There were probably three, or perhaps four, most intense wars during the Meiji Restoration. Shinsaku Takasugi, the leader of the Elite Army who died young, commanded the war between the four territories, the Battle of Fujimi Toba. Due to the intervention of the Liberation Army, the Battle of Fushimi Toruyu was divided into the first and second Battle of Fushimi Toruyu. The fourth battle was the Battle of Aizu.
The first three wars were between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Tobaku army, and the Aizu War was between the Okuyu vassal states in the north and the Meiji government. After the Meiji government defeated the Tokugawa shogunate by force, it established the policy of abolishing the feudal vassal states. This was a future that the lords of the north could not accept. The daimyos of the north, led by the Aizu vassal, joined forces to fight against the Meiji government.
At the end of 1868, after completely defeating the Tokugawa shogunate and forcing Edo to open, the Meiji government temporarily did not go north because of the heavy winter snow. In April 1869, the shogunate army began to advance north to attack the Aizu Domain.
On April 29th, the Meiji government's army broke through the weakest part of the joint defense line between the public and the military. Surprise attack on Wakamatsu Castle, the residence of the Aizu Vassal Lord. On the faraway mountain outside the city, a dozen or so youths were dumbfounded when they saw the thick smoke rising from Ruo Song City. They were the White Tiger Squad formed by the young officers of the Aizu Domain. Ever since they were young, they had been taught to protect the Aizu Domain and the shogunate. The children were all dumbfounded.
These youths from the White Tiger Squad had lost their way when they were guarding the mountain roads. They wandered around the mountains and suddenly saw the thick smoke billowing from Wakamatsu City. There was only one thing that came to their minds: Wakamatsu City had fallen, their feudal lord had committed suicide, and their family members in the city had been killed by the Meiji government soldiers who had invaded Wakamatsu City.
"Mother!" A young man knelt on the ground in tears, kowtowing in the direction of Wakamatsu City.
The other youths also knelt down. From their current position, it would take at least half a day to return to Ruosong City. Even if they returned to Ruo Song City, all they could see was the burning city. Despair, helplessness, self-blame, all sorts of emotions rushed into the rage of these young soldiers. The leader suddenly stood up and shouted, "Gentlemen, since this is the case, let's commit suicide!"
Before he could finish his sentence, a young man retorted loudly, "No, the war is not over yet. Our enemies are the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain. We will fight them to the end! "
"But if Songcheng City is gone, where can we go?" the leader shouted angrily.
"Let's go to Hakodate. Before I left, I heard that Hakodate had been captured by the shogunate, and they were going to continue fighting with the Choshu Domain there. If we die without even fighting a battle, it will be a disgrace to warriors! "the opposing youth shouted loudly.
These youths of the White Tiger Squad had received the warrior's spirit since they were young. The life of a warrior was like cherry blossoms, blooming brightly and then quickly withering away. The place where the flowers bloomed and withered was the battlefield. It was the battlefield where the vassal lords fought for the shogunate. The youths quickly reached an agreement, and they began to head north.
In the evening, they discovered that the thick smoke coming out of Rusong City was not as intense as before. Instead, the fire seemed to have been extinguished. The youths began to feel that something was wrong. The impulsive leader also came to his senses at this time. He led his small team and tried to approach Rusong City.
There was indeed the presence of the Meiji government army outside the city. They were also attacking Rusong City, but at this time, Rusong City was still resisting fiercely. When the youths saw these youths, they immediately took a detour to the outside of the city. Seeing that they were the youths of the White Tiger Squad, the city guards opened the small gate and let them in.
Seeing their children return, and seeing that their parents were still alive, this joy came from the bottom of their hearts. However, this joy did not last for long. The follow-up troops of the shogunate continued to advance, and Rusong City was surrounded. The shogunate bombarded Rusong City with fierce artillery fire, and the outer city was lost. The feudal lord Matsudaira Rongbao gathered the troops guarding the city. His voice was sorrowful, but firm and powerful. "Rusong City can no longer be defended, and I will not leave Rusong City. However, you do not have to stay in Rusong City. "
The Battle of Aizu was extremely tragic. In a large-scale battle like the one at Fukami Toba, which had tens of thousands of people, there were only a few hundred casualties. However, the number of casualties in the Battle of Aizu had exceeded six thousand. The Battle of Nihonmatsu Castle shook the Aoyu Domain Alliance. After the feudal lord of Nihonmatsu Castle escaped, his elder Nihanyu Ichigaku organized the elders of Nihonmatsu Castle who were over 60 years old and children aged between 12 and 18 to form the Nihonmatsu Castle Youth Squad. The youth squad, with Kimura Sotaro as the captain, set up a defense at the south of the city. On the morning of the 29th, the new government army broke through the center of the offerings in the east, and a fierce battle also broke out at the altar. In the battle, all the members of the youth squad were killed, and Nihanyu Ichigaku committed suicide after setting the city on fire.
Not only did the Meiji government army not stop, but they also continued to set fire to Nihonmatsu Castle. After the fire was extinguished, there were no survivors in the entire city. Since the feudal lord of Aizu Matsudaira Rongbao said that he would not leave Rusong City, it meant that he had made up his mind to perish together with Rusong City. Since the feudal lord had made such a decision, the leaders of the city guards were indescribably sad and indignant. Many of them could not help but shed tears. If it were not for the fact that they had to maintain basic politeness in front of the feudal lord, some of them might have burst into tears.
Matsudaira Rongbao continued, "But you do not have to stay in the city. Break out of the siege and go to the Immortal Platform. After reaching the Immortal Platform, you will continue north to Hakodate. Right now, the shogunate's warriors are gathering at the Immortal Platform. As long as you reach there, you will be able to continue fighting against the Choshu and Satsuma Domains. "
"Your Highness, come with us." Immediately, a feudal lord shouted. These words caused a wave of agreement among the old retainers.
Matsudaira Rongbao smiled bitterly, "The Choshu and Satsuma Domains want my head. If I am not in the city, they will start a massacre after breaking through the city. If I am in the city, and I, Matsudaira Rongbao, personally surrender, they will only cut off my head. There is also a chance that the people of Rusong City will survive. "
The elders and retainers looked at Matsudaira Rongbao in shock. They did not expect the feudal lord to make such a decision. In Japan, there was indeed such a tradition. If the feudal lord and the feudal lord's family could "bravely assume responsibility," then the people under them would be able to survive. If the feudal lord and the feudal lord died, the people under them would "bravely assume responsibility" according to their status.
If they failed and surrendered, they would die anyway. This was the rule of Japan. In this world, there was only death. Because the feudal lords knew this rule, some of them fled, some committed suicide, but few dared to surrender bravely and let the enemy cut off their heads. Matsudaira Rongbao calmly accepted this fate, which was an extremely rare thing. It was also something that moved his subordinates, but they could not accept it.
Matsudaira Rongbao did not let his emotions continue to ferment. He said, "Do you know the Red Tabloid Squad?"
The elders, retainers, and vassals all shook their heads. These days, the Ambush Squad, the White Tiger Squad, and the Nihonmatsu Youth Squad were not regular squads. There were as many other squads as they wanted, but the Red Tabloid Squad was an organization that they had never heard of.
Matsudaira Rongbao said seriously, "The Red Tabloid Squad was formed last year to overthrow the shogunate. Along the way, they spread the news that after the shogunate was defeated, they would only collect 50% of the taxes. After the Choshu and Satsuma Domains used them, they killed the Red Tabloid Squad. The Choshu and Satsuma Domains outside the city have troops that are close to the Red Tabloid Squad. We have contacted them. They promised to pretend to fight us if they encounter us breaking out of the encirclement. Take this opportunity to escape and go to the Immortal Platform. "
"Your Highness!" The man wanted to persuade Matsudaira Rongbao to rush out with them.
Matsudaira Rongbao waved his hand and shouted in an irrefutable tone, "This is my order. You must obey it now and prepare to break out of the encirclement! Above! You can go now! "
The White Tiger Squad was a youth squad for non-commissioned officers. According to the later name, it could be called the "Junior Military Academy." In this era, the people who were able to go to school here were all loyal to the feudal lords. Seeing that the feudal lord was ready to die for a righteous cause, he ordered his subordinates to leave first. The captain of the White Tiger Squad stepped forward and knelt in the hall. "Your Highness, please come with us!" He only said one sentence before the youth burst into tears.
Seeing that it was the youth of the White Tiger Squad who came forward to speak, Matsudaira Rongbao stood up and walked to the youth. He bent down and helped the youth up. "If I leave, what will happen to your parents?"
Of course, the youth couldn't say that his parents would be killed. He sobbed and grabbed Matsudaira Rongbao's arm. "Your Highness, if you don't leave, we won't leave either."
Matsudaira Rongbao patted the youth on the shoulder and tried to squeeze out a smile. "If you don't leave, who can continue the banner of our Aizu Domain?" After saying this, Matsudaira Rongbao patted the shoulder of the White Tiger Squad again. "For the sake of our Aizu Domain, for me, for your parents, please live well!"
The youth of the White Tiger Squad couldn't say anything else. He could only kneel down and kowtow to Matsudaira Rongbao while crying. Then, he stood up shakily and returned to his seat.
The breakout was as smooth as Matsudaira Rongbao had said. There were 500 Hirohito from the Old Screen under the command of Otori, 500 Aizu soldiers under the command of the Aizu Domain's Wakanenji Tanaka, 100 Nihonmatsu soldiers under the command of Nihonmatsu Domain's elder Niwa Danbo, 50 Shinsengumi remnants under the command of Otori's subordinate Hijikata Suizo, and Yamaguchi Jiro (Saitou Ichi). In addition, there were about 100 vassal soldiers from the Sendai and other eastern armies, as well as 80 Hirohito from the White Tiger Squad. In total, there were about 130 mixed troops heading north to Sendai.
After finally escaping from the Meiji government's pursuit, the youth of the White Tiger Squad stopped. Everyone thought that these youths lacked strength and couldn't hold on due to exhaustion. But they didn't care too much.
However, the youths gathered together and said something. Then, under the leadership of the chief commander of the White Tiger Squad, the youths suddenly knelt down in unison towards the Aizu Domain's Wakamatsu Castle. Under the leadership of the chief commander, the youths pulled out their swords and cut off their hair bun.
With their left hands holding up the bun that represented their heads, the youths of the White Tiger Squad shouted loudly under the leadership of the chief commander:
"We will never surrender to the Choshu Domain and Satsuma Domain in this life!"
"From today onwards, if we see the soldiers of the Choshu Domain and Satsuma Domain, we will draw our swords and kill them!"
"If we encounter a battle, we will never retreat until our deaths!"
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