I formed the strongest swordsman group

Qingdeng himself did not expect that the reward he received this time was so high that he was directly increased by 400 shi to his family salary!

In the Edo period, when the hierarchical system was extremely strict, it was very easy to fall in the status level, but it was extremely difficult to rise up.

If you make a big mistake as a samurai, at least your family salary will be reduced, and at the worst, you will be directly stripped of your samurai origin and demoted to a commoner.

If you want to improve your family's wealth, you have to make outstanding achievements.

However, since the establishment of the Edo Shogunate, Japan has maintained a general peace in the past three hundred years, and the peace has continued for a long time, so that the samurai basically have no chance to make meritorious deeds.

The lack of opportunities for meritorious service has directly led to the fact that the family salary of many samurai families has basically remained unchanged.

Three hundred years ago, when the Edo shogunate was first established, how much family salary my family got, and how much family salary I still get now-this phenomenon is hardly too common.

Therefore, Qingdeng's family salary has been improved... and it has been directly increased by 400 stones, which is indeed an extremely enviable and rare thing.

Counting the original 100 Shi Jialu, Qingdeng's Jialu now has a total of 500 Shi.

500 shi is considered to be a hurdle. Banners and royal families whose family income is less than 500 shi are collectively referred to as "lower-level banners" and "lower-level royal families".

So in terms of rank, Qingdeng has now broken away from the category of "lower-level imperial family".

As long as you don't spend money indiscriminately, the family salary of 500 shi is enough for people not to worry about eating.

This huge reward indirectly made Qingdeng a celebrity in the shogunate.

Under the deliberate action of the shogunate, the deeds of Qingdeng's "Zenglu 400 Stones" were vigorously publicized as an example, encouraging everyone to learn from Qingdeng, as long as they can make great contributions, the shogunate will reward them generously!

Qingdeng... It should be said that most people don't know about it - he was promoted as a role model, or the shogunate Tokugawa Jiashige personally issued an order.

This publicity was very effective, and many people were stimulated by this example, and began to serve the public more diligently, hoping that one day they would be able to achieve a leap in status like Qingdeng did.

The family salary has been promoted, so that the descendants of future generations will be directly shaded... This temptation is really too great.

By the way - Saito, Yongcang and the others also received rewards, but their rewards are completely incomparable with Qingdeng.

After all, Qingdeng is a real official and someone in the establishment, but only Qingdeng's bodyguards and Okabi's Saito and others... To put it bluntly, they are a group of wage earners working for Qingdeng, who are in the system In addition, it is naturally impossible for them to get such a generous reward like Qingdeng.

Saito and the others only received a reward of 10 taels of gold each, other than that, there was no other reward... However, Saito and the others did not have any complaints about this, especially the brothers Yongcang and Harada.

When they saw the 10 taels of gold bounty, the two laughed so hard that the corners of their mouths almost reached their ears, and they shouted: "Oh! There is so much money!"

Qingdeng had a long vacation now, and his subordinates naturally also took the vacation with him.

If you think about it carefully, the current entry experience of Yongcang and the others is quite amazing.

Less than half a day after entering the job, he participated in an extremely large-scale arrest operation. After the operation, he was directly rewarded and given a long vacation for his meritorious service...

Those who are self-motivated will think that Yongcang and the others are really lucky, and they have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds when they first join the job.

People who just want to fish will think that Yongcang and the others are really unlucky, and they have encountered such a dangerous job when they first joined the job.

But whether they were those who once thought Yongcang and the others were very lucky, or those who used to think that Yongcang and the others were unlucky, they are basically envious of Yongcang and the others now—after all, 10 taels of gold is definitely not a small sum. Ordinary civilians may not be able to save this money for several years of hard work.

...

After wiping off the sweat from his face with his sleeve and taking a brief rest, Qingdeng put the bamboo sword in his hand back into the sword bucket, and then picked up the saber that was resting on the edge of the dojo.

Although Qingdeng's Ding Guishen is a good knife in a hundred, but after such a fierce confrontation with Shenye and others, it is inevitable that there will be some damage-the blade of Ding Guishen has three small gaps.

On the first day of the holiday, Qingdeng immediately sent Ding Guishen to the knifesmith's shop for grinding. It would probably take another day or two for Ding Guishen to finish repairing.

In the past few days, Qingdeng has been using his old saber... that is, the family saber that has been handed down by his Ju family for several generations to make ends meet.

Qingdeng's family sword has never had a name...Qingdeng didn't think there was anything wrong with it before, until recently he gradually realized that this matter has caused some inconvenience in his life.

For example: When I said to Jiubingwei before, "Bring me my dao", it was impossible for Jiubingwei to take the wrong sword. After all, he only had this dao before.

But now that he had more ghosts and gods, he said to Jiubingwei, "Bring me my sword", Jiubingwei didn't know which sword Qingdeng asked him to get.

So for the sake of convenience, Qingdeng gave his family saber a name a few days ago.

This is a knife that has been handed down by their Ju family for several generations. The blade pattern on the knife body is wavy... Based on these two remarkable characteristics, Qing Deng gave this knife a simple and straightforward, but quite A somewhat poetic name: "Orange Water"

Qingdeng took out the orange juice, stood back in the center of the dojo, and was about to start the "virtual battle" again, when Okita's voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"Mr. Ju! Stop practicing! Ready to eat!"

"Ah, is dinner already ready? Today's dinner is quite fast..."

While lowering the orange juice in his hand, Qingdeng turned to look at Okita who was standing at the corridor connecting the dojo and their residence.

At this time, Okita was wearing kappo, with a turban on his head to prevent the oily smoke from getting on his hair, and he was holding a rice spoon in his hand.

The so-called "cut cooking" can be understood as the apron of this era, which is specially worn on the body when cooking to prevent oil and other dirt from getting on the clothes or the body.

After putting away the knife and walking slowly to Okita's side, Qingdeng smiled slightly at him: "Mr. Okita, it's been really hard for you to come and cook for us these few days."

"There's nothing to thank for such a small matter." Okita with his left hand on his hip and his right hand waving a rice spoon with a hearty smile on his face as usual, "Go and eat!"

In the test hall, there is a customary order as to who will cook.

In normal times, their teacher A Bi will be in charge of cooking.

If Abi is not there, Gensaburo Inoue, who also lives in the test guard hall, has returned to his hometown due to business, and Qingdeng has not seen him until now, will cook.

If neither of these two happens to be there... "The food and beverage authority of the test guard hall" will be handed over to Okita.

In the past few days, for some reason, Master Zhou Zhu and Master Abi often do not see them.

The two of them have been going out very frequently recently, and they often go for a long time. When asked what the two of them are doing out, they are both mysterious and refuse to say anything.

Because Abi is often not at home these days, the recent meals in the Test Guard Hall are basically arranged by Okita.

Although Okita is a boy, he is unexpectedly strong as a girl, and he is a small housework expert.

Qingdeng didn't know that Chongtian could cook until a few days ago when he had to cook because A Bi was not at home, and his cooking skills were very high.

In addition to discovering that Okita is very good at cooking, Qingdeng also recently discovered that Okita was also very good at needlework.

On the night of the fierce encounter with Kanno and others, the haori and hakama on Qingdeng's body were cut in the battle.

Afterwards, after seeing the gaps in Qingdeng's clothes, Chong Tian directly "hummed" a few smug laughs, and then waved his hand: "Give me your clothes, and I'll mend them for you!"

Qingdeng never expected that the heavy sword could be wielded like a finger by Okita, and the tiny embroidery needles in his hands could also be like a knife.

When Okita helped him sew clothes, Qingdeng sat by Okita's side and watched the whole process.

Qingdeng really couldn't think of any words or phrases to describe Okita's sewing technique.

With deft movements of his fingers, it took less than a few minutes for him to fill up the several-inch-long gap with a needle and thread, and the stitches were extremely beautiful.

After watching how Okita sewed his clothes...Qingdeng only felt lucky.

Fortunately, he was quite lucky at the time, and the talent copied from Okita was "Sword Master".

Otherwise, he is likely to copy some strange talents such as "excellent needlework talent" and "finger dexterity"...

...

...

The next day, Qing Deng, whose schedule had already been set, still got up to exercise before dawn as before.

After the morning glow illuminated the sky and the earth, the apprentices went to the pavilion to practice swords one after another.

Since the big victory over Xiaoqianye Sword Hall became popular, the number of apprentices in the Weiwei Hall, which has greatly increased in popularity, has doubled or tripled! And this number is still rising!

The sudden increase in the number of apprentices made Master Zhou Zhu and Shifan Dai Kondo feel tired and happy during this period of time.

"Mr. Orange, good morning."

"Senior! Good morning!"

"Senior Tachibana, why are you just watching? Aren't you coming to practice swords together?"

...

Every apprentice in the sword gym, whether newcomer or old, will basically say hello to Qingdeng after seeing Qingdeng.

Qingdeng, who has made outstanding achievements repeatedly, is now an undisputed celebrity in Edo. With the increase in fame, coupled with the achievements of "leading the test hall to defeat Xiaoqianye sword hall", Qingdeng's prestige in the test hall continued to rise.

Some people in the test hall even respected Qingdeng as their idol, and when they saw Qingdeng, their pupils would glow with fiery light.

Qingdeng's disposition has always been easy-going, and he has never felt arrogant because he is a celebrity now and he has contributed to the medical examination hall.

No matter who comes to greet him, he will give a positive and enthusiastic response.

Not long after the opening of the sword gym, there was no accident——Hijikata Toshizo came.

"Good morning everyone." While yawning big, Tufang walked through the gate of the dojo and entered the dojo.

I have to say... "People are good-looking, no matter what they do" is really an unchanging truth.

Just yawning, Hijikata showed a chic aesthetic.

After seeing Hijikata, the trouble-loving devil king, coming, some old people in the dojo suddenly showed strange expressions.

"Mr. Tufang, good morning." Qingdeng greeted Tufang first.

"Oh, Mr. Ju, good morning." After responding to Qingdeng's greeting, Hijikata smiled slightly, "Mr. Ju, I thought about a new boxing technique yesterday, do you want to come and fight with me later?"

After all, Hijikata danced his right fist.

"Okay." Qingdeng grinned, and readily agreed without thinking, "I'd like to see what new moves you practice."

After getting along for a period of time, Qingdeng has a lot of understanding of Hijikata Toshisan, the devil king with whom he has many close friends.

When I first met Tufang, Tufang gave Qingdeng a feeling of "cynicism", but after getting in touch with him in detail, Qingdeng gradually discovered that Tufang also had a very serious side.

He is very concerned about the practice of swordsmanship, and he comes to the trial guard hall to practice swords in the early morning almost every day, and he will not go home until dark.

Hijikata's concentrated appearance when he was practicing sword...compared with his frivolous appearance when he was chatting with his friends, it was a completely different person.

Earth Fang is one of the few people in the test hall who has a strong interest in unarmed martial arts and will actively hone his boxing skills.

Therefore, he often finds Qingdeng, who is proficient in grappling and free fighting skills, as a training partner.

Qingdeng has always been interested in unarmed combat, otherwise he would not have been proficient in so many unarmed combat in his previous life, so Qingdeng has always been willing to refuse any "invitation" from Hijikata to "serge training".

Because of the frequent sparring with Tufang, Qingdeng and Tufang quickly became acquainted.

There are not many apprentices going to the pavilion to practice swords today.

Exercising with all the brothers and sisters in the sword hall, before you know it, the sun has almost climbed to the highest point in the sky.

Early this morning, Zhou Zhu and Ah Bi went out again, and they disappeared, and they have not returned until now.

Just when Okita had to surround the "kappo" again, preparing to cook lunch at noon today, an unexpected guest suddenly came to the testing hall——

"Yong! Yong! Are you there?"

In the dojo, Kondo, who was teaching an apprentice, was stunned when he heard the loud shout from the gate of the sword gym: "Shigetaro?"

...

...

In the hall of the test hall, Chiba Shigetaro sat cross-legged in front of Qingdeng, Kondo, Hijikata, and Okita.

"Hijikata-san, long time no see! I heard that you were injured before, have you recovered from your injuries now?"

"Thank you for your concern." Tufang smiled faintly, "That little injury has already healed."

After greeting Hijikata briefly, Chiba Shigetaro turned his gaze to Qingdeng.

"Mr. Ju, congratulations!" Chiba Shigetaro showed a more enthusiastic smile towards Qingdeng, "I have heard about it in detail! You have made a great contribution recently, increasing your salary by 400 shi!"

"Thank you." Qingdeng smiled modestly at Chiba Shigetaro, who hadn't seen him since the end of the "Red and White Battle" at the Plum Blossom Festival, "I'm just lucky."

After the two parties greeted each other for a while, Kondo, who was sitting directly opposite Chiba Shigetaro, cleared his throat abruptly, and asked in a curious tone:

"Okay, Shigetaro, come and tell us, what's the 'important thing' that happened again."

Just now, after hearing Shigetaro's voice, Kondo immediately rushed to the outside of the sword hall.

As soon as he arrived at the gate, he saw Chiba Shigetaro standing alone under the bright sun.

For Chiba Shigetaro's sudden visit, Kondo was quite surprised and puzzled.

Chiba Shigetaro is also a vigorous and resolute person.

After seeing Kondo who came out to greet him, and after saying hello to Kondo, he said bluntly: Yong! I'm here to tell you something important!

Although I really want to ask Chiba Shigetaro immediately "What's important?", after all, outside the gate is not a good place to talk, and it would be impolite to ask guests to stay outside, so Kondo suppressed his curiosity for the time being. , first welcomed Chiba Shigetaro into the hall and brought him to the hall.

"Yong, Mr. Ju is here too? That's great! What I want to say has something to do with Mr. Ju, so please call Mr. Ju over to listen!" ——Before being ushered into the test guard After learning that Qingdeng happened to be practicing swords in the sword gym today, Chiba Shigetaro immediately suggested this to Kondo with great interest.

So—Qingdeng was called to the living room in such a ignorant and confused manner.

Okita and Hijikata also ran over to listen.

After the two heard about Chiba Shigetaro's intentions, they were also quite curious, and they all expressed their desire to listen in and hear what Chiba Shigetaro wanted to say.

Kondo has gone straight to the point, and Chiba Shigetaro is no longer ambiguous.

After hearing Chiba Shigetaro laugh a few times, he quickly said:

"Yong, this morning, I got a very accurate gossip."

"The Marquis of Aizu, who is currently staying in Edo due to the "attendance to the emperor", plans to hold a two-day swordsmanship competition in Asakusa in half a month...that is, on April 16!"

"Marquis Aizu is going to hold a swordsmanship competition?" Okita was the first to exclaim in surprise.

Marquis of Aizu—that is, the current lord of the Aizu Domain: Matsudaira Rongbao.

Kondo and the others...including Qingdeng, after hearing the word "swordsmanship competition", they all focused their surprised eyes on Chiba Shigetaro.

"Participating in the imperial court"-to put it simply, it is a system implemented by the Edo shogunate with the purpose of weakening the power of daimyo in various places.

The Edo Shogunate stipulated that the feudal lords of each vassal state must go to Edo once a year to assist the shogunate in handling government affairs for a period of time before returning to their vassal land, and the round-trip travel expenses are all paid by themselves.

In a word-it is to toss the daimyos from all over the world and force them to frequently come to the power and ruling center of the shogunate: Edo.

In name, they were asked to help the shoguns handle the government affairs of the shogunate, but in essence it was just consuming their financial resources, time, and making it easier to monitor them.

Different daimyos have different time intervals to go to Edo.

Most of the feudal states come to Edo once a year.

In some vassal states that are very close to Edo, their lords are required to stay in Edo for a long time. These are called "Dingfu".

As for those vassals that are far away from Edo—for example, the vassal land is Tsushima on Tsushima Island on the Korean Strait, the shogunate allowed its lords to come to Edo once every three years.

On average, daimyos across the country spend only one-third of their time in their own territories for a year, and the other two-thirds of their time either in Edo or on their way to Edo. Or on the way back to the territory.

In order to pass the boring days of being "imprisoned" in Edo in disguise, many daimyo thought of various entertainment activities to pass the time.

For example: sponsoring or holding martial arts competitions.

Some daimyos who are fond of martial arts often sponsor or hold martial arts competitions when they live in Edo because of their visits, and invite martial arts masters from Edo to fight in the arena.

So in Edo, you can hear from time to time which feudal lord is preparing to hold a martial arts competition.

"The swordsmanship competition that Marquis Aizu will hold this time is not small."

Chiba Shigetaro continued at this time.

"According to reliable news - this swordsmanship competition held by Marquis Aizu is only open to the sword halls in Edo."

"Only beginners who have practiced swords for less than 3 years are eligible to participate in this competition."

"so--"

Chiba Shigetaro smiled, and cast his eyes on Qingdeng.

"Mr. Ju, are you interested in participating in the next competition?"

"I heard that the Marquis of Aizu is very proud this time. If he can win the championship, he will be able to get a full 20 taels of gold!"

***********

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In the past few days, the most discussed characters in our book friend group are Miss Sanako and Tianzhangyuan. Everyone has a very strong discussion on the attributes of Miss Sanako's big bear and Tianzhangyuan's "perfect young widow" Enthusiasm, as expected of my readers.

Ms. Sanako has real historical photos. I haven’t shown them to you before. The author will make up for it now. Please see the paragraph comment on the right.

Everyone should have heard about the virtues of cameras in the 19th century. The people they photographed basically did not have a clear human appearance... To be able to have such a level of appearance under the lens of a camera in the 19th century, Mr. Sanazi Miss is really worthy of the title of "Chiba's ghost beauty".

The author has opened a book friend group in Penguin! Those who are interested can come in and talk about the big bear together.

Group number: 1162513690. You only need to answer a question that you will definitely know the answer as long as you read the book seriously, and you can join the book friend group.

The author Jun Suiyuan haunts the group~