I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Komatsu, standing to the side with his arms crossed, added casually:

“Sakamoto-kun has been promoting his ‘appeasement’ policy everywhere lately.”

"He is an eloquent debater, and many people have already listened to and agreed with his ideas."

Upon hearing this, Okubo Ichizo's face grew even colder:

"Hmph! With a major battle imminent, this guy who's undermining our morale is really unlucky!"

After a moment of silence, he continued quietly:

“Saigo-kun, Sakamoto-kun’s actions have crossed the line, and we must stop him.”

Komatsu shrugged, his shoulder tucked behind his sword.

"Stop him? I'm afraid it won't be that easy. Sakamoto-kun is stubborn; you can't persuade him with words alone."

Okubo Ichizo pursed his lips and lowered his eyelids:

"...If words alone can't shut him up, then try a different way to make him shut up."

Komatsu remained silent.

After a moment, he scratched his forehead and sighed:

"...Okubo-kun, can you please stop?"

"To kill him simply because of a disagreement is... utterly inhumane."

"Moreover, Sakamoto-kun is a great contributor to the 'Western Alliance'."

"I cannot condone this cruel act of 'killing the hunting dog after the cunning rabbit is dead.'"

"Moreover, our current situation is not optimistic enough to allow us to slaughter our lackeys at will."

No sooner had Komatsu finished speaking than Okubo Ichizo revealed his impatience and rudely shouted:

Was the successful formation of the "Western Alliance" entirely due to Sakamoto Ryoma alone?

"His crime of 'disrupting morale' alone is enough to warrant his execution and public display of his head!"

"Those who are united in heart and mind are strong; those who are united in desire will prevail!"

"The most urgent task at hand is to unite the people! Only in this way can we gather the greatest strength to defeat the 'Northern Dynasty'!"

"If we allow Sakamoto Ryoma to continue promoting his so-called 'appeasement' policy, it will surely demoralize the people!"

"Some people want to be 'tough,' while others want to be 'appease.' With everyone acting independently, how can we fight this war? We might as well just surrender to Tachibana Seito as soon as possible!"

Okubo Ichizo was aggressive and did not hold back his sharp edge just because the other party was an important colleague.

He and Komatsu glared at each other, neither willing to back down.

Fortunately, Kichinosuke Saigo spoke up in time, interrupting the argument between the two:

"...This matter will be discussed later."

After saying that, he turned to look at Komatsu with a knife.

"Take a sword, any news about Sagara Souzo?"

Komatsu shook his head, carrying a knife:

"No. Sigh... Souzo's temper is even more stubborn than Ryoma's..."

Sozo Sagara – A talented individual discovered by Kichinosuke Saigo when he was recruiting a large number of ronin to form the Satsuma Imperial Bandit Group.

He was originally a private tutor who taught Chinese classics and military strategy, and promoted the idea of ​​"respecting the king and repelling the barbarians". At its peak, he had as many as a hundred disciples.

In 1861, he resolutely stopped running his private school and took the excuse of traveling to the Oshu region of the Tohoku region. He took 5 taels of gold from his father, Kojima Heiba, and traveled around Shinano, Ueno, and Shimotsuke. He invited local wealthy farmers and merchants to form a group to support the emperor and expel foreigners. He also contacted the pro-imperial faction in Choshu and Kurume to plot an uprising and implement the policy of supporting the emperor and expelling foreigners.

Afterwards, he formed an armed force called the "Generous Group," mainly composed of wealthy farmers, self-cultivating farmers, and tenant farmers. Together with other patriotic groups such as the "True Loyal Group" and the "Heavenly Dynasty Group," they launched military campaigns to expel foreigners in places such as Akagi Mountain, Takasaki Castle, and Yokohama, and burned down foreign mansions. However, due to insufficient preparation, internal divisions, and betrayal by traitors, the campaign failed.

After the "Generous Group's" uprising at Mount Akagi was thwarted, Sagara Sozo went to places like Suwa District in Shinano Province to try to rise again, but failed once more.

However, he did not lose heart. In March of the first year of Genji (1864), he joined the Tsukuba Mountain uprising of the Mito Domain's Soroku faction. Soon after, dissatisfied with the faction's focus on factional strife and neglect of the Soroku struggle, he returned to Edo.

Later, he accepted Saigo Kichinosuke's summons and went to Satsuma to join the Satsuma royal thieves.

In short, although Sozo Sagara was not a veteran among the anti-Japanese patriots, he had an exceptionally rich experience in rebellion!

Even among the vast number of esteemed and ambitious individuals, it would be difficult to find someone with such an impressive resume.

Saigo Kichinosuke greatly admired Sagara Sozo, so he promoted him to be the leader of the Satsuma Imperial Thieves and entrusted him with important responsibilities.

Sozo Sagara did not betray Kichinosuke Saigo's trust.

After being ordered to lead his troops to the capital region to disrupt the rear of the "Northern Dynasty," he accomplished his mission brilliantly.

In addition to carrying out his duties, he actively promoted the "Annual Tribute Halving Order" to the farmers within the shogunate's territory.

The "Annual Tribute Reduction Decree" was a new decree drafted by the Southern Dynasty to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

As the name suggests, the general content of this edict was to halve all taxes within the shogunate's territory.

The person who suggested that the Southern Dynasty implement the "Annual Tribute Reduction Order" was none other than Sagara Sozo.

Sozo Sagara's father was a wealthy farmer who had managed village affairs. Because he was the son of a farmer, he had a strong attachment to farmers.

One of the main reasons he threw himself into the Soshin-boku movement was his inability to tolerate the exploitation of millions of peasants by the shogunate lords.

The Southern Dynasty's leadership was naturally pleased with this policy, which was able to win people's hearts, and readily adopted Sangaku Sozo's suggestion, thus enabling the "Annual Tribute Reduction Decree" to be passed.

However, just recently, an accident occurred.

The confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties was all-encompassing and across all fields.

In order to win the support of all classes and forces, both sides have resorted to all means.

Wealthy merchants from various regions who control vast amounts of money and grain are naturally among the best targets for courting.

Choosing sides is an art.

If some merchants sided with the "Northern Dynasty," then naturally other merchants would side with the "Southern Dynasty."

Under the influence of the Kurashiro-ya, most merchants in the Kyoto region, centered around Osaka, supported the "Northern Court".

Many of the powerful merchants from other towns and cities, such as Mitsui, Ono, and Shimada, sided with the "Southern Court," offering money and seeking their support.

However, these wealthy merchants were not happy to see the implementation of the "Annual Tribute Reduction Order".

If farmers' rent and taxes are reduced, how are we merchants supposed to make money?

Therefore, they jointly demanded that the "Southern Dynasty" abolish the "Annual Tribute Reduction Order".

Should the "Annual Tribute Halving Order" be continued to appease farmers, or should it be abolished to please merchants?

For the leaders of the "Southern Dynasty," this was not a difficult choice—they decisively chose the latter.

Therefore, Saigo Kichinosuke relayed the order to Sagara Sozo, informing him that the "Annual Tribute Reduction Order" had been cancelled and that the "Southern Court" would not reduce or exempt taxes within the shogunate's territory.

This order caused the three great generals of Xiangyue to be engulfed in flames.

How can a policy that has been agreed upon be reversed so easily?

Therefore, he refused to comply and insisted on continuing to preach the "Annual Tribute Reduction Order" to the farmers.

At the same time, the Shinsengumi began their crackdown on the Imperial Guards and the Satsuma Imperial Thieves.

The stronghold was wiped out, the deputy commander Imuta Shohei was captured, and important members such as Masumitsu Kyunosuke were also imprisoned. Only a very few people, such as Sagara Sozo, escaped.

Seeing that the Satsuma royal thieves had suffered a devastating blow and were no longer able to carry out their mission of "disrupting the rear of the Northern Court," Saigo Kichinosuke simply ordered the recall of the remaining Satsuma royal thieves.

However, perhaps disappointed with the "Southern Court," Sagara Sozo once again defied Saigo Kichinosuke's orders and refused to return!

He did not stop those who wanted to return to Samo, letting them choose to stay or leave as they pleased.

Thus, the already severely depleted Satsuma Imperial Thieves split into two factions. Most of them fled back to Satsuma in disgrace, while only a small number were inspired by Sagara Sozo's lofty ideals and chose to continue fighting alongside him.

It is said that Sagara Sozo plans to integrate his remaining troops to form a new unit called "Akahotai" – meaning "to serve the country with a loyal heart".

Sozo Sagara, who was once favored by Kichinosuke Saigo, has now become a traitor who splits the organization and acts on his own initiative...

It's obvious that it's impossible not to punish him!

How to deal with Sagara Sozo—this is a topic that has been frequently raised in the Satsuma Domain's court recently.

Saigo Kichinosuke still wanted to give Sagara Sozo a chance, hoping that he would send a letter to apologize and admit his mistake.

However... to this day, he has still not received any letter from Sagara Sozo...

After a moment of contemplation, Saigo Kinosuke took a deep breath and turned to look out the window again—Sakamoto Ryoma was no longer in sight.

"Sōzō Sagara... Ryōma Sakamoto... you're all such a handful... why can't you just behave and listen to me?"

As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes, a cold light gleaming within them:

"Why do you insist on making things difficult for me..."

*******

*******

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

P.S.: When Leopard played "Rise of the Ronin," he got badly beaten by Sagara Sozo, but I never got angry—he was one of the few true men in the anthropomorphic Meiji government, and he deserves respect.

Chapter 1119 The Reappearance of "Kyoto's Number One Beauty"! [5000]

The sheer terror of the Shinsengumi's "Great Memory Restoration Technique" is universally acknowledged.

After the Battle of Ikedaya, the detailed process of the Shinsengumi interrogating the loyalist Shuntaro Furutaka was circulated in great detail and became an urban legend.

The Shinsengumi have a little dark room where once you go in, you'll never come out unscathed...

The Shinsengumi supposedly raised a group of perverts who enjoyed torture; their greatest hobby was watching the screams of their victims...

After key members of the Satsuma royal thieves, such as Imuta Shohei and Masumitsu Kyunosuke, were imprisoned by the Shinsengumi, they quickly experienced firsthand that while the world's evaluation of the Shinsengumi's "Great Memory Restoration Technique" was exaggerated, it was truly terrifying!

Whipping, stone-holding, branding with fire... all kinds of torture instruments are available. The Shinsengumi's prison has all the interrogation methods you can think of, and there is definitely one that can drive you crazy.

If none of the above methods work, then the classic old method is used directly—nails are driven into the person's feet, entering from the instep and exiting from the sole, and the person is then hung upside down with huge five-eyed candles on each of the two nails, so that the victim experiences the pain of being hung upside down while enduring the torment of hot oil flowing all over their body—to date, none of the many members of the Satsuma Imperial Thieves who have been imprisoned have been able to endure this ordeal.

In this way, after a series of "memory restoration techniques," even the most stubborn person will obediently open their mouth, eager to reveal even the old story of peeping at the neighbor girl taking a bath when they were a child.

Incidentally, the remnants of the Satsuma royal thieves failed to return safely to Satsuma.