Chapter 119 The calm before the rainstorm [8000 words]
Nagakura, who was standing next to Harada, grinned and echoed:
"Me too, I can't wait any longer."
Nagakura made it very clear during today's lunch that the reason why he joined Qingneng was because he was interested in the high salary offered by Qingneng and wanted to save enough as soon as possible for him to continue to travel around and hone his skills.
Physical and mental travel expenses and living expenses.
Therefore, for Nagakura, who is currently practicing as a warrior, he most favors tasks that can make his swordsmanship shine and hone his skills well.
Tonight's mission, which involved a tit-for-tat confrontation with the radical expulsion faction, suited Nagakura's taste.
Saito has the same aloof look as always: "Ah, even if the world is going to be destroyed, why don't you do this to me?"
Saito, who is Aoto's bodyguard, was allowed to accompany Aoto in tonight's operation.
Compared with Nagakura, Saito, and Harada, Todo's current reaction is more normal - his face is pale and his lips are constantly pursed, and it can be seen that he is quite nervous now.
"Nagakura, Harada, please be patient." Qingto said helplessly, "It is still unknown whether we will encounter the anti-barbarian group tonight."
"Harada, put down your spear. There are many people here, so don't swing it around."
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot. This is for you."
After saying that, Qingdeng took out three ten-hand hands from his lower back.
"Nagakura, Harada, Todo, each of you has one of these three jutou. Take it, don't lose it."
"Oh!" Harada looked curious and took the juju handed from Aishou, "Is this the juju that every Okabiki will have? It's a pity that I don't know how to use juju..."
"It doesn't matter if you don't know how to use the Juju." Qingden said calmly, "After all, the main function of the Juju is just to prove your identity."
"If your ten hands are damaged or lost, remember to report it to me as soon as possible."
Each Okabiki can receive a ten-handed sword issued by the government as a symbol of status.
As long as you wear this juju used for official duties on your waist, others will know that you are a certain Okahiki of the same mind.
After Harada looked at his new weapon with great interest, he suddenly discovered that their Juju were slightly different from Aito's Juju.
The ten hands that Qingden was wearing on his right waist had a red tassel tied at the bottom of the handle.
The ten hands of Harada and Nagakura were all bare without any decoration.
"Mr. Tachibana, why don't we have red tassels tied at the bottom of the handle of our juju?" Harada asked.
"In order to easily distinguish Tongxin and Okabiki, only the bottom of Tongxin's ten-handle will have red tassels tied on it," Qingto replied, "Don't think it's fun and tie red tassels on the bottom of your own ten-handle. If you do this, there will be consequences.
The suspicion of 'pretending to be a co-worker' is a serious matter."
"Oh, that's it..." Harada nodded, and then, along with Nagakura and Toudo beside him, they imitated Aoto's method of wearing the juju, and put their respective juju on their right waists in the same way.
.
After distributing the Ten Hands to his new subordinates and making them calm down, Qingden turned his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
The two seniors, Inoya and Ushiyama, are not far away from him now.
At this time, both of them were speaking seriously to the Okahiki under their command.
Arima is nowhere to be found. I wonder where Arima has gone now.
Officials from the "Three Chapters" of the Southern and Northern Divisions gathered together to jointly carry out a certain mission... Such a grand occasion could not be seen for a long time.
In Ayoto's impression, the last time Minami and Kitabansho worked together on a certain task... his father Takayuki Takayuki was still alive.
At this moment, in this large room where all the "Three Chapters" combat forces of the Southern and Northern Divisions were gathered, there was an unpleasant smell of sweat and a solemn atmosphere filling the air.
Not everyone has the fighting spirit to "swear to fight a bloody battle with the rebel group and look forward to death".
The anti-barbarian group is well-known as a huge terrorist organization that dares to gather more than 200 people to attack and kill foreign businessmen.
There are many people, they are organized, and they dare to fight and kill.
In terms of risk level, the "anti-barbarian patriots" who pursue the kind of fake power that we usually deal with and only dare to do despicable things such as robbing businesses and raping women of the people cannot be compared with the anti-barbarian group...
Extraordinary terrorists or rabble-rousers who only dare to rob homes and homes - one can imagine which one puts more psychological pressure on people.
In a confrontation with the anti-barbarian group... it is really possible that there will be serious casualties.
Qingdeng could clearly see that many people... including some Tongxin, now looked frightened and worried.
He guessed: Many people should be praying secretly now... praying that Edo will be calm tonight, at least that he can spend the night safely.
"Tachibana-kun!"
At this time, Qingdeng suddenly heard a horse calling him.
"Sir Arima." Qingden turned his head and greeted Arima who suddenly appeared and walked quickly towards him.
I saw that Arima was now fully armed and equipped with powerful equipment - wearing a formation hat on his head, a chain mail on his upper body and a breastplate, and a wild hakama around his lower body.
Only officers with the highest level of power can wear breastplates. Aintō and others can only wear chainmails with Okabiki.
Japan's most significant political culture: the hierarchy is extremely strict and is integrated into every aspect of the country's citizens' daily life.
Arima quickly walked up to Qingto: "Tachibana-kun, how are you preparing?"
Qingto smiled and raised his hand, patting the chainmail that was hidden inside the kimono: "Everything that should be worn, everything that should be worn, has been put on."
"Yeah. That's good." Arima nodded, then looked at Saito and others standing behind Qingto.
He probably wanted to check the current status of Qingdeng's new subordinates.
Nagakura, Saito, and Harada all seemed to be in pretty good condition, either smiling or looking calm, so Arima only glanced at them and looked away.
Arima's gaze only stopped at Toudo, who was still pale and nervous.
"...Young man, relax." Arima patted Toudo on the shoulder and sighed softly, "Don't be so nervous."
"It is still unknown whether we will run into someone from the anti-barbarian group tonight and start a fight with them."
Todo nodded his head with a slightly stiff movement and forced out a slightly ugly smile: "Thank you...I'm much better now than before..."
This afternoon, Aoto led his new subordinates to meet Arima, Inodani and the others.
Seeing that Qingteng finally had his own team, Arima, Inodani and the others were surprised, but they were also sincerely happy for their junior. They lamented that Qingtou was able to take charge of his own work, and that there was more and more people who were of the same mind as him.
It looks like some.
Arima patted Toudo on the shoulder a few more times, and then told Aonto, "Be prepared, Lord Mori, they are coming soon," and then left to check the current situation of Inodani and Ushiyama not far away.
While watching Arima leave, Ayoto smiled bitterly and whispered to Nagakura and the others:
"I don't know whether I should say you are too lucky or too unlucky... On the first day you became Okabiki, you encountered such a large-scale operation that you may not encounter once in a whole year..."
Having said this, Qingdeng paused for a moment, then cleared his throat and changed into a more solemn tone.
"But it doesn't matter. Since you have chosen to join me and be my guide, sooner or later you will encounter a day when you need to go to war with some vicious gangster or criminal group."
"Anyway - you all should cheer up tonight."
"If Okabiki can make great achievements, he can also get a lot of rewards. Whether you can get rewards and how much rewards you can get all depends on your ability."
Harada whistled, then stretched his arms, legs and waist with exaggerated movements: "Haha, Mr. Tachibana, after hearing what you say, I feel more motivated!"
Time passed again.
Finally - the door of the room not far away was suddenly opened.
Susui and Minami Bansho's town minister Atsukawa appeared at the opened door, surrounded by their respective attendants.
Seeing that the two ministers had arrived, everyone in the room quickly stopped chatting and discussing, and lined up in a row.
The unified station of the south station should be on the west side of the room, and the unified station of the northern station should be on the east side of the room.
Hakui and Atsukawa stood in front of the crowd, and after greeting a few words with serious faces, they launched a brief "mobilization speech."
What he said was nothing more than those cliche words, "I'll leave it to you tonight," "I wish you all good luck in martial arts," Abba, Abba, Abba...
After the "mobilization speech" was over, Susui and Atsukawa began to see everyone off according to the agreed convention.
They called on the attendants to bring bonito flakes and other food as well as several jugs of wine, and then personally handed these foods to the people and forces of Nan and Beifansuo.
Seeing Arima and the others enjoying their meal, Harada swallowed hard.
"Mr. Tachibana," Harada asked quietly, "What foods can't we eat?"
Qingdeng nodded: "Only Yuli can eat these farewell foods."
"...This farewell is too strange." Harada swallowed again, "You should at least give me a bowl of wine..."
Qingteng actually didn't quite understand the strange farewell rules of the observance school. Only those with good intentions could enjoy the food and drinks. He also felt that he should at least give them a farewell drink for those with the same heart and Okahiki.
This should be the weird culture spawned by an overly strict social hierarchy.
While waiting quietly for Arima and others to finish the farewell meal that had been delivered by the emperor, Aomori couldn't help but sigh.
Thinking back to the night when he traveled to this era more than 2 months ago, when he was preparing to attack that "humane and righteous people", Qingdeng was still a completely polished commander, with not a single subordinate under his command.
And now, he also has his own team. Although his team is still very small, no matter how you put it, getting rid of the title of "Based Commander" is always a matter worth celebrating.
You and Li all ate very quickly, and they ate all the farewell food in one go.
After Bosui waved his hand and glanced at Atsukawa beside him, they both said in unison: "I wish you a triumphant victory!"
"Yes!" Yuli led the crowd and shouted in harmony.
After the farewell was completed, everyone began to leave Beifansuo in batches according to the plan.
Everyone from the Nanfang Station rushed to Ryogoku Hirokoji, while everyone from the North Station went to the defense areas they were responsible for tonight.
Because we don’t know exactly when the anti-barbarian group will start taking action tonight, so in order to avoid the dilemma of “not catching up”, Feng Xingsuo specially set the time for tonight’s action in the evening when it is getting dark.
When leading his subordinates to leave Beifan Station, Qingden took a special look at the sky - the current time was probably around 19 o'clock.
The setting sun in the west has disappeared behind the roof ridges, and the sky has begun to take on the color of the setting sun. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the edges of the clouds are inlaid with a deep dark red, making them look solemn and ferocious.
The defense area Aoto is responsible for tonight is located in the northwest corner of Edo. This area is one of the patrol areas Aoto is responsible for on weekdays, so Aoto is quite familiar with that area.
Under the shroud of twilight, the "Sanchai" from the Minami and Hokubansho shuttled through the streets and alleys of Edo, attracting passers-by's frequent glances.
Passers-by were anxiously speculating: Had something big happened again, causing so many "three times" official missions to take action...
…
…
At this moment——
Edo, Fanshu Adjustment Institute, in a certain room——
Rintaro Katsu straightened up from the desk covered with books, stretched and yawned loudly.
He was halfway through his yawn when the rest of his yawn turned into a surprised sigh.
"It's dark..." Looking at the night outside the window next to him, which was gradually shrouded in darkness, Katsurin Taro then murmured, "Haha... no wonder the light has always felt very dark since just now."
After making fun of himself, Katsurin Taro took out a box of Western matches from his pocket, twisted a match out of the box, and then lit the match with a "pop" sound with a skillful movement.
"Umegoro! Umegoro!" Katsurintaro lit the candlestick next to the table with a match and kept shouting someone's name toward the door.
As soon as he finished calling, he heard a series of rapid footsteps outside the room.
Wow - a young man knelt on one knee and pushed open the door.
"Mr. Sheng, what are your orders?"
"Help me buy a bowl of soba noodles with tempura." Katsurin Taro took out a small money bag from his arms and threw it to the young man. "By the way, I bought two more steamed buns with red bean filling."
"Mr. Sheng, do you plan to work here until late tonight again?"
"Yes." Katsurin Taro glanced at the pile of manuscripts on the desk in front of him, "The Dutch medical book I am currently in charge of is almost ready to be translated."
"I want to finish the last bit of finishing work tonight."
"...Mr. Katsu, would you like to take a short rest?"
Umegoro frowned and continued to advise Katsurin Taro in a worried tone.
"In the morning, I taught artillery skills at the Military Academy, at noon I went to give lectures to Marquis Fukui, and in the afternoon I went back to the Tibetan Shudiao Institute to translate books..."
"You have been working all day today. For the sake of your health, I think it is time for you to stop and take a rest."
"It's okay, it's okay." As soon as Umegoro finished speaking, Katsurin Taro waved his hand, "I'm at my most energetic age now, so I can't be tired with such a workload."
"Go and buy me soba noodles and steamed buns. If you buy my dinner early, I can go to bed early."
The Hoshu Institute - an institution established by the Edo shogunate in 1856 specifically for translating Western books and teaching Western knowledge, gathered a large number of talents who were proficient in Western knowledge or Western languages.
Katsurin Taro now holds two positions. While serving as the head of the Tibetan Shu Diao Institute, he also serves as the artillery professor of the Kung Fu Institute.
Although the work is very busy with one person working two jobs, Katsurin Taro actually enjoys this kind of busyness.
Whether it was teaching gunnery or translating Western books, these were jobs that he was very interested in.
Moreover, both of these jobs can give Katsurin Taro a strong sense of honor.
When he thought that the work he was currently doing was of extraordinary significance and that he was contributing his efforts to the future of this country, Katsurin Taro felt that his body was full of strength.
Translating foreign books can be regarded as Katsu Rintaro's old profession. As early as 6 years ago, when he first entered the political world and started to make a name for himself, his first official position was "Queen Translation of Foreign Languages", responsible for
Translation work of Western books.
Because the shogunate's current reserve of translation talents is still very insufficient and lacks high-level translation talents, even though he has been promoted to the top leader of the Tibetan Book Transfer Institute, Katsurin Taro, a great translator with high attainments in foreign studies,
Seniors still have to frequently go out in person and personally translate medical books, military books and other books that are very difficult to translate.
After telling Umegoro to hurry up and buy his dinner, Katsurin Taro immersed himself in the bookcase again and continued to focus on the translation of the medical book he was currently responsible for.
Seeing that Katsu Rintaro was unwilling to listen to his advice and insisted on continuing his work, Umegoro let out a silent sigh, silently collected the money bag that Katsu Rintaro had just thrown to him, and closed the door.
In the room, the only sound left was the sound of the tip of the brush writing on the paper.
…
…
About 2 hours later——
It's a cloudy day tonight.
A waxing moon hung high behind the thin clouds. Under the cover of the clouds, the moonlight was as hazy as light smoke, flowing quietly in the streets of Edo.
Look up at the sky - it's almost 11pm now.
This time point would be quite late at night in the 21st century, let alone in this ancient society.
The only shops that are still open today are basically izakayas that do evening business, and the only ones left wandering the streets are drunken drunkards and nightingales.
The so-called "nightingale" is a street girl.
A big city with a population of one million like Edo is most indispensable for nightingales who sell their bodies in exchange for a bite to eat.
At night in Edo, as long as you walk on the streets where nightingales gather, you can see a large number of nightingales in colorful costumes standing on the street, flirting with every man passing by, and boldly reaching out to grab them and calling them.
Pay the price for a night of fun with her.
The government has always turned a blind eye to these nightingales.
The street that Qingdeng and his party are currently patrolling has many nightingales.
When they saw that Qingdeng and others were dressed like officials, they stepped aside knowingly and did not come forward to disturb them.
However, there are also a few people who are brave and want to have some fun, or who don't recognize the official attire. They are fearless and take the initiative to approach Qingdeng and others and tease them.
For example, right now: A nightingale wearing a bright red yukata, who must be around 30 years old, with a beautiful face, ran up to Aoshito and his group with a sweet smile, grabbed the hem of the yukata with her right hand and moved it to the side, revealing a very
With her deep line, her left hand lifted up the hem of her yukata, revealing her voluptuous thighs - she didn't even wear a waistband.
The waist roll can be understood as the underwear of women in this era, which is a kind of clothing that is as long as an apron and reaches the calf.
Nagakura's face was tense. Although he tried his best to control his eyes, his eyes still involuntarily glanced at the "big scar" on the nightingale's chest.
Harada was not as troubled as Nagakura. He showed a cheerful smile openly while looking at this nightingale who was very coquettish in manners and dress, his eyes lingering on her voluptuous thighs for a particularly long time.
When the nightingale came towards them, Saito immediately raised his right hand subconsciously, held the knife on his right waist, and stared at the nightingale with vigilant eyes.
After confirming that the woman was not a threat, he put down the hand holding the knife and never looked at the woman again.
As for Toudo... after the nightingale raised his hand to open the skirt of his yukata, revealing the long lines, he immediately lowered his head, his face flushed with embarrassment, without even looking at the nightingale.
This woman stretched out her hand to lift up the skirt and hem of her yukata, directly revealing her deep groove and thighs. This action may be astringent and exciting to people of this era, but for Ayonobu, whose soul comes from the 21st century, his thoughts
There is only "just so-so".
In the 21st century, if you look for any lingerie store, the appearance and movements of the models in any advertising pictures in the store will be more astringent and bolder than this nightingale.
Qingden quickened his pace slightly and got rid of the nightingale who came forward to tease them.
"Haaah...!" Harada, who reluctantly looked back, yawned loudly, and then asked Qingto in a tone with obvious fatigue, "Mr. Tachibana...how long do we still have to patrol?"
when?"
"Patrol until the anti-barbarian group is discovered or Master Fengxing informs us that the operation is over." Qingdeng replied calmly.
Nearly 2 hours have passed since the operation officially started...
During these two hours, Qingdeng and the others have been patrolling the defense area they are responsible for, paying attention to any suspicious movements.
Two hours have passed, and the area Qingdeng and the others are responsible for is as smooth as a mirror. Not to mention the anti-barbarian group, there is not a single suspicious person in sight.
When the operation first started, Nagakura, Harada and the others were looking forward to it and eager to try it.
But after two hours of boring patrolling, the novelty gradually faded away, and the look of anticipation on Nagakura's and others' faces gradually turned into exhaustion.
"We have to continue patrolling..." Harada twitched the corner of his mouth, "I'm feeling a little sleepy."
After saying that, Harada yawned greatly in response to the situation.
"Mr. Orange, can we chat for a while? If we chat together, we won't want to sleep so much."
"No." Qingto rejected Harada's request to chat without hesitation, "Chatting will distract people and prevent them from focusing on the task. If you are really sleepy, I remember there is a creek next to it, you can go
Use that creek to wash your face."
"Okay...if we can't chat, forget it..." Harada sighed, then closed his mouth and stopped speaking.
In the Edo period, which was still an ancient society, it was impossible to have a rich nightlife for people to enjoy.
Even in Edo, the largest city in the country, once night falls, all areas will become dead and silent, with the exception of Yoshiwara, the only legal red light district in Edo.
This completely silent atmosphere was indeed quite drowsy, and Qingdeng himself felt a little unfocused.
Leading his men through a quiet street, Qingdeng suddenly saw a few lights in front of him - not far away, there were lights from inside a very large mansion not far away.
This is the only place in the entire street where lights are shining. Against the surrounding darkness, the lights in this mansion look lonely like three or two flying fireflies on a summer night.
Qingdeng knew this mansion, which was the famous Fanshu Tiaosuo.
For those who admire foreign learning or want to rely on advanced foreign learning to revitalize the country, the Fanshu Diaochang Institute is a place like a holy place.
Therefore, the most indispensable thing in Fanshu Diao Institute is the kind of people who are full of love and motivation for foreign learning.
A large group of people voluntarily stayed at the Fanshu Diao Institute to work overtime, translating foreign books or studying foreign languages from dawn to dusk - this was one of the most common scenes in the Fanshu Diao Institute.
Because the Fanshu Diao Station happened to be located in the defense area that Qingdeng was responsible for tonight, Qingdeng and the others had passed by the door of the Fanshu Diao Station countless times tonight.
No matter when they passed by the gate of Fanshu Adjustment Institute, there were always lights flashing inside Fanshu Adjustment Institute.
When Qingdeng saw this, he couldn't help but sigh: Don't all the people at Fanshu Diao Institute who are working overtime need to take a break?
After taking a few glances at Fanshu Adjustment House, which looked normal, Qingdeng and others passed through the gate of Fanshu Adjustment House and turned into the next dead street.
——Why has the anti-barbarian group not taken any action until now...
Qingdeng turned his head left and right, looked around, and frowned slightly.
If an anti-barbarian group is found on Ryogoku Hirokoji or elsewhere, Susui and Atsukawa, who are currently in charge of the Kitabansuo, will send messengers as soon as possible to inform various people scattered throughout Edo that "
Find the news about the "anti-barbarian group".
However, Qingdeng has not seen the person who came to deliver the order to him until now... This shows that other places are also calm, and no trace of the anti-barbarian group has been found.
——Did the anti-barbarian group find out that their plan for tonight has been known to us "three times", so they retreated and canceled tonight's plan...?
——Or...it's not yet the time they planned to take action...
Qingdeng's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
For no reason, he has always felt uneasy since just now...
…
…
At this moment——
Edo, Ryogoku Hirokoji——
The "Sanchai" from the Nanban Institute were lurking in the dark alleys of Ryogokuguang Alley, staring at the street outside the alleys with bated breath.
In terms of the level of hardship... the Nanfang Station, which is responsible for garrisoning Ryogoku Hirokoji, may be more difficult than the Northern Station, which is responsible for garrisoning various parts of Edo.
At least the people in the North Station can still patrol and move around, while the people in the South Station can only stay in the hidden dark alleys, unable to move or make any noise.
Many people are now exhausted because they can't stand this intense physical and mental torture, with tired faces and twitching eyelids.
But, at this moment - the silence of the Ryogoku Hiroko Street, which had nothing but the night breeze that blew through the alleys from time to time, was suddenly broken by the sound of a series of footsteps!
Everyone in the Nanban Institute was stirred up by the sound of footsteps. They quickly raised their sights and looked out of the alley, towards the direction from which the footsteps came - the east intersection of Ryogokuhiro Trail.
Only two or thirty figures were seen sneaking out from the shadows at the east intersection.
They formed a formation without any formation and hurriedly rushed into Ryogoku's wide alley.
After shaking their heads and looking at the shops neatly arranged on both sides of the street, they scattered, split into more than ten "groups", and rushed towards the surrounding shops!
If you look carefully, you can see that each "group" has a person holding a huge mallet. These people hold the mallet high in their hands and are ready to smash open the tightly closed shops.
Posture.
The "Three Chapters" of Nanfansuo who have been lurking in the dark alley until now all feel mixed feelings now.
The information is correct!
The people from the anti-barbarian group are really planning to rob Ryogoku Guangxiaoji’s money tonight!
After waiting so long in the damp and dark alley, my efforts were finally not in vain!
Now that the anti-barbarian group has appeared... there is no need to continue to lurk!
"Follow me!" One of the soldiers pulled out the Jushou from his waist and rushed onto the Ryogoku Hiroko Trail at the head of the crowd.
Immediately afterwards, the rest of the people rushed out from their respective hiding places one after another.
The members of the anti-barbarian team looked at the officials who suddenly appeared, and they all looked shocked.
"Run away! Run away!"
"Why are the officials from the execution office here?"
"Don't worry about it! Run away first!"
…
The guys who had just been trying to smash open the shop aggressively threw away the mallets and other equipment in their hands in a hurry, trying to break out of the encirclement.
But they were unprepared for the encirclement and suppression of the officers and men. How could they be the opponents of the Nanfan Institute who had already made all the preparations?
I saw people from Nanfansuo dividing and surrounding the anti-barbarian group from different directions, and one after another members of the anti-barbarian group were knocked to the ground.
"Don't run away!" A certain colleague held down a young man with a lot of moles on his face, "You bunch of scum from the anti-barbarian group, why don't you just catch us without mercy!"
"The anti-barbarian group...?" The young man glanced at the Tongxin in surprise, and then said in fear, "Wait, wait a minute! We are not from the anti-barbarian group! We are not from the anti-barbarian group!"
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Can any book friends guess what the people in the anti-barbarian group are planning to do~
