I formed the strongest swordsman group

Yamata no Orochi shook his head.

"No, not 'bloody cough'."

"I've never coughed up blood, so it couldn't be a 'blood cough.'"

"The doctors can't tell exactly what the disease is."

"They said I got sick from overwork."

"Forget it, just death is nothing to be afraid of."

"Because I know I am terminally ill, every extra day I live feels like I have earned something, which adds a strange sense of joy, hahaha!"

After saying that, he laughed out loud with a calm expression.

There was no fear of death in the laughter.

Looking at Yamata-no-Orochi laughing magnanimously, Katsura and Takasugi had a faint look of admiration on their cheeks.

To be honest, they still couldn't believe that this fat man with a stout figure who would gasp out of breath even if he walked a few steps quickly could be the leader of the Punishment Party...

In their imagination, the leader of the Fa-Zhu Party, who led countless capable people and made the shogunate very troubled, should be a tycoon who could dominate the sea and the sky.

In fact, even today, they still don't know the specific reasons why fierce men such as Otakemaru and Shuten Doji only obey him.

However, what Yamata no Orochi said just now, as well as the performances he showed, made Gui and Takasugi slightly change their views on him.

They had to give high praise to his optimism.

Knowing that he was terminally ill, not only was he not timid at all, but he responded with a smile - this is not something that everyone can do.

…

…

Starting from the end of October, the shogunate and the imperial court launched a series of actions.

First of all, the imperial court once again designated the Maori family as enemies of the court and deprived Maori Qingqi and his son of their ranks and official positions.

At that time, Qingqin Mouri's rank was from the fourth rank to Lieutenant General Sakonoe Kwon; Mori Sadahiro was from the fourth rank below, Major General Sakonoe Kwon - now, all of their honorary titles are gone.

The shogunate took back the taboos and names of Mori Keichika and Mori Sadahiro (Moori Keichika's son), and canceled the daimyo treatment.

The two therefore changed their names to "Maori Jingqin" and "Maori Guangfeng".

[Note: Partial taboo: The upper-ranking person in Wu family society gives the lower-ranking person a taboo of their own name to establish a master-slave relationship. The word "kei" for Mori Keichika comes from the 12th generation shogun Tokugawa Ieyei, and the word "sada" for Mouri Sadahikotoku comes from the 13th generation shogun Tokugawa Ieyada. 】

Since the establishment of the Edo shogunate, each generation of governors and crown princes of the Maori family have been given the titles of "Matsudaira Daisen Doctor" and "Matsudaira Nagatoshou" by the Tokugawa family, which is a status symbol.

Nowadays, these honors have been confiscated, and he can no longer be called Matsudaira, but can only be called Maori Ozen and Maori Nagato.

Not only that, the feudal residences of the Mori family in Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka were confiscated, and the daimyo and his retainers were prohibited from leaving the feudal territory.

There was a periodical called "Wu Jian", which was like today's current affairs news magazine, allowing ordinary people to understand political developments.

Since the Maori family was accused of being enemies of the DPRK, all reports and news about the Maori family have been deleted.

Anyone can see that this is the shogunate building momentum for the "Changzhou Expedition"! Launch political criticism in advance to belittle and weaken Changzhou to the greatest extent.

It is not difficult to judge that Tokugawa Iemo is indeed planning to drive out the Mori family!

If not, it wouldn't be possible.

Thanks to the dual efforts of the shogunate and the imperial court, Changzhou has been demoted as an enemy of both the dynasty and the emperor.

Before the battle even started, the Tokugawa army took advantage of the moral advantage.

For this war, Tokugawa Iemoji really put all his energy and painstaking efforts into it.

In fact, the surrender proposal of the Changshu conservatives was not without purpose.

It has to be said that they were very aware of the weak character of the shogunate.

Since Tokugawa Iemo announced the launch of the "Changshu Expedition", anti-war factions with considerable energy and loud voices immediately emerged within the shogunate.

These guys who strongly advocate anti-war have said: Soldiers are a major matter of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival, and they must be observed!

But we can't fight! Fighting is time-consuming and expensive!

It is really not worth the trouble and money just to clean up the small Changzhou.

If you want to make Changzhou surrender, you can use other methods.

For example: pretending to attack, assuming a posture of approaching the city, forcing Changzhou to surrender.

After the Maori family submits the transfer form, they will symbolically reduce their fiefdoms and give each other a step down, so that both sides can get along with each other, and the matter will be over.

In order to convince Tokugawa Iemo, they hung up their book bags and quoted from classics.

From Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's three expeditions to Goguryeo, which exhausted the country's power, to Toyotomi Taikaku's expedition to Korea, there were widespread complaints.

All in all, there is only one thing they want to express: this battle must not be fought!

If it was the incompetent former general Tokugawa Iesada, he might have let these guys fool him.

However, Tokugawa Iemo was not Tokugawa Iesada, let alone the kind of mediocre man without any opinion.

Tokugawa Iemo dared not compare himself to the emperor of the Han Dynasty or Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. He never believed that he had any extraordinary talents, but he was well versed in the principle of "beating a drowned dog".

After experiencing tragic defeats in the "Shimonoseki War", "Ikedaya Incident", and "Kyoto Summer Battle", Choshu today is in its weakest period in three hundred years.

If we don’t attack now, when will we wait?

Today's Changzhou is a flag - the flag of the Zhengxing Movement.

Tokugawa Iemo finally figured it out: Only by eliminating the unstable element of Choshu and breaking this flag can we completely suppress the absurd Zongzheng movement and bring peace to the world!

Furthermore, he really hates the appearance of these "anti-war factions".

Although they were well-mannered and looked like loyal ministers and righteous men, Tokugawa Iemo could clearly see that every one of these guys was full of benevolence, justice and morality, and they were full of male thieves and female prostitutes.

Were they really concerned about the shogunate and considering its future, so they strongly opposed the war?

After being a general who conquered barbarians for so many years, Tokugawa Iemo finally understood one thing: You must not trust all the princes without authorization, let alone think that they are good people!

The reason why they opposed the attack on Changzhou was purely because it would not be beneficial to them.

If this battle is won, the only ones who will benefit are Tokugawa Iemo who launched the battle, and Aoto, Matsudaira Yōho and others who personally directed the battle.

If this battle is lost, the authority of the shogunate will suffer a devastating blow, which will further affect his family's fame and fortune.

Since this matter has no benefit to me at all, and on the contrary, I have to bear a lot of risks, then why should I get involved?

If they frankly admitted, "Yes, I am selfish and I only think about my family," then Tokugawa Iemo would feel better.

But these guys clearly only care about their own personal interests, but they insist on showing themselves as loyal ministers and good generals, which makes Tokugawa Iemo furious.

To put it bluntly, the longer he stayed in the position of general, the more he hated these hypocritical bastards.

I will never do the real thing, but it will be a positive thing to help.

Faced with the strong obstruction of the "anti-war faction", Tokugawa Iemo launched an uncompromising struggle.

"I have made up my mind, and I will not return it until I break Changzhou!"

He devoted himself to promoting the implementation of the "Changzhou Expedition" and even engaged in fierce verbal battles with "anti-war factions" in Daguang on several occasions.

[Note·Ohiroma: The famous room in Edo Castle. New Year's homage to the shogun, the shogun's announcement of government decrees, the publication of samurai's laws and other official activities of the shogunate were all held in this room. 】

Still the same saying: political power comes from the barrel of a gun.

The two brightest stars in the current shogunate government are Aoto and Katsurintaro.

One of them single-handedly created the Shogunate Navy, and the other single-handedly created the Shinsengumi. At the same time, they commanded the Eight Princes and thousands of people.

These two fierce men were both Tokugawa Iemo's confidants. It is not an exaggeration to call them Tokugawa Iemo's right-hand men.

In this way, under the intimidation of the two pillars of Aoto and Katsurintaro, although Tokugawa Iemoji's power cannot be said to be all-powerful, it cannot be shaken by these empty talkers.

The ministers could oppose Tokugawa Iemo, but they had to consider the consequences and costs of doing so.

No one wants to form irreconcilable differences with the number one man in the shogunate's army and the number one man in the shogunate's navy.

In this way, just as Katsura and Takasugi convinced the conservatives, Tokugawa Iemoge also successfully suppressed the anti-war forces, unified his thinking, and barely integrated the various forces within the shogunate.

As soon as the "August 18th Coup" ended, Tokugawa Iemo put the "Choshu Expedition" on the agenda.

After more than a year of careful efforts, manpower and materials have been put in place.

All the work being done so far is just the end of this long war preparation.

Time passes...

Finally...the day of dispatching troops has arrived!

…

…

The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), November 18th——

Somewhere in the wilderness on the western outskirts of Kyoto, a certain tent——

call! call! call! call! call! call! call! call!

The sound of sharp wind breaking came and went.

Qingdeng was alone in the tent, repeatedly waving the new sword in his hand.

Horizontal chops, vertical chops, diagonal chops, upward lifts, straight thrusts... Every move and style shows the style of a master, and the sword's tendon is extremely upright.

About 3 minutes later, he slowly stopped, let out a long breath, and then looked down at the new knife in his hand.

"I finally got used to it a little bit..."

The bright mirror-like blade reflected his crushed face.

Vairocana sent it to be recast.

The ghosts and gods were lent to the chief secretary.

Although Qingdeng still has the family heirloom knife Ju Shui in his inventory, its quality is difficult for him to discern.

In this way, Qingdeng fell into the dilemma of having no sword to use.

As the president of the army, the general of the Shinsengumi, and the strongest swordsman in the shogunate, if he didn't even have a good sword, wouldn't it be a joke?

Regardless of these false reputations, not having a good sword at hand will indeed have a great impact on Qingdeng's strength.

As a result, Qingdeng issued a reward to collect good knives. Anyone who can provide good knives will be generously rewarded.

As soon as this reward was issued, countless people came to offer their swords.

Although there were many people coming, only a few offered good swords.

However, it is natural that his journey of "looking for a knife" is not destined to go smoothly.

Those world-famous good knives and precious knives are either broken in the slashing, or they are kept in the homes of famous families and never go out.

There are only a handful of excellent swords left among the people.

Finally, after a swordsmith in Kyoto heard that Admiral Tachibana was conquering the road, he immediately went straight to Otsu to sell his treasured sword-Bizen Nagafun!

Just like "Nagaso Ni Kotetsu" and "Izumi Mori Kanesada", Bizen Nagabune is also a brand name, commonly known as Nagabune.

Talking about the Bizen Nagabune, its name is really unknown to everyone. It can be said to be one of the most famous schools in Japan with the longest history and the most stable quality of swords.

The Bizen Nagafune sect had at least 2,000 swordsmen during the ancient sword period. The knives of this genre are of excellent quality and large in quantity.

Its prosperity is due to the high-quality iron ore nearby, and the quality of its sand and gravel is among the best in Japan. In addition, the water quality nearby is also suitable for making swords, and the rich forest resources also provide a lot of charcoal.

In addition, the Bizen Osafune school is far away from the center of political power and is not affected by the change of regime. Therefore, it can provide swords to the national market and lead the trend of the times, and many famous craftsmen have emerged.

Swordsmith schools across Japan, no matter how famous or big, have a common problem, that is, they cannot maintain quality.

For example, only the second generation of Izumi no Kami Kanesada's sword is top-quality, and the swords of other generations are not very good.

There is also Tsuda Sukehiro. The first generation of Tsuda Sukehiro is the famous "Mogami Daiyomo", but the swords forged by his descendants are mostly mediocre.

It is rare to have a school like Bizen Osafune that continuously outputs good swords with quite stable quality.

The Bizen Osafune presented by the swordsmith is the most famous of all the swords collected this time.

Qing Deng invited the most professional sword appraiser he knew, Mr. Kiryu, to help him identify it.

Mr. Kiryu carefully appraised every detail of the Bizen Osafune with the professional skills unique to the Yamada Asaemon family.

His appraisal results are as follows: This sword should be the work of Bizen Osafune Hidemitsu, and the quality is acceptable. Although it is not a masterpiece of the time, it is indeed a good sword and can be classified as a "business".

Business... This rating made Qing Deng a little disappointed.

He did not expect to get the "most superior business" that was hard to come by.

However, he had expectations for the "big business".

Of course, he also knew in his heart that it was a blessing to be able to get a "business".

Therefore, he readily bought the Bizen Osafune for 500 taels of gold.

Interestingly, in the process of looking for a good sword, Qing Deng accidentally heard a very interesting rumor: Kikuichimonji Norimune who was wandering among the people!

Kikuichimonji Norimune - Since it is named after "chrysanthemum", it is not difficult to see that this sword is related to the Kyoto royal family.

In fact, it is true.

In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Emperor Go-Toba commissioned the Bizen Province Ichimonji school swordsmith Ichimonji Norimune to forge a tachi - this sword is Kikuichimonji Norimune.

The blade is 78.48CM long, the blade is extremely long, and the blade is thin and thin. The 16-petal chrysanthemum family emblem representing the royal family is engraved near the handle of the blade, and a horizontal Ichimonji pattern is engraved below it.

This sword has a history of 800 years. Because of its long history, it is a national treasure-level ancient sword.

There are generally two opinions about the practicality of Kikuichimonji Norimune.

One is that Kikuichimonji Norimune is a royal weapon, that is, a ritual vessel, mostly used for decoration, and most of them are used to show majesty.

Although its overly slender blade looks good, it is not suitable for combat.

The other is that Kikuichimonji Norimune ensures both its beauty and practicality.

Its blade is very sharp. In terms of sharpness, it is not inferior to the Mogami Daiyōmono.

Regardless of which statement is correct, Qing Deng has some interest in this sword.

So, he spent some time to find out the whereabouts of this ancient sword.

Then, he heard such a story:

About 30 years ago, the long-lost Kikuichimonji Norimune reappeared in the world and was owned by a powerful swordsman named Seta Sotaro.

Seta Sotaro is a martial arts fanatic obsessed with swordsmanship. He challenges masters everywhere and wins every battle.

Just as he was triumphant all the way, he suddenly met an extraordinary hermit.

The opponent defeated Seta Sotaro without any effort.

Seta Sotaro was convinced of his defeat and admitted defeat. He said loudly that "the sword is worthy of the master", and then presented the Kikuichimonji Norimune on his waist to the opponent.

Thus, Kikuchimonji Norimune fell into the hands of this hermit master.

Who is this extremely powerful hermit master?

There is no conclusion yet.

In fact, even whether this story is true or not is a question.

In short, Qing Deng tried to find Kikuchimonji Norimune, but as expected, he found nothing.

Anyway, he didn't expect to get this long-lost sword, so Qing Deng didn't feel disappointed.

After getting the Bizen Osafune, Qing Deng practiced basic swordsmanship every day and tried to get used to it.

The Bizen Osafune is good, but Qing Deng, who is used to Vairocana, really found it difficult to adapt for a while.

The more powerful the warrior is, the more he will pay attention to the degree of adjustment between himself and the weapon.

At Qing Deng's level, he rarely encounters a strong man who is stronger than him or far stronger than him.

When fighting with a guy with similar strength, the main thing is to compete in various details.

For example, whether he slept well last night.

Another example is whether the weapon in his hand is satisfactory.

From the beginning, Qingdeng and Vairocana had a high degree of fit.

Weight, length, blade curvature... Every detail of Vairocana is in perfect harmony with Qingdeng.

It is no exaggeration to say that this sword is tailor-made for Qingdeng! It seems that the only purpose of its birth is to become Qingdeng's sword!

Whenever Qingdeng holds Vairocana, he does not feel that he is "holding the sword", but feels that his arm is extended.

Man and sword are one, nothing more than this.

But now, holding this strange sword, he suddenly feels very uncomfortable.

No matter how he swings it, it feels wrong.

To make a vivid analogy: every time he swings the Bizen Osafune, it feels like running with a prosthetic leg or playing basketball with a prosthetic hand.

Although such a metaphor is a bit exaggerated, it is indeed Qing Deng's true feeling.

However, after a long period of running-in, he is finally used to this new sword.

Just as Qing Deng was about to continue to run-in the new sword, suddenly, footsteps came from far away outside the tent.

In a moment, Hijikata Toshizo, dressed in Western style, lifted the curtain and leaned in half:

"Tachibana, the soldiers are all here."

Hijikata Toshizo seemed to be completely in love with that suit.

Now he always wears this suit whether in public or in private.

Qing Deng heard it and nodded gently:

"Okay, I'll come right away."

He sheathed the sword, grabbed the clothes next to him, dressed neatly, and strode towards the tent.

When leaving the tent, the dazzling sunlight shone directly.

The rising sun was hanging high behind the mountains in the east, and the sky was clear.

Right in front of Qing Deng was a large flat wilderness.

In the wilderness, tens of thousands of soldiers lined up in a black formation, towering into the sky!

The sunflower flag representing the shogunate, the gentian leaf flag representing the Qinjin domain, the majesty flag representing the Shinsengumi, the Aizu sunflower flag representing the Aizu domain, the Maru cross flag representing the Satsuma domain, the Owari sunflower flag representing the Owari domain...

The large flags of different colors and patterns fluttered in the morning breeze.

After Qing Deng stepped onto the high platform used for military parades and selecting generals, all the generals had arrived.

Seeing Qing Deng coming, generals such as Yamanami Keisuke, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, and Saigo Yoshinosuke came forward one after another.

Just three days ago, the shogunate issued a formal appointment: Qinjin Domain Lord Tachibana Aoto was appointed as the governor-general of the Seicho, Owari Domain Lord Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, Fukui Domain Lord Matsudaira Shigeaki, Aizu Domain Lord Matsudaira Yoshiyasu were appointed as deputy governors-general, and Satsuma Domain Lord Saigo Yoshinosuke was appointed as the chief of staff!

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu - the current lord of Owari Domain, now 40 years old.

Matsudaira Shigeaki - the current lord of Fukui Domain, now 28 years old.

The reason why these two people were appointed as deputy governors-general of the campaign was purely out of political considerations.

Owari Domain and Fukui Domain were both very large vassal domains, with the former enjoying a royal rank of 619,000 koku and the latter enjoying a royal rank of 320,000 koku.

The main reason for letting them serve as deputy governors-general of the campaign was to give them a title to show the importance the shogunate attached to the vassal domains.

Owari Domain and Echizen Domain both sent troops to participate in this campaign, and it would be unreasonable if they were not given a resounding and weighty title.

Yamanami Keisuke said to Qing Deng word by word:

"Tachibana-kun, all the troops have been assembled and can set off at any time!"

Qing Deng nodded slightly, then held the sword at his waist, moved to the front of the platform, and overlooked the wilderness below.

Looking up, dense crowds of people filled the field of vision.

The Shinsengumi, Aizu Army, Satsuma Army, and troops from Owari, Fukui and other domains were arranged in square formations, covering the horizon that Qing Deng could see.

Under the sunlight, various equipment such as spears, muskets, and cannons shone brightly.

Seeing Qing Deng appear, no one knew who started it, waving the spear in his hand and cheering loudly.

Then, as if a chain reaction had started, more and more people discovered Qing Deng, and more and more cheers were heard.

The shouts connected into pieces, one after another, deafening, as if even the sky and the earth trembled a few times!

Looking at the spectacular scene of thousands of troops and listening to the endless cheers, Qing Deng took a deep breath and slightly suppressed the excitement in his heart.

Then, he waved his hand, and the hem of the light green feather fabric was raised high.

"Let's go!!"

...

...

On November 18, 1864, the shogunate officially dispatched troops, with 200,000 troops divided into three routes to conquer Choshu.

The conquest of Choshu, the war begins!

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PS: In historical facts, the governor-general of the expedition to Choshu was Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, the lord of Owari Domain, and the vice-governor-general of the expedition to Choshu was Matsudaira Shigeaki, the lord of Fukui Domain. They were all in name only, and the actual command of the army was in the hands of the staff officer Saigo Yoshinosuke.