I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1003: The Troops Approach Mizuto! Qing Deng's Persuasion to Surrender [4500]

According to Qing Deng's plan, this Northern Expedition would not only destroy the Mito Domain, but also the four major branch domains of the Mito Domain - Moriyama Domain (2 koku), Fuchu Domain (2 koku), Shishido Domain (1 koku), and Matsuoka Domain (1 koku).

In a nutshell, everything related to the Mito Domain must be destroyed without exception!
Of course, the strength of these four branches is too weak and does not pose any threat at all.

The main opponent in this battle was still the Mito Domain.

As long as the Mito domain was destroyed, the quick demise of its branch domains was a foregone conclusion.

Before the troops move, intelligence is gathered first - long before the troops were dispatched, Qing Deng dispatched the soldiers of the 9th Division and the soldiers of the Shin-Oniwa Division, ordering them to infiltrate the Mito Domain and collect intelligence from all aspects.

It is reported that the Mito domain adopted a "scorched earth warfare" strategy, concentrating all troops and supplies at the domain headquarters, namely Mito Castle.

It is not difficult to see that they are planning to fight a siege battle with the Shinsengumi.

A very correct judgment.

As long as the ruler and his ministers of Mito Domain had any common sense, they would not want to fight a field battle with the Shinsengumi.

Only by defending the city to the death can we have a chance of survival.

This saves Qing Deng a lot of trouble.

Since the other side has placed all their hopes on Mito Castle, the battle will be won as long as we destroy Mito Castle!

Mito Castle is a flat castle with two turrets and a three-story tower.

The so-called "connected style" refers to the design in which the Honmaru, Ninomaru and Sanomaru are arranged vertically in parallel.

If you attack the city from the front, it would be like passing a checkpoint. You have to break through San-no-maru and Ninomaru first before you can get to Honmaru. The distance from outside to inside is very far, making it difficult to break in.

But in contrast, the defense on both sides of the main castle will be very weak.

Therefore, other auxiliary defense facilities are usually added next to the main castle.

Indeed, Mito Domain was one of the "Three Great Houses". After more than two hundred years of operation, its domain capital was naturally a fortress that could not be underestimated.

Having said that, Qing Deng had already thought of a plan to break into the city.

If everything goes well, they can destroy Mito Castle in just half a day!
At this moment, Qing Deng sat on Luobo's ox and followed the army moving northward.

Edo and Mito Domain were close neighbors - this was a "double-edged sword" for both sides.

Whether attacking the opponent or being attacked by the opponent, it is very fast!
Based on the Shinsengumi's current advancing speed, if nothing unexpected happens, the entire view of Mito Castle will be able to come into Aoto's sight in the early morning of the day after tomorrow!
At this time, Qing Deng saw Kondo Isami riding a horse towards him.

He got straight to the point and asked directly:

"Yong, has the reply from Mito Domain arrived?"

Qing Deng did not expect the Mito Domain to surrender obediently.

However, he still went through the motions and pretended to be "making unremitting efforts for peace."

He ordered someone to write a letter of surrender and sent it to Mito Castle, urging the ruler and his ministers of the Mito domain to open the city and surrender as soon as possible.

Calculating the time, the reply from Mito Domain should be here soon.

Kondo Isami nodded and handed over the letter.

Qing Deng reached out to take it, and after confirming that the seal was intact, he tore the seal apart with a "hiss", pulled out the letter inside, spread it out, and read ten lines at a glance.

Kondo Isami waited quietly by the side.

After a while, Qing Deng put down the letter in his hand and a sneer appeared on his face.

Kondo Isami asks:

"How? What did the other party say?"

Qingdeng said calmly:
"As expected. They wasted our good intentions."

"They want us to withdraw our demand for 'unconditional surrender.'"

"They are willing to sign a peace agreement on the condition of 'handing over half of their territory'."

After hearing this, Kondo Isami raised his lips and showed the same sneer as Qing Deng:
"Humph! They have a nice dream! Even now they still want to keep half of the territory!"

Qing Deng was not surprised that the Mito monarch and his ministers were ungrateful.

After all, the surrender conditions proposed by Qing Deng were indeed too harsh for them—unconditional surrender! Hand over all the territory!
It's obvious that this is a condition they cannot possibly accept.

Surrendering all territories would be equivalent to abolishing the feudal domain, and there would no longer be any "Mito Domain" in the world.

Not only would the lord be unable to accept it, but even his subjects would not be able to obey.

Without their fiefdom, they would naturally lose their jobs and become ronin.

From being a respectable ruling class, to being a homeless person who has no place to live and cannot even guarantee three meals a day - most people cannot tolerate such a gap!

In this way, "refusing unconditional surrender" becomes a matter of course.

In fact, before the war, many officials within the shogunate advised Aoto to show mercy and not to push the Mito clan too hard, so as to leave some chance for the Mito lord and his ministers to survive.

Otherwise, driven by common interests, the Mito monarch and his ministers would form a united front and resist to the death, greatly increasing the difficulty of the Northern Expedition.

This proposal seemed reasonable, but Qing Deng rejected it without hesitation.

This is a war to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

To put it more seriously, this is a war of "strike the first blow to prevent a hundred blows from coming"!

This is a war to intimidate the world and restore the prestige of the "Nanji School".

If we surrender to the Mito Domain, we will be showing our weakness in front of the world!
For the sake of the future, we must never show goodwill to the Mito Domain.

The Mito Domain must be made to suffer the most severe punishment in order to warn the world to the greatest extent - this is the horror of Aoto, this is the fighting power of the Shinsengumi, and this is the end of going against the "Nanki Faction"!

Qing Deng tore up the letter in his hand and let the pieces fly away in the wind:
"Since you don't want to be polite, then we don't have to be polite. Yong, pass the order down. After entering Mito, all soldiers must strictly abide by military discipline. Anyone who violates military discipline will be executed on the spot!"

Kondo Isami nodded seriously:

"Yes!"

……

……

The army's progress was very smooth and there was no hindrance at all.

Faced with the fierce attack of the Shinsengumi, the Mito monarch and his ministers were completely frightened and did not dare to send troops to harass them.

Even after entering the territory of Mito Domain, they did not encounter any resistance.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Shinsengumi's march is not much more difficult than taking a walk in your own back garden.

It is worth mentioning that during the march, many civilians were encountered who did not have time to evacuate.

Under Aoto's strict orders, the Shinsengumi soldiers strictly observed military discipline, did not commit any crime, and attacked Mito Castle wholeheartedly.

Finally, as Qingdeng expected, on the morning of the third day after the expedition, the entire army arrived at the gates of Mito Castle!

Today's Shinsengumi is no longer the immature army it once was.

At the command, the troops were deployed immediately!

Those who were setting up tents were setting up tents; those who were digging trenches were digging trenches; those who were placing supplies were placing supplies... everything was in order.

The huge corps is like a sophisticated machine.

Each part rotates slowly, performing its own function, driving the entire machine to operate.

At this time when the army was preparing to attack the city, Qing Deng stood on a high ground, looking at Mito Castle in the distance, and from time to time he raised a telescope and looked carefully.

The city gates were tightly shut, with no sign of opening.

On the turret of Mito Castle's San-no-maru, a flag embroidered with "Mito Three-Leaf Amber" drooped languidly, lifeless.

The city defenders who were seen by chance all looked terrified and behaved in a flustered manner.

At this time, Kondo Isami walked over quickly.

"Qing Deng, it will take at least another hour to complete the preparations for the attack."

In private, Kondo Isami always affectionately calls Qing Deng by his old name.

Qing Deng put down the telescope in his hand and thought:

"It will take another hour... Well, since there is still some time, I will make one last 'effort' and strive to achieve a 'bloodless opening of the city'."

He turned around and said to the guard beside him:

"Go get me some paper and pen. This time, I want to write a letter of persuasion to surrender myself."

…………

Mito Domain, Mito Castle, Honmaru——

quiet……

The silence so quiet that one could hear a pin drop enveloped the entire place.

The current lord of Mito Domain, Tokugawa Yoshiaki, sits high on the main seat.

The ministers of Mito Domain were divided into two groups and sat down in order.

An indescribable atmosphere of fear permeated the air...

Right outside, right outside Mito Castle, the Shinsengumi's 3,000-strong army is slowly deploying!

It won't be long before they attack!

This was the first time that Mito faced the invasion of war since its establishment.

And this invasion is of no small magnitude, it is a disaster that could destroy the country!
The enemy is at the gates of the city - everyone present feels an unprecedented terrifying pressure!
Unconditional surrender and handing over all territory - this condition was absolutely unacceptable to the Mito monarch and his ministers.

However, "Challenging Nioh", "Fighting against the Shinsengumi"... no one would think that the Mito clan would have a chance of winning!
In order to calm Qing Deng's anger and prevent the war, Lord Mito and his ministers acted with utmost humility.

Not only was he willing to hand over half of his territory, but he also offered to provide a large sum of compensation.

They thought they had shown the greatest goodwill.

However... their pleas fell on deaf ears and they received no response.

What they finally waited for was only the siege of the city by the Shinsengumi!
Qingdeng's meaning has been made very clear.

Now that things have come to this, there is no other choice... we can only fight to the end!
Qing Deng came here with the intention of "destroying Mito".

Therefore, even the most spineless person would not dare to utter the word "surrender".

In the current Mito court, there is no "surrender faction", only "radical war faction" and "moderate war faction".

Although they have united their thoughts and battle lines and are determined to fight to the end, no one has any idea of ​​how to stop the Shinsengumi's invasion.

In recent days, Tokugawa Yoshiaki has frequently summoned ministers to discuss countermeasures.

Even today when the Shinsengumi has arrived, they are still holding military meetings.

This military meeting seemed to have no end.

No matter how many military meetings were held, no matter how long they lasted, nothing could be concluded.

For example, right now, everyone has arrived and the military meeting has begun, but everyone is looking at each other in silence, no one speaks...

This was the case in all previous military meetings.

It either ends in silence or in chaos.

Suddenly, at this moment, someone said in a deep voice:
“…We must hold on to this! Hold on until reinforcements arrive!”

As soon as these words came out, it was like a stone that caused a thousand waves, and voices of agreement came out one after another:
"That's right! We must defend it to the death!"

"The city we are standing on is a world-famous city! It will surely be able to stop all foreign enemies!"

"As long as the reinforcements from the Fukui Domain arrive, everything will be fine!"

If there is any force that can lend a helping hand to the Mito Domain at the moment, it must be the Fukui Domain in Echizen.

Both the Fukui clan and the Mito clan were die-hard members of the "Hitotsubashi faction".

The remnants of the "Ichibashi faction", including Yoshinobu Ichiba, are now hiding in the Fukui domain.

The other feudal states were either too weak, too far away, or complete "fence-sitters" and would not stand up for the Mito domain.

Asking for help from the Fukui Domain - this was the only lifeline left for the Mito monarch and his subjects.

As soon as they realized that Qing Deng intended to take action against Mito Domain, they sent envoys to Fukui Domain as quickly as possible.

They did not doubt the reliability of the Fukui clan.

Their only concern was that the Fukui Domain was too far away!

Kanto and Echizen are separated by the majestic Hida Mountains, the terrain is high and rugged, and the roads are difficult to travel.

It is now a question whether the envoys they sent to ask for help have successfully arrived at Fukui Domain!
At this moment, although the people present spoke eloquently and passionately, the "big words" they made were all boring and unconstructive clichés.

Everyone knew that they had to hold out, and that they had to hold out until reinforcements from the Fukui Domain arrived, but the question was: how to hold out? How to hold out?
More than a month ago, the 3,000 troops they sent to support the "Ichibashi faction" were defeated, and only a little over a thousand remnants successfully retreated back to the domain.

The loss of troops and generals, the recent defeat... This is the lowest point in the history of Mito Domain...

These people who are currently making a fuss have nothing else to say except constantly emphasizing that "Mito Castle is a strong castle" and "this castle will not fall quickly."

Tokugawa Yoshiaki's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and he seemed to be impatient with the noise of his subordinates.

But at this moment, a loud shout came from outside:
"My lord! A new letter of surrender has been sent from outside the city! It is written by the King himself!"

This sudden shout attracted the attention of everyone present.

Immediately afterwards, a minister holding a brand new letter ran up to Tokugawa Yoshiaki at a rapid pace.

Tokugawa Keitoku no longer cared about etiquette and hurriedly said:

"What does this letter of surrender say? Read it quickly!"

The minister responded, then hurriedly tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

He did not read it out loud immediately, but quickly scanned it first.

It would have been fine if he hadn't read it, but as soon as he did, his face changed instantly, the blood drained from his cheeks, and cold sweat broke out.

This reaction made Tokugawa Keito feel uneasy... He urged impatiently:

"Read quickly!"

Hearing this, the other party did not dare to delay and cleared his throat.

Qing Deng did not use difficult-to-understand classical Chinese, but instead wrote this letter of surrender in simple and easy-to-understand vernacular Chinese.

"Tokugawa Keito, I am deeply sorry for your stupidity."

It's just an opening, but it uses extremely strong words.

"We could have been close friends, but you chose to become my enemy and bring trouble upon yourself, leading to the desperate situation you are in today."

"In the name of the Shogun, I hope you will declare your surrender and return the cities, territories, and glory that I have temporarily borrowed."

"Are you afraid?"

"Then open the gate, walk carefully to me, and tell me your concerns."

"Do you want to die?"

"Then keep hiding, hiding like a mole in your dark cave until I find you."

"You want war?"

"Then I'll give you war!"

"In one hour, my army will crush your city with the force of thunder and destroy your pride!"

"So, the ruler and ministers of Mito Domain, cherish this precious time and my generosity and mercy."

"The rain of shells will break through your walls."

"Soldiers as ferocious as tigers and wolves will start a bloody massacre."

"Countless mothers will lose their beloved sons."

"Countless wives will lose their husbands."

"Countless children will be left without fathers."

"Then all the warriors and people of Mito Domain will have reason to curse your stupidity."

"While I still have patience, I will make the right decision."

Finally, the minister who read the book trembled as he spoke the last signature:
"General of the Left Guard, Lord Aki, Army President, Governor of the Capital Region, Lord of the Qinjin Domain, Minamoto no Sukune Tachibana Aoto Moriharu."

*******
*******
Book friends who have monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book! (tearful leopard head.jpg)

Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

PS: Leopard Leopard said before that this book will have 6 volumes in total - now, I have changed my mind! I will write 7 volumes! So the next volume is only the second to last volume.

(End of this chapter)