I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

His swordsmanship was not yet refined enough to injure people without killing them, and if he wanted to capture people alive, the jitte was obviously more suitable. Therefore, Qing Deng chose the jitte, which he was now more proficient with than the sword and could be used as a baton.

Carrying his luggage and looking like he was in a hurry to escape, he immediately pulled out a weapon and threatened not to come near when he saw the man from the town of Sadamachi. Even the most stupid person could see what was going on with Jinzaburo.

"Xun Sanlang! You bastard!" one of Granny Ping's neighbors roared, "So it was you who killed Granny Ping? Weren't you and Granny Ping childhood sweethearts?! Why did you kill Granny Ping?!"

"I have no idea!"

Xun Sanlang let out a roar that made the veins on his neck bulge.

"I don't know what happened to me back then!"

"No matter how angry or aggrieved I was, I would never have laid a hand on A-Ping!"

At this moment, Xun Sanlang's voice, which was gradually turning red in his eyes, began to tremble along with his body, and the sword he was tightly gripping in his hand became like a live fish struggling to break free from his grasp.

"But I don't know why... after hearing A-Ping reject me, my mind went blank, and my body felt like it had lost control!"

When she came to her senses again, Ah Ping was already...already...

"I don't know what was wrong with me back then...!"

"I don't know! I don't know!!"

Xun Sanlang's increasingly loud and desperate roars naturally attracted the attention of the surrounding neighbors and passersby.

Upon seeing the obviously abnormal state of Jinzaburo and the sword in his hand, as well as Aoto, who was confronting him with a jitte, the people who had gathered at the sound of the commotion screamed in terror and scattered in all directions.

Of course, there were also a few people who were too idle to enjoy the spectacle and were eager to watch with wide eyes.

Xunzaburo, who kept repeating "I don't know," was clearly in an abnormal mental state.

If measures are not taken to control Jinzaburo as soon as possible, no one can say for sure what Jinzaburo, whose mental state is already in trouble, might do.

Therefore, Qingdeng chose to take the initiative!

Qing Deng suddenly lowered his center of gravity and charged straight at Xun Sanlang.

My feet slid, and the ground made a sound.

Seeing Qing Deng suddenly approaching, Xun Sanlang was shocked and instinctively swung his sword to stab.

When I examined Grandma Ping's wounds at the crime scene just now, the messy and haphazard knife marks, and the fact that only one of the seven stabs hit a vital spot, all told Qing Deng that the perpetrator seemed to have no idea how to use a knife at all.

And the facts perfectly match Qing Deng's deduction.

Xun Sanlang's clumsy knife-wielding movements posed no threat whatsoever to Qing Deng, who was skilled in baton techniques, grappling, and free fighting.

However, to be on the safe side, Qing Deng opted for a more conservative approach.

Instead of immediately taking down Jinzaburo, she first used footwork to dodge Jinzaburo's strongest and most powerful first few attacks.

After Xunzaburo's strength dissipated after his first few attacks missed, Qingdeng immediately rushed forward, first knocking the sword out of his hand with his ten-hand technique, and then using grappling techniques to pin Xunzaburo to the ground.

And in the instant that Xun Sanlang was pinned down by Qing Deng—

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "The God of Sleep"]

[Talent Introduction: Sleep quality is far better than average, less prone to insomnia, and requires significantly less sleep than average]

The cold, automated voice echoed in Qing Deng's mind as Xun Sanlang collapsed to the ground.

After listening to the system's introduction to this new talent, Qing Deng raised his eyebrows in surprise and astonishment.

"I never imagined... you would have such a powerful talent..." Qing Deng, his face beaming with uncontrollable joy, pulled out a rope from his waist and used a rope-catching technique to tie up Xun Sanlang, who was already pinned beneath him.

The fact that they came to arrest the criminals and found such a powerful talent copied from them was a completely unexpected surprise.

The quality of sleep is much better than that of ordinary people, they are less prone to insomnia, and they need much less sleep than ordinary people... Just hearing about this talent is amazing!

"Aaaaaaahh ...

The words that Zi Xun Sanlang shouted were no longer coherent sentences.

He was grabbed and pinned to the ground by Doshin, which seemed to further worsen his mental state.

He screamed wildly and twisted his body, trying to break free from Qingdeng's control.

But no matter how much he struggles... he's just an old man nearing 70.

In terms of strength, there's no way he could possibly beat Qing Deng, this young man.

From the moment he arrived, Gray Brother stood there like a clay or wooden statue, staring blankly as Qing Deng swiftly subdued Xun Sanlang.

Only now, seeing Qing Deng take out a rope to tie up Xun Saburo, did Hui Dalang finally realize what was happening and quickly step forward to press down on Xun Saburo's legs, helping Qing Deng reduce the difficulty and pressure of tying him up.

"Ah, thanks." Qing Deng casually thanked Hui Dalang who came to help.

"This is what a lowly person should do..."

At this moment, the faint disdain that had been lurking in Hui Dalang's eyes when he looked at Qing Deng was gone.

What remained in his eyes was an intense shock and disbelief.

*******

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Chapter 35 Atsuhime Tenshōin, a widow who remained a virgin

Edo, Hokuban-sho (Northern Frontier Office), the magistrate's office—

"Come on, Dongcheng, try the Nagasaki cake my friend gave me yesterday."

Usui pushed his favorite Nagasaki cake in front of Toujou.

"Hehe, it smells pretty good."

Inside the office, the town magistrate, Usui, and the "Higashijo Group," led by the town magistrate, sat facing each other across the desk.

Bo Jing and Dong Cheng have always had a good personal relationship. In his spare time, Bo Jing would often invite Dong Cheng over to have some snacks and chat for a while.

"The world is getting more and more turbulent lately," Bo Jing sighed as he filled Dongcheng's cup with tea. "I really miss the peaceful days before the barbarians invaded our borders..."

No matter how times change, no matter how old or young, when men get together, they love to talk about three things the most—military affairs, politics, and women.

With his mouth full of Nagasaki cake, Toujou nodded and mumbled, "Yeah, that's right. The world is in chaos, and I don't know when things will return to normal."

"At this critical juncture, when the shogunate urgently needs unity from top to bottom and from the inside out to jointly deal with the external threats, the shogunate is still plagued by infighting..." Usui shook his head with a wry smile, "I recently heard that Ii Taishi and Tenshōin-dono had another argument a few days ago... The rift between the two of them seems to be widening..."

“…There’s nothing I can do.” Dongcheng paused in chewing the cake. “Ii Dai-no-chō’s actions over the past two years have really gone too far…It’s only natural that his relationship with Prince Tenshōin has deteriorated.”

In June of 1853, the American Black Ships forced their way into Japan. Just a few months later, the previous shogun, the 12th shogun, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, died.

After Tokugawa Ieyoshi's death, his only son, Tokugawa Iesada, succeeded him as shogun, becoming the 13th shogun of the Edo shogunate.

At a time when the country was beset by internal and external troubles, Tokugawa Iesada became the new ruler of the country... Many people were quite worried about this.

Because Tokugawa Iesada was known to be an idiot.

Literally brain-dead.

From childhood, he was physically weak and timid by nature. He hated speaking in front of others and could only communicate normally with his wet nurse, Kabashi. He was completely incapable of handling government affairs.

Because Jia Ding's health was so poor, people thought that he would die in a few years.

Jia Ding, due to health reasons, had no children... Given his wretched state, where he could barely walk, it was impossible for him to have children.

Therefore, in order to ensure national stability, not long after Iesada's accession to the throne, the shogunate officials began to discuss who should be appointed as the "crown prince".

Japan during the Edo period had a political structure quite similar to that of the Zhou Dynasty in China—both adopted a feudal system rather than a centralized system.

The Edo Shogunate only ruled a quarter of the country's land; the remaining three-quarters were distributed as feudal domains.

Those who were granted fiefdoms were called "daimyo".

During the Edo period, the daimyo were ranked in three levels from highest to lowest: Shinhan daimyo, Fudai daimyo, and Tozama daimyo.

The daimyo, relatives of the Tokugawa family, were enfeoffed in various economically prosperous or military strongholds.

The hereditary daimyo are descendants of the meritorious officials who fought alongside Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate, to conquer the land.

The descendants of the Tozama daimyo, who only joined and pledged allegiance to Tokugawa Ieyasu after the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, rose to power, were generally enfeoffed in remote and impoverished areas, with a few exceptions.

These three types of daimyo totaled over 300, so the various domains during the Edo period were collectively referred to as the "Three Hundred Lords." These 300-plus domains divided up the remaining three-quarters of Japan's land.

Among the daimyo of the imperial domains, the most important and powerful were the Owari Domain, Mito Domain, and Kii Domain, collectively known as the "Gosanke".

The first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, established a rule that when the shogun's family had no successor, the Mito family would be appointed as the supervisor for the selection of the daimyo's successor, and the successor would be selected from the Kii and Owari families.

In the mid-to-late Edo period, the "Gosanke" (Three Lords of the Imperial Household) were established, namely the Tokugawa family of Tayasu, the Tokugawa family of Hitotsubashi, and the Tokugawa family of Shimizu. The Gosanke were second only to the Gosanke in rank, but like the Owari and Kii families of the Gosanke, they were qualified to inherit the position of shogun.

After deciding to establish a successor before Tokugawa Iesada's death, the shogunate retainers began searching for suitable candidates among the "three great families" and "three great ministers".

There were only two people suitable to inherit the position of shogun: Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu of the Hitotsubashi family, one of the "Three Lords of the Kingdom", and Tokugawa Yoshifuku of the Kii family, one of the "Three Families of the Kingdom".

These two individuals each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Born in 1837, Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu was older and had a reputation for being wise. The retainers who supported Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu as his successor believed that in this time of internal and external troubles, a general with sufficient strength was needed to take charge of the situation.

Tokugawa Yoshifuku was born in 1846 and was too young, but his bloodline was more legitimate. Those who supported Tokugawa Yoshifuku's succession believed that, at all times, the shogun must be someone with a more legitimate bloodline.

As a result, the retainers of the shogunate split into two factions.

Those who supported Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu's succession were collectively known as the "Hitotsubashi faction," while those who supported Tokugawa Yoshifuku's succession were collectively known as the "Nanki faction." The two factions argued incessantly.

The powerful lords from all over the country also joined the struggle for succession, trying to get a share of the spoils in this political battle.

The man who wielded the final blow in this "Hitohibashi-Nanki dispute" was none other than the man currently sitting in the position of the eldest brother—Ii Naosuke.

Two years earlier, in 1858, Ii Naosuke, as a staunch supporter of the "Nanki faction," successfully assumed the position of Grand Elder, wielding immense power throughout the country, through a series of political maneuvers.

After assuming the position of Grand Elder, he used an iron fist to forcefully promote Tokugawa Yoshifuku to the throne, establishing him as the heir apparent to the Shogun Iesada, and ruthlessly suppressed the "Hitotsubashi faction."

The "One Bridge vs. Nanki Controversy" ended with a complete victory for the "Nanki faction".

Coincidentally, not long after Tokugawa Yoshifuku became the shogun with the support of Ii Naosuke, Tokugawa Iesada, who had always been in poor health, finally died of illness.

In 1858, Tokugawa Yoshifuku became the 14th Shogun and changed his name to Tokugawa Iemochi.