I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 803 Return to the Warring States Period! [Leopard Update 7K1]

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, Hijifang Residence——

"Come on! Ju, don't be polite, just sit anywhere! Just treat it as your own home!"

As he spoke, Hijikata Toshizo, who was wearing a loose yukata, sat down on the tatami, leaning on his elbows and supporting his knees, looking as casual and comfortable as he could.

"Even if you didn't say that, I wouldn't be polite."

After saying this half-jokingly, Qing Deng also imitated Hijikata Toshizo and sat cross-legged leisurely.

On the surface, Hijikata Toshizo always looked very out of tune, laughing, scolding, and doing whatever he wanted.

But in fact, he is quite thoughtful.

Whenever he was in public with outsiders present, he would always play the role of "Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi" and "Elder of the Qinjin Domain" and would never behave in a way that was inconsistent with his identity and status because of his close relationship with Qing Deng.

Throughout the ages, the reason why "brothers working together to start a business" is always associated with "brothers fighting each other" is that there are always people who still regard their good brothers as "good brothers" after they have risen to the top, leading to tragedy.

To this day, although Qing Deng and Hijikata Toshizo are still close "friends", they are also "king and subject" and "commander-in-chief".

Hijikata Toshizo saw through the relationship between himself and Aoto and would never confuse himself about his own position - and this was one of the important reasons why he could still drink and chat happily with Aoto until now.

Of course, in private, they no longer have to follow these detours.

If there were no outsiders present, their relationship would return to the purest friendship of relatives and friends - Hijikata Toshizo was Souji's sworn brother, so he could be considered one of Qing Deng's many brothers-in-law.

"Tetsunosuke! Bring me some tea..."

Before Hijikata Toshizo could finish his words, a handsome boy appeared in front of him, jogging - in his hands was a tea tray with two cups of hot tea.

"My Lord, my Lord, please have some tea!"

As Shota spoke loudly, he took the two cups of hot tea from the tea tray with steady movements and handed them to Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo's knees respectively.

Looking at the boy who was quick and nimble and brought the tea without waiting for orders, Hijikata Toshizo was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly and gave him an admiring look.

"Well, Tetsunosuke, thank you for your hard work, you can leave first. I need to have a small meeting with Tachibana."

"Yes!"

The boy called "Tetsunosuke" lowered his upper body, put three fingers on the ground, and saluted respectfully to Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo.

"My Lord, my Lord, I will take my leave now!"

After saying this, he lifted the hem of his hakama, stood up and left.

Qing Deng raised his eyes and watched his back.

  After the footsteps faded away, Qing Deng withdrew his gaze and looked at Hijikata Toshizo, smiling slightly:

"Ichimura-kun is getting smarter and smarter."

Hijikata Toshizo smiled, with a hint of pride on his face:

"Of course, after all, it's the name I picked out at first sight!"

Ichimura Tetsunosuke - the real name of the boy just mentioned, born in the first year of Ansei (1854), exactly 10 years old this year, and he hasn't even shaved his forehead hair yet.

Just as Hijikata Toshizo just said, this shota is now his nickname.

Before this, Hijikata Toshizo had never taken in any concubines and always kept to himself.

As to why he established a unprecedented relationship between the king and his subject, the process is quite interesting.

It is the result of various causes and conditions coming together.

Like most aspiring people, Ichimura Tetsunosuke and his brother Ichimura Tatsunosuke had long been full of admiration for the invincible Shinsengumi.

Therefore, when the "big conscription" began at the beginning of this year, the brothers rushed to apply.

His brother passed the test successfully, but he...

Although the "large-scale conscription" did not set a specific age limit, it was not a critical moment when "all able-bodied men had died and only children could be sent to fight", and the Shinsengumi's "conscription office" would never recruit 10-year-old children as soldiers.

"Little brother, you are not even as tall as a katana now. The battlefield is not a good place for you. Wait until you grow up a little bit before enlisting in the army."

Faced with the recruiter's polite refusal, Ichimura Tetsunosuke refused.

His face showed grief and indignation, he raised his head and shouted loudly:

"Aren't you Shinsengumi recruiting heroes from all over the world? Then why do you abandon the real heroes?"

His bold words happened to be heard by Hijikata Toshizo who happened to be passing by.

Looking at this little guy who was small in stature but had a big voice, Hijikata Toshizo was happy.

  He crossed his arms, swaggered over, and asked:

"Boy, what's your name?"

  Although Ichimura Tetsunosuke was startled by this strange old man (?) who suddenly appeared and had a unique temperament, he still stiffened his neck and pretended to be calm while introducing himself:

"My name is Ichimura Tetsunosuke!"

  Hijikata Toshizo curled his lips:

"You are so funny. You dare to say such rude words in front of the Shinsengumi."

"Uncle, who are you?"

"Uncle...?! Tsk, well, considering the age difference between you and me, it's okay for you to call me 'uncle'. I'm the 'Demon Vice Captain' of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo. Please give me your guidance."

"'Demon's Vice Captain'...?!"

Ichimura Tetsunosuke, who was so passionate a second ago, became like a deflated ball in this second. His expression changed drastically, his eyes widened into a look of disbelief.

  Hijikata Tossan continued the words quietly:

"Although we can't let children go to the battlefield, but...how about this, you become my junior! In this way, you can also become a member of the Shinsengumi."

"Xiao, Xiao last name...?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Ichimura Tetsunosuke immediately looked embarrassed.

"Why? Are you not happy? I'll be frank with you. I've given you a very precious opportunity. I don't know how many people want to be my mistress, but they haven't had that chance yet."

  Facing the sharp gaze from Hijikata Toshizo, Ichimura Tetsunosuke lowered his head aggrievedly and said weakly to his toes:

"Even if you are Hijikata Toshizo, I don't want to be your Kousaka Masanobu..."

Takasaka Masanobu - the nickname of Takeda Shingen, the typical person who made a bright future by selling ditches.

Hijikata Toshizo was stunned for a moment, then he showed a rare expression of exasperation:

"Who said I want you to be Kousaka Masanobu! Don't worry! I'm not Takeda Shingen! I don't have that kind of hobby! Do you want to be my little surname or not? Give me a definite answer! I'm busy!"

Finally, after a fierce ideological struggle, Ichimura Tetsunosuke nodded with difficulty and became Hijikata Toshizo's nickname, responsible for taking care of his daily life.

When people learned that Hijikata Toshizo had adopted a 10-year-old boy as his nickname, a huge wave of discussion broke out within the Shinsengumi.

  From generals to ordinary soldiers, everyone participated:

"That 'Demon Vice Captain' actually has such an interest..."

"Isn't this normal? What's the big deal?"

"I didn't expect that the 'Demon's Vice-Captain' would also favor the Taoists... If I have the chance, I will definitely have a good exchange with him!"

……

There are countless similar remarks.

In fact, it’s no wonder that people act this way.

Although the original meaning of "Xiaoxing" is just a personal servant, but...

Oda Nobunaga and Mori Ranmaru, Takeda Shingen and Kousaka Masanobu... the things these people did made the term "small surname" no longer pure.

After learning that Hijikata Toshizo, who had always been alone, suddenly found a young man with a pretty face, it is hard not to have strange associations...

And Hijikata Toshizo happened to be a guy with a long criminal record.

Considering his philandering nature, it’s no surprise that he does whatever he wants!

Everyone was talking about it... On the other hand, those who were familiar with Hijikata Toshizo - such as Aoto, Souji, and Kondo Isami - were all very calm.

  Because they knew Hijikata Toshizo very well, they all knew in their hearts: Hijikata Toshizo is a straight man! He would never do anything like Zhongdao!

Besides, Hijikata Toshizo is definitely not the kind of person who would attack a child.

  If he was such a scum, there would be no need for others to gossip about him. Qing Deng would personally go to Hijikata's residence with a knife in hand and have a good "detailed talk" with him!

Although he is Qing Deng's best friend, personal feelings are not worth mentioning in the face of major issues! The ethics and morals that need to be corrected must be corrected!

Facing everyone's doubts, Hijikata Toshizo, who had anticipated this, sneered a few times and responded calmly: Ichimura Tetsunosuke reminded him of his fearless self in the past, so on a whim, he took him to his side to train him.

In this way, everyone's suspicions were finally dispelled.

A vassal's vassal is not my vassal - this sentence can be applied to China in the Western Zhou Dynasty, medieval Europe, and Japan in the Edo period.

From Qingdeng's perspective, Ichimura Tetsunosuke is a typical "vassal of a vassal".

Therefore, there is no master-slave relationship between them.

However, because Ichimura Tetsunosuke admired Aoto very much, after receiving instructions, he would call Aoto "Great Lord" while calling Hijikata Toshizo "Lord".

……

After a few simple greetings, Hijikata Toshizo picked up the hot tea in front of his knees, took a sip, and his facial expression gradually became serious:

"Ju, let's stop talking about small talk and talk about business."

  Upon hearing this, Qing Deng nodded slightly, but also tightened his facial lines, and said lightly:

"Well, if you have anything to say, feel free to say it."

Hijikata Toshizo drank the tea in the cup in one breath, then took out a thin booklet from his arms.

"Tachibana, take a look at this."

After saying that, he opened the booklet, turned to a certain page, placed it on the tatami, handed it to Qing Deng's knees, then picked up the shamisen beside his legs, held it diagonally in his arms, put his hands in a graceful position, and started playing by himself.

It has to be said that the reason why Hijikata Toshizo was able to become the Super Sea King was not only because he was as handsome as Pan An, but also because he was versatile. He mastered many talents such as playing the piano and singing that were very popular with the opposite sex.

If young girls saw him in this carefree manner of "holding the zither in his arms and gently stroking the strings", I'm afraid he would capture a lot of "captives" again.

Just as Qing Deng was about to reach out to take the booklet, by chance, a breeze blew in from the window, turning the pages of the booklet.

Hijikata Toshizo, who was concentrating on playing the piano, did not notice this little accident.

Qing Deng wanted to warn him, but his sharp eyes suddenly discovered that there seemed to be something very interesting written on the booklet after turning the page.

  So he picked up the book, cleared his throat, and then read aloud what he saw:

"O oriole, the sound of the duster is also..."

In an instant, Hijikata Toshizo's face changed color. He didn't even bother to play the shamisen. He hurriedly put the zither back to its place and snatched back the booklet.

"Idiot! What are you reading?! Tsk...how did you turn to this page...!"

Qing Deng ignored Hijikata Toshizo's complaints and asked curiously:

"Saizo, is this the haiku you wrote?"

After a brief hesitation, Hijikata Toshizo touched his nose and replied coldly:

"What bad luck that you saw it... Yes, it's the haiku I wrote."

  Qing Deng stretched out his voice and changed it to a half-joking tone:

"Wow~ I've known you for so long, but this is the first time I've read your haiku."

When talking about Hijikata Toshizo, people's inherent impression is that he is sharp-tongued, romantic, and has a bad temper.

You probably never thought that the "Deputy Chief of Demons" was unexpectedly an elegant person. Hijikata Toshizo particularly liked elegant things, especially haiku.

Whenever he had nothing to do, he would pick up a pen and paper and happily compose haiku. He even gave himself the nickname "Toyotama".

According to Souji, he has accumulated several large volumes of haiku collections.

It's a pity that although he loved writing haiku, he rarely showed his works to outsiders.

As a result, Qingdeng finally had the opportunity to read his masterpiece until today.

Qing Deng recalled what he had just seen and repeated softly:

"Yellow Oriole, the sound of the duster is also...what's next?"

Hijikata Toshizo glanced at Qing Deng unhappily.

Although he showed impatience, as if he was reluctant to talk more about this topic with Qing Deng, at the same time, the corners of his lips were slightly raised, as if he was secretly delighted, giving him an overall weird look of "wanting to refuse but actually welcoming".

"Oh, there's really nothing I can do about you! Since you're so curious, I'll make an exception and read it to you today!"

As he spoke, he straightened his clothes and sat upright, cleared his throat, then half-closed his eyes, with an intoxicated look on his face, and chanted softly:

"Yellow Oriole~ The sound of the duster~ also~ stopped~"

"..."

"Hey, don't be silent, give me some reaction."

"Oh, sorry... I don't understand haiku, so I didn't quite understand what your haiku meant."

"Ah, it really is the sound of flowing water in the mountains... What I mean is that the song of the oriole is so beautiful that I can't help but stop the duster in my hand and listen to the bird's song with all my attention."

“…Huh? Is that it?”

Hijikata Toshizo was immersed in his own world. He half-closed his eyes, as if he was fantasizing about something, and continued to look intoxicated:

"After listening to this haiku, doesn't this picture come to your mind? A gentle breeze, a quiet afternoon, the sound of birds singing from time to time... What a beautiful scene..."

"So why are you holding the duster?"

"It's not that I'm holding the duster! The duster or something is totally irrelevant! The main thing is the mood! The atmosphere! Oh... forget it! You and Xiao Si are exactly the same! You don't know elegance! Talking to you about haiku is like playing the lute to a cow!"

Seeing that the other party seemed to be in a bad mood, Qing Deng quickly showed a heartless smile to ease the atmosphere.

"Don't be angry. I am indeed a vulgar person who doesn't know elegance, but I think your work seems to be quite interesting. Let me listen to your other works."

"No thanks, you can't appreciate the subtlety of haiku."

"Then let me listen to your most confident work. Maybe after listening to your proudest work, I can appreciate the subtlety of haiku."

"If you want to understand haiku, just go and read the works of famous writers like Matsuo Basho and Kobayashi Issa. I know my level very well, and there's nothing good about my works."

Although he said this, his hands seemed to have their own consciousness. He quickly opened the booklet and flipped the pages.

Then, that strange expression of "wanting to refuse but also to welcome" appeared on his cheek again.

He licked his lips, his eyes sparkled, and the corners of his lips raised high, unable to suppress it.

"I am best at writing poems about scenery. When it comes to my most confident works, or my favorite works, they have to be my poems about scenery."

He turned the page.

"Hmm... this song is not very good. The artistic conception is too bad."

He turned another page.

"This song... lacks rhythm and does not reflect my high level of skill at all."

He turned another page.

"This one... oh, no, no, this one is too good. Even if I read it to you, you won't be able to appreciate its beauty. Hmm... It's so hard to choose..."

  As soon as he finished speaking, he frowned and slapped his thigh, just like a patient with amnesia who suddenly regained his memory:

"That's not right! We're not having a poetry reading! Why are we talking about haiku? Tachibana, it's all your fault for interrupting me and causing me to make a mistake!"

  Qing Deng looked innocent and pointed at himself:

"Eh? Is this my responsibility?"

Hijikata Toshizo's face did not turn red and his heart did not beat, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

"Here! This is what I want you to see, don't read anything else!"

He turned the booklet to the first page and stuffed it into Qing Deng's arms.

After this little episode, their conversation finally got back on track.

After laughing and making a fuss, the two quickly calmed down and turned back into the decisive and ruthless "Niou" and "Deputy Captain of the Devil".

After Qing Deng took the booklet, he held it with both hands and scanned it quickly, reading ten lines at a glance.

Hijikata Toshizo remained silent and waited quietly.

About 10 seconds later, Qing Deng quietly closed the book in his hand, his face expressionless, his tone neither sad nor happy:

"What is coming will eventually come...Changzhou is going to fight us to death."

Hijikata Toshizo shrugged.

"The people of Changzhou have always had abnormal brains. It is not surprising that they would do such a thing."

  The shogunate's "Choshu Expedition" has long been known to everyone. How could the people of Choshu not know about it?

After the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Shimonoseki and the setback of being expelled from Kyoto, most people, including Qing Deng, thought that the radicals in Choshu would calm down a bit, or at least the conservatives would be able to regain some voice.

  But who would have thought... the Choshu radicals led by Kusaka Genzui not only failed to learn their lesson and mend their ways, but became even more insane!

They blamed the shogunate for their miserable situation today.

The shogunate went back on its word! They said "May 5th, we will start to expel the barbarians", but when that day really came, they just sat on the sidelines and watched! Not only did they not expel the barbarians, but they stabbed us in the back! They drove us out of Kyoto and made us bear the stigma of "enemy of the court" for nothing!

  Yes, we did nothing wrong! It's all the Shogunate's fault! Blame it on the Shogunate!

In this way, they completed their ideological cycle and became increasingly hostile to the shogunate, as well as the Aizu and Satsuma domains that now stood on the side of the shogunate, and the newly established Qinzu domain.

In order to vent their anger, they resorted to the "spiritual victory method".

They called Satsuma "Satsuma thief", Aizu "Aizu traitor", and Qinjin "Qin monster".

When they were practicing martial arts and wielding bamboo swords, they would often shout in unison, "Destroy the Qin monster," "Punish the traitors," and "Down with the Sa thieves," and would write these three derogatory terms on the soles of their shoes, implying "trampling them under our feet."

  In this way, after experiencing one failure after another, the radical faction in Choshu not only did not weaken, but became stronger! They firmly controlled the national politics of Choshu!

Qing Deng couldn't think of any other feeling about such a result except "amazing".

He once again deeply realized that the most ever-changing thing in this world is "reality". You never know how it will develop next. Novelists have exhausted their imaginations but cannot come up with a story more outrageous than "reality".

Under the leadership of those lunatics, it was clear that they would not sit still and wait for death in the face of the "Choshu Expedition" that the shogunate was about to launch. They would definitely try every possible way to resist and struggle.

As the deputy head of the Shinsengumi in charge of military affairs, Hijikata Toshizo has been closely following the developments in Choshu.

Qing Deng specially sent out the Ninth Division (Ninja Division), which had already become a well-organized team, to assist Hijikata Toshizo.

After a long and meticulous intelligence gathering, Hijikata Toshizo summarized the information and recorded it one by one - what Qing Deng just saw was this "Choshu Intelligence Summary".

First of all, as everyone expected, at the beginning of this year, just as Choshu had recovered from the setbacks of the Shimonoseki War and the August 18th Coup, it issued an unprecedented mobilization order!

Although he was mentally prepared, Qing Deng couldn't help but frown after seeing the mobilization strength of Changzhou.

The specific contents of Choshu's military mobilization are roughly as follows.

First, conduct a household registration survey throughout the domain! Register all men of marriageable age!

Second, they sent martial arts instructors to every village and forced farmers to practice martial arts in their spare time.

Third, they implemented strict material control and strictly restricted the sale of military supplies such as salt, sugar, grain, and fodder.

There are many specific details of the "mobilization order" and I will not go into details one by one.

In a nutshell, Choshu was preparing for war at full speed! They were preparing for war, training their troops, and showing a desperate attitude of "I will never live like this again! I must fight you!" They were determined to fight to the death with the shogunate!

Choshu was a powerful domain with a total koku of 36 koku. It also controlled the Shimonoseki Strait, from which it could reap huge profits every year, and its actual financial resources exceeded one million koku.

  If Choshu is determined to fight the shogunate to the bitter end and increase its military strength at all costs... then, the samurai cannon soldiers, they can at least increase their military strength by 2...!

An army of this size should not be underestimated!

At this time, Hijikata Toshizo suddenly interrupted:

"According to my investigation, Satsuma, Tosa, Hizen... all the western feudal domains are carrying out military mobilization at varying levels."

"It seems that the shogunate's recent strong behavior has aroused the vigilance of the western feudal lords."

"Everyone is storing food and hoarding grain in preparation for war."

Having said this, he paused and then sneered.

"This is really... like going back to the Warring States Period! It really makes my blood boil!"

Qing Deng showed a half-smile and returned the booklet in his hand to Hijikata Toshizo.

"Let's not talk about Tosa for now."

"Early before the Black Ship Incident, the Hizen Domain was enthusiastic about Western science and regarded 'Japanese spirit and Western talent' as a national policy. It launched a series of reforms and vigorously developed industry. It was able to produce guns and cannons on its own and had unknown combat power."

"Not to mention Satsuma. Under the leadership and reforms of the former lord Shimazu Nariakira, their national strength has been growing day by day, and they have become the 'most powerful vassal in the world'."

"None of them is kind..."

Although Satsuma was now allied with the shogunate, the Kintsu clan, and the Aizu clan, no one would take the loyalty of this "fence-sitter" seriously.

Hijikata Toshizo sneered again, grinned, and uttered a famous historical quote:

"'No matter how many ways you come, I will only go one way.'"

"No matter how others act, what we should do remains unchanged - continue to develop the national strength of Qinjin Domain, strengthen the combat power of the Shinsengumi, and become a huge weight that will unbalance the scales no matter which side it falls on!"

  Qingden smiled:

"Well, you're right."

After saying that, he raised the teacup beside his legs and drank it all in one gulp.

"Sui San, you've done a great job. Keep monitoring the West Country. If you find anything new, report to me immediately."

"I have something else to do, so I'll go first."

Hijikata Toshizo raised his eyebrows.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I was thinking of chatting with you more. We haven't chatted for a long time."

Qingdeng laughed dumbly:

"I'm going to Kyoto. The 'Kyoto Director' is coming, and as the superior and host, I have to host a banquet for him."

After hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo understood something.

"Kyoto Director... I almost forgot about this. Go quickly then, and have a safe trip. By the way, this new Kyoto Director seems to be an acquaintance of yours?"

Qingdeng nodded:

"Yes. He is my old superior, a man who is very good with a spear."

  *******

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Today is another day when Leopard updates 7K! Leopard needs your support! The monthly votes I have received recently are too few! This is the number of monthly votes for Leopards and Leopards, which will seriously dampen Leopard's enthusiasm! (crying Leopard head.jpg) Please give me monthly votes! Please give me recommendation votes! (crying Leopard head.jpg)

PS: I once wanted to write a fanfiction about Hijikata Toshizo and the gender-swapped version of Ichimura Tetsunosuke. If Ichimura Tetsunosuke was a woman, then the two of them would be a perfect sadomasochistic couple! (豹嗨.jpg)