I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

This group of people was the newly formed Red Reporting Team.

This young man with an impressive aura is none other than the captain of the Red Report Squad—Sōzō Sagara.

Tall and slender with delicate features, he exudes a refined and scholarly air... Compared to a "warrior" wielding swords and spears, he is more like a "scholar" dedicated to studying knowledge.

Indeed, this was true; before joining the movement to honor the emperor, he was a private tutor.

After experiencing the disputes that arose from the "Cancellation of the Annual Tribute Halving Order", the high-ranking officials of the "Southern Court" had all concluded that Sagara Sozo had betrayed them... However, Sagara Sozo never had the idea of ​​"leaving the 'Southern Court'".

Despite his deep dissatisfaction with the Southern Dynasty, he never considered betraying it.

He knew very well that he could not achieve the ideal of "everyone having food to eat and clothes to wear" even in ten lifetimes by his own strength.

Therefore, after leading the Red Guards on their solo journey, he immediately wrote to the Southern Dynasty, explaining that he had no intention of rebelling, but only wanted to support the Southern Dynasty in his own way.

His expectations for the "Southern Dynasty" were simple: to acknowledge that the Red Guards were government troops and to restore the "Annual Tribute Reduction Order".

For this, he was willing to make any sacrifice, even if it meant continuing to infiltrate behind the "Northern Dynasty" and waging a "war without a rear" where every day was uncertain, he would gladly accept it.

The Southern Court's response to Sōzō's humble request was simple: "We can consider recognizing the Red Army as an official force, but we must not bring up the matter of restoring the 'Annual Tribute Reduction Order' again."

And this is exactly what Sagara Souzo absolutely cannot accept!

Seeking the welfare of millions of farmers was his lifelong ideal, his original aspiration in dedicating himself to the movement to honor the people, and his inviolable bottom line.

In short, this is the only point that cannot be compromised!

The Southern Dynasty's arrogance and incompetence utterly disappointed Sagara Sozo.

Out of spite, he decided to no longer rely on the "Southern Dynasty" and to overcome difficulties and open up new prospects through his own efforts and those of his comrades.

Your ambition is commendable, but... ideals can't put food on the table.

From its inception, the Red Army was in a precarious situation, barely able to make ends meet.

It is indeed a slight disadvantage for a small force of only a few dozen men to confront the Shinsengumi, which now boasts an army of 10,000.

Therefore, they dared not approach the town or the Shinsengumi's base, and could only operate in the desolate wilderness.

For most of the day, they were running around like headless flies, trying to evade the Shinsengumi's search.

No base, no supplies, no destination, no hope...

What's even more agonizing is that it's currently winter, and the biting cold is enough to crush the will of every warrior.

Every day, some members drop out because they can't hold on any longer... The Red Report Squad, which already had a small force, now has only about twenty members left, and that number is still decreasing.

Having persevered until now, Sagara Sozo and his men are nearing their limits.

With things having come to this point, even though he was unwilling, Sozo Sagara had no choice but to lower his proud head and send envoys again to negotiate with the Southern Court, hoping to obtain their assistance.

Fortunately, the door to dialogue between the two sides was not closed.

The answer that Sagara Sozo had been longing for arrived quickly: the "Southern Court" would send envoys to begin a new round of negotiations with Sagara Sozo.

The meeting will take place tonight.

At this moment, Sagara Sozo was waiting for instructions.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, finally—one of Sagara Sozo's trusted confidants rushed over:

"Master Sagara, the envoys from our dynasty have arrived! They are waiting at Kotoku-ji Temple!"

Kotoku-ji Temple—an abandoned mountain temple not far from here.

Sagara Sozo nodded, said "Thank you for your hard work," and slowly stood up.

Suddenly, a deep male voice came from the side:

"Teacher Sagara, I'll go with you."

The speaker was Shiro Oki, a staunch supporter of Souzo Sagara, and also one of the few skilled swordsmen in the Red Mirror Corps.

Sozo Sagara glanced at Shiro Oki and nodded:

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

Before leaving, Sagara Sozo gave the soldiers the order to "be obedient and wait for orders, and take a break while you can," and then went to Kotoku-ji Temple with Oki Shiro.

Before long, the mottled, wide-open temple gate came into view.

The two slipped inside and headed toward the empty, dusty Buddhist hall—where a tall, thin young warrior stood in the very center.

The slender samurai smiled slightly as he watched Sagara Souzo approach.

"Saragi-kun, it's been a long time. You look quite disheveled."

Sozo Sagara ignored the other party's sarcasm and nodded respectfully without being humble or arrogant:

"Takamatsu-kun, it's been a long time."

The slender samurai, called "Takamatsu," straightened up slightly and adopted a serious expression.

Just as he was about to speak, Sagara Sozo preemptively shouted:

"Mr. Takamatsu, to save everyone's time, please allow me to ask a question first: Is our dynasty willing to reinstate the 'Annual Tribute Reduction Order'?"

"If so, then let's have a heart-to-heart talk."

"If not, then there's no need for us to meet tonight. I'll leave immediately."

Takamatsu raised an eyebrow, looking at Sagara Sozo with a complicated expression... After a moment, he chuckled, rubbing his forehead with his hand in a helpless gesture.

"Sangara-kun, why are you so stubborn?"

The instant after he finished speaking—

Thump thump thump thump thump!

The sound of hurried and rapid footsteps came from all directions!

In the blink of an eye, a dozen samurai emerged from every corner like cockroaches, quickly surrounding Sagara Sozo and Oki Shiro.

Takamatsu wiped the smile off his face and looked coldly at Sagara Souzo.

"It's all your fault for being so stubborn, that I had no choice but to kill you."

Seeing the murderous aura emanating from Takamatsu and the tight encirclement around him, Sagara Sozo and Oki Shiro both changed their expressions, initially shocked and then furious.

At that moment, one phrase simultaneously flashed through their minds: the Feast at Hongmen!

"What do you want?!"

As he roared, Shiro Oki drew his sword.

"Do you want to kill Mr. Sagara?"

Gao Song said calmly:

"That's right, that's exactly what I meant. What's wrong with eliminating traitors?"

Shiro Oki gritted his teeth, letting out a growl from between them:

"Saragi-sensei is not a traitor!"

"By arbitrarily canceling the 'Annual Tribute Halving Order,' you have betrayed us, betrayed millions of farmers... You are the real traitors!"

Gao Song shrugged, his face full of disdain:

"Honestly, I really don't understand what you guys are thinking."

"Compared to the lowly farmers, aren't those merchants obviously more important?"

"The funds that any merchant can provide are astronomical figures that even if thousands of farmers poured out their entire fortunes, they could not reach."

"Forget it, it's a waste of time to explain all these grand principles to you."

"Your willful and reckless behavior has caused considerable trouble for our dynasty."

"If you still wish to serve the Buddha, then please obediently submit."

The moment he finished speaking, Gao Song waved his hand.

The encirclement tightened abruptly in the next instant—the assassins present rushed towards Sagara Sozo and Oki Shiro with synchronized movements!

In the blink of an eye, a cold light flashed and blood splattered.

*******

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

P.S.: Some historical photos of Ah Long have survived. To be honest, I (the author) fell in love with her at first sight (shy leopard.jpg). She has the kind of face I like. Although she's not a stunning beauty, she just really hits the spot for me!

Chapter 1122 Qingdeng: "I want to marry Tianzhangyuan!" [6000]

Almost at the same time—

The hideout of the Red Army—

"I wonder how things went between Master Sagara and the envoy from our dynasty."

"Hmph! In my opinion, tonight's talks will definitely end in failure again."

"Yes, how could our dynasty possibly reinstate the 'Annual Tribute Reduction Order'?"

"Sigh... I don't understand... why is our dynasty unwilling to reinstate the 'Annual Tribute Halving Decree'? If even this most basic requirement cannot be met, then our dynasty is nothing more than another Edo Shogunate!"

"Rather than serve a 'second Edo Shogunate,' I would rather fight alone until my death!"

The soldiers chatted idly, while the dark cloud of "despair" gathering above their heads grew thicker and thicker.

Suddenly, someone straightened up, instinctively reached for the sword at their waist, and pricked up their ears:

"...Hey, something seems off."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers' expressions changed, and they all stopped what they were doing and carefully observed their surroundings.

They quickly realized something was wrong... it was too quiet.

Not a single bird chirped, not a single insect hummed; the silence was eerie!

Even in the dead of night, the forest couldn't possibly be this quiet!

Their ominous premonition had just begun—