I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

"It should be." Mucun nodded, "Those people should be high-ranking officials of the shogunate, and they came here to join in the fun."

In order to prevent outsiders from approaching, and to demonstrate the authority of these dignitaries, the seats of the group of Yueqing Yunke were surrounded by white curtains on three sides. Only the front was not covered by the cloth because it was still needed to watch the trial.

Ogata couldn't help laughing as he looked at these "masters" who had already taken their positions inside the three white curtains and were waiting for the official start of the martial arts test.

This scene made Ogata involuntarily recall the "God-worshiping performance" he participated in when he was not "Executioner Yidao Zhai".

At that time, many "superior people" from the Hirose Clan came to the competition venue to join in the fun.

Looking at the little surnames in the white mantle who were accompanying those big men.

Ogata recalled for no reason that he was believed by Matsudaira.

A few days ago, after being invited by Lao Zhong to be his surname, Ogata used the word "drag" to successfully delay the matter.

After returning to the hotel where he was staying, because there was nothing to hide about such a thing, Ogata told Atachi and the others the breaking news that "he was spotted by the old middle-aged man".

After A-Ming and the others learned from Ogata that he was favored by the old middleman, their first reaction was whether Ogata had a fever.

Ogata understood the reaction of A-Machi and others very well.

After all, in the Edo period, when hierarchical order was very important, family status was emphasized, and circulation between classes was almost impossible, it was very unimaginable for a person of low status to be photographed by a big boss and then reach the sky in one step.

It took Ogata a lot of effort to convince A-Ming that he wasn't talking nonsense, talking nonsense, and he didn't have a fever.

After believing that Ogata was telling the truth, A-Machi asked Ogata first: "How do you plan to reply to Lao Zhong in the future?"

And Ogata replied without hesitation at the time: "I won't make any response for now, and I will talk about it after Shiranui is defeated."

The reason why Ogata did not reject Matsudaira Sadanobu on the spot at that time was because he was afraid of offending Matsudaira Sadanobu.

That night, Ogata and Matsudaira Sadanobu met for the first time. Ogata knew nothing about Matsudaira Sadanobu's character, whether he is the kind of person who "hates others to reject him".

No matter how you think about it, it is very irrational to annoy the country's second-in-command at the moment when Shiranui has not been defeated.

And it is impossible for Ogata to agree to Matsudaira Sadanobu, he has not forgotten that he is a guilty body.

So for the sake of caution, Ogata replied to Matsudaira Sadanobu at that time, "Let me think about it." This answer is the most conservative.

And Ogata was also very lucky, Matsudaira Sadanobu agreed to set aside time for Ogata to consider, and did not set any time limit.

Ogata intends to put the matter of Matsudaira Sadanobu behind for the time being, and deal with the matter of Matsudaira Sadanobu after Shiranui is defeated.

At that time, it doesn't matter whether he annoys Matsudaira or not, the worst is to escape from Edo directly.

The waiting time is always boring.

In order to pass this boring time, Ogata silently opened his personal system interface to check his current status of each experience bar.

Current personal level: 33

Sakakibara Ichikatsu Ryu level: 11 ranks

Wuwo Two Swords Level: Level 10

Shiranui Ninjutsu Level: 6th Dan

These days, Ogata would sneak out of the hotel together almost every night to hunt rats.

It is a small probability event to run into an enemy that Yuan Yi still remembers.

It was not until the night before yesterday that I finally encountered the second group of mice after the "rat hunting" operation: a group of Yakuza, a total of ten people,

According to Genichi, these samurai were his enemies 4 years ago. At that time, Genichi went out to the Suruga area for some things and ran into a Yakuza family.

After some incidents happened, Yuanyi gave away the stronghold of these Yakuzas. These people should have come to seek revenge.

In addition to assisting Yuanyi in annihilating his enemies, Ogata has also dealt with many troublemakers in Yoshiwara these days.

After the paper test results were released, Yoshihara's crime rate skyrocketed.

The reason is that many people who failed the essay test came to Yoshihara to relieve their worries.

They are already full of negative energy, and after a few cups of yellow soup, it is very easy to mess up all kinds of things.

These days, Tian Ogata also successfully subdued no less than Yoshihara's troublemakers, and gained some personal level and experience points of Sakakibara's sword style.

The experience value of the personal level increased by 2250 points, the experience value of Sakakibara's one-sword style increased by 460 points, and the experience value of Wuwo's ​​two-sword style increased by 1450 points. These are the gains of Ogata these days.

After looking at my personal system interface countless times and yawning countless times, I finally heard the sound of a taiko drum.

As soon as the sound of the taiko drum fell, Shimada at the side immediately poked Ogata with his elbow.

"Master Ogata, the martial arts test seems to be about to begin."

The sound of the taiko drum was so loud that it directly suppressed the noise of the scene and drew everyone's attention.

There are 3 taiko drums erected at the edge of the test site, and 3 shirtless and strong men stand in front of the 3 taiko drums and beat the drums vigorously.

After the drums fell, a potbellied official with an unusually loud voice appeared and reiterated the rules of the martial arts test to everyone.

The rules of the martial arts test are very simple and rude.

It is to constantly fight in the ring, lose those who are eliminated, and those who win are advanced.

Just play round after round.

Play until the final winner emerges.

When the government publicized the "Imperial Trial", it specified that the reason for holding the "Imperial Trial" was to encourage people to practice literature and martial arts.

This simple and rude form of letting everyone fight directly is indeed in line with the original intention of "encouraging people to practice literature and martial arts".

Because there are about 2 people who have passed the literary test and are qualified to participate in the martial arts test. In order to speed up the progress, it is divided into two venues, "A Field" and "B Field". The 2 venues were tested at the same time.

There will be an official with a very loud voice calling your name, and the person whose name is called will come forward, and if you don't show up, it will be deemed that you have given up.

You can use any weapon, even barehanded, if you like.

The above are the rules of the martial arts test.

Whether it is the form or the rules of the martial arts test, there is an air of immaturity that needs to be continuously improved.

But after all, this is the first time in the 200 years since the opening of the Edo Shogunate that such an event related to examinations has been held. Without any examples for reference, it is not easy to achieve this level.

After the official with a loud voice announced the rules, the martial arts test began.

Because the competition venue is divided into "A field" and "B field", the participants who are eager to play, as well as a small number of spectators, are naturally divided into two groups to watch in the venues they are interested in.

"Makimura, Shimada." Ogata took out his cuffs and fastened his sleeves with skillful movements, and said to Mucun and Shimada beside him, "If you hear my name later, remember Call me."

Although he didn't know when he would hear his name and it was his turn to play, Ogata decided to prepare in advance and fasten his sleeves first.

Mucun: "No problem."

"I think even if you don't have to concentrate on listening, you can clearly hear whether someone calls your name." Shimada smiled wryly.

The official who was in charge of calling out his name had an unusually loud voice.

It is the loudness that can suppress the noise of hundreds of people.

With such a loud voice, if you can still miss your own name, it only means that you may have a problem with your ears.

I have to say that the shogunate is very conscientious.

They provide protective gear for all participants.

It's just that it's not the kind of very mature and complete kendo protective gear on the modern earth.

The protective equipment provided by the shogunate to the participants is a piece of "upper body armor" made of bamboo and wood.

Then give you a forehead guard to protect your head.

Then the limbs and lower body do not have any protective gear.

Although it is completely incomparable with the armor that protects the teeth of the modern earth, the armor provided by the shogunate is actually very advanced from the perspective of this era.

At this time, most samurai do not have the concept of "wearing armor" when practicing swords.

The weapons provided by the shogunate are also very complete. Wooden knives, wooden wakizashi, wooden spears, and wooden big swords. Find your own.

The three of Ogata stood in the middle of "Site A" and "Site B", watching the trials one after another in these two fields together boredly, while waiting silently for an official to shout "" Goro Mashima".

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, finally

"Goro Mashima! Goro Mashima! Please come forward!"

"B field" sounded his name.

After turning his head and glanced at the "B field" not far away, Ogata smiled: "It seems that my trial venue is the B field."

Just as Ogata was about to turn around and walk towards "B Field", there was another loud shout in "B Field", which made Ogata's face slightly surprised.

"Takigawa Heiichiro! Takigawa Heiichiro! Please come forward!"

This big drink not only surprised Xu Fanglu.

At the same time, Takigawa Heiichiro, who was on the edge of the "B field", was surprised.

It's just that the surprised look on Takigawa Heiichiro's face was also mixed with a rich look of joy.

The two venues of "A field" and "B field" have several officials who are responsible for managing these armors.

When someone is about to enter the field, help them put on their armor.

After some are off, help them take off.

After checking his identity, Ogata quickly put on the armor that only protected him, and tied the forehead guard on his head with the help of two officers in charge of armor management in "Yichang".

There is an iron plate tied to the forehead, and when the opponent stabs you in the head, this iron plate can cushion the impact, and it may save your life.

After putting on all the armor and picking up a wooden knife, Ogata set foot on the field of "B field".

Standing opposite Takikawa who was already standing on the opposite side.

After the officials called out the name "Mashima Goro", the number of people surrounding the "B field" and preparing to watch the battle immediately increased a lot.

Anyone who pays attention to the essay test knows that the first name of the essay test was taken by a person named "Mashima Goro".

After learning that "Mashima Goro" was on the stage, everyone heard the news and wanted to see with their own eyes what the person who took the next test for the first name looked like.

At the same time, let's take a look at the skill of the person who takes the first place in the test below.

Looking at Ogata who had been away for several days, a somewhat ferocious smile appeared in Takigawa.

"Mashima-kun, I really didn't expect that my first opponent in the martial arts test would be you. It seems that we have a very special fate."

"Yeah." Ogata said lightly, "I think so too, maybe the two of us really have a very special fate, no matter where we go, we can always meet you."

Takigawa sneered: "I also want to thank you for the wonderful fate between us, for giving me the opportunity to face you with swords and swords openly!"

After finishing speaking, Takigawa slowly raised the wooden knife in his hand, and took a mid-section stance.

These days, Takigawa's life can be described in one word as suffering.

It has always been Takikawa's long-cherished wish to be addressed as a "guest" or "subordinate" by Matsudaira Sadanobu.

The purpose of his participation in the "Imperial Trial" is to gain the appreciation of Matsudaira Sadanobu, and then to enter the official career smoothly.

Unexpectedly, unexpected accidents appeared one after another.

First, he couldn't even get into the top 10 in the literary test, and the one who won the first place in the lower test was the ronin Mashima Goro who had a previous festival and he looked down upon very much.

Later, they witnessed Matsudaira Jonobu calling Mashima Goro a "guest" at the Yangmei House, and at the request of Matsudaira Sadanobu, they had to compensate the Yangmei House and go to the Shirobei Club to receive the punishment.

The punishment Takikawa and the others received from Shirobei Clubhouse was to pay a fine and then live in the prison of Shirobei Clubhouse for 2 days.

Among this series of blows, the one that hit Takikawa the most was that Matsudaira Sadanobu called Mashima Goro a "guest".

The person I had been looking down on before was actually called a "guest" by Matsudaira Sadanobu, and the gap between being protected by Matsudaira Sadanobu, as well as the jealousy of Ogata, made Takikawa sleepless these days.

He was jealous of how he was just a ronin who worked in the Shirobei Club, why he won the first place in the literary examination, and why he was called a guest by Matsudaira Sadanobu.

With the passage of time, jealousy turned into grief and resentment towards Ogata.

"Maybe you don't know?" Takigawa sneered, "I'm a non-dissident, so everyone can tell!"

After uttering the words "exemption from everyone", Takikawa puffed out his chest proudly.

"Cheer up, there are not many chances to compete with the holders of the No Outflow Exemption Pass!"

"It's cheaper for you!"

What Takikawa said just now, did not deliberately lower the volume.

After hearing Takikawa's words just now, the spectators standing on the edge of the "B field" all let out low exclamations.

"All fakes that are not allowed to be faxed"