I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"put!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...

……

After a total of three rounds of firing, this unique "military exercise" finally came to an end.

As soon as the "martial arts demonstration" ended, Qing Deng led his generals and strode towards Inoue Genzaburo.

"Uncle Yuan, everyone, thank you for your hard work!"

In response to Aoto's words of comfort, Inoue Genzaburo remained composed, merely offering a reserved smile.

In comparison, the gunmen's reactions were much more excited, each one more thrilled than the last.

They stared intently at Qingdeng, their eyes gleaming with admiration, respect, and envy.

To get up close to "Nioh"... this is an immense honor for them!

After offering a brief word of comfort, Qingdeng led the group straight to the target group not far away.

Looking around, the target group was covered with a dense honeycomb of bullet holes. Roughly calculated, the number was about 3 or 40.

100 gunmen, 100 rifles, three volleys, a total of 300 bullets were fired.

With a distance of about 10 meters, 300 bullets were fired, leaving only 3 or 40 bullet holes...

At first glance, such accuracy seems particularly poor.

However, after counting the number of bullet holes on the target group, the generals all showed expressions of horror!

Yamanami Keisuke's mouth opened and closed several times, and after a long while he muttered to himself:

"Is this... the most advanced firearm in the West...?"

Kondo Isami pursed his lips, remaining silent and deep in thought.

Shinpachi Nagakura, Hajime Saito, Kamo Serizawa, and the others also showed thoughtful expressions and solemn faces.

A very few individuals—such as Harada Sanosuke and Todo Heisuke—had unusually strange facial expressions, looking as if they wanted to say something but couldn't.

Just then, Hijikata Toshizo suddenly spoke up, expressing their true feelings:

"Ha...this is no longer...the age of the sword."

"Although the arquebusiers' skill level was still quite poor, their loading speed was too slow, and their marching was very disorganized."

"But these are not major problems; they can be solved with more training."

"To be honest, I never imagined that Western firearms would have such formidable power."

"Now I understand why Tachibana was so determined to form a firearms unit."

"Once the Sixth and Eighth Divisions are transformed into firearms units and their strength is further expanded, the overall combat power of our Shinsengumi will definitely be completely transformed!"

"At that time... we swordsmen will truly be rendered useless!"

After saying that, he twitched the corners of his mouth and gave a self-deprecating smile, completely disregarding the feelings of the others present.

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

If nothing unexpected happens... the next chapter will feature Qingdeng's wedding! (Leopard High.jpg)

P.S.: There was a bug in the last chapter... Qingdeng didn't ride a carrot when he came to Daban, but Leopard forgot about that... (crying Leopard head.jpg) I'm too lazy to fix it! Just bear with it!

Chapter 791 The Wedding is Confirmed! The wedding will be held on New Year's Eve! [4700]

As expected—upon hearing this, Nagakura Shinpachi, Serizawa Kamo, and the others immediately glared at him.

Their fierce gazes and somber atmosphere spoke volumes about their discontent.

The meticulous and adept at "controlling the situation" Souji, upon noticing the unusual atmosphere, immediately chuckled and subtly changed his position, moving between Hijikata Toshizo and Nagakura Shinpachi, separating the two sides.

"Although swords and spears are no match for guns and cannons, I believe there are still things in this world that only we swordsmen can do!"

As she spoke, she flashed her signature bright smile.

It must be said that Souji's smile does indeed possess a special kind of magic.

Whenever she smiles, even the most furious person will be calmed down by her smile.

The proverb "You can't hit a smiling face" has proven true time and again for her.

After her mediation, the initially disharmonious atmosphere improved considerably.

Then, Souji glanced sideways at Hijikata Toshizo beside him with a reproachful look.

To some extent, what Hijikata Toshizo just said was indeed very hurtful.

As martial artists who are passionate about swordsmanship, Nagakura Shinpachi, Serizawa Kamo, and others regard "living with a sword and dying for a sword" as their motto, dedicating their entire lives to the sword.

Hijikata Toshizo's words just now were as if he were telling them: your swordsmanship and your life motto of "treating the sword as life" are completely meaningless!

Despite their discontent, they couldn't utter a single word.

The reason is simple—they simply couldn't refute it...

Since joining the Shinsengumi, the generals have broadened their horizons considerably, but they still have many limitations in their military thinking.

Their impression of firearms is still stuck in the Warring States period, that is, "a fairly effective long-range weapon".

This is how the generals, including their two chief strategists (Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke), viewed firearms—

Arquebusiers can only play a supporting role on the battlefield! To defeat the enemy, we must rely on the bravery of the infantry and cavalry!

The fundamental reason for this perception is that they have never witnessed the power of a "modern army".

Looking back at history, we can see that Western powers relied on naval warfare to subdue the shogunate and various domains, and never used their land forces.

In the "Black Ships Incident," the United States sent only four warships, yet the Tokugawa shogunate surrendered without a fight.

In the recent Battle of Shimonoseki, where the US-French allied forces brutally attacked Changzhou, the fleet sailed directly to the Shimonoseki Strait, firing cannons and directly destroying Changzhou's coastal defenses, leaving Changzhou powerless to resist.

As a result, the Japanese people naturally only knew that the Western powers had powerful navies, powerful ships, and powerful cannons.

They lacked a proper understanding of the armies of the Western powers.

This is why, even today, the extreme ideology of "wielding this Heavenly Sword, smiling at the Marines, and treating foreigners as excrement" is still widely circulated.

Many people still believe that if it were a land battle, the brave and invincible samurai men would definitely beat these barbarians to a pulp!

Therefore, when Qingdeng ordered his generals to come and watch the musketeers' drill early this morning, many of them were indifferent.

It's just a musket! What's so interesting about it?

Once you understand their views on firearms, it's not hard to understand their contempt, nor is it hard to understand their utter shock after witnessing the true power of "Western iron cannons" firsthand!

They arrived nonchalantly, watched nonchalantly... and then were utterly speechless!

Apart from Satsuma, which had already undergone some modernization, the shogunate and various domains still widely used outdated firearms.

Muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock muskets, matchlock muskets that wouldn't have been outdated even in the Warring States period... these are all "museum-quality" weapons.

These old, decaying relics are nothing compared to the rifle that everyone has just seen!

With a distance of about 10 meters, 300 bullets, and a 10% hit rate, this seemingly poor accuracy rate far surpasses that of any other firearm known to the public!

It is well known that ancient armies had very poor "endurance".

An army that can withstand a 10% casualty rate on the battlefield is already considered an elite force.

For most armies, a casualty rate of 5% is the limit.

If it were untrained and poorly organized soldiers, perhaps only a handful of comrades would fall before they scattered like birds and beasts.

The rifle that Qingdeng brought back... the M1861 rifle, has an accuracy of 10%.

Although 9 out of 10 bullets will miss, if you look at it from another perspective, that means 1 bullet will hit the enemy!

Once the musketeers' training level improves, this number can be increased even further.

Thus, firearms were no longer a useless tool for deterrence, but a powerful weapon capable of suppressing or even defeating the enemy!

As the saying goes, "If you lack precision, make up for it with quantity."

If 100 rifles aren't enough, how about 200? 500? 1000?

Once you have gathered enough troops, and then deliberately let the enemy get close, you can unleash several volleys of fire once the distance between the two sides is reduced, which will surely cause the enemy's formation to collapse!

If you're lucky enough and the enemy is weak enough, a single volley might be enough to wipe them out and win the battle!

Furthermore, what shocked the generals most was the power of the bullet.

The bullet holes on the target were mostly clear, allowing one to see from one end to the other.

In other words, those bullets pierced through the wooden target, which was nearly two fingers thick!

Such power... even wearing chainmail is useless!

Upon this thought, the generals couldn't help but wonder: what would happen if their troops encountered this musketeer unit head-on in the open field?

Guns roared, bullets rained down, blood flew everywhere, and the army collapsed like a house of cards... Such a scene appeared in everyone's minds.

Their prized swords and knives were like needles in the face of these advanced rifles!

It's no exaggeration to say that their entire worldview was shaken!

In fact, even the foul-mouthed Hijikata Toshizo is not as carefree as he appears on the surface.

If you have a keen eye, you can spot a faint hint of melancholy between his brows.

He subconsciously raised his left hand and gently stroked his beloved sword, Izumi no Kami Kanesada, at his waist with a "reluctant" air.

Qingdeng has not said a word since the beginning of this.

He did it on purpose.

Sufficient time was allowed so that everyone could gradually be shocked, moved, think, and reflect.

"Building an unparalleled firearms force" has always been Qingdeng's goal.

Previously, he had talked himself hoarse, repeatedly explaining to his generals the power of firearms and the importance of building a firearms unit.