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

Tokugawa Iemochi felt his gums were about to bleed from biting them, and his voice trembled with barely concealed anger.

"I want to...make peace."

He felt incredibly humiliated, especially now that he was about to take over the shogunate.

The shogunate's face has been thrown on the ground and ground around in disgrace.

Tokugawa Iemochi was assassinated, and his head was brazenly taken to the front lines where war was raging. Hahahaha!

Tokugawa Yoshinobu's vision went black, and he fainted.

"Lord Tokugawa! Lord Tokugawa!"

......

After tense negotiations, the war that brought the Tokugawa family a great humiliation came to an end.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu, as the representative of the shogunate, recognized Takasugi Shinsaku's position within the Choshu Domain and agreed to withdraw his troops.

The price was merely Takasugi Shinsaku returning the head of Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu wanted Takasugi Shinsaku to hand over Samura Anno as well, but all he got in return was threats and the fact that Samura Anno had already disappeared.

The war ended, and it ended extremely quickly and ridiculously.

------------

Chapter 408 Meiji

Tokugawa Yoshinobu returned to Edo and received an imperial decree from Emperor Kōmei, becoming the Shogun of the shogunate.

The body of the former shogun Tokugawa Iemochi was finally intact and could be buried.

Princess Kazumiya, the widow of Tokugawa Iemochi and the younger sister of Emperor Kōmei, stayed by the coffin all night after Tokugawa Iemochi's body was pieced back together, unwilling to leave for a long time.

On the day of Tokugawa Iemochi's burial, a prisoner was escorted to his tombstone.

Gensaburo Inoue.

He knelt before Jia Mao's tombstone, his expression indifferent.

His heart was broken; he no longer cared about life or death.

We are all on the path to becoming the strongest, so why...?

Oh well, this is my final resting place anyway.

Silently picking up the dagger from the ground, Inoue Genzaburo calmly said something to the second.

"Excuse me."

puff-

The dagger was almost completely embedded in his abdomen, but Inoue Genzaburo's expression remained unchanged.

squeak--

With all his might, he pulled hard to the side.

Inoue Genzaburo didn't care that his internal organs had spilled out of his abdomen. He simply put the dagger aside, touched the ground with both hands, and bowed deeply to Iemochi's tombstone.

Zheng—

The instant Inoue Genzaburo's head touched the ground, the second wielder swiftly brought down his sword.

Inoue Genzaburo's head fell to the ground.

Several guards came over. Two of them lifted Inoue's body, and one picked up Inoue's head and threw it into Tokugawa Iemochi's tomb. Then they cleaned up all the blood on the ground.

When Iemochi's coffin fell, it buried more than just Tokugawa Iemochi.

There are also those who are guilty.

......

One piece of bad news after another.

After the assassination of Tokugawa Iemochi, the shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Emperor Takaaki.

He died.

Japan, still reeling from the aftermath of Tokugawa Iemochi's assassination, was once again thrown into chaos.

This has nothing to do with the four southwestern domains, with Choshu Domain as the leader.

Choshu Domain, Satsuma Domain, Tosa Domain, Higo Domain.

The original main theme was "Respect the King and Expel the Barbarians," but after everyone realized that "Expelling the Barbarians" was not feasible, it evolved into "Respect the King and Expel the Barbarians" and "Respect the King and Overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate."

Two of the most powerful domains were the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain. Although the two domains had old grudges, they also had many similarities.

Both domains were Western Army forces in the Battle of Sekigahara and had long harbored resentment towards the Tokugawa Shogunate; both domains had people engaged in smuggling, making them wealthy; both domains were located in remote areas far from Edo; both domains had a strong desire for power; and the talented people in both domains actively discussed current affairs and sought opportunities.

Within the Choshu Domain, the two de facto leaders who were close friends were Takasugi Shinsaku and Kido Junichiro, one a free-spirited military strategist and the other an outstanding politician.

Under the joint rule of the two, the Choshu Domain flourished. With the help of two powerful external ally, Sakamoto Ryoma and Samura Anno of the Tosa Domain, the corrupt shogunate naturally collapsed when faced with the Choshu-Satsuma community, which possessed such power.

The year was now Keio 4 (1867).

Zuo Cun's injuries have almost fully healed.

But the other person... is already nearing the end.

"Cough cough—cough cough cough—"

Takasugi Shinsaku lay on the tatami mat, coughing violently. His chest felt like a bellows, and each breath was accompanied by a loud thud.

"Takasugi, have some hot water." Kido Junichiro helped Takasugi Shinsaku up, held the water glass to Takasugi's lips, and looked worried.

"Cough cough cough-"

Unexpectedly, Takasugi Shinsaku suddenly coughed violently, spilling the water glass.

"Sorry, Kido—cough cough cough—" Takasugi Shinsaku wanted to apologize, but involuntarily grabbed the handkerchief next to him and covered his mouth and nose.

The glaring blood appeared on the handkerchief.

"It's alright, I'll pour you another one." Kido Junichiro sighed, called over a servant to take the cup that Takasugi Shinsaku had covered and wash it, then filled a bowl with water for himself and handed it to Takasugi Shinsaku.

Takasugi Shinsaku leaned against the wall and this time actually drank the water.

After drinking some hot water, my cough subsided a bit.

"Hey, Gui, how much longer do you think I have to live?"

He straightened his long hair and asked his best friend with a smile.

Her once smooth, long hair now appeared dry and brittle, and her once bright eyes now had sunken sockets.

Junichiro Kido looked grief-stricken and refused to answer.

"Don't be so sad." Takasugi weakly pushed Kido and smiled. "If you want to be sad, you can be sad after I die."

“You are more talented than me, Takasugi, I just…” Kido opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything.

Takasugi looked at Kido and simply smiled.

"You still have a lot of things to deal with, I'm sorry Kido, so many things are piling up on your shoulders."

He sighed, "If I die, there really won't be anyone to help you with things."

"...Don't say anymore, Takasugi. Just focus on getting better. You won't die." Kido Junichiro shook his head reluctantly, turning his head away to hide his tears.

"I have to go... take care of some official business first, I'll come see you later." Kido Junichiro said as he walked out of the room without looking back.

Shinsaku Takasugi looked at Kido's back and smiled.

"Cough cough—cough cough cough—"

Junichiro Kido turned his back to the room, wiped away his tears, and walked away quickly.

......

February.

After Xiaoming's funeral, the next step, naturally, is the enthronement of the crown prince.

Crown Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei, to the throne, and was known as—

Emperor Meiji.

He was only fifteen years old when he ascended the throne.

After assuming office, he sat in the main seat and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

He didn't feel much about his father's death, after all, it was a natural death, and Xiaoming had been in poor health for many years.

Most importantly, the two had never had a harmonious relationship. Mutsujin received less warmth from Komei than he did from Sachon.

I have successfully secured this position.

The next step is to contact the three teachers.

Samura once told Mutsuhito that once Mutsuhito truly ascended the throne, he would send someone to contact him, obtain a genuine imperial edict to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, and rightfully define the Tokugawa shogunate as the villain, thereby overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate and establishing a new government.

The head of the new government was, naturally, Mutsuhito.

That is, the current Emperor Meiji.

Meiji looked at Tokugawa Yoshinobu kneeling below him, bowing in worship, and a smirk appeared in his eyes.

Soon, you Tokugawa people will no longer need to pretend to worship me here.

......

After learning that Mutsuhito had ascended the throne in Kyoto and taken the title of Emperor Meiji.

Zuo Cun, who was still recovering from his injury, revealed a barely perceptible smile.

While the Satsuma Domain was still hesitating, the Choshu Domain was already actively preparing for war.

This time, it's not your Tokugawa Shogunate that started the war.