I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Ezo Land, the hiding place of the pirate ant Toshigoro——

"Is there any wine left?"

"Bring more wine!"

"I'm used to eating venison from Ezo, and it's quite delicious, better than fish!"

...

The valley where Yitong Chouwulang hides is now full of laughter.

Everyone was eating, drinking, and making noises happily.

When a rare guest comes to the door, Yi Tong is generous for a long time, serving all the delicacies, wines and teas in stock, vowing to have fun with the guest.

Gongbu and Yitong sat side by side.

The two sat side by side, the impact of the picture had to be said, it was really huge, one was too ugly to look directly at, and the other was so handsome that it was hard to look away, the visual contrast effect can be described as top-notch.

The difference in the behavior of the two is also very different.

Yi Tong was holding a big wine bowl and gulping down the wine, while Miyabe was sipping the wine very gracefully.

"Master Yitong, it can be said that we suffered a lot in order to find you at the beginning." Gongbu said in a joking tone, "We went to your stronghold in the west at the beginning, but we pounced on you. empty."

"Fortunately, we know the location of all your strongholds. We searched along all the locations in your residential area, and finally found you."

"Hey! Don't mention it!" Yitong waved his hand, "A while ago, four of my subordinates were captured."

"Captive?" Gongbu asked back.

"The four of my subordinates are responsible for abducting that Tuo... What village did Tuo come from?"

"Tuohe Village." A subordinate next to Yitong reminded.

"That's right, that's the woman from Tuohe Village."

"In the end, I was accidentally caught by that barbarian from Tuohe Village."

"Although in terms of a head-on confrontation, we certainly won't lose to a bunch of barbarians. But fighting head-on with the barbarians will do us all harm and no benefit."

"It's not worth showing off if you win, and you won't get any benefits, not to mention that even if you win, there will definitely be a lot of casualties."

"Fortunately, those four of my subordinates are all newcomers and only know the location of my old stronghold in the west.

"

"So after learning that my four subordinates were captured by barbarians, I immediately abandoned my old western stronghold and moved here."

"I see." Miyabe nodded, "Master Yitong, how is your 'harvest' in Ezo this year?"

"This year's harvest is so-so." Yitong shook his head regretfully, "A total of 18 good women were caught."

"I have sent people in advance to transport this year's 'harvest' back to Iki Island in advance."

"Master Gongbu, you guys are really timely. If it's a few more nights, you might really miss out."

"I originally planned to leave Ezo in five days and return to Iki Island."

Gongbu raised his eyebrows: "Master Yitong, are you planning to go back so early this year? I remember that you always wait for spring in Ezodi before you leave Ezodi?"

"It's not going well this year in Ezo." Ant Tong sighed, "The barbarians are a bunch of barbarians, and it's getting harder and harder for them to be kidnapped."

"This year, after a lot of work, only 18 women were successfully abducted."

"Such a low efficiency makes me have no new enthusiasm to stay in Ezo."

"What's more, I heard that the shogunate sent troops to Ezo. The number of troops sent was several thousand."

"Although I don't know where the shogunate intends to attack Ezo, but since the shogunate's army is coming to Ezo, it's better for me to leave as soon as possible to avoid being affected."

Gongbu nodded: "Did the shogunate send troops to Ezo...it is true."

"Before I boarded Ezo, I received news that the shogunate was going to send troops to the famous Red Moon Fortress."

"The number of troops sent by the shogunate is more than a few thousand. The shogunate and the Northeast vassals dispatched a total of 10,000 troops."

"Ten thousand troops..." Yi Tong was speechless, "A veritable army... Is the target the Red Moon Fortress... Has the Red Moon Fortress been captured? Are the shogunate's troops still in Ezo?"

"I don't know about that." Gongbu shook his head, "But I think the fall of the Red Moon Fortress should only happen sooner or later. No matter how strong their fortress is, it is impossible to stop the 10,000 troops of the shogunate."

"Exactly." Ant Tong grinned.

"Master Yitong, since you originally planned to leave Ezodi by boat in five days, then we, who suddenly took the liberty to visit, shouldn't cause you any trouble and distress, and affect your plan to leave, right?"

"Hahahaha! No!" Ant Tong waved his hand boldly, "Anyway, it doesn't make much difference whether to leave a few days earlier or a few days later."

Speaking of this, Yi Tong seemed to have remembered something, after a pause, he continued:

"Miyabe-sama, after this trip to Ezo, where are you going?"

"We have to go to Satsuma first, and then return to Ryukyu by boat."

"Hahaha!" Miyabe slapped his thigh, "Is it the Satsuma domain? Then it happens to be on the way with us who are going back to Iki Island!"

"Miyabu-sama, if you want to go back later, why don't we give you a ride?"

Miyabe showed surprise on his face: "You want to give us a ride? Can you?"

"Of course!" Yitong said loudly, "As you know, Satsuma and Iki Island are neighbors."

"Since we are connected, we can naturally give you a ride."

"In this way, it will be much more convenient for you. You don't need to go back to Matsumae Domain to take a boat. Our boat is parked in the bay not far from here, and it takes five days to get there."

"...Okay then." Gongbu smiled and nodded without thinking too much, "Then we will be sent by Mr. Lao Yitong later."

After all, Gongbu raised his glass to Yitong.

Ant Tong also quickly raised his big wine bowl: "Hahaha! This is just a matter of effort!"

After finishing speaking, both of them drank the wine in their respective cups in one gulp.

...

...

In order to entertain Gongbu and his party well, Yitong cleared out the cleanest and most livable area in the valley for Gongbu and others to live in.

In the cave, as soon as Miyabe sat down on the floor covered with straw mats, a young voice with a little displeasure suddenly sounded from his side:

"Miyabu-sama, are we really going to go back on that Yitong's boat?"

"What?" Miyabe turned his head to look at the young man who spoke with a smile on his face, "Okoshiba, don't you like riding a pirate ship? This is a very rare experience. It's not always possible to ride a pirate ship. .”

"It's not that I don't like taking pirate ships." The young man called 'Okoshiba' shook his head.

"Why is that?" Gongbu asked back, "As that Yi Tong said, taking their 'flying boat' can save a lot of time, and it will benefit us without any harm."

"If you are worried that the pirate ship will be attacked by the government, then you don't have to worry about it."

"Whether it's Japan, China, or North Korea, they are all implementing a closed-door policy, so you don't have to worry about government ships chasing down pirates."

"I'm not worried about this kind of thing." Ozu Chai whispered, "I just simply don't like Yitong..."

"Master Gongbu, I don't quite understand—my lord, why did he go to such great lengths to send us to send money to that Yitong?"

"And he even gave away a full 3,000 taels of gold."

"Although 3,000 taels of gold is not worth mentioning to us now, when I think of giving this money to that Yitong, I feel a little angry..."

"We have not cooperated with Yitong anymore. I really don't understand why the lord sent us to this bitter cold place to say hello and give gifts to Mr. Yitong."

"...I see." Gongbu nodded lightly, "It's not surprising that you have such doubts."

"But that's what the lord would do, isn't it?"

Miyabe smiled softly.

"My lord, he has such a character - merciless to the enemy and killing them all. He is generous and generous to his subordinates and friends."

"Although the lord sometimes gets angry and is scary, most of the time he greets his subordinates and friends with a smile."

"My lord, he had a very friendly cooperation with Yitong before. Faced with all kinds of requests from the lord, Yitong can always complete them on time and according to the quantity. My lord, he likes subordinates and friends like this the most."

"To the lord, Yitong is his good friend."

"My lord is like this when dealing with friends—even if I no longer cooperate with you, I still remember you and are willing to spend a lot of money for you."

"Moreover - there is also a part of interest consideration in treating Ant Tong so favorably."

"Our main base is now located in Ryukyu. We rely on smuggling to make money."

"And Ant Communication's general base is located on Iki Island."

"The main sea area of ​​Ant Communication has many overlaps with our main sea area."

"So in the future, there may be occasions that require the help of Yitong. Therefore, maintaining a good relationship with Yitong will far outweigh the disadvantages for us."

"...Miyabu-sama, I understand what you said." Miko Chai sighed softly, "But I still can't like that Yi Tong."

"It doesn't matter if you don't like it." Miyabe covered his mouth gracefully and smiled, "To be honest, I don't like Yitong, an ugly man either."

"But that's what diplomacy is about—even if you don't like the other person, you still have to put a smile on your face."

"Okay, let's stop talking. Get ready to sleep."

"Master Gongbu." At this time, a hoarse and old voice sounded, "Do you need to organize a vigil tonight?"

The person who spoke was a bald "Mediterranean" middle-aged man.

The appearance of this "Mediterranean" is extremely terrifying-his eyes, where there should be eyeballs, are empty.

A blind man without eyes.

But such a blind man was holding a knife.

"Hmm... Let's organize a night vigil." Gongbu said slowly, "After all, the heart of defense is indispensable."

"Mr. Morimaru, I will leave it to you to choose the night watchman for tonight."

"I see." The blind man... that is, Mori Maru bowed to Miyabe, then used the knife in his palm as a guide stick to explore the way, and left quickly.

...

...

Ezo, Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Castle——

Ogata and Atachi stared blankly at the scene in front of them.

What appeared in front of the two of them was a spacious avenue in Matsumae Castle. There were rows of shops on both sides of the avenue, and there were bustling crowds on the avenue.

Pedestrians who came to pass the time wandered aimlessly on the street; large trucks pulling goods rampant; I don’t know which rich family is traveling slowly in a sedan chair...

What passed into the ears of the two was the noise from the bustling avenue.

The sound of the ground being trampled on by human feet; the shouting of vendors; the quarrels erupting due to some small friction of pedestrians...

Looking at the scene in front of him and listening to the voices in his ears, Ogata felt as if he had passed away.

They returned along the same road they came from, and after an unknown amount of time, they finally returned to Matsumae Castle of the Matsumae Domain.

They finally returned to the cities of the agricultural society.

How long have you and Machi been in Ezo? Ogata couldn't remember clearly.

I just remember that it was still cold winter when they first entered the Matsumae Domain, but now the Matsumae Domain is about to enter spring.

After returning to the Matsumae Domain, Ogata clearly felt that the temperature in the Matsumae Domain had warmed up a lot. A man with a normal physique like A-Machi only needed to wear three thin clothes to keep out the cold.

After spending several months of tribal life in the territory of the Ainu people, looking at the bustling street with a very modern atmosphere in front of him not only makes Ogata feel nostalgic, but also feels like a world away.

"It's been a long time since I've seen so many people, and I feel a little unaccustomed to it." A-Machi, who has been living in an Ainu house and is not used to it, showed a relieved expression on his face while pushing hard. Stretched.

"It's almost noon." Ogata looked up at the sun above his head, "Let's go have lunch. What do you want to eat?"

A-Machi nodded obediently: "Finally, I can eat Japanese food that I haven't seen for a long time... Soba noodles and onigiri are more suitable for me."

Ogata didn't know much about Matsumae Castle, after all, he had only stayed in Matsumae Castle for one day before. He casually found a passerby who looked very idle:

"Excuse me, I want to ask - where is the nearest restaurant from here?"

pedestrian:"……"

When this idle-looking pedestrian turned his head to look at Ogata, there was a look of disgust in his eyes.

But after seeing the double knives on Ogata's waist, the pedestrian immediately suppressed the disgust in his eyes.

Although his movement of suppressing the emotions in his eyes was quick, Ogata still clearly captured his subtle expressions and emotional changes.

After seeing the pedestrian quickly cover up the emotion in his eyes, he held his breath:

"Go straight along this road and then turn right and you will find a street with many restaurants."

After saying that, the pedestrian quickly walked away from Ogata.

Ogata, who was stunned in place, stared blankly at the pedestrians leaving quickly.

"...Did I read it wrong?" A-Machi, who had been standing next to Ogata just now, also stared blankly at the pedestrian walking away, "Did that person hold his breath when he was talking to us just now?" ?”

"You don't seem to be mistaken..." Ogata had just finished speaking when he suddenly heard a "buzzing" sound above his head.

Ogata looked up - it was a fly hovering over his and O-Machi's heads.

Ogata suddenly realized something, put his nose close to A-Ming's neck, and inhaled hard - the smell like salted fish went straight into Ogata's nostrils.

Only then did Ogata realize what had happened:

On the way back to Matsumae Castle from the original road of Kanto Village, Ogata and the others naturally did not have the conditions to take a bath or something. In such a bitterly cold place, it is impossible to take those things that will make your hands and feet numb with just a light touch. river water for bathing. Therefore, the taste of the two of them has already become no different from that of salted fish dried by the sea.

But because both of them are used to smelling each other's body odor, their noses automatically filter the body odor of each other...

"I said..." A-Ming seemed to have discovered something terrible, his face turned pale, "Are the two of us really smelly enough to attract flies?"

Ogata raised his head from Ah-Ming's neck and looked around - the pedestrians around him were walking around Ogata and the others intentionally or unintentionally, making it seem like there was an invisible circle around Ogata and Ah-Machi The shape of a protective cover is like that of Ogata, which isolates the two of them from pedestrians.

"...Machi, before we have lunch, let's find a bathhouse to take a bath..."

...

...

After taking a good bath and eating lunch, it was already 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

It was far from too late to "leave everything until tomorrow", so after lunch, Ogata and the others went non-stop to find the "smuggling" building that Lin Ziping had told them before. Dingjiangya of business.

The Matsumae Domain is just a small domain, so the Matsumae Castle, which is the hall of the Matsumae Domain, will naturally not be too big.

Ogata and the others found Dingjiang House after only asking a few passers-by.

Dingjiang House is an ordinary-looking grocery store, located at the corner of a street with a lot of people.

After entering inside, you can see a counter facing the door of the store, and behind the counter are two young people sitting side by side.

Ogata didn't talk nonsense, and rushed directly to the counter, bursting out the code that Lin Ziping had told him before: "A piece of reed crosses the sea."

After hearing the secret signal from Ogata, the two young people sitting behind the counter raised their eyes, and after giving Ogata a meaningful look, one of them stood up:

"You two please follow me."

Ogata and A-Machi followed the man up to the second floor of the store and entered a certain room on the second floor.

In the room, there was a middle-aged man leaning against the window, smoking a pipe, holding a pipe.

"Mr. Shirataro." The young man who led Ogata and the two into the room said to the middle-aged man with standard respect, "These two want to take a boat."

The middle-aged man turned his head and glanced at Ogata and A-Ming: "Understood, you go down first."

"yes."

After the young man echoed, he quickly walked out of the room.

"Both, you can sit down wherever you want." The middle-aged man beckoned Ogata and A-Ming to sit down.

"The two of us want to go back to Japan by boat." As soon as our buttocks touched the tatami, Ooman said bluntly, "Where will we land? How much will it cost? When will we leave?"

"Well." The middle-aged man waved his hand towards Ogata, "Don't be so anxious."

"Let me introduce myself."

"My name is Shirataro. Think of me as a go-between who helps people get on boats."

"Although I don't know who introduced you to us, but the news you got seems to be a bit behind-we don't carry warriors anymore."

After finishing speaking, Shirataro glanced at the twin swords on Ogata's waist.

"Huh?" Ogata frowned, "No samurai? Why?"

"This happened a month ago." Bai Taro took a strong puff on his cigarette, and then said slowly, "A month ago, we brought a few samurai to Ezo."

"But those warriors fought on the boat halfway."

"And the reason they fought was simply because of the sheath."

Sheathing - one of the reasons for a very classic samurai to break out in street brawls and even weapon fights.

The samurai sword is known as the soul of the samurai, so there will always be some bewildered people who get angry when their saber is touched by others.

That's why we often see this scene on the street - a certain samurai wants to hack the opponent to death just because the scabbard is touched by others.

This kind of conflict caused by the saber being touched by outsiders is collectively referred to as "sheathing".

"This is not an isolated case. Compared with civilians, warriors are more likely to cause various troubles."

"And because the samurai all carry knives, it's quite tricky to deal with when the samurai get into trouble."

"We have suffered a lot from the samurai riots."

"A month ago, our boss finally couldn't take it anymore."

"Anyway, the number of samurai who will come to board the ship is far less than that of civilians, so the boss decided a month ago that he will no longer allow samurai to board the ship."

"So you came quite late."

Having said that, Shirataro shrugged.

"If you had come a month earlier, you would have been able to board the ship."

"But this woman next to you can go aboard. She's not a samurai, after all."

"Why are samurai banned from boarding just when I need to take a boat..." Ogata twitched his lips, "Can't you be more flexible? I'm different from that kind of samurai with a brain problem, I will never make trouble Something's going wrong."

As soon as Ogata's words fell, Shirataro straightened his back suddenly, and said in a righteous tone:

"Of course not."

"How could we let you on board just because of your one-sidedness?"

"In the past, many people promised us that 'there will never be trouble'. What happened?"

"This is the rule set by the boss, and I have no way to change it."

"In short - if you insist on boarding the ship, then no matter what you say, all I can answer you is 'please go back'..."

Bai Taro chattered on and on, constantly emphasizing how important the rules are and how strong his determination to defend the rules is.

When Shirataro was halfway through the talk, Ogata stopped listening to it—the memory of the past emerged in Ogata's mind at this time. At this moment, Ogata thought of Kinoshita Rin who was also his friend.

Kinoshita Rin has shown Ogata several times a skill that is extremely useful no matter how the times change, and it can be said to be tried and tested.

As long as this skill is used, many difficult troubles can be easily solved, and many difficult enemies have to bend their knees.

Ogata was also envious of Kinoshita Lin's god-level skill.

But after going through many obstacles, Ogata finally mastered this god-level skill slowly, and gradually tasted the sweetness of this god-level skill.

While Shirataro was still chattering, Ogata silently put his hand into his arms.

Then he took out a small gold coin.

"Oh, Mr. Bai Taro, I almost forgot about this - I just picked up this small gold at the door of this room. Is this small gold yours?"

"——If you insist on boarding the ship, there are actually loopholes in the rules that you can exploit." Bai Taro still spoke righteously, "As long as you pretend to be a commoner, it's fine. Take off your saber Then wrap it in a cloth and pretend to be a civilian so you can easily board the ship."

The god-level skill that Kinoshita Lin has tried and tested is the "money ability".

Although this kind of words may be difficult for many "demon warriors" who are too obsessed with katana and swordsmanship, Ogata still wants to shout out: the money ability is really easy to use!

"Pretending to be a commoner..." Ogata tossed the small penal gold in his palm to Shirataro whose eyes had been glowing green since just now, "This method is acceptable..."

*****

*****

Now it is the final volume of this book, so the author intends to reveal to you from time to time the basic setting of this book that everyone easily overlooks.

I don't know if you have noticed: Except for the first and second volumes, the male lead in each volume of this book is changing.

The male second in volumes 3 and 4 is Mamiya, the male second in volume 5 is Mucun, the male second in volume 6 is Genichi, and the male second in volume 7 is Matsudaira Sadanobu. Everyone can guess who will be the male second in the final volume~