Ajiu nodded: "Be careful on the road."

Ii Naobi once again raised his hand to brush away a snowflake that fell on Ajiu's face, and then ducked into the sedan chair.

The attendants standing by the sedan door quickly closed the sedan door after Ii Naobi got into the sedan.

At the last moment when the car door closed, Ii Naobi turned his gaze and took a deep look at his wife who was still smiling sweetly...

"Get up the sedan!" Chuzaemon Kawanishi shouted.

More than seventy of Ii Naobi's entourage were kneeling on one knee around the sedan, and the guards stood up holding their swords.

They lined up in a long line to guard the sedan chair Ii Naoki was riding.

Huh...! Huh...! Huh...!

The wind suddenly increased at this moment.

In the strong wind that was blowing stronger and stronger, Ii Naoki's team walked out of the Ii family's mansion in a majestic manner, turned onto the avenue outside the mansion, and arrived at a leisurely speed... outside the Sakurada Gate.

Sakuradamon is a gate of the moat of Edo Castle, located between Sakuradabori and Kaishoubori.

Because it was still early and the weather today was not very good, there were only a few refreshment shops and a few passers-by on the avenue outside Sakurada Gate.

This avenue outside the Sakurada Gate is the only place Naomi Ii must pass on his way to Edo Castle.

The Ii family team suddenly appeared outside Sakurada Gate, making this originally quiet street suddenly lively and noisy.

The clerks at the refreshment shops on the roadside, the pedestrians on the street... they all raised their heads and cast curious glances at this huge team of Ii family members.

At this moment, among the curious glances directed at the Ii family team, there are some... strange sights.

The 18 samurai lurking everywhere outside Sakurada Gate slowly raised their sights.

With resolute eyes, they stared at the sedan in the center of Jingyi's team, which was protected by more than seventy guards.

…

…

Arimura Jizaemon, who originally planned to just close his eyes and rest his mind, suddenly fell asleep in a daze.

In his sleep, amid the chaos, he felt that the vision in front of him gradually became clearer.

Looking at the picture that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, Arimura Jizaemon immediately woke up - I was dreaming.

Even though he knew he was dreaming, Arimurajizaemon felt like he couldn't wake up.

He dreamed of the day before yesterday...that is, March 1st, the scene where he and other comrades held the final combat meeting...

On March 1, he and his comrades gathered in the Yamazaki rental house on the west bank of Nihonbashi Bridge in the name of "Calligraphy and Painting Club".

Their leader, Seki Tetsunosuke, was sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, while Arimura Jizaemon and others were sitting around Seki Tetsunosuke.

"The execution of the national traitor Naomi Ii is scheduled for March 3rd!" Seki Tetsunosuke's voice was horribly deep, "Time will never change again."

"This day is the Shangsi Festival. Officials of some rank will board Edo Castle on this day to celebrate the festival with the shogun."

"As long as we set the execution date on this day, our ambush will not be in vain!"

"Now - let me once again explain the assassination steps after my last revision."

As soon as Sekitetsunosuke said these words, Yumurajizaemon and others cheered up and concentrated their attention.

"When the Ii family's queue passes the bridge outside Sakurada Gate, kill the leading guard first."

Seki Tetsunosuke raised his hand and pointed at the map spread in front of him.

"In this way, other people in the queue will be attracted by the changes in front and rush forward, and the defense around the sedan will be weakened."

"The rest of them launched an attack from both sides of the sedan where the defense was weakened, and took off the head of the Jingyi country thief in one fell swoop."

Seki Tetsunosuke raised his head and looked at a strong man sitting on his left.

"Gorokuro Mori will be responsible for killing the guard at the head of the queue."

"Mori-kun, on the day of the operation, you will pretend to be a ronin who comes to redress your grievances and approach the front of the queue."

"When the guards at the front of the queue come to drive you away without knowing why, you should wait for the opportunity to draw your sword and kill the enemy."

"Yes!" Gorokuro Mori nodded his head vigorously.

"The people responsible for launching the attack from the left wing, that is, the side of the samurai house -" Seki Tetsunosuke looked at the young men on the right, "Kurosawa Chusanburo, Yamaguchi Tatsunosuke, Sugiyama Yaichiro, Arimura Cizaemon

, Masuko Kinpachi."

"Among them, Kurosawa Chuzaburo served as the vanguard of the left wing."

"The people in charge of the right wing, that is, the side of the moat, are: Ozeki Kazushichiro, Sano Takenosuke, Inada Shigezo, Moriyama Shigennosuke, Hirokako Nojiro, and Kaihou Kaisonosuke."

"The following three people will be responsible for the post: Hasuda City Goro, the important person Libuchi, and Hiroki Matsunosuke."

Every time Seki Tetsunosuke calls a person's name, the person whose name is called will respond with a loud "yes"...

…

…

"Hey, Mr. Youmura, wake up, don't sleep. The national thief is here."

Arimura Jizaemon heard Kurosawa Chuzaburo's voice and felt his body being shaken slightly.

The dream was suddenly shattered.

After his consciousness returned to reality from this dream that recalled the past, Arimura Jizaemon slowly opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the orange pattern of the Ii family came into view.

Looking at the queue of Ii's family not far away, Arimura Jizaemon, who was hiding in a dark alley with Kurosawa Chusaburo, took a deep breath, then stretched out his hands that had been folded in his arms to keep warm, and stretched out his waist.

The sword was pulled away from its sheath...

In this chapter, Naoki Ii wrote the waka "The fragrance still fills the world" on the day before Sangsi Festival; on the day of Sangsi Festival, he received an anonymous letter reminding him to be careful about assassination; Naoki Ii refused to do it on the day of Sangsi Festival on the grounds that he could not break the rules.

Add more guards... [The above plots are all historical facts, and the author has no original creations]

So don't make any arrogant remarks about how the plot is weird, why Naomi Ii is so desperate for death, etc. The historical facts are like this, and the author is just writing down the real history.

Tokugawa Iemo persuades Ii Naoki to temporarily step down from the position of elder, which is also a plot adapted by the author based on historical facts.

According to historical facts, it was Naoki Ii's close confidants who advised him to stay out of the spotlight, but Naobi Ii refused.

By the way - [Although Ajiu is the original character of this book, she actually has a historical prototype]

Her historical prototype is one of Ii Naobi's lovers who helped him survive the lowest period of his life. Because of this, I designed Ii Naobi and Ajiu to be so affectionate. I will expand on it with you when I have the opportunity.
Chapter completed!