I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After patiently listening to Souji's words of comfort, Kondo Isami nodded slightly in agreement.

"Yes, you talk too much."

"Ah Sui is very lucky; he will not die easily."

"Xiao Si, we'll have to keep a close eye on A Sui from now on."

"To prevent him from doing anything foolish."

He said this as he lifted his foot forward, preparing to leave.

He hadn't taken two steps when he suddenly noticed that the commander was standing still, so he asked:

"Hmm? Xiao Si, what's wrong? Aren't you leaving?"

Souji chuckled:

"I've been busy taking photos and I'm a little tired, so I'd like to rest here for a while. Kondo, you go ahead."

Upon hearing this, Kondo Isami, without suspecting anything, simply turned and left.

The commander stared intently at his retreating figure.

After confirming that Kondo Isami had gone far away, she suddenly raised her hand to cover her mouth, and then coughed violently and forcefully:

"Cough, cough! Cough cough cough cough cough cough!"

She coughed so hard that she had to lie down on the ground to make herself feel more comfortable...

……

……

Changju, somewhere—

"Ready—fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"First column, step back! Second column, move forward! Ready—fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out one after another.

A barrage of comments as dense as rain.

This unit practicing volley fire is the last and most elite armed force in Changzhou—the Qibing Team.

*******

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Chapter 895 Tuberculosis, an Incurable Disease in the Edo Period [6000]

The epic defeat in the eastern expedition resulted in heavy losses for Changzhou.

The elite guerrilla forces, sniper teams, and other units with considerable strength were all wiped out.

The losses were so great that they shook the very foundations of the nation.

Of course, for Katsura Kogoro, Takasugi Shinsaku, and others, the collapse of morale was the most troublesome problem compared to the loss of military strength.

"Respect the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians" has always been the unwavering administrative principle of the Choshu high command, and it is also the most politically correct principle within the Choshu Domain.

It was through the slogan of "Support the imperial court and expel the barbarians" that they were able to unite the various classes in Changzhou and fight against external forces.

But in the end… all those years of hyping up the “Changju Spirit” never came in handy.

Faced with the powerful ships and cannons of the Western powers and the iron hooves of the Shinsengumi, the Choshu soldiers who tried their best to embody the "Chōshū spirit" always met only one fate: to be mercilessly crushed!

From the Shimonoseki War to the Ikedaya Incident, and then to the Kyoto Summer Campaign, they suffered defeat after defeat, each more devastating than the last.

Faced with these repeated defeats, even the most hardline radicals had no face to keep talking about "Chōshū spirit" or "samurai swords cutting down warships."

With the deaths of figures like Genzui Hisaka, the radical faction, which had lost the hearts of the people, has completely lost power.

Thus, the radical faction, with its extreme ideology and ruthless methods, completely withdrew from the power center of Changzhou and could no longer cause any trouble.

The conservative faction, led by Katsura Kogoro and Takasugi Shinsaku, took over and fully assumed power in Choshu—this should be considered the only good thing that has happened in Choshu in recent years.

Although both Katsura and Takasugi were complete novices in governing the country, this was a significant improvement compared to the past.

At the very least, this country is now being led by normal people.

For a long time, there has been a conservative force within Changju that should not be underestimated.

After the radicals lost power, not only did the moderates, represented by Katsura and Takasugi, rise to power, but the conservatives also gained momentum.

This faction of theirs has always opposed any words or actions that attack the imperial court and the shogunate, and is known as the "popular opinion faction".

Throughout history, "political inertia" has been a common phenomenon.

Although the shogunate's poor performance in recent years is obvious to all, the psychological weakness accumulated over two hundred years cannot be eliminated overnight.

The powerful image of the shogunate, which dominated Japan and whose influence was so great that no feudal lord dared to disobey it, was deeply etched in the minds of the older retainers.

Even though they knew that the shogunate's strength was far less than before, many people still feared the shogunate and were unwilling to be its enemy.

Of course, many of these conservatives are pure "traitors".

Most of these guys were related to the shogunate, and naturally put their own interests above those of Choshu.

The leader of the conservative faction in Choshu was named Muku Rito.

Katsura and Takasugi engaged in a heated debate with Mukuri Tota and others regarding the upcoming Choshu Expedition launched by the shogunate.

The conservatives' opinion was simple: surrender outright.

Muku Rito and the others said:

The three chief retainers of the shogunate who had strongly advocated "expeding into the capital region and reclaiming the emperor," thus thoroughly angering the shogunate, were forced to commit seppuku as an apology.

Next, Lord Mori Kei personally dressed in white robes representing surrender, faced east—the direction of the Edo Shogunate—kowtown, admitted his mistakes, and presented a letter of surrender, begging for the Shogunate's magnanimity.

Anyway, "Just do it this way" is a spineless coward with no opinions of his own, and no one will care about him.

Even if he were forced to do something so pathetic, he would definitely say, "Okay! Let's do it this way!"

In fact, when the two factions were discussing how to deal with the shogunate's western expedition, they didn't even invite Mori Yoshichika to listen in.

This shows just how incompetent this ruler of Changzhou was, that even his own ministers looked down on him.

Muku Rito and others believed that the shogunate would not completely exterminate Choshu.

Changzhou was, after all, a powerful vassal state of the Western Kingdom, and even though it had suffered heavy losses, it still possessed considerable fighting strength.

If the two sides really break off relations and fight to the death, even if the shogunate wins in the end, it will definitely pay a heavy price and suffer a loss.

They preferred political victories to military triumphs—a traditional skill of the Edo Shogunate.

As long as we adopt a humble attitude and give the Shogunate enough face, we will surely be able to turn the crisis into an opportunity.

In conclusion, we must absolutely not go to war with the Shogunate.

Katsura and Takasugi's response to Ruri Tota and others' arguments was simple—absurd! Utterly absurd!

The hot-tempered Shinsaku Takasugi retorted directly:

"Kowtowing will not bring peace! Do you think the shogunate will spare us if we kneel down?"

Although Katsura Kogoro was a gentle and refined person, he didn't hold back in mocking the conservatives' idiotic remarks:

"You actually pin your hopes for survival on the enemy's pity! I'm ashamed for you!"

Ever since learning that the shogunate was preparing to launch the "Chōshū Expedition," Katsura and Takasugi had never stopped collecting relevant intelligence.

Based on all the intelligence they currently possess, they have determined that the shogunate's western expedition is aimed at annihilating them!

From any perspective, this massive offensive mobilizing 200,000 troops was for real, and not just meant to scare them.

The shogunate is determined to annihilate them this time, so why would it stop its attack because of your groveling?

Even if we take a step back and assume the shogunate does spare Choshu, it will certainly be subject to reductions in its fiefdom and changes in its status, and the country will cease to exist.

Surrender is certain death! The only way out is to pick up a sword and fight!

One side wants to surrender, while the other wants to fight to the end... The conflict between the two sides is irreconcilable.

The two groups argued fiercely, their faces turning red with anger.

However, this debate did not last long.

There's a saying that goes, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."

Shinsaku Takasugi commands the formidable elite force, the Special Forces.

At the same time, he and Katsura Kogoro are both powerful swordsmen who can take on a hundred men each.

On the other hand, the conservatives... not to mention that their army was completely obedient to them, they didn't even have a single skilled and valiant swordsman under their command.

As it turns out, the weapon of criticism can never replace the criticism of weapons.

In this way, Katsura and Takasugi successfully "persuaded" the conservatives and successfully suppressed the spread of the "surrender trend".

Although Yoshichika Mori was a useless piece of iron with no presence or practical use, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.

Katsura and Takasugi presented Mori Yoshichika with a request for "unity of purpose to fight against the Shogunate army".

Then, unsurprisingly, the other party loudly proclaimed:

"Okay, let's do it this way!"

At this point, Changzhou could be considered to have reached a consensus and decided to fight to the end.

Now that we've decided to confront the Shogunate, the next step is simple: hurry up and build fortifications and strengthen our defenses!

The Kiheitai, created by Shinsaku Takasugi, is the last remaining armed force in Choshu.

The elite troops, deeply Westernized and skilled in the use of firearms, certainly possessed formidable combat power.