Chapter 331 Generals Protect Each Other
Chapter 331 Generals Protect Each Other
Japanese country, Kyoto, wooden house town, Nijo Shimochōshu domain residence.
This is the temporary dormitory of Omura Masujiro, the commander-in-chief of the new army of the Japanese Imperial Guard. On the second floor of the dormitory, Omura was drinking with the professor of Western studies, Anda Yukinosuke, and the commander of the brigade, Shizuma Hikotaro, sitting around a soup tofu pot, and the male servant Yamada was waiting beside them.
"Jingjian-kun, can our new army fight now?"
Shizuma Hikotaro knelt down and bowed. "We have quietly expanded our army to live up to the trust of the Grand Councilor. We have recently trained 5,000 elite troops. With the personal training of the French military advisor, we are able to defeat ten of the backward shogunate troops with one. We can start now."
"Good! In order to raise enough funds for the new army, His Majesty has been living frugally and skipping breakfast every day. We cannot betray God's grace, and this time we must eradicate the Tokugawa traitor."
"Our first mission is to eliminate the most powerful minions of the shogunate - the Shinsengumi."
Shizuma looked excited, "The Shinsengumi has assassinated countless Meiji Restorationists and has committed many evil deeds. They should be eradicated. However, they are all highly skilled in martial arts and it is difficult to catch them."
Professor Anda smiled slightly, "The shogunate also hired French instructors to train their Shinsengumi to use new weapons. After my mediation, the French have already placed our people in the Shinsengumi."
"The latest intelligence sent to us is that the Shinsengumi has received 5,000 taels of silver from the shogunate, and has changed its name to the Koyang Pacification Team. It is currently hiding in the shogunate's Tenryo Kofu and training with new weapons.
Including more than 70 ninjas, more than 200 samurai, and more than 200 newly recruited members, a total of 500 people, equipped with two cannons and 500 breech-loading rifles. "
Omura Masujiro waved his hand and said, "In a head-on battle, the Shinsengumi cannot be a match for the regular new army. The main reason is that they are elusive and difficult to catch. This time, the French are secretly supporting us, so we must completely destroy them."
"Shizuma-kun, the new army will set out tomorrow to destroy the Shinsengumi and fire the first shot of the second overthrow of the shogunate. This time, we must succeed!"
Jingjian bowed again, "Hi!"
"Daisuke, there are two people visiting downstairs. They claim to be samurai from the Choshu domain. One is Okubo Yamato and the other is Naito Hayato."
Omura Masujiro blinked his eyes. He didn't remember that there were these two samurai in the domain? Could it be that they were new samurai who came to pay their respects?
After all, they are from our clan - "Yamada, go down and bring them up, so we can have a drink together."
There were footsteps downstairs, and Yamada came upstairs with two tall warriors.
As the Japanese are generally short, these two warriors appear exceptionally tall, both close to 1.7 meters tall, and without the ugly yin-yang haircut.
The middle-aged man in the lead had a dark and resolute face, was wearing a kimono, had short hair, and walked with steady steps.
The young man next to him was very handsome and unforgettable. He was wearing a suit and had a slicked back hair which was popular in Europe and America.
Fortunately, both of them were equipped with both tachi and wakizashi swords, and they still looked like samurai.
Omura looked at the two men and immediately realized something was wrong. "You are not Choshu samurai! Someone -"
It was too late. The two samurai drew their swords, and the young handsome man drew his famous sword "Izumi-no-kami Kanesada" and chopped it on the back of the male servant walking in front of him. Yamada fell to the ground and died.
The middle-aged samurai rushed towards Omura holding the wakizashi "Nagasonomi Kotetsu".
The two shouted at the same time, "The shogunate guards are on the move. The Shinsengumi Kondo Isami (Hijikata Toshizo) is here! God will punish the traitors!"
Omura Masujiro was a famous military strategist, but his martial arts skills were not outstanding. He retreated in panic, but was still stabbed, with a cut on his forehead and a serious injury on his right leg. He fell under the tatami partition behind him.
With quick hands and eyes, Shizuma Hikotaro extinguished the lantern with a square paper cover, and the room suddenly became dark.
Professor Anda shouted, "There's an assassin," and fled down the stairs.
In the darkness, Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo mistook Andachi for the assassination target Omura and turned around to chase him downstairs.
As Anda was running away, the assassin who was lying in ambush in front of him said, "Shinsengumi First Division Captain Okita Souji is here."
The three men attacked from the front and back, hacking Ando to death with their swords, and the Shinsengumi members fled.
As they walked, Okita Souji curled his lips and said, "Those Nanyang masters are gone, can't we still assassinate the traitors who overthrow the shogunate?"
Hijikata Toshizo sighed, "Our martial arts skills are far behind. If they were here, it wouldn't have taken so long to complete the mission."
Upstairs, the seriously injured Omura groped his way down the stairs, fled into the bathroom downstairs, hid in a bathtub full of water and waited for rescue. Upstairs, the most alert Shizuma Hikotaro huddled in the corner, motionless.
The new army guards finally arrived and rescued the two survivors.
Shinguharamin from a nearby clinic was woken up in the middle of the night and came to bandage Omura's wounds. Omura was rushed to Osaka Suzukicho Hospital, where he was treated jointly by Dutch doctor (Western doctor) Baldwin and his former teacher Ogata Koan's second son, Korejun.
Ina Kusunoki, the daughter of German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold, who was friends with Omura, also came from Kanto.
The wound on Omura's right leg was four inches long and had already festered. Baldwin judged that he needed to have his leg amputated, but Japan had a strange rule that senior officials needed the emperor's "permission to save" order to undergo surgery.
A fast horse rushed to Kyoto to ask for help to rescue Xu Ling, but it was too late. Omura Masujiro was infected and died.
This Japanese military genius, who had similar ideas to Shao Quanzhong, died before he could show his talents. The reformists lost another pillar of support, and their anger towards the Shinsengumi was unstoppable.
Although Omura was dead, the new army he trained was already formed. The reformists and Meiji were full of confidence, and immediately used the Shinsengumi's assassination of the imperial officials as an excuse to once again declare the shogunate an enemy of the court, and sent Shizuma Hikotaro to lead 5,000 new troops to attack the shogunate.
…………
Guangzhou, Beijiaochang.
Shao Quanzhong holds a brand new Mauser bolt-action rifle and observes it carefully.
It’s worthy of Prussian craftsmanship. Every accessory has a number, even the screws.
Shao Quanzhong raised his gun and fired, "Bang!"
Right in the bull's eye.
In the Huai Army sequence, Shao Quanzhong's marksmanship now ranks third, second only to Song Laosan and Maria.
Shao Quanzhong pulled the bolt skillfully, turned the gun sideways, and the copper shell fell out. He loaded the new bullet skillfully, and Shao Quanzhong was very satisfied.
Except for the lack of a shell ejector, this is very close to Shao Quanzhong's requirements for a rifle.
It was not easy. I started from the militia and struggled for nine years before I finally used a bolt-action rifle. It may take a long time for me to use a burst rifle.
Compared with those senior heroes who traveled through time and space and accumulated Maxim within two years and defeated the whole world, Shao Quanzhong should be ashamed and commit suicide.
"Third brother, you try it."
Song Laosan fired a shot. "Well, compared with the original Enfield, the shooting accuracy has not improved. However, with the bolt, the bullet loading speed is greatly increased. It is a good choice for ordinary soldiers."
Shao Quanzhong patted Song Le on the shoulder and said, "We can't rely on sharpshooters like you to fight. Brother Tian, equip all the 10,000 bolt-action rifles that have just been delivered to your tank division. The Guards will stay behind and start training on the use of bolt-action rifles immediately."
"Report! The latest news from Japan."
Japan was still so backward that it had not yet sent telegrams, and the news from the Intelligence Department reached Shao Quanzhong a week late, and this was the result of the Intelligence Department mobilizing clipper ships.
After reading the intelligence, Shao Quanzhong sighed, "It's not Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo's fault for going it alone. Even if they didn't assassinate Omura, Meiji would have been ready to act with 5,000 new troops in his hands."
Shao Quanzhong sighed, "Omura Masujiro is a capable man. When I trained the new army, I also trained 5,000 people in the first batch. Unfortunately, only Lord Qiao supported me. If Emperor Xianfeng had the magnanimity of Meiji at that time, he would have used me directly-"
Tian Xing curled his lips and said, "This is China's luck. If the Tartar emperor was so wise, how could China restore the Han Chinese clothing?"
"By the way, second brother, seeing that you seem to have a mutual respect for Omura, should we support Meiji this time?"
"Bah! Only a ghost would support the Japanese devils' black card. Mutual sympathy is another matter. The more capable people of the Japanese pirates die, the better."
"Come here, send a ship to Edo to deliver the 10,000 breech-loading rifles that were retired from the First Tank Division to Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Tell him that I, the general, and he have a mutual understanding and support for each other."
"Do we still support the shogunate's return to Kyoto?"
Shao Quanzhong shook his head. "It's useless. Without the new army's modern combat training, advanced weapons are useless. The shogunate will most likely lose this time. I don't have time to care about Japan now. I just want to delay the shogunate's defeat."
Shao Quanzhong thought for a moment and said, "Call the second detective team to me."
Yang Jianhou and the Wudang swordsmen arrived quickly.
"Brother Jianhou, the Japanese pirates are causing trouble. They are fighting again. I have to ask you to help again."
"Are you going to assassinate the enemy general this time?"
"No need. Thanks to the French intervention, the Japanese army has been formed. The death of one or two generals will not change the outcome of the war. Brother Jianhou, your mission is to save Tokugawa Yoshinobu's life."
"Even if the shogunate is defeated, as long as he is still here, we will have time to intervene."
Yang Jianhou saluted and left as ordered.
Shao Quanzhong chased after him and warned, "If Tokugawa Yoshinobu wants to surrender, stop him!"
Shao Quanzhong looked towards the east and said, "Brother Tokugawa, you have to hold on a little longer. When I come back from my expedition to France, you are the son of destiny that I, Shao Quanzhong, have chosen."
"Let me think about it. Well, you are the fifth son of the Emperor of Heaven."
(End of this chapter)