I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

"Thank you." Ogata bowed again to thank the old man, "You have helped us a lot."

The old man smiled and waved his hands: "It's okay, this little busyness is nothing to worry about."

After all, the old man suddenly put on a more solemn face.

"Guest officers, although I don't know why you are going to Ezo, but if it's not because of something very important, then I advise you that it's better not to go to Ezo right now."

"In recent years, the Ezos have not been very peaceful."

"The Azou just broke out in a riot in Kunasi Limenasi last year."

"At the moment when the atmosphere between the two races is so tense, I advise you not to go to Ezo now, but try not to go to Ezo."

As soon as the old man's words fell, Xu Fangfang smiled slightly:

"Thank you for your reminder. But we happen to have very urgent matters, so we must go to Ezodi now."

"Since you really have something important to do, then I won't say anything more." The old man sighed softly, "Let me remind you again."

"After arriving in Ezodi, you should pay attention to the Red Moon Fortress."

"Red Moon Fortress?" A-Ming looked confused, "What is this?"

"That is a place that must not be approached." The old man smiled wryly. "I don't remember when, a group of Lucians came to Ezo. Then they built a small fortress with wood."

"However, not long after the fortress was built, these Lucians left suddenly without knowing why, leaving only the already built fortress behind."

"Not long after the Lucians left, a group of Ezo lived in the fortress left by the Lucians."

"For some reason, this group of Eizo who has occupied the fortress has a lot of iron cannons."

"Their cannons all have a red crescent engraved on them."

The old man compared his fingers and drew a crescent shape in the air with his fingers.

"So gradually, we used to call this fortress the Red Moon Fortress."

Let me show you the profile picture that the author found.

This is "Five Streets".Ogata and Atachi are now on the streets of Oshu

This is the seat of the Matsumae Domain, Japan's northernmost domain in the Edo period

This is the location of Deyu and Mutsu. The two areas are collectively referred to as the "Ouyu area", or the "Northeast area".

Chapter 444 Ogata is going to be written about 【8600 words】

"The Ezo in Red Moon Fortress are extremely xenophobic." The old man continued, "I hate dealing with Hisam."

"Hisam?" Tomachi asked.

"It's the Ainu language." The old man said, "The Ainu collectively refer to all foreigners except themselves as Hisam."

"You actually know Ainu language?" Ogata slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I only know a few simple vocabulary." The old man shrugged, "I learned it from a group of businessmen who stayed with us and did business with Ezo."

"All in all, the two guest officers should be careful of the Red Moon Fortress when they arrive at Ezo Land. The Ezos there don't welcome foreigners very much."

"It is said that the shogunate has recruited the ezos of the Red Moon Fortress many times, but the ezos of the Red Moon Fortress have always ignored the shogunate's proposal to surrender and have maintained an independent state."

"Although I heard that the Eizu in Red Moon Fortress are not xenophobic to the point of killing foreigners when they see them, they still don't get close if they can."

"I see." Ogata nodded gently, "Thank you for your reminder. We will pay attention to it later."

"I don't understand one thing very well." At this moment, A-Machi suddenly interjected, "You just said that the Ezos in that place have a lot of iron guns, right?"

"This is very strange. As far as I know, aren't the Eminos still a bunch of uncivilized barbarians? Where do they have the ability to make iron cannons?"

"I don't know about that." The old man shook his head with a wry smile, "Maybe someone sold it to them."

After finishing speaking, the old man raised his hand to say "please" to Ogata and A-Machi.

"Sorry, I seem to have said too much and interrupted your meal."

"Two, please have dinner."

All the questions I want to ask have been asked.

Ogata happened to be hungry right now.

I was only busy asking questions to the old man just now, so I didn't have time to take a good look at the "Mutsu specialties" that the old man said.

After the old man made a "please" gesture to them, Ogata took advantage of the situation and looked down.

The food on his and Ah-cho's tables are the same.

A bowl, a larger saucer, and a smaller saucer.

That bowl was full of noodles.

The larger plate contains 4 fish patties pinched into leaf shapes.

As for the smaller dish, there are 3 green mochi.

"This noodle is called Wanzi Soba." The old man Asaogata and Atachi introduced, "The fish cake is called Bamboo Leaf Fish Ban, and the green mochi is called Edamame Mochi."

This is the first time Ogata has come into contact with the local food in the Ou area. Looking at the three kinds of food in front of him that he has never eaten before, he can't help feeling curious and looking forward to it.

After clasping his hands together and muttering "I'm going", Ogata picked up the chopsticks and then the bowl of noodles.

Pick up a handful of noodles with chopsticks and stuff them into the mouth, and then bite the noodles with your teeth.

The name of this food already reveals what kind of noodles it is. It is a very popular food in this era: soba noodles.

But the bowl of soba noodles in his hand at this time has a different taste from any soba noodles that Ogata has eaten before.

The bowl of "Wanzi Soba" in my hand has an incredible texture and is very springy.The soft and sticky noodles have just the right amount of saltiness, which suits Ogata's appetite.

After taking a bite of the noodles, Ogata picked up the "bamboo leaf fish board".

As soon as I passed it to my nose, I smelled a faint fishy smell.

Just lightly biting off a piece, the aroma of the fish spread in the mouth, and the unpleasant fishy smell has never appeared.

At this time, Ah-machi was tasting the "Bamboo Leaf Fish Bowl".

A-Ming seemed to like this food very much, as soon as she put the "bamboo leaf fish plate" into her mouth, her eyes immediately shone with joy.

"Is this fish cake made of cod?" Tomachi asked.

"That's right. It's the cod." The old man responded immediately, "First shape the cod meat into the shape of bamboo leaves, then bake it on the fire, and add wine, sugar and other seasonings for seasoning."

"Guest officer, your tongue is so powerful, you can actually taste it as cod meat."

"Yeah. Because I like to eat fish better." Because his mouth was full of this "bamboo leaf fish plate", A-Machi's speech was a bit vague.

Ogata is tasting the "edamame mochi" at this time.

This "edamame mochi" can tell what kind of dish it is just by looking at its name: mochi stuffed with edamame.

It's sweet, which suits Ogata's taste.

"Then I'll take my leave first." The old man bowed to Ogata and A-Ming, "Please take your time, two guests."

After the old man left, the only sounds left in the room were the chewing sounds of Ogata and A-Machi, as well as the sounds of chopsticks colliding with dishes.

The only background music is the whistling wind and snow outside the window.

"It seems that the two of us are really the only ones staying here tonight," Ah-cho muttered.

After entering this "Xintianjuku", Ogata and A-machi have been paying attention to their surroundings.

It was found that this Xintian hotel was really just like the old man said before, there were only the two of them as guests tonight.

From entering Xintianjuku to the present, Ogata and A-machi only saw some staff of the inn headed by the old man, and did not see other guests except them.

"Isn't it natural that there are few customers?" Ogata sighed softly, "The security in this area is so bad that travelers and small-scale caravans must stay away from this place."

Prior to this, Ogata had heard a lot of various information related to the Ou area.

For example: Although Ou has a large area, more than [-]% of its land is mountainous, and there are not many places suitable for people to live in.

Therefore, although the territory of the Ou area is large, the population is not large.

Another example: the Ou area is in chaos now.There are gangsters everywhere.

After stepping into the Mutsu area a few days ago, Ogata really felt how chaotic this land is.

There are endless bandits who seek money and kill.

These gangsters who live by robbery are basically a group of gamblers betting that the person they are robbing is a soft persimmon.

As long as you can grab a soft persimmon that is both rich and easy to bully, you will make a lot of money.

On the other hand, if you are lucky enough to snatch a tough stubble, you might be able to escape. If you are unlucky, you can only go to see King Yama.

Those gangsters who came to trouble Ogata these days belonged to the kind whose luck ran out.

In fact, you can't blame them for dying.

After all, in this era when martial arts are slack and most warriors are either indulging in pleasure or struggling to survive, how many warriors can have the strength to outnumber one enemy?

Ogata was alone, and with such a beautiful woman by his side, it was very difficult to prevent those gangsters from thinking evil.

Since entering the Mutsu area until now, Ogata has solved several groups of robbers of different sizes.

Get rid of a group of gangsters, and before you go far, a new group of gangsters will pop up.

Ogata didn't know much about the Ou area, so he didn't know why there were so many bandits.

In a place full of bandits, how could travelers and small-scale caravans dare to come?

I'm afraid that even the locals are afraid to go far.

Because this was the first hot meal the two had eaten in the past two days, both Ogata and A-machi cherished this meal tonight.

With a leisurely mood, I ate all the delicacies tonight.

In such an ancient society, nights were always boring.

There is no TV to watch, no video to play.

In those big cities and towns, if you have money, you can still find some things to pass the time.

But in this inn, surrounded by nothing but snow, there was nothing to do but go to bed immediately.

Ogata and A-machi started eating dinner around 18:18.Then finish dinner around 30:[-].

After a brief rest, Xu conveniently pulled out a quilt and laid it out at about 19:[-].

Ogata and Machi got into the bed at 19:[-] in the evening.

It wasn't until close to 23 o'clock that both fell asleep.

There is no need to sleep outdoors tonight, so both Ogata and A-machi slept soundly.

I didn't dream, and I didn't wake up in the middle of the night. I didn't wake up until 7 o'clock the next day.

After waking up, washed up briefly, and ate some dry food for breakfast, Ogata and A-machi prepared to leave this Shinta-juku and continue their journey.

Their goal today is to reach the "Jinye Town" that the old man told them about last night before this evening.

When Ogata and A-machi were getting ready to leave in front of the gate of Shintajuku, the old man came to see Ogata and the others off in person.

"Guest officers, I wish you all the best of luck." The old man smiled at Ogata and Ah-ding.

"Yeah." Ogata also smiled, "I would like to borrow your good words."

"In addition to wishing you a smooth journey, I also wish you peace."

Speaking of this, the old man suddenly let out a long sigh.

"Recently, Mutsu's side has become less and less peaceful, and there are more and more rogues committing crimes."

"As the two guest officers saw, we were the only ones staying here last night, the two of you."

A self-deprecating wry smile appeared on the old man's face.

"We have a notorious reputation here, and not many travelers are willing to pass by us."

"Even those warriors who practice martial arts, they also respect us at a respectful distance."

"Right now in the entire Ou area, the only places that are safe enough are the towns and the post houses built by the shogunate like this Nitta-juku."

The old man stretched out his finger and pointed to his feet.

"Those thieves who make a living by committing crimes don't have the guts to approach the city town or the inn built by the shogunate."