Chapter 923 The 'Defected' Shannan Keisuke and the Hussite Chariot! 【5000】
"..."
Qingdeng pursed his lips and did not respond.
Build the plank road openly and cross the Chencang secretly - a tried and tested tactic.
If you want to capture this "rock wall" at the minimum cost, the only available strategy is to launch a surprise attack!
Send a death squad to act as "regular soldiers" to attract the enemy's attention from the front so that the enemy has no time to pay attention.
Then, an elite force is sent out to act as a "surprise force" to sneak around and attack the enemy.
In this way, you will have a chance to succeed in the battle!
In theory, this strategy is undoubtedly the most suitable for the current Shinsengumi.
But... leaving aside everything else, just how to form the "regular soldiers" responsible for attracting the enemy's attention is a big trouble.
The enemy's firepower was extremely fierce and they occupied an overwhelming geographical advantage.
The vegetation, trees and rocks in front of the "rock wall" have been completely cleared. If a frontal attack is carried out, it will be completely exposed to the enemy's guns.
To engage in a head-on confrontation with the enemy in an open space without any shelter, and to persist until the "surprise soldiers" completed their mission... Calling it a "narrow escape" seems to be too light and inappropriate.
No matter how brave, tenacious and well-trained the members of the Shinsengumi are, they are still mortal bodies.
If you force them to fight in such a life-or-death battle, they will feel guilty and scared.
Therefore, a strong man must be sent to lead these "serious soldiers" before they can muster the courage to fight!
First of all, this person must have high enough prestige to make the team members trust him wholeheartedly and follow him.
Secondly, he must have excellent talents and be able to make accurate decisions on an ever-changing battlefield.
Finally, he must have enough courage to face this severe challenge without fear of bullets.
To sum up, the best candidate is undoubtedly Qingteng himself.
If Qing Teng takes the lead, the members of the Shinsengumi will naturally move forward bravely, each of them treating one as ten and ten as a hundred.
However, letting Qing Deng command the "serious soldiers" is simply killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.
Regardless of the "real soldiers", the winner of this plan lies in the "surprise soldiers".
If the "surprise soldiers" fail to complete the task of "sneaking around and surprise-attacking the enemy", no matter how tenacious the "regular soldiers" are, it will be in vain.
Therefore, the best solution is to deploy elite soldiers and generals led by Aoto, Souji, and Saito Kazuo to form a "surprise force" to maximize the combat effectiveness of the "surprise force".
Besides... to put it bluntly, Qingdeng should stay away from this kind of passive fighting with extremely high casualty rate.
Compared with the "regular soldiers" who resist the enemy's offensive, the survival rate of the "surprise soldiers" who sneak around and attack is undoubtedly much higher.
If something unexpected happens to Qingdeng, then this battle will be over and there is no need to continue fighting.
Then, apart from Qingto himself, the only person around him who meets the above conditions... is Shannan Keisuke!
Shannan Keisuke is the commander-in-chief of the Shinsengumi and a senior official of Qinjin Clan.
Its prestige is so high that there is no need to go into details.
Because of his gentle personality and tolerant attitude towards others, he is very popular among the soldiers.
In terms of "appeal", both the director and Saito Kazuo are far behind him.
There is no doubt that he is the only one who can do this right here and now!
It's just... this would be like pushing Shannan Keisuke into the fire pit with his own hands...
Facing this hedgehog-like "rock wall" head-on... not even Qingto can guarantee his escape, let alone Shannan Keisuke?
When Qingdeng thought of this, he couldn't help but hesitated and remained silent for a long time.
Shannan Keisuke seemed to have read through his thoughts and smiled slightly:
"Mr. Ju, thousands of people in Guandong are waiting for your help. At this critical moment, you must not be merciful as a woman."
"...Well, I understand."
Qingdeng said in a hoarse voice.
After finishing speaking, he closed his eyes, turned his head to the sky, and took a deep breath.
After a while, he opened his eyes, faced Shannan Jingshu, his eyes were firm, and he said seriously:
"Jingsuke, please."
Shannan Keisuke smiled calmly:
"clear!"
Seeing the other party's appearance of accepting the order happily, Qingdeng's eyes flickered slightly, with a hint of "hesitancy" in his "firmness".
However, he quickly suppressed this "hesitation" and made it fleeting, returning to his firm and unwavering tough look.
He took out his pocket watch from his pocket and looked at the time:
"In half an hour, the attack will begin!"
"A tough battle is about to begin...Kingsuke, please go down and rest for a while."
Shannan Jingsuke nodded lightly:
"It's okay, I haven't had lunch yet, my chest is almost touching my back."
Qingdeng said casually:
"I haven't eaten either, let's go have something to eat together."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shannan Keisuke raised his eyebrows:
"Oh? That's really a coincidence."
As he spoke, he took out a clean cloth bag from his arms, and then gently opened the cloth - there were a dozen rice balls that were still warm.
Shannan Keisuke's appetite is not big.
There were so many rice balls, obviously enough for two or three people, and it was impossible for him to finish them all.
"Tachibana-kun, I happened to prepare some rice balls. This is a rare opportunity, let's have a meal here."
When he mentioned the word "just right", Shannan Keisuke emphasized his tone and cast a teasing look at Aoshito.
When Qingdeng saw this, he couldn't help but laugh, and expressed with his gestures, "I'll do whatever you want."
The two found a large, flat rock and sat side by side, gazing at the distant sky while nibbling rice balls in their hands.
At this moment, the atmosphere surrounding the two of them changed significantly.
It became quiet and peaceful...it seemed like even the flow of time slowed down.
Suddenly, after finishing the first rice ball in his hand, Shannan Keisuke suddenly started talking:
"Tachibana-kun, I once thought about leaving the Shinsengumi."
"..."
"Tachibana-kun, I once thought about leaving the Shinsengumi."
"I heard it, no need to repeat it."
Qingto slowly put down the rice ball in his hand - just now, the hand holding the rice ball paused in mid-air for a moment - turned to look at Shannan Keisuke beside him, with a serious expression:
"Keisuke, even if you are joking, don't make fun of this kind of thing."
Article 2 of the "New Sengumi Regulations": You are not allowed to leave the organization without permission.
Anyone who commits a crime will be beheaded in public display!
No matter when or where, "being a deserter" is a shameful thing and must not be tolerated.
Facing Aomori's serious warning, Shannan Keisuke showed a calm smile:
"Tachibana-kun, I'm not kidding. There was a time when I seriously considered whether to leave the Shinsengumi and become a ronin."
"...Can you let me hear the reason? Why do you want to leave the Shinsengumi? Do you hate the Shinsengumi? Or are you dissatisfied with me or someone else?"
"It's not that I hate the Shinsengumi, nor that I'm dissatisfied with anyone. If I have to say it... I'm probably confused."
"'Confused'? What kind of reason is that?"
"Since going to Luo, we have been marching south and north, fighting one battle after another, and defeating powerful enemies one after another, but I always feel like we are wandering around in a quagmire."
"You seem to have expressed similar emotions before."
"Yes, this is not the first time I have expressed such emotion to you. It was from then on that I began to have the idea of 'retiring from the Shinsengumi'."
Having said this, Shannan Keisuke paused, grinned, and had a strange look on his cheeks that was half a smile but not a smile.
"Although I am a swordsman, I am actually a very traditional Confucian scholar at heart."
"My greatest ideal in life is to 'cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world'."
"Use your own hands to create a peaceful and prosperous age - it is with this philosophy that I have been fighting until now."
"I firmly believed that the sword I wielded was a well-deserved 'Sword of Righteousness', until...one day, I looked at those lofty ideals who were killed by us, and a thought that I had never had before emerged in my mind: My
Was what you did really the right thing to do?”
"Since then, I have been possessed, becoming more and more confused and doubting myself."
“I don’t know if the path I’m currently taking is the right one…”
"I don't know if the things I am doing now are really in the 'Pingtianxia'..."
"Every day is chaotic, and I feel like I'm stuck in a fog."
"Gradually, I couldn't help but think: If I leave the Shinsengumi, will I be able to look at myself with a new perspective and find the right path?"
At this time, Qingdeng suddenly interrupted:
"Are you just giving up on yourself?"
"Because I was so confused and couldn't think of an answer that could convince me, I simply didn't want to think about anything, and I didn't want to do anything. I just wanted to escape from here."
Shannan Keisuke was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said:
"You are right, I can't argue with you."
Qingdeng stared at Shannan Keisuke with a complicated expression, thought for a moment and then said seriously:
"Keisuke, if you want to leave the Shinsengumi, you can come to me."
"Although I can't bear to leave you, I respect your wishes."
"I will use legal and formal procedures to process your withdrawal from the team."
"As long as you don't violate the Shinsengumi Code, then everything is fine."
"If you leave the team without even saying hello... to be honest, I will be very sad."
"In order to maintain the discipline of the Shinsengumi, I will send a quick cavalry to capture you as soon as possible, and then... execute you according to law!"
"Even if you are my friend, I will not show mercy."
"The most preferential treatment I can give you is to change 'beheading' to 'harassment' so that you can die a more dignified death."
Shannan Jingsuke nodded lightly:
"I see."
"Military discipline is military discipline and cannot be challenged."
"If you are open to me because of personal friendship, then the discipline of the Shinsengumi will break down."
"To be honest, I have even thought about naming you as my fault-finder on the day of my execution."
"If I can die by the sword of a Nioh, my life will not be in vain."
Qingdeng said "ha" and "ha" twice as if he was laughing angrily.
"Spare me and let me chop off my best friend's head with my own hands? Do you want me to spend every night of the rest of my life in nightmares?"
The informal conversation between the two made the originally tense atmosphere much more relaxing.
Shannan Keisuke's facial expression changed back to a calm smile.
"Tachibana-kun, don't worry."
"Now I have no thought of leaving the team."
"So you don't have to worry that I will name you as my fault-finder."
After hearing these words, most of the depression lingering in Qing Deng's brows immediately dissipated.
"...Keisuke, let me ask a little more, what did you go through that made you give up the idea of 'leaving the team'?"
Shannan Keisuke chuckled a few times:
"This is all thanks to Harada-kun."
"Sanosuke?"
The sudden intrusion of Sanosuke Harada made Aoto stunned.
Shannan Jingzhu continued, minding his own business:
"Thanks to Harada Sanosuke's advice, I was able to clear the clouds and see the sun, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders."
Having said this, he suddenly sat upright and looked directly at Qingdeng with a serious face.
"My eyes can no longer distinguish between 'righteousness' and 'evil'."
"I can no longer figure out which ideas are correct and which paths are wrong."
"However, there is only one thing I am sure of, and that is that you, Mr. Ju, have the ability to change the world!"
"If it were you, maybe you could really make my ideal come true."
"Therefore, I have made up my mind - I will trust you wholeheartedly and follow you!"
"As long as it is your decision, I will obey it; as long as it is your order, I will execute it."
"I bet everything I have on you."
"I bet you are the one who can realize my ideal."
"I bet you are the one who can bring peace to the world."
"Since I have made such a big bet, I cannot be left behind halfway."
"Whether the road under our feet leads to a world of bliss or to the eighteenth level of hell, I will stay with you until the end!"
Shannan Keisuke, who was usually gentle and gentle, rarely used a high-pitched tone at this time.
Qingdeng looked at the other party blankly, and after a while he said half-jokingly:
"Although I don't know exactly what Sanosuke said to you, it seems that he said something very serious to you..."
"So, you suddenly opened your heart to me and spoke your heart out to me. What do you want to do?"
"Don't tell me, it's because the next battle is very dangerous and you are likely to die, so you want to tell me what you have been hiding in your heart for a long time while you can still speak.
."
Shannan Jingzhu smiled:
"I don't deny that."
Looking at the magnanimous Shannan Keisuke, Qingto smiled helplessly at first, and then changed to a tone that was half serious and half joking:
"Keisuke, you just said that you must trust me wholeheartedly and follow me closely... If that's the case, then you can't fall behind."
"If you fall behind halfway, how can you stay with me until the end?"
He said and picked up a rice ball and handed it to the other party.
"If you want to stay with me until the end, then fill your stomach quickly, have a good rest, and then defeat the enemy and achieve complete victory!"
"A person who doesn't even have the self-confidence of being 'uninjured and victorious' - I don't want such a companion."
He and Shannan Jingsuke looked at each other.
For this reason, he can clearly observe the changes in the other person's expression.
I saw a variety of emotions flowing between his cheeks.
After a while, these emotions turned into the helplessness and relief of "I lost to you" and "I really can't do anything to you".
"learn!"
He stretched out his hand and took the rice ball vigorously.
…
…
Half an hour later——
"Rock wall"——
The members of the surprise team were in full alert, always paying attention to everything going on under the "rock wall".
A bunch of eyes glanced back and forth under the "rock wall".
There was no voice, let alone laughter.
There was a suffocating tension in the air.
Suddenly, someone shouted:
"They're coming! Over there!"
Suddenly, all the eyes on the "rock wall" were focused on the same place - the bushes directly in front of the "rock wall".
The wheel is... the wheel is... the wheel is...
Accompanied by the sound of wheels turning from far to near, carriages drove out of the trees.
It is not animals that push these carriages, but people.
I saw the Shinsengumi soldiers hiding behind the carriage, pushing the carriage forward.
"Everything is hidden! Don't expose your body to the outside!"
Shannan Keisuke stretched his neck and loudly reminded the soldiers around him
Using the carriage carriage as a shelter - this was Qingdeng's idea.
Without any cover, directly breaking into the enemy's musket formation is an absolute death-defying act, and as many people as you get on board will die.
In order to deal with this dilemma, Qingdeng thought of the carriage.
As long as you hide behind the carriage, you can greatly increase the difficulty of shooting the enemy.
Not only that, you can also push the carriage toward the "rock wall" while hiding behind it.
In this way, it can both defend and move. It is really a weapon that kills two birds with one stone!
Therefore, Qingdeng mobilized all the available carriages within half an hour and provided them to Shannan Jingshu and the others.
Seeing the arrival of the Shinsengumi, the members of the team guarding the "rock wall" immediately launched an offensive.
"shooting!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the blink of an eye, gunshots rang out.
Bullets poured down like a torrential rain, and most of them hit the ground, while only a few hit the carriage.
Qingdeng's "carriage tactic" worked.
The penetrating power of these bullets is far from being able to penetrate the car.
After the enemy's first wave of offensive ended, Shannan Keisuke immediately shouted:
"Tell them back!"
Then, he set an example by sticking half of his head out of the carriage and steadying the flintlock gun in his hand.
In this situation, the sword is no longer of use.
Shannan Keisuke, who was not accustomed to Western things, had no choice but to pick up a flintlock gun and start shooting with the enemy.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
There was another barrage. But this time the barrage was fired by the Shinsengumi side.
The bullet hit the rock wall and knocked away countless pieces of rubble.
Immediately afterwards, the enemy immediately launched a counterattack...
For a moment, the scene was like a whirlwind!
The ancients designed the idiom "flying sand and rolling stones" to describe the strong wind.
But it is not inconsistent to apply this idiom to the current battle!
The two sides engaged in a fierce exchange of fire. A literal hail of bullets.
While shooting, Shannan Jingsuke did not forget to command the carts and marched towards the "rock wall", making a posture of "preparing to attack the rock wall".
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Congratulations to Qingdeng for unlocking the tactic - Hussite Chariot!