Osaka forest.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi and a dozen or so retainers, along with more than 50,000 men, huddled inside.

"Baka yarou, we've fought so many wars, but we've never been this humiliated as we are today."

"My lord, we have never encountered such a formidable opponent before. One of their generals slaughtered us so badly that our men were routed." Ishihara Mitsunari's face turned pale with fright at the mention of Li Yuanba.

"My lord, we're actually doing alright. One of Tokugawa Ieyasu's fortresses has already been captured. The enemy only sent a junior officer, but he stormed in and slaughtered everyone, leaving no survivors." Kuroda Hyōe said with a hint of schadenfreude.

"My lord, we can't stay cooped up in this forest forever."

Hundreds of bonfires were lit in the forest.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's men captured a lot of wild game and roasted it over a fire.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi shook his head: "The forest has one advantage: it can stop the cavalry charge."

No matter how fierce the enemy is, they cannot utilize their cavalry advantage in this forest.

We'll have to stay here a while longer.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi didn't know how long he should stay.

In short, it would be best to wait until Li Yuanba and his men have retreated before coming out.

Just then, the Xianbei generals Murong Yunhai, Murong Bo, and Murong Canglong arrived before Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

"Our Emperor said he spent ten million taels of silver to invite you here," Toyotomi Hideyoshi said, his anger rising the moment he saw the Xianbei cavalry.

If it weren't for the Xianbei cavalry and Tokugawa Ieyasu's men holding them back, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army would have already broken through.

Once Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces reach the north, all that will remain facing Jiangtian is Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces.

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want," Murong Yunhai said angrily. "Who's blocking your way? We're just deploying our troops, preparing for a decisive battle with Jiang Tian's team."

Ishihara Mitsunari: "With the fighting strength of your cavalry, you're nothing more than sent to be slaughtered. What gives you the audacity to say you want to fight Jiang Tian's troops to the death?"

Before Ishihara Misaki could finish speaking, Murong Bo and the others quickly drew their swords.

"You bunch of cowards! Everyone else is laughing at someone who's 50 steps behind but 100 steps behind, but you're laughing at someone who's 200 steps behind but 50 steps behind?"

"You've been scared out of your wits by just one of their junior officers. What gives you the audacity to lecture us?"

“Our Xianbei cavalry and Jiang Tian’s troops fought back and forth. What about you? What can you do besides running away?”

More than a dozen of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's generals also drew their samurai swords.

"Come on, let's have a go and see who's the real loser."

"If we don't kill you Japanese slaves right here today, we are not Xianbei people."

The swords and samurai swords of both sides clashed quickly, producing a clanging sound.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi roared, "Enough, you bastards, stop!"

Both sides were like invincible roosters, each holding their heads high, eager to fight to the death.

“We are now in the same boat. Even if we fight to the death, the victor will not be able to withstand Jiang Tian’s attack.” Toyotomi Hideyoshi walked up to Murong Yunhai.

"Our only option now is to turn hostility into friendship and fight Jiang Tian to the bitter end. Otherwise, both of us will face certain death." Ishihara Mitsunari sheathed his katana and pointed it at Tokugawa Ieyasu's fortress.

"It's estimated that Jiang Tian's men have already captured Tokugawa Ieyasu's two fortresses. Tokugawa Ieyasu has 100,000 heavily armed soldiers, whose weapons and equipment are far superior to yours and mine. But aren't they still utterly vulnerable to Jiang Tian's attack?"

Kuroda Hyōe: "Our two families are in the same boat. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate."

Murong Yunhai and the others also sheathed their swords: "That's exactly why we came here. We also want to completely crush Jiang Tian's team."

The two sides have reached a temporary settlement.

More than 20 people sat down and formed a circle around the fire.

"Jiang Tian's troops are truly formidable," Toyotomi Hideyoshi sighed. At this point, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already decided to remain in this forest forever and never go out again.

Li Yuanba alone had already terrified them.

“No matter how powerful they are, they are just a bunch of flesh and blood. They all have two shoulders supporting one head.” Murong Yunhai looked into the distance. “We must wipe them out, otherwise, we will never have a chance to rise up.”

Do you Japanese just want to cower in this forest like turtles?

“You Xianbei people speak so lightly, but how do we fight? The enemy’s weapons are as loud as thunder. They can easily knock dozens or even hundreds of us to the ground and we can’t even stand up.”

Murong Yunhai pointed to his head: "Warfare is not about brute force, it's about strategy. We can't beat them during the day, so we can launch a surprise attack at night."

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi, you only have two paths before you: one is to rise up and resist, and the other is to cower here forever as a subservient grandson."

Before Murong Canglong could finish speaking, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's men once again drew their swords.

"Put away all your swords. The Xianbei are right." Toyotomi Hideyoshi stood up. "Tonight we'll rush out of the forest, kill them, and then we'll talk."

If we can't defeat them, we'll retreat into this forest.

With the protection of this forest, we will not fear their cavalry, nor their powerful weapons.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Just as they were discussing the details.

A series of deafening horn sounds came from outside the forest.

Immediately afterwards.

The sound of war drums rang out.

Every drumbeat felt like it was striking their hearts, making their hearts tingle.

"My lord," a Japanese samurai rushed up to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, "Jiang Tian has led 10,000 cavalrymen and is almost at the edge of the forest. What should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Canglang shouted, "Ten thousand cavalrymen think they can deal with our eighty or ninety thousand iron cavalry?"

"Damn it, who does Jiang Tian think he is?"

"Xianbei, don't talk big. If all ten thousand cavalrymen were as brave as that young general, who among you could withstand them?"

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's words left the other party speechless.

Everyone present remained silent.

The distant drumbeats grew closer.

The sound of bugles seemed to ring in their ears.

"Warriors, it's time for a decisive battle. We absolutely cannot let them break in." At this moment, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was still thinking about defense.

"Archers, get ready. If anyone rushes in, shoot them down."