Chapter 917 The last dance of the old bones! Calabash House joins the battle! 【6200】
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——
"A Chang! Have you packed your clothes?"
Abi raised his head and shouted to the second floor.
Chang——Isao Kondo’s legal wife.
"Yeah! It's packed!"
Ah Chang's response came from a distance upstairs.
At this time, an old man - Jiubingwei, an old servant of the Tachibana family - hurried towards Abi.
"Madam! The carriage is ready! Just waiting outside!"
When A Bi heard this, he let out a sigh of relief.
Currently, all the people in Edo are busy fleeing.
For this reason, the power of cattle, horses and other animals is unprecedentedly tight.
For a time, there was a scene of "Edo cattle are expensive" and "Edo horses are expensive".
Fierce disputes often broke out over a cow or a horse.
Fortunately, the shogunate was well prepared and sent a large number of officers to maintain public order in the town and suppress the commotion to a minimum.
If the Trial Guard Hall is still the same "Taro Dojo" as before, at this juncture, no matter how hard they try, it is impossible to obtain usable animal power.
As Aoshinobu's reputation grew, the Shoeikan is now one of the most famous swordsmanship schools in Edo, and its financial resources and connections have greatly increased.
However, despite this, they finally borrowed a carriage after asking around a lot.
"We're finally here... Hurry! Put all the luggage on the carriage! Let's leave Edo quickly! To avoid long nights and endless dreams!"
Jiubei nodded vigorously:
"yes!"
After saying that, he took the heavy luggage from A Bi's hand, turned around and ran towards the entrance.
Although Kubei is an old man, his body is still strong and not inferior to that of young people.
The Shiweiguan group belongs to the category of "having somewhere to go" and does not need to follow the shogunate's arrangements to take refuge in Ou.
They planned to go to Hino and seek refuge with the eldest sister of the General Secretary, Hikaru Okita.
"Kyubei, after you put away your luggage, go to the kitchen and bring all our sugar!"
Kyubei replied without looking back:
"clear!"
In the Edo period, crystal white sugar was a precious commodity and should not be thrown away casually.
After giving instructions to Jiubingwei, Abi turned around and prepared to return to the bedroom to continue packing his luggage.
When passing the Buddhist hall, she suddenly discovered that her husband Kondo Shusuke was sitting in front of the Buddha statue, his head lowered, not knowing what he was doing.
When A Bi saw this, he suddenly felt very angry - everyone is busy working, why are you lazy here?
As soon as she thought about this, she rushed into the Buddhist hall without thinking and shouted:
"Old man, if you don't come to help, what are you doing here..."
His voice stopped abruptly.
She seemed to have seen something astonishing, and she froze on the spot, staring blankly at Kondo Shusuke's hands - to be precise, at the knife in his hand!
I saw Shusuke Kondo placing a knife flat on his knees, touching the sheath with one hand and holding the handle with the other.
The movements are gentle, as if caressing a lover.
A Bi was extremely familiar with this knife.
It’s Shusuke Kondo’s favorite sword: Niou Seomi!
The two kings of Qingshi - one of the eighty works of property.
A sword that can cut through 20% to 40% of the thickness of a human body is a karma.
I think back then, Kondo Shusuke wore this sword and defeated countless heroes - and at the same time captured Abi's heart.
The heroism of wielding the innocence of the two kings and easily defeating powerful enemies... Even today, it is still hidden deep in Abi's heart.
Ever since he got older and gradually retreated to the second line, Kondo Shusuke has been living a lazy and idle life.
Basking in the sun and taking a walk every day is no different from ordinary old people.
Not to mention dancing with swords, he rarely even wore a sword.
This precious sword, which had been with him for most of his life, was just placed on the knife rest to gather dust.
Only when maintaining the blade or reminiscing about the past, do I occasionally brush off the dust on its surface.
Abi looked at Erwang Qingshi, then at Kondo Shusuke, and instantly understood something.
"Old man, you..."
Before Abi finished speaking, Kondo Shusuke turned his head slightly and looked at his wife with a calm smile on his face.
"Abi, you guys go first."
After hearing this, Abi's expression suddenly changed.
Anyone with some brains can understand what Shusuke Kondo means.
"Old man, don't tell me that you plan to stay!"
"What are you thinking?!"
"Don't even look at how old you are now!"
"With your aging body that always suffers from waist and back pain, even if you go to the battlefield, it will only hold people back!"
"Stop saying such nonsense!"
"Let's go! The carriage is already here!"
As she spoke, she stretched out her hand to tug Kondo Shusuke's shoulders - only to find that no matter how hard she tried, even with all her strength, she could not pull Kondo Shusuke in the slightest.
Shusuke Kondo was already used to Abi's poisonous tongue.
Most of the time, she is sharp-tongued and soft-hearted.
Just like now: Although what she just said was very rude, the care and worry contained in her words were already evident, and her tone revealed a strong lack of composure.
Her palms that were tugging at his shoulders were trembling slightly...
"...Abi, calm down first."
As Kondo Shusuke said, he stretched out his right hand and held Abi's left wrist.
Feeling the warmth coming from the other party's palm, the excitement in A Bi's cheeks slowly faded away.
She took several breaths and gradually regained her composure, her palms no longer trembling.
After seeing that his wife was no longer excited, Kondo Shusuke slowly said:
"Those children... must be thinking very hard about 'rushing to the aid of Edo' right now."
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked to the west.
The "children" he refers to naturally refer to Qingdeng and others.
"The juniors are fighting bloody battles."
"That being the case, it would be outrageous for me, as an elder, to run away with my head in my hands."
A Bi frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Old man, you are already a long time old, and you have long passed the age where you can do whatever you want."
"Even if you leave Edo, no one will blame you."
Kondo Shusuke smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"That's not okay. Even if no one comes to blame me, I don't want to leave Edo."
When Abi heard this, he couldn't help but asked:
"Why?!"
"..."
Kondo Shusuke pursed his lips and paused briefly.
After a while, he put on a serious and serious look, looked directly at Ah Bi, and their eyes met.
"Abi, what I say next has never been said to anyone."
"You are the first listener."
"Actually, when Mr. Tachibana formed the Shinsengumi and sent troops to Luo, I really wanted to catch up."
“I want to go to Kyoto too!”
"I also want to make great achievements!"
"What a pity... As you just said, I am too old."
"At that time, I was worried about my old body."
"I was afraid of causing trouble to Mr. Tachibana and the others, so I resisted the urge to 'chase after them'."
At this point, he grinned and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"It's a pity that I have been immersed in swordsmanship for decades, but in the end I haven't made any achievements."
"The only two commendable achievements in my life are the establishment of this imperial examination hall in Edo and the spread of Natural Rishin-ryu on a small scale in the Tama area."
"On the day I watched Tachibana-kun and the others go to Luo, I couldn't help but think to myself: This may be the end of my life."
"Bake yourself in the sun every day, take a walk, and live your life peacefully in the imperial examination hall... Although I don't hate this ending, I still feel regretful."
"I was ready to die peacefully.
"I never imagined... today and now, I would encounter such a battle right in front of me!"
"To be honest, when I learned that the Choshu Army was attacking and Edo was in danger...at that moment, I felt hot all over."
"At that moment, I understood: Even though my body is decayed, I still don't want to admit defeat."
"The blood in my body is still hot!"
"Just like this knife that is still sharp!"
Having said this, he suddenly clenched the Erwang Qingshi in his hand.
"Abi, the 'this day' I have been waiting for for a long time has finally come."
"If I miss it, I may end up as a 'retired old man' and never have the chance to become a 'swordsman' again."
"So...I want to fight! I want to join the war!"
"This is my last battle with Shusuke Kondo!"
"Whether it's life, death, or any other ending, I'll happily accept it!"
At this moment, anyone can see that the old man exudes amazing "vitality".
Shock, panic, worry... one emotion after another rose and fell in Abi's cheeks.
As a family member of the other party, she naturally did not want to see the old man take risks.
She instinctively opened her mouth and tried to dissuade him.
It's just that... after listening to the old man's heartfelt words and seeing the high-spirited expression on his face, she knew better than anyone else: Even if Amaterasu descended to earth in person, he would not be able to persuade the old man back.
So she slowly shut up, bit her lips, lowered her head, and couldn't say a word for a long time.
Looking at the housewife who was still silent, Kondo Shusuke smiled slightly and changed his expression to a soft one.
"Abi, don't show such an expression."
"Although I just said it as if I was going to die, I won't die that easily."
"after all--"
He drew out his final tone quickly, held Erwang Qingshi with his left hand, and lowered his right hand naturally, stood up slowly, and faced the Buddha statue beside him.
The next breath, his pair of narrowed eyes opened slightly, and wisps of light shot out from between the eyes.
At the same time, he pulled out the Erwang Qingshi in his hand with a bang! The silver sword light shot out!
The sharp blade reflected his old face that was crushed and full of high spirits.
The strong wind created when he drew his sword swept the whole place.
"I am the third generation head of the Tenurishin-ryu clan, Shusuke Kondo!"
…
…
Edo, martial arts school——
Taking the lead in the martial arts lecture, the master swordsman Tan Seiichiro strode toward the backyard.
After a while, a small, exquisite courtyard specially used by the upper levels of the Lecture Hall came into view.
Kiyone Kubota, who is also the head of the martial arts institute and is known as "the important town in the martial arts world" and is proficient in many martial arts, is sitting on the verandah of this courtyard, looking at the sky, thoughtfully.
Seiichiro Tanani stood behind Kiyone Kubota and said calmly:
"Unvoiced, Liu Ying sent an order: "Talk about martial arts," the whole army will attack! Fight to the death!"
Liuying - a respectful name for the shogunate.
The so-called "Jiaowu Army" is the new army formed and trained by the Wujiao Institute.
Since its formation, this new army has gone through twists and turns due to complex political struggles.
It has gone through several downsizings and reduced funding.
It was not until Tokugawa Iemo came to power and Aotobu was promoted to Army President that the military's living environment finally improved significantly.
With the full cooperation of Tokugawa Iemo and Aoshinobu, the Kōbu Army received the same treatment as the Hachioji Qianren Tongxin, giving priority to the installation of Western-style guns and artillery, and receiving the most advanced military training today.
After listening to Tan Seiichiro's briefing, Kubota Kiyone was silent at first, and then sighed after 5 seconds:
"Oh, it would be great if the Changzhou Army could arrive half a year later..."
The Jiangwu Army has the same problem as Thousand Men of One Heart: Although it is equipped with new guns and artillery, it lacks corresponding training and has not yet developed considerable combat effectiveness.
In a word, the current combat effectiveness of the Wuhan Army is far from being able to fight the enemy on the battlefield.
Male Tan Seiichiro also sighed:
"Even if it is difficult, we can only bite the bullet. This is a battle involving the fate of Edo, and we cannot retreat."
As he spoke, he bent down and sat next to Kubota Kiyone.
"Qingyin, how is your health? Can you still draw the bow and swing the sword?"
Kubota Qingyin heard this and smiled:
"What? Seiichiro, do you want me to go to the battlefield?"
Otani Seiichiro responded calmly:
"I said, this is a battle involving the fate of Edo, and we cannot retreat. Anyone who has the strength to fight must fight - including me."
Kubota Kiyone spread her hands with helplessness on her face.
"I can't hold the knife now."
"If you expect me to kill the enemy with a sword, it will definitely be useless."
"I can only barely draw the bow."
Otani Seiichiro nodded:
"In that case, when I charge into the battle with my sword, I'll ask you to use your bow and arrow to help me cover."
Kubota Kiyone seemed to have heard some interesting anecdote and shrugged:
"... Seiichiro, with all due respect, in this era where guns dominate the battlefield, how much role can our swords play?"
The male Tan Seiichiro spread his hands.
"Not really."
"We will use Edo as the battlefield next to fight the enemy in a cage battle."
"When fighting in a town with complex terrain, the enemy's guns and artillery are difficult to use, but our swords can still come in handy."
Kubota Kiyone grinned with a self-deprecating look on his face:
"Only when fighting in cramped and narrow streets can the 'Samurai Soul' be used reluctantly... How funny."
Male Tan Seiichiro sneered:
"Qingyin, this is not funny."
"This has always been the case, hasn't it?"
"As someone who is proficient in more than ten kinds of martial arts, you should know better than me. Even in the Warring States Period, the role of swords was very limited."
"Those generals who went into battle, one after another, were all holding spears, for fear that their own spears would be half a minute shorter than others."
"Sword masters like Nobutsuna Kamiizumi will obediently hold their spears after going to the battlefield."
Kubota Kiyone smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"Seiichiro, this is different."
"In the Warring States Period, no matter how powerful the naginata and spears were, swords still had their uses."
"However... with the rise of guns and artillery, I really feel that the swords and the like will be eliminated."
"An ordinary pistol is infinitely better than a sword."
"Also eliminated was our military strategy."
"Once upon a time, I worked hard to cultivate military strategy."
"I have successively mastered Koshu-style Shikakuden's military science, Noshima-style military art, and Gaiki-style artillery..."
"Unexpectedly, in the end, all these military strategies passed down by our ancestors became outdated and useless."
"All the previous efforts and efforts have turned into a joke."
After saying that, he slowly pulled out the sword from his waist, and the snow-white blade reflected his looming lonely expression.
"It's a pity that we dedicated our lives to the sword and defeated countless powerful enemies, but in the end we lost to the general trend of the times."
"Seiichiro, now that this has happened, I will confess to you."
"I have been very depressed since I was invited by you to take up the post of 'Chief of Military Affairs'."
"The martial arts I am good at and the military strategy I am proficient in have all lost the value of teaching."
"The only thing I can do is to use my personal qualifications to improve the prestige of the martial arts institute and help you control the situation."
"Today's era no longer needs a 'sword master' who only knows how to wield a sword."
"So, when I learned that we were going to fight the enemy in Edo, I felt a little lucky - we old bones could finally wield the sword one more time before we died!"
"Hahaha, maybe this is the blessing of gods and Buddhas."
"Let's just regard this battle as the last battle between swords... and us old guys abandoned by the times!"
Looking at the optimistic man Tan Seiichiro who spoke boldly without any scruples, Kubota Kiyone blinked his eyes a few times, his eyes flashing with a look that didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After a moment, this look in his eyes turned into a look that said, "I really can't do anything about you."
"Seiichiro, your optimistic attitude is worth learning from me."
After that, he stood up slowly, stretched, and patted the dust on his butt.
"Since you have said this, I can only risk my life to accompany you!"
…
…
Time returns to the present——
Sekihara, Tenman Mountain, main formation——
"..."
After listening to the envoy's report and having a general understanding of the current situation in Edo, Aoto raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, rubbing away the wrinkles that had become the character "川".
"...Thank you for your hard work. Go down and rest first. Prepare a clean tent for him, as well as hot water and food!"
The second half of Qingdeng's words was addressed to the guards outside the tent.
The messenger responded in agreement, and then slowly withdrew.
After he was the only one left in the tent, Qingto lowered his head and looked at the map of Japan on the table, focusing on the direction of Edo and sorting out all the information he knew so far.
Tokugawa Iemo ordered the Cage War and vowed to "live and die with Edo"; Tenjoin made the same decision and stayed in Edo, unwilling to leave.
How should I put it... Qingdeng was not surprised by their series of decisions - this was exactly what the mother and son would do!
Although Tokugawa Iemo was usually gentle and elegant, he seemed to be a weak gentleman who wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken.
In essence, he is actually a very strong-tempered person.
How could a person who could take advantage of his illness and kill him, take advantage of Changzhou's weakness, and immediately order the launch of the "Changzhou Expedition" to be a weak person?
Not to mention Tianzhangyuan, she has always been a strange woman who never avoids difficulties and is decisive and bold.
Thinking of the mother and son who are currently trapped in Edo and in danger... Qingto raised his head and took a deep breath, barely calming his chaotic mind.
In the next breath, he suddenly turned his head and shouted outside the tent:
"Have the chief come here immediately!"
Immediately outside the tent, the guard's voice came in response.
After a while, Shannan Jingshu trotted open the tent curtain and appeared in front of Qingdeng.
Qingdeng skipped the pleasantries and said quickly:
"Kingsuke, I want to play a war game, please come and accompany me."
Shannan Keisuke nodded vigorously without thinking:
"I'm so happy!"
Just as the two were placing war games on the map, preparing to launch a fierce attack and defense——
"Lord! There is an army of unknown origin coming from the west!"
Hearing this, Qingdeng and Shannan Keisuke were both stunned.
Since they are coming from the west, they should not be enemy troops.
Besides, if it were an enemy force, it would never be able to swagger into the Shinsengumi's security zone.
Shannan Keisuke immediately asked:
"Did you see the flag?"
The attendant outside the tent replied:
"Yes! They flew a big flag! There is a big 'gourd' embroidered on the flag!"
Qingdeng raised his eyebrows fiercely, with a look of joy in his eyes.
"'Calabash'? Let them... no, I'll go there myself!"
Before he finished speaking, he strode out of the tent.
Under the leadership of the guards, Qingdeng moved outside the camp and soon discovered the gourd flag.
Then, he found familiar faces.
"Boss Kiryu!"
Looking at Boss Kiryu standing directly under the gourd flag, Qingto showed a heartfelt smile - this was the happiest moment he had smiled in recent days.
Boss Kiryu greeted him slowly with a smile.
"Tangerine-kun, long time no see."
On the eve of launching the "Second Great Return to China", Seito sent envoys to various places, including not only Edo and Gyeonggi feudal lords, but also Gourdiya.
The content of the message sent to Huluwu was basically to ask them to pay more attention and at the same time ask them to provide support as much as possible when Qinjin was in trouble.
Since then, there has been no response from Huluwu.
Because he was busy preparing for war, Qingdeng could not take care of this matter.
Calabash House, which had been silent before, now quietly sent people to help... This was really beyond Qingdeng's expectation.
"Boss Kiryu, what are you doing?"
Although he already had the answer in his mind, Qingdeng still asked and turned to look at the army behind him.
There were about a hundred people. Although the scale was not large, they brought an astonishing number of weapons!
The ammunition that filled the carriages; the cannon with its shining body made Qing Deng speechless.
Boss Kiryu tilted his head and laughed dumbly:
"Isn't it obvious at a glance? We are here to help!"
"The thieves are rampant and our allies are in trouble, so we should help them with all our strength!"
"As you can see, we brought 100 musketeers, as well as all the ammunition and weapons we could carry."
"Although it is not a commendable help, it can help you more or less."
Before Boss Kiryu could finish speaking, Aomori immediately spoke:
"Boss Kiryu, you are being too modest!"
"For us, you are undoubtedly a help in times of need! It is really a great help!"
As far as Qingdeng knew, Huluwu maintained a private armed force in the name of "hiring caravan guards."
However, Calabash House is not a warlord after all, and they have no ambition to separate themselves and stand on their own.
Therefore, the strength of its private armed forces is not large, only a few hundred people, and they are scattered throughout the country.
With such a small number of troops, 100 people were forced to come to Qingdeng's aid and an astonishing amount of weapons and equipment were sent... Just this kindness moved Qingdeng!
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