Yu Qiuping originally thought that he was cornered, but there was actually a roundabout troop from the Okabe family here. Not long ago, he had abandoned his gear and put away his red leaf shawl. At this moment, he felt a little relieved. He was silent and speechless.
He took out the red leaf shawl from his arms, tied it around his shoulders, and slowly pulled out the Chidori that he had been reluctant to throw away. The bright blade reflected the brilliance of the moon. Yu Qiuping looked at the dots of fire in the hills and swallowed.
Several people around him also understood Yu Qiuping's intention, stopped one after another, and drew their knives in their hands.
However, the next second, under the firelight came Yoshioka Katsumasa's excited shout: "It's Your Highness!"
Immediately afterwards, the two platoons of Jobanbi's Ashigaru waiting in the hills rushed up the hillside. The leaders were Omaezaki Nakahide and Yoshioka Katsumasa. They hurriedly welcomed the fleeing friendly troops into the hills and settled down. Look.
When the two old subordinates and the two platoon subordinates were safe and sound, Yu Qiuping breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why are you here?" Yu Qiuping asked, "I thought it was the Okabe family's pursuers again, and I almost died."
"After His Highness gave the order for all the troops to retreat, we originally wanted to retreat to the south gate." Omaezaki Nakahide explained, "But the thousands of people on the other side of the defense line were all in a mess, and it was impossible to get through in the dark.
We had no choice but to run to the southeast where there are fewer people, planning to wait and see in the hills until dawn. I didn’t expect you, Your Highness, to come this way."
"Why are there only two platoons? Shouldn't there be three platoons in the south?" Amano Keitoku roughly counted the number of people and asked in a low voice. Omaezaki Nakahide and Yoshioka Katsumasa looked at each other, feeling sad. Yu Qiuping saw
The expressions on the two of them also made their hearts sink.
"The other platoon got separated from us in the dark night. It seems that the Okabe family's troops overtook us." Omaezaki Nakahide said in a low voice, "We walked out for a long time before we realized that they were gone. It was too late to go back to rescue them.
Already."
"Is that so..." Yu Qiuping swallowed and nodded silently. Naoe Tadahei arranged for the ashigaru who had been tossing the whole night to take turns to rest, while counting the number of people, and several senior samurai gathered around Yu Qiuping.
"Now...we still have five platoons left, a total of..." Naoe Tadayei lowered his voice, hesitantly not daring to continue.
"Jinbingwei, how many people are there in total..." Yu Qiuping tried his best to suppress the shaking of his voice and said softly.
Before Naoe Tadayei could speak, the sentry on the hillside suddenly sent a warning message. Everyone hurriedly gathered the troops, and the ashigaru on duty pushed the sleeping ashigaru away, and began to form a formation behind the hills with torches. It rained.
Qiuping led a few people to slander and climbed up the hillside. Looking along the sentry's arms, he could see about a dozen people, holding three torches, staggering towards this side.
When the group of people gradually approached, Yu Qiuping recognized them immediately - they were wearing Tokiwa Bei's armor, with red leaves on their helmets. Yu Qiuping hurriedly signaled his subordinates to light torches, gather the skirmishers, and lead them in this direction.
Come.
"Is it His Highness?" The leader of the dozen or so people asked excitedly after seeing the large number of Tokiwa Bei Ashgaru carrying torches.
"It's Zijing's voice!" Yu Qiuping and Naoe Zhongping looked at each other and said in unison. They hurriedly walked down the hillside and helped a dozen brothers up. Almost all of them were injured, and Shui Zhongping's face was even more...
There was a deep blood mark from the corner of his mouth to the corner of his eye, which must have left a scar.
However, before Yu Qiuping, who was heartbroken, could express his condolences, Shui Zongjing suddenly knelt down, ignoring the bleeding wound on his face, and kowtowed heavily to Yu Qiuping.
"Your Highness! Zijing, I'm sorry for Your Highness! I'm also sorry for my parents..." Shui Zongjing sobbed with self-reproach, "As the commander of a platoon, I failed to control the situation, causing the whole platoon to collapse! It's not easy!
Even though I gathered the scattered soldiers, I didn’t have time to rescue our formation. I watched helplessly as Michichisuke was killed by the Okabe family! I’m so sorry, Your Highness!”
"I...my brother..." Shui Atomjing stuttered, and his tone suddenly increased, "My parents repeatedly told me to take good care of my brother before going to war...but my brother died in the battle, and I can't do anything! I'm sorry, I
My parents..."
"It's all my fault...it's all my fault...I'm sorry..."
These "I'm sorry" sounds were like a heavy hammer, hitting Yu Qiuping's heart again and again, making him almost unsteady.
"Counting these fifteen brothers...we still have 232 people left..." Naoe Tadahei tried his best to lower his tone and voice, but it suddenly knocked Yu Qiuping down. His legs softened, and he knelt on the ground and helped him up.
The blood was flowing through the water atom. However, his head hung down feebly to cover up the unstoppable tears.
Because of this number, he will never forget it.
Two years ago, in Zhili City, where the story begins. There were 232 slaves there, who followed Yu Qiuping and risked their lives to fight for freedom and dignity. In the past two years, the Yu Qiu family has gradually grown stronger and owns a territory of tens of thousands of stones.
, became a relative of the Imagawa family. Before this expedition, there were more than 600 combat soldiers and more than 1,200 auxiliary soldiers, an army of nearly 2,000 people.
In the blink of an eye, only the two hundred or so ashigaru with red leaves around them were left.
Mizuhara Atoki, Kobayakawa Ya Nanisuke... and many other familiar names have disappeared forever. Many of them are old subordinates who have followed Yu Qiuping since Chili Castle. Yu Qiuping knows their families and their characters.
He sent chickens and herbs to their home, played Cuju with them, and spent two years with them. But at this moment, he could never see them again. Yu Qiuping couldn't even imagine how to reconcile with them.
Their family members confessed.
Why on earth...why did I, who had the advantage, lose so miserably! Why did so many brothers sacrifice their lives? Why on earth!
"Your Highness! Don't you understand?" Amano Keide's voice suddenly came to his ears. This voice was no longer as cold and ferocious as before, but instead seemed illusive and unreal. Yu Qiuping lowered his head and closed his eyes tightly.
To hold back the tears, my mind went blank and I listened blankly.
"Kindness alone is nothing! It will only kill the brothers who believe in you and support you in vain! Who can achieve great things by being restrained by the kindness of a woman?"
"You shouldn't have accepted those people in the first place, and you should have ordered an indiscriminate attack later!" Amano Keide said in a low voice like a barrage of fire, "There are thousands of people in Yinma City who have nothing to do with you, and the two
Qianhe, your subordinates who have been through life and death!"
"Your so-called goodwill and the safety of the entire army!"
"Which is more important, can't you choose?"
Those who can't give up anything can save nothing. I can't give up those thousands of people, and I can't give up my so-called goodwill. At the same time, I'm not willing to give up the line of defense or the safety of the entire army.
We are unwilling to give up anything. In the end, nothing can be saved. The people were killed and the army was destroyed. I did not choose to abandon one side, but chose my own goodwill. In the end, it was a dilemma to have both sides.
.
"Remember one thing, it will be a lifelong challenge for you to see if you can defeat yourself." When Yu Qiuping walked to the door, Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly said.
Yu Qiuping turned around and listened. From then on, those words were imprinted in the young man's mind and stayed with him throughout his life.
"Make a choice without regrets."
Your Highness...I regret it.
One day ago, in the early morning of June 20, in Suruga Province, Sunfu Castle.
Sena Ujitoshi and Asahina Yasutomo have been arriving at Sunfu Castle for many days. They have repeatedly proposed to meet with Sugini and the new family governor Imagawa Uzuma, but they were rejected by the two on the grounds of physical illness. Sena Ujitoshi and Asahina Yasutomo
Confused, but with no other choice, they had to wait in the city. During this period, they sent messengers two or three times to inform Yu Qiuping and others of the situation here, but little did they know that Yu Qiuping had not received a letter.
In the early morning, in Senajitoshi's mansion, Senajitoshi had already gone to bed, but he was tossing and turning and could not fall asleep.
Suddenly, a commotion came from the corridor. Sena Shitoshi turned over, frowned slightly, and put his ear to the floor to listen, but he heard the footsteps of dozens of people. He stood up alertly, pulled out his
Pressing his ribs under the pillow - this is a good habit he has maintained for decades.
However, when the door was opened, what he saw was the attire of the Imagawa family's Hatamoto samurai, and his somewhat embarrassing nickname.
"I told you... His Highness has already gone to bed." The young man looked at the other warrior next to him and defended in a low voice.
"I have been rude, please forgive me, His Highness Sena." The armed warrior bowed and said apologetically. Sena Ujitoshi knew this man, and Sena Ujitoshi had supported him a few years ago.
"I wonder what you are here for?" Sena Shitoshi frowned, put down the ribs in his hands, and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Highness Shouguini invites you."
When Sena Ujitoshi was brought to the Sunpu Castle Castle by the samurai, he discovered that Asahina Yasutomo had also arrived early. There were more than a dozen guards standing at the door, more for surveillance than protection.
"Your Highness Asahina, this is..." Sena Ujitoshi asked. Before Asahina Taichao could respond, there was a peaceful and soothing sound of wooden footsteps in the corridor. After a moment, the door to the room was opened again,
Shougini, dressed in Buddhist robes, slowly walked into the room.
"I have met Your Highness!" Asahina Taitomo and Sena Ujitoshi no matter how displeased and doubtful they were about what happened not long ago, they could only salute honestly when facing this veteran lady.
"I apologize for disturbing you so late at night, Your Highnesses." Shouguini smiled peacefully, and with the help of the maid, sat down opposite Asahina Taito and Sena Ujitoshi. The two hurriedly said goodbye.
Dare, Shouguini did not respond. He just waved the maid away and ordered all the guards around the room to evacuate.
However, the pressure that Sugini unknowingly brought to Asahina Taitomo and Sena Ujitoshi was greater than the pressure brought by the dozen or so fully armed guards just now. They were invited to the castle tower by force in the middle of the night.
, both of them were terrified at the moment, fearing that their master would suspect that he was the traitor. Seeing the nervous expressions of the two, Shou Guini smiled helplessly.
"I called you two here for three things."
"The first thing is to tell you two, I, Shouguini, completely trust you, so there is no need to be nervous."
As soon as these words came out, both of them felt relieved.
"The second thing is to tell you two that the family governor will lead the 8,000 troops of the Imagawa family in Sunfu Castle to go to Yuanjiang in the early morning to mediate the civil war."
Even though Sugini's tone was so calm and unsurprised, Sena Ujitoshi and Asahina Taitomo still froze in place in surprise after being stunned for a moment.
Chapter completed!