I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

There were broken corpses everywhere.

Everywhere was muddy ground trampled underfoot.

Everywhere there were cries of pain and wails.

The contrast between then and now, and just 10 minutes ago, is so stark that it's astonishing!

The soldiers of Changzhou looked at each other in bewilderment—they all saw intense surprise, unease, and fear on each other's faces.

……

……

Yizhoukou, the main camp of the Mu army—

Upon learning that Qing Deng and the others had returned safely, Hijikata Toshizo, Yamanami Keisuke, and others immediately led their generals to wait for them outside the camp.

Before long, the triumphant team appeared in the distance before them.

Even though they were still quite a distance apart, they could still smell the pungent, acrid stench of blood.

The commotion caused by Qing Deng and his group was so great that it was heard several kilometers away from the Mu army camp.

Despite having anticipated it, many people at the scene were still taken aback when Qing Deng and the others returned.

Simply put, the entire team is bound to fight; every blade will draw blood, and every horse (or ox) will be panting!

Even the cavalrymen at the very end of the line, the least likely to encounter enemies, had a lot of blood splattered on their bodies.

As for Aoto and Harada Sanosuke, who were always at the forefront, needless to say—they ruined another piece of clothing.

Such a large area of ​​bloodstains cannot be cleaned even if the fabric is ruined by washing.

Because they had just left the battlefield, there was a faint, translucent heat emanating from them—heat from their body temperature and still-warm blood.

This expedition brought together many "newcomers" who had rarely seen or had never even seen Qingdeng before.

For example, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, the lord of the Owari Domain, and Matsudaira Shigeaki, the lord of the Echizen Domain, had almost no interaction with Aoto before.

Witnessing firsthand this war god who dared to charge straight into the enemy camp with only a few dozen riders, fighting until he was covered in blood but returned safely, they couldn't help but swallow hard, their heads unconsciously lowered, not daring to look directly at Qing Deng.

As for those who already knew Qingdeng's abilities, most of them looked at him with admiration.

Hijikata Toshizo glanced at the ranks behind Aoto and grinned:

"It seems no one has fallen behind. Tonight's surprise attack will probably go down in history."

After breaking out of the enemy camp, Qingdeng had already counted his men – no one was injured or killed!

No one was injured, and no one died... Such a record is truly terrifying!

Therefore, Hijikata Toshizo's words were not an exaggeration; tonight's night raid was indeed worthy of being recorded in history.

Although Qing Deng and his men did not have time to recount the results of the battle, it is certain that they caused considerable damage to the Changzhou camp.

For the Choshu army, the damage to morale was far more serious and fatal than the material losses!

Before the war had even officially begun, their own camp was attacked, suffering heavy casualties, yet they were powerless to stop the attackers... It was a perfect example of the word "cowardly"!

It's not hard to imagine that the Changzhou camp across the street must be filled with panic and unease.

Having won a resounding victory, Harada Sanosuke, feeling immensely pleased with himself, laughed heartily, looking up at the sky:

"Hahahaha! This is so exhilarating! You dogs of Choshu, you've seen the power of 'The Immortal Harada' now!"

Strangely enough, the image of Harada Sanosuke is strikingly different from that of Aoto.

He was laughing wildly, but looking at Qing Deng beside him... he didn't show the slightest bit of laughter or joy. Instead, he had a stern face and looked thoughtful.

As if reading his mind, Yamanami Keisuke stepped forward and asked in a deep voice:

"Tachibana-kun, how is it?"

Qing Deng shrugged and said calmly:

"The enemy's total strength is about what we expected, about two thousand men, and the quality of the soldiers is uneven."

"The vast majority of them were like peasant soldiers who were temporarily conscripted, and only a small number were well-trained warriors."

"Unfortunately, the surprise force is not on the other side."

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo, without any expression of sadness or joy, silently said:

"This is troublesome; the worst-case scenario has occurred."

Qingdeng smiled helplessly and nodded slightly:

"Yes, this is the worst-case scenario..."

Qing Deng is not afraid of encountering strong enemies, nor is he afraid of directly encountering surprise attack teams—in fact, he would like to see these situations.

Encountering a strong enemy is not scary.

What's terrifying is that there are no strong enemies to be found!

Because of their fear of the shogunate's military might, the Kiheitai collapsed without a fight—Aoto didn't believe that this unit, which was established and trained by Takasugi Shinsaku, would be so weak.

So, if the surprise attack team isn't here, where could they be?

Deployed in the heart of Changzhou?

Would the commanders of Choshu really be so foolish as to give up such a great geographical advantage and use their weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths?

Deployed on two other battlefields?

The troops at Shizhoukou and Xiaocangkou were only to launch feint attacks; as long as they could distract Changzhou's attention and military strength, they would be considered successful.

Even if Choshu wins in these two battles, it will not have any impact on the overall situation.

With this thought in mind, Qingdeng turned his head expressionlessly and looked at the Changzhou camp behind him.

The snowstorm has not stopped tonight, and there is absolutely no possibility that the fire will spread.

Therefore, although Qingdeng shot down many torches when he left, causing fires to break out everywhere in the Changzhou camp, the fires gradually subsided thanks to the concerted efforts of the Changzhou soldiers, and they no longer had to worry about not having tents to stay in that night.

Looking at the gradually quieting camp, Qingdeng couldn't help but think to himself:

—What exactly is Changzhou up to?

……

……

The next day, early morning—

The snow fell for a while, and only gradually stopped when the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Although the snow had stopped, the sky remained gray and gloomy, as if it were filled with lead.

The sunlight struggled to pierce through the clouds, weakly and lightly sprinkling across the earth, illuminating the armor and weapons of the soldiers on both sides.

Woo-woo—! Woo-woo—! Woo-woo—! Woo-woo—!

As dawn broke, the resounding bugle call echoed from the Mu army's positions.

In an instant, a somber atmosphere filled the air at Yizhoukou!

Accompanied by the urging bugle call, footsteps, like muffled thunder, immediately rang out.

Squads of soldiers marched out of the camp and lined up in the field.

The shogunate dispatched 20 troops to conquer Choshu—in reality, it's obvious that these numbers were purely for show.

The shogunate did indeed mobilize 36 domains this time, totaling 20 troops; these figures are accurate.

The problem is that it takes time for the army to assemble.

Given the road conditions during the Edo period and the poor enthusiasm of the various domains, it would probably be next spring before all 20 troops were assembled.

Therefore, the number of troops that have arrived at the front lines is far less than 20.

Approximately 3 troops arrived at Shizhoukou, 2 at Xiaocangkou, and slightly over 4 at Yizhoukou. The rest of the troops were still en route.

Although less than half of the troops have arrived at the front lines, Qingdeng no longer wants to wait.

Now that the main forces of the Shinsengumi, Aizu Army, and Satsuma Army have all arrived, there is no need to wait any longer!

Anyway, the other troops are just there to make up the numbers, only to boost morale; it doesn't matter whether they help in the battle or not.

Of course, even though not all the troops had arrived, the sight of 4 soldiers lined up in order was already quite spectacular!

Looking up, one could see square military formations of varying sizes stretching across the open field, with no end in sight!

The Mongol army is gradually forming ranks, ready to attack.

On the other hand, the Changzhou army opposite them was very quiet, making no conspicuous moves. Only a few soldiers could be vaguely seen climbing the walls of the camp, looking tense and ready for battle.

The facilities that Qing Deng and others damaged last night have been largely repaired after an overnight emergency repair.

Judging from the looks of it, they seem to be planning to hold their ground and fight to the death.

A very smart choice.

If they were to abandon their fortified camps and go out into the open to fight a decisive battle against the Mongol army, which had a numerical advantage, it would be tantamount to suicide.

Although Yizhoukou is a narrow area with mountains on one side and the sea on the other, no fortress like Shanhaiguan or Hulaoguan was built here. Instead, a large wooden stockade was built – the stockade where the Changzhou Army is currently stationed and defending.

This was due to the shogunate's century-long suppression of the various domains.

In the first year of Genna (1615), the newly established Edo Shogunate issued the "One Castle Per Province Edict".

That is, in a feudal state, only one castle can be retained as the residence of the daimyo and the seat of government, and all other castles must be abolished.

Most of these abandoned castles were mountain castles built during the Kamakura Shogunate period with military defensive functions.

As a result, most cities were demolished, and the castles that once stood in abundance during the Warring States period were no longer present, greatly weakening the power of the various vassal states.

Therefore, although Choshu was large, it only had one castle, Hagi Castle (the domain of Choshu).

Because cities could not be built, the strategic passes and important locations within Changzhou territory, represented by the "Five Borders," were simply large wooden fortresses.

While it possesses some defensive capabilities, they are limited and essentially serve only a minimal purpose.

Let alone impregnable fortresses like Shanhaiguan and Hulaoguan, even if Changzhou had built an ordinary city with bricks and stones at Yizhoukou, it would still be a huge nightmare for the Mu army.

At this moment, the busiest unit in the Shogunate army was the 11th Division (Artillery Division) of the Shinsengumi.

"Hurry up! Stop dawdling! Bring all the cannons up! Today's battle is the first of this expedition! Our Eleventh Division must show the might of the Shinsengumi!"