I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the 'foot soldiers,' so you must make the most of it."

When the executioners spoke the word "ashigaru," they emphasized it.

Okada Izo's status was very low.

He was born into the "foot soldier" class, which was the lowest rank among the local scholars.

In Tosa, the foot soldiers were treated no differently than cats and dogs on the street.

As a boy, Okada Izo suffered bullying because he was considered inferior to others. He was filled with a strong desire to "make something of himself" and thus practiced swordsmanship diligently.

Given his status, it would be difficult for him to enter a top-tier dojo to study; he could only learn by secretly studying outside the dojo.

It wasn't until he met Takeshi Hanpeita that his miserable life, which was like a tattered rag, finally took a turn for the better.

Takeshi Hanpeita recognized his talent and, instead of looking down on his background, took him in as a disciple, finally giving him the opportunity to formally learn martial arts from a master.

Later, Takeichi Hanpeita sponsored his studies in Edo, where he became a disciple of Momoi Shunzo, known as "Momoi of the Position," and studied the Kyoshin Meike-ryu school, eventually obtaining the Menkyo Kaiden (a type of Buddhist orthodoxy).

Then, Takechi Hanpeita took him on a journey of training in the Nagoya and Kyushu regions, where they learned the Jikishiki swordsmanship in the Bungo-oka Domain.

This is the origin of Okada Izo's superb swordsmanship.

This is also why Okada Izo admires Takechi Hanpeita so much—he will never forget the kindness shown to him!

Faced with the executioners' "red and white duet," Okada Izo, enduring excruciating pain, forced a mocking smile.

"Stop... talking nonsense..."

"It's so noisy...my ears hurt..."

"Just use whatever tricks you have..."

"If I... utter a single cry of suffering... I am... a bastard..."

"I would never... betray... Teacher Wu Shi..."

"You...open your eyes wide...and watch carefully..."

History will ultimately prove that...Teacher Takeshi...was right!

At the end, Okada Izo gathered his strength and roared loudly, startling the executioners.

After regaining their composure, the executioners angrily shouted:

"Even now, they still show no remorse!"

"Still spouting 'Respect the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians' nonsense! Let me tell you, not long ago, Choshu mobilized 10,000 troops to attack Kyoto in the east, only to be utterly defeated by Prince Ni. Stop dreaming about 'Respect the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians'!"

"It's all your fault, you short-sighted fools, for cruelly murdering Lord Yoshida! If Lord Yoshida were still alive, under his wise leadership, the strength of our Tosa would surely have increased greatly!"

"Since you still have so much energy, I'll give you another stone!"

"Come on, bring another rock over!"

Before long, another stone was brought over and placed on Okada Izo's lap.

The three huge rocks, stacked together, were taller than half of Okada Izo's body.

"Aa ...

The chilling screams echoed once again.

……

……

At that very moment, as Okada Izo was being tortured, Goto Shojiro stood with his hands behind his back on a pavilion not far away, looking down expressionlessly and coldly at the tormented Okada Izo.

One of the attendants standing behind Goto Shojiro sighed softly:

“Mr. Goto, I am not praising the thief, but... this Okada Izo is indeed quite capable. He was tortured for more than a year, yet he still refused to yield even in the face of death.”

After hearing this, Goto Shojiro snorted coldly:

"Unyielding to the death? In my opinion, this fellow is simply stubbornly clinging to his delusions!"

"Even now, they still can't recognize Takechi Hanpeita's mistake."

"If one cannot use one's integrity for the righteous cause, one is merely aiding and abetting evil!"

Compared to the past, Tosa has undergone tremendous changes.

The current lord of the Tosa Domain is Toyonori Yamauchi (the 16th lord of the domain).

In reality, however, the power of the domain government was always firmly in the hands of the former lord, Yamanouchi Yodo (the 15th lord of the domain).

Although Yamanouchi Yodo was not old (he was 37 years old at the time), he was indeed a shrewd and astute politician.

While the pro-shogunate faction and the pro-revolutionary faction were locked in a fierce struggle, he himself never came forward to clearly state his political stance.

After Aoto and others launched the "August 18th Coup," expelling the Choshu forces from Kyoto and giving the pro-shogunate faction an overwhelming advantage, he quickly took action, declaring the Tosa Loyalist Party an evil association that brought disaster to the country and its people, banning it and launching a massive crackdown on its members.

In this way, we demonstrate our loyalty to the Tokugawa shogunate through concrete actions: We, the Tosa Domain, will always stand with the Tokugawa family!

While this lightning-fast reversal is amusing, it is indeed useful.

The Tosa Domain was one of the most powerful domains in western Japan (with a territory of 24 koku).

Its light-speed reversal can serve as a good example, indirectly boosting the authority of the shogunate—for this reason alone, the shogunate cannot help but treat the Tosa Domain with respect.

The Tosa Loyalist Party, which had once controlled the domain's administration, collapsed overnight.

After suppressing the Tosa Loyalist Party, Yamanouchi Yodo greatly promoted Goto Shojiro, entrusting him with the important positions of Grand Inspector and Councilor of the Tosa Domain (the highest-ranking official in the domain government, equivalent to the Prime Minister).

In addition, he ordered Goto Shojiro to preside over the trial of the "Yoshida Toyo Murder Case".

It should be noted that Yoshida Toyo was a trusted and important retainer of Yamanouchi Yodo, whom he had personally promoted.

After Yoshida Toyo's murder, Yamanouchi Yodo made no comment, allowing the Tosa Loyalist Party, which was heavily suspected of being involved, to grow stronger.

Only when the time is right will they be completely eradicated... This kind of mindset alone is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In fact, anyone with a bit of political acumen could see that Yamanouchi Dodo was deliberately letting the Tosa Loyalist Party run amok.

This was to give the Tosa Domain enough room to maneuver.

Once the pro-imperial faction wins, the Tosa Loyalist Party will be an excellent association with a gathering of wise men.

If the pro-shogunate faction had won, it would have ended up in this miserable situation of "watching it feast its guests and then watching its empire collapse."

Goto Shojiro – 26 years old at the time, was a renowned talent of the Tosa Domain.

"When discussing the young talents of the Tosa Domain, one cannot help but mention Goto Shojiro"—his talent and fame reached that level.

He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his uncle-in-law, Yoshida Toyo. He was trained in both literature and martial arts from a young age and studied at the Shaolin Academy founded by Yoshida Toyo. He was deeply influenced by his uncle Toyo, an enlightened politician who was well-versed in both Chinese and Western learning.

At the same time, he studied under Oishi Tanemasa, a retainer of the Yanaga Domain, learning the Oishi Shinkage-ryu style. He was also a master swordsman.

Yoshida Toyo was well-versed in both Chinese and Western studies, and his understanding of Western civilization was far deeper than that of closed-minded and conservative patriots.

In his view, rejecting globalization and excluding the West is nothing but pedantic and naive nonsense.

Therefore, during his tenure as the councilor of the Tosa Domain, he vigorously promoted a series of reforms, advocating the elimination of class distinctions, the development of industry and commerce, military reform, the establishment of national trade, and the enrichment and strengthening of the nation.

Many people think: If Yoshida Toyo hadn't died, would our Tosa Domain have gone through so many detours as we have today?

Whenever they thought of this, they hated the short-sighted thief who killed Yoshida Toyo even more.

After Goto Shojiro took office, he continued Yoshida Toyo's governing philosophy, advocated innovation, and established the "Kaiseikan" as an agency to promote reform.

Under the rule of Goto Shojiro, the Tosa Domain underwent a complete transformation, its national strength increased day by day, and it was gradually becoming an enlightened country like Satsuma, where "Japanese and Western cultures blend together".

While focusing on governing the country, Goto Shojiro did not forget to find the real culprit who murdered his uncle, Toyo.

Takeichi Hanpeita has long been suspected of being the real culprit in the murder of Yoshida Toyo.

After all, after Yoshida Toyo's death, Takechi Hanpeita was the one who benefited the most.

Yamanouchi Yodo appointed Goto Shojiro, who was both a relative of Yoshida Toyo and his beloved disciple, to handle the case... It was clear that Yamanouchi Yodo was determined to kill Takechi Hanpeita and the Tosa Loyalists.

For Goto Shojiro, Yoshida Toyo was not only his closest relative, but also his mentor.

Yoshida Toyo was murdered, his head even cut off—for a samurai, this was an immense disgrace—and Goto Shojiro's grief was indescribable.

Therefore, after being assigned to try the "Yoshida Toyo Murder Case", he immediately put in his best effort and vowed not to give up until he found out the truth of the case!

And so, the Tosa loyalists were tortured one by one until they were unable to live or die.

Although many people were tortured into confessing, no conclusive evidence was ever obtained to convict Takeshi Hanpeita.

Suddenly, after a moment's hesitation, the attendant behind Goto Shojiro spoke up, suggesting:

"Mr. Goto, this can't go on like this. In my opinion, we should interrogate Takechi Hanpeita directly!"

Before he could finish speaking, Goto Shojiro replied without hesitation:

"No! I've said it so many times, this kind of behavior is short-sighted! It's unacceptable!"

According to the laws of the Tosa Domain, high-ranking officers were exempt from torture.

After the rise of the Tosa Loyalist Party, Takeichi Hanpeita, who was originally just a "Shiraza village sergeant," was promoted to "senior sergeant."

For this reason, while Okada Izo and others were tortured beyond recognition, Takechi Hanpeita remained comfortably in a clean and spacious cell, suffering no hardship except for the restriction of his personal freedom.

There are quite a few who have reservations about the privileges he possesses.

Ever since Goto Shojiro officially began presiding over the "Yoshida Toyo Murder Case," many people have suggested to him that Takechi Hanpeita be demoted back to "Shirazakura Koji," so that he could be interrogated in a justifiable way!

Given Goto Shojiro's current power, he could easily do that.

But he strongly opposed this approach.

In his view, such practices would set a very bad precedent.

To arbitrarily strip someone of their "superior" status for the sake of easier interrogation... This would greatly shake the class order of the Tosa Domain and cause the "superior" rank to lose its sanctity.

It's not worth it to sow such a huge seed of disaster for a mere half-peaceful town in Wushi.

Therefore, Goto Shojiro always adhered to the bottom line that "Takechi Hanpeita's 'sergeant' status cannot be taken away."

"..."

Goto Shojiro stared intently at Okada Izo, who was still wailing, without saying a word, as if deep in thought.

After a moment, he whispered:

"...In any case, let's maintain the status quo for now."