I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Normally, Qing Deng lives in Dajin. He not only possesses unparalleled martial arts skills, but also stays in his own base camp year-round, making it extremely difficult to kill him.

And now, Aoto is in Edo, right under the noses of the "Hitotsubashi faction"!

More importantly, his body had not yet fully recovered, and the layers of burlap covering his body were still as thick as bricks, greatly reducing his strength!

There is no better time than now... If we want to kill Qingdeng, we have to do it now!

The precious opportunity to kill Aoto and Tokugawa Iemochi in one fell swoop is right in front of us... How tempting is that?

Qing Deng asked himself: If it were him, he would also choose to make his move at this time!

In conclusion, from any perspective, the "Hitotsubashi faction" has every motive and reason to launch a rebellion at this time!

Since the probability is extremely high, we can only prepare early and plan ahead.

Qing Deng and others did not want to start a full-scale war with the "One Bridge Faction" at this time.

They had just finished a series of fierce battles and were exhausted both physically and mentally. They really didn't want to start a civil war with the "Hitotsubashi faction" when they hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath.

Furthermore, they simply couldn't bear to let the people of Edo suffer from new wars.

The all-out war between the "Nanki School" and the "Hitotsubashi School"... Heaven knows how long this war will last and how many people will die.

The outcome that Qing Deng and others would most like to see is, of course, the news that the "One Bridge Faction" has taken the initiative to abandon the rebellion.

To achieve this goal, they made many preparations, the most important of which were two—

One of them was that Aoto secretly stayed in Sannomaru as a precaution.

Secondly, the Shinsengumi were transferred to the Thirty-Six Kintō to protect Edo Castle. This was done as a veiled warning to the Hitotsubashi faction: Don't act recklessly! If you forcefully start a war, you have no guarantee of victory!

The so-called "coup" is both simple and difficult.

A closer look at successful coups in history—such as the "Incident at Gaoping Mausoleum" and the "Incident of the Lü Clan"—reveals several commonalities.

The arsenal, the political center, the imperial guards... as long as these key points are controlled, a coup can succeed.

All of Edo's major armories were concentrated in Edo Castle.

The political center of the "Nanki faction," namely the three leaders—Seito, Tokugawa Iemochi, and Tenshōin—was also located in Edo Castle.

In other words, whether it's seizing the armory or occupying the political high ground, the "Hitotsubashi faction" only has one path to take: to capture Edo Castle!

In short, Edo Castle is of paramount importance.

Qing Deng and his men could disregard everything else; as long as they held Edo Castle, they would be invincible.

Conversely, if the Hitotsubashi faction were to capture Edo Castle, we would be doomed.

Qingdeng currently has very few troops that it can freely mobilize.

The Eighth Prince's thousand-strong army was already crippled and incapable of fighting.

The regular troops, including the "Sanbangu", the first-strike archer group, and the first-strike arquebus group, also suffered heavy losses in the previous battles.

In the end, the only troops he could rely on were the Shinsengumi's 7th and 10th Divisions, currently stationed in Edo.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have only deployed the Shinsengumi to defend Edo Castle.

This leads to the conclusion that the difference in strength between the two sides is not significant!

The 7th and 10th Divisions are both cavalry units, not skilled in infantry combat, and have too few troops, totaling less than a thousand men.

Such fighting strength was not enough to turn Edo Castle into an "unbreakable fortress," and therefore could not guarantee that the "Hitotsubashi faction" would back down.

Whether the "Hitotsubashi faction" will launch a rebellion, or whether they will take desperate measures... no one can say for sure...

Aoto and Katsurin Taro looked at each other in silence.

About ten seconds later, Katsura Rintaro broke the silence:

"The rumors that you are plotting a coup are spreading far and wide."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng scoffed with a "ha!"

"This is really not good news... If it weren't for the 'Hitotsubashi faction' interfering, I would never touch a sword again in my life."

Katsura Rintaro nodded slightly in agreement.

It's not surprising that the public suspects the Green Society of defecting.

It's understandable if these rumors only circulate within a small circle.

But for it to spread so quickly and so widely is truly abnormal!

It's obvious that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes!

Who these troublemakers are... it goes without saying.

As Qing Deng just said, this is not good news at all—it shows that the "Hitotsubashi faction" is still determined to seize power! They are still thirsting for power and are building momentum for their power grab!

Qingdeng was the biggest obstacle on their path to a coup.

First, thoroughly criticize and discredit Qingdeng, which will greatly reduce the public pressure for "killing King Ren".

Several days earlier, Qing Deng and others realized that the "Hitotsubashi faction" was mobilizing public opinion, so they immediately launched a counterattack—the rumor that "the real rebel is Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu" was spread by them.

Unfortunately... Yoshiki Hitotsubashi's low profile prevented their propaganda campaign from succeeding.

After a moment of contemplation, Qingdeng slowly turned his head and looked out the window at the night sky, gazing at the horizon:

"...Rintaro, get ready. Although this is just my personal intuition, the fate of the shogunate, the fate of the shogun and Prince Tenshōin, and the fate of you and me will all be decided in a few days!"

******

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Chapter 975 The Enemy at Edo Castle! Suppressing the Tachibana Rebels! Civil War Breaks Out! [4500]

The rapid recovery of people's livelihoods revitalized Edo, and the lights at night returned.

In contemporary Edo, the group with the greatest purchasing power and motivation was naturally the large number of laborers who received wages every day.

As night falls, countless merchants are eagerly waiting for workers to come to their shops so they can make a good profit.

It has been proven that civil engineering work can effectively boost the local economy.

After a long day of hard work, the hardworking workers finally received their well-deserved wages.

Some workers returned to their lodgings immediately after receiving their money, fearing that staying outside for too long would lead them to be influenced by the decadent lifestyle of Edo and give rise to the impulse to spend money recklessly.

Most of these people who worked hard to save money were strangers from other places. They came to Edo to work so that they could save more money to take back to their hometowns.

Some people save money carefully, while others spend it extravagantly.

In fact, workers with such strong willpower who could save all their money without spending a single copper coin were ultimately only a minority.

The vast majority of workers couldn't wait to spend their money as soon as they received it.

Even more extreme were those who fully exploited the "no overnight money in Edo" characteristic, refusing to go home to sleep until they had spent every last penny.

They might go to a casino and gamble wildly, either doubling their money or losing everything, even their clothes.

Or they might head straight to an izakaya and drink to their heart's content, or at the very least, have a drink or two to reward their tired bodies with a little alcohol.

Or they would eagerly rush into the streets, searching for nightingales that were attractive and reasonably priced.

Some workers had a thorough understanding of Edo's "nightlife." They disdained nightingales and went straight to lodgings with rice-serving girls or yoko shops that specialized in "side jobs."

[Note: "Ichimori" (饭盛女): The name suggests a woman who serves rice to guests at the inn. In reality, she provides sexual services to male travelers.]

[Note: Yanggongdian: An archery game venue that charges customers a fee. It usually employs women to retrieve the arrows that have been shot, and they secretly engage in prostitution.]

At first glance, they may seem to be indulging in pleasure, but that is not the case at all.

Their work is so arduous that it would be difficult to persevere without finding some solace in it.

As both producers and consumers, these workers truly made an indelible contribution to the reconstruction of Edo.

In any case, thanks to the hard work of the workers, Edo was no longer as deathly silent as before at night.

……

……

At the very moment that Aoto and Katsura Rintaro were holding a secret meeting at the Sannomaru of Edo Castle, a street in the eastern suburbs of Edo was unusually lively.

Looking up, one could see dozens of nightingales of varying ages standing on both sides of the street, striking poses and seducing the men who came to seek pleasure.

This street is long and wide, and it is adjacent to four large construction sites, so countless workers pass through it every night.

With such a superior "location", it naturally attracted a large number of nightingales, which in turn promoted the rapid development of "special trade".

The men walked back and forth along the street, as if selecting goods, looking for their desired items.

"how much is it?"

"50 copper coins."

"50 copper coins? That's too expensive!"

"If you think it's too expensive, go find someone else. See my fair and tender skin? Even tofu isn't as smooth as my skin. I'll only charge you 50 copper coins, which is already a bargain."

"Hmm... less, 30 copper coins!"

"30 copper coins can't even buy two bowls of 'two-eight buckwheat noodles'. 45 copper coins."

[Note: In Edo, soba noodles were generally sold for 16 copper coins, so they were commonly called "Nihachi soba" (two-eighths soba).]

"Hmm...40 copper coins!"

"Tsk... Alright, deal. Come with me."

After saying that, Nightingale leaned over, took the customer's arm, and they walked slowly together toward a nearby alley.

Similar conversations and scenes occur frequently on this street.

At that moment, another young man walked onto the street.

Judging from his appearance, he should be a worker at a nearby construction site.

As soon as he arrived, he looked around impatiently, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the nightingales.

Soon, he fixed his gaze on a girl not far away.