Chapter 675 The design of the bear of Ishiki Flower is here! 【5400】
"If there is a chance, I really want to see how the officials of the Edo shogunate would react when they saw the Nikki Maru and Hyakumaru that we spent a lot of effort and money to get." Smith said with his hands behind his back.
, smacking his lips with regret on his face, "Will you learn from the experience and regret for your country's backward technological level, and regret for your country's stupid lockdown order?"
Nikki Maru and Gyokumaru are the names of these two battleships of the Toyotomi Army.
Hyukamaru is the flagship of their small fleet with only two warships, which is the warship that Toyotomi Nobuhide, Smith, and Kasuho are currently riding.
"Smith, you are overthinking." Toyotomi Nobuhide laughed full of joking, "Do you know what the Edo shogunate is most afraid of?"
"They are most afraid of 'new things'."
“Because ‘new things’ often bring about change and transformation.”
"Changes and transformations may impact the dominance of the Edo shogunate..."
"That's why the Edo shogunate issued a 'lockdown order' to not allow any new things from the outside world to enter the country."
"'Let this country remain unchanged' was one of the governing ideas of the Edo shogunate."
"And in fact, they succeeded."
"It has been nearly two hundred years since the Edo shogunate was established. At this time, Japan's lifestyle and technological level are almost the same as Japan two hundred years ago."
"So they won't have any painful experiences."
The playful look on Toyotomi Nobuhide's face became intense at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Smith, I can boldly predict to you: If after tonight, our Toyotomi army withdraws completely and no longer attacks the Edo shogunate, what kind of reaction will the Edo shogunate make?"
"They will do their best to block the news and declare to the public that 'warships as big as hills do not exist.' Then the country will continue to operate as it was before."
"If you want them to learn a painful lesson? Then you have to beat them until they grin and really feel the 'pain'!"
"Even if you witness the weakness of your country's scientific and technological power, you won't easily change your original conservative ideas..." Smith looked puzzled, "It's really hard to understand..."
"You have never lived in this country, so it is normal for you to find it difficult to understand." Toyotomi Nobuhide smiled and patted Smith on the shoulder, then turned his head and said,
Looking towards Osaka with the flames soaring into the sky in the distance.
In this heavy firelight, Toyotomi Nobuhide could vaguely see a vague, towering shadow.
That is the shadow of Osaka Castle.
"Osaka Castle is really huge..." Toyotomi Nobuhide murmured,
“I don’t know what the ‘Toyotomi Osaka Castle’ was two hundred years ago.
Compared with the current "Tokugawa Osaka Castle",
Which city is more magnificent..."
The Osaka Castle built by the Toyotomi clan had been burned down in the war with the Edo shogunate two hundred years ago.
Osaka Castle now stands in the center of Osaka City,
It was Osaka Castle that was rebuilt on the original site by the Edo shogunate after the demise of the Toyotomi clan.
In order to easily distinguish between these two Osaka Castles, which have the same name but completely different builders and owners,
The former Osaka Castle was called "Toyotomi Osaka Castle", and the current Osaka Castle is called "Tokugawa Osaka Castle".
"It seems that Zuemon, who was responsible for attacking Osaka Castle, listened to my orders very well.
Osaka Castle was not damaged. Very good, very good.”
Toyotomi Nobuhide showed joy and clapped his hands vigorously several times.
"Thus,
Later, when we launch an artillery bombardment on Osaka Castle, which is basically intact...it must be very enjoyable!"
"Toyotomi-sama!" Kazuho's cheeks were now red with excitement,
"Do we have to wait until Yoshihisa and the others leave Osaka before we can launch a bombardment on Osaka Castle? I really want to start firing now!"
"Kasu Bee,
There are still Yoshihisa and his friends in Osaka City now. Now we are launching long-range artillery bombardment on Osaka City, it is very easy to accidentally injure our own people."
"So we still have to proceed as planned and wait until Yoshihisa and the others finish the 'Osaka Spring Formation'.
After everyone has withdrawn from Osaka, they will then launch an artillery attack on Osaka Castle."
"Ah..." Kasu Bee seemed to be itching all over,
Scratching every corner of the body,
"I really want to start firing on Osaka Castle quickly... to blow such a big castle to pieces.
It must be very enjoyable..."
"Bombarding Osaka Castle?" Smith looked at Toyotomi Nobuhide with a puzzled look on his face, and then looked at Kasuho, "Lord Toyotomi,
Do you want to destroy Osaka Castle?"
"Yes,
It seems that I haven’t told you Smith about the plan to ‘destroy Osaka Castle’.”
Toyotomi Nobuhide, who continued to look at the towering Osaka Castle in the distance, raised the corners of his mouth in a meaningful arc.
"The current Osaka Castle,
It has nothing to do with the Toyotomi clan." Toyotomi Nobuhide said calmly,
"Osaka Castle built by the Toyotomi clan,
It was destroyed two hundred years ago."
"The current Osaka Castle was built every brick and tile by the Tokugawa clan."
“This kind of fortress has a strong imprint of the Edo shogunate.
It’s better to destroy it.”
"But if we just set fire to destroy such a majestic castle,
I always feel it’s a pity, not impressive enough and not interesting enough.”
"So I decided to use a powerful enough method to raze Osaka Castle to the ground."
"I gave an order to Zuemon who was responsible for attacking Osaka Castle: after all the shogunate officials in Osaka Castle were cleared,
Don’t destroy Osaka Castle.”
"Then I will give Kasu Bee a death order: no matter what,
We all must lead Gourd Maru and Nikki Maru to the sea outside Osaka before tonight."
"Huluwan and Rikimaru have two tasks tonight."
"Mission 1: Destroy Osaka Port in Osaka and all ships in the port."
“Osaka Port is one of the largest ports in Japan.
Nearly half of the official ships of the shogunate docked at Osaka Port."
"By destroying Osaka Port and all the ships in the port, the already weak surface power of the Edo Shogunate will be further weakened, and the ability to threaten our Gyokumaru and Nikki Maru will be completely lost."
"As for the second mission, the 'Osaka Haru Formation and Battle for Disasters' that Yoshihisa was responsible for ended and all personnel withdrew from Osaka, using the naval guns of Gyokumaru and Nikki Maru to bombard Osaka Castle from a long distance."
Toyotomi Nobuhide's face slowly showed a look of intoxication.
Also looking intoxicated was Kazuho standing next to him.
"Such a majestic castle, after being bombarded by naval guns, the scene of rubble falling down... must be great."
"Are we going to use naval guns to bombard Osaka City?" Smith's mouth opened uncontrollably, "But... Osaka City is located far away from the sea..."
"Even if we get close to the sea and fire again, the distance is still very far."
"If you fire a cannon at such a long distance, the hit rate is very low. Maybe even 10 of the 10 rounds fired may not hit Osaka Castle."
"When Osaka Castle was razed to the ground with naval guns, most of the city might have been destroyed by the deflected shells."
"Toyotomi-sama, please forgive me... If you do this... let alone waste artillery shells, you will lose an unknown amount of people's hearts alone..."
Toyotomi Nobuhide seemed to have expected that Smith would say this, his expression remained unchanged and he still had a meaningful smile on his face.
Don't speak either.
He just turned his head silently and cast an intriguing look at Smith.
At this time, Smith also realized that what he just said seemed to be a bit excessive, so he quickly added:
"Ah, I just said it casually. Toyotomi-sama, you can just listen to it casually."
"Anyway, I'm just an arms dealer, and I don't know much about politics."
"Toyotomi-sama, since you want to use naval guns to bomb Osaka Castle, what should we do next?"
"Now the task of destroying Osaka Port and all the ships in the port has been completed." Toyotomi Nobuhide said slowly with his hands behind his back, "And I just said that before we bomb Osaka Castle, we have to wait for Yoshihisa and the others to complete the 'Osaka Spring Formation and Debate"
It can only be executed after the operation' and withdrawal from Osaka."
"After all, I don't want to accidentally hurt one of my own."
"So now let's go back to our temporary dock in Kii for a rest."
"After Yoshihisa and the others make their triumphant return, they will attack again and blow Osaka Castle away."
"And I also took the opportunity to go back to Mount Koya... to meet my sister whom I haven't seen for a long time."
After mentioning the word "sister", Toyotomi Nobuhide showed a reminiscing look.
"My annoying sister...should have been successfully transported out of Osaka by now."
"After I take the ship back to Kii and then return to Mount Koya by land, I should be able to see her in the prison in Mount Koya."
"Ha, I don't know if she has grown taller after so many years of not seeing her, or if she can't eat hot food."
"Do you want to go back to Mount Koya now?" Smith asked, "Why don't you go to Osaka now to meet Lord Yoshihisa and the others?"
"No need." Toyotomi Nobuhide waved his hand, "I have given full authority to Yoshihisa to take charge of the series of battles in Osaka tonight."
"Let Yoshihisa help me take care of Osaka's affairs."
"I will wait slowly in Mount Koya for their good news."
…
…
Osaka, somewhere
"Hey, did you find anything over there?"
"No, what about you?"
"I've searched everywhere and found nothing."
"That Shura...will he drown in that river?"
"If he drowned, his body would be floating on the river."
Four Iga male ninjas gathered together, talking to each other and exchanging information.
They were all ninjas sent along the river to find Ogata.
Every one of the four of them is diligent in handling this difficult task.
However, until now... let alone finding Ogata, there is not even the slightest clue.
"There's nothing we can do... Let's look elsewhere. Huh? Who is it? Get out!"
The four male ninjas heard strange noises coming from an alley not far away almost at the same time.
Two people stood on guard, while the other two people went in two directions to outflank the alley where the strange noise was coming from.
"Ah! I, I am a resident here! I just passed by here by chance! I didn't hear your obedience! No, don't kill me!"
Before the two ninjas who were outflanking the alley reached the entrance of the alley, a middle-aged man with a simple face walked out of the alley with his hands raised.
He was carrying thick luggage on his back. The ninjas guessed that this person was probably a citizen who was frightened by the fire in Osaka City and was preparing to escape.
Seeing that he was just an ordinary Osaka citizen, the hands of the ninjas that were originally on their weapons relaxed a little.
"...You just said you were a resident here, right?" A certain ninja suddenly asked the middle-aged man.
"Yes, it is."
"Then you came just in time. Did you see a very young samurai just now?"
"...I always feel like you are lying." The ninja narrowed his eyes and pulled out the wakizashi from his waist.
The middle-aged man, whose face was completely drained of blood, said hurriedly: "I, I didn't see any very young samurai! But I did see a very young woman!"
"Young woman?"
"Well! A very young and beautiful woman! She was holding a package and ran in a hurry in that direction."
"Woman...does that woman have any distinctive features?"
"Special features? Let me think about it...let me think about it...she is very beautiful...and also quite tall...and then...then...ah! I remember, her bear is very big?"
"The bear is big?"*4
The four male ninjas repeated the words the middle-aged man just said in unison.
The four of them looked in the direction pointed by the middle-aged man, and then looked at each other for a while.
"...Hey." Someone lowered the bass line, "If I remember correctly...did the superiors say: Does that Shura have a very beautiful wife with a big bear?"
The ninja who first asked the middle-aged man for information was silent for a moment, and then asked the middle-aged man:
"...Since you live here, do you know if there is any suitable hiding place in the direction that the woman ran to, such as an inconspicuous abandoned house or something like that?"
"Huh? Hmm...ah! It really does exist! There is an abandoned Buddhist temple that is so inconspicuous that you can't find it if you don't look carefully!"
"Tell us where it is. Just tell us where the Buddhist temple is and we will let you go."
…
…
Osaka, in the Buddhist hall where Ogata and Isshikika are now
After hearing Ogata say to her in a calm and firm tone, "I will definitely rescue all your family members," Isshikika only felt one... After being lost for a long time, she finally found her
The feeling of finding a way out.
Emotions poured out uncontrollably along with tears, and his body moved subconsciously, lying in Ogata's arms to vent the uneasiness and pain in his heart.
After the sobbing gradually stopped and her mood returned to stability, Isshikika realized belatedly that she had fallen into Ogata's arms twice in less than half an hour.
"...I'm sorry..." Isshikika raised her arms to let her cheeks leave Ogata's arms, "I have been so rude one after another..."
Seeing Isshikika's mood returning to a stable state, Ogata smiled slightly.
When he was about to say something
Goo
Ogata's stomach rumbled at an inappropriate time.
This "goo" sound drew the eyes of both Ogata and Isshikika to Ogata's belly.
"Ha... I made you laugh..." Ogata smiled awkwardly.
Ogata didn't eat anything tonight.
He originally planned to "get the knife from Master Yuer and then go back to the hotel to have a delicious meal with Atachi and the others." However, he has not eaten a grain of rice since he was attacked tonight.
I accidentally drank a lot of water when I accidentally fell into the river twice.
"Ah, I happen to have something to eat here."
Isshikika stood up quickly and brought over the cloth bag containing food, money and a wakizashi for self-defense that Chuguang had given her.
There was a lot of food in the cloth bag, including five lotus leaf bags, and each lotus leaf bag contained three rice balls made of white rice as big as a man's fist.
In the eyes of Ogata, who was already hungry, these rice balls seemed to be shining brightly.
Ogata picked up these rice balls and ate them without caring about the image. He swallowed three rice balls in one breath before stopping.
My stomach no longer feels uncomfortable because of the food.
However, even though his stomach was full, Ogata still felt uncomfortable and extremely tired.
While Ogata was eating, Isshikika sat quietly on her knees on one side, looking at Ogata with worried eyes. His face didn't look good even after eating.
"Lord Ittousai, I heard that Hatsuko said that you are being hunted by the Toyotomi Army... It turns out that this is true... Are you poisoned?"
After saying that, Isshikika raised her hand and touched Ogata's forehead.
That heat... made Isshikika feel like she was touching a red-hot brick rather than touching someone's forehead.
"Yeah... I haven't stopped since night fell today, fighting one after another..."
"I'm not poisoned...well, it's almost like poisoning...but it's not the enemies tonight who poisoned me..."
After finishing speaking, Ogata coughed softly a few times.
Feeling that his throat was a little dry, he asked softly to Isshikika:
"Excuse me...can you get me some water?"
Cha Cha Cha Cha...
After Ogata asked this question, the first person to respond to Ogata was not Isshikika's response.
Instead, it was the sound of footsteps coming towards us from outside the temple.
Ogata and Isshikika heard the footsteps at almost the same moment, and their expressions changed slightly at the same time.
"Did the search get here so quickly..." Ogata murmured in a deep voice.
In his current state, he cannot fight at all.
So Ogata made a prompt decision
"Miss Isshiki..." Ogata stood up with difficulty, holding on to the wall next to him, "Hurry up and hide with me..."
Isshiki Hana nodded vigorously, and hurriedly took out the wakizashi that was placed in the cloth bag along with food and drinking water, inserted it into his waist, then packed the cloth bag, carried it behind his back, and then continued
He stabilized the weak Ogata.
She looked around, looking for a place to hide.
After looking around, Isshikihua's face immediately turned pale.
The only objects in this abandoned Buddhist hall are...the solid Buddhist altar and the Buddha statue placed on the altar...
When Isshikika was at a loss what to do, Ogata pulled Isshikika's clothes, attracted Isshikika's attention, and pointed somewhere.
After looking where Ogata's finger pointed, Isshiki was stunned.
"Is it okay to hide in that place...?"
"Anyway, let's give it a try first." Ogata said calmly.
…
…
Cha Cha Cha Cha...
The footsteps are getting closer...
Following the footsteps approaching the Buddhist hall, there were also voices of conversation.
"You two go over there, and I'll go over here."
"good."
Bang!
Three windows near the door were violently smashed.
The ones who broke the window were three Iga ninja.
The three of them were exactly three of the four male ninja who had just captured the innocent middle-aged man and obtained information from him.
The three male ninjas did not enter immediately.
Instead, he lay down on the window edge and looked at the interior of the Buddhist hall with alert eyes.
Their gazes swept through every inch of the floor and ceiling of the Buddhist hall, and they couldn't find a single human figure at all.
*******
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Didn’t you expect that? Isshikihana’s bear is a foreshadowing!
Do you think I designed Isshikika to be a big bear like Omachi just to satisfy the author's personal taste?
Of course not! (Serious face.jpg) This is all a foreshadowing for the plot of this chapter! (Hands crossed, confident.jpg)
Is there any reader who can guess why there are clearly 4 male ninjas, but only 3 come to capture Ogata at the end of the chapter? This may be difficult to guess.