Chapter 471 About the future of Ogata and A-cho's children and grandchildren [7800]
The bald head, who was excited about this, poured another mouthful of wine into his mouth, and then continued:
"Fortunately, during this period, the government finally began to vigorously rectify the naturalized Ezo in the domain."
"Some of the naturalized Ezo who were offered bounties were captured one by one."
"Now only the most troublesome one is still on the run."
After saying that, the bald man raised his hand and pointed at the wall covered with wanted posters.
"Well, Sir Samurai, I think you can remember this face well. If you encounter someone with this face, remember to avoid it quickly, and then notify the nearby official."
Ogata looked at the wanted poster pointed by the bald man.
He was only looking at his own wanted notice just now, and didn't even look at other wanted notices.
The wanted poster pointed by the bald man had a rather rough face.
The hair on his face was extremely thick, which reminded Ogata of the image of Zhang Fei in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
The artist who drew this wanted poster was very skilled, and he was able to outline very profound facial features with just a few strokes.
Deep facial features coupled with luxuriant hair—a typical Ezo image.
Ogata glanced at this man's bounty - 20 taels.
Although it is completely incomparable to Ogata's current 800 ryo, Ogata is completely out of touch.
The other wanted criminals are just ordinary criminals, unlike Ogata who has no regard for the dignity of the shogunate.
If you don't compare it with a wanted criminal of Ogata's level, 20 taels of gold is undoubtedly a high reward.
As long as he or his head is presented to the government, 20 taels of gold will be enough for a family of three to have food and drink for many years to come without spending it arbitrarily - of course, provided there is no "famine at dawn"
Such a catastrophic disaster will cause a huge devaluation of money.
"This man's name is 'Maka Nao', and his nickname is 'Hanamura Ichiro'. He is the only wanted criminal who was naturalized in Ezo and is still at large."
The bald man continued.
"This man is very cunning. The government has spent a lot of effort but can't find him. I don't know where he is hiding."
"In addition to being cunning, this man is also very dangerous. He has many subordinates, all of whom are naturalized Ezo. He has gathered all the naturalized Ezo who are dissatisfied with us and our people, and it is said that he has developed a powerful force.
It’s a small force.”
"Oh, I really hope the officials can bring these guys to justice quickly, so that we ordinary people can live and work in peace and contentment."
"Are there many naturalized Ezo here in Matsumae Castle?" Amachi, who had been listening quietly just now, asked now, "I don't seem to see many Ezo on the street today."
From the time they landed until now, except for three naturalized Ezo who wanted to kill them, Ogata and Atachi have never seen another Ezo wearing kimono.
"It's normal that you didn't see it." The bald head nodded, "Those naturalized Ezo basically live in the northwest corner of the castle town."
"Except for the northwest corner, the number of naturalized Ezo is relatively small."
"You can see more naturalized Ezo when you go to the northwest corner."
…
…
at the same time--
Matsumae Castle, in an extremely secluded house somewhere in the western suburbs——
A relatively young Ezo tiptoed into a certain room in the house.
"Maka, sir." After entering the room, young Ezo said in a most respectful tone to the black figure in the room.
The black shadow in the corner of the room is actually a human figure.
Just after the young Ezo finished speaking, the figure "squirmed" at a slow speed, and then a deep voice came from the figure.
"What's the matter?"
If Ogata and Atachi had been present, they might have made a sound of surprise when they saw the true face of this figure.
This figure was the only wanted fugitive among the naturalized Ezo who was still at large, whom the bald head had just told them to pay attention to - Maka Nao.
Maka Nao tugged at the lush beard on his chin while casting his sharp gaze at the young Ezo in front of him.
"Today, three of our compatriots died in the city." Young Ezo responded in a tone that was neither salty nor indifferent. "They died in a certain alley. Because the three of them had bows and arrows on their bodies, the government judged them three
He used bows and arrows to rob others, and then he was killed by others."
"Therefore, the government seems not to seriously investigate how our three compatriots died."
"The plan is to close the case by saying, 'these three people were killed instead of robbing them.'"
"...Have you found out who the three dead people are?" Maka's movements of pulling her beard became rough.
"I found out. They are Hepei, Xinolai and Mabo."
"...I don't have much impression of these three names." Maka Nao said softly, "Are they compatriots who just lived in Matsumae Castle recently?"
"It's normal for you to have no impression of Maka Nao-sama." Young Ezo replied, "Although the three of them moved into Matsumae Castle very early, they have always lived a low-key life, so they have always been inconspicuous."
"Were the three of them really killed because they failed in the robbery?" Maka Nao then asked.
"...It's very possible that this is indeed the case." Young Ezo's voice, which had always contained no emotion at all, finally showed some fluctuations at this time, "According to friends of the three of them, because they have never been willing to hire
They work."
"Some time ago, the three of them said to their friends, 'They are starving and want to grab some money to eat.'"
"...It seems that there are three more compatriots who have been forced to die." Maka's voice was full of hatred, "Damnable Kazuto...!"
After saying that, Maka got up and walked to the window next to her.
Standing by the window, you can clearly see the firelight in the distance.
This area in the northwest corner of Matsumae Castle is where the naturalized Ezo people live, and it is also the poorest part of Matsumae Castle.
After night falls, there is almost no firelight in this area, forming a very sharp contrast with other places in the city.
Ma Ka Nao looked out through the window and could see an extremely obvious difference - the area where he and his compatriots lived was dark, while other urban areas outside this area were brightly lit.
The same city, but two worlds.
Maka looked at the lights outside the window, hatred slowly appearing in her eyes.
"Tell others."
Maka said to the young Ezo behind her.
"Let them be ready to fight at any time."
"We must take down the head of Kazuto's leader, Matsudaira Sadanobu!"
When she said the name "Matsuhira Sadanobu", Maka Nao's tone was sonorous and powerful.
It was as if he was talking about something that was inevitable.
…
…
Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Castle, inside a military warehouse——
"Sir, Lao Zhong, let's go this way."
A middle-aged official made a "please" gesture to Matsudaira Sadanobu behind him, and then led Matsudaira Sadanobu toward a corner of the warehouse.
There were two young officials on the left and right of this middle-aged official.
As for Matsudaira Sadanobu - he strode forward with his hands behind his back, led by this middle-aged official.
His nickname, Tachibana, and a group of guards followed closely behind.
The middle-aged official who led the way brought Matsudaira Sadanobu to a "sea of wooden boxes" composed of boxes of huge rectangular wooden boxes.
The wooden boxes that make up this "sea of wooden boxes" are very large, more than enough for an adult male of average height in this era to lie inside.
Before and after bringing Matsudaira Sadanobu to this "sea of wooden boxes", the middle-aged official immediately winked at the two young officials who had been following closely just now.
These two relatively eye-catching young officers quickly understood what was going on, and then stepped forward and worked together to open a wooden box in this "sea of wooden boxes", revealing the scenery inside the wooden box.
"Sir, Lao Zhong." The middle-aged official bowed and made a "please" gesture to Matsudaira Sadanobu, "This is Yu Guobeng who just arrived. Please take a look."
Matsudaira Sadanobu stepped forward and looked into the wooden box.
There is a large amount of dry straw stuffed inside the wooden box.
In the center of this pile of dry straw, a huge cannon barrel lay quietly.
The jet black gun body reflects a unique metallic luster.
Matsudaira Sadanobu raised his hand and stroked the cannon body gently.
Feeling the cold touch on his fingertips, Matsudaira Sadanobu showed a faint smile:
"I've been waiting for you for a long time..."
The collapse of the country is actually artillery.
During the Warring States Period more than 200 years ago, the Portuguese introduced artillery to the Otomo family, the princes in the south of the country at that time.
The head of the Otomo family at the time: Otomo Sorin, after witnessing the power of the artillery with his own eyes, named it "National Collapse" with great joy.
Since then, the Japanese have been accustomed to referring to artillery as the collapse of the country.
Of course, some people refer to artillery as "big barrels". Because there are many models of big barrels, and the style and firepower of some big barrels are no different from cannons.
Matsudaira Sadanobu was accustomed to referring to artillery as the "National Collapse Party"
This time we send troops to the north, aiming at the Red Moon Fortress, Matsudaira Nobunobu is bound to win.
This war actually has many political elements.
Through this war, the Ezo, who were dissatisfied with them and their people, could witness their power and let them recognize the gap between their two nations.
Therefore, in order to make the Ezo people feel the power of them and others as deeply as possible, Matsudaira Sadanobu persuaded the shogunate to send troops to the north, and then persuaded the shogunate to mobilize as many iron cannons (muskets) as possible.
.
The shogun, who was almost obedient to Matsudaira Sadanobu, agreed to Matsudaira Sadanobu's proposal almost without hesitation.
This is an era of peace, and no large-scale war has come to this country for a long time. Whether it is the shogunate or the vassal state, the armaments have long been depleted.
Therefore, after a lot of mobilization, a total of 400 iron cannons, 9 national cannons and 52 large cannons of various types were mobilized.
These firearms have been delivered to Matsumae Castle one after another these days.
Just now, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally received the news that the Nine Gates National Bank had finally been successfully delivered here and had been put into storage.
As for the iron cannon and the big cannon, it will take some time to arrive.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who had been waiting for these big weapons for a long time, couldn't wait to ask his subordinates to take him to the warehouse to see the latest delivered Kokubang.
Hence the scene where Matsudaira Sadanobu was brought to this warehouse by this middle-aged official.
After removing his fingers from the Kunibeng gun barrel in front of him, Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his head and asked the middle-aged official beside him:
"Have all the nine national collapses been delivered safely?"
"Everything has been delivered."
"Open them all and show them to me."
"yes."
The middle-aged official winked at the two young officials next to him.
Then the two young officers stepped forward and opened the other eight wooden boxes next to them - without exception, there were huge gun barrels lying inside.
After installing various parts such as wheels on these gun barrels, they can be put into combat.
After confirming that the quantity was correct, Matsudaira Sadanobu then said:
"What about the cannonballs? Have all the cannonballs been delivered?"
"Sixty shells have been delivered so far." The middle-aged official replied, "More than a hundred shells will be delivered later."
"Where are the cannonballs stored? I want to see."
"yes!"
The middle-aged official led Matsudaira Sadanobu to another warehouse.
For safety, gunpowder, shells and other items are stored in another warehouse.
Arriving at the warehouse where the artillery shells were stored, a smile full of satisfaction filled Matsudaira Sadanobu's entire face after seeing the brand new artillery shells.
"Okay, okay." Matsudaira Sadanobu, standing in front of the boxes of shells, said the word "ok" twice with a smile on his face.
Tachibana standing behind him had a look of surprise on his face - Matsudaira Sadanobu usually had a straight face, but it was rare to say "good" twice in a row with a smile on his face like this.
In fact, Matsudaira Sadanobu is indeed very happy now.
He couldn't wait to see their artillery blast away the Ezos entrenched in the Red Moon Fortress.
…
…
The "crab pot" tastes really good.
The crabs here are bigger and more delicious than any crabs Ogata has ever seen before.
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner of crab pot and hot wine, Ogata and Amachi left the restaurant satisfied.
Because the crab pot was very suitable to A-Machi's taste, after leaving the restaurant, A-Machi still couldn't forget the taste of the crab pot.
"It tastes really good." Ating licked his lips and touched his belly, which was still very flat even after a full meal. "Let's eat it again later."
"Let's wait two days before eating again." Ogata said, "If you eat it too often, you will soon get tired of it."
After saying that, Ogata turned his head and looked at Machi's somewhat rosy face seriously.
"You seem to have become more energetic. Are you still feeling dizzy now?"
Previously, the after-effects of seasickness still remained in A-Machi's body, and he still felt a little weak and dizzy before eating.
"Yes." Ating nodded, "I feel much better after eating, and my head is no longer dizzy."
"That's good."
The end of the direction Ogata and Omachi were heading towards was the hotel they rented.
Just when the hotel they rented appeared in front of their sight, two passers-by passing by Atachi drew his attention to it.
The two passers-by were a woman and a little girl.
Both of the woman's eyebrows have been shaved off, and her teeth have been dyed black - it's obvious at first glance that she is a married woman.
After a woman got married, she shaved her eyebrows and dyed her teeth black - this was one of the trends in the Edo period.
But today, this trend has declined, and many women no longer do it - for example, Atachi does not do it.
Nowadays, there are more women like Atachi who do not shave their eyebrows and dye their teeth black, but those who shave their eyebrows and dye their teeth black after getting married are relatively rare.
The little girl looked about 6 or 7 years old and was being held in the arms of the woman.
The facial features of the woman and the little girl are somewhat similar, they should be mother and daughter.
The mother and daughter, who passed by Ogata and Atachi, were talking and laughing, chatting happily.
Even though the mother and daughter had already passed by A-Machi, A-Machi still turned his head and stared at the mother and daughter with a thoughtful look on his face.
"A-Machi, what's wrong?" Ogata noticed that A-Machi was acting strange, turned his head, and cast doubtful eyes on A-Machi.
"Ah, it's nothing." Amachi quickly looked away from the mother and daughter, "Let's go, let's go back to the hotel."
…
…
After returning to the hotel, the two of them sat and rested for a while, then turned off the lights and prepared to go to bed and rest directly.
The two of them still spent most of the day at sea. Although A-Machi has become more energetic after dinner and the sequelae of seasickness have been alleviated a lot, there must still be a lot of fatigue accumulated in A-Machi.
's body.
It was with this in mind that Ogata decided to eat early today, rest, and investigate the whereabouts of Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi, leaving the serious work to be done tomorrow after a good rest.
In order for A-Machi to have a good rest today, I will not do the Great Harmony of Life that I did every night before tonight.
But after getting into bed with A-Machi, Ogata discovered that A-Machi had his eyes wide open and was looking at the ceiling, not knowing what he was thinking.
"A-Machi, what's wrong?" Ogata asked, "Why are you looking so serious?"
"...It's nothing." Ating said softly, "I just saw a mother and daughter when I was returning to the hotel."
"Then it suddenly occurred to me that one day I will be like that woman, holding my child and playing with my child..."
"When I think about this, I feel a little...complex."
"It's hard to imagine me holding my child in my arms..."
Hearing this, Ogata was stunned for a moment.
Then he muttered:
"A child... Listening to what you said... it's hard for me to imagine holding my own child in my arms..."
Holding Yoomachi's child in his arms - this scene may seem very far away at first, but if you think about it carefully, it's actually not that far away... This scene that still exists in Ogata's imagination may be there in a year or two.
It becomes a reality.
Although when he first started to be honest with A-Machi, Ogata would still take protective measures consciously.
However, the protection measures in this era are really too backward. All Ogata can do is to deflect the asteroid from its orbit and prevent it from hitting the earth directly.
But this method cannot provide perfect protection - Ogata also took corresponding courses in school in his previous life.
And Ogata has lost count of how many times he has been too involved, causing his speed to be a little or a little slower, causing an asteroid to pass by the earth or directly hit the earth.
Because of the excessive number of times, Ogata would not be surprised at all if A-machi told Ogata that she was pregnant a few months later.
"...When the scene of us holding our child really appears in the future." Ogata turned his head and smiled at Atachi, "Let's work hard together."
"Raise the children together."
"I don't know whether our first child will be a boy or a girl." Ating murmured.
"It doesn't matter to me whether the child is a boy or a girl. I don't care about this kind of thing. I won't favor anyone because of the child's gender."
"Will you teach our child swordsmanship?" Amachi then asked, "If it is our child, he should be very talented in swordsmanship."
"They must be able to teach. In such a world, it is still necessary to learn some swordsmanship for self-defense. But I don't force them to become great swordsmen or open a swordsmanship hall or something like that in the future."
"Compared to the sword hall, I prefer our children to study more and open a private school in the future."
"Ah, by the way, we can try to let our children and grandchildren learn Lanxue (Western knowledge)."
After saying that, Ogata showed a meaningful smile.
"Lan Xue? Why?" Ating looked puzzled.
"It's nothing, I just feel that studying Lanxue has more prospects."
Of course, it was impossible for Ogata to tell A-Machi that he was a time traveler and knew that in 70 years, American ships would open the door to Japan. From then on, people who knew Orchidology became popular.
Although he didn't know much about Japan's history in his previous life, Ogata still knew about the founding of Japan in the 19th century.
Because of this, what Ogata knows about swordsmanship will become useless after 70 years, so I don’t really hope that he and Atachi’s children and grandchildren will open any swordsmanship hall in the future. There is no future.
By the time of their great-grandchildren's generation, Orchid Studies had become a very popular subject. As long as you understood Orchid Studies, you would not have to worry about not being reused.
Ogata, who knows what will happen in the future, feels that this kind of thing is very exciting.
…
…
The next day——
Last night, Ogata and Atachi discussed things about the future for a long time - basically, they were all things that are and are not.
Unknowingly, Amachi fell into a deep sleep after being tired from chatting.
After A-Machi fell asleep, Ogata also closed his eyes.
Not long after dawn, Ogata and Omachi both got up and changed their clothes.
They plan to officially start looking for clues about the whereabouts of the two masters and disciples, Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhi, today.
They are ready for a protracted war.
Although the scale of Matsumae Castle is small, looking for two people in such a town who don't even know when they arrived in Ezo is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
And maybe I searched all over Matsumae Castle and couldn't find any clues.
The two people, who had long been prepared for a protracted war, took a boat to Ezo. In order to prepare for the protracted war that was to come, they carefully counted the money they had left.
When A-Machi left Shiranui, he didn't have much money with him, so after reuniting with Ogata in Kyoto, A-Machi basically used Ogata's money.
The money Kuranaga gave him when he broke away from the feudal clan + the money he got from the royal trial + the money he got from killing the bandits more than a month ago + the money Nishino Jiro gave him after the hit "Ittosai"
The money taken from the guy who robbed or took someone's head = Ogata's current total savings.
Not counting silver and copper coins, Ogata and Atachi now have a total of 186 taels of money.
As long as they don't spend it indiscriminately, the money will be enough for the "protracted war" they will fight in Ezo.
After getting up, washing up, and changing clothes, Amachi asked Ogata:
"Where should we check first?"
"...Let's go to the port first." Ogata pondered for a moment and then replied, "If Genmasa and Gennao land in Ezo through the port of Matsumae Castle in a proper manner, then there might be a port.
of staff remember them.”
After quickly deciding on the first investigation location, Ogata and Atachi quickly left the hotel and rushed towards the port.
Just when he was about to reach the intersection connecting the port and the city, Omachi's eyes suddenly lit up. He held Ogata's sleeve with his right hand and pointed towards the street intersection not far away with his left hand.
"Ayi, look at that!"
After Ogata looked in the direction pointed by Omachi's finger, he couldn't help but exclaimed lightly: "Wow..."
I saw an old man sitting in front of me at the corner of the intersection connecting the port and the city.
There are many wooden cages placed in front of this old man.
These wooden cages contain many kinds of animals.
The only two types Ogata could recognize were foxes and squirrels.
It looks like a pet stall selling pets.
Girls have always liked cute animals.
Atachi is no exception.
With his eyes shining brightly, Omachi pulled Ogata and quickly ran towards the pet stall in front of him.
When he arrived at the pet stall, Atachi crouched down, like a child who had received a favorite gift from his parents, looking at the small animals in the cages with joy on his face.
"Hehehe, feel free to take a look." The owner of this pet stall, the old man sitting behind these wooden cages, chuckled and said to A-Machi, "If you like any animals, you can buy them home.
, the price is absolutely fair.”
"Ashmi, what is this?" Atachi pointed to an animal that looked like both a mouse and a rabbit in a cage.
"This is called a rat rabbit," the old man replied. "It's an animal unique to Ezo. It's cute, isn't it? It only costs 40 pieces of silver."
After introducing the animal named pika, the old man began to introduce it to the animals in other cages.
"The pets I sell here are all animals unique to Ezo."
"This is a red fox."
"This is a red squirrel."
"This is Momonga."
…
Amachi listened attentively to the old man's introduction.
Ogata, on the other hand, accompanied Amachi and listened to the old man's introduction.
Ogata also likes cute little animals.
So now he and Atachi were looking at these cute little animals in the cage with great interest.
But after all the fun, Ogata didn't forget about business.
After the old man's introduction finished, Ogata raised his head and asked the old man:
"Sir, how many years has your pet stall been operating here?"
"It's been a long time. Many years ago, I sold pets here."
"Do you usually set up a stall here?" Ogata asked next.
"Yes. I mainly deal with businessmen who are doing business in Ezo and the local area."
"This is connected to the city and the port. People who land from the port have to pass through here if they want to enter the city, so it is convenient for me to do business with those merchants."
"The animals I sell are all unique to Ezo. Therefore, many businessmen will buy animals from me and then bring them back to the mainland to sell them to princes, nobles and wealthy people who like to keep pets."
"You usually set up a stall here? Then why didn't my wife and I see you here yesterday?"
Ogata remembered it very clearly. Yesterday afternoon he and Atachi landed in Ezochi and when they left the port and entered the city, they did not see this pet stall.
"Oh, then you probably happened to miss the time when I opened the stall."
"I usually open my stall at five o'clock (8 a.m.) and close my stall at four o'clock in the evening (4 p.m.)."
"Because it takes a lot of time to bring so many pets back to where I live, so I close the stall earlier."
Ogata recalled the time when he landed yesterday - when he and Atachi landed, it was already past 4 o'clock in the afternoon, just later than the old man's closing time.
Ogata thought for a moment and then asked the old man:
"Sir, may I ask what your name is?"
"Just call me Tang Shen." The old man smiled.
"Mr. Tangshen, I would like to ask if you have any impressions of these two men."
Ogata told the physical features of Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi one by one.
Previously, when Xuanren was Xuanzheng's apprentice and Xuanzhi's younger brother in Kyoto, Xuanren told Ogata and others about the physical characteristics of Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi.
Ogata has long remembered the physical features of the two people mentioned by Xuanren.
This old man has been setting up a stall here for many years.
This is the intersection connecting the port and the city. All people who land at the port and want to enter the city must take this intersection.
Therefore - if Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhi took a boat and landed at Songqian Castle in a proper manner, then the old man might have an impression of these two people.
So Ogata decided to start with this old man as the first shot in the "protracted battle" to find Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi.
Ogata essentially had no expectations for this old man.
After all, this old man looks to be at least 60 years old, and he sees a lot of people every day.
Ogata has no expectations for his memory.
Not only Ogata is like this, but Amachi also has no expectations.
"Well...old people around fifty years old, and young people around thirty years old...speak with Kyoto accents..."
The old man muttered about the physical features Ogata just mentioned.
"Oh! Come to think of it, I have met these two people. I have quite an impression of them."
"Cough, cough...!" Ogata happened to be swallowing his saliva just now.
He had just swallowed half of his saliva when he choked on his own saliva after hearing the old man's answer.