Zhang Wuji, Zhao Min and others were looking at each other across the river, but they didn't know that when they were spying on the Japanese army camp, Tokugawa Hideyoshi was also looking at them from across the Edogawa River.
There was billowing smoke at the end of the sight, which was obviously the smoke produced by the march of tens of thousands of troops. Tokugawa Hideyoshi said that he could feel the endless murderous intent even from such a distance. Such an army must have fought on the battlefield, and most of them had killed people.
At this time, Tokugawa Hideyoshi was already a general whose power was no less than that of the generalissimo, so he also arranged a close follower who had served him for many years to serve as a general of staff by his side.
Logically speaking, a person of the rank of a staff general should have been appointed by Hirohito, but he had to make an emergency decision. It was already a time when Japan was about to perish, and even the great general Tokugawa Hideyoshi had to make an emergency decision. Therefore, everything that happened afterwards was also made in an emergency.
The chief of staff he appointed was named Takeda Nobuo. For many years, it was he who allowed Tokugawa Hideyoshi to keep a low profile and wait for a chance to turn the tide.
Tokugawa Hideyoshi looked at the smoke and dust several miles away and said, "Takeda-kun, how many people do you think are in that smoke and dust? One hundred thousand or eighty thousand?"
After taking another careful look, Takeda Nobuo said, "How can it be that much? Sixty thousand, or at most sixty-five thousand."
Tokugawa Hideyoshi still believed Takeda Nobuo's words: "Takeda-kun's eyes are still as good as ever."
Nobuo Takeda smiled bitterly and said: "It's not that my eyesight is good, it's all calculated."
"It has been more than two months since the war between Japan and Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's navy has the capacity to transport no more than 40,000 soldiers to Japan at one time. We will calculate it as 45,000."
"The Ming Dynasty has sent 90,000 troops to us twice. In the previous wars, no matter how useless our Japanese soldiers were, they must have caused some losses to the Ming army, right?"
"Some time ago, that waste Inoue Xiong killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Did those hundreds of thousands of soldiers just stand there and let the Ming army kill them? As long as they fight, the Ming army will be depleted."
"Also, the Ming army captured cities and strongholds along the way, and there were always people stationed in the places they captured. So I guess that the Ming army on the opposite side has only about 60,000 people, no more than 65,000 at most, which is probably about the same as ours."
Tokugawa Hideyoshi said: "Even if Mr. Takeda has calculated, it is to the core. It's a pity that the emperor only gave me 50,000 soldiers. If there were another 50,000, perhaps I could have a real decisive battle with the Ming army instead of defending here."
Nobuo Takeda laughed and said: "General, you are overthinking it. Hirohito Hiroichi has lost his courage and no longer has the courage to fight a decisive battle."
"In recent years, Japan's national strength has been gradually weakening. It has lost hundreds of thousands of troops, and even its naval power has been almost completely lost."
"For the tens of thousands of people defending around Tokyo, we'd be lucky if we could free up another 30,000 or 50,000."
"Moreover, even if we can still snatch 30,000 to 50,000 men from Hirohito Hiroichi, we should try our best not to engage in a decisive battle with the Ming army in the open."
"The general is a capable man, but what about the soldiers under him? Can they compare with the Ming army a few miles away? The Ming Dynasty is a new dynasty, and a new dynasty is usually at its most powerful. Now the Ming Dynasty is full of generals, and even ordinary soldiers wish to be veterans."
"General, you have waited so many years for such an opportunity to realize your ambitions, but you must not be careless."
After all, Tokugawa Hideyoshi was a man who had been keeping a low profile for more than 20 years. Although he gained power overnight, he had not yet lost his mind.
"Don't worry, Mr. Takeda, I won't take any risks. I'm not so crazy as to be unrealistic when it comes to a brand new dynasty, especially the Ming Dynasty, which is now full of generals."
"But please don't underestimate our men, Takeda-kun. I, Tokugawa Hideyoshi, want to show those gentlemen in Tokyo who only know how to eat, drink, gamble and have sex that we are the ones who can really get things done."
…
On both sides of the Edogawa River, whether it was Tokugawa Hideyoshi or Zhang Wuji and his companions, they all saw several isolated figures looking at them from the opposite side.
But they all thought that the person they saw was just a scout of the other side. Who would have thought that they were the people they most wanted to kill at this moment.
…
That night, the Ming soldiers set up camp five miles away from Edogawa River.
Zhou Zhiruo said, "Hey, you Mongolian fox, why did you arrange the camp in a place like this? It would be so inconvenient for tens of thousands of troops to get water in a place like this. Why don't you just march directly to the river?"
Zhao Min said with a smile: "You vixen, are you worried about the inconvenience for the soldiers to get water, or are you worried about the inconvenience for you to get water?"
Zhou Zhiruo did not hide it: "It's not convenient, especially for us women. After all, this is no longer Dongchuan City. We can still get water from the wells in the city, but now we are in the wilderness, why don't we get closer to the river?"
Zhao Min smiled and said, "If I say now that you are not as good as me, I'm afraid you will be unhappy again."
Then, Zhao Min turned to look at Zhang Wuji and said, "You enemy, explain something to your little Zhiruo."
Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "Min'er set up the camp here because he was afraid that the Japanese would build a dam upstream of the Edogawa River and then wait for an opportunity to break the dam. If that happens, it will be disastrous if the same thing happened to Guan Yu that happened before, where he flooded the seven armies."
Zhao Min smiled at Zhou Zhiruo and said, "Did you hear that, you little bitch with long hair and short knowledge? It's a pity that you have been with Zhang Wuji for so many years, but you don't know such a simple truth."
After hearing this, Zhou Zhiruo glared at Zhao Min fiercely and said, "Just talk, why make personal attacks? If you want to quarrel, I will accompany you to the end."
Seeing that Zhou Zhiruo seemed to be a little angry about the call of "little bitch", Zhao Min stopped mocking her. She turned to Zhang Wuji and said, "You rascal, you have been the emperor for so many years, but you still have some skills. It's also because the vixen around you is useless. She hasn't turned you into an emperor who only cares about wine and sex."
Zhang Wuji said: "Min'er, why are you bringing the topic to me?"
"I didn't provoke you."
Zhou Zhiruo said: "Zhang Wuji is not that kind of drunken and lustful emperor. Don't forget, you, Zhao Min, were defeated by him. You were just a defeated general and survived by relying on your own body. What qualifications do you have to laugh at me?"
After hearing this, Zhao Min was speechless: "Zhou Zhiruo, you just said that you were not making any personal attacks, why are you saying such harsh words to me again? What do you mean by surviving on your own? I have told you many times that what happened back then was that Zhang Wuji forced himself on me and I resisted."
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