I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1169 Qingdeng's Incognito Visit

Qinjin Domain, Otsu, Otsu Castle, main castle (main castle), a certain room——

Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami sat facing each other; there was no one else in the room besides the two of them.

But their faces were tense, revealing solemn expressions.

"...Why not transfer more troops back from Toba?"

As soon as Kondo Isami finished speaking, Yamanami Keisuke shook his head without hesitation:
"No, the military force remaining in Toba is already at its minimum; we cannot withdraw any more troops."

"Otherwise, Toba's defenses will be too weak, which may give the Southern Army an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

The matter they are discussing right now is "how to fight against the British army".

After successfully raiding the enemy camp at night and returning safely to Otsu, Qingdeng immediately convened a military meeting to inform the generals of the various aspects of the British army.

After hearing this, all the generals adopted a solemn expression.

According to Qing Deng's account, the British forces were not only larger than they had anticipated—at least three thousand men—but also more powerful than rumored!

Without a doubt, this was the most powerful army they had ever encountered.

Without a doubt, the Battle of Otsu, which is about to break out, will be extremely fierce!

Although the Shinsengumi, as the defenders of the castle, possessed the excellent geographical advantage of Otsu Castle, the castle was ultimately only a half-finished product.

The moat, inner walls, and other crucial facilities were not yet completed. The main castle (tenshukaku) was not considered a defensive structure. Therefore, within the vast Otsu Castle, the only truly usable defensive structure was an isolated outer wall.

None of the generals, including Qing Deng, had experience in defending cities.

Since its establishment, the Shinsengumi's war history has been one of continuous attacks and pursuits.

The recently concluded Battle of Fushimi was one of the few defensive battles that Aoto and his companions had experienced.

However, this battle cannot be compared with the subsequent Battle of Otsu.

The former is street fighting, while the latter is a proper siege battle, requiring the defense of every section of the city wall. The two are completely different and cannot share combat experience.

How to efficiently deploy troops on the city wall, how to make good use of the bastion's "no blind spots" advantage... Qing Deng and his group were completely clueless about all of these.

In addition, the defenders had another significant disadvantage: after three days of bloody fighting in Toba-Fushimi, and then rushing back to Otsu at a rapid pace, the Shinsengumi and the training corps members were exhausted.

As for the soldiers of the Aizu army, their condition was even worse after their hasty retreat from northern Omi to Otsu.

The castle was in ruins, the commanders lacked experience in defending cities, and the soldiers were exhausted... Under such circumstances, could they withstand the invasion of three thousand British troops?

Despite their best efforts and utmost optimism, Yamanami Keisuke and others could not provide a positive answer to this question...

After reporting the new intelligence from the British army, Qing Deng did not take the opportunity to discuss "how to fight the British army". Instead, he directly announced "the meeting is adjourned" and went back to his room to rest. He never appeared again after that.

At this critical juncture where every second counts, the supreme leader not only failed to convene a military meeting, but instead stayed indoors, becoming a recluse... This truly made Yamanami Keisuke and others extremely anxious.

Since Qing Deng has not shown up for a long time, the only option is to organize a military council on their own.

Thus, the scene before us unfolded—Yamaminami Keisuke and Kondo Isami, both deeply concerned about the current war situation, secretly met to discuss countermeasures.

After a brief discussion, they reached a consensus—their current Achilles' heel was that they had too few troops.

If we could add three thousand more garrison troops... even just one thousand would be enough, the pressure of defending the city would be greatly reduced.

But here's the problem—where can we find reinforcements?
The Shinsengumi, the Aizu Army, the Denshutai... all the troops that could still be mobilized within the Kinai region were in Otsu.

The garrison in Toba cannot be transferred.

The domain armies of Owari, Sendai, and other domains... regardless of whether they could catch up or not, given their extremely weak fighting strength, their arrival would only be a hindrance.

So, after discussing for a long time, Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami still couldn't make any breakthroughs and remained in a "helpless" situation.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from outside the room.

Before long, a figure, panting heavily with shoulders heaving violently, was reflected on the paper sliding door.

"Mr. Yamanami! It's me, Todo Heisuke! Are you inside?"

Keisuke Yamanami raised an eyebrow:

"Yes, I am here. I am discussing the battle situation with Mr. Kondo."

"Mr. Kondo is here too? That's great! I was just asking you! Have you seen Mr. Tachibana?"

Upon hearing this question, Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami's expressions changed slightly.

Kondo Isami answered first:
"We haven't seen him since he went back to his room to rest. What happened to him?"

"Mr. Orange has disappeared!"

Keisuke Yamanami/Isamu Kondo: "What?!"

The two of them screamed in unison.

The next moment, Yamanami Keisuke strode forward, flung open the door, and stood face to face with Toudou Heisuke, his face filled with astonishment.

"Toudou-kun, what exactly happened?"

Heisuke Todo swallowed hard, moistening his lips and throat, before quickly and concisely explaining.

After listening, Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami gradually figured out the whole story.

The first person to discover Qingdeng's disappearance was Awu.

After Qingdeng went back to his room to rest, he didn't come out for an unusually long time.

As Qingdeng's bedmate, Awu knew all too well how amazing Qingdeng's recovery ability was.

Even if you are extremely tired, a short nap of one or two hours can fully restore your energy.

Driven by confusion, she went straight to Qingdeng's room.

"Qingdeng, are you still sleeping?"

quiet……

The room was completely silent.

Not receiving a response from Qingdeng, Awu felt a growing sense of foreboding and quickly asked again:
"Qingdeng, I'm coming in, okay?"

silence……

There was still no sound from inside the room.

A-Wu dared not dawdle any longer and hurriedly pulled open the door—then she saw the neat tatami mats, the folded bedding, and the open window.

Qingdeng, which should have been here, has disappeared.

A-Wu darted to the window in two quick steps and looked down—of course, she couldn't find Qing Deng, but could only spot a few footprints on the windowsill.

The main castle of Otsu Castle is about 30 meters high, while the Qingdeng Room is about 25 meters high.

For ordinary people, this is a terrifying height that inspires awe.

But for Qingdeng, this height was nothing more than walking on flat ground.

He must have descended to the ground floor by stepping on the eaves of each building, one floor after another.

Looking at the empty room where Qingdeng was no longer present, A-Wu subconsciously concluded that Qingdeng was going to recreate the Battle of Okehazama from three hundred years ago!

The so-called "Battle of Okehazama" was a famous battle during the Warring States period.

In 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto, known as the "Number One Archer of the Tokaido," marched to Kyoto with the primary objective of eliminating the Oda clan of Owari and clearing the way to Kyoto.

At that time, the Oda clan was still a nobody, and the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great, so a fierce dispute broke out within the Oda clan, with the "war faction" and the "peace faction" deadlocked.

While his retainers expressed their opinions, Oda Nobunaga remained aloof, refusing to reveal his own thoughts. Just when everyone thought he had given up, he secretly slipped out of the castle at night, gathered his forces, and, under the cover of darkness and torrential rain, launched a surprise attack on the Imagawa army's main camp, taking Imagawa Yoshimoto's head.

After this battle, Oda Nobunaga became famous overnight, and the Oda clan began to rise to prominence.

Ah Wu has always been very familiar with these heroic tales.

That's why, after seeing that there was no one in Aoto's room, her first reaction was "Aoto should follow Oda Nobunaga's example"—after all, this moment was just like that moment.

She rushed to the cowshed where Radish lived, only to find Radish leisurely resting on a haystack.

It raised its eyelids, glanced at A-Wu, and then looked away listlessly—it wasn't close to anyone except Qing Deng and Zuo Na Zi.

Next, A-Wu inspected Dajin City but found no signs of troop movements.

Even with his extraordinary abilities, Ren Qingdeng could not possibly have defeated the Northern Army and the British Army with just one person and one sword.

In other words, the claim that "Aoto imitated Oda Nobunaga" is completely unfounded.

Ah Wu felt both disappointed and worried about this.

Her disappointment lay in her expectation that Qingdeng, like the heroes of the past, would turn the tide with ingenious strategies when everyone was at a loss.

The concern lies in the uncertainty surrounding Qing Deng's movements.

They disappeared without leaving a trace... Ah Wu felt increasingly terrified as she thought about it.

Unable to find Aoto, she had no choice but to seek help from the people she trusted most—Sanako, Souji, and Elodie.

They were also shocked when they learned of this.

In order to find Qingdeng as soon as possible, they sought help from all sides.

This matter must not be made public. If the soldiers find out that "King Ren has disappeared," it will surely shake their morale. Therefore, it must be done in secrecy, and only trusted people should be contacted.

The rest is self-explanatory.

Saito Hajime, Todo Heisuke, and others all joined the search for Aoto.

They ran around, asking questions and investigating.

Todo Heisuke thought that Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami might know something, but to his surprise... he was disappointed again.

After Heisuke Todo finished speaking, Keisuke Yamanami and Isami Kondo were stunned for a long time.

With a major battle imminent and their leader missing... they looked at each other, both finding disbelief on each other's faces.

……

……

Qinjin Domain, Otsu, Otsu Town, somewhere——

Qingdeng slightly raised the straw hat on his head and looked forward along the brim.

The bumpy dirt road, the dust waves that rise from time to time, the passersby hurrying by... a familiar yet long-lost scene of the city.

After scanning the area, he lowered his straw hat again and continued walking at a leisurely pace on the streets of Otsu.

The "missing" Qing Deng hasn't gone far; he's currently in Otsu Town... If A-Mai and the others find out about this, they'll definitely be shocked.

Since this morning, Qing Deng has been locked in his room, not discussing strategies with his generals to fight the British army—not out of escapism or to emulate Oda Nobunaga, but simply because he felt there was no need to hold a military council.

Yamanami Keisuke and his team could think of anything that Aoto could consider.

The British army was so powerful that it would be difficult to defend Dajin City with its current strength.

Therefore, Qingdeng naturally knew that the biggest challenge at present was "insufficient troops".

But this is precisely the intractable problem, as there are no more troops available to be mobilized within the capital region.

Therefore, even holding ten thousand meetings would be of no benefit.

In the end, they just kept going back and forth on the arguments of "insufficient troops", "must find a way to increase troops" and "no reinforcements", and could not come to a conclusion.

Since meetings are useless, we might as well let our minds rest; perhaps we can come up with some ingenious solutions.

And so, Qingdeng chose to "seclude himself," sometimes lying flat on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling; sometimes getting up and walking around the four corners of the room.

Unfortunately, even after locking himself in his room, he couldn't come up with any brilliant solutions; only his frustration grew stronger.

Troubled, he unconsciously leaned against the windowsill and looked out, where the increasingly prosperous town of Otsu unfolded before his eyes.

With his good eyesight, he saw wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and crowds of people hurrying along the street.

Suddenly, as if struck by a divine inspiration, he felt an urge to walk around and explore Otsu Town.

The moment this thought arose, his body moved as if by conditioned reflex—he put on civilian clothes, fastened his straw hat, secured his two knives, and escaped through the window.

Leaving Otsu Castle went quite smoothly; he arrived in the town without much effort.

It had been a long time since he last walked the streets like an ordinary citizen.

In recent years, he has spent almost all his time in a cycle of "fighting," "preparing to fight," "fighting again," and "preparing to fight again."

The street scenes that I used to take for granted now feel both novel and nostalgic.

He unconsciously slowed his pace, looking left and right, just like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time.

Compared to before, Otsu is much quieter now.

This is only natural, as many townspeople had already fled to avoid the ravages of war long before the war even began.

After learning that the Aizu army on the northern front had been defeated and that the "Northern Expeditionary Army" was about to besiege the city, another group of people fled.

Nowadays, all the townspeople who could escape have run away, leaving only those who, for various reasons, were unable to escape.

Escaping costs money, and there's a risk of encountering bandits along the way, especially in these chaotic times when thieves are rampant. So not everyone dares to leave Dajin.

Under Aoto's orders, all townspeople remaining in Ōtsu were to move into Ōtsu Castle to avoid being harmed by the "Northern Army" and the British army.

The "Northern Army" was a feudal army, and a major characteristic of feudal armies was their extremely low moral standards.

The British army, needless to say, has always been known for its discipline, which is comparable to that of "bandits and traitors."

The relocation of the residents of Otsu began last night and is progressing well. If all goes well, the relocation will be completed before the enemy arrives.

However, as of now, many residents are still stranded in the town, and some shops are still open for business.

Just then, Qingdeng suddenly noticed a teahouse not far away with its door open, and the refreshing aroma of tea wafted out.

Qingdeng felt a bit thirsty, so he strode over, lifted the curtain, and went into the shop.

To his surprise, the shop did surprisingly well.

Despite it being the season, the occupancy rate was as high as 50%.

Perhaps because all the other teahouses are closed, people who want to drink tea have no choice but to come to this shop.

Qingdeng casually found an empty table and chair, sat down, and looked up at his representative, saying:
"A cup of green tea will suffice."

"Okay, coming right away!"

While waiting for his tea, Qingdeng raised his eyes and carefully observed the expressions of each customer in the shop.

They were either depressed or dejected... in short, they all looked miserable.

Suddenly, a guest slammed down his teacup and sighed deeply:
"Alas... Qin Jin is probably doomed..."

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