The Nine Gates of the Imperial Palace - the nine gates connecting the inside and outside of the Imperial Palace.

Imade River Gate in the north.

To the east are the Ishiyakushi Gate, Seikawain Gate and Teramachi Gate.

Sakai-cho Royal Gate in the south.

On the west side are the Shitachi Gate, the Kam Gate, the Middle Gate and the Gan Gate.

In order to show that the status of all allies is equal and to express the fair attitude of "every bowl of water is equal", Qingto and others carried out precise "division" of the "nine gates of the Imperial Palace".

When the operation begins, the Shinsengumi, Aizu Army and Satsuma Army will act separately, each blocking three imperial gates and holding on to different positions.

The Satsuma Army is responsible for blocking the Imadegawa Gate, the Ishiyakushi Gate and the Kiyoga-in Gate (the entire north side and part of the east side).

The Aizu Army is responsible for blocking the Inimikamon Gate, the Neutral Shell Gate Gate and the Gama Gate Gate (most of the west side).

The Shinsengumi is responsible for blocking the Sakaicho Gate, Teramachi Gate and Shimotateka Gate (the entire south side, part of the east side and part of the west side).

Plans have been drawn up and goals have been set.

Next...let's take action!

The main focus of this operation is the word "fast".

According to custom, the ministers would ride in sedan chairs to enter the imperial palace every morning, which is commonly known as "going to court."

Therefore, it is necessary to quickly dispatch troops under the cover of night before the ministers of the Zunbang faction enter the imperial palace! Block the "nine gates of the imperial palace"! Isolate the Changzhou people and the ministers of the Zunbang faction! Don't give them any reaction. time!

The ministers have the privilege of freely entering the imperial palace.

If they were not expelled before they entered the imperial palace, they would most likely break the jar and forcibly abduct the emperor.

By then, it will be difficult to handle.

If you want to achieve unexpected results, "bullying the enemy" is essential.

In order to prevent intelligence leakage, Aoto, Matsudaira Yongho and Saigo Kinosuke all took intelligence control to the extreme!

Except for themselves, the generals under his command were completely ignorant of this upcoming war.

Take the Shinsengumi as an example - Toshizo Hijikata, Keisuke Yamanan and Isamu Kondo, who are Aoto's right-hand men, were also kept in the dark.

On this basis, Qingdeng and others adopted various means to further paralyze the Zunbang faction.

They always acted calm and nonchalant.

In recent days, the daily activities of the Shinsengumi, Aizu Army and Satsuma Army have been as usual.

Train when you need to train, eat when you need to eat, patrol when you need to patrol, and do what you need to do.

At first glance, nothing out of the ordinary can be found, everything is calm.

No one must have thought that the shogunate, Aizu and Satsuma have secretly formed an alliance! They are testing their minions and are eager to attack!

On August 13, the imperial court officially issued an edict to honor Yamato, confirming that the emperor would honor Yamato.

As soon as the news came out, people inside and outside Kyoto were even more panicked.

Prior to this, although rumors of "Yamato's lucky trip" were widely circulated, there was no official confirmation.

And now, the imperial court has personally issued the edict... which shows that this is a done deal!

So, the follow-up content of this rumor - kidnapping the emperor and burning the imperial palace - is it possible that it is also true?

Qingdeng and others, who already knew the inside story, knew that this edict must be a trick of the ministers of the Zunbo faction headed by Sanjo Sanimi.

At this point, Qingdeng and others ignored all the disturbances from the outside world and acted slowly and step by step.

Let these random rumors continue to spread.

Just let Changzhou Renhe and Zunxing send their ministers to continue dancing and making noise!

Anyway, by August 18th, everything will be settled!

…

…

Wenjiu three years (1863), August 17, night——

Gyeonggi, Yamato area, Gojo Town (the territory directly under the shogunate)——

The weather is very bad tonight.

Those low-hanging black clouds covered the sky.

The sky was like an overturned ink pool, obliterating the bright moon and stars, wrapping the earth in darkness.

At this moment, the Gojo Agency - simply put, it can be understood as the grassroots government of Gojo Town - is still brightly lit.

In the agency office, officials were rushing back and forth, dealing with the volumes of documents and bundles of scrolls piled on their desks.

At this moment, black shadows suddenly appeared one after another in a wilderness outside Gojo Town! The number was around 100!

If you look closely, you will see that these black figures are all real people.

If we could use one word to describe this group of people, it would be "chaos"!

Some people are well-dressed.

Some people were wearing rags.

Some people already have two hairs on their temples.

Some people are in their prime years.

Some people are fully armed, with swords, spears, chainmail, and forehead protectors.

Some people only carry a hilt or a simple bamboo spear.

Different ages, different equipment...explain what "mix and match" is, presenting a messy picture.

However, even though their appearance and weapons and equipment are very different, they have one thing in common - there is a fierce light in their eyes! They swish together and glare fiercely at the Gojo Town not far away!

A rugged man with dark skin stood in front of the team.

Judging from his appearance, this person should be 30 years old.

He held the sword at his waist, with no sadness or joy on his face, and looked straight at Gojo Town.

At this time, a young warrior walked quickly to the side of the rugged man and said:

"Yoshimura-kun, everything is ready! You can attack at any time!"

The rugged man called "Yoshimura-kun" nodded solemnly.

"Good...attack!"

…

…

Gojo Town, Gojo Agency——

Suzuki Gennai bowed his head in front of the case and gave instructions meticulously.

As the acting official of Gojo Town, although he has not made outstanding political achievements, he has never made any mistakes, and has neither merit nor fault.

These days, an official with no merits and deeds is considered a rare good official.

He was concentrating on his work... Suddenly, he heard a loud noise outside.

"What's going on?"

He put down the brush in his hand and whispered softly.

It's five o'clock in the evening (8 p.m.).

Gojo Town is not a bustling town. If measured by modern standards, it is just a small town.

Logically speaking, it is already this time, and everything inside and outside Gojo Town should be completely silent.

Before he could get up and go out to check, fierce shouts and shrill screams penetrated his ears!

"Tianchu!"

"Help! Help! Ahhhhhhhhh-!"

"Tianchu!"

"Spare your life! Spare your life! I'm just a servant who brings tea and water! I'm just a servant! Ugh...!"

"Tianchu!"

"Tenchu!!"

"Tianchu!!!"

…

A louder "Tenchu" sound caused all the blood on Suzuki Gennai's face to drain out.

He grabbed the saber on the knife stand next to him and rushed out of the room in one stride.
To be continued...