After successfully bringing Qingdeng to the archery range, the "Second Level" sisters bowed lightly to Tianzhangyuan, then stood down and went back to work in a very conspicuous manner.
As Sae and Yae left, only a certain pretty widow holding a beautiful purple bow was left with Qingto in the huge archery range.
"His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan."
Qingdeng bowed politely to Tianzhangyuan, and then got straight to the point:
"I wonder why I was summoned so hastily?"
"Ji Jun, it's just you and me here, so there's no need to be so formal."
Tianzhangyuan smiled sweetly.
"There is no special reason why I summoned you here suddenly - I just want to teach you the art of archery."
"Arching skills?" Qingdeng raised his eyebrows and asked in confusion, "Doesn't the new Yu Ting Ban require the soldiers to master the bow skills?"
Tianzhangyuan did not immediately answer Qingdeng's question.
She waved to Qingdeng and signaled Qingdeng to come over.
Qingdeng, who was not sure why, hesitated for a moment and walked towards Tianzhangyuan.
Before he got close to Tianzhangyuan, when he was still 2 or 3 steps away from the pretty widow, waves of delicious fragrance penetrated Qingdeng's nostrils.
Where is the source of this fragrance... I don’t need to go into details.
I didn't have such a feeling when I first met her, but as I spent more time with Tianzhangyuan, Qingden felt more and more: This woman is really decent when she pretends to be a miko, just like a real miko.
The miko costume with white top and purple bottom matches her perfectly. And Tianzhangyuan's various expressions and small movements are also very similar to those of priests.
Qingteng didn't know until just now that Tianzhangyuan knew how to use a bow, and his skills were not bad - after knowing this, Qingteng felt that Tianzhangyin and the position of shrine maiden were very compatible.
"Bow and Arrow" and "Miko"...these two can be regarded as semi-bound.
Not to mention the modern era of the 21st century, even in today's Edo period, when people think of miko, they will always think of bows and arrows.
The reason for this is that bows and arrows have a very special status in Shintoism.
To this day, Japan still has a demon-breaking ritual called the "Insect Technique".
This is an exorcism technique in Shintoism. It was originally used to pull the string of a bow without an arrow, and use the sound of the string to exorcise evil spirits. Later, it developed into a technique of exorcising evil spirits by using a high-pitched dysprosium to shoot arrows.
Almost every shrine sells magical tools used to ward off evil spirits at home every Spring Festival: the magic weapon and the magic bow.
These two magical artifacts have always been popular items in the shrine.
All in all - the bow and arrow is a weapon that has an inseparable relationship with a priest like a miko.
Perhaps it is because miko symbolizes the priesthood of praying for blessings and exorcising evil spirits. After putting on this miko uniform, Tenshouin's temperament became different from ordinary ones.
There's a little more... a holy atmosphere that makes people feel like "you can only watch from a distance but don't dare to play with it".
This was the first time Qingdeng felt the "sacred" aura from another person.
Originally, due to various factors such as face and figure, Tianzhangyuan's every smile and every move always revealed a charming temperament.
The "holiness" of the shrine maiden's uniform partially conceals this "charmingness".
But it only covers "a part"...
If Tianzhangyuan's temperament in ordinary times is 10 points for charm, then after changing into this white and purple hakama costume and pretending to be a miko, her temperament becomes 4 points for saintliness and 6 points for saintliness. charming.
Holy and charming...
She looks like a spotless chaste saint, but also like a passionate slut who loves to wear tank tops and hot pants to dance in late-night dance clubs.
It is a miracle that these two completely opposite attributes can actually appear in the same woman...
"Tangerine-kun, stand over here."
Tianzhangyuan raised his hand and pointed to the left side, then turned around and took out a Japanese bow about 2 meters long with a red bow body from the bow stand next to it.
"Here, take it. This bow is new, please use it carefully~"
Qingdeng took the red bow from Tianzhangyuan.
As soon as he took the bow, Qingdeng's arms were pulled by the weight of the bow and fell straight to the ground.
--Good weight!
Whether it was his previous life or this life, this was the first time Qingdeng held a bow and bow - it was much heavier than Qingdeng imagined.
But this is natural, after all, the total length of the entire bow is more than 2 meters.
With such a length, it is impossible not to have a certain weight.
Qingdeng, who underestimated the weight of the bow, quickly tensed the muscles of his arms and stabilized the bow before it fell to the ground.
"His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan, what is going on? Why do you suddenly want to teach me archery?"
Qingdeng asked this question again.
But this time, Tianzhangyuan finally gave the answer.
"Well...how should I put it..."
Tianzhangyuan thought about the appropriate wording and pondered for a moment.
"To put it simply... I decided to teach you the art of bowing on the spur of the moment yesterday."
"The purpose is to enable you to better impress your future subordinates."
Your future subordinates - upon hearing these words, Qingdeng's eyelids sank slightly.
Of course Qingdeng knew who Tianzhangyuan meant by "your future subordinates".
Qingdeng’s vacation is only over a month away.
More than a month later, on November 1st, Qingteng will leave the Northern Division and report to the Yamen of Huofu Thieves Reform, where he will officially take up his duties as the new captain of the Third Division and the leader of the Seventh Division of the Advanced Archery Division.
By then, Qingdeng will no longer be a small "city police", but will have 10 dedicated and 50 concentric archer officers under his command!
"Tachibana-kun, although I may sound alarmist when I say this...but I still want to remind you: you may have a very difficult time after you change your position as a fire thief."
Tianzhangyuan, who always had a smile on his face, now showed a rare serious expression.
"You didn't become the captain of the squad and the leader of the archery group by working diligently in the Huofu Thieves Kaifa, accumulating merit and fame little by little, and being promoted step by step."
"But in a 'falling from the sky' way, he was transferred to such a high position from Sadacho in Kitabansuo in one go."
"That is to say..."
Tianzhangyuan laughed bitterly.
"You will run into the same trouble that the General encountered when he first arrived in Edo - when you look up, you will see people you are not familiar with."
After Qingdeng heard this, he nodded thoughtfully.
The above words of Tianzhangyuan can be summarized in one sentence: "Airborne leaders" like Qingdeng will basically encounter the dilemma of "without familiar subordinates, it is difficult to carry out their own work."
"Just memorizing the names and specialties of these unfamiliar subordinates may take you a lot of time."
Tianzhangyuan's explanation continues.
"Although you have great military exploits and are respected as 'Nioh' by the people of Edo, no matter how famous you are now, it is still unknown whether your future colleagues and subordinates will be convinced by your abilities."
"not to mention……"
Speaking of this, Tianzhangyuan paused for a moment. Immediately afterwards, a strange look full of helplessness bloomed on his delicate face.
"You are still a 'former imperial family member' who was promoted to Hatamoto due to your merits until recently."
"In the eyes of some people, your kind is more disgusting than the horse manure in the stable."
"Ha..." Qingden let out a few dry laughs.
No matter in which era or country, there is such a thing as "chain of contempt".
In Japan today, due to various reasons such as national character and excessive class solidification, the phenomenon of mutual contempt between different groups is particularly serious.
In the samurai class, which has an extremely clear hierarchical system, there is a quite complete chain of contempt.
The Fanshi of the big vassal looked down upon the Fanshi of the small vassal.
The samurai who were directly subordinate to the shogun, namely the hatamoto and the royal family, regarded all the samurai as uncivilized peasants.
He was of a higher rank, had privileges such as being able to directly meet the general, and looked down upon the "lower" imperial family.
Dashen Hatamoto, whose family fortune is as high as that of a minor daimyo, thinks that those little Hatamoto whose family fortune is less than 500 koku are people from another "world".
This long-standing chain of contempt, as well as the psychological distortion caused by the extreme solidification of class, has led to a group of people in this country who regard "blood theory" as a wise saying.
They are proud of their ancestry and family status.
Despise those who are "inferior" to you.
Hatred of those who use "strange skills and tricks" to improve their family status...especially those whose family status is as high as themselves or higher than themselves.
As of 2 months ago, Qingdeng was still an imperial family member with a family income of just over 500 dan. He was promoted to the banner due to his outstanding military exploits... Qingdeng with such experience is very popular among those who pursue the "bloodline theory" In his eyes, he was simply a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh!
Are there any such people among Qingdeng’s future colleagues and subordinates? I'm afraid only God knows about this kind of thing.
"in short--"
Tianzhangyuan's conversation suddenly changed.
"The yamen reformed by the thieves will be a brand new world full of unknowns for you."
"You will most likely encounter many... 'enemies' you have never encountered before."
"As for your future life in Huofu Thief Kai... there's not much I can do to help you."
Speaking of this, Tianzhangyuan changed into a half-joking tone:
"After all, it is impossible for the general and I to issue an order that 'no one is allowed to bully Tachibana Aoto'."
"In the future, when you go to formally serve as an official, you have to be extra cautious and work hard. Whether you can live a comfortable and comfortable life in the Huo Fu Thief Reform basically depends on you."
"All I can do right now-"
She smiled and waved the purple bow in her hand.
"The only thing I can do is give you as many skills as possible that can effectively convince your colleagues and subordinates."
"The unit you are going to attack next is the Third Division, which is concurrently served by the Seventh Division of the Advanced Archers."
"Nowadays, martial arts are in decline. Even in the shogunate army, there are quite a few people who are just pretending to be soldiers. The cavalry can't ride a horse, the spearmen can't use a spear, and the archers can't draw a bow."
"As a result, the conditions for becoming a unit commander have become much easier."
"Nowadays, if you want to be the leader of the first-hand bow team or the first-hand iron cannon team, you don't need to be proficient in archery or iron cannon skills."
"It's just that--as a commander of the archery unit, if you can have good archery skills, it is always a good thing to win good popularity for yourself."
"Compared to an incompetent person who doesn't even know how to pull a bow, the generals of the first-hand bow group are obviously more willing to listen to the orders of those who know how to bow."
"As far as I know, Tachibana-kun, you have never been exposed to archery before, right?"
Qingdeng nodded without thinking, and then silently added in his heart:
——I played bow and arrow several times in the "Archer Club" and other places in my previous life, but I only played blindly. This should not be considered as some exposure to archery.
Compared with swordsmanship and spearmanship, the learning cost of archery is very high.
If you don’t have a sword or a gun, you can go to the wild and pick up a stick of suitable size to make do with it, but how do you pick up a bow and arrow from the wild?
Therefore, in the Edo period, archery was a martial art that only those samurai from well-off families could afford.
People like Qingto, who used to be lower-level warriors, had basically no chance to come into contact with archery.
Tianzhangyuan has obviously investigated Qingdeng's past a long time ago, so he is well aware that Qingdeng does not understand archery at all.
She continued:
"Although it won't make you a master of archery immediately in less than 2 months, it can still teach you how to hold a bow and how to nock an arrow."
"It's just that archery is not a required martial skill for new Yu Ting Fan."
"So, it's up to you whether you want to learn archery or not."
"If you are willing to learn, I will teach you everything you have without reservation."
"If you don't want to learn, that's okay. I won't blame you."
"How about it? Are you interested in learning archery from me?"
After saying that, Tianzhangyuan tilted his head and smiled brightly at Qingden.
While looking at Qingdeng with peaceful eyes full of smiles, he waited for Qingdeng's response.
——Arch skills...
Qingdeng let out a long groan in his heart.
To be honest, Qingden is not very interested in archery...
Learning to bow now when the steam battleships of the Western powers are sailing the sea... is like learning how to use a film camera in an era when digital cameras have begun mass production.
Compared to archery, the martial arts that Qingdeng is more interested in is American Chuanwu!
However, in this country where matchlocks are still the main weapon and have not fully introduced Western firearms, there is no way to learn from the American martial arts...
In Aoto's circle of friends, the only person with advanced firearms was Katsurin Taro, who had been saved by Aoto and was about to be sent to mess with the shogunate navy.
But the revolver that Katsurin Taro owned was given to him by a friend, and he had no way of getting a gun.
Aoto once contacted Katsurintaro and asked him if there was any way he could help assemble the pistol. As a result, he sighed and shook his head...
Although he had little interest in archery, Qingdeng had to admit that what this pretty widow said was not completely unreasonable.
Qingdeng had the double debuffs of "Airborne Leader" and "Inferior Bloodline", and his subsequent "fire-and-thieves reform journey" would be abnormal if it were not full of ups and downs.
Therefore, it is better to make some corresponding preparations early.
Let's compare ourselves - imagine that I am an archer, and there are two leaders in front of me. One can't even draw a bow, and the other has a rough bow. Obviously, the latter is easier to win favor with.
Moreover, as the saying goes, "Many skills do not overwhelm the body." Putting aside the above-mentioned utilitarian factors, it is not a bad thing to learn more skills, even if this skill is difficult to achieve in this era. Useful place.
At this thought, Qingdeng opened his mouth, about to say something.
But at this moment, Qingdeng suddenly thought of something, his open lips froze, and then he asked quickly:
"His Royal Highness Tianzhangyuan, the person who taught me archery... couldn't be you, right?"
"Of course it's me."
As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, Tianzhangyuan showed an expression that said, "Isn't this natural?"
"There are only you and me in this archery range now, and I still hold a bow in my hand... Who else can teach you archery besides me? What's more, there is no one better than me. I have found someone who can teach you archery. What? Do you doubt that I am capable of teaching you well?"
"That's not..."
Tianzhangyuan's wonderful skill of "accurately hitting the bull's-eye 50 meters away" demonstrated just now has well demonstrated her archery skills.
This level is more than enough to teach people.
Tenshouin Atsuhime, who is the commander-in-chief of the Daigodaisho and the new Royal Court Banner, wants to teach him archery in person, and all this is just to make Qingtou's career as a fire-fighting thief Kai more smooth in the future... I thought Qingdeng couldn't help but secretly thought:
——Both Tenshoin and Tokugawa Iemo were treating me too kindly...?
Qingdeng's thoughts were disturbed by Tianzhangyuan's rhetorical question.
"How's it going? How are you thinking? Have you made up your mind?"
"..." Under Tianzhangyuan's direct gaze, Qingdeng felt a strange pressure for no reason.
After weighing the pros and cons and thinking deeply for a while, Qingdeng took a deep breath with a slightly troubled expression:
"Then - Your Highness, I will ask you for more advice in the future."
Tianzhangyuan seemed quite satisfied with Qingdeng's answer. After hearing Qingdeng's answer, she smiled brightly.
"Then - without further ado, let's start practicing immediately! Tachibana-kun, stand in this position and hold your bow!"
Chirp—!
At this time, a flying swallow happened to fly over the heads of Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan.
This flying swallow flew across the sky, climbing over cities and towns, and over mountains after mountains.
Finally, it flew straight into the high sky.
…
…
2 months later——
The first year of Wanyan (1860), November 1st——
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Test Guard Hall——
"I said...Kyuubei, it should be almost done, right?"
Qingto, who was sitting on the verandah of the courtyard, facing the courtyard, asked helplessly to the Nine Soldiers behind him.
"No! Not yet! The bun is still a little crooked!"
Kubei meticulously adjusted the angle of the bun on Aoden's head with arcs accurate to millimeters.
"Today is your first day, young master, to serve as a slave to a thief! How can you be too slovenly and unkempt?"
Hearing what his old servant Kyuubei said, Qingto could only hold back his temper for the time being and continue to endure Kyuubei's "millimeter-level fine-tuning" of his bun.
After another moment, Qingdeng couldn't bear it anymore and said angrily:
"Okay, okay, what does it matter if your bun is one part crooked or one part straight?"
After saying that, Qingden stood up and turned back to the house.
Seeing this, Kyuubei had no choice but to give up his obsession with Aoto's bun, and followed Aoto back to his room step by step.
After returning to the living room connected to the verandah, Aoto, with the help of Kyubei, changed into a set of black clothes, black hakama and black haori that were embroidered with exquisite patterns and exuded a solemn atmosphere.
"Young Master, give it."
"Well, thank you."
Aomori took an equally brand-new black formation hat from Kyubei's hands and put it on his head upright.
"Little Lord!"
Jiubei took a few steps back and carefully looked at Qingdou from head to door several times before tears filled his eyes with excitement.
"Master, if he could see you wearing this suit, he would be so excited that he would cry like me!"
Black clothes, black hakama, Kuro Haori, and a black formation hat... It is the exclusive uniform of the leader of the Fire Thieves!
"Kyuubei, you are exaggerating, aren't you?"
After helplessly teasing this loyal old servant, Qingdeng slowly walked towards a large bronze mirror not far away.
Looking at himself in the bronze mirror in front of him, Qingdeng frowned at first, then smiled wryly and mocked himself:
"Kyubei, I don't look like an officer at all. Do you think I can look like a scholar and be able to calm my colleagues and subordinates who are going to meet me later?"
*******
*******
Time flies, this seems to be the first time this book has spanned so much time in one breath from the serialization to the present, two months in one breath. The plot density of this book is too high. Qingdeng's actions and the advancement of the plot are basically calculated in "days"...
Qingteng is finally going to pay a favor to the thieves and modify his pussy...ah, no, it's time to go to work! To celebrate this new chapter, vote for this book!
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
