Push back a little bit in time——
Kimura, who was in a happy mood, smiled happily.
As of this morning... Correction. To be more precise, most of the unpleasant emotions that had been accumulating in Kimura's heart since he was frightened and fell to the ground by Qingden's lightning-fast sword were eliminated at this moment.
——On my first mission, I accidentally caused casualties to the hostages being held hostage... Hum, Tachibana Aoden! You'd better pray that Okubo and Kurosawa won't blame you for this in the future!
From the very beginning, Kimura did not think that Qingnobo would be able to rescue all the girls who were held hostage while annihilating the remaining members of the "One-Armed Party" in the house.
It was precisely because Kimura firmly believed that Qingto could not have this ability that he pretended to hand over such a difficult task to him.
The whole process of "passing the buck" went smoothly beyond Kimura's expectation.
Kimura originally thought that Qingto would resist verbally. Unexpectedly, the other party would nod in agreement almost without thinking!
This made Kimura feel surprised and extremely excited - this Tachibana Aoden actually took the initiative to take advantage of the fire! What a fool!
Since Qingto is so "cooperative", Kimura is also happy to push the boat forward.
When Qingto asked Kimura to give him "the greatest degree of autonomy," Kimura nodded happily.
At this time, Kimura had a completely "sit back and watch the show" mentality.
He couldn't wait to see what kind of expression that disgusting and low-born Tachibana Aoden would look like after he failed in his mission.
In addition to being full of expectations, Kimura was also secretly praying that Qingto would be unlucky because he failed to successfully rescue the hostages.
For example: being criticized by Okubo Tadashi and Kurosawa Atsushi.
Another example: The families of the victims came to the door and asked for an explanation.
Even if none of the above-mentioned things happened in the end, it doesn't matter. If you can destroy Tachibana Aoden's reputation of being "extraordinarily capable and victorious in every battle", you can still count it as something earned!
No matter which direction the final result goes, Qingto will definitely be unlucky - thinking of this, Kimura can hardly restrain the corners of his mouth from turning up.
As for another path that Kimura had never imagined, that is, Aomori successfully "grasped with both hands", not only killing the remaining enemies who were still huddled in the room and resisting, but also rescuing the hostages safe and sound, completing the task beautifully... …joke! Is Qingdeng really a benevolent king? How could such an outrageous thing happen?
"Tsk...what on earth is that Tachibana Aoden doing..."
At this time, Tsuchida, who was standing next to Kimura, suddenly muttered.
"It's been so long, why is the Third Division still standing still?"
"Tsuchida." Kimura glanced at Tsuchida and said in a serious and indifferent tone, "Don't be impatient. Since Tachibana has been entrusted with the task of wiping out the remaining enemies and rescuing the hostages, we only need to wait quietly for the final result. That’s it.”
"Hehehehe." Tsuchida skillfully put on a flattering smile, nodded and bowed, "Mr. Kimura, you are right, you are right! It was me who messed up my sense of proportion!"
Although Tsuchida Shicai's mumbling was of no value...but his words reminded Kimura - yes, why is the Third Division so quiet? What on earth is Tachibana Aoden doing? Why hasn't he taken action yet?
While Kimura was thinking this, he raised his head to look in the direction of the members of the Third Division.
As soon as he cast his gaze——
"Officials and soldiers who were angry with thieves and reformed broke in!"
"How many officers and soldiers broke in?"
"No, I don't know!"
"Calm down, everyone! Don't get into trouble!"
…
Suddenly, the house in front suddenly sounded like footsteps, shouts, and wailings one after another!
"What's going on?!" Kimura was shocked.
"Is this... Ju Qingden led his troops to attack?" Tsuchida also changed his expression.
"Impossible!" Kimura said, "The Third Division has been there and hasn't moved. How could it..."
Kimura's voice suddenly paused.
Because he suddenly realized something that after thinking about it carefully, he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine - it seemed that he had not seen Qingdeng's figure since just now...
At this moment, a guess emerged in Kimura's mind.
"...Go and call me all the troops from the Third Division!" Kimura turned to a subordinate and shouted, "Go quickly!"
After a while, the ranks and strength of the Third Division arrived in front of Kimura and lined up.
"Where is your captain... Tachibana Aoden?" Kimura asked quickly without any greetings.
Kimura is the captain of the squad, and his rank is so high that he can kill people. How can they dare to disobey the command of the squad captain?
Akabane, Shirasaki and others, with different expressions, looked at each other for a while, and then they talked to each other and detailed the general story of "Qingnobo's disappearance".
Akabane and the others didn't quite know where Qingden had gone, so they could only tell the truth about what they saw and heard.
After learning that Qingneng actually issued an order like "You just stay here and leave the rest to me," Kimura's expression suddenly became weird and unpredictable.
At this moment, someone next to Kimura suddenly raised his hand and pointed upward, shouting:
"Look! Someone jumped out of the window!"
Kimura looked up and saw one girl after another, jumping up to the eaves of the first floor along a certain window, and then sliding down to the ground along the eaves - it was the girls who were being held hostage.
At this moment, Kimura finally could no longer maintain his composure.
At almost the same moment, all the strange noises coming from the house gradually stopped.
In the blink of an eye, the only sound that reached everyone's ears was the clanging of gold and iron.
"Master Kimura...?" Tsuchida looked at Kimura with a look of confusion on what to do.
"..." Kimura's expression changed rapidly for a moment, then he gritted his teeth and said, "Aoi! Take your people into the house! See what's going on inside!"
"yes!"
…
…
Time returns to the present——
Qingdeng has not yet seen the combat qualities of the first, second, and eighth teams, so he will not comment on them yet.
Judging from what he has observed so far...that is, the performances of the fifth, seventh, and third divisions under his command tonight, Qingden has discovered that these troops all have an astonishing commonality - just You can bully the weak, but you can't take on big responsibilities, and you can't deal with big enemies or big battles.
The scenes Qingden saw just now and now are the most profound interpretation of this concept.
With their superior numbers and advanced equipment, the hard-edged members of the 7th Division were all like wolves and tigers when they rushed into the house, killing Takato Todo who was unexpectedly surprised by the surprise attack by the Hoshitsu Kai. Long and others were pissed off.
Whether it is the neat "breaking and attacking" actions or the ability of teamwork to never act alone, they are all remarkable.
The result - after encountering Takasugi Shinsaku, he quickly shrunk his eggs. Takasugi Shinsaku only killed less than 10 people, and the order and morale of the seventh team suddenly collapsed like an avalanche.
Although Takasugi Shinsaku is indeed very strong, the members of the seventh team always have an absolute advantage in terms of numbers and equipment.
If we unite as one and resist the enemy bravely, there is no need to fear Takasugi Shinsaku's blade.
Qingdeng never expected that in less than an hour, the members of the Hufu Thief Kai team would give him a warning: "Do you think this is our limit? Wrong! We can still be worse. A bit!” farce!
Now, the scene that appeared in front of Qingdeng made him shocked again.
Although a group of officers and soldiers inside and outside the house, under the urging and orders of Kimura and Tsuchida, began to pursue the fleeing Takasugi Shinsaku, the pursuit of the officers and soldiers... can be said to be a concrete example of what procrastination is, what it means to cower, and what "soldiers" are. Youzi’s fishing”.
They were afraid of Takasugi Shinsaku's revolver and did not dare to advance, but they were also afraid of Kimura's military orders and did not dare to retreat.
Ever since, driven by this contradictory psychology, a strange scene like this appeared——
The officers and soldiers skillfully put on an appearance of "We are trying hard to pursue him!", but in fact, they had always maintained a very subtle distance of about 100 meters from Takasugi Shinsaku, and they only dared to shoot Takasugi Shinsaku from a distance with their matchlocks. Don't dare to get any closer.
The rate of fire and hit rate of the matchlock gun are notoriously suffocating. Whether you can hit a target 20 meters away does not depend on skill, it all depends on luck.
Shooting from such a distance...is no different than wasting bullets.
Takasugi Shinsaku seemed to have expected that the officers and soldiers of Huofu Thief Kai would not dare to pursue him.
He took advantage of the gap to escape, turned his head, and showed a mocking smile to the officers and soldiers who were following him from a distance.
When Qingdeng saw this, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.
What should I say...
All I can say is - what a hilarious sight.
Why the officers and soldiers who fought against thieves "bullied the weak and feared the strong" and why they were "fearful of Western guns like tigers"... The reasons are not difficult to guess.
Although due to his job, the Huofu Thieves have been dealing with powerful and vicious criminals all year round... But no matter how strong and vicious the criminals are, how strong and vicious can they be?
In essence, most of the arrests carried out by Huo Fu Thieves are dimensionality reduction strikes.
Huofu Thieves are an army with a stable organizational structure, sophisticated armor, maneuverable horses, bows, arrows, and muskets.
What do criminals have? The armor that is barely usable is enough to reach the sky!
Therefore, there are only a few criminals and gangs who can stand up to the Huo Fu thieves.
In other words, most of the battles Huo Fu Thieves fought were downwind battles that were not very dangerous. They rarely encountered headwind battles that would result in heavy casualties. They lacked the experience to fight difficult and tough battles.
She is used to fighting in a smooth and easy way, but suddenly she encounters a hard problem that is not easy to deal with, so she naturally shows her brittle but not firm nature.
As for why they are "fearful of Western guns like tigers"...this is easier to explain.
To this day, whether among the people, the shogunate or the vassals, there are still many "die-hard" members who believe that Western muskets, artillery, and armored battleships are crude and vulgar techniques.
However, it has been six years since this country was founded, and people with clearer minds have already understood it - their samurai swords and matchlock guns are no match for the advanced Western rifles and ship cannons, as well as the embroidery needles. , Fireworks and firecrackers are no different.
Surprisingly enough, the Edo shogunate is actually one of the most liberal-minded forces in Japan.
As early as 1841, Tadakuni Mizuno, the then senior lieutenant, authorized a gunner named Takashima Akiho, who was proficient in Western artillery, to preside over the shogunate's armaments reform and focus on Westernizing the shogunate's armaments.
However, not long after, this military reform was still in its infancy due to the loss of power and collapse of Mizuno Tadakuni. Takashima Akiho was also arrested and imprisoned because he was slandered by die-hards.
Time came to 1853. After the "Black Ship Arrival" incident, the Edo shogunate, who was greatly frightened by the military power of the United States, once again began to reform the military system, and promulgated and implemented a series of policies and measures to this end.
For example: establishing a martial arts institute and a Tibetan book transfer institute, recruiting capable people who are proficient in Western practice... and so on.
Aoto's old friend, the "principal" of the Hoshu Tiao Institute, a close confidant of Tokugawa Iemo, and Katsu Rintaro, who was about to be sent by Tokugawa Iemo to study the navy, rode on this stock trend to rise to great heights.
When Ii Naomi took power, he always implemented the policy of "founding the country".
Tokugawa Iemo was also very open-minded and his political stance was also inclined to "founding the country".
Under the authorization of the Edo shogunate, the Kōwushō established a fully westernized "pilot force".
All members of this unit wear blue military uniforms that are a mixture of Japanese and Western styles, wear Japanese hats with pointed peaks on their heads, and use the latest Western rifles: Enfield muzzle-loading rifles.
However, due to a series of practical reasons such as financial distress, obstruction by the die-hards, the endless party disputes between the "Nanki Faction" and the "Hitobashi Faction", and the imminent vassal states such as Satsuma and Choshu involving the energy of the shogunate, this pilot The army has obviously been established for several years, but as a result, it is still "under trial" until now, and the reform experience has not been widely spread to the entire shogunate army.
This is why units such as the Huofu Thieves Kai and the Advanced Iron Cannon Team are still equipped with outdated matchlock guns like a medieval army.
"Military reform" is never a military issue - it is a political issue.
Therefore, thanks to the demonstration given by the "pilot unit" of the Jiangwu Institute, the officers and soldiers of the Huo Fu Thieves Reform were all experienced in the world.
Their eyes and ears are not blocked, and they all know clearly how powerful Western firearms are.
That's why they were frightened out of their wits by Takasugi Shinsaku's two spears and stopped moving forward.
Whether they are "incapable of fighting tough battles" or "fearful of Western firearms like tigers", they all point to a common point - the training level of Huo Fu Thief Kai is worrying!
No matter how you say it, Takasugi Shinsaku is a suspicious person who seems to have a close relationship with the anti-barbarian group. Even if it is just from the perspective of "completely annihilating the anti-barbarian group", Aomori will not just let Takasugi Shinsaku go. Escape far away.
So he quickly ran out of the house - climbed over the window, slid along the eaves to the ground, and chased after Takasugi Shinsaku's back with the knife in hand.
boom!
In the thick darkness ahead, a hot bullet suddenly flew out and hit the ground at Qingden's feet.
As soon as the gunfire rang out, Qingdeng immediately flew into a narrow alley next to him at the speed of a conditioned reflex.
Qingdeng is still self-aware - he does not feel that he now has the eyesight and skill to accurately dodge revolver bullets.
This kind of pursuit that requires hiding in obstacles from time to time to prevent being hit by bullets, how effective it is... can be imagined.
Qingto watched helplessly as the distance between himself and Takasugi Shinsaku grew further and further away.
In the end - after Takasugi Shinsaku turned at a certain intersection, all the officers and soldiers, including Aomori, completely lost track of him.
Aoto stood at the place where Takasugi Shinsaku's figure disappeared...that is, in the center of the intersection. He looked around, smacked his lips unhappily and reluctantly, and thought to himself:
——Sure enough, we still have to find a way to fix the gun!
At this moment, in Qingdeng's heart, the desire to get the whole gun close to him was unprecedentedly high.
He has had enough of the suffocating feeling of being suppressed by technology.
——You must have at least a pistol... If you can get a lever-action rifle, that would be great!
If Qingdeng remembers correctly, the original lever-action rifle: the Henry M1860 lever rifle, has already been released.
Lever-action rifle - Anyone who watches American western movies will be very familiar with this type of gun.
Before the appearance of this gun, most rifles at that time were mainly single-shot loading, and only one bullet could be loaded into the chamber at a time. The built-in tubular magazine of the lever-action rifle can load more than ten bullets at a time.
It has fast reloading speed and high ammunition capacity. The largest magazine can hold more than a dozen rounds of bullets. You only need to pull the pull ring under the trigger once to load, saving time and effort. It also has fast shooting speed and high power. In the western part of the United States, During the pioneer days, it was a favorite of cowboys, outlaws and even peace officers.
Thinking back to his past life, Qingdeng once saw on the Internet a kind of gun-playing person who could load a lever-action rifle with one hand.
This technique of reloading a lever-action rifle with only one hand has a proper name: spinning cocking.
The specific operation method is as follows: Use your fingers to hold the pull ring under the trigger, and swing the gun hard, so that the gun body is pulled by the pull ring, rotates 360 degrees around the finger holding the pull ring, and then returns to its original position to complete loading. .
Although this loading method has disadvantages such as "requiring a lot of finger strength" and "easy to misfire", it has one advantage that is hard to refuse, that is, it can free one hand.
If he could own a lever-action rifle... Qingdeng could imagine what an exciting scene it would be - he would be able to hold a gun with one hand and a knife with the other! Suitable for both long-range and close combat!
A Henry M1860 lever-action rifle in the left hand, a Gunslinger in the right hand, and a Colt large-caliber revolver under each arm - perfect!
By then, who can beat me?
If you can't match your opponent's swordsmanship, use the gun. If the first shot fails, use another shot.
Take a big step towards becoming unparalleled in the world in an instant!
It's a pity... This kind of beautiful scene can only be imagined in my mind.
Not to mention lever-action rifles, Qingden now doesn't even have the means to purchase a revolver.
——Forget it...what should be there will always be there. It shouldn't be there, no matter how hard you try, it's useless.
After sighing with regret, Qingdeng sheathed the sword and turned around.
…
…
As soon as Qing Tengfang returned, he saw soldiers from an unknown division clearing the battlefield in full swing.
Groups divided into different units perform their own duties.
Those who moved corpses, counted the dead and injured, and checked whether there were any fish that had slipped through the net... it was a chaotic scene.
"Ah! Master Tachibana is back!"
In the noisy procession, I don’t know who shouted so loudly.
Immediately afterwards, a bunch of eyes focused on Qingdeng from all directions.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the air suddenly changed.
Although Qingdeng did not take the initiative to pay attention to the people around him, subtle whispers still penetrated his ears:
"Hey, look, he has almost no injuries at all."
"The new captain of the third team is too strong... Not only did he win a great victory, but he also escaped unscathed..."
"Of course, after all, he is the 'Benevolent King'."
"Speaking of which...why does he have to act alone? If we bring all the members of the third division to attack together, it should be easier, right?"
"Nonsense, you still need to ask? Of course it's because the members of the third team are too weak, no one can help, and bringing them along will only get in the way, so Tachibana-sama chose to act alone."
"Oh! That's it..."
Qingdeng keenly felt several glances coming from far away, and he instantly became more respectful.
It’s no wonder the team members reacted this way.
Sneaking into the house single-handedly, rescuing all the hostages, and bringing down all the traitors in the house - this kind of story, which is almost the same as the jokes told by family members and storytellers, happened just now, just now. In front of their eyes!
Almost everyone was looking at Qingdeng with respect.
They were like welcoming a general returning in triumph! When facing Qingdeng, the waist is unconsciously bent.
Everyone who stood in front of Qingdeng was like a wave of wheat falling over him! They all consciously stepped aside to make way for Qingdeng.
When Qingdeng saw this, he stopped where he was, as if he thought of something, he blinked and looked around.
Then, he half-closed his eyes, raised his chin slightly, ignored the sights and gossip of others, and walked forward with his head held high and calmly.
"Tachibana-sama!"
At this time, there were bursts of rapid footsteps, approaching from far away.
Looking up, it turned out to be his subordinates: the ranks and strength of the third division.
After they quickly rushed to Qingteng, the leader Shirasaki looked at Qingteng with surprised eyes and asked hesitantly:
"Are you...are you injured?"
Qingden glanced at Shirasaki calmly and wrote lightly:
"The one-armed party is nothing more than that."
His mood, appearance, and behavior are no different from normal.
*******
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Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
Let me tell you something. The author is going to accompany his mother to the city bureau today to go through some retirement procedures. By the way, he will also accompany his mother to buy some new clothes for the Chinese New Year, so there is a high probability that he will be cuckolding tomorrow. (leopard death.jpg)
(End of chapter)
