I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Just then, he suddenly felt a warmth on his fingertips—it was the rising sun, casting its gentle, warm sunlight into the room.

He took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.

"Ms. Otose, I'm sorry, we should probably be going now."

After saying that, he drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

"Hmm? Your Excellency, are you leaving already?"

"Well, we're short on time and can't stay here any longer."

Aoto's plan for the day was to spend half a day inspecting Fushimi and then return to the Shinsengumi's headquarters before dark.

Now that the goal of "gathering information from Otose" has been achieved, there is no need to stay here any longer.

Seeing that Qingdeng was determined to leave, Dengshi did not try to stop him.

She gracefully stood up, pressing down on the hem of her kimono.

"Then, please allow me to escort you both to the entrance!"

Just like when they arrived, Otose walked in front, leading Aoto and Kinoshita Mai, and headed back the way they came to the entrance hall on the first floor.

Just as the shadow of the entrance hall gradually came into Qing Deng's view... suddenly, Deng Shi in front of him spoke:

"...Sir, I am just an ordinary boat rental owner, an ordinary woman."

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow.

Although he didn't know what the other person wanted to say, he listened patiently nonetheless.

"Kyoto today has become a battlefield where various forces are vying for power."

"The escalating unrest has even affected Fushimi and Osaka."

"To be honest, I don't understand what 'unity of public and military forces' means, let alone 'respecting the king and expelling the barbarians' means."

"For me... no, for all ordinary people, it doesn't matter whether the imperial court or the shogunate is in power."

"We have only one small wish: for peace in the world and for everyone to have enough to eat and wear."

At this point, she suddenly stopped and turned around.

With solemn expressions, his eyes were fixed on Qing Deng, and the two locked eyes.

"Your Excellency, I may be exaggerating a bit, but I can truly feel it—you are different from those corrupt officials who are bloated and only know how to eat, drink and have fun all day long. You are a rare and good official."

"Therefore...please allow me, this old woman, to take this opportunity to implore you—please, please let the world return to a time of peace!"

After saying this, Deng Shi clasped his hands together in front of him, bent down, and gave Qing Deng a very solemn bow.

From Qingdeng's perspective, her snow-white nape was fully visible, and her smooth back was faintly visible.

However, such a sensual scene did not stir even the slightest ripple in Qing Deng's heart.

Because... his mind was entirely focused on the other party's earnest plea just now.

He pursed his lips, his eyes flickered, and indescribable emotions roamed across his face.

"...Ms. Otose, although I cannot give you a definite guarantee...I can tell you with certainty: the path that I, Tachibana Aoto, will take was decided long ago."

He paused, then took a deep breath.

"I... will always stand with the oppressed and poor!"

After hearing this, Otose slowly straightened up.

She first gave Qingdeng a surprised look, then revealed a calm smile.

"I feel relieved to hear your words."

As she spoke, she bowed again and gave Qingdeng another salute.

"Your Excellency, I wish you great success in your military campaigns!"

……

……

After exiting the entrance hall, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai walked side by side on the main road, gradually moving further and further away from Tousei, who was standing in the open space outside Teradaya watching them go.

Behind them... by a window on the second floor of Teradaya, a pair of beautiful eyes blinked.

The stunningly beautiful maid... the woman Otose called "A-Long," stood by the window like a ghost, most of her body hidden in the shadows, with only half of her head peeking out, lightly touching the window frame.

Beneath her soft, long eyelashes lay a calm gaze.

She silently watched Qingdeng's retreating figure, her delicate face expressionless, her gaze deep and thoughtful, as if she were deep in thought...

……

……

"...Qingdeng".

"what happened?"

"Do we really intend to rely on business to earn the Shinsengumi's military expenses?"

"Hmm? Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt..."

Kinoshita Mai looked hesitant.

Then, she sighed silently:

"Qingdeng, let me be frank—doing business is not an easy thing."

"What Ms. Otose just said reminded me."

"Those profitable businesses have long been divided up by various big merchants, leaving not a single scrap."

"If we want to make a lot of money through business, there are only two ways."

"Either take food from other people's mouths."

"Or we can find another way and develop a completely new product that is unique to us and that no one else has."

"My grandma always told me: 'Breaking someone's livelihood is like killing their parents,' so the former offends people a lot, and if things go wrong, it can lead to a terrible bloodshed."

"As for the latter... only a once-in-a-lifetime business genius could accomplish this."

"If it were really that easy to develop a unique, best-selling product, there wouldn't be so many people losing their families and lives due to business failures."

"To be honest... the more I think about it, the more I feel that your 'using commerce to promote military development' plan seems a bit... unreliable..."

After speaking, Kinoshita Mai quietly raised her eyes and carefully observed Aoto's expression, afraid that her honest words might offend him.

Clearly, she was overthinking it.

After she finished speaking, Qingdeng simply smiled helplessly.

“Ah Wu, I understand everything you’re saying.”

"However... given the limitations of the authority and responsibilities of the Garrison Commander of the Capital Region, trading is the most suitable way for me to make money."

Under Tokugawa Iemochi's special patronage, the position of Governor of the Capital Region enjoyed numerous privileges, much like a half-governor—but no matter how much praise or exaggeration was given, it was still only a half-governor, not a full-fledged one.

The military governors of the Tang Dynasty held power over the military, civilian affairs, and finances.

In contrast, Qingdeng had neither civil administration nor finance. Apart from its independent military power, it was not comparable to the Jiedushi (military governor) of the Tang Dynasty in any aspect.

Qingdeng could not subsidize the military expenses of the New Election Corps through administrative means such as taxation and mobilizing government funds.

At the same time, before heading to Kyoto, Tokugawa Iemochi made it clear that after the "start-up capital" of 3000 ryo gold was delivered, the shogunate would not inject any more funds into the Shinsengumi.

It's not fair to blame Tokugawa Iemochi for being heartless.

After all, while the shogunate's current financial situation cannot be described as dire, it is certainly not optimistic, and it simply does not have the resources to support a new army.

Securing the privileges that Aoto currently possesses is the limit of what Tokugawa Iemochi could do.

Since the shogunate's help is no longer available, we can only rely on ourselves.

The only way to make a lot of money without relying on government power or doing anything immoral... after much thought, the only option was to raise a caravan of their own and travel around trading.

Despite Kinoshita Mai's doubts, Aoto's determination remained unchanged—at this stage, the policy of "promoting military development through commerce" must be consistently implemented!

At this thought, Qing Deng recalled the market situation that Deng Shi had just described:

Women's money is the easiest to earn...

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.

Otose's viewpoint coincided with Aoto's idea.

As early as when he decided to solve the Shinsengumi's funding problem by running trade routes, Aoto had already begun to consider the feasibility of "making money off women".

Women are willing to spend money—this statement holds true throughout history and will likely remain so in the future.

If you're easily swayed by consumerist rhetoric such as "Your youth is short," "Buy only the best within your means," and "Cheap things are useless except for being cheap, while expensive things are perfect except for being expensive," you'll readily spend large sums of money.

Starting with "women's products"...this is definitely a direction worth exploring in depth!

Forget about salt, steel, and other vital materials related to the nation's destiny, as well as bulk commodities like rice and alcohol. At this stage, Qingdeng simply doesn't have the capability to get involved in these things.

During the Edo period, Japan had organizations similar to merchant guilds, namely "Ku-Naka-ma".

The original purpose of establishing "Zhuzhongjian" was to prevent the increase of outside merchants and their monopoly on business rights.

Initially, the Edo shogunate saw this grouping behavior among merchants and worried that such organizations would dominate market prices and undermine the shogunate's rule. Therefore, it repeatedly banned the Kokuna-ma organizations.

However, Zhu Zhongjian made a significant contribution to stabilizing the market.

Therefore, when the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune carried out the Kyōhō Reforms, he adopted the policy of organizing the Tōnaka-ma into a single entity and recognized the establishment of the Tōnaka-ma.

However, the eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, had made two preparations for the Nakama.

On the one hand, the Zhuzhongjian organization was rewarded to acknowledge its contributions to stabilizing the market.

On the other hand, there was a clear order requiring the payment of the Shogunate's dark money and transport money.

The so-called "mystery money" refers to the gifts paid by wholesalers to the shogunate in order to monopolize trade routes, which is equivalent to voluntarily assuming the obligation of paying taxes.

As for the "transportation tax," it can be understood as a modern corporate tax.

Thanks to Tokugawa Yoshimune's reforms, the exclusive right to sell the Zhuzhongma was established.