I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Publicly recruiting able-bodied men? What for? To build a city? Or to repair a road?"

"I don't know either, who cares what it is! As long as I get paid enough, I can do anything, whether it's moving stones or cutting down trees!"

……

"Mother, I'm setting off!"

"Oh...son, are you really going to Otsu?"

"Oh dear, Mother, it's come to this point, why are you still being so wishy-washy?"

"Sigh... I'm just worried about you... Otsu is so far away, more than ten miles away. I'm afraid you might encounter some kind of accident on the way..."

[Note: One ri in the Edo period was approximately equal to 3.924 kilometers in modern terms.]

“Mother, don’t worry! I’m not the only one going to Dajin! The two brothers next door, the older brother across the street, and a few friends from the next village are all coming with me to Dajin! We’ll all be traveling together and looking out for each other, so what could possibly happen? Just relax!”

"Ugh……"

……

"Brother, are we really going to Otsu?"

"Of course! What? Now that things have come to this, with luggage and travel expenses all prepared, you want to desert your post?"

"No, no! Wherever my brother goes, I'll go. I'm just worried... we don't have any skills other than farming, will they hire us?"

"Of course we'll take them! The Qin Jin vassal state has clearly stated that 'restoring old fields and developing new fields' is the top priority for revitalizing the vassal state. They are currently in dire need of farmers skilled in agriculture, so isn't this the perfect fit for us? Besides, the wages they're offering are quite high! Working there for a month is better than working here for three months!"

"But... I've never traveled far before... I'm a little unsure about going to such a far place all of a sudden..."

"Tsk, with me with you, what are you afraid of? Little brother, don't hesitate! We must seize this opportunity! Earn money to repair the roof! This damn weather is getting colder and colder, and it will start snowing soon. If we don't repair this lousy roof, we won't be able to survive the winter! Do you want to freeze to death at home?"

"No, I don't want to..."

"If you don't want to, then go to sleep! We'll be on our way first thing tomorrow morning!"

……

“I just heard on the street that the Qin Jin Prince’s Office is recruiting experienced carpenters, and I plan to give it a try.”

"Huh? The Hatazu Domain? Is it the Hatazu Domain of 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto?"

"um, yes."

"Carpenter... Danna, you haven't done carpentry work in a long time, can you handle it?"

[Note: "Danna" is a respectful term used by Japanese women to address their husbands.]

"Let's give it a try. You know, the economy has been really bad lately, and money is getting harder and harder to earn. I'm willing to try any opportunity that can make money."

……

"Son! Pack your bags! We're leaving tomorrow!"

"Departure? Where to?"

"Go to Otsu!"

"Otsu? Why go to Otsu?"

"Of course, we're going to make money! The Qin Jin Princely Office is recruiting able-bodied men, farmers, and skilled craftsmen on a large scale. This is a fantastic business opportunity!"

"Business opportunity...? What business opportunity could there be?"

"Tsk! What have I been saying all along? If you want to make big money, you must read more books! As long as you read more books, you will have the ability to distinguish right from wrong and have a wealth of knowledge! These two things will help you have the ability to 'discover business opportunities'! Son, let me ask you, do you know about the 'Mingli Great Fire'?"

"Hmm... Although I don't like reading, I still know this much common sense. Isn't it the great fire during the Meireki era (1655-1657) that caused by a burning sleeve and burned two-thirds of Edo to the ground?"

"That's right. But did you know that after the fire subsided, countless able-bodied men and craftsmen flocked to Edo to rebuild it? To meet the needs of these people, izakayas, bathhouses, erotic parlors, and other shops sprang up like mushrooms after rain! A large number of merchants benefited from this and made a fortune!"

"Huh? So there's a story behind the 'Mingli Fire'?"

"The impact of the Mingli Fire didn't stop there! In the past, people only ate two meals a day, one in the morning and one at noon. Rebuilding a town was a tough job, and people simply didn't have the energy to work on 'two meals a day,' so it became 'three meals a day,' and over time, the habit of 'three meals a day' spread."

"Father, you are so learned..."

"Stop flattering me! If you understand, hurry up and pack your bags! We're opening a brand new izakaya in Otsu! I guarantee we'll be a huge success! We'll make a fortune!"

"Yes, yes! I'll pack my bags right now!"

"Hurry! Hurry! Act fast! In business, speed is everything! First come, first served! There must be many competitors already eagerly rushing to Dajin! We need to hurry over there to grab our territory! Opportunities to make money are always fleeting! Once we miss them, we'll have nothing left!"

……

"I'm off!"

……

"Huff...huff...how far are we from Otsu?"

……

"We've arrived! We've reached Otsu!"

……

"Wow, wow...! So many people! As expected of Otsu! Such a large population! Much more than our village! This is the first time I've ever seen such a dense population!"

……

"Look! Light blue haori... It's the Shinsengumi! It's a Shinsengumi patrol!"

……

"Wow, that's cool... Okay, I've decided! If the Shinsengumi ever holds another round of conscription, I'm definitely going to enlist!"

……

"Damn it! The people of Kyoto really live up to their reputation! They're all so annoying! Since we're all here to enlist, why are they acting like 'I'm different from you' and 'we're superior'? What an arrogance!"

……

"Attention! Line up! Don't push! Craftsmen and those skilled in farming, please go this way! Ordinary able-bodied men, please go that way!"

……

"Hey! What are you doing! No fighting! Fighting and brawling are strictly prohibited here!"

……

"Listen up, all of you! If anyone causes any more trouble, our patrol team will send these stubborn guys to jail to calm down!"

……

……

Kinoshita Rin's support for Seido and the Hatazu Domain is truly the best interpretation of the phrase "generous donation".

She did not specify exactly how much material she donated.

However, according to Kiryu's boss, she packed up and gave away almost half of the stock of the gourd shop to Aoto!

The distance from Osaka to Otsu is not far, and the road is not difficult to travel.

Even a slow-moving carriage can travel back and forth between the two places in two or three days.

Even so, it took the massive transport team, consisting of hundreds of carriages, a full half month to finally transport that huge amount of supplies!

The transport team has completed its mission, but the "battle" in the finance department has only just begun!

Under Elodie's exemplary leadership, all members of the finance department worked tirelessly, putting in extra hours.

Ultimately, it took far less time than expected to bring this massive transportation project to a successful conclusion.

When all those thick ledgers, as thick as bricks, were stacked up, they looked like a small mountain.

Thanks to Elodie's competence and the hard work of the finance department, the exact number of all the supplies sent by Kinoshita Rin was clearly managed and accounted for.

Elodie recorded it on a piece of paper, creating a simple "data sheet".

When this "data sheet" was handed to Qingdeng, even though he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but gasp!

Putting everything else aside, the sheer amount of "gold coins" and "rice" left him speechless!

132 million taels of gold!

282 million shi of rice!

As for the quantities of other supplies such as fodder, salt, and sugar, they were equally staggering, and will not be detailed here.

When has Qingdeng ever fought such a rich battle?

Looking at the "data sheet" in his hand, Qing Deng couldn't help but recall that distant afternoon when he took a mere three thousand taels of gold as start-up funding and set out to form the Shinsengumi.

Looking back now, it's truly heartbreaking...

It has a comical feel to it, like Tokugawa Iemochi handing a twig to Aoto and then saying kindly, "Alright, you're a mature hero now, go and defeat the Demon King!"

Although it may sound a bit old-fashioned, Qingdeng has never seen so much money in his life!

Afterwards, he took some time to make a special trip to the warehouse.

Staring at the warehouse full of gold coins and rice, he stood there, petrified, speechless for a long time...

The rich heritage of the Gourd House opened his eyes once again.

Of course, Kinoshita Rin's wealth was not unlimited, and she couldn't let Aoto take it all at will.

After delivering this batch of supplies, she certainly won't be able to organize a "second round of strategic large-scale transportation" in the short term.

However, regardless of the circumstances, Qing Deng has achieved his goal—the reason he pushed so hard for the alliance between Qin Jin Fan and Hu Lu Wu was for this moment!

Qin Jinfan is rich now! And incredibly rich!

In terms of cash and grain reserves alone, even the powerful shogunate and the partially modernized Satsuma Domain cannot compare to the Hatazu Domain at present!

The huge influx of money and provisions filled Aoto, Yamanami Keisuke, Iwasaki Yataro, and others with boundless energy; their faces glowed, and they walked with a brisk pace.

They couldn't wait to make a name for themselves!

To put it simply... Qin Jinfan is like a machine fully lubricated, ready to run at full speed!

Restoring old fields and developing new ones requires farmers who are skilled in farming.

Building fortresses and repairing roads requires skilled craftsmen, including blacksmiths, carpenters, and stonemasons!

As for the able-bodied men specifically responsible for hard labor, they were even more indispensable.