I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The King was leading his troops to suppress the bandits when they suddenly appeared and blocked his way, affecting the battle... This kind of thing is a typical "trouble that can be big or small".

If you don't weigh it, it's not even four ounces; but once you put it on the scale, it's not a ton!

If this goes wrong, it could lead to a very serious diplomatic incident!

The thought sent chills down the spines of the Owari samurai.

Qingdeng chuckled a few times:

"It's alright. Rather, you've come at just the right time. Just now, I personally beheaded the bandit leader, Shibasaki Renjuro."

Hosoya Saemon was speechless for a moment.

"Juju, Lord Ju, does that mean... the bandits have been wiped out?"

"What? You don't believe me?"

Hosoya Saemon hurriedly buried his head.

"No! How dare we doubt Your Excellency!"

Qing Deng smiled.

"Let's not talk about that now. Do you have food and water?"

"Huh? Food and water?"

"After a fierce battle all day, without eating a single grain of rice or drinking a drop of water, we were all starving. To be honest, I was so hungry that I could barely stand."

With the support of talents such as "Lock Blood +7" and "Yuan Yang +4", Qing Deng's vitality is quite vigorous.

It's just a day of hunger, it won't do anything to him.

However, while his words may have been exaggerated, he was indeed extremely hungry.

Having gone without food for a long time, coupled with the intense exertion from riding and fierce fighting, his stomach was already groaning in pain.

The same was true for Sanako and the others behind him; the hunger in their stomachs had made them dizzy.

Hosoya Saemon was taken aback at first, then quickly got to work.

"Yes! I'll arrange it immediately! Hey! Do you have any food and water?"

The Owari samurai gathered together, touching their chests, searching their belts, and looking from head to toe to gather food and water that they could eat.

There's still a little water left in my kettle.

"Ah, I brought a jug of cloudy wine for warming up."

"I also have a pot of turbid wine."

"I have two rice balls made of millet here."

"What a coincidence, I also have two rice balls, but mine are made of millet."

"Are you idiots?! We're not giving leftovers to beggars! How could we offer such coarse food to Lord Tachibana? If we did, how could we... no, how could Owari possibly accept this!"

"But...we have no other food besides these rice balls..."

……

Before he could finish, Hosoya Saemon returned to Aoto with a large pile of things in his arms, looking embarrassed.

"Lord Tachibana, we... uh... we only found a little water, two jugs of cloudy wine, and some rice balls... please forgive us!"

"Um! Toasting these rice balls over a fire will make them taste better!"

Baking the rice balls before eating them is a "classic way" of eating rice balls.

Firstly, it heats the rice grains, making them easier to eat.

Secondly, it gives the rice balls a slightly burnt aroma, which can stimulate the appetite.

Perhaps realizing that offering such low-quality food to the Governor of the Capital Region was utterly inappropriate, Hosokawa Saemon hastily added after barely finishing his sentence:

"Lord Tachibana, I will immediately dispatch someone by fast horse to the nearest town to bring back even more palatable delicacies..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qing Deng suddenly grinned and chuckled a few times:

"Great! These rice balls look delicious. It's amazing that you were able to find so much food. Thank you for your hard work!"

"Eh?"

Hosokawa Saemon subconsciously raised his head and looked at Aoto with a look of astonishment.

Looking at the other person's expression, Qingdeng curled his lips into a smile, saying in a tone that was half teasing and half joking:

"Hey, hey, hey, you guys don't actually think I'm Yue Qingyunke, who only eats magic beans and drinks dew, do you?"

"Before becoming the world-renowned King Niou, I was just an unknown servant with only a stipend of 100 koku."

After saying that, he casually grabbed a jug of turbid wine and shook it a few times.

The "glug" sound was very full.

"There's a good selection of drinks."

After muttering this, Qingdeng blinked and pretended to think.

Then, he raised the jug of sake in his hand, looked at the Owari samurai led by Hosokawa Saemon, and said loudly:

"The warriors of Owari, drinking alone would be too dull."

"If you don't mind, would you like to share a drink with us?"

After he finished speaking, all around was quiet.

The samurai of Owari were all dumbfounded.

Their gazes lingered on each other's faces, taking in one look after another filled with disbelief.

For someone in a superior position to take the initiative to invite someone in a subordinate position, especially someone of Qingdeng's caliber... in feudal times, this was an extremely honorable privilege!

Aoto added a timely remark, bringing the Owari samurai back to their senses.

"What? You don't want to?"

Hosokawa Saemon nodded vigorously, his expression filled with excitement.

"It is our honor to share a drink with Lord Tachibana! Hey! What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and bring over some rocks that people can sit on!"

Under the command and personal action of Hosokawa Saemon, the Owari samurai moved a few stones and set up a simple "izakaya" (Japanese pub).

Once the "izakaya" was completed, Hosokawa Saemon gestured to Aoto, indicating "please".

"Lord Tachibana, please take a seat!"

Qingdeng did not sit down immediately, but waved his hand first.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, let's talk about this later."

"The first thing to do now is this—"

At this point, Qing Deng turned to face Sanako and the others, raising his right fist high:

"This battle... is a complete victory for us!!"

The next instant, the Aizu cavalrymen, imitating Aoto, raised their fists high.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

Although the number of people was small, the cheers they erupted were surprisingly powerful.

The cheers carried far and wide, echoing through the clouds, rising and falling, lingering for a long time...

……

……

In the third year of Bunkyū, the bandit leader Shibasaki Renjūrō ​​Moriyoshi led a band of over ten thousand bandits from Ise to attack Kyoto.

Tachibana no Seisho, after defeating the enemy in Iga, pursued them relentlessly, covering over a hundred li in a single day and night, engaging in eight battles in one day, and finally catching up with the bandit leader in Owari.

Destroy them completely!

—The Tale of Nioh

……

……

At this very moment—

On the summit of an unnamed mountain—

Settsu Yorimitsu stood with his hands behind his back, listening to the cheers from afar.

Although Qing Deng and the others were outside his field of vision, his gaze remained firmly fixed on the east.

This direction is exactly where Qingdeng and the others are located.

Suddenly, he forcefully tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a disdainful expression.

"Humph! Stupid!"

"If you obediently listen to me and try to get help from Choshu and Tosa, even if you can't defeat Tachibana Aoto, you can still cause him a lot of trouble."

"I was hoping they could make the waters around the capital even muddier."

"It seems that the Tu Yi Kui (local rebels) will ultimately amount to nothing."

Settsu Yorimitsu was not alone.

Standing to his left was a burly man with broad shoulders, a thick waist, a shaved head like a monk's, and a neck as thick as his head.

The bald man pondered to himself, appearing deep in thought.

Settsu Yorimitsu noticed the bald man's unusual behavior and asked:

"Umibozu, what's wrong? Is something on your mind? Please speak freely."

The bald man hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep, muffled voice:

"Your Excellency, I believe that our efforts to 'assist the Dokdo' have not been in vain."

"At least we have witnessed firsthand the actual combat capabilities of the Shinsengumi and Tachibana Aoto's skill in commanding troops."

Setsu Yorimitsu nodded slightly after hearing this.