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Chapter 1043 The General Shogunate Offensive Begins

In Osaka Castle, the gradually melting snow made the ground muddy, and dejected soldiers sat listlessly on the ground.

The shogunate army surrounded Osaka Castle for a whole winter, and Osaka Castle fell into a situation of food shortage.The main defenders of Osaka Castle were the daimyos of Shikoku Island, and food was transported from Shikoku Island to Osaka Castle by sea.However, the peasants on Shikoku Island could not bear the long-term war, so a large-scale peasant uprising broke out in Shikoku Island. The grain could not be collected, and the grain road to Osaka Castle was also blocked, which caused Osaka Castle to encounter a food shortage.Throughout the winter, the samurai and farmers in Osaka City restricted the use of food. In many cases, soldiers could only drink gruel.

"According to my vassal's letter, Shikoku Island is full of refugees and peasant rebels, with a scale of tens of thousands. Wherever they go, there is no grass, the farmland is destroyed, and the granary is also captured by them. It is impossible for Shikoku Island to send food. Come here. We don’t have any extra food in Osaka City, so we can only last for half a month. If we don’t get any food after half a month, people will eat people. I’m afraid there won’t be such a tragic battle in the entire Warring States Period.”

A daimyo from Shikoku Island, who was trapped in Osaka City, said to everyone with a sad face.

Yamauchi Tadyoshi, Tachibana Muneshige and other daimyos gathered together, their faces were also not good-looking, and Osaka Castle reached its limit.

"The snow melts, and the Sanada Maru is no longer indestructible. When we run out of food, it is time for the shogunate army to launch a general offensive." Veteran Tachibana Munemo said.

"Isn't the main force of the Kyushu Army planning to come? Although the advance team they sent helped us defend Xiaoshan, even if Xiaoshan is still holding on, it will not help. Our food and grass are almost exhausted, and morale has dropped to the lowest point. Shikoku Island peasant uprising, Osaka The castle and Kyoto defense lines have been defended for less than half a year, we have done our best, and if this continues, we can only surrender to the shogunate." The other daimyos who stood firm said in unison.

"Be patient, everyone. We have held on for the entire winter. Wouldn't it be a waste of all our previous efforts to surrender to the shogunate? I have sent messengers to the capital to ask for help again. It is estimated that the main force of the Kyushu Army will arrive soon." Tadyoshi Yamauchi, the general general of Osaka, only I can pin my hope on the fact that the main force of the Kyushu Army will arrive as soon as possible.

"Will the main force of the Kyushu Army really come? We have waited for the whole winter night without seeing their traces. Maybe there is a civil strife in their country. It is hard to say whether they can intervene in the battle of Osaka." Hachisuka, the lord of the Tokushima Domain Zhongying said.

The Tennoji defense line he was in charge of was quickly broken through by the shogunate army led by Tokugawa Iemitsu, and he was shot by a musket. Everyone thought he would die, but Hachisuka Zhongying still survived tenaciously, but became a a disabled person.

"Hachisuka Zhongying, you have to understand the strength of the Kyushu army. Their generals can defend Xiaoshan under the attack of Mizuno Katsunari with dozens of people and Tadamo Tachibana's defense team. If their main force arrives, they can easily defeat the shogunate. Army." Tadyoshi Yamauchi said.

"The combat power of their army is indeed far superior to ours." Hachisuka Zhongying had to admit.

The Xiaoshan position mentioned in a group of daimyo has been under Lu Xiangsheng's control throughout the winter.

However, after a winter of consumption, Lu Xiangsheng also faced the problems of gunpowder shortage and food shortage. There were only two boxes of solid bullets left for the three smoothbore guns.If the two boxes of solid bullets are all used up, the smoothbore gun will simply become a display.

"We will abandon Xiaoshan and retreat to Sanada Maru tomorrow morning when the surrounding enemies are not aware of it." Lu Xiangsheng was using a telescope to observe the encirclement of Date Zhongzong outside.

"A whole ship of ammunition, food and grass has been consumed. The consumption of the war is really terrible." As a comrade-in-arms, Tadamo Tachibana witnessed with his own eyes that a large ship of supplies brought by Lu Xiangsheng to Japan was used up in the war.

Lu Xiangsheng brought supplies for a galleon, some of which were used by dozens of Huaxia soldiers he brought, and a batch of muskets and ammunition were distributed to Tachibana Tadamo's garrison to help him defend Xiaoshan.A considerable part of this large ship is still food.

"A war is a competition of national strength. In many cases, the victory is already decided before the war begins." Lu Xiangsheng said calmly.

If it is the era of cold weapons, an elite division is likely to create miracles. It is not uncommon to win more with less. The possibility of this phenomenon is getting smaller and smaller. In future wars, it will be a competition of whose weapons are more advanced and ammunition is more abundant.

"What should we do with our captured Miyamoto Musashi and others?" Tachibana Tadamo asked Lu Xiangsheng.

"At any rate, they are also prisoners. Taking them to Osaka Castle together may be useful, such as hitting the morale of the enemy." Lu Xiangsheng replied.

Miyamoto Musashi and several members of the raiding team have been imprisoned since they were captured. The poor generation of Dongying swordsmen who wanted to make a name for themselves on the battlefield before retiring in seclusion became prisoners.

"Preparing to withdraw to Osaka Castle, we are finally leaving here."

"Defend this damned place all winter, but the overall situation of the battle has not changed. The shogunate's army is still besieging Osaka Castle."

The soldiers of the garrison packed up their armor in a mood of war weariness, and left the Xiaoshan position the next day.

"Report, there is not a single defender on Xiaoshan's earthen wall!"

Date Zhongzong, who surrounded Xiaoshan, soon experienced Xiaoshan's strangeness. When they set foot on this position that they could never conquer, there were no defenders and artillery on Xiaoshan.

"It seems that the opponent has already retreated to Osaka Castle. It is meaningless to stay in Xiaoshan. Let's join the general and launch a general offensive against Osaka Castle." Date Tadamune sighed.

Shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa stood in front of the sand table of Osaka Castle, and Mizuno Katsunari and other important officials of the shogunate were all ready to go.

"The walls of Osaka Castle and Sanada Maru have been damaged during our several attacks. It is estimated that their food consumption has come to an end. We must take down Osaka Castle in one fell swoop. Our shogunate can no longer afford longer consumption. It must be a battle to determine the outcome!" Tokugawa Iemitsu put on a dark face, blocking the national fortune in the final battle against Osaka Castle.

"The first battalion is attacking Sanada Maru, the second battalion is pretending to attack the west city, and the third battalion is making a proper detour to the east city to put pressure on the defenders! Once Sanada Maru is in crisis, I will personally lead the reserve team to assist the first battalion to break through Sanada Maru, and then break through Osaka Nanjo!" Tokugawa Iemitsu made a general plan to use the open Nanjo as a breakthrough.

"The first team led by the veteran will definitely live up to expectations!" said Mizuno Katsunari.

(End of this chapter)