I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

……

On the morning of November 19th, the first year of the Wanyan era (1860)—

Edo, Okemachi

The dry, cold wind howled through the muddy streets, and the biting chill made every pedestrian unconsciously pull their coats tighter and quicken their pace.

Large carts carrying goods, packhorses transporting goods, and ordinary passersby formed extremely long queues outside the wooden doors of Okemachi.

Inside the Kido Banya (a branch office) next to the Kido, Bantaro impatiently shouted at the crowd queuing outside the Kido:

"Don't push! Don't push! Hey! I'm talking to you! Stop pushing! Line up properly! No cutting in line! Anyone who dares to cut in line, don't blame me for being rude!"

To facilitate the management of civil administration in Edo, a wooden gate called "Kido" was set up at the boundary of each town in Edo.

In Edo, no matter which town you wanted to go to, you had to go through the Kido (wooden doorway) between the towns.

Next to Kido, there was a guard post called "Kido Banya". The officials on duty in the guard post were commonly referred to as "Bantaro".

During the day, the wooden door is open and people can pass freely; it closes at 10 p.m. and no one is allowed to enter or leave unless there is a fire or other major event.

Okemachi was one of the most prosperous towns in Edo.

The people currently queuing outside the wooden doors in Okecho are all itinerant merchants rushing to Okecho to do business.

In Edo, where land was extremely valuable, the area of ​​Kido was naturally not built to be too spacious. If the goods or carts carried by merchants were even slightly large, they would easily cause a blockage at the gate of Kido, and it would take a long time to clear the blockage. Kido in Okemachi was currently in such a predicament.

Kido is an important transportation hub connecting the town and the outside world, so it naturally has a large flow of people. Therefore, takatsu (traditional gambling venues) are often set up near Kido.

Gaozha refers to a notice board.

The government often publishes new decrees and policies, as well as arrest warrants for criminals who have not yet been apprehended, directly on the official notice board.

At this moment, a group of people of different genders and ages stood in twos and threes in front of the tall cakes in Oke Town.

The tallest building in the town of Oke is divided into two neat halves by a line running down the middle.

The right half is dedicated to displaying wanted posters for criminals, so it looks like a stratum formed naturally over countless years, with countless wanted posters overlapping each other.

At the very top is the wanted poster for Jinno, the leader of the Exile Group.

The bottom layer, due to its age, had turned into a blurry, dirty black pulp. Only one line of words could be vaguely discerned from the filth: "Executioner Ittosai" Ogata Hayase.

The pedestrians standing in front of the Okecho Takasatsu (traditional cardboard sign) are not appreciating the rich history printed on the right half of the sign, but are focusing their attention on the left half.

The left half of the board was dedicated to announcing the latest government decrees and policies. A brand-new official document, clearly recently issued, was pasted on it.

The language used in official government documents has always been extremely formal and serious.

Not only are the characters used almost entirely Chinese, but the grammar is also extremely difficult to pronounce, using classical terms.

An elderly man who could read Chinese characters loudly deciphered the contents of the official document to the blind people around him: A group of extremely vicious mountain bandits has appeared in Kai. The townspeople are hereby advised not to go to Kai unless absolutely necessary. The bandits have been ordered to go instead to suppress them, and Kai will be restored to peace as soon as possible.

"Ugh, it's bandits again..." a woman sighed.

Kai is located west of Edo, very close to it. It is famous for its horses, but its land is mostly hilly and mountainous, hence it has been known as the "Mountain Country" since ancient times.

Mountainous regions like this have always been ideal breeding grounds for bandits and outlaws. The bandits of Kai have practically become a well-known local specialty.

"Alas...the world is becoming increasingly turbulent..." An old man shook his head gently with a melancholy expression. "Ever since the foreigners sailed their black ships into Edo Bay, the world has become more and more unstable..."

"Ani, don't worry." A middle-aged man reached out and put his arm around the shoulder of the woman who had just sighed. "Look—hasn't the government already sent the Fire-Band Thieves to suppress them? Although the Fire-Band Thieves' soldiers are very ruthless when investigating cases, we have to admit that they are quite capable in fighting."

No sooner had the middle-aged man finished speaking than a commotion arose from the west side of the street.

Immediately afterwards, as if drawn by something, clumps of people surged westward along the street like leaping waves.

Those who were confused asked around. Before long, they all understood what had happened.

After receiving the shogunate's order to "suppress the bandits of Kai Mountain," Okubo Tadatsugu and Kurosawa Atsuyuki attached great importance to the matter and immediately ordered the formation of a punitive expeditionary force.

Fighting bandits is not the same as catching criminals; the former is a genuine military operation! In terms of both importance and danger, it far surpasses the latter!

Therefore, to ensure the success of this operation, Okubo Tadashi and Kurosawa Atsuyuki dispatched most of their elite forces—the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Eighth Divisions—to be fully responsible for this "mountain bandit suppression"! The First Division Captain, Abiko Tadashiro, was appointed as the commander-in-chief, and the Second Division Captain, Kanazawa Tadashiro, as the deputy commander! They were to set off immediately!

Five squads, totaling 300 people... In peacetime, and within the social context of the Edo period, this was an extraordinary military force.

Today is the day the expeditionary army sets off.

The long, impressive military train was currently passing through the vicinity of Okemachi.

An army setting off on a campaign... This is a rare sight! They rushed westward along the street just to catch a glimpse of it.

After figuring out what was going on, those who were initially unaware of the truth suddenly brightened up and hurriedly headed towards the direction from which the commotion was coming.

In the blink of an eye, the long queue that had been blocking the outdoor area of ​​the barrel town disappeared.

Almost everyone flocked in the same direction to satisfy their curiosity.

It was high in the sky.

The rising sun climbed high into the sky, illuminating the azure expanse with its light.

On the wide street that could accommodate eight people walking side by side, the dark mass of fire-wielding thieves, transformed into a military train, resembled a giant black serpent or a moving thundercloud, moving westward inch by inch.

Rows of matchlock muskets shot straight into the sky, forming a lush, steel jungle.

The armor and weapons gleamed with a sharp, cold light in the sunlight.

Banners adorned with the Tokugawa family crest—the three-leaf hollyhock pattern—flared in the autumn wind.

The crowds that came to see this rare spectacle packed both sides of the street, craning their necks and casting curious glances at the military train in the center of the street.

All the local officials and clerks were mobilized.

They either carried long wooden sticks or went in empty-handed, sticks connected to sticks, hands touching hands, forming a solid human wall that separated the side of the street from the center of the street.

While preventing onlookers from getting too close to the troops, they continuously monitored the crowd.

Upon seeing someone pushing and shoving in the crowd, they immediately shouted to stop them, extinguishing any potential sparks of stampedes or other serious incidents before they could occur.

The man at the head of the military train was none other than the First Division Commander, who had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility in this operation and was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the entire army: Tadaro Abiko.

A faint smile played on his lips as always, and he looked relaxed.

Judging from their appearance, it seemed they weren't going to fight and wipe out bandits, but rather were on an armed parade.

My grandson, a rare "detective" in the burglary community, solved cases not through torture but through normal clue finding and deductive reasoning. He was quite famous in the city, and countless people had benefited from his kindness.

Therefore, from time to time, the following voices would erupt from the crowd of onlookers on the street:

"My grandson!"

"My lord grandson! You must wipe out all the bandits entrenched in Kai!"

My grandson was very enthusiastic towards his supporters.

He frequently raised his hand in the direction from which the shouts came, and every now and then shouted back: "Leave it to us! We will surely win!"

Behind my grandson is the vice-general: the captain of the second squad, Kanazawa Tadatsugu.

Next came the four captains of the Western Expedition: Mizushima Ninzaburo (4th Division), Kazama Nobuyoshi (8th Division), and Tachibana Aoto (3rd Division).

As officers, the squad leaders and the officers of each unit all had the privilege of riding horses. Therefore, Qing Deng and his men did not need to walk, as they all had military horses for transportation.

Although Japan at that time had not yet introduced advanced foreign horse breeds, and the local horses were all short and thin with an average shoulder height of only 1.2 meters, the Japanese people were also short. Therefore, in comparison, a 1.2-meter-tall pony was considered a very tall horse in this country.

The warhorses modified by the Fire Thieves have all undergone rigorous training, and each one is very docile. So even a novice like Qing Deng, who has only recently learned riding and has only ridden one big black ox before, can sit steadily in the saddle.

Along the way, Qingdeng encountered no fewer supporters and heard no fewer farewells than my grandson.

"Tachibana-sama!"

"Look! It's Lord Niou!"

"Great! Lord Niou has also been sent to fight the bandits! The bandits of Kai are doomed!"

"Lord Niou! May your military prowess be ever-growing!"

This was the first time Qing Deng had been treated like a celebrity, surrounded and cheered by countless people.

The excited gazes cast from the crowd and the enthusiastic shouts made Qing Deng feel quite embarrassed.

Just then, Qingdeng suddenly spotted a familiar, beautiful figure radiating a sparkling aura in the crowd to his side.

With her hair styled in a Shimada bun, a white sash embroidered with cloud patterns around her waist, and dressed in a blue silk kimono, Chiba Sanako, dressed like a young lady, stood quietly accompanied by Chiba Jutaro, casting a solemn glance at Aoto.

Only the area where Sanako was located was completely different from the other areas—the people there ignored the military train that had been converted into fire by thieves and were mostly secretly watching Sanako, whose beauty was out of place with her surroundings.

The woman looked on with envy and jealousy.

The man's face was filled with desire and lewdness.

Chiba Jutaro stood behind Sanako tirelessly, his arms slightly outstretched, protecting her like a wall, while he warily surveyed his surroundings, keeping a close watch on any suspicious individuals who might approach his beloved sister.

This is Oke-cho, the very town where the Chiba Sword Hall is located. It's perfectly reasonable for the Chiba siblings to be here; there's nothing surprising about it.

When Aoto looked up at Sanako because he noticed her presence, Sanako immediately felt Aoto's gaze.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and met Qing Deng's gaze.

The next moment, she clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed gracefully to Qingdeng, her full, red lips parting slightly.

Qingdeng read her lips: May you have great success in your military campaigns.

A smile of satisfaction crept onto Qing Deng's lips as he raised his hand, preparing to wave to Sanako.

But then, something awkward happened.

Suddenly, Qing Deng noticed—not far from Sanako, there was a red figure that was also very familiar to him…

*******

*******

The Kido, Jishinbanya, and Takatsuba of Edo looked roughly like this. For details, please click on the commentary on the far right →→

The author is back!

It seems that my lack of sleep lately has caused me to feel so tired. After sleeping for most of the day yesterday, I'm feeling much better again!

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