Edo, a remote alley——

"Hey! Brothers! Look! Here's our chance to get ahead!"

A strong but ragged ronin had an excited expression on his face and held up the tile tabloid in his hand.

In the tile tabloid, concise text and exquisite illustrations complement each other.

The content in the accompanying picture is quite simple: a young warrior wearing a mighty battle armor, with three swords on his waist, sitting on a horse with a golden sword... The person painted in the painting is naturally Qingdeng.

In front of the strong man, in the depths of this remote alley, lay several ronin, also dressed in ragged clothes.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

"A chance to get ahead?"

"What's the meaning?"

The ronin with doubtful expressions on his face asked questions in various directions.

"Brothers! The shogunate is making big moves!"

As he spoke, the strong man handed the tile tabloid he held above his head back to his eyes, and then quickly summarized the content written on it.

The governor of Gyeonggi...formed a new army...raised troops to Luo...After hearing these words, the rascals were first surprised, then overjoyed.

"The governor of Gyeonggi Town...that Ju Qingden is only 20 years old this year, right? At the age of only 20, he achieved great fame with one sword and one spear. Now he is not only a feudal official in charge of one side, but also with that Chiba Sana

We have an extremely close relationship with him... Tsk! He is such a guy that one cannot even be jealous of his courage...!"

"The combat force personally commanded by the governor of Gyeonggi Province, Ju Qingden...Does this new force have an official name?"

"Not yet. It's just that everyone calls this new army that is about to be formed the 'Suppressing and Fu Army'."

"Regardless of origin or age, everyone can sign up... Is this true?! Can even homeless ronin like us sign up to join Tachibana Aoden's command?"

"Yes! That's right! It was clearly written in the tabloids that, let alone ronin, even peasants who are not even samurai have a chance to serve Nioh!"

"Farmer? Humph! How can a farmer who only knows how to dig into the soil know how to fight?"

"However, it was also written in the Waban tabloid: It is not that everything will be fine just by signing up at the recruitment office. There is selection. Only by passing strict selection can you become a member of the Suppressing Army."

"Ah, there is still selection..."

"Hahaha! What? Yamada-kun, are you not confident in your abilities?"

"How, how is it possible! I am the catalog holder of the Jingxin Akechi stream! How could I be afraid of a mere selection!"

While the rogues were talking about each other, the strong man took a deep breath and said loudly:

"Brothers! Please listen to me!"

As soon as he said this, the noisy alley suddenly became quiet.

The gazes of the wanderers fell uniformly on the strong man.

"Brothers, we are not only fellow villagers, but also like-minded comrades-in-arms."

The strong man slowly turned his eyes, and while scanning the faces in front of him, he continued with a contagious tone:

"A year ago, we abandoned our family, resolutely broke away from the feudal clan and went to Edo."

"For what?"

“It’s all about serving the country with all your loyalty!”

"For the sake of killing oneself and becoming a benevolent person!"

"However, after arriving in Edo, the cruel reality gave us a heavy blow."

"Those high-ranking ministers have no time to pay attention to lowly ronin like us."

"We are full of enthusiasm, but we have no way to serve the country and can only live in misery."

"And now... our opportunity has come to make a difference!"

Having said this, the strong man once again raised the tile tabloid in his hand.

The majesty of his expression and the solemnity of his behavior...as if he was holding some precious sacred vessel.

"I have decided! I will participate in the military recruitment selection on January 3 next year! I will go to Luo with Niou! I will take this opportunity to show my ambition!"

"Will you go with me?"

As soon as the strong man finished speaking, the wanderers rushed to say:

"Boss, what are you talking about?"

"How could we miss this golden opportunity?"

"I've long had enough of living like a beggar!"

"It's a life-threatening situation anyway! If you don't fight now, you'll have to wait until later!"

Seeing that all the robbers were so impassioned, the strong man couldn't help but grin with joy.

bass!

He suddenly pulled out the knife from his waist and pointed the tip of the knife straight into the sky.

"Okay! Then let's join the Zhenfu Army together! We only get fame from horses!"

"Ohhhhhhhhhh!!"

The rogues drew out their sabers like strong men and pointed their swords at the sky.

There are many blades, and the cold light shines.

…

…

Edo, Hatamoto settlement, a certain luxurious mansion——

A young man with fine features and fine features, dressed in fine clothes, walked quickly along the verandah with an excited expression, making a "thump" sound on the floor.

After a moment, he stopped in front of an exquisite door.

"Father!"

The young man pushed open the door and entered.

"Um?"

In the room, a wealthy middle-aged man was leaning on his elbow and puffing away leisurely.

Seeing the young man's sudden attack, he immediately put down the pipe in his hand and asked calmly:

"Sanlang, what's wrong?"

The young man sat in front of the middle-aged man and took out a still-warm tile tabloid from his arms.

"Father, I want to join the Zhenfu Army, please allow me!"

After saying that, the young man pushed the tile tabloid to the middle-aged man's knees.

"Suppress...the army...?"

The middle-aged man picked up the tabloid and read it line by line.

Within a few moments, his entire face turned black and blue.

"Nonsense!"

Hiss—the middle-aged man tore the tabloid in half, crumpled it into a ball of paper, and threw it to the ground.

"Sanlang, this is not to participate in a festival! This is to join the army! This is to fight!"

"Don't you understand the current situation in Kyoto?"

"There is already a tense situation between Choshu, Satsuma and Aizu, and the entire Gyeonggi region may become a bloody battlefield at any time!"

"In war, people die!"

"I don't allow you to join the Suppressing Army!"

The young man seemed to have expected such a reaction from the middle-aged man. He lowered his head without changing his expression and said loudly:

"Father, I understand everything you said."

"I know that Kyoto is currently filled with clouds of war."

"I also know that people will die in war."

"However... no matter what, I still want to go to Kyoto! I want to join the Zhenfu Army!"

"I am the third son in the family and I have no chance to inherit the family business."

"There are only two paths for me in the future. Either I will work in a certain sword hall and make a living by swordsmanship; or I will stay at home and be a rice bug who is now being supported by your father and later by my brother."

"I neither want to be an ordinary swordsmanship teacher nor a rice insect!"

Having said this, the young man raised his head and met the middle-aged man's eyes with bright eyes.

"Father! I want to make great achievements!"

"This is a great opportunity to reach the sky in one step after nearly three hundred years!"

"The last time such an opportunity occurred, it dates back to the Oda family during the Warring States Period!"

"I will use my sword to achieve achievements far beyond those of my ancestors!"
To be continued...