I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Most people simply scrutinized her with curious eyes.

To put it bluntly, Hachioji is a purely rural area, and most of the residents are country folk who have never left their villages.

Therefore, they had naturally never seen Westerners.

They were filled with curiosity about Elodie, with her high eyebrows, deep-set eyes, blonde hair, and blue eyes.

"Look, her hair is blonde."

"This isn't yellow, it's gold."

"Her skin is so white, it's almost reflective."

"Her appearance is really strange, with a very high nose bridge."

"She's not very tall, but she has quite a full bust and butt."

When the villagers of Hachioji first met Elodie, similar discussions abounded.

Of course, she wasn't alone in the number of people who cast malicious glances at her.

Even if they had never seen a Westerner, it did not prevent them from repeatedly hearing negative news about Westerners.

Although they weren't quite clear on what "black ship incident," "dumping of goods," and "destruction of small-scale farming" meant, they had a simple understanding: all the chaos in recent years was ultimately the fault of Westerners!

However, as of today, Elodie has not encountered any accidents.

Those who clearly harbored ill will towards Elodie took actions limited to "glaring" and "speaking ill of her."

The helicopter carrying the auditors was blown away by a rocket... Ah, no! Such a despicable act as "assassinating the auditors" never happened.

This may be because Shimada Kai and others provided very good protection.

In short, for Elodie, the auditing work these days has gone very smoothly. She not only doesn't feel annoyed or panicked, but is actually quite pleased with it.

The idyllic scenery of Hachioji inspired her with endless admiration.

Whenever she was tired or had free time, she would always go for a walk nearby and enjoy the scenery.

After chatting with Shimada Kai for a few minutes, she headed straight out of the village.

Shimada Kai followed closely by his side, meticulously fulfilling his duties as a "bodyguard".

Along the way, they met many villagers.

Some people glanced at her and then silently walked away.

Some people greeted us very warmly:

Good morning, Room Leader!

"Head of the dormitory, are you going for a walk?"

"Dormitory Manager, you've worked so hard!"

Elodie's approachable and cheerful demeanor, along with her unpretentious and gentle attitude, won the favor of many villagers.

Although she felt embarrassed by the prestigious title of "Chairwoman," she would respond enthusiastically and warmly whenever villagers greeted her.

Not long after leaving the village, a flat and boundless field came into Elodie's view.

The extensive network of ridges divides the vast field into neat, fragmented sections.

It is currently the off-season for farming, so no one is doing farm work here. Apart from the sound of the wind, there is no other noise, which adds to the desolation.

The Eight Princes' Thousand People United is a militia force that combines military and agricultural activities, farming during busy seasons and training soldiers during slack seasons.

Therefore, all the adult male villagers were busy with military training at this time.

On a vacant lot not far from this field, a scene of bustling activity unfolded—

"Charge!"

"Quick! Run!"

"Stop dawdling!"

The villagers are conducting various kinds of military training.

They were either training their physical fitness or practicing formations; it was quite intense.

Even Elodie, who was far away in the fields, could faintly hear their training sounds.

Just as Elodie was standing with her hands behind her back, admiring the distant mountain scenery with great interest... she suddenly saw a tiny green dot appear on the horizon in front of her and then move straight toward her.

She blinked and looked closely—this "little green bean" was actually a samurai wearing a light blue haori!

He rode a fast horse, galloping over, covered in dust.

Wearing a light blue haori—such a distinctive feature couldn't be more obvious.

Elodie and Shimada Kai were both stunned to see this Shinsengumi member suddenly appear.

This person had excellent eyesight; he spotted Elodie from a great distance and excitedly shouted:

"Room leader! Are you the room leader?!"

Upon hearing this, Elodie immediately perked up and responded loudly:

“That’s right! I am Elodie de Angoulême, the commander of the Shinsengumi!”

Just as she finished speaking, the other person, who had been forcefully pulling on the reins, stopped right in front of her:

"Chief, come with me quickly! Something terrible has happened!"

……

……

This soldier was the messenger sent by Qingdeng to inform the thousand men to "immediately prepare for defense."

The Choshu army launched a surprise attack on Nobi, and the Kanto region was in dire straits—in the blink of an eye, the news spread throughout the entire village!

Instantly, the air in the village was filled with tension and panic, and chaos erupted.

"The thick-tailed fish has fallen? This...this is unacceptable!"

"Prepare for battle immediately! The Changzhou army is about to attack!"

"Prepare for war? Can we defeat the Choshu army?"

"It's not a question of whether we can win or not, it's a question of whether we have to fight!"

……

Arguments, quarrels, conflicts... Looking at the chaotic scene before her, Elodie unconsciously frowned.

"Please be quiet!"

she says.

The people present ignored her and continued arguing amongst themselves.

"Please be quiet!"

She repeated it.

The arguments and conflicts continue.

"Quiet down, all of you!"

In that instant, Elodie lost her patience. She shouted angrily and drew the sword from her waist, slashing at the tree beside her.

Boom!

The deafening sound of the slash instantly silenced all other sounds. No one spoke; they all turned their heads, staring at Elodie in astonishment.

"Really... don't make me so rough..."

*******

*******

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PS: Arranging for Elodie and Shimada Kai to go to Hachioji was to allow them to participate in this battle in a reasonable way.

Chapter 914 Gathering at Sekigahara! A Battle Between Commanders! [6500]

Whenever the phrase "Hachioji and his thousand followers are of one mind" is mentioned, people always praise his simplicity and loyalty.

"Not bad in combat strength," "More reliable than the 80,000 cavalry of the Hatamoto," and so on.

In reality, even if they are praised to the skies, it does not change the fact that they are a militia force that is partly farmers and partly soldiers.

They have never fought a war since their founding.

The purpose of the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, in forming the "Thousand-Man Co-op" was to deal with the Toyotomi clan and prevent the Toyotomi army from advancing eastward.

Although Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute (1584), the difference in size between the two sides was too great, and the tactical victory could not cover up the strategic decline.

At that time, the Toyotomi clan was at the height of its power, attacking anyone it could, and even someone as strong as Tokugawa Ieyasu had to admit defeat.

Left with no other choice, he had to submit and pledge allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

From then on, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu became a textbook example of "fake brothers".

They smile on the outside, but secretly they're plotting to stab each other in the back.

In order to weaken the power of the Tokugawa family, Toyotomi Hideyoshi forcibly changed Tokugawa Ieyasu's territory, moving it from the Tokaido to the Kanto region.

At that time, the Kanto Plain was all swampy land, extremely poor, and with the remnants of the Hojo clan inside and the daimyo of the Toyotomi clan outside, it was truly a perfect place to trap the Tokugawa family.

Tokugawa Ieyasu did not surrender easily; one of his countermeasures was to establish the Eighth Prince's Thousand-Man Unity.

Although the Kanto Plain is a vast plain with enormous economic potential, from a military perspective, it is undefended and faces immense pressure for national defense—this is one of the important reasons why Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Tokugawa Ieyasu to Kanto.

In that case, we can only make up for the lack of geographical advantages by using human resources.

Thus, the "Thousands of People United" movement came into being.

Directly forming a full-time army would easily provoke the Toyotomi clan and lead to troublesome disputes. Moreover, the Tokugawa clan at that time did not have the extra financial resources, so they opted for a second-best option: to establish a militia force that was partly soldiers and partly farmers.

The deployment of a thousand men at the border between Kai Province and Kanto (Hachioji) was clearly intended to prevent the Toyotomi army from advancing eastward.