I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At present, cracking down on those fanatical "anti-foreign" thugs is the Edo Magistrate's biggest task.

Qingdeng's successful victory against overwhelming odds, repelling an attack by more than two hundred "anti-foreign" thugs, killing more than 60, and rescuing French merchants and their families, is a remarkable achievement.

With such a great achievement in hand... just as Qing Deng just said: he no longer needs to worry about the "senior assessment" on March 1st, which will test their "three-times" political achievements.

"Ha..." Inugaya chuckled wryly, "That's true, Tachibana, you've really turned misfortune into blessing."

After saying that, Inugami grinned at Aoto, revealing a joyful smile.

"Ju, I'm really starting to admire you more and more!"

"I never knew you had this skill!"

"Leading a few dozen men, you repelled an enemy force several times your size... Even some generals from the Warring States period three hundred years ago wouldn't have had this ability!"

When Aoto sent the letter requesting assistance to Edo, he had already included all the known information about this "snowy night battle" in the letter.

The letter clearly details when, where, and how they were attacked, how they repelled the enemy, and the direction the fleeing enemy took.

After the letter requesting assistance was delivered to the magistrate's office, the members of the "Three Returns" were among the first to learn of Qingdeng's remarkable feat of "overcoming the strong with the weak."

Therefore, the horse, pig, and cow were all very clear about Qing Deng's experience, and they also knew how Qing Deng led Komuro and others to defeat the strong with their exquisite micro-management.

"Ju, I've heard about it."

Inugani continued.

"After hearing about your rescue of their country's merchants, the French consulate seems to intend to express its gratitude and offer you a reward."

"The thanks and commendation from the French consulate... I'm more curious about what reward the government will give me than any commendation from the French embassy." Qing Deng adopted a half-joking tone.

"...The government has been extremely busy lately," Arima suddenly interjected. "The senior officials and junior councilors are taking this incident very seriously."

"It is said that the elders and the elders have held several meetings in the past few days to discuss this incident."

"These are truly turbulent times..."

"You all better get ready."

"Undoubtedly, the shogunate will take unprecedentedly harsh measures to crack down on all 'anti-foreign' factions."

"We'll be very busy afterwards."

Arima's words caused a somber expression to appear on the faces of Qing Deng and the others in the hall.

Previously, whether in government or among the common people, the impression of the "radical anti-foreign faction" was that they were a bunch of cowards who only knew how to bully the weak and fear the strong.

They kept shouting "Expel the barbarians!" but they didn't kill many barbarians. Instead, they killed the Japanese, whom they considered "traitors to the country."

Whether it was killing barbarians or Japanese, they only dared to carry out assassinations in a sneaky manner, and dared not openly attack those who were not to be trifled with.

But now—the “attack” that Qingdeng encountered has completely shattered everyone’s perception of these madmen.

These madmen suddenly became tough, daring to brandish their blades at foreign merchants protected by dozens of warriors.

It can organize more than 200 people to launch an attack on a certain target.

To possess the intelligence to know when and where Anthony and his group will inevitably pass through, and to prepare an ambush in advance...

Such a large number of people, such mobilization capabilities, such intelligence gathering capabilities...

This is no small matter that can be ignored...

This means that one, or even several, sizable "radical anti-foreign" organizations have emerged.

The mentally unstable "terrorists" suddenly banded together, built up a considerable force, and began to carry out "terrorist operations" in an organized manner—this was not good news for the current Edo Shogunate.

The current de facto ruler of the Edo Shogunate, who wields immense power, is the well-known proponent of the "opening of the country" theory.

He consistently advocated for opening the country to foreign powers and boldly engaged in exchanges with them.

Therefore, it is conceivable that Ii Naosuke, as a proponent of the "opening of the country" theory, would not sit idly by while the "radical anti-foreign faction" had grown stronger and gained considerable influence without anyone realizing it.

Who knows what kind of mess these people might make in the future that could bring disaster to the entire country?

These lunatics dared to attack an innocent foreign businessman and his family today; who knows if they'll attack a foreign embassy tomorrow or do something even more extreme?

At that time, Ii Naosuke's long-held policy of "opening the country" will certainly be impacted.

Anyone with a modicum of political acumen could see that Naosuke Ii would subsequently devote more resources to "counter-terrorism."

As Edo was one of the hardest-hit areas in the "Expel the Barbarians Movement," the shogunate would naturally "take strong action."

At that time, Qing Deng and others, who are "three-times" members, will definitely be regarded as important combat forces and deployed in the "anti-terrorism operation".

"In short, Tachibana-kun, you should just rest and recuperate during this time." Arima said softly to Aoto. "Starting the day after tomorrow, the Southern Office will be in charge of Edo, and our Northern Office officials will no longer need to go to the Magistrate's Office in February. You can take this opportunity to stay home and rest peacefully."

"While you're resting at home, take this opportunity to air out your clothes properly."

"The higher-ups take this incident very seriously."

"I estimate that in a few days, a high-ranking official will come to see you."

"I will inquire in detail about the attack you encountered and how you repelled it... and at the same time, I will reward you for your great service."

裃: The ceremonial robe of samurai. It was required to wear the 裃 when participating in important events or meeting important figures.

"Then... during this period, you also need to be more careful and cautious."

As he said this, Arima subconsciously turned his head and glanced out the window.

"We can't rule out the possibility that those lunatics will find out who made them look so bad, and then retaliate against you."

"Therefore, it's always better to be more cautious."

"Avoid going to remote, sparsely populated places and pay more attention to your surroundings."

"If you see any suspicious people acting suspiciously around you or your home, remember to report it to the magistrate's office immediately."

"Yes." Qingdeng nodded vigorously.

Just then, Niu Shan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up:

"Speaking of this... Lord Arima, Tachibana-kun, something very strange has happened in Edo these past two days."

"Something strange?" Qing Deng asked in return.

Aoto and Arima both cast questioning glances at Ushiyama.

"Lord Arima, you led your men to Kanagawa to meet Tachibana-kun, so you probably don't know that the incident of Tachibana-kun defeating the enemy has somehow been leaked."

"Around the day before yesterday, news began to circulate throughout Edo that 'Tachibana Aoto, the governor of Hokuban-sho-cho, defeated a large number of anti-foreign thugs with a small force.'"

"What?" Arima's already large eyes widened even more.

Qing Deng frowned slightly in surprise: "Mr. Niu Shan, has the magistrate's office already publicized this incident?"

“No, not at all.” Ushiyama shook his head. “Tachibana-kun, you should know, right? The Magistrate’s Office would never leak an incident of this nature to the public so quickly.”

Qingdeng pursed his lips.

Niu Shan is right.

The "radical anti-foreign faction," which was no different from "terrorists" and had caused a lot of trouble for ordinary people, suddenly became powerful and terrifying. They were able to mobilize more than 200 people to ambush Western merchants who were guarded by dozens of samurai. Once such news spread, it would be very easy to cause panic among the people.

Before completing all the necessary tasks, the office certainly wouldn't have exposed this matter so quickly.

"Then how did this matter get leaked?" Arima's brows furrowed sharply. "Was it someone in the Magistrate's Office who accidentally let it slip?"

“…I don’t think so.” Niu Shan slowly shook his head. “If someone in the magistrate’s office had accidentally let this slip out, it wouldn’t have spread at such an exaggerated speed.”

"In just two days, the news spread to almost the entire Edo... I absolutely do not believe that there was no one behind it, pushing things along at such a speed."

Qing Deng became increasingly confused as he listened.

Did someone deliberately leak my case?

who is it?

Why do you want to do this?

Niu Shan noticed the confusion on Qing Deng's face and sighed softly:

"The enforcement office is already investigating who is spreading this information."

"But whether we can find out who did it depends on luck."

"...That's troublesome!" Arima's face suddenly darkened. "Now that everyone in Edo knows who repelled those lunatics..."

"Then those lunatics will also know who caused their crushing defeat...!"

quiet……

The not-so-large hall suddenly became exceptionally quiet...

……

……

The visit to Qingdeng by the horse, pig, and cow ended in an eerie silence...

Currently, news of Aoto's "victory against overwhelming odds" is circulating throughout Edo... This is definitely not a good thing for Aoto at present.

This indirectly informed those "terrorists" who had beaten them up—but that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part is that Qingdeng has no effective way to prevent retaliation...

They don't have the funds to hire any more bodyguards.

Should the Fengxing Office send a large number of people to protect Qingdeng 24 hours a day?

The magistrate's office has always been short of manpower. Even though Qing Deng had just made a great contribution, he was still not important enough to warrant a large number of people being assigned to protect him.

Qing Dengyou and his three senior colleagues had a brief discussion about what to do.

After some discussion, they concluded that there was nothing they could do... the only thing they could do was to be extra careful in their daily lives.

In this awkward and eerie silence, after personally seeing the three elders off from his house, Aoto let out a long sigh and then said to Saito and Kyubei, who were standing behind him and had accompanied him to the doorstep to see off the horse, pig, and cow:

"You should all be more careful these days."

“Especially you, Kyubei.”

"I'm becoming more and more convinced that those lunatics can't be understood with common sense."

"Nobody knows what methods those people will use to retaliate against me later."

"Kyubei, try not to go out if you can avoid it in the future."