I formed the strongest swordsman group

Aki - Aki Province, one of the ancient Ritsu provinces in Japan, also known as Ai Province, is located in the west of Honshu Oshima, adjacent to Choshu Domain.

The local officials placed in each country are collectively called "Kokushi", which is equivalent to the frontier officials, who are in charge of the country's administration, justice, security and other government affairs. The chief official is called "Shogun" and the deputy official is called "Shogun".

The so-called "Aki-shogun" is the highest administrative chief of Aki Province, with a rank of junior fifth rank.

The Kokushi is also divided into three, six, nine and other levels.

There are a total of 66 countries in Japan, and each country is divided into four categories: large, upper, middle and lower according to population.

Aki-shogun belongs to the upper country, and the upper country's shogun are all junior fifth rank.

Qing Deng's original official position was the Minister of War under the sixth rank.

From the sixth rank to the fifth rank... directly skipped the sixth rank, and was promoted across levels!

This is already a very remarkable promotion!

Of course, these official positions awarded by the court are all honorary titles, which are the so-called "empty titles".

The fact that Aoto was named Aki no Kami does not mean that he has the power to govern Aki Province.

In fact, the land of Aki Province already had an actual ruler, that is, the Hiroshima Domain, which has 426,000 kilos and is ruled by the Asano family.

The court cannot even govern Kyoto, which is under its feet, so how can it have the ability to enfeoff ministers?

The emperor and the nobles can do nothing but talk nonsense.

The court's rewards are basically to express an attitude.

To express how much they value this person and how high this person's current status is.

The specific content of the official position is not important, anyway, there is no real power.

The level of the official position is what matters!

Take Aizu for example.

Higo Province is a big country. Looking at the whole of Japan, there are only 13 big countries like it.

Therefore, the position of "big country no Kami" is very precious and will never be given to anyone easily.

The Aizu Matsudaira family shoulders the important task of "sitting in the northeast", so they can inherit the position of Higo no Kami.

This represents the importance and trust that the shogunate and the imperial court attached to Aizu.

Although there is no clear regulation, according to the long-standing convention, "Kokukan" is mostly awarded to daimyo.

Qing Deng was awarded the title of Kamikoku no Kami in one breath... Everyone has smelled the political signal implied in it!

What can be confirmed at present is that the imperial court has obtained the gossip from the shogunate.

Qing Deng will definitely become a daimyo.

And he is a daimyo with a vast territory and strong strength!

In short, being awarded the title of Aki no Kami just makes Qing Deng's title more shining.

From now on, it is no longer "Tachibana Hyobu".

He has a new honorific.

According to convention, if you are awarded "XX no Kami", you can call yourself "XX" and "Xzhou".

For example: Matsudaira Yoshiyasu is Higo no Kami, so he can call himself "Hishu", "Matsudaira Higo" or "Matsudaira Hishu".

The same logic applies - from now on, others can call Qing Deng "Anshu", "Tachibana Aki", "Tachibana Anshu", and Qing Deng can also call himself by these names.

Tachibana Aki... Aoto was quite satisfied with his new title, which sounded quite good.

The attention of ordinary people was focused on Aoto's official position of "Aki no Kami".

For ordinary people who lacked knowledge, the reward Aoto received was easy to understand, that is, he became the nominal highest official of Aki Province.

As for the other reward Aoto received... that is, "the surname 'Sukune'", the common people did not know much about it.

Sukune? What is this?

Is the King going to change his name to "Sukune Aoto"?

In fact, anyone who knows a little about Japanese politics can immediately conclude that "Aki no Kami" is far inferior to "Sukune" in terms of gold content!

After learning that Aoto was named "Aki no Kami", Saigo Yoshinosuke, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu... all the military and political leaders in Japan were not surprised.

But after learning that Aoto was given the surname "Sukune", they were all amazed.

"Sukune" is one of the "eight colored surnames".

In ancient Japan, "clan name" indicated the tribe or occupation of origin, and "surname" indicated one's status based on the relationship with the Yamato royal power.

Simply put, "surname" is a noble title, which is used to show identity and distinguish social classes.

At first, both "clan name" and "surname" were given by the emperor, and the main "surnames" were Chen, Ren, and Banzo.

After Emperor Tenmu ascended the throne, the "surname" was revised.

In October of the 13th year of Tenmu (684), Emperor Tenmu issued an edict stipulating: "Change the clan surnames of the clans to eight-color surnames to mix all the surnames in the world. One is Zhenren, two is Chaochen, three is Sukune, four is Kisun, five is Doshi, six is ​​Chen, seven is Ren, and eight is Inaoki."

In this way, the "eight-color surnames" were officially born.

The sequence of the "eight-color surnames" is based on the closeness of the ancestors of each clan or the relationship with the royal family. From high to low, they are Zhenren, Chaochen, Sukune, Kisun, Doshi, Chen, Ren, and Inaoki.

In fact, the first four surnames were actually granted, and there are no examples of the last four surnames in historical records.

Although the granting of the "eight-color surnames" was stopped in the Heian period, successive shoguns and even Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who served as the Taiko Kanpaku, still used the surname "court official".

In other words, it was to flatter oneself in order to elevate one's status.

From the Heian period to the present, the imperial court has not granted the "eight-color surnames" to the outside world for hundreds of years.

Nowadays, the ancient "eight-color surname" has returned to the world, and Qingdeng has become the first person to obtain the "eight-color surname" after 500 years... This is really unbelievable.

After Xigo Kinosuke, Matsudaira Yongho and others learned of the incident, they sent people to investigate.

Soon, they learned the truth - the Zunxing movement in recent years had restored the authority of the imperial court, and it was no longer the insignificant mascot it had been in the past.

In addition, the strength of the shogunate was seriously declining, and the constraints on the court were greatly reduced.

As a result, the ministers decided to restart the ancient method and grant "eight-color surnames" to meritorious officials to enhance the court's sense of presence.

The surname Qingdeng was given was the third-class "Su Ni", second only to the real people and court officials.

Although he was given a surname, it does not mean that Qingteng will change his name to "Sumi Qingteng" from now on.

He is still "Tachibana Aoden" and will not change.

His "Ju" is the Miao character, not his surname.

Although in semantics, the Japanese Miao character is equivalent to the Chinese surname, the Miao character is the Miao character and the surname is the surname. The two are not the same concept and cannot be confused.

From the beginning, Qingden had no surname.

In other words: Even if you look at the whole of Japan, very few people have a surname.

As mentioned above, a surname is a title of nobility, and not everyone can have it.

Tachibana, Chiba, Okita, Kinoshita, Kondo...these are Miao characters, not surnames.

The Miao surname is a new surname created after a family separated from the original clan. It is collectively called the Miao surname.

Regardless of whether he has a surname or not, Qingden is still "Ju Qingden", "Mr. Orange" and "Mr. Orange".

The only thing that had changed was his full name and his official signature in official documents.

Aoto now not only has a prominent official position, but also has a surname, so his full name has ushered in a "big evolution" - Genjuku Niki Aki Mori Aoto Seiharu.

"Source" means that Qingden was born in the Source clan.

"Su Ni" means that Qingdeng is already the third-class noble after the real person and the courtiers.

"Orange" is the Miao character for Qingdeng.

"An Yishou" is his official title.

"Qingdeng" is his general name.

"Sheng Qing" is his real name.

Of course, the opportunities to use this full name are extremely rare—or even non-existent.

There are very few occasions when the surname "Su Ni" can be used.

You can probably only see this group of words in official documents.

Ayoto's official name in official documents was originally "Minamoto no Moriharu" or "Minamoto Tachibana no Moriharu", but now it has been changed to "Genshuku Mi no Moriharu" or "Genshuku Ni Tachibana Moriharu".

Apart from writing two more words in official documents, there are no other changes.

…

…

Although the imperial court's reward has no substantial benefits, it is better than nothing.

Common people and members of the Shinsengumi: "Lord Anju!"

The top officials of the shogunate headed by Matsudaira Yongho: "Tachibana Anshu!"

Souji: "Tachibana Aki...hehehe~ Tachibana-kun, your new name seems to be more pleasant than your original name."

…

In recent days, Qingdeng has been surrounded by "Anju-sama", "Ochi Anju" and "Ochi Anyi" one after another.

It was a bit uncomfortable at first.

Whenever someone calls him "Anzhou" or "Master Anyi", Qingdeng always fails to respond in time.

But gradually, I got used to it.

With the demise of the Qinghe Party, the daily operations of the Shinsengumi began to return to normal.

Qinghe Hachilang is dead, and the position of "staff officer" is vacant.

Qingdeng has no plans to fill this position for the time being.

First of all, there are currently no talents under his command who are qualified for the position of "staff officer".

Secondly, it was a position specially created to accommodate Qinghe Hachiro, which is the so-called "positioning based on people".

In fact, Qingdeng didn't need any advisers at all.

With the blessing of talents such as "Photographic Memory" and "Sacred Brain +9", Qingdeng can complete most of the staff work by himself.

What's more, he also has Hijikata Toshizo and Shannan Keisuke under his command.

Toshizo Hijikata, who was extremely talented in military affairs, and Keisuke Yamanan, who was resourceful, had already served as staff officers.

In this way, Qingdeng's staff is actually tasteless and worthless.

Compared with these vain honorary titles, Qingdeng prefers visible and tangible material things, such as weapons, troops, money, and land.

Therefore, he didn't care at all about the false names awarded to him by the court.

Regarding the reward from the court, he only said "Yes, I understand" and then continued to devote himself to his busy work.

In recent days, he has joined hands with Matsudaira Yongho and Saigo Yoshinosuke to deal with the aftermath of the recent war.

The conflicts, disputes, and controversies between the two major camps—the Saba faction and the Zonbo faction—that had been accumulating since the "Black Ship Incident" broke out in this war that lasted for more than half a month and spanned the battlefields of Kyoto and Yamato. come out.

In terms of results, Qingden and others undoubtedly gave a beautiful answer.

What a pity, there is only one shortcoming - the main force of the Changzhou Army was not severely damaged, and the main force of the army safely retreated to Changzhou.

The Huisa coalition forces actually failed... This was really unexpected by Qingdeng.

He originally thought that the Huisa Allied Forces, which had an absolute advantage, would be able to severely damage the Changzhou Army, or even annihilate it.

When Aoto questioned this, Saigo Kinosuke and Matsudaira Yongho both lowered their heads with shame on their faces.

Matsudaira Yoshiyasu sighed:

"Alas... this is really a long story..."

Saigo Yoshinosuke nodded in agreement:

"In short, an unknown force has reached out to Choshu for help."

The two explained the whole story in detail.

Through their narration, Qing Deng roughly understood the situation.

A swordsman with terrifying strength raided the Imperial Palace, forcing Matsudaira Yoshiyasu to take away half of his troops to defend.

At the same time, two warriors who did not look like people from Choshu suddenly appeared on the front battlefield.

They were equally powerful and very good at guerrilla warfare.

They relied on the woods to skillfully mobilize, divide, and harass the pursuers, causing great trouble to the Huisa coalition.

In the end, because of being delayed for too long, the Huisa coalition was unable to catch up with the main force of the Choshu army.

After listening to the two's statements, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids, pursed his lips, and thought secretly.

The unknown forces that lent a helping hand to the Choshu Army... a powerful warrior...

As if lightning flashed through his brain, Qing Deng instantly thought of his old enemy - the Fazhu Party!

After killing Luosha and destroying the workshop that made Huanfudi, Qing Deng and the Fazhu Party had an irreconcilable feud.

The Fazhu Party is an oversized "shit-stirring stick" that stirs up trouble everywhere, hoping that the world will not be in chaos.

But the strange thing is... this "shit-stirring stick" has not come out to stir up shit for a long time.

Neither did it avenge Luosha, nor did it make any big news.

Qing Deng does not believe that this group of crazy people with problems in their heads will turn over a new leaf.

In short, regardless of whether the forces that secretly assisted Choshu are the Fazhu Party, this incident has reminded Qing Deng that it is not yet time to let go of the horse! There are difficult enemies lurking in the dark, and they are eyeing it covetously!

...

Although the Choshu Army withdrew, a large number of stubborn elements still stayed in Kyoto.

Perhaps to vent their anger, these remnants of Choshu are causing chaos everywhere.

Killing people, setting fires, destroying shogunate facilities, chopping off the heads of dolls with Aoto's name on them... They are really evil.

Their behavior is so crazy that it makes people's teeth shudder, and it has caused great harm to the people.

Although they are just some small fights that are not a big deal, they can't be allowed to do whatever they want.

Aoto sent more patrol officers to vigorously eliminate the remnants of Choshu.

Apart from the rebellion of the remnants of Choshu, there are no major disturbances in and outside Kyoto.

It's calm.

Time passes.

The peaceful days pass one by one.

Finally! The reward from the shogunate, the highlight that everyone is eagerly looking forward to, has finally arrived!

On September 20, the shogunate's envoy arrived in Kyoto and brought Tokugawa Iemochi's handwritten order.

On this day, Aoto bathed and changed his clothes, and put on the grand samurai ceremonial dress (裃).

The Shinsengumi generals who came to accompany him also attended in their best clothes.

At first glance, it was so grand and solemn.

They and the envoys gathered in the great hall of the garrison - this place was specially used to welcome distinguished guests.

The envoy, who was sitting upright, first bowed lightly to Qing Deng, then opened the brocade box in front of his knees, took out Tokugawa Iemochi's handwritten order, and slowly unfolded it.

Everyone at the scene thought that Tokugawa Iemochi's handwritten order would be like the imperial edict, full of ceremonial and cumbersome sentences that made people want to doze off.

But in the end, the envoy's first sentence shocked them.

"Tachibana-kun, you did a great job."

What Tokugawa Iemochi wrote was actually plain and easy to understand!

Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke raised their eyebrows - as the few wise men in the Shinsengumi, they quickly understood the political meaning of this "plain handwritten order".

Tokugawa Iemochi announced to the world in a simple and rough way: The relationship between me and Tachibana Qing Deng is no longer easy to measure with the simple "friendship between the monarch and the minister"! There is no need for those complicated things between me and him!

"Thanks to you, peace has returned to the capital."

"When I received your victory report, I had already thought of what kind of reward to give you."

At this point, the messenger paused at the right time.

No one expected that the key point would be reached so quickly!

At this moment, everyone's heart was hanging in their throat.

Under the concentrated fire of eyes, the messenger spoke again:

"From now on, Otsu Castle will be your clan headquarters, and the 300,000 koku of land south of Lake Biwa will belong to you!"

"In this way, the name of your clan should be 'Otsu'."

"However, I think the name is really lacking in prestige."

"So, I decided to give your clan a special name."

"The Zhou court of Tang once granted the Qin family the Western Frontier and ordered them to resist the Western Rong."

"Mr. Tachibana, I hope that your clan can also guard the Western Frontier for the shogunate like the Qin State, maintain peace in the Western Frontier, and become the stabilizer of the Western Frontier, so that the villains dare not invade."

"Therefore, the name of your clan is set as 'Qinjin'!"

"Lord of Qinjin, please keep up the good work and don't let me down!"

The messenger finished speaking.

He slowly put away the hand order in his hand, and then bowed to Qing Deng on the main seat in front of him.

Silence...

Since just now... To be more precise, since the messenger said "From now on, Otsu Castle will be your headquarters", the whole place has become silent.

It was so quiet that it was terrifying!

It was so quiet that even the friction of fabric caused by the messenger's bow seemed so harsh.

It was not until a long time later that Qing Deng, who had recovered a little, took a deep breath:

“Yes…I…No, Qin Jin obeys!”

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket! (Baotou crying.jpg)

PS: Actually, the previous article has already foreshadowed that “Qing Deng will be enfeoffed to Otsu”. When Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin went to Kyoto, Qing Deng and Tenshoin watched the beautiful scenery of Otsu together. Baobaozi specially spent a lot of time and effort to introduce Otsu.