The author made a small mistake in the previous chapter.
The "Tiger of Fire" is Mizushima Rensaburo, the captain of the Fourth Squadron, and Kanazawa is the "Dog of Fire".
Moreover, Kanazawa's full name is "Kanazawa Chusuke", not "Kanazawa Katsumi". I confused his name with another character (Leopard Head Cries.jpg).
The author has modified the previous chapter, please let me know.
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Enhance reflex nerves... Qingdeng nodded slightly, very satisfied with his new talent.
It just makes up for Qingdeng’s biggest shortcoming.
"Eagle Eye +1" greatly enhances Qingdeng's eyesight, but it leads to a new problem - sometimes, when facing the enemy's attack, his eyes can keep up, but his body cannot.
Qingdeng has now acquired many and varied talents, but he has not yet replicated the talent of enhancing reflex nerves.
The reaction speed of the body does not match the power of the eyes... When fighting the man in black who was highly suspected to be Ogata Issei, Ayoto experienced this "his eyes could clearly see how the opponent attacked, but his body could not cooperate." Eyes act" pain.
He was lucky enough to win a big prize - this should have been a very happy thing, but Qingdeng had no time to savor the joy of this new powerful talent.
He and Kanazawa Chusuke looked at each other, and then turned around at the same time to look at the "Fire Dragon" and the captain of the first team: my grandson Chutaro, who was slowly walking toward them with his hands behind his back.
I saw my grandson, who usually had a faint smile on his face, showing a rare serious expression at this moment.
"My grandson." Kanazawa Tadashi's mouth twitched slightly, "Aren't you already asleep?"
"I have indeed fallen asleep, but I was woken up by the noise you made." My grandson sighed, "Don't you think the march is not tiring enough? You are still here so late at night that you are still awake. Compete in martial arts."
After hearing this, Kanazawa Chusuke quickly defended himself: "We..."
He had just started to speak when my grandson interrupted him:
"No matter what your reasons are, it is untimely and undesirable to do such a waste of energy during the march. Tonight's competition will not be the same next time. Everyone, please hurry back to the hotel and sleep."
My grandson's tone was calm, not high-pitched, and he didn't yell at the top of his lungs, but there was a strange coercion in it, and the aura of the coach was fully evident.
It's rare to meet a martial arts master who is both excellent in swordsmanship and practical experience. His body has just warmed up and he is about to concentrate on a good fight. As a result, my grandson suddenly stopped him with a few words during the competition. Stop.
This feeling of being still...not to mention how uncomfortable it is.
Both Aoto and Kanazawa Chusuke look depressed now - especially Aoto.
Because there is little contact between the various divisions of the Huofu Thieves Kai, Qingden originally planned to take advantage of tonight's great opportunity to learn more about the talents of the other divisions.
However, Qingdeng and the others had to admit: My grandson is right.
They will continue their march tomorrow, and when they arrive at the front line, they will immediately start preparing for battle. The next series of military operations will be a great test for everyone's physical strength. It is always good to reserve more physical strength.
--never mind.
Qingdeng thought to himself.
——Anyway, I have gained something tonight.
After thinking this secretly, Qingdeng took the initiative to put down the bamboo sword in his hand.
Seeing that Qingden was the first to set an example, Kanazawa Chusuke and the others stopped struggling and followed suit one after another. They put down their bamboo swords, bows and other things in their hands, and turned back to the hotel to sleep.
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God is good.
From the time the expeditionary army set off from Edo, the weather was always sunny and windy.
There was neither rainfall nor extreme weather such as sudden cold waves.
Kai is worthy of its nickname of "mountain country".
Since entering the realm of Kai, the surrounding scenery has undergone extremely obvious changes.
There are fewer plains and more mountains.
No matter which direction you look, you can see endless mountains.
Mountains connect mountains, mountains embrace mountains...
While looking at the stacks of Kai mountains in the distance, Qingden suddenly realized that this seemed to be the first time he had been so far away from Edo since he traveled through time.
After spending four days and three nights, the crusade finally arrived at the front line of the battle: a mountain village called "Daohe Village" on a bright afternoon.
Looking up, there are woods at the end of the country road at your feet. The woods extend to the mountain ridge. There are several smoke and birds rising from the back of the mountain ridge - that is where Daohe Village is located.
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Over the ridge. Instantly, waves of burning and smelly wind blew toward Qingdeng's nose.
Before he officially entered the village, Qingdeng had already discovered one scene after another of unbearable tragic scenes outside the village.
In the open land not far away, the farmland that was probably full of rice not long ago has now been trampled beyond recognition by countless human feet.
The densely packed footprints are like seals, layered and crisscrossed on the muddy ground of the rice fields.
Withered ears of rice, scattered rice seeds, broken farm tools, and all kinds of junk that could no longer be identified as what they originally were were scattered and scattered everywhere.
There are also many people among them, running back and forth in this "broken" rice field.
There are men and women, old and young - they must be the villagers of Daohe Village.
I saw the villagers of Daohe Village holding shovels, hoes and other equipment to tidy up the messy land; or using dismantled wooden boards as stretchers to pick up and carry away all the garbage and rags scattered in the mud. Or standing in a corner of the rice field doing nothing, staring at the rice field that has lost its former glory, speechless and choked.
Gaah! Gaah! Gaah!
At this time, several crows suddenly flew over and circled over the rice fields.
Their piercing cries add a strong sense of desolation to this paddy field that has been ruined to a great extent.
When Qingdeng saw this, he couldn't help but sigh secretly.
As one of the top officers in this battle, he had learned a lot of information about Daohe Village early on.
Inahe, Inahe... Inaho Fenghe, what a beautiful name it means - however, the villagers living in this village have been living a miserable life that is worse than death.
The object of this western expedition by Ayoto and others was a group of bandits entrenched on Mount Soma.
Soma Mountain: Although it is named "mountain", it is actually just a small peak with an altitude of less than 150 meters. Although the living conditions are very harsh, due to the dangerous terrain, it is a natural fortress that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The gang of thieves who occupied Soma Mountain as their base called themselves the "Sōma Clan" and were very powerful.
According to conservative estimates, the number of bandits in Xiangma Zhong is guaranteed to be 200, including many samurai who had to turn into bandits because they could not survive.
Inawa Village is located at the foot of Mount Soma, so it is often bullied by the Soma people. It is precisely because Inawa Village is very close to the Soma people that the fire bandit Kai chose this village as the site for this project. The forefront of the war.
As far as Qingdeng knows, the Sangma people will come down from the mountain in three places to demand "tribute" from the villagers of Daohe Village.
"Tribute" items include but are not limited to: food, drinks, clothes, women...
The Souma clan is so powerful that with just a wave of their hands, the entire Inawa Village can be physically destroyed.
In order not to end up in the tragic situation of "a man dies and a village is destroyed", the villagers of Daohe Village can only accept the situation and endure the humiliation.
If the grain harvest is good and the situation is good, then after the villagers "pay tribute" to Xiangma Zhong, they will still have a little leftover to barely make it to Hukou.
But if the harvest fails and the situation is bad...
This year happens to be a famine year with unsatisfactory food production.
This year, due to various reasons, the food harvest was severely damaged, and a large number of epidemics broke out across Japan.
For a time, people were panicked.
The shogunate and the local vassals spent a lot of effort to finally suppress all the Ichiku.
Ichiku: Literally interpreted as "unity", it was extended to uprising for unity in ancient Japan. The vernacular term is civil unrest and civil unrest.
In ancient Japan, all acts of resistance to the rule of the lord were collectively referred to as "一揆".
I don’t know who it is, but I once made up a troublesome saying: “There are ten bandits who will not rob, seven who will not seize, and five who will not be allowed to take away.” They will not seize wedding cars and funeral cars, they will not seize from those who marry girls and give them wives, and they will not seize from poor people. No grabbing...complete nonsense!
Throughout the ages, no matter which country or region it is, the crimes committed by the bandits who dominate the mountains are countless.
Some fools who don't know how to grow up in their brains even imagine that the bandits are a bunch of brave and reckless heroes, and they imagine that they can become other people's women who suppress the village or something like that.
That's bullshit, don't grab ten, don't take away seven! The weaker you are, the more the bandits will catch you and bully you!
I hope that the bandits can also steal...the so-called wishful thinking is nothing more than this.
What Xiangma Zhong did profoundly explains why so many people from ancient times to the present hate mountain bandits to the core.
The situation this year is not good, and the life of the villagers in Daohe Village is already very difficult, but Xiangma Zhong still firmly requires the villagers to "pay tribute" on time and in quantity, without missing a grain of rice.
They even directly threatened them with harsh words: Either I will give you money or food, or I will give you your heads!
The snow and frost bullying of Xiangma Zhong had long made the villagers hold back a ball of unhappiness and anger in their hearts.
These abominable bandits have really gone too far this time! This kind of behavior of forcing people to a dead end directly aroused the anger that the villagers had buried in their hearts for a long time!
The villagers picked up hoes, shovels, and other objects that could be used as weapons, and launched an angry counterattack against the Souma people... and then immediately suffered severe retaliation.
The Xiangma people, who had an absolute advantage in numbers, weapons, and combat effectiveness, effortlessly defeated the simple armed forces formed by the villagers.
Large numbers of people were killed.
More than half of the houses were burned to the ground.
The rice fields were trampled into a muddy mess.
The bandits dug deep into the ground and snatched away all the young girls and the last remaining property in the village.
Millet hidden in the cellar; pickled radishes placed on the rafters; old cows that were supposed to "live their old age"...
A group of gangsters from Xiangma Zhong hugged the screaming women and left with their loads full and laughing triumphantly.
This is the origin of the scene Qingden saw...
Seeing the shogunate's troops coming, the villagers who were tidying up the rice fields stopped what they were doing.
The expeditionary army happened to pass through a ridge between two rice fields.
The land in the rice fields was high, so the villagers in the rice fields had to straighten their backs and raise their faces to see the sergeants' faces clearly.
Sensing that many people were looking at him, Qingdeng tilted his head and looked to his left - he happened to meet the eyes of a little girl who must not have been more than 8 years old.
I saw that almost no piece of flesh on this little girl's body was clean. There was either a piece of mud here or a piece of dirt there. From head to toe, only a pair of black eyes were bright - what a pity, these very beautiful eyes were glowing with half joy and half fear at the moment.
Qingdeng glanced around and found that all the villagers in Daohe Village, without exception, all looked the same - covered in dirt, the clothes on their bodies were so dirty that the original color could not be seen clearly, and their faces were covered with weather-stained weather from years of wind and rain. His expression was dull, and the eyes he looked at Qingdeng and others revealed complex emotions of "happiness" and "sorrow".
Some people even changed their expressions immediately after meeting Qingdeng's eyes, showing a look of fear. They lowered their heads in a hurry, not daring to look at Qingdeng for even half a glance.
In this closed era where information exchange was underdeveloped, to farmers in small mountain villages, the samurai in the city...especially the samurai in Edo were basically no different from aliens from another planet.
"Aliens" are coming... It's normal for the villagers to feel nervous and fearful about this.
After passing through the rugged fields, Qingdeng soon saw the dirty roads full of dust and feces, low thatched houses, and the charred ruins burned by the fire...
Looking up, I saw a cloud of gray...
It was as if a thick dark cloud had covered the village.
There is a river that runs across the center of the village, sparkling in the sunlight - this is the only bright color in Daohe Village at the moment.
The river connects the rice fields in the south and the mountains in the north, dividing Daohe Village into neat east and west halves. The "East Half Village" and "West Half Village" are connected only by a few simple wooden bridges.
The villagers had their heads and shoulders drooped, their faces were flat, and they acted like zombies. Their bodies exuded the same smell as the mud they stepped on: wet, muddy, dirty, weak and vulnerable... The river was also affected. Their temperament makes them appear cold and chilly.
There are no lively streets and alleys that Qingteng is familiar with here.
There is no prosperity here that Qingdeng is familiar with.
This place and Edo...are like two different worlds.
What I see now is "real"... Qingdeng thought to himself.
Poverty, filth, backwardness, often oppressed by bandits, ronin and other evil forces - this is the truest appearance of Japan in this era.
Prosperous Edo is just a special case among special cases in this country.
At this time, a sharp autumn wind suddenly swept through the mountains and forests in the distance. The weeds scattered throughout the village were neatly bent. A large group of shocking stench mixed with the stench of feces, human sweat, and the scorched smell of ruins spread out under the influence of the autumn wind, reminding Qingdeng and all travelers passing by this place - this is a It is a desolate place that has experienced countless winds and rains and experienced changes in the world.
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That night--
My grandson gathered together a group of generals and held a military meeting to discuss the next step in the house of the village chief of Daohe Village.
"The Xiangma Zhong's base is located at the highest point of Xiangma Mountain."
Because there were no cushions in the village chief's house, the generals could only sit casually on the floor. Form an oval circle with my grandson as the center. On the floor in the center of the circle was a simple map drawn with charcoal.
"Although the terrain of Soma Mountain is not high, the terrain is very complex. It is full of gorges and rocks, and is full of difficult-to-climb mountain walls or undeveloped virgin forests."
Daohe Village, which was extremely poor, could not have such luxuries as candles. All the villagers could provide Qingdeng and others were some crude lamp oils whose lighting effects were only inferior to Qi's.
Fortunately, the crusade had some candles on hand, so they wouldn't be stuck in a meeting in the dark.
In order to enable the generals to see the map more clearly, when my grandson was explaining the map, he pointed to the lines drawn on the map with one hand and held a candle with the other hand. The slightly swaying lamp and the hand pointing to the map Move synchronously.
"The only way to get to the Soma Zhong base is through a mountain road adjacent to Inawa Village."
As soon as my grandson finished speaking, Mizushima Rensaburo beside him immediately frowned.
"Is there no other way to climb the mountain?"
"No more. I have asked the villagers of Daohe Village who have lived here for generations. If you want to climb the mountain, this is the only way you can go."
As my grandson answered, he stretched out his right index finger and poked a thick black line drawn on the map.
In an instant, the atmosphere surrounding the generals became slightly more subtle.
There is only one way to climb the mountain... This means that when they launch an offensive against the Xiangma Zhong's base, there are not many offensive options left for them.
"Ha..." Nobuyoshi Kazama, captain of the Eighth Division, smiled bitterly, "It's such an excellent fortress..."
"The gangsters have been operating on Mount Soma for many years."
My grandson then continued.
"Not only did they make their camp impregnable, they also set up two levels of checkpoints on this only mountaineering road. If they want to attack Xiangma Zhong's base, they must first try to remove these two levels of checkpoints. "
After saying that, my grandson raised his head.
"Do you have anything to ask or add?"
The group of generals looked at each other.
The situation is very clear - the number and equipment of the crusade army are superior to those of Souma. But the opposite side occupies the advantageous position of holding the mountain.
"Tsk..." Kanazawa Chusuke folded his hands on his chest and murmured softly, "This battle is not going to be easy..."
"Samurai-sama!"
At this time, an old man sitting in the corner of the room knelt down on the ground with a "plop". While giving Qingden and others the grand ceremony of sitting down, he said heartbreakingly in a slightly crying tone:
"You must eradicate those thugs who kill a thousand swords!"
This old man is none other than the village chief of Inohe Village: Fujigoro.
He might have felt flustered when he saw Qingdeng and others looking solemn, thinking that the crusade would retreat or something.
Togoro's accent was very thick, and it took a lot of effort for Qingden and others to understand what he was saying.
"Mr. Togoro." My grandson smiled slightly, "Don't worry. Now that we are here, we don't plan to go back empty-handed. We won't be able to keep up with the officials without bringing the heads of the gangsters back to Edo."
Hearing what my grandson said, Togoro immediately showed a look of relief and joy.
"Although the Soma people are not easy to deal with, there is no need to be too afraid of them." My grandson said, "Next, I plan to organize scouts to reconnoiter the terrain of Soma Mountain while sending people to contact the Soma people. Try to persuade them to surrender."
"At the same time, actively prepare troops for war. Once the negotiations break down... we will fight them to the death in the mountains and forests!"
"Is there anything you would like to add?"
Scouting the terrain, trying to persuade them to surrender, and actively preparing for war, all three are carried out simultaneously... Right now, there is no better battle plan than this.
The generals looked at me, then I looked at you, and then they all nodded vigorously.
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In the next few days, a solemn atmosphere of impending war enveloped Daohe Village.
Although the villagers of Daohe Village have firmly assured the expeditionary army that there is no other way into the mountains. But to be on the safe side, my grandson still sent a large number of people to scout the topography of Mount Soma and whether there were other usable mountain trails.
During this period, my grandson sent several eloquent people to contact and communicate with the bandits on the mountain.
The leader of the Soma clan is named Yokokura Keinosuke.
From the name, you can tell that he is a ronin who had to turn into a bandit because of his poor life.
Facing the arrival of the crusade, the Xiangma people assumed a posture of clinging to the mountain and defending to the death.
From the camp built on the top of the mountain and the two levels of checkpoints set up on the mountain road, the sound of soldiers and horses being drilled can be heard every day.
Every night, the torches swayed, and the figures of countless gangsters swayed back and forth on the watchtowers and sentries.
It's just that Yokokura Kinosuke's next performance showed that his current mentality was not so carefree and he would rather die than surrender.
On the surface, he had a tough attitude of "We will fight to the end, and attack if you dare." But when the envoy sent by my grandson went up the mountain under the banner of "negotiation," Yokokura Kinosuke immediately opened the door. Welcome the arrival of the envoys with great enthusiasm.
It can be seen that Kinosuke Yokokura has obviously heard of the fame of Huofu Thieves Kai, and is unwilling to go head-to-head with the famous Huofu Thieves Kai.
In the past few days, Yokokura Kinosuke actively exchanged views with the envoys. He patted his chest boldly and said: As long as they agree to the conditions I set, I will immediately instruct my subordinates to put down their weapons!
It would be best if the Xiangma people could surrender voluntarily.
However... Yokokura Kinosuke's surrender request is really ridiculous. I don't know if I should say that he is overconfident or that he has no self-awareness.
To put it simply, he wanted to be the Song Jiang of Liangshanbo - he asked the Edo shogunate to recruit him and his men as formally established samurai.
When receiving the surrender conditions proposed by Kinosuke Yokokura, everyone including Aomori was happy.
The society under the Edo shogunate paid most attention to class, superiority and blood relationship.
You are a bandit, but you still want to be recruited as a formally established samurai? Are you kidding me?
Without even thinking about it, my grandson refused.
There is only one surrender condition that the crusade army can accept: all bandits lay down their weapons, surrender unconditionally, and seek leniency - Yokokura Keinosuke said this was unacceptable.
The envoys said: After Yokokura Keinosuke learned that the crusade would not accept any demands other than "unconditional surrender," he was so angry that his entire face turned a strange dark red, his eyes widened, and his nostrils dilated.
"You want us to surrender unconditionally? There is no way! I have more than 200 brothers! They are all good fighters! We need people and weapons! We need weapons and weapons! There is also Soma Mountain as a barrier! It's not like there is nothing. The power of a battle! Why should I surrender unconditionally? Either accept the conditions I offer! Or come here! Let's see if the iron cannons and bows and arrows modified by your thieves are sharper, or the blades and guns of our Xiangma people. The blade is sharper!”
The two sides could never agree on their opinions, and the negotiations broke down completely.
Since peace talks are hopeless...then the only thing left to do is fight to the death!
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In the first year of Wanyan (1860), early morning on November 24th——
The clouds at dawn are like a rose-red flame, burning extremely brightly.
The red clouds in the sky to the east are as gorgeous as flowers. Groups of white clouds are scattered among them, as if they are "ministers" welcoming the sun.
"ha……"
The cold wind of late autumn passed by Qing Deng, who was fully armed, and condensed his breath into translucent white mist.
In order to prevent the hand holding the knife from freezing, Qingdeng frequently brought his palms to his lips and sighed the warm heat into his palms and back.
At this time, the sun showed its face from behind a dark mountain ridge in the east.
The warmth of the morning sun dissipated the coolness of the night, immediately giving the surrounding air a refreshing flavor.
In the rays of light scattered by the rising sun, the clouds were swallowed up into pieces of bright clouds.
The mist in the mountains and fields turns into billowing silver waves under the morning light.
The swords, guns, armor, iron cannons, and bows and arrows of all the generals of the crusade were gleaming in the red clouds.
The morning light gradually expanded, and the silver waves composed of mountain fog quickly disappeared into the deepest part of the mountain and disappeared into the distance.
The sky gradually became brighter, and after the last bit of black veil covering the sky was removed, the murderous military formation was completely revealed.
The expeditionary army formed a neat square formation at the foot of Mount Soma, all eyes focused on a wooden checkpoint on the mountain in front.
The autumn wind is coming slowly, and Lin Tao is blowing. The first checkpoint set by Xiangma Zhong on the mountain road constantly changes into shadows of different shades in the wind and light.
Countless figures of different heights can be seen in the distance, standing firmly on the checkpoint, ready for battle.
Kanazawa Chusuke held the knife on his waist, walked to my grandson's side, and said, "The second division is in position."
"The Fourth Squadron is in place." Mizushima Rensaburo said calmly.
"Teams 8 and 8 are in place." Nobuyoshi Kazama swallowed hard.
"The third division is in position." Qingdeng looked calm.
My grandson nodded slightly.
"Then...let's begin!"
He waved his hand vigorously to Tongxin, who was holding a huge conch next to him.
Woo——! Woo——! Woo——! Woo——!
The deep and loud horn sound resounded through the sky!
"Everyone! Follow me!"
Kanazawa Chusuke drew his sword in his hand and charged forward headlong!
Immediately afterwards, the Second Division, Third Division...all the generals rushed towards the mountain road ahead like surging waves! A level where you can attack the Soma crowd!
In an instant, the noisy shouts of killing became the only sound that dominated this world!
Kanazawa Chusuke: "Raise the gun!"
The general who was at the forefront immediately stopped, and with the sound of "kacha" and "kacha" clashing with iron weapons, matchlock guns with their muzzles shining with a stunning metallic sheen were raised horizontally.
Kanazawa Chusuke: "Shoot!"
boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom……
The thick smoke from the burning gunpowder drowned the gun array of the punitive army.
The roaring barrage flooded the level of the Souma crowd.
The soldiers of the crusade did not fire their guns at the same time, but were divided into three columns and fired in turn: when the first column fired, the second column prepared, and the third column loaded gunpowder and projectiles; after the first column fired, it passed through the gap between the second column and reached the rear column, and the second column stepped forward. Fire, three columns fill the position of the second column, and the firing cycle repeats in this way to ensure that the barrage is continuous - it is the classic musket tactic: three-stage attack!
Almost at the same time that the matchlock started roaring, the bowstring also started clanging.
"Open your bow!" Qing Deng raised the Dingguishen in his hand high.
Squeak—the soldiers of the Third and Eighth Divisions drew their bows like the full moon, and pointed their arrows at the sky.
"Let go!" Qingdeng swung down the Dingguishen he held high.
Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng...
A swarm of black locusts rose up from the back of the crusade, and in an instant they pounced on the Souma people's level!
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This chapter is a long-awaited one with nearly 8,000 words. It’s really unreasonable not to vote for it!
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
