I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Along the way, people kept singing at the top of their lungs about the thief's achievements in changing the course of the fire.

What do you mean by wiping out the bandits with lightning speed...?

What do you mean by "slaying thousands of enemies"...?

What do you mean, that Kai will be free from banditry for the next three years...?

It must be said that the public's imagination is truly rich.

Aside from the fact that the punitive expeditionary force did indeed annihilate the Soma clan with overwhelming force, the vast majority of other news is pure fabrication and rumor.

However, from another perspective, the widespread dissemination of these exaggerated rumors did have some positive effects.

That quickly attracted more and more people to watch the victorious army return in triumph and the scene of the prisoners being transported!

Only a fool would have a liking for bandits.

Only a brain-dead idiot would fantasize about being taken as a wife by a handsome and dashing bandit leader, and then being doted on by him. Basically, all bandit leaders are rough and uncouth men like Yokokura Keinosuke: with a face full of scars, eyes blazing with fierceness, and arrogant and domineering!

Therefore, the people of Edo were overjoyed to see the wretched prisoners locked tightly in bamboo cages!

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Chapter 307 Promotion to Qingdeng! Increased salary by 250 shi (a unit of grain)! Bestowed with a set of precious armor! [5000]

Thirty-one bandits were captured by the punitive expedition, the highest-ranking of whom was the third leader of the Soma clan—a tall, emaciated man.

The bamboo cages used to hold prisoners were the same kind used for holding vegetables and livestock, and they were very breathable.

The crisscrossing bamboo strips were woven into diamond-shaped "ventilation windows" the size of fists, allowing people outside to clearly see the scene inside the cages. The prisoners' miserable appearance was on full display under the gaze of the crowd lining the street.

The bandits inside the cage were all disheveled, dejected, and listless, emitting a foul stench almost indistinguishable from that of animals. They were no longer the arrogant people they used to prey on.

No one knows who started it, but they grabbed mud and sand from the ground and threw it at the bandits in the cage.

Without any incitement, the people of this era deeply ingrained their aversion and hatred towards bandits.

Seeing that someone had taken the lead, the rest of the people immediately followed suit.

Regardless of who it was, as long as they saw something in a bamboo cage, they would immediately bend down, grab mud and sand, and throw it at the person.

In an instant, mud, sand, stones, rotten vegetable leaves, and other debris rained down on the captured bandits.

Soon, the bandits' bodies were covered in all sorts of colors, like a dye shop had been opened, including red, white, black, gray...

The bandits, now looking even more disheveled, shouted and yelled, drawing applause and cheers from the people on both sides of the street.

Those mountain bandits who were once arrogant and domineering in everyone's impression actually cried out, begged for mercy at the top of their lungs, were scared out of their wits, and showed a cowardly appearance.

That was so satisfying!

In reality, many of the people standing on both sides of the street at this moment were just there to watch the spectacle.

Many of them had no idea where the Xiangma bandits were based, or even who was inside the bamboo cage.

Even worse, some didn't even know which unit this triumphant army belonged to or what they had been doing.

But what does it matter?

In the eyes of ordinary people, all of the above are irrelevant—they only need to know that the people in the bamboo cages are evil people whom they can "take revenge" on at will.

The extreme rigidity of class divisions has long since brought oppression and exploitation in contemporary Japan to an appalling level.

The shogun and feudal lords oppressed the people.

Wealthy merchants, whose riches rival those of kings and nobles, oppressed the warriors.

The warriors then went on to oppress ordinary people.

As for ordinary people... although theoretically they could oppress the Edo people, who were classified as outcasts, the Edo people were not so easy to bully.

Their low social status made Eta very adept at... or rather, forced to band together for survival.

The predecessor of the Yakuza was the Eta, who banded together.

If you cause trouble for Edo... then it's uncertain who will ultimately suffer the consequences.

Moreover, in the social consciousness of that era, Eta was considered an "impure thing" that was not to be touched. Therefore, no ordinary person would go out of their way to approach Eta.

So, in general, ordinary people in the Edo period had no "oppressible objects." They were the "oppressed objects" who could only silently endure the oppression and exploitation of others.

For most of the year, their meals consisted of watery porridge and dry pickled radishes; they would hesitate before even daring to patronize the lowest-class entertainment venues; their only form of entertainment was listening to street storytelling—life was mundane and oppressive.

At this moment, with a group of people they can hit and curse at as they please, neatly lined up in front of them... how could they not have a good time to vent their emotions?

Who are the people in the bamboo cage?

What crime did they commit?

Are these questions important?

These issues are completely unimportant!

Regardless of who is in the cage, it doesn't stop people from using them as "vents" to release their emotions.

Those men imprisoned in bamboo cages were used to living the life of domineering local tyrants. Even after being captured, they were unlikely to change their nature anytime soon. A very few of them, unable to bear the humiliation, began to shout at the top of their lungs.

"You bunch of idiots, you think you're worthy to throw vegetable scraps at me? What makes you think you're so great? Huh?!"

"If you have the guts, kill me with one strike! If you have the guts, kill me with one strike!"

“I’ve remembered your faces! You better pray I get the death penalty or a lifetime in prison! Otherwise, when I get out, I’ll kill you all! Not only will I kill you all, but I’ll also strip your wives and daughters naked!”

And you know what? They really lived up to their reputation as bandits who made a living by oppressing the people. Years of arrogant living had instilled in them a very intimidating and haughty demeanor, as well as a rather intimidating tone of voice.

After they shouted those few times, they really frightened quite a few people.

However, these arrogant individuals were soon physically silenced.

"They're already prisoners, how dare they be so arrogant?"

After Yu Li shouted this, he personally led several of his men to use undrawn daggers and scabbards to beat the arrogant and unruly group through the bamboo cage. They beat them until they were bruised and swollen, their teeth were hanging out on the ground, and their clothes were covered in increasingly colorful stains before they finally stopped.

After that, no one dared to utter a sound other than screams and wails.

Those who had been frightened by the arrogant individuals' "desperate barking" breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and then quickly mustered their courage to pick up mud, sand, rotten vegetable leaves, and other things again, continuing to laugh and shout as they vigorously hurled the objects in their hands at the bamboo cages, at the stray dogs who would soon be judged and convicted.

The punitive expedition's return today has caused a tremendous reaction—it would not be an exaggeration to say that "the entire city of Edo was shaken."

More and more people from various towns and cities came to see the triumphant return of Qing Deng and his comrades, creating a massive crowd that nearly exceeded the streets' capacity.

The magistrate, who had not anticipated the overwhelming popularity of the expeditionary force, was caught off guard. To prevent stampedes and other accidents, they quickly dispatched more personnel from nearby units to the scene to maintain order.

Why is this the case? There are two main reasons—

Firstly, the expeditionary force's westward campaign was a resounding and triumphant victory.

From the moment the troops set off until their triumphant return, the total time was less than a month.

Excluding the time for marching and regrouping, there were only two days left for actual combat—one day to remove checkpoints on the mountain roads and one day to launch a general attack on the mountain stronghold.

With only 300 troops, they wiped out a band of over 200 mountain bandits who had an excellent geographical advantage in just two days... Whether it was the time taken or the number of bandits killed, the final result was astonishing.

Since the "Black Ships Incident," the people of Edo had not heard news of a "military victory" for a long time, so they were naturally excited.

Although this military victory was merely a defeat of a group of bandits and the battle was not large in scale, it was enough to bring some comfort to the people of Edo who were used to hearing all sorts of bad news.

As for the second reason... it's more intriguing: there was Tachibana Aoto in the punitive expeditionary force—to be more precise, there was Tachibana Aoto who had performed meritorious service without being rewarded.

While the troops were still resting in Inawa Village, the story of how the soldiers had utterly routed the Soma clan in just two days... especially the heroic deeds of Aoto, had already begun to circulate among the common people of Edo.

The way news spreads in this era can sometimes be quite bizarre.

Today, Aoto, who is now revered as "Niou," was undoubtedly a superstar in Edo, with countless admirers.

Even now, many people still discuss Qing Deng's heroic act of "rushing straight to the settlement alone and fighting the anti-foreign group" a few months ago.

As a result, before the previous wave of popularity had subsided, Qingdeng managed to create a new wave of popularity with his outstanding abilities!

Attacking cities and enemy-constructed passes is a triple test of courage, strength, and luck.

Therefore, since ancient times, in any country, being the first to scale the mountain has been considered a first-rate achievement.

Looking back at the entire battle between the punitive expeditionary force and the Xiangma clan, whether it was the initial "battle of the pass" or the final "battle of the mountain stronghold," the first person to break through the pass and charge into the enemy ranks was Qing Deng.

In other words, Qingdeng made three separate feats of being the first to reach the summit in just two days...

Meanwhile, in the final stage of the battle, he personally led his troops in a pursuit and brought back the head of the bandit leader, Yokokura Keinosuke.

Three times he was the first to scale the walls, and he killed the commander and captured the flag... These achievements are so great that listeners might doubt their own ears.

Qingdeng is famous again.

Young heroes who are invincible and sweep away armies like a whirlwind have always been more popular. That's why people often idealize Zhao Zilong as a handsome young man with a fair complexion and no beard.

Qing Deng's personal image perfectly matches the public's taste—young, good-looking, and capable.

As a result, Qingdeng, whose popularity soared again after the Western Expedition, naturally attracted the most attention and discussion on the streets and on the way to the city.

At this very moment, Qing Deng, who was riding a black warhorse at the very front of the procession alongside my grandson and Kanazawa Tadashi, had been wearing a stiff smile on his face since earlier.

"Ah, I found him! Look! It's 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto!"

"Wow, you're so tall..."

"He doesn't seem to have the demeanor of a swordsman at all. Shouldn't martial arts masters be big and burly?"

"It's said that he killed more than 50 bandits all by himself!"

……

Qingdeng had heard these kinds of words and remarks countless times along the way...

The public's imagination and ability to spread rumors remain as formidable as ever.

Throughout the entire western expedition, at most only about 30 bandits died by Qingdeng's sword.

As a result, the rumor spread like wildfire, and within a short period of time, the number ballooned to 50...

In the past, when he heard people spreading such outrageous rumors, Qing Deng would have tried to resist them.