I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

It's easy to imagine that Yamanami Keisuke, who achieved remarkable success in both literature and martial arts, must also be a person who is very good at "stirring things up".

He often stayed up late with Qingdeng, working as late as Qingdeng did.

Whenever he hears Aoto's summons, Yamanami Keisuke will immediately drop everything he is doing and appear before Aoto as quickly as he can—even in the middle of the night.

Even if he's asleep, as soon as Qingdeng gives an order, he'll spring up like a zombie and quickly get into work mode.

Some people jokingly say that Keisuke Yamanami has the ability to "sleep with one eye open".

In short, it can be summed up in one sentence: Keisuke Yamanami always manages to appear wherever Aoto needs him.

Finally, he had an exceptional memory.

Aoto's talent of "photographic memory" was copied from Yamanami Keisuke.

An extraordinary memory is naturally a great advantage in paperwork.

Moreover, Keisuke Yamanami is a meticulous person.

Even though he already possesses an exceptional memory, he still meticulously records important events in his personal notebook to prevent any mistakes.

It's so comfortable to work with someone who is both smart and hardworking!

"Tachibana-kun, a letter from Hijikata."

With that, Keisuke Yamanami raised his hand and handed the letter in his palm to Aoto.

After taking the letter and confirming that it was sealed properly, Qing Deng opened the envelope and asked Yamanami Keisuke:

"Kei-suke, how's the situation in Shimonoseki?"

Without a doubt, Choshu's blockade of the Shimonoseki Strait has become the most concerning event at present.

All factions are closely monitoring the battle in the lower reaches of the pass.

Qingdeng was no exception.

Since May 10, Qing Deng has been monitoring the latest situation in the Shimonoseki Strait every day.

Although Changzhou had made a huge mess, the Western countries would never let Changzhou off easily, but the course of history is always unpredictable.

Who knows what unexpected events might occur next that would allow Changzhou to escape this calamity, or even be reborn from its cocoon?

No sooner had Aoto finished asking than Yamanami Keisuke immediately replied:

"The Shimonoseki Strait remains blocked, and Choshu continues to relentlessly bombard every Western ship that passes through it."

As he spoke, he pulled a small booklet from his pocket—his work log—and spread it out, reading it quickly at a glance.

"On May 23 and May 26, a French merchant ship and a Dutch merchant ship respectively passed through the Shimonoseki Strait. Both ships were hit by gunfire from Choshu and had to flee in panic."

At this point, Keisuke Yamanami suddenly paused.

When he spoke again, his tone became serious:

"It is understood that Western countries have begun to respond one after another."

"The United States and France have successively dispatched warships."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the US warship will arrive in the Shimonoseki Strait on June 1."

"French warships will enter the battlefield within a week at the latest."

"Changzhou is about to face a real 'war to expel the barbarians'..."

After speaking, Yamanami Keisuke let out a long sigh.

Today is May 28th, more than half a month has passed since May 10th, the "day of war".

In recent times, Changzhou's state... can be summed up in one word: increasingly delusional!

The fact that the shogunate and other domains remained on the sidelines did not discourage the loyalists of Choshu; on the contrary, it greatly boosted their morale!

The shogunate and other feudal states are cowards! Their legs tremble at the sight of the Western barbarians! We Choshu men are the true warriors who help those in distress!

And so they became increasingly self-important, radical, and fanatical.

They would shoot any ship flying a Western flag, regardless of whether it was a merchant ship or any other kind of vessel.

Not only that, they also started criticizing the Kokura Domain on the other side of the strait.

The Choshu Domain was located to the east of the Shimonoseki Strait, while the Kokura Domain was located to the west. Together, the two domains guarded the Shimonoseki Strait.

Choshu was making every effort to expel foreigners, while the Kokura Domain on the other side of the strait stood idly by, which greatly displeased the Choshu patriots who were dedicated to resisting foreign aggression.

Rumors are circulating that the loyalists of Choshu are plotting to attack the Okura Domain! Let's teach them a lesson they won't forget!

At first glance, Changzhou's actions seem satisfying and cathartic.

However, to date, they have not sunk a single Western ship!

In this era, there was no radar, let alone satellites; aiming was done entirely by the naked eye.

Attacking targets on the sea surface is extremely difficult, and the cannons used by Choshu were mostly old models with poor range and accuracy.

Furthermore, the patriots in Choshu were generally untrained; they couldn't even load cannons properly, so they could only bully the weak.

Given this, it would be a miracle if Changzhou were to achieve any brilliant victories.

Their greatest achievement so far has been damaging only a few merchant ships.

The merchant ships that were hit were not seriously damaged and were able to escape beyond the range of Choshu's artillery fire after being hit by the shells.

Although the patriots of Choshu have been constantly "victorious," their current targets are mostly civilian ships that are unable to fight back.

They have not yet engaged in combat with actual warships.

Once the warships of the Western countries arrive one after another, Choshu will be able to personally experience the true nature of the war to expel the barbarians...

Qingdeng pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"Keep an eye on the battle in Shimonoseki."

"Report to me immediately if any major changes occur."

Yamanami Keisuke: "Yes!"

At this moment, Qingdeng finally opened the envelope, pulled out the clean white letter, and unfolded it with a "whoosh".

The neat yet wild handwriting... is indeed Hijikata Toshizo's own handwriting.

Hijikata Toshizo was still in charge of conscription in the Edo region.

He regularly sent letters back to Qingdeng to report on the latest recruitment progress.

Qingdeng scanned the area with his eyes and quickly read through ten lines at a time.

Before long, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Upon seeing this, Yamanami Keisuke immediately asked:

"Qingdeng, what's wrong? Has something gone wrong with the conscription in Edo?"

Qingdeng gently shook his head.

"No, the conscription is going very smoothly."

"From the highest-ranking samurai to ordinary people, everyone eagerly joined the army."

"There have even been many fights in the struggle for those few spots."

"The reason I look so worried is because of the British fleet that is now at Edo."

"This letter is different from what I'm looking for."

"In this letter, the Turkish side gave a detailed report on the movements of the British fleet that came to demand reparations."

"The nine British warships anchored in Edo Bay were unwilling to leave."

“John Neil, the acting British minister, made a threatening statement: if the shogunate does not pay £10 in reparations for the ‘Namamugi Incident,’ he will burn Edo down.”

"Three days ago, they fired several cannons into the sea, which terrified the entire city of Edo and caused a huge riot in Edo."

According to Hijikata, people in Edo are now living in fear.

“All sorts of ridiculous rumors spread throughout the streets and alleys of Edo.”

“Those who were able to leave Edo fled the city overnight with their families.”

Those who were unable to leave Edo anxiously prayed that the British warships would leave as soon as possible.

"See for yourself."

After saying that, Qing Deng turned the letter in his hand upside down and handed it to Yamanami Keisuke.

After taking the book, Keisuke Yamanami hurriedly began to read it, and like Aoto, his expression became solemn.

The usually gentle and refined Yamanami Keisuke, for once, gritted his teeth and showed indignation.

"The British are really going too far..."

"What does the 'raw wheat incident' have to do with us?"

"The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. The shogunate has no reason to be held responsible for the 'Namagani Incident,' does it?"

Qing Deng sneered:

"England is a pirate nation that made its fortune through invasion and plunder."

"They're used to being pirates, and now they're just going back to their old ways, trying to take this opportunity to extort more money."

The Namamugi Incident – ​​This incident was entirely Satsuma's fault and had nothing to do with the shogunate.

This was in the second year of Wenjiu (1862)... which is last year.

Hisamitsu Shimazu, the father of the Satsuma shogunate, personally led 1000 soldiers eastward to Edo to "advise" the shogunate to accept the following three conditions:

First, in order to discuss the matter of expelling the barbarians, Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi must come to Kyoto and discuss the issue with the Imperial Court.

Second, the Five Elders were appointed (the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain, the Mori clan of Choshu Domain, the Yamauchi clan of Tosa Domain, the Maeda clan of Kanazawa Domain, and the Date clan of Uwajima Domain). Political affairs required decisions to be made at a meeting of the Five Elders.

Third, he reformed the shogunate's politics and promoted the expulsion of foreigners. However, this could not be done by relying on the shogunate's cabinet members, so he appointed Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu as the shogun's assistant and Matsudaira Haruaki of the Fukui Domain as the chief of staff.

He brought 1000 domain soldiers to Edo... Shimazu Hisamitsu displayed a very tough attitude.

It was called "admonition," but it was actually a "military remonstrance."

Shimazu Hisamitsu's eastward march with his troops, to put it bluntly, was nothing short of a complete rebellion!