I formed the strongest swordsman group

Accompanied by the sound of "boom" and "boom", the steam warship pushed away the sea water and smashed the waves, like an indescribable terrifying monster.

The dark and turbid smoke passed through the chimney and drifted into the distant sky.

Yamata no Orochi stood at the bow of the flagship, holding the railing with both hands, leaning forward, and sticking his head out of the side of the ship, looking at the coast getting closer and closer, and laughing.

"Very good! Very good! That's it! Go straight to the coast! Faster! Faster!"

Mael de Orleans, who was standing beside him, reminded faintly:

"This is already the fastest speed, it is impossible to speed up."

As soon as he finished speaking, a big wave rushed from the bottom of the sea and hit the belly of the flagship without bias.

No matter how huge and powerful the ship is, it is as small as a sesame seed compared to the vast ocean.

In an instant, the warship that was hit by this big wave began to shake violently.

Fortunately, Yamata no Orochi and Maer held the boat railing tightly, otherwise they would have been thrown out.

Faced with such danger, Yamata no Orochi not only showed no fear, but laughed heartily:

"Hahahahaha! Oh sea! Is this all you can do? This little wave can't kill me!"

Upon hearing this, Maer's expression suddenly changed and his face sank.

"Hey! Orochi! Don't say such unlucky words on the sea! It will really come true!"

As we all know, those who make a living by the sea, or those who go to sea frequently, often show a superstitious side. For example, when eating fish, you can't say "turn the fish over", but "turn the fish over".

These are not absurd superstitions, but experience.

The sea is so mysterious and terrifying that going out to sea is often accompanied by unspeakable metaphysics.

Over time, various seemingly superstitious rules have been passed down.

As an arms merchant who often goes to sea for business, Maer is also half a sailor.

Therefore, he was particularly averse to these unlucky words, especially those that directly challenged the sea.

At this time, Nune, holding a feather woven in her hand, hurried out of the cabin and rushed towards Yamata no Orochi.

"Lord Orochi! It's dangerous here! And you shouldn't be exposed to the wind for a long time! Please go back to the cabin!"

She said, pulling up the feather woven in her hand and draping it on Yamata no Orochi's back.

"No need!"

Yamata no Orochi shrugged and shook off the feather woven by Nune.

"I'm in great shape now! I'm warm all over!"

"The plan to overthrow the shogunate that has been prepared for many years is finally implemented tonight!"

"At such a wonderful moment, how can I not be the 'chief'? Hahahahaha!"

After that, he raised his right arm, pointed to the coast that was close at hand, and shouted with full momentum:

"Go! Land on Nobi! Sound the death knell for the shogunate!"

...

...

At this moment——

Flagship, cabin——

Although this cabin is a cargo hold specially used to load cargo, it can also be used to load people.

After simply renovating the cabin, some members of the special forces lived here.

The roar of the waves came repeatedly from outside the cabin.

The candles in the cabin weakly emitted dim light.

The atmosphere was depressing... No one in the cabin spoke, only groaning and vomiting.

Anyone who has had experience in boating knows that boating is a technical job.

Some people have a very high "affinity" for ships and the sea.

No matter how the ship shakes or how turbulent the waves are, he still eats everything without any discomfort.

Of course, these talented people are only a minority.

Most people will feel extremely uncomfortable if they go to sea without training.

In comparison, the sea tonight is relatively calm.

There is no wind or rain.

However, even so, the waves are enough to make the special forces in the cabin drink a pot.

First the body floated up, then fell down, over and over again, the strong sense of weightlessness dominated the internal organs, and there was a faint feeling of wanting to pee.

The resulting brain swelling and dizziness were unbearable.

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!"

"Hey! Damn it! You vomited on me!"

"What did you eat today? Why is it so smelly?!"

In addition to the depressing atmosphere, the air in this cabin was also filled with an unpleasant sour smell.

Vomit all over the floor... People who lost consciousness due to seasickness were everywhere...

Even the strong swordsman Katsura Kogoro could not resist the power of nature.

"Ugh...! Ugh...!"

He was seen sitting cross-legged in the corner of the cabin, his face as white as paper, his cheeks without a trace of blood, and his facial features wrinkled in pain.

Although he did not vomit as much as others, anyone could see that his current condition was very bad, and he was afraid that he could not even stand up.

"Come, Katsura, apply this ointment to your temples."

Takasugi Shinsaku suddenly walked up to Katsura Kogoro and handed him the ointment.

Katsura Kogoro took the tube of ointment without knowing why, took a look at it, and asked weakly:

"Ointment...? What kind of ointment is this...?"

Takasugi Shinsaku spread his hands:

"I don't know either. This is what Inoue-kun just gave me. He said that applying it to the temples can effectively relieve seasickness."

Inoue-kun - that is, Inoue Mounda.

In the third year of Bunkyu (1863), Inoue Wenta, Ito Shunsuke and other five people were sent by Choshu to study in England.

After the Shimonoseki War began, Inoue Munta and Ito Shunsuke returned home urgently, advocating for military subservience and trying to conduct peace negotiations.

The short career of studying abroad changed their thinking from "blindly resisting foreigners" to "building a country and making progress".

People like them are destined to be tolerated by radicals.

Not only did the two of them fail to prevent the outbreak of the Xiaguan War, but they were also denounced by the radicals as "national traitors who cheated on others."

Afterwards, Inoue Mundo was unfortunately assassinated by radicals and was seriously injured and on the verge of death. He finally managed to save his life.

Under the deliberate suppression of the radicals, the two were never allowed to be reused.

It was not until the radicals fell that the two of them finally came to the fore.

Now, they have become the key training targets of Gui and Takasugi.

This battle is of great significance and is related to the future of Changzhou's national destiny.

After repeated discussions, Katsura Kogoro and Takasugi Shinsaku decided to let Shunsuke Ito stay in Hagi and take charge of the overall situation.

As for Inoue Wenduo, he will go to sea with them to join the war!

Wen Ting heard that the medicine was sent by Inoue Wenduo. Gui Xiaogoro did not doubt that he had it. He directly unscrewed the medicine tube, squeezed out the ointment, and applied it to his temples.

In an instant, a mint-like cooling sensation centered on his temples and spread to his forehead and back of his head, and he suddenly felt much better.

Katsura Kogoro, who was a little more energetic, raised his eyes, looked at Takasugi Shinsaku beside him, and asked in a half-joking tone:

"Takasugi-kun, is it possible that you are the kind of person who is born to be blessed by the sea and will never get seasick?"

After hearing this, Takasugi Shinsaku sneered a few times:

"Hmph! How is that possible!"

"I'm just more experienced than you."

"Have you forgotten? Three years ago, I traveled across the ocean and went to Shanghai."

Katsura Kogoro said "Oh" softly.

"I almost forgot...there is indeed such a thing..."

In the first year of Bunkyu (1861), the feudal lord Mouri Qingqin (Moori respects relatives) allowed Shinsaku to inspect overseas.

In February of the following year, when the shogunate sent the "Chitose Maru" to Shanghai for trade, he went with the ship along with Tomohou the Fifth of the Satsuma Domain and Nakamu Kuranosuke of the Saga Domain.

In early June, "Chitose Maru" arrived in Shanghai.

During the two months that Shinsaku Takasugi stayed in Shanghai, he took every possible method to observe the situation in China.

Watching the foreign merchant ships racing in and out of Tianjin Port; watching the rows of foreign commercial shops in the city streets; watching the groups of foreign sailors disembarking from warships to perform tasks; watching the Waibaidu Bridge, which is only open to foreigners for free... Takasugi Shinsaku felt worried.

This "trip to Shanghai" completely changed Takasugi Shinsaku.

He changed from a radical like Kusaka Genzui to a liberal like Katsura Kogoro.

In August of that year, as soon as Shinsaku Takasugi returned to Nagasaki, he acted on his own initiative and hastily initialed an agreement to purchase warships with Dutch businessmen on behalf of the feudal clan. However, this was not only rejected by the clan, but was also rumored to be a laughing stock for a while.

"Hey... I really didn't expect that..."

The past events came to mind... Takasugi Shinsaku sat next to Katsura Kogoro with an expression filled with emotion.

“The bastard who was always ridiculed every time he proposed ‘purchase warships and strengthen coastal defense’, today actually took a black ship and embarked on the road of ‘conquering Edo and destroying Tokugawa’.”

"Hahaha! Being able to experience such a heroic act in person, my name as 'Toyo Ichikura' is not in vain!"

Black Ship - Affected by the "Black Ship Incident", even today, 11 years later, many people still refer to steamships that emit black smoke as "black ships".

Katsura Kogoro listened quietly, smiled slightly, then turned his head and looked to the west.

"I don't know what's going on in Changzhou now..."

Takasugi Shinsaku tilted his head and said calmly:

"If nothing else happens, the Shogun army should have broken through Yizhoukou and reached Zhounan."

Katsura Kogoro let out a sigh of relief.

"Then we have to speed up... We must capture Edo before Hagi Castle is captured. At this point, there is no room for us to back down or regret...!"

Takasugi Shinsaku nodded lightly:

"Well, that's right... We can't turn back anymore, we can only continue on this 'Way of Shura' to the end...!"

…

…

The only post on the shore that could be called "coastal defense" had been bombarded by indiscriminate artillery.

Under the intensive bombardment of the artillery rain, there was nothing else on the shore except sand and gravel, damaged wood, and blackened human body parts.

Therefore, the landing of Katsura Kogoro and others was extremely smooth, as smooth as if they were walking in their own yard.

The three warships reached the shore effortlessly.

Finally able to return to land and get rid of the pain of seasickness - with this joy, everyone rushed over the rope ladder on the side of the ship, boarded the boat, and screamed as the water rushed to the beach.

After landing, they organized themselves into teams and arrayed in an orderly and rapid manner.

"Don't wait! Run! Everyone, run! Hurry up and line up!"

"Well... damn... I'm still feeling dizzy... let me slow down..."

"Stop whining! There's no time for you to rest now!"

"We must race against time now! Seize Nagoya Castle before Owari Clan reacts! If we don't get the food and grass from Nagoya Castle, we will all starve to death in a few days!"

Nagoya Castle - the feudal hall of the Owari Domain.

It is worth mentioning that the people currently busy grabbing the beach are not only the members of the Raiders, but also a large number of Westerners.

It was as if some agreement had been reached in advance. The two groups of people did not interfere with each other and each was busy with its own business.

The Raiders occupy the east side of the coast, and these Westerners occupy the west side of the coast.

When it comes to discipline, the latter is no worse than the former.

After successfully landing ashore, they organized the formation consciously without the command of others.

Although these Westerners have different looks, their facial features are surprisingly consistent.

Pale skin, eye sockets so deep that they could fill an egg, high cheekbones, high nose bridge, medium build, and luxuriant hair...

If you are involved in European ethnology, you will definitely be able to see at a glance: these are the facial features of the Slavs!

After the forward troops completed the landing, Yamata no Orochi, Katsura Kogoro and others left the flagship and took a small boat ashore.

"Huh... I have been at sea for a long time and suddenly returned to stable land. I was a little uncomfortable for a while."

Yamata no Orochi clasped his hands behind his back, talking to himself, while striding forward, walking to the center of the beach, and then changed his gaze like appreciating art, looking around with interest at the craters that were blasted by random artillery fire. beach.

"Orochi-sama, wait for us, don't go too far on your own..."

Shuten Doji smiled bitterly while leading the cadres to follow Yamata no Orochi.

Take a closer look...the lineup around Yamata no Orochi is extremely luxurious!

Otakemaru, Otakemaru's younger sister Suzu, Shuten Doji, Umibozu, Su Nuo, Ushiki, Ruoname... Except for Tamamo Mae who stayed behind, Yamata no Orochi brought all the cadres he could bring!

Katsura Kogoro and Takasugi Shinsaku slowly moved to the left and right of Yamata no Orochi.

"..."

Katsura Kogoro said nothing, with a dazed expression. He glanced around and blinked his eyes vigorously, as if to confirm whether he was dreaming and whether there was anything wrong with his eyes.

After a while, he lowered his head, looked at the beach belonging to the Owari clan at his feet, and murmured:

"The 'surprise attack on the thick tail'... actually succeeded...!"

When Yamata no Orochi heard his words, he looked up to the sky and smiled:

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Kui-kun, Takasugi-kun, how are you? Did I say that right?"

"Our 'Amanuma Spear' is not an unrealistic plan! We will definitely succeed!"

"Tiannuma Spear" - the overthrow plan that the Fanzhu Party has been preparing for many years is actually not complicated and can be roughly divided into "two steps".

The first step was to launch a surprise attack on Owari Domain from the sea, capture Nagoya Castle, and seize Owari Domain's supplies.

The second step is to use Nagoya Castle as the base and divide the troops into two groups. One way is to set up a defense line to block the marching army and prevent it from returning to reinforce Kanto; the other way is to move east to attack Edo! Destroy the shogunate!

At first glance, this plan seems quite bold, almost crazy.

But if you look into it carefully, you will find that this plan is not a fantasy, it is quite feasible!

Just by choosing Owari Domain as a landing place, there are quite a few ways to do it.

First of all, it is definitely unrealistic to directly attack Edo by surprise.

The "Black Ship Incident" of that year disgraced the shogunate.

The shogunate learned a lesson from this and felt that the coastal defense force was insufficient, so it put "coastal defense" on the agenda.

These factions within the shogunate, such as the "Ichitsubashi Faction" and the "Nanki Faction", which usually only hinder each other, rarely reach a common opinion on this matter.

If there is anyone among the ministers who can engage in coastal defense, it is undoubtedly Katsurin Taro.

As early as several years ago, Katsurin Taro, who was well versed in maritime affairs, was sent to Edo Bay to build coastal defense guns.

Under the careful design and construction of Katsu Rintaro, the defense power of Edo Bay was greatly increased.

Although it is far from an iron-clad wall, it is not something that can be broken through with just 2 or 3 steam battleships.

Holding on to that coastal defense gun and forcefully breaking into Edo Bay... Although this cannot be said to be a suicide, it is undoubtedly a life-or-death outcome!

Furthermore, Edo Bay is so close to Edo that it is not an exaggeration to say it is just a stone’s throw away.

After discovering something strange in Edo Bay, the shogunate was able to quickly gather troops to block the landing.

Therefore, forcing the invasion of Edo Bay was actually the worst of the worst.

Since Edo Bay is out of reach, there are only a few optional targets left.

Although Japan is a long and narrow island country, due to its mountainous and hilly terrain, there are few flat areas, and its coastline is winding and serpentine, so there are only a few suitable areas for landing.

In fact, if you consider "attacking Edo", there is no need to think about it at all - the most ideal landing place is undoubtedly Owari Domain!

The reason why I dare to make this conclusion is mainly due to three considerations.

First, Owari Domain is close to the sea and has excellent natural bays suitable for landing.

Secondly, there is Tokai Street connecting Owari Domain to Edo, so transportation is convenient.

Donghai Street is the most popular and mature avenue among the "Five Streets".

If we march on the streets of Tokai, if everything goes well, we will reach Edo Castle in just 10 days!

Third, the lord of the Owari Domain, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, personally led some of the domain's troops to participate in the Battle of March, so the military strength of the domain was weak and the defense was empty.

At this time, the attack on Owari Domain encountered little resistance.

Fourth, the Owari Domain is a powerful domain with a height of 620,000 stone, and sufficient supplies are stored in the domain hall Nagoya Castle.

The most difficult aspect of a cross-ocean surprise attack is the supply of supplies.

Thousands of men and horses, and the food they eat every day, this is not a small number.

Although the steam battleship is huge, it can only carry a limited amount of things.

After loading the difficult-to-replenish weapons and ammunition into the cabin, there is not much space left to load food, medicine and other supplies.

Although Owari Domain was dragged down by the corrupt domain government, it was still a powerful domain that owned most of the Nobi Plain. In terms of the abundance of materials, it was far ahead of other domains.

As long as Nagoya Castle was captured, sufficient materials would be obtained to capture Edo! The issue of supply was easily solved.

Just when Yamata no Orochi was feeling proud, Maer beside him said calmly:

"Orochi, don't be too happy too soon."

"It's far from time to celebrate."

"If we don't take Nagoya Castle as soon as possible, the subsequent 'capture of Edo' and 'destroy the shogunate' will be out of the question."

Although Maer's cold water seemed unkind, what he said was not wrong at all.

Due to the lack of material reserves on the ship, although Yamata no Orochi and others successfully landed tonight, it seems quite glorious, but their current situation is not good at all.

The remaining food and grass in the cabin are only enough for them to use for 2 days!

In other words, if Nagoya Castle is not captured within 2 days and the materials in the city are seized, let alone "destroying the shogunate", self-preservation will become a problem!

How to attack Nagoya Castle quickly and quickly, and how to ensure that the ministers of Owari Domain will not burn the treasury in desperation...all these things are related to their future fate.

Faced with Mahel's cold water, Yamata no Orochi was not annoyed, and nodded calmly.

"Well, Mr. Orleans, you are right, 'landing on the Nobi' is just the beginning, we still have a lot to do next... cough, cough cough cough! Cough cough!"

The weak Yamata no Orochi knelt on the ground with a painful face before he finished speaking, coughing constantly.

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PS: It's autumn in Guangzhou, and the temperature has dropped sharply. It's so cold. As we all know, seals are animals that are keen on hibernation, so Baobaozi's mental state has been quite sluggish recently, and he needs everyone's monthly tickets to stimulate it! (Baoweiwei.jpg)