20 taels of gold... Well, this is indeed quite tempting, at least to Qingden whose current financial situation is far from enough to regard money as dirt.
However, compared to the bonus, it was the entry conditions that attracted Qingdeng's attention more.
"A sword hall only for Edo? Does that mean that idle people with no connections or affiliations are not allowed to participate?"
Chiba Jutaro nodded.
"Why are only novice swordsmen who have practiced swordsmanship for less than three years eligible to participate in the competition?" Qingdeng asked.
"As far as I know, this is to give new swordsmen an opportunity to practice and avoid the situation in the past where the same people come and go during every competition."
Chiba Jutaro answered slowly.
"In the past, when various feudal lords held martial arts competitions, they often did not set any conditions for participation, and anyone could sign up to participate."
"For most sword halls, they naturally hope to achieve as good results as possible in competitions so as to enhance the reputation of the sword hall."
"So this leads to a consequence - each sword hall only sends their strongest disciples to compete."
"Whenever there is a competition, there are only a few people coming and going on the field to compete. It is rare to see novices who have only practiced martial arts for a short period of time."
"In order to prevent this from happening again, Lord Aizu has restricted the number of novices who have practiced sword fighting for less than three years to participate in this competition."
"The reason why it is only open to the various sword halls in Edo and does not allow idle people without any background to participate is to facilitate supervision and ensure that every contestant is indeed a newcomer who has not practiced swords for a long time."
After the explanation, Chiba Jutaro changed the topic: "What do you think? Tachibana-kun, are you interested in participating in this competition? You have been apprenticed to the defense hall for less than half a year, so you meet the conditions for participation."
"It's a rare opportunity to compete with people from various sword halls in Edo. It will be very beneficial to your future training to compete with swordsmen from different schools."
"Is the competition only open to novices..." Aoto murmured, "If it's only open to the sword halls in Edo... does that mean we have to compete with newcomers from the sword halls in Edo..."
"Jutaro." Kondo asked at this time, "How many people can each sword hall send to participate in this competition?"
"This... I'm not sure about that either." Chiba Jutaro shook his head, "This swordsmanship competition has not been widely advertised yet, and I only found out that Aizuhou was going to hold the competition because of my connections."
"I don't know many details about this game."
"In a few days, after people from Aizu Prefecture begin to vigorously promote this competition, we should be able to know how many people each sword hall can send to participate."
"Oh, the Aizu clan is indeed the 'pillar of the kingdom' that the shogunate relies on the most." Hijikata said with a smile, "The winner can get 20 taels of gold... If it weren't for the fact that I have been practicing swordsmanship for more than 3 years, I wouldn't have done it. I kind of want to compete.”
Okita on the side pecked his head and expressed his agreement with Hijikata's words just now.
"Does only the winner get the reward?" Qingdeng, who had been pondering just now, interrupted.
"Well, yes, it seems like this. Only the winner can receive the reward." Jutaro smiled, "This seems to be intentional by the Aizu Marquis. Only the winner can receive the reward. I encourage everyone to actively compete for the first place. one."
"Just like when the generals fought in the Warring States Period, only the one who got there first would get a big reward."
"So Tachibana-kun, are you interested in participating in this competition?"
"If I were you, I would participate without hesitation! It has been a while since the lord of the feudal lord has funded a competition. It would be a shame to miss it!"
Looking at Chiba Jutaro who was staring directly at him with a somewhat fiery gaze, Aomori couldn't help but frown.
I wonder if it was his misunderstanding...
He always felt that... Chiba Jutaro had been urging him to participate in the competition from just now...
But Qingdeng didn't think too much about this issue.
After thinking for a moment, he smiled and nodded: "I am quite interested in this competition. If I have the opportunity to represent the trial defense hall, I will definitely participate."
——It’s hard for me to refuse this great opportunity to replicate my talent.
Qingdeng added this silently in his heart.
It would be a real pity to miss this great opportunity to collect talents from swordsmen in various sword halls!
Other sword halls...especially large sword halls such as the Scholar's Academy and the Military Training Hall are definitely not short of young talents with amazing talents.
By participating in this competition, which is only open to newcomers, you might be able to copy some very useful talents.
Moreover, as Chiba Jutaro said just now, competing with people from various sword halls in Edo, fighting more swordsmen of different schools, and seeing the different fighting styles of each school will be of great benefit to the practice of swordsmanship. .
After seeing Aoden nodding to express his willingness to participate in the competition, a happy smile bloomed on Chiba Jutaro's face.
"Hahaha, Orange-kun, I knew you would definitely want to participate in this competition!"
After saying that, Chiba Jutaro paused.
Then, at a volume that only he could hear clearly, he murmured in a thankful tone:
"As long as you are willing to participate...as long as you are willing to participate..."
…
…
Chiba Jutaro suddenly visited the Imperial Guard Hall just to inform the Imperial Guard Hall that "Aizuhou was going to fund a swordsmanship competition."
So after the business was finished and a few brief chats were made, Chiba Jutaro raised his sword and said goodbye.
Kondo politely wanted to ask Chiba Jutaro to come down for lunch, but Chiba Jutaro declined on the grounds that "meal is already prepared at home."
Aoto, along with Kondo, Okita and others, sent Chiba Jutaro to the gate of the trial defense hall.
Watching Chiba Jutaro leave, Okita suddenly muttered:
"That Aizu actually wants to hold a swordsmanship competition... It's really rare. I remember that Aizuhou has never held a swordsmanship competition in Edo before."
"Since it is a swordsmanship competition held in Aizu..." Hijikata crossed his hands and put his hands into Haori's sleeves, "That means that the Aizu Marquis: Matsudaira Yoho will most likely show up at the competition..."
"Then I must go and watch this game."
"I have long wanted to see what this famous young feudal lord looks like."
Aizu...a vassal state with a world-famous name.
The Aizu clan is a clan daimyo located in the Tohoku region, a branch of the clan that was entrusted to various places by the shogunate Tokugawa clan.
The total stone height is 230,000. In terms of financial resources alone, the Aizu clan is definitely not outstanding among the feudal clans.
But Aizu relied on its strong military strength to gain a great reputation in Japan.
Due to various reasons such as the strong folk customs, the Aizu army's combat effectiveness is notoriously strong.
The Tohoku region is one of the regions with the largest number of foreign daimyo.
There are 31 vassal states in the Northeast region, and most of these 31 vassal states are foreign daimyo.
Such an area with many foreign daimyo has always been relatively stable and has never had any major troubles. This achievement must be attributed to the Aizu clan.
Aizu can be said to be the front line against the many gaijin daimyo in Tohoku. It was originally a "nail" that the Edo shogunate specifically planted in Tohoku for the purpose of "shocking gaijin daimyo."
And Aizu has always fulfilled this obligation perfectly, relying on its strong military power to suppress the Northeastern vassals so that they dare not cause rebellion.
The current lord of the Aizu clan, the 9th generation lord Matsudaira Yoho, is one of the current political celebrities.
It is reported that Matsudaira Yongho, who is only 24 years old this year, is a wise man with a very heroic appearance and a reputation as a virtuous man.
At a time when the country is in turmoil due to the invasion of overseas powers, most of the vassal states are acting as helpless backers. The Aizu domain led by Matsudaira Yōho is one of the very few vassal states that fully supports the Edo shogunate. one.
The Edo shogunate now relies heavily on the Aizu clan, and the various actions of the Aizu clan are enough to be called the "pillar of the shogunate".
At this time, Kondo suddenly interrupted:
"...I don't know why the Aizu clan, which had never participated in such activities before, suddenly prepared to hold a swordsmanship competition."
"But anyway, it's a good thing."
"It has indeed been a while in Edo that there have been no wealthy feudal lords holding martial arts competitions."
“It’s been a while since we had a great game.”
"In my impression... the competitions that made me feel bright can all be traced back to the swordsmanship competition held at the Tosahou Mountain Content Hall three years ago in Ansei 4th year (1857)."
"Ah." Okita answered at this time, "I also have an impression of that game. It was really exciting."
Tosahou - the lord of Tosa Domain.
Tosa Domain is a powerful external daimyo located on Shikoku Island with a total stone height of 240,000 koku.
"The swordsmanship competition three years ago?" Qingto, who was somewhat interested in what Kondo and Okita had just said, asked, "The competition you just mentioned three years ago, there were many very powerful masters participating. ?"
"It's not that there were many very powerful players participating." Okita replied, "It's just that there was one very powerful and eye-catching player in that competition."
"That guy almost won that game all the way."
"Ah, he is still from the Little Chiba Sword Hall!"
"I remember this person's name seems to be... called... Ban or something?"
Okita frowned in thought.
After a while, his frown relaxed.
"I remembered!"
"Sakamoto Ryoma."
"That man's name is Sakamoto Ryoma."
"Sakamoto Ryoma..." Qingto whispered the name softly, "named directly after 'Ryoma'... it's such a majestic name."
"This man used to be a famous figure in the Little Chiba Sword Hall." Okita nodded, "If I remember correctly... Sakamoto Ryoma was born in the Tosa Domain. He was recommended to study at the Little Chiba Sword Hall because of his outstanding talent in swordsmanship."
"Although I have never fought with this person directly, I have seen him compete with others several times. He is indeed a talented and powerful swordsman."
"It's a pity that such an outstanding young man did not stay at the Little Chiba Sword Hall for a long time. Otherwise, I would have thought that relying on his strength, he would become the teacher of the Little Chiba Sword Hall in the future, or directly open a sword school in Edo. It’s not impossible.”
"Three years ago, after he won the swordsmanship competition held by Tosahou, he became a member of Beichen Ittou Ryu."
"Not long after that, he left Edo and returned to his hometown, Tosa Domain, and never came back."
After listening quietly to Okita's story about Sakamoto Ryoma, Aoto nodded gently: "It turns out that the Little Chiba Sword Hall once produced such a powerful swordsman."
Aoto simply listened to Okita's story about Sakamoto Ryoma with the mentality of listening to a story.
So - after accompanying Kondo and others back to the trial defense hall, Aoto, who didn't care about Ryoma Sakamoto at all, had already thrown this name into the depths of the sea of memory.
…
…
Chiba Jutaro is in a very good mood now.
His current mood was so good that he immediately started humming an off-key ditty.
He turned his head, glanced in the direction of the trial defense hall, and let out a weird laugh:
"Hahaha, Tachibana-kun has agreed to participate in Lord Aizu's swordsmanship competition, hehehehe~~"
Ever since their little Chiba Kenkan lost to the Imperial Guard Hall led by Aoden in the "Red and White Battle" of the "Plum Blossom Festival", Chiba Jutaro has made up his mind - to defeat Tachibana Aoden Think about it as a "preparatory brother-in-law"!
The first thing Chiba Jutaro considered was Aomori's character.
During these nearly two months, Chiba Jutaro went around collecting "intelligence" about Aomori.
You may entrust a friend, or you may personally go and ask the apprentices at the Imperial Examination Hall, the officials at the execution office...ask all the people related to Qingdeng, and ask them about Qingdeng's character.
Almost everyone praised Qingdeng's character.
It is said that Seito is a very humble person, and he never treats others with an arrogant or complacent attitude because he is now a celebrity in Edo and has achieved great achievements.
At the same time, he was also an extremely diligent person. According to some apprentices at the Trial Guard Hall - Qingdeng would get up before dawn every day to practice swordplay. At night, he would focus on exercising his body's muscle strength, and he almost never slacked off.
Chiba Jutaro himself actually came into contact with Aoto, and he also felt that Aoto's character was indeed very good, and he felt like a spring breeze when getting along with him.
The more Chiba Jutaro investigated, the more satisfied he became with this "preparatory brother-in-law".
He has a good character, except for the ugly hair style of his unmarried hair, he has a fair appearance, outstanding talent, and a limitless future.
He found out that the Ju family still owed more than 500 taels of gambling debt...but so what?
First of all, the more than 500 taels of gold were not owed by Qingdeng, but by his father Julongzhi.
Secondly, Chiba Jutaro didn't think that the gambling debt of more than 500 taels was such a big thing.
He felt that with Qingdeng's current ability, it was only a matter of time before he could pay off the gambling debt of more than 500 taels.
And if Qingto becomes the son-in-law of the Chiba family in the future, the Chiba family can help pay off this gambling debt in minutes!
The Chiba family is one of the most famous martial arts families in Japan. They can help Qingto pay off the gambling debt of more than 500 taels of gold with just a lift of their fingers.
Chiba Jutaro became more and more satisfied and happy with Aoto - Aoto's recent great achievements in protecting the Boshu Tiao Institute was regarded as "the last straw that broke the camel's back" in Chiba Jutaro's heart.
After learning that Qingden had made another great contribution and that his family income had been directly increased by 400 dan, and he was no longer a junior imperial family member, Chiba Jutaro finally made up his mind - it was just him!
From now on, Qingdeng will be my brother-in-law! Whoever offends Qingto offends him, Chiba Jutaro!
Of course - all of the above are Chiba Jutaro's own decisions...
It's useless for him to think that Qingnobo is his brother-in-law. It's only when Chiba Sanako thinks that Qingnobo is her husband-in-law.
Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, Chiba Jutaro's current focus has been adjusted to "how to bring together Aomori and Sanako."
Chiba Jutaro knew exactly what kind of personality his sister had.
Sanako is very strong and only respects the strong. She has always looked down upon the weak who are physically and mentally weak.
Ever since... Chiba Jutaro's mind changed.
If you want to bring Qingto and Sanako together and make Sanako fall in love with Aingto... then the best way is to let Sanako discover the shining points in Qingteng that attract her.
Since Sanako admires strength... wouldn't it be nice to let her see how powerful Qingden is!
Just like that... Chiba Jutaro, who has a very "meticulous" logical thinking, learned that Aizuhou was going to hold a swordsmanship competition, and immediately ran to the imperial examination hall and told Kondo and others the news... In fact, Mainly just to tell Qingdeng.
Tell Qingnobo about this, and then encourage Qingnobo to participate in this competition - this is the main purpose of Chiba Jutaro's "trip to the trial defense hall" today.
Chiba Jutaro believes: With Aomori's current strength, it is only an easy thing to shine in this competition that is only for swordsman novices.
The plan of this brother-in-law who has taken great pains for his sister's marriage is very simple: let Qingnou participate in the competition, and then let Sanako see the heroic appearance of Qingneng's consecutive opponents, and then be attracted by Qingneng's talent.
Ah, what a perfect plan!
Chiba Jutaro was quite satisfied with his plan.
At the moment, Aoto has nodded in agreement and expressed that he will participate in this competition. Chiba Jutaro's plan can be considered half successful.
With the feeling of success of the plan, Chiba Jutaro returned to the Little Chiba Sword Hall.
The real name of Little Chiba Sword Hall is actually "Chiba Sword Hall", but for the convenience of distinguishing it from the family's Xuanbu Hall, it is often called "Little Chiba" by others.
As a Grand Sword Hall that is not inferior in scale and reputation to the "Three Major Sword Halls" including the Honbu Genbukan, the Little Chiba Sword Hall has a set of luxurious facilities that match its fame and scale.
There are three dojos in the Little Chiba Sword Hall. In order to facilitate distinction and management, these three dojos are named "Achang", "Bchang" and "Cchang" respectively.
Field C is reserved for apprentices who are still lacking in strength.
Field B is the "master field", and only apprentices with recognized strength can enter and exit here.
The Koba located at the deepest part of the sword hall is the smallest dojo - this is the private dojo of Chiba Jutaro and the others, and can only be used by members of the Chiba family.
As soon as he returned to the sword hall, Chiba Jutaro bumped into an old man who had been studying swordsmanship in their small Chiba sword hall for many years.
When this person saw Jutaro Chiba, he immediately said to Jutaro Chiba:
"Shihandai, you came back just in time. Miss Sanako is looking for you. She asked you to find her quickly."
"Sanako, is she looking for me?" Chiba Jutaro raised his eyebrows.
"Well, Miss Sanako is practicing swordplay at the battlefield."
"Okay, thank you."
Chiba Jutaro took off the sword from his waist and went straight to the armor field located at the deepest part of their sword hall.
As soon as the wooden door of the battlefield was opened, a beautiful silhouette appeared in front of Chiba Jutaro.
We saw Sanako standing alone in the center of the dojo, dressed in kendo uniform, waving the wooden dachi in her hand like a fluttering butterfly.
A pair of white and tender feet without socks slid on the smooth floor.
The glossy waist-length black hair was tied into a neat high ponytail, and three thousand blue hairs swayed and flew away as Sanako's figure danced.
She must have been practicing swordsmanship for a long time. Her cheeks were a bright red from the strenuous exercise, her face was covered with sweat, and the skirt of her clothes at the bear's mouth was wet with sweat.
From time to time, a few drops of sweat would fall from her face and land on her white insteps with only a few faint veins emerging, or on her cute and small toes, and then flow along the insteps or Toes drip to the floor.
"Brother." After noticing Chiba Jutaro's arrival, she immediately stopped the wooden sword in her hand, then raised her left arm and elegantly tested the sweat on her face with the back of her left hand, "You're finally back, huh? What's wrong? Why do you look weird?"
"Uh... I have a weird expression? Is this the case?" Chiba Jutaro laughed dryly, laughed, then raised his hands and rubbed his face vigorously.
He has already recognized Qingtou as his brother-in-law, and encouraged Qingtou to participate in swordsmanship competitions so as to show his strength to Sanako... It is naturally impossible for Chiba Jutaro to tell Sanako this kind of thing, and he does not dare to say it.
Chiba Jutaro knew his sister best. This careless girl always had a rebellious temperament.
The more you ask her to do something, the more she will disobey you and even deliberately go against you.
If he told her "I want to match you and Aoto" at this time, Chiba Jutaro felt that it would most likely offend Sanako, which would eventually make the plan of "making Aoto become the husband-in-law of their Chiba family" difficult. Heavy.
Therefore, Chiba Jutaro decided to take his time and secretly help cultivate the relationship between Qingto and Sanako little by little, and then find the right opportunity for a showdown.
This state of hiding something from Sanako and having a ghost in his heart made Chiba Jutaro's expression uncontrollably weird when facing Sanako.
It was impossible for Chiba Jutaro to fool Sanako with his casual perfunctory.
She frowned and looked at Chiba Jutaro from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze.
In order to get rid of this embarrassing situation, Chiba Jutaro quickly changed the topic:
"Ah, that's right."
"Sanako, aren't you looking for me? What are you looking for me for?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Seeing Chiba Jutaro mentioning business, Sanako slowly withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, "I just want to tell you: it has been confirmed, our 'Chiba Chiba' will return soon It’s Edo.”
Technique Chiba - After hearing this name, Chiba Jutaro's eyes suddenly widened.
"Brother Rong is coming back?"
Sanako nodded: "This is what father told me just now. In about ten days, Brother Rong will return to Edo."
"Haha..." Chiba Jutaro grinned and smiled, "'Chiba Chiba' Eijiro Chiba is going back to Edo... It seems that the swordsmanship world in Edo is going to become lively..."
…
…
That night——
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall, Hall——
Zhou Zhu and A Bi, who went out early in the morning today, finally returned to the Trial Guard Hall towards the evening.
When the family gathered in the hall for dinner, Kondo informed Shusuke that the Aizu clan was going to hold a swordsmanship competition.
"Oh..." Shusuke raised his eyebrows, "The Marquis of Aizu is going to hold a swordsmanship competition..."
"Father, I think our trial defense hall cannot miss this game!"
Kondo said quickly.
"A competition held by a great figure like Aizuhou must be quite grand! It will definitely attract many people to come and watch!"
"If our trial gym can achieve a good ranking and performance in this competition, it will further enhance the reputation of our trial gym!"
"Even if we don't mention these, allowing the newcomers in our trial gym to participate in this kind of competition will be very beneficial to the future development of the newcomers in our gym."
Kondo talked with great joy.
But Zhousuke seemed to have no intention of listening...
He listened absently and nodded slightly.
After Kondo finished speaking, he said softly:
"Yes, I also think there are many benefits to participating in this competition, so let's participate in this competition at our trial defense hall."
After saying that, Zhou Zhu tilted his gaze and glanced at A Bi beside him.
Abi noticed Zhouzhu's gaze, turned his head and looked at Zhouzhu, and then nodded gently.
"Um...ahem!"
Zhousuke cleared his throat vigorously, then straightened his face and faced Kondo:
"Yong, let's not talk about the operation of these sword halls for now."
"Put down the bowls and chopsticks first."
"I have something very important to tell you."
"Huh?" Kondo put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hands with a puzzled look.
Ayoto, Okita and others who noticed this strange movement also raised their gazes and looked at Shusuke.
"Yong, your mother and I have decided."
Zhou Zhu took a deep breath, and then said word by word:
"It's time for you to start a family."
"What?" Kondo's eyes widened.
Qingto, Okita and others also looked stunned at this time.
"Does this, does this mean you want me to get a wife?" Kondo's tone became stammering.
Zhou Zhu nodded.
When he was about to say something, he suddenly paused, then turned his gaze and smiled awkwardly at Qingden:
"Tangerine-kun, please come and listen carefully."
"This matter...is also related to you."
"There are many beautiful girls who want to go on a blind date with you."
**********
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Today’s long-awaited chapter with a word count of 7,000+! Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
ps: Before the establishment of the Edo shogunate, the territory of the Aizu clan was ruled by the Ashina clan.
Ashina is the prototype of Ashina in the game "Sekiro", and both are pronounced "ashina".
In Japan, there is a term called "Aizu Soul". The allusion of this word comes from the Aizu clan at the end of the Tokugawa period, when the building was about to collapse, "The ministers were about to fight to the death, why did the general surrender first?" and "Trying to mend the cracks in the sky with one hand, Those who are interested can learn about the tragic story of "Starting with the Allied Forces of Sa Chang and Fighting to the End".
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation!
The author has opened a book club at Penguin! Anyone who is interested can come in and chat about Big Bear together.
Group number: 1162513690. You only need to answer a question to which you will definitely know the answer if you read the book carefully to join the book club.
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