I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Aoto, who was actively preparing for the upcoming "Second Battle of Sekigahara," naturally had no time to come and see Hijikata Toshizo off.

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo immediately raised an eyebrow:

"Oh? What did Tachibana-kun say?"

Mr. Tachibana said, "I will take Sekigahara as soon as possible and join forces with you at Hachioji."

Hijikata Toshizo couldn't help but chuckle after listening attentively.

"Seriously, even though he's not here, it doesn't stop him from showing off... Toudou, please reply to him for me later: In that case, I'll be waiting with great anticipation."

Having said that, he shouldered the large flag in his hand and leaped onto the horse beside him.

Aoto specially provided him and Ichimura Tetsunosuke with eight fast horses so that they could take turns riding the horses and reach Hachioji as quickly as possible.

Hijikata Toshizo sat upright on his horse, taking one last look at Kondo Isami, Souji, and the others before him.

"Gentlemen, I'll be right back!"

After leaving behind this brief statement, he shouted and lightly tapped the horse's belly with his heel.

Ichimura Tetsunosuke followed closely behind, a beat behind.

Two men, eight horses, and a flag bearing the character "诚" (sincerity) braved the headwinds, heading straight east!

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PS: I originally wanted to name "Decisive Battle of the Lake" "Decisive Battle Weapons", but the name always reminds me of Gundam, which is very distracting, so I changed it.

Chapter 912 The Return of Kyoto's Most Beautiful Woman [5100]

Hatazu Domain, Otsu, Tachibana Residence, Aoto's office—

Qingdeng bowed his head before his desk, diligently handling various military matters.

As the commander-in-chief of the Shinsengumi, the heavy responsibilities he currently shoulders, as well as the important tasks that require his attention, are countless.

At this moment, this simply furnished room, filled with books and scrolls, is the "brain" of the Shinsengumi!

Talents such as "Divine Brain +9", "Ambidextrous Fighting", and "Primordial Yang +7" are activated!

Qingdeng single-handedly achieved the work efficiency of an entire staff group!

Military orders were issued to the outside world in an orderly manner.

On many occasions, he even used both hands to write different orders.

Messengers were constantly running back and forth inside and outside the room.

It could be sending new intelligence or conveying new orders from Qingdeng to the outside world.

At this moment, a messenger knelt on one knee outside the door and called out loudly through the door:

"My lord, the captain of the 10th Division has gone into battle!"

Qing Deng nodded without looking up:

"Okay, I understand. You may leave."

"Yes!"

The captain of the 10th Division—that is, Harada Sanosuke.

Qingdeng continued working, drafting the military orders in front of him.

However, he unconsciously glanced sideways at the map of Sekigahara hanging on the wall beside him.

Whenever he looks at the topographical map of Sekigahara, Aoto can't help but think: if there really is a creator in this world, then it must have created Sekigahara according to the concept of "most suitable for field warfare"!

From any perspective, Sekigahara is perfect for open-field battles!

Located at the intersection of two major traffic arteries (Higashiyama-do and Ise-do), it is a large crossroads that facilitates the mobilization of supplies and personnel.

It has both open plains that are easy to deploy and steep mountains that can be used for defense.

Because it is a basin, high mountains rise in every direction, from east to west and north to south.

Tianman Mountain, Nangong Mountain, Sasao Mountain... these towering peaks are all natural fortresses.

Even those who have never fought in a war surely understand the principle that "the higher you stand, the farther you can see."

Putting aside everything else, just setting up artillery emplacements on these hilltops would allow them to use their height advantage to suppress the enemy!

Looking back at the first Battle of Sekigahara 260 years ago, the Western Army occupied almost all the high ground in Sekigahara, including Nangong Mountain and Tenman Mountain, while the Eastern Army could only deploy its troops at the foot of the mountains.

Even Nangong Mountain, located on the flank of the Eastern Army, was under the control of the Western Army.

The Western Army troops deployed on Nangong Mountain could launch a dive attack directly on the flank of the Eastern Army, posing a direct threat to the Eastern Army's main force.

If it weren't for the traitor Kobayakawa Hideaki, the Western Army, with its advantageous terrain, would have had a great chance of defeating the Eastern Army, and the odds of victory would have been much higher.

Therefore, although the cavalry had not yet recovered from the fatigue of the "Second Great Return to China", in order to seize the strategic advantage, Aoto had no choice but to force Harada Sanosuke to lead a portion of the still-mobile cavalry to Sekigahara first.

For Aoto, the best start on the battlefield would be to emulate Ishida Mitsunari and take control of all the mountains in Sekigahara!

Especially Nangong Mountain, located east of Sekigahara. If he successfully captures Nangong Mountain, he won't even know how he could lose.

From Qingdeng's perspective, if Sekigahara is imagined as a huge city, then Nangong Mountain is the fortified city wall, which can be attacked or defended!

In this way, no matter how many people come, Qingdeng is confident that he can defeat the bandits within half a day!

However... since Qingdeng was able to think of seizing the strategic advantage, the enemy must also be able to realize this!

Geographically speaking, Otsu is closer to Sekigahara.

However, the convenience of Donghai Street should not be underestimated.

If the Choshu army marched at full speed along the East Sea Road without stopping... it's really hard to say which side would arrive at Sekigahara first.

Before Harada Sanosuke went into battle, Aoto solemnly instructed him: "It would be best to take all the hills in Sekigahara, and at the very least, take Tenma-zan and Sasao-zan to the west!"

Without Nangong Mountain, a swift victory would simply be difficult.

But without Mount Tenman and Mount Sasao, this battle will be much more difficult...

Qing Deng stared at the Sekigahara map for a while, then focused his attention back on the work at hand.

About half an hour later, all the important military orders that needed to be issued had been issued, and Qingdeng was finally able to take a short break.

He put down his brush and let out a long breath, his tense nerves gradually relaxing.

At the very moment he exited "work mode," a wave of fatigue washed over him, enveloping Qingdeng's entire body.

In fact, since returning to Otsu, Aoto has not had a proper rest and has been almost constantly engaged in intense work.

In recent days, his total sleep time has not exceeded 6 hours.

Fortunately, he possesses talents such as "Sleep God", "Primordial Yang +7", and "Strong Essence +4", otherwise, most people would probably have died of overwork under such terrifying workload.

Just as Qingdeng was about to take a short rest, familiar, light footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the corridor.

Cat-like footsteps... She's the only person in the Orange Mansion who walks like that.

Qingdeng, who instantly recognized the voice, immediately looked up and headed towards the door.

The moment he raised his eyes, he happened to meet A-Wu's gaze as she cautiously pushed open a crack in the door.

"Um... Qingdeng, I hope I haven't bothered you?"

Qing Deng Wan Er:

"I happen to have some free time right now. Ah Wu, what's up?"

Seeing that Qingdeng wasn't busy, Awu breathed a sigh of relief, pushed open the door, slipped inside, and sat down in front of Qingdeng.

“I don’t have anything important to say, I just wanted to check on Elodie’s current situation.”

As she spoke, she unconsciously leaned forward, looking at Qingdeng with a mixture of worry and anticipation.

"Qingdeng, is there any news about Elodie?"

Upon hearing the words "Elodie's current situation," Qing Deng's expression dimmed slightly.

Ah Wu had barely finished speaking when he shook his head:

"Unfortunately... I still haven't received any news from Elodie."

In an instant, the look of anticipation on A-Wu's cheeks vanished like snow melting.

Instead, there was intense disappointment and worry.

She hung her head dejectedly, pulled her forward-leaning upper body back, and murmured, "Oh, I see..."

The saying "misfortunes often come in pairs" is largely true.

On the eve of the Western Expedition against Chang and Zhou, Qingdeng sent Elodie to Hachi-oji to inspect the accounts of the Thousand-Man Unity over the years in preparation for the upcoming large-scale military reforms.

This was originally just a regular business trip.

Before this, Qingdeng never imagined that... what was once a safe rear area would become the front line of the battlefield!

The Changshu army is poised to strike Hachioji, and the area will soon be engulfed in the smoke of battle.

They thought they were sending Elodie to a safe rear area, but they never expected to send her to the front lines!

Since Elodie joined the Shinsengumi, she had always worked in the rear, a purely civil servant.

She's never even killed a person, let alone gone to the battlefield!

Therefore, it's no wonder that Ah Wu was so nervous.

The lack of news about Elodie and the uncertainty about her current situation only exacerbated the anxiety.

In fact, Qingdeng was also very worried about Elodie, fearing that something might happen to her.

However, to comfort Ah Wu, he forced himself to remain calm and composed:

"Ah Wu, don't worry."

"Elodie is not some weak woman who can't even kill a chicken."