I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The next moment, the three thousand soldiers shouted in unison, "Ooooooooo!", shaking the heavens and the earth!

Three thousand troops marched north, their advance aimed directly at the Mito Domain!

The Mito Campaign begins!

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Readers with monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book! (Crying leopard head.jpg) Requesting monthly passes! Requesting recommendation votes! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

P.S.: The lighthearted and enjoyable storyline ends here... Let's begin the Northern Expedition! By the way, this volume will soon be completed, and I've already decided on the title for the next volume—Volume 6, "Operation Marineford"!

Chapter 1003 The Army Approaches Mito! Qing Deng's Persuasion to Surrender [4500]

According to Aoto's plan, this Northern Expedition would not only eliminate the Mito Domain, but also its four major branch domains: Moriyama Domain (2 koku), Fuchu Domain (2 koku), Shishido Domain (1 koku), and Matsuoka Domain (1 koku).

In short, everything related to the Mito Domain must be eliminated without exception!

Of course, these four major vassal states were too weak to pose any threat.

The main opponent in this battle remains the Mito Domain.

Once the Mito Domain is eliminated, the demise of its branch domains is only a foregone conclusion.

Before the troops move, intelligence must be gathered first. Long before the troops were dispatched, Qing Deng sent out the members of the Ninth Division and the members of the new Oniwaban to infiltrate the Mito Domain and collect intelligence from all aspects.

It is said that the Mito Domain adopted a "scorched earth" strategy, concentrating all its troops and supplies in the domain headquarters—Mito Castle.

It's not hard to see that they intend to fight a siege battle against the Shinsengumi.

A perfectly correct judgment.

If the rulers and retainers of the Mito Domain still had any sense, they wouldn't want to fight a field battle with the Shinsengumi.

Only by holding the city to the death can there be a glimmer of hope.

This saved Qingdeng some trouble.

Since the enemy has placed all their hopes on Mito Castle, then as long as Mito Castle is destroyed, this battle will be a great success!

Mito Castle is a flatland castle with two turrets and three fortified towers.

The so-called "linked wall" refers to the vertically parallel design of the Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru.

If you attack the castle from the front, it will be like passing through a level. You must break through the third and second walls before you can enter the main castle. The distance from the outside to the inside is very long, making it very difficult to enter.

However, the defenses on both sides of the main castle will be very weak.

Therefore, additional defensive structures are usually added next to the main keep.

Indeed, the Mito Domain was one of the "Three Great Houses," and after more than two hundred years of management, its domain was naturally a formidable stronghold.

Even so, Qingdeng had already devised a plan to break through the city.

If all goes well, they can destroy Mito Castle in just half a day!

At this moment, Qingdeng sat on the back of Luobo's ox, following the army northward.

Edo and the Mito Domain were very close neighbors – a double-edged sword for both sides.

Whether attacking or being attacked, it's all very fast!

Based on the Shinsengumi's current pace of advance, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the entire view of Mito Castle will be visible to Aoto by the morning after tomorrow!

At that moment, Aoto saw Kondo Isami riding up on horseback.

He got straight to the point and asked directly:

"Yasu, has the reply from the Mito Domain arrived?"

Aoto did not expect the Mito Domain to surrender obediently.

However, he still went through the motions, pretending to be "making unremitting efforts for peace."

He ordered someone to write a letter urging him to surrender, which was sent to Mito Castle, urging the ruler and his retainers of the Mito Domain to surrender as soon as possible.

Judging by the time, the reply from the Mito Domain should arrive by now.

Kondo Isami nodded and then handed over the letter.

Qingdeng reached out and took it, then, after confirming that the seal was intact, tore it open with a "rip," pulled out the letter inside, unfolded it, and quickly read it at a glance.

Kondo Isami waited silently by his side.

A moment later, Qingdeng put down the letter in his hand, a cold smile on his face.

Kondo Isamu asked:

"How did it go? What did they say?"

Qing Deng said calmly:

"As expected. They wasted our good intentions."

"They want us to withdraw our demand for 'unconditional surrender'."

"They are willing to conclude a peace agreement on the condition of 'handing over half of their territory'."

Upon hearing this, Kondo Isami curled his lips into a cold smile, just like Aoto's:

"Hmph! They're dreaming! Even now, they still want to retain half of their territory!"

Aoto was not surprised by the Mito lord and his retainers' lack of appreciation.

After all, for them, Qingdeng's surrender conditions were indeed too harsh—unconditional surrender! Hand over all territory!

It's obvious that these are conditions they cannot accept.

Surrendering all territory is tantamount to abolishing the Mito Domain, and the "Mito Domain" will cease to exist.

Not only would the ruler find it unacceptable, but even the ministers would not obediently comply.

Without their vassal states, they would naturally lose their livelihoods and become ronin (masterless samurai).

To fall from a respectable ruling class to a homeless vagrant who can't even guarantee three meals a day—most people can't bear such a fall!

Thus, "refusing unconditional surrender" becomes a matter of course.

In fact, before the war began, many of the shogunate's retainers advised Aoto to show mercy and not to push the Mito Domain too far, but to leave the Mito lord and his retainers a way out.

Otherwise, driven by shared interests, the Mito ruler and his retainers would form a united front and resist to the death, greatly increasing the difficulty of the Northern Expedition.

This suggestion seemed reasonable, but Qing Deng rejected it without hesitation.

This was originally a war to make an example of someone.

To put it more seriously, this is a war of "striking first to avoid being struck a hundred times in the end"!

This is a war to intimidate the world and restore the prestige of the "Southern School".

If we yield to the Mito Domain, it would be tantamount to showing weakness in front of the world!

For the sake of the future, we must never extend goodwill to the Mito Domain.

The Mito Domain must be punished to the fullest extent to serve as a warning to the world—this is the terror of Seido, this is the fighting power of the Shinsengumi, this is the consequence of opposing the "Nanki Faction"!

Qingdeng casually tore the letter in his hand to shreds, letting the fragments fly in the wind:

"Since they're so ungrateful, then we won't hold back. Yu, pass down the order: once we enter Mito territory, all soldiers must strictly adhere to military discipline. Anyone who violates military discipline will be executed on the spot!"

Kondo Isami nodded seriously:

"Yes!"

……

……

The army's march proceeded very smoothly, without any obstacles.

Faced with the formidable strength of the Shinsengumi, Mito's retainers were utterly terrified and dared not send troops to harass them.

Even after intruding into the territory of the Mito Domain, they encountered no resistance.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Shinsengumi's march was no more difficult than taking a walk in their own backyard.

It is worth mentioning that during the march, they encountered many civilians who were unable to evacuate in time.

Under Aoto's strict orders, the Shinsengumi soldiers strictly adhered to military discipline, committed no offenses, and focused wholeheartedly on their attack on Mito Castle.

Finally, just as Qingdeng had predicted, on the morning of the third day after the troops set out, the entire army arrived at the gates of Mito Castle!

The Shinsengumi of today is no longer the fledgling army it once was.

At a single command, the troops immediately deployed!

Some were setting up camp; others were digging trenches; still others were placing supplies... everything was in perfect order.

The massive army was much like a sophisticated machine.

Each part rotates slowly, performing its own function, driving the entire machine to operate.

As the army prepared to attack the city, Qingdeng stood on a high ground, gazing at the distant Mito Castle, occasionally raising his binoculars to examine it closely.

The city gates were tightly shut, with no sign of them opening.

On the rudder of Mito Castle's Sannomaru, the flag embroidered with "Mito Mitsuba Himawari" hangs limply, lifeless.

The city's garrison that one happened to glimpse were all filled with fear and acted in a flustered manner.

At that moment, Kondo Isami strode over.

"Qingdeng, it will take at least another hour to complete the preparations for the attack."

In private, Kondo Isami affectionately called Aoto by his old nickname.

Qingdeng put down his binoculars and appeared to be thinking:

"Another hour to go... Well, since there's still some time, I'll give it my all one last time and try to achieve a bloodless opening of the city."

He turned to the guard beside him and said:

"Go and get some paper and pen. This time, I'm going to write a 'letter of surrender' myself."

……