“…”
About 10 seconds later, Tianzhangyuan slowly left Qingdeng's shoulders.
Lift your head lightly and your eyes are facing each other.
Because there was no light, and tonight it was a cloudy day without stars or moon, the room was pitch black.
Qingdeng is blessed with the gift of "night vision", so he can barely see the face of Tianzhangyuan.
Against the backdrop of the night, Tianzhangyuan's eyes became clear and clear. In the darkness, Tianzhangyuan's eyes shone brightly, as bright as the sun.
Unlike today's daytime, Qingdeng took the initiative to propose "going to Dajin".
Tianzhangyuan did not immediately give a definite reply, but first showed hesitation, then asked with a worried look:
"Go to Otsu... Regardless of me, will I go to Otsu together with Kazumiya?"
Tokugawa Ishiki, Tianzhangyuan and Wamiya went to Otsu together - in fact, the deep meaning of Aoden's words is "moving the capital"!
The general is in Otsu, and the ministers and officials are in Edo. How can we deal with government affairs?
Therefore, if Tokugawa Ieshima and others go to Otsu, then the Makui ministers - no, correct it. It should be said that the Makui ministers of the "Nanji School" - must also go to Otsu with them.
In other words, this move is equivalent to the major migration of the shogunate's political organs! It is a "relocation of the capital" in the practical sense.
Qing Deng instantly understood the concerns of Tianzhangyuan.
Edo is a symbol of the Edo shogunate and the center of power.
The General of the Conquering Yi took the initiative to leave Edo... If this matter was spread, it might cause immeasurable negative impact.
Qingdeng had long expected this, so he explained slowly:
"Your Highness, I understand your worries."
"But, as I said just now, Edo is no longer suitable to be the 'Capital'."
"Besides, Edo's decline is second."
“‘Defense’ is the real problem.”
"Otsu is in Gyeonggi, Edo is in Kanto, one is in the west and the other is in the east, which is too far apart."
"At this stage, I can't take into account these two cities and towns at the same time, I can only make choices from them."
"In my opinion, the 'One Bridge' is nothing more than a group of jumping clowns and is not difficult to deal with."
"They don't have much ability, so they can only jump around unscrupulously while my injury is not healed and the main force of the newly selected group is not at my hand."
"When this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity passes, they will be just a group of grasshoppers after autumn, and sooner or later they will be swept away by us."
"Our real enemy is in the west."
When Tianzhangyuan heard this, he seemed to have some enlightenment and murmured:
"Are the vassals of the Western Kingdoms..."
Qingdeng nodded gently:
“Changzhou has not yet surrendered.”
"Sama is unruly."
"Tosa, Hoshimaki is eyeing him."
"These guys are more ambitious than the other, and each one is more difficult to deal with."
"Compared with the 'Yiqiao Sect', the Western vassals led by the Satsuma clan are the real threat."
"So, I cannot disperse my power. I must deploy all my main combat forces in Gyeonggi and always beware of the Western countries."
Qing Deng said, Tianzhangyuan listened.
After the former finished speaking, the latter thought for a moment, then took a deep breath, showing a firm expression, as if he had made up some determination:
"Well, I understand. You are right. As far as the current situation is concerned, moving the capital to Otsu is indeed the best choice."
Speaking of this, his tone suddenly changed - it became a little more playful.
"I never expected that I would go to Otsu in this way. It's really better than God's calculations."
"Since that's the case, in order to go to Otsu as soon as possible, we must defeat the 'Ichiqiao Sect' as soon as possible."
A smile surged on her cheeks, which seemed to be a beam of light pouring down from the gaps of dark clouds. She smiled for a long time since the "Edo Cage Battle".
Seeing this, Qingdeng couldn't help but smile.
They looked at each other and laughed.
In an instant, a comfortable atmosphere emerged in the room.
For a moment, both of them were tacitly immersed in this rare comfort and were unwilling to break it.
It was not until a while before Tianzhangyuan opened his lips again and changed his stern tone:
"Sheng Qing, as you see, do you think we have a chance to achieve complete victory in this battle?"
Qingdeng replied without hesitation:
"There must be a chance. But-"
He stretched the end of the sentence a little, and then changed the topic before he could finish:
"Just based on the combat power we currently have, it is still quite difficult to completely defeat the 'Yiqiao Sect'."
"To be honest, we are still in danger now."
"Although the Mito army has been defeated, the 'Ichiqiao Sect' still has the dead soldiers they carefully trained, as well as the direct sects who came to participate in the war on their own initiative."
"As you can see, let me go to the front line to fight again, I am really unable to catch up."
He said, lifting his collars and showing Tianzhangyuan his chest covered with linen.
"In today's battle, we will completely exhaust the only remaining power in my body."
"I don't even have the strength to hold the knife now."
"The next battle can only rely on the bravery of the soldiers."
"If you are not careful, it may still make the 'Yiqiao Sect' turnaround."
After hearing this, Tianzhangyuan smiled bitterly:
"There is a shortage of soldiers and the combat power is short..."
Qingdeng nodded and agreed: "That's right, that's exactly what it is."
Then he asked:
"Your Highness, do we really have no other troops available?"
The bitterness on Tianzhangyuan's face became even heavier.
"If there were other troops available, I would have been transferred to your command long ago. If you need it, all the soldiers of the Xinyuting Ban will be available to you."
"It's not necessary. Let the Shin-Yu Tingfan stay behind Honmaru and defend Ichimaki."
The Xinyuting Ban is a spy agency, not a combat force specializing in fighting.
Although there are many superb people - such as Sazhong and Yae sisters - they are actually Mingzhu Pinning the Bird.
Qingdeng grabbed his hair, and a little helplessness flashed in his eyes.
Suddenly, he said to himself with regret, and the volume was so low that only he could hear clearly:
"Just come another army..."
"Just give me another thousand people... no, a force of more than five hundred people will greatly alleviate the current pressure..."
"Just give me another army..."
...
...
The next day (January 2), early morning—
The sun rises quietly in winter.
Although it was already dawn, the thick clouds that had been entrenched in the dome since last night have not dissipated, and the world is still shrouded in shadows.
Affected by the civil war, it was clearly the second day of the New Year, but there was no joy that the New Year should have.
The shops were closed, the market was depressed, and the streets were filled with cold air.
The sporadic pedestrians all looked naked, tense all their nerves, and were in a hurry, as if they were frightened. Any movement could cause them to panic.
After the civil war broke out, the town people who had just returned to Edo not long ago began to flee abroad again.
Despite the complaints, I had to do so in order to save my life.
Of course, there are also some town residents who did not leave.
Of course, these people who have not left are not afraid of military disasters, but for various reasons - such as changes in their homes, or even if they can't make up for money - they can't leave even if they want to.
Escape costs money.
I only escaped a military disaster not long ago, and before I could recover, I had to leave Edo again... Not every family can afford this kind of expense.
Because the battlefield has always been limited to Akasaka Mimen, these town residents stranded in Edo are all lucky - we will never be implicated! That's right! It's definitely not!
No matter how much they imagine, they are not just "back-up".
Due to the "tense relationship between people and land", most of the towns in the Edo period lived in long houses.
A long house is similar to an apartment, each house is closely connected, and the east wall of your house is the west wall of his house, thus forming a long group of houses, hence the name "Long House".
Generally speaking, a long house lives in more than a dozen or even dozens of households. The residents of each long house share a courtyard, a well, and a toilet.
The town people stranded in Edo have joined forces in "long houses" and silently collected bamboo guns, knives and other weapons for self-defense.
It is not so easy for soldiers to harass soldiers with bamboo guns, knives and other weapons to harass the soldiers.
Each longhouse looks like a small "fortress", which can be attacked and defended.
Not only that, the adjacent long houses have made alliances: If there is a real attack of soldiers, each long house has the obligation to assist each other and work together to meet the enemy!
If they fight each other, no matter how brave they are, they will not be able to fight against the regular army.
Only by working together can we have a way out!
At this time, no one realized that the "Chengguan Self-Protection Alliance" that was closely linked with the town, the Minami-Ki Army, and the soldiers of the Ichihashi Army had realized that although no one was going to lead the army, a "Chengguan Self-Protection Alliance" whose troops and equipment should not be underestimated was born spontaneously.
...
...
At this moment—
Edo, a town, a long house, a house—
This is an ordinary wooden house with a young couple living in it.
Her husband is named "Azan". He is an umbrella maker who makes a living by making umbrellas. Because he is engaged in light physical labor, his body is not strong.
His wife is called "Asong". She is neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, neither beautiful nor ugly, and is a very ordinary woman.
Ordinary families similar to this can be seen everywhere in Edo.
At this moment, the couple sat opposite each other and prepared to enjoy breakfast.
His wife A Song arranged two pairs of bowls and chopsticks and added a full of millet porridge.
"The shops are closed and I haven't bought any food, so I'll just eat it."
She said, pushing her husband's part to the edge of her legs.
The husband couldn't help but pick up the dishes and feasted, while saying shameful words like "It's so delicious! It's worthy of being my wife!" - Based on her understanding of her husband, this scenario should happen next.
However, what is the scene that really appears in front of him at this moment?
I saw Azhan lowering his head, gritting his teeth, staring at the tatami in front of his knees, looking stunning.
Seeing this, Asong was a sign.
"Azan, why are you stunned? Eat quickly. It's cold today. If you don't eat it, it will be cold soon."
“…”
"Azan? What's wrong with you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Ah Song put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hand, leaned over, and looked up and down at her husband with a worried look on his face.
However, at this moment, Azhan suddenly reacted - he shouted:
"I, I have decided! I want to join the war! I want to help Lord Nino!"
After suddenly shouting this sentence, Azhan did not give his wife any reaction time.
But he saw him stand up quickly, then turn around and take off the knife hanging on the wall.
When Assong came to his senses, he had already put on a slap in his hair, and strides out of the entrance.
“………………………………………………………………”
Asong blinked blankly.
After about 5 seconds, although she was half a beat slower, her consciousness finally caught up with reality.
After screaming, she didn't even bother to wear shoes, and rushed out of the door in three steps and caught up with her husband.
"Azhan! Azhan! What do you want to do? Come back quickly!"
"Asong, don't stop me! I have made up my mind! I swear to live and die with Lord Ren!"
The couple's noise caused a stir, alarmed the entire long house.
In an instant, accompanied by the riots, other residents of the long house put down their work, stepped out of the threshold, and came to check the situation.
Asong opened his arms and stopped him in front of Azhan, with a stance that "If you don't give me an explanation, I will never let you go."
"Azan! Tell me clearly! What do you want to do?"
Azan said seriously:
"Mr. Renwang is in trouble! I want to help Mr. Renwang!"
Ah Song stared at her eyes - half shocked and half puzzled.
"Azhan, do you think you are a great swordsman who is a horseman? What's the use of a timid person like you even if he goes to the battlefield?"
Although Ahsong's words were very unpleasant, she did not say it wrong.
Neighbors all know that Azhan is very timid, and can even be said to be as timid as a mouse. He doesn't even dare to kill a chicken on weekdays, let alone kill people.
At this point, the neighbors who came to join in the fun generally understood what was going on.
At this time, a middle-aged man who was always close to Azan came up and patted Azan on the shoulder:
“Azan, Assong is right.
"You may admire Lord Ren very much and want to help him. I can understand, and I also admire Lord Ren very much."
"But you have never learned martial arts and can't even hold a knife well. Even if a person like you goes to the battlefield, he will only die for nothing."
"There are other ways to help Lord Nino."
The other party's words were very sincere, and he really wanted to persuade Azhan.
But who knew that as soon as he finished speaking, Azan frowned and refuted righteously:
"Nei is kind to our family! Nei is killed, I can't ignore it!"
After hearing this, Asong became more and more confused:
"Is there any kindness? When did King Niang be kindness to our family?"
Azan said quickly:
"Asong, have you forgotten? If King Ren hadn't destroyed the Qingshui clan, we would have been harassed by the Qingshui family until now!"
Asong stopped talking.
A few years ago, Azhan accidentally offended a small cadre in the Qingshui family.
In order to retaliate, the other party sent people to harass them every now and then, making them almost unable to live a life.
Thanks to Qingdeng's elimination of the Qingshui clan, their lives were able to return to normal.
Azan's voice did not stop there:
"Even if I don't talk about Lord Ren and Imai's kindness to our family, I can't sit idly by and watch Lord Ren and Imai Duke suffer!"
"Kidnapped Kazumao is a wise king, and Lord Ren is even more a rare great man!"
"How can I ignore them in trouble?"
"I, although I am just an umbrella maker, I also know morality!"
"It is unrighteous to seek selfish interests!"
"If I hide at home and don't want to support morality, then I will become a timid mouse! I will always look down on myself!"
"Asong, if I die, you can remarry!"
After saying that, Azhan stopped talking.
He pushed Asong away and strode forward.
Ah Song stood there blankly, his eyes straight, without saying anything, without moving... and let Ah Zhan go to the battlefield.
Walking onto the desolate street alone... Azan looked timid and shivered several times.
However, he did not retreat.
He took big steps resolutely without hesitation at all.
At this moment, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from far and near from behind.
He turned his head and looked back, and suddenly found familiar faces.
Busaru, Funtaro, Akang...the familiar neighbors, a total of 6 people, quickly caught up with him.
"Bu, Busanro, why are you here?"
The young man called "Busanlang" by Azhan smiled:
"Azan, I've looked at you with admiration."
Another added:
"I didn't expect that I would be scolded by you one day. However, thanks to your bold words just now, I suddenly realized."
The others whispered:
"Azan! You're right!"
"Although we are civilians, we also know what morality is'!"
"Ichimao Duke and Lord Nino are both good people! When they died, we cannot sit idly by and watch!"
"We're going to join the war, too!"
"Let's go! Let's help Lord Nino!"
*******
*******
In the blink of an eye, it’s the end of the month again! Book friends who have monthly tickets on hand, please be sure to give this book the first monthly ticket! (Teared Leopard and Leopard Head.jpg)
Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket! (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
PS: The story prototype of this chapter is taken from "Chen Buzhan". You can check this person's story, which is very touching. He is a real brave man.
Leopards saw my go and saw it in my mind. Last night, I dreamed that Qingdeng announced that "I want to disband the new selection group."
Then Saito Ichi, who was usually taciturn, burst into intense emotions at this moment: "I don't want it! The new selection group is our place!"
Chapter completed!