After splitting Mogami's head in half with one blow, Ogata squatted down and used Mogami's hakama to wipe the blood, fat and brain matter remaining on Daishikten's blade.
After wiping the blade clean and sheathing the knife, he saw a leather water bag next to him and used the water in the bag to wash his cheek, which was now stained with blood.
Just now, when Ogata was killing the guards who rushed over, the space was too narrow, so he had nowhere to hide from the blood splattered on his body, so a lot of blood was splattered on his face and armor.
After quickly washing his face, Ogata let out a sigh, "Okay... time to leave here..."
To some extent, the difficulty of leaving the camp safely is greater than that of rushing into the camp.
However, Ogata already had a plan on how to leave here.
The plan he made to leave the camp was also quite simple and crude.
However, before officially leaving the camp, Ogata still had one thing to do.
Ogata glanced at the armor he was wearing, which was filled with a strong smell of blood, and then looked at the soldier who was lying not far from his feet, whose armor was not stained with much blood.
"I have to change into armor first..." Ogata murmured as he began to take off his armor.
As he was taking off his armor with practiced movements, Ogata suddenly had a sudden thought: although he had never served in the military, he seemed to have accumulated a wealth of experience in wearing armor without realizing it...
…
…
There are two stables in the First Army's camp, one on the south side and the other on the north side.
At this moment, whether in the "South Stable" in the south or the "North Stable" in the north, the horses were extremely unstable, constantly paddling their hooves and neighing.
This kind of temporary stable would naturally not be made using any particularly complicated craftsmanship, and there would not be a stall built for each horse.
The horses were gathered together and then surrounded by a thin wooden fence - this was how this makeshift stable for use on the march was built.
The horses used in the army are not very tall, so the wooden fences used to enclose the horses do not need to be too high.
Due to various reasons such as inconvenient transportation, Japan has been slow to introduce excellent horse breeds from overseas. Until now, Japan has been using local horses for both civilian and military purposes.
The most notable feature of Japanese horses is that they are short and weak.
The average shoulder height is only 1.2 meters, and the total height may not even be as tall as another person.
With such a thin body, it is natural that he does not have much strength.
Among all the types of horses native to Japan, the best breed is the Kiso horse - although the Kiso horse is actually just a tall one among short ones, the average shoulder height of the Kiso horse is only 125cm-135cm.
During the Warring States Period 200 years ago, the Takeda clan, a powerful feudal lord that once dominated the entire country, used Kiso horses as war horses and formed the famous "Takeda Cavalry."
Two hundred years later, the Edo Shogunate, which ruled the entire country, still mainly used Kiso horses, which were superior to other local horse breeds, as war horses for its army.
Now all the horses stored in the stables in the First Army Camp are Kiso horses.
Horses were generally of poor quality, so horses that could be used for combat were extremely scarce, which directly restricted the development of cavalry and caused Japan's cavalry to always be an extremely expensive type of soldier.
The First Army consisted of 3,000 soldiers, but there were only 150 real cavalry responsible for charging into battle.
There were only 200 horses in each of the two stables, located in the north and south. These 400 horses were all the horses currently available in the First Army.
The area of ​​the camp, which housed 3,000 men, was not very large.
The camp was attacked and most areas of the camp were in chaos. The noise of the soldiers and the sound of the burning fire were transmitted to the stables. This noisy sound and the thick smoke that kept drifting to the stables were the culprits that made the horses in the "South Stable" and "North Stable" extremely unstable.
The noise and uproar, as well as the thick smoke from the burning flames, frightened many of the horses in the stable.
The horses in the stable were frightened on a large scale - this was no small matter.
Be it the "South Stable" or the "North Stable", the persons in charge of these two stables are now shuttling back and forth in the stables they are in charge of, directing their subordinates to calm down the horses that are now in very unstable emotions.
…
…
The First Army Camp, the "South Stable" in the south -
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
"Calm down the horses! Hey! You guys! Stop being lazy! Go and calm the horses!"
The general in charge of the "South Stable" was patrolling the stable in a high-spirited manner, while directing his men to calm the horses, which were still very unstable.
"Hey, it is said that our camp has been attacked by a large group of Ezo. Is this true?"
In the south stable, two young men were calming the horses while whispering to each other in low voices.
"That's right... There's probably no other possibility that our camp is in such a mess except for a large group of hostile Ezo people attacking us."
"So were those Ezo that attacked our camp repelled?"
"How would I know? But I guess it's only a matter of time before the Ezo people who attacked our camp are repelled. Although the Ezo people can take advantage of us by sneak attacks, their equipment is far inferior to ours. It's only a matter of time before they are repelled."
"Hey! You two! What are you whispering about over there?"
At this moment, a sharp shout came from behind the two young men.
After hearing the scolding, the two young men immediately turned around with a guilty look, like thieves who were caught stealing, and looked at the owner of the scolding who was standing not far behind them - the general manager of their "South Stable".
Although there are not tens of thousands of horses in the stable, and there is no "ten thousand horses neighing at the same time", the neighing of nearly a hundred horses in unison is enough to make people feel like their eardrums are about to burst.
The "stable manager" was in a very bad mood, his brain almost exploded because of the noise made by these horses.
When he was patrolling around and directing his subordinates to calm the horses, he just saw that these two subordinates were not concentrating on calming the horses, but were whispering.
He got so angry that he started to yell and curse without any mercy.
"Focus on this! Don't let me see you guys whispering to each other again!"
The two soldiers who had just whispered to each other nodded and bowed, saying that they would not do it again.
After giving the two soldiers a good scolding, the "stable manager" continued his patrol.
However, not long after, the "stable manager" saw a scene that made him angry again - he saw a foot soldier who did not know which unit he belonged to, holding a spear and two swords with handles and sheaths tied on his waist, standing carelessly in a corner of the stable, seemingly looking at the wooden stable fence in front of him, and no one knew what he was doing.
The foot soldier was quite tall, and the stable fence was slightly shorter than him.
Just as the "stable manager" was about to rush forward and loudly ask which unit the foot soldier belonged to and what he was doing here, a scene that made his pupils shrink suddenly appeared - he saw the foot soldier suddenly take off the handle of the katana at his waist, and then suddenly drew the sword and chopped at the thin stable fence in front of him...
The blade flashed several times, and the foot soldier cut a gap that was neither too big nor too small, just enough for two horses to walk side by side...
…
…
The First Army Camp, somewhere inside the camp——
——What is the current situation of the camp?
While Tachibana was thinking this in his mind, he kept turning his head to look at the entrance of the tent next to him, his eyes filled with unconcealable anxiety.
At this moment, a calm male voice without any emotion suddenly sounded beside Tachibana:
"Tachibana. Stay calm for a moment."
Hearing this voice, Tachibana was startled, then lowered her head slightly with embarrassment:
"Yes... I'm sorry, Mr. Lao Zhong, I made you laugh..."
The person who had just reminded Tachibana was now sitting on a small stool, next to Tachibana, Matsudaira Sadanobu.
After learning that the camp was attacked, Matsudaira Sadanobu followed Shōtenmu's advice and quickly left the commander-in-chief's tent.
After leaving the commander-in-chief's tent, Matsudaira Sadanobu, Tachibana, his guards and the rest of the people hid in an inconspicuous tent in the camp.
Since hiding in this tent, Matsudaira Sadanobu has been sitting on a small stool, with his hands naturally resting on his legs and his eyes closed to rest.
Matsudaira Sadanobu's unmoving appearance formed a sharp contrast with Tachibana, who was sitting next to him and whose face looked like the words "I'm panicking" were written in large letters.
After hearing the reminder from Matsudaira Sadanobu, Tachibana cleared his throat, straightened his back, adjusted the expression on his face, and tried to make himself look as calm as Matsudaira Sadanobu.
But Tachibana is still too young and lacks experience, so it is impossible for him to suddenly become a different person just because of Matsudaira Sadanobu's reminder.
Despite her best efforts to disguise herself, the look of anxiety remained in Tachibana's eyes for a long time.
"Sir, old man." Tachibana couldn't help asking Matsudaira Sadanobu, "Should we send someone to ask Lord Kansho Tenmoku what the situation in the camp is like now?"
As soon as Tachibana finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu responded without hesitation:
"Tachibana, don't worry. If there are any new changes in the situation in the camp, Sheng Tianmu will immediately send someone to inform us."
Seeing that Matsudaira Sadanobu disagreed to send someone to find Nagatenmoku to inquire about the situation, Tachibana could only suppress his anxiety and continue to wait silently in the tent with Matsudaira Sadanobu.
But Tachibana didn't remain silent for long, and then he seemed to have something to say, and kept glancing at Matsudaira Sadanobu beside him.
The look of hesitation and determination on Tachibana's face was switching back and forth.
In the end – determination prevailed.
"Master Rochu." Tachibana, no longer hesitant, said cautiously to Matsudaira Sadanobu beside him, "Are you feeling unwell or worried?"
"No." Matsudaira Sadanobu answered almost without hesitation, "Why do you ask?"
"Because I see that you look a little unhappy..."
After hiding in the tent with Matsudaira Sadanobu, Tachibana immediately noticed that Matsudaira Sadanobu looked strange...
Outsiders might not be able to see any changes in Matsudaira Sadanobu, but Tachibana, who had been with Matsudaira Sadanobu for many years and saw Matsudaira Sadanobu's face the most every day, immediately recognized the unusual expression on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face.
According to Tachibana's experience - when Matsudaira Sadanobu showed such an expression, he was either not feeling well or there was something bothering him.
As soon as Tachibana finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu's mouth twitched slightly and he smiled:
"Tachibana, you worry too much."
"I don't feel any discomfort in my body. I don't have any worries."
"Maybe it's because the light here is dim, so you saw it wrongly."
Since Matsudaira Sadanobu said so, Tachibana didn't dare to say or ask anything more. After responding, she continued to sit and wait quietly in the tent with Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Suddenly, there was a noisy sound of horse hooves outside the tent.
The sudden sound of horse hooves so close to them naturally startled everyone in the tent.
Matsudaira Sadanobu also half opened his eyes and frowned slightly.
"What happened?" Tachibana jumped up from the stool.
"Tachibana, be patient." Matsudaira Sadanobu reminded Tachibana again, then turned to look at a guard next to him, "Go outside and check the situation."
The guard waiting beside Matsudaira Sadanobu was the most core component of Matsudaira Sadanobu's guard - the red-armored cavalry.
After receiving the order from Matsudaira Sadanobu, the guard immediately nodded and said "yes", then held the sword at his waist and rushed out of the tent quickly.
Not long after, the guard came back.
"Sir, the soldiers in the camp spotted a suspicious person riding a horse out of the camp from the south."
"The sound of horse hooves just now was the cavalry chasing after the suspicious person."
As soon as the guard's report fell, Matsudaira Sadanobu's brows, which had only been slightly furrowed, immediately frowned: "Suspicious person?"
…
…
Ogata grabbed the horse's mane and rode it at a gallop on the snowy field outside the camp.
If you want to leave the camp, you definitely can't walk away . It's a waste of time and it's very easy to be discovered and then caught up by pursuers.
Therefore, if you want to leave this place, the most effective way is to steal a horse and then ride away.
After changing into a clean set of armor, Ogata transformed himself into an ordinary soldier again and started to fish in troubled waters in the camp again.
The stable was not difficult to find - the camp was not particularly large, and many horses were neighing because they were frightened. Ogata simply followed the faint neighing of the horses and successfully found the "South Stable".
Time is running out for Ogata.
The evening mist was about to dissipate, and if it lasted too long, people would inevitably become suspicious of this solitary foot soldier.
Therefore, regarding how to steal the horse, Ogata did not use any tricks that would take up a considerable amount of time.
Run to the stable, chop open the wooden stable fence which is not as hard as a human bone, and then pick a horse at random to escape - this is Ogata's way of stealing horses.
Simple and crude, but effective.
Before the managers near the stables could react fully, they saw a foot soldier who appeared out of nowhere and split the stable fence with a knife, then rode on a horse closest to the gap at lightning speed, and then fled through the gap. By the time the managers near the stables reacted, Ogata had already ridden away on his horse.
The only drawback was that the horses in the stable were not equipped with saddles or other harness.
For the health of the horses and to allow them to have sufficient rest, saddles and other harnesses are only fitted to the horses when they are used. The horses are usually kept separated from the harnesses.
Therefore, Ogata could only sit directly on the horse's back and grab the horse's mane to control the horse.
Fortunately, these horses are strictly trained war horses. Even if they are not equipped with saddles or other equipment, it will not have much impact on riding. It will just make the riders quite uncomfortable.
The situation was urgent, so Ogata didn't bother to be picky and just rode the stolen "naked horse" to escape the camp.
After discovering the horse thief Ogata, the person in charge of the stable immediately reported the matter to his superiors.
When Ogata rode his horse recklessly in the camp and rushed out of the camp, he also attracted the attention of many people along the way - after all, soldiers wearing the "Godai Gusoku" used exclusively by foot soldiers basically had no right to ride horses.
Of course - there are also some people who mistakenly believe that Ogata was a soldier who was authorized to ride a horse and deliver military orders in this emergency situation.
At this time, Ogata was no longer worried about whether anyone would discover that he was a "fake soldier".
Because order in the camp had not yet been restored, it was difficult for the subordinates to quickly report the news of the "suspicious cavalry" and then gather troops to pursue Ogata.
It was not until Ogata and his horse rushed out of the camp that he heard some faint noisy sounds coming from the back - this was probably the sound of the camp gathering soldiers to pursue Ogata.
It was obviously too late to pursue Ogata at this time.
Compared to the thrills of attacking the camp, the process of leaving the camp was much smoother than Ogata had imagined.
Ogata, sitting on horseback, let out a sigh of relief.
With a smile on his face, he felt the headwind blowing against his face as he rode his horse at full speed.
…
…
Tachibana looked at Matsudaira Sadanobu in front of him with a nervous expression.
The guards of Matsudaira Sadanobu, headed by the red-armored cavalry, now, like Tachibana, cast nervous glances at Matsudaira Sadanobu in front of them.
The reason they did this was because the tent in front of them was right above the tent where they had just hidden.
Just now, after learning that a "suspicious person" had left the camp from the south, Matsudaira Sadanobu said to Tachibana very abruptly: "Help me stand above the tent."
Tachibana was naturally extremely confused by Matsudaira Sadanobu's sudden order.
Tachibana didn't dare to ask "why" about Matsudaira Sadanobu's order, but for the sake of Matsudaira Sadanobu's safety, he still plucked up the courage and told Matsudaira Sadanobu directly that "this is too dangerous" and asked Matsudaira Sadanobu not to do it.
In response to Tachibana's suggestion, Matsudaira Sadanobu only responded coldly:
"Stop talking nonsense."
Seeing that Matsudaira Sadanobu seemed a little angry, Tachibana was so scared that her legs almost went limp. She didn't dare to say anything more and helped Matsudaira Sadanobu climb to the top of the tent where they were hiding.
At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu was standing on the top of the tent carefree.
Tachibana and the others surrounded the tent with nervous and panicked expressions, fearing that Matsudaira Sadanobu would fall from the top of the tent.
Matsudaira Sadanobu seemed to have no fear of falling off the top of the tent. After standing up on the top of the tent, he took out a telescope from his arms.
This telescope was presented to him by a foreign businessman from the Netherlands one year ago. It is not only exquisitely made, but also incredibly effective and can see farther than ordinary telescopes.
Matsudaira Sadanobu brought this telescope with him, thinking that it would come in handy during the survey of the strait. Unfortunately, he never used the telescope once until the survey was over.
Matsudaira Sadanobu never expected that the telescope was not used in the survey work, but instead came in handy at this time.
Matsudaira Sadanobu pulled the telescope open and looked toward the south of the camp.
After looking around several times, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally saw a soldier wearing ashigaru armor, riding a horse without any harness, and walking away.
The telescope in Matsudaira Sadanobu's hand has reached its limit and can no longer see anything farther.
So, Matsudaira Sadanobu narrowed his eyes and tried to see the face of the "suspicious person" with his own eyes.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Matsudaira Sadanobu tried to see, he could only see a vague shadow and could not see the face of the "suspicious person". He could only watch the "suspicious person" gradually move away from his field of vision...
After the "suspicious person" completely disappeared from Matsudaira Sadanobu's field of vision, Matsudaira Sadanobu put down the telescope in his hand.
Then he let out a silent sigh.
His face was filled with complex expressions that even outsiders could clearly recognize.