When Asuma and the others parted with Ogata——
"That, that! Aisuma!" Puchina, who had been walking behind Aisuma, suddenly shouted.
"Hmm?" Asuma turned back and cast a puzzled look at Puchina, "What's wrong?"
"This, this is for you!" Puchina stammered, as he reached his big furry hands into his arms and took out a beautiful flower.
"Ah, thank you." Asuma raised her hand to take the flower, "This flower is so beautiful."
"This is the flower I just found." Puchina smiled innocently, "I was looking for you everywhere just now to give this flower to you."
"Thank you." Asuma put the flower to her nose and sniffed it gently. "Thank you for your trouble."
"No, no, you're welcome." Puccina's stuttering was even more serious than before. "As long as you like it."
"I'm taking my brother to practice archery now." Asuma continued, "Do you want to come with me? I see that you seem to have neglected your archery skills recently. You should practice more."
"I don't have time tonight..." Puccina scratched his hair, "I have an appointment with my friends."
"Is that so... Well then, let's practice archery together later. My brother and I are going to practice archery in the place we usually go. See you tomorrow!"
Aisuma waved to Puchina, then grabbed her brother's arm and strode towards a side road.
Puchina continued to smile naively and watched Aisuma leave.
However, just as Asuma was about to leave , Puchina suddenly remembered something and immediately said loudly:
"Aisuma!"
"Huh?" Asuma stopped and turned back.
“Um, that…”
Puccina had a conflicted look on his face, with a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, Puchina finally gritted his teeth, and the confusion on his face gradually disappeared, turning into a faint determination.
"Can you... stop following that Kazuto? I think it's better not to learn that kind of knowledge from him..."
After saying this, Puchina added in his mind:
——Knowledge of how to kill people efficiently... This knowledge is truly terrifying...
After hearing what Puchina said, Aisuma's eyes first showed some doubt, and then she looked clear.
——Pucina, doesn’t he want me to learn about Japanese culture?
Puchina is Aisuma's childhood sweetheart. Not only are they of the same age, they have also played together since they were young.
Because they grew up together, Aisuma knew everything about her good friend.
She knew that Puchina was a rather conservative person and had never liked people of other races.
It can be said that the reason why Puchina has such conservative ideas is due to his father.
His father, Retano, was notoriously conservative.
Retanoë advocates the concept of "following tradition" and believes that the Ainu people should follow tradition, live a traditional fishing and hunting life using hunting skills passed down from generation to generation, live a self-sufficient and peaceful life, and not interact with any foreigners.
As the son of Retannoy, Puccina's thoughts were naturally influenced by his father.
Although he is not as conservative as his father, he also adopts a "keep a distance" attitude towards foreigners.
Although she could understand Puchina's mentality of not wanting her to interact with others, after hearing what Puchina said just now, Aisuma still felt a little unhappy.
Aisuma doesn't like others to interfere in her private life.
Aisuma feels that it is her freedom to chat with whomever she wants and talk about whatever she wants, and outsiders have no right to interfere or tell her what to do.
"Puccina." After all, Puccina was her childhood sweetheart, so Aisuma didn't say anything too harsh. "It's very rude to interfere with other people's private lives like this."
After saying this, Aisuma ignored Puchina and strode away with his brother.
As for Puchina, he had suffered too strong a "mental attack" and he stood there stupidly, watching Asuma 's back gradually going away until it completely disappeared from his sight.
"Hey! Puccina!"
At this time, several voices that were very familiar to Puccina sounded behind him.
They were the three good friends from Puchina who had just followed him to look for Aisuma.
"Why are you here?" Puchina asked stupidly.
"Because we have been following you. We have been watching you and following you from a distance. Did we succeed in hearing what Asuma and that person talked about?"
"I heard it, but I won't say it." Puchina shook his head like a rattle.
"Ah? Why?"
"I just won't tell you." Puchina shook his head again.
Aisuma and her brother are learning knowledge related to killing from that person - Puchina doesn't want anyone to know about this because it may cause Aisuma to get into controversy.
Therefore, Puchina decided to keep the matter to himself and not tell anyone else.
"So what did you say to Asuma just now? Why did Asuma look so unhappy just now?"
"...I seem to have made Aisuma angry..." Puchina hung his head.
Puchina, who was as strong as a bear, hung his head with a look of aggrieved look on his face - this strong contrast created a sense of humor.
Puchina told his friend everything he had just said to Aisuma.
"Are you a fool...?!" One of Puchina's three friends said, "Even someone like me who doesn't know Aizuma well knows that Aizuma has a strong personality and hates others telling her what to do in her life... How could you say that to Aizuma..."
Listening to his friends' reprimands, Puchina lowered his head even lower...
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, where Lin Ziping was imprisoned——
"You just said that Huxi Village is not very far from Hongyue Fortress. The word 'not very far' is too vague." Ogata questioned Lin Ziping in front of him, "How far is it exactly?"
Lin Ziping pondered, as if thinking.
"...Huxi Village is located southwest of Red Moon Fortress, about 10 miles away as the straight line goes."
"I have been studying the geography of Ezo for a long time. So I won't remember it wrong. I have basically memorized the geography of Ezo by heart! That Huxi Village is located 10 miles southwest !"
"10 miles..." Ogata frowned slightly.
One ri in the Edo period is approximately equal to 4 kilometers today.
So 10 li is equal to 40 kilometers.
It's not far , but it's definitely not very close.
Even if Ogata and his companions had horses to travel, it would probably take a lot of time to travel back and forth between the two places.
In a place like Ezo, the time it takes to travel back and forth between two places cannot be calculated using simple numbers.
The current situation in Ezo can be described in modern terms as having "extremely poor infrastructure."
Except for the southernmost Matsumae Domain controlled by the Japanese, the rest of Ezo was "completely undeveloped" and there was nothing that could be called "roads".
"What I lack now is strong evidence that can prove that I am a scholar and not a spy for the shogunate." Lin Ziping added, "If we can get those three books, we can get rid of the current situation where we don't have any substantial evidence."
Ogata nodded slightly.
The method Lin Ziping mentioned is undoubtedly useful. If we can get those three books written by him, it will be a strong evidence to prove his identity as a scholar.
But this method is actually a matter of luck.
Those three books were given to others by Lin Ziping four years ago. After such a long time, it is a question whether those three books have been preserved intact.
And who knows - the old village chief who received the book from Lin Ziping is already dead.
In this era of underdeveloped medical care, it is not surprising for elderly people to die at any time.
Although there are many uncertainties in "searching for books", after careful consideration, Ogata found that they now have no better way than "searching for books" to clear Lin Ziping's suspicion of being a spy.
As for Hayashi Shiping, who holds information that may be very useful to Ogata, Ogata naturally hopes to regain his freedom as soon as possible, and then let Hayashi Shiping take him and Ating to find the very strange and suspicious doctor.
So, after thinking it over carefully, Ogata sighed softly:
"...Okay, then I'll go to that Huxi Village."
"Please!" Lin Ziping's eyes and face were full of excitement.
…
…
Ezo, the Second Army Camp of the Shogunate Army——
Matsudaira Sadanobu was now in his tent, silently reading "Han Feizi".
The two people that Matsudaira Sadanobu admired most in his life were Shang Yang and Han Feizi of the Tang Dynasty.
The former made the weak Qin State strong, and Matsudaira Sadanobu always hoped that one day he could be like Shang Yang who saved Qin and make the currently very weak shogunate strong again.
The latter's ideas were highly praised by Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who highly respected Han Fei's thoughts, would carry Han Fei's works with him wherever he went. Whenever he had free time, he would pick up a copy and read it, and he would gain new insights every time he read it.
In the huge tent, there is only Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Tachibana, who is usually inseparable from Matsudaira Sadanobu, is not by Matsudaira Sadanobu's side now.
Because Tachibana is now busy organizing an "inspection team".
"Organizing a team" seems simple, but in fact there are many things to do, such as counting the number of people, counting the food, water and other supplies they carry... If it were a mediocre person, it might take half a quarter of an hour and still not be able to organize a team beautifully.
Because Matsudaira Sadanobu felt that this task was a very good training opportunity for the still young Tachibana, Matsudaira Sadanobu threw the task of organizing the "inspection team" to Tachibana and let Tachibana handle it with full authority.
The reason why Tachibana became Matsudaira Sadanobu's nickname was because Matsudaira Sadanobu admired Tachibana's talent and gift and felt that he was a talented person with great potential, so he chose him as his nickname and let Tachibana stay by his side to study and train.
Therefore, Matsudaira Sadanobu would often assign tasks that could help train people, like what he was doing now, to Tachibana.
Matsudaira Sadanobu is now reading a book while silently waiting for Tachibana to finish organizing the "inspection team".
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Tachibana's voice finally rang out from outside the tent:
"Master Laozhong! The team has been organized! We can set off at any time!"
When Tachibana finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu glanced at the candle next to him.
He had been using the candles to calculate the time it took Tachibana to organize the team.
After discovering that Tachibana took much less time than Matsudaira Sadanobu had imagined, Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded gently, then closed the "Han Feizi" in his hand, put it in his arms, and then walked out of the tent with his hands behind his back.
After leaving the tent, Matsudaira Sadanobu saw Tachibana standing respectfully outside the tent.
"Not bad." Matsudaira Sadanobu forced a smile, "It took much less time than I expected."
Hearing Matsudaira Sadanobu's praise, a hint of joy appeared on Tachibana's face.
But Tachibana didn't dare to show her joy too much on her face, so as soon as the joy appeared on her face, she quickly put it away and said some self-deprecating words.
"Let's go." Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded.
Tachibana: “Yes!”
Tachibana led Matsudaira Sadanobu towards the gathering place of the "investigation team".
This "investigation team" consists of three groups of people.
1: Matsudaira Sadanobu and Tachibana who are in the leadership.
2: Warriors responsible for protection.
Three: The experts in charge of inspecting the fjord, and the servants in charge of carrying Matsudaira Sadanobu's sedan chair.
This time when he left Edo and headed north to Ezo, Matsudaira Sadanobu did not just bring guards with him, he also brought a group of experts from various fields from Edo.
The task of these experts was to assist Matsudaira Sadanobu, help him investigate the current situation of Ezo and jointly study the "Ezo Development Plan."
This "expert group" of experts from various industries has a total of nearly 50 people. Among them, there are experts who are responsible for checking whether the land is suitable for cultivation into farmland, experts who are responsible for checking whether the coast or fjord is suitable for building a port, and experts who are responsible for checking which places are suitable for building towns...
On this field trip, Matsudaira Sadanobu brought along several "port experts" from the "expert group".
Tachibana, who was walking in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu, led the way while introducing Matsudaira Sadanobu:
"Master Rochu, Master Inamori sent 50 elite cavalry soldiers to serve as our guards. The leader is a general named Kitano Shuki."
"Kitano Shuki..." Matsudaira Sadanobu muttered, "I seem to have heard this name somewhere..."
"It is normal for Lord Rochu to have heard of this name." Tachibana smiled and said, "He is the second son of the Hatamoto - Kitano family. He is famous for his bravery and is considered a little famous in my shogunate army."
"Oh... I remember when I heard this name." Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded, "When I was chatting with Inamori before, Inamori mentioned to me that he had discovered some talented people in the army who were worth cultivating."
"Inamori mentioned this name at that time."
"I heard of Kitano Shuki's name a long time ago." Tachibana said at this time, "But... at the beginning, what I heard were some... rumors about Kitano Shuki that I didn't know whether they were true or not."
"What rumors?" asked Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"It is said..." Tachibana lowered her voice, "that Kitano Shuki prefers playing with men rather than women."
Tachibana's words were very tactful.
Matsudaira Sadanobu was stunned for a moment, then smiled:
"Whether this rumor is true or not is irrelevant."
"It's just that people have different preferences. There is no distinction between high and low."
"Compared to this kind of thing, I care more about a person's talent."
While chatting and laughing, Matsudaira Sadanobu and Tachibana had already arrived at an open space.
There was a sedan chair placed on that open space - it was Matsudaira Sadanobu's sedan chair.
Nearly a hundred warriors in armor stood on the left and right sides of the sedan chair.
The warriors on the left side of the sedan were all dressed in red armor - they were Matsudaira Sadanobu's original guards: the Red Cavalry.
There were more warriors on the right side of the sedan, all wearing ordinary black armor - these were the 50 elite soldiers that Inamori had assigned to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
At the forefront of the 50 elite soldiers sent by Inamori stood a young samurai wearing fine armor and a beautiful battle feather ornament.
When Matsudaira Sadanobu appeared, the young samurai bowed his head and saluted:
"Welcome to you, Mr. Lao Zhong!"
Matsudaira Sadanobu looked up and down at this young warrior whose armor alone was completely different from the people around him.
"Are you Kitano Shuki?"
"Yes!" The young warrior couldn't help but feel flattered that Matsudaira Sadanobu could call out his name accurately, "I am Kitano Shuki!"
"I'll leave my protection to you this time." Matsudaira Sadanobu said calmly.
The young warrior, Kitano Shuki, was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded respectfully: "Yes! We will definitely risk our lives!"
After saying that, Matsudaira Sadanobu said no more, walked around Kitano Shuki in front of him, and got into his sedan chair.
When Matsudaira Sadanobu walked around him and passed by him, Kitano subconsciously wanted to turn his head to look at Matsudaira Sadanobu.
But reason eventually triumphed over emotion, and Kitano resisted the urge to do such disrespectful things.
——Mr. Laochu’s eyes are so beautiful…
Kitano Shuki said this in his heart while swallowing quietly.
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, somewhere——
"Your feet are too far apart! Keep your feet parallel to your shoulders!"
"Your shoulders are too stiff! Relax! Relax more!"
"Your breathing is disordered! You can't shoot at the target if your breathing is not steady!"
Aisuma, who was standing next to Otunpui, kept correcting Otunpui's bow-drawing movements.
The Aisuma siblings are now in a remote area of ​​the Red Moon Fortress.
Because few people pass by this place, Asuma often brings her brother here to practice archery.
After parting with Puchina, Aisuma brought her brother here without stopping and started the archery practice tonight.
Aotongpu stood sideways, holding the bow of the hunting bow in his left hand, and pulling the bowstring into a full moon with his right hand. An arrow without an arrowhead was placed on the string, and the arrow was pointing directly at a big tree not far away.
Although Otongpuyi had been following his sister's instructions and trying to correct his movements, no matter how he corrected himself, his movements made his sister frown.
"That's enough!" Asuma shouted, "What did you practice today? Why are you so absent-minded?"
Asuma's rebuke was quite harsh.
Listening to his sister's rebuke, Aotongpuyi silently put down the bow in his hand and lowered his head.
Aisuma wanted to scold her brother some more, but when she saw Aotongpuyi lowering his head, all the words of scolding she had prepared got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them.
After a long silence, Asuma turned the words that were originally intended to rebuke Otunpuyi into a long sigh.
"……well."
"Otongpuyi, what happened to you tonight? Why are you in such a bad state? You didn't practice so badly before."
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Aotongpuyi shook his head: "I don't feel uncomfortable anywhere..."
"If you're not feeling unwell, cheer up!" Asuma's tone became serious again, "How can you participate in the 'Hunting Festival' in this state!"
Otunpuyi seemed not to hear what Asuma said and continued to lower his head and look at his toes.
Seeing Otunpuyi's strange look, Asuma was about to say something when Otunpuyi suddenly said:
"...Sister. We have been living on hunting for a living... Is this really okay...?"
"Huh?" Asuma tilted his head and cast a puzzled look at his brother. "What are you talking about? If we don't hunt, what will we eat?"
"I mean - is it really okay for us to keep doing this and not try to change our lives?"
Aotongpuyi suddenly raised his head and pierced his sister with a sharp gaze.
"Just now when I was chatting with Mr. Mashima, I was thinking about a lot of things..."
Aotongpuyi said slowly.
"The material and workmanship of the clothes worn by Mr. Majima and Ms. A-machi are much better than our clothes. The clothing craftsmanship of the Japanese is far superior to that of the Ainu."
"Mashima-san's sword is much sharper and harder than our mountain swords. The iron-making skills of the Japanese are also superior to those of the Ainu."
"The other skills of the people must be far superior to ours."
"The Japanese...are much more advanced than us Ainu..."
"In the eyes of the people, we must be just a bunch of savages with a poor standard of living..."
"Why don't we try to learn from Kazuto?"
Otunpuyi's tone gradually became excited.
"If we learn from Kazuto with an open mind, we might be able to use such fine cloth, wield such a great sword, and have better medical skills like Kazuto."
"No need to live this primitive, barbaric fishing and hunting life anymore..."
"Enough!" Before Aotongpuyi could finish his words, Aisuma interrupted him rudely, "Why do you have such a stupid idea!"
"Don't tell anyone else about those nonsense you just said! Especially not to those who have a grudge against you!"
"elder sister!"
Otunpuyi, who usually spoke in a soft voice, shouted loudly, which was very rare.
"Don't you want to live a civilized and advanced life like humans?"
“Haven’t I said enough?!” Aizuma’s voice was one degree higher than Otunpuyi’s, drowning out Otunpuyi’s voice. “Don’t talk about this anymore—!”
After saying this, Aisuma let out a long sigh and held his forehead with a tired look.
"...No wonder your bow training was so bad tonight...So you were thinking about such ridiculous things the whole time..."
Otunpuyi did not deny it out loud, but remained silent.
"...That's all for tonight's archery practice."
Asuma put down the hand that was resting on her forehead .
"You can't do anything in your current state. Go home and rest tonight."
"...Okay." Aotongpuyi nodded slowly.
"Remember not to tell anyone about what you just said." Asuma said seriously, "What you just said is very dangerous... If someone hears it, it will cause trouble."
"...I understand..." Aotongpuyi nodded again.
"You should stop thinking about such ridiculous things as 'living a Japanese life'." Aisuma continued, "We Ainu people have our own Ainu life. There is no need to forcibly change our current life to live a Japanese life."
"But..." Otungpui gritted his teeth, "I don't think there's anything wrong with what I said just now... What's wrong with learning from Kazuto and living a life like Kazuto?"
"That's enough." Asuma seemed to have no energy to argue with Otunpuyi anymore. "I don't want to argue with you now."
"You should go home now. The moonlight is not very bright tonight. Remember to watch your step when you go back alone."
Otunpuyi raised her head and said, "Sister, won't you come home with me?"
"I don't want to go home so soon." Asuma said expressionlessly, "I'm really mad at you now. I want to go outside and get some fresh air. I'll go home when the anger in my stomach subsides."
“…I understand…” Otungpui lowered his head again.