The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), October 9——

The offices of Qinjin Fan, Dajin, Judi, and Qingdeng——

After his health was no longer serious, Qingdeng returned to work.

At this moment, he was immersed in a case, holding a piece of letter in his hand and studying it intently, with a serious expression.

This letter was written by Tokugawa Iemo and had just been delivered to Aoto.

In recent days, the two have been exchanging letters very frequently, with messengers traveling between Edo and Otsu almost every day.

If someone saw the specific contents of these letters between them, I'm afraid they would be shocked.

Every letter discusses the same thing: reforming the shogunate's military system!

Shortly after Aoshinobu officially moved to the right as "Army President", he received a secret letter from Tokugawa Iemo.

This letter is very long, but it can be condensed into one message: The 80,000-horse flag base cannot be reused! Reform of the current military system is imminent!

The Eighty Thousand Horsemen of the Flag - the core military force of the Edo Shogunate.

The meaning of this sentence certainly does not mean that the Edo shogunate had 80,000 habans. Even if the shogunate was packaged and sold, it would not be able to support so many habans.

After the shogunate issued a general mobilization order, both the Hatamoto and the imperial family were obliged to send their retainers to participate in the war.

I remember when Qingteng was still the imperial family member of the Baishi family, his only retainer was his old servant Jiubingwei.

If the shogunate issues a general mobilization order, then not only Aonto will go to the battlefield, but Kyuubei will also join the battle.

The Hatamoto, the imperial family, and their retainers can gather a total of 80,000 troops. This is the origin of "Hatamoto's 80,000 Cavalry".

Hatamoto and the imperial family are soldiers who undertake specific combat tasks.

Their retainers served as auxiliary soldiers, responsible for transporting grain, digging trenches, repairing fortifications and other logistical work.

In the feudal era, this system was relatively advanced.

There are both off-duty professional warriors and auxiliary soldiers with acceptable quality.

Relying on this system, the Edo shogunate, which had an army of 80,000, made all the vassals in the world dare not disobey.

However, times have changed.

Hatamoto's 80,000 cavalry are no longer able to adapt to the current situation.

Moreover, the corruption of the Hatamoto and imperial families has become a commonplace issue.

No one would think that these guys who have been hollowed out by lustful dogs and horses have any fighting ability at all.

Tokugawa Iemo's idea was very simple, which was to learn from the Shinsengumi model, vigorously introduce advanced Western equipment and tactics, and form a new Western-style army.

Regardless of those ambitious goals, the mere thought of causing trouble for Hatamoto's 80,000 cavalry made Seito even more interested.

Once the military system is successfully reformed and a new army is formed, the status of the banner's 80,000 cavalry will inevitably be shaken.

Qingdeng had long been very unhappy when he saw these wastes who were eating, drinking and having fun all day long.

Therefore, he is naturally happy to see these guys defeated.

Today, Aoshito is the dignified president of the army and controls all the army forces of the shogunate.

If the military system of the shogunate was to be reformed, it would be most appropriate for Tokugawa Iemo to take the lead and Aototo to be responsible for the specific affairs.

It's just that... "reform" is a simple word, but it weighs more than a thousand pounds!

Once the military system is reformed, it means that the cake of 80,000 cavalry will be destroyed.

There is a saying that "cutting off someone's wealth is like killing one's parents."

History has proven countless times: the cake of interest groups is not so easy to move. If you are not careful, it will be a bloody mess.

The flag base, what the imperial family relies on, is nothing more than the status of "the core military force of the shogunate".

They could have just rested on the merits of their ancestors and waited to die.

And now, you want to take away their privileged status?

As early as the rise of the Shinsengumi, they were already feeling uneasy.

It was only because Seito's prestige was too high and the Shinsengumi was based in Gyeonggi Province, far away from Hatamoto and the imperial family's hometown (Kanto), that the opposition was slightly smaller.

It is conceivable that when Tokugawa Iemo announced the reform of the military system, the opposition was as loud as a mountain and a tsunami!

At that time, it will not be possible to suppress it by relying on Tokugawa Iemo's status as a general or Aoto's personal prestige.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is not impossible for one person to stand up and shout the slogan "Kill Qingdeng, Qingjun side".

This is a serious matter and must not be acted upon rashly.

As a result, the messenger responsible for carrying the two people's letters was not an ordinary flying kicker, but an elite ninja from the new Imperial Palace, who would never leak any information.

All in all, if they want to reform the military system, there are only two methods in front of Aomori and Tokugawa Iemo.

First, mobilize the Shinsengumi, Hachioji, Thousand Men, and all the troops that Seito can mobilize to fight an earth-shaking civil war! Eradicate the 80,000 Hatamoto Knights from the root and dig out this abscess completely!

The second is to cut the flesh with a blunt knife, slowly eliminating the influence of Hatamoto's 80,000 knights in a gentle way that will not irritate the opponent.

The former is definitely not advisable.

At this time, there is a civil war, what should we do with the "Changshu Expedition"? What should we do with the imperial court that has just been suppressed? What should we do with the Satsuma, Tosa, Hizen and other feudal clans that are watching covetously from the sidelines? What should we do with the Hōshu Party, which is trying to get better?

Qingdeng does not think that the energy he currently possesses is enough to start a war with so many forces.

Furthermore, if the 80,000 flag horsemen were destroyed, would there still be an Edo shogunate?

The Eighty Thousand Horsemen of the Flag were the cornerstone of the rule of the Edo Shogunate.

In other words, they were one of the embodiments of the ruling will of the Edo shogunate.

"Destroying the Eighty Thousand Riders of the Flag" is no different from "eliminating the Edo Shogunate".

How to act specifically?

How can the costs of reform be minimized?

In recent days, Aomori and Tokugawa Iemo have conducted lengthy discussions around these two issues.

There were more than twenty letters sent to each other alone - thanks to the small size of Japan, it was not that far from Edo to Otsu, otherwise the courier would have been killed just by traveling back and forth.

As of today, they have finally reached an agreement: using the Eight Princes and the "Martial Arts Army" as the pilot unit.

It is certainly unrealistic to launch a comprehensive reform that will break your muscles and bones from the very beginning.

Therefore, you can only take your time.

Start the reform with one or two troops first, and then slowly expand the scope, that is, cut the meat with a dull knife and boil the frogs with warm water.

Although there will definitely still be people jumping out and shouting, the noise will be much smaller, and they can be suppressed by the prestige of Aoto and Tokugawa Iemo.

The Eight Princes and Thousands of People are united as a militia armed with half soldiers and half peasants.

Because they have been farming for generations, and due to folk customs, they are not as corrupt as the Hatamoto and the imperial family. They are a truly good family unit, with both loyalty and certain combat capabilities. It is perfect to choose them as a pilot unit.

The same goes for "Talk about the Military Army".

"Jiaowu Army" is the abbreviation of Jiangwu Institute New Army.

A long time ago, under the orders of the shogunate, the Military Academy organized and trained a new army with guns and artillery as its main weapons.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons such as a shortage of funds, malicious attacks by the 80,000-horse bannermen, and other reasons, the development of the "Strengthening Military Army" has been quite tortuous and has experienced several downsizings.

So far, its total strength is around 500, and it is not a true Western-style army.

If we introduce it in simple and easy-to-understand words... it is an "ancient army with advanced guns and artillery", and there is still a lot of room for reform.

To sum up, it is the most appropriate choice to make these two forces the primary targets for military restructuring.

Although there is no guarantee that this approach will be effective, no matter what happens, if there is a civil war in the future, having two more Western-style armies under his command who are good at using guns and artillery can also increase the chance of victory.

The main content of the letter that Aoto is currently studying is that Tokugawa Iemoge told him: He will soon allocate resources to the Hachioji Thousand People Unity and the "Martial Arts Army", and strive to achieve results within three months.

After reading the letter, Qingdeng silently closed the letter, turned his head to the sky, let out a long breath, and murmured:

"'Army President' is really not that easy to be..."

After being promoted, Qingdeng often felt as follows: the power in his hands has not expanded, but the burden on his shoulders has increased a lot.

At this moment, the waiter's voice suddenly sounded outside the door:

"My Lord, Kyoto Director Tojo Shintaro is here!"

Qingdeng was stunned for a moment, then quickly said:

"Well, let him in quickly."

"yes!"

After the Summer Battle in Kyoto ended, the people who had fled to escape the war returned to Kyoto one after another.

This is a good thing, but many bad guys took the opportunity to occupy the roads and rob the money of the people returning to the city.

Faced with such bad behavior, Qingdeng, as the envoy of Gyeonggi Town, naturally cannot remain indifferent.

Since Shintaro Tojo became the director of Kyoto, he has been mainly responsible for maintaining public security in Kyoto.
To be continued...