I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I traveled all the way from the Northeast to Kyoto, only to get this result... If it were me, I would also feel very indignant."

"They want us to be treated like cattle and horses, working hard and waiting for you to do whatever you want, but they're also afraid we'll become too powerful... What kind of nonsense is this! No one could swallow this insult."

Serizawa Kamo's words subtly changed the atmosphere inside the tent.

Todo Heisuke lowered his head and murmured:

"But... wasn't the original purpose of establishing the position of 'Kyoto Garrison Commander' to relieve the pressure on the Kyoto Guardian? Wasn't it to divide Lord Higo's power and prevent Aizu from becoming too powerful..."

Serizawa Kamo chuckled:

“Kid, since you’re still young, I’ll teach you a cruel lesson—there are many things in this world that can be said both ‘positively’ and ‘negatively’.”

At this moment, Inoue Genzaburo, who was sitting next to Serizawa Kamo—the seating order of the squad leaders was that the "even-numbered squads" sat in one row and the "odd-numbered squads" sat in another row—suddenly stretched out his left elbow and poked his side.

"Alright, Serizawa-kun, stop talking."

Serizawa Kamo glanced at Inoue Genzaburo with a blank expression, then fell silent.

For a moment, silence reigned over the entire camp.

The official explanation given by the shogunate for establishing the position of Governor of the Capital Region was that they were worried that Matsudaira Katamori would not be able to handle such a large situation, so they sent another person to help him.

But what exactly happened... no one can say for sure.

Apart from the naive Todo Heisuke and Harada Sanosuke, who never paid attention to such complicated matters, everyone present knew that their allies... there were many people in the Aizu Domain who were no less hostile to the Shinsengumi than the pro-imperial faction.

Normally, everyone pretends to be ignorant and doesn't bring up this cold, hard truth.

Serizawa Kamo's words just now brought out everyone's long-hidden thoughts.

"...Alright, enough of this small talk."

Qing Deng suddenly spoke up.

He gave a brief summary of the above discussions:

"At this stage, the Aizu Domain is our unquestionable ally."

We judge by actions, not intentions.

"As long as they don't cause us trouble, we shouldn't worry about what they're thinking."

"It's not like we're going to get married and spend the rest of our lives together."

“We only focus on what they do, not what they think.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Heisuke Todo blinked, looking bewildered, and muttered to himself:

"What kind of mess is this... They're allies, yet they have to be wary of each other... If this continues, is there any hope for the shogunate..."

At this point, he belatedly shut his mouth.

Nagakura Shinpachi narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice:

"Heisuke, don't talk nonsense."

Heisuke Todo lowered his head apologetically.

"Sorry……"

The future of the shogunate is bleak... This is something they cannot say openly, given their position.

However... anyone would agree that the phrase "teetering on the brink of collapse" perfectly describes the current state of the shogunate.

Financial difficulties, corruption and decadence among the children of high-ranking military officers, an incompetent army, and even allies harboring ulterior motives...

Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the tent:

The person hasn't arrived yet, but the voice has already reached them:

"Lord Niou! Something's amiss!"

A messenger stood outside the tent.

Qing Deng immediately shouted:

"Come in!"

The messenger slipped into the tent and then, in a clear and urgent tone, said loudly, word by word:

"Lord Niou, Lord Sagawa has led all the Aizu cavalry into battle! They're heading straight for the enemy camp!"

"what?!"

Kiyokawa Hachiro was the first to cry out in surprise.

At the same moment, a sense of astonishment gripped the entire audience.

Qing Deng's expression remained unchanged; he sat calmly in the main seat—though his facial features had become much colder and harder.

"This guy... is he trying to trip me up so soon...?"

……

……

At this very moment—

The New Senju camp, somewhere outside the camp—

hoohoo hoohoo hoohoo...

The carefully selected warhorses neighed and pawed at the ground with their hooves.

Sagawa Kanbei, carrying a 3-meter-long scythe, rode his horse to inspect the soldiers' equipment and morale.

[Note: The katana-gun is a branch of the cross-shaped spear, with a separate blade on one side of the spearhead.]

The 20 Aizu cavalrymen that Matsudaira Katamori lent to Aoto were all in front of Sagawa Kanbei.

Looking at his own soldiers, who were all in high spirits, Sagawa Kanbei smiled confidently and proudly.

"Hmph! What a load of bull! That brat who's barely over 20 years old, what does he know about fighting!"

"They're just a bunch of insignificant rabble, why be so cautious?"

"The bandit army that has come from afar has not yet gained a foothold, so this is the best time to launch an attack on them."

"If we launch a fierce attack at this moment, we will surely inflict heavy damage on them!"

"If we're lucky enough, we might even be able to rout them and end this war!"

At this point, Sagawa Kanbei turned his head and coldly gazed at the Shinsengumi's camp.

The mockery on his face was so intense it couldn't be more pronounced.

"Not fighting when you should, and constantly using vague terms like 'intuition' and 'ominous premonition'... this kind of military strategy cannot be called prudence! It's just cowardice!"

"People from the Kwantung region are indeed unreliable!"

"The heavy responsibility of pacifying the capital region still depends on the men of Aizu!"

After mocking Qingdeng from afar, Sagawa Kanbei withdrew his gaze, looked at the group of cavalry in front of him, raised his scythe high, the tip of the spear pointing straight at the sky.

"Brave men of Aizu! Follow me closely!"

"Let these ignorant bandits see! Let those cowards behind us see too! Let's see how capable the people of Aizu really are!"

Having said that, Sagawa Kanbei pulled on the reins, pointing the horse straight at the enemy's position in the distance.

"Charge with me!"

He swung the sickle he had been holding high down with force.

In an instant, the warhorse neighed and its hooves thrashed about.

Thick smoke and dust spread outwards.

……

……

Shinsengumi camp —

Aoto and the Shinsengumi generals stood on an earthen watchtower, gazing at the cavalry that had begun their attack.

Kiyokawa Hachiro stepped forward and proposed:

"Lord Tachibana, should we try to stop them?"

Qingdeng shook his head:

"We can't catch up. Even if we ride off to catch up with them now, it's too late."

The commander smacked his lips forcefully:

"Tsk...! Even though Tachibana-kun clearly said that no one is allowed to attack without his orders, he still ignored them!"

Hijikata Toshizo shrugged.

"Who told him to be a guest general? He already harbored resentment towards the official position held by Tachibana-kun, so how could he possibly accept Tachibana's command calmly?"

"...Fine, let it be."

A barrage of gazes fell upon Qing Deng, who had suddenly spoken.

Qing Deng casually rested his left hand on the sword at his waist, and continued speaking with a cold smile:

"Since Sagawa Kanbei is determined to attack, let's stand here and watch them quietly to see if they can achieve any significant results."

"I'll also take this opportunity to observe the enemy's fighting strength."

……

……

The cavalry did not charge with all their might in one go, but instead jogged slowly first, and then gradually accelerated.

Horses are animals with very poor endurance.

In a long-distance race, even 10 horses can't beat one person.

This is why, when the relay system was established, a relay station was built at regular intervals. When delivering messages, the horses were changed but the riders were not, because the horses' endurance was too poor and they could not run for long periods of time.

If you start galloping at full speed from the beginning, your horse will soon be exhausted.