I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

After a brief chat with Curator Hosho, finally—the door of Chiyoza opened.

Several people dressed as staff stood outside the door, directing the spectators to enter the venue in an orderly manner.

After the door opened, Ogata and Atachi followed the flow of people and entered.

As soon as he passed through the gate, Obi saw Nishino Jiro.

Nishino Jiro stood outside the door, as if he was looking for someone, he tiptoed, kept moving his gaze, and kept looking around the crowd.

After seeing Ogata, he raised his hand high, waved it vigorously, and shouted loudly to Ogata:

"Master Mashima! Please come here!"

Seeing that Nishino Erlang called him over, Oo conveniently told Director Baosheng next to him that he was excused, and then led Ah Ding towards Nishino Erlang.

"Mashima-sama, Mashima-sama, good evening! You are here so early."

As soon as Ogata came to Nishino Erlang, he greeted the two of Ogata very warmly.

"Yeah." Ogata smiled and nodded, "Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I waited outside the Chiyo seat in advance."

"Then Mashima-sama, you came earlier than me." Nishino Jiro said with a smile, "I just came here just now. Mashima-sama, come with me, and I will take you to your seats. Your seats are the same as mine. The seats are next to each other."

"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "I'm sorry to trouble you."

"Hahaha, it's just a trivial matter!"

Nishino Jiro led Ogata and the two of them around Chiyoza with ease.

Soon, a vast stage appeared within Ogata's field of vision.

A large number of lighting candles are placed around the stage, illuminating the stage as if it were daytime.

The scene is already set up on the stage.

Below the stage is a densely packed auditorium.

The auditorium is divided into grades and grades according to the distance from the stage.

Seats that are closer to the stage are more expensive and vice versa.

Under the backstage operation of Nishino Jiro, Ogata and Atachi sat in the best seats closest to the stage—and it didn’t cost a penny.

These seats, which are very close to the stage, are also equipped with cushions so that the sitters can sit more comfortably.

"Mashima-sama! This is our place!"

Nishino Jiro's position is on the left of Ogata, and A-machi's position is on the right of Ogata.

As soon as his buttocks sat on the cushion, Nishino Jiro continued to say:

"It will take a while before the official start, so let's wait slowly for now."

A-Machi turned his head and glanced at the seat behind him.

"There are so many people..." Ah-Ming murmured.

"Hahaha." Nishino Jiro said in a proud tone, "Everyone is looking forward to "One Knife Studio"! From today to the next 7 days, the tickets are all sold out."

"All sold out?" Ogata exclaimed in a low voice.

"Yeah." Nishino Erlang nodded, "I also just found out about it from Treasure Island House.

Tickets were sold out, and the popularity was beyond Treasure Island House's imagination. "

"I just hope that all the spectators who are looking forward to it can come back happily..."

When he said these words, Nishino Jiro unconsciously clenched his hands on his knees, and a little nervousness flashed in his eyes.

...

...

The waiting time is often boring.

There is still a little time until the official opening.

In order to pass this boring waiting time, Ogata decided to talk to Nishino Jiro about the idea of ​​"adapting Kabuki based on the deeds of Kabuki" that he had just suddenly thought of.

"Nishino-kun, do you know about the impure fasting of the gods?"

"Shendu unclean fast?" Nishino looked blank, "I don't know."

Ogata had long expected that Nishino would answer with a blank face like this. After all, Nishino is also a younger generation. It is normal not to know this swordsman who has disappeared for more than forty years. In the entire Baosheng Sword Gym, only the curator Baosheng knows this character.

"He is a famous swordsman in the Ou area."

Ogata said slowly.

"It can be regarded as a great hero. I think his story is quite suitable for adaptation into Kabuki."

"Oh?" Nishino Jiro's eyes lit up with interest, "A swordsman... Mashima-sama, can you tell me about this person in detail?"

...

...

Located in the northernmost part of Japan, the Matsumae Domain, in name, the entire Ezo land belongs to the Matsumae Domain.

Of course, only in name only.

In essence, the Matsumae Domain can only control a small piece of land at the southern end of Ezo, and the total number of stones is only a pitiful 10,000 stones.

Overall, it is a poor little fan.

But this poor little fan has become more and more lively in recent years-but not on a positive level.

First, Ezo became more and more restless. Not long ago, in the first year of Kansei (AD 1789), a rebellion broke out among the Ezo people in Kunasi Limenasi.

Located in the northernmost part of Japan and adjacent to the sphere of influence of the Ezo, the Matsumae Domain has always been obliged to monitor the movement of the Ezo.

A large-scale rebellion broke out among the Ezo, and the Matsumae Domain naturally needed to send troops to quell it.

However, the scale of the rebellion that broke out in Limenasi in Kunasi was quite large, and the power of the Matsumae clan alone was unable to quell it.

In the end, it was with the help of the shogunate that they finally put down the Ezo who had revolted in Kunasi Limenasi.

In addition to Ezo becoming restless, the country of Lucia on the other side of the ocean also began to make small movements.

In order to guard against the country of Lucia, the shogunate had no choice but to send a legion to station in the Matsumae Domain to monitor and guard against the country of Lucia.

Then——today, another big event happened.

That is - the current senior middleman of the shogunate: After spending nearly a month, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally came to Matsumae Castle, the capital of Matsumae Clan today.

...

...

In the third year of Kanzheng, January 1st, at night——

Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Castle——

In the spring of last year, the general Inamori, who was entrusted by Matsudaira Sadanobu to command the regiments stationed at the forefront of the north, was wearing the most formal dress and sitting in a spacious room.

There are currently 5,000 shogunate troops stationed in the north.

The headquarters of General Inamori's regiment was established at Matsumae Castle.

As the general of the legion, Inamori naturally lived in Matsumae Castle for a long time.

When Matsudaira Jonobu arrived at Matsumae Castle this afternoon, Inamori led the senior generals of all the troops currently staying in the city, and accompanied the Matsudaira Domain lords and ministers out of the city to welcome Matsudaira Jonobu.

A few hours after welcoming Matsudaira Jonobu into the city, after dark, Inamori suddenly received a message just now: Matsudaira Jonobu wants to see him now.

After receiving this order, Inamori immediately put down all the affairs at hand, put on the most formal dress, and arrived at this room under the guidance of a special person.

At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu has not yet arrived.

Although there was no one else in the room except him, Inamori still straightened his waist, put his hands on his legs, and sat in the most standard kneeling posture.

Even though he was very tired like this, he didn't have the slightest thought of "changing the sitting position to relax before no one came".

Sitting upright like a rock, with eyes closed and meditating.

Finally—the door on the side in front of him was slowly opened.

At the same moment as the door was pulled, Inamori opened his eyes suddenly.

As the door was opened, two figures walked into the room from the opened door one after the other.

The two people who entered the room were Matsudaira Sadanobu and his surname Tachibana.

Sadanobu Matsudaira walked ahead, while Tachibana was holding the saber of Sadanobu Matsudaira, maintaining a certain distance from Sadanobu Matsudaira, and followed closely behind Sadanobu Matsudaira.

After entering the room at a moderate pace, Matsudaira Sadanobu did not choose to sit on his knees, but crossed his legs and sat cross-legged in front of Inamori very casually.

Tachibana, on the other hand, held Matsudaira Sadanobu's saber respectfully, and knelt behind Matsudaira Sadanobu's side in an extremely standard posture.

As a personal servant, one of the jobs Xiao Xing often needs to do is to hold the sword for his lord.

When one's lord meets someone, he holds the lord's saber and sits behind the lord's side to increase the lord's prestige.

After Matsudaira Sadanobu entered the room, Inamori immediately put his hands on the tatami underneath, and then bowed his head to salute Matsudaira Sadanobu.

After Matsudaira Sadanobu sat down in front of Inamori, he said to Inamori who quickly put his forehead on the tatami:

"Inamori, look up."

"yes!"

After Inamori raised his head, Matsudaira Sadanobu continued:

"Inamori, you don't need to be restrained, just sit casually like me."

After finishing speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu lightly patted his legs which were crossed casually.

As soon as his words fell, Inamori shook his head immediately.

"How can I do such rude things in front of the old and middle-aged adults?"

Seeing that Inamori insisted on sitting upright, Matsudaira Sadanobu didn't say any more.

After seriously looking at Inamori's face several times, Matsudaira Sadanobu twitched the corner of his mouth and revealed a faint smile.

"Inamori, it's been a while since I saw you."

"You seem to have lost some weight since you left Ji Yi half a year ago."

"Eat well at ordinary times, pay attention to rest, don't work too hard."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhong, for your concern!" Inamori replied respectfully, then bowed his head that had just gotten up not long ago, and saluted Matsudaira Sadanobu again.

When raising his head again, Inamori continued.

"Compared to the hard work of the old, middle-aged and adults, this little hardship is not worth mentioning!"

There was no flattery in Inamori's words.

He said this with all his heart.

Inamori has always held a feeling of admiration for Matsudaira Sadanobu.

He admires Matsudaira Sadanobu quite a lot, whether it is Matsudaira Sadanobu's talent or his diligence, Inamori admires him with all his heart.

In order to inspect the land of Ezo with his own eyes, he did not hesitate to go north by himself.

In the New Year of the second year of Kanzheng, Matsudaira Sadanobu spent it on the road.

It took nearly a month, and today, that is, the afternoon of January 1st, I successfully arrived at the Matsumae Castle of the Matsumae Domain.

Then this evening, he called Inamori over.

Inamori is still very clear about Matsudaira Sadanobu's character.

Sadanobu Matsudaira almost never does unnecessary and meaningless things.

Inamori dared to conclude that the reason why Matsudaira Sadanobu called him on the first day of his arrival at Matsumae Castle was definitely not to simply greet him, but to talk to him about some serious matters.

Regarding Inamori's compliment just now, Matsudaira Sadanobu just smiled.

Then he exchanged pleasantries with Inamori.

Inamori responded to Matsudaira Sadanobu's greetings one by one.

While responding, Inamori's gaze drifted unconsciously to Tachibana who was sitting behind Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was holding Matsudaira Sadanobu's saber.

No.

To be precise, Inamori's eyes drifted to the saber of Matsudaira Sadanobu who was being held in Tachibana's arms.

Looking at the knife in Tachibana's arms, Inamori's eyes uncontrollably burst into fiery light.

As the most powerful person in the shogunate besides the general, Matsudaira Sadanobu's saber is naturally not ordinary.

The saber used by Matsudaira Sadanobu is the famous Chosone Toru.

Long Zene Hutoru is actually the name of a swordsmith.

Because of the superb skills and the extraordinary quality of the knives made, all knives made by Choso Ni Kotoru are called "Nagaso Ni Kotoru".

So "Chang Zeng Ni Tiger Toru" can be regarded as a brand name. There are quite a few Nagsone Toru in the world.

Nagasoni, the legendary swordsmith, has passed away, so there will no longer be a new Kotoru in the world.

Although Nagazene forged many swords when he was still alive, but because the swords he forged were already famous when he was still alive, there are many fakes circulating on the market.

Because Huche's reputation is so great and its quality is so good, even Huche's fakes are often sold at sky-high prices.

Even if you pay 100 taels of gold, you may not be able to buy a fake Huche.

Up to now, due to the prevalence of counterfeit products, there have been 100 tigers, 99 of which are all fake.

Finding the real Nagzene Toru - this may be quite difficult for ordinary people, but it is not impossible for the shogunate.

When Matsudaira Sadanobu took office as the new and old middle school, the current shogun Tokugawa Iezari gave Matsudaira Sadanobu a genuine long sone tiger toru.

Since then, this long Soni Kotoru has become Matsudaira Sadanobu's saber.

It's just that I have never used this long Zengni Tiger Toru.

After all, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who is under one person and above ten thousand people, never encounters a situation where he needs to draw his sword to fight by himself.

Although he had never used this long sone toru, Josanobu Matsudaira had someone come to test the sword after he received it from the general.

And the genuine Nagzeni Tiger Toru is also worthy of its reputation-6 corpses stacked on top of each other, and the 6 corpses were cut open with just one knife.

After cutting the 6 stacked corpses from top to bottom, the blade was still like being inserted into paper, and the blade easily cut into the soil below.

After testing the knife, I picked it up and took a look - there was not even a gap on it.

As a samurai, Inamori is also one of the few generals in the country, these treasured swords have a strong temptation for him.

The saber that Inamori is currently using is just a "more powerful ordinary product", far from being called a treasured sword.

It has always been Inamori's dream to own a precious sword like Nagsone Kotoru.

Even if I can't own it, I want to try to wield such a treasured sword to fight -- even if it's just once.

It is always rude to stare at other people's sabers all the time, so Inamori only glanced at Matsudaira Sadanobu's saber a few times, and Inamori took his gaze back.

After briefly chatting with Inamori about family matters, Matsudaira Sadanobu's tone suddenly became serious.

"Inamori, the reason why I called you here tonight is actually to ask you something."

The last sentence was still talking about family life, and the next sentence suddenly changed to talk about serious things-this is one of the characteristics of Matsudaira Sadanobu's speech.

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu's words fell, Inamori straightened his waist immediately, putting on an appearance of listening attentively.

"You don't need to be so formal." Matsudaira Sadanobu waved his hand, "Relax and answer with a relaxed mind."

"What I want to ask is not a difficult question to answer."

"Inamori, between the time you sent a letter back to Edo and the time I arrived here, did the Lucians have any new changes?"

After hearing this question from Matsudaira Sadanobu, Inamori secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

He was summoned suddenly by Matsudaira Sadanobu tonight, so he didn't make any preparations.

Therefore, he was quite worried about being asked some difficult questions by Matsudaira Sadanobu.

Knowing that it was such an easy-to-answer question, Inamori's original hanging stone also dropped.

While feeling relieved, he also admired Matsudaira Sadanobu even more.

Arriving at the front line a few hours ago, and immediately throwing himself into work a few hours later--this seriousness makes Inamori feel ashamed.

After clearing his throat and organizing his words, Inamori said seriously:

"During the past two months, the people of Lucia have remained the same as usual, and there have been no new changes."

"Just running around in Ezo land."

"However, half a month ago, I successfully collected some new information about the Lucians."

"Oh?" Sadanobu Matsudaira raised his eyebrows, "New information? Let's hear it."

"Yes. According to my investigation, the Lucians who are currently haunting Ezo don't seem to have a unified commander."

"Each group of Lucia people act independently and do their own thing."

"Do things independently?" Matsudaira Sadanobu frowned a little deeper.

"Different Lucians have different things to do."

"Some didn't do any damage, they just ran around and investigated the terrain of Ezo."

"Some not only investigate the terrain of Ezo, but also take the initiative to provoke Ezo, and then conflict with Ezo."

"However, so far, no Lucian has taken the initiative to provoke us and others."

What Heren is to Japan is similar to what the Han people are to Tang soil.

"The Lucians seem to be avoiding us on purpose."

"After seeing us and people from a distance, they will leave immediately."

"...are they doing their own thing?" Matsudaira Sadanobu muttered, silently digesting the important news that Inamori just said.

"Although they are not affiliated with each other, the weapons they use are basically the same." Inamori continued, "No matter what kind of Lucia people they are, they all wear strange scimitars, use iron cannons without matchlocks, and ride on horseback. Tall horses."

"According to the generals who witnessed the Lucians, the horses the Lucians ride are much taller than our horses, and those Lucians are very good at riding, coming and going like the wind."

When the Lucians started their frequent operations in Ezo, people from the Matsumae Domain sent a letter to Edo, reporting basic information about the appearance and equipment of the Lucians.

That's why the Lucians all use strange scimitars and iron cannons without matchlocks—Sadanobu Matsudaira knew about them a long time ago.

The shogunate has been requiring businessmen who do business with foreign countries to submit "wind talk posts" describing foreign affairs.

Matsudaira Sadanobu has read the "Feng Shuo Posts" submitted by these businessmen - although in the eyes of Matsudaira Sadanobu, except for Japan, Tangtu, North Korea and other countries, other countries are barbarian countries .

Because I have read some Fengshuo posts that briefly introduced the country of Lucia, Sadanobu Matsudaira still has a little understanding of the country of Lucia.

Know that it, like the Netherlands, is one of the Western countries established by the Southern Barbarians. But the land area is very large.

The southern barbarians now all use an iron cannon without a matchlock-this is no secret in the shogunate.

So a long time ago, Matsudaira Sadanobu was not surprised to learn that these Lucians on the Ezo land also used iron cannons without matchlocks—after all, they are also Nanban.

As for the horses ridden by the Lucians are much taller than the horses used by the Japanese, Matsudaira Sadanobu also learned about this from a certain report a long time ago.

In a report a long time ago, the horses ridden by the Lucians were described in detail: they are far taller and stronger than the horses used by the Japanese, and their height is basically higher than the horses used by the Japanese Half a foot (15cm) to 1 foot (30cm).

"He uses a strange scimitar, and is very good at riding..." Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled, and then continued in a half-joking tone, "Why does this sound so much like a nomad in Tangtu?"

"I really want to see what the scimitars used by these Lucians look like."

"Inamori, have you successfully confiscated the Lucian's knife so far?"

Hearing Matsudaira Sadanobu's question, Inamori's face showed a bit of embarrassment.

"I'm very sorry. Because the Lucians ran away when they saw us, we haven't had a conflict with the Lucians so far, so we haven't managed to confiscate a Lucian knife."

"That's it... Forget it, there will be a chance in the future."

"Inamori, go ahead and report."

"My lord, I'm very sorry. This is the only new piece of information I've found so far." The embarrassment on Inamori's face still persisted.

"Is it gone?"

Matsudaira Sadanobu raised his eyebrows.

"Forget it. It's a great reward to know that these Lucians who are currently haunting the Ezo land do not belong to each other and act independently."

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, Inamori suddenly seemed to remember something, and was taken aback.

Noticing Inamori's strangeness, Matsudaira Sadanobu asked:

"Inamori, what's wrong?"

"About a month ago, I received a...some strange report." Inamori hesitated, "I don't know if I want to report it to you."

"Report." Matsudaira Sadanobu said without thinking.

"Yes." Inamori cleared his throat, "About a month or so ago, a certain Ezo settlement that we were friends with had a story with a certain Chinese caravan that was doing business with them."

"Three months ago, some Lucians visited that Ezo settlement."

"The leader of that Lucian people can speak Ainu language."

"According to the description of the Ezo people in that settlement, the leader of the Lucia people has bright red hair."

"The Lucians are very gentle, they only ask questions, and they didn't do anything to the Ezoqiu in that settlement."

"After asking ordinary questions such as the surrounding terrain and whether there is any water source, I asked a... very strange question."

"Strange question?" Matsudaira Sadanobu asked.

"Yeah." Inamori nodded, "The Lucians are actually looking for someone."

"Their red-haired leader asked the Eizo people in that settlement if they knew the character 'Genichi Kinoshita'."

...

...

Oshu area, Nishikino-cho, Chiyoza——

After Ogata introduced to Nishino Jiro the deeds of the person named Shendu Bujingsai in as simple words as possible, Nishino Jiro said with bright eyes.

"Isn't it pure fasting... His story is indeed very suitable for adaptation into a Kabuki script..."

"Mashima-sama, thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known that there were such characters on Ou's side."

After thanking Ogata, Nishino Jiro asked Ogata expectantly:

"Mashima-sama, do you know the stories of other sword masters? Can you tell me about them?"

"Now I feel more and more that these swordsmen are treasure troves, and their stories often have the potential to be adapted into Kabuki scripts."

Hearing Nishino Jiro's question, Ogata smiled wryly and shook his head.

"Sorry, I don't know the stories of other swordsmen other than Shendu Bujingzhai."

What Ogata said was true.

The only person he knows who can be called a "sword hero", other than those historical figures and Shendu Bujingzhai, is Genichi.

Although he has been with Genichi for quite a long time, Ogata doesn't know much about Genichi's past.

Yuan Yi doesn't seem to like to talk about his past very much.

When he was in Edo, when Ogata was chatting with Genichi, he also took the initiative to ask Genichi to tell him about his past.

But when Ogata asked about Genichi's past, Genichi always smiled and said very modestly:

"My past was actually very boring. It was just a continuous cycle of 'going to a new place, making a new enemy, going to a new place, making a new enemy'."

Genichi so modestly claimed that his past was a "death journey of a troublemaker", and he didn't want to talk about it, and Ogata couldn't ask any more.

Ogata doesn't think that Kinoshita Genichi, who can be crowned with the title of "Sword Master", has really just been causing trouble in the past.

Sometimes Ogata can't help feeling:

In terms of swordsmanship attainments and his own past, Mr. Yuan is really humble!

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