I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

He had recently fought alongside Sanako, and the two of them later shared the same scarf and strolled through the snow in Edo at night.

Kinoshita Mai, due to her personality, is completely obedient to him.

The chief just confessed their feelings to each other last night.

Everything seemed perfect, as if Qing Dengli was just one step away from marrying them.

But in reality... even by the most optimistic calculations, Qingdeng still doesn't believe that marrying the three of them and living a happy, harmonious life together is a goal that can be achieved quickly.

Aoto doesn't know what the commander-in-chief is thinking for the time being.

But Kinoshita Mai made it clear that she hoped Aoto would only dote on her.

Unfortunately, Sanako's ideas are exactly the same as Kinoshita Mai's... no, they are much stricter than Kinoshita Mai's!

The strong-willed Sanako is far more assertive than the gentle Kinoshita Mai in many matters, including relationships.

Although she didn't say it explicitly, Aoto could subtly sense from her daily words and actions that Sanako was more intolerant of her future husband having another woman than Kinoshita Mai.

The road ahead is long and arduous...

—Well… the day when I can use this talent will eventually come…

"Orange-kun".

At this moment, Tokugawa Iemochi walked over to Aoto.

Aoto's chaotic thoughts were interrupted by Tokugawa Iemochi's childish voice.

"You've worked hard. Are you hurt?"

Qingdeng shook his head and replied, "An enemy of this caliber wouldn't be enough to injure me."

Tokugawa Iemochi nodded: "Yes, that's good."

As the two were talking, Tenshōin and the two sisters gathered around.

"General."

Sashige lowered her voice to an extremely low volume, so low that even Tokugawa Iemochi and the others standing right in front of her could barely hear her:

"Let's leave this troublesome place quickly before the officials from the 'Sanhui' magistrate's office and the clerks from the nearby local garrison arrive."

Once the security personnel arrived, even if Qingdeng and his group were victims, they would still be taken to a nearby outpost or even the magistrate's office for questioning.

At that time, Tokugawa Iemochi's long-awaited incognito visit will inevitably be canceled.

Understanding the implications, Tokugawa Iemochi nodded without hesitation:

"Yes, you're right. Let's go."

Just as the group was about to leave quickly—

"Huh? I recognize this person. Isn't this the guy from Pingshanchong?"

Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out from not far away, attracting the attention of Qing Deng and Tokugawa Iemochi.

"Huh? Ah, it really is, it really is that Pingshanchong."

To the right of Qing Deng and the others, there were two middle-aged women, both around 40 years old, pointing and talking about the handsome uncle who had just fought Qing Deng and was now unconscious on the ground.

"Huh? Miss Ren, Miss Tang, do you know this ronin?"

A young girl standing next to the two middle-aged women asked in confusion.

"Yes, this ronin is called Hirayama Cho. He used to be a low-ranking samurai in the Owari Domain, which was my and Ato's hometown. I remember... it must have been more than twenty years ago. Hirayama Cho had an unfortunate marriage, which led to his current impoverished state where he had to wander the world. The incident that caused Hirayama Cho to be stripped of his rank was quite famous throughout the Owari Domain back then, and I still remember the whole story and the specific details."

"Because of a marriage, you've become a vagrant?" The young girl tilted her head, looking puzzled.

"Hmm...where should I begin..."

“Ren, let me tell you. Back then, my parents and I lived near the dojo established in Pingshanchong, so I know more about the tragic experiences of Pingshanchong than most people do. I even know a lot of secrets that are not known to others.”

"Hirayama was originally a teacher at a dojo in the countryside of Owari Domain that taught the Kagashin Meichi-ryu school of martial arts."

"With their outstanding skills and excellent teaching abilities, the dojo in Pingshanchong, though not exactly full of top masters, is certainly well-attended."

“I remember it very clearly. That year was the eighth year of Tianbao (1837)...that is, about 24 years ago, Ping Shanchong married a very beautiful woman through a matchmaking arrangement. That woman...I remember her name was A Guang.”

"As I just mentioned, my family lived near the Taoist temple in Pingshanchong back then, so I was fortunate enough to see that A-Guang once."

"She was indeed an extremely beautiful woman! Her skin was fair and delicate, her eyes were big, her mouth was small, and her figure was graceful and slender. She looked like she had stepped out of a painting of a beautiful woman."

"With a handsome face, outstanding swordsmanship and talent, a thriving dojo, and such a beautiful wife, life in Pingshanchong was originally very happy and fulfilling."

"But... the problem was that his wife was just too beautiful. She caught the eye of Takao Kansuke, the only son of Takao Shuntaro, who was then the chief retainer of the Owari Domain."

"You know the chief retainer, right? He is responsible for commanding all the samurai within the domain and managing all affairs, big and small, within the domain. He is the most important and prestigious official position in the domain."

"So, sometimes having a wife who is too beautiful isn't necessarily a good thing."

"After Takao Kansuke set his sights on Hiro, he plotted to snatch Hiro away from Hirayama and make him his own."

"There was no suspense in this duel at all. The outcome was decided from the very beginning."

"Although Hirayama Chong is a master swordsman at a dojo, he is ultimately just a low-ranking samurai without even an official title. How could he possibly defeat the son of a senior retainer?"

"I don't know much about what happened after that."

"In short, Takao Kansuke used his power to force Hirayama to separate from Hikaru, and then smoothly brought Hikaru into his household."

The young girl, who had been listening quietly, suddenly interrupted with a shocked expression:

"Ah...his wife was taken away...he suffered such a humiliating disgrace, Ping Shanchong...didn't this man ever think of revenge?"

After asking the question, the young girl turned her head and glanced at the handsome middle-aged man, Ping Shanchong, who was still unconscious on the ground not far away. A few traces of sympathy appeared in her eyes.

"How could I not have thought of that? No mentally sound man could tolerate such humiliation, could he?"

"After Hikaru was taken away by Takao Kansuke, Hirayama immediately began to prepare to assassinate Takao Kansuke, attempting to emulate Ogata Ittosai, who once fought against a hundred men and killed the lord of the Hirose Domain, and to get rid of Takao Kansuke as soon as possible."

"However, it is easy to emulate Ogata Ittosai, but it is not so easy to replicate Ogata Ittosai's success."

"Whenever Kansuke Takao goes out, he is always accompanied by 10 martial arts masters whom he has hired at great expense."

"Blinded by rage, Hirayama Chong disregarded the vast disparity in numbers and strength between the two sides and resolutely decided to continue the assassination operation."

There are many different accounts of what methods Hirayama used to assassinate Takao Kansuke.

"According to the most widely circulated version, on a dark and windy night, Hirayama ambush Takao Kansuke on his way home."

"The choice of time and place is impeccable, but the difference in combat strength between the two sides is simply too great."

Despite Hirayama's desperate fight, he was outnumbered and, had he not been quick and agile, would have been hacked to death by Takao Kansuke's guards.

"The assassination failed..." The young girl sighed, her face showing regret and pity. "A bright future, a happy family, all because the old man's son took a fancy to his wife..."

At this point, the young girl seemed to stop talking, pressing her lips tightly together.

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do. People without power or influence are easily bullied... Let me continue."

"After Hirayama's failed assassination attempt on Takao Kansuke, he naturally could no longer stay in the Owari Domain and had no choice but to leave his homeland and become a ronin who had left the domain."

"Perhaps because Takao Kansuke was at fault first, the Owari Domain did not dare to make too much of a fuss about this matter, so it did not issue an arrest warrant for Hirayama Oki and let Hirayama Oki go far away."

"I don't know the details of what happened after Pingshanchong, but I have heard some things."

"I heard that Hirayama Takashi went through a period of decline after leaving the Owari Domain, but he rallied and tried to make a comeback."

"He traveled around, promoting himself to various vassal states, hoping to obtain an official position in foreign lands based on his swordsmanship."

"But becoming an official isn't that easy."

“Within each vassal state, there are a large number of unemployed military officers waiting in line to become officials. They are eagerly waiting for the current officials in various positions to die or be dismissed so that they can take their place.”

“It’s not that easy for outsiders like Pingshanchong to cut in line.”

"Moreover, many domains are so poor that they can barely afford to eat, and a few domains can only survive by borrowing money from Osaka merchants."

"These poor domains would rather have most of the samurai in their territory who have to ask the domain government for their stipends every year simply disappear, so why would they hire any new samurai?"

"Hirayama traveled all over Japan, but no feudal state was willing to take him in—this is the last rumor I know about this poor man."

"It seems... Hirayama Chong is still a wanderer who can't find a home."

"Not only did he fail to escape his predicament, but he also became increasingly depraved... He actually colluded with others to engage in such despicable acts that are hated by everyone... The once spirited and charismatic leader of the Buddhist community has now become a thug who makes a living by resisting fraud and deception... What a cruel twist of fate!"

Qing Deng and Tokugawa Iemochi quietly listened to the end of the conversation between the old woman and the young girl.

Aoto subconsciously glanced sideways at Tokugawa Iemochi beside him.

Tokugawa Iemochi's face looked as if it had been painted with a layer of light blue pigment, and his expression was extremely solemn.

It seems that what happened at Hirayamachō greatly affected Tokugawa Iemochi.

However, this is only to be expected.

Tokugawa Iemochi was determined to restore the authority of the shogunate.

Hirayama's tragic life starkly reveals two irreconcilable social contradictions that Tokugawa Iemochi must confront if he wants to achieve a revival of the dynasty.

First, there was an unprecedentedly sharp class contradiction.

High-ranking samurai like Kansuke Takao occupy a vast amount of social resources, firmly holding their position as "exploiters." Even a simple sneeze from them can be an overwhelming hurricane for the "exploited."

Secondly, the already crumbling feudal system.

To put it bluntly, the samurai class was a privileged class that did not engage in production and relied entirely on the shogunate and feudal states for financial and material support.

300 years ago, when the Edo Shogunate was first established, there were not many samurai, so both the Shogunate and the various domains could support the samurai in their respective territories.

However, as time went by, the long period of peace led to a massive explosion in the number of samurai.

Today, the excessively large samurai population has become a huge economic burden for the shogunate and various domains.

In order to maintain their rule, the shogunate and the various domains launched large-scale cost-cutting and revenue-generating initiatives on more than one occasion.

Reduce the number of officials; reduce their salaries; try every means to reduce the number of warriors within the territory...

Life in the shogunate and its domains has improved somewhat—but it has been tough on the lower-ranking samurai.

The increasingly difficult times forced many lower-ranking samurai to leave their domains and seek other livelihoods due to family bankruptcy.

The values ​​and social order of the Edo period made it difficult for samurai to find good jobs.

Meanwhile, the impoverished vassal states significantly tightened their standards for hiring officials.

As a result, the number of ronin has not been fundamentally reduced, leading to a persistently high number of unemployed ronin, which is even showing a steady upward trend...