I formed the strongest swordsman group

Emperor Tohito, Seki Hakutaka Shifuxi, Kujo Naotada (the former leader of the Kwan Haku and Sabe faction), Sanjo Mimi (the leader of the Zunbo faction)... the big shots of the imperial court gathered together.

They sat in front of Tokugawa Iemo and on the left and right sides in order according to their status.

Compared with the "power in numbers" on the imperial court's side, Tokugawa Iemo's side was really weak.

The only people who accompanied Tokugawa Iemo here were Hitotsubashi Yoshiki and Matsudaira Harugaku - but unfortunately, both of them were political opponents of Tokugawa Iemo.

Even Qingdeng, who is the governor of Gyeonggi Town and the chief minister of the Ministry of War, is not qualified to participate in a summit meeting of this level.

Ichihashi Keiki and Matsudaira Harugaku sat on the left and right sides of Tokugawa Iemo, and the three of them formed a "pin" shape.

There are many people on one side and few people on the other side.

One side is sitting in a semi-surrounded position, while the other side is in the dilemma of being defended.

This situation, this scene, doesn't look like a debate at all, but more like an interrogation!

Tokugawa Iemo's head start immediately attracted a counterattack from the court ministers.

"Bold! Mr. Dashu, how dare you speak nonsense in front of the Holy One?!"

The speaker's name is Jinxiaolu Xuande, one of the core figures of the "Zunban Gongqing".

Immediately afterwards, another young minister—Zawa Xuanjia, who was also one of the core members of the "Zunxing faction ministers"—raised his voice and criticized Tokugawa Iemo in an extremely sharp voice:

"Mr. Dashu, as a general who conquers the barbarians, how can you boost the enemy's morale and destroy our prestige!"

Then, all the ministers of the Zunbo faction present opened their mouths one after another, and all kinds of harsh words rained down on Tokugawa Iemo.

"..."

Tokugawa Iemo said nothing and had an expressionless face. He seemed to have expected that he would be treated like this, and he silently endured the ridicule and ridicule of the ministers of the Zonghu faction.

In the end, Kujo Naoshitagi, who was the leader among the Samu faction, couldn't stand it any longer. He coughed hard several times and said seriously:

"How presumptuous! Do you think this is a vegetable market? Please be quiet!"

The Kujo family is a famous family, and the 65-year-old Kujo Naotada is the predecessor of Guanbai. He has high position, good standing, and respect. He has them all, even the arrogant and arrogant minister of the Zunbo faction. They also had to sell him a few thin noodles.

As soon as Kujo Naozada finished speaking, the whole place fell silent.

As the atmosphere returned to silence, Tokugawa Iemo took advantage of this opportunity and spoke again:

"Your Majesty, gentlemen, the reason why the humble ministers declared that it is impossible to fight against the barbarians is not to increase the enemy's prestige and destroy our morale."

"Weichen is just stating a fact - we are no match for Xiyi!"

When he said "We are not the opponent of Xiyi", Tokugawa Iemo specifically emphasized his tone, gritted his teeth and said loudly every word.

"Wei Chen believes that it is extremely inaccurate to collectively refer to Western countries such as England, France, and the United States as 'Western Barbarians'!"

"The Western countries are not barbarians!"

"It's actually quite the opposite."

"They are a very developed country! Their treasury is full, their technology is advanced, and their military is powerful."

"Weichen, let me give you a simple example."

"Ten years ago, U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry led four warships into Edo Bay."

"The frigate USS Saskatchewan weighs 656,837 pieces!"

[Note: 1 guan = 3.73 kilograms, 656,837 guans is approximately equal to 2,450 tons. 】

"A huge ship of nearly 660,000 guan!"

"Your Majesty, gentlemen, can you imagine?

"A ship weighing 660,000 pounds!"

"This is no different than a hill!"

"Because of its huge size, the ship can install a large number of artillery pieces, and these artillery pieces are the most advanced steel cannons."

"On our side, not only are the number of artillery scarce, but every artillery piece is an old copper cannon."

"At that time, we had to pull the bronze bell to the coast and disguise it as a coastal defense gun, using this self-deceptive way to cover up the appearance."

"Although after 10 years of development, our armaments have made great progress, they are still not as good as those of Western countries."

"Wei Chen dares to assert that even now, the firepower of the two American battleships Mississippi and Saskatchewan can defeat us!"

"The Mississippi and the Saskatchewan were not the most powerful warships of the United States."

"The United States is not the strongest among the Western countries. England and France are the real overlords!"

"The British Empire is known as the 'Empire on which the Sun Never Sets', and its military power is unparalleled in the world."

"The Western countries have steel battleships as huge as mountains."

"How big is our ship?"

"The Western countries possess steel cannons that are extremely powerful and can be loaded very quickly."

"Our old bronze cannons can only be beaten passively!"

"The armies of Western countries are complete 'firearms troops'. All soldiers are armed with an advanced flintlock gun. They have also recently invented a new type of firearm called the 'Gatling gun' that can fire bullets continuously. As long as there are 10 Gatling guns, even if the Takeda Akabi Cavalry returns to the world, they will not be able to escape the bad luck of being completely wiped out!"

"What about us? Are we going to fight guns and guns with samurai swords?"

"In front of guns and guns, the katana is as straight as an embroidery needle!"

"Your Majesty, gentlemen, what I have said are all from the bottom of my heart! I am definitely not alarmist!"

At the end of the words, Tokugawa Iemo's tone suddenly rose, and he seemed full of momentum.

Many people present were so shocked that their necks tightened and their bodies leaned back uncontrollably.

Tokugawa Iemo's words continued.

"Wei Chen can understand your eagerness to get rid of the barbarians and then be happy."

"To be honest, Wei Chen also hates the domineering Xi Yi."

"Wei Chen also wants to fight against the foreigners."

"But now, resisting the foreigners will definitely lead to death."

"Our country is an island country with a long and narrow territory, and important cities such as Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki are located in the coastal areas."

"If we rashly start a war with the Western countries, the Western countries' armies don't even need to send troops to land. They just need to gather warships and bombard cities such as Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki along the coast. It puts us in a desperate situation and we don’t even have the means to counter it.”

"Even though the enemy is strong and we are weak, things can still turn around."

“Nothing in this world lasts forever.”

"Sooner or later we will fight back! But not now!"

"Wei Yuan, a man of the Tang Dynasty, once said: 'Learn from the barbarians and develop skills to conquer the barbarians.' Weichen believes that this statement is really a wise saying!"

"Wei Chen's confidant Sheng Lintaro also has the same view."

"Since the Western countries are powerful, let's learn from them!"

"Learn their gun-making methods, learn their ship-building technology."

"Just like the envoys sent to Sui and Tang a thousand years ago to learn the advanced knowledge of the Sui and Tang empires."

"When we have a huge fleet, when we have a strong military, we will take the initiative!"

"The moment our country catches up with the Western countries is the best time to implement the policy of repelling the foreigners!"

"Learn from the foreigners and learn skills to defeat the foreigners - this is the real fight against the foreigners!"

"Your Majesty, ministers, I am sincerely afraid to ask the imperial court to withdraw the edict of 'immediately expel the foreigners'!"

"The top priority is to make concessions with Western countries and accumulate strength secretly."

"After a hundred years, we will meet the Western countries again!"

What Tokugawa Iemo said was so impassioned and sincere.

However... as soon as he finished speaking, he received refutation on the back.

"Gathering strength secretly? Mr. Dashu, I think you are as fearful of enemies as a tiger, right?"

The speaker is none other than the leader of the Zunbang faction: Santiao Shimei.

Three beautiful corners of the mouth extended to both sides, revealing teeth covered in black pulp.

The extremely pale sickly cheeks painted with white powder, the mouth full of black teeth, coupled with this malicious and sinister smile... This look is as weird as possible, and as disgusting as possible.

"It's just that the weapons and equipment are slightly inferior, so what's there to be afraid of?"

"In my battle with the Western barbarians, I am upright and upright. Those who are upright are strong in spirit, and those who are strong in spirit are high in fighting spirit. As a righteous soldier with high fighting spirit, I fight against the shameless people who are unjust and have no help. How can I not be sure of victory? ?”

"Duke Dashu, you are a general who conquers the barbarians. Now that the barbarians have invaded, you don't think about conquering the barbarians. You only know how to fight and avoid the enemy."

"I didn't expect...the dignified leader of the Wu family has fallen so low?"

"If anyone under the power of Dongzhao knows that his descendants no longer have the heroic spirit that a warrior man should have, I'm afraid he will be heartbroken."

The great power of Tosho appears - Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate.

After saying that, Sanjo Sanimi raised the elephant wat in his hand, lightly covered his mouth and nose with the elephant wat, closed his eyes slightly, shook his head slightly, and put on a look of sorrow and regret.

The leader spoke, and the other ministers of the Zunhuo faction rushed forward like wild dogs smelling the smell of meat, and attacked Tokugawa Iemo without any scruples.

"Weak! Too weak!"

"How can we bow to Yi Di?!"

"Excuses! Excuses! They are all excuses! Mr. Dashu, your shogunate just wants to protect itself!"

…

Facing the massive criticism from Sanjo Sanimi and others, Tokugawa Iemo changed his previous elegant and gentle appearance as if he couldn't bear it anymore.

He lowered his eyelids, raised his eyebrows, and stared straight at Sanjo Sanimi not far away.

"Sir Zhong Nayan, what you just said was so impassioned!"

[Note: Zhongna Yan: Three truly beautiful official positions, from the third grade. 】

Perhaps because he was angry, or simply because he didn’t want to give the other party a good look, Tokugawa Iemo stopped using honorifics and said directly and loudly:

"I've been talking for a long time about how big the gap is between us and the Western countries. Don't you understand?"

"Or are you saying that you have lost your ability to think normally after living in the palace for a long time?"

Tokugawa Iemo's sharp and merciless rebuke directly broke Sanjo Sanimi's defenses.

His face turned red instantly.

Then, he snorted coldly and launched a counterattack without showing any weakness:

"I have indeed lived in a deep palace for a long time, but I understand one truth - weapons are an element of war, but they are by no means the decisive factor in victory or defeat. What determines victory or defeat is the human heart."

"As long as we unite as one, we can be invincible! What enemy cannot be defeated? What enemy cannot be destroyed?"

After hearing this, Tokugawa Iemo was so angry that he laughed instead.

He raised the corners of his lips and sneered:

"Hmph! Talking to you frogs in the well is really a waste of time!"

Tokugawa Iemo's words not only broke Sanjo Sanmei's defense, he also caused every minister of the Zunbo faction present to enter a "red-temperature state."

"Discourteous! So rude! How dare you be so rude?!"

"Don't be so presumptuous!"

"Mr. Dashu, even if you are a general conquering the barbarians, you must not be rude to your ministers!"

At this time, the ministers of the Samu faction headed by Kujo Naotada joined the "battlefield"——

"You have never taken Mr. Dashu seriously since just now. Who is the most presumptuous and rude one?"

Kujo Naotada's words immediately aroused the echo of many people.

People from the two groups were quarreling... The small palace, which symbolized solemnity and solemnity, became extremely noisy, like a vegetable market in the morning.

At this moment, the only two quiet places inside and outside the small imperial palace were where the "shogunate trio" (Tokugawa Iemo, Hitotsubashi Keiki, and Matsudaira Harugaku) ​​were sitting, and behind the imperial curtain.

Since the beginning of the meeting, Emperor Tonghito has been sitting behind the imperial curtain, neither moving nor saying a word.

It's not that he's fishing.

According to Shinto records and traditional Japanese concepts, the emperor is a descendant of Amaterasu and the incarnation of the god in the human world.

Therefore, in order to maintain the "divineness" of the emperor, when meeting ministers, the emperor would rarely step out of the imperial curtain, and he would hardly speak. Whatever he wanted to say would be conveyed by his attendants.

Just sitting there in silence...like a statue.

After calming down, Tokugawa Iemo looked at his nose and heart and remained silent.

Behind him, Hitotsubashi Yoshiki and Matsudaira Harugaku both had impatient expressions on their faces - after wasting such a big effort, Luo Feile still didn't make any substantial progress in the negotiations. Anyone would feel impatient.

For a moment, Tokugawa Iemo closed his eyes and raised his head to face the ceiling above his head.

"Alas..."

Sighing softly...

…

…

2 days later——

Wenjiu three years (1863), May 1st——

Kyoto, Mibu Township, Shinsengumi camp, Aoden's private martial arts training ground——

In order to facilitate his martial arts practice, Qingdeng transformed a large room of more than 200 square meters into his own dedicated dojo.

At this moment, Qingden, wearing kendo uniform, stands in front of a human-shaped wooden stake, lowering his waist, hanging his right arm loosely, and supporting Vairocana around his waist with his left hand.

He stared straight at the wooden stake, silently adjusting his breath.

About two-quarters of an hour later, he suddenly twisted his waist, stepped forward and squatted down, and his originally drooping right hand reached for the handle of the knife at his waist with lightning speed.

At this moment, the light in this space seemed to dim at this moment.

When the purple light flashed... the human-shaped wooden stake was motionless.

Qingden habitually curled his sword, shook off the blood that did not exist on the blade, and then put Vairocana back into its sheath with the sword in his backhand.

Choking, choking, choking, choking…

The blade of the sword rubbed against the mouth of the sheath, making a slow but crisp clang.

Next, a magical scene happened.

At the moment when the blade was completely sheathed and the tenon was re-embedded into the sheath, the human-shaped wooden stake suddenly made a subtle "click" sound.

Immediately afterwards, the upper part of the wooden pile slowly slid down, and the diagonal fracture was neat and clean.

Qingden turned around, looked at the wooden stake that had been cut into two pieces, and shook his head gently.

"Alas...it still doesn't work..."

Judging from the results alone, Qingdeng did indeed cut off the wooden stake beautifully with a neat sword drawing technique.

However...this is not the result Qingdeng is pursuing.

"What exactly is the 'first before' that Mr. Kiryu said..."

Ever since he came to Kyoto...or rather ever since he learned the secret of the art of sword drawing from Mr. Kiryu, Aomori has been pondering the true meaning of "first before the first".

When Mr. Kiryu taught the secret of "Snap" of Ryukyu, every word he said was still in Aoto's ears——

This is the essence of the sword-drawing technique...or, in other words, the "sword technique".

What swordsmanship should pursue is not the power to destroy the dead, nor the speed of lightning, but "strike first to gain the upper hand."

Everything else is a crooked way that deviates from the essence.

The so-called "first move" means seeing through everything about your opponent.

The opponent's expression, opponent's behavior, and opponent's thoughts are all invisible to you. It's like a god looking down at his plaything.

His attacks cannot threaten you because you have already seen through his intentions.

And every blow and every move you make can easily land on the opponent, because you already know how he is going to defend and dodge next.

What you have to do is to calculate the formula "1+1 equals", and launch the attack to a position and trajectory that will never make a mistake.

If we can combine the "first move" to see through the opponent with the "moment" that moves like thunder...then the most powerful sword-drawing technique is born.

If you want to achieve the state of "first come first"...I'm sorry, I don't know what to do to achieve this state.

Even the experienced boss Kiryu failed to realize that "first comes first"... Qingto was mentally prepared that "he will definitely run into obstacles everywhere".

In fact, it is.

Whenever he has free time, Qingdeng will think hard and try to understand the true meaning of "first come first".

The result...so far, I haven't even realized anything.

In fact, not to mention "first", Qingden still has a little understanding of the secret of flowing light - the moment.

According to Kiryu's boss, "Setsuna" is a super-fast sword-drawing technique.

It requires the use of all muscles and strength of the whole body.

He rushes towards the enemy with the momentum of a pig, squeezing out all the energy in his body with every step he takes.

When taking the last step, take advantage of the opportunity of pushing off the ground to transmit the power of the legs up, and then concentrate it on the arm holding the knife.

On this basis, by making good use of the force brought by the sword's own weight when it is unsheathed - the combination of the two forces will burst out the power accumulated in the blade in one breath, killing the enemy in an instant!

To put it simply, with the help of bold techniques, the power of the limbs and the cutting speed of the blade exceed the limits that one can usually achieve, and a slash full of explosive power is achieved!

This is the secret of flowing light - [Snap]!

There is no doubt that this is an extremely complex and difficult combat skill.

Qingdeng has not completely mastered this technique until now.

Just as he re-arranged his stance and prepared to continue practicing martial arts, anxious shouts sounded outside the room:

"Tachibana-kun! Tachibana-kun!"

It was Shannan Keisuke's voice.

The gentle Shannan Keisuke rarely speaks in such an anxious tone...

Qingdeng realized that something had happened, immediately put away his posture and asked quickly:

"What's wrong?"

"Mr. Ju, it's not good! Mr. Dashu is ill!"

Not only was it updated early today, but it also has a full 5,400 words! Leopard Leopard really worked hard! Seeing how hard Leopard has worked, please be sure to vote for this book! !

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

PS: The pace of this book is really fast and slow. Sometimes the story is told slowly, and sometimes the plot is advanced with the force of wind and waves. Tokugawa Iemo was still eating pork in the last chapter, but he fell ill in this chapter.