At 14:25, Songwei Mountain, the forward command post of the Second Division of the Qing Army's Praetorian Guard.

The division commander, Major General Liu Bailiang, was silently writing the number of the unit and the name of the commander on a piece of paper: The Second Janissary Division:

Directly under the jurisdiction of the team,

The 4th Janissaries Brigade (Brigadier General He Pengcheng), the 5th Praetorian Guards Brigade (Brigade Commander Colonel Chen Xingyun).

Cluster General Reserve (Reserve Commander Colonel Wang Zhen): Jurisdiction of the Third Janissaries Brigade (Brigade Commander Colonel Wang Zhen),

The 6th Janissaries Brigade (Brigade Commander Colonel Liang Tianhe), the 1st Mixed Cavalry Brigade (Brigade Commander Colonel Xiang Lan), and the 2nd Independent Heavy Artillery Regiment (Regiment Commander Lieutenant Colonel Qin Feiye).

"That's all—" Liu Bailiang said to himself, "42,000 people, 54 150 heavy howitzers, 100 75 mountain guns and field artillery, 120 57 light mountain guns, plus 90 machine guns, if this kind of force firepower can't defeat a group of rabble, I should really stick my head over and let Liu Yun cut it off." ”

Taking out his silver-plated pocket watch and taking a look, Liu Bailiang walked quickly to the protective observation hole in the corner of the command post, where his two staff officers were leaning together with binoculars to observe the enemy positions on the other side of the Fujikogawa.

"The snow has finally stopped," Liu Bailiang looked at the bloated and fat outline of Nangong Mountain on the other side of the river, and his confidence in his heart increased a little.

"Pass my order, the school-firing balloon will immediately take off, prepare for artillery fire at 2:50, and attack the first echelon at 3:20!"

"Yes!"

Seeing off the signal soldiers, Liu Bailiang turned to the map table. In the lower right corner of the combat map, which is full of contour lines, zigzag lines, river road lines, large and small circles, and red and blue arrows, a dazzling red arrow directly indicates Nangong Mountain with a height of "419m", and behind the slender zigzag line at the bottom of the arrow, the three red characters "4JL" are surrounded by a red line, which is clear and obvious, and it represents the Fourth Guard Brigade, the first echelon of the left flank troops attacking Nangong Mountain.

The 10th "Lion's Roar" Regiment of the Praetorian Guard, which belongs to the Fourth Forbidden Brigade, will serve as the left flank forward of the first echelon and attack the position at the northern foot of Nangong Mountain. In the past six months, his Lion's Roar Regiment has gone through fierce battles, and there are less than 100 veterans left when they landed at Inchon earlier, and the recruits who have been recruited have been trained into veterans after they have fought several battles in Japan.

Flashing fireworks began to bloom on the snow-covered hillside, Xiao Lieri wore a white cloak and a machete in his hand into the snow, leaning on a boulder to quietly enjoy this rare beauty on earth. Since being severely criticized by his boss He Pengcheng in the Battle of Kobe, Xiao Lieri had to put away his proud and personalized Qinglong Yunyue Knife and replace it with a standard machete that was not very noticeable, and finally did not encounter any trouble.

"It's three and a half." Xiao Lieri looked at his pocket watch and muttered to himself, and then turned to Su Sanling, the commander of the first battalion beside him: "The first battalion is attacking!" ”

"Yes, Yiying, follow me!" Su Sanling carried a revolver in his hand, stepped on the snow that did not reach the instep, and led more than 400 riflemen to climb slowly and clumsily towards the enemy position on the hillside.

Two minutes later, the 2nd Battalion was also engaged in battle, but the so-called battle almost did not take place before the infantry approached the enemy's fortifications.

Can the fortifications, the deformed pits filled with dead bodies and knives, guns and clubs, the perverted graves piled up with sackcloth, the stupid holes that are simple and rough enough to bury people but not save them, can they really be called fortifications?

The domineering name—the White Tigers—did not do the peasants and townspeople who had no enthusiasm for fighting to do them any good. The explosive projectiles filled with the new type of zha medicine did not attempt to distinguish the substantive difference between soldiers and civilians, and even less did they care that the militia members had nothing more than shogunate-era muskets, birds, swords, spears, bows and arrows, and shockwaves and shrapnel devouring everything they could.

So when Su Sanling stepped on the first line of enemy trenches with the dragon flag in his hand, he only saw his subordinates slaughtering a group of dusty and blood-stained barbarians with rifles - these barbarians kept falling and getting up like madmen, limping or hanging half of their arms, wielding broken firearms, spear heads, and fragments of Japanese sword hilts, screaming at the muzzles of the Qing infantry.

Su Sanling stuck the dragon flag in the loose dirt that was still emitting smoke from the fire, pulled the trigger of the revolver, and happily joined in the justified slaughter, although the wound on his right arm still hurt faintly from time to time, Su Sanling was still convinced that he was not wasting 7.62mm pistol bullets, "at least two" - he thought. However, when more madmen continued to emerge, when the old-fashioned shells filled by the black fire yao exploded around the dragon flag from time to time, and when the round fire warhead passed near the old wound on Su Sanling's right arm, Su Sanling finally came to his senses, and the battlefield and the slaughterhouse cannot be equated after all.

The two doctors dragged Su Sanling down the mountain, and Su Sanling covered his wound and yelled - half out of anger, half out of pain.

"Fuck, let me go, dare to let Lao Tzu hang the lottery again, Lao Tzu wants to settle the account with him!"

"I'll do the math for you!" Xiao Lieri stood behind Su Sanling with the regimental flag of the golden lion roaring in the sky.

"Commander, I'm not convinced!"

Su Sanling raised the big knife in his hand: "I don't care if you accept it or not, last time you helped me write a confession letter, I owe you a favor, today we will write it off - Lao Tzu owes people the most annoyance!" Rest, you. ”

Hearing what the regiment commander said, the two doctors and soldiers ignored Su Sanling's scolding of his mother, and dragged him all the way down the mountain, and immediately applied medicine and bandaged it without mentioning it.

However, it is said that when Xiao Lieri led the third battalion up the hill, the position was already in chaos, the riflemen in white cloaks and the musketeers in gray coats were firing at each other's bodies with their muzzles, the slender bayonets on the Mauser 88 rifles made by the Beiyang Machinery Bureau were frequently kissing the delicate Japanese swords made by the Edo Shogunate, and the white vapor and gunpowder from the blood exhaled from people's mouths and the gunpowder smoke bursting from the bullets were like glue.

"The third battalion will come with me and drive little Japan down the mountain!"

Xiao Lieri raised the regimental flag, waved the broadsword, and the white-bladed riflemen quickly rushed forward, of course, the result was naturally to make the situation even more out of control, hand-to-hand combat became the complete theme of this hilltop position.

"Regiment commander, machine gun company up, three heavy machine guns-" Luo Kun, the commander of the guard company, panted and half-knelt on the snow on Xiao Lieri's side.

"Machine gun, there's a fart? It's all a pot of porridge, mom pulls a, my Qinglong Yunyue knife is here. ”

Luo Kun pulled behind him and dragged out a cloth bag, and a long white pole stretched out from the mouth of the bag, and the bottom of the pole was decorated with a dragon cloud pattern handle. Xiao Lieri's eyes lit up immediately: "Okay, you Luo Kun, it's really a fucking charcoal in the snow, come, you carry, follow me, don't kill a corpse all over the field today, the blood is flowing like a river, Lao Tzu will never fucking stop!" ”

Luo Kun said "yes", and hurriedly untied the cloth bag wrapped in the knife for Xiao Lieri, only to see that the back of the knife was heavy, the blade was shiny, the blade was like a crescent moon, the knife surface was engraved with a green dragon, the green dragon broke the blue sky, and the white blade was cold and shining through the snow. The origin of this treasure knife, Xiao Lieri did not reveal even half a word to the closest people, it seems that he deliberately wanted to make it a mystery for the ages.

At this moment, Luo Kun had no intention of doing boring things, he only obeyed the order to take over the Golden Lion Roaring Heavenly Regiment Flag, followed closely behind Xiao Lieri, and witnessed the powerful regiment commander chopping melons and vegetables to kill people, and stepping on the broken bones and flesh to move forward, as if entering a no-man's land, his heart was so excited, he grabbed the flagpole, held the regimental flag high, and shouted: "Long live the Praetorian Guard!" Praetorian Guard, forward! ”

This call aroused a series of "long live" and "forward" voices, the morale of the whole regiment was boosted, everyone was reborn like a thousand times more energetic, really brave as a tiger, ruthless as a wolf, regarded life and death as nothing, and converged into a rainbow-like momentum, which pressed the other party hard.

By the time the follow-up troops had taken up the position, Xiao Lieri had already led the main force of the whole regiment to chase down the mountain by taking advantage of the situation, forcing the remnants of the enemy's defeated army into the narrow valley at the foot of the mountain, slashing and stabbing them all indiscriminately, and almost killing them all.

The fierce battle on the north peak of Nangong Mountain ended in the most savage and ferocious way.

When cleaning up the battlefield afterwards, more than 4,000 complete corpses were cleared up on and down the mountain, and the stumps and bones could be made into more than 2,000 corpses, although the power of the artillery fire could be regarded as the main cause, however, the Lion's Roar Regiment quickly captured the north peak of Nangong Mountain at the cost of 251 casualties, which had relieved Liu Bailiang, the commander of the Second Forbidden Division.

※※※

At the foot of the northern peak of Nangong Mountain, Liu Bailiang's forward command post was stationed among a rocky community at the foot of the mountain, and the heralds and liaison officers were running around on horseback, and there was a tense atmosphere.

"The forbidden fourth brigade has captured the north peak, the forbidden sixth brigade has captured the south peak, the forbidden fifth brigade has suffered a setback under the main peak, and the commander of the fifth brigade, Chen Xingyundao, because the terrain of the main peak is dangerous, the valleys are vertical and horizontal, and there are many dead ends in artillery fire, I am afraid that the main peak will not be able to be taken in a hurry according to the scheduled plan."

"I know it." Liu Bailiang's right index finger pressed the corner of the map table, and his left hand held the silver-plated pocket watch given to him by Zhong Xiahuo three years ago, and his brain was running rapidly, followed by a large consumption of calories and sugar. He only has to make a choice of several possibilities, like a multiple-choice question, putting a checkmark in front of an answer, which seems to be as simple as that, but it is not.

"The order was that He Pengcheng's Fourth Brigade and Liang Tianhe's Sixth Brigade each set aside a regiment to assist Chen Xingyun's Fifth Brigade in besieging the main peak of Nangong Mountain, and the other troops of the Fourth and Sixth Brigades were stationed in place as reserves. The reserve unit is not allowed to act without receiving the order of the division commander. Xiang Lan's mixed cavalry brigade advanced through the northern foot of Nangong Mountain to the vertical well east of Sekigahara, cutting off the enemy's retreat on the Sekigahara front, and then attacked Sekigahara Station in a roundabout way, and Wang Zhen's three brigades coordinated to capture the vertical well to the Blue Cavalry Brigade, and then covered the cavalry brigade to attack Sekigahara Station. After completing the task of seizing Sekigahara Station to the Blue Brigade and Wangzhen Brigade, if the loss does not exceed a quarter of the total strength, it should immediately turn north and attack the enemy in the direction of Jinsheng Mountain. After the order arrives, the ministries should immediately carry it out, and those who deliberately delay it will be dealt with by military law! ”

After the combat staff officer finished copying the text, he immediately explained to several heralds, and Liu Bailiang watched the heralds leave from the camp tent at the forward command post, rubbed his temples, and gently breathed a sigh of relief.

The fate of Japan seems to be decided in this narrow basin of more than 100,000 or 200,000 troops, but what about China's fate?

Liu Bailiang really wants to know what kind of history Lu Dao, Zhong Xiahuo, Ding Jieyun, Liu Yun, Wen Yiyi, etc., can create? Is the fate of China at the end of the nineteenth century really in the hands of these rebels of time and space? Or are they themselves mere playthings of fate, toiled by the mischief of the Creator against a magnificent backdrop, only to receive nothing more than the unbridled ridicule of the Divine and the jumble of words written by the commentators?

"I want to see a country where people are born free." Liu Bailiang remembered this sentence that Wen Yi often sighed in the past four years, Liu Bailiang did not believe that there was really so-called freedom in the world, but his emotional factors made him inexplicably excited about this sentence from time to time.

"Freedom." Liu Bailiang muttered softly, his mind returning to the days before the space-time teleportation, or, further, to be exact, before the oath of allegiance to Liu Yun.

At that time, he was just a small platoon commander, and he went all out to devote himself to his daily work every day, organizing training and study, communicating with the soldiers, communicating with the company commander Zhong Xiahuo, and from time to time being asked by the political commissar of the battalion to talk.

But that tediousness, he would never show it, he deliberately disguised himself as an activist who cared about everything, in fact, he also got the title of several activists, but he still couldn't get into the state, he felt bored, but he had no reason to give up—in that world, there was no room for giving up without a valid reason.

It wasn't until later that he discovered the same kind, another pretender, that is, his company commander Zhong Xiahuo.

Zhong Xiahuo's favorite book to read is "Water Margin", his favorite thing to do is to kill chickens, and his favorite wine to drink is Erguotou.

The commonality and tacit understanding of the pretenders led them to discover the very secrets hidden in each other's souls, and they got closer and closer.

"I think you want to kill yourself." Zhong Xiahuo spit out this sentence when he was half drunk and half awake broke through the fragile defense line that Liu Bailiang had struggled to support in his soul in one fell swoop, Liu Bailiang did not admit or deny it at the time, he gave Zhong Xiahuo silence, and what Zhong Xiahuo returned to him was hope and truth.

Soon, Zhong Xiahuo introduced him to Liu Yun, who was the head of the special operations group at the time, and after months of investigation and investigation, Liu Bailiang was able to officially join the adventure team, and the most important part of the joining ceremony was to swear allegiance to Liu Yun. There wasn't much red tape, just in a small dark room, in the presence of Zhong Xiahuo and a dozen other black-masked figures, solemnly reciting a simple oath that he had memorized in advance to Liu Yun, who was in the upper seat.

Liu Bailiang still remembers that when he was excited, he memorized a wrong word, and then took the initiative to ask to recite it again, but was persuaded by Liu Yun. Liu Yun said: "The water that was spilled can never be recovered, we all have only one chance, even if we make a mistake, there is no possibility of turning back, we have to keep moving forward, maybe we can find a way out." If you have already made a plan to start over before you take a step, then although you can add the weight of insurance and stability in your heart, the possibility of giving up and betraying will inevitably rise. ”

"Make history", "rearrange the unjust fate of hundreds of millions of people", "build a country where everyone is born free". Are these ideals and beliefs just Liu Yunwenyi's superficial slogans, or are they the true thoughts of all the thirty-six members of the adventure team?

Liu Bailiang didn't want to think about it, at least he didn't feel bored now, at least he didn't have to pretend to be anything, at least what he was doing could still make him feel the burning of life.

"Zhong Xiahuo, we have all got the freedom we want, we have to take advantage of it."

Liu Bailiang faced the gray-white tent wall, thinking of the city of Beijing, thousands of miles away, Zhong Xiahuo must be as restless as a imprisoned wolf.

※※※

Within an hour of Liu Bailiang's order, Xiang Lan's cavalry brigade easily swept away the rebels' supply base at Shuijing, and then the sharp spearheads cast by 5,000 cavalry cut a long arc from east to west, pointing straight at the center of Sekigahara.

Twenty-six-year-old colonel brigade commander Xiang Lan, who came from a Mongolian aristocratic family, has been on horseback since he was a child, and his equestrian skills are excellent, and he has led his own personal soldiers and horses to fight many times against foreign tribes and Russian Cossack horse teams who came to provoke, and is familiar with cavalry combat.

In 91, he entered the cavalry special department of the Imperial Army University, and after graduation, he successively served as the commander of the second battalion of the cavalry regiment of the forbidden first division, and the deputy and chief of the cavalry regiment of the forbidden second division. Before the battle of Sekigahara, Ding Jieyun decided to form a mobile cavalry unit, and when selecting a commander, he did not hesitate to summon Xiang Lan and appoint him on the spot.

The cavalry colonel's appearance did not seem to match his Mongol ancestry, he had a young white baby face with no miscellaneous beards, and he was more handsome than powerful, but this did not affect his prestige in the army. Soldiers need a commander who can give them a strong support for their fragile spirit, generals need a unit commander who can fully understand the intentions of their superiors at all times and in all places, and Xiang Lan can meet their needs, and that is enough.

Wearing a cavalry colonel's hat adorned with creamy white fluffy feathers, a compact cavalry uniform with a double-breasted underneath, a black tweed coat and a pure white waterproof cloak, Xiang Lan held a wooden-shelled monocular decorated with red dragon patterns in both hands, and was carefully looking at the fireworks of the city of Sekigahara several miles away.

Groups of black-clad and white-covered Praetorian cavalry passed by Xiang Lan in turn, the sound of horses' hooves trampling the snow was dense and urgent, Xiang Lan put down his binoculars, and watched with satisfaction as his subordinates moved in an orderly manner.

The Praetorian Cavalry unit with the European training method was founded four years ago, and he was a little unaccustomed to learning from Lan when he first joined the Army Cavalry Special Branch, but with the introduction of new tactical concepts and main battle weapons, he quickly became completely addicted to it.

Carbines—light rifles with shortened barrels—completely eliminated crossbows and firearms, and European-style narrow sabres replaced traditional scimitars and broadswords as the standard armament of light cavalry. Some cavalry regiments were also armed with Mauser rifles for infantry in order to dismount for combat, and they were called "dragoons" according to European custom. The lightweight five- or seven-millimeter mountain guns were modified for use as standard cavalry guns, with three or six guns in each cavalry regiment for fire support. Maxim machine guns on wheels were also included in the equipment sequence of the cavalry regiments, ranging from three to six per regiment. Cavalry regiments with artillery and machine guns are suitable for a wide range of highly mobile tasks, from reconnaissance to sabotage, and when several cavalry regiments form huge units at the brigade and division level, the combined impact power is self-evident - of course, in the age of firearms, cavalry without infantry support is not destined to be a big deal.

Xiang Lan silently counted the numbers of his troops in his heart: "The Cavalry Regiment of the First Praetorian Division, the Cavalry Regiment of the Second Janissary Division, and the First Cavalry Wing of the Central Army - all light cavalry units." ”

"You can only make one assault, and then immediately gather the troops back, and the follow-up infantry units will follow up to expand the results, and the cavalry entanglement with the infantry in the town can only find death."

Xiang Lan thought back to his established tactical policy, and felt that it was already the most correct of the extreme, and he only had to wait for his subordinates to implement it effectively, and then at the critical moment, he would add guidance and complete the tasks assigned by his superiors.

"And the degree of cooperation of the infantry units." Xiang Lan knocked his head in his imagination, he looked left and right, and he didn't find the person he wanted to see as far as his eyes could see, so he asked the staff officer next to him: "Hasn't the commander of the Third Brigade King come yet?" ”

"Behind you." Wang Zhen, the colonel of the Forbidden Third Brigade with a thick beard on his face, shook his crotch with a millet horse common in the Central Plains.

"Brigade Commander Wang, our brigade's attack on Sekigahara Station is about to be launched, and our cavalry troops must cooperate closely with the infantry at that time to achieve the maximum effect-"

"That's what our brigade is coming for." Although the twenty-five-year-old Wang Zhen is not much different from Xiang Lan's age, he lacks the enthusiasm and straightforwardness unique to many young people, and has more vicissitudes of vicissitudes.

Xiang Lan pointed to the streets of the central city of Sekigahara not far away: "Our brigade is all light cavalry, and it is not my forte to dismount and fight, so I plan to give full play to the impact of light cavalry and strike behind the loosely defended enemy line, causing confusion among the enemy troops, and then I will take back the troops and make way for Brigade Commander Wang's infantry to break into the city, if your troops can clear most of the obstacles on the narrow road, then our cavalry can then enter the battle again." ”

"No problem, so be it." Wang Zhen said lightly, riding a horse and walking away, he is from the 21st century, and he feels that he does not have much in common with the ancients of 130 years ago, so there is no need to talk nonsense, just do what he does.

Xiang Lan had long heard of Wang Zhen's name, and knew that in addition to his strange origin, he was also quiet and didn't like to deal with people, but he didn't have the heart to think about it, but continued to focus on the war.

In a short time, the cavalry regiment of the second division of the Praetorian Guard under the command of Xiang Lan was guided by the Qilin Fire Stepping Regiment Flag, and unfolded into multiple echelons to first launch a fierce impact like a swift wind, the war horses trampled the ground, the sabers pointed to the sky like a forest, the knights shouted like Tao, the feathers on the officers' heads fluttered, the cloaks behind the soldiers were flying, the military flags were unfurled on the flagpoles, and 1,500 light cavalry instantly disappeared into the simple streets composed of wooden houses and small buildings.

One minute passed, two minutes passed, five minutes passed.

Xiang Lan only heard the sound of guns and cannons in the direction of the city and the sound of killing gradually faded away, but he did not see the brothers of the Forbidden Second Division Cavalry Regiment closing the team and returning, and he felt that something was wrong, and he was about to order the direct reconnaissance cavalry company next to him to go to find out, and saw a black war horse carrying a herald with a red cloth wrapped in a hat and a red cloth galloping over.

Without waiting for the herald to stop, he asked Lan Split, "What's the matter?" What is your regimental commander doing, don't you want him to gather his team and return after three minutes of assault? It's good that he is there, how can the follow-up troops rush? ”

The herald saluted on his horse, grabbed the reins with both hands and replied: "Report to the brigade commander, our regiment commander found that the enemy army had lost all morale after being attacked by our cavalry, and scattered and fled in all directions, the regiment commander asked the brigade commander to immediately lead the follow-up regiments to follow up and pursue, and it will be a complete victory. ”

Xiang Lan said: "You are quite good at understanding your group leader's words." Then he turned to the staff officers around him: "Order, the cavalry regiment of the first division is on the right, the cavalry wing of the rebel is on the left, and the whole army will be deployed in a company column to attack the Sekigahara station!" ”

Xiang Lan's decisive move contributed to the general collapse of the headquarters of the 2nd Division on the rebel Central Front. After nearly five hours of desperate and bitter fighting with the headquarters of the Central Army Corps, the officers and men of the Second Division did not expect that there would be waves of opposing cavalry coming in waves from the rear and flanks, and their morale plummeted, and the officers began to abandon their troops and flee, and the soldiers abandoned their positions with them.

In such a chaotic situation, the commander of the 2nd Division, Kunimasa Yamaguchi, made a vulgar decision - to commit suicide by caesarean section.

"Tama-kun, wait a minute, help me, cut off my useless head, and take it to Marshal Oyama to avoid the humiliation of the enemy." Yamaguchi poured sake on the knife and instructed the Nakasa guard officer in front of him, Tama Sozo.

"Thanks to the heavy responsibility, my subordinates will handle it seriously." Tama lowered his head and bowed perfectly at 90 degrees.

"Also," Yamaguchi pulled out a letter from the inner pocket of his military uniform, "this, as you may remember, said that it was a war letter under Chiren, but it was actually a letter of persuasion to surrender. I've been hesitating these days, but now, I've finally affirmed my position and made the last decision—I'll give this to Marshal Oyama as well. ”

"Yes." Tama took the letter with both hands and stuffed it into his underwear pocket.

"Well, please." Yamaguchi lifted his underwear, aimed the tip of his knife at his lower abdomen, and was about to make a move with an intoxicated face, when the thin wooden door suddenly "clattered" open, and a sturdy white horse roared down with its hooves held high—a Praetorian Cavalry corporal slightly disturbed Yamaguchi's caesarean section, and the corporal's horse stepped on Yamaguchi's head, causing consequences similar to Yamaguchi's ultimate goal—the corporal could not distinguish the complex and boring comparison between death in battle and suicide.

Tama Sozo had his left arm cut off by the smug corporal, and he raised his right arm in time and shook his head crying, finally getting the other party's understanding. The other party did not harm him, and walked away, leaving him to the Janissaries who had arrived belatedly.

As a result, the commander of the 2nd Division, Kunimasa Yamaguchi, won the lottery and had to endure the torture of his last wish being unfulfilled in the underworld - his head had turned into a blur of plasma under the hard hooves of the thick horseshoe nailed with thick horseshoe iron, and his letter of surrender signed by Prince Arisugawa Chihito would never be presented to Marshal Oyamaiwa, and the letter of Tama Shozo Nakasa was soon captured, but even Tama himself did not expect that the final destination of the letter would be a war history museum across the sea.