I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Since the confrontation has shifted from containment to containment, the only option is to weaken the opponent as much as possible.

Regarding how to pacify the Western Kingdom, Qingdeng never intended to act recklessly.

He always regarded "sending troops" as a last resort.

Before he could officially launch a military campaign, his first task was to weaken and sow discord among the various vassal states of the Western Kingdom, preventing them from uniting as a group.

Changzhou is a mortal enemy, and there is absolutely no room for negotiation.

Therefore, the only way to sow discord among the western domains was to work on the three domains of Satsuma, Tosa, and Hizen.

In fact, Aoto had already begun taking action long before launching the "Mito Expedition".

He sent envoys to Satsuma, Tosa, and Hizen, offering them generous rewards and trying his best to win them over.

He had only one requirement for these three domains: even if they did not side with the shogunate, they should at least remain neutral.

Based on the wolfish ambitions displayed by Saigo Kichinosuke (the de facto leader of Satsuma) during the Choshu Campaign, Aoto could no longer trust Satsuma.

Because Satsuma is unreliable, the focus of this effort is to win over Tosa and Hizen.

The Tosa Loyalist Party, which advocated for the restoration of the Tosa Emperor, has been completely wiped out. The current leadership in Tosa is the "Three Heroes of Tosa" headed by Goto Shojiro.

Goto Shojiro's uncle was Yoshida Toyo, a former Tosa councilor who opposed the Soshin-Ou movement.

Perhaps influenced by his uncle, Goto Shojiro has not shown any hostility toward the shogunate so far.

If one wishes to win over the Tosa, the success rate is not low.

As for the Hizen Domain... well, that's hard to say.

Compared to other domains such as Satsuma and Choshu, Hizen Domain was not active and had a very low profile, always appearing as a "minor figure".

In reality, neither Aoto nor Saigo Kichinosuke, Katsura Kogoro, or other leaders of the western provinces dared to underestimate the Hizen Domain.

The reason for this is simple—the Hizen Domain, which seems to have little presence, possesses the highest level of technological power in western Japan… no, in all of Japan!

Satsuma began its modern reforms quite early, but the Hizen Domain's reforms started even earlier!

The current lord (10th generation) of the Hizen Domain, Nabeshima Naomasa, is an exceptionally capable and wise leader.

Because of his expertise in business operations, he was praised by businessmen as "the master of the abacus".

Because of his passion for both medicine and Western learning, he was also known as the "Daruma of Orchid Obsession."

While other feudal lords were living aimlessly, Nabeshima Naomasa was the first to realize the importance of Western science and actively carried out reforms.

As early as 1831, 22 years before the "Black Ships Incident," the Hizen Domain had already begun military reforms, purchasing advanced firearms and hiring Western instructors.

In 1852, the fifth year of the Kaei era—one year before the "Black Ships Incident"—Nabeshima Naomasa established two specialized institutions for the study of science and technology: "Fire Techniques" and "Refining Techniques."

Today, the Hizen Domain possesses iron-producing reverberatory furnaces, the Mietsu Naval Base capable of building warships independently, a refining facility capable of manufacturing guns and cannons independently, and the Kodokan, a school specializing in teaching Western science...

The greatest support that enabled Nabeshima Naomasa to accomplish this series of achievements was the incredibly formidable talent pool of the Hizen Domain! It was truly overflowing with talent!

Naoshima recruited a large number of research talents, including inventor Hisashige Tanaka and industrialist Tsunemitsu Sano.

Speaking of Tanaka Hisashige, he was truly a remarkable man.

This person showed a talent for mechanical manufacturing from a young age, and in his twenties, he created mechanical dolls that did not require human power to operate.

After being recruited by the Saga Domain, he served as a samurai in the refinery, where he participated in the manufacturing and research and development of steam machinery, ships, and guns, making significant contributions and gaining widespread fame.

With the full support of these top talents, the technological level of the Hizen Domain has been increasing day by day.

It should be noted that Qin Jinfan only recently completed the construction of his military factory.

As for research departments and modern educational institutions, they are far inferior to those of the Hizen Domain.

Because of its extremely high level of technology and stable operation of military factories, the Hizen Army had an exceptionally high rate of firearms assembly and extremely fierce firepower.

This is the strength of the Hizen Domain... It should not be underestimated!

To give a vivid example, Hizen Domain is like an overweight weight; no matter which side it falls on, it will cause the scales to tilt significantly!

In recent years, Naomasa Nabeshima has rarely interfered in world affairs and has always maintained neutrality.

Because he maintained a certain distance from both the imperial court and the shogunate, Nabeshima Naomasa had another title: "The Monster of Hizen".

It's not hard to see that Nabeshima Naomasa is unwilling to "place his bet" too early, and wants to wait until the situation in the world becomes clearer before choosing a side.

Whether or not the Hizen Domain can be successfully won over remains uncertain.

After all, no matter how many benefits Aoto offered, they could never exceed the profits gained from "destroying the Edo Shogunate"!

Defeating Aoto, destroying the shogunate, establishing a new nation... What benefit in this world could surpass the achievement of founding a nation?

As to what the leaders of Satsuma, Tosa, and Hizen were really thinking—whether they wanted to maintain the status quo or were coveting greater power—Aoto had no idea. He could only continue to take things one step at a time…

……

……

Choshu Domain, Hagi Castle——

Katsura Kogoro stood atop the castle tower of Hagi Castle, gazing at the magnificent scenery in the distance.

—We won…

Although it had been several days since he regained control of Changzhou, he still found it hard to believe.

Even though he had Hagiwara firmly under his feet, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disorientation.

—I actually won… I actually won…

Since he dared to revolt, he was naturally confident that he could defeat the "conventional faction".

But... he never expected that he could win so easily! So quickly!

Throughout the entire uprising, not a single hard battle was fought. Whether it was the initial surprise attack on the Shinchi Clubhouse or the subsequent strategic decisive battle (the Battle of Ota), it was the same process: a charge upon meeting, the enemy collapses, and the battle ends.

After only a few battles, the "popular school" collapsed.

Post-war casualty statistics showed that the total number of casualties for the entire army was less than three digits.

Katsura Kogoro truly experienced the exhilaration of the Jin Dynasty's swift and devastating conquest of the Liao and Northern Song Dynasties—enemies who seemed so powerful were actually utterly vulnerable.

Because the victory was so easy, he had a strange feeling that he had "picked up a regime for free".

—If I had known this would happen, I should have started an uprising much earlier.

Thinking of this, Katsura Kogoro couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

After the fall of the "popular faction," he became the undisputed supreme leader of Choju.

After seizing power, he immediately made several demands of Mori Takachika: reinstate officials of the "righteous faction," purge the "popular faction," and adopt "respecting the emperor and expelling the barbarians" as the basic national policy...

With the changing of the guard on the city walls, the political landscape of Choshu underwent a dramatic transformation overnight... Mori Takachika remained remarkably calm about this.

Regardless of which faction is in power, he will say the same thing:

"Okay! Let's do it this way!"

This morning, at the insistence of Katsura Kogoro, Mori Takachika and his son held a temporary rite to atone for the riots and to pray for the protection of the Choshu Domain so that it would no longer be filled with thorns.

Admittedly, it is indeed commendable that the “popular opinion faction” was defeated with lightning speed before Qing Deng could intervene.

However... the real challenge is yet to come!

Compared to the "popular school," the shogunate forces led by Seito were the real threat!

Just as Katsura Kogoro unified Choshu, Seito recently unified the entire shogunate!

From then on, the distinction between "Nanki" and "Hitotsubashi" ceased to exist within the shogunate.

With Tokugawa Iemochi in a coma and the Hitotsubashi faction expelled, the Tokugawa shogunate had effectively become the Tachibana shogunate! All the retainers were under the command of Seito!

For Qing Deng now, his sphere of influence is no longer limited to Qin Jin; he can now mobilize all the resources of the shogunate!

Although the two "Edo Siege Battles" caused the shogunate heavy losses and greatly weakened its strength, the situation in Choshu was even worse!

Since the Battle of Shimonoseki, Choshu had suffered repeated heavy blows, and its national strength had been declining.

Yesterday, Katsura Kogoro carefully inspected the remaining troops in Choshu.

Upon receiving the exact figures, he couldn't help but gasp – he couldn't even muster two thousand regular soldiers!

Hata-tsu alone is enough to overwhelm the current Choshu, let alone the combination of "Shogunate + Hata-tsu".

If we want to counter Aoto... the only way is to unite with Satsuma, Tosa, and Hizen to establish the "Western Country Alliance"!

Only in this way can we have the resources to compete with Qingdeng!

But the problem is... what should we do?

What kind of generous offer is needed to win over Sa, Tu, and Fei?

Katsura Kogoro looked up at the sky, his thoughts drifting to the distant Satsuma, Tochigi, and Hiroshi domains, and unconsciously fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, the voice of Ōmura Masujirō came from behind him:

"Mr. Gui! Mr. Gui!"

Once again, Masujiro Ōmura displayed his characteristic of "sudden appearance," unexpectedly appearing behind Kogoro Katsura.

Katsura Kogoro was already used to it.

"Mr. Ōmura, what's wrong?"

"Iwakura Tomomi of the Imperial Court requests an audience!"

"Iwakura Tomomi?"

Upon hearing this familiar name, Katsura Kogoro's eyes widened in surprise.

The shocking Keio Incident ensured that the name "Iwakura Tomomi" would be forever remembered by the world.

After Iwakura Tomomi abducted the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the two sacred treasures, he vanished as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth, and no trace of him could be found.

Without thinking it over, Katsura Kogoro quickly said:

"Bring him here quickly!"

Ōmura Masujirō acknowledged and slowly withdrew.

Before long, he led a middle-aged man back to Katsura Kogoro—the man was none other than Iwakura Tomomi, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

Seeing the travel-worn Iwakura Tomomi, Katsura Kogoro smiled: