Chapter 377 The strongest armed security force of the shogunate! [5600 words]
After introducing themselves to each other, the cross-dressing man wearing women's clothing and calling himself "Five Liu" slowly walked towards Ogata.
Because the surrounding environment was relatively dark, it was not until Wuliu approached that Ogata finally saw his face clearly.
The first impression Wuliu gave Ogata was that of youth.
Very young.
Judging from the appearance, Goliu should be about the same age as Ogata. Ogata is 21 years old this year, and Goliu should be around 20 years old.
The second impression is that he has a very strange hairstyle in this era.
There are only three types of hairstyles that men in this era can wear: men's hair, full hair, and bald hair.
One of the most trendy hairstyles is undoubtedly the moon hair.
Because this hairstyle is difficult to maintain, the newly grown hair on the top of the head needs to be shaved off almost every day.
Therefore, being able to have a clean and neat Tsukiyo hair is a major symbol of status.
As for the long hair, it can be seen as the opposite of the Tsukiyo head, that is, the hair is not shaved, but is only tied into a bun.
Regardless of whether it is a Tsukiyo hairstyle or full hair, at least it must be tied into a bun.
However, Wuliu didn't even have a bun.
Because he doesn't have long hair that can be tied into a bun.
Wuliu's hairstyle was short hair, which was so rare in this era that it was almost rare.
This is the first time Ogata has seen a man with short hair since arriving in the Edo period.
In the modern world, such short hair is quite common, no one will be surprised.
But in the Edo period, such a short hair style was completely unconventional.
With a very unconventional hairstyle in this era, coupled with the women's kimono, this person exudes a strange aura...
"You guy..." Ogata said hesitantly, "Are you a Qinqi?"
"A wonderer..." Wuliu raised his head and thought for a while, then laughed a few times, "Hahahaha! Let's take it for granted!"
A strange person refers to a person who dresses, behaves, speaks, or has a strange temperament. It also refers to a person who often makes strange behaviors that are different from ordinary people.
Lovers were more common during the Warring States Period more than 200 years ago.
After Tokugawa Ieyasu ended the warring states and established the Edo shogunate, the number of admirers also dropped sharply due to the peace in the world.
The founder of Kabuki, Izumo Okuno, who created a new art of singing and dancing, is considered one of the famous admirers.
Another person who also became famous as a charmer was Maeda Keiji, a famous military commander during the Warring States Period.
Maeda Keiji is known as "Japan's No. 1 Stranger". He once made a strange behavior of wearing cotton-padded clothes in midsummer, which aroused the admiration of Uesugi Kagekatsu, the head of the Uesugi family at the time.
Although many Qinqi people in history have shown themselves to be knight-errant, ordinary people have always stayed away from Qi Qi people who always wore strange clothes, performed all kinds of strange behaviors, and seemed to be mentally ill.
However, this was the first time Ogata saw Qingqi, so Ogata did not feel alienated from the cross-dressing man in front of him. Instead, he looked at Wu Liu up and down with curious eyes.
Apart from having a strange hairstyle and wearing a women's kimono, there is nothing else strange about Wuliu.
He did not carry any weapons on his body, and wore a pair of black footbags and a pair of ordinary straw sandals.
He has fairly regular facial features and is considered a handsome man.
If he changed his hair style to the most fashionable and popular among women in this era, he would be a handsome young man who could be liked by many women.
"Are you here to have fun?" Ogata asked.
"No." Wuliu stretched out, "I just have more free time tonight, so I came to see my hometown."
"Hometown?" Ogata raised his eyebrows vigorously.
"You heard me right." Wuliu pointed at his feet, "The bank of the Rashomon River is my birthplace."
"Mashima Goro-kun, you came to the Rashomon River Bank to support the Rashomon River Bank and maintain the security of the Rashomon River Bank, right?"
"Then let's chat while patrolling."
After saying that, without waiting for Ogata's response, Wuliu put his hands into the kimono sleeves on both sides, and then walked towards a path beside him.
Ogata didn't mind if someone came to chat with him while he was patrolling.
It would be better to say that he welcomes people to come and chat with him, so that patrolling will not feel boring.
So after Wuliu walked away minding his own business, Oufang followed quickly.
…
…
at the same time
Edo, Yoshiwara, somewhere
Gua Sheng is leading several colleagues to patrol around Yoshihara.
At the Shirobei Club, Guasheng's main job is to patrol Yoshiwara and maintain the security of Yoshiwara.
Gua Sheng cannot do boring paperwork and management tasks that require a certain amount of wisdom.
Her only strengths are her impressive swordsmanship and her considerable physical strength.
Therefore, the only job she can do is to arrest and punish those who make trouble in Yoshiwara, and to protect the wandering girls and guests of Yoshiwara.
Every night when the flow of people is the highest, Guasheng will patrol Yoshiwara aimlessly with a few colleagues, or simply by himself.
Just as Guasheng was looking around to see if there was anything strange happening around him, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind Guasheng:
"Miss Guasheng!"
A very young young man was holding up the trousers on both sides of his hakama, humming and running towards Guasheng.
This young man's name is Suji, and he is a newcomer who just joined their Shirobei club last month.
"Zuke Si, what's wrong?" Gua Sheng asked.
"I have some important news to tell you." After running to Gua Sheng, Susi lowered his voice and whispered to Gua Sheng.
Guasheng frowned his beautiful eyebrows and said:
"Is there any place that needs reinforcements again?"
"No." Susi shook his head, "It's the Huo Fu Thief reformer who is here."
"Huo Fu Thief Gai?" Gua Sheng's expression changed, "What are the Huo Fu Thieves Gai doing here in Yoshihara? Is it possible that there are some vicious thieves or arsonists who have wandered into our Yoshihara?"
"I don't know about that." Susi shook his head, "I just saw people wearing uniforms adapted from fire thieves walking into our Yoshiwara."
"As for why these officials, who are responsible for catching vicious thieves and arsonists, showed up in Yoshiwara, I don't know..."
"Where are the officials who were reformed by thieves and thieves?"
"They are in the club now. Lord Shirobei is negotiating with the officials of the Huo Fu Thief Kai in the club."
"...You guys continue to patrol." Gua Sheng turned to her colleagues who were following her on patrol in Yoshihara tonight and said, "I'll go back to the club and have a look."
"yes!"
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara, Shirobei Club.
In the most upscale reception room of the club, two distinct groups of people sat facing each other.
Among these two waves of people, one is the "club force" headed by Shirobei.
Behind Shirohei sat Kawajiro, Keimon and other club officials.
The other group of people sitting opposite Shirobei and others were all wearing uniform black uniforms.
"Shirobei-sama."
A young man in his 30s who was sitting at the front of the group of men in black leaned over and saluted Shirobei in front of him, and said expressionlessly:
"I'm going to change the leader of the Sixth Division to the thieves under fire, named Yunobu."
"I have long admired my name." Shirobei echoed while returning the salute.
After the two took turns saying some official clichés, Shirobei got straight to the point:
"Natori-sama, everyone from Shiranui and Thief Kai came to visit me, Yoshiwara, today. What are you doing?"
"Master Shirobei, do you know about this evil thief Kiku-chan?"
"Kiku-chan..." Shirobei thought for a while, "I have heard a little bit. It is said that he is an evil thief currently running around in Edo. He has done several murders and stolen goods, and he especially likes to steal women's things."
"That's right." Natori, who still had no expression on his face, nodded lightly, "We, the Huosuke Thieves, started tracking Kiku-chan half a month ago."
"According to the report of our informant, Ju Xiaoseng fled to Yoshihara tonight. We cannot rule out the possibility that Ju Xiaoseng plans to harm people in Yoshihara tonight."
"What?" The expressions of Kawajiro, Keiemon and others who were sitting behind Shirobei all changed.
"Although there is a possibility that the intelligence may be wrong, just in case, Lord Hasegawa still sent our Division 6 team to Yoshiwara to look for Kiku-chan."
"...I understand." Shirobei nodded, "Our Shirobei Club will do our best to assist you in capturing Kiku-chan."
"No need."
As soon as Shirobei finished speaking, Natori replied without thinking.
"Ju Xiaoseng is not only agile, but also extremely good at small martial arts. He is a very difficult evil thief."
"To deal with such evil thieves, outsiders are easily injured. It's better to let us, who are specially responsible for dealing with evil thieves, do it."
Hearing Natori's words, Kawajiro, Keiemon and others frowned slightly.
After Natori finished what he just said, he picked up the sword placed beside him and stood up.
As Natori stood up, the other subordinates sitting behind him also stood up one after another.
"Then I'll take my leave first."
"Okay." Shirobei nodded, "I would like to wish you all an early success in capturing the evil thief Kiku no Monk!"
Shirobei led Kawajiro, Keemon and others to personally remove Natori and others from the club.
After leaving the club, Natori and his subordinates immediately divided into four teams, dispersed, and began to look for Kiku no Monk in Yoshiwara.
After Natori and others left, Keiemon spat into the ground.
"What's the attitude of those people?" Keimon said in a very unhappy tone, "What do you mean by 'outsiders'? What do you mean by 'leaving it to us professionals'? Do you look down on our Shirobei Club?"
Keiemon's words immediately resonated with the others who were present just now.
Shirobei smiled bitterly at Keemon and others who were expressing grief and anger, and was about to say something.
"Hmm? Sir Shirohei-sama, have the officials who were reformed by the fire thieves gone?"
Shirobei and others followed the sound.
The person who spoke was Gua Sheng, who hurried over to check on the situation after he had just learned that an official had arrived to punish the thieves.
"Gua Sheng." Shirobei asked, "Why are you here?"
"I just heard that an official who was a thieves reformed came to our Yoshiwara, so I came here to take a look at the situation."
"Well... the official officer who was changed by the fire-sucking thief has indeed left." After showing a helpless smile, Shirobei told Guasheng Daoming that the fire-paying thief had come here.
After Shirobei said that he had paid off the thieves to change the purpose of the gang of officials, Keeimon, who still looked sad and angry, started to add something to the side.
Supplementary explanation of what Natori just said to them.
After learning that Natori actually said, "In dealing with such evil thieves, outsiders are easily injured, so we should let us who are specifically responsible for dealing with evil thieves do it." Gua Sheng also showed anger and said:
"Are they looking down on our Shirobei Club? Our Shirobei Club is also one of the organizations responsible for maintaining public security. We have arrested many vicious thieves. How come we are considered outsiders in his words?"
"Hmph." Keiemon sneered, "That guy just now must be the kind of person who thinks our Shirobei Club is nothing special!"
Although the Shirobei Club is one of the official organizations of the shogunate, its status among the various organizations of the shogunate is actually quite subtle.
Just because the Shirobei Club is an organization specifically responsible for managing Yoshiwara.
This has led many people to preconceptions that the officers of the Shirobei Club can only catch some thieves who steal money from traveling girls or do not pay after having fun.
"Okay." Shirobei sighed softly, "Stop talking, let's all disperse. Do whatever you need to do."
"Kawajiro, organize your manpower and send orders to everyone to try their best to cooperate with the search of Huosu Rogue Kai."
"Ju Xiaomonk is thin and has a bald head. He carries a wakizashi with him."
"When you meet someone who meets these characteristics, don't rush forward to fight. Please promptly notify the nearby officials who have been converted into thieves and thieves."
"Yes." Kawajiro nodded vigorously.
"Okay!" Keiemon suddenly shouted loudly at this time, "I'm excited! I want to catch that little Kiku monk before I get rid of the thieves and reformed officials!"
"I would like to see the expressions of these people who claim to be experts when they see us 'outsiders' catching the evil thief they have been tracking for a long time!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Shirobei frowned and reprimanded sternly, "Although what the man said just now may not sound good, it is actually true."
"The Fire Thief Kai is the strongest armed security force of the shogunate!"
When saying the word "strongest", Shirobei specially emphasized his tone.
"It's their job to catch vicious thieves and arsonists."
"In terms of equipment level, the eliteness of their team members, and their experience in catching vicious criminals, they are indeed far superior to us."
"So let's leave matters like capturing Ju Xiaoseng to them."
"We just need to maintain the security of Yoshiwara as usual."
"Let's all spread out! Go and do whatever you have to do!"
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara, Rashomon Riverbank.
As we get deeper into the Rashomon River bank, the surrounding scene becomes a little more lively.
On every road, large or small, there are more or less men of different ages wandering.
They may have stopped in front of a certain wandering girl.
Or continue to wander aimlessly, looking for your goal.
Although these men have different appearances and ages, they all have the same characteristics. Their clothes are basically in tatters, and you can tell at a glance that their family background is not very good.
Previously, Gua Sheng and Ogata said that there would be more customers visiting the Rashomon River Bank tonight than usual, so the police officer responsible for the security of the Rashomon River Bank applied for the deployment of more manpower to support the Rashomon River Bank.
Therefore, the scene before Ogata's eyes should be regarded as a rare and prosperous scene on the banks of the Rashomon River.
Although the flow of people on the Rashomon River bank is now quite large compared to the past, its flow of people is still a fraction of the flow of people on the Nakano-machi side.
As they entered the center of the Rashomon River and there were more people around them, the targets that the wandering girls could choose became very diverse.
Therefore, the number of people who would bother Ogata and Goryoku has decreased considerably.
Wuliu followed Ogata and said to Ogata with a smile:
"The banks of the Rashomon River are now almost unrecognizable to me."
"There were not many intact houses here before."
"And now it's actually the other way around. It's become a few shabby houses."
"It's all thanks to Mr. Wind Chime Taifu." Ogata said from the side, "Thanks to Mr. Wind Chime Taifu, this place has become so beautiful."
Yesterday, Ogata learned from Guao that after becoming the oiran, Fubell Taifu relied on his own savings to renovate his birthplace, the bank of the Rashomon River.
Ogata still admires Fu Chi Taifu's feat.
"Yes." Wuliu breathed a sigh of relief, "She is amazing... Ah, Majima-kun, have you seen that tree?"
Wuliu raised his hand and pointed towards a big tree not far ahead.
"When I was little, I always played with my friends under that tree."
Speaking of this, memories slowly appeared in Wuliu's eyes.
There happened to be two children, a boy and a girl, playing under the big tree.
Looking at the two children, Wuliu said softly:
"Those two children should be the same as me, the children of a wandering girl on the banks of the Rashomon River."
The two children were standing under the old tree, rubbing a bamboo dragonfly vigorously.
The bamboo dragonfly looks quite crude, and the person who made it must not be very good at craftsmanship.
Because of its crude shape, no matter how hard the two children rubbed it, the bamboo dragonfly could not fly.
Seeing this, Wuliu put down the hands that were crossed into his sleeves, and then walked quickly towards the pair of children.
Ogata, who didn't know what was going on, also walked over.
"Give it to me. I'll help you repair your bamboo dragonfly." Wuliu opened his big hands to the couple.
Facing the stranger in front of them, the man and woman looked at each other for a while.
In the end, the boy handed the bamboo dragonfly into Wuliu's hands with some hesitation.
"Mashima-kun, I'm sorry, but can I borrow your wakizashi?"
"Can you cultivate bamboo dragonflies?" Ogata asked as he pulled out his great freedom.
"In order to calm down a very noisy guy, I once studied and learned the bamboo dragonfly method."
After taking the freedom from Ogata's hand, Wuliu glanced at the blade, and then exclaimed:
"What a great knife! Is it from a famous craftsman?"
"No." Ogata said, "It's just an unmarked sword."
What Ogata said was not lying.
Whether it is Da Shi Tian or Da Zi Zai, there is indeed no inscription engraved on the stem of the sword.
"Unmarked Sword... How can there be such a beautiful Unmarked Sword..."
He looked up and down behind the sword several times with curious eyes, then he picked it up and used a skillful technique to slice the bamboo dragonfly in his hand.
After a while, the bamboo dragonfly that originally looked crudely made gradually became more stylish.
After the cultivation was almost complete, he returned five or six pieces of Taizuo to Ogata, then held the bamboo dragonfly with both hands, and then rubbed it vigorously.
The bamboo dragonfly, which was originally unable to fly, instantly flew to a height of nearly a room.
Looking at the bamboo dragonfly flying high in the sky, the boy and girl immediately showed excitement and trotted all the way to chase the slowly descending bamboo dragonfly.
Wuliu, on the other hand, recrossed his hands and put them into the sleeves on both sides, looking at the man and woman chasing the bamboo dragonfly with a smile.
No... to be precise... he looked at the little girl chasing the bamboo dragonfly with a smile.
"You seem to like children very much." Ogata said.
"No." Wuliu shook his head, "I actually don't like children very much."
"I just simply prefer little girls...Ah, you misunderstood, the 'like' I said is not the kind of love between men and women!"
Wuliu hurriedly explained to Ogata, who had silently distanced himself from him and had a strange expression on his face.
"For some reasons, I was forced to serve a little girl like a servant."
"Although that period was very tiring, I didn't feel unhappy at all."
"It's because of that little girl that I prefer little girls to little boys."
*******
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Japanese history small class begins~
In ancient Japan, there was actually no objection to things between men. It mainly happened in Japan's Warring States Period and the Edo Period.
In Japan, this kind of love between men is called "all ways" and is part of Japanese culture.
The minor surnames around the daimyo, in addition to taking care of daily life, are often responsible for doing other things with the daimyo.
Okay, that’s it for the introduction. If you want to know more detailed knowledge, just go and check the information slowly. It’s not convenient for me to talk too much here...