I formed the strongest swordsman group

In the Edo period, executioners were considered to be unclean and not a respectable position.

Generally speaking, those who were responsible for killing people and handling corpses on the execution ground were all low-class people who were not considered human beings... that is, eta and non-human.

In such an environment, the Yamada Asaemon family seemed particularly different - they were a family of executioners who specialized in killing people, but they enjoyed a very high social status.

In fact, the main job of the Yamada Asaemon family was not to kill people, but to test the sword for the general. They were the sword testers of the shogunate.

For the general public who had no money and power, the most common way to test the sword was to chop wood and bamboo mats.

However, no matter how hard and thick wood and bamboo mats were, they could not perfectly replicate the density and texture of the human body.

It was too boring to chop such vulgar things, and the true sharpness of the blade could not be tested.

The only function of a sword is to kill.

Therefore, if you want to test the true sharpness of the blade, you have to chop people!

Therefore, there are often some cruel perverts who hide at street corners in the middle of the night to ambush passers-by and cut people to test the sharpness of new swords.

This behavior is called "Tsuji-slashing".

Many innocent people died tragically under the knives of these beasts.

When generals, daimyo and other important figures want to test their swords, they certainly will not use wood or bamboo mats, which are not decent.

Most of them will use three methods of testing swords: "testing with living people", "testing with dead people" or "testing with hard objects".

The first two are easy to understand, that is, testing swords with living or dead people.

As for "testing with hard objects", it is to chop hard objects such as helmets and armor.

"Testing with living people" is too cruel, so the official never uses this method - at least not on the surface.

Therefore, the most mainstream official sword testing method is still "testing with dead people".

In the early Edo period, a swordsman named Yamano Kaemon was considered the earliest professional sword tester.

It is said that he cut more than 6,000 corpses in his lifetime.

His son, Yamano Kanjuro, inherited his legacy and became not only the shogunate's official sword tester, but also the shogunate's official executioner, responsible for executing death row prisoners.

Unfortunately, his descendants were not familiar with swordsmanship and were unable to perform the work of sword testing and execution.

For this reason, the Yamano family's official sword tester and official executioner positions were removed.

After that, several of Yamano Kanjuro's disciples took on the job of sword testing.

Initially, it was Washi Juroemon and Matsumoto Nagadayu.

After the death of these two people, only one person was left - this person was Yamada Asaemon Sadaemon.

Sadaemon submitted an application to the shogunate in 1736 to allow his son Yoshitoki to inherit his position.

In this way, the Yamada Asaemon family officially became the shogunate's official sword tester, and sword testing became a profession monopolized by them.

The reason why the Yamada Asaemon clan was able to receive this honor was, firstly, because they were indeed excellent in swordsmanship, and secondly, because Sadaemon was a relative of the shogun's concubine.

Since Sadaemon, the Yamada Asaemon clan has inherited the position of "waist-mono magistrate" and enjoyed a salary of more than 1,000 koku.

As the name suggests, "waist-mono" means the sword on the waist.

The main responsibility of the waist-mono magistrate is to manage the general's sword, the sword given to the daimyo, and the sword presented by the daimyo.

Of course, on the surface, it is said that they are responsible for keeping the swords, but in fact, their main job is to help the general test the swords.

Whenever the general gets a new sword, he will order the Yamada Asaemon clan to test the sword.

Pull the corpse from the execution ground, and test the toughness and sharpness of the sword by chopping the various parts of the corpse.

In this way, the concept of "do-zan" is derived.

"Do-zan" is an important indicator to measure the quality of swords.

"Ichido-zan" means that a human body can be cut off with one sword.

You know, the human body is not that easy to cut.

The human body has both flexible skin and hard bones.

A sword that can cut a body with one blow is already considered a high-quality sword.

"Sando Slash" is a rare sword.

The current highest record is "Nine Do Slashes" created by Yamano Kaemon.

At that time, Yamano Kaemon held the famous sword Kanefusa, stood on a high platform, jumped down quickly, and cut off seven stacked bodies with just one sword.

After testing the sword, the Yamada Asaemon family would carefully record the results, called "origami", and carefully keep them as a data basis for evaluating the value of the sword.

Not only that, they would also engrave the inspection results of the sword on the blade - such as how many do cuts were completed - and then engrave their own names, to prove that the sword was indeed completed by the Yamada Asaemon family.

The continuous accumulation of experience in trial cutting, coupled with the honorable status of "the shogunate's sword tester", made the Yamada Asaemon family have absolute authority in swords.

As long as the sword is recognized by the Yamada Asaemon family, it is definitely a good sword - this concept is deeply rooted in people's hearts. This is indeed the case.

If a sword can be recognized and praised by the Yamada Asaemon family, then the economic value and collection value of the sword will rise sharply!

Therefore, the daimyo and dignitaries of the feudal state often hired the children of the Yamada Asaemon family to help them test the sword.

The Yamada Asaemon family is also happy to earn this extra money.

In the ninth year of Kansei (1797), the third generation Yamada Asaemon Yoshitsugu compiled a picture book called "Treasure Sword Huaishaku" with reference to the sword testing data left by his predecessors.

This illustrated book records the world's famous swords and divides them into four levels: "the most powerful thing", "the great thing", "the good thing" and "the thing".

With the release and publication of this book, the absolute authority of the Yamada Asaemon family in the sword appraisal world has been confirmed.

Although the main job of the Yamada Asaemon clan is to test swords, their other identity - executioners - is more famous than "sword testers"!

Because of their superb swordsmanship, they were also responsible for serving as executioners at the execution ground while testing swords.

Beheading is a technical job, and not just any cat or dog can do it - especially during the Edo period.

According to the regulations of the Edo period, the punishment of beheading was not just chopping off the head.

It is necessary to behead, but it cannot be completely beheaded.

After the head is chopped off, a layer of skin must be left to connect the head and the torso - this method of beheading is called "head-holding."

If the head is chopped off and flew out, it is a very serious work error and will be punished.

To cut off the head beautifully, the best place to cut is the gap between the third and fourth bones of the posterior cervical vertebrae.

In order to hone their sword skills, the Yamada Asaemon clan created a very unique practice method - stacking two tatami mats vertically, and then using a knife to split the gap between the two tatami mats.

The gap is only one or two millimeters wide, not much wider than the blade of a knife.

To get the blade to accurately penetrate this gap... you can imagine how difficult it is!

No matter how you swing the sword, as soon as you release it, the blade will be able to accurately cut into the gaps in the tatami - only when you achieve this can you be considered a master.

The deep family inheritance, coupled with the vast number of training opportunities, makes the children of the Yamada Asaemon clan all great swordsmen with strong swordsmanship!

Their sword skills are all terrifyingly fast and terrifyingly accurate! He has extremely precise control over his own power!

If I say I cut off your eyebrows, I will never cut off your eyes.

Over the years, how many people have the Yamada Asaemon family killed?

No one can count them.

Even if we are conservative, there are at least tens of thousands of people!

A family that has beheaded tens of thousands of people over the past hundred years... It is not an exaggeration to call them the "Executioner Family"!

In addition to the "Executioner Family", they also have names such as "Shou-Kiri Asemon" and "Hit-Zan Asemon".

Those who made mistakes and had to commit seppuku would even hire the disciples of the Yamada Asaemon clan to explain their mistakes in order to make their death easier.

The current head of the Yamada Asaemon clan is named Yamada Asaemon Yoshiki.

When Qingteng was still a member of the Northern Bansho Town Council, he had met this man several times.

According to the regulations of the shogunate, whenever a prisoner is to be executed, the person responsible for handling the case must go to the execution site to observe it.

In this way, Aoto once saw Yamada Asaemon's lucky face at close range in the execution ground.

The deepest impression the other party left on Qingdeng... was "cold".

His face was expressionless and his eyes were like daggers.

He moved to the prisoner's side like a machine, then drew the knife like a machine, and then swung the knife like a machine.

The decisiveness and determination of the sword are chilling.

It seems that in his eyes, the tortured person is not a living human being at all, but just a pile of meat.

But on the other hand, his swordsmanship is really amazing!

The movements flowed like flowing water, the lifting seemed light, and the falling knife was as precise as measuring it with a ruler.

The blade cut into the gap between the third and fourth joints of the back of the neck, no more than a hair, and cut off the head, leaving only a layer of skin as thin as a cicada's wings, even faintly translucent.

It was obvious that he was chopping the head with enough force to cut bones and muscles, but he could still stop the force in time, leaving such a thin layer of skin...

Thinking about it now, Qingden still marvels.

At that moment, the idea that "Yamada Asaemon's clan lives up to its name" deeply penetrated into Ayoto's heart.

It is worth mentioning that after Yoshida Shoin, the mentor of the "Three Heroes of Choshu" and the spiritual mentor of the Zunbo sect, was arrested by the shogunate in the sixth year of Ansei (1859), his head was cut off by Yamada Asemon Yoshiki.

Qingden originally thought that after leaving Beifansuo, he would never have any contact with this gloomy family.

He never thought... that he would be related to the children of this family in this way!

Whatever.

No matter what, there is only one thing to do now - find Boss Kiryu and confront him face to face!

…

…

The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), July 25th——

Osaka, the headquarters of Huluya——

"Mr. Tachibana, please come this way."

Qingdeng, led by others, strode towards the depths of the house.

After a while, a beautiful courtyard came into Qingden's sight.

"Mr. Ju, you're fine."

In the center of the courtyard, Boss Kiryu held a bowl of bait in his hand and leisurely threw the bait into the pool at his feet to feed the koi in the pool.

Seeing Qingden coming, he immediately put on a soft smile.

"I've heard about the 'Battle of Ikedaya' a while ago."

"Congratulations, you have made another great contribution."

Speaking of this, Boss Kiryu changed the subject and put on a confused tone:

"At this critical moment just after the war, you should have a lot of things to do. Why are you suddenly looking for me?"

Qingdeng ignored his question, strode towards him, and said bluntly:

"Yamada Asaemon Katsumi."

When the name came out, Kiryu boss was struck by lightning, his whole body froze, and his eyes burst into complex and unspeakable emotions.

Qing Deng moved to his side and stared at his eyes.

"Kiryu boss, who is Yamada Asaemon Katsumi?"

Kiryu boss was silent for a moment, then turned his head and looked at each other with a serious expression.

"...Tachibana-kun, where did you hear this name?"

Qing Deng told the other party in detail about the encounter between Souji and others with Prajna.

After listening, Kiryu boss pursed his lips - countless emotions surged in his cheeks.

Qing Deng also did not speak, and waited quietly.

After a while, the old man sighed silently.

"So... you met him..."

He said with a wry smile, poured the remaining bait in his hand into the pond in one breath, and then turned to walk to the corridor next to him.

After sitting down in the corridor, he reached out and patted the empty seat beside him.

"Tachibana-kun, come here and sit here."

Qing Deng did as he was told and sat down next to him.

"To be honest, if possible, I don't want to tell you about this..."

After sighing like this, Kiryu boss looked up at the sky, with a look of nostalgia on his face.

"Where should I start?"

Silence fell between the two.

About 10 seconds later, Kiryu boss said the next sentence:

"Anyway... I'd better tell you my real name first."

"Tachibana-kun, a long time ago, I told you: My real identity is the once world-famous 'Liuguang Hachiman' Mamiya Jiulang."

"Although this is true, in fact, 'Mamiya Jiulang' is also my pseudonym."

"My real name is actually 'Yamada Asaemon Yoshitsune'."

Hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but widen his eyes and cast a horrified look at the old man.

Boss Kiryu smiled and continued:

"I am not only a descendant of the Yamada Asaemon family, but also a direct descendant of the family."

Qing Deng: "..."

At this moment, Qing Deng seemed to have crashed, his eyes were fixed, and he remained silent for a long time - in fact, his brain did stop working temporarily due to the excessive amount of information.

Mamiya Jiulang is not the real name of Boss Kiryu - Qing Deng was not surprised about this.

Because Boss Kiryu is so mysterious and he doesn't often talk about his past, Qing Deng has long suspected that "Mamiya Jiulang" is not his real name.

Qing Deng has made many guesses about the true identity of Boss Kiryu.

He never expected...the truth would be so explosive!

The direct descendant of the Yamada Asaemon family!

At this moment, Qing Deng realized belatedly: his fate with the Yamada Asaemon family seems to be deeper than he expected!

Seeing that Qing Deng had recovered a little, Kiryu boss continued the conversation slowly:

"I am the eldest son of the seventh generation Yamada Asaemon Fumiaki."

"As the eldest son of the family, I should have inherited this huge family business."

"However...some things happened later that made me unhappy with my father, so that in the end I resolutely gave up the family name and left the family."

"Tachibana, you should also know that in addition to testing swords and beheading people, Yamada Asaemon also has a side job of refining medicine."

Qing Deng nodded slightly, his expression changed slightly.

Talking about the Yamada Asaemon family, there is another thing that is widely known and horrifying.

The Yamada Asaemon family is responsible for executing executions and handling corpses.

Generally speaking, these corpses will be kept for testing swords in the future.

However, before being taken to test swords, these corpses have other uses.

This is the famous sideline of the Yamada Asaemon family: using human organs to make medicine!

In ancient Japan, people believed that human liver, brain, gallbladder, and bile were all good things, and believed that human organs could be used as medicine.

In this way, the Yamada Asaemon family made full use of the power to dispose of corpses obtained from the shogunate, and used the liver, gallbladder, brain, etc. in the corpses as raw materials to make medicines such as "human liver pills" and "Asayama pills".

Among them, the most famous pill is the "human gall pill".

It is said that medicine made from human gall is specially used to treat lung diseases, and it is even more effective for blood cough...that is, tuberculosis.

Therefore, high-quality "human gall pills" have always been in short supply.

With one hand testing the knife and the other hand selling medicine, the Yamada Asaemon family made a lot of money and was extremely rich.

In terms of financial resources alone, the Yamada Asaemon family can even be compared with the daimyo with a salary of 30,000 or 40,000 koku.

Not only did they make a living by testing knives and beheading people, but they also used human organs to make medicine... All these things made the general public's impression of the Yamada Asaemon clan basically dark.

There are many urban legends related to the Yamada Asaemon clan circulating in the market.

What about collecting a large number of corpses and secretly doing dark experiments.

What about secretly arresting people to make medicine under the order of the shogunate in order to treat the illnesses of important people.

There are too many to list.

When talking about the part of "unpleasantness with my father", Mr. Kiryu lowered his eyelids and his expression became more sad.

"My father secretly abducted a large number of innocent people under the order of the shogunate and took away their fresh organs to make medicine."

"I really can't agree with this kind of crazy behavior."

"So, I broke with my father and gave up the name of 'Yamada Asaemon'. From then on, I became a ronin."

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket! (豹头泣.jpg)

PS:豹豹子 once considered designing a female swordsman from the Yamada Asaemon family. Since Souji and Sanako already occupied the niche of "female swordsman", it would be boring to design another female swordsman, so I gave up.