I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I will relay this truthfully."

Although many details are still unclear, Qingdeng has a general understanding of what happened.

He leaned to the side, resting on the elbow rest beside him, and murmured:

"One wave subsides, another rises..."

Katsura Rintaro nodded slightly in agreement.

We finally defeated the Faki coalition...

Finally, the "Hitotsubashi faction" was driven out...

But before he could even rest for a moment and catch his breath, new troubles arose!

Upon realizing this, Qingdeng couldn't help but think to himself:

Is this what they call an "era of great strife"... with one unexpected event after another...?

Qingdeng felt as if he were cursed... cursed with "no peace and quiet".

At this moment, Katsura Rintaro spoke again:

“Qingdeng, I believe that Iwakura Tomomi and the others must have fled to Choshu.”

Qing Deng responded calmly:

“They have nowhere else to go besides Changzhou.”

Katsura Rintaro sighed again:

“The ‘Respect for Expulsion’ faction is really obsessed with it…”

"Fighting and losing repeatedly, but fighting on despite repeated defeats."

“We’ve beaten them to this state, and even the Choshu Domain, which is the stronghold of the ‘Revere the Exile’ faction, is almost wiped out, yet they still refuse to give up.”

"Although we are enemies, I still have to pay them my respects."

Qing Deng remained expressionless and silent.

A moment later, he sat up straight again.

"Fine."

"Since the incident has already occurred, we can only let nature take its course."

"Let's leave the matter in the west for now."

"No matter what, what we need to do now will not change."

At this point, Qingdeng paused deliberately, then adopted a firm and forceful tone:

"Prepare for the 'Mito Expedition'! Annihilate the Mito Domain and make an example of them!"

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It's already the beginning of the month again! Readers with monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg)

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P.S.: It's time for some sizzling scenes! Writing battles all the time is making me sick. Next chapter: some sizzling!

Chapter 997 Tianzhang Courtyard: "Husband! Welcome back!" [4800]

Sending troops to aid the Hitotsubashi faction—this alone is enough to bring the Mito Domain to its demise!

After the Second Battle of Edo Castle, Aoto dispatched a large number of intelligence agents to gather information, investigate the truth behind the Hitotsubashi Army's sudden retreat, and guard against any possible conspiracies or tricks by the enemy.

After a very thorough investigation, it was finally confirmed that, just as Qing Deng had predicted, the reason why the Hitotsubashi Army suddenly retreated was because Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu had fled.

Yoshiki Hitotsubashi's ability to escape is in no way inferior to "Kogoro Katsura's escape".

He ran out of the Kanto Plain and into the Kai region in just one day and one night.

Thanks to Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi's escape, the war ended early, preventing further destruction.

Although the battle ended in victory for the "Nanki faction," upon closer examination, it is not difficult to find that, setting aside "Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu's desertion," the "Hitotsubashi faction" did not make any major mistakes in the entire battle.

They launched this long-planned military coup at the most opportune time and in the most opportune place.

Not only did they have the unwavering support of the "Death Legion" and their direct advisors, but they also had the "Mito Army" as a trump card.

When the Mito Domain's 3,000-strong army stormed into Edo, the Nanki faction was indeed driven to the brink of destruction!

With Niou severely injured and lacking troops and generals, the situation was completely hopeless.

If it weren't for Qing Deng risking his life and launching a desperate attack, successively activating his two eternal talents, "Heartless Demon Child" and "Reversal Dragon," and miraculously repelling the Mito army, Edo Castle would probably have changed hands.

In other words, the Mito Domain almost caused the "Nanki Faction" to fail!

How can such deep hatred be abandoned?

Old grudges such as the "Secret Edict of the Wuwu Year" and the "Sakurada Gate Incident" have not yet been resolved, and new enemies have been added - Aoto has already grasped the righteous cause of eliminating Mito!

The grounds for war are so compelling that they cannot be more compelling than ever before.

As expected, when Seido announced the launch of the "Mito Expedition," no one in the shogunate objected.

In fact, even if some people do have objections, they dare not express them publicly.

After driving out the Hitotsubashi faction, the Nanki faction became the dominant force within the shogunate.

Having first eliminated the Faki coalition and then thwarted the military coup of the "One Bridge Faction," Qing Deng's authority within the "Nanji Faction" had reached its zenith!

No one dared to disrespect Qingdeng.

No one dared to contradict Qing Deng.

Logically speaking, Qing Deng, who held the official title of "Army Commander-in-Chief," was in charge of military affairs and had no right to interfere in political matters.

But given the current situation, who cares about such a setting?

If Aoto isn't allowed to be the leader of the "Nanki Faction," who else can take his place? Katsura Rintaro? Tenshōin? Kazumiya? Or some other senior councilor?

With Tokugawa Iemochi currently in a coma, Aoto has taken his place and become the highest leader of the "Nanki faction"!

Nowadays, Qingdeng is to the ministers of the "Nanji faction" what the "bright moon" is to the "stars".

When the bright moon rises, even the most numerous and dense stars will appear dim.

Fortunately, if war breaks out now, Qingdeng happens to have a fresh force at his disposal.

The main force of the Shinsengumi has arrived in Edo, with high morale, complete equipment, and a large number of cannons (Eleventh Division)!

Kondo Isami and others came with a noble sense of mission to "rescue Nioh" and "save the shogunate".

However, when they finally arrived in Edo after all their efforts, they found that the war had already ended.

They threw a punch with all their might, only to hit cotton... The soldiers were extremely frustrated.

Perfect, let the Mito Domain become their target for venting!

They've come all the way from Dajin; it would be a real shame not to give them a taste of their own medicine and let them vent their frustrations.

After experiencing a series of upheavals, including the "Sakuradamon Incident" and the "Tengu Party Rebellion," the Mito Domain's national strength was already far from what it used to be.

Unfortunately, in the battle that had just ended, they lost another very important 3,000 field soldiers.

After a detailed analysis of the relative strengths of both sides, Qing Deng made a firm judgment: with the combat power he currently possessed, he was fully capable of conquering Mito!

From private duels to battlefield confrontations, Qing Deng has always adhered to the fighting style of "beating a drowning dog".

Either don't fight at all, or if you do fight, kill the enemy in one fell swoop!

Now that the Mito Domain's national strength has fallen to its lowest point in history, it's the perfect opportunity to kick a dog when it's down.

Therefore, Qingdeng formulated the general strategy for the "Mito Conquest"—in short, "everything should be done quickly!"

We must not delay, because if we drag it out, the Mito Domain will have a chance to catch its breath.

Moreover, if it drags on for too long, something else might happen that distracts Aoto's attention—just like the recent "Imperial Palace Rebellion."

In fact, even setting aside the aspect of "revenge," Aoto had ample reason to attack the Mito Domain.

The first is "geographical location".

Secondly, it's about "making an example of someone to scare others."

For the shogunate officials, anyone with even a modicum of strategic thinking would not tolerate the continued existence of the Mito Domain, this traitor.

The reason is simple—the Mito Domain was too close to Edo! The straight-line distance was only a few dozen kilometers!

What's worse, both Edo and Mito were located on the Kanto Plain, with flat terrain between them, offering no natural defenses.

If the Mito Domain were to launch an attack on Edo, it would be like this battle, where three thousand troops would arrive in the blink of an eye.

To use a vivid analogy, the Mito Domain was like the "Sword of Damocles" over Edo, always hanging over its head, never knowing when it would fall.

Geographically speaking, the Mito Domain was located north of Edo, right above Edo.

Defending Edo without seizing Mito is like defending the Central Plains without seizing Yan and Yun, defending Jingzhou without seizing Xiangfan, defending Jiangnan without seizing Lianghuai... With the gates wide open, one can't even sleep well.

In conclusion, only by eliminating the Mito Domain can the peace of Edo be guaranteed, and in turn, the peace of Kanto be guaranteed!

As for "killing the chicken to scare the monkey," there's no need to go into details.

Although the Hitotsubashi faction was expelled from Edo, they were not completely wiped out.

The remnants of the "Ichitsubashi faction" retreated to Fukui Domain and still had some strength left.

Those feudal states determined to follow the "Nanki School" or the "Hitotsubashi School" were ultimately only a minority.

The vast majority of vassal states were "winners' parties"—they would help whichever side could win.

It's possible that some vassal states or forces might be short-sighted and want to assist the "Hitotsubashi faction," or perhaps they want to hedge their bets, both currying favor with the "Nanki faction" and applauding the "Hitotsubashi faction."

The Mito Domain was one of the "Three Great Houses" and possessed a territory of 35 koku, making it one of the most powerful domains among the "Three Hundred Lords".

If we can wipe out Mito in one fell swoop with overwhelming force, it will surely deter countless villains!

This battle also provides an opportunity to further demonstrate the power of the Shinsengumi.

This battle is of great importance, so Qingdeng personally took charge.