I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 1251

He muttered to himself as he pulled open his shirt to cool himself down.

"This chainmail is really heavy..."

As he spoke, he lowered his head and looked at the chainmail exposed after he opened his shirt.

Under the sunlight, each brand-new ring-shaped armor plate reflected a chilling gleam.

Looking at the chainmail he was wearing, Shimada Kai grinned, revealing his white teeth, and smiled:

"Heh, our Shinsengumi has become quite wealthy!"

The success of the newly established Chamber of Commerce is evident to all.

Anyone with a sound mind knows: Niou has struck it rich!

No one knows how much money Aoto amassed during this period, except for Aoto himself and Iwasaki Yataro, who was in charge of managing the Shinsensho Company.

But one thing is certain—it's an enormous sum of money that would make any ordinary person dizzy just hearing about it!

The tremendous success of the New Election Chamber of Commerce has also benefited the New Election Group.

Since the day before yesterday, new and various types of equipment have been continuously delivered to the Shinsengumi settlement!

The businesses of Osaka's merchants are extremely diverse.

Food, swords, armor... Aside from Western goods which are relatively hard to obtain, you can buy anything you want in Osaka.

Therefore, after receiving the more than 5,000 taels of gold, Qingdeng directly placed large orders with the merchants in Osaka.

Kyoto is adjacent to Osaka, and the two cities are also connected by the Yodo River for water transport.

Taking advantage of this geographical advantage, no sooner had Qingdeng placed the order than ships laden with equipment sailed north along the Yodo River, heading straight for Kyoto, and delivering the supplies to his doorstep.

New swords, new spears, new shields, new armor... Under Qing Deng's generous efforts, the Shinsengumi soldiers were completely upgraded, and the armor coverage rate reached an astonishing 100%! Everyone had armor to wear!

To help the soldiers get used to the feeling of "armored combat," Qingdeng specifically ordered that everyone must wear armor during training sessions and must not take it off!

After a short rest, Shimada Kai felt his body gradually recover.

Just as he was preparing to continue training...

"Make way! Make way! Make way, all of you!"

A sudden shout caught his attention.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a guard dressed as a soldier, his face filled with panic, his hands pulling up his trousers, hurrying past the side of the No. 1 training ground and heading into the depths of the camp.

Before long, his figure disappeared from Shimada Kai's sight.

Seeing this, Shimada Kai blinked and muttered to himself:

"What's going on here?"

His comrade-in-arms chuckled and picked up the conversation:

"Could it be that war is about to break out?"

Upon hearing this, Shimada Kai shrugged and retorted irritably:

"How could that be? Where would we get so many battles to fight? Never mind, let's get back to training!"

……

Newly elected village office, council chamber—

The deputy chief, chief of staff, bureau chief, staff officer, and captains of the sword-drawing squad gathered together.

Another unexpected emergency meeting.

As soon as Qingdeng appeared—carrying a large cloth bag in his arms—he excitedly announced to the crowd:

"The reason I suddenly summoned you all is to announce some good news—our uniforms are finished!"

Upon hearing this, most of the people present immediately showed expressions of excitement.

Qing Deng put down the large cloth bag in his arms and unsealed it—inside were neatly folded light blue haori (feathered garments).

********

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P.S.: Although light blue is the representative color of the Shinsengumi, historically, the Shinsengumi only used light blue haori for a year before discontinuing it because the members thought it was outdated. Later, the Shinsengumi primarily used black haori. The movies *Burn, Sword!* and *Mibu Gishi Den* accurately reflect this historical fact. Because light blue is easily recognizable, the Shinsengumi and this color have become highly associated.

Chapter 631 The Military Flag "Sincerity Flag" and the Decisive Battle Flag "Honor to Die, Shame to Live!" [4300]

To be fair, the finished uniform was far better than Qing Deng had anticipated.

The soft and absorbent fabric, the light green base color, and the white mountain-patterned cuffs... all look simple and refreshing, which is very much to Qingdeng's liking.

It must be said that Yagi Gennojo is quite quick and efficient.

Since agreeing to make flags and uniforms for the Shinsengumi free of charge, in just over half a month, he faithfully followed every request made by Aoto and delivered impeccable finished products.

It seems that Yagi Gennojo values his relationship with Aoto quite a bit.

He took the matter of "maintaining his friendship with Qingdeng" very seriously.

Incidentally, thanks to the Shinsengumi, Aoto and Yagi Gennojo's relationship has deepened considerably.

The prosperity of the newly elected Chamber of Commerce has greatly boosted the economy of Imsaeng Township.

As the largest landowner in Mibu Township, Yagi Gennojo was naturally pleased to see this prosperous scene.

As everyone knows, the person who can lead everyone to get rich is the boss!

For this reason, recently, whenever the Shinsengumi soldiers walk through the streets and alleys of Mibu Township—especially when Aoto appears—the gazes of the people of Mibu Township toward them have become much more friendly and enthusiastic.

As Qing Deng took out the light blue haori (traditional white garments) one by one from the cloth bag, he said quickly:

"I brought all your uniforms. Now, try them on!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and stepped forward one by one to receive their respective uniforms.

The commander deftly slipped on his haori, then exclaimed with shining eyes:

"So beautiful! So great!"

The cheerful Souji has never disliked this refreshing color.

After taking his uniform, Serizawa Kamo didn't put it on immediately. Instead, he frowned and muttered to himself:

"Tsk...why do I have to wear such old-fashioned clothes..."

Kondo Isami stared at the mountain-shaped pattern on the cuffs of his haori, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

Although he was quite disappointed that he couldn't completely imitate the attire of the Ako Gishi, he was somewhat comforted by the fact that he could retain the most classic mountain-shaped cuffs of the Ako Gishi.

If we were to ask who among everyone present was the most emotionally stirred at this moment, it would undoubtedly be Kinoshita Mai.

After all, it was her idea to "set the background color of the uniform to be light turquoise".

Kinoshita Mai gently stroked the light blue haori in her hand, blinked her beautiful eyes a few times, and revealed an uncontrollable excitement in them.

Overall, after receiving their uniforms, only a handful of people, such as Souji and Kinoshita Mai, displayed a great deal of emotion.

Most of the people present came from lower-middle-class backgrounds, so they didn't pay much attention to their clothing.

Therefore, they don't care much about the style or color of the uniform.

At this moment, as if remembering something, Nagakura Shinpachi turned to Aoto and asked:

"By the way, Mr. Ju, now that the uniforms are finished, what about the military flag? Is our military flag complete?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qingdeng smiled and nodded.

"Yes, the military flag is ready too. Our military flag and uniforms were delivered at the same time."

No sooner had Qing Deng finished speaking than Yongcang Xinpachi hurriedly interrupted:

"Now that the military flag is ready, isn't it time for you to show us your design?"

In the blink of an eye, a flurry of curious and expectant gazes fell upon Qingdeng.

When Qingdeng held a meeting to discuss "what kind of uniforms and military flags we should use," only the former was open to soliciting opinions from everyone.

As for the latter, Qing Deng said, "Ah, there's no need to discuss that. I've already decided on the design of the military flag." He added, "I've decided to use a word that is very important to me as our military flag!"

At that time, Qing Deng kept the design of the military flag a secret and did not immediately reveal it to everyone.

To this day, no one knows what their military flag looks like.

Under the intense gazes of the crowd, Qingdeng, as if deliberately trying to whet their appetites, slowly reached into his robes and pulled out a neatly folded flag with its back facing up.

His hands gripped the top left and top right corners of the flag, respectively.

"This is... the flag of our Shinsengumi!"

Then, with a "whoosh," Qingdeng shook it off.

At the same instant, all the gazes that had been focused on him immediately turned to him.

Instantly, everyone displayed a variety of expressions and demeanors.

The commander opened his eyes wide and slowly said, word by word:

"Makoto?"

The flag is made of red gauze, with a white mountain-shaped pattern at the bottom and a large, white "诚" (sincerity) character in the center.

Qing Deng nodded slightly and said in a clear voice:

"That's right! 'Sincerity'! Our Shinsengumi's flag is the 'Sincerity Flag'!"

Chirp chi ...

Whispering, exchanging glances, staring at each other... the expressions of everyone present were dominated by incomprehension and confusion.