I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Seeing this, Qing Deng gritted his teeth—his emotions had been fully stirred up by the current atmosphere!

He tilted his head back and gulped it down, a hearty, bull-like drink, a wave of pleasure shooting straight through his throat and esophagus.

Kinoshita Rin slapped her thigh.

"Haha! Not bad! Very generous!"

The aroma of wine filled the air.

Along with it, a joyful atmosphere permeated the air.

*******

*******

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

The wedding takes place on New Year's Eve, and the story immediately follows the tumultuous year of 1864—a perfect rhythm and plot twist!

Leopard loves vodka the most!

Vodka is amazing! It can mix with everything!

Leopard loves drinking "screwdriver" liquor the most!

Screwdriver—as the name suggests, it's a spirit where you put a screwdriver in vodka. A flathead screwdriver tastes the best, followed by a Phillips head—both are delicious! (Leopard Chaos.jpg)

Chapter 782 The whole nation is shocked! Major businessmen support Qingdeng! [4200]

Kyoto, Mibu Village, Shinsengumi Garrison, a certain courtyard—

Hijikata Toshizo, sitting cross-legged on the veranda with a carefree attitude, mumbled something indistinctly while stuffing rice balls into his mouth:

"This is so slow... Why haven't we heard anything from Osaka yet?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kondo Isami, standing beside him, said helplessly:

"Ah Sui, you're too impatient."

Yamanami Keisuke nodded and echoed:

"Kondo-kun is right."

"'Whether or not to form an alliance with the Hulu House'—this concerns the future of the Qin Jin Domain."

"It's understandable that such an important meeting would take a little longer."

Hijikata Toshizo, Kondo Isami, and Yamanami Keisuke—the three of them sat in a row, eating and chatting about recent interesting news and government affairs.

During the time that Aoto was away in Osaka, the three of them took on the main responsibility.

For this reason, they have been spending a lot more time together lately.

Even before Aoto went to Osaka, his advisors had already formulated a meticulous and detailed plan around the topic of "how to build the Hatatsu Domain".

Everything is ready except for money and supplies!

As long as the funds and supplies arrive, whether it's cultivating land or building fortresses, all projects can be launched and started immediately!

After swallowing the rice ball whole, Hijikata Toshizo raised his eyes, looked into the distance, and appeared deep in thought.

"If Tachibana fails... then our path ahead will be very difficult."

Kondo Isami and Yamanami Keisuke fell silent, pursing their lips and displaying solemn expressions.

Although this topic is heavy, so heavy that people don't want to face it, they have to admit that whether Qing Deng's trip to Osaka will be fruitful is a huge variable.

Hijikata Toshizo and others did not understand the gourd house.

They had only heard snippets of information about this organization from Aoto and Kinoshita Mai.

All I know is that this is a low-profile, incredibly powerful business group.

Although due to various reasons such as institutional defects and historical legacies, the special group of "Osaka tycoons" emerged.

However, since its inception, the Edo Shogunate has always upheld and maintained the social hierarchy of "samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants".

The idea that "samurai are the most noble and merchants are the most lowly" has been popular in Japan for hundreds of years.

As a result, Hijikata Toshizo and others harbored a great prejudice against the "merchant" group.

In their minds, businessmen are extremely ruthless beings.

On the one hand, as long as there is profit to be made, they dare to defy public opinion.

On the other hand, if there is no profit to be made, they will show astonishing stinginess, disregarding human ethics, morality, and social order.

Is Hulu House willing to form an alliance with the newly established and still immature Qin Jin Fan?

Even Qing Deng himself probably can't say for sure about this kind of thing...

Maintaining a pessimistic outlook and always being prepared for the worst—these are fundamental qualities that leaders should possess.

Although on the surface, Hijikata Toshizo and the others all put on a confident appearance that "Aoto will definitely succeed," this was just a means to reassure people.

In reality, they had long been prepared for the "breakdown of negotiations" and had formulated a series of remedial measures.

The first step is to find a suitable "next partner".

The powerful and wealthy are not limited to the Gourd House.

They could easily go and cooperate with their "next partner".

If even this doesn't work, then they'll have no choice but to resort to their last resort—placing their hopes on Yataro Iwasaki.

Simply put, the hope is that the newly selected chambers of commerce can find new big business opportunities or develop new popular chambers of commerce to raise enough money and supplies for the Qin Jin Domain.

Regardless of whether this method will succeed or not, relying solely on the New Chamber of Commerce is far too slow.

After all, the first priority of the New Election Chamber of Commerce is to support the New Election Group in order to ensure its normal operation.

By the time the newly elected Chamber of Commerce raises enough funds and provisions to advance the "Great Construction of the Feudal State," who knows when...

Just as Hijikata Toshizo and the others were frowning in worry, suddenly, Souji's shout came from afar:

"Mr. Hijikata! Mr. Hijikata!"

Along with the shouts, the sound of footsteps gradually approached and grew louder.

To quicken his pace, Souji grabbed the hem of his trousers and excitedly headed straight for Hijikata Toshizo and the others.

Thanks to Sanako's "self-destruction," Souji's "true identity" has been revealed to the world.

The news that "Okita Souji is a girl" spread like wildfire, and heartbreak echoed throughout every corner of Kyoto on the day it broke.

First and foremost, countless young girls' hearts were broken.

Women in the Edo period generally preferred men who were cheerful, fair-skinned, had loud voices, exuded masculine energy, and had a strong, masculine appearance.

The most notable figure is the Kabuki actor, Yashiro Ichikawa, who committed suicide not long ago (1854).

Because he was so handsome, he was wildly popular with girls. Even his spit was collected and treated like a sacred object.

After the eighth generation Ichikawa Danjuro committed suicide without cause, countless women were devastated and cried so hard that their eyes were almost bulging. A painter even created a painting depicting this scene.

To be fair, Souji's effeminate appearance due to her cross-dressing as a man did not conform to the aesthetic standards of the Edo period.

However, she at least fits the criteria of being cheerful, having fair skin, and having a loud voice—especially "cheerful" and "fair skin".

Her cheerful personality, which seemed to radiate light, and her sun-like smile captivated countless young girls.

There are countless girls who admire and pursue Souji.

For example, the daughter of a clinic nearby really likes Souji.

She would always come to see Souji, sometimes bringing homemade bento boxes, sometimes bringing him his favorite sweets.

The girls' obsessive pursuit put Souji in a difficult position—she couldn't reciprocate their feelings, yet she couldn't explain why.

Immediately following was the heartbreak of countless people on the path.

Strangely enough, women in the Edo period preferred masculine men, while Kando people preferred delicate, girlish men.

Souji's appearance is exactly what these guys crave!

Although I haven't counted them carefully, it's really hard to say whether the majority of people who admire the "male version of Souji" are men or women...

The relentless pursuit and entanglement of the various sects only made the commander-in-chief feel more troubled.

From another perspective, Sanako's "self-destruction" can be seen as freeing Souji from his predicament.

From now on, she will no longer have to endure the pursuit and harassment from homosexuals and other religious figures.

On the other hand, the exposure of her "true identity" also relieved many men.

Souji's handsome appearance makes many straight men's hearts race.

This put the latter in a deep dilemma—had I also fallen into the trap of the masses?

When the news spread that "Souji is a girl," they felt a huge sense of relief—great! I knew I still preferred women!

At the same time, many men were overjoyed.

Men are such simple creatures that they can feel ecstatic just by the appearance of a beautiful woman in their lives.

Of course, as excited as they were, so far, none of them had dared to openly pursue Souji.

The reason is actually quite simple.

At the same time that Souji revealed his "true identity", the news that "'Niou' Tachibana Aoto will marry Souji and other women" also spread.

Who has the confidence to compete with "Nioh"?

Women and Taoist priests could not pursue him; ordinary men dared not pursue him—and so, the Souji lived a long-awaited peaceful life.

Since the "true form" has been revealed, there is no longer any need to hide it.

However, because she is used to wearing men's clothing, Souji still presents herself as a man.

Even when dressed in casual clothes, she rarely wore a women's kimono or styled her hair in a Shimada bun like Kinoshita Mai.

The only change on her was that she had taken off her breast wrap.

At first glance, apart from her breasts being fuller, her appearance was no different from before.

Seeing that the commander suddenly ran over, Hijikata Toshizo and the others, knowing that something urgent had happened, quickly stopped what they were doing.