I formed the strongest swordsman group

To be fair, Yoshinosuke Saigo is worthy of being the first of the three great men of Satsuma and he deserves the title.

The expedition to Choshu, the fall of Nobi, the Edo emergency, the second great return of China, the second Battle of Sekigahara, the siege of Edo Castle, the failure of the expedition to Choshu... Looking back, this series of changes in events is like a large-scale chain of events.

Just as Aoto led the Shinsengumi to rescue Edo, Saigo Yoshinosuke designed a series of schemes to make the "Choshu Expedition" fail.

At first glance, it seemed that Satsuma, Choshu, and France had formed an alliance and united to destroy the shogunate's plan to conquer Japan.

But after careful consideration, Qing Deng gave up this judgment.

Based on the currently known information and his own intuition, Qing Deng does not think that Satsuma has any affair with Chang and Fa.

Although he couldn't explain it, Qing Deng was certain that at the very beginning, Saigo Yoshinosuke had never thought that Nobi and Kanto would be attacked, and he had never thought of usurping the real power of the Anti-Chang'e Corps.

Whether it was to dethrone Matsudaira Yoshinobu or to make peace with Choshu, it was all his spur-of-the-moment ideas! There was no prior planning!

If the Fachi coalition had not attacked the rear, Qing Deng would have been able to stay in the Tiaochang Corps.

In this way, the disintegration of the Anti-Chang Army would not be possible.

Apart from anything else, Qing Deng's own prestige is enough to suppress the villains under his command.

Under such circumstances, Yoshinosuke Saigo had no room to carry out the "rebellion of the lower" strategy, and he certainly wouldn't dare to cause trouble under Qing Deng's nose.

In other words... everything started with Qing Deng's sudden departure and the power vacuum that resulted from it.

If ordinary people were faced with such a major decision that affects their own lives and even directly affects the direction of history, they would most likely be hesitant and unable to make a decision.

It took only a little over a month from the time Qing Deng left the front line of the Long March to the time when Matsudaira Yoshiyasu was sidelined.

Yoshinosuke Saigo was able to make a judgment in such a short time and take action immediately... Such courage is truly second to none.

Poor Matsudaira Yoshiyasu, he was played around by him.

Although Qing Deng did not know why Saigo Yoshinosuke wanted to protect Choshu, it was not difficult to guess.

It's nothing more than a matter of mutual dependence. They didn't want the shogunate to be the only powerful force and wanted to maintain a situation of "many heroes rising up".

If the expedition had been successful, the authority of the shogunate would have been greatly increased, which would not have been good for Satsuma.

Only by keeping Choshu can the shogunate's power be dispersed to the greatest extent and the pressure on Satsuma be shared.

In any case, in terms of the results, Yoshinosuke Saigo and the Satsuma behind him are undoubtedly one of the biggest winners of this battle!

Not only did he save Choshu, he preserved the power of Satsuma, and he also saved face for the various feudal domains. After all, it was thanks to Saigo Yoshinosuke's strong mediation that the war ended early and the troops of the various feudal domains were able to return home as soon as possible.

Kill three birds with one stone...what a brilliant plan.

Yoshinosuke Saigo is really like a poisonous snake...If he doesn't move, it's fine, but once he moves, he will rush to your fatal spot!

However, this time, Samo had no way back.

He made peace with Choshu without authorization, causing the "Choshu Expedition" to fail... This move was tantamount to cutting himself off from the pro-shogunate camp!

As early as the "August 18th Coup" a year and a half ago, Satsuma and Choshu had forged a blood feud.

The Satsuma army played a vital role in driving the Choshu forces out of Kyoto that night.

Since the "August 18th Coup", the words most commonly written on the soles of the shoes by the Choshu patriots, besides "Tachibana Aoto", are the three derogatory terms "Qin monster", "Hui traitor" and "Sa thief".

In the subsequent "Kyoto Summer Campaign", the Satsuma army also made a considerable contribution and had the blood of many Choshu people on their hands, which further intensified the hatred between the two sides.

The people of Choshu hated Satsuma so much that it would not be an exaggeration to say that they "wished to eat its flesh alive."

At present, Satsuma first had a feud with the Sonjo camp, and then offended the Shogunate camp... From a diplomatic perspective, Satsuma is already in the embarrassing situation of being an "international orphan".

What exactly is Saigo Yoshinosuke thinking? What is he going to do next?

It is absolutely impossible for a single domain to fight against the two major camps alone. "Sonno" and "supreme government" are the only two political lines in Japan at present. Satsuma will eventually join a camp.

Will Yoshinosuke Saigo repair his relationship with the shogunate later?

Or... does he want to eliminate the hatred between Satsuma and Choshu and promote the Satsuma-Choshu alliance?

The more Qing Deng thought about it, the heavier his heart became.

After finally repelling the invasion of the French and Qi coalition forces, the peace did not last long before new troubles came one after another...

In terms of difficulty, Satsuma is not inferior to Choshu and the Hozu Party.

From a certain perspective, Samoyed is more threatening!

Although the Fazhu Party is elusive and has a large number of strange people, they are ultimately just a secret society with a very low ceiling.

It might be okay to let them plot some schemes and do some small actions behind enemy lines.

But if they were to face off head-on, they would definitely be killed! They would be defeated by the Shinsengumi in one encounter!

Satsuma is different. Satsuma is a serious country! Moreover, it is a big country with more than 600,000 koku of land, advanced industry, and can even build warships independently!

If it comes to a head-on confrontation, Satsuma is no less inferior to Qinjin.

Qing Deng had no good feelings towards Satsuma for a long time.

One reason was that Tenshoin had suffered injustice in Satsuma.

As for the second reason, he didn't like Satsuma's "fence-sitting".

It is true that "sitting on the fence" is a normal behavior in political activities, but Qingdeng just doesn't like this kind of fence-sitter who sways back and forth.

He was disgusted by Yoshinosuke Saigo's shameless betrayal during the "Choshu Campaign", which further increased his disgust for Satsuma.

To be honest, he wished he could immediately order an expedition to the west, mobilize all the manpower and material resources of the Qinjin clan, destroy Choshu and Satsuma together, and vent his anger.

Of course, this is just a delusion caused by the heat of the moment.

As soon as this thought came into his mind, he consciously dismissed it.

Satsuma is located at the southwestern tip of Kyushu Island, far from Honshu Island.

If Qing Deng wanted to send troops to attack Satsuma, he would have to organize a large fleet to cross the Shimonoseki Strait.

[Note: Shimonoseki Strait: The waters between the western end of Honshu Oshima and the northern end of Kyushu Island have been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.]

Fighting across the sea... As you can imagine, the logistical difficulty increases dramatically.

Furthermore, the Shimonoseki Strait was controlled by the Choshu domain.

If Qing Deng wants to attack Satsuma, he must first wipe out Choshu!

With the current national strength of Qinjin Clan, it is simply not enough to sustain such a large-scale expedition.

Besides, they had just experienced a great war.

Although the "Second Battle of Sekigahara" ended in a "great victory", they also paid a very heavy price.

At this stage, the people of Qinjin and the soldiers of the Shinsengumi urgently need to recuperate and should not start a war again.

At this moment, Qing Deng frowned slightly, staring into the void ahead, secretly pondering his future strategy against Sa.

After a while, he let out a long breath, his face full of fatigue:

——Never mind... There is no rush for this matter, I will think about it slowly later...

After thinking about this, he slowly stood up, walked to the window not far away, and stared at Edo Castle in the distance.

The Choshu that has not yet disappeared... the ambitious Satsuma... the cunning Fazhu Party... these powerful enemies are certainly difficult to deal with.

But compared to these enemies who will be defeated by him sooner or later, what he is most concerned about now is Tokugawa Iemochi's physical condition...

After Chiba Eijiro came back to life, Qing Deng's two most trusted confidants - Hijikata Toshizo and Elodie - also survived the critical period one after another.

Both of them were seriously injured, especially Elodie. She was not a strong person to begin with, and she happened to suffer the most difficult and most fatal penetrating wound.

The person responsible for treating Elodie is still Qingdeng's old friend - Beifang Ren, who has superb medical skills.

According to him, Elodie was very lucky that Shuten-douji's knife did not pierce his internal organs.

Unfortunately, she was bleeding heavily and had severe blood loss.

When treatment began, she had just enough blood left to sustain life.

Beifang Ren said to Qing Deng bluntly: The key to her survival is no longer my medical skills, but God's will and her willpower.

Qing Deng did not doubt his apprentice's willpower, so the only variable was the illusory "God's will".

Fortunately... God is on Elodie's side!

Beifang Ren's treatment was a great success and he brought Elodie back from the brink of death.

The same is true of Hijikata Toshizo.

Thanks to Kitagata Jin's dedicated rescue efforts, Hijikata Toshizo survived and his vital signs have stabilized.

The successive escapes of Chiba Eijiro, Hijikata Toshizo and Elodie made Qingdeng's originally depressed heart active and relaxed again.

With these three precedents, he couldn't help but think optimistically: Tokugawa Iemochi will be fine too! Yes, he will definitely be fine!

What can he do... The greater his expectations, the greater his disappointment...

The shogunate made every effort to save the shogun.

From miraculous doctors to precious medicinal herbs, all were gathered in Edo Castle.

Thanks to the high reputation that Tokugawa Iemochi had accumulated, many famous doctors came forward to sign up spontaneously, including Kitagawa Jin.

Qing Deng felt relieved when he learned that Kitagawa Jin was among Tokugawa Iemochi's treatment team.

The superb medical skills that Beifang Ren had demonstrated in recent days had completely conquered Qing Deng.

In Qing Deng's mind, Kitagawa Jin is the well-deserved "No. 1 Doctor in Edo".

If even Kitagawa Jin is helpless against Tokugawa Iemochi's injuries...then it's all over.

Although Qing Deng has high hopes for Bei Fang Ren, but... no matter how powerful his medical skills are, he is still a mortal after all.

Since we are mortals, we have limits that are beyond human reach.

The blow from Shuten-doji was extremely brutal, cutting from the left shoulder to the right abdomen, cutting the flesh and breaking the bones... Just by looking at the text description, you can tell how serious the injuries Tokugawa Iemochi suffered were!

After checking Tokugawa Iemochi's injuries, Kitagawa Jin looked serious.

He neither said "I can cure it" nor "It depends on God's will", but just silently said "I will try my best".

This attitude says it all...

To this day, the "famous doctors" have been treating Tokugawa Iemochi for several days, and there is still no definite outcome...

…

…

Two days later——

Somewhere in Edo Castle——

Qing Deng, dressed simply, walked briskly along the corridor.

After a while, he stopped in front of the door of a room.

The maid who was kneeling beside him immediately turned sideways, raised her hand and opened the door.

Qing Deng stepped into the room quietly, and the maids behind him closed the door consciously.

As soon as he entered, he saw a familiar figure.

"Sheng Qing..."

Tianzhangyuan turned her head and looked at Qingdeng with a numb expression.

The war was over and she began to dress the way she used to.

She was wearing a lavender smock and her shoulder-length hair was tied into a short ponytail.

But... compared to before, her demeanor has changed drastically.

In the past, no matter where she was or when, she would always show a charming yet serious smile.

But now…her face was unhealthily pale, the area around her eyes was extremely red and swollen, and she gave off a haggard aura.

This miserable look is truly a portrayal of the phrase "I feel pity for him".

It is conceivable that during the time when his adopted son was struggling on the verge of death, Tianzhangyuan was under tremendous mental pressure...

Right next to her sat a woman - none other than Tokugawa Iemochi's wife, Kazunomiya.

In terms of how haggard she looked, He Gong was even more haggard than Tian Zhang Yuan.

As soon as the "Edo Siege War" ended, Princess Kazunomiya, who had been taking refuge outside, immediately returned to Edo.

At that time, after learning that Tokugawa Iemochi was fatally injured, she was unable to catch her breath and fainted on the spot, and did not wake up for a long time.

Recently, she recites scriptures in front of the Buddha statue every day to pray for Tokugawa Iemochi.

In order to show her sincerity to the gods and Buddhas, she started a hunger strike since the day before.

Her body was fragile to begin with, and after such torture she became almost dying.

Tokugawa Iemochi had not yet passed away, but she was about to die first.

As far as Qing Deng knew, Tianzhangyuan forced her to drink some porridge last night, which made her "come back to life".

Qing Deng bowed slightly to the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, then sat down beside them consciously.

Tian Zhangyuan carefully looked at the linen on his body and asked softly:

"Sheng Qing, are you okay with your injury?"

"It's okay. You'll be fine after resting for a while."

After saying that, he subconsciously turned his head and looked towards the door, as if waiting for something.

Suddenly, he asked Tianzhangyuan:

"Your Highness, Iemochi... the general..."

Before Qing Deng could finish his words, Tian Zhangyuan shook his head with a heavy expression.

Seeing this, Qing Deng said no more and shut his mouth silently.

The reason why the three of them gathered here today was because Beifang Ren said this to them last night: Today will be a critical period for Tokugawa Iemochi! If he can survive today, there is still hope!

Beifangren was careful not to say the result of "didn't make it through today".

In fact, it doesn’t matter whether he speaks or not. Even if he doesn’t say it explicitly, Qing Deng and others can guess what’s going on.

In order to receive the treatment results of Tokugawa Iemochi as soon as possible, the three of them agreed to wait together in Edo Castle.

Time passes by...

A heavy atmosphere and annoying silence flowed between the three people.

Affected by anxiety, tension and other emotions, every second at this moment seemed as long as a year for the three of them.

Finally, after waiting for an unknown amount of time, a maid's announcement came from outside the door:

"Your Highness, Mr. Beifang Ren requests to see you!"

The three of them perked up instantly.

Tianzhangyuan replied hurriedly:

"Let him in!"

"yes!"

The next moment, the door opened.

Beifang Ren, who was covered in the stench of blood, stepped inside and came to Qing Deng and others in two steps.

Before they could ask, he said bluntly:

"The general is alive."

In an instant, indescribable joy blossomed in the hearts of the three people.

However... before they could even rejoice, Bei Fang Ren changed the subject:

"only……"

He paused, sighed, and then finished speaking in one breath:

"Whether he can wake up is an unknown."

A new January has begun! Book friends who have monthly tickets, please vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg) Please vote for the monthly ticket! Please recommend! (crying leopard head.jpg)

PS: Before this chapter, Baobaozi really wanted to kill Tokugawa Iemochi. But at noon today, Baobaozi got a sudden inspiration: this plot is too cliché and boring! I want to do something big! So he made Tokugawa Iemochi vomit.