I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 844 Sir! Times have changed! The Shinsengumi Rifle Team's shocking debut! [4600]

"Uh ah ah ah ah ah!"

"What, what happened?!"

"What's going on with that sound?!"

"It's thunder! Thunder is falling!"

"What thunder! This is a cannon!"

……

In a blink of an eye, the Choshu army fell into chaos.

Due to their limited knowledge, many people - especially the ronin and peasant soldiers who were forcibly conscripted - had never seen a cannon, nor did they recognize the sound of a cannon. When they heard the horrifying "rumbling" sound, they were all stunned.

Some people even thought that it was a bolt of lightning. They were so frightened that their expressions changed drastically and they almost collapsed to the ground.

Screaming, roaring, shouting, wailing... "noise" and "chaos" dominated this space.

At first glance, the Choshu army seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

At this time, Kurushima Matabei finally recovered from his shock.

As a veteran who participated in the Shimonoseki War and experienced the saturation bombing of the US and French fleets, he was no stranger to cannons and the "rumbling" sound of cannons.

Thanks to this personal experience, he knew very well that although the cannon was a very terrible weapon, its hit rate was not very high, and its deterrent power far outweighed its destructive power.

The shells are not scary; what is scary is the panic caused by them!
After calming down, he gritted his teeth, stood up quickly, and shouted at the top of his voice:
"Don't panic! Don't scream! Don't run! These are just cannons! They're not thunder! Those shells can't hit us so easily!"

The facts are just as he said.

Although the Shinsengumi's firepower was very strong, with dozens of artillery pieces bombarding repeatedly, the rumbling sound was endless and the momentum was terrifying, but those shells basically fell outside the Choshu army formation, or even farther away.

So far, no shells have hit the Choshu army directly, and only a few dozen people have been slightly injured by the aftermath of the explosion.

Kurushima Matabei happens to be a man with a very loud voice.

As soon as he opened his mouth, all the soldiers in the army heard his voice.

Thanks to the diligent persuasion of Mataebei Kurushima, the army's morale was somewhat settled, and the screaming and shouting gradually subsided.

As we all know, with every additional "0" in the size of the military, the difficulty of management will increase exponentially.

Not only that, the larger the army, the easier it is for panic to spread.

Fortunately, the Choshu army in Fushimi had only 3000 soldiers and was not large in size, so it was relatively easy to manage.

If its scale were to expand several times, then Raishima Matabei would not be able to stabilize the morale of the army in a short period of time.

If this is the case, then this round of shelling alone would be enough to cause panic to spread rapidly, and then cause the army to collapse and flee.

In addition, Kurushima Matabei's trump card - the guerrillas directly under his command - also played a significant role at the moment.

The 600 guerrilla soldiers firmly guarded the perimeter of the main camp.

After the artillery rain, although they showed panic on their faces, they remained as steady as a rock.

They neither shouted nor moved randomly, but stayed at their posts, effectively suppressing the spread of panic.

These elite soldiers are the backbone of an army.

They are here, the army is here.

If they were gone, the army would immediately scatter.

Seeing that the guerrilla soldiers stood firm, those who were in a panic suddenly felt a little relieved.

Just like that, after a brief panic, the Choshu army barely restored order and was not in danger of collapse for the time being.

Kurushima Matabei breathed a sigh of relief - but soon, his face was filled with worry again.

He turned his head and looked fiercely at the musketeers in front of them who were getting closer and closer.

There is nothing to fear from a hail of artillery fire.

The musketeers who are currently slowly approaching them are the biggest threat!
If we let them get closer and enter their shooting range, it will be no joke!

At this time, Kurushima Matabei finally understood Aoto's tactics:
——Humph! Using the cannons as cover, allowing the cannonmen to take the opportunity to get close and shoot... What a good plan!
——Tachibana Aoto, you really underestimate us! Do you think that we Choshu men will be scared by a mere artillery shell? !
With this thought in mind, Kurushima Matabei immediately issued a new military order:
"Archers, archers, move forward! Defeat the enemy!"

He had a total of 250 musketeers and archers under his command.

Among them, there were 200 musketeers and 50 archers.

Despite the small number of people, Kurushima Matabei did not feel embarrassed.

Tachibana Aodō was so ignorant of military affairs that he did not send out infantry or cavalry to escort him, but instead sent out musketeers to die. How is this different from "baring one's chest in front of the enemy's sword"?
Just a few volleys are enough to defeat them!

Although the Choshu soldiers managed to suppress their panic under the persuasion and command of Kurushima Matabei, the fear brought by "shells flying overhead and repeated explosions around them" would not dissipate so easily.

The musketeers and archers of the Choshu army moved to the front of the formation with their muskets and bows and arrows trembling with fear and lined up in three long rows.

The musketeers were in the first two rows, half crouching in the first row and standing in the second row. The archers were in the last row.

In line with the simple idea of ​​"strike first to gain the upper hand", Kurushima Matabei immediately ordered:

"Prepare!"

The musketeers drew their muskets.

The archers drew their bows and drew their bowstrings.

"put!"

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Bullets cut through the atmosphere.

Arrows pierced the sky.

It whizzed down towards the 6th and 8th squads that were still advancing.

At this time, the distance between the two sides was about three hundred meters.

Because the distance was so far, only one unlucky guy was hit in the thigh by the bullet, and the rest were unharmed.

After the unlucky guy fell to the ground injured, the person behind him immediately took two quick steps to fill the gap.

The troops continued to advance without any panic, as if nothing had happened.

Kurushima Matabei continued to give orders:
"Don't stop! Keep going! Keep going!"

The musketeers lowered their heads and concentrated on reloading.

The archers' "reloading" speed is undoubtedly faster than that of the musketeers.

After all, they only had to draw new arrows from the quiver.

So, in just a moment, the archers fired a second round of arrows.

Because they had walked some distance forward and the distance between the two sides had shortened, this time many people were shot by arrows and fell to the ground.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

"I, I was hit by an arrow...!"

"Tsk...! Damn Choshu dog!"

The screams and wails in the 6th and 8th squads suddenly increased.

At this time, the Choshu army's musketeers had loaded their bullets and were ready to fire again.

These long-range soldiers are the elite of the Choshu Army, not cannon fodder temporarily recruited - it is easy to imagine that those ronin and peasant soldiers would never have the opportunity to use such expensive weapons.

Therefore, they all have a certain level of military training.

Accompanied by the sound of "click, click, click" of guns, the musketeers raised their weapons again.

Immediately afterwards, another barrage of bullets swept across.

Along with the blood mist, some people fell to the ground screaming after being shot. Seeing this, Kurushima Matabei couldn't help but grin, revealing an excited expression.

His idea was simple: as long as he kept up the output, he could defeat the enemy before they got close!
In his opinion, there is no army in this world that can ignore the barrage and advance against it.

The Takeda cavalry, which once dominated the world, was defeated by the Oda artillery in the Battle of Nagashino!

He seemed to have seen the tragic scene of the Shinsengumi musketeers gradually losing their fighting spirit and order due to the casualties and fear, and finally disintegrating.

However... as time went by, the smile on his face gradually froze.

At first his expression was stunned, and then his joy gradually turned into disbelief.

Finally, his facial expression was dominated by intense shock!

The Shinsengumi Musketeers were defeated - this scene did not appear as he wished.

Under the barrage of bullets and rain of arrows, the 6th and 8th squads were indeed suffering continuous damage, with people falling down continuously.

However, no matter how many people fell, the people at the back would take two quick steps to fill the gaps to ensure that the front row array was always neat.

Everyone kept their mouths shut and looked straight ahead. Even if a comrade beside them fell down, they would not look sideways, nor would they become distracted.

Neither dodge nor fight back.

Everyone followed the command "move forward" in a rigid manner, like a puppet!
For this reason, the queues and formations are always complete and stable, with no signs of disorder!
Such a scene made Kurushima Matabei feel his scalp tingling.

Even Kurushima Matabei, a veteran who experienced the Battle of Shimonoseki, was like this, let alone others.

Seeing the Shinsengumi's musketeers getting closer and closer to them, the Choshu's musketeers and archers all panicked, their hands and feet began to get busy, and the frequency of their attacks dropped significantly.

At this time, a certain general who also noticed that something was wrong took a leap forward, ran to the side of Kurushima Mataebe, and said:
"Lord Raishima! Let the cannonmen and archers retreat first!"

As soon as the man finished speaking, Kurushima Matabei angrily shouted:
"What nonsense! If we order a retreat, it will only lead to more serious consequences!"

Anyone who knows a little about military affairs knows that when an army is fighting, it must never retreat at will.

"Fighting while retreating" is a high-end operation that is difficult to implement.

On this point, Fu Jian, who mobilized a million troops but suffered an epic defeat in the Battle of Feishui, has a lot to say about it.

Looking back to those days, Fu Jian believed the advice of “If we retreat a little and let the soldiers maneuver, you and I can just slow down and watch, isn’t that great?” and ordered the army to retreat along the banks of the Fei River. This triggered a series of chain reactions. The army at the rear thought that the army at the front had been defeated, and they fled in chaos. The soldiers could not find their generals, and the generals could not find their soldiers. In the end, they were badly defeated. Fu Jian was defeated so badly that he lost everything, and his dream of unifying the world turned into a bubble.

Advance and retreat with reason - these four simple words are what many commanders dream of and what many armies cannot do!
Apart from the guerrillas, Kurushima Matabei does not think that other troops under his command have the organizational ability to "retreat slowly" or "fight while retreating"!
He was certain that if he gave the musketeers and archers the order to "retreat", it would most likely cause suspicion in the rear army, leading to chaos!
By then, the Battle of Feishui might be repeated!

Therefore, we must not let them retreat! We must hold our ground! Fight to the last moment!
"Don't panic! Keep shooting! Don't stop attacking! The enemy will soon collapse!"

Kurushima Matabei had to make up the lie that "the enemy is about to be defeated" to appease the troops.

Judging from the results, his words did have some effect.

The emotions of the musketeers and archers on the front line calmed down a little. Driven by the desire to survive, they all fought for their lives, wishing they could fill the barrels with bullets and pull the bowstrings to produce sparks, just to defeat the enemy troops that were getting closer and closer.

Anyone with a brain knows what the consequences would be if the Shinsengumi's musketeers were allowed to get close!
I have to say that their performance is remarkable.

However, their heroic struggle failed to change the status quo.

The Sixth and Eighth Divisions are always moving forward!

Not to mention disbanding them, it couldn't even slow down their progress a bit.

Finally... they stopped.

Stop when the distance between the two sides is less than 60 meters!

The distance was so close that I could even see the changes in the facial expressions of the person opposite me clearly.

Inoue Genzaburo raised his sword and shouted:
"Raise the gun!"

Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!
As soon as the order was issued, countless muskets were raised high.

"aim!"

There was a series of "click", "click", "click" sounds of instruments colliding.

The gun body is placed flat, with the black muzzle pointing directly at the enemy opposite!

Although no shots were fired, the scene was enough to scare the other side!

Being at such a close distance is no different from having a gun pointed at your head!
The timing of the attack chosen by Inoue Genzaburo was very clever and brilliant.

It happened to be the window period when the other side had just fired a round of gun and was busy reloading.

Archers still have the means to fire back.

But the musketeers who were still reloading were really helpless! They could only watch the dark muzzles of the guns pointing at them!

What is coming will eventually come——

"put!"

Inoue Genzaburo shouted loudly and chopped down with force the sword he had raised above his head.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Both the sound and the density of the bullets were far superior to the horrific barrage of the Choshu Army, tearing the atmosphere apart!
Countless bullets turned into a continuous rain curtain, pouring out with a roar!

Because the distance was close and the soldiers of the 6th and 8th squads were using the most advanced firearms at the time, their hit rate was very impressive.

Just one volley of fire knocked down more than half of the enemy! The formation was completely disrupted!
It is no exaggeration to say that with such horrific casualties, the army has basically lost its combat effectiveness!
You know, the musketeers and archers of the Choshu army had been busy for a long time, but they only shot down 3 or 40 people - in fact, this lethality was already very good.

If it were any other army, bathed in the barrage of bullets and arrows, with so many people falling, they would have been in chaos.

The Shinsengumi are simply too abnormal! Even with huge casualties, they will fight to the death!

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

"I won't fight anymore! I won't fight anymore!"

"Save me! Save me!"

"Don't leave me!"

……

The army that would not retreat; the terrifying barrage of bullets like a storm; the visual impact of not having many living people left around after a round of volleys... all these things directly destroyed the long-range forces of the Choshu Army... No, correction, the fighting spirit of the remaining long-range forces of the Choshu Army!
They dropped their rifles and bows and arrows and scrambled to escape.

Although there are still a few people holding their positions, but... they can no longer cause any trouble.

The Shinsengumi's musketeers not only had strong organizational skills and terrifying accuracy, but also had an amazing reloading speed.

It took them only 20 seconds to prepare for another shot.

Inoue Genzaburo: "Release!"

After the second round of barrage, there were no living people left on the Choshu Army's position.

They either ran for their lives or fell to the ground howling from the bullets, rolling around in agony.

"..."

Kurushima Matabei was stunned.

His mouth was wide open and his jaw looked like it would drop to the ground at any moment.

His ranged troops...his ranged troops of more than 200 people were wiped out after only two rounds of shooting!
After a while, Kurushima Matabei came back to his senses and his consciousness regained control of his body.

However, the reason why he came back to his senses was not because of his strong willpower, but because he saw the Shinsengumi's musketeers moving!

They put away their muskets, put them back on their shoulders, and then moved forward slowly as before, heading straight here... the main camp of the Choshu army!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of military drums accompanying the 6th and 8th squads kept beating on Kurushima Matabei's heart, getting heavier and closer!

The color of Kurushima Matabei's face changed visibly - it became paler.

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PS: Advance despite casualties, and fire after getting in front of the enemy - this is how the lobster soldiers swept the world and achieved the reputation of "The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets". This tactic represents extremely strict discipline, which is not something that every army can imitate.