I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 1599

"Was it the disastrous defeat in the 'Battle of Shimonoseki'?"

"Or was it a humiliating escape like the 'August 18th coup'?"

"Or is it the pathetic state of being chased and beaten by the Shinsengumi, unable to walk openly on the streets of Kyoto, and even afraid to give one's name in a Kyoto hotel?"

After firing off this barrage of questions like a machine gun, Prajna leisurely swept his gaze across the faces of everyone before him—his eyes filled with intense mockery.

Anyone whose gaze fell upon him seemed to have done something wrong, and they all lowered their heads, looked away, and dared not meet his eyes.

As the saying goes, "A lie won't hurt you, but the truth is the sharpest knife."

Prajna's words just now were truly like thorns, each sentence like a knife.

Even if one wanted to argue, there was no way to refute it.

In recent years, the pro-democracy faction has indeed performed terribly—to put it bluntly, they have utterly disgraced themselves!

First, Changzhou boasted of its determination to expel the barbarians, and on May 10th of last year, it adopted the stance of "ensuring that the barbarians will never return."

Even the imperial court placed high hopes on Changzhou and praised its righteous deeds.

However... the US-French allied forces only sent a few warships and defeated Changzhou without losing a single soldier, making them look utterly humiliated.

Not only did the pro-revolutionary faction lose face, but even the imperial court, which had always supported the pro-revolutionary faction and thought that Choshu would win a great battle, also became a ridiculous clown.

Then came the "August 18th Coup," in which Choshu was driven out of the capital by the Allied Forces of Kai and Satsuma, losing its greatest advantage of "holding the court hostage."

Then came the current situation of "fearing the Shinsengumi like a tiger".

After the "August 18th Coup", Kyoto became completely dominated by the pro-shogunate faction.

The Shinsengumi took charge of security in Kyoto and hunted down patriots everywhere.

Although the Shinsengumi has not caught any big shots so far, they have caught quite a few small fry.

As a result, the patriots who advocated for the overthrow of the enemy can now only sneak around in various corners of Kyoto. Upon seeing a samurai wearing a light blue haori, they turn around and run away immediately, almost as if it were a stress response.

Although Prajna's words were entirely true, the dignity of the warriors and the dignity of the righteous made them unwilling to face this cruel reality, much less willing to swallow their pride.

"You...you...bastard...!"

The "majestic warrior" forced out a hoarse roar from between his clenched teeth.

In the next instant, he pounced on his opponent like a tiger!

In the blink of an eye, his large hand had already grabbed the other person's collar.

Just then, Miyabe Teizō suddenly spoke:

"...Matsuda-kun, stop!"

The "majestic warrior" stopped abruptly, his large hand hovering in mid-air, his fingertips only half an inch away from Prajna's robe.

"Miyabe-sensei?"

He looked at Miyabe Teizo with a puzzled expression.

Miyabe Teizō calmly repeated:

"Matsuda-kun, stop."

"Your anger and embarrassment will only make people look down on us even more."

"Do we, as patriots, lack even the ability to humbly accept criticism and honestly face accusations?"

At this point, he pointed at Prajna and raised his voice.

Did he say anything wrong?

"He's telling the truth, isn't he?"

"If we get so angry and even resort to violence just because someone tells the truth and points out our failures and shortcomings, in order to maintain our pitiful self-esteem, then we might as well disband and go home as soon as possible!"

"How can such an arrogant and closed-door organization possibly succeed?"

Miyabe Teizō's loud voice clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

Looking up, everyone, whether it was the "majestic warrior" or anyone else, wore expressions of shame.

After hesitating for a moment, the "majestic warrior" bowed respectfully to Miyabe Teizō.

"Miyabe-sensei, I know I was wrong..."

After saying that, he silently sat back down in his original seat, his appearance becoming extremely obedient.

With just a few words, he calmed the enraged crowd down... This shows the prestige of Miyabe Teizou among the loyalists.

After his stern criticism, Miyabe Teizo turned slightly to face Katsura Kogoro.

"Gui Jun, I'm sorry, I made you laugh at me."

Upon hearing this, Katsura Kogoro quickly replied:

"No, it was us who were rude first! I should be the one apologizing to you!"

Although the process was quite tortuous, a conflict that almost broke out was finally averted thanks to Miyabe Teizō's mediation.

Katsura Kogoro breathed a long sigh of relief, then turned his head slightly and cast a murderous glare at Hannya.

"You... are you here to protect me, or to sabotage me?"

Prajna shrugged and spread his hands:

"Sorry, that's just how I am."

"He is outspoken and says whatever he thinks, and he never indulges anyone."

"Because of my unpleasant personality, I often suffer from my master's scolding."

He apologized verbally, but there was no sincerity in his expression.

In short, after this minor incident, order was finally restored at the scene.

Miyabe Teizō scanned the entire room as he asked:

"Is everyone here?"

Otaka Matajiro replied:

"Most of them have arrived."

Miyabe Teizō nodded slightly:

"Then, without further ado, let's begin tonight's meeting!"

At this moment, Katsura Kogoro frowned slightly and looked around.

"Wait! Where's Yoshida-kun? Where did Yoshida-kun go?"

The Yoshida-kun he mentioned was none other than Yoshida Toshima, who was listed among the "Three Outstanding Students of the Shōin School" and the "Four Heavenly Kings of the Shōin School".

Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro, and Yoshida Toshima—these three are the most distinguished members of this meeting tonight.

In response to Katsura Kogoro's question, Miyabe Teizo smiled slightly:

"Just before setting off, Yoshida accidentally knocked over the tea, wetting his hakama, so he had to change his clothes and would be a little late."

Katsura Kogoro smiled helplessly after hearing this:

"Ha... Yoshida-kun is still the same as ever, too serious."

Yoshida Toshima was a man who valued tradition highly; to put it nicely, he was conservative, and to put it bluntly, rigid. It was precisely because of this that he, like Kusaka Genzui, went all the way down the path of "radical anti-foreign" movements.

He gladly accepted the red tape that others would avoid at all costs.

"Yoshida-kun hasn't arrived yet, let's wait for him for now."

As soon as Katsura Kogoro finished speaking, Miyabe Teizou shook his head:

"No, Yoshida told me personally that we should start the meeting first and not wait for him."

Since Miyabe Teizō had already said so, Katsura Kogoro felt embarrassed to continue pressing the matter and could only nod in agreement.

As the instruction to "start the meeting" was given, everyone stood up and adjusted their seating arrangements.

Katsura Kogoro and Miyabe Teizō sat side by side in the main seats. The others were divided into two rows according to their status and rank, sitting below Katsura and Miyabe, facing each other.

The meeting is now in session!

……

Kyoto, Kiyamachi (west of the Kamo River), somewhere—

"Shinpachi, where are we now?"

Souji looked around blankly and asked Shinpachi beside him.

Nagakura Shinpachi looked around.

"I don't know... All I remember is that the river in the distance is the Kamo River."

Since the start of the operation, how many hotels and izakayas have they searched?

They've lost count.

All they knew was that as soon as they saw a hotel or izakaya, they would swarm over to it, only to leave disappointed and empty-handed.

Over time, their fighting spirit, which had been ignited by Qing Deng's impassioned speech, gradually diminished.

Unfortunately, tonight happens to be a typical "tropical night".