Chapter 112 Chapter 22 Entering the City

The place name "Two Countries" came after the bridge was built.There was no Ryogoku Bridge at that time. The road extending from the Lower General Territory and the Oshu branch all ended at this bridge. There are two strictly guarded gates at the ferry port, just like a checkpoint. After the establishment of the county government system of Edo Castle, Aoyama Tataroku Jie Tadasari became the first county prefect.His men were stationed at this pass to check the travelers coming and going. "etc." "able to pass." Everyone is checked. Edo is getting more and more sensitive.

Musashi felt this. Three years ago, when he turned from Nakasendo to Ou via Edo, access to this city was not yet so strict. Why did it suddenly become so heavily guarded? Musashi thought a lot when standing in line in front of the wooden fence with Iori. In the process of urbanization, the population of a city is bound to increase, and there are thousands of different kinds of people, both good and evil.A city must have a system, and villains who exploit legal loopholes will become more and more active. Therefore, in the process of promoting prosperity by those in power, a new culture must be restructured.However, under this new culture, people began to fight openly and secretly for superficial life and desires, and even killed each other.

This may also be one of the reasons! Moreover, this is the base camp of General Tokugawa, and the vigilance of Osaka is increasing day by day, so it must be guarded so closely.In any case, across this big river, Musashi saw a large number of newly built houses and dwindling green spaces in Edo Castle. Compared with the Edo in Musashi's previous impressions, it seemed like a world away. "This rogue—" Musashi heard someone calling him, and these officials in leather socks had already searched Musashi's whole body. Another official asked sharply. "What are you going to do in town?"

Musashi replied: "I have no special purpose, I'm just a wandering martial artist." "No purpose?" The other party blamed him. "Isn't practicing your purpose?" "..." Musashi smiled wryly. "What about the place of birth?" The officials continued to question. "Miyamoto Village, Yoshino Township, Misaku." "Where is the master?" "I have no master." "Then where did you get the travel expenses?" "Wherever I go, I rely on some skills, such as wood carving, painting, and writing to make a living. Sometimes I live in temples or teach people martial arts. It is thanks to the help of many people that I can travel around... If these methods work When there is no way, I will sleep in the wilderness, gnaw the bark and grass roots."

"Then where have you been?" "I lived in Mutsu for half a year, and spent two years as a farmer in the lawn grassland of Shimoso, but I didn't want to farm all my life, so I came here." "Where's your child?" "He's my apprentice, named Yizhi, and he's almost fourteen years old." "Is there a place to stay in Edo? There is no place to stay, and it is forbidden to enter the city." The cross-examination was endless, and Musashi saw that there was a long queue of travelers behind him.If the answer is truthful, the people behind don't know how long they will have to wait.

So Musashi said: "Have." "Where? Where do you live?" "My lord Yagyu Tanma Shouzongji." "What? Master Yagyu's house?" The official's face turned pale for a while, and he dared not make a sound. Musashi thought it was funny, because the Yagyu family came to him suddenly. Although I don't know Yamato's Yanagi Shishusai, but I have an impression of each other through Zean.Therefore, even if the officials went to ask questions, it was impossible for the Yagyu family to answer: "We don't know this person." Maybe Takuan came to Edo too.Although Musashi did not achieve his long-cherished wish, he met Shi Zhouzhai and asked him to benefit from his sword skills.But his eldest son, the direct descendant of Yagyu-ryu, who is currently serving as General Hidetada's military coach Tan Ma, is very strict, and Musashi desperately hopes to compete with him.

He was always thinking about this matter, so much so that when the officials asked about his whereabouts, he blurted out Liu Sheng's house. "It turns out that you have friendship with the Yagyu family... You were very rude just now. However, because the superiors stipulated that they must be strictly interrogated to prevent some low-level samurai from entering the city." The attitude and tone of the officials have undergone a 180-degree change.Then only some routine investigations were done. "Please." He even personally sent them to the gate of the gate. Iori followed behind Musashi.

"Master, why are the officials so verbose?" "It may be to guard against the infiltration of enemy spies." "But how can a spy pass by disguised as a ronin? These officials are too unintelligent." "Be careful that they overhear you." "Oh! The ferry has gone." "Then we have to wait. Let's enjoy Mount Fuji! Iori, you can see Mount Fuji from here!" "Mt. Fuji is not uncommon at all. It can be seen from the Codex Grassland." "Mount Fuji is different today." "why?" "Mt. Fuji looks different every day."

"It's all the same!" "Mount Fuji will produce various appearances due to changes in time, place, seasons, and the wonderful inner changes of the viewers." "..." Yizhi picked up the stones by the river to float in the water, and suddenly jumped over. "Master, are we going to Yagyu's house now?" "Well! What should I do?" "But that's what you said just now at the gate!" "I intend to visit, but the other party is a big shot!" "It must be great to be the military coach of the general's family!"

"That's right." "I want to be like the Yagyu family when I grow up." "Don't just have such small wishes." "what?" "Look at Mount Fuji." "I can't be like Mount Fuji!" "We don't have to rush to think about what to be. First learn that Mount Fuji stands firm and does not flatter the world. If you are admired by others, the world will naturally judge your value." "The ferry is coming!" Children always like to be first.Iori left Musashi and jumped onto the deck first. The Sumida River has different widths, and there are sandbars and shoals in the river, and the two countries are located at the mouth of this river.When the tide is high, the turbid current invades both sides of the river, and the river water is twice as high as usual, turning into a big river.The oars on the ferry scratched the sand and rocks at the bottom of the river.

On a day with a clear sky, the river is clear, and you can see schools of fish and rusty coins between the stone crevices on the river bottom from the side of the boat. "I don't know if there will be peace in the world from now on." There are people chatting on the ferry. "Maybe it didn't go so smoothly!" Another person answered. "There will be a big battle! Even if there is no, there will be chaos." The man's companion followed suit. The conversation was about to get to the point, but suddenly stopped talking.Some of them deliberately looked at the water surface, but secretly winked, asking everyone to stop talking.Because of the fear of being heard by the eyes and ears of officials.Although everyone is a little apprehensive, they like to talk about such issues. "The inspection at the checkpoint at this ferry port can prove this point. The inspection of pedestrians has only recently become so strict. I heard that this is also because the capital often sends spies here." "I also heard that many thieves broke into the official residence of the general recently. If this kind of thing spreads out, people will laugh at it. Therefore, the generals who were broken into the empty door kept their mouths shut." "That must be kept a secret. No matter how greedy the thieves are, they are gambling their lives to break into the general's mansion. It can be seen that these people's motives are not pure!" The guests on the ferry are the epitome of Edo.There are timber merchants covered in sawdust and entertainers from the capital, as well as hooligans, well diggers, prostitutes, monks, ascetics, and ronin like Musashi. Once the ship arrived in port, the passengers filed ashore. "Hey, Ronin." A man came after Musashi.It turned out to be a hooligan on the same boat. "You dropped something! This thing seems to have fallen from you, and I picked it up for you." He was holding a bag of red kits, its original luster covered by thick, shiny grease. Musashi shook his head. "No, it's not mine, maybe someone else dropped it!" Just as he finished speaking, someone beside him said: "Ah! It's mine." The man suddenly reached out and snatched the kit from the hooligan's hand, and put it in his arms. It was Iori.Standing next to Musashi with his short body, if you don't look carefully, you won't notice his existence at all. The hooligan was angry. "Hey! Hey! Even if it's yours, you shouldn't snatch it without even saying thank you! Quickly take out the bag and say thank you to me three times before I return it to you, or I will give it back to you. Throw you into the river to feed the fish." That gangster was rude and unreasonable, but Iori's behavior was also wrong.Musashi interceded on his behalf, hoping that the other party would not remember the villain's mistakes.But the rascal said: "Whether you are his elder brother or master, please report your name first." Musashi lowered his voice. "I am an unknown ronin called Miyamoto Musashi." The hooligan listened. "what?" He stared at Musashi with wide eyes. "Be careful with me." After throwing these words to Iori, he turned around and was about to leave. "stop!" Just now Musashi spoke in a tactful tone, but now he suddenly yelled, which startled the hooligan. "You, what do you want to do?" He intended to shake off the cuff that Musashi had grabbed. "You sign up for me." "My name?" "Since I have reported my name, how can you leave without saying a word?" "I'm from the Banwa family, and my name is Gu Juro." "Okay, you can go." Musashi let go. "F." Gu Juro said the words and ran away quickly. Iori saw that he had the upper hand. "You deserve it, coward." Iori looked at Musashi with admiration and followed him. They come to the street. "Iori." "What's up?" "We used to live in the wilderness with squirrels and foxes, so we didn't have to pay attention to etiquette, but when we come to the crowded streets, don't forget the proper etiquette!" "I see." "If people can live in harmony with each other, it will be a peaceful land. But people are born with two personalities, divinity and devil. As long as there is a slight mistake, the devil will make the world fall into hell. Therefore , in order to restrain our demon nature, we must pay attention to politeness when getting along with others, learn to respect others, and those in power must legislate and maintain the order of the whole society. Your impolite behavior just now is a trivial matter, but in this kind of Order will provoke others." "yes." "Where we will go in the future is still unknown, but I hope you will be polite to people." Iori nodded to Musashi's earnest instruction. "I see." Even the tone of Iori's words became polite. "Master, I might lose this thing if I don't make it right, can I ask Master to keep it for me?" After speaking, he handed over the dilapidated kit that fell on the ferry just now to Musashi. Musashi hadn't paid much attention to this kit before, but now that he was holding it in his hand, he suddenly remembered something. "Isn't this a relic of your father's life?" "Yes, I originally deposited it in Deyuan Temple. The abbot returned it to me today. The money has never been used. So Master, if you need it, you can use the money at any time." "Thank you." Musashi thanked Iori. This faint thank you from Musashi made Iori very unhappy.Even this kid can understand how poor his master is. "Then I'll take it." Musashi took his kit and put it in his arms. As he walked, he thought that although Iori was still a child, he grew up in a rural area with barren land and suffered from hunger and poverty. In his young mind, he had invisibly cultivated the concept of "saving". In contrast, Musashi found himself flawed in his indifference to "money". Although I care about social economic policies, I have no idea about the finances around me.It even made the young Iori worry about his "economic" problems. This young man has talents that he lacks. Musashi deeply expects that Iori's character will be tempered with great wisdom.Neither Musashi himself nor the separated Jotaro lacks this advantage. "Where are you staying tonight?" Musashi had no clue. Iori has never been tempted by the bustling city streets, but at this moment, he looked around uncharacteristically.Finally, he said excitedly like meeting an old friend in a foreign land: "Master, there are a lot of horses there, so there is also a horse market in the city!" Horse dealers have gathered here recently, and teahouses and inns dedicated to gambling have sprung up and sprawled.Musashi looked in the direction Iori pointed, and saw countless horses lined up near the intersection of "Horse Street". Once in a lively town, horseflies are flying around, and people's voices are boiling.The noises were laced with Kanto-accented regional dialect, so Musashi didn't understand their meaning. It turned out that a member of the Wu family came here with an entourage in search of a famous horse.Talent is hard to find in the world, and so are famous horses.The warrior said: "Okay, let's go back! I can't find a good horse to recommend to the master." After leaving this sentence, the samurai was about to turn his head and strode away when he suddenly met Musashi's eyes. "what!" The samurai looked surprised. "Aren't you Mr. Miyamoto?" Musashi also screamed as if staring at the samurai's face. "Oh!" It turned out that in Yanagyuzhuang in Yamato, Musashi was kindly entertained to the Xinyintang in the village, and he talked with Musashi all night about swordsmanship-Kimurasuke Kuro, a high student of Yagyu Ishishusai. "When did you come to Edo? I didn't expect to meet you here." Sukuro looked at Musashi, as if he understood that Musashi was still on the way of training. "I just came back from the boss, is Yamato's master okay after leaving?" "He's fine, he's just getting old." After Sukuro finished speaking, he said: "You can find a time to visit Mr. Dan Mashou's house. I will introduce you to you. And..." Sukuro looked at Musashi with a smile hiding his mystery. "And your Excellency dropped a beautiful thing, someone sent it to Tajima Shou's mansion, so please make sure to visit it." — Lost something beautiful? "Strange? What the hell is it?" Musashi didn't know what to do, Sukuro had already turned around and strode across the street with his entourage.