I formed the strongest swordsman group

As Harada Sanosuke said, after a period of chaos, the Choshu army has gradually restored order.

Although there are still many drunkards running around and shouting, gradually, more and more people have recovered, gradually stabilized the order, led the team, and tried to fight back.

Just looking at the equipment and posture of these guys, you can know that they are well-trained elite soldiers.

In addition to common weapons such as spears and swords, the shadow of muskets can be vaguely seen.

Qing Deng wanted to make a big fuss again, but judging from the current situation, it is not suitable to stay here for long.

Anyway, I have seen what I want to see, and I will not suffer any loss if I withdraw now.

So, Qing Deng made a quick decision and immediately ordered:

"Let's go, retreat!"

After that, he tightened the reins in his hand and turned the bull's head.

Harada Sanosuke and others responded one after another, adjusting the direction with uniform movements.

The wedge-shaped cavalry column suddenly made a 180-degree turn, no longer attacking deep into the camp, but breaking out of the camp along the road they came from.

Seeing this, the soldiers of Changzhou around were all furious.

"Don't let them go!"

"Go!"

"Damn it! How dare you look down on us! You can't come and go as you please here?!"

A few dozen riders dared to rush straight into their camp, not only making a big fuss, but also retreating unscathed... If this matter spreads out, it will surely make the world laugh!

In order to save face and honor, countless soldiers of Changzhou rushed up from all directions, trying to intercept Qing Deng and others.

Of course, a person's two legs can't outrun the four hooves of a horse (cow).

Those holding long spears and swords are destined to be the atmosphere group, shouting a few times to increase the atmosphere.

The only ones who can effectively kill Qing Deng and others are the archers holding bows and muskets.

However, as we all know, crossbows are very delicate weapons.

Once it rains or snows, the bowstring gets wet, and the elasticity will be greatly reduced, which will greatly reduce the range and power of the arrow.

The same is true for guns and cannons.

When the bowstring gets wet, only the range and power are affected.

Whether it is a matchlock gun or a flintlock gun, if these guns get wet, they can't be used at all, and they will directly degenerate into fire sticks.

The shooting principle of the matchlock gun is to ignite the gunpowder with a burning matchlock.

The shooting principle of the flintlock gun is to use the flint to hit the fire gate to produce sparks to ignite the gunpowder.

Therefore, when using matchlock guns and flintlock guns, you need to spend a lot of effort to prevent moisture.

If you can't even shoot sparks, what's the point of firing?

At this moment, the soldiers of Choshu were in such a dilemma.

The wind and snow in the sky scrapped more than half of their long-range weapons.

Bows and arrows can't shoot far, and muskets can't be used.

Although there were occasional "bang", "bang", "bang" gunshots, these sporadic shootings... to put it nicely, it was better than nothing, to put it bluntly, it was useless!

During the breakout, Qing Deng did not forget to cause more trouble for the Choshu army.

He raised the Bizen Osafune in his hand, bit it in his mouth, then took off the Isezha Fuhiro from the saddle and turned half his body.

While turning around, he put an arrow on the bow.

Nature never favors anyone.

Since this snowstorm can make the archers of Choshu suffer, it will naturally have a negative impact on Qing Deng's shooting.

However, he directly relied on the super high performance of the bow in his hand, as well as his outstanding archery skills and superior brute force to make up for the negative impact of the snowstorm!

The next moment after he pulled the bow like a full moon, the power accumulated in his arms suddenly bounced out - whoosh!

The arrow broke through the air.

The night swallowed the arrow in an instant - the sound of something falling to the ground came from a distance.

Immediately afterwards, a shrill cry overwhelmed most of the sounds at the scene.

"The torches have fallen! Put out the fire quickly!!"

In the Edo period, people's fear of fire was deep-rooted.

Instantly, invisible fear spread rapidly among the Choshu army.

Qing Deng did not shoot anyone again, but drew his bow and shot at the torches!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One arrow after another, Qing Deng repeatedly drew his bow, and his arrows never missed.

These torches that were shot down were either planted in the snow and extinguished in a short while; or fell on the tents, turning them into "fire tents".

In order to suppress the fire, the Choshu army had to allocate some troops to put out the fire.

In this way, it was even more difficult to form a joint force to encircle and suppress Qing Deng and others.

Facing this sparse and fragile encirclement, Qing Deng and others were unable to resist.

In this way, Qing Deng and his men broke through the layers of blockades of the Changzhou soldiers without any danger, stepped through the camp, and left...

The Changzhou soldiers "huffed and puffed" to catch up.

Until they could no longer run, they stood there in a daze, looking at the gradually distant and disappeared figures of Qing Deng and his men in the blink of an eye.

In fact, it took less than 10 minutes from the time Qing Deng and his men entered the camp to the time they left in a swagger.

But in this short 10 minutes, Qing Deng and his men brought an indescribable shock to the Changzhou soldiers with their invincible and fierce offensive!

Not only did they kill and injure countless people, but they also destroyed countless facilities.

The Changzhou camp, which was originally neat and orderly, has now become extremely chaotic.

There are broken bodies everywhere.

The ground is trampled into mud everywhere.

There are cries of pain and wailing everywhere.

Compared with 10 minutes ago, the contrast between before and after is so huge that it is jaw-dropping!

The Changzhou generals looked at each other and looked at each other - they all found strong surprise, uneasiness and fear on each other's faces.

…

…

Yizhoukou, the shogunate camp——

After learning that Ayoto and others had returned safely, Hijikata Toshizo, Shannan Keisuke and others immediately led their generals to wait outside the camp.

After a while, the triumphant team appeared in front of them in the distance.

Even though they were still quite a distance apart, they could still smell the stench of blood.

The commotion caused by Ayoto and others was so great that it once reached the shogunate camp several kilometers away.

Although they had expected it, many people at the scene couldn't help but be surprised when Qingdeng and others returned.

To put it simply, for the whole team, the sword must see blood and the horse (ox) must gasp!

Even the cavalry at the end of the queue, the least likely to encounter the enemy, had a lot of blood splattered on them.

Not to mention Ayoto and Harada Sanosuke who were always charging ahead - they scrapped another piece of clothing.

Such a large area of ​​blood stains cannot be cleaned even if the fabric is damaged.

Because they had just left the battlefield, there was a faint translucent heat - heat rising from their body temperature and uncooled blood - wafting out from their bodies.

During this expedition, many "newcomers" came who had rarely or even never seen Qingdeng before.

For example, the Lord of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, and the Lord of Echizen Domain, Matsudaira Shigeaaki, had had little interaction with Ayoto before.

Witnessing with their own eyes the God of War who dared to charge straight into the enemy camp with only a few dozen cavalry, and returned safely after being covered in blood, they couldn't help but swallow, their heads unconsciously lowered a bit, not daring to look directly at Qingdeng.

As for those who had known Qingdeng's abilities for a long time, most of them looked at Qingdeng with admiration.

Hijikata Toshizo glanced at the team behind Qingden and grinned:

"It seems like no one is left behind. This surprise attack tonight will probably go down in history."

After rushing out of the enemy camp, Qingdeng had already counted the personnel - there were no casualties!

No one was injured, and no one died... Such a record is truly terrifying!

Therefore, Hijikata Toshizo is not exaggerating. Tonight's night attack is indeed enough to leave a name in the history of Huanghuangqing.

Although Qingdeng and others were impeccable to count the results of this battle, it is certain that they caused considerable damage to the Changzhou Building.

For the Changzhou Army, compared to the material losses, the damage to morale is more serious and fatal!

Before the war officially started, his camp was attacked. He suffered heavy casualties but was unable to stop the attackers... It was simply a concrete portrayal of the word "coward"!

It is not difficult to imagine that people in the Changzhou camp opposite must be in panic now, and there is an atmosphere of uneasiness in the air.

After a hearty victory, Harada Sanosuke, who felt extremely happy in his heart, looked up to the sky and smiled:

"Hahahaha! It's so refreshing! The dog thieves in Changshu must have seen the power of the 'Immortal Harada'!"

Strangely enough, there is a clear contrast between Harada Sanosuke and Aoto.

He was laughing wildly, but looking at Qingdeng next to him... he did not show any smile or joy, but instead had a straight face, looking thoughtful.

As if he had read through his mind, Shannan Keisuke stepped forward and asked in a deep voice:

"Tachibana-kun, how is the situation?"

Qingdeng shrugged and said calmly:

"The total strength of the enemy's army is similar to what we expected. It is about 2,000 people. The quality of the soldiers varies."

"The vast majority of people are like temporarily recruited peasant soldiers, and only a few are well-trained warriors."

"Unfortunately, the Raiders are not on the other side."

Hijikata Suisan on the side listened and said silently without sadness or joy:

"This is troublesome. The worst situation has happened."

Qingdeng smiled helplessly and nodded gently:

"Yeah, this is the worst situation..."

Qingdeng is not afraid of encountering strong enemies, let alone encountering the surprise team directly - rather, these situations are what he likes to see.

Encountering a strong enemy is not terrible.

The terrible thing is that there is no strong enemy!

Because they were afraid of the military power of the shogunate, the Qibei Army collapsed without a fight - Aintome did not think that this army founded and trained by Takasugi Shinsaku would be so weak.

So, if the Raiders aren't here, where are they?

Deployed in the hinterland of Changzhou?

Would the commanders of Changzhou really be so stupid to give up a great geographical advantage and use their own shortcomings to attack others' strengths?

Deployed in two other battlefields?

The troops in Shizhoukou and Xiaocangkou directions only made feint attacks. As long as Changzhou's attention and military strength were captured, it would be considered a success.

Even if Changzhou wins on these two battlefields, it will not have any impact on the war situation.

After thinking this, Qingdeng turned his head expressionlessly and looked at the Changzhou camp behind him.

The wind and snow have not stopped tonight, and there is no chance of the fire spreading.

Therefore, although Qingdeng shot down many torches when he left, causing the Changzhou camp to burst into flames, with the cooperation of the Changzhou generals, the fire gradually stopped, and they did not have to worry about having no tents to live in tonight.

Looking at the gradually quiet camp, Qingdeng couldn't help but think to himself:

——Changzhou...What on earth is he doing?

…

…

The next day, early morning——

It snowed for a while, until the sky turned white, and then it gradually stopped.

Although the snow had stopped, the sky was still gray, as if it was filled with lead.

The sun pierced through the clouds with difficulty, and scattered weakly and lightly like dust all over the ground, illuminating the armor and weapons of the soldiers of both armies.

Woo——! Woo——! Woo——! Woo——! Woo——!

As soon as the sky brightened, the loud sound of the horn came from the position of the shogunate army.

In an instant, the air in the mouth of the Yizhou was filled with a solemn atmosphere!

Along with the urging horn sound, the sound of footsteps like muffled thunder sounded immediately.

Teams of soldiers left the camp and lined up in the wild.

The shogunate sent 200,000 troops to conquer Choshu - in fact, it is easy to imagine that these numbers are purely for scaring people.

The shogunate did mobilize 36 feudal domains this time, with a total of 200,000 troops, and these numbers are indeed real numbers.

But the problem is that it takes time to assemble the army.

Given the road conditions in the Edo period and the poor enthusiasm of the feudal domains, it would take until the beginning of next spring for the 200,000 troops to be fully assembled.

Therefore, the troops that have arrived at the front are far less than 200,000.

There are about 30,000 troops that have arrived at Ishishuguchi, 20,000 at Kokuraguchi, and just over 40,000 at Geishuguchi, and the rest are still on the way.

Although less than half of the troops have arrived at the front, Qing Deng doesn't want to wait any longer.

Since the main forces, the Shinsengumi, Aizu Army, and Satsuma Army have all arrived, there is no need to wait any longer!

Anyway, the other troops are just to make up the numbers and only to boost the momentum. It doesn't matter whether they help or not.

Of course, although the troops have not arrived, the scene of 40,000 troops in line is already spectacular!

Looking up, square military formations of varying sizes stretch across the wilderness, and the end of the formation can't be seen at a glance!

The shogunate army is lining up one after another, waiting to attack.

On the other hand, the Choshu army on the opposite side was very quiet, without any conspicuous movements. One could only vaguely see many soldiers climbing up the walls of the camp, looking nervous and ready for battle.

The facilities destroyed by Qing Deng and others last night have been largely repaired after a night of emergency repairs.

It seems that they are planning to defend the camp to the death.

A very smart choice.

If they abandon the solid camp and run to the field to fight a decisive battle with the shogunate army with superior manpower, it would be suicide.

Although the Eishuguchi is a narrow area with mountains on one side and the sea on the other, there is no fortress like Shanhaiguan and Hulaoguan built here. It is just a large camp built with wood - the camp where the Choshu army is currently stationed and defending.

The reason for this is that the shogunate has been suppressing the various feudal domains for a hundred years.

In the first year of Genwa (1615), the Edo shogunate, which had just been established, issued the "One Country, One Castle Order".

That is, in a feudal state, only one city inhabited by the daimyo and used as the government office can be retained, and the rest must be abolished.

Most of these abandoned cities were mountain castles with military defense functions built during the Kamakura shogunate period.

In this way, most of the cities were demolished, and there were no longer castles like in the Warring States period, and the strength of the feudal domains was greatly weakened.

Therefore, although Choshu is large, it only has Hagi Castle (Choshu's feudal office).

Because it is impossible to build a city, the strategic passes represented by the "Five Borders" in Choshu's territory are just a large stockade built with wood.

Although there are defensive functions, they are not many, and basically can only play a role that is better than nothing.

Let alone the iron walls of Shanhaiguan and Hulaoguan, even if Choshu built an ordinary city with bricks and stones at Geishukou, it would be a huge nightmare for the shogunate army.

At this moment, the busiest unit in the shogunate army is the 11th Division (artillery unit) of the Shinsengumi.

"Hurry up! Don't dawdle! Pull up all the cannons! Today's battle is the first battle of this expedition! Our 11th Division will show the power of the Shinsengumi!"

Nomura Risaburo (vice-captain of the 11th Division) shouted and commanded the soldiers of the 11th Division in an orderly manner.

One after another, the cannons were pushed out and transported to the firing position.

The black muzzles pointed obliquely to the sky, facing the Choshu position opposite.

While the 11th Division was preparing for the artillery attack, Abe Juro (captain of the 11th Division) was in the main camp, waiting for Qing Deng's order.

Qing Deng sat on the stool with a big horse and a golden sword, looking at the enemy opposite with an expressionless face.

The generals sat on the left and right sides below him in order according to their status.

To be honest, even at this moment, Qing Deng still didn't understand what Choshu was up to, and didn't understand where the special forces that Choshu hoped for had gone.

However, it is always right to try to defeat the Choshu army on the opposite side and occupy the Aishukou.

Since the formation of the artillery team, Qing Deng has gradually become path-dependent in the use of tactics - no matter what, let's fire a few shots first!

Soon, after receiving the news that "the 11th Division is ready", he gave an order to Abe Juro without any sadness or joy:

"Fire! Break through Aishukou within half a day!"

Abe Juro responded loudly:

"Yes!"

Then, he picked up the hem of his hakama and hurried back to the artillery position.

According to convention, a standard shot was fired first.

Abe Juro pulled open the telescope, glanced at the position of the Choshu camp, and quickly issued an order:

"Lift up 5 degrees! Turn right 13 degrees! Fire!"

Boom!

The artillery group responsible for firing the standard shells completed the shooting with smooth movements.

The flying artillery shells drew sharp parabolas in mid-air and hit heavily near the Changzhou camp.

With a bang, the explosion spread in all directions.

This cannonball, this explosion, startled countless birds! The silence at the scene was broken!

Juro Abe glanced at the impact point of the cannonball, and immediately issued new, more accurate instructions:

"Move up 4 degrees, turn right 10 degrees! Prepare for salvo!"

This time, it's no longer a baseline shot, but a formal attack!

Gululululu...!

There was a loud sound of turning the handle and adjusting the muzzle.

After each cannon pointed at the same target, Juro Abe shouted at the loudest volume he could:

"put!!"

In an instant, each artillery gun sprayed out dazzling tongues of flame!

The cannonballs rose high and then fell like raindrops towards the Changzhou camp.

The air was filled with invisible roars and roars.

A moment later, the flames from the shell's explosion lit up the sky.

The flames jumped up like a fountain, and the Changzhou camp was engulfed by the flames.

Cleaning the barrel, filling in new shells, and firing - all the actions and processes of the 11th Squadron are really orderly and well-trained.

Countless artillery shells streaked across the sky one after another, and the barrage continued.

Even Yōho Matsudaira and others, who had seen the power of the Shinsengumi Artillery Team before, couldn't help but feel a chill on the back of their necks and a change of color on their faces.

Even they were like this, let alone Tokugawa Keikatsu, Matsudaira Shigeaki and others who met the Shinsengumi and saw this scene for the first time.

One by one, they were all dumbfounded, and a few of them even had their jaws almost dropped to the ground.

Invisibly, Seito once again demonstrated the strength of the Shinsengumi and demonstrated his absolute dominance in Gyeonggi!

After a brief shock, the Lord of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, gradually came back to his senses.

Later, I saw him flattering Qingdeng with a flattering smile:

"General Tachibana, your new Sengumi... is really amazing..."

He hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing out the word "incredible".

There was nothing he could do about it. This unprecedented situation shocked him greatly.

After exhausting everything he had learned in his lifetime, he could not think of a more appropriate and accurate word.

Faced with Tokugawa Qingsheng's compliments, Qingden smiled slightly and greeted him casually.

Qingdeng originally thought that he would encounter a counterattack from the Changzhou Artillery Team next.

Unexpectedly...after waiting for a long time, the artillery shells from Changzhou never arrived.

Regarding this current situation, Toudo Heisuke expressed the questions in everyone’s mind:

"Changzhou...doesn't there be cannons?"

Although Changzhou has always practiced the political philosophy of "respecting and opposing foreigners", their army has a certain number of guns and artillery.

Although the guns and cannons they used were antiques, what was certain was that the Changzhou Army was not a purely feudal army.

In the Battle of Shimonoseki and the Summer Battle of Kyoto, there are records of Choshu generals using guns and artillery.

Why didn't the Changzhou Army fight back with artillery? It’s not like all the cannons were lost in previous wars—this question lingered in everyone’s mind.

"..."

Qingdeng said nothing, frowning slightly while staring closely at the Changzhou Army who was knocked upside down by the hail of shells.

After the 11th Squadron launched more than ten rounds of shelling, Qingdeng slowly issued a new order:

"Team 8, go into battle!"

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