I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1099: Uniting the Nine Lords, Unifying the World! Reign Title: [Kuangtian]! [The End]

Those nobles who favored "respect and power" were either marginalized or forced into retirement.

Currently, most of the court officials are supporters of the shogunate.

With the upcoming coronation ceremony approaching, all officials at all levels of the court are putting in their best efforts and dare not slack off in the slightest.

Kyoto was under the control of the shogunate. Apart from the Yata no Kagami and the Yasakani no Magatama being stolen by Iwakura Tomomi, all kinds of ceremonial objects were available. There was no reason for the scale of the empress's enthronement ceremony to be inferior to that of the "false emperor" in the west.

The Imperial Palace today is a far cry from its former dull and lifeless state; hurried figures can be seen everywhere.

Moving ritual objects, replacing tatami mats, cleaning the corridors... it was a scene of bustling activity.

To prevent sabotage by the Zunpu forces, Aoto mobilized all five squads of the Shinsengumi to Kyoto in one go—the Second Squad, the Fourth Squad, the Sixth Squad, the Eighth Squad, and the Ninth Squad—causing a sudden surge in the "Shinsengumi content" in Kyoto.

Under Aoto's personal command, the defenses inside and outside the Imperial Palace had reached an astonishing level.

They are armed with both swords and guns, capable of both close and long-range combat. If you get close, you will face the blades of the Second and Fourth Divisions; if you stay far away, you will be mowed down by the Sixth and Eighth Divisions.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if Qingdeng himself went there, he might not be able to get through this dangerous place.

As for the towns and streets of Kyoto outside the Imperial Palace, they are also on high alert.

Patrol teams are everywhere, and there are sentries at every intersection.

Moreover, the ninjas of the Ninth Division were lurking among the crowd, closely monitoring the movements of suspicious individuals.

The so-called "impregnable defenses" are nothing more than this.

To facilitate command and coordination, Aoto himself moved to the Shinsengumi headquarters in Mibu-go, Kyoto, on the very day he announced the "Empress's accession to the throne."

Despite the rapidly escalating situation, with even the emergence of "two emperors in one day," the turmoil at the top has not yet spread to the middle and lower classes.

For the people of Kyoto, nothing unusual has happened recently.

Apart from the increased number of Shinsengumi members on the streets, everything remained the same.

Eat when you're supposed to eat, sleep when you're supposed to sleep, and live your life the way you want to live it.

The recent spate of major news stories and events has given ordinary people plenty to talk about.

However, due to the sensitive nature of the topic, no one dared to discuss in detail who was the legitimate ruler, the empress in the east or the "false emperor" in the west.

During the years that Qingdeng was stationed in the capital region, he repeatedly prevented war and ensured the safety of the capital. His hard work and contributions are evident to all.

Today, people who genuinely love and respect Aoto are found throughout Kyoto.

Although they were unclear about the intricacies of the power struggles at the top and did not know which emperor was the legitimate ruler, since Seito declared that Mutsuhito was a false emperor, they would unconditionally stand with Prince Kazuhito!
Of course, there were also many Kyoto gentry who selectively ignored Aoto's achievements, wholeheartedly admired Choshu, and regarded Mutsuhito in the west as the legitimate ruler.

Ironically, the people of Choshu treated the people of Kyoto with extraordinary malice.

First, there was the attempt to burn down Kyoto in order to seize the Emperor amidst the chaos; then, there was the direct attack on Kyoto, which nearly turned the ancient capital into a bloody battlefield.

Despite being repeatedly mistreated by the Choshu people, a considerable number of Kyoto residents still seem to suffer from "Stockholm Syndrome" and continue to hold the Choshu people in high esteem.

The reason for this is simply that Changzhou's slogan of "honoring the king and repelling the barbarians" was too deceptive.

Some people in Kyoto were misled by the banner and naively believed that Choshu was truly fighting for the Imperial Court, so they naturally hoped that Choshu would win.

In this way, once Choshu defeats the shogunate, Kyoto's political status will rise accordingly.

There were simply too many "potential rebels" in Kyoto, which was one of the main reasons why Aoto had to deploy a large force to protect the enthronement ceremony.

Besides preparing for the coronation ceremony, there was another equally important matter: devising a reign title.

In today's era of great strife, reign titles carry extraordinary symbolic significance.

Under normal circumstances, after a new emperor ascends the throne, he will wait until the following year to change the era name.

However, no sooner had the late emperor passed away than Changzhou hastily announced a change of reign title.

This sends a thought-provoking signal: they can't wait any longer! They want to "reinvent" Japan now!
The term "Meiji" is not only easy to pronounce, but it is also derived from the Book of Changes, which states, "The sage faces south to listen to the world and governs with the light," implying "rule by light."

It is evident that the pro-imperial camp intended to use the name "Meiji" to demonstrate their ambition to liberate Japan from the dark rule of the shogunate.

Since the confrontation between the "Support the Shogunate" and the "Revere the Emperor" has turned into a full-scale, all-out struggle, we cannot afford to lose momentum on this invisible battlefield!

To this end, Aoto specially gathered a large number of sinologists—Japanese era names are all derived from ancient Chinese books—in order to come up with a brand new era name that is more powerful and meaningful, so as to overshadow the "Meiji" era in the west!
Faced with Qing Deng's strict requirements, the sinologists who were summoned turned the pages of Chinese books with great enthusiasm.

Although time is tight, the relevant work is progressing smoothly. After several rounds of selection, the following year names have entered the "final round" so far.

"The Right Path" is taken from the Lin hexagram in the Book of Changes, which reads, "Great success comes from righteousness; this is the way of Heaven." It emphasizes justice and harmony.

“Mingxie” is taken from the “Shangshu·Yaodian”, which reads “The people are enlightened and the world is in harmony.” It expresses the vision of “peace and prosperity”.

"Tianping" – taken from the "Dayu Mo" chapter of the Book of Documents, originally "Diping Tiancheng", symbolizes "internal and external peace".

Apart from the three mentioned above, the other reign titles are all quite good, possessing both beautiful characters and auspicious meanings.

However... Qingdeng was not entirely satisfied with these reign titles.

The characters are beautiful, and the meaning is there, but he just feels that these reign titles are missing something.

For this reason, he hesitated to make a decision and remained stuck in that situation.

time flies……

In the blink of an eye, tomorrow will be the coronation ceremony of Prince Kazuhito.

According to Qing Deng's plan, on the day that He Gong ascends the throne, the new era name will be announced to the whole world.

However... even though the coronation ceremony is just over ten hours away, the crucial reign title is still "pending".

……

……

Kyoto, Mibu Village, Shinsengumi Garrison, Military Council Room—

Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, Yamanami Keisuke, and Kondo Isami gathered here.

As high-ranking leaders of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo and others are qualified to attend tomorrow's coronation ceremony.

At this very moment, they are holding their final meeting to "select an era name".

Hijikata Toshizo yawned widely, stretched lazily, and said listlessly:

"It's just a reign title, you can just pick any one."

Yamanami Keisuke shook his head:
"Mr. Hijikata, you are mistaken. An excellent reign title will greatly boost the morale of the people and the army, and it cannot be taken lightly."

Kondo Isami suddenly spoke up:

"I think 'balance' is pretty good."

Hijikata Toshizo shrugged:

“‘Ten Hei’ is too difficult to pronounce, and it doesn’t sound very powerful.”

After saying that, he turned to Qingdeng.

"Ju, you've been flipping through books a lot these past few days. Have you come up with any noteworthy reign titles?"

At this moment, Qing Deng was seen leaning on his elbow, slowly flipping through the old book in his palm.

Recently, the Tsing Huateng Group has continued to implement its style of "outsourcing all work that can be outsourced" and "the supreme leader must always be in the best condition."

He delegated most of the matters related to the enthronement ceremony and the reception of guests to others, while he himself was only responsible for handling the key tasks, such as the detailed defense of the Imperial Palace.

Since he had nothing better to do, he decided to join the "Era Name Writing Group" and work with the sinologists to come up with era names.

Having not read a book in a long time, he began to peruse those dusty classics.

Although he put his heart and soul into compiling a reign title that would be forever recorded in history, his sinological knowledge was ultimately no match for that of professional sinologists.

He proposed many reign titles, but they all lacked originality and were met with awkward laughter from sinologists...

"I am reading Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian."

As he spoke, Qingdeng showed the audience the book in his hand—one of the volumes of the Records of the Grand Historian.

"To be precise, I was reading the 'Hereditary House of Qi Taigong' in the Records of the Grand Historian."

"Our current situation is just like that of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods two thousand years ago."

"The various warlords fought and vied for power, and heroes vied for supremacy."

"Studying the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods might yield some insights."

Hijikata Toshizo asked further questions:

"So, have you gained anything?"

Qingdeng smiled helplessly:
"If I had gained anything from this, I wouldn't be here flipping through books."

After saying that, he leaned back against the elbow bar and continued to peruse the ancient book in his palm.

Hijikata Toshizo picked at his ear, his tone now one of confusion: "Tachibana, what kind of era name do you really want? Without a clear standard, it's going to be difficult for us too."

Upon hearing this, both Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isami turned their heads and cast questioning glances at Aoto.

Hijikata Toshizo has just spoken their minds.

The sinologists racked their brains to come up with these alternative reign titles, and they all thought they were very good; any one of them would be worthy of the "excellent" rating.

However, when Qingdeng's opinion was sought, he only shook his head in refusal...

Qingdeng's vague and unclear evaluation criteria were almost confusing Hijikata Toshizo and the others.

Under everyone's gaze, Qingdeng gave a wry smile:
"To be honest, I don't know either."

"If I had to say... I would crave a reign title that would truly catch my eye."

Hijikata Toshizo frowned slightly:

"Make your eyes light up? Your requirements are a bit too broad. How would we know what kind of era name would make your eyes light up?"

Qingdeng let out a silent sigh, then said slowly:
"Give me one more... no, half an hour."

"If I still can't make up my mind after half an hour, then I'll just randomly pick one from these existing candidate reign titles..."

Suddenly, Qingdeng's voice weakened, and his words came to an abrupt end before he could finish speaking.

But he lowered his eyelids, his gaze narrowed, and he stared intently at the ancient book in his palm—or more precisely, at a particular sentence in the text.

"...Hey, I think I've got an idea...What do you guys think of this line?"

As he spoke, he sat up straight with a "roll," turned the ancient book in his palm so that the pages faced Hijikata Toshizo and the others, and pointed to a certain spot on it.

Hijikata Toshizo and the others quickly leaned closer to take a closer look.

The place Qingdeng was referring to was the famous line from the "Records of the Grand Historian: The Hereditary House of Qi Taigong"—"I, the King of Qi, held three military chariot meetings and six chariot meetings, uniting the feudal lords nine times and bringing order to the world."

"'Uniting the feudal lords nine times and bringing order to the world'...isn't this exactly our wish?"

Qingdeng grinned and smiled slightly.

"In that case, let's extract the words 'rectify the heavens' from these words—we will use the force of a raging storm to cleanse the world and restore order to the nation!"

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, everyone present was startled and instinctively looked at each other, exchanging glances.

After a brief moment of surprise, Hijikata Toshizo was the first to respond:

"'Kuangtian'... although it's a bit too straightforward, it suits my taste perfectly!"

With a concise reply and a cheerful smile, Hijikata Toshizo cast his "vote of approval" for this new alternative era name.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yamanami Keisuke, unsurprisingly, raised his objection:
"Mr. Tachibana, please forgive my bluntness, but this era name is too... too ominous! It is not suitable as an era name!"

"Any reign title should, like 'Ansei' and 'Bunju,' embody the beautiful wish for peace and tranquility in the world!"

What Yamanami Keisuke said makes a lot of sense.

Such a straightforward and menacing reign title... is truly a rarity in the world!

However, faced with Yamanami Keisuke's opposition, Aoto shrugged indifferently:

"'It embodies the beautiful wish for peace and tranquility in the world'? That's right, the word 'Kuangtian' fits your requirements perfectly."

"When we destroy Changzhou, drive out the bandits, and unify the world, then the world will naturally be at peace."

Before Yamanami Keisuke could respond, Kondo Isami suddenly interrupted:

"I also think this reign title is quite good."

Like Hijikata Toshizo, he also showed a joyful smile:
"Without complicated meanings, only sincere wishes, this is the true spirit of a samurai!"

Yamanami Keisuke glanced at Aoto, then at Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami beside him, a look of helplessness gradually appearing on his face.

It is obvious that Aoto really liked the era names he had come up with on a whim—Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami.

Yamanami Keisuke saw through their thoughts and knew that his efforts to persuade them would be futile, so he could only smile wryly and agree.
“I understand... It may not conform to tradition, but it's not a big deal.”

Seeing that the three people present all nodded in agreement, Qingdeng immediately curled his lips into a smug smile:

"Then let's settle on this! Our reign title will be—[Kuangtian]!"

……

……

The next morning—

Kyoto, Imperial Palace—

As soon as the sky began to lighten, a tense atmosphere filled the Imperial Palace.

The guards were all on high alert, barely daring to breathe, to prevent anyone unrelated from approaching the palace.

Nagakura Shinpachi, who was guarding the south wall of the Imperial Palace, shouted loudly:

"Everyone, be alert! If you spot any suspicious individuals, expel them immediately!"

Almost simultaneously, Serizawa Kamo, who was guarding the north wall of the Imperial Palace, also issued a warning:
"Let me make this clear! Don't let me find anyone being careless! Otherwise, I'll make sure you can't get out of bed for the next three days!"

……

……

At this very moment, the Imperial Palace's Shishinden Hall—the place where the enthronement ceremony was held—was already filled with distinguished guests.

Looking around, all you see are important and influential figures.

The court officials, the chief ministers of the government, the powerful lords who controlled their own territories... all the high-ranking officials and dignitaries who could come, all came.

Because it was a public ceremony, everyone present wore the highest-level official formal attire (sash), making the atmosphere even more solemn.

Qingdeng arrived at the Zichen Palace early and sat down just a few steps away from the "High Imperial Platform" (the throne for enthronement).

Behind him, besides those noble nobles who were merely of noble blood, were pro-shogunate leaders who held real power, such as Matsudaira Katamori, the lord of the Aizu Domain, and Matsudaira Sadataka, the lord of the Kuwana Domain.

There was only one retainer sitting in front of Qing Deng, the current Kanpaku Nijō Nariaki.

Nijo Nariaki took over as Kanpaku last year.

The Grand Secretary is the highest-ranking official in the court. Although he does not hold real power and only has a prestigious title, he is far from being comparable to the Grand Secretary. However, in today's grand ceremony, he is still the one who leads the assembled officials.

Even before the ceremony began, many people were affected by the tense atmosphere, unconsciously tensing up and breaking out in a cold sweat.

More than a hundred years later, they are about to welcome another female emperor... Thinking about it carefully, one can't help but feel a sense of disorientation.

Finally... with a shout from the priest, the already quiet hall became even more silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The enthronement ceremony has begun!

Led by Nijō Nariakira, the retainers bowed in unison to the Takamidai directly in front of them.

Then——

Stroking, stroking, stroking, stroking, stroking...

The sound of clothes dragging on the ground could be heard from afar.

Then, we saw Prince Kazu, dressed in the imperial robes and ceremonial cap with twelve embroidered patterns, stepping steadily into the hall and slowly walking towards the "Takamitai" (the throne for enthronement).

Perhaps it was because she was wearing a formal dress, but today Princess Kazumi exuded an aura of "unapproachable authority"! Compared to her usual innocent and carefree demeanor, she was completely different!
Everyone knows very well that He Gong is just a "decorative vase".

Given that she was just an ordinary princess of mediocre quality... to put it bluntly, no one expected her to achieve anything on the throne.

Many people were even worried that she wouldn't be able to sit steadily on the dais today, fearing that she might fall due to nervousness and fear, making a fool of herself.

However, it now appears that these people's concerns were completely unnecessary.

Kazumiya performed exceptionally well, or rather, excessively well! Even Aoto was taken aback!
Her facial expression, her gait... everything was impeccable! She truly resembled a queen ordained by heaven!
Those who questioned and disliked Princess Kazu were now all stunned, unable to believe that the valiant emperor before them was actually the delicate Princess Kazu!

Thus, witnessed by the courtiers, Prince Kazumi sat gracefully on the high platform and received the Kusanagi sword, one of the "Three Sacred Treasures," from the Shinto priest—the last of the sacred treasures left in Kyoto—and then received the Imperial Seal.

Although there are still many ceremonies to be held, from the moment she received the Kusanagi sword and the imperial seal, she became the rightful 122nd Emperor of Japan!
On this day, the Empress successfully ascended the throne.

On this day, the palace announced the change of era name to "Kuangtian".

On this day, Japan's Nanboku-chō (Northern and Southern Courts) period resumed!

On this day, the world situation was once again in turmoil!
……

……

Volume 6, Operation Marineford – The End!

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The final volume, Nioh, is coming soon!

(End of this chapter)