I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 961: The young man in the middle of the crowd! The battle situation is reversed! [4900]

Harada Sanosuke looked towards Edo, his expression darkening:
"Are we late?"

Qing Deng replied softly:
"No, I guess we barely made it. Listen, the shouting and killing hasn't stopped yet, and Edo hasn't fallen yet."

Just as Qing Deng and Harada Sanosuke were observing the current situation in Edo side by side, behind them, the 7th and 10th squads of the Shinsengumi and the Aizu Cavalry were speeding up their deployment and arranging their formations!
The sounds of people shouting and horses neighing were endless.

The cavalrymen shuttled back and forth quickly but orderly, rushing to the designated positions, just like silk threads, gradually weaving out a strict and tight formation.

The formation they arranged was the most classic charge formation in cavalry tactics - the wedge formation!

Three days ago, after breaking through the blockade of the special forces and successfully occupying Sekigahara, Qing Deng kept summoning the cavalry.

He handed the exhausted infantry to Kondo Isami's command and asked him to lead the infantry who could still move to hunt down the remnants of the special forces.

He personally led the cavalry and began to march eastward to help Edo!

Horses have very poor endurance and can even outrun humans in long-distance races.

Therefore, before setting off, Qingdeng specially requisitioned all the horses that could be requisitioned to ensure that each cavalryman had a configuration of "one person with two horses" or "one person with three horses".

To this end, he even requisitioned pack horses from the logistics troops that were specifically used to transport supplies.

According to Qing Deng's plan, they will go east along the Tokai Street where the infrastructure is the most mature, and arrive in Edo within 3 days!
Along the way, they really drained all the physical strength of both men and horses.

When eating, they would just chew some dry food on horseback.

Rest time is compressed to the extreme, and rest should be avoided if possible.

If they took a rest, it must be because both the people and the horses had reached their limits. If they continued to move forward, there would definitely be non-combat casualties, so they had to slow down.

Although this marching method was terrifying, the results were also impressive - they successfully achieved Qingdeng's predetermined goal! It only took 3 days to successfully cross the entire Tokai Street and reach Edo!

"My lord, Squad 7 is ready!"

Koto Nakazawa, the vice-captain of the 7th Division, held her naginata and rode up behind Aoto.

Then, the vice-captain of the 10th Division, Matsubara Tadashi, also came behind Qing Deng:

"My lord, Squad 10 is ready!"

After these two, the third general, the Aizu clan elder, Sagawa Kanbei, also
"General Tachibana, we, the Aizu Cavalry, are only waiting for your orders!"

Because cavalry could not be used in mountain warfare, during the Second Battle of Sekigahara, the Aizu Cavalry, like the 7th and 10th Divisions, stayed in the main camp and were not allowed to be deployed.

Other comrades are fighting bravely on the front line and earning military merits, while you are doing nothing in the rear... This feeling is a torment for everyone who desires fame and honor.

Especially the Aizu cavalrymen who came to help as guest troops felt depressed.

During the "Iga Rebellion" a year ago, Sagawa Kanbei's light troops advanced recklessly, causing heavy losses to his Aizu cavalry. He was so shameless that he showed his shamelessness.

From then on, the Aizu cavalry led by Sagawa Kanbei were eager to clear their names and restore their honor on the battlefield.

After a long wait, the fighting opportunity they had been waiting for was finally presented to them... At this moment, they were eager to fight and couldn't wait to vent the nameless anger that had been pent up in their hearts on the enemy!

It is worth mentioning that Sagawa Kanbei is no longer as domineering in front of Qing Deng as before.

Such changes are natural and reasonable.

At that time, Aoto was not a daimyo, and his Shinsengumi had only a hundred or so people. In order to quell the rebellion, he had to borrow troops from the Aizu domain.

But now, the situation is different.

Whether in terms of the size of the territory or the level of official position, Qing Deng was far superior to Sagawa Kanbei's lord Matsudaira Yoshiyasu.

Even the Lord of Aizu Domain, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu himself, could not act rashly in front of Aoto, let alone Sagawa Kanbei?
No matter how arrogant he was, he didn't dare to put on airs in front of Qing Deng, let alone disobey his orders.

At this moment, he was as obedient as a clingy kitten in front of Qing Deng, without any rebellious behavior.

"..."

Qing Deng turned his head silently and looked at the generals and soldiers behind him.

His eyes first passed over the faces of Harada Sanosuke, Aizawa Koto, Matsubara Tadashi and Sagawa Kanbei, and then passed over the faces of the other soldiers.

All the soldiers looked at him in unison.

Excitement, anticipation, nervousness... eyes with all kinds of emotions were focused on him.

After a while, Qing Deng spoke:

"At this point, there is only one thing I want to say -"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly tightened the reins in his hands.

Carrot understood, raised its two front hooves and let out a low roar.

"Follow me closely! Massacre the enemy with blood! Destroy all enemies in front of you!"

After roaring, he kicked the cow's belly hard.

The next moment, Luobo spread out his four hooves and rushed out!

At the moment of charging, a strong headwind blew, causing the sleeves of the haori to rustle.

"Follow the Lord!"

Harada Sanosuke roared, then bent over and picked up his gun, becoming the first soldier to catch up with Qingdeng.

Then came the second, third, fourth... The eerie formation slowly started up! Gradually speeding up!
The big banner with the words "It is an honor to die, a disgrace to live" and the banner with the word "Sincerity" as big as a bucket followed Qing Deng closely on both sides, fluttering in the wind!
Thousands of cavalrymen rushed down the hillside with such momentum that it was like both thunder and a tsunami!
……

……

Edo, Mt. Atago, the main camp of the Edo garrison——

The military intelligence reports collected from various places never stopped and were continuously sent to Katsurintaro.

In order to process and analyze these military intelligence, Katsurintaro was already overwhelmed.

Although he made extremely careful preparations before the war, the frequent occurrence of emergencies still disrupted his battle plan.

After hearing that Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin personally led the guards to reinforce Akasaka Mitsuke, and that Akasaka Mitsuke was blown down by explosives by the enemy, he was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground.

There is no doubt that the enemy has deployed its main force in Akasaka-Mitsuke.

Akasaka-Mitsuke was reduced to ruins, which meant that the "Thirty-six Mitsuke" - this vital line of defense - had been breached.

The gates of Edo Castle were wide open; the enemy must have already entered the city!
After recovering from his shock, Katsurintaro kept muttering:
"Reinforcements... We must send reinforcements...!"

Although he was extremely anxious, there was nothing he could do except running around in circles like an ant on a hot pan.

In order to defend Edo, he had already used his limited military forces to the utmost.

He has no reserve team at all!

There were no reinforcements to send... In desperation, he even picked up his sword and prepared to lead more than a dozen guards around him to reinforce Edo Castle.

Just as he was thinking hard about a countermeasure with a gloomy face, a messenger ran over and stammered to Katsurintaro:

"Master Shengshengshengsheng! Something's happening! Something's happening!"

Katsurintaro's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he asked anxiously:
"what happened again?"

He subconsciously thought it was another piece of bad news and was mentally prepared to "suffer a major blow."

But unexpectedly, the news brought by the messenger this time was good news - and it was extraordinary good news.

"Master Sheng! Reinforcements are coming! Reinforcements are coming from the west! I see the flag with the word Cheng on it!"

Katsurintaro was like a petrified being, standing there in a daze.

Of course, this "petrified state" is only temporary.

After about 3 seconds, he managed to lift his feet off the ground.

After taking the first step, the rest is easy.

But he was seen walking very quickly, rushing to a position with a good view in one breath, and looking far away to the west.

In the wilderness west of Edo, clouds of dust rolled like waves.

This is the dust raised by horse hooves.

A cavalry team of astonishing size is galloping towards Edo, galloping towards the battlefield!

With his good eyesight, Katsurintaro clearly saw the light green clothes, the particularly conspicuous flag with the word "誠" on it, and the young warrior riding a bull and holding a spear in the lead.

"……Ha ha."

Suddenly, Katsurintaro smiled.

He grinned and let out a foolish laugh, "Hahahaha", crying as he laughed, with tears of excitement welling up in his eyes.

"You're finally here...!"

……

……

Edo, Edo Castle, San-no-maru——

After Shuten-doji and others went into battle, Katsura Kogoro was the only one left to take the lead.

At this point, the hope of victory rests entirely on Shuten-doji. Katsura Kogoro's current mission is to command his troops to hold back the Sannomaru's defenders and prevent them from retreating, in order to prevent them from causing any trouble for Shuten-doji and his men.

"Don't lose heart! Grit your teeth and hold on! What matters now is your perseverance!"

In order to boost morale, he drew the sword Muramasa from his waist and went to the front line in person.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a muffled "rumbling" sound.

It sounded like muffled thunder. Katsura Kogoro subconsciously looked up at the sky. What he saw was a pale and distant sky. Although the weather was bad, it didn't sound like it was going to rain.

Rumble, rumble...

The "muffled thunder" was still rumbling, and faintly, the sound seemed to be getting closer and closer.

——Could it be that…?!

He suddenly thought of a possibility, his face turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Out of his instinctive desire to escape, he tried to convince himself that "it's impossible" and "it's impossible for them to get here so quickly and in time."

Relying on his tenacious character, he was able to remain calm - but just because he could do so, it didn't mean that others could do the same.

After a while, more and more people heard this strange sound.

"Hey, is there any strange noise?"

"Is that... the sound of horse hooves?"

"What a loud noise! ​​It's a large group of cavalry! There's no mistake! It's a large group of cavalry!"

"Cavalry? How can there be cavalry?!"

"Could it be..."

"Shut up! This is impossible!"

The atmosphere of panic was spreading...After hearing the dull sound that sounded like a "cavalry charge", many people guessed the reason.

However, due to fear, no one dared to speak of that possibility.

At this time, someone bravely climbed to a high place and looked westward in the direction of the sound - the next moment, he let out a scream of terror.

Then, he called out the name that terrified countless patriots:
"Light green haori... flag with the character '誠' on it... Shinsengumi! It's the Shinsengumi!!"

……

……

Edo Castle, Honmaru——

Shuten-doji ran quickly towards the castle tower while tightly tying the cloth around his neck.

He had just torn this strip of cloth off his clothes.

The current battle situation did not allow him to slowly stop the bleeding and treat the wound. At most, he could tear a strip of cloth to bandage the wound.

The injured part is the neck... It happens to be in such a troublesome position that the cloth strip cannot be tied too tightly.

If he tied it too tightly, he would suffocate to death before he could kill Tokugawa Iemochi.

For this reason, fresh blood kept flowing out, and soon the cloth was dyed dark red.

——Just one step left… just one step left…!
He raised his eyes and stared at the castle tower that was getting closer and closer.

In a little while, he will be able to kill Tokugawa Iemochi!
As long as Tokugawa Iemochi dies, the "Amano Spear"... this great battle that covered half of Japan, will be a complete success!

Although this is only one step in a long journey, after killing Tokugawa Iemochi, there are still countless battles waiting for them, and they have to go through countless hardships before they can build the ideal world in their minds, but being able to kill Tokugawa Iemochi is undoubtedly a great progress!

Just as he was imagining the future and cheering himself up, his eyes suddenly straightened and his steps stopped.

"..."

The next moment, he turned his head silently and looked into the distance - behind him was the west.

His gaze seemed to penetrate layers of space and he saw the huge cavalry galloping across the wilderness.

He pursed his lips, and the emotions in his eyes changed rapidly.

After a moment, he bit his teeth and murmured to himself:

"Everything is going wrong..."

……

……

Soon, the streets of Edo came into the sight of Qing Deng and others.

Qing Deng divided the cavalry into five teams - one team was led by him personally, and the other four teams were commanded by Harada Sanosuke, Nakazawa Koto, Matsubara Soji and Sagawa Kanbei respectively, and attacked Edo from different directions!

The task Qing Deng gave them was simple: kill any enemy you see!

Thanks to Katsurintaro's prior widening of the streets of Edo, they were able to flow into the streets of Edo without hindrance.

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng encountered the first wave of enemy soldiers.

More than a dozen enemy soldiers stood in the middle of the street, looking in horror at Qing Deng and others who suddenly appeared like divine soldiers descended from the sky.

Qing Deng silently steadied the long spear in his hand.

The moment he met the enemy, the long spear tip swept out! With just one strike, two heads were cut off!

He wielded the spear with ease, cutting out bloody arcs with ease.

At the same time, the carrot under his crotch was also killing the enemy.

"Mou! Mou!"

Luobo growled, lowered his head slightly, then lifted up with force, picking up the unlucky guy and letting him fall onto the roof of a house on the street.

Qing Deng’s fierce attack was just the beginning—the numerous cavalrymen behind him were the real killer move!
Boom boom boom boom!
The horses' hooves hit the ground violently.

There was no need for the knights on horseback to take action; the charge of the horses and the trampling of their hooves were enough to destroy the enemy troops.

They are like pebbles in a tsunami - they are swallowed up before they have time to struggle.

Qing Deng bit the reins in his mouth and used both hands to swing the spear alternately, chopping down every enemy soldier that appeared within his attack range.

Similar scenes also occurred on the battlefields headed by Harada Sanosuke, Nakazawa Koto and others!
As soon as the Shinsengumi launched the attack, they immediately reversed the situation!
The bloody battle between the Faqi coalition forces and the Edo defenders was originally evenly matched.

At this point in the battle, both sides are exhausted and are only holding on by willpower.

It's like a balanced scale. Adding weights on either side - no matter what weight - is enough to cause the scale to tip over!
What's more, the weight that was suddenly added was an extremely huge and heavy weight!

Qing Deng charged forward all the way and never stopped.

His target was clear - the majestic Edo Castle.

Edo is big in a certain sense, but it is also small in a certain sense.

As he charged straight ahead, the "Thirty-six Mitsuke" outside Edo Castle came into his sight.

At this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling him:
"General Tachibana! General Tachibana!"

An unknown young man rode out from the side on his horse and galloped side by side with him.

"I am Katsurintaro's messenger! I'm here to tell you something!"

"General Tachibana, please go to Edo Castle as soon as possible to provide support! The enemy has already entered the city! The situation is extremely critical!"

After hearing this, Qing Deng's expression became stern:
"Well, I see!"

After saying goodbye to the messenger, he kicked the cow's belly again to urge Radish to speed up. In fact, Radish had already exhausted all his strength and could no longer muster any more strength.

Just as he was about to reach the "Sanshiliu Jianfu", he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye - it was the figure of an old man.

Qing Deng turned his head, opened his eyes wide, and looked at the old man in disbelief... or to be more precise, at the body lying on the ground.

"Master... Kondo..."

……

……

Edo Castle, Honmaru, Castle Tower——

Tokugawa Iemochi, who had largely regained consciousness, sat upright on the main seat.

Tianzhangyuan and Elodie stood on his left and right with serious expressions.

The three of them stared straight at the door in front of them.

Outside the gate, there was constant shouting and killing.

Along with fierce shouts and screams, a sound of footsteps gradually approached...

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It's the end of the month again! Book friends who have monthly tickets, please vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg) Please vote for the monthly ticket! Please recommend! (crying leopard head.jpg)

PS: I've been addicted to playing "Dynasty Warriors: Origins" recently. When I was writing the "Qingdeng Charge" section of this chapter, my mind was full of Lu Bu's happy song "Lü Bu Among Men".