Matsudaira Harugaku raised his eyes and stared straight at Hitotsubashi's back.
Although he used an interrogative sentence structure, his tone revealed a strong affirmation.
"..."
There was another brief silence.
Another deep-toned reply.
"...Although this is just my intuition, I always firmly believe that Tachibana Aoden is definitely not a loyal minister of the shogunate!"
"Whenever I meet with him, I feel like I'm in the company of a jackal."
"Therefore, I have always regarded Tachibana Aoden as my number one enemy."
Matsudaira Chunyue asked tentatively:
"Master Hitotsubashi, what you mean is that... you suspect that Tachibana Aoden is a duplicitous villain or a greedy careerist?"
"But... in my opinion, Ju Qingden does not look like such a person. According to my observation, he does not have a strong greed for money and power."
Ichihashi Qingxi twitched the corners of his mouth and sneered, "Humph."
"Who knows about this kind of thing?"
"The Duke of Zhou is afraid of the day of rumors, but Wang Mang is humble and does not usurp the time."
"What's more... things like 'ambition' will grow."
"Chun Yue, have you ever been hungry? Have you ever lacked the company of a beautiful woman?"
An incomprehensible question... Although Matsudaira Harugaku didn't understand why, he still answered quickly:
"No. I have never been hungry. As early as the age of 12, I had tasted the pleasure of fish and water with the maid."
Hitotsubashi smiled silently with joy.
"Me too. Ever since I was born, I have never known what hunger and impatience are."
"The treasures that are unattainable in the eyes of ordinary people are just ordinary things within easy reach for me."
"Both you and I were born into a wealthy family, and have been accustomed to a life of fine clothing and fine food since childhood."
"A beautiful lady who is used to eating delicacies from mountains and seas, and is tired of playing with the beauties of the country."
"For this reason, ordinary food and average kunoichi cannot impress us at all."
"But... ordinary people are not like this."
"I'm ashamed to say that this is something I only recently understood."
Speaking of this, Hitotsubashi Yingxi lowered his head and lowered his gaze.
He and Matsudaira Harugaku are currently on the top floor of the Hitotsubashi Residence.
As a symbol of the status of the noble "Gosankyō", Hitotsubashi Residence is a four-story mansion - an extremely large building in the Edo period.
Therefore, looking from the current perspective of Hitotsubashi Kei, the cobweb-like streets, dotted houses, rows of tiles, and the vast land are all under his overlook.
"I stood 'above' for so long that I ignored how terrifying the desire to be turned on was."
"The desire to be turned on tends to grow wildly."
"A person who has been hungry for too long will easily develop a mentality similar to 'revenge' after tasting delicious food for the first time."
"He'll be constantly chasing more and better food."
"Before he became a benevolent king praised by the world, Tachibana Aoden was just an imperial family member with a meager family income of only 100 koku."
“From the unknown Buddhist priest Tongxin to the world-famous governor of Gyeonggi Province, in the process, he saw the beautiful scenery that he had never seen before.”
"From now on, can he still look at the things around him with the same eyes as before?"
"Doesn't he have any new pursuits for food, women, money, and power?"
"Wouldn't he want to go further and see what the upper scenery is like?"
As Hitotsubashi's joyful words fell, silence enveloped the interior and exterior again.
After listening to the other party's impassioned speech attentively, Matsudaira Harugaku looked deep in thought.
After a moment, he let out a long breath.
"...Mr. Hitotsubashi, you are right."
"'Money' and 'power' are the two most poisonous poisons that can corrode people's minds."
"No matter who you are, you may be dominated by greed."
"With such a low background, Ju Qingden has never tasted the beauty of 'money' and 'power' before."
"And now, he has become a dignified governor of Gyeonggi Province."
"Every word and deed he says can determine the livelihood of thousands of people and even affect the trend of the entire world."
"He holds a high position, is famous for a while, and holds the power to kill... No one can say whether his mentality will be distorted in such a situation."
Speaking of this, Matsudaira Chunyue's conversation suddenly changed.
"Fortunately, judging from the current situation, Tachibana Aomori and his Shinsengumi should be able to settle down for a long time."
"Although Tokugawa Iemo has given Tachibana Aoden great financial autonomy and allowed him to find ways to raise funds on his own, no matter how capable he is, he cannot create money out of thin air."
"Developing financial resources is not a simple matter."
Speaking of this, Matsudaira Chunyue seemed to recall some painful memory, the corners of his mouth twitched, and his face was filled with bitterness.
"I guess Tachibana Aoden must be worried about the Shinsengumi's military expenses right now."
"He will definitely spend a lot of energy trying to solve the financial problems of the Shinsengumi."
"If the money matter is not resolved, whether he wants to be a loyal minister of the shogunate or become the next An Lushan, he will be unable to talk about it."
"Until the Shinsengumi has stable financial income, he will have no time to take care of other matters."
"So, we don't have to worry about him causing any trouble for the time being."
Hitotsubashi nodded slightly to show his agreement.
At the same time, his expression gradually relaxed and his facial lines softened.
"Well, this is the only good news in the near future."
…
…
7 days later——
Wenjiu three years (1863), March 18——
Kyoto, Mibu Township, Shinsengumi camp——
It was about seven o'clock.
Spring is approaching, the days are no longer short, the sun is already high in the sky, and the pale golden sunlight flows across the earth.
Qinghe Hachiro strolled on the sunny corridor.
On the right hand side are paper sliding doors, and on the left hand side are medium-sized gardens and the endless sky.
He turned his head sideways, looked up at the sky, facing the golden glow of washing his face, and recited the ancient text "Man'yoshu: Thirty-two Plum Blossom Songs with Preface" quite elegantly:
"At that time, the moon was in early spring, the air was gentle and the wind was gentle... Oh, what a pity. If the original appearance of the garden could be preserved, it would be a beautiful scenery..."
Having said that, Qinghe Hachiro sighed and lowered his gaze, looking at the garden below the sky... Correction, it is the "original garden" that has been turned into wasteland.
Previously, this place was a very classic Japanese garden.
The veranda next to the garden, the courtyard full of spring scenery, and the frightened deer "knocking".
The so-called frightening deer is a small bamboo tube for pouring water, also known as tiansui, monkdu, and bird frightening device. It is one of the most representative water vessels in Japanese gardens.
Water is introduced into the bamboo tube, and a certain amount of running water is stored through the lever principle to shift the balance of the two ends of the bamboo tube - the same principle as a seesaw - one end of the bamboo tube hits the stone to make a crisp sound.
The original intention of its design was to use the sound it made to disturb the birds falling into the garden. It was only later that it gradually evolved into a Zen-like landscape design.
Qinghe Hachilang, who considers himself an elegant man, has always been fond of Jinglu.
Therefore, he liked this garden very much.
He could imagine how pleasant it would be to lie leisurely on the verandah when spring came, enjoying the gentle breeze and listening to the crisp sound of frightened deer knocking on rocks.
However... He has an empty name and no power, so he is really a man of few words.
Although he had tried his best to dissuade him, Seito, who was the sole talker of the Shinsengumi, was still stubborn - he directly used the excuse that "military important areas do not need these useless things", just like the original manufacturing
The No. A training ground and the No. B training ground have shoveled this garden clean.
Even the Jinglu Tower that Qinghe Hachilang liked very much was directly sold by Qingdeng.
The garden that was originally filled with beautiful green plants was now only bare loess.
Qingden plans to transform the land into stables.
Thinking of this, Qinghe Hachiro couldn't help but feel a faint heartache, and muttered:
"Humph, he is really a rude savage who doesn't understand elegance...!"
In his eyes, Qingteng's behavior of "shoveling all the gardens in the Shinsengumi camp without caring about anything else" was tantamount to burning the harp and boiling the crane.
Qinghe Hachiro, who was devoted to respecting the king, did not look down on Qingto who was in the Samu camp.
After witnessing Qingdeng's "atrocities" with his own eyes, he felt even more disgusted. In his heart, he had classified Qingdeng as a "vulgar and indulgent savage", and his contempt for him deepened.
At this moment, Qinghe Hachilang was about to go to his bedroom, and met many team members on the way.
Every team member who saw Qinghe Hachilang greeted him warmly.
"Good morning, Sir Staff Officer!"
"Mr. Qinghe, good morning!"
"Mr. Qinghe, thank you for writing me a letter before!"
…
Facing everyone's greetings, Qinghe Hachiro put on a warm smile and responded positively to them one by one - of course, these were just a joke on his part.
If he wants to seize the Shinsengumi, his own prestige is essential.
Otherwise, after Aomori is ousted from power and he takes the position of the Shinsengumi general himself, only for the people below him to disapprove of him, that would make people want to cry.
Therefore, in order to cultivate popularity, Qinghe Hachiro has always paid great attention to his personal image.
Whenever he stands in front of others, he will wear a Sendai plain hakama hakama with five neat and symmetrical creases on the front.
[Note: According to the etiquette requirements of the Edo period, when a samurai is wearing a hakama, five folds must be made on the front of the hakama, representing the five ethics of monarch and subject, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, friends, as well as the five principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.
, Xin. If you wear your hakama without creases, it will be regarded as lax and rude.】
The saber's attire has also been replaced by the most popular red scabbard.
The hair, which is shaved into the most standard cut, is combed neatly at all times, the scalp is shaved clean, and the hair is cared for to make it shiny.
Just relying on his might and dignified appearance cannot win the widespread support of the soldiers.
Ever since, for the purpose of "gaining favor", he actively extended a helping hand to soldiers who encountered difficulties - such as writing letters home for them.
Generally speaking, Qinghe Hachiro is a weakened version of Shannan Keisuke.
He is capable of both civil and military skills. He can mount his horse to attack Kuang Hu, and he can also dismount his horse and write military orders.
Judging from his personal resume, Qinghe Hachiro can definitely be regarded as one of the best students in the world.
At the age of 14, he was familiar with "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius", "The Book of Changes", "The Book of Songs" and other works.
At the age of 18, he went to the Edo Confucian Tojo School to study ancient studies, and later transferred to the private school of the famous teacher Anji Ryosai to study Zhu Xixue.
After Qinghe Hachiro started the service of "writing family letters", he immediately attracted the attention of countless people.
Most of the Shinsengumi soldiers were from lower-middle class backgrounds.
It's okay to let them dance with swords and guns, but it's really difficult for them to dance with words and ink.
For a talented man like Qinghe Hachiro, who is knowledgeable and talented in writing, family letters are just a piece of cake.
Because of its beautiful writing style and gorgeous rhetoric, the family letters written by Qinghe Hachiro were widely praised.
After going back and forth, more and more soldiers asked Qinghe Balang to write family letters on their behalf.
Although it is a bit clumsy to win the favor of the soldiers in this way, there is no doubt that this clumsy method is unexpectedly effective.
To this day, many soldiers have changed the title of Qinghe Hachiro. It is no longer the cold "Master Staff Officer", but the more intimate and respected "Mr. Qinghe".
In this way, Qinghe Hachiro hurried to his bedroom while greeting the soldiers along the way.
Just when his bedroom door came into view, a loud shout sounded from behind him:
"Ah, Mr. Qinghe! I finally found you! Hey! Mr. Qinghe!"
Qinghe Hachiro paused and followed the sound - Harada Sanosuke was chewing grilled squid and running towards him in three steps and two steps at a time.
Looking at Harada Sanosuke who was gradually approaching, a subtle disdain flashed in Qinghe Hachiro's eyes.
Among the ten captains of the Battō Team, the one he despised the most was Sanosuke Harada.
Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito and others all have courage that is unworthy of anyone.
Even those two women are not ordinary people.
Needless to say, Sanako is an almost perfect woman.
As for Mai Kinoshita, who seems very weak, she also shined in the recent "Kusunoki-gumi subjugation battle".
Only this Harada Sanosuke... Although this person is proficient in the Hohoin-style spear technique, his brain is really not very bright.
To put it clearly - this guy is so stupid! He has no brute strength and is not suitable to be a commander at all.
A general values wisdom but not courage.
Based on Harada Sanosuke's low intelligence, which could confuse even Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and could not write any Chinese characters except his own name, Kiyokawa Hachiro was very suspicious... No, he always believed that: this
A man is only worthy of being an Ashigaru soldier! He simply cannot take on the important role of "Captain of the 10th Division"!
Although he looked down upon the other party very much, he could not show his contempt on his face no matter what.
"Harada-kun, what's wrong?"
Qinghe Hachiro put on a soft smile.
Harada Sanosuke replied quickly:
"Qinghe Jun, I'm here to inform you: Mr. Tachibana has convened an emergency meeting, and all cadres including the captain of the Ba Dao Team and above must attend the meeting immediately."
*******
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Food and women respectively represent the two basic human desires: survival and reproduction. It is no exaggeration to say that these two are the origins of all desires and all ambitions.
PS: If nothing else happens, there will be a very large-scale fighting scene before the end of this month, so stay tuned~~ I can finally write about killing people, which really suffocates me to death!
This chapter has been completed!