Indeed, as Heizo Murono said, the backyard is much cleaner than the frontyard.

Around the bamboo forest in the courtyard, there are six houses built against the wall, which are divided equally on the left and right.

Although the place is smaller than the front yard, the environment is quiet and elegant, and the style of the house is different from the front yard.

The houses on the south side are similar to the outer courtyards, and they are all longhouses.

The three houses on the north side are not, the one inside is slightly larger, obviously with an entrance, and the bedroom is divided into three partitions, as well as a table and a wrap; The outer two buildings are a little more sketchy.

It has not been renovated for a long time, and the walls and wooden doors of the house are a little old, and the stone slabs laid under the outside table are also pitted. Some of the places on the platform in front of the longhouse on the south side are also decayed, and there are five people sitting on the stage on the edge that is still intact, sitting together and chatting.

"Of these houses on the north side, the outer one is for the head of the village to live in, and the inner one is reserved for the officials to stay. These longhouses on the south side were prepared for the retinue and servants of the officials, and if there were business travelers to stay overnight and there were no officials to stay, they could also be arranged here. ”

Seeing that Murono Heizo was leading people in, a young man dressed as a messenger subconsciously wanted to get up to greet him, and when he saw that his senior official did not move, he shrank back again, obviously led by the middle-aged samurai next to him, who was wiping the sword in his hand, and as for the others, they all looked up and whispered.

After introducing the layout of the backyard, Murono Heizo shouted at the five people sitting on the stage across the bamboo forest: "Dashan, Manjiro, this is the newly arrived head of Gao Zhuang, hurry up and come and see you." The young man hurriedly put down the work in his hand, bowed down in the direction of Gao Shisheng, and said: "Beizhuang Manjiro, meet Lord Gao Zhuangtou." ”

The other three also fell to the ground and said unevenly: "Villain, wait for you, meet Lord Gao Zhuangtou." ”

Only after the middle-aged samurai wiped the sword in his hand did he put down the rag and replied in a cold tone: "Aoki Dashan has seen Gao Zhuangtou." ”

Murono Heizo followed behind him, pointed to the person who bowed down first, and said, "He is Kitashiro Manjiro, a person sent by Shosho, ........." He pointed to the middle-aged samurai sitting there: "He is also a disciple of Aoki Fu Thief." ”

Unexpectedly, the errand servants of Pingshan Villa are all such characters, those who have not met have left their posts without permission, and those who have met are unruly.

Gao Shisheng had already heard of Aoki Dashan's name, and he didn't see his rude behavior, so he smiled and said: "It's polite to pay the thief, a worthless village leader, what kind of "adult" is it, Wan Jiro please hurry up." He stepped over and lifted up the four people who had fallen down one by one.

Kitajo Manjiro is thin, looks in his twenties, and has a mediocre appearance, which is not surprising.

Aoki Daizen is thirty years old, his face is pale, there is a wound between his left eyebrows, it seems to be a knife wound, and his left shoulder is always inadvertently slightly raised, which is an old habit left by the habitual wooden sword, although the facial features are quite upright, but his sitting posture vaguely reveals a cruel meaning.

He lived in Sunfu Castle for nearly three years, and has been living in the samurai house of Yagata Town, and the official relied on the business to live as a stick. Among the large and small ronin fighters in Junfu City, "Aoki Ichitosai" is also a difficult character with a name.

Gao Shisheng happened to be in Junfu at that time, and often heard that he tried swordsmanship with others, and the sword was fast and had a murderous aura that could kill the opponent with a single blow. The ronins who mingled in the izakaya said that he was a first-class swordsman who won the "free pass" of the Minamihachikashima Shindangryu Dojo.

The sword is cloudy, and it is really difficult to verify. However, Aoki Daizen used to be a retainer of the Hojo family, but it is well known that he lost his lord due to misconduct and made a big mistake, which also led to his swordsmanship, but he still could not be trusted, and was alienated by the officials of the Sunfu Prefecture, and has been in trouble.

The rumors that he had heard in Junfu City in the past flashed through Gao Shisheng's mind: "Aoki Da Din, light and brave; Disciple Beizhuang, the mean. ”

His gaze moved away from Kitano Manjiro, and then looked back and forth on Aoki Daizen, and said in his heart: "Just from the words and deeds of the first meeting, the rumors are not bad. ”

There are six errand servants, and three have already been acquainted, the "door holding scrivener" Murono Heizo, Fu thief Aoki Daizen, the errand officer Kitajo Manjiro, and the other three errand officers should have gone to the puja.

Gao Shisheng turned his gaze to the remaining three and asked gently, "I don't know ····· these three." ”

Without waiting for Gao Shisheng to finish asking, Beizhuang Manjiro took the initiative to say: "The two of them are borrowed merchants, and they will meet together when they are free today." ”

According to the law, the village can not receive outsiders, but there are always exceptions, as long as the past business is complete, the village is also willing to receive, and even the merchants who go to the village and the countryside simply rent in the village for a long time, which is a private unwritten rule, and the rent money collected is also shared equally by the public of the village, and will not be recorded in the book.

Beizhuang Manjiro didn't wait for Gao Shisheng's words, took out a string of copper coins from his arms, handed it to a person beside him, and instructed: "Zhuang Tou has just come to take office, and we can't do without expression. You three go buy some meat and drink and come back! When the three Kimura brothers come back in the evening, everyone celebrates together. ”

The three of them responded loudly, but they didn't really take the money, and the oldest merchant pressed the threat around his waist, got up and said proudly: "The villains have lived in the village for a long time, and since the time when the right soldier of the wild mountain was there, they have been taken care of by the kings. A little wine and meat, worth a few dollars, Manjiro don't want to fight with us! Saying that, he confessed, didn't give Gao Shisheng a chance to refuse, and pulled the other two to retreat.

Gao Shisheng wanted to refuse, but after listening to the merchant, he dispelled the idea of blocking it, knowing that if he was not invited to this wine and meat banquet today, they would also have doubts and uneasiness when they went back.

Moreover, looking at the faces of these three people, they do not seem to be kind, and they are in the company of the public of the village, so they must be the loan companions of the township.

After the Kamakura fell, the atmosphere of the wealthy clans forming a party and self-arrogance gradually spread to the people, and all walks of life also liked to gather people to form contracts and support each other, among which there were lonely merchants, who formed loan companions in order to be able to fight against the large merchants who manipulated price increases.

Because the merchants often have to borrow goods on credit from the hands of the merchants, the family is not rich, and it is dangerous to go out to sell goods alone, so they all choose to go in groups of 351, and they will go together, and eat all by the iron pot on their backs, so they are also called the people who carry the pot.

The person at the head of the house speaks and does things, and he must be the leader of this group of backstabbers, you must know that the daily rent of the village is not low, and the rent is just a good way to pay the money to the village, so that the messengers can turn a blind eye to the things that the merchant carryed.

Although the Imagawa family has long abolished the harsh taxes led by the Sekisho Luka, it does not mean that the taxes of the merchants are completely eliminated, especially the strict supervision of silk tea, lacquerware and other goods, not to mention that the king of Hades is better off and the little ghosts are difficult to deal with.

It is impossible to make a living in Pingshan Villa, and it is impossible not to honor the servants, and the head of Xinzhuang needs to be careful to deal with the merchants.

Gao Shisheng also wanted to get a good understanding of this group of Chinese people, including the "backers".

Note 1: Aoki Daizen, the character quotes the unlucky ronin who was killed by Yamamoto Kansuke in the first chapter of Mr. Inoue's book "Wind Volcanic Forest", and the original text only said that he was superb in swordsmanship, and the new flow was attached to the Sanren.

Note 2: Exemption is a statement of the kendo rank, which means that this person has been a teacher and can open a museum to teach apprentices, which belongs to the genre and has a high opinion of a swordsman. At the end of the Bakugawa period, many Restoration fighters and Samu swordsmen had this identity, such as the elder brother of Okita Soji who has completely turned into a master of the book and Sakamoto Ryoma, who can kill people and shoot heads like iron cannons with tennis on Star TV.

Note 3: On the issue of eating meat, it was very common to eat meat from the Warring States period to the Edo period, and all that remained was whether there was money to buy it, and the peasants who could afford it were very few after all.

Only in the Heian period there was a law, expressly forbidden to kill and eat meat, the fifth shogun of the Edo shogunate, "dog princess" Tokugawa Tsunayoshi because he had no children, followed his mother's advice, in the fourth year of Zhenxiang (1687) promulgated the "Decree of Mercy for Life" "stop killing, pray for good fortune" in the hope that the Buddha would see his piety can give him a son, Mito Huangmen Tokugawa Mitsuki angrily reprimanded the shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, "The world is full of complaints, and you are still obsessed!" If thou hast forgiveness of the people of the world and have reduced their taxes, the people will be grateful, and that will be good karma. There is no need to restrain the people in this evil way! ”

It can also be seen here that the slaughtering industry was not only common in the Edo period, but also reached the point where it was closely related to people's livelihood. The Edo Yokai House is a place where meat is sold, and because of its strong Buddhist atmosphere, eating meat is considered an immoral vice, but buying meat from a part-time slaughterhouse pharmacy in the name of curing diseases is not a typical cover-up.

To add a sentence, Ma Baonan's "dog man" Tokugawa Tsunayoshi finally failed to let the "Green Light Rulai Old King Buddha of the Shrine Next Door" give him a son, and he died as an heir.

Note 4: The name of the backpot is a spoof, the ancient traveling merchants did have groups of three or five, the experience of carrying the pot for a long distance to catch the goods, the people of the country are more like associations between the people, and after supporting each other and gradually forming and expanding, they can exert influence on the local area, and there are many similar organizations in the Edo period, such as collecting protection money in Yoshiwara Flower Street, and as a result, the Edo shogunate's enforcement office to crack down on hooligan crimes, and the wind demon ninja at the end of the pot actually belongs to this category.

Note 5: The "Imagawa False Directory" clearly stipulates the abolition of all the customs and road cards set up by all the wealthy families in Enshu and Junshu, and the official toll booth of the Imagawa family itself, which should always exist, but the number should be greatly reduced, just like the zoo discount, a single ticket into a pass, and a ticket for all-you-can-swim, which has a great positive impact on the commercial development of Tokaido.