I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

However, almost everyone believed that the Mito Domain would not perish quickly.

With the profound foundation of a long-established superpower, it can hold out for at least ten days to half a month.

Unexpectedly... Qingdeng's answer was: half a day!

In just half a day, they wiped out the once invincible Mito Domain... The mighty "Three Great Families" couldn't even last half a day...!

The Shinsengumi had already demonstrated their formidable ability to attack strongholds when they attacked the Gishu Pass of the Choshu Domain.

Today, the Shinsengumi once again proved to the world their terrifying fighting power, which is undeniably formidable and capable of conquering any enemy they attack!

In terms of results, Qingdeng has already achieved its goal of "making an example of someone"—or rather, the effect has been far more outstanding!

Apart from a few scattered domains such as Satsuma and Tosa, no force would consider themselves stronger than Mito.

Even Mito suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Niou, let alone us?

Through this battle, the world suddenly realized that as long as "Niou" Tachibana Seito was still alive, the "Nanki Faction" was the strongest force in Japan!

In an instant, the "fence-sitters" who had been restless because of the "Shogunate Civil War" gradually regained their composure.

They either remained silent or took the initiative to approach Qingdeng.

Qingdeng is too lazy to pay attention to the overtures from those who are "opportunists"—he has more pressing matters to attend to.

……

……

When the Mito Domain was destroyed, all of its wealth was taken away without a trace.

From any perspective, Aoto's "Mito Conquest" was a great success.

Now that their objective had been achieved, everyone assumed that the Qingdeng Association would return home.

However, Qing Deng's next move surprised everyone.

Qingdeng did not return with its troops.

He mustered all his troops and continued northward! He headed straight for Wakamatsu Castle, the domain headquarters of the Aizu Domain!

At the same time, he issued orders to the various domains of Oshu—

The lords of the various domains of Oshu shall proceed to Wakamatsu Castle immediately. I, Tachibana Aoto, will engage in in-depth discussions with them regarding the current state of affairs in the land.

In addition, to enhance exchanges, the "Oyu Tournament" will be held concurrently with the conference!

The lords of the various domains of Oshu are welcome to bring their martial arts masters to participate in the competition and study martial arts together!

……

……

Oku-u – a collective term for Mutsu and Dewa, referring to the northeastern region of Japan.

Mutsu had 30 domains, and Dewa had 10 domains, for a total of 40 domains in the two regions.

The most powerful of these was the Sendai Domain of the Date family, which possessed a fief of 62 koku. It had overseen the reclamation of new agricultural areas, such as the wetlands of the Kitakami River basin, which reportedly increased fiscal revenue by hundreds of thousands of koku.

Therefore, the actual value of the Sendai Domain exceeded one million koku, making it the undisputed "strongest domain in Oshu".

His ancestor was none other than Date Masamune, the famous "One-Eyed Dragon" of the Warring States period.

Because he swiftly slid to his knees before Tokugawa Ieyasu, Date Masamune was able to retain as much territory as possible.

Date Masamune once famously declared, "I wish I had been born twenty years earlier, so that I could have achieved the same level of power as Lord Nobunaga."

Of course, what he said was pure nonsense; he was just bragging without thinking.

While the generals of the Warring States period may not have had many other skills, they were all exceptionally good at boasting.

Even if he had been born twenty years earlier, or even thirty years earlier, Date Masamune would never have become the second Oda Nobunaga.

The reason is simple: Mutsu was too poor, so poor that it had no means to compete for supremacy.

There are widespread prejudices against Olympic badminton, such as "economic backwardness" and "uncivilized customs"—in fact, these are not prejudices.

Simply by unfolding a map, one can discover Oyu's various weaknesses.

The first is due to its northern latitude and cold climate.

Secondly, the terrain is rugged, with many mountains and few flat areas.

Finally, it is far removed from the core cultural sphere of Japan (Kyoto region), which, in the words of the people of Kyoto, means "not being influenced by the emperor."

In the agricultural era, these weaknesses were fatal, directly limiting the development potential of Oshu.

In addition, Oyu also suffers from the problem of "late development time".

Once upon a time, Ou was the territory of the Ainu people, also known as the Ezo.

The Ho people and the Ainu people waged a long war for hundreds of years to seize territory, with both sides fighting back and forth.

It wasn't until the "Twelve-Year War of Oshu" eight hundred years ago that the Yamato court finally relied on the technological advantage obtained from China to completely defeat the Ainu people, drive them out of Honshu Oshima, and drive them to Ezo (Hokkaido).

In conclusion, even today, Ou's economy and culture are very underdeveloped, making it a true "underdeveloped region".

In the eyes of people in the Gyeonggi region, Kanto was a wild and desolate place, let alone Oshu, which was even more remote than Kanto.

Admittedly, Oyu has many flaws, but it is undeniable that its strategic position is extremely important!

Oshu, bordering the Kanto region, was undoubtedly the shogunate's rear base.

If the rear is unstable, then don't talk about "confronting the various vassal states of the West".

In order to eliminate this potential threat once and for all, Qing Deng decided to take this opportunity, with the momentum of "eliminating Mito", to go to Oshu and thoroughly stabilize the rear through a "meeting"!

As for the "Ouyu Trial Match," it was a brilliant idea that Qing Deng came up with on a whim.

The so-called "trial match" can be understood as a "martial arts competition".

They can't be in meetings 24 hours a day; they'll always have some free time.

Since we're just idling around anyway, it's too boring to just waste time like this.

Instead of wasting this free time, we could use a trial engagement to assess the military strength of the Ōshū (the southernmost state of the Ōshū) and let the various Ōshū domains directly experience the disparity in strength between the two sides! This would give us more leverage in the negotiations at the "meeting"!

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PS: This book is the first to feature a "Northeast China map".

Chapter 1006 [The Imperial Tournament] Begins! [4500]

After leaving the Mito Domain, Aoto led the entire army northward along the Oshu Road, one of the "Five Roads".

The Oshu Main Road connects to Mutsu, and there are also some side roads that connect to other parts of the Tohoku region of Japan.

When it comes to Ouyu's specialties, the most famous one is undoubtedly "hot springs".

Not only are they plentiful, but they are also of very high quality.

There are many famous hot springs, such as Suyu Onsen, Hanamaki Onsen, and Akibo Onsen, and so on.

Ou is located at the junction of the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate, where crustal activity is frequent, resulting in numerous volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which in turn led to the formation of hot springs.

Qingdeng quite likes hot springs.

To be precise, I like the comfortable feeling of being "completely enveloped in hot water".

If he has free time, he would be happy to enjoy the hot springs of Ou-yu—provided, of course, "if he has free time".

The further north you go, the lower the temperature gets.

Snowflakes drifted down from time to time.

Even on days without snow, the sky is gloomy.

The surrounding scenery has also changed significantly.

Looking around, they saw vegetation that was not commonly seen before, which made Qingdeng and the others realize that they had entered the Northern Kingdom.

For ease of reference, Aoto referred to this meeting, which he spearheaded in an effort to promote "stability in Osaka," as the "Osaka Meeting."

The reason why the "Ou Conference" was held in Wakamatsu Castle of the Aizu Domain was naturally because the Aizu Domain was a staunch ally of Aoto.

Such an important meeting must be held in a safe and trustworthy place to give people peace of mind.

Like the western provinces, Oshu had an unusually high proportion of outdoza daimyo, and the shogunate's influence was limited.

It was precisely out of consideration for “deterring Oshu” that the shogunate specifically granted the Aizu Domain to this region.

In fact, even disregarding "safety," considering only the geographical location, Wakamatsu Castle of the Aizu Domain would be the top choice.

This is a top-level meeting that all the lords of the various domains of Ou must attend.

Therefore, the meeting place should be set up in a location that is convenient for everyone in order to be fair and to show sincerity in treating everyone equally.

The core identity of the Aizu Domain is that of a "troublemaker in Ōu".

If you're going to stir up trouble, you have to do it in the "middle ground" to stir it up more and more evenly.

Therefore, the Aizu Domain was intentionally located in the heart of Oshu, guarding key routes, like a high wall across a crossroads.

No matter which domain in Oshu you start from, traveling to the Aizu Domain is not too difficult.

In conclusion, holding the meeting in Wakamatsu Castle is the most appropriate choice.

……

……

Wakamatsu Castle—the domain headquarters of the Aizu Domain—is also one of the oldest castles still standing today.

In 1384, Wakamatsu Castle was built by Naomori Ashina of the Ashina family (A Shi Na).

In the years that followed, the castle changed hands several times, eventually falling into the hands of the Aizu Matsudaira family.

This city has a history of nearly five hundred years since its construction, making it a truly "ancient city".

Thanks to the convenience of the "Oshu Road", Aoto arrived at Wakamatsu Castle smoothly in just ten days.