I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

Kyoto, Mibu-go, Shinsengumi headquarters, a certain alleyway—

"Haaaaaah~~"

Hijikata Toshizo stretched vigorously while muttering complaints to himself:

"Damn it... I really want to hug a woman..."

Hijikata Toshizo, who is both energetic and exceptionally womanizing, has a constitution that makes him "feel uncomfortable if he doesn't sleep with a woman for a day".

"I really want to go and experience the charm of Kyoto women..."

As he spoke, he turned his head to look in the direction where Shimabara was.

Under Aoto's explicit prohibition, unless the situation in Kyoto stabilizes, all soldiers of the Shinsengumi are forbidden from seeking pleasure in places of entertainment such as Shimabara and Gion.

Although Hijikata Toshizo faithfully obeyed the order, he couldn't resist the urge to investigate Shimabara's geographical location, popular courtesans, and other important information as quickly as possible.

For a true womanizer like him, the captivating charm of Kyoto women, renowned throughout the country, was irresistibly alluring.

Just as Hijikata Toshizo's thoughts drifted to the distant Shimabara—

"Mr. Hijikata! Mr. Hijikata!"

The commander's anxious voice suddenly reached his ears.

Hijikata Toshizo raised his eyebrows sharply, then turned to look at Souji, who was rushing towards him in three strides.

"Commander-in-Chief, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry so early in the morning?"

"Mr. Hijikata! Something terrible has happened! Tachibana-kun has been taken away by the officials from the Kyoto Magistrate's Office!"

Hijikata Toshizo was stunned.

"Tachibana? Kyoto Magistrate's Office? It's been taken away?"

He repeated these three completely unrelated words, which he thought should never be put together, with a bewildered tone.

The commander nodded vigorously and then succinctly recounted the whole story of the incident.

Qing Deng once publicly announced the "command hierarchy" of the Shinsengumi.

Under Qingdeng's clear planning, the new electoral group had a very clear chain of command.

When Aoto was absent, Vice Commander Hijikata Toshizo took over command of the entire Shinsengumi army.

When Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo were both absent, command authority rested with Director Kondo Isami.

If none of the above three are available, then Chief Yamanami Keisuke will have to take the lead.

Therefore, when Sanako returned to the camp and informed her companions of the situation that "the leader has been arrested," Souji immediately went to see Hijikata Toshizo.

After listening to Souji's concise report, Hijikata Toshizo fell into deep thought.

A moment later, the "thoughtful look" on his face turned into "sudden realization".

"Mr. Hijikata, what should we do now?"

"How to proceed? Need I say more?"

Hijikata Toshizo let out a cold snort:

"Mobilize all troops! Surround the Kyoto Magistrate's Office!"

……

……

Kyoto, Kinkai Komyoji Temple, Kyoto Guardian Headquarters—

Jinjie Guangming Temple is the main temple of the Pure Land School of Buddhism.

Passing through the "Goryeo Gate" at the entrance, there is a long ramp, followed by layers of stone walls and winding paths, making one feel as if this place is a fortified city...

In fact, it is true.

In the early Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu renovated the Kinkai Komyoji Temple with a castle-like structure to meet the occasional needs of his troops stationed in Kyoto.

In times of war, the Golden Ring Bright Temple would be an excellent fortified city.

For this reason, the Aizu Domain chose this place as its main camp.

At this very moment, in Matsudaira Katamori's office—

"What? Say that again!"

Matsudaira Katamori stared at his subordinate in disbelief.

The subordinate, kneeling on the tatami mat with three fingers supporting his weight, respectfully responded:

"Reporting to my lord! Lord Tachibana was captured by officers from the Kyoto Magistrate's Office for publicly executing a member of the Kusunoki Clan who had pledged allegiance to the enemy!"

"Lord Tachibana...was captured by the officers of the Kyoto Magistrate's Office?"

Matsudaira Katamori muttered to himself in a complicated tone.

Such tone and manner were as if they were reciting the most incredible incantation in the world.

"...How dare you!"

With a loud "smack," Matsudaira Katamori slammed the official document in his hand heavily onto the table.

"The Kyoto Magistrate's Office... is really getting more and more outrageous! In order to protect the wicked and treacherous patriots, they even dared to arrest the Governor of the Capital Region!"

Matsudaira Katamori stood up abruptly.

"Pass on my order! Gather 200 men and surround the Kyoto Magistrate's Office!"

*******

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How was it? I updated right on time today!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

PS: The predecessor of the Aizu Domain was the Ashina clan from the Sengoku period. The Ashina clan is the prototype of the Ashina Kingdom in Sekiro. Ashina and Ashina are both pronounced "ASHINA", so you can imagine the Shinsengumi and the Ashina Army fighting side by side.

Chapter 571 Encirclement of the Magistrate's Office! How dare you arrest Lord Tachibana? You've gone too far! [5300]

Kyoto, Kyoto Administrative Office, Hakushu——

"Kinoshita Saji! Do you know your crime?"

It must be said that Kinzaburo Takahashi's booming voice is indeed very intimidating, giving him a judge's air about him.

Ordinary people who lack experience and have little vision would probably be intimidated after being yelled at by Kinzaburo Takahashi a few times.

However... for someone who had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, stood shoulder to shoulder with illustrious figures like Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, Matsudaira Harugaku, and Katsura Rintaro, and could even meet with the high and mighty Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin at will, Takahashi Kinzaburo's influence was clearly less than a single cold glance from Sanako or Kinoshita Mai.

"What am I guilty of?"

Qing Deng calmly countered with a question.

Perhaps it was Qing Deng's calm reaction that surprised him, and Takahashi Kinzaburo was taken aback.

But he quickly came to his senses, slapped his thigh, and shouted:

"You killed five people in the street! Such a brutal crime has been witnessed by everyone! There are witnesses and physical evidence, yet you still refuse to confess?"

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng shrugged.

"My lord, I don't quite understand what you're saying. How could I have killed anyone?"

Kinzaburo Takahashi was taken aback again.

"What did you say?"

Not only Kinzaburo Takahashi, but also Rikisuke, Shoyaku, Doshin, Nawatori... everyone present was stunned.

With the added advantages of the talents "Emperor's Arts" and "Trickster +1", Qing Deng's sincere expression and earnest tone stunned everyone present.

Qingdeng nodded seriously and continued the conversation:

"I only stepped on a few cockroaches, the kind that fly onto people and are useless except for making people feel disgusted. How can you judge me guilty? Is this a special feature of the Kyoto Magistrate's Office? They convict people who step on pests?"

Upon hearing this, Kinzaburo Takahashi finally realized what was happening and, in a fit of rage, roared:

"Shut up! Don't try to spout these fallacies at me!"

"Hmph! You Eastern barbarians are quite the smooth talkers!"

"Then let me rephrase my question!"

"Hikojiro Taniguchi, Junyuki Umehara, Jinzo Tamori, Yoshimori Tsutake, and Jin Moriyama—were these five people killed by you?"

Qing Deng said calmly:

“I don’t know these names. If these names belong to those five scoundrels who just harassed women and tried to destroy other people’s property, then they were indeed killed by me one by one.”

"If that's the case, then there's nothing more to say!"

After shouting, Kinzaburo Takahashi turned his head and gave a look to Yoriki, who was standing next to him.

Yu Lizhu nodded knowingly, took out a neatly folded confession from his pocket, and handed it to Qingdeng.

"Now, you have two paths to choose from."

"First, obediently sign and fingerprint the confession!"

"Secondly, they were subjected to torture before being forced to sign and affix their fingerprints to a confession!"

Qingdeng took the confession and glanced at it carefully.

It was all written in flowery, literary language, and the gist of it was: I killed all those loyal and righteous people! I'm a beast! I'm not human! It's all my fault! I really regret it!

Scarface and others were completely exonerated, while Qing Deng was portrayed as extremely wicked.

If he signs and puts his fingerprint on the document, then all the blame will fall on Qing Deng. The other party is a righteous man who is loyal to the country, while he himself will become a villain with countless crimes.

Qing Deng put down the confession he was holding:

"As far as I know, Ginmi-kata and Riki are not allowed to use private torture without authorization. Only when a suspect has committed a crime punishable by death or more but refuses to confess can Ginmi-kata and Riki apply to the town magistrate for permission to torture. The town magistrate then consults with the shogunate elders and obtains their permission before the suspect can be taken to the torture station for interrogation."

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Takahashi Kinzaburo immediately revealed an extremely exaggerated and mocking expression.