I formed the strongest swordsman group

Kurishima 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 humiliating Edo shogunate! Abolish all unequal treaties! Drive the Western barbarians back to the sea!

After a long wait and constant disappointment... the day of the "Choshu Eastern Expedition" has finally come for him!

Not only was he able to achieve the goal of "going all the way east", but he was also fortunate enough to become the actual commander of the Fushimi battlefield... It is no exaggeration to say that ordinary words can no longer accurately describe Kurishima Matabei's excitement.

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

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

Although on the surface, the size of this Eastern Expedition Army is amazing, with a total of 12,000 troops, to be frank, this army was completely put together.

First of all, most of the soldiers were ronin and peasant soldiers who were temporarily recruited.

They had little or no military training.

They could barely make do with shouting and marching in formation.

But they were completely incapable of slightly more complex tactical actions.

As for bloody battles, hard battles, and adverse battles, they could not be counted on.

Fortunately, Choshu had a huge financial source of Shimonoseki Strait, and its actual fiscal revenue reached millions of stones per year.

Otherwise, other feudal states would not be able to put together such a large army even if they tried their best.

In addition to the complex source of soldiers, this army was 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 to hundreds of people.

The most famous unit among them is the "Kiheitai".

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

The so-called "Kiheitai" refers to a mixed force composed of samurai and commoners other than samurai.

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

As Takasugi Shinsaku gradually realized the strong 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 Kiheitai has been transformed into a "cold and hot mixed" special forces.

In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Kiheitai 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 fallen, and as a man of Choshu, he actually used weapons from the Western barbarians, which was really shameless, so they were unwilling to fight side by side with Takasugi Shinsaku, so the special forces did not participate in this Eastern Expedition.

After Kusaka Genzui issued the "Eastern Expedition General Mobilization" throughout the domain, these independent armed forces that had previously done nothing and could only circle the land and grow on their own responded to the call and joined the army.

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

Apart from anything else, their extremely strong personality, excessive desire for performance, and casual personality of listening to orders but not listening to announcements are extremely devastating!

The organizational structure and military management concepts of these independent forces are simply a mess! They are not much better than the peasant uprising army!

The establishment and operation of the troops depend entirely on their own passion.

To put it bluntly, these independent troops are more like "playing troops" than "troops"! It's just playing house!

Before this, they all lived a very free and loose life, and had no concept of "military discipline" and "military orders".

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

After all, in name, they were just guest troops and came to help.

"We are here to help! You are not my lord, why are you yelling?!" - In this way, if they are pushed to the edge, they may really quit and take the team away!

It is necessary to effectively motivate those ronin and peasant soldiers with poor training levels, and to appease these independent troops who jump up and down... Kurushima Matabei's hard work is self-evident.

If they were just restless, it would be fine.

But the problem is that these guys are restless to the extent that they have missed 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 against the Shinsengumi Ikkito.

Yamamoto Sakuyuki, as well as Ishigami Moritsugu and Akagawa Motosho, who later went out to fight against Aoto, all came from independent units.

These guys have one thing in common: because they lack knowledge and cultural education, their vision is not even as good as the radical Sonnō Faction who always talk about "Choshu Soul" and "wiping out the Western Barbarians".

Because of this, they will highly praise the so-called "retro style".

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

Moreover, although he doesn't want to admit it, the Shinsengumi is indeed full of masters!

Even if it is not the "Niwang" Tachibana Aoto and the "Tianjian" Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Ichi, Kondo Isami and other people, they are not easy to deal with.

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

Kawakami Hikosai, Yoshida Minoru... These martial arts masters who are one-to-a-thousand, died or were injured.

To this day, the combat power of the Shinsengumi's high-level forces has far exceeded that of Choshu!

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

Therefore, of course, Kurushima Matabei would not agree to Yamamoto Tsakuyuki's request.

However, Yamamoto Tsakuyuki just didn't want to obey his command.

The two quarreled... In the end, Yamamoto Tsakuyuki ignored his dissuasion and took the initiative to ride out.

What happened later... I don't need to elaborate.

When he thought of this, Kujima Matabei felt his teeth itching again, his brows furrowed even more, and he could not help but raise his hands to press the painful temples on both sides.

——It was all because of these guys' reckless behavior that led to such a bad result!

The battle has not officially started yet, and three generals have been lost on his side, which has damaged morale!

The so-called "bad start" is nothing more than this.

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

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

——Well! Now that things have come to this, I can only try to find a way to make up for it!

As he thought to himself, he suddenly opened his eyes, and his eyes burst into a gleam of light.

Although the current situation is extremely serious, he still has a trump card in his hand-the guerrillas he built!

After Takasugi Shinsaku formed the Kiheitai, he was influenced by it and also set up a new force that dared to fight and named it "Guerrilla", and appointed himself as the governor.

Although the Guerrilla took the Kiheitai as an example, it was not a "hot and cold" special force like the Kiheitai, but a pure cold weapon force, with long spears and katana as the main weapons.

For this unique force that belonged to him, Kurushima Matabei devoted all his efforts.

Only strong men of the right age were recruited; both samurai and commoners were welcome; discipline was emphasized...

In this way, under Kurushima Matabei's strict training, the Guerrilla became one of the main forces of the Choshu Army.

Kurushima Matabei dared to conclude: Although the total strength of the guerrillas was only 600 people, as long as they were properly deployed, they might be able to win by surprise! Reverse the situation!

——The next battle is the real winner!

With this thought, Kurushima Matabei felt a little relieved, his back straightened again, and his head raised again.

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

"Mr. Kurushima! The enemy is making a big move! They are attacking us!"

After hearing this, Kurushima Matabei's face darkened:

"Are they coming...! Did you see which Shinsengumi unit the attacking troops belong to?"

The general looked embarrassed.

"This... I haven't figured out which Shinsengumi unit the attacking troops belong to, but they all have cannons!"

Kurrushima Matabei twitched his eyebrows:

"Cannons?"

...

...

The Shinsengumi's morale is high now, and it is the best time to pursue the victory and defeat the enemy with this high momentum!

Thanks to the help of idiots like Yamamoto Tsukun, Qingdeng had an excellent start that he had never imagined.

Qingdeng's three battles and three victories have made a clear difference in the morale of both sides.

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

Qing Deng will naturally not miss this rare opportunity.

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

…

…

Shinsengumi, the positions of the 6th and 8th squads——

"Forward!"

Inoue Genzaburo drew his sword and commanded the musketeers of the 6th squad to move forward.

Because the terrain of the main camp was higher, Qing Deng and others in the main camp all saw clearly: accompanied by the rhythmic sound of military drums, the musketeers of the 6th squad lined up in neat rows and moved forward slowly.

After the 6th squad went out, the 8th squad, which was closely behind it, also lined up and moved forward under the command of Fujido Heisuke.

The two squads, a total of 2,000 people, lined up in long lines and slowly moved forward in the endless wilderness, with no infantry or cavalry escort.

Although this formation was spectacular, it left all the feudal army commanders confused.

Their understanding of the iron cannon was still "a fairly useful long-range weapon" - although it was powerful, it had many limitations.

The most famous battle related to muskets in Japanese history was undoubtedly the Battle of Nagashino, where the Oda-Tokugawa coalition defeated the Takeda army.

In 1575, the Oda-Tokugawa coalition (38,000 people) and the Takeda army (15,000 people) fought a decisive battle.

Because this battle is very well-known, it is often adapted and recreated by later generations.

Novelists and playwrights only care about the plot being good and easy to understand, so they have changed a lot of historical facts, which has led to a misunderstanding of the Battle of Nagashino - Oda Nobunaga mobilized 3,000 matchlock guns, set up chevaux de frise, used the chevaux de frise as a support, and deployed a large array of muskets. Takeda Katsuyori foolishly ordered his troops to attack the musket array of the Oda army, and eventually lost the elite troops of the Takeda army, and three of the four Takeda Heavenly Kings were killed.

In fact, this is not the case.

Oda Nobunaga indeed mobilized 3,000 matchlock guns, and he also used his horse resistance to block the Takeda Army's cavalry.

However, Takeda Katsuyori organized 5 waves of offensives. Only the first wave of the offensive was blocked by the horse guard and suffered a lot of damage from the matchlock gun. However, as time passed, the attack firepower of the matchlock gun was no longer available, so the anti-horse fence It became a hand-to-hand fight.

The next 2, 3, 4, and 5 offensives were basically hand-to-hand combat, with no muskets involved.

In other words, the Oda-Tokugawa coalition finally defeated the Takeda army based on their excellent individual soldier quality and overwhelming strength advantage, rather than relying on hot weapons to crush cold weapons.

Because of the lessons learned from past mistakes, later generations’ understanding of muskets is roughly as follows:

First, muskets are defensive weapons, not offensive weapons.

It's very useful when fighting defensive wars, but very weak when fighting offensive wars.

Secondly, no matter how many muskets you have, no matter how good your musketeers are, it is still the infantry that ultimately determines the outcome.

After all, muskets are just an addition to the battlefield. They can only affect the outcome, but cannot determine the outcome.

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

They ordered the musketeers to go into battle as soon as they came up, and they didn't send out infantry and cavalry to escort them. How could there be such a fight?

If the enemy launches an assault, wouldn't these musketeers be completely destroyed?

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

Someone couldn't suppress the confusion in his heart, turned to look at Qingdeng, and asked tactfully:

"Lord An Yi, this, this...is it too risky to send iron gunners out into battle without sending infantry or cavalry to escort them?"

Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"You don't need to panic, this is our tactic."

As soon as these words came out, the feudal generals became even more confused.

Tactics? Is there such a tactic in this world?

At this time, a messenger from the Ninth Division ran over:

"Lord! The gunners are in position!"

Qingdeng nodded lightly:

"Very well, let's begin!"

"yes!"

The ordering soldier responded and quickly ran forward to convey the order.

"Everyone, please wait and see."

Qingto glanced around at the feudal generals present and spoke in a meaningful tone.

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

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

Juro Abe picked up the telescope in his hand, glanced at the target in the distance, and shouted:

"Basic gun, one shot to load!"

…

…

Changzhou Army, this formation——

Kurushima Matabei smiled excitedly while observing the formation on the opposite side with his binoculars.

——God help me! God help me!

Just like the feudal generals around Aoto, Kurushima Matabei's views on muskets were still stuck in the Warring States Period.

Seeing that Qingdeng directly sent musketeers to fight, but did not send infantry or cavalry to escort him, he suddenly beamed with joy and could not even dare to open his eyes.

——The "Nioh" Tachibana Aoden, who is rumored to be sure to win every battle and win every attack, is so clueless!

Kurushima Matabei never imagined that Aonto would be so stupid! Just send the musketeers to die!

It seems that it was only the Iga Peasant Rebel Army and the Tenchu ​​Group that he faced before that were too weak, which made Seito and the Shinsengumi famous!

——As long as we send out troops to launch a strong attack, we will definitely defeat the Shinsengumi's iron artillery troops in one fell swoop!

After making up his mind, he immediately put down the telescope in his hand, turned to the messenger beside him and said:

"Pass my order..."

Before he finished speaking...

boom--! !

A sudden loud noise startled Kurushima Matabei.

He lowered his body subconsciously, and then followed the sound - in the direction of the Shinsengumi military formation, something flew into the sky, roared and rolled to the rear with a rumbling echo.

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

Kurushima Matabei's facial expression suddenly changed wonderfully.

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

"cannon……?!"

Such sounds and movements reminded Kurushima Matabei of the Shimonoseki War a year ago - a tragic battle that he still did not want to recall.

Facing the rain of shells from the American and French fleets, they had no power to fight back and could only be beaten passively.

Before Kamijima Matabei could calm down, the roar of cannons was heard again from the direction of the Shinsengumi military formation.

This time the sound of cannons was no longer single, but one after another, like a heavy rain!

…

…

The Shinsengumi, the position of the 11th Division——

After observing the impact point of the reference cannon with a telescope, Juro Abe methodically adjusted the shooting points.

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

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of "Gululu" turning the muzzle suddenly rang out.

Each gun crew adjusted the muzzle direction with skillful movements.

After a while, the artillery crews fell silent.

The black muzzle of each cannon is aimed at the same target - the Changzhou Army in the distance!

Juro Abe: "Let go!"

Suddenly, the cannons roared!

boom--! ! boom--! ! boom--! ! boom--! ! boom--! !

Wishes of red light spread from one end to the other.

Immediately afterwards, each ball of light rose high, drew a beautiful parabola after rising to the highest point, and plummeted towards the Changzhou Army!

Boom——! ! Boom——! ! Boom——! ! Boom——! !

The sound of explosions one after another shook the world! Dominate all the sounds in this space!

The explosion's fire wave illuminated everything around it.

A terrifying movement like an earthquake caused the unexpected Kurijima Matabei to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

He blinked, his expression numb, like a sleepwalker who couldn't return to reality.

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I wish all my book friends a happy Mid-Autumn Festival~~ On this wonderful occasion, it’s raining heavily in Guangzhou tonight, and there’s no moon to see! (Crying Leopard Leopard Head.jpg) Only on the Mid-Autumn Festival, Leopard Leopard really wants to see the moon, even though there is no one to miss.