July 17th is the day when the "Yamaboko Parade" will be held... today is exactly the day!

Burn down Kyoto, which is celebrating the Gion Festival, kill Matsudaira Yoshihiro and Saigo Kinosuke, and then take advantage of the chaos to take the emperor to Choshu... Hijikata Toshizo and Serizawa Kamo, after hearing this extremely crazy plan Afterwards, everyone froze in place.

In the blink of an eye, their faces were all filled with a look of overwhelming horror.

At this time, Hijikata Toshizo showed the toughness and determination that a deputy leader of the Shinsengumi should have.

About 5 seconds later, he recovered from the shock, with a dark face and a deep voice:

"When do you plan to take action? Approximately how many people are there? Where is the gathering place? Where is the place to set the fire?"

He was like a machine gun, throwing out many questions in succession.

Perhaps he was desperate. Now that the core secret had been revealed, Shuntaro Kotaka had completely given up and no longer hesitated or struggled.

As soon as Hijikata Toshizo finished asking, he answered truthfully:

"We... just... tentatively plan to... take action tonight..."

"Mr. Gui...is very opposed to our...this...plan..."

"In order to...convince...Mr. Gui...we plan...to have a good talk...with him...tonight..."

"Whether this plan is actually...implemented...is still...under discussion..."

"It may be implemented... tonight as scheduled..."

"It's also possible...to cancel directly..."

"Everything depends on... the outcome of tonight's negotiation with... Mr. Gui..."

"So...the specific...time of action...the place where the fire was set...the gathering place...the number of manpower...I have no idea..."

Mr. Katsura - Kogoro Katsura, one of the "Three Heroes of Choshu".

There are three heroes in Changzhou: a madman, a half-madman and a normal person.

That lunatic was Gensui Kusaka, who had gone all the way to the dark side on the road of radicalization and resistance to the foreigners.

Although the semi-crazy man also advocated fighting against the foreigners, he was not as extreme as Takasugi Shinsaku.

The only normal person is Katsura Kogoro.

Katsura Kogoro is a die-hard person with lofty ideals, but he opposes the extreme practices of the radicals.

What a pity... There is a saying that "when turbidity becomes the norm, innocence becomes a sin."

Since the "August 18th Coup", the entire Changzhou has been like a runaway train that has stepped on the accelerator, crossing the track called "radical" and running towards the goal called "extreme", without any It means to stop.

Even if Katsura Kogoro obstructed him in every possible way, he could not calm down the radicals and normalize, but made their own situation more difficult.

Just like Katsura Kogoro cannot agree with the radicals' ideas, the radicals headed by Hisaka Genzui also cannot agree with Katsura Kogoro's ideas. They believe that Katsura Kogoro is too weak. How can such a weak behavior achieve the great cause of respecting and resisting?

In this way, it is natural that many people regard Katsura Kogoro as a thorn in their side.

It's just that Katsura Kogoro is a talented man with both civil and military skills. In terms of thesis, he is a master disciple of Yoshida Shoin's sect; in terms of martial arts, he is the direct disciple of Saito Yakuro, the "Saito of Power", and he was the teacher of the military training hall.

In the Choshu Domain, "disciple of Yoshida Shoin" is like a golden business card. As long as you have this title, you can enjoy a higher status among respected people with lofty ideals.

All in all, Katsura Kogoro, who has a distinguished status, seniority, and high abilities, has an unparalleled high prestige in the Choshu Domain.

Even if the radicals regard Katsura Kogoro as a thorn in their side, they have to maintain the harmony and friendliness on the surface.

Therefore, judging from logic, what Shuntaro Kotaka said just now is very reasonable and reasonable.

If Katsura Kogoro is really determined to oppose this crazy plan to "burn Kyoto and kidnap the emperor", then with the energy that Katsura Kogoro possesses, he may really disrupt the plan.

Hijikata Toshizo frowned in deep thought.

After a while, he spoke again:

"Who is attending this meeting tonight?"

"Miyabe Daizo... Yoshida Minoru... Otaka Matajiro..."

Shuntaro Kodaka spoke out the names one after another like he was announcing the names of dishes.

All of them are names that are well-known among respected people with lofty ideals.

Among them, the most famous and noteworthy figures are undoubtedly Miyabe Daizo and Yoshida Minoru.

Miyabe Daizo is a veteran-level Zunban strategist and one of the leaders of the Zunban movement. His existence can be said to be of decisive importance to the current Zunban movement.

As for Yoshida Minoru, he is also Yoshida Shoin's disciple.

In terms of ranking when he was studying at Yoshida Juku, his status was even above Katsura Kogoro.

Together with Genrui Hisaka and Shinsaku Takasugi, he is known as the "Three Shows of the Shoin Sect", and together with Irie Kyuichi, he is known as the "Four Heavenly Kings of the Shoin Sect".

Yoshida Renma and Kusaka Genzui are in the same group, and he is also a radical with extreme ideas.

Miyabe Daizo is also a radical who favors extreme behavior.

Miyabe Daizo, Yoshida Minoru, and Katsura Kogoro, the leaders of the Zunban movement gathered together... A summit meeting of this level is really rare!

While digesting this massive amount of information, Hijikata Toshizo took a deep breath and asked the last question:

"Since you plan to start negotiations with Katsura Kogoro tonight, when will your negotiations be? Where will they be?"

Kodaka Shuntaro shook his head:

"I have no idea……"

After hearing this, Serizawa Duck suddenly became anxious.

"Damn it, it's already here and you're still playing tricks on us?! Believe it or not, I'll hang you back on the rafter!"

As he spoke, he raised his right fist as if to strike.

Kotaka Shuntaro said with a frightened face. He was probably too scared, and even his words became clearer:

"I, I really don't know!

"I'm not a big shot, so how can I know the specific time and place of such a high-level meeting?"

Serizawa Kamo ignored his rhetoric.

He stretched out his big hands like iron pliers and was about to grab the other party's clothes. At this moment, Hijikata Toshizo spoke to dissuade him:

"Serizawa, wait a minute. He's not lying. He really doesn't know."

Serizawa Kamo was startled, raised his eyebrows, and stared at Hijikata Toshizo.

"Hijikata, how do you know he's not lying?"

Hijikata Toshizo replied calmly:

"Before I was good at wielding a knife, I started hanging out and interacting with all kinds of people."

"Over time, I have accumulated a wealth of experience in 'looking at people'."

"I don't dare to say anything about my other abilities, but when it comes to the ability to identify faces and colors, among the Shinsengumi, I would rank second, and no one would rank first."

"I can tell at a glance whether a person is lying."

After that, he turned around and shouted outside the prison:

"Someone is coming!"

Soon, the executioners who had just retreated returned to the prison.

"Pull him to heal his injuries. If he is well, he will be cured. If he is not cured, he will be pulled down."

After leaving this concise order, Hijikata Tobisan strode out of the prison without looking back.

Before leaving, he did not forget to add:

"Serizawa, come with me."

Although he was dissatisfied with the other party's behavior of instructing him to do things, Serizawa Kamo still suppressed his anger and followed Hijikata Toshizo's footsteps.

"Serizawa, from now on, you cannot leave the camp even half a step before you get new orders from me or Tachibana."

"Senior warriors will attack at any time!"

"I'm sure there are a large number of spies outside the camp paying close attention to what's going on here."

"If you leave, it is very likely that a group of highly skilled people with lofty ideals will appear immediately."

"They will break into the camp and take back Shuntaro Kotaka by force."

"I'm going back to Dajin now."

"After I leave, Kyoto will be left to you and Gan Xin."

After hearing this, Serizawa Kamo felt shocked at first, and then asked:

"You want to go back to Ojin?"

Hijikata Tosei lowered his eyelids, his eyes sparkling with light.

"The current situation is extraordinary."

"I want to report this to Tachibana immediately."
To be continued...