I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

……

That night--

Fushimi, Fushimi Magistrate's Office, "Military Council Room"—

Defeating the "Southern Army" in a head-on confrontation and successfully defending Fushimi, the Shinsengumi reversed yesterday's decline in one fell swoop... No matter how you look at it, today's battle was undoubtedly a great victory for the Shinsengumi!

However... at this moment, Qing Deng and the others did not celebrate their victory.

In the temporary "military council room" of the Fushimi Magistrate's Office, the high-ranking members of the Shinsengumi gathered together.

Qing Deng sat upright in the main seat.

The captains, led by Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami, sat in order on either side of him.

Every single one of them had a stern face and a solemn expression, with some even looking angry.

In front of them, right in the center of the "military council chamber," lay a young warrior.

The man was covered in blood and his face was etched with weariness.

Judging from the childishness in his eyes... he was at most 13 or 4 years old, too young to be on the battlefield.

Just now, he solemnly introduced himself.

His name was Iinuma Sadakichi, and he was an envoy from Aizu.

This afternoon, just as the Battle of Fushimi was drawing to a close, he broke through numerous obstacles and successfully arrived in Fushimi, bringing the devastating news that "the northern front has fallen and Ōtsu is in grave danger"...

Upon learning the news, Qing Deng and the others' joy vanished instantly... Compared to the defeat of the Aizu army, the victory in the Battle of Fushimi was nothing!

And so, this scene was created—now is not the time to celebrate!

Qingdeng and others quickly convened a military meeting, eager to know what had happened on the northern front.

Because Iinuma Sadakichi was so exhausted that even sitting up was difficult, Aoto specially allowed him to lie on the ground and talk.

Before the military council could officially begin, the hot-tempered Serizawa Kamo gritted his teeth, abruptly raised his head, glared fiercely at Iinuma Sadakichi, his eyes burning with rage, and impatiently rebuked:

"What exactly are you Aizu up to? You've been sabotaging us time and time again! I used to think Aizu was a reliable ally! But now it seems that's not the case at all!"

Faced with Serizawa Kamo's harsh rebuke, Iinuma Sadakichi bit his lip, his already pale face turning even paler.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to want to argue.

However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a single word.

Serizawa Kamo's rebuke was merciless and particularly harsh, but... his words were incisive and left no room for rebuttal.

In fact, Serizawa Kamo was simply speaking for the people present.

Serizawa Kamo is not the only one feeling indignant right now.

Nagakura Shinpachi, Shinmi Nishiki... many people present showed obvious anger on their faces.

Even Qing Deng's expression was very serious.

It's no wonder they acted that way.

The recent performance of the Aizu army... is truly a complete mess!

A year ago, during the "Chōshū Expedition," when Aoto led the Shinsengumi back to Kanto to aid the region, he entrusted the "Chōshū Expeditionary Army" to Matsudaira Katamori.

However, due to his lack of ability, he was sidelined by Saigo Kinosuke, and the Choshu Expeditionary Army was forced to disband, causing the "Chōshū Expedition" to fail.

Immediately afterwards, the Keio Incident broke out.

The Aizu soldiers, who were supposed to guard the palace, were left empty-handed, allowing Iwakura Tomomi to brazenly abduct the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the two sacred treasures.

Then came today's "defeat on the northern front"...

Aoto did not have high expectations for the Aizu army.

He didn't look down on the Aizu Army, but rather that the Aizu Army's "military reform" started too late.

Although they worked hard to introduce Western military systems and new weapons with the full support of the French officer corps, the time was too short for any fundamental changes to take place.

In short, the Aizu army was at best a feudal army that knew how to use firearms, and its combat effectiveness was clearly outdated.

Qing Deng did not expect them to defeat the "Northern Army." He only wanted to hold the northern front, prevent them from advancing south, and protect the flank of the Shinsengumi.

Unexpectedly... even this level of requirement was not met by the Aizu army...

Therefore, expecting Qingdeng to have a pleasant expression is truly asking the impossible!

Sitting next to Serizawa Kamo, Inoue Genzaburo tugged at his sleeve, trying to get him to say less.

Serizawa Kamo ignored him, shook his arm, shook off Inoue Genzaburo's hand, and wanted to say something more.

But Qing Deng raised his hand first to signal him to be quiet.

Serizawa Kamo was taken aback upon seeing this, and then his face showed displeasure.

He would never dare to disobey Qingdeng.

Therefore, he suppressed his temper, pursed his lips, snorted coldly, and said no more.

Aoto lowered his left hand, which had been stopping Serizawa Kamo, and then stared intently at Iinuma Sadakichi in front of him, saying in a deep voice:

"...Iinuma-kun, what exactly happened on the northern front? I need the most detailed and accurate account."

"Yes……"

Iinuma Sadakichi took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

"Three days ago, at dawn, the 'usurper army' (the Northern Shogunate army) arrived in northern Omi..."

According to Iinuma Sadakichi's detailed account, Aoto and others gradually learned the whole story of the Aizu army's great defeat.

Initially, the two armies faced each other from a distance and did not immediately engage in battle.

The Aizu army numbered 3,000, while the Hokushogunate army numbered 4,000. The difference in troop strength between the two sides was not significant, and both sides had great potential for both offense and defense.

Therefore, a group of generals, led by Sagawa Kanbei, known as "Aizu's fiercest general," requested to take the initiative to attack.

If all goes well, it will be able to directly crush the "Northern Army," or at the very least, give them a taste of their power.

However, Matsudaira Katamori, mindful of Aoto's instruction to "just hold the northern line," was unwilling to take any risks and thus rejected the request.

Thus, the two sides remained locked in a stalemate, waging a "sit-in war," with neither side taking the initiative to provoke a conflict.

This "silence" lasted until this morning.

Today, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the battle suddenly broke out!

Countless shells rained down, piercing the sky and turning the Aizu army camp into an inferno!

The firepower of the "Northern Expeditionary Army" far exceeded the expectations of the Aizu Army's high command! Their bombardment lasted for a full half hour!

The shells rained down relentlessly, as if they were free, and their accuracy was remarkably high; almost every shell hit the Aizu army camp with pinpoint accuracy. Many fortifications were destroyed and rendered unusable.

The Aizu army's artillery certainly retaliated, but they were outnumbered by an order of magnitude in both the quantity of shells and the accuracy of their fire.

They barely made it through the shelling, but the real nightmare was yet to come.

The Northern Expeditionary Army's general attack followed immediately after the artillery barrage.

Thousands of soldiers, carrying the "three-leaf hollyhock flag," charged straight toward the Aizu army's position.

The soldiers of the Aizu Army were astonished to discover that there was a "Western Army" composed of Westerners on the other side!

Their numbers were around two thousand, and their combat strength was outstanding! Whether firing rifles or charging with bayonets, they demonstrated amazing resilience and discipline!

With just one charge, the Aizu soldiers were routed.

It is no exaggeration to say that the main reason for the Aizu army's defeat was this "Western army".

The Aizu army soldiers fought bravely, but they were no match for these Westerners. They were routed and ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

At this point, Iinuma Sadakichi could no longer control his emotions.

He endured the pain and exhaustion, barely managing to prop himself up, staring intently at Qingdeng, his eyes filled with tears.

"Lord Niou! We are not cowards! Nor are we worthless pieces of mud!"

He pounded the ground with his fist as he spoke, his voice trembling with tears.

"We truly risked our lives! We held out until we could no longer continue before we withdrew from northern Omi!"

"Of the three thousand soldiers, only a little over a thousand returned...!"

At this point, he could no longer speak and collapsed to the ground, sobbing softly.

Three thousand men were reduced to just over a thousand... Even in modern times, this is an extremely high casualty rate!

Upon hearing this number, Serizawa Kamo, Nagakura Shinpachi, and the others, who had just been feeling indignant, all calmed down.

Qingdeng and the others were already aware of the specific details.

A somber atmosphere began to permeate the air.

Kondo Isami smacked his lips:

"A legion entirely composed of Westerners... Could they be Western mercenaries?"

Hijikata Toshizo nodded slightly:

"Probably."

Yamanami Keisuke frowned:

"Can mercenaries really be that powerful?"

An army capable of crushing the Aizu army... Just from this description, one can tell that this army is anything but ordinary.

At this moment, Qing Deng seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes flickered slightly.

His innate "Emperor's Art" activated—he concealed the change in his expression, feigning nonchalance, and calmly spoke:

"We can leave the true nature of this 'Western army' for later. Let's think about how to break out of the current predicament first."

These words intensified the somber atmosphere at the scene.

One fact is crystal clear right now—the collapse of the northern front has put them in an extremely passive and predicament!

With the Aizu army no longer blocking their way, the "Northern Expeditionary Army" has seized the opportunity to move south, aiming its sword at Ōtsu!