I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Aki, have a safe journey."

Qing Deng smiled slightly.

"I'll have the wedding as soon as possible. You all absolutely have to come and celebrate our wedding day!"

Kinoshita Rin smiled and chuckled softly.

"Then I'll be looking forward to it wholeheartedly."

……

……

"Moo moo moo~~"

Radish raised its head high and let out a joyful cry.

Ever since it arrived in Osaka, it has been living in the luxurious cowshed provided by the gourd house, lying on the ground all day doing nothing, and it's almost gotten sick from being cooped up.

Qing Deng gently stroked the radish's big head while looking back at Osaka behind him.

The beautiful, closely packed streetscape was almost disappearing into the horizon.

Although his time there was short, the prosperous town left a very deep impression on him.

Qing Deng slowly withdrew his gaze and turned to look ahead—or more accurately, to look at Kyoto and Otsu in the distance.

—Next…we need to speed things up!

He secretly made up his mind: he must make Qin Jin Fan rise into a powerful force that can rival all others within 3 years!

Now that we have the full support of Hulu House, there's no reason not to do this!

Qingdeng narrowed his eyes, a surge of fighting spirit burning within them!

……

……

Kyoto region, near Nara —

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

"Huihui! Neigh neigh neigh!"

"Restore—!"

"Neigh neigh neigh..."

Horse-drawn carriages sped along the ruts.

The neighing of horses was interspersed with the grating creaking of wheels.

Several pedestrians along the way stepped aside to make way.

They had assumed the horse-drawn carriage would pass quickly.

But to everyone's surprise... more than 10 minutes had passed since the first carriage passed, and the end of the carriage caravan was still nowhere to be seen!

This scene left the pedestrians speechless, their jaws nearly dropping to the ground.

A pedestrian couldn't help but gasp in surprise:

"W-how many carriages are there...? There must be at least more than a hundred, right?"

Another person asked with a look of curiosity:

Where is this caravan going?

God knows!

"The direction they're heading... is towards Otsu!"

"Otsu? Could it be... that this caravan's destination is the Hatazu Domain?"

"No mistake! Absolutely! Have you all forgotten? Just recently, Osaka's major business tycoons issued statements declaring their 'full support for Niou'!"

"So that means... this caravan is a transport convoy carrying supplies, heading to aid Qin Jin?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

An eerie silence suddenly descended.

Suddenly, they all turned their heads and looked at the huge caravan that was still nowhere in sight.

Someone spoke the minds of everyone:

"So many wagons... just how much supplies were they carrying...?!"

The other person shrank back and added:

"Are they planning to arm themselves to form a new shogunate?"

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin——

"A few more people over here! Hurry up!"

"Don't block the road! There's a pile of supplies waiting for us to move! Hurry up!"

"Lord Iwasaki! Granary number 3 is full!"

"Then open granary number 4! Move all the grain to granary number 4!"

"Lord Iwasaki! Another convoy of grain delivery vehicles has arrived!"

"I can't leave! Let Toudou-kun handle it!"

As supplies from the Gourd House and other merchants continued to arrive in the Hatatsu Domain, Iwasaki Yataro, who was both the president of the Shinsenshokai and the "Minister of Finance" of the Hatatsu Domain, was so busy that he barely had time to move.

The sheer volume of various supplies is so enormous that just sorting and organizing them is a dizzying and daunting undertaking!

Who will be responsible for receiving the convoy, sorting out the supplies, and delivering them to the warehouse? This is both a mental and a physical task.

Such a demanding job can only be handled by someone who is well-versed in management.

Fortunately, Yataro Iwasaki is a very good manager!

Under Aoto's orders, Iwasaki Yataro temporarily put aside all his work and took full charge of integrating the supplies.

To alleviate his burden, Aoto lent him Sanako, Yamanami Keisuke, and Todo Heisuke, all of whom were skilled in both literature and martial arts and adept at handling paperwork.

Even so, Yataro Iwasaki was still extremely busy, wishing he could learn the legendary "Shadow Clone Technique".

However, despite the hard work, Iwasaki Yataro's face showed no signs of fatigue or annoyance, only intense joy.

To put it bluntly, he was experiencing both pain and pleasure!

When it comes to the desire to "build the Hatazu Domain", Yataro Iwasaki is no less eager than anyone else!

He was originally a lowly ronin from the Tosa Domain, of humble origin and low status.

That's why he always had a burning desire in his heart—I must make a brilliant career!

It's not only to repay Mr. Tachibana's kindness in recognizing my talent, but also to prove to the world my abilities, Iwasaki Yataro!

The enormous success of the newly elected Chamber of Commerce was not enough to satisfy him.

Now, a new and enormous opportunity has presented itself to him—he is now in charge of the finances of a large vassal state with 30 shi of land!

If Qin Jinfan were to rise to become an unparalleled and powerful fiefdom in a very short period of time, he would leave a significant mark on history!

I dare not say I am comparable to Guan Zhong or Zhuge Liang, but I can at least earn the reputation of being a "talented advisor to a king"!

He was full of ambition, but alas... he had the will but not the ability.

With the assistance of Yamanami Keisuke, Hijikata Toshizo, and others, he had already drafted more than a dozen plans to enrich the country and strengthen its military.

However, due to a lack of funds and supplies, these plans could not be effectively implemented.

These past few days, looking at the empty granaries and treasuries, he has truly been worried sick.

Therefore, it is unimaginable what Iwasaki Yataro would feel upon seeing the endless stream of transport teams, the mountains of rice, and the gold coins.

In short—he was ecstatic! He jumped for joy and wanted to dance with anyone he could find.

Although he hadn't slept for more than ten hours and hadn't even had lunch yet, he didn't feel tired at all and was full of energy!

All he wants now is to quickly complete the integration of resources and then rapidly advance his national strengthening plans, such as "cultivating farmland" and "building fortresses," which he had prepared long ago!

Elodie has also been extremely busy lately.

After becoming the head of the Shinsengumi, Elodie naturally took over the Shinsengumi's account books.

At the same time, she also took over Qin Jinfan's bookkeeping work.

In terms of function, she is very similar to Yataro Iwasaki, both of whom are in charge of finance.

The difference between the two is probably that the former is in charge of the behind-the-scenes work, while the latter is responsible for the planning in front of the camera.

As the accountant of Qin Jinfan, she has been so busy lately with a massive amount of supplies being delivered to the warehouse that it is hard to describe in words!

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, accountant——

The sound of the abacus clicking away was like the rain curtain during a typhoon.

Dressed in a yellow gown with a pale green belt around her waist, Elodie sat regally in the main seat, her right hand rapidly writing data in the ledger while her left hand skillfully manipulated the abacus—the two actions were performed simultaneously.

Despite multitasking, her movements were incredibly fluid, without the slightest hesitation, and remarkably efficient.

Especially her left hand—as she manipulated those beads, she practically created a phantom.

After witnessing her ability to multitask, Qingdeng once suspected that she also possessed the talent of "ambidextrous combat".

[Note: Ambidextrous: The ability to multitask, doing two completely unrelated things at the same time.]

Right below her, more than twenty investigators were diligently completing their work in front of the head of the case.