A banquet for Matsudaira Sadanobu, the commander-in-chief of the shogunate army Inamori, and the generals of the various armies sent by the Ou domain.

There are a total of 31 vassal states in the Ou region. At the request of the shogunate, these 31 vassal states must send their own troops north to the Ezo land to assist the shogunate in attacking the Ezo tribes entrenched in the Red Moon Fortress.

31 vassals, 31 armies - yesterday, all 31 armies finally arrived at Matsumae Domain.

Because Matsumae Castle is only a small city and cannot accommodate so many troops, the troops are currently dispersed and garrisoned in various parts of the Matsumae Domain.

After receiving the news yesterday that all troops had successfully landed in Matsumae Domain, Matsudaira Sadanobu immediately issued an order to all troops:

The generals of all the vassal armies came to Matsumae Castle immediately, and Matsudaira Sadashin planned to hold a banquet in which all the generals of the vassal armies would participate.

This banquet can also be regarded as a reception banquet.

Matsudaira Sadanobu, on behalf of the shogunate, welcomed and thanked the Ou clans for their help.

For this expedition against the Red Moon Fortress, the shogunate planned to dispatch 10,000 troops - 5,000 shogunate troops stationed in the north early in the morning, plus 5,000 feudal troops composed of troops from the Ou clan.

At present, the shogunate's goal of "sending 10,000 troops" has been successfully achieved - the actual number of troops dispatched slightly exceeded the planned target.

The Ou clans have sent a total of about 5,300 troops, so the total strength of the shogunate's regiments currently assembled in the north is more than 10,300.

Among them, the Aizu Domain sent the most troops.

The public generally believes that in terms of military strength, the Aizu clan is undoubtedly the number one in Ou.

Regarding this recruitment by the shogunate, the Aizu Domain did not lose their reputation as "Ou's most powerful military domain" - they sent a total of 2,000 troops.

He also brought 90 iron cannons, 2 national cannons, and 13 large barrels of various types.

The second largest troop contributor was the Sendai clan.

Sendai Domain sent 1,800 troops.

In addition to having slightly fewer troops than the Aizu Domain, the number of firearms they brought was also slightly less than that of the Aizu Domain - they only brought 75 iron cannons, 1 national cannon, and 8 large barrels.

The combined troops of the two vassals, Aizu Domain and Sendai Domain, totaled 3,800 people, accounting for most of the allied forces of each domain, which totaled about 5,500.

Troops from another 29 vassal states made up the remaining 1,500 people.

It is not surprising that there is such a huge difference in the number of troops dispatched by each vassal.

Due to differences in territory, grain production, industrial conditions and other factors among the various vassals, the strength of each vassal is also very different.

Although there are 31 feudal kingdoms in the Ou region, there are only two feudal clans, Aizu Domain and Sendai Domain, that can be called "major feudal clans".

Of the 31 feudal kingdoms in the Ou region, there are a total of 16 feudal kingdoms with a total stone count of only 12,000 koku - accounting for more than half of the Ou feudal clans.

The one that sent the fewest troops was the "Yonezawa Nitta Domain", which was famous throughout the country for its poverty, and everyone in the country knew that this domain was extremely poor - he only sent 20 soldiers.

Among the 31 feudal armies sent to the north, only seven armies led by Aizu and Senshu were equipped with firearms.

The firearms of these 7 feudal armies plus the firearms of the shogunate army - currently there are 720 iron cannons in the entire army, 12 national cannons, and 81 large barrels of various types.

Among the Ou feudal lords, only Aizu and Sendai were the ones that suffered a national collapse.

Matsudaira Sadanobu learned five days ago that the shogunate and all the firearms of each feudal army totaled only this little.

When receiving this data, Matsudaira Sadanobu felt very heavy.

Because this kind of firepower is completely incomparable to the firepower the shogunate had when it first opened in Edo.

In terms of firepower, it may not be as good as the top princes in the Warring States Period two hundred years ago.

During the Warring States Period two hundred years ago, Oda Nobunaga almost unified the world. When he launched the famous decisive battle with the Takeda family - the Nagasaki Battle, he mobilized more than 3,000 iron cannons.

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Matsudaira Sadanobu deeply felt how seriously the power of the shogunate had declined.

At the same time, I also deeply felt how heavy the burden was on my shoulders as a veteran of the shogunate.

…

…

After walking through the corridors, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally stood in front of two magnificent paper sliding doors.

Standing in front of the door, after making the final adjustments to his clothes and the wakizashi on his left waist, Matsudaira Sadanobu winked at Tachibana behind him.

Tachibana nodded lightly, and then he quickly stepped forward with Nagasone Kotetsu holding Matsudaira Sadanobu in his arms, and opened the two paper sliding doors for Matsudaira Sadanobu.

As the paper sliding door opened, the scene behind the paper sliding door gradually unfolded in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes.

Behind the sliding paper door is a huge room.

The floor is covered with clean tatami mats.

The position facing the door is the most distinguished main seat.

So when you look inside along the paper sliding door, you can see the main seat of this room.

There are two seats on the main seat - one of which is already occupied by Inamori.

The other seat is still vacant - the seat that is still vacant is Matsudaira Sadanobu's seat.

The 31 generals of each vassal army sat on the left and right under the main seat in order of status.

After Tachibana opened the paper sliding door and Matsudaira Sadanobu appeared in front of everyone in the room, whether it was Inamori sitting on the main seat or the 31 generals of each domain army, they all lowered their heads and bowed respectfully to

Matsudaira Sadanobu bowed.

Matsudaira Sadanobu strode into the room and sat down in the seat prepared for him early in the morning.

According to the appointment of the shogunate, General Inamori will serve as the general of this 10,000-strong army composed of the shogunate and the Ou clans.

In this way, Inamori was promoted again.

From the original general who was stationed in the north and commanded the 5,000 shogunate troops in the north, he was upgraded to the general who commanded the 10,000 allied troops of the shogunate and the Ou clan.

Matsudaira Sadanobu only had supervisory authority over this army and did not have any command authority.

But - that's just saying it, but no one, not even Inamori, dares to have any contempt for Matsudaira Sadanobu or not listen to Matsudaira Sadanobu's words.

Who would have the guts to disobey the second-in-command of the shogunate, the most powerful Matsudaira Sadanobu?

Inamori is the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and although Matsudaira Sadanobu has no command authority, it is impossible for Matsudaira Sadanobu to sit in a position other than the main seat.

Therefore, Matsudaira Sadanobu simply gave direct instructions - let his seat and Inamori's seat be placed side by side on the main seat.

"Gentlemen." Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was sitting in the main seat, said loudly to the people in front of him with a smile, "Thank you for coming."

"On behalf of the shogunate, I would like to thank you."

After saying some routine remarks, Matsudaira Sadanobu asked the attendants to bring the food and announced the start of the banquet.

Plate after plate of delicious food was brought out and placed on the table in front of everyone.

Matsudaira Sadanobu has been strongly encouraging the officials of the shogunate and feudal lords to be diligent and frugal since he took office as the new and old minister of the shogunate.

Therefore, at this banquet hosted by Matsudaira Sadanobu, the dishes served were naturally not very luxurious, they were just some local delicacies that are very common in Matsumae Domain.

To add to the fun, Matsudaira Sadanobu also invited some kaiko and maiko to sing and dance.

Amid the singing and dancing of the kaikos and dancers, the banquet scene gradually became lively.

The serious atmosphere that originally filled the air slowly dissipated and was replaced by joy.

Matsudaira Sadanobu was also smiling and chatting with familiar people.

…

…

"Kamao-sama." Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled at a young man sitting not far away from him, "How is Kaishu-sama's neck doing lately? Does it still hurt?"

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, the young man whom he called "Kamao-sama" quickly put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hands and responded in a neither humble nor condescending manner:

"Thank you, Mr. Laozhong, for your concern. My lord has recently invited a famous doctor. Under the treatment of that famous doctor, his neck has gotten much better recently."

The "Lord Aizhou" that Matsudaira Sadanobu just mentioned was naturally referring to the current lord of the Aizu clan.

Before he became the shogunate, when he was still the lord of the Shirakawa clan in the Ou region, Matsudaira Sadanobu had a good personal relationship with the lord of the Aizu clan.

The young man sitting not far from Matsudaira Sadanobu is a well-known warrior in the Aizu Domain - Kamo Ryouyuki. He is 26 years old this year.

Matsudaira Sadanobu often heard about Kamao's bravery.

Although he is not particularly tall, only about six feet three inches (161cm), he has extremely high attainments in the use of Tai Sword.

The total length of the tachi is generally slightly longer than that of the katana, making it suitable for wielding on horseback.

In terms of skill in wielding the sword, Kamao was unrivaled in Ou - Matsudaira Sadanobu had heard such rumors a long time ago.

And Pu Sheng is not a person who lives up to his reputation.

According to what Matsudaira Sadanobu knew, the "tachijutsu" used by Kamao was a technique he created uniquely that can unleash powerful power on horseback.

Kamao once personally demonstrated his martial arts skills in front of the Lord of the Aizu Domain: with only one horse and one sword, he defeated an elite cavalry team of 30 people and became famous in one battle.

The Lord of the Aizu Domain not only sent 2,000 troops to support the battle, but also asked this famous warrior under his command to lead the army - this is evident from the Aizu Domain's loyalty to the shogunate and its positive response to the shogunate's call.

2,000 troops——This is already more than half of the military strength of the Aizu Domain.

After chatting enthusiastically with Kamao for a few words, Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his attention to the middle-aged man sitting next to Kamio.

"Sir Sheng Tianmu, what's wrong? Why do you look like you have no appetite?"

"I'll make you laugh, Mr. Lao Zhong." The middle-aged man who was called "Sheng Tianmu" by the Lao Zhong smiled awkwardly, "As people get older, their appetite gradually becomes smaller, and they are not as able to eat as before."

After saying that, the middle-aged man sighed softly.
To be continued...