"No, no! Absolutely not!"

Shannan Keisuke shouted.

"Tachibana-kun, what kind of battle plan is this?"

"Gaochei City is no better than Qingshui Residence, it is a real city!"

"The battlefield is constantly changing."

"Let alone a city with a more complex environment."

"I don't doubt your strength."

"But... if you go to Kotori Castle alone, no matter what kind of accident you encounter, it won't be surprising."

"Mr. Ju, you are no longer the same as before. You can no longer do whatever you want with your bravery like before."

"Let me put it more bluntly...your life is very valuable now!"

"More valuable than us here and every member of the Shinsengumi."

"If something happens to you, what should we do? What should we do if you call the Shinsengumi?"

Shannan Keisuke's words won the approval of many people present.

Nagakura Shinpachi, Toudo Heisuke and others all echoed in support of Shannan Keisuke and advised Aonto to think twice.

However, the strange thing is that the three people closest to Aoto - Sanako, Mai Kinoshita and Souji - did not say a word and did not urge Aoto not to take risks like the others.

Qingdeng sat down peacefully and listened silently.

After everyone had finished speaking, he said calmly:

"Kingsuke, I understand everything you said."

"But--"

As expected, his conversation suddenly changed.

"If my battle plan can be realized, it will minimize the casualty rate of our army, right?"

Shannan Jingzhu listened and said anxiously:

"That's true, but..."

Before he finished speaking, Qingdeng interrupted him and said:

"Okay, you don't need to say more."

"Just do as I say!"

"Tonight at 9 o'clock in the evening (12 o'clock in the evening), Mai Kinoshita and I will look for a weak spot in the wall between Sannomaru and Kunimizura that is easy to sneak into."

"The troops are waiting at the foot of the mountain."

"Ah Wu Dan will open the gates in the northern part of the city for everyone."

"Take fire as a signal."

"Once the fire is seen, all troops must move forward with indomitable momentum and launch a general attack on Gaotori Castle without risking their own lives!"

"That's it, the meeting is over!"

Everyone present, look at me, I look at you...

Although Shannan Keisuke, Nagakura Shinpachi and others still looked like they had something to say, Aomori had already given the order to "dismiss the meeting", so they had no choice but to comply.

They stood up in twos and threes and filed out.

As soon as the front foot came out of the formation, Shannan Keisuke, the back foot, could not help but mutter to himself:

"Sure enough, it still doesn't work!"

"We still need to persuade Mr. Tachibana!"

"Anyway, he is now the general of the Shinsengumi."

"His personal safety is closely related to the Shinsengumi... no, to the entire Gyeonggi Province!"

"How can he be an ashiya like an ashigaru again?"

After saying that, Shannan Keisuke stopped and turned back, trying to return to the main formation.

However, he had just taken a few steps when he was stopped by Hijikata Toshizo on the side:

"Okay, Shannan, there's no need to persuade me, you can't persuade me."

Shannan Keisuke turned his head and cast a puzzled look at Hijikata Toshizo.

Hijikata Tossan continued the words quietly:

"You are right. Based on Tachibana's current status, he really needs to act cautiously and should not act recklessly."

"But... before he became the governor of Gyeonggi Province and the general of the Shinsengumi, he was first a 'swordsman'."

Having said this, Hijikata Toshizo raised his hand and gently touched the sword on his waist.

"In my opinion...the reason why Tachibana drew up such a battle plan, such as 'reducing the casualties of the troops' and 'quick victory', are all secondary reasons."

"He just simply wants to fight!"

…

…

As the military order to "prepare to attack the city" was issued, each team deployed in full swing.

It had just arrived in the evening, and the various units of the Shinsengumi had already completed preparations for the siege.

There are 8 gates in Kotori Castle, which are -

The Tsubasakaguchi Gate directly to the west.

The Black Gate to the north.

Okaguchi Gate in the northeast.

On the east side are Yabamon, Matsunomon, Udamon, Chihayamon and Naodamon.

As for the main attack on the north, Kinoshita Mai's goal is to open the black gate to the north.

Therefore, the main force of the Shinsengumi was deployed in the north.

Divisions 1, 3, and 6 are responsible for attacking the Black Gate due north.

The second and fourth divisions are responsible for attacking the Okaguchi Gate in the northeast.

The fifth and eighth divisions are responsible for attacking the Husakaguchi Gate in the west.

Although there are many gates in the east, including five gates, because this area is adjacent to dense woods and the terrain is rugged, it is difficult to deploy troops, so it is not used as an attack direction, and only seven or ten troops who are not involved in the siege are deployed.

The squadron conducts surveillance.

Kinoshita Mai will open the black gate to the north for the whole army from the inside.

The 1st, 3rd, and 6th squadrons took this opportunity to attack the city in one go, opening the Okaguchi Gate in the northeast and the Tsubasakaguchi Gate in the west, paving the way for the rest of the troops.

During this period, Qingto will continue to attack Honmaru, disrupting the enemy's deployment and attracting the enemy's attention.

At this moment, everything is ready, all we need is the east wind.

The entire Shinsengumi army is ready to go.

Now...all that's left is for Aoto and Mai Kinoshita to infiltrate!

…

…

It's night——

Gaotori Castle, somewhere in the northeast——

The night wind blew by, and Lin Tao burst into waves.

The sky was covered with clouds and was as dark as thick ink. There was only a gap in the northern sky where the dark clouds cracked, revealing the bright first quarter moon, shedding a little light.

Qingden tightened the sleeves of the light green feather fabric with sleeve belts.

Although he was wearing a full set of equipment such as chain mail, arm armor, and leg armor, this weight was nothing to Qing Deng whose physical strength was far superior to ordinary people.

Even if he is wearing bulky armor, he can still run through the mountains and forests like flying.

As for Kinoshita Mai next to him, she does not have such abnormal physical fitness.

Therefore, her equipment is as lightweight as possible.

In order to facilitate movement, she directly changed into a classic skin - a black ninja suit, with only a pair of beautiful eyes exposed.

Because it had been a long time since he had seen Kinoshita Mai's outfit, Qingto couldn't help but feel fresh and unfamiliar.

The ruggedness of this mountain range cannot be underestimated.

The angle of the cliffs in several places is close to 90 degrees.
To be continued...