I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

The bear that appeared suddenly was quite a bit bigger than the bear that Ogata and A-cho killed just now.

The bear that the two killed just now stood about 2.5 meters tall.

And this new big bear that suddenly appeared, its standing height, according to Ogata's visual inspection, is definitely more than 3 meters-almost as tall as two Atachi combined.

The dead bear lying at Ogata and Atachi's feet was still warm, and Ogata and the others' nerves were still tense.

Now a new bear appeared, and under the influence of the still tense nerves, Ogata and A-Machi quickly took out their weapons again.

A-Machi took out Su Ying, who had just put it back into his bosom.

Ogata also took out Kasumi again.

The pistols of the two have been filled with bullets just now and can be fired at any time.

This new big bear didn't jump directly like the bear just now.

After letting out a roar that sent all the surrounding birds flying away in a hurry, the bear stopped in place without making any movements.

He only looked at Ogata and A-cho from afar.

Seeing that the bear was not attacking them, A-Machi asked Ogata cautiously:

"This bear didn't rush over, could it be the kind of ordinary bear that has never eaten human flesh?"

"Who knows." Ogata replied without thinking, "Anyway—don't let your guard down."

Ogata was also slightly relieved that the bear hadn't directly attacked Ogata and Atachi - because it meant that it might just be an ordinary bear passing by by chance.

But although he breathed a sigh of relief, Ogata did not let every nerve in his body relax.

His left hand tightly held Kayanagi, ready to raise his gun and shoot at any time.

The right hand is slightly raised and the five fingers are slightly bent, so that it is easy to draw the knife.

The two of them stared wide-eyed like this.

After a while, the bear suddenly turned its head and glanced to the west of Ogata and A-machi.

Then, without looking at Ogata and A-Machi, he turned his head and walked away.

After confirming that the bear had really left, Ogata and A-Machi let out a sigh of relief at the same time in a tacit understanding.

Bears are not easy to deal with, and Ogata will feel very difficult if you don't use Su Ying and Kasumi Nagi, so anyway, it is best to avoid fighting bears.

And fighting with bears, Ogata can't get experience points.

Only when fighting humans, Ogata can gain experience points.

There is no experience value for fighting animals other than humans.

So after Ogata slaughtered the bear just now, no system sound sounded in his mind, and he didn't gain any experience points.

After letting out a sigh of relief, A-Machi put away her Su Sakura and murmured:

"Today's luck is too bad... I even met two bears one after another..."

"Fortunately, the bear didn't attack us like this bear just now. It seems to be a bear that doesn't eat human flesh."

"It turns out that as long as you look at an ordinary bear and don't do anything out of the ordinary, the bear will leave by itself..."

Ogata also put away his Kasumi at this time, and then turned to look at the dead bear at his feet that still had some warmth.

Since a bear was finally killed, it would be a great loss not to recover something of value from the dead bear.

After pondering for a while, Ogata asked A-machi solemnly:

"A-Ming, do you know how to dissect a bear's hide and take out its bile?"

"Huh? Do you want to peel off the bear's hide and sell it later?"

"It's not for sale. I just think that the bear skin and bear bile may be used to trade with the Ezo in various Ezo settlements."

"Ezo is still living in a barter settlement and does not have its own currency."

"There may not be many Ezo settlements that are willing to accept our and people's currency."

"So we hold these treasures on the bear, maybe we can exchange them for some useful things from Ezo later."

"Useful information, or useful items."

After Ogata finished speaking, A-Machi showed a look of sudden realization.

"I see."

"It makes sense... these treasures on the bear can be used as currency in the settlement of Ezo..."

"but……"

Ah-Ming showed a bitter face.

"I've never tried skinning an animal either..."

"Which one is the bear's gall, I don't know..."

Atachi's words made Ogata's face a little helpless: "I don't know how to skin a bear either..."

At this moment, Ogata's expression changed slightly, and then he quickly took out Kasumi who had just been put in his arms, and aimed his gun at a snow-covered bush on the west side of it.

"Come out." Ogata said to the bushes in a low voice.

Years of bloody battles have already allowed Ogata to cultivate a keen sense that far exceeds that of ordinary people.

It is very sensitive to the sound of footsteps.

Just now, although the sound was very soft, Ogata still heard the strange sound of snow treading in the bushes to the west of them.

Except for Ogata's far better eyesight than Ogata's, A-Ming's other senses are not as sharp as Ogata's, so he didn't hear any abnormal noises from the bushes on the west side.

But seeing Ogata suddenly took out his gun and aimed at the bushes on the west side, A-Machi could roughly guess what happened, so he quickly took out her Su Ying, and was ready to deal with all possible emergencies .

After Ogata's "come out" sounded, there was nothing unusual about the bush at first.

Then there was a sudden rustling sound.

Immediately afterwards - a young man in a strange costume walked out from behind the bush with his hands raised high.

Looking at the young man who appeared from behind the bushes, Ogata and A-Machi showed surprise on their faces.

The young man's age seems to be about 25 years old. He has facial features that are much deeper than those of the yellow race, and a thick beard hangs on his chin that can rival Zhang Fei in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

He carried a bow on his back, a short sword on his waist, and wore strange clothes that were completely different from kimonos.

The identity of this person can be said to be self-evident - it is Ezo.

This is the first human that Ogata and Atachi have encountered since they left the Matsumae domain and traveled all the way north.

Before Ogata and A-machi had time to say anything, this Ezo said in somewhat non-standard but still fluent Japanese:

"Heren, don't be nervous. I don't mean any harm. You see, I don't have any weapons in my hands."

"There is no one else but me."

This Ezo shook his raised hands as if to prove that he was not holding any weapons.

"I just heard the sound of the iron cannon and the roar of the bear, so I came here to check the situation."

Speaking of this, the Ezo turned his head, glanced at the dead bear lying at the feet of Ogata and Atachi, and then let out a low exclamation:

"It's really Unkamuyi..."

"We have been chasing it for so long, but we didn't expect it to be hunted down by the two of you."

Ezo Asaogata and Atachi cast a look of admiration.

But he quickly put away the admiration in his eyes, and then asked Ogata and the others in a serious tone:

"In addition to this bear that you have already hunted, I also heard the roar of another bear."

"What about the bear? Where did it go?"

"That bear?" The figure of the big bear that just walked away appeared in Ogata's mind.

"It ran away just now." A-cho replied for Ogata.

"Did it run away again..." Ezo smiled wryly, "That is to say...is there still one Unkamuyi left that hasn't been hunted..."

...

...

Songqian Castle, Northwest District, in a certain tea house——

The common people of Matsumae Castle might not have imagined that the second-in-command of the shogunate is now in this tea house located in the northwest area of ​​Matsumae Castle.

Matsudaira Sadanobu was in a compartment on the second floor of the teahouse.

Standing by the window, looking out through the window at the street below.

Tachibana, who is almost inseparable from Matsudaira Sadanobu, naturally stands beside Matsudaira Sadanobu.

Several guards in plain clothes stood behind Matsudaira Sadanobu.

In front of Matsudaira Sadanobu, stood a potbellied official.

This official is the elder of the Matsumae clan - An grandson.

The reason why Matsudaira Sadanobu decided to go to Ezo in person was not only to urge the army to conquer the Red Moon Fortress, but also to inspect the current situation of Ezo with his own eyes, so as to prepare for the "development of Ezo" planned to start later .

Today, Matsudaira Sadanobu suddenly said that he wanted to see the living conditions of the naturalized Ezo in Matsumae Castle with his own eyes.

Facing the second-in-command of the shogunate, as the elder of the Matsumae family, An Sunzi dared not neglect any request of Matsudaira Sadanobu.

So he personally led the team and led Matsudaira Sadanobu to the northwest corner of Matsumae Castle, where the naturalized Ezo live together, and took Matsudaira Sadanobu to watch the living conditions of the naturalized Ezo in the city.

Therefore, there is the current scene where Matsudaira Sadanobu and others are crowded in a compartment on the second floor of this tea house, looking out at the street scene through the window.

"My lord, please take a look."

Ansunzi, who was leaning against the window, said to Matsudaira Sadanobu while putting on a flattering smile.

"At present, most of the naturalized Ezo in my Matsumae City have been civilized by us."

"Some ancestors have been naturalized Ezo people, and now they basically don't have any barbaric habits."

Looking down the window, the street view of the street in front of the tea house is unobstructed.

This place was originally a place where Ezo lived, so you can see many Ezo wearing kimonos walking on the street.

You can even see some Ezo working there.

Or move rice and wood there.

Or set up a stall there to sell.

At first glance, it seems that the Ezo here have been perfectly integrated into their and human society.

But who knows——Matsudaira Sadanobu, who had been silently looking at the street scene outside the window, let out a sneer after hearing what Grandson An said just now:

"Master An, grandson, although I also like to hear nice words, but I'm still not sensitive to such kind words."

"Do you think I didn't send someone to Guifan to investigate before I came to Ezo?"

"Do you think I don't know—the conflict between the Japanese of your clan and the naturalized Ezo is quite sharp?"

"Wajin despise naturalized Ezo, and many Kazuto are unwilling to hire naturalized Ezo."

"A lot of naturalized Eizo couldn't find any decent jobs, so they had to go on evil paths."

Ever since Matsudaira Sadanobu opened his mouth just now, the cold sweat dripping from Ansunzi's forehead and back has not stopped.

Now grandson an feels his forehead and back are getting cold.

Just when Grandson An was racking his brains and thinking about what to say to remedy it, Sadanobu Matsudaira suddenly raised his hand and patted Grandson An on the shoulder.

"It's human nature to only speak nice words in front of the superior."

"So I don't blame you either."

"I just hope you don't make such a mistake next time."

Hearing Matsudaira's words, An Sunzi immediately bowed to Matsudaira in apology and thanked him as if he had received an amnesty.

"If we want to develop the Ezo land, the contradiction between us and people and the naturalized Ezo is a problem that can never be avoided."

"On this issue, Guifan needs to pay more attention."

After saying this in a flat tone, Matsudaira Sadanobu folded his hands behind his back, then turned and left.

"My lord." Grandson An hurriedly followed, "Are you going home?"

"Well. I've finished all I want to see, there's no need to stay here anymore."

Under the escort of the people headed by Tachibana, they left the tea house.

"My lord." Tachibana, who was walking beside Matsudaira Sadanobu, whispered, "Do you need to arrange a sedan chair?"

"No need." Matsudaira Sadanobu rejected Tachibana's proposal without thinking, "I've been staying at the mansion recently, and I haven't done much exercise."

"I'll take this opportunity to exercise."

Matsudaira Sadanobu raised his head and glanced at the position of the sun in the sky - there was still a short time before dark, but this time was enough for him to walk back home before dark.

Seeing that Matsudaira Jonobu wanted to walk back home, Tachibana didn't say much anymore, and just watched the surroundings quietly with other guards, to prevent unknown people from getting close to Matsudaira Jonobu.

Sadanobu Matsudaira, who was walking forward at an unhurried pace with his hands behind his back, had a serious face at this moment.

He is thinking about ways to ease the conflict between the local Wajin and the naturalized Ezo.

Just like what he said to Sunzi An just now - if we want to develop the Yezo land, the contradiction between us and people and the naturalized Yezo is a problem that can never be avoided.

If the naturalized Ezo are not allowed to live in harmony with them, at some point, an uprising will break out among these naturalized Ezo.

At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu actually misses the four Waka Nianyo, headed by Kitagawa Toshiki.

The four Wakinen, who are second only to him in the shogunate and have been assisting him in handling various government affairs, although they often have differences in political opinions with Matsudaira Sadanobu.

But also often put forward very unique insights and propositions.

It has been some time since Matsudaira Jonobu arrived in Matsumae.

During this period, Matsudaira Sadanobu also met with all the senior officials of the Matsumae Domain and briefly observed them.

According to these observations of Matsudaira Sadanobu-these high-ranking officials of the Matsumae Domain count as one, and they are either a poor official or a mediocre official.

Ansunzi, who is now walking respectfully beside Matsudaira Sadanobu, is considered to be a relatively good person among these high-ranking officials in the Matsumae Domain—at least he is only mediocre in ability.

Discuss with these people about the countermeasures to "alleviate the contradiction between the naturalization of Ezo and the people"-they will certainly not be able to say anything of value.

So Sadanobu Matsudaira misses those 4 Waka Nianyos under his command very much now, and hopes to have a few useful people to brainstorm with him.

...

...

Sadanobu Matsudaira was thinking while walking.

Before I knew it, I had successfully walked back to the mansion.

Of course—until he returned home, Matsudaira Sadanobu still couldn't think of any way to ease the conflict between the local naturalized Ezo and Kazuto.

After returning to the room he had been living in all this time, when Matsudaira Jonobu was about to take a bath to wash away the dust and dust left behind by traveling around for a long time today, Tachibana suddenly rushed to Matsudaira Jonobu with a letter in his arms. .

"Master Laozhong!" Tachibana knelt on one knee, holding a sealed envelope with both hands, "There is a letter from Edo! The sender is Master Beichuan!"

"Beichuan?" Matsudaira Takanobu frowned slightly, then quickly raised his hand to take the letter in Tachibana's hand, then quickly opened it, and took out the letter paper inside.

After unfolding the letter paper, he quickly read ten lines at a glance.

"……Humph."

After scanning the last sentence on the letter paper, a cold snort came out of Matsudaira Dingxin's nose.

"Ogata Yishi is really incredible."

"Ogata Yishi?" Tachibana's face was full of surprise.

It is naturally impossible for Tachibana, the most wanted criminal in the shogunate, not to know who he is.

"What happened to Ogata Itsuki? Did he do anything else?"

Tachibana subconsciously thought that this guy who killed the lord first and then attacked Nijo Castle like a lunatic did something sensational again.

"It didn't do much, you can see for yourself."

After all, Matsudaira Sadanobu threw the letter paper that had been read in his hand to Tachibana.

After receiving the letter paper, Tachibana looked at it at a glance.

The letter used very short sentences to clarify that after Matsudaira Sadanobu left, an incident that happened in Edo was not too big, but it was not too small to be ignored.

That is--

Not long after Matsudaira Sadanobu left Edo, the emperor of Kyoto reported to the shogunate, asking the shogunate to arrest the "executioner Yidaosai" Ogata Yishi as soon as possible.

Ogata's previous act of burning Nijo Castle in Kyoto was not only a slap in the face of the shogunate, but also a disguised slap in the face of the Kyoto court headed by the emperor.

Kyoto is the residence of the emperor, and it is the land of the king. Ogata's wild behavior on the land of the king also aroused the dissatisfaction of the emperor.

Japan has long had two governments since a samurai named Minamoto Yoritomo took power from the emperor more than 700 years ago.

The imperial court led by the emperor, and the shogunate led by the general who conquered barbarians.

At present, the shogunate has changed 2. The Edo shogunate that now rules the whole of Japan is the third shogunate in history.

However, the imperial court dominated by the emperor has not changed, and has always been based in Kyoto, acting as a mascot without any power.

So even though the emperor felt very annoyed by Ogata's wild behavior in the king's land, there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that the shogunate could capture or kill Ogata as soon as possible.

But now, nearly half a year has passed since Nijo Castle in Kyoto was attacked.

The shogunate has yet to capture or kill Ogata.

This made the emperor feel quite dissatisfied, so he asked the shogunate to get rid of this rebellious traitor as soon as possible.

When the emperor's request to "severely punish Ogata as soon as possible" reached Edo, Matsudaira Sadanobu had just left Edo.

Although the emperor has always had little power and no sense of presence, some ordinary people even only know the shogun and not the emperor, but he is the supreme head of state in name after all, so you still have to listen to what he says, and give him face, Still have to give.

After Matsudaira Sadanobu was not in Edo, Kitagawa Toshiki, one of the four Wakinen, was temporarily in charge of leading all the officials to assist the shogun in handling government affairs.

In order to appease the emperor, Kitagawa Toshiki promised the emperor: the shogunate will definitely use all the power of the whole country to capture Ogata Yishi who might still be fleeing somewhere.

To show his determination, Kitagawa Toshiki swiped his pen and greatly increased the bounty offered by Ogata Yasushi - from the original 500 taels to 800 taels.

And mobilize all the painters in Edo City who work for the government to make new arrest warrants as quickly as possible, and send the fastest horses to send the latest arrest warrants to all parts of the country.

In short, with Kitagawa Toshiki's various efforts, he finally managed to send the emperor away.

This letter was written by Beichuan Junji himself, and Beichuan Junji's name was left at the end of the letter.

At the end of the letter, Kitagawa Toshiki did not forget to explain that because the matter involved the Emperor, it was necessary to write a special letter and inform Matsudaira Joshin who had gone north to Ezo.

After reading everything written on the letter, Tachibana put down the letter in his hand and looked at Matsudaira Sadanobu with a complicated face.

"My lord, you are right, Ogata Yishi is really amazing... He even alarmed the emperor to ask the shogunate to arrest or kill him as soon as possible... This should be regarded as unprecedented, and there will be no one to come again Bar……"

Matsudaira Sadanobu was standing, with his hands behind his back, looking at a corner of the tatami mat at his feet, in a state of contemplation.

After pondering for a moment, he sighed heavily, and then said softly:

"It's really a pity for Ogata Itsuki."

"It would be great if this kind of swordsman can be used by our shogunate."

"If you accept him as a swordsmanship demonstration, maybe you can teach many swordsmen with superb swordsmanship."

"Put him in the army, and he will definitely become a rare fierce general."

"Pity."

"Such a precious talent, but is an enemy of the shogunate..."

Matsudaira Sadanobu sighed heavily again.

"That's good. It's also good to increase the reward and hunt for Ogata Itsuki now."

"Itsuki Ogata first killed the feudal lord of the Hirose Domain, and then attacked the Nijo Castle in Kyoto. No matter what, a person like him who has outstanding abilities but is disloyal to the shogunate cannot be kept alive!"

After saying that, a bit of cold light shot out from Matsudaira Dingxin's pupils.

This is actually not the first time Matsudaira Sadanobu has talked about Ogata Yasushi.

In Tachibana's impression, Matsudaira Sadanobu has talked about this person in public and privately many times - the content of his discussions is mostly to feel sorry for the shogunate's failure to have such a talent, and to express Ogata Yishi's attack on Nijo Castle disgusted with this behavior.

The samurai killed the lord-this kind of thing has never happened since the opening of Edo.

So when the ominous name of Ogata Yishi's murder of the lord spread to Edo, the whole shogunate was shocked by it.

At that time, Matsudaira Sadanobu's feelings for Ogata Itsuki were mainly regrettable.

Although Ogata's act of killing the lord is rebellious, his reasons for wielding a sword to kill the lord are very sufficient and reasonable.

Matsudaira Gennai's murderous reputation was heard from time to time in Matsudaira Sadanobu who was far away in Edo.

Matsudaira Gennai killed Ogata's master and brother, and Ogata took revenge with a knife-quite reasonable.

So at that time, when Matsudaira Sadanobu talked about Ogata Itsue, he basically felt sorry for Ogata Itsue-it was a pity that a swordsman with such superb swordsmanship went astray like this.

But after more than half a year, Ogata made a second incident that shocked the whole country.

That is - attack Nijo Castle in Kyoto, and burn down the castle tower of Nijo Castle.

This incident, like Ogata's previous "killing the master", is unprecedented, and there should be no one in the future.

When news of Ogata Itsze's attack on Nijo Castle in Kyoto reached Edo, Matsudaira Sadanobu was too shocked to speak for a long time.

Nijo Castle is the shogun's residence built by the shogunate in Kyoto.

In a word - the home of the shogun in Kyoto.

Ogata attacked Nijo Castle - this behavior was simply provoking the shogunate.

Matsudaira Sadanobu has always been utterly loyal to the shogunate.

Itsuki Ogata killed Matsudaira Gennai before, but Matsudaira Sadanobu felt that it was justifiable.

But this attack on Nijo Castle was difficult for Matsudaira Sadanobu to accept and understand.

It was also from that time that Matsudaira Sadanobu complained more about Ogata Itsue—but occasionally he still felt sorry for Ogata Itsue.