I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 168 Oh dear! Miss Elodie, are you blushing?

Qingdeng staggered slightly.

Harada deliberately lowered his voice when he spoke.

Under his skillful control of his voice, only Qing Deng and the others who were close to him could hear what he had just said.

No sooner had Harada finished speaking than Nagakura looked at him in shock: "These barbarian women all have such strange faces. Looking at faces like that, how can you still be in the mood to do that kind of thing?"

Although the "Black Ships Incident," in which Commodore Perry of the United States Navy led his fleet into Edo Bay, occurred seven years earlier in 1853, Japan did not immediately open its doors to the world because of this incident.

The Edo Shogunate, fearing the military might of the United States, dared not refuse the demand to open the country, but was also afraid that abolishing the "seclusion edict" would lead to nationwide criticism if the country were to open its doors.

Therefore, Abe Masahiro, the chief senior councilor of the Edo shogunate at the time, used the excuse that "the treaty can only be accepted with the approval of the emperor" to ask Perry to give a reply the following spring.

Therefore, the visit of the American fleet this time did not achieve any substantial results. It only successfully delivered the letter of demand that Japan open its country to trade and smoothly demonstrated the military power of the United States.

In 1854, the following year, Perry arrived as promised, leading an even larger fleet into Edo Bay, demanding that the Edo Shogunate "give us a reply as soon as the appointed time has come."

It was only at this point that the Edo Shogunate finally succumbed to the pressure and signed the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States.

Subsequently, England, France, the Netherlands, Tsarist Russia, and other countries pounced on Japan like cats smelling fish, signing treaties with it.

Only then did the Edo Shogunate's "seclusion edict" finally become a mere formality, and the country's doors were completely opened.

So if we really look into it, the total time Japan has truly opened its doors to the world so far is less than six years.

Because the time spent communicating with the outside world is still too short, even people who do not have a strong aversion to Westerners find it very difficult to get used to their appearance and culture.

Whether it was the Westerners' tall stature, even for women, or their overly pale skin, multicolored hair and eyes, the Japanese of that era found them extremely unfamiliar, feeling that these Westerners looked like monsters.

Because Westerners generally have high nose bridges, like the Tengu, a great monster in Japanese legends, this further reinforces some people's perception that "Westerners are all monsters and unclean things."

After posing a sharp question to Harada, Nagakura lowered his voice and continued with absolute certainty:

"I heard that because we are of a different race from Westerners, we will get sick if we do that kind of thing with Westerners."

"That's pure nonsense." As soon as Nagakura finished speaking, Aoto couldn't help but refute it in a helpless tone because he found the statement too absurd.

"Don't you guys want to give it a try?" Harada licked his lips. "I, for one, really want to give it a try."

"It's a pity that this place... seems unlikely to have any Western courtesans."

The Westerners living in this Edo settlement were either merchants who came to Japan to do business or public officials responsible for handling Japanese affairs. Those of lower status were servants or guards of the above two types of people.

In short, the Western residents in this area were all either rich or noble.

In such a region, it is indeed unlikely that one would encounter Western prostitutes.

In response to Harada's earlier question, "Don't you guys want to give it a try?", Saito gave a short, cool, and very much in his personal style answer: "No interest."

Nagakura followed Saito's reply, saying, "I'm not used to the appearance of Westerners."

Just then, a brown-haired man with green eyes, wearing a crisply starched suit, walked towards Nagakura from a distance.

Looking at the man's brown hair and rather green eyes, Nagakura shrank back, then silently took a step to the side, moving away from the brown-haired man.

Seeing that Saito and Nagakura had both given their answers, Harada turned his expectant gaze to Aoto.

Harada seems to be looking for companions to go womanizing with in the future.

Noticing Harada's gaze, Aoto said with a helpless expression, "I'm not really interested in seeking pleasure with courtesans."

Influenced by his education in his previous life, Qing Deng has always maintained a very averse attitude towards the idea of ​​"finding prostitutes".

Moreover, in Qingdeng's eyes, seeking pleasure with prostitutes in this era was a complete gamble, risking one's life.

Because reliable protective measures had not yet been developed, and people in that era generally lacked a sound sense of hygiene, venereal diseases remained prevalent among the general public.

In the era before antibiotics were invented, most venereal diseases were terminal illnesses that meant certain death.

Qingdeng certainly didn't want to die from an illness... especially not from syphilis, to happen to him.

Seeing that Lian Qingdeng had also clearly stated that he was "not interested," a distinct look of shock appeared between Harada's brows.

"And what about you?" Harada looked at the last person who hadn't yet spoken. "Toudou, what do you say?"

"Huh? Me?" As the youngest member of Qing Deng's small team, Toudou's still obviously childish face showed a troubled expression of "Hmm... how should I answer?"

Seeing that Toudou looked unsure how to answer, Qing Deng was just wondering whether he should help Toudou out of the predicament when Toudou suddenly spoke up:

"I... don't really like these barbarians who have invaded our country."

"However, I am not like those madmen who want to kill all the barbarians who enter our country, as well as all the Chinese people who have had dealings with these barbarians."

"Although I do not like the barbarians, I still hope to coexist peacefully with them, maintain good relations with them, learn their advanced technology, strengthen our national power, and make them dare not insult our country again."

“I think this is the true meaning of ‘expelling the barbarians’.”

"Oh?" Harada raised an eyebrow sharply in surprise.

At this moment, Aoto, Saito, and Nagakura all turned their heads in response to the sound and looked at Todo.

All eyes were on him, which made Toudou feel nervous.

"I-I'm sorry." Toudou chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "I think I said something not very interesting... It was just my personal opinion, just something to have a laugh."

"No, that's not true." Harada grinned and chuckled a few times. "I found what you just said quite amusing."

"On the topic of 'expelling the barbarians,' the most common comments I hear from people around me are either, 'I will practice my swordsmanship diligently so that when we go to war with the Western countries in the future, I will be the first to bravely fight and split the heads of the barbarians with one sword.'"

"Or it could be that 'the warships and cannons of the barbarians are nothing to fear. The most important weapon on the battlefield is people's belief and will. As long as you are determined to win and have a fearless fighting spirit, defeating the barbarians is not a difficult task.'"

"It's quite rare to see someone like you, Todo, who advocates 'learning from the barbarians'."

Todo gave an awkward smile: "Harada-kun, there are very few people like you who find my ideas interesting."

As he said this, a faint look of helplessness slowly crept onto Toudou's cheeks.

“I have also mentioned my idea of ​​‘learning from the barbarians’ to many people.”

"But they either showed little interest or scoffed at it."

"Many people, though not as radical as the madmen in the Extermination Group who wanted to kill all the barbarians in the country, still loathed the barbarians just as much."

"Either they feel that we cannot lower ourselves to have any dealings with barbarians."

"Or they think that all barbarians are our enemies, and that learning from them is a shameful thing to do."

"Only my master and some of my fellow disciples agree with my views."

The master that Todo was referring to... was naturally Ito Daizo, the head of the Ito Dojo, who was quite famous in Edo and known for his proficiency in both literature and martial arts, and who taught the Hokushin Itto-ryu style.

Qing Deng had heard that Ito Daizo was indeed a relatively open-minded person, and there were rumors that he was teaching himself English and Dutch.

Thinking about it this way, it's not surprising that Todo, who trained in the Hokushin Itto-ryu style at his dojo, developed the idea of ​​"learning from the West"—a rather advanced concept in the current Japanese social environment—due to the influence of his master.

After listening quietly to Toudou's seemingly complaining words, Harada chuckled a few times and then shrugged his shoulders vigorously.

"Anyway, as long as it doesn't affect my meals, it doesn't matter whether we drive all the barbarians out or learn their technology."

After a brief chat, Qingdeng and his group fell silent.

After silently turning two street corners, Qing Deng and his companions finally arrived at their destination—the place that had been reported: a confectionery shop specializing in Japanese sweets.

This confectionery shop is one of the few Japanese-style buildings in this settlement.

According to the informant, a burly man with a thick beard would be seen sneaking in and out of the pastry shop almost every day, carrying a large bag.

Upon seeing the pastry shop, Qing Deng and the others' expressions all turned serious.

Led by Qingdeng, they did not rush to approach the pastry shop, but instead circled it from a distance to observe its architectural style and the layout of the surrounding buildings.

This pastry shop only has two main entrances, a front door and a back door, so there aren't many escape routes for people inside... This is quite advantageous for Qingdeng and his group.

"Mr. Tachibana," Nagakura leaned his head towards Aoto, "what should we do now?"

Qing Deng pondered for a few moments: "...Let's find a place to lie in wait and observe this pastry shop. Let's see if we can catch the bearded man who the informant mentioned, who's been sneaking in and out of this pastry shop almost every day."

After saying that, Qingdeng raised his head and looked around, looking for a suitable place to lie in wait and observe the pastry shop.

Before long, Qingdeng's brows furrowed slightly—the area around this pastry shop was surrounded by neatly arranged buildings.

There were neither hotels that could be entered openly nor dark alleys where one could easily hide.

Saito and his men also realized that there was no suitable place for them to hide nearby, and they all looked troubled.

While Qingdeng was pondering what to do next—

"Huh? Mr. Tachibana?"

Such a young, yet beautiful female voice...

The female voice coming from behind made Qingdeng turn around with a surprised expression.

A lovely figure immediately caught Qingdeng's eye.

"Miss Angoulême?" Qing Deng subconsciously murmured the name of the beautiful figure.

The little girl, Elodie de Angoulême, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, held a small white parasol in her left hand and lifted her white dress with her right hand. With a joyful expression, she strode nimbly towards Qingdeng.

The parasol that Elodie was holding in her left hand was too small for an adult and would be useless except for making a show of it, but it was just right for Elodie, who was only 12 years old and quite petite.

Elodie leaned the parasol's handle against her left shoulder. With her waist as the dividing line, her upper body was hidden in the shadow of the parasol, while her lower body was exposed in the light.

Half her body was in the shadows, and half in the sunlight. The stark contrast, combined with Elodie's incredibly cute face, shrouded her figure in a hazy hue.

Elodie still had the same hairstyle: her beautiful, waist-length blonde hair was neatly braided into a three-strand braid, falling forward from her right shoulder. Her thin, slightly inward-curling bangs resembled the very popular "air bangs" of today, softly draped over her smooth, alabaster-like forehead.

The three braids that hung down to her chest bounced up and down in light arcs as she ran.

Compared to her unchanged hairstyle, Elodie did change into a white dress that Qingdeng had never seen before.

Qingdeng knew absolutely nothing about Western clothing of that era, only that the long skirt Elodie was wearing, which reached her ankles, was a tutu style.

Judging from the high-quality fabric and the exquisite stitching details, the white dress Elodie was wearing must be so expensive that Qingdeng couldn't help but slow his breathing.

The early summer sun hung directly in the sky in front of Elodie.

Under the bright sunlight and against the backdrop of the vast sky, Elodie's petite figure seemed to possess some kind of magic, naturally drawing people's attention to her.

After discovering Elodie, Qingdeng then spotted two familiar faces behind her, people who almost always appeared with Elodie.

Elodie's brown-haired waitress, Leroy, hurriedly followed behind Elodie, calling out to her in French that Qingden couldn't understand.

However, judging from Leroy's expression, Qing Deng guessed that she was probably telling Elodie not to run too fast.

Behind Leroy was the chubby, white-haired Colonel Sanders... ah, no, Elodie's grandfather: Anthony.