Chapter 534 The storm is surging, the battle is imminent [6000 words]
"Guest?" Oofang asked in confusion.
Ayizan nodded: "Well, it's...the villagers of Siwasi Village..."
"Sivasi Village?" Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
Sivasi Village—the village where the girl named Lilata whom Ogata rescued now lives...
After Ogata captured the general named Sakaguchi, he pried out the information he wanted to know from Sakaguchi: "Why did he pursue them", "How did they get here", etc...
So Ogata already knows what happened to Sivasi Village after he, Atachi and others left...
Sakaguchi told Ogata clearly that they had done some...excessive things to the villagers of Sivasi Village, and then he asked Ogata about their whereabouts from the villagers.
Sakaguchi also described the methods they used to torture the villagers of Siwasi Village - because there were no torture tools on hand, they all used some very primitive and barbaric torture methods.
Fists, kicks, and... broken fingers.
Finger amputation is a famous torture method in ancient Japan.
The so-called "finger cutting" does not mean cutting off a person's fingers with a knife.
Instead, he used brute force to forcefully pull his fingers off his palm.
The fingers are connected to the heart, so the tortured person often dies directly from the pain.
According to Sakaguchi - they initially used simple punches and kicks on the village chief of Sivasi Village.
But no matter how hard he beat or kicked, the village chief refused to say a word.
So in order to make the village chief speak obediently, Mogami personally ordered: use amputated fingers on the village chief.
After forcefully pulling off the village chief's second finger, the village chief finally gave in and revealed the whereabouts of Ogata and the others.
"I just met people from Siwasi Village by chance when I was hunting." Aizan slowly explained to Ogata how he had just met the villagers of Siwasi Village by chance.
"When I caught this fat rabbit, I suddenly heard an unusual noise in the bushes not far away that only humans could make."
"After I used a bow and arrow to force the people hiding in the bushes out, I saw the head of Siwasi Village and a middle-aged man I didn't know standing up from the bushes."
"The village chief said: He is currently fleeing the village with the surviving villagers, fleeing into the mountains, and happened to escape in this direction."
"Most of the young men in their village died, and there were many more wounded, so he had to go hunting himself and hunt some fresh meat for the wounded in the village to replenish their bodies."
"Then he met me by chance."
"The village chief said he wanted to see you very much. He said he betrayed you, so he wanted to apologize to you in person... So I brought them here. Mr. Majima, do you want to meet them?"
"...Where are the village chief and the others now?" Ogata asked.
"He is outside now." Ayzan replied.
"Is he the only one here?" Ogata asked.
"No." Ayzan shook his head, "In addition to the village chief, the little girl named Lilata and her grandmother are also here."
"It seems that the village chief originally only wanted to come to see you alone. But it seems that the little girl Lilata insisted on coming with her, so the village chief brought her and her grandmother."
"...I understand." Ogata nodded gently, "Ayzan, thank you for bringing them here."
After that, Ogata held Amachi's shoulders and asked him to lie down again. Amachi was not an ignorant child, so naturally she would not make any resistance to disturb Ogata at this time, and she lay down again obediently.
.
After letting A-Machi lie down again, Ogata took out the human skin mask from his arms and put it on skillfully.
Aizan and Ashley looked shocked at the side, looking at Ogata who was wearing a human skin mask on his face in horror.
After seeing Ogata in front of them turn back into the face of "Mashima Goro" they were familiar with, the shock and horror on their faces were extremely intense.
Since yesterday, they have been wondering why Ogata's face changed.
But he couldn't find the time to ask, and Ogata never had time to explain to the two of them.
Until now - Aizan and Ashley finally knew how Ogata changed his appearance.
After putting on the human skin mask, Ogata smiled bitterly at Aizan and Ashley: "I'm sorry, maybe I scared you... I will explain to you what happened to my face later.
"
After that, Ogata got out of his hunting lodge.
Aizan immediately followed Ogata and followed Ogata out of the hunting cabin.
There was no need for Ayzan to point the direction. As soon as he got out of the hunting cabin, he saw three figures, two large and one small, standing in the southwest of the hunting cabin.
These three figures are none other than the village chief of Sivasi Village, Lilata and her grandmother.
Lilata is now standing behind the village chief, holding on to the clothes of her grandmother who is standing next to her in one hand, and holding something very familiar to Ogata in the other hand - the little thing Ogata made for him.
windmill.
Although the distance was a bit far away, Ogata could still see clearly - the village chief's naturally hanging left hand was wrapped in a thick hemostatic cloth. The brown cloth was stained dark black by blood, and the palm of his hand was not covered with blood.
The two fingers, the ring finger and the tail finger.
Lilata and her grandmother, who were standing next to him, were not as physically mutilated as the village chief, but their exposed skin was all green and purple, and Lilata's grandmother's face was even more so.
It was a direct punch.
Looking at the miserable situation of Lilata and the others, Ogata couldn't help but pursed his lips, and then walked quickly towards the three of them.
"Mr. Majima..." After Ogata walked up to him, the village chief took the lead and said to Ogata in a dry voice, "I... I'm really sorry for you... (Ainu language)"
Aizan, who came with Ogata, stood behind Ogata and translated for Ogata.
The village chief kept saying sorry to Ogata, apologizing for betraying his good intentions and informing them of the approaching Kazuto army.
The village chief, who did not know that Ogata and the others had been attacked by the shogunate's army, apologized and warned Ogata and the others to leave here quickly to avoid being found by the army.
Ogata glanced at the village chief's left palm, which had two fingers pulled off with brute force, and sighed silently.
"Village chief, there is no need to apologize to us." Ogata smiled, "This is not your fault, it is the people in the army who are at fault."
"Thank you for the reminder, we will leave here immediately."
"...Mashima-san...(Ainu language)"
At this time, a childish voice sounded.
It was Lilata's voice.
Ogata lowered his eyes and looked at Lilata, who was tightly holding the small windmill he had made.
It was only then that Ogata discovered that the small windmill was damaged, and one blade was missing.
Lilata raised her head high and looked directly at Ogata.
His face was full of grievance.
"I'm sorry...I almost betrayed you...(Ainu language)"
"This child insists on coming with the village chief to apologize to you..." Lilata's grandmother said softly at this time, "In the past two days, this child has been blaming himself for almost betraying you... (Ayi
Nu language)”
"You almost betrayed us?" Ogata asked, "What do you mean?"
"This child said that she was beaten by four soldiers at that time, and the beating was very painful. Because it was too painful, she was already planning to reveal your whereabouts to gain relief..."
Lilata's grandmother wiped away her tears as she spoke.
"Just when she was about to reveal your whereabouts, the soldiers left."
"Although you didn't tell the soldiers about your whereabouts in the end, this kid still blamed himself these past two days... saying that he was so shameless that he almost betrayed his savior... (Ayi
Nu language)”
Ogata listened quietly.
After listening to Aizan's translation, Ogata lowered his eyes again and looked at Lilata, who was now burying her head low and not daring to look directly at Ogata again.
Ogata just looked at Lilata quietly.
Until a moment passed——
"...Lilata, thank you for persisting for such a long time for me."
Ogata smiled slightly and knelt on one knee so that he was eye level with Lilata.
"You are not shameless at all. You are already very brave. You can persist for such a long time in the face of such fierce torture. When I was your age, I may not be as brave as you."
After saying that, Ogata stretched out his hand towards Lilata, who was looking at him with surprised eyes.
"Here, lend me the windmill."
Lilata looked at Ogata in front of her, then at the windmill in her hand, and then slowly handed the windmill to Ogata's hand.
Ogata took the windmill from Lilata, and then took a leaf on the ground next to it.
Ogata turned his fingers dexterously.
As if by magic, in just a blink of an eye, Ogata used the leaf he just picked up to repair Lilata's damaged windmill.
"Here." Ogata handed the windmill back to Lilata.
Lilata took the little windmill back in a daze.
Looking at the repaired windmill in her hand, Lilata looked stunned at first.
Then, the pent-up emotions suddenly burst out. She cried and said "thank you" to Ogata.
"Village Chief, hurry up and hide in the mountains." Ogata smiled at Lilata and stood up, "Village Chief, Lilata... you should take more care."
"Well." The village chief was also crying at this time, "Thank you, Mr. Majima... You should also take care of yourself..."
…
…
3 days later——
"...The above are the losses of our army."
"...Thank you for your hard work." Daomori, who was sitting in the front seat, nodded to the general who had just reported the casualties, "Please take a seat."
The general also bowed slightly to Inamori in return, and then sat back to his seat.
"It's so miserable..." Daomori crossed his arms and said softly, "There is only one attacking enemy, but you, with an army of 3,000, were beaten like this."
As soon as Inamori finished speaking, the generals of the First Army in the camp, led by Kuroda and Qiuyue, all looked ashamed and buried their heads low.
If there was a hole here, many people present would probably crawl directly into the hole.
After these days of treatment, Qiuyue's body has recovered to the point where she can barely sit down and participate in military discussions.
After the camp was attacked, Kuroda, who temporarily took over the command, immediately sent trustworthy generals to the camp of the Second Army, the main force behind their First Army, and reported to their commander-in-chief Inamori.
This was an "attack" that was destined to shock Inamori.
In fact, this was indeed the case - after Daomori learned the news, he was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.
After sending a message to Inamori, Kuroda led the First Army to stay where he was, waiting for Inamori's instructions and orders.
After Inamori learned that the First Army had encountered an incident that could be called a "huge scandal," he immediately conveyed an order for a "rush march" to his 5,000-strong Second Army.
In just three days, the Second Army caught up with the First Army, which was on standby, and joined the First Army.
After joining the First Army, Inamori originally wanted to see Ikutenmu who died in the battle.
But because too much time had passed and the corpse of the third eye had been collected, Inamori could only give up.
After the plan of "seeing the Third Eye" was abandoned, Inamori immediately summoned all the generals of the 1st Army and the 2nd Army to hold a military meeting.
Because the participants would be all the generals of the First Army and the Second Army, the scale of the meeting was very large, and the generals filled the tent.
Sitting in the main seats were naturally Inamori and Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Just now, Inamori was listening to the damage done to the First Army after encountering Ogata Ittosai's attack.
The death toll was 74, with 168 minor and serious injuries - most of the casualties were not killed or injured by Ogata, but were caused by one of our own people hurting our own people in the chaotic order.
The property damage was not particularly serious, only some tents and facilities were burned down, but the baggage was intact.
The losses among the generals were particularly severe.
Fully three generals were killed, and these three generals were all generals with high status in the army.
The general of the First Army, Sheng Tianmu, died directly in battle.
The other two spears in the "Senju Seven Spears" - Tiandao and Mogami - were also killed.
Of the "five guns" participating in this battle, only Qiuyue and Kuroda are left. And these two remaining guns were both injured...
If the First Army had been unexpectedly attacked by more than a thousand Ainu, then Inamori could still have accepted the heavy casualties.
However...it was not the thousands of troops that brought such heavy losses to the First Army...
At first, when he learned that the camp was attacked by a samurai, Inamori thought he had heard wrongly.
Then - something magical happened.
Later, when he learned that the samurai who attacked the first military camp was the Ogata Isei, Inamori suddenly had the magical thoughts "It turns out that's the case, it's understandable" and "No wonder there were so many casualties"...
"Alas..." Inamori let out a long breath, "I never expected... that Ogata Ittousai is actually in this Ezo land..."
"And we actually offended him unknowingly..."
"damn it……"
Based on the currently known intelligence, we will continue to clarify the reasons why Ogata Ittousai broke into the First Army's camp.
Mogami injured a young woman the day before the First Army was attacked, and then prepared to take the woman away for torture.
Then... Ogata Ittousai came and defeated Mogami's troops. As soon as Mogami escaped back to the camp, Ogata Ittousai chased after him, and then forced his way into the camp, killing Mogami with a single blow.
Once this information is integrated, it can be inferred that Ogata Ittosai is out for revenge.
Inamori guessed that the young woman must be an extremely important person to Ogata Ittousai, otherwise Ogata Ittousai would not have done such a crazy thing as "breaking into the camp alone".
From a legal perspective - Ogata's behavior of knocking on someone's door to seek revenge is completely legal and encouraged.
In order to maintain its rule, the Edo shogunate vigorously promoted the distorted "Bushido".
One of the core tenets of the "Bushido" of the Edo period was to value "honor" more than "life."
"Revenge" is an important act to protect one's reputation and even the meaning of existence itself, so a very strange "revenge culture" developed during the Edo period.
In the Edo period, "not avenging a grudge" was a behavior that was despised by everyone. The society was permeated with the culture of "revenge must be retaliated." If you have a grudge and do not seek revenge, you will be disliked and despised by the people around you.
.
If a samurai did not retaliate in kind, he would be punished such as being "deprived of the right to inherit the family business."
There are various regulations on how to take revenge. For example: you can ask someone to help you take revenge, but when you kill your enemy, you must do it yourself.
Another example: Repeated revenge is prohibited, that is, retaliation against those who succeed in revenge is not allowed.
Another example: Qiu Tuo will definitely be honored, but Qiu Tuo will still be punished. In other words, after you succeed in revenge, everyone will praise you, but you will still be punished for "murder."
It is because of this weird culture of revenge that when Ogata committed the crime of regicide that shocked the whole country a year and a half ago, many people still praised him and respected him.
Therefore, according to this weird "revenge culture", Ogata's behavior of rushing into the camp to take revenge is worthy of recognition and praise...
If someone else's army was attacked by Ogata Ittousai, Inamori might praise Ogata Ittousai and respect Ogata Ittousai's courage.
However, the problem is - the troops under attack are his troops...
"Coach!"
At this time, a certain general shouted loudly.
This general was a general of the Second Army. He was probably in his early 20s. This general, who was in his prime of life, spoke impassionedly.
"This matter must not be left alone!"
The young general was about to say something more, but Daomori raised his hand first, signaling that he didn't need to say more.
Inamori could guess what the young general wanted to say - it was nothing more than telling him how heinous Ogata Ittousai's behavior of breaking into their camp was, and then asking Inamori to send troops to pursue Ogata Ittousai.
"Everyone, please be patient."
Inamori said in a calm tone.
"I can understand your feelings."
"When something like this happened, I was heartbroken and crying."
"But we can't let a small thing make a big loss. For the sake of an Ogata Ittosai, we should not delay a big thing."
"What is the purpose of us launching an army of 10,000 people this time?"
"It's to bring peace to the Red Moon Fortress."
"Not here to pursue Ogata Ittosai."
“We should not put the cart before the horse now.”
"We should now do our best to complete the important task of 'pacifying the Red Moon Fortress'."
As soon as Inamori finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was sitting next to Inamori, suddenly said:
"Inamori is right."
"The fight against Red Moon Fortress cannot be delayed because of a mere Ogata Ittosai."
The commander-in-chief of the entire army and the senior officials of the shogunate both spoke and expressed the same view - how powerful the oppression was.
But in the face of this huge pressure, some young generals who were still young and not afraid of tigers stiffened their necks and said:
"But... Coach, are you just turning a blind eye to that Ogata Ittosai?"
"Of course not." Inamori said without hesitation, "I just said that we can't miss important events because of Ogata Ittosai."
"We will continue to advance the Red Moon Fortress step by step according to the plan."
"But starting from today, the number of scouts will be increased by 2 times... no, 3 times!"
"Let all scouts beware of all young men and women along the way."
Daomori's eyes flashed with an icy coldness.
"It would be best if we could find traces of Ogata Ittosai on the way to Red Moon Fortress."
"It doesn't matter if you can't find it."
"After the Red Moon Fortress is leveled... let's think carefully about how to deal with Ogata Ittosai who is currently lurking in Ezo."
The cold light in Daomori's eyes was so strong at this moment that when he looked at someone, he could cut that person's skin.
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PS1: Thank you book friend [Silent Kirin]!
This book friend found me before and said that he liked Ogata very much, so he hired an artist to draw Ogata's character picture.
Last night, this book friend showed me the draft - it was great!
The character drawing is still in the draft stage right now, and it will take some time to be finalized.
I will ask this book friend later to see if he agrees with me releasing this character picture in the form of an "Easter Egg Chapter"~~
PS2: Yesterday, a book friend told me that he hopes I will make this book longer because I am afraid that there will be a shortage of books after the book is finished.
Then the author will reveal a little news to you here.
The author loves samurai-themed works very much, and he always felt overwhelmed by writing only one samurai novel. So after discussing with the editor, he decided to write a large series - "Samurai Trilogy".
This book "I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan" (also known as: "Ittōsai") is the first part of the trilogy.
[[[The three works share a world view and timeline]]]
I told you before in Volume 5 that I planned to write another samurai novel set at the end of the Bakumatsu (the end of the Edo period) after the completion of this book - now this is not a "plan", but a "plan".
It's "ok".
The second part of the trilogy is set at the end of the Tokugawa period.
Those who have watched "Rurouni Kenshin" should be very familiar with the background of the "Bakumatsu" period.
That’s all for now. I’ll keep the rest of the details of the second part and the era in which the third part will be set a secret for now, and I’ll tell you slowly later~~
The first part is about the middle and late Edo period, which was a time of long-lasting peace.
The second part is about the turbulent Bakumatsu era.
Which era will the third part be in - you can guess~~
The eras and backgrounds of the trilogy are different, so the golden finger of the protagonist and the stage where the protagonist is mainly active are different. Therefore, you don't have to be afraid of the second part. The content of the third part will be very similar to the current one.