I formed the strongest swordsman group

Yutaisuo: The title of the general's main room.

The former general's main room was called "Odaisho".

At this moment, the woman sitting in front of Jingyi Naosuke is none other than Atsuhime of Tenzhangin, the current imperial office of the Edo shogunate, named "Tenzhangin".

In the Edo period, when the hierarchy was extremely strict, no ordinary woman could become the main wife of the shogun.

Tenzhang-in is the adopted daughter of Shimadzu Qibin, the former lord of the Satsuma clan, with a total stone height of 770,000 stone and a powerful military strength that could directly threaten the rule of the Edo shogunate.

In order to strengthen Satsuma's influence in the shogunate, Qibin Shimadzu facilitated this marriage between Tianzhangyuan and the former general Tokugawa Iesada.

Satsuma Domain is located on the island of Kyushu, at the southwestern tip of Japan.

Due to the remote location and the sturdy folk style of Satsuma, many people have an inherent impression of "barbaric" and "a bunch of tyrannical mountain monkeys" to Satsuma.

However, as the "Princess of Satsuma", Tianzhangyuan is quite different from these stereotypes of Satsuma people.

Tianzhangyuan's wrist is like a symbol of her whole body.

Soft and delicate.

Her wrist was so weak that it seemed that it would break if she squeezed it, and it seemed that it might disappear at any time.

Not just her wrists, but her entire body felt exactly the same.

The short ponytail on the ankles, neck, shoulders, and back of the head...all the lines are so graceful and soft, light and graceful.

The soft body lines, coupled with her beautiful complexion as clear as moonlight, and the delicate facial features that seem to have been meticulously carved by a skilled craftsman, make her look like an exquisite porcelain doll.

The only fly in the ointment was——her cheeks were now morbidly pale.

As the Odaisho who had become a nun after the death of the Tokugawa family, Tianzhangyuan naturally couldn't have any more graceful and luxurious attire.

She was wearing a plain purple smock, and under the smock was an elegant light green tunic... This overly plain attire added an elegant atmosphere to Tianzhang Courtyard.

After Jing Yi Naobi's voice fell, Tianzhangyuan blinked his eyes gently, and looked at Jing Yi Naobi calmly.

Every frown and smile of Tianzhangyuan is the same as Jingyi Naobi - with the calmness of a superior.

"...My lord." Tianzhangyuan's voice was quite ethereal, reminiscent of delicate flowers just like her body, "Thank you for coming here to visit me."

Jing Yi Naobi bowed slightly: "The Great Imperial Terrace is caught in the wind and cold, how can I ignore it?"

Just now, in his own mansion, the middle-aged samurai leaned into Jing Yi Naobi's ear, and seemed to have said a lot to Jing Yi Naobi, but the general meaning of what he said can be summed up in one sentence— —His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan is ill.

"Thank you, my lord." Tianzhangyuan remained calm, "I just got a little bit of cold, and it's not a serious problem, so there's no need to worry."

"My lord, is it really okay for you to waste your precious time to visit me, a widow who has been used as a joke after dinner?"

"His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan." Jing Yi Naobi's eyelids sank slightly, "Why did you say that?"

At this moment, Tianzhangyuan's expression finally changed for the first time since entering this gorgeous room.

She lowered her eyes and frowned beautifully.

"My lord, aren't you preparing to attack the 'anti-barbarian faction' in the country now? If so, the things waiting for you to deal with one by one should have piled up into a mountain, right?"

"...His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan." Jing Yizhi suddenly laughed, he laughed so hard that even his shoulders shook vigorously, "You don't...you sympathize with those 'rejecting barbarians'?"

"Couldn't you have become the 'Barbarians' too? Do you also think that we can defeat the armored fleets of Western countries by relying on our samurai swords and arquebus handed down from the Warring States Period?"

"This concubine is not opposed to your attack on the 'Anti-barbarians faction'." Tianzhangyuan's tone suddenly became a bit harsh, "I am worried that you will use the name of 'fight against the barbarians' to attack all political enemies who oppose you again!"

"Hey..." Jing Yi Naobi slowly stopped laughing, "I see."

"Your Highness Tianzhangyuan, so you are worried that I will repeat the severe suppression of the 'Yiqiao faction' back then."

"It seems that Your Highness Tianzhangyuan still sympathizes with the members of the 'Yiqiao faction' who were severely suppressed by me back then..."

Tianzhang Court did not respond.

But her action of raising her small chin high has already made a silent and powerful response to Jing Yi Naobi for her.

Jing Yi Naosuke faintly let out a few thought-provoking "hehe" laughter.

"Your Highness Tianzhangyuan, you should still remember... who were the core members of the 'Yiqiao Sect' back then?"

"Mito domain lord Tokugawa Nasaki, Echizen Fukui domain lord Matsudaira Keinaga, Tosa domain lord Toyonobu Yamauchi, Uwashima domain lord Date Saijo, and... your adoptive father: Satsuma domain lord Shimadzu Saibin."

Jing Yi Naosuke suddenly raised his gaze, and stabbed Tianzhangyuan with a sharp gaze like a blade.

The light in Tianzhangyuan's eyes flickered slightly at this moment.

"His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan! Look at this list! They are all the lords of the great feudal clans!"

"Their slogans are beautiful."

"When the country is in crisis, it is necessary to have a general with extraordinary talents to preside over the overall situation."

"Hmph! They say it's for the shogunate and the country, but in fact they all have evil intentions!"

"The reason why I want to support that Hitotsubashi Qingxi is just to increase their influence in the shogunate, so as to seek the greatest benefits for their vassal state and their family."

"Let's take a step back—is the Yiqiao Qingxi they want to support really worthy of the title of 'sage'?"

"I've met that Yoshitaka Hitohashi a few times. From what I can see, this Yoshinori Hitotsubashi is just a nerd who gets dizzy from reading books!"

"A nerd like him seems to be very reliable on weekdays, but once the crisis comes, he often becomes completely useless!"

"Besides being out-of-the-box, he has absolutely no guts to take on the great task of 'General Conquering Barbarians'."

"I don't have the courage to make big decisions."

"He belongs to the kind of wretch who will definitely face off against the two armies. Once his side falls into a disadvantage, he will hastily abandon his army and flee alone!"

"If Yoshihito Hitohashi is allowed to take over the position of general, unless he dies young, I have no doubts - he will definitely become the last general of my Edo shogunate."

"If these monsters with their own ghosts are allowed to dance in that group of demons, then the shogunate and this country will never have peace!"

"In order to ensure that the country will not be divided and turbulent because of these petty people, I launched a severe suppression against them. What's wrong?"

"History will eventually prove, who is the loyal minister between the minister and them!"

Jing Yi Naosuke's tone became more and more passionate.

"Your Highness, Tianzhangyuan, although you are the adopted daughter of Shimadzu Qibin, the lord of the Satsuma domain, you are also the Grand Imperial Palace of our shogunate!"

"I hope that you will put the interests of the shogunate first no matter what!"

Jingyi Naosuke specially bit the pronunciation of the word "shogunate" extremely hard.

His Highness Tianzhangyuan's chest, after Jing Yi Naobi's voice completely fell, suddenly became a little more rapid.

"...Master Boss." Tianzhangyuan said in a deep voice with a face as heavy as water, "You have your persistence, and I have my own persistence!"

"When I entered the university, I swore an oath - I will devote myself to the future of this country!"

The Tianzhang Academy specially bit the pronunciation of the word "country" very hard.

[Note · Ooku: In the Edo period, the birth mother, children, main room (Royal Office), side rooms and the residences of the female officials in the Edo city can be understood as the harem of the general in the Edo period. Except for the general, any male Don't get close to Da'ao]

"'For the future of this country'..." Jing Yi Naobi imitated Tianzhangyuan's tone, imitating Tianzhangyuan's biting the word "country" very hard.

As if he was amused by his excellent imitation, he showed a smug expression.

"Since your Highness Tianzhangyuan has such awareness, please grow up quickly."

Jing Yi Naosuke's expression gradually became indifferent and indifferent.

"Forgive me to speak frankly——Your Highness, some of your ideas are still so childish that I want to laugh."

"Energy and childish thinking alone cannot protect this country."

Jingyi Naobi and Tianzhangyuan...the two stared at each other not to be outdone.

There is no sound here.

But it sounded like thunder was ringing in my ears.

...

...

Tenzhangin clasped his hands in front of his body, and walked quickly down the corridor away from the gorgeous room where he had just met Jing Yi Naosuke with a blank expression.

Because the walking speed of Tianzhangyuan was too fast, the female officials in charge of serving her had to follow behind her with difficulty.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice unique to the voice-changing period stopped Tianzhangyuan:

"My lord!"

A young man strode out from the shadow of the corridor on the right hand side of Tianzhang Courtyard.

The boy looked quite handsome, with a straight and high bridge of nose, long and curved eyebrows, and unshaven hair that was black and shiny.

There is still a bit of childishness left in his facial features, but he already has a bit of the mature demeanor of an adult in his gestures.

I saw the boy's clothes embroidered with the family crest of the Tokugawa clan: clover.

Wearing clothes embroidered with clover on his body, calling Tianzhangyuan "Master Mother"... The identity of the boy is already clear.

It was with the strong support of the "Nanki faction" headed by Ii Naosuke that he successfully defeated the "Hittohashi faction" two years ago and succeeded Tokugawa Yoshifuku as the new general!

Two years ago, after the former general Tokugawa Iesada died of illness and he officially became the 14th general of the Edo Shogunate, Tokugawa Keifuku changed his name to the current "Tokugawa Iemo" according to the customary practice.

"Master General...?" Tianzhangyuan looked at Iemo Tokugawa who suddenly appeared in surprise.

The female officials standing behind Tianzhangyuan quickly bowed their waists and bowed to Tokugawa Iemo.

Tokugawa Jiamao smiled and waved to the female officials, gesturing for them to be excused, and then he sped up his pace to the front of Tianzhangyuan a little.

Tokugawa Jiamao is still only a 14-year-old boy this year, only 10 years behind Tenzhangin.

Because Tenzhangin was the main family of the former general Tokugawa Iesada, and in order to take over the position of General Zhengyi, after the "Nanji faction" won the victory two years ago, Tokugawa Iemo became the adopted son of Tokugawa Iesada.

Therefore, even though the age difference between the two is not like a mother and son, Tenzhangin is still Tokugawa Iemo's mother in name, whether in public or in private, Tokugawa Iemo must respectfully call Tenzhangin "Mother". .

"Master General." Tianzhangyuan asked, "Why are you here?"

"Mother..." Iemo Tokugawa smiled bitterly, "Did you...have you quarreled with Iita just now?"

Tianzhangyuan paused.

She turned her head and winked at the ladies behind her.

The female officers immediately understood and quickly stepped back.

In an instant, a space was freed up where only Tenzhangin and Tokugawa Kamo were alone.

"Master General." Tianzhangyuan turned his gaze back to Tokugawa Jiamao.

On her face, there was a gentle smile that had never been shown when she met Jing Yi Naobi just now.

There was a bit of helplessness in Tianzhangyuan's gentle smile.

"Every time I start a meeting with Mr. Da Boss, you will come over nervously and ask me, 'Have you quarreled with Jing Yi again'."

Tokugawa Iemo laughed a few times.

"Mother, you and Ii are indispensable to me...no, to the shogunate and to this country."

When Tokugawa Jiashige uttered the words "shogunate" and "country", he specially emphasized his tone.

"So I don't want to see you guys having frequent quarrels there..."

Looking at Iemo Tokugawa, who lowered his head and showed a little worry on his face, Tenzhangin smiled helplessly.

She subconsciously raised her hand, habitually wanting to stroke Tokugawa Iemo's hair.

But after raising her plain white palm, she suddenly discovered that her adopted son had grown to be as tall as her without realizing it.

Obviously 2 years ago, when Iemo Tokugawa first came to Edo and took over as the new general, the young man was only as tall as her chest.

"Master General, don't worry too much." Tianzhangyuan stroked a strand of hair from Tokugawa Iemo's temples with a gentle movement, "My lord and I... just have a slight disagreement in political views."

"Leaving aside the differences in political opinions, Mr. Da Boss has always been a man I admire very much."

"Although I really don't want to admit it...but I have to agree-this country can't live without a big boss."

"Your Majesty's majesty and governing skills have prevented a large number of ambitious people in this country from taking the lead and maintained the stability of the country."

"I have always recognized his loyalty to the shogunate and his determination to do everything for the future of the shogunate."

"So—my lord general, don't worry."

Tenzhangin slowly put down the hand that was helping Tokugawa Iemo to stroke his hair, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a gentle arc.

"The scene that you worry about me turning against the boss and fighting with him will never appear."

Hearing what Tenzhangin said, the worried look on Tokugawa Kashige's face gradually faded, replaced by a relaxed smile.

However, as soon as this smile appeared on his face... it froze.

"...Mother, talking about Jing Yi... I have some bad news to report to you..."

Tokugawa Iemo looked around and after confirming that there were no outsiders around, he lowered his voice and quickly said to Tianzhangyuan:

"Just now, the new spies we sent to the Mito Domain sent a report."

"I still haven't collected... information about the group of Mito feudal vassals who sneaked into Edo with the intention of assassinating Ii."

The delicate willow eyebrows of Tianzhangyuan suddenly frowned...

One of them is the current general of the Edo shogunate, and the other is the current Odaisho. Naturally, more than a month ago, both of them, like Ii Naosuke, were lurking in the Mito domain for the first time. The spies heard the top-secret information: a group of Mito feudal vassals will sneak into Edo and execute Tianzhu against Ii Naosuke.

Because the influence of this information is too great, if it is leaked out, I am afraid it will cause considerable panic, so until now, only a few people in the entire shogunate know about it. .

"Is the secrecy work done so well..." Tianzhangyuan half-closed his eyes, "The group of Mito feudal vassals who intend to assassinate the boss... are far more cunning than we imagined..."

Tianzhangyuan's palms folded in front of him slowly clenched.

"...Mother." After hesitating for a moment, Iemo Tokugawa breathed out as if he had made up his mind, "As you said just now, this country cannot live without Ii."

"And...in terms of personal feelings, I never want Jing Yi to be killed."

"So, I have a plan now. Would you like to hear about my plan, Mother?"

Tianzhangyuan was startled: "My lord, please tell me."

...

...

Edo Castle, Ii Naosuke's office——

Jing Yi Naobi sat cross-legged behind a desk with a lot of documents piled up, scanning intently at a document in his hand.

When Ii Naosuke was engrossed in dealing with state affairs, he didn't notice the footsteps beside him——

"Yi Yi."

Jing Yi Naosuke's expression was startled suddenly, and then he quickly lifted his eyes from the document in his hand.

"General...?!" Jing Yi Naosuke hastily put down the document in his hand, then turned around, and bent down to Tokugawa Iemo who was walking towards him with a smile, "Why are you here?"

After waving his hand to signal Ii Naosuke to raise his head quickly, Tokugawa Iemo, who had already walked in front of Ii Naosuke, squatted down slowly.

"Jing Yi, I... have something to tell you."

Tokugawa Jiashige quickly informed Ii Naosuke that the spies they had sent to the Mito feudal clan had not gained anything, and that they had not yet found out the detailed information of the group of Mito feudal vassals who intended to assassinate Ii Naosuke.

After hearing the so-called bad news from Tokugawa Iemo, Ii Naosuke... was quite indifferent.

"...Master General." After a moment of silence, Ii Naosuke kowtowed his head to Iemo Tokugawa again, "I'm really sorry... these trivial matters of my minister have made you worry."

"Where is it?" Tokugawa Iemo smiled, "Not only do the subjects have to share the worries of the monarch, but the monarch should also think more about the subjects."

In the market, there are often people who speak with certainty - Naosuke Ii is an ambitious minister of power! He is now in control of the shogunate on the grounds that "the general is young". When the general grows up in the future, Ii Naosuke will continue to hold on to power and refuse to return the power to Iemo Tokugawa.

If some people who have more contact with Tokugawa Iemo and Ii Naosuke hear these rumors, they will definitely scoff.

Those who have a little understanding of the relationship between these two are very clear-the relationship between Tokugawa Iemo and Ii Naosuke, who had fought together in the "Hitobashi·Nanki Controversy", is far better than that of some people in the market. It is much more intimate than one thinks.

"We have stepped up our efforts to spy on intelligence, but we still haven't heard clearly about the group of Mito feudal vassals who intend to assassinate you."

"These assassins are far more cunning than we imagined."

"This also shows that the assassination of these assassins must have been carefully planned, and it was not a small fight."

A solemn look climbed up Tokugawa Iemo's face little by little.

"Jing Yi, whether it's for love or reason, I don't want to see you killed."

"I just discussed it with my mother."

"We plan to let you temporarily step back from the position of the boss."

"Before the storm completely subsides, hide in a safe place in Edo for a while."

"Ii, what do you think?"

Ii Naosuke's expression changed rapidly several times in an instant.

He was taken aback for a moment.

After staring at Iemo Tokugawa with surprise for a while, he slowly pursed his lips, and the look of surprise in his eyes gradually turned into a touch of relief.

"...My lord general."

Ii Naosuke lowered his head again.

"Thank you for your concern with His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan."

"But... if I temporarily step down from the position of the boss now, Nobumasa Ando and the others may cry."

Jing Yi Naobi smiled slightly, and continued in a half-joking tone.

"Now, the thugs of the 'anti-barbarian faction' are becoming more and more rampant, and their existence has threatened the shogunate."

"Nobumasa Ando and the others still don't have the ability to deal with this critical moment, and they are still unable to assist you, General, to overcome the current difficulties."

"What's more, even if I hide temporarily, I may not be able to escape the attack and killing of those who hate me."

"If these assassins are determined to take the head of the minister, even if the minister flees to the ends of the earth, they will eventually find him."

"So—Master General, I appreciate the kindness of you and Your Highness Tianzhangyuan."

Hearing what Ii Naosuke said, Tokugawa Iemo immediately showed anxiety.

He was about to continue to say something to persuade Ii Naosuke.

But just as he opened his mouth, he stopped.

In the eyes of the old minister in front of him, he saw a bunch of gazes that he could not help but associate with rocks.

Looking at the light in Ii Naosuke's eyes, a thought flashed out of Tokugawa Iemo's mind - words alone cannot tell Ii Naosuke...

"ah……"

Suddenly, Jingyi Naobi seemed to have remembered something, after exclaiming in a low voice, he put his hand into his bosom with a smile.

"Master General, I originally wanted to wait a few days before giving this to you."

"But since it's rare for us to be alone now... then I might as well leave this to you now."

Ii Naosuke took out a thin booklet from his pocket.

"This is...?" Iemo Tokugawa took the booklet with a puzzled expression and opened it.

Inside the booklet, there are names of people one after another.

Some of the names in this booklet are really impressive.

For example——Yoho Matsudaira, lord of the Aizu Domain, and Sadaka Matsudaira, the lord of the Kuwana Domain...

Behind each person's name, there is a simple sentence like a comment.

Behind the lord of the Aizu domain, Matsudaira Rongbao, there is a sentence "a minister of the Zhu country, you can boldly reuse and trust him".

On the back of Matsudaira, the lord of the Kuwana domain, it is written "not courageous, but worthy of reuse, but don't entrust him with too heavy a burden"

The rest of the names on the list all have similar long or short comments—

He has very good eloquence and is a good debater; he is good at managing finances; although he has no special talents, his loyalty is worthy of recognition...

When Iemo Tokugawa was stunned by the contents of this booklet, Naosuke Ii smiled lightly:

"Although I have increased the number of guards I bring with me when I go out every day, there will always be a hundred secrets."

"No matter how many guards you bring, you can't guarantee absolute safety."

"71 years ago, the feudal lord of Hirose, who was protected by hundreds of guards, was still forcibly killed by 'Sura' Ogata Itsuki alone."

"So, you have to plan ahead."

"This booklet is the 'list of outstanding talents' that I spent a full month making."

"The records in this list are all talents carefully selected by the minister after careful inspection."

"These people come from high or low backgrounds, some are the feudal lords of a certain feudal country, and some are just low-level warriors from humble backgrounds."

"But regardless of their backgrounds, they have one thing in common—they are talents worthy of reuse or attention."

"My lord general, if one day... I am no longer here, please use this list as a reference, and reuse or pay attention to these talents on the list according to your discretion."

Iemo Tokugawa's eyes widened in surprise.

I saw him looking at Ii Naobi who was smiling with a dazed expression.

Afterwards, he pressed his lips tightly together, and turned his gaze back to the booklet in his hand.

Silently flipping through the pages of this "List of Talented Talents" that Ii Naosuke specially made for him.

When he turned to the last page with a name on the list, Tokugawa Jiamao's fingers suddenly stopped.

Juqingdeng - this is the last name written on this "list of outstanding talents".

Behind each name in the list, there is a simple comment, introducing what kind of talents he probably has.

The only exception is this Juqingdeng - he didn't write any comments behind him.

"Juqingdeng...?" Iemo Tokugawa chewed on the name carefully.

Iemo Tokugawa has a little impression of every name I have seen on this list so far.

Only the name "Juqingdeng" is very strange to Tokugawa Jiashige, but he feels as if he has heard this name somewhere recently...

Ii Naosuke's reaction was also very quick.

After noticing that Tokugawa Iemo cast a puzzled look at the name "Ju Qingdeng", he immediately said:

"Master General, you should have heard of this name before."

"He is the one who protected a French businessman and his family in the siege of more than 200 "anti-barbarian" thugs more than a month ago.

Naosuke Ii's words dispelled the fog trapped in Iemo Tokugawa's mind.

"Oh... I remembered..." Iemo Tokugawa nodded lightly, "It's him..."

"According to my inspection and consideration, this Ju Qingdeng did not rely on good luck to achieve such a beautiful victory." Jingyi Naobi said slowly, "He relied on his excellent dispatching and command, and his extremely keen sense of the battlefield. We won that chaotic battle."

"Juqingdeng has a certain commanding ability - there is no doubt about it."

"But whether he is worth reusing remains to be seen and tested."

"After all, the battle he won was just a small-scale battle in which the total number of people on both sides did not exceed 300. The scale of the battle was too small to be an effective reference."

"What the shogunate needs now is the kind of hero who can fight beautifully regardless of the size of the battle."

"Besides, because the contact time with Ju Qingdeng is still too short, his character has not yet been ascertained."

"Although it is still uncertain whether this person is worthy of vigorous reuse, the future of this person is worth looking forward to."

"That's why I have included his name in this 'List of Talented Talents'."

"If the minister is gone in the future, please, General, your deputy, observe and test this Ju Qingdeng."

"Maybe...it's not impossible for him to become the future 'Minister of the Pillar Kingdom' of our shogunate."

"Ii!" Tokugawa Iemo raised his gaze with displeasure at this moment, and glared at Ii Naosuke, "Please don't say such unlucky words like 'if the empress is gone'!"

Looking at the displeased Tokugawa Iemo, Ii Naosuke was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said: "Sorry... I will pay attention to it later."

After simply reprimanding Ii Naosuke who kept saying unlucky words, Tokugawa Iemo turned his attention back to the name "Ju Qingdeng" in the list.

"Orange Green..."

Then, chew the name carefully again.