I formed the strongest swordsman group

"'Fighting for Mr. Tachibana'...? Harada-kun, please forgive me, why do you think that as long as you follow Mr. Tachibana, the beautiful world will eventually come? He is not a god or a Buddha."

Shannan Keisuke frowned slightly and asked an explicit question without any tact.

Harada Sanosuke's reply was equally straightforward:

"Hey, intuition!"

"S-Intuition?"

Under the stunned gaze of Shannan Keisuke, Harada Sanosuke scratched his hair and continued:

"Although this statement seems childish, my intuition really tells me: if you trust Mr. Tachibana more, you will definitely not go wrong!"

"My instincts have always been pretty good."

"It is precisely because of this precise intuition that I have saved myself from danger many times."

"So... Mr. Shannan, you might as well trust Mr. Tachibana more."

"You should know better than me how capable Mr. Tachibana is."

Shannan Keisuke gritted his teeth:

"But... great ability does not mean that he has the ability to command the world like Yutang..."

"Mr. Tachibana can do it!"

Sonorous and powerful words interrupted the hesitant murmurs.

Harada Sanosuke stared straight at Shannan Keisuke, his firm and unconfused gaze making the latter subconsciously look away and not dare to look at each other.

"Mr. Ju, hasn't he made thousands of people of Qinjin Fan live a peaceful and stable life?"

"Although there is still a long way to go before the 'Yu and Tang Dynasties', at least with the protection of Mr. Ju, no one with short eyes will dare to cause trouble in Qinjin!"

"Mr. Shannan, what I say next may be strange, I hope you can hear it until the end."

"I think you underestimate Mr. Tachibana too much."

"Do you really think that Mr. Tachibana's lifelong ambition is just to be the lord of a city and a place, and then work peacefully for Tokugawa and guard the border for the shogunate?"

As soon as these words came out, Shannan Keisuke seemed to hear some "magic sound", his demeanor suddenly changed, and even his face turned pale. He subconsciously raised his eyes and looked at the tent, beware that the wall had ears.

"Harada-kun, don't say such nonsense!"

Harada Sanosuke ignored his warning and continued on his own:

"No! Now that things have happened, I must make my words clear!"

"It is true that Mr. Tachibana always looks calm and has no desires or desires."

"But my intuition tells me: Mr. Tachibana always has huge ambition hidden deep in his heart!"

"I'm not lying! I have evidence!"

"How can a person who has no intention of competing for the world work tirelessly to strengthen the Qinjin clan's national power and improve the Shinsengumi's combat power?"

"If it is to maintain the stability of the capital, then our current combat power is too much!"

"Mr. Orange's current energy is enough to conquer the world!"

"I guess it's probably because Mr. Tachibana has a very deep friendship with Mr. Dashu and Mr. Ootai, so he can't bear to challenge the shogunate."

"Therefore, I often can't help but think: If one day, the Great Tree Lord and the Great Odaisho are no longer around, will Mr. Tachibana be able to show his 'ambition' without any scruples?"

"What kind of world does Mr. Tachibana want--I don't have a good brain, so I don't have a clue."

"However, I can be sure... No, I can be sure that Mr. Tachibana will never consciously let the farmers live a miserable life in order to maintain his own status."

"I want to follow Mr. Orange and conquer the world!"

"I want to see with my own eyes what kind of world Mr. Tachibana will create!"

"The above are the words from the bottom of my heart, Harada Sanosuke."

"Mr. Shannan, if you are interested, please continue to witness with me."

"If one day Mr. Tachibana disappoints us... at least there will be one more person to complain to."

Sanosuke Harada finished speaking.

He ended his impassioned speech with a smile and a teasing tone.

"..."

Shannan Jingsuke was silent for a long time, his eyes flickering.

After a while, he slowly spoke - accompanied by a self-deprecating smile.

"...Harada-kun, you impress me with admiration."

"To be honest, I always thought you were stupid."

"Now it seems... maybe you are the number one wise man of the Shinsengumi!"

"The so-called 'great wisdom is like a fool' probably refers to people like you."

Harada Sanosuke laughed:

"Mr. Shannan, you have given me the award!"

"I can't bear the responsibility of being as wise as a fool or something like that."

"I am indeed very stupid. If I had been smart, I wouldn't be unable to recognize all Chinese characters today!"

"I'm just a lucky person who works purely by intuition, never gives up once he sees a certain truth, and relies on strong luck to get all the way to where he is today."

After finishing speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled.

Compared with just now, Shannan Keisuke seemed to be a different person at this time.

He seemed to have figured something out, and seemed to have let go of something. His confused eyes and melancholy expression disappeared immediately.

The air inside and outside the tent is filled with tranquility.

However... this peace only lasted for a moment.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps came from outside the tent, approaching from far away.

Before the footsteps arrive, the voice arrives first:

"Shannan! Shannan!"

It was Hijikata Toshizo's voice.

With a whoosh, Hijikata Toisho opened the curtain and leaned half of his body in.

"Shannan! Huh? Sanosuke, why are you here? Whatever! I just want to inform you!"

Hijikata Toshizo's expression was particularly ugly, and his handsome facial features were tight and tight.

For a long time, Hijikata Toshizo, who is both wise and brave, and is accustomed to seeing strong winds and waves, has been shown to others as "Taishan collapses in front but does not change color, and elk rises to the left but does not blink".

At this moment, he was so out of his mind... This was the first time for both Shannan Keisuke and Harada Sanosuke!

The two of them immediately understood that something terrible must have happened!

At this moment, the two men immediately completed the identity change - Shannan Keisuke became the "Chief of the Shinsengumi", and Harada Sanosuke became the "Captain of the Shinsengumi 10th Division".

Shannan Keisuke subconsciously grabbed the sword beside him and asked quickly:

"Hijikata-kun, what happened?"

Hijikata Toshizo said in a deep voice:

"Come with me quickly! Let's talk while we're on our way!"

Harada Sanosuke asked:

"On our way? Where are we going?"

"Go to the main formation of the Chinese Army! Tachibana is waiting for us!"

Before he finished speaking, he snatched it out.

Although Shannan Keisuke and Harada Sanosuke didn't know why, they followed immediately.

…

…

Ta-ta! Ta-ta! Ta-ta! Ta-ta! Ta-ta!

Three fast horses roared past, and the sound of their hooves was so fierce that it frightened countless birds flying along the way.

Shannan and Harada, led by Hijikata Tobizo, mounted the fastest horses, hurriedly left the former army camp, took a shortcut, and ran straight to the location of the Chinese army.

Fortunately, it is a sunny day tonight and the moon is very round. The bright moonlight fills the earth, which saves the time of lighting a lantern.

Halfway through, Hijikata Sui explained the situation to the two of them in three concise words.

After he finished speaking, the two of them were stunned like clay and wood sculptures, and then their eyes widened uncontrollably, their facial expressions dominated by strong shock.

Even the mature and prudent Shannan Jingsuke could not help but fall into a daze for a moment.

Harada Sanosuke screamed directly:

"What?! The surprise team crossed the sea to attack Owari Clan?!"

Hijikata Toisan corrected him without sadness or joy:

"It's not just the Raiders. According to reports, a large number of Western faces were found among the troops that attacked Owari Domain."

"Westerners? This, this... Changzhou people collude with Westerners? What is this thing?!"

No wonder he was so shocked.

In recent years, Changzhou has been practicing a radical anti-foreign policy.

Not long ago, they were fighting to the death with the Westerners in the "Shimonoseki War", and now they are united with each other again, which will surprise anyone.

After about 10 seconds, Shannan Keisuke finally regained his composure.

He gritted his teeth, his brows furrowed into the character "Chuan", and he even tightened his grip on the reins unconsciously.

"Owari Clan...this position is not good...!"

As a well-educated man, Shannan Keisuke certainly knew how dangerous the location of Nobi Plain was.

The saying "He who wins the beauty will win the world" is not a joke!

"Stop talking! The horse runs so fast, be careful not to bite your tongue!"

Shannan and Harada both turned to look at Toshizo Hijikata in front of them.

Hijikata Toshizo continued in a solemn tone:

"Hurry up!"

"Let's talk in detail after we arrive at the Chinese Army's main formation and meet Tachibana!"

After that, he stopped talking and walked on silently.

Shannan Keisuke and Harada Sanosuke looked at each other, then lowered their upper bodies in unison and raised their center of gravity, trying to reduce the pressure on the horses and speed up as much as possible.

…

…

The three of them galloped all the way, running back and forth for half an hour, and finally saw the candlelight of the Chinese army camp.

When the guards at the camp saw an unknown person approaching, they immediately raised their weapons and stepped forward to intercept them.

After seeing the face of the incoming man clearly, they hurriedly separated on both sides to make way.

"It's the deputy chief, the chief, and the captain of the 10th division!"

"Let it go! Let it go quickly!"

No galloping horses are allowed in the camp - this is one of the Shinsengumi's basic military rules.

Therefore, after passing the review of the guards, Hijikata Toshizo and others tightened the reins in their hands and stopped the horses.

Before the horses could stop, they eagerly dismounted.

"Uu...! Uu...!"

Along with groans of pain, the three horses they were riding foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground as soon as they stood still.

In order to reach the Chinese army camp as soon as possible, they almost broke the whips in their hands and squeezed out all their power.

As we all know, riding a horse is a physical activity.

After half an hour of continuous galloping, they already felt numbness in their backs and pain in their inner thighs.

However, the situation is urgent.

The sense of responsibility urged them to take big steps and rush to the main formation non-stop.

Within a moment, a huge flag with the word "Cheng" came into their sight.

Below the "Cheng" flag is the main tent of this formation.

The "Guards" composed of a group of elite swordsmen firmly defended this place.

Before entering the big tent, Hijikata Toshizo and others heard the noise.

"Return to the teacher! We must return to the teacher as soon as possible!"

This was the voice of Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, Lord of the Owari Domain.

"Return to the teacher? Are we just going to give up halfway?!"

This is the voice of Matsudaira Yōho, Lord of the Aizu Domain.

Hearing this sound, a group of three people took a few steps and lifted the curtain of the big tent. Suddenly, the heat of the crowd and the strong "smell of gunpowder" rushed towards them.

Qingdeng sat at the front seat with an expressionless expression.

The other generals took their seats on both sides in front of him in order according to their status.

Before Hijikata Toshizo and others arrived, the generals in the tent were already arguing.

It was not until they lifted the curtain and entered the tent that they finally calmed down a little.

Hijikata Toshizo bowed slightly:

"Sorry, we are late."

Qing Deng raised his chin:

"You arrived much earlier than I expected. Please take your seats."

The three of them responded and walked into the tent to find their seats.

So far, all the senior officers of the expeditionary army have arrived.

Looking up, except for Qing Deng, Hijikata Toshizo and a few others, the expressions of the others were as ugly as they could be.

Thinking about it carefully, this is not surprising.

Before tonight, they all smiled and thought that Choshu was finished, and the army would sweep away the two countries of Choshu and Zhou with an overwhelming force.

Unexpectedly... Choshu actually had such a trump card!

The Choshu Army attacked Owari Domain across the sea, and Nagoya Castle fell... When this news came, the scene at that time was really like a heavy bomb dropped!

First of all, most people had never thought of such a tactic.

Taking a ship and crossing the ocean to attack the enemy's rear... Such a tactic was unheard of by them!

Secondly, the fall of Owari Domain would inevitably have a very serious impact on the current expedition to Choshu.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Choshu Army's capture of Owari Domain is equivalent to cutting Japan in half!

With Owari Domain as a base, the Choshu Army can attack from all sides.

To the west, it can directly attack Qinjin Domain, the headquarters of Qingdeng, and then seize Kyoto.

To the east... it can attack Kanto! Occupy Edo!

The sudden drastic change made many people panic.

What should we do next?

Should we continue to attack Choshu?

Or return to support Owari?

"General Tachibana!"

Suddenly, a loud shout attracted the attention of everyone present.

Everyone raised their eyes and looked in the direction of the voice - the speaker was Tokugawa Yoshikatsu.

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu looked at Qing Deng with a half-annoyed and half-pleading look:

"General Tachibana! Please order the army to return as soon as possible! Recapture Owari before the Choshu army has a firm foothold!"

The fall of Owari Domain... The person who was most anxious about this was undoubtedly Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, the lord of Owari Domain.

He was originally opposed to the "Choshu Expedition" and was unwilling to get involved in this war. He was forced by the shogunate to lead his troops to join the war reluctantly.

He was forced to do a job he didn't want to do, and before he finished the job, he suddenly learned that his home had been occupied by someone, and his family members didn't know whether they lived or died... Even if all the words in the world were exhausted, it would be difficult to accurately describe his current state of mind.

In this way, his anxiety and panic, as well as his current loss of composure, are indeed understandable.

His proposition is very clear: return immediately! Repel the Choshu army! Liberate Owari!

Of course, if someone advocates returning, there will naturally be someone who opposes returning.

As expected, as soon as Tokugawa Yoshikatsu finished speaking, opposition voices were heard immediately:

"Return?! We have already fought here! You want us to return?!"

Just opposite Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, the lord of Aizu Domain, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, frowned and glared at him.

"If we return now, all our efforts will be wasted!"

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu immediately launched a sharp rebuttal:

"Matsudaira Higo-no-kami, stop talking nonsense here! It's not your Aizu Domain that has been captured, so of course you are not in a hurry!"

It's the end of the month again in a blink of an eye! Book friends who have monthly tickets on hand, please vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg) Please vote for the monthly ticket! Please recommend! (crying leopard head.jpg)

PS: I don't know why, I always feel uncomfortable in my stomach today... Because I'm not feeling well, the number of words today is relatively small, please forgive me! (leopard grievance.jpg)