I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

—500 taels...

Ogata couldn't help but glance at the wanted order in his hand.

For some reason, Ogata had the urge to surrender to the government at a certain moment just now!

At the same time that this impulse was generated, a big plan was born in my mind:

First go to the government office to surrender, sell yourself, and then let Ah Ding receive the 500 tael, and then think of a plan to escape from prison.

Ogata feels that his plan seems to be a good one.

When there is a shortage of money someday in the future, I might be able to work out this plan to squeeze the government's wool.

He had participated in the "Imperial Examination" in Edo before, and after exhaustion, coupled with the blessing of good luck, he finally made 100 taels of gold.

As long as Ogata and the others don't mess around with the money, 100 taels of gold will be enough for Ogata and his wife to not worry about money for at least the next 10 years.

500 taels of gold-if not used to buy antiques or other messy things, this money is really enough for Ogata and Amachi to spend until the end of their lives.

At this moment, Kinjo on the side beckoned to Ogata, expressing that he wanted to see the wanted order.

Ogata is only interested in his own wanted order, and the rest of the wanted orders are not at all interested.

Now that he had read his wanted order, Ogata had no interest in holding the wad of wanted orders anymore. Seeing that Kinjo wanted it, he simply gave him all of it.

Kinjo received the wanted order from Ogata, and after looking through it casually, he said:

"I didn't expect you to be the kind of ronin who makes a living on bounty. These bounty criminals must be very difficult to catch, right?"

"Of course." Huosaka shrugged. "After working hard to track for several months, it turns out that the bounty criminal is dead, or chasing the wrong person by himself. It's just a common occurrence."

"So my apprentice and I don't all make a living by catching rewards."

"If we come across a job that makes money and has food, we will do it too."

"Like this job now."

Huosaka grinned.

"Although there is no money to take, but there is white rice to eat, which can save several days of food. And it is also very suitable for our master and apprentice. Apart from wielding a sword, our master and apprentice have nothing else to be good at. ."

Jin Cheng had already roughly finished the wad of wanted orders in his hand at this time.

When handing the wad of wanted warrants to Hoosaka, Jin Cheng said softly:

"Thank you for the invitation. But I am used to being alone after all, and I don't like to team up with others."

"That's it." Seeing that his invitation to let Jincheng come together as a bounty hunter was rejected, Huosaka didn't look annoyed, but just smiled freely, "Forget it."

After returning the wanted warrant to Huosaka, Jin Cheng smiled, and then continued:

"I just looked at these wanted warrants, Ogata Ichisai is really amazing."

"Among this pile of wanted orders, only Ogata Ichidosesai has a bounty of over one hundred, and it is still a full five hundred."

"It deserves to be the most wanted criminal in the shogunate."

"If anyone can catch Ogata Ichidosesai, let's leave aside the name in the history of the past. It is certain that you will not worry about food and clothing for a lifetime-as long as you don't spend money randomly."

"Ho ho."

Just as Jincheng finished speaking, Huosaka suddenly sneered.

After the sneer, Huosaka, who showed a mocking smile, suddenly changed his conversation:

"Although 500 tael gold is a sum of money for ordinary people like us to eat and wear for a lifetime."

"But for those rich and powerful, 500 taels of gold may be just a few days of fun money."

"I used to be a samurai in the Kanto Mito Clan."

"I saw with my own eyes how extravagant the daily lives of those powerful and powerful people in the Mito Clan were."

"Because the Mito Clan was closer to Edo, many of the Mito Clan's dignitaries went to Yoshihara in Edo to have fun in horse-drawn carriages."

"It's just commonplace to spend dozens or hundreds of taels of gold in a gold market like that in Jiyuan."

"After being chic at Yoshihara, take the carriage back to Mito."

"Mito Clan?" Jinjo raised his eyebrows, "You are from Xiongfan."

Mito Clan-together with the Owari Clan and the Kishu Clan, it is called the "Gosanjia". It is the feudal clan closest to the shogunate, and it is a terrifyingly high number of feudal clan.

The Mito clan has the lowest number of stones among the three imperial families, with 350,000 stones, which is undoubtedly the male clan.

"Yes. I am a samurai from the Mito clan, but only a lower-rank samurai."

Huosaka shrugged.

"Before I left the clan, I was a warehouse officer in the Mito clan. I was responsible for planning, counting and managing the inventory of the warehouse every day. The salary was only a pitiful 50 shi."

Hearing Hosaka's words, Ogata couldn't help but raised his eyebrows.

Treasurer-Ogata is familiar with this job.

"I took over the job of the warehouse officer when I was 20 years old."

"When I first took over the job of the warehouse officer, I still worked very hard."

"Every day I am exhausted to plan and keep books, and work hard."

"But gradually, I realized something was wrong."

The color of mockery in the smile on Huosaka's face became more intense.

I just don't know who is showing the mocking color on his face.

"I work so hard every day and I can't get any substantive remuneration."

"Just because I came from a junior samurai."

"You are all samurai, should you all know what the origin of a lower-level samurai represents?"

Everyone, including Ogata, nodded silently.

Ogata was born as a samurai in the Hirose clan, so he naturally knew what the samurai represented.

It means that unless the ancestral tomb is smoked, you will never be able to climb how high a position.

In the Edo era, when the Seikyo Seiroku system was followed, the officialdom of the shogunate and the feudal clan was described in one sentence, that is, "the upper-level samurai monopolized the high-ranking official positions, and the lower-rank samurai monopolized the low-ranking official positions."

Unless something amazing is made, even if it is a lifetime of struggle, it is impossible for a lower-level samurai to get a high position.

"Those samurai who are born well enough, reach out and have high-ranking officials to do."

"And I am a low-ranking samurai from a humble background, no matter how hard I try to prepare, I will probably not be able to rise up in my life, and I can only live a life of poverty."

"I feel very upset."

"So I gradually stopped working so hard to serve the public. Anyway, if I didn't work hard, the result would be the same, I can only get such a meager salary, and I can't see the hope of high promotion and a good life."

"But I still do my own job on time and on time every day."

"After I started serving my duties less enthusiastically, my boss suddenly came to me."

"Guess what he told me?"

Huosaka shook his shoulders and sneered again.

"He thinks I have not worked so hard and desperately as before."

"I told him: I have completed my work every day."

"Then he said: I know that your daily work is indeed well completed, but just like this, are you satisfied?"

"As a samurai, you should serve the public and serve your lord."

"In the face of work with a full score of 10, we should strive to achieve a score of 12 or 15 points."

"Only in this way can the samurai's morality be not insulted."

"Obviously, I finish my work well every day, so I was inexplicably scolded and preached like this."

"The more I think about it when I get home, the more mad."

"Serve the lord? When did the lord of the Mito clan be kind to me? Why should I go so hard to serve someone who has never met before?"

"And the person who doesn't talk about samurai morality should be the lord? Since the establishment of the shogunate, my family has served the Mito clan for generations."

"I have been serving the public for two hundred years. Because of my low birth rate, my salary has never been increased, and I can only do some humble work-is there such a samurai morale?"

"The more I thought about it, the more angry I got, so I went to my boss the next day for the theory."

"Then I was scolded by my boss again."

"He said: As a dignified warrior, how can you always think of such vulgar things as firewood, rice, oil and salt."

"As a samurai, you should be indifferent to fame and fortune, be dedicated to your duty, and always put your lord first... In short, you should talk to me about samurai morality."

"He also recited to me the sentence in "The Book of Ye Yin Wen":'When worshiping in the early morning, you should first worship the lord and your parents, and then worship the gods and Buddhas. Putting the lord first, not only the parents rejoice, but the gods and Buddhas I will also understand this intention. As a warrior, you don’t have to think about everything except the lord. The more you have this ambition, the more you can pay attention to the situation on the main side, and never forget."

Huosaka shook his head while reciting the famous line in the "Ye Yin Wen Shu", which looked very funny.

"The Book of Ye Yin Wen"—in the first year of Keiho (1716 AD), it was dictated by Yamamoto Tsutosa, the courtier of Mitsumo Nabeshima, lord of the Saga Domain, and it was written by Samurai Taijinji over seven years.

Its style is a typical "Analects style".

It is a book on the cultivation of samurai, which tells the samurai what they should and should not do, and what kind of samurai is a "true samurai."

Since the book was written, it has been hailed as a classic by many people. You can learn the real Bushido in this book, and I think it is a must-read book for all samurai.

The sentence that Huosaka just recited was a famous quote in "Ye Yin Wen Shu".

"I was very angry at first. I was even more angry after hearing my boss talk to me about samurai morals and shook his head and recite the Book of Ye Yin Wen."

"I'm thinking about firewood, rice, oil and salt, what's wrong?"

"Don't tell me about things that are visible and touchable, just talk to me about things that are imaginary."

"I understand."

"Samurai morals and all things are bullshit."

"It's just that it is more convenient for people like us who are born in a humble background to sell their lives to people who are born with high-ranking officials and pay no attention to food and clothing."

"Anyway, I'm full of food by myself, and the whole family is not hungry."

"So I was furious, and simply ran away from the Mito Clan overnight and became a renegade who escaped from the Clan."

"Although there is no stable source of income, life is happier than before."

"All my income now belongs to me. No one points to my nose and tells me that I can't consider firewood, rice, oil and salt, and I have to serve my duty."

Ogata and others have been quietly listening to Hosaka's recount of his past.

Ogata is a traveler, not a samurai who was born and raised in this Edo period, so he not only has no intimacy with Bushido, but also sneers at it.

Therefore, when I heard Hosaka bluntly said that "Samurai morality is nothing but shit", I felt that Hosaka was right and said that the cruel nature of the samurai morality-the rulers used to control the samurai and rule the country. tool.

Ah Ding did not show any discomfort-she is not a child of the samurai family, and naturally has no feelings for the so-called Bushido.

There are also earthen houses that do not show any discomfort.

After hearing Huosaka's rebellious remark just now, Tsuchiya's face was expressionless-I just don't know if it was because he didn't talk much and didn't look much.

Only Jin Cheng showed obvious displeasure.

Just after Huosaka's voice fell behind, Jin Cheng's face changed directly:

"I won't ask more about the feasts between you and your boss and lord."

"But how do you say you are also a samurai, saying, "Samurai is all bullshit", isn't it right?"

"And I think what your boss said is not unreasonable."

"As a samurai, if you are always thinking about vulgar things like firewood, rice, oil and salt, how is it different from ordinary people."

"I just told me some reflections on the morality of the samurai." Huosaka shrugged, "Kinjo, although you are Osuke, you are also from a Kibmoto family with a 3,500 stone-year salary."

"You can't understand the hopeless life of the lower-level samurai, right?"

The displeasure on Jin Cheng's face became more intense.

"...Never mind." Jin Cheng retracted his gaze from Huosaka, "Everyone has aspirations, and I don't bother to argue with you anymore."

The conversation between Huosaka and Jincheng just now made the atmosphere of the scene a little unharmonious in an instant.

At this moment, an unexpected voice sounded:

"While eating, let's talk about something a little bit more interesting."

The speaker is a taciturn house.

In Ogata's impression, this seems to be the first time Tsuchiya has spoken since the meal began.

Because Tsuchiya’s mouth was filled with rice when she was speaking, she was a little vague.

As soon as Tsuchiya's words fell, Huosaka stretched his waist hard:

"That's right, you should talk about relaxing and interesting things when you eat. The past that I just said is a bit too dull, sorry."

"Let's talk about something interesting!"

"Tsuchiya, listen to your accent, you are from Mutsu, right?" Huosaka cast his gaze to Tsuchiya.

"Yeah." Tsuchiya nodded. "Naishita was born in the Hachinohe clan from Mutsu."

"Since you are from Mutsu, that would be easier." Huosaka showed his iconic grin. "Do you know'Bujinsai'?"

Tsuchiya raised his eyebrows: "I heard it slightly."

"You know that Bujing Zhai is good. Then have you heard of the movement of Bujing Zhai? For example, who and who witnessed Bujing Zhai somewhere."

Tsuchiya shook his head: "I only heard about Bujingzhai. I am not very interested in Bujingzhai. I have never actively asked people around about the trail of Bujingzhai, and I have never heard of anything. Things related to Bujingzhai."

"That's it..." Huosaka's face showed a faint frustration.

Ogata, who had been listening quietly, raised his eyebrows after Huosaka uttered the word "Bujinsai" which was a bit like a title.

After the conversation between Hosaka and Tsuchiya was over, Ogata interjected and asked:

"Is Bujingzhai someone's title?"

"That's right!" Huosaka smiled and nodded, "Bujinsai is the title of some very powerful samurai. It's like Ogata Ichitosai's "Ichitosai"."

"Bujingzai? A very powerful samurai?" Kaneshiro said lightly, "Why have I never heard of this person."

"It's normal if you haven't heard of it." Hosaka slowly said, "Bujinsai is only famous in Mutsu. Basically no one knows this character after Mutsu."

"I only learned of this character after wandering to Mutsu with Mizuno 4 months ago."

"I heard that Bujing Sai is an extremely powerful samurai."

"Use a Japanese sword without authorization."

"The swordsmanship he uses is Tang Tu's Japanese swordsmanship."

"Japanese sword art?" Ogata raised his eyebrows, and the color of interest appeared in his eyes.

Ogata has heard of the name of Japanese sword art in previous lives.

Many people mistakenly think that Japanese swords are samurai swords, but this is not true.

The Japanese sword is a knives that combines the curved blade of the samurai sword with the hilt of the Chinese sword, allowing the use of Chinese and Japanese sword techniques at the same time.

According to legend, the founder of Japanese sword art was Qi Jiguang, a famous anti-Japanese general in the Ming Dynasty.

"Yes, it's the Japanese sword technique that is said to have been lost in Tangtu."

"Bujingzhai learned the Japanese sword technique from nowhere, and then practiced the Japanese sword technique to the extreme."

"Anyone who is an enemy of him will be killed by his Japanese sword without leaving a piece of armor."

"Because after being an enemy and fighting with him, the surrounding land will definitely be soiled by the enemy's blood, so he calls himself ‘Bujingzhai’."

"I have never seen what Japanese swordsmanship is like, so after knowing this number, I have been looking for him, wanting to see the Japanese swordsmanship with my own eyes."

"It's a pity that after searching for so long, I haven't even seen the shadow of Bujingzhai."

"Because Bujingzhai is only famous in Mutsu, so basically only Mutsu knows the existence of this character."

"Not only can't I find Bujingzhai, but I can't even find out what Bujingzhai looks like..."

"You can't find Bujingzhai, and you can't find the appearance of Bujingzhai, it is normal." Tsuchiya said abruptly, "After all, there was no news about Bujingzhai more than 40 years ago. Out."

"Forty years?" Ogata exclaimed in a low voice, "Then this Bujinsai is quite old."

"Yeah." Tsuchiya nodded, "If Bujingzhai is still alive, then he should be nearly 70 years old this year."

"As far as I know, Bujingzhai suddenly disappeared not long after he became famous in Mutsu more than 40 years ago."

"No one has seen him again."

"Nothing about him has been reported again."

"The whole person just disappeared."

"So I think Bujingzhai might have died in an unknown place more than 40 years ago."

"Even if he is not dead, he should be 6 or 70 years old this year, and he is about to die."

Hearing Tsuchiya's words, Hoosaka laughed disapprovingly and shrugged.

"What you just said is just your guess! Maybe Bujingzhai is still practicing the Japanese sword technique leisurely somewhere!"

"Anyway, I have a lot of time, and I will keep looking for it until I'm really sure that Bujingzhai is dead."

"Japanese swordsmanship, a swordsmanship that was produced in Tangtu but has been lost in Tangtu, if you don't know it well, it would be a shame."

…

…

at the same time-

Located in a house in the middle of the village.

At this moment, there are many people in this house.

The more prominent and prestigious people in the village gathered in this house at this time.

The owner of this house is no one else, but the head of the village—an old man whose head has become sparse and gray.

The old village chief sat at the very center of the hall of the house.

The rest are sitting around the old village chief.

"...In other words, have we recruited a total of 5 samurai..." the old village chief said in a hoarse voice, "5...the number is still a little less..."

"We have tried our best to find a samurai who is willing to help us." The speaker was Sukezo, "but...no samurai is willing to help us... either it is dangerous or it is not paid..."

"It took Yushiro and I to finally get two samurai..."

"...The village chief." At this moment, a tall middle-aged man sitting cross-legged in front of the old village chief gritted his teeth. "I still think we shouldn't invite those warriors..."

"Whether the samurai we invited is good or bad, whether they are reliable or not, we can't tell..."

"Look, didn't something happen today?"

"The daughter of Qingliudi was almost assaulted by the samurai."

Hearing the words of the "tall middle-aged man", everyone present involuntarily lowered their heads.

Earlier, just after they learned that bandits were thinking about their village, they actually had a very heated discussion about "whether they want to ask the samurai for help?"

Some people feel that it is necessary to ask a samurai for help. It is more reliable to ask a samurai for help than to ask the government to help.

But there are quite a few people who think that the samurai should not be invited over, and asking the samurai to come is no different from introducing a wolf into the house.

The reason is the bad reputation of the samurai.

Although the villagers in this village haven't had much contact with the samurai, they have heard a lot of bad rumors about the samurai.

For example, in order to test new swords, some samurai use innocent civilians to try their swords.

Another example: some samurai were killed by the samurai just because their saber was touched by others or other trivial things. Then the samurai was not subject to any punishment due to the privilege of "slaying the imperial immunity".

All in all-many villagers feel that it would be terrible if they invited back a bunch of warriors with misbehaviors.

The two factions quarreled fiercely, and in the end it was the respected old village chief who made the version before finally deciding to ask the samurai for help.

In fact, there are quite a few people who support the samurai to come and help, and they are also very afraid that the samurai who are invited over will do anything atrocities.

It's just the fear of the bandits overwhelming the fear of the samurai.

When the help third class went to the nearby towns and towns to invite the samurai, the villagers who stayed at home rushed to hide their money and food during the time when the samurai had not yet come.

After Huosaka and Mizuno first arrived in the village, those with young girls at home warned the girls at home-never go out.

It's a pity—something happened today.

The scumbag had just arrived in the village this morning, and in the evening, while Qingliu and his wife were not at home, they sneaked into their home and planned to assault their daughter.

If it weren't for another samurai to help in time, otherwise I would not dare to imagine the consequences.

The worries that the warriors who had been invited back would make trouble came true—this made all the villagers feel anxious and annoyed, but also frightened.

They were afraid that the remaining samurai might be impure generations.

"The samurai named Huosaka who saved Qingliu's daughter, UU reading www.uukanshu.com is quite upright..." Shusan said softly.

"What about the other samurai?" the "tall middle-aged man" who asked the village chief to question the correctness of bringing the samurai back without hesitation said, "Are the other samurai worthy of trust? Are they all honest people?"

Shuzo lowered his head and fell silent.

"...Okay." The old village chief sighed lightly, "Everyone has already invited back, and there is no point in arguing whether or not to invite the samurai over here."

"I can only gamble..."

"I hope that the remaining 5 samurai are all kind-hearted people..."

"But the precautions to be done are still to be done."

"Everyone remember to hide their money and food."

"If you have young girls in your home, you should take good care of the girls who live in your home. Don't let your girls be alone at home."