I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1019: Great Harvest! New talent [Great Navigator], 16 talent upgrades! [4400]

Following the "Olympics Trial Cooperation", the "Olympics Conference" also achieved satisfactory results.

Under Qing Deng's persuasion, the feudal lords of the Oshu domain dared not disobey and all signed the oath obediently.

To show their loyalty, many people even signed their names and then shouted out in public with stern expressions such as "I will never reconcile with the enemies of the shogunate" and "I will never betray the shogunate".

Of course, you can just listen to these guys' bold words and don't take them seriously.

Qing Deng never expected these guys to be "loyal".

If one day in the future the benefits of betraying the shogunate exceed the costs, these guys will definitely change their faces.

Qing Deng had no other expectations from them, and certainly did not expect that a piece of oath could turn these fence-sitters into staunch allies.

As long as they guard their own piece of land obediently, don't have any unreasonable expectations, and don't jump out to cause trouble, Qingdeng will be satisfied.

The oath had been signed, the meeting was over, so the lords of the Oshu domain naturally had no reason to stay here any longer.

Therefore, the day after the meeting, they set out to return to their respective fiefdoms one after another.

Date Yoshikuni was the last person to arrive at Wakamatsu Castle, but the first to leave.

Compared with when they came, their ranks were less majestic and more cautious.

He failed to demonstrate the military power of the Sendai Domain, nor did he allow the Domain to gain benefits in the "Oshu Conference". Instead, he made a fool of himself in the "Oshu Trial Cooperation"... In terms of the results, Date Yoshikuni's trip was like pushing a mill with nothing on his butt - going around in circles in disgrace.

Naturally, Ida Qingbang would not endure this anger in vain.

If he can't mess with Qing Deng, then can he mess with the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou"?

To put it bluntly, if it weren't for the trouble caused by the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou", Ida Qingbang would not have been controlled by Qingdeng in every way.

Therefore, it is only reasonable to let the seven of them bear the responsibility.

As far as Qing Deng knew, all of the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou" had suffered severe punishment.

Although they were not executed or deprived of their samurai status, their salaries were confiscated and their family benefits were reduced.

Among them, Date Jinshichiro was punished the most severely and received the maximum punishment. Not only was his salary and family allowance reduced, but he was also directly deprived of the title of Seven Guns.

From now on, he is no longer a part of the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou".

He was the one who started it, and it should be so.

Only Masazo Hashimoto, who had been urging his companions to be careful with their words and actions at the time, received a relatively mild treatment.

In this way, the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou" paid an extremely heavy price for their arrogance and reckless words.

Also on the day after the meeting, Qingdeng officially announced to the public: "Olympic Badminton Trial" has officially ended!
This unique martial arts competition is both interesting and boring.

What’s interesting is that there are a large number of participants. Many swordsmen such as Qing Deng, Kondo Isami, Nagakura Shinpachi and others have participated in it and contributed many exciting competitions.

What’s boring is that the outcome is so one-sided that there is no suspense at all - the captains of the Shinsengumi always maintain an unbeaten record!

Warriors from the Oshu clan took turns to fight, and among them were many skilled warriors with agile bodies and sophisticated techniques.

However, no matter how hard they try or how bravely they fight, they cannot shake the power of the Shinsengumi!
The gap in practical experience is really too huge.

The educational resources of Oba are really scarce, and the quality of the warriors is not very good.

All of the above cannot be compensated by just working harder.

No one has ever managed to win against the Shinsengumi captains.

Until the competition officially ended, no one won the luxurious prize of one thousand taels of gold.

However, what is interesting is that after realizing the huge gap between themselves and Kondo Isami and others, more Oba warriors are eager to participate in the competition - to compete with martial arts masters of this level is a rare opportunity.

Therefore, many humble and studious people constantly challenge Kondo Isami and others in order to make progress.

The Shinsengumi's military prestige was publicized; the Oshu warriors gained knowledge and experience, it was a win-win situation... ah, no, it should be a win-win-win situation - because they went out to play from time to time, Qing Deng successfully picked up a lot of talents and reaped a lot of rewards.

After the game, his talent list received a long-awaited major update!

After the "Oyu Trial", this is the change in his talent list:

Hawkeye+5 Hawkeye+7
Iron Lung +5 Iron Lung +7
Strong Essence +5 Strong Essence +8
Cow's Liver Cow's Liver +3
Bear Waist +5 Bear Waist +6
Berserker +4 Berserker +5
Yuan Yang +7 Yuan Yang +8
Tiger Arm +4 Tiger Arm +6
Dexterity +5 Dexterity +6
Tongue Health +2 Tongue Health +4
Cat turns +4Cat turns +5
Fraudster +1 Fraudster +2
Cloud Piercing and Rock Splitting +3 Cloud Piercing and Rock Splitting +4
Water Body +4 Water Body +5
Strong Stomach +3 Strong Stomach +4
Fiery Eyes +6 Fiery Eyes +7
Looking at the latest version of his talent list, Qing Deng couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth and reveal a satisfied smile.

A total of 16 talents have been upgraded!
In addition, a rare new talent is obtained: [Great Navigator]! Its effect is "not easy to get seasick".

Although it is a new talent, Qing Deng rarely has the opportunity to take a boat ride on weekdays, so this talent can only be classified as "better than nothing".

However, there are always unexpected things.

Maybe one day in the future, the shogunate navy will need to be deployed, and then this new talent will come in handy.

Given his current status and prestige, whether or not to mobilize the naval fleet is just a matter of his words.

What's more, Navy President Katsurintaro is Aoto's good friend and staunch ally.

Of course, so far, there has been no situation requiring naval action.

A while ago, someone proposed to Qingdeng: Send the navy to blockade the Shimonoseki Strait!

The Shimonoseki Strait is the economic lifeline of Choshu. It is because of the shipping industry in the Shimonoseki Strait that Choshu is able to have abundant funds.

It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but only a moment to deploy it. The shogunate had been building up its navy for a long time, but it had never deployed it once.

Since there is nothing to do anyway, it would be better to send the navy to blockade the Shimonoseki Strait, cutting off the source of the problem and fundamentally destroying Choshu's economy.

To be honest, Qing Deng was quite tempted by this proposal.

As this person said, the Shimonoseki Strait is the economic lifeline of Choshu and has great strategic value.

If the Shimonoseki Strait could be successfully blocked, Choshu's fiscal revenue would suffer a devastating blow.

As we all know, the navy is a big spender.

In order to develop the navy, the shogunate invested a lot of money every year.

All spending money, no work... Many people within the shogunate were prejudiced against the comfortable life of the navy.

In fact, even Qing Deng hoped that the navy could be put to use as soon as possible, instead of just sitting in the port and wasting money.

When Qing Deng reported the idea of ​​"blocking the Shimonoseki Strait" to Katsurintaro, he immediately received the other party's unhesitating reply: Impossible!

Then he explained the reasons to Qing Deng in detail.

In a nutshell, the shogunate navy was too weak! Too weak to blockade the Shimonoseki Strait!
Although the shogunate has been vigorously developing the navy since the "Black Ship Incident", the saying "a hundred years of navy" is not empty talk.

It is undoubtedly a pipe dream to want to have a powerful navy in just ten years.

According to Katsurintaro's report, the Shogunate Navy currently has only three warships that can be used for combat.

Kanko Maru, displacement 600 tons, 6 guns.

Xianlin Maru, displacement 300 tons, 12 guns.

Fujisan Maru, displacement 1000 tons, 6 guns.

Among them, Kanko Maru and Kanrin Maru were steam paddle wheel frigates (three-masted sailing ships with auxiliary steam power), while Fujisan Maru was a steam-powered gunboat.

Therefore, strictly speaking, only the Fujisan Maru can be considered a slightly advanced ship, while the Kanko Maru and the Kanrin Maru are both outdated ships.

We are currently experiencing an era of technological explosion, and naval technology is changing with each passing day.

In a few years, Fujisan Maru will become an old, outdated ship.

In addition to these three warships, there are also ships such as Chaoyang Maru, Xianghe Maru, and Shundong Maru. However, these ships are too small and too weak, and can only be used for transportation and coastal patrols.

There are dozens of old wooden ships that have no steam power and rely entirely on wind power to travel, but these ships are not even suitable for transportation.

In summary, such a weak naval force is not enough to block the Shimonoseki Strait. After listening to Katsurintaro's detailed explanation, Qing Deng silently gave up the idea of ​​"blocking the Shimonoseki Strait".

Although it is regrettable, at this stage the navy can only continue to stay in the port and burn money.

After learning that the navy was unable to complete the task of "blocking the Shimonoseki Strait", many shogunate retainers wrote to the emperor requesting a reduction in naval spending and diverting it to other uses.

Those who call for some cuts to the navy's funding are already considered moderate.

Some people with radical ideas even directly demanded that all naval spending be cut.

Whether moderate or radical, their underlying logic is the same.

The shogunate's biggest concern at the moment is the Choshu clan and the "Ichibashi faction" which have not yet disappeared.

If one wants to destroy the Choshu clan and the Ichibashi faction, the army is enough, and the navy is not even the icing on the cake.

It won’t be too late to slowly develop the navy after the internal troubles are quelled.

Their claim is not without reason.

The high intensity of the war had already made the shogunate's finances shaky. Money was needed everywhere and funds were extremely tight.

Even if the wealth of Mito Domain was confiscated, it could only solve the problem temporarily.

Under such circumstances, it is understandable to cut funding for the navy, which seems to be useless.

However, no matter how these people persuaded him, Qing Deng's attitude remained unchanged: No!
He went against all odds and insisted on retaining the navy's existing funding, not touching a single penny.

"The French-Chihlian coalition successfully attacked Nobi with only three warships, causing us great trouble. This shows that the navy is not useless. Misappropriating navy funds is undoubtedly self-destructive!"

With just this one sentence, Qing Deng was able to stop those shogunate officials who were hostile to the navy.

Just a few months ago, the French-American coalition had demonstrated the strength of the navy with a living example of success.

Although the current shogunate navy is still very weak, it is always a good idea to retain and continuously strengthen this fleet.

Strangely enough, Qing Deng had a vague feeling that one day, the Shogunate Navy would be of great use.

Moreover, this day will not be too far away.

……

……

The "Olympics trial" is over, and the "Olympics meeting" is over.

All of Qing Deng's goals for going to Austrian Badminton University have been achieved.

Like other lords of the Owari domain, Aoto had no reason to stay in Wakamatsu Castle any longer.

After the expedition to Sekigahara, he has not returned to Otsu for several months.

First he rushed to help Kanto, then he conquered Mito, and now he is in remote Oshu...going further and further away.

Having been away from home for so long, Qingdeng couldn't help feeling homesick.

Furthermore, as the lord of Qinjin Domain, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, and the de facto master of Gyeonggi Province, he cannot leave Gyeonggi Province for a long time.

History has proven countless times that once a power vacuum occurs, all kinds of "monsters and demons" will emerge.

Although the abilities of Yamanami Keisuke, Okita Souji and others who are currently guarding the capital are unquestionable, their prestige is not enough to suppress the villains in and around the capital.

Therefore, just two days after the successful conclusion of the "Oyu Conference", Qing Deng officially announced: the next morning, the troops will return to the domain!
As soon as this notice was issued, it immediately aroused enthusiastic cheers from the Shinsengumi soldiers.

They followed Qing Deng in his battles and had long missed home.

In an instant, some were dismantling their tents, some were moving baggage, and the entire army was preparing to go home.

It is worth mentioning that on that night, the tax collector of Hengshan suddenly found Qingdeng and brought him an interesting news.

……

……

"Hmm? Hot springs?"

Qing Deng turned his head and looked at Hengshan Zhucai in surprise.

"Yes."

Yokoyama Shucai nodded and smiled slightly.

"General Tachibana, I'm sure you know that hot springs are one of Ou's specialties."

"It's a rare opportunity to come to Ou, so it would be a shame if you don't soak in the hot springs there."

"Hot springs can not only relieve fatigue and relax the mind, but also have great benefits for healing the body."

"On the hill just north of Wakamatsu Castle, there is a hot spring pool with a long history."

"The water in this pool is clear, full of hot air, and of high quality. It has always been the hot spring pool used by the lord."

"My lord heard that you were still injured, so he sent a message to me: please let General Tachibana try the hot springs in our Aizu, as a token of hospitality."

After Qing Deng heard this, he immediately thought to himself:

——Hot springs…

Although he remained calm on the surface, he was already aroused with strong interest in his heart.

He had never been to a hot spring in his life.

In my previous life, I had been to a resort that claimed to be a "hot spring", but the "hot springs" in these resorts were all fake hot springs. They were called hot springs, but they were actually ordinary hot water.

He has always wanted to try a real hot spring, but he just didn't have the time.

Now, a rare opportunity is before him, how can he miss it?

It just so happened that all the important matters such as the "Olympics Trial Cooperation" and the "Olympics Meeting" had been completed, and he was now quite free.

So, without thinking too much, he answered without hesitation:

"Okay, Yokoyama-kun, I'll accept your kindness then."

Then, he paused as if he had thought of something, and then asked:
"It would be too cruel for me to enjoy such a beautiful hot spring alone. Mr. Yokoyama, can I let my subordinates also appreciate the beauty of Aizu's hot springs?"

Yokoyama the chief tax collector bowed slightly and replied without hesitation:

"of course can!"

……

……

"What? Hot springs?"

When she heard the word "hot spring", Elodie's eyes immediately lit up and she looked at Qingdeng expectantly - if she were a puppy, her tail would probably be wagging like a helicopter propeller by now.

Qingdeng nodded:

"Yes, on the hill north of Wakamatsu Castle, there is a hot spring pool used by the Aizu Matsudaira family..."

He briefly described the characteristics of this hot spring pool and the kindness of Matsudaira Yoshiyasu in temporarily lending it to him. Then he changed the subject and asked Elodie:

"Elody, you have to come along..."

Before Qing Deng finished speaking, she nodded hurriedly, shaking her little head like an illusion:
"Yes, yes, yes! Master, please take me to the hot springs! I have lived to this day just for the hot springs!"

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In the blink of an eye, it's the end of the month again! Book friends who have monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg) Please vote for the monthly ticket! Please recommend! (crying leopard head.jpg)

PS: Because I couldn't find a good time to have Elodie appear, I didn't mention it: Elodie actually came to Ou. Since it's a "hot spring festival", how could only men come to bathe! Who would want to see men bathe in hot springs?
(End of this chapter)