I formed the strongest swordsman group

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, everyone at the scene looked over.

A bunch of scrutinizing eyes fell on the map pointed by Qingden.

Maps of this era are naturally not comparable to satellite maps of the 21st century.

There are no contour lines, and there is no 3D terrain.

However, this map is as simple as it gets, but the few things it should have - traffic roads, the distribution of important strongholds, the direction of the mountains, etc. - are all well marked on it.

Looking at it, even people who don't understand military geography at all can see at a glance how high the military value of Ise is after seeing the surrounding terrain of Ise and the traffic roads passing through it.

Iga is located in the southeast of Kyoto, in the Ueno Basin area, with high surroundings and low in the middle.

The southeastern side of Kyoto is surrounded by overlapping mountains and hills. After one mountain, there is another mountain, and after one mountain, there is another hill.

When talking about Iga, "Iga Ninja" is an unavoidable topic.

Iga and Koga are both the birthplaces of ninjutsu in Japan.

During the Warring States Period, when heroes were divided among themselves, more than thirty ninja schools emerged at one time, the most famous of which were Iga-ryu and Koga-ryu.

The original Iga-ryu ninjas were just a separatist force that dominated the mountains, commonly known as the "Iga people".

After Oda Nobunaga came to dominate the capital, the Iga people, who were no different from an independent kingdom, naturally became a thorn in his side.

Finally, between 1578 and 1579, Nobunaga gave his second son, Nobuo Oda, the order to conquer Iga.

However... when faced with the Iga people, who were on the side ridges of the peaks, the entire territory was fortified, and all the people were soldiers, the Oda Army's first Iga expedition failed after paying a huge price.

Nobunaga was very angry about this result. In 1581, he once again sent out an army with all the best troops to invade Iga from all directions.

After paying a huge price, the resistance of the Iga people was finally ended.

Even the Oda Army, which was invincible in the world, suffered a defeat in Iga while fighting at home... It can be imagined how dangerous the geographical situation of this area is.

Iga, located in the basin, is one of the few areas with relatively flat terrain in this large mountainous area.

With such a terrain, it is destined that many transportation lines will converge here.

If the rebels who raised troops in Ise want to attack Kyoto, Iga is the place they must pass through.

As long as Iga is occupied, the bandit army will have great autonomy.

Between Iga and Kyoto lies a large stretch of mountains.

Generally speaking, there are two routes to choose from from Iga to Kyoto: the southern route and the northern route.

Both paths have their pros and cons.

Take the southern route and attack the Yagyu Domain, which is only 10,000 stone tall and very weak.

In front of the Yagyu Domain is the ancient city of Nara with many deer.

After capturing Nara, you can take advantage of the situation and head north, all the way to Kyoto unimpeded.

The southern route is the shortest, and there are few strategic points that need to be occupied. As long as the Yagyu Domain and Nara are in hand, the southern gate of Kyoto will be open.

It's just that... Nara is an ancient city with a longer history than Kyoto.

In terms of prosperity and solidity, although Nara is not as good as the three capitals (Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka), it is by no means a "tofu" that can be rubbed easily.

With the newly created bandit army, it will not be easy to conquer Nara.

To take the north route, you must first capture Koga, which is located above Iga.

After occupying Koka, you can enter Tokai Street. Along Tokai Street, which has convenient transportation and many supplies on the way, attack all the way to the west, capture Kusatsu and Otsu one after another, and then attack Kyoto.

The journey to the North Road is very long, but the advantage is that Donghai Street can be used as a support, which greatly reduces the pressure of marching and supplying.

Theoretically speaking, in addition to the south and north roads, there is another road to take, and that is to take the middle road - directly across the mountains sandwiched between Kyoto and Iga.

However, this is just like "troops march out of Ziwu Valley", they are military concepts that can only exist on paper.

The mountains that lie between Kyoto and Iga are basically... no, they are simply an undeveloped area!

Looking up, there are virgin forests everywhere, and there are not even any decent roads.

Based on the poor road conditions and the organization ability of the bandit army...if they forcefully take the middle road, their marching speed will be as slow as a tortoise.

Seito didn't have to do anything, just lead the Shinsengumi to block the place where they came out of the mountain.

When the rebel army walked out of the mountains miserably, Qingdeng charged forward without thinking, and was able to take away the exhausted and weak soldiers in one wave.

Therefore, there is no need to consider the middle way.

Of course, the bandit army can also choose to bypass Iga.

But this would require a very long detour.

Looking at the entire Gyeonggi region, except for the Osaka Plain and the Kyoto Basin, the rest of the area is steep and mountainous, and there are very few roads that can be taken.

If the bandit army chooses to bypass Iga, they will have to pass through most of the capital to reach Kyoto.

In this way, it not only took a long time, but also made the fatal mistake of "exposing one's butt to the enemy's front".

At that time, Qingto, who uses Iga as his base of attack, can take advantage of the geographical advantage of extending in all directions to directly send troops to cut off the supply line of the rebel army, or go one step further and quickly blitz the side of the rebel army and defeat it.

All in all, the so-called "debatable ground for military strategists" is nothing less than this.

Tokugawa... no, the key to victory or defeat between Ayoto and the bandit army lies in "Iga's ownership".

Iga is controlled by the former, and the initiative lies in Qingto's hands.

If Iga is lost, it will be troublesome.

When everyone's eyes focused on the location he pointed to, Qingdeng slowly said:

"Choosing the battlefield in Iga will not only effectively intercept the bandit army, but also occupy an overwhelming geographical advantage to make up for the lack of military strength."

In professional terms, this is called "the battlefield width is very narrow"

In layman's terms, it is "one man is in charge of the barrier, and ten thousand men are not allowed to open it"!

If the war starts in Iga, the bandit army with tens of thousands of troops will simply not be able to spread out in such a dangerous place.

Having said this, Aomori moved his fingertips from "Iga" to "Kyoto".

"Take half a day to assemble the army and prepare supplies, and march forward early tomorrow morning!"

"Take the shortest southern route, passing through Nara and Yagyu Domain, and reaching Iga."

Qingden's fingertips drew an "L" shape on the map.

"Build a city in Iga and then wait for work!"

The word "city" in Japanese and the word "city" in Chinese do not have the same meaning.

The latter refers specifically to "city", while the former mainly refers to "castle".

In other words, the "building a city" in Qingdeng's words, in modern vernacular, means "building a field defense bunker."

During the Warring States Period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi once made a major military achievement that is unknown whether it is true or not - "Sumama One Night Castle" - it does not mean that Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a city overnight, but that he built it in one night. A simple field fortress was built.

"Our army does not lack warriors who dare to charge into battle, but it only lacks cavalry that can be used to detect the enemy's situation, pursue and destroy enemy troops, as well as archers and iron gunners who can carry out long-range attacks."

"Let me think about it...Higo-sama, if you can lend me 20 cavalry, 20 archers and 20 iron gunners, I will be very confident to completely defeat the rebel army."

"Only sending 60 soldiers can supplement the combat power of our own army, and at the same time maintain the combat power of the Aizu Army to the greatest extent. Kill two birds with one stone."

Qingdeng finished explaining his military concept in a few words.

The combat plan he proposed, while ensuring the Shinsengumi's victory rate, can be said to not only echo the ideas of the "militant faction" headed by Sagawa Kanbei, but also take into account the "militant faction" headed by Saigo Norimu. The "blame-shifting" mentality of avoiding war.

Both Zhenfufu and Aizu saved their own face.

As Qingdeng finished speaking, the scene suddenly changed from "listening carefully" to "talking about it".

Matsudaira Yongho pondered, thinking.

After a while, he asked aloud:

"Building a city... Lord Tachibana, please forgive me for speaking frankly - do you have any generals under your command who know how to build a city?"

In Japan, which has yet to establish a systematic scientific and engineering knowledge system, city building is an absolutely rare skill.

Let a person who doesn't know anything about architecture build a city, let alone fences, horses, and watchtowers. He might not even be able to dig a trench well.

The technical content of building a city is so high that only a civil engineer can do it!

Even if the scope of investigation is widened to the entire history of Japan, there are still very few generals who are proficient in fortification.

There are even fewer people who know how to rely on field fortifications to fight wars - Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Warring States Period was one of this rare group.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a master who was very good at building forts and knew how to use field fortifications to attack the enemy.

Putting aside the "Sumama One Night Castle" that has many mysteries and unknown authenticity, he became the commander of a regiment under Oda Nobunaga and was responsible for the war in the Western Kingdom, and then he brought his castle-building skills to the extreme.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's series of military achievements in attacking the Mori clan have been compiled into a popular saying: "Hungry kills three trees, thirsty kills tottori, without a single soldier, the water overwhelms the tall pine trees."

When attacking the Mori clan's Miki Castle and Tottori Castle, he built an insane number of castles directly outside the cities, cutting off the supplies of the two cities and overwhelming the city defenders.

When attacking Takamatsu Castle in Bitchu, he showed new generosity - he built a dike nearly three kilometers long and more than seven meters high on the south side of the city, then dug the Ashimori River and released water to flood the city.

It has been nearly two hundred and fifty years since the Warring States Period, when war was rife.

To this day, whether there are still people who know the skills of building forts in the wild... This is indeed a very questionable question.

After listening to Matsudaira Yongho's question, Qingden smiled slightly.

"You don't have to worry about this."

"While I was serving as a side officer and an employee of the Imperial Palace, I didn't practice any other skills. I am very confident in my ability to wield a hoe, build mounds of earth, and cut wood!"

"'I was ordered to dredge the Kanda waterway in times of danger' - Higo-sama, you must have heard of this political achievement of mine, right?"

After listening to this, Matsudaira Yongho stopped saying anything and began to think again.

After a moment, he slowly and softly said:

"...Lord Tachibana, if we deploy according to your plan, there is indeed hope to defeat the bandit army at the least cost."

After that, he suddenly raised his head and declared loudly and forcefully:

"Okay! I hereby give an order - dispatch 20 cavalry, 20 archers and 20 iron gunners to support Lord Tachibana!"

Speaking of this, Matsudaira Yongho turned his head and looked at Sagawa Kanbei.

"Sagawa-kun! You will lead our soldiers. During the battle, everything will follow Tachibana-sama's instructions!"

Sagawa Kanbei lowered his head and responded respectfully:

"yes!"

Looking at Matsudaira Yongho who had already made a decision, Saigo Norimu frowned slightly, with a hint of hesitation between her brows.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more...but in the end he stopped talking.

He knew in his heart that it was impossible for Songping Rongbao, who was dedicated to assisting the government, not to help the Zhenfu Mansion.

Only 60 soldiers were sent to support Qingdeng... Although the 60 soldiers sent were very valuable technical units, this was the limit of what he could achieve.

Thinking of this, Xixiang Laimu obediently shut her mouth and stopped saying a word.

"ha……"

Shannan Jingsuke half-closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"We have been stationed in Kyoto for less than two months, and we are about to fight such a large-scale war..."

Qingdeng raised the corners of his mouth, eyes full of confidence flowing in his pupils.

"As I wish! I am eager for a vigorous war to test the training results of the soldiers!"

…

…

The next day——

Wenjiu three years (1863), April 2nd——

Kyoto, Mibu Township——

Rensheng Township and outside were crowded with people who came to watch the fun.

An uprising breaks out in Ise, and a large-scale rebel army is coming to Kyoto. Nio Tachibana Aoden will lead all the Shinsengumi soldiers, as well as part of the Aizu army soldiers, to send troops to quell the rebellion. As early as yesterday afternoon, this shocking news News of the force spread throughout the streets of Kyoto at an incredible speed.

The army is out on an expedition...how can we not join in the fun of such a unique grand occasion?

Under the eager anticipation of everyone, with a click, the door of the Shinsengumi camp was slowly pushed open.

At this time, everyone knew that the Shinsengumi was coming out soon, and they suddenly became nervous.

Then, a bright light onion color broke into their eyes.

I saw the Shinsengumi soldiers all wearing light green haori, lined up in two neat columns, and walked out of the gate slowly.

This is the first time the Shinsengumi uniforms have been unveiled to the public.

Looking at the impressive clothes, the people present showed various expressions.

There are people who express surprise, and there are also people who feel disdain.

Because the Shinsengumi is currently very small, with only about a hundred people in total, even if they line up in two columns, the length of the line is just that, so the people did not have to wait too long to see what they were most looking forward to seeing. situation.

"Moo~~"

With a loud braying of a cow, Qingden, who was riding on the back of Carrot, wearing a light green feathered fabric and wearing an ancient purple sword at his waist, appeared in front of everyone in a hurry.

Behind him is a large flag that is gently stretched by the gentle breeze - it is the "Sincerity Flag", the military flag of the Shinsengumi!

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The new month is here! Book lovers who have monthly tickets on hand, please be sure to vote for this book! (Crying leopard head.jpg)

Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

PS: Don't think Qingdeng riding a bull is stupid, just make the carrot brain look like a "mutated bull". In the setting of Leopard, Carrot looks like a Scottish Highland cow, with a furry body, a fat head and big ears. It has the strength of a cow and the speed of a horse.