I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The vast majority of people, upon seeing the approaching enemy soldiers and the spurting blood, instantly lost their courage and fighting spirit, and fled in panic.

Many people, in their panicked escape, either inadvertently stumbled into a fire or plunged headlong into enemy lines, meeting a comical end.

They should die quickly to reduce the number of termites—this should be the last contribution they can make.

In the end, everything turned out exactly as Tokugawa Iemochi and Katsura Rintaro had predicted—only a few units, such as the Kōbū Army and the Fire-Taking Thieves, were actually useful.

Knowing that his direct advisors would be of no use, Katsura Rintaro deliberately separated these useless soldiers from the capable and courageous troops.

Send the former to guard some less important positions to deplete the enemy's weapons, ammunition, and morale, while deploying the latter in strategic locations.

The strategic locations of Edo... besides the high grounds of Mount Atago and Mount Goten, were the "Thirty-six Miyoku"!

To defend Edo Castle, many gates were built both inside and outside the castle, generally referred to as the "Thirty-six Gates," but the actual number of gates was actually much greater.

The city gates were all located in strategically important locations.

For example—

Jinwei Bridge Gate, near Zhongshan Road.

Yukihashi Gate, near the Tokaido.

The Four Valley Gate is located near the Kok Chau Road.

Asakusa Bridge Gate, near Nikko-dori.

And so on and so forth, the list goes on.

Unlike Chinese city gates, Japanese city gates were not designed to be tall and sturdy, but rather with the concept of "making the enemy feel disgusted"!

The city gates of these important locations were all double-layered, truncated cone-shaped gates.

The so-called "masagi-shaped gate" is a specially designed gate, mainly used for military and urban defense.

Its distinctive feature is that the doorway is designed in a truss shape, that is, an arc shape, with multiple right-angle turns, which can effectively prevent the enemy from passing through.

Mako gates typically have a double-layered structure, with the outer layer being the Goryeo gate and the inner layer being the rudder gate.

This design forces enemies entering the Goryeo Gate to make a right-angle turn before they can attack the inner Duru Gate, thus increasing the layers and complexity of the defense.

To attack the next city gate, one must make a right-angle turn... It is easy to imagine that such a design would inevitably hinder the enemy's charge and would also easily cause congestion among the enemy, with a large number of people crowding between the first gate (Goryeo Gate) and the second gate (Dulu Gate), just like a traffic jam.

While the enemy forces were congested, the defenders guarding the ferry gate could leisurely unleash a barrage of bullets, arrows, stones, and even boiling excrement, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

Because of this construction philosophy of "making the enemy feel extremely uncomfortable and disgusted", the "Thirty-Six Attached Gates" were not tall and majestic city gates.

At first glance, it looks like a large courtyard gate, which can be easily climbed over with a simple ladder.

Taking these city gates will be no easy task!

This construction approach follows the ancient Japanese city defense system.

Ancient China's city defense system was centered on city walls, around which a series of defensive facilities such as moats, barbicans, and watchtowers were built.

Once the city walls are breached, the city is essentially lost.

Ancient Japan was not like this.

Although ancient Japanese architects also built tall city walls and bottomless moats, they were more enthusiastic about making the interior of the castle extremely complex!

A prime example is Edo Castle.

Edo Castle has a "の"-shaped structure, resembling a mosquito coil, and is divided into areas such as Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sanomaru.

To reach the main keep where the Shogun is located, we must successively breach the third and second naboku...

Along the way, there were traps everywhere, walls that were hard to cross, and steep slopes that could only be traversed by enduring the barrage of bullets and arrows from the defenders...

In other words, even if you cross the moat surrounding Edo Castle and breach its walls, it doesn't mean the battle is over and everything is fine.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the real siege began after Edo Castle was captured!

Katsura Rintaro had a very clear idea of ​​how to defend Edo.

He knew very well that with the limited combat power he currently possessed, it was simply not enough to repel the enemy.

Therefore, his core strategy can be summarized in one word – “endure”!

They finally waited until Aoto led the Shinsengumi to their aid!

Everything will be alright as long as the Shinsengumi launches a counterattack.

Due to the primitive and backward means of communication, the people of Edo, including Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin, were unaware of Aoto and the specific movements of his Shinsengumi.

Not knowing when reinforcements will arrive... There is nothing more agonizing in this world.

In any case, the Shinsengumi's reinforcements are their only hope for victory.

In order to block the enemy forces to the greatest extent possible, Katsura Rintaro carefully set up two lines of defense.

The first line of defense is the "Thirty-Six Attachments".

As for the second line of defense, it was Edo Castle itself.

While it's described as two lines of defense, the former is actually the core!

Katsura Rintaro's strategy for defending the city was very simple. In short, all other parts of Edo could be lost, but the "Thirty-six Fortified Villages" could not be lost!

Once the "Thirty-Six Favors" are lost, the enemy can take a swift and decisive step into Edo Castle!

If the war breaks out in Edo Castle... then it will truly be a bloody battle with no way to retreat!

Although Edo Castle was a renowned castle with unparalleled defensive capabilities, there were simply too many variables involved in fighting within its walls, and Katsura Rintaro dared not take the risk.

Therefore, he tried his best to avoid fighting in Edo Castle and attempted to keep the enemy outside the castle gates.

He deployed heavy troops at the "Thirty-Six Gates," using these city gates as the key to victory or defeat in this battle, and countless elite soldiers and generals gathered there.

By holding onto the "Thirty-Six Attachments," the Mu army won.

The Thirty-Six Fortresses fell, and the Fács-Chocolate alliance won.

Simple and straightforward combat!

……

……

Edo, Yotsuya-mikado—

After Shinjuku was breached, Yotsuya was the first to be affected.

Yotsuya is the location of Yotsuya Mikado.

Katsurin Taro deployed 200 elite soldiers here.

They held their breath, their expressions solemn, gripping their weapons tightly, barely daring to breathe, staring intently ahead, their eyes fixed on the area outside the city gate.

Before long, right in front of Yotsuya Gate, enemy soldiers turned the corner and surged into the center of the street!

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a surging wave, rushing straight toward Yotsuya Mikado with terrifying momentum!

"They're here!"

"Damn it! What are those guys guarding Shinjuku doing?! How did they let the enemy soldiers slip in so quickly?!"

"Never mind all that! Prepare to fight!"

"Raise your gun!"

"Draw the bow!"

Above the city gate, rows of muskets protruded from their firing ports, their dark muzzles aimed at the approaching enemy troops.

Meanwhile, behind the musketeers were archers with bows drawn and arrows pointed to the sky, ready to fire upwards.

Once the enemy forces approached, a barrage of bullets and arrows erupted at a command!

In an instant, crimson blood, steaming hot, sprayed out, followed by wails and screams.

The enemy soldiers at the forefront fell like grass, with more than ten men falling.

However... this fierce offensive failed to stop the enemy's momentum.

They stepped over their fallen comrades and continued running toward Shijomon with undiminished speed and momentum.

Taking advantage of the moment when the musketeers and archers on the city gate were busy loading and nocking arrows, they closed the distance in one go and advanced to the bottom of the city gate.

Then, they raised their hands and passed the ladders over their heads in a relay fashion, from back to front, and then placed them on the city gate.

Even before defeating the thousand-man united, Shuten-dōji had already seen through Katsu Rintaro's strategic intentions.

He knew that Katsura Rintaro would focus on strengthening the defenses of the "Thirty-six Entrances" as the key to victory in this battle, and try his best to hold out until the Shinsengumi came to their aid—if he were in command of this battle, he would do the same.

So, on his way to Edo, he specially organized a group of people to race against time to make long ladders for attacking the "Thirty-six Entrances".

Because the city gate was not high, a long ladder could be easily placed up to reach the top of the city gate.

Soon, the enemy soldiers had secured the long ladder.

Then, like ants, they climbed up these long ladders.

"Go!" (Russian)

"Kill them all!" (Russian)

Seeing the enemy soldiers climbing up, the musketeers and archers moved back, while the swordsmen wielding katanas stepped forward.

A hand-to-hand battle ensued above the city gates... which suited them perfectly!

On the vast, boundless wilderness, the sword has little effect.

If it were a cramped, narrow space, the situation would be quite different.

The space above the city gate was very small, which was perfect for them to wield their swords!

Many of the soldiers in the garrison had learned swordsmanship from a young age.

They were eager to use their swordsmanship skills to slash the heads of enemy soldiers and deliver a crushing blow to the enemy army.

However... when the enemy soldiers appeared before them and the two sides clashed, they were horrified to find that they were just like the tide crashing against the rocks—in the next instant of collision, they were smashed to pieces!

The enemy soldiers were incredibly brave and had an exceptionally strong will to fight!

Some enemy soldiers fought five against one, not only holding their own but also showing signs of turning the tide.

Some enemy soldiers were stabbed multiple times and bleeding profusely, yet they continued to fight as if nothing had happened.