Date Hidesune and Mouri Mitsuhiro bump into each other head-on. It can be said that they are jealous enemies when they meet.
What Date Hidemune wanted to do most was to defeat the Daimyo coalition as soon as possible, and then quickly return to Sendai to put an end to the chaos.
Maori Mitsuhiro had nothing to say. There was only one way to escape.
The two sides had little room to maneuver in the narrow Saku Valley, so they could only fight head-on.
Fortunately, the Daimyo coalition had more troops, and with no other way to escape, it was very scary to fight for their lives.
After fighting for more than an hour, Date Hidesune couldn't bear it any longer.
Seeing that the battle line was crumbling, Date Xiuzong became anxious.
He is absolutely unbeatable here.
Once the main force of the Daimyo army is released, all previous plans will come to nothing.
No one knows how the chaos in Sendai will develop. The shogunate's resources have bottomed out and it really can't afford to delay it.
Although the daimyō of gaibō were at a disadvantage compared to the Tokugawa shogunate in many aspects such as population, resources, and territory, the war had reached this level, and the daimyō of gaibō had an advantage that the Tokugawa shogunate could never make up for.
That is sea power.
There is the Satsuma Domain, a traditional maritime power, among the foreign daimyo. The most convenient aspect is that it can facilitate foreign trade smoothly.
In this era of Japan, the objects of trade were undoubtedly in the West.
This resulted in the foreign daimyo being able to trade or obtain some resources, but the Tokugawa shogunate's navy was not very strong, and it was almost impossible to pass through the area controlled by the foreign daimyo.
If the empire hadn't ignored the blockade of the daimyō and could come over to trade some supplies for the Tokugawa shogunate, the situation of the Tokugawa shogunate would have been even more difficult.
This time, taking advantage of the eagerness of the daimyo, he finally set up a killing trap. Once missed, the next situation will be very unfavorable to the Tokugawa shogunate.
Date Hidemune knew this very well.
Thinking of the terrible ending after defeat, he also began to go crazy.
"No one is allowed to retreat. Follow this general and attack with all your strength."
Date Hidezono no longer sat firmly in the middle of the army, but urged his horses to rush to the front.
At critical moments, the performance of the general can act as a stabilizing force.
The soldiers of the shogunate who were originally a little frightened saw the general's departure in person, and their morale immediately increased, and they turned around and followed.
The daimyo army doesn't care at all about how the shogunate's army changes.
If they want to escape, there is only one way. Whether the enemy resists or wavers, nothing can change their determination to fight to the bitter end.
The battle in the valley reached a fever pitch.
"At this point in the fight, there is no wisdom between the two sides. It is purely a contest of brute force. Date Xiuzong's personal blood bravery can only block it slightly and cannot play a key role."
On a nearby hillside, the empire's military observers were like spectators, commenting leisurely.
Although a large number of generals in the armies of both sides were their students, in the eyes of these observers, these students were undoubtedly unqualified.
But there is no way, this is the deep-rooted character of Japanese people, and it cannot be changed by acquired teaching.
Besides, from the standpoint of the empire, of course I hope that the two sides in Japan will fight as fiercely as possible.
It turned out to be true.
In the ensuing battle, Date Hidemune's courage only lasted for a short period of time. Facing the tide of the Daimyo army, he paid the price of despair.
In the melee, he and his guards were separated from the others and unable to support each other.
The scarred Maori Mitsuhiro discovered Date Hidemune's handsome flag in the chaos, and was a little suspicious for a while.
When he saw Date Xiuzong was in a precarious situation and full of dangers, Maori Guangguang was overjoyed.
Like a poisonous snake lurking in the darkness, the elites he led without saying a word suddenly bumped into Date Hidesune from the side.
Date Hidemune was already struggling to survive, and the sudden appearance of Mouri Mitsuhiro gave him no time to deal with it.
The cold light was like lightning, and a more than 20 centimeters long gash was opened in Date Xiuzong's ribs. In an instant, blood and organs poured out.
Accompanied by Date Hidemune's remaining little strength.
He squeaked twice, trying hard to see what was happening. Before he could turn around, his head flew into the sky.
With a ferocious look on his face, Maori Guangguang grabbed the fallen head and shouted loudly.
"Date Hidemune is dead, who dares to challenge?"
The surrounding shogunate troops paused one after another. When they saw that Date Hidemune was indeed killed in battle, their morale quickly collapsed.
Everyone rushed to escape, fearing that they would be left behind and die under the butcher's knife of the daimyo army.
Seeing that the blockade of the shogunate army was broken, Maori Mitsuhiro couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and then felt his body was empty, and sat on the ground on the spot.
"General, we can't rest. We must hurry up as soon as possible. We are not out of trouble yet."
The reminder from my subordinate was very timely.
Just when Mouri Mitsuhiro had just defeated Date Hidemune, Doi Toshikatsu from behind finally caught up.
This is the main force of the shogunate's army, and it is a fresh force full of energy.
The daimyo army that was lagging behind also suffered a bad fate and bore the brunt of the disaster.
Extremely exhausted, they were chased by Doi Toshiki's troops and fled forward crazily. As a result, they dispersed the formation in front.
Hearing the loud shouts of killing behind him, Mao Li Guangguang's hair stood on end, and he had to hurry on with the help of his guards.
After Doi Toshikatsu cleared the battlefield, he learned from the surviving soldiers that Date Hidemune had died in battle, and he felt powerless.
For this battle, his plan was watertight. Even so, it still fell short.
It is not difficult to see from this that the shogunate has indeed reached the point where its fuel is exhausted.
Fortunately, this battle ended with the victory of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The pursuit lasted for five days, causing the Daimyo army to lose more than two-thirds of its troops and all its supplies. Not only would it be impossible to organize an offensive in the short term, but it would also be pushed back by the Tokugawa shogunate.
As long as the shogunate army can stabilize the internal situation, they can make rapid progress even if they have insufficient resources.
On the contrary, the Daimyo Allied Forces will definitely be unable to raise more troops.
All the young people in western Japan have been emptied out, and even children over fifteen years old have already gone to the battlefield.
Without the army, the defeat of the Daimyo is doomed.
The most terrible thing is that another army led by Shimazu Mitsuhisa is still in the east, and how to withdraw has become a huge problem.
But none of this matters anymore.
The murder of imperial merchants by shogunate troops inside the Imperial Embassy in Edo has been revealed.
The ambassador was furious when he learned the news, and immediately realized that the opportunity the empire had been waiting for for a long time had finally arrived.
"Send the news back immediately. This will be the best excuse for the empire to march into Japan."
(End of chapter)
