I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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Chapter 814 A Sudden Turn of Events! Reinforcements from the Great Salt Party!

Kyoto, Sanjo Bridge (west of Kamogawa), Ikedaya——

Matajiro Otaka cleared his throat and then delivered the first words of the meeting:

"Time is of the essence, so let's skip the pointless small talk and opening remarks for now."

"Before we begin today's agenda, I must present an equally urgent proposal—should we launch a full-scale attack on the Shinsengumi headquarters to rescue Furutaka Shuntaro?"

Koga Shuntaro—that is, the samurai who was exposed by Nagakura Shinpachi during the day today, using the alias "Yoya Kiemon."

Upon hearing this, Katsura Kogoro's expression hardened—he had already heard a little about what had happened.

After being arrested and taken to the Shinsengumi headquarters in Mibu Township, Shuntaro Koga disappeared without a trace, and his fate remains unknown.

A huge dispute has erupted within the pro-revolutionary faction regarding whether to rescue Shuntaro Koga, and no conclusion has been reached to this day.

"Is that even a question? Of course we have to save them!"

The speaker was once again that "majestic warrior".

The "Heroic Samurai" was actually named Matsuda Shigesuke, and was also a radical with extreme ideas.

"Gu Gaojun is our comrade! How can we abandon our comrade?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the person opposite him retorted without any politeness:

"Rescue? Matsuda-kun, you make it sound so easy! May I ask how we should rescue Kotaka-kun? Should we just storm the Mibu Garrison? Don't forget, the one currently guarding the Mibu Garrison is that 'tyrant' Serizawa Kamo!"

Serizawa Kamo – Upon hearing this name, many people present showed expressions of fear.

When discussing the ranking of the Shinsengumi swordsmen's strength, the most common answer is undoubtedly "First Tachibana, second Okita, third Nagakura, and fourth Saito."

There is no dispute about who holds the top two positions—Tachibana and Okita. They are separated from the others by a significant gap, one being T0 and the other T1.

No one in the Shinsengumi can match their strength; they are all ranked T2, T3, or below.

Therefore, there has always been considerable disagreement regarding the ranking of Aoto and Souji's strength.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, Nagakura Shinpachi is indeed slightly better than Saito Hajime.

But the question is: Is Saito Hajime really no match for Nagakura Shinpachi?

No one would have thought that when Nagakura Shinpachi faced Saito Hajime, the former would have a sure victory.

Also in Shinsengumi T2 were Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and Serizawa Kamo.

Their strength is no less than that of Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Hajime.

If they were to fight each other in a real battle, it's hard to say who would emerge victorious.

Interestingly, a consensus is widely circulated among those who uphold the anti-Japanese sentiment: it is better to encounter Nagakura Shinpachi or Saito Hajime than to fight Serizawa Kamo!

The reason why the patriots were "afraid of Kamo like a tiger" was not because Serizawa Kamo's swordsmanship was particularly superb or exquisite.

It's because he's too ruthless!

Serizawa Kamo is a rough and domineering person.

He applied this savage style to combat and to the Shinto Munen-ryu, a style he was proficient in.

In the face of battle, he would unleash a terrifying aura of "tearing the enemy to shreds," and with a single strike, the victim would be torn to pieces! It was truly horrifying!

Putting everything else aside, the visual impact alone is enough to terrify even the most righteous and ambitious.

It was precisely because of his ferocious and violent swordsmanship that the patriots were so afraid of him.

It is unknown who started it, but Serizawa Kamo's reputation as a "tyrant" gradually spread and became popular among those who respected him.

If the commanders guarding the Mibu Garrison were T3-level generals like Inoue Genzaburo or Todo Heisuke, then the pro-imperial faction might still have the confidence to gather manpower and launch a strong attack on the Mibu Garrison.

However, to make matters worse, the person currently leading the defense of Mibu Garrison happens to be that "tyrant" Serizawa Kamo...

This caused many patriots to back down.

The “heroic samurai”... namely Matsuda Shigesuke, naturally knew what these people were thinking.

He slapped his thigh, his face showing a look of disappointment and indignation:

"It's just Serizawa Kagami, look how scared you are! You're all a bunch of cowards!"

Unsurprisingly, this statement sparked another round of infighting.

"What did you say?!"

"Matsuda-kun, watch your words!"

"We are not afraid of death! We are just weighing the gains and losses to find the best solution!"

They attacked Matsuda Shigesuke with sharp words and without any politeness.

Matsuda Shigesuke and his cronies immediately launched a counterattack:

"If our companion is in trouble, what's wrong with rescuing them?"

"'Considering gains and losses'? Gu Gaojun possesses a lot of important intelligence. We rescued him to prevent the information from being leaked. Isn't this 'gain' more than 'loss'?"

"How can we accomplish the great task of maintaining order and prosperity while surrounded by a bunch of cowardly insects like you?!"

Looking at the two groups arguing fiercely, Katsura Kogoro sighed heavily, raised his hand to rub his temples, and a deep look of exhaustion appeared on his face.

Prajna, standing beside him, seemed quite interested.

He propped his head up with his right arm and looked around at the arguing crowd with great interest, as if he were watching an animal performance.

About 10 seconds later, Miyabe Teizou spoke up to stop the argument:

"Stop arguing! Be quiet!"

In the blink of an eye, the room, which was noisy just a second ago, became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone turned to look at Miyabe Teizō—who had a sullen face and an unhappy expression.

"Gentlemen, please hear me out."

"Indeed, Gu Gaojun is an important companion of ours,"

"Not only that, he also possesses a large amount of classified information."

"We should rescue him."

"but!"

He abruptly changed the subject, emphasizing his words and sharpening his gaze.

"If we were to rescue Gu Gaojun now, the disadvantages would definitely outweigh the advantages!"

"Don't forget, the Shinsengumi troops responsible for patrolling Kyoto this month include not only Serizawa Kamo's Fourth Division, but also Nagakura Shinpachi's Second Division."

"In other words, if we force our way into Mibu Township now, we will not only run into Serizawa Kamo, but we may also encounter Nagakura Shinpachi."

"If we are simultaneously fighting against Nagakura Shinpachi and Serizawa Kamo, what are our chances of winning?"

"Even if we manage to rescue Gu Gaojun in the end, the price we pay will be incredibly high!"

"We are at a critical juncture in our great undertaking."

"We shouldn't waste our precious fighting strength on a place like this!"

"Therefore... the matter of 'rescuing Shuntaro Koga' will be put on hold for now! We'll discuss it again later!"

Miyabe Teizō's words were like a final hammer blow.

Those who opposed rescuing Koga Shuntaro all breathed a sigh of relief and looked relieved.

Matsuda Shigesuke and his cronies all looked dejected.

Although Miyabe Teizō said "we'll discuss it later," everyone knew in their hearts that there would definitely be no further discussion!

Miyabe Teizō was simply using a euphemism.

In essence, his meaning was already very clear: abandon Shuntaro Kotaka!

Katsura Kogoro pursed his lips, then opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something to Miyabe Teizo.

In the end, however, he chose to remain silent and not utter a word.

Katsura Kogoro actually leans towards "rescuing Kotaka Shuntaro".

However... while sympathizing with Shuntaro Koga, he also understood that although Teizo Miyabe's decision was cruel, it was not wrong.

To put it bluntly, Shuntaro Koga wasn't important enough for them to go to any lengths to rescue him.

At this moment, Otaka Matajiro, who was in charge of chairing the meeting, stepped forward again:

"Gentlemen, now that the matter of 'rescuing Shuntaro Kotaka' has been confirmed to be put on hold, let's officially begin tonight's discussion—whether or not to carry out the plan to 'burn down Kyoto and kidnap the Emperor'!"

Seeing that they were finally getting to the point, Katsura Kogoro's eyes immediately lit up.

Just as Otaka Matajiro was about to continue, Katsura Kogoro interrupted him:

"Gentlemen, I won't waste any more words."

"I'll just say one thing—your plan is absolutely absurd!"

"Throughout history, no one has ever committed such a mad act!"

"Kyoto must not be set on fire, and the Emperor must not be abducted!"

"If we do something so absurd, how will the world view us?"

“If we lose territory, we can take it back.”

"If the money and food are gone, we can earn them back."

"But if we lose the support of the people, we're at a loss!"

"We will be infamous for all time! Despised by future generations!"