Chapter 561 Sanako: "Tachibana-kun, help me take a bath!"

Beggars who are hungry and cold, cowering in the streets and alleys.

The men, women and children, all well-dressed and enthusiastic, came to watch the Shinsengumi entering the city.

These two groups, with extremely sharp differences, appeared in Qingdeng's field of vision at the same time.

As for those ronin...

To be honest, if it weren't for the dirty long and short knives hanging on their waists, they would be no different from those beggars.

As the turmoil in Kyoto became more and more prosperous, more and more wanderers flocked to the capital.

Some of them indeed have the ambition to help the country and the ambition to "achieve unparalleled achievements with a three-foot sword."

However, the vast majority of them just want to fish in troubled waters.

Or you want to find a job and make a living.

Or they just want to take advantage of this opportunity to plunder wantonly.

It's still the same old routine: under the banner of "respecting the king and repelling the barbarians", saying "We are people with lofty ideals, and in order to realize our ambition of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians, we need your support", blackmailing wealthy merchants and forcing them to hand over the so-called "

military expenditure”.

The more ronin there are in a place, the worse the security situation will be - this is the work experience Aomori summed up when he returned to the town of Kitabansho.

There is no need to examine other aspects.

Just by seeing so many ronin wandering the streets of Kyoto, Ayoto dared to make a conclusion: the social order in Kyoto was absolutely terrible!

In order to ensure the normal march of the military columns and to prevent hostile elements from causing trouble, Matsudaira Yongho dispatched a large number of troops to maintain order.

Thanks to the efforts of the Aizu feudal lords, the two armies entered the city slowly but in an orderly manner.

Just as the military column advanced a certain distance, Qingdeng suddenly felt that his vision suddenly became clearer.

The tightly packed houses on both sides of the street disappeared and became a spacious river.

Aoto turned his head to the right - this is the direction of the Kamogawa River - this famous river that can be called the mother river of Kyoto and the symbol of Kyoto, rushing southward.

The clear trickling water, shining golden light under the sunlight, sprayed white foam and swirled.

Several gray and brown sails were bumping in the water waves one after another, flowing southward.

On both sides of the river are alluvial river plains, which are spacious and flat, bustling with people coming and going.

Driven by curiosity, Qingden turned to Matsudaira Yongho next to him and asked:

"Higo-sama, where is this?"

Matsudaira Yongho explains:

"Tachibana-sama, this is Sanjo Kawara."

After Qingdeng heard this, a look of understanding appeared on his face and he nodded lightly.

"Sanjo Kawara... I have admired the Daimyo for a long time."

Sanjo Kawara, as the name suggests, is the riverside where Kamogawa flows through Sanjo. Sanjo is the name of the place.

In addition to the three rivers, there are four rivers flowing through Shijo, five rivers flowing through five, six rivers flowing through six...

The reason why Aoto said "I have admired the Daimyo for a long time" is because it has been the execution ground of Kyoto since ancient times - dating back to the Heian period.

For thousands of years, countless big shots have lost their heads here.

When Genpei joined forces, the rushing water of Sanjo Kawara witnessed the end of many generals of the Taira clan.

During the Muromachi Shogunate period, due to the harsher criminal laws, the number of prisoners who were dragged here to be beheaded increased sharply. Originally, only samurai heads were beheaded here, but gradually they also began to behead ordinary criminals.

During the Warring States Period, even more important figures died here.

For example: the thirty-nine members of Toyotomi Hidetsu's family who was "Killing Sekibai", Ishida Mitsunari and others who were defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara...

As early as the Muromachi period, Sanjo River has been greatly developed due to its flat terrain and proximity to the river. It is no longer a wasteland with weeds and gravel, and has become one of the most prosperous areas in Kyoto.

Every summer, the Kamogawa river beaches represented by Sanjo Kawara are crowded with people coming to cool off.

However, just like the "Caishikou" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, executing people in a crowded place can have the best deterrent effect on the people.

Ever since, the custom of "executing prisoners in Sanjo River" has continued like this.

To this day, Sanjo Kawara still functions as a place of execution - especially beloved by those with high lofty ideals.

People with lofty ideals especially like to take off the head of a person after beheading him and hang it on Sanjo River with a notice explaining the crime the person committed and why he should be killed.

Although this is a land full of blood, it is undeniable that it is also a very beautiful land.

The gurgling water, the bustling river beach... It is a perfect place for a date with your lover.

Just when Ayoto was fascinated by the beautiful scenery of Sanjo River... a sudden change occurred.

"Um?"

Qingdeng suddenly frowned.

At the same time, Matsudaira Yongho's expression was also colored by confusion.

I saw a large number of people gathering on the river beach not far ahead.

They stretched their necks and raised their toes, as if they were watching something.

"What's going on..."

Matsudaira Yongho muttered, then called a subordinate and sent him to check the situation.

After a while, he came running back.

Before he could kneel down, Matsudaira Yongho asked impatiently:

"What exactly happened ahead?"

"Back to my lord! Ahead...ahead..."

He hesitated for a while and gritted his teeth:

"In front are the heads and tablets of wooden statues of Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiki, the second shogun, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun, enshrined in the Tomochi-in Temple!"

"What?"

Matsudaira Yongho's pupils shrank suddenly.

Then, with a "drive" sound, he galloped forward.

Qingden also lightly knocked on the belly of the cow, forcing the radish to follow.

The Shinsengumi and Aizu Army officers followed closely.

"Ah! It's Lieutenant General Aizu!"

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

"Lieutenant General Aizu is here!"

The crowd gathered on the river and were watching the three heads dispersed to both sides.

Qingdeng and Matsudaira Yongho, who got off the cow (horse), followed the separated flow of people and strode towards the wooden frame in front.

On the beach that should have been empty, a wooden frame suddenly appeared.

Three wooden heads are arranged in a row on the wooden frame, and a wooden sign hangs below each head.

The incision on the neck of the head was extremely smooth... At a glance, it was obvious that it was cut off from the wooden statue with a knife, and it was done with one knife.

To be able to cut off such a solid wooden statue with just one blow...the perpetrator's swordsmanship was very high.

Songping Rongbao glanced at the three heads and suddenly turned pale:

"It is indeed the tablets and wooden heads of the three former shoguns of the Muromachi shogunate enshrined in Tomochi-in..."

Qingdeng blinked and thought.

After a while, he said to himself with a look of enlightenment:

"I see...are you trying to use ancient metaphors to express your power to me..."

Opposition to the Muromachi Shogunate—this is political correctness that respects people with lofty ideals.

Why this is so, we have to start from the Southern and Northern Dynasties era more than 700 years ago.

At the end of the Kamakura period (1192-1333), the Kamakura shogunate was in decline. Emperor Go-Daigo, who was in power at the time, was determined to restore the authority of the imperial court and plotted to overthrow it.

He successively launched two overthrow movements known in history as the "Zhengzhong Change" and the "Yuanhong Rebellion", both of which failed.

After the Motohiro Rebellion, Emperor Go-Daigo was exiled to Oki Island, and the shogunate supported the new emperor, Emperor Kogan.

However, the rebellious forces at that time were still active throughout Japan.

In the third year of Motohong/the second year of Shokei (1333), Emperor Go-Daigo escaped from Oki Island with the help of the patriots who overthrew the shogunate, and then raised his troops to attack the shogunate again.

The Kamakura shogunate sent the Ashikaga Taka clan to quell the rebellion. The Ashikaga Taka clan had long been dissatisfied with the autocratic rule of the shogunate. They defected on the way and returned to capture Kamakura. The Kamakura shogunate was destroyed.

Because Ashikaga Takaji made the first contribution to the overthrow of the emperor, he was given the "Tun" character in the emperor's name and was renamed "Ashikaga Takauji".
To be continued...