Chapter 718 Qing Deng: Quick! Call Kinoshita Mai to My Room! [4800]

Okada Izo - born in Tosa, with a low status, just an ashigaru.

What is Ashigaru?

It can be roughly understood as the corporal among corporals!

In the strict class Tosa domain, corporals were already suffering from discrimination.

As for Ashigaru, who was even humbler than an ordinary corporal...it's not hard to imagine how miserable his life was.

It can be said that except for the right to "name Saber", the living conditions of Ashigaru people like Okada Izo are basically the same as poor farmers!

The family is surrounded by walls, hungry and cold, and half-dead.

The above is the environment in which Okada Izo grew up.

With no money, no power, and no power...the only skill he could acquire was swordsmanship.

Hanheita Takeichi discovered Okada Izo, who had extraordinary swordsmanship, and accepted him as his disciple, teaching him the Ono Itto-ryu swordsmanship.

Soon after, he was sent to Edo for further study.

Under Takeichi Hanheita's personal recommendation, Okada Izo successfully entered the sect of Shigakukan, one of the "Three Great Masters of Edo", and learned the Kagami Akechi-ryu from the great swordsman Momoi Haruzo.

In the first year of Manen (1860), he accompanied Takeichi Hanheita on his travels and training in the defense minister and Kyushu areas. On the way, he learned the Jichi-style swordsmanship in Bungooka Domain, and the name "Swordsman Izo" began to be known to everyone.

After Takeshi Hanheita established the Tosa Kinou Party, Okada Izo naturally joined the organization and served Takeshi Hanheita.

Looking back on Okada Izo's past life, it is not difficult to find that Takeichi Hanheita is simply his reborn parent!

It was Hanheitai Takeichi who taught him swordsmanship and gave him a skill that he could rely on.

It was Takeichi Banheita who guided him and gave him a broader platform.

It was Hanheita Takeichi who dragged him out of the cesspit-like bottom of Tosa!

Anyone with a little conscience will always remember this great kindness.

According to legend, Okada Izo had an almost fanatical admiration for Takeichi Hanheita.

On weekdays, he always says, "For Teacher Wushi, I will risk my life!"

Takeshi Hanheita is a handsome gentleman that everyone praises... In fact, from the surface, this is indeed the case.

The real case that best reflects Takeichi Hanheita's character is the love story between him and his wife.

Banping Tai of Wu City had a wife named Tomiko.

The couple raise their eyebrows together, and the husband sings and the wife follows.

The only fly in the ointment is that Fuzi has not had any children for a long time.

In the feudal era, being childless was a major event that should not be taken lightly!

Therefore, the disciples of Takeshi Hanheita gathered together and decided to help their teacher take a concubine with Tomiko's consent.

They first let Tomiko return to her parents' home temporarily, and then sent a beautiful woman to Hanping Tai's home in Takeshi.

After a period of time, the disciples came to check the situation and were surprised to find that the woman was still in perfect condition.

Afterwards, Wu Shi Banping scolded his disciples and strictly prohibited such things from happening again.

This is just one of many incidents that reflect Takeshi Hanheita's outstanding character.

There are simply too many good deeds that Takeshi Banpingtai has done, such as "charity" and "generousness in helping others".

At first glance, he appears to be a good man with perfect personal ethics.

However... Ever since Takeshi Hanheita led the territorial Zuoqin King's party to Luo, there has been a rumor circulating in the market: Takeshi Hanheita is actually a cruel person who is very cruel to himself and even more cruel to others!

He is very fond of physical means to remove obstacles.

To put it simply, he particularly likes to imitate "Old Stories Outside the Sakurada Gate" and assassinate key figures of hostile factions! To achieve the purpose of weakening the enemy!

As long as there are no political opponents, no one can oppose me!

The powerful and loyal Okada Izo is simply a "sharp blade" that can't be easier to use!

As a result, he often sent Okada Izo to assassinate those who opposed him.

Okada Izo, who regards Takeichi Hanheita as a god, took over these dirty jobs without thinking and willingly, and wielded the "Tenchu" sword.

According to statistics, the number of people who have fallen to Okada Izo’s sword has reached a shocking number!

On August 2, the second year of Bunkyu (1862), he assassinated Saichiro Yokome Inoue, a subordinate of Tosa Domain, in Dotonbori, Osaka.

On August 20, the second year of Bunkyu, Seiichiro Honma was assassinated in Sanjo Wooden Town, Kyoto. On the same day, he assassinated Ugo Gento, a subordinate of former Sekishiro Kujo Shouchong, in Tong Maruta Town, Kawaramachi, Kyoto.

On August 30, the second year of Bunkyu, he assassinated Shimada Sakon's subordinate Saru no Bumiyoshi at the source of the Sanjo River in Kyoto.

On September 23, the second year of Bunkyu, four people including Kinsaburo Watanabe, Shigezo Ogawara, Roku Morimori, and Sukeno Ueda were assassinated in Ishibejuku, Ezhou.

On January 22, the third year of Bunkyu's reign, Ikeuchi University was assassinated near Namba Bridge in Osaka.

…

Horrible record...

Bloody record!

"Swordsman Izo" turns into bloody "Man Kills Izo"!

In terms of performance alone, looking at Japanese history, there are probably not many assassins who can compare with Okada Izo.

In fact, among the so-called "four great men", Kawakami Hikosai, Tanaka Shinbei and Nakamura Hanbei all seemed to make up the numbers.

Although these three people possess great strength, they do not have any outstanding records.

They didn't kill anyone, so calling them "human killers" is really not appropriate.

Only Okada Izo is different.

Just based on this long list of murders, the title of "killing people to hide them" is absolutely false!

Of course, the above are all speculations of the world, and there is no conclusion yet.

If it's just a normal little fight, then that's it.

However, a major case of this level cannot be done randomly!

This case has a lot of implications. If you want to convict someone, you must produce decisive evidence!

Otherwise, you won’t be able to convince the public.

To this day, the government has never obtained irrefutable evidence that Okada Izo killed innocent people.

Although based on various existing clues, it has been basically determined that there is a ghost in Takeshi Hanpeita, and Okada Izo is indeed a heinous murderer.

But...strong evidence is lacking.

When Okada Izo kills someone, he always chooses a quiet time at night and in an inaccessible place.

In this way, it is naturally extremely difficult to find witnesses and physical evidence.

What's even more ruthless is that after Okada Izo kills people, if he finds witnesses, he will also kill the witnesses with his own hands!

There are no fewer than five cases with the same situation - the bodies of civilians with frightened faces and stab wounds in the back were found near the murder scene...

Under such circumstances, how can we collect evidence?

The Tosa Kinou Party has always strenuously denied the accusations that "Okada Izo was killing people" and "Takeichi Hanheita ordered Okada Izo to assassinate others."

They hit on the Achilles' heel of "the government's lack of evidence."

They knew that this person was the murderer, but they couldn't do anything about him... In this regard, the government had no other choice but to lament.

To this day, Okada Izo is still at large, and Takeshi Hanheita is still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.

He speaks with a strong Tosa accent and is proficient in the Ono Itto-ryu and Kagami Akechi-ryu... If the information provided by Toudo Heisuke is accurate, then the assassin who attacked Toudo Heisuke tonight is most likely Okada Izo.

Facing such a killer, Toudo Heisuke is lucky to be able to return safely with all his beard and tail intact.

At this time, Hijikata Toshizo changed into a serious tone and said seriously:

"Leave aside the true identity of the murderer."

"A master with extraordinary strength is eyeing us - this is the only thing that can be confirmed at the moment."

"Even Todo is no match for him."

"In this way, the only people in the new selection team who can deal with this guy on their own are probably you, me, Asahi, Souji, Manxin, Saito and Serizawa Kamo."

Man Shin—that is, Nagakura Shinpachi.

Because Nagakura Shinpachi behaved rudely and would rush like a bull whenever there was a battle, Hijikata Toshizo gave him this nickname.

However, the only people who would call Nagakura Shinpachi "manxin" were Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo.

Hijikata Toshizo talked the most.

Only occasionally would Qingdeng call out "Quan Xin" on a whim.

"Tachibana, our opponent is already here, we can't show weakness."

"Starting today, we will double the number of patrols, increase the intensity of patrols, and increase the density of sentries."

Qingdeng nodded lightly.

"Well, Suisan, it's up to you to take care of this matter."

"I would like to add one more thing: Send out spies to closely monitor the Tosa Domain's residence, and contact the Kyoto Administrative Office to see if we can get any useful clues from them."

“In addition, we must pay more attention to the trends of public opinion in the market.”

"The Shinsengumi suddenly sent more manpower to patrol the town - this matter will definitely arouse public uneasiness and suspicion."

"Remember not to cause panic among the people."

"If necessary, you can contact Yataro Iwasaki and ask him to hire a tile vendor and publish a few articles to stabilize public sentiment."

Hijikata Toshizo nodded vigorously.

"okay, I get it."

"By the way, Suisan, please do me one more favor."

"What's the deal?"

"Help me send a message to A Wu."

Qingden narrowed his eyes, a deep light bursting out of them.

"Tell her: I have a top-secret mission for her and ask her to come to my room immediately."

…

…

Kyoto, Tosa Domain Residence——

Okada Izo carefully clung to the shadows and carefully walked under the walls of the feudal residence.

After arriving at a remote corner, he turned his head and eyes and looked around.

After confirming that no one was around, he kicked the ground suddenly, jumped up like a green onion on dry land, and climbed over the wall quickly.

Behind the wall is a small courtyard adjacent to the verandah.

As soon as he landed, he rolled forward and happened to roll to the side of the corridor.

Then he kicked off his straw sandals, sat down on the verandah, and crossed his legs.

"Tsk! Damn it...! I couldn't kill that guy...!"

While complaining angrily, he reached out and took off the low-brimmed bamboo hat on his head, revealing a dark, rough face.

At this time, a clear young male voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"Yizang, are you back?"

In an instant, Okada Izo's body trembled violently.

"Ah! Teacher!"

In the next breath, he quickly rolled down the corridor and into the courtyard, then faced Takeichi Hanheita who was walking towards him, bent his knees and waist, put his hands and forehead on the ground - it was the most standard earth seat.

Takeshi Hanheita smiled and waved his hand.

"No need to be polite, just sit down."

After that, he bent his knees and sat down on the corridor, and then made a "sit down quickly" gesture to the empty seat on his right.

When Okada Izo saw this, he immediately showed a flattered expression.

He patted the clothes on his body and shook out the dust one after another. Then he moved respectfully to Wushi Hanpingta's side and sat upright.

Looking at the master who was so close, Okada Izo's cheeks were filled with excitement and excitement... He looked like he was about to climax.

"Izo, how is it? Did you successfully kill Fujido Heisuke?"

Hearing this question from Takechi Hanpeita, Okada Izo immediately became like a deflated ball, his whole body "shrinking" and his head drooping.

"Teacher, I'm sorry, I failed... The difficulty of Fujido Heisuke exceeded my expectations... Teacher, please punish me!"

Looking at Okada Izo who bowed his head and shrunk his shoulders, Takechi Hanpeita's eyelashes trembled a few times, and the light in his eyes swayed slightly.

His slight change in expression was fleeting.

"Is that so... Well, since I failed this time, I'll try harder next time."

Okada Izo raised his head in surprise and blinked hard a few times.

"Teacher, won't you punish me?"

"Izo, how could I punish you?"

Bashi Hanpeita laughed a few times and patted Okada Izo's shoulder affectionately.

The excited look that seemed to be about to climax at any time once again dominated Okada Izo's whole body.

"Victory and defeat are common in the military."

"No one can succeed all the time."

"A temporary failure is just a common thing."

"What's more, you are my beloved disciple."

"In this case, I will be even more reluctant to punish you."

When talking about the word "beloved disciple", Banpeita Wuchi emphasized his tone.

When he heard the teacher call him "beloved disciple", the excitement on Okada Izo's face reached an extreme level.

"What we have to do now is not to punish or be punished."

"But to learn from experience and lessons and constantly improve ourselves."

"Izo, after tonight's battle, you should not fail again when you face Fujido Heisuke next time, right?"

Okada Izo immediately replied:

"Of course!"

"I have seen through that guy's swordsmanship!"

"Next time I fight, I only need 5... no! 3 rounds to take his life!"

Takeichi Hanpeita nodded:

"That's great. Izo, I am very pleased that you have such fighting spirit and mentality. You have worked hard tonight, you should go down and rest first."

"Yes!"

Under Okada Izo's enthusiastic gaze, Takeichi Hanpeita slowly stood up and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Okada Izo called him.

"Teacher Takeichi!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Takeichi Hanpeita turned half of his body back.

Okada Izo knelt on the ground, posing as a dogeza, and said loudly and righteously:

"I, Okada Izo, am illiterate and ignorant of current affairs."

"All I have is courage and passion!"

"I have made up my mind long ago! I will become the sharp sword of the teacher and help the teacher to overcome all difficulties!"

"For the teacher, I can even give up my life!"

"I am really ashamed of my failure tonight!"

"Teacher, I promise you! From now on, I will not fail again!"

"I will follow your orders truthfully and kill all the captains of the Shinsengumi! Help the teacher to achieve the great cause of the Sonnōjō as soon as possible! Establish an unprecedented peaceful and governed world!"

Wuchi Hanpeita listened quietly.

After Okada Izo finished speaking, he smiled and said in a gentle manner:

"Izo, thank you."

"Hearing your words, the fatigue I have accumulated today seems to have disappeared instantly."

"It is my honor to have your strong support."

"Even if it is just for you, I will carry out the great cause of the Sonnō to the end!"

"I will never waste your efforts in vain!"

Okada Izo was flattered and responded hurriedly:

"I don't deserve it! I am ashamed to deserve it!"

Muchi Hanpeita chuckled again.

"Okay, stop kneeling, go and rest. A person who is sleep deprived can't beat the captains of the Shinsengumi."

After leaving this sentence, Muchi Hanpeita did not stay and left directly.

When he turned his back to Okada Izo, the smile on his face disappeared quickly... In just a blink of an eye, the "smile" turned into "indifference" without sadness or joy.

…

…

The next day, at night——

Somewhere in Kyoto——

“La la la la~~hiccup! La la la la~~ge! La la la la la~~hiccup!”

Ikeda Toritaro sang a tuneless song and burped loudly from time to time.

As a core confidant of Kiyokawa Hachiro, he was really happy recently.

They successfully formed an alliance with the Tosa Kinno Party and were no longer fighting alone.

The road ahead, which was originally shrouded in thick fog, suddenly became clear!

Because he was so happy, he always went to drink a few glasses of good wine every night in recent days.

——Mr. Takechi is a rare talent.

——The Tosa Kinno Party is full of talents.

——With our internal and external cooperation, the Shinsengumi will be finished sooner or later!

When he thought of this, Ikeda Toritaro couldn't help but let out a smug chuckle.

Huh!

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew in his face, making him unable to open his eyes.

At this moment, a gentle female voice came from behind him:

"Sir, your things fell."

Ikeda Toritaro, who had drunk a lot of wine and was not sober, turned his head and looked back without any doubt.

A bright red color caught his eyes.

And then... nothing happened.

"Ugh!"

Ikeda Toritaro felt something hit his stomach.

Before he could see the true face of the "red", and before he could scream, he fainted...

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket! (Leopard head crying.jpg)