I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After muttering these words in a low voice, Chiba Jutaro subconsciously glanced sideways at his younger sister beside him.

Chiba Jutaro's look at his sister came quickly and went quickly.

After glancing at Sanako, Chiba Jutaro quickly looked away, and no one present, including Sanako, noticed Chiba Jutaro's little action.

After finishing his furtive glances at Aoto, Chiba Jutaro turned his gaze to Shusuke and Kondo.

"Lord Shusuke, Yu-kun." Chiba Jutaro sighed with envy, "I really envy you. Your Shieikan has really gained an extraordinary young talent this time."

“Hahaha.” Shusuke said with a chuckle, “'Envious of us'... Jutaro-kun, you’re exaggerating a bit too much.”

“I’m not exaggerating, I’m really envious of you guys.” Chiba Jutaro shook his head, then sighed and looked helpless. “Our Chiba Sword Hall’s business situation lately… isn’t doing too well.”

"My father and I have been struggling lately because we haven't been able to recruit any high-quality, promising new talent."

"Ah, speaking of which... Lord Shusuke, Yu-kun, why is Tachibana-kun still here at this hour?"

It was only then that Jutaro realized: why was Aoto, an apprentice at the sword-making school, at Kondo's house when it was already night?

"Ah, it's like this..." Kondo briefly explained to Jutaro the whole process of how they "took in" Aoto and the others.

After learning the detailed reason why Qingdeng was here at this time, Chiba Jutaro frowned slightly: "I see..."

With a hint of regret and remorse on his face, Chiba Jutaro slapped his thigh again: "Those beasts of the 'Expel the Barbarians' faction are getting more and more despicable...!"

"They're even capable of doing something as despicable as setting fire to other people's homes."

"If the fire gets out of control, countless people will lose their lives and their homes...!"

"Don't they care at all about the lives of those innocent people...?"

After letting out a heavy sigh, Chiba Jutaro raised his eyes and offered basic words of comfort to Aoto, such as, "Is anyone in your family injured?"

……

……

Chiba Jutaro seemed very interested in Aoto's "snowy night battle".

After offering basic condolences to Qingdeng whose house had been burned down, he excitedly and anxiously inquired about the details of Qingdeng's battle and how Qingdeng had commanded his inferior forces to counterattack the "anti-foreign faction."

However, after Chiba Jutaro finished asking these questions, Sanako gently reminded her brother in a cold tone:

"Brother, it's getting late. Let's get down to business first."

Upon hearing Sanako's reminder, Chiba Jutaro paused for a moment, then raised his hand to scratch the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"That's right, we should get down to business first."

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro lowered his hand from his hair and cleared his throat forcefully.

"Lord Shusuke, Yu-kun, I'll keep it short."

"The reason my sister and I came to visit you so suddenly tonight is to tell you some good news."

"Oh? Good news? Please speak." Seeing that Chiba Jutaro was about to get down to business, Shusuke straightened his back a bit, and Kondo and the others also sat up a little more upright.

"Lord Shusuke, Kondo-kun, the Yushima Tenmangu Shrine has finally agreed—they've agreed to let our Chiba Sword Academy and your Shieikan Sword Academy hold a 'Red and White Battle' at the Yushima Tenmangu Shrine on the day of the Plum Blossom Festival!"

As soon as Chiba Jutaro finished speaking, a look of intense joy appeared on the faces of Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita.

"Whoa!" Okita was the first to shout excitedly, "That Yushima Tenmangu Shrine finally agreed... That's great..."

Okita and the others all looked excited—only Aoto looked completely bewildered.

Huh? What? Yushima Tenmangu Shrine? Plum Blossom Festival? "Red and White Battle"? What the heck?

Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, Plum Blossom Festival, Red and White Battle... Qing Deng knew the meaning of each of these three terms, but when they were strung together, he had no idea what they meant...

Japan is a country that loves holding festivals and has a very prosperous "festival culture".

The various festivals and events are dazzling, and there are festivals of all sizes held almost every month throughout the year.

During the Heian period in Japan, there emerged a highly learned scholar who produced a great body of work throughout his life: Sugawara no Michizane.

For some very complicated reasons, after Sugawara no Michizane's death, the emperor, who was not yet a puppet but still held real power, ordered the construction of Tenmangu Shrine to enshrine this great scholar. Michizane then became part of the Shinto faith and gradually spread throughout Japan. Because Michizane was an outstanding scholar and poet during his lifetime, he was worshipped as the god of learning.

Tenmangu Shrine, dedicated specifically to Dojin, gradually spread throughout the country.

"Yushima Tenmangu Shrine" is one of the branch shrines of the Tenmangu Shrine established in Edo.

During his lifetime, Dōjin loved plum blossoms, so a large number of plum trees were planted in every Tenmangu Shrine.

As time went by, a festival specifically to commemorate Michizane was born—this was the "Plum Blossom Festival".

Every year on February 25th, people go to the nearby Tenmangu Shrine to admire the plum blossoms.

The plum blossom festival is considered one of the most beloved festivals among Japanese literati and artists.

During the Plum Blossom Festival, one can always see a group of scholars gathered under a plum tree in Tenmangu Shrine, reciting poems, composing couplets, and singing songs.

Counting the days, this year's Plum Blossom Festival is almost here. Today is February 10th, and in just half a month, this year's Plum Blossom Festival will begin.

As for this "Red and White Battle", also known as "Battle Game", it was one of the most popular games among samurai in ancient Japan.

The samurai participating in the game are divided into two teams: the red team and the white team, with no limit on the number of team members.

The red team members had red ribbons tied around their heads, and the white team members had white ribbons tied around their heads. Each team had a porcelain plate tied to their forehead, and each team had one person who was responsible for being the "general" of the team.

The rules of the game are quite simple: two teams of people fight each other with wooden or bamboo swords. If the porcelain plate on your head is broken, it means "you are dead" and you have to quit the game immediately. The team whose "general" has their porcelain plate broken first loses.

Simply put, it's a strategy game where you try to kill the opponent's general while ensuring your own general doesn't "die" in battle.

Because of its simple rules and fun and exciting gameplay, which tests both individual strength and tactical strategy, "Red and White Battle" is quite popular and can be said to be the most beloved game among samurai.

Qingdeng couldn't figure out how the seemingly unrelated terms "Plum Blossom Festival," symbolizing elegance, and "Red and White Battle," symbolizing violence, could be linked together.

Okita, who was sitting next to Aoto, noticed the bewildered look on Aoto's face.

“Ah… I almost forgot.” Okita raised his hand and fiddled with his ponytail. “We don’t think we’ve mentioned this to you yet, Tachibana-kun…”

After saying that, Okita stuck out his tongue and licked his slightly dry lips, then slowly explained to Aoto what exactly this "Red and White Battle held at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine" was all about.

……

After listening to Okita's explanation, Aoto finally understood what was going on.

This all starts with the head priest of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine... that is, the leader of the shrine.

The head priest of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine is a kind-hearted person.

In recent years, the development of this country has been truly appalling...

All sorts of messy and ridiculous things happened one after another, but there wasn't a single good thing to cheer people up.

Over time, the people's morale became somewhat low.

The deity was deeply concerned about the people's current situation.

Therefore, he made up his mind to do something practical for the people—he decided to make this year's "Plum Blossom Festival" as lively as possible! So that the people could better enjoy the festival and dispel the gloom on their faces.

My mind is made up, my thoughts are set.

As for what kind of new activities to hold, the sage, who is quick-witted and flexible and whose thinking is not rigid, immediately had an idea.

If we were to ask what kind of activity would attract illiterate commoners the most... it would undoubtedly be samurai fighting.

Whenever samurai engage in a brawl in the streets, there will always be a crowd of onlookers.

So let's invite the two sword-fighting schools to hold a "Red and White Battle" at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine on the day of the Plum Blossom Festival!

The priest happened to know two friends who ran sword-fighting schools.

His two friends were none other than Chiba Sadakichi, the master of the Chiba Sword Hall, and Kondo Shusuke, the master of the Shieikan Sword Hall…

*******

*******

Yesterday was the Dragon Boat Festival, so I was out celebrating. That's why today's post is a bit shorter...

The author will try to update more tomorrow (crying face).

Chapter 90 "Tachibana-kun, are you married?"

And so—the sage approached Shusuke and Sadakichi, whom he knew well, and extended invitations to the Shieikan and the Kochiba Kenkan.

The deity was quite generous; he didn't intend for his two friends to work for free, so he offered them a generous appearance fee of 15 taels of gold for each sword-playing hall.

Faced with the shrine's novel invitation, Shusuke and Sadakichi, for their own different reasons, both readily agreed.

Both Shieikan and Kochiba Kenkan are extremely familiar with this "Red and White Battle"—because in recent years, they have been using the "Red and White Battle" to allow their disciples to exchange sword techniques.

The reason why Kiryu recommended Shieikan to Aoto, who "hoped to spar with as many people as possible," was because the Kondo family and the Chiba family had a deep-rooted relationship that had lasted for decades.

Thanks to this connection, Shieikan often engages in "swordplay exchanges" with Genbukan, run by Chiba Shusaku, and Kochiba Kenkan, run by Chiba Sadakichi.

Qing Deng had always thought that the Shiwei Hall, Xuanwu Hall, and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall were places where students from both sides could exchange sword techniques through "pair battles" where each side would send one person to fight.

Only now did Qing Deng learn from Okita that this was not the case.

In the beginning, their way of exchanging sword skills was indeed "two-on-one combat".

But gradually, the masters of the school, such as Shusuke and Sadakichi, felt that this kind of "two-on-one combat" exchange method had a very obvious flaw - it could only test the disciples' individual martial arts level.

The initial intention behind the frequent "sword exchange" between these three sword schools was to allow their respective students to discover their shortcomings and improve their skills through sparring and exchange.

Having disciples engage in one-on-one sword duels... what can the disciples gain from this kind of swordsmanship exchange? What can they learn?

All you gain is a little experience in one-on-one combat; there's nothing else worth mentioning.

Therefore, realizing that "pair fighting" was not a good way to train their disciples, Shusuke, Sadakichi, and others, after some discussion and research, finally decided to change the way of exchanging swordsmanship to "red and white battles".

The game has been changed from "individual battle" to "team battle".

Team battles are far more difficult than individual battles, and they are a greater test of the disciples' comprehensive abilities.

Individual strength is no longer the sole factor in winning.

Team battles require not only strong individual combat skills, but also a good overall perspective, strong adaptability, and the ability to coordinate effectively with teammates who may not be very familiar with each other...

Zhou Zhu and others, who unanimously agreed that team battles could more effectively train their disciples, fully promoted the "Red and White Battle" about two years ago.

From then on, the Shiwei Hall, Xuanwu Hall, and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall all exchanged sword techniques in the form of team battles, no longer engaging in the old-fashioned "one-on-one duels".

After listening quietly to Okita's introduction, Aoto let out a soft sound of praise: