Chapter 108, the end of Chongzhen's five years (II)

Shitennoji Temple in Osaka is the oldest government-run Buddhist temple in Japan and the main headquarters of Japan's Wazumune (Shotoku Sect), founded in 593 A.D. by Prince Shotoku.

But at this moment, this splendid temple is burning in the flames of war, and it is decorated like hell with gunpowder smoke and corpses.

――With the fall of the outlying strongholds of Osaka Castle, Shitennoji Temple was finally exposed to the forces of the Shogun.

Unfortunately, Shitennoji is a temple built on flat ground, and there is no dangerous terrain to defend at all.

Under the stormy onslaught of Christian armies, the monastery has been put to the test in the most severe ways. From the mountain gate, the ditch to the wall, it was like the mouth of a dying old man, it was tossed and broken, and even the tall wooden five-storied pagoda was burned down in the chaos.

However, inspired by their devout beliefs, the Buddhists in Shitennoji still resisted.

-- When human beings are forced to the point of desperate life and death, they are often able to burst out with terrifying combat power beyond common sense. For example, the armed monks and believers who were besieged in the Shitennoji Temple, although they were depraved in their daily lives, did many ugly things that ruined the reputation of Buddhism. However, when a large number of Christian "crusaders" came up from all sides, these rabble, who had fled from all over Osaka, barely managed to calm down, and began to remove rusty knives, guns, old firearms, moldy bamboo armor, and even the spears from the statues of Kongo from the musty warehouses and cellars under the guidance of the monks in the temple. Those who were a little slower to react couldn't find a decent weapon, so they tied kitchen knives, axes, and sharpened spatulas with bamboo poles, and carried a few bricks into their arms to make up the numbers, even if they fought desperately to the end.

Although this is not enough to make up for the vast difference in strength, equipment and morale between the two sides.

“…… Ready-to-go! ”

A very tall Kiritan samurai in Spanish-style armor raised an ornate katana and slammed it down? Chop. The six bronze smoothbore cannons, which had already been loaded, immediately spat out clusters of orange-red flames, emitting a loud roar one after another.

In an instant, debris flew from the ancient walls of the monastery, knocking down a large number of believers and monks who were clamoring behind the courtyard walls. Then, a large number of ronin warriors in various costumes screamed and raised the crusade flag, and rushed to the gap in the courtyard wall.

These poor Christians, who have long been discriminated against and oppressed in the barren regions of western Japan, have been looting monasteries and killing monks since they entered, the best part of Japan, under the banner of "holy war". And the gold and silver magic vessels, jade Buddha statues, silk and satin found from various temples, and even the beautiful wives and concubines made the holy fighters more and more greedy, and regarded the Four Heavenly Kings Temple in front of them as another big piece of fat.

It is a pity that this piece of fat is not easy to gnaw - as soon as the warriors of the "Japanese Crusaders" launched a charge, dozens of monks and soldiers of the Four Heavenly Temples appeared in the gap in the courtyard wall with antique iron cannons left over from an unknown era.

Fortunately, these old goods filled with iron sand and bulk black powder were really unbearable, neither accurate nor lethal, and often exploded or dumb fire, and because of the serious lack of relevant experience of the user, they often fired in advance outside the range, and there was no momentum but little success. At best, it's scary...... And for the "Japanese crusaders", who were accustomed to seeing the world, such a small scene could not scare them at all.

So, before the monks could fire a second shot, a group of Japanese crusaders dressed in Western-style clothes had already stepped forward in unison, crossed the stragglers who were wandering with their swords, set up heavy muskets, and pulled the trigger on the monks guarding the gap in the courtyard wall...... After a burst of gunshots, the disheveled monks fell in large swaths, dark red blood gurgling and life disappearing.

Immediately afterward, the Japanese crusaders, who had regained their morale, broke through the ruins that had collapsed in many places, stepped on the corpses that were still warm, and poured into the interior of Shitennoji Temple...... All of a sudden, the sounds of shouting and killing in various accents resounded one after another in the temple.

“…… Kill! Kill my dignified Buddha Country Holy Land! How can such barbarian cults be defiled! ”

In the chaotic bloody killing field, a richly dressed warrior monk had blood-red eyes, as if he was about to drip blood, shouted with all his strength, and frantically waved the sword in his hand before he could use all his strength to cut down a Japanese Christian, and before he could catch his breath, an ominous pop sounded one after another, and was pierced by several spears from the chest and back at the same time.

The warrior monk screamed in pain for a while, barely freed one hand, trembling and trying to pull out the head of the spear that pierced into his body, but several crusaders had already grabbed the barrel of the spear, and at the same time lifted him upwards with force, and lifted him high off the ground, struggling in the air, cursing in a terrible voice, but before he could curse a few times, someone stopped his last struggle--another sharp spear was accurately pierced into his wide open mouth, and its impact was so strong that the head of the spear was faintly visible from the back of his head, White brains splattered around like fountains......

However, before the crusader who had stabbed the spear could laugh a few times, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sharp blade slashing towards him, and although he immediately subconsciously tried to avoid it, he still had no time to escape the full force of the planned blow.

He only heard a scream, and he was split in half by a bearded warrior monk with a long-handled broadsword from his left shoulder, and the small half of his body flew out, and the dirty blood "poofed" out like a column of water at once, splashing the bearded warrior monk's face.

Then, with a single gunshot, a bullet pierced the bearded monk's eyebrows......

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Although the strength and combat effectiveness of the Japanese crusaders on the attacking side were much stronger than the rabble in the Shitennoji Temple, after all, the temple was narrow, there were many buildings, and the lanes were deep and tortuous, and the troops could not be spread at all, resulting in the progress of the crusaders not going well.

So, after the initial defeat in the battle, the ferocious crusaders soon launched a brazen fire attack, forcing the monks who had held the monastery out of the burning buildings, and then unleashed a one-sided massacre in the open space that was unsafe.

Although these Buddhists who were desperate to survive the battle were still extremely fierce, and the shouts of desperate counterattack were higher and higher, it was a pity that although they had the momentum of seeing death as home, they could not shake the enemy's overall superiority, and finally gradually began to collapse.

Under the billowing black smoke that covers the sky, the magnificent and exquisite temple is full of flames, and the gorgeous Buddha halls and golden halls are all on fire, and thick black smoke rises and lingers in the air, and clusters of vague figures shake and entangle in the firelight. In every square, temple, and corridor, the desperate cries of the dying, the popping of knives and guns, and the hissing of blood gushing through the air were constantly heard. In the billowing black smoke, from time to time people were poked to death by spears, slashed by sharp blades, knocked down by muskets, and some were trampled by horses' hooves after falling from arrows, and some people were burned all over their bodies and danced a death dance in the fire, and finally turned into a mass of charcoal...... A foul smell of burning corpses permeated the small battlefield, and the terrifying screams came and went.

There are also some wounded people with tenacious vitality, even dragging the already broken mutilation**, crawling slowly and painfully, stubbornly pursuing the door of survival in the hallucination of near death, and the internal organs and intestines are dragged to the ground mixed with mud...... The sight was truly horrific.

Seeing that his men and horses have finally stormed the temple, Hale the Traveler from the 21st Century, or Evaristo, the Brazilian Japanese terrorist. Okamoto, as well as the leaders of the "overseas Japanese" crusaders in the Spanish colonies of the Philippines in this time and space, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But thinking about what he's doing right now, the self-proclaimed former international wanted criminal can't help but laugh dumbly.

“…… Hehe, is all my struggle since I traveled through time just to make Japan a Christian country? ”

-- At this moment, more than half a year has passed since he set foot on the land of the Japanese archipelago.

In the first half of this year, after some extremely arduous efforts, Hale, who had been working hard in the Philippines as "Paul Okamoto, a devout Japanese Christian persecuted by the shogunate" since the crossing, finally fooled the strong support of the Governor's Office and the Catholic Church, and pulled up a "Philippine Overseas Japanese Overseas Chinese Crusade" composed of 900 Japanese nationals, 400 Nanyang natives, and more than 200 overseas Chinese and white Europeans.

Then, Hale, or Okamoto, led this expeditionary force of 1,500 men across the sea to the north, relying on the artillery support of Spanish warships, to capture the port of Nagasaki, the shogunate's last stronghold in the western country, and at the same time, through the connections of Jesuit missionaries, he hyped up his "holy warriors" who came to protect Japanese believers, and tried his best to win the recognition and support of the Choshu domain and the "Cheshitan" forces.

Unfortunately, Hale arrived too late, and at this time, the "holy war" of the crusaders on Kyushu Island was nearing the end, and the remnants of the shogunate in Nagasaki were waiting for surrender. In the eyes of the daimyo of the western country "Chejitan" led by the Choshu Domain, this "Filipino Japanese Christian Crusader" with a close relationship with the Spaniards not only did not give charcoal in the snow at all, but was suspected of robbing the monster and picking fruits, so it was very critical of Hale's goods.

Fortunately, at this time, although the victory of the Fallen Shogunate Army in the Western Battlefield was decided, the next larger-scale battle of Shangluo in Beijing was imminent. Therefore, for the fallen forces, it is still the time to recruit troops, and in order to defeat the powerful Tokugawa shogunate, it is always good to have more strength. As a result, under the coordination of the Jesuit missionaries, Hale's "Filipino Japanese Crusader", which consisted of Japanese ronins, Nanyang natives and a few European adventurers, was finally recognized by the Maori family and successfully joined the sequence of the Shogunate. However, Hale's original plan to "occupy Nagasaki and peep into Kyushu" was completely bankrupt - in order to win the trust of his allies, he had to hand over the port of Nagasaki, which was still in his possession......

Next, in the brutal war of the conquest of Kinki, Hale's vote was led and trained by Spanish veterans who had participated in the Thirty Years' War, and who had rich experience in sweeping away the indigenous people of all colors in Luzon, and was like a fish in water on the battlefield where the flames and lives were devastated - although it could not be compared with the modern regular army of the Choshu Domain, but among the various miscellaneous troops, compared with those mud legs who had just put down their hoes, Hale's 1,500 expeditionary force was already called elite. In addition, he is more professional in robbing homes.

Therefore, in the past six months of the campaign, Hale and his subordinates not only harvested a large amount of booty, but also expanded the team to more than 3,000 people by pulling strong men all the way. and made a name for himself in the camp of the Fallen Curtain Army, which finally made people look up a few times.

However, the expansion of his strength did not make Hale feel much pride, but through this fallen war, he had a deeper perception of the modern Chinese crossing group in this world - although what he saw was still only the tip of the iceberg of this huge organization called "Huameng", just looking at the steam warships roaming the Seto Inland Sea, the tons of American corn, salted fish and grain unloaded on the docks every day, and the massive amount of ordnance and ammunition that was continuously aided to the fallen army. The occasional huge airship over the Choshu Domain, as well as the well-equipped and combat-ready Japanese Volunteer Corps of the Huameng Special Task Force on the battlefield of, made Hale, a revolutionary bent on liberating the world, feel desperate and powerless.

In this changed time and space, how huge is the power of those Chinese time-travelers?

Are they really trying to conquer the world? And everyone else is left to struggle with their blueprint for conquest?

Hale sighed helplessly, no longer clinging to his past delusions.

“…… It seems that it is basically impossible to liberate Japan, liberate Asia, and build a new society with my strength alone, especially to defeat those Chinese traversers who are incredibly powerful. The most important thing now is to find a place to stand and give my troops a place to settle down...... I don't know if with the exploits of this period of time, I can get a fief from the hands of the Maori family? ”

As he thought so, he gestured and motioned for the guards around him to follow him into the killing fields of the Four Heavenly Temple.

-- At this moment, the Shitennoji Temple, which was founded by Prince Shotoku in the past, is already a tragic scene like a hell of Abi.

The original glorious and extraordinarily magnificent Buddha hall had been soaked red with blood, and then scorched black by fire and smoke.

The shouts and wails died down, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood and burning, so strong that it was hard to breathe.

Every temple and courtyard is on the messy ground, all horizontally and vertically? Dumped with mutilated corpses. Some of them are young and strong, and many more are old people, women and children. Most of the dead were local believers and monks, but on the other hand, among the corpses were also many Christians who had died in battle, lying on their stomachs or burned to ashes by the fire that had not yet been extinguished.

And in the midst of the corpses and blood stained all over the place, the newly victorious Japanese Christians, like their predecessors in the Western Crusaders who regained the Holy Land of Jerusalem in the past, are happily working together to tear down the bronze Buddha, smash the shrines, burn the Buddhist scriptures, and then lay the cross and the statue of the Virgin, and worship respectfully, singing the incomplete hymn...... Although the previous high-intensity fighting and the harsh test of the smoke and fire had made them unkempt and soaked in blood, they could not hide the ecstasy and fanaticism in the eyes of each of them.

“…… Is this a religious war? It's stupid and cruel......"

Amid the noisy and hoarse chant, Hale calmly and slightly mockingly looked at all the blood, fanaticism, and piety with the sanity of a modern revolutionary, and at the same time calculated how much loot he could get from the temple...... Just then, his Filipino personal servant, Marcos, also from the twenty-first century, hurried in and brought a piece of news to Hale:

“…… Sir, the Commander-in-Chief is looking for you right away! Say there is good news! ”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

After receiving a summons from Nobuyoshi, the general of the Osaka Raiders, Hale ordered his troops to continue cleaning up the battlefield while he took his guards to see the commander. After leaving the Shitennoji battlefield, all the way through, there were piles of Japanese crusader "mujahideen" in the east and west, and perhaps a few shogunate or Buddhist temple spies in makeup, their ranks were loose, their tents were scattered, and their weapons and equipment were also in disarray, some with spears, bows and arrows, and many were simply using agricultural tools such as hoes and shovels, or even only a sharpened wooden stick or bamboo pole. Among these miscellaneous troops, only a few "elites" wore the full clothes they had obtained from nowhere, and wore their hats crookedly, a little like the army. The samurai chieftain wore captured armor and deliberately dressed up so flamboyant and ostentatious that it was almost mistaken for a masquerade ball...... In short, a rabble of pure laymen. Fortunately, their opponents are even more aggressive, so they can still win again and again.

He then rode his horse over the burned castle town of Osaka, while carefully bypassing Osaka Castle, where the shogunate was still stubbornly resisting, and all he saw along the way was unimaginably desolate and ruined - a bitter tug-of-war that lasted for more than two months had completely destroyed Osaka, Japan's largest commercial and trade hub. Most of the houses were burned down in the battles of soldiers and horses, and the remaining houses were demolished by the fallen shogunate, the shogunate army, and the "Buddhist volunteers" to build barracks, and the window lattices and thresholds were smashed to burn fuel for heating and building siege equipment. As a result, the entire city has now been largely razed to the ground. Even if the Taiping World is really restored, I am afraid that it will definitely not be able to recover its vitality within three or five years. Of the 200,000 or 300,000 Osaka citizens before the war, at least 100,000 died in the war or were left homeless, and the rest lost their livelihoods. In order to be able to eat a mouthful of food, he had to sharpen his head and look for work in the barracks, or simply put a straw mark on the top of his head and begged to sell himself into slavery...... Then, if you are lucky, you will be taken in by the second-class dealers who accompany the army and give you a few rough bites of food.

Among them, men were generally assigned to the miscellaneous battalions on the spot, serving as porters and coolies and siege cannon fodder for the army. The women, on the other hand, were tied into a string of long straw ropes, waiting to be loaded onto large ships and sold to the merchant fleet of the "Huameng" -- in the territory of the various union republics controlled by the modern Chinese traversers, there was a problem of imbalance in the sex ratio of the population to varying degrees, and there was an urgent need to import a large number of young women......

However, despite the fact that the once prosperous Osaka had become so dilapidated, the tens of thousands of fallen soldiers who participated in the Osaka Raid did not have any shortage of food and supplies--looking at the small steamers spitting black smoke and flying the red star ring flag on the Yodo River in the distance, transporting a boatload of food, ordnance and kimono that was said to come from the Americas to the Maori army headquarters set up on the bank of the river, and all kinds of trophies of the Battle of Osaka: antiques, spices, silk, gold, silver, jade, and the people captured in the war, A steady stream of transport to the account, Hale couldn't help but sigh for a while.

-- In all time and space, there are people who have become rich from war and destruction, and who have grown fat by sucking the blood of others......

I wonder what kind of future Japan has been arranged in the scripts written by these Chinese time-travelers?

Extrapolating from the modern hatred between China and Japan, I am afraid that the outlook is not very promising......

Hale thought worriedly, but in the face of the desperate balance of power, he felt so powerless.

As the distance from the main camp got closer and closer, the armies that appeared along the way gradually became organized, at least with uniform uniforms and muskets with bayonets, and the camp was built in a more orderly manner...... The commander-in-chief was stationed next to the pier on the south bank of the Yodogawa River. For some reason, instead of enclosing a square open space with white cloth for the samurai to meet in the open air, as was customary in Japan's Sengoku period, the entire headquarters was moved to a large Ataka ship moored on the riverbank, as if it was ready to move at any time.

And when Hale went in to salute and meet him, he found that the famous "Changzhou Old Man" was really about to move.

“…… This winter's Osaka Raiders,Just like that, it's over? So let me take the troops to Kyoto to report and be rewarded? ”