After thinking this secretly, Qingden looked at Hijikata Toshizo and put on a serious expression:

"Susan, how is the war going now?"

Hijikata Toshizo answered without thinking:

"It's generally going well. We have achieved an overwhelming victory. The Changzhou Army has been defeated across the board. They even lost their crotch cloth. It's just..."

When he said the word "just", Hijikata Toshizo paused for a moment, and a look of regret appeared on his cheeks:

"The general of the Changzhou Army has obviously changed. His command style suddenly became extremely cautious."

"We have recaptured Tenryuji Temple...although the temple has been burned to rubble."

"Currently, the last remaining force of the Changzhou Army has retreated to Lanshan. Taking advantage of the convenient location of Lanshan, it is launching a steady resistance."

"Although all the soldiers in the army pursued bravely,...'attacking the mountain' is not an easy task. Our troops and combat experience are still insufficient."

"The soldiers were either tired of climbing the mountain or lost in the dense forest, and the pursuit progress was not ideal."

"Judging from the current situation, we are afraid that we will not be able to completely annihilate the Changzhou Army."

After Aoden listened quietly, he smiled and patted Hijikata Toshizo on the shoulder.

"Susan, relax."

"The Choshu Army suffered a huge defeat and suffered heavy casualties. The leaders of the Zunbo faction headed by General Gensui Kusaka were all killed - for us, the results of the battle are rich enough."

"If you are too greedy, I'm afraid you will be disturbed by it."

As he spoke, he put his hands on the ground and stood up unsteadily.

Seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo couldn't help but frown:

"Ju, don't tell me that you still want to go to the front line."

"Although I don't know what you did, you are in such a miserable state, so you should stay here obediently."

Qingdeng smiled bitterly and said:

"I know, and I don't plan to force myself anymore."

He himself knows best what his current physical condition is.

Although he had just taken advantage of his coma and managed to get some sleep, he had only recovered to the point where he could "stay awake and be able to barely stand".

I have to say that the recovery abilities brought by talents such as "Sleep God" and "Strong Essence +4" are really amazing.

Based on Qingdeng's own estimation, he only slept for half an hour at most.

It's really scary to be able to recover to this level after only sleeping for such a short time.

All in all, with his current body riddled with holes, forcing himself to the front line will only cause trouble for others.

Therefore, Qingdeng immediately said:

"On the third year of Sui San, the command of the front line has been temporarily handed over to me. As for me, I will be waiting for your victory in this formation. Don't let me wait in vain."

Hijikata Tosei smiled:

"When have I ever let you down?"

…

…

Today's battle lasted until evening.

After Hijikata Toshizo took over the frontline command from Aoto, he personally took the arrows and launched a violent attack on the Choshu Army's "Arashiyama Defense Line".

He divided the troops into three shifts and launched attacks in batches, without giving the Changzhou Army any breathing space.

When the time came to afternoon, the Changzhou Army, whose defense line was no longer sustainable, began to withdraw from Lanshan and evacuate to the west of Lanshan... that is, towards the direction of the Western Kingdom.

Hijikata Toshizo immediately led the cavalry and all the soldiers who could ride horses - such as Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Ichi - to launch the final blow against the Choshu Army.

This pursuit battle can be described as the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves!

Hijikata Tobizo and others chased for hundreds of kilometers at a stretch, and fought until they reached the Harima area west of Gyeonggi Province before stopping due to fatigue of horses and men, replicating the grand occasion last year when the Huisa coalition forces expelled the Choshu forces from Kyoto.

At this point, this large-scale battle with astonishing scale, involving tens of thousands of troops from both sides, finally came to an end.

Because this battle took place in late summer and took the western suburbs of Kyoto as the main battlefield, people at the time named this battle "Kyoto Summer Formation".

No matter which angle it is evaluated from, the Tauchang Legion has achieved an undoubted victory.

Although his own casualties were extremely light, he severely damaged the Choshu Army and blocked the Choshu Army on the outskirts of Kyoto, saving this thousand-year-old capital from military disaster.

Among them, the Shinsengumi...or Qinjin Clan is the biggest winner.

Through this battle, Qingteng successfully tested the training results of the Shinsengumi and showed off his muscles, which frightened all the Gyeonggi feudal lords and confirmed the Qinjin clan's position as the absolute leader in the Gyeonggi region.

On the other hand, Choshu... Hijikata Toshizo said that they even lost their loincloths, which is really not an exaggeration.

Not to mention the heavy casualties, more importantly, their prestige was completely destroyed.

In many cases, reputation is often more important than population, money and food.

As one of the most powerful and oldest vassal states in Japan, the Choshu Domain has always had a decisive influence in the Western Kingdom.

There is a saying that "God cannot bleed."

Mobilizing tens of thousands of troops, they launched a mighty Eastern Expedition, only to be completely defeated in just two days... It is no exaggeration to say that today's Changzhou has completely become the laughing stock of the world.

The Maori family, which once dominated the Western Kingdom, is this?

By now, almost everyone in the world is thinking like this: Changzhou is over! The movement to respect the king and repel the foreigners is over!

…

…

A few days later——

Aki area, somewhere adjacent to the Seto Inland Sea——

The dim sunlight struggled to penetrate the layers of fog and weakly sprinkled on the ground, barely illuminating a slowly creeping dark brown patch on the dirt road.

This dark brown color is the Changzhou Army returning home.

At first glance, they really looked like they had been splashed with dark brown paint.

The vast majority of the soldiers in the army had their bodies covered with dirt and blood, and their clothes were stained with blood. They all looked like beggars.

Of course, compared to their appearance, their mental outlook is definitely gloomier.

Most people have their heads drooped, their waists bent, and they seem to be floating when they walk.

No one said anything, it was eerily silent even though there were so many people there.

Apart from grief and numbness, there is no third expression, lifelessness...

It was clear that there were a mighty 12,000 troops when they set out, but not even half of them came back... Facing such a tragic situation, no matter how optimistic you are, it is difficult to cheer up.

Katsura Kogoro walked on foot in the middle of the military column, walking side by side with ordinary soldiers.

He originally had a horse, but he temporarily lent it to the wounded.

"Gui, Mr. Gui..."

Suddenly, Katsura Kogoro heard a hoarse voice coming from behind him.

Turning around, he saw a young samurai holding a radish with a lot of fresh soil and walking up to Katsura Kogoro in two steps.

"This is the radish I just dug. Although it is a bit small, it can still fill my stomach. Please take it and eat it."

As he spoke, he handed the radish in his hand to Katsura Kogoro's arms.

Looking at this small radish that was only as thick as his finger, Katsura Kogoro couldn't help but swallow.

In order to increase the marching speed as much as possible and get rid of the pursuit of the commander's army, under the personal instruction of Katsura Kogoro, they threw away all the baggage they could throw.

In this way, although the queues were streamlined, the material reserves in the army fell into an extreme shortage, and the anxiety of running out of food lingered in the hearts of the soldiers.

Even Katsura Kogoro hasn't eaten anything serious for two days in a row.

Although he wanted to put this little carrot into his mouth immediately, he still resisted his desire and said seriously:

"Thank you for your kindness. You worked hard to dig this out. How can I steal it? You can take it and eat it yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, the other party immediately made a serious face:

"How can this work! I'm just a nobody, and my life doesn't matter at all! Mr. Gui, you are our hope for the rejuvenation of Changzhou. I can die, but you must not make any mistakes!"

Katsura Kogoro wanted to continue to refuse, but at this moment, an anxious voice suddenly sounded from beside him:

"Mr. Gui, the soldiers are very tired. Let everyone rest for a while!"

The speaker is a general who is very close to Katsura Kogoro.

Faced with this person's sincere request, Katsura Kogoro shook his head after thinking for a moment:

"No, we can't rest yet. We can't afford to delay now, we must rush back to Changzhou as soon as possible."

The man wanted to say something more, but after seeing Katsura Kogoro's expression, the words that had already flowed to his lips were swallowed back by him.
To be continued...