I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 798 [Changzhou Expedition]! Mobilizing an army of 20! [6900]

half year later--

The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), June 6th——

Qinjin Domain, Otsu——

It is early summer now.

The blazing and scorching sun shone down from the horizon, enveloping the entire Otsu in a wet and overwhelming heat wave.

The buzzing sound of cicadas seems to be far away, yet seems to be right next to you, blurry and clear.

"Make way! Make way! If you don't want to be hit, please make way!"

The driver shouted and drove up and down the street as if no one was around, stirring up a thin layer of dust.

Pedestrians on the road retreated to the side of the street to make way.

Looking at the carriage passing by quickly, passers-by showed annoyed expressions on their faces, and some people even started cursing.

"Really? There are so many people here, and they're driving so fast!"

"It's just a carriage, but they are so arrogant!"

"Well, forget it. Let's all be understanding. Our domain is now carrying out construction everywhere. These coachmen are responsible for transporting materials. They are very busy. It's understandable that they are a little impatient."

"Look at what you said! They are very busy and tired, but aren't we craftsmen also busy and tired? Look! My hands are covered with blisters!"

"That's right! We farmers are also very tired! Do you know how tiring it is to turn a piece of wasteland into arable land where you can grow crops? Loosening the soil, weeding, picking up stones... It takes at least two years to successfully open up the wasteland!"

"Hey, we are all Qinjin's people! What's there to quarrel about?"

……

The air smelled of dust and bustling activity.

Although the sky is very hot in summer, if we talk about "heat", Otsu is no less hot!

  Looking around, every street and alley in Otsu is filled with a grand and prosperous atmosphere!

The drivers waved the reins and whipped their horses to transport the supplies.

Farmers carried their hoes and rushed to the wasteland outside the town that needed to be reclaimed.

The craftsmen picked up their tools and continued to focus on the project at hand.

Everyone performs their duties and runs back and forth.

Although there were occasional conflicts, this did not prevent them from continuing to serve this city and this feudal state and contribute their own efforts.

Similar prosperous scenes appeared in every castle, town and village of the Qinjin domain.

  It is no exaggeration to say... Qinjin Fan's current situation is the best annotation of the word "in its infancy"!

Let’s not talk about other places for now, let’s take Otsu as an example.

Compared to half a year ago, Otsu has undergone tremendous changes today!

Before, Otsu... to put it bluntly, was just a town with nothing special except its long history.

The population is not large, there is a lack of funds, and the infrastructure is backward, and the whole town has an air of desolation.

There are even many buildings that can be traced back to the Warring States Period.

  And now, in just half a year, Otsu has completely changed!

The roads were smooth and even.

New houses are springing up like mushrooms after rain.

Of course, the most significant change is the change in population.

A "talent recruitment order" issued by the Qinjin vassal government attracted countless people of working age.

The massive influx of young and strong people indirectly promoted the development of business.

The rapid development of business has attracted new young and strong people.

They promote each other and form a virtuous development.

  Although Otsu is not as prosperous as Osaka and Kyoto, on the other hand, it has unlimited possibilities!

Because it is white paper, you can dye it with your favorite color as you like.

The best counterexample is undoubtedly Kyoto.

Because of its long history and large population, Kyoto has a large number of old houses that look like "shit mountains", which seriously hinders urban construction.

Even if one wants to reorganize Kyoto's street planning, one does not know where to start and can only make repairs on this "shit mountain".

In order to prevent this from happening, Qingdeng specially commissioned Huluwu and invited professional urban designers to make detailed plans for Otsu.

Every new house and every new street had to be reported to the provincial government in advance and construction could only begin after obtaining permission.

If you violate this rule, expect to receive a fine!

Compared with brutal measures such as imprisonment and execution, Qingdeng prefers fines.

Although Qing Deng had already realized this when he was appointed as a sidekick and the imperial attendant, it was only after he became the lord of a domain that he understood more deeply that national construction is basically a bottomless pit!

No matter how much money and food we spend, it is difficult to fill this bottomless pit!

Even with the support of Huluwu, the "super nanny", the money is still spent like water.

Qingdeng had to try every possible way to raise funds - issuing tickets was a good way to raise funds.

All in all, thanks to Qing Deng's foresight and the carefully formulated plan by the urban designer, the streetscape of Otsu is exceptionally smooth, beautiful and truly well organized.

In terms of the beauty of the streetscape alone, even Edo and Osaka can hardly compare with it!

……

……

Qinjin Domain, Otsu, a certain izakaya—

They drank and ate to their heart's content.

The moment the door curtain of this izakaya was opened, noise and heat burst out.

The store was extremely hot, and under the influence of the heat, the vision seemed to be covered by a blurry, distorted and shaking "filter".

This "filter", coupled with the hazy tobacco smoke, makes it almost impossible to see what the interior of the pub looks like.

Although it was still broad daylight and the sun was still high in the sky, the izakaya was already packed with townspeople who had taken a break from their busy schedules to come and have a few drinks.

"Drink! Drink more!"

"Oh, Bintaro, you can drink a lot today! Lady boss! Give me another 4 bottles... no, 6 bottles of soju!"

"Hey! Come on!"

After a while, the graceful proprietress came out of the kitchen with 6 bottles of soju on a tea tray, bringing a touch of color to this "masculine" wine shop.

As we all know, wherever men gather, there will be "keyboard politics".

I don't know who started it, but everyone in the room suddenly started discussing recent political affairs.

"Hey, do you know? My buddy who works for the shogunate told me that the shogunate has basically completed its war preparations, and by the end of the year, it will officially send troops to Choshu!"

"Oh, I thought you were going to say something big. Isn't the shogunate's 'Choshu expedition' already known to everyone?"

"I heard that this time, the shogunate will mobilize 80,000 hatamoto cavalry, the Aizu clan, our Qinjin clan, and the 21 western clans headed by Satsuma! A total of 200,000 troops!"

"Yeah, I've heard that too! A real army of 200,000! Not an imaginary number!"

"Two, two hundred thousand?!"

"real or fake……"

"This is an unprecedented Western Expedition! This should be the largest-scale war since the Battle of Sekigahara, right?!"

"It seems that the shogunate is determined to destroy the Choshu clan this time..."

"Humph! It should have been done long ago! I've disliked Changzhou for a long time!"

"You can't say that. Choshu and the shogunate just have different positions. There is no good or bad one."

"On the other hand, this 'Choshu Expedition' is a continuation of the Battle of Sekigahara 200 years ago.

"What a coincidence, I thought so too. Back in the Battle of Sekigahara, the Mori family was against the Tokugawa family. After the Tokugawa family won the Battle of Sekigahara, they only reduced the territory of the Mori family. Unexpectedly, the Mori family did not learn their lesson at all, and jumped out to make trouble again after more than 200 years. This time, the Tokugawa family must withdraw the Choshu domain and expel the Mori family!"

"Alas... We haven't even had a few days of peace and quiet yet, we're already going to war again..."

"Amitabha... Amitabha... We must not have a war here..."

"Oh! What are you afraid of? We have Niou and the Shinsengumi here! Even if a million-strong army attacks us, what can they do to us?"

"That's right! Don't forget, Lord Niou is our guardian angel! He will definitely protect us!"

……

Suddenly hearing the word "Niou"... Qing Deng subconsciously lowered the bamboo hat on his head and continued drinking alone.

Listening to everyone's mindless flattery of him, he couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth while secretly feeling amused.

He wanted to continue listening and understand more about people's livelihood.

Unexpectedly, after the "keyboard politics" was over, everyone in the room began to discuss the recently discovered high-cost-performance place...

As expected... once men get together, the topics they talk about are either "keyboard politics" or "sweetness".

Qing Deng, who had lost interest, left the money for the drinks on the table and strode out of the pub.

As soon as the door curtain was opened, a rolling heat wave hit me in the face.

Qing Deng walked onto the street and looked at the surrounding street scenes with great interest.

The peddler carrying a shoulder pole and hawking his wares everywhere; the women walking hurriedly to buy vegetables; the children laughing and playing; the increasingly dense flow of people...all these scenes made him look full of satisfaction.

The people of Otsu probably never imagined that their revered Lord Niou would often appear beside them, eat simple meals with them, and sometimes chat about the past and present with them.

Since the beginning of this spring, Qingdeng has had a new way to relax, which is to travel incognito.

He disguised himself as an ordinary samurai and went deep into pubs, tea houses and other places. While listening to the people's voices, he carefully observed the changes in the Qinjin clan.

Building a country bit by bit, hand in hand, making it strong and making its people prosperous... It is difficult to describe the sense of accomplishment that it brings with concrete words!

More than half a year has passed since Qing Deng became the lord of Qinjin Clan.

Qingdeng has gradually changed from being unfamiliar with this land to being familiar with it and knowing it inside and out.

After several months of peace since the "August 18th Coup", the whole of Japan was once again shrouded in the shadow of war.

  At this critical juncture, Qin Jinfan must be extremely powerful in order to stand firm in this vortex called "era"!

When Qing Deng thought of this, he felt his skin tighten and his nerves tense.

The lingering sense of crisis urged him to continue working hard and find ways to make Qinjinfan stronger.

However, even if we put aside these utilitarian elements and only talk about feelings, Qing Deng sincerely hopes that the working people in the territory can live a better life.

Therefore, whenever Qing Deng sees the ever-changing streets, the thriving markets, and the booming feudal state, he feels particularly satisfied!

  My heart was filled with a heavy sense of accomplishment, and most of the fatigue in my body was reduced. I immediately felt from the bottom of my heart that my long-term efforts were not in vain!

At the same time, a surge of energy and motivation will be rekindled throughout your body.

In terms of practical effect, there is really no better way to relax. Qing Deng looked up at the sky.

  When he found that the sun had already set, he murmured:

"Let's go back……"

Having said that, he turned around and started back to the Orange Residence.

It will still take some time before Otsu Castle is completely completed.

Before this, Qingdeng's family could only live in Ju Mansion.

Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life and to provide a better growth environment for future new lives, at the beginning of this year, Qingdeng invested in expanding the Orange Residence by twice as much and built more courtyards with more beautiful scenery.

In this way, his home became the largest and most luxurious mansion in Otsu, without a doubt.

He is very fast on his feet.

  After a while, a towering shadow gradually appeared in front of it - it was the gradually growing Otsu City!

Kinoshita Lin is indeed reliable.

After learning about Qingden's desire to "build a bastion", she immediately found a designer named "Reiner" from Prussia.

This person is worthy of being the candidate recommended by Kinoshita Lin, he does have some skills.

  After investigating the geographical environment of Otsu, he tailored a huge bastion in the shape of an eight-pointed star covering an area of ​​30 square meters!

To be honest, just by looking at the design drawings, Qing Deng's eyes were already full of surprise.

If they wanted to break through this bastion, they would either have to find a way from the inside, or mobilize a large number of artillery to launch continuous bombardment - he was so sure of it!

Qing Deng was full of anticipation for this giant bastion that seemed to be the embodiment of the term "impregnable".

When submitting the design drawings, the designer also submitted a budget sheet.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, Qing Deng couldn't help but take a breath after seeing the specific numbers on the budget sheet.

According to the contents shown in this budget table, the waterway project requires at least 20000 taels of gold, the budget for civil engineering and stone wall projects is 100000 taels of gold, and the budget for construction projects is 30000 taels of gold... All in all, the total budget is 200000 taels of gold!

  And this does not include the cost of hiring workers!

Although this is a dizzying astronomical figure, but... there is a saying that "9999 things in the world can be solved as long as you have money"!

With the strong support of Hulu House, although Qingdeng cannot be said to be rich and powerful, he can still be said to be wealthy.

With one order from him, all the granaries and vaults were opened!

  Recruit workers, purchase materials, and start construction quickly!

Huge trees and huge stones were transported to the construction site one after another.

Shouting, panting, neighing of horses, mooing of cows, turning of wheels...the construction site inside and outside is filled with huge noise all day long.

Because the work is hard, some workers just pick up their buckets and run away after receiving their daily wages every day.

But at the same time, new people are rushing into the construction site every day.

The world is not doing well these days. No matter how hard the job is, there are always people rushing to do it.

One in, one out...the total number of workers generally remained around 6,000.

This was a project of astonishing scale, so Kinoshita Lin specially sent several capable people under her command to assist Qing Deng and help oversee the progress of the city's construction.

Qing Deng wasn't too worried about the money issue.

What he is most worried about now is time.

Right now, the "Choshu Expedition" is imminent.

The "August 18th Coup" in the middle of last year brought about a drastic change in the political situation in Japan.

Choshu fell into the abyss and became an enemy chosen by the Emperor to disrupt government affairs.

Since the "Black Ship Incident", Choshu has been finding various ways to disgust the shogunate.

Tokugawa Iemochi was eager to get rid of this extremely disobedient traitor.

  So...how could he let go of this great opportunity to completely eliminate it?

As early as September last year, Tokugawa Iemochi began preparations for the Western Expedition.

What a pity...there are so many problems within the shogunate!

It's like a tangled mess of linseeds. Even if you want to sort it out, you don't know where to start.

Even though the "Ichibashi faction" had completely lost power and Tokugawa Iemochi had become the absolute leader of the shogunate, the so-called "politics" was not so simple that everyone in the entire system would obey orders based solely on the words or orders of the Shogun.

There were many people within the shogunate who did not want to fight.

Among them, the ones who presented the greatest resistance and opposition came from the core military force of the shogunate, namely the direct descendants.

  Are you kidding me? When my ancestors fought the Battle of Sekigahara and annihilated the Toyotomi clan, they did all my work in this life! I came to this world to enjoy life! Eating, drinking, watching theaters, and playing with women in Yoshiwara, how happy it is! What war is there for?

The generals and soldiers were strongly opposed, and the civil servants were also shaking their heads in opposition.

The civil servants' excuses were nothing more than the same old stuff: "lack of food and pay", "too long a combat distance", "low morale of the army", and "not much benefit".

This is war... real blood and fire!

  This is no longer a simple dispute over interests; it concerns the life and death of countless people!

In order to avoid this war, those people and factions who usually acted submissive in front of Tokugawa Iemochi formed an alliance, argued vigorously, and strongly opposed the "Choshu Expedition", and were unwilling to give in.

Faced with numerous obstacles, Tokugawa Iemochi was like dancing in shackles and catching rats in a porcelain shop, pushing forward his war agenda with great difficulty.

It took nearly a year in total, and after repeated intimidation, inducement, and compromise, Tokugawa Iemochi was finally able to integrate the hearts of the people within the shogunate and complete the war mobilization.

All those "rumors" that those people in the pub just now were talking about were true.

  This time, Tokugawa Iemochi decided to issue an unprecedented mobilization order!

Not only will we dispatch 80,000 hatamoto cavalry, but we will also mobilize the Qinjin clan, the Aizu clan, and the 21 western clans headed by the Satsuma clan, a total of 200,000 troops! Attack Choshu in five directions!

As Tokugawa Iemochi's core confidant, Aoto had received reliable news not long ago - this "Choshu Expedition" will be led by Matsudaira Yoshiyasu's Aizu Army and his Shinsengumi as the vanguard!

The tentative departure time is November this year.

When thinking about a battle plan, you must not be blindly optimistic and must take the worst-case scenario into consideration - this has always been Qingdeng's good habit.

Although from the current situation, the shogunate has an absolute advantage, with both a large-scale expeditionary force and the purpose of sending troops to "conquer the enemies of the court."

However, since the war was about to begin, we had to consider the possibility that "Choshu clan would take the initiative, launch an eastern expedition before the shogunate, and fight all the way to Otsu Castle."

In fact, Qing Deng believes that such a possibility does exist!

In short, it is necessary to formulate a corresponding response plan based on the premise that "Choshu launches an eastern expedition."

At present, the Otsu Castle has just completed the moat and laid a solid foundation. Not to mention the high walls, even the earthen walls have not been built yet.

If the enemy attacks, such a fragmented city will be of no use.

What good is a castle if it can't keep up with the war?

Qing Deng once approached the designer and asked him how long it would take for Otsu Castle to be fully completed.

"Based on the current progress...if there are no natural disasters or man-made disasters, there is hope that it will be completed within five years" - said the designer.

  5 years...To be honest, this time is too long!

Although he was very anxious, Qing Deng knew that the only thing he could do now was to wait slowly.

Both the recruitment of manpower and the investment of funds have achieved marginal effects.

Even if more staff were recruited or further additional investment was made, it would not increase the speed of construction and might even have a counterproductive effect.

  In other words - this is the fastest speed now!

Therefore, we can only wait patiently...

……

……

After returning to the Ju Residence, Qing Deng walked through the winding corridors with ease and headed straight into the depths of the mansion.

"Your Highness, how are you?"

"Your Highness! Hello!"

"Your Highness, Madam Wu's calf is cramping again."

……

Calls of "Your Highness" one after another surrounded Qing Deng from all directions.

Nowadays, he is also called "Your Highness" by others.

The waiters and guards along the way retreated to both sides, making way for him while bowing respectfully to Qing Deng.

Such a magnificent mansion naturally requires a large number of servants to maintain its daily operation.

In addition, sufficient guards must be provided to ensure safety.

Ever since Qing Deng became famous, especially now that he has expelled the Choshu clan and completely offended the Sonjo faction, there are countless people who want to take his life.

Although Qing Deng was not afraid of these rats, he had to consider Sanako and the others.

So, he selected a group of highly skilled elites from the Shinsengumi to form a guard team specifically responsible for protecting the Tachibana residence.

Not only are all members of this guard team good at fighting ten people at once, but they are also well-equipped with swords, spears, chain mail... everything they need, and they are even equipped with muskets.

If any evildoers come to attack us, we will make sure that no matter how many of them come, they will all die!

By the way, Qing Deng took Kyubei over.

After the grand wedding of "one man and three women", Kyubei found Qingdeng and expressed his sincere desire to continue serving Qingdeng.

Although he had a very happy time working at the Shiweikan and Kondo Shusuke's family took good care of him, he still wanted to serve the Tachibana family.

"Master, you and the late master have been very kind to me! In order to repay you, I made up my mind long ago to work for the Ju family for the rest of my life!"

Seeing that the other party had said this, Qing Deng could only nod in agreement.

So, he took Kyubei over and asked him to continue to serve as the Tachibana family's loyal servant, specifically responsible for cleaning Qingden's room and washing Qingden's underwear - this extremely private work could only make Qingden feel at ease if it was given to Kyubei, whom he absolutely trusted.

The maid whom Qingdeng met just now told him that Awu's leg was cramping again.

After learning about this, Qing Deng was stunned for a moment, then with a wry smile on his face, he asked where Ah Wu was now, then changed direction and strode to find her.

After a while, he heard a familiar groan.

“Mmm…! Mmm…! Mmm…! Mmm…!”

"You are such a problem... Your legs are cramping every other day. How do you feel now?"

“Ah…! A little lower… Yes, right there… A little harder… Ah…! It hurts…!”

"Oh, you're such a bother. You asked me to massage you, and then you complained that I was using too much force after I did it. Really... How about now? Is this force okay?"

"Well... just right..."

Qing Deng followed the sound and came to a spacious, quiet and unique courtyard.

On the corridor, two beautiful figures came into Qingdeng's sight.

Ah Wu lay flat on the porch, her stockingless legs resting on Sanako's lap.

Sanako looked helpless while massaging Awu's legs with her hands.

Compared to two years ago, the two girls' appearance has changed significantly.

It’s not that their faces have changed at all, they are still as young and stunningly beautiful as ever.

It was their figures that had changed - their originally flat and tight bellies now had a noticeable bulge.

  *******

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I spent a lot of time on the last chapter, deleted a lot of content, and finally passed the review smoothly... I'm not happy! (豹炸.jpg) But now that things have come to this, there's no point complaining anymore...

By the way, I haven't promoted this book in a long time! Book friends who want to join the group can go to the comment area of ​​the Qidian mobile terminal! There is a group number there! (豹嗨.jpg)

For the sake of Leopard's conscience, please vote for this book! (Leopard crying.jpg)