I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 166 Yamamoto Yae’s Selection Path
Although Yagyu led his own fleet to ambush the Franco-Spanish-Dutch fleet and won, this war was a tragic victory for Japan. The Netherlands lost more than half of its warships, and Spain also suffered heavy losses.

But the French family has a great cause. The Far East Fleet only lost one battleship, which only lost face. There is not much difference in strength.

Therefore, although Yagyu won and subsequently organized a new transport fleet, trade with Vietnam was no longer as unscrupulous as before.

France has banned weapons from entering Vietnam, so Yagyu arranged a transport fleet to enter Guangzhou waters and complete trade with the Vietnamese in Guangzhou.

Qing officials needed to intervene. This money was paid by the Ruan Dynasty of Vietnam.

After all, the Nguyen Dynasty was in urgent need of advanced arms.

However, the speed of trade slowed down, and arms imported from the United States began to be accumulated in warehouses. Yagyu thought that his country would eventually produce its own breech-loading rifle, so he planned to modify the Enfield rifle to gain experience.

The British Empire modified the Enfield rifle after the Franco-Prussian War. After they realized the power of the Dreiser needle gun, they were eager to replace it with a breech-loading rifle.

However, it costs a lot of money to install a new gun. The British Empire, which is very budget-conscious, is naturally a reliable solution for offering rewards.

At this time, an engineer named Schneider thought of a way. He added a bolt to the breech of the Enfield rifle. The bolt was tightly embedded in the barrel. You only need to pull the bolt and open the bolt to load the ammunition. .

The rate of fire of this modified Enfield rifle can reach ten rounds per minute, but the disadvantage is that the recoil is very large.

Yagyu knew about this kind of gun, but he didn't know exactly how to make it, so he organized a military factory and recruited various talents who were familiar with gun manufacturing.

Originally, Yamamoto Kakuma could become one of the engineers, but his eye disease worsened and he was almost blind. Coupled with the incident of the female guard, he wrote a letter back to his hometown to inform his sister Yae and brother-in-law Kawasaki Naoyuki. The assistant called.

Although Yamamoto Kakuma no longer works in the government, fortunately, Yamamoto Daizo can still provide him with information. As for his friend Akizuki Teijiro, he is working in Hokkaido.

The matter of Kawasaki Naunosuke has not yet been determined, but there is new news about Yamamoto Yae.

After receiving Yagyu's attention, Shannan Keisuke and Ohara Shigenori promoted the second selection of female guards.

This time it is mainly a martial arts competition, with more than [-] people competing against each other, and the winner can participate in the final selection.

On the third day after the meeting, the second selection of the female defenders officially began.

Yamamoto Yae's opponent is the daughter of a samurai family from the Satsuma Domain. Both sides use the naginata. The naginata is a type of long-handled weapon. It can also be called an eyebrow-pointed sword. It has a long handle, a wide blade, and a curved weapon like a willow leaf eyebrow.

From the Nara period to the Heian period, it performed well as a weapon used by monk soldiers to protect temples.

From the end of the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, it became the main weapon on the battlefield.

During the Warring States Period during the Onin Rebellion, the spear was replaced by the spear because it was not suitable for intensive battles.

The naginata are still used by the women of the samurai family and the weapons of the Buddha.

After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, a wave of Buddhism quickly emerged, and Shintoism in Japan declined.

Because of the support of the emperor and nobles, Buddhism flourished. Later, Buddhism was involved in power struggles, and gradually developed monk soldiers to protect temples.

The Buddhist sect in Mount Hiei used its influence to oppose the imperial court without any scruples, just like the Western popes in the Middle Ages who dominated the secular world.

Once the Buddhas were dissatisfied, these monks and soldiers, who were fat and fat and had fat mouths, picked up their naginata and followed the Buddhas carrying the statues into Kyoto to cause trouble.

Such ridiculous things began in the Heian Period and reached their peak in the Warring States Period. The Jodo Shinshu (Ichigo Sect) of Buddhism became a warlord with the intention of establishing an earthly Buddhist kingdom.

It's just that the ambitions of the Buddhas were shattered by two men. One was Echizen's military god Sotechi Asakura, who defeated Kaga in one battle and commanded 30 men.

One is Oda Nobunaga, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. After ten years of fighting at Ishiyama Honganji Temple, his younger brother, the general, died in several battles. He himself also had a leg injured by the Buddhas, and finally surrendered after paying a huge price. Pure Land Shinshu.

However, Jodo Shinshu has not died out. There are still two Honganji temples in Kyoto today, and Jodo Shinshu is also called the Ichigo sect.

With the desolation of the Buddhas and the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate banned samurai from holding large naginata, which made the naginata a weapon only for women.

Although the wooden naginata used on the competition stage were the same in weight as real swords, Yamamoto Yae waved the naginata twice at will, dancing like a wind.

The Satsuma woman opposite was not to be outdone and showed off her naginata technique. Her movements were simple but deadly.

Although Yamamoto Yae is not tall, only about 1.5 meters and a half, her figure is somewhat strong, and she is not as weak as a public lady. Of course, the same is true for the Satsuma woman opposite.

The two men shouted softly and waved their naginata to fight. The two naginata struck each other and made a snapping sound.

The fight ended very quickly, with only three or five moves. Yamamoto Yae hit the Satsuma woman's calf with the handle of his spear and knocked her to the ground. The naginata in his hand fell down and was placed in front of the Satsuma woman.

The Satsuma woman glanced at Yamamoto Yae angrily, feeling a little unconvinced, but the result showed that she had lost, so she could only say: "I lost."

Yamamoto Yae then put away his weapon, stood aside, and bowed his head in salute. The Satsuma woman immediately stood up and returned the salute, and left the competition stage lonely.

Yamakawa Daizo looked at the somewhat fierce Yamamoto Yae, looked at Kawasaki Nanosuke and asked with a smile: "I think there should be no conflict between Kawasaki-sama and Mrs. Yae, right?"

Nanosuke Kawasaki said with some embarrassment: "Master Yamakawa, of course, I am the head of the family, and Yae still has to listen to me when it comes to major matters."

"Oh, I understand." Yamakawa Daizo nodded meaningfully.

Naoyosuke Kawasaki pretended to be calm and changed the subject.

Yamamoto Yae came down from the stage with a hint of excitement. She came to Yamakawa Daizo and Kawasaki Naosuke and said: "Finally I won. I lived up to my brother's expectations."

Yamakawa Daizo smiled and said: "Mrs. Yae is really powerful. During the final selection, the Prime Minister will appear in person."

Yamamoto Yae said excitedly: "That's great! I admire this Prime Minister very much. His experience is too legendary!"

Kawasaki Naunosuke asked: "Master Yamakawa, if I remember correctly, there was a colleague named Yagyu Jubei in the letter my brother sent home a long time ago..." Yamakawa Daizo nodded: "Yes, the Prime Minister used to be called Yagyu Jubei, later named by the late emperor to the Prime Minister."

Yamamoto Yae said in surprise: "Huh? In that case, the Prime Minister is the contemporary sword master? I have heard of the name Battosai."

Yamakawa Daizo smiled and said: "Yes, the Prime Minister's martial arts is very powerful. I'm afraid there is no one in Japan who can be my opponent."

Nanosuke Kawasaki immediately asked: "I remember last year, the Prime Minister was assassinated. Those newspapers said that the Prime Minister could kill bullets with a knife. Is it true?"

Yamakawa Daizo did not hide or avoid anything. He said directly: "It's true. Bullets with knife marks were found at the scene."

"Ah, that's amazing!" Yae Yamamoto was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.

Nanosuke Kawasaki wondered: "Since the Prime Minister is no longer afraid of bullets, why do we need to develop new foreign guns?"

Yamakawa Daizo stood up and explained: "This is the power of the Prime Minister. He saw that he was the only one who could cut bullets with a knife.

No matter how powerful a person is, his power is limited, so the Prime Minister wants to build our own foreign guns to make more of us stronger. "

"I understand." Naosuke Kawasaki responded seriously.

Then several people left the school grounds together.

The list after the second assessment was delivered to Yagyu at dusk. After reading it, Yagyu said with a smile: "I didn't expect that there would be more daughters of the samurai family from the Northeast. It seems that the plan of Ohara Shigenori and other public ministers failed. .

The final selection of the female guards will be held in three days, and the location will be in the cabinet. After handling the matter of the female guards, I will have to go north to Hokkaido to check out the new warships.

As for the postal matter, please remind Mr. Matsudaira to keep a close eye on the new household registrations registered in various places. You must keep a backup copy until I come back from Hokkaido. "

Ogata Shuntaro immediately wrote down Yagyu's instructions in a memo.

Three days later, the final selection of the female guard began.

Yamamoto Yae got up early in the morning and got ready. Then, under the leadership of Yamakawa Daizo, she and Nakano Takeko and others drove to the outside of the Imperial Palace.

When the time comes, the guards on the outside open the palace gate and check the women who are about to enter. The maids in the palace are responsible for the body search.

More than 300 female candidates filed in and arrived at the Cabinet Yamen. The Cabinet Yamen was originally transformed from the palace of the left and right guards generals. Especially, there was a complete school ground in the area originally belonging to the inspection and non-violation department, which was enough for [-] people. Multiple people compete in combat.

The final examiner was Yagyu himself.

At 07:30 in the morning, the martial arts competition began immediately. This time, both sides of the battle were people with similar martial arts skills, so the two sides were inseparable. At this time, it depended on who had more experience in martial arts and her ability to withstand stress.

Although it is only a competition between women, it is no less exciting than the swordsmanship competition between men.

As for a group of people watching a woman showing off her breasts and showing off her breasts, they are just dreaming. Even though the Japanese constitution declares that everyone is equal, in reality, the previous feudal ideas have not disappeared, and women still value their reputation.

After all, they were the daughters of the Wu family. If anything unusual happened, their families would force them to get married. Even if they were married to a bad old man, she could only stare.

Fortunately, Yamamoto Yae's father has doted on Yae since he was a child, otherwise whose little girl would have been playing with iron cannons since she was a child.

Before the selection of the female guards began, Yagyu stepped forward and said: "The purpose of selecting you to form the female guards is to let everyone know the new atmosphere of the country. We want others to know that in Japan, women are not allowed to be inferior to men, regardless of gender. You can serve your country!”

Yagyu's speech made the women very excited. These daughters of the military family received the most traditional education and were loyal and patriotic in their thinking.

It's just that the shogunate has been destroyed and the vassal state has ceased to exist. Their loyal and patriotic objects have been replaced by the imperial family and Japan.

After Yagyu’s speech, the selection officially began.

Yamamoto Yae's opponent this time is a woman from Saga. The opponent is as strong as her. Both of them weigh about 110 pounds.

The competition between the two sides was very fierce. After three or two moves, the two began to tussle, regardless of the outcome. Yamamoto Yae was more clever. She immediately released her strength and broke the deadlock. The two sides fought again, but it turned into a wrestling match many times.

After fighting for more than two minutes, the two were both a little tired. Yamamoto Yae could see that the other party was trying to consume her physical strength through wrestling, and she had to find a way to break it.

Yamamoto Yae carefully recalled the opponent's actions and found that there was a flaw in the Saga woman's left calf. In the following fight, she specifically attacked the Saga woman's left leg. As a result, the Saga woman was exhausted and was finally caught by Yae. The Saga woman was very upset, but she had to say: "I lost."

Yamamoto Yae won the final victory. She ran down the stage excitedly and raised her naginata to express her excitement. Unfortunately, her family was not here.

The final selection this time took a whole morning.

The more than 100 people who have passed the selection are all women with the most exquisite martial arts. They are all brave and heroic, and their spirit is no less than that of the soldiers of the new army.

Yagyu walked up to these women and said loudly: "Congratulations to all of you for passing the final selection. You will become the first batch of female guards in the palace.

But everyone should remember that passing the selection is not the end, but the beginning.As women, you are naturally weaker than men in terms of physical fitness, so even if you become female guards, you still have to participate in rigorous training.

In addition, you will also need to receive training on new rifles, emergency medical skills, etc. In short, I hope you will cheer up for the next training. Only female guards who have passed these basic trainings can take on the responsibility of the harem. The burden of guarding. "

Yagyu had thought about this matter a few days ago. The training plan, venue and manpower had been arranged by Shannan Keisuke, and they could be used only after the selection.

On the side, Ohara Shigenori was a little dumbfounded. He was originally a little happy about Yagyu's eagerness to select the female guard. In his opinion, even if the female guard was from Yagyu's faction, he would successfully recruit people.

As long as the female guard has his own people, when Yagyu leaves Kyoto, he and his allies will have the opportunity to enter the palace through the female guard's intelligence and rescue the emperor from Yagyu's clutches.

But now, Yagyu has arranged an extra period of training, which makes him a little worried. This is Yagyu's plan.

But he had no choice. He couldn't find fault in this matter and could only follow Yagyu's arrangements.

(End of this chapter)