I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

The latest website: Just hearing the name "Yamada Asemon" from Hasegawa's mouth, Sakura shook her head violently.

"No, no matter what, I don't want Yamada Asemon to help me."

Hasegawa seemed to have expected Sakura to say that, with only a slight bitterness on his face.

"Master Sakura, since you don't want Yamada Asemon to help... I can't think of any other suitable candidates..."

"Master Hasegawa." Sakura tapped his knee rhythmically with the fingers of his right hand placed on his right knee, "Don't you know other people with good skills in Edo besides Yamada Senemon? ?"

"..." Hasegawa shook his head, "Besides Yamada Asemon, I still know some people who are also very skilled..."

"It's just... I can't think of which of these people are reliable and which ones I can ask..."

"Then let's stop here for today's conversation." Sakura nodded slightly, "Master Hasegawa, after you go back, slowly think about who can entrust this important task."

"I'll give you 2 days, is that enough?"

"2 days is enough." Hasegawa nodded.

"Then—" Sakura picked up the sword placed beside him, "I will wait for your good news in my residence."

As soon as Sakura stood up, as if remembering something, she lowered her head and said to Hasegawa who was still sitting on the tatami.

"Master Hasegawa, although I know you should know it too, but let me remind you for now."

"If I can't prevent Ji Taro from winning the first place in the "Gozen Trial", I won't help you maintain the Renzu Yoyojo together."

"I hope you understand."

"...I can understand." Hasegawa nodded.

...

...

Sakura and Hasegawa stepped out of the teahouse one after the other.

Sakura's mansion,

And the headquarters of Huofu Thief Kai is located in the opposite direction, so the two bid farewell to each other after leaving the tea house, and went their separate ways.

"Master Hasegawa." After Sakura completely left the field of vision, Imai, who was walking in front and leading the way with a lantern, turned his head and asked Hasegawa behind him, "How is the talk going?"

"...I promised Master Sakura." Hasegawa smiled helplessly.

"Have you promised him..." Imai said in a deep voice.

As early as a few days ago, Sakura approached Hasegawa, and mentioned to Hasegawa that Shiranui had "will send their masters to participate in the 'Imperial Trial', in an attempt to win the first place in the military test in the 'Imperial Trial', In an attempt to restore the image".

That is to say, as early as the first meeting a few days ago, Sakura tried to recruit Hasegawa into the group.

The first meeting between the two ended without a problem.

Because Hasegawa couldn't make up his mind whether to cooperate with Sakura, he used the word "drag" and asked Sakura to give him some time to think about it after returning.

And Sakura also agreed to Hasegawa and gave Hasegawa a few days.

So—there was the second meeting between the two tonight.

Imai is Hasegawa's right-hand man.

In Huofu Thief Kai, the status is second only to Hasegawa.

As Hasegawa's confidant and possessing a high status, Imai naturally knew that Sakura and Hasegawa had a secret meeting and what the content of the meeting was.

Imai, who was very concerned about whether Hasegawa agreed to Sakura's cooperation invitation, couldn't help asking him about the outcome of the meeting immediately after Hasegawa came out and Sakura left.

After learning from Hasegawa that Hasegawa had agreed to cooperate with Sakura, Imai's face darkened.

"...Master Hasegawa." Imai smiled wryly, "I thought you would reject Master Sakura... Don't you always keep a respectful distance from this kind of political struggle?"

"I originally wanted to reject Sakura." Hasegawa followed Imai with a bitter expression on his face, "But the conditions Master Sakura offered me are too generous..."

"Master Sakura promised me that if you can successfully prevent Ji Taro from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trial', help me maintain the Renzu Yoyojo together."

"Really?" As soon as Hasegawa's voice fell, Imai showed excitement.

"Of course, the premise is that you can successfully prevent Ji Taro from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trial'." Hasegawa shrugged with a wry smile.

"...The condition is indeed very generous." Imai shook his head helplessly, "I can understand why Hasegawa-sama agreed to cooperate with Sakura-sama."

"We really lack allies now..."

Speaking of this, Imai Nagao sighed.

"Many officials in the shogunate, including the old and middle-aged adults, feel that our Renzuojima is of no use other than wasting money..."

"I don't think money should be wasted teaching those prisoners to have a skill."

"Why don't they understand?"

Imai showed a look of indignation.

"Giving skills to offenders who have committed minor crimes can greatly reduce their chances of reoffending."

"Why do they all think that our foot deposit is a waste of money..."

"...Some of them understand." Hasegawa sighed softly, "At least——Sir Matsudaira Sadanobu, who is in the high position of the old middle school, must know the benefits of establishing a foothold of."

"Sir Matsudaira Sadanobu, he is now in full swing carrying out the shogunate reform."

"There are a lot of places that are in dire need of money."

"So Mr. Matsudaira Sadanobu, what he dislikes most now is people who waste money."

"The reason why Mr. Matsudaira Sadanobu changed his ways to put pressure on me and forced me to shut down the Renzujiao is just because he thinks that there are still many things that are prioritized over the operation of Renzuyu."

After all, Hasegawa let out a burst of anger.

"However—no matter what Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama says, I will not shut down the Renzujiu."

Imai nodded solemnly and said:

"If we can have Master Sakura's support, our pressure will be much less..."

"It will also succeed in preventing Shiranui's people from taking the first place in the "Imperial Trials" martial arts test. Only then will Master Sakura be willing to help us maintain the Renzujichang together."

"Master Hasegawa." Imai asked, "Since you have already cooperated with Master Sakura, what specific work will you do?"

"The work I have to do is also very simple."

"The 'Imperial Trial' is personally organized by Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama, even Sakura-sama can't tamper with the 'Imperial Trial'."

"So if you want to prevent Shiranui's people from winning the first place in the 'Imperial Trial', there is only one way - to send a person who is strong enough to defeat Shiranui in the 'Imperial Trial'. "

"So the task Master Sakura assigned me is very simple."

"Let me send out the most elite subordinates under my command, or use my network of contacts, and let some friends with good skills participate in the "Imperial Trial". Defeat the people from Shiranui in the "Imperial Trial".

"Then it's very simple!" Imai shouted with a look of enthusiasm, "We have a lot of talented people who can be transformed into thieves, and there are no less than ten people who can count one as ten."

"Master Sakura knows how to find someone."

"If you're looking for someone with high strength, Hasegawa-sama who owns the Huofu Thief Kai, you are indeed the best candidate."

A wry smile appeared on Hasegawa's face again.

"Imai, do you know who Shiranui sent to participate in the 'Gozen Trial'?"

"have no idea."

"They sent Kyutaro."

"...The one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings', Kyutaro?"

"You actually know him."

"Master Hasegawa, no matter what I say, he is also the deputy chief of Huofu Thief Kai. I also know these things."

"That's right, that's Ji Taro, one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui, and one of the four strongest Jonin in Shiranui."

"Although I haven't seen him with my own eyes. But I have also heard about his strength."

"Most of our Huofu Thief Kai's elites have been transferred to the northeast to capture Aoi Ichiro."

"I don't think any of these people staying in Edo now have the ability to defeat Kyutaro..."

"... Then I can only ask some friends with good skills." Imai said in a deep voice.

"I just recommended Yamada Asemon to Sakura-sama."

Hasegawa shrugged.

"It's a pity that Master Sakura rejected it without hesitation."

After hearing the name "Yamada Asemon", Imai's face changed slightly, and he shrank his neck.

Looking at Imai who showed such a reaction, Hasegawa said to Imai in a joking tone:

"What? Imai, are you also afraid of the Yamada Asemon family?"

"Of course." Imai admitted directly, "Normal people would be afraid of the Yamada Asemon family..."

"I once went to the residence of the Yamada Asemon family for some things."

"As soon as I stepped into their mansion, I smelled a faint smell of corpses..."

"Not only that, but I also happened to see their family's servants moving a somewhat decomposed corpse into the backyard of their mansion."

"It is said that the corpse was used by the young people of their family to train and misuse it."

"I think that family is abnormal... If possible, I don't want to have any contact with people from that family for the rest of my life."

"Maybe Sakura-sama, like me, didn't want to have any contact with the Yamada Asemon family, so he refused..."

"Maybe." Hasegawa shrugged, "Master Sakura has always been rigid."

"He has always felt that the executioners who plunder other people's names—even those from the Yamada Senemon family—are still unclean."

"If you have contacts with such unclean people, you will also be unlucky."

"That's probably why Sakura-sama didn't want people from the Yamada Asemon family to help."

"Also, I heard that Sakura-sama has always criticized the behavior of the Yamada Asemon family's behavior of using human courage to make "human courage pills"."

"This may be one of the reasons why Sakura-sama doesn't want people from the Yamada Asemon family to help."

"I think it's okay for the Yamada Asemon family to use human gallbladders to make medicine." Imai muttered, "Anyway, the gallbladder they use is the gallbladder of dead people."

"Using the guts of a dead person to make medicine to save people, I think it's a good thing."

"It would be even better if the price of the 'Rendan Wan' could be lower..."

"In short." Hasegawa sighed, "Since Sakura-sama doesn't want the Yamada Asemon family to help, I can only find someone else..."

"But among the people I know who are capable, none of them seem to be the kind who have great hopes of defeating Ji Taro..."

Hasegawa looked at Imai.

"Imai, do you know anyone who is very skilled?"

Imai shook his head with a bitter face.

"Forget it." Hasegawa shook his head with a helpless look on his face, "Let's think about the right candidate slowly later."

"If possible, I really want to fight against the ninjas in Shiranui." Imai smiled, "I have never fought against ninjas before."

"Speaking of which—the shogunate used to include ninjas as 'royal ninjas' like it does now."

"You're talking about Iga no Sato, right?" Hasegawa smiled. "You're right. Lord Ieyasu established the Edo Shogunate, and indeed he incorporated 'Iga no Sato' as the royal ninja troop of the shogunate."

"It's a pity that 'Iga no Sato' died 40 years ago due to civil strife."

"Now that I think about it carefully, I'm really emotional."

"Two hundred years ago, the five great ninjas of the Sengoku period——Iga no Sato, Koga no Sato, Fuma no Sato, Manten no Sato, and Togakushi no Sato—are all extinct now."

"Currently in the whole country, only the Shiranui family of ninjas is left."

"And when Shiranui was in the Warring States Period, he was just a little-known ninja who relied on Lord Taiko to survive."

"The little-known Shiranui in the past has now become the only remaining ninja family, and now it is still the royal ninja of the shogunate just like Iga no Sato."

"The changes in the world are really unpredictable."

"From a certain point of view, Master Taiko is Shiranui's benefactor."

"Without Taiko-sama's help, Shiranui, who was weak at that time, might have perished long ago."

"Master Taiko..." Imai seemed to have remembered something, with a thoughtful look on his face, "I have heard of many anecdotes between Master Taiko and Shiranui."

"I heard that Shiranui also participated in the two decisive battles in which Ieyasu attacked Toyotomi's house - the Osaka Winter Battle and the Osaka Summer Battle."

"I have also heard such rumors." Hasegawa said, "But these are just rumors after all. No one knows whether there is such a thing."

While chatting, Hasegawa and Imai unknowingly returned to the headquarters of Huofu Thief Kai, which they are most familiar with.

Outside the gate of Huofu Thief Kai headquarters, there are 2 spring lanterns.

The family crest of the Tokugawa family, the family that ruled the whole of Japan, is painted on the lantern: the three-leaf sunflower pattern.

The faint light emitted by the candlelight inside the lantern illuminates the entire gate and the wooden sign hanging on one side of the gate with the five vigorous Chinese characters "Huo Fu Thief Kai".

Looking at the wooden sign, Hasegawa and Imai had faint smiles on their faces.

Huofu Bandit Kai's headquarters is like home to them.

Coming back here is like coming home to them.

No... To be precise... For Hasegawa, returning here is indeed like returning home.

In order to facilitate his own work, Hasegawa directly moved his entire home into the headquarters.

In other words, returning to the headquarters is the same as returning home to Hasegawa.

Following through the gate of the yamen, Hasegawa and Imai saw Yamazaki walking towards them quickly.

Yamazaki is the team leader of their Huofu Thief Kai Eighth Division.

The eighth group is the only group in their Huo Fu Thief Kai that takes clerical work as its main job.

The members of the eighth group are all proficient in pen and ink.

As the leader of the Eighth Division, Yamazaki is also very trusted and relied on by Hasegawa.

Because the eighth group is mainly responsible for paperwork, Yamazaki rarely leaves the headquarters and travels far.

When Hasegawa and Imai were away, Yamazaki was basically in charge of the headquarters.

"Yamazaki." Hasegawa asked Yamazaki who was looking anxious, "What happened?"

"Master Hasegawa, something has happened." Yamazaki said in a deep voice, "Natori had a dispute with the official of the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara."

Yamazaki explained the ins and outs of the matter to Hasegawa and Imai in the simplest terms possible.

"The Sixth Division is completely wiped out?" Imai widened his eyes and exclaimed, "And it was wiped out by one person?"

"Yes." Yamazaki nodded with a heavy face, "But because the person in the sixth division of the All-Destroyer Group used the back of a sword, there were no dead or seriously injured."

"I have just sent people from the Seventh Division to bring Natori back to the headquarters, and called a doctor to treat them."

"A very burly man came here just now and said he wanted to have a good talk with us about the Sixth Division."

"Then that person..."

Yamazaki glanced at Hasegawa hesitantly.

"That person said his name is Yahachi Makimura, and he is an old acquaintance of Master Hasegawa."

"Because I'm not sure if he is really your old acquaintance, Mr. Hasegawa, so I temporarily put him in the guest room."

After hearing the name "Yahachi Makimura" from Yamazaki's mouth, Hasegawa's pupils shrank slightly.

"...I see." Hasegawa turned his head and looked at Imai, "Imai, go and see the situation of the Sixth Division."

"yes!"

"Yamazaki, take me to Makimura Yahana."

"yes!"

After Yamazaki led Hasegawa through several corridors, he came to a paper sliding door.

After Yamazaki opened the paper sliding door, Hasegawa saw a familiar figure in this room.

Mucun is now sitting cross-legged on the tatami mat.

Seeing Hasegawa coming, Mucun immediately smiled and waved to Hasegawa.

"...Yamazaki, you step back first." Hasegawa said to Yamazaki, "I want to be alone with this person for a while."

...

...

at the same time--

Somewhere not far from Huofu Thief Gai headquarters——

"Are you really not going to meet Hasegawa with Mucun? Your relationship with Hasegawa should be pretty good."

Asai, still in women's attire, asked Ogata beside him.

The two are now in a remote alley.

Ogata was leaning against a wall, playing with the leaves in his hands boredly.

Asai was leaning against the wall opposite Ogata.

Because there was no one around and there was no need to pretend anymore, Asai no longer had to raise his voice and speak like a eunuch.

After hearing Asai's question, Ogata showed a helpless smile.

"My relationship with Hasegawa...is very complicated."

"At the beginning of this year, I had a fight with Hasegawa in the Tatsuno clan."

"And then this summer, I fought side by side with Hasegawa to protect Kyoto..."

"So I can't tell whether Hasegawa and I are enemies or friends."

"I don't think Hasegawa himself can tell whether I am an enemy or a friend."

"Although I wear a human skin mask, Hasegawa should still remember my voice, so if I meet him, he should be able to recognize me quickly."

"I just burned down the castle tower of Nijo Castle three months ago."

Speaking of this, the helpless smile on Ogata's face turned into a wry smile.

"Although I didn't set the fire myself, I still bear a considerable responsibility for the burning of the castle tower of Nijo Castle."

"So in the current situation of being charged with 'burning down the castle tower of Nijo Castle', it is better for me not to meet with Hasegawa Heizo, the Chief Thief Gai who is in charge of arresting vicious thieves and arsonists."

"Just let Mucun help me negotiate with Hasegawa and report the evil deeds of the Sixth Division to Hasegawa."

"Makimura is not a wanted criminal. In Kyoto three months ago, Mucun and Hasegawa fought side by side for the longest time, and they also have a life-like friendship with Hasegawa."

"So let Mucun negotiate with Hasegawa on my behalf."

Speaking of this, Ogata paused, and then looked at the shallow well in front of him.

"Asai, go back to the hotel first. I'll wait for Mucun here."

"You help us tell everyone that Mucun and I may go back later tonight."

"I wish for it." Asai replied without thinking, "I just want to take a quick shower and wipe off this pile of things on my face."

...

...

"It's been a long time, Makimura. It's been three months since I left Kyoto."

Hasegawa knelt and sat in front of Mucun in an orderly manner.

"Yeah." Mucun nodded, "It's already October, so three months have passed. Hasegawa-sama, you are still as energetic as ever."

"I'm so busy." Hasegawa said with a bitter face, "After returning to Edo from Kyoto, various things happened one after another."

After all, Hasegawa sighed lightly.

"The longer a person lives, the faster time seems to pass."

"Three months ago, the scene of running around Kyoto with you, Shimada-kun, and Ogata Ittosai is still vivid in my mind, as if it just happened yesterday..."

Hasegawa didn't know why, but suddenly stopped in the middle of speaking.

"Ogata Yidao Zhai...?"

After muttering softly like this, Hasegawa's pupils suddenly shrank.

Then slowly raised his head and looked at Mucun in front of him.

"That's right... I remember now. Mucun-kun, you and Ogata Ittosai know each other, right?"

Then he said something that confused Mucun.

*****

*****

A few days ago, a reader asked me if women in ancient Japan did not wear underwear.

In this chapter, I will share with you some popular science about women's underwear in ancient Japan.

First answer the above question: Women in ancient Japan [all did not wear underwear or underwear]

Because there were no underwear or panties in ancient Japan.

Women in ancient Japan would wear something called [waist roll].

The "waist roll" looks like this→→

This is the underwear of ancient Japanese women. As shown in the picture, just wrap something like an apron around the waist, and the shielding effect is actually very limited.

If you lie on the ground and look up, you can still see the female breasts clearly

As for the underwear of ancient Japanese women, it looks like this→→

I can't find the name of the underwear, and the information I found only shows that it is a kind of Ruban.

Regarding the detailed introduction of these two, I will tell you in detail in the following chapters.

I know that LSP accounts for the vast majority of my readers, so you guys like to hear this type of science, right? (laugh)