Although Japan was currently in chaos, it also indirectly created a lot of job opportunities, especially for samurai. Now that the situation was uncertain, all the vassals had changed their ways and were actively recruiting soldiers, actively accumulating capital to see what would happen next. After the Meiji Restoration, samurai not only lost their jobs, but they also couldn't even find a tool to commit suicide. This was much better than the situation after the Meiji Restoration, when samurai lost their jobs and couldn't even find a tool to commit suicide.
Especially those masters, who were now waiting for a good price. Both the Zubaki faction and the Tobaku faction were now actively fighting for manpower.
However, Zhang Heng was not interested in this path. Once he joined a certain force, he would no longer have to worry about food and clothing, but he would also lose his freedom. In this era, the absolute obedience of the retainer to the master was absolute. If he was assigned a task that he didn't want to do, he couldn't refuse it. If he was unlucky, he would be used as cannon fodder.
Other than getting a good katana that suited him, Zhang Heng's other goal in this quest was to challenge the masters and find an opportunity to break through in his swordsmanship. So, whether it was the shogunate or the Satsuma Domain, he didn't want to be fixed on either side. The best choice was to act according to the circumstances.
In fact, if he wanted to make money, he didn't have to rely on his identity as a samurai. There were many foreign merchants in Kyoto now, and compared to them, Zhang Heng had mastered a lot of foreign languages. No matter the era, translators were always scarce. He could get paid by translating for those foreign merchants, and at the same time, he could tour Kyoto for free.
After making up his mind, Zhang Heng was ready to go to the pier. It was getting late, and if he couldn't close a deal before sunset, he was afraid he would have to sleep on the streets.
Just as Zhang Heng was about to leave, he suddenly heard a voice calling out to him.
"Sir, would you like a grilled eel skewer?"
Zhang Heng looked down and saw a timid little face. It was a little girl about eleven or twelve years old, holding a lunchbox and trying to sell it to Zhang Heng. Although she had mustered up her courage, she looked a little nervous, and her hands that were holding the lunchbox were trembling.
But before Zhang Heng could reply, one of her slightly older companions pulled her away.
Although the latter lowered her voice, Zhang Heng could still hear her. "Chiyo, don't provoke those ronin. They are dangerous people."
The little girl named Chiyo glanced at Zhang Heng again. As a result, the two of them were focused on avoiding Zhang Heng, the 'dangerous man', and accidentally bumped into someone on the other side.
Chiyo's companion raised his head and his face instantly turned pale. He stammered, "So … Sorry, I didn't see you."
"Rude little brat!" The man who was hit was also dressed like a samurai, but his demeanor was much better than that of a vagabond like Zhang Heng. There were two companions beside him, and they looked a little drunk. It seemed that they had just had a few drinks. Taking advantage of the alcohol, he overturned the food boxes in the girls' hands and shouted, "It is because of idiots like you that this country is constantly bullied by those westerners!"
"Brother Yamada, be careful with your words. It's good if those fellows from the new selection group hear you." His companion beside him advised.
"What are you afraid of? Matsuo, times have changed. "The samurai named Yamada was not afraid." What's more, I have long wanted to experience Kondo Isami's Tennin Rishin-ryū. "
Yamada shouted. However, when his two companions heard the name 'Shinsengumi', their bodies trembled, and they could not help but look around. After the Ikedaya incident, Kondo Isami and his ronin group, the Shinsengumi, became famous and won the title of 'Ninsei Wolves'. They were firm supporters of the shogunate. They helped the shogunate maintain law and order in Kyoto, and at the same time, they dealt with those who opposed the shogunate. They were ruthless and extremely good at assassination.
Matsuo did not know why Yamada suddenly mentioned this group of malefactors. He winked at Takahashi on the other side, seemingly blaming Takahashi for making Yamada drink so much.
The two of them wanted to take Yamada away before things got out of hand, but they did not expect Yamada to become even crazier. It would have been better if they had not mentioned those foreigners. Now that they were mentioned, he was reminded of all the grievances he had suffered over the years, and he pulled out the katana from his waist.
This time, Matsuo and Takahashi did not dare to step forward. Although Yamada was crazy, his martial arts skills were not bad. Not only did he regard the three of them as the leader, but he also had a small reputation in the samurai circle. Matsuo and Takahashi did not want to mess with him.
At this time, the two girls selling grilled eel skewers were scared out of their wits.
They even forgot to run away. They stood there stupidly and watched as Yamada pulled out his katana, which exuded a threatening cold light under the sun.
Yamada furrowed his brows. Originally, he only wanted to pull out his sword to scare the two brats in front of him and make them piss their pants. However, their motionless appearance was now seen by him as a silent protest. Furthermore, he was still under the effects of the alcohol, so he couldn't help but recall some bad memories.
He had reason to resent them. As a samurai of the Choshu Domain, he followed the radical Kusaka Genrui to Kyoto three years ago to rescue the emperor. At that time, he was in high spirits. However, he failed to defeat the garrison of Kyoto during the Forbidden Gate Rebellion, and Kusaka Genrui committed suicide. Later, the shogunate joined forces with Britain, the United States, France, and the Netherlands to attack Shimonoseki, forcing the Choshu Domain to submit. One of the leaders of the shogunate, Shinsaku Takasugi, was forced to wander. Naturally, the samurai who participated in the Forbidden Gate Rebellion did not have a good ending.
So, Yamada used the excuse of being drunk to draw his katana. He was also angry at the fact that he had not achieved his ambition. Seeing the two kids in front of him not trying to hide, he could not help but feel angry. He was about to swing his katana at them. Zhang Heng frowned.
He had nothing to do with these two girls selling grilled eel skewers, and he had no interest in improving the security of Kyoto at the end of the shogunate. But if he had to say, they were trying to avoid him, the "villain," and he couldn't just watch them get hacked to death by a drunken samurai.
But just as he was about to draw his katana, his eyes moved, and he put down his hand. On the other side, Yamada had already raised his katana to the screams of the passersby. But just as his katana was about to fall on the heads of Chiyo and her companion, it was stopped by a wooden katana.
"Who are you?" Yamada shouted, his beard blowing and his eyes glaring. At the same time, his chest was heaving up and down violently.
"Koyama Dojo, Akane Koyama," answered the person in a crisp voice.
To the passersby's surprise, the person who attacked was a young woman. She held a wooden katana in one hand and a tuna she had just bought at the market in the other.
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