I formed the strongest swordsman group

Due to his emotional excitement, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu's voice was hoarse and almost broken.

When he said the word "Matsudaira Higo-no-kami", he emphasized his tone.

His intention was clear at a glance.

The Owari Domain was one of the "Gosanke", and the lords of each generation inherited the position of Gon-dainagon (Junior 2nd rank).

In terms of daimyo level, he was a "Gosanke"; in terms of court official position, he was Gon-dainagon.

On the other hand, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu... Although the Aizu Domain was also a close domain, it could never be compared with the Owari Domain. The difference between the two was like "adopted son" and "biological son".

As for the position of Higo-no-kami (Junior 5th rank) inherited by the Aizu family for generations, it could not be compared with Gon-dainagon.

Therefore, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu's meaning was very simple: You, the subordinate, stop arguing with your superior!

In normal times, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, who did not like to cause trouble, would probably stop talking.

However... the current emergency situation made him lose his usual composure.

Boom!

He stood up suddenly.

Because he stood up too hard, the stool under him was directly thrown away and fell heavily to the ground, making a loud noise.

"Tokugawa Dainagon, I am not a cold-blooded person, nor am I generous to others!"

"I am also very anxious when Owari Domain was attacked."

"But if we return now, all our recent achievements... no, our war preparations over the past year will be wasted!"

"Since the special forces are far away in Owari, it means that the current Choshu Domain is a real 'empty country'."

"In this case, now is the best time to take Hagi Castle and destroy Choshu!"

"We have been preparing and looking forward to conquering Choshu for a long time. Are we going to give up like this?"

"If we don't take this opportunity to wipe out the two kingdoms of Choshu and Zhou in one fell swoop, in addition to this great threat, I am afraid there will be endless troubles in the future!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received a lot of echoes.

"That's right!"

"I hate Choshu!"

"General Tachibana! We should continue the attack! Destroy Choshu!"

At first glance, the momentum of the "pro-war faction" is quite impressive.

However... the volume of the "pro-retreat faction" is equally strong.

As soon as Matsudaira Yoshiyasu finished speaking, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu snorted coldly:

"Oh! Matsudaira Higo no Kami's words are so passionate!"

"You're just short of calling me a 'coward' and a 'traitor who missed the opportunity to fight'!"

"I don't deny that I advocate 'returning immediately' out of selfishness."

"But I'm also considering the overall situation!"

At this point, he stood up abruptly like Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, and swept his sharp eyes across the audience:

"Let me ask everyone, the Choshu army went through so much trouble to attack Owari across the sea, is it just for Are they after Nobi's wealth? "

"It's obvious that this is absolutely impossible!"

"They must have other intentions!"

"Open the map and take a good look!"

"What are the places on the east and west sides of Owari Domain? !"

"The west side is Gyeonggi, and the east side is Kanto!"

"Let me ask you, if the Choshu army marches to Kanto, what should we do?"

"Let me ask you again, if the Choshu army marches to Gyeonggi, what should we do?"

At this point, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu paused, then turned his head to look at Qing Deng not far away.

"General Tachibana, as far as I know, the two mistresses of your domain have just given birth."

"If the Choshu army marches to Gyeonggi, your domain will be the first to bear the brunt."

"Can you bear to let your wife and children be in danger?"

Instantly, the atmosphere in the tent changed subtly.

The generals of the Shinsengumi, such as Nagakura Shinpachi, Serizawa Kamo, and Fujido Heisuke, all changed their faces.

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu's words were so bold and straightforward that he put Qing Deng on the fire.

Although his words just now were unpleasant to hear, we had to admit that his views were correct.

Even Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, who was a die-hard "war faction", was unable to refute the other party for a while.

The Choshu army, which successfully captured Owari, has already gained strategic initiative, and there is a lot to do whether it is to the west or the east.

They took Choshu, but Edo or the capital was gone... In this case, can it still be considered their victory?

Neither of the two factions was convinced by the other.

In this way, the tent fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, I don't know who started it, and everyone on the scene turned their heads to look at Qing Deng on the main seat.

Confused, hesitant, annoyed, panic... all kinds of eyes fell on Qing Deng.

"..."

Since just now, Qing Deng has not said a word, and there is no expression on his face.

If there is anyone who can stabilize the morale of the army at present, it must be this person.

No matter how fiercely Matsudaira Yoshiyasu and Tokugawa Yoshikatsu quarreled.

To be honest, Qing Deng is not as calm as he appears to be.

Information is scarce at the moment.

The only information we know now all comes from that brave messenger.

This afternoon, the messenger, who was covered in wounds and dying, rushed to the rear army camp.

"Is this place... the camp of the expeditionary army...? I have something urgent to tell you... Take me to see... General Tachibana...!"

Kondo Isami, who was in charge of the rear army, rushed to the messenger after hearing the news. After finding that the messenger's clothes were embroidered with "Owari Three-leaf Aoi", he did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly sent him to the central army camp.

After seeing Qing Deng, he ignored his fatigue and pain and told the details of the "Owari attack" truthfully.

When he finished speaking, he finally completed his mission and could no longer bear it. His eyes rolled and he fainted.

In general, the Choshu Army fought a very beautiful surprise attack.

After landing on a beach in Owari Domain by boat, the Choshu Army took advantage of the night to speed up the march, quickly penetrated the hinterland of Owari Domain, and rushed straight to Nagoya Castle.

The reason why their march was so smooth was thanks to the "One Country, One Castle Order".

The shogunate would never neglect to suppress you just because you were one of the "Three Houses" or any other close vassal.

Therefore, the huge Owari Domain only had Nagoya Castle, and there were no castles or passes in other places.

In fact, there were no passes to build.

The entire Owari Domain was an endless plain with no strategic location to defend.

One Country, One Castle Order... This decree used by the shogunate to maintain its ruling status ended up indirectly harming itself... The so-called "black humor" is roughly like this.

Nagoya Castle is not a mountain castle or a flat mountain castle built in the mountains, it is just an ordinary flat castle.

Because the lord Tokugawa Yoshikatsu took away most of the soldiers, only a minimum number of troops were left in the city.

Has anyone in Owari ever thought that a hostile force would cross the sea to attack their headquarters?

Moreover, it was still night, when the energy was the least, the most likely to be negligent, and the defense was the weakest.

All of the above made the defense capability of Nagoya Castle at the lowest point in history.

Although Owari was a large domain, its military preparations were not significantly different from those of small domains. The same weapons were put into storage, horses were put in the mountains, and military preparations were neglected. At most, the army was larger.

Modern troops could crush feudal armies.

Using the prepared to fight the unprepared made this battle a one-sided massacre.

The Choshu army easily arrived at Nagoya Castle, and then easily broke through the city gate.

According to the messenger, the sudden rain of shells instantly covered the city gate and the city wall.

In just a moment, the bricks and tiles of the dilapidated city wall fell off like snowflakes.

After a while, the city gate collapsed and opened completely.

Then, teams of soldiers holding advanced muskets climbed over the collapsed city wall and the open city gate and entered one after another - there were many Westerners among them.

These Westerners were very brave, fierce as tigers, and skillfully used guns and cannons. They were well-trained elite troops.

The defenders in the city were beaten and abandoned their armor and armor, and they never established an effective defense line.

Because of the chaos and the collapse of order, they forgot to destroy the warehouse when they retreated.

The countless essences accumulated by Owari Domain for three hundred years were just given to the thieves for nothing.

Fortunately, when the city was broken, the defenders sent messengers in time and ordered them to go to the west quickly to find the Zhengchang Corps for help.

In order to successfully report the news, they sent more than 20 messengers in one breath to break through from different directions.

The only messenger who successfully arrived at the main camp of the expeditionary army was the one in front of Qing Deng.

This shows how difficult and cruel the battle that night was.

Qing Deng felt very sorry for Tokugawa Yoshikatsu.

His main castle was breached, and his family members didn't know whether they were alive or dead... If he had experienced these hardships, he would probably find it difficult to stay rational.

In fact, it might not be long before he would face the same crisis.

When he led the army to the expedition, Qing Deng only left a small number of troops to defend his home.

In other words, Qinjin is also an "empty country" at present!

If the Choshu army marched westward, Qinjin Domain would definitely not be able to resist it with its current defense capabilities!

When he thought of this, Sanako, Awu, and his newborn children... their faces flashed through Qing Deng's mind.

—— Sanako... Awu... Jiulang... Ningning...

He clenched his fists unconsciously.

The same is true for Edo in the east...

Qing Deng does not think that 80,000 hatamoto cavalry can stop a modern army that is proficient in guns and cannons!

If Edo falls...

Instantly, a new face - the face of the mother and son - emerges from his mind.

—— Iemochi... Atsuhime...

Although he wanted to return immediately to repel the Choshu army entrenched in Owari and resolve the crisis in Qinjin and Edo, Qing Deng did not lose his reason.

It is not difficult to order the return of the army, but what about the current "Choshu expedition"? Just give up?

If he returns now, let Choshu go, let Choshu survive this crisis, and take a breath, God knows what kind of tricks they will come up with next.

Qing Deng and Choshu have a blood feud.

As long as Choshu is not destroyed, he will feel a stone under his quilt, which makes his waist ache.

Should he return? Or continue the expedition to Choshu?

The two thoughts fought fiercely in Qing Deng's mind.

No matter which one he chooses in the end, there is only one thing that is absolutely certain - his choice will greatly affect the future!

If one step is wrong, then all steps will be wrong!

"..."

"..."

"..."

Under everyone's eager expectation, finally... Qing Deng spoke.

"... The expedition to Changzhou cannot be stopped."

"Lord Hijo is right. Now is the time when Changzhou's defense is the most empty. We cannot miss this opportunity!"

As soon as these words came out, the "war faction" headed by Matsudaira Yoshiyasu smiled, looking relieved.

However, before Tokugawa Yoshikatsu showed his disappointment, Qing Deng continued:

"But! 'Returning to defeat the bandits' is equally important!"

"Therefore, we must continue the expedition to Changzhou and liberate Owari!"

The shocking remarks made the inside and outside of the tent surrounded by silence again.

Everyone here looks at me and I look at you, and you can see expressions of shock, astonishment, etc. on each other's faces.

Since both options are difficult to give up, then take both - Qingdeng finally came to this greedy decision after intense deliberation.

Suddenly, a faint voice came out:

"General Tachibana, do you mean... to divide the troops into two groups?"

The person who spoke was none other than Saigo Kinosuke, who represented the Satsuma Domain.

He was obviously appointed as the staff officer of the Marching Army, but since the battle began, he has been strangely silent and rarely speaks in military meetings.

Qingdeng nodded solemnly.

"That's right, the troops are divided into two groups!"

Having said this, he turned to look at Matsudaira Yongho.

"Master Feizhou, you will temporarily take over the position of 'Governor' and lead the army to continue the attack on Changzhou."

"I personally lead the Shinsengumi back to rescue Owari!"

After a shock, another shock arose.

After listening to Seito's deployment, the Shinsengumi generals and others were all shocked.

Saigo Yoshinosuke lightly frowned and asked:

"General Tachibana, you only lead the Shinsengumi back to the division? No other troops?"

Qingden nodded again.

"That's right. The larger the size of the army, the more it becomes inconvenient to command and affects the army."

"The secret to dispatching troops is to use the least amount of troops to do the most difficult things!"

"My newly selected five thousand elite soldiers are enough to defeat the thieves!"

"Master Feizhou, can I safely hand over the legion to you?"

After saying that, Qingden looked straight at Matsudaira Yongho.

After being stunned for a moment, the other party nodded vigorously and solemnly.

"No problem! Please feel free to leave it to me!"

Qingdeng nodded slightly to show his determination.

Then, he tilted his head slightly and looked at Saigo Kinosuke at hand.

"Saigo-kun, with the Shinsengumi absent, the Aizu Army and the Satsuma Army will become the main force of the expedition."

"I hope you can help Master Feizhou."

Saigo Yoshinosuke looked at Aoden without being humble or arrogant, nor scared nor timid, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.

"This is natural, I, Satsuma, will definitely go all out!"

"..."

Aoto took a deep look at Saigo Kinosuke, said nothing more, and turned to scan the crowd at the scene.

As of now, everyone had been arguing for a long time about whether to fight or withdraw.

The result was unexpected. Qingdeng made a decision in a few seconds and completed the deployment vigorously and resolutely...

This huge contrast made many people present stunned and could not recover for a long time.

It wasn't until Qingdeng spoke up that they finally cheered up.

"Everyone, the number of troops we currently control is not that large."

"With this small force, we can simultaneously complete the two major tasks of 'conquering Changzhou' and 'liberating Changzhou'... I have to say that this is really a difficult challenge."

"But now the arrow is on the string and we have to shoot!"

"I believe you will triumphantly!"

"After I leave the camp, I will rely on Mr. Feizhou for everything!"

"If there are people who hold you back, don't blame me, the Benevolent King, for settling the score!"

After giving a simple lecture, Qingden turned his eyes and looked at the generals wearing light green feathers.

"Shinsengumi!"

In an instant, Hijikata Toshizo and others stood up immediately!

"Let's set off immediately! Return to the capital!"

When Hijikata Toisan heard this, he grinned:

“Returning from ‘China’ to ‘Gyeonggi’… Ha, what a coincidence, the ‘China Return’ is happening again!”

…

…

Japan's "Chinese region" mainly refers to the western part of Honshu Oshima, including Harima, Mimasaku, Bizen, Binchu, Bingo, Aki, Shubo, Nagato, Tanba, Tango, Tajima, Inaba, Hoki, Izumo, Iwami and Oki, a total of sixteen countries.

The "Great Return of China" was a famous event in Japan's Warring States Period.

On June 2, the tenth year of Tensho (1582), the Honnoji Temple Incident broke out. Mitsuhide Akechi rebelled and killed his master, Oda Nobunaga.

From the night of June 3rd to the early morning of June 4th, Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was in the middle of the war with the Mori family in China—the future Toyotomi Hideyoshi—learned that Oda Nobunaga had been killed, and immediately blocked the news and pretended that nothing happened. , used a high-pressure attitude to intimidate the Maori family, and finally succeeded in signing a peace treaty on favorable terms.

After the signing of the peace treaty, Hashiba Hideyoshi quickly started the retreat and led an army of 20,000 people back to Gyeonggi.

He ordered the sergeants to be in good order and keep their flags in order during the day, and to gather their flags and run with all their strength at night.

This unprecedented retreat was known in history as "China's Great Return."

The "China Great Return" took 8 to 10 days.

It is about 200 kilometers from the starting point of Takamatsu Castle to the ending point of Yamazaki, with an average daily march of 20-25 kilometers.

20,000 troops, backward road conditions, marching 20-25 kilometers per day... In the feudal era, this was really an incredible achievement! It is not an exaggeration to call it a miracle in Japan's ancient military history.

In the end, the Hashiba Army's rapid march seized the battlefield opportunity, successfully defeated the Akechi Army in the battle of Tennoyama, avenged Oda Nobunaga, and accumulated political capital that was superior to the others.

It is no exaggeration to say that the "Great Return of China" was the starting point for Hashiba Hideyoshi to replace Oda Nobunaga as the overlord of Japan and establish the Toyotomi Taikaku.

The world must have never imagined that after nearly three hundred years, the "Great Return of China" would be staged again!

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Guess where the Shinsengumi and the Choshu Army will fight the final battle? Those who are familiar with the history of the Japanese Warring States should have no difficulty guessing it~