I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Yes!"

……

As the war drew closer, the Qin Jin vassal state became increasingly busy, creating a scene of bustling activity.

As the saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach."

The two armies have not yet clashed, but an invisible war has already begun!

Recently, Yataro Iwasaki and Elodie have both entered a busy mode where they "never touch the ground".

As the two pillars of the Qin Jin Domain's finances, the two were in full charge of the Shinsengumi's logistics.

Yataro Iwasaki went to the front line to take command, while Elodie stayed in the finance office.

Although the large army responsible for this operation was a "joint army" composed of various domain armies, each domain had to provide its own food and supplies, and the shogunate would not help provide them—this was a traditional tactic of the shogunate, finding ways to harm the domains and weaken their national strength.

Therefore, Aoto only needed to take care of the Shinsengumi's logistics.

The "big data" system that Elodie had previously established for Qin Jinfan came in very handy this time!

It's easy to tell at a glance how much old rice, new rice, and fodder are stored in the warehouse, and which warehouses they are located in.

As long as you check the inventory records, you can't go wrong.

Categorizing and accurately registering all the materials in the warehouse—this task seems simple, but it is actually incredibly difficult.

Aoto dares to guarantee: There are fewer than five feudal states in all of Japan that can do this!

Prolonged peace, systemic flaws, and a combination of other factors rendered the shogunate and the various domains ineffective and disorganized.

Having served in the shogunate for so many years, Seito was used to seeing all sorts of problems, such as messy bookkeeping and falsified accounts.

Take the "Otsu Book" that drove Qing Deng crazy before as an example. The book was full of all sorts of unreasonable numbers and supplies that did not exist in the warehouse.

This phenomenon, stemming from a "just get it over with" work mentality, was very common in the shogunate and various domains.

Thanks to Elodie's competence and dedication, Qin Jinfan's financial records were very clear and easy to understand, without a trace of falsehood.

Clear and concise accounting records + decisive and daring action = efficient logistical mobilization!

Under the precise coordination of Elodie and Yataro Iwasaki, bags of rice and bundles of hay were transported out of the warehouse in an orderly manner, loaded onto trucks, and delivered to the front lines in Kyoto.

Along the route from Kyoto to Otsu, convoys carrying supplies could be seen everywhere.

An astonishingly large convoy of transport vehicles stretched along the entire avenue, seemingly endless, drawing gasps of amazement from passersby.

From the very beginning, Qingdeng was building his vassal state with the idea of ​​"confronting the various vassal states of the West".

Qingdeng's foresight was purely driven by the pressures of reality.

After all, the Hatazu Domain was located in the very center of Japan, on the western frontier of the shogunate.

If the western vassal states were to attack the eastern states, the Qinjin vassal state would be the first to bear the brunt.

Without destroying Qin Jin, they can forget about setting foot in the Eastern Kingdom.

Conversely, if the shogunate wanted to conquer western Japan, the Hatazu Domain became an irreplaceable forward position and logistical hub.

With such a crucial strategic location, Qingdeng had no choice but to take precautions.

From reclaiming new fields to introducing industry, the vast majority of Qin Jin Domain's construction projects revolved around "enhancing war potential."

Qingdeng focuses its main efforts on two major projects: "agriculture" and "industry".

Over the past six months, through a series of measures such as introducing agricultural talent and issuing various policies, the agricultural level of Qinjin Prefecture has greatly improved.

Those abandoned and neglected fields have basically resumed production.

The reclamation of Xintian also went smoothly.

In another year or two, these new fields will be ready for use.

As a time traveler, Qing Deng naturally understood the importance of industry.

Once industry develops, even a single domain could easily take on the entirety of Japan!

Qinjin Domain is not only flat, but also adjacent to Lake Biwa, with abundant water resources, making it an ideal place for industrial development.

However... although Qingdeng attaches great importance to industry, unfortunately, industry is an extremely complex subject.

With the help of Hulu House, Qingdeng purchased a lot of advanced equipment at a very reasonable price.

Given Qin Jinfan's size, pursuing any kind of "full-category industrial" strategy would be a dead end.

The specialties of the Qin Jin Domain are tea and porcelain—therefore, Qing Deng focused on building three types of factories based on its location advantages: tea factories, porcelain factories, and gun factories.

The first two are responsible for making money, while the importance of the latter goes without saying.

As we all know, industry is not as simple as it can be developed by simply buying a few machines.

Even the most advanced and sophisticated machinery still needs to be operated by a person.

Japan currently lacks such advanced personnel capable of operating industrial machinery.

Therefore, the only option was to start training talent from scratch.

Fortunately, the training of relevant personnel has been progressing very smoothly.

Leaving aside the porcelain and tea factories, the gun and cannon factories developed the most rapidly.

Although they cannot manufacture guns and cannons independently yet, they can already produce gunpowder on their own!

It shouldn't be long before Qin Jinfan's factories are officially put into use.

What a pity... they certainly won't make it into this war.

Thus, under Qingdeng's meticulous guidance, the Qinjin Domain's war potential increased day by day!

To say that Qin Jinfan was a "war machine"... that's an exaggeration, but it's not entirely untrue!

This battle allowed the Qin Jin Domain's war potential to be initially demonstrated.

Anyone who sees Qin Jinfan's terrifying reserves of supplies would find it impossible to remain calm.

Allied forces will be amazed.

The enemy troops would feel a chill run down their spines.

"An army is raised for a thousand days to be used in a single moment"—Qingdeng intended to use this battle to test the achievements of the Qinjin Domain's construction and the effectiveness of the Shinsengumi's training!

……

……

Kyoto, Nishi Honganji Temple —

Nishi Honganji Temple is located west of the Kamo River and south of Rakuchu.

Because of its vast area and convenient transportation, Qingdeng requisitioned it as the temporary headquarters of the legion.

At this very moment, in a secret room of the Nishi Honganji Temple, the legion commanders, led by Qing Deng, gathered together.

Qing Deng sat in the head seat without a doubt, with a three-leaf sunflower pattern flag hanging behind him, symbolizing his status as a general of the shogunate army.

Saigo Kichinosuke and Matsudaira Katamori—who, apart from Aoto, were the two highest-ranking members of the domain army—sat on the left and right sides below Aoto, respectively.

Hijikata Toshizo, Yamanami Keisuke, Kondo Isami, and the commanders of the other domains took their seats in order of rank and status.

Today's military conference is a true summit meeting.

It was no longer a small meeting held privately by Qingdeng and a few others, but a major conference in which representatives from every vassal army had to attend!

A meeting of this level should not be taken lightly.

Everyone, including Qing Deng, was dressed in their finest attire.

The clothing worn by Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, and others was naturally a light blue haori, representing the Shinsengumi.

The leaders of the domain army, such as Matsudaira Katamori, all wore their ancestral armor and magnificent jinhaori.

The room was filled with armored generals... At first glance, it felt like stepping back into the Warring States period three hundred years ago.

In the very center of the group was a long table.

On the long table lay a three-dimensional map made of clay by Yamanami Keisuke and others in recent days.

While its level of detail certainly cannot compare to modern satellite maps, it is definitely much clearer than rudimentary flat maps.

The terrain and environment surrounding Kyoto were all laid out before them.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Qingdeng skipped the opening remarks, turned his head, and gave Yamanami Keisuke a wink.

Yamanami Keisuke nodded knowingly and stood up:

"Gentlemen, I am Yamanami Keisuke, a senior member of the Hatatsu Domain and the commander-in-chief of the Shinsengumi."

As he surveyed the scene, Keisuke Yamanami proclaimed in a loud and clear voice:

"Next, please allow me to introduce the latest movements of the bandit army."

In order to suppress Choshu and consolidate its own status as an "official army," the shogunate officially referred to the Choshu army as "bandit army."

As he spoke, Keisuke Yamanami pulled a small booklet from his pocket, opened it to the first page, and began to speak in a detailed manner:

"The First Army, led by Chief Echigo Fukuhara, totaling 3000 men, has crossed the Seto Inland Sea and landed east of Kobe. If all goes well, they are expected to arrive in Fushimi the day after tomorrow."

……

As he spoke, Yamanami Keisuke placed each piece of the game on the map, vividly demonstrating the movements of the Choshu army.

These wargames were made of wood by Keisuke Yamanami and others when they were creating this 3D map. There are four types of wargames: infantry, cavalry, musketeers, and artillery.

Everyone stared intently at the map and listened attentively.

The Choshu Expedition – although it has a prestigious name, Japan is a small island nation with a small area, so the expedition didn't really go very far. The straight-line distance from Choshu to Kyoto is only about 400 kilometers.

Therefore, the Choshu army advanced very quickly.

From the start of the formal deployment, it took only about ten days for the Changzhou army to be at the gates of the capital!

After Choshu launched its attack, Aoto immediately dispatched the Ninth Division, led by Yamazaki Susumu, to closely monitor and observe the detailed movements of Choshu's three armies.

As Yamazaki and his men set out, intelligence regarding Choshu's movements was continuously relayed back to Otsu.

Everything that Yamanami Keisuke is reporting now is the result of the work of the Ninth Division.

After finishing his report, Keisuke Yamanami turned around and gestured to Aoto with his eyes that he had finished speaking.