Both Aoto and Katsurintaro participated in this unique meeting between the two countries.

On the surface, France has the largest army in Europe.

Since the "Black Ship Incident", the number one enemy of the shogunate has never been the Western countries, but the imperial court and the Western vassals who were ready to take action when they saw the situation was different.

Therefore, the shogunate now wants a strong army more than a strong navy.

In this way, the shogunate must favor France, which is better at the army.

The shogunate's proposition is simple - France provides the shogunate with advanced weapons and assists the shogunate in establishing a new army.

As one of the greedy and shameless Western powers, France naturally has no good intentions.

Its purpose is simple - the shogunate is France's dog.

The interests of both parties are consistent in some respects.

The French want the Shogun to be their dog, but in order to make the dog easier to use, they have to make the dog stronger.

After several days of wrangling, although the two parties have not reached a specific cooperation agreement, they can still be considered to have negotiated something substantial.

All the things that need to be dealt with have been dealt with.

The vacation that should have been spent has almost been spent.

The new recruits in Edo have completed their preparations for departure and are ready to go out at any time.

Therefore, Qingdeng, who was full of energy, immediately issued an order——

June 24th, return to Kyoto!

…

…

Wenjiu three years (1863), June 23, night——

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——

Early tomorrow morning, Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo will lead all the new recruits of the Shinsengumi on their way back to the capital.

Tonight is their last night in Edo.

For this reason, the meal at the Trial Guard House tonight is particularly sumptuous.

It has all kinds of flavors and comes with ice-cold drinks.

Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, Kondo Shusuke, Okita Hikaru, Okita Rintaro (Okita Hikaru's husband), Abi (Kondo Shusuke's wife), Tsunemu (Kondo Isamu's wife), and Aoto's old servant Kubei,

We gathered together in the hall of the Trial Guard Hall and had dinner quietly.

After Ayoto and others arrived in Luo, Kyuubei took Genzaburo Inoue's place and became the current "butler" of the Imperial Guard Hall, fully responsible for the sweeping, laundry and other chores of the Imperial Guard Hall.

Kyubey was originally an old servant of the Tachibana family and served the Tachibana family.

Therefore, he is very handy with these trivial household chores.

It is worth mentioning that the meal Qingden and others had tonight was unusual.

There are obviously only 8 people eating here.

But there are more than 8 meals placed here.

Around Qingdeng and others, there were many dining tables, each with sumptuous dishes on them.

Count carefully, no more, no less, exactly 8 meals.

These 8 meals are steaming out alone.

There is no one sitting around them...

There are obviously not so many people, but so many meals are served... At first glance, this scene is very scary.

But in fact, this is a very solemn custom in Japan - Yin meal.

The so-called "yin meal" refers to providing three meals to people who are away from home when traveling or going on an expedition, praying that they can be fed, clothed and safe in a foreign place.

These 8 meals respectively represent the 8 people who are currently not in the trial defense hall - Kondo Isamu, Yamanan Keisuke, Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Ichi, Inoue Genzaburo, Toudo Heisuke, and Harada Sanosuke.

In fact, it's not just tonight.

After Qingdeng and others went to Luo, everyone who stayed behind at the Trial Guard Hall would prepare Yin Meal for them every day and every meal with great ceremony.

Before the return of Aoto and Hijikata Toszo, Kondo Shusuke and the others had to prepare not just 8 portions, but a full 10 servings - because Aoto and Hijikata Toszo's portions were also needed.

You have to prepare so many meals for no one to eat three meals a day... You can imagine how much waste this will cause.

It was only after Aoto returned to Edo that he learned that Kondo Shusuke and others had been praying for them through the "Yinzen" method.

He originally thought it was Kondo Shusuke's idea.

Unexpectedly... the person who advocated this matter was actually the hostess of the Trial Guard Hall - Aunt Abi.

Qingdeng was shocked at first, and then had mixed feelings.

No wonder Qingdeng is like this.

When Qingdeng and others first moved into the Trial Guard Hall, Abi always put on a bad face and looked like he didn't want to see them.

For this reason, many people, including Qingden and Nagakura Shinpachi, were quite afraid of Abi and tried to avoid him as much as possible.

This hostess, who values ​​money, is stingy, and caressing every dollar, actually took the lead in proposing to use Yin meal to pray for Qingdeng and others, and she has persisted until now...

In addition, according to Kondo Shusuke's revelations, every morning and dusk, Abi would take out her Nianchifo and recite sutras respectfully.

[Note on the Buddha: a Buddha statue that never leaves the body or is placed at home for kneeling and worshiping.]

Why is she chanting?

This can only be left to your imagination.

…

…

After dinner, Kondo Shusuke suddenly summoned Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo to the dojo.

Although the two of them didn't know the master's purpose, they still rushed to the dojo in a daze and confusion.

As soon as I arrived at the dojo, I saw Shusuke Kondo sitting on the main seat.

"Ji Jun, Sui San, you are here, please sit down quickly."

The two sat side by side in front of Kondo Shusuke.

"I hesitated for a long time... I still have to hand this thing over to you..."

Kondo Shusuke sighed softly and handed each of them a scroll.

Although they have not read this scroll, both Ayoto and Toshizo Hijikata widened their eyes in surprise.

As disciples of Natural Rishin-ryu, they naturally know what this is - a certificate that is passed down to everyone without permission!

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Chapter completed!