I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

This sudden and extraordinary talent greatly excited A-Wu.

He was always outdone by Sanako, but now he finally had something that he could do better than her!

And so, this scene unfolded—she rushed to breastfeed Jiulang, eager to show herself off.

Who wouldn't know what she was thinking?

Aoto and Souji smiled helplessly.

Sanako looked at Ama with a complicated expression.

Although Ah Wu's smugness annoyed her, she had to admit that she needed the help of this "wet nurse" right now.

Souji is right, Kuro is indeed hungry.

As soon as he was held in A-Wu's arms, he began to drink heartily.

Although the baby in her arms was not her biological child, A-Wu did not show any discrimination.

She patted Jiulang's back gently as she spoke softly.

"No rush, no rush~ Drink slowly~ Drink more, so you can grow into a strong warrior soon~~"

Looking at the peacefully sleeping Jiulang and the heartily eating Jiulang, Qingdeng felt his facial lines gradually relax, and a calm smile appeared on his cheeks.

No normal parent doesn't want their child to succeed.

Even at the very least, I would pray that my child grows up safe and healthy.

From any perspective, his children have had an incredibly lucky start!

First of all, they have an incredibly awesome dad.

Qingdeng's social status and income level ensured the environment and educational resources for his children's growth.

Secondly, Awu will provide them with abundant nutrition to ensure they have a healthy and nourishing infancy.

Her gift of "breast milk" is not just about quantity; the nutrients it contains far surpass those of ordinary people.

With her as a "super wet nurse," Qingdeng couldn't even imagine how strong and healthy her child would grow up.

Next, Qing Deng, being a time traveler, was familiar with a lot of advanced parenting knowledge.

Although he wasn't a professional nanny, his knowledge of childcare was still superior to many outdated ideas.

Due to various reasons such as underdeveloped medicine, poor diet, and absurd childcare concepts, the infant mortality rate in the Edo period was extremely high, especially among the nobles and aristocrats.

In a horizontal comparison, although Chinese nobles of the same period also had an unusually high infant mortality rate, half of their children could usually survive.

In contrast, it is highly unusual for dozens of children among the noble families of the Edo period to die out, even when adopted from branch households.

A typical example is the 12th shogun, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, who had 11 sons and 16 daughters with his wives, but only Tokugawa Iesada survived to adulthood.

Even this sole heir only survived by resorting to the extreme measure of "locking Tokugawa Iesada in the inner palace, preventing him from feeling even a slight breeze."

This extreme parenting method indirectly contributed to Tokugawa Iesada's weak body and pathological mentality.

Why is there such a terrifying infant mortality rate?

There are at least three reasons that Qing Deng knows.

One is the inheritance of toxins.

Secondly, the food and water quality were poor.

Three unhealthy lifestyle habits.

Cosmetics used by noblewomen in the Edo period generally contained excessive amounts of lead.

Over time, lead poisoning can easily lead to death.

Even if one is lucky enough not to be poisoned, the excess toxins will accumulate in the body, affecting the unborn child and ultimately causing the child to be sickly from the moment they are born.

Qingdeng has no need to worry about this.

Because Sanako and the others are all serious martial arts practitioners, they don't have the habit of wearing makeup.

As for the second point, there's no need to elaborate; perhaps even stray dogs on the roadside eat more nutritious food than the nobles.

Besides their diet, the lifestyle of the nobles was also full of flaws.

In pursuit of so-called elegance, he lived secluded in his mansion, composing poems and essays, and rarely engaged in physical activity.

In contrast, commoner children who did not have the means to live a "refined life" were more likely to survive, with a mortality rate far lower than that of aristocratic children.

Throughout Japanese history, there are many examples of people who thrived by escaping the unhealthy lifestyle of the nobility—the most representative example being Ii Naosuke (Ii Dairo).

Ii Dairo was the 14th son in the family. Because he was not destined to inherit the family business, he left home early and began to live a solitary life.

As a result, his quality of life improved dramatically. He not only did not die young, but also developed a strong physique and superb swordsmanship.

Not long after, his older brothers, who were ahead of him in line, either died or were adopted by other families, and he thus became the new head of the family by virtue of his misfortune.

Therefore, Qingdeng made up his mind: he would never allow that "refined" aristocratic life to corrupt his children!

They don't need to be overprotected; letting them be in a slightly rougher environment is actually beneficial to their physical and mental development.

The final and most important factor that enabled his children to have such a perfect start was Qingdeng's god-level talent – ​​"Top-quality stallion +7".

[Note: Top-quality stallions +7: Their superior genes are easily passed on to their offspring.]

This talent was copied from Chiba Sadakichi.

Ever since I copied it, I haven't had a chance to activate it.

Just like Ah Wu's "breast milk", with the birth of Jiu Lang and Ning Ning, Qing Deng's talent finally had its moment to shine!

For someone of average talent, this talent is of little use.

But for Qing Deng, who possesses nearly a hundred talents, this talent is simply too powerful! It's practically tailor-made for him!

Imagine what it would be like if Qingdeng passed on all his talents to his children.

Even if you don't inherit all of it, but only half or a quarter, it's still a terrifying thing!

If one could acquire even a fraction of Qingdeng's skills, it would be enough to become a peerless talent!

Qing Deng couldn't help but think: Now that he has married three beautiful women, he could mass-produce supermen!

In the future, there will be no need to recruit talented individuals; one's own offspring alone will be enough to form a super-strong administrative and military team! Ultimately, a "Tachibana clan" will be established, leaving its mark on history due to the numerous capable individuals it produces!

Of course, all of the above is purely Qingdeng's wishful thinking.

Whether he has a boy or a girl, or how many he has, is entirely up to fate; he has no intention of forcing it.

He couldn't possibly do something as despicable as forcing Sanako and the others to become too demanding and harm their health in order to establish this so-called "Tachibana clan."

He had witnessed firsthand how difficult and dangerous childbirth could be.

In fact, he did not have high expectations for his descendants.

He only hoped that his children would grow up healthy and safe, and then become brave and upright people.

His expectations for his descendants can be summarized by Liu Bei's famous saying: "Do not refrain from doing good because it is small, nor do evil because it is small."

……

……

A few days later—

Qinjin Prefecture, newly selected garrison post—

Is this wooden box the 'camera'?

Harada Sanosuke looked at the huge machine in front of him with great curiosity.

"It is said that this wooden box can be used to paint paintings with extremely high level of detail."

Nagakura Shinpachi added from the side.

"No, no, a camera does not paint images, but rather copies images onto paper."

Suddenly, a young man darted out from the side and enthusiastically began explaining things to Nagakura and Harada.

This person was none other than Kenzo Tamoto, the photographer whom Toshizo Hijikata had painstakingly invited.

With fashionable thin-rimmed glasses perched on his nose and shiny leather shoes on his feet, he looked every bit the "Western expert."

"'Photocopy'?"

Nagakura Shinpachi chewed on the unfamiliar words with a puzzled expression.

Harada Sanosuke asked directly:

"You're the photographer who took our pictures today, right? Can you explain to me how this machine creates images?"

It's easy to see that Kenzo Tamoto has a great passion for photography.

Seeing that Harada Sanosuke was interested in the camera, he immediately changed to an excited tone and said with great enthusiasm:

"Simply put, the core principle of a camera is pinhole imaging. This principle describes how, when light passes through a small hole, it creates a reflection of the light source on the other side. In a camera, this 'pinhole' is usually replaced by a convex lens to improve light transmission and reduce aberrations and chromatic aberration, thereby improving image quality..."

He kept talking.

Nagakura Shinpachi, standing to the side, already had a look on his face that said, "Huh? What is he talking about? Who am I? What am I doing?"

Harada Sanosuke crossed his arms and nodded from time to time, as if he understood everything.

After the other person finished speaking, he nodded slightly with a serious expression.

"Yes, I understand. In other words, there is a calligraphy brush in this machine that can paint automatically. This calligraphy brush is very powerful. It can not only paint very quickly, but also paint very realistically."

"That's completely wrong!"

Just as Harada Sanosuke was tormenting Tadamoto Kenzo, Aoto arrived late, accompanied by his wife and children.

As Qingdeng arrived, everyone immediately rushed forward to greet him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Hijikata Toshizo shrugged.

"It's okay, I just arrived too."

After exchanging brief pleasantries with everyone, Qingdeng turned his head to look at the conspicuous machine not far away, namely the camera.

This was the first time he had ever seen a camera in real life.