Chapter 728: The Choshu Army Retreats! [4500]

Genrui Kusaka’s impassioned speech changed the atmosphere at the scene!

Sanjo Sanimi stopped talking.

He gritted his teeth, his cheekbones bulged, and his facial expression changed rapidly.

As for the other ministers of the Zunbang Sect present, they all looked at each other, their expressions becoming complicated and unspeakable.

Although they are always "reciting scriptures" on weekdays, they talk about respecting the king and fighting against the barbarians, what the emperor is doing, and what the court is doing, and they portray themselves as loyal ministers who care about the country and the people.

But in fact, they knew it very well - they never took the Emperor seriously from the beginning to the end!

They treated the Emperor no differently than ordinary people, they just regarded him as a useful tool!

As long as they are not brainwashed by Cheng and Zhu Lixue, who in their right mind would have a strong sense of loyalty to a "stranger" who usually hides behind the curtain and rarely speaks?

The so-called "facing the enemy" is a relative concept, not an absolute one.

To put it simply - as long as we defeat the Kaisa coalition forces currently blocking the imperial palace and regain control of the emperor, we can reverse the current predicament in one fell swoop!

Just like the Muromachi Shogunate hundreds of years ago!

The Northern Dynasties, supported by the Muromachi Shogunate, defeated the Southern Dynasties established by Emperor Go-Daigo, which not only ended the Northern and Southern Dynasties era, but also regained the right to speak.

Legally speaking, the Southern Dynasty was the orthodox regime, while the Northern Dynasty was the puppet regime.

As a result... due to military disadvantages, the Northern Dynasty swallowed up the Southern Dynasty.

With the defeat of the Southern Dynasty, the Ashikaga clan changed from a heinous enemy of the North to a hero who unified the world and reshaped the mountains and rivers.

As for the Northern Dynasties...this puppet regime continues to this day.

Strictly speaking, all the emperors since the Muromachi period were pseudo-emperors with no legitimacy at all.

The bloodline of the orthodox emperor is cut off, and the false emperor is firmly in power... It's funny and ironic.

What's even more humorous is that all the rulers after the Southern Dynasties - Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu - all knew that the emperor currently in the Imperial Palace was a pseudo-emperor.

But for the sake of each other's interests, they all tacitly told lies and tried their best to avoid the sensitive topic of "Who is the orthodox between the Southern and Northern Dynasties?"

When the Edo shogunate compiled the history books, although they advocated that the Northern and Southern Dynasties were orthodox, they also knew that this theory was simply untenable, so they sadly added the sentence "the two dynasties stood side by side", which means that the Northern and Southern Dynasties were both orthodox.

As long as the fist is big enough, even the emperor can be replaced, let alone a mere "enemy of the court"?

The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit - an eternal truth.

However... although Hisaka Genrui's words were very beautiful and touching, Sanjo Sanimi and others were not mediocre people who blinded their understanding and would not lose their sense of proportion just because of his few words.

Someone shouted sharply:

"Kusaka-kun, it's easy for you to say that!"

"Let me ask you, how can you guarantee that the Changzhou Army can defeat the Huisa Allied Forces?"

"Don't think I don't know, the total strength of the Huisa Allied Forces is 3,000 people!"

"The Choshu Army currently stationed in Kyoto only has 2,000 people."

"With 2,000 against 3,000, how can you dare to claim victory?"

The speaker's name is Nishikikoji Ryder.

He is one of the core leaders of the Zunbang faction.

As soon as this statement came out, it immediately caused the other ministers of the Zunbang faction present to echo in succession.

"Yeah yeah!"

"The opponent has superior military strength and at the same time has the right to send troops. How do you win?"

"Kyusaka-kun, please don't act recklessly! If you use weapons without permission, something unexpected may happen!"

…

Hisaka Genzui silently endured the chatter of Sanjo Sanimi and others.

After a while, he responded loudly, neither humble nor arrogant:

"My lords, please rest assured!"

"It is true that the Huisa coalition has an advantage in strength."

"but!"

Speaking of this, he suddenly changed the topic and raised his voice.

"Their total strength is only 1,000 more than ours!"

“As long as we show our heroic spirit without fear of death and show the ‘Changzhou Soul’ of our Changzhou men, we will definitely win a great victory!”

It's funny...it would have been better if he didn't say it, but when he did, it triggered an overreaction from Sanjo Sanimi and others.

Jin Xiaolu Ryder frowned and snorted angrily:

"The spirit, the 'soul of Changzhou'...are here again! Such rhetoric again!"

As he spoke, he slapped the floor excitedly, making a horrifying sound of "bang", "bang", "bang".

"You told us the same thing not long ago!"

"Speaking of 'showing courage' and 'showing the soul of Changzhou'."

"You keep saying that as long as you show fearless determination to die, it's not a problem for a mere Xiyi."

"But what's the result?"

"The Xiaguan War ended in a disastrous defeat! You were completely defeated by the Western Yi!"

"The only Westerners attacking Xiaguan are the United States and France. England, Lucia and other countries haven't even joined the war yet, so I'll beat you to the point where you can't find your way!"

"With your performance like this, how can we trust you?"

As soon as these words came out, Kusaka Genrui froze on the spot, as if he was petrified.

Looking carefully, a bean-sized bead of cold sweat seeped out and slid down from his forehead.

At the same time, the Changzhou soldiers inside and outside the room lowered their heads one after another, with ashamed expressions on their faces, looking at their noses and hearts...

The atmosphere at the scene became extremely heavy.

No one spoke, only the sound of heavy and rapid breathing.

There is a saying that "lies don't hurt people, but the truth is the sharpest knife".

Every word that Reid Kinkoji just said was the truth that could not be denied.

Before the Shimonoseki War started, the radical faction of Choshu, led by Kusaka Genzui, patted their chests and assured Sanjo Sanemi and others: After this battle, the Western Barbarians will never dare to underestimate the Kingdom of God again!

Unexpectedly...the louder they boasted, the more tragic the slap in the face they received afterwards!

To be frank, Sanjo Sanemi and others were extremely disappointed with Choshu!

Reid Kinkoji's words made Kusaka Genzui speechless.

Even if he wanted to refute, he had no way to start...

Just at this moment, hurried footsteps came from outside the room:

"Lord Kusaka! Lord Kusaka!"

Kusaka Genzui frowned and looked in the direction of the voice - a short, plain-looking young man hurriedly ran towards him.

This man is called Inoue Mondo. He was secretly sent to study in the UK by Choshu several years ago because of his intelligence. He studied at the University of London.

After the Shimonoseki War broke out, he returned to Japan urgently with Ito Hirobumi, a Choshu samurai who was also sent to study in the UK, to conduct peace negotiations.

Kusaka Genzui admired Inoue Mondo's talent.

But... Inoue Mondo's recent performance disappointed him.

Before studying in the UK, Inoue Mondo was a staunch radical.

But after returning to Japan, he changed completely.

He no longer advocated expelling the barbarians, but instead advocated opening up the country!

As for Ito Hirobumi who returned with him, the same was true. He no longer supported the radical Sonnōri movement, saying that "Western countries are very powerful and we cannot be enemies with them."

Kusaka Genzui felt disgusted with Inoue Mondo and Ito Hirobumi's spineless behavior from the bottom of his heart!

If he didn't cherish their talents, he really wanted to drive them out of Choshu!

However, despite his dislike, Kusaka Genzui had to give a high evaluation of the talents of these two people, even if he held prejudices.

Something must have happened to make the usually calm Inoue Wenduo rush here anxiously.

"Inoue-kun, what's the matter?"

Inoue Wenduo rushed to Kusaka Genzui's side, lowered his waist, put his lips close to his ear, and whispered for a while.

Kusaka Genzui listened attentively, and his face changed several times in just a few seconds.

After Inoue Wenduo finished speaking, stood up and moved to the side, Kusaka Genzui clenched his fists, stared at the floor in front of his knees, and looked thoughtful.

Before he could, he raised his eyes and head, looking at Sanjo Sanemi and others in front of him with excitement.

"My Lords, things have turned around!"

"Our friendly forces have appeared in the Yamato region!"

...

...

Bunkyu 3 (1863), August 18, evening -

Kyoto, Imperial Palace, Sakaimachi Gate -

"Gah! Gah! Gah! Gah!"

The crows cried... The crows from nowhere flew over the Imperial Palace, leaving behind black shadows.

The "Gah Gah" sound drifted away.

The sun falling towards the western horizon dyed the clouds covering the sky red, dyeing it orange.

The dim glow penetrated the gaps between the treetops and shone obliquely into the streets, and the air gradually felt cool.

On the narrow street outside Sakaimachi Gate, the armies of the two camps had been deadlocked for a whole day.

The Kaisatsu coalition army guarded the Imperial Palace tightly.

The Choshu army watched covetously.

The soldiers of both sides were waiting for new instructions from each other's supreme commanders.

During this period, the soldiers of the Kaisa coalition - mainly middle and lower-level generals - repeatedly proposed suggestions to Matsudaira Yoshiyasu and Saigo Yoshinosuke: Attack immediately! Destroy the Choshu army!

The emperor has issued a royal letter, revealing the wolfish ambitions of the Sonnō faction.

They have superior military strength and the righteousness of attacking... If they don't fight quickly, when will they?

Even if they immediately send troops to attack, others can't say anything.

If they continue to stalemate like this and continue to stare at the Choshu people, it will only be a waste of time.

Matsudaira Yoshiyasu and Saigo Yoshinosuke both rejected this suggestion made by their generals.

Fighting in the city of Kyoto is not what they want.

First of all, it is difficult to play the advantage of military strength in the narrow streets where it is difficult to move.

If it is not done well, it will easily turn into a bad battle in which the two armies consume each other.

Secondly, using Kyoto as a battlefield would bring great disaster to the people of Kyoto.

Both sides of the war were equipped with powerful guns and cannons.

Let alone bullets, the threat of cannonballs was too great.

Any cannonball fired over could easily destroy a long house!

It didn't matter if the house was destroyed, the most feared thing was a fire!

In short, once the war broke out in Kyoto, the consequences would be disastrous, and most of Kyoto might be buried with it!

Even if Choshu was eventually defeated, the people of Kyoto would lose their hearts.

Choshu would even use this to create public opinion, denouncing the Hui-Sa coalition as Dong Zhuo and the like, so-called righteous army, but in fact a traitor who destroyed Kyoto.

The originally good situation was stained with haze.

This stupid strategy of "killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of oneself" would never be adopted by Matsudaira Yoshiyasu and Saigo Yoshinosuke.

Anyway, they had firmly controlled the Imperial Palace, and the initiative of the war was in their hands.

We can’t fight street battles, so if we have to fight, we have to fight field battles!

They planned to wait for Choshu to withdraw from Kyoto due to the situation, then lead his troops to catch up with him and have a showdown with him in the wild!

The commanders of the two camps just held their own little Jiujiu.

Time passes...the sky becomes darker and darker, and the twilight reflected in the streets becomes darker and darker.

There was silence everywhere...except for the occasional crow, there was no other sound.

Suddenly, there was a slight movement in the Changzhou Army formation.

Matsudaira Yongho and Saigo Kinosuke looked up - a young man was running quickly towards the commander of the Choshu Army who was responsible for pulling strings.

The young man said something to the commander.

Due to the distance, Matsudaira Yongho and Saigo Kinosuke did not hear clearly.

However, they clearly saw the commander's expression change drastically.

"What?!"

He glared at the young man, his eyes seeming to spit out fire.

"Is this really Hisaka-sama's order?"

The young man nodded vigorously:

"Yes! This is Lord Kusaka's order!"

"..."

The commander gritted his teeth, his teeth creaking loudly, and a look of intense confusion appeared on his face.

Before he could, he spat violently and then raised the military equipment in his hand.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

As soon as this order came out, it immediately introduced new "vitality" into the dull atmosphere of the scene.

Needless to say, there is no need to say much about the reaction of the Huisa Allied Forces.

Some people are surprised.

Some people were surprised.

Some people breathed a sigh of relief.

The reaction from the Changzhou Army was basically one of shock, confusion, annoyance and anger.

However, the military order fell like a mountain.

Even though they had various emotions, the soldiers of the Changzhou Army obeyed the orders obediently, and no one raised any questions to the commander.

As soon as the commander said to retreat, the entire army withdrew.

There was a loud sound of "clatter, clatter, clatter" footsteps.

Orders and prohibitions... From this point of view, the Changzhou Army is indeed one of the most powerful armies in the world.

Looking at the rapidly retreating Changzhou Army, the morale of the Huisa Allied Forces... can be said to have increased instantly!

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

"The Changzhou people have retreated!"

"Hey! Changzhou people! Are you running away now? Is this your 'Changzhou Soul'?"

What's more, they directly and spontaneously shouted Sheng Shu:

"Eh! Eh!"

"Oh oh oh--!"

"Eh! Eh!"

"Ohhhhhhhh-!"

A general of the Aizu Army rushed to Matsudaira Yoshiho excitedly and said cheerfully:

"Lord! The Changzhou Army has retreated! Let's quickly launch a pursuit!"

"..."

Faced with the general's request to fight, Matsudaira Yongho did not respond immediately and said nothing.

A similar situation occurred with the Satsuma Army.

Someone suggested a pursuit to Saigo Kinosuke, but Saigo Kinosuke refused to respond.

The two supreme commanders of the Huisa Allied Forces were not as happy as their subordinates.

"...Don't be too happy too early."

Suddenly, Saigo Kinosuke said calmly.

"It's not time to be happy yet. Send five people with good legs and feet to follow us and see what Changzhou wants to do."

…

…

After resolving the confrontation with the Huisa coalition forces, the Changshu army retreated southward without stopping, and withdrew from Kyoto in one breath.

After arriving at the southern suburbs of Kyoto, they stopped their retreat and deployed their troops, setting up camp and assuming a defensive posture of "holding this place to the death."

Neither attacking nor retreating, they just stayed on the outskirts of Kyoto.

After learning about the movements of the Choshu Army, Saigo Kinosuke sneered:

"Humph, I see...they are just sitting there waiting for help!"

After hearing this, a certain general from the Satsuma Army asked:

"Waiting for reinforcements? What reinforcements can they have?"

Saigo Kinosuke shrugged:

"Who else could it be? Of course it's the rebels currently wreaking havoc in Yamato! Choshu wants to wait for the rebels to move north, then join forces with them, and then launch a decisive battle with us when the troops are strong, and take it back in one go. Imperial Palace!”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Leopard's computer graphics card core suddenly burned out! (Crying leopard head.jpg)

Today’s chapter was coded using my mobile phone. The code almost made my thumbs cramp.

Seeing how hard Leopard has worked, please be sure to vote for this book! Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)