My thoughts suddenly drifted back decades ago, to places far, far away.
"Pingping, you know, this must be a very big lake."
Yu Qiuping's mother held Yu Qiuping's hand and walked casually in the wild fields of her hometown, a small county in Heilongjiang. It also snowed heavily that day, about the same size as the snow in Echigo, and it was covered in snow.
All the land is covered with snow.
"Why mom?" Yu Qiuping squatted down in confusion and tapped the thick snow with his small hands. He couldn't feel the difference between the snow here and the snow elsewhere.
"Because the snowfield here is very flat. Generally there is no such flat snowfield. If there was such a large piece of good land, it would have been used to grow crops and build houses." Yu Qiuping's mother pointed to the surroundings.
Looking around, I realized that except for this snowfield, the snow in other places was uneven and pitted - before the snow fell, it must have been hills and mountain valleys.
"So this used to be a lake...it was frozen. The ice surface is very flat. It's not as high and low as other hills. Is that why the snow is so flat?" Yu Qiuping nodded in realization, while his mother smiled.
Look at him.
"I have a plan."
Yu Qiuping took a deep breath, and then slowly breathed out the mist. He told Honda Tadakatsu, Kobata Jiesheng and others beside him, "I will bear the horse seal and take a small part with me."
We led the Echigo troops to the snowy field, and there was ice beneath the snowy field. Then we had the 12 guns of our formation fire at the ice, breaking the ice! Let all the Echigo cavalry fall down!"
"Ah? That's the ice there?" Asahina Taihei didn't understand Yu Qiupei's brain circuit at all, "Isn't that just a snowfield?"
Yu Qiuping briefly repeated the knowledge that his mother taught him when he was a child, and successfully convinced everyone. However, Xiaobata Jiesheng said worriedly: "Your Highness, the Uesugi Army are all from the North, and they are very familiar with the geography. Your Highness, as a southerner,
It’s impossible for them not to know things that everyone knows.”
"But you don't know, right? The Uesugi Army must also think that we don't know. Moreover, they definitely don't know that we have transferred all the artillery back to the main formation that can hit the lake, let alone that we will
Bombard the lake." Yu Qiuping thought of this, and suddenly felt that Takenaka Shigeharu's words in Mino twenty years ago were really reasonable, "The highest point of the art of war is to make the opponent underestimate the enemy. They think we don't know, so they are very
It’s possible not to take precautions.”
Seeing that everyone was speechless, Yu Qiuping added another sentence: "Anyway, we have reached a certain death situation now. If we can't deal with these Echigo cavalry, the whole army will be buried here. Why don't we give it a try?"
"I agree to give it a try, but the plan needs to be revised." Xiaoban Jiesheng slowly controlled the horse, leaned next to Yu Qiuping, and said in a deep voice.
"You said it." Yu Qiuping glanced at the Echigo cavalry chasing him closer and closer, and said with a frown.
"Please let me bear your highness's horse seal as a suspect to lure the Uesugi army." Xiaobata Jiesheng and Yu Qiuping looked at each other, as if they could see through what Yu Qiuping was thinking, "If the artillery fires on the ice, I'm afraid that
The troops used as decoys will also suffer. Even if they are not hit, the entire ice body will burst. If a safe distance is not reserved, the decoy troops may also be in danger. Your Highness is a precious person, so there must be no mistakes."
"No, this is my plan, I can't let you take risks." Yu Qiuping shook his head stubbornly. He was not cold-blooded enough to give his subordinates such an order that was close to death.
"Your Highness..." Kohata Jiesheng pursed his lips and wanted to persuade him again, but Maeda Keiji behind him muttered dissatisfiedly: "Okay, okay, what are you arguing about at this time? Can't you two just stop going?"
Isn’t it okay to randomly select dozens of people to use the banner of His Highness?”
"No." Kobata Kesheng flatly rejected Maeda Keiji's suggestion, "Just
As I said to His Highness, our Red Leaf Army will never give orders to our subordinates to risk their lives. If they die, the person who gave the order will take everyone with him to die together. Your Highness cannot die here, so the commander with the highest rank is here. If so
Without a leader, who is willing to carry out this dangerous order?"
Maeda Keiji's nose felt sore when he heard this, but he said with an awkward sarcasm: "Brother, you talk a lot today, more than you have in half a month."
"Your Highness, I was expelled from the army twenty years ago, and it was Your Highness who gave me another chance to return to the army. I can get to know so many people, accomplish so many feats, marry and have children and honor my ancestors. How can I have such a wonderful life?"
Life is all given by His Highness." A smile appeared on Xiaoban Jiesheng's lips, which looked particularly sunny in the north wind, "Today, I will repay His Highness my favor."
Yu Qiuping was silent for a long time, but he understood that the current battle situation did not give him a chance to hesitate for too long, and he had to make a choice.
Those who cannot give up anything can save nothing.
He sighed, and finally nodded with difficulty. At the same time, he ordered: "Remember, after bringing the Uesugi army into the ice, fire, leave a safe distance, leave a sufficient safe distance! Then you take the people to escape, be sure to
Don’t be affected. This is a military order! Remember it!”
"Yes!" Xiaoban Jiesheng shook his horse's reins with relief. After taking the Maple Bird Horse Seal from Yu Qiuping's flag bearer, he prepared to leave to the west with 200 people. However, before leaving, he
As if he remembered something, he suddenly turned around and whispered:
"Your Highness, if the military flag of Tongqiangbei is lost, will Tongqiangbei also be cancelled?"
"That's right." Yu Qiuping bit his lip and nodded.
"Then please, Your Highness." Xiaoban Jiesheng took the military flag of Tongqiangbei from his flag bearer and handed it to Yu Qiuping's flag bearer, "This is the reserve force that was pulled out by the next hand, and it is what Master Aneshan has been thinking about.
The reserve team, please allow me to be a little selfish, I don’t want to see them finish.”
After that, Xiaobanjiesheng shook his horse's reins, led more than 200 cavalrymen, and rode towards the snowy fields to the west. Yu Qiuping and others watched them leave in silence, with tears gradually filling the eyes of the men.
surge.
"Remember! You must come back alive, this is a military order!" Yu Qiuping finally shouted to him loudly.
Xiaoban Jiesheng did not look back, but saluted Yu Qiuping immediately.
After the Echigo cavalry saw the red leaf cavalry dividing their troops, without even looking at the flag of the copper wall, the whole army rushed towards the Maple Bird Horse Seal. Yu Qiuping understood their actions. After all, on the battlefield, all commands were
It comes from that horse seal. As long as the Maple Bird Horse Seal falls, the Red Leaf Army will be completely leaderless and fall into chaos. On the chaotic battlefield, Yu Qiuping himself seems less important than the Maple Bird Horse Seal.
.
A huge formation of thousands of cavalry chased the Red Leaf Cavalry like an overwhelming force. The Red Leaf Cavalry took the lead and stepped onto the snowy field without any scruples.
The Echigo cavalry chasing behind seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the riding speed slowed down slightly. Yu Qiuping's heart suddenly rose to his throat, fearing that things would go wrong. However, the Echigo cavalry did not delay for too long.
They chased after them on horseback again, stepped onto the ice field, and gradually approached the center of the snow field. Their riding speed had reached its maximum at this moment, and they quickly narrowed the gap with the Red Leaf Cavalry.
"Sir, give the order to fire." The deputy next to Kobata Kesheng kept looking back at the distance between the Uesugi army and his own side, and at the same time kept urging Kobata Kesheng, "We are still some distance away. If we fire, we still have a chance to escape.
"
"Not enough." Kobata Jisheng turned around and glanced, and then repeated calmly, "There are not enough Echigo cavalry entering the ice. How many people can be hit by such an explosion? We still can't defeat the remaining people.
"
"But they
Getting closer and closer..."
"Wait." Xiaoban Jiesheng said in a deep voice without any doubt.
After a few breaths, the deputy shouted again: "Sir! It's closer!"
"Wait." Xiaoban Jiesheng still refused.
After a few more breaths, the deputy was still anxious and his face turned pale. He kept turning his head back and forth to see where the Echigo cavalry was chasing, and shouted loudly, "My lord, my lord! I beg you! We are almost behind us."
Got it!"
Xiaoban Jiesheng did not answer him again, but held his breath and listened to the movement in the flying snow. The originally noisy sky seemed to quiet down instantly. He caught the sound of the hoofbeats of his own cavalry, and caught the even louder sound of horse hoofs. Hearing
Following the sound of the horse's hooves, he chased closer and closer, chased closer and closer, chased closer and closer.
Until the first killing cry and screams sounded at the end of the team, Kohata Jiesheng turned his head and looked - most of the Echigo cavalry had already pursued them within the range of the ice. He finally roared with his eyes completely red, and then quickly followed.
The hour hand rotated the Maple Bird Horse Seal three times, then swung back and forth, and finally paused three times heavily.
Semaphore - fire, the target is where the horse mark is.
The moment of silence felt like a century had passed for Kobata Jiesheng. Time seemed to have frozen in the heavy snow in the North, and the air was eerily quiet.
Until the earth-shaking roar of twelve artillery pieces broke this short and long silence.
Kobata Jiesheng didn't look back or look sideways, because the panicked exclamations and reining sounds from behind already told him what happened behind him. In the blink of an eye, the projectile hit the snow - hit the ice -
-The sounds of breaking through the ice came all at once, but Xiaoban Jiesheng was able to distinguish them one by one very clearly.
The sound of the ice breaking exploded from the dots of the shelling, and then spread quickly to the surroundings. The sound became louder and terrifying, like the roar of a beast from the abyss when it was alarmed. He roared wildly.
Then, accompanied by the sound of splashing and screams as the body fell into the icy water, the terrifying sound wave rushed around, swallowing everyone affected by the sound wave, and pulling them into this endless abyss.
Round after round of shelling struck, the entire ice surface burst open, and countless riders, including their horses and men, fell helplessly into the dark ice water. No matter how superb their riding skills and precious horses were, in such a situation
They are helpless in the face of disasters.
Xiaoban Jiesheng never looked back. He kept galloping forward with his head high and his chest high. He listened to the explosive devouring sound getting closer and closer, and listened to the screams getting louder and louder. Finally, the horse's hind hoof gave way,
He stepped into the air, and his body violently fell backwards and sank. At the last moment, Xiaoban Jiesheng used all his strength to throw the Maple Bird Horse Seal in his hand like a javelin toward the distant shore.
go.
A cold and biting feeling spread throughout the whole body, and the heavy gear pulled the whole person down into the biting ice water as if it were filled with lead. However, Xiaoban Jiesheng's eyes never left the Maple Bird Horse that flew far away for a moment.
To be continued...