I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After speaking with Gong, he slowly turned his head back to look at Qingdeng.

Even though only a few minutes had passed, she seemed like a completely different person!

But she was no longer hesitant; her eyes shone with a strong, resolute, and dazzling light.

Although it was only a little bit, the aura she released was indeed comparable to Qing Deng's aura!

"Tokugawa Iemochi was a wise ruler who cared deeply for the people and was willing to risk his life."

"As Tokugawa Iemochi's principal wife, I should inherit his indomitable will!"

At this point, Kazuya slowly stood up, her voice rising in pitch:

"If it can bring about the surrender of the enemy and the peace and happiness of the people, then I will not hesitate to endure any hardship!"

……

……

Just days after Choshu announced the "enthronement of the new emperor and the change of era name to Meiji," another earth-shattering piece of news shook the entire nation—

"Nioh" Tachibana Aoto declares that the late emperor was murdered and the new emperor is a "false emperor" imposter!

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. In order to rectify the chaos caused by the traitor, the princess will inherit the imperial line and become the 9th female emperor in Japanese history!

This announcement was truly earth-shattering!

Following the shogunate, even the imperial court is about to split into two!

Nearly 500 years later, Japan will once again have two emperors at the same time!

In an instant, a single stone stirred up a thousand waves.

From north to south, from top to bottom, people from every social class and every region are discussing related matters.

Some people overwhelmingly support Qing Deng.

Some people think that Qingdeng is being unreasonable and irrational.

Regardless of the debate among the world, the Empress's ascension to the throne is a foregone conclusion!

Just seven days after Qing Deng issued the announcement, a grand enthronement ceremony will be solemnly held!

As a result, Kyoto has been unusually lively recently.

The court officials were extremely busy preparing for the enthronement ceremony.

As dignitaries and nobles arrived in Beijing to attend the enthronement ceremony, their carriages and horses caused a massive traffic jam.

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It's almost the end of the month again! Readers with monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: Tomorrow is the final chapter of this volume~~ The thought of getting closer and closer to the end makes me feel down... (slump.jpg)

Chapter 1099: Uniting the Nine Lords, Unifying the World! Reign Title: [Kuangtian]! [The End]

Those nobles who favored "respect and power" were either marginalized or forced into retirement.

Currently, most of the court officials are supporters of the shogunate.

With the upcoming coronation ceremony approaching, all officials at all levels of the court are putting in their best efforts and dare not slack off in the slightest.

Kyoto was under the control of the shogunate. Apart from the Yata no Kagami and the Yasakani no Magatama being stolen by Iwakura Tomomi, all kinds of ceremonial objects were available. There was no reason for the scale of the empress's enthronement ceremony to be inferior to that of the "false emperor" in the west.

The Imperial Palace today is a far cry from its former dull and lifeless state; hurried figures can be seen everywhere.

Moving ritual objects, replacing tatami mats, cleaning the corridors... it was a scene of bustling activity.

To prevent sabotage by the Zunpu forces, Aoto mobilized all five squads of the Shinsengumi to Kyoto in one go—the Second Squad, the Fourth Squad, the Sixth Squad, the Eighth Squad, and the Ninth Squad—causing a sudden surge in the "Shinsengumi content" in Kyoto.

Under Aoto's personal command, the defenses inside and outside the Imperial Palace had reached an astonishing level.

They are armed with both swords and guns, capable of both close and long-range combat. If you get close, you will face the blades of the Second and Fourth Divisions; if you stay far away, you will be mowed down by the Sixth and Eighth Divisions.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if Qingdeng himself went there, he might not be able to get through this dangerous place.

As for the towns and streets of Kyoto outside the Imperial Palace, they are also on high alert.

Patrol teams are everywhere, and there are sentries at every intersection.

Moreover, the ninjas of the Ninth Division were lurking among the crowd, closely monitoring the movements of suspicious individuals.

The so-called "impregnable defenses" are nothing more than this.

To facilitate command and coordination, Aoto himself moved to the Shinsengumi headquarters in Mibu-go, Kyoto, on the very day he announced the "Empress's accession to the throne."

Despite the rapidly escalating situation, with even the emergence of "two emperors in one day," the turmoil at the top has not yet spread to the middle and lower classes.

For the people of Kyoto, nothing unusual has happened recently.

Apart from the increased number of Shinsengumi members on the streets, everything remained the same.

Eat when you're supposed to eat, sleep when you're supposed to sleep, and live your life the way you want to live it.

The recent spate of major news stories and events has given ordinary people plenty to talk about.

However, due to the sensitive nature of the topic, no one dared to discuss in detail who was the legitimate ruler, the empress in the east or the "false emperor" in the west.

During the years that Qingdeng was stationed in the capital region, he repeatedly prevented war and ensured the safety of the capital. His hard work and contributions are evident to all.

Today, people who genuinely love and respect Aoto are found throughout Kyoto.

Although they were unclear about the intricacies of the power struggles at the top and did not know which emperor was the legitimate ruler, since Seito declared that Mutsuhito was a false emperor, they would unconditionally stand with Prince Kazuhito!

Of course, there were also many Kyoto gentry who selectively ignored Aoto's achievements, wholeheartedly admired Choshu, and regarded Mutsuhito in the west as the legitimate ruler.

Ironically, the people of Choshu treated the people of Kyoto with extraordinary malice.

First, there was the attempt to burn down Kyoto in order to seize the Emperor amidst the chaos; then, there was the direct attack on Kyoto, which nearly turned the ancient capital into a bloody battlefield.

Despite being repeatedly mistreated by the Choshu people, a considerable number of Kyoto residents still seem to suffer from "Stockholm Syndrome" and continue to hold the Choshu people in high esteem.

The reason for this is simply that Changzhou's slogan of "honoring the king and repelling the barbarians" was too deceptive.

Some people in Kyoto were misled by the banner and naively believed that Choshu was truly fighting for the Imperial Court, so they naturally hoped that Choshu would win.

In this way, once Choshu defeats the shogunate, Kyoto's political status will rise accordingly.

There were simply too many "potential rebels" in Kyoto, which was one of the main reasons why Aoto had to deploy a large force to protect the enthronement ceremony.

Besides preparing for the coronation ceremony, there was another equally important matter: devising a reign title.

In today's era of great strife, reign titles carry extraordinary symbolic significance.

Under normal circumstances, after a new emperor ascends the throne, he will wait until the following year to change the era name.

However, no sooner had the late emperor passed away than Changzhou hastily announced a change of reign title.

This sends a thought-provoking signal: they can't wait any longer! They want to "reinvent" Japan now!

The term "Meiji" is not only easy to pronounce, but it is also derived from the Book of Changes, which states, "The sage faces south to listen to the world and governs with the light," implying "rule by light."

It is evident that the pro-imperial camp intended to use the name "Meiji" to demonstrate their ambition to liberate Japan from the dark rule of the shogunate.

Since the confrontation between the "Support the Shogunate" and the "Revere the Emperor" has turned into a full-scale, all-out struggle, we cannot afford to lose momentum on this invisible battlefield!

To this end, Aoto specially gathered a large number of sinologists—Japanese era names are all derived from ancient Chinese books—in order to come up with a brand new era name that is more powerful and meaningful, so as to overshadow the "Meiji" era in the west!

Faced with Qing Deng's strict requirements, the sinologists who were summoned turned the pages of Chinese books with great enthusiasm.

Although time is tight, the relevant work is progressing smoothly. After several rounds of selection, the following year names have entered the "final round" so far.

"The Right Path" is taken from the Lin hexagram in the Book of Changes, which reads, "Great success comes from righteousness; this is the way of Heaven." It emphasizes justice and harmony.

“Mingxie” is taken from the “Shangshu·Yaodian”, which reads “The people are enlightened and the world is in harmony.” It expresses the vision of “peace and prosperity”.

"Tianping" – taken from the "Dayu Mo" chapter of the Book of Documents, originally "Diping Tiancheng", symbolizes "internal and external peace".

Apart from the three mentioned above, the other reign titles are all quite good, possessing both beautiful characters and auspicious meanings.

However... Qingdeng was not entirely satisfied with these reign titles.

The characters are beautiful, and the meaning is there, but he just feels that these reign titles are missing something.

For this reason, he hesitated to make a decision and remained stuck in that situation.

Time passed...

In the blink of an eye, tomorrow will be the coronation ceremony of Prince Kazuhito.

According to Qing Deng's plan, on the day that He Gong ascends the throne, the new era name will be announced to the whole world.

However... even though the coronation ceremony is just over ten hours away, the crucial reign title is still "pending".

……

……

Kyoto, Mibu Village, Shinsengumi Garrison, Military Council Room—

Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, Yamanami Keisuke, and Kondo Isami gathered here.

As high-ranking leaders of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo and others are qualified to attend tomorrow's coronation ceremony.

At this very moment, they are holding their final meeting to "select an era name".

Hijikata Toshizo yawned widely, stretched lazily, and said listlessly:

"It's just a reign title, you can just pick any one."

Yamanami Keisuke shook his head:

"Mr. Hijikata, you are mistaken. An excellent reign title will greatly boost the morale of the people and the army, and it cannot be taken lightly."

Kondo Isami suddenly spoke up:

"I think 'balance' is pretty good."

Hijikata Toshizo shrugged:

“‘Ten Hei’ is too difficult to pronounce, and it doesn’t sound very powerful.”