I formed the strongest swordsman group

Qingdeng now has no time to worry about the war in Xiaguan.

All his thoughts are currently focused on the "Makuying Negotiation" in front of him.

There was no entourage and he did not carry too much luggage. Qingdeng only brought some dry food and a few changes of clothes.

Qingdeng, who traveled lightly and simply, was able to concentrate on his journey.

The road he took was Donghai Street, and he planned to arrive in Edo within 5 days.

As a result, plans cannot keep up with changes.

It's the rainy season, and it rains almost every day. The raindrops fall continuously, and the sky rarely clears up.

There are no cement roads or asphalt roads in Japan today, only compacted and trampled dirt roads.

One of the characteristics of dirt roads is that "dust rises on sunny days and turns into swamps on rainy days."

As a result, under the heavy rain, the streets of Donghai turned into swamps.

No matter how powerful the mount is, it cannot fly in the swamp.

The radish marched hard with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

It became a "mud cow" and Qingdeng also became a "mud man".

Being dragged down by the "Mud General", it ended up taking much longer than expected.

It was not until June 9 that he finally arrived in Edo.

On the day Aoto arrived in Edo, Tokugawa Iemo, Tenjoin and others in Kyoto also began to return east.

Although the result was beyond everyone's expectations, the much-anticipated "Ekakusha Talks" have indeed come to an end.

Tokugawa Iemo, Tenzouin and others have no reason to stay in Kyoto.

On June 9, they officially set off, leaving Kyoto and returning to Edo.

With the departure of Tokugawa Iemo, Tenzouin and others, the bustling Kyoto returned to tranquility.

However, everyone can see that this "tranquility" in Kyoto will not last long.

…

…

Wenjiu three years (1863), June 9——

The weather today is fair.

Although it didn't clear up, it finally stopped raining.

Aomori held his head high, stretched his neck, and looked at Edo Castle in the distance.

Under the majestic Edo Castle is the familiar "Edo 888 Town".

Looking at the familiar scene in front of him, a look of deep emotion gradually appeared on Qingdeng's cheeks.

More than four months have passed since he led the Shinsengumi to Los Angeles on February 1.

Although it wasn't a long time, he really had a strange feeling of "a changing world".

For him, Edo really holds too many memories.

Almost all of his relationships—brothers, lovers, colleagues, bosses—started from this town.

It is no exaggeration to say that although this place is not Qingdeng's hometown, it is still better than his hometown.

When he first came to Luo, he fantasized about many ways to return home.

For example: The army led by the Shinsengumi marched through the streets in a mighty way, welcomed by the people.

Unexpectedly... on his first return home, he would rush back to wipe the shogunate's butt.

At this time, Qingdeng suddenly saw figures that were either familiar or unfamiliar appearing in front of him.

A group of senior shogunate officials currently stationed in Edo - Lao Nakagashi Ogasawara Nagayuki, Lao Nakama Tadashi Inoue, Katsu Rintaro, etc. - learned that Aoto would arrive in Edo today, so they waited here early to prepare for the reception Qingdeng.

Seeing Qingdeng coming, they quickly straightened their backs and cheered up.

Senior middle schooler Ogasawara Nagayuki took the lead to step forward:

"Original Military Department, it's been a long and tiring journey all the way. Thank you very much for your hard work."

As he spoke, he bowed down respectfully, with a look of humility written on his face.

The other officials behind him also looked like this - staring at Qingdeng eagerly.

The reason why this is so is not complicated.

First of all, Qingdeng is now a powerful general guarding the border, and even a veteran can't act arrogantly in front of him.

Secondly, Qingdeng came back this time to save them.

In recent days, in order to deal with the British ships in Edo Bay, all the senior officials of the shogunate present were worried about losing their hair.

The scholars and people of Edo have been urging them to come up with effective means as soon as possible to restore peace to Edo.

The British fleet on the bay has been showing its teeth and claws, and a while ago it even fired directly into the sea.

Being criticized on both sides is a huge pressure.

Suddenly, they received news that the "Nioh" who was far away in Kyoto would serve as a temporary envoy and be solely responsible for negotiating with the British side.

Even if you exhaust all the words in human language, you can't describe the mood of Ogasawara Nagayuki and others after hearing the news.

How dare anyone take over this hot potato that can burn the palms of people's hands? !

It can be said with certainty: For Ogasawara Nagayuki and others, Aoto, who rushed back to rescue at this critical moment, is really like a savior!

In this case, it is not difficult to understand that they would show such a respectful attitude in front of Qingdeng.

They just knelt down and shouted to Qingdeng, "Dad! You are finally back!".

Aoden responded with a few words, and then he got on the back of the cow again, and slowly entered Edo surrounded by senior officials.

"Qingdeng, long time no see."

Suddenly, a familiar middle-aged male voice sounded from behind Qingdeng.

Katsurin Taro rode his horse forward and walked side by side with Ayoto.

Compared to Ogasawara Nagayuki and others whom he was not familiar with, Katsurin Taro was Ayoto's friend for many years and had a close relationship.

Therefore, Qingdeng changed his plain appearance and put on a light smile.

"Rintaro, it looks like you haven't slept well recently."

Katsurin Taro smiled bitterly:

"Hey, aren't you asking questions knowingly?"

As a rare "Western expert" in the shogunate, Katsurin Taro was naturally responsible for an important position in this "Makui Negotiation".

I saw a lot of red bloodshot eyes in his eyes, conspicuous dark circles under his eye sockets, and his complexion was sallow.

Based on his appearance, it is not difficult to tell that his life has not been easy recently.

After a few simple greetings, Qingdeng slightly suppressed the smile on his face and said seriously:

"Rintaro, let me ask directly: During the time when I rushed back to Edo, was there any new progress in the 'Makuei Negotiations'?"

Because there are no convenient things like telephones and the Internet, Qingdeng was basically "disconnected" while on the road.

He cannot obtain information from the outside world, and others cannot contact him.

God knows if there will be any big changes in recent days.

Therefore, Qingden now urgently needs information.

Katsurin Taro was silent for a while, and then sighed softly:

"All I can say is: you came back at the right time."

"If you come back three days later, the 'Makuei Negotiations' will be over."

Qingdeng asked:

"how you said that?"

Katsurin Taro sighed again:

"The British released news: If the shogunate still does not accept their conditions within the deadline of June 12, then they will bombard Edo on this day."

"I estimate that even if a shelling is really necessary, the British side will probably not take any serious action. At most, they will just fire a few shells to increase the intensity of intimidation."

"However... even one shell is enough to bring disaster to Edo."

"After all, Edo is a city where even a broken sleeve on fire may be destroyed."

The broken sleeve that caught fire - what Rintaro Katsu was referring to was the "Furisode Fire Incident" that happened more than 200 years ago.

The ultra-high density of houses and the basic wooden building structure make Edo's "weak fire" attribute basically full.

If a few shells really fell into Edo Town, the consequences would be truly disastrous!

Katsurin Taro’s words continued:

"Therefore, Ogasawara-sama has personally made a decision: If you fail to return to Edo before June 12, or even you cannot persuade the British ships in the bay to retreat, then you will fully accept the British terms and deliver the goods. A compensation of 100,000 pounds will put the matter to rest."

After Qingdeng heard this, he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth several times, showing displeasure.

"100,000 pounds...that's a lot of money."

"If you have this spare money, you might as well give it to the Shinsengumi."

"If I can get this money, I can build a fully weaponized army of three thousand in half a year."

"The shogunate is crying about poverty every day, but it can always spend a staggering amount of money."

"It's really puzzling."

100,000 pounds - converted into about 270,000 taels of gold.

270,000 taels of gold... Qingdeng couldn't help but think of the pitiful 3,000 taels of military expenses he received when he went to Luo.

First, they spent one million taels of gold to come to Shangluo, and now they plan to use 270,000 taels of gold to pay compensation...

When money is needed, various forces obstruct it in every possible way.

When you need to save, you keep spending money in vain.

Thinking of this, Qingden felt particularly unhappy, and he had the urge to transform from a "general of the shogunate" into a "patriot who overthrew the shogunate".

How can the shogunate win over the people with this kind of virtue?

No wonder the authority of the shogunate is getting weaker and weaker.

"Qingdeng, you can't say that."

Katsurin Taro spread his hands as he spoke.

"This 270,000 taels of gold is really the last money of the shogunate."

"If this money is handed over, how to distribute salaries to direct staff members this year will become a big problem."

"It's better to pay up and settle the matter than to watch Edo turn into a sea of ​​fire."

Qingdeng didn't say a word, his face expressionless.

Katsurin Taro also fell silent.

Before they reached it, more and more houses appeared on both sides of the road, and the trees became increasingly sparse - they had entered the towns of Edo.

To be honest, at first, Qingto almost thought that he had come to the wrong place. He was not in Edo, but in a remote small town.

Compared to four months ago, Edo is much more depressed.

Looking around, there are few people.

If you listen carefully, the sounds are few and far between.

There is absolutely no state of vitality and all things competing in the past.

Some pedestrians I met by chance had their heads buried deeply, their expressions were numb, and their steps were hurried.

The reason for this situation was, of course, the serious threat from British ships, which caused a considerable number of town residents to flee to other places.

But the main reason is still because of the abolition of the pilgrimage obligation.

According to the regulations of the pilgrimage, with the exception of a few remote vassal states - such as the Tsushima Fuchu Domain on Tsushima Island - most daimyo have to go to Edo every year and live in Edo for nearly half a year.

When a daimyo travels far away, he naturally leads a large number of followers.

Thanks to this blessing, Edo has more than half of its floating population all year round.

This naturally greatly promoted various industries such as hotels and restaurants in Edo.

In layman's terms - tourism is an important pillar industry of Edo.

Now, the shogunate, forced by the strong requests of Satsuma and other feudal lords, has abolished the pilgrimage order a year ago.

The daimyo's wife and children who were imprisoned in Edo were also released one after another.

In this way, Edo, which lost its floating population, will inevitably decline.

Qingdeng and his party continued to move forward for a while, and finally encountered a fairly dense flow of people.

Seeing the arrival of well-dressed shogunate officials, the people on the street immediately dispersed mechanically, stood on both sides of the street, and made way for them.

Qingden turned his head and looked around.

I saw that all the people on the roadside had their heads raised and their eyes were cold. They stared at the officials on the horse with wide eyes, and their eyes lost the awe of the past.

Looking like this, it's like looking at your enemy.

No one spoke, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Except for the sound of Qingden and others' horses walking and the sound of people breathing, there was no other sound.

Although he had been mentally prepared in advance, what he saw in front of him still surprised Qingden.

The people do not understand economic issues or political issues.

They only know that it is getting harder and harder to make money, they only know that their lives are getting more and more difficult, and they only know that they have been living in fear of "worrying that shells will fall into their homes" recently.

Shocked and frightened, they naturally pointed their finger at the shogunate who was supposed to protect them.

Abruptly, Katsurin Taro said to Ayoto in a self-deprecating tone:

"Qingdeng, you may not know something."

"Such a Japanese song has become popular in Edo Town recently."

He cleared his throat "cough cough cough" and then sang quietly:

“The world with soaring prices is really helpless~”

“Department store prices only go up, but rice prices remain high~”

“I can’t even eat two pieces of rice, let alone exquisite snacks~”

"Don't talk about luxuries at this time, salt is still in short supply~"

"The spices are too expensive and there is no pickle, and the rice in the restaurant is short of rice~"

"There are no discounts on the products, and drunkards are lying everywhere~"

"There is nothing cheap in the world, and I feel helpless and miserable~"

After Qingdeng listened, he immediately commented:

"Although as a minister, I should not make such comments, but I still want to comment: It is a really catchy song with precise content."

Katsurin Taro showed a complicated expression:

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Qingdeng and his party silently endured the frightening gazes of the people on both sides and continued to move forward.

A walk that could be completed in 5 minutes seemed like less than half an hour.

In this silence...suddenly, someone shouted:

"Hey! Look! Isn't that Nioh?"

This voice is like a boulder falling into a calm pond.

Suddenly, there were ripples in the pond!

In the blink of an eye, the whole audience was shocked.

The heads that had been buried deep in the sky were raised one after another.

A bunch of eyes fell on Qingdeng.

A fiery atmosphere instantly emerged.

"Really Nioh!"

"Lord Nioh! You are finally back!"

"Lord Nioh! Are you back to resist the British ships?"

"Lord Nioh! You must save us!"

…

The indifferent eyes became fiery.

The cold expression turned to excitement.

"Nioh-sama" shouted one after another, resounding throughout the streets and outside.

It was like throwing a ball of fire into a snowdrift, and the reaction was so violent that even Qingden couldn't help but be startled.

Even Qingdeng was like this, let alone others.

The shogunate officials who were accompanying him were all frightened by this sudden change.

Some excited people even jumped directly in front of the queue of Qingdeng and others, trying to hug Luo Luo's hooves.

Carrot was so frightened that he screamed "moo moo".

Qingden lowered his eyelids, thinking deeply.

After a while, he took a deep breath and said loudly:

"Fellows of Edo! As you can see, it's me - Tachibana Aoden!"

In order to let the people see him more clearly, he lightly knocked on the belly of the cow, urged the cow forward, and came to the front of the array.

An extremely shocking scene appeared again - the people who were noisy just now quickly fell silent.

They stared at Qingdeng eagerly, waiting patiently for Qingdeng's next speech.

"I know that the British fleet in Edo Bay makes you panic!"

"Now, you don't need to worry anymore!"

"My return this time is to fight against the British ships in Edo Bay!"

"I can't guarantee you that I will succeed!"

“But I can promise you—I swear to live and die with Edo!”

As soon as he said these words, all the soldiers and people present went crazy, shouting at the top of their lungs and cheering loudly.

The atmosphere in the whole place was so warm and high-spirited that one could never imagine that these people who were cheering were the same people who had been so lifeless just now!

"Nioh-sama" shouted one after another, tightly surrounding Qingden.

Qingdeng, who was surrounded by people, had a soft smile on his face and scanned the people bit by bit.

Katsurin Taro slowly rode up on his horse, blinked his eyes vigorously a few times, and exclaimed:

"Aoden, this...this...although I know that 'Nioh' has a very unusual status in the hearts of the people of Edo."

"But I didn't expect that you are so loved in Edo now..."

"It's just that you really boasted so much..."

"'Swear to live and die with Edo'... It's hard for you to escape unscathed if you say such cruel words."

When Qingdeng heard this, he immediately laughed "haha".

"Rintaro, let me tell you a secret."

“From the beginning, I had the idea of ​​‘burning the boat’.”

"It would be better to say that whenever there is an important event, I have the firm idea of ​​'burning the boat'."

Speaking of this, Qingden changed into a half-joking tone.

"It is thanks to this will that I have been able to fight until now."

…

…

If circumstances permit, Qingto would like to go back to the Imperial Guard Hall and see Kondo Shusuke and others who have been away for a long time.

I really want to go to Thousand Things House and see what Boss Kiryu and the big orange cat Duoduo are doing.

However... the situation is critical.

After returning to Edo, Qingden realized that the current situation was more serious than he expected.

The British side has set a deadline of June 12.

If effective results are not achieved before this date, Edo will really be in big trouble.

Therefore, Seito didn't even have time to meet Hijikata Toshizo, who was still busy recruiting troops in Edo.

That night, Qingteng came to the Fanshu Research Institute, which specializes in studying Western affairs, and asked Katsurin Taro for various information from the British side.

From the names of the warships in the British fleet, to the firepower ratio of each ship, to which ship the flagship is, who the fleet admiral is, and who is currently responsible for negotiating with the shogunate on behalf of the British side. , the main process of previous negotiations...

One night passed quickly.

Early the next morning, the sky turned white. Qingnobo tidied up his clothes and put on the flying giant cockroach suit... ah, no, put on the samurai dress and set off for Edo Bay.

…

…

The next day——

Wenjiu three years (1863), June 10——

Edo, Edo Bay——

With Rintaro Katsu in front and Aoden behind, they strode towards a three-masted sail steamship docked in the port.

This ship is the Kamrinmaru, one of the important warships of the Shogunate Navy.

In the seventh year of Ansei (1860), Rintaro Katsu took the Kanrinmaru across the ocean to the United States and made Japan's first state visit to the United States.

Today, Aoto will take this ship, sail into Edo Bay, board the British flagship - the Urialas - and start negotiations in the British home base.

As soon as Qingteng boarded the deck of Xianlin Maru, he saw a young man with a special temperament walking towards him.

Katsurin Taro immediately said to Aonto:

"Qingdeng, come on! Let me introduce you!"

"You must have heard of this person's name!"

"He is the famous John Manjiro!"

"He will be your interpreter for this negotiation!"

Qingden raised his eyebrows vigorously, with a look of surprise on his face.

"So you are John Manjiro? I have heard about your famous name and legendary deeds for a long time!"

The young man...that is, Manjiro, smiled modestly:

"It is truly an honor for me to be remembered by Lord Nioh!"

"Today I can fight side by side with Nioh-sama, which makes me so excited that I can't contain myself!"

John Manjiro - also known as Nakahama Manjiro, this man is truly an incredible legend.

To put it simply - this man was originally a poor fisherman from Tosa Domain.

When he was 14 years old (1841), he encountered a storm while going out to sea.

Although the ship did not sink, it floated to an isolated island.

After more than a hundred days of survival in the wilderness, he was rescued by an American whaling ship.

After boarding the American whaling ship, Manjiro was shocked to see Western culture that was very different from Japan.

So I decided not to go back to Japan, but to travel around with this whaling ship.

Because he was cheerful and studious, Manjiro was deeply loved by Captain John of the whaling ship, and it didn't take long for him to be adopted as his adopted son.

After working as a whaling ship crew for nearly 2 years, Manjiro came to the United States. Captain John handled the admission procedures for him. He was able to enter Oxford School and Barrett School to learn advanced navigation skills.

After successfully graduating with excellent results, Manjiro had the idea of ​​​​serving his motherland.

So he bid farewell to Captain John, tried his best, and finally returned to Japan in 1851.

At that time, although Japan had not yet encountered the "Black Ship Incident" and was still in a state of isolation, the shogunate had begun to realize the value of sailing talents like Manjiro.

In the end, the shogunate did not punish Manjiro, and he was able to return home in glory.

After returning home smoothly, Manjiro was first hired by the Satsuma Domain. After the "Black Ship Incident" broke out, the shogunate recruited him again.

Later, because he was proficient in English and navigation, he entered the service of Katsurin Taro and assisted him in establishing the shogunate navy.

Today, he is already a capable general of Katsu Rintaro and one of the outstanding founders of the Shogunate Navy.

Having the assistance of this professional who is proficient in English and Western affairs is a real blessing.

Xianlinmaru made preparations for sailing early.

The coal shoveler has shoveled enough coal into the boiler.

The fire burns brightly in the furnace.

Under the precise control of Rintaro Katsu and Manjiro, the crew on the deck were working in an orderly manner.

Soon, the sound of "wuwuwu" whistle covered the entire deck and the entire port. .

Xianlinwan chirped and moved.

It slowly sailed away from the port and headed for Edo Bay not far away.

Galloping towards the nine British ships arranged in the character "one".

Leopard Leopard has updated 6K+ for 4 consecutive days! It would be too much to not give monthly tickets! (Crying Leopard Head.jpg) Please vote for me! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

PS: As mentioned yesterday, Leopard and Leopard are going to visit the grave tomorrow, so I will take a day off tomorrow.

Manjiro's life was so legendary that Leopard and Baozi envied him.

Due to space constraints, this chapter only gives a brief overview.

Interested book friends can continue to read back. Bao Baozi has specially opened a small chapter for him to introduce his life in detail - free of charge, no money~