I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Those who have made contributions should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished."

"Now, he is a pillar of the nation and a key minister of the shogunate."

"Giving him half an arm isn't unreasonable, is it?"

After hearing this, Tenshōin smiled helplessly.

"Since you have made up your mind, there is nothing I can say about it."

"However... most of those old fogies will not agree to your overly generous reward."

When she said the phrase "too generous," she suddenly emphasized it.

"They'll definitely start nagging again, and it'll drive you crazy."

Tokugawa Iemochi Kanji:

"It's okay, let them nag."

He then adopted a half-joking tone:

"Now I have the confidence to bargain with them, or even ignore them!"

His words were filled with strong self-confidence.

He wasn't bragging or exaggerating.

The farce of "starting to expel the barbarians on May 10th" orchestrated by Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu not only severely damaged the prestige of the Hitotsubashi faction, but also put the shogunate in a precarious position.

Thanks to Seido's single-handed efforts in repelling the British fleet in Edo Bay at this critical juncture, the goal of "expelling the barbarians" was achieved, giving the shogunate a way out. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to know how to end the situation.

Logically speaking, given the magnitude of the trouble he has caused, it would not be surprising if Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu were ordered to commit seppuku immediately.

Unfortunately... Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi's backing is just too strong.

He is the eldest son of Tokugawa Nariaki, the former lord of the Mito Domain, one of the "Three Houses of the Gosanke," and the current head of the Hitotsubashi family, one of the "Three Ministers of the Gosanke."

With such a powerful backer, even Tokugawa Iemochi couldn't easily touch him.

In feudal times, talking about the rule of law was really unnecessary.

Fortunately, Yoshiki Hitotsubashi was sensible enough to understand the situation.

Before Tokugawa Iemochi could issue a formal punishment, he voluntarily resigned from his post as shogun and secluded himself at home, refusing to see anyone.

Matsudaira Shungaku, the second-in-command of the Hitotsubashi faction, also resigned and returned to his domain because he could not escape blame.

In short, with the resignation of these two officials, the prestige of the Hitotsubashi faction plummeted.

There is no vacuum of power.

The Hitotsubashi school has declined and has no chance of rising again in the near future.

Naturally, the Nanki faction's power grew rapidly! They completely seized control of the shogunate's discourse!

Thus, Tokugawa Iemochi finally became the sole ruler of the shogunate!

Even disregarding the ebb and flow of power among the various factions within the shogunate, the mere existence of Seito deterred other forces from daring to provoke Tokugawa Iemochi.

The political power of the Qing Deng is expanding rapidly, and this expansion is still ongoing.

First came the Shinsengumi, then the Hachioji's thousand-strong united force, with a total of five thousand combat troops under their direct command!

Moreover, his troops were all elite and capable soldiers, far superior to the sons of the direct subordinates who had become useless.

Although there is no official confirmation, it is obvious to everyone that Aoto is now the top general of the shogunate!

Such a ruthless man, who not only commands a large army but is also a formidable fighter, is truly a pillar of strength.

It's no exaggeration to say that Qingdeng was the biggest external ally of the Nanji faction.

As long as Aoto is around, and as long as Aoto remains Tokugawa Iemochi's close confidant, who would dare to challenge the Nanki faction?

Even the conservative faction led by Honjuin could no longer manipulate Tokugawa Iemochi at will.

[Note: Honjuin: The birth mother of the previous shogun, Tokugawa Iesada, also known as the Grand Empress Dowager, who held extremely conservative views.]

This is where Tokugawa Iemochi’s confidence came from.

Suddenly, Tokugawa Iemochi seemed to remember something, blinked a few times thoughtfully, and then sighed softly:

"It's just a pity... I don't have a daughter."

"Otherwise, I really want to marry Mr. Ju."

Upon hearing this, Tenshōin couldn't help but chuckle.

"Then you should tell Kazuya to hurry up and give birth to a daughter."

Tokugawa Iemochi shook his head:

"By the time I have a daughter and she grows up to be of marriageable age, I don't know when that will be."

"Speaking of childbirth... Kaemo, you and Kazumiya have been married for almost two years, why is there still no sign of pregnancy?"

[Note: Princess Kazu: The Emperor's younger sister, and Tokugawa Iemochi's principal wife]

Tokugawa Iemochi gave a wry smile:

"Mother, why are you even urging me to have children?"

Tenshōin looked helpless.

"I'm not in a hurry at all about your private affairs with Prince Kazu. It's just... Prince Honjuin keeps bothering me..."

Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Iemochi immediately showed an expression of understanding.

As a concubine of the 12th Tokugawa Ieyoshi, the shogun of the previous generation, Honju-in witnessed the early deaths of all 28 of Tokugawa Ieyoshi's children, except for her only son, Tokugawa Iesada, who lived to adulthood.

However, even though Tokugawa Iesada reached adulthood smoothly, his body was extremely weak.

He left no descendants and passed away at a young age.

To be honest, after experiencing so many separations and deaths, especially the early death of her own son, it is truly rare that she has not gone mad with loss and has always maintained a normal and stable mind.

However, the continuous trauma from these tragedies eventually caused her to suffer from some "aftereffects".

One of the "aftereffects" was that they were very concerned about the personal safety of Tokugawa Iemochi.

When Tokugawa Iemochi went to Kyoto, Honjumaru was the first to oppose him taking a warship, insisting that Tokugawa Iemochi take the safer land route, which resulted in a lot of money being wasted.

The second "side effect" is her extraordinary obsession with the continuation of the general's bloodline.

Honjumaru placed great importance on the order of the inner palace.

In her view, the people of the inner palace... especially an old codger like herself, should not bother the shogun so often, lest it affect the affairs of state.

Therefore, she rarely went to see Tokugawa Iemochi.

However, she would frequently go and cause trouble for Tianzhangyuan!

Tenshōin is also a member of the inner palace, so there's no need to worry about that anymore!

She frequently urged Tenshōin to fulfill her duties as the "mother of the shogun," urging Tokugawa Iemochi to consummate his marriage with Princess Kazuya and have children as soon as possible, much to Tenshōin's annoyance.

"Mother, let's not talk about my personal matters now."

Tokugawa Iemochi downplayed the topic of "procreation".

He then abruptly steered the conversation back to the earlier topic of "wanting to form a marriage alliance with Qingdeng."

"If only I had a spouse who was ready to marry immediately..."

His tone was low and somber... but when he spoke of the word "family members," he suddenly adopted a forceful and deliberate tone.

At that moment, Tenshōin was busy playing with the calico cat on his lap.

So it wasn't until a while later that she belatedly noticed—Tokugawa Iemochi was staring at her meaningfully and intently…

She asked in return, looking puzzled:

"Huh? Jiamao, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something dirty on my face?"

"nothing."

Tokugawa Iemochi shrugged.

"It's just that... I suddenly thought of some things that are hard to talk about."

……

……

After recapturing Takatori Castle, the Shinsengumi rested for two days at the foot of Mount Takatori.

After resting and reorganizing, the entire army officially broke camp and headed north, escorting the captured Yoshimura Torataro and others back to the capital!

The day the Shinsengumi returned to Kyoto, the streets were practically deserted.

Countless townspeople flocked to the streets, just to catch a glimpse of the soldiers' heroic bearing.

"Look! It's Lord Niou!"

"Lord Niou! Thank you for your hard work!"

"Lord Niou! I admire you greatly! Do you accept disciples?"

"Mr. Hijikata! Mr. Hijikata!"

"See that? That's Okita Souji!"

"He's so handsome! It's a shame he's a man. He's so good-looking. I wish he were a woman."

"What nonsense are you talking about! You're so handsome, but you're actually a man—isn't that even better?"

……

Among the newly formed group, the person most admired and welcomed by the townspeople is undoubtedly Aoto.

Qingdeng was already used to this kind of scene, so he didn't have any intense feelings.

He waved gently, greeting the townspeople around him.

Since withdrawing the British fleet from Edo Bay, Aoto has not made any new big news for quite some time.

At this critical juncture when its popularity was slightly declining, Qingdeng timely created a new "hot topic" of "solo adventure to conquer the city", which made its popularity reach a new level!

Throughout history, ordinary people have always admired heroes and loved legendary stories.