Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 715 Goodbye Aguo
"I hope I can sleep on the bed tonight!" Changgoro's voice came from behind: "Even if it's a pile of hay, I've been sleeping on the floor every day for the past few days, and my back hurts so much!"

Gao Yannian did not speak. He no longer remembered the road from Nara to Musashi Country. He only remembered that the journey was very long. It seemed to last three months, or four months, or longer. However, he was still young at that time and could only Sitting on an ox cart, and now being able to ride a horse, it probably won’t take that long.

When Gao Sheji and his party arrived at the village he was talking about, it was already close to noon. Everyone's clothes were soaked by the rain. Everyone was in urgent need of a fire, dry ground, and hot soup.But they soon discovered that they were not the only guests. Before they arrived, the village had already had a group of visitors passing through, and the villagers accommodated them in an empty barn that had been vacated.

"I am Aguo from Izumo Shrine!" A middle-aged woman with her hair wrapped in green cloth smiled and bowed to Takashaji: "This time I was taking a few disciples on a tour, and it happened to rain. You’re a hard worker on the road, the fire and hot soup are ready, you’re welcome, please, please!”

"Izumo Shrine?" Takashaji frowned: "But Izumo Shrine, which enshrines the main god of the country?"

"Hahaha!" The middle-aged woman covered her mouth and laughed: "Our shrine does enshrine the main god of the country, but it is not the big shrine, it is just a small shrine! What a joke!"

"Don't dare!" Gao Sheji bowed in return. There was a reason why he asked like this. Ever since Wang Wenzuo conquered the Japanese country and signed the White Horse Alliance with many warriors, the main god of the country has become worshiped by the emerging warrior class. The patron god of the country, which was originally dilapidated and in decline, was just the main god of the Izumo local pantheon. He also turned over and became a god who could compete with the Amaterasu pantheon.However, due to long-term decline, they have not yet had time to integrate, and the main shrines of the major powers have not yet had time to form a strict system. No one knows what the "small shrine" the miko calls is, but it is impossible to show respect to such a powerful god. What would be wrong.

Gao Yannian followed his father into the barn. He looked at the people by the fire pit curiously. Besides A Guo, there were two girls and a boy, both of whom were similar in age to Gao Yannian. In addition, there were three young peddlers. , people dressed as nothingness monks formed this small tour group.

"Excuse me!" Gao Sheji apologized to A Guo, then untied his cloak and put it at the door to dry. Then he took off his clothes and put them on the fire to dry. Gao Yannian also followed his father's example. I heard A Guo say "Yeah": "Mr. Sir, with so many scars on your body, you must be a warrior, right?"

"I don't have any official position!" Gao Sheji replied solemnly: "But I am indeed a person who relies on bows and arrows for a living!"

A Guo nodded. Gao Sheji's answer was quite measured. After Wang Wenzuo conquered the Japanese state, he allocated land and official positions to the Japanese warriors who served him according to their military exploits in the "War of Three Emperors". Regardless of these The warriors' previous identities were nobles, servants, farmers, or something else. After that, they were all called samurai, that is, people who used martial arts to serve the Japanese king in exchange for official positions and land.Of course, in addition to this, the Japanese country does not have other armed forces, but these forces have gradually been marginalized. Wang Wenzuo’s purpose of doing this is obvious, that is, to build an army loyal to his descendants and give them corresponding socioeconomic status. , forming a new ruling class to gradually replace the old Japanese ruling class.Obviously, by this standard, Takashaji is not a samurai. He is at best a powerful rural landowner. However, Takashaji himself is not reconciled to his current status. The purpose of his trip to Namba is to make a class jump. , joining the ranks of the samurai class, in his own words, reviving his family.

"You must be very good at martial arts, right?" A Guo glanced at Gao Yannian and Chang Wulang who were taking off their coats: "Are these two your children? What thick arms! And this arrow, it's actually There are fourteen arrows (the length of the arrow shaft), so one can be equal to a hundred warriors!"

Gao Yannian frowned. He didn't like the feeling of A Guo looking at him, but it felt uncomfortable to wear wet clothes. He had to take off his coat, pick it up with a branch and put it next to the fire.

"They are just children. They don't have any martial arts skills. They are coming with me to see the world this time!" Gao Sheji replied.

"So, you are going to Namba Kyo at His Majesty's call?" Aguo said with a smile.

"Not bad!" Gao Sheji's eyes narrowed slightly. The shrine maiden in front of him actually knew about the emperor summoning martial arts from various countries. It seemed that it was not simple.

"Hahaha!" Aguo laughed: "Don't worry, you are not the only warriors who have been called to Namba Kyo. You can often meet them on the road these days. It should not be difficult to guess by looking at your clothes! "

"Oh, there are so many?" Gao Sheji felt slightly relieved.

"Yes!" Ah Guo said with a smile: "The war has been less than ten years, right? How many warriors with nothing have suddenly become warrior officers with estates and official positions, and I don't know how many people have looked at it. It’s all hot. If I had known this earlier, even if I were at the end of the world, as long as an edict from the emperor was delivered, I would have come without fear of hardships. Now that I have finally waited for it again, how can I be willing to miss it? "

Aguo's words touched Gao Sheji's thoughts, and he sighed: "Yes, I also know that Musashi is far away from Namba Kyo, but I won't be willing to do it if I don't fight to the death!" He looked back. The son glanced at him: "When people live in this world, they always do it for the sake of future generations. You can't just watch them just be farmers all their lives, right?"

"Yes!" Ah Guo sighed: "But have you ever thought about taking the sea route? It's much closer that way. You can continue walking eastward. When you reach the Tone River, walk downstream along the river. When you reach the seaside, you can take a boat. It will be much more convenient to go to Namba Kyo!”

"Sea route?" Gao Sheji frowned: "If we encounter wind and waves, wouldn't it be very dangerous?"

"You don't have to worry about this!" Aguo laughed: "It's not the past now. In recent years, the shipbuilding merchants in Namba have invited many craftsmen from the Tang Dynasty. The ships they built are strong and fast. They are not the ones that used bamboo in the past. The boat is fixed with nails and straw ropes, so even if it encounters wind and waves, there will be no problem!”

"Is there a big ship built by Tang craftsmen?" Gao Sheji was surprised.

"Well, so Namba Capital has caravans going to and from Yangzhou every year, and most of the caravan ships are built locally!" Aguo said with a smile: "We first arrived at Mikawa Kingdom by boat, and then walked along the road. "The shipping fee is not cheap, right?" Gao Sheji carefully looked at Aguo again: "I'm afraid we can't afford that much money, and people may not be willing to take us to Namba Kyo!"

"Haha!" Ah Guo smiled: "You don't have to worry about this. As long as it's a ship heading to Namba Kyo, if you show them this, they won't take your money!" At this point, she said nothing. He took out a copper coin and handed it to Gao Sheji. Gao Sheji took it and took a look. He saw that the copper coin was not the same as the copper coins with a round outside and a square inside. It was a round copper piece. , with a statue of a god on the front and four Chinese characters on the back: "There is a beginning and an end."

"Has a beginning and an end?" Gao Sheji glanced at A Guo: "What do you mean?"

"Everything has life and death, a beginning and an end. Even gods and Buddhas have their five moments of mourning. How can we mortals be an exception?" A Guo said with a smile: "But this copper coin is not for nothing. You need to do something. Things, prove yourself worthy!”

"what's up?"

"There is a group of thieves not far from this village. They often rob the surrounding villages and extort food, wine and women! Since you want to go to Namba Kyo, you must be quite confident in your martial arts, right?"

"Thieves, do you want me to get rid of them in exchange for a ticket to Namba Kyo?" Gao Sheji asked.

"That's right!" Aguo said with a smile: "If you take the land route, it's still a long way from here to Namba Kyo, and the road is not safe. It is very likely that you will encounter other thieves, and you will probably have to fight with them when the time comes. Fight. And if you take the sea route, it is not only safer but also much more comfortable than the land route. Since you have to fight the thieves, why not here? At least here you are taking the initiative to attack, and you can get various help from the villagers, instead of An unknown place was attacked by thieves. More importantly, if you win this time, I will make your killing of the thieves into a dance song and sing it everywhere. This will also be good for your family, right? "

Gao Sheji frowned, and he began to realize that the identity of the witch in front of him was not simple. If a witch who was traveling outside would definitely do more things than do less, how could she encourage him to get rid of nearby thieves?Isn't he afraid that if he fails, he will provoke the thief's revenge?As for the later mentioned dance music, which is spread around to spread the reputation, this is even more beyond the experience of this kind of traveling witch who is almost equal to a traveling prostitute.

"Your Excellency A Guo!" Gao Sheji said: "This time, I am the only one who is good at fighting, and there are three of my two disciples. This group of thieves must have at least 50 people, right? With such a disparity in proportion, no matter how brave they are, It’s hard for a warrior to win!”

"But I heard that real warriors not only use bows, arrows and spears, but also use wind, fire and water to fight!" A Guo said with a smile: "Although there are many thieves, there are more than a hundred young men in the village. If people are armed with bamboo spears, they will outnumber thieves. If they are used properly, they should be able to defeat these thieves, right?"

"The villagers are just villagers after all! If they can fight with the wind, they will be fine, but if they suffer a slight setback, they will flee in all directions, right?" Gao Sheji asked: "Besides, the thieves are only extorting food and women, but they will not kill people indiscriminately. And if I Not all thieves were eliminated this time. If some of them were missed, they would probably try their best to take revenge on the villagers. Wouldn't that harm the villagers instead?"

A Guo's eyes lit up: "Very good. In addition to eliminating thieves, you will also consider the safety of the villagers. This is a rare quality. There is no more suitable candidate than you. With this added, it should be no problem, right?" At this point, A Guo took out a document from his sleeve and placed it in front of Gao Sheji.

"What is this?" Gao Sheji picked up the letter in confusion.

"You should have heard of the Izumi family of Izumo country, right?" Aguo looked solemn, and he was a completely different person: "This is the autograph letter written by the head of the Izumi family, Akimi Akatsuki, to me. After you arrive in Namba Kyo , just take this to see Chiyun, he will make good arrangements for you!"

"The Jimi family of Izumo Country?" Gao Sheji carefully took the letter. Of course he had heard of this name. It is said that he was one of the first wealthy Japanese families to follow Wang Wenzuo. He was established in the civil war when Wang Wenzuo defeated the prince, the eldest brother. After his great efforts, he developed the Great Silver Mountain of Izumo for the king of Japan. An astonishing amount of silver was produced there every day, and it was one of the most important sources of wealth for the king.The Ji Jian family has become a hot upstart among the Japanese, second only to Fujiwara, Morijun and other few wealthy families whose family background and heritage are far above them. If they can get his recommendation, Gao Sheji will return to the Wu family and revitalize it. The door to the house is no longer a dream, but this woman has a handwritten letter from Chi Ying, so who is she?
"May I ask, who is your true identity?" Gao Sheji asked carefully.

"As I said just now, my name is A Guo, and I am a witch who serves the Lord God of the Great Country!" A Guo said with a smile.

"But didn't you say it's not Izumo Taisha Shrine?" Gao Sheji asked in confusion.

"As a witch, you serve the gods and their descendants in the human world, not the shrine." Aguo became serious: "Wherever the gods want Aguo to go, Aguo will go, so I didn't lie to you, I am indeed no longer here Izumo Taisha Shrine, do you understand?”

"I understand!" Gao Sheji lowered his head, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Descendants of the Great God in the human world?Isn't that just Wang Wenzuo and the current Japanese king?Is this Aguo wandering around as the king's eyes and ears, looking for news?Eliminate potential enemies?Thinking of this, Gao Sheji no longer dared to think about it any more, and said solemnly: "In that case, please leave everything to me!"

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"Hold the gun barrel tightly, with the front hand a little looser, and the back hand tightly, holding the end of the gun barrel! Hold it flat like me!" Gao Yannian held a bamboo gun to demonstrate to the farmers in front of him, and yelled: "Idiot, who are you? If you put your front hand so far forward, your whole body will be tense and you can't hold the gun tightly. How can you stab someone?" As he spoke, he struck the farmer's gun with the spear shaft flatly, and the farmer couldn't hold the gun tightly. Stopping, he immediately fell to the ground and hit the ankle of his companion next to him, causing a mess.

(End of this chapter)