I formed the strongest swordsman group

Although he was fully prepared mentally, when he learned that the big fat man in front of him was Saigo Kinosuke, a soldier of the Satsuma Domain, Ayoto couldn't help but feel shocked, and subconsciously glanced at him a few more times.

He knew very well: sooner or later he would meet the leader of the Satsuma Domain.

But...he never expected that this day would come so quickly and in such a hurry.

Unlike those guys who achieved their achievements by relying on their prominent family background or evil ways, Saigo Kinosuke relied on his own talent and hard work to climb to his current high position step by step.

When it comes to the "starting point of life" alone, Saigo Kinosuke is by no means "holding a good hand".

He was born as a low-level warrior, came from a poor family, and served as a low-level official for a long time... This experience gave him a certain understanding and sympathy for the lower class people, and a deep understanding of the corrupt rule of the government, which led him to embark on the path of reform.

As early as when he was young, he adapted the original poem written by the monk Yuexing - who actively participated in the movement to respect the king and resist the barbarians, so he enjoyed a high reputation among those who respected the king and resisted the barbarians - and adapted it into a highly popular song. Chinese poetry:

"A man is determined to leave his hometown, and he vows not to return it until he succeeds in his studies. Why bury his bones in his hometown? There are green mountains everywhere in life."

After Shimazu Saibin succeeded the Satsuma Domain, the "Honesty Group" headed by Saigo Kinosuke wrote a letter explaining the issue of reducing the burden on farmers. His political views were appreciated by Shimazu Qibin.

In this way, Saigo Kinnosuke was reused by Shimazu Saibin and was promoted to his trusted retainer. His career began to take off and he gradually gained control of the real power within the domain.

Simply put, he is an extremely inspiring man.

Everyone who has come into contact with Saigo Kinosuke highly appreciates his generous temperament.

It is reported that Saigo Kinosuke is a passionate man with clear likes and dislikes - such a personality is very consistent with the aesthetics of the Edo period.

Because of his kindness to the people, he has great prestige among the lower class people in Satsuma.

In addition, because of his long-term participation in and leadership of the Zunhao movement, the Zunhao patriots in Satsuma Domain all respected him as a god and respected and loved him from the bottom of their hearts.

After Shimazu Saibin died of illness and Shimazu Hisamitsu came to power, Saigo Kinosuke, who became the "old man of the former dynasty", has always been regarded as a thorn in the side of this ambitious founding father.

"The feud between Saigo Kinnosuke and Shimazu Hisamitsu" is no longer a secret, it has long been an open matter.

It is said that Shimazu Hisamitsu always wanted to suppress Saigo Kinosuke and exclude him from the power level of Satsuma Domain.

However, in the end, because Saigo Kinnosuke's prestige and status in the domain were too high, even above him, the founding father, there was no way to start and he could only let it go.

It is strange to say that the three major forces in the Western Kingdom that are currently causing trouble - the Satsuma Domain, the Choshu Domain, and the Tosa Domain - their feudal lords and the old ruling class have all been ostracized to varying degrees.

The Tosa Kinwang Party, headed by Takeichi Hanheita, controlled the political situation of the Tosa Domain.

The Satsuma clan's Saigo Kinosuke, Okubo Ichizo and Komatsu's swords were so sharp that even Shimazu Hisamitsu had to avoid them for the time being.

Not to mention the Choshu Domain, their "That's it" has long been reduced to a large mascot that is even worse than the emperor.

Saigo Kinosuke's current position is "military tax service" and is responsible for the military and political affairs of the Satsuma Domain in Kyoto and Osaka.

In other words, all the soldiers of the Satsuma Army stationed in the Gyeonggi area are under the unified command of Saigo Kinosuke!

Since Shimazu Hisamitsu has been in power within the domain all year round, Saigo Takamori, who is based in Kyoto, has a considerable degree of autonomy.

As a result, just like Qingden, Xixiang Yoshinosuke has become half a military governor.

Qingden lowered his eyelids, looked at Saigo Kinosuke's eyes which became more solid and deep, and thought to himself:

——The general of the Beijing-based army... is truly extraordinary!

Relying on his undoubted absolute strength, he became a unique general... Such a hero, just the look in his eyes and the "smell" emanating from his body are completely different from ordinary people!

At the same time when Aoto was carefully observing Saigo Kinosuke, the other party was also looking at Aoto up and down carefully with a scrutinizing look.

"Judging from your accent...are you from Edo?"

Although he used the sentence structure of a question, his tone was that of an affirmative sentence.

As soon as the front foot muttered, the back foot seemed to realize something, and the corners of its mouth were slightly raised, showing a meaningful smile:

"The Edo people who appear in Kyoto at this time... Hey, little brother, are you from the Shinsengumi?"

Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly changed.

The Satsuma people present changed their expressions and stared at Qingden warily.

A series of sharp eyes fell on Qingdeng.

A few people even raised their hands to touch the saber at their waist.

Qingden shrugged fearlessly and said with a smile:

"Hey, what do you want to do?"

"Look at your posture, as if as long as I nod my head and admit that I am a member of the Shinsengumi, you will swarm me and tear me into pieces."

"You are not from Changshu, why do you need to act like you are afraid of the Shinsengumi like a tiger?"

Saigo Yoshinosuke smiled:

"Sorry to frighten you. We have little understanding of this emerging armed group, so we can't help but feel nervous after learning that there are people suspected to be members of the Shinsengumi."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and made a "relax, everyone" gesture to his companions around him.

At this time, Qingdeng said lightly:

"I made it very clear just now - I'm just a passing samurai, nothing more."

Under normal circumstances, Aomori wouldn't mind revealing his true identity to Saigo Kinosuke.

Anyway, based on their status, it was only a matter of time before they got to know each other.

However...the place they are currently in is Gion.

No matter what, Seito didn't want the headlines in the Koban tabloids tomorrow morning to be "The Shinsengumi generals and the Satsuma army generals met in Gion, and 'Gion's best geisha' Shiyo was also present."

At that time, I really don’t know how to explain it to Sanako, Kinoshita Mai and Souji...

Hearing what Aomori said, Saigo Kinosuke raised his eyebrows first, and then spread his hands:

"It seems that you are determined to conceal your identity... Anyway, since you are unwilling to reveal your identity, I will not pursue the question."

After that, he put away the expression on his face, turned his head, looked around the scene, and said loudly with a serious face:

"Everyone, I'm very sorry! My incompetence led to the farce tonight!"

Having said this, he quickly walked towards the geisha who was kicked down by Godai and was still supported by Ziyang.

"Are you okay, miss?"

Thanks to lying on the tatami and resting for a while, the poor geisha's physical condition improved a lot, and she was at least able to speak normally.

Saigo Kinosuke's sudden approach and sudden concern startled her.

Caught off guard, she stammered and replied nervously:

"It's okay..."

Saigo Kinosuke nodded slightly, and then took out a cloth bag from his arms - making "clanging", "clanging" sounds - from the sound, the thing inside was money, and it was a very big one. money.

"Girl, this is my small apology, please accept it."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but put the big bag of money into the poor geisha's arms.

After paying the compensation, he stood up slowly, turned his head, and cast a helpless look at Komatsu, who was wearing a knife not far away:

"Xiaosong-kun, even though you were present, this kind of accident still happened that shouldn't have happened..."

Komatsu took the knife and smiled bitterly:

"Xixiang-kun, you really think too highly of me. I am a literati who is full of words and talkative. I can't control these arrogant soldiers under your command."

Xiaosong——Qingden was startled when he heard this title.

Komatsu of the Satsuma Domain... It was only then that Qingto finally realized belatedly that Saigo Kinosuke was not the only big figure in the Satsuma clan present.

It's just that he didn't have the chance to say hello to Komatsu with a knife.

At this time, Saigo Kinosuke turned to look at the others except Komatsu with his sword, and snorted heavily.

"Let's go, you idiots! It was just a banquet to welcome Komatsu-kun to the capital, but it ended up in a bad mood. I'm really convinced by you! Go back to the feudal mansion." go!"

Faced with Saigo Kinosuke's rebuke, no one dared to question it.

I saw them all filing out with their heads drooped and dejected expressions.

While leaving, they did not forget to lift up Godai who was still lying on the ground twitching.

Saigo Yoshinosuke walked at the end of the crowd.

Just when his figure was about to disappear in the direction of the corridor, he suddenly stopped and turned sideways, staring directly at Qingdeng.

Their eyes met...their eyes collided in mid-air.

"Little brother, although I can't tell you why, I have a hunch that we will meet again sooner or later - this day is not far away."

After leaving these words coolly, Saigo Kinosuke swung his sleeves and walked away.

Seeing this, Qingdeng burst into laughter and murmured:

"Of course we will meet again...but, by that time, we will not know whether we are enemies or friends..."

The volume was so light that only he could hear it clearly.

Compared to the Choshu and Tosa clans, which had completely fallen to the Zunbo faction, the Satsuma clan was still cunningly watching from the sidelines until now, swinging between the Samu and Zunbo factions, without clearly supporting either camp.

In other words, when Aoto and Saigo Kinosuke meet again, they may become close comrades-in-arms, or they may become incompatible enemies...

At this time, a weak and slender voice brought Qingdeng's consciousness back to reality.

"Sir, thank you..."

Qingdeng followed the sound and looked up - what greeted him was a grateful look.

The poor geisha who was brutally beaten but unexpectedly received a generous compensation, which was considered a blessing in disguise, was looking at Qingteng with a grateful face.

Qingdeng responded with a reserved smile:

"Just say thank you. I just did something trivial."

The poor geisha took a deep breath, swallowed, and asked timidly:

"Sir, can you let me see your face? I want to know what my benefactor looks like, so that I can remember it forever..."

Upon hearing this, Qingdeng silently lowered the bamboo hat on his head a little lower.

"sorry, I……"

Before he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked around because he sensed something - as the crisis was resolved, the other geishas present cast grateful glances at him.

Their beautiful eyes were shining, and countless little stars seemed to be dancing in their eyes. Their admiration for Qingdeng was beyond words.

——If you think about it carefully, it shouldn’t matter if you show your face a little bit, right?

At this thought, Qingdeng reached out his right hand at lightning speed, grabbed the string hanging on his chin, and prepared to lift the hat on his head!

——This is definitely not because I am fascinated by women! I'm not that superficial! I just want these girls to know who saved them, so that they won't have regrets in the future!

Qingdeng silently "self-justified" his behavior in his heart.

The urge to "self-destruct" was extremely strong... But in the end, he relied on his firm rationality and strong willpower to stop himself from doing such an unscrupulous thing.

In order to divert his attention, he walked over and helped up the poor geisha and Ziyang, who also received a kick from Godai.

"Miss Ziyang, are you okay? Can you stand up?"

"Well... not bad..."

Ziyang replied while staring blankly at Qingdeng.

Forget it for others, but Qingdeng's voice... she is so familiar!

Just when she was about to say something, Qingdeng made a "silence" gesture first.

"Miss Ziyang."

He lowered his voice and said softly at a volume that only the two of them could hear:

"I have something very important to discuss with you. Do you have time later?"

Ziyang was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously without thinking.

…

…

About half an hour later——

Kyoto, Gion, Flower House, Zi Yang’s room——

After stepping into Ziyang's room, Qingdeng subconsciously scanned his eyes and observed his surroundings.

Ziyang's bedroom...in a word: full of feminine atmosphere.

Tastefully decorated.

Neat tatami.

Beautiful furniture.

The air is fragrant.

Generally speaking, this is the type of room where you can’t help but exclaim after visiting it: “Oh! It really deserves to be the room of ‘Gion’s No. 1 Geisha’”.

After leading Qingdeng into his room, Ziyang pulled out two cushions from the closet.

"Nioh-sama, sit down wherever you want, just treat it as if you are at home."

Qingdeng sat down with his knees bent and pointed at his back.

"Miss Ziyang, how is your back? Does it still hurt?"

Ziyang smiled:

"Don't worry! It's just a minor injury. Apply some ointment specially designed to treat bruises, and then rest for a while and it will heal!"

"...Miss Ziyang, you are so brave. In such a situation, you still want to save people."

Qingdeng raised the corners of his lips and put on an emotional tone.

"A tall and thick samurai rushed straight towards me with great force... If it had been anyone else, let alone standing up, they would have been stunned."

Hahahaha - Ziyang chuckled a few times.

"Lord Niou, you are just praising me. I don't dare call myself 'brave'."

When she said this, she paused for a moment, and a look of reminiscence appeared on her pretty face.

"...I was born in a poor peasant family on the outskirts of Osaka. I came from a poor background."

"Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have a good baby."

"With this pretty face, I finally managed to make a living."

"Although I am very glamorous now, I have never forgotten that I am a child of the common people."

"Even if it's just a little... I want to do something for the poor people who are being oppressed..."