I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 755 Qing Deng is promoted! The Lord of Qinjin Clan! [End]

The messenger left.

The Shinsengumi generals still sat there, silent and motionless, like clay sculptures or wooden carvings.

The auditorium was shrouded in a deep ocean silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

About 10 seconds later, the most eccentric character, Harada Sanosuke, made the first sound:
"Otsu... Mr. Tachibana has become the master of Otsu?"

His tone was filled with uncontrollable excitement.

Otsu - Even Harada Sanosuke, the most uneducated man who always presents himself as a "fool", can understand the value of the Otsu area, let alone others.

Kondo Isami slapped his thigh.

"Wow! That's really great!"

Nagakura Shinpachi said excitedly:
"Otsu is right next to Kyoto. If you ride a fast horse, you can easily go back and forth between the two places two or three times in a day."

Inoue Genzaburo took over the conversation:
"In this way, Mr. Tachibana can use Otsu as a base to better support Kyoto! The two places will complement each other and keep peace in the western border forever!"

The General Manager whispered:

"Qin Jinfan... Qin Jin... a good name!"

Fujido Heisuke frowned slightly:

"How strange... Since Otsu Castle is the headquarters of the domain, the domain name should be 'Otsu Domain'. Lord Daiki actually gave it a special name... This is really against the laws of our ancestors."

Kinoshita Mai on the side responded:

"Doesn't this just show how much the Great Tree loves Qing Deng? He enjoys this unique privilege alone."

Sanako's brows lit up at first, but then her face fell as if she remembered something.

"Being conferred the title of Otsu... this is a good thing, but it also means that the burden on Tachibana-kun's shoulders is even heavier. Otsu is the western gateway of the shogunate, and it is the front line facing the western daimyo. If Choshu or other western daimyo attack us one day, we will be the first to bear the brunt."

Hijikata Toshizo shrugged.

"What are you afraid of? If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth. I am afraid that they will not attack us! If there is no war to fight, then won't we lose the opportunity to make achievements?"

Xin Jianjin said faintly:

"I don't quite understand... Although Mr. Tachibana is the confidant of Lord Daishu, it is reasonable for him to receive more favors, but the favor Mr. Tachibana has received this time... isn't it a bit too much? The land Mr. Tachibana was granted is not an insignificant remote place, but that Otsu!"

Kondo Isami grinned:
"Who cares about this kind of thing?"

Looking around, there is a lively scene.

There was a joyful atmosphere inside and outside the auditorium.

Everyone was actively participating in the discussion, expressing their excitement.

Everyone was sincerely happy and excited about the good news that "Qingdeng was conferred the title of Dajin".

Even Kamo Serizawa and Niimi Nishiki, who did not belong to the "Shiweikan faction", no longer had a tense look on their faces. They both showed complex expressions of both relief and admiration.

Even the usually calm Shannan Jingzhu opened his eyes wide and couldn't help muttering:
"It's actually Otsu... and it's a full 30 koku of land... this... this..."

Yamanami Keisuke's shock was beyond words.

Before this, he had made many assumptions about the place where Qing Deng would be enfeoffed - he thought the most likely location was Kai.

Aoto had just recently gained command of the thousand men of Hachioji because of his achievement of "repelling the British warships". It was really reasonable for him to take over the territory of Kai now.

But the result... he never expected that Tokugawa Iemochi would actually give the crucial Otsu to Qing Deng!

Where is Otsu?
It is not just a blessed land adjacent to Kyoto with beautiful mountains and rivers!
Although Japan is a small country with a small area and dense mountains, it still has four strategic locations that cannot be easily abandoned.

They are the Kanto region, the Nobi region, the Osaka region, and the Otsu region including Kyoto.

The Kanto region is like Guanzhong in China.

Not only does it have a vast plain (the Kanto Plain), but it also has a natural barrier that is easy to defend and difficult to attack (surrounded by mountains).

It can truly be said that "mountains and rivers are all around, the land is fertile, and it can be used as a capital to dominate", which is indeed the foundation of the country.

Minamoto no Asamoto 800 years ago and Tokugawa Ieyasu 250 years ago both used the Kanto region as their base and defeated all the warlords in one fell swoop, unifying Japan and achieving unprecedented feats.

Nobi region - that is, Mino and Owari.

There is a saying in China that "He who controls Jingzhou controls the world."

Coincidentally, Japan also has a similar saying: Whoever controls Mino controls the world.

In other words, the Nobi region is like the Jingchu land of China.

Nobi is located right in the center of Japan.

To give an illustrative example... the land of Japan is like a dumbbell, thick at both ends and thin in the middle - the thick tail is located in the thin part in the middle.

The boundary dividing East and West Japan - Sekigahara - is located in Mino.

Not only that, this place is also one of Japan’s important grain-producing areas. Although its area is not large, its grain production is an astonishing 113 million koku!

Therefore, when it comes to "battlefields", if Nobi is called "the second in Japan", no other place dares to call itself "the first in Japan".

Osaka area - the Osaka Plain centered on Osaka.

Since the Nara period (710-784), Osaka has been a trading port due to its coastal location.

Since the establishment of the Edo Shogunate, Osaka has been the national economic center and logistics center, and is the city with the most active economic activities.

The Osaka area is to Japan what the Jiangnan area is to China.

As for the Otsu area...

To put it bluntly, the status of Central Plains in China is the same as that of Otsu in Japan!
First of all, Dajin is located in a plain area with abundant resources, suitable climate and high grain production.

Secondly, Otsu and Kyoto are neighbors.

Just as Nagakura Shinpachi said just now, if you ride a fast horse, you can make 2 or 3 trips back and forth between the two places in a day.

In other words, if one controls Otsu, one will have the military capability to “reach the gates of Kyoto within a day.”

In addition, Otsu is a vital transportation hub.

Whether traveling from eastern Japan to western Japan or from western Japan to eastern Japan, you must pass through Otsu.

The Tokaido, one of the “Five Roads”, must pass through Otsu, and Otsu-juku is the second to last stop on the Tokaido.

Not only that, Otsu is also close to Lake Biwa.

As a world-famous lake and the largest lake in Japan, it attracts countless tourists every year.

Even if you just run the tourism industry, you can bring in considerable income.

Finally, Otsu was the western gateway to the shogunate.

The shogunate's authority only extended to eastern Japan, and it could only sigh in despair over western Japan.

To the shogunate, western Japan was no different from a foreign country.

Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, Hizen... these difficult-to-serve outer daimyo all gathered in western Japan.

And Otsu happened to be located at the westernmost end of the shogunate's sphere of influence.

The area east of Otsu is controlled by the shogunate, and the area west of it is the territory of the western daimyos... In other words, Otsu is the western frontier of the shogunate!

To sum up, Dajin = important grain-producing area + logistics hub + transportation hub + tourist destination + important frontier town + national capital defense zone.

It is no exaggeration to call Otsu the "Central Plains" of Japan!

Tokugawa Iemochi's handing over Otsu to Aoto was like a Chinese emperor handing over most of the Central Plains to a meritorious official who was not related to him in any way - in this way, we can roughly understand how shocking Tokugawa Iemochi's behavior was.

Although the Edo Shogunate had always been willing to divide up territory, having enfeoffed more than 300 daimyo over the past 4 years, making the current political landscape of Japan as fragmented as sauce, the shogunate always kept a firm grip on the four most important strategic locations.

The Kanto region was the core base of the Edo Shogunate.

The Nobi region was the territory of the Owari Tokugawa family, one of the "Three Great Houses".

The Osaka and Otsu regions were both territories directly under the jurisdiction of the shogunate.

The shogunate actually gave up one of the “four major strategic locations”... This is the first time in more than two hundred years!
It is no exaggeration to say that Tokugawa Iemochi really gave half of the shogunate's arm to Aoto!
At this time, Souji noticed something strange about Qing Deng who was sitting on the main seat.

It seemed that Qing Deng was not as excited as the others present.

He looked into the distance, as if thinking about something.

"Tachibana-kun, what's wrong? Why are you so serious? You've become the lord of a city and a land, and you're also a big name with 30 territories. Aren't you happy?"

Zongsi's words immediately focused everyone's attention on Qing Deng.

Qing Deng was stunned for a moment, then smiled:
"Of course I'm happy."

"I was just... sighing."

Having said this, Qing Deng let out a sigh of relief, and his expression became meaningful.

"I am also a famous person now..."

After hearing Qing Deng's words, everyone present showed confused expressions as if they didn't know what was going on.

They are not Qing Deng, so they cannot truly empathize with Qing Deng's immediate psychological changes.

Overnight, you own your own territory, population, and resources... I'm afraid only the person involved can understand the specific feeling.

Suddenly, Souji chuckled and half-jokingly changed the subject:

"Jujun, when are you going to go over to your territory and take a look around?"

Shannan Jingzhu smiled and said:
"I'll be busy again."

Hijikata Toshizo took over the conversation:

"First we need to survey the land, then build a new city, and then count the population and sort out the household registration..."

Qing Deng smiled bitterly:
"There's no rush to go to Otsu right now."

"Let's finish the current affairs first. It won't be too late to go to Otsu after Kyoto is completely stable."

As he said this, he turned his head and looked at Yamanami Keisuke who was not far away.

"Kei-suke, what day is today?"

Shannan Keisuke immediately replied:
"May 9th."

"The 20th... Then let's tentatively go to Otsu on September 9th!"

"Okay, let's all disperse."

After saying that, Qing Deng was the first to stand up and leave.

After leaving the auditorium, his gaze seemed to be drawn by a transparent silk thread, looking straight to the east, towards Otsu in the distance.

"Qin Jin..."

He muttered.

There was a bright light in his eyes.

……

……

The 30 koku of land south of Lake Biwa all belonged to Aoto - this series of news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys in and outside Kyoto.

Whether people who admired Qingdeng or those who hated Qingdeng, they were all shocked by this.

For a time, from Luozhong to Luowai, from the streets to the alleys, from the dining table to the bathhouse, everyone was discussing the newly born "Qinjin Fan", exchanging opinions and conveying emotions.

Among them, shock accounted for the vast majority - just like Yamanami Keisuke, military and political leaders as well as ordinary people were all stunned by the shogunate's generosity.

Huh? Let Tachibana Aoto become the master of Otsu? Is that really necessary? Isn't that a bit too much?
Even if Qing Deng was the son-in-law of Tokugawa Iemochi, it wouldn't be like this, right? !
What's more, Qing Deng is not the son-in-law of Tokugawa Iemochi.

Princess Kazunomiya has not yet given birth to an heir, and Tokugawa Iemochi is still childless, so it is impossible for him to marry Aoto.

Up to now, Qing Deng and Tokugawa Iemochi have no family relationship, and the only friendship between them is the "friendship between monarch and subject."

They were clearly not related, but he treated Qingdeng so well... Using words like "grace" or "trust" to describe it would be inadequate and inappropriate.

"Is it really okay to treat Tachibana Aoto so well?" - Such voices emerged in the market.

In fact, there were many voices of opposition even within the shogunate.

The "opposition" unanimously believes that Qingdeng now has too much power! Too much!

How powerful is Qing Deng now?

It has an independent and powerful field army (Shinsengumi); it has a land with rich resources and a large amount of hidden assets (Qinjinhan); and it has an armed force that can march to Edo at any time (Hachioji Thousand People United).

This this……!
What if Qingdeng raises the banner of rebellion and repeats the events of the Tianbao period (Anshi Rebellion)? What should we do then?

It has to be said that the "opposition"'s claims are not without reason.

History has proven countless times that allowing ministers to have too much power is the biggest taboo among taboos!
However, Tokugawa Iemochi had only one attitude towards the "opposition" opinions: ignore them. He was determined to hand Otsu over to Aoto.

The "opposition" had no other options for this.

Now that the Hitotsubashi faction has fallen, there is no political force within the shogunate that can restrain Tokugawa Iemochi.

Regarding the act of "Tokugawa Iemochi selling his head as a reward to Aoto", various speculations emerged among the people.

Some say that Tokugawa Iemochi and Aoto were brothers who had been separated for many years.

Some say that Tokugawa Iemochi and Aoto actually had an unspeakable special relationship, just like the King of Wei and Longyang Jun in the past.

Some people even joked: Could it be that Tokugawa Iemochi betrothed his mother to King Nioh?
If there is a woman who has an intimate relationship with Tokugawa Iemochi and is also of marriageable age...it is only Tenshoin.

Tenshoin is Tokugawa Iemochi's nominal mother. If Qing Deng marries Tenshoin, he will become Tokugawa Iemochi's nominal father.

27-year-old mother, 21-year-old father, 17-year-old son...what a chaotic family!
If Qing Deng became Tokugawa Iemochi's father, then all of Tokugawa Iemochi's series of abnormal behaviors would be explained.

What's wrong with a son respecting his father?
Of course, people just treat this statement as a joke.

In any case, Tenshoin was the "Empress Dowager" of the shogunate, and she was also a nun who had become a Buddhist nun.

How could it make sense to marry the Queen Mother to a minister?

Unless the shogunate lost power and fell, Tokugawa Iemochi would not have risked the whole world's disobedience by allowing Aoto to openly marry his mother.

The real reason why Tokugawa Iemochi treated Aoto so well... remains a mystery.

In addition, there are some other abnormal sounds in the market.

For example, questioning Qing Deng's promotion speed.

Qing Deng was promoted from a hatamoto with a family salary of less than 30 stones to a daimyo with a salary of stones in one breath... Is this promotion speed too exaggerated?

However, not many people question this.

The reason is not complicated at all.

First, there is precedent.

Back then, Toyotomi Hideyoshi promoted many of his cronies in order to consolidate his regime.

A typical example is the "Kengatake Seven Guns" led by Fukushima Masanori and Kato Kiyomasa.

They didn't accomplish much, and their abilities weren't that great, but their speeds of ascension were more and more exaggerated, and the territories they obtained were larger and larger.

Second, most people believed that Qingdeng deserved such a large territory.

As early as when Aoto repelled the British fleet in Edo Bay, everyone felt that Aoto deserved to become the feudal lord.

When people learned that the reward Qing Deng received was just a slight increase in his family salary and the power to command a thousand men under the eight princes, they were puzzled.

There were even many people who felt indignant about this and believed that the shogunate had treated its meritorious officials unfairly.

Therefore, regarding the shogunate's reward this time, people simply thought that Qing Deng had received the honor and reward that he had long deserved.

……

……

Edo, Xiao Chiba Sword Hall——

"Father! Father! Look!"

As soon as Chiba Shigetaro stepped onto the ground, he impatiently kicked off his straw sandals and hurried into the house to look for his father, Chiba Sadakichi.

"Juutarou, what's wrong?"

Chiba Sadakichi walked out of the room slowly.

"Father, look! Tachibana-kun has become a daimyo!"

Chiba Shigetaro thrust the tile-board newspaper in his hand into Chiba Sadakichi's arms.

Chiba Sadakichi first raised his eyebrows vigorously, then impatiently spread out the tabloid in his arms and read it carefully word by word.

After a moment, he was seen with a relieved smile on his face and his face was flushed.

"Good...good! Tachibana-kun, well done!"

With every word he spoke, the wrinkles on his cheeks relaxed a little.

"A territory of 30 koku... Great, really great!"

In addition to being pleased, Chiba Sadakichi's words were filled with a strong tone of pride.

"Now that Tachibana-kun is a daimyo, it's time for him to get married."

"As the leader of a vassal state, how can you be without an heir?"

"I don't know when his wedding with Sanako will take place."

Chiba Sadakichi was talking to himself, not noticing that Chiba Shigetaro beside him was becoming more and more weird, with cold sweat oozing out of his forehead...

Thanks to Chiba Shigetaro's secrecy, the Chiba family still doesn't know Qing Deng's great dream of "marrying three wives"...

……

……

Edo, Test Pavilion——

“Hehe…hehehe…hehehehe!”

"Stop laughing! You've been laughing non-stop since just now. When will you stop?"

The furious A Bi roared at Kondo Shusuke.

"Oh, this is not my fault."

Kondo Shusuke spread his hands and acted innocent.

"It's hard not to smile when encountering such a happy event, right?"

“Tsk…really…”

Although A-Bi was scolding her, she was not much happier - there was a smile on her lips and an irrepressible smile in her eyes.

Qing Deng is not the only one who made contributions in the "Tianzhu Group Annihilation War".

Therefore, following Aoto, the Shinsengumi generals also received generous rewards!

For example, Kondo Isami - he became a hatamoto with a salary of 1500 koku!

1500 koku! Hatamoto!

Whenever they think of these two groups of words, Kondo Shusuke and Abi are overjoyed.

The Kondo family produced a hatamoto who enjoyed a salary of 1500 koku, which was really an honor for the family!

The couple had long treated Souji, Hijikata Toshizo and others as their own children.

How could they not be happy and joyful when they saw their children succeeding one after another?

……

……

Osaka, somewhere——

An old woman turned her head and looked at the door not far away.

"… Katsurokuro."

A full-bodied voice suddenly sounded outside the door:
"Yes, my lord. What can I do for you?"

"Send a message to Jiulang, asking him to come back immediately."

"Jiulang? Why?"

"Don't ask any more questions. Go and deliver the message."

"Yes!"

……

……

In Ezo (now Hokkaido), a deep forest in the mountains——

It was the end of September... Autumn had just arrived in Edo, Kyoto and other places, but in Ezo it was already snowing.

Numerous snow flakes dot the sky, dyeing the mountains a vast hue.

"Huh...! Huh...! Huh...! Huh...! Huh...!"

A young man in his mid-twenties stood right below an unnamed waterfall.

This person had his eyes closed and his upper body was bare, revealing his strong and tough body. His right hand hung naturally, and his left hand held a simple-shaped sword.

Hual ...

He just let the waterfall wash over his body repeatedly without moving.

Being shirtless in the snow and ice, and standing right under the waterfall... just hearing about it makes one's heart chill and teeth chatter.

However, facing the cold outside, this person was completely indifferent and calm.

Neither the snowflakes from the sky nor the water flowing overhead could change his expression in the slightest.

If you look closely, you can see that there is something very unusual about this person - there is a tattoo of a terrifying demon on his back.

It has two horns on its head, a ferocious face and a bloody mouth.

It is the evil spirit formed by intense jealousy and resentment - Prajna!
Suddenly, as if he sensed something, he opened his eyes abruptly and turned his head to look behind him:
"...Kappa, long time no see."

On the river bank, a short, plain-looking fellow—the Kappa—walked out of the bushes slowly, knelt on one knee, and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:

"Master Prajna, Master Shuten-doji is calling you back."

Prajna responded without hesitation:

"I'm practicing. If it's not something urgent, don't bother me."

Kappa seemed to have expected the other party to say this.

He raised his eyes and looked at Prajna deeply:
"Master Prajna, do you know 'Nio' Tachibana Aoto?"

Prajna said calmly:

"heard about it."

"Master Prajna, Master Shuten-doji asked me to tell you that the 'Ninoh' Tachibana Aoto has obtained Vairocana."

In an instant, Prajna suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He stared at the Kappa and asked back word by word:

"Are you serious?"

Kappa replied without fear of pressure:

"Shuten-doji saw it with his own eyes, it is absolutely true."

"'Nio'... Vairocana... I see... Master... have you passed Vairocana to others?"

Prajna seemed to have lost his soul, murmuring to himself over and over again without any sadness or joy.

"Master...Master...why did you abandon me...?!"

"The master of Vairocana... should be me!!"

The moment he roared, he stretched out his right arm and reached for the katana in his left hand.

boom!
A flash of knife light shot up into the sky!

The silver blade light that shot straight into the sky not only split the waterfall, but also caused it to flow backwards!

After the surging spring water gushed back to the highest point, it changed into thousands of water drops, which fell down in a dripping manner, so that it started to "rain" around, and it stopped after a while.

Looking at Prajna who was maintaining the sword stance, Kappa smiled:
"As expected, you are a monster second only to Otakemaru-sama and Shuten-doji-sama...!"

……

……

Volume 3: "Clouds Rise and Dragon Soars"——The End!

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Volume 3 is over~Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa (patting the leopard's belly.jpg)

The next volume - "Running to Ikeda House", stay tuned!