It was snowing. Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky. Some of them melted into water droplets soon after they landed on the ground, soaking the earth. Some of them landed on the grass or branches that had long been frozen by the cold wind, gradually accumulating a layer of white snow. The longer it snowed, the more white there was. The black road became clearer in this white world.
"Baka!" Naoki Yoshinori kicked a luncheon meat can at his feet and cursed at the mountain pass in the north. There was no one in the direction of the mountain pass. The fires on both sides of the road leading to the mountain pass had been extinguished. The black charcoal and the firewood that had not been completely burned had been covered with a layer of ice and snow, cold and without heat. The empty cans of the Hokkaido army were scattered around the firewood. God knows how long they had been away from here.
"Commander, do we still chase?" The chief of staff's face was not very good, and the faint aroma of luncheon meat in the air made him swallow his saliva. In the plan, the Meiji army bypassed a mountain path and went straight here, which could probably block the retreat of tens of thousands of Hokkaido army. However, the Hokkaido army ran like rabbits. They didn't rest at all for two days and two nights. They just kept retreating.
When fighting with the Hokkaido army, the biggest feeling of Ming Zhijun was not how strong the opponent was, but their equipment was too good. Since the era of the Republic of Prawn, the equipment of the Hokkaido army was better than that of the Meiji army. At first, it was the rubber shoes of the Hokkaido army against the straw shoes of the Meiji army. Now the Meiji army finally popularized the rubber soled marching shoes, but the Hokkaido army popularized the rubber soled boots lined with wool. Naoki Yoshinori and the chief of staff were wearing this kind of mid-waist military boots. After experiencing it personally, both of them felt that this equipment had a huge advantage in the winter marching ability.
In addition to the shoes, the wool clothes of the Hokkaido army were light and warm, and the "labor cloth" military uniform was wear-resistant and durable. Everyone had a military coat and a thick cotton hat. With the wool clothes and trousers, the "animals" of the Hokkaido army could lie down on the cold winter ground and sleep at any time. When they woke up, they would continue to march. The Meiji Army could only carry heavy quilts on their backs, and the few of them huddled together to sleep.
If they didn't rest well, their physical strength would naturally be affected. Even if Japan had a tradition of spiritual supremacy, the real world was a materialistic world. Mental strength could be used to brag about, or it could be used to motivate oneself when one was full and warm. When one was cold and tired, the secretion of adrenaline would be greatly affected.
Apart from resting, it was also important to eat. Canned luncheon meat, canned fruits, and canned military water bottles, which were expensive and luxurious in the eyes of the Meiji Army, ensured the supply of food for the Hokkaido Army. The soldiers of Ming Zhi's army ate rice balls, and only cold rice balls. The Hokkaido Army put the tin cans into the fire and put the kettle next to the fire. It would not be long before they could eat a hot meal. After eating, they rested for a while, feeling warm and comfortable, and continued to move forward.
The accumulation of a little gap made the perfect encirclement and annihilation plan that could cut off the Hokkaido Army's retreat half a day earlier become a joke. Nogi Yoshinori's anger came from the bottom of his heart. The people of Country R had been herbivorous since ancient times. Didn't the Hokkaido Army feel ashamed of their ancestors' current behavior?
Even if they were enemies, the other side of the Hokkaido army had done such an outrageous act.
(This chapter is not finished, please continue to the next page.) Nogi Yoshinori still maintained a basic level of rationality. He ordered not to chase anymore, to stabilize the position first, to prevent the Hokkaido Army from attacking again. Moreover, the troops were already very tired after a long time of marching. He quickly let everyone rest, or at least drink some hot water.
As soon as the order was given, Ming Zhi's army began to act. Seeing his subordinates scrambling for the empty luncheon meat boxes while avoiding the officer's sight, Nogi Yoshinori could only blame himself for not seeing the equipment. Because of some seized goods, Nogi Yoshinori had also eaten this kind of military rations. It had the taste of meat, but it was not all meat. With the salty seasoning, it was a perfect match with the freshly steamed rice balls. With the canned fish from Hokkaido, the canned peaches from China, and spirits, it could even support a banquet in the army.
When ordinary soldiers cleaned up the battlefield, the first thing they snatched was naturally comfortable military boots, followed by this kind of canned food. Low-ranking officers tried to keep these two things for themselves. When giving gifts to their superiors, these two things were the most practical. The soldiers had no choice but to collect the empty iron boxes to boil water. A little meat taste was much better than no meat taste.
Nogi Yoshinori knew that for these things, people in the Meiji army had even died. He could only turn a blind eye to the soldiers' disgraceful behavior and pretend not to see it.
In fact, the Hokkaido army's troops were also shocked by the appearance of Nogi Yoshinori. Retreating was very hard, it required the decisiveness of the commander and the cohesion of the troops. Even if they ate well and wore warm clothes, it was a huge challenge for the troops to travel day and night. They thought that they could leave the Meiji army far behind by the rapid march, but they suddenly found that if they moved a little slower, they would be attacked by the Meiji army. The feeling of fear was inevitable.
But at least they completely withdrew from the troops, this kind of fear was just fear. The Meiji army, which was mainly led by Choshu and Satsuma Domain, had done too many things to the people of the northeast region in the Bochen War more than ten years ago. For more than ten years, the entire northeast region did not have the slightest confidence in the Meiji government. This time, the Hokkaido army was based on Hokkaido and was entrenched in the northeast region. Both sides had a reliable base. Japan, with a population of more than 30 million, was divided into more than 20 million Meiji government and more than 10 million Hokkaido government. The comparison of power began to enter a stage of equal strength. The balance of power meant that the civil war began to enter a stage of stalemate.
The dispatched personnel of the Liberation Army also understood this. The leader told everyone that the report of the successful retreat had been sent to the Military Commission. What they had to do now was to put aside these thoughts and see if they could help the Hokkaido army to complete the defense system in the northeast of Japan.
The political commissar said, "After all, the Hokkaido army has not returned here for more than ten years. The public opposes the Meiji government, but it does not mean that the public will support the Hokkaido government. Simply from the public opinion, stop the war and live a good life. This is what the people of the northeast really need. "
These clichés did not interest most of the young soldiers, but Qi Rui was deeply interested in the political commissar's words. The people of the northeast of Japan hoped that after driving away the Meiji government, there would be no more wars and no more disasters. This idea was a little naive, but the starting point was not wrong. What they had to do now was to link the war with the good days after victory.
But on second thought, Qi Rui felt that
But it was too difficult to do. The stalemate had been achieved. Neither the Meiji government nor the Hokkaido government would agree to divide Japan into two. A civil war needed to determine who was superior and who was superior. At the very least, both sides had to fight until there was no more blood left to bleed. It had only been 20 years since the end of the civil war in China. Back then, tens of millions of people had died in the Yangtze River Basin, tens of millions in the Northwest, and tens of millions in the Huai River Basin, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi had also lost tens of millions of people. More than 100 million people had died in the war. Could it be that the Liberation Army had stopped moving forward?
"I think we can organize some counterattacks in winter. Snowy weather does hinder military operations, but it also causes problems for the Meiji government's army to mobilize. As long as we can seize the opportunity, besieging the enemy and attacking the reinforcements is actually a good choice. "Ma Xiaoming did not seem to have reflected on the war. He made this suggestion purely from the perspective of a soldier.
With someone taking the lead, these young officers immediately became active. Qian Duoduo nodded slightly as he spread out the map. "Before withdrawing to the northeast, the Hokkaido army was the main force in Tokyo. The mines in Tokyo Bay made the Hokkaido army suffer a lot. Now that the Meiji army is the main force, I think the Hokkaido army can lay mines in Tokyo Bay. Not only Tokyo, but also the Seto inland sea area can be strolled. The Hokkaido army's warships have a large tonnage and a long voyage. The implementation of maritime harassment is enough to cause internal turmoil in the Meiji army. It's not a good feeling to have a gun pointed at the back of your waist. "
"That's not necessarily true. The key is the cost. If there are no major results from going so far, it can only make the Meiji army's fleet near the Seto inland sea more careful. But I agree with the implementation of harassment in Tokyo Bay. "Li Yannian immediately expressed his opinion.
Everyone was engaged, and Qi Rui had no reason to be immersed in the reflection of the war. He calmed down and had his own ideas. "Whether the Meiji government will move from Kyoto to Tokyo is still a problem. Tokyo is unstable at this time, and moving the capital in winter is far more troublesome than in other seasons. Tokyo has been fighting for so long, and the food supply is also a problem. I don't think the Meiji government has the ability to complete the food supply in a short period of time. Without food, are they always ready to suppress the starving people? Staying in Kyoto will not be a problem. First, stabilize the situation in Tokyo, wait until the flowers bloom in spring, or after the harvest season to return to Tokyo. "
"Hehe!" Ma Xiaofeng sneered, "With the current situation in Japan, what kind of food can they harvest? Most of the harvested food will be requisitioned as military food. During our civil war, in order to meet the food demand, His Majesty opened up the food supply line to Vietnam and Siam, so that the provinces in the rear, as well as the coastal cities with industries, do not lack food. I admire that strategy from the bottom of my heart. While fighting the war, it can improve the people's living standards. The people naturally think that the war was fought well. The Hokkaido may be better, they at least have a food supply base, and we have a cheap food supply. As long as they do a good job as a transit station, they will not lack money to buy food. The Meiji government can only rely on themselves. If they want to wait for the situation to calm down, I'm afraid they won't be able to wait. "
Qi Rui always felt that he was already a very insightful soldier, but after talking with the outstanding people of his generation, he had to realize. There had never been a shortage of heroes in the world.
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