Chapter 477 The head of the seven spears of Xianzhou and the sword technique
The children surrounding Eyaka kept looking curiously at Ogata and Atachi, the two strangers Kazuto, as well as those whom Eyaka was talking to.
Nakuhi and Noosa were carried by Ogata on his back.
"Lucians?" Ogata frowned, "What happened? Is... are there Lucians planning to plunder your village?"
"No, it's not." Ayaka shook his head with the helpless look on his face, "Mashima, do you still remember what I told you before?"
"There was a group of Lucians who lived temporarily in our village."
Ogata began to remember.
Then I quickly recalled that Aiyaka had indeed said something similar.
On the night when he killed the man-eating male bear, when Ayaka asked Ogata and the others what weapons Soo Sakura and Kasumi Nagi were, he told them that he had once been a member of a group of people who were temporarily killing him in his village.
People from Lucia who have lived there for a while have seen short muskets.
"That group of Lucians who lived in our village temporarily before are here again." Aiyaka said, "They obviously just left two months ago, so why are they back..."
Ayaka muttered as he led Ogata towards the village where he lived.
The village where Aiyaka lives is called "Kuma".
When we were still relatively far away just now, we couldn't see clearly.
Now, after approaching the village, Ogata gradually saw the whole village clearly.
The architectural style of Ezo's villages is quite obviously different from that of Kazuto's villages.
The houses in Ezo are all made of withered hay and wood whose name Ogata cannot recognize.
Although the architectural styles are completely different, the rural atmosphere that permeates the air is the same.
After Ayaka led Ogata and the others into the village, curious and doubtful eyes immediately came towards Ogata and the others.
Perhaps the news that "Aiyaka brought two Kazuto back to the village" spread, more and more people showed up and gathered around, looking at Ogata and Amachi with curious eyes.
Ayaka said something in Yezhi language to the people who were approaching.
Ogata guessed - he was probably explaining to everyone who Ogata and Atachi were.
Just as Ogata stood silently behind Ayaka, letting Ayaka slowly explain to everyone around him, a Japanese with a strange accent suddenly came into Ogata's ears.
"Aiyaka! It's been such a long time!"
"Ah." Aiyaka called out, "Vashili, it's you. It's been a long time since we last saw you."
When this Japanese language with a strange accent sounded, Ogata also turned his gaze over.
After seeing the appearance of the owner of this voice, Ogata couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He has deeper facial features than Ezo, fair skin, and wears very Western-style clothes.
"Lucians..." Ogata murmured in a low voice at a volume that only he could hear clearly.
There were a total of three Lucians walking towards Ogata and the others at a moderate speed.
The height of the three people is about the same as Ogata, about 1.7 meters.
The one who just said hello to Ayaka in Japanese, and whom Ayaka called "Vashili", was the one walking in front of the three people - a young man with curly brown hair and green eyes.
None of these three people carried any weapons on their bodies, and they just walked up to Aiyaka empty-handed.
"Vashili." Ayaka asked Vasily first, "Why did you come to stay with us again?"
"The map drawn last time had many wrong places." The young man whom Ayaka called Vasily said with a bitter smile, "So our boss can only lead us back and redraw it.
A map once.”
"Where is your boss?" Aiyaka asked next.
"He led some people to draw some pictures yesterday." Vasili shrugged, "He is not here for the time being, but - he should be back soon."
After saying that, Vasili looked up and down at Ayaka and Ogata and others standing next to Ayaka.
Looking at Ogata and Atachi, Vasili couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes.
After looking at Ogata and Atachi several times, Vasili withdrew his gaze, and then turned to Aiyaka again.
"Aiyaka, I've heard all about it," Vasili said, "You went to hunt man-eating bears. How was it? Did you successfully kill the pair of man-eating bears? Also, who are these two?"
The "these two" that Vasily mentioned were naturally referring to Ogata and Atachi.
"These two are the guests I invited back."
Ayaka answered without thinking.
"Thanks to the help of these two guests, the two man-eating bears are dead.
"The two man-eating bears were killed by these two people, and I basically didn't do anything."
"Oh?" Vasili raised his eyebrows, and then looked at Ogata and Ogata again. The surprise in his eyes was much stronger than before, "Both man-eating bears were killed by these two people?"
Vasily grinned.
"It seems that Aiyaka has invited a very powerful guest back."
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen a Japanese person in a long time."
"Hello. My name is Vasily. My full name is very long, so you can just call me Vasily."
After saying that, Vasili bowed lightly to Ogata and Amachi, following Japanese etiquette.
"Hello." Ogata returned the greeting, "My name is Majima Goro."
A-Ting: "My name is A-Ting."
After greeting Ogata and the other two, Vasili waved to Aiyaka.
"Aiyaka, I still have things to do, so I'll leave first. If you have time, come to our place for a drink."
"Oh? Are you busy?" Aiyaka asked.
"I have been busy keeping accounts today." Vasili smiled wryly and shrugged, "You know, I have always been responsible for managing the finances of our group."
"At my current pace, I won't be able to finish it until late at night."
"I just heard that you were back, so I took a break from my busy schedule and ran out to see you."
"That's it, I'll go back and continue to keep my accounts. See you later."
After finishing speaking, Vasili waved his hand to Aiyaka again.
This time he not only waved to Aiyaka, but also to Ogata and Atachi.
While waving his hands, he led the two Lucians behind him and walked away.
…
…
at the same time--
Matsumae Castle, the residence of Matsudaira Sadanobu——
"Lao Zhongsheng."
Tachibana knelt on one knee in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu and respectfully announced.
"My lords, all are here."
Matsudaira Sadanobu was sitting behind a desk at this time, writing furiously.
After Tachibana finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu said in a calm tone:
"Oh, I see."
Having said that, Matsudaira Sadanobu put down the brush in his hand and stood up from behind the desk.
At this time, Matsudaira Sadanobu was not dressed casually.
Instead, he wears the most formal dress among shogunate officials - shogun.
The white lining, dark green shoulder jacket and hakama are all as clean as new without exception.
The scapular is embroidered with the family crest of the Tokugawa family, which ruled the entire Edo shogunate: the three-leaf sunflower pattern.
Tachibana, like Matsudaira Sadanobu, wore the most formal and clean dress. The clothes were embroidered with the same clover.
"Tachibana, let's go."
After leaving these words calmly, Matsudaira Sadanobu supported the wakizashi inserted in his left waist, and then strode out of the room.
After Tachibana responded with a loud "yes", he quickly walked to the knife rest placed in the corner of the room and took down Matsudaira Sadanobu's sword hanging on the knife rest - Nagasone Kotetsu.
Then he held Matsudaira Sadanobu's long Soni Kotetsu in his arms and followed him a few steps slower than Matsudaira Sadanobu.
After leaving the room, Matsudaira Sadanobu asked Tachibana who was walking behind him without looking back:
"How are the dishes prepared?"
"Everything is ready." Tachibana said immediately, "It can be served at any time."
"Very good." Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded.
…
…
Tonight, a very grand banquet will be held in this Matsumae Castle.
A banquet for Matsudaira Sadanobu, the commander-in-chief of the shogunate army Inamori, and the generals of the various armies sent by the Ou domain.
There are a total of 31 vassal states in the Ou region. At the request of the shogunate, these 31 vassal states must send their own troops north to the Ezo land to assist the shogunate in attacking the Ezo tribes entrenched in the Red Moon Fortress.
31 vassals, 31 armies - yesterday, all 31 armies finally arrived at Matsumae Domain.
Because Matsumae Castle is only a small city and cannot accommodate so many troops, the troops are currently dispersed and garrisoned in various parts of the Matsumae Domain.
After receiving the news yesterday that all troops had successfully landed in Matsumae Domain, Matsudaira Sadanobu immediately issued an order to all troops:
The generals of all the vassal armies came to Matsumae Castle immediately, and Matsudaira Sadashin planned to hold a banquet in which all the generals of the vassal armies would participate.
This banquet can also be regarded as a reception banquet.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, on behalf of the shogunate, welcomed and thanked the Ou clans for their help.
For this expedition against the Red Moon Fortress, the shogunate planned to dispatch 10,000 troops - 5,000 shogunate troops stationed in the north early in the morning, plus 5,000 feudal troops composed of troops from the Ou clan.
At present, the shogunate's goal of "sending 10,000 troops" has been successfully achieved - the actual number of troops dispatched slightly exceeded the planned target.
The Ou clans have sent a total of about 5,300 troops, so the total strength of the shogunate's regiments currently assembled in the north is more than 10,300.
Among them, the Aizu Domain sent the most troops.
The public generally believes that in terms of military strength, the Aizu clan is undoubtedly the number one in Ou.
Regarding this recruitment by the shogunate, the Aizu Domain did not lose their reputation as "Ou's most powerful military domain" - they sent a total of 2,000 troops.
He also brought 90 iron cannons, 2 national cannons, and 13 large barrels of various types.
The second largest troop contributor was the Sendai clan.
Sendai Domain sent 1,800 troops.
In addition to having slightly fewer troops than the Aizu Domain, the number of firearms they brought was also slightly less than that of the Aizu Domain - they only brought 75 iron cannons, 1 national cannon, and 8 large barrels.
The combined troops of the two vassals, Aizu Domain and Sendai Domain, totaled 3,800 people, accounting for most of the allied forces of each domain, which totaled about 5,500.
Troops from another 29 vassal states made up the remaining 1,500 people.
It is not surprising that there is such a huge difference in the number of troops dispatched by each vassal.
Due to differences in territory, grain production, industrial conditions and other factors among the various vassals, the strength of each vassal is also very different.
Although there are 31 feudal kingdoms in the Ou region, there are only two feudal clans, Aizu Domain and Sendai Domain, that can be called "major feudal clans".
Of the 31 feudal kingdoms in the Ou region, there are a total of 16 feudal kingdoms with a total stone count of only 12,000 koku - accounting for more than half of the Ou feudal clans.
The one that sent the fewest troops was the "Yonezawa Nitta Domain", which was famous throughout the country for its poverty, and everyone in the country knew that this domain was extremely poor - he only sent 20 soldiers.
Among the 31 feudal armies sent to the north, only seven armies led by Aizu and Senshu were equipped with firearms.
The firearms of these 7 feudal armies plus the firearms of the shogunate army - currently there are 720 iron cannons in the entire army, 12 national cannons, and 81 large barrels of various types.
Among the Ou feudal lords, only Aizu and Sendai were the ones that suffered a national collapse.
Matsudaira Sadanobu learned five days ago that the shogunate and all the firearms of each feudal army totaled only this little.
When receiving this data, Matsudaira Sadanobu felt very heavy.
Because this kind of firepower is completely incomparable to the firepower the shogunate had when it first opened in Edo.
In terms of firepower, it may not be as good as the top princes in the Warring States Period two hundred years ago.
During the Warring States Period two hundred years ago, Oda Nobunaga almost unified the world. When he launched the famous decisive battle with the Takeda family - the Nagasaki Battle, he mobilized more than 3,000 iron cannons.
.
Matsudaira Sadanobu deeply felt how seriously the power of the shogunate had declined.
At the same time, I also deeply felt how heavy the burden was on my shoulders as a veteran of the shogunate.
…
…
After walking through the corridors, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally stood in front of two magnificent paper sliding doors.
Standing in front of the door, after making the final adjustments to his clothes and the wakizashi on his left waist, Matsudaira Sadanobu winked at Tachibana behind him.
Tachibana nodded lightly, and then he quickly stepped forward with Nagasone Kotetsu holding Matsudaira Sadanobu in his arms, and opened the two paper sliding doors for Matsudaira Sadanobu.
As the paper sliding door opened, the scene behind the paper sliding door gradually unfolded in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes.
Behind the sliding paper door is a huge room.
The floor is covered with clean tatami mats.
The position facing the door is the most distinguished main seat.
So when you look inside along the paper sliding door, you can see the main seat of this room.
There are two seats on the main seat - one of which is already occupied by Inamori.
The other seat is still vacant - the seat that is still vacant is Matsudaira Sadanobu's seat.
The 31 generals of each vassal army sat on the left and right under the main seat in order of status.
After Tachibana opened the paper sliding door and Matsudaira Sadanobu appeared in front of everyone in the room, whether it was Inamori sitting on the main seat or the 31 generals of each domain army, they all lowered their heads and bowed respectfully to
Matsudaira Sadanobu bowed.
Matsudaira Sadanobu strode into the room and sat down in the seat prepared for him early in the morning.
According to the appointment of the shogunate, General Inamori will serve as the general of this 10,000-strong army composed of the shogunate and the Ou clans.
In this way, Inamori was promoted again.
From the original general who was stationed in the north and commanded the 5,000 shogunate troops in the north, he was upgraded to the general who commanded the 10,000 allied troops of the shogunate and the Ou clan.
Matsudaira Sadanobu only had supervisory authority over this army and did not have any command authority.
But - that's just saying it, but no one, not even Inamori, dares to have any contempt for Matsudaira Sadanobu or not listen to Matsudaira Sadanobu's words.
Who would have the guts to disobey the second-in-command of the shogunate, the most powerful Matsudaira Sadanobu?
Inamori is the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and although Matsudaira Sadanobu has no command authority, it is impossible for Matsudaira Sadanobu to sit in a position other than the main seat.
Therefore, Matsudaira Sadanobu simply gave direct instructions - let his seat and Inamori's seat be placed side by side on the main seat.
"Gentlemen." Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was sitting in the main seat, said loudly to the people in front of him with a smile, "Thank you for coming."
"On behalf of the shogunate, I would like to thank you."
After saying some routine remarks, Matsudaira Sadanobu asked the attendants to bring the food and announced the start of the banquet.
Plate after plate of delicious food was brought out and placed on the table in front of everyone.
Matsudaira Sadanobu has been strongly encouraging the officials of the shogunate and feudal lords to be diligent and frugal since he took office as the new and old minister of the shogunate.
Therefore, at this banquet hosted by Matsudaira Sadanobu, the dishes served were naturally not very luxurious, they were just some local delicacies that are very common in Matsumae Domain.
To add to the fun, Matsudaira Sadanobu also invited some kaiko and maiko to sing and dance.
Amid the singing and dancing of the kaikos and dancers, the banquet scene gradually became lively.
The serious atmosphere that originally filled the air slowly dissipated and was replaced by joy.
Matsudaira Sadanobu was also smiling and chatting with familiar people.
…
…
"Kamao-sama." Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled at a young man sitting not far away from him, "How is Kaishu-sama's neck doing lately? Does it still hurt?"
As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, the young man whom he called "Kamao-sama" quickly put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hands and responded in a neither humble nor condescending manner:
"Thank you, Mr. Laozhong, for your concern. My lord has recently invited a famous doctor. Under the treatment of that famous doctor, his neck has gotten much better recently."
The "Lord Aizhou" that Matsudaira Sadanobu just mentioned was naturally referring to the current lord of the Aizu clan.
Before he became the shogunate, when he was still the lord of the Shirakawa clan in the Ou region, Matsudaira Sadanobu had a good personal relationship with the lord of the Aizu clan.
The young man sitting not far from Matsudaira Sadanobu is a well-known warrior in the Aizu Domain - Kamo Ryouyuki. He is 26 years old this year.
Matsudaira Sadanobu often heard about Kamao's bravery.
Although he is not particularly tall, only about six feet three inches (161cm), he has extremely high attainments in the use of Tai Sword.
The total length of the tachi is generally slightly longer than that of the katana, making it suitable for wielding on horseback.
In terms of skill in wielding the sword, Kamao was unrivaled in Ou - Matsudaira Sadanobu had heard such rumors a long time ago.
And Pu Sheng is not a person who lives up to his reputation.
According to what Matsudaira Sadanobu knew, the "tachijutsu" used by Kamao was a technique he created uniquely that can unleash powerful power on horseback.
Kamao once personally demonstrated his martial arts skills in front of the Lord of the Aizu Domain: with only one horse and one sword, he defeated an elite cavalry team of 30 people and became famous in one battle.
The Lord of the Aizu Domain not only sent 2,000 troops to support the battle, but also asked this famous warrior under his command to lead the army - this is evident from the Aizu Domain's loyalty to the shogunate and its positive response to the shogunate's call.
2,000 troops——This is already more than half of the military strength of the Aizu Domain.
After chatting enthusiastically with Kamao for a few words, Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his attention to the middle-aged man sitting next to Kamio.
"Sir Sheng Tianmu, what's wrong? Why do you look like you have no appetite?"
"I'll make you laugh, Mr. Lao Zhong." The middle-aged man who was called "Sheng Tianmu" by the Lao Zhong smiled awkwardly, "As people get older, their appetite gradually becomes smaller, and they are not as able to eat as before."
After saying that, the middle-aged man sighed softly.
"I really miss the days when I was young, when I could eat a big bowl of rice with just one fish."
Although this middle-aged man is old and even his beard and hair are slightly white, he is actually as famous a warrior as Pu Sheng.
However, he was not a fierce general of the Aizu Domain, but a powerful general of the Sendai Domain—Okutenme Soemon, the head of the "Seven Spears of Senshu".
The current lord of Sendai Domain is a man who loves the art of war and martial arts.
He was fond of the art of war and martial arts, so he created the honorary title of "Xianzhou Seven Spears" after the famous "Biyue Seven Spears" that had become famous during the Warring States Period 200 years ago.
This honorary title is awarded to the seven bravest warriors in the army.
Sheng Tianmu is one of these seven people - and he is also the bravest one.
Sheng Tianmu, who is 43 years old this year, in terms of strength alone, his huge body of nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) contains strength that is not at all like that of a middle-aged man.
He inherited the ancient style of spearmanship - Taneda Style. He is good at using the Sanjian Spear.
The so-called three-room guns, as the name suggests, are three-room guns (1 room: 1.818 meters).
Although Matsudaira Sadanobu had never actually seen Ikutenmei fighting, he had heard of it - the sight of Ikutenmu riding on a war horse, brandishing three spears, and roaring loudly, is enough to remind people of the famous warrior Honda Tadashi in history.
Victory, so some people call the birth of the third eye "Honda Tadakatsu in the world".
Honda Tadakatsu was a fierce general under Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate more than 200 years ago. He followed Tokugawa Ieyasu in the north and south and made great contributions to the founding of the Edo shogunate.
Because of his bravery in battle, Honda Tadakatsu was named the Three Tokugawa Heroes, the Four Tokugawa Kings, the Sixteenth Tokugawa Divine Generals, "the best in Japan, the unparalleled warrior in ancient and modern times", Mikawa Flying General, Oni no Heihachi, and Japan's Chang
Fei, the most powerful general in the Warring States Period... and many other titles.
Born Tenmu is called "Honda Tadakatsu alive" - which shows that his martial arts must be quite extraordinary.
However, although Uchitenmei's martial arts skills are extraordinary, Matsudaira Sadanobu has heard that he is quite arrogant and likes to brag about his martial arts skills - although he does have the capital to brag.
The Sendai Domain also responded very positively to the shogunate's recruitment.
In addition to dispatching 1,800 troops, five of the "Xianzhou Seven Spears" were also dispatched to lead the team.
As the leader of the Seven Spears, Sheng Tianmu is one of these five people.
The arrogance of the lord of Sendai Domain, who directly dispatched 5 of the "Seven Spears of Senshu", surprised even Sadanobu Matsudaira.
Matsudaira Sadanobu knew that a large part of the reason why the lord of the Sendai Domain was so heroic was just to compete with the Aizu Domain.
Matsudaira Sadanobu knew this - the Sendai samurai always wanted to prove that they were not inferior to the Aizu samurai.
This unwillingness to lose to the Aizu Domain made all the warriors of the Sendai Domain very motivated.
Matsudaira Sadanobu was also happy to see the fierce competition between feudal clans.
After all, the competition between vassals can also encourage them to work hard to perform better on the battlefield.
Looking at Kamao and Shengtenmu who were standing next to each other, the smile on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face couldn't help but become stronger.
The lineup of strong generals in the army was much more luxurious than he expected.
Inamori, who is sitting next to him now, is also considered to be one of the best warriors in terms of bravery.
At present, the baggage, troops, and generals are all in place.
——The all-out attack on the Red Moon Fortress... is about to begin.
Matsudaira Sadanobu said this quietly in his heart.
…
…
at the same time--
Ezochi, Kuma Village——
Gulu gulu gulu...
The soup in the large pot in front of Ogata and Omachi has been boiled, and bubbles are constantly bubbling out.
In the soup, there were two bear paws that were now red.
"...It looks so weird..." Amachi muttered, "These bear paws are just like human feet..."
Three days ago, Ogata listened to Aiyaka's suggestion and in addition to bear skin and bear bile, he also took the bear paws of the man-eating male bear.
Because the paws of the man-eating male bear were so big, bigger than a football, that it would be impossible to lift all 4 bear paws, so Ogata and the others only took 2 bear paws.
It was almost evening when Ogata and the others arrived at the Kuma village where Aiyaka lived.
At this moment, the sky had darkened.
Currently, Ogata and Amachi are at Aiyaka's home.
Ayaka's family is a big family.
Ayaka himself, his wife, Ayaka's parents, and his still-living grandmother, a total of five people, all crowded under the same roof.
Although there are many family members, Ayaka's home is very large, so it doesn't feel crowded.
Eyaka's home can accommodate 2 more people, so Ayaka invited Ogata and Amachi to stay directly at his home during this period.
Ogata and the others had no reason to refuse Eyaka's invitation, so Ogata agreed, and together with Atachi, they carried their luggage and moved into Eyaka's home.
Three days ago, Ayaka, who encouraged Ogata and the others to remove the bear paws, promised Ogata and Aimachi to let his grandmother, who is very good at cooking bear paws, cook a delicious bear paw dish for them.
.
And now, Ayaka has kept his promise.
The two bear paws boiled in the pot were the bear paws that Ogata and the others took from the man-eating male bear.
The first dinner that Ogata and the others had in this Kuma village was Ayaka's grandmother's bear paw cuisine.
Aiyaka's grandma was sitting next to the pot at this time, carefully checking the heat.
When Ogata and Atachi were first brought into the home by Eyaka, Eyaka's family members were surprised at first.
But after hearing Aiyaka say that the two of them were "bear warriors" who hunted and killed the two man-eating bears, the attitudes of Aiyaka's family towards the two of them immediately softened.
Ayaka's grandma was sitting by the pot, concentrating on cooking bear paws.
Ayaka sat in front of Ogata and the others.
His parents and wife were sitting behind Aiyaka.
After hearing Atachi's muttering "Bear's paws are like human feet", Aiyaka laughed a few times.
"When I first started eating bear paws, I felt the same way." Aiyaka said, "The skinned bear paws do look a lot like human feet."
"But don't worry."
"Although it looks a bit ugly, the taste will definitely not disappoint you."
"How long will it take to do this bear paw?" Ogata asked.
"Soon. It will be ready in a while."
There is nothing to do while waiting for the bear paws to be cooked successfully.
So Ou simply asked Aiyaka who the Lucian man named Vasily he had just met was.
After hearing Ogata's question, Ayaka slowly answered:
"Those Lucians are here to draw pictures."
"According to them, they were just there to map the surrounding terrain."
"He stayed in our village temporarily more than 2 months ago."
"Although they are staying temporarily, they are actually just camping next to our village."
"Our village is close to the river and is the best place to camp."
"More than two months ago, they left directly after mapping the terrain near our village."
"I didn't expect that after more than two months, they would come back again."
"According to what Vasili just said, they made a mistake in the drawing, so they had to come back again."
"Is that Vasili the leader of that group?" A-Machi asked, "You speak Japanese really well."
"No." Ayaka shook his head.
"That Vasili is just the second in command of their group."
"Their real boss is a man with red hair. Their boss speaks Japanese well."
"I even wonder if their boss has been learning Japanese since he was a child. He speaks Japanese just like Kazuo."
"Although their behavior is quite rude, their discipline is pretty good."
"When I lived near our village more than 2 months ago, I never did anything inappropriate."
"So we just let them stay here temporarily and draw pictures."