I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The commander walked very fast.

One second she was outside the courtyard, and the next she was in the center of the courtyard.

Before the other person could ask a question, she exclaimed joyfully:

"Tachibana-kun succeeded! The Calabash House has agreed to form an alliance with us!"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere instantly changed—the heavy atmosphere dissipated, replaced by an air of surprise.

Kondo Isami muttered blankly:

"It...it was a success...?"

Although Yamanami Keisuke did not speak, his face was filled with a mixture of surprise and joy.

Hijikata Toshizo was the first to recover and asked the pointed question:

"How much funding is Hulu House willing to provide us? What is the duration of the alliance?"

The commander raised a fist.

This left the other side completely bewildered.

One fist—how many numbers is that?

Fortunately, the commander quickly cleared up their confusion.

"No, no limit!"

She could hardly contain her excitement and said aloud:

"No specific figures! Hulu House will provide us with unlimited support!"

"Furthermore, we don't have to pay any price!"

"The only thing we need to do is to wholeheartedly deal with the Fa-Zhu Party and completely eliminate it!"

In an instant, the entire room fell silent—only heavy breathing could be heard.

Whether it was the bold and unrestrained Kondo Isami, or the calm and steady Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke, they all showed the same expression at this moment—dumbfounded, staring at Souji with disbelief.

After a long while, Kondo Isami swallowed hard and then raised a question:

"Xiao Si...you're not kidding us, are you?"

The commander retorted irritably:

"Although I enjoy joking, I would never speak carelessly on such an important matter."

Everyone present knew Souji's temperament well, and of course they knew she wasn't the kind of person who spoke carelessly.

Hijikata: "..."

Kondo: "..."

Shannan: "..."

They looked at each other, their eyes meeting, as if trying to share their surging, passionate emotions.

A moment later, Hijikata Toshizo grinned, revealing his snow-white teeth, and the corners of his lips curved into an excited smile.

"Ah Sheng, Shan Nan, we're going to be so busy we won't have a moment to breathe!"

……

……

Kyoto, streets and alleys—

"Hey! Did you hear that?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Oh dear, you're so out of touch!"

"Exactly! Such a big thing, and you didn't know anything about it!"

"Hey, stop beating around the bush! Tell me quickly, what's happened this time? Did the Changzhou people attack?"

"No, that's not it! Something's happened in Osaka!"

"Osaka's major merchants have issued statements! They have expressed their full support for 'Niou'! They are providing the Hatatsu Domain with comprehensive material support, including money, provisions, and animal power!"

"The biggest merchants in Osaka? Who are they?"

"Kagetaya, Saikai-ya, Kan-ya, Fan-ya, Nanahiko-ya... Madam, there are too many! I can't even count them all!"

"What? Aren't these all powerful and incredibly wealthy merchants?"

"That's why I said this is a big event! It's extraordinary that these wealthy merchants would help King Ren!"

"Why is this happening? Aren't Osaka's wealthy merchants always known for being incredibly stingy?"

"It is said that this is also thanks to Niou!"

"Legend has it that he went to Osaka alone and persuaded the city's wealthy merchants with his silver tongue, making them willingly lend a helping hand! This is how the current grand situation came about!"

"The King of Ren is actually proficient in the art of diplomacy?"

"What's so strange about that? Have you forgotten? Just recently, he persuaded the British fleet in Edo Bay to retreat without firing a single shot!"

"Ah, that's true..."

"Suddenly acquiring countless amounts of money and provisions... Hey, wouldn't this mean Qin Jinfan would rise to power rapidly?"

"That's for sure! With money and provisions, we can solve most of the world's difficulties!"

"I dare say! Within five years, Qinjin will become a powerful and influential region that can rival the rest of the world!"

……

……

Osaka, Kyoto, Nara... More and more towns and cities received the important news that "Osaka's big merchants have jointly funded the Hatazu Domain".

It is still spreading rapidly.

It will likely be long before this news spreads throughout the country.

Wherever this news spread, it sparked gasps of astonishment.

Shock……

This is absolutely shocking!

Any human being with a sound mind could easily guess what would happen when this massive amount of money and provisions was handed over to the brilliant and ambitious "King Niō" Tachibana Aōdō!

After gaining Kinoshita Rin's approval and becoming her grandson-in-law, Aoto gained a deeper understanding of the Gourd House.

Hulu House is not the kind of traditional business that "buys low and sells high".

Simply put... it's more like an investor!

Once a talent or business that is worth cultivating is identified, funding will be provided to cultivate and assist them.

Although there are occasional situations where investments fail and all capital is lost, the gains always outweigh the losses.

Over time, the gourd house built a vast network of connections!

From Ezo in the north to Kyushu in the south... merchants who have benefited from the kindness of the gourd house are all over the country!

In Osaka alone, businesses associated with the Gourd House include, but are not limited to, major grain merchant "Kagetaya", major liquor merchant "Nishikai-ya", major fruit merchant "Kanya", spice merchant "Hanya"... all of which are well-known names!

This is precisely why the Calabash House is not well-known – they always remain behind the scenes and rarely step into the limelight!

In this era of limited information exchange, it would be difficult for ordinary people to learn of the existence of the gourd house.

When Kinoshita Rin issued the call to "fully support Tachibana Aoto", her "network of connections" quickly sprang into action!

Major retailers such as Kageta-ya and Saikai-ya have responded enthusiastically!

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

P.S.: It is said that the historical figure Souji was a muscular man—which happens to fit the definition of "handsome man" in the Edo period.

Chapter 783 The Shinsengumi Gets Guns! M1861 Rifles and Parrot Rifled Cannons! [5000]

Those with money contributed money, those with grain contributed grain, and those with animal power contributed animal power.

These are just the businesses that have publicly expressed their support for Qingdeng.

Many businesses are also secretly providing covert assistance to Qingdeng.

These renowned merchants all generously donated to the same person... Such a scene was both rare and astonishing!

Of course, neither the big merchants in Osaka nor other merchants in other places were directly subordinate to the Karasuya, and there was no "command" and "being commanded" relationship between them.

The two parties are merely business partners with a "deep friendship".

The gourd house did indeed do them a favor, but abusing that favor would only backfire.

No matter how much influence Kinoshita Rin had, she couldn't possibly force them to sacrifice their families and sell their possessions to support Aoto.

Therefore, they can only help Qingdeng as much as possible under the premise of "not affecting their own business operations".

Such aid will ultimately be neither long-lasting nor sustainable.

If all these businesses were to support Aoto without limit, like the Karasuya did... then Aoto would probably become the most powerful and influential daimyo in all of Japan!

With this terrifying advantage in resources, even if we can't completely wipe out all of Japan, we can at least take over the entire Kyoto region!

In short, the bulk of the support for the Qin Jin Domain still came from the Hulu House itself.

Besides "investment," Hulu House also operates businesses such as grain and beverage.

According to the owner of the Kiryu shop, the early Gourd Shop made a living by selling grain.

Japan under the Edo Shogunate practiced a rice-based system.

Rice standard – a monetary system in which rice is the standard currency, and each unit of currency is equivalent to a certain weight of rice.

In other words, selling rice in the Edo period was equivalent to selling gold in modern times!