In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

......

After paying his respects to Emperor Komei, Yamanouchi Yodo traveled to the shogunate, which was the location of Tokugawa Iemochi.

"The security situation in Kyoto and the surrounding area..." Tokugawa Iemochi rubbed his head and sighed.

He was aware of this problem, but now the shogunate had lost face and prestige, and its remaining power was being slowly eroded by internal strife. He also wanted to maintain the security of the surrounding areas.

However, unlike Takaaki, who had a laid-back attitude, Tokugawa Iemochi genuinely wanted to do something for the country, but the constraints he faced were far greater than those faced by Takaaki.

Even after marrying Kazumiya, he did not feel any stability. On the contrary, the pro-imperial and anti-foreign faction, which was suppressed by the pro-imperial and anti-foreign faction, became even more aggressive.

Moreover, Kazumiya, who was already dissatisfied with the marriage, never gave Iemo a kind look when they were together every day. Even when they were in bed together, he always had a sour face.

But it seems Jiamao quite likes this feeling too?

In such a political quagmire, finding a gap to organize people to maintain the security of Kyoto and its surrounding areas is truly extremely difficult.

"I understand. Thank you, Lord Yamanouchi-do." The somewhat withdrawn Tokugawa Iemochi began to see his guest off.

After Yamanouchi Yodo left, Tokugawa Iemochi stroked his chin and began to think.

Even the lord of a separate domain who has come to Kyoto believes that the security situation in the surrounding areas is extremely serious...

No matter what, we should at least do something about it.

"Matsudaira, how many regular troops are currently stationed in Kyoto?"

"General, if we include the vassal states of various domains, the current number of troops is approximately ten thousand."

"Can I just misappropriate it?"

"......two thousand."

Tokugawa Iemochi covered his face.

There were originally four thousand, but two thousand of them are still being trained as an elite secret army and cannot be deployed.

"Organize two hundred men, all armed, to patrol Kyoto and the surrounding areas for six months. If they encounter bandits, arrest them all, and try to capture them alive," Tokugawa Iemochi ordered. "It's time to give these mountain bandits around Kyoto a good thrashing. I've recently received reports of several villages being looted."

"I understand."

"Go as soon as possible. Also, if any lower-ranking samurai are willing to help, they are not allowed to join the regular army."

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Chapter 342 The Furious Tokugawa Iemochi

"Shimazaki... Kondo, Yu, have you heard the latest news?" Hijikata Toshizo sat on the roof with a straw in his mouth.

Kondo Shusuke's health could no longer support him to engage in more activities, so he had retired behind the scenes. Shimazaki Isamu, who regarded Kondo Shusuke as his father and had been by his side since childhood, also inherited the surname Kondo.

From the young Katsugoro Miyagawa, to Shota Shimazaki, then to Isamu Shimazaki, and now to Isao Kondo.

"I heard," Kondo said, standing on the rooftop, gazing at the distant sea. "Where's Souji?"

"The Souji is training those disciples." Hijikata Toshizo didn't look at the sea; he seemed somewhat distracted. "Now that you've heard about it, what are your plans?"

"Let's wait and see."

"Wait and see?"

“That’s right.” Kondo Isami closed his eyes. “The disciples of Tennen Rishin-ryu are not strong enough. If it’s just the few of us, no matter how strong each individual is, we will not be able to stand firm in this chaotic world.”

"But Okita's teaching methods... are a bit rough?" Another voice came from below.

“Saito,” Kondo Isami called out his name.

“Being a bit rough is good, but Okita’s mental state... is definitely not right.” Hijikata Toshizo sighed.

"When did it start?" Kondo Isami sat down. "Was it after Shusuke retired? Or after she obtained her Mandate of Heaven?"

“Even earlier.” Saito pointed to his finger. “It seems you two really don’t understand Okita.”

"What do you know?" Kondo and Hijikata, who both looked very composed, tilted their heads at the same time.

Saito Hajime rolled his eyes and sighed, "Forget it, you guys better not know."

Okita has been emotionally unstable ever since Samura left.

Or perhaps these two are deliberately avoiding the issue and playing dumb?

Saito glanced suspiciously at the two people talking.

Well, why bother exploring so much?

......

"Your explosive power is completely insufficient. How are you going to fight your opponents like this?" Okita Souji glared at her opponent lying opposite her, who had been knocked to the ground by her.

“Okita-sensei, I…” The student who had been knocked to the ground was hesitant to refute Okita Souji.

Okita Souji grabbed his collar: "You."

She looked at the other students watching around her: "And you guys too."

"Listen up, all of you."

"What kind of era do you think you live in? A peaceful era where sword practice is just for fun?"

All the trainees kept their heads down, and no one dared to speak.

He threw the student to the ground, turned around, and went back to the wall.

Okita drew his katana from the wall and stood in the center of the dojo.

Tell me, what is this?

"Knife fight."

"Knife."

"The famous sword, Kashuu Kiyomitsu".

Various answers.

Okita's gaze swept across everyone through the blade.

"This is a knife, this is a weapon for killing!"

She was somewhat disappointed in him.

"Why do you think you picked up such weapons?"

"Those who are gathered here and want to take up swords are all ambitious people."

"...I know who your enemies are, and I know their strength, so don't think that this thing can be used with brute force alone."

"...This era needs more people to save it, so don't show me this spineless attitude again during the next test." Okita Souji's eyes were cold.

"Yes!" Inside the training hall, many trainees responded in unison.

"Rintaro-kun, was Souji like this before?" Inoue Genzaburo asked the man beside him.

Rintaro Okita smiled awkwardly: "Souji is actually quite gentle; she probably only acts like this when she's teaching students."

He set the teacup aside, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes: "Souji was definitely cuter when he was a kid..."

......

time flies.

The past few months have been relatively calm, without any major upheavals, at least for Zuocun.

The shogunate organized patrol teams, but the results were not good. The number of people involved was too large. Compared with the agile mountain bandits, these feudal soldiers were too cumbersome. In a total of six months, they only wiped out two groups of mountain bandits.

Samura and Ryoma found their way to Edo. Samura didn't go to the Shieikan or do anything else; he simply found Katsu Kaishu, the highly respected creator of the new navy.

After learning about the intentions of Samura and Ryoma, Katsu Kaishu did not choose to expel them. Instead, he admired the three young men (including Miss Ryoma).

However, he did not agree to let Samura and Ryoma go to Tosa with them.

"What I do is not for any government; everything I do is for this country, nothing more."

Sheng Haizhou said this to the three people.

In the end, the two stayed with Sheng Haizhou and never mentioned taking him away again. Instead, they learned about the navy from Sheng Haizhou.

Everything seemed so peaceful.

Until July.

A group of "patriots who wanted to expel foreigners" launched a frenzied attack on the British Embassy.

"Who did this? Has anyone claimed responsibility?" Tokugawa Iemochi looked out through the curtain with a gloomy expression.

The entire shogunate was silent; everyone was terrified.

“This is the second time. The second time a foreigner has died on Japanese soil.” He gritted his teeth, slammed his hand on the table, and veins bulged on his forehead. “An American died in January, and in July, a British diplomat died.”

"How many foreigners are there in Japan? Can't we even protect such a small number of people?!"

"You should all think about it yourselves. How much money and supplies did I give that James guy in January to settle things?"

"Expel the barbarians, expel the barbarians, is this the result you hoped for?"

"Slaughter all the foreigners on our land? Then send American, Russian, British, and Dutch warships all to Edo and block our mouths with cannons?"

"I know what you're trying to do, but can you use your brains before you do these things?"

"No matter what my men do, in the end it's my responsibility. We need to take that responsibility, and we're almost out of ammunition and supplies!"

"Bandits are rampant all over the country right now, people are living in fear, various political parties and organizations are emerging, and tax revenue is simply not enough! Do you really want to expose us to the ugliness of internal strife and division in front of the whole world?"

Tokugawa Iemochi roared.

This was the first time he had been so angry since becoming a general.

He was breathing heavily, with one hand on his forehead.

"Investigate. Send someone to investigate. I need to know who attacked the British Embassy this time."

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Chapter 343 Guns and Swords