Chapter 498 Miss Ogata Yoshi's Second Chief of the Shogunate[7600words]
The total number of villagers still alive in Qina Village is only about a hundred.
Therefore, the team composed of villagers from Qina Village was not long.
Soon, the figures of Ogata and Omachi at the end of the team completely disappeared from the sight of Skulucci and others.
"Ha..." Skulucci yawned greatly, and then waved his hands to Vasily and others behind him, "Guys, go back. It's almost time for us to prepare to leave."
"Skullucci, when do you plan to leave?" Aiyaka asked Skulucci at the side.
Ayaka, who had a fairly good personal relationship with Skulucci, knew that Skulucci planned to join his boss for a while.
"It's not confirmed yet." Skulucci scratched his red hair, "We'll leave in about a few days. What about you? When do you plan to return to Kuma Village?"
"When can I return to Kuma Village?" Aiyaka smiled bitterly, "Qina Village has now become an empty village."
Aiyaka Niutou looked towards Qina Village, where only a few empty houses were left.
"What am I doing in this village where there's not even a soul left?"
"I will leave back to Kuma Village today."
"Let's go now. We'll probably be back in the village by evening."
"That's right..." Scrooge grinned, "Then say hello to the villagers of Kuma Village for me."
After that, Skulucci led Vasili and others behind him towards their camp.
While walking towards his camp with his back turned to Ayaka, Skulucci did not forget to wave to Ayaka behind him.
"Aiyaka, see you later if we have chance."
…
…
As soon as Skulucci threw Aiyaka behind him, Vasili, who was walking behind him, let out a long sigh:
"Alas... Majima Goro left so quickly... I hoped he could stay with us for a little longer..."
"What?" Scrooge asked, "Is your relationship with Majima Goro so good?"
"It's not that our relationship is very close. I just hope that Majima Goro can stay with us for a little longer because of...some reasons..."
If this topic were discussed further, Skulucci and the others might learn that Vasili had been hiding his habit and did not want people around him to know about it, so he took the initiative to change the topic:
"That's right, boss."
"Since we are going to meet up with Boss Alexander later, then...Boss, have you prepared any gifts for Boss Alexander?"
"Of course!" Skulucci said loudly, "I have already prepared the gift for Boss Alexander."
After saying that, Scrooge put his hand into his arms and took out something from his arms.
"Is this...a knife?" Vasili asked.
"Yeah. In the language of the Ainu people, this thing is called 'Tashiro', which can be understood as the mountain sword of the Ainu people."
Scrooge unsheathed his sword and exposed it to the sunlight, the blade flashing with sharp cold light.
"I got it in exchange for good wine from a certain village we passed."
"Boss Alexander, he should like it."
"Can I see it?" Vasili asked.
"take it."
After saying that, Skulucci sheathed the mountain sword and threw it to Vasily behind him.
Vasili looked at the mountain knife carefully.
Although the production level of the blade is far inferior to that of the Chasik saber of the Cossacks, its handle and scabbard are very beautifully carved with patterns such as flowers and birds.
"It's a very beautiful knife... It is indeed something that Mr. Alexander will like." Vasili returned the mountain knife to Skulucci.
"Boss Alexander's habit of collecting weapons is really fucking troublesome." Skulucci put on a tired expression, "What's even more damning troublesome is that if you don't give him frequent gifts, he will give them
Who wears small shoes?"
Skulucci is a person who can achieve "flexible switching of appearances".
Only in front of his subordinates will he show his "rude" side.
In front of other people, he will behave extremely gentlemanly.
Scrooge and his eldest brother, Alexander, had no other hobbies.
His only hobby is collecting weapons.
That kind of exotic weapon was Alexander's favorite.
It's just that he likes to collect weapons. What's difficult is that Alexander is a person who likes to use power for personal gain.
He likes to let the people below him help collect weapons for him.
He once told his subordinates Skulucci and others in disguise to remember Duoduo's "offerings" in the future.
All subordinates who "provide" weapons of sufficient quantity and quality will receive special favor from Alexander.
As for those subordinates who do not "come forward", they will be ignored by Alexander.
Scrooge, who didn't want to be seen as a shoestring, could only "provide" some weapons to Alexander from time to time.
Skulucci has not been working under Alexander for a long time. He has only worked under Alexander for more than a year.
Because he was particularly dissatisfied and fed up with Alexander's behavior of seeking power for personal gain, Skulucci had recently begun to think about how to leave Alexander's service.
"Speaking of which..." Vasili said, "I heard that Boss Alexander recently spent a lot of money to get a set of Japanese armor. Is this true?"
"Yes. It's true." Skulucci raised his right little finger and picked out his ears. "Alexander used 10 horses to buy a set of horses from a merchant who had been secretly doing business with us Cossacks.
Japanese armor.”
"Ten horses for a set of armor." Vasily twitched the corner of his mouth.
Although they on the continent of Europa have now completely entered the "firearms age", cavalry still plays a huge role on the battlefield.
The status of the cavalry has not been reduced, but has been improved.
The high status of cavalry in the military also makes war horse resources a very important strategic resource.
10 horses and 10 Don hippos, this is not a small number.
"Is this armor made of gold?" Vasily muttered.
"I heard it's a set of Nanman carcasses of very fine quality."
"Nanbarbarian carcass?" Vasili asked in return.
"It is a special type of armor from Japan. Its characteristic is that it has absorbed our European plate armor production technology. It is a special type of armor that has absorbed the characteristics of plate armor and Japanese local armor."
"It is said that the protective power is amazing."
"Boss Alexander, I have never seen this set of Southern Barbarian harems that he exchanged for 10 horses this time."
"Boss Alexander showed off his armor at a party before, but it's a pity that I was not present at that party."
"I later heard from those who attended the party that the armor was blue and gold."
"The merchant who sold this set of armor to Boss Alexander specially gave it as a gift to a Jinhaori with the same blue and gold colors."
"Judging from the appearance, it is indeed a set of armor that combines performance and beauty."
"It's a pity that Boss Alexander can't wear such armor at all."
Scrooge gestured to his belly with exaggerated movements.
"With Boss Alexander's big belly, there is no way he can fit his body into that armor."
"Only a person with a well-proportioned figure like me can wear that armor."
"Really, I really don't know why Boss Alexander bought this kind of armor that he can't even wear..."
Scrooge, whose values were completely different from Alexander's, did not understand Alexander's behavior of spending a lot of money to buy a suit of armor that he could not wear at all.
Scrooge and the others chatted all the way and unknowingly returned to their camp.
"Okay, let's all disperse." Scrooge waved his hands to the people behind him, "Let's all do our own thing first."
"I'll go back to the tent and take a nap first."
After saying this, Scrooge yawned loudly.
"I woke up a little too early today."
"When I wake up, I'll slowly make preparations for dismantling the camp and moving."
After Skulucci's order was given, the men following Skulucci immediately dispersed.
But only Vasili stayed where he was and did not leave immediately.
Vasily looked around, then lowered his voice and whispered to Skulucci:
"Boss Skulucci, after meeting up with Boss Alexander this time, you must not let him know that you attacked Vladimir and Alexei."
After Vasily led the large army to join Skulucci, as the second-in-command of the army, he immediately learned from Skulucci what Skulucci had done when he was not acting with Skulucci.
All kinds of things you do.
Including helping the village of Qina that was invaded by Vladimir and Alexei.
The Cossacks have a strong nomadic character in their culture, so they have always had a "barbaric" and "rude" cultural atmosphere.
This kind of "black eats black" thing is actually not new.
Just don't let anyone else find out.
Although Vladimir and Alexei were not under Alexander's command, they were Cossacks and compatriots.
If Alexander were to get hold of the evidence that Skulucci attacked his compatriots, then Skulucci would definitely be miserable.
Hearing Vasily's reminder, Skulucci only smiled.
"Do not worry."
Scrooge said.
"I know it well."
Scrooge waved his hand.
"The situation in Europe is unstable now."
"The country of England, which is like a 'shit stirrer', has been fanning the flames of trouble in the continent of Europe."
"France is also undergoing a revolution now."
"His Majesty the Tsar has obviously focused all his energy on dealing with the ever-changing situation in Europe. He has not paid much attention to matters in the Far East."
"It has been a long time since we sent outstanding talents to the Far East."
"I am now the most capable subordinate under Boss Alexander."
"He won't be willing to abandon me."
"Even if Boss Alexander discovers what I have done, he will probably just make it a big deal and make it a trivial matter."
…
…
Ezochi, somewhere
"Grandpa Jiang! Tell us more about your time as a 'bounty hunter'."
Hearing this sentence, Grandfather Jiang smiled bitterly:
"I don't have any stories left to tell..."
Grandfather Jiang was the "original bounty hunter" who used to make a living from bounties, but now came to Ezo to pursue the "gold rush dream" in order to make a fortune.
Last summer, I met Ogata at the castle tower of Nijo Castle.
Some time ago, after he confessed to his companions that he had met the famous Ogata Issei in Kyoto, his companions always asked him to tell more stories about his "encounter with Ogata Issei" at that time.
He has only met Ogata Issei once, so there are not many stories related to Ogata Issei to tell.
After talking about "Ogata Issei" for two days, his companions finally got tired of hearing it and began to ask him to tell other stories about his former days as a "bounty hunter".
Stories are limited. After telling stories for so many days, Grandfather Jiang has finally told all the stories stored in his stomach.
After seeing Grandfather Jiang repeatedly insisting that he had no stories to tell, those people who had just asked Grandfather Jiang to tell stories curled their lips and stopped talking to Grandfather Jiang when they saw that Grandfather Jiang seemed to have really no stories to tell.
Grandfather Jiang and his companions who also have the "gold rush dream" are now in a forest with lush trees.
They are now following their leader to the next river that may contain gold.
At this moment, they were resting in the woods after trekking for more than an hour.
Grandfather Jiang leaned against a big tree behind him and relaxed his sore legs.
Closing his eyes tightly and concentrating, Grandfather Jiang patted a cloth bag placed in his arms.
This cloth bag contained all the gold sand he had found since joining the team.
Although the quantity is not large, it is enough for him to not have to worry about food and drink for the next year. Of course, the premise is that there is no natural or man-made disaster such as "famine at dawn" that will have a huge impact on the entire society.
Just as grandfather Jiang was resting silently, a rich male voice sounded from beside him:
"Grandpa Jiang, what's wrong? Why do you look so uncomfortable?"
Hearing this voice, Grandfather Jiang suddenly opened his eyes.
"Ah, Chief."
The owner of this rich male voice is the leader of their gold mining team, Immortal River.
Immortal River is not a nickname, but a serious surname.
It is a very rare and weird surname like "Grandfather Jiang".
"I'm not uncomfortable," Grandfather Jiang said immediately, "but I feel a little tired, so I closed my eyes and took a rest."
"Yeah... that's good." After saying that, Immortal Sichuan sat cross-legged next to his grandfather Jiang.
"If you feel unwell, remember to tell me in time."
"Yes!" Grandfather Jiang nodded vigorously.
Grandfather Jiang respected their leader very much.
Regardless of his ability or character, his grandfather Jiang respected him very much.
As a leader, he has a kind-hearted personality. He treats all members of the team equally and never discriminates against them.
His outstanding leadership charisma made everyone in the team, including his grandfather Jiang, willing to follow him.
And his ability as the "leader of the gold mining team" is also very outstanding.
As a "veteran gold digger", he has led everyone in his team to find a lot of gold so far.
It is difficult for everyone not to respect this kind of leader who is full of charisma and has the ability to lead everyone to wealth.
"We are quite close to the 'Red Moon Fortress' now." Immortal River, who was sitting cross-legged next to Grandfather Jiang and leaning on the same big tree as Grandfather Jiang, said slowly, "So remember not to take it too lightly. You were a little too cautious just now.
. He just closed his eyes and rested his mind so carelessly."
"Ten, I'm very sorry!" After apologizing, Grandpa Jiang asked in a cautious tone, "That...'Red Moon Fortress' is the Ezo settlement with iron cannons, right?"
When my grandfather Jiang Zeng first landed in Ezo, he heard the name of "Red Moon Fortress" by chance.
"Yes, that's right. It's the 'Red Moon Fortress'." Fusugawa nodded, "It is said that many Ezo living in the 'Red Moon Fortress' are very repulsive to Kazuto."
"And I really hate gold diggers."
"Once they meet a gold digger, they will be..."
Immortal River raised his hand and touched his neck.
"The Ezo people of the 'Red Moon Fortress' like to wear bright red clothes very much."
"So once you meet Ezo wearing bright red clothes, you should pay special attention."
Immortal Sichuan's words made Grandfather Jiang swallow hard, with a look of fear on his face.
"The Ezo of the 'Red Moon Fortress'...are they so scary...they kill gold diggers whenever they see them..."
Seeing Grandfather Jiang's reaction, Immortal River laughed a few times.
"Hahahahahaha."
After laughing, Immortal River patted his grandfather Jiang on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Although the Ezo in the 'Red Moon Fortress' are scary, it's not that easy to encounter them."
"I just deliberately scared you."
"I have been gold mining for 6 years, and in these 6 years I have never met an Ezo from the Red Moon Fortress in the wild."
"Although you should be cautious, you don't need to be too afraid."
"Chief, it turns out you have been gold mining for so many years." Grandfather Jiang couldn't help but take a serious look at the leader's face, which was not very weathered.
"Yeah. I started gold mining when I was 20 years old." Immortal River's eyes showed a look of reminiscence, "My hometown is Deyu, and when I was 20 years old, it happened to be the time when the 'Tianmei Famine' was still raging."
"At that time, I was so poor that I was about to starve to death."
"In order to make ends meet, I decided to take a stowaway boat and sneak into Ezochi to pan for gold."
"Although I have been panning for many years, I have never found any big gold mines. In the past six years, I have only found some gold sand. So I have never made any big fortune."
Speaking of this, a faint soft color began to appear in the depths of Immortal River's eyes.
"Going for gold is no easier than farming. And not one person in a million can get rich by doing so."
"And it's also very dangerous. Whether you are caught by the shogunate hunting for gold or the Ezo people catch you fishing for gold, you will not escape death."
"I am getting older now. For the sake of the future, it is time to find a stable livelihood."
"So after I finish this gold panning, I plan to stop gold panning."
Grandfather Jiang cast a surprised look at Immortal River: "Chief, don't you plan to come back to gold mining in the future?"
"Yeah. I don't plan to do it anymore." Immortal Sichuan smiled and nodded, "I plan to open a small shop in my hometown with the money I saved from gold mining over the years, and I will make a living by doing small business in the future."
"Chief, don't you plan to dig for gold again in the future..." Grandfather Jiang looked frustrated, "I was thinking of following you to dig for gold from now on..."
"Hahahaha." Immortal River laughed a few more times, "Sorry, I disappoint you."
After saying that, Immortal Sichuan subconsciously put his hand into his arms and took out a pipe and a cloth bag containing tobacco leaves.
As soon as he put the mouthpiece of the pipe into his mouth, Immortal River seemed to have remembered something and hurriedly took the pipe out of his mouth.
"No, no, no. I almost broke the vow."
"Chief, are you quitting smoking now?" Grandfather Jiang asked, "I have seen you do similar actions many times before. You just put the pipe into your mouth, and then took it out immediately."
"Yeah. That's right. I am indeed quitting smoking now." Immortal Sichuan stuffed his pipe and the cloth bag containing tobacco leaves back into his arms, "because my fiancée hates the smell of cigarettes."
"Fiancée?" Grandfather Jiang exclaimed in a low voice.
"Yes. She is my childhood sweetheart who has played with me since childhood. With the help of a matchmaker, I successfully got engaged to her half a year ago."
"She hates the smell of cigarettes very much. So I have been trying to quit smoking."
The gentle look in Immortal River's eyes became more intense.
"After this gold rush is over, I will go back to my hometown and marry her."
"So we have to quit smoking as soon as possible before this happens."
"Then I think you still have a long way to go, Chief." Grandfather Jiang showed a helpless smile, "I just saw you smoking a pipe there a few days ago."
A touch of embarrassment appeared on Immortal River's face.
“The so-called ‘quit smoking’ does not necessarily mean ‘never smoke again’.”
“‘Reduce the number of times you smoke’ is also a type of ‘quit smoking’.”
"My current goal is to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoke."
"The number of times I smoke now has been reduced a lot compared to before."
"The reason why I held my pipe and smoked heavily there a few days ago is because we successfully found some gold sand a few days ago, and I started smoking out of joy."
Immortal Sichuan patted the cigarette that he just put back in his arms.
"Now I only start smoking after encountering something happy."
"Just save this cigarette for later when you encounter some happy event and then smoke it to your heart's content."
"...Smoke... Speaking of which, I haven't smoked a cigarette yet." Grandfather Jiang said with a smile.
"Oh? Then do you want to try and see what smoke tastes like?"
"Well...if you, chief, are willing to ask me to smoke, I would be happy to try the taste of cigarettes."
"Hahahaha! Then wait until I encounter something happy and worthy of smoking, and then we can smoke together!"
"If I let you smoke now, I might be tempted to break the habit if I smell the smoke."
After saying that, Immortal River glanced at the sky, then patted his butt and stood up.
"Okay! Have you had enough rest?"
Immortal River shouted to the people around him.
"Everyone, get up! It's time to move on!"
"Let's leave this woods before this evening."
After Immortal River finished speaking, there was a faint sigh all around.
"Hey..." someone said, "Leave the woods before evening? Isn't it too late?"
"It's a bit rushed, but there's nothing we can do about it," Fusukawa said, "The trees in this forest are too dense and there's no water source, so it's not suitable for camping."
"Furthermore, such densely packed woods are also very dangerous. These big trees can hide well. Places with dense trees are the most suitable places to launch surprise attacks on people. So it is better to leave here quickly and go to an open area."
.”
Immortal River has the reputation and prestige among the team for speaking his mind. He has spoken in such a serious tone that no one dares to disobey him.
"Chief, this is a wilderness with no village in front and no store in the back." A certain guy stood up and said in a frivolous tone, "Except for bears, deer and other animals, there will be no other animals here except us.
The rest of us."
Blah blah blah!
At this time, there was a sudden crashing sound all around.
It’s the sound of human feet stepping on the snow!
As soon as the sound of treading on the snow sounded, figures appeared from behind the big trees some distance away from Immortal River and the others.
After appearing, they quickly rushed towards Immortal River and others, and while closing the distance between them, they raised the objects in their hands.
There are two types of things in their hands: bows and arrows and... muskets!
Holding a bow and arrow in hand, he aimed the arrow at Immortal River and others.
The one holding a musket pointed the black muzzle at Immortal River and the others.
Bang bang bang bang...
The sound of gunshots and the sound of bowstrings being released intertwined, breaking the silence of the woods.
Without exception, these people who suddenly appeared were all wearing bright red Ainu costumes.
…
…
Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Castle
Matsudaira Sadanobu was quickly flipping through a file in his hand.
This file records all the details of the "naturalized Ezo riot" incident the day before yesterday.
From the casualties of civilians, to the casualties of generals, to the current investigation results...this file contains everything.
Tachibana, who was almost inseparable from Matsudaira Sadanobu, was now kneeling respectfully not far behind Matsudaira Sadanobu.
After reading the last character on the file, Matsudaira Sadanobu closed the file and let out a sigh of relief:
"It seems... whether it's Aizu or Sendai, we seem to have underestimated their strength."
"It was actually possible to defeat the rioting thugs with only such a few casualties."
"In today's environment where samurai are generally resigned to self-destruction, it is really rare that Aizu and Sendai can still have such brave generals."
"What's even more valuable is that in addition to being born in Tianmu, these fierce generals in Aizu and Sendai are all young..."
After saying that, Matsudaira Sadanobu let out a heavy sigh as if he had mentioned something sad.
"It's a pity. It would be great if such young talents could be used by our shogunate."
The file that Matsudaira Sadanobu had just finished reading described in detail the performance of the Aizu and Sendai armies in quelling the uprising.
Through the description of the dossier, it is not difficult to see that the reason why the Aizu and Sendai armies were able to defeat the thugs in such a short period of time and with such low casualties was not only because Matsudaira Sadanobu sent iron artillerymen from the shogunate army to block the thugs' retreat.
In addition, it also has something to do with the bravery of the generals of the Sendai and Aizu armies.
The generals of both armies took the lead. While boosting the morale of the generals, they also used their martial arts skills to tear the ranks and formations of the thugs into pieces.
This made Matsudaira Sadanobu feel a little envious.
There are many generals in their shogunate army who know how to organize their troops.
But there are not many strong generals who are outstanding in martial arts and can take the lead.
In terms of bravery, the only one who can compare with Kamao, Senshu Seven Guns and others is Inamori, who is the general of the entire army.
Matsudaira Sadanobu felt that the current talents...especially the decline of young talents, could not help but sigh.
There are too few young talents worth watching. This is one of Matsudaira Sadanobu's biggest problems since he took office as a junior high school student.
"Now our shogunate has fewer and fewer young talents worth cultivating."
Matsudaira Sadanobu then added another sentiment.
At this moment, a figure suddenly flashed across Matsudaira Sadanobu's mind.
After this figure flashed through Matsudaira Sadanobu's mind, Matsudaira Sadanobu narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly clenched his hands behind his back.
The owner of this figure is the "talent worth cultivating" that he has always been thinking about.
It's a pity that this guy let his pigeon fly and there has been no news yet.
When I think about being let off by this guy, I feel a little... angry.
Not just angry that he was deceived.
At the same time, he was also angry that a young talent worth cultivating had disappeared from under his eyes.
"Lao Naka-sama?" Tachibana, who noticed Matsudaira Sadanobu's strange behavior, asked in a cautious tone, "What's wrong with you?"
"...It's nothing." Matsudaira Sadanobu shook his head gently, "I just suddenly thought of someone who gave me bad memories."
"Tachibana, please go there yourself and call Inamori for me."
"The generals, the baggage, and the reasons for the war have all been prepared."
Songping Dingxin said quietly.
"It's time to plant the three-leaf sunflower flag of my shogunate on the 'Red Moon Fortress'."