I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Before the two armies even clashed, the opposing Choshu army was subjected to a saturation bombardment, leaving them unable to even lift their heads...

It took them a while to recover their senses.

Partly to dispel his confusion, and partly to get closer to Qingdeng, he took a deep breath and said to Qingdeng with admiration:

"Lord Aki, these cannons... are truly amazing!"

Due to his limited knowledge, this person pondered for a long time before finally coming up with the word "divine and fierce".

Qing Deng smiled and said calmly:

"This is a cannon that our Shinsengumi imported from overseas, called the 'Parrot Rifled Cannon,' and its power... is as you can see."

As he spoke, he gestured with his chin toward the Choshu army formation in the distance, which was being bombed.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the Sixth and Eighth Divisions at the front lines had already engaged in combat with the Choshu Army's ranged units.

When the commanders of the feudal lords saw the sixth and eighth squads advancing blindly without retaliating, they were once again puzzled.

Because of their fear of Qing Deng's power, no one dared to question him.

It wasn't until the Sixth and Eighth Divisions closed the distance despite suffering casualties, and then crushed the Choshu army's ranged units with just two volleys that the domain generals fell silent once again.

The subsequent "Great Collapse of the Choshu Army" was no longer enough to shock them.

At that moment, they all had the same thought: A war can be fought like this?!

Without even using swords or spears, but only firearms and cannons, they utterly defeated the enemy... Is this how battles can be fought?!

It was completely beyond their imagination!

Their understanding of war remained at the level of the Warring States period—which is why they were so shocked at this moment.

If the outcome can be decided solely by firearms... then what's the point of swords, spears, and halberds? Just equip the entire army with firearms!

Qing Deng silently observed the reactions of these people—a subtle, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

In fact, the reason why Seito placed the vast majority of the domain army on the Fushimi battlefield was not only to facilitate the monitoring and control of them, but also to flex his muscles and intimidate and warn them!

Geographically, Qinjin Domain also belongs to the large family of "domains in the capital region".

Since we are neighbors, there's no guarantee that there won't be any cooperation or conflict in the future.

Qinjin Domain is a newly established domain, and many people are bound to be unsure of its actual strength.

Therefore, it is essential to make these "neighbors" understand who truly reigns supreme in the Gyeonggi region!

Making them recognize the gap and truly feel the power of Qin Jin Fan will effectively eliminate hidden dangers, deter those with malicious intentions towards Qin Jin Fan from showing their faces, and enhance Qin Jin Fan's voice in the capital region.

Judging from the current situation, Qingdeng has achieved its goal of "flexing its muscles".

The feudal generals were so shocked by the terrifying firepower of the Shinsengumi's gunnery that they lost their composure and remained silent for a long time.

At this moment, Qingdeng quietly added:

"This arquebus is called the 'M1861 rifle'."

"In terms of both accuracy and power, it far surpasses the old-fashioned iron cannons that use matchlock fuses."

"Our craftsmen in Qinjin are working hard to replicate this iron cannon, as well as the Parrot rifled cannon."

"The progress is very encouraging."

"If nothing unexpected happens, our gun and cannon factory in Qinjin will be able to officially start production by the end of the year."

Xi's words, spoken so casually, were undoubtedly another blow to the generals of the vassal army.

They glanced at the front lines, where the battle had become one-sided, and then looked at each other—they both found a strong sense of conviction and apprehension on each other's faces.

Unexpectedly, some changes on the front lines made Qing Deng raise an eyebrow.

"kill!"

Kijima Matabei, sword in hand, rode his horse to the front of the battle.

The 600 guerrilla soldiers followed closely behind.

Kijima Matabei had no energy left to deal with the deserters who had lost their will to fight, and could only let them flee for their lives.

He gathered all the soldiers who still had the will to fight and were willing to obey his command—a total of about eight hundred men, including 15 cavalrymen—and personally led them in a desperate attack on the Shinsengumi!

Seeing this, the commander said softly:

"They're starting to act desperately. The war is progressing even more smoothly than we expected."

Qing Deng smiled and said:

"Yes. In that case, we can end the battle on the Fushimi side in less than half an hour."

He said this as he slowly stood up.

"Xiao Si, let's go. It's our turn to take action now!"

……

……

"Stay close to me!"

To boost morale, the nearly fifty-year-old Kijima Matabei disregarded his advanced age and frail health and personally led the charge.

He ordered the guerrillas to press forward from the front, trying every means to get close.

He himself led his cavalry to launch a flanking attack.

This was the only strategy he could think of to defeat the enemy.

If we can close the distance and engage the Shinsengumi's musketeers in hand-to-hand combat to neutralize their ranged advantage, we still have a chance to win!

"kill!"

"We absolutely cannot lose to these traitors!"

"Now is the perfect time to show the strength of our guerrilla forces!"

Roars erupted from all sides.

The guerrillas truly lived up to their reputation as an elite force established by Matabei Kurushima.

Even when facing overwhelming odds on the battlefield, they did not flinch or avoid battle.

They charged forward fearlessly, full of momentum.

The Sixth and Eighth Divisions quickly responded in a simple way—they stopped, raised their guns, aimed, and fired.

In an instant, wails and screams replaced the roars.

Those barrages of comments were like the Grim Reaper's scythe, cutting down lives as easily as mowing grass!

Corpses were scattered all over the ground.

Every step forward for the guerrillas required countless sacrifices.

Moreover, as the distance between the two sides continues to close, their own casualties will increase rapidly.

While leading his cavalry on a raid to the flanks of the Sixth and Eighth Divisions, Kijima Matabei kept a close eye on the guerrillas' situation.

When I saw my own troops, which I had worked so hard to build, being slaughtered in one-sided battles, and I couldn’t even touch the enemy, my heart was bleeding!

He could only channel his grief and indignation into strength—there was nothing else he could do.

Soon, the flanks of the Sixth and Eighth Divisions were spread out before him.

Just as he was thinking, "I'll charge in and wipe them out," the Sixth and Eighth Divisions suddenly changed formation.

They ran quickly, and in the blink of an eye, they transformed from an ordinary square formation into a huge hollow square formation.

Commanders such as Inoue Genzaburo and Todo Heisuke occupied the hollow positions in the center of the square formation.

The musketeers formed a square along its four sides. This way, no matter which direction an attack came from, it would be met with gunfire!

Sure enough, before Kijima Matai and the others could get close, bullets began to fly towards them.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa—!"

The horse under Kijima Matabei's horse was startled, rearing up on its front hooves and neighing, almost throwing Kijima Matabei off.

It took a lot of effort for Kitajima Masahiro to finally calm the horses down.

He was unharmed, but the two unlucky guys next to him were infected.

One person was unfortunately shot in the chest and died instantly.

The other man's horse was hit by a shot, and he and his horse fell flat on their faces.

Left with no other choice, Kijima Matabei had to lead his troops in a retreat to temporarily avoid the enemy's advance.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

For the first time in his life, Kijima Matabei hated firearms so much!

They couldn't hit him, and could only be beaten like a punching bag! It was utterly humiliating!

It was only then that he belatedly realized that even if he successfully passed through the barrage of bullets and got close to the Shinsengumi's musket formation, he still had no way to deal with them.

Because the Shinsengumi musketeers all had gleaming bayonets attached to the muzzles of their guns!

When they are far away, they shoot; when they are close, they use bayonets to attack the enemy.

These bayonets lined up together clearly form a spear formation!

Kijima Matabei didn't understand foreign history, but in his knowledge, there wasn't a single cavalry unit that could break through a spear formation head-on!

Just as Kijima Matabei was sinking into deep despair, he suddenly heard a thunderous rumbling sound.

He mechanically turned his head to look—a massive cavalry force of nearly a thousand men was pressing straight toward them!

The leader, dressed in a light blue haori, rode a black bull, held a long spear, and looked at Kitajima Matabei with a cold expression.

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

P.S.: Many readers said that the "spacing less than 10 meters" in the previous chapter was too far-fetched, so I quickly changed the number to 60 meters (Laughing Leopard.jpg).

Leopard has completed "Sword Star"!