I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 811: Split into two groups! The surprise attack begins! [Leopard Update 6K1]

As the Shinsengumi's military strategist, as soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Yamanami Keisuke immediately understood what he meant.

"Tachibana-kun, this is too risky! In my opinion, at the very least, we should cancel tonight's 'Yamaboko Parade'! Otherwise, wouldn't it put the lives of the people of the entire town in grave danger?"

Just as Shannan Keisuke finished speaking, Hijikata Toshizo shrugged his shoulders:

"Shannan, unfortunately, my opinion is the same as Ju's."

"Canceling tonight's 'Yamaboko Parade' is no different from yelling at all the Sonjo warriors in Kyoto: 'Watch out! We the Shinsengumi are here to arrest you'?"

"Although this is very risky... but as Tachibana just said, tonight is not only a crisis of 'Kyoto's destruction', but also a good opportunity to 'destroy the Sonjo faction'!"

After hearing this, Shannan Jingzhu frowned and looked like he was in deep thought.

  At this time, Qing Deng spoke again:

"Looking back, we were always in the light, and the traitors were always in the dark."

"And now, the positions of both parties have finally been reversed."

"The Zunyang faction stood in the open, while we hid in the dark."

"Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro and others don't know that Furutaka Shuntaro has confessed everything."

"We already know that the Sonnang faction will hold a summit meeting tonight, but the latter knows nothing about it."

"If we fail to make good use of this rare intelligence gap and thus miss the precious opportunity to severely damage the Zunyang faction, wouldn't it be heartbreaking?"

"Mobilizing a large force to blockade Kyoto is absolutely not feasible."

"Kyoto is too big. The most we can do is block the main roads out of the capital."

"As for those remote and bizarre trails, we simply can't take care of them all."

"Even if we ask for help from the Aizu and Satsuma armies, we won't be able to completely blockade Kyoto. We will only let Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro and others slip away from under our noses."

"All that being said, I still stick to my idea."

"Gather the best men in the Shinsengumi—all the captains and vice-captains! Assemble them in small units and raid the Sonnō Faction meeting!"

Qing Deng finished.

His tone was sonorous and powerful, and his words revealed an unquestionable firm aura.

However, Yamanami Keisuke gave up his own idea.

  After a moment's thought, he whispered:

"That being said...if we only send out the captain and the vice-captain, the number of people is too small."

"Ms. Sanako and Miss Mai are both pregnant and unable to participate in the battle."

"Yamazaki-kun is not good at fighting."

"Even if you include everyone present here, the total combat strength is only a little over 20 people."

"We don't know the exact number of people on the other side or how many experts they have."

"They might even carry hidden arrows, pistols and other weapons."

"In any case, I still think it's too risky to attack the Sonnong Faction's meeting with such a small number of people."

  Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"That's just right!"

"A small number of people means flexible movement, easy hiding, and less likely to be discovered."

"Tonight's battle is all about 'strangeness'."

"Be fast, hide your whereabouts, and attack fiercely!"

"If we mobilize a hundred or eighty people, not to mention that the movement will be slow, the huge noise alone will be enough to scare away Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro and others."

After listening to this, Shannan Keisuke pursed his lips.

After a while, he sighed silently and said no more.

It seemed that he had agreed with Qing Deng's statement and no longer refuted it.

However, at this moment, Hijikata Toshizo suddenly poured a bucket of cold water on the scene.

"The only problem now is ... we haven't confirmed the location and time of the meeting yet."

"If we don't even know when and where the enemy will appear, then there's no way we can launch a surprise attack."

Qingdeng nodded lightly:

"We can only hope that Squad 9 can find accurate and correct intelligence as soon as possible."

"We don't need to bother with this kind of luck-testing thing for now."

"We just need to do our best now and wait for fate later!"

Having said this, he raised his eyes and swept his gaze across the faces of Hijikata Toshizo and others.

"After gathering all the captains and vice-captains, go to Kyoto in batches!"

"The meeting place is the Gion Kaisha in Gion!"

  After Qing Deng finished speaking, Hijikata Toshizo, Kondo Isami, and Yamanami Keisuke immediately sat up straight and shouted in unison:

"Yes!"

……

……

  Once the military order is issued, everyone rushes to fight!

Who knows how many Sonjo-ha spies are closely monitoring the Chinfu in Otsu and the Shinsengumi garrison in Mibu-go, Kyoto.

In order to maintain the utmost confidentiality, Qing Deng tried every possible means.

First of all, including Qing Deng, everyone hid their identities, put on hats and cloaks, mounted fast horses, and went to Kyoto in batches.

Since the patriots have come up with a bunch of fake actions to confuse their judgment, Qingdeng will use their own method to treat them.

He dispatched a large number of people, either towards Kanto, Osaka, or Nagasaki, all of whom concealed their figures and faces, making it impossible for the Sonjo faction's spies to judge what the Shinsengumi was going to do, or to tell who these people who were rushing to all corners of the world were, in order to hide their true intentions.

In addition, he deliberately spread the news that "Nio is going to watch the 'Yamaboko Parade' tonight and have fun with the people", creating the illusion that "Tachibana Aoto is careless and does not know that something big will happen tonight."

After Qing Deng and others secretly arrived in Kyoto, they did not go to the garrison in Mibu-go - where the most Sonjo faction spies were located - but went straight to the Gion Club in Gion and gathered there.

It was naturally impossible for Qing Deng to bring all his elite troops to Kyoto, so he had to leave some people in Otsu to prevent any unexpected events.

So he asked Yamanami Keisuke to stay in Otsu, and also left behind Ito Koshitaro, Takeda Kanryusai and others.

Finally, the list of personnel heading to Kyoto to participate in tonight's battle is as follows:

The general is Ju Qingdeng.

Deputy Chief: Hijikata Toshizo.

Director Kondo Isami.

The captain and vice-captain of the first team are Tachibana Tsukasa and Shimazaki Kai.

The captain and vice-captain of the second squad are Shinpachi Nagakura and Noboru Nakajima.

The captain and vice-captain of the third squad are Saito Hajime and Nakazawa Sadaki.

The captain and vice-captain of the 4th Division are Kamo Serizawa and Sanjuro Tani.

The captain and vice-captain of the 5th Division are Niimi Nishiki and Tani Mantaro.

The captain and vice-captain of the 6th Division are Genzaburo Inoue and the accountant Soma.

The vice-captain of the 7th Division, Koto Nakazawa.

The captain and vice-captain of the 8th Division are Fujido Heisuke and Yoshimura Kanichiro.

The captain and vice-captain of the 10th Division are Harada Sanosuke and Matsubara Tadashi.

A total of 20 people.

Except for the captain of the 7th Division, Sanako, the captain and vice-captain of the 9th Division, Mai Tachibana and Samurai Yamazaki, and the captain and vice-captain of the 11th Division, Juro Abe and Risaburo Nomura, the captains and vice-captains of each Shinsengumi division all participated in tonight's battle!

It is no exaggeration to say that this is undoubtedly an all-star lineup of the Shinsengumi!

  Since the "August 18th Coup", the Shinsengumi has not carried out any military operations of this scale!

The Kyoto warriors and common people who were celebrating the Gion Festival and the Sonjo patriots who were still kept in the dark probably never imagined that at this very moment, the strongest and most skilled members of the Shinsengumi had quietly entered Kyoto and gathered at the Gion Club!

Gion Kaisho - The government agency responsible for overseeing Gion.

The hall is located in front of the Jissho-in gate, which is responsible for carrying out the affairs and rituals of Gionsha, and the area is sparsely populated.

  Qingdeng specifically chose this place as the starting point for the attack!

……

……

That day, in the evening——

Kyoto, Gion, Gion Club——

  Before the people arrived, Nagakura Shinpachi's loud voice arrived first:

"The armor is here! Everyone line up to receive it!"

Nagakura Shinpachi, Shimada Kai and Nakajima Noboru each carried a large wooden box and ran into the Gion Club at great speed.

Then three muffled sounds of "bang", "bang", and "bang" were heard, and they put down the large wooden boxes on their shoulders one after another.

Open the box - it is filled with shiny pieces of armor.

Chain mail, hand armor, foot armor and forehead guard, all of which were quietly taken from the Mibu Village Village just now.

Everyone lined up in an orderly manner, received their armor, and put it on one by one.

……

"Huh...huh...huh...huh...huh..."

The vice-captain of the 10th Division, Matsubara Tadashi, stood alone in an open space with his legs apart and his back bent, swinging the large naginata in his hand like a windmill. While stretching his muscles, he repeatedly took deep breaths to adjust his emotions and suppress his pounding heart.

  Harada Sanosuke noticed that Matsubara Tadashi was nervous, walked over with a smile and said:

"Matsuhara, don't be nervous!"

"This mission is easy! No need to use your brain! Kill any enemy you encounter. It's that simple!"

"Let's chat and relax."

"Do you know how I got this scar on my stomach? When I was still in the middle of Iyo-Matsuyama Domain, a jerk called me a 'minor official who didn't even know the etiquette of seppuku'..."

  Songyuan Zhongsi immediately showed a bitter face:

"Captain, I have heard this story thousands of times..."

……

Saito Ichi: “…”

Nakazawa Sadagi: “…”

The captain and vice-captain of the third squad sat facing each other, sharpening their blades in silence.

At this moment, Nakazawa Sadaki suddenly and very rarely took the initiative to ask Saito Ichi who was sitting opposite him:

"Mr. Saito, do you think the operation tonight will go smoothly?"

In response to Nakazawa Sadagi's question, Saito Ichi did not immediately answer, but said calmly:

"Nakazawa, don't talk while you're sharpening the blade. If you're not paying attention, you can easily hurt yourself. Besides, I don't want to see your spit on my knife."

"Sorry...I was abrupt."

Nakazawa Sadaki thought the conversation would end there.

  Unexpectedly, Saito Ichi continued to talk on his own:

"Nakazawa, you think too much."

"Whether the battle went well tonight is not something we should be thinking about."

"We are swordsmen who wield swords to kill our enemies."

"In this case, the only thing we have to do is to obey Mr. Tachibana's orders and swing our swords without hesitation when we meet the enemy."

"Anything beyond this is not within our consideration."

Nakazawa Sadaki stared at Saito Hajime in a daze.

As far as he could remember, this was the first time he had heard Saito Ichi talk so much - luckily no one heard his reflections, otherwise that person would have sighed: In terms of being taciturn, you, Nakazawa Sadaki, are not much better, so where do you get the confidence to laugh at someone who is only fifty steps ahead of you and a hundred steps ahead of you?

About 5 seconds later, Nakazawa Sadaki slowly recovered from his surprise of "Saito Ichi can talk so much" and nodded solemnly: "Yes, you are right."

……

Serizawa Ya and Niimi Nishiki leaned against the wall, drinking cool water to cool off and chatting idly.

"Serizawa, think about it, the August 18th coup happened almost a year ago."

"We have been doing nothing all year, with no big battles to fight."

"I feel like my body is rusting away."

"We can finally have a good fight this time."

As he spoke, Niimi Jin showed an expression full of emotion.

  After hearing this, Serizawa Duck shrugged and sneered:

"Humph! That's hard to say!"

As he spoke, he turned his head to look out the window at the sky that was gradually turning dark black.

"It's getting darker and darker, but as of now, the meeting time and place have not been confirmed."

"Whether we can catch all those bastards in one fell swoop is still a question."

"To put it bluntly, we may end up with nothing tonight."

……

"I am back!"

Fujido Heisuke, who was sweating all over, took off the Sojuro headscarf he was wearing as a disguise as soon as he returned to the club.

  Inoue Genzaburo went over and asked:

"What's the situation outside?"

  Fujido Heisuke smiled bitterly and said:

"There are more and more pedestrians on the street. There are people everywhere. In some places, it is almost impossible to walk."

  Inoue Genzaburo looked helpless:

"After all, today is the day of the Yamaboko Parade, so everyone is going to go see the Yamaboko."

After hearing the words "Yamaboko Patrol", Fujido Heisuke's face suddenly fell:

"Those lunatics in Choshu are planning to burn down Kyoto tonight... What a sin...!"

……

"Eh? Eh? Ah... That's weird..."

Koto Nakazawa stretched her hands behind her back, trying to pull at something - she couldn't fasten the buttons on the back of her chain mail.

His hands fumbled behind his back and his whole body was almost twisted into a knot.

Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded from behind him:

"Ms. Nakazawa, let me help you."

Before he finished speaking, Souji had already moved behind Koto Nakazawa and helped her put on the chain mail.

Because there was a big height difference between the two (Souji was 1 meters tall and Nakazawa Koto was 55 meters tall), Souji had to stand on tiptoe slightly.

"Captain Okita?!"

  Zhong Zeqin was shocked and said quickly:

"How can I ask you, the captain, to help me put on my mail?"

After marrying Qing Deng, Souji changed his name to "Tachibana Tsukasa".

However, the name "Okita Souji" is too famous.

Just like "Niou·Tachibana Aoto", "Tenken·Okita Souji" has become the golden signboard of the Shinsengumi.

Compared to "Tachibana Tsukasa", both the enemy and us are more accustomed to "Okita Souji".

Therefore, until now, most people still habitually call Souji "Captain Okita" or "Okita-kun".

The General Manager didn't mind this.

In her opinion, whether it is "Tachibana Tsukasa" or "Okita Souji", they are all referring to her, so she welcomes it no matter which name is used to call her.

  Facing Nakazawa Koto's shyness, Souji smiled:

"It's just a simple thing, you don't have to be so reserved. Okay, you're dressed."

While she was talking, she had already deftly fastened the buttons on the back of the other person's chain mail.

"Captain Okita, thank you very much!"

Koto Nakazawa stood straight with a solemn expression, and bowed to the general in a serious manner to express her gratitude.

  The general manager smiled helplessly:

"I told you, no need to be so reserved...ah, Tachibana-kun!"

At this moment, the sharp-eyed Souji keenly discovered a tall figure walking hurriedly into the club - it was Qing Deng who had just arrived in Kyoto.

Qing Deng was among the last group to go to Kyoto.

Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo followed closely on his left and right.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone at the scene stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Qing Deng.

Qingdeng waved his hand:

"You continue to stand by."

As he spoke, he, Hijikata Toshizo, and Kondo Isami walked deeper into the clubhouse and soon disappeared.

Although Qing Deng and the others didn't say anything, everyone had vaguely guessed from their expressions and actions that the Ninth Squad still hadn't found out the specific time and place of the meeting!

Seeing this, Serizawa Duck twisted his mouth:

"The situation is not optimistic..."

……

After entering the inner room of the club, Qing Deng and others randomly found an empty space and sat on the ground, forming a "品" shape.

  Hijikata Toshizo took out a map of Kyoto from his pocket and spread it out in front of the three people while explaining:

"All the soldiers of the 9th Division lurking in Kyoto have been dispatched to try their best to find the whereabouts of Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro and others, as well as the location and time of tonight's meeting."

"But unfortunately... up to now, we have not received any accurate information."

"However, based on the information we have so far, the meeting place can be basically determined to be in the northern area from Gion to Sanjo-dori."

As he spoke, he stretched out his finger and drew the range on the map.

  After reading it, Kondo Isami immediately put on a serious expression:

"Although the scope has been reduced, the area from Gion to Sanjo Avenue is still quite large..."

  He turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window, then said to Qing Deng:

"Tachibana-kun, it's getting dark and night has fallen... What should we do now?"

After he finished speaking, he stared at Qing Deng.

Hijikata Toshizo also raised his eyes and looked straight at Qing Deng, waiting for Qing Deng's instructions.

Facing the gazes of the two people, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids, lowered his eyes, and stared at the map in front of his knees without blinking, as if in deep thought.

He had been expecting the 9th Division to be able to find out the intelligence, confirm the meeting location and time, or directly find out the specific whereabouts of Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro and others.

Unfortunately... judging from the current situation, his expectation will be dashed.

It was now dark, the "Yamaboko Parade" was about to begin, and the Sonjo faction's summit meeting would probably be held soon.

  Should we continue to wait for news from the 9th Division?

Or……

  Qing Deng fell into deep thought - the decision he would make next would largely determine the fate of Kyoto tonight, and might even have a direct impact on the future!

Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro, Yoshida Toshima...these people are to the Sonnōjō faction what Hijikata Toshizo, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Saito Hajime are to the Shinsengumi.

  They are undoubtedly the backbone of the pro-Japanese faction!

If Qing Deng and his team could successfully launch a surprise attack on the meeting site and capture all of them, the impact on the Zun Nyang faction and the future would be immeasurable! It would be enough to change the course of history!

Qing Deng’s current thinking and his next decision are full of such energy!

Knowing this, Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo both held their breath and dared not make a sound. They wished they could just eliminate their own existence so as not to disturb Qing Deng.

About 10 seconds later, Qing Deng slowly raised his drooped eyelids, his gaze was firm and his eyes were shining.

"It's come to this. We won't wait for news from Squad 9."

"Since we have determined that the meeting place is in the northern area between Gion and Sanjo Bridge, let's search the entire area!"

As he spoke, he stretched out his finger and swiped on the map.

"We are divided into two groups."

"Yora is in charge of the area west of the Kamogawa River, and will patrol Kiyamachi between the Shijo Bridge and the Sanjo Bridge."

"I will be responsible for the area east of Kamo River. I will search along Nawate-dori all the way north."

"Don't let go of any of the hotels and pubs along the way. Check them one by one!"

After hearing this, Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo's expressions suddenly became stern.

They didn't say much, but said in unison:

"Yes!"

Qing Deng looked up and asked Kondo Isami:

"Yong, how many people do you want?"

  Kondo Isami slightly curled his lips and smiled confidently:

"7 people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hijikata Toshizo frowned.

"Seven? Are there enough people?"

Kondo Isami answered:

"The area east of Kamo River is huge, and Tachibana-kun needs more manpower than I do. For me, 7 people are enough!"

As he spoke, he cast a resolute look at Qing Deng.

Qing Deng was also looking at him, staring straight into his eyes.

After a moment, he slowly asked back:

"...Yong, which 7 people do you want?"

Kondo Isami answered without hesitation:

"I want Koji and Shinpachi, the rest of you are welcome."

"Just Xiao Si and Man Xin? No one else is needed?"

  Kondo Isami smiled:

"If I were to be a little greedy... I actually want Saito as well. But if Saito is taken away, the only person who can stand on his own under your command will be A-Sui."

Qing Deng smiled and said nothing.

……

……

Qing Deng, Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo walked out from the back room of the club and appeared in front of everyone.

"Everyone listen carefully!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone stood up and rushed to Qing Deng as if by reflex.

  Qing Deng scanned the entire field while loudly announcing the battle plan:

"We split into two groups!"

"Director Kondo led Tachibana Tsukasa, Nagakura Shinpachi, Inoue Genzaburo, Soma Shukei, Todo Heisuke, Yoshimura Kanichiro, and Nakazawa Koto, a total of 8 people, to search Kiyamachi west of the Kamogawa River."

"The rest of you - Hijikata Toshizo, Saito Hajime, Nakazawa Sadaki, Serizawa Kamo, Tani Sanjuro, Niimi Nishiki, Tani Mantaro, Harada Sanosuke, Matsubara Tadashi, all follow me! We will search for Nawate-dori east of the Kamogawa River!"

"above!"

“Now let’s start checking the equipment.

"In 5 minutes, we will go out to fight the thieves!"

  *******

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PS: The Gion Club where the Shinsengumi secretly gathered is now a Lawson convenience store.

I don't know if you have noticed that the people that Qing Deng transferred to Kondo Isami were all obedient children. As for troublemakers like Serizawa Kamo and Niimi Nishiki, Qing Deng kept them under his command.