I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Highly skilled and top-tier swordsmen are not rare.

Following the "Black Ships Incident," a "martial arts craze" erupted across Japan in an effort to defend against the invading Westerners, drawing in a large influx of new talent into the Japanese swordsmanship world.

Not only has the number of people learning swordsmanship increased, but the average skill level of swordsmen has also improved considerably.

Even so, swordsmen like Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Hajime, who possess both exceptional skills and extensive combat experience, are one in a hundred!

Whether one has experienced actual combat and seen bloodshed—this is a watershed moment for martial artists.

Once this hurdle is overcome, one's strength will improve dramatically!

Moreover, Aoto also has two trump cards under his command: Souji and Kinoshita Mai.

Souji is the top general of the Shinsengumi besides Aoto, creating a huge gap between him and the others.

If Aoto is the TO of the Shinsengumi, then Souji is T1, and the rest are all in T2 or below, not qualified to be compared with the first two.

Even the arrogant Serizawa Kamo, who always acts like he's the most powerful person in the world, has to admit that Souji's strength far surpasses his own.

As for Kinoshita Mai, needless to say, she is a female ninja who is proficient in movement techniques and infiltration.

In terms of assassination skills alone, she is probably not even as good as Qing Deng.

Imagine what it would be like if Aoto sent out Souji, Kinoshita Mai, Nagakura Shinpachi, and others, ordering them to secretly eliminate all those who were enemies of the Shinsengumi, just like the "Four Great Slayers".

It's no exaggeration to say that if Qingdeng had the will, there would be very few people in the entire capital who could escape his "kill order"!

Those who oppose the Shinsengumi should be thankful that Aoto firmly rejected the assassination plan proposed by his subordinates.

Qing Deng once publicly declared that he would never condone the act of "assassination," neither now nor in the future.

Qing Deng always believed that if there was an organization that was very keen on assassination and liked to use assassination to eliminate dissidents and eliminate enemies, it meant that the organization was really useless and had no real skills.

Because of their incompetence, they can only resort to such low-level and despicable means to solve problems.

The assassins of the Zunrang faction attacked everywhere, killing many people. At first glance, their momentum was overwhelming.

But the question is... did their assassination attempt actually work?

Human politics is far more complex than simply eliminating one or two people to solve problems!

Assassinating others not only fails to solve problems, but may also exacerbate conflicts and even lead to bigger problems!

Take the "Sakuradamon Incident" as an example—after Ii Naosuke was assassinated, did the shogunate stop opening the country? Did the pro-imperial faction usher in the golden age they desired?

Absolutely not!

The assassination of Ii Naosuke completely exacerbated the conflict between the pro-shogunate faction and the pro-imperial faction, directly leading to the current chaotic world.

The Zunpang faction killed so many people, from clerks to the elderly, women and children, leaving rivers of blood. Did they ever achieve any political goals?

Not even once.

Qingdeng disdained assassination and such underhanded tactics.

Judging by the standards of a politician, Ching Teng is still a novice.

However, he always kept two principles in mind.

One of them is "not to wage war without a cause".

The second is "make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible".

He believed that as long as these two basic principles were grasped, it would be enough to do a good job in politics.

All other theories and ideas are merely appropriate supplements to these two principles, or outrageous heresies.

Even when Qing Deng was still an unknown person, he was very keen on making friends, so he had friends from all walks of life.

He extends goodwill to anyone he can befriend and who is worth befriending.

Whether it's Saigo Kinosuke and his ilk who are constantly changing their minds, or Yamanouchi Yodo who has suddenly emerged, Aoto is happy to associate with them.

He treated the imperial court in the same way.

Even though he disliked the imperial court and looked down on it from the bottom of his heart, a court that only knew how to talk and couldn't do anything practical, Qingdeng still held his nose and gritted his teeth, trying his best not to antagonize it.

No human being with a sound mind would like a guy who's obsessed with assassinations.

Who can guarantee that they won't end up on this person's "assassination list" in the future?

Therefore, in the long run, being keen on assassinations will only greatly damage one's reputation.

Putting everything else aside, even just considering practicality, "killing those you don't like" is miles ahead of "not launching a war without a cause."

Whether it was the Choshu and Tenchu ​​groups in the past, or the Tosa Loyalist Party in the present, Aoto always adopted the strategy of "never taking action without securing the righteous cause for sending troops" when facing each opponent.

While actively accumulating strength, they secretly awaited the best opportunity to strike.

Once they had the moral high ground to send troops, they launched a swift and decisive attack, crushing these villains like insects under a mountain.

They don't act unless they're absolutely sure of it, but once they do, they decide the fate of the world.

On the other hand, the pro-democracy faction has assassinated so many people, yet they have achieved nothing of note in terms of political accomplishments!

To give a vivid example, the assassination operation of the Zun-Rang faction is like plucking human hair. While plucking body hair is painful, it does not damage the root cause.

Qing Deng's method was to throw a heavy punch directly, knocking down his opponent in one fell swoop.

In conclusion, from any perspective, Qing Deng had no reason to favor assassins.

In politics, a mix of tyrannical and forceful tactics is the right way!

So-called "assassination" is always something that can't be done openly or in a respectable way.

Even Takechi Hanpeita, who was most fond of assassinations, never dared to admit that he was the mastermind behind "Man-Killing Yizang".

Although the person involved vehemently denied it, everyone has come to believe that Takeshi Hanpeita was instrumental in the creation of "Hitsugi Izou".

Unfortunately, even today, no substantial evidence has been obtained.

Okada Izo is an extremely important witness, so now is not the time to send him to his death.

As Takechi Hanpeita's "blade," Okada Izo must have known many unspeakable secrets, especially the sordid affairs of the Tosa Loyalist Party.

Once he reveals the truth, it will solidify a series of evidence against Takeshi Hanpeita.

In this way, Takechi Hanpeita could be driven to the deepest part of hell, sealing the coffin of the Tosa Loyalists with the last row of nails.

At Qingdeng's command, the surrounding soldiers rushed forward.

Okada Izo had completely lost the will to fight.

He was on the verge of a mental breakdown and was easily pinned down like a dog.

In the blink of an eye, he was wrapped up like a "zongzi" (a type of rice dumpling).

Only then did Qingdeng have the leisure to check the talent he had just copied.

— "Yuanyang +3"... Not bad.

Qingdeng slightly curved the corners of his mouth, a joyful smile appearing on his cheeks.

Thus, his "Yuan Yang" level rose to "+7", which is close to the maximum level.

The benefits of abundant kidney qi are self-evident.

Since acquiring this talent, Qingdeng has felt his physique has improved significantly, and his physical and mental condition has greatly improved.

A clear mind, abundant energy, and seemingly inexhaustible strength are truly among the most practical talents.

Of course, the biggest change that this talent brought to Qingdeng was... a significant increase in energy "in that area"!

Even when he was still at "Yuanyang +4", his excessive energy already gave the commander a lot of complaints.

Qingdeng is a very busy person, often so busy that he doesn't have time to rest.

The Shinsengumi are like this: Souji and the others only need to focus on managing their respective squads, but Aoto has many more things to consider.

Therefore, Aoto couldn't be intimate with Souji anytime, anywhere.

As a result, he often finds himself in awkward situations where he feels like he's been holding back for a long time.

The chief is alright, but her energy in "that area" is only at the level of an average person.

Qingdeng was different... His extraordinary energy always made him feel uncomfortable because he couldn't release it in time.

There was a day when Aoto hugged Souji for the first time in a long time, and then he mustered all his energy—that night, Souji didn't have the strength to move a single finger.

Now, "Yuanyang +4" has become "Yuanyang +7"...

Qingdeng couldn't even imagine how abundant his "energy" would be now!

—It's time to seriously plan my marriage with Sanako and the others.

Qingdeng thought to himself, half jokingly and half seriously.

Although he had inadvertently lost focus, he quickly regained his composure.

Now is not the time to think about such things.

Qing Deng took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing these chaotic thoughts, and then began to review the battle that had just taken place.

To be honest, in his opinion, Okada Izo posed less of a threat than Kawakami Gensai.

Let alone personal ability, even in terms of mental fortitude alone, the former is not even worthy of carrying the latter's shoes.

Despite being suppressed, Kawakami Gensai still retained his fighting spirit and attempted to fight back.

In comparison, Okada Izo's mental fortitude was truly appalling.

After realizing the enormous gap between himself and Qingdeng, his mentality collapsed. He played worse and worse, becoming increasingly ridiculous, and eventually even became a trembling "ostrich".

He was a renowned swordsman in Kyoto, yet he ended up like this... It's truly lamentable.

As Qingdeng sheathed his sword, he murmured in a voice only he could hear:

"I didn't even break a sweat... This is so boring..."

……

……

At the same time—

Somewhere in another direction—

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"