Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 314 "The Shogunate is really going too far!"
Not until they were all knocked to the ground by Ogata did the four young men finally see who had "attacker" them.
After seeing Ogata... or to be more precise, after seeing the samurai sword on Ogata's waist, the faces of these four young men immediately turned pale.
The people whose faces turned pale, the people watching on the sidelines, and the boy and the little girl who had just been rescued by Ogata.
Just as Ogata was about to say something, the four young men immediately rolled and crawled away from Ogata's sight.
As for the onlookers, as well as the young boy and the little girl, whether they were lying or sitting, they all knelt on the ground in the most respectful and standard Dogeza posture, and saluted respectfully to Ogata.
"...Ayi, it's really strange..." Ating, who was standing next to Ogata, put his lips close to Ogata's ear and whispered, "The people here... seem to be very afraid of samurai..."
"Yeah." Ogata nodded gently, and like Atachi, he whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "It seems to be true... After seeing the knife on my waist, the people here acted as if they saw a demon..."
Ogata cleared his throat.
Then he said loudly to everyone present:
"Everyone, don't be afraid."
"I'm just a warrior passing through. I don't have any ill will towards you."
After hearing what Ogata said and seeing that he did not do anything malicious, the panic on the faces of everyone present gradually disappeared and they regained their composure.
"... Samurai-sama, thank you." The young man, who still had a trace of panic on his face, said respectfully to Ogata, "Thank you for your help just now..."
"It's just a small favor." Ogata said casually, "What are your and your sister's names?"
"My name is Dousuke, and my sister's name is Achu."
"Dousuke and Izu...very nice and memorable names." Ogata said as he took out his Kyoto map from his pocket, "Dousuke, Izu. Let me ask you two a question: Do you know where the Sanji Street in Kyoto is?"
After saying that, Ogata handed the map to Dousuke and Aide in front of him.
However, facing the map handed over by Ogata, Dousuke and Aide looked at each other, and no one reached out to take it.
"What's wrong?" Ogata asked.
"... Samurai-sama." Dousuke gritted his teeth, "We... are Eta... Do you mind if our hands dirty your map?"
"I don't mind." Ogata said without hesitation, "In my eyes, there is no difference between samurai and Eta. They are just ordinary people who struggle and try to survive in the secular world."
"If I would look down on you because of your status as Eta, I would not have helped you just now."
After hearing what Ogata had just said, an indescribable strange light flashed in the eyes of Dousuke and Aide.
"... Samurai-sama, you are really strange." Dousuke laughed a few times with mixed emotions, "This is... the first time I see a samurai who doesn't discriminate against us Eta..."
"I don't know where Third Prince Street is, but maybe Lord Yashi knows."
After saying that, Douzhu turned his head and shouted to the crowd behind him:
"Lord Yashi! Do you know where Third Prince Street is?"
As Douzhu finished his words, an old man with white hair and beard, about 60 years old, stood up from the ground shakily, leaning on a broken cane.
Yashi ignored Dousuke's question and shouted at Dousuke and Ade in a stern tone:
"Dosuke! Izuku! What were you two doing just now?!"
"How many times have I told you! We must recognize our identities!"
"We are Eta!"
"How can Eta contradict civilians!"
"You actually dared to talk back to civilians like that. You wouldn't feel that your death was in vain if you were beaten to death on the spot by the civilians!"
Yashi's scolding instantly made the faces of the two siblings, Dosuke and Aide, turn ugly.
"We didn't do anything wrong!" Ah Chu was the first to shout, "It was those four guys who accidentally kicked my brother who was sleeping on the side of the road!"
"It was clearly their own fault, yet they still wanted me to kneel down and apologize to them! They blamed me for polluting their feet!"
"Even if we didn't make any mistakes, we, the Eta, can't talk back to the common people!" Yashi shouted angrily, "Even if the mistakes weren't ours, we can't be disobedient to the common people or the samurai in the slightest!"
"Eta must look like Eta!"
"Also! How did you just talk to those four civilians and this samurai-sama?"
"Have you forgotten how I usually educate you?"
"When talking to civilians and warriors, remember to put your hands in front of your mouth to prevent the "dirty air" from your mouth from spraying on others!"
"A few days ago, a young and ignorant fool like you two didn't cover his mouth and nose when talking to a civilian, and was beaten to death by that civilian!"
"Common people have their own way of living, and we the people of Wudu have our own way of living!"
"If we want to live a good life, we must follow this way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times."
After scolding Dousuke and Aide harshly in a stern tone, leaving them speechless, Yashi put on a very skilled and flattering smile, put his right hand in front of his mouth, and said to Ogata in an extremely respectful tone:
"I'm sorry, Master Samurai, but I'm not sure where the Third Prince Street is in Kyoto."
"And does anyone else here know where Third Princes Street is?"
Yashi turned back for Ogata and cast a questioning look at the others behind him.
No one responded.
"I'm sorry, samurai-sama." Yashi turned his head back and continued to show Ogata a flattering smile, "We are all Eta. On weekdays, we can only stay in our own little piece of land and cannot go out at will. Although we have all lived in Kyoto since we were young, we are actually not that familiar with Kyoto..."
Ogata looked at Yashi who still had a flattering smile on his face.
Yashi's eyes were dull and lifeless, with almost no luster in them.
Although the face was smiling, the eyes were not smiling at all.
Just now, when he was scolding Dousuke and Aide, Yashi's eyes were also without any light.
Ogata raised his head and looked at the other people present.
Everyone else present was like Yazhi, with dull eyes and no .
Only those who were still younger had eyes that were not "dead" yet, and they still looked .
Looking at the group of people in front of him, Ogata suddenly felt mixed emotions...
After Ogata put the map away, he bowed slightly to the people in front of him:
"Sorry to bother you. Goodbye."
After saying a brief goodbye to Dousuke and the others, Ogata led Atachi away from Dousuke and the others.
Before they had gone far, Ogata and Omachi heard footsteps behind them.
Following the sound, he turned around and saw Dousuke holding his sister Aide's hand and running towards Ogata and the other person.
"Master Warrior, are you planning to go to Third Prince Street?"
"Yeah." Ogata nodded slightly.
"Although I don't know where Third Prince Street is, I can lead you out of this burnt area." Douzhu said, "I'm familiar with this area, and I know a shortcut that can quickly get you out of here!"
"Is that so..." Ogata said softly, "Then - I'll trouble you."
Dousuke and Aide walked ahead, leading the way for Ogata and Amachi.
Following Dousuke and walking out of the burned area, Ogata saw many residents of the burned area lying in various postures on the roadside or under the ruins.
Without exception, these residents all showed expressions of fear after seeing the knife at Ogata's waist.
"... Dousuke."
"I am here."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Please speak, Samurai-sama."
"Douzuke, why do the people here look so strange after seeing the katana on my waist?"
After stepping into the burned area and meeting the residents living there, Ogata and Atachi discovered that the residents living there seemed to be very afraid of Ogata as a samurai . After seeing the samurai sword on Ogata's waist, all of them turned pale.
Although in this era, samurai were the ruling class of the country, Ogata had traveled to many places in Japan, and this was the first time he saw people so afraid of samurai.
"... Samurai-sama, don't you know?"
"You can probably tell from my accent, right? I'm a foreigner and I don't know everything about Kyoto."
"…In order to welcome the Owari daimyo Tokugawa Munemichi who came to Kyoto to watch the Gion Festival again this year, Kyoto Soshidai…that bastard Toda Tadahiro issued a very abominable order."
Dousuke said softly.
"In order to prevent Tokugawa Munemichi from discovering that so many people were still living in the burned areas, Toda Tadahiro commanded the samurai to drive away all the residents in the burned areas closest to the Nijo Palace."
"The warriors used very brutal methods to drive out the residents of those burned areas. Anyone who refused to leave would be beaten and kicked..."
"The warriors' brutal behavior caused dissatisfaction among the people."
"Although some people who could no longer tolerate it also fought back, picking up sticks and bricks to fight against the warriors."
"But there aren't many of them, just some civilians..."
"How can civilians armed with sticks and bricks be a match for samurai armed with swords..."
"The resistance of these people was quickly suppressed."
"The reason why everyone is so scared when they see the sword on your waist is because they think the samurai are coming again to drive them away again..."
Having said this, Dousuke turned his head and looked at something in the distance beside him.
Ogata followed Dosuke's line of sight.
What Dousuke was looking at was a towering and magnificent city.
Looking at this majestic and magnificent city, Ogata muttered softly in a voice that only he could hear:
"Nijo Castle..."
Nijo Castle, also known as Nijo Gosho, was the headquarters of the Shogun of the Edo Shogunate in Kyoto.
It is a symbol of the power of the Edo Shogunate.
Even from a distance, you can still see this majestic and magnificent city.
Even from a distance, one could still see the candlelight shining brightly in Nijo Castle.
Ogata had heard from Makimura and others that tonight, the daimyo of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Munemune, would hold a grand banquet in Nijo Castle, and all the dignitaries in Kyoto and its surrounding areas would attend the banquet.
The 28 ninjas from Shiranui who are currently cooperating with the shogunate are responsible for the defense of Nijo Castle tonight...
At this moment, the waiters in Nijo Castle should be preparing for the banquet that is about to begin.
"The shogunate... is really going too far..."
Dousuke's voice was thick with tears.
At this moment, Azuchi, who was standing next to Dousuke, also looked like he was about to cry.
Ah Chu stretched out his two little hands and wrapped them around Douzhu's small fist that was hanging naturally.
"We are all human, but you insist on creating a hierarchy of samurai, commoners, and eda!"
"In order to cover up the shame, they drove everyone away without any explanation!"
"If you don't want Tokugawa Munemichi to see that there are still so many people without a place to live, then find a way to help us rebuild our homes! Just driving us away from under your nose is nothing!!"
Dousuke roared at Nijo Castle.
However, Dousuke's roar was destined not to reach Nijo Castle or the ears of those inside Nijo Castle...
…
…
There are two prisons in Kyoto.
The two prisons were located in the north and south of the city respectively and were under the jurisdiction of the Bugyoso.
At this moment, the prison in the south of the city welcomed a group of uninvited guests.
A middle-aged man wearing a special black uniform led two young men and strode towards the prison in the south of the city.
The two young men following closely behind the middle-aged man, one has a handsome appearance, and the other has a noble appearance and excellent temperament.
Because these two young men were so eye-catching, this group attracted a lot of people's attention, especially women, when they marched towards the prison in the south of the city.
Of course - there were also some knowledgeable people who recognized the black uniform on the middle-aged man walking in front, and they looked at him with curiosity and doubt.
"Look... that's the uniform of the fire thief..."
"Aren't the fire thieves mainly active in the Edo area? Why are there fire thieves officials in our Kyoto?"
"Although the fire thieves are mainly active in the Edo area, they occasionally travel to various parts of Japan to capture some important criminals..."
"Could it be that some vicious arsonist or thief has escaped to the vicinity of Kyoto..."
…
The middle-aged man and the two young men following him turned a deaf ear to the discussions of the people around them.
When the three men strode to the gate of the prison in the south of the city, the two guards at the gate tilted the long wooden sticks in their hands with vigilance.
The two guards put their tilted wooden sticks together to form an "X" shape, blocking the middle-aged man and the two young men in front of the door.
Before the two guards could ask who the visitor was, the middle-aged man said loudly:
"I am the leader of the Fire Thieves Kai - Hasegawa Heizo."
"Have your Ishiide Daito, Onoue Hironoshin, come to see me. I have something urgent to discuss with him."
