I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1135 The Shogunate's New Army [Training Corps], the "Ultimate Troublemaker" Arrives! [5000]

The relationship between the shogunate and the French government had always been quite good.

Since last year, the two sides have become closer due to their shared goal of "being wary of Britain".

Long ago, the Ninth Division sent intelligence that "the Satsuma Domain has close ties with the British government."

It would be impossible for Qing Deng not to be wary of this.

The British government bypassed the Shogunate and contacted the Satsuma Domain separately... This was by no means good news.

As is well known, "stirring up trouble" is a specialty of the British.

The Northern Dynasty's war potential far exceeded that of the Southern Dynasty.

If the Southern Dynasty cannot achieve its goal in a decisive battle a few months later, then it is only a matter of time before the Northern Dynasty pacifies the entire country.

Therefore, the possibility that "the British government wants to keep the country in a state of chaos so that it can profit from it" cannot be ruled out.

If the British government secretly supports the "Southern Dynasty" to counter the "Northern Dynasty"... this would be a major threat that cannot be ignored by Qing Deng!

Britain today is a true "empire on which the sun never sets," and is at the height of its history.

Its power was immense, and the Northern Dynasty alone was completely insufficient to confront it.

If the goal is to contain Britain, the best option is to "use barbarians to control barbarians".

Therefore, the most suitable target is undoubtedly France.

Germany has not yet risen to power, Russia is merely a facade, and the United States is still developing. Currently, the only power that can rival Britain is France.

Qingdeng did not want the "Southern Dynasty" to receive aid from the British government.

The French government could not stand idly by and watch Britain expand its influence in the Far East.

Both sides share common interests, and the so-called "broad basis for cooperation" is largely true.

Therefore, when North Korea signaled to the French government to "strengthen cooperation," the latter responded immediately.

Katsu Rintaro was one of the few capable ministers under Seido who had diplomatic experience.

Therefore, under the instructions of Seido, Katsu Rintaro, together with Ogasawara Nagayuki (a senior official of the shogunate) and other officials, formed a temporary "negotiation team with France" to conduct lengthy negotiations with Léon Roche (the French minister to Japan who had only been in office for two years).

Preventing Britain from contacting the "Southern Dynasty"... this is too difficult and almost impossible to achieve.

Britain's shamelessness is well-documented.

Even if pressure is applied through diplomatic means, it will most likely comply in name only, outwardly agreeing while secretly continuing to flirt with the "Southern Dynasty".

To counterbalance this, the only option is to fight fire with fire—by using French aid to strengthen the North's military capabilities!

The "Southern Dynasty" received aid from Britain, while the "Northern Dynasty" received aid from France; so it could be considered an equal arrangement.

Regarding the deepening cooperation between North Korea and France, Qing Deng has only one bottom line: we must both utilize it and be vigilant!
Qingdeng didn't want to invite a pack of tigers and leopards into his house after driving away the jackals.

Requests such as "sending troops to the area" and "providing a loan with exorbitant interest rates" must not be agreed to.

To put it simply: Weapons can come, money and food can come, instructors can come, but the army and the debt of heaven cannot come!

The specific negotiation process will not be discussed here.

In conclusion, thanks to the tireless efforts of Katsura Rintarou and others, the French government finally agreed to send a corps of officers to train the "Northern Dynasty" army and to further expand the scale of arms trade between the two sides.

There is never too many experienced military instructors who can teach advanced tactics.

Today, the French officer corps, ordered to aid the "Northern Dynasty," successfully landed in Osaka.

Out of courtesy, and also because he genuinely wanted to meet the other party, Qing Deng specially suspended the "Nioh Martial Arts Tournament" for half a day, setting aside two hours to meet with the highest-ranking officer of the French military corps.

……

……

May 1, 1866 (the second year of the Meiji era)

Hatazu Domain, Otsu, Tachibana Residence, Aoto's office—

Qingdeng sat opposite a hairy Westerner.

The latter was none other than Jules Brunet, the highest-ranking officer in the French military corps.

He sat cross-legged and introduced himself to Qingdeng with neither arrogance nor servility:

“I am Jules Brune, the Left Minister.”

Qingdeng smiled slightly:
"Mr. Brunet, thank you for coming." (in French)

Brune looked surprised.

"Master Zuo, your French is really good."

"Thank you for the compliment. Unfortunately, that's all I can say." (in French)

The meeting between Qing Deng and Brune was not a private one.

Although Qing Deng can speak a little French, that's all; his French level is far from being able to "communicate fluently with French people."

Therefore, Elodie, who was acting as his translator, was sitting next to him.

The existence of Elodie… or rather, the existence of “Western women in kimonos”, caught Brune’s attention.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at her:

"Are you French, miss? May I ask your name?"

As he spoke, he scanned the surroundings, his face full of curiosity as he examined Elodie's light blue haori.

Elodie smiled:
“You guessed right, I am indeed French. I am Elodie Angoulême. It is my honor to serve as your interpreter today. Please take good care of me.”

"If I may ask, are you currently working for the Japanese government?"

"That's right, I've served under Zuo Fu for many years."

Qing Deng added with a smile:
“Elodie is one of my most trusted companions. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

While there is some exaggeration involved, it cannot be considered a lie.

If Elodie leaves, the Shinsengumi's finance department will truly come to a standstill.

Brune clicked his tongue slightly upon hearing this, a look of surprise appearing on his face.

"A French woman holding an important position in the Japanese government...that's quite an interesting story."

After expressing his feelings, Brune turned his gaze back to Qingdeng.

"Master Zuo, I had heard rumors about you before I was ordered to come here. I heard that you alone are worth a thousand elite troops, and even our Emperor is very curious about you. I have always wanted to meet you, and today my wish has finally come true."

"It is my honor to be respected and loved by so many people."

Qing Deng subtly narrowed his gaze and gave Brune a deep look.

His first impression of the other party was quite good.

His resolute expression and methodical manner of speaking both exuded the demeanor of a soldier.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, as if they had agreed beforehand, Qing Deng and Brune both entered "serious mode".

Brunellesdon's expression turned serious as he spoke slowly and deliberately to Qing Deng:

“The Zuo family is not familiar with the situation in your country and will need your assistance in many ways.”

He was naturally referring to matters related to training the army for the "Northern Dynasty".

Qingdeng nodded:
"Of course. We will do our utmost to help. When will you be ready to assist me in training the troops?"

"It'll be tomorrow."

Qing Deng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Tomorrow? Aren't you planning to rest for a few more days? You must be exhausted after traveling such a long way."

There are no airplanes at present, and even the Suez Canal is not open to navigation.

To get from France to Japan, one must travel south to Africa by ship, round the Cape of Good Hope, and sail tens of thousands of nautical miles... It's not hard to imagine how arduous that must have been.

Brune shook his head:
"Thank you for your concern."

"Thanks to God's grace, although we traveled across the ocean, we did not encounter any accidents or hardships, so my colleagues and I did not feel tired."

"For me, doing my best to fulfill His Majesty's entrustment and live up to his expectations is the highest priority and the most important thing."

The "Your Majesty" he mentioned above is none other than Napoleon III, the current emperor who rules France.

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at the dutiful officer.

“In that case, I will respectfully comply. Mr. Brune, I would like to divide you into two groups. One group will go to Kanto to train the training corps, and the other group will go to northern Omi to train the Aizu Army.”

Brune blinked:
"Training Corps? Aizu Army? Are these the only two units?"

“That’s right, they are our main force, with a total strength of about 5000 men. You only need to train these two units.”

Brune nodded slightly:
"Understood. If it's only 5000 men, then it's not a big problem!" Qing Deng had already made meticulous arrangements regarding how to use this French officer corps that had been so hard-won.

The quality of an army is more important than its quantity; weak and easily defeated soldiers are of no use at all.

In short, those old-style armies, lacking both discipline and fighting spirit, were simply not worth training or cultivating.

The Northern Dynasty had limited resources and could not afford to squander them.

Therefore, Aoto decided to concentrate all resources on three units: the Shinsengumi, the Aizu Army, and the Denshutai!
As long as these three forces maintain sufficient combat strength and morale, defeating the "Southern Dynasty" will be more than enough!

The Southern Dynasty and the Northern Shogunate were allies in cahoots.

When the Southern Dynasty rises up to attack, the Northern Shogunate will definitely send troops south to invade the capital region from the north and provide support from the side!
In order to cope with the pincer attack from both sides, Qing Deng used his authority as "Army Commander-in-Chief" several months ago to make the following adjustments to the defense of the capital region—

The training team remained in the Kanto region for further training.

The Aizu army was moved north to guard northern Omi, monitoring and containing the "Northern Shogunate"—the "Northern Shogunate" would have to pass through northern Omi if it wanted to attack the capital region.

The new corps continued to guard the capital region, ready to confront the main force of the Southern Court at any time.

After years of training and development, the Shinsengumi has become a modern army that has been fully Westernized, so it has no need for guidance from the French officer corps.

In comparison, it would be most appropriate to send the French officer corps to train the Aizu army and the training team.

Matsudaira Katamori's loyalty is beyond question, and his Aizu army is one of the few domain armies in Japan that currently possesses considerable combat power.

Having experienced the Kyoto Summer Campaign and the Choshu Campaign, Matsudaira Katamori had witnessed firsthand the power of modern firearms and the strength of the "Westernized" Shinsengumi.

As a result, he has always wanted to emulate Aoto and introduce Western equipment and military systems to comprehensively enhance the combat power of the Aizu Army.

He would surely welcome Brune and the others.

As for the training team—it's a newly formed army.

Its predecessor was the Eighth Prince's Thousand People United!
As early as when the "Battle of Edo Castle" had just ended, Aoto intended to reorganize the Hachioji Thousand Hearts Alliance.

The thousand soldiers of the Eighth Prince, united as one, made great contributions in this battle.

It is no exaggeration to say that their desperate struggle laid the foundation for the subsequent victory.

Even setting aside personal feelings, considering only the practical factor of "expanding military equipment to counter the 'Southern Dynasty'", Qing Deng had every reason to rebuild this meritorious army.

The original "half-soldier, half-farmer" military system of the Eighth Prince's thousand-strong united army is clearly outdated.

Qingdeng naturally had no intention of continuing this old system.

He planned to take advantage of the situation to reorganize the Thousand-Man Army of Hachioji into a new army, and adopt the Western military system in its entirety, just like the Shinsengumi!
To symbolize the "new look of the new army," Qingdeng recently gave it a catchy new name: "Training Team"!
Although the "skin" has changed, the "bones" inside remain the same, and its generals and soldiers are still only selected from good families in places like Hachioji and Tama.

According to Qingdeng's plan, the training team will consist of three branches of service: musketeers, artillerymen, and cavalry.

Two months ago, the training team successfully completed its first phase of recruitment, and currently has more than a thousand members.

We have the personnel and the equipment; all we're missing are the instructors!

Once all the instructors are in place, the training team can officially begin training!

Qing Deng is currently unaware of the abilities of Brune and the others, and does not know whether they can successfully complete the teaching task.

If all goes well, and if the teaching level of Bruno and others can meet Aoto's expectations, the Aizu Army and the training team will surely be transformed in the next few months!
……

……

February 10th, 1863 (Meiji 2nd year)

Satsuma Domain, Kagoshima Castle, a teahouse—

The ornately decorated tea room was filled with a number of people, and a strange, rather somber atmosphere permeated the air around them.

The reason for this is that everyone present has a resounding name.

Saigo Kichinosuke, Okubo Ichizo, and Komatsu Tateto of the Satsuma Domain.

Katsura Kogoro and Iwakura Tomomi of the Choshu Domain.

Shojiro Goto of the Tosa Domain.

Eto Shinpei of the Hizen Domain (one of the "Seven Sages of Saga").

The leaders of the four major powers of the "Southern Dynasty" gathered together!
These influential figures gathered together... even if they did nothing, just sitting there, the aura emanating from them was enough to make the atmosphere heavy!

It is worth mentioning that, in addition to the aforementioned individuals, there were also people from other factions present.

For example, Orochi and Ōtakemaru sat side by side next to Katsura Kogoro.

As the host, Saigo Kinosuke personally prepared tea for everyone.

He skillfully whisked the tea, mixing the light green tea powder evenly.

Apart from the clinking of the tea whisks, there were no other sounds at the scene.

Everyone present was eerily quiet, a silence that was almost unsettling...

Although they are now in the same boat, none of them are willing to submit to the others, and none of them want to bring shame to the power they represent. So they all stand tall and solemn, disdaining idle chatter.

In this silence, the first person to break the silence was Goto Shojiro of the Tosa Domain.

"...Are you the Yamata no Orochi of the Dharma Extermination Party?"

He cast a scrutinizing glance at the Yamata no Orochi not far away.

Orochi raised his smiling face:

"Yes, that's right!"

"...You're not quite what I imagined. I thought the leader of the Law Extermination Party would look fierce and menacing."

A mocking expression appeared on the face of the Yamata no Orochi:

“People often say this to me, and I often feel regret about it.”

Goto Shojiro changed to a sharp tone and said sternly:
"It is said that you recently led a group of elite troops to the capital region to suppress the Great Salt Party, but the campaign ended in failure. Not only did you fail to destroy the Great Salt Party, you also lost many soldiers."

The Yamata no Orochi did not hide anything or try to deny it; it readily nodded and said:

"That's right, it really happened."

"It is extremely regrettable that we encountered Niou just when we were about to succeed."

"Given the circumstances at the time, if a direct conflict had broken out with Niou, even in the most optimistic scenario, it would have been a fight to the death."

"After weighing the pros and cons, 'quietly retreating' is the most appropriate choice."

Goto Shojiro narrowed his eyes, his voice hoarse:

"...Among the many who perished that night were several of my brothers from Tosa."

The Yamata no Orochi, with a nonchalant smile, said softly:
"In that case, please save this grudge for when you fight Niou later, and then vent it properly."

At that moment, Saigo Kinosuke suddenly stopped whisking his tea, looked up at everyone in front of him, and said loudly:

"The failure to eliminate the Great Salt Party was due to bad luck, not anyone's fault."

"Encountering Niou is like encountering a natural disaster; even if you want to fight it, you are powerless to do anything about it."

"Based on the intelligence available, Qingdeng has most likely formed an alliance with the Da Yan Party."

"Although the latter is not a behemoth, its accumulated foundation over the years should not be underestimated."

"Furthermore, the North Korean government is having increasingly close ties with the French government."

"The French government sent a corps of officers to help North Korea train its army."

"The opponents we will face next are getting stronger and stronger."

"Therefore, just as the great serpent said, at this critical moment, we should work together to fight the enemy."

Upon hearing this, Katsura Kogoro twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a half-smile:

"It looks like our military conference is going to last a long time."

The reason why these bigwigs, led by Saigo Kinosuke, gathered here at this time was to hold a high-level military meeting to discuss the plan for the decisive battle in the future!

As soon as Katsura Kogoro finished speaking, Goto Shojiro, Eto Shinpei, and the others all frowned and showed solemn expressions.

Saigo Kinosuke noticed the change in their expressions, smiled, and shrugged.

"While the Northern Dynasty is indeed powerful and troublesome, we don't need to panic about it."

"After all... we have an 'ace'."

As he finished speaking, Saigo Kinosuke turned his head to look behind him.

At the edge of his line of sight, British diplomat Satya Nadine smiled and then replied in fluent Japanese:
"Yes, you're right! The British Empire will spare no effort to provide you with assistance!"

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