I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"You're such an idiot! If you could win just by willpower, there wouldn't be so many heartbreaking tragedies in the world!"

"If you insist on fighting the Shinsengumi, then we will withdraw!"

"That's right, that's right!"

……

Yoshimura Torataro frowned, enduring the pain... while his comrades around him continued to chatter.

Arguing, offering random opinions, nagging...

At first glance, it doesn't look like a military conference at all; it looks more like a noisy and disorderly vegetable market.

The Heavenly Punishment Group was originally a mixed-race force with diverse members.

One of the typical characteristics of a "mixed team" is that they share the good times but cannot share the bad.

When it comes to sharing benefits, everyone is incredibly enthusiastic.

If things go wrong, chaos will ensue.

They harbored dreams of "serving the country," but in the end... they not only lost their status as a "righteous army," but now they have to fight alone against the renowned Shinsengumi!

"Huh...? We're attacking the new selection group? Really?" — This is a true reflection of the current mindset of most of the soldiers in the Tenchu ​​group.

The Tenchugumi veterans, led by Yoshimura Torataro, and the Totsugawa samurai army were the most steadfast advocates of war, and their will was not shaken by the current predicament.

Especially for Yoshimura Torataro, as the president of the Tenchu ​​Group, it was impossible for him to be easily discouraged.

His current state... to put it nicely, he has a strong will; to put it bluntly, he's blinded by greed.

There's no turning back! We have no choice but to grit our teeth and go all the way! We won't leave the gambling table until the very last moment!

There is no doubt about the fighting spirit of Yoshimura Torataro and others.

However... those so-called loyalists who rushed to join him after hearing the news did not have such a firm mindset.

The people who put forward all sorts of bizarre opinions, such as "bypassing the Shinsengumi" and "winning over Tachibana Seito," are mainly these guys.

Yoshimura Torataro had long seen that this group of people were unreliable.

Therefore, when he left Gaoqu City, he only left his core confidants to guard the city.

However... Yoshimura Torataro overlooked one thing.

He overestimated the limits of these guys!

Ever since the entire army set off north, there have been continuous instances of people deserting without permission.

There may be as few as one or two people, or as many as ten or even dozens of people.

There are just too many people fleeing; even the authorities don't know where to begin.

Before the war even started, deserters were emerging one after another... This situation already showed signs of decline.

Finally, Yoshimura Torataro could no longer tolerate the noise and commotion around him.

He roared like an erupting volcano:

"Stop arguing!"

His shout brought back a long-awaited peace and quiet.

Everyone present fell silent and stared intently at him.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yoshimura Torataro took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket!"

"Bypassing the Shinsengumi and trying to win over Tachibana Seito... these are utter nonsense!"

"Tachibana Aono was Tokugawa Iemochi's trusted and beloved general! The two had a very close relationship!"

"Why would he betray the shogunate just because of a few words we said?"

"Our only way out right now is to defeat the Shinsengumi! Then we can head north and join forces with Choshu!"

"The only way to defeat the Shinsengumi is to concentrate all our forces and charge straight into their main camp as soon as the battle begins! And kill Tachibana Aoto in battle!"

"Tachibana Aoto is the soul of the Shinsengumi."

"As long as Tachibana Seito is here, the Shinsengumi will remain."

With the death of Tachibana Aoto, the Shinsengumi is now defunct in name only!

"so……"

Before Yoshimura Torataro could finish speaking, he immediately faced a fierce backlash.

"Slayed Ju Qingdeng in battle?! You make it sound so easy!"

"That's it!"

"Hmph! I thought you had some brilliant ideas! Your plan is no different from 'winning over Tachibana Seidon'! It's all just wild and boring fantasy!"

"If it were that easy to kill Tachibana Aoto, we wouldn't have been discussing this for so long!"

……

The jeers and insults from the crowd aroused the dissatisfaction of Yoshimura Torataro's two closest confidants—Matsumoto Keido and Fujimoto Tesseki.

Matsumoto Keido snapped at him impatiently:

"Quiet! Mr. Yoshimura hasn't finished speaking!"

He didn't speak, which was fine, but once he did, it triggered an even larger-scale riot.

"Who do you think you are to point fingers at us!"

"That's it!"

"You have no right to speak here!"

……

Yoshimura Torataro's surroundings had barely quieted down before they reverted to "market mode."

This is another major drawback of the "mixed-material team"—the lack of a strong and powerful "core".

Aoto was the sole leader of the Shinsengumi, possessing both ability and prestige, thus wielding absolute authority within the group.

Even the unruly Serizawa Kamo wouldn't dare to act presumptuously in front of Aoto; at most, he would snort a few times to express his dissatisfaction.

Yoshimura Torataro didn't have that ability.

Before the uprising, he was just an ordinary ronin who had left his domain... to put it bluntly, he was a nobody.

Aside from claiming credit for "initiating the uprising," they had no other merits.

Although he was the president and nominal leader of the Tianzhu Group, no one respected him at all.

The Totsugawa samurai army, in particular, was only superficially united with Yoshimura Torataro.

They already held a deep sense of pride in their hometown's glorious history of "always providing strong assistance to the imperial court whenever it was in trouble."

How could they possibly respect someone they've only known for a short time?

When things are going smoothly, they will at least maintain a semblance of respect for Yoshimura Torataro.

Now that he's in trouble, Yoshimura Torataro can no longer keep order, and anyone can interrupt him.

The relationship between Yoshimura Torataro and his group of "allies" can be perfectly described by the classic old saying: "Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately."

Faced with this group of "allies" who had once again erupted in conflict, Yoshimura Torataro's face turned pale and then red.

After a moment, he let out a heavy sigh, his face full of exhaustion, no longer showing the high spirits he had when he conquered Gaoqu City.

Just then, a messenger on horseback came rushing toward him.

"Lord Yoshimura! There's something going on up ahead! Come quick! Come quick!"

Yoshimura Torataro raised an eyebrow, then lightly nudged the horse's belly, urging it forward.

The unexpected turn of events forced Matsumoto Keido and the others to stop arguing and quicken their pace to follow closely behind Yoshimura Torataro.

—What's wrong? What happened?

Recent misfortunes have made Yoshimura Torataro somewhat neurotic.

As he pondered this to himself, he struck the horse's belly again to increase its speed.

Before he could finish, the scene that came into view answered the question in his heart.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

Following closely behind him, Matsumoto Keido and the others also looked the same – their expressions were dominated by intense shock.

Looking up, beneath the azure sky, on the vast, verdant plains, stands a gently sloping hill.

On the hilltop, large flags fluttered in the wind.

If one has good eyesight, one can see that the tallest and most conspicuous flag in the pile is a red flag with gold lettering and a large "诚" (sincerity) character in the center.

A soldier dressed in a light blue haori (a type of traditional Japanese clothing) moved back and forth among the hills.

The paths leading to the top of the hill were lined with jagged fences.

In addition, a network of trenches was dug below the hill.

Although these trenches are not very deep and are not connected to each other, it is not hard to imagine that if one were to charge up the hill, they would inevitably be blocked by these trenches, and the originally tight formation would inevitably become a mess.

The flag bearing the character "诚" (sincerity), the light blue haori (feathered kimono)... it was immediately clear which unit the group stationed there belonged to.

With such a large hill right in front of you, it's hard not to see it.

Not only Yoshimura Torataro and his men, but also the ordinary soldiers saw the hill that had been thoroughly armed.

An uproar ensued.

"Look! It's the Shinsengumi's stronghold!"

"What...what is this thing?!"

"Are you kidding me...? Since the Shinsengumi is stationed on this hill, does that mean we have to take down this hill before we can advance any further?"

"What do we have to fight against this fortress?!"

……