I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Red Moon Fortress, outside the city, Third Army (Aizu Army), main formation——

"Is this the Red Moon Fortress..." Gamo, who was not tall, stood in front of his horse, with one hand holding the sword at his waist, and the other hand on his hip.

"Apart from the two city walls, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it. In terms of ease of defense and difficulty of attack, it should not be as good as our Edo Castle." Speaking of this, Gamo put on a mocking tone, "Facing the In such a fortress, the members of the First Army have not achieved anything for 2 consecutive days..."

"Heh, I thought that the First Army had troops from the Sendai Domain in command, and the combat effectiveness should not be that bad. I didn't expect it to be like that."

After mentioning the "First Army", Gamo's thoughts drifted back to last night involuntarily...

...

...

last night—

"...Master Inamori, I understand the specifics."

Inamori's tent was extremely crowded at this time - because this was the first time the generals of the first, second, third and third armies had gathered together since the troops officially set off.

Compared with the first army and the second army, the generals of the third army...or the Aizu army seem a bit dusty.

But—even though they were besieged by the world, they all looked resolute without exception.

Just now, Inamori succinctly explained to Gamo his future battle plan - Inamori, who didn't want to spend any more time on those barbarians, planned to let the Aizu Army take over the "main attack" seat.

Gamo gave the above answer without hesitation after listening to the brief description of Inamori's order.

"...are you really all right?" Although he expected that Gamo would agree without hesitation, Inamori couldn't help asking Gamo, "Your Aizu army just went on a quick march, right? I'll let you go on the next morning." Wouldn't it be too reluctant to participate in the attack?"

"No." Gamo replied without thinking again, "This level is nothing to us in Aizu!"

"Master Inamori, please rest assured and leave it to us in Aizu!"

"Other things, I can't guarantee."

"But it's about daring to guarantee that we, Aizu, will take down the outer city wall of the Red Moon Fortress within a day!"

Pu Sheng's words caused an uproar in the coach's tent.

For warriors who value honor and bravery,

Gamo's rhetoric has attracted a lot of admiration.

But at the same time—it also attracted some strange eyes and sneers.

"...Heh." A sneer sounded inappropriately, "Lord Gamo, let me remind you—the barbarians in that fortress are not easy to deal with."

"Their iron cannons are very powerful, and they now have a master who is good at defending the city to help out. The outer city wall of the Red Moon Fortress is not so easy to attack."

Gamo turned to look at the speaker - Gamo recognized him, this person was a general of the Yonezawa clan.

Gamo was not annoyed after listening to the obvious thorny words of the general.

He just twitched the corner of his mouth and let out a sneer.

"Then you are optimistic about it." Gamo's sneer turned into a confident smile, "See with your own eyes the prestige of our Aizu domain, whether it is made or blown!"

After finishing speaking, Gamo patted the Taidao on his waist——his favorite sword: Lei Zou.

...

...

Back in time to the present——

"Master Gamo."

A sad and calm male voice suddenly came into Pusheng's ears, making Pusheng's thoughts get rid of memories and return to reality.

The speaker is one of Gamo's confidantes.

"All the troops are in place." The confidant said slowly, "An attack can be launched at any time."

"Okay." Gamo nodded lightly, "Then—let's start."

Gamo put his hand on the long and amazingly curved Taidao Lei Zou at his left waist, slowly pulled it out, and held it high above his head.

"attack--!"

Pu Sheng slashed the thunder in his palm downward, as if he wanted to split the city in front of him into two halves.

...

...

Red Moon Fortress——

"Hello, Mr. Lin." Lei Tannoe now also called Lin Ziping "Mr. Lin". "Is this army outside the city really so powerful?"

Just now, Lin Ziping suddenly summoned Retannoe and others through the mouth of Chanup.

As soon as Lei Tannoe and the others arrived, Lin Ziping told them bluntly—the peace army outside the city, and other troops came to attack them. And this new force is extraordinary.

It is impossible for Lei Tannoe not to murmur about Lin Ziping's sudden seriousness in saying such an unexpected thing.

As soon as Lei Tannoe's words fell, Lin Ziping said in a deep voice without thinking:

"It's very powerful. The army outside the city, in our 'Herendi', can be said to be famous..."

"Although I haven't seen the fighting posture of this army with my own eyes."

"But to be so heavily relied upon by the Edo shogunate, and to spread such a reputation so quickly, it's unlikely that he would be someone who does not deserve his name."

"All in all - never take it lightly!"

Lin Ziping's solemn expression seemed to freeze the air around him, and the hearts of the people around him couldn't help but tense.

At this moment--

Woo--! Woo--! Woo--! Woo--!

Conch Sheng, who had been used to hearing it these days, suddenly attacked everyone's eardrums at this time.

"Are you here...!" Standing beside Lin Ziping, Chanup, with a sullen face, turned his gaze to the army holding the "Aizu Sankui" outside the city, which was slowly moving with the sound of the conch... …

...

...

"He is here! He is here!"

"Ready! Everything is ready!"

"It's the same as the previous two days! Stab those who climbed up and people down!"

...

Remarks similar to this kept ringing on the inner and outer city walls.

Just now, Lin Ziping asked Lei Tannoe and others to spread the reminder that "the Heren outside the city are different from the past, they are elite troops among the Heren, and should not be taken lightly" throughout the inner and outer city walls.

However——even after hearing this reminder, many people still look smug.

The smoothness of the battle in the first two days gave everyone great encouragement and confidence.

Everyone's confidence in keeping their homes is now at an all-time high.

Everyone believed that—they were able to make Kazuto unable to even climb the city wall today, just like the previous two days.

It's just...it didn't take long for the "smugness" on some people's faces to slowly dissipate...

...

"Hey, Kazuto outside...the movements are really different from the Kazuto before..."

"true……"

...

The people with the highest height, the best view, and the first to attack the inner city wall were the first to discover the difference between the Heren outside the city and the previous Heren.

At this moment, the group of Kazuto outside the city were holding a unified military flag, carrying wooden shields, and under the cover of their own archers, they rushed to the outer city wall at a fast pace-although the speed was fast, the order was not messy.

Soon, the Kazuto outside the city, under the cover of projectiles and arrows, went to the root of the outer city wall, set up a long ladder, and officially started the attack on the Red Moon Fortress.

"Get off!" A young clansman fiercely stabbed the spear in his hand at Kazuto who had just climbed up the long ladder.

The young man originally thought that he would be able to stab the newly climbed Kazuto just like he had stabbed countless Kazutos in the previous two days—but the scene before his eyes made the young man unable to bear it. Zhu Yin's eyes widened in astonishment.

The Kazuto turned sideways nimbly, dodging the spear, and then aimed at the clansman who hadn't had time to put away the spear, and slashed down the sword in his hand.

Unless you are a master of using a sword, it is not designed for "piercing armor", and it is impossible to cut through armor no matter what.

However—the Ainu happen to be a people without armor.

It may take a little effort to cut armor with a knife, but it is easy to use it to cut flesh and blood.

I saw a slanting light passing over the body of the young clansman.

Blood splattered immediately after the knife light.

After the light of the knife was completely swept away, the upper body of the young clansman had a huge knife wound from the left shoulder to the right abdomen, blood and internal organs flowed out along the huge wound.

“啊啊啊啊啊啊——！”这名年轻族人倒在地上，捂着上身的伤口，发出着凄厉得让听者直冒鸡皮疙瘩的惨叫。

As for that Kazuto—after seriously injuring the young clansman with one blow, he ignored the enemy who had lost the ability to resist and was not far from death, but raised his knife and looked for the next opponent.

Similar scenes kept appearing all over the outer city wall.

...

"Quick! Stab all these guys who climbed up!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--!"

"Hey! Get some help here! We can't stop it!"

"Ugh...! My head..."

...

At the beginning of the battle, whether it was the commanders headed by Chanup on the inner city wall or the ordinary people on the outer city wall, they quickly discovered the extraordinary nature of Kazuren who attacked this time.

Whether it's skill or will to fight, they are not comparable to those of the previous two days.

Not long after the battle started, the Aizu warriors who climbed up successfully occupied a small area on the outer city wall and built a stronghold that could steadily send troops upward.

"Shoot arrows over there!" Lin Ziping ordered loudly to the dozen or so shooters beside him, "Shoot those and people who have built strongholds!"

"Come here with 20 people! This side is about to fall!" Chanup ordered loudly, "Retannoe, go to the city wall and bring 80 reserve troops here, just in case!"

Since the beginning of the battle, in order to fight against today's extremely powerful army, the commanders headed by Chanup have been far more busy than before.

It's just... Even with the strong command of Qianup and the others, and the strong resistance of the people on the wall, they still can't reverse their slightly disadvantaged battle situation.

...

...

The Third Army (Aizu Army), the main formation——

"...The battle situation is as I expected." Gamo, who was observing the battle situation with a telescope, slowly put down the binoculars in his hand, "The troops of the Sendai domain and other domains, facing this level of barbarians, have no results for 2 consecutive days ……"

Gamo, who usually doesn't have much expression, now has a rare sarcasm at the corner of his mouth.

He looked at the fortress in the distance.

Then he lowered his head and looked at the Taidao on his left waist.

There was a thoughtful look on his face.

...

...

The whole army -

As soon as the battle started, Inamori was already standing on a high slope with a good view, observing the battle with binoculars.

Looking at the situation where the Aizu army had the upper hand on the outer city wall, Inamori couldn't help showing a happy smile.

"As expected of Aizu." Inamori said, "I was not disappointed."

The top generals of the First Army and the Second Army are standing behind Inamori now, accompanying Inamori to observe the battle situation.

Hearing what Inamori said just now, the faces of the generals of the First Army—especially the generals from the Sendai Clan, such as Akizuki and Kuroda—turned dark.

The generals of the First Army... Their current mood can be summed up in one word—aggrieved.

They stormed for 2 days, but there was nothing they could do about the Red Moon Fortress. The Aizu Army gained the upper hand when they launched an attack on the first day.

This strong contrast is very cruel and directly shows that the combat power of the First Army is far inferior to that of the Aizu Army.

This made the generals of the First Army extremely aggrieved.

Akizuki and Kuroda, the generals from the Sendai clan who have always regarded the Aizu clan as their opponents, feel so aggrieved that it is difficult to describe in words...

And some of the generals of the second army who have been fishing for a living these days also secretly cast mocking and gloating glances at the generals of the first army.

The Second Army is 5,000 direct descendants of the shogunate, so the generals of the Second Army are all direct descendants of the shogunate.

As direct generals of the shogunate, they already had a slight sense of superiority over the generals of the First Army, which was composed entirely of vassal troops.

Naturally, they would not let go of this rare opportunity to ridicule the First Army to their heart's content.

"Cut..." Qiuyue, one of the only surviving "Seven Guns of Xianzhou", whose upper body was still wrapped in thick linen, felt the mocking gazes from the generals of the Second Army, and turned her head away, trying not to go Pay attention to those people's eyes.

...

...

Red Moon Fortress, Chanup's residence——

Chanup, Aisuma, Otunpuyi—their family, all of them are now participating in the frontline battles in different ways.

But Chanup's residence hasn't gone empty.

Because God Tang still lives here.

At this moment, Tang Shen was shrinking in the corner of the house, looking at the ground in front of him expressionlessly, as if in a daze.

It wasn't until there was a loud shout of killing from the south that Tang Shen's expression finally changed.

"The noise this time is so loud..." Tang Shen turned his head and looked outside the house, toward the direction where the loud noise came from—the south.

As if by a magic trick, after turning his head to look south, the expression on Tang Shen's face changed several times.

First, the expressionless face.

Immediately afterwards, his brows were slightly frowned, and a look of unbearable expression appeared on his face.

In the end—the unbearable look turned into helplessness.

Tang Shen raised his hand.

Gently stroking the thick and long crutch placed by his side.

...

...

The onslaught of the Aizu Army continued until noon.

No matter how well the Aizu samurai could fight, they couldn't fight with iron.

After nearly an hour and a half of onslaught, the movements of the Aizu warriors had obviously become sluggish.

So, after the sun was high in the sky, Gamo gave the order to retreat. Let the generals under your command withdraw for lunch, and use this stall for lunch to rest.

On the inner and outer walls of the Red Moon Fortress, the clansmen stared blankly at the retreating Aijin Army with somewhat dazed eyes.

"The peace army has retreated..."

"Finally back..."

"But it's just a temporary retreat... I will call again in the afternoon..."

"Hey! A few people here to help! This guy will die if he doesn't get treated! Hurry up and take him for treatment!"

"Here too! There are a lot of wounded! Hurry up and take them to treatment!"

...

At this moment, after Heren retreated, there was no atmosphere of joy and confidence on the inner and outer city walls as before.

The air is filled with the smell of blood, uneasiness, and fear...

Chanup scanned the outer city wall—according to his visual estimation, this morning, in just one morning, the casualties probably equaled the total casualties of the previous two days...

"Chanup..." Retannoe murmured in a low voice, "The casualties are heavy..."

"... Now let's treat the wounded quickly." Chanup said in a deep voice, "Go to the city wall and bring some people up, and quickly carry the wounded down."

"The peace army outside the city is different from the previous peace army. It will not be surprising when he launches an attack again."

"Let's all have a quick lunch and take a break."

...

...

The Third Army (Aizu Army), the main formation——

Gamo was sitting on his saddle, eating the rice ball in his hand with big mouthfuls.

He lives and eats what the soldiers live and eat—this is Gamo's philosophy that he has always adhered to.

As the general of the 2000 Aizu Army, he didn't eat any delicacies from mountains and seas, and just like ordinary soldiers, he ate the most ordinary rice balls with no holes in them.

For rice balls, there has always been a custom that I don’t know when it emerged—that is, before eating rice balls, put the rice balls on the fire and roast them. It has more flavor and can also play an appetizing role.

Gamo especially likes this burnt rice ball.

When Gamo was nibbling on the rice ball in his palm, one of his confidants suddenly rushed towards him from his side.

"Master Gamo! Master Inamori has sent a message!"

"What did Inamori-sama say?" Gamo asked.

"It's nothing. I just praised our Aizu army for being very brave and did not disappoint him. I hope we will continue to work hard."

"Do you want to keep working hard..." Gamo shrugged, "You can tell Daomori a word for me—I will definitely hang on to my life, and before the sun sinks into the ground today, I will definitely capture the outer walls of the Red Moon Fortress." Wall!"

The confidant showed surprise: "Take down the outer city wall of the Red Moon Fortress within today? This...wouldn't it be too much force..."

"Although those barbarians are not to be feared. But... please forgive me - it is somewhat impossible to take down the outer city wall of the Red Moon Fortress in one day."

"I know." Gamo replied without hesitation, "If you follow the normal style of play this morning and keep fighting until the sun goes down, you probably won't be able to win this Red Moon Fortress."

"so--"

Gamo slowly stood up from the saddle.

With the eyes that shot out the cold light, he looked at the fortress in the distance.

"This afternoon, I will personally lead the army to attack the city!"

*****

*****

Let me tell you a little story about the creation of this book.

The author likes that kind of tragic story, so at the end of the Tokugawa period, even after the last shogun of the Edo shogunate had surrendered, the story of Aizu Fan still trying to mend the cracks in the sky and save the building from falling is quite poignant to the author’s obsession of.

[The battle of the Red Moon Fortress in this volume, part of the prototype, is the battle that Aizu Fan faced with the fallen army, which was like hitting a stone with a pebble, but still fought to the end]

The author Jun once thought of creating a collection of short stories to describe the stories of the Aizu clan at the end of the Bakumatsu. I have already thought of the name - "Guardian of Aoi and the Sword". But the author obviously doesn’t have the spare energy to write this collection of short stories recently, so I don’t know when I will have the opportunity to write this collection of short stories (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)