army Intelligence Department in Seoul, and reported to the headquarters of the Sino-Korean coalition led by Tian Xiaoer and others.

Based on this information, the coalition command led by Tian Xiaoer made targeted deployments for the defensive posture of the Japanese army.

Although the coalition command also knows that the road ahead is long and full of thorns, however, the road has come to this point, and they have no reason to retreat, they must keep going.

Moreover, despite the difficult road ahead, there was no difficulty for the Taiping army, who were determined to take the city, to stop them from passing forward, and they must take Seoul, which was the key to ending the entire Korean War.

At this critical moment, in addition to strengthening the strength of the three main armies of the Taiping Army, they also pulled out the Korean Guards Corps, which was originally responsible for logistical support, thus strengthening the deployment of the entire army.

The Allied Command had to ensure that the number of siegers far outnumbered the Japanese so that there was a chance of victory.

Both China and North Korea and Japan are preparing for a big war. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (biquge.info) to vote for recommendation and monthly pass. Your support is my biggest motivation ......)