I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 862: Kyoto Summer Array, Complete Victory! [5300]

  "..."

His body was shaking... Qingdeng felt someone was shaking his body.

"...Orange."

Then, a voice was heard from afar.

“…Tachibana!”

The sound got closer and louder.

"…Ju! Wake up!"

An extremely familiar voice...it was the voice of Hijikata Toshizo.

"Ju! Wake up! Don't sleep anymore! Wake up!"

"Mr. Hijikata, look! Mr. Tachibana's eyelids are moving!"

Following Hijikata Toshizo, the voice came from Harada Sanosuke.

Suddenly, beams of white light shot out from the chaos—Qing Deng slowly opened his eyes.

The not-so-soft sunlight filled his eyes, causing him to lower his eyelids and use his long eyelashes to filter the light.

After his eyes adjusted to the light, he turned his head blankly and looked around.

The first thing he confirmed was that he was lying flat on the ground, his face facing the sky and two familiar faces - Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke - standing in front of him, one on the left and one on the right.

This scene is very similar to the emoticon package in the previous life: "You are awake, the operation was successful, and you are already a girl.jpg."

"Mr. Ju, you finally woke up."

Harada Sanosuke looked relieved and asked:

"Mr. Ju, how do you feel now? Are you in any pain? Are you hungry? Before the attack, I happened to have a piece of grilled squid in my arms. If you are hungry, you can eat it."

As Harada Sanosuke spoke, he took out a palm-sized paper bag from his arms like a magic trick.

Faced with Harada Sanosuke's machine gun-like continuous questioning, Qing Deng did not respond immediately.

He now only felt his head was swollen, as if it was filled with lead, and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

As consciousness returned, like bubbles spit out by a fish, all the memories before the coma surfaced in his mind.

"The state of no self"... the moment... the victory over Prajna... the sudden appearance of Kyoto Tengu...

After the last bit of fog in his mind was dispelled, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, his pupils shrank slightly, and struggled to sit up.

  Harada Sanosuke saw this and said hurriedly:

"Mr. Ju, you'd better lie down obediently! You are seriously injured. If you accidentally touch the wound, it will be troublesome!"

Qing Deng understood Harada Sanosuke's good intentions, but he couldn't care less now.

After standing up, he immediately stretched his neck and looked around for the figure of Boss Kiryu.

Fortunately, as soon as he turned his eyes, he immediately found the old man sleeping beside him.

Just like Qing Deng just now, Boss Kiryu was also lying flat on the ground, facing the sky, with his chest rising and falling regularly.

Seeing that Boss Kiryu was safe and sound, Qing Deng finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the big stone in his heart fell to the ground.

Then he withdrew his gaze from the old man and looked at the environment he was in.

Looking up, I saw unfamiliar scenes all around.

There was a faint smell of blood in the air, and fierce shouts and screams could be heard in the distance.

"Where is this place?"

As soon as Qing Deng finished asking, Hijikata Toshizo immediately replied:

"We are now at the southern foot of Arashiyama. We were chasing the Choshu army, and suddenly we found you two sleeping soundly here."

——The southern slope of Arashiyama…? How did Kiryu-sensei and I end up here…

Just as Qing Deng was thinking this, he belatedly realized that his body was very heavy.

After raising my hand and touching it, I found that the body was wrapped with thick linen, and each wound from head to toe had been simply treated.

Qing Deng has never studied medicine, but as a "professional injured person", he has seen pigs run even if he has not eaten pork, so he has some understanding of trauma treatment, mainly sharp weapon injuries.

Just from the tingling and sore feeling coming from the wound, he knew that the person who treated his injury had only applied some ointment to his wound and then wrapped it tightly with linen to prevent further blood loss.

Although the technique was a bit rough and far from being a treatment, it saved Qing Deng's life for the time being.

Otherwise, even if Qing Deng had the talent of "Blood Lock +7", if he allowed these wounds to continue bleeding, he would not be able to withstand such a huge consumption.

"Saizo, Sanosuke, these wounds...are you the ones who bandaged them for me?"

Hijikata Toshizo shook his head:

"No, when we found you, you were already in this state after being treated."

Qing Deng was stunned when he heard this.

If this is the case, it means that some unknown person treated his injuries before Hijikata Toshizo and his companions arrived.

who is it?

The answer to this question is not difficult to guess.

A tall figure wearing a red Tengu mask quickly emerged in his mind.

When he was about to faint from exhaustion, he saw a mysterious man wearing a red Tengu mask walking towards him and Boss Kiryu at a leisurely pace.

  Looking at this person, a name was about to come out of Qing Deng's mouth: Kyoto Tengu!

To be honest, Qing Deng thought he had encountered a ghost at one point.

Qing Deng knew almost nothing about this legendary Kyoto Tengu.

All his knowledge of it came from the few words he heard from Mr. Gu Mu.

All we know is that Kyoto Tengu was a righteous man with great skills and a passion for fighting for justice, and he was once very famous in Kyoto.

Because this person was active a long time ago, only the older generation over 40 years old still remember this name.

When Qing Deng first heard about this, he simply regarded it as an ordinary rumor.

Even if such a person really existed in history, he is most likely no longer in Kyoto or is no longer alive.

  The person who I thought had disappeared in the long river of history suddenly appeared before me in a swagger... How could Qing Deng not be shocked?

Judging from the other person's agile posture as he jumped down from the tree trunk with ease, and his steady and powerful gait, he should still be very young, at least not a staggering old man.

But this would contradict the rumor that Qing Deng knew: "Kyoto Tengu was active very early, so he should be very old."

  Could it be that the name "Kyoto Tengu" is also passed down from generation to generation like Kabuki?

Is the second or third generation Kyoto Tengu standing before him now?

After all, why is Kyoto Tengu here?

When exactly did he appear here?

  Why didn't I feel his presence at all?

What does he want to do?

All kinds of questions filled Qing Deng's mind.

Despite his efforts to recall, he only remembered that not long after the Kyoto Tengu appeared, he fainted from exhaustion.

When he woke up, he saw Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke standing in front of him and saying "You're awake.jpg".

From the currently known information, it is not difficult to infer that it was Kyoto Tengu who treated his injuries and sent him and Boss Kiryu here.

  ——Kyoto Tengu... Who is this person? Why is he helping me?

With numerous questions in mind, Qing Deng turned to Hijikata Toshizo and Harada Sanosuke and asked:

"Have you seen a man wearing a red Tengu mask?"

"Red Tengu mask?"

Harada Sanosuke muttered and turned to look at Hijikata Toshizo - both of them shook their heads in confusion.

  Qing Deng sighed as expected:

"Oh, forget it, just pretend I didn't ask."

  boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!

Suddenly, a burst of dense gunfire from afar brought Qing Deng back to reality.

Thanks to the gunshots, Qing Deng came to his senses: he was still on the battlefield!

His duel with Prajna was over, but the war between the Tōchou Corps and the Choshu Army had not yet completely ended.

Although Qing Deng was very concerned about Kyoto Tengu's true identity and intentions, he decided to leave it for later and think about it slowly.

——For now, we should focus on ending the current war!

After thinking this over, Qing Deng looked at Hijikata Toshizo with a serious expression:

"Sui San, how is the war going now?"

  Hijikata Toshizo answered without hesitation:

"It's generally going well. We have achieved an overwhelming victory. The Choshu army has been completely defeated. They lost everything, even their loincloths. But..."

  When he said the word "only", Hijikata Toshizo paused, a trace of regret appeared on his cheek:

"The general of the Choshu Army has obviously been replaced by a new person, and his command style has suddenly become extremely cautious."

"We have recaptured Tenryuji Temple... although the temple has been burned to ruins."

"At present, the last of the Choshu Army's troops have retreated to Arashiyama, and are taking advantage of the geographical advantages of Arashiyama to launch a step-by-step resistance."

"Although all the soldiers in the army pursued bravely, it was not easy to 'attack the mountain'. We were still short of manpower and combat experience."

"The soldiers were either too tired to climb the mountain or lost in the dense forest, and the pursuit progress was not ideal."

"Judging from the current situation, we are afraid that we will not be able to completely wipe out the Choshu Army."

After listening quietly, Qing Deng smiled and patted Hijikata Toshizo on the shoulder.

"Sai-san, relax."

"The Choshu army suffered a great defeat, with heavy casualties. The leaders of the Sonnōjō faction, led by General Kusaka Genzui, were all killed. For us, the results of the battle are already rich enough."

"If you are too greedy, you might end up suffering from it."

As he spoke, he supported himself with his hands and stood up shakily.

  Hijikata Toshizo frowned when he saw this:

"Tachibana, don't tell me you're going to the front." "I don't know what you've been doing, but you're in such a miserable state. You should just stay at home."

  Qingdeng smiled bitterly and said:

"I know, and I don't plan to force myself any more."

He himself knows best his current physical condition.

Although he had just taken advantage of the opportunity of being unconscious to have a good sleep, he had only recovered to the extent of "staying awake and able to stand with difficulty".

I have to say that the recovery ability brought by talents such as "Sleeping God" and "Strong Sperm +4" is really amazing.

According to Qingdeng's own estimation, he only slept for half an hour at most.

It's really terrifying that he could recover to this level after just such a short sleep.

All in all, with his current battered body, forcing himself to go to the front line would only cause trouble.

So Qing Deng immediately said:

"Toshinori, I'll temporarily hand over the command of the front line to you. I'll be waiting for your victory report at the main camp. Don't let me wait in vain."

Hijikata Suizo smiled:

"When have I ever disappointed you?"

……

……

Today's battle lasted until the evening.

After Hijikata Toshizo took over the front-line command from Aoto, he personally launched a fierce attack on the Choshu army's "Arashiyama Defense Line" under the threat of arrows and stones.

He divided the troops into three shifts and launched the attack in batches, not giving the Choshu army any chance to breathe.

When it was afternoon, the Choshu army, whose defense line had been unsustainable, began to withdraw from Arashiyama and evacuate to the west of Arashiyama...that is, towards the west.

Hijikata Toshizo immediately led the cavalry and all the soldiers who could ride horses - such as Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Ichi - to launch the final attack on the Choshu army.

  This pursuit battle is truly like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves!

Hijikata Toshizo and his companions chased for hundreds of kilometers in one breath, all the way to the Harima area west of Gyeonggi Province, where they stopped because their horses were tired and their men were exhausted, replicating the grand scene last year when the Kaisatsu coalition drove the Choshu forces out of Kyoto.

At this point, this large-scale battle of astonishing scale, with more than tens of thousands of troops participating on both sides, finally came to an end.

Because this war took place in late summer and the main battlefield was in the western suburbs of Kyoto, people at that time named this battle "Kyoto Summer Battle".

No matter from which angle it is evaluated, the Legion of Leaders has achieved an undoubted victory.

With extremely minor casualties of their own, they inflicted heavy damage on the Choshu army and blocked it outside Kyoto, thus saving this thousand-year-old capital from war.

Among them, the Shinsengumi...or the Qinjin clan was the biggest winner.

Through this battle, Qing Deng successfully tested the training results of the Shinsengumi and flexed his muscles, which frightened the various feudal lords in the Gyeonggi region and established the Qinjin feudal lord's position as the absolute leader in the Gyeonggi region.

On the other hand, Choshu... Hijikata Toshizo said that they even lost the loincloth, which is not an exaggeration.

Not to mention the heavy casualties, what was more important was that their prestige was completely destroyed.

In many cases, reputation is often more important than population and money.

As one of the most powerful and oldest feudal domains in all of Japan, Choshu Domain has always had a significant influence in western Japan.

It is said that "God cannot shed blood."

Tens of thousands of troops were mobilized to launch a massive eastward expedition, but they were defeated in just two days... It is no exaggeration to say that Choshu has now become a laughing stock of the world.

  The Mori family, which once dominated the western region, is now like this?

At this point, almost everyone in the world was thinking: Choshu is finished! The movement to respect the emperor and expel the barbarians is over!

……

……

A few days later——

Aki region, somewhere near the Seto Inland Sea——

The dim sunlight struggled to penetrate the layers of mist, and sprinkled weakly on the ground, barely illuminating a slowly crawling dark brown color on the dirt road.

This dark brown color is the Choshu Army returning home.

At first glance, they really looked like they had been splashed with dark brown paint.

The vast majority of soldiers in the army were covered in dirt, their clothes were stained with blood, and each of them looked like a beggar.

Of course, compared to their appearance, their mental outlook is even darker.

Most people walked with their heads down and backs bent, as if they were floating.

No one spoke. There were so many people here, but it was eerily quiet.

There is no third expression except grief and numbness, lifeless...

There were 12,000 soldiers when they set out, but not even half of them returned... Faced with such a tragic situation, even the most optimistic people would find it hard to cheer up.

Katsura Kogoro walked in the center of the military column, side by side with the ordinary soldiers.

He had a horse, but he lent it to the wounded for temporary use.

"Mr. Gui..."

Suddenly, Katsura Kogoro heard a hoarse voice coming from behind him.

Turning his head, he saw a young samurai holding a radish with a lot of fresh soil on it, walking up to Katsura Kogoro in two steps.

"This is the radish I just dug up. Although it's a little small, it can still fill your stomach. Please take it and eat it."

As he spoke, he handed the radish in his hand into Katsura Kogoro's arms.

Looking at this small radish that was only as thick as his finger, Katsura Kogoro couldn't help swallowing.

In order to increase the marching speed as much as possible and escape the pursuit of the Tocho Corps, under the personal instruction of Katsura Kogoro, they threw away all the baggage that could be thrown.

Although this streamlined the ranks, it also caused the army's material reserves to be in extreme shortage, and the anxiety of running out of food lingered in the hearts of the soldiers.

Even Katsura Kogoro hadn't eaten anything proper for two days.

  Although he wanted to stuff the carrot into his mouth right away, he still resisted the urge and said seriously:

"Thank you for your kindness. You dug this out with great effort. How can I steal it? You can eat it yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other party immediately frowned:

"How can this be possible! I am just a nobody, my life is not important at all! Mr. Katsura, you are the hope for the revival of our Changzhou. I can die, but you must not make any mistakes!"

Katsura Kogoro wanted to continue to refuse, but at this moment, an anxious voice suddenly sounded from his side:

"Mr. Gui, the soldiers are very tired, let everyone rest for a while!"

The speaker was a general who was very close to Katsura Kogoro.

  Facing this person's earnest request, Katsura Kogoro thought for a moment and shook his head:

"No, we can't rest yet. We can't afford to delay now. We must rush back to Changzhou as soon as possible."

The man wanted to say something else, but when he saw Katsura Kogoro's expression, the words that were about to come to his lips were swallowed back.

Time is running out - they all understand this even without Katsura Kogoro explaining it in detail.

Now, to put it bluntly, Choshu is a drowned dog - a drowned dog that no longer has the prestige it once had, and everyone would want to bully it.

There is no doubt that there are definitely many feudal states that would be happy to cause trouble for Choshu in order to seek credit from the shogunate and earn some merit.

For this reason, Katsura Kogoro had to order the entire army to move forward in a low-key manner, try to avoid the cities of those feudal states, and be prepared at any time.

In short, there is no time to lose and we must rush back to Choshu as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the entire army.

"No need to say any more."

  Katsura Kogoro continued in a strong tone:

"Pass on my order, keep moving forward! If you run out of strength, use your perseverance..."

"Mr. Gui! Mr. Gui!"

Suddenly, the messenger's shout interrupted Katsura Kogoro's words.

A messenger came galloping towards Katsura Kogoro on horseback.

Seeing that it was the messenger coming, Katsura Kogoro asked first:

"what happened?"

  The messenger couldn't hide his excitement and shouted:

"Yes, it's Mr. Takasugi! Mr. Takasugi is here to pick us up!"

"what?"

Katsura Kogoro's pupils shrank slightly, and he hurriedly asked:

"Takasugi is here? Where is he?"

"He's right in front! He's leading a special force to meet us!"

"Special Forces... Lend me your horse!"

"Yes! Mr. Gui, please get on the horse!"

Katsura Kogoro jumped on his horse and headed straight for the army.

In a short while, he came to the front of the military train - and a familiar face came into his sight.

"Gui, long time no see."

Takasugi Shinsaku smiled.

  *******

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PS: In historical facts, the Choshu army entered Kyoto and fought a fierce battle with the allied forces at Hagigomon (one of the gates of the Imperial Palace), so it was called the "Kinmon Incident."

Because the Choshu army in this book never set foot into Kyoto, we can only use the name "Kyoto Summer Battle" to refer to this battle.

(End of this chapter)