I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

3 days later -

Edo, Yoshihara.

"Mashima-kun, it's almost time for the essay test to be released." Guasheng said to Ogata who was standing beside her.

"Yeah." Ogata looked up at the position of the moon above his head, and nodded, "It's indeed almost time. I'm about to leave to see if I have passed the essay test."

Participate in the "Imperial Trial" essay test - this is already 3 days ago.

Long before the literary test began, the government announced that the results of the literary test would be released at 9 o'clock (20:00 p.m.) three days after the end of the literary test.

At that time, the list of those who have passed the written examination will be posted on a large wooden board.

In addition to the names of the passers, the list will also list the names of the top 10 winners in this literary test.

And the place where the list was released happened to be very close to Yoshiwara, on the embankment of Japan.

The government probably considered that there would be a large number of people who would come to see if they had passed the essay test or just come to join in the fun when the rankings were released. In order to avoid crowding, the place where the rankings were released was set on a relatively open Japanese embankment.

Early this morning, the people from the government had already erected a large wooden sign in the open space not far from Yoshihara.

It's almost time for the rankings. There were already quite a few participants of the "Imperial Trial", or those who simply wanted to join in the fun gathered in front of the big wooden sign.

They're all there waiting for the list to be posted with the names of those who passed and the names of the top 10.

Ogata had already approached Shirobei in advance, and asked Shirobei to ask for leave—to ask Shirobei to allow him to leave Yoshihara temporarily, and go to the place where the list was released to see if his name was on the list.

For this little request from Ogata, who had made great contributions to Yoshihara before, Shirobei naturally agreed very readily.

Because the place where the list was released was relatively close to Yoshiwara, Ogata was still not in a hurry to set off, and still carried out his task for tonight: standing guard in the first half of Nakanomachi.

Gua Sheng just led a few colleagues to patrol around Yoshihara as usual.

After returning to the first half of Nakata Town, I saw Ogata who hadn’t set off yet, so I came to chat and chat with Ogata, and by the way, I also relaxed my sore feet after patrolling Yoshihara several times.

"I don't know if it's because everyone went to watch the list or join in the fun, but I feel that there are a lot fewer people coming to Yoshiwara tonight.

"Gua Sheng said with a wry smile.

"Isn't this just right?" Ogata shrugged, and said in a half-joking tone, "Fewer people come to Yoshiwara, and the pressure on us to patrol and stand guard will also be less."

After saying that, Ogata looked up again at the moon above his head.

"...It should be time, Gua Sheng, then I'll go first. I'll go back as soon as I go."

"Yeah." Guasheng nodded vigorously, "I'll see you later, and I will continue to patrol in Yoshiwara. Don't be nervous! I think you can pass the essay test!"

"I'm not nervous..." Ogata waved at Guasheng with a wry smile, bid farewell to Guasheng, and then strode towards outside Yoshihara.

As he gradually moved away from Yoshihara, Ooyoung felt his heartbeat speed up due to a little nervousness.

What Ogata said to Guasheng just now, "he is not nervous" is actually a lie.

Although he was quite sure that he would pass the essay test, Ogata was still a little nervous.

Worried about "What if I fail the essay test?"

If you fail the essay test, not only will you lose face, but it will also be difficult to explain to Hasegawa...

With a little anxiety, Ogata finally arrived at the place where the list was released.

At the end of the field of vision, there is a large stand made up of 3 stands.

At this time, there are several large pieces of paper pasted on this big standing card.

Because the distance was a bit far, Ogata couldn't see what was written on this big paper at all, only dense black dots.

Perhaps it was because Ogata came relatively early, so there were not many people gathered in front of the list at this time.

Aiming at the most "weak" spot in the crowd, Ogata walked straight to it.

After approaching the crowd gathered in front of the list, Ogata also gradually heard the voices of these people talking.

"Good! There's my name!"

"Woo... that's great..."

"Fortunately, I have never forgotten to study Sinology."

There are people who are thankful that they passed the essay test, and naturally there are also people who wailed or roared because they didn't see their names on the list.

"Hey! Why isn't my name on it!"

"Give me an explanation! Why didn't I see my name!"

Nearly 20 heavily armed officials stood around the signboard.

There are thorns, ten hands, and lanterns for lighting.

In addition to protecting the stand that posted the list of passers of the essay test from being destroyed, these officials were also responsible for dealing with the gang of troublemakers who caused trouble because they didn't see their names on the list.

When they came to ask "why is my name not on the list", they all answered "this list is judged by the examiners".

If someone is dissatisfied and tends to make trouble, use a polite tone to "remind" them not to make trouble.

After hearing the "reminder" from the official post, basically all emotional people will calm down.

After all, only a very few people have the courage and ability to provoke officials in the ruling center of the shogunate.

In addition to the cheers from the crowd who were glad that they had passed the essay test, and the growls of dissatisfaction and anger that their name did not appear on the list, there were also other voices.

"Hey, who is the first name in the literary test? Have you heard of it?"

"never heard of that."

"Is it a stranger? I have lived in Edo for so many years, and I have never heard of such a person."

"If it's a rogue from a foreign country, it will be a lot of fun. I heard that many banners and royal family members have participated in this "imperial trial". But, hee hee."

"I'm really envious. The guy who gets the first place can get 100 taels of gold. Such a large amount of money is enough for me to live a life without worrying about food and clothing for several years."

...

There were quite a few people there discussing the first place in the essay test.

After getting close to the distance where the eyes could clearly see the words on the list, Xu stopped in his tracks.

Ogata's height, which was far above average, came in handy again at this moment.

You don't even need to tiptoe, just look up normally.

Ogata couldn't help being a little curious about the mysterious head name of the text test because he heard many people discussing the first name of the text test.

The list is made up of several large white papers, with 10 names listed on the far left.

On the far left of the 10 names, the 10 numbers from one to ten are marked from top to bottom.

On the right side of these 10 names are densely packed hundreds of names.

Even if it is not introduced by others, Ogata can tell at a glance that the 10 names listed on the far left on the list are the top 10 in this essay test.

The other hundreds of names listed to the right of these 10 names are those who have passed the literary test and can take the following military test except for the top 10.

It would take a lot of time to find out the name "Mashima Goro" from these hundreds of names, so Ogata decided to take a look at who the head name of the text test that was hotly discussed by everyone was.

Ogata slowly moved his gaze to the top 10 list on the far left of the list.

Then...

Ogata's expression froze immediately.

Because after turning his eyes to the list of the top 10, Ogata suddenly saw next to the number "one" written a name that was extremely familiar to Ogata during this period of time.

Goro Mashima.

Next to the number "one" representing the first name of the text examination, the name indicated is "Mashima Goro".

...

...

Three days ago, when the essay test officially started, Takigawa was flustered for a while because of a strange question on the test paper, but after regaining his composure, Takikawa wrote an essay about himself like a god. The most satisfying article in my life.

After the essay test was over, Takigawa impatiently wrote down the articles he had written at that time, and then handed them over to his friends who had a good relationship and were quite talented.

Everyone who read Takikawa's article couldn't help but express their admiration and admiration.

In addition to passing it on to his friends, Takikawa also specially showed it to his master, Aioi Harusui, to watch.

As a well-known master of Sinology in Edo, Aioi Harusui is 58 years old this year.

Due to his advanced age and lack of energy, he also suffered from a serious illness some time ago, which caused him to stay at home during this period of time.

While concentrating on studying Sinology, he is also taking care of his recovering body from a serious illness.

In order to get the evaluation of Aioi Harusui, Takikawa specially rushed to the mansion where Aioi Harusui lived, and personally handed his article to Aioi Harusui's eyes.

Xiangsheng Chunshui readily agreed to this small request made by his apprentice.

After reading it carefully, Aioi Harusui gave a very high evaluation of Takikawa's article, and even directly said that "he is indeed one of my most proud apprentices".

After getting a high evaluation from his master, Takikawa is sure to win the first place in the literary examination.

On the night when the essay test results were released, Takigawa and his friends who were also determined to show off their skills in the "Imperial Trial" gathered in a high-end tea house.

The reason why they all gathered in this high-end tea house for a banquet instead of checking whether their names were on the list was due to two reasons.

On the one hand, the reason is that they are all the children of the banner, and they don't bother to do things like "see for themselves whether their names are on the list".

Another reason is that they all firmly believe that with their standard, they will be able to easily pass the essay test.

Takikawa had sent one of his servants to look at the list just now.

The domestic servant sent by Takigawa is not only smart and has an amazing memory, but also has a fast pace, so it is most appropriate to send him to read the list.

In terms of time, Takigawa's servant who was in charge of reading the list should be back soon.

Takikawa and his friends were having a banquet while waiting for the return of his servant who went to watch the list.

During the banquet, these friends of Takikawa kept congratulating Takikawa.

All the people present had read Takikawa's article, and they were full of praise for Takikawa's article.

Everyone thought that with the level of Takigawa's essays, even if he couldn't win the first place in the essay test, he would definitely have no pressure to enter the top 10 of the essay test.

Regarding the congratulations from his friends, although Takigawa kept a calm and calm appearance on the surface, he was very proud of himself in his heart, and he was already smiling.

In order to maintain his demeanor, he always pretended to be calm and didn't seem to care about these fame and fortune.

"Takikawa, congratulations. Even if you're not the number one in the literary examination, you must be in the top 10 of the literary examination." The young man sitting next to Takikawa poured wine for Takikawa himself, and sincerely expressed his gratitude to Takikawa. Chuan He is happy.

"Hahaha." Takikawa said to the young man beside him in a familiar tone, "Uesaka, aren't you too? With your ability, it must be easy to win the top 10 in the literary examination."

The young man sitting next to Takikawa was named Satoshi Uesaka.

Uesaka is considered to be the one with the best family background among all the people present - he was born in the Uesaka family with 5,000 Shijialu.

In terms of level, it is much higher than Takikawa whose family salary is only 3000 shi.

Takikawa and Uesaka are very good friends because of their similar personalities and similar thoughts, and they can talk about everything.

Of course, Takigawa’s friendship with Uesaka also has a little utilitarian element in it-Uesaka’s uncle is one of the four current Wakenyo in the shogunate: Yoshimoto Choemon.

Making friends with Uesaka will allow you to gain more political resources-this is one of the reasons why Takikawa and Uesaka have a good relationship.

After Uesaka poured him a glass of wine, Takikawa also politely poured Uesaka Hui a glass of wine.

"Takikawa. Don't forget about us if we become successful in the future." Uesaka said in a half-joking tone.

"Hahaha." Takigawa smiled, and then changed into a half-joking tone, "I will return this sentence to you as it is. Uesaka, if you become famous in the future, don't forget about us."

Takikawa's words made everyone laugh.

Uesaka laughed too.

After taking a sip of the wine that Takikawa had poured, Uesaka let out a sigh of relief: "Takikawa, if you can successfully get into the eyes of the old middle-aged man by virtue of this 'Imperial Trial', then it may be true What’s more, it’s going to be a great success.”

"If he becomes prosperous, it would not be an extravagant dream to redeem Mrs. Fengling and marry Mrs. Fengling as his wife."

Takikawa fell in love with Mrs. Yoshiwara's wind chime at first sight-this was not a secret among the people present.

Everyone present knew that the reason why Takikawa, who had always been proud, went to Yoshihara to teach a group of wandering girls to read and write was purely to get a few more glances at his favorite Mr. Fengchi.

Hearing Uesaka's words, Takikawa smiled slightly:

"Marrying Mrs. Fengling as a wife is too far away, I dare not even think about it."

Although Takikawa said so on the surface and maintained a calm appearance at the same time, in fact Takikawa's heart is already full of turmoil.

What Uesaka said just now reminded Takikawa.

It made Takikawa come to his senses: if he can gain the appreciation of Matsudaira Sadanobu and become a successful person in the future, he can't help gaining fame, power, and fortune, and the opportunity to keep his name in history, and at the same time, he can also have the opportunity to embrace the wind chime Taifu.

Thinking of this, Takigawa couldn't help but start to imagine the scene of kissing Fangze with the usually unattainable Mrs. Fengling after the sky rises in the future.

While fantasizing about these pictures, Takikawa involuntarily had a strange, indescribable smile on his face.

Boom boom boom.

At this moment, footsteps came from far and near outside the room.

After the series of footsteps stopped before and after the door, a loud shout sounded immediately after the stopped footsteps:

"Master Takigawa! I'm back!"

Seeing that it was Takigawa's servant who had gone to read the list, everyone present cheered up.

Takikawa is no exception.

After hastily putting down the wine glass in his hand, Takikawa straightened his clothes, and then said loudly:

"come in!"

After obtaining Takikawa's permission to enter, his servant quickly opened the door and walked quickly into the room.

There were many beads of sweat dripping down his face, and he was still out of breath, and he could tell he had come back after running wildly.

"How is it?" Someone present asked the servant of Takikawa first, "Who is the first name in the essay test? Is it Takikawa-kun?"

Seeing that someone asked this question for him, Takikawa smiled with satisfaction.

After all, if he asks this kind of question, it will appear that he cares about fame and fortune very much, which makes him look very unmannered.

Hearing this question, Takigawa's servant showed embarrassment.

Looking at the servant with a strange expression, Takigawa suddenly had some ominous premonition...

"...The first name in the essay test...is not Takigawa-sama."

Takikawa's servant hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said this.

As soon as the servant's voice fell, the expression on Takikawa's face froze.

Not only Takikawa, but the expressions on the faces of everyone present changed slightly.

"Which rank is Takigawa-kun?" Uesaka asked, frowning.

The question Uesaka asked once again made Takikawa's famous servant look embarrassed.

After hesitating for a while, the servant once again said with embarrassment:

"The top 10... none of Takigawa-sama's name..."

At this moment, the expression and complexion on Takikawa's face changed again.

"Who is the head of the text test?" Uesaka asked anxiously.

"It's a man named Goro Mashima..."

As soon as the servant's voice fell, Takikawa's face was filled with shock.

There was a strong look of astonishment in his eyes, and then his face flushed, and gradually turned pale again.

The flesh on his face was trembling slightly, distorting his originally handsome features, making him look very ugly and frightening.

And the air in this room was filled with an increasingly intense atmosphere of embarrassment.

Everyone, you look at me, and I look at you.

No one knows what to say or do now...

...

...

"Hey, you know what?"

"what do you know?"

"That Mashima Goro won the first place in the "Gozen Examination" essay examination!"

"Mashima Goro? Oh oh! That's the one who chased away the troublesome Huofu thief and the official post, right?"

"Really...that man is not only so good at swordsmanship, but also so good at Chinese studies..."

"Why did that man come to our Shirobei Clubhouse... With his swordsmanship and Sinology skills, opening a sword gym or a private school is enough to support himself, right?"

"Perhaps they find it troublesome. How can opening a sword gym or private school be as easy as working here at the Shirobei Club?"

"And don't make it seem like opening a sword gym or a private school is a little bit of money. The private school may be better, and most of the people who open the sword hall basically lose their money. These days, they are determined to forge ahead and will work hard to practice swords There are not many people left.”

...

Conversations similar to this kept appearing in the mouths of the officials in the Shirobei Clubhouse.

Because the place where the essay test was released is relatively close to Yoshiwara, the news that "Mashima Goro" won the first place in the essay quickly spread throughout the Shirobei clubhouse.

Most of the club officials are discussing this newcomer who just joined their Shirobei club a while ago and makes big news every few days.

Some people who knew Ogata came directly to look for Ogata, and congratulated Ogata himself.

For example, melons.

"Mashima-kun! I heard about it just now! You actually won the first place in the essay test!"

"I didn't expect that you are also a person who is proficient in Sinology!"

"Really, you were too modest before, right? You've been saying that you just need to pass the essay test."

Due to his excitement, Gua Sheng's cheeks flushed slightly.

Ogata had just returned to Yoshiwara.

After returning to Yoshihara, Ogata returned to the sentry post in the first half of Nakanomachi, which he was originally in charge of.

After returning to stand guard, people like Guasheng who knew Ogata kept coming to announce the good news to Ogata.

Hearing Guasheng's good news, Ogata couldn't help showing a helpless wry smile again,

"I wasn't humble before..."

Ogata is actually still in a state of bewilderment.

What he said to others before was not modest.

He really thought that as long as he could pass the essay test, he never thought about getting the first place in the essay test from the very beginning.

So when he saw the name "Mashima Goro" written on the column of the first name of the literary examination just now, Ogata was dumbfounded.

Until now, I still feel like my body is floating.

Ogata was sure that he did not get all the 100 fill-in-the-blank questions right, after all, he was not sure whether they were correct for many questions.

In the case that the fill-in-the-blank questions are definitely not all correct, it can still take the first place, that only shows 2 things.

Either the level of other people is too low, even if Ogata did not do all the fill-in-the-blank questions correctly, he still won the first place in the essay test.

Either it was the last "composition question" that Ogata answered so well that he let Ogata bend to overtake.

But this made Ogata guilty again.

He felt that his "composition" was not so well written, the words and sentences were of a very common type, and the content was just arbitrarily played.

The more Ogata thought about it, the more he couldn't understand why he won the first place in the essay test...

Hearing Ogata's words, Guasheng originally thought that Ogata was being modest again, so while putting his hands on his hips, he said in an annoyed tone:

"Mashima-kun, sometimes it's not good to be too modest."

"People in the government are not fools."

"It is impossible to judge the first name of the literary examination wrongly."

"Since you can get the first place in the literary test, it means that you must be well-deserved."

"So be happy and don't put on a weird face."

Guasheng raised his hand and patted Ogata's lower back.

"There is a reward of 100 taels for the first place in the literary test. Think about how you will spend the 100 taels in the future!"

"...That's right." Ogata took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly through his nose.

The expression on his face was no longer as tense as before because he wondered why he won the first place in the essay test.

"I really envy you, Mashima-kun." Gua Sheng continued in a joking tone, "100 taels of gold...he became a rich man directly."

"100 taels of gold can only be regarded as no need to worry about food and clothing in a short period of time, and it is still far away from the word 'rich'." Xu Fang shrugged helplessly, "100 taels of gold may not be enough Some people had a good night in Yoshiwara."

Ogata has been working here in Yoshihara for a short period of time.

Although the time is not too long, I have witnessed twice how rich people in this era spread their money.

About 5 nights ago, a middle-aged man with a big belly walked into Yoshiwara swaggeringly surrounded by a group of people with his big belly.

According to someone's introduction, the middle-aged man seemed to be a wealthy businessman from Osaka.

That night, the wealthy businessman dispersed a huge fortune of 200 taels of gold in Yoshihara...

Although Japan in the Edo period pursued the basic national policy of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce", the development of the commodity economy was the general trend of the times, coupled with various reasons such as policy loopholes that could be exploited, which led to the expansion of the power of merchants.

Up to now, there has even been a situation where warriors need to rely on businessmen in some places.

Many Xiaofan who are financially tight even owe money to those wealthy businessmen.

"That is to say, but 100 taels of gold is not a small amount to us, how about it? Have you thought about how to spend the 100 taels of gold in the future?"

"Let's just have some simple plans..."

As soon as Ogata finished speaking, a strange voice suddenly sounded beside him:

"Mashima Goro-kun, someone is looking for you."

Ogata followed the reputation.

A face-to-face young man wearing the special haori of the Shirobei Club walked slowly towards Ogata with a face-to-face middle-aged man.

When he came to Ogata, the middle-aged man first bowed to thank the official who brought him to Ogata, and then turned his head to Ogata and said:

"Mashima! I finally found you! It's me, that Surakushima who wandered with you in Kyoto for a while a few months ago!"

Hearing this middle-aged man's words, Ogata raised his eyebrows.

What the middle-aged man said just now was actually a secret signal.

There is one more reason and purpose for Ogata to work at the Shirobei Clubhouse in Yoshihara now than before.

That is to act as an informant between them and Hasegawa.

Because it is inconvenient for Hasegawa to know where they are currently hiding, it is most appropriate for Ogata, who is already lurking in Yoshihara, to act as an informant.

Once Hasegawa finds out about any new trends in Shiranui, he will send people to Yoshihara to find Ogata and get in touch with Ogata.

The contact code is this sentence: I am Surprise Island who wandered with you in Kyoto for a while a few months ago.

The person who uttered this code was someone sent by Hasegawa.

This is the first time that Hasegawa sent someone to find Ogata since he started working with Hasegawa.

Subconsciously thinking that it might be Hasegawa who finally heard the information related to Shiranui, Ogata immediately started his performance - pretending to be surprised, and then said quickly:

"It's you, Yudao, long time no see."

"Yujima" nodded vigorously: "I heard that you are now working at the Shirobei clubhouse, so I hurried to find you. Mashima, I have some private matters to talk to you, can you come over with me? "

...

...

at the same time--

Inside the inn where Ogata and the others lived.

Genichi did not sit in the corner of the room drinking like a waste wood like before.

Instead, he took out the knife oil and maintained his saber.

When Genichi oiled his saber, Shimada knelt aside and carefully looked at the sword held in Genichi's hand.

"No matter how many times I read it, I still feel that Gen-sama's saber is amazing..." Shimada swallowed.

The hilt and scabbard of Genichi's sword and Wakizashi are dark red. Dao Tan is the most common round Dao Tan, but there are many complicated patterns engraved on it.

Not only the sword, but the blades of Yuanyi's two sabers also have blade patterns full of Ling Ran's momentum.

Even someone who doesn't know anything about swords can see that the two sabers of Genichi are by no means ordinary.

Hearing Shimada's words, Genichi smiled slightly:

"Of course, my Yangshen and Yanrong are much more powerful than those so-called treasured swords on the market today."

Dato·Yangshen, Wakizashi·Enrong—these are the names of the two sabers of Genichi.

Genichi's Yangshen and Yanrong are the same as Ogata's Da Shitian and Da Zizai, and their length is longer than the general Dato and Wakizashi.

The blade length of Yangshen is 72cm.

The blade length of Yanrong is 45cm.

In terms of length, it is also in line with Genichi who is 168cm tall and taller than the average of this era like Ogata.

Yuan Yi just drank some wine, his face was flushed red.

However, even after drinking some wine, Genichi's hand that wiped the blade of the knife with oil was still very steady, and he didn't even shake it.

After smearing a thin layer of knife oil on the blade with a neat technique, Yuanyi looked at the "glossy" blade, and suddenly said something for no reason:

"Recently, I've been drinking every day, and it's a bit too leisurely. I think I'm going to be active."

"Huh?" Shimada was taken aback for a moment.

Shimada only joined the gourd house last year, and the time he stayed in the gourd house is not too long. Although the time is the shortest, Shimada is gradually getting used to Genichi's "suddenly popping out sentences with unknown meanings." words" style.

So after being stunned for a while, Shimada's expression returned to normal, and he asked:

"Master Yuan, do you want to go out for a walk? No, my lord has told you: You can't go out casually now. If your enemies find out that you are in Edo now, it will be troublesome."

Regarding Shimada's words, Minamoto smiled and said nothing, showing a meaningful smile, and did not respond, just continued to sweep his gaze back and forth on Yangshen's sword.

After looking at the Yangshen in his hand enough, Yuan Yi raised his right hand again, and oiled the body of Yangshen's sword.

While continuing to apply oil, Asa Shimada said:

"Shimada, can you go out and help me buy something later?"

"Things? Master Yuan, what do you want to buy?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I can only stay here every day, it's really boring, so I plan to buy some interesting toys to relieve boredom."

"Master Genda..." Shimada smiled wryly, "You are already past the age of playing with toys, right?"

"You're wrong, Shimada." Genichi shrugged, "No matter how old a person is, they all like to play, but the toys they play with will keep changing."

"I'm a relatively pure person, and I love to play with the toys I loved when I was a child."

Shimada, who didn't want to argue with Genichi about nonsense, sighed lightly.

"Forget it... Master Yuan, if you want to play with toys to relieve your boredom, I will buy them for you. So what toy do you want, Master Yuan?"

"I will make a list for you later, and you can just buy it accordingly."

*****

*****

This chapter mentioned the height of Genichi, so I will list the height of the protagonist and others here, from high to low.

Mucun: 186cm

Ogata: 170cm

Source one: 168cm

Gamma: 165cm

Shallow well: 160cm

Shimada: 157cm

A Machi: 155cm

Kinoshita Lin: 145cm (yes, Lin is actually as tall as Gua Sheng)