The retreat of the Japanese army was as Ito Hirobumi had predicted, and after a stormy attack, the Taiping offensive was suppressed by him, and the Japanese army took advantage of this opportunity to carry out the original plan of a major retreat of the main force.

As soon as it turned out to be surprisingly smooth, the main force of the Japanese army withdrew safely.

When Li Xiucheng, who was outside the city, noticed that the situation was different and launched a new onslaught, it was too late.

And it wasn't until the Japanese army that was left in Kyoto as a suspicious soldier that the Taiping army was killed by the Taiping army, that Li Xiucheng finally understood the truth of the whole thing.

The Japanese ran away, and slipped away under the noses of the Taipings.

And in the face of such a situation, Li Xiucheng had to sigh like this, this Ito Hirofumi is really an old fox, but in his heart, he really admires the old fox's clever tricks.

There was no way, Li Xiucheng felt remorseful, so he could only send a large army to pursue the Japanese army while reporting the situation here to Huang Xu.

And Huang Xu, who is in Osaka at the moment, has also not been idle since he arrived in Osaka, he has been paying attention to the situation of the front-line war, but fortunately, there are no major events on the front, and Huang Xu is also in a good mood.

And according to Li Xiucheng's return all along, the shape of the front line is very optimistic, and it is estimated that Kyoto will be taken in the near future.

Huang Xu was infected by this atmosphere of victory, and he was always very happy, and he was waiting for this moment of victory with great anticipation.

However, in the end, victory is coming, but this victory is not perfect, at least there is still a long way to go from Huang Xu's expectations.

Although Huang Xu waited for the good news of taking Kyoto, the main force of the Japanese army slipped away, which seemed to be a good result, but in fact it was the Taiping army that lost.

Faced with such a result, Huang Xu was really a little unhappy.

But. The result is the result, and if you are unhappy, you can only be unhappy, but the result must be accepted.

After being depressed for a while, Huang Xu put away the unhappiness in his heart and began to prepare to lead the army into Kyoto.

I can only talk about it when I get to Kyoto.

And after a little preparation, Huang Xu joined Li Hongzhang. Dongfang Bufu and others led the reinforcement army to Kyoto City to join Li Xiucheng's department.

After a rapid march, Huang Xu and the others soon entered Kyoto City.

After entering the city and settling down, Li Xiucheng made a detailed report to Huang Xu on the details of the battle between China and Japan, and at the end, he pleaded guilty to Huang Xu, saying that he was willing to accept the punishment for the escape of the Japanese army.

Li Xiucheng is a proud person, so he was put on the table by Ito Hirobumi. In addition to being annoyed, he felt even more shameless, if Huang Xu wanted to punish him, then he must accept it willingly.

However, Huang Xu would not punish Li Xiucheng, after all, the set goal had been achieved, and Kyoto City was already in the hands of the Taiping army. Li Xiucheng didn't do anything wrong, not only did he make no mistake. And meritorious.

Strictly speaking, after entering and occupying Kyoto, Li Xiucheng can be credited with one merit even if he completes the task, and if he can defeat the main force of the Japanese army, then he can be credited with another merit. And the Japanese army escaped, which was just to make Li Xiucheng's name appear one less time in the credit book.

To put it bluntly, that's it.

And Li Xiucheng saw that Huang Xu was not guilty, so he could only thank him gratefully.

Then, Huang Xu asked about the movement of the Japanese army at this time.

Li Xiucheng said again. After he entered Kyoto, he had sent people to pursue the Japanese army, but the Japanese army was like a rabbit, running very fast, the Taiping army chased out dozens of miles, but it was only after chasing out dozens of miles that the Taiping army caught up with the Japanese army, after a fierce battle between the two sides, the Taiping army annihilated the Japanese army, but it was such a delay, the Taiping army could no longer catch up with the main force of the Japanese army.

As a result, the Taiping army could only return to Kyoto and make plans again.

After Huang Xu understood it clearly, he ordered the army to rest for a while, and after two days, they continued to advance, and their next target was Nagoya.

It's just that Huang Xu and others don't know at this moment that Nagoya is already an empty city, and the Japanese army has retreated directly to Tokyo, the heart of Japan.

At the same time, just as the Taiping army was heading towards Nagoya, the advance army led by Meiji had already arrived in Tokyo.

They are really in a hurry to come this way, maybe this is called fleeing for their lives.

It wasn't until he arrived in Tokyo that Meiji's heart calmed down, and after a short rest, he issued orders one after another, directly mobilizing the entire Tokyo city urgently, he understood that time was running out, and before the arrival of the Taiping army, Meiji must seize the time to strengthen the defense of Tokyo.

While Meiji was in full swing, the main force of the Japanese army led by Hirobumi Ito also safely withdrew to Tokyo.

This made Meiji very happy.

That night, he held a sumptuous dinner to comfort these Japanese soldiers who had suffered so much from being beaten.

After the dinner, Meiji had a separate conversation with Hirobumi Ito.

There is only one central issue they are talking about, and that is to defend Tokyo.

"This time, the main force of the army was able to withdraw to Tokyo unharmed, and Ito-kun should take the first credit." Meiji praised.

These are Meiji's heartfelt words.

"Your Majesty's words are serious, this is the responsibility of the minister, besides, the main force of the army can retreat this time, completely relying on the heavenly power of His Majesty, and the minister does not dare to take credit." Hirobumi Ito said modestly.

Giving credit to Meiji, this sycophant is indeed a good level.

When Meiji heard this, he was very happy, and his heart was extremely useful, and he felt that this Ito Hirobumi was too good at speaking.

"Ito-kun is too humble, I will remember everything you have done, and when the war is over, I will be rewarded." Meiji is full of spring breeze and authentic.

It's been a long time since he's been so happy, and this time, Hirobumi Ito really has a long face for him.

"Thank you!" Hirobumi Ito knelt down and thanked him.

"That's it, Ito-kun, get up, I'll leave you alone tonight, I have something I want to sum up with you." Meiji's mood gradually calmed down, and his face began to slowly turn flat, and he only listened to him.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hirobumi Ito said respectfully.

Of course, he knew that Meiji had something important to discuss with him, wasn't it obvious?

"Ito-kun, this Tokyo is the foundation of the empire, and there is no room for error, tell me, how should we defend it?" Meiji can't wait to be authentic.

This is the most urgent issue at the moment, and Meiji has no bottom on his mind, so he must have a good discussion with Ito Hirobumi.

Moreover, the only person he can trust and rely on now is Ito Hirobumi.

"Your Majesty, the minister has carefully considered it on the way back, the minister believes that our side has multiple advantages in this battle, first of all, Tokyo is the heart of my empire, the city is high and the walls are thick, for the Taiping army, it is tantamount to natural danger, if they want to storm here, the difficulty can be imagined, besides, the Taiping army this attack on our own territory is not many, there is only one legion, about 200,000 people, if you count some of the damage that occurred in the process of fighting with our army and the strength required to defend the occupied city, The Taiping army is probably not many troops that are really used to attack Tokyo, at most there are only 100,000 people, and in addition, they are fighting in a foreign land, and many things are not very convenient. When Ito Hirobumi said this, he paused slightly, and he was a little dazed.

The words "fighting in a foreign land" aroused Ito's thoughts, and he knew it well, and it was definitely unforgettable, and frankly, to this day, the events that took place on the Korean battlefield haunt him all the time, and he sometimes even reflects on whether they were wrong to start the Korean War in the first place.

However, the past cannot be repeated, but the present must be faced.

"Ito-kun, what's wrong with you, Ito-kun..."Meiji sensed that something was wrong with Ito Hirobumi, and couldn't help but call out loud.

Ito Hirobumi suddenly woke up and hurriedly said to Meiji: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I'm distracted, the minister continued, if you talk about the overall strength, although our army is at a disadvantage, but with the advantage of numbers and the right time, location, people and other opportunities, we will definitely be able to withstand the attack of the Taiping Army, and, if you think about it deeply, even if you want to win it in one drum, it is not without a chance, so, Your Majesty, this time, we don't have to think too much, we just need to pour the whole country into defense, and treat this battle as a decisive battle." ”

At this point in the war, there is no possibility of opportunism, and Ito Hirobumi has seen this very clearly.

"Okay, Ito-kun, since you have a bamboo in your chest, then you will be fully responsible for this battle, you can mobilize the strength of the whole country to fight against the Taiping army, this time, we are unsuccessful, and we will become benevolent." Meiji is unequivocal.

The situation is already like this, and it can only be fought.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the minister is still the same sentence, and he will definitely live up to his trust." Ito Hirofumi did not shirk and agreed.

There is no excuse for him.

"That's up to you." Meiji is full of anticipation.

"Please rest assured." Hirofumi Ito said loudly.

After listening to Ito Hirofumi's words, Meiji nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

They then moved on to some specific defensive details. (To be continued......)