I formed the strongest swordsman group

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place suddenly became unobtrusively commotion.

Surprised eyes, vigilant expressions, whispers...the information combined by these sights and sounds strengthened Qingdeng's thoughts.

No, it should be said - after discovering that Yanagawa Zuomen was the Empress Dowager Banhei of Takeshi, Qingto was convinced that his idea was correct, so there was no question of whether he was firm or not.

At this moment, Yanagawa Zuomon's expression changed interestingly.

His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes shone with curiosity.

"Lord Nioh, can I ask you a question? Why do you think I am Hanheita Takeichi?"

Qingden Wan'er:

"Because of your smell."

Yanagawa Zuomen's eyebrows were raised even higher.

For a moment, he seemed to be relieved, his facial lines softened, his raised eyebrows gradually relaxed, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised:

"Haha! Awesome!"

After laughing loudly and applauding vigorously several times, he straightened up, clasped his hands at his sides, and bowed to Qingdeng in a way that could not be faulted.

"Your inference is absolutely correct. I am none other than Takeichi Hanheita, leader of the Tosa Kinou Party!"

Yanagawa Zumon... Correction, now it must be said that it is Takeichi Hanheita.

After a pause, he changed into an apologetic tone:

"Lord Nioh, please forgive me for my rude behavior in concealing my identity."

"Since I devoted myself to the great cause of protecting the country, I have spent more time with my writing brush than with my sword."

"But no matter what you say, I will always be a swordsman."

"After I learned that the brave Nioh-sama has arrived, I couldn't hold back my inner impulse to compete with you."

"So, I entrusted the students to take the lead in this 'making friends with force'."

Having said this, he turned his head and glanced at the person not far away who was the first to challenge Aoto (Noguchi Zentaro).

"I apologize if it has caused you any trouble."

After that, he bent down and gave another salute, and it was a 90-degree salute.

Qingdeng stepped aside and humbly avoided the other party's courtesy.

"Wu Shijun, you're welcome."

"I've been obsessed with everything lately and haven't moved my muscles for a long time."

"I feel very happy to be able to stretch my muscles for the first time in a long time, and to compete with the famous Tosa Kinnobu."

At this point, Qingdeng changed the topic.

"It's just...there is one regret."

Before Takeshi Hanheita could raise any questions, Qingto continued on his own:

"Where is your 'Human Slayer Izo'? In addition to 'Niou', I also have the nickname of 'Human Slayer Seto'. I am also a human slayer, and I really want to learn Okada Izo's skills."

As soon as Qingdeng finished asking, a weird scene slowly unfolded in front of his eyes.

I saw that the originally slightly noisy hall gradually became quiet, and with just a snap of a finger, it became audible.

Those whispering voices and whispering movements all stopped.

A bunch of eyes with different emotions wandered in the air.

Qingden swept his eyes without leaving a trace, observing the entire scene.

After hearing the name "Okada Izo", the Qinwang party members present showed various expressions.

Some people look like they don't care.

Some people looked disdainful.

Others looked nervous.

Human Slayer - a title that can only be held by swordsmen who are highly skilled and have killed countless people.

For example, Qingdeng was known as "Qingdeng who killed Yingye".

Since time travel, at least five or six hundred people have died under his sword. The title of "Human Killer" is well deserved.

At first glance, this title sounds particularly majestic.

But in fact, it is not a compliment.

After all, another term for "human killing" is "murderous maniac".

As long as it is a society with normal social customs and public morality, "killing many people" will not be regarded as a commendable merit.

Therefore, everyone who admires and is close to Qingdeng regards "people beheading Qingdeng" as an unspeakable nickname.

The assassination of Naomi Ii three years ago (Sakurada Gate Incident) was a very bad start. It made all the people with lofty ideals in the world realize one thing - the highest level of political struggle often leads to Only the simplest means are needed!

Ever since, after the incident outside Sakurada Gate, assassinations occurred frequently.

As Kyoto became the center of the anti-Japanese movement, this thousand-year-old city became a hot spot for assassinations.

The patriots waved their butcher knives as they pleased and killed every "national traitor" in their eyes.

The victims ranged from court officials and shogunate officials to petty officials and ordinary people with no power.

Among these many assassins, four are the most famous.

Because these four people were all given the title of "People Killed XX", they were collectively referred to as the "Four Great People Killed" by the world.

First, Nakamura Hanjiro of Satsuma Domain is said to be a talented man in both literature and martial arts.

The second is Tanaka Shinbei, who is also from Satsuma Domain.

Thirdly, there is very little information about Kawagami Hikosai of the Kumamoto Domain. We only know that he is very skilled in swordsmanship and is very short in stature. He is currently serving the Choshu Domain.

As for the last one, it was Okada Izo of Tosa Domain.

Among the "Four Majors", Okada Izo is the most famous and has the most information.

It is reported that Okada Izo was born in the ninth year of Tenpo (1838). His hometown is Enoguchi Village in the north of Tosa County, and his status is an ashigaru that is worse than a country scholar.

Ashigaru is a class that exists widely in the shogunate and various feudal states, and is the lowest rank among samurai.

Just from the name, you can see how humble this class is.

Ashigaru - insignificant.

In the Tosa Domain, the countrymen were already a discriminated class that suffered from abuse.

The ashigaru, who were even lower than the country warriors... their treatment can only be imagined.

Let's put it this way - Okada Izo, who was born in Ashigaru, doesn't even have a serious name.

Generally speaking, the full name of a warrior is "Miao character + common name + real name".

For example, Aoto's full name is "Tachibana Aoto Moriharu", Kondo Isamu's full name is "Kondo Isamu Masaki", and Chiba Jutaro's real name is "Chiba Jutaro Ichin".

Due to his low status, Okada Izo did not even have the right to use his full name, so his name was only "Okada Izo".

If nothing unexpected happens, with his miserable family situation, he will only be able to work as a mule for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, he met a noble man, Takeshi Hanheita.

Takeshi Hanping Taishang Okada Izo took him into the dojo under his command and taught him the swordsmanship carefully.

During the period of studying at Hanheita's dojo in Takeshi, Okada Izo gradually showed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship, and his physical strength improved by leaps and bounds.

Later, when Takeichi Hanheita established the Tosa Kinou Party, Okada Izo naturally became a member of it.

In the feudal era, especially in this kind of society with very solidified classes, the kindness of knowing and meeting someone was a very important kindness, the kindness of reinvention in the true sense.

It's just that... ever since Takeshi Hanheita took control of the real power in the domain and led the domain soldiers to Luo, his relationship with Okada Izo was no longer just a simple "master and apprentice", "benefactor and beneficiary".

Nowadays, Kyoto is a land of "full of vitality and all things are competing for development". Various factions gather here to exchange opinions enthusiastically.

Whether it is the Zunhu Faction promoting their idea of ​​respecting the king and repelling the foreigners, or the Zuomu Faction promoting their theory of the integration of public and military forces, they will encounter considerable pressure.

According to legend, in order to reduce enemies and potential enemies, Takeichi Hanpei frequently ordered Okada Izo, an excellent swordsman, to assassinate people he considered an eyesore.

Just like that, Kyoto gained a touch of terrifying blood.

Okada Izo spared no effort to kill people for Takeichi Hanheita.

The list of victims can be listed in a long list, including Honma Seiichiro, Ikeuchi University, Mori Sonroku, Okawahara Juzo, Watanabe Kinzo, Ueda Sukenojo... The number of people reaches hundreds, which is really terrifying.

Even Watanabe Kinsaburo, the leader of Kyoto Town in the previous generation, was killed by him.

It is said that in addition to following Takeichi Hanheita's instructions to kill people, Okada Izo will also use his own subjective initiative to kill "national thieves" based on his own ideas.

For example: Anyone who dares to speak ill of Wu Shi Banping will be treated as a heinous scum by him, and then be brutally killed by him.

Although we are now in a troubled world where rituals have collapsed and music has collapsed, no matter what, assassinating others is still a shameful and shameful thing.

Okada Izo assassinated so many people and committed so many tragedies that outraged both humans and gods. Naturally, countless people denounced him and accused Takeichi Hanheita who was driving all this behind the scenes.

However, just like the "Assassination of Yoshida Toyo" back then, in the face of all doubts and accusations from the outside world, Takeichi Hanheita's attitude was just three sentences: "These things do not exist", "I don't know these things", "It is inconvenient to say" These things".

To put it simply, they refuse to admit that these assassinations are related to the Tosa Kinou Party.

Because of the delay in obtaining strong evidence, even though he was convinced that the deaths of those people were related to Okada Izo, he was still unable to do anything about Takeichi Hanheita and Tosa Kinou's gang.

When he started "making friends through martial arts", Qing Nobomoto was also looking forward to competing with Okada Izo and seeing how much this feared man was capable of.

But it is a pity that this person did not show up until Takeichi Hanheita, the boss of Tosa Kinou's party, showed up.

Faced with Qingdeng's words, "Where's your 'Human Killer Hidden'?", Takeshi Hanheita's reaction was very calm.

He smiled slightly and said calmly:

"Lord Nioh, do you also think Okada-kun is an unpardonable murderer?"

As he spoke, he put on a serious expression and said word by word:

"Please allow me to solemnly explain here: the rumors about Okada-kun from the outside are purely ridiculous and nonsense."

"Okada-kun is a good boy, not a murderer, and I didn't instruct him to kill anyone."

After hearing this, Qingdeng smiled and shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't care whether Okada Izo is really a murderer."

"After all, what qualifications does a person like me, whose hands have long been stained with blood, have to accuse others of killing too many people?"

"I simply want to fight against powerful people - that's all."

Takeichi Hanheita nodded slightly, and then showed an apologetic expression of helplessness:

"That being the case... I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. Okada-kun is currently in Tosa, not Kyoto."

For this answer, Qingdeng, who had been mentally prepared for a long time, did not feel regretful. He just spread his hands and said calmly:

"It's okay! Since we don't have a chance to meet each other today, let's leave it until later! Anyway, I'm not here today to discuss with others."

Speaking of this, Qingdeng paused for a moment, then slightly adjusted the expression on his face, and put on a formulaic smile that was polite but kept a certain distance:

“Now that ‘making friends with force’ is over, it’s time to talk about the real thing, right?”

Takeshi Hanheita nodded.

That's exactly what he said - he said it with his eyes.

…

…

After a brief cleaning of the hall, the environment returned to what it was before the "Using Force to Make Friends" began.

The Qinwang Party members sat on the left and right sides.

Qingdeng sat in the middle.

The only difference is that the main seat is no longer vacant.

Wushi Hanpingtai sat on the main seat with a solemn expression, facing Qingdeng's eyes.

"Lord Niou, let me tell you the truth - why did you suddenly come to visit my house?"

Qingden, who only wanted a quick victory, said bluntly:

"Mr. Takeichi, I would like to ask you to restore the reputation of an underground ronin named Iwasaki Yajiro of your domain..."

Iwasaki Yajiro - Iwasaki Yataro's father.

Aonto conveyed the two wishes of Iwasaki Yataro to Takeichi Hanheita in a concise and concise manner.

After he finished speaking, the whole place suddenly became commotion.

The Qinwang Party members on the left and right frequently turned to look at each other, looking at each other.

They all found strong doubts on each other's faces.

"Iwasaki Yataro?", "Who is this man?", "How could I possibly know an underground ronin?"... Discussions similar to this are endless.

Not only them, but also Takeshi Hanheita's face was full of confusion.

The dignified governor of Gyeonggi Province came alone to the headquarters of the Tosa Kinwang Party, which had a different political stance, just to help an unknown underground ronin?

If this kind of thing had not happened before their eyes, they would never have believed it!

Wushi Banping frowned slightly, thinking.

After a moment, he asked:

"...Nioh-sama, please allow me to ask: Why do you stand up for Yataro Iwasaki?"

Qingdeng smiled faintly:

"There's no complicated reason, just because I appreciate him."

Wu Shi Banping fell silent.

When he spoke again, he had a faint tone:

"Lord Niou, the two things you mentioned are not difficult for me."

"But...due to my status, it's difficult for me to help you openly."

Takeshi Hanheita said it very tactfully.

Hindered by his identity - the true meaning of this sentence is actually Aomaki's identity as a Sabuta faction, which forced him to seriously consider the possible impact of "stretching a helping hand to the Sasaki faction".

After all, the forces of the Zunban faction are not limited to the Tosa Qin royal family.

If the outside world learns that "Takeshi Hanheitai is helping the Samu Faction", it will easily make other forces of the Zunbo Faction doubt the loyalty of the Tosa Kinwang Party.

Takeichi Hanheita's words directly made the atmosphere at the scene become stagnant.

However, Qingdeng seemed to have expected this scene to happen, and his expression was quite calm.

After grinning, he said loudly:

"Mr. Takeshi, I understand your concerns!"

"So I'm not going to accept your help for free - let's make a deal!"

"Mr. Wu Shi, please lend me a pair of Four Treasures of the Study!"

Although Wushi Banpingtai didn't understand what he meant, he still waved his hand and motioned for his subordinates to get the Four Treasures of the Study.

Within a moment, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones were spread out in front of Qingdeng.

Qingdeng picked up the brush dipped in ink and wrote a line of large characters on the white rice paper at a rapid pace.

"Mr. Takeshi, please accept it."

With that said, Qingden handed the paper with still wet ink to Takeshi Hanheita.

After the other party took the paper, he glanced at it, and his expression was suddenly dominated by strong doubts.

"Gold...one hundred thousand taels...?"

One hundred thousand taels of gold - the words Qing Deng wrote on the paper.

"That's right, one hundred thousand taels of gold!"

Qingdeng said loudly:

"I will pay you one hundred thousand taels of gold! You will pay it back in three years! This is the document!"

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Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

In history, Okada Izo did kill many people, but the number did not exceed a hundred. The statement in this chapter is specially exaggerated to make the novel more readable.