"Be smart! Here, here, and there! The weeds in these places must be cleared away!"

"Is the tent set up?"

"Where's the flag? Put it up quickly!"

"Some people come! Move this big rock away first!"

"One, two, three! Get up! Do it again! One, two, three! Get up!"

…

After carefully examining the topography of Sekigahara, Ayoto decided to set up the main formation on the top of Mount Tenman.

This location not only has a good view and flat terrain, but is also close to major transportation routes, which is conducive to conveying military orders to various places.

More importantly, this place faces Nangong Mountain, making it easy to observe the movements of the Changzhou Army.

After a while, a tent large enough to accommodate dozens of people was set up, and the curtains embroidered with gentian leaves were also drawn up.

Immediately afterwards, with the joint cooperation of several team members, the big "sincerity" flag was slowly raised.

The flags erected together include the three-leaf sunflower flag, which symbolizes the shogunate, and the gentian-leaf flag, which symbolizes the Qinjin clan.

The three large flags stand side by side, facing the wind, echoing the Ichimonji Three-Star Flag on Nangong Mountain opposite.

In the "First Sekigahara Battle" 280 years ago, the Mori family belonged to the Western Army, and the Ichimonji three-star flag stood upright in the Western Army camp. The Tokugawa family belonged to the Eastern Army, and the three-leaf Aoi flag naturally stood upright in the Eastern Army.

Military camp.

But now, the positions of the two flags are actually reversed.

The three-leaf sunflower flag appeared in the Western Army, while the one-letter three-star flag appeared in the Eastern Army... I have to say, this is really an interesting coincidence.

After learning that the commander's tent was set up and all the military flags were erected, Qingdeng called Shannan to help, and the two held a simple meeting in the commander's tent.

"Keisuke, where are the current positions of each team?"

As soon as Aoshito finished speaking, Shannan Keisuke relied on his superior memory to answer in an orderly manner:

"The troops currently arriving at the Sekigahara battlefield include most of the First and Third Divisions, a small number of the Eighth and Eleventh Divisions, and all of the Seventh and Tenth Divisions. The total number of troops exceeds 1,500."

"Other troops are still on their way."

"Second Division and Fourth Division arrived in Kusatsu."

"The fifth division has arrived in Hikone."

"The Sixth Division has arrived at Omi."

…

Shannan Keisuke reported the specific locations of each unit in an orderly manner.

After Qingdeng listened carefully, he sighed half-jokingly:

"I have just completed the 'Second Great Return to China', and I have to set off again before I can rest for a while, rushing to Sekigahara without stopping... It is really difficult for the soldiers."

Shannan Jingzhu smiled:

"Indeed."

"However, thanks to your heroic feat of 'equally distributing money', the morale of the soldiers is very high."

"The fatigue accumulated in their bodies seemed to disappear the moment they took over the money."

Having said this, he paused for a moment, and then changed into a helpless tone:

"Ji Jun, we are really bleeding a lot this time...the originally full treasury has been completely emptied..."

Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"If the money is gone, you can make it again. But if you lose this battle, you will lose everything."

Back then, after Hashiba Hideyoshi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) rushed back to Himeji Castle (Toki Hideyoshi's main city) in order to defeat Akechi Mitsuhide as soon as possible, he immediately ordered the opening of Himeji Castle's treasury and transferred all the gold and silver accumulated in the city.

Distribute it to the soldiers.

The soldiers who had made a huge fortune suddenly felt exhausted and their fighting spirit was high, which became one of the important factors in their subsequent victory over Akechi Mitsuhide.

There is no doubt that this move is full of courage.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi knew very well that his next decisive battle with Akechi Mitsuhide would be a fight to the death that would determine his fate.

If you win, then everything is easy to say.

If you lose, there will be no use keeping these yellow and white things.

Not everyone can accomplish such a heroic feat.

People who cling to money even though death is imminent really have as much money as they want.

Therefore, Aoto followed Toyotomi Hideyoshi's example and opened Otsu's treasury on the eve of leaving for Sekigahara, and distributed all the gold and silver stored in it to the Shinsengumi soldiers!

In this way, he fulfilled his previous promise to Hijikata Toshizo to "reward the soldiers well".

In fact, after receiving the order to "prepare to Sekigahara", many sergeants in the Shinsengumi lost their temper.

We went through all kinds of hardships and finally rushed back to Otsu from Changzhou. Before we could take a breath, we were asked to go to Sekigahara again! Even cattle and horses are not so miserable, right?!

These grievances tend to be broadcast widely.

However, after receiving a huge amount of money equivalent to several years of military pay in one fell swoop, these dissatisfied voices disappeared.

Instead, there were complimentary words such as "Nioh is wise", "Nioh is generous", "Fighting with Nioh is really fun!"

Admittedly, it does make people feel distressed to empty their treasury and property in one go.

However, just like Toyotomi Hideyoshi back then, the next battle will also determine Aoto's fate!

Even if we don't talk about those falsehoods, just to rush to the rescue of Hijikata Tozozo and Elodie who are currently stationed at Hachioji, as well as Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzouin in Edo Castle, it is worth Aomori to defeat the enemy in front of him at all costs!

After stating the specific current positions of each unit, Shannan Keisuke turned to Aomori and asked:

"Mr. Ju, what's going on in Nangong Mountain? Have you noticed anything strange?"

What he was referring to was that Qingteng was standing alone on the top of Tianman Mountain, looking at Nangong Mountain opposite, conducting "long-range reconnaissance" on the enemy's position.

Qingdeng said calmly:

"It can be clearly seen that the soldiers of the Changzhou Army are digging trenches and building fortifications. It seems that they plan to build Nangong Mountain into an impenetrable fortress."

After Shannan Jingzhu heard this, his face immediately dropped:

"Tsk...that's not good. The enemy has adopted the tactics we least want to see...!"

Qingden shrugged.

"No need to panic."

"We have expected this kind of thing from a long time ago, right?"

"Unless they lose their heads, they will definitely adopt the 'turtle tactics' to hold us back. They will never confront us head-on on the plains."

Shannan Keisuke nodded and sighed:

"Well... you're right."

He did not set up defenses at the foot of the mountain, but climbed up the mountain to defend - this kind of tactics would definitely look very familiar to Ma Di, and he would touch his head with emotion... Ah, no, he has no head, his head is already there.

It was cut off by Zhuge Liang.

This strategy of abandoning the foot of the mountain and concentrating all troops on the mountain is very risky.

For specific risks, you can refer to the Battle of Jieting commanded by Comrade Ma Di during the Three Kingdoms period.

If there is enough time, Qingdeng, who has the advantage in military strength, can directly surround Nangong Mountain and rely on the boring but tried-and-tested "war of troops and food" to drag down the enemy to death.

However... what Qingdeng lacks most now is time!

The Choshu Army on the east route was advancing triumphantly, and both Hachioji and Edo were waiting for the Shinsengumi's rescue.

Time is not on Qingdeng's side, but on the Changzhou Army's side.

Qingdeng, who was in a hurry to aid Kantō, had no time to resort to the dilly-dallying tactic of "war for troops and food".

Therefore, not only can he not be on the defensive, but he must maintain a strong offensive! Break through Sekigahara as quickly as possible!

The Changzhou Army on the opposite side must have understood that Qingdeng must fight quickly, so they confidently and boldly garrisoned on the mountain.

Since they dared to give up the foot of the mountain, they must have stored sufficient supplies on the mountain - enough supplies to last until the fall of Edo.

Qingden lowered his head and looked at the Guanyuan map on the table in front of him, thoughtfully.

After a moment, he spoke quietly:

"...Tianman Mountain and Nangong Mountain are separated by the entire Sekihara Basin. From such a long distance, what can be seen clearly is too limited."

Before he finished speaking, Shannan Keisuke seemed to hear some terrible demonic sound, his body was shaken a few times, and then he said quickly without thinking:

"Junior Jun, please forgive me! According to the currently known intelligence, the Changzhou Army opposite is equipped with a large number of guns and artillery!"

"Compared with the backward armies that we faced before that didn't even have a few bows and arrows, they can't be compared at all."

"Therefore, this time is different from the past. It is really dangerous to approach the enemy camp without permission!"
To be continued...