I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1106 The all-new Shinsengumi, with an army exceeding ten thousand! The "Western Alliance" is established! [6100]

Todo Heisuke glanced at Saito Hajime, then at the "Great History of Japan" in his hand, unable to suppress his astonishment.

"Brother Saito, are you also going to the Ito Juku?"

Saito's gaze swept across the room, scrutinizing Todo Heisuke from head to toe:

"I'll return this question to you exactly as it is. Heisuke, are you also attending classes at 'Ito Juku'?"

Heisuke Todo nodded subconsciously:

"That's right. My master invited me to attend his class today."

Upon hearing this, Saito Hajime's lips curled into a faint smile.

"What a coincidence! We're all going to the Ito Juku for a lecture. Let's hurry up so we don't get late."

Having said that, Saito Hajime turned his gaze away from Todo Heisuke and stepped forward again.

After hesitating for a moment, Todo Heisuke quickened his pace and caught up with him.

"Brother Saito, I never expected to run into you here... Are you also interested in the 'Great History of Japan'?"

As far as Todo Heisuke knew, Saito Hajime was never a person who enjoyed reading or was passionate about learning.

The brand-new book he was holding in his arms, clearly a newly purchased copy of "The Great History of Japan," was strong evidence of his dislike of reading.

Although it may seem impolite to say this, Todo Heisuke really couldn't imagine the scene of "Saito Hajime attending classes seriously and studying diligently".

Saito Hajime said calmly:

"Like you, Ito-sensei invited me to attend his class today."

"Did your master invite you?"

"Yes. Not long after the 'team meeting' ended, Mr. Ito suddenly approached me and invited me to attend a lecture at the 'Ito Juku'."

He said that in times of turmoil and upheaval, those who aspire to "bring peace to the world" should read more history books, and perhaps they can learn from the experiences of those who came before them in governing the world.

"I thought what he said made a lot of sense, so I agreed."

"Because I have never studied 'Greater Japanese History', Professor Ito specially allowed me to attend a trial class first."

"Whether I come to class regularly or never come again is up to me; he will never force me."

Upon hearing this, Todo Heisuke subtly raised his gaze, staring thoughtfully at Saito Hajime's face, a hint of hesitation appearing between his brows.

After a moment, he finally made up his mind and cautiously began to speak:

"Brother Saito, um..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Saito Hajime interrupted him as if he had anticipated this:

“Heisuke, if you want to talk to me about ‘that matter’ today, then you can shut up.”

"Shinpachi has already come to talk to me and tried to instill a lot of high-sounding principles in me, which I found very annoying."

“I have no intention of changing my mind. I have said everything I needed to say. I don’t think I have done anything wrong. You don’t need to persuade me anymore.”

After speaking, Saito tightened his facial features, making his already expressionless face appear even colder, as if to say, "If you talk to me about this again, I'm going to turn on you."

Seeing this, Toudou Heisuke silently shut his mouth... It seemed that Nagakura Shinpachi's conversation with Saito Hajime was not going well...

Seeing the other party's resolute expression, Todo Heisuke had no choice but to sigh inwardly.

……

……

A room in the private residence of Ito Kashitaro—

Saito Hajime pushed open the door without any hesitation and stepped inside.

Heisuke Todo followed closely behind, muttering "Excuse me" as he quickly scanned the room.

Neatly arranged low tables divide the spacious room into orderly sections... just like a private school.

In this short while, quite a few students had arrived—without exception, they were all members of the Shinsengumi—some chatting in groups, others quietly flipping through books.

Upon seeing the arrival of two captains, one of whom was the renowned Third Division Captain Saito Hajime, everyone in the room immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed to stand up and pay their respects.

Heisuke Todo waved his hand and smiled amicably:

"We are not superiors and subordinates now, but classmates studying together. Since we are classmates, there is no need for formalities."

After everyone in the room was seated, Todo Heisuke and Saito Hajime sat down at two empty tables near the window, becoming tablemates.

After that, many more people arrived one after another.

Soon, all the seats in the room were filled, with no empty seats. There were a total of 24 students, including Heisuke Todo and Hajime Saito.

A moment later, steady footsteps came from the direction of the corridor—whoosh—accompanied by the sound of a door being pushed open, and Ito Kashitaro walked into the view of everyone in the room with unhurried steps.

Instantly, everyone in the room straightened their backs and sat up straight.

Ito Kashitaro settled into the main seat, a broad smile on his face, and announced in a loud voice:

Good evening, everyone!

"I am very pleased to see so many people here."

“We must read more history books to reflect on ourselves. This is especially true now that the Western barbarians are powerful. We must never forget the fundamental principle of ‘using the West as a model’ – this is the original intention of me in establishing the ‘Ito Academy’.”

As he spoke, he looked around the room, his gaze sweeping across each person's face.

When he saw Saito Hajime, his gaze lingered on him for a few moments.

"I'll skip the unnecessary pleasantries for now."

"Time is money, let's start class now."

"Before I begin my lecture, I would like to introduce the author of 'The Great History of Japan'..."

Even when he was running the Ito Dojo, Ito Kashitaro often taught his disciples in order to cultivate outstanding students who were proficient in both literature and martial arts.

He was already very skilled at imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving doubts.

His unhurried voice clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

The lecture was well-organized, insightful, and easy to understand, captivating the audience.

Heisuke Todo carefully observed Hajime Saito beside him and found that the other was unusually serious, staring intently at Kazutaro Ito without blinking... He seemed to be genuinely eager to learn.

—Huh? That's strange...

At this moment, Todo Heisuke belatedly noticed something strange: many of the students present were his old acquaintances... most of them were his fellow disciples, namely, the students of Ito Kashitaro.

Heisuke Todo blinked, and soon figured it out himself:

—After all, this is a private school run by the master, and most of the students are his disciples, so it's not surprising.

With this thought in mind, Todo Heisuke stopped thinking about it, roused his spirits, and listened attentively to the lecture.

……

……

Time passed...

In the blink of an eye, two months have passed.

Summer fades, autumn deepens.

If one word could describe the changes in the situation over the past two months, it would be "nothing happened".

Both the eastern and western kingdoms were unusually quiet, and nothing major had happened.

Of course, it's easy to see that this is just the calm before the storm, with both the Eastern and Western camps quietly preparing their big moves.

For ease of reference, people referred to the northern "Watari Court" as the "Northern Court" and the southern "Musikuni Court" as the "Southern Court," based on their geographical location.

The "Northern Dynasty," supported by warriors from the East, and the "Southern Dynasty," supported by warriors from the West... it's practically a classic replica of the "Northern and Southern Dynasties" from five hundred years ago!

At this moment, just like at that time... it must be said that dark humor is indeed an important aspect of history.

After two full months of "building up strength," the first camp to make a huge commotion was none other than the "Northern Court" led by Aoto—the Shinsengumi's "Second Great Conscription" has come to a successful conclusion!

In order to replenish the losses caused by a series of battles such as the "Chōshū Campaign" and the "Second Battle of Sekigahara", and in order to further expand the military force to deter and repel the western domains, Aoto launched a large-scale conscription in a vast area from Ōshu in the north to the Kyoto region in the south, known as the "Second Great Conscription".

Musketeers, artillery, and cavalry were designated as the focus of this conscription, with plans to add 4,000 new recruits, expanding the total strength of the new selection group from 6,000 to 10,000.

The number "ten thousand" was carefully researched by Qingdeng.

If the number exceeds this, there will be too many new recruits, making it impossible to form a considerable combat force in a short period of time.

If the number is less than this, the military strength is too small to contend with the Western Kingdom.

This is no longer the age of swords; the Shinsengumi already has enough swordsmen specializing in close combat, and there is no need to expand further.

Therefore, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth divisions, which were responsible for close combat, only replenished the previous battle losses and did not carry out further expansion.

The newly added 4,000 troops were basically assigned to the musketeer team, artillery, cavalry, the Ninth Division responsible for relaying orders and intelligence activities, as well as logistics departments such as the Censorate and the General Affairs Department.

Given that the size of the musketeer squad had swelled to an astonishing number, Qingdeng established two new musketeer units: the Twelfth Division and the Thirteenth Division!

With the establishment of the new unit, Qingdeng carried out sweeping adjustments to the personnel structure of the Shinsengumi.

Soma Kazue, the former vice-captain of the 6th Division, was transferred to become the captain of the 12th Division.

Yoshimura Kanichiro, the former vice-captain of the 8th Division, was transferred to become the captain of the 13th Division.

Oishi Kuwajiro, formerly the third seat of the third division, was transferred to be the vice-captain of the eighth division.

In addition, promising newcomers such as Asano Kaoru and Kawamura Hayato were promoted and appointed as vice-captains of the new unit.

Currently, the organizational structure of the Shinsengumi is as follows—

[Military Police Bureau]

Director: Isamu Kondo.

Assistant to the Director: Takeda Kanryuzai.

The total payment is 500 people.

[General Affairs Department] (In charge of administrative work)