Those survivors who escaped from the front line brought back the panic as expected.

In fact, even if they did not escape back, panic began to spread rapidly among the Changzhou Army.

The one-sided terrorist offensive that just happened was all seen by the soldiers of the Changzhou Army.

Seeing that one's own long-range troops were easily annihilated, and seeing the enemy's long-range troops coming slowly, the indescribable monster named "Panic" began to expand rapidly.

"Hey, is the situation a little bad?"

"The Shinsengumi is coming!"

"This, how to fight this?"

…

Restlessness, turmoil, disturbance... Even the guerrillas who came to the island and relied heavily on the military guards were no longer as calm as before.

The soldiers are like this, and the generals of our formation are not much better.

Looking up, the main formation of the Changzhou Army is so bright and beautiful.

This is a once-in-a-century "Expedition to the East" that only happens once in a century. How can we not be well prepared?

Therefore, all of them put on their ancestral armor and gorgeous array of feathers.

At this moment, these well-dressed generals - including Kurushima Matabei - were all dumbfounded and looked arrogant, without the composure that a general should have.

Most of them had personally experienced last year's Shimonoseki War, so they were by no means ignorant of the world.

However, although they saw with their own eyes the power of the Western powers' cannons and battleships, they knew nothing about muskets, let alone what "line tactics" were.

In fact, few people in Japan today realize that in addition to naval warfare, the form of land warfare has also undergone earth-shaking changes.

Since the "Black Ship Incident", Western powers have never sent an army to land in Japan, and they have always relied on their navy to win.

The Black Ship Incident was like this, the Shimonoseki War was like this, and the Sa-Ying War was like this.

Because Japan is a long and narrow island country, and important cities such as Edo and Osaka are built near the sea, the navy alone is enough to show off its power.

This is an important reason why Japanese people today lack a correct understanding of muskets.

In addition, this is also the main reason why the Zunba faction is still confident in the so-called "war against the barbarians" - the Western barbarians are only powerful in sea battles! Once on land, let's see how we teach these barbarians a lesson!

In order to resolve the current predicament and calm the uneasiness in their hearts, the generals of this formation turned to look at Kurushima Matabei.

"Kurushima-sama! Please give the order!"

"Mr. Kurushima! What should we do now?"

"Kurushima-sama, let's... withdraw?"

Kurushima Matabei stared at the 6th and 8th divisions that were getting closer and closer to them. His mind was racing, thinking hard about how to defeat the enemy.

However... now that all the long-range troops have been wiped out, no matter how hard he racks his brains, he still feels empty!

Nothing can be done!

The organization level of the Shinsengumi Musketeers far exceeded Kurushima Matabei's expectations, and it can even be said to have reached an incredible level!

How can such a musketeer team, which can advance safely despite the barrage and arrows, stop it?

Send infantry to the hard top?

Send cavalry to harass?

I'm afraid that before I even get close, I'll be beaten into a sieve!

Although Kurushima Matabei is very reluctant, there are only two options before him now——

One is to retreat and escape from this place.

Second, launch a general attack! Launch a desperate assault with huge casualties, and survive in the midst of death!

Maybe this is the saying that "a leak in the house only happens when it rains all night".

At this moment, accompanied by the piercing roar of "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo [oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo you...", a black spot fell on the Changzhou military formation - it was an artillery shell!

Before Kurijima Matabei could react, blazing flames and dazzling flashes of light struck him!

The strong aftermath of the explosion overturned all the generals in the formation.

Kurushima Matabei also flew out and hit the military flag next to him.

"Uh...!"

The pain in my ears was severe, and a noisy "sizzling" sound was repeatedly produced deep in my ears and eyes, as if I was in deep water, and the sounds around me became extremely blurry.

After struggling to get up, he quickly followed the movement of the explosion - what he saw made him gasp!

Although the cannon's hit rate is not ideal, as long as it continues to fire, one or two shells will always hit the target.

The cannonball just now hit the Changzhou military formation squarely and hit the crowd.

The casualties...can be imagined.

Looking around, there is a bloody mess! There are broken limbs and remains everywhere!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-!"

"My leg! My leg is broken!"

"I've had enough! I'm just a farmer! Why do I have to come all the way to Kyoto to fight!"

…

In fact, this shell did not cause huge casualties. At most, it killed a dozen people and injured a hundred others.

However, it was like the straw that broke the camel's back.

The overwhelming combat power gap and the extremely bloody scene... the morale and order of the Changzhou Army finally collapsed completely!

First, the ronin, peasant soldiers who were forcibly recruited into the army turned around and fled.

Then, those independent troops who came as guest troops to assist in the battle began to waver significantly.

Seeing that the army began to collapse, generals at all levels naturally tried their best to suppress it:

"Don't run away! Come back here!"

"Damn! Are you still Changzhou men?!"

"Damn it! You damn warriors always look down on us farmers! You never treat us as human beings, and now you start saying 'we are men from Changzhou'?!"

"Normally, they use different methods to extract money from us farmers, but now that there is a war, they let us go to the battlefield to die! Are you still human?!"

"After all, isn't going to the battlefield what you warriors should do?"

"Let those who want to die go die! I want to go home!"

"Okay! You bunch of spineless guys! You want to get stabbed, don't you?"

"At this time, you still want to threaten us?!"

"Come on! Do you think you are the only ones with knives?"

…

Those who wanted to escape, those who oversaw the battle, those who stood firm, those who were hesitant... everyone huddled together.

Anyone who sees it can see that the military morale of the Changzhou Army has been lost...

At this time, Kurishima Matabei, who had been silent for a long time, finally reacted.

Fight or flee - this was not a difficult choice for Kurushima Matabei.

He turned to look at the general who had just suggested "escape" with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Run away? We still have the strength to fight, so why should we run away?"

His eyes were red, with red bloodshot eyes like flesh worms covering his eyes, which looked extremely terrifying.

"Since the Xiaguan War, our Changzhou has suffered repeated defeats!"

"If we are defeated again now, and it is a disastrous defeat of 'fleeing before fighting', how will the world view us in Changzhou?"

"At this point, we have no choice but to fight against the Shinsengumi!"

At this point, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"The whole army attacks! The infantry presses forward, and the cavalry attacks from the side!"

After saying that, he pulled out the saber from his waist.

"The guerrillas are opening the way! I will go out in person! Follow me!"

…

…

Shinsengumi, main formation——

The generals of the vassal army: "..."

When the 11th Squadron started taking action, there was a sudden silence inside and outside the formation.
To be continued...