Chapter 474 Ogata Who Was Hated by the Emperor【6400Words】
The bear that suddenly appeared was much larger than the bear that Ogata and Omachi had just killed.
The bear that the two men just killed was about 2.5 meters tall when it stood up.
As for this new big bear that suddenly appeared, its standing height, according to Ogata's visual inspection, was definitely over 3 meters, almost as tall as two Amachis put together.
The body of the bear lying at the feet of Ogata and Omachi was still warm, and Ogata and the others' nerves were still tense.
Now a new bear appeared. Under the influence of the still tense nerves, Ogata and Atachi quickly took out their weapons again.
Amachi took out Sozakura who had just put it back in his arms.
Ogata also took out Kasumi Nagi again.
Their pistols had just been filled with bullets and were ready to fire at any time.
This new big bear did not pounce directly like the bear just now.
After letting out a loud roar that caused all the surrounding birds to fly away in panic, the bear stopped where it was without making any movement.
He only looked at Ogata and Omachi from a distance.
Seeing that the bear did not attack them, Omachi asked Ogata in a cautious tone:
"This bear didn't pounce. Could it be an ordinary bear that has never eaten human flesh?"
"Who knows." Ogata replied without hesitation, "Anyway, don't let your guard down."
The bear did not attack Ogata and Omachi directly, which made Ogata a little relieved because it meant that this bear might just be an ordinary bear passing by by chance.
However, although he was slightly relieved, Ogata did not let every nerve in his body relax.
He held Kasumi Nagi tightly in his left hand, ready to raise his gun and shoot at any time.
The right hand is slightly raised and the fingers are slightly bent to make it easier to draw the knife.
One bear and two people stared at each other with big eyes.
After a while, the bear suddenly turned its head and glanced to the west of Ogata and Omachi.
Then he didn't look at Ogata and Omachi anymore, turned around and left.
After confirming that the bear had really left, Ogata and Atachi let out a sigh of relief at the same time with great tacit understanding.
Bears are difficult to deal with, and if you don't use Sosakura or Kasumi Nagi, Ogata will also find it difficult, so anyway, it is best to avoid fighting bears.
Moreover, Ogata cannot gain experience points from fighting bears.
Ogata can only gain experience points when fighting humans.
Fighting with animals other than humans gives you no experience points at all.
So after Ogata killed the bear just now, there was no system sound in his mind, and he didn't gain any experience points.
After taking a deep breath, A-Machi put her Suzaku away and murmured:
"I'm so unlucky today...I actually met two bears one after another..."
"Fortunately, the bear just now didn't attack us like this bear. It seems to be a bear that doesn't eat human flesh."
"It turns out that as long as you look at an ordinary bear and don't do anything extraordinary, the bear will leave on its own..."
Ogata also put away his Kasumi Nagi at this time, and then turned to look at the dead bear at his feet that still had some body temperature.
Since we finally killed a bear, it would be a real loss if we didn't recover something valuable from the dead bear.
After pondering for a while, Ogata asked Amachi seriously:
"A-Machi, can you skin a bear and take out its bile?"
"Ah? Do you want to skin the bear and sell it later?"
"I'm not selling it. I just think that the bear skin and bear bile might be used to trade with the Ezo in various Ezo settlements."
"Ezo are still living in barter settlements and do not have their own currency."
"There may not be many Ezo settlements willing to accept our currency."
"So if we take these treasures from the bears, we might be able to exchange them for some useful things from Ezo and the others later."
"Useful information, or useful items."
After Ogata finished speaking, A-Machi showed a look of sudden realization.
"I see."
"It makes sense...these treasures on the bear can be used as currency in the Ezo settlement..."
"but……"
A Machi looked bitter.
"I've never skinned an animal before..."
"I don't know which one the bear's courage is..."
Atachi's words made Ogata feel helpless: "I don't know how to skin a bear..."
At this moment, Ogata's expression changed slightly, and then he quickly took out Kasumi Nagi, who had just put it in his arms, and pointed the gun at a bush covered with snow to the west of it.
"Come out." Ogata said to the bush in a low voice.
Years of bloody battles have long since developed Ogata's keen senses far beyond those of ordinary people.
I am very sensitive to sounds like footsteps.
Just now, although the sound was very soft, Ogata still heard a strange sound of stepping on snow in the bushes to the west of them.
Apart from Omachi's eyesight being much better than Ogata's, the rest of his senses were not as sharp as Ogata's, so he didn't hear any strange noises from the bushes on the west side.
But when Ogata suddenly took out his gun and aimed it at the bushes on the west side, Amachi could roughly guess what was going on, so she quickly took out her Suzaku, ready to deal with all possible emergencies.
.
After Ogata's "come out" sound came down, there was nothing unusual about this bush at first.
Then suddenly there was a rustling sound.
Then a young man wearing strange clothes slowly walked out from behind the bushes with his hands raised.
Looking at the young man who appeared from behind the bushes, a look of surprise appeared on the faces of Ogata and Atachi.
This young man looks to be around 25 years old. He has facial features that are much deeper than those of yellow people, and a thick beard hanging on his chin that can compete with Zhang Fei in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
He carries a bow on his back, a short sword hanging on his waist, and wears strange clothing that is completely different from a kimono.
It can be said that the identity of this person is Ezo.
This is the first human being that Ogata and Omachi have encountered since they left Matsumae Domain and traveled north.
Before Ogata and Atachi could say anything, the Ezo said in somewhat substandard but still fluent Japanese:
"Kazuto, don't be nervous. I don't mean any harm. Look, I don't have any weapons in my hands."
"There is no one else besides me."
As if to prove that he did not hold any weapons, this Ezo shook his raised hands.
"I just heard the sound of iron cannons and the roar of bears, so I came over to check on the situation."
Speaking of this, the Ezo turned his head, glanced at the dead bear lying at the feet of Ogata and Omachi, and then let out a low exclamation:
"It's really Unkamuyi..."
"We have been chasing it for so long, but we didn't expect it to be hunted by you two."
Ezo cast an appreciative look at Ogata and Atachi.
But he quickly put away the admiration in his eyes, and then asked Ogata and the others in a serious tone:
"In addition to the bear you have hunted, I also heard the roar of another bear."
"What about the bear? Where did it go?"
"That bear?" The figure of the big bear that just walked away appeared in Ogata's mind.
"It ran away just now." Amachi answered for Ogata.
"Did it run away again..." Ezo smiled bitterly, "In other words... there is still one Unkamuyi that has not been hunted..."
…
…
Songqian Castle, Northwest District, inside a tea house
The common people of Matsumae Castle may not have imagined that the second-in-command of the shogunate is now in this teahouse located in the northwest district of Matsumae Castle.
Matsudaira Sadanobu was currently in a cubicle on the second floor of this tea house.
Standing by the window, looking out at the street below.
Tachibana, whose nickname is Tachibana, is almost inseparable from Matsudaira Sadanobu, so naturally he stands beside Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Several guards in civilian clothes stood behind Matsudaira Sadanobu.
In front of Matsudaira Sadanobu stood a fat-bellied official.
This official is the son of the Matsumae clan, Anson.
The reason why Matsudaira Sadanobu decided to go to Ezo Land in person was not only to urge the army to conquer the Red Moon Fortress, but also to inspect the current situation of Ezo Land with his own eyes, so as to prepare for the "Ezo Land Development" planned to be launched later.
.
Today, Matsudaira Sadanobu suddenly said that he wanted to see with his own eyes the living conditions of the naturalized Ezo in Matsumae Castle.
Facing the second-in-command of the shogunate, Anson Tzu, as the elder of the Matsumae clan, did not dare to neglect any request made by Matsudaira Sadanobu.
So he personally led the team and led Sadanobu Matsudaira to the northwest corner of Matsumae Castle where the naturalized Ezo people lived, and took Matsudaira Sadanobu to see the living conditions of the naturalized Ezo people in the city.
Therefore, the current scene of Matsudaira Sadanobu and others huddled in a booth on the second floor of this teahouse, looking out at the street view through the window.
"Sir, please take a look."
Ansunzi, who was leaning against the window, put on a flattering smile and said to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"At present, most of the naturalized Ezo in Matsumae Castle have been civilized by us."
"Some of our ancestors have been naturalized in Ezo, and now they basically have no barbaric habits."
Looking down the window, you can have a clear view of the street in front of the tea house.
This is a place where Ezo people live together, so you can see many Ezo people wearing kimonos walking on the street.
You can even see some Ezo working there.
Or moving rice or wood there.
Or they set up a stall there to sell food.
At first glance, it seems that the Ezo people here have perfectly integrated into their society.
But who would have thought that Matsudaira Sadanobu, who had been silently looking at the street scene outside the window, sneered after hearing what Anzi said just now:
"Lord An Sunzi, although I also like to hear nice words, I still don't appreciate words that are too nice."
"Do you think I didn't send someone to your domain to investigate before I came to Ezo?"
"Do you think I don't know that the conflict between the Kazuto of the noble domain and the naturalized Ezo is quite acute?"
"Kazuto despises naturalized Ezo, and many Kazuto are unwilling to hire naturalized Ezo."
"Many naturalized Ezo can't find any serious jobs and have to turn to evil ways."
From the moment Matsudaira Sadanobu started speaking, the cold sweat flowed from Anzi's forehead and back.
An Sunzi now felt that his forehead and back were getting cold.
Just when Anzi was racking his brains, thinking about what to say to remedy the situation, Matsudaira Sadanobu suddenly raised his hand and patted Anzi on the shoulder.
"It is human nature to say nice things in front of superior officials."
"So I don't blame you either."
"I just hope you won't make such a mistake next time."
After hearing what Matsudaira Sadanobu said, Anzi immediately felt as if he had been granted amnesty and quickly bowed to apologize and thanked Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"If we want to develop the Ezo land, the conflict between us and the people and the naturalized Ezo is a problem that can never be avoided."
"On this issue, your domain should pay more attention."
After saying this in a calm tone, Matsudaira Sadanobu clasped his hands behind his back and turned to leave.
"Lord Zhong." An Sunzi quickly followed, "Are you going back home?"
"Well. I've seen everything I want to see. There's no need to stay here any longer."
Under the escort of everyone headed by Tachibana, everyone left the tea house.
"Sir," Tachibana, who was walking beside Matsudaira Sadanobu, whispered, "Do I need to arrange a sedan?"
"No need." Matsudaira Sadanobu rejected Tachibana's proposal without hesitation, "I've been staying at home recently and haven't done much exercise."
"I'll take this opportunity to get some exercise."
Matsudaira Sadanobu raised his head and glanced at the position of the sun in the sky. There was still a short period of time before dark, but this time was enough for him to walk back home before dark.
Seeing that Matsudaira Sadanobu wanted to walk back to his home, Tachibana said no more, and just quietly observed the surroundings with the other guards, guarding against unknown persons approaching Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was walking forward at a leisurely pace with his hands behind his back, had a solemn expression on his face.
He is thinking about ways to ease the conflict between the local Wazu and the naturalized Ezo.
As he just said to An Tzu, if we want to develop the Ezo land, the conflict between us and the people and the naturalized Ezo is a problem that can never be avoided.
If the naturalized Ezo are not allowed to live in harmony with them, an uprising will break out among these naturalized Ezo at some point.
At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu actually missed the four Wakanagi, headed by Kitagawa Shunki.
Their status in the shogunate was second only to him, and these four Wakatani had been assisting him in handling various government affairs, although they often had political differences with Matsudaira Sadanobu.
But he often put forward very unique insights and ideas.
It has been some time since Matsudaira Sadanobu arrived at Matsumae Domain.
During this period, Matsudaira Sadanobu also met with all the senior officials of Matsumae Domain and briefly observed them.
According to Matsudaira Sadanobu's observations, every one of the high-ranking officials of the Matsumae Domain was either a loser or a mediocre official.
Ansunzi, who is now walking respectfully beside Matsudaira Sadanobu, can be considered a relatively good person among the senior officials of Matsumae Domain. At least his ability is relatively mediocre.
If you discuss with these people about strategies to "ease the conflict between naturalized Ezo and Kazuto," they will definitely not be able to say anything valuable.
Therefore, Matsudaira Sadanobu now misses the four Wakanagi under his command very much, and hopes to have a few useful people to brainstorm ideas with him.
…
…
Matsudaira Sadanobu was walking and thinking.
Before I knew it, I had successfully walked back to my house.
Of course, until he returned home, Matsudaira Sadanobu still could not think of any way to ease the conflict between the local naturalized Ezo and the Kazuto.
After returning to the room where he had been living during this period, Matsudaira Sadanobu was just about to take a bath to wash away the dust left by running around for a long time today. Tachibana suddenly rushed to Matsudaira Sadanobu with a letter in his arms.
.
"Lao Naka-sama!" Tachibana knelt down on one knee, holding a well-sealed envelope with both hands, "There is a letter from Edo! The sender is Kitagawa-sama!"
"Kitagawa?" Matsudaira Sadanobu frowned slightly, then quickly raised his hand to take the letter from Tachibana's hand, then quickly opened it and took out the letter paper.
After unfolding the letter paper, he read quickly.
"……snort."
After his eyes scanned the last word on the letter, a cold snort came out of Matsudaira Sadanobu's nose.
"Ogata's potential is really incredible."
"Ogata Yoshi?" A look of surprise appeared on Tachibana's face.
It's natural that Tachibana, the most wanted criminal in the shogunate, doesn't know who he is.
"What happened to Ogata Issei? Did he do something else?"
Tachibana subconsciously thought that this guy who first killed the lord and then attacked Nijo Castle like a madman had done something sensational again.
"It doesn't do much, you can see for yourself."
Having said that, Matsudaira Sadanobu threw the letter he had read in his hand to Tachibana.
After taking the letter, Tachibana looked at it carefully.
The letter used a very brief sentence to explain something that happened in Edo after Matsudaira Sadanobu left. It was not too big, but it was not too small to ignore.
That is
Not long after Matsudaira Sadanobu left Edo, the Emperor of Kyoto reported to the shogunate, requesting the shogunate to capture "The Executioner Ittosai" Ogata Issei as soon as possible.
Ogata's previous act of burning Nijo Castle in Kyoto was not only a slap in the face of the shogunate, but also a disguised slap in the face of the Kyoto court headed by the emperor.
Kyoto is the emperor's residence and is the royal territory. Ogata's behavior of running wild on the royal territory also aroused the emperor's dissatisfaction.
Since a samurai named Yoritomo Minamoto took away the power of the emperor more than 700 years ago, Japan has had two governments for a long time.
The imperial court was led by the emperor, and the shogunate was led by the general who conquered the barbarians.
There have been two shogunate changes so far. The Edo shogunate that now rules all of Japan is the third shogunate in history.
However, the imperial court led by the emperor has not changed, and has always been based in Kyoto, acting as a mascot without any power.
Therefore, although the emperor was very angry at Ogata's behavior of running wild in the royal territory, he could not do anything but hope that the shogunate would capture or kill Ogata as soon as possible.
But now, nearly half a year has passed since the attack on Nijo Castle in Kyoto.
The shogunate still hasn't captured or killed Ogata.
This made the emperor feel quite dissatisfied, so he asked the shogunate to deal with this treasonous traitor as soon as possible.
When the emperor's request to "punish Ogata severely as soon as possible" reached Edo, Matsudaira Sadanobu happened to have already left Edo.
Although the emperor has always had little power and no sense of existence. Some civilians even only know the shogun and not the emperor, but he is the nominal supreme head of state after all, so what he says must be listened to and he should be given the face.
Still have to give.
After Matsudaira Sadanobu was away from Edo, Kitagawa Toshiyuki, one of the four Wakanagi, was temporarily responsible for commanding hundreds of officials to assist the shogun in handling government affairs.
In order to appease the emperor, Kitagawa Toshiyoshi promised the emperor that the shogunate would definitely use all the efforts of the country to capture Ogata Isei, who might still be fleeing somewhere.
To show his determination, Kitagawa Toshiki significantly increased the bounty for Ogata's potential from the original 500 taels to 800 taels with a stroke of his pen.
All the painters working for the government in Edo City were mobilized to produce a new wanted order as quickly as possible, and the fastest horses were dispatched to dispatch the latest wanted order to all parts of the country.
In short, with Kitagawa Shunki's various efforts, he finally succeeded in sending the emperor away.
This letter was written by Toshiki Kitagawa himself, and there was Toshiki Kitagawa's name at the end of the letter.
At the end of the letter, Kitagawa Toshiyoshi did not forget to explain that because the matter involved the emperor, it was necessary to write a special letter to inform Matsudaira Sadanobu who had gone north to Ezo.
After reading everything written in the letter, Tachibana put down the letter in his hand and looked at Matsudaira Sadanobu with a complicated face.
"Lao Naka-sama, you are right, Ogata is so powerful... He even alerted the Emperor to personally ask the shogunate to capture or kill him as soon as possible... This should be considered unprecedented and unprecedented.
Bar……"
Matsudaira Sadanobu was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the corner of the tatami at his feet, thinking deeply.
After thinking for a moment, he sighed heavily, and then said softly:
"It's really such a pity for Ogata Issei."
"It would be great if a swordsman like this could be used by our shogunate."
"If we accept him as a swordsman demonstration, he might be able to teach many swordsmen with superb swordsmanship."
"If you put him in the army, he will definitely become a rare and fierce general."
"Pity."
"Such a valuable talent is the enemy of the shogunate..."
Matsudaira Sadanobu sighed heavily again.
"It's okay. Now it's okay to increase the intensity of the bounty and pursuit of Ogata Yishi."
"Ogata Isushi first killed the lord of Hirose Domain and then attacked Nijo Castle in Kyoto. No matter what, we cannot let someone like him, who has outstanding abilities but is disloyal to the shogunate, still alive!"
After saying that, a bit of cold light burst out from Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes.
This is actually not the first time Matsudaira Sadanobu has talked about Ogata Issei.
In Tachibana's impression, Matsudaira Sadanobu had talked about this person many times in public and privately. Most of them expressed regret that the shogunate did not have such a talent, and expressed his disapproval of Ogata's attack on Nijo Castle.
Behavioral distaste.
This kind of thing like a samurai killing his lord has never happened since the opening of Edo.
Therefore, when the murderous reputation of Ogata Yise's lord-killing spread to Edo, the entire shogunate was shocked.
At that time, Matsudaira Sadanobu's feelings towards Ogata Issei were mainly regretful.
Although Ogata's act of killing his master was extremely rebellious, his reasons for killing his master with a sword were very sufficient and reasonable.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was far away in Edo, also heard about Matsudaira Gennai's evil reputation from time to time.
Gennai Matsudaira killed Ogata's master and fellow apprentices, and it was quite reasonable for Ogata to take revenge with his sword.
So at that time, when Matsudaira Sadanobu talked about Ogata Issei, he basically felt sorry for Ogata Issei that a swordsman with such superb swordsmanship could go astray like this. It was such a pity.
But more than half a year later, Ogata caused a second incident that shocked the whole country.
That was to attack Nijo Castle in Kyoto and burn down the castle tower of Nijo Castle.
This incident, like Ogata's "Lord Killing" before, was unprecedented, and there should be no one since.
When the news of the attack by Ogata Isse in Nijo Castle in Kyoto reached Edo, Matsudaira Sadanobu was so shocked that he was speechless for a long time.
Nijo Castle is the shogunate's residence built by the shogunate in Kyoto.
In a word, it is the shogun's home in Kyoto.
Ogata's behavior of attacking Nijo Castle was simply provoking the shogunate.
Matsudaira Sadanobu has always been fiercely loyal to the shogunate.
Ogata Yoshi had previously killed Matsudaira Gennai, but Matsudaira Sadanobu still felt that the situation was excusable.
But this kind of attack on Nijo Castle was difficult for Matsudaira Sadanobu to accept and understand.
It was also from that time on that Matsudaira Sadanobu complained more about Ogata Issei, but occasionally he still felt sorry for Ogata Issei.