Kobe, somewhere in the suburbs——

Boom...boom...boom...boom...boom...boom...

The sudden strange noise caused farmers on the outskirts of Kobe to put down their work and look confused.

"Huh? What's this?"

"It sounds like the sound of horse hooves."

"The sound of horse hooves? If this is the sound of horse hooves, then the noise is too loud, right?"

Just when they were feeling puzzled and secretly wondering, someone suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed:

"Look!"

When everyone heard the words, they immediately raised their eyes and followed the words.

I saw a large group of cavalry passing by on the dirt road beside the field.

These cavalrymen all wore light green feathers, wore sharp swords at their waists, and rode on fat Koshu horses. They looked majestic and heroic.

"Light green Haori...is the Shinsengumi!"

Under Qingdeng's compulsory control, the discipline within the Shinsengumi was extremely strict.

The Shinsengumi Act remains an inviolable and absolute prohibition.

Whoever dares to offend, no matter who you are, no matter how great your achievements have been in the past, will only have one end: immediate execution.

I don’t know how many poor people have died under the sword of one of my own people.

Under such high pressure, the Shinsengumi's military discipline was renowned far and wide.

Although it cannot be compared with the great modern army, it is certainly far superior to other feudal armies of the same era.

Thanks to this, the Shinsengumi has always had a very good reputation among the public.

If it were other troops, the farmers would have run away long ago after seeing them, and fled far away.

A bandit's fault is like a comb, a soldier's fault is like a grate, an official's fault is like a haircut - this proverb left by our ancestors is a painful lesson accumulated with countless blood.

Seeing that it was the Shinsengumi, the farmers at the scene were relieved and no longer afraid.

Some of the more courageous people even rushed forward to take a closer look at this group of distinguished guests.

"Cavalry...which division of the Shinsengumi is this?"

"It's either the seventh division or the tenth division. Only these two troops are mounted."

"Ah! Look at that man in black! I know him! He is the 'Deputy Commander of the Demons' Hijikata Toshizo!"

Among the large group of light onions, only Tobi Hijikata was wearing a black suit, a black trench coat, big black leather boots, and a very Western-style slicked back hair, so he stood out.

It goes without saying that he is famous as the "Deputy Chief of Ghosts".

In order to get a glimpse of its true appearance, the farmers at the scene stretched their necks and poked their heads.

Seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo turned his face generously to the side so that they could see more clearly. At the same time, he waved his hand and smiled.

Suddenly, the village women and girls present all blushed and their eyes were charming.

Hijikata Toshizo is known far and wide as a handsome guy and an arsonist with a heart.

After wearing this tight, slim-fitting suit, his figure looks longer and his personal charm increases.

In this way, it is not surprising that these village women would be fascinated.

Following Hijikata Toshizo, Harada Sanosuke beside him was also recognized by sharp-eyed people.

"Look! That person is 'Immortal Harada'!"

"It is said that he is immortal! He is a man who can't die even if his belly is cut open!"

As soon as these remarks came out, Harada Sanosuke immediately became energetic.

"Oh! You know this very well! Look! This is the scar I got when I committed seppuku! Back then, before I became a ronin, and when I was an official in Iyo Matsuyama Domain, a nasty guy slandered me as a '

I'm a little official who doesn't even know the etiquette of seppuku. I'm just a serious person. Didn't he say that I don't even know how to commit seppuku? I pulled out my wakizashi on the spot, stabbed it into my own belly, and committed seppuku on the spot.

Show him!"

Harada Sanosuke said as he skillfully took off his upper body clothes, revealing his muscular upper body and the conspicuous scar on his stomach.

Although he enthusiastically introduced the scar on his belly, the rapid march of the cavalry column made his figure disappear from the sight of the farmers, and his voice was also dissipated in the wind.

The cavalry roared past, leaving behind billows of dust and smoke, as well as the curious looks of the farmers.

"That's weird, why are the Shinsengumi cavalry here?"

"Hiss... I remember it! Wasn't it always rumored that the shogunate was going to use troops against Changzhou?"

"So...this army is preparing to attack Changzhou?"

"In my opinion, the army led by the 'Deputy Commander of the Ghost' is just the vanguard, and the main force is still behind!"

"Hey, didn't we just have a fight in Gyeonggi Province not long ago? Why do we have to fight again..."

"What are you afraid of? It's not like we are starting a war here!"

"Hey, what the hell, we can't care about the affairs of those big shots! Let's just take care of the present! Working hard to cultivate the fields well is better than anything else!"

"That's not what I'm saying. Ju Qingden is a rare good official. I quite hope that he will win a great victory."

"Me too. Anyway, there is always a winner, why not let the one who is more pleasing to the eye win."

"Why can't there be more good officials like Ju Qingden? Let's just let him be the general to conquer the barbarians..."

"Hush! What nonsense are you talking about! Don't say such nonsense!"

…

…

Two hundred thousand troops - an army of this size will naturally not march at the same time.

Even if Han Bai is reincarnated, he will not be able to control the 200,000 troops gathered in action.

Otherwise, not to mention the adjustment of diet, just daily defecation will be a huge problem.

In order to facilitate management, Seito divided the troops under his command into many units, letting Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke lead the 5,000 forward troops to open the way first, and other units moved forward in order.

He himself and the main force under his command will not officially set off until November 20.

For this battle, he mobilized all the elite soldiers and generals under his command. He really used all his elite troops and didn't even send anyone to guard his home.

This battle was a military action that Tokugawa Iemo pushed hard and was finally implemented.

If we win, then everything will be easy to say.

But if they are defeated... the "anti-war faction" will not show mercy and will definitely launch a large-scale counterattack!

By then, regardless of Aomori, Tokugawa Iemo's situation will definitely become quite passive.

He had made up his mind to marry Tianzhang Yuan as his wife after destroying Changzhou.

In other words... he was mentally prepared to accept Tokugawa Iemo as his adopted son!

For the sake of his future son, of course he would not watch him suffer.

Even if we don't talk about Tokugawa Iemo, the victory or defeat of this battle is also related to Aomori's own future.

In this way, there is no reason for him not to be serious, and there is no reason for him not to give his best.

Although on the surface, the Tokugawa army has an absolute advantage, is morally responsible, and has overwhelming military strength, it is almost impossible to think of the possibility of defeat.

But... when dealing with war, Qingdeng has always adhered to the combat philosophy of "being cautious" and "becoming unwinnable first, then waiting for the enemy to be victorious".

Looking back at his previous battles, without exception, they were all internal battles.

On the other hand, this campaign was not only the first external battle he commanded, but it was also an expedition spanning half of Japan - although half of Japan was not that big, the straight-line distance from Otsu to Choshu was only more than 300 kilometers.

In this way, the uncertainty factors are doubled.

All in all, it is always right to be more cautious and have a few more trump cards in your hand.

No matter what, this battle will ultimately determine the future direction of history!

As Setobo's general mobilization order was issued, the soldiers of the Shinsengumi responded enthusiastically, and no one was afraid of fighting.

Even Sanako and Awu, who had just given birth, expressed their willingness to "return to the front line."

Of course, their request to join the war was politely declined by Qingden.

After giving birth to a child, you should confine yourself to confinement and avoid strenuous exercise - Qingdeng still understands this common sense.

No matter how much the two daughters tried to persuade him, Qingdeng never changed his mind.

Although Sanako and Awu are both rare talents, Qingden now has a cloud of advisers and a rain of strong generals, so it doesn't matter even without the help of the two women.

He took advantage of these two days to finish the remaining government affairs at hand.

The first thing he did was to see Elodie off.

…
To be continued...