The campfire was swaying all night, and the prisoners couldn't sleep. Early the next morning, before it got light, the camp became busy again. It was winter in December, and the day length on the Kamchatka Peninsula had shortened to less than eight hours.
Arrive. And even if it gets bright, the thick clouds are always dim, indicating the coming heavy snowstorm.
"God bless you! We have to go south as soon as possible, and we have to leave today!..."
The exploration captain Zuvalo looked at the northern sky for a while, and talked with the mountain hunter Mutu for a while, and then he realized that time was urgent. Then, he first ordered the warriors to pack up the wine, iron tools and food in the camp, and then
He found Watanabe Masumi, a monk soldier with dark circles under his eyes, and appointed him as the leader of the captive team and also as a translator. "Witness the Lord God! Divide the prisoners into two groups, one group is skilled and the other is unskilled! Yes.
Those with craftsmanship will receive preferential treatment from the Kingdom! There will be great preferential treatment!…”
The warriors of the kingdom stood around with axes. Zuwaro looked serious and summoned the nineteen captives on the big ship. Masumi Watanabe said in Japanese and Korean respectively the requirements for grouping according to craftsmanship. Then, the horse breeder Sukeichiro looked confused,
Wearing the golden amulet of the main god around his neck, he held it tightly with his hands and walked to the other side.
"Sukeichiro, you know how to raise horses! Go over there..."
The captives widened their eyes and looked at Suichiro eagerly. Soon, two kingdom warriors removed the ropes from Suichiro, gave him a warm leather robe, and gave him a water bag filled with deer blood. Then
, he was assigned to manage three large horses, and was responsible for equipping the horses with sleighs for towing heavy loads.
Seeing this kind of treatment, the expressions of the prisoners changed instantly, revealing envy from the bottom of their hearts. It was obvious that Sukeichiro had gained a foothold in the barbarian tribe in front of him by virtue of his ability to raise horses. From then on, Sukeichiro
No more worrying about being beheaded or drinking vegetable soup with them!
"...What is around Sukeichiro's neck is a golden talisman? Ah! Didn't those barbarians take away his golden talisman?..."
Low voices of discussion resounded among the prisoners. Those with sharp eyes also saw the golden amulets between the necks of monk soldier Masumi Watanabe and ship leader Murakami Kitichi!…
"Buddha! Lord Watanabe and Lord Murakami both surrendered to the barbarians, and were given golden talismans to avoid death!..."
Listening to these discussions and speculations, shipwright Jin Shanshu pursed his lips, lowered his head, and thought flashed through his mind. It was so cold in the snowy field, and even if the barbarians did not kill them, they would not be able to wear warm clothes or have enough to eat.
You can get through it! But if you want to survive, you can only be valued by the leader of the barbarians...
After a moment, Jin Shanshu stood up from the crowd with his waist bent. Then, he glanced at the temple leader, Monk Bing Watanabe, who had a complicated look on his face, and with a "pop" sound, he kowtowed to Zuwaro, the leader of the Yi people.
"Bodhisattva bless you! Sir, little Jin Shanshu kowtows to you! I have been a carpenter since I was a child. I can build ships, do carpentry, and can also make sleds for you!..."
"The Lord God witnesses! Who are you?..."
Zuwaro's eyes flashed, he looked at Jin Shanshu who was kneeling in front of him with an expectant look on his face, then he looked at the somewhat envious expressions of everyone around him, and finally he looked at the monk soldier Watanabe Masumi whose expression changed.
"Huh? What does he know?..."
"..."
Watanabe Masumi, a monk soldier, was silent for a moment. Under Zuwaro's sharp eyes, he slowly squatted on the snow and wrote a line of words.
"He is a shipwright, good at woodworking, and can build sea-going ships..."
"Ah! The Lord God bless you, a shipwright who can build sea-going ships!... Haha! A sea-going ship-builder in the West Sea! This is exactly the master craftsman your Majesty has named, and he must be needed!..."
Seeing this answer, exploration captain Zuvalo looked startled, and then showed ecstasy. He strode forward, and looked at Jin Shanshu's cowering expression for a while. Then, he lowered his body and actually took Jin Shanshu's hands to him.
, helped him up from the snow!
"Ayigu! Oh my God!...Sir! The little one...get up by yourself, the little one doesn't dare to trouble you...Sir..."
"The Lord God witnesses! This is given to you!..."
With a generous look on his face, Zuvalo took off the golden amulet from his neck and put it on Jin Shanshu himself. Then, he held Jin Shanshu's hair and asked the warriors to bring a warm fur to the thin and shriveled boat.
The craftsman wrapped it up. Finally, he ordered his left and right, pointing to the deer-drawn sleigh tent in the distance.
"Praise the Lord God! He is the person requested by His Majesty! Take him to the tent and have a good rest. Give him three meals a day, and the food is according to Shi Jian and I's standards. Then, when we go south, he lives in the warm deer
Pull up the tent!”
"Yes! Praise the Lord God!"
The two kingdom warriors nodded respectfully and looked at the shipwright Jin Shanshu. They immediately became much friendly. Jin Shanshu looked confused and was led by the two warriors to a warm and wind-proof tent. Then someone brought a piece of roasted food.
Venison, a few pancakes made of unknown materials, and even a bag of boiled snow water.
"Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who saves the suffering! What on earth is going on?!...Am I dreaming?...Ah! It hurts! It's not a dream..."
Jin Shanshu sat on the soft leather blanket, slapped himself hard twice, and screamed in pain. But he had never received such treatment in his life. Although it was not a dream now, it was not much different from a dream. He
He swallowed and looked at the delicious venison in front of the meeting. He hesitated for a long time and did not dare to eat it. He just ate the soft roasted cornmeal pancake and carefully looked outside the tent.
"God bless you! Who else? Who else has skills? Stand up! There will be rewards and preferential treatment!..."
"Ah! The leader of the Yi people is looking for craftsmen! As long as you are a craftsman, you can survive!..."
Seeing the treatment of Sukeichiro and Jin Shanshu, the prisoners looked at each other in confusion, with expressions on their faces changing. After a few breaths, another Korean sailor stood up and knelt down in front of Zuvalo twice.
"Sir! Your Majesty! The younger one's name is Pu Shunfan. He is the sailmaker on the ship and an old sailor on the ship! The younger one's family has been sailmakers for generations. He can make sails with only bamboo and grass blades. His craftsmanship is very good... Sir, please
Please accept the little one!…”
"Um?"
Zuvalo blinked and looked at the monk soldier Watanabe. Watanabe looked bitter and was speechless for a while before writing the word "Sailmaker" on the snow.
The Korean sailors and craftsmen on these ships were plundered and had no sense of belonging to the temples in Kyoto. And if these people all took refuge with the leader of the Jiao people, then even if the other party returned the ocean-covering ship to them, they would not be able to get enough.
The manpower drove away...
“The Lord God witnesses! What is a sailmaker?…”
"The sailmaker...can make sails, mend sails, and adjust sails to facilitate sailing and take advantage of the wind..."
"Ah? There are so many ways to use the sails on the ship? Hurry, tell me in detail!..."
Watanabe Masumi, a monk soldier, touched his bald head and turned around helplessly. He and Pu Shunfan talked and gestured for a long time before writing a few lines of text on the snow again.
"Different sail shapes borrow different winds. The ship sails in all directions, the square shape borrows the downwind, the skip-shaped (trapezoid) borrows the crosswind, and the triangular shape borrows the headwind. The turban-shaped top sail can lift the hull and make the boat brisk... As for the boat that covers the ocean,
Most of them are skip-shaped gaff sails. The left and right sides are balanced, and horizontal strips can be added to make it easy to raise and lower. The sails can be made of bamboo strips and grass blades, no cotton or linen is needed, and the cost is low..."
"Lord God! What? Your sails can borrow winds from all directions, even headwinds? What about skip sails, jib sails, turban top sails, gaff sails? I have been sailing for three years, and there is no one.
Have you heard of it!...Eh! Your sails are not made of cotton or linen? Are they made of bamboo sticks and grass blades?...Phew! It is exactly what Your Majesty said. The shipbuilding and navigation skills of the tribes in the West Sea are far superior.
Kingdom!…”
Exploration captain Zuvalo widened his eyes, looking at the descriptions on the snow that were difficult to understand for a while, and then looked at Pu Shunfan, who was kneeling and kowtowing with a respectful look on his face. He pondered for a moment, lifted him up with his own hands again, and took out another shining
The main god of golden light, the golden talisman, is given to this important sailmaker!
"The Lord God bless the kingdom! Go! Send him to a tent and live with the shipwright. He will be given three meals a day and treated as a warrior! ... Remember, arrange two warriors and keep an eye on them at all times.
Oh, don’t make any mistakes!…”
"Yes! Captain!..."
"Ah! Ayigu!...Thank you, sir, for the reward! Thank you, sir, for the reward!..."
Sailmaker Pu Shunfan clutched the golden talisman in his hand and was ecstatic. He knelt down and kowtowed three more times before following the samurai who led the way and left. Seeing that he was also given the golden talisman, the remaining seven Korean sailors all
They stood up and all of them fell to their knees.
"My lord! My lord! We are willing to take refuge!..."
"Haha! The Lord God bless the kingdom! The tribe that raided this big ship is really the most decisive decision I have ever made!"
Zuvalo looked happy and asked the remaining North Korean sailors one by one. Unfortunately, the answers from the next few people were either about sailing, farming, braiding straw ropes, or making kimchi... Zuvalo asked
After walking around in a circle, he waved his hand and asked them to stand on the other side, but there was no reward of any golden talisman.
"Anything else? You, um, warriors from the tribe! Do you have any special skills?..."
"..."
The samurai of the Oyezaki family were silent and looked at each other with strange eyes. From time to time, they glanced at Murakami Kitichi, the ship's leader wearing a golden talisman, and at Masumi Watanabe, the monk who served as the translator for the barbarians.
During this time, there seemed to be an undercurrent surging underwater, and it seemed like it was waiting for something.
This strange atmosphere lasted for a while, and then a Japanese warrior in his early thirties stood out from the crowd. He suffered several injuries on his legs and was simply bandaged, but there was no blood on his face.
, he obviously lost too much blood, and his speech was also a little weak.
"Oh! Otani stood up! He is indeed capable..."
"Ah! He...he wants to take refuge with the barbarians? Aren't he afraid of punishment from the head of the family?..."
"There's no way... If he doesn't stand up, he won't be able to get through it..."
"Yes! Didn't Murakami Moshiyuki also defect to the barbarians? And the Watanabe group leader from Kyoto..."
“Shh!…”
After hearing what everyone said and seeing the injured warrior who stood up, the face of the ship leader Murakami Jidong was a little ugly. He did not seek refuge with the barbarians, he was just forced by the barbarians to stand aside wearing a golden charm and was not allowed to speak. At this moment
, he looked at the two kingdom warriors guarding him on his left and right, gathered up his courage, and shouted in a low voice.
"Otani Kengo! The master of the house treats you... uh!...ah!..."
As soon as Murakami Kidomi spoke out, he was knocked down in the snow by the kingdom warriors on both sides with a stick. Seeing this scene, the injured warrior Otani Kengo sighed and shook his head slightly.
"Murakami Murakami! I'm sorry!... If I don't have enough food and clothing, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive this winter... I'm really sorry for the head of the family!... My Buddha is merciful! May the Buddha forgive me and accept my confession.
…”
"Huh? God bless you! This guy looks very special! ... What kind of craftsman is he and what does he know?"
Zuvalo's eyes flashed and he looked at Masumi Watanabe next to him. Masumi Watanabe was silent for a while, then he bowed and wrote two words.
"blacksmith…"
This chapter has been completed!