Since ancient times, almost all people who betrayed their masters did so for three reasons: women, money and power. Pingtai betrayed Zhao Xin because of the former.
Because he accepted Zhao Xin's secret mission to eliminate the "Eternal Generation", Heita spent almost half of the year living in Kyoto. The rest of the time was spent in Osaka, where he and Katsuyama Denzo handled commercial agency affairs for large merchants in the island country.
You must know that opportunities for assassinations do not come at any time. More time is spent waiting and asking for information. In addition, Beihai Town's trade with island countries has also been on the right track in recent years, and the agency share of various commodities has been
Everything was divided up. As a result, Pingtai suddenly became free. The so-called "full and warm, thinking about lust" meant that he had nothing to do after eating and drinking all day long. He gradually began to get in touch with Fengyue places, not only to get some information from them, but also to pass the time, going back and forth.
, he became a frequent visitor to Fengyue places.
Although Pingtai has a wife and children in Beihai Town, how can the yellow-faced woman he found among the refugees compare with the wandering girls in Fengyuechang?
Throughout the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate established three chartered large-scale fengzuki grounds across the country. In addition to Shimabara in Kyoto, the other two were Yoshiwara in Edo and Shinmachi in Osaka.
During the Edo period, the highest-ranking courtesan in Kyoto and Osaka was called "Tayu" (Tayu). The title of oiran was only available in Yoshiwara and was used until later generations. In other words, if you want to be in the 18th and 19th centuries,
In order to drink flower wine in the island country, you can only go to the three places mentioned above by asking a maid or an oiran to accompany you. In other places, you can only find "rice girls" in the ryokan.
One time Heita was at the door of a restaurant in Nakanomori and accidentally saw a beautiful woman getting into the car surrounded by a group of waiters. At that time, his soul was taken away. After asking around, he found out that the woman was
The famous "Yoshino Taifu" - the Sixth Generation.
Speaking of the title "Yoshino Taifu", it is an absolutely top-notch figure among the wandering girls in the island country. It has been around since the Azuchi Momoyama era and has been passed down from generation to generation. It is said that if a wandering girl wants to inherit this title, she must be cultivated from an early age.
, in addition to waka, renge, and haiku that are not inferior to those of ordinary literati, one must also be proficient in harp, pipa, sheng, calligraphy, tea ceremony, incense ceremony, flower arrangement, go, and sugoroku.
The most famous one in history is the second generation Yoshino Taifu, one of the "Three Famous Courtesans of Kan'ei". It is said that "to the east is Hayashirayama and to the west is Yoshino Tokuko". It is said that she also had a close friendship with Miyamoto Musashi.
Later, during a chat with Katsuyama Denzo, Heita mentioned Yoshino Taifu, and his words revealed a sense of fascination. Katsuyama Denzo immediately said, what's so difficult about this? I'll arrange it!
Heita was overjoyed when he heard this and said that he would be satisfied just to meet him once. Little did he know that his request was what the Tokugawa shogunate had been waiting for for a long time.
It is said that in the Tenmei Fire four years ago, too many royal family members were killed or injured, which aroused the suspicion of Matsudaira Sadanobu, the senior shogunate. After half a year of secret investigation, the shogunate spies discovered Heita in countless confusing details.
The key to the figure was the two boxes containing napalm, because it was from that place that the mushroom cloud rose, which made the fire so devastating.
After Matsudaira Sadanobu learned of the situation, he asked his men to start investigating the earlier fire at Fushimi Miya's house. Sure enough, all the clues pointed to Heita again.
What on earth is Beihai Town going to do? After careful analysis, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was extremely shocked, identified the culprit on Zhao Xin. The problem was that he really couldn't afford to offend him. After thinking about it, he targeted Pingtai.
.
Killing Zhao Pingtai is nothing to the shogunate. Creating a dispute and killing him, and then letting the samurai who committed the attack have a disembowelment to apologize is enough to deal with it. The problem is that Matsudaira Sadanobu wants to find out when Hokkai Town will take action next.
The second is to use this as a lever to ask Beihai Town for a share of the profits from the Hisikari mine and ease the financial situation of the shogunate.
The Tokugawa shogunate was not a fool, and clues can be seen with a little analysis of some things. Why did Hokkai Town completely seal off the area around Mount Hisikari? Not to mention the seal, the Hokkaido Navy was also sent to strictly guard the entrances and exits of various mountain roads? Why are there so many noises in the mountains?
The deafening roar? What are those strange vehicles carrying between Hisikari and the port of Izumi County? Why do they make deep ruts on the road?
Fortunately, all the ores shipped out of Beihai Town are not refined locally in Minami Kyushu at all, so the current analysis of the shogunate is that there may be an unknown copper mine in Hisikari, accompanied by a small amount of gold and silver.
The first person Matsudaira Sadanobu wooed was Denzo Katsuyama. For this island businessman who had long-term cooperation with Beihai Town and often visited Kyoto and Osaka, the shogunate did not use any coercion or inducement, because they knew that doing so was completely useless. They simply abandoned it.
The evidence that Ping Tai conspired to murder the "Eternal Generation" was found, and the three thunders of Shengshan were shocked on the outside and tender on the inside.
No matter what Boss Shengshan said, he grew up in the island country's red flag... Bah! Although Zhao Xin is a person under the sun of the island country, he is an excellent business partner, but his intention to eliminate the "living gods" of the island country still angered Shengshan.
Shan Chuan 3. After going back and forth, the two sides finally reached a cooperation to bring Pingtai down, prevent him from further harming the royal family, and find out the inside story of Linggao County.
Boss Shengshan has a good idea. Anyway, I will not cause trouble in Beihai Company's business. I am just for the sake of the island country.
Later, under the arrangement of Denzo Katsuyama and people in the shogunate, Heita successfully met the sixth generation Yoshino Taifu, but his beauty and manners made him even more obsessed. After meeting him for the first time, he wanted to meet him a second time, and even
I had the idea of becoming a guest.
In this day and age, if you want to have sex with an oiran-level prostitute, you have to spend a lot of money, and you have to do it several times. First of all, when you meet for the first time, the other party will sit far away from the guest.
He will not talk, nor will he drink and eat with the guests. The guests need to show that their wealth is worthy of the other party through this time, so just inviting one geisha is not enough, you must invite many geishas to come and perform their talents.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The second time after that is basically the same as the first time, except this time the oiran will sit closer.
After the third or fourth time, the oiran will prepare a tray and chopsticks with his name written on them. At this time, he will present a large amount of money, and then he can do whatever he wants. From now on, the guests only
If an oiran can take care of one person, she is no longer allowed to look for other wandering girls; if she is found out, she has broken the rules, and the guest will have to pay a large sum of money to apologize. And the oiran can only receive this one guest. In other words, her future life and various
She has to rely on one person to support her expenses; once she wants to marry someone else, she has broken the rules and should not become an oiran.
In this way, relying on boss Katsuyama's huge money to clear the way, Heita finally became the guest of the sixth generation Yoshino Taifu. The woman had accepted the order of the shogunate, used various means, and served her carefully, which made Heita fall in love with this woman.
He went crazy and even swore an oath of eternal alliance.
Taifu Yoshino waited until the time was right, and took advantage of Heita's relaxation to ask about Beihai Town intentionally or unintentionally. Heita also gradually relaxed his guard against Taifu Yoshino, and said a lot of things he could and could not tell. Little did he know that he always
When I had a tryst with the other party for the first time, there were spies from the shogunate hiding in the next room and eavesdropping on the records.
In October last year, the people of the shogunate felt that the situation was almost over, so the Kyoto Governor organized an arrest and captured the two people on the spot at Iwasaki Hall. Although Heita revealed his identity as the Trade Department of Hokkaido Town, he could not be the shogunate.
When the official sneered and threw the conversation record in front of him, he was dumbfounded.
After that, the two were taken to a well-defended and remote courtyard and detained separately. Heita knew that the shogunate did not dare to do anything to him, so he put on a posture like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water. If you have the ability, you can try to touch me?
The shogunate also seemed to know that he was not to be trifled with. He was given good food and wine every day, and the place he lived in was clean and tidy, with someone cleaning him every day.
A few days later, when Heita relaxed a little, the drama prepared by the shogunate came on stage. They began to torture Yoshino Taifu, and Heita watched every torture.
In order to achieve a realistic effect, the subordinates who took action were really ruthless, and it was not fake at all. The once beautiful woman soon became scarred and bloody under the beating of the bamboo whip. At first, Pingtai was still strong.
He endured it, but after the whipping, the subordinates placed heavy stones on Yoshino Taifu's kneeling thigh, causing the woman to let out a heart-rending cry. Heita finally couldn't bear it any longer.
"Let her go! This has nothing to do with her! Otherwise I will let you know the anger of Beihai Town! You will all die!"
Seeing that Ping was too anxious, the shogunate official in charge of the interrogation sneered and asked him: "I heard that you have a family in Beihai Town, so is this woman your concubine? But I also heard that King Zhao is in charge of his subordinates.
He has always been very strict and does not allow concubines. With a status like yours, you will definitely not disobey King Zhao's order. So, this woman in front of you is just a flesh-and-blood transaction. There are many women like this in Kyoto, and besides, she is the son of a general.
Citizen, it has nothing to do with you how we interrogate you. Please rest assured, just watch, we won't do anything to you, and we will let you out in a few days."
After the official said that, he waved his fan to signal that the torture would continue. Seeing this, his men immediately moved another stone and pressed it down. Taifu Yoshino gritted his teeth, shed tears, looked at Heita with his eyes, and let out a shrill scream.
, passed out. Pingtai could see very clearly that under those two rocks, those white-skinned and tender thighs that made his heart beat wildly were covered in blood.
"What...what do you want to ask?" Seeing that his sweetheart was about to die in front of him, Heita, who was sweating profusely in anxiety, finally lowered his head.
"Please tell me truthfully, what happened with the fire in Kyoto? Don't worry, I swear in the name of my ancestors that I will definitely keep it a secret for you."
"Okay...I did it..."
When Heita was explaining, the recorder hiding behind the barrier gate moved around with his pen. As soon as he finished writing one piece, a samurai took it away and sent it to another room. And there, the Kyoto Secretary and Temple Shrine enshrined Hota.
Zhengshun was leaning on the desk, drinking tea with nothing to show for it. When he saw his subordinates coming in with records, his eyes lit up and he blurted out: "Hi?"
"Please take a look, sir."
On the other side, the official suppressed the shock in his heart to hear what happened, took a few deep breaths, tried to calm himself, and then asked in a slightly trembling tone: "What about the fire at Fushimi Miya's house?"
"...I did it too."
The official finally couldn't bear it anymore. He threw away the fan, stood up and took off the sword from the knife holder. He pulled out half of it with a clatter and shouted angrily: "What on earth do you want to do?! What conspiracy does King Zhao have against His Majesty?! You guys
What was dug in Hisikari?!"
"..."
At this moment, Taifu Yoshino, who had been unconscious, woke up faintly, and then let out a weak whine, which made Heita look over involuntarily, with an expression on his face full of concern.
The official noticed this detail keenly and loudly ordered: "Continue to torture!"
"No! I, I said..." Pingtai waved his hands hurriedly, then lowered his head, his heart full of regret. However, once you embark on the road of betrayal, you can never look back.
After he explained everything and promised to meet with the people sent by the shogunate every month in the future, Hota ordered someone to secretly send him and the scarred Taifu Yoshino back to Iwasaki Hall. And when the boss of Murata House
When I saw him and Katsuyama Denzo drinking in Gion Kobe, it was already half a year later...
In the eighth month of the lunar calendar, Heita returned to Kyoto from Osaka. At this time, the maple leaves in the mountains were dyed with autumn colors, especially in Takao, Takanoo, and Makinoo in the west of Kyoto. The fiery red mountains and plains were like a gorgeous picture.
Picture scroll.
Although the fire four years ago burned everything west of the Kamo River, Kamogawa and Takase River to a white ground and caused heavy losses, in recent years, with the large-scale investment in funds and manpower to rebuild Kyoto, the entire Kyoto has recovered.
The look of the old days.
Heita did not go directly to see Yoshino Taifu, but under the escort of several hired ronin, he first went to Yase in the northeast of Kyoto and came to a place called "Kahei Tea House".
Since the Heian period, Yase bathing has been famous in the island nation for its special bathing method. The bathhouse is a room called a "kettle", with one room for each person, and the appearance is built like a charcoal kiln or a similar huge pottery kiln.
Place firewood around it and light it. Wait until the internal air is fully heated before allowing guests to enter the inner room of the cauldron.
Bathers wear bath towels and lie flat on the straw mats on the indoor floor. These straw mats are sprinkled with salt and covered with fresh green wood leaves. When the sweat begins to wet the bath towel, they take off the bath towel and move to another room.
room and soak in warm water. This method has a good effect on eliminating fatigue.
After taking a bath, he felt a little hungry, so he ate a bowl of soba noodles at the tea house, then called for a carriage and led the people straight to Wuhua Street.
The so-called "Five Flowers Street" actually refers to the five Fenggetsu districts in Shimabara, including Gion Kobe, Miyagawa Town, Pontocho, Kamishichiken and Gion Higashi. Kyoto's Fenggetsu places originated in the Momoyama period.
Started at Shangqixuan.
In the middle of the 15th century, part of the Kitano Shrine was burned down. During the subsequent construction process, seven teahouses were built using the remaining building materials. This is the origin of the place name "Kamichigen". After that, many artists came to the teahouses to create
Guests perform their talents and also serve as waiters.
In fact, the early geishas in the island country were all men. These people were also called "bangma". They were guys who performed talents for the guests before the banquet started, creating a lively atmosphere; such as playing taiko drums, playing music, and talking.
A joke or something. In the early days, prostitutes were called "wandering girls" and there was no such thing as geisha. Starting about forty years ago, some of the sacred girls at Kitano Shrine retired in their twenties and came here.
She worked as a waiter in a teahouse, so it is said that geisha originated from Kamishichiken.
Tonight, Heita was going to the Minoya located in Kamishichiken Naka no Mori. He had already made an appointment with Katsuyama Denzo to meet there.
When they arrived at Minoya, it was already time to turn on the lights. Heita was respectfully led to a single room on the second floor by the shop owner and his maid, and the guard who followed him was taken to a room next door. Denzo Katsuyama took it with him.
Several guards were eating inside. When they saw Pingtai's men coming down, they nodded familiarly and said hello.
Heita walked into the private room, and before even saying hello to Katsuyama Denzo, he was surprised to find that the sixth generation Yoshino Taifu was also there, and couldn't help but blurt out: "Ah! You are here too!"
"Come on!"
Yoshino Taifu smiled slightly and waved to him gently. Heita immediately sat next to him, and exchanged glasses with Boss Katsuyama and the contact person of the shogunate.
After that incident, Ping Taiyuan thought about redeeming the other party's life and buying a courtyard to house them as their home in Kyoto. However, the ransom fee for a top socialite like Yoshino Taifu was terrifyingly high, and he simply couldn't afford it. The shogunate
When Bian learned about this situation, he told him that Anxin would help us find out the news for two years and we would pay for the ransom. So, Pingtai had no choice.
At the same time, more than a dozen guys wearing dark blue coats and hoods, with only two eyes and mouths exposed, had surrounded the front and back doors of Mino House. Since Nakanomori is a small forest, there are very few pedestrians.
, so no one has noticed it yet.
Jia He, who was leading the attack from the main entrance with seven people, suddenly pulled the barrier door open and took the lead in rushing in. Before the boss could yell, he raised his hand and punched him hard, knocking him to the ground. Everyone behind him started to rush in.
He took out a revolver and a dagger from his arms, took off his shoes, and quietly walked up to the second floor with bare feet. The floorboards made a slight creaking sound...
There were not many single rooms on the second floor, and these people quickly arrived outside the room where the target was. At this time, voices came from the two rooms, and they did not realize that they were surrounded.
Jia He saw a woman's figure reflected on the partition of the single room at the end, and there was the sound of plucking strings in the room, as if the piano was being tuned. From this, he determined that Pingtai and the others were in this room, and then he held the
The dagger's left hand waved slightly, giving the order to attack.
In an instant, there was a loud sound of gunfire in the narrow corridor. Eight men fired indiscriminately with their guns through the barrier door, until all the bullets in the magazine were exhausted. Wails rang out in the two rooms, and then Jiahe took the lead and rushed in.
Inside the house, prepare to perform a last-ditch attack on the guy who was shot but survived.
Taifu Yoshino was shot in the back, and he was screaming in a pool of blood. Jiahe had no sympathy for her, so he just hit him with a dagger. As a result, because he was rolling on the ground, he missed the back of the heart and was hit on the shoulder.
She was in so much pain that she rolled around on the ground, screaming incessantly. Jiahe simply sat on her, pushed away her blocking hand, and stabbed her chest with a knife. Yoshino Taifu struggled and stopped moving.
At the same time, Katsuyama Denzo and the shogunate who were wailing for help were killed by others one after another. Their necks were cut open, and blood gushed out like a spring, instantly dyeing the rush mat red.
At this time, Heita was the only one alive in the house. He was shot twice in the shoulder and huddled in the corner. The pistol in his arms fell to the ground, gasping for air with a look of shock on his face.
"You, who are you?"
Jia He and the other three people walked up to Pingtai, with no emotion in their eyes, and said coldly in Mandarin: "From the day you betrayed me, you should have known what would happen."
Pingtai's eyes suddenly opened wide and he said in astonishment: "You, are you sent here by your lord?"
He turned back to look at the already deceased Taifu Yoshino, tears streaming down his face, and cried: "You can just kill me, why do you have to kill her!"
"Idiot!" Jia He cursed casually, then thought about it and explained: "She has been conspiring with Densan Katsuyama to plot against you from the beginning!"
After saying that, he stabbed the dagger into Pingtai's heart with his backhand, then turned around and left. A dozen people came in a gust of wind and left like ghosts.
The next morning, the murder in Minoya shocked the entire Kyoto.