As the governor of the Gyeonggi Province and the captain of the Shinsengumi, Qingdeng naturally sat at the same table as the male Tan Seiichiro and Soda Kiyone.

The others, including Oishi Susumu and Sakakihara Kankichi, could only sit far away. Not to mention chatting with Aoden, they had to carefully consider "whether they could get close to Aoto."

What is Qingdeng’s current status?

The general who conquered the barbarians and the favorite minister of the Imperial Palace!

A feudal official guarding one side!

A general with actual military power!

None of the above, not to mention ordinary civilians, shogunate ministers with slightly inferior professional titles, and daimyo of the feudal lords with weaker national power would not dare to make a mistake in front of Aoshito.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Seiichiro Tanani and Kiyone Soda, who are just the principal of a military academy, are not worthy of sitting side by side with Aoto.

The only people who were qualified to sit next to Aoto were Shogun Hitotsubashi Yoshiki, Political President Matsudaira Harugaku, Kyoto Guardian Matsudaira Yōho and a few other big figures who stood at the top of the officialdom.

At the beginning, the two elders intended to let Qingdeng sit on the main seat, and they would accompany him on the second seat.

In response, Qingdeng insisted that "this is not a serious occasion, let's be more relaxed" and insisted that the two elders sit with him at the same table. Then they sat on the left and right sides of Qingdeng.

Aintome was no stranger to Seiichiro Tanani. After all, they had a lively exchange with him at the "Plum Blossom Appreciation Banquet" just over a month ago. However, this was indeed the first time he had come into contact with Kiyone Eda.

Qingyin Yutian is an "all-round warrior" that has been rare in decades.

Although he was proficient in Yamaga-ryu art of war, Koshu-ryu art of war, Echigo-ryu art of war, Naganuma-ryu art of war, Noshima-ryu art of war and many other classical military arts, Aoto discovered that he did not harbor the idea that "the methods of his ancestors are immutable".

The pedantic idea that "whoever dares to change the constitution of our ancestors will lose their head".

Not only did he not hold an objection to Western weapons and military ideas, but he actively took their essence and discarded their dross.

According to Otani Seiichiro, it was Eda Kiyone's idea to "introduce meat and make the disciples of the martial arts school as tall and strong as Westerners."

It is very pleasant to talk to such smart people with open minds and broad vision.

While Qingdeng tasted the sumptuous food, he actively chatted with his elders.

The conversation between the three of them was endless and had no precise topic.

They first talked about today's meal, then talked about the current situation of the Edo martial arts world, and then shared each other's martial arts experience...

Amidst the endless chatter, I don’t know who started it, but in short, they suddenly talked about the current political situation.

"The shogunate is now very close to France...it's really worrying."

Seiichiro Otani sighed softly.

"Although I understand that cooperation with Western countries is an unavoidable trend of the times, France's sinister intentions still make me sweat..."

Supporting compradors and agents and profiting from them - this is a common method of imperialism.

As Otani Seiichiro said, the Edo Shogunate is currently very close to France.

In recent years, France has frequently shown goodwill to the shogunate, providing advanced weapons and sending instructors to help it build a modern army.

For the shogunate, which was increasingly trapped in internal and external troubles, France's aid was a timely help.

In this way, the two sides reached in-depth cooperation in military, economic and other fields.

However, these methods of France are completely "Sima Zhao's intention, and everyone knows it".

Anyone who knows something about international politics can see through its sinister intentions.

There is no friendship between countries, whether it is alliance or war, it is all driven by interests.

The reason why France aided the shogunate was just to control the Tokugawa family, make them their agents, and ensure their interests in the Far East.

Otani Seiichiro's emotion is not a pointless worry.

At this moment, Yitian Qingyin on the side took a sip of miso soup and said slowly:

"Nan Gu, there is no need to feel sad about this."

"It is true that France is the world's top power on par with England. Even the United States and Lucia cannot compare with it."

"But, in my opinion, the French country is currently unable to protect itself!"

"Not to mention anything else, their 'internal worries' alone are enough to make their emperor drink a pot."

"Their state system has been changed again and again in just a few decades, with no end in sight."

"One moment it was an empire where the imperial power was supreme, and the next it was a republic where it wanted neither a king nor aristocrats."

"One moment it's the Bourbons, the next it's the Orleans dynasty."

"Their current emperor is neither Bourbon nor Orleans, but a man named Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. What a mess!"

"The French state is not monolithic within itself. It is not impossible that large-scale turmoil will occur in the future, causing drastic changes in the country's structure again."

"Moreover, in addition to 'internal worries', their 'external worries' should not be underestimated."

"As far as I know, in the center of the Europa continent, a country called Prussia is rising rapidly."

"In my opinion, the Prussian country will pose a great threat to the French country sooner or later. If we don't quickly deal with the rise of the former, the latter will definitely be in bad luck."

From now on, Qingdeng has been acting as the "perfect listener", saying nothing and only listening silently.

When he heard this, he couldn't help but secretly admire this "all-powerful warrior".

Yu Tian Qingyin's vision is very vicious and her judgment is very accurate.

Although Qingdeng did not understand the world history of the 19th century, he also knew that if history did not produce a butterfly effect due to his time travel, then in 1870, a few years later, France would be in the "Battle of Sedan"

Defeated by Prussia.

There is that famous historical painting in the high school history book - the King of Prussia, surrounded by military officers, was crowned emperor in the Palace of Versailles in France.

Because the act of coronating and enthroning in the enemy's palace was so impressive, Qingdeng has always been deeply impressed by this painting, and has also remembered this famous historical event.

…

…

At this moment——

Edo, Chishiya——

Boss Kiryu sat behind the counter, looking through the account books spread out on the table.

Because Kinoshita Mai had gone to witness Ayoto's "Conquest of the Military Academy", the only people left in the huge shop were the old man and the big, lazy orange cat.

At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded from far to near outside the shop door.

Click, click, click - after hearing the sound of the shop door being pushed open, Kiryu slowly closed the account book in front of him and said in a formulaic and calm tone:

"Welcome the light..."

"Mr. Kiryu! You must help us!"

Listening to this familiar old male voice, Boss Kiryu quickly raised his head and blinked in surprise.

"Hmm? Mr. Angoulême?"

Mr. Angoulême...that is, Antoine took off the snow hat and face towel that were used to hide his face in three swipes, and then rushed to Boss Kiryu impatiently.

"Mr. Kiryu! Something bad has happened! Something bad has happened!"

Anthony's sudden visit and the series of abnormal behaviors he showed at the moment made Boss Kiryu frown involuntarily.

"Mr. Angoulême, please calm down. What happened?"

After listening to Kiryu's persuasion, Anthony's expression finally became calmer.

He swallowed hard, and then while subconsciously peeking behind him, as if to confirm that no one was following him, he suppressed his voice and said in a trembling voice:

"Mr. Kiryu! He, he...he is coming after him!"

He - obviously Anthony did not clearly say who this "he" refers to, but Boss Kiryu was still stunned for a moment, and then his face suddenly darkened as if he understood something in an instant.

"...Mr. Angoulême, please slowly tell me the detailed cause and effect of the incident one by one. First of all, please tell me: How did you know that he was chasing him? Have you seen his men?"

"

Anthony shook his head:

"I didn't see any of his men."

"But since more than half a month ago, Leroy and I have frequently found unidentified ronin peeking into our house."

"At first, I thought I was just being overly concerned."

"Until recently, Leroy and I always felt like someone was following us whenever we went out."

"You also know, thanks to that person, Leroy and I are both very good at detecting other people's tracking..."

After hearing this, Boss Kiryu nodded thoughtfully.

"That's it...If that's the case, then we should really prepare for the worst."

Having said this, he paused for a moment, and then murmured helplessly:

"That guy is really persistent... You have all fled the European continent, crossed the ocean with great difficulty, and arrived in this country in the Far East thousands of miles away, but you still refuse to let you go."

Anthony lowered his eyelids, feeling sad.
To be continued...