I formed the strongest swordsman group

"I didn't even notice who the men I was killing were as I swung the gun around and cut their bodies into pieces."

"At that time, my eyes could no longer see any living beings. I could only see fame and fortune."

"This is the 'romantic Qilin' that people praise - a beast."

"After that, I felt like I had amnesia and couldn't remember what happened next."

"I just remember that someone hit me on the right side of my abdomen with a firearm, causing me to be seriously injured and unconscious."

"When I woke up from the bed, the war was over and the Great Salt Army was completely defeated."

"My outstanding performance in the war successfully attracted the attention and appreciation of the superior officer."

"Shangguan promised me: when I recover, he will recommend me to serve in Kyoto."

"I finally got the fame I wanted...but I'm not even half happy."

"Is this the official body I have been looking forward to?"

"I earned my official status by killing my fellow villagers."

"Is this the warrior I respect most?"

"A warrior who begs for mercy from the superior just to get a little food."

"At that moment, I finally woke up."

"The so-called 'samurai' are just 'slaves with better names'."

“It’s so funny that I’m doing everything I can to become a higher-level slave, even killing my fellow villagers.”

"After the epiphany, I immediately felt my body became lighter - letting go of long-term obsessions, I have never been so free."

"But at the same time, the overwhelming regret makes me miserable."

"Why am I so stupid?"

“Why couldn’t I have understood these truths earlier?”

"Whenever I think of the tragic deaths of the villagers, I want to tear all the skin off my body with my bare hands."

"After I recovered from my injuries, I declined Shangguan's recommendation and became a wanderer with no fixed abode."

"The 'Langhua Qilin'er' disappeared and became an inconspicuous little wave in the long river of history."

"I was really confused during that time."

"When you're hungry, just eat some berries and chew some tree bark. When you're tired, just fall asleep."

"Sometimes I walk east, sometimes I walk south, just wandering aimlessly."

“‘Let’s just die like this’—that was the only thought I had at that time.”

"Until one day, I met Miss Sumire."

Speaking of this, Tojo Shintaro paused, then changed the subject and asked Ayoto:

"Your Highness, you don't know Miss Sumire's past, right?"

Qingden shook his head.

He didn't know her true identity as the intelligence chief of the Salt Party until not long ago, so how could he know her past?

Seeing Qingden shake his head, Tojo Shintaro put on a calm smile:

"In that case, I will tell you briefly."

“The vast majority of the members of the Great Salt Party are poor, miserable, and unsustainable lower class people.”

“That’s why I think ‘against his mother’.”

"However, Miss Sumire is not like that."

"She is the daughter of the Eight Thousand Shi family, and she is a true lady of the family."

When Qingdeng heard this, he was not only surprised.

The banner of Yachishi Kaoroku... In the Edo period, this was truly the best among men!

Hatamoto at this level will basically hold important positions in the shogunate. They need status and income.

The daimyo had an entire group of samurai to support, and he looked like he had a territory of tens of thousands of koku or hundreds of thousands, but he often couldn't make ends meet and had to rely on loans to survive.

In contrast, Hatamoto does not have such a big burden.

Therefore, the quality of life of Hatamoto, the eight-thousand-shi family, is superior to that of most daimyo.

Since Miss Sumire is from a famous family, Qingden understands where her extraordinary noble temperament, excellent conversation, and the confidence in her behavior come from.

Tojo Shintaro’s words continued:

"She could have lived a happy life in fine clothes and fine food."

"However, she has a compassionate and kind heart."

"Just because she sympathized with the poor and wanted to see no more injustice in the world, she resolutely abandoned her privileged life and joined the Great Salt Party without hesitation."

"Miss Sumire is like my opposite."

"She is the rich lady, and I am the 'Trinity Warrior'."

"She regarded fame and fortune as rubbish, and ran around in order to realize the great ideal of 'university under heaven'. She worked tirelessly and enjoyed it as much as she could."

"But I did all the bad things just for my own selfish desires."

"Compared to her, I'm like a maggot in a cesspit..."

"I will skip the details for now. In short, after meeting Miss Sumire by chance, I explained my past to her."

"I thought she was going to scold me."

"No matter how you look at it, I am an inhuman beast."

"No matter how viciously she cursed me, I deserved it."

"Unexpectedly... after listening to my past, she actually said to me: 'Do you want to join the Great Salt Party?'"

"Honestly, I thought I heard it wrong."

"I am an executioner with lots of blood on my hands. I have personally killed countless people who are loyal to the Salt Party."

"I had a share in the failure of the 'Ohio Heihachiro Uprising'."

"After I raised the question, she said to me coldly: 'You have been a coward in the first half of your life, do you want to continue to be a coward in the second half of your life?'"

"Haha...this sentence is really merciless..."

"At that time, Miss Sumire was just a teenage girl - if you think about it, she was really amazing. She was obviously a young girl who had not yet left the government, but she already had such a high level of consciousness."

"I was actually educated by a girl who was less than half my age... It was such a wonderful experience."

"There is nothing to tell in detail about the rest of the story."

"Perhaps I was moved by Miss Sumire's words, and I finally agreed to join the Great Salt Party."

"With Miss Sumire's recommendation, I successfully became a new member of the Great Salt Party."

"Then, the organization got me a new household registration and identity, and helped me break into the Edo Kita Bureau."

"At this point, the 'Kirinji of Nangaka' Kazami Ichima has passed away, and has been replaced by Edo Kitabansho Chokai and Riki Tojo Shintaro."

"The official position I once dreamed of was easily obtained this time, and I was one of the 'Three Sons of Edo'... It made me feel more and more that I was a hilarious buffoon."

[Note: The three men of Edo: the three most popular professions among women in Edo (Yuriki, Sumo Wrestler, and Fire Shoto). With strength comes wealth, a sumo wrestler is powerful, and Huo Xiaotou (fire brigade captain) is courageous. 】

"The reason why I chose to join the Great Salt Party was not to atone for my sins."

"As I said before, I don't have that high level of consciousness."

"My purpose in doing this is purely to make my heart feel better."

"Every time I make some contribution to the development and growth of the Great Salt Party, it brings me some comfort and makes me feel that I am not so hopeless."

"This is my story."

"There's no soul-stirring plot."

"There was only one clown who jumped up and down on the stage and performed a ridiculous rant."

[Note: Kyogen: Kyogen is a comedy-type drama. It uses characters or events based on the real world to give samurai and other aristocratic classes a biting satire in a humorous way. 】

"Anyway, I'm already a ridiculous clown, so I don't bother to clean up my appearance. Just do whatever you want."

"Drink whatever you like."

“Eat whatever food you like.”

"I will no longer practice spear skills... to be more precise, unless I have to, I don't want to be exposed to spear skills that I am not interested in at all."

"Unconsciously, it became like this."

As he spoke, he weighed his huge belly like a rubber ball, and the soft fat swayed.

"That's fine."

"This appearance is more suitable for the image of a 'harlequin'."

Shintaro Tojo finished speaking.

Qingdeng remained silent.

An audible silence fell between the two of them.

To be honest, Qingden really didn't know what to say now.

There is no doubt that Tojo Shintaro's past is a tragedy.

The pressure of reality and the flaws of human nature have turned the once brilliant and talented gunman into the depraved state he is today.

Before Aoto could open his mouth to break the silence, Tojo Shintaro spoke again on his own:

"Your Highness, if there is nothing else to do, I would like to excuse you."

Qingdeng was stunned, then nodded mechanically:

"Um."

Tojo Shintaro turned back and walked towards the door.

When he reached out and was about to open the door, he seemed to remember something, paused, and said seriously:

"Your Highness, please don't call me 'Feng Jian Yima' again."

"Don't ever mention the title of 'The Kirin'er of Langhua' again."

"'Wind Seeing a Horse' is dead."

"The person standing here now is 'Tojo Shintaro'."

"How can a beast like me bear the name of 'prodigal'?"

After saying that, Shintaro Tojo didn't stay any longer, opened the door with a bang and left.

Listening to the footsteps gradually fading away, Qingdeng sighed silently.

After listening to Tojo Shintaro's story, he felt nothing but a heavy heart.

In this world full of injustice, it is really difficult for ordinary people to live with dignity...

——Go for a walk outside.

Just as he was thinking this, new footsteps came from outside the door - very familiar footprints.

Aoto knew as soon as he heard it: Yataro Iwasaki is here.

Sure enough, within a moment, Yataro Iwasaki's voice came from outside the door:

"Lord, it's me!"

"Come in."

Yataro Iwasaki opened the door and entered.

"Yataro, is something wrong?"

Qingden asked bluntly.

As Aoto's die-hard supporter and core confidant, Iwasaki Yataro does not deliberately follow red tape when he and Aoto are alone, and is more natural and casual.

Facing Qingdeng's inquiry, he looked bitter and said bluntly:

"Lord, it's a pity that I still haven't been able to find 'Wan Liangang'..."

After hearing this, Qingdeng raised his eyebrows, a look of helplessness appearing on his cheeks.

"That's it..."

As he spoke, he walked towards the sword stand not far away, picked up Vairocana, and pulled out the sword with a bang.

A dazzling purple sword light wandered in the air.

I saw that the blade that was as clean as new before was covered with dense gaps! Straight as a saw!

It's dense enough to make trypophobia patients get goosebumps!

The unprecedented decisive battle between Qingden and Keji caused Vairocana to suffer extremely serious injuries.

There were 16 major injuries and 81 minor injuries...Thanks to Vairocana's rare sword.

An ordinary sword would have been broken long ago after suffering such heavy damage.

In fact, this also proves the superior quality of Vairochana. He fought against the "Supreme Great Property" Chang Soni Kotetsu but did not fall behind at all.

After careful inspection by the knifesmiths, they finally made a unanimous judgment: this knife cannot be repaired! Either recast the blade or simply replace it!

Changing the knife is impossible.

Vairocana is the sword that Kiryu's boss solemnly entrusted to Qingto. It is of great significance. Qingto will never replace Vairocana.

In this case, the only option is to recast the blade.

It is a pity that Vairocana was seriously damaged.

But if you think about it from another angle, this may not be a valuable opportunity!

If you want to recast the blade, you need to find the right steel.

Recasting Vairocana's blade with ordinary steel will definitely lower its quality.

On the other hand, if Vairocana's blade is recast with top-notch steel, it can be brought back to its original level, and perhaps its quality can even be raised to a higher level!

Speaking of top-notch steel, a name immediately jumped into Qingdeng’s mind: Wan Liangang!

According to Kiryu's boss, Wanliang Steel is a top-notch steel material that can only be found and is rare enough to be called a "legend".

The blade of a sword made of "Ten Thousand Refined Steel" will appear jet black, and its sharpness and toughness are both extraordinary and unmatched by ordinary swords.

There is no doubt that if tens of thousands of steel are used to recast Vairocana's sword, it will be reborn from the ashes and its quality will be greatly improved!

So, while Aoto entrusted Rin Kinoshita to help find "Wanren Steel", he also gave an order to Iwasaki Yataro, asking him to use his maximum strength to collect information about "Wanren Steel".

Although Qingden had long expected that the legendary steel would not be so easy to find, the results before his eyes still made him feel discouraged.

Neither Rin Kinoshita nor Yataro Iwasaki worked hard but to no avail.

In fact, Kinoshita Lin had been trying to find this legendary steel a long time ago.

However, over the years, not even the slightest news or intelligence has been received, not to mention that "Wan Liangang" has been found.

This made Qingdeng wonder: Could it be that "Wan Lian Steel" is just a product of people's imagination?

All in all, although he didn’t want to give up so soon, he still couldn’t find the current situation of “Wan Steel”, so Qingdeng had to start thinking about alternative plans:

——We might as well settle for the next best thing and recast Vairochana with the best steel available on the market...

…

…

Tosa Domain, Kochi Castle (the feudal hall of Tosa Domain), prison——

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-!"

In the past, Okada Izo, who was known as 'The Man Killed Izo', looked up to the sky and screamed.

Okada Izo, who was subjected to the "stone hug torture", had two large stones pressed on his legs.

Under the pressure of the heavy stone, he felt that the muscles in his legs were about to tear and the leg bones were about to break.

It's hard to describe the severe pain.

Okada Izo shouted until his voice became hoarse, and his vocal cords seemed to be torn at any time.

After the volume gradually died down, the executioner on the side immediately asked in a ferocious tone:

"Speak quickly! Did Takeichi Hanheita order the assassin to kill Yoshida Toyo?!"

Yoshida Toyo—the elder of the Tosa Domain, a very famous capable minister.

The grievances between Yoshida Toyo and the Tosa Kinnobu clan have been going on for a long time.

To put it simply, Yoshida Toyo believed that "respecting the foreigners and opposing the foreigners" was really absurd and unsettling and not worth refuting, so he disliked the Tosa Kinnobu Party very much.

Due to his extraordinary talents, Toyo Yoshida was deeply trusted by the former lord of the Tosa domain, Yamauchi Toyonori, and the current lord of the domain, Yamauchi Toyonori.

With the strong support of the two feudal lords, Yoshida Toyo took control of the Tosa Domain and launched a series of drastic reforms, which greatly increased Tosa's national power and suppressed the Tosa Kinnoi Party.

On April 8, the second year of Bunkyu (1862), Yoshida Toyo was brutally assassinated on his way home, and even his head was chopped off.

The power vacuum created after Toyo Yoshida's death was quickly filled by the Tosa Kinnoi Party, and the leader of the Tosa Kinnoi Party, Takeichi Hanheita, took advantage of the situation and took over.

In this way, anyone would think that Takeichi Hanheita was the culprit who killed Yoshida Toyo.

However, due to lack of evidence, Wushi Banpingtai could only be allowed to go free.

It was not until the "August 18th Coup" a year ago that the anti-rebellion movement suffered a severe blow that things finally turned around.

Since the death of Toyo Yoshida, the Tosa Kinou Party, which was at the height of its power in Tosa, lost power almost overnight.

Under the personal leadership of Aoshinobu, the Shinsengumi launched a blanket search in Kyoto Town, arresting members of the Tosa Kinou Party everywhere.

Core members of the Tosa Kinnoi Party such as Takeichi Hanheita and Okada Izo were arrested one after another and were all sent to the Tosa Domain for trial.

With the collapse of the Tosa Kinnoir Party, the current person in charge of the power of the Tosa Domain is named Goto Shojiro.

This man is the nephew of Toyo Yoshida... One can imagine his attitude towards the Tosa Kinnoi gang who may have killed his uncle.

Tosa Domain is one of the most strictly hierarchical vassals among all the vassals.

Samurai are divided into three categories: "Shangshi", "Baizha Xiangshi" and "Xiangshi".

Banping Taiyuan of Wu City was a "Hakuza Township Scholar". After the Tosa Kinwang Party developed, he was promoted to "Shangshi".

According to the laws of the Tosa Domain, "sergeants" have the privilege of being "immune from punishment."

Therefore, after Takeichi Hanheita was escorted back to Tosa Domain, he has been imprisoned in a cell. Apart from losing his personal freedom, he has not been tortured at all.

On the other hand, the other members of the Tosa Kinno Party... they suffered.

Goto Shojiro was determined to find the real murderer who killed his uncle (Yoshida Toyo), so he issued a death order: pry evidence from these bastards at all costs!

Among them, Okada Izo, the "human killer of Izo", became the most "cared for" object.

Okada Izo said so many dirty words for Takechi Hanpeita, he is most likely to know the various dark histories of the Tosa Kinno Party!

As long as Okada Izo reveals a little bit of the truth, it will be enough to punish Takechi Hanpeita with the death penalty!

Request for monthly tickets! Request for recommendation tickets! (Baotou crying.jpg)

PS: You can review Chapter 43 of Volume 1. Since then, Baobaozi has been paving the way for Tojo Shintaro's past.