I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Hahaha! I didn't expect you Dongyi to be so knowledgeable about the law!"

“That’s right! You’re absolutely right! Yinwei Fang and Li should not use private punishments without authorization.”

"But I'm the boss here! What I say goes!"

"Let alone vigilante justice, if I wanted to, I could throw you into prison with just a word! And lock you up with those Taoist priests!"

"I think you're quite handsome; those shrewd guys will definitely like you!"

"I can roll you into a ball whenever I want! I can flatten you whenever I want! What are you going to do about it? Sue me!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng gave a few meaningful cold laughs, then pressed on with the question:

"If I may ask, what kind of punishment will I be sentenced to if I sign and affix my fingerprint to the confession?"

Kinzaburo Takahashi curled his lip, his face filled with an overwhelming sense of contempt.

"To commit murder in the street, especially against a loyal and righteous person, such a heinous crime... even ordering you to commit seppuku to atone for your sins is considered a lenient sentence!"

"...If that's the case, then that's really strange."

As he spoke, Qing Deng crossed his hands and tucked them into his haori sleeves, looking puzzled.

"Hmm? What are you trying to say now?"

Kinzaburo Takahashi frowned slightly—he had already experienced firsthand Aoto's sharp tongue.

"Although this is an insight I've had for a long time, thanks to today's 'Kyoto day trip,' my understanding has become even more profound."

“When wealthy and powerful officials act recklessly, the law is as good as nothing.”

"But when ordinary people with no one to rely on accidentally break the law, the law suddenly becomes noble and inviolable."

"When it comes to paying a fine, not a penny less; when it comes to paying with your life, the butcher's knife will show no mercy."

"In the end, the law, which should be incomparably sacred, has become a tool for you corrupt officials and parasites to amass wealth, and a shield for wicked people to do evil."

"To sum it up in one sentence: It is always the poor and powerless who suffer."

Where were you when the common people were being brutally exploited?

"When the villains represented by the Nanmu Group were running rampant, you were all meek and submissive, not daring to utter a single word."

“When you encounter someone easy to bully, you all become arrogant and bossy.”

“I have always believed that when the law fails to bring justice to the victims, private revenge becomes justified and even noble from that moment on.”

"To put it bluntly, based on my in-depth observation, Kyoto is now completely rotten."

"A just yet complex law? It only applies to peaceful times when people are well-fed and clothed."

"Kyoto now only needs a brutal yet clear rule: those who harm the innocent die!"

"Those five cockroaches today are just the beginning."

"For a long time to come, I will ruthlessly stomp on even more cockroaches."

Having said that, Qingdeng picked up the confession and tore it into countless pieces without the slightest hesitation.

Kinzaburo Takahashi was stunned as he stared at the scattered pieces of paper.

In a short while...

"Hmph, hmph... Hahahaha...!"

He was so angry that he laughed, his mouth stretching all the way to his ears.

"You're really good with words! You can talk a good game!"

"And 'ruthlessly crush more cockroaches'... Who do you think you are? Do you think you're the newly arrived governor of the capital region?"

"You won't plead guilty, huh? Fine! You've got guts!"

Snapped!Snapped!

Kinzaburo Takahashi clapped his hands twice forcefully.

Immediately afterwards, a commotion of footsteps came from outside Baizhou—four constables carrying matchlock guns hurried along.

They stood in front of Qingdeng, arranged in a fan shape, kneeling on one knee, holding their guns horizontally, the dark muzzles pointing directly at Qingdeng.

Hiss... Their matchlocks were lit and secured to the matchlock clips, ready to fire at any moment.

"I know you're very skilled, so I made thorough preparations long ago!"

"In my life, I have encountered many formidable warriors who could take on ten men single-handedly."

"But I have never seen a samurai who can stand up to a musket!"

"If you want to personally demonstrate 'sword breaking through iron cannon' for me, I wouldn't mind broadening my horizons! Hahahaha!"

After laughing wildly a few times, Takahashi Kinzaburo turned to look at Natsuri, who was standing to the left and right of Aoto, and shouted:

"Torture him! Let him experience the power of the Ebi-ming torture! If we don't teach this Eastern barbarian a lesson, he'll really think he's someone special!"

The kind-hearted man who had just advised Qingdeng to use money to settle the matter hesitated for a moment, then sighed heavily, lowered his voice, and whispered to Qingdeng in an apologetic tone:

"Young man, I'm sorry..."

……

……

Kyoto Magistrate's Office, Main Gate—

Kyoto Town Magistrate Nose Ryōsuke, with his enormous belly, swaggered toward the outside of the Magistrate's Office, surrounded by his attendants, including a spearman, a servant, a straw sandal bearer, and a box bearer.

On his way, he encountered a street patrolman returning to his hometown.

Upon seeing her immediate superior arrive, Tongxin immediately bowed and greeted him solicitously.

"Lord Nengshi! Greetings! Where are you headed?"

"Hahaha! I'm going to find Lord Nagato for a drink!"

As he spoke, Nose Ryohsuke made a drinking gesture.

Lord Nagato – the current Kyoto Shojidai: Masakuni Inaba.

Inaba Masakuni held the official rank of "Nagato no Kami" (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade), hence he was called "Lord Nagato".

There were two systems of official titles during the Edo period.

One system was the official system of the Edo Shogunate, and the other was the official system of the Kyoto Imperial Court.

The biggest difference between the two is that the former has no official rank, while the latter does; the former is a real official position, while the latter is basically just a title.

The official positions in the shogunate did not have ranks. Although positions such as Rōjū (senior councilor), Wakōnen-yori (young principal), Shōsha-bōgyō (temple and shrine magistrate), and Kanjō-bōgyō (captainship magistrate) had clear superior-subordinate distinctions, they were not specifically expressed using "X-rank".

The official ranks in the imperial court were distinguished by first, second, third and even ninth rank. Both the titles and specific functions of the officials retained the style of the Nara and Heian periods, that is, they retained a strong Tang style.

Titles like Grand Minister of State, Left Minister, Right Minister, Great Councilor, and Middle Councilor are typical of Tang Dynasty style.

Since Minamoto no Yoritomo established Japan's first shogunate in 1192, the Kyoto court's status has been constantly suppressed, and consequently, the prestige of his official positions has continued to decline.

As early as the Warring States period, the official positions in the capital's court had essentially degenerated into honorary titles similar to noble ranks.

By the time of the Edo period, almost every daimyo of a domain was granted an official position in the imperial court commensurate with their status, usually "XX-governor".

The official name of these "XX Guards" is "Guo Si," which means local officials of the country, in charge of all government affairs, including administration, judiciary, and security.

The "country" here refers to an ancient place name in Japan. Japan's system of dividing provinces originated in the Nara period and was divided into sixty-six provinces based on the "Seven Circuits of Kinki" created by Emperor Tenmu.

The official positions held by the feudal lords during the Edo period were mostly arbitrarily granted by the imperial court. Apart from the fact that "the more prominent a person's status, the higher the rank of the official position they were granted," there was no specific pattern.

For example, Matsudaira Katamori—he was clearly the head of the Aizu Domain, who was in charge of the Tohoku region, but the official titles he was granted by the Imperial Court were "Left Inspector-General" and "Governor of Higo".

The Left Inspector General was a central government official, so we'll leave him aside for now. However, Higo is located on Kyushu Island in the southwest, which is north of the Aizu Domain.

The relationship between the Aizu Domain and Higo was essentially like that between Kaspersky and Pakistan—a Kaspersky-Pakistani relationship.

According to Japanese tradition, those who hold official positions in the imperial court are addressed by their official titles.

Therefore, the most formal and solemn title for Matsudaira Katamori was "Lord Higo" or "Lieutenant General Aizu".

Similarly, the most formal and respectful way to address Masakuni Inaba is "Lord Nagato".

The Kyoto Shoshidai was the shogunate's representative in Kyoto, responsible for negotiations between the shogunate and the imperial court, conveying the shogunate's instructions to the imperial court, and also monitoring the actions of the imperial court, court nobles, and the various daimyo in the Kansai region, and forwarding official documents submitted by the daimyo to the emperor to the shogunate for review.

In addition, the Kyoto Shojidai was also responsible for maintaining order in Kyoto, adjudicating lawsuits in the Kinki region, and managing the town magistrates in Kyoto, Fushimi, and Nara.

The so-called "high position and great power" is nothing more than this.

Because the power of the Kyoto Shokishidae is so great, this position is never easily delegated to others, and is generally selected only from hereditary daimyo whose domain is more than 30,000 koku.

Masakuni Inaba was the twelfth lord of the Yodo Domain in Yamashiro Province.

Since the establishment of the "Kyoto Guardian" position by the shogunate, the Kyoto Shoshidai (Kyoto Governor) and Kyoto Machibugyō (Kyoto Town Magistrate) have been gradually marginalized.

Now that another regional military commissioner has arrived, the powers of these two positions will inevitably be further divided.

Masakuni Inaba and Ryosuke Nose were pleased with this outcome.

Drinking wine every day, being embraced by geishas, ​​and receiving a salary—how wonderful!

Leave those troublesome matters to the Commander of the Capital Garrison and the Guardian of Kyoto!

After bidding farewell to Tongxin, Noriyoshi Ryohsuke continued straight toward the gate.

He had just stepped out of the threshold of the Kyoto Magistrate's Office when he seemed to sense something and turned his head to look at the street corner on his left.

"Huh? What's that noise?"

A moment later, a "boiling" black line appeared at the end of the street corner, resembling a wildly rising wave.

Noriyuki blinked hard and looked closely, finally seeing the true form of the "black line"—a group of imposing soldiers.

Hundreds of soldiers marched menacingly toward the Kyoto Magistrate's Office like a tsunami!

In the blink of an eye, the soldiers had surrounded the Kyoto Magistrate's Office, trapping Nose Ryōsuke and his entourage inside.

Having lived a life of luxury and yet prodigal son, Neng Shiliangbi had never seen anything like this before.

Terrified and pale, he forced himself to remain calm and asked urgently:

"Who are you people?"

A handsome young samurai stepped forward—it was Hijikata Toshizo.