"Xiaguan was puzzled when he first heard that he was going to be transferred to the right to be transferred to the Huofu Thieves Kai and take charge of the third division and the seventh division of the advanced bow division."

"Although Xiaguan has indeed made great contributions, his achievements do not seem to be significant enough for me to be promoted to so many levels in a row."

"The reason why this official is so successful... I guess it must be because the General and His Highness are happy and happy, right?"

Qingdeng, who looked calmly into Tianzhangyuan's eyes, used an interrogative sentence pattern, but his tone was an affirmative one.

"..."

Tianzhangyuan, who did not respond immediately, looked at Qingdeng meaningfully.

The smile on his face and the look in his eyes changed slightly. The emotions in the smile and eyes were hard to grasp, but what was certain was that they did not contain any negative emotions.

"Because I didn't think it was anything special, I didn't plan to reveal it to you."

"But now that you have discovered it, there is nothing we can do about it."

"You are right."

"A while ago, when we were discussing what kind of reward should be given to you, who has successfully damaged the anti-barbarian group, protected countless Westerners in settlements, and made great contributions, many people advocated that you be promoted to a certain branch of the Huofu Thieves Kai

The strength of the squadron is enough."

"After a series of arduous battles, the General and I finally succeeded in winning the positions of squad leader and bow team leader for you."

When he said the last sentence, Tianzhangyuan showed a bright smile and used a funny, half-joking tone.

——As expected...

Qingden half-closed his eyes and let out a deep breath in his heart.

——This is... you want to take me as a nickname in disguise...

Xiaosurname culture: the characteristic culture of ancient Japan.

The origin of the small surname dates from the Muromachi shogunate era (1336-1573). The Muromachi shogun established a government department called the "small surname public" and selected a group of strong young people as his personal bodyguards. This is the origin of the small surname culture.

.

In the late Muromachi period, local tycoons in various places rose up one after another, and Japan entered the Warring States Period. Throughout the Warring States Period, there was a culture of intrigue and deception, with the following prevailing.

It is common for subordinates to rebel and kill their master.

In order not to have their heads chopped off by their subordinates, and in order to build a group of reliable loyal ministers, the lords adopted the method of "accepting minor surnames" to win over their subordinates.

For example: A is the lord, B is the subordinate, and C is the second son of the subordinate.

Suppose A adopts B's second son C as a minor surname (generally speaking, each family uses the eldest son as the heir, so the eldest son of the family is usually not accepted as a minor surname), indicating that Lord A sends a signal to the outside world:

I value B very much. In this way, I can win B's heart.

If C stays with Lord A for a long time and becomes the communication channel between AB, then there will be one more channel whether it is to cultivate the relationship between the monarch and his subjects or to eliminate the estrangement between the monarch and his subjects.

The existence of C has also become a hostage placed on A's side.

Even if B wants to rebel in the future, he still has to consider that he still has a son with A.

If B and his eldest son die one day in the future, and C inherits the position of head of the family. Then because C has lived with A for a long time, A knows everything about C, and C also has deep feelings for A, so C

He and his family are very loyal to A.

Even if C does not become the head of the family in the future, he has spent so much time with A day and night, and the deep friendship with A is enough to make him more favored by A, and it is easier for him to receive A's resources and focus on training.

People often have a misunderstanding that talents are hard to come by, but this is not the case.

What is rare is the kind of extraordinary talent that transcends the times.

In fact, as long as they get a stage and good training, many people will have the opportunity to "change into dragons when they meet the storm".

This is why the fellows of great people are all great, such as Liu Bang’s Peixian fellows and Zhu Yuanzhang’s Fengyang fellows.

To Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang, these fellow villagers were their team members and their nicknames.

Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang gave them a stage and resources to grow, and only those who were cultivated could become great masters in the future.

Many famous ministers and generals in Japanese history were born from someone's nickname.

For example, Maeda Toshiie, the "unparalleled gun of Japan", is the nickname of Oda Nobunaga, Ii Naomasa, the "man-killer of the military", is the nickname of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Ishida Mitsunari, who competed with Tokugawa Ieyasu for the ownership of Japan in the Sekigahara War, is Toyoda

Omi Hideyoshi's nickname.

In a nutshell - from the Warring States Period to the current Edo Period, adopting a nickname is a matter full of political significance. It sends out a message that you value this person or the family behind this person, which is equivalent to cultivating people.

One's own confidant.

Tokugawa Iemo was an "airborne" general.

He used to be the lord of the Kii Domain. Because the former shogun Tokugawa Iesada had no descendants, he was roped in to succeed the shogunate by officials of the "Nanki faction" headed by Naomi Ii based on his blood relationship.

Tokugawa Iemo, who was regarded as the "Prince" and "parachuted" to Edo until two years ago, was basically a rootless person in the shogunate.

Small leaders who "parachute" into small departments are prone to encounter the dilemma of being unable to command people and being bullied by their subordinates. Not to mention the unit where Tokugawa Iemo "parachuted" is still the largest political group in Japan today, with various political forces

The complicated Edo shogunate?

Looking around, there are all ministers whose names I can't even name...

In the past, there was the "Nanki Sect" that supported Tokugawa Iemo, but now with the passing of Naomi Ii, the prestige of the "Nanki Sect" has been greatly reduced.

Having lost the strong support of the "Nanki Faction", the "Hitobashi Faction" has regained power and is eyeing the country. The country is facing internal and external troubles. Everyone hopes that he, the new general, can lead the country out of the predicament... Tokugawa Iemo's current situation

You can imagine how precarious it is.

Not to mention those treacherous and cunning ministers, even the "Third Division", which is the Imperial Guard and is responsible for protecting the general, may not be of the same mind as Tokugawa Iemo.

There may be many eyes and ears of the "Ichitsubashi Faction" or other political forces in the "Third Division".

Even in setting up and operating the new Imperial Family, he needs to entrust his mother to help... One can imagine how lacking of people Tokugawa Iemo currently has.

In this environment where there is no foundation and no trustworthy "own people", the most important thing is to quickly build up your own team and cultivate your own power.

Qingdeng thought to himself: Restoring the ability to collect intelligence... is probably just a secondary goal of establishing the "New Imperial Palace".

The main purpose of Tokugawa Iemo and Tenjoin is to rely on the "New Imperial Family" to adopt minor surnames in disguise and cultivate close followers!

Since the "Third Division" and other troops headed by Xiao Fan cannot be trusted, then the most trustworthy ones are naturally the troops he re-established.

Just like collecting the beauties in the harem, all the talents you value are added to your newly built army... It's a very smart approach.

Throughout the ages, countless heroes have built their teams in this way.

The reason why I secretly help him obtain a higher reward is to train him and prevent him from being buried.

The reason why he was suddenly transferred to the new Yu Ting Fan was to keep this precious talent with him, to hold it tightly in his hands, and to prevent his "fat water" from flowing into the fields of outsiders...

Being favored by the "Emperor" and the "Mother of the Country"... If this kind of thing happened to other people, that person would definitely be flattered and ecstatic.

But Qingdeng was not like this.

Not to mention flattered and ecstatic... Qingdeng now only felt in a strange mood, unable to laugh or cry.

Before the anti-barbarian group was eliminated, Qingdeng was threatened by the "Sword of Damocles" of the anti-barbarian group. His daily goal in life was to practice martial arts hard, become stronger, and strive to live a life as soon as possible without worrying about being bitten one by one.

The madman who "rejects the barbarians" takes away the peaceful life of the man who eats.

Now, with the demise of the anti-barbarian group, Qingdeng breathed a sigh of relief as he got his wish...but at the same time, he also lost his goal.

What should I do in this era of ups and downs and undercurrents? What can I do? What do I want to do?

To be honest - Qingdeng is completely confused about his future plans.

Do you want to make a difference in your career?

But he doesn't have any political ambitions... As long as his salary allows him to live on his own, Qingdeng will be satisfied.

Do you want to make a lot of money and become a very rich man?

But he doesn't value money that much... Qingdeng's current income and savings are very generous, which is enough to support him in food and clothing for a long time in the future.

Do you want to delve deeply into martial arts and become a martial arts master?

I really like martial arts. I am also very keen on practicing martial arts and competing with strong people. But to become a martial arts master... that is not such a big ambition.

…

A person who does not have a strong desire for career, money, or fame will not be too enthusiastic about the olive branches offered by those in power.

It's just that - although Qingdeng can't figure out what he will do in the future, he has a clear idea of ​​what he should do now.

There is simply no other option to choose from... Qingden slandered.

To be honest, Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzouin's semi-forced behavior of pulling him into their camp without any explanation made Aonto a little unhappy.

The "Ichitsubashi Sect" and Tokugawa Iemo and Tenshouin are fighting in full swing. At this juncture, they are suddenly pulled into the camp of Tokugawa Iemo and Tenshoin... If one of them does not do well, he will be implicated and trapped in the political whirlpool.

middle.

But what can Qingden do?

Tokugawa Iemo issued an official document written in black and white, explicitly requesting Aoto to join the new imperial court from now on... Ao noto, who is just a minister, is there any way he can not obey?

The existence of the New Oniwaban, the true face of this Tsukigiya Shrine, Tenzouin, which has the triple identities of "Odaisho", "Shrine Priestess", and "Leader of the New Oniwaban"... The other party disclosed these confidential information without reservation.

Informing Qingdeng was a disguised show of sincerity to Qingdeng.
To be continued...