I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1025 Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan's [Affair Literature]! [4500]

The importance of "righteousness" goes without saying.

From a legal perspective, Tokugawa Yoshinobu's accession to the throne was an unquestionable usurpation of the throne.

However, something like "legal principles" needs to be backed by strength.

The "legal principles" of the weak are nothing but a joke.

Without the support of state violence such as the police and the army, legal documents would be just a pile of waste paper and no one would abide by them.

When no one in the world recognizes the "Northern Shogunate", it becomes a despised pseudo-government.

But on the other hand, if there is a powerful force - such as the western feudal domains - that supports the "Northern Shogunate", then the fake will become true!

Qing Deng thought to himself: The "Ichibashi faction" must have sent envoys to contact the western vassal states.

Although this world is a large makeshift team, Qing Deng does not think that Tokugawa Yoshinobu's sudden usurpation of the throne was the product of a momentary impulse.

Otherwise, it would just be giving Qing Deng a reason to go to war for nothing.

To quell rebellions and eliminate traitors - there is no more just reason for war in the world.

If it doesn’t find a big supporter to cling to, the “Northern Shogunate” will not survive more than half a year.

Looking at the world today, the only powerful forces that have the ability and motivation to assist the "Northern Shogunate" are the western feudal domains.

As long as they join forces with the western feudal lords, the "Ichibashi faction" will still have a chance to turn defeat into victory!
Qing Deng has deduced the logic of the actions of the "Ichibashi faction": using usurpation of the throne as a bargaining chip to create divisions in the shogunate and raise their own value in exchange for the favor of the western feudal lords.

"Former Shogun Gomitsu" and "15th Shogun" - it is clear at a glance which side is more worthy of cooperation.

From another perspective, Tokugawa Yoshinobu's usurpation of the throne was another form of "letter of surrender".

He stole the throne and completely blocked his own retreat, showing his sincerity.

Although this move is quite radical and almost crazy, it is by no means in vain.

It is impossible for the western feudal lords not to be interested in this new shogunate - if it were Qing Deng, he would definitely contact the "Northern Shogunate" as soon as possible to discuss alliance matters.

If the western feudal lords really established an offensive and defensive alliance with the "Northern Shogunate" and each took what it needed... it is no exaggeration to say that there would be endless troubles!
By then, the western feudal lords will transform themselves from enemies of the shogunate into loyal subjects of the shogunate, and then launch a political offensive against Aoto on the grounds of "supporting the shogunate and defeating the Tachibana bandits" to suppress the political legitimacy of the "Southern Shogunate".

To sum up, the threat posed by the "Northern Shogunate" cannot be underestimated.

After sorting out the interests involved, Qing Deng looked up at the western skyline and thought to himself:

——As expected, the western feudal lords are the current number one enemy...!
After all, only when the "Northern Shogunate" is tied together with the western feudal domains will it pose a great threat.

A "Northern Shogunate" fighting alone is nothing to be feared.

Therefore, the western feudal lords are the main contradiction!
As long as this major contradiction is resolved, other minor contradictions will naturally be solved.

Thinking of this, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids slightly and stared deeply towards the west.

The current world situation is quite clear: since the Battle of Sekigahara, a new round of East-West confrontation has begun!

Either the Eastern Army destroys the Western Army, or the Western Army destroys the Eastern Army!
……

……

Apart from the news of "Tokugawa Yoshinobu's usurpation of the throne", no other important news was received along the way.

The journey was smooth and we arrived in Otsu safely.

When Qing Deng saw Lake Biwa, spring had quietly arrived.

[Note: Lake Biwa: Japan's largest freshwater lake, located on the north side of Otsu, adjacent to Otsu]

The early spring breeze blows past my ears, carrying the fragrance of flowers and plants in its warmth.

Smelling the refreshing scent in the air, Qing Deng suddenly felt refreshed.

Although it may sound a bit hypocritical to say this, he truly felt the "breath of home" at that moment.

After returning to Otsu, the first thing Qing Deng had to do was naturally to place Tenshoin, Tokugawa Iemochi and Princess Kazunomiya in the safest place.

Unfortunately, however, Otsu Castle has not yet been completed.

Because this new city will adopt a bastion structure, both the funding and the man-hours required are overwhelming.

Although Iwasaki Yataro, who was solely responsible for the construction of Otsu Castle, had mobilized manpower and material resources to the maximum extent, only half of the wall had been completed.

Therefore, Qing Deng could only let these three nobles temporarily stay in the Ju residence - this is the safest place in and around Otsu, no doubt about it.

In this way, Tenshoin met Sanako and the others.

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, Judi——

Tian Zhangyuan sat politely, his hands folded in his legs, a smile on his face, and looked at the three women in front of him with a gentle expression.

"I am from Tianzhangyuan. I will be bothering your house from now on. Please forgive me."

After saying this, she bent down, put three fingers on the ground, and saluted the three women - a very beautiful etiquette, there was nothing wrong with it.

Then, Kazunomiya beside him also bent down and said solemnly:
"I, the concubine, feel deeply ashamed for disturbing you with such trivial matters. I should not have bothered you with trivial matters, but I have no choice but to do so. I feel particularly sorry and uneasy. If you can forgive my rudeness, I will remember your kindness with all my heart."

Seeing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both bowing and showing their smooth necks, Sanako, Mai and Souji who were sitting side by side were all stunned.

Qing Deng had sent a letter a long time ago, in which he detailed the whole story of "Tian Zhangyuan and others will live with us for a period of time".

Therefore, they were mentally prepared for the arrival of Tianzhangyuan and others.

However... even so, seeing Tenshoin and Kazunomiya - the two most noble women in the world - sitting side by side in front of them still made them feel shocked.

One is the Shogunate's Omote-no-Dōng + Princess Satsuma, and the other is the Shogunate's Omote-no-Dōng + Princess of the Imperial Family.

In terms of bloodline, Kazunomiya is more noble than Tenshoin.

The latter was from a side branch of the Satsuma Shimazu family, while the former was a legitimate royal princess.

In the Edo period, strong ideas of superiority and inferiority were deeply rooted in people's minds.

Therefore, even Sanako and others who were used to storms could not help but feel frightened at this moment.

About 5 seconds later, Sanako was the first to react, and bowed in return without being servile or arrogant:
"Your Highness, Your Highness, please raise your heads."

This kind of situation still has to be handled by Sanako.

She is indeed a well-educated and well-mannered Yamato Nadeshiko.

Both her etiquette and choice of words were perfect, and you couldn't tell at all that she was a woman from a military family.

Even Kazumiya, who was arrogant and prejudiced against the samurai family, couldn't help but raise his eyes and look at Sanako a few more times, with surprise flashing in his eyes.

Qing Deng sat by the side throughout the whole process, leading the two sides to get to know each other.

He and Tianzhangyuan are already husband and wife - at Tianzhangyuan's strong request, this secret has not been revealed.

As usual, they acted as "the king and his subjects with harmonious relationship" in front of others.

Having said that, in recent days, the news that "Tachibana Aodō has an affair with Tenshoin" has been spreading like wildfire in the market, like a flame hitting a strong wind, getting more and more intense.

There is no doubt that the "Ichibashi faction" - perhaps we should now call them the "Northern Shogunate" - was behind this and fanned the flames.

"Tachibana Aoto's disturbance in the harem" was one of the excuses for the rebellion of the Northern Shogunate, and it was impossible for them not to vigorously promote it. In fact, long before the Northern Shogunate launched the rebellion, there were rumors circulating in the market.

This is not surprising, after all, Qingdeng’s close relationship with Tianzhangyuan is well known.

By now, all kinds of weird rumors have become more and more plausible.

Rumors like "Tian Zhang Yuan felt lonely and unbearable, so she asked Qing Deng to sleep with her every night", "Qing Deng got hold of something on Tian Zhang Yuan and threatened her severely"... even unfounded rumors like "Tian Zhang Yuan secretly helped Qing Deng have a child" appeared.

Nowadays, Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan live under the same roof.

It is not difficult to imagine that the "affair literature" with Qing Deng and Tian Zhangyuan as the protagonists will probably... no, it will definitely become more popular!

Before this, Qing Deng would only scoff at these rumors.

However...putting aside other rumors, the fact that "Tachibana Aoto has an affair with Tenshoin" has become a real reality.

If Sanako and the others knew about his secret relationship with Tenshoin... To be honest, Qing Deng couldn't imagine how the three of them would react.

Putting aside the shock of "having another 'companion'", the fact that "their husbands were involved with Oota" was enough to make the three women dumbfounded.

Thinking of this, Qing Deng couldn't help but twitch his lips.

——Well, let's take it one step at a time. No matter what, I will not let Sanako and the others be left out, nor will I let Yuichi get hurt.

——Whether it’s the scolding from Sanako and the others, the criticism from the world, or any other hardship, I will bear it!

Thinking of this, Qing Deng silently clenched his fists.

"Building a happy big family" - he always takes his dream very seriously.

Because Qing Deng was immersed in his thoughts, he did not notice that at this moment, Sanako and Souji both stared at Tenshoin, looking him up and down.

Then, they both squinted their eyes and cast strange looks at Qing Deng...

……

……

Tachibana Masamichi: "Ah...ah...ah..."

Tachibana Momoko: “Wuwu… Wuwu… Ahwu…”

Qingdeng's children are still unable to move around and can't even turn over, so they can only lie in bed all day.

Looking at this lovely pair of siblings, Tianzhangyuan suddenly smiled brightly:
"Are they Sheng Qing's children? They are so cute~~"

As she spoke, she clumsily picked up Ju Jiangchen and held him carefully as if he were a fragile object.

Kazumiya on the side curiously poked his head over, looking at Tachibana Momoko in the cradle with half nervousness and half excitement, as if he wanted to go up and play with her, but was too nervous to move.

After meeting the three girls, Tian Zhangyuan couldn't wait to meet Qing Deng's children.

Qing Deng naturally had no reason to refuse Tianzhangyuan's reasonable request - he also wanted to see his children.

Since the birth of the brother and sister, Qingdeng has been separated from them more often than he has been together.

Qing Deng has always felt guilty about this.

If Qing Deng hadn't been busy settling Tian Zhangyuan and others, he would have rushed to the baby room long ago.

I have to say that this pair of brother and sister are truly worthy of being the descendants of Sanako and Mai.

At such a young age, he already has an extraordinary appearance.

Fair and rosy skin, delicate facial features... anyone can see that this brother and sister will definitely be a handsome boy and a beautiful girl in the future!

Such a cute pair of babies will undoubtedly greatly stimulate a woman's maternal instinct - the current Tianzhangyuan is a perfect example.

After picking up Tachibana Masamichi, Tenshoin showed an overjoyed expression and smiled happily, as if he was unwilling to let go.

Tachibana Masami seems to like Tenshoin quite a lot.

Although he was being held by a stranger, he did not show any resistance at all. He laughed and stretched out his hands to Tianzhangyuan.

This scene and situation made Sanako, the biological mother standing by, feel quite complicated.

While Tianzhangyuan was busy playing with Jujiangchen, Qingdeng leaned forward and picked up Ju Mozi from the cradle with unskilled movements.

Ju Mozi opened her big round eyes and looked at Qing Deng blankly.

Strangely enough, when Qing Deng held her in his arms, he inexplicably felt a sense of security, as if there was an invisible chain connecting them together.

Whenever Qing Deng held Ju Jiangchen or Ju Mozi in his arms and felt their body temperature, he would sincerely realize: I am already a father, and the baby in my arms is my treasure.

Looking at the baby girl in his arms, Qing Deng smiled unconsciously—a calm and serious smile.

Let them grow up in a stable and superior environment... this is his responsibility as a father.

——One more reason why we must defeat the western feudal lords.

Qing Deng pondered this silently in his heart, and his eyes became solid and deep.

……

……

After returning home after a long absence, Qing Deng really wants to take a few days off if conditions permit.

However, it is easy to imagine that the current world situation does not allow him to be patient.

Just as he was concentrating on making arrangements for the Western Expedition, a piece of news like a bolt from the blue suddenly came: the "Secular Faction" in Choshu had successfully seized power! They controlled the real power of the Choshu Domain!

For a long time, Choshu's political circles were divided into two major parties: the "secular faction" and the "justice faction".

The former can be roughly understood as conservatives who support the shogunate and are unwilling to change the status quo; while the latter are radicals who oppose the shogunate and advocate "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians."

The "Three Heroes of Choshu", headed by Takasugi Shinsaku, have always been members of the radical faction.

As the Son of Heaven movement was in full swing in the past few years, the reputation of the "righteous faction" rose rapidly and gradually surpassed the "secular faction".

In recent years, the "righteousness faction" has been in control of the real power of the Choshu clan, and the "secular faction" has been completely marginalized.

Entering Kyoto and controlling the imperial court was the most glorious moment for the "Justice Faction" - but there is no need to elaborate on what happened afterwards.

A series of events including the August 18th coup and the Ikedaya Incident caused the strength and prestige of the "justice faction" to be continuously undermined.

The successive deaths of talented people such as Takasugi Shinsaku and Kusaka Genzui dealt an irreparable blow to the "justice faction".

Just when Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro led the special forces to the east to Edo, and the power of the "righteous faction" in the domain was extremely weak, the "secular faction" finally seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, launched an uprising, and seized the power of the Choshu domain in one fell swoop!
The successful seizure of power by the "secular faction" probably took place about five days ago.

Immediately afterwards, all members of the "Secular Faction" collectively wrote to the feudal lord, proposing many demands such as "recognize the ruling status of the 'Secular Faction'", "demote the 'Justice Faction' to a gang of thieves", and "wanted Katsura Kogoro".

Facing the collective pressure from the "secular theorists", the "Let's just leave it at that" Hou, who has now changed his name to Mori Takashikata, replied unsurprisingly:
"Well! That's it!"

Thus, after a short and easy coup, the political landscape of Choshu changed dramatically.

The radical "justice faction" lost power and the conservative "secular faction" came to power.

After learning the news, Qing Deng immediately summoned important officials such as Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami and announced bluntly:
"Contact the 'Secular Faction' in Choshu immediately! Support and aid them with all your might!"

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PS: If you think about it carefully, Qing Deng can now have an affair with Tian Zhang Yuan! (豹嗨.jpg)