I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The air grew heavy.

An emotion called "regret" permeated the surroundings.

Ikeda gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh hard, and looked indignant.

"Damn it! If our original plan had gone smoothly, we wouldn't be in such a passive situation now!"

These words immediately drew enthusiastic agreement from the crowd.

The "original plan" that Ikeda mentioned... simply put, was to "take advantage of the shogunate's manpower and resources to build an army that would serve the imperial court."

This all started with Tokugawa Iemochi's "determination to march to Kyoto"—

In order to promote the unification of the court and the military and to discuss the expulsion of foreigners, Tokugawa Iemochi prepared to personally travel to Kyoto to meet with Emperor Tonin.

Taking this opportunity, Kiyokawa Hachiro, under the pretext of "preventing unexpected situations that may occur after the shogun enters the capital," proposed to the shogunate through Matsudaira Sukesuke, a swordsmanship professor at the Kyobu-sho (military training institute), a plan to "openly recruit ronin from Edo to form a new army for the purpose of protecting the shogun and go to the capital together."

At the same time, Matsudaira Shusuke was instructed to submit a memorial regarding the pardon of Kiyokawa Hachiro, stating that "Kiyokawa Hachiro is the leader of the ronin, and only by relying on him can the recruitment of the new army be completed."

In other words, Kiyokawa Hachiro was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the new army.

Matsudaira Shusuke was a rare and outstanding swordsman in the Tokugawa family. He had considerable influence within the shogunate and had a deep friendship with Kiyokawa Hachiro.

After Kiyokawa Hachiro became the commander-in-chief of the new army and successfully led his troops to Kyoto, he made his position clear to the entire army: Although we were recruited by the shogunate and came to Kyoto to protect the general who was marching to Kyoto, we are ultimately ronin and cannot live off the shogunate's salary. We will become an independent force acting freely in the name of the Emperor, and be the vanguard of the cause of reverence for the Emperor and expulsion of foreigners.

The original plan of Kiyokawa Hachiro and his associates was to deceive the shogunate, use its funds to recruit soldiers and form a new army, and then take the new army into their private retinue once it arrived in Kyoto, far from the shogunate's center of power (Kanto).

It must be said that their plan was extremely audacious.

As early as the spring of the first year of Bunkyū (1861), Kiyokawa Hachirō established an organization with the guiding ideology of "respecting the emperor and expelling the barbarians" and the goal of overthrowing the shogunate: the Tiger Tail Society (also known as the Hero Society).

After the shogunate discovered his intentions, it immediately issued a search and arrest order. Kiyokawa Hachiro managed to escape only after killing the officers who came to arrest him.

Not long after, he plotted another uprising in Kyoto, which failed again, and the bounty on his head grew even higher.

This "terrorist," with a long criminal record and a wanted list, dared to openly propose to the shogunate the idea of ​​"building a new army," and even asked the shogunate to pardon him and appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the new army...

I really don't know where Kiyokawa Hachiro and the others got their courage from.

However... they actually succeeded halfway through such an outrageous plan!

After Matsudaira Shuzuriki presented the shogunate with a series of proposals, including "recruiting ronin," "pardoning Kiyokawa Hachiro," and "having Kiyokawa Hachiro lead the new army," the shogunate quickly responded.

The person who made the final decision was Tokugawa Iemochi.

He readily adopted most of Kiyokawa Hachiro's suggestions.

They not only strongly supported the "construction of a new army," but also cleared Kiyokawa Hachiro's name—up to this point, Kiyokawa Hachiro and his group's plans were progressing smoothly.

However... what happened next did not go as they had expected.

Tokugawa Iemochi did not hand over the position of commander-in-chief of the new army to Kiyokawa Hachiro, but instead appointed Aoto as "Kyoto Garrison Commander," placing command of the new army under his name.

As for what happened next, there's no need to go into details.

Aoto named this new army the "Shinsengumi".

Kiyokawa Hachiro was the initiator of the new army. In addition, he himself enjoyed considerable prestige among the ronin of Edo.

Therefore, in order to appease the "Qinghe faction", Qingdeng promoted him to the position of advisor to the Shinsengumi.

Following Ikeda, Ishizaka joined the ranks of complainers:

"That Tachibana Seiden is really looking down on people! He actually appointed Lord Qinghe as some kind of advisor... The more I think about it, the angrier I get! What a load of rubbish, an advisor! Isn't this blatantly undermining Lord Qinghe?"

The deputy chief is in charge of military affairs, the bureau chief is in charge of discipline, the chief of staff is in charge of internal affairs, and the section chief is in charge of finance—these are the four chiefs of the newly formed group, all of whom hold important positions with real power.

On the other hand, the staff officers...

In terms of official rank, the position of the staff officer is equivalent to that of the "four chiefs".

However, staff officers are not responsible for specific matters in a particular area, unlike the "four chiefs".

Its sole purpose is to advise Qingdeng—and this leaves considerable room for maneuver.

If Qingdeng makes good use of his advisors, their status will rise dramatically, granting them immense power above the "Four Chiefs," much like the eunuchs of ancient China.

Conversely, if Qingdeng marginalizes the staff officers, then the staff officers will become powerless and ineffective figures.

Anyone with eyes can see that Qing Deng created the position entirely based on the person – he created the "advisor" position specifically to sideline Qinghe Hachiro and turn him into a mascot!

Nominally, it was an important position responsible for assisting Qingdeng.

In reality, whenever there was an important matter, Qing Deng would either completely ignore Kiyokawa Hachiro's opinions or directly exclude Kiyokawa Hachiro from the meeting.

They are given grand titles and generous benefits, but no real power is given to them.

Qingdeng's behavior had long infuriated the members of the "Qinghe Faction".

Facing his indignant subordinates, Qinghe Balang smiled slightly.

"Alright, everyone calm down."

“Ju Qingdeng’s actions were exactly what I expected.”

He gave a cold laugh as he said this.

As he continued, he adopted a sarcastic tone.

"In my opinion, with his reckless spending habits, it won't be long before the Shinsengumi becomes my possession! So for now, let him run wild!"

********

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Although I really want to continue resting, I just don't have a leave slip (crying leopard head.jpg)

Please vote for this book with your monthly ticket, considering how hard Leopard has worked! (Leopard cries.jpg)

P.S.: In historical fact, Kiyokawa Hachiro's plan was basically successful. The shogunate really did make him the commander-in-chief of the new army, and he really did take most of the new army under his personal command... This world is indeed a huge makeshift operation; the plot of my novel is actually more logical than reality...

Chapter 620 Qingdeng's Female Ninja, Awesome! [4200]

As if amused by his own words, Kiyokawa Hachiro clapped his hands and laughed.

Immediately afterward, as if it were contagious, Ishizaka, Ikeda... and everyone present burst into laughter.

The air inside and outside was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Ishizaka, who had just been indignant, calmed down, and the lines on his face softened at a visible speed.

"Lord Qinghe, you're right! That Ju Qingdeng is a complete idiot! He won't be able to keep up this for long!"

Ikeda took over the conversation with a cold laugh:

"Hmph! He may be a decent swordsman, but he's definitely not a qualified commander! Hmph! I didn't expect him to be unable to even do something as simple as 'cost control'!"

The mockery on Ishizaka's face intensified.

"He drinks rice porridge in the morning, and eats rice for lunch and dinner; he eats meat every day... The entire new selection group has hundreds of mouths to feed! Even with immense wealth, they can't withstand this kind of abuse!"

Sugiura also joined in the mockery of Aoto:

"As far as I know, the Shinsengumi's current military budget is not sufficient! With this kind of reckless spending and disregard for costs, it won't be long before Tachibana Aoto finds himself in a predicament where he has no money to use and can't even pay his soldiers!"

Ikeda crossed his arms and licked his lips.

"But then again, this is the first time in my life I've ever had such a luxurious meal! Tachibana Seiden's generosity has really benefited us!"

One person says something, another says something... everyone talks at once, making a lot of noise.

"...Alright, everyone quiet down."

As he spoke, Kiyokawa Hachiro raised his right hand and made a gesture of pressing down on the air.

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately fell silent.

“I can understand Tachibana Seiden’s thoughts and actions quite well.”

Kiyokawa Hachiro's tone was full of arrogance, much like a king reprimanding his subjects.

"After all, I used to lead a team."

"Back in the day, I was at least the leader of the Tiger Tail Society."

"Although the mission ultimately failed, I accumulated a lot of valuable experience in building teams and leading subordinates during my time in charge of the Tiger Tail Society."

"An army marches on its stomach," "Only by being well-fed can one have a strong body, and thus develop great strength"... Who doesn't understand these simple truths?

"But 'reality' and 'ideal' are not comparable."

"I also want my subordinates to be able to eat their fill and eat well."

"Therefore, when the Tiger Tail Society was first established, I naively spent a lot of money to improve the meals of my subordinates."

"Until later... the rapidly depleting funds starkly illustrated a cold truth to me: no matter how wonderful an idea is, it must be based on reality."

"The soldiers' food expenses are already a terrifying 'money-devouring behemoth'."

"Training, equipment and many other matters can be postponed, but food cannot be skipped for a day."

"Three meals a day, hundreds of mouths to feed... even if every meal consists of millet, barnyard grass, and pickled radishes, it's still an astonishing expense."

"As far as I know, the Shinsengumi currently does not have a stable source of income."

"In such dire circumstances of having no income and only spending without receiving, we should be diligent and thrifty."

"However, Tachibana Seito did the opposite. Instead of cutting back on food and clothing, he allowed the Shinsengumi soldiers to eat luxurious delicacies..."

"To be honest, I can't even imagine how terrifying the daily expenses of the Shinsengumi must be."

"To date, Tachibana Aoto has not disclosed the current financial situation of the new electoral group."

"However, after my detailed investigation, I can confirm that Ju Qingdeng currently only has a little over three thousand taels of gold at his disposal."

"Although this amount of money is not small, given his terrifying rate of spending... it will only take about two months for the Shinsengumi to run out of funds."

As he spoke, as if he could no longer contain himself, Kiyokawa Hachiro curled the corners of his mouth, narrowed his eyes, and revealed a blatant mockery in his gaze.

Ishizaka then picked up the conversation at the opportune moment:

"It seems... the current tense situation in Kyoto is making Tachibana Seito very anxious. He is eager for the Shinsengumi to complete its transformation quickly, so he is resorting to this kind of forced growth method."

Kiyohachiro nodded slightly in agreement.

At the same time, the mockery on his face grew even stronger.