"Cherry blossoms are rare to see in their heyday, and those who see them fall in love." Ouchi Morumi looked up at the cherry trees in the garden and couldn't help but chant a poem.

The flowers in the treetops were broken, and there were scattered petals in the air, except for the withered cherry blossoms on the ground. When people see the cherry blossoms that bloom for a very short time, they can't help but think that when they see them blooming, it seems that they were only yesterday.

Not far away, under the cherry tree, stood several samurai in armor, all of them holding the hilt of the sword and looking at Ouchi Morimi with a very anxious expression. Those samurai are obviously not as good as Ouchi Morimi and are still in the mood to see cherry blossoms.

Ouchi Sheng saw his heart, but he was not necessarily calm, otherwise he would not have subconsciously sang such a poem full of sadness and regret.

The situation in front of him really made him feel a lot of regret, heartache, and dilemma.

In just a day or two, his strategy went bankrupt; The initial defensive line had not yet been fully established, but it had already been breached. When Ouchi suddenly woke up, it was as if he was still sleepwalking.

Fatal gap, the valley at the southern foot of the Bofu Mountain!

Previously, after Ouchi Morimi determined the landing site of the Ming army, he immediately reacted and adjusted. He ordered the defenders of Shima County in the Northwest Peninsula to move south and set up a defense in the south of Mt. Bofu; At the same time, reinforcements were mobilized from Aowu County to march to the southwest, and the target was still in the south of Bofushan Mountain. Ouchi Morimi intends to block this passage at the first time.

It stands to reason that it was completely in time, and at that time the Ming army had just begun to land. Common sense speculates that when the Ming army on the expedition first arrived, it was probably too late to figure out where the Japanese army was and the specific terrain of the local area, so how could it be clear about the deployment and intentions of the Japanese army?

However, things were very unexpected and backfired.

Ouchi received news today that the defenders of Shima County had been blocked, their survival was unknown, and they could not reach their destination according to military orders; This morning, a small group of cavalry of the Ming army moved to the eastern area of Bofu Mountain, and carried out a blockade attack on the reinforcements of the county of Zhaiwu.

At this time, the main forces of the Ouchi family were all along the Shimoyama Gate fortification along the north of Mt. Bofu and along the coast. Ouchi Mori saw this morning, and sent an urgent order to dispatch the second batch of reinforcements from the Shimoyama Gate to the south to reinforce the southern barrier of the Bofu Mountain.

But these transfers don't necessarily work. Ouchi Morimi realized that the southern front battlefield was likely to be lost.

It has only been two or three days since the Ming army began to land, and the situation on the battlefield has changed dramatically. It's unbelievable how fast it is......

If it is only the first strategic step that fails, even if you have to abandon Hakata Port, Kasaya-gun, or even abandon the entire territory of Chikuzen Province; Ouchi Morimi would not have felt so sad.

The most terrible thing now is that in the north of the mountain and the area of Shimoyamamon, almost all the elite forces of the Ouchi family have gathered!

If the main force of the Japanese army in Kaiya-gun, immediately retreat to Dazaifu to the south according to the second step of the plan; Then the Ouchi army in the Xiashanmen area will soon face the siege and flanking attack of the enemy army, and it will not be able to avoid the doom of annihilation. The foundation of the power that the Ouchi family has been operating for many years will be completely destroyed overnight.

And if the main force of the Japanese army in Kaya-gun moves closer to the Ouchi Army to the west, then this battle will quickly evolve into a large-scale joint battle. More than 100,000 people on both sides fought in the open field, and Ouchi Morimi felt that the odds of victory were very low.

The choice was actually very simple: try to save the main forces of the Ouchi Army, or the main forces of the entire Japanese army? It's clear which is bigger and which is smaller, if Ouchi is not the governor of the Ouchi family.

At this moment, a warrior hurriedly walked in the door, bent down under the tree, and said, "My lord, Lord Spoo, please go to the meeting immediately." ”

Ouchi Morimi nodded, his eyes widened, and he turned around with a resolute look and walked out the door.

Soon, Tao Jing, the lord of the county of Aowu, chased after him, and said in a deep voice in front of Ouchi's horse: "Why doesn't the lord give an order to call the Ouchi family samurai in the north of the mountain to ride away from the fortification?" ”

Tao Jing is very smart, and he must have understood the crisis at this time.

Ouchi Morimi scolded: "As soon as the samurai leave, the northern fortification of Mt. Hafushi will immediately fall apart, and the enemy army will rush east from the sea to pursue the main force of our army." ”

Not far away, on the road, another samurai on horseback came. When the samurai saw Ouchi Morimi, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "On the east side of the Bofu Mountain, more enemy cavalry has appeared!" Our second group of reinforcements also met an attack. ”

Ouchi nodded his head, not showing the slightest surprise.

Since the enemy has found the road south of the Bofu Mountain, and dares to come with a small cavalry vanguard, the lone army ventures deeper; Its generals must have realized the importance of that direction, how could there be no follow-up reinforcements?

Ouchi Morimi took his entourage and rode to the Chinese army. When he arrived at a house, he saw several generals, including Yoshishige Shiroshige, the commander of the Hosokawa clan, and the Yamana clan.

The generals came to Ouchi to see him, maybe he wanted to persuade Ouchi? So that he can make self-sacrifice to save the overall situation?

Unexpectedly, the main general Si Boyi opened his mouth and said: "The situation is urgent, and the original defense plan is no longer appropriate. The army of Kaoya County should immediately march westward and march near Mt. Bofu. ”

I thought that the Ouchi family was about to be finished, but Ouchi Morimi suddenly heard such words and said them from the mouth of the main general Spo. Ouchi Morimi suddenly couldn't withstand the temptation, and ignited a little hope.

"I'm afraid it's against the strategy agreed in advance, and this method is a bit hasty." Daimyo said. The Yamana clan was also a powerful guardian in the past, known as the "six-point hall". However, his rhetoric was very subtle, because opposing Spo's proposal was tantamount to abandoning the Ouchi family.

The Hosokawa clan, the commander of the Southern Route Army and one of the leaders of the Muromachi Palace, also chimed in: "The original issue was not a decisive battle. ”

Ouchi was silent.

As soon as Spo Yoshishige opened his mouth, he was objected to, and he was obviously very displeased. He looked fierce and said coldly: "The army does not dare to fight, this is extremely unfortunate. If you are cut off an arm today, and you will be forced to abandon another arm tomorrow by the situation, if you continue like this, you will definitely lose! If you go all out, your reputation will last forever. ”

Yamana turned his head to look at the silent Ouchi Morimi and said, "What is Ouchi-kun's opinion?" ”

Ouchi Morimi felt that what Spo said was not unreasonable, after all, as long as the war was not over, no one could completely determine the outcome. Of course, the most important thing is that Ouchi Morimi is willing to believe Spo's claims.

However, in the depths of Ouchi Morimi's heart, he still maintains a trace of unbiased reason: once the decision is made to join forces, what is invested is the essence of the entire Japanese army, and how serious is the consequence of victory or defeat at the snap of a finger? I'm afraid it's impossible to overestimate.

More than 100 years ago, the Japanese army repelled the Yuankou's campaign, and its influence continues to this day; How long will the outcome of this decisive battle determine Japan's national fortunes?

Who would dare to believe that the choice between the rise and fall of "Tianxia" (the feudal states of Japan) was made in this instant?

The daimyo suddenly said coldly: "Ouchi-kun's hesitation has confirmed the situation. ”

Si Boyi said solemnly: "The enemy army came from a long way by sea, and its foothold is not stable. Our army is several times larger than the enemy, but we want to abandon the soldiers and horses of the Ouchi family, who will bear such a fault in the future? Retreating is not necessarily a win, and a joint battle is not without a chance of winning. ”

Ouchi Morimi bowed and said, "You are the main general, please decide!" ”

Spo Yoshishige pulled out his sword, suddenly raised it and said loudly: "Your Majesty the Emperor, long live!" ”

Several people were stunned for a moment, and they had to echo: "Hooray!" ”

Spo's resolute shout did not move Ouchi Morimi, but made him a little frightened to hear it.

However, the decision to join forces still made Ouchi Morimi feel temporary relief; Because in this way, the power of the Ouchi family will not be destroyed immediately. Japanese people will not sympathize with the loser, and Ouchi Morimi knows that once he loses everything, only humiliation and contempt await him.

There is still a distance of nearly 40 miles from the army station, to the Ouchi's defense base, the mountain gate. Spo Yizhong decided to assemble the whole army today and start in the early hours of tomorrow morning. If there was no blocking and harassing attack by the Ming cavalry, the army would have been able to reach the vicinity of Bofu Mountain within a day.

Military orders were successively transmitted to various military camps, and the morale of the Japanese soldiers was high and they were actively preparing for war. Most of them had never fought against the Ming army at all; In addition, the voice of the main battle faction of "Luoyang" was very high, and there may have been some false agitation, so that most of the soldiers from the eastern countries were eager to fight.

Ouchi Morimi left the Chinese army, and near a military camp, he couldn't help but stop and watch the soldiers over there. Some of the samurai were practicing, and they were standing intently when they suddenly drew their katana and swung it forward.

Ouchi was also inspired. When he returned to his lodgings, he knelt down under the cherry tree and contemplated. After all, the only way to do this is to go all out.

In "swordsmanship", fear and foresight are taboos; Only with single-mindedness, the moment you knock down your opponent, can you truly remove the danger. Such determination and nervousness gradually made Ouchi Morimi feel a little happy.

Petals that occasionally fall to the ground, silently. Ouchi Morimi seems to feel their quietness, looking for inner peace and concentration without distractions.

A sharp sword light kept coming to mind. But Ouchi understands that he has always only hidden his fears; Such a great responsibility in the world, only when everyone shares it, can he forget the subtle panic.

The next morning, the sky was bright. Everywhere in the county, a huge shout was already sounding, and the "oh ......" shouted in a very special tone, constantly rippling in the air. The weather is sunny and the temperature is pleasant, and the late spring season is a good time.

Ouchi Morimi also set off with his retainers' guards, and his team was the easiest, because there were not many people. Almost all of the Ouchi family's troops were stationed in the area north of the mountain near the sea. At this time, tens of thousands of Japanese reinforcements were dispatched from all walks of life.

The diamond-shaped Ouchi family crest wrapped in a four-leaf flower flutters in the wind on the flag. The concentration of troops from all over Japan in the Hakata area has made it more prosperous than ever.