I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

Because all of them had a flustered expression.

Tang Shen, who frowned slightly, yelled "Stop" to the sled dogs pulling the cart in front of him.

After driving the sled to a stop, Tang Shen asked loudly to the Heshang team that was getting closer to him:

"Hey! What happened?"

The leader of this peace merchant seems to be the middle-aged man who is driving the carriage.

The middle-aged man reined in the horse, stopped the carriage, frowned and looked Tang Shen up and down.

"I'm a pet trader. I'm catching animals here." Tang Shen compared the cages that had placed many animals behind his sleigh with his thumbs, and took the initiative to report his family name, "What happened? Why are you all in such a hurry?"

"Don't you know?" the middle-aged man asked.

"Know what?" Tang Shen asked back.

"It's a war!" The middle-aged man shouted, "The shogunate sent troops to the Ainu! If you don't want to be implicated by the flames of war, get out of here quickly!"

"War?!" Tang Shen's eyes widened.

Tang Shen's head froze for a moment because he suddenly received too impactful news.

When Tang Shen's head went down, the middle-aged man went on to say:

"I don't know the specifics. I only know that the shogunate sent a large army to advance into Ezo, and the target seems to be the Red Moon Fortress!"

"Red Moon Fortress?!" Tang Shen exclaimed again, "Is it the Red Moon Fortress with the iron cannon?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

"Why, why so suddenly?! Why did you suddenly send troops to the Red Moon Fortress?!" Tang Shen's voice broke because of excitement.

"How do I know." The middle-aged man frowned, "Didn't I just say everything? I don't know the details. Maybe the shogunate wants to expand its territory."

"All in all, don't catch any more animals, run away quickly! Let's talk about it after the current limelight!"

"Right now, the war merchants in the Ezo land are rushing to escape!"

After all, the middle-aged man stopped talking to God Tang, shook the reins in his hand, and drove the carriage forward. His attendants and guards surrounded the carriage and passed God Tang.

As for Tang Shen, he is sitting on the sleigh, with a dull expression on his face: "The shogunate actually sent troops to the Red Moon Fortress... This..."

God Tang seemed petrified, sitting motionless on the sleigh.

After a while, as if he had made up his mind, he gritted his teeth, got up and walked to the cage at the back of the sleigh, opened the cage, and released all the animals he had worked so hard to catch these days.

Not only that, after letting the animals go, Tang Shen also threw the cage directly from the sleigh.

The reason why he did this was to reduce the weight of the sled cart and reduce the burden on the sled dogs.

After doing this, Tang Shen returned to the driving seat.

"Go!" Tang Shen shouted to the sled dogs.

The direction of Yugami's advance was not to return to the south of Matsumae Domain.

Instead, he headed straight north without hesitation.

……

……

In the cave where Ogata and the others live

"Okay." After checking the bones of Matsudaira Sadanobu's right arm, Aizan nodded at Matsudaira Sadanobu, "The muscles of the right arm are a little strained, but it will be healed after a few days of rest. There is nothing wrong with other parts of the body. Big problem."

Judgment and emergency treatment of bruises are one of the necessary skills for a veteran hunter like Aizan.

"Thank you." Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled at Aizan.

"Come on, my lord." At this time, Ogata handed a piece of roasted jerky to Matsudaira Sadanobu, "Eat something."

"Thank you." Matsudaira Sadanobu took the jerky from Ogata.

After receiving the jerky, Matsudaira Sadanobu let out a long breath, and said quietly:

"It's really unpredictable."

"I thought the world was so big that I would never have the chance to see you again for the rest of my life. I never thought that after only a few months, I would meet you again in this icy land of Ezo, and be saved by you." .”

"Since it's a rare reunion, you can tell me: Why did you participate in half of the imperial test and military test at that time, and why did you stop participating in the follow-up?"

"And after the imperial trial is over, why don't you come to see me and tell me your answer?"

After finishing speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu added a sentence:

"I...but I've been waiting for you for a long time."

As soon as the voice of Matsudaira Sadanobu's words fell, the expressions of Ogata and Atachi became weird.

Ogata released Matsudaira Sadanobu's pigeon, of course A-Machi knew about it.

That's why Ah-machi showed such a surprised expression after seeing Ogata bring Matsudaira Sadanobu back to the cave just now.

Naturally, it was impossible for Ogata to just confess so honestly, saying that he was busy dealing with Shiranui at the time, so he forgot about it.

"My wife's uncle, who lives in his hometown, had some disputes with some villagers in the village, and was injured by some people in the village." Ogata said solemnly, "My wife's family is my family."

"The imperial trial is certainly important, but it is far less important than my family members."

"So after learning that my wife's uncle was injured in his hometown, I didn't care about any trial before the court, and hurriedly took my wife back to my wife's hometown to deal with her uncle's affairs."

"Because I was busy dealing with my uncle's affairs, I forgot the agreement with you after going back and forth."

After Ogata's words fell, A-Machi, who was sitting next to Ogata, resisted the urge to cast a shocked and astonished look at Ogata beside him.

Ogata's words just now are all true upon closer inspection...

Ah Ding's uncle Qingshu was indeed in their hometown: Shiranui, had disputes with "villagers" and was injured...

Afterwards, Ogata was indeed busy going back to their hometown with A-Machi to deal with these matters, and had no time to take care of the "Oqian Trial"...

After quietly listening to Ogata's explanation, Matsudaira Sadanobu asked:

"So that's the case... did you forget the agreement with me..." Matsudaira Sadanobu showed a self-deprecating smile, "Forget it... It's all a few months ago anyway. It's been so long, I didn’t even care about it long ago.”

"And you have saved my life now, and I owe you a great favor. So let the matter of you forgetting the agreement with me just let it go."

After that, Matsudaira Sadanobu picked up the jerky that Ogata handed him just now, and began to eat it gracefully.

Seeing that Matsudaira Sadanobu said that the past was wiped out, Ogata also breathed a sigh of relief.He was naturally happy to see Matsudaira Sadanobu put aside the previous grievances, because in this way, neither Matsudaira Sadanobu nor he would have to feel embarrassed about the past anymore.

"My lord." At this time, it was Ogata who asked, "Why are you in Ezo? This kind of place doesn't seem like a place where people of your status would come."

Matsudaira Sadanobu glanced at Aizan and Ahili who were not far away, and then said slowly while nibbling on the jerky:

"The reason why I came to Ezo is mainly for investigation."

"You should have heard of it more or less, right? The country of Lucia has not been peaceful in recent years, and has made a lot of moves in Ezo."

"In order to guard against the country of Lucia, I decided to strengthen the construction of the north with the Matsumae domain as the core."

"I came to Ezo this time to inspect the current situation of Matsumae Domain and Ezo with my own eyes. It is to prepare for the future construction of the north."

"My goal is to unite all the Ainu people who are willing to get close to us and people, and form a line of defense that can prevent the Lucia people from going south."

"In the past few days, I took people out to investigate. As a result, this afternoon, I accidentally encountered a snowstorm and an attack by wolves."

"During the fierce battle with the wolves, the person who carried the sedan chair for me accidentally stepped on the eaves of the snow, and both the person who carried the sedan chair and I fell off the snow slope."

"As for the next thing, you should also know. I fell down the slope and survived by luck. I was chased by a certain wolf, and then I was rescued by you."

Matsudaira Sadanobu briefly told Ogata and others why he was here.

Acho had never seen Matsudaira Sadanobu before, and this was the first time she saw Matsudaira Sadanobu's true face.Because of the lack of familiarity with Matsudaira Sadanobu, Machi has not taken the initiative to talk to Matsudaira Sadanobu since just now.

And now, after hearing what Matsudaira Sadanobu said just now, A-Machi couldn't help but say:

"You are so courageous... If it were someone else who was less courageous, he would definitely not dare to go to such a dangerous place..."

"It's my habit. I like to inspect it myself." Sadanobu Matsudaira sneered, "This can be regarded as a habit of being tortured by the people below."

"The temple can be built with only 50 taels of gold, but the people below dare to ask me for 500 taels of gold."

"Northern Construction is a big matter, and the money to be spent is measured in tens of thousands. If I completely ignore this matter, God knows how much corruption will arise."

"So I have to take a look at the current situation of the Matsumae Domain and Ezo. As for how long the construction of the North will take and how much it will cost, I can effectively prevent the construction of the North after the official start of construction in the future. , Someone deceived me."

"But I seem to have underestimated the dangers of Ezodi."

Sadanobu Matsudaira let out a self-deprecating laugh again.

"If Mashima-kun doesn't show up in time today, the general will have to choose a new and old middle school."

After finishing speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu just ate the jerky that Ogata gave him just now.

"Mashima-kun, what about you? Why are you here?"

"I'm here to practice martial arts." Ogata, who couldn't confess his true purpose of coming to Ezo, gave this very useful reason without hesitation.

Ogata's words are not actually lying. On the way to find Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen, Ogata's skills have been continuously enhanced, and he is also practicing martial arts.

"Warrior training?" Sadanobu Matsudaira raised his eyebrows, and glanced at Atachi who was sitting next to Ogata, "Are you taking your wife to practice martial arts?"

"There should be no rule in the world that you can't take your wife to practice martial arts." Ogata said jokingly.

"Are you going to practice martial arts with your wife..." Matsudaira Sadanobu murmured.

For some reason, a smile slowly appeared on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face.

The color of memories gradually emerged in his pupils.

After a while, Matsudaira Sadanobu said slowly:

"Excellent swordsmanship, training as a warrior with my wife... Mashima-kun. Looking carefully now, you are the person I dreamed of becoming when I was young."

"Looking at you reminds me of myself when I was young."

"Huh?" Ogata raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

Matsudaira Sadanobu untied the tiger Tetsu hanging from his left waist, and held it with both hands.

He looked at Huche in his palm with reminiscing eyes.

"When I was young... I also dreamed of becoming a swordsman with superb swordsmanship like you are now, and then wandering around and practicing with a beautiful wife. Then, seeing injustice on the road, I drew my sword to help..."

"In my ignorant and ignorant youth, in order to achieve my ideal, I foolishly practiced swordsmanship."

"When I grew up a little bit, I realized that my ideal was too far away from me."

"My background has already determined that it is impossible for me to practice any martial arts in the future."

"Thus, I, who recognized the reality, stopped practicing swordsmanship, and the dream of my youth was gradually forgotten."

"The person who dreamed of becoming a great swordsman who can roam around is now a middle-aged man who doesn't even touch a sword anymore, and whose stomach grows bigger and bigger..."

"If I were to see my current appearance when I was young, I really don't know what he would think..."

After that, Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled bitterly, and hung the tiger in his palm back to his left waist.

"Looking back now, the reason why I like to go and inspect the places in person is probably influenced by my dream when I was young..."

……

……

"Drink...drink...drink..." Grandfather Jiang looked around, "Escape here...should be enough..."

In order to stay away from Ogata, grandfather Jiang ran away desperately.

Once a person encounters a crisis moment, under the influence of adrenaline, psychological hints and other factors, he will often burst out with extremely strong strength.

Normally, grandfather Jiang would never have been able to run at such a speed for so long.

But now, because he was eager to stay away from Ogata Yishi, the potential deep in his grandfather Jiang's body was stimulated in one breath. He ran for nearly half an hour without stopping until his legs became weak and he could no longer run. until.

Grandfather Jiang leaned against a big tree, and while recovering his strength, he observed the surroundings except for trees.I am in a forest.

After observing the environment he was in now, grandfather Jiang looked up at the sky above his head again.

A large amount of wind and snow fell, and the dark clouds that raged for nearly half an afternoon had cleared away, revealing the sky.At this time, the sky has turned gray, and soon, the black veil will cover the sky.

Judging from the current weather, tonight must be a moonless night.

Let's spend the night on the tree tonight...

Grandfather Jiang no longer had the energy to look for a new place to live.