I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

The speed was far beyond the imagination of Ogata and A-cho.

It was the first time for both of them to see dog sledding.

Before, the two of them had only heard of dog sledding as a special means of transportation in Ezo.

Dog sleds were originally a means of transportation for the Ezo people in the Ezo region.

Many Ezo who can afford dogs use them for transportation.

During the years of confrontation between the Matsumae clan and the Ezo, they also enjoyed cultural exchanges invisibly.

Dog sleds, a means of transportation, were learned by the people of the Matsumae Domain.

For some reason in Ezo, animals generally grow very large, and dogs are no exception.

The dogs in Ezo are so big and strong that a few dogs can pull a sled with a person on it.

It was the first time for Ogata to see a dog sled, and for the first time to ride a dog sled.

The two of them who didn't expect that the dog could pull the sled so fast had expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Hahaha." Zhong Yuan smiled, "This speed is nothing. Apart from dogs, cats can actually pull sleds, and the speed is not slow."

"Cats can also pull sleds?" Ah-Ming exclaimed.

"Yeah." Zhong Yuan nodded, "But I've only heard about it, I've never actually seen it."

"I heard that cats in Lucia are big and strong, so many local people use cats to pull sleds."

The Matsumae clan was originally a small clan with only 1 stones in total.

Nakahara said: By around 4 pm, you will be able to reach the northern border of the Matsumae Domain.

Central Plains never asked Ogata why they were going to the northern border of the Matsumae Domain.Just concentrate on driving the sled.

He holds what looks like a joystick in each of his left and right hands.

Ogata asked Nakahara what the two joysticks were for. Nakahara said that the two joysticks were used to adjust the direction, and he used these two joysticks to control the direction of the sled.

The surroundings are nothing but snow, and Ogata is already tired of seeing this kind of scenery from Ou's side.

After the sled drove to a relatively flat place, in order to pass the time, Ogata asked Nakahara in front of him a question that he had been curious about ever since he saw him.

"Mr. Zhongyuan, are you a naturalized Ezo?"

After finishing speaking, Ogata glanced at Nakahara's characteristic profile.

"Hahaha." Zhongyuan laughed a few times, "No, I'm not a naturalized Ezo."

"It's just that my ancestors were naturalized Ezo."

"My ancestors lived in Matsumae Castle during the Genroku period and became naturalized people."

"My grandma is Nawato, so I have both Wato's blood and Ezo's blood in my body."

"Genroku years?" A-Ting said, "Isn't that 100 years ago?"

"Yes." Nakahara nodded, "So I'm not a naturalized Ezo, I'm a native of Matsumae."

"I can't even speak a word of Ezo now, I can only speak Japanese."

"It's more like being with people than being with people."

"only"

Speaking of this, a bit of bitterness appeared on Zhong Yuan's face.

"Even though I was born and raised in Matsumae Castle, many people in the city still regard me as Ezo"

"Kazuto treat me like an Eizu. The Eizu in the city treat me like a Kazuto"

"Fortunately, the shop owner does not discriminate against Ezo, and is willing to hire me as a shop assistant."

"Otherwise, if you are discriminated against by both Kazuto and Eizo, then you really don't know how to live."

After all, Nakahara paused for a moment, then hurriedly turned around and apologized to Ogata and A-Machi.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I seem to have said some heavy topics that are not very interesting."

"Sit tight! We're on flat ground, I'm going to speed up the dog!"

After all, Zhongyuan yelled at the four big dogs in front of him, and then the four big dogs accelerated again, pulling Ogata and others straight forward.

at the same time

Ezodi, a certain river

rustling

The sound of sifting rice with a rice sieve resounded one after another on the river.

Eleven men of various ages stood on the bank of the river, holding something like a rice sieve, and constantly shaking the "rice sieve" in their hands by the river water, as if they were sifting something.

Although their actions resembled sifting rice, and the object in their hands also resembled a rice sieve, they were not actually sifting rice, and the object in their hands was not a rice sieve.

Their "rice sieve" is filled with the soil that has just been salvaged from the river.

The utensils in their hands are specially used to sieve gold dust.

They are panning for gold.

At this time, one of the 11 people, an extremely strong man, shouted loudly to the other 10 people:

"Hey! Take a break! Take a break!"

As the strong man's voice fell, the other 10 people straightened up very obediently, put down the utensils used for panning for gold in their hands, and then walked towards the camp they built not far from the shore.

These 11 people are a group of gold digging groups.

At a time when gold panning has been banned by the shogunate and hated by Eizo, panning for gold has become a life-threatening activity with the head pinned to the waist.

Under such heavy pressure, in order to survive, the gold diggers also huddled together.

After the 11 gold diggers returned to their camp, they sat around a large rock, chatting casually while recovering their strength.

"I got nothing again today." A very short man sighed.

"There doesn't seem to be any gold in this river." The person sitting next to him echoed.

"Look for another two days on this river." The strong man who let everyone rest just now said, "If you still get nothing in two days, then look for another river."

This strong man can be regarded as their leader. Not only is he superb in swordsmanship, but he also has a wealth of experience in gold panning.

In such a wilderness forest, their only entertainment is to chat together.

After chatting briefly with the people around him, the leader suddenly turned his head and said loudly to a warrior who was as thin as a monkey sitting not far away:

"Hey, Grandfather Jiang! Tell us about your time as a bounty hunter."

The thin warrior whose name was suddenly called was stunned, then smiled wryly:

"Boss, I have basically finished all the stories I can tell."

Grandfather Jiang may seem like a nickname, but it is actually a serious surname, but it is relatively rare.

Grandfather Emoto is a bounty hunter who makes a living from rewards.

But his skills are mediocre, he is said to be a bounty hunter, but in fact he has never caught or killed a wanted criminal.

Having lived enough of a poor life, he decided to go all out to seek gold here in Ezo and get rich.

Determined to do everything he could, he snatched some money from a certain rice shop.

Then, through various means, they smuggled to Ezo.

Not long after entering Ezo Land, I saw this group of gold diggers.

At the invitation of this group of gold diggers, Grandfather Jiang joined them and became a member of them, panning for gold with them.

It was about three months ago that grandfather Jiang joined them.

For more than three months, grandfather Jiang followed them around in Ezo, panning for gold.

While guarding against the shogunate, also guard against Ezo.

Ezo basically hate gold diggers, because they think that gold diggers have destroyed their peaceful life, and also destroyed forests and rivers.

There are far more gold diggers who died at the hands of Ezo than those who died under the sanctions of the shogunate.

During the rest, in order to pass the time and relax, during these more than three months, grandfather Jiang was often asked to tell interesting stories he encountered when he was a bounty hunter.

After telling the story for more than three months, all the interesting things worth telling in Grandfather Jiang's belly were basically told.

Grandfather Jiang's complaint of "I almost have no story to tell" just fell.An older warrior sitting next to grandfather Jiang laughed and said:

"It's okay! You can tell any story you think of. You have a good eloquence, and I also like listening to your stories."

As soon as the warrior's voice fell, the rest of the people responded one after another.

The reason why their leader suddenly asked grandfather Jiang to tell a story was not without reason.

Grandfather Jiang is very eloquent and tells stories vividly and interestingly.

Moreover, although grandfather Jiang had never caught a wanted criminal before, he had encountered many eye-opening things that everyone loved to hear.

Since grandfather Jiang joined the gang, listening to grandfather Jiang telling stories has become one of the important pastimes for everyone.

Bathed in the expectant eyes cast by everyone, grandfather Jiang scratched his hair with a wry smile, and after thinking for a while, he said:

"Then let me tell you the story of my encounter with Ogata Ittosai in Kyoto."

"Oh?" The leader raised his eyebrows.

Everyone present cast interested glances at grandfather Jiang.

"Have you encountered Ogata Yidaosai?" The leader exclaimed in a low voice.

"Yeah." Grandfather Jiang nodded, still maintaining a wry smile, "I happened to be in Kyoto last summer."

"Then it just happened to happen that Ogata Isaitosai burned down Nijo Castle"

"When I learned that Ogata Isai had invaded Nijo Castle, many ronin flocked to Nijo Castle, planning to take Ogata Isai's head and get rich overnight with Ogata Isai's head."

"That's what I thought at the time."

"Although Ogata Yidao Zhai is strong, under the siege of so many people, he might be able to reveal some flaws, and then I happened to behead him."

"Under such luck, I rushed into the castle tower of Nijo Castle with others."

"When I first went to the castle tower of Nijo Castle, I regretted it."

"Ogata Yidao Zhai is not human at all."

"Besieged by so many people, but still standing still."

"All those who dare to step forward, come and kill one, come and kill another."

"No one can get close, no one can fight."

"When I was the closest to Ogata Yidao Zhai, it was only 5 steps away."

"I happened to witness how Ogata Isai, who was drenched in blood, cut a ronin with a long spear in half with a single knife"

Speaking of this, grandfather Jiang trembled violently as if recalling something terrible.

"Ogata Ichisai's posture when he slashed people, and his eyes like a ghost, I still remember it until now."

"I still clearly remember the terrifying eyes of Ogata Ichitosai, I can remember it forever"

"I'm not afraid that you will laugh at me."

"I almost peed in fear."

"Then just ran away."

"At that time, I ran away desperately before Ogata Yidao Zhai killed me."

"At that time, many people, like me, realized that taking Ogata Isai Tosai's head was an extremely stupid thing, so they also fled desperately."

"After escaping from Nijo Castle by chance, I deeply realized how poor my skills are. Compared with that kind of monster, it is nothing worth mentioning."

"So it didn't take long before I left Kyoto and came to the Ezo land to pan for gold."

The crowd headed by the leader listened with gusto.

After grandfather Jiang finished speaking, the leader grinned and said:

"You kid actually encountered Ogata Yidaosai! Why didn't you say this earlier?"