I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After saying that, Ogata thoughtfully added:

“Cialica means ‘rock’, symbolizing steadfastness and unshakeable strength.”

This girl knows enemy intelligence!

Qing Deng felt a chill run down his spine.

He silently memorized the name "Xilika" and quickly pressed for more information:

"Mr. Ogata, could you please ask him again who this 'Sylica' really is?"

……

With Monashi's detailed explanation and Ogata's full assistance, Aoto roughly understood the background of Sirika.

In short, Xilika is a very young tribal leader, just turned thirty this year, and the tribe he leads is called "Xilipomo Xili" (the land of sunshine).

To put it in a more pleasing way, he was a hero with lofty ambitions.

He had long ago made a vow to "reclaim the land that rightfully belongs to the Ainu from the hands of the Horde".

Although it's ancient history, there's no doubt that a thousand years ago, all the land north of the Kanto region belonged to the Ainu people's sphere of influence.

It was only because the Horen absorbed the essence of Chinese civilization that their strength became unprecedented, which enabled them to defeat the Ainu people, drive them across the Tsugaru Strait, and bring them to this harsh and cold land.

A people without a written language is extremely vulnerable; lacking a written language is tantamount to lacking a way of passing on traditions.

The Ainu people do not have their own written language, so naturally they cannot record their own ethnic history.

A nation that relies entirely on oral tradition to pass on its history will find it extremely difficult to form a sense of unity.

It is no exaggeration to say that a significant number of Ainu people are completely unaware of the historical grievances between their people and the Hoh people.

They all just wanted to live a traditional fishing and hunting life, they didn't want to fight, and they never thought about fighting with other people for territory.

Therefore, leaders like Cilicia, who were determined to expand their territory, were considered outliers among the Ainu people.

For several years now, Xilika has been lobbying various tribes, urging them to unite and form an unprecedented army to march south and conquer the He people.

He wasn't a pedantic fool; he knew that a simple hunting bow was no match for humans, and he also knew that this was the age of guns and cannons.

Therefore, he kept trying to contact Westerners in order to obtain channels to purchase guns and cannons.

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Chapter 1059 The First Alliance Between Niou and Shura [4200]

A group of natives from a wild and miasma-ridden land wanted to make contact with Western powers... While it wasn't entirely impossible, the chances were certainly slim.

Furthermore, the Western powers were simply wealthy and powerful, not foolish and rich, and would never recklessly squander their money.

There are plenty of people who want to side with the Western powers! But if you want to curry favor, you'd better consider your own worth!

For Western powers, the Ainu, who were still in a tribal era, were certainly not a desirable target for wooing.

The Ainu people have no so-called political power, no common leader, and each tribe governs itself. The "radical faction" led by Silika cannot represent the entire Ainu people at all.

Based on Xilika's strength alone, he probably wouldn't even be of the interest of the Western powers.

If the goal was to weaken the Edo Shogunate and cultivate its proxies in Japan, the western domains were a more suitable option, and there was no need to win over the weak Ainu people.

As far as Monaxi knows, as of a year ago, Cialis had not yet established any connections with Western powers.

The villagers of Shikonkala belong to the "moderate" faction of the Ainu people, who are unwilling to get involved in war, let alone start a war on their own.

Therefore, despite Cyrilka's repeated visits to Murokonkara, hoping that Murokonkara would join his grand plan of the "Yamato Conquest," he was sternly rejected by the village chief of Murokonkara.

The last time Cilica visited Shikonkara was a year ago in the spring.

After that, Monaxi never heard from him again.

The next time I heard news of him was a few days ago, when Xilika led the "Ainu Alliance" that he had built up to capture the He people's fortress, Wulingguo.

In terms of talent, Cialis truly deserves the title of hero.

He is energetic and eloquent.

Even when his aspirations were denied, even when he was turned away by various tribes, even when he was criticized by countless people as a "war maniac," he never lost heart.

With unwavering willpower and a silver tongue, it's hard for a formidable man like him not to achieve great things.

Through his persistent efforts, his "Ainu coalition" gradually transformed from a "concept" into reality.

Many people who were originally unaware of history and did not care about war were stirred up by his words and suddenly became passionate, shouting for war and killing, wishing they could immediately launch a "Yamato Conquest" to reclaim all the territories of their ancestors.

As for how many tribes Xilika has gathered and what size coalition it has formed, Monaxi is unaware.

That was all the information she knew.

After listening, Qing Deng silently processed what he heard.

According to the intelligence provided by Mona, it coincided with the intelligence that "the bandit army is collecting ships"—they really intend to launch a further invasion southward and attack Honshu Island!

Upon realizing this, Qingdeng couldn't help but chuckle.

Is that Xilika crazy, or is he just too confident in his own strength? Given the size of the Ainu people, even with the strong support of external forces, it would be difficult for them to gain a foothold on Honshu Island.

Even without the shogunate's intervention, the dozens of domains in Ōshu alone were enough to mir the Ainu people in a quagmire of war, leaving them with no way to advance or retreat.

After a moment's thought, Qing Deng tried to follow up with further questions, asking Mona Xi if she had seen a blond, blue-eyed Westerner with suspicious behavior.

Mona shook her head, saying that she rarely travels far and only stays around the tribe, and has never seen any strange-looking suspicious people.

This response was exactly what Qing Deng had expected.

Shikonkala is located deep inland, far from the coast.

Even if Westerners landed in Ezo and made contact with Cilicia, they would most likely not pass through the vicinity of Shikonkara.

He never expected a mere girl to know any secrets; the information she had provided was already quite sufficient, even more detailed than he had anticipated.

After Mona finished speaking, Ogata recounted his past experiences of living in seclusion in Ezo.

He had a very close relationship with Shikongkala. He was one of Shikongkala's best hunters back then. Although his archery skills were not outstanding, he had superb physical strength and could track prey for ten days and ten nights in a row. Even when the bear was tired, he was still not tired.

Even after leaving this land, he would occasionally return to visit relatives and friends.

The last time he returned to Šikonkala was 10 years ago.

Monaxi was only 6 years old at the time. In the blink of an eye, 10 years have passed, and the little girl has grown into a young woman.

It's easy to see that Ogata and Mona have a very good relationship. He must have spoiled her back then, and after their long separation, the girl has been clinging to him ever since.

The two rode on the same horse, with Mona sitting behind Ogata, her two jade-like arms tightly wrapped around his waist. At first glance, they looked like a father and daughter with a close relationship—although this "father" was actually nearly a hundred years old.

Mr. Ogata is quite popular with women, Aoto thought to himself.

After witnessing firsthand the beautiful women surrounding Ogata and hearing his "emotional secrets," Aoto discovered that Ogata was surprisingly popular with women, which was completely inconsistent with his ordinary appearance, neither handsome nor ugly.

Although he considered his wives to be among the most beautiful women of the time, Aoto had to admit that Ogata's wife, Atachi, was an exceptionally beautiful woman, with delicate features and a hot figure. He couldn't imagine how stunning she must have been when she was young.

For Ogata's sake, he must have had no shortage of conflicts with other men.

And then there's Isshiki, who had a complicated past with Ogata.

Although he had never met this female warrior, based on Ogata's description, he vaguely wove an image in his mind: beautiful, powerful, aloof, and proud, just like another Sanako.

Ogata lived for nearly a hundred years; heaven knows how many women he still had intimate relationships with.

After gathering information from Monaxi, Qingdeng pursed his lips and remained silent, a brief silence descending upon him.

He looked straight ahead, gazing at the grassy horizon.

Suddenly, he threw a new question at Ogata.

"...Speaking of which, Mr. Ogata, I haven't asked you yet, why did you choose to live in seclusion here in the first place?"

Ogata raised his eyebrows, then smiled:

"To be honest, there's no particular reason."

"I became connected with this land more than seventy years ago."

"More than seventy years ago, for some complicated reasons, Atachi and I crossed most of Japan and set foot on this vibrant land."

"Many things happened afterward that led me to forge a deep and good friendship with the Ainu people."

"To be honest, perhaps it is because I am used to bloodshed that I am fond of the peaceful and tranquil rural life."

"I particularly admire the Ainu people's view of nature."

"Although they are a fishing and hunting people who live by hunting, they never advocate indiscriminate killing. They are full of awe for nature and believe that all things in the world and humans are equal beings."

“King Tachibana, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Ainu people’s view of nature has something in common with the ‘transparent realm’.”

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng's pupils contracted slightly.

What a coincidence, he just happened to have the same feeling.

Ogata continued the conversation:

“If conditions permit, you may set aside all your affairs and, like me, live in seclusion in this land for a period of time.”

"Get away from the hustle and bustle, immerse yourself in nature, and learn the Ainu people's view of nature. This may help you achieve a state of 'transparency' in the future."

How could he, the highly regarded pillar of the shogunate, temporarily set aside all his current affairs?

The thought had barely crossed Qing Deng's mind when he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

He couldn't even imagine the terrifying uproar that would occur if he announced "I want to go into seclusion" at this critical juncture.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the political situation knows that Qingdeng is like an enormous pillar, single-handedly supporting this dilapidated house called "Southern Mufu," allowing this rotten tree to regain some vitality.

Without Qingdeng, the "Southern Shogunate" is like a tiger that has lost its claws and teeth, leaving only a seemingly frightening but actually extremely weak body.

Although he knew it was impossible, he still responded half-jokingly:

"If I have the opportunity in the future, I will seriously consider it. To be honest, I am quite interested in the life of a hunter, and I happen to be very good at archery."

Ogata nodded:

"It seems I've gone off-topic. Where was I? Oh well, never mind. Anyway, when I want to get away from the world, this is the first place that comes to mind."