After hearing Chiba Jutaro mention Aoto's name, Chiba Tamonshiro, who had some unpleasant encounters with Aoto on the day of the "Plum Blossom Festival", became weird.
The expression that also became weird was Chiba Nobuyoshi who knew that Chiba Jutaro now intended to make Aonto the son-in-law of their Chiba family.
"Tachibana Aoden?" Chiba Eijiro frowned slightly, indicating that he did not know this person.
The corners of Chiba Jutaro's mouth opened wider at this time: "Brother Sakae, you have been staying in Mito Domain recently, so it is normal that you know nothing about Tachibana-kun."
"This Ju Qingden is a 'Sanchai' Tongxin who suddenly became famous three months ago..."
Chiba Jutaro carefully explained all Aonto's achievements so far one by one.
He has outstanding swordsmanship talent. He only practiced swordsmanship in March and helped the Trial Guard Hall defeat Xiao Qianba Sword Hall at the "Plum Blossom Festival". He led a few dozen people to repel more than 200 anti-barbarian thugs...
Chiba Eijiro listened quietly while slowly showing a faint look of surprise on his face.
After Chiba Jutaro finished speaking, he nodded thoughtfully:
"Oh... I didn't expect that in the past few months when I was away from Edo, Edo would produce such a great talent."
"Tachibana Qingden..."
Chiba Eijiro chewed the name carefully.
It seems like I want to remember this name firmly.
…
…
In Edo, a certain settlement area, the residence of Hiroshi Niizuma, one of the "Three Heroes of the Three Great Places"——
Whirring whirring……!
At this moment, in the new wife's bedroom, the sound of the bamboo sword cutting through the air could be heard one after another.
The new wife Kuan, with her upper body exposed, stood in the corner of her bedroom, holding a bamboo knife in both hands, practicing Su Zhen with extremely standard movements. Every time she slashed forward with the knife, a sharp sound of breaking wind erupted in all directions.
Tick tock, tick tock... big beads of sweat fell to the ground one after another along the new wife's broad and strong body.
"113...114...115...116..." Shinzuma Kuan swung the sword and at the same time, he whispered the number of his swings.
Although he was sweating heavily, Nitsuma Hiroshi's movements and breathing remained steady.
"147...148...149...150...!"
After counting to 150, Nitsuma Kuan did not continue to swing the sword.
He kept the posture of chopping the knife out, motionless. After a while, he finally saw him slowly lowering the bamboo knife in his hand and standing up straight.
"Very good...!" Shinzuma Kuan stretched his waist vigorously, and the corners of his mouth curved with satisfaction, "The condition is great...!"
After stretching his slightly sore waist a few more times, Nitsuma Kuan reached out and took off the sweat towel hanging on his waist and casually placed the bamboo knife in his hand beside the wall.
While wiping the sweat beads and sweat stains on his body with a sweat towel, he raised his eyes and looked at a portrait hanging on the wall directly in front of him.
This is a painting of a woman drawn with exquisite ukiyo-e brushstrokes.
What is depicted in the painting is a beautiful woman wearing a kendo uniform and a high ponytail, folding her hands in front of her in an elegant movement.
While looking at this painting of a woman, Xin Zukuan straightened her waist unconsciously, with a solemn expression... just like an extremely devout believer.
After wiping off all the sweat beads and stains on her body and putting on her clothes, the new wife walked slowly to the portrait, stretched out her hand, as if stroking something fragile that could break at the touch of a touch.
Movement, gently caressing the portrait.
After touching the portrait over and over again, the new wife Kuanxiang couldn't help but murmured affectionately:
"When...can I become a member of the Chiba family..."
The woman painted in this painting of a woman is none other than the daughter of the Chiba family - Sanako Chiba!
If an uninformed person saw a portrait of Sanako hanging in Shin-tsuma's bedroom, he would think that Shin-tsuma was secretly in love with Sanako.
But actually...that's not the case.
It was for the sake of his future that Niizuma Kan hung Sanako's portrait in the most conspicuous place in his bedroom!
In the Edo period, when the class order was extremely solidified, "practicing martial arts" was one of the only ways for samurai to break down class barriers.
In order to improve the overall quality of the samurai under his command, or to gain a reputation as a lover of talents, the shogunate and the vassal governments of various vassal states often hired warriors with high martial arts skills to serve as officials.
For example, the famous great swordsman in the early Edo period: Miyamoto Musashi. He is the most typical example of "winning an official position by relying on martial arts."
Miyamoto Musashi was just a poor wanderer who had no fixed place and didn't even know what to eat for his next meal.
However, he created the "Two-Ten First Class" and was highly skilled in martial arts. He just relied on his strong strength to build his reputation little by little. In the end, he succeeded in getting the appreciation of Kumamoto Castle Lord Hosokawa Tadori, and was hired by him to move to Kumamoto Castle to teach the art of war.
.
He rose to great heights, transforming from a humble ronin into a prominent warrior with an official position.
Don’t talk about the far ones, let’s talk about the near ones - Chiba Eijiro is also a typical example of "winning official positions by relying on martial arts".
Seven years ago, Mito Domain invited Eijiro Chiba, who was nearly as powerful as a demon, to serve as an official with them. In order to retain this monster, Mito Domain specially created an official position for Chiba Eijiro with a terrifyingly high status and salary.
Chiba Eijiro, who had never shown any interest in official career before, for some unknown reason this time, readily agreed to Mito Domain's invitation to become an official, moved to Mito Domain, and started his own official career.
From ancient times to the present, these inspirational stories have inspired generations of ambitious warriors who want to make a fortune on their own.
"I want fame! I want to rely on my sword and my martial arts to gain great fame!" - With this belief, countless samurai flocked to martial arts halls and practiced martial arts crazily in order to become the next Miyamoto Musashi.
Or Eijiro Chiba!
However, relying on martial arts to gain fame... this is bound to be a cruel road that will lead to success and death.
So many people want to achieve a class jump by practicing martial arts, why should you be the successful one?
If you want to have an easier time walking on this cruel road...the only shortcut is to rely on connections.
If you can have solid and reliable connections, if you can have someone to help recommend you to the shogunate or the vassal government of a certain vassal country...then you will not have to worry about your talents and your martial arts will not be reused.
Therefore, a famous martial arts family like the Chiba family has become a dream place in the eyes of many warriors.
The Chiba family is currently recognized by everyone as the most prominent martial arts family - not one of them!
He created the Beichen Ittōryu, which has disciples all over Japan and has the potential to be "Japan's number one swordsmanship school". There are many heroes in the clan, and there are few mediocre ones, especially Chiba Eijiro, whose name is destined to be engraved in future history.
In the book...
Such a family...not to mention anything else, its human connections and resources alone are enough to be described as terrifying!
For a warrior who is eager to gain fame through martial arts, if he can become the adopted son or son-in-law of this "number one martial arts giant" and gain access to the huge network resources of this family... then it is basically equivalent to a meteoric rise!
Therefore, countless people are eager to become a member of the Chiba family - Niizuma Kuan is one of them.
Nitsuma Kuan is very confident in his own strength. He feels that relying on his talent and swordsmanship, it may be difficult to get reuse in the shogunate, but there is no problem at all in getting a high official and a generous salary in a certain vassal state... He only lacks
Relevant connections!
Although he is a Hatamoto samurai, his family is just an ordinary mid-level Hatamoto, not a very prominent family, and the resources his family possesses are quite limited.
Relying solely on the energy and resources of one's own family... the official position with a salary of five hundred stone is the limit.
Nitsuma Kuan does not want his future achievements to be limited to this.
He wants to seek a higher official position! He wants to rely on his sword skills to achieve higher achievements!
So... he took aim at the Chiba family and the only unmarried woman in the Chiba family: Miss Sanako.
If you can become the son-in-law of the Chiba family, why worry about not having any connections? Why not worry about not being a high-ranking official?
After making up his mind to "become the son-in-law of the Chiba family," Nitsuma Hiroshi commissioned a famous painter to draw a portrait of Sanako for himself, and then hung the portrait of Sanako in the most conspicuous place in the bedroom.
Use it to encourage yourself all the time - you haven't become the son-in-law of the Chiba family yet! You still need to work hard!
He doesn't have any special feelings for Sanako and Hiroshi Niitsuma.
He admitted that Sanako was indeed a great beauty, but he had no interest in matters involving men and women.
He only cares about his future and his own fame!
In order to realize his ambition, even if Sanako is an ugly girl with a sharp nose and sharp teeth, he will not blink his eyes and marry Sanako without hesitation.
Of course - marrying Miss Sanako... This is easier said than done.
Sanako's heart is an impenetrable fortress. For a long time, many outstanding talents have tried their best to break through this solid fortress, but in the end they only ended up in disgrace.
In view of these disastrous failures of the "predecessors", Nitsuma Kuan set a plan for himself to "step by step and plan for it slowly".
At this stage, work hard to improve your swordsmanship level and reputation first! Let your strength and reputation be high enough to attract the attention of Sanako and the Chiba family behind her!
If he is strong enough to make everyone in the Chiba family look up to him, then the difficulty of winning Sanako's heart and becoming a member of the Chiba family in the future will be greatly reduced.
Therefore, after learning that Lord Aizu was going to hold a swordsmanship competition in Asakusa a while ago, Hiroshi Niizuma signed up to participate without hesitation.
For such a grand competition, big sword halls such as the Xuanwu Hall and the Little Chiba Sword Hall will definitely not be absent. Chiba Nobuyoshi, Chiba Michisaburo, and Chiba Jutaro will definitely lead their disciples.
Come and compete.
In other words - this is a perfect opportunity to prove your strength to the Chiba family!
For this competition that will start tomorrow... the new wife Kuan is determined to win!
In order to encourage herself, Nitsuma Kan specially went to Kanda Tamaike and Okemachi this afternoon, and watched the Xuanbu Hall and Xiaochiba Sword Hall from a distance.
This can be regarded as one of Niizuma Kan's personal habits. Whenever he feels that his mood needs encouragement, he will come and take a peek at the Xuanbu Hall and the Little Chiba Sword Hall.
Every time he sees these two magnificent sword halls, Nitsuma Hiroshi feels a surge of power in his heart - I must become the son-in-law of the Chiba family! Even if it means marrying into the family, I won't hesitate!
This is what he said to Chiba Jutaro after he met Chiba Jutaro on the street this afternoon.
"Wait... Chiba family..." After touching the portrait several times, Nitsuma Kuan finally slowly put down his hand touching the portrait, "I will definitely let you accept me..."
…
…
Edo, somewhere, a somewhat dilapidated longhouse——
"Uh huh~ huh huh huh~~ huh huh huh~"
Asi, who was humming a nursery rhyme, carefully held a cup filled with hot tea with both hands, slowly walked out of the kitchen and walked straight towards the living room of the house.
In the living room of this dilapidated house, I saw a young man who was only in his early 20s, sitting expressionlessly in front of a desk piled with books and manuscript papers.
"Sojiro! Tea is here! Take a short break and drink some tea!"
Aji handed the tea she had just made to the young man...that is, her husband Yuzaki Soujiro.
"Ah...thank you." Soujiro thanked his wife Aji softly, then picked up the hot tea that Aji had just brewed and sipped the tea in the cup.
After delivering the tea to her husband, Asa did not leave immediately. She turned her gaze sideways and glanced at the large pile of blank manuscript paper on the desk in front of Soujiro.
"Sojiro..." A hint of worry flashed across Asahi's brows, "Are you still not inspired today?"
"...Oh, yes." Shujiro let out a long sigh, and then placed the tea cup in his hand on the corner of the table with a melancholy look, "My head is empty...I don't know what to write at all...
"
After saying that, Shujiro put his hands and fingers into his messy hair with a depressed look on his face.
"What should we do...If this continues, our family won't even be able to open the pot next month..."
Soujiro is a novelist who makes a living by writing "sarubon" and "reading books", as well as writing "storybooks" for storytellers.
Saluo is a humorous novel that specifically describes life in a brothel.
The readers mainly describe some historical stories, myths and legends, etc.
Relying on his moderate imagination and writing skills, he and his wife Asi lived a decent life although not rich.
However... just recently, Soujiro encountered a big trouble - he found himself in a bottleneck period.
My mind, which used to be full of interesting ideas, suddenly became empty, and I couldn't think of any interesting stories or plots.
This situation has lasted for nearly 2 months, and the lack of inspiration has not improved.
Poor condition, lack of inspiration... For two whole months, Soujiro only continued to produce waste paper that even he himself was extremely dissatisfied with.
This state of being unable to work normally has seriously affected their family's livelihood...
Soujiro's family is also the type of "hands stop, mouth stops" type.
There has been no income for two whole months, so the only side dishes on their table these days are salted radish.
By next month, I may not even be able to afford salted radish.
Looking at her husband with a sad face, Asi, who wanted to share his worries, pondered and raised his hand to play with the hair on his temples:
"Sojiro, if you really have no inspiration... why not just write the story of the 'Eternal Sword Master' Ogata Issei and the 'Hidden Sword Master' Kinoshita Genichi?"
"Isn't the story of these two people the most popular?"
"No." As soon as Aji finished speaking, Sojiro smiled bitterly and shook his head, "My current state is really bad... Even if I am writing the stories of 'Eternal Sword Master' and 'Hidden Sword Master',
I don’t know how to start writing...sigh..."
"..." Looking at her husband who let out another long sigh, Asi felt very distressed, but he didn't know how to help.
Phew!
At this time, a dull sound of heavy objects falling to the ground suddenly came from the entrance of the house.
Hearing this voice, Asi was startled for a moment, then quickly stood up and ran towards the entrance hall.
"Hey! Red bean paste buns!"
Bean paste bun - a black and white kitten adopted by Shujiro and his family 2 years ago.
After rushing to the entrance of the house, As Si expected: their bean paste buns knocked over their utensils to the ground again.
Meow~meow~meow~
Seeing his mistress coming, Dou Shabao quickly fled the scene of the crime while meowing "meow".
"Really...Fortunately, the things that were knocked to the ground this time were not fragile..."
The utensil that was knocked over by the red bean paste bag was a wooden Buddha statue specially used to ward off evil spirits - the Nioh statue - that Soujiro and Asa collected from a certain temple a while ago.
*******
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The author was very busy in real life yesterday, my, my, my, my, Si... Forget it, I won't say anything anymore.
In short, due to some things yesterday, I didn’t have much time to write. Today’s word count is a little less. I will try to update more tomorrow (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)
This chapter has been completed!