Chapter 478 Russian traditional arts: fighting each other! [8000 words]
"None of their group speaks our language."
Ayaka continued.
"Only their red-haired boss and their second-in-command Vasili can speak your language."
"So when we communicate with them, we always use Japanese."
"I am one of the people in our village who speaks Chinese the best."
"So it's basically me who comes forward to talk to them."
"After going back and forth, I became familiar with them."
Aiyaka’s grandmother: “￥#@%&*￥@#%.(Ezo)”
At this moment, Aiyaka's grandmother suddenly spoke up.
Before Ogata even asked Ayaka what his grandma was talking about, Ayaka took the initiative to translate to Ogata:
"My grandma said: The bear paws are cooked and ready to eat."
Two bear paws were floating in the soup in the pot.
The pot that Ayaka's grandmother used to cook bear paws was actually Ogata and Atachi's pot.
Before leaving Edo, the two of them bought a small pot in Edo that was easy to carry when traveling.
When they couldn't find a hotel and had to camp out in the wild, Ogata and the others would occasionally use this small pot to cook miso soup or boil the dry food they carried to make it more delicious.
Although the peeled and cooked bear paws do look very much like human feet and look a little scary, they do smell very fragrant.
In addition to this small pot, Ogata and the others also carried a pair of bowls and chopsticks with them.
Their bowls and chopsticks are all made of bamboo, so they are not easy to break.
Ogata and Atachi took out their bowls and each scooped a bear paw into the bowls they carried with them.
In his previous life, Ogata had only eaten meat from domestic animals such as pigs, cows, and sheep.
This was the first time he had seen and eaten bear meat.
Not to mention Atachi.
She has never even eaten domestic animals such as pigs, cows, and sheep.
It was the first time that Omachi saw meat other than fish. He put the bear paw in front of his nose and sniffed it vigorously like a dog.
In terms of smell, this bear's paw is absolutely impeccable, and the smell makes one's index fingers spread.
Ogata picked up the bear's paw with chopsticks, put it in front of his mouth, tore off a piece of bear meat with his teeth, then put it in his mouth and chewed it carefully.
The moment the bear meat entered his mouth, several flashes of joy burst out in Ogata's eyes.
Just use your teeth to bite open the bear meat, and the rich umami flavor will spread from the tip of your tongue to the entire mouth.
The taste of bear meat is quite different from that of livestock such as pigs, cows, and sheep.
I don’t know whether it’s because of Aiyaka’s grandma’s unique cooking method or because the bear meat tastes like this. The bear meat in your mouth feels very elastic when you bite it.
What surprised Ogata the most was that the bear meat didn't have any fishy smell.
Atachi and Ogata bit off a piece of bear meat almost at the same time.
Then he also showed an expression similar to Ogata's, with surprise shining in his eyes.
Based on A-Machi's reaction, it is not difficult to see that A-Machi is also very satisfied with the bear meat in the bowl.
Seeing the expressions of Ogata and Atachi, Ayaka smiled happily.
"How is it? Am I right? The bear paw cooked by my grandma tastes very good, right?"
"Your grandma's craftsmanship is really amazing." Ogata said, "The bear's paws don't have any fishy smell at all."
"Because my grandma added pukusachina, which can make the meat fresh and remove the fishy smell."
"Pukusakina?" A-Machi asked in confusion, "What does this mean?"
"Pukusakina in Japanese... I remember it means goosefoot."
"We Ainu all like to use pukusakina to deodorize meat, but my grandma is particularly good at controlling the amount of pukusakina. She won't add too much, and she won't add too little."
"So the meat dishes made by my grandma are very delicious."
After listening to Aiyaka's explanation, Atachi nodded gently:
"I see...this bear paw is indeed delicious."
After saying that, A-Machi picked up the bear's paw again and started chewing it with concentration.
Just as Ogata picked up the bear's paw again with chopsticks, he suddenly heard a strange, subtle noise coming from the window of the house.
He looked around and saw four little heads poking out of the window of the house, casting curious glances at Ogata and Omachi inside the house.
When the children of these four villages noticed that Ogata had discovered them, they immediately shrank their heads and retreated under the window.
At this time, Ayaka also discovered the four children lying outside the window.
“%￥#@@#￥@￥!(Ezo)”
Ayaka shouted something angrily, stood up quickly, and rushed toward the door.
When he opened the door, he happened to see four children who were only about 5 or 6 years old, laughing and running away from Aiyaka's sight.
"Sorry, Majima, I made you laugh." Ayaka returned to where he was just now and smiled bitterly at Ogata, "They probably want to see the warrior who killed two Unkamui in a row.
What does it look like?"
Naturally, Ogata would not take the children's play too seriously. After smiling, he said:
"It seems that my wife and I's bear fighting deeds have completely spread throughout the village..."
"After all, our village is small." Aiyaka shrugged, "Our village only has a total of 124 people, so no matter what happens, it will spread quickly."
After saying that, Ayaka turned his head and said something in Ekino to his wife sitting behind him.
After Aiyaka finished speaking, his wife nodded, got up and left the house.
After Ayaka's wife left, Ogata asked Ayaka:
"What is your wife doing?"
"I asked my wife to find the parents of the four children who just opened our window." Aiyaka showed a wicked smile, "Although the four brats just ran away very fast, I still saw their faces."
"Although I can understand their curiosity about the new guests in the village, no matter what, it is quite impolite to open someone's window."
"It is necessary for their parents to discipline and discipline them well."
"It seems that we may hear four children crying tonight." Ogata responded in a half-joking tone.
Ogata didn't say anything to Ayaka, "This is too cruel."
Because he felt that Ayaka was right to do this.
Although Ogata would not take things like "children picking out windows" seriously, picking up other people's windows is indeed quite impolite behavior and needs to be disciplined by parents.
"Speaking of which, I've wanted to ask you since I entered your village." A-Machi put down the bear paw that had been mostly eaten by her, "Why do most of the women in your village have tattoos around their lips?"
Tattoo?"
Atachi stretched out his finger and drew a circle around his red lips.
"This is not just the case in our village," Aiyaka said. "All Ainu women will have a circle of tattoos around their lips when they reach adulthood."
"It's our custom."
"The higher a man's status, the larger the tattoos his wife will have."
After saying that, Ayaka put on a proud tone.
"I am one of the best hunters in the village. I have hunted four Unkamuyi alone, so the tattoo on my wife's lips is larger than that of all the women of the same age in the village."
"And my grandfather, who died of illness, was also an incredible warrior."
Ayaka stretched out his arms and hugged his grandmother who was sitting next to him.
"My grandfather started hunting when he was 12 years old. Until his death, he had killed 79 bears alone. There were also countless small animals such as deer and rabbits. There were 14 Unkamuyi."
"That's why my grandma has the biggest tattoo on her face."
Grandma, who was hugged by Ayaka, slapped away Ayaka's hand holding her with a helpless expression.
Then, she turned her attention to Ogata and Omachi, and said something to them in Ezo language.
The two of them had studied the common expressions in the Ezo language from the "Ezo Phrase Guide" before, so they could barely understand some of the words in their grandmother's words.
But the few words they understood could not help them understand the meaning of what grandma just said.
So after grandma's words fell, the two could only turn their eyes to Aiyaka again to "ask for help".
"Aiyaka, what did your grandma tell us?" Ogata asked.
"It's nothing." Aiyaka scratched his hair, "I just remind you not to go astray and go looking for gold."
"Well. You should also know, right? Many speculators, dreaming of making a fortune, come to us to look for gold."
"We Ainu hate these gold diggers the most."
Ayaka's tone became slightly more serious.
"These gold diggers will do anything to find gold."
"Destroy forests and pollute rivers."
"There are even some people who think that every Ainu village contains gold, so they attack our Ainu villages."
"In the past, there weren't so many gold diggers."
"But since a severe famine broke out in your land many years ago, the number of gold thieves here has increased."
Ogata recognized it immediately - the "famine" Ayaka just mentioned should refer to "famine at dawn".
Why after the "Tenmei Famine" broke out, more and more people came to Ezochi to pan for gold - the reason is not difficult to imagine.
Once such a catastrophe occurs that makes it difficult for many people to survive, the number of speculators will inevitably increase.
Ogata once again deeply felt the scope of the "Tianmei Famine", which even affected the Ezo land.
"The increase in the number of gold diggers has also increased the number of Unkamuyi."
"They wreak havoc and destruction in the mountains and forests without any rules. Naturally, they can easily arouse the anger of bears, wolves and other animals."
"So in recent years, Unkamuyi's appearance has become more frequent."
Having said this, Ayaka let out a sigh of relief with a look of helplessness on his face.
"I feel a little embarrassed..." Ating smiled slyly, "We and these scum among human beings are wreaking havoc on the land where you live..."
"Don't say that." Aiyaka quickly waved his hand, "You are not gold diggers, so there is no need to feel embarrassed about the behavior of those scum."
"Besides - you and I are not the only gold diggers."
"Many of our Ainu compatriots have also become gold diggers."
The look of helplessness on Aiyaka's face became even more intense.
"Although gold is useless here, it is no different from stone."
"But in the land of Heren, it is priceless."
"As a result, many of our compatriots have used their brains."
"Go around to mine gold, and then secretly trade with people."
"A few people even plan to take the gold they collected and settle in the land of Kazuto."
"So there are speculators with evil ideas in every nation."
"About a year ago, for some unknown reason, the legend of 'Gullfoss' suddenly spread that it was true."
"This resulted in a large number of crooked compatriots looking for waterfalls, causing many rivers to be seriously damaged."
"Fortunately, this unhealthy trend is now gradually disappearing."
"'Gullfoss'?" Ogata raised his eyebrows, "What is this?"
Gullfoss Waterfall - this is the first time Ogata and Atachi have heard of this term.
"This is a legend that has been passed down by our Ainu for a long time."
Aiyaka said slowly.
"A long time ago, there was a wealthy village chief named 'Yokosi'. He owned a huge amount of gold passed down from generation to generation."
"And the village chief of another village named 'Sazili' is eyeing Yu Koshi's gold and wants to take Yu Koshi's gold as his own."
"One day, Yu Kesi's daughter got married and moved to another village."
"Most of the villagers in Yukosi's village went out to celebrate."
"There are only some old people and children left in the village."
"Sazili saw this great opportunity and led his men to break into Youkosi's village, intending to rob Youkosi of his gold."
"Fortunately, Kosi discovered Sazili's attempt in time."
"In order to avoid having the gold stolen, he fled deep into the mountains with the gold, and then buried the gold in a cave next to a waterfall."
"A few years later, Cosi passed away. After Cosi's death, no one knew where this huge amount of gold was buried."
"It is said that at the lower reaches of the waterfall where gold was buried by Kosi, gold can be seen from time to time, and gold sand is washed down."
"So everyone calls that waterfall 'Gullfoss'."
"But this is just a legend."
"Until now, no one knows whether there is such a thing or not, whether there is such a waterfall with gold flowing down it."
"More than a year ago, after the rumor that 'Gullfoss really exists' spread inexplicably, many people went looking for waterfalls but could not find the legendary 'Gullfoss'."
"So I think this legend is just bluffing."
Ayaka shrugged.
"It's probably just a story imagined by someone who wants gold and wants to get rich."
As soon as Aiyaka finished speaking, Atachi answered:
"We also have similar legends here."
"It is said that at the end of the Warring States Period two hundred years ago, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who unified the world, was worried that his successor Toyotomi Hideyori would not be able to maintain his dominance in the future."
"In order to prevent future generations of the Toyotomi family from having no money to use one day in the future, 450 million taels of gold were buried somewhere."
"Only his successor Toyotomi Hideyori knows its specific location."
"After Toyotomi Hideyori's death, the location where the gold was buried was completely lost."
"I don't know if this legend is true."
"It's fine if it's fake."
"If it is true, then Toyotomi Hideyoshi's gold was simply buried in vain."
Atachi let out a sneer.
"Toyotomi Hideyori failed to dig out the gold in the end, resulting in the hegemony being taken away by Tokugawa Ieyasu."
"If this legend is true, and Toyotomi Hideyori dug up the 450 million taels of gold in time, then there may be nothing to happen to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the current Edo shogunate will no longer be established.
."
"It seems that no matter which ethnic group you are from, there are always these legends related to treasures." Aiyaka grinned, "The topic seems to have gone a bit far."
"In short - you must not use any crooked ideas and go hunting for gold."
"We Ainu all recognize the tools used in gold mining."
"If people find out that you are gold diggers, you will be in trouble."
"Our village is considered a relatively moderate one."
"After discovering people who come to seek gold, we will only ask them to leave quickly. If they do not listen, we will resort to force."
"But people in other villages are different."
"There are many villages that have zero tolerance for gold diggers."
"Many compatriots in the village, after discovering the gold thieves, will directly kill them without saying anything."
Aiyaka raised his hand and made a motion of wiping his neck.
"So my grandma just did it for your own good, telling you not to go astray and go looking for gold. Panning for gold in this land is very dangerous."
"You must remember not to carry gold mining equipment with you."
"Once your compatriots who have zero tolerance for gold diggers discover that you are carrying gold mining equipment..."
Aiyaka raised his hand again and made a wiping motion on his neck.
…
…
The next morning——
Overall, last night's dinner went very smoothly.
No one was absent, and no unexpected situations occurred.
Matsudaira Sadanobu didn't know what other people thought, but he had a great time last night.
He himself also had a rare moment of relaxation.
Matsudaira Sadanobu is an extremely self-disciplined person.
No matter how much fun he had yesterday or how tired he was, he would definitely work hard the next day.
When the sun first came up, Matsudaira Sadanobu got up, washed up, and then started today's work.
The first order he issued today was to call over Inamori, who is currently the general of the army.
Although not as good as Matsudaira Sadanobu, Inamori is a person who has very high requirements for himself.
Drinks were provided at last night's banquet, but Daomori didn't get drunk and only had a few sips.
His self-discipline allowed Inamori to avoid the ugly appearance of meeting Matsudaira Sadanobu this morning, smelling of alcohol.
After receiving the order from Matsudaira Sadanobu, Inamori quickly rushed to Matsudaira Sadanobu's room.
After Inamori appeared in front of him, Matsudaira Sadanobu said to Inamori simply and clearly without saying too much nonsense:
"Inamori. The feudal armies from each domain have now arrived at Matsumae Domain."
"I plan to conquer the Red Moon Fortress as quickly as possible."
"I want to hear your opinion now - when do you think we can send troops?"
This is a very serious question.
So Daomori didn't dare to be careless.
After thinking briefly for a moment, Daomori said solemnly:
"In terms of baggage, final arrangements still need to be made."
"Those feudal armies that have just arrived in Ezo Land also need some time to rest and recuperate."
"So it will take us about 12 days... no, about 10 days before we can send troops."
"On the 10th..." Matsudaira Sadanobu muttered, then raised his head at Inamori, "Can you think of a way to shorten this time a little?"
"I can't guarantee that I can successfully shorten the time." Daomori said honestly, "But - I will try my best."
"Okay. Then do your best." Matsudaira Sadanobu said calmly, "I want to conquer the Red Moon Fortress as soon as possible."
"I hope you can realize this dream of mine."
"Yes!" Daomori responded loudly.
…
…
Ezochi, Kuma Village——
"￥%#@&*￥%#%@@￥%. (Ezo language)" The old man from Ezo standing in front of Ogata and Atachi was speaking at a very fast speed.
After he finished speaking, Ayaka, who was standing next to Ogata, shook his head at the two of them:
"He has never seen the two people you are looking for."
"Have you never seen this person before..." Ogata scratched his hair helplessly, "Let's go, let's go find the next person and ask."
Last night, Ogata and Atachi, who were temporarily staying at Ayaka's house, had a good sleep at Ayaka's house.
After getting up, the two men, who had regained their energy, officially began to search for clues about Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhen in Kuma Village.
When the two of them arrived at this Kuma village yesterday, it was already late.
Considering that it was late and the two of them had been trekking for most of the day, regardless of their physical strength, they were just mentally exhausted and wanted to take a good rest.
Therefore, the two of them did not rush to look for traces of Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhen yesterday.
Instead, he chose to rest for the night first, to recuperate his physical strength and energy, and then wait for tomorrow morning—that is, now—to slowly search for the person.
Ayaka also kept the promise he had made to Ogata and the others - if Ogata and the others assisted him in hunting the man-eating male bear, he would help them find Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
Not long after dawn, Ogata, Aimachi, and Aiyaka went out and started looking for people from house to house.
With Eyaka as the translator and Eyaka helping to prove that Ogata and Ogata had no ill intentions, it was much easier for Ogata and Atachi to ask questions.
However - until now, the two of them have not found any clues.
No matter the old people who are too old to go hunting anymore, or the young people who frequently go out for fishing and hunting, they have never seen the Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen that Ogata and the others are looking for.
This Kuma village has only 124 people in total - it is a medium-sized village.
As noon approached, Ogata and the others asked all the villagers except those who happened to be away from the village.
The reward is - nothing.
…
…
"No one in this village has ever seen Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen..." Amachi, standing under the sun, muttered to Ogata beside him.
In such a cold and freezing environment, not only will you not feel hot when standing under the sun, but you will feel quite comfortable.
Therefore, neither Amachi, Ogata, or Ayaka had any intention of going into the shadows to avoid the sun. They just stood in the sun, bathing in the sunshine and talking at the same time.
"It seems... those two people may not have passed through this settlement..." Ogata said softly.
"I'll take you to other settlements later."
Aiyaka on the side answered,
"There are four settlements that have a good relationship with our Kuma village."
"So the only settlements I can take you to are these 4."
"If there are no clues about the two people you are looking for in these four settlements...then there is nothing I can do to help."
"It doesn't matter." Ogata smiled at Aiyaka, "You can help us, which makes us very happy."
"You can help us as much as you want according to your own wishes."
Ayaka smiled and nodded.
"No problem, I will do my best to help you."
"So, when do you plan to leave for other settlements?"
"It's only noon now, there's still about half a day left."
"If you take a dog sled, you can go back and forth to the nearest village in half a day."
"Do you want to leave for other settlements in the afternoon?"
"There's no rush." Ogata shook his head, "Let's leave for other settlements tomorrow."
"Let's stay here for today."
"Although no one in your village has ever seen Xuan Zheng, Xuan Zhen."
"But... there's another group of people who live around here who might have seen them."
After saying that, Ogata looked at Aiyaka.
"Aiyaka, can you take us to where Vasili's gang lives?"
Ogata has always remembered that there is currently a group of Lucians living here temporarily in this Kuma village.
"Are you going to ask Vasili and the others?" Aiyaka had a bit of surprise on his face.
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "They have no fixed place and move around."
"Maybe they've seen the person I'm looking for."
"So I wanted to ask them."
"Can you take us there?"
"Okay, okay." Aiyaka scratched his hair, "But I don't know if they are willing to help you..."
"If I say I'm familiar with them, I'm not very familiar with them..."
"After all, they are not villagers of my village."
"If you are a villager in my village, with my status and prestige in the village, I can persuade others to help after some persuasion."
"Vashili and the others are outsiders after all."
"If they don't want to help you, then there's nothing I can do..."
"It doesn't matter." Ogata smiled, "Just take us there."
"If they don't want to help us - just wait until then."
"...Yeah." Aiyaka nodded gently, "I understand. Then come with me."
…
…
Vasili's camp was located not far from Kuma Village.
Kuma Village is a settlement built along the river.
After leaving the village and walking downstream along the river next to the village for some distance, you can see Vasili and his camp.
Vasili's camp, whether it's tents or flags, is full of exotic style.
It was the first time for A-Machi to see such an exotic-style camp, so after seeing Vasili's camp from a distance, he kept looking at it with curiosity.
When they were still some distance away from Vasili's camp, Ogata saw a large group of people gathering outside the camp.
After getting closer, Ogata saw clearly that this large group of people all had Caucasian faces.
They must be Vasily's subordinates.
And the Vasili whom Ogata and the others were looking for was standing in the middle of this group of people.
He was talking anxiously to the people around him.
"Hey! Vasili!" As he was about to reach Vasili, Ayaka shouted Vasili's name.
Vasili, who had just been concentrating on talking to the people around him, heard Ayaka's voice and cast a somewhat surprised look at Ayaka, as well as Ogata and Amachi who were walking behind Ayaka.
look.
"Oh, what a rare visitor." Vasili separated his subordinates who were blocking him and greeted Ogata and the others, "Aiyaka, what's wrong? You suddenly came to us, what's the matter?"
"I would like to ask you first." Ayyaka looked behind Vasily and at the people beside him, "Why are you and your subordinates standing outside the camp and not staying in the camp?"
"It's nothing." Vasili shrugged, "It's just that my subordinates and I have been too busy recently, so we plan to hold the traditional activities of Lucia Country to kill our physical strength and energy."
"Quickly tell me why you are here."
"I'm busy now."
"It's not that I'm looking for you, but the guest I invited is looking for you." Aiyaka looked at Ogata.
After Aiyaka finished speaking, Oufang immediately spoke up and made his purpose clear to Vasily.
"I see..." Vasily touched his chin, "You are looking for someone..."
"Don't tell me, we have met two strange-looking Kazuto before."
"It's just that I don't know if they are the two people you are looking for."
"What do the two Kazuto you met look like?" Ogata asked quickly.
"Well..." Vasili did not answer immediately, but looked at Ogata and pondered.
Think about what you are thinking about.
After a moment, he suddenly grinned and smiled.
"If you want me to tell you, it's not impossible."
"But - no meal is free. You should understand this, right?"
"...What do you want?" Ogata asked, "Do you want money?"
"No, no, no." Vasili raised his right index finger and shook it from side to side, "What do I need your Japanese money for?"
"I just need you to participate in the traditional activities we are about to start."
"Traditional activities?" Ogata asked in confusion, "What traditional activities?"
"To put it simply, it means dividing into two groups and fighting each other." Vasili said, "The one who can stand to the end is the winner."
*******
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Note: The "Golden Waterfall" mentioned in this chapter is a real legend of the Ainu people. It is not made up by the author.
The hatred of gold diggers mentioned by Ezo in this chapter is also a historical fact. Gold diggers will do anything in order to find gold, so Ezo hates gold diggers very much.
"Toyotomi's Great Secret Treasure" is also a true legend. In addition to "Toyotomi's Great Secret Treasure", there is also "Tokugawa's Great Secret Treasure". It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo shogunate and the first shogun, also