Chapter 396 The first name of the text test is actually myself! [Break up 8200 words! 】
3 days later
Edo, Yoshiwara.
"Mashima-kun, it's almost time for the results of the literary test to be released." Gua Sheng said to Ogata who was standing next to her.
"Yes." Ogata looked up at the position of the moon above his head and nodded, "It's indeed almost time. I'm about to leave to see if I passed the literary test."
It was already 3 days ago that I took the literary test of "Imperial Examination".
Even before the literary test begins, the government has announced that the results of the literary test will be released at 9:00 p.m. (20:00) three days after the literary test ends.
At that time, the list of those who passed the literary test will be posted on a large wooden board.
In addition to the names of those who passed the exam, the list will also list the names of the top 10 people who won the exam.
The place where the ranking was released happened to be very close to Yoshiwara, on the Nippon Embankment.
The government probably considered that when the results were released, a large number of people would come to see whether they had successfully passed the literary test or just come to join in the fun. In order to avoid crowding, the place where the results were released was set up on the relatively empty Japanese embankment.
Early this morning, officials from the government had already erected a large wooden sign in an open space not far from Yoshihara.
It's almost time for the results to be released. There are already many participants of the "Imperial Trial Match", or people who just want to join in the fun, gathered in front of the big wooden sign.
They were all already waiting for the list with the names of the passers and the names of the top 10 to be posted.
Ogata had already contacted Shirobei in advance, asked for leave, and asked Shirobei to allow him to leave Yoshiwara temporarily and go to the place where the list was released to see if his name was on the list.
Naturally, Shirobei readily agreed to this small request from Ogata, who had made great contributions to Yoshihara before.
Because the place where the results were released was relatively close to Yoshihara, Ogata was not in a hurry to set off and still carried out his mission tonight: to stand guard in the first half of Nakano Town.
Guasheng had just led several colleagues to patrol around Yoshihara as usual.
After returning to the first half of Nakano-machi, I saw Ogata who had not yet set off, so I came to chat with Ogata, chat, and relax my feet that were a little sore from patrolling Yoshiwara several times.
"I don't know if it's because everyone is watching the rankings or joining in the fun, but I feel like there are a lot less people coming to Yoshiwara tonight." Gua Sheng said with a wry smile.
"Isn't this just right?" Ogata shrugged and said in a half-joking tone, "With fewer people coming to Yoshiwara, we will have less pressure to patrol and stand guard."
After saying that, Ogata looked up again and glanced at the moon above his head.
"...It should be time, Guasheng, I'll leave first. I'll be back as soon as I go."
"Yeah." Gua Sheng nodded vigorously, "See you later, I'm about to continue patrolling Yoshiwara. Don't be nervous! I think you can definitely pass the literary test!"
"I'm not nervous..." Ogata waved to Guasheng with a wry smile, said goodbye to Guasheng, and then strode outside Yoshihara.
As he gradually moved away from Yoshiwara, Oconi felt his heart beat faster due to a little nervousness.
What Ogata just said to Gua Sheng that "he is not nervous" was actually a lie.
Although he was quite confident that he would successfully pass the literary test, Ogata was still a little nervous.
Worrying about “What if I fail the literary test?”
If you fail the literary test, you will not only lose face, but it will also be difficult to explain to Hasegawa...
With a little worry, Ogata finally arrived at the place where the results were released.
At the end of the field of vision, there is a large standing sign made of three standing signs.
There are several large pieces of paper posted on this big stand at this time.
Because of the distance, Ogata couldn't see clearly what was written on this large piece of paper. He could only see dense black dots.
Perhaps because Ogata arrived relatively early, there were not many people gathered in front of the list at this time.
Aiming at the "weakest" spot in the crowd, Ogata walked straight towards it.
After approaching the crowd gathered in front of the list, Ogata gradually heard the voices of these people talking.
"Okay! There is my name!"
"Uu...that's great..."
"Fortunately, I have never forgotten to study Sinology."
There are people who are happy that they passed the literary test, but there are also people who lament or roar because they did not see their name on the list.
"Hey! Why isn't my name on it?"
"Give me an explanation! Why I didn't see my name!"
Around the standing sign, there were nearly 20 heavily armed officers.
Thorns, ten hands, and lanterns for lighting are all available.
In addition to protecting the sign that posted the list of those who passed the examination from being destroyed, these officials were also responsible for dealing with the group of guys who caused trouble because they did not see their names on the list.
When people come to ask "Why is my name not on the list?", they always answer "This list is judged by the examiners."
If someone is dissatisfied and tends to make trouble, use a polite tone to "remind" them not to make trouble.
After hearing the "reminder" from the official, basically all emotional people will calm down.
After all, only a handful of people have the courage and ability to provoke officials in the ruling center of the shogunate.
In addition to cheers from the crowd who were glad that they had passed the literary test, and roars of dissatisfaction and anger that their names did not appear on the list, there were also other voices.
"Hey, who came first in the literary test? Have you heard of it?"
"never heard of that."
"Are you a foreigner? I have lived in Edo for so many years and I have never heard of this person."
"If you are a ronin from other places, it will be a lot of fun. I heard that many hatmotos and royal family members have participated in this 'Gozen Trial.'
But, hehe."
"I'm so envious. The guy who won the first place can get 100 taels of gold. Such a large amount of money is enough for me to live a life without worrying about food and clothing for several years."
…
There were quite a few people discussing the top spot in the literary test.
After getting close enough that his eyes could clearly see the words on the list, Ourimon stopped.
Ogata's height, which is far above average, came in handy again at this moment.
You don't even need to stand on tiptoes, just look up and look at things normally.
Because I just heard a lot of people discussing the first place in the literary test, Ogata couldn't help but become a little curious about this mysterious first place in the literary test.
This list is made up of several large sheets of white paper, with 10 names listed on the far left.
On the far left side of these 10 names, 10 numbers from one to ten are marked from top to bottom.
To the right of these 10 names are hundreds of names.
Even without being introduced by others, Ogata could tell at a glance that the 10 names on the far left of the list were the top 10 in this literary test.
The remaining hundreds of names listed to the right of these 10 names are the people other than the top 10 who have passed the literary test and can take the following martial arts test.
It would take an unknown amount of time to find the name "Mashima Goro" from among these hundreds of names, so Ogata planned to first see who was the hotly discussed number one in the literary test.
Ogata slowly moved his gaze to the top 10 list on the far left of the list.
Then...
Ogata's expression immediately froze.
Because after turning his attention to the top 10 list, Ogata suddenly saw written next to the number "1" a name that was very familiar to Ogata at this time.
Majima Goro.
Next to the number "一" which represents the first place in the literary test, the name marked is "Goro Majima".
…
…
Three days ago, when the literary test officially started, Takigawa was flustered because there was a strange question on the test paper. But after he regained his composure, Takigawa seemed to have divine help and wrote an essay of his own.
The most satisfying article in my life.
After the literary test, Takigawa impatiently wrote down the article he had written at that time, and then handed it over to his close and talented friends for circulation.
Everyone who read Takigawa's article couldn't help but marvel and admire it.
In addition to passing it on to his friends for circulation, Takigawa also showed it to his master Xiangsei Shunshui for viewing.
Aioi Shunsui is a famous sinologist in Edo. He is 58 years old this year.
Due to his old age and lack of energy, he also suffered from a serious illness some time ago, which caused him to stay at home during this period.
While studying Chinese studies with concentration, I was also taking good care of my body, which was recovering from a serious illness.
In order to gain Shunsui Aioi's evaluation, Takigawa specially rushed to the residence where Shunsui Aioi lived and personally handed his article to Shunsui Aioi.
Xiangsheng Chunshui readily agreed to this small request from his apprentice.
After reading it carefully, Aioi Shunsui gave a very high evaluation to Takigawa's article, and even directly said that "he is indeed one of my most proud disciples."
After receiving high praise from his master, Takigawa was even more determined to win the first place in the literary test.
Tonight, when the results of the literary test were released, Takigawa and his friends who were also determined to show off their skills in the "Imperial Examination" gathered in a high-end teahouse.
The reason why they all gathered in this high-end tea house to have a banquet without checking whether their names were on the list was for two reasons.
On the one hand, the reason is because they are all disciples of the banner, and they don't bother to do things like "see in person whether their names are on the list."
On the other hand, the reason is because they all firmly believe that with their level, they will be able to pass the literary test easily.
Takigawa had just sent one of his servants to look at the list.
The servant sent by Takigawa is not only smart, but also has an amazing memory and a very fast pace, so it is most appropriate to send him to read the list.
Judging by the time, the servant from Takigawa who is responsible for reading the list should be back soon.
Takigawa and his friends had a banquet while waiting for the return of his servant who went to see the list.
During the banquet, these friends of Longchuan kept congratulating Longchuan.
All of the people present had read Takigawa's article and were full of praise for Takigawa's article.
Everyone thinks that with the level of Takikawa's writing, even if he doesn't win the first place in the literary test, he will definitely be in the top 10 without any pressure.
In response to the congratulations from his friends, although Takigawa remained calm and calm on the outside, he was very proud in his heart and was already laughing.
In order to maintain his demeanor, he always pretended to be calm and seemed not to care about the fame and fortune.
"Takichuan, congratulations to you. Even if you are not the first in the literary test, you are definitely in the top 10 in the literary test." The young man sitting next to Longchuan poured wine for Longchuan himself and expressed his sincere gratitude to Longchuan.
Chuan He was delighted.
"Hahaha." Takigawa said to the young man next to him in a familiar tone, "Uesaka, aren't you the same? With your ability, it will definitely be easy for you to win the top 10 in the literary test."
The young man sitting next to Takigawa is named Uesaka Satoshi.
Uesaka is considered to be the one with the best background among all the people present. He comes from the Uesaka family with a salary of 5,000 shi.
In terms of rank, he is much higher than Takigawa, whose family salary is only 3,000 koku.
Takigawa and Uesaka are very good friends because of their similar personalities and similar thoughts, and they talk about everything.
Of course, Takigawa's friendship with Uesaka also has some utilitarian elements in it. Uesaka's uncle is one of the four current Wakatoshi of the shogunate: Yoshimoto Queemon.
Being on good terms with Uesaka will allow you to gain more political resources, which is one of the reasons why Takigawa and Uesaka are on good terms with each other.
After Uesaka poured him a glass of wine, Takigawa also politely poured a glass of wine for Uesaka.
"Takikawa. If you become successful in the future, don't forget us." Uesaka said in a half-joking tone.
"Hahaha." Takigawa smiled, and then changed to a half-joking tone, "I will return this sentence to you intact. Uesaka, if you become successful in the future, don't forget us."
Takigawa's words made everyone in the audience laugh.
Uesaka also laughed.
After taking a sip of the wine Takigawa poured, Uesaka let out a long breath: "Takikawa, if you can successfully get into the eyes of Mr. Laozhong by virtue of this 'imperial trial match', then you may really
It’s time for a meteoric rise.”
"If you become successful, you can redeem yourself and marry Tai Fu Feng Chime. It won't be such an extravagant dream."
It was not a secret among everyone present that Takigawa fell in love with Yoshiwara's Fubell Taifu at first sight.
Everyone present knew that the reason why Takigawa, who had always been arrogant, went to Yoshiwara to teach a group of wandering girls how to read and write was just to get a few more looks at his favorite Fubell Taifu.
Hearing Uesaka's words, Takigawa smiled slightly:
"Marrying Mr. Feng Chime as your wife is so far out of reach that I can't even think about it."
Although Takigawa said this on the surface and maintained a calm appearance, in fact, Takigawa's heart was already in turmoil.
Uesaka's words just now reminded Takigawa.
This made Takigawa wake up: if he can gain the appreciation of Matsudaira Sadanobu in the future and achieve great success, he can't help but gain fame, power, wealth, and the opportunity to leave his name in history, and at the same time, he will also have the opportunity to marry Fubell Taifu.
When he thought of this, Takigawa couldn't help but start imagining the scene of having a romantic kiss with the usually unattainable Fu Ling Tai Fu in the future.
While imagining these scenes, a strange smile that was difficult to describe in words appeared on Takigawa's face involuntarily.
Boom, boom, boom.
At this moment, footsteps approaching from far away were heard outside the room.
The footsteps stopped in front of and behind the door, and what sounded immediately after the stopped footsteps was a shout:
"Lord Takigawa! I'm back!"
Seeing that it was Takigawa's servant who went to look at the list, everyone present cheered up.
Takigawa is no exception.
After quickly putting down the wine glass in his hand, Takigawa straightened his clothes and then said loudly:
"come in!"
After obtaining Takigawa's permission to enter, his servant quickly opened the door and walked quickly into the room.
There were a lot of beads of sweat on his face and he was panting. It was obvious that he had run back wildly.
"How's it going?" Someone present took the lead in asking Takigawa's servant, "Who came first in the literary test? Is it Takigawa-kun?"
Seeing someone asked this question for him, Takigawa smiled with satisfaction.
After all, if he asks this kind of question, it will appear that he cares about fame and fortune, making him look very ungraceful.
Hearing this question, Takigawa's servant looked embarrassed.
Looking at the servant with a strange look on his face, Takigawa suddenly had an ominous premonition...
"...The first place in the literary test...is not Mr. Takigawa."
After hesitating for a while, Takigawa's servant gritted his teeth and said this.
As soon as the servant finished speaking, the expression on Takikawa's face froze.
Not only Takigawa, but also the expressions on the faces of everyone present changed slightly.
"Where does Takigawa-kun rank?" Uesaka asked with a frown.
The question raised by Uesaka once again made Takikawa's servant look embarrassed.
After hesitating for a while, the servant once again said with an expression of embarrassment:
"None of the top 10 names... has Mr. Takigawa's name..."
At this moment, the expression and complexion on Takigawa's face changed again.
"Who is the first person in the literary test?" Uesaka asked anxiously.
"It's a man named Majima Goro..."
As soon as the servant finished speaking, Takigawa's face was immediately filled with shock.
A look of intense astonishment appeared in his eyes, and then his face turned red and gradually turned pale again.
The flesh on his face was trembling slightly, which distorted his originally handsome features, making him look very ugly and scary.
At this time, the air in this room was filled with an increasingly intense atmosphere of embarrassment.
Everyone, look at me, and I'll look at you.
No one knows what to say or do now...
…
…
"Hey, do you know?"
"what do you know?"
"That Majima Goro won the first place in the 'Gozen Examination' literary test!"
"Mashima Goro? Oh! He's the one who chased away the troublemaking thief Kai Fu, right?"
"Really or not...is that man not only so good at swordsmanship, but also so good at Chinese studies..."
"Why did that person come to our Shirobei Club... With his swordsmanship and sinology skills, he can open a swordsmanship or a private school to support himself, right?"
"Maybe I find it troublesome. How can opening a swordsmanship studio or a private school be as easy as working here at the Shirobei Club?"
"And don't make it sound like you can make money if you open a sword gym or a private school. Private schools may be better, but most people who open sword schools basically lose everything. These days, if you are determined to make progress, you will work hard to practice swordsmanship.
There aren’t many people left already.”
…
Conversations similar to this kept appearing in the mouths of the officials at the Shirobei Club.
Because the place where the results of the literary test were released was relatively close to Yoshiwara, the news that "Mashima Goro" won the first place in the literary test quickly spread throughout the Shirobei Club.
Most of the club officials are discussing this newcomer who just joined their Shirobei Club a while ago and makes big news every few days.
Some people who knew Ogata came directly to look for Ogata and congratulate him personally.
For example, melon.
"Mashima-kun! I heard all about it just now! You actually won the first place in the literary test!"
"I didn't expect you to be a person proficient in Sinology!"
"Really, you were too modest before, right? You kept saying that all you need to do is pass the literary test."
Guasheng's cheeks were slightly red due to his excitement.
Ogata just returned to Yoshiwara.
After returning to Yoshiwara, Ogata returned to the sentry station in the first half of Nakano Town that he was originally responsible for.
After returning to stand guard, people like Guasheng who knew Ogata kept coming to tell him the good news.
Listening to the good news about the melon crop, Ogata couldn't help but smile helplessly again,
"I wasn't being modest before..."
Ogata is actually still in a state of confusion.
What he said to others before was not modesty.
He sincerely felt that as long as he could pass the literary test, he would be fine. From the beginning, he never thought about getting the first place in the literary test.
So when he just saw the name "Mashima Goro" written in the column for the first place in the literary test, Ogata was dumbfounded.
To this day, I still feel like my body is floating.
Ogata was sure that he didn't get all of the 100 fill-in-the-blank questions right. After all, there were many questions that he wasn't sure were correct.
Even though I definitely didn’t get all the answers in the fill-in-the-blank questions, I still managed to get the first place. That only means two things.
Either the other people's skills were too high, and even though Ogata didn't answer all the fill-in-the-blank questions correctly, he still got the first place in the literary test.
Either Ogata answered the last "essay question" so well that Ogata overtook him in a corner.
But this made Ogata murmur again.
He felt that his "composition" was not that well written. The words and sentences were of a very ordinary type, and the content was completely random.
The more Ogata thought about it, the more he couldn't understand why he won the first place in the literary test...
Hearing Ogata's words, Gua Sheng thought that Ogata was being modest again, so he put his hands on his hips and said in an annoyed tone:
"Mashima-kun, sometimes it's not good to be too humble."
"People in the government are not fools."
"It is impossible to judge the first place in the literary test by mistake."
"Since you can take the first place in the literary test, it means that you definitely deserve it."
"So be happy and don't put on a weird face."
Gua Sheng raised his hand and patted Ogata's lower back.
"The first place in the literary test will be rewarded with 100 taels of gold. Think carefully about how you will spend the 100 taels in the future!"
"...That's right." Ogata took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled it through his nose.
The expression on his face was no longer as tight as before because he was wondering why he got the first place in the literary test.
"I really envy you, Majima-kun." Gua Sheng continued in a joking tone, "100 taels of gold... you will become a rich man directly."
"100 taels of gold can only be regarded as a short period of time without having to worry about food and clothing. It is still far from the term 'rich'." Oofang shrugged helplessly, "100 taels of gold may not be enough.
Some people had a night of fun in Yoshiwara."
Ogata has been working here in Yoshiwara for a short period of time.
Although it hasn’t been very long, I have witnessed twice how rich people in this era disperse their wealth.
Probably at night five days ago, a middle-aged man with a big belly walked into Yoshiwara surrounded by a bunch of people, holding his big belly.
According to reports, this middle-aged man seems to be a wealthy businessman from Osaka.
That night, the wealthy businessman dispersed a huge fortune of 200 taels of gold in Yoshihara...
Although Japan in the Edo period pursued a basic national policy of "emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce," the development of the commodity economy was the general trend of the times, coupled with various reasons such as loopholes in the policy that could be exploited, which led to the expansion of merchant power.
Nowadays, there has even been a situation where samurai have to rely on merchants in some places.
Many small vassals with tight finances even owed money to wealthy businessmen.
"That's what I say, but 100 taels of gold is no longer a small amount for us, how about it? Have you thought about how to spend these 100 taels of gold in the future?"
"Let's just have some simple plans..."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, a strange voice suddenly sounded next to him:
"Mashima Goro-kun, someone is looking for you."
Ogata followed the sound.
An unfamiliar young man wearing the special haori of the Shirobei Club slowly walked toward Ogata with an equally unfamiliar middle-aged man.
After arriving in front of Ogata, the middle-aged man first bowed to thank the club official who brought him to Ogata, then turned back to Ogata and said:
"Mashima! I finally found you! It's me, the Shidao who wandered with you in Kyoto for a while a few months ago!"
Hearing this middle-aged man's words, Ogata raised his eyebrows.
What the middle-aged man just said was actually a code.
Ogata currently works at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara for one more reason and purpose than before.
That is to act as an informant between them and Hasegawa.
Since it is inconvenient for Hasegawa to know where they are currently hiding, it is most appropriate for Ogata, who is already lurking in Yoshiwara, to act as an informant.
Once Hasegawa hears about any new trends in Shiranui, he will send someone to Yoshiwara to find Ogata and contact him.
The contact code is this sentence: I am Shidao who wandered with you in Kyoto for a while a few months ago.
The person who said this code was someone sent by Hasegawa.
This is the first time Hasegawa has sent someone to look for Ogata since he started cooperating with Hasegawa.
Subconsciously thinking that Hasegawa might have finally heard the information about Shiranui, Ogata immediately started acting like he was surprised, and then said quickly:
"It's you, Shidao, I haven't seen you for a long time."
"Shidao" nodded vigorously: "I heard before that you are now working at the Shirobei Club, so I hurriedly came to see you. Majima, I have some personal matters that I want to talk to you about. Can you please come with me?"
"
…
…
at the same time
Inside the hotel where Ogata and others live.
Yuan Yi no longer sat in the corner of the room drinking like a loser like before.
Instead, he took out the knife oil and maintained his sword.
While Genichi was applying oil to his sword, Shimada sat on his knees and carefully looked at the sword held by Genichi in his hand.
"No matter how many times I see it, I still feel that Genichi-sama, your sword is really amazing..." Shimada swallowed.
The hilt and scabbard of Genichi's katana and wakizashi are both dark red. The tantrum is the most common circular tantrum, but there are many complicated patterns engraved on it.
Not only the blades, but also the blades of Genichi's two sabers also have blades full of majestic aura.
Even a person who knows nothing about swords can tell that these two swords owned by Yuan Yi are definitely not ordinary.
Hearing Shimada's words, Genichi smiled slightly:
"Of course, my Yang Shen and Yan Rong are much more powerful than those so-called precious swords on the market today."
Tai Dao·Yangshen, Wakizashi·Yanrong. These are the names of the two swords of Genichi.
Genichi's Yangshen and Yanrong are the same as Ogata's Daishiten and Daizizai, and their length is longer than that of ordinary katana swords.
The blade length of Yang Shen is 72.
Yanrong's blade length is 45.
In terms of length, it compares favorably with Genichi, who is 168cm tall and, like Ogata, is taller than the average for this era.
Yuan Yi drank some wine just now and his face turned red.
However, even after drinking some wine, Yuan Yi's hand when applying oil to the blade was still very steady, not even shaking.
After applying a thin layer of oil to the blade with a neat technique, Yuan Yi looked at the "shiny" blade and suddenly said something for no reason:
"I've been drinking every day lately, and it's been a bit too leisurely. I want to do some exercise."
"Huh?" Shimada was stunned for a moment.
Shimada was only a newcomer who joined Calabash House last year, and the time he spent in Calabash House was not long. Even though the time was the shortest, Shimada has gradually become accustomed to Genichi's behavior of "suddenly saying sentences with unclear meanings."
"Words" style.
So after being stunned for a while, Shimada's expression returned to normal and he asked:
"Genichi-san, do you want to go out for a walk? No, my lord has warned you: You cannot go out casually now. If Genichi-san and your enemies find out that you are in Edo now, it will be troublesome."
In response to Shimada's words, Yuan smiled and said nothing, showed a meaningful smile, did not respond, and just continued to sweep his eyes back and forth on Yang Shen's sword.
After sizing up the Yang Shen in his hand, Yuan Yi raised his right hand again and applied oil to the Yang Shen's sword.
While continuing to apply oil, he said to Shimada:
"Shimada, can you go out and buy something for me later?"
"Something? Master Yuan Yi, what do you want to buy?"
"It's nothing, I just have to stay here every day. It's really boring, so I plan to buy some interesting toys to relieve my boredom."
"Genichi-san..." Shimada said with a bitter smile, "You are already past the age of playing with toys, right?"
"You're wrong, Shimada." Genichi shrugged, "No matter how old we are, we all like to have fun, but the toys we play with will keep changing."
"I am a relatively pure person. I also like to play with the toys I loved playing with when I was a child."
Shimada, who didn't want to argue with Genichi, sighed lightly.
"Forget it... If you want to play with toys to relieve your boredom, Mr. Gendai, w I will buy them for you. So, Mr. Gendai, what toys do you want?"
"I will make a list for you later, just follow it and buy it."
*******
*******
This chapter mentioned Genichi's height, so I will list the heights of the protagonist and others here from tallest to smallest.
Makimura:186
Ogata:170
Source 1:168
Mamiya:165
Asai:160
Shimada:157
Amachi:155
Kinoshita Rin: 145 (yes, Rin is actually as tall as Gua Sheng)