I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Continuing to run forward is certainly tiring and painful.

But if they stop and disobey the military order to "return to Dajin immediately," the Censorate's sword will come down on them!

The choice is not difficult at all.

To save their lives, they could only grit their teeth and persevere, using willpower and the will to survive to make up for their lack of physical strength.

As we all know, the will to survive has tremendous power and can unleash the hidden potential within the human body.

If strict military discipline played a decisive role, then the latter... namely, a strong physique, played an important role.

Since the formation of the new selection corps, Aoto has spared no effort in improving the soldiers' food.

There's plenty of rice, and you can eat oily meat, fish, and eggs from time to time.

Although by modern standards this level of food is nothing special, compared to the food of other armies at the time, the fact that "rice can be eaten as much as you want" was enough to make countless people envious.

As it turns out, the money Qingdeng invested in this project was not wasted.

Thanks to their robust physiques, bolstered by abundant nutrition, the vast majority of team members successfully endured the arduous journey home.

Even so, upon arriving at Otsu, many of the team members were so exhausted that they nearly died.

Many people took off their leg bindings and found that their legs were swollen and red, almost numb.

As for those who collapsed from exhaustion the moment they stopped, there are countless examples of them.

However, the number of people who dropped out halfway because they couldn't persevere was far fewer than Qing Deng had expected.

Such a result was truly beyond their expectations.

Upon hearing Hijikata Toshizo's words, Aoto nodded slightly and sighed deeply.

"Yes, you're right, everyone has worked hard."

"This time, everyone has done a great job!"

"I will certainly reward you all handsomely afterward!"

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo grinned and said, half-jokingly:

“Rewarding everyone? If we were to reward all the soldiers who participated in the ‘Second Great Return to China,’ the cost would be quite high.”

Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"Isn't the point of making so much money to spend it all at once when it's time to spend it all?"

These words lightened the atmosphere somewhat.

However, in just a moment, Qingdeng brought the atmosphere in the room back to solemnity.

"We'll discuss the specifics of the reward later."

"Now, let's talk about the current war situation."

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo and the others knew that the main topic was about to begin, so they composed themselves, composed their expressions, and focused intently on Aoto.

Unable to resist asking first:

"Qingdeng, how is Nobi doing?"

Because he had just returned and was still covered in the dust of the journey, he was unaware of the current battle situation.

Qing Deng said succinctly and in a deep voice:

"They looted the entire Nagoya Castle, then mustered all their troops and supplies and marched eastward."

"Four days ago, they captured Junfu Castle without lifting a finger."

"After a brief rest, they abandoned Sunpu Castle the day before yesterday and continued their eastward march, heading straight for Edo."

Before Aoto could finish speaking, Yamanami Keisuke was stunned into silence, his expression one of intense shock.

Fortunately, he was the chief of the Shinsengumi and a senior retainer of the Hatazu Domain, and had developed a strong heart through countless trials and tribulations.

In just a few breaths, he calmed himself down and muttered to himself:

"...Their goal is very clear: to capture Edo and destroy the shogunate!"

Hijikata Toshizo curled his lip, his cheeks filled with disdain.

"Leaving Nagoya Castle aside for now, what about Sunpu Castle?"

"With such a fortified city, and knowing in advance that the Changzhou army was going to attack, how come they couldn't even hold out for half a day?"

"What a piece of trash!"

Kondo Isami tried to smooth things over with a wry smile:

"There's nothing we can do about it. You know how lax the military preparedness of the Mu army is."

“Since the opening of Edo, Sunpu Castle has never experienced a war.”

"Having been away from war for so long, it's inevitable that our fighting strength will be lacking."

"To be honest, the fact that the garrison of Junpu Castle dared to fight on the front lines instead of abandoning the city and fleeing has already exceeded my expectations."

"We really can't be too demanding of people."

Yamanami Keisuke picked up the conversation:

"They advanced from Nagoya Castle in Owari to Sunpu Castle in Suruga in such a short time... The Choshu army's speed of advance is not to be underestimated...!"

The sharp-tongued Toshizo Hijikata added a timely comment:

"Sometimes, overly excellent transportation infrastructure can have the opposite effect..."

The "exceptionally excellent transportation routes" he mentioned naturally refer to Donghai Street.

The difference between the five subdistricts, led by Donghai Subdistrict, and other roads of the same era is like the difference between a highway and a regular road.

The Choshu army that marched straight towards Edo was not large in size.

Based on current intelligence, its size will not exceed five thousand people.

A streamlined scale means flexibility and agility.

On top of that, the Donghai Street had incredibly superior road conditions... It's not surprising that the Changzhou Army could march at such a fast speed.

If you look at a map, it's easy to see that the Choshu army is now very close to Edo!

East of Sunpu Castle lies Sagami Province, Musashi Province... and further east of Musashi Province lies Edo!

Kondo Isami sighed deeply:

"There's no time to lose..."

"Their good days are over!"

Aoto's sudden shout drew the attention of Hijikata Toshizo and the others.

Why have we gathered here?

"Now, all units have successfully returned to Dajin."

"Now that everyone has arrived, we can finally hold a formal military meeting!"

As he spoke, he turned his gaze, letting his eyes sweep across the faces of the three people in front of him one by one.

"Sui San, go and summon officers of deputy captain rank and above!"

"I will convene the first military council of this campaign!"

……

……

Donghai Subdistrict, somewhere—

Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!

The metal equipment, such as muskets and chainmail, clashed together, producing a crisp, piercing sound.

Looking out, a massive military train of thousands of soldiers slowly moved forward on the streets of Donghai.

With two thousand soldiers in the elite force and two thousand soldiers in the "Slavic Legion," totaling four thousand troops, they marched towards the Northeast with heads held high, eyebrows raised, and momentum unstoppable!

Having successively captured Nagoya and Sunpu, they were invincible and had no equal in the face of any enemy... It's no wonder their morale was so high.

If viewed from above, this army, which was heading straight for Edo, truly resembled a spear aimed at the heart of the shogunate!

"Tenma Spear"—the code name for this operation was taken from this.

In that legendary mythological era, Izanagi and Izanami, by the command of the god Bessatsu, stirred the chaos of the earthly world with the Ama-no-Numa spear. A drop of water that dripped from the tip of the spear became Onogoro Island, thus completing the creation of the world.

Now, the Hoju Party and the Choshu Domain are also going to use their "Amanuma Spear" to create a new world!

At this very moment, in the main camp of the central army, Shuten-dōji rode majestically on his tall horse.

Interestingly, he was not wearing the chainmail that was popular at the time, which made movement easier, but rather a set of dark red armor in the style of the Heian period.

The shovel-shaped front of the helmet stands tall, reflecting dappled sunlight.

Great armor... let alone in the present era, even in the Warring States period three hundred years ago, this was already an outdated type of armor.

The armor popular during the Warring States period was called "juzu," and its typical feature was a slightly curved breastplate, which could effectively reduce the lethality of bullets.

The most distinctive feature of the heavy armor is its square shape, like a box. The breastplate, backplate, and shoulderplate are all flat, offering no protection against bullets.

In short, this armor is completely unsuitable for the current battlefield environment.

Katsura Kogoro once took the opportunity to specifically ask Shuten-dōji why he wore such outdated and bulky armor.

At that time, the other party replied as follows:

"There's no special reason, it's just a personal preference. Don't you think I look very dashing in this armor?"

Every normal army can only have one leader.

The nominal commander-in-chief of this "united army" was none other than Shuten-dōji.

Let Shuten-dōji be the boss... Katsura Kogoro and others from the "Chōshū faction" had quite a few complaints about this.

However, no matter how dissatisfied they were, they could only suppress their dissatisfaction and could not vent their anger.

After all, the "Tenma Spear" was planned by the Fazhu Party, and the three warships used to transport the troops were also acquired by them at great expense. They deserve great credit, so appointing them as the commander-in-chief of this "United Legion" is indeed not considered a suppression of Choshu.

Just as Shuten-dōji sat upright on his horse, gazing confidently at the eastern horizon, a deep male voice came from beside him: