"As you can see, I am the captain of the Third Division, Tachibana Aoden. The 'Niou' who is currently wanted by the government... is also the only son of Tachibana Takayuki."

"Tachibana...Aonto...?"

Ugaki Goro chewed Aonto's name gently in a babble-like tone.

Aomori stopped talking at the right time, leaving Goro Ugaki time to react and digest.

After a full three minutes passed, Ugaki Goro let out a deep breath, then laughed "hum hum" through his nostrils, leaned back, and leaned against the wall behind him.

"...Hmph, what day is it today? I didn't expect that my little sunroom would welcome a distinguished guest today."

"No wonder you were able to beat that boy Wei Qi to a pulp."

"If I could know that my opponent today is Niou, I think Wei Qi would be relieved."

"It's not a shame to be defeated by the invincible King Ni."

Speaking of this, Ugaki Goro changed to a more comfortable and comfortable sitting position.

"Okay, now that you have taken off your hat and revealed your true face, now it's my turn to show sincerity."

"Hey, hey, the other person is Longzhi's son... In this case, I can't make nonsense."

Aintō keenly noticed that after knowing his true identity, Ugaki Goro's name for Tachibana Takayuki changed.

From the stiff calling of full name to the intimate "Takahi".

In this regard, Aonto is convinced: Tachibana Takayuki and Ugaki Goro are indeed closely related!

"Tachibana Aoden, ask me a question - do you want to talk to me about Tachibana Takayuki...about your father? Ah, by the way, why are you guys hanging around all this time? Aren't you tired? Hurry up and find an open space.

Sit down."

After hearing what Goro Ugaki said, Aoto and others realized that they were still standing.

The three people quickly sat down directly opposite Ugaki Goro.

"Mr. Ugaki, as far as I know, you have a good relationship with my father, right?"

"yes."

Goro Ugaki answered in the affirmative without hesitation.

"Can you tell me in detail how you and my father met?"

"How do we know each other? Well...well..."

Ugaki Goro pursed his lips, thinking.

While he was pondering, he raised his hand to rub his chin.

Suddenly, he chuckled "hehe" a few times, and a meaningful look appeared on his cheeks.

"To put it simply - I met Long Zhi and I through borrowing money."

"Borrow money?"

Qingdeng was startled.

"Why are you showing such a surprised expression? I am the owner of a private bank that specializes in loan business. I met Long Zhitong through lending money - isn't this incredible?"

Speaking of this, Ugaki Goro paused for a moment, sighed, and then changed into a deep and emotional tone:

"If you think about it carefully... the whole process of our acquaintance with Longzhi is indeed quite incredible. He borrowed 5,000 taels of gold from me in one breath, and then under various circumstances and confusion, I

I gradually became familiar with him without realizing it.”

Ugaki Goro's consciousness was immersed in memories.

However, Qingden was not listening at all.

To be more precise, all his attention was absorbed by the series of numbers.

"...5,000 taels of gold?"

Qingdeng asked tentatively in a cautious tone.

Ugaki Goro seemed to have expected such a reaction from Aoto. While observing the changes in Aoto's expression with interest, he said in a tone mixed with a bit of joking:

"Well, yes, you heard it right, it's not 5,000 copper coins, nor 5,000 taels of silver, but 5,000 taels of gold."

In an instant, Qingdeng's expression was dominated by strong shock.

Souji's reaction was even more exaggerated than Qingto's. Her red lips were so wide open that her chin almost dropped to the ground.

Even Miss Zuo Nazi, who comes from a wealthy family and has never known what "lack of money" means, couldn't help but widen her eyes when she heard the number "5000".

5,000 taels of gold... Such an amount, just using the word "astronomical number" to describe it, seems too mild and inappropriate.

Whether it was a time of great disaster when the people were in dire straits and mourning was widespread, or a prosperous year when the people were prosperous and the harvest was plentiful, in short, during the Edo period, gold coins had far greater purchasing power than silver coins and copper coins.

Take the cultural and civil affairs period (1804-1830), which was a relatively stable social environment and was known as the "golden age" of the Edo shogunate, as an example.

During the Cultural and Civil Affairs Period, one tael of gold could buy 158 watermelons, or 1 stone and 2 buckets of rice, or 3 stones and 2 buckets of 6 liters of salt, or 188 sex pictures, or 750 trips to the bathroom.

If you add 1 tael of gold, that is, if you pay 2 taels of gold, you will have a chance to sleep with Yoshiwara's oiran - of course, it's just a chance.

From rich businessmen to high-ranking officials of the shogunate, there are many people who want to sleep with an oiran.

If you don't have certain financial resources, social status, and only have a few taels of gold in savings, you want to have a romantic relationship with an courtesan... To be honest, this is a complete fantasy.

Just one tael of gold has such terrifying purchasing power.

If you multiply this purchasing power by 5,000...such a huge financial resource is enough to arm an army!

"Mr. Ugaki, why did my father borrow such a huge amount of money?"

Qing Deng asked quickly and furiously.

"Well...if you want me to tell you in detail, it's not impossible. But..."

Goro Ugaki suddenly changed the subject. At the same time, he picked up two bamboo swords from nowhere.

"Tachibana Aoden, continue!"

Goro Ugaki kept one of the bamboo swords for himself, and threw the other bamboo sword to Aoto.

When Qingdeng saw this, his expression became strange uncontrollably.

This scene... seems familiar.

The moment Aoto took the bamboo sword thrown by Ugaki Goro, a strong wind struck Aoto from the front!

Goro Ugaki, who was sitting peacefully one second ago, suddenly jumped up and rushed towards Aoto! The bamboo sword in his palm drew a graceful arc and hit Aoto's left shoulder!

*******

*******

Today's state is really not good... I started to catch up on sleep at 1 pm, slept until I got up at 4 pm, and have been writing until now, and I have barely written more than 4,000 words...
Chapter completed!