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Edo, Edo Port——

As the largest port in Edo, the flow of people entering and leaving Edo Port every day is huge.

Although Edo today has inevitably declined, this place is still one of the most lively areas in Edo.

However, today is slightly different from the past.

It's not that the flow of people has decreased, on the contrary, there are too many people today.

Since early this morning, a large number of people, including men and women, old and young, have gathered at Edo Port.

They stretched their necks, stood on tiptoes, and looked at Edo Bay in the distance.

They were not admiring the beautiful scenery, but waiting for Qingto...or rather, waiting for the result of the "Makuei Negotiation".

Tiny voices of conversation come and go:

"Has Nioh-sama set off?"

"We've already set off."

"Why hasn't he come back yet..."

"We talked for a long time today."

"Oh... what a crime... how could the majestic Tokugawa shogunate be reduced to the embarrassing situation of being threatened by the Western barbarians..."

"If there really is a war, what should we do..."

"What else can I do? Of course I pick up the sword and fight to the death with Xi Yi!"

"That's very easy for you to say! Xiyi has guns!"

"It is better to die fighting than to be scared to death by the Westerners!"

…

The news that "the British side has a deadline of June 12th, if they don't give them an explanation before then, they will bombard Edo" has long spread throughout the streets and alleys of Edo.

The common people of Edo cannot help but care about this "Makuei Negotiation".

After all, this time there was really a "Sword of Damocles" hanging above their heads.

The success or failure of the negotiation is directly related to the wealth and lives of the people in the city.

It’s still the old saying: Under naval guns, all living beings are equal.

If a naval gun fires over, no matter who you are, you will be wiped out.

Those dignitaries can pack up their belongings and flee to other places, but they cannot move their houses or take away their land.

If Edo was destroyed by war, these dignitaries would also suffer a huge blow.

Therefore, the entire Edo, from the high-ranking officials of the shogunate to the most inhumane people, all placed their hope in Aonto's "departure" - hoping that Nioh would be able to create miracles and save Edo like he always did.

Although they knew it was useless, in order to calm their uneasiness a little, many soldiers and civilians still gathered at Edo Port, looking forward to Aomori's triumphant return.

Nearly an hour has passed since Hamrimmaru set sail and Qingto and others rushed to the Uriaus.

With every second that passes, the hearts of the soldiers and people waiting at the port become heavier...

At this moment... someone suddenly shouted:

"Hey! Look! The Xiyi warships seem to have retreated!"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was shocked!

In an instant, heads suddenly lifted up, and their gazes were cast towards Edo Bay in the distance.

Looking around - the nine "black spots" that stretched across Edo Bay and tormented the people of Edo like a nightmare for nearly more than a month were slowly moving.

They puffed out thick black smoke and then began to change formations.

First, it changed from the horizontal line of the "T" to the vertical line, and then it whined and sailed away from Edo Bay little by little.

Steamships are very fast.

In just a moment, these nine British ships disappeared into the distance and were swallowed up by the distant sky.

Looking at this scene, the soldiers and civilians at the port all opened their eyes with disbelief on their faces.

It was eerily quiet...no one spoke, only the sound of heavy breathing was like the bellows in a blacksmith's shop, "whirring" repeatedly.

A while passed like this...the time that seemed to have stood still finally started to flow.

"The Western Yi retreated!"

someone shouted.

"They all withdrew!"

Someone agreed.

After these two started, the soldiers and people at the port showed expressions of ecstasy, shouting at the top of their lungs like crazy.

"The Western Yi are retreating! Retreating!"

"We are safe!"

"Nioh-sama succeeded!"

…

In an instant, the entire Edo Port was filled with an overjoyed atmosphere.

A few people even cried with joy.

Suddenly, another person shouted:

"Look! It's Xianlinwan!"

On Edo Bay, the Kanrimmaru, covered with canvas and spitting out black smoke, sailed straight towards

Everyone who knew it was Qingdeng who had returned gradually held their breath and gathered their spirits.

Before it arrived, Xianlinwan docked steadily and entered the harbor.

That tall figure appeared in front of everyone.

With a faint smile on his face, Qing Deng strode onto the covered bridge.

Under the eager anticipation of everyone, he said loudly:

"Everyone, I believe you have all seen it!"

"So, I won't stop talking nonsense!"

"Yes! Everything is as you can see! The British ships have retreated!"

"They gave up their claims against the shogunate! And they will never threaten Edo again!"

The moment Qingdeng finished speaking, a huge wave of cheers spliced ​​together tightly surrounded Qingdeng!

Everyone present - including the sailors on the Xianlin Maru - cheered as loudly as possible at the highest volume possible.

The so-called "thundering of joy" is nothing more than that.

Katsurintaro and Manjiro slowly climbed onto the covered bridge step by step.

The two looked at the magnificent scene in front of them and smiled at each other.

Katsurin Taro let out a long breath.

"It's finally come to an end..."

Manjiro grinned and agreed:

"It's not easy... To be honest, I almost thought that even Niou-sama was going to fail. Fortunately, in the end, we finally got a happy ending."

Hearing this, Shenglin Taro burst into laughter:

"Everyone is happy? I'm afraid Satsuma won't think so."

Manjiro's expression became strange.:

"At this point, we can't take care of others anymore, we can only take care of ourselves."

When you want to open the window, the people in the house object with all their strength. When you say that you want to blow off the roof, the people in the house agree to open the window. No matter how the times change, this is the commonality of human beings.

The reason why the British came to seek compensation from the shogunate was purely to extort money.

Therefore, when they find that there is a mismatch between income and costs, they will naturally consider exiting gracefully.

However, it is obviously impossible for Britain, which is accustomed to being a robber, to suffer the consequences of being dumb.

In any case, Seito had only one goal, which was to protect Edo and then preserve the interests of the shogunate as much as possible.

As a result, Seito went out of his way to ask for a high price when he came up, threatening that "neither the shogunate nor Satsuma will claim compensation!"

When the time is right, then "soften" your tone and say, "As long as you don't let the shogunate lose money, you can do whatever you want in Satsuma."

Sure enough - the British, who had been frightened by Seito's force and words and no longer wanted to tangle with the shogunate, immediately targeted Satsuma.

The shogunate was safe.

The British side received the goods decently.

Everyone is happy!

The world where only Satsuma was injured is complete!

Satsuma may have some objections to Qingdou's operation.

However, Qingdeng cannot be blamed for this.

Anyone with any sense of rationality knows that this is not even a diversion of disaster.

The "raw wheat incident" was originally a disaster caused by Satsuma. It is really reasonable for them to deal with the aftermath.
To be continued...