I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Why did I issue this ban?

"The purpose was to establish my authority and to get these people, who were used to being lazy and had never been trained in the military, used to being restrained and controlled, and to learn to obey orders."

"Otherwise, the Shinsengumi will always remain a rabble."

After hearing this, Harada Sanosuke murmured:

"But... if you don't untie them, I'm afraid they'll cause trouble."

Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"Let them make a scene! The more they make a scene, the better. I'm more afraid they won't cause trouble!"

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Chapter 557 Execute Someone to Establish Authority! [6000]

That night--

Tokaido, Hakone-juku, a certain hotel—

"This dinner was delicious!"

"Yes, those hot spring buns were so delicious!"

"Joining the Shinsengumi was definitely the right decision. The food is so delicious every day. If our fellow villagers back home knew, they would be so envious of us!"

"Sigh, we were only able to enjoy such delicious food because of the warm hospitality we received at the campsites during our march. I'm afraid we won't be treated so well when we get to Kyoto!"

Three young men with wakizashi (armored swords) around their waists walked along the creaking corridor back to their bedroom.

Although they shaved their heads, their hair was not tied on top of their heads, but rather pinned at the back of their heads.

Initially, the chonmage hairstyle was exclusive to samurai.

But as time went on, this trend spread from the top down to the common people.

Even today, the poorest tenant farmers have the right to shave their heads into a proper style.

However, although both samurai and commoners can now shave their heads, there are still significant differences in their specific hairstyles – mainly in the placement of the topknot.

The samurai's hair was tied up directly on top of his head.

Commoners' hair buns are positioned further back, so that when viewed from the front, it looks as if the bun is tucked behind their head.

Judging from their hairstyles and their dark, rough skin, tanned from years of exposure to strong winds and scorching sun, there was no doubt that they were soldiers of commoner origin.

The vast majority of the Shinsengumi members were samurai who had studied martial arts.

However, some civilians were still exceptionally recruited into the army due to their outstanding physical fitness.

Judging from their accents, these three people should be farmers from the Musashi region.

Musashi was a strategic stronghold on the Kanto Plain, and also the location of the "Hachioji Thousand Men United" army, a semi-military, semi-agricultural samurai army organized by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Although the long period of peace and tranquility had rendered the military preparedness of the Eighth Prince's thousand-strong army in a sorry state, the tradition of martial arts had been passed down.

In the area surrounding Musashi, fitness and martial arts have become very popular.

During the busy farming season, they would work in the fields, and during the off-season, they would train together or hire highly skilled martial arts instructors to teach them martial arts.

For this reason, in terms of physical fitness and the quality of recruits, Musashi is far superior to other regions.

The Shinsengumi members who came from commoner backgrounds were mostly from good families who were united with the Hachioji clan.

Just as the three were having a pleasant conversation, four samurai with swords at their waists suddenly appeared at the corner of the corridor ahead of them. This inn had been taken over by the Shinsengumi, and apart from the staff, everyone who frequented the inn was a member of the Shinsengumi.

They burped and swaggered towards the three farm boys.

The two groups of people walked towards each other.

Upon seeing this, the farm boys paused, their faces showing hesitation and doubt.

However, they quickly regained their composure and continued walking without stopping.

The corridor is wide enough that even if two groups of people walk side by side without giving way to each other, they will not feel cramped.

However... the four warriors suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Hey, what do you mean by this?"

The leader pursed his lips, raised his chin, and looked down at everyone.

"Didn't your parents teach you that commoners should give way to samurai when they encounter them in narrow places like corridors or bridges?"

Upon hearing this, the three farmers immediately stopped in their tracks, their faces showing indignation.

"This corridor is so wide, why should we make way for you?"

The samurai's nostrils flared even higher:

“Even if this corridor is wide, you should all step aside. This is the proper etiquette for you commoners.”

Indignation crept onto the farmers' faces.

They suppressed their anger and said in a deep voice:

"Hey, that's not right! Before the army set off, Lord Niou said it himself: From now on, there will be no distinction between men, women, samurai, commoners, and Eta! We now all have only one identity, and that is, we are all Shinsengumi warriors!"

"That's right! We are equal now! Stop trying to intimidate us with that old 'samurai vs. commoner' mentality!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the samurai burst into laughter as if they had heard a very funny joke.

The corridor was filled with boisterous laughter.

After laughing to his heart's content, the leading samurai curled his lip in disdain.

"Niou? If Niou tells you to eat shit, you'll eat shit too? If Niou tells you to lick his asshole, you'll eagerly lick his asshole too?"

Another person chimed in:

"You really think you can be on equal footing with us from now on just because the King of Ren said it so casually?"

The leading samurai took over the conversation.

"Although Niou is our leader, that doesn't mean we have to obey his orders in everything!"

"We chose to join the Shinsengumi to wipe out the bandits entrenched in the capital region, not to be humiliated, and certainly not to be offended by you mud-covered commoners!"

"Letting commoners join the army... Hmph, that's utter nonsense! His act of recruiting women into the army is even more absurd! Such a violation of etiquette and law, only Prince Ren could do such a thing!"

His words were filled with dissatisfaction with Qingdeng.

"If you understand, then get out of my way and clear the path for me!"

After he finished speaking, he paused, glanced sideways at the wakizashi (short swords) at the farmers' waists.

Although Japan is currently in a state of moral decay and more and more commoners are openly ignoring the rule that "only samurai can carry katana", you still need a sword if you want to carry a katana, right?

Throughout the Edo period, due to limited productivity, swords were never a common commodity that could be sold to every household.

The cheapest knives on the market are the cheap ones, which are jokingly referred to as "wholesale knives".

Swordsmiths in major cities such as Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka made huge quantities of them and displayed them in front of their stalls like small mountains for open-air sales.

They are all identical in style and material, as if they were poured from the same mold, without even a single inscription.

Generally speaking, in order to build their own "brand reputation" and to create "anti-counterfeiting marks", knife makers often engrave the name of the knife maker and the year and month when the knife was forged on the hilt.

The knifemakers were so reluctant to even leave their names on the hilts of these knives that one can imagine how poorly they were made.

Its sharpness is basically only at the level of a kitchen knife.

Needless to say, its toughness is questionable. If you were to chop this broken knife against a wooden stick, you wouldn't know which one would break first.

However, even such inferior products can only be purchased for a high price of between 3 plants and 1 ounce.

[Note: 1 liang = 4 fen = 16 zhu]

Three plants... An ordinary farming family works hard all year round, and they don't even know if they can save up enough for one plant of gold.

Let alone commoners, even lower-ranking samurai from impoverished families cannot easily buy or replace swords.

It is common for generations to use the same knife.

Grandpa uses it, then Dad uses it, then Dad uses it, then the son uses it, then the son uses it, then the grandson uses it...

Some people even treasure their bamboo knives, which have been passed down from the Warring States period more than two hundred years ago. If they are accidentally damaged or broken, they will have to carry the bamboo knife on their waist.

It was obvious that none of these three farm boys could afford to buy a knife.

They each carried only one wakizashi at their waist, and these wakizashi were quite old.

The scabbard, mottled like rotten wood, seemed to exude a damp, foul odor.

The sharkskin and its bindings were tattered and torn, like clothes with loose threads.

[Note: Shark skin: Stingray skin from Southeast Asia, applied to the handle to make it easier to grip and prevent slippage. Wrapping: After the shark skin is applied, the handle maker will wrap silk or cotton wrapping tape around the handle. This completes the handle.]

As the samurai gazed at the historically significant wakizashi worn by the farmers, their disdain and mockery intensified.

"Just because you have a cheap, tattered wakizashi tucked into your waistband, you think you're a samurai?"

Having said that, the leading samurai proudly brandished his exquisite katana at his waist, "openly" displaying his sword to the farmers.

Perhaps it was the samurai's contemptuous expression that stung them, or perhaps it was the man's scornful words that made them lose their temper—one of the farmers stepped forward, swung his fist, and struck the face of the leading, most arrogant samurai who had been spouting nonsense since the beginning.

With a loud thud, the unsuspecting samurai was sent flying backward, crashing into his companion behind him.

This punch ignited a powder keg that was already on the verge of exploding.

"Damn it! What do you want to do?"

"Go to hell!"

"You mere commoners dare to beat up a samurai! Very well, now I'll show you the power of a samurai!"

In an instant, the sounds of swords being drawn rang out.