After ascending to the top floor of the Kita Bansho, Aoto and the others stopped in front of an imposing paper sliding door.
Arima loudly announced their arrival inside the door, and after receiving permission to enter, he led Aoto and the others into the room.
As soon as they entered, Aoto saw a fair-skinned, stout man—the sa chubby official from the night before who had sent off Aoto and the others responsible for suppressing the Righteous Crowd—the Kita Bansho Town Magistrate, Usui Chujiro.
As one of the two “city mayors” of Edo, Usui exuded an air of wealth in both appearance and deanor.
“Oh! Arima, you’re here. You’re the first to arrive.” After greeting Aoto and the others briefly, Usui gestured politely toward the tatami mats on the left side of the office, “Please, sit here first.”
Arima led Aoto and the others to sit properly on the left side of the room.
After a while, the door to Usui’s office opened again, and a group of people entered—causing the expressions of Aoto and the others to beco noticeably awkward.
“Ah…” Butagaya muttered softly, “The faces of the Tojo group people, the more you look, the more annoying they beco…”
There were four new people in this group.
Leading them was a middle-aged man around forty years old.
His head appeared large compared to his body. He didn’t have the traditional shaved temples hairstyle; instead, his hair was ssy, as if uncombed for several days.
His originally decent facial features were slightly distorted by his chubby cheeks.
His face was covered with grease, and faint eye gunk could be seen at the corners of his eyes—a look of soone who had just woken up and hadn’t washed yet.
During the Edo Period in Japan, facial hair was generally uncommon. Most adult n shaved their cheeks clean.
However, this man defied the trend—he wore a thick, bushy beard, which was as ssy as his hair.
He had a large, protruding belly that shook slightly with each step, oddly making one want to reach out and squeeze it.
Despite his disheveled appearance, there was sothing unusual—his gaze was clear.
Such a shabby face paired with such bright, sharp eyes was strikingly incongruent, like two fresh springs bubbling up from the bottom of a dirty pond.
Any person seeing this unkempt, ordinary-looking middle-aged man would probably think the sa.
This man was Tojo Shintaro—the na of this middle-aged man.
This sloppy uncle was the other Yoriki of the Kita Bansho Teimachi Squad besides Arima.
The three n following Tojo were the three Dōshin under his command.
All mbers of the Kita Bansho Teimachi Squad were present now.
For convenience, the officials at Kita Bansho always collectively referred to Arima and the people under his command, including Aoto, as the “Arima Group.” anwhile, Tojo and the three Dōshin under his command were called the “Tojo Group.”
The Kita Bansho Teimachi Squad was essentially divided between these two groups.
Office politics always involved scheming and rivalry, and even a departnt with only eight mbers was no exception.
The “Arima Group” that Aoto belonged to and the “Tojo Group” had always been in competition.
They often quarreled over cases that were easier to boost performance—one of the most common scenes at Kita Bansho.
Both groups frequently fought over cases, so naturally, their relationship was not good.
After the “Tojo Group” entered, Butagaya, the most lively personality, imdiately glared viciously at them.
Usually silent Ushiyama also fixed a sharp gaze on the Tojo Group.
As Butagaya and Ushiyama glared, the Tojo Group mbers returned their stares without backing down.
Neither group’s Yoriki joined this “staring contest.”
Arima, usually indifferent to fa and fortune and rarely starting disputes, sat respectfully in seiza posture, eyes lowered.
Tojo crossed his legs, stared blankly at the ceiling, and absentmindedly picked at his right foot’s toes with his right hand. After picking his toes, he lifted his right hand to blow his nose...
The two groups stared each other down, but Aoto remained detached.
Aoto was now interestedly examining the books on the nearby bookshelf.
Reading was Aoto’s greatest interest besides fitness in his previous life.
Although in his past life he was a muscle-bound brute who practically wanted to train his brain into muscle as well, his reading taste was quite refined.
He loved poetry, especially Russian poetry, with the famous literary giant Pushkin being his favorite poet.
Upon entering Usui’s office, Aoto’s attention was imdiately drawn to the bookshelf filled with books standing to one side. He examined the books with great interest.
Japan of this era was still heavily influenced by Han culture; Edo period intellectuals all read classical Chinese texts.
The books on Usui’s bookshelf were mainly Confucian classics, such as the Analects and the Four Books and Five Classics.
While Aoto’s attention was focused on the bookshelf, another group entered Usui’s office.
This new group was from the Rinjikai.
The Rinjikai was a departnt ford by selecting elites from those who had long worked in the Teimachi Squad. Its task was to guide and assist the Teimachi Squad. Its composition included two Yoriki and six Dōshin.
Simply put, they were the Edo police’s instructors, firefighters, and all-purpose helpers.
Wherever they were needed, they were sent.
Because all Rinjikai mbers had been Teimachi elites, they tended to be older; the youngest was in his thirties.
“Ah…” Butagaya once again muttered quietly, only audible to Aoto, Ushiyama, and himself, “The Rinjikai people really do look like fierce demons…”
The elite Rinjikai were often dispatched to handle extrely troubleso cases.
This caused a remarkably high rate of dark circles under their eyes.
Everyone’s eyes showed an irritable “What do you want? I’m busy! Don’t bother !” look.
After the Rinjikai’s eight mbers arrived, Usui’s office imdiately beca crowded.
Following the Rinjikai mbers ca two very young n.
These two young n were the only mbers of the Onmitsu Squad, the smallest departnt at Kita Bansho without any mid-level officers—just two Dōshin.
If one were to use an idiom to describe these two Dōshin of the Onmitsu Squad, it would be “plain and unremarkable.”
The Onmitsu Squad carried out intelligence operations throughout Edo, gathering information for the Teimachi and Rinjikai squads.
Therefore, the nature of their work required all mbers to look and appear completely ordinary.
If they had faces that made no impression, people would forget them at a glance, and they could easily blend into a crowd—that was ideal!
The eight frontline fighters of the Teimachi Squad, the eight versatile mbers of the Rinjikai, and the two intelligence operatives of the Onmitsu Squad—this was the entire police force of the Edo Kita Bansho.
With the “Three Squads” all assembled, Usui folded his arms behind his back and slowly stood up.
“Looks like everyone is here.”
“To avoid interfering with today’s work, I’ll get straight to the point.”
Usui cleared his throat forcefully, took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and loudly announced:
“Order from Lord Ii: On March 1st, a major assessnt will be held!”
“This assessnt will evaluate the political performance of all officials of the ‘Three Squads’ from the Edo South and North Bansho!”
“Those who fail the assessnt will be imdiately dismissed!”
Usui’s words caused the originally quiet office to beco noisy instantly.
Everyone’s eyes widened, casting shocked looks at Usui.
“Lord Ii wants to assess our political performance on March 1st?” Sitting directly in front of Aoto, Arima also stared at Usui with his unwavering eyes, full of surprise. “Magistrate, why such sudden notice?”
Lord Ii was not a full na of a person.
The “Lord” (Dairo) at the end was an official title.
The Edo Shogunate, as the governnt that effectively ruled Japan, naturally had a mature official rank system.
At the very top of the Edo Shogunate was the Sei-i Taishōgun, a hereditary position held by the Tokugawa family, akin to the Chinese emperor.
Normally, the rank just below the Sei-i Taishōgun was the “Rōjū.”
The Rōjū’s status was similar to a Chinese pri minister.
However, in special circumstances, a position above the Rōjū could be established—the “Dairō.”
The Dairō was not a permanent position but was only set up during special tis with imnse power. Over the two hundred years of the shogunate’s history, very few people held this position.
Exactly two years ago, in the fifth year of Ansei (1858), due to national turmoil and the urgent need for a strong leader, the Dairō position was reinstated.
A strong man nad Ii Naosuke was pushed into this role.
The “Lord Ii” Usui referred to was this Ii Naosuke.
The Dairō’s power surpassed that of the Rōjū, akin to a pri minister. It was clear what kind of status Ii Naosuke held in Japan at this ti.
His position was unquestioned—second only to the Sei-i Taishōgun, “one below, tens of thousands above.”
“What else could it be?” Usui twisted his mouth, showing an impatient expression, “It’s all because of those violent radicals who keep spouting ‘expel the barbarians!’”
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