Su Shuang's world is collapsing [Comprehensive]

"……What exactly is going on!"

"Yes, the person who was sent to collect the Golden Valley came back and said... there is nothing left to collect!"

"Soldiers too... villagers have fled to deep, deep mountains..."

"It's really... the war has lasted too long! The nearby villagers have already exhausted their rice, food and resources in the confiscation and robbing by the government and army... Even if they want to support Master Xixiang ,also……!"

There was a lot of shouting in the dark room, so noisy that it didn't seem like a scene where a military meeting was going to be held.

In a corner of the room, a young man suddenly stood up, walked around the group of people who were noisy and reporting the situation, and strode out.

Although the light inside the thatched hut was poor, the sky was very clear after stepping outside the door.The sun shines in the small courtyard, and the flags with the words "New Deal and Virtue" and "Respect Heaven and Love People" written in huge calligraphy brushes lean on the trunk of a big tree in the courtyard, and there is a person sitting in a corner of the corridor outside the door.

The young man who came out of the house looked around, as if he felt that there was really no better place to go, so he walked up to the person who was sitting on the porch with his legs dangling slightly outside the porch, and said: "...Can I sit here?"

The man turned his head and gave him a look, with a little bit of appropriate surprise on his face.

"...Murata-kun?! Please." He nodded towards the latecomer, and even moved to the other side symbolically, as a courtesy to move out of the way.

The latecomer known as "Murata-kun" smiled, flicked the long back of the black suit, and sat down.

They sat in this orientation, just enough to let the sun shine on their faces. "Murata-kun" raised his face slightly, and narrowed his eyes against the sunlight.

"Miss Jiutiao won't participate in today's military meeting?" He asked nonchalantly.

The person who was sitting here before—Miss Jiutiao, also known as Liu Quan—smiled upon hearing this.

"The movement of the officers and soldiers is not a secret now...they have been chasing us all the way." She said bluntly.

"Miyazaki, Takabe, Mimizu, Nobeoka... How many places have we lost since Hitoyoshi, and how many places are full of them now..."

Murata-kun smiled wryly.

"Ah." He replied, hesitated for a moment, but brought up another topic.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Xixiang also said the other day... so far, there is nothing that needs to be done by you. In terms of intelligence, you don't even need to spy. They have laid a net..."

This topic sounded too sharp, and Miss Jiutiao raised her eyebrows, but did not make any comments, or just nodded in agreement with his remarks.

Murata-kun didn't seem to care too much about any beneficial reaction she could make, and continued: "...Mr. Xixiang, it seems that he has made a corresponding awakening."

Hearing these words, Miss Kutiao finally reacted - she responded with an "oh".

Murata-kun still squinted his eyes, raised his head slightly to face the bright afternoon sun, and then, under the warm sunlight, he curled up his lips and smiled.

"If you want to go, go now," he said.

"Mr. Xixiang didn't say it clearly, but I think he must think so... The officers and soldiers shouldn't embarrass a woman. How should things be resolved in the future...Let us take care of it."

After he finished speaking, Miss Kujo was silent for a long time.

Finally, she sighed.

"Murata-kun, you must have been the heir that Okubo-sama valued very much." What she said turned out to be a topic that could pierce lung tubes.

That's right, this "Murata-kun" is called Murata Shinpachi. He once visited Europe and the United States with the Iwakura Mission. He is one of the most promising successors of Okubo Toshimichi. It's ruined too-at least, that's how it has been in history.

Murata Shinpachi couldn't help but sneered, and finally lowered his head, staring at his clasped hands as if covering up.The thumb of his left hand caressed back and forth seemingly casually on the back of his right hand.

"...Unfortunately, I also have my ambitions. I'm really sorry to disappoint Okubo-sama." He replied curtly.

Looking at it this way, he is actually quite a handsome young man. The sideburns extending from the sideburns are trimmed short, and there is no slovenly stubble in other places; Western-style western clothes also look good on him. , with a silver chain of a pocket watch hanging from his chest, and even a bow tie at the neckline, even at the moment of near desperation, there is still not a single detail of his clothing that is wrong.

Miss Kujo smiled.

"It's really admirable... Murata-kun firmly follows Saigo-sama's mood." She finally commented, and turned her face to look at him very naturally.

"If you put it in a nice way, it would be 'Murata-kun is not afraid to bet your life and follow Saigo-sama to the end, and I can't lose to Murata-kun'..." she said with a smile.

Murata was silent for a moment, with an incredulous expression on his face.

But before he could speak, Miss Kujo continued speaking very naturally.

"...But, if you want to hear the truth, it's—"

"'So far, my father has changed the object of allegiance several times because of speculation, and finally one day he will never have the opportunity to change the family, so he can only grit his teeth and follow Master Xixiang to the end'."

Murata: "..."

There was a complicated look on his face—similar to a toothache—for a moment.

Miss Kutiao watched him calmly, then grinned suddenly.

"How? The truth is not so nice, is it?" She smiled so that her eyebrows and eyes curled up.A gust of wind blew by, blowing the ends of her slightly long hair up and covering her cheeks; the hem of the banner with the words "Respect Heaven and Lovers" resting on the tree trunk in front of them fluttered.

"The patience of those officials and lords with him is probably at an end, and he will not be allowed to defect to the past again at this moment, even if he kneels down and begs humbly, it is useless...then, we can only continue to follow him at the beginning My choice—to go down with Master Xixiang until the final moment comes.” She said.

Murata was silent for a moment.

"Seems to make sense," he agreed.

"It's true... I've heard before that those grown-ups were not very polite when they commented on Mr. Kutiao, saying that he didn't have the talent to match his surname, and sooner or later he would fall behind the times and be abandoned by others."

Although this comment didn't sound very friendly, Miss Kujo didn't seem to be angry at all.

"Well... that's about it." She actually nodded, agreeing with this statement.

"The luck of the Kujo family is probably coming to an end... What will happen to my father who stays in Tokyo in the future? Will he be arrested and imprisoned like Mr. Dashan... But at that time, I can't control it anymore." She His eyes flickered for a moment, and then he said briskly.

Murata took a hissing breath, as if today's bright sunshine suddenly dazzled his eyes.

"What he can do and what he has done for us is not even as much as you... From this point of view, maybe those adults in the government will spare his life." Comfort(?) her excuses come.

"...Really." After hearing this, Miss Jiutiao pondered seriously for a moment, and then nodded very seriously.

Murata coughed.

"...Maybe he is the one who lived the longest among us." He said half-jokingly, half-seriously.

But she replied very seriously: "So we don't have to worry about him."

Murata: "..."

He was choked, and suddenly turned to stare at her.After a while, the two of them laughed together at the same time.

The laughter was inappropriate, but none of them stopped quickly.When the laughter finally stopped, there seemed to be a much more harmonious atmosphere than just before, faintly diffused between the two of them.

Then, Miss Kujo said abruptly: "Where's Murata-kun's accordion? Why don't you play a song for us in the last spare time before the big war?"

Murata was slightly taken aback, showing a wry smile like a toothache.

"You really have a leisurely mood... If you were an ordinary woman, you might be so scared that you would cry right now?"

Miss Kujo snorted.

"To say this is to underestimate me... As an orphan girl on the street back then, how could the Jiutiao family be willing to adopt me as an adopted daughter if I didn't have any skills? Even if it's a branch that has declined, I couldn't reach it back then. Ah…" she said with a sigh.

Murata: "...I never imagined that there is such a tortuous story behind you."

Miss Kujo snorted. "As Master Xixiang's valued right-hand man, it's hard to imagine that you don't know these terrible things about the Kutiao family... After all, if you want to cooperate, the Kutiao family didn't send the next patriarch, Mr. Daozhi, but let me, the adopted daughter, come here Serving—isn’t that enough to explain something?”

Murata choked hard, grabbed his hair and laughed.

"That's really sorry..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud shout came from the gate of the courtyard.

"Master! Is Master there!"

Miss Kujo and Murata looked at each other in astonishment for a moment, and Murata stood up abruptly first.

But before he could speak, someone rushed out of the room.

"It's Xiongji! Sir, it's Xiongji!"

It was Kirino Toshiaki who ran out.When following Xixiang to the Quartet, he always referred to him as "Mr." in front of Xixiang.

Sure enough, Takamori Saigo walked out of the house.When he saw the two people standing in the courtyard, his face suddenly lit up; but when he looked down and saw the missing right calf of the young man barely standing there with support, his face darkened again down.

The boy was supported by a middle-aged man with a plain face, who looked like a loyal domestic servant; at this moment, with tears in his eyes, he looked at Takamori Saigo, and his voice trembled a little.

"Master, it's good that you're fine... As you can see, Young Master Kikujiro has survived..."

Miss Jiutiao made a soundless ah, and said in a low voice, as if talking to herself: "...is the son of Mr. Xixiang... just lost a leg like this, it's too..."

What happened to "Yet too"?She didn't go on.

Murata sighed, but seemed to be hindered by Saigo Takamori standing not far from them, so he didn't say a word.

Then, Saigo Takamori spoke up.

"Everyone, come and sit down."

Miss Kujo looked at him in surprise.

"...Is there no military discussion?" She muttered again in a low voice.

Murata smiled wryly.

"...Maybe, there are more important things to talk about than military discussions." He also replied in a low voice.

Then, Xixiang Takamori sat cross-legged on the porch, thought about it, and said: "This battle, everyone really fought very well——"

Miss Jiutiao complained in a breathy voice: "This doesn't sound like a good start?"

Murata: "..."

Xixiang Takamori smiled briefly, and then said: "But, that's it."

Murata:! ! !

Everyone:! ! !

Miss Kujo shrugged and let out a sigh of unknown meaning.

"We will officially disband from now on." Xixiang Takamori said solemnly—and with a heavy tone.

There was a dead silence in the courtyard.Only unknown birds flitted in the sky above their heads, making hoarse and desolate calls.

After a brief silence, Kirino Toshiaki was the first to jump up.

"Sir! How can you say that!"

Others followed suit angrily.

"Yes, sir! We still have people who are willing to follow sir!"

"Sir, don't do that! Because you are the one who wants to change this country! How can you say something frustrating! We are all willing to—"

Saigo Takamori interrupted them briefly.

"Enough is enough."

He said in a deep voice, with a refreshing expression on his face—that was an expression of enlightenment.

"Tokyo, we can't go anymore....Everyone knows it in their hearts."

Another short silence descended on the small, dilapidated courtyard.Everyone lowered their heads one after another, and some people couldn't help sobbing. Big teardrops ran across the face blackened by the gunfire, leaving two dirty marks.

Kirino Toshiaki also lowered his head in pain.

Murata Shinpachi was very calm from beginning to end.Even at such a moment, he just gritted his teeth, and there was an invisible vein throbbing on his cheek; however, he did not cry like the others, showing a look of collapse and despair.

Miss Jiutiao was expressionless, without even a single muscle twitch on her face, as if she was covered with an unbreakable iron mask.

Xixiang Takamori didn't even bother to look around at the expressions of these loyal followers, and continued to say word by word:

"Our army is forced to be so impoverished that today we can only fight to the death. On this occasion, those who are willing to surrender will surrender, and those who are willing to die will die—"

"Everyone, just do what you want."

As soon as his words fell, the sobbing sound suddenly rose an octave.

Kirino Toshiaki's face was tense, as if his expression management would collapse if he didn't do this, and his facial features would melt like a sandcastle in a rainstorm.

Murata Shinpachi's expression was a bit strange, as if he wanted to laugh and sigh, but also seemed to want to shed tears; because his mood was too complicated, his expression was distorted, and he couldn't accurately express his current mood .

Miss Kutiao stood next to him calmly, slightly raised her eyelids and glanced at him.A moment later, amidst the sobs of those rough and young warriors, she suddenly turned her head to look ahead again, and said softly:

"... Now, I'm afraid it's time for your accordion to play a piece."

Murata's face twitched.He didn't answer.

In front of their line of sight, the flag that said "Respect Heaven and Love People" was still standing quietly, stained with blood and smoke and becoming dilapidated.

The author has something to say:

February 9:

After thinking about it, let's enter the final battle.

Because I saw that the vice-long line has written more than 30 chapters hahh

Of course there will be sugar after this!Those who abuse are others, if the deputy chief appears, he will not abuse the deputy chief!I will only give him candy [Huh]

I'm sorry for the late update today [Doxiaza]

A little note:

Kikujiro, who is missing a leg in this chapter, is Saigo Kikujiro, the son of Saigo Takamori.

The Mr. Dashan who was arrested by the sister mentioned by the girl was Dashan Tsunayoshi, an official like the counselor of Kagoshima, so he was beheaded after the Southwest War.

In this chapter, Murata Shinpachi is considered a handsome guy in the Dahe drama "Xixiang Temple". He can speak French and play the accordion. The general background has been introduced in this chapter. died【.

Next update: every other day, on the 21th