After the Zunban faction goes underground and launches a terrorist attack, every street, alley, and house in Kyoto may turn into a bloody and fierce battlefield!

Intricate intelligence, street chases, sword flashes in the streets...Spy wars and street battles have become the most mainstream methods of confrontation between the two factions of patriots (Samu Zunbo).

It would definitely not work if the cavalry, gunnery and ninja teams were to engage in street fighting.

The Ninja Team is busy conducting espionage activities and secretly engaging in invisible battles with patriots.

Needless to say, the cavalry has a relationship with street fighting that is like a bull's-eye and a chicken--the same goes for the gunnery corps.

The reloading speed of the musket is too slow. If you fail to kill the enemy after one shot, you are finished.

Before you can reload, the enemy will flee or kill you.

Although the musket can be used as a spear after installing a bayonet, its effectiveness in streets with complex terrain is obviously far less effective than a more flexible sword.

Let alone cannons and the like, you can't fire cannons in urban areas like Napoleon did.

Regardless of how difficult it is to transport the cannon, once the cannon is fired, not only the enemy will be shattered, but the streets around him will also be shattered.

The humanitarian disaster and compensation issues arising from this are enough to make Qingdeng very anxious.

In the Edo period, samurai lands, public lands and temple lands were not only vast in area, but also had a small population.

On the other hand, if the residents of the town...the huge population and the densely packed buildings were to be seen by someone with cryptophobia, they would definitely faint.

Kyoto’s towns and villages are typical of them. There are countless dilapidated neighborhoods that resemble the “Shityama Code”. Their complexity is dizzying.

Here is a two-person wide path, there is a long house that is difficult to turn around... It is simply a natural and the best street fighting venue.

People with lofty ideals naturally know the truth of "leaves disappear into the forest, water droplets disappear into the sea".

They generally hide in towns and cities, which greatly increases the difficulty of arresting the Shinsengumi.

Even if they are discovered, the complex terrain of the town will facilitate their escape.

Because the terrain is too complicated and cramped, in many cases, it is not even possible to use a katana, and you can only draw out your wakizashi to fight.

In this case, it is even less suitable to send artillery teams to maintain law and order in Kyoto.

To sum up, looking at the current 11 divisions of the Shinsengumi, the only ones suitable for garrisoning in Kyoto are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th divisions that still retain swords and specialize in close combat.

It is definitely unrealistic to ask all five squadrons to patrol Kyoto.

For Ayoto, Kyoto is certainly important, but Otsu cannot be missed either.

Finally, after careful research, Qingto's specific arrangements for these five squads are as follows -

The first team is stationed in Dajin to guard the heart of the Qinjin clan.

The other four divisions are divided into two groups - the second and fourth divisions are one group; the third and fifth divisions are one group - and they rotate in Kyoto according to the month.

If the 2nd and 4th divisions are allowed to go to Kyoto this month, the 3rd and 5th divisions will stay in Otsu.

By the next month, the 2nd and 4th Divisions will return to Otsu, while the 3rd and 5th Divisions will head to Kyoto.

Repeatedly.

It's July now...it's the month when the 2nd and 4th squadrons are stationed in Kyoto.

…

…

The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), July 17——

Kyoto, four small bridges——

Kyoto in midsummer is really like a steamer.

The sunlight during the day was blazing and scorching, and the entire Kyoto was enveloped in a humid, monstrous heat wave.

There is no wind, and the air is thick and mushy, making people feel breathless and difficult to breathe.

The cicada was hiding on the branches, chirping manically and tirelessly, and its sound spread to every corner of Kyoto.

"It's so hot...I'm almost melting..."

Nagakura Shinpachi had his head drooped, sweating profusely, and looked depressed.

"What the hell kind of weather is this... Summer in Kyoto is really torturous... I'm starting to miss my hometown... Nakajima, is there water?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a strong man beside him immediately replied:

"Yes, there is still a little bit left."

With that said, he took off the bamboo tube from his waist, unscrewed the mouth of the tube and handed it to Nagakura Shinpachi.

After Nagakura Shinpachi reached out to take it, he drank it all in one gulp.

"Why is this water warm...?"

The strong man smiled bitterly:

"Captain, this is the water I just brought from the well. It was ice cold at first, but it turned into warm water after a while."

"Tsk...I hate summer in Kyoto more and more..."

Nagakura Shinpachi sighed and handed the kettle in his hand back to the strong man.

This strong man whom Nagakura Shinpachi calls "Nakajima" is none other than Noboru Nakajima, the vice-captain of the Shinsengumi 2nd Division.

Noboru Nakajima was born in the 9th year of Tenho (1838). He is 26 years old this year, one year older than Nagakura Shinpachi. The eighth prince of Tama County in Musashi Province was born in Terakata Village.

Tama, the Eighth Prince... With such a background, it is not difficult to see that he is the descendant of the Eighth Prince, and he is also a fellow countryman of Isamu Kondo, Toshizo Hijikata.

Because of his love for martial arts, he has been practicing the Natural Rishin-ryu, which is widely spread in Tama, since he was a child, and he was able to obtain the highest rank at a young age.

In this way, his relationship with Kondo Isamu and Hijikata Toshizo is not only from the same hometown, but also from the same school.

After the "Grand Recruitment" started at the beginning of the year, after being recommended by Kondo Isamu, he successfully joined the army and became a recruit of the Second Division.

In terms of swordsmanship level alone, he has not yet obtained the exemption, so he is not that superb.

However, he is very courageous, and he is a hero who is full of courage and dares to fight and charge.

Its body is very strong and its voice is extremely loud, so just shouting is enough to make the rats tremble.

With his excellent strength, it only took him 3 months to move from an ordinary soldier all the way to the current vice-captain of the second division.

It is worth mentioning that due to similar personalities and congenial smells, he quickly became friends with Nagakura Shinpachi and talked about everything.

Both of them are talkative people with loud voices and love to chat.

As soon as the two of them met, they would always talk endlessly, talking about the sun, moon and stars in the sky, the mountains, lakes and seas underground, the chopping and thrusting of swordsmanship, and a woman's neck, breasts, buttocks and feet, all across the distance.

You can hear the loud voices of these living treasures.

In this way, it formed a quite significant contrast with the third division.

The captain and deputy captains of the third division (Saito Kazuo, Nakazawa Sadaki) are not very talkative, and they can't even make a loud fart for a long time.

On the other hand, the captain and vice-captain of the second division... were making a lot of noise!

Ever since, after the third division was nicknamed "the quietest division", the second division also got their own nickname: "the noisiest division".

Nakajima Noboru asked casually while hanging the empty kettle back on his waist:

"Mr. Nagakura, if I remember correctly, your hometown is in the Matsumae Domain in Ezo, right?"

Nagakura Shinpachi nodded.

"Well, that's right. I'm from the Matsumae clan."

Noboru Nakajima looked curious.

"The Matsumae Domain is located in the far north, so it should be very cool, right?"

Nagakura Shinpachi grinned.

"Yes. Although it is very hot in summer, it is not as stuffy as Kyoto. It is quite cool after nightfall."

"If it's winter, the scene will be terrible."

"Countless snowflakes are covering the sky, and often when I wake up, the outdoor scene is completely different."

"Looking up, the whole world is blindingly white, and the snow is as high as the knees."

After Noboru Nakajima listened carefully, his face showed longing:

"Oh! Knee-high snow? I really want to see it!"

"If I have a chance in the future, I will definitely go to Matsumae Domain to have a good experience!"

Nagakura Shinpachi Wanji:

"When you are ready to go to Matsumae Domain, you can come to me and I will be your guide."

Noboru Nakajima laughed:

"Okay! Captain, it's settled!"

At this time, a young team member was panting and running towards Nagakura Shinpachi and Nakajima Noboru in three steps and two steps at a time.

"Captain, deputy captain, the target Yuya Kiemon has appeared! The target Yuya Kiemon has appeared!"
To be continued...