I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As a result, for some reason, just one year ago, Qingdeng seemed to have become a completely different person, suddenly becoming wise and capable.

He was courageous and resourceful, achieved numerous outstanding feats, and rose to prominence rapidly.

In just over six months, he was promoted from the "three-times" commander of the Magistrate's Office to the captain of the Third Division of the Fire Thieves Bureau.

The speed at which he was promoted left even the proud Nishino speechless with astonishment.

Judging from his official rank, Nishino, who was still just a "criminal police officer," was far inferior to Aoto.

However, Nishino never regretted his past disrespect towards Aoto—no matter how capable Aoto is now, it cannot change the fact that he was previously very useless.

"Sir/Madam! Your black tea is here!"

Suddenly, the sound of Teshiro's footsteps and calls pulled Nishino back to reality.

"Here, be careful, it's hot!"

"Thank you."

Nishino bent down and thanked the young lady with utmost care.

"Oh, sir, you're too kind. You're making my daughter feel unworthy."

The young lady smiled shyly.

"Sir, please feel free to call me if you need anything else."

After saying that, Miss Shoudai turned around, leaving behind a beautiful silhouette that quickly disappeared into the distance.

Nishino grabbed the still steaming teacup and took a small sip.

The slightly bitter taste, the aroma that permeates the entire body, and the unique refreshing flavor of tea make the nose feel very comfortable.

As he drank the fine tea, Nishino immediately felt his drowsiness lessen.

Just as he was about to take another sip—

"Oh my~ Isn't this Nishino Hosoejiro from Kitaban-sho-cho?"

Nishino paused for a moment, then turned around at the sound—a young man, around 25 years old, was walking straight toward him, his hand on the sword at his waist.

"Ah ha~ It really is you~~"

The young man spoke in a strange tone, with the last syllable of each sentence drawn out, making him seem dazed and languid.

This way of speaking gives people a sense of being irresponsible and unreliable.

Upon seeing the uninvited guest before him, Nishino lowered his eyes and his gaze sharpened instantly.

Nishino recognized the young man who had suddenly appeared.

After all... we had just met him not long ago.

"Captain of the First Division of the Fire Thieves... Tadaro Abiko..."

Hosojiro Nishino softly uttered the young man's name.

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No 8000+ views today... No worries! There's always tomorrow! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Leopard's older brother caught a cold, and considering the recent flu outbreak... Leopard is a little scared now... (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 396 Tenshōin, who bumped into people with a "ball," and Aoto, who was embraced by Tenshōin [5000]

"Nishino-kun, it's been so long~~"

As my grandson spoke, he casually sat down directly opposite Nishino.

Nishino stared at my grandson with a scrutinizing gaze.

“…My dear grandson, what a coincidence! I never expected to run into you here.”

The name of the famous "Fire-handling Dragon," who secured the top spot among fire-handling thieves solely through his intellect, is known to everyone in Edo.

There are often ignorant madmen spouting nonsense: Why is my grandson, Chutaro, whose martial arts skills are mediocre, given the title of "Dragon"? Why is he ranked ahead of the highly skilled Kanazawa Chusuke and Mizushima Ninzaburo?

The following ancient saying perfectly explains this: "The layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details."

People like Xiye who know their stuff are perfectly clear: my grandson is undoubtedly the number one general of the Fire Thief Clan!

The fire-fighting thieves are now an army; an army is an organization; and an organization needs management.

And management skills... my grandson happens to be one of the best in that area!

On weekdays, my grandson is not only responsible for leading his squad to solve cases, but also for coordinating all the paperwork and logistics for the Fire and Thieves Bureau.

The recent campaign against the bandits of Kai Mountain profoundly demonstrated my grandson's exceptional organizational and management skills.

In management, the difficulty of management increases exponentially with each order of magnitude increase in the number of people under one's control.

Some people encounter numerous accidents when taking only a few dozen people on a picnic, and some even fail to organize a gathering of just a few people.

My grandson, however, was able to lead hundreds of rough samurai from Edo to Kai, not only arriving on time without any non-combat casualties, but also maintaining considerable morale and formidable fighting power.

Upon arriving at the front lines of the anti-bandit campaign, the entire army didn't even need to rest; they could be deployed and immediately put into battle.

From departure to return, the entire team was always well-clothed, well-fed, and well-equipped.

Food, clothing, weapons, arrows—all supplies were continuously supplied to the front lines without interruption—all thanks to my grandson.

Logistics and transportation is a complex and extensive field of study.

It's not as simple as you writing a letter to the rear and having people there immediately obey your orders and deliver all the supplies you want to the designated location.

The Edo Shogunate was no longer the "war machine" that had swept away all rebellious subjects three hundred years ago.

The current Edo Shogunate exudes an old and decaying atmosphere from top to bottom.

Officials are good for nothing but shirking responsibility and passing the buck.

This was especially true of the officialdom under the Edo Shogunate.

In order to maintain their rule, the Tokugawa family deliberately created a serious problem of redundant officials.

From the top-level senior officials to the grassroots level, a large number of people hold concurrent positions.

The Tokugawa family's intention was clear: to break up power and prevent their subordinates from forming a united force.

The daily governance of Edo is a typical example of this.

The entire Edo was divided into three areas: the samurai quarters where samurai lived, the temple and shrine quarters where temples and shrines were enshrined, and the townspeople quarters where residents lived.

The governing bodies are different for each region.

Temple and shrine lands are under the jurisdiction of the temple and shrine magistrate, while townspeople's lands are under the jurisdiction of the magistrate's office.

The magistrate's office had no right to interfere in any affairs of temple and shrine grounds. If a criminal escaped from town to temple or shrine grounds, the officers of the magistrate's office were not authorized to pursue and arrest him in the temple or shrine grounds. They had to obtain permission from the temple or shrine magistrate before they could enter the temple or shrine grounds.

Even with power dispersed to this extent, the Tokugawa family still felt it wasn't enough.

The Edo Magistrate's Office was split into the Northern Office and the Southern Office, with the two offices rotating shifts on a monthly basis.

The number of temple and shrine officials was set at 4, meaning that there were at least 4 temple and shrine officials in the shogunate at any time. They also took turns working on a monthly basis. Each temple and shrine official only needed to work for 3 months of the year and rested for the other 9 months.

Most official positions in the Edo Shogunate were held in this way, with staff taking turns on a monthly basis.

While redundant officials have many advantages, their side effects are also quite severe.

The biggest drawback of redundant officials is that their administrative efficiency is outrageously low.

If you tell the bureaucrats back home, "Send the rice over at noon tomorrow," they'll drag their feet and drag their feet until half an hour before they finally deliver, and the rice they do deliver is either stale or insufficient in quantity.

If you confront them aggressively, they can come up with a thousand reasonable and legitimate reasons to explain that they had no other choice but to do so.

After much effort, you finally managed to persuade the other party to help procure provisions, but just a few days later, it was time for the monthly shift change! The other party went home to rest, and another person came to negotiate with you. Then the new person disagreed with your provisions procurement plan... That's it! All the agreements reached beforehand were null and void, and you had to start negotiating from scratch again!

Without some tricks and skills, it's impossible to get these corrupt bureaucrats, who are masters of taking advantage of chaos, to work hard for you.

Even a stupid donkey that takes a whip to move forward half a step is much better than them. At least a stupid donkey will actually move forward after being whipped, instead of going backward.

After sending troops to Kai, my grandson faced such a suffocating situation—yet he was able to overcome all these difficulties.

Upon discovering that the snow would arrive earlier this year, he immediately mobilized cotton-padded clothing. Within a few days, all the soldiers were wearing warm cotton-padded clothes. Ordinary people might not appreciate this, but for active-duty officials like Nishino, who had seen too much of the darkness in officialdom, my grandson's ability to "get food when he asks for it and get clothes when he asks for them" was simply unbelievable.

Compared to his logistical coordination ability of "having everything he needs," my grandson's organizational and management skills in transporting hundreds of fierce warriors in an organized manner seem less impressive.

A skilled warrior achieves no great feats—my grandson was such a "skilled warrior."

It was precisely because my grandson was there to protect them that Qingdeng, Jinze, and others on the front lines were able to fight the enemy without any worries.

This is why, throughout history, when rewards are given for meritorious service, those who rarely show their faces and seem to have little presence are always ranked first on the list of merits.

This was true of Xiao He of the Han Dynasty, Changsun Wuji of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Shanchang of the Ming Dynasty.

Ordinary people simply don't understand how truly capable my grandson is.

Therefore, the public often only regards my grandson as a "famous detective" who is very good at handling serious cases.

Of course, my grandson's criminal investigation skills are also quite sharp.

Legend has it that, apart from getting up to eat and use the restroom, my grandson can work continuously for three days and three nights without stopping—of course, this is just a "legend," and Nishino doesn't know whether it's true or not.

"Miss Teshiro~ Miss Teshiro~"

My grandson's signature drawn-out tone caught Nishino's attention.

"I'm coming!"

The light, pattering footsteps approached from afar.

"A cup of black tea, please."

"Alright! Would you like some tea or snacks?"

"No need. I don't like to eat when I drink tea."

"Alright! Please wait a moment, the tea will be here shortly!"

"Remember to add more tea leaves to make the flavor stronger."

As my grandson spoke, he reached into his pocket, preparing to take out his wallet to pay.

However, just as he had managed to take half of his wallet out, a strong arm suddenly handed several copper coins to the young lady in charge.