I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 800: The Innate Ninja Body! 6000 soldiers burst! [Leopard update 7K]

Tachibana Residence is located in the center of Otsu town.

As soon as the man and the cow left the house and walked onto the street, tall gates and big houses spread out along their sight.

Compared to other areas of Otsu, the streetscape in the town center seems to be from another world.

The most obvious changes are undoubtedly that "the buildings are more magnificent" and "the number of warriors has suddenly increased."

Five out of ten people walking on the street or sitting in the store have two swords, long and short, worn on their waists.

After seeing the iconic big black bull, all the warriors along the way put down their work, rushed to the street, knelt down on the street, posed in the most standard posture of Dogeza, and shouted loudly:

"Lord!"

"Lord!"

"Lord!"

……

The shouts of "Lord" became louder and louder, surrounding Qingdeng from all directions.

That’s right, these warriors were all retainers of Qing Deng, that is, the samurai of Qinjin Domain.

Wherever people live together, classes will definitely emerge - this is the truth of the world.

Except for a very small number of idealists, the vast majority of the Shinsengumi's generals and soldiers are ordinary humans who are greedy and thirsty for fame, fortune and power.

The reason why they put their heads on their belts is to realize the dream of "achieving fame and fortune on horseback", becoming famous overnight and rising rapidly.

After Aoto established the domain, all the meritorious veterans of the Shinsengumi were eagerly looking forward to Aoto's fiefdom.

On the other hand, "establishing the gentry of Qinjin" has become Qingdeng's most urgent priority.

No matter how powerful Qing Deng is, it is impossible for him to govern such a large territory of 30 by himself.

He needed people to serve as officials of all ranks in the Qinjin domain.

He needed a group of loyal and trustworthy people to govern Qinjin with him.

Therefore, with such "two-way rush", not long after the marriage, Qingdeng held a grand and solemn ceremony of rewarding and conferring titles on all his ministers.

He promoted more than 200 people from the Shinsengumi at one time based on their positions and merits - they thus crossed the class line and became the first samurai of the Qinjin domain.

In order to demonstrate their status and to protect the Tachibana family, all the samurai moved to the town center of Otsu.

Surrounding Otsu Castle, where the foundation has been laid and the walls have begun to be built, magnificent buildings are lined up like a chessboard.

The higher the rank of the samurai, the closer they lived to Otsu Castle.

To be honest... Qing Deng felt very uncomfortable with this kind of "artificial class division".

The education he received in his previous life was "equality for all" and "elimination of exploitation and oppression".

Therefore, whenever he saw the scene of "wherever he went, the common people would kneel on the ground", he would feel uncomfortable.

Of course, Qing Deng also understood that it was quite naive to talk about those grand goals without considering the actual productivity and limitations of the times.

If you go against the will of heaven, not only will you gain nothing, but you will also most likely cause endless disasters.

As his own experience continues to grow, Qing Deng now realizes more and more deeply: no matter how fast or fiercely the blade is swung, there are many things that cannot be cut off.

Although he was in a heavy mood, he chose to seek truth from facts, adapt to local conditions, and govern Qinjin with the traditional "hereditary nobility" system that was most suitable for Japan at that time.

Qing Deng referred to the systems of other vassal states and designed a complete hierarchy system for the gentry of Qinjin vassal state.

Under Qing Deng's design, the gentry of Qinjin Domain were divided into "three classes and ten levels".

The first tier is the [Master Attendant], which includes two levels: "Family Elder" and "Middle-aged Elder".

The "family elders" enjoyed a salary of 1500-10000 koku, were in charge of domestic affairs, and served as magistrates. They also served as leaders of the main army and could use the name of the Tachibana family. Their relationship with Aoto was like that between the most trusted hereditary daimyo, the daimyo of the close domain, and the shogun.

The "junior elders" enjoyed a salary of 450-1500 koku. They were candidates for some important official positions and were usually closer to the implementation and execution of policies than the distinguished family elders.

The second level is the [Sergeant], which includes three levels: "Ma Hui", "Jin Xi", and "Liu Shou Ju".

The Mahui were paid 100-700 koku. The name came from their position on the battlefield - around the daimyo's camp. They filled most of the leadership positions in the management.

The "Jin Xi" enjoyed a salary of 70 and 250 shi of land. They were responsible for serving the Ma Hui, and most of them were local officials.

The "Liushouju" enjoyed a salary of 50-200 shi and was responsible for serving the close attendants, who were mostly local officials and low-level bureaucrats.

The third class is the [Heishi], which includes five levels: "Xiangshi", "Yunren", "Tushi", "Zugai", and "Ashigaru". They are all responsible for local grassroots positions.

"Country scholars" enjoyed a salary of 30-250 shi.

"Employers" enjoy a salary of 15-30 shi.

"Tu Shi" means "a soldier who is not qualified to ride a horse" and enjoys a salary of 12-17 shi.

Those outside the group enjoy a salary of 10 shi.

"Ashigaru" means "foot soldier" and their income is 3-7 koku, which is barely enough to make ends meet and not starve to death.

The first Shinsengumi generals who followed Aoto... that is, the elder ministers headed by the "Shieikan faction", were all granted the rank of master attendant, namely "family elder" and "middle elder".

Among them, Hijikata Toshizo and Sannan Keisuke were the ones with the highest status.

So far, they are the only two who are the "family elders" of Qinjin Domain.

Others like Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Hajime are still just “middle-aged and old”.

As the highest authority under Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke both hold great power.

There was no difference between the positions they held in Qinjin Domain and those in the Shinsengumi.

The former is in charge of the "military" of the vassal state and is in charge of military affairs, similar to the Taiwei.

The latter was in charge of the "culture" of the vassal state and handled political affairs, similar to a prime minister.

From a certain perspective, Hijikata Toshizo is the most inspirational person in the Shinsengumi besides Aoto.

Among the generals, although Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime and others were ronin who had no position, no salary and no fixed place to live, their social identity was always samurai.

In fact, Qingdeng's starting point was very high, and it had nothing to do with the so-called "loser comeback".

  Born into a family of samurai, enjoying a family salary of 100 koku, having a stable and high-paying job, and being able to eat white rice every day - such family conditions have surpassed more than 90% of his peers!

On the other hand, Hijikata Toshizo was just a farmer who was not even qualified to carry a sword.

Although he always hung his favorite sword, Izumi no Kami Kanesada, around his waist without restraint, his behavior was actually illegal.

However, because he was the vice-captain of the Shinsengumi, no one dared to pursue the matter.

From a peasant, a notorious "thorny villain", he rose to become the chief military commander of a feudal domain...

  In the eyes of ordinary people, this is another best example of "the carp leaping over the dragon gate" and "achieving fame and fortune on horseback"!

As the story of Hijikata Toshizo spread, more and more people came to Aoto, eager to become a part of the Shinsengumi.

It is worth mentioning that among the Shinsengumi generals, the only one who did not accept Aoto's fiefdom was Kondo Isami.

Tama is adjacent to Edo and was the territory of the shogunate.

Influenced by this, and also due to local customs, the people of Tama have always had a strong sense of pride and are proud of their identities as "subjects of the heavenly kingdom" and "servants of the shogunate."

As a Tama native, Kondo Isami has always been a staunch supporter of the shogunate and is unwilling to give up his status as a "retainer of the shogunate."

Although Qingdeng extended an olive branch to him, he politely declined.

In other words, his current identity is still a "borrower" temporarily loaned to Aoto by the shogunate, and not Aoto's direct retainer.

Qing Deng did not interfere with Kondo Isami's choice, but chose to respect and understand him.

Even though Kondo Isami was not his retainer, Aoto still entrusted him with an important task, making him responsible for the security and surveillance of the domain.

……

……

Otsu, outskirts, the headquarters of the Shinsengumi—

After nearly an hour's trek, Qing Deng arrived at the Shinsengumi headquarters in the western suburbs of Otsu on time.

With the official establishment of Qinjin Fan, Qingdeng now had a base that truly belonged to him alone.

  Therefore, the Shinsengumi's eastward migration became inevitable. (Otsu is located east of Kyoto)

Although in name, the Shinsengumi was a new army directly under the shogunate, in reality, the Shinsengumi was Aoto's private army.

Since Qing Deng took on the role of the head of the Hachioji Thousand People's Cosmos last year, Tokugawa Iemochi has agreed to allocate 2 taels of gold in military expenses to the Shinsengumi every year.

This amount of money may seem like a lot, but for an army... and an army that has already achieved firearms and modernization, it is simply a drop in the bucket.

The Shinsengumi's food and wages were mainly raised by Qing Deng himself.

They ate Qingdeng's food and received Qingdeng's salary, but on weekdays they only saw Qingdeng. The Shogun and the like were far away and they had never seen them.

What's more, many generals and soldiers were not from the Tenryo family and had no sense of belonging to the shogunate.

As such, the generals and soldiers of the Shinsengumi naturally generally regarded Aoto as their supreme commander, and in their eyes they had only the pacification envoy but not the general.

Since they are his own private soldiers, he would naturally deploy them in his own base.

  How can it make sense to let your troops stay away from your own territory?

Moreover, as the size of the army continued to expand, the small garrison in Mibu-go, Kyoto, was already crammed with so many people.

In short, it is no longer appropriate to set up the Shinsengumi's headquarters in Kyoto.

Therefore, Aoto made drastic changes to the Shinsengumi's base.

The garrison originally located in Mibu-go was changed to a branch of the Shinsengumi in Kyoto, with a permanent force of 700-800 troops.

The Shinsengumi's headquarters moved eastward and was located in the western suburbs of Otsu.

The reason for choosing this place is mainly due to two considerations.

One is that the area is very open.

Looking up, as far as the eye can see, there is an endless vast plain, which is an ideal place for garrisoning troops.

Even if the military force is expanded to more than 10,000 people, there will still be sufficient training grounds.

As for the second, it is military considerations.

The area is located right between Kyoto and Otsu.

In this way, if anything happens in Kyoto or Otsu, the Shinsengumi can move quickly and with ease.

  Whether heading to Kyoto in the west or rushing to Otsu in the east, you can be on the battlefield within 2 hours!

Before passing through the headquarters camp gate, Qing Deng had already heard the loud neighing of horses and resounding roars of people.

Directly above the camp gate, two large flags - the "three-leaf sunflower" symbolizing the shogunate, and the "gentian leaf" symbolizing the Qinjin domain - fluttered in the wind.

"Moo, moo, moo..."

Qingdeng gently stroked Luobo's big head, telling it to "wait patiently" with his gesture, while he jumped off the cow's back skillfully and lightly.

  As soon as his feet touched the ground, he heard a familiar yet unfamiliar baritone voice from his side:

"My lord, how are you?"

Qing Deng was startled for a moment, then turned his head to look—a young man was kneeling on one knee with a serious expression and solemn manner.

The man had a...too ordinary face.

Eyes, nose, mouth... every part of his face is very ordinary, without any outstanding features that can impress people.

It really means "you can't find it if you throw it into a crowd".

In addition, his height, figure, voice, and temperament are all very ordinary.

Neither handsome nor ugly.

He is neither tall nor short.

The physique is neither fat nor thin.

The sound is neither loud nor shrill.

The temperament is neither strong nor weak.

In short, this person is the human embodiment of words such as "ordinary", "ordinary", and "inconspicuous".

Qing Deng stared at the man's face, his expression full of reminiscence and thought.

About 3 seconds later, he slowly revealed a look of sudden enlightenment.

"Oh... it's Yamazaki-kun, why are you here?"

The man called "Yamazaki" replied calmly:

"My lord, I have been here the whole time. I was about to enter the camp when I vaguely heard Luobo's cry, so I waited here first, but you didn't notice me, my lord."

"Oh, that……"

"My Lord, judging from your tone, you have forgotten me again, right?"

  Qing Deng laughed dryly a few times:

"Well...you're right. I'm sorry, I forgot about you again."

Yamazaki shook his head calmly.

"My Lord, there is no need to apologize. This is my own problem. I am so inconspicuous that everyone always forgets me."

  Qing Deng couldn't help but think to himself when he heard this:

——You are no longer considered “unremarkable”…

This man's name is "Yamazaki Zheng", a native of Osaka. He stood out in the "Great Recruitment" four months ago and successfully joined the Shinsengumi.

His martial arts skills were not outstanding, and he only knew the basics of swordsmanship. Only his judo was passable.

However, he was very agile, could run very fast, jump very high, and his body was very flexible, just like a monkey.

The "great conscription" four months ago was truly magnificent.

Talented people from all corners of the world gathered in Otsu, just to compete for a place in the Shinsengumi.

In an event of this scale, the reason why Yamazaki Zheng was able to stand out was not so much because of his agile skills, but mainly because of another talent he possessed.

That is "sense of presence".

His presence is extremely low! So low that it can be called metaphysical!

Perhaps it was because he looked too ordinary, his presence was shockingly low, and he was almost forgotten as soon as he was seen.

I was staring at his face one second, and then looked away the next second, as if my memory had been reset, and I immediately forgot what he looked like.

Not only is he agile, but he also has an incredibly low presence… How could we not recruit such a talent?

  Qing Deng instantly thought of the unit that best suits him - the Shinsengumi's ninja unit, the 9th Division!

In Qing Deng's opinion, Yamazaki Junshi is actually the "innate ninja holy body".

His extremely low presence means that he is very suitable for confidential missions such as infiltration and undercover.

Apart from anything else, just running away and shaking off the enemy's pursuit will make him invincible.

If he walked into the downtown area and hid in the dense crowd, it would be like leaves entering the jungle or water entering the sea. Even if one blinded one's eyes, one would not be able to find him.

倘若培养得当的话，他定能成为新选组的新王牌！    就这样，在青登的钦点下，山崎烝火速入伍，归到阿舞麾下，成了重点培养的新人。

Although Wu was pregnant at that time, her pregnancy was not obvious and her daily activities were not affected, so she had not retreated to the second line.

Yamazaki Jun already has a foundation in judo and is in good physical condition.

Under the focused training of Mai Kinoshita, he quickly learned skills such as climbing walls, sneaking through doors and picking locks.

In less than 3 months, he passed Awu's assessment and completed his apprenticeship successfully.

According to Awu, he is now a qualified ninja.

With his outstanding talents, he was successfully promoted to deputy captain of the 9th squad not long ago.

After Mai Kinoshita temporarily took over the second line, he has been in charge of the overall situation of the 9th Division.

As far as performance is concerned, he has done a very good job, and Qingdeng and Awu's cultivation of him is worthy of their support.

He has always performed his duties conscientiously and managed the 9th Squad in perfect order. So far, there have been no major problems.

However... it is worth mentioning that his extremely low presence caused trouble for his own people before causing trouble for the enemy...

Even his comrades who had been with him day and night found it difficult to remember his appearance, which led to many misunderstandings.

Just like Qing Deng - Qing Deng can't even remember his face until now...

Every time he saw Yamazaki Zheng, he would feel as if he had seen this person somewhere, and then after thinking for four or five seconds, he could remember who he was.

Even Qing Deng, who possesses the gift of "photographic memory", is like this, let alone others.

It was even more common for people to be stopped outside the camp because they were forgotten by the guards...

……

……

Qing Deng and Yamazaki Zheng walked into the camp one after another.

Inside the camp, patches of light green filled the view.

The soldiers were running back and forth, each doing their own job.

Some of them held spears in their hands, swords on their waists, fully armed, and stood guard.

Some people were running towards the stable carrying bundles of hay.

More people lined up in neat rows and ran briskly towards the training ground.

Although the camp is large and there are many people, it is well organized and busy but not chaotic.

This alone shows how strict the Shinsengumi's military discipline is.

Seeing Qing Deng coming, no matter what they were doing, the soldiers stopped what they were doing, stood respectfully in place, and bowed to Qing Deng.

According to the rules set by Qing Deng, once he entered the military camp, Qing Deng's primary identity would no longer be the lord of Qinjin Domain, but the general-in-chief of the Shinsengumi.

In this way, there is no need to follow the feudal etiquette of "stepping aside and kneeling to greet a daimyo when meeting him".

When you see Qing Deng in the military camp, it is enough to just bow slightly and salute him.

The King will inspect the training of the new recruits today - this news spread throughout the Shinsengumi a few days ago.

For this day, everyone from the senior officers like Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke to the ordinary soldiers had made countless preparations and were ready to go.

  Therefore, as soon as the sky turned light today, the whole camp was filled with a tense atmosphere!

……

……

After a while, Qing Deng arrived at the reviewing platform on the training ground.

All the wise men have already arrived on the stage for selecting generals.

Compared to half a year ago, with the expansion of the army, the number of generals in the Shinsengumi has more than doubled.

Looking up, there were old faces such as Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Saito Hajime on the stage, as well as many new faces of different ages.

Everyone stood in order according to their rank below the main seat, waiting for Qing Deng's arrival.

After being granted a territory of 30 square kilometers and having Huluwu as his super nanny, Qingdeng now has a broader and more abundant source of income.

It is no longer like before, when there was only the Xinxuan Chamber of Commerce as a money bag.

Recruiting soldiers and buying horses depends on two things: money and food.

Now that we have money and food, it becomes imperative to further expand the size of the Shinsengumi's military forces.

  Four months ago, Qingdeng held a new round of "recruitment" on a larger scale than ever before!

While expanding the military force, Aoto made certain changes to the Shinsengumi's military system.

First, he established a new unit number: the 11th Squadron.

The 11th Division is the artillery unit.

As the name suggests, this is a unit specifically responsible for artillery battles.

Guns and cannons are the mainstream of today's warfare.

Qing Deng specially designated the artillery as an independent new team, which shows how much he values ​​them.

In other words, this team, like the 6th and 8th squads that have been transformed into the Musketeers, is the fist force that Qing Deng focuses on.

Secondly, the position of "Assistant Officer" was established, and the position of "Deputy Captain" was permanently set up in each squad.

Previously, because the size of the army was too small, there was no need to have a large number of officers.

Therefore, each squad did not have a permanent deputy captain.

As for the "Assistants to the Chiefs", they are the adjutants of the four major chiefs - the deputy chief, the general chief, the director and the head of the department - and their status is equivalent to that of the vice-captains of each squad.

With the announcement and launch of the "Great Conscription", countless brave men, who had long been envious of the inspirational stories of "commoners becoming warriors" and "farmers becoming 'generals'", came from all corners of the country and signed up to join the army.

When the "Great Conscription" was over, the Shinsengumi not only added a group of fresh blood, but also recruited a large number of outstanding talents including Yamazaki Shō.

Facing the current lineup of generals of the Shinsengumi, Qing Deng can proudly say: "All the heroes in the world are within my grasp!"

  The current lineup of the Shinsengumi is as follows:

First of all, the central organs and logistics departments——

  【Civil Inspection Bureau】（Military Police）

Director: Kondo Isami.

Assistant to the Director: Ito Koshitaro.

There are 380 people in total.

【General Affairs Department】(in charge of administrative work)

Chief of Staff: Keisuke Yamanami.

Assistant to the Chief: Takeda Kanryusai.

Command 120 people.

【Finance Office】(in charge of financial work)

Head of Department: Elodie Angoulême.

Assistant to the Director: Keizaburo Kawai.

100 people were surveyed.

[Refining House] (Mainly responsible for weapon forging and repair)

Refined Head: Harutaro Kitahara.

200 blacksmiths.

  【General Application Office】 (in charge of field engineering and civil engineering)

Puqingtou: Natsujiro Touno.

Hand-passed to 120 people.

【Medical department】(in charge of medical affairs)

Medical Head: Akizo Nanjo.

There are 80 doctors.

The central organs and logistics departments have a total of 1000 people.

Next is the combat unit, the sword-drawing corps—

Deputy Chief: Hijikata Toshizo.

Deputy Chief Assistant: Ogata Shuntaro.

[First Division] (Elite Infantry Division):

Captain: Tachibana Tsukasa (Okita Souji).

Vice Captain: Shimada Kai.

Strength of troops: 300.

[Second Division] (Elite Infantry Division):

Captain: Shinpachi Nagakura.

Vice Captain: Noboru Nakajima.

Strength of troops: 250.

[Third Squad] (Elite Infantry Squad):

Captain: Saito Hajime.

Vice Captain: Nakazawa Sadaki.

Strength of troops: 250.

【Fourth Division】(Infantry Division):

Captain: Duck Serizawa.

Vice Captain: Tani Sanjuro.

Strength of troops: 550.

[Fifth Division] (Infantry Division):

  Captain: Niimi Nishiki

Vice Captain: Tani Mantaro.

Strength of troops: 450.

[Sixth Division] (Musketeers):

Captain: Inoue Genzaburo.

Vice Captain: Chief Accountant Soma.

Strength of troops: 1000.

[Seventh Division] (Cavalry Division):

Captain: Tachibana Sanako (Chiba Sanako).

Vice-captain: Qin Nakazawa.

Strength of troops: 400.

【Eighth Division】(Musketeers):

Captain: Heisuke Fujido.

Vice Captain: Kanichiro Yoshimura.

Strength of troops: 1000.

  【9th Division】（Ninja Team）:

Captain: Mai Tachibana (Mai Kinoshita).

Vice Captain: Yamazaki Sho.

Strength of troops: 200.

【10th Division】(Cavalry Division):

Captain: Harada Sanosuke.

Vice Captain: Tadashi Matsubara.

Strength of troops: 400.

【11th Division】(Artillery Division):

Captain: Juro Abe.

Vice Captain: Risaburo Nomura.

Strength of troops: 200.

800 elite infantry, 1000 ordinary infantry, 2000 musketeers, 800 cavalry, 200 ninjas, 200 artillerymen, a total of 5000 combat soldiers.

5000 combatants, 1000 central organs and logistics personnel, total force 6000!

After the "change from 100 to 3000", the total strength of the Shinsengumi ushered in the second wave of rapid growth! From 2 to 3000, it has doubled and has become a force of 6000!

  With such a powerful military force, it is hard to find an opponent even in the whole of Japan!

Apart from the shogunate, only a few powerful domains such as Satsuma, Choshu, Aizu, and Kaga were able to mobilize armies of equal size.

As for whether the combat effectiveness can match it, that is another matter.

Today, the Shinsengumi's combat forces are no longer the backward army that was only capable of wielding swords and guns.

It now has infantry that can destroy strongholds, cavalry that can break through enemy lines, ninjas that can climb walls and climb roofs, and unstoppable gunners.

In this case, calling them the "Sword Drawing Team" seems a little inappropriate.

Therefore, someone once proposed to Qing Deng: Should we change the name of the combat unit? Or should we separate the ninjas and gunners from the sequence of the sword-drawing team?

However, Qing Deng always thought that the name "Sword Team" was very good.

The so-called "drawing the sword" does not just mean drawing the sword from the waist, but also drawing the sword in the heart!

  So, at Qing Deng's instruction, the name of the Shinsengumi's combat unit remained unchanged and remained "Batatsutai"!

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A new January has begun! Book friends who have monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book! (tearful leopard head.jpg)

I wonder if you have noticed that Leopard has been very hardworking recently, either posting 6K or 7K. It has been a long time since " Leopard" appeared. For Leopard's hard work, please vote for him! (Leopard is crying.jpg)

PS: These new generals of the Shinsengumi are all historical figures, there are no original characters.