Half a year later——

The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), June 15——

Qinjin Fan, Dajin—

It's early summer now.

The blazing and scorching sunshine shone down from the horizon, shrouding the entire Dajin in a humid and monstrous heat wave.

The "buzzing" sound of the cicada seems to be far away and yet close at hand, blurry and clear.

"Give way! Give way! If you don't want to be hit, just make way for me!"

The driver shouted, speeding up and down the street as if no one else was watching, stirring up layers of dust.

Pedestrians on the road retreated to the street to make way.

Looking at the carriages passing quickly, passers-by showed bored expressions, and some even started to curse.

"It's true! There are so many people here and they are driving so fast!"

"Aren't they just driving a carriage? Look at how arrogant they are!"

"Hey, forget it. Everyone, please understand. This vassal province is now going through construction everywhere. These coachmen are shouldering the heavy responsibility of transporting supplies. They are too busy to touch the ground. Their tempers are a little more impatient, but

There’s nothing wrong with that.”

"Look what you said! They are very busy and very tired. Aren't we craftsmen also busy and tired? Look! My hands are covered with blisters!"

"That's right! We farmers are also very tired! Do you know how tiring it is to turn a piece of wasteland into cultivated land that can grow things? Loose soil, weeding, and picking up rocks... It takes at least 2 years to successfully open up wasteland.

!”

"Oh, we are all the people of Qinjin! What is there to argue about?"

…

The air smelled of dust and heat.

Although the sky in summer is very hot, when it comes to "heat"... Otsu is no less generous!

Looking around, every street and alley in Dajin is filled with a flourishing atmosphere!

The cart drivers waved their reins and rushed to deliver supplies.

Farmers carried hoes and rushed to the wasteland waiting to be cultivated outside the town.

The craftsmen picked up their tools and continued to focus on the project at hand.

Everyone performs their duties and rushes back and forth.

Although there are occasional conflicts, this does not prevent them from continuing to serve this kind of town and this feudal country and contribute their efforts.

Similar prosperous scenes appeared in various cities, towns and villages of Qinjin Domain.

It is no exaggeration to say... the current situation of Qinjin Fan can be said to be the best explanation of the term "ascendant"!

Regardless of other places, let’s take Otsu as an example.

Compared to half a year ago, Otsu today has undergone earth-shaking changes!

The previous Otsu... to put it harshly, was just a town with nothing special except a long history.

The population is not large, there is a lack of funds, and the infrastructure is backward, giving the whole town an air of dilapidation.

There are even many buildings that can be traced back to the Warring States Period.

But now, in just half a year, Otsu has completely changed!

Every road has been repaired smoothly.

New houses are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Of course, the most significant change is undoubtedly the change in population.

A "recruitment order" issued by the Qinjin vassal government attracted countless people of the right age.

The large influx of young people indirectly promoted the development of commerce.

The rapid development of business has attracted new young people.

They promote each other and form a healthy development.

Although Otsu is far less prosperous than Osaka and Kyoto, on the other hand, it has unlimited possibilities!

Because it is white paper, you can dye it any color you like.

The best counterexample is undoubtedly Kyoto.

Because of its long history and large population, Kyoto town has a large number of old houses that resemble "Shityama Code", which seriously hinders urban development.

Even if you want to reorganize Kyoto's town planning, you don't know where to start, so you can only tinker with this "hill of shit".

In order to prevent this situation from happening, Qingdeng specially commissioned Huluwu and invited professional urban designers to make a detailed plan for Dajin.

Every new house and every new street must be reported to the feudal government in advance, and construction can only begin after obtaining permission.

If you violate this rule, you will be fined!

Compared to harsh methods such as jail and execution, Qingdeng preferred fines.

Although Qingteng had already realized this when he took up the post of serving as the side minister and the emperor's servant, it was only after he became the leader of a feudal clan that he understood more deeply: National construction is simply a bottomless pit!

No matter how much money and food you spend, it will be difficult to fill this bottomless hole!

Even with the support of the "super nanny" like Calabash House, the money is still being spent at the same rate as water.

Qingdeng had to try every means to raise funds - issuing fines was a good way to raise funds.

All in all, thanks to Qingto's precautions and the urban designer's carefully formulated plan, the streetscape of Otsu is exceptionally smooth, beautiful, and really well-organized.

When it comes to the beauty of streetscapes, even in Edo and Osaka, it’s hard to match them!

…

…

Qinjin Domain, Otsu, a certain izakaya—

They drank and drank a lot.

The moment the door curtain of this izakaya was opened, noise and hot air spurted out.

The store was extremely hot, and under the influence of the heat, the view was like a blurry, distorted and shaky "filter".

This "filter", coupled with the hazy tobacco mist, makes it almost impossible to see what is inside the izakaya.

Although it is still broad daylight and the sun is still high in the sky, this izakaya is already crowded with locals who come here to have a few drinks while taking a break from their busy schedule.

"Drink! Drink more!"

"Oh, Bintaro, you are very good at drinking today! Boss lady! Here are 4 more bottles... no, 6 bottles of soju!"

"Hey! Come on!"

After a while, the charming proprietress walked out of the kitchen carrying 6 bottles of soju on a tea tray, bringing a touch of beauty to this "manly" tavern.

As we all know, as long as it is a place where men gather, "key politics" is inevitable.

I don’t know who took the lead, but everyone in the room suddenly started discussing the recent current affairs.

"Hey, do you know? One of my buddies in the shogunate told me that the shogunate has basically completed the preparations for the war, and by the end of the year, it will officially use troops against Choshu!"

"Hey, I thought you were going to say something big. Isn't it already known to all women and children about the Shogunate's 'Changzhou Expedition'?"

"I heard that this time, the shogunate will mobilize 80,000 troops from the flag base, Aizu Domain, our Qinjin Domain, and the 21 Western Domains headed by Satsuma! A total of 200,000 troops!"

"Yes, I've heard that too! A real army of two hundred thousand! Not an imaginary number!"

"Two, two hundred thousand?!"

"Real or false..."

"The unprecedented Great Western Expedition! This should be considered the largest war since the Sekigahara War?!"

"It seems that the shogunate is determined to eliminate the Choshu clan this time..."

"Humph! It should have been like this a long time ago! I have long disliked Changzhou!"

"You can't say that. Choshu and the shogunate just have different positions. No one is good or the other is bad."

"On the other hand, this 'Changzhou Expedition' can be regarded as a continuation of the Sekigahara War two hundred years ago.

"What a coincidence, that's what I thought too. Thinking back to the Sekigahara War, the Maori family was against the Tokugawa family. After the Tokugawa family won the Sekigahara War, they only reduced the Maori family's territory and did not inherit it.

I think the Maori family has never learned their lesson and jumped out to act like a monster again after more than two hundred years. The Tokugawa family will definitely withdraw Choshu from its vassal this time and remove the Maori family!"

"Sigh... We haven't lived a peaceful life for a few days, and we are going to fight again..."

"Amitabha... Amitabha... we must not fight here..."

"Hey! What are you afraid of! We have Nioh and the Shinsengumi here! Even if a million troops attack, what can they do to us?"

"That's right! Don't forget, Lord Niou is our patron saint! He will definitely protect us!"
To be continued...