I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 741 Qingteng attacks Takatori Castle alone! 【5200】

After hearing what Kawagami Hikosai said, Yoshimura Tontaro's eyes became complicated and unspeakable again.

The other party’s voice continues:

"Gaochei City is one of the few fortified cities in the world."

"We are sitting in a unique location... In this case, why should we not continue to fight?"

"Even if we only have this few troops left, as long as we are determined to die and defend the city, we will have a chance to turn defeat into victory!"

"The number of troops under that Ju Qingden's command is only 3,000."

"Even if we only have a few hundred soldiers available to defend the city, it's enough to make Ju Qingden helpless!"

"If he launches a forceful attack without hesitation, he will definitely knock out a lot of his teeth!"

"If he can't attack for a long time, he will have no choice but to withdraw his troops, even if he is itching with hatred."

"At that time, our vitality and chance of victory will come!"

Speaking of this, Kawagami Hikosai paused, seeming to be brewing emotions.

"Your name is 'Yoshimura Torataro', right?"

"Yoshimura-kun, make up your mind!"

"Are you going to gather your troops and fight against Takano Castle?"

"Or do you just admit defeat in such a dejected manner and become a lost dog?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Yoshimura Tontaro.

"..."

Yoshimura Tontaro lowered his head and stared at his toes, making it difficult for people to see clearly the expression on his face.

About 5 seconds later, he slowly raised his head, revealing his bloodshot eyes.

"How could you just admit defeat like that!"

He gritted his teeth.

"Nasu-kun, Kawagami-kun, thank you."

"Thanks to you, I'm completely awake!"

"At the beginning of the incident, I had already made up my mind to 'do it or die'!"

"How can there be any reason to run away from the situation now?"

"I want to fight!"

"I will fight to the end!"

"I will fight until the end!"

Speaking of this, Yoshimura Tontaro suddenly turned his head and looked at his comrades.

"What about you? What do you think?"

"If you want to continue fighting alongside me, I warmly welcome you!"

"If you want to leave, then go ahead. I will never blame you or stop you."

"The battle ahead will be brutal."

"In such a cruel battle, people with weak will will not only be of no use, but will actually hold us back!"

"So if anyone wants to quit, just leave!"

Matsumoto Kuitou followed Yoshimura Torataro's example and gritted his teeth.

"Mr. Yoshimura, what are you talking about!"

"Like you, I put life and death aside when I decided to start an uprising!"

"I will fight too! Even if I die, I will fight to the death!"

Led by Yoshimura Tontaro and Matsumoto Keitou, the atmosphere at the scene was completely "ignited".

The rest made passionate declarations in twos and threes:

"Me too!"

"That's right! We still have Takatori Castle! We haven't reached the end of our rope yet!"

"Even if we are defeated in the end, we will make the damn Shinsengumi pay a heavy price!"

……

Looking at his re-energized comrades, Yoshimura Tontaro silently squeezed both hands, and then looked at Kawakami Hikosai seriously:

"Heshang-kun, can you please give us a helping hand!"

Heshang Yanzhai smiled slightly:

"my pleasure!"

"It's just to support you that we went all the way here!"

"As a dignified and honorable man, how can I surrender to the shameless and despicable lackey of the shogunate?"

……

……

The flag with the word "Cheng" in gold letters on a red background fluttered in the wind.

On the vast land, a light green dragon meanders forward.

As the order to "go out" was issued, three thousand soldiers and four thousand auxiliary soldiers, a total of seven thousand, a so-called one hundred thousand army, marched southward in such a mighty manner, with the frontline pointed directly at Gaochei City!

The seventh and ninth division teams play forward.

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th Divisions are in the center.

The fifth division and the sixth division followed closely, responsible for protecting the baggage troops.

The 10th Division is located at the end, watching the "butt" for the entire army.

Qingdeng still carries forward his heroic nature of "personal investigation".

He left Hijikata Toshizo to command the army. He led Kondo Isamu, Shannan Keisuke and others, as well as a small number of guards, to rush to the next battlefield in advance.

After a whole day's trek, they finally arrived at the foot of Gaotori Castle.

Kondo Isamu's eyes widened with a dull look on his face.

"What's this……?"

Shannan Keisuke on the side responded calmly:

"This is Takatori Castle."

"I know this is Takatori Castle! What I mean is: is our next goal to attack this mountain?!"

You must see the true appearance of Takatori Castle with your own eyes in order to deeply understand what "a castle built on a mountain 584 meters above sea level" means!

In front of Qingdeng and others, they saw a group of winding and verdant mountains, with a peak reaching into the sky and several running water surrounding it.

The cliffs are like carvings, and the mountains and forests are lush and green.

Perhaps it was because of the rain last night that misty clouds lingered on the mountain tops, making the outline of the mountains blurry.

Gaotori Castle is hidden in this cloud.

Anyone with better eyesight can see a majestic and majestic city standing majestically on the top of the mountain.

Covered and set off by clouds and mist, it looks like a fairyland where gods live.

Gaotori Castle is a mountain city with an irregular shape and continuous outline.

The so-called "continuous style" is a design in which the Honmaru is juxtaposed with other Ninomaru, Sannomaru and other curved wheels.

[Note: Kurun: Different areas in the city separated by hills, stone walls or earthen ramparts, such as Honmaru (the center of the castle), Ninomaru, Sanonomaru (areas expanding outward with Honmaru as the center), Nishinomaru Maru (area to the west of the main maru), Mizuno Tezukarin (a melon with a water source such as a well). 】

At first glance, Takatori Castle looks like a big octopus clinging tightly to the mountain peak.

If you had better eyesight, you would be able to see a large number of flags flying on Takatori Castle.

The most eye-catching flag among them is the one placed on the castle tower with the words "Seven Lives of Thieves Destroyed and the Empress of Heaven to Watch" written in large characters.

Shannan Jingshu saw this and said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Ju, the most undesirable situation has occurred...the Tenchu ​​team has gathered the remaining soldiers and is preparing to fight us in a cage battle."

Qingdeng looked as usual and said calmly:

"No need to lament, this is something we have expected a long time ago. Anyway, let's observe it carefully now."

As he spoke, he tightened the reins in his hands, tapped the cow's belly lightly, and ran towards the foot of the mountain not far away.

……

……

Two days later, various units of the Shinsengumi arrived at the foot of the mountain one after another.

The same thing as before - continue to practice Qingdeng's combat strategy of "be invincible first and wait for the enemy to be victorious".

The old guys from the Shinsengumi show off their power again.

The four thousand auxiliary soldiers serving as logistics personnel also put down the carts in their hands and rice bags on their shoulders, picked up hoes and shovels, and joined in the process of digging soil and building walls.

Under the guidance of professionals, trenches, fences, and wooden walls were built at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Shinsengumi surrounded every road down the mountain and reinforced the blockade with fortifications.

Unless the people in Gaotori City grew wings, they would never be able to escape such a tight siege.

On the night when the entire army arrived at the foot of the mountain, Qingto held a military meeting in which all cadres from the squad leader and above were present.

……

……

Shinsengumi camp, main formation——

Shannan Keisuke stood and reported the battlefield situation to everyone present.

"There are five key facilities in Gaotori City."

"From north to south, they are the Kunimilu, Sannomaru, Ninomaru, Honmaru, and the castle tower."

Oar - a very classic defensive facility in Japanese cities.

It can be understood as a towering bunker, which can be used as a watchtower or an arrow tower.

"Yesterday, we sent out the fifth and eighth divisions to launch a feint attack on Gaotori City to test the enemy's defensive strength."

"As a result, the soldiers of the 5th and 8th divisions couldn't even climb over the city wall, and they were killed and injured as many as they went up."

As soon as these words came out, Shinami Nishiki and Toudo Heisuke both buried their heads with shame on their faces.

Upon seeing this, Shannan Jingshu immediately said:

"Arimi-kun, Toudou-kun, please raise your heads, I'm not blaming you."

"Takatori Castle is a famous city that is unparalleled in the world. Just climbing a mountain that is more than 5 towns high is not easy."

"It's natural that we will end up like this." [Note: 1 town = 109 meters]

Shannan Keisuke did not say "You will end up like this", but quietly changed the subject to "we".

Shannan Keisuke can always speak accurately and take care of everyone's emotions. This is also a big reason why his popularity is so good.

"Let's get back to the topic - the enemy's resistance is much stronger than we expected."

"Judging from such a strong defense, the total number of enemy troops currently trapped in Gaotori City is at least three hundred."

Three hundred - upon hearing this number, everyone at the scene frowned.

Nagakura Shinpachi directly questioned:

"Why are there so many people? Didn't we kill them to pieces in the previous battle? Where did they conjure up 300 men?"

Hijikata Toshizo answered for Shannan Keisuke:

"There are only two possibilities."

"First, the enemy has deployed a large number of defenders in Gaotori Castle."

"Secondly, the enemy has received foreign aid."

"Judging from the current situation, the only force that has the spare capacity to send reinforcements to Takatori Domain in a short period of time is Choshu."

Shannan Keisuke nodded gently and answered:

"Why the enemy still has so many troops, we can't figure it out."

"All in all, they have now adopted a posture of 'vowing to live or die with Gaotori City and fight to the bitter end'."

"It's a difficult situation."

"The hillsides on the south, east and west sides of Kotori Castle are very steep."

"Only the northern slopes are a little gentler."

"If you want to storm Gaochei City, the only feasible attack route is to attack from the north."

"However, the construction idea of ​​Gaotori Castle was originally based on the idea that the siege party can only attack from the north."

"If we attack from the north, we must capture Kunimilu, Sannomaru and Ninomaru before we can reach the Honmaru and the castle tower."

"In other words - we have to penetrate the entire Takatori Castle!"

"According to this method of fighting, we will have to leave behind at least three to four hundred corpses before we can even claim victory."

"Therefore, in my opinion, the wisest choice at the moment is to fight a war of troops and food."

"The Choshu Army has been defeated and returned to the domain."

"The Tianzhu team currently does not have any foreign aid and can only be trapped in the isolated city."

"We only need to trap them to death and make it difficult for them to obtain supplies. Sooner or later, they will be cornered and Gaotori City can be recaptured without spending a single soldier."

Japan is a mountainous country, with not much else but mountains and hills, so many cities are built on steep terrain.

And Japan happens to be a country with very underdeveloped productivity and lacks firearms, especially artillery.

In the absence of artillery, they can only rely on the sea of ​​​​people and fighting spirit to chew through these tortoise shell-like fortified cities.

Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful man who almost ended the Warring States Period, suffered repeated setbacks when attacking Ishiyama Honganji Temple (today's Osaka).

It took him a full 10 years to finally conquer this fortified city.

Therefore, in ancient Japan, the most limited method of siege was the battle of soldiers and supplies.

"Taiko" Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a good player in the battle of soldiers and food.

Because he was good at fighting for soldiers and food, he left behind the idiom "Kill Miki when thirsty, kill Tottori when hungry".

As soon as Shannan Keisuke finished speaking, a refutation came from behind:

"I object!"

Isamu Kondo raised his voice.

"A war for soldiers and rations? Is this going to last until the Year of the Monkey?"

"Gaotori City is adjacent to a river, so there is no way to cut off their water source."

"Without being able to cut off their water source, it would be impossible to force them to surrender just by relying on pure hunger for a year and a half!"

"A famous city like Gaotori Castle must have sufficient supplies."

"If there is a war for soldiers and rations, there is no telling who will run out of rations first!"

Anyone with a little common sense knows that if you don't have anything to eat, you won't have any problems for at least 1 or 2 months, but if you don't have water to drink, you won't be able to survive even 3 days.

Kondo Isamu’s words continued:

"In my opinion, we should go all out and launch a strong attack! Take back Gaotori Castle with brute force!"

Having said this, Kondo Isamu stood up and approached the map in the center.

"Everyone, please look!"

Hearing what he said, everyone at the scene leaned forward and looked at the detailed map on the central table.

Just the day before yesterday, Seito and others found the escaped monarchs and ministers of Takatori Domain.

Naturally, the monarchs and ministers of the Takatori domain were filled with gratitude to the Shinsengumi who came to liberate their territory.

To support them, they provided detailed maps of Takatori Castle.

Isamu Kondo stretched out his finger and pointed at the map:

"You see, the defenses to the south of Honmaru are very empty."

"As long as you climb over the high wall on the south side, you can get directly to the main pill!"

"Therefore, I advocate dividing the troops into two groups."

"Attack all the way from the north to attract the enemy's attention."

"The other way is to sneak across to the south and attack Honmaru by surprise!"

The biggest feature of the chain-style castle is that the Honmaru, Ninomaru and other curved wheels are side by side, rather than one layer inside another like a Russian matryoshka doll.

This will make the two sides of the main pill weak.

To make up for this shortcoming, other auxiliary defense facilities were usually built next to the honmaru.

However, Gaotori City is not like this.

The defenses on its south side were empty and directly adjacent to the city wall.

As long as you climb over this wall, you can get directly to the main pill.

Of course, the reason why the craftsmen who built Takatori Castle left such a "big gap" is actually very simple - there are towering cliffs to the south, and there is a river running through it.

It is not that easy to surprise Honmaru from the south.

Sure enough, Kondo Isamu's proposal immediately received opposition from Shannan Keisuke.

"Kondo-kun, I can understand your thinking."

"Indeed, war for supplies has risks that are difficult to avoid."

"But your plan is also full of risks."

"With all due respect, at this stage, we do not have the troops capable of climbing over the cliff south of Honmaru."

"Even the first, second, and third divisions, which are all elite teams, can't do this."

"Not to mention the success rate, even if we win in the end, there will definitely be countless casualties."

"No matter what, we must avoid the situation of 'killing one thousand enemies and damaging oneself eight hundred'!"

"It took us a lot of effort to accumulate this little wealth, but just to deal with these low-class rebels, we lost so many soldiers and horses. It's really not worth the gain!"

Shannan Keisuke's rebuttal did not receive a response from Kondo Isamu.

Isamu Kondo lowered his eyelids, looking as if he wanted to argue with the other party to the end.

Shannan Keisuke stared at Kondo Isamu without timidity - I will not change my opinion - he said this with his eyes.

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly interrupted the argument between the two.

"...Okay, everyone, sit down."

Kondo Isamu and Shannan Keisuke were both stunned, and then turned to look at Aoto on the main seat in perfect agreement.

After hesitating for a while, the two of them sat back on the horse in no particular order with complicated expressions.

Qingdeng's sudden voice made everyone at the scene look at him subconsciously.

When everyone's eyes were focused on him, Qingdeng folded his arms in front of his chest and said quietly:

"I, as early as the first day I arrived here, I thought of a wonderful way to destroy the city."

His words immediately cheered up everyone present.

One by one, they sat upright and looked at Qingdeng expectantly.

Qingdeng pointed at the map:

"The cliffs south of the Honmaru are too steep."

"Crossing the southern city wall and attacking Honmaru by surprise... This plan is not very realistic."

Hearing this, Isamu Kondo had a look of frustration on his cheeks, while Keisuke Shannan looked happy.

However, Qingdeng's next words made his facial muscles freeze.

"But fighting a war for soldiers and supplies is not what I want."

"I don't want to waste too much manpower, material resources and time on this group of thieves."

"So, here's my plan—"

"A Wu and I, who have outstanding physical skills, will serve as the 'Special Forces'."

"We will launch a sudden attack at the city wall between Kunimilu and Sannomaru."

"After climbing over the city wall and entering the city, I will attack directly to the south... that is, attack the Honmaru to attract the enemy's attention."

"As for Ah Wu, he took advantage of the chaos to attack north, opened the gate to the north of Gaotou City, and led the army into the city."

"The above is my plan."

Qingdeng finished speaking.

The whole place was completely silent...with gasps interspersed among them.

No one spoke... or didn't know what to say.

Everyone's expression was dominated by intense shock.

After a moment, the general manager said slowly and dumbfounded:

"Tachibana-kun, are you planning to... capture Takatori Castle alone?"

Qingdeng replied calmly:

"If it's possible... I'll try to make it happen."

*******

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