Chapter 737: Kyoto Retreat! A Well-Known Secret Society! [4600]

The cannons that roared the previous second suddenly quieted down.

All that remained in my ears was the buzzing tinnitus.

"Finally it stopped..."

"Ugh...my ears hurt..."

"Cough cough cough! Cough cough! Damn it! This must be the artillery of the bandits!"

The smoke gradually dissipated...the true appearance of the Choshu Army's position slowly came into everyone's eyes.

To put it bluntly, it has become the surface of the moon.

Looking up, there are large and small holes everywhere; there are broken pieces of soil everywhere; there is a foul smell of blood and gunpowder everywhere...

The tents and curtains that were not moved away in time were torn to pieces, a scene of desolation.

The current artillery is still very backward.

Aiming depends entirely on the naked eye, and the destructive power cannot be compared with modern artillery. It can't even penetrate the thick city walls.

In addition, it was very dark, and it was difficult for the Satsuma soldiers to aim, which further reduced the casualties of the Choshu army.

When everyone was at a loss, Katsura Kogoro stepped forward and became the backbone of the group, quickly ordering the Choshu army to abandon Kyoto and retreat westward to the feudal domain.

Thanks to his prompt decision, the Choshu army withdrew from the position in time and was spared from the heavy damage of the artillery.

In addition to those who were accidentally injured by shrapnel, only 32 unlucky people were directly hit by the shells and became a pile of pitiful meat sauce.

Katsura Kogoro did not break his promise - he personally led 300 troops to cover the rear of the entire army.

He leaned on his knife, lowered his eyelids, and stared at the position of the Kai-Satsuma coalition in the distance.

The sound of the artillery of the Kai-Satsuma coalition stopped... This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

When an army no longer bombards the enemy, it often means... their army is about to press on!

As expected - clack, clack, clack, clack - the rapid sound of horse hooves, coming from far away and getting closer!

Katsura Kogoro frowned and suddenly pulled out his saber that was leaning on the ground.

"The enemy is attacking! Get ready to meet the enemy!"

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere around him instantly tensed!

The Choshu men who accompanied Katsura Kogoro to the rear did not have time to complain anymore, and they all picked up their weapons, showing a look of common hatred against the enemy.

The troops that launched the first wave of frontal offensive were the world-famous cavalry of the Aizu Army!

Aizu's first fierce general Sagawa Kanbei took the lead, waving the long spear in his hand and shouting:

"Kill--!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one after another "Kill" sounded! The second act of this war after the bombardment was opened!

Katsura Kogoro raised his saber in his hand, his eyes fixed on the cavalry that was getting closer and closer in front of him.

"Ready... Fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The piercing sound of popping beans dominated the eardrums of everyone present.

30 musketeers lined up as the "Changshan Snake" and fired their guns together.

Guarding the rear is a technical job.

Without powerful weapons to support it, it is impossible to complete such a difficult task with just bravery.

Before leaving, the main force of the Choshu Army specially left 30 advanced flintlock rifles.

Although the number is small, it is definitely a weapon for winning by surprise!

A row of bullets swept away, and the Aizu cavalry on the opposite side suddenly sounded screams and wails one after another.

The horses that were shot screamed, raised their four hooves, and threw off the knights on their backs.

The horses, frightened by the sound of the gun, slowed down because of fear.

The originally orderly cavalry formation was in chaos for a moment.

The results were remarkable, but... with only 30 flintlock rifles, the barrage was too sparse!

"Don't be afraid! Keep going! Go!"

After shouting, Sagawa Kanbei tapped the horse's belly to further increase the horse's speed.

Admittedly, in the recent Iga attack and defense, Sagawa Kanbei performed poorly, which added a glaring stain to his resume.

However, his bravery and courage are indeed worthy of the reputation of "Aizu's No. 1 General"!

Under his loud encouragement, the Aizu cavalrymen cheered up and regrouped in a blink of an eye.

Finally... the two armies met!

"Huai huai huai huai huai huai huai huai huai——!"

One cavalryman knocked away one Choshu soldier after another.

At the same time, Katsura Kogoro and others also launched a fierce counterattack. .

"You're a traitor! Go to hell!"

"Watch out for the knife!"

"Shoot the horse first! Hit their horses first!"

Katsura Kogoro raised the knife in his hand above his head and stared at the cavalrymen who were approaching rapidly in front of him.

At the moment when the two figures passed each other, Katsura Kogoro shouted and chopped down with the knife!

With a sound of "crack", a big horse head with a complete cross section soared into the sky!

Under the action of inertia, the headless horse ran forward for a long distance, and then fell to the ground like a forward lunge.

The knight on its back "catapulted" directly! He flew several feet away and fell with his feet up in the air.

After landing, he "grunted" and knuckled his head to the ground, just like a wild boar knuckling in the mud.

It can be seen that he should want to stand up, but he couldn't do it.

He fell so hard... Even if this man didn't die, he must have suffered a serious injury that was difficult to heal.

Katsura Kogoro is indeed the recipient of the Menkyo Kaiden of the Shinto Munen-ryu and the proud disciple of "Saito of Power".

All the cavalrymen who approached him were chopped into pieces by him!

Blood and flesh flew everywhere as the silver light passed!

At this time, another eye-catching sound came from the distance.

This time... it was a thunderous dull sound of footsteps!

The infantrymen of the Hui-Sa coalition formed a tight formation and rushed over in a huge crowd!

Compared with the cavalry team, which was powerful but had limited lethality, this large-scale infantry team was the real threat to the Choshu army!

Although Katsura Kogoro was already blood-thirsty, he did not lose his reason and judgment.

He wiped the blood off his face, stretched his neck, and shouted:

"Don't fight! Don't fight! Our goal is not to defeat the Hui traitors and the Sa thieves! But to buy time for the evacuation of the large forces! Listen to my orders! Fight and retreat!"

...

...

Blocking the enemy and buying time for the evacuation of the large forces - this is an extremely difficult task.

The Hui-Sa coalition has 3,000 troops.

Katsura Kogoro's rear guard has only 300 troops.

300 vs 3,000... the advantage is his!

On this basis, it is also necessary to save the lives of the rear guard as much as possible... This is even more difficult!

Katsura Kogoro gave precise instructions while personally going into battle, wishing he could split himself into two people.

As a result, he did a great job.

He saw through the weakness of the Aizu-Satsuma coalition - lack of tacit understanding.

Aizu and Satsuma were hastily formed coalitions after all, and they were not familiar with each other.

This made it difficult for them to carry out coordinated actions.

At first glance, they were aggressive.

But in fact, they were fighting each other.

The enemy we are facing is not a 3,000-man army, but an army of 1,000 and an army of 2,000!

This sentence seems to be nonsense, but there is actually a very obvious difference between the two.

In this way, Katsura Kogoro made full use of the gap between Aizu and Satsuma, flexibly changing offense and defense, and slowly retreating when there was a gap.

For example: Seeing that the Aizu Army's attack rhythm slowed down and formed a situation of "one in front and one behind" with the Satsuma Army, he decisively concentrated his forces to attack the Satsuma Army that "emerged".

Another example: When there was a disconnect between the Satsuma Army and the Aizu Army, he personally led a death squad and resolutely inserted himself between the two armies, making a big fuss and launching a beautiful counterattack.

During this period, the 30 flintlock rifles left by the large army played a big role.

Katsura Kogoro ordered the musketeers to launch a counterattack from time to time.

The sound of "bang", "bang", and "bang" of the guns never stopped.

Even the Aizu Army and Satsuma Army, which were famous for their combat effectiveness and training, would be uncontrollably frightened and timid when facing the black muzzles of the guns.

Whenever the Aizu-Satsuma coalition launched an offensive, the continuous gunshots would make them lose most of their momentum.

In addition, the pitch-black sky helped them a lot.

In the absence of lighting, the actions of the Huisa coalition were naturally extremely inconvenient.

Countless people accidentally stepped on empty space and were tripped by stones on the roadside, so that the attack was blocked.

In this way, under the blessing of the above-mentioned factors, the battle line of the Huisa coalition was extremely long, and the battlefield extended from the southern suburbs of Kyoto to the western suburbs of Kyoto.

Some troops were fighting a desperate battle with Katsura Kogoro's rear guard.

And some troops were still stranded in the southern suburbs of Kyoto, and they had not kept up with the rhythm of the attack.

Katsura Kogoro's decisiveness, wisdom and bravery are indeed admirable.

But... his cleverness and wit are not enough to make up for the huge gap between the two sides!

With an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Huisa coalition bit the rear guard army tightly.

Katsura Kogoro has been trying to get rid of the pursuit but failed.

His comrades fell one after another...

The original "fighting and retreating" gradually turned into "retreating again and again"...

After fighting countless hard battles, Katsura Kogoro finally earned a chance to breathe without the enemy attacking...ah, no, to be more precise, it should be said that there was no enemy attacking for the time being.

He and the remaining troops sneaked into a dense forest.

This place was green and dense, with trees and bushes everywhere that blocked the view.

Thanks to this dense forest, they temporarily got rid of the pursuit of the Huisa coalition.

Taking advantage of this precious opportunity, Katsura Kogoro untied the water bottle at his waist and drank greedily to moisten his dry throat that seemed to be split at any time.

By now, he has become a bloody man!

From his hair to his toes, every part of his body was covered with sticky blood.

As for the katana in his hand, he had replaced several swords due to the fierce battle.

The sword he was holding was the one he had just snatched from the enemy.

"Mr. Katsura! It's no good! Retreat quickly! If we keep fighting like this, we will all be wiped out here!"

A warrior beside him, who was also covered in blood, said this anxiously.

As soon as he finished speaking, Katsura Kogoro firmly asserted!

"No! We can't retreat any further!"

"If we retreat any further, we will collide with the main force!"

"No matter what, we must stop the current decline!"

At this point, he raised his eyes and looked around the surrounding forests.

"This forest is very good, it is an excellent location."

"From now on, we will rely on this forest to launch a step-by-step resistance, and we must hold on for at least one hour!"

As soon as these words came out, the rear guard soldiers present all showed a stern look on their faces.

The main force had not gone far yet, and they really couldn't retreat any further.

If they continue to retreat or are defeated, the Huisa Allied Forces will definitely pursue the victory, catch up with the Changzhou Army in one fell swoop, and deal a brutal blow to them!

Katsura Kogoro threw away the empty water bottle in his palm, turned to the person just now and asked:

"How many men do we have left?"

The man looked pained.

"There are only about 80 people who can move freely now and have not been left behind..."

After hearing this, Katsura Kogoro immediately raised his eyebrows and his expression darkened.

Only 80 of the 300-man troops were left...the battle loss rate was nearly 70%!

The fierceness of the battle and the tragic death and injury are evident!

Fortunately, the people who stayed with Katsura Kogoro were all determined and persevering people.

Otherwise, facing such horrific battle losses, they would probably have fled long ago.

Suddenly, Katsura Kogoro's ears trembled slightly, and his expression immediately changed.

"They are coming! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

At the same time he spoke——

"found it!"

"They're here!"

"Kill!"

"That guy with the regular features is Katsura Kogoro, one of the 'Three Heroes of Choshu'!"

"Quick! Kill him! The person who takes off Katsura Kogoro's head will be directly rewarded with 1,000 taels of gold!"

…

Looking around, hundreds of infantrymen swarmed towards Katsura Kogoro!

The battle resumes!

Under the personal leadership of Katsura Kogoro, the rear army attacked head on without giving up an inch.

Katsura Kogoro dashes left, right, and lunges forward, unstoppable! Immediately, several people were killed and injured under his sharp blade.

When the Huisa soldiers present saw this, they were all frightened and did not dare to step forward.

Suddenly! Katsura Kogoro's body suddenly tilted and fell.

It turned out that his left foot accidentally stepped into the mud, his body lost balance, and he almost fell to the ground.

Although he stabilized his body at the critical moment, a fatal flaw was exposed!

How could the Huisa soldiers around him miss this God-given opportunity in vain?

Someone jumped out from behind a tree in front of him and struck with a knife.

He raised the knife over his head in dangerous and dangerous ways, blocking the incoming sharp edge, and then slashed diagonally to kill the attacker with one strike.

However... because the posture of drawing the knife was too forced and awkward, he could not control the force of drawing the knife. The knife in his palm cut deeply into the tree trunk in front of him, and the blade was completely embedded.

It's not difficult to pull the knife back.

It's just... I don't know if he is in a fierce and rapidly changing battlefield, how can he be allowed to calmly draw the blade back!

Soon after, another person attacked Katsura Kogoro with a knife.

As a last resort, Katsura Kogoro could only abandon the knife in his palm, slide up, and while avoiding the opponent's attack, he extended his hands, left hand into his armpit, and his right hand around his neck, clamping the opponent tightly. upper body, and then used superb Jiu-Jitsu skills to knock the person to the ground.

One wave has not subsided, but another wave has arisen - another person has rushed over from behind Katsura Kogoro!

The new attackers were armed with short rifles.

The shining spear point pointed directly at Katsura Kogoro's back!

At this time, Katsura Kogoro's hands were still firmly pressing his opponent.

No matter how you look at this situation, Katsura Kogoro is in danger!

"Mr. Gui! Be careful!"

"Damn it!"

Even the Changzhou people around him couldn't help but scream and scream.

At this critical moment...

Poof!

The sound of blood splattering.

Plop.

The sound of a head falling to the ground.

The gunman who was attacking Katsura Kogoro stood frozen in an area five steps away from Katsura Kogoro - and it was no wonder that he was "stunned".

After all, his head fell off.

His head rolled like a bone to Katsura Kogoro's feet.

Before he could react, another silver light passed through his field of vision.

Poof!

The same sound of blood splattering.

Plop.

The same sound of heads falling to the ground.

The man who was pinned to the ground by Katsura Kogoro also had his head chopped off.

"Your boy is Katsura Kogoro, right?"

Katsura Kogoro was startled and looked up following the sound - an ordinary-looking young samurai holding two bloody swords was standing upright in front of him, casting a questioning look at him.

At this time, another voice came:

"Su Nuo, now is not the time to chat."

Su Nuo shrugged.

"Anyway, Shuten-douji is here, but there are only so many enemies. Even if we are lazy for a while, it doesn't matter, right?"

Su Nuo, Shuten Doji... Hearing these names, Gui Xiaogoro's expression suddenly changed.

"You...are you from the Fa Zun Party?"

Su Nuo raised his eyebrows and showed a strange expression.

"How come even people in Changzhou know about us? The image of the 'unknown secret society' we worked so hard to maintain seems to have ceased to exist."

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