What Inamori said is all reasonable.

If the conquest of the Red Moon Fortress was affected for the sake of Ogata Ittosai, then it would indeed be a huge loss.

Therefore, all the generals in the camp nodded in agreement. Only a few young generals who were still young and did not understand the overall situation and only had "honor" in their minds showed anger.

But these young generals did not dare to say anything more at this time. After all, it was not that they could not read the air. They had already seen that most of the generals in the battalion agreed with Daomori that "the Red Moon Fortress is the best choice."

priority” strategy.

Even veteran Matsudaira Sadanobu personally spoke out just now and expressed his approval of Inamori's strategy.

Faced with the current situation, these young generals who hoped to pursue Ogata Ittosai first and restore their reputation did not dare to say anything more.

"Commander." A veteran general with half-white hair and beard who was very close to Inamori said in a deep voice at this time, "Unfortunately, Mr. Tenmu-sama has been killed in battle, so it is necessary to replace him with a new general to lead the 1st Army."

"Coach, who do you think is more suitable as the new general of the 1st Army?"

Daomori was silent for a long time: "...This matter is not urgent. We will consider it slowly after tomorrow."

After saying that, Inamori looked at Kuroda:

"Kuroda-kun. You will continue to be in charge of commanding the 1st Army for the time being."

As soon as Inamori finished speaking, Kuroda immediately bowed his head to Inamori and saluted, and responded loudly:

"yes!"

…

…

Nearly half an hour later——

"It's really troublesome..." Kuroda, who was walking with Qiuyue on the way out of the commander's camp, rubbed the back of his neck with a depressed expression, "I really hope that I can quickly take over the overall command of the 1st Army.

Leave it to someone else..."

The military meeting has just ended.

After confirming to the generals the strategy of "taking the Red Moon Fortress as the highest priority", Daomori gave some simple instructions on the rest and reorganization of the 1st Army and the subsequent march plan, and then dismissed the military meeting.

After the military meeting, the generals filed out of the commander's tent, and Qiuyue and Kuroda, who had a good relationship, walked together as always.

"You really don't know how lucky you are when you are surrounded by blessings." Qiuyue, who was walking beside him, said in a half-joking tone, "Do you know how many people who are eager to make achievements want to sit in your current position?"

"I am not that eager to make achievements..." The anguish on Kuroda's face turned into helplessness, "And my current ability is not enough to command an army of 3,000."

"You have seen how busy I have been these days, right?"

"Now I just want to quickly hand over the important task of 'temporarily commanding the 1st Army' to others as soon as possible."

Having said this, Kuroda let out a sigh of relief.

"Forget it, in a few days, Inamori-sama will send a new general to take over the command of the 1st Army."

"Ah, sorry. I seem to be walking a little too fast."

After finishing speaking, Kuroda slowed down his pace in cooperation with Qiuyue, who was currently unable to even walk quickly due to her unrecovered injuries.

"You have become a lot more considerate now." Qiuyue smiled, "I was thinking about reminding you just now: I can't keep up with you anymore."

Because she was injured, Qiuyue did not wear armor, only cloth.

Qiuyue was injured on her collarbone, so the skin from her neck to the exposed skin outside her collar was wrapped in thick linen.

Looking at Qiuyue's linen exposed outside his collar, Kuroda sighed:

"How are you feeling today? Do you feel better?"

"It would be great if my injury healed so quickly." Qiuyue sighed, then raised her hand to touch her upper chest covered with linen, "But my body has indeed become more comfortable today...

The pain from the wound is less than yesterday... What about you? How is your palm doing now? "

Kuroda raised his hands still wrapped in linen and waved them in front of Qiuyue's eyes:

"I just had the skin of my palm and some flesh torn off. It's not a serious injury. The wound is no longer painful. After a while, I should be able to get better."

Qiuyue and Kuroda were "communicating" about each other's injuries, but at this moment, they both heard a voice with a hint of fear coming from not far in front of them:

"That 'Executioner Ittosai' is simply a monster..."

For Akizuki and Kuroda now, "Executioner Ittosai" is an extremely sensitive word that is difficult to ignore.

After hearing this voice, Qiuyue and Kuroda both looked at the sound - the speaker was a young general who was not much older.

This young general is now walking side by side with several generals of similar age beside him.

These generals Qiu Yue looked familiar, and they should all be generals of the Second Army.

Seeing that the people walking in front of them seemed to be discussing Ogata Ittosai, Akizuki and Kuroda both pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what they were talking about.

This group of people did not lower their voices, so Qiuyue and Kuroda could hear their conversation clearly.

"Isn't it... It's really terrifying... To break into a camp where 3,000 troops are stationed is like entering an uninhabited land... Such swordsmanship is unprecedented, and there should be no one in the future..."

"There should be no one who can beat Ogata Ittousai in a duel now...I think even Yagyu Ishishusai and Miyamoto Musashi, who are famous swordsmen in the history of youth, are not Ogata Ittousai's."

A rival..."

"Think about it carefully - it feels like a pity that Ogata Ittosai was not born in the same era as Yagyu Ishishusai and Miyamoto Musashi. If they could have been born in the same era, we would know who was stronger or weaker.

"

"Hmph! No matter how superb Ogata Ittousai's swordsmanship is, what's the use? He has fallen into the way of Shura and is destined to be spurned by the world and future generations."

"What a pity that such a talented swordsman cannot be used by our shogunate..."

"I actually quite want to compete with Ogata Ittousai..."

"You want to compete with Ogata Ittousai? Please forgive me, I'm afraid you can't even take one of Ogata Ittousai's moves."

"I know. Although Ogata Ittousai has deviated from the right path, it is undeniable that his swordsmanship is extremely superb. It would be a shame to die under the sword of such a great swordsman in an upright contest.

Such an honor.”

…

Qiuyue and Kuroda quietly listened to the group of young generals in front of them "discussing" Ogata.

"...Before the military meeting started, I heard many people talking about Ogata Ittōsai." Kuroda smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect that after the military meeting ended, I could still hear people talking about Ogata Ittōsai.

…”

Just now, before the military meeting had begun, the generals who had arrived early to take seats in the commander's tent were passing the time by chatting.

At that time, Kuroda noticed that most of the topics the generals talked about were related to Ogata.

Why Ogata was in Ezo was puzzled.

Some were amazed at Ogata's amazing swordsmanship and courage.

Some people felt angry because Ogata regarded the dignity of the shogunate as nothing.

But no matter what they are discussing, these words with Ogata as the topic all reveal the same feeling between the lines - the fear of Ogata.

A man broke into a military camp guarded by 3,000 troops and escaped unscathed - such a sensational thing happened so realistically in front of their eyes that everyone became more or less afraid of Ogata.

The generals of the Second Army, who had not been attacked by Ogata, were still less afraid of Ogata.

And the generals of the First Army who have personally experienced the incident of "being attacked by Ogata Ittosai"... can well describe the attitude of the generals of the First Army towards Ogata in one sentence - "fear Ogata like a tiger"

.

Kuroda looked down at the palms of his hands and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Now when I hear the name of Ogata Ittousai, I feel that the wound that finally stopped feeling pain is aching again... huh? Akizuki

, what’s wrong with you? Why are you showing such an expression.”

From the corner of Kuroda's eyes, he noticed - Qiuyue next to him suddenly showed a pensive look as if he was thinking about something.

"It's nothing..." Qiuyue said slowly, "It's just...after my battle with Ogata Ittousai, there is one thing that has always concerned me..."

"I always feel... Ogata Ittousai's voice... is very familiar... I seem to have heard it somewhere before..."

"Ah?" Kuroda's eyes widened slightly, "Does it sound familiar?"

Kuroda changed to a half-joking tone:

"Have you ever met Ogata Ittousai somewhere before?"

"Impossible." Qiuyue shook her head without hesitation.

"Maybe you have met someone whose voice is very similar to Ogata Ittousai's." Kuroda said with relief, "There are so many people in the world, and it is normal for two people to have similar voices."

"...Maybe." Qiuyue nodded gently.

…

…

"Atachi, come on, drink this."

Ogata lifted up Amachi who was lying on the blanket with one hand, held the bowl of medicine with the other hand, and handed it to Amachi's lips.

After the rim of the bowl of medicine touched A-Machi's lips, A-Machi immediately opened his mouth obediently and drank the bowl of medicine with the right temperature in one gulp.
To be continued...