When they retreated, the Han army, which no longer had to worry about killing and wounding its own people, used their artillery to bombard again, and the shogunate soldiers, who had already fled in all directions, suffered severe wounds, but no one cared about their comrades who fell to the ground, and they just scurried around like headless flies.

Zeng I Guyou and the others could no longer reorganize in the dark night, and there was only chaos left in the gloomy black curtain, but fortunately, the Han soldiers were afraid that the night did not pursue, so they were able to escape. With the help of the firelight and the dim starlight, Zeng I Guyou and the others finally stumbled back to the place where they had started.

This wood, dead and shady, branches dancing in the starlight, like a ghostly abode.

Covered in blood, Koyu Soga staggered through the woods, the shogunate soldiers around him passing by the noise, but he was unaware. Although he was not full of confidence, he was at least full of spirit, and he was determined to repay the shogunate and the shogun with his life, and the result was ...... now After such a fiasco, he was already depressed.

Having reached this point, or has you not been able to defeat Han Ko, what should you do? He asked himself, but he couldn't find an answer.

Before he knew it, he walked to the place where the old man Naito Tadashige stopped. Faintly, the old man was talking to a few people next to him with a gloomy face. His expression was much uglier than it had been before.

As if awakened, he suddenly raised his head and walked over to the old man - he wanted to ask the other party, why didn't he come to support him just now!?

As a Nagasaki commissioner, no one stopped him, and he immediately walked to the side of the old man, and then shouted loudly.

"My lord! Why didn't you come to my aid just now?! Because he was so anxious that he had almost forgotten his politeness, he asked in a very inappropriate manner, "If we could have your support just now, maybe we won't be defeated!" ”

After hearing his words, Naito Tadashi turned around and glanced at him, but did not speak.

At this time, Zeng and I Gu You also calmed down a little and looked at the person next to him.

"You...... Why are you here?! He was shocked to discover that this person was none other than Tadayuki Kuroda, the lord of the Fukuoka Domain.

According to the arrangement of Soga Koyu and Naito Tadashige, he should have resisted the invasion of the Han army in Hakata Bay, and then the two sides kept in touch and supported each other.

At this time, he looked at it for a while, and found that Kuroda Tadashiyuki's body was also covered with gray and black, and he looked very embarrassed, and then looked at Naito Tadashige, and before Kuroda Tadayuki answered, he probably guessed the result.

“…… Hakata Bay, lost? Han Kou has already defeated you? He asked in a trembling voice.

Under the gaze of Soga Koyuki, Kuroda Tadayuki nodded with difficulty, "Yes, my lord...... Yesterday the Han Kou launched a surprise attack and broke our line, and we ...... We've fought our best, but ...... However, Han Kou was so vicious that we had no choice but to retreat......"

"Yesterday...... Yesterday...... Wasn't that a day to be broken! Zeng I Guyou's eyes darkened, and he almost fainted, "You...... You can't hold out even a day with your vassal army? And have the face to blame me for the viciousness of the Han army? Even if you can't beat it, you should continue to hold on to it and go to the end instead of running away! You...... Now that you've run away, aren't your vassals completely exposed to the Han Kou's forces? You...... Are you still worthy of your ancestors?! ”

His scolding was very severe, but because he was ashamed in his heart, Kuroda Tadayuki didn't dare to defend at all, just lowered his head and listened to the training silently. But he was also unconvinced in his heart - didn't you yourself withdraw from the defeat on the front? Why should I stay there and die?

"Okay, I've done it." Naito stopped him, "Now is not the time to curse. The Fukuoka feudal lord withdrew when he was invincible, and it can't be said that it was a big mistake, now the Han army is strong, if he stays in Hakata Bay, he will only hit the stone with an egg, and he can't play any role, if he fights to the death there and doesn't retreat, when the Han wins, won't the Fukuoka domain still not be able to keep it? Now that he's withdrawn, at least he can give us some strength......"

"Thank you, Lord Zhongzhong!" Kuroda Tadayuki finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly thanked Naito Tadashi. In his heart, he was secretly glad that he had made the right decision at that time and led some people to withdraw from the battlefield, otherwise if he was alone, I am afraid that the shogunate would not be so polite to him.

Since the retreat in Hakata Bay, Kuroda Tadayuki's life has not been easy, the Han army has been chasing them behind their backs, and there is a great sense of taking this opportunity to wipe out his troops in one fell swoop, and the feudal army that has broken the courage has no intention of resisting, and everyone is running for their lives, so the people who ran with him along the way fall behind from time to time, and when he came here, there were only a few hundred people under his command. But even if there are a few hundred people, it is better than being alone, and the shogunate will still need itself after all.

"Well, since the Lord thinks it is useful for him to save his troops, then now we have more people, Old and Middle, let's just fight back!" Zeng I Guyou immediately shouted to Naito Tadashi, "Those Han Kou have been beaten by us just now, and their ammunition is about to run out, as long as they fight again, they will definitely not be able to support it!" We're going to get rid of them! ”

"No, no......" To his surprise, Naito Tadashige shook his head, "We can't fight there, and we can't fight there." ”

"Why!?" Zeng I Guyou couldn't hold back anymore, and asked Naito Tadashige directly, "Aren't you scared?" Don't forget that you are the elder of the shogunate, and you have the trust of the shogun! ”

"It's because I'm the old middle school of the shogunate that I can't squander everyone's lives anymore!" Naito replied in a low voice, "If we don't leave, there will be nowhere to go!" The Shimazu family has already returned to bed, they sent troops to march into the Nobeoka Domain yesterday, and if we don't care about it now, Kurume will also be under their troops, and if Kurume can't keep it, we ...... We have no choice but to sit back and wait to be destroyed! ”

When "Shimazu Bedtime ......" heard the news, Soga Koyu, who had already suffered a huge blow, was even more like being struck by lightning, and looked at Naito Tadashige in amazement, "My lord, can this news be true!?" ”

"It's true." Naito Tadashige replied in a deep voice, "Now that the Nobeoka Domain has been fully contributed by the Shimazu Domain, and the lord of the domain, Naojun Arima, has been martyred with his own retainers, the Arima clan has sent an envoy to find us, begging us to send more to defend Kurume Castle, otherwise, ...... Otherwise, they may not be able to keep the domain! You say, can we still fight the Han Kou here now? ”

"At this time of crisis, the Shimazu family ...... The Shimazu family will actually take advantage of the fire to rob! These traitors, these shameless people, are really backbones! Everywhere the gods should not leave the lives of these traitors, otherwise how could there be today's incident! Zeng Guyou scolded, "Don't they know that their lips are dead and their teeth are cold?" Could it be that when we are finished, Han Kou will spare him when he enters Kyushu? ”

"Maybe I'll really spare them." Naito Tadashige said coldly, "Since they dare to take advantage of the opportunity at this time, and they still seem to have been prepared for a long time...... Then maybe he has already reached a tacit understanding with Han Ko. ”

"They...... They ...... "Zeng I Guyou felt a sweet throat and almost vomited blood," they are not even as good as dogs, a group of shameless thieves!! ”

"It's useless to scold now, think about how to deal with it." Naito Tadashige was not as angry as him, "Now you see it, right? We are in a very dangerous situation, and now the Han Kou have invaded in the west, and the Shimazu clan is rebelling in the east...... What's even more shocking is that in addition to the Shimazu clan, does Han Kou have any contact with other clans, and how many other clans plan to return to sleep with the Shimazu clan? In a word...... There is no safe place for us in the whole Kyushu Island, all we can think about now is how to delay as much time as possible, and now forcing the army of the Han will only make us suffer more losses, and it will not help! ”

Zeng I Guyou suddenly understood that Naito's statement was tantamount to admitting that the shogunate soldiers and feudal soldiers in Kyushu no longer had the ability to fight in the field with the Han army. He tried to defend himself, but he couldn't say anything.

Also, now that it's like this, if you continue to fight, can you really take advantage of anything? Whether it is himself or the subordinates of the old man, or the people who came back from Kuroda Tadashiyuki, they have already suffered irreparable losses in front of Han Ko, and more importantly, their courage has been exhausted, and I am afraid that there is no chance to continue fighting.

"Let's go later, if we wait until dawn, I'm afraid we may not be able to leave if we want to." Naito Chung shook his head heavily, "You hurry up and rest, and gather the people who have retreated, and you can gather as much as you can." ”

In such a dark night, it is a rout of the troops, and it is not easy to maintain the rest of the people, so what else can you say to retract? Zeng I Guyou smiled bitterly.

"My lord, what are we going to do next?" After being silent for a long time, Zeng I Guyou lowered the sword, and then sighed, "Now that we are surrounded by strong enemies, where else can we retreat?" ”

"Retreat to Kurume and join the Arima family." Naito Tadashige immediately answered his question, obviously he had been thinking about it for a long time just now, "Now you must also see that we have no chance to fight with the Han army in the field, and it will not take much time...... In this case, we can only defend the city, and with the help of the city, we can at least hold on for a little longer...... Now we can only fight for this purpose. The Arima family now has a deep hatred with the Shimazu family, and the Han Kou will definitely not be able to tolerate them, and their loyalty should still be guaranteed. ”

"I can only ...... Can only delay time? I asked rhetorically, but I stopped again.

Yes, now I can only procrastinate time, and it is purely for others.

Originally, I thought that as long as I resisted desperately in Kyushu, I might be able to drag the shogunate's army to come to the rescue, but now it seems that I probably can't wait for that time, so I can only try to give the shogunate as much time as possible to collect the world's troops.

I just hope that my efforts can be exchanged for the day when Kyushu is recovered.

"What about Nagasaki? Is it no longer guarded? Although I already had some premonitions in my heart, I was still unwilling to ask.

"Can we still hold it now?" Naito Tadashige smiled bitterly, "Now that the Han army has reached here, Nagasaki will soon become an isolated city, and food and weapons will be cut off, even if you want to defend it, how can you hold it?" Now we need to be realistic. ”

"What you say makes sense...... But...... But as a Nagasaki practitioner, I'm really unwilling to abandon Nagasaki like this! "Zeng I Guyou still can't make a decision, "That's it, my lord, while the Han army has not yet fully besieged Nagasaki, I will go back to Nagasaki, and then it will be good to be martyred...... Adults resist ...... in Kurume"

"Nonsense!" Naito Tadashige finally got angry and scolded the other party loudly, "Do you think it's still time to be rash!" You go to Nagasaki, what's the use? Can you kill a few more Hanko? It's nothing more than waiting to be killed or die of hunger! It's no longer there, how many more of us do you want to waste! ”

"But...... "Zeng, I Guyou still want to say something."

"No, it's gone!! Now you have to follow my orders!! Naito Tadashige no longer intended to entangle with the other party, "Listen, you are not allowed to go back to Nagasaki, as for the city of Nagasaki...... We can't just give it to them for nothing, how many people are left in it now? ”

"Probably...... There are probably a few hundred more people. After hesitating for a long time, Zeng I Guyou said.

Originally, there were still nearly 2,000 people left in Nagasaki City, but in order to cooperate with the plan of the old and middle adults to besiege the Han army this time, and in order to avoid the situation that Nagasaki was completely besieged by the Han army, Zeng I Guyou brought most of them out.

However, their attack has now been thwarted, and most of Soga Koyo's men have broken down, presumably not returning to Nagasaki. Therefore, the rest of the people in it are only a few hundred people, and trying to rely on them to stop the Han army is tantamount to a fool's dream, and I Guyou is just planning to go to the city of martyrdom.

"A few hundred people...... Well, that's probably enough. Naito Tadashige didn't look disappointed, but nodded slightly, "Okay, you send someone to send an order to let them quickly burn Nagasaki, all of them!" ”

"It's all burned?!" Zeng I Guyou froze again. "Because of the bombardment before the Han Dynasty, some of Nagasaki has been burned to the ground, and if we continue to burn all of them, how can we provide support for the rest of the people? There are not only our soldiers, but also many civilians...... Many of them didn't have time to run, and some of them were driven back by the Han Kou...... What will they do then? ”

"Do you need to take care of them now? Even if they fight to the death now, how long can they resist? One day or two days? There is no point in this, it is better to burn it out than to wait for Nagasaki to fall. Naito Tadashige interrupted him again, "I'd rather burn Nagasaki to the ground than leave it to Hanko!" As for the people inside...... At this point, there is no need to worry about them anymore! Even if they die, it's better than falling into the hands of Han Ko, and now you have nothing to hesitate about! ”

"What do you mean...... I...... I understand. Under the gaze in his eyes, Zeng I Guyou finally nodded, "Then do it according to the orders of the adults...... My lord is right, Nagasaki, even if it is burned to the ground, will never fall into the hands of the Han Kou in vain. ”

Then, his eyes widened suddenly, "Now I'll go to the whole team immediately, pull back as many people as I can, and then bring Kurume together, anyway, the more people who defend the city, the better." As ministers of the shogunate, let's die in a bloody battle in Kurume Castle and die for the shogun. ”

"No, you don't have to go to Kurume." However, Naito's reply surprised him again, "After you gather the rest of the people, leave them all to me, and then run north with a few people, and take advantage of the fact that the Han Kou has not yet occupied Kyushu and blockade the whole sea, hurry to Honshu, and then ...... Then find a way back to Edo! ”

"My lord! What does that mean! Zeng I Guyou hurriedly asked, and he almost suspected that he had misheard.

"Don't I understand what I mean enough?" Naito Tadashige sneered, "There is no need for two high-ranking officials of the shogunate here now, you hurry up!" As for me...... I'll stay in Kurume and die for the shogun when the time comes. ”

"How can the beautiful deeds of martyrdom be done by the elders alone? I...... I'm going to Kurume too, with the adults! Tō Koyu didn't accept Naito's proposal at all, he replied loudly, tears almost flowing, "My lord, as the Nagasaki commissioner, I have the responsibility to defend the territory for the shogun, and now I ...... Now that he is about to abandon Nagasaki, he is an unforgivable sin, so how can he escape? If I run away, then I am a coward, and I have lost the face of my ancestors! It's just a matter of making people laugh at it...... For me, it's worse than dead. ”

"Even if life is worse than death, you have to go to Edo alive." Naito Tadashige didn't give in at all, "Now we have fought with the Han, we have experience, especially you, and you have personally fought and slashed the Han Kou." So...... Your experience can help the Shogun, so that our army can be more prepared in the future! Could it be that you will allow the shogunate to fight the Han Kou in the future without knowing anything? ”

"Then why don't you go back by yourself, I'...... It's good that I'll die here for the shogunate. "I still refuse to give up.

"Although you are a Nagasaki commissioner, after all, you have only just performed your duties, and you can't be blamed for the invasion of the Han Invaders and the fall of Nagasaki, you can go back calmly...... As for me, when I go back, I can only apologize for my sins, so why should I go back as a sinner? To caesarean section, you can do it here. Naito Tadashige smiled bitterly, "Besides, at my age, why should I go to exile and endure the scolding of thousands of people?" Zeng, you can fulfill me, let me at least die a good death, and let me help you a little at the end. ”