Chapter 388 Songping Dingxin, who wants a staff [5200 words]
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, everyone's eyes naturally fell on Ogata.
After everyone's eyes fell on him, Ogata immediately continued:
"Asai was right just now."
"Hasegawa-sama is a military attache with a high status in the shogunate."
"If we are mutually beneficial with him, we might be able to exchange important information such as 'the exact location of Shiranui' and 'how many ninjas are currently staying in Shiranui's base'."
Speaking of this, Ogata changed to a half-joking tone and continued:
"If we could directly find out the exact location of Shiranui's base from Hasegawa's mouth, we wouldn't even have to help Hasegawa participate in the 'Gozen Trials'."
"We can directly start formulating a plan to attack Shiranui, and then defeat Shiranui in one fell swoop."
"In this case, there will be no Shiranui ninjas who can participate in the 'Gozen Trials'."
"At the same time, it can also indirectly help those ministers who oppose Shiranui Ri to achieve their goals."
"There is no need to oppose Shiranui, after all, Shiranui is gone."
Ogata's joke made many people present laugh.
Even Rin, who was usually expressionless, turned up the corners of her mouth slightly when Ogata finished speaking.
But as soon as the corners of her mouth turned upward, they were immediately flattened by her.
After thinking for a while, he said in a deep voice:
"Nichibei, Ogata Ittosai, you are right."
"If I can get Hasegawa to help me, there will be a lot of benefits."
Lin moved her eyes and scanned the people in front of her.
"I agree with mutual benefit and reciprocity with Hasegawa. What about you?" Lin said.
As soon as Lin finished speaking, Oufang continued:
"I have no opinion."
After Ogata expressed his stance, others also expressed their stance one after another.
Everyone agrees with this matter.
After all, if they had to rely on the local snake "Tōjōya" to slowly find the exact location of Shiranui's base, God knows how long it would take for them to find out the location.
After seeing that everyone agreed, Lin nodded gently:
"...Then let's have mutual benefit with Hasegawa."
"If we want to agree with Hasegawa on mutual benefits and are willing to tell us the information we need, then we must first verbally agree to Hasegawa. Promise him that we will help him and send our experts to participate.'
A test match before the emperor'."
"If we don't verbally agree to Hasegawa first, then he probably won't tell us the relevant information about Shiranui."
"Only men can participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."
"There are many enemies of the great uncle in Edo, so the great uncle cannot participate in the 'imperial trial match'. Allowing the uncle to participate in the 'imperial trial match' will only create complications."
"What a pity." After taking a sip of the wine in the glass, Yuan Yi said in a regretful tone, "If there is not a more important thing to do now, defeating Shiranui Ri, otherwise even if there are enemies everywhere now, I will still
I would like to participate in the ‘Imperial Trial Match’.”
Lin ignored what Yuan Yi said just now and continued:
"Kuro is a wanted criminal by the shogunate. If he only relies on smearing mud on his face to disguise himself, he might still be exposed."
"So - the only ones who can participate in the 'Gozen Trial' are Mihachi, Nanbei, Katsurokuro, and..."
Lin turned her attention to Ogata.
"Ogata Ittosai has such a convenient thing as a human skin mask."
"If it is just for mutual benefit and mutual benefit with Hasegawa, then there is no need to send too many people on the field."
"Just sending one person on the field is enough."
"Are any of the four of you very interested in the 'Imperial Trial Match'?"
As soon as Lin spoke, a voice immediately sounded:
"Let me go."
The owner of this voice is Ogata.
"Aitsu." Atachi, who was sitting next to Ogata, said in a surprised tone, "Are you so interested in that 'gozen trial match'?"
"...So be it." Ogata shrugged and said with a smile.
"...Ogata Ittosai." Lin, who still looked expressionless, asked, "Are you sure you really want to participate in the 'Gozen Trial Match'?"
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "I'm still somewhat interested in this 'Gozen Trials' where I can compete with masters from all over the world."
——You can also help me get some experience points by the way.
Ogata added in his heart.
"...Okay then." Lin looked at Ogata with meaningful eyes for a few times, then sighed softly, "You and I are just allies, and I can't interfere with what you want to do."
After saying that, Lin turned her head and looked at Makimura beside her.
"Mihachi, you can go find Hasegawa tomorrow."
"Tell him: You can recommend him a friend who has good skills and is willing to participate in the 'imperial trial match'."
"But the prerequisite for recommending him is——"
Lin held out two fingers.
"Tell you the location of Shiranui's base."
"And in the days to come, help us pay attention to the information related to the movements of the ninjas in Shiranui, and share this information with us in a timely manner."
"Hasegawa is a member of the government. Through the government's channels, he may be able to hear some developments about the ninjas in Shiranui that are difficult for outsiders to detect."
"Understood." Makimura carefully noted down what Lin said, and then asked, "What if Hasegawa says that he doesn't know where Shiranui's base is?"
"...It doesn't matter even if we don't know where the Shiranui base is." Linda said, "Let Hasegawa, a senior military attaché of the shogunate, help keep an eye on the movements of the ninjas in Shiranui - this advantage alone is actually enough.
"
"If he rejects both of the conditions we proposed, then you don't need to talk to him anymore."
"It would be best if Hasegawa knew the exact location of Shiranui."
"In this way, we might be able to defeat Shiranui before the 'Gozen Trial Combination' begins."
"Then Ogata Ittosai won't have to put in the effort to participate in the 'Gozen Trials'."
Lin, who rarely said a wisecrack, made many people present laugh.
Even Ogata also showed a faint smile.
But after smiling, Ogata secretly thought in his heart:
——If possible... I would like to finish this "imperial trial" completely...
After saying that, Ogata subconsciously raised his hand and touched the money bag lying quietly in his arms.
…
…
at the same time--
In Edo, inside a certain magnificent mansion——
Bang, bang, bang...
The muffled sound of bare feet stepping on the tatami broke the silence of the room.
A middle-aged man who was not too old walked slowly towards the room placed in the corner of the room.
This middle-aged man has a broad forehead, slight fine lines on the corners of his slightly drooped eyes, and a short beard hanging on his chin.
Because he had just come out of the bathroom, there was still a touch of heat lingering on his body.
At the same time, because this middle-aged man had just taken a shower, his shaved hair was hanging naturally and not tied into a bun.
After walking slowly to the mirror located in the corner of the room, the middle-aged man stopped and looked at himself in the mirror expressionlessly.
This is a large standing mirror. The middle-aged man is not very tall, and his figure can be reflected in this standing mirror.
Through this mirror, the middle-aged man can clearly see that his face looks haggard compared to a few months ago.
There are even faint black marks on the lower eye sockets of his eyes.
This is not a black mark on the eye socket, but a naturally formed dark circle.
The middle-aged man raised his hand and touched the dark circle under his right eye.
Although there are dark circles around the eyes, the pupils of the middle-aged man's eyes still radiate with arrogance and strength.
The faint dark circles under the eyes actually set off the dazzling light in the eyes of the middle-aged man.
After briefly checking his current expression, the middle-aged man took his eyes away from the standing mirror in front of him, then walked slowly to a table not far away, and sat cross-legged next to it.
Down.
This desk is decorated with pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and is covered with a piece of paper.
Half of the paper has been covered with words as small as tadpoles.
After sitting down at the table, the middle-aged man picked up the brush resting on the pen mountain and continued to write something on the paper.
The soft sound of the brush sliding on the paper and the sound of burning candles dominate the room.
There was no noise outside the room, and there was no other person in the room besides the middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man was the only one in the room.
It's a pity that the silence was broken not long after by an extremely young voice outside the room.
"Lord Zhong, it's me."
As soon as the young voice fell, the middle-aged man who did not stop holding the brush in his hand said softly and expressionlessly:
"Tachibana, come in."
"yes."
Wow.
The sound of the paper sliding door being opened followed by the respectful response.
The paper sliding door of the room was opened.
The person who opened the door was a young man who was probably just over 20 years old, kneeling on one knee outside the room.
Standing up, entering the room, kneeling down on one knee again, closing the door, and facing the middle-aged man - this series of actions has an elegant atmosphere from beginning to end, which any outsider will find pleasing to the eye.
"Sir Lao Zhong," the young man said, "I have informed the adults in Ruonianji of the news that there will be a banquet at noon tomorrow."
Ruo Nian Ji - an important position directly subordinate to the general after Lao Zhong, managing officials outside the scope of Lao Zhong's authority.
There are currently 4 people working in the shogunate.
As soon as the young man finished speaking, the middle-aged man nodded gently:
"Tachibana, thank you for your hard work."
Called "Ochu" by this young man, the identity of this middle-aged man was also revealed - it was none other than the current Laochu of the shogunate: Matsudaira Sadanobu.
And this young man is Matsudaira Sadanobu’s nickname: Tachibana Yuuma.
Although Tachibana is young, due to his talent in both civil and military affairs and his intelligence, he was promoted early by Sadanobu to the rank of junior surname around him, specifically responsible for doing chores for Sadanobu.
Tachibana has a handsome appearance, and although he is a holder of the Nakawa Itto-ryu Onojinden, his skin is fair and he does not look like a martial arts disciple who is proficient in swordsmanship at all.
Because of Tachibana's handsome appearance, many good people jokingly claimed that Sadanobu promoted Tachibana to his nickname because of his appearance.
It is not uncommon for powerful people to promote the handsome men they like to have a nickname.
But anyone who knows a little bit about Sadanobu knows that these are just rumors, and they are nonsense meant to discredit Matsudaira Sadanobu intentionally or unintentionally.
Anyone who knows a little bit about Sadanobu knows how strict Matsudaira Sadanobu is to others and to himself.
When it comes to beauty, Dingxin has always held a "not too interested" attitude.
After saying "Thank you for your hard work", Dingxin immediately said:
"Tachibana."
"Yes." Tachibana responded quickly.
"Obviously we are going to have a banquet with Ruonianji and have a new round of discussions on government affairs."
"You may be very tired tomorrow, and it's getting late now, so you should go down and rest early."
"Yes." Tachibana paused for a moment after answering "yes" loudly.
He raised his head and looked at Dingxin in front of him... To be more precise, he looked at Dingxin's somewhat haggard face. After the dark circles around his eyes were obviously deeper than before, he looked a little worried.
He said in a tone filled with color:
"Lord, please take a rest early."
"You seem to be sleeping very late every night recently. Please take more care of your health."
As soon as Tachibana finished speaking, a faint smile appeared on Sadanobu's face:
"I'm fine. I'm not old enough yet."
"I am now in my prime, and this level will not cause my body to collapse."
"It's just that I have a little more things to deal with recently."
"After I finish this busy period, I will go to bed early as usual."
After hearing what Dingxin said, Dingxin opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something else.
But after opening his mouth for a while, he finally closed it again as if giving up.
After bowing to Matsudaira Sadanobu, and just as he was about to stand up and leave, Tachibana paused as if he remembered something.
Then he said to Matsudaira Sadanobu:
"Lord Lao Zhong, I discovered an interesting thing today related to the 'Imperial Trial Match'. I wonder if I want to report it to you."
"Oh?" Dingxin stopped holding the brush in his hand, "What's the interesting story? Tell me about it."
After saying that, the brush in Dingxin's hand started moving again.
"I just heard about this today."
"It is said that there is a group of samurai from Hatamoto and Imperial families who plan to show off their skills in the 'Imperial Trials' in the hope of gaining your appreciation, Mr. Laozhong."
"Huh?" Matsudaira Sadanobu stopped the brush in his hand again, turned his head, and cast his eyes on Tachibana, "Do you get my appreciation?"
"Well, I don't know where these people heard about it."
Tachibana seemed to be amused by what he was saying now, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
"They seem to think that one of the important reasons why you, Laozhong-sama, insisted on organizing the 'Gozen Trial Alliance' against all opinions is to win the election in the 'Gozen Trial Alliance' at a time when the reform of the shogunate is in full swing.
Select a few outstanding people whom you admire to serve as your own staff."
After hearing Tachibana's words, Sadanobu immediately burst into laughter.
"Are you planning to select a few distinguished people to serve as aides in the 'Imperial Trial Match'... Who was the first person to spread this rumor..."
"I heard that there are still some very outstanding talents among this group of people." Tachibana continued, "For example - a Hatamoto disciple named Takigawa Heiichiro."
"Takigawa Heiichiro?" Sadanobu said calmly, "I've never heard of it."
"I have heard about his deeds before," Tachibana said. "Among the younger generation of Hatamoto and the imperial family's children, he is a very outstanding one."
"He is the eldest son of the Takigawa family. If I remember correctly, the Takigawa family's family income is 3,000 dan."
"It is said that he studied under the Moakawa Dojo in Edo and is a descendant of the Immortal Dojo. Some time ago, he successfully obtained the "No Oro All Transmission" certificate from the Immortal Dojo."
"In addition to his excellent swordsmanship, he is also a disciple of Xiang Sheng Chun Shui, a master of Sinology. He has profound attainments in Sinology."
Just after Tachibana finished speaking, Sadanobu raised his eyebrows slightly:
"Is he still the disciple of Xiangsheng Chunshui? He is capable of both literary and martial arts. It seems that he is indeed an outstanding person."
After saying that, the brush in Dingxin's hand started moving again.
"I have never thought about the idea of finding outstanding people to serve as staff in the 'Imperial Trial Match'."
"but……"
Having said this, Ding Xin paused for a moment.
After a pause, he continued:
"I really want some capable staff now."
"If there really is someone worthy of note in the 'Imperial Trial Alliance', then I wouldn't be able to consider recruiting him or her as a staff member or as a minor surname."
"Loonaka-sama." Tachibana's face flashed with surprise, "Do you really plan to select outstanding people who can serve as staff or have nicknames in the 'Imperial Trial Match'?"
"It's just an 'if'."
Matsudaira Sadanobu emphasized the tone of the word "if".
"If there really is an outstanding person that I appreciate, I wouldn't mind making him a staff member or a nickname."
"But it's probably very difficult for such an outstanding person to appear."
"Compared to literary talent and swordsmanship, I pay more attention to other things now."
After finishing the sentence with a half-joking tone, Matsudaira Sadanobu moved his shoulders.
"Okay, Tachibana, let's stop talking."
"I'm a little tired too."
"Go down and rest quickly."
"After I finish handling this last bit of official business, I'm going to take a rest."
"yes."
Tachibana was a little concerned about what Matsudaira Sadanobu just said, "Compared to literary talent and swordsmanship, I pay more attention to other things now."
But Matsudaira Sadanobu had just said those words, and Tachibana could only respond loudly and quickly left the room.
After Tachibana left the room, Matsudaira Sadanobu focused on the half-blank piece of paper on the desk in front of him, and slightly accelerated his writing speed.
*******
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I have mentioned it many times before, and I will mention it again here - Lao Zhong is similar to the prime minister or prime minister in our country, the one who is inferior to one person and is superior to ten thousand people.
There is also a higher position above Lao Zhong, called "Da Lao", but this position is not permanent.
Because in ancient Japan, the people in power were very young - this kind of thing often happened.
In 1790 AD, which is the current timeline of this book, Matsudaira Sadanobu was only 32 years old.
This age is considered young in modern times, but in ancient times when the average life span was pitifully short, this was already considered middle-aged.
In the Edo period, children at this age might already be teenagers.
By the way - Matsudaira Sadanobu became the new senior minister in 1788, which means that at the age of 29, he became a person below one person and above ten thousand people. You are being abandoned by your peers.jpg (manual