Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 277: Seven Ports of Beijing
Ogata, Hasegawa and others listened quietly to Granny Gao's chatter all night long.
It was not until late at night and when Granny Gao was exhausted that the chat, which was mainly Granny Gao's talk, finally ended.
After returning to his room, Ogata did not go to bed directly .
Instead, he sat by the window holding Da Shitian.
Like waiting for someone.
And the person Ogata was waiting for didn't make him wait too long.
After a while, a magnetic middle-aged male voice came from outside the door:
"Ogata Ittosai. It's me—Hasegawa Heizo."
"Just pull the door open and come in."
Wow.
The paper sliding door was opened.
Hasegawa Heizo's not-so-tall figure appeared within Ogata's field of vision.
Hasegawa came alone.
Not only did he come alone, but he also took off the katana from his waist and held it in his right hand.
After entering Ogata's room, Hasegawa walked up to Ogata without any timidity and knelt in front of him as if he had entered his own home.
"...Ogata Ittosai." Hasegawa said softly, "You seem to have guessed that I would come to see you secretly."
"Of course." Ogata shrugged. "Seeing that I, who was supposed to have died on Butterfly Island, appeared before your eyes again, it's impossible for you not to come and see me, right?"
"I didn't expect you to be able to escape from Butterfly Island..."
"Don't even mention the small Butterfly Island." Ogata chuckled a few times, "Even if I'm trapped in the underworld, I will do everything I can to fight my way out."
Having said this, Ogata tightened his grip on the Daishikuten in his arms a little.
"Let's stop here for the small talk, Lord Hasegawa."
"Fight or make peace—you choose."
"If you want to make peace, we two groups will pretend that we have never met each other - I warmly welcome it."
"If you want to fight, take this thief back to jail - I'm ready to fight you anytime."
"But if you want to fight, let's change the venue first."
"It's not easy for Granny Gao to run this hotel alone."
"I don't want to kill anyone here and affect Granny Gao's business."
Someone died - a big taboo in running a hotel.
If a war breaks out here, not to mention the damage that would happen, the bodies that would be lost here alone would seriously affect the reputation and business of Granny Gao's hotel.
After saying this, Ogata stopped talking and waited quietly for Hasegawa to give his answer.
Hasegawa looked Ogata up and down several times with complicated eyes.
Then——
"…Let's just pretend that no one has ever met anyone."
Hasegawa sighed softly.
"If I go to war with you, I won or lost, let's not talk about it for now."
"Even if we win, I'm afraid there won't be many people left standing."
"I have an important mission to carry out in Kyoto. I cannot let the mission that should be completed be affected just to capture you."
" So it's not because you respect me that you decided not to go to war with me?" Ogata asked in a half-joking tone.
"I do respect you." Hasegawa said softly, "But I am an official after all, and you are a thief. Keep public and private affairs separate - this is the principle I have always adhered to."
Hasegawa grabbed the katana that was placed on the tatami next to him.
Just as Hasegawa was about to leave, he suddenly stopped as if he remembered something.
"Oh, right. Ogata Ittosai." Hasegawa turned around again. "Just now you suddenly stuffed some grandma cake into my mouth and told me to 'stop talking'. I always felt that you had something else to say - what was your intention behind these words?"
"…Lord Hasegawa, do you know why Granny Gao suddenly asked you if she could investigate the Tianming Fire?"
"have no idea."
Ogata explained to Hasegawa in a concise manner how Granny Gao's once happy family was destroyed by the fire at dawn.
After listening to Ogata's explanation, Hasegawa was shocked.
"So that's how it is..."
After listening to Ogata's explanation, Hasegawa immediately understood why Granny Gao had asked him whether he came to Kyoto to investigate the Tenmei Fire...
"…Thank you for letting me know."
After leaving these words, Hasegawa left Ogata's room without further delay.
After seeing Hasegawa leave, Ogata also closed his eyes, leaned against the wall behind him, hugged Daishakuten in his arms, and began to sleep.
Compared to sleeping lying down, Ogata is now more accustomed to sleeping sitting up.
If he slept while sitting, he would be able to respond quickly if something happened - such as an assassin attacking.
Although he had closed his eyes and fallen asleep, Ogata was actually in a state of half-asleep and half-awake - this was also a skill that Ogata had unknowingly developed.
You can fall asleep in this half-asleep, half-awake state and immediately notice and wake up if there is any movement around you.
Although the surrounding rooms were occupied by fire thieves and their officers, led by Hasegawa Heizo, Ogata still slept soundly without any psychological pressure.
Hasegawa also kept his word - pretending not to see Ogata and spending the night peacefully with Ogata.
Hasegawa, who still had a mission to complete, didn't want to lose his valuable subordinates because of Ogata.
And Ogata didn't want to cause trouble in his life and bring trouble to Granny Gao.
Ogata, Hasegawa and others spent a peaceful night like this.
Just as the sky was getting light, Xu Fang heard noisy footsteps outside the door.
The noisy footsteps slowly moved from outside the door to outside the hotel's main entrance.
Ogata, awakened by the noisy footsteps, turned his head and looked out the window.
Hasegawa and his companions had already mounted their horses and were ready to go in front of the door of Granny Gao's inn.
After watching Hasegawa and his group leave, Ogata retracted his gaze, tightened the katana in his arms, and went to take a nap - Hasegawa and his group had different travel times from him, so they could avoid each other, which was exactly what Ogata wanted.
…
…
"Sir! Come! This is for you!"
After sleeping for half an hour longer, Ogata stretched himself, slowly stood up, and prepared to leave Granny Gao's inn and head towards Kyoto.
Just when Ogata was about to leave, Granny Gao suddenly called him and handed him a few grandma cakes.
"This is?"
"This is for you!" Grandma Gao smiled.
"Ah, this..." Just as Ogata was about to politely refuse, Granny Gao spoke up first:
"Just accept it! It's just a few cakes! It's not worth much!"
Having said this, Grandma Gao paused.
Then he slowly revealed a warm smile.
"Thank you for chatting with me for so long last night with Lord Hasegawa and the others. Mother-in-law, I haven't had such a long chat with you in a long time."
"...You're welcome. Then - I'll take this grandma cake."
…
…
On the distant horizon, you can vaguely see the shadows of a large number of buildings.
Standing in the distance, Ogata looked at Kyoto which was already within reach.
After learning that Xinri Village was very close to Kyoto and it would only take less than half an hour to get there on foot, Osamu temporarily left his horse to Granny Gao's care.
Riding a horse into the capital is not only too ostentatious, but also a problem of how to place the horse in Kyoto.
Therefore, it is more convenient not to ride a horse when entering Beijing.
Granny Gao accepted Ogata's request to take care of the horse without hesitation.
Granny Gao, who has been living alone for a long time, not only has no objection to this kind of animal care job, she even welcomes it.
Ogata is now racking his brains.
I racked my brains to think of a way to enter Kyoto.
Ogata has not forgotten his identity - a nationally wanted criminal.
Although he was arrested once by Hasegawa and his gang, it is unknown whether the warrant for his arrest has been revoked following his imprisonment several months ago.
In this era of backward information flow, it is not uncommon for the wanted warrant to still be posted even though the criminal has been arrested for a long time.
Ogata didn't want to encounter too many unexpected problems outside Kyoto before even entering Kyoto.
Just as Ogata was thinking about whether there was a safer and more secure way to enter the capital——
“Hehehe…”
There was a low laugh behind me.
"Master Samurai, you seem to be in some trouble. I may be able to help you solve the trouble you are in now."
Ogata turned his head and looked behind him.
It was a short old man who was grinning at him.
Ogata couldn't help but look at the old man's face a few more times.
Because this old man was missing one of his front teeth - it was really hard not to look at him a few more times.
"Oh? Do you know what my trouble is now?"
"I don't know how to enter Kyoto - am I right? I have met countless people like you, so I can tell at a glance that you are also the kind of person who can't swagger into Kyoto for various reasons."
What this old man said is actually no different from saying, "You are a wanted criminal."
"You know I'm the kind of person who can't enter Kyoto openly, yet you dare to come and talk to me." Ogata said in a joking tone, "Old man, you are very courageous."
"Of course. For businessmen like us who travel all over the country, if we are not brave enough, we will not succeed."
"I don't usually look at wanted posters, so I don't know who you are - but this matter is not important."
"Whether you are a law-abiding commoner or someone like you who is not comfortable showing up in public, the best way to enter Kyoto is to go through the 'Seven Gates of Kyoto'."
"'The Seven Greats of Kyoto'?" Ogata, who knew nothing about Kyoto, frowned.
"Two hundred years ago, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his ambition to unify Japan, he built a fortification called 'Godoi' in Kyoto."
The old man with a missing front tooth spoke to Ogata.
"You can think of the so-called 'Godoi' as a city wall."
"The 'Godoi' stretches from Omiya in the north to Toji Temple in the south, from the Kamogawa River in the east to Kitano Shrine in the west, and surrounds almost all the main streets in Kyoto."
The old man knows the history of Kyoto like the back of his hand.
"With the establishment of 'Godoi', Kyoto was divided into 'Rakuchu' and 'Rakugai'."
“Although it is divided into two parts, almost all the best parts of Kyoto are in Luozhong.”
"So it can be said that Kakuchu is Kyoto, and Kyoto is Kakuchu."
"And what connects Luozhong and Luowai is the 'Seven Gates of the Capital'."
"The current 'Seven Gates of Kyoto' are Nagasaka Gate, Kurama Gate, Ohara Gate, Awata Gate, Fushimi Gate, Toriya Gate, and Tamba Gate."
"But in fact, there are more than seven checkpoints into Kyoto now."
"The checkpoints into Kyoto are not always the same. In addition to the construction of the Imperial Palace, new checkpoints will be set up in the name of building the Imperial Palace and the Jingu Shrine."
“Sometimes the number of checkpoints can be as high as 10 or more.”
"As far as I know, there are currently nine checkpoints open."
"But when people go in and out of Luozhong and Luowai, they mainly go through the seven entrances I just mentioned."
"If you want to enter Kyoto, there is no other way except to go through these checkpoints."
"Besides going through these checkpoints, is there no other way to enter Luozhong?" Ogata asked, "For example, by water."
The old man shook his head.
"If we don't go through these checkpoints, the best way to enter Luozhong is probably to force our way over the 'Godoi'."
"But 'Godoi' is not that easy to translate."
"'Godoi' is a defensive fortification built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at great expense."
"In the past two hundred years, the shogunate has never slacked off in the maintenance and repair of the Mitsuchi."
"Even those highly skilled ninjas can't flip over the earth gate."
"If you want to enter Kyoto, the safest way is to go through the 'Seven Gates of Kyoto'."
Having said this, the old man grinned a little wider.
The smile on his face became more intriguing as his mouth opened wider.
"I still have a very good deal to make with you. This deal can help you pass through the 'Seven Gates of the Capital' and enter Luozhong in one go. What do you think?"
"…Tell me about your business."
…
…
The Gion Festival is the busiest time of the year in Kyoto.
It's not just ordinary people who love the Gion Festival.
Those businessmen love the Gion Festival very much.
Before daybreak, a large number of traveling merchants from all over the country had gathered outside Kyoto, counting the goods they had brought and calling out to their companions, with shouts of various accents rising one after another.
These businessmen from all over the country have been preparing for this year's Kyoto Gion Festival dozens of days or even months ago.
The annual Gion Festival is a time for Kyoto's common people to revel. They spend lavishly on money that they are reluctant to spend at other times, so it is impossible for any businessman to miss out on this great opportunity to make money.
As one of the largest and most important cities in Japan, Kyoto naturally does not allow anyone to enter and leave at will.
Each of the “Seven Gates of the Capital” was staffed with a large number of officials.
Every caravan will be subject to strict inspection when entering Kyoto.
The officials held a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, and checked all the merchants who planned to enter the capital one by one. While checking every traveling merchant who planned to enter Luozhong, they also collected tolls.
This was also the main reason for setting up the "Seven Ports of Kyoto" - to collect "passage fees" and fill the shogunate's treasury.
