I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Your Majesty, I dare say that even now, the firepower of the USS Mississippi and USS Saskatchewan alone is enough to keep us pinned down!"

"The USS Mississippi and the USS Saskatchewan are not the most powerful warships in the United States."

"The United States is not the strongest among the Western nations; England and France are the true hegemons!"

"England was known as the 'Empire on which the sun never sets,' with military power unmatched in the world."

"Western countries possess steel warships as large as mountains."

How big is our ship?

"Western countries possess powerful steel cannons with extremely fast reloading speeds."

"Our old bronze cannons can only passively take hits!"

"The armies of the Western countries are full of 'firearms forces,' with every soldier equipped with an advanced flintlock musket. They have also recently invented a new type of firearm called the 'Gatling gun,' which can fire bullets continuously. If you set up 10 Gatling guns, even if the Takeda Red Cavalry were to return to the world, they would not escape the fate of total annihilation!"

"And what about us? Are we going to fight guns and cannons head-on with samurai swords?"

"In the face of guns and cannons, a samurai sword is as straight as an embroidery needle!"

"Your Majesty, my ministers, what I have said comes from the bottom of my heart! It is by no means an attempt to scare you!"

At the end, Tokugawa Iemochi's tone suddenly rose, making him sound very imposing.

Many people in the room were so shocked that their necks tightened and their bodies leaned back uncontrollably.

Tokugawa Iemochi continued speaking.

"Your humble servant understands your eagerness to eliminate them as soon as possible."

"To be honest, I also despise the tyrannical Western barbarians."

"Your humble servant also desires to expel the barbarians."

"However, if we try to expel the barbarians now, we will only face certain death."

"Our country is a long and narrow island nation, and important cities such as Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki are located along the coast."

"If we rashly start a war with the Western countries, their armies will not even need to send troops to land. They can simply gather their warships and bombard cities such as Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki along the coast, which will put us in a desperate situation, and we will not even have the means to retaliate."

"Despite the enemy's superior strength, there is still a chance for things to turn around."

Nothing in this world is permanent.

"We will expel the barbarians sooner or later! But certainly not now!"

"The Tang dynasty scholar Wei Yuan once said, 'Learn the superior techniques of the barbarians to control them.' I believe this statement is truly a profound and insightful saying!"

“My trusted confidant, Katsu Rintaro, shares the same view.”

"Since the Western countries are so powerful, let's learn from them!"

"Learn their gun-making methods and their shipbuilding techniques."

"Just like a thousand years ago, we sent envoys to the Sui and Tang dynasties to learn the advanced knowledge of the Sui and Tang empires."

"Once we have a large fleet and a powerful military, we will have the initiative!"

"The best time to implement the policy of repelling the barbarians will be when our country catches up with the Western countries!"

"Learn the superior techniques of the barbarians to control them—this is the true way to repel the barbarians!"

"Your Majesty, my lords, I am filled with trepidation and humbly request the court to withdraw the edict of 'immediately expelling the barbarians'!"

"The most urgent task is to feign compliance with Western countries while secretly accumulating strength."

"Let us meet again with the Western nations a hundred years from now!"

Tokugawa Iemochi's words were incredibly passionate and sincere.

However... he received a rebuttal the moment he finished speaking.

"Secretly accumulating strength? Great Tree Master, I think you're just afraid of the enemy more than a tiger."

The speaker was none other than the leader of the pro-imperial faction of court nobles: Sanjō Sanetomi.

Three beautiful corners of her mouth extended to both sides, revealing teeth covered in black paste.

A sickly face painted deathly pale with white powder, a mouthful of black teeth, and that sinister, malicious smile... This appearance is as bizarre and disgusting as can be.

"It's just that our weaponry is slightly inferior, what's there to be afraid of?"

"In my war against the Western barbarians, they are crooked while we are upright. Those who are righteous are bold, and those who are bold are full of fighting spirit. With my righteous army full of fighting spirit, how can we not be sure of victory against the shameless who have lost their way and have no support?"

“Lord Dashu, you are the General Who Conquers the Barbarians, yet now that the barbarians have invaded, you do not think of conquering them, but only know how to be cowardly and avoid the enemy.”

"I never imagined... that the leader of a prestigious martial arts family would stoop so low?"

"If the current Dongzhao Daquan could know from beyond the grave that his descendants no longer possess the heroic spirit that a samurai should have, he would probably be heartbroken."

Tosho Daigongen – also known as Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate.

After saying that, Sanjo Sanomi raised the ivory scepter in her hand, used it to lightly cover her mouth and nose, slightly closed her eyes, gently shook her head, and put on a look of heartbroken regret.

Once the leader spoke, the remaining nobles of the pro-imperial faction rushed forward like wild dogs smelling meat, attacking Tokugawa Iemochi without any restraint.

"Weak! Utterly too weak!"

"How can we bow down to barbarians?!"

"Excuses! Excuses! All excuses! Great Tree Lord, your shogunate is just trying to protect itself!"

……

Faced with the relentless attacks from Sanjo Sanemi and others, Tokugawa Iemochi, as if he could no longer bear it, abandoned his previous refined and gentle demeanor.

He lowered his eyelids, furrowed his brows, and stared intently at Sanjo Mimi not far away.

"Lord Middle Counselor, what you just said was truly inspiring and passionate!"

[Note: Middle Counselor: A minor official position, ranked third grade.]

Perhaps out of anger, or perhaps simply because he didn't want to give the other party a friendly look, Tokugawa Iemochi abandoned his honorifics and spoke directly and loudly:

"Didn't you understand what I just said about how big the gap is between us and the Western countries?"

"Or have you lost your ability to think normally because you've lived in the palace for so long?"

Tokugawa Iemochi's merciless and sharp rebuke directly broke through Sanjo Saneyoshi's defenses.

His face instantly turned red.

Immediately afterwards, he snorted coldly and launched a counterattack without showing any weakness:

"I have indeed lived in the inner palace for a long time, but I understand a truth—weapons are certainly a factor in war, but they are by no means the decisive factor in victory or defeat. What determines victory or defeat is the human heart."

"As long as we are united as one, we will be invincible! What enemy cannot be defeated? What enemy cannot be destroyed?"

Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Iemochi was so angry that he laughed instead.

He curled the corners of his lips into a cold laugh:

"Hmph! Talking to you frogs in a well is such a waste of time!"

Tokugawa Iemochi's words not only broke through Sanjo Sanetomi's defenses, but also put every member of the pro-imperial faction in the room into a "red-hot state".

"How rude! Utterly rude! How dare you be so rude?!"

"Don't be presumptuous!"

"Lord Dashu, even if you are the General Who Conquers the Barbarians, you cannot be disrespectful to your lords!"

At this time, pro-shogunate court nobles, led by Kujo Naotada, joined the "battlefield"—

"From the very beginning, you have not taken the Great Tree Master seriously. Who is the one who is being presumptuous and rude?"

Kujo Naotada's words immediately drew agreement from many others.

The two factions argued loudly... The once solemn and dignified Imperial Palace became incredibly noisy, much like a morning market.

At this moment, the only two quiet places inside and outside the small palace were the seats of the "shogunate trio" (Tokugawa Iemochi, Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, and Matsudaira Harugaku) ​​and the area behind the palace curtain.

Since the start of the meeting, Emperor Tonin has remained seated behind the curtain, neither moving nor uttering a word.

This isn't him slacking off.

According to Shinto records and traditional Japanese beliefs, the Emperor is a descendant of Amaterasu Omikami and is the incarnation of the gods on earth.

Therefore, in order to maintain the "divinity" of the Emperor, when meeting with ministers, the Emperor would basically not step out from behind the curtain and would almost never speak. Whatever he wanted to say would be relayed by his attendants.

They just sat there silently...like a statue.

Once he calmed down, Tokugawa Iemochi remained silent, his eyes downcast.

Behind him, Yoshiki Hitotsubashi and Haruaki Matsudaira both looked impatient—after all that effort, and with Lofele spending so much time, the negotiations still hadn't made any substantial progress; anyone would be impatient.

A moment later, Tokugawa Iemochi closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

"Sigh..."

He let out a soft, long sigh...

……

……

2 days later—

Wenjiu three years (1863), January 1th——

Kyoto, Mibu Village, Shinsengumi Headquarters, Aoto's private training ground—

To make it easier for him to practice martial arts, Qingdeng transformed a large room of more than 200 square meters into his own private dojo.

At this moment, Qing Deng, dressed in a kendo uniform, stood in front of a human-shaped wooden stake, lowered his waist, let his right arm hang down, and held the Vairocana at his waist with his left hand.

He stared intently at the wooden stake, silently regulating his breathing.

About 15 minutes later, he suddenly twisted his waist, stepped forward and squatted down, and his right hand, which had been hanging loosely, reached for the hilt of the knife at his waist with lightning speed.

In that instant, the light in this space seemed to dim.

After the purple light flashed... the human-shaped wooden stake remained motionless.

Qingdeng habitually twirled his sword, shook off non-existent bloodstains, and then sheathed the Vairocana sword with a reverse grip.

Clang, clang, clang...