In 1854, Katsurin Taro was promoted to be the official translator of foreign orchid books, and was specifically responsible for the translation of Tibetan books (Western books).

In 1855, Katsu Rintaro participated in the coastal defense inspection team to investigate the defense system from Ise to Osaka Bay.

In the same year, he entered the Nagasaki Naval Academy to learn navigation skills and served as the Navy Cadet Chief, whose functions were similar to those of the Captain of Naval Academy Cadets.

Because he is proficient in Dutch, he also serves as a teaching supervisor, responsible for the communication between the military cadets and the Dutch instructors.

He studied at the Nagasaki Naval Training Center for 5 years. After graduation, he returned to Edo and served as a teacher at the Warship Drilling Center, Katatori, equivalent to the director of the teaching department of the Naval Academy.

In January 1860, that is, more than two months ago, after the shogunate signed the "Japan-U.S. Friendship and Commerce Treaty" with the United States, it decided to send an envoy to the United States in order to exchange ratifications of the treaty. Katsurin Taro was appointed as the shogunate's newly purchased from the Netherlands.

The brand new warship: Captain of Hamrimmaru, escorted the envoys across the Pacific.

A few days ago, Aoshito mentioned the mission of Kōkatsu Rintaro and others during a chat with Inoya and others.

After more than two months of arduous sailing, Katsurin Taro successfully returned to Japan not long ago.

As soon as he returned to China, Katsurin Taro was appointed as the head of the Tibetan Shudiao Institute (the boss of an institution specializing in the study and teaching of Western knowledge) and the artillery professor of the Kungwu Institute.

The current shogun, Tokugawa Iemoge, greatly appreciates Katsurin Taro's talent and learning.

Aoto had heard from some colleagues that Tokugawa Iemo seemed to intend to return Katsurintaro to the navy, make Katsurintaro fully responsible for the establishment of the shogunate's navy, and let Katsurintaro be the first "Marshal of the Navy" of the shogunate.

Of course, the above are all rumors. No one knows whether Tokugawa Iemoji really intended to let Katsu Rintaro be the "Marshal of the Navy".

But Tokugawa Iemo was right to admire Rintaro Katsu very much.

Not only Tokugawa Iemo thought highly of this person, but the current "Empress Dowager" Tenzouin Atsuhime also favored the talented Katsurin Taro.

It only took a mere six years for a subordinate to become a strong contender for the title of "Marshal of the Navy"... Such a speed of promotion, let alone Edo Japan, which has a strict hierarchy, is unprecedented in any country.

It's shocking.

Whatever your status and family status are, you can only be an official of that level - this sentence describes the political culture of the Edo period.

Some positions are even directly restricted to people from a certain family. For example, the "royal sword tester" of the shogunate can only be held by the feared "Hitoshi Clan" for generations: members of the Yamada Asaemon family.

Come and take charge.

Unless a lower-level imperial family member like Qingteng with 100 Shi family salary is appreciated and promoted by a big shot like Shenglin Taro, no matter how dazzling his achievements are, he can only go around and die in the lower-level position of "Tongxin".

.

"Original Tachibana Aoto" once met Katsu Rintaro by chance in the Kitaban Station, so Aoto felt that this person looked familiar after seeing him. After hearing Nagakura's muttering just now, he finally recalled this

Who is the middle-aged man?

In addition to his legendary political resume, some of Katsurin Taro's anecdotes are also quite famous.

He often held a huge globe that was very precious to him and visited the residences of various high-ranking officials and daimyo, using the globe to promote the "necessity of founding the country."

It is said that his speaking skills are quite routine.

First, he thrust the globe into the person's face and asked, "Do you know where our country of Japan is?"

No matter how others answer, he will point out Japan's position on the globe with a serious face: "That's right! Our country Japan is this small island country hanging in the East. Who knows the United States and the continent of Europe?

Where is it again?"

After introducing the location of each major country and the size of their rule one by one, Katsurin Taro will start to get down to business, preaching how vast the world is and that integration with the world is the trend of the times, and then implement the "Lockdown Order"

"It's too undesirable, Aba Aba Aba Aba..."

Not to mention, Katsu Rintaro's eloquence is still very powerful.

He simply relied on his stereotyped rhetoric to convince many people, causing one after another senior shogunate officials and feudal lords from the centrist or anti-barbarian factions to turn to the founding faction.

Seeing Rintaro Katsu holding the globe and not knowing where he was going, Aomori guessed that he was probably planning to promote his founding ideas to someone else.

Rintaro Katsu had recently been appointed as the artillery professor at the Kōbu Institute, so it was not surprising that he would show up at the Kōbutsu Institute.

Counting the time when "Original Tachibana Aoto" encountered Rintaro Katsu by chance at the Kitaban Institute, this was the second time Aoden encountered Rintaro Katsu by chance, and it was also the first time he saw Rintaro Katsu going out holding his famous globe.

"It turns out that he is really that Katsu Rintaro..." Nagakura grinned and smiled, "It is exactly the same as the rumors I heard... He is a person with an ordinary appearance."

"The samurai around him should be his bodyguards, right?" Harada interjected at this time, "The number of bodyguards is really exaggerated, and all of his bodyguards look like ruthless characters."

"After all, it has been less than a month since the shocking change outside the Sakurada Gate." Todo said with emotion, "A minister like Mr. Katsu who advocated the founding of the country should increase his bodyguards.

.”

Since the "Sakuda Gate Incident" incident in which Elder Ii was assassinated, various important ministers of the shogunate...especially those who usually advocated the founding of the country have actively or passively increased the number of their own guards.

When Aoshino and the others suddenly encountered Rintaro Katsu, they all looked at him from a distance with the mentality of "Oh, he's that famous celebrity."

None of them are fans of Rintaro Katsu.

So after Katsurin Taro left, Aomori and others lost interest in checking him out.

He withdrew his gaze and continued towards the sushi restaurant that Harada highly recommended.

"Harada, how much longer do we have to walk to get to that very delicious sushi restaurant you mentioned?" Nagakura raised his hand and touched his shriveled belly.

"It's coming, it's coming. You'll be there just after you turn the intersection in front of you. Let me tell you, that sushi restaurant not only has delicious sushi, but they also have a very cute dog there that you can eat while eating sushi.

Touch the dog." Harada smiled naively.

…

Led by Nagakura and Harada, two live treasures with unrestrained personalities, the group headed towards the sushi restaurant in a lively manner again.

And just when Ayoto and others were setting off on the road again, the Katsurin Taro whom Ayoto and the others had just been sizing up suddenly turned his head and looked straight at Ayoto and his group who were drifting away from them...

But because Rintaro Katsu was already far away from Ayoto and the others, he could only see blurry figures from behind.

"Mr. Sheng." After seeing his appearance, he asked doubtfully, "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"

"Huh? It's nothing." Katsurin Taro turned his head and laughed a few times, "I just suddenly noticed that the group of samurai over there were taller than the other, so I couldn't help but take a few more glances."

After saying that, Katsurin Taro narrowed his eyes and mind.

"You have to speed up your pace a little bit." Katsurin Taro tightened the globe in his arms and said to the guards beside him, "We can't keep Marquis Fukui waiting for too long."

"Mr. Katsu." The guard who just asked Katsu Rintaro "What are you looking at" spoke again, "The residence of Marquis Fukui is a bit far away from here. Do you want to call me a sedan?"

"Hahahaha, no need to do it." Saturo Taro laughed a few times, "Recently, some have been abstrained to exercise, and the body has become weaker."

"This is not possible. Without a healthy body, no ambition can be achieved."

"I plan to try to walk on two legs wherever I go from now on."

"and--"

At this time, Katsurin Taro changed into a half-joking tone.

"Not riding in a sedan chair... also makes it easier for me to run away when I meet an assassin on the street."

When Katsurin Taro said this, he and his guards happened to pass by a rather small teahouse.

There was only one table of guests in this tea house, a one-armed samurai and a young samurai with an indifferent expression sitting opposite each other.

The two warriors ordered a lot of tea and refreshments, but the strange thing was that neither of them chatted.

The young samurai lowered his eyes slightly, trying to rest his mind, and almost didn't eat the refreshments on the table. He only lifted the tea cup from time to time, brought it to his lips and took a few sips.

The one-armed samurai sitting directly opposite him was facing the open door of the tea house.

He swept the refreshments on the table and his lips were shiny from eating.

At first glance, this one-armed samurai seems to be just enjoying a normal meal, but after careful observation, we can find that he has been raising his eyes from time to time to scan the street outside the tea house.

When Katsurin Taro was joking with the subordinates around him and passing by the tea house, the one-armed samurai immediately shrank his pupils, then hurriedly put down the tea cup in his hand, lowered his voice, and looked at the young man opposite him.

The warrior whispered:

"Mr. Kamino, the middle-aged man holding the globe outside is Rintaro Katsu."

Kamino raised his eyebrows, and while putting down the tea cup in his hand, he tilted his head back slightly and looked behind him with the corner of his eye...that is, outside the tea house.

He succeeded in catching Katsu Rintaro's face with his peripheral vision before his figure disappeared from his field of vision.

"I see... Is that person Katsurin Taro... Very good, I remember his face."

"Um...Mr. Kamino, I'm actually quite confused." The one-armed samurai sighed helplessly, "Why do you have to come and see what this Katsu Rintaro looks like?"

"No reason." Kamino said calmly, "It's just pure curiosity."

"I happen to have some free time in the past few days, so come and see what this subordinate banner who has soared so far in just 6 years looks like."

"Hmph, the more I think about it, the more infuriated I become..."

Kamino suddenly tightened his grip on the teacup, and the teacup made a strange "squeaking" sound under his grip.

"This kind of national traitor who brings disaster to the country and the people and bows to the barbarians and the Di is rising."

"But we, the true patriots, have been unable to expand our ambitions..."

"There are too many traitors in the shogunate."

"Mr. Kamino, should we try to kill the national traitor Katsurin Taro..."

The one-armed warrior raised his hand and slashed his neck.

"There's no rush." ​​Kamino said calmly, "There's no need to hurry up and send Katsu Rintaro to Tenchu."
To be continued...