I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"Ayi." At this time, Ah Ding also asked Ogata, "Miss Lin and the others are not here, so what should we do now?"

After Ogata pondered for a moment, he turned his head and looked at the setting sun that was only a short distance away from the horizon.

"...Let's make preparations for the night now, and the rest will be discussed later."

After finishing speaking, Ogata turned his gaze back to the village head in front of him.

"Village chief, can we stay in your village for one night? I can pay for your accommodation."

"Hahaha, no need, no need." The village chief smiled and waved his hands quickly, "You are Mr. Kinoshita's distinguished guests, how can we charge you money. It doesn't cost much to keep you overnight."

Ogata chatted with the village chief, seeing that the village chief insisted on not charging the accommodation fee, Ogata stopped being pretentious and entangled, and accepted the village chief's kindness frankly.

"By the way, the village chief." When he was about to follow the village chief into the village, Ogata asked suddenly, "Where is Xuan Ren?"

"Oh, Doctor Xuanren, he just happened to go to a nearby village to treat people."

"How is he doing now?"

"He is doing very well now." The smile on the village chief's face became thicker, "He is kind and has excellent medical skills. People in our village and several nearby villages like him very much. The gifts given to him for his medical skills can be said to be innumerable, and he has gained a little weight now."

Hearing what the village chief said, Ogata was secretly delighted that Xuanren was living a good life now.

Since last summer, after Lin and the others rescued Xuanren, who was in a whole body because of offending the powerful, they brought Xuanren to this village with Xuanren's consent, and allowed him to settle down here.

The last time I met Xuanren was the eve of leaving for Edo last year.

While feeling happy for Xuanren, Ogata also felt very lucky.

Fortunately, Xuanren is not in the village right now.

If Xuanren asked him whether he saw his master Xuanzheng and senior brother Xuanzhi in Ezodi, Ogata really didn't know how to answer him...

Now that Xuanren happened to be not in the village, Ogata no longer had to worry about how to answer Xuanren's question.

...

...

That day, that night—

"call……"

After immersing his whole body in the tub filled with hot water, Ogata couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief.

When was the last time you soaked in hot water? Ogata didn't remember at all.

He just remembered that they had been living and sleeping for a long time.

"Master Ogata." At this moment, the village chief's voice sounded from outside the bathroom, "Is the water temperature appropriate?"

"Hmm." Ogata shouted towards the outside of the bathroom, "The water temperature is just right, thank you for helping me boil the hot water."

"Ho ho." The village chief smiled, "You're welcome. Then you can go clubbing slowly, and I won't bother you."

After finishing speaking, the village chief's footsteps from near to far can be heard outside the bathroom.

There is no house in the village that can accommodate the three of Ogata and the others at the same time.

So the three of Ogata and the others were separated——Ogata and Atachi lived in the house of the village chief with the largest house, while Azuku lived in the house next door to the village chief.

The condition of the village chief's house is quite good. The house is spacious enough. Even if Ogata and Atachi live in, it will not feel crowded. The house also has a small bathroom.

The bathroom in the village chief's house was the most commonly used bathroom by commoners in the Edo period: a small, square room with a bathtub in which a person sat.

There are small windows for ventilation on one side of the room.

Once the small window for ventilation and the door of the bathroom are closed, people outside the bathroom will not be able to see what is inside the bathroom.

Below the tub is a stove.

The burner for the stove is outside the bathroom.

When you want to take a hot bath, you only need to ignite the stove, and then let people outside the bathroom continue to add firewood to the stove through the stove.

The village head treated Ogata and the others kindly, not only prepared a sumptuous dinner for them, but also spontaneously helped Ogata and the others to heat up a hot bath.

The village head and the others were so enthusiastic that Ogata felt a little embarrassed.

Ogata leaned his head back against the edge of the bathtub, closed his eyes, and relaxed his body and spirit.

He wanted to just let his head go blank and relax his brain, but the more he wanted to relax, the more he couldn't help but start thinking.

——Besides Lin and the others, who else might know where there are powerful swordsmiths...

A big question mark appeared in Ogata's mind.

He wanted to seek help from Lin and the others, who must have a lot of connections, and asked them if they knew where there was a good swordsmith, but who knew that none of the people in the gourd house were in Owari...

It is not realistic to stay here and wait for Lin and the others to come back. After all, God knows when they will come back.

There is no other way but to change the plan and ask other people for help.

However, an embarrassing thing came - Ogata's connections were very narrow.

Ogata didn't know too many friends...

Since leaving the Hirose Domain, Ogata has basically only had a deep friendship with the Huluya group...

——Besides the people in Calabash House, who else do I know who should have a very wide network...

Ogata frowned, trying to remember.

However, just as I started to recall, Machi's voice suddenly sounded from outside the bathroom:

"Ayi?"

"Huh?" Ogata opened his eyes, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just that you've been soaking for a long time, so I'll see if you get dizzy."

"It's impossible for me to get dizzy. I have the kind of constitution that doesn't make dizziness easy." Ogata laughed.

He is not boasting or talking nonsense, Ogata is indeed the kind of person who is not easy to get dizzy. Since traveling to the Edo period, Ogata has never tried to get dizzy due to taking too long in the bath nod.

"I was just thinking about something, so I soaked for a little longer." Ogata added.

A-cho: "Thinking about something?"

Ogata nodded: "I'm thinking about other people I know who should have a wide network besides Calabash House."

Speaking of this, a wry smile appeared on Ogata's face.

"However, I found that my contacts are very narrow. I don't seem to know anything other than Calabash House..."

When Ogata's voice came to this point, it suddenly stopped.

Then the pupils slowly opened wide.

"Huh? Ayi?" Seeing that Ogata suddenly stopped speaking in the middle of what he said, A-Ming asked puzzled, "What's wrong? Why didn't you speak suddenly?"

"...That's right..." Ogata muttered.

"Huh?" The puzzled look on A-Ming's face became more intense.

"How did I forget about that person..." Ogata felt as if the fog in his mind had suddenly dissipated, excitement and excitement gradually appeared on his face, "In Kyoto, there is not one person who has a wide network of contacts. Someone who can't do it..."

"Kyoto?" A-Ming was stunned for a moment, and then showed a look of enlightenment.

...

...

Early the next morning, the three of Ogata and the others left the village.

Heading west, head straight for Kyoto.

Before setting off, Ogata gave the radishes and grapes to the villagers to take care of them.

Japan is no better than Ezo. In Ezo, you can ride any horse you like, and you can ride any horse you like, but you can’t do it in Japan.

The radish and grape, which are Don horses, are much taller than the horses in Japan, so riding radish and grape in Japan is too eye-catching.

In fact, on the road from northern Oshu to Owari, Ogata and the others have encountered many troubles because the radishes and grapes are too conspicuous.

It became inconvenient to ride radishes and grapes in mainland Japan, so Ogata and the others simply put the two horses in this village and let the people of this village take care of them for them to retrieve them later.

When handing over the radishes and grapes to the village chief, Ogata slipped 3 taels of gold to the village chief as a care fee for the two horses.

The village chief was reluctant to accept it at first, but in the end it was Ogata who forcibly gave the three taels of gold to the village chief.

Ogata has a deep understanding of how troublesome raising horses is. In addition, they left this time, and they don't know how long it will take to come back to get the horses back.

Owari is not far from Kyoto, and between the two places is a vast flat land composed of the Nobi Plain and the Kinki Plain. It took too much time to arrive in the long-awaited Kyoto!

...

...

Kyoto, somewhere——

"Oh, my guests, take a quick look! I have the latest Nanman goods here!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Be careful not to hit this truck of goods!"

"The weather in Kyoto is getting more and more outrageous. It's still far away from summer, but it's already so hot..."

...

The various words that came to Ogata's ears were basically the Kyoto dialect that he was quite familiar with.

At this time, Ogata, who was in a busy city in Kyoto, looked at the lively scene in front of him, and a smile appeared on Ogata's face.

"It's been a long time..." Ogata muttered softly.

"Yeah." Atachi, who was standing beside Ogata, also nodded with a smile at this moment, "It's been a long time since I've seen this city..."

While Ogata and Acho were feeling the revisit of the old place, Azuki looked at everything around him with bright eyes: "Is this Kyoto... The atmosphere is completely different from other cities... The Emperor lives in Where in Kyoto?"

It was the first time for Azhu to visit this ancient capital with a history of hundreds of years. The surrounding scenery and objects, as well as the distinctive Kyoto dialect that came to his ears, were particularly novel in Azhu's eyes.

"The Emperor should live in the Imperial Palace." A-cho said casually.

"Where is the imperial residence?" Azhu asked.

"What?" A-Machi smiled playfully at A-Zhu, "Do you really want to visit the Imperial Palace?"

"That's not true." A Zhu shook his head like a rattle, "I just want to see how dilapidated the Imperial Palace is. I've heard it before—the emperor is miserable, just a puppet for the shogunate to manipulate."

"Even the money needed for daily life is provided by the shogunate, which is very miserable. If the shogunate stops providing money to the emperor, the emperor and the others can only make a living by selling calligraphy and paintings."

"Because the emperor doesn't have much money left, I heard that the imperial residence is all dilapidated."

"It is generally true, but some places are exaggerated." Ogata smiled, "Although I have never seen the Imperial Palace, I heard that the Emperor is not so downcast that even the Imperial Palace is in dilapidated condition."

"The emperor is actually not a puppet at the mercy of the shogunate. After all, he is the lord of Japan in name. He still has some influence. The shogunate cannot completely ignore the emperor and the court in certain matters. "

After saying that, Ogata stretched vigorously.

"Okay, don't stand here stupidly."

Ogata took the lead to walk towards an intersection not far away, and A-cho and Azuki who were walking on his left and right sides hurriedly followed.

"One... Mashima-sama." Azuki, who almost called out "Issei-sai-sama" in front of the public, hurriedly changed his words, "Where does your friend live in Kyoto?"

When he first set off for Kyoto, Ogata told Azuki that they were going to Kyoto next, and they were looking for an old friend of his who lived in Kyoto.

"He lives quite far from here." Ogata said, "He lives in an unremarkable town in Kyoto."

"Oh! So are we going to go directly to him now?" Azhu asked.

"It's not in a hurry." Ogata said, "Before looking for him, I have to buy some greetings. After all, he is both my friend and my elder. It is really rude to go to see him empty-handed."

After saying that, Ogata turned his head and asked A-cho:

"A-Ming, what do you think is the best gift for him?"

Instead of thinking about it on my own, I might as well ask Machi, who has the longest friendship with that person.

"Hmm..." Ah-Ming pondered for a moment, "As far as I know, he doesn't like flashy decorations or anything like that, so I think it's okay to give him something delicious."

"I remember he seemed to have a sweet tooth, so let's give him some."

Ogata nodded: "Then buy some sweets."

Ogata stopped a passerby and asked where he could sell high-quality dim sum.

After learning that there is a tea house not far away that sells all kinds of famous Kyoto confectionery (the general name of Kyoto's special snacks), Obiri led A-machi and Azuki to the tea house.

After entering the tea house, Ooman directly asked a saidai (the merchant's clerk) who happened to be free inside to ask what types of confectionery your store sells.

This tea house sells quite a few kinds of Kyo confectionery. After Ogata picked out the sweet Kyo confectionery, Teyo warmly invited Ogata and the others to sit down at a table that was still vacant.

"Guest officer! Please wait a moment! We will make the Jing Guozi you want right away! Do you need some tea?"

Ogata turned his head and cast a questioning look at A-Machi and A-Zhu.

Both of them nodded, and Ogata happened to be a little thirsty right now, so he raised three fingers at Tedai: "Then I'll have three cups of the best tea you have here."

"Okay!"

Tedai left after a while, and brought up 3 cups of steaming tea at just the right temperature.

I don't know how long it will take to make this Jing Guozi. In order to pass the boring time, Ogata sips the tea in his cup while looking around.

Tea house, izakaya, and bathhouse—these three places are the three major social places for the common people of this era.

Judging from the attendance rate, the popularity of this tea house is really high. It is obviously not the time period with the most passenger flow, but 80% of the seats are still full.

While drinking tea and eating Jingguo, the guests chattered wildly.

Ogata had no intention of eavesdropping on the conversations of the people around him, but the conversation of the guests at the next table was so loud that Ogata could not listen to it.

"Hey! Have you heard that! His Majesty the Emperor is very angry now." An old man with freckles all over his face was bluffing.

"Too angry? Why?"

"Why else?" Freckles said in a lively tone, "It's not because the 10,000 coalition forces of the shogunate and the Northeast feudal clans were defeated by Ogata Yidaosai in Ezo."

Ogata's pupils shrank slightly, and then followed the sound to look at the guests at the next table—while turning his gaze away, Ogata raised his hand and slightly lowered the bamboo hat on his head.

Not only was Ogata's attention attracted by the conversation at the next table, but A-cho and Azuki's attention was also drawn.

"Ogata Yidao Zhai defeated an army of ten thousand?" A man with the same figure as a bamboo pole looked shocked, "When did this happen?"

"Don't you know? At about the beginning of this year, the shogunate launched a 10,000-strong army to conquer Ezo in the Ezo region, but for some reason it attracted the attack of Ogata Yidaosai, and the 10,000 troops were attacked by Ogata Yidaosai Single-handedly beaten to the ground! The shogunate army killed and injured more than a thousand people!"

Freckles made a few awkward swinging movements, and then continued:

"Ogata Yidao Zhai should be regarded as a great swordsman who has never been seen before and who has never come before... Repelling an army of 10,000 by himself... Storytellers dare not say that."

"Fart! You're talking nonsense!" A pimple-faced uncle sneered, "How could Yidao Zhai repel the shogunate army by himself? He had companions at the time! A group of cavalry from the country of Lucia came from the side Help! Moreover, the shogunate did not mobilize an army of 10,000, and the total number of troops participating in that battle was only 5,000!"

"Ah?" Freckles looked at the pimple-faced uncle with displeasure, "You said what I just said was wrong, so are what you said are completely correct?"

Uncle with pimples all over his face: "Anyway, it must be more accurate than yours."

These two freckle-faced and acne-faced uncles started a fierce dispute over whose version was more accurate.

At this time, Ogata silently withdrew his gaze and drank his tea calmly.

At this time, Tedai happened to walk towards Ogata holding a large cardboard box.

"Guest officer! I kept you waiting for a long time! Come! This is your Beijing fruit."

"Well, thank you very much." Ogata put down the empty teacup in his hand, and ended up with this box of Jing Guozi, "A-machi, Azuki, let's go."

Ogata supported the extremely low bamboo hat, and quickly walked out of the tea house.

As soon as he walked out of the tea house, Azuki hurried to Ogata's side, looked up at Ogata's face hidden under the bamboo hat, lowered his voice and said in astonishment:

"Ma, Mashima-san, have you... really done such a powerful thing in Ezo?"

"It's just a trivial matter." Ogata smiled calmly.

Ever since Azuki joined the gang, Ogata has never told the kid about the feat he had done in Ezo.

One is because it is more troublesome to explain.

Secondly, it is because there is no need to spend more time to inform specifically, after all, one day his feat will spread throughout Japan.

The defeat of the 10,000-strong army—even if the shogunate wanted to block the news, it was doomed to only block it for a while, not for a lifetime.

If only hundreds or thousands of troops were defeated, there would still be a way to block the news, but the defeat of tens of thousands of troops would be a miracle if the news could be blocked perfectly.

Ogata had expected that the world would one day know that his executioner Yidaosai had once again slapped the shogunate's ears vigorously, so Ogata was not surprised by the scene where the uncles in the teahouse were discussing his deeds just now. surprise.

After witnessing the scene at the teahouse just now, Ogata’s only thought was——Kyoto really deserves to be one of Japan’s three major metropolises... The speed of news circulation is much faster than other cities.

Previously, no matter from the northern part of Oshu to Owari, or later from Owari to Kyoto, Ogata had not heard anyone discussing his defeat of the shogunate army in any city, town or village.

Ogata conjectured—after a while, the news that he had defeated the shogunate army would probably center on the three major cities of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka, gradually spread and radiate to the whole country.

At this moment, Azhu's chin seemed to be in a state of falling off at any moment.

"Really, Mashima-sama..." Azuki stammered, "So, so you, you, you, are you really doing such a thing in Ezo...!"

"About this matter, I will slowly tell you the cause and effect in detail later." Ogata continued to maintain a calm smile, "Now go to my old friend and senior."

...

...

When Ogata and the others had just left the tea house——

While the two freckled and acne-prone uncles were still arguing blushing, a certain young man calmly stuffed a piece of red and white steamed bun into his mouth: "Speaking of it——I have also heard about it. What about the rumors?"

The young man's words attracted the attention of many people nearby.

"This embarrassing act of the shogunate made His Majesty the Emperor furious." The young man took a sip of tea, "So in order to appease the anger of His Majesty the Emperor, Nakamatsudaira decided that he seemed to be in this capital city right now, apologizing to His Majesty the Emperor. "

"Master Lao Zhong, is he in Kyoto now?!" Someone exclaimed.

"I don't know." The young man shrugged his shoulders. "I just heard that it is so. After all, the whereabouts of people like the old middle-aged and adults are impossible to let ordinary people like us know."

"Hmph, if Matsudaira Sadanobu really came to apologize to His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty would never let Matsudaira Sadanobu go so simply." A certain uncle shrugged, "Since the 'Zunhao incident', Matsudaira Sadanobu and His Majesty's The relationship is extremely bad, and His Majesty the Emperor will definitely not let go of this opportunity to ruthlessly disgust Sadako."

"Being disgusted by His Majesty the Emperor is nothing more than a trivial matter to the old man." The young man who mentioned that the old man may be in Kyoto now said, "How to guard against those forces in the shogunate who oppose him?" ——This is a big deal for the current old middle-aged adults.”

"There are already many people who are very dissatisfied with the reforms that Mr. Lao Zhong has implemented since he took office. Those who oppose Mr. Lao Zhong cannot use this defeat as a bargaining chip to impeach and attack Mr. Lao Zhong."

...

...

Although the last time he came to Kyoto was last summer, Ogata still remembered the route to that adult's hermitage clearly.

Walking straight along the route in memory, the home where the adult lived is within reach.

"Master Yidao Zhai." Because there was no one else around, A Zhu switched his title to Yi Dao Zhai, "How far is it from where your friend lives?"

"It's almost there." Ogata said.

"Master Yidao Zhai, your friend...couldn't be some extraordinary big shot?" A Zhu shrank his neck.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Because... During this period of time, when I asked you what kind of person that friend is, you have been keeping it secret... He shouldn't be some big man who would cause trouble just by knowing his name...? If he He is really such a character, so don't tell me his name..."

"Hahaha, well..." Ogata laughed a few times, "It's nothing like that."

That adult is now a hermit, and he has decided to spend the rest of his life in this capital.

As a hermit, he naturally didn't want too many people to know his true identity, so Ogata deliberately didn't tell Azuku his old senior's name and what kind of person he was.

"He's just an ordinary old man in Kyoto who can be seen everywhere." Ogata said casually, "So when we meet him, just get along with him with a normal heart. He is a very easy-going old man who is easy to get along with. "

"An ordinary old man in Kyoto..." Azuki nodded, "That's fine...as long as there are no scary people whose names you don't even know..."

While talking, Ogata and the others had already stood in front of an old house that was very familiar to Ogata and Atachi.

Looking at the old house in front of him, Ogata had mixed feelings.

He took a deep breath, and was about to shout "Is anyone home" at the door——

Boom boom boom!

Encouraging footsteps suddenly sounded from behind the door.

Wow!

The wooden door was pulled open, and the person who opened the door was a young man whom Ogata and the others had never met.

And then……

Crash!

The sound of iron chains swinging sounded.

boom!

There was a muffled sound behind the young man who suddenly opened the door.

The young man rolled his eyes and fell face down heavily on the ground.

After the young man fell, Ogata and the others were finally able to clearly see the scene behind the young man.

Behind the young man was a bald old man who was taking back the thrown iron chain little by little.

"Oh... I'm really old... I'm not sure... Huh? Komachi?! Why are you here?"

After the young man fell to the ground, the old man also found Ogata and the others standing in front of the door.

"...Nah."

At this time, Ogata heard Azuki's voice beside him.

Azuki turned his head, looked up at Ogata, and blinked her big eyes.

"Can ordinary old people in Kyoto easily knock people to the ground with iron chains?"

*****

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Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a monthly pass! Begging for a monthly ticket while crying with a leopard head (Leopard head cry.jpg)

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