6 days later——
Somewhere in Ezo—
The weather today is exceptionally good, with clear skies and gentle breezes.
The leafless branches were filled with soft sunlight. A little bird was standing on the treetop, shaking its tail constantly, and its shadow was clearly reflected on the snow under the tree.
At this moment, the little bird seemed to hear some strange noise and turned back to look at the skyline on the west side of the snow.
Two sturdy horses slowly emerged from the western skyline.
There were two people sitting on each of the two horses.
Four people and two horses were galloping across the snowy plain.
The birds in the trees were startled by the sudden appearance of four people and two horses. They flapped their wings, left the treetops and flew towards the high and vast sky.
These two horses are Ogata's radish and Atachi's grapes.
Sitting on the radish were Ogata and Ayizan.
And sitting on the grapes were Ating and Yashili.
Ogata and Atachi, who were in charge of driving the horses, controlled the speed of the horses under them to a level that was neither too fast nor too slow.
If the horse is allowed to run at its fastest speed all the time, it will run out of energy in a short time, so the current speed is just right, allowing the horse to run as long as possible without being too slow.
Ating now rides a horse quite well, and is completely different from before when he couldn't even make the horse go straight forward.
In the past, she couldn't even sit steadily on a horse.
And now, she is able to make the grapes move forward steadily at this not-so-slow speed.
This was all thanks to the fact that I had been riding horses all the way while migrating to the Red Moon Fortress with the villagers of Qina Village.
Because he had been riding a horse and practicing horse riding while traveling, Ling A-Cheng's horse riding skills improved rapidly.
"Ayi Zan." Ogata asked Ai Zan who was sitting behind him, "Can you help me ask Yashili: How far is it from Huxi Village?"
Ayizan, who was sitting behind Ogata, nodded vigorously, then turned his head to look at Yashili, who was sitting on Grape's back and hugging the slender waist of Ating, who was riding a horse in front of her.
Ai Zan: "%￥*&&￥#*%*￥#@?" (Ainu language)
Yashili looked at the surrounding environment: "￥%&*@#%￥*&&￥#*%*￥#@￥&*! (Ainu language)"
Ai Zan turned his gaze back to Ogata in front of him: "Yashili said: At the current speed, it will take about another 1 or 2 days to reach Huxi Village."
"Will it take another day or two..." After hearing Ayi Zan's translation, A Ting curled his lips, "Will it take that long..."
The reason why Ogata and his companions, four people and two horses, were galloping across this snowy field with no village in front and no shop behind was for nothing else but to get to the Huxi Village.
Lin Ziping told Ogata a method he suddenly thought of to prove that he was a scholar and not a spy: go to a village called Huxi Village and ask the old village chief to return the three books he wrote himself that he had given to the old village chief four years ago - this happened six days ago.
After asking the village chief Chepke of Qina Village, he learned that Yashili's family had a relative in Huxi Village, who might know the exact location of Huxi Village. So Xufang ran to find Yashili without stopping.
After consulting with Yashili, Ogata learned that what Chief Chepke said was true. Yashili's family did have a relative in the village of Xi.
Yashili has an aunt who lives in Huxi Village. She has been to Huxi Village with her family several times to visit her aunt, so Yashili is familiar with how to get to Huxi Village.
Ogata was naturally very happy that he had found someone who could take him and Ating to Huxi Village.
It goes without saying what kind of status Ogata holds in China Village. Most of the villagers regard Ogata as their savior - and Yashili is no exception.
As for the not-so-difficult commission from someone he respected very much, Yashiri could not think of any reason to refuse.
After Ogata's simple request, Yashili nodded and agreed to Ogata's request to "help take them to Huxi Village."
However, although Yashili agreed to take Ogata and the others to Huxi Village, a new problem arose before Ogata and the others.
That is: they don't speak the same language.
Yahili doesn't speak Japanese.
Ogata and Atachi only know a few simple Ainu words.
So in order to solve the language problem, Ogata found Ayizan, who had been acting as a language translator between him and A-Ming for some time and was quite familiar with him.
Ogata put a lot of effort into convincing Ayizan to go with them.
After talking until his lips were almost worn out, Ayizan finally nodded and expressed his willingness to go with Ogata and the others.
So — 4 people and 2 horses set off.
Because neither Yashili nor Ayizan knew how to ride a horse, Yashili and Ayizan shared a horse with Ating and Ogata respectively.
Radish and Grape are indeed carefully bred Don horses. They are very strong and even with two people on their backs, their steps do not slow down at all.
Over the past six days, Ogata and his companions have basically been taking detours, detours, and detours every day...
Because there is basically no infrastructure, there are only a few accessible roads, so Ogata and his friends often have to take a long detour to avoid inaccessible places.
Over the past six days, most of the time was spent on taking detours.
The straight-line distance from Red Moon Fortress to Huxi Village is only 10 miles (about 40 kilometers in modern times), but because they have to take detours, they have not arrived yet.
"Ah!" Ayi Zan, who had been sitting obediently behind Ogata, suddenly raised his hand over Ogata's shoulder and pointed forward, "The land ahead is very flat! How about we take a rest there?"
Ogata looked in the direction Ai Zan pointed - it was indeed a flat place, very suitable for resting.
After looking at the place Ayizan pointed, Ogata lowered his head to glance at the radish under his crotch.
Luobo was now breathing heavily, and with every step he took, a lot of sweat fell to the ground.
The condition of the grapes under Ating's crotch is similar to that of the radish.
After confirming the condition of the two horses, Ogata nodded.
"Okay, let's take a break now."
"Yeah." Ating nodded.
The two men rode their horses to a very flat open space in front of them, and tied the radishes and grapes to a big tree with a lot of grass leaves near the roots.
"Hey, take a closer look - there's a nice fir tree nearby." After saying that, Ayizan pulled out his machete and said, "You three wait a moment."
After saying this, Ai Zan picked up his machete and strode towards a fir tree not far away.
"Are you going to build a hunting lodge?" Ogata asked Ayizan.
"That's right!" Ai Zan said, "If you want to rest, it's better to stay in the hunting lodge. It's much warmer."
Regarding the hunting lodge, the first Ainu person that Ogata and his companions met after arriving in Ezo was Ayaka, a person they hadn't seen for some time and who they didn't know if they would have the chance to see again in the future. But Ayaka took Ogata and his companions to live in the hunting lodge when they were hunting man-eating giant bears, and explained to them what a hunting lodge was.
Hunting lodges are one of the unique cultures of the Ainu people. From time to time, you can see hunting lodges left behind by the Ainu people in the woods and wilderness of Ezo.
Going out hunting and bringing the prey back to the village on the same day is actually very rare in Ainu society.
In order to hunt enough prey or a sufficient amount of prey, it was normal for the Ainu people to stay in the wild for several days or even more than ten days.
So - in order to solve the problem of accommodation in the wild every night, the Ainu people invented the "hunting lodge".
There are two types of "hunting lodges": hunting lodges where you stay for a long time, and "temporary hunting lodges" where you only stay for a day or two.
When Ogata went hunting the man-eating giant bear with Ayaka, the hunting lodge that Ayaka took Ogata and Atachi to live in was one of those more sophisticated hunting lodges that could be lived in for a long time.
As for the "temporary hunting lodge" that is only lived in for one or two days, it is not intended for long-term residence, so the construction method is also quite simple and crude.
The Ainu people are so skilled that they can even build a "temporary hunting lodge" in just a few minutes.
And Ayi Zan happened to be that kind of Ainu who was skilled in this technique.
Although Aizan is now a middle-aged man with a big belly, as an Ainu, he was also an excellent hunter with good skills when he was young.
Ayi Zan is proficient in various hunting techniques and wilderness survival skills.
Ai Zan used a machete with skilled techniques to cut down the fir tree not far away.
This fir tree was not chosen randomly by Ayi Zan. It was a tree that Ayi Zan carefully selected and chose as the most suitable tree for building a "temporary hunting lodge".
When cutting down the fir tree, Ayi Zan deliberately let it fall into a depression in the ground next to it.
After the fir tree fell to the ground, its trunk just happened to fit in with the depression in the ground to create a space. Ayizan slid into this space, flattened the snow under the tree, and then covered it with fir leaves.
After laying out the leaves, Ai Zan let out a long sigh, then nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, it's done! (Ainu language)"
Ai Zan turned his head and shouted to Ogata, Ating, and Yashili, who had been standing not far away, waiting for him to finish building the hunting lodge:
"Mashima-san! Ms. Amaji! Akiri! The hunting lodge is ready! Come on in."
It took Ayizan only about 4 minutes to build this "temporary hunting lodge".
The method he just used is the most common method used by the Ainu people to build temporary hunting lodges - cut down the fir tree and let it fall into the depression on the ground. People sleep in the space between the trunk and the ground. The thick leaves can be used as a roof, which not only can prevent snow but is also very breathable. It is warmer to sleep inside than outside.
On the way to Huxi Village, Ayizan often made hunting lodges for everyone to rest and live in.
Ogata and Atachi were no longer surprised by Ayizan's extremely skilled house-building techniques.
When they were heading to the Red Moon Fortress with the villagers of Qina Village, Ogata and his companions saw that the villagers of Qina Village used various methods to build hunting lodges of various styles in the wild.
Although Ayizan's house-building speed is fast, it is not particularly fast.
Ogata once witnessed a villager in China Village build a "temporary hunting lodge" that could accommodate several people in just over a minute.
Ogata, Ating, and Yashili went into Ayizan's newly built hunting lodge one by one. Although it was a bit narrow, it was more than enough for three people to sit cross-legged.
As soon as he sat down in the hunting lodge, Ah Ting immediately stretched out his hands, gently massaging the inside of his thighs that were a little painful from being rubbed by the saddle, and said to Ayi Zan with an impatient look:
"Ayi Zan, while we have time now, tell us some heroic epics!"
Ogata was also not surprised by the scene where Ating pestered Ayi Zan to tell him the heroic epics passed down from generation to generation by the Ainu people.
Before, when A-Ming was rushing to the Red Moon Fortress with the villagers of Qina Village, he would look for A-Zan whenever he had time and ask A-Zan to tell him the heroic epic of their Ainu people.
It was the same now - during the six days in Huxi Village, A-Ting, as always, asked Ayizan to tell heroic epics whenever he had the chance.
And Ayizan has so many heroic epics in his mind that he has not finished telling them even after so many days.
"Ms. Ating, you really like listening to stories." Ayizan smiled and stroked his lush beard. "Okay! No problem! Let me think about whether there are any stories that haven't been told yet..."
"If possible, I'd like to hear an epic story with a very exciting plot," Amachi added, "like 'Sanada Yukimura attacked the enemy's main camp and took the head of Tokugawa Ieyasu'."
"Yukimura Sanada?" Ai Zan tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face.
Seeing that Ayazan didn't know who Sanada Yukimura was, A-Machi cleared his throat and explained:
"Sanada Yukimura is a great figure among us. He is a famous hero among us. He once led a group of people to attack an army of hundreds of thousands, and directly attacked the enemy's main camp, breaking two enemy formations. Unfortunately, due to bad luck and other reasons, he failed to take the head of the enemy's general and failed at the last moment."
“So powerful…?” Ayizan was stunned.
"He is so amazing." A-Machi put his hands on his hips with a slightly smug expression, "He is one of the people I admire the most. I love to listen to stories about Yukimura Sanada the most."
"This Yukimura Sanada is also a person with extraordinary skills, just like Mr. Mashima." Ayizan looked at Ogata who was standing aside.
"Sanada Yukimura is indeed very powerful," Ogata replied in a half-joking tone, "but now, people seem to be talking about him as if he were a god. The real Sanada Yukimura in history was not that powerful."
"If I compare myself to the real Sanada Yukimura, I think I can still compete."
"But if I compare myself to the rumored Sanada Yukimura, I don't think I can compare to him."
Yukimura Sanada, a military commander praised as "Japan's best soldier", was active at the end of the Warring States Period 200 years ago, and shined in the decisive battle between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans.
The first shogun of the Edo shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was originally a retainer of the Toyotomi clan, successfully usurped power and seized state power from the Toyotomi clan. He established the Edo shogunate in Edo, and soon launched a decisive war against the Toyotomi clan to wipe them out.
This decisive battle between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans was the famous "Battle of Osaka".
At that time, Yukimura Sanada was one of the generals of the Toyotomi clan.
Under the command of Yukimura Sanada, the Toyotomi army once defeated the Tokugawa army without any chance of success.
It’s a pity that the head of the Toyotomi clan at that time, Toyotomi Hideyori, was a well-known incompetent person.
At that time, in addition to Toyotomi Hideyori, the person in power in the Toyotomi clan was also his mother, Nobunagahime - and this woman was famous in history for her "stupidity" and was a famous idiot in Japanese history.
Due to the various outrageous actions of these extremely stupid teammates, the good situation that might have led to victory was directly ruined.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Yukimura Sanada decided to take a gamble - he led his troops straight to the Tokugawa army's main camp and aimed directly at Tokugawa Ieyasu's head.
With the cooperation of another fierce general, Mori Katsunaga, Sanada Yukimura successfully killed through the first and second formations of the Tokugawa army and headed straight for the third formation where Tokugawa Ieyasu was located.
It's a pity that Tokugawa Ieyasu was very cunning - when he saw Sanada Yukimura was about to kill him, he broke the flag in a very embarrassed and shameful manner and ran away.
One of the important reasons why Tokugawa Ieyasu was successful was that he could swallow his pride and do things that others were unwilling to do.
Because the general's flag was broken, Sanada and his men could not find their target, and this great charge that almost changed Japanese history ultimately failed.
Exhausted and covered in wounds, Sanada led the remaining troops to retreat to Anai Shrine to defend it. Eventually the shrine was breached and Yukimura Sanada was killed in the battle.
Sanada was killed in battle, the morale of the Toyotomi army collapsed, and eventually the Toyotomi clan was conquered by the Tokugawa clan. The world finally became the world of the Tokugawa clan and the Edo shogunate.
The above history is true history.
Because Yukimura Sanada performed so bravely in the decisive battle between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, and his story is so dramatic, Sanada's story has been favored by storytellers and novelists for the past two hundred years.
Up to now, there are countless modified versions of the story of Yukimura Sanada.
Some say that Sanada was like Zhao Zilong of Changshan, who fought his way in and out of the Tokugawa army seven times...
It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu almost committed seppuku out of despair, but was stopped by a young man around him...
It is said that Sanada had actually reached Tokugawa and planned to kill Tokugawa Ieyasu with a short gun, so that Tokugawa Ieyasu could experience what it meant to say "My Lord, times have changed." However, due to the poor accuracy of firearms in this era, the short gun missed the target...
Because the common people of this era knew these historical stories and historical figures basically through storytellers, these modified stories of Sanada were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and many common people firmly believed that Sanada was the "humanoid Gundam" and the "incarnation of the god of war."
"You are so bold." Atachi imitated Ogata's half-joking tone, "You dare to say that you can compete with the 'No. 1 Soldier in Japan'. If outsiders heard what you said just now, they might call you shameless and ignorant."
After a brief chat with Ogata, A-Ming turned his attention back to A-Yi-Zan: "A-Yi-Zan, are there any heroic epics with heroes like this as the protagonists?"
After thinking for a moment, Ayizan smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"In the heroic epics of our Ainu people, there are many heroes who shine in wars." Ai Zan said with a wry smile, "But we don't know whether those heroes really existed. They are not like the real historical figure like Sanada Yukimura you just mentioned."
"Now that I think about it, it seems like we Ainu people haven't had a new epic based on a real person for quite some time."
"As far as I know, excluding foreigners like Mr. Majima, the one among us Ainu whose deeds are most suitable for being adapted into an epic is Chanup of Heyeche."
"Is Chanup so great?" A-Ting asked, "It even has the chance to be adapted into a heroic epic."
"Very impressive." Ayi Zan nodded. "If the story of Chanup leading people from various tribes to the south to find a new home and finally establishing the new home of 'Heyezhe' after going through untold hardships is adapted into a heroic epic, then this heroic epic should be an extremely rare masterpiece."
"If it weren't for Chanup's several efforts to save the situation and his wise leadership when they first headed south, all of them who were looking for a new home would have been wiped out in the wilderness."
"Chanoop is truly a remarkable man."
Ayizan showed emotion on his face.
"Chanoop has been a very different person since he was young."
"Everyone around me who knows Chanup has nothing but high praise for him."
"However - no one is perfect, there are still some... strange rumors about Chanup that I don't know whether they are true or not."
"Strange rumors?" Ating asked back, "What rumors?"
"I heard this a long time ago - when Chanup was young, he had a friend who was friendly to him."
"And his friend is a very powerful killer."
"Killer?" Ating raised his eyebrows sharply.
At this time, Ogata was also somewhat interested in this topic. He turned around and looked at Ayizan.
"Yes. I heard that the killer's skills are very impressive. Chanup has a very good relationship with his friend."
"At that time, the relationship between Chanup's tribe and another tribe was very bad, and the two tribes had reached the point of a life-and-death struggle."
"Chanoop's father was unfortunately killed in a battle with that tribe."
"So, in order to seek revenge, Chanup invited his friend to help him kill the murderer of his father and all the skilled warriors in that tribe."
"His friend agreed to Chanup's request and broke into the tribe alone in the middle of the night, taking back the heads of Chanup's murderous enemies and all the skilled warriors in the tribe."
"Because most of the capable warriors in that tribe were killed by Chanup's friend, the overall fighting power of the tribe was greatly reduced, so Chanup's tribe eventually won the war, annihilated that tribe, and killed all the people in that tribe."
"Has Chanup ever done such a thing before?" Ating's eyes widened in surprise.
"These are just rumors, I don't know if they are true or not." Ai said, "But even if it is true, I don't think it's a big deal."
"Since the two tribes have reached the point of a fight to the death, it is natural that we should use whatever tactics can cause great damage to the enemy."
"Asking someone to help kill someone - although this is somewhat dishonorable, I think it is understandable."
"Then in the rumors you have heard, is there any mention of the name of Chanup's Japanese friend?" Ogata, who had been listening silently with Atachi, asked at this time.
Ayizan shook his head: "No. So I personally think that these things are probably made up by people who are hostile to Chanup. Chanup doesn't have any friends like this."
“#￥%&*%￥#%%￥%! (Ainu language)”
At this moment, a delicate shout suddenly interrupted the conversation between Ogata and the others.
It was Ashley's voice.
Because Yashili didn't understand Japanese, he didn't join in the conversation between Ogata and the others. He just sat quietly in the corner, looking at the scenery outside to pass the time.
Just now, Yashili, who had been looking at the scenery outside, suddenly changed his expression, then turned his head and shouted the words just now to Ayizan with a serious face.
After hearing what Yashili said, Ayizan's expression suddenly changed, and then he quickly turned his head to look outside.
"...It's bad." After casting his eyes outside the hunting lodge, Ai Zan said in a deep voice, "Mr. Majima, Ms. A-Machi, we have to find a cave to avoid the snow now... The blizzard is coming!"
Ogata and Atachi quickly looked outside the hunting lodge—only to see a large patch of extremely thick dark clouds appearing on the northern skyline.
The "wall of dark clouds" formed by dark clouds invaded the sky above Ogata and his friends with overwhelming force...
…
…
At this moment——
Somewhere not too far from where Ogata and the others were——
A large team of nearly a hundred people is moving forward quickly on the vast snowfield.
The vast majority of the troops were wearing armor and riding well-equipped war horses.
These knights were firmly guarding a sedan chair. The four men carrying the sedan chair were strong and steady, and they carried the sedan chair steadily without any shaking, and at a very fast speed.
This team was none other than Matsudaira Sadanobu’s “expedition team”.
The person sitting in the sedan chair was Matsudaira Sadanobu.
They have now successfully completed their survey of the fjord yesterday.
The inspection process went smoothly, but the results made Matsudaira Sadanobu very upset - the fjord made Matsudaira Sadanobu very disappointed.
It’s not that the fjord is so unsuitable for building a port.
Quite the contrary - the fjord is ideal for a port.
However, the terrain around this fjord is really bad. The topography is rugged and there are many forests, but there are few paths suitable for people to walk on.
What is the use of a seaport that cannot conveniently transport manpower and materials inland?
Although we could spend money to improve the terrain around the fjord and build a few good roads, the money required would be an astronomical figure and not worth it.
So Matsudaira Sadanobu had given up on that fjord and planned to look for a more suitable one.
At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu and others, who had completed the survey of the fjord, were walking quickly on their way back to reunite with the army.
"Master Lao Zhong! Master Lao Zhong!"
Tachibana's voice suddenly rang out from outside the sedan chair.
After hearing Tachibana's voice, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was sitting in the sedan chair with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.
"What's the matter?" asked Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"The weather outside has become so strange!" Tachibana's voice was filled with anxiety, "A large dark cloud has appeared in the north!"
Hearing Tachibana's words, Matsudaira Sadanobu frowned at first, then quickly opened the window of the sedan chair and looked out.
When Matsudaira Sadanobu looked up at the northern sky, he saw a frighteningly dark "black line" appearing on the northern skyline.
This "black line" is made up of extremely thick dark clouds.
This "black line" composed of thick dark clouds was invading the sky from the north at a speed visible to the naked eye, approaching Matsudaira Sadanobu and his group.
Looking at this thick "black line", Matsudaira Sadanobu's face darkened slightly.