I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At that moment, Yamanami Keisuke's voice drifted over from afar:

"Tachibana-kun! Hijikata-kun is back!"

Upon hearing this, Qingdeng immediately perked up.

He looked in the direction of the sound—Yamaminami Keisuke and Hijikata Toshizo were running towards him one after the other.

Hijikata Toshizo was covered in dust and sweat – he had truly given it his all to get back to Otsu as quickly as possible, and even his horse was nearly exhausted.

Upon seeing Qingdeng, Hijikata Toshizo, without bothering with pleasantries, hurriedly said:

"Ju, quickly find a secret room."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng's gaze sharpened, and his expression turned serious.

He understood Hijikata Toshizo's unspoken message perfectly—find a secret room quickly! I have some top-secret information to tell you that cannot be revealed to outsiders!

So, Qingdeng said without hesitation:

"Come with me."

……

……

Aoto summoned Kondo Isaya, who was also one of the senior military commanders of the Shinsengumi.

Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, Kondo Isami, and Yamanami Keisuke arrived at a tea room where no one would disturb them.

As soon as the three sat down, Qing Deng went straight to the point:

"Sui San, speak now, what do you have to report?"

Hijikata Toshizo's face was ashen:

"Ju, this is serious."

He recounted every secret that Shuntaro Koga had told him, without holding back a single detail.

After he finished speaking, not only Kondo Isami and Yamanami Keisuke, but even Aoto was taken aback.

The tea room and the surrounding area were completely silent, as everyone was too shocked to speak.

About five seconds later, Yamanami Keisuke murmured:

"Mr. Toujou was right after all... those lunatics really did plan to burn down Kyoto...!"

In the end, Shintaro Toujou's earlier conjecture was both right and wrong.

He correctly guessed the patriots' plan to burn down Kyoto.

But he did not expect that while the anti-Japanese patriots were burning down Kyoto, they also planned to take advantage of the chaos to eliminate Matsudaira Katamori and Saigo Kichinosuke, and kidnap the Emperor to Choshu!

Fortunately, Aoto doesn't live in Kyoto often now.

Otherwise, this group of lunatics would definitely have added another element to their plan: "to kill Ju Qingdeng."

From any perspective, the plan devised by these patriots was utterly insane!

Even at this point, they still had their eyes on the Emperor and were determined to abduct him to Choshu so that they could realize their ambition of "holding the Emperor hostage to command the feudal lords".

Today is the day for the "Yamahoko procession".

Indeed, tens of thousands of people will flood the streets to watch the annual "Yamahoko Parade".

If the city were set on fire at such a critical moment when everyone was out in town... the number of casualties would probably not even reach a thousand!

To achieve his ambitions, he was willing to put the lives and property of all the people of Kyoto at risk. This... this...!

Using words like "crazy," "brutal," or "insane" to describe it is insufficient!

"...Tachibana-kun, what should we do now?"

As Kondo asked the question, he cast a questioning glance at Aoto.

Yamanami Keisuke interjects:

“Mr. Tachibana, for the sake of caution, I think we should order the 'Yamahoko Patrol' to be stopped tonight to prevent further damage. Then we should send out our largest force to blockade Kyoto and conduct a search throughout the town to arrest Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro, and others.”

Aoto, who had been silent since earlier, raised his eyes and looked at Kondo Isami, who was asking him for advice, and then at Yamanami Keisuke, who was expressing his thoughts.

"...Jingzhu, there is no need to panic."

He suddenly spoke, his tone very calm.

"This is both a crisis of 'Kyoto's destruction' and a golden opportunity to 'severely defeat the pro-democracy faction'!"

At this point, he suddenly raised his voice:

"There is no need to mobilize a large force."

"Jingzhu, go and summon all the captains and deputy captains currently stationed in Dajin here!"

"Assemble our most elite forces and quell this unrest!"

*******

*******

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

P.S.: The previous chapter was blocked for a while this morning, and I had to delete and edit some content before it could be released... (Leopard dead.jpg)

Chapter 811 Two-pronged attack! The surprise attack begins!

As the strategist of the Shinsengumi, Aoto had barely finished speaking when Yamanami Keisuke immediately understood his meaning.

"Tachibana-kun, this is too risky! In my opinion, at the very least, we should cancel tonight's 'Yamahoko Patrol'! Otherwise, wouldn't we be putting the lives of the entire town in grave danger?"

No sooner had Yamanami Keisuke finished speaking than Hijikata Toshizo shrugged.

“Yamanan, unfortunately, my opinion is the same as Tachibana’s.”

"Canceling tonight's 'Yamahoko Patrol' is no different from yelling at all the loyalists in Kyoto: 'Watch out! The Shinsengumi is coming to arrest you!'"

"Although this is risky... as Tachibana just said, tonight is not only a crisis of 'Kyoto's destruction,' but also a golden opportunity to 'severely damage the Sovereign Faction'!"

Upon hearing this, Yamanami Keisuke frowned and appeared deep in thought.

At this moment, Qing Deng spoke again:

“Looking back, we have always been in the ‘open’ position, while the pro-democracy faction has always been in the ‘dark’ position.”

"And now, the positions of both sides have finally been reversed."

“The pro-democracy faction has taken to the open, while we remain hidden in the shadows.”

"Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro, and the others are still unaware that Kotaka Shuntaro has already confessed everything."

“We already know that the pro-democracy faction will hold a summit tonight, while the latter is completely unaware of this.”

"If we fail to make good use of this once-in-a-lifetime intelligence gap and miss this precious opportunity to severely damage the Zunyan faction, wouldn't that be heartbreaking?"

"Mobilizing a large force to blockade Kyoto is absolutely not feasible."

"Kyoto is too big. At most, we can block the main roads leading out of the capital."

"As for those remote and bizarre little paths, we simply can't take care of them all."

"Even if we ask the Aizu Army and the Satsuma Army for help, we will not be able to completely blockade Kyoto. We will only let Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro and others slip away right under our noses."

In conclusion, I still stand by my opinion.

"Gather all the best fighters in the New Selection Group—that is, all the captains and vice-captains! Launch a surprise attack on the meeting of the Pro-Revolutionary Faction in small units!"

Qingdeng finished speaking.

His tone was forceful and clear, and his words conveyed an undeniable and assertive aura.

However, Yamanami Keisuke then abandoned his own ideas.

After a moment's thought, he said in a low voice:

"That being said... sending only the captain and vice-captain is far too few people."

"Miss Sanako and Miss Mai are both pregnant and unable to participate in the battle."

"Yamazaki-kun is not good at fighting."

"Even including everyone here, the total fighting force is only a little over twenty people."

"We don't know the exact number of the other side, or how many of them are skilled."

"They might also be carrying hidden arrows, pistols, or other weapons."

"In short, with such a small number of people, launching a surprise attack on the meeting of the Zunyao faction... I still think it's too risky."

Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"That's perfect!"

"A small number of people means they can move more flexibly, are easier to hide, and are less likely to be discovered."

"Tonight's battle is all about the 'unexpected' element."

"Be fast, stay hidden, and attack fiercely!"

"If we were to mobilize a hundred or so people, not to mention that the movement would be slowed down, the sheer volume of noise would be enough to scare away Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro, and the others."

After listening, Keisuke Yamanami pursed his lips.

After a short while, he sighed silently and said nothing more.

It seems he has agreed with Qing Deng's statement and no longer refutes it.

However, at that moment, Hijikata Toshizo suddenly poured cold water on the situation.

"The only problem now is... we haven't confirmed the meeting location and time yet."

"If we don't even know when and where the enemy will appear, then there's no point in talking about a surprise attack."

Qingdeng nodded slightly:

"We can only hope that the Ninth Division can find accurate and correct information as soon as possible."

"We don't need to bother with things that rely heavily on luck for now."