I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1176 Demolition of Otsu Town! The Kaiten Squad arrives!
"Look, that army is the invincible British army."

"Then I'd like to see just how amazing they are, that they deserve the title of 'invincible under heaven'."

"Don't be careless. The British army has been able to conquer the world and establish a global territory. They must have something formidable about them. Otherwise, our lord wouldn't be so wary of them."

"It is said that their Queen Victoria was the number one tyrant. The reason she was able to act with impunity was because of the strength of the British army, which allowed her to slaughter and plunder wealth all over the world."

"Hmph, Westerners are all bad."

"There are exceptions, though. The head of the department (Elodie) is a good person."

"Well, apart from the head of the department, none of the Westerners are any good."

……

The guards on the city wall looked at the British troops outside the city with either curiosity or resentment.

Apart from the soldiers who accompanied Aoto to rescue Edo last year (who fought against the "Slavic Legion" of the French Extermination Party), most of the people in the city were seeing foreign troops for the first time, and while they were wary, they couldn't help but feel curious.

At this very moment, in a corner of the city wall, Aoto, Yamanami Keisuke, and Kondo Isami stood side by side, frequently raising their binoculars to observe the movements of the British troops.

After a moment, Yamanami Keisuke said softly:

"...It's quite unexpected that the vanguard is British troops."

Qing Deng's forced smile:
"Perhaps he was worried that if the 'Northern Army' were to be sent to the front, they would be completely defeated before they could even get a foothold, so he personally took on this important task."

Yamanami Keisuke chuckled a few times to show his agreement.

As Qing Deng said, if the weak "Northern Army" were to lead the vanguard, they would definitely send out cavalry to catch them off guard before they could establish a firm foothold.

Without the support of the British army, the Northern Army alone was simply not strong enough to fight against the Shinsengumi cavalry.

Kondo Isami gazed thoughtfully at the British positions, then turned to Aoto and asked:

"Tachibana-kun, how about we try to give the British army a taste of their power? Sanosuke just told me that his cavalry can be mobilized at any time."

Qingdeng shook his head without hesitation:
“If it were the ‘Northern Army,’ that would be fine. The British are well-trained and clearly prepared. A hasty attack out of the city would certainly not yield any advantage. Besides, the cavalry is the key to our victory, so we cannot act rashly.”

After listening, Kondo Isami nodded silently and said no more.

Simply holding the city is not enough to defeat the enemy.

Regarding "how to repel the 'Northern Expeditionary Army' and the 'British Army'", Aoto and Yamanami Keisuke and others discussed and formulated a simple and straightforward battle plan.

In short, it's still Qingdeng's tried-and-true tactic: first, hold the line and wear down the enemy's morale. Once the enemy is exhausted, deliver a thunderous blow and completely crush them!

The specific process involves first taking advantage of the fortified city of Otsu to slowly wear down the enemy forces.

No matter how brave and skilled the British soldiers are, there will be times when they are exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

When they ran out of options, they sent out cavalry to finish the job in one fell swoop!

In other words, the castle and its defenders were the "shield" that kept the battle from collapsing and led to victory; the cavalry was the "spear" that brought them to victory!
As for how long they need to hold out until the enemy is exhausted, that remains unknown; they can only wait and see...

It could take ten days or half a month, or it could take a year or two.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from behind Qingdeng—a messenger appeared abruptly, kneeling on one knee.

"My lord, unidentified troops have appeared to the east!"

Yamanami Keisuke asked as if by reflex:

"how many people?"

"Around three hundred!"

Upon hearing this number, Qingdeng immediately remembered something and a smile curled at the corners of his mouth:

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

……

……

West of Dajin——

The leader, Ebina, turned around and shouted to his subordinates behind him:
"It's Otsu! We've arrived!"

The armed forces of the Dayan Party—the Huitian Team, totaling more than 300 men—rode swift and powerful horses, carrying fine weapons such as long spears and muskets, and marched through the dust towards Dajin.

As Otsu Castle drew ever closer, Akutsu, who was half a step behind Ebina, pursed his lips, appearing hesitant.

After a moment, he lowered his voice and said softly to Ebina in front of him:
"...Mr. Ebina, are we really going to help the Zuo family?"

Without even glancing at Hai Lao's name, he said indifferently:

"Akutsu, at a time like this, are you still hesitating?"

“We are allies with the Zuo family. We cannot stand idly by when our allies are in trouble.”

"Otherwise, how will we gain people's trust in the future?"

"Moreover, eliminating the perverse Southern Dynasty is a shared aspiration of both us and the Left Office."

Akutsu gently shook his head:

“Mr. Haibina, you have misunderstood. I am not afraid of death, nor am I unwilling to rescue the Zuo family.”

“Mr. Ju has been kind to me. If it weren’t for his timely arrival, my teacher and I would probably have died at the hands of the giant snake.”

"To repay his kindness, I am willing to give my life for him."

"I just... feel very sorry..."

"We went to great lengths and endured countless hardships to finally bring the Huitian Team to its current size."

"After this battle, who knows how many people will die... We might have to start all over again."

After hearing this, Ebina remained silent.

As a veteran member of the Ōshio Party and a close confidant of Ōshio Heihachirō, Ebina was responsible for the construction of the Kaiten-tai for a long time and experienced the entire process of the team's creation from scratch.

His feelings for the Huitian Team were second to none.

Right now, he is leading this invaluable team to a brutal battlefield soon to be drenched in blood and flesh... It would be impossible for him not to feel a pang of sorrow.

However, due to his duty, he did not show his feelings on his face.

In the blink of an eye, they had entered the town outside Otsu Castle.

We were too far away to see clearly just now.

Now that they were closer, they were astonished to see what they were witnessing.

"This is……!"

Akutsu muttered, his eyes widening in surprise as he scanned left and right. Ebina and the rest of the Kaiten-tai did the same.

It's no wonder they reacted this way, because the scene that met their eyes was indeed visually striking.

All the houses in Otsu Town had been completely demolished—literally completely demolished!

From the rows of longhouses to the quiet and secluded shrines and temples, and then to the magnificent and luxurious houses, everything was completely demolished!

The once bustling town, densely packed with buildings, is now barren, resembling a forest that has just been cut down.

Akutsu clicked his tongue repeatedly:
"What...what happened? Why is there not even a single outhouse left?"

Ebi, with a serious expression, responded in a deep voice:
"...a scorched earth policy. While gathering timber and bricks, we ensured that the enemy had no roofs to shelter them from the rain."

Bricks and wooden mallets are both powerful weapons in siege warfare, and they are also handy weapons with no usage barriers—throwing them down the city wall can easily knock down a large number of people without breaking a sweat.

Simply dismantle Otsu Town completely, and you can easily gather enough bricks, stones, and wooden pillars.

that's the truth.

After the houses in Otsu Town were leveled, the sheer volume of dismantled parts was so immense that describing it as "piled up like a mountain" would be an understatement!

Fortunately, Otsu Castle was large enough, and the recently emptied warehouses provided ample storage space, which allowed them to barely store the terrifying amount of bricks and wooden beams. In addition to the defensive equipment, clearing out Otsu Town could also indirectly weaken the enemy's siege capabilities.

Leaving these houses behind is tantamount to providing comfortable accommodations for the enemy.

Such behavior of aiding the enemy is absolutely unacceptable.

Thus, under the orders of Aoto, the supervision of Saito Hajime, and the personal leadership of Serizawa Kamo and Harada Sanosuke, the newly mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians launched a massive "town demolition operation"!
To set an example, Qingdeng specifically instructed that his house—the Ju residence—be demolished first.

During the demolition of the town, Otsu's "fire brigade"—that is, Otsu's town fire brigade—came in great use.

The core members of the Otsu-cho fire brigade all come from the Edo-cho fire brigade.

As Edo's economy declined, even the once-popular town fire-lighting ceremonies lost their former glory, and life became increasingly difficult.

Before Aoto took over Otsu, Otsu was just an ordinary little town. Although a town was established, its level was so low that it would be an understatement to call it a shoddy job.

Therefore, as soon as Aoto had established himself in Otsu, he intended to reorganize the Otsu-cho Fire Brigade and transform it into a qualified and genuine fire brigade.

He had dealt with many firefighters in Edo town when he worked as a thief in the northern part of Edo, so he had a lot of connections.

So he extended an invitation to these old friends and immediately received enthusiastic replies.

And so, a large number of experienced and technically advanced firefighters arrived in Otsu.

Qing Deng then used these people as the core to reorganize the fire suppression in Otsu Town.

One of the specialties of the town fire extinguisher is demolition; they can demolish an entire row of houses in a very short time to stop the fire from spreading.

Since the end of the Genna era, Edo has been the most populous castle town in Japan, and therefore the most prone to fires, with a small fire every three days and a large fire every ten days.

Therefore, Edo (modern-day Tokyo) had the most extensive experience in demolishing houses.

Thanks to the meticulous guidance of these professionals, the entire process of "demolishing Otsu Town" went exceptionally smoothly.

Qing Deng made a promise: after the war, he would pay full compensation and restore Otsu to its former prosperity in the shortest possible time.

If he could defeat the Southern Court, Qing Deng would become the de facto ruler of the land, and all of Japan would be his.

At that time, rebuilding Otsu with the combined strength of all of Japan would be a piece of cake.

It is worth mentioning that there were some unexpected incidents during the complete demolition of Otsu-cho... The demolition team hesitated to start work on the shrines and temples.

The reason is not complicated: they are afraid of divine punishment or retribution.

Upon learning of this matter, Qingdeng personally issued a solemn announcement:

"I gave the order to demolish the town! If there is any guilt, it will be blamed on me! It has nothing to do with you! Now, you have only one task—not to leave a single intact building in Otsu Town!"

After witnessing the wonders of the "power of immortality" firsthand, Qingdeng realized that there were supernatural forces in this spacetime that could not be explained by science.

However, he still did not believe in heaven or hell, nor did he think that demolishing shrines and temples would bring any retribution, so he had no psychological burden at all.

With Qingdeng's endorsement, the "demolition team" no longer hesitated and quickly restored those shrines and temples to their "factory condition".

Anyway, the shrines and temples in Otsu-cho are not any famous historical sites, so it wouldn't be a pity if they were all demolished.

Accompanied by the resounding clang of hammers and continuous shouts, houses were torn down one after another, and cartloads of bricks, stones, and timber were transported into Dajin City.

With the concerted efforts of tens of thousands of people, in just over half a day, the once thriving town of Otsu was transformed into its current barren state.

After hearing Ebina's explanation, Akutsu couldn't help but swallow hard.

In order to defeat the enemy, they did not hesitate to demolish the base they had painstakingly built... Such courage is truly astonishing.

The rest of the Kaiten-tai shared the same thoughts as Akutsu.

They exchanged shocked glances as they traversed the vast, now open "former Otsu-cho," now completely destroyed by the collapse of its buildings, and approached the east gate of Otsu Castle.

Before they could announce their arrival, the gate slowly opened—on the other side, Aoto and Ooshio Heihachiro stood side by side, waiting.

"Teacher! The Zuo residence!"

Ebina shouted, then nimbly dismounted and ran two steps to Qing Deng and Ebina's side.

Heihachiro Ooshio raised his hand and brushed the dust off Ebina's clothes.

"Ebina, thank you for your hard work. The enemy's vanguard has reached the north of the city, and a major battle is imminent. Your arrival is just in time."

Ebina looked apologetic.

"Teacher, I'm so sorry, I was delayed by a heavy rain the other day."

"No need to apologize, it's good that you arrived on time."

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Ōshio Heihachirō, Ebina turned to Aoto and solemnly proclaimed:
"Master Zuo, it is our honor to fight alongside you on the battlefield! We may not be elite soldiers, but we are not cowards who fear death! At your command, we will charge into battle!"

Qingdeng smiled slightly:
"Mr. Ebina, it is my honor to fight alongside you on the battlefield. From this moment on, we are comrades-in-arms fighting side by side."

After saying that, Qing Deng patted Ebina's shoulder affectionately.

At this moment, Ōshio Heihachirō seemed to remember something and said to Aoto:

"Mr. Ju, do you have some free time right now? Would you allow me to introduce you to someone?"

This sudden question caught Qingdeng off guard and piqued his curiosity.

Who exactly is this person that made Ōshio Heihachirō take the initiative to introduce him to Niō?

With this thought in mind, he nodded slightly, driven by curiosity.

Seeing that Aoto nodded, Ōshio Heihachirō immediately said to Ebina:
"Lord Hai, go and summon Lord Xiang Le."

Haibin responded and then quickly returned to the Huitian Team.

—Xiang Le?
Upon hearing this familiar surname, Qing Deng subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

Before long, Haibina led a young man back to Qingdeng's side.

Looking at Qingdeng so close at hand, the young man's expression became complicated.

Despite his demeanor, his movements were not slow at all; he bowed respectfully to Qingdeng without being servile or arrogant.

"Master Zuo, I am Xiang Lezongsan. It is my great honor to meet you today."

Qing Deng's expression changed slightly, and he blurted out:

"Are you Sagara Sozo of the Red News Corps?"

Sagara Souzo made a lukewarm correction:
"Now there is no more 'Sagara Sozo of the Red News Team,' only 'Sagara Sozo of the Kaiten Team.'"

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: Leopard has recently become obsessed with Kanna Seto... Damn it, I want to marry her! (Leopard Hi.jpg)

Speaking of which, did Leopard not tell you about the historical ending of Sozo Sagara?

In historical fact, Sozo Sagara died a terrible death.

The Meiji government went back on its word, first agreeing to issue the "Annual Tribute Halving Order," and then canceling it—because it wanted to win the support of wealthy merchants.

Sozo Sagara could not accept this and argued his case.

In an effort to silence him, the Meiji government, under the pretext of discussing military matters, lured Sagara Sozo and his entourage to the Governor-General's headquarters, where troops had been lying in ambush, and arrested them.

At that time, Sagara Sozo, who was following the swordsman Oki Shiro, rebelled, but was stopped by Sozo, who hoped to make a defense at the trial later.

However, the Meiji government had no intention of negotiating with him. Instead, they beheaded him and displayed his head in public. They also demoted his Red Guards to "puppet troops," subjecting them to a bloody crackdown, with half of them being annihilated and the other half being arrested.

It wasn't until half a century later, at the beginning of the 20th century, that Sozo Sagara and his Red Guards were finally exonerated.

This man is a hero, as admirable as Ōshio Heihachirō, which is why Leopard let him live in this book.

Therefore, upon closer examination of the history of the late Edo period in Japan, you will find that the Meiji government was an anti-human group from the very beginning, with a long history of dark deeds, cheating and deceiving without restraint, and completely lacking the righteousness and integrity that a decent person should have.

In comparison, the Edo Shogunate seems much more pleasing to the eye.

The Edo Shogunate was a corrupt feudal regime with a lot of abstract practices, but the Meiji government was even more despicable... It's truly speechless.