Katayama got out of bed holding the edge of the bed, put on his clothes, and then motioned to his daughter Xihui to open the door.
When the door opened, it was Zhao Xin, followed by a middle-aged man.
"Sir, please come in." Xihui quickly bowed and saluted.
She has met Zhao Xin many times.
When they first met Zhao Xin with their mother Duhe and younger sister, they only knew that this tall young man was the leader of the Thor. After Katayama Kanbei was carried aboard, Xihui was surprised to find that Mr. Zhao actually He also knows medical skills.
Katayama Kanbei bowed deeply at this time and said: "Thank you, sir, for saving my life."
Zhao Xin waved his hand indifferently and asked with a smile: "How is your recovery from your injury?"
"Oh. Doctor Hong said that another three to five days will be enough." After Katayama finished speaking, he quickly greeted: "Sir, please sit down."
Zhao Xin looked at it and saw that there were only two beds and one chair in this cabin, so he said to Katayama Kanbei: "Let's go outside and talk on the deck."
When the four of them came to the deck, the sailors on the ship had already brought some chairs. After some humility, Katayama Kanbei sat down, and his eldest daughter Nozomi stood behind him.
"I wonder if you have any business with me today?" Katayama Kanbei asked respectfully.
Zhao Xin nodded slightly, raised his hand sideways and said: "Old Chen, this is the Katayama Kanbei I mentioned. Mr. Katayama, this is Chen Qingsong, my deputy in charge of internal affairs."
Chen Qingsong stood up with a smile and shook hands with Katayama as a habit; Katayama immediately stood up and bowed to salute.
He was not very clear about the system settings here at Zhao Xin. He had basically seen all the six members of the Security Department, and guessed that those people were senior warriors under Zhao Xin.
But the middle-aged man named Chen, whom he had never seen before, was Zhao Xin's deputy and was also in charge of internal affairs, so his status was equivalent to that of a senior member of the Sendai clan.
"Katayama-kun, sit down and talk. Don't be too formal."
Zhao Xin waited for both parties to sit down and then said: "You should be curious about why I came to see you today. I don't think you can return to Sendai Domain, Katayama-kun."
"Yes, sir. I am now a free ronin."
From the Warring States Period to the early Edo period, "resigning from the feudal clan", as a serious act of betrayal, has always been regarded as a taboo for samurai. Because the samurai who broke away from the feudal clan were very likely to leak the military, financial and other confidential information of the feudal clan, thereby harming the interests of the feudal clan.
After the middle of the Edo period, since there had been no war for many years, the military secrets of the feudal lords became meaningless. Therefore, if you are not an important person in the feudal clan, you are generally allowed to leave the feudal clan.
For example, if you violate the laws of this domain, you have to resort to this method to save your life. Therefore, don't think that samurai will have disembowelment at every turn, because they are forced to have no choice but to do so.
How sweet it is to live well. Although he became a ronin due to his downfall, if one day he is attracted by another daimyo, he will be the same old master again.
However, the above situation requires the consent of the feudal lord and the completion of relevant legal procedures. If someone breaks away from the feudal clan without going through the formalities, he will be charged with "running away", his family name will be cut off, and his property will be confiscated. If he is caught, he may also be sentenced to death depending on the circumstances. . In this sense, Katayama Kanbei can no longer use the surname "Katama".
In the history of the middle and late Edo period, the most famous people who broke away from the feudal clan were the eighteen Mito clan samurai represented by Seki Tetsunosuke and Arimura Jizaemon. After these people assassinated the shogunate eldest brother Ii Naobi, they feared that the Mito clan would be implicated and therefore made the choice to break away from the clan collectively. (The famous Incident at Sakurada Gate)
Next is Ryoma Sakamoto. This was because he was dissatisfied with the current situation of the Tosa Domain, disgusted with the appeasement policies of Yoshida Toyo and Yamauchido, and did not agree with Takeichi Mizuzan (this one was also very fierce, and was eventually sentenced to hara-kiri). policy.
Because of Sakamoto Ryoma's behavior of leaving the domain, his sister Otome had to divorce; the Tosa domain also sent someone to deliver a knife to Sakamoto's sister Arong and ordered her to commit suicide. Later, the family spent a lot of money to finally settle the matter.
Therefore, someone like Katayama Kanbei, although he did not take the initiative to break away from the feudal clan, but he assisted Zhao Xin in transporting refugees to sea, which was equivalent to betraying the Sendai clan.
Judging from the result, he only suffered physical pain, and his wife and children were safe and sound. He was very lucky.
Of course, without Zhao Xin's bombardment of Ishinomaki Port, Katayama would definitely have died.
Zhao Xin stood up and looked at the sea in the distance for a while, then turned to Katayama Kanbei and asked: "I wonder what Katayama-kun thinks about his future? All industries are beginning to flourish here in Beihai Town, and everything is full of vitality. "
Katayama Kanbei understood that Zhao Xin wanted to recruit him, and he had no other choice, so he bowed and said, "But it will be as per your orders."
"Okay. As far as I'm concerned, you should keep doing what you're doing."
"Old profession?" Katayama raised his head in surprise and asked, "Sir, do you want me to be a local tongxin?"
"No." Zhao Xin shook his head slowly. "He is the director of the local police station. If I have to compare..."
Zhao Xin thought for a while before continuing: "It's similar to the shogunate's 'Fire Pay Kai' and 'Thief Kai' combined together. I don't know if you can understand what I say."
Katayama Kanbei thought for a while. Although he didn't understand what "police" meant, he knew that his duty as the future "Director of Beihai Town Police Station" was to set fires and prevent theft and gambling. Upgraded one level from Concentricity to Concentricity.
To put it bluntly, he is the director of police reform.
Katayama was thinking when he heard Zhao Xin say again: "The reason why I invited Mr. Chen here is because your future work responsibilities are mainly to cooperate with him. Mr. Chen is now responsible for all internal affairs of Beihai Town, including land reclamation, Camp construction and day-to-day management of the refugees. You meet today, and you will work together from now on."
When Katayama heard this, he quickly bowed to Chen Qingsong again and said, "Master Chen, I will ask for your advice in the future."
Chen Qingsong smiled and took Katayama Kanbei's right hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'm counting on you for security matters."
When Zhao Xin saw Katayama Kanbei looking at Chen Qingsong holding his hand with a strange expression, he smiled and explained: "This is a kind of etiquette in our place. We always shake hands when we first meet."
Katayama Kanbei understood. If Zhao Xin hadn't explained this, he would have thought that the fat middle-aged man opposite him had some unspeakable hobby.
"Sir, when do you think I can perform my duties?" After Chen Qingsong let go of his hand, Katayama quickly asked Zhao Xin.
"There's no rush. You need to fully recover from your injuries first. And you can't do this alone. I'll give you all my men in the next few days. Then you can meet and get familiar with each other."
"Ha ha!"
Katayama knelt down on the deck and formally bowed to Zhao Xin.
(End of chapter)
