I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Using her straw hat as cover, she quietly raised her eyes and secretly cast a meaningful glance at Qingdeng, who was walking ahead, before quickly catching up.

Souji paused for a moment, but quickly caught up with Aoto.

As the three walked side by side, Qing Deng suddenly slowed down deliberately, falling behind Sanako and Souji by one step.

When the two women in front of him weren't paying attention, he quietly turned his head to look at the water tower behind him.

Gazing at the towering building he had already cast far into the distance, its spire barely visible, Qing Deng softly repeated, in a voice only he could hear, the solemn promise he had just made to Sanako and Souji:

"I won't do anything foolish unless absolutely necessary..."

……

……

That night--

Edo, a riverbank—

Akutsu paced back and forth anxiously.

He would occasionally walk to the east, pause, and gaze at the distant horizon.

Not long after, he suddenly turned around, took a few steps to the west, then stopped and looked at the clouds in another direction.

About five seconds later, he turned around again and walked back to the same spot...

Seeing Akutsu's restlessness, my grandson, who was sitting cross-legged not far away, said in a helpless tone:

"Akutsu-kun, calm down and find a place to sit down and rest."

Akutsu frowned immediately upon hearing my grandson's suggestion.

He stopped and turned around.

An unfriendly gaze immediately fell on my grandson.

Nishino and Akutsu weren't close—after all, they had only known each other for a short time.

However, judging from Akutsu's appearance and his usual behavior, Nishino was certain that he was a short-tempered person.

Nishino thought Akutsu would argue with my grandson.

But to my surprise, after glaring at my grandson a few times, Akutsu actually found a fairly clean place to sit down.

Seeing this, Nishino whispered to his grandson beside him:

"You're quite prestigious, aren't you?"

My grandson smiled slightly.

"No, no. I am one of the younger members of the Ooshio Party and I have not accomplished anything great. Akutsu listens to me simply because—he is a good boy."

No sooner had my grandson finished speaking than Akutsu immediately rebuked him:

"Hey! What do you mean 'he's a good kid'? I don't remember any age difference between us that big enough for you to call me a 'kid'!"

My grandson smiled and didn't refute.

Swish!Swish!Swish!

Suddenly, the sound of snow boots scraping against the ground came from beside Nishino and the others.

Immediately afterwards, two dark figures entered their field of vision—it was Ebina and Ichinose.

As soon as Ebina appeared, he said with a solemn expression:

"The situation is not good. The defenses at Phoenix House are much tighter than we expected!"

*******

*******

A reader asked: Is there any cultural reference to the surname "Akutsu"? Why is it that in many anime works, people with bad tempers are always named Akutsu?

Regarding this... actually, even I'm not entirely sure. When I was designing a young and impetuous character for the Oozumi party, the name "Akutsu" suddenly popped into my head.

Chapter 460 The Supreme Force for the Lawful Extermination of the Party: Ōtakemaru! [4200]

After confirming that Phoenix House Yataro was in cahoots with Rasetsu, Nishino and my grandson and I decided to use "somewhat rough" methods to invite them over for a "talk".

As one of the most prominent shoguns in Edo, the Phoenix House possessed immense wealth and a distinguished social status. Naturally, its residence could not be as free for Nishino and his companions to come and go as they pleased, like the streets in the early morning.

So, two of the older members of my grandson's group, Ebina and Ichinose, went ahead to investigate the Phoenix Mansion, while Nishino and the others waited by a secluded riverbank.

Seeing that Ebina and Ichinose had returned, and that they had just returned and said such heavy words, Nishino, Abiko, and Akutsu immediately rushed to surround the two elders.

My grandson said:

"Mr. Ebina, Mr. Ichinose, is the Phoenix Mansion heavily guarded?"

"Yes, that's right, the situation isn't very optimistic."

Ebinamano succinctly recounted all the information he and Ichinose had gathered.

After his report, the expressions of Nishino and the others changed to varying degrees.

According to him, the number of bodyguards at the Phoenix Mansion was outrageous.

"Oh shit……!"

Akutsu gritted his teeth, his face contorted with resentment, and uttered vulgarities.

"Is that bastard so afraid of the 'rice riots'? Is he so afraid of the power of ordinary people?"

To say what the arrival of Western powers had the most detrimental impact on Japan is... is a difficult question to answer, and different scholars can give different answers.

Without a doubt, the "economic invasion" of Western powers is definitely on the list.

It's obvious that handmade products from small workshops can't compete with mass-produced industrial products from large factories.

The dumping of a large number of factory-produced goods into Japan, coupled with the passive development of the commodity economy, accelerated the disintegration of the natural economy—that is, the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy—making life increasingly difficult for farmers.

As a typical feudal regime, the Edo Shogunate was founded on agriculture.

The three major reforms in the history of the Edo period—the Kyōhō Reforms led by Tokugawa Yoshimune (1716-1744), the Kansei Reforms led by Matsudaira Sadanobu (1787-1793), and the Tenpō Reforms led by Mizuno Tadakuni (1830-1843)—all had core reform measures aimed at revitalizing agriculture and stabilizing the foundation of the nation.

If agriculture is unstable, the foundation of the nation will be unstable; if farmers are struggling, the shogunate will be struggling even more; if the shogunate is struggling, it will lose its ability to govern, and it will be even more difficult to support agriculture.

This is a vicious cycle that is difficult to break... leading to a worsening of Japan's social situation in recent years, with "rice riots" proving difficult to stop despite repeated attempts to curb them.

In years of famine, desperate and starving people would often rise up in protest, smashing rice shops and looting rice. The Japanese government has always referred to this kind of unrest, which erupts in the form of rice looting, as the "rice riots."

Wealthy merchants... especially privileged merchants like Jacha who monopolized the rice trade and were often bullied and disliked, naturally became the primary targets of the starving people when the "rice riots" broke out.

Therefore, in order to protect their lives and property, the yamen runners in Edo have recently been hiring more thugs and bodyguards to strengthen the security of their shops and residences.

"This is getting complicated..."

Nishino muttered softly.

Judging from Ebina's description, the Phoenix House was a den of dragons and tigers, guarded every three steps and sentry every five steps.

For Nishino, Abiko, and the others, their best strategy would naturally be to sneak into the Phoenix Mansion, kidnap Phoenix Yataro, and then leave without shedding a drop of blood, returning home with a full load of loot.

However, judging from the current situation, this method is not feasible.

Even if legendary ninjas like Fuma Kotaro or Hattori Hanzo were to come, they might not be able to sneak into the Phoenix Mansion undetected.

"Hey, my grandson... um?"

Just as Nishino was about to ask Abiko for advice, he was surprised to find that, apart from the hot-tempered Akutsu still muttering indignantly, Abiko, Ebina, and Ichinose all looked calm and confident.

Seeing this, Nishino couldn't help but ask:

"My grandson, do you have any good ideas on how to arrest Phoenix House Yataro?"

My grandson raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Well, you could say we had a plan. Or rather—we anticipated this situation and prepared a backup plan in advance."

My grandson let out a "hum hum hum" laugh.

“Nishino-kun, you don’t need to overcomplicate things. You don’t necessarily have to use methods like ‘stealth infiltration’ to catch someone.”

Upon hearing this, Nishino paused for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.

"Hey, you guys don't mean to..."

Before Nishino could finish speaking, my grandson interrupted him meaningfully:

"Nishino-kun, have you forgotten how our Great Salt Party got its start?"

"Although compared to the lawful extermination of factions, the methods of our Ōshio Party are as gentle as a maiden's caress, and our spiritual mentor, Mr. Ōshio Heihachirō, is a refined scholar. But... the way we make the world remember the name 'Ōshio' is not by doing scholarship."

At this point, my grandson paused.

Then, with a playful expression, he continued, enunciating each word clearly:

"It's violence!"

……

……

Nishino and his men were making preparations for the battle with great enthusiasm.

Check that the eye pin in the knife handle is secure; tighten the cuff strap; put on protective gear.

Of course, these protective gear were brought over by my grandson and others.

Chainmail, gauntlets, arm guards, leg armor, and other protective gear are all available.

The armor they provided to Nishino fit him fairly well.

Whenever it is necessary to apprehend a difficult and vicious criminal, the officers and soldiers of the "Three Returns" are granted permission to "go into battle in armor".

Therefore, as a member of the same group as the town's leader, Nishino naturally knew how to wear protective gear.

"The battle plan is as follows—Ichinose, Akutsu, and I will launch a frontal assault on the Phoenix Mansion to draw the guards' attention. Nishino-kun and my grandson, you two will be responsible for taking advantage of the chaos to storm into the mansion and capture Phoenix Yataro alive. Any objections?"

After Ebina finished explaining the incredibly simple battle plan, and seeing that no one had any objections, he dismissed everyone to prepare. An incense stick later, the operation began!

As he skillfully donned the various pieces of protective gear, Nishino spoke solemnly to his grandson beside him:

“My grandson, if I may be so bold, I still think it’s too risky to just barge into Phoenix House like this.”