I formed the strongest swordsman group

The rapid recovery of people's livelihood brought new vitality to Edo, and more lights appeared at night.

In today's Edo, the group with the greatest consumption capacity and motivation is naturally the large number of workers who receive wages every day.

As night falls, countless businesses are ready to go, eagerly waiting for the workers to come to their shops so that they can make a fortune.

It has been proven that civil engineering work can indeed effectively boost the local economy.

After a busy whole day, the hard-working workers finally received the wages they deserved.

Some workers returned to their residences immediately after receiving their money, for fear that if they stayed outside for too long, they would be influenced by the debauchery of Edo and develop an urge to spend money lavishly.

Most of these people who worked hard to save money were strangers from other places. They came to Edo to work in order to save more money to bring back to their hometown.

While some people save money carefully, there are naturally others who spend money lavishly.

In fact, there are only a few workers who have strong willpower and are able to save all their money without spending a single penny.

Most of the workers can't wait to spend the money as soon as they get it.

What's worse, some people fully demonstrated the characteristic of "there is no overnight money in Edo" and would not go home to sleep until they spent all their money.

Or they would go into a casino and have fun, either doubling their money or losing it so much that they had to pawn even their clothes.

Or they would go to a pub and drink to their heart's content, or at worst have a drink or two to reward their tired bodies with a little alcohol.

Or they would rush onto the streets eagerly, looking for a nightingale that was decent in appearance and reasonably priced.

Some workers had a very full understanding of Edo's "night life". They disdained nightingales and went straight to the inn where there were rice-sleeping women, or to the Yanggong shop that specialized in "side jobs".

【Note: Fanshengnv: From the name, it means a woman who serves rice to guests at the inn. In fact, she provides sexual services to male travelers.】

[Note: Yanggongdian: an archery playground that charges customers a fee, usually employs women to retrieve the arrows shot and secretly engages in prostitution]

At first glance, they seem to be indulging in hedonism, but in fact this is not the case at all.

Their work is so hard that it is difficult to persevere unless they find some way to find some comfort.

As both producers and consumers...these workers have indeed made an indelible contribution to the reconstruction of Edo.

In any case, thanks to the hard work of the workers, Edo at night is no longer as dead silent as before.

…

…

At this moment when Aoto and Katsurintaro were holding a secret meeting at San-no-maru in Edo Castle, a street in the eastern suburbs of Edo was particularly busy.

Looking up, I saw dozens of nightingales of different ages standing on the streets on both sides, posing and flirting with the men who came here seeking pleasure.

This street is long and wide, and is adjacent to four large construction sites, so countless workers pass by here every night.

With such superior "location conditions", it naturally attracted a large number of nightingales, which in turn promoted the long-term development of "special transactions".

The men walked back and forth along the center of the street, looking for their favorite targets as if they were selecting goods.

"How much?"

"50 copper coins."

"50 copper coins? That's too expensive!"

"If you think it's too expensive, go find someone else. Do you see my fair and tender skin? My skin is not even as tender as tofu. I only charge you 50 copper coins, which is already cheap."

"Hmm... a little less, 30 wen for copper wire!"

"30 copper coins are not enough to buy two bowls of 'Er Ba Buckwheat'. 45 copper coins are enough."

[Note: Soba noodles in Edo were generally sold for 16 coins, so they were commonly called "28 Soba"]

"Uh-huh... 40 copper coins!"

"Tsk...Okay, deal. Follow me."

After saying this, Nightingale came over, took the customer's arm, and walked slowly towards the alley not far away.

Similar conversations and similar scenes occur from time to time on this street.

At this time, another young man walked into the street.

Judging from his appearance, he should be a worker at a construction site nearby.

As soon as he arrived here, he looked around impatiently, his eyes sliding over the faces of each nightingale.

Soon, he fixed his gaze and looked straight at a girl not far away.

The other person is very young, about 18 years old, with fair skin, pretty features and quite good looks.

Nightingales of this level are undoubtedly in high demand.

Sure enough, just as the man was looking at the girl, a man approached the girl and asked about the price.

It was not difficult to see that the price the girl offered was far beyond what he could afford.

After a while, he came to his senses and said something hurriedly, as if trying to lower the price.

He was very enthusiastic, looking the girl up and down with fiery eyes, and trying to negotiate tenaciously.

However, the girl's attitude was always cold. No matter what the other party said, she just shook her head gently.

In a moment, the other party shook his hand and walked away with disgust on his face.

Before leaving, he did not forget to spit in the girl's face.

Judging from their expressions and behaviors, the negotiations between them were not pleasant.

The man took the opportunity to step forward, took a few quick steps, and came in front of the girl.

"How much?"

The girl looked up at the other person and said:

"120 coins."

As long as you understand the average quotation level of the Nightingales, it is not difficult to understand why the man just now showed a shocked expression.

Granted, it's not a lot of money.

But in the "Nightingale Market", this price is not cheap!

Those who came to see Nightingale were all poor people who could not afford to go to Yoshiwara and Okaba.

【Note: Okada location: private cave】

The most they could accept was 50 or 60 coins.

120 coins... If you have so much money, why not go directly to the place of worship?

At least the place can provide beds or tatami, so you don't have to work in the alley.

Unexpectedly, after hearing the offer, the man did not show any surprise, but just shook his head:

"120 coins? A beautiful woman like you only costs 120 coins. Isn't that too cheap?"

Not only did he not think it was expensive, he even thought it was cheap... If others heard what the man said, they would probably laugh at his stupidity.

The girl looked at the man deeply and said:

"120 copper coins will do. The price will not go up or down."

"Whatever you want."

After ending this series of meaningless conversations, the man and woman walked together to an alley not far away.

As soon as they entered the alley, they looked around vigilantly, fearing that there might be eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall.

After confirming that there was no one around, the girl stood on tiptoe, put her lips close to the man's ear, lowered her voice, and whispered to the man:

"Gather at Sanchome tomorrow morning."

After hearing this, the man nodded vigorously with a serious expression.

Instead of leaving immediately, they stood and waited for a moment.

About 3 minutes later, they walked out of the alley - before leaving, they did not forget to ruffle their clothes a little.

The man walked away without looking back.

The girl returned to her previous position.

Not long after, another young man came to the girl.

"How much?"

"120 coins."

"120 coins? A beautiful woman like you only costs 120 coins. Isn't that too cheap?"

"120 copper coins will do. The price will not go up or down."

"Whatever you want."

Same quote, same conversation...

After quickly "negotiating" the price, the girl and the new man walked towards the alley they had just walked into...

…

…

Since noon on December 28, the air in Edo has been filled with tension.

The soldiers and civilians were very nervous. They were afraid that one day or at some moment, they would suddenly see a large, fully armed force rushing out from the opposite corner of the street, and that the war would break out again.

Fortunately, these scenes did not happen.

Time passes and everything becomes peaceful.

In the blink of an eye, December 30, 1864 passed quietly, and January 1, 1865 arrived safely.

Finally...the old year has passed and the new year has arrived!

"Genji" has become history, and from today on, the era name "Keio" will be officially used.

On January 1, 1865, the rising sun in the east lit up the sky.

The weather is nice today, with clear blue skies.

Since the beginning of winter, sunny days have been quite rare.

It is really a good sign to have such nice weather on the first day of the new year.

People took to the streets, adults visited relatives and friends, and children played carefree, celebrating this annual festival in their own way.

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

Two women in new clothes met on the street, chatting and laughing enthusiastically.

"Your dress is so beautiful! Where did you buy it?"

"No, you're flattering me. I bought this dress at Keiya in Nihonbashi. I hesitated for a long time before I finally made the purchase... Ah, hey! Kentaro, be careful!"

While the women were chatting enthusiastically, they kept an eye on the "competition" on the open space next to them.

"Follow me!"

"Kill!"

"The general's head is mine!"

More than 20 children were divided into two teams, playing the "Red and White Battle" enthusiastically.

They were all children of common people, so naturally they did not have complete equipment. They did not even have red and white cloth strips, let alone the luxury of using porcelain bowls to play games.

For ordinary people, even a porcelain bowl is very precious and must not be wasted.

Therefore, children could only smear different colored mud on their foreheads to distinguish between friend and foe, and use thin wooden sticks instead of wooden swords and bamboo swords.

Despite the simple equipment, they still had a lot of fun.

The children were playing and the women accompanying them were chatting.

Not far away, a black cat was lazily lying on the wall with its front paws buried in its chest fur, basking in the sun, half-closed its eyes, looking sleepy, and from time to time it opened its mouth and yawned.

There is peace and tranquility under the cloudless sky.

"Hahahaha, I win!"

"I don't accept it! Come again!"

"My master has gained a lot of weight recently and can't even tie his belt."

"Have you heard? Baojiro next door is getting married, and his wife is very beautiful!"

"Really? This is such a happy event!"

"You have nothing to do anyway, why don't you come over to my house and play Sogo later?"

"Okay, okay, then I will obey your command!"

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa——!!!”

Suddenly... it was really a very sudden moment, a terrifying scream came from not far away, causing the scene to fall into a brief and eerie silence...

The children's games are over.

The women's chatter stopped.

The black cat on the wall suddenly stood up, arched its back, let out a low roar, and all the hair on its tail exploded. Then, its ears trembled slightly, as if it had foreseen something, and it quickly jumped off the wall and left in a hurry.

Women, children, and everyone at the scene stopped what they were doing, turned their heads blankly, and looked towards the opposite corner of the street following the sound.

The street corner opposite, this empty street corner, this street corner that was very peaceful in the past, now looked different - all of a sudden, figures flashed out from the street corner! One person, ten people, a hundred people, a thousand people! Soon, they gathered into a huge flow of people!

"Follow me!"

"Kill!"

"Tachibana Aoto's head is mine!"

A huge crowd! The momentum is terrifying!

The clothing of these people was varied. Most of them wore simple civilian clothes, while a few were dressed as warriors. There was no unified uniform.

The only thing they have in common is a piece of black cloth tied around their left arms.

In terms of weapons, they are very uniform, all of them wear swords on their waists, and only a very small number of people have special equipment such as spears, longbows, and muskets.

This sudden change left everyone at the scene dumbfounded.

The next moment, pure maternal love drove the women to rush towards their children and hold them tightly in their arms.

Fortunately, this unidentified army ignored the civilians.

They ignored the shivering women and children and walked straight forward.

Suddenly, someone stopped, turned his head, and looked at the group of children with complicated eyes.

He could tell at a glance that the kids were playing "Red and White Battle" just now.

After a moment's silence, he said quietly:

"Don't play this boring game. When you really hold a sword, you won't like this game anymore. Go home with your mother."

After saying this, he stopped talking, retracted his gaze, quickened his pace, and caught up with the main force.

…

…

This unknown army galloped through the streets of Edo without any hesitation or pause.

Wherever they moved, the people there screamed in fear.

The peaceful atmosphere disappeared, replaced by a strong sense of panic!

"What's going on? Who are they?!"

"Never mind! Let's go!"

"Waaaaah! Wait for me! Don't leave me alone!"

In the blink of an eye, the crowd disappeared...only the dust left by the soles of shoes stomping on the ground was left floating on the street.

This army was not running around randomly, their purpose was very clear - their target was the towering Edo Castle!

As for the direction of their attack, it was equally clear - they rushed straight towards Akasaka Gomon!

Akasaka Gate, which was reduced to ruins by massive amounts of gunpowder, has yet to be rebuilt.

Without advanced equipment such as excavators, and only relying on carrying things on their shoulders and hands, no matter how capable Ren Qingdeng and others were, it would be impossible for them to rebuild the Akasaka Gate in such a short time.

In other words, the Akasaka Gate, which is still in ruins, is the weakest point of the "Thirty-six Mitsuke"!

If they attacked Akasaka Gate, even without ladders, artillery and siege equipment, they could easily break through the "Thirty-six Mitsuke" and enter Edo Castle!

Why not take advantage of this excellent breakthrough point?

As the army gradually approached Akasaka Gate, an urgent shout suddenly came from behind the gate - the station where the garrison was stationed:

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Prepare to meet the enemy! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

The next moment, a group of nimble figures wearing light green feathers ran quickly! Everyone, take your positions!

Another war...Another fierce battle broke out in Akasaka-gomon!

However, the two sides in the last battle were the Shogunate and the French coalition.

This time, both sides in the battle are the Shogunate army!

The defender yelled:

"They are the rebels of the 'Ichihashi faction'! Show no mercy! Defeat the rebels! Put down the unrest!"

The attacker yelled:

"The enemy is in Edo Castle! Defeat the Tachibana rebels!"

Two completely different voices echoed inside and outside the Akasaka Gate.

After a while, the two armies collided heavily!

On January 1, 1865, the civil war within the shogunate broke out!

An all-out war broke out between the "Nanki Faction" and the "Ichibashi Faction"!

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

Ichibashi Keiki: "Tachibana Aoto, Tokugawa Iemochi, do you like my assassination method?"

PS: In reality, Akasaka Gate is one of the few remaining gates in the "Thirty-six Mitsuke", and there is a subway station. You can find it when you travel to Tokyo. However, in this book, Akasaka Gate is frequently persecuted.