Someone outside the car walked by on horseback and lifted the curtain on the window. There was some stiff Chinese when he spoke: "Lord Tachibana, two Lord Hemao, Changtu Mansion City is about to arrive." Please prepare for it. ”

There were three people sitting in the carriage, and in the middle was a teenager, sitting in a slightly bumpy carriage, but he also held his waist straight. Sitting on both sides of the car door were two middle-aged men, both leaning slightly towards the teenager, very respectful.

The young man waved his hand out of the window, signaling that he knew, and the horseman nodded his head: "分かった (I understand)." Then he lowered the curtain and drove his horse to a distance of half a foot beside the car.

The curtains were lowered, and the two middle-aged people in the car returned to their normal sitting posture.

"Tachibana-sama, we're coming." The slender man sitting on the left side of the boy said to the boy, "The past few days have been tiring, and it has really made the adults hard. This time we came for nothing else but to accompany the army. When soldiers come to pray for blessings or worship the gods, we have to help preside over the chanting, so please don't forget about it. ”

Tachibana didn't speak, didn't even open his eyes, just nodded slightly, which was considered to indicate that he had heard. The slender man touched a soft nail at him, and he didn't say anything more, but straightened up and sat down.

Tachibana Kanazawa didn't like horse-drawn carriages, especially long journeys and primitive means of transportation. Obviously, Yuya Watanabe, who was in front, was in a car, but he wanted to sit in the carriage by himself. Tachibana Kanazawa used to come and go in cars when he was in Japan, and he was used to the smoothness and comfort of this Western machine, and the bumps of the past few days were an ordeal for him.

Is it just because it's an onmyoji? Since the Meiji Restoration, the name of Onmyodo has been abolished as a "cult of obscenity", and the originally sought after Onmyoji and Onmyodo can only be called Shinto clergy. Those soldiers who still have faith in their hearts will find these former onmyoji during the worship ceremony, worship the ancestral spirits, or worship the Bodhisattva. But that's not what Onmyoji does......

The young man's heart was melancholy and resentful, and the strength of his hand was so strong that the slender bat fan was violently broken in his hand.

The slender man sitting on the left side had his eyes wide open in disbelief. The man on the right, with a slightly round figure, knelt down directly in the carriage, holding the fan in his hand that was broken in half. He lowered his voice, "Tachibana-sama...... Do you have any grievances? ”

Tachibana Kanazawa still didn't speak, but let out a long breath and shook his head.

Horse-drawn carriages, hunting clothes, bat fans. The soldier named Yuya Watanabe is a figure who has climbed up step by step by relying on his outstanding military exploits, so he looks down on people like himself, and subtly satirizes himself in various places as a wreck of the old era, and no longer has the glory of being an aristocracy. These symbols of tradition, which had been abandoned by the times, were dressed up in the same way as the clergy who accompanied the army, symbolizing which side of the shogunate they were losers on the side of the shogunate, even if they themselves had not experienced it.

Tachibana Kanazawa was unhappy with the trip – he has been unhappy since his departure from Japan.

Before he set off, the teacher had described to him the beauty and magnificence of the country he had longed for since childhood, and told him about all kinds of strange people and strange things in the heavenly kingdom. But the beautiful and mysterious place described in books and pictures, and in the words of his teacher, was already shattered in his mind when he stepped off the ship.

He thought that when he arrived in the Great Qing Kingdom, he would have the opportunity to visit those great mountains and rivers, see the origin of Taoism, and understand the origin of the skills he learned, those profound techniques and all kinds of magnificent cultures.

But the myth of this land was shattered after the Sino-Japanese War. People found that the behemoth that the Japanese needed to look up to was actually just an empty shell, which had been eaten by termites, so how could anyone still be afraid of an empty shell? The Great Qing Kingdom became a joke in Japan.

Tachibana Kanazawa still had a dream in his heart, a beautiful dream about the birthplace of Onmyojutsu, the things that the man named Abe Nakamaro had brought back, and the things that the monk called Kanshin had brought with him, all of which had fascinated this boy who had left home since he was a child and grew up in a shrine.

But what he saw with his own eyes was very disappointing to him. This ruined country does not qualify to be called a "superior country" at all.

Tachibana Kanazawa opened his eyes, hollow. I saw the chubby man holding the broken bat fan and sitting down again. He stretched out his hand to lift the curtain on the right side, and the officer who was riding on the side immediately came up: "Lord Tachibana, what do you command?" ”

Tachibana Kanazawa stretched out his hand and pointed: "Second Lieutenant, hat を脱いでください (Second Lieutenant Hirata, please take off your hat)." ”

The lieutenant smiled wryly and took off his hat. His forehead and the top of his head are smooth, while the rest of his head has fine stubble. This is the trace left by the fact that he once shaved the head of the moon generation. Some samurai, in order to save trouble, would apply hot wax to the freshly shaved scalp, and after a few times a month, it would become difficult to grow hair there.

However, since the defeat of the shogunate, the head of the Tsukiyo, which once symbolized the honor of the samurai, has become a symbol of shame. This ensign is actually not young, but he is still only a second lieutenant, which is the helplessness brought to him by his former service in the shogunate. Presumably, when he got his new identity card, he also heard the phrase "welcome to work for the new government".

"Please bring your hat, Second Lieutenant Hirata." After speaking, Tachibana Kanazawa lowered the curtain again. Hirata touched his bald head, smiled bitterly, and took the military hat back - this is a symbol of the honor that the emperor bestows on every officer, and it is a military hat that is protected by martial arts and is known as an "artifact", and he should cherish it.

"Change your clothes," Tachibana Kanazawa untied his hunting clothes in the carriage, "you have to change too." ”

"Tachibana-sama!" The two of them were surprised in unison, "This can't be! ”

The fat man, the cold sweat on his forehead came down directly: "Tachibana-sama, Watanabe Nakasa said it......"

"I'm not a soldier," Tachibana Kanazawa took off his hunting suit, wearing a white shirt underneath, "I just need to listen to my master, not Yuya Watanabe." ”

"Tachibana-sama, please don't do this." The slightly thin man looked embarrassed, "Although we are not in the battle sequence, we are still in Watanabe Nakasa's troops, which may make our lives difficult in the future." ”

Tachibana Kanazawa had already changed his clothes, a black suit, and the upper half of the riding boots that hugged his calves were hidden in his trousers. Her long hair was tied back and she was tied in a ponytail-like braid. He said, "Do you listen to me, or do you listen to Yuya Watanabe?" Don't forget, in the Qing Dynasty is only temporary, and we will eventually return to Japan. ”

Seeing that Tachibana Kanazawa was decisive, the two had no choice but to take off their hunting clothes and change into regular clothes.

Not long after the two men had changed their clothes, the carriage stopped. Second Lieutenant Hirata walked up, lifted the curtain of the car, and bowed shallowly: "Three adults, you have already arrived at the city gate." ”

Seeing the three people walking down, Hirata was stunned. The first two people to come down were the two middle-aged men surnamed Kamo, and then Tachibana Kanazawa got out of the car carrying his red boy - they were all dressed in regular clothes!

"Tachibana-sama," Hirata knew that the two surnamed Kamo must not have the courage and mind, but this Tachibana-sama was very young and impulsive, and might do such a thing, "You...... Do I need to change my clothes? ”

Tachibana Kanazawa crossed over Hirata and didn't look at him squarely, just waved his hand. One fat and one thin, the two He Mao also followed behind him.

Getting out of the car in front of him was an adjutant with wide eyes and thin eyebrows, a square face and thin lips, and a pinch of Rendan's beard, who was none other than Yuya Watanabe. He held a Western knife in his hand, turned his head to glance at Tachibana Kanazawa's side, frowned and scolded: "あなたはとても失恧す (You are too rude)!" ”

Tachibana Kanazawa pinched Yuye Watanabe with his eyelids and said with a smile: "Watanabe Nakasa's command knives are all Western swords, why are we not allowed to wear Western clothes?" We are Shinto deities, appointed by order of the Emperor, and do not need to dress up according to your personal requirements. I'm still carrying a Japanese sword, which is already stronger than yours. ”

Yuya Watanabe obviously didn't understand Chinese, and he was stunned when he heard Tachibana Kanazawa communicate with him in Chinese. Second Lieutenant Hirata hurriedly ran over, polished what Tachibana Kanazawa had just said, and relayed it to Yuya Watanabe. He didn't dare to translate the past directly, and Watanabe's anger would definitely fall on him before it reached Tachibana.

Even so, Watanabe was very unhappy. He snorted coldly, turned around and stepped into the city—it would be a matter of time in the future, and it was important to get down to business now.

Cars, carriages, and horses were temporarily parked outside the city, and Watanabe Yuya swaggered into the city with more than 300 Japanese officers and soldiers, plus three onmyoji.

Not far inside, you can see Russian soldiers and Qing soldiers lined up. After walking for a while, my eyes suddenly opened up, and I arrived at the square in front of the Drum Tower. Andre, An Zhifu, and Nalan Shiheng are already waiting there. In the distance, there were many people of the Qing Dynasty watching, all of whom were a little unclear, and they didn't know what kind of person was coming, so that Lao Maozi and the Yamen had set up such a big battle.

Watanabe Yuya also stepped forward, first with Andre with a military salute, and then with An Zhifu and Nalan Shiheng shook hands successively. This was an official meeting, and all three parties had prepared in advance.

An Zhifu smiled and arched his hands: "General Watanabe's arrival to implement the cooperation between Japan and Russia in the development of the Northeast is really making Changtu Mansion shine!" The lower official prepared a little thin wine in the Songhe Tower, and he had to wash the dust for the general and all the soldiers first, I don't know what the general wanted? ”

The heads of these three parties are talking clichés here, playing haha, and the people are pushed far away, and they can only watch with their feet crossed. One by one, I thought, this time it's terrible! Serving the master, the life is getting more and more difficult.

Tachibana was still some distance from where the conversation was, and he really didn't have the heart to listen to them. Looking around at the city—much more dilapidated than Mukden—he made such a comment in his heart.

When I looked up, I couldn't move my eyes. He saw in the distance on the veranda on the second floor of the Drum Tower, several teenagers were standing against the railing and looking down, one of them was a good acquaintance.

It's not someone else, it's Huzi!

He saw the tiger, but the tiger didn't see him. He clutched the arm of his junior brother Zhao Shankun beside him, for fear that he would do something stupid on impulse.

This is the homework that Li Lintang handed over to Zhao Shankun, saying that when he wants to face his enemy, he must also be calm and quiet. But Zhao Shankun is just a ten-year-old child, how can he really be happy and angry? He sent a tiger to see him.

And Li Lintang and Mr. Peng were drinking tea downstairs with Chen Banzhu at this time.