Therefore, Hijikata Toshizo is not exaggerating. Tonight's night attack is indeed enough to leave a name in the history of Huanghuang.

Although Qingdeng and others were impeccable to count the results of this battle, it is certain that they caused considerable damage to the Changzhou Building.

For the Changzhou Army, compared to the material losses, the damage to morale is more serious and fatal!

Before the war officially started, his camp was attacked. He suffered heavy casualties but was unable to stop the attackers... It was simply a concrete portrayal of the word "cowardly"!

It is not difficult to imagine that people in the Changzhou camp opposite must be in panic right now, and there is an atmosphere of uneasiness in the air.

After a hearty victory, Harada Sanosuke, who felt extremely happy in his heart, looked up to the sky and smiled:

"Hahahaha! It's so refreshing! Those dog thieves in Changshu, must you have seen the power of the 'Immortal Harada'!"

Strangely enough, the contrast between Harada Sanosuke and Aoto is striking.

He was laughing wildly, but looking at Qingdeng next to him... he did not show any smile or joy, but instead had a straight face, looking thoughtful.

Shannan Keisuke seemed to have read through his mind, stepped forward and asked in a deep voice:

"Tachibana-kun, how is the situation?"

Qingdeng shrugged and said calmly:

"The enemy's total strength is similar to what we expected, about 2,000 men, and the quality of the soldiers varies."

"The vast majority of people are like temporarily recruited peasant soldiers, and only a few are well-trained warriors."

"Unfortunately, the Raiders are not on the opposite side."

Hijikata Suisan on the side listened and said silently without sadness or joy:

"This is troublesome. The worst situation has occurred."

Qingdeng smiled helplessly and nodded gently:

"Yeah, this is the worst situation..."

Qingdeng is not afraid of encountering strong enemies, nor is he afraid of directly encountering the surprise team - rather, these situations are what he likes to see.

Encountering a strong enemy is not terrible.

The terrible thing is that there is no strong enemy!

Because they were afraid of the military power of the shogunate, the Kiibei Corps collapsed without a fight - Ayoto didn't think that this troop founded and trained by Takasugi Shinsaku would be so weak.

So, since the Raiders are not here, where will they be?

Deployed in the hinterland of Changzhou?

Would the commanders of Changzhou really be so stupid to give up a great geographical advantage and use their own shortcomings to attack the strengths of others?

Deployed in two other battlefields?

The troops in Shizhoukou and Xiaocangkou directions only made feint attacks. As long as Changzhou's attention was captured, the military force would be considered successful.

Even if Changzhou wins these two battlefields, it will not have any impact on the war situation.

After thinking this, Qingdeng turned his head expressionlessly and looked at the Changzhou Camp behind him.

The wind and snow have not stopped tonight, and there is no chance of the fire spreading.

Therefore, although Qingdeng shot down many torches when he left, causing the Changzhou camp to burst into flames, with the cooperation of the Changzhou generals, the fire gradually stopped and they did not have to worry about having no tents to live in tonight.

Looking at the gradually quiet camp, Qingdeng couldn't help but think to himself:

——Changzhou...what on earth is he doing?

…

…

The next day, early morning——

It snowed for a while, until the sky turned white, and then it gradually stopped.

Although it stopped snowing, the sky was still gray, as if it were filled with lead.

The sun struggled to penetrate the clouds, feebly, and spread over the earth like light dust, illuminating the armor and weapons of the soldiers of the two armies.

Woo——! Woo——! Woo——! Woo——! Woo——!

As soon as the sky dawned, the loud sound of trumpets came from the Tokugawa army positions.

Suddenly, the air in Yizhoukou was filled with a chilling atmosphere!

Along with this exciting horn sound, the sound of thunderous footsteps immediately sounded.

Groups of soldiers came out of the camp and lined up in the field.

The shogunate sent 200,000 troops to conquer Changzhou - in fact, if you think about it, these numbers are purely frightening.

The shogunate did indeed mobilize 36 feudal lords this time, with a total of 200,000 troops. These numbers are indeed real numbers.

But the problem is that it takes time to assemble an army.

Depending on the road conditions in the Edo period and the poor enthusiasm of the feudal lords, when all 200,000 troops are assembled, it will probably not be until spring next year.

Therefore, the number of troops currently arriving at the front line is far less than 200,000.

There were about 30,000 troops arriving at Shizhoukou, 20,000 at Xiaocangkou, and just over 40,000 at Yizhoukou. The rest of the troops were still on the way.

Although less than half of the troops have arrived at the front line, Qingteng no longer wants to wait any longer.

Now that the main Shinsengumi, Aizu Army and Satsuma Army have all arrived, there is no need to wait any longer!

Anyway, the other troops are just making up the numbers, just to build momentum, it doesn't matter whether they help or not.

Of course, although the troops were not all present, the scene of 40,000 troops arrayed in sequence was extremely spectacular!

Looking up, one can see large or small square military formations stretching across the wilderness, and the end of the formations cannot be seen at a glance!

The shogunate troops are forming up one after another and are eager to attack.

On the other hand, the Changzhou Army on the opposite side - they were very quiet and did not make any conspicuous movements. You could only vaguely see many soldiers climbing up the walls of the camp, looking nervous and ready for battle.

The facilities that Qingdeng and others destroyed last night have been largely repaired after a night of emergency repairs.

It seemed that they were planning to hold on to their camp.

Very smart choice.

If you abandon your strong camp and go out into the wild to fight a decisive battle with the superior troops, you will be facing death.

Although Yizhoukou is a narrow area with a mountain on one side and the sea on the other, no fortresses like Shanhaiguan and Hulao Pass were built here. They just built a large stockade out of wood - where the Changzhou Army is currently stationed.

, this camp that we hold fast to.

The reason for this is that the shogunate has been suppressing the vassals for hundreds of years.

In the first year of Yuanwa (1615), the newly established Edo shogunate issued the "One Country, One City Order".

That is, in a vassal state, only one city that is inhabited by a daimyo and serves as the seat of the government can be retained, and all other cities must be abolished.

Most of these abandoned castles were mountain castles built during the Kamakura shogunate period with military defense functions.

In this way, most of the cities were demolished and there were no longer many castles like during the Warring States Period, and the strength of the vassals was greatly weakened.

Therefore, although Choshu is large, it only has one city, Hagi Castle (the feudal hall of Choshu).

Because it was not possible to build a city, the Jinguan dangerous fortresses represented by the "Five Territories" within the Changzhou Territory were only large villages built with wood.

Although it has defensive functions, it is not much and can basically only play a role that is better than nothing.

Not to mention the iron walls of Shanhaiguan and Hulao Pass, even if Changzhou built an ordinary city with bricks and stones at Yizhoukou, it would still be a huge nightmare for the shogunate.

At this moment, the busiest unit in the shogunate was undoubtedly the 11th Division (artillery unit) of the Shinsengumi.

"Move quickly! Don't delay! Bring up all the cannons! Today's battle is the first battle of this expedition! Our 11th Squadron must show the majesty of the Shinsengumi!"

Risaburo Nomura (the deputy captain of the 11th Squadron) raised his voice and commanded the soldiers of the 11th Squadron in an orderly manner.

Cannons were rolled out one by one and carried to the firing position.

The black muzzle pointed diagonally at the sky, towards the Changzhou position on the opposite side.

While the 11th Squadron was preparing for the bombardment in full swing, Abe Juro (Captain of the 11th Squadron) was in the main formation, waiting for Aoto's order.

Qingdeng's majestic horse was sitting on the horse with a golden sword, looking at the enemy army opposite him with an expressionless face.

The generals sat on the left and right sides below him in order according to their status.

To be honest, even today, Qingdeng still doesn't understand what Changzhou is planning, let alone where the team of surprise soldiers who are Changzhou's hope are gone.

However, it is always right to try to defeat the Changzhou Army on the opposite side and occupy Yizhoukou.

Since forming the artillery team, Qingdeng has gradually become path-dependent in the use of tactics - no matter what, let's fire a few damn shots first!

Soon, after receiving the news that "Team 11 is ready", he gave the order to Juro Abe without sadness or joy:

"Fire! Break through Yizhoukou within half a day!"

Juro Abe responded loudly:

"yes!"
To be continued...