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20 taels of gold... Well, this is indeed quite tempting, at least to Qingden whose current financial situation is far from enough to regard money as dirt.
However, compared to the bonus, it was the conditions for entry that attracted Qingdeng’s attention more.
"Only for the swordsmanship hall of Edo? Does that mean that those idle people with no connections are not allowed to participate?"
Chiba Jutaro nodded.
"Why are only novice swordsmen who have practiced swordsmanship for less than three years eligible to participate in the competition?" Qingdeng asked.
"As far as I know, this is to give new swordsmen a chance to practice and avoid the situation in the past where the same contestants come and go in every competition."
Chiba Jutaro answered slowly.
"In the past, when various feudal lords held martial arts competitions, they often did not set any conditions for participation. Anyone could sign up to participate."
"For most sword halls, they naturally hope to achieve as good results as possible in competitions so as to enhance the reputation of the sword hall."
"So this leads to a consequence - each sword hall only sends their strongest disciples to compete."
"Whenever there is a competition, there are only a few people coming and going on the field to compete. It is rare to see novices who have only practiced martial arts for a short period of time."
"In order to prevent this from happening again, Lord Aizu has restricted the number of novices who have practiced sword fighting for less than three years to participate in this competition."
"The reason why it is only open to sword halls in Edo and does not allow idle people with no background to participate is to facilitate supervision and ensure that every contestant is indeed a newcomer who has not practiced swordsmanship for a long time."
After the explanation, Chiba Jutaro changed the subject: "What do you think? Tachibana-kun, are you interested in participating in this competition? You have been apprenticed to the defense academy for less than half a year, so you meet the conditions for participation."
"It is a rare opportunity to compete with people from various sword halls in Edo. It will be very beneficial to your future training to compete with swordsmen of different schools."
"Is the competition only open to novices..." Aoto murmured, "If it's only open to the sword halls in Edo... does that mean we have to compete with the newcomers in the sword halls in Edo..."
"Jutaro." Kondo asked at this time, "How many people can each sword hall send to participate in this competition?"
"This...I don't know much about it either." Chiba Jutaro shook his head, "This swordsmanship competition has not been widely advertised yet, and I only found out that Aizuhou was going to hold the competition because of my connections."
"I don't know many details about this game."
"In a few days, after people from Aizu Prefecture begin to vigorously promote this competition, we should be able to know how many people each sword hall can send to participate."
"Oh, the Aizu clan is indeed the 'pillar of the kingdom' that the shogunate relies on the most." Hijikata said with a smile, "The winner can get 20 taels of gold... If it weren't for the fact that I have been practicing swordsmanship for more than 3 years, I wouldn't have done it.
I kind of want to compete.”
Okita on the side pecked his head and expressed his agreement with Hijikata's words just now.
"Does only the winner get the reward?" Qingdeng, who had been pondering just now, interrupted.
"Well, yes, it seems like this. Only the winner can receive the reward." Jutaro smiled, "This seems to be intentional by the Aizu Marquis. Only the winner can receive the reward. I encourage everyone to actively compete for the first place.
one."
"Just like when the generals fought in the Warring States Period, only the one who was 'first to the top' could get a big reward."
"So Tachibana-kun, are you interested in participating in this competition?"
"If I were you, I would participate without hesitation! It has been a while since the lord of the feudal lord has funded a competition. It would be a shame to miss it!"
Looking at Chiba Jutaro who was staring directly at him with a somewhat fiery gaze, Aomori couldn't help but frown.
I wonder if it was his misunderstanding...
He always felt that... Chiba Jutaro had been urging him to participate in the competition from just now...
But Qingdeng didn't think too much about this issue.
After thinking for a moment, he smiled and nodded: "I am quite interested in this competition. If I have the opportunity to represent the Trial Guard Hall in the competition, I will definitely participate."
——It’s hard for me to refuse this great opportunity to replicate my talent.
Qingdeng added this silently in his heart.
It would be a pity if we miss this great opportunity to collect talents from swordsmen in various sword halls!
Other sword halls...especially large sword halls such as the Scholar's Academy and the Military Training Hall are certainly not short of young talents with amazing talents.
By participating in this competition, which is only open to newcomers, you might be able to copy some very useful talents.
Moreover, as Chiba Jutaro said just now, competing with people from various sword halls in Edo, fighting more swordsmen of different schools, and seeing the different fighting styles of each school will be of great benefit to the practice of swordsmanship.
.
After seeing Aoto nod his head to express his willingness to participate in the competition, a happy smile bloomed on Chiba Jutaro's face.
"Hahaha, Orange-kun, I knew you would definitely want to participate in this competition!"
After saying that, Chiba Jutaro paused.
Then, at a volume that only he could hear clearly, he murmured in a thankful tone:
"As long as you are willing to participate...as long as you are willing to participate..."
…
…
Chiba Jutaro suddenly visited the Imperial Guard Hall just to inform the Imperial Guard Hall that "Aizu Hou was going to fund a swordsmanship competition."
So after the business was finished and they chatted briefly, Chiba Jutaro raised his sword and said goodbye.
Kondo politely wanted to let Chiba Jutaro come down for lunch, but Chiba Jutaro declined on the grounds that "meal is already prepared at home."
Aoto, along with Kondo, Okita and others, sent Chiba Jutaro to the gate of the Imperial Guard Hall.
Watching Chiba Jutaro leave, Okita suddenly muttered:
"That Aizu actually wants to hold a swordsmanship competition... It's really rare. I remember that Aizuhou has never held a swordsmanship competition in Edo before."
"Since it is a swordsmanship competition held in Aizu..." Hijikata crossed his hands and put his hands into Haori's sleeves, "that means that the Aizu Marquis: Matsudaira Yōhoho is very likely to show up at the competition..."
"Then I must go and watch this game."
"I have long wanted to see what this famous young feudal lord looks like."
Aizu...a vassal state with a world-famous name.
The Aizu Domain is a clan daimyo located in the Tohoku region, that is, a branch of the clan that was entrusted to various places by the shogunate Tokugawa clan.
The total stone height is 230,000. In terms of financial resources alone, the Aizu clan is definitely not outstanding among the feudal clans.
But Aizu relied on its strong military strength to gain a great reputation in Japan.
Due to various reasons such as the strong folk customs, the Aizu army's combat effectiveness is notoriously strong.
The Northeastern region is one of the regions with the largest number of foreign daimyo.
There are 31 vassal states in the Northeast region, and most of these 31 vassal states are foreign daimyo.
Such an area with many foreign daimyo has always been relatively stable and has never had any major troubles. This achievement must be attributed to the Aizu clan.
Aizu can be said to be the front line against the many gaijin daimyo in Tohoku. It was originally a "nail" that the Edo shogunate planted in Tohoku specifically for the purpose of "shocking gaijin daimyo."
And Aizu has always fulfilled this obligation perfectly, relying on its strong military power to suppress the Northeastern vassals so that they dare not cause rebellion.
The current lord of the Aizu clan, the 9th generation lord Matsudaira Yoho, is one of the current political celebrities.
It is reported that Matsudaira Yongho, who is only 24 years old this year, is a wise man with a very heroic appearance and a reputation as a virtuous man.
At a time when the country is in turmoil due to the invasion of overseas powers, most of the feudal states are just sitting on the sidelines without any opinion. The Aizu Domain led by Matsudaira Yōho is one of the very few feudal states that fully supports the Edo shogunate.
one.
The Edo shogunate now relies heavily on the Aizu clan, and the various actions of the Aizu clan are enough to be called the "pillar of the shogunate".
At this time, Kondo suddenly interrupted:
"...I don't know why the Aizu clan, which had never participated in such activities before, suddenly prepared to hold a swordsmanship competition."
"But no matter what, this can be considered a good thing."
"It has indeed been a while in Edo that there have been no wealthy feudal lords holding martial arts competitions."
“It’s been a long time since we had a great game.”
"In my impression...the competitions that made me feel bright can all be traced back to the swordsmanship competition held at the Tosahou Mountain Content Hall three years ago in the fourth year of Ansei (1857)."
"Ah." Okita answered at this time, "I also have an impression of that game. It was really exciting."
To be continued...