Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 26 Farewell to Sendai Domain

Katayama Kanbei did not disappoint Katsumi.

On the afternoon of the day after the two met, Katayama selected dozens of refugees from the town through his two subordinates, and brought these people to the shabby thatched hut by the sea for a temporary stay.

Sheng Haizhou did not go, he asked Heita and Jiuzang to come forward and talk to those refugees.

What Ping Tai and Jiuzang told these refugees was that a businessman needed to recruit refugees to farm in the outer islands. The treatment was favorable and he had enough food. If he wanted to go, he would take his wife and children with him.

In order to prove that what they said was not a lie, Heita and Kuzo revealed to these refugees that they were also refugees who escaped from Mutsu.

Even so, some refugees are still reluctant to go, and they still want to go to Sendai or Edo to find opportunities.In these years, except for those who fished offshore, it was a capital offense to go out to sea and not return. Once they left, they could never come back.This decree of the shogunate was not amended until the end of the Edo period.

Pingtai didn't force them, since he said he didn't want to go, let Katayama's men take them away.In this way, there are 34 households and 130 people who are willing to follow.

Ping Tai asked what these people would do besides farming.As a result, among these people, some have worked as carpenters, some have burned charcoal, and some have burned pottery, and these skills are only sidelines outside the slack farming.

It was only then that Sheng Haizhou came forward to meet these refugees.He didn't talk about the outer islands either. First of all, he asked Heita to go to the merchants in the town to buy some rice, radishes and firewood.When these refugees saw the food, they were all excited.Start cooking radish rice right by the beach using your own crock pot right away.

After eating, many people feel more at ease.

These people who stayed behind also have no way to go. Many of them are farm laborers in the countryside. The food has never been harvested, the farmland is deserted, and the annual tribute that has not been reduced has made these people even more hopeless.Even if they sell their sons and daughters, they can only survive; if there is no one to help, most of them will not survive this winter.

Now some people want to recruit themselves to farm and work. Although they are going to an island in the outer sea, as long as they can survive, they can't care about more.

At night, these refugees lit a few bonfires near the thatched hut and slept around them.Although it was cold, it was much better than sleeping under the cold eaves in the town.

Day and night passed like this.During this period, there were also idlers in the town and workers in the harbour to see it. There are still people who take the initiative to help the refugees in these years?I don't have enough to eat.But these onlookers watched for a long time, and then gradually dispersed in the sound of the two subordinates arranged by Katayama.

At night, Katayama Kanbei's men were blasted home by him, and he himself waited in the thatched hut with Katsu Kaishu.He wanted to see who the lord mentioned in Katsumi's mouth was.

At midnight, Katayama Kanbei was already sleepy and started to doze off, while Katsu Kaishu sat quietly in the thatched hut waiting for Zhao Xin's arrival.

At this time, Sheng Haizhou was thinking about the time when the dim light outside the house flashed, and Heitai appeared at the door holding a lantern.

"My lord is here."

Katsu Kaishu was shocked when he heard the words, and Katayama Kanbei, who was dozing off, was also awakened, and the two hurriedly got up and left the thatched hut.

In the dark night, Katayama Kanbei relied on the dim light of the lantern, and vaguely saw two tall figures standing twenty paces away.

The two hurriedly approached.

"Master, everyone has arrived. According to your previous instructions, there are 34 households and 130 people in total." After Sheng Haizhou bowed to Zhao Xin, he immediately reported.

130 six refugees, plus the orphan A Miao.

"Very good." Zhao Xin nodded in the dark.

Katsu Kaishu immediately introduced to Zhao Xin: "This one is His Excellency Katayama Kanbei I mentioned to you before."

Following the dim light, Katayama Kanbei looked at the two "weird people" in front of him.I saw that the clothes on the two of them had never been seen before. The upper body and both sides of the thighs were bulging as if they were filled with many items.

"Thank you very much for Katayama-kun's help, I have caused you trouble." Zhao Xin bowed slightly and greeted Katayama Kanbei.

"I don't dare, I can help these people is what I should do as a samurai." Katayama Kanbei also bowed slightly and said immediately.

At this time, Liu Sheng, who was behind Zhao Xin, said, "Hurry up. It's so dark, and the boat can't drive fast. The sea conditions on Songdao are too complicated."

To say that Matsushima is called one of the "Three Views of Japan", it is because it is an island group.Inside and outside Matsushima Bay, there are as many as 260 small islands.So even if he got on the boat, Liu Sheng would not dare to drive now without satellite navigation.Can only wait until dawn before leaving.

Zhao Xin listened to Liu Sheng's words, and then stopped talking, and directly ordered Sheng Haizhou: "Five people in a group, bring ten people over first, let's start."

The three of them were already familiar with all the procedures, so they signaled Heita and Kuzang to start arranging people to board the boat.

But at this time, Katayama Kanbei's heart was surging.When he heard Liu Sheng speak, he immediately reacted.

"This is from the Qing Dynasty!" Katayama said in his heart.

But when he carefully looked at Zhao Xin and the two, he couldn't see the braids on their heads. Both of them had short one-inch hair.

"Who are they? It's so strange. I've lived in Honmachi for many years. Even from the merchants and sailors on the ship, I've never heard of such hair accessories and clothing."

At this time, Zhao Xin was also looking at Katayama Kanbei in front of him, and he didn't care whether the person in front of him was a spy.Liu Sheng, who was behind him, had already taken out the gun from the holster on the right side of his thigh and held it in his hand, and the safety was also opened.As long as Katayama dared to act abnormally, he would just shoot it.

"We'll be here again next spring, and hopefully then we'll have the opportunity to sit down and talk."

Katayama bowed slightly: "Then I look forward to the arrival of Your Excellency and Kasumi Kaishu."

At this moment, I only heard the sound of footsteps, and it was Pingtai and Jiuzang who led five refugees over.

The ten refugees were trembling and trembling, and when they saw Zhao Xin, they would kowtow and bow down.Ping Tai hurriedly stopped them and brought them to the assault boat docked on the beach, grabbed both hands from the boat, and had a few more life jackets in his hands.

"Put this on immediately." Ping Tai said in a low voice.

Several refugees took the life jackets from Ping Tai, but they were dumbfounded and didn't know how to put them on.Ping Tai had no choice but to grab a life jacket from a refugee, put it on for him, and fasten the rope buckle.

After finishing the five people in this way, Ping Tai pointed at the assault boat: "Get on the boat."

"Sir, is this boat so small?" a braver refugee asked, pointing at the assault boat.

"This is a ferry boat, and the big boat is parked in the sea in front. Hurry up and get on the boat!" Ping Tai shouted in a low voice, and Sheng Haizhou on the side pulled out his knife in half.

The five looked at each other and had no choice but to get on the boat.

On the other side, Kuzang also helped the other five people put on life jackets and boarded another assault boat.

Zhao Xin said to Katayama Kanbingwei who was staring blankly at the side: "Okay. Let's leave it for now." He bowed his hands, and turned around and boarded an assault boat together with Liu Sheng.Zhao Xin blasted away a refugee sitting in the stern position, sitting at the stern motor.

Ping Tai and Jiuzang stepped forward, and the two of them pushed the assault boat into the sea against the waist-deep water together.

Zhao Xin started the motor, turned the bow, and drove slowly into the sea.

Katayama Kanbei watched in amazement as the boat in front of him made a roaring sound, and waves rolled up at the stern, heading towards the sea.

In the following time, Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng drove the assault boat to and from dozens of times to pick up and drop off refugees.Katayama also took off his stockings (long trousers) and foot pockets (socks), stepping on the icy sea water, and has been helping to push the assault boat into the water.

After all this busywork, they were all sent to the boat until Dongfang showed fish belly white.

When the assault boat came back for the last time, there was no Zhao Xin, only Liu Sheng drove the boat ashore.

The three of them, who had been waiting for Katsukaishu to face Katayama Kanbei, bowed deeply.

"Katayama-kun, see you next year."

"Senior, goodbye."

After the three got on the boat, Liu Sheng turned the bow and roared away.

At this time, the sky was twilight, and Katayama Kanbei saw Katsukaishu and the others in the boat, after passing through a small island in the sea, turned north and disappeared.

Three days later, Bear Island.

Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng parked the yacht in the bay amid the cheers on the shore.

"It's almost out of gas."

"Well, I'll buy it when I go back. I have to write down the supplies I need to buy in a notebook. There are so many things I need, I can't remember them at all."

"I told you a long time ago that a good memory is not as good as a bad writing."

After running down this trip, Zhao Xin and the other five were really tired.Especially on the way back, a group of homeless people vomited and vomited, making the yacht dirty and messy, and the smell in the cabin could smoke people to death; even if Ping Tai and Jiuzang scolded the homeless people to clean up together, but these people were very weak, and they did not work. Not too much.Zhao Xin was helpless and could only make do with it, planning to drive back to Bear Island and then pack up the cabin.

On the other hand, the little girl A Miao mentioned by Ping Tai was not seasick, and because she had eaten a few days before, she had been helping with cleaning.

But Zhao Xin couldn't bear to see this skinny nine-year-old girl busy up and down in the cabin, and she told A Miao to stop doing it several times.

As for A Miao, since she got on the boat, she looked at the mighty and tall Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng, and was very scared.She was afraid that the new owner would think that she would not want her because she was too young, so she worked hard.Even though Zhao Xin stopped several times later, A Miao continued to help take care of the refugees.

"A Miao. Let's go." Zhao Xin sat in the assault boat and shouted at A Miao who was still cleaning up on the yacht.

"Master, wait a moment." A Miao's voice came from inside the yacht.

"Don't do it, hurry up." Zhao Xin was helpless, why was he so desperate.So with all his strength, he rushed to the boat and shouted again. "I can leave if you don't come out."

"Master, it's okay, okay, it's all cleaned up."

Zhao Xin was also very curious in frustration.All wiped?So he got up and jumped to the stern of the yacht and went inside to take a look.

I'll go, it's so clean.Even if Dorfu came to lick it, it wasn't so clean.

Duofu... "Let me out, I'll lick it."

(End of this chapter)