I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 757: Seeking Sponsorship from Osaka and Selecting the Head of the Shinsengumi [4600]

"Bastion? What is this?"

Iwasaki Yataro asked first.

For the Japanese today, bastion is still a very unfamiliar concept.

After a brief thought, Qing Deng replied:
"To put it simply, it is a battle-specialized castle like the Five-sided Castle."

As soon as these words were spoken, Iwasaki Yataro and others showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.

Goryokaku - a star-shaped fortress built in the Hakodate area (present-day Hakodate City) in Ezo (present-day Hokkaido).

When talking about this city, it is truly known to everyone.

After all, this was the first time the shogunate built a Western-style bastion in Japan.

In March of the first year of the Ansei era (1854), Japan and the United States signed the Treaty of Kanagawa. According to the treaty, the port of Hakodate was officially opened. The Edo Shogunate immediately took back the Matsumae domain's territory in the Hakodate area and established the Hakodate Bugyo in June of the same year.

In order to defend the northern border, the shogunate decided to build a solid fortress in Hakodate.

Construction began in 1857 and is now mostly completed.

If nothing goes wrong, it will be officially completed the following year.

As soon as Qing Deng mentioned the "Five-sided Castle", Iwasaki Yataro and others all understood clearly what kind of castle Qing Deng wanted to build.

The history textbook says: Gunpowder blew up the castle of the knight class - this statement is both true and false.

Gunpowder did blow up the castles of the knight class, but it only destroyed the square, classical castles.

When the "spear" evolves, the "shield" will also evolve.

In order to deal with the attacker's gunpowder, the defenders quickly came up with a countermeasure - that is, the bastion.

The so-called bastion is actually to build the fortress into a concave polygon.

This improvement meant that attacking any point in the castle would expose the attacker to more than one bastion face (usually 2-3).

This allows the defender to use crossfire to deliver multiple strikes.

It is not difficult to imagine how much of a headache such a castle would cause the attacker.

Otsu Castle had long since become a historical entity, with only a few black stone foundations remaining - this was exactly what Qing Deng wanted!

If Otsujo was still alive, he would have a headache instead.

Classical castles like Edo Castle and Osaka Castle are no longer useful and cannot keep up with the trend.

Japanese classical castles can only bully cold weapon troops that lack firearms.

Nowadays, times have changed. As long as a large number of artillery are brought in, even the turtle-shell-like Edo Castle will be as fragile as a piece of paper!
Iwasaki Yataro looked at Qing Deng beside him, and then looked at the stone foundation covered with weeds in front of him:

"...Mr. Tachibana."

He said with a wry smile.

"I understand what you mean."

"But...please forgive me for pouring a bucket of cold water on you."

"The cost of building a castle like the Pentagonal Castle is an astronomical amount."

After hearing this, Qing Deng suddenly looked helpless.

"I know... Alas, money is something that is never enough."

Things of superior quality will naturally be more expensive.

Building a city is an extremely expensive and huge project, let alone a combat-specific city like a bastion!

Take the pentagonal outline as an example.

The construction cost of the five-sided outline is extremely high.

护城河、土木和石垣工程预算为98，000两；建筑工程预算为25，000两；水道工程预算为20，000两；整体预算为143，000两。

This massive project employed around 5 to 6 workers during its heyday, and Hakodate began to prosper.

After supplying the Shinsengumi's daily expenses, the Shinsen Chamber of Commerce had very little money left.

If I save money bit by bit... I can save enough money, but the efficiency is too slow.

What's more, the projects that Qingdeng wants to carry out are far more than just building bastions.

Otsu is undoubtedly a blessed land, and it has more than just vast arable land.

Like Choshu, Otsu has a large number of hidden assets.

Choshu's official koku was only 37 koku, but because it was adjacent to the Shimonoseki Strait, it was able to develop its ocean-going industry and earn a large amount of tariffs, with its actual income exceeding one million koku!
Matsumoto tiles, Zensho tea...Which of these specialties of Otsu is not a gold mine?
They are all waiting for Qingdeng to develop them one by one!

Once the development is successful and the operation goes smoothly, Qingdeng's and Otsu's income will increase exponentially!
Qingdeng has made careful arrangements on how to develop Otsu.

The first thing to do is to deal with the six major projects.

First, build a bastion.

Second, reclaim new land.

Third, build a silver mirror factory to further expand the production scale of silver mirrors.

Fourth, develop specialty industries such as zensho-cha and Matsumoto tiles

Fifth, expand overseas trade.

Sixth, introduce steam engines and develop industry.

Except for the first bastion, the other five projects are all linked to the economy.

In other words, Qingdeng’s construction concept is to vigorously develop productivity.

With the economy, everything will be easy.

Without economy, everything is empty.

Any project in the "plan" drawn up by Qing Deng is a huge and expensive undertaking.

With Qing Deng's current revenue capacity... while ensuring the normal operation of the Shinsengumi, it can only barely support two projects at most.

If all six projects were launched at the same time... it's no exaggeration to say that even if the Shinsengumi and the Shinsen Chamber of Commerce were sold together, Qing Deng would not be able to raise the money!

Money, money, money... Qingdeng was troubled by money again.

He didn't think he would be lucky enough to find a product as profitable as the silver mirror this time.

Yamanami Keisuke, who had been silent from the beginning, suddenly interrupted:

"If we want to raise funds... then we can only borrow money..."

After hearing this, Qing Deng immediately shook his head:
"Jingzhu, you are wrong. We shouldn't borrow money. We should seek investment."

Shannan Jingsuke raised his eyebrows.

"'Attract investment'?"

Mai Kinoshita and Yataro Iwasaki also cast confused looks at Qing Deng.

There is no concept of "investment" in Japan at present.

Shannan Jingzhu and others only know the principle of "borrowing money" and "repaying money". It would be too much trouble to explain to them the difference between "borrowing" and "investing". So Qing Deng said casually:

"I'll explain it to you later."

Rich people provide money, and powerful people provide power - this is an eternal business model.

For Qingdeng, which is currently in urgent need of money, it would undoubtedly be much easier if it could find an investor with strong capital.

If you were to ask who the richest group is in Japan, it would undoubtedly be the tycoons in Osaka!

The businessmen in Osaka are all extremely rich.

Because they are so rich, the tycoons in Osaka are almost forming a whole new privileged class.

If we can get strong investment from Osaka merchants, all the projects proposed by Qing Deng can be put into operation quickly! The construction speed of the feudal state will be greatly improved!

—The merchant from Osaka…

Qing Deng pondered secretly, thinking about how to get in touch with the Osaka tycoons.

Although he had friends all over the world, he lacked connections in Osaka.

At this moment, suddenly, as if a flash of lightning flashed through his mind, Qing Deng suddenly remembered something.

——No...! I almost forgot...I have connections in Osaka!

Thinking of this, he subconsciously turned his head and looked at Mai Kinoshita beside him meaningfully.

Mai Kinoshita noticed his gaze at the first moment, blinked in confusion, and looked at Qing Deng.

"Qing Deng, what's wrong?"

"...No, it's nothing."

Having said that, Qing Deng silently withdrew his gaze, pretending nothing had happened.

……

…After visiting the ruins of Otsu Castle, Qing Deng and his group set out again, walking around and carefully observing Otsu Town.

From now on, this town is their "capital", and they have no choice but to pay attention to it.

Although according to the average standards of the Edo period, Ozu Town was already considered a very developed town, but in Qing Deng's eyes, no matter how prosperous the cities in the feudal era were, they were actually just that.

At this time, Qing Deng realized belatedly that today was his first time to set foot in a "second-tier city" in the Edo period.

Although his time travel lasted for three and a half years, he had only actually visited three cities and towns - Edo, Kyoto and Nara - all of which were well-deserved first-tier cities in the Edo period.

It has to be said that the gap between first-tier and second-tier cities in the Edo period was quite large.

Looking throughout Ozu Town, there is not a single cobblestone road, only bumpy dirt roads.

The houses on the street are also very low, and there are no houses higher than three floors.

In addition, Qing Deng keenly noticed that the population of Ozu Town was not as large as he expected.

The reason is that Otsu is too close to Kyoto.

Kyoto's prosperity had a siphon effect, and many people in Ozu Town were "sucked away".

In short, if you want to build Ozu Town into a town worthy of the name "Qinjin", it will also take a lot of effort.

While inspecting Ozu Town, Iwasaki Yataro raised his eyes from time to time and glanced at Qing Deng in front of him, with hesitation in his eyes.

After a while, he seemed to have made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and then drove his horse forward, walking side by side with Qing Deng:

"Mr. Ju, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not."

Qing Deng smiled without hesitation and said:

"Yatarou, you don't need to be reserved in front of me. If you have anything to say, you can speak freely."

Iwasaki Yataro straightened his back and looked serious.

"Mr. Tachibana, I personally think that the matter of 'finding the director' should not be delayed any further."

"Today's Shinsengumi is a huge armed force with 3000 soldiers."

"Moreover, I believe that it won't be long before the size of the Shinsengumi will further expand."

"On this basis, you now have an additional vast area of ​​30 koku under your rule."

"From now on, the workload on your shoulders will only become heavier."

"The current situation where you are concurrently serving as the director of the department is no longer sustainable."

"Besides...with all due respect, Mr. Tachibana, you are not a professional accountant."

"You can still handle the work of the director for now, but I can't say for sure about the future."

"If we don't find a competent director quickly, it will be difficult for us to carry out all our subsequent work."

As soon as Iwasaki Yataro finished speaking, Qing Deng couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

After a moment, he sighed silently, his facial expression dominated by strong helplessness.

"Yatarou, I understand everything you said."

"Well, you're right. We really need to find a way to fill the position of 'Director' now."

"I will seriously look for someone who is qualified to take on the position of 'Director'."

The "head" that Yataro Iwasaki refers to is naturally the leader of the Shinsengumi's Finance Department.

The position of head of the finance department has remained vacant since the establishment of the Shinsengumi.

The staff officer's seat can be empty, but the head of the department cannot.

Before this, Qing Deng could barely serve as the director of the department.

But now, he is becoming increasingly unable to cope with the situation.

As the governor of Gyeonggi Province, the general of the Shinsengumi, the commander-in-chief of the Hachioji Thousand People, and the lord of the Qinjin Domain... With these four positions, Qing Deng has to face endless official duties as soon as he opens his eyes every day. How can he have the energy to handle the work of the director?
In fact, Qing Deng has never stopped looking for the director.

However...economically talented people who can understand finance are extremely rare.

Japan has lacked science and engineering education since ancient times. Not to mention financial talents, it is rare to find people who are proficient in the four arithmetic operations.

The Shinsengumi, Shinsen Chamber of Commerce and Qinjin Domain basically share the same leadership team.

For example: Yataro Iwasaki was not only the president of the Shinsen Chamber of Commerce, but also the "Minister of Finance" of the Qinjin Domain.

The same is true for Yamanami Keisuke, who is not only the chief of the Shinsengumi, but also the "Prime Minister" of the Qinjin Domain.

Next, countless major projects will be carried out in Qinjin Domain.

It would undoubtedly be a great benefit if there was a capable logistical talent in charge of the rear.

In short, no matter from which angle you look at it, "finding a director" has become Qingdeng's most urgent task.

——Come to think of it… maybe I can ask Mr. Kiryu for help.

Qing Deng almost forgot: the Senjiya run by Mr. Kiryu is actually an employment agency.

As the boss of an employment agency, he must have a wealth of connections that others cannot match.

The old face of Mr. Kiryu appeared in Qingdeng's mind... Qingdeng couldn't help but feel a faint feeling of longing in his heart.

I haven't seen my mentor for a while, and I miss him very much.

——What is Mr. Kiryu doing now?

……

……

Edo, Senjiya——

"Oh~~ Mr. Kiryu, you have really good hands~~ I didn't expect you can even knit a blanket!"

Boss Kiryu is currently being ogled by some old woman.

As the old woman spoke, she reached out and touched Mr. Kiryu's hand in a familiar manner.

Boss Kiryu calmly withdrew his hand, leaving the other party empty-handed.

"I once learned how to sew fur in Ezo."

Although he is an old man who is nearly a hundred years old, he is deeply loved by the long-lonely old ladies nearby because of his gentle personality, elegant temperament, handsome appearance, and he knows everything and can do everything, from repairing roofs to clearing wells.

Seeing that she failed to touch the hand, the old woman changed to a coquettish "shy tone".

"Mr. Kiryu, I made a pot of fish soup today, but my husband went fishing again. It would be a pity to waste such a good pot of soup! If you are free, why not come to my house to drink soup!"

Boss Kiryu smiled reservedly:
"Mrs. Matsumoto, thank you for your kindness, but I have work to do today, so I'm sorry I can't accompany you."

His refusal to comply immediately annoyed the other party.

The old woman stamped her feet angrily and said, "Is that so? Then you just work hard, hum!" Then she turned and left.

Boss Kiryu stood up and politely escorted her out of the store.

As soon as the old woman left, he heaved a sigh of relief:

"I am already an old man with white hair and beard, why am I still so popular?"

After leaving this boastful murmur, Mr. Kiryu turned around and prepared to go back to the kitchen to continue preparing lunch.

However, at this moment——

Ding-ling~Ding-ling~Ding-ling~
Suddenly, the sound of bells came from far away outside the store.

Boss Kiryu raised his eyebrows sharply.

The townspeople of the Edo period would certainly be familiar with this bell sound.

This is the ringtone of Hikage.

Hikyaku - a courier during the Edo period.

Whenever they deliver express, they tie bells on their bodies, so when they run, the bells make clear sounds.

"Senjiwu! There's a letter for you!"

Mr. Kiryu walked back to the room and opened the shop door.

Standing outside the door was a young, well-dressed flying warrior.

He glanced at Kiryu, then took off the shoulder pole - at one end of which was a basket - and took out a letter from the basket and handed it to Boss Kiryu.

"wish you have a good business."

After leaving this indifferent remark, he quickly left.

As soon as the other party left, Mr. Kiryu impatiently opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.

There was only one line of words written on the white letter paper: Return to Osaka as soon as possible.

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Guess who will become the head of the Shinsengumi?