Time goes back to early August. The nearly month-long Ezochi combat operation in Beihai Town finally came to an end. However, this operation was not thrilling at all and was really lackluster.
The Matsumae Domain tax office and Omi merchants' warehouses in the Sapporo area were easily uprooted by the Hokkai Town troops. Under Zhao Xin's indifference and deliberate instigation, the angry Ainu killed all the prisoners.
Later, Zhao Xin officially named this place Pingyuan Town. He asked his men to use several long logs to build a four-meter-high shelf at the location where the JR Tower was later built, and painted it with white paint to serve as Pingyuan Town.
A temporary landmark in the center of the town.
Deng Fei's sea blockade operation was fruitless. In order to avoid being noticed by the Matsumae clan while driving the Thor, he deliberately waited on the ocean five kilometers offshore for several days.
What Zhao Xin did not expect was that because Matsumae Michhiro was killed during the previous shelling of Matsumae Castle, the shogunate and the various branches of the Uyizaki family were busy fighting for control of the Matsumae Domain. The few important ministers who were alive in the domain were now
I couldn't care less about the unusual situation in the north.
The Matsumae family was in chaos, and no one had the time to worry about the Ainu. So Deng Fei wandered around the Tsugaru Strait for seven or eight days without seeing Matsumae Clan's troop transport ship going out to sea, so he had to return to Sagawa.
Wang Yuanfang, who originally wanted to stop the killing of prisoners, was fooled by Zhao Xin into returning to Shachuan from Pingyuan Town. After that, he led his team southward from Shachuan to the small plain at the foot of Mount Lihuang. He found that there was only one Ainu here.
Outside of their small tribe, there was not even a trace of the islanders! Helpless Wang Yuanfang had no choice but to lead his team back after exchanging some food with the local tribe.
Liu Sheng led his troops eastward and marched to the seaside of Makomai. The terrain here was just as Zhao Xin expected, with rivers and lakes crisscrossing the area, and low-lying swamps and wetlands scattered throughout the forest. According to the guide's communication with the local seaside tribes, except for the occasional
Except for the fishermen from Matsumae Domain who came to fish, no one else came.
At this point, the second-stage combat plan designated by Zhao Xinhe and the Ministry of Security declared "failed."
The large swamps in Makomai may be transformed into fertile farmland, but with the farming technology of this era, it will be very difficult to cultivate, and it will not be completed without decades of reclamation. But what Liu Sheng doesn't know is that the land near here is
The sea area is rich in northern oysters, and later the northern oyster catches here accounted for 10% of the entire island country.
In response to the situations discovered during the implementation of the second phase of the battle plan, the original plan to build military stations and outposts has also been adjusted. In addition to the village of the Shachuan tribe, a military station will also be built by the seaside of Pingyuan Town, which has become a target of Tuka.
.
As for the originally planned military station at Mount Sichuan, Tuka sent people to contact the tribes there and asked the locals to transport sulfur ore directly to Shachuan to exchange for daily necessities with Beihai Town.
For the vast area of Ezo, Zhao Xin's troops are seriously insufficient; and he does not want to send more soldiers and family members from the island country. As for the animal husbandry and feed breeding industry to be developed here in the future, Zhao Xin plans to leave it to
The hungry people of the Qing Dynasty in the future.
Relying on the military cooperation of Beihai Town, the Sagawa tribe, which incorporated seven or eight tribes near Pingyuan Town, immediately became the largest tribe in Ezo, with more than 2,000 Ainu tribesmen under their command. For those disobedient tribal chiefs
, Tuka did not do it himself, but tied these people up and fed them directly to the black bears.
Worried about the sudden expansion of Tuka's power and unstable foundation, Zhao Xin thought about it and asked Tuka to provide some trustworthy Shachuan people who would be trained by Beihai Town soldiers stationed in Shachuan Village. He also planned to provide Tuka with support in the future.
His subordinates were issued old-fashioned revolvers produced by Zhao Liang's workshop.
As for Liu Sheng's concern about whether Tuka will fall out with Beihai Town in the future, Zhao Xin is not very worried, because as long as the supply of revolver flash caps is controlled, the Ainu can only be "fish in a cage."
--Can't afford any waves.
Speaking of black bears, we have to mention the "breeding bear festival" of the Ainu people. At the end of winter, they will catch a bear cub and bring it back to the village and give it to a woman to feed. When the bear grows big enough
When it starts to pester or catch people, it is locked in a strong wooden cage and fed with fish or millet porridge. It is usually kept in the cage for two or three years until it is killed during the sacrifice.
(Later generations of scholars believe that there are many cultural similarities between the Ainu people's "breeding bear sacrifice" and the Manchu people's ritual of raising pigs as sacrifices. This proves that there were frequent exchanges between ethnic groups in Northeast Asia in the early days.
Formed a unique cultural area.)
Liu Sheng originally wanted to bring a little black bear back to Beihai Town to raise, but Zhao Xin dissuaded him. Zhao Xin said, brother, you want to take this thing back as a pet. Is my King Duofu still alive?
Before leaving, the companies of Sheng Haizhou and Hu Ji were arranged to stay and guard two military stations. Two months later, the companies of Li Ji and Pan Xiucheng would replace them.
Manzo and Shigesuke, with their 2,000 construction teams, continue to build the road from Sagawa to the landmark town of Pingyuan, and will later build the main road to the Yubari Mountains.
Director Liu Da of the medical team left several nursing team members on duty at the Shachuan Military Station and established a small clinic to deal with headaches and fever among the soldiers stationed there.
On August 13, the Thor hurriedly returned to Beihai Town carrying five companies of soldiers and medical team members, as well as a large number of animal skins seized from Pingyuan Town.
It’s impossible not to come back, because the Mid-Autumn Festival in this time and space is coming.
A group of modern people headed by Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng have been busy since they came to Beihai Town, and there is no day off at all. It is almost time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, so they have to get together anyway.
Moreover, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Thunder God will go south to the Flower and Bird Island again to deliver cigarettes, animal skins and other goods to Shen Jingdan and Huang Maocai. The most important thing is that after going south this time, Zhao Xin is preparing to land in Shanghai and enter the hinterland of the Qing Dynasty.
It is said that people in the island country during the Edo period also enjoyed the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the moon viewing activity was inseparable from "Tsukimi Dango". Zhao Xin had never heard of this snack before traveling to the island country. On the day he returned to Beihai Town
In the evening, Liji came to him and mentioned the Mid-Autumn Festival snacks.
Zhao Xin thought that he would still use glutinous rice to make snacks, so he agreed without hesitation. But Liji's subsequent explanation made Zhao Xin dumbfounded.
It turns out that snacks like Tsukimi dumplings are mainly made from taro. Seeing that the day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Xinna has to find taro! Let’s make do with glutinous rice!
So, Shino, Duohe and other women from various families used the glutinous rice they received to make taro-shaped dumplings, and wrapped the dumplings with soy flour mixed with sugar. Because this year is a leap month, every day
There are thirteen dumplings in total.
Zhao Xin took a look at the Tsukimi dumplings sent by Shino and said, "I'll go!" Isn't this the same as donkey rolling, except that there is no bean paste filling in it.
However, when making Tsukimi dumplings, each family made a portion for Zhao Xin, a great benefactor, packed it in a wooden box and sent it to the Thor.
Well! On August 15th, Zhao Xin felt dizzy looking at the thousands of boxes of glutinous rice snacks in front of him. You can’t eat too much of this stuff, as eating too much will cause stomach acid; you have to eat it until the Year of the Monkey and the Horse!
So he took a few boxes to give to Shen Xuan, but when he got to the yacht, he saw that Shen Xuan had also received dozens of boxes. Since there were no snacks to eat in Beihai Town, Shen Xuan was very interested in these small glutinous rice dumplings. I liked it so much that I had it for dinner.
It is said that during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the islanders of the Edo period not only eat moon-viewing dumplings, but also tie them into grass balls with seven kinds of autumn grass. They sit in the grass balls and eat dumplings while admiring the moon. So on the Mid-Autumn Festival In the afternoon, there are all kinds of grass balls all over the beach. If you dare, you can reserve a seat in advance!
Zhao Xin also heard from Katayama’s wife Duohe that to appreciate the moon, you need to enjoy the moon in pairs. This means that if a moon-appreciating event is held on August 15th but not on September 15th, it will be a “moon-appreciating event in pairs”; in the Japanese culture In cultural customs, it is very taboo.