I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

"But I think this battle still has to be fought."

"The reason why I want to use troops against the Red Moon Fortress is not just because I want to seize this battleground before Lucia officially invades our country."

"I have another purpose."

"I want to deter those Ezo who are still half-hearted in Ezo through the conquest of the Red Moon Fortress."

"Gentlemen, none of you should have forgotten the Kunasili Menasi Rebellion last year, right?"

"Of course I won't forget." As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu's voice fell, Beichuan immediately answered.

The Kunasili Menasi Rebellion broke out in Ezodi last year, the first year of Kansei.

A large number of Azou launched unrest in Kunasi Limenasi to oppose the oppression of them by the shogunate.

After the turmoil broke out, it took a lot of effort for the shogunate to finally suppress it.

"The coveting of the Ezo land shown by the country of Lucia in recent years has reminded me."

Matsudaira Sadanobu said softly.

"We have always ruled Ezo in name only."

"Ezodi is essentially no different from foreign countries to us."

"If we had stronger control over Ezo, we wouldn't have allowed Lucia to send expeditions to Ezo so unscrupulously."

"I plan to officially start the development of the Ezo land right now."

"Gradually increase control over Ezodi."

"If we want to strengthen the control over Ezo, it is very necessary to deter those Ezo who do not want to obey our shogunate."

"It's very appropriate to use the knife on those stubborn Eizu who are entrenched in the Red Moon Fortress."

"As long as we annihilate the Ezos in the Red Moon Fortress with a thunderbolt, it will definitely have the effect of killing chickens and monkeys."

"Let the other Ezo see the consequences of disobedience to our shogunate."

The four Ruonianji listened carefully.

Then they reacted differently.

Bei Chuan and Matsudaira Junshan nodded lightly.

Gibbon looked bewildered.

Matsudaira Takashi had a solemn expression on his face, not knowing what he was thinking.

"My lord." Matsudaira Takashi asked after a moment of silence, "Then how many people do you think is more appropriate to dispatch to the Red Moon Fortress?"

Matsudaira Sadanobu raised a finger.

"1."

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu said this, the four Waka Nianji showed different expressions.

"1?" Songping Junshan's reaction was the most excited, "My lord, please forgive me, the total number of Ezos in Red Moon Fortress is only a thousand! Would it be too exaggerated to dispatch an army of 1? "

"It costs a lot to dispatch an army of 1!"

Before Songping Junshan became Ruonianji, he had done survey and appointment for a long time.

The so-called appointment and implementation can be understood as the minister in charge of finance.

Perhaps it is because of the long-term investigation and implementation that Songping Junshan is often very excited when facing political affairs related to money.

"I know." Matsudaira Sadanobu still had no expression on his face, "So let the feudal clans of Mutsu and Dewa, especially the Sendai and Aizu feudal clans, contribute more to the safety of the northern gate of our country."

Mutsu and Dewa are the two closest areas to Ezo.Often referred to collectively as the "Ou Region" or "Tohoku Region"

There are 31 vassal states in Ou and Yu.

Among these 31 vassal states, only 2 can be called male vassals: Aizu Fan and Sendai Fan.

Judging from the paper data, the most powerful is the Sendai Domain with a total stone height of nearly 63 stone.

But in essence, the most powerful is actually the Aizu Domain.

The Aizu domain is a pro-vassal daimyo, and their domain lord is also surnamed "Matsudaira". They are relatives of the shogunate and are responsible for guarding against foreign daimyos in the Ou area.

Although the total stone height is only 23 stone.But because of folk customs and other reasons, in terms of military strength, there are no more than five vassal states that can compete with the Aizu vassal in all of Japan.

Moreover, the Aizu clan is also famously loyal to the shogunate.

The successive feudal lords of the Aizu Domain were the pillars of the shogunate, and the Aizu Domain was therefore known as the "pillar of the Shogunate".

If an order is sent to the Aizu Domain asking them to assist in dispatching troops to the "Red Moon Fortress", the lord of the Aizu Domain will definitely use their power to assist the shogunate without hesitation.

As for another male feudal clan in the Ou area: Sendai Fan, it is actually a foreign daimyo, that is, a feudal state that is not very closely related to the shogunate.

Although the Sendai Domain is a foreign daimyo, among all the foreign daimyos, it belongs to the more obedient one, which is completely different from the Satsuma and Changzhou Domains who have been obsessed with the shogunate for many years.

If an order was sent to the lord of the Sendai Domain asking him to send troops to help out, he would not dare to refuse.

Although the total stone height of the Sendai Fan is nearly 63 stone, its military strength is not very strong.

However, with the ability of the Sendai Domain, it should be possible to gather an army of 1 to 2000 people to help out.

"If these vassal states in the north also contribute their efforts, it shouldn't be too difficult to increase the current army stationed in the north to 1?"

Hearing what Matsudaira Sadanobu said, Matsudaira Junshan pursed his lips and said no more.

Let the vassal states headed by Aizu and Sendai help out, and they will naturally be responsible for the supply of the troops they send.

That is to say, the shogunate can use the soldiers sent by the daimyo in the Ou area as much as they want without spending a penny.

So indeed, as Matsudaira Sadanobu said just now, if the daimyos in the Ou region send troops to help out, it is indeed not difficult to gather an army of 1 in Ezo.

"Master Laozhong." The speaker was Matsudaira Takaki again, "Sending troops is a matter of great importance. I think we should report to the General and ask the General to make a decision."

"Of course." Sadanobu Matsudaira nodded without thinking, "I never thought that I would launch an attack on Ezo within a day."

"I plan to report to the General this afternoon."

"My lord general, please put forward his idea, and let your lord general make a decision as soon as possible."

10 days later

Kanzheng two years, December 11th.

If you want to go to Dewa and Mutsu, the quickest way is naturally to go to the streets of Oshu.

The so-called Oshu Street is a traffic artery starting from Edo and ending at Shirakawa in Mutsu.

For Ogata, it doesn't matter whether he goes to Dewa or Mutsu. Anyway, these two places are unfamiliar to him.

It's the same for Ah-cho, in these two places, he doesn't have half acquaintances.

Since these two places are no different in Ogata’s eyes, before leaving, when deciding whether to go to Dewa or to Mutsu, Ogata did not hesitate to choose to go to Mutsu. There is an Oshu street to go to Mutsu. , much more convenient.

Needless to say, Ogata's physical fitness.

Although A-Machi is a daughter, she has also received complete ninjutsu training.

Although she is the tail of the crane among the ninjas of the same period, she is still a female ninja. In terms of physical fitness, she is only as good as some samurai.

Because both of them are the kind of people with good physical fitness, their footsteps are not slow at all.

As the two traveled northward, the weather became colder and colder.

On the sixth day after departure, the two of them saw snow.

The further north you go, the more snow there will be.

To this day, the snow under their feet is so thick that the entire sole of their feet can sink into it when they step on it.

On the way to the north, apart from the temperature, Ogata and A-machi also felt a very obvious change.

That is the change of folk customs.

The Ou area is currently one of the least developed areas in Japan.

The worse the economy is, the worse the law and order will be. When he took Amachi to Mutsu, Ogata realized very deeply: Although this sentence is a bit absolute, it actually has some truth.

"Hey! Samurai!"

A dirty ronin with a bald head drew a sword in his hand, and shouted at Ogata in front of him in an arrogant tone.

"Are you training as a martial artist? You are really extravagant! You even have a woman with you when you are training as a warrior!"

Although the weather is getting colder and colder after going north, Ogata's clothes are still very thin under the influence of "life force".

It's just that I put on an extra piece of clothing under the haori, and put on a thicker scarf, a pair of deerskin boots that can walk in the snow, and a snowproof hat on my head.

Ogata pushed up the bamboo hat on his head slightly, moved his eyes, and looked at the group of people blocking him.

The group of people who stopped him and Ah Ding totaled 9 people.

These nine people were all dirty without exception. Their clothes hadn't been washed for some time. If the mud on their bodies was rubbed off, it would feel like a mud ball the size of a child's fist.

While they were all dirty, they were also all armed.

All nine of them had knives on their waists.

Some fight with knives and threats.

Some only have knives.

Others only have a threat.

"It's a ronin again." A-Machi, who was standing behind Ogata, muttered in a helpless tone.

She and Ogata were both on their way just now.

Then the nine ronin suddenly ran out from the bushes on the side of the road ahead of them, blocking their way.

Then the bald ronin standing at the front began to mock Ogata who was taking a woman to practice martial arts.

"I'm not practicing as a warrior." Ogata said in a calm tone, "It's just because of some things, I have to go to Mutsu with my wife."

"Aren't you here to steal money too?"

"Oh? You understand very well." The bald rogue sneered a few times, "But now we want something other than money."

After saying that, the bald ronin turned his gaze to Machi who was standing beside Ogata.A bit of greed flashed in his eyes.

"Originally we only wanted your money."

"But now, if you take a closer look, your wife is pretty pretty."

"Keep your money and your wife obediently!"

"But don't worry, we will not take your wife away, and we will kill your wife."

"We're only borrowing for a few days."

"I'll give it back to you in a few days."

After quietly listening to the bald ronin's words, Ogata let out a soft sigh.

He's heard it too many times lately.

In Ogata's right hand, he holds a long wooden stick that can help him travel.

After he uttered this sigh

brake!

Ogata swung the long stick in his hand violently, and drew a circle with himself as the center on the snow.

Headed by the bald ronin, the nine ronin cast suspicious glances at Ogata.

"Hey! What are you doing?" the bald head asked.

"This is my attack range." Ogata threw the long wooden stick in his hand aside, "I will not leave this circle, nor will I take the initiative to chase you down."

"But my personal self-cultivation is not good enough to dedicate my head and hands to those who want to harm me and my wife."

"Okay. You choose."

"I want to leave obediently."

"Or step into the circle?"

After saying that, Ogata slowly lowered his body center of gravity.

Yesterday's defense went well!