I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

A persistent sense of crisis spurred him to continue working hard and find ways to make Qin Jinfan stronger.

However, even setting aside these utilitarian elements and speaking purely of feelings, Qing Deng sincerely hopes that the working class in the territory can live a better life.

Therefore, whenever he saw the ever-changing streets, whenever he saw the thriving market, whenever he looked at the prosperous vassal state, Qing Deng would feel extremely satisfied!

My heart was filled with a heavy sense of accomplishment, and most of my fatigue disappeared. I felt from the bottom of my heart that all my efforts over the years had not been in vain!

At the same time, a surge of energy and motivation will be rekindled throughout your body.

In terms of actual effectiveness, there is really no better way to relax.

Qingdeng looked up at the sky.

After realizing the sun had already set, he murmured:

"Let's go back……"

With that, he turned around and began his journey back to the Orange Mansion.

It will still take quite some time before Otsu Castle is fully completed.

Before this, the Qingdeng family could only live in the Tachibana residence.

Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life and to provide a better growing environment for future babies, at the beginning of this year, Qingdeng invested in doubling the size of Judi and built more and more beautiful courtyards.

Thus, his home became the largest and most luxurious mansion in Otsu, bar none.

He walks very fast.

Before long, a majestic shadow gradually appeared in front of them—it was the gradually taking shape of the Great Jin City!

Kinoshita Rin is indeed reliable.

Upon learning of Qingdeng's need to "build a bastion," she immediately found a designer from Prussia named "Leiner."

This person truly lives up to the reputation of being recommended by Kinoshita Rin; he is indeed quite capable.

After conducting an on-site investigation of the geographical environment of Otsu, he designed a huge bastion in the shape of an eight-pointed star, covering an area of ​​30 square meters!

To be honest, just looking at the design drawings, Qingdeng was already impressed.

To breach this bastion, one must either find a way from within or deploy a large number of artillery pieces for continuous bombardment—he was so certain of this!

Qingdeng was filled with anticipation for this colossal fortress, which seemed to embody the phrase "impregnable fortress."

Along with the design drawings, the designer also submitted a budget sheet.

Despite having prepared himself mentally, Qingdeng still couldn't help but gasp when he saw the specific figures on the budget sheet.

According to this budget, the waterway project requires at least 20000 taels of gold, the civil engineering and stonework project requires 100000 taels of gold, the building project requires 30000 taels of gold... and so on, the total budget is 200000 taels of gold!

And this doesn't even include the cost of hiring workers!

Although this is a dizzying astronomical figure, there's a saying that "money can solve 9999 of the many problems in the world!"

With the strong support of the Gourd House, Qingdeng could not be said to be rolling in gold and jade, but he was certainly wealthy and powerful.

With a single order, he opened all the granaries and treasuries!

Hire workers, purchase materials, and start construction immediately!

Giant logs and huge rocks were transported to the construction site one after another.

Shouts, panting, neighing horses, mooing cattle, turning wheels... the construction site was shrouded in tremendous noise all day long.

Because the work was so hard, some workers would simply grab their buckets and run away after receiving their daily wages.

But at the same time, new people are rushing to the construction site every day.

The world is in a bad state now; even the hardest jobs are being taken by people eager to do them.

With one in and one out... the total number of workers remained roughly at around six thousand.

This was an enormous project, so Kinoshita Rin specially dispatched several of her capable subordinates to assist Aoto and help oversee the construction progress of the castle.

Qingdeng wasn't too worried about the money.

His biggest worry right now is time.

At present, the "Changzhou Campaign" is imminent.

The "August 18th Coup" in the middle of last year brought about a dramatic change in the political situation throughout Japan.

Choshu fell into an abyss, becoming an enemy of the court appointed by the Emperor to cause chaos in the government.

Since the "Black Ships Incident," Choshu had been finding various ways to annoy the shogunate.

Tokugawa Iemochi wished nothing more than to get rid of this extremely disobedient and treacherous vassal.

So...why would he let go of this golden opportunity to completely eliminate them?

As early as last September, Tokugawa Iemochi began preparations for the western expedition.

What a pity... the shogunate had far too many internal problems!

Like a tightly tangled mess of hemp, it's impossible to untangle it even if you want to.

Even though the Hitotsubashi faction had completely lost power and Tokugawa Iemochi had become the absolute leader of the shogunate, so-called "politics" was not so simple that everyone in the entire system would obediently follow orders just because of the shogun's words or orders.

Many people within the shogunate did not want to fight.

Among them, the greatest resistance and the loudest opposition came from the core military force of the shogunate, namely the sons of the direct military advisors.

Just kidding! My ancestors did all the work I've done in this lifetime when they fought the Battle of Sekigahara and annihilated the Toyotomi clan! I came into this world to enjoy life! Eating, drinking, watching plays, and playing with women in Yoshiwara—how wonderful! Why bother with war?

The soldiers were vehemently opposed, and the civil officials were equally rebuffing their opposition.

The civil officials' explanations were nothing more than the same old clichés: "lack of provisions," "excessive distance for battle," "low morale," and "minimal gains."

This is war... real blood and fire!

This is no longer a simple struggle for interests; it concerns the lives and deaths of countless people!

In order to avoid this war, those who usually put on a subservient appearance in front of Tokugawa Iemochi formed an alliance and argued vehemently against the "Chōshū Conquest," refusing to back down even an inch.

Despite facing numerous obstacles, Tokugawa Iemochi was essentially dancing in shackles and swatting rats in a china shop, making it incredibly difficult to advance the war agenda.

It took nearly a year of repeated coercion, enticement, and compromise before Tokugawa Iemochi finally managed to consolidate the hearts and minds of the people within the shogunate and complete the war mobilization.

All those "rumors" that the people in the izakaya just now kept talking about were true.

This time, Tokugawa Iemochi was determined to issue an unprecedented mobilization order!

Not only will 80,000 cavalrymen be deployed, but also the Hatatsu Domain, Aizu Domain, and 21 domains in western Japan led by the Satsuma Domain, totaling 200,000 troops! They will attack Choshu in five routes!

As a close confidant of Tokugawa Iemochi, Aoto recently received reliable information that the vanguard of the Choshu Campaign would be Matsudaira Katamori's Aizu Army and his Shinsengumi!

The tentative departure date is November of this year.

When considering battle plans, one must never be blindly optimistic and must always take the worst-case scenario into account—this has always been Qing Deng's good habit.

Although the shogunate has an absolute advantage in the current situation, with both a large expeditionary force and the righteous cause of "conquering the enemy in the court".

However, since war is inevitable, the possibility that "the Choshu Domain might strike first and launch an eastern expedition before the shogunate, advancing all the way to the gates of Otsu Castle cannot be ignored."

In fact, Qing Deng believes that such a possibility does exist!

In conclusion, it is essential to formulate a corresponding response plan based on the premise that "Changzhou launches an eastern expedition".

At present, the moat of Dajin City has only been dug and the foundation has been laid. Not to mention the high walls, even the earthen ramparts have not yet been built.

If the enemy attacks, this piecemeal city will be of little use.

What use is a castle that can't keep up with the war?

Qing Deng approached the designer and asked how much longer it would take for Otsu City to be fully completed.

"Based on the current progress... if there are no natural disasters or man-made calamities, it is hoped that it will be completed within 5 years," the designer said.

Five years... to be honest, that's a really long time!

Despite his anxiety, Qingdeng knew that the only thing he could do now was to wait patiently.

Both the recruitment of personnel and the investment of funds have reached the point of diminishing returns.

Even if more staff are recruited or additional investment is made, it will not speed up construction and may even have the opposite effect.

In other words—this is already the fastest speed!

Therefore, we can only wait patiently...

……

……

After returning to the Tachibana residence, Qing Deng skillfully navigated the winding corridors and headed straight for the depths of the mansion.

"Your Highness, good day."

"Your Highness! Are you well?"

"Your Highness, Lady Wu's calf is cramping again."

……

One after another, cries of "Your Highness" surrounded Qingdeng from all directions.

Now, he is also referred to as "Your Highness" by others.

The servants and guards along the way stepped aside, making way for Qingdeng and bowing respectfully.

Such a magnificent mansion naturally requires a large number of servants to maintain its daily operation.

In addition, sufficient guards must be provided to ensure safety.

Since Aoto gained fame, especially now that he has expelled the Choshu Domain and thoroughly offended the Sonpo faction, there are countless people who want to take his life.

Although Qing Deng wasn't afraid of these rats, he had to consider Sanako and the others.

Therefore, he selected a group of highly skilled elites from the Shinsengumi to form a guard team specifically responsible for protecting the Tachibana residence.

The guards were not only all highly skilled fighters capable of taking on ten men each, but they were also well-equipped with swords, spears, chainmail, and even muskets.

If any unscrupulous people dare to invade, I will make sure that as many as they come, they will all die!

Incidentally, Qing Deng took over Kyubei.

After the grand wedding with "one man and three women" ended, Kyubei approached Aoto and sincerely expressed his desire to continue serving him.