Chapter 904 Should we return to the division? Or continue to attack Changzhou? [4300]
"'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.
Sanosuke Harada’s reply was equally straightforward:
"Hey, intuition!"
"Straight, intuitive?"
Under the stunned gaze of Shannan Keisuke, Harada Sanosuke scratched his hair and continued:
"Although this statement seems childish, my intuition does tell me: if you trust Mr. Tachibana more, you will definitely not go wrong!"
"My intuition has 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. Orange 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 made the latter subconsciously look away, not daring to look at each other.
"Mr. Ju, hasn't he already enabled thousands of people of the Qinjin clan to live a peaceful and stable life?"
"Although there is still a long way to go before the 'Yu and Tang Dynasties', at least under 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 very 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. Ju'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, Mr. Dashu and Mr. 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 joking tone.
"..."
Shannan Jingshu 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 wisest man of the Shinsengumi!"
"The so-called 'great wisdom but foolishness' probably refers to people like you."
Harada Sanosuke laughed:
"Mr. Shannan, you appreciate it!"
"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.
There is a peaceful air inside and outside the tent.
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 Toshizo opened the curtain and leaned half of his body inside.
"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 Suisan, who was wise and courageous and accustomed to strong winds and waves, has been shown to others as "Taishan collapses in front but does not change color, 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 their identity transformation - 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 Tosei 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 startled 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 also 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, and their facial expressions were 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 Domain?!"
Hijikata Suisan corrected him without sadness or joy:
"It's not just the surprise team. According to the report, 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?"
No wonder he was so shocked.
In recent years, Changzhou has been implementing a radical anti-foreigner 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, frowned into the character "Chuan", and even tightened his hand on the reins unconsciously.
"Owari Clan...this position is not good...!"
As a well-educated man, Shannan Keisuke certainly knew how dangerous the geographical location of Nobi Plain was.
The idiom "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 Hijikata Toshizo in front of them.
Hijikata Toshizo continued in a solemn tone:
"Hurry up!"
"When we arrive at the Chinese Army's main formation and meet Tachibana, let's talk in detail later!"
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 drew 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 basic military rules of the Shinsengumi.
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 quickly 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 the 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 is 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 the Lord of the Aizu Domain, Matsudaira Yoho.
Hearing this sound, a group of three people took a few steps and lifted the curtains of the big tent. Suddenly, the heat of the crowd and the strong "smell of gunpowder" rushed towards their faces.
Qingdeng sat at the front seat with an expressionless expression.
The other generals took their seats on either side of him in order according to their status.
Before Hijikata Toshizo and others arrived, the generals in the tent were already quarreling.
It wasn't until they raised the curtains and entered the tent that they finally calmed down a bit.
Hijikata Toshirō bowed slightly:
"Sorry, we're late."
Qingden raised his chin:
"You guys arrived much earlier than I expected. Come and take your seats."
The three people in the group responded in agreement, walked into the tent, and looked for their respective seats.
At this point, all the senior generals of the Marching Army have arrived.
Looking up, except for a few people such as Qingden and Hijikata Toizan, the expressions of the rest of the people were as ugly as possible.
If you think about it carefully, this is really not surprising.
As of tonight, they were all smiling, thinking that Changzhou was doomed, and that the army would defeat Changzhou and the Zhou Dynasty in one fell swoop.
Unexpectedly... Changzhou actually hid such a trump card!
The Choshu Army made a surprise attack across the sea on the Owari Domain, and Nagoya Castle fell... When the news came, the scene was like a bombshell!
First, most people have never thought of such a tactic.
Taking a ship and traveling across the ocean to attack the enemy's rear...such a tactic was unheard of to them!
Secondly, the fall of Owari Domain will definitely have an extremely serious impact on the current campaign.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Choshu Army's capture of Owari Domain was equivalent to cutting Japan in half!
With Owari Domain as its base, the Choshu Army could attack in all directions.
To the west, we can directly take Qingdeng's base camp, Qinjin Domain, and then seize Kyoto.
Head east... and you can attack Kantō! Occupy Edo!
The sudden change caused many people to panic.
What to do next?
Are you going to continue attacking Changzhou?
Or should we return to the army and help Owari?
"General Tachibana!"
Suddenly, a shout attracted the attention of everyone present.
Everyone raised their eyes and followed the sound - the speaker was none other than Tokugawa Qingsheng.
Tokugawa Qingsheng looked at Aonto with half annoyance and half pleading eyes:
"General Tachibana! Please give the order to return as soon as possible! Recapture Owari before the Choshu Army gains a firm foothold!"
The fall of the Owari Domain...the person who is most anxious about this is undoubtedly the lord of the Owari Domain, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu.
He originally opposed the "Changzhou Expedition" and did not want to get involved in this war. He was forced by the shogunate to reluctantly lead his troops to join the war.
He was forced to do a job that he didn't want to do. Before he could finish the work, he suddenly learned that his home had been captured and his family members were in dire straits... Even if he exhausted all the words in the world, it would be difficult to accurately describe his current situation.
state of mind.
In this way, his anxiety and fear, as well as his current gaffe, are indeed excusable.
His idea is very clear: Return immediately! Defeat the Choshu Army! Liberate Owari!
Of course, some people advocate returning to the Normal University, and naturally some people oppose returning to the Normal University.
Sure enough, as soon as Tokugawa Qingsheng finished speaking, opposition came out immediately:
"Go back?! We have already fought here! You want us to go back?!"
Directly opposite Tokugawa Keikatsu, the Lord of the Aizu Domain, Matsudaira Yoho, frowned and glared at him.
"If you return to the teacher now, all your previous efforts will be in vain!"
Tokugawa Yoshikatsu immediately launched a sharp rebuttal:
"Matsudaira Higomori, stop talking nonsense here! It's not like your Aizu Domain has been captured, so of course you shouldn't be in a hurry!"
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PS: For some reason, I always feel very uncomfortable in my stomach today... Because of my physical discomfort, the number of words today is a bit low, please forgive me! (Leopard Grievance.jpg)