I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Either he's a handsome man in a high-end suit who uses magical skills like disguise and voice changing, along with a bunch of high-tech equipment, to manipulate his enemies, gathering intelligence while also seducing a few women.

Or they might be beautiful girls dressed in revealing, provocative outfits, using seduction techniques to extract information.

To be fair, the latter is actually more reliable than the former.

Historically, there were indeed female spies and ninjas who used seduction techniques to achieve their goals.

To put it bluntly, there are only two methods for gathering intelligence.

Firstly, send out highly skilled individuals to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold and directly steal intelligence documents or important items.

Secondly, they planted "moles" within the enemy's forces.

In general, the latter is the mainstream method of intelligence gathering.

*******

*******

Today marks a true 6000 words! The book's long-awaited 6000-word milestone! (crying leopard head emoji)

Leopard has really worked hard! Please vote for this book with your monthly tickets in consideration of his efforts! Requesting monthly tickets! Requesting recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 670 The General Heads to Luoyang! A New Chapter Begins! [5000]

Moles are rodents that are good at digging burrows. They live in their burrows during the day and come out at night to hunt insects.

The mole's ability to hide itself and its nocturnal habits have given it an additional connotation of "spy" in the context of modern states—a "traitor" hiding in another's system.

In modern entertainment works, the process of gathering intelligence is often designed in this way—

A dashing young man or a stunningly beautiful woman infiltrates the enemy camp alone, using her exceptional skills and cunning to outmaneuver the enemy and ultimately retrieve confidential documents from a safe or somewhere else.

Those who prefer a more discreet approach would secretly hide under the floor or above the ceiling to eavesdrop on important conversations among the other party's senior management.

In fact, Qing Deng had just used this simple and unpretentious reconnaissance method not long ago.

When he was wiping out the Kusunoki Group, he sent Kinoshita Mai to infiltrate the Kusunoki Group's headquarters and find out the general layout of their residence.

Thanks to Kinoshita Mai's outstanding performance, the subsequent all-out attack became much easier.

There are also some works that cannot be detailed, which favor the depiction of the seduction techniques of female spies and ninjas, as well as the imprisonment and punishment they suffer after their seduction fails... I will leave this part aside for now.

Through exposure to these cultural and entertainment works, naive people gradually come to believe that this is how intelligence is collected, leading them to have unrealistic fantasies about spies—a life of near-death experiences, both dangerous and glamorous, where they live a life of hardship and constant danger.

In reality, intelligence gathering is indeed quite dangerous; one wrong move can be fatal, and it truly involves living a life of constant danger. But it has absolutely nothing to do with being cool.

This brutal method of "directly sending people to forcibly seize intelligence" can only be used to bully the weak.

Any well-organized organization can ensure that those who come to steal information never return.

To give a simple example: if Aoto had sent Kinoshita Mai to infiltrate Edo Castle, she would have been certain to die.

Edo Castle was a military fortress meticulously built by the shogunate at great expense, mobilizing the best craftsmen of the time; it was not an ordinary palace.

Regardless of the level of defense with its daytime and evening patrols, the castle's "の"-shaped structure alone is enough to inspire awe.

To enter the core citadel, one must first cross the moat, then pass through the second citadel and the first citadel, and finally cross an inner river... What kind of ninja has such ability?

Let alone mere ninjas, as long as our side and the enemy do not have heavy firepower support, even an army of 10 cannot break into Edo Castle!

However, even the most impregnable fortress is always vulnerable inside.

Therefore, planting "mole" is the mainstream method of intelligence gathering.

In other words, real intelligence gathering is actually quite boring.

First, find potential allies within the enemy forces.

Once the person is found, an offer that the other party cannot refuse is made—and a brand new "mole" is born.

The next step was to have the "mole" provide classified information regularly.

Generally speaking, the "mole" is only responsible for providing intelligence, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, he just needs to provide intelligence.

As for the subsequent intelligence analysis and utilization, that's left for the decision-makers to worry about.

This will truly test the wisdom and courage of decision-makers.

Analyzing intelligence is often more important than collecting it.

Of course, there are also incredibly sophisticated ways to bury "moles".

For example, during the Cold War, the KGB often spent years, or even decades, training a super agent who was fluent in multiple languages, skilled in both academics and martial arts, and exceptionally courageous.

Then the identity of someone who actually exists in the world—for example, a young British man named Tom who died in battle but whose household registration was lost due to the war—is attached to this agent.

And so, a legitimate British citizen named Tom was born. With a pure British accent and impeccable citizenship, he was a true Englishman inside and out.

Even if the opposing forces wanted to thoroughly investigate this "Tom," they couldn't find anything wrong with his background.

Qing Deng has a lot of experience in "how to build an intelligence agency from scratch".

After all, he could be considered a member of the intelligence agency.

To this day, he still retains his status as a member of the Shin-O-Yu-Ban.

While classifying the new Oniwaban as an intelligence agency is not entirely accurate.

In essence, the new Oniwaban were more like the personal guards of Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin. The guards selected were all confidants and trusted men of the mother and son.

Regardless, during his frequent visits to the Moon Palace Shrine, Aoto did indeed learn a great deal of important knowledge related to espionage.

After careful consideration, Qingdeng decided to take a two-pronged approach!

I have to be all!

They both raise ninjas and bury "moles"!

On the one hand, they trained all the members of the Ninth Division into qualified ninjas.

On the other hand, they sought to win over neutral and enemy forces such as the Satsuma Domain, Choshu Domain, Tosa Loyalist Party, and court nobles, turning them into "moles."

The former was handed over to Kinoshita Mai to handle.

She is a rare female ninja, possessing both ample theoretical knowledge and rich practical experience.

Who else but her could handle this task?

As for the latter, it will be handled by Yataro Iwasaki.

As the president of the Shinsengumi Chamber of Commerce, Yataro Iwasaki is required to frequently travel and interact with all sorts of people due to the demands of his mission.

Over time, he developed a wide network of contacts, making it easier for him to find suitable people to win over.

Yataro Iwasaki was only responsible for finding the right people.

As for the subsequent identification of whether these people are worth recruiting, and how to turn them into "moles," that will be the responsibility of Aoto himself and Kinoshita Mai.

Initially, Kinoshita Mai, who was introverted, shy, and very socially awkward, firmly refused the appointment given by Aoto to "train ninjas".

She shook her little head vigorously, like a rattle-drum, and said at high speed:

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! How could I possibly be a teacher!"

In response, Qing Deng replied calmly:

"I don't need a Jonin who can throw shuriken, take on a hundred men single-handedly, and is proficient in illusions, invisibility, fire-breathing, and other spells."

"All I need is a group of agile genin who can scale walls and leap across rooftops."

"In other words, you don't need to teach them those advanced skills. You just need to teach them how to run faster, how to leap over rooftops, and how to conceal their presence, and that will be enough."

"Having these three skills is enough."

After much persuasion from Aoto, Kinoshita Mai finally gritted her teeth and accepted the task.

Soon, the "Ninja Arts Class," led by the "female ninja" Kinoshita Mai, officially began!

On the first day of class, Souji, Sanako, and others came to audit the class, just to join in the fun.

The first lesson the members of the Ninth Division learned was not about running posture or jumping techniques, but about learning to hear Kinoshita Mai's voice, which was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

“This… um… this… on the roof… uh… the secret to moving… is… is… to keep your body low to the ground… and walk lightly… if, if you step on, break… um… the roof tiles… not only easily cause… loss of balance… but also easily… uh… to be discovered by others…”

Despite the difficulties, Aoto believed that under Kinoshita Mai's leadership, the Ninth Division would definitely become a qualified ninja unit.

……

……

Recruiting soldiers, building racecourses, expanding logistics, forming cavalry units and intelligence agencies...

A dizzying workload.

The saying "being busy with countless affairs every day" is nothing more than this.

Despite his busy schedule, Qingdeng displayed the prowess of a super-powerful king, thanks to the support of his talents: "Sleep God", "Photographic Memory", "Focus", "Strengthened Essence +4", "Primordial Yang +4", "Divine Brain +9", and "Blood Lock +7"!

If Japan had a "National Model Worker" award right now, Aoto would definitely outshine everyone else and easily win the prize.

Since the start of the major construction of the Shinsengumi, Aoto has been working in 48-hour shifts and only sleeping once every two days.

Let's take his schedule on a certain day as an example—

I was grading documents in the early hours of the morning.

After daybreak, I went to the racecourse to check on its construction and the cavalry's training, and also to confirm when the next few batches of warhorses would arrive in Beijing.

Around noon, while munching on a cold rice ball to make do with his lunch, he headed straight to the "Kyoto Recruiting Point" on the east bank of the Kamo River to find Kondo Isami and personally inquire about the progress of the recruitment.

In the afternoon, he went to the Shinsengumi Trading Company and carefully checked their books. During this time, he also took a peek at Kinoshita Mai's "Ninjutsu Class".

He then returned to his room and reviewed the documents that had piled up that day, continuing until evening.

After dinner, he held a short meeting with Keisuke Yamanami to discuss expanding logistical supplies.

As the size of the troop force increased, the logistical pressure also multiplied—and exponentially.

Feeding one hundred mouths and feeding three thousand mouths... the difference in difficulty between the two is like heaven and earth.

In an extremely serious tone, Keisuke Yamanami said to Aoto, "Tachibana-kun, it's time to find a way to fill the vacancy of 'chairman'."

The head of the finance department is the highest-ranking official in the department, one of the "four heads," and his administrative status is equivalent to that of the deputy head, the bureau chief, and the general manager.

The Finance Department, as the name suggests, is responsible for the finances and logistics of the Shinsengumi.