Kazuyo Sorayama didn't seem to be affected by those words. He walked into his room, but unlike usual, he didn't close the hatch. Instead, he stood there and said coldly: "You have followed me.
All the way, come out."
A middle-aged man in a black suit with a thick mustache walked up quickly, bowed repeatedly and said: "I'm extremely sorry. I don't mean any harm. I just want to know where you live in case he comes to apologize in the future. No.
I feel extremely ashamed to think of being discovered by you, and I hope you will forgive me."
"Apologise?" Kazuyo Sorayama was a little confused.
The man still bowed and said: "Your Majesty, you can also call me Perry. I can barely be regarded as the commander of the young people on the deck. I deeply apologize for the trouble I have caused you."
Sorayama Kazuyo frowned: "I have received your apology, please return it."
The middle-aged man was stunned. He had obviously misunderstood Sorayama Kazuha. In his experience, this was not an attitude of accepting an apology. It clearly meant "I don't care about your apology. I will still kill him if I have the chance in the future."
He bowed deeply again and said: "Your Excellency, my disciple Kenjiro is young and thinks that he can teach the world after learning a little bit. He is really stupid. But after all, he is passionate and hopes to change this country, but there is no shirk in taking action if he is ashamed and angry.
This discourteous act, as a teacher, I cannot shirk my responsibility..."
Seeing his verbose attitude, Sorayama Kazuha sighed. He couldn't kill or beat such a serious person, which gave him a headache.
In order not to let him continue to pester him, he had to make his tone as gentle as possible, and slowly explained: "Mr. Fuze, I know that you are eager to protect your disciples, and I don't blame him. I once had a disciple.
I am no different from your disciple, a small punishment is enough, let alone anger, the matter ends here."
The middle-aged man suddenly understood, and then he bowed and apologized again and said goodbye.
Kazuyo Sorayama breathed a long sigh of relief, thinking that would be the end of the matter, but he still underestimated the perseverance of people with lofty ideals in this era.
In the evening, as soon as he walked into the restaurant, a girl in kimono came forward and saluted: "Sir, my teacher Mr. Fukuzawa invites you to a banquet and drinks." The soft voice sounded very lively and sweet.
Kazuyo Sorayama stopped and glanced at the girl briefly, and responded with two words coldly: "I don't have time." After saying that, he started to move forward.
The girl didn't stop her, she just lowered her head and followed Kazuyo Sorayama, like an aggrieved little girl after being scolded, which attracted everyone in the restaurant to look at her.
Kazuyo Sorayama frowned. If this was like the young man yesterday, he would not hesitate to pick up the other person's collar and throw it to the deck. But facing this petite woman who looked like she had just grown up, even if she was as cold as him,
You can't do such rude behavior.
"Well, since it's not convenient to teach you a lesson, let's take advantage of your teacher to get this out of you." Kazuyo Sorayama thought in his mind, stopped and said coldly: "Lead the way."
The girl's big eyes showed undisguised joy. She led Kazuyo Sorayama to a cabin in the cabin, opened the ajar door, and said softly: "Teacher, the guests are here."
Fukuzawa Daji hurriedly stood up and said: "I should have invited you personally, but the cabin is bumpy and the wine is delicate. I don't want to let others waste it. I have to keep an eye on the water temperature. Please forgive me."
Several bottles of sake were poured into the copper pot, and the refreshing fragrance of the wine entered his nose through the steam. Sorayama Kazuyo couldn't help his throat twitching, and looked at the room carefully.
The small cabin was crowded with all kinds of books, newspapers, and documents. A piece of wood was tied randomly to the suitcase to turn it into a low and simple dining table. There were a few cattail mats around it, and some things were placed on the table.
Miso pickles, chicken skewers, and tuna sashimi.
These most common tavern side dishes are quite precious food on this American ocean liner. Kazuha Sorayama's stomach, which was used to eating breaded beef stew, was slightly moved, and he finally decided to let him sit down and listen.
There are still those bottles of sake that stand out.
Of course, Kazuyo Sorayama will never admit that he is a person who cannot withstand temptation, but he is just a little bit good at drinking... "Just listen, I drink by myself, and it seems that I am getting more nostalgic as I get older..." Kazuyo Sorayama silently felt in his heart
road.
The girl took the coat and leather shoes that he took off, and then knelt down naturally to fill the wine and wait for him.
Sorayama Ichiyo didn't say much, he just knelt down and sat across from him, waiting for the other party to give him an explanation.
The middle-aged man Fukuzawa Daikichi smiled, as if he had already expected Sorayama Kazuha's attitude. He measured the temperature with his fingers, then twisted the bottle and handed it to the girl: "According to Kanto custom, you need to drink a little between Double Ninth Festival and Shangsi.
Warm wine to drive away the cold. I am far away in a foreign country and have not tasted the taste of my hometown for five years. Therefore, I shamelessly beg Kido-sama of the first class cabin to give me a few bottles of sake and invite you to drink together. I beg you not to refuse."
Fukuzawa said sincerely.
"I'm ashamed to say it. There are 117 Japanese on this ship, but there are really not many who can drink with me." Fukuzawa laughed at himself.
Kongshan Yiye didn't answer anything, he just drank in silence.
Fukuzawa was very well-educated and didn't care. He continued: "The first-class passengers are all big shots funded by the government to study Europe and the United States. They will not interact with humble people like me. There are not many successful students. Due to red tape,
It's not convenient for me to drink with you, but that guy Kuroda is a good drinking buddy. Unfortunately, we have different political opinions. I'm afraid that we might get into a fight again and ruin the atmosphere, so I have to take the liberty of disturbing you."
How could Sorayama Kazuyo not hear the other person's self-effacing remarks? If he had friendship with those real big shots in the first-class cabin, he would not be the "little person" he claimed to be. He drank several glasses of wine and asked what was in his mind: "I
I'm just a civilian, why is Mr. Fukuzawa so pestering me?"
"Civilian?" Fuze waved his hand: "May I ask your name, sir?"
"A leaf on an empty mountain."
Fukuzawa nodded: "Although it is now the eighth year of the Meiji era, there are still a majority of ignorant people. Those who have the courage to go abroad and see the world are really rare. I wonder if Mr. Sorayama has any plans when he returns to the country, whether to stay in the family or serve in the government?"
Ichiyo Sorayama said calmly: "I am alone, with no home to return to and nothing to do."
"I don't know how many people have destroyed their families in the chaos!" Fuze sighed and said seriously: "In that case..."
"I opened a school teaching Western learning in Edo... Tokyo Mita. The students are mostly impassioned young people. Although they are full of passion, they are impulsive and ignorant. I kindly ask Mr. Sorayama to come and teach. Please." Fukuzawa's tone was sincere and correct.
bowed.
Ichiyo Sorayama is calm on the surface, but he is really embarrassed in his heart. He teaches others to slash with a knife. He believes that no one in this era can surpass him, but he does not know much about this world when he preaches and receives karma...
, what can you teach others? Can you teach them how to evade capture by killing people and setting fires in the American wilderness?
"Mr. Fukuzawa, you think so highly of me. I'm a mess myself, so how dare I mislead others?" Kazuyo Sorayama shook his head.
"Teaching English should be easy for Mr. Sorayama." Fukuzawa Daikichi stared at Sorayama Kazuha and said seriously: "Mr. Sorayama, do you know how many people in Japan can understand English now?"
Seeing that Sorayama Kazuyo did not answer, he thought to himself: "The Tokugawa enjoyed power for nearly three hundred years, and by the time of the Meiji era, Japan was left with a country riddled with holes. In addition, there were more than 200,000 samurai, although my ancestors also had
One of them, but I have to admit that this class is rent-seeking but not hard-working, irritable and selfish, and it is not an exaggeration to call it a social cancer."
"But they also contributed the most people with lofty ideals to Japan. They were the first to open their eyes to see the world. They have profound research on orchid science, orchid medicine, and orchid literature. However, the Netherlands is no longer the most powerful in the world.
It is not a country other than England, the world hegemon, and the orchid they learn is far behind the times...changes must be made!"
Fukuzawa took a sip of wine, his cheeks were a little rosy, and he couldn't help but speak louder: "Unfortunately, Japan regards orchidology as orthodox, and people who can speak English are very rare. The number of translators hired by the government with high salaries is far from enough, let alone me.
This is a folk school, so..."
"Mr. Fukuzawa." Kazuyo Sorayama interrupted: "I know what you are thinking, but I am not very talented and knowledgeable. I just want to live a peaceful life. As for teaching others, I am really powerless."
Teaching those passionate young people? Kazuyo Sorayama shook his head. He really had no interest in it. He was not the kind of samurai warrior that the other party thought. He had never set foot in Japan in this world, so how could he be bound to a school.
"Alas..." Seeing that Sorayama Kazuha had made up his mind, Fukuzawa Daikichi stopped trying to persuade him and just kept toasting. After a while, he was already lying on the table muttering something unknown.
Kazuyo Sorayama put down the wine glass in his hand with some regret. Since the owner was already drunk, he had no reason to stay here and was about to leave immediately.
At this time, the girl who had not said a word in the whole scene suddenly said: "Master Kongshan, since the teacher is already drunk, why not let me tell you my story to accompany the wine. After all, good wine is rare, and you have not fully enjoyed yourself."
You can give it to me and let me take it back to drink... Kazuyo Sorayama thought. But when the other party opened his mouth, he couldn't shamelessly take the wine and leave.
Seeing that Kazuyo Sorayama did not refuse, the girl filled up the wine glass for Kazuyo Sorayama, took a piece of sashimi and gently put it into Kazuyo Sorayama's plate, and then said softly: "The little girl's name is Yamami Sakiko, and my father is Aizu
Lord Matsudaira, the feudal lord."
"Yōho Matsudaira? Guardian of Kyoto?" Thinking back to when I was opening a store in Kyoto, I would hear this name almost every day, and I would often interact with the Shinsengumi under the Guardian of Kyoto.
The girl nodded: "It's the Songping Hall. When I was young, my life was quite comfortable. I even had a piece of Jinping candy as a snack after breakfast every day. I would read "Women's Studies" with my sisters every day, and I would pick it up when I was free in the spring.
My mother gave me dolls decorated with cherry blossom petals in some courtyards, and this life continued until I was eight years old."
"That day, thick smoke ignited in Crane City, and cannonballs hit the city like heavy rain. All the martial arts disciples, both men and women, were mobilized to the battlefield, and I also had to carry heavy cannonballs to the city wall for the defenders.
When the army was resting, my sisters and I still had to wash rice, cook, and dress the wounds of the wounded, so we never had a free day."
"Actually, it's just okay. As a young person, as long as I am with my family, I don't think the shells falling from the sky are so scary." The girl smiled, with a trace of sadness on her face: "Until one day, I
My sister-in-law was stabbed in the chest by shrapnel. She begged my mother to stab her to death with a dagger to help her fulfill the heroic duty of a daughter of the Wu family, but my mother never had the courage to stab her. In this way, my sister-in-law struggled for three days before finally dying in pain.
When she died, her festering wounds were already covered with bugs... I'm sorry, Lord Kongshan."
"It doesn't matter." Sorayama Kazuha has seen many more cruel scenes than this, some of which he even made with his own hands, so it won't affect his appetite.
"Later, the city was broken. My sisters and I, together with the defeated samurai, were expelled to the cold and barren Dounan Domain, which is at the northernmost tip of Honshu Island and has the most barren land in Japan."
"As a defeated party, it is not easy to survive by chance and save your life. No one complained about enduring the cold and hunger. Everyone was holding a fire in their hearts and struggling to survive. My brother often said, 'The difference between Satsuma and Choshu is
If you bastards heard that our Aizu samurai starved to death, they would definitely laugh at us. Perhaps this is the biggest motivation for everyone to survive."
The girl smiled again and pointed upward: "The one who was taught a lesson by the adults is my second brother, Kenjiro Yamakai."
Kongshan rubbed his wine glass one night, beat his brother and drank wine with his sister serving him, which made him feel a little embarrassed.
"He has good martial arts skills and seems to have experienced battlefield training."
The girl nodded: "I pick up shells, dig fern roots every day, and exchange some small things from the mountains with vendors for bean dregs to eat - those are what farmers feed pigs. But I still feel very hungry every day. My second brother loves me and relies on my health.
He is strong and skilled in swordsmanship. He can find some jobs in the city and often secretly exchanges me for some food."
"I spent three years in such a muddle, until Mr. Fukuzawa arrived." The girl pointed at the dazed middle-aged man and said, "He was a special adviser to the Meiji government at the time. He came here to select people who would go abroad, which caused the government the biggest headache.
What’s more, there are 5 quotas for women among them. If the adults in the city had not resisted with all their might, this opportunity would not have fallen to me.”
Looking at the girl beside him, Ichiyo Kuyama felt sympathy for him inexplicably. He knew the pain of being sent to a foreign country at a young age.
The girl was keenly aware of Kazuyo Sorayama's attitude and blinked: "My lord, I misunderstood. In fact, I am very grateful to the teacher. If it weren't for him, I would still be staying in Dounan. Maybe like my sisters, I would have married a young man from the Wu family early."
, living a life of poverty.”
"What are you going to do in the future?" Kazuyo Sorayama took the wine glass and asked softly.
"The teacher asked me to go to his school to teach English, Western history and some basic sciences. He will recommend me to serve in the government in the future."
There was a longing for the future in the girl's tone, but she frowned and said: "The teacher said that wars have been going on in various places over the years. The school is full of young people from the victor or the defeated side. They contradict the teacher in class, and even fight and fight again.
It's normal, but I'm worried that I can't control these people, so..."
Kazuha Sorayama suddenly understood. No wonder Mr. Fukuzawa was recruiting so hard. He probably saw that he easily subdued Kenjiro, a highly skilled martial artist, and felt that he was able to deal with those passionate students. In addition, he was proficient in English.
He is the best teacher given by God! How could he let himself go in vain?
"Sir, the teacher is eager for talents and is kind and wise. The school is not as strict as the government. Even if you get tired of it one day, you can leave at any time. Such a free place is a good place for you to stay."
Throughout the entire conversation between the girl and the girl, there was no intention of using the country's interests to kidnap her. First, she told Kazuyo Sorayama to let her guard down, then aroused his sympathy, and finally pointed out the benefits, allowing Kazuyo Sorayama to gradually fall into her words.
If Sorayama Kazuha hadn't been so determined, he might have agreed on the spot.
What a wise woman!
Sorayama Kazuyo calmed his mind and said calmly: "I'll think about it."
The girl pursed her lips and smiled, without showing any signs of frustration. She still said softly: "The little girl's experience is very monotonous. I guess your life must be very exciting, Master Kongshan. Just from your performance, I know that you are not
A simple character."
Is it because he killed so many people in the past few days that the little girl can feel something strange about him? Sure enough, his cultivation of the heart is still far behind...
Ichiyo Sorayama sighed inwardly.
But what he didn't know was that the girl's brother, Kenjiro Yamakai, was no unknown person. He was born into a wealthy family and received swordsmanship education from many masters since he was a child.
In addition, he has excellent physical fitness, experienced actual battlefield combat, and is one of the few masters in the Aizu Domain. However, he was knocked down by Sorayama Kazuha with one move. So how amazing is Sorayama Kazuha's swordsmanship!
How could such Kazuyo Sorayama be a simple person in the eyes of others!
Kazuyo Sorayama put away his thoughts and said: "Actually, I am just a chef."
"Chef?" The girl was stunned, thinking that Kazuha Sorayama was perfunctory with her, but seeing the other person's expression that didn't seem to be hypocritical, she could only suppress her doubts.
"I once opened a small restaurant in Kyoto, then lived in seclusion in the mountains to avoid the war, and finally came to the United States."
The girl didn't know what to say for a moment, but her intuition told her that the man in front of her, who was perhaps older than the teacher, was hiding a huge secret.
For example, given his swordsmanship, why did he want to be a chef? In that era, both the shogunate and the people who had fallen behind the shogunate tried their best to win over such talents, promising high officials and generous salaries, so why did he engage in such a humble career as a chef?
For example, even if the other party does not want to serve as an official and is willing to hide in the mountains, why does he have to travel thousands of miles to the United States, and what is the reason for him to come back? Is the other party really as alone as he said? Where does his swordsmanship come from?
, why is there no reputation in Japan?
All kinds of doubts made Yamami Sakiko full of curiosity about the man in front of her, staring at his face that was still cold and handsome even though his temples were gray...
If it was said that she had to come forward to recruit him in order to fulfill the teacher's wish, now, the girl sincerely wants him to teach in the school.