I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"We still have fortified cities to defend! We still have thousands of soldiers to fight, why should we surrender?!"

"Who does he think he is! 'In the name of the Shogun'? What gives him the right to represent the Shogun!"

"I'd rather die than grovel before Tachibana Seito!"

Although the letter of persuasion written by Qing Deng did not use complicated and difficult classical Chinese, it was precisely this simple and direct vernacular language that gave the Mito ruler and his ministers a great shock!

This is both a forceful attempt to persuade someone to surrender and a blatant humiliation!

It's no exaggeration to say that Qingdeng practically plastered the words "Stop messing around, you have no chance of winning, just surrender" on their faces.

His contempt for Mito was palpable.

Such blatant humiliation was unbearable even for the well-mannered Tokugawa Yoshitsu.

He suddenly stood up, his hair standing on end in anger, his face flushed red, and the veins on his temples throbbing like earthworms.

"Defend Mito Castle to the death! We swear to fight Tachibana Aoto to the bitter end!"

……

……

One hour later—

Outside Mito Castle, the siege lines—

"Qingdeng, everything is ready."

Kondo Isamu said softly to Aoto.

Qingdeng asked in return, expressionless:

"Is there any response from the other side?"

Kondo Isami shook his head:

"No."

"Oh... What a pity, all my good intentions have been wasted."

"Shall we begin the attack?"

"Needless to say? Since they've shown their 'backbone,' we must respond. Send the order to the Eleventh Division! Blast down the walls of Mito Castle!"

"Yes, sir! Eleventh Division, prepare for artillery fire!"

As for how to capture Mito Castle, Aoto's plan was quite simple and did not require any schemes or tricks.

In the era of cold weapons, when there was a lack of siege warfare capabilities—such as the Warring States period three hundred years ago—it was indeed extremely difficult to attack a fortified city like Mito Castle.

If the enemy has a force many times greater than the enemy's, then the only way to wear them down is through a "war of supplies".

Nowadays, with the rapid advancement of technology, these castles built of bricks, stones, and timber are no longer a threat.

Could these outdated castles possibly withstand cannon fire?

With the order delivered, the 11th Division's artillery positions immediately sprang into action.

These cannons pointed diagonally to the sky, aimed at Mito Castle, ready to fire at any moment.

Upon receiving the order to "begin the attack," the artillerymen, who had been eagerly preparing, immediately sprang into action.

One command after another was issued.

A canister of gunpowder was filled in.

Then--

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One cannonball after another burst from the barrel, tearing through the air and raining down on Mito Castle!

In an instant, flames and shockwaves swept through Mito Castle!

Even Qing Deng and the others, who were far away at the main camp, felt the ground beneath their feet tremble.

The once peaceful Mito Castle is now ravaged by turmoil.

Of course, the Mito army was not without the ability to fight back.

Just minutes after the Shinsengumi began their attack, the opposing side launched a counterattack.

One after another, shells flew in arcs.

However, all of these shells landed outside the besieged positions, achieving nothing but stirring up dust.

The cannons used by the Mito army were still those outdated antiques.

Its rate of fire, accuracy, and range are all inferior to the new cannons used by the Shinsengumi.

Therefore, it is only natural that such a situation would arise.

Strangely enough, on the surface, the number of artillery pieces on the other side was quite considerable.

The walls and turrets of Mito Castle's third wing were covered with tiny black dots.

Although they were too far away to see clearly, judging from their shapes, they should all be cannons.

But these cannons were not used to fire; they were just placed there as decorations.

Seeing this, Kondo Isami looked puzzled and murmured involuntarily:

"That's strange... the enemy's counterattack is much weaker than we expected."

Qing Deng frowned slightly, as if deep in thought, then, as if he had just realized something, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile:

"This is probably an old trick of the Mito army, using a bronze bell to disguise a cannon."

Upon hearing this, Kondo Isami immediately understood.

After the "Black Ships Incident" (1853) broke out, Tokugawa Nariaki, the former lord of the Mito Domain who was still alive at the time, sent a large army to provide assistance.

Because of the lack of cannons, the Mito army brought a large number of bronze bells and placed them on the coast.

Thus, from a distance, these bronze bells look just like cannons.

Its original intention was to bluff and intimidate the US warships—of course, it had no effect whatsoever.

Regardless of the facts, the Mito army's counterattack was indeed far less powerful than Aoto and others had anticipated.

The Shinsengumi's artillery shells covered the third tier of Mito Castle, while the Mito army's shells could not reach the besieged positions... a highly unequal war.

The soldiers of the Mito Army were extremely frustrated.

On the other hand, the Shinsengumi soldiers were extremely comfortable.

Qingdeng sat leisurely on the stool, watching quietly and waiting silently.

The 11th Division soldiers kept firing, as if the shells were free.

Admittedly, the members of the Eleventh Division cannot be 100% accurate.

If one out of ten shells hits, that's considered lucky.

Although the hit rate was not impressive, the large number of shells and the large target area made up for it!

The walls of Sannomaru are long and wide, making them excellent targets.

The strength of Japanese castles lies in their complex design, not in the materials or the thickness of their walls—they certainly couldn't withstand continuous bombardment anyway!

The first thing to be destroyed was the turret of the Sannomaru.

Just now, a shell hit the turret of the Sannomaru squarely, cutting it in half like rice stalks cut by a sickle.

Immediately afterwards, the walls of the Sannomaru castle began to crumble.

After being bombarded by countless cannonballs, the walls of Sannomaru began to crumble.

Countless fragments and debris flew out... and the cracks continued to lengthen and deepen.

Finally—with a deafening crash—the walls of Mito Castle's Third Maru collapsed completely, revealing a huge breach!

Qingdeng calmly issued further orders:

"Prepare to suppress Sannomaru!"

His order was quickly relayed to the positions of the Second Division, Third Division, and Sixth Division.

Incidentally, Aoto did not allow Serizawa Kamo to participate in the attack—mainly because Serizawa Kamo was from the Mito Domain.

To send people to attack their hometown... that's just too cruel.

Although Serizawa Kamo remained silent about the "Mito Campaign," Aoto decided, for various reasons, to have him and his Fourth Division serve as reserves and remain in the rear.

Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and Inoue Genzaburo took their positions, ready to go.

Qingdeng did not immediately order them to advance.

He ordered the 11th Division to continue shelling, launching a saturation bombardment of the interior of the Sannomaru, known as "ground bombardment."

After several rounds of bombardment, destroying most of the defensive structures inside the Sannomaru, Aoto finally allowed Nagakura Shinpachi and his men to begin their advance.

"Second Division! Follow me!"

"Third Division, advance!"

"Sixth Division! Attack!"

Three forces surged toward the breach in the city wall like a tidal wave, storming into the shattered Sanno Maru.

To be honest, it was a boring battle.

The soldiers of the Mito Army had never seen such a fierce barrage of cannon fire.

The Shinsengumi destroyed their heavily relied-upon castle without firing a single shot, using only a few cannonballs... The impact of this was like a bolt from the blue!

Their morale was already low, and when faced with the charging, fierce warriors, they collapsed without even putting up a proper resistance.

In fact, even disregarding the equipment gap, the Mito army was no match for the Shinsengumi in terms of individual bravery.

While the Shinsengumi fought valiantly in the Kyoto region, successively confronting formidable enemies such as the peasant army, the Choshu army, and the Hoju Party, the soldiers of the Mito army remained in the peaceful Kanto region, never experiencing the baptism of war.

Their understanding of war was limited to what storytellers told them.

A group of greenhorns meet seasoned veterans... the outcome is self-evident.

The offensive of Nagakura Shinpachi and his men was as easy as taking candy from a baby. They encountered only sporadic resistance along the way and suffered very minor casualties before completely suppressing Sannomaru.