They became the target of public criticism.

Instead, the Shinsengumi became the men of justice that everyone expected.

The so-called "drama" is nothing more than that.

Torataro Yoshimura did not believe a word of the "100,000 troops" promoted by Seito.

He is not an illiterate country boy, nor is he a bookworm who only knows how to study and lacks the ability to practice in society.

He has considerable insight into the manpower, material resources, financial resources, and time required to mobilize an army.

It is true that if Qingdeeng unites the 60 vassal states in the Gyeonggi region, it is indeed possible to explode 100,000 troops.

However, the "100,000 troops" here are mixed with a lot of water.

First of all, the vast majority of the soldiers are auxiliary soldiers who are only responsible for logistics work.

100,000 soldiers... At least half of Japan's resources must be integrated to barely assemble such a huge military strength.

Secondly, each vassal must mobilize all the warriors in its territory.

During the Edo period, the shogunate and the feudal lords did not adopt a conscription system, but implemented a strict "separation of soldiers and peasants."

In a nutshell - being a soldier is the job of the samurai, and civilians are not qualified to be soldiers.

If a war breaks out, civilians will also be recruited, but they will not go into battle. They will only be responsible for transporting baggage and serving as auxiliary troops.

Samurai are professional soldiers, serving as civil servants in peacetime and soldiers in wartime.

When the shogunate and the feudal lords issued mobilization orders, the samurai within their territories were obliged to rise up and join the battle.

The lower-ranking warriors served as infantrymen, while the higher-ranking warriors served as cavalry or commanders.

It is a very arduous task for these samurai gentlemen who are used to being civil servants to pick up swords and complete the most basic reorganization of the army...

If it is a small or weak vassal with a low profile, the workload will be slightly less.

However, for large and powerful vassals like Wakayama Domain and Hikone Domain, there is no time for three or five months to complete the mobilization for war.

It has only been a few days since the Tenchu ​​Group raised its troops in Gojo Town. Even if the monarchs and ministers of the Gyeonggi vassals worked hard day and night, it was impossible to complete the total mobilization of the troops in such a short period of time!

Therefore, Yoshimura Torataro dared to use his own head to guarantee that the only troops Aomori could lead were the Shinsengumi troops under his command!

In recent days, in order to appease the morale of the military, he spared no effort to assure the entire army that "Ju Qingden does not have that many soldiers"——

The number of troops under Ju Qingdeng's command is only 3,000! We also have 3,000! We have the same strength! They are despicable and dirty puppet troops! We are noble and pure teachers of justice! It is the common sense of the world that evil cannot prevail against justice.

!We will definitely win!

Torataro Yoshimura’s publicity and momentum cannot be said to be without effort.

However... the effect obtained was not significant.

Everyone is not a fool.

Is the Shinsengumi a weak force? The Iga offensive and defensive battle a while ago has given a detailed answer.

"No, no, no! I still feel that I cannot be the enemy of the Shinsengumi!"

"That's right! We should try our best to avoid war! Send envoys to Kyoto to show our respectful attitude to the court! Win your majesty's forgiveness!"

"Hmph! You are just a bunch of cowards! Look what you have become? You are just a Shinsengumi! Look how scared you are!"

"You are such an idiot! If you could win by willpower alone, there wouldn't be so many sad tragedies in the world!"

"If you insist on fighting the Shinsengumi, then we will withdraw!"

"That's right!"

…

Yoshimura Tontaro frowned and endured it... The comrades around him were still chirping.

Quarrels, random opinions, random thoughts...

At first glance, it doesn't look like a military meeting at all, but more like a noisy and disorderly vegetable market.

The Tenchu ​​Group is originally a "platter force" with complex components.

One of the typical characteristics of the "platter team" is that we share the blessings and share the hardships.

When sharing benefits, everyone is very positive.

Once the situation is not right, everything will go crazy.

They cherished the dream of "serving the country", but as a result... they not only lost their status as "rebels", but now they have to fight against the prestigious Shinsengumi alone!

"Huh...? Are we fighting the Shinsengumi? Real or fake?" - The above is the current psychological portrayal of most of the soldiers of the Tenchu ​​Group.

The elders of the Tenchu ​​group, headed by Yoshimura Tontaro, and Totsugawa's rural warriors were the most determined militants, and they did not waver in determination due to the predicament in front of them.

Especially Yoshimura Torataro, as the president of the Tenchu ​​Group, he cannot be easily discouraged.

His current state... at best he is determined, at worst he is a gambler.

There is no turning back! You can only bite the bullet and go all the way to the end! Never leave the gambling table until the last moment!

There is no need to doubt the fighting will of Yoshimura Tontaro and others.

It's just that...the so-called people with lofty ideals who came to join him after hearing the news are not so determined.

Those who came up with various weird ideas such as "bypassing the Shinsengumi", "wooing Tachibana Aoden", etc. were mainly these guys.

Yoshimura Tontaro had long seen that this group of people was unreliable.

So when he left Gaotori Castle, he only left his core cronies to defend the city.

However... Yoshimura Tortaro missed something.

He overestimated the limits of these guys!

Since the whole army started heading north, people have been fleeing privately.

It can range from one or two people to as many as ten or even dozens of people.

There are so many people fleeing that we don’t even know where to start.

The war hasn't even started yet, but deserters are appearing in a steady stream... This situation is already depressing.

Finally, Yoshimura Tontaro could no longer endure the noise around him.

Like an erupting volcano, he roared:

"Stop arguing!"

The sound of his voice immediately brought a long-lost silence.

Everyone present closed their mouths and looked directly at him.

Taking advantage of this moment, Yoshimura Torataro took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"It's so noisy and unbecoming!"

"Bypassing the Shinsengumi and wooing Tachibana Aoden...these actions are really nonsense!"

"Tachibana Aoden is Tokugawa Iemo's confidant! The two have a very close relationship!"

"Why would he betray the shogunate just because of a few words from us?"

"Our only way out now is to defeat the Shinsengumi! Then go north to join Choshu!"

"And to defeat the Shinsengumi, the only feasible way is to concentrate all the combat power and rush straight to the formation as soon as the battle begins! The formation will kill Tachibana Aoden!"

"Tachibana Aoden is the soul of the Shinsengumi."

"Tachibana Aoden is here, and the Shinsengumi is here."

"Tachibana Aoden is dead, but the Shinsengumi is dead in name only!"

"so……"

Before Yoshimura Tontaro finished speaking, he immediately suffered a fierce "backlash".

"Jinzhan Tachibana Aoden?! That's so easy for you to say!"

"That's right!"

"Hmph! I thought you had some great ideas! Your plan is no different from 'winning over Tachibana Aoden'! They are all unreasonable and boring fantasies!"

"If it was so simple to kill Tachibana Aoden, then we wouldn't have to discuss it here for so long!"

…

The jeers from the crowd aroused the dissatisfaction of two of Yoshimura Torataro's closest confidants, Matsumoto Keitou and Fujimoto Teishi.

Matsumoto Kuitou scolded angrily:

"Quiet! Mr. Yoshimura hasn't finished speaking yet!"

He just didn't say anything, and once he did, it caused a larger commotion.

"Who do you think you are! How dare you come to tell us what to do!"

"That's right!"
To be continued...