I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 905 The Second "China Return"! [4800]

Due to his excited emotions, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu's voice was hoarse and almost broken.

When he said the words "Matsudaira Higo-no-kami", he emphasized the words.

The intention is clear at a glance.

Owari Domain was one of the "Three Great Houses", and successive domain lords inherited the position of Dainagon (Junior Rank).

In terms of daimyo rank, he was one of the "Gosanke"; in terms of imperial court official position, he was Gon Dainagon.

On the other hand, Matsudaira Yoshinobu... Although the Aizu domain was also a close domain, it could definitely not be compared with the Owari domain. The difference between the two was like that between an "adopted son" and a "biological son."

As for the hereditary position of Higo no Kami (junior fifth rank), which has been passed down from generation to generation in the Aizu family, it is even more incomparable with the Gon Dainagon.

Therefore, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu’s meaning was very simple: You, the subordinate, should stop contradicting your superior!

Under normal circumstances, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, who did not like to cause trouble, would probably have just stopped talking.

However...the current emergency situation has caused him to lose his usual composure.

Boom!
He stood up suddenly.

Because he stood up with too much force, the stool under him was bounced away and fell heavily to the ground with a loud noise.

"Tokugawa Dainagon, I am definitely not a cold-blooded person, nor am I being generous to others!"

"I am also extremely worried about the attack on Owari Domain."

"But if we return now, all our recent achievements... no, all our preparations for the past year or so will be wasted!"

"Since the Qiheitai is far away in Owari, it means that the current Choshu Domain is truly an 'empty country'."

"In this case, now is the best time to take Hagi Castle and destroy Choshu!"

"We have been preparing and looking forward to conquering Changzhou for a long time. Are we going to give up just like that?"

"If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to wipe out the two kingdoms of Chang and Zhou in one fell swoop, and get rid of this great threat, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles in the future!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he received a huge amount of support.

"That's right!"

"I hate Choshu!"

"General Tachibana! We should continue the attack! Destroy Choshu!"

At first glance, the momentum of the "war faction" is quite astonishing.

However...the voices of the "pro-withdrawal faction" are equally strong.

As soon as Matsudaira Yoshiyasu finished speaking, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu snorted coldly:
"Oh! What Matsudaira Higo-no-kami said is so passionate!"

"They're just short of calling me a coward, a traitor who missed the chance to fight, etc."

"I don't deny that my advocacy of 'immediate return' was motivated by selfish reasons."

"But I'm also considering the overall situation!"

At this point, he stood up abruptly, imitating Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, and scanned the entire audience with a sharp gaze:

"Let me ask you, the Choshu army went to great lengths to attack Owari across the sea, was it just to covet Nobi's wealth?"

"It's obvious that this kind of thing is absolutely impossible!"

"They must have other intentions!"

"Open the map and take a good look!"

"What are the places on the east and west sides of Owari Domain?!"

"The west is Gyeonggi, the east is Kanto!"

"Let me ask you, if the Choshu army marches towards Kanto, what should we do?"

"Let me ask you again, if the Choshu army marches towards Gyeonggi, what should we do?"

Having said this, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu paused, then turned his head to look at Qing Deng not far away.

"General Tachibana, as far as I know, the two mistresses of your clan have just given birth."

"If the Choshu army marches towards the capital, your domain will be the first to bear the brunt of the attack."

"Can you bear to put your wife and children in danger?"

Instantly, the atmosphere in the tent changed subtly.

Shinsengumi generals such as Nagakura Shinpachi, Serizawa Kamo, and Fujido Heisuke all changed their expressions.

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu's words were so bold and straightforward that they actually put Qing Deng on the fire.

Although what he just said was unpleasant to hear, we have to admit that his point of view is correct.

Even Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, a staunch "war advocate", was unable to refute the other side for a while.

The Choshu army, which successfully captured Owari, had already gained the strategic initiative and had great potential whether to the west or the east.

They took Choshu, but lost Edo or Gyeonggi... In this case, can it still be considered a victory for them?
Neither of the two groups is willing to submit to the other.

Thus, the tent fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, no one knew who started it, but everyone at the scene turned to look at Qing Deng who was sitting on the main seat.

Confused, hesitant, annoyed, panicked...all kinds of eyes fell on Qing Deng.

"..."

Since then, Qing Deng has been silent and there is no expression on his face.

If there is anyone who can stabilize the morale of the army at the moment, it must be this person.

No matter how fiercely Matsudaira Yoshiyasu and Tokugawa Yoshikatsu quarreled.

Frankly speaking, Qing Deng is not as calm as he appears to be.

Intelligence is scarce right now.

The little information we have so far all comes from that brave messenger.

This afternoon, the envoy, covered in wounds and barely alive, arrived at the rear army camp.

"Is this... the main camp of the expeditionary army...? I have something urgent to tell you... Take me to see... General Tachibana...!"

Kondo Isami, who was in charge of the rear army, rushed to the scene upon hearing the news. When he found that the messenger's clothes were embroidered with "Owari Three-Leaf Sunflower", he did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly sent him to the central army camp.

After meeting Qing Deng, he ignored his tiredness and pain and told him the details of the "Owari attack" in detail.

When he finished speaking, he had finally accomplished his mission and could no longer endure it. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Overall, the Choshu army fought a very beautiful surprise attack.

After landing on a beach somewhere in Owari Domain by boat, the Choshu army accelerated its march under the cover of night, quickly penetrated the heart of Owari Domain, and headed straight for Nagoya Castle.

The reason why their advance was so smooth was thanks to the "One Country, One City Order".

The shogunate will never fail to suppress you just because you are one of the "Gosanke" or any other related vassal.

Therefore, the huge Owari Domain had only one city, Nagoya Castle, and there were neither castles nor passes in other places.

In fact, there is no pass to build.

The entire territory of Owari Domain was an endless plain with no strategic locations to defend.

The One Country, One Castle Order... This decree used by the shogunate to maintain its ruling position ended up indirectly harming itself... This is what is called "black humor".

Nagoya Castle is not a mountain castle or a flat mountain castle built in the mountains, it is just an ordinary flat castle.

Because the feudal lord Tokugawa Yoshikatsu took away most of the soldiers, only a minimum number of troops were left in the city.

Has anyone in Owari Domain ever thought that a hostile force would cross the sea and launch a surprise attack on their domain?

What's more, it was night time, which was the time when energy was least focused, carelessness was most likely to occur, and defense was weakest.

All of the above factors have caused Nagoya Castle's defensive capabilities to reach a rare low in history.

Although Owari Domain was a large domain, its military equipment was not significantly different from those of the small domains. The same weapons were put into storage, horses were let go in the mountains, and military equipment was neglected. At most, the size of the army was larger.

Modern troops could have crushed feudal armies.

Using the prepared to attack the unprepared turned the battle into a one-sided massacre.

The Choshu army easily reached the gates of Nagoya Castle and then easily broke through the city gates.

According to the messenger, the sudden hail of shells instantly covered the city gate and walls.

In just a moment, the bricks and tiles of the dilapidated city wall fell off like snowflakes.

After a while, the city gate collapsed and was completely open.

Immediately afterwards, teams of soldiers armed with advanced muskets climbed over the collapsed city walls and open gates and entered one after another - there were many Western faces among them.

These Westerners were extremely brave and strong as tigers. They were skilled in the use of guns and cannons. It was obvious at first glance that they were a well-trained elite force.

The defenders in the city were defeated and fled, and were never able to establish an effective line of defense.

Because of the disorganization and breakdown of order, they forgot to destroy the warehouse when they retreated.

The countless essences accumulated by the Owari Domain over three hundred years were simply given to the bandits for nothing.

Fortunately, when the city was broken, the defenders sent messengers in time and ordered them to go to the West as soon as possible to find the Zhengchang Corps for help.

In order to successfully deliver the message, they sent out more than 20 messengers at once to break through from different directions.

The only messenger who successfully arrived at the main camp of the expeditionary army was the one in front of Qing Deng. This showed how difficult and cruel the battle that night was.

Putting himself in Tokugawa Yoshikatsu's shoes, Qing Deng felt very sympathetic.

His own main city was breached, his family members were in danger... If he were to go through these hardships, he would probably find it difficult to remain sane.

In fact, it might not be long before he faces the same crisis.

When leading his troops to war, Qing Deng only left a small number of soldiers to guard his home.

In other words, the current Qinjin is also an "empty country"!
If the Choshu army marches westward, Qinjin clan's current defensive capabilities will definitely not be able to resist!
As soon as this thought came to mind, Sanako, Awu, and his newborn children...their faces flashed through Qingdeng's mind.

——Sanako…Ama…Kuro…Ningning…

He clenched his fists unconsciously.

The same is true for Edo in the east...

Qing Deng doesn't think that 80,000 hatamoto cavalry can stop a modern army that is proficient in guns and artillery!
If Edo Falls...

In an instant, new faces - the faces of mother and child - emerged in his mind.

——Iemo...Atsuhime...

Although he wanted to return immediately to repel the Choshu army entrenched in Owari and resolve the crisis in Qinjin and Edo, Qing Deng did not lose his rationality.

It was not difficult to order the troops to return, but what about the current "Changzhou Expedition"? Should they just give up?

If we turn back now, let Choshu go, and let it survive this crisis and catch its breath, who knows what tricks they will come up with next.

Qing Deng and Changzhou had a blood feud.

As long as Choshu was not destroyed, he would feel like there was a stone under his quilt, causing pain in his waist.

Should we return to our army? Or should we continue our march?
Two thoughts were competing fiercely in Qing Deng's mind.

No matter which one he chooses in the end, one thing is absolutely certain - his choice will greatly affect the future!

If you make a mistake at one step, all of them will be wrong!
"..."

"..."

"..."

Under everyone's eager anticipation, finally... Qing Deng spoke.

"...March, we cannot stop."

"Lord Feizhou is right. Now is the time when Changzhou's defense is the most vulnerable. We cannot miss this opportunity!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the "war faction" headed by Matsudaira Yoshiyasu all smiled, looking relieved.

However, before Tokugawa Yoshikatsu could show his disappointment, Qing Deng continued:
"But! 'Returning to defeat the bandits' is equally important!"

"Therefore, we must continue the expedition and liberate Owari!"

The shocking remarks brought silence back inside and outside the tent.

Everyone present looked at each other, and saw expressions of shock and astonishment on each other's faces.

Since both options are difficult to give up, then he must take both - Qing Deng finally came to this greedy decision after intense deliberation.

Suddenly, a faint voice was heard:

"General Tachibana, do you mean to say... split the troops into two groups?"

The person who spoke was Saigo Yoshinosuke, who represented the Satsuma Domain.

He was clearly appointed as the chief of staff of the Long March Corps, but since the battle began, he has been strangely silent and rarely speaks in military meetings.

Qing Deng nodded solemnly.

"That's right, split the troops into two groups!"

Having said that, he turned his head and looked at Matsudaira Yoshiyasu.

"Lord Feizhou, you will temporarily take over the position of 'Governor' and lead the army to continue the attack on Changzhou."

"I will personally lead the Shinsengumi back to rescue Owari!"

Before one shock has subsided, another shock arises.

After hearing Qing Deng's deployment, the Shinsengumi generals and others were all shocked.

Saigo Yoshinosuke frowned slightly and asked:

"General Tachibana, you are only leading the Shinsengumi back? Not the other troops?"

Qingden nodded again.

"That's right. A large army would be more difficult to command and would affect the army."

"The secret to dispatching troops is to use the least amount of troops to do the most difficult task!"

"My Shinsengumi's five thousand elite soldiers are more than enough to defeat the bandits!"

"Lord Feizhou, can I safely hand over the legion to you?"

After saying that, Qing Deng looked straight at Matsudaira Yoshinobu.

After being stunned for a moment, the other party nodded vigorously with a solemn expression.

"No problem! Please leave it to me!"

Qing Deng nodded slightly to show that he had received his determination.

Then, he tilted his head slightly and looked at Saigo Yoshinosuke beside him.

"Saigo-kun, since the Shinsengumi is absent, the Aizu and Satsuma armies will become the main force of the expedition."

"I hope you can help Lord Feizhou."

Yoshinosuke Saigo looked at Qingdeng neither humbly nor arrogantly, neither frightened nor timidly, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.

"Of course, I, Samo, will do my best!"

"..."

Qing Deng looked deeply at Saigo Yoshinosuke, said nothing more, and turned to glance at everyone present.

Up to now, everyone had been arguing for a long time about whether to fight or retreat.

Unexpectedly, Qing Deng made a decision in a matter of seconds and completed the deployment in a swift and resolute manner...

This huge contrast stunned many people present and they were unable to recover for a long time.

It was not until Qing Deng spoke up that they belatedly perked up.

"Everyone, we don't have that many troops under our actual control at the moment."

"To accomplish the two major tasks of 'conquering Changshu' and 'liberating Changshu' with such a small number of troops at the same time... I have to say, this is indeed a daunting challenge."

"But now the arrow is on the string and must be shot!"

"I believe you will return victorious!"

"After I leave the camp, everything will depend on Master Feizhou!"

"If anyone holds you back, don't blame me, the King of Ren, for settling the score later!"

After finishing a brief speech, Qing Deng turned his gaze and looked at the generals wearing light green feather robes.

"Shinsengumi!"

In an instant, Hijikata Toshizo and others stood up immediately!
"Set off immediately! Return to the capital!"

Hijikata Toshizo grinned when he heard this:
"From 'Chugoku' back to 'Gyeonggi'... Ha, what a coincidence, the 'Great Return to China' is happening again!"

……

……

Japan's "Chukūgo" mainly refers to the western part of the main island of Honshu, including Harima, Mimasaka, Bizen, Bitchu, Bingo, Aki, Suo, Nagato, Tamba, Tango, Tajima, Inaba, Hoki, Izumo, Iwami and Oki, a total of sixteen countries.

The "Great Return to China" is a famous event in Japan's Warring States Period.

On June 1582, 6, the Honnoji Incident broke out. Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled and killed his lord Oda Nobunaga.

On the night of June 6rd and the early morning of June 3th, Hashiba Hideyoshi, who would later become Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was in the Chugoku region and was fighting the Mori clan, learned that Oda Nobunaga had been killed. He immediately blocked the news, pretended that nothing had happened, and used a high-pressure attitude to intimidate the Mori clan, and finally succeeded in signing a peace treaty on favorable terms.

After the signing of the peace treaty, Hashiba Hideyoshi quickly began the retreat and led an army of 2 back to the capital.

He ordered the soldiers to be in good order and with neat flags during the day, but to fold the flags and march at full speed at night.

This unprecedented withdrawal operation is known in history as the "Great Return of China."

The “Great Return from China” took 8 to 10 days.

From the starting point of Takamatsu Castle to the end point of Yamazaki is about 200 kilometers, with an average daily march of 20-25 kilometers.

2 troops, poor road conditions, and a daily march of 20-25 kilometers... In the feudal era, this was truly an incredible achievement! It is not an exaggeration to call it a miracle in ancient Japanese military history.

In the end, the Hashiba army's rapid march seized the initiative on the battlefield, successfully defeated the Akechi army in the Battle of Tennozan, avenged Oda Nobunaga, and accumulated political capital that was unrivaled among its peers.

It is no exaggeration to say that the "Great Return to China" was the starting point for Hashiba Hideyoshi to replace Oda Nobunaga as the overlord of Japan and establish Toyotomi Taiko.

I guess no one in the world would have imagined that... after nearly three hundred years, the "Great Return of China" would happen again!
*******
*******
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

It's the end of the month again! Book friends who have monthly tickets on hand, please be sure to vote for this book! (tearful leopard head.jpg)

Guess where the Shinsengumi and the Choshu Army will fight the final battle? Those who are familiar with the history of the Japanese Warring States should have no difficulty guessing it~