I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Ranks and rewards are given for merit, and positions and emoluments are bestowed upon those who are virtuous. We must be diligent and cautious in fulfilling our duties as trusted advisors, so as to live up to the trust placed in us by the Emperor."

"Proclamation shall be made to the whole world, so that all may know."

In an instant, everyone in the hall seemed to stop breathing.

Despite being mentally prepared, the contents read by the messenger still made everyone in the hall gasp!

All such imperial edicts are written in "Senmei-tai"—a special Japanese writing style—which is very different from Chinese and everyday language. It not only contains obscure words and phrases, but also has a particularly strange intonation when it is read aloud, so it is not easy to understand.

However, everyone in the hall understood the specific details of the rewards and honors.

This time, Qing Deng received three rewards in one go—the surname "Chaochen" was bestowed upon him! He was promoted to "Minister of the Left" and given the title "Kazusa no Suke"!

Any one of them is enough to amaze people!

The "Eight Surnames" were already a dead name, and their granting ceased during the Heian period (794-1192).

The reason why Qingdeng was previously granted the title of "Sukuni" (the third rank of the eight surnames) was entirely due to special circumstances and special treatment.

At that time, Aoto thwarted the Choshu people's plot to "burn down Kyoto" (the Ikedaya Incident), and then repelled the Choshu people's invasion (the Summer Siege of Kyoto). His merits were so great that the court did not know how to reward him, so it had to restart the "Eight Surnames" and bestow the surname "Sukune" upon him as a sign of favor.

This was already a special case, but unexpectedly his rank was even promoted!

"Court Ministers" are the second rank among the "Eight Surnames," higher than "Hidden Gods" and second only to "True Men."

"True Man" is generally not bestowed upon outsiders, so "Chaochen" is the highest-ranking surname that a subject can obtain.

Once dominant figures like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, when boasting about themselves, only dared to call themselves "court retainers," not "real men."

While being granted the title of "Court Minister" is certainly gratifying, it is undoubtedly more prestigious than the title of "Minister of the Left"!

Qing Deng's original official rank was Third Rank Left Guard General, but now he has been promoted several ranks and skipped a major grade, becoming a Second Rank Left Minister!

There are two official positions of the second rank: the Left Minister and the Right Minister, with the former being of a higher rank than the latter.

Unless it was an exceptional case like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the higher-ranking officials, such as the Regent (Senior Rank 1) and the Grand Minister of State (Senior Rank 1 and Junior Rank 1), could only be held by members of the Five Regent Families of noble lineage.

[Note: The Five Regent Families: The highest-ranking families among the nobility. The first two great regent families were the Konoe and Kujo clans. The latter three great regent families were the Takatsukasa, Nijo, and Ichijo clans.]

In other words, "Minister of the Left" was the highest official position that a mere subject could be granted!

As for Kazusa no Suke, he, like Aki no Kami, belonged to the "local official" category.

The highest-ranking official in each country is called "Governor" and the deputy governor is called "Jie".

The Kazusa Governor is the Vice-Governor of the Kazusa region.

However, Kazusa, Hitachi, and Ueno were the three provinces of the prince, and no "governor" was appointed in these three provinces. Therefore, the "suke" was the actual highest-ranking official in these three provinces.

Among the five provinces, seven circuits, and sixty-six provinces, Kazusa, Hitachi, and Kōzuke were the highest-ranking major powers, with Kazusa being the most prestigious.

In summary, the prestige of Qingdeng's latest series of honors can be roughly summarized as follows:

The eight surnames represent the highest-ranking "court officials".

In terms of central government positions, the highest rank was "Left Minister".

In terms of local official positions, the highest rank is "Shang Zong Jie".

In short, the palace basically handed over all the honors and official positions it could to Qingdeng! In a true sense, there was nothing left to reward or bestow titles upon!

When Qingdeng announced this series of new titles to the world, people couldn't help but marvel at his lofty status and noble identity.

Even though I've long been accustomed to the unparalleled power of "Nioh," I'm still moved by his illustrious achievements time and time again!

However, to everyone's surprise, the promotion of "Niou" did not end there!

Just a few days after the successful conclusion of the enthronement ceremony and bestowal ceremony for the Kazu-no-miya, the shogunate's rewards arrived!

The series of military achievements that Qing Deng made several months ago, including severely damaging the Qibingtai, defeating the Faki coalition, saving Edo, expelling the "Hitotsubashi faction", pacifying Mito, and subjugating Oshu, as well as the recent achievement of "recapturing Goryokaku" to quell the rebellion, have yet to be rewarded as they deserve.

The reason for the delay in awarding the prize is mainly due to the unstable situation, which leaves no time or energy available.

Another reason was that Tokugawa Iemochi was seriously injured and unconscious, and no one was able to preside over the meeting. Looking at the entire shogunate, besides Tokugawa Iemochi himself, who else was qualified to reward or punish Seito?

Although the situation is not yet stable, it has calmed down a bit.

Today, Ōtsu is the "temporary capital" of the Edo Shogunate, and all the core departments of the Shogunate have moved here.

If a ceremony to confer titles and awards is to be held, it should be located near Otsu—it is impossible for Aoto and the others to travel all the way back to Edo just to hold a ceremony.

However, Qingdeng's mansion was ultimately too small and not of the proper rank, while Otsu Castle was not yet completed, with only the walls having been built.

Therefore, with Aoto's approval, the shogunate's ceremony to reward meritorious service was ultimately held at Nijo Castle in Kyoto (the shogun's temporary palace in Kyoto).

After a brief discussion, it was decided that Tianzhangyuan would act as the general and personally preside over the relevant ceremonies.

There's no need to go into the details, since nobody cares anyway.

Just like the imperial rewards a few days ago, people only care about what kind of reward Qingdeng will receive.

Compared to the imperial court, the shogunate didn't have as many honorary titles—but the latter's material rewards far surpassed those of the former!

The shogunate's detailed rewards and honors for Seito are as follows:

He retains all his original official positions and concurrently serves as "Grand Elder"! He is granted an additional 35 shi of land!

The Dairo was the highest-ranking official position in the shogunate, not a permanent one, who was in charge of all national affairs and was usually held by only one person.

Because the "Dailao" was a special position temporarily established during major crises or political turmoil, only a handful of people in the history of the Edo Shogunate officially held the position of Dailao. The last person to hold this position was Ii Naosuke, who was unfortunately assassinated.

Thus, Seito became the 7th Dairo in the history of the Edo Shogunate!

In fact, for Qingdeng, the position of "senior" was nothing more than icing on the cake, better than nothing.

Before the shogunate split, the "Hitotsubashi faction," led by Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, could still keep Aoto in check to some extent.

Now that the Hitotsubashi faction has left and Tokugawa Iemochi remains oblivious, looking across the entire Southern Shogunate, there is no one or any force that can challenge Aoto!

Let alone a mere "big boss", he was already the de facto "General Who Conquers the Barbarians" of the "Southern Shogunate"!

However, with the added title of "elder," Qing Deng will undoubtedly find it much easier to act in the future, and will be able to legitimately use his official position to suppress others.

In terms of material gains alone, the newly granted fief of 35 shi (a unit of dry measure) is the most valuable reward!

The newly added 35 koku of fiefdom all came from the already extinct Mito Domain.

The former territory of the Mito Domain consisted entirely of fertile land in the Kanto Plain, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It was suitable for developing agriculture, industry, shipping, and overseas trade, making it one of the highest quality lands in Japan.

With the addition of the original 40 shi fief, the Qinjin domain under Qingdeng's rule now has an astonishing 75 shi fief!

Currently, the only domains that can surpass the Hatatsu Domain in terms of the amount of koku (a unit of rice measure) are the Kaga Domain of the Maeda family (102.5 koku) and the Satsuma Domain of the Shimazu family (77 koku).

At this point, Seito had reached the undisputed pinnacle in both the shogunate and the imperial court's official systems!

Currently, Qingdeng's full list of titles is as follows:

Left Minister, Kazusa no Suke, Aki no Kami, Elder, Army Commander-in-Chief, Kyoto Garrison Commander, Hatazu Domain Lord, Shinsengumi Commander-in-Chief, Eighth Prince, and a thousand men of one heart, Minamoto no Asomi, Tachibana no Aoto, Moriharu.

As for the titles held by the common people, they are countless!

Recently, after Qing Deng subdued Aoyu, he received a new unofficial title – “Guardian of the East” – which, as the name suggests, means the guardian deity of the East!

Since Tokugawa Ieyasu's rise to power, no vassal has ever wielded such astonishing power!

The phrases "having the emperor's authority" and "the law prevails" are all perfectly applied to Qing Deng!

It's definitely "unprecedented," as for whether it will be "unparalleled"... we can wait and see!

Of course, Qing Deng's extremely high status inevitably attracted controversy.

Some say Qingdeng's achievements overshadow the emperor's, while others say he is ambitious... Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: Qingdeng's position is too high! He already possesses the power to overthrow the dynasty!

No need to wait until later, it can happen now! If he had the will now, he could seize the throne of "General Who Conquers the Barbarians" at any time!

This caused great concern among those who relied on the Edo Shogunate for their livelihood.

People with rigid thinking are unwilling to lower themselves to serve Qingdeng.

Those with flexible minds have already shown deference to Qing Deng, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to claim credit for supporting the emperor when the "Otsu Shogunate" is established in the future!

To the west, Choshu attacked Aoto without restraint, squeezing out every bit of sarcastic language from the Japanese language.

In comparison, the opposition from the east was much smaller; even if there were opinions about Qingdeng, they only dared to discuss them quietly.

Firstly, the east side is Qingdeng's territory, and unless someone is tired of living, no one dares to act recklessly on Qingdeng's land.

Secondly, in order to overthrow the Zunrang camp, the power of "Renwang" cannot be lost.

Being defeated by Choshu versus accepting the rule of Seido... For many ministers of the "Southern Shogunate," the former was undoubtedly far more terrifying than the latter!

Whether Aoto will overthrow the shogunate remains to be seen.

In contrast, Choshu explicitly shouted the slogan of overthrowing the shogunate!

After weighing the pros and cons, it was an extremely difficult decision, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue serving "Nioh".

……

……

Hatazu Domain, Ōtsu, Tachibana Residence, Tokugawa Iemochi's bedroom—

Aoto and Kazumiya sat side by side beside Tokugawa Iemochi's bed.

"Your Majesty... Ah, no, Your Majesty, thank you for your hard work."

Kazuya smiled slightly:

“Lord Zuo, there’s no need to be so formal. Just call me ‘He Gong’.”

[Note: Zuofu: the honorific title of Minister Zuo. "Youfu" refers to the right minister, and "Neifu" refers to the internal minister. 】

Qingdeng tilted his head slightly, observing the other person subtly.

Compared to before, Kazuya really seems like a completely different person.

Her complexion had improved considerably; it was unclear whether she had emerged from the grief of her brother's passing or had managed to suppress her sorrow through sheer willpower.

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, He Gong smiled slightly:

“I’m not suffering. All I do is wear a heavy robe, sit on the high platform, and receive the divine sword and imperial seal from the priest.”

"Compared to those who truly work hard, my efforts are nothing to boast about."

"I still have many shortcomings, please forgive me."

Qingdeng shook his head and said in an unquestionable tone: