I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 843 Artillery Demonstrates Power! Blow Up the Choshu Army! [5200]

Kurushima Matabei had waited too long.

As a die-hard radical in the Sonnō faction, he had been looking forward to this day - Go east! Go east! Fight to Gyeonggi! Fight to Kanto! Destroy the Edo shogunate that has humiliated the country! Abolish all unequal treaties! Drive the Western barbarians back to the sea!
After a long wait and endless disappointment...the day of "Choshu Eastern Expedition" had finally come for him!

Not only was he able to realize the mission of "going all the way east", but he also had the honor of becoming the actual commander of the Fushimi battlefield... It is no exaggeration to say that ordinary words cannot accurately summarize Kurishima Matabei's excitement.

In order to show his importance to this battle and his determination to "win a great victory", he specially put on the family heirloom Fuzari Eboshi (armor) and dressed like a military general from the Warring States Period.

If he was so ambitious before, he was so exhausted now!

Although on the surface the size of this Eastern Expedition army was astonishing, with a total force of 12,000 men, to be frank, this legion was completely cobbled together.

First of all, the vast majority of the soldiers were ronin and peasants who were temporarily recruited.

They had received little or no military training.

It would be okay to just let them roar a few times and march in a line.

But they are completely unable to perform any slightly more complicated tactical moves.

As for bloody battles, tough battles, and battles against adverse circumstances, we can't count on them even more.

Thanks to the huge financial source of Shimonoseki Strait, Choshu's actual fiscal revenue reached over one million koku each year.

Otherwise, if it were any other vassal state, even if they exhausted all their national strength, they would not be able to put together such a large army.

In addition to its complex source of troops, the legion is also filled with many semi-independent armed forces.

In order to fight against the Western barbarians and realize the ambition of "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians", in recent years, countless Choshu men have spontaneously formed teams and troops, ranging from a dozen people to several hundred people.

The most famous unit among them is the "Special Forces".

This is a special armed force formed by Takasugi Shinsaku with the support of the wealthy merchant Shiraishi Shoichiro.

The so-called "special troops" refer to a mixed force composed of samurai and common people other than the feudal lords.

The original special forces was just a cold weapon unit that brought together many ambitious people.

As Takasugi Shinsaku gradually realized the powerful national strength of the Western powers and the huge gap between the East and the West, he began to vigorously introduce Western weapons and tactics, so that the current Qibingtai has been transformed into a "cold and hot mixed" special forces.

In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Special Forces is definitely one of the most powerful units in the Choshu Army.

However, unfortunately... because Takasugi Shinsaku and Kusaka Genzui broke up, and many people thought that Takasugi Shinsaku had become corrupt, and that it was shameless for a dignified Choshu man to use Western weapons, so they were unwilling to fight alongside Takasugi Shinsaku, and the Kiheitai did not participate in this Eastern Expedition.

After Kusaka Genzui announced a "general mobilization for the Eastern Expedition" throughout the domain, these independent armed forces, which had previously done nothing and could basically only act on their own, responded to the call and joined the army.

Although the morale and combat effectiveness of these independent troops were far superior to those of the ronin and peasant soldiers who were temporarily recruited, they were still insignificant.

Apart from anything else, just their extremely strong personalities, excessive desire to express themselves, and their casual personalities of only following orders and not instructions are enough to make people extremely frustrated!
The organizational structure and military management philosophy of these independent forces are a complete mess! They are no better than the peasant uprising army!
The establishment and operation of the troops depends entirely on their own passion.

To put it bluntly, these independent troops are not so much "armies" as "playing armies"! They are just playing house!
Before this, they all lived a very free and relaxed life, and had no concept of "military discipline" or "military orders are as heavy as mountains" in their minds.

Although Kurushima Matabei was the actual highest commander on the Fushimi battlefield, he had no way to deal with these independent troops.

After all, nominally speaking, they are just guest troops who came to help.

"We are here to help! You are not my lord, why are you yelling?!" - If they are pushed into a corner, they might really quit and just take their team away!
He had to effectively motivate the poorly trained ronin and peasant soldiers, and at the same time appease these restless independent troops... It goes without saying that Kurushima Matabei had such a hard time.

If it's just restlessness, that's fine.

But the problem is that these guys are so restless that they are about to miss the opportunity to fight!
For example, Yamamoto Sakuyuki, who had just had a big fight with Kurushima Matabei and insisted on going out to fight the Shinsengumi.

Yamamoto Sakuyuki, as well as Ishigami Moritsugu and Akagawa Motosho, who later fought against Aoto in single combat, all came from independent units.

These guys have one thing in common: due to their lack of knowledge and cultural education, their vision is not even as broad as that of the radical sonōnō faction who always talk about "Choshu spirit" and "wiping out the Western barbarians."

That is why they highly praise the so-called "retro style".

Although Kurushima Matabei does not oppose the recent "retro style", he is very disgusted with backward products like Ikkito that have long been swept into the dustbin of history.

Besides, even though he didn't want to admit it, the Shinsengumi was indeed full of experts!
Even if it is not "Niou" Tachibana Aoto and "Tianjian" Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, Kondo Isami and others, they are not easy to deal with.

After experiencing setbacks such as the Shimonoseki War, the August 18th Coup, the Tenjugumi Rebellion, and the Ikedaya Incident, Choshu's elite combat power was severely damaged.

Kawakami Hikosai, Yoshida Toshima...these powerful martial arts masters, some died and some were injured.

By now, the combat power of the Shinsengumi's top brass has far surpassed that of Choshu!

To sum up, issuing a challenge to the Shinsengumi is tantamount to "using one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength", which is not a good strategy no matter how you look at it!

Therefore, Kurushima Matabei would certainly not agree to Yamamoto Sakuyuki's request.

However, Yamamoto Sakuyuki was unwilling to obey his command.

The two had a big argument... In the end, Yamamoto Sakuyuki ignored their dissuasion, acted on his own initiative, and rode out into the battle.

What happened next... no need to elaborate.

When he thought of this, Kaijima Matabei felt his teeth itching again, his brows furrowed even more, and he raised his hands involuntarily to press his aching temples on both sides.

——It’s all because of these guys’ reckless behavior that led to such disastrous consequences today!

The battle hasn't even officially started yet, but we've already lost three generals, which has damaged the morale!

The so-called "starting off badly" is nothing more than this.

On one hand, morale is soaring, on the other hand, morale is visibly low...

Kurushima Matabei closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down.

——Whatever! Now that things have come to this, I can only try to find a way to make amends!
As he pondered this, he suddenly opened his eyes, with a gleam of light in them.

Although the current situation is extremely serious, he still has an ace in his hand - the guerrilla force he established!
After Takasugi Shinsaku formed the Kiheitai, he was influenced by him and also set up a new force that dared to fight and named it "Guerrilla" and appointed himself as the governor.

Although the guerrillas use the Special Forces as an example, they are not a "hot and cold mixed" special forces like the Special Forces, but a pure cold weapon force with spears and katana as their main weapons.

For this unique army that belongs to him, Kurushima Matabei has devoted all his efforts.

Only strong and fit men of the right age are recruited; both warriors and commoners are welcome; discipline is important...

In this way, under the strict training of Kurushima Matabei, the guerrillas became one of the main forces of the Choshu army.

Kurushima Matabei dared to conclude that although the total strength of the guerrillas was only 600 people, as long as they were deployed properly, they might be able to achieve a surprise victory and reverse the situation!

——The next battle will be the real deciding factor!

When he thought of this, Kaijima Matabei felt a little relieved. He straightened his back again and raised his head again.

At this moment, a general came running over and shouted anxiously:

"Mr. Kurushima! The enemy is making a big move! They're coming towards us!"

After hearing this, Raishima Matabei's face darkened:

"They're coming...! Did you see which Shinsengumi squad the attacking troops belonged to?"

The general looked embarrassed.

"This... We haven't figured out which division of the Shinsengumi the attacking troops are from, but they're all holding cannons!"

Kurushima Matabei twitched his eyebrows:
"Iron cannon?"

……

……

Right now the Shinsengumi's morale is high, and this is the best time to press on with the momentum and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop!
Thanks to the help of idiots like Yamamoto Sasuke, Qing Deng had an unprecedentedly good start.

Qingdeng's three victories in three battles have created a clear difference in the morale of the two sides.

In this way, today's battle will hopefully end early.

Qing Deng would naturally not miss this rare opportunity.

Therefore, as soon as he returned to the main camp, he immediately sent instructions to the positions of the 6th and 8th squads (the musketeers): Start the attack!
……

……

Shinsengumi, the Sixth and Eighth Divisions' positions——

"go ahead!"

Inoue Genzaburo drew his sword and commanded the musketeers of the Sixth Division to move forward. Because the main camp was located at a higher altitude, Qing Deng and others in the main camp could clearly see that the musketeers of the Sixth Division were arranged in neat rows and moved forward slowly, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of military drums.

After the Sixth Division went out, the Eighth Division, which was closely behind it, also marched forward under the command of Fujido Heisuke.

The two divisions, totaling two thousand men, formed long lines and advanced slowly across the endless wilderness, with neither infantry nor cavalry escorting them.

Although this formation was spectacular, it stunned all the feudal army generals.

Their understanding of the iron cannon still remains at the level of "a fairly useful long-range weapon" - although it is very powerful, it has many limitations.

The most famous battle involving muskets in Japanese history is undoubtedly the Battle of Nagashino, in which the Oda-Tokugawa coalition defeated the Takeda army.

In 1575, the Oda-Tokugawa coalition forces (38000 men) and the Takeda army (15000 men) engaged in a decisive battle.

Because this battle is so well-known, it is often adapted and re-created by later generations.

Novelists and playwrights only care about making the plots interesting and easy to understand, so they made a lot of magical changes to historical facts, resulting in a misunderstanding of the Battle of Nagashino by the world - Oda Nobunaga mobilized 3000 muskets, set up chevaux de frise, and used the chevaux de frise as a support to set up a large musket formation, and Takeda Katsuyori foolishly ordered his troops to attack the Oda army's musket formation, and eventually lost the Takeda army's elite troops, and three of the Takeda Four Heavenly Kings were killed.

In fact, not so.

Oda Nobunaga did mobilize 3000 muskets, and he also did use chevaux de frise to block the cavalry of the Takeda army.

However, Takeda Katsuyori organized five waves of attacks, but only the first wave was stopped by chevaux de frise and then suffered from musket attacks, causing considerable damage. However, as time passed, the attack power of the muskets was no longer strong, so the battle between the horse fences became a hand-to-hand fight.

The following 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th offensives were basically hand-to-hand combat, with no use of muskets.

In other words, the Oda-Tokugawa coalition forces were able to defeat the Takeda army thanks to the excellent quality of their individual soldiers and their overwhelming advantage in military strength, rather than relying on the crushing of hot weapons over cold weapons.

Because of the lessons learned from the past, later generations generally understand muskets as follows:
First, the musket is a defensive weapon, not an offensive weapon.

It works very well in a defensive battle, but is very weak in an offensive battle.

Second, no matter how many muskets you have or how good your musketeers are, it is still the infantry that ultimately decides victory or defeat.

After all, muskets and the like are just a supplement on the battlefield. They can only influence the outcome but cannot determine it.

As long as you understand people's views on muskets today, it is not difficult to understand the confusion of the feudal army generals at the time.

How can you fight a war like this when you order the musketeers to go into battle right away without sending out any infantry or cavalry to escort them?

If the enemy launches an attack, won't all these musketeers be finished?

The feudal army generals looked at each other - they all noticed strong confusion on each other's faces.

Someone couldn't hold back his confusion, turned to look at Qing Deng, and asked politely:

"Lord Amai, this, this...isn't it too risky to send out the arquebusiers without sending infantry and cavalry to escort them?"

Qingdeng smiled slightly:
"Don't panic, this is our tactic."

After these words were spoken, the generals of the feudal army became even more confused.

Tactics? Is there such a tactic in this world?
At this time, a messenger from the 9th Squad ran over:

"My lord! The gunners are in position!"

Qingdeng nodded lightly:

"Very good, let's get started!"

"Yes!"

The messenger responded and ran forward to deliver the message.

"Everyone, please wait and see."

Qing Deng glanced around at the feudal army generals present and adopted a meaningful tone.

"Although I really want you to see the power of our Shinsengumi's musketeers right away, but before that, it's time for the artillery to show its power."

At this moment, at the 11th Division (artillery) position not far from the main camp, all the guns were ready under the command of Abe Juro (captain of the 11th Division).

Abe Juro picked up the telescope in his hand, took a look at the target in the distance, and shouted:
"Base gun, one shot to reload!"

……

……

Choshu Army, Main Camp——

Kurushima Matabei observed the enemy's situation through a telescope while smiling excitedly.

——God help me! God help me!

Just like the feudal army generals around Qing Deng, Kurushima Matabei's view on muskets is still stuck in the Warring States period.

Seeing that Qingdeng directly sent out musketeers to fight but did not send infantry or cavalry to escort them, he was immediately delighted and could hardly hold his eyes.

——It is said that the "Nio" Tachibana Aoto, who is always victorious in battle and every city he conquers, is so ignorant of military affairs!
Kurushima Matabei never thought that Qing Deng would be so stupid! He just sent the musketeers to die!

It seems that it was only because the Iga peasant uprising army and the Tenjugumi that he faced before were too weak that Aoto and the Shinsengumi became famous!
——As long as we send out troops to launch a strong attack, we will be able to defeat the Shinsengumi’s artillery troops in one fell swoop!
After making up his mind, he immediately put down the telescope in his hand, turned his head and said to the messenger beside him:
"Pass my order..."

Before he finished speaking...

boom--! !

The sudden loud noise gave Kurushima Matabei a fright.

He subconsciously crouched down and looked in the direction of the sound - in the direction of the Shinsengumi army, something flew into the sky, echoing with a rumbling sound, and rolled to the back with a roar.

When it landed, there was a huge explosion and everything was shaking.

Kurushima Matabei's facial expression suddenly changed wonderfully.

After a while, he widened his eyes, swallowed hard, and murmured:

"cannon……?!"

These sounds and movements reminded Kurushima Matabei of the Battle of Shimonoseki a year ago - a brutal battle that he still doesn't want to recall.

Faced with the hail of shells from the US and French fleets, they were powerless to fight back and could only passively take the beating.

Before Raishima Matabei could recover from his shock, the roar of cannons was heard again from the direction of the Shinsengumi army.

This time the sound of the cannon was no longer singular, but came one after another, like a rainstorm!
……

……

Shinsengumi, the 11th Division's position——

After observing the landing point of the reference gun through a telescope, Juro Abe adjusted the shooting parameters in an orderly manner.

"Lift up 8 degrees, turn right 13 degrees."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the muzzle of the gun rolling suddenly rang out.

Each gun crew adjusted the direction of the muzzle with skilled movements.

After a while, all the gun crews fell silent.

The black muzzle of each cannon was pointed at the same target - the Choshu army in the distance!
Abe Juro: "Release!"

Suddenly, all the cannons roared!

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

Spreads of red light extended from one end to the other.

Immediately afterwards, one ball of light after another rose high up, and after reaching the highest point, they drew a beautiful parabola and fell straight towards the Choshu army!

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

The explosions that followed shook the heavens and the earth, dominating all the sounds in this space!
The fire waves from the explosion illuminated everything around.

The terrifying noise, like an earthquake, caught the unprepared Kurushima Matabei off balance and he fell to the ground.

He blinked, his expression numb, like a sleepwalker who could not return to reality.

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I wish all my fellow readers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival~~ On this auspicious occasion, it is raining heavily in Guangzhou tonight, so there is no moon to see! (crying leopard head.jpg) Only on this Mid-Autumn Festival, Leopard wants to see the moon very much, even though there is no one to miss.