The drums beat on all sides and the snow surged up, the three armies shouted loudly and the Yin Mountains shook.
——Cen Shen (Tang Dynasty)
…
…
Aisuma also stood up like Ogata, Atachi and the others, and stared at the dozen or so people walking towards them with a serious face.
As for Puchina, who was scared half to death by himself, he also noticed these people who obviously had no good intentions.
But he did not stand up directly like Asuma, he just showed an ugly face and continued to sit there.
Also not standing up was Aizuma’s younger brother, Otunpuyi.
"...Egkasi, what are you doing here? (Ainu)" Aisuma asked the short young man who was walking at the front of the group of ten or so people.
"Aisuma, don't be so nervous." The short young man whom Aisuma called Egkasi said in a leisurely tone, "We are not here to cause trouble."
"We just heard that the two Japanese who came to our Heye Zhe today are now living here, so we came here to give them a friendly reminder."
"If you happen to be here, Aizuma, it would save us the trouble of finding someone to translate our words to those two Japanese. (Ainu language)"
"If you have something to say, just say it quickly." Asuma didn't want to bother them any more. "Don't say so many yes and no. (Ainu language)"
"Aisuma, tell those two Japanese people not to come to where we live."
"Chaanup has done us a great favor."
"Since these two people entered Heyezhe with Chanup's permission, we will respect Chanup and his decision."
"We will not take the initiative to cause any trouble to these two people - but the premise is that they will not come to where we live."
"We don't welcome any Japanese people. We don't want to talk to any Japanese people."
"If those two people came into the area where we live, we can't guarantee that we wouldn't do anything out of line to them."
"That's all. Remember to tell those two people what we said. Goodbye. (Ainu language)"
After saying that, the short man turned around and left.
However, before turning around and leaving, the short man did not forget to glare at Ogata, Atachi and the others.
The other people behind the short man did the same. Before leaving, they cast vicious glances at Ogata and Atachi.
Their eyes were filled with resentment.
After glaring at Ogata, Atachi and the others fiercely, they strode away.
Looking at this group of people who suddenly came and spoke to Aisuma in Ainu language that Ogata could not understand and then left immediately, glaring at the two of them with fierce eyes before leaving, both Ogata and Atachi greeted them with their heads raised.
"Aisuma." Ogata turned to Aisuma and asked, "Who are these people? What did they say to you just now?"
Asuma sighed softly.
“They are from Kapasi village.”
"Three years ago, their tribe participated in the battle of Kunasilimenasi three years ago."
"Mr. Majima, Ms. A-Machi, I don't know if I've ever told you that we in Heyezhe have recently taken in a group of compatriots who lost their homes due to the defeat in the Battle of Kunasilimenasi - and these compatriots are the villagers of Kapasi Village."
Since some time ago, the term "Battle of Kunasilimenasi" has frequently entered Ogata's ears.
The reason is not difficult to explain.
This battle was the largest war between the Wagyu and Ainu peoples in recent years.
Although he had always heard people mention this battle, Ogata didn't know much about it.
All we know is that the cause of this battle was that the Ainu people in a certain area could not bear the oppression of the Japanese and rose up in rebellion.
The Matsumae clan formed an alliance with the shogunate and marched north to fight against the Ainu people who rose up in resistance.
Although both the Matsumae domain and the shogunate are now in a state of decline, no matter how weak they are, they are still countries in the feudal era.
In terms of civilization level, they are one level higher than the Ainu people who are still in the primitive tribal civilization.
This is how war works. Once there is a generation gap in civilization, the side with less advanced civilization will be beaten.
Faced with the joint forces of Matsumae Domain and the shogunate, the Ainu people who rose up in resistance were quickly defeated, with countless casualties.
"Kapasi Village participated in the Battle of Kunasilimenasi three years ago, and was defeated by the Japanese and lost their homes."
"They were lucky that their village was not destroyed. I heard that many villages were directly destroyed in that war, and no one was left alive."
Asuma then introduced Ogata.
"The villagers of Kapasi Village who were lucky enough to survive the Battle of Kunasilimenasi spent several months wandering and came to our Heyezhe."
"Father has always been a kind man."
"He never stood idly by when his fellow countrymen were suffering."
"So my father opened the door to Heyezhe, took them in, and made them the new residents of Heyezhe."
"There are 61 villagers who managed to survive and then moved into our Kapasi village in Heyezhe. Each of these 61 people had a family member who died at the hands of the people."
"So they...are not very welcoming to people."
Aisuma thought for a long time before she came up with the euphemism "not very welcome".
"Those people just now came to tell you - don't go near the area where they live in Kapasi Village."
"They don't want anyone near the area where they live."
"...I see." Ogata nodded silently, and then said in a half-joking tone, "I saw them coming aggressively just now, and I thought they were here to cause trouble for us."
After saying that, Ogata put down his hand that had just been on the hilt of the Daishiten sword.
"Although they hate the people, they also know their limits," said Aisuma. "They have always respected and loved their father who allowed them to live in Heyezhe and gave them a new home."
"They never disobeyed any of my father's orders. They never did anything that would displease my father."
"You have entered our Heyezhe with my father's permission, so you are considered our Heyezhe's guests."
"So even if they hate people, they won't do anything excessive to my father's guests."
"But - provided you don't get close to where they live."
Asuma gave a wry smile.
"Those people just now specifically asked me to tell you - don't get close to where they live. If you get close to the area where they live, you will bear the consequences at your own risk."
"In Heyezheli, are there still people who hate the Japanese as much as the villagers in Kapasi Village?" asked Ating, who had been silent just now.
Aisuma shook her head: "No more. In our Heyezhe, only the villagers of Kapasi Village do not welcome the Japanese."
"The rest of the people either have no good or bad feelings towards Kazuto, or they don't even know what Kazuto looks like."
"Of course - there are also people who have a crush on Kazuto."
Asuma turned to glance at her brother.
"In short - I will show you the area where the villagers of Kapasi Village live during the day tomorrow. You must remember not to get close to the area where the villagers of Kapasi Village live."
Ogata nodded: "I understand. Thank you for your help."
"Fortunately..." Aotongpuyi, who had been sitting there silently, patted his chest with a pale face, "Fortunately, those people didn't make trouble just now, and they all went back obediently... I was really scared... (Ainu language)"
"Otunpui!" Aizuma cast an unhappy look at Otunpui, "Be brave! Look at your pale face! Even if those people really came to cause trouble just now, what is there to be afraid of? (Ainu language)"
Otunpuyi always obeyed his sister's words.
Hearing his sister's scolding, Otunpuyi just lowered his head and whispered "yes".
Then, Otonpuyi shook his head violently, and then turned his gaze back to Ogata with expectation and excitement.
"Mashima-san! Let's continue our conversation..."
Before Otunpui could finish his words, his sister interrupted him:
"Okay, Otungpui, let's stop here today. (Ainu)"
"Huh?" Aotongpui cast a surprised look at his sister.
"You probably haven't forgotten what you promised me before, have you?" Aizuma cast his sharp eyes straight at Aotongpui, "You promised me that you would still practice archery obediently tonight, so I brought you here to see Mr. Majima."
"Now is the time to practice bows. If you wait any longer, you won't have enough time to practice bows. (Ainu)"
"Eh? But... (Ainu language)" Aotonpui was about to say something -
"Are you not going to listen to me? (Ainu)" Aisuma interrupted Otunpui again.
Aotongpuyi silently lowered his head again, his face full of confusion.
"Yes, yes." Puchina on the side said to Aisuma, "Otunpuyi, you can't neglect your archery skills because of your greed for fun. (Ainu language)"
Puchina wished that Aisuma and her brother would leave immediately and stop talking about those horrible things with this person...
Of course - there is another important reason, which is that Puchina himself wants to stay away from Ogata, who is very dangerous in his imagination...
If the Aisuma siblings wanted to leave, he could just leave with them.
"...I understand... (Ainu)" Otungpui nodded with his head lowered, then slowly stood up.
"Mr. Majima, Ms. Atachi." Asuma turned her attention to the two Ogatas and switched back to Japanese, "It's getting late now. I have to take my brother to practice archery."
"Thank you for chatting with me and my sister today. My brother and I had a great time chatting today. Let's chat again when we have the chance and time."
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "Come again when there's a chance."
Asuma strode away with her brother, and Puchina followed closely behind.
However, before they had gone a few steps, Ou Fang suddenly shouted from their side:
"Otungpui!"
Otonpui, who was suddenly called by Ogata's name, turned around with a puzzled look on his face.
"You are interested in people's culture and customs - there is nothing wrong with that."
"But 'I want to go to a country with Japanese people' and the like - that's totally unnecessary."
Ogata said with a serious face what he had wanted to say to Otungpui for a long time.
Ogata wanted to say these words to Otunpui when he learned from Asuma that Otunpui also had the idea of ​​"really wanting to go to the country of the people".
But I just couldn't find the opportunity to say these words.
Now that Aisuma and the others were leaving , Ogata decided to take this opportunity to tell Otunpui his heartfelt words.
"The country of Kazuto is not as beautiful as you think."
"And people's culture and living customs are also not so beautiful."
"Don't expect too much from other people's countries or cultures."
Ogata's heartfelt words were concise and to the point.
Aotongpuyi looked a little confused, then nodded slightly as if he understood: "I understand..."
…
…
After saying these heartfelt words to Otonpui, Ofang didn't say anything more to him. He and Ating watched them leave silently.
After Asuma, Otumpui and the others disappeared from sight, Atachi sighed with a wry smile, and then said to Ogata beside him:
"I just discovered that Otunpuyi has many unrealistic fantasies about our country..."
“I also wanted to remind that Otunpuyi not to have too many expectations for our country.”
"I didn't expect you to say everything I wanted to say."
Ogata also gave a wry smile like Atachi.
"...I hope that child will never have the chance to go to Japan." Ogata said slowly, "If he goes to Japan and sees what Japan is like with his own eyes, all his beautiful fantasies may be shattered..."
"Disillusionment is something very cruel and brutal."
Although his contact with Otungpui was not long, through Otungpui's bloody words and deeds just now, Ogata also discovered a problem with Otungpui - he liked everything related to people too much.
This made Ogata think back to those "spiritual X people" in his previous life.
Otunpuyi is a bit like "spirit and person".
Although he has never been to Kazuto's country, he is extremely fond of everything related to Kazuto. He has an excessive love for everything related to Kazuto. When he was chatting with Ogata, Atachi and others just now, his eyes were bright the whole time, as if he was chatting with an idol he had admired for a long time.
There was nothing Ogata could do about Otumpui's situation. The only thing he could do was to advise him "not to have too high expectations."
"Mr. Majima, Ms. Atachi!"
At this moment, Ogata and A-Machi suddenly heard the shouting of Ayizan, whom they were very familiar with.
Following the sound, they saw Ayizan running towards them with his rather large belly, panting.
"Ayi Zan." Ogata asked, "What's wrong?"
"Someone came to see me just now." Ai Zan replied, "He asked me to bring you a message - the Japanese man who is currently being held by them wants to see you about something."
"You have something to ask us?" Ogata frowned.
…
…
Time goes back to about half an hour ago——
"Hey! It's time to eat!"
After nightfall, Lin Ziping sat quietly by the window, waiting for breakfast to be served.
After hearing the words "It's time for dinner", Lin Ziping immediately rushed to the window as if it was a conditioned reflex.
These days, his meals are delivered through the window.
As soon as he rushed to the window, Lin Ziping saw a big hairy hand reaching into the cell through the window. In the hand was a bowl with a large piece of hard dried venison in it.
Although Lin Ziping was imprisoned, the people in Red Moon Fortress never abused him.
Although the place to live is not good, it is definitely not bad.
Although the meals provided to Lin Ziping were monotonous, with each meal consisting of venison jerky made from the least valuable venison, the advantage was that there was plenty of it so Lin Ziping would not go hungry, and the taste was not bad either.
After taking the bowl of dried venison, Lin Ziping held the bowl of venison and began to devour it.
The person who brought food to Lin Ziping was a very young man.
After handing today's breakfast to Lin Ziping, the young man did not leave immediately, but continued to stand by the window, looking at Lin Ziping who was chewing the venison with relish.
Lin Ziping ate very quickly. In the blink of an eye, he had stuffed a palm-sized piece of dried meat into his mouth.
"You have such a good appetite..." The young man couldn't help but said to Lin Ziping in the cell, "You always eat up all the food that is delivered to you."
"I don't have many good points." Lin Ziping said in fluent Ainu while chewing on venison jerky, "One of my few good points is that I am not picky about food and I have a good appetite at all times."
"And your venison jerky is delicious. The venison jerky is very well salted, although it's a bit hard."
"Humph." The young man who delivered the meal sneered after hearing what Lin Ziping said, "It's good enough to give you a bite to eat. Don't be picky."
"The meat jerky I got from the old village chief a few years ago is still the best." Lin Ziping said with emotion, "Not only is it very fragrant, but it is also neither hard nor soft when you bite it. I really want to eat it again..."
When he was just a few syllables away from uttering a complete sentence, Lin Ziping suddenly stopped.
Then——
"Yes...how could I have forgotten..."
After whispering like this, he suddenly rushed to the window and shouted to the young man who was delivering the meal outside:
"Please do me a favor! Ask the two people who entered this Heye Zhe today to come over now! I have something to tell them!"
"Huh?" The young man who delivered the meal had a puzzled look on his face.
"Please!" Lin Ziping looked at the young man with sincere eyes.
…
…
Time goes back to the present.
After learning that Lin Ziping had something to discuss with him, Ogata and Atachi hurried to find Lin Ziping.
After rushing to the cell where Lin Ziping was currently staying, Lin Ziping said to Ogata with excitement:
"Mashima-san! I remembered! I thought of a way that might prove my innocence!"
"About four years ago, I came to Ezo for academic research."
"During the journey, we passed a village called 'Huxi Village'!"
"Because that village has always cooperated with Heshang, they like Heshang people very much. When I passed by that settlement, the people of that settlement even treated me to a feast."
"When I left the settlement, their old village chief gave me a bag of delicious venison jerky."
"Because the old village chief knew Japanese and was very interested in books, I gave him all the books I had with me as a return gift. I remember there were three books in total."
"Book?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"Yes! Three books written by me that specifically introduce the geography of the Mutsu region. They were published with the permission of the government!" Lin Ziping said, "My name is on the books! There are also maps drawn by me!"
"As long as we compare the map drawn in that book with my manuscripts that have been confiscated by the people in Red Moon Fortress, we can prove that the book was indeed written by me!"
"With that book, it should be possible to prove that I am indeed a scholar, not a spy!"
"Mr. Majima, Ms. Atachi, can you go to that village and bring back the book I gave to the old village chief?"
"I remember that the village was next to a large fjord, not too far from the Red Moon Fortress!"
"...The book I gave you four years ago..." Ogata said indifferently, "It's been too long... Maybe you've lost the book..."
"I can only hope that the old village chief takes good care of the book I gave him..." Lin Ziping said with a wry smile.
…
…
The next day——
Somewhere in Ezo—
“Snoring…Snoring…Snoring…Snoring…Snoring…”
A giant bear with a waist as thick as two adults was walking on a snowy field while breathing heavily.
In winter, you can always see bears like this that miss hibernation for various reasons.
And these bears that missed hibernation, without exception, have very bad tempers.
The bear, who was searching for food on the snowy plain, did not notice that an Ainu was lurking in the bushes not far from him.
This Ainu man was very young, probably in his early 20s at most.
The young man held his breath and watched the bear's movements.
He is waiting now.
Waiting for the best opportunity to attack.
Although this young man is still very young, he is already a hunter with rich experience in bear hunting. Five bears have fallen to his arrows.
Finally - the best opportunity to attack that the young man had been waiting for appeared.
The bear paused.
The bear, which was originally walking forward at a leisurely pace, suddenly stopped and used its fat paws to fiddle with a pile of dead branches and leaves in front of it.
The young man saw it immediately—the bear was looking for insects to eat.
Bears are omnivorous animals, and many animals and plants are on their diet.
They not only eat meat, fish and wild fruits, but also insects.
Seeing that the long-awaited shooting opportunity had appeared, the young man raised the bow in his hand without hesitation.
The arrow has already been put on the bow, and all that needs to be done is to pull the string and shoot.
The poisoned arrow was aimed straight at the bear's flank, and the bowstring was drawn into a full moon.
Just as the young man was about to let go of the bowstring, he suddenly felt a strange movement under his feet.
The earth...seems to be shaking.
The bear and the young man noticed the strange movement almost at the same time. It shook its huge head, looked around, and let out a low cry as if it had discovered something. Then it shook off its four big paws and started to flee.
The bear's hasty escape increased the young man's inner anxiety.
The trembling that spread from the ground to the young man's feet became more and more violent.
The young man looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the unusual movement.
Finally—he heard a strange noise coming from the south.
Looking to the south, the young man saw a black line where the sky and the earth met in the south.
This black line is like a surging water line.
The black line gradually emerged from the skyline, becoming thicker and larger. The young man finally saw the true face of the black line - a large number of people.
Lots of people wearing strange, heavy-looking black clothing.
The young man remembered that this strange clothing was called "armor". It was one of the clothes , and it had the function of defending against a large number of attacks.
This black line is made up of thousands of Japanese people wearing black armor.
These Japanese not only wore armor, but also held weapons such as spears.
There were also many people riding war horses, holding the reins in one hand and holding a spear in the other, driving the horses to form a neat team and walk on the left and right sides of the "black line".
Flags are raised from this "black line".
The young man could not understand the patterns on these flags.
But if there was someone present who understood the family crests of each domain, he would most likely gasp after seeing these flags.
Because these flags are painted with the family crests of many feudal states in the Tohoku region.
The bamboo and sparrow pattern of the Sendai Domain.
Uesugi Sasa of Yonezawa Domain.
The matching nine-star pattern of the Morioka domain.
…
Military flags painted with the family crests of various families fluttered in the wind, as if they were going to cover the entire sky.
All of them were silent, no one spoke.
The only sounds were the fluttering of flags in the wind, the rumble of horses' hooves hitting the ground, and the clanging of armor colliding.
This young man had lived in an ordinary Ainu village since birth. How could he have ever seen so many people or such a scene?
The young man was so frightened that he raised his hand to cover his mouth, fearing that he would make a sound and be discovered by the thousands of people.
The oppressive feeling brought by these thousands of people made the young man feel unable to straighten his back, exert strength, or even breathe.
Fortunately, because the distance is quite far
The young man only remembered that after a long, long time, this "black line" composed of people finally disappeared from his sight.
It was not until this moment that the young man finally dared to breathe a sigh of relief.
After panting heavily for a while and calming down a little, the young man stood up and fled back to his village as fast as he could.
After returning to the village, he immediately loudly informed the entire village that thousands of Japanese people had appeared near their village.
Upon hearing the news, everyone in the village was shocked.
The well-informed village chief was so shocked that he almost choked after hearing the young man list the clothing characteristics of thousands of Japanese people one by one.
“It’s the army…!” The village chief, who was almost out of breath, patted his chest hard and growled solemnly, “It’s the Japanese army! The Japanese army is coming!”
When they heard the word "army", the villagers surrounding the village chief looked even more shocked.
"Why is the Kazuto army here?!"
“And there are so many people…”
"Which tribe are we going to conquer again?"
The villagers were talking at once.
Finally, the old village chief paused vigorously on the cane in his hand.
"Be quiet!"
At the command of the old village chief, the surrounding villagers immediately quieted down.
The knowledgeable old village chief knows very well what "war disaster" is.
In order to avoid war, the old village chief quickly issued instructions:
"Now everyone go home and pack your bags!"
"Take away all the valuables you can!"
"Bury any valuables you can't take with you!"
"Let's get out of here immediately! Hide in the mountains!"
"When this Japanese army is far away from us, we will come back!"
…
…
The 10,000-strong army composed of the shogunate and the northeastern feudal domains was divided into three armies.
The First Army consisted of 3,000 soldiers and marched at the front of the entire army. It was commanded by Namatemuro of Sendai Domain.
The Second Army consists of 5,000 people and is directly commanded by Inamori.
The third army of 2,000 people was the rear guard, led by Gamo of the Aizu domain.
What the Ainu youth saw just now was the First Army led by Sheng Tianmu.
Sheng Tianmu is now wearing the unique red and black armor of their "Seven Spears of Xianzhou", riding his warhorse, holding his beloved spear - Jiefei, and marching forward in a domineering manner.
Akizuki, Kuroda and other generals were following closely behind Shengtianmu.
Whether looking forward, backward, left or right, all I could see were endless soldiers.
"Look!" Perhaps because of the good weather today, Sheng Tianmu, who had been in a very excited mood these days, was even more excited. "So many soldiers are now under our command!"
Sheng Tianmu shouted this to Akizuki, Kuroda and other generals beside him.
Not only Sheng Tianmu was excited, Qiuyue and the others were also very excited and high spirits these days.
For them as samurai, as generals in the army, and as people who still desire fame and fortune, nothing can be more exciting and thrilling than to be able to participate in such a large-scale battle.
Sheng Tianmu raised the Jiefei in his hand and pointed it straight forward.
Pointing at the Red Moon Fortress which was still some distance away.
"This time..." Sheng Tianmu said in a sonorous and firm tone, "We, the generals of Xiantai, must achieve great fame!"
…
…
…
…
In Ezo, somewhere, the second army position of the shogunate army. In the commander's camp -
At this moment, the two people with the highest status in the entire army - Matsudaira Sadanobu and Inamori, are now in this tent.
"Master Laozhong, are you sure you want to inspect that fjord?"
Inamori looked at Matsudaira Sadanobu in front of him with a somewhat worried look.
"Yes." Matsudaira Sadanobu was getting dressed with the help of Tachibana, "I came to Ezo this time, in addition to supervising the battle, there is another important reason, which is to inspect Ezo with my own eyes."
"Rather, the main reason for my trip to Ezo this time is to personally inspect the Ezo area and prepare for its future development."
"Supervising the battle or something like that is just something I do for fun."
"But..." Inamori still looked hesitant, "Isn't the fjord you are going to inspect... a little too far...?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu shook his head:
“It’s a little far, but that fjord is definitely worth inspecting.”
"I want to go and see the fjord with my own eyes to see if it is suitable for building a port."
"If we can build a port in that fjord, it will be of great benefit to the future development of Ezo. We can continuously transport important manpower and materials to the hinterland of Ezo by sea."
"Port?" Inamori's eyes showed some surprise, "Lord Laozhong, are you planning to build a port in Ezo?"
"I do have this plan at the moment." Matsudaira Sadanobu said softly, "Ezo is very vast. If we want to develop Ezo in the future, it will definitely require a lot of manpower and material resources."
"In the vast Ezo region, there is only one port, at Matsumae Castle."
"There are too few ports, so it is necessary to build more ports in Ezo so that sufficient manpower and supplies can be sent to Ezo by sea in the future."
"I won't be away for long. While I'm away, you should continue to lead the army to the Red Moon Fortress step by step."
"As long as nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to reunite with you before you reach the Red Moon Fortress."
"...I see." Inamori nodded, "Then - Lord Laozhong, do you need me to organize more people to serve as your guards? The journey is quite long, I think it would be better to bring more guards."
"...Alright." Matsudaira Sadanobu thought for a moment and nodded, "Then Inamori, please assign me another 50 elite soldiers."
"50? Isn't that too few?"
"That's enough. I'm not going to fight." Matsudaira Sadanobu, who usually had a blank expression on his face, smiled. "There are no Ainu settlements along the way from here to the fjord. And there seems to be only one Ainu settlement called 'Huxi Village' near that afternoon, so there is no need to worry about being attacked."