I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"The most typical example of someone who relied on his martial prowess and ultimately met his demise is Xiang Yu."

"Back then, how brave and fierce Xiang Yu was?"

"By burning the boats, the mighty Qin Pass will ultimately belong to Chu."

"He defeated the Qin army, quelled the rebellion in the Qi and Lu regions, and made Liu Bang flee in disarray, abandoning even his sons and daughters."

"But what happens in the end?"

"He fought many victories throughout his life, but in the end he was defeated at Gaixia, unable to even protect his own woman, and met a tragic end by committing suicide at the Wujiang River."

"The reason for this is that Xiang Yu did not abide by morality, was superstitious about his own strength, and thought that he could conquer the world and maintain his position as the overlord forever by force alone."

"On the other hand, his opponent Liu Bang was well aware of the power of morality."

"Xiang Yu kept winning, but he had fewer and fewer friends and more and more enemies."

"Liu Bang kept losing, but his enemies became fewer and fewer, while his friends became more and more numerous."

"Liu Bang could lose eight or ten times, but Xiang Yu couldn't even afford to lose once."

“A similar example is Napoleon of France.”

"Like Xiang Yu, Napoleon possessed extraordinary military talent and was invincible on the battlefield."

"He fought and won battles, but the number of enemies grew, and he was eventually defeated at Waterloo."

"He and Xiang Yu are the same kind of people. They always want to win, and they keep winning, but one day they will fail, and that will be the day they are doomed."

"We must not emulate Xiang Yu and Napoleon."

"The stronger we are, the more we must abide by morality and not bully the weak."

"Only in this way can we obtain a power that is even greater than mere 'force'."

"Indeed, we have now determined that the Tosa loyalists intend to harm us."

"However, if we launch a military campaign to destroy the Tosa Loyalists without providing conclusive evidence, how will the world view us?"

"No matter when or where, we must adhere to the basic principle of 'having a legitimate reason for our actions,' and never act impulsively."

"Accumulate 'people's hearts' and 'morality' little by little."

"One day, the ever-accumulating 'popular support' and 'moral principles' will form an overwhelming force! Overwhelming all those who refuse to submit!"

Kinoshita Mai listened, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Ugh... I'm so unwilling..."

She bit her lip lightly, a look of resentment appearing on her pretty face.

"Knowing who the murderer is, yet unable to retaliate..."

Qing Deng smiled slightly and reached out to gently stroke Kinoshita Mai's hair.

"Ah Wu, just bear with it a little longer. Those clowns won't be able to keep jumping around for long."

The instant he finished speaking, Qing Deng's expression was dominated by intense coldness.

……

……

Kyoto right now is a powder keg!

One after another, the eye-catching big news stories kept popping up, leaving us breathless.

On July 20, the imperial court announced that the emperor would visit the mausoleum of Emperor Yamato Jimmu and Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

At the same time, a rumor was spreading like wildfire through the city: the pro-imperial faction would take this opportunity to kidnap the Emperor and burn down the Imperial Palace!

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Chapter 721 The Emperor's Edict in a Belt! Prepare for Rebellion! [4600]

Previously, when Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshōin, and others came to Kyoto, the Emperor visited the shrine twice to pray for national peace and prosperity and the longevity of the nation.

Anyone with eyes can see at a glance that, under the guise of praying for the country, the real purpose is to put pressure on the shogunate, putting it on the spot and forcing it to expel the foreigners.

The first time was a trip to the Upper and Lower Shimo Shrines, accompanied by Tokugawa Iemochi, Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, and others.

The second trip was to Ishimizu Shrine—this trip was particularly thrilling.

At that time, the Emperor originally intended to personally present the general with the ceremonial sword on the day of his visit.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the general had no reason not to accept the halberd.

Once the shogunate takes over the sword, there is no way out; it can only continue down the path of expelling foreigners.

Otherwise, it would be considered defying the imperial order, and the domains of Choshu, Tosa, and others would be able to obtain the righteous cause of "punishing the enemy of the court" and a pretext for war to raise troops to attack the shogunate.

However, by sheer coincidence, Tokugawa Iemochi was ill and bedridden at that time due to acclimatization issues.

Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, who was to replace Tokugawa Iemochi, received advance notice and, citing abdominal pain, left the imperial procession without permission.

This time, the shogunate did not accompany the imperial court, leaving the court to perform an awkward one-man show, which ended inconclusively.

At present, Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin have returned to Edo.

Logically speaking, the imperial court had no reason to continue "acting".

As a result, they went to Gyoko Shrine again.

Upon closer reflection, it is indeed unusual.

The reason given by the imperial court this time was to pray for the Choshu Domain, which was fighting against the Western barbarian states, and to pray for a complete victory in the war against the barbarians.

The problem is that the war between Changzhou and the Western countries has already come to a temporary end.

They've already finished fighting, and you're only now coming to offer your blessings? What were you doing all this time?

The battle at Shimonoseki... strictly speaking, the first phase of the battle, has long since ended.

As expected, the US-French allied forces brutally attacked Changzhou.

After several days of fierce fighting, the former emerged unscathed, while the latter suffered heavy casualties, with its warships completely destroyed and its shore artillery destroyed, resulting in a complete defeat.

Perhaps to make an example of them, the western vassal states were determined to make Choshu suffer a bloodbath and inflict unimaginable heavy losses!

The temporary withdrawal of the American and French forces was merely to replenish supplies and to gather British and Dutch warships, intending to form a larger fleet and fight against Xiaguan again in the future!

By the time the US, UK, France, and the Netherlands have fully mobilized their forces and launched a second offensive, it will be at least next year.

Changzhou is safe for now.

However... it's only "temporary".

To put it bluntly, Changzhou's current state can be described in one word—barely surviving!

Before long, even more intense warfare will descend upon them.

By then, the damage to Choshu will be far more than just the destruction of its warships and shore artillery.

As soon as the American and French forces entered the battlefield, their resistance was instantly destroyed. Their proud "samurai spirit" and "Chōshū spirit" were completely useless... Most likely, they could not withstand such a horrifying stimulus. The Chōshū Domain at that time could no longer be viewed by ordinary standards!

After being brutally beaten by the combined forces of the United States and France, instead of seeking peace or rebuilding their military strength, they launched an attack on the Kokura Domain across the Shimonoseki River to vent their personal grievances and seize its territory, much like a mad dog that has lost its mind and bites anyone it sees.

For this reason, most of the feudal states now quietly distance themselves from Choshu and keep their distance.

After all, who would want to get close to a mentally ill person who is holding a sharp knife?

No sooner had the imperial court announced the Emperor's new round of travel plans than rumors quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Kyoto that "the pro-imperial faction is going to kidnap the Emperor and burn down the Imperial Palace."

Although the rumor did not specify which faction belonged to the pro-imperial faction, people unanimously thought—who else could it be? It must be the pro-imperial faction from Choshu!

Everyone knows that although the pro-imperial faction is divided into various factions such as the "Chōshū faction", "Satsuma faction" and "Tosa faction", only the Chōshū faction is so extreme!

Given the current extremely unstable mental state of the Choshu Proclaimed Faction... let alone kidnapping the Emperor or burning down the Imperial Palace, it would be no surprise if they did anything bizarre or perverse!

Although the source of the rumor is unknown, Aoto, Matsudaira Katamori, and others cannot help but take it very seriously.

This rumor is not unfounded!

First, the places the Emperor will visit this time are the mausoleum of Emperor Yamato Jimmu and Kasuga Taisha Shrine, scheduled for the end of August.

The previous two imperial tours were both within Kyoto, but this time the imperial tour to Yamato was far away from Kyoto.

Regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, once the Emperor leaves Kyoto, he will become a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others!

The Emperor doesn't have any Imperial Guards or Royal Guards.

You can't expect those powerless nobles to protect the Emperor, can you?

If the Emperor were to leave Kyoto, it would not be surprising if he encountered any unexpected event!

Secondly, for a long time, there has been a conspiracy theory circulating among the people that "Chōshū and the Zōyō faction of court nobles colluded to secretly kidnap the Emperor."

The unusual location and timing of the imperial entourage, coupled with this conspiracy theory...

Driven to desperation by the Expulsion War, the Choshu Pro-Expulsion Faction decided to take a desperate gamble: kidnap the Emperor and take him to Choshu to further strengthen their control over the court and thereby gain the privilege of commanding the entire country—once you think about it this way, everything makes sense!

Let's set aside the question of whether this conspiracy theory is true or false for now.

One thing is certain: the pro-imperial faction did not have that much respect for the Emperor.

Some members of the Zunyao faction—mainly lower- and middle-ranking members—genuinely revered the Emperor, perhaps due to fanaticism among converts or some other reason.

However, the top figures of the pro-imperial faction, such as Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, and Sanjo Saneyoshi, did not love the Emperor as much as they appeared on the surface.

In other words, on the question of "how to view the Emperor," the leaders of the pro-imperial faction and the pro-shogunate faction were in agreement—they viewed the Emperor as a tool!

If the emperor is kidnapped, Choshu can, like Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period, use the emperor to command the other lords.

First, they announced to the public in the name of the Emperor: The Emperor came to Choshu voluntarily, and we did not force him.

Then, they continued to use the Emperor's name to command the feudal lords, cause trouble for the shogunate, repeatedly condemn the shogunate, and even strip the Tokugawa clan of their title of Shogun.

Since the Emperor is in their hands, they can manipulate his speech at will and make him say whatever they want.

In truth, whether the Emperor lived or died was of no concern to the people of Kyoto.

To put it bluntly, for hundreds of years, the Emperor's actual position has never been that of a national leader, but rather a figure like the Duke of Yansheng, merely a cultural symbol.