I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

“Ju-kun, those radical patriots who advocate for the king and expel foreigners have always kept you on their ‘list of those to be punished by heaven’.”

“Today, Kyoto has long become the largest ‘nest’ for those who advocate revering the emperor and expelling foreigners, apart from the Choshu Domain.”

"Once you arrive in Kyoto, you will inevitably be assassinated by them."

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark... Even someone as powerful as you can't avoid this profound saying."

The three women, speaking in different ways, conveyed the same message—stay in Edo and don't go to the dangerous Kyoto.

Qingdeng watched them silently with a calm smile.

In the next instant, he suddenly leaned forward and opened his arms, like a mother bird spreading her wings to protect her chicks, and embraced all three women.

The sudden hug caused the three women to scream in surprise.

Qingdeng almost couldn't breathe.

He took several deep breaths before he finally managed to regulate his breathing.

Thank you.

“I have received your concern; I understand your meaning.”

"But my mind is made up."

As he spoke, Qing Deng tightened his arms around the three women slightly, a solemn expression appearing on his face.

"The Party that is being punished by law is a huge group."

"They possess a well-organized, hierarchical structure; a precise and efficient intelligence network; immeasurable human and material resources; and outstanding talent."

"No matter how strong I am, or how skilled I am in swordsmanship, I still only have one head, two hands, and two legs."

"I am not capable of fighting against such a behemoth on my own."

"Therefore... I also need my own well-organized organization! My own intelligence network! My own resources! My own troops!"

"This trip to Luoyang is both a 'crisis' and an 'opportunity' for me."

"The big tree gave me the greatest degree of autonomy, allowing me to go all out and do a great job."

"If not now, when?"

"No matter what, I don't want to stay in Edo any longer and wait for the lunatics of the Fa-ju-dō to come knocking on my door."

"This time... it's my turn to take the initiative!"

At this point, Qingdeng paused, then adopted a more relaxed, half-joking tone:

"Furthermore, this is also a great opportunity for me to marry you."

"Once I have guns and cannons under my command, and thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers, let's see who dares to say anything about our marriage."

Hearing Qingdeng's words, the three women all showed gentle expressions of amusement.

Three little hands climbed up Qingdeng's back and hugged him tightly.

then……

Bang!Bang!Bang!

Three little hands suddenly clenched into fists and struck Qingdeng's waist and spine in quick succession!

"Cough!"

Qingdeng screamed in pain as the pain and numbness spread throughout his body. As he released the three women, his body went limp and he lay down on his side.

At the same time, they slowly stood up expressionlessly, looking down at Qingdeng who had fallen to the ground. The three beautiful figures, one tall and two short, pressed down on him like a mountain.

"W-Why did you hit me...?"

Qingdeng timidly raised his eyes and cast a weak and pitiful glance at the three women in front of him.

"nothing."

"Zanako said calmly."

"I just felt inexplicably uncomfortable when I heard you say things like 'our marriage'."

Qing Deng was dumbfounded:

"Didn't you already promise me a chance to marry you?"

One year and eight months ago, in the ward of Renyi Hospital, Qing Deng almost died on his sickbed after he had spoken frankly with his three daughters and their parents.

Thanks to the chief's mediation, Qing Deng finally reached an agreement with everyone: Qing Deng's "womanizing" behavior would not be pursued for the time being, and Qing Deng would be given a chance to prove that he had the ability to "win over the three women's parents" and "bring them happiness even if he married them."

As for how long this "probationary period" will last, no timeframe has been set.

Mai Kinoshita nodded slightly:

"We do have such an agreement, but don't make it sound like we've already agreed to marry you together."

The commander-in-chief put his hands on his hips and nodded vigorously:

"That's right, that's right! That punch just now was just a little reminder to you—don't get carried away. If you think you can definitely marry us, you might lose us instead."

Sanako added:

"Tachibana-kun, don't think we can't live without you."

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingertips, and said shyly in a low voice:

"Well...that's not quite right..."

Souji: "..."

Sanako: "..."

The two of them simultaneously showed speechless expressions, turned their heads to Kinoshita Mai and gave her a look that seemed to say, "Uh, you can't be serious?"

Under the combined gaze of these two sharp eyes, Kinoshita Mai blushed deeply with embarrassment.

In an attempt to save face, she hurriedly said:

"No, no, no, that's right! Qingdeng, don't think we can't live without you! Also, don't suddenly hug me! It's very, very scary!"

Qingdeng rubbed his still aching back as he slowly sat up again.

Looking at the three women, who had been fierce but had regained their energy, his face involuntarily relaxed.

The corners of his mouth also relaxed.

A moment later, a relieved smile appeared on his cheek.

And so, he happily enjoyed this noisy yet incredibly relaxing time.

……

……

Just as the three women were unanimously "denouncing" Qingdeng—

Shieikan, Kondo Isami's room—

Kondo Isami sat cross-legged by the window, gazing up at the night sky... Correction. Saying "he was looking at the night sky" seems inaccurate.

To be more precise, he seemed to be gazing at the night sky, staring blankly at something in front of him, or perhaps he wasn't looking at anything at all.

His entire being was immersed in a torrent of thoughts.

After a short while, he murmured to himself in the air:

"Kyoto... huh..."

……

……

Wenjiu three years (1863), January 3th——

Asakusa – a bustling area centered around Senso-ji Temple.

The vibrant and bustling Yoshiwara is located in Senzuka Village, behind Senso-ji Temple.

Furthermore, the three most famous and powerful Kabuki theaters in Edo, namely the "Ichimura-za," "Nakamura-za," and "Morita-za," are all located in Saruoka-cho, Asakusa.

With both a "Peach Blossom Theme Park" and a "Drama Theme Park," Asakusa, with its unique location advantage, was known as a "place of pleasure" by the people of Edo and was the undisputed "number one entertainment district in Japan."

Even with the major changes to the sanjin-kotai system and the sharp decrease in the number of people entering and leaving Edo, Asakusa remains extremely lively.

Even on ordinary days, Asakusa's prosperity is so dazzling and eye-catching, let alone today.

Today marks the official start of conscription for the Zhenfu Army, with the conscription location set in Asakusa.

As for how to describe the flow of people in Asakusa today... using idioms such as "crowded with people" or "packed with people" would be too inaccurate and inappropriate.

"Wow... this number is ridiculously high..."

The commander used his palm as a canopy, resting it on his brow bone, and strained to stand on tiptoe, gazing at the crowd ahead.

Since the beginning of winter, sunny days have been quite rare.

Beneath the gray clouds typical of winter, the streets of Asakusa are covered with a chaotic mix of colors.

Black, flesh-colored, red, green, cyan... they come in all colors.

The true form of these "colors" is a living, breathing person.

Men, women, young and old—you could find both high-ranking warriors with gleaming swords at their waists and fine clothes, and commoners in tattered clothes and emaciated faces.

To use a vivid yet rather crude analogy... at this moment, the streets of Asakusa resembled ditches overflowing with debris.

The water flowed slowly forward.

The "debris" floating on the water's surface... refers to the crowd slowly drifting downstream.

The sheer volume of people left the commander speechless with astonishment.

"Are all these people here to sign up for the Zhenfu Army?"

Hijikata Toshizo, who was walking side by side with Souji, arms crossed, shook his head:

"Of course not, a significant number of people are clearly just here to join in the fun."

The members of the Shieikan group, led by Kondo Isami and Souji, have all come to join in the fun today.

They all wanted to see how bustling the "Zhenfu Army Recruitment Site" would be, and to see what methods Qingdeng would use to select soldiers.