I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Perhaps it was Harada Sanosuke's lack of ambition that made him so regretful. After hesitating for a while, he took a deep breath and then put on a solemn and dignified expression.

"Harada-kun, although what I'm saying might seem like meddling... please allow me to solemnly tell you: We samurai should have lofty ambitions!"

At this point, Kiyokawa Hachiro raised his chin and gently stroked the sword at his waist.

As the ancients said: "Cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world."

"We are living in a time of great contention."

"Western barbarians invaded, and bandits rose up everywhere."

"Millions of people are suffering terribly."

"As warriors, we should be at the forefront! We take it upon ourselves to save the world and make a grand vow to save all living beings!"

Qinghe Balang cleared his throat, then began to recite, word by word, the famous poem "Four Lines of Hengqu" by Zhang Zai, a great Confucian scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty:

"To establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations—this is the true warrior!"

"Harada-kun, you are an outstanding successor of the Hozoin-ryu spear technique, and you are also the captain of the 10th Division of the Shinsengumi's Battōtai, shouldering a heavy responsibility that ordinary people cannot bear."

"How can you only focus on a bowl of eel rice?"

Kiyohachiro's clear and powerful questioning voice echoed throughout the entire corridor.

Although it was just a passing fancy, he genuinely wanted to make Harada Sanosuke... to make this good-for-nothing a little more reliable.

He had assumed that the other party would feel somewhat ashamed after hearing his righteous criticism.

However... Harada Sanosuke's expression remained unchanged, and his face did not show the slightest bit of embarrassment.

He shrugged, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Kiyokawa-kun, don't you think that being able to eat hot eel rice every day is both a difficult and awe-inspiring thing?"

"what?"

Before the stunned Kiyokawa Hachiro could respond, Harada Sanosuke continued speaking on his own:

"Me? I'm a dim-witted idiot."

He raised his right index finger and poked his forehead.

"Let alone those profound ancient books, I can't even understand the most basic Four Books and Five Classics."

"As for what you just said about being a 'successor of the Hozoin-ryu spear technique'... the Hozoin-ryu is the number one spear technique school in Japan, and it has countless successors. My spear technique skills and talent are just so-so."

"I have neither the talent of Shinpachi or Saito, nor the extraordinary physique of Okita."

"He is neither as accomplished in both literature and martial arts as Mr. Shannan, nor as exceptional as Mr. Ju, a once-in-a-century hero."

"I understand the profound principles you're talking about."

"But the common people, the world, true warriors... these words are too far away for me."

At this point, Harada Sanosuke's facial features tightened, revealing an unusually serious expression.

Kiyokawa Hachiro was taken aback when he first saw Harada Sanosuke with such an expression.

“I know my own limitations very well—that is, I have no real abilities.”

"How could an ordinary person like me possibly accomplish anything great?"

"Trying to climb a mountain that you cannot reach is futile."

"Not only is it very easy to end up with nothing, but it is also very likely to leave behind a mess."

"Therefore, let geniuses like Mr. Tachibana, Mr. Hijikata, and Mr. Yamanami accomplish the great task of 'saving the people and bringing peace to the world'!"

"Let the tall ones hold up the collapsing sky!"

"As for me, I'll continue to eat and drink as I please, enjoy the food I love, sleep with the women I like, and do my best to fulfill my responsibilities!"

After saying that, he stuffed the dried persimmon in his hand—he had somehow produced a new one—into his mouth with a "humming" sound.

In that instant, the serious expression vanished completely, and a look of happiness once again filled his cheeks.

He was the one lecturing the other, but in the end, he was outmaneuvered and became the one being lectured...

Kiyokawa Hachiro first stared blankly, then frowned deeply:

—Hmph! Full of fallacies!

—It is precisely because the mountains are towering that they are worth climbing!

—If a country backs down simply because the mountain is too high or the peak too dangerous, then it is doomed! All you see are cowardly rats!

—That wild monkey is so lucky! It's content as long as it can have a hot meal! Just like an animal!

—Forget it, there's no point in talking to such an idiot!

With this thought in mind, Kiyokawa Hachiro turned his head away, neither speaking nor looking directly at the other person.

Meanwhile, Sanosuke Harada was too busy munching on persimmons to speak.

The two did not exchange any further words until they arrived at the meeting room.

Hello everyone!

As he pushed open the door, Harada Sanosuke greeted everyone inside in a cheerful tone.

Inside the meeting room, Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and others were all present, only Kiyokawa Hachiro and Harada Sanosuke were missing.

The two who arrived late immediately took their places.

As luck would have it, just as they were settling in, they heard a "whoosh"—the side door of the conference room suddenly opened—Qing Deng had arrived.

Qingdeng strode to the head seat, sat down cross-legged, and began his greetings directly:

Good morning, everyone!

Before the pleasantries had even finished, he hurriedly continued:

"Because I have a lot of things to do next, I'll keep it short!"

"The reason for this sudden emergency meeting is to announce something to you!"

"In order to expand the Shinsengumi's military budget, I have decided to establish a new organization dedicated to making money."

Its name is—

As he spoke, Qingdeng took out a scroll from his pocket, held both ends of the scroll with both hands, and tore it open.

All eyes immediately fell on the scroll.

Kiyohachiro squinted and read aloud the four large characters written on the scroll, one by one:

"The newly elected... Chamber of Commerce?"

Qingdeng nodded slightly.

"That's right! As its name suggests, this new organization will operate as a chamber of commerce!"

"Aside from working hard to make money, I don't take on any other responsibilities."

After speaking, Qingdeng put down the scroll in his hand and clapped his hands twice.

Whoosh—the side door of the conference room opened again.

A young man, who was completely unfamiliar to most of the people present, walked into the room with a nervous expression and came to Qingdeng's side.

"This is Yataro Iwasaki!"

Qingdeng introduced himself to everyone.

"From this day forward, he will be the first president of the New Selection Chamber of Commerce!"

These words immediately filled the room with astonishment.

First, there was the sudden announcement of the establishment of a new organization, and then there was the rocket promotion of a stranger of unknown origin... Qing Deng's machine-gun-like actions have left everyone bewildered.

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Chapter 624 The Female Lead with No Roles and the Vanished Blonde Female Lead [4200]

Serious differences in ideology and philosophy meant that Aoto didn't like Takeshi Hanpeita very much.

Expelling Westerners and excluding all Western things, including knowledge and commodities... This extreme ideology, which is no different from that of the anti-foreign groups of that time, is simply incomprehensible to Qing Deng.

However, even though he was destined to be at odds with the other party, he had to admit that Takeshi Hanpeita was a straightforward person.

He kept his word and, after accepting Qingdeng's IOU for "ten thousand taels of gold," immediately set about helping Qingdeng out of his predicament.

Under his leadership, Iwasaki Yataro's two wishes were fulfilled in just seven days.

My father's reputation was restored; and our family's household registration was moved out of the Tosa Domain.

Although Japan is a small country with a limited territory, the journey from Kyoto to the Tosa Domain is not easy.

The Tosa Domain is located on Shikoku Oshima Island, and to get there from Kyoto, one must cross the Seto Inland Sea by boat.

All these things were done in just 7 days... The efficiency was astonishing.

Now that the Iwasaki family has broken free from the control of the Tosa Domain, things will be much easier.

Aoto wrote a letter to his former superior, Usui Tadajiro, the Hokuban-sho-gong (magistrate of the Northern Frontier), requesting that he register the Iwasaki family's household registration in Edo.

For Tadashi Usui, who was the "mayor of Edo," this kind of small favor was nothing more than "giving an order to his subordinates," which was very easy.

Why not do something that is both easy and can win Qingdeng's favor?

So he readily agreed and replied that he would "definitely handle this matter as quickly as possible".

There's no reason why Tadashiro Usui couldn't accomplish such a small task.

I'm sure we'll receive good news from him soon.

Upon learning that his wish had been fulfilled, Iwasaki Yataro, overwhelmed with gratitude, knelt down on the spot, performed the standard dogeza (a traditional Japanese kneeling gesture), and proclaimed loudly while kowtowing to Aoto:

"Lord Niou! From this day forward, I, Iwasaki Yataro, will serve you with my life, even unto death!"

Finally, he had brought the "founder of the Mitsubishi Group" under his wing, and finally obtained the business talent he had been dreaming of! Qing Deng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, unable to contain his excitement.