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Chapter 517 Qingdeng's New Weapon: A Black Revolver Engraved with Bellflowers! [5200]

January 8, 1863 (the third year of Bungu), nighttime—

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Test Guard Hall——

The moonlight, as light as dust, spilled across the windowsill, while the flickering candlelight swayed in the room. The two lights overlapped and reflected on Qing Deng's desk, creating a hazy, indistinct effect.

Qing Deng knelt before his desk, writing something with a "swish, swish" sound.

He would sometimes furrow his brow, his face showing annoyance.

He would occasionally pause, his brush in hand, as if deep in thought.

Sometimes he would take out the Xuan paper he had been using, crumple it into a ball, and throw it away casually.

The tatami mats around him were covered with crumpled pieces of paper of various sizes.

Suddenly, the commander's voice rang out from outside the door:

"Mr. Tachibana, it's me! I've brought you some tea!"

"Come in."

With a soft rustling sound, the chief, carrying a tea tray, quietly pushed open the door and slipped inside.

"Tachibana-kun, what are you doing?"

As he asked the question, the commander, like a scorpion raising its tail, stretched his right leg back, gripped the door frame with his toes, and slammed the door shut with a "bang".

"I am drafting military regulations."

"Military regulations?"

Souji took small, quick steps, rushing over to Aoto's side.

After placing the tea tray containing the teapot and teacups aside, she peeked out, resting her chin on Qingdeng's right shoulder, and scanned the table in front of Qingdeng.

"An army is an organization, and organizations need discipline. This is especially true for the Zhenfu Army, whose personnel are diverse. Without iron discipline to restrain the soldiers, the Zhenfu Army would just be a disorganized mess that is not of much use."

"oh oh……"

The commander nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Have you finished writing your military regulations?"

"Let's consider this a first draft."

As he spoke, Qingdeng pulled out a neatly folded sheet of Xuan paper from his side and handed it to the chief.

"Would you like to take a look?"

"Then...please allow me to read a bit of it!"

After a gentle smile, the Chief wiped her hands and, with the solemnity of receiving an imperial edict, carefully took the Xuan paper, unfolded it, and softly recited, word by word:

"First, all actions must be carried out under command."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qingdeng added calmly:

"Those who disobey will be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public."

Second, one must not leave the organization without authorization.

"Those who disobey will be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public."

Third, one must not engage in private fights without cause.

"Those who disobey will be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public."

"Fourth, those who extort others, rob others of their property, harm the innocent, or rape women..."

"Rectify the law on the spot."

"Fifth, traitors who collude with the enemy..."

"Rectify the law on the spot."

"Sixth, it is strictly forbidden to slander Ju Qingdeng as a lecherous person."

"I just wrote this for fun, don't take it seriously."

"Seven, Chiba Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and Okita Souji, the three of you are not allowed to quarrel and must live in the same room as Tachibana Aoto."

"I just wrote this for fun, ignore it."

The commander raised her beautiful eyebrows.

"Kinoshita Mai? Has Miss Kinoshita joined the pacification army as well?"

"It's not clear yet. She wants to join, but Mr. Kiryu is vehemently opposed. She has already sent a letter to Osaka to ask for her grandmother's opinion. If her grandmother agrees, then everything will be fine; if her grandmother disagrees... well, we'll see."

"I see..."

The commander nodded slightly.

"I'm saying, aren't Articles 6 and 7 of these military regulations clearly contradictory?"

As she spoke, she chuckled mischievously a few times.

"On the one hand, you don't allow others to say you're a lecher, but on the other hand, you do all sorts of things that only a lecher would do. And aren't you too confident? 'The three of you are not allowed to quarrel and must live in the same room as Tachibana Seito'... Just me alone can leave you breathless. If the three of us come at you together, I think you'll die."

Qing Deng looked extremely embarrassed. To cover up his awkward expression, he raised the teacup that Souji had brought to his lips:

"I already said that the last two points were just something I wrote for fun, so please don't pursue them any further."

After thoroughly enjoying Qing Deng's embarrassed expression, the commander-in-chief withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and began to reread the military regulations in his hands.

She flipped through the paper, looking at the front and then the back.

Are there only a few military regulations?

“There were originally 40 rules, but I reduced them one by one to the current five. There are quite a few uneducated and rough men in the Zhenfu Army. If the military rules are designed to be too many or too complicated, it will be of no benefit. These five rules are enough.”

"Isn't this too harsh? Why are the punishments for violating military regulations either beheading and public shaming or execution on the spot? Aren't there any other forms of punishment? Like solitary confinement, ten lashes... or at the very least, people should be allowed to commit seppuku."

In the Edo period, regardless of commoners, for samurai, any death other than seppuku or dying in battle was considered extremely humiliating.

"It has to be this strict."

Qing Deng adopted a resolute tone.

"To put it bluntly... the Zhenfu Army is a 'combination of desires'."

"Those who want to join the Zhenfu Army either seek fame or wealth."

"Those who harbor lofty ideals such as 'bringing peace to the world' and 'suppressing the rebellious'... cannot be said to be nonexistent, but they are certainly not many."

"There was neither sufficient food and provisions, nor a guiding ideology to unite everyone as one."

"If conditions permit, I would certainly be happy to train the troops slowly."

"But the problem is that I don't have those conditions."

"Recruitment ended on January 20th."

"On February 1st, I will lead this untrained rabble to Kyoto."

"The situation in Kyoto is getting worse and worse."

"The imperial court has been controlled by the Choshu faction of officials, and the madmen of the Choshu domain are becoming increasingly arrogant."

"We don't have the latest information on how to eliminate the entire group yet, but I guess they won't behave themselves much."

"For the Zhenfu Army, the worst-case scenario would be to be immediately thrown into battle upon arrival in Kyoto, engaging in life-or-death street fighting in the streets of Kyoto and cross-army attacks on the vast Osaka Plain."

"In that case, where would I find the time to leisurely manage my soldiers?"

"In times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary."

"I must transform the Zhenfu Army into a highly capable and elite force in the shortest possible time."

"Therefore, it is necessary to use brutal methods to forcibly integrate the team."

"I will make all the soldiers of the Zhenfu Army fear my sword more than the enemy's sword, and fear the severity of military discipline more than the terror of death."

At this point, Qingdeng paused.

Then, he turned his head and gave Souji a serious look.

The two locked eyes.

"Therefore, you absolutely cannot violate military regulations."

"The most important thing to build iron discipline is to treat everyone equally and not to make exceptions."

“Even if it’s you, if you violate military regulations, I will punish you without hesitation.”

"Please don't put me in a difficult position. I don't want to have to make the difficult decision to execute Ma Su."

Perhaps influenced by Qing Deng's serious expression and stern tone, Souji unconsciously straightened his back and said solemnly:

"Don't worry, I can't speak for others, but at least I would never break military regulations!"

Qingdeng nodded gently, a satisfied smile on his face.

He still trusted the commander-in-chief.

Firstly, she has no bad habits; her biggest hobbies are practicing swordsmanship and eating sweets.

Secondly, she has a great personality; she is kind and cheerful, and her mind is much more mature than that of her peers. She doesn't like to get into conflicts with others.

Whenever there was a dispute among the people at Shieikan, or when Sanako and Kinoshita Mai started arguing again, she would always step forward and act as a peacemaker.

Because Souji is very popular, even his rivals Sanako and Kinoshita Mai treat him differently. So everyone is happy to listen to Souji's mediation—you can't refuse. If it comes to "physical criticism," can you beat Souji?

As long as the Chief is there, no matter how serious the dispute, it can always be resolved peacefully.

Over time, Souji almost became the "Dragonfly Captain" of the Shieikan.

Whenever a dispute arises, everyone habitually asks Souji to step in.

Such a popular and simple girl with a straightforward lifestyle really doesn't need Qingdeng to worry about her too much.

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak...