I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

That evening, as expected, Qing Deng received a warm welcome from Yuan Canqi and others.

They brought out the best food and drinks in the village, displaying an air of "wanting to stuff Qingdeng to death."

The meal consisted of ordinary rice, pickled vegetables, pickled radishes, dried fried tofu, and three-inch-long saury.

The wine was a cloudy rice wine with a very weak flavor.

With the "Wine Master +3" talent, Qingdeng felt that he could drink all the wine stored in the village without getting drunk.

For Qingdeng, who now holds great power, this level of food seems rather meager.

However, Qingdeng thoroughly enjoyed his meal tonight.

Looking back, before he became successful, he often ate such simple meals.

The long-lost taste of familiar flavors evoked a strange sense of nostalgia in him.

……

……

The next morning, Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo led the new recruits of the Shinsengumi on their journey once again.

It's late June, and summer has already arrived.

Having escaped the dreaded rainy season, there were far fewer obstacles on the march.

After a long and hurried journey, I finally arrived in Kyoto on the scheduled date—July 2nd!

During the time that Aoto was away from Tokyo, the overall situation was managed by Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo Isamu.

Thanks to their competence, the Shinsengumi maintained normal and efficient operation.

By the time Aoto returned, Kyoto's conscription work had already been completed, and all 1000 new recruits had arrived.

The two waves of new recruits from Edo and Kyoto—a total of 3000 recruits—successfully joined forces.

Thus, this large-scale conscription, which lasted for more than two months, has finally come to a successful conclusion!

For ease of reference and for future record-keeping, this recruitment operation, which spanned two locations, was collectively referred to as the "Wenjiu Recruitment."

This "Wenjiu Recruitment" not only recruits brave and strong men, but also special talents such as doctors and blacksmiths.

For this reason, Qingdeng has established three new departments on the existing basis, namely—

The Refinement Bureau is responsible for crafting weapons and equipment.

The General Affairs Office is responsible for construction work.

The medical department is responsible for saving lives.

Based on their functions, it is easy to see that these three new departments are all important departments specializing in logistics.

It is worth mentioning that these three new departments are not part of the new selection group, but are directly under the jurisdiction of the Zhenfu Office.

The Shinsengumi is the Shinsengumi, and the Zhenfufu is the Zhenfufu; the two have a very clear superior-subordinate relationship.

The former is a military organization under the latter's name, and they should not be confused.

To date, the Zhenfu Prefecture has five organizations under its name: the Shinsengumi, the Shinsenshokai, the Refinement Bureau, the General Affairs Bureau, and the Medical Bureau.

These five organizations complement and support each other.

The entry-level staff in the Refining Department, General Affairs Department, and Medical Department are blacksmiths, craftsmen, and physicians, respectively, in the following numbers—

Refining Workshop Blacksmiths, 60 people.

The general request was sent by hand to 50 people.

There are 40 medical professionals.

Qingdeng has always been a person who enjoys making friends and is also good at it.

After more than three years of accumulation, he has built an incredibly impressive network of connections!

From the shogunate to the feudal domains, from the imperial court to the common people, from the upper echelons to the lower classes, Seido's friends are found in all walks of life.

When Qing Deng was searching for exceptional talents, his top-notch network of contacts immediately came in handy.

Through introductions and recommendations from relatives and friends, Qingdeng successfully recruited many outstanding talents with unique skills!

The highest-ranking officer in the Refining Bureau is called the "Refining Head".

Kitahara Harutaro was appointed as the first head of the refining department.

Kitahara Harutaro – 61 years old, from Echizen, he was once a student of the “Osafune School”, the same school that produced the world-famous Osafune Kenmitsu of Bizen.

The person who introduced this person was Sanako's father... namely, Chiba Sadakichi.

When he learned that Qingdeng was looking for a good blacksmith, he recommended this man to Qingdeng without hesitation.

Swordsmen always deal with blacksmiths.

It's not surprising that Chiba Sadakichi, as one of the world's top swordsmen, knew several outstanding blacksmiths.

As it turned out, Chiba Sadakichi's recommendation was credible.

Although this gentleman is old, his skills are truly remarkable.

He wielded a giant iron hammer, taller than a five-year-old child, with lightning speed.

From small tools like hoes and sickles to large weapons like katanas, naginatas, and spears, none are beyond their capabilities.

The other craftsmen in the refinery all admired his skills.

From all perspectives, this person is truly the best candidate for the refined head!

The highest-ranking official in the General Affairs Office is called the "General Affairs Head".

Shinonome Natsujiro was appointed as the first head of the General Affairs Office.

Shinonome Natsujiro – 54 years old, from Musashi.

This person was recommended to Aoto by Katsura Rintaro.

According to Katsura Rintaro, this person could not only build ordinary houses, but also knew how to build fortifications!

Several years ago, when Katsura Rintaro was ordered to build coastal defense batteries in Edo Bay, Shinonome Natsujiro was one of his capable subordinates.

Since he was a talent strongly recommended by Katsura Rintaro, there was no reason not to give him an important position.

The highest-ranking officer in the medical field is called the "Medical Head".

Nanjo Akizaburo was appointed as the first head of the medical team.

Nanjo Akizaburo – 42 years old, from Edo.

This guy is quite an amazing talent.

Qingdeng was particularly attentive to the recruitment of doctors.

When it comes to matters of life and death, you can't joke about them.

When talking about "highly skilled doctors", the first names that come to mind for Qing Deng are the famous Ogata Koan and his old friend, Kita Jin of Jin Medical Hall.

Speaking of Ogata Koan, he has quite a background.

This man was a world-renowned orthodox physician. As early as 1849, before the "Black Ships Incident" broke out, he introduced the "cowpox vaccination method," making a great contribution to the prevention of smallpox.

In 1862, at the repeated invitation of the shogunate, he came to Edo to serve as a physician and head of the Western Medicine Institute.

If we could receive the strong support of this outstanding physician, it would be like having the strength of a thousand... no, ten thousand people!

How much did Aoto long for Ogata Koan?

Let's put it this way—if Ogata Koan is willing to serve him, he's willing to offer him a high salary of "three thousand gold coins a year"!

However... unfortunately, just 10 months after Ogata Koan entered public service, on June 10, he suddenly passed away due to coughing up blood and suffocating, at the age of 54.

Judging from his symptoms, it is most likely tuberculosis.

In this era before the invention of antibiotics, tuberculosis was an incurable disease.

Once you contract tuberculosis, you can only wait to die.

Ogata Koan has passed away... Of all the medical talents that Seito knows, only Kita Jin is one.

Jin-i-kan was one of the most famous medical clinics in Edo—the reason being that the renowned physician Kita Jin, known for his miraculous healing skills, was based there.

Whenever he suffered a major injury, such as severely damaging the Extermination Group or wiping out the Shimizu Clan, Qing Deng would go to Renyi Hall to "report" and add to his achievements.

Over time, Aoto got to know Kita Jin and the beautiful nurse Tachibana Saki who was inseparable from him.

Qingdeng has always admired Beifangren.

In order to win him over, Qingdeng personally visited him, displaying the humble attitude of "three visits to the thatched cottage".

However... the other party's ambitions lay elsewhere.

Despite Qing Deng's utmost sincerity, he was still politely declined.

However, to compensate Aoto, Kita Jin introduced him to another outstanding doctor—this older brother, Nanjo Akizaburo.

Like Kita Jin, Nanjo Akizaburo was also an extremely rare top-notch physician who was proficient in both Chinese and Western medicine.

He can both decoct Chinese medicine and perform surgical procedures... He is exactly the kind of medical talent Qingdeng wants!

Modern Western medicine has largely shed its ignorance and no longer employs bizarre, witchcraft-like techniques such as "bloodletting" or "inducing vomiting."

It would be a great thing to be able to introduce advanced Western medical techniques to the Shinsengumi.

Although he missed out on meeting Ogata Koan and Kita Jin, whom he had longed for, Aoto was still content with successfully recruiting such excellent doctors.

The above is a general overview of the Refining Hall, the General Services Office, and the Medical Services Office.

Although all three departments are important and will bear the future of the Zhenfufu, Qingdeng is still most concerned about the Shinsengumi itself!

After the new recruits from Edo and Kyoto joined forces, Aoto immediately began a large-scale adjustment of the personnel in the various organizations and units of the Shinsengumi!

The number of new recruits announced to the public is 3000.

However, it's obvious that the "3000" here is not a real number, but just a general abbreviation.

The actual number certainly wouldn't be so perfectly rounded.

The actual number is far more than 3000.

Reorganizing the army—this is a rather meticulous and very tedious task.