Chapter 383 You and Ogata Ichitosai know each other【6300words】
As soon as she heard the name "Yamada Senemon" from Hasegawa's mouth, Sakura shook her head violently.
"No, no matter what, I don't want Yamada Asaemon to help me."
Hasegawa seemed to have expected Sakura to say this, with only a hint of bitterness on his face.
"Sakura-sama, if you don't want Yamada Asaemon to help... I can't think of any other suitable candidate for the moment..."
"Hasegawa-sama." Sakura tapped her right knee rhythmically with the fingers of her right knee, "Don't you know other people with good skills in Edo besides Asaemon Yamada?
?"
"..." Hasegawa shook his head, "Apart from Yamada Senemon, I still know some people who are also very skilled..."
"It's just...I can't think of which of these people are reliable and which of them can be trusted..."
"Then let's end today's conversation here." Sakura nodded slightly, "Hasegawa-sama, when you go back, slowly think about who can be entrusted with this important task."
"I give you 2 days, is that enough?"
"Two days is enough." Hasegawa nodded.
"Then -" Sakura picked up the sword placed beside her, "I will wait for your good news in my house."
As soon as Sakura stood up, she seemed to have remembered something, lowered her head and said to Hasegawa, who was still sitting on the tatami.
"Hasegawa-sama, although I know you should also know it, I still want to remind you."
"If I can't prevent Gokutaro from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trials', I won't help you maintain the human foot garden."
"I hope you understand."
"...I can understand." Hasegawa nodded.
…
…
Sakura and Hasegawa walked out of the tea house one after another.
Sakura's mansion and the headquarters of Huoshu Thief Kai were located in opposite directions, so the two of them said goodbye after leaving the tea house and went their separate ways.
"Hasegawa-sama." After Sakura completely left the sight, Imai, who was leading the way with a lantern, turned to Hasegawa behind her and asked, "How was the talk?"
"...I promised Sakura-sama." Hasegawa showed a helpless smile.
"Did you promise him..." Imai said solemnly.
As early as a few days ago, Sakura had approached Hasegawa and mentioned to Hasegawa that someone in Shiranui "would send their masters to participate in the 'Gozen Trials' in an attempt to win the first place in the martial arts test.
This is an attempt to restore the image.
In other words, as early as the first meeting a few days ago, Sakura tried to get Hasegawa to join the team.
The first meeting between the two ended without any problem.
Because Hasegawa had not made up his mind whether to cooperate with Sakura, he used the "drag" technique and asked Sakura to give him some time and let him think about it after he went back.
Sakura also agreed to Hasegawa and gave Hasegawa a few days.
So——there was the second meeting between the two tonight.
Imai is Hasegawa's right-hand man.
In the Fire Thief Kai, his status is second only to Hasegawa.
As a close confidant of Hasegawa and with a high status, Imai naturally knew that Sakura and Hasegawa had a secret meeting and knew the content of the meeting.
Imai, who was very concerned about whether Hasegawa would agree to Sakura's cooperation invitation, couldn't help but immediately asked him about the outcome of the meeting after Hasegawa came out and Sakura left.
After learning from Hasegawa that Hasegawa actually agreed to cooperate with Sakura, Imai's face darkened.
"...Hasegawa-sama." Imai smiled bitterly, "I thought you would reject Sakura-sama...haven't you always stayed away from this kind of political struggle?"
"I originally wanted to reject Sakura." Hasegawa followed Imai with a bitter look on his face, "But the conditions Sakura-sama offered me were too generous..."
"Sakura-sama made a promise to me - if I can successfully prevent Gokutaro from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trials', I will help me maintain the human foot garden."
"Really?" Imai looked excited as soon as Hasegawa finished speaking.
"Of course, the premise is that we can successfully prevent Gokutaro from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trial Match'." Hasegawa shrugged with a wry smile.
"...This condition is indeed very generous." Imai shook his head helplessly, "I can understand why Hasegawa-sama agreed to cooperate with Sakura-sama."
"We are really short of allies now..."
Speaking of this, Imai let out a long sigh.
"Many officials in the shogunate, including Mr. Lao Naka, feel that our staff station has no other use except a waste of money..."
“I feel like we shouldn’t waste money on teaching those prisoners a certain skill.”
"Why don't they understand?"
Imai showed an angry look on his face.
"Enabling criminals who have committed minor crimes to have a skill can greatly reduce the possibility of them committing another crime."
"Why do they only think that sending our people to the airport is just a waste of money..."
"...Some of them understand." Hasegawa sighed softly, "At the very least - Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama, who holds the high position of Laochu, must know the benefits of establishing a football field.
of."
"Sama Matsudaira Sadanobu is currently carrying out the reform of the shogunate in full swing."
"There are a lot of places that are in dire need of money."
"So what Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama dislikes the most now is people who waste money."
"The reason why Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama used different methods to put pressure on me and force me to close down the football field is because he just thinks that there are many things that have priority over the operation of the football field."
After saying this, Hasegawa became angry.
"But - no matter what Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama says, I will not close down the football field."
Imai nodded solemnly and said:
"If we can have Sakura-sama's support, our pressure will be greatly reduced..."
"Then only when we successfully prevent Shiranui's people from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trial Combat' martial arts test, will Sakura-sama be willing to help us protect the human foot field."
"Hasegawa-sama," Imai asked, "Now that you have cooperated with Sakura-sama, what exactly are you going to do?"
"The work I have to do is also very simple."
"The 'Gozen Trial Combination' was personally conducted by Matsudaira Sadanobu-sama. Even Sakura-sama couldn't tamper with the 'Gozen Trial Combination'."
"So if you want to prevent the people in Shiranui from winning the first place in the 'Gozen Trial', there is only one way to do it - send someone strong enough to defeat the people in Shiranui in the 'Gozen Trial'.
"
"So the mission Sakura-sama gave me is very simple."
"Let me send out the most elite subordinates under my command, or use my network of contacts to let some friends with good skills participate in the 'Gozen Trial Combination'. Defeat the Shiranui people in the 'Gozen Trial Combination'."
"That's very simple!" Imai shouted with a very motivated look, "We have a lot of thieves and talented people, and there are no less than ten people who can equal one to ten."
"Sakura-sama is pretty good at finding people."
"If you are looking for someone with high strength, Hasegawa-sama, who has the Fire Rogue Thief Kai, is indeed your best choice."
A wry smile appeared on Hasegawa's face again.
"Imai, do you know who Shiranui sent to participate in the 'Gozen Trials'?"
"have no idea."
"They sent Jitaro."
"...that Jitaro, one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings'?"
"You actually know him."
"Hasegawa-sama, after all, I am also the deputy commander of Huo Fu Thief Kai. I also know these things."
"That's right, it's Jitaro, one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui. He is one of the four strongest Jonin in Shiranui."
"Although I haven't seen him with my own eyes, I have heard about his strength."
"Most of our elite members of the Fire Bandits Kaigai have been transferred to the Northeast to capture Aoi Ichiro."
"I don't think any of the people staying in Edo now have the ability to defeat Gokutaro..."
"...Then I can only ask some friends with good skills." Imai said solemnly.
"I just recommended Yamada Asaemon to Sakura-sama."
Hasegawa shrugged.
"It's a pity that Sakura-sama rejected it without hesitation."
After hearing the name "Yamada Senemon", Imai's expression changed slightly and he shrank his neck.
Looking at Imai showing such a reaction, Hasegawa said to Imai in a joking tone:
"What? Imai, are you also afraid of the Yamada Asemon family?"
"Of course." Imai admitted directly, "Normal people would be afraid of the Yamada Asaemon family..."
"I once went to the Yamada Asemon family's mansion for some reasons."
"As soon as I stepped into their mansion, I smelled a faint smell of corpse..."
"Not only that, I also happened to see their family's servants moving a somewhat decomposed corpse into the backyard of their mansion."
"It is said that the corpse was used to train the young people in their family."
"I think that family is abnormal... If I could, I would never want to have anything to do with anyone from that family in my life."
"Sakura-sama, maybe he refused because he didn't want to have any contact with the Yamada Asaemon family like me..."
"Maybe." Hasegawa shrugged, "Sakura-sama has always been old-fashioned."
"He has always felt that executioners whose job is to steal other people's names - even members of the Yamada Asaemon family, are still unclean."
"If you associate with such unclean people, you will also suffer bad luck."
"That's probably why Sakura-sama doesn't want people from the Yamada Asaemon family to help."
"And I heard that Sakura-sama has always been quite critical of the Yamada Asaemon family's practice of using human gall bladders to make 'Jingdan pills'."
"This may be one of the reasons why Sakura-sama doesn't want people from the Yamada Asaemon family to help."
"I think it's okay for the Yamada Asaemon family to use human guts to make medicine." Imai muttered, "Anyway, the guts they use are the guts of dead people."
"I think it's a good thing to use the guts of dead people to make medicine to save people."
"It would be better if the price of 'Rendan Pills' could be lower..."
"In short." Hasegawa sighed, "Since Sakura-sama doesn't want the Yamada Asaemon family to help, I can only find someone else..."
"But among the people I know who are pretty good at it, there doesn't seem to be anyone who has great hope of defeating Kitaro..."
Hasegawa looked at Imai.
"Imai, do you know anyone who is very skilled?"
Imai grimaced and shook his head.
"Forget it." Hasegawa shook his head with a look of helplessness on his face, "Let's slowly think about the suitable candidate later."
"If possible, I would actually like to fight against the ninjas in Shiranui." Imai smiled, "I have never fought against a ninja."
"Speaking of which - the shogunate once recruited ninjas as 'royal ninjas' just like it does now."
"You are talking about Iga no Sato." Hasegawa smiled and said, "You are right. Lord Ieyasu established the Edo shogunate, and indeed he incorporated the 'Iga no Sato' into the shogunate's official ninja force."
"It's a pity that 'Iga no Sato' was destroyed due to civil strife 40 years ago."
"Now that I think about it carefully, I feel really emotional."
"Two hundred years ago, the five great ninjas of the Warring States Period - Iga no Sato, Koga no Sato, Fuma no Sato, Manten no Sato, and Togakushi no Sato, are all now dead."
"Currently, Shiranui is the only ninja family left in the whole country."
"But during the Warring States Period, Shiranui Ri was just a little-known ninja who relied on Lord Taiko to survive."
"Shiranui Sato, which was unknown at the time, is now the only remaining ninja sect. It is now the royal ninja of the shogunate just like Iga no Sato was back then."
"The changes in world affairs are really confusing."
"From a certain perspective, Lord Taikaku is Shiranui's benefactor."
"Without Taiko-sama's help, Shiranui Ri, who was weak at the time, might have perished long ago."
"Taiko-sama..." Imai seemed to have remembered something, a thoughtful look appeared on his face, "I have heard of many anecdotes between Taiko-sama and Shiranui Ri."
"I heard that Shiranui Rito also participated in the two decisive battles when Lord Ieyasu attacked and destroyed the Toyotomi family - the Osaka Winter Formation and the Osaka Summer Formation."
"I have also heard of such rumors." Hasegawa said, "But this is just a rumor after all. No one knows whether there is such a thing."
Hasegawa and Imai were chatting and unknowingly returned to the headquarters of the Huofu Thieves Kaifa that they were most familiar with.
Outside the gate of the Huo Fu Thieves Headquarters, there are two spring lanterns.
The lantern is painted with the family crest of the Tokugawa family, which rules the entire Japan: the three-leaf sunflower pattern.
The faint light emitted by the candle in the lantern illuminated the entire gate, illuminating the wooden sign hanging on the side of the gate with the five powerful Chinese characters "Fire pays the thief Kai".
Looking at the wooden sign, Hasegawa and Imai had a faint smile on their faces.
The headquarters of Huo Fu Thieves is like home to them.
Coming back here is like coming home to them.
No... to be precise... for Hasegawa, coming back here is indeed like returning home.
In order to facilitate his work, Hasegawa directly moved his entire home into the headquarters.
In other words, returning to the headquarters, for Hasegawa, is the same as returning home.
After passing through the gate of the Yamen, Hasegawa and Imai saw Yamazaki walking towards them quickly.
Yamazaki is the leader of their 8th division of the Fire Thief Kai team.
Team 8 is the only team in their Huo Fu Thief Kai team that has clerical work as its main job.
The members of Group 8 are all proficient in pen and ink.
As the leader of the eighth team, Yamazaki is also trusted and relied upon by Hasegawa.
Because the Eighth Division is mainly responsible for clerical work, Yamazaki rarely leaves the headquarters and travels far away.
When Hasegawa and Imai are away, Yamasaki is basically in charge of the headquarters.
"Yamazaki." Hasegawa asked Yamazaki, who looked anxious, "What happened?"
"Hasegawa-sama, something happened." Yamazaki said solemnly, "Natori had a dispute with the official of Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara."
Yamazaki explained the ins and outs of the matter to Hasegawa and Imai in as simple words as possible.
"The entire sixth division was wiped out?" Imai widened his eyes and exclaimed, "And it was all wiped out by one person?"
"Yes." Yamazaki nodded with a heavy face, "But because the person who wiped out the sixth team used the back of the sword, there were no dead or seriously injured people."
"I just sent people from Division 7 to take Natori and the others back to the headquarters, and called a doctor to treat their injuries."
"A very tall man came just now and said he wanted to have a good talk with us about Division 6."
"Then that person..."
Yamazaki glanced at Hasegawa hesitantly.
"That person said his name is Makimura Yahachi, and he is an old acquaintance of Lord Hasegawa."
"Because I am not sure whether he is really an old acquaintance of yours, Master Hasegawa, so I will temporarily place him in the guest room."
After hearing the name "Makimura Yahachi" from Yamazaki's mouth, Hasegawa's pupils shrank slightly.
"...I understand." Hasegawa turned his head and looked at Imai, "Imai, go check on the situation of Division 6."
"yes!"
"Yamazaki, take me to Makimura Yabana."
"yes!"
After Yamazaki led Hasegawa through several corridors, he came to a paper sliding door.
After Yamazaki opened the paper sliding door, Hasegawa saw a familiar figure in the room.
Makimura is now sitting cross-legged on the tatami.
Seeing Hasegawa coming, Makimura immediately smiled and waved to Hasegawa.
"...Yamazaki, please step aside first." Hasegawa said to Yamazaki, "I want to be alone with this person for a while."
…
…
at the same time--
Somewhere not far from the headquarters of the Fire Thieves Kai -
"Are you really not going to meet Hasegawa with Makimura? Your relationship with Hasegawa should be pretty good."
Asai, who was still dressed in women's clothing, asked Ogata beside him.
The two of them are now in a remote alley.
Ogata leaned against a wall, playing with the leaves in his hands boredly.
Asai was leaning against the wall opposite Ogata.
Since there was no one around and there was no need to pretend, Asai no longer had to raise his voice and speak like a eunuch.
After hearing Asai's question, Ogata showed a helpless smile.
"My relationship with Hasegawa... is very complicated."
"At the beginning of this year, I had a fight with Hasegawa in Tatsuno Domain."
"Then this summer, I fought side by side with Hasegawa to protect Kyoto..."
"So I can't tell whether Hasegawa and I are enemies or friends."
"I don't think Hasegawa himself can tell whether I am an enemy or a friend."
"Although I wear a human skin mask, Hasegawa should still remember my voice, so if I meet him, he should still be able to recognize me quickly."
"I just burned down the Nijo Castle castle tower three months ago."
Speaking of this, the helpless smile on Ogata's face turned into a bitter smile.
"Although I did not set the fire myself, I still bear a considerable responsibility for the burning of Nijo Castle's castle tower."
"So, as I am currently accused of 'burning down the Nijo Castle Castle', it would be better for me not to meet with Hasegawa Heizo, the chief of the Hōfu thieves who is responsible for arresting vicious thieves and arsonists."
"Just let Makimura help me negotiate with Hasegawa and report the evil deeds of Division 6 to Hasegawa."
"Makimura is not a wanted criminal. Three months ago in Kyoto, Makimura and Hasegawa fought side by side for the longest time, and they also had a fateful friendship."
"So just let Makimura negotiate with Hasegawa for me."
Having said this, Ogata paused, then looked at Asai in front of him.
"Asai, you should go back to the hotel first. I'll wait for Makimura here slowly."
"Please tell everyone for us - Makimura and I may go back later tonight."
"I wish I could." Asai replied without hesitation, "I just want to take a shower quickly and wipe off these things on my face."
…
…
"It's been a long time since I last saw you, Makimura. It's been three months since we parted ways in Kyoto."
Hasegawa knelt down in front of Makimura in a polite manner.
"Yes." Makimura nodded, "It's already October, so three months have passed. Hasegawa-sama, you are still as energetic as ever."
"I'm so busy." Hasegawa said with a bitter face, "After returning to Edo from Kyoto, all kinds of things happened one after another."
After saying that, Hasegawa sighed softly.
"The longer a person lives, the faster he feels that time passes."
"Three months ago, I still vividly remember the scene with you, Shimada-kun, and Ogata Ittousai running around Kyoto, as if it happened yesterday..."
Hasegawa didn't know why, but he suddenly paused in the middle of his words.
"Ogata Ittosai...?"
After muttering like this softly, Hasegawa's pupils suddenly shrank.
Then he slowly raised his head and looked at Makimura in front of him.
"Yes... I remember it. Makimura-kun, you and Ogata Ittosai know each other, right?"
Then he said something that confused Makimura.
*******
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A few days ago, a reader asked me whether women in ancient Japan did not wear underwear.
In this chapter, I will tell you about ancient Japanese women’s underwear.
First answer the above question: Women in ancient Japan [none wore underwear or underwear]
Because there were no underwear or underwear in ancient Japan.
Women in ancient Japan would wear something called a "waist roll".
The "waist roll" looks like this→→
This is the underwear of ancient Japanese women. As shown in the picture, it is just an apron-like thing wrapped around the waist, and the shielding effect is actually very limited.
If you lie on the ground and look up, you can still clearly see a woman’s vagina
As for ancient Japanese women’s underwear, it looked like this→→
I couldn't find the name of the underwear. The information I found only showed that this thing is a type of underwear.
Regarding the detailed introduction of these two, I will tell you in detail in the following chapters.
I know that LSPs account for the vast majority of my readers, so you like to hear this type of popular science, right? (laughing)