Who am I among the crowd?"【4100】

Flashing sparks, drifting smoke...

With his relatively good eyesight, Sagawa Kanbei saw the bandit musketeers a hundred meters away, making array adjustments in a chaotic manner.

The gunners who had just fired the gun retreated hurriedly, retreated to the last row in one breath, opened the medicine pot, cleaned the remaining ash inside, then took out the primer can, poured an appropriate amount of primer into the medicine pot, and then took out the gunpowder bag.

Pour gunpowder from the muzzle of the gun, along with projectiles as big as your thumb.

The gunners in the back row stepped forward, installed the lit match rope on the snake pole clip, adjusted the length of the match rope to ensure that the match rope could be inserted into the medical pot, blew the red match rope, opened the lid of the medical pot, and completed the shooting preparation.

The rebels did not fire their guns at the same time, but were divided into three columns and fired in turn.

When the first column is firing, the second column is ready, the third column is loading ammunition, the first column shoots through the gap between the second column and the rear column, the second column moves forward to fire, and the third column fills the position of the second column. Firing in this way, the cycle repeats to preserve ammunition.

The rain never stops!

It's the classic tactic of the matchlock - three hits!

Looking around, the musketeers of the bandits were very unskilled in their movements.

Whether it is the replacement of the array or the loading of ammunition, there is a sense of confusion of "rushing the duck to the shelf".

There was even a ridiculous scene where a person who was retreating and someone who was moving forward collided with each other when changing arrays.

However, the scary thing about musketeers...or muskets is this - even a fledgling rookie can have great lethality once he picks up a musket!

Although Sagawa Kanbei immediately ordered his subordinates to disperse to avoid being exposed to concentrated fire, however... it was too late.

His momentum was exhausted, and the horses under him became frightened and uneasy.

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

Another row of bullets roared in.

The hot pellets stirred the air and gave off the smell of death.

Extremely poor accuracy is the fatal weakness of the matchlock gun.

If we don't use line tactics...the so-called "line up to shoot", we won't be able to hit a few people at all.

This time, because Sagawa Kanbei had ordered his subordinates to disperse, no one was unfortunately shot.

However, the main purpose of the matchlock gun is not to kill the enemy, but to suppress the enemy's momentum and create panic among the enemy.

Even if you are not shot, it can still make people feel the hair on their backs stand on end and make them feel stressed.

Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah!

Stimulated by the repeated deafening gunshots, the horses under Sagawa Kanbei and others became increasingly restless.

A few horses even had a stress reaction and began to lose control. They no longer rushed forward, but flopped on the spot, trying to throw the knight on their back to the ground.

When any cavalry general who is online at this level sees this situation, he can immediately conclude that it is impossible to achieve any results in this round of charge!

Sagawa Kanbei looked blankly at the musket formation in front and his subordinates in the rear who were showing signs of defeat.

A strong hesitation flickered back and forth in his eyes.

Finally, he gritted his teeth - so hard that he seemed to be trying to crush his back molars - and shouted loudly:

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Get everyone back!"

As soon as his order came out, the Aizu cavalry immediately turned their horses' heads as if they had been granted amnesty, and headed towards the Shinsengumi camp.

He didn't even dare to look back... and threw the cheers of celebration for repelling the powerful enemy far behind him...

The Aizu cavalry, who were high-spirited a few minutes ago, fled in a panic in the blink of an eye. They were beaten to the point of losing their morale without even touching the outside of the enemy's formation...

Such a tragic ending was unbelievable not only to Sagawa Kanbei, who led this round of cavalry charge, but also to everyone in the Shinsengumi camp.

…

…

Shinsengumi camp——

The Aizu cavalry charged, the Aizu cavalry was defeated, the Aizu cavalry fled back... This scene full of tension and contrast was clearly reflected in the eyes of Ayoto and the Shinsengumi generals.

No one spoke...a heavy atmosphere fell around them.

In this silence, Shannan Jingzhu murmured without sadness or joy:

"It's simply a replica of the Changsha Hezhan..."

The Battle of Nagasaki - a famous battle in the Warring States Period, the decisive battle between the Oroku Allied Forces (Oda Family and Tokugawa Family) and the Takeda Army.

In 1575, the Zhide coalition army and the Takeda army fought in Changbei.

Oda Nobunaga mobilized thousands of matchlock guns, and with perfect battlefield fortifications and overwhelming firepower superiority, he destroyed the world-famous Takeda Cavalry in one fell swoop. Three of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda" were eliminated, and Takeda shocked the Eastern Kingdom.

The family went downhill from there.

Whether it was the high-spirited charge of the Aizu cavalry or the low-dimensional attack of the firearms on the cavalry... As Shannan Keisuke said, everything was like a reenactment of the Nagasaki Battle two hundred years ago.

Toudo Heisuke slowly muttered with a puzzled look on his face:

"Why do the bandits have iron cannons?"

The question he raised was also a question shared by everyone present.

Although all Western countries have used advanced firearms such as Spencer lever rifles and Henry M1860 rifles, the matchlock gun is still a very rare weapon in Japan today.

Generally speaking, those small vassals can have four or five usable matchlock guns, which is an incredible armament.

Where did the bandit army get so many matchlock guns?

Also, where did they find so many musketeers?

When did these "original farmers" who only knew how to wield hoes before know how to operate complex matchlock guns?

"...let's go."

Abruptly, Qingden supported Vairocana on his waist, turned around and walked down the slope.

"Go and meet that idiot who wanted to show off his face, but ended up losing it."

…

…

"..."

Sagawa Kanbei lowered his head, his face was pale, his eyes were empty, and his whole person was like the embodiment of the word "lost soul".

The remaining defeated generals behind him all looked shocked.

After Sagawa Kanbei rode his horse through the village gate, he suddenly felt someone blocking his horse.

He looked up - Aomori was leading the Shinsengumi generals, standing tall like Mount Tai while looking at him expressionlessly.

Qingdeng didn't talk nonsense and said directly and seriously:

"Sagawa Kanbei, you disobeyed the general's orders and led troops out of the battle without authorization. You were arrogant and underestimated the enemy, which resulted in a disastrous defeat. Not only did you fail to make any achievements, but you also lost several important cavalry members. Did I say anything wrong about the above?"

"..."

The brief silence was Sagawa Kanbei's struggle.

For a moment, he buried his head low and squeezed out the words through his teeth:

"No...it is my incompetence that has led to irreparable and severe consequences...I, Sagawa Kanbei, am willing to accept all punishment..."

Seeing that the other party readily confessed his crime, Qingdeng didn't bother to waste any more words.

"I don't have time to deal with you now. I will deal with you slowly later."

After that, he turned his head and shouted to his followers:

"Get the bow!"

The attendant responded in agreement and left quickly.

After a while, the big purple bow that Tianzhang Academy presented to Qingdeng - Yise Zhafu Riluo - was handed into his hands.

Qingdeng held the bow in his left hand and stroked the strings with his right hand, carefully checking the condition of the bow strings.

The bow is a very delicate weapon.

Once it gets wet, its elasticity will be greatly weakened.

Therefore, you cannot use the bow on rainy days - of course, it is not impossible to use it forcefully. However, if you do so, the power of the arrow will be greatly reduced, and secondly, the bow string will be easily scrapped.

Qingdeng's sudden action of taking the bow naturally aroused confusion among everyone present.

The general manager couldn't help but asked:

"Tangerine-kun, what are you doing with your bow?"

Qingdeng replied calmly:

"As I expected, this band of thieves is very unusual."

"Unless it obtains the assistance of a 'third party', it is impossible for a bandit army that has just launched its army to have iron gunners who can use the 'three-stage strike'."
To be continued...