Chapter 540 Ogata's character is drawn! [5400 words]
Red Moon Fortress (Heye Zhe), northwest corner——
The northwest corner of the Red Moon Fortress is a very special place for the residents of the Red Moon Fortress - because this area is where the villagers of Kapasi Village live.
The villagers of Kapasi Village can be regarded as the most special group in the Red Moon Fortress.
Because - they participated in the "Battle of Kunasili Menasi" three years ago that ended in a disastrous defeat for the Ainu people...
After the Kapasi Village that participated in this battle suffered a disastrous defeat, in order to escape Kazuto's revenge, the remaining villagers abandoned their homes and fled in a hurry, finally escaping to the vicinity of the Red Moon Fortress.
Chanup sympathized with the plight of Kapasi Village and agreed to accommodate them in Heyezhe. Only then did the villagers of Kapasi Village finally end their wandering life.
If you walk in the area where the villagers of Kapasi Village live, you can clearly find that compared with other areas of the Red Moon Fortress, the area where the villagers of Kapasi Village live has two distinctive features. Features:
1: The number of adult males is extremely small.
2: Among the only males, the disability rate is extremely high.
And these two distinctive features are all due to the tragic "Battle of Kunasi Limenasi"... A large number of men in Kapasi Village died in this war, and the men who survived by chance, Many of them have also become disabled...
At this moment - in the area where the villagers of Kapasi Village live, a woman is weaving cloth meticulously with a weaving tool in her house.
While the woman was weaving seriously, a little girl who looked somewhat similar to the woman was playing with the Mukuri, the traditional musical instrument of the Ainu people.
The so-called "Mukuli" is an instrument similar to a harmonica. Because it is easy to play, even children can play the Mukuli skillfully.
"Sister! I brought new firewood!"
A loud shout sounded outside the door.
Then, a young man carried a large bundle of firewood, opened the door curtain, and strode into the house.
There is something about this man that is particularly eye-catching - he has only one hand, and his left sleeve from his left shoulder down is empty.
"Oh, you're here." The woman temporarily put down what she was doing and greeted her younger brother, the one-armed young man, with a smile on her face.
And the little girl who had been playing with Mukuli just now rushed towards the one-armed young man with a smile on her face: "Uncle!"
The one-armed young man placed the large bundle of firewood on his right shoulder on the ground, and then gently stroked the head of the little girl who rushed towards him with the palm of his only right hand:
"Nonoka, I just heard the sound of your piano outside the house. Your music is getting better and better."
Nonoka - the girl's name.
After praising his niece, the one-armed young man looked at his sister:
"Sister, I got a lot of good things from my friends today, including a small half deer, a few fat rabbits, and a lot of mushrooms! I can't finish them all by myself, let's finish them together!"
The two siblings had a close relationship, so the woman didn't show any pretense and nodded straightforwardly.
"These foods are now placed in my house." The one-armed young man continued, "There are too many preys for me to move here alone. Sister, please go and move the food here with me!"
The woman nodded again: "Okay!"
After she told the little girl, her daughter, to take good care of the house, she and her brother strode towards her brother's residence.
As soon as the two left the woman's home, the one-armed young man leaned his head towards his sister and whispered:
"Nonoka has finally become energetic again recently."
"Well..." the woman sighed softly, "What a worried child..."
"Before, when I learned that the child actually ran to seek revenge on the Kazuto who came to our Heye Zhe, my legs were so frightened..."
If Ogata sees this woman's daughter named "Nonoka" now, he will definitely recognize it quickly - this child is exactly the little girl who "assassinated" him with a stone before.
On the first night after Ogata followed the villagers of Qina Village to Heyezhe, he was "assassinated" by this little girl.
That night, the little girl shouted "Bring my father back", while holding the stone in her palm tightly, she ran towards Ogata, who had the face of Zhang Kazuto...
"Fortunately, nothing serious happened in the end..." The one-armed young man smiled bitterly, then raised his arm and gently stroked his left arm, which only had one shoulder left.
"...Sister, you can't really blame Nonoka for being ignorant and careless."
"I quite understand Nonoka... If possible, I would also like to drive out all the people who have entered Heye Zhe..."
Speaking of this, the one-armed young man seemed to have recalled some very bad memories, his brows furrowed and his face showed pain.
The woman walking beside him also darkened her expression at this moment.
The one-armed young man had thrown his head and blood in the "Battle of Cunasil and Menasse" - his left arm was cut off by a Kazuto soldier during the battle.
Although he became disabled, he was lucky - at least he saved his life.
His brother-in-law, the woman's husband and Nonoka's father, died directly on the battlefield, and even the bones were not recovered...
Every family in Kapasi Village is basically like the one-armed young man and his family - their families were broken up due to the war, and their families are no longer intact.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I seem to have said something too heavy..." The one-armed young man put down his right hand that was stroking his left shoulder and apologized to his sister, "It's all in the past, we are still
Let’s talk about something interesting.”
"Sister, the mushrooms I got this time are quite fresh. We can have a feast."
"Really?" The woman also put away the gloom on her face at this time and smiled, "Then let's cook your and Nonoka's favorite mushroom stewed rabbit tonight!"
"Sister, are you going to cook mushroom stew and rabbit meat tonight?" The one-armed young man grinned, "Then I will cook less at noon today, so as to save more food for dinner."
The two siblings walking on a path were talking and smiling.
Because it was almost lunch time, many houses on both sides of the trail were now letting out smoke and the smell of rice.
When walking on the road, from time to time you can meet children playing around.
Such a quiet and beautiful scene.
However... at this moment, at this moment, a sharp sound suddenly sounded, which was faster than the next, destroying such a quiet and beautiful scene.
Woo——! Woo——! Woo——!
"What is this sound?!"
"What's wrong? What's wrong? What happened?"
"It seems like a sound coming from outside!"
…
Most of the people in the Red Moon Fortress had never had much contact with He Ren, so they didn't recognize the voice.
But - some people recognize this voice.
After the strange sound exploded, the one-armed young man was stunned for a moment. Then, the blood on his face faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then he shouted in horror:
"It's the conch! It's the sound of the conch made by the Kazuto army! Why is there the sound of the conch?!"
The people who could recognize the sound were naturally the villagers of Kapashi Village where Kazuto had fought a bloody battle.
For surviving "veterans" like the one-armed young man, I'm afraid they will never forget this voice for the rest of their lives...
…
…
The sudden appearance of the conch made Azuki's expression change drastically as he just thought he had finally heard the rare good news.
"The Conch...are the shogunate troops coming...?" Although he tried to remain calm, there was still obvious uneasiness and fear in A-Machi's tone.
Compared with Omachi, whose expression changed drastically, Ogata's performance was much calmer.
After the conch horn was blown, Ogata's expression only changed slightly, and then he quickly regained his composure.
"Ah-Machi, wait for me here." Ogata said in a calm tone while grabbing the Daishiten placed on the right side of his body, "I'll go outside to check the situation. I'll come back as soon as I go."
"Okay..." Amachi nodded and took a deep breath, trying to calm down his panicked heart.
After inserting Da Shiten back into his left waist, Ogata rushed out of the clinic.
Just after leaving the clinic, Oufang saw many residents abandoning what they were doing and running towards the direction of the sound of the conch sound - the south.
Ogata ran towards the south with the crowd.
After the southern city wall appeared in the field of vision, Ogata gradually heard other sounds besides the sound of the conch - the rumble of horse hooves and the tread of human feet...
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, south——
"Is this the Red Moon Fortress? It's much smaller than I thought."
After the death of Sheng Tianmu, Gui Zhenghe, who parachuted into the First Army and served as the new general of the First Army, was standing on a high slope at this time.
Wearing a helmet and armor, and holding military paraphernalia, he used the military paraphernalia in his hand as a fan to fan himself while looking at the Red Moon Fortress not far away.
Kuroda, who had been assisting Gui Zhenghe during this period, was holding the knife at his waist and standing beside Gui Zhenghe.
Gui Zhenghe is now smiling and looking high-spirited.
Kuroda next to him also looked similar, with a smile on his face.
After encountering the "Ogata Ittosai Attack", which could be called a "major scandal", the reputation of the First Army was severely damaged.
For the generals of the Second Army and the Third Army in charge of the rear, "joking about the First Army" has become their main topic of conversation during this period.
They all laughed at the First Army, which had 3,000 troops, but was so embarrassed by the single-handed Ogata Ittousai that even the general, Ikutenme, was killed directly by the formation.
The generals of the First Army naturally knew that they were now the target of ridicule.
They felt very aggrieved - the generals of the Second Army and the Third Army had not understood the horror of Ogata Ittousai, so they could just stand there and talk without pain in their backs.
While feeling aggrieved, they also felt... quite angry and unwilling.
Although the generals of the Second Army and the Third Army made these taunts to them quite harsh, it is undeniable that with an army of 3,000 they could not defeat Ogata Ittosai alone, which was really embarrassing.
In order to restore their reputation and dignity, the generals of the First Army have been energetic and working hard these days.
After quickly integrating the troops, the entire First Army, under the leadership of the "awakened" generals, headed for the Red Moon Fortress at a speed far exceeding expectations.
Previously, after finding out through scouts that the road ahead was clear, both Katsura Masakazu and Kuroda thought it would take 4 or 5 days to reach the Red Moon Fortress.
Unexpectedly - it only took a little more than three days for them to successfully reach the city.
"What a pity, I can't see the expressions of the barbarians in the Red Moon Fortress now." Gui Zhenghe sneered, "If possible, I really want to see the expressions of these barbarians after seeing the army waiting for me.
What kind of expression will he show?"
"What other expressions can you show?" Kuroda on the side smiled and shrugged, "Apart from the expression of shock and fear, what other expressions can you show?"
As soon as Kuroda finished speaking, Gui Zhenghe burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! That's right!"
…
…
What Kuroda said is absolutely correct.
In order to see what was going on outside the city, the residents who came after hearing the noise rushed to the city wall.
Originally - according to the rules, the city wall does not allow unrelated people to climb up without a good reason.
But because too many people want to rush to the city wall, public opinion cannot stop them, so the people currently standing guard on the city wall can't stop them. They can only let these tribesmen who were frightened by the sound of the conch to step onto the city wall.
After squeezing up the city wall and witnessing this large army that suddenly appeared at their doorstep, the Ainu people in the Red Moon Fortress had only two expressions on their faces - shock and fear.
It was the first time for many people present to see such a battle.
There are many flags, large and small, fluttering in the autumn wind, making hunting sounds.
The horn roared like a monster roaring.
Thousands of people wearing armor were like a dense swarm of ants... How had they ever seen so many people or a military formation composed of thousands of people?
The residents who saw this kind of battle for the first time could not hide the shock and fear on their faces.
Ogata just followed the flow of people and stood on the inner city wall when he saw the army outside the city wall.
Looking at the army outside the city, Ogata's eyes narrowed slightly subconsciously, and his heart sank.
He had previously thought that the shogunate's army might arrive at the Red Moon Fortress before Amachi's body recovered.
But he didn't expect the shogunate army to be so fast...
It is noon now, and there is no morning fog or other messy things to obstruct the view.
Ogata took out the telescope he had won from Vasili during a fist fight before, and observed the current situation and movements of the army outside the city through the telescope.
According to Ogata's estimate, the total number of troops currently appearing outside the city is approximately 34,000.
They stopped more than a thousand meters away from the wall and did not come forward. They only set up tents one after another - they were setting up camp outside the city.
At this moment, a surprised shout suddenly sounded from behind Ogata:
"Ah! Chanup is coming! Chanup is coming!"
This shout immediately seemed to trigger a chain reaction, and everyone turned their heads in response to the sound - including Ogata.
I saw Chanup climbing up the inner city wall surrounded by many people.
The current position where Chanup is standing happens to be not far from Ogata. So Ogata can clearly see that Chanup's face and expression are very bad now.
He, who usually always smokes, rarely held a pipe at this time, and only looked at the army outside the city with a calm face.
However, the arrival of leader Chanup still had a somewhat soothing effect on the emotions of everyone around him.
It's a coincidence - when Chanup climbed the inner city wall, from the army outside the city, a general wearing armor and cloth walked out of the military formation majestically on a horse, followed by hundreds of people.
soldiers.
The general who suddenly rode out was Gui Zhenghe.
After he led the hundreds of soldiers out of the queue, the sound of the conch slowly stopped.
Gui Zhenghe rode his horse until he was a certain distance away from the city wall of Red Moon Fortress, then took a deep breath, and then——
"Barbarians! Listen up! I am Gui Zhenghe, and I am here to warn you!"
As soon as Gui Zhenghe finished speaking, the hundreds of soldiers standing behind Gui Zhenghe shouted in unison, repeating what Gui Zhenghe had just said loudly.
The shouts made by hundreds of soldiers in unison were loud enough that everyone on the city wall could hear them clearly - although only those who knew Japanese could understand what they meant.
Every time Gui Zhenghe shouted, the hundreds of soldiers behind Gui Zhenghe shouted in unison to repeat what Gui Zhenghe had just shouted.
In order to take care of the Ezos in the Red Moon Fortress, Katsura Masakazu deliberately used only simple words without any complicated rhetoric or modifications.
"In February of this year, you incited the citizens of Matsumae Castle and triggered a riot, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries."
Gui Zhenghe first briefly detailed the "sins" committed by the Ainu people of the Red Moon Fortress, and then changed the topic——
"You do not abide by benevolence and righteousness, only practice tricks, and provoke others. It is difficult to understand!"
"We always believe in the way of peace and are willing to have equal and friendly exchanges with all ethnic groups."
"However, now that the matter has reached this point, it is difficult to tolerate it any longer!"
"We are launching a large army now, hoping to conquer it quickly!"
Although there are not many Ainu people who understand Japanese, there are also quite a few - at least many people on the south wall of Red Moon Fortress can understand what Katsura Masawa just said.
The expressions on the faces of these residents who could understand Japanese changed drastically after they heard what Gui Zhenghe said just now, "We will launch an army today in the hope of speedy victory."
But Gui Zhenghe's shouting has not ended yet.
"I hope you can see the form clearly!"
"If you surrender and surrender, we will be well prepared for you! No life will be hurt for any of you!"
"If you don't change it - then please take care of yourself!"
After saying that, Gui Zhenghe raised his right hand high and made a gesture.
Kuroda, who stayed in the military formation and had been paying attention to Gui Zhenghe, saw Gui Zhenghe making this gesture and immediately waved the military partner in his hand: "Blow the conch!"
Woo——! Woo——! Woo——!
The sound of the conch that had just stopped for a short time started to sound again.
As the conch horn sounded, the generals shouted in unison.
The shouts of the 3,000 generals mixed with the sound of the conch, and formed a huge wave of sound that rushed towards the people currently standing on the wall of the Red Moon Fortress with overwhelming force.
Faced with this huge noise, many people on the city wall couldn't help but shrink their necks, and a few people almost fell to the ground. The panic and uneasiness on their faces had become extremely intense...
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PS1: The "Mukuri" (also translated as Mukeli) mentioned in this chapter is not made up by the author. It is a harmonica-like instrument that actually existed in the history of the Ainu people.
PS2: Ogata’s character painting that I mentioned to you a while ago has been completed!!!
I will post this character painting in the form of an Easter egg chapter at the end of this chapter. I hope that the review of the Easter egg chapter can quickly approve this picture...
I would like to thank again the book friend [Silent Qilin] who asked the artist to draw the picture, and the artist [Master Yixin]
Because this character painting is based on a famous scene in the book, the author wrote a caption for this painting. Because the Easter egg chapter cannot write too much text, I included the caption for this picture.
Post it here:
【The moving firelight.
Oncoming heat.
Countless tongues of fire spewed out from the castle tower, and the charred wooden pillars snapped.
At the castle tower of Nijo Castle, in the sea of fire, he readied the sword in his hand.
In this decadent era of warriors, he had already drawn his sword here and now for what he cherished.
Work hard and move forward without any regard for yourself.
"Sakakihara One Sword Style and Muga Two Sword Style, Ogata Yishi, please refer to it!"]