Although he was fully prepared mentally, when he learned that the big fat man in front of him was Saigo Kinosuke, a member of the Satsuma Domain army, Ayoto couldn't help but feel shocked, and subconsciously glanced at him a few more times.
He knew very well: sooner or later he would meet the top leaders of the Satsuma Domain.
But...he never expected that this day would come so quickly and in such a hurry.
Unlike those guys who achieved their achievements through a prominent family background or evil ways, Saigo Kinosuke relied on his own talent and hard work to climb to his current high position step by step.
When it comes to "the starting point of life" alone, Saigo Kinosuke is by no means "holding a good hand".
He was born as a low-level samurai, came from a poor family, and served as a low-level official for a long time... This experience gave him a certain understanding and sympathy for the lower-class people, and a deep understanding of the corrupt rule of the government, which led him to embark on the path of reform.
As early as when he was young, he adapted the original poem written by the monk Yuexing - who actively participated in the movement of respecting the king and fighting the barbarians, so he enjoyed a high reputation among the people who respected the king and resisted the barbarians - and adapted it into a highly popular song.
Chinese poetry:
"A man is determined to leave his hometown, and he vows not to return it until he succeeds in his studies. There is no need to bury his bones in his hometown. There are green mountains everywhere in life."
After Shimazu Saibin succeeded the Satsuma Domain, the "loyalty group" headed by Saigo Kinosuke wrote a letter to explain the issue of reducing the burden on farmers. Its political ideas were appreciated by Shimazu Saibin.
In this way, Saigo Kinnosuke gained the important position of Shimazu Saibin and was promoted to his trusted retainer. His career began to take off and he gradually gained control of the real power within the domain.
Simply put, he is an extremely inspiring man.
Everyone who has come into contact with Saigo Kinosuke highly appreciates his generous temperament.
It is reported that Saigo Kinosuke is a passionate man with clear likes and dislikes - such a personality is very consistent with the aesthetics of the Edo period.
Because of his kindness to the people, he has great prestige among the lower class people in Satsuma.
In addition, because of his long-term participation and leadership in the Zunhao movement, the Zunhao patriots in Satsuma Domain all respected him as a god, respecting and loving him from the bottom of their hearts.
Shimazu Saibin died of illness, and after Shimazu Hisamitsu came to power, Saigo Kinosuke, who became the "old man of the former dynasty", has always been regarded as a thorn in the side of this ambitious founding father.
"The feud between Saigo Kinnosuke and Shimazu Hisamitsu" is no longer a secret, it has long been an open matter.
It is said that Shimazu Hisamitsu always wanted to suppress Saigo Kinosuke and exclude him from the power level of Satsuma Domain.
However, in the end, because Saigo Kinnosuke's prestige and status in the domain were too high, even above him, the founding father, there was no way to start, so he had to let it go.
It is strange to say that the three major forces in the Western Kingdom that are currently causing trouble - the Satsuma Domain, the Choshu Domain, and the Tosa Domain - their feudal lords and the old ruling class have all been shunned to varying degrees.
The Tosa Kinnoir Party, headed by Takeichi Hanheita, controlled the political situation of the Tosa Domain.
Saigo Kinosuke, Okubo Ichizo and Komatsu's swords from the Satsuma Domain were so sharp that even Shimazu Hisamitsu had to avoid them for the time being.
Not to mention the Choshu Domain, their "That's it" has long been reduced to a large mascot that is even worse than the emperor.
Saigo Kinosuke's current position is "military tax service", responsible for the military and political affairs of the Satsuma Domain in Kyoto and Osaka.
In other words, all the soldiers of the Satsuma Army stationed in the Gyeonggi area are under the unified command of Saigo Kinosuke!
Since Shimazu Hisamitsu has been in power within the domain all year round, Saigo Takamori, who is based in Kyoto, has a considerable degree of autonomy.
As a result, just like Qingdeng, Xixiang Yoshinosuke has become half a military governor.
Qingden lowered his eyelids and looked at Saigo Kinosuke with eyes that became more solid and deep, and thought to himself:
——The general of the Beijing-based army... is truly extraordinary!
Relying on his undoubted absolute strength, he became a unique general... Such a hero, just the look in his eyes and the "smell" emanating from his body are completely different from ordinary people!
While Aoto was carefully observing Saigo Kinosuke, the other party was also looking at Aoto up and down carefully with a scrutinizing look.
"Looking at your accent...are you from Edo?"
Although he uses the sentence structure of a question, his tone is that of an affirmative sentence.
As soon as the front foot muttered, the back foot seemed to realize something, and the corners of its mouth slightly curled up, revealing a meaningful smile:
"The Edo people who appear in Kyoto at this time... Hey, little brother, are you from the Shinsengumi?"
Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly changed.
The Satsuma people present changed their expressions and stared at Qingden warily.
A series of sharp eyes fell on Qingdeng.
A few people even raised their hands to touch the saber at their waist.
Qingdeng shrugged fearlessly and said with a smile:
"Hey, what do you want to do?"
"Look at your posture, as if as long as I nod my head and admit that I am a member of the Shinsengumi, you will swarm me and tear me into pieces."
"You are not from Changshu, why do you need to act like you are afraid of the Shinsengumi like a tiger?"
Saigo Yoshinosuke smiled:
"Sorry for frightening you. We have little understanding of this emerging armed group, so we can't help but feel nervous after learning that there are people suspected to be members of the Shinsengumi."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and made a "relax, everyone" gesture to his companions around him.
At this time, Qingdeng said lightly:
"I have made it very clear just now - I am just a passing samurai, nothing more."
Under normal circumstances, Aomori wouldn't mind revealing his true identity to Saigo Kinosuke.
Anyway, based on their status, it was only a matter of time before they got to know each other.
However...the place they are currently in is Gion.
No matter what, Seito didn't want the headlines in the Koban tabloids tomorrow morning to be "The Shinsengumi general and the Satsuma army general met in Gion, and 'Gion's best geisha' Shiyo was also present."
At that time, I really don’t know how to explain to Sanako, Kinoshita Mai and Souji...
Hearing what Aomori said, Saigo Kinosuke raised his eyebrows first, and then spread his hands:
"It seems that you are determined to conceal your identity... Anyway, since you are unwilling to reveal your identity, I will not ask further questions."
After that, he put away the expression on his face, turned his head, looked around the scene, and said loudly with a serious face:
"Everyone, I'm very sorry! My incompetence led to the farce tonight!"
Having said this, he quickly walked towards the geisha who was kicked down by Godai and was still supported by Ziyang.
"Are you okay, miss?"
Thanks to lying on the tatami and resting for a long time, the poor geisha's physical condition improved a lot, and she was at least able to speak normally.
Saigo Kinosuke's sudden approach and sudden concern startled her.
Caught off guard, she stammered and replied nervously:
"It's okay..."
Saigo Kinosuke nodded lightly, and then took out a cloth bag from his arms - "clang", "clang" - from the sound, the thing inside was money, and it was a big one.
money.
"Girl, this is my little apology, please accept it."
As he said this, he couldn't help but put the big bag of money into the poor geisha's arms.
After paying the compensation, he stood up slowly, turned his head, and cast a helpless look at Komatsu, who was not far away with a knife:
"Xiaosong-kun, even though you were present, this kind of accident still happened that shouldn't have happened..."
Komatsu took the knife and smiled bitterly:
"Xixiang-kun, you really think too highly of me. I am a literati who is very good at writing and talking. I can't control these arrogant soldiers under your command."
Xiaosong——Qingden was startled when he heard this title.
Komatsu of the Satsuma Domain... It was only then that Aoto finally realized belatedly that Saigo Kinosuke was not the only big figure in the Satsuma clan present.
It's just that he didn't have the chance to say hello to Komatsu with his sword.
At this time, Saigo Kinosuke turned to look at the others except Komatsu with his sword, and snorted heavily.
This chapter has been completed!