I formed the strongest swordsman group

Edo, a certain izakaya——

"Hey, did you hear about that?"

"What is it?"

"It's just... uh..."

"Why are you hesitating? If you have something to say, just say it now!"

"Ahem, ahem, what I'm about to say might be very scary, so you better be careful and don't yell."

"Just tell me now, don't keep me in suspense!"

"It is said... it is just said, Lord Niou is preparing to rebel."

"What?! Make..."

"Shh! Don't scream. Didn't I warn you?"

"I'm sorry... Is this true? Lord Niou is going to rebel?"

"Alas, I just heard it from others, I don't know whether it is true or not."

"It must be fake! It's probably someone who is jealous of Lord Niou and is making up these nonsense rumors!"

"I also hope it's fake... Oh, my wife and I just returned to Edo, and we really don't want to hide from the war anymore..."

…

…

Edo, a teahouse——

"With Lord Daishu in a coma, this is a great opportunity to usurp the throne. If Lord Niou really wants to betray us, now is the best time to do it."

"Hey, all of you, put your heads over here, quickly. I heard that the Great Tree Lord had died a long time ago, and Lord Nio concealed the news of the Great Tree Lord's death and kept it a secret, pretending that the Great Tree Lord was still alive to deceive the world, so that he could take advantage of the opportunity to mobilize troops and prepare to seize power."

"I don't believe it! Lord Niou is so loyal and righteous! How could he do such a treasonous thing!"

"Oh, you are too naive! What did Bai Juyi's poem say? Ah, yes, 'Duke Zhou feared the day of rumors, Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne'. People's ambitions will change and grow. Before the 'Honnoji Incident', who could have thought that Akechi Mitsuhide would rebel?"

"I still can't believe it... Lord Niou enjoys all the wealth and splendor, with money and fiefdoms, why would he rebel?"

"Alas, who would think that their power is too small? A hero like Lord Niou no longer cares about money or fiefdoms."

…

…

In a bathhouse in Edo——

"This could be another case of 'Rising one's wrath for the beauty'."

"What do you mean? Has Lord Niou fallen in love with someone?"

"Who else could it be? Of course it's His Highness Tenshoin! It's said that Lord Niou loves His Highness Tenshoin very much, but he is a minister and she is the Oomon, so the two can never get married. So Lord Niou secretly held his breath, always ready to snatch His Highness Tenshoin away. As long as he holds supreme power, no one can stop him from marrying His Highness Tenshoin."

"Is that Tenshoin so beautiful? Is it worth the risk for Lord Niou..."

"Who knows. Maybe it was Princess Tenshoin who took the initiative to seduce Lord Niou. She is a widow at a young age, so it is normal for her to have desires in that regard."

…

…

In Edo, a certain household——

"Wife! Pack your luggage quickly!"

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"

"I'm not sure... I just heard that Lord Niou might be rebelling, and there might be another war."

"Anyway, let's pack our bags quickly! Be prepared to escape at any time! It's fine if there's no war, but if there is another war, we can leave Edo as soon as possible!"

…

…

"Lord Niou is going to rebel", "Lord Niou will create the 'Tachibana Shogunate'", "Lord Niou is raising an army for the sake of Lord Tenshoin"... Like bamboo shoots after rain, these rumors suddenly popped up! It was unexpected!

There are many different opinions.

Rumors, whether true or false, spread rapidly.

A feeling of panic is spreading widely.

In fact, these rumors were not all directed at Qingdeng.

Almost at the same time as the rumor that "Niou is going to rebel" was spreading, another rumor emerged: "The one who is going to rebel is not Tachibana Aoto, but Ichibashi Yoshinobu!"

What can we do...Although the latter is more likely, its spread is far less than the former.

The specific reason is not complicated, it is very simple - the public is not familiar with Yoshinobu Ichibashi at all!

As of today, Yoshinobu Ichibashi has been in seclusion for too long, long enough for the public to have forgotten him.

This year happens to be a year of disasters, with major events worthy of being recorded in history happening one after another, making it too busy to keep up, and people have no time to pay attention to Yoshinobu Ichibashi.

In fact, even before he retired, he was far less well-known than Qing Deng.

When talking about the name "Ichibashi Yoshinobu", people's impression is basically "Oh, he seems to be the 'vice-general', I don't have much impression of him."

In this way, its spread is naturally much weaker.

Compared to the less well-known Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, everyone is more willing to discuss Nioh!

What's there to talk about with Yoshinobu Ichibashi? Lord Niou, who is suspected of having an affair with Lord Tenshoin, is more interesting!

As a result, the strange situation occurred: "It is obvious that both sides have the potential to rebel, but the people are only discussing Qingdeng."

At this critical juncture when rumors are spreading, people's emotions are already very tense.

The shogunate's announcement at noon today that it would "transfer the Shinsengumi to garrison 'Sanjuroku-Mitsuke'" has only heightened the tension.

No matter how fancy words are used to embellish it, there is no way to avoid this fact: Aoto, who is in charge of the "Thirty-six Mitsuke", has already controlled the entire Edo Castle!

As long as he has that desire, he can spend the night in the Edo Castle Honmaru and Tenshoin tonight! Incestuous harem!

Although times are tough, life still goes on.

People go to work as usual, buy New Year's goods and prepare for the festival.

Batches of mirror cakes and Tusu wine were bought.

Bundles of kadomatsu and shimen ornaments are placed at the doorsteps of the houses.

At first glance, everything seems normal.

But beneath this strong "New Year atmosphere" is a surging undercurrent!

…

…

December 28, late at night——

Edo, Edo Castle, San-no-maru——

The Sannomaru in Edo Castle was the residence of the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi before he came of age, so in addition to its defensive fortifications, the Sannomaru also had many livable bedrooms.

At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in a corridor of Sannomaru - Katsurintaro was holding a candle, walking hurriedly forward.

He was alone, without any followers.

After a while, he came to a door.

Without saying hello, he just reached out and pulled the door.

As the door slowly opened, he saw Qingdeng who had been waiting here for a long time.

Qing Deng, who was bending over the desk, raised his eyes and looked at Katsurintaro.

The two looked at each other, nodded at the same time, and exchanged silent greetings.

Katsurintaro walked to the Qingdeng table without hesitation, sat down cross-legged, and said directly:

"Qing Deng, your troops have all been stationed at various key points of the 'Thirty-Six Mitsuko'. The process has been smoother than I imagined."

Qing Deng nodded slightly and said softly:

"Rintaro, thank you for your hard work."

Katrintaro waved his hand:

"You're welcome. It's nothing."

After saying that, he let out a long sigh, and a look of melancholy appeared between his brows.

"It would be great if we could scare off the 'Ichibashi Clan'..."

Qing Deng responded calmly:

"I hope so."

For several days, Qing Deng has been living in Sannomaru in Edo Castle - of course, this matter was kept secret and not known to the outside world.

The only people who knew Qing Deng’s current residence were Tenshoin, Katsurintaro and a very small number of others.

Edo Castle was the residence of the Shogun and his relatives. According to the rules, no outsiders except servants were allowed to live in Edo Castle.

If outsiders knew that Qing Deng spent the night in Edo Castle and stayed there for several days, Qing Deng would surely be given the title of "the contemporary Dong Zhuo".

Qing Deng was willing to risk being insulted by the world and was determined to stay nailed to Edo Castle, not just to sleep on the "dragon bed" overnight.

The reason he did this was both pure and heavy - to prevent a coup!

Aoto, Tenshoin, and Katsurintaro held a secret meeting to discuss whether Hitohashi Yoshinobu would launch a rebellion.

Although the "Nanki Faction" has countless members, many of whom are loyal and righteous, the only people Tenshoin can truly trust are Aoto and Katsurintaro.

After a brief discussion, the three of them came to the same conclusion: If the "Yiqiao faction" wants to fight for the world, there is no better time than now!

First of all, Tokugawa Iemochi was seriously injured and unconscious, which was the best time to kill him.

After killing Tokugawa Iemochi, the cause of his death could be attributed to "serious injuries that could not be healed." Even if people had doubts, it would be difficult to raise objections.

Secondly, now is also the best time to kill Qing Deng!

In terms of prestige and comprehensive strength, Qing Deng has become the soul of the "Nanji School".

If the "Ichibashi faction" wants to seize power, it will not be enough to just kill Tokugawa Iemochi, they must kill him and Aoto together!

Only in this way can the resistance ability of the "Nanji Faction" be undermined to the greatest extent.

If only Tokugawa Iemochi was killed without getting rid of Aoto, it would give the latter a legitimate reason to send troops.

At that time, Qing Deng shouted "Kill Qingxi and purge the court", and led his troops eastward. How could the "Yiqiao faction" resist?

Anyone with a bit of intelligence would not want to go head-to-head with Aoto and his Shinsengumi.

Normally, Qing Deng lives in Otsu. Not only does he possess unparalleled martial arts power, but he also stays in his own base all year round, making it extremely difficult to kill him.

And now, Qing Deng is in Edo, right under the nose of the "Hitotsubashi Faction"!

More importantly, his body has not yet recovered, and the layers of sackcloth on his body are still as thick as bricks, greatly reducing his strength!

There is no better time than now... If you want to kill Qing Deng, you can only do it now!

The precious opportunity to kill Qing Deng and Tokugawa Iemochi in one go is right in front of you... How great is the temptation?

Qing Deng asked himself: If it were him, he would also choose to take action at this time!

In short, no matter from which angle you judge it, the "Ichibashi faction" has sufficient motivation and reason to launch a rebellion right now!

Since the possibility is extremely high, we can only prepare early and be prepared for a rainy day.

Qing Deng and others were not willing to engage in a full-scale war with the "Yiqiao faction" at this time.

They had just fought a series of fierce battles and were exhausted both physically and mentally. They really didn't want to start a civil war with the "Ichibashi faction" when they hadn't even caught their breath.

Furthermore, they really couldn't bear to let the samurai and common people of Edo endure a new war.

The all-out war between the "Nanki Faction" and the "Ichibashi Faction"... God knows how long this war will last and how many people will die.

The result that Qing Deng and others would most like to see is naturally the news that the "Yiqiao faction" has taken the initiative to put down the rebellion.

To achieve this goal, they made many preparations, among which the two most important measures were:

One of them is that Qing Deng secretly lives in Sannomaru to prevent any trouble from happening.

The second was to transfer the Shinsengumi to the "Sanjuroku Mitsuke" to defend Edo Castle. The reason for this was to warn the "Ichibashi faction" in disguise: Don't mess around! If you force a war, you won't be sure of winning!

The so-called "coup" is simple and difficult at the same time.

A close look at successful coups in history - such as the Gaopingling Incident and the Lü Rebellion - reveals that they all have several things in common.

The arsenal, the political center, the imperial guards... as long as these key points are grasped, the coup can be successful.

All the major arsenals in Edo were concentrated in Edo Castle.

The political center of the "Nanki faction", namely the three leaders Aoto, Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin, were also in Edo Castle.

In other words, whether it is to seize the arsenal or occupy the political high ground, the "Ichibashi faction" has only one way to go: capture Edo Castle!

In a nutshell, Edo Castle is the top priority.

Qing Deng and others can ignore everything and remain invincible as long as they defend Edo Castle.

On the contrary, if the "Ichibashi faction" were allowed to capture Edo Castle, it would be the end of us.

There are not many troops that Qingdeng can mobilize freely now.

The Hachioji's thousand men had long been crippled and had lost their ability to fight.

The regular troops, including the "Third Group", the First Archery Group, and the First Cannon Group, also suffered heavy losses in previous battles.

In the end, the only troops he could rely on were the Shinsengumi 7th and 10th squads currently stationed in Edo.

Otherwise, he would not have only dispatched the Shinsengumi to defend Edo Castle.

This leads to a consequence: the gap in strength between the two sides is not that big!

The 7th and 10th squads were both cavalry squads, not good at infantry combat, and had too few soldiers, totaling less than a thousand people.

Such combat power was not enough to turn Edo Castle into an "immovable fortress", and thus could not guarantee that the "Ichibashi faction" would retreat.

Whether the "Ichibashi faction" will launch a rebellion, whether they will take risks... No one can predict such things...

Qing Deng and Katsurintaro looked at each other in silence.

About ten seconds later, Katrintaro took the initiative to break the silence:

"The rumors about you plotting rebellion are spreading more and more widely now."

Qing Deng sneered when he heard this:

"This is really not good news... If the 'Yiqiao faction' hadn't interfered, I would never touch a sword in my life."

Katsurintaro nodded slightly to show his agreement.

People suspected that Qingdeng would betray them - it was not surprising that they had such thoughts.

It would be understandable if these rumors only circulated in a small circle.

But it is really abnormal for it to spread so quickly and so widely!

It’s easy to imagine that there must be someone behind the scenes fanning the flames!

Who are these troublemakers? It goes without saying.

Just as Qing Deng said, this is not good news - it shows that the "Yiqiao faction" is still ruthless! They are still eager to seize power! They are building momentum for their power grab!

Qingdeng is the biggest obstacle on their road to a coup.

Criticizing Qing Deng first will greatly reduce the public pressure of "killing the King of Mercy".

Several days ago, Qing Deng and others realized that the "Ichibashi faction" was mobilizing public opinion, so they immediately launched a counterattack - the rumor that "the real rebel is Ichibashi Yoshinobu" was spread by them.

It’s a pity... Yoshinobu Ichibashi’s low presence made their public opinion offensive ineffective.

At this time, after thinking for a moment, Qing Deng slowly turned his head and looked at the night sky outside the window not far away. He looked at the horizon:

“…Rintaro, get ready. Although it’s just my personal intuition, the fate of the shogunate, the fate of the shogun and His Highness Tenshoin, and the fate of you and me will all be revealed in a few days!”

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