The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 88: Shinsengumi Crisis, Ryoma Reappears (Seeking First Subscription!)

"Disband the new electoral group?"

Zhang Chang'an's chopsticks, which were holding noodles, paused in mid-air, and he showed a rare look of surprise. In the few days he had been in Kyoto, he had gotten a pretty good grasp of the situation here.

Although this is a special period, it is still difficult for any major news to emerge under normal circumstances, since there have been no particularly big events at this time in history.

The decisive Battle of Boshin, which would determine the future course of the war, would not begin for another three or four years.

If there were any major events, it would be who the anti-shogunate faction sent to assassinate whom, and events brought about by external factors like him.

So when Zhang Chang'an saw Xiao Ju coming to find him, he assumed that all he knew was what he had done the night before.

Who knew I'd hear this news?

What is the Shinsengumi? It was the shogunate's sharpest weapon in Kyoto, a force that struck fear into the hearts of those who respected and exiled ronin. Although it hadn't yet experienced the Ikedaya Incident and was nominally just a civilian armed organization, it had long since become an indispensable henchman of the shogunate.

The key point is that at this point in history, they hadn't yet risen to fame, so there was no question of them being dismissed.

When Ju Qinglan saw his reaction, a smug smile immediately appeared on her face.

He crossed his legs and swung them leisurely: "How about that? Didn't expect that, did you? Did you think I only knew about steam ghosts?"

Zhang Chang'an ignored his words and just stared at him: "Stop keeping me in suspense and get to the point."

Xiaoju's smugness immediately diminished after being stared at by him. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice, saying, "I heard it from a friend in Nijo Castle. They say the Kyoto police chief got into a fight with Kondo Isami, the director of the Shinsengumi, and that's the reason."

You know what kind of person Chief Kondo is; he's very upright. He questioned me to my face, asking "Why?" and everyone heard it clearly.

"and then?"

"Then the news came out." Xiaoju shrugged: "They said that the higher-ups felt that the Shinsengumi was acting too flamboyantly and was constantly clashing with the Zunyao faction."

When they were truly needed, they failed to perform their duties effectively, instead causing chaos in Kyoto. Therefore, they are being dissolved, with the excuse that Kyoto's security doesn't need them.

Zhang Chang'an frowned, slowing down his eating. This matter sounded like a normal internal conflict, but given the context of last night, it seemed particularly strange.

The convoy he intercepted last night belonged to the Shogunate's directly controlled supply department, the Steam Bureau. He had just discovered that the Steam Bureau was secretly researching that strange entity called "Ittosai," and now the Shinsengumi was about to be disbanded.

Regardless of any connection behind this, if something like this really happens to the Shinsengumi, then that large group of hot-blooded, highly skilled fighters—

"Hello!"

Just as Zhang Chang'an was thinking this, he heard a loud shout from behind him.

Just then, Hijikata Toshizo led a group of Shinsengumi members, escorting several ronin who were bound hand and foot, out of a nearby alley.

Those ronin were all bruised and battered. Hijikata walked in front, his hand on his katana, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

And right across from him.

Sakamoto Ryoma was standing beside several large wooden crates, with seven or eight people following behind him, lining up to receive their belongings.

One can after another, packed in bamboo tubes, but the inside was pitch black, clearly indicating that it was fuel oil of a certain grade, though not very high, but sufficient for daily household use.

These two groups of people bumped into each other on the street.

Hijikata Toshizo stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on Sakamoto Ryoma, his eyes filled with extreme ferocity.

Sakamoto Ryoma also saw him, but only nodded slightly before continuing with his own business.

Hijikata's face darkened further. Leading the samurai who were holding down the ronin behind him, he strode towards Sakamoto: "Sakamoto Ryoma!"

His voice was quite loud, and many pedestrians around stopped in their tracks, secretly glancing in his direction.

Sakamoto Ryoma then straightened up, turned around slowly, and smiled gently as before: "Hijikata-san, what a coincidence."

"Skilled?" Hijikata sneered. "What are you doing here?"

"As you can see, it's hair oil." Sakamoto pointed to the people behind him. "These families are struggling to make ends meet, so I had someone get some fuel for them. What, is there a problem with that?"

Hijikata's gaze swept over the common people, then landed on Sakamoto's face.

He certainly knew what Sakamoto Ryoma was doing, which was probably why he didn't immediately take action, but his tone remained cold and hard: "And then what?"

"You want them to take these things and help your so-called patriots set fires? Was it you who did what happened last night?"

Sakamoto raised an eyebrow: "About last night? What happened?"

"Answer me seriously." Hijikata stepped forward, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. "The research institute's convoy was hijacked last night, and it has nothing to do with you?"

Sakamoto's smile deepened, even carrying a hint of innocence: "Mr. Hijikata, you're wronging me."

I was busy most of last night dealing with the turnover of this batch of oil.

Anyone could see that Sakamoto was full of energy and didn't look like he'd stayed up all night, so this was most likely just a small retaliation to spite Hijikata Kenzo. He paused, then suddenly walked towards a handcart stall on the street: "I haven't even had breakfast yet. I'm going to get something to eat first. If you have any evidence, come and arrest me anytime."

Hijikata was so angry at his attitude that his face turned ashen, his hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and he almost took a step forward.

"Deputy Chief."

But just then, a gentle voice came from the side.

Okita Souji had somehow walked up to Hijikata and, with a raised hand, pressed down on the end of the hilt, stopping him from moving again.

"Don't waste time here." He sighed helplessly, then said in a low voice, "He hasn't really done anything wrong. The people who hijacked the caravan last night weren't using the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style, but rather that third person's swordsmanship had a strong Ittō-ryū flavor, only you know that."

Hijikata frowned: "That doesn't necessarily mean they aren't preparing something."

"We can't just arrest people because we suspect them of what they're up to," Okita said helplessly. "I know the vice minister is worried about the layoffs, but we can't just do that because of that."

Hijikata remained silent for a moment, watching Okita Souji, who showed no intention of moving an inch, before finally releasing his grip on the hilt of his sword. He turned and waved to the team members behind him: "Let's go!"

The Shinsengumi members escorted the ronin away with him.

Okita didn't leave immediately. He stood there, his gaze sweeping over the noodle stalls on the street, then paused slightly.

Because in front of the pushcart stall where Sakamoto Ryoma was, Zhang Chang'an was also sitting there with a bowl in his hand, and next to him was a young man who looked rather nonchalant.

He thought about it for a moment, and finally walked towards the noodle stall.

He stopped in front of the noodle stall, nodded to Zhang Chang'an, and then looked at Sakamoto, who had already sat down and started ordering: "Sakamoto-san, the vice-commander's words just now were quite offensive. That's just his personality, don't take it to heart."

Zhang Chang'an pretended not to have fully noticed him, but the range of vision of the Death God's Eye was much stronger than that of ordinary people, so he didn't need to move his gaze or turn his head to detect Okita's slight movements.

He was talking to Sakamoto, but his gaze kept sweeping over the people around him, focusing mainly on their shoulders and thighs.

And among these self-proclaimed labels, Zhang Chang'an is of course included.