Chapter 748: Give up half the arm of the shogunate to Qingto!5300
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Kyoto, Kinkaikoji Temple (Aizu Military Main Formation), Matsudaira Yoshiho's room——
Matsudaira Yongho is attending to official business.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the room from far to near:
"Lord! Good news came from the Yamato front line!"
Matsudaira Yongho was surprised:
"Come in!"
With the sound of the door sliding, a dusty messenger appeared in front of Matsudaira Yongho.
Before he could speak, the man consciously said loudly:
"Lord! The Shinsengumi has won a great victory!"
"The Tenchu group is completely destroyed! Takatori Castle is recovered! The thief chief Yoshimura Totarō is captured!"
"The Shinsengumi will rest in place for 3 days, and after the rest, they will officially take over!"
After Matsudaira Yongho heard this, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his cheeks.
Out of too much shock, he subconsciously stood up and asked urgently:
"What? The Shinsengumi has recaptured Takatori Castle? Is the news accurate?"
The messenger who came to report the news replied in a neither humble nor condescending manner:
"My lord, the news is accurate! I saw with my own eyes the Aoi pattern flag and the sincerity flag flying on the castle tower of Takatori Castle!"
Matsudaira Yongho opened his eyes in confusion, his expression dull, as if he had lost his soul.
After a moment, he sat back to his original position slowly and numbly.
"It's actually... so fast...! That's not right... Didn't the Shinsengumi arrive at the foot of Mount Takatori until yesterday...?"
Matsudaira Yongho frowned, calculating rapidly in his mind.
As far as he knew, the entire Shinsengumi army did not reach the city until yesterday afternoon.
The time now is noon.
Eliminating the time required for the messengers to move back and forth... In other words, it only took the Shinsengumi one night to eliminate the Tenchu group! They recovered Takatori Castle!
Thinking of this, Matsudaira Yongho couldn't help but take a deep breath.
It's not that he doesn't believe that the Shinsengumi will regain Kotori Castle.
He trusted Qingdeng very much.
I also believe in the Shinsengumi’s fighting power.
It's just... he couldn't believe that it only took such a short time for the Shinsengumi to regain Takatori Castle!
Although he has never seen Gaotori Castle with his own eyes, he still has a certain understanding of the defense situation of this famous mountain city.
To put it bluntly - if he and Aoto were swapped and he was asked to lead the Aizu army to attack Takatori Castle, he would only have a huge headache! He wouldn't know where to start!
Although the Aizu Army has a world-famous cavalry unit, it lacks firearms, especially heavy firearms represented by artillery.
When they arrived in Shangluo, the entire army only carried a few antique-like old artillery pieces.
Using these broken cannons to bombard a fortified city such as Gaoche City has no use other than to build momentum, intimidate the enemy soldiers, and blow up some stone chips and earth clods.
Therefore, facing the Takatori Castle occupied by the Tenchu Group, the only way Matsudaira Yongho could think of to attack the city was to issue the order "attack with the entire army, and the first one to get there will be heavily rewarded", and consume the enemy troops bit by bit, using "brute force"
"Break in" to win.
All in all, even with superior troops, it is not easy to capture Gaochei City!
Even if it turns into a bad battle where each other consumes each other's baggage and competes for endurance, it would not be surprising.
At first, even with the most optimistic attitude, Matsudaira Yōho believed that it would take the Shinsengumi at least half a month to capture Takatori Castle.
He was even ready to supply food and fodder to the Shinsengumi.
As a result... he only received the news yesterday that "the entire Shinsengumi army has arrived at the foot of Mount Takatori", and today he has already received the news that "the Shinsengumi has won a great victory"!
No matter which angle you look at it, the speed at which the Shinsengumi regained Takatori Castle was too fast! It was surprisingly fast!
Abruptly, Matsudaira Yongho felt a strong sense of frustration for no reason.
When people mention Aizu, people can always think of the world-famous Aizu Army first.
Matsudaira Yoshiho has always been proud of the strength of the Aizu Army.
He always believes that even if you look at the whole of Japan, the Aizu Army is a uniquely powerful army!
However, at this moment, he suddenly realized that the Aizu Army, which he was so proud of, seemed to have been left behind by the Shinsengumi...
He couldn't help but ask himself:
——If... if we are in conflict with the Shinsengumi now, can we win?
Deep down in his heart, he could not give an accurate answer to this question.
No, to be more precise - his reason has already produced the answer, but his sensibility cannot accept the answer...
At this time, the messenger who came to deliver the message hesitated for a while, and then said hesitantly:
"Lord, regarding how the Shinsengumi regained Takatori Castle in such a short period of time... I have collected some gossip that I don't know whether it is true or not..."
After hearing this, Matsudaira Yongho immediately became energetic and said quickly:
"Speak quickly! Just say it! I will judge whether the content is true or false!"
Hearing what Matsudaira Yongho said, the messenger no longer hesitated, took a deep breath, and said slowly:
"Lord, as far as I know, the rapid recovery of Takatori Castle completely depends on Tachibana-sama's ability!"
"Tachibana-sama single-handedly invaded Takatori Castle and captured Sannomaru, Ninomaru and Honmaru one after another. This greatly weakened the Tenchu team's combat power, disrupted the defenses in the city, and cleared the way for the army's follow-up attack."
"In this way, the Shinsengumi were able to liberate Takatori Castle overnight!"
The messenger finished speaking concisely and concisely.
"..."
It was clear that the other party had finished speaking, but Matsudaira Yongho remained silent for a long time without saying a word.
The look of shock that had just faded away appeared on his cheeks again.
"No! I didn't ask you to repeat it again...Oh...forget it..."
After saying that, Matsudaira Yongho let out a long breath, and then leaned weakly on the elbow rest next to him.
A samurai broke into Takatori Castle, one of the "Three Mountain Castles", by himself, and penetrated the entire city at one go, even Honmaru was captured. In ordinary days, if someone said this to Matsudaira Yoshiho, then he
They will definitely scold each other angrily: It’s broad daylight, why are you hysterical?!
But the strange thing is... after changing the protagonist of this "story" to Tachibana Aoden, he will change his mind: If it is Tachibana Aoden, then such a thing is really possible!
Although Qingdeng was a divine man who performed miracles, to this day, no matter how appalling things he did, it is not surprising.
But...even so, Matsudaira Yongho was still shocked beyond words by this astonishing achievement of "breaking into the high castle alone".
After taking another deep breath, Matsudaira Yongho put his hand on his forehead and gently massaged his scalp with his fingers to relax his brain, which was extremely tired from listening to a large amount of heavyweight information.
Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and was stunned for a moment, and then said to himself quietly:
"It won't be long before there will be a powerful name in this land... I don't know where the Orange Military Department will be divided..."
…
…
Almost at the same time, the imperial court, the Satsuma Domain...the major forces in Kyoto, as well as the Choshu Army who were still fleeing westward, all received the good news of the Shinsengumi.
Regarding the Shinsengumi, the reaction of various forces can be said to be that some are happy and some are sad.
Among them, the most excited and excited people were undoubtedly the monarchs and ministers of Takatori Domain.
The day after Gaotori City was recovered, they returned to their homeland.
Thanks to Seito's lightning fast attack, Takatori Castle was liberated without much damage.
Not only did he help them drive away the bandits, but he also protected the city as much as possible... The gratitude of the monarchs and ministers of the Takatori domain to Qingden can no longer be described in specific words.
It is no exaggeration to say that they wanted to hug Qingdeng and "gnaw" Qingdeng's face like a watermelon.
…
…
Kyoto, Imperial Palace——
"Tachibanabe won?"
Kujo Naotada looked at Jin Xi who came to report the news with surprise on his face.
[Note: personal waiter]
Jinxi’s answer:
"Yes! It's absolutely true!"
After the Zunbo faction headed by Sanjo Sanimi was completely eliminated, the Samu faction represented by Kujo Naotada was able to rise and take control of the imperial court.
They were of the same mind as the shogunate, so after receiving the good news from the Shinsengumi, Kujo Naotada was naturally happy.
I saw Kujo Sanemi grinning, revealing two rows of black teeth. She excitedly slapped her thighs with the fan in her hand and shouted excitedly:
"So good! So good!"
"Tachibana, well done!"
"Following the Changzhou Army, the Tenchu Group of Lao Shizi was also wiped out!"
"In this way, those Zunhuang faction who only know how to make noises and daydream should stop completely."
"Oh, the Tachibana Military Department has made another great contribution! It deserves a reward! It deserves a reward!"
"What kind of official position will be given to him this time..."
…
…
Kyoto, Satsuma Domain Residence, a certain secret room——
In the secret room, two of the "Three Heroes of Satsuma" - Saigo Kinosuke and Komatsu with swords - sat facing each other.
Apart from the two of them, there was no one else in the secret room.
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"… Saigo-kun."
Komatsu crossed his arms with a knife and said in a deep voice:
"Although it's not my place to say this, but...that Tachibana Aoden is really fascinating."
Having said this, he curled up the corners of his mouth and adopted a tone that was half serious and half joking.
"After severely inflicting heavy losses on the anti-barbarian group and annihilating the Qingshui clan, he once again created new miracles with pure personal force."
"In terms of performance alone, he has almost reached the limit of a warrior, and is close to Ogata's power back then."
"If I were an ordinary warrior, I would probably worship Tachibana Aoden crazily."
As soon as he finished speaking, Saigo Kinosuke, who was opposite him, echoed half-jokingly:
"Komatsu-kun, we are each other."
At this time, Komatsu changed the subject with a knife and his tone became serious:
"However, I admire you. As 'Satsuma Hayato', we should take our own position into consideration."
"After this battle, Ju Qingden's prestige will definitely be at its peak."
"Saigo-kun, I think it's time for us to consider our next course of action."
"It is to be like Aizu and completely fall to the shogunate."
"Or... like before, keep an extra hand?"
After finishing speaking, he stared at Saigo Kinosuke, waiting for the other party's response.
"..."
Saigo Yoshinosuke lowered his gaze and looked at the tatami in front of his knees, thinking.
…
…
In the Miasak area west of Gyeonggi Province, a certain forest——
Blah blah blah blah...
It's raining.
A steady drizzle.
Countless small raindrops fell on the branches and green leaves, and even smaller water splashes fell to the ground.
Looking up, a thin curtain of rain shrouded the entire forest, making it wet and adding a hazy and desolate look to the land.
Deep in the woods, a brown "long dragon" walked through it.
If you look carefully, you will see that it is the Choshu Army that fled all the way after evacuating Kyoto.
Traveling with them were the Seven Ministers of the Zunbo Sect, headed by Sanjo Sanimi.
Sanjo Sanimi and others who were expelled from Kyoto had no other choice but to flee to Choshu.
The soldiers of the Changshu Army guarded Sanjo Sanimi and others in the safest place, that is, in the middle of the queue.
Even if he is reduced to this, the former still gives the latter the greatest respect.
Blah blah blah blah...!
The rain is getting heavier and heavier.
The horses, soaked by the rain, had their heads drooped.
The dense and noisy sound of rain actually brought out the tranquility.
No one spoke...a deathly silence tightly enveloped every corner of the Changzhou army column.
Everyone was silent.
Every one of them was disgraced.
Everyone lowered their heads and stepped on the ground that had turned into mud.
The armor of the soldiers was soaked by the rain and became heavy.
Because they fled in a hurry, they did not have time to prepare sufficient luggage.
The coir raincoat is only enough for two, so three people share one set.
Many people don't even have a hat, so they can only use their physical strength to resist the splashing rain.
It was afternoon... Even so, under the cover of dark clouds, the sky was no different from night.
Although I tried to light a torch, the flame was not easy to burn in the rain, so only turbid white smoke was seen flowing in the dark forest, which highlighted the desolate and sad atmosphere.
If you listen carefully, you can hear intermittent sobbing.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!"
"It's so humiliating...! It's so humiliating...!"
"Damn traitor! Damn thief!"
"Just wait! We will definitely call back!"
Countless people could not suppress the grief in their hearts and hid their faces and cried.
Some people choose to vent their anger and frustration by swearing.
The person who cried the most was undoubtedly Qi Qing.
I recall that not long ago, they were well-dressed officials.
Since their birth, their soles have never stepped on mud, and they wear silk socks every day that ordinary people would not even dare to think about.
But now... they were wearing simple raincoats and rough bamboo hats, braving the heavy rain, walking hastily in the depths of the desolate and dense forest, making themselves covered in mud and extremely embarrassed.
It looks so much like... no, it's just a lost dog!
How do they adapt to such a huge contrast? How do they resolve it?
And this is not what makes them sad the most.
What makes them even more sad is undoubtedly the disillusionment of their political ideals!
Their long-held political ambition of "respecting the king and rejecting the barbarians" came to an end with the emperor's edict!
Choshu became a traitor who threatened the emperor, and they also became accomplices...
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that even if they want to regroup, their comeback is far away!
Thinking of this, the seven ministers cried even harder, almost heartbroken.
"..."
I saw Sanjo Sanimi tightening her lips and looking up to the sky.
The low-rimmed bamboo hat covered most of his face, making it difficult for people to see his current expression.
However...slender threads of water could be faintly seen dripping down his cheeks, making it difficult to tell whether they were rain or tears.
After a while, he quietly sang a Chinese poem:
"The rain of sorrow will never end, and my breasts will be wet with tears."
"He went to Luo again and again every day, clearing away the clouds and mist with his own hands."
"The seven ministers gather together again to enjoy the moon in Kyoto!"
Coincidentally, at almost the same time, Gensui Kusaka, who was walking at the front of the queue, was also reciting poetry.
However, what he sang was a harmony song.
He lowered his head and sang word for word:
"The world is as chaotic as grass."
"The red sun is also dim."
"Beside the small river of Cicada, smoke curls up."
"The clouds that separate the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are formed..."
As he sang, he slowly raised his head.
His eyes penetrated the bottom edge of the bamboo hat and shot into the distance.
His eyes were no longer as dim as before when he escaped from Kyoto, but had regained their former sharp light.
After reciting the poem, he frowned, his eyes were deep, and he was thinking to himself, as if he was planning something...
…
…
Due to the long distance, Edo did not receive the good news that "Tenchu Group was destroyed and Takatori Castle was recovered" until the 2nd.
The content of the good news received by Edo can be said to be extremely detailed.
When the entire army arrived on the battlefield, when the attack began, and when the battle ended, everything was recorded clearly.
Naturally, it also includes the detailed story of Qingdeng's "alone attack on Gaochei Castle".
Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzōin received this good news almost at the same time.
After reading all the contents of the victory report, Tokugawa Iemo immediately put down all the work at hand and rushed to Oku non-stop to find Tenjoin - before leaving, he did not forget to bring a map of Japan.
…
…
Edo, Edo Castle, Ooku, Tenjoin’s bedroom——
Tianzhangin screened away the outsiders so that he could be alone with Tokugawa Iemo who had just arrived.
"Jia Mao, you seem very happy?"
Tianzhangin stroked the calico cat on his lap and said to Tokugawa Iemo opposite with a smile.
"Mother, aren't you asking questions knowingly?"
Tokugawa Iemo smiled helplessly.
"If I must say it, Mother, you are also very happy, aren't you?"
Tianzhangyuan covered his lips and smiled softly, not denying it.
After a while, he half-jokingly said to Tokugawa Iemo:
"Jia Mao, Sheng Qing has once again made indelible contributions. You can't treat me badly."
Tokugawa Iemo smiled slightly:
"It's natural!"
"Mother, to be honest, I have already decided what kind of reward I want to give Mr. Tachibana."
As he spoke, he took out the map of Japan he had just brought with him when he went out, and spread it in front of Tianzhangyuan's knees.
"I plan to seal this land to Mr. Ju, what do you think?"
As he spoke, he pointed to a certain place on the map.
Tianzhangin looked in the direction pointed by Tokugawa Iemo's finger - in an instant, her beautiful eyes widened in surprise, and her pretty little mouth opened into an "O" shape.
"Jia Mao, do you plan to seal this land to Sheng Qing?"
Tokugawa Iemo nodded seriously.
"Yes, I have made up my mind and I will never change it!"
Tianzhangyuan blinked his eyes hard several times, and then murmured with a complicated expression:
"Iemo...you are going to cut off half of the shogunate's arm to Shengqing..."
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This chapter is a famous event in Japanese history: [Fall of Qiqing]. According to historical facts, the Changshu Army and the Huisa Allied Forces did not fight at all. After the Huisa Allied Forces blocked the Imperial Palace, the Changshu Army simply gave in and Ma Liuer
