Chiba Nobuyoshi's words could not help but make the father and daughter extremely surprised. Chiba Nobuyoshi continued to analyze: "Most people who know my brother well will not believe that my Chiba family instigated this matter. But why are the rumors getting more and more intense? It seems that it is
...It seems like there is someone behind the scenes. Instead of clarifying, the shogunate is trying to add fuel to the flames. There are many conflicts between the factions in the DPRK and China, and the shogunate is in constant conflict with powerful vassals in various places. There are not a few officials from the I-Beichen Itto-ryu, so my brother has to guard against it.
!”
After hearing what Chiba Sadakichi said, Chiba Shusaku suddenly fell silent. If this is really the case, then what should we do?
In the past, with his reputation as the best swordsman in Japan, no one dared to target the Chiba family or the Beichen Ittōryu. But now a once-in-two-hundred-year swordsman appears out of thin air. Everyone can see that he is definitely not Sorayama Ichi.
Ye's opponent, the position of the first person changed hands and his reputation plummeted. Perhaps some people really couldn't wait to use the hands of the Chiba family and Sorayama Kazuha to achieve some political goals.
The sound of "Teng Teng Teng" footsteps was heard from outside the corridor, and a disciple hurriedly walked up to everyone and said: "Master, Tadayoshi Master, the government is here! Edo Minister Nagasaka Shiro said he came to visit on the order of the shogunate.
"
Chiba Shusaku and Chiba Sadaki looked at each other, and then said: "Sanai, you go back first, don't worry. Zaemon, please come in, Mr. Nagasaka."
Nagasaka Shiro is the person in charge of the administration and justice of Edo. He is directly subordinate to the elder, one of the three giants of the shogunate. Although his position is not high, he has great power. In the past, if there were important events in Edo City, each gym would be informed.
His subordinates, the feudal lords, are in charge. Is there anything that requires him to take action personally? This matter is extremely unusual!
"I wonder why Nagasaka-sama came here in person?" When facing outsiders, Chiba Shusaku immediately turned into a swordsman with his eyes pointed directly at people's hearts. His polite yet majestic demeanor made everyone secretly praise him.
Top swordsman!
Nagasaka Shiro felt a little uncomfortable facing Chiba Shusaku's overwhelming momentum, but relying on the shogunate, which itself represented Japan's most majestic and violent organization, he had no fear in his heart.
He responded calmly: "Your Excellency Chiba, I have been ordered to inform the shogunate of the decision. Three days later, you and Kongshan Mianliukongshan Kazuyo will conduct a trial in front of the imperial court to resolve the unfair incident that your mansion has suffered.
Injustice. In addition, the shogun really does not want to create an unpleasant estrangement between the two top Japanese swordsmen. At the same time, he also uses this opportunity to let the samurai from all over Edo and even Japan admire the swordsmanship of the top swordsman. This decree will be issued today.
, I am notifying you in advance this time, and I hope Your Excellency Chiba will be prepared."
"Imperial trial match?! Why? The matter between our Chiba family and Sorayama Kazuha is not a conflict. It will be resolved on its own. There is no need..."
"Unreasonable!" Nagasaka Shiro shouted sternly: "How can the decision of the shogun and the shogunate be questioned!"
Chiba Shusaku stopped Chiba Nobuyoshi who wanted to continue arguing, and asked in a serious tone: "Mr. Nagasaka, will this imperial trial be conducted with a real sword?"
"Of course! As two great swordsmen, wouldn't using a wooden sword only make outsiders laugh at you, or make Chiba-sama afraid..." Nagasaka Shiro immediately felt that the Chiba Shusaku opposite him was full of momentum, and with the real sword energy
Under the stimulation, his pores suddenly shrunk, and he could hardly control himself and wanted to get up and escape.
However, this momentum disappeared faster. Chiba Shusaku said slowly: "I understand, thank you Nagasaka-sama." "Farewell, farewell." Nagasaka Shiro stood up almost in a hurry and left in embarrassment.
Looking at the opponent's back, Chiba Nobuyoshi said worriedly: "Brother, this imperial trial is too sudden. I'm afraid someone in the court wants to do harm to my brother."
Chiba Shusaku stood up slowly, like a sharp sword pointing straight at the sky, full of indomitable spirit: "Dingji, do you still remember, the essence of the Ittou style? The so-called 'One sword begins, one sword ends, you must die'! In an upright manner,
In a head-on confrontation, if you fight head-on, fight strong against strong, and cut your way out with the determination to die, there is nothing to be afraid of when trying it out in front of the emperor!"
"Brother..." Chiba Nobuyoshi had tears in the corners of his eyes. It had been many years since he had seen his brother with his sword soaring to the sky. Even if the opponent was a sword master, it didn't matter. He had never lost in a life-or-death duel.
"Sadaikichi, I am asking you to do something as an elder brother, not as the head of the Chiba family. From tomorrow on, you will succeed as the second generation head of the Beichen Ittoryu clan and the head of the Genbukan. The two dojos will merge into one.
With your 'little Qianye' swordsmanship and wisdom, you will definitely be able to carry forward the Beichen Yitōryu."
"No! Never!" After Chiba Nobuyoshi heard this order that was similar to explaining the funeral arrangements, he, who had always been calm, immediately jumped up excitedly and shouted: "Beichen Itto-ryu can't live without my brother. The worst he can do is refuse this imperial trial.
Request, with the reputation of my Chiba family and my brother, the shogunate will not dare to do anything!"
"It seems that swordsmen's affairs must be decided with swords after all..." Chiba Shusaku sighed, and then said leisurely in a tone that could see through life and death: "If I die on the spot, the Chiba family will still be the same Chiba family, and Beichen will be the same one with a sword.
The flow is still one of the strongest sects in Edo; if I avoid fighting, there will no longer be a place for the Chiba family in the world... You don't need to say more, just let me announce this. For the sake of the sect and the family, this matter will not be tolerated by you.
reject!"
After saying that, he almost forced Chiba Nobuyoshi, who looked sad, towards the front hall.
They had already noticed the petite figure of Sana Chiba who had been eavesdropping on the conversation and rushed out of the Xuanwu Hall, but at this time, the two of them could no longer care about so much...
At the same time, the Kuzan-ryu Gym also received an order from the shogunate to conduct a trial in front of the emperor.
However, unlike the unruly Shiro Nagasaka who went to the Genbukan to deliver orders, the person who came to inform this time was Heisuke Tani, the Prime Minister of the Shogunate. This person was specifically responsible for the ceremonies of the Shogunate and the reception of imperial envoys and courtiers. Don't look at it.
He looks like a gentle and good old man, but his salary is as high as 1,500 dan! His official rank is equal to that of the daimyo, and he is definitely a high-level figure in the shogunate.
He was speaking warmly to Kazuyo Sorayama, who had a cold face: "That's it, this imperial trial is a direct order from the General and Elder Ii, and no one from both sides is allowed to refuse."
Then he pointedly said: "For a swordsman duel, it is better to go all out. Elder Jing Yi once confided to me privately that the imperial trial that does not distinguish between life and death is imperfect, and whether it is the elder himself or
General Jiaqing hates this kind of shortcoming. Alas, I don’t know whether I should say these words, so just pretend I didn’t say them. Haha, as people get older, their heads seem to become confused, eh? I said
What's going on?" Xianggu's eyes were bright and he didn't look a little confused.
Ichiyo Sorayama was still pretending to be an ice sculpture coldly. Fuji Ohno was already so distraught that he didn't know what to say at all. Only the clever Kogoro quickly said: "Sir Aiyaya only said that there will be a trial in front of the emperor in three days. What else?
I have never said that once any other rumors spread, in order to maintain the dignity of your Majesty and the shogunate, you can order them to be killed!"
Aizani Heisuke nodded with satisfaction, returned to his good-natured appearance, got up and left.
"Bah! Old fox! The shogunate is full of such shameless people and is getting weaker and weaker. Sooner or later these rats will be wiped out!" Seeing the other party walking away, Kogoro immediately cursed and sighed dejectedly: "It seems that this is the original intention of the shogunate.
, this is clearly a threat to the teacher that he must kill Chiba Shusaku-senpai during the trial match, it is really despicable!"
"What will happen if I don't kill Chiba Shusaku?" Kazuyo Sorayama asked directly. He was still not very clear about the rules of this era.
Kogoro said worriedly: "Teacher, you can't hide! With the stupidity and shamelessness of the shogunate, if Senior Chiba is not killed during the trial, then maybe the general will directly order another life-and-death decisive battle. No, maybe
, from the disciple’s point of view, it is absolutely certain!”
"Oh? What if I refuse to compete again?"
"Uh...then, that will make the teacher commit seppuku on the spot..."
"What if I still don't agree?"
"Ah?! This, this... the teacher is a samurai, how could he refuse the general's order to commit seppuku?!"
In Katsura Kogoro's view, and in the view of almost all samurai in this era, hara-kiri is a way of interpreting the samurai's way of death. It is a samurai's privilege, and it is also sacred.
As a samurai, you must obey your master and remain loyal. In theory, the shogun is the common master of all samurai in the world. Although many samurai change their masters as casually as they change their clothes, privately I don’t know how many patriots want to overthrow the decadent Tokugawa.
The shogunate, but when the shogun asked a samurai to commit seppuku in person, who would dare not to obey?
Is it really true that the flag beside the general is a scarecrow? Rather than being caught and hanged like a dog after disobeying orders, it is better to preserve his reputation by committing seppuku.
"Haha, am I a samurai? Have I served the Tokugawa family? Have I ever enjoyed a penny salary from the shogunate?" Kazuyo Sorayama's expression became colder, "In my life, no one has ever ordered me to do anything.
I can't do anything I don't want to do, even if I die, including Tokugawa Ieki. This is my way of swordsmanship!"
Katsura Kogoro and Ono Fuji stared blankly at Sorayama Kazuha, as if they had just met the person in front of them, especially Katsura Kogoro, their hearts were filled with reverence.
He also realized that a teacher would never sit still and wait for death! What would happen at that time, Kogoro knew without even thinking.
After a moment, he said even more worriedly: "Teacher... do you know how many people there are in Edo City? The feudal lord, the feudal lord, the group leader, the group members, the banner, the ashigaru, plus the Yamen, the arresters, and the ubiquitous
The total number of the guards was no less than ten thousand! On the day of the imperial trial, the security was even tighter. It is estimated that there were hundreds of guards guarding the main pill alone, not to mention the second pill, third pill, west pill, and north pill besides the main pill... even though
The teacher's swordsmanship is magical. If you can't get out of the Pingchuan Gate, you will be blocked by others. You must know that the people who can act as guards are elite warriors!"
The other meaning of these words is: Teacher, if you don’t kill Chiba Shusaku, you will definitely be killed. This is a dead end!