"If you have this spare money, you might as well give it to the Shinsengumi."

"If I can get this money, I can build a fully weaponized army of three thousand in half a year."

"The shogunate is crying about poverty every day, but it can always spend a staggering amount of money."

"It's really puzzling."

100,000 pounds - converted into about 270,000 taels of gold.

270,000 taels of gold... Qingdeng couldn't help but think of the pitiful 3,000 taels of military expenses he received when he went to Luo.

First, they spent one million taels of gold to come to Shangluo, and now they plan to spend 270,000 taels of gold to pay compensation...

When money is needed, various forces obstruct it in every possible way.

When you need to save, you keep spending money in vain.

When he thought of this, Qingdeng felt particularly unhappy, and he had the urge to transform from a "general of the shogunate" into a "patriot who overthrew the shogunate".

How can the shogunate win over the people with this kind of virtue?

No wonder the authority of the shogunate is getting weaker and weaker.

"Qingdeng, you can't say that."

As Rintaro Katsu spoke, he spread his hands.

"This 270,000 taels of gold is really the last money of the shogunate."

"If this money is handed over, how to distribute salaries to direct staff members this year will become a big problem."

"It's better to pay and settle the matter than to watch Edo turn into a sea of ​​fire."

Qingdeng didn't say a word, his face expressionless.

Katsurin Taro also fell silent.

Before they arrived, more and more houses appeared on both sides of the road, and the trees became increasingly sparse - they had entered the towns of Edo.

To be honest, at first, Qingnobo almost thought that he had come to the wrong place. He was not in Edo, but in a remote small town.

Compared to 4 months ago, Edo is much more depressed.

Looking around, there are few people.

If you listen carefully, the sounds are few and far between.

There is absolutely no state of vitality and excitement like before.

Some pedestrians I met by chance had their heads buried deeply, their expressions were numb, and their steps were hurried.

The reason for this situation was, of course, the serious threat from British ships, which caused a considerable number of town residents to flee to other places.

But the main reason is still because of the abolition of the pilgrimage obligation.

According to the regulations on pilgrimage, with the exception of a few remote vassal states—such as the Tsushima Fuchu Domain on Tsushima—most daimyo went to Edo every year and lived in Edo for nearly half a year.

When a daimyo travels far away, he naturally leads a large number of followers.

Thanks to this blessing, Edo has more than half of its floating population all year round.

This naturally greatly promoted various industries such as hotels and restaurants in Edo.

In layman's terms - tourism is an important pillar industry of Edo.

Now, the shogunate, forced by the strong requests of Satsuma and other feudal lords, has abolished the pilgrimage order a year ago.

The daimyo's wife and children who were imprisoned in Edo were also released one after another.

In this way, Edo, which lost its floating population, will inevitably decline.

Qingdeng and his party continued to move forward for a while, and finally encountered a fairly dense flow of people.

Seeing the arrival of well-dressed shogunate officials, the people on the street immediately dispersed mechanically, stood on both sides of the street, and made way for them.

Qingdeng turned his head and looked left and right.

I saw that all the people on the roadside had their heads raised and their eyes were cold. They looked at the officials on horseback with wide eyes, and their eyes lost the awe of the past.

Looking like this, it's like looking at your enemy.

No one spoke, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Except for the sound of Qingden and others' horses walking and the sound of people breathing, there was no other sound.

Although he had been mentally prepared in advance, what he saw in front of him still surprised Qingden.

The people do not understand economic issues or political issues.

They only know that it is getting harder and harder to make money, they only know that their lives are getting more and more difficult, and they only know that they have been living in fear of "worrying about shells falling into their homes" recently.

Shocked and frightened, they naturally pointed their finger at the shogunate who was supposed to protect them.

Abruptly, Katsurin Taro said to Qingto in a self-deprecating tone:

"Qingdeng, you may not know something."

"Such a Japanese song has become popular in Edo Town recently."

He cleared his throat "cough cough cough" and then sang quietly:

“It’s so helpless in this world where prices are soaring~”

“Department store prices only go up but not down, and rice prices remain high~”

“I can’t even eat two pieces of rice, let alone exquisite snacks~”

"Don't talk about luxuries at this time, salt is still in short supply~"

"The spices are too expensive and there is no pickle, and the rice in the restaurant is short of rice~"

"There are no discounts on the products, and drunkards are lying everywhere~"

"There is nothing cheap in the world, so I feel helpless and miserable~"

After Qingdeng listened, he immediately commented:

"Although as a minister, I should not make such comments, but I still want to comment: It is a really catchy song with precise content."

Katsurin Taro showed a complicated expression:

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Qingdeng and his party silently endured the frightening gazes of the people on both sides and continued to move forward.

A walk that could be completed in 5 minutes seemed like less than half an hour.

In this silence...suddenly, someone shouted:

"Hey! Look! Isn't that Nioh?"

This voice is like a boulder falling into a calm pond.

Suddenly, the pond was filled with ripples!

In the blink of an eye, the whole audience was shocked.

The heads that had been buried deep in the sky were raised one after another.

A bunch of eyes fell on Qingdeng.

A fiery atmosphere instantly emerged.

"Really Nioh!"

"Lord Nioh! You are finally back!"

"Lord Nioh! Are you back to resist the British ships?"

"Lord Niou! You must save us!"

…

The indifferent eyes became fiery.

The cold expression turned into excitement.

"Nioh-sama" shouted one after another, resounding throughout the streets and outside.

It was like throwing a ball of fire into a snowdrift, and the reaction was so violent that even Qingden couldn't help but be startled.

Even Qingdeng was like this, let alone others.

The shogunate officials who were accompanying him were all frightened by this sudden change.

Some excited people even jumped directly in front of Qingdeng and others' queue, trying to hug Luo Luo's hooves.

Carrot was so frightened that he screamed "moo moo".

Qingden lowered his eyelids, as if thinking.

After a while, he took a deep breath and said loudly:

"Fellows of Edo! As you can see, it's me - Tachibana Aoden!"

In order to let the people see him more clearly, he lightly knocked on the belly of the cow, urged the cow forward, and came to the front of the array.

An extremely shocking scene appeared again - the people who were noisy just now quickly became quiet.

They stared at Qingdeng eagerly, all waiting patiently for Qingdeng's next speech.

"I know that the British fleet in Edo Bay makes you panic!"

"Now, you don't need to be afraid anymore!"

"My return this time is to fight against the British ships in Edo Bay!"

"I can't guarantee you that I will succeed!"
To be continued...