Chapter 115 Breaking the Formation and Converging the Situation
Chapter 115 Breaking the Formation and Converging the Situation
Three or five gunners were busy around the small cannon, the torches for lighting the fuse had been moved to the side, and the shells in the breech were clearly ready to fire.
But at that moment, while charging through enemy lines, with countless bullets whizzing past his ears and having to dodge from time to time, Zhang Chang'an spurred his horse and galloped away. He grabbed a foot soldier by the collar and lifted him up.
"Get out of here!"
He suddenly flung the foot soldier away, sending him flying with a scream. The foot soldier landed squarely near the cannon, startling the men. Even the wheels under the cannon swayed slightly, causing the cannon to deflect.
The foot soldier holding the torch almost lost his grip, setting the soldiers next to him on fire and even causing the surrounding ammunition to explode.
These days, artillery shells aren't some sophisticated inventions of the future. Those huge black iron balls are filled with solid black powder, which, as highly sensitive explosives, carries the risk of exploding on the spot if not handled carefully.
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Chang'an was able to buy himself the time to perform this operation.
The enemy ranks were in complete chaos. Zhang Chang'an could hear the clanging and clattering of gunfire and swords nearby, as well as the sounds of his own exoskeleton shielding him from bullets.
In this situation, with only a revolver at his disposal, he wasn't confident he could detonate the ammunition remotely.
But this is the simplest way to completely disrupt their formation.
So he chose to rush here and then detonate it in another way: "Whoosh!"
He took a small tin can filled with liquid, which he always carried with him, out of his pocket and threw it directly towards the artillery in the distance.
His presence, charging through enemy lines, naturally attracted the attention of many Shogunate soldiers.
He threw something out, and someone immediately raised their hand and fired.
"Bang!"
The bullet shattered the metal can, and highly polluting, low-purity whale oil spilled directly from it, instantly igniting.
"boom!"
Flames shot into the air, spreading along the oil stains. The flames grew larger and larger, soon reaching the pile of shells that hadn't been moved yet.
"Ah!! Baka!"
"The shell is about to explode!"
"Run!"
The enemy ranks were completely thrown into disarray by this incident. The musketeers dropped their guns and ran, while the cavalrymen reined in their horses and turned around, only to run into their own men.
Flames spread and thick smoke billowed; the pile of shells could explode at any moment.
At that moment, Zhang Chang'an spurred his horse and galloped rapidly towards the outer perimeter.
Turning to look around the courtyard, Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Saito Okita, and others had already led the remaining soldiers who had entered through the main gate out of the courtyard.
The enemy, who were still using flintlock muskets extensively, could not maintain a firing formation, and when they broke into them, it was as if they were entering an empty field.
Those soldiers who were only concerned with fleeing for their lives were cut down one by one from behind. Smoke, flames, screams, and the clang of swords mingled together.
Zhang Chang'an, riding his horse, watched this scene and decisively rode off to a more distant location.
It wasn't that he planned to break away from this group and run away on his own.
It's mainly because it's the same as what he thought.
"Boom!" The area in the enemy formation that was burning with flames did indeed explode.
A massive fireball shot into the air, and the shockwave instantly blew away the surrounding corpses and limbs.
However, in the glow of the fire, there were finally not many organized shogunate soldiers around them.
The remaining scattered soldiers posed no threat to the Shinsengumi.
The alleys in the working-class area were so narrow that only two people could walk side by side.
Zhang Chang'an walked forward along the wall, with Bingzi Jiaolin sheathed, but his hand remained on the hilt of the sword.
On both sides were low wooden houses with eaves that drooped almost overhead. It was already broad daylight, but the alley was still dark, with only a few rays of sunlight occasionally filtering through the gaps in the eaves.
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Behind him, and in several other alleys nearby, were Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Saito Hajime, and others.
Okita Souji, and the wounded soldiers they protected in the middle.
Regardless of whether they were wounded at the beginning, now everyone on them is injured, and the bloodstains have dried and turned black, but no one has spoken up because of it.
Occasionally, people would peek out from the alley, but upon seeing this group of people covered in blood, they would immediately retreat back into their houses and slam the wooden doors shut.
No one shouted, no one reported it to the authorities. Life was already difficult enough for people in the suburbs; they generally wouldn't intentionally cause trouble.
Not to mention, many of them could recognize the people in front of them.
These ordinary people didn't care about ideological differences; in any case, the Shinsengumi were definitely not bad people to them. Without the Shinsengumi, Kyoto's security situation might have plummeted to who knows how badly in those days.
In this tranquil setting, after turning a corner, the view suddenly opened up before everyone's eyes.
At the end of a slightly wider alley, a person stood.
Sakamoto Ryoma was still wearing that faded kimono, his hair was casually tied up, and he still had a smile on his face. He spotted Zhang Chang'an peeking out from the alley at a glance.
So he immediately raised his hand and waved gently: "You're here?"
Seeing the miserable expressions on the faces of the Shinsengumi members following behind, he became more serious.
He quickly turned and walked deeper into the alley: "Follow me."
The group followed him, passing through several bends, and soon stopped in front of a relatively large house, but it looked very simple and no different from the surrounding houses.
Sakamoto pushed open the door, stepped aside, and everyone began to enter the room.
The wooden beams inside the house were very high, and several old mats were laid on the floor, with some miscellaneous items piled up in the corner. A few oil lamps were lit in the corner, their dim yellow light barely illuminating the not-so-small interior space.
There were already more than a dozen people sitting inside.
They wore all sorts of clothes, some carried knives, some didn't, but all wore a similar look of wariness.
Upon seeing the Shinsengumi members enter, some instinctively gripped their sword hilts, some frowned, and others simply turned their heads away, pretending not to see them.
Zhang Chang'an didn't recognize them, but he could tell from their reactions: "They're obviously anti-shogunate people. After the Ikedaya incident, Katsura Kogoro went into hiding, so these must be the ones who are more familiar with Sakamoto."
"
Kondo Isami paused at the doorway. He glanced at the group but ultimately said nothing, only nodding slightly.
The grudges between them and these people couldn't be explained in a short time. The two sides looked at each other and recognized each other. Since the formation of the new electoral group, they had exchanged heated opinions on the streets countless times.
Therefore, although Longma introduced them and the situation forced them to come together, the atmosphere inside the room was still very tense and somewhat on the verge of conflict.
Fortunately, Sakamoto Ryoma was standing in the middle. He looked around, smiled, and waved his hand, saying, "Don't be so nervous. We're all on the same side—".
Zhang Chang'an would follow their lead and try to unite with them to storm Nijo Castle. However, he genuinely had no interest in their ideological and factional disputes.
While Longma acted as a peacemaker, Zhang Chang'an decisively sought out the only person in the entire room whom he acknowledged as one of his own.
Little Orange is huddled in the corner, with a bowl of cold tea in front of him, and he's idly poking at the bottom of the bowl with his chopsticks.
Upon seeing Zhang Chang'an, his eyes immediately lit up, but it wasn't long before he reverted to his usual carefree and irresponsible demeanor.
Zhang Chang'an walked over and sat down next to him, asking, "Is there a problem at your place too?"
Xiaoju immediately shook her head: "Mr. Sakamoto asked me to come. Besides, given the current situation, even if there's no problem at home, I wouldn't feel comfortable staying here."
Zhang Chang'an ignored his complaints and asked directly, "What's the situation outside right now?"
Xiao Ju immediately sighed and put down her chopsticks: "It's locked down. The whole of Kyoto is locked down because of several clashes that broke out in several places last night, but strangely, the lockdown isn't complete."