I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The "Ii Dairo" that Usui just mentioned refers to Ii Naosuke.

The power of the Grand Elder is even greater than that of the Grand Chancellor, who is similar to the Prime Minister in China—one can imagine what kind of status Ii Naosuke, who currently sits in the position of Grand Elder, holds in contemporary Japan.

His position was undoubtedly second only to the Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, making him "second only to the emperor and above all others."

"What else could it be?" Bo Jing smirked, revealing an impatient expression. "Isn't it because of those thugs who keep talking about 'expelling the barbarians'!"

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[Japanese History Mini-Lesson Begins!]

At first glance, Qing Deng and his team, who were in charge of catching thieves, seemed to be just a group of ordinary constables.

But they were actually legitimate officials.

In the official system of the Edo Shogunate, there were no ranks such as first-rank officials or second-rank officials.

Although the "three-way" officials of the Edo South and North Offices did not hold high positions, they wielded considerable power.

The power wielded by Qing Deng and his associates, the "three-times," was actually far greater than the power that constables were generally perceived to wield.

The subsequent plot will gradually reveal the specific powers that Qing Deng and his fellow "third-generation" samurai possess.

Chapter 23 This transmigration is getting more and more hellish!

Upon hearing the words "expel the barbarians," the expressions of most people in the room immediately turned solemn.

"I don't need to say anything, everyone here should know how rampant these 'expelling the barbarians' who keep talking about 'expelling the barbarians' are, right?"

Usui curled his lip, revealing a disdainful and resentful expression.

"If these people dare to draw their swords against the barbarians like Americans and Englishmen, or dare to row their small boats to attack the steam warships of the Westerners, then they have some guts."

"But these thugs will only turn their knives on their own people!"

"Now, many people who praise foreign countries or study Dutch studies have become targets of these thugs."

[Note: Rangaku (Dutch Studies) was a general term used by Japanese people of this era to refer to Western scientific and cultural knowledge.]

"Last month alone, a total of seven innocent people were brutally killed by these thugs!"

Usui continued in a frustrated and helpless tone.

At this moment, Qing Deng couldn't help but think of himself, who was also being targeted by the "radical anti-foreign faction" for some inexplicable reason, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"I don't need to explain in detail, you should all know that what Ii Dai-no-kyo hates the most is the 'anti-foreign faction'."

"Ii Daigo was furious at the brutality of these thugs."

"What angered Ii Taisho even more was that the 'Sanji' had so far failed to curb the atrocities of the 'anti-foreign faction' that was rampant in Edo."

"Yesterday, Elder Ii summoned Atsushi and me and gave us a severe scolding."

Atsukawa—the town magistrate of Nanbansho, another mayor who, along with Usui, held the power to govern Edo.

“He directly questioned the two of us—why were the ‘Sanhui’ of the South and North Garrisons so incompetent that they allowed the ‘anti-foreign faction’ in Edo to run rampant? Were the ‘Sanhui’ samurai of the South and North Garrisons all just a bunch of good-for-nothings who only knew how to occupy positions without doing any work?”

Hou Chuan and I shook our heads frantically, saying: "Absolutely not."

"Then... Elder Ii said to us: Since there is absolutely no such thing, prove it to me, let me see that the 'Sanhui' of the South and North Garrison are not a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

At this point, Usui seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, and the corners of his mouth drooped down.

"Therefore, Ii-sama issued this order to examine the performance of the officials of the Southern and Northern Garrisons on March 1st."

Usui let out a long sigh.

"Lord Ii gave a direct order: on March 1st, he will send his trusted confidants to organize a major meeting to review and assess your performance over this period of time."

"At that time, all those whose performance is unsatisfactory will be stripped of their official positions on the spot."

As soon as Bo Jing finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces in the room immediately changed.

Many people looked terrified.

Qing Deng was also stunned.

The elder statesman is essentially the prime minister of this country.

The Prime Minister directly sends his trusted confidant to inspect your work performance, and those whose performance is unsatisfactory are fired on the spot... Isn't that terrifying?

Usui then sat back down cross-legged on the tatami mat, picked up a glass of water from the table beside him, drank it all in one gulp, and then continued in a serious tone:

"Listen up, all of you—you must take this assessment set up by Elder Ii very seriously."

"I... I'd like to take this opportunity to share some inside information with you all."

"You all probably know this, right? Since Ii Tairo took office as Tairo two years ago, he has been actively reforming the shogunate in order to strengthen the country and resist the invasion of barbarians such as Americans."

"And I have recently received definite news—Lord Ii is preparing to reform the bureaucracy."

"Ii Tairo plans to start by reforming the lower-level officials, replacing all the important departments and positions in the shogunate with capable people."

“‘Sanhui’ bears the heavy responsibility of maintaining public order in Edo, and is an extremely important position.”

"Therefore, I guess... the reason why Elder Ii suddenly arranged this assessment is probably to take this opportunity to thoroughly 'clean up' the 'three rounds' who bear such important responsibilities, remove the mediocre ones, and replace them with more capable people."

"In short—this assessment is no small matter! It's not something to be taken lightly!"

"If it were the old assessments, I might have been able to fool them."

"But this assessment was conducted by Lord Ii with the aim of 'rectifying officialdom'."

"I don't need to elaborate on its importance and seriousness, do I?"

The expressions on the faces of some people in the room grew even more unpleasant.

Today is January 14th.

"There is still one and a half months until the assessment date set by Elder Ii: March 1st."

Bo Jing moved his gaze, letting it sweep across the faces of everyone present.

"Those who lack confidence in their performance during this period should seize this last little bit of time to work diligently and strive to improve their record!"

“I don’t want to see anyone stripped of their official position and slinking away from the Northern Frontier Office in a month and a half.”

Some people in the room involuntarily lowered their heads, looking tense and fearful.

"Especially you, Tachibana Aoto!"

For no apparent reason, Usui suddenly turned his gaze to Aoto, who had been hiding behind Arima and listening silently, and called Aoto by his full name in a very serious tone.

Qing Deng looked up at Bo Jing with a bewildered expression.

A hint of annoyance flickered in Usui's eyes as he looked directly at Aoto.

Of all people, you are the one I worry about the most.

"You'd better put in a lot more effort!"

"Let me be frank with you!"

"With your current record, you will definitely be kicked out of the North Zone in a month and a half."

As soon as Usui finished speaking, low snickers and mocking laughter rose from the room, mainly from the "East City Group" seats...

"Sir!"

Arima immediately shouted.

"It has only been half a year since Tachibana joined the Northern Frontier Bureau."

"Many tasks in the town of Sadamachi are still unfamiliar to him."

"Moreover, in the operation to capture 'Jinyi Clan' the night before last, Tachibana-kun also made a significant contribution, successfully capturing 'Jinyi Clan's' second-in-command: Cat's Eye."

Arima was about to say something more, but was interrupted by Usui in an impatient tone:

"Arima, at the assessment meeting in a month and a half, do you intend to use 'Tachibana-kun has only been in the Hokuban-sho for a short time' and 'Tachibana-kun has also made some contributions' to exonerate Tachibana?"

Faced with Usui's sharp question, Arima pursed his lips, a hint of struggle appearing on his face, before silently lowering his head and remaining silent.

"Orange."

Usui then turned his gaze back to Aoto.

That faint hint of annoyance resurfaced in Bo Jing's eyes once again.

"I won't say anything more unpleasant to you."

"In short—you'd better work hard for the next month and a half."

"I hope I don't end up being the first one stripped of my official position at the assessment meeting a month and a half from now."

"At that time, losing face is a small matter, but losing the job that we depend on for survival is a big deal."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes..." Qing Deng, with an awkward smile, bowed to Bo Jing. "This subordinate understands..."

"Hehe..." Low chuckles echoed again in the room—the laughter still mainly came from the "East City Group".

The four members of the "East City Group," apart from Yu Lidongcheng, all cast glances at Qingdeng as if they were watching a circus clown, while secretly laughing.

Whom were they laughing at? It's obvious.

The two men, Inugani and Ushiyama, who were sitting on either side of Aoto, and Arima, who was sitting in front of Aoto, all cast angry glances at the Tojo Clan members who were still smirking.

Why did Usui specifically mention Aoto's name just now, telling Aoto to work hard in the future?

This all started with Hara Tachibana Aoto's appalling work performance...

Half a year ago, "Haru Tachibana Aoto" took his father's place and became the new leader of the Sadamachi community. He then showed... to put it in high emotional intelligence terms, he has huge room for improvement. In low emotional intelligence terms, even a pig could do the job better than him!

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New book launch!