I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As he spoke, he quietly raised his gaze and stole a look at Qingdeng not far away.

"..."

Qingdeng remained silent, his eyes wide open, his face filled with disbelief, his expression dominated by intense astonishment.

Yamaki Yunlang was very pleased with the image that Qingdeng had carved, and was extremely happy.

He smugly shouted to himself:

—Ju Qingdeng, how about it? Our elite troops have intimidated you, haven't they!

—You must be shocked to see such a powerful army for the first time, right?

—Hmph! In the end, the Shinsengumi's achievements so far are nothing more than annihilating the rebel army in Ise.

—If it were us, we could defeat the enemy just as well! And the results would be even more glorious than those of the Shinsengumi!

"Yamaki-kun, thank you for your hard work. Get up now."

No sooner had Tokugawa Iemochi finished speaking than Aoto eagerly pressed Yamaki Unro with a question:

"Yamaki-kun, this... is your unit?"

Although he didn't know why the other party asked this, Yamaki Kuro immediately replied:

"That's right! This is our unit! This is the First Division and the Third Division of the Daibu!"

"..."

Qingdeng remained silent.

He glanced at Yamaki Unro, then at the soldiers below the observation platform.

At the same time, the look of shock on his face deepened and intensified at a visible speed—a change that Yamaki Yunro noticed.

At this moment, Yamaki Yunlang, who thought he had been intimidated by the elite level of Qingdeng's troops, felt secretly delighted! Every pore on his body seemed to open up.

He could barely suppress the wildly upturned corners of his mouth!

To be honest, Qingdeng is indeed very shocked right now.

The look of astonishment he was showing was absolutely genuine.

However... what shocked him was not the same thing as what Yamaki Kumoro thought it was...

……

……

"..."

Qingdeng felt his mind was in a mess.

I don't know what to say... or even what kind of expression to wear...

Just as he was sorting out his thoughts, he suddenly felt a gaze—Tenshōin was quietly looking at him, casting a worried look in his eyes.

Based on their long-standing friendship, Qingdeng immediately understood the meaning behind his eyes:

Sheng Qing, Yamaki Yunlang wasn't exaggerating. The Kyoto garrison is indeed very strong. Your Shinsengumi must step up their game! Don't embarrass yourselves in today's "troop inspection"!

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpf) Although it's 10 minutes late, rounding it up, it's still updating on time at 23 PM! (Leopard proudly.jpg)

Some readers suspected that Leopard went to work on "Rise of the Ronin" today, but that's not the case. Leopard did go to take care of personal matters and didn't return home until evening. Although the word count was a bit low, Leopard will adjust his state quickly!

Chapter 680 Qing Deng: "Watch closely! This is what an army looks like!" [4200]

Qingdeng blinked hard a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

No matter how many times Qingdeng looked at it or checked it, the emotions revealed in Tianzhangyuan's eyes were always so sincere.

There was no misunderstanding... Tenshōin was genuinely worried that the Shinsengumi's training level was not as good as the Kyoto Daibangu!

Qing Deng twitched the corner of his mouth, then swept his gaze across the others.

The page leaders, led by Maki Toshiro, stared wide-eyed, vividly demonstrating what it means to be "utterly astonished."

Matsudaira Katamori's expression remained relatively calm, though a faint look of astonishment lingered on his face.

The rest of the group, led by Yoshiki Hitotsubashi and Haruaki Matsudaira, all wore similar expressions of shock.

As for Tokugawa Iemochi... at first glance, he showed no reaction, his face neither sad nor happy.

However, upon closer inspection, one can detect a flickering light of surprise in his eyes.

After a short while, he slowly began to speak:

“…Yamaki-kun, well done.”

"You weren't exaggerating; your and Sasaki's unit really impressed me."

"You must have put in a lot of effort to train the troops to this level, right?"

"Thank you for your hard work."

Yamaki Unro and Sasaki Futaro immediately looked flattered.

They both knelt down on the ground, one after the other.

As Yamaki Unro bowed to Tokugawa Iemochi, he respectfully proclaimed in a clear voice:

"Your Highness! It is our duty to share the burdens of the Shogunate and Your Highness!"

After Tokugawa Iemochi started it, the others followed suit.

All sorts of compliments rained down on the two who had become the focus of the entire event.

"Yamaki-kun, Sasaki-kun, you are true generals!"

"With you all here, Kyoto is safe!"

"The speed at which they set up their formation is so fast... How many times must they practice to reach this level..."

"What amazing cavalry! They can run so fast!"

"Such a powerful force can truly be called the 'world's strongest army'!"

……

Amidst the constant praise for Yamaki Unro and Sasaki Futaro, Aoto once again felt the strange looks being cast his way.

This time, the person looking at him was Tokugawa Iemochi.

The unspoken meaning in Tokugawa Iemochi's eyes was exactly the same as that in Tenshōin's, revealing a hidden worry—

Qingdeng, the Kyoto garrison is indeed quite skilled... Your Shinsengumi absolutely mustn't lose to them!

Following closely behind, Yoshiki Hitotsubashi and Haruaki Matsudaira also joined the ranks of those "peeping at Aoto".

They didn't express any overt negative emotions, but rather a sense of schadenfreude.

Then, one gaze after another fell upon Qingdeng.

Yamaki Unro, Sasaki Futaro, and the page corps leaders all watched Aoto intentionally or unintentionally.

Provocation, sarcasm, mockery... if these emotions had colors, Qingdeng's entire body would be stained with all sorts of colors.

Tachibana Aoto, how about it? After witnessing the might of the major Tokyo-based variety show, you must be quite frightened, right?

Hmph! If the Kyoto-based major group had been in charge of the "Battle of Iga" not long ago, they would surely have achieved a far more brilliant result than the Shinsengumi!

Having witnessed such a powerful army firsthand, how could Tachibana Aoto not be afraid?

The most ill-intentioned person was Yamaki Kuro.

The air between him and Qingdeng was thick with tension.

With a silent gaze, he sneered in a high-pitched voice:

Our team is always the one that can shoulder the heavy responsibility and overpower all others!

"..."

Faced with the provocations and provocations of Yamaki Unro and others, Aoden remained silent.

After a moment, he spoke softly:

"...Yamaki-kun, Sasaki-kun, it's truly remarkable that you've trained your troops to this level."

When he said "training the troops to this level," Qing Deng emphasized the point.

At first glance, it seems to have a deeper meaning.

Yamaki Unro didn't think much of it.

He proudly raised his head and puffed out his chest:

"Your Excellency, Commander, I am unworthy of such an honor!"

By this time, Qingdeng had calmed down.

At the same time, he gradually understood why Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshōin and others reacted in this way.

Before becoming the Governor of the Capital Region, Qing Deng had at least worked in the military system for a period of time (as a former thief).

Therefore, he has some understanding of the average level of the current Mu army.

When evaluating whether something is good or bad, a reference point is always needed.

Without a reference point for comparison, how can people know whether something is good or bad?

If we compare the Kyoto garrison with other shogunate forces... then the former certainly deserves the praise of Tokugawa Iemochi and others!

They can change formations; they can form various formations such as the goose formation and the spear formation; they have cavalry; their cavalry can charge... These seemingly ordinary military skills are enough to make other troops look up to them!

Don't underestimate the destructive power of "putting away weapons and letting horses graze freely".

An army needs to maintain a "high-pressure" state at all times, that is, maintain training intensity and conduct frequent exercises, in order to maintain its combat effectiveness.

Human beings have a very strong tendency to be lazy.

Once they relax, the entire army's combat effectiveness may collapse and decline rapidly in less than a year.