"Hey!"

Ogata leaned down and shouted at the man who was squatting in the snow.

"Are you okay?"

After hearing Ogata's shout, the unknown man who was squatting in the snow raised his head and looked at Ogata.

It's the face of a weather-beaten middle-aged man.

But for some reason, there was a bit of pain on his face.

"Samurai-sama......" The middle-aged man looked at the knife at Ogata's waist, "Please...... Can you help me......"

"I ...... I accidentally fell just now, and it seems like I broke my foot......"

"I can't walk back to the village alone with my injured foot......"

"Can you help take me back to the village?"

"My village is not far from here, please!"

"Will I send you back to the village......" Ogata glanced the middle-aged man up and down a few times, "I'm happy to do this kind of thing." But before I help you—"

Ogata reached out and fumbled up and down the middle-aged man's body.

"Samurai-sama......" the middle-aged man wondered, "what are you doing?" ”

"I'm just checking to see if you're carrying knives, poisons, or other weapons."

After groping the middle-aged man's whole body, Ogata clapped his hands.

"Well, you don't have a murder weapon on you, it seems that you are not planning to use shady tricks against my assassins."

"Samurai-sama, you're joking." The middle-aged man smiled bitterly, "Why should I harm you for no reason? ”

Ogata responded to the middle-aged man's words with a meaningful smile.

Ogata pulled the middle-aged man onto his back and picked it up.

"Hold on."

"Yes, Samurai-sama, thank you." The middle-aged man said in a sincere tone, "In this world now, there are not many warriors like you who are old-fashioned. ”

"No thanks." Ogata smiled, "It's just a trivial matter for me anyway. Show me the way, in which direction is your village? ”

……

……

Under the guidance of the middle-aged man, Ogata walked slowly towards the village where the middle-aged man lived.

Coincidentally, the middle-aged man's village was located in the same direction as Ogata had wanted to go in the first place.

So Ogata also dropped by to send the middle-aged man home.

While sending the middle-aged man home, Ogata chatted with the middle-aged man in a casual manner.

Through small talk with the middle-aged man, Ogata learns that the middle-aged man's name is Yoshiro and the village he lives in is called Shikawa Village.

He went out of the village this time to find something to eat in the wild.

"Looking for something to eat?" Ogata raised his eyebrows, "On such a snowy day, how can there be anything to eat in the wild?" ”

"Haha......" Yoshiro chuckled helplessly, "so I'm just here to try my luck...... You might even find something to eat...... My family and I haven't had a full meal in a long time......"

Speaking of this, Yoshiro let out a long sigh.

"Alas...... It's all to blame on the hateful Negishi family...... If it weren't for them, our village wouldn't be what it is......"

"The Negishi family?" Ogata wondered.

"It's the 'Yakuza' ...... entrenched in this place," Yoshiro let out a long sigh again, "The only thing the Negishi family knows how to do is to oppress ordinary people like us. ”

"It is said that the power of the Negishi family is spread over half of the Tatsuno Domain."

"All the nearby villages, including our Sihe Village, are the targets of the Negishi family's oppression."

"Every month, they send people to every village and ask for a lot of money from every household."

"They say it sounds like they're charging 'protection money.'"

"But it's actually blatantly blackmailing us."

"We, the common people, already have a lot of taxes to pay."

"If you pay the tax, you have to pay a large amount of money to the people of the Negishi family."

"If you don't pay the money to the Negishi family every month, you will be harassed endlessly by the Negishi family......

"It's because of these bastards that everyone in the village can't live anymore......"

Yoshiro's tone was filled with indignation and ...... Grievance.

By the end of the day, Ogata could hear a slight cry in his tone.

"Didn't you report it to the people of the domain?" Ogata asked, "The power of this Negishi family is so great, and their people are so arrogant, so it is impossible for the people of the feudal domain not to know about the existence of this group, right?" ”

"Samurai-sama......" Yoshiro smiled wryly with a hint of bitterness, "if someone in charge can be so reliable...... We, the common people, don't have to go hungry anymore......"

"The people of the feudal domain have long been in collusion with the Negishi family."

"The Negishi family sends a large amount of money every month to bribe the officials of the feudal domain."

"So for the various behaviors of the Negishi family, the people of the feudal domain have always turned a blind eye."

"Didn't we try to report to the government and report to the people of the feudal mansion what the Negishi family had done......"

"We've tried many times."

"But no matter how many times we tried, the people of the feudal domain ignored us."

"It's just a matter of ignoring us, and they also told the Negishi family who is going to report to them what the Negishi family has done today......

"Because of the leakage of the people of the domain, those who had the courage to report the Negishi family to the feudal government were all disabled by the people of the Negishi family, or they were killed outright......"

"Over time, everyone dared to be angry and didn't dare to speak, so they could only silently endure the oppression of the Negishi family......"

After listening to Yoshiro's words quietly, Ogata was silent.

After a long silence, he let out a long sigh:

"These dog officials are really hateful......"

"yes...... Jiro slowly clenched his fists, "those dog officials really ...... It's so hateful......! ”

……

……

As he carried Yoshiro back to his village, the heavy snow gradually subsided.

Not only did the wind and snow subside, but the clouds that had been squeezing the sky gradually dispersed, revealing a faint ray of sunlight.

Without the wind and snow, it made it easier for Ogata to walk.

Carrying Yoshiro on his back, he walked along the dirt road in the countryside covered with thick snow.

Finally, Ogata saw many thin puffs of cooking smoke in front of him.

"Samurai-sama!" Yoshiro said excitedly, "We're here!" Right in front of me is my village! ”

"Okay." Ogata lifted Yoshiro up on his back, "Sit tight, let's speed up a little!" ”