I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

P.S.: Advancing despite casualties, closing in on the enemy before firing—this is how the Lobster Soldiers swept across the world, achieving the legendary status of the "Empire on which the sun never sets." This tactic represents extremely strict discipline, something not every army can imitate.

Chapter 845 Qing Deng Shows Off His Muscles! [5000]

Unsurprisingly, the survivors who fled back from the front lines brought back panic.

In fact, even if they did not escape back, panic began to spread rapidly among the Choshu army.

The overwhelming and terrifying offensive that had just occurred was witnessed by the soldiers of the Changzhou Army.

Seeing their own ranged units easily wiped out, and the enemy's ranged units slowly approaching, the indescribable monster called "Panic" began to expand rapidly.

"Hey, isn't the situation a bit bad?"

"The Shinsengumi are here!"

"How...how do I fight this?"

……

Unease, turmoil, disturbance... even the guerrilla force that Kurishima Matabei relied on deeply was no longer as composed as before.

If the soldiers were like this, the generals in this camp weren't much better off.

Looking up, the main camp of the Choshu army was quite magnificent.

This is a once-in-a-century opportunity for a "nationwide eastern expedition," so how could we not prepare properly?

Therefore, they all put on their ancestral armor and wore magnificent battle robes.

At this moment, these well-dressed generals—including Kijima Matabei—were all dumbfounded and flustered, showing none of the composure and calmness that a general should have.

The vast majority of them personally experienced the Xiaguan War last year, so they are by no means unsophisticated bumpkins.

However, although they had witnessed firsthand the power of the Western powers' cannons and warships, they knew nothing about firearms, let alone what "line tactics" were.

In fact, few people in Japan today realize that, in addition to naval warfare, the form of land warfare has also undergone tremendous changes.

Since the "Black Ships Incident," Western powers have never sent army troops to land on Japan; they have always relied on their navies to achieve victory.

The Black Ships incident was like this, the Shimonoseki War was like this, and the Anglo-Sazan War was like this.

Because Japan is a long and narrow island nation, and important cities such as Edo and Osaka are located near the sea, its navy alone is enough to make it powerful and influential.

This is a major reason why the Japanese people today lack a proper understanding of firearms.

Furthermore, this is also the main reason why the pro-revolutionary faction still has full confidence in the so-called "war to expel the barbarians" to this day—the Western barbarians are only good at naval warfare! Once they land, let's see how we teach these barbarians a lesson!

In order to break the current predicament and to calm their unease, the generals of the main camp all turned to look at Kijima Matabei.

"Lord Kurushima! Please give the order!"

"Mr. Kurushima! What should we do now?"

"Lord Kurushima, shall we... retreat?"

Kijima Matabei stared intently at the 6th and 8th Divisions, which were getting closer and closer to them, his mind racing as he racked his brains for a way to defeat them.

However... with all the ranged units wiped out, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he still felt his mind was blank!

There's nothing we can do!

The organization of the Shinsengumi's musketeers far exceeded Kijima Matabei's expectations, and could even be described as unbelievable!

How could we possibly stop such a musketeer squad that could advance safely through a barrage of bullets and arrows?

Should we send infantry to hold out?

Should we send cavalry to harass them?

I'm afraid they'll be riddled with bullets before they even get close!

Although Kijima Matabei was very reluctant, he now only had two options in front of him—

Firstly, they led their troops in retreat and fled the area.

Secondly, launch a general offensive! Undeterred by heavy casualties, launch a desperate assault to survive!

Perhaps this is what they mean by "when it rains, it pours".

Just then, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, a black dot landed in the Changzhou army's formation—it was a cannonball!

Before Kijima Matabei could react, scorching flames and blinding flashes came at once!

The powerful aftershocks of the explosion knocked over the generals of the main camp.

Kijima Matabei was also thrown out, crashing straight into the military flag beside him.

"Well……!"

My ears hurt terribly, and a constant buzzing sound came from deep inside my ears, as if I were underwater, and the sounds around me became extremely muffled.

After struggling to his feet, he quickly looked in the direction of the explosion—the sight before his eyes made him gasp in horror!

Although the cannon's hit rate was not ideal, as long as it kept firing, there would always be one or two shells that hit the target.

The cannonball just now hit the Changzhou army formation squarely, crashing into the crowd.

The casualties... can be imagined.

Everywhere you look, there's a bloody mess! Severed limbs and remains are everywhere!

"Aa ...

"My leg! My leg is broken!"

"I've had enough! I'm just a farmer! Why do I have to come all the way to Kyoto to fight!"

……

In reality, the shell did not cause huge casualties; at most, it killed about ten people and injured about a hundred.

However, it was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Overwhelmingly inferior combat strength and extremely bloody scenes... the morale and order of the Choshu Army finally collapsed completely!

First, those ronin and peasant soldiers who had been forcibly conscripted turned around and ran away.

Then, the independent forces that came to help as guest troops also began to show obvious signs of wavering.

Seeing the army beginning to collapse, generals at all levels naturally tried desperately to suppress it:

"Don't run! All of you, come back here!"

"Damn it! Are you even men of Changzhou?!"

"Damn it! You damned samurai always look down on us farmers! You never treat us like human beings, and now you're saying 'we are men of Choshu'?!"

"You always find ways to squeeze money out of us farmers, and now that there's a war, you're sending us to the battlefield to die! Are you even human?!"

"In the end, isn't going to the battlefield and fighting a war what you samurai are supposed to do?"

"Let those who want to die go to their deaths! I want to go home!"

"Well, you spineless bunch! You want to get stabbed, don't you?"

"Even at a point like this, you still want to threaten us?!"

"Come on! You think you're the only ones with knives?"

……

Those who wanted to escape, those who were supervising the battle, those who were holding their ground, those who were hesitant... everyone was huddled together.

Anyone who saw it could see that the morale of the Changzhou army had collapsed...

At this moment, after a long silence, Kijima Matabei finally reacted.

To fight or to flee—this was not a difficult choice for Kijima Matahei.

He turned to look at the general who had just suggested "escape," his gaze fierce.

"Run away? We still have the strength to fight, why should we run away?"

His eyes were bloodshot, with blood vessels resembling fleshy worms covering them, making him look extremely horrifying.

"Since the Battle of Xiaguan, our Changzhou has suffered repeated defeats!"

"If we are defeated again, and in such a crushing defeat that we flee before even engaging in battle, how will the world view Changzhou?"

"At this point, we have no choice but to fight the Shinsengumi!"

At this point, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"All troops, attack! Infantry, advance from the front; cavalry, harass from the flanks!"

Having said that, he drew the sword from his waist.

"Guerrillas clear the way! I'll personally lead the charge! Follow me!"

……

……

Shinsengumi, Main Camp—

The regional military commanders: "..."

Once the Eleventh Division began its operation, the main camp fell into complete silence.

Larger domains like Owari and Echizen also possessed cannons, but they were all outdated and wouldn't have been considered obsolete even in the Warring States period three hundred years ago.

Some generals who came from poor or small vassal states had never even seen a cannon.

Therefore, they were naturally very excited about these state-of-the-art Parrot rifled cannons.

Dozens of advanced cannons, unlike anything they had ever seen before, roared in unison... Had they ever witnessed such a spectacle? Had they ever heard such a commotion?

The deafening sound, the enormous sonic waves, and the terrifying destructive power caused the vassal generals to be terrified, their expressions changing drastically.

Caught off guard, a very small number of people even fell off their stools and lost face.

To say that his liver and gallbladder were ruptured would be an exaggeration.

But to say that I was terrified would be an accurate description!

Looking around the main camp, only Qing Deng and others, who were already used to the power of guns and cannons, remained calm.