I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Therefore, once he had some free time, Qing Deng immediately summoned the generals of the Shinsengumi to discuss the conscription plan.

Regarding the expansion of the army, from the "Four Commanders" down to the captains of the Draw Swords Squad, everyone expressed their approval and no one objected.

With the support of his generals, Qingdeng quickly drafted a detailed conscription plan—to expand the strength of the new conscription group from the current one hundred-plus men to three thousand men within three months!

*******

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Akira Toriyama, a legendary figure in the Dragon Ball franchise, has passed away... (crying leopard head.jpg) As we grow older and accumulate more experience, we can increasingly appreciate just how amazing Dragon Ball is.

If I could create an epic work like Dragon Ball, just like Akira Toriyama, then my life would have been worthwhile. (Leopard's envy.jpg)

Chapter 669 Forming a Cavalry Unit and an Intelligence Force! The shouting Souji and Kinoshita Mai [6000]

To increase the existing troop strength by 30 times in just 3 months... To be honest, such a rate of expansion is truly terrifying.

Putting aside the logistical pressures, just figuring out how to fill the vacancies for junior officers is enough to give anyone a major headache.

Post a conscription notice, offer ample food and pay, and you can recruit as many soldiers as you need.

But it's a different story for junior officers; unlike ordinary soldiers, they can't be "trained" quickly.

Even with so many soldiers recruited, there weren't enough junior officers to command these new recruits.

In gaming terms, it means the "officer level" is insufficient.

The number of junior officers directly affects the combat effectiveness of an army.

Without a sufficient number of junior officers to lead new recruits, it is difficult to quickly develop combat effectiveness.

A military genius like Han Xin, who didn't need veterans or officers and could directly recruit new soldiers on the spot, then lead these new soldiers to crush various warlords, is a rare breed in thousands of years.

Despite the numerous difficulties, we had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Always stay with me.

Ever since he went to Luoyang, a strong sense of crisis has been lingering in Qing Deng's mind.

Looking around, all I could see were jackals and wolves!

The open enemies included the Choshu Domain, the Tosa Loyalist Party, and the Soroku faction of court nobles.

The enemies lurking in the shadows include the mysterious and deeply powerful Fazhu Party and Da Yan Party.

Needless to say, the former's conflict with Qingdeng has reached a point of no return; it's a fight to the death.

As for the latter... Although Aoto had fought alongside Ebina and others from the Ōshio Party, in terms of political stance, Aoto, as a general of the shogunate army, and the Ōshio Party, which was determined to overthrow the shogunate, were undoubtedly opposed.

In other words, they might become enemies in the future.

The Satsuma Domain, opportunistic and always choosing to side with the victors, was like the Duke of Yansheng—another unstable ticking time bomb.

Even his own allies were all harboring their own ulterior motives.

The isolationists within the Aizu Domain, led by Saigo Yorimo, were unwilling to get involved in the conflict between the shogunate and the Soroku forces, and were focused on preserving their strength and remaining on the sidelines.

As for the internal workings of the shogunate, that goes without saying.

The Hitotsubashi faction, led by Yoshiki Hitotsubashi and Haruaki Matsudaira, has been trying to sabotage him.

In this perilous situation, with formidable opponents ahead and incompetent allies behind, only by strengthening the Shinsengumi and keeping this army firmly under his control can Aoto feel somewhat at ease!

In short, let's recruit soldiers first.

Logistics and junior officers—these thorny issues can be addressed later.

Anyway, this is an era where everyone is trying to be the worst.

He didn't believe that the armies of Satsuma and Choshu could be that strong.

This country has enjoyed peace for over two hundred years, and the world has long been free from war.

Which army doesn't lack combat experience?

Which army doesn't lack veterans and junior officers?

You're rotten, I'm rotten, everyone's army is just as rotten!

As long as our army isn't that bad, we can defeat our opponent!

……

……

Two recruitment points were set up in Qingdeng.

One is in Kyoto, and the other is in Edo.

These two places each cover the two most populous areas of the country (the Keihan area and the Kanto Plain).

[Note: Tenryo: Directly controlled territories of the Edo Shogunate]

Kondo Isami spearheaded the conscription efforts in Kyoto.

The conscription in Edo was handled by Hijikata Toshizo.

The conscription plan was finalized in the morning, and by the afternoon, the entire new conscription team was mobilized.

Hijikata Toshizo, with a sufficient number of men, rushed straight to Edo.

Kondo Isami took it personally, leading the team to post conscription notices all over Kyoto.

In addition to posting notices, Kondo Isami also specially dispatched eloquent men to publicize the Shinsengumi's conscription plan to the common people traveling north and south in crowded places such as Gion and the banks of the Kamo River.

Because they were separated by a large part of Japan, Aoto was unaware of how the conscription work was progressing in Edo.

He witnessed the grand spectacle in Kyoto firsthand.

No sooner had Kondo Isami gone out with the conscription notice than the entire city of Kyoto was in an uproar!

Every mealtime, if you pass by the vicinity of the Xinxuanzu Village Office, you can always smell the tempting aroma that makes your mouth water.

It was only afterward that the people of Kyoto learned that the Shinsengumi soldiers were enjoying lavish feasts every day!

Three meals a day! Each meal includes glistening rice and fragrant meat!

Food and sex are human nature, and delicious food always has a great attraction for people.

Every day, large numbers of Kyoto residents would flock there, bringing their meager food, and squat around the Shinsengumi headquarters, enjoying the aroma while eating.

Many people even come specifically to eat the swill.

Whenever those buckets of murky swill were sent out of the back gate of the Xinxuanzu village, countless people would rush up and scramble to grab the "food" from the swill buckets.

Just based on the unparalleled food and benefits, countless people would be drooling as they flocked to sign up for the army!

Admittedly, a feast of fine food is indeed quite tempting.

However, compared to the Shinsengumi's system of rewards and punishments, a mere bowl of rice and braised pork is simply not worth mentioning!

The story of "Hansaburo becoming a samurai through military merit" is excellent propaganda material.

Even if Aoto spent a great deal of effort and countless amounts of gold and silver to repeatedly promote to the world how good the treatment of the Shinsengumi was and how promising the future was after joining the Shinsengumi, it would still be far less effective than promoting the story of Hanzaburō once!

Therefore, after the shogunate decided on the reward for Hansaburo, Aoto immediately instructed Iwasaki Yataro to bribe various tile merchants in Kyoto to tirelessly publicize Hansaburo's counterattack.

In this way, the people of Kyoto all learned one thing—in the Shinsengumi, merits are rewarded and mistakes are punished; as long as one makes outstanding military achievements, one can rise to prominence!

As time goes by, Hanzaburo's deeds and the Shinsengumi's rewards and punishments will inevitably spread to farther places and reach more people's ears.

Achieving upward mobility—how many people dream of that?

Let alone in feudal society, even in modern times, this is the dream of countless people!

With exceptionally high-level benefits and a chance to turn one's life around... one can only imagine the sensation that would ensue when the news that "the Shinsengumi is recruiting" was released.

The conscription point in Kyoto was located on the east bank of the Kamo River.

This place is very open and suitable for being used as a recruitment point.

Within an hour of the recruitment notice being posted, the east bank of the Kamo River was crowded with young men who had come to join the army!

Those anxious, frantic feet nearly collapsed the bridges connecting the east and west banks of the Kamo River!

Within just one hour, thousands of people flocked to the scene, creating a truly awe-inspiring spectacle.

Although the scale of the event was unprecedented, it was a pity that Edo was the main focus of this conscription effort.

Under Aoto's instructions, the conscription points in Edo and Kyoto will prioritize recruiting men from respectable families in the Kanto region.

The sons of good families in Kanto were to the Shogunate what the sons of good families in the six districts were to the Han Dynasty—they were the cornerstone of the nation.

The Kanto region was both the base of the shogunate and the base of Seido.

Qingdeng wielded unparalleled influence in the Kanto region and commanded immense popularity.

But once he left Kanto, his title of "Niou" (the King of Benevolence) became less effective.

Therefore, compared to people from other places, the respectable men from Kanto had a significantly higher level of trust in Aoto.

From the very beginning, the Shinsengumi's military attributes were deeply marked by the characteristics of the Kanto region.

The general, the "four chiefs", the staff officers, the captains of the sword-drawing squad... from the leaders to the cadres, they were all from the Kwantung region.

Therefore, Qing Deng always believed that it was quite necessary to maintain a certain proportion of good men from Kanto within the Shinsengumi.

This ratio should be maintained at least above 50%.

On the other hand, the Kanto region has always been a high-quality source of soldiers.

Since the Heian period, people from the Kanto region have always been known for their bravery and skill in battle.

"Fire and fighting are the two great sights of Edo"—this proverb also reflects, to some extent, the abundant martial spirit of the people of Kanto.

It was precisely because they were so skilled in warfare that the Kanto samurai earned the unique reputation of being called "Bando warriors".

People in Kyoto only know how to show off their superiority, and people in Osaka only know how to do business—although these views are full of stereotypes, in feudal societies where information exchange was underdeveloped, stereotypes to some extent represented the most primitive big data.

Therefore, due to the above concerns, Aoto specifically made the recruitment of soldiers from Edo a key project in this conscription plan.

Qingdeng had long anticipated that the number of applicants would be overwhelming.

Therefore, in order to ensure the quality of soldiers, he specifically raised the recruitment standards to a very high level.

Those who are not physically strong should not apply!