I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Even so, after Sadao finished speaking, many people present were still furious.

"You bastard! What did you say?!"

"How dare you look down on us!"

"Don't think that just because you're guests you can take advantage of us!"

Howell couldn't understand Japanese, but he could guess most of what they were saying just by looking at their expressions.

He then snorted coldly, his disdainful expression deepening.

"Did I say anything wrong? It was just an attack of this magnitude, and you were beaten so badly you ran away with your tails between your legs! Not only do you not reflect on your mistakes, but you also refuse to admit them. You are truly shameless!" (in English)

Seeing the argument escalating, Sa Daoyi quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Gentlemen, please calm down! We are about to reach Dajin. If we start fighting amongst ourselves now, we will only lose a battle that we could have won!"

Sa Daoyi enjoyed considerable popularity in the Southern Dynasties.

So as soon as he spoke, the Northern Army officers, who had just been furious, immediately backed down and stopped trying to outwit him, instead glaring fiercely at Howell.

Howell shrugged, spread his hands, and gave me a "what can you do about it?" look.

Seeing this, Sa Daoyi breathed a sigh of relief—although the air was still thick with tension, at least the arguing had stopped—he cleared his throat and adopted a serious, solemn tone:

"Gentlemen, the Shinsengumi have obviously returned to Ōtsu. With a formidable enemy at hand, we must unite as one."

"Although we suffered considerable losses tonight, we successfully intimidated the enemy with the power of our guns and cannons."

"We must regroup as soon as possible and then continue our advance to capture Dajin as soon as possible!"

……

……

About eight hours later—

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, Dajin City——

"Mr. Saito, have you found Mr. Tachibana?"

Heisuke Todo looked at Hajime Saito with a nervous expression.

Saito Hajime shook his head quickly, his tense expression no less than that of his opponent.

Suddenly, Inoue Genzaburo emerged from a corner of the corridor, looking at the two of them with a blank expression.

"Huh? Saito-kun, Toudou-kun, what are you doing here?"

The two turned their heads and cast anxious glances at Inoue Genzaburo, then shouted in unison:

"Mr. Orange has disappeared!"

*******

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: Leopard is so fragile... The fatigue from the "Macau-Guangzhou day trip" the day before yesterday still hasn't recovered, and my limbs are still weak today... (crying leopard head.jpg)

Chapter 1169 Qingdeng's Incognito Visit

Qinjin Domain, Otsu, Otsu Castle, main castle (main castle), a certain room——

Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami sat facing each other; there was no one else in the room besides the two of them.

But their faces were tense, revealing solemn expressions.

"...Why not transfer more troops back from Toba?"

As soon as Kondo Isami finished speaking, Yamanami Keisuke shook his head without hesitation:

"No, the military force remaining in Toba is already at its minimum; we cannot withdraw any more troops."

"Otherwise, Toba's defenses will be too weak, which may give the Southern Army an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

The matter they are discussing right now is "how to fight against the British army".

After successfully raiding the enemy camp at night and returning safely to Otsu, Qingdeng immediately convened a military meeting to inform the generals of the various aspects of the British army.

After hearing this, all the generals adopted a solemn expression.

According to Qing Deng's account, the British forces were not only larger than they had anticipated—at least three thousand men—but also more powerful than rumored!

Without a doubt, this was the most powerful army they had ever encountered.

Without a doubt, the Battle of Otsu, which is about to break out, will be extremely fierce!

Although the Shinsengumi, as the defenders of the castle, possessed the excellent geographical advantage of Otsu Castle, the castle was ultimately only a half-finished product.

The moat, inner walls, and other crucial facilities were not yet completed. The main castle (tenshukaku) was not considered a defensive structure. Therefore, within the vast Otsu Castle, the only truly usable defensive structure was an isolated outer wall.

None of the generals, including Qing Deng, had experience in defending cities.

Since its establishment, the Shinsengumi's war history has been one of continuous attacks and pursuits.

The recently concluded Battle of Fushimi was one of the few defensive battles that Aoto and his companions had experienced.

However, this battle cannot be compared with the subsequent Battle of Otsu.

The former is street fighting, while the latter is a proper siege battle, requiring the defense of every section of the city wall. The two are completely different and cannot share combat experience.

How to efficiently deploy troops on the city wall, how to make good use of the bastion's "no blind spots" advantage... Qing Deng and his group were completely clueless about all of these.

In addition, the defenders had another significant disadvantage: after three days of bloody fighting in Toba-Fushimi, and then rushing back to Otsu at a rapid pace, the Shinsengumi and the training corps members were exhausted.

As for the soldiers of the Aizu army, their condition was even worse after their hasty retreat from northern Omi to Otsu.

The castle was in ruins, the commanders lacked experience in defending cities, and the soldiers were exhausted... Under such circumstances, could they withstand the invasion of three thousand British troops?

Despite their best efforts and utmost optimism, Yamanami Keisuke and others could not provide a positive answer to this question...

After reporting the new intelligence from the British army, Qing Deng did not take the opportunity to discuss "how to fight the British army". Instead, he directly announced "the meeting is adjourned" and went back to his room to rest. He never appeared again after that.

At this critical juncture where every second counts, the supreme leader not only failed to convene a military meeting, but instead stayed indoors, becoming a recluse... This truly made Yamanami Keisuke and others extremely anxious.

Since Qing Deng has not shown up for a long time, the only option is to organize a military council on their own.

Thus, the scene before us unfolded—Yamaminami Keisuke and Kondo Isami, both deeply concerned about the current war situation, secretly met to discuss countermeasures.

After a brief discussion, they reached a consensus—their current Achilles' heel was that they had too few troops.

If we could add three thousand more garrison troops... even just one thousand would be enough, the pressure of defending the city would be greatly reduced.

But here's the problem—where can we find reinforcements?

The Shinsengumi, the Aizu Army, the Denshutai... all the troops that could still be mobilized within the Kinai region were in Otsu.

The garrison in Toba cannot be transferred.

The domain armies of Owari, Sendai, and other domains... regardless of whether they could catch up or not, given their extremely weak fighting strength, their arrival would only be a hindrance.

So, after discussing for a long time, Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami still couldn't make any breakthroughs and remained in a "helpless" situation.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from outside the room.

Before long, a figure, panting heavily with shoulders heaving violently, was reflected on the paper sliding door.

"Mr. Yamanami! It's me, Todo Heisuke! Are you inside?"

Keisuke Yamanami raised an eyebrow:

"Yes, I am here. I am discussing the battle situation with Mr. Kondo."

"Mr. Kondo is here too? That's great! I was just asking you! Have you seen Mr. Tachibana?"

Upon hearing this question, Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami's expressions changed slightly.

Kondo Isami answered first:

"We haven't seen him since he went back to his room to rest. What happened to him?"

"Mr. Orange has disappeared!"

Keisuke Yamanami/Isamu Kondo: "What?!"

The two of them screamed in unison.

The next moment, Yamanami Keisuke strode forward, flung open the door, and stood face to face with Toudou Heisuke, his face filled with astonishment.

"Toudou-kun, what exactly happened?"

Heisuke Todo swallowed hard, moistening his lips and throat, before quickly and concisely explaining.

After listening, Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami gradually figured out the whole story.

The first person to discover Qingdeng's disappearance was Awu.

After Qingdeng went back to his room to rest, he didn't come out for an unusually long time.

As Qingdeng's bedmate, Awu knew all too well how amazing Qingdeng's recovery ability was.

Even if you are extremely tired, a short nap of one or two hours can fully restore your energy.

Driven by confusion, she went straight to Qingdeng's room.

"Qingdeng, are you still sleeping?"

quiet……

The room was completely silent.

Not receiving a response from Qingdeng, Awu felt a growing sense of foreboding and quickly asked again:

"Qingdeng, I'm coming in, okay?"

silence……

There was still no sound from inside the room.

A-Wu dared not dawdle any longer and hurriedly pulled open the door—then she saw the neat tatami mats, the folded bedding, and the open window.

Qingdeng, which should have been here, has disappeared.

A-Wu darted to the window in two quick steps and looked down—of course, she couldn't find Qing Deng, but could only spot a few footprints on the windowsill.