My Gang of Swordsmen

Arima finished speaking, and the hall was instantly enveloped in silence.

“…Hmm?”

A moment later, Aoto’s puzzled “hmm” broke the silence.

“This… Lord Arima, is the news reliable?”

Arima nodded slightly with certainty.

Arima, known for his serious nature, showed such an expression, so Aoto had no choice but to believe him…

A glimmer of disbelief flickered in Aoto’s eyes.

“Directly promoting me to the Third Squad Captain of the Arson and Theft Magistrate, and also the leader of the Advanced Bow Squad Seventh Squad… The leap in rank is quite substantial…”

The things Arima mentioned earlier: increasing the salary by 500-koku and elevating the family rank to “Hatamoto,” were all within Aoto’s expectations.

Aoto had long anticipated that, given the significant contributions he made this time, a salary increase was almost a given, and possibly a family rank elevation from “Imperial Family” to “Hatamoto.”

But what Arima said afterward took Aoto completely by surprise…

Previously, he had heard rumors: that he might be transferred to the Arson and Theft Magistrate.

As for this unverified piece of rumor, Aoto initially speculated that even if he were to be transferred to the Arson and Theft Magistrate, he would most likely serve as a Yoriki for some squad.

From being a Dōshin of the Magistrate’s Office “Three Times” to being promoted to a Yoriki of the Arson and Theft Magistrate… In this era of extremely rigid hierarchies, where the promotion of officials was as difficult as ascending to heaven, this would indeed be a rare upward mobility.

Aoto never imagined that his promotion would be so extraordinary—skipping over the rank of “Yoriki” and directly taking charge of a squad and a sub-group of the Advanced Bow Squad as a “Squad Captain.”

The Advanced Bow Squad and the Advanced Cannon Squad—both directly under the Shogunate, the Bow Group Light Infantry Team and the Iron Cannon Group Light Infantry Team are the Shogunate’s two standing armies.

The so-called “Iron Cannon” refers to firearms.

Due to the Edo Shogunate’s policy of national isolation and their lack of emphasis on technological advancement, the Advanced Cannon Squad still uses matchlock guns, which have been outdated for over a hundred years.

The matchlock gun has the critical flaw of requiring a lot of time to load the next bullet after shooting, making bows and arrows an important tool when reloading bullets in matchlock guns.

In short—because the Edo Shogunate still uses such outdated firearms, which would have long been exhibited in museums in the Western world, bows and arrows still have an indispensable role even today.

Both the Advanced Bow Squad and Advanced Cannon Squad serve as the vanguard for the General in wartime, and thus, candidates are selected from those highly skilled in martial arts.

When first established, the Advanced Bow Squad and Advanced Cannon Squad had a total of 34 groups, but starting a century ago, it was reduced to eight bow groups and twenty cannon groups.

As standing armies of the Shogunate, both the Advanced Bow Squad and Advanced Cannon Squad are idle roles during peaceful times when there are no significant battles to fight.

To give them tasks, the Edo Shogunate assigned them many “part-time jobs.”

Outside of military training, the two groups are responsible for guarding the gates of Edo Castle, escorting the General during outings, and serving as Fire Prevention Officers and Arson and Theft Magistrates!

The Edo North and South Magistrates’ Offices focus on catching thieves; the Samurai of the “Three Times” number just over thirty, maintaining the peace of Edo with such a small force… One can imagine the tremendous pressure on the Samurai of the “Three Times.”

Peace is unusual; being insanely busy is the norm.

Furthermore, the Edo Magistrate’s Office cannot control the entirety of Edo. The Edo Magistrate’s Office is only responsible for the administrative, judicial, and police work of Edo’s commoners.

For example, the Temple and Shrine Grounds and Samurai Land… that is, the boundaries of “Shrines and Temples” and the “residential areas of the Samurai” are not under the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Office.

The Temple and Shrine Grounds are governed by the Temple and Shrine Magistrate.

The Temple and Shrine Magistrate—an extremely prestigious official position. It governs the land and residents of temples and shrines nationwide, as well as professions such as priests, monks, Yin Yang Masters, musicians (those who make a living by playing music), Go and Shogi Masters.

Beneath the Temple and Shrine Magistrate is the Taster of the Imperial Court, responsible for resolving disputes and investigating criminal cases within the Temple and Shrine Grounds.

If an incident occurs within the Temple and Shrine Grounds, the Chief and Junior Inspectors under them will be deployed to summon or arrest suspects for investigation.

Since the Temple and Shrine Grounds are not under the jurisdiction of the Edo Magistrate’s Office, the Samurai of the “Three Times” cannot freely enter or exit these areas.

Even if a crime is committed within Edo-cho under the jurisdiction of the Edo Town Magistrate, if the perpetrator escapes into the Temple and Shrine grounds, the people of the Town Magistrate’s Office cannot arbitrarily enter to make an arrest.

In such cases, they can only contact the Temple and Shrine Magistrate’s Office to dispatch the Chief or Junior Inspectors, or obtain permission from the Temple and Shrine Magistrate to enter and arrest the criminal within the Temple and Shrine grounds.

The same principle applies to Samurai Land.

If the samurai in Edo’s Samurai Land commit a crime, the Auditor’s public affairs department is responsible for handling it.

Whenever a crime occurs in town resident land, Samurai Land, or Temple and Shrine Grounds, contact with the responsible officials must be made each time, severely hindering the apprehension of criminals.

To address this issue, and to alleviate the pressure on law enforcement officers such as the “Three Times,” the “Eight States Director” and “Arson and Theft Magistrate” were established.

The so-called “Eight States” refer to the “Kantou Eight Provinces”: Sagami, Musashi, Anbo, Kazusa, Shimōsa, Hitachi, Kōzuke, Lower Field.

The Eight States Director serves as a special type of constabulary.

Initially, there were only eight officials, but later, as society became more turbulent, it expanded to fifteen or sixteen people.

Their daily work involves riding horses and wandering aimlessly through the Eight Kantou Provinces. Whenever they encounter criminals, whether in a Daimyo Territory, Samurai Land, Temple and Shrine Land or Town Resident Land, they can arrest them unimpeded.