"Left Guard!"

Hearing the shouting, several people on the road stopped to watch, after all, "Uemon", "Saemon", "Guard" or "Honbei" are very common names, and it is said that a small number of people in Fuso are called this.

Tomijiro paused for a moment and continued on his way.

Although he is now accustomed to his new name, the only people who are willing to call him that are only his companions on the whaling ship, and today the companions are in a hurry to go home, so they should not be calling him.

Seeing that Fujiro ignored him, several young people from the inner domain of Dewa Country Zhuang were in a hurry, and hurriedly rushed forward to stop him, and said hello in a gossipy:

"Brother Zuo Bingwei, you have come back from going to sea, hard work."

Seeing that no one called himself "Tomijiro", Zuobei was very happy. In order not to disturb others, he waved his hand and led these people into the water tea house on the side of the road.

Several young people were very reserved, and although they were wearing new clothes that had been issued, they still did not have any confidence.

"Hakodate is a place to be reasonable, as long as you are honest, you don't have to be afraid."

With such bold words, coupled with the fact that he was wearing leather shoes, no one could tell that this young man had only just come out and been wandering for only a few years.

Zuobei, formerly known as Tomijiro, is the son of a "common people" family in Kiyokawa Village, and has been farming for a living since his ancestors.

As the second son, he has no family business to inherit, and because he usually eats a lot, he is very disgusted by the eldest brother and his wife.

With no way out, Tomijiro did not become an apprentice craftsman or merchant until he was twelve.

Originally, his best way out in the future was to be a son-in-law and son for others, so that he could have a family business of his own; And if he is not lucky, then he can only help his brother all the time, doing farm work until he dies, and he can't even marry a wife.

In the third year of Ko'ansei (1856), he heard from the merchants of the castle town that "the port of Hakodate in Hokuchi was opened, and the local government needed a large number of manpower, and if they did a good job, they could be naturalized." With the dream of marrying a wife in a divided land, seventeen-year-old Fujiro took the two pieces of money that his mother secretly stuffed into him, and got on the boat in a daze.

But when I got to the ground, I realized that everything was a lie - the box house needed a large number of people, but it was just to build roads and houses, and as for the division of land, it was just an unattainable dream.

Tomijiro was even more unfortunate that the owner of the ship did not send him to the kenjo for registration, but instead sold him to someone else.

In this way, Tomitaro became a black worker in a daze, and signed a ten-year deed of sale with a local dental dealership.

His first year of life was very miserable, he worked a lot, ate and wore poorly, he almost didn't freeze to death in winter, and the wages he received were exploited by the tooth shop, and in the end there was nothing left.

Because of the strict supervision of the tooth shop, Tomijiro cut off contact with the outside world, and when he cried silently, he thought about seeking death many times.

Fortunately, the Hakodate office is still good.

Because of the serious disrepute of the immigrants he solicited, in the spring of the following year, the evil tooth store was seized, the deed of sale was annulled, and Tomitaro became an official Hakodate lord.

Under the organization of the commission, the eighteen-year-old Fujiro joined the army of building the Kameda Imperial Office's earthen fortress, which is the folk name for Goryokaku.

After the establishment of the Hakodate Commission, it was the official office of the former Matsumae family. However, the location was too close to Hakodate Bay, and Riki and others felt that it was very unfavorable for defense, so they applied to the shogunate for another site to build Goryokaku.

In 1856, the third year of Ansei (1856) began to build Odaiba and the government offices of the commissioners. The following year, the construction of Goryokaku was officially launched.

Of course, the young Tomijiro didn't know this, he only knew that there were thousands of people working with him, and that his main job was to build ditches - Kameda had many swamps, and only after draining them could he start building castles.

After becoming a leader, Tomijiro worked as hard as before, but without his fierce tooth shop, he was able to save some money.

Refusing to eat and drink, never playing in a show, and never visiting the Yonu Street, Tomijiro was frugal, hoping that after the Kameda Imperial Shrine was completed, he would be able to manage his own land well when the land was divided as promised.

However, life is full of uncertainties.

In September of the 5th year of Ansei (1858), the construction of the Kameda Imperial Shrine was discontinued, and it is said that this was the order of the new commissioner.

To Tomijiro's ecstasy, the new commissioner announced at the same time that the Hakodate immigrants began to divide the land!

Although he declared that he was willing to stay in the sub-house of Hakodate as a townsperson, and he was willing to cultivate the land, Tomijiro recognized the land and did not think about how to be a townholder.

However, there are too many people who are willing to divide the land, and even though the law enforcement institute has repeatedly clarified that "land can be self-reliant after three years of reclamation", those who are enthusiastic about registering cannot stop it at all.

In desperation, the divided land had to use the seniority sequence to distribute the shares.

The qualifications were counted from the second year of Ansei (1855), and Tomijiro was a lord who only became a lord in the fourth year of Ansei, and there were many people who registered, so he naturally did not have enough qualifications.

Tomijiro's dream died again, and he could only stay in Hakodate, waiting for the next opportunity to cultivate.

Although the Kameda Imperial Shrine was no longer built, most of the people who had participated in the general election were retained, and the office not only initiated other general requests, but also expanded the scale of the original carboniferous ore and iron sand collection.

However, Tomijiro is reluctant to leave Hakodate - although he is a simple countryman, Tomijiro has his own cunning. He thinks, "Only by staying in Hakodate for a long time can you get the news of the land division early." ”

Therefore, he has been looking for labor opportunities in Hakodate.

But he has a native accent and can't read, and because the shadow of the past is unwilling to continue to do the general invitation, so until he met Horii Hanbei, he has not stabilized, and basically lives by working part-time jobs.

In October of the fifth year of Ansei (1858), Horii recruited people for his new fishing boat, and Tomijiro went to join in the fun.

Actually, Tomijiro Shigege had never been a fisherman before, but the Shonai domain was near the sea, and he liked to swim since he was youngest, so he probably had a small advantage.

Luckily, Tomijiro was eventually recruited onto the ship by the shipowner, Horii, who was short of people.

But no one thought that Tomijiro was actually a natural sailor!

Not only was he quick to get started with the affairs of the ship, but more importantly, he was very sensitive to the weather and the fish, and the bow called him "the man who was born to eat this bowl of rice".

This year, on the 2nd day of June in the 6th year of Ansei (July 1, 1859), Hakodate, Nagasaki, and Yokohama opened trade with foreign countries on time as agreed, and the simple opening of the port for supply to the opening of the port for trade also affected the lives of many people.

For Tomijiro, the change was a change of ship.

Because the owner of the ship, Horii Hanbei, rented a new Western-style steam whaling ship, and Tomijiro, who was a newcomer but was valued, also changed ships - anyway, the original sailors didn't know how to operate a steamship, so it didn't matter if they were novices and veterans.

Since the second year of Ansei (1855), the number of foreign whaling ships in Ezo and North Ezo has increased year by year.

If there are more boats, the whaling harvest will drop on its own, but it is still a popular business, but it is no longer profitable.

In particular, the Fuso whaling ship has an advantage over Western ships, not only can it be replenished at any Northland port, but the price of fuel and supply is relatively cheaper.

After boarding a whaling ship, Tomijiro's life changed dramatically.

Although it is hard, the salary is paid every month.

In the seventh month of the Hikari calendar, Tomijiro, as the assistant of the navigator, was divided into more than ten boxes of pavilions under his name!

You must know that although the Hakodate Chronicle is a local notebook issued by the Executive, it has a good reputation, and you can exchange gold and silver for two merchants, and ten Boxes Pavilion Gazette can be exchanged for ten tenpo small judgments, you know, in the past, the Tomijiro family worked hard for a year to balance 27 copper coins, which is equivalent to five to six gold! Moreover, it has to be a rare good year!

As soon as the money arrived, Tomijiro did two big things:

First of all, he renamed himself "Sabei", indicating that he was also a famous family, and his ancestors had also been samurai - when he told his shipmates about this, the expression of the ship's owner, Horii Hanbei, looked subtle. At that time, Tomijiro was weak-hearted, but Horii encouraged him instead, "When you get to the northern land, you have to be worthy of a man's name, that's right!" ”

Then, he went to the Four Seasons House to bring back half of his salary to his hometown.

Four Seasons House, like Knorr House and Ximei House, is a newly rising wealthy merchant in the Northland, with the official endorsement of the office, and the new immigrants of the Hakokan like to let these two families return to their hometowns with money, quickly and safely.

Tomijiro didn't give money to his hometown for the sake of face, but to understand that life is not easy - he knows that although his brother and sister-in-law are tired of his heavy food, despite the scolding in his mouth, the family has never been hungry for him, you must know that his brother and sister-in-law have always eaten less when they are not on the ground.

After three years of training outside, Tomijiro finally began to understand, "The life of the poor is sad, and the warmth is hidden in the scolding, this is life!" ”

And with this money, my brother and sister-in-law will be more comfortable, and if they are less irritable, their elderly parents will be able to smile for a few more days.

didn't think about it, the news that Tomijiro made money spread far and wide, and it actually caused waves among the fellows who begged for a living in the box house, and he inexplicably became the number one person - although he was only a small person, but after all, someone recognized it.

However, Tomijiro was not disgusted by this, he had never received such respect, but rather indulged in it - of course, an important reason was that no fellow countryman borrowed money from him.

This is due to the fact that the Hakodate government has entrusted a few wealthy merchants to lend money to immigrants, and as long as it is serious, the interest rate is low.

Speaking of which, I have to mention that the lord of the government, Naohide, has made a lot of achievements since he was in charge of the Hakokan, and his love for the people has been reported frequently, although it is impossible to solve all the problems, but the life of the people, especially the new immigrants, is indeed much better than before.

Let's just say that this longhouse, as the residence of ordinary people, the longhouse of Quanfuso is made of a mold, crowded, narrow, and dark, just for the poor to shelter in.

But now the longhouses of the Hakokan are all different, not to mention the spaciousness and brightness, not to mention the small courtyard of their own, and even the shoji have begun to use double glazing, and there are artesian wells for drinking water.

According to everyone's words, "The samurai master in my hometown has never lived in a house like this!" ”

In addition, as one of the good practices of the office, the rent of the longhouse is extremely low and the number is extremely abundant, and anyone who has a full-time business student can become the owner of the house at will, and it is said that the government office subsidizes a large amount of money every year for this!

"Profiteers are hateful!"

The villagers chatted with Zuobei in the water tea house, and when they talked about the longhouse, they began to scold the builders in unison, and they were aggrieved by their favorite dedication.

Speaking of which, yashiki is a pain in the face for all newcomers!

Although the longhouse is good, each person can only have one room, so having a house of their own is the wish of all outsiders.

The longhouse has a subsidy from the commission, but the house is not good, and the price of buying and selling is relatively high!

The land is born and fair, and everyone in the planned town can apply for it for free, but the building materials and labor are both high.

Everyone didn't dare to expect the law firm to continue to post money, so they could only scold the profiteers.

Several of the Shonai clan folks here have just arrived at Hakodate this year, and they are full of illusions about the future, and they are looking for Zuobei because he is doing well, and everyone is counting on obtaining some true scriptures, and if the whaling ship recruits people again, they will have to trouble people to introduce them.

As she spoke, the conversation suddenly turned to another character.

"Brother Zuobei, have you heard, the son of a wealthy merchant in his hometown, Hachiro Kiyokawa, has also arrived at Hakodate, and it is said that he is about to become a samurai!"

Hanbei Horii, the owner of the Sabei ship, was a samurai and is said to have been born as a commoner. When he usually goes to sea, Horii often uses his own examples to inspire the crew.

Therefore, when talking about the "big man" in his hometown like Kiyokawa Hachiro, Zuobei unconsciously brought a trace of equality to him, and he relayed Horii's words:

"Today's lord is a great person, and he works hard in the Northland, so I can't say that everyone will be a samurai master in the future! However, now everyone has to be ready, taking a good seedling word is a major event for eternity! ”

Listening to what Zuobei said was interesting, even the girl in the water tea house laughed, Hakodate market is thriving now, who said that this dream cannot be realized.