Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 260: Sakurako's Observations, the History of the General Flag's Rise

Fujino Sakurako followed nearly three hundred other young Japanese women and was eventually sent to a camp outside the Ezo Nishiewei Castle.

When entering the camp gate, Fujino Sakurako was very resistant.

Based on her experience in Japan, she knew that so many young women were being detained in one place, most likely to be used as camp prostitutes.

This was a very common occurrence during the war in Japan, except that the women abducted as camp prostitutes were all civilian women.

Then again, although his father was a great warrior (in the Southern Dynasty), he was inexplicably implicated in some conspiracy, which destroyed his family overnight. His father, brother, mother, she, and several servants were all captured.

She was held in the cell for only three days before being sent to a ship and brought to a large island in who knows where in the north. She was afraid that she would never see her family again in her lifetime. She was even worse off than any other civilian woman. Wasn't it normal for her to become a camp prostitute?

"What are you doing? Come in quickly!"

Fujino Sakurako was pushed again by the caravan guard, who also pinched her on the butt.

"what!"

Fujino Sakurako screamed.

In fact, she wasn't such a timid person. She had been touched countless times since she left home, and she was almost used to it. She screamed loudly to protect herself.

Sure enough, her cry attracted a lot of people's attention, especially the chief guard of the merchant ship.

The guard cursed and didn't dare to touch her again - the guard who touched her was a Japanese ronin, but his leader was a Ming Dynasty person, so the ronin guard didn't dare to act rashly.

The experience after entering the camp was different from what Fujino Sakurako had imagined. They were not abused.

The people in the camp first arranged a full meal for them, and then instructed them to boil water for a bath.

All their clothes were thrown away, and each of them was given a brand new set of white cotton lining, a thin but warm cotton jacket and a gray cotton coat.

The affairs of the camp were managed by several strong women from the Ming Dynasty, not men.

Although these strong women from the Ming Dynasty spoke words that they could not understand, had fierce expressions, and would use short sticks to beat those slow, stupid, or disobedient women, they still made Fujino Sakurako feel more at ease than men.

They stayed in the camp for seven days and were assigned a lot of work every day.

Those who could weave were sent to weave, and those who could cook were sent to learn how to cook - to cook Ming people's food, because that was also the food they ate.

Those who knew nothing were assigned to do odd jobs such as chopping wood, sweeping the floor, fetching water, and boiling water.

Fujino Sakurako could weave, but she only said she could cook, so she was sent to learn Ming Dynasty cuisine for a few days.

In fact, she only knew how to cook simple Japanese meals at home - she deceived the camp manager in order to learn a new skill.

Since they were given to the Ming people, she would be able to cook Ming food and weave, so her situation might be better in the future.

Finally, in addition to working, they were gathered together for a considerable amount of time every day to learn Chinese.

In seven days, Fujino Sakurako has learned a lot of Chinese words, such as: master, husband, concubine, servant, eat, drink water, etc.

At this point, Fujino Sakurako had a new guess: perhaps they would not become camp prostitutes, but would be sold to be slaves of the Ming people - when she was a child she heard that some women were occasionally abducted and sold overseas to be slaves.

On the eighth day, they were asked to take a bath again. After the bath, they were asked to help each other comb their hair and were each given a blue cotton jacket.

This actually made many Japanese girls from poor families happy - they didn't have so many clothes to wear before.

When they were gathered in the open space of the camp again, they found that a group of Ming troops had arrived.

Fujino Sakurako's heart sank, and she thought to herself: Can't I escape the fate of being a camp prostitute?
Next, a strong woman with the greatest power in the camp began to speak, and there was a man beside her who was either Japanese or Ming Dynasty translating.

"Today is a good day for the military households on the island to choose wives. Whoever is chosen will become the wife of our Ming soldiers and live a good life from now on."

"I know that most of you came from poor backgrounds in Japan. Many of you were even sold by your parents because your families couldn't afford to eat."

"But if you can become a wife for our Ming Dynasty military households, you will not only have enough food to eat, but also be able to wear warm clothes, and even wear good clothes!"

"Of course, the prerequisite is that after you are chosen, you can become a good wife, and not be lazy and gluttonous, or be unfaithful to husbandly women, or have affairs with other men. If you are lazy and gluttonous, you will be beaten by men; if you have affairs with other men, hey, hey, you will be thrown into the pond and thrown into the sea to feed the fish!"

"Do you remember everything?!"

These Japanese girls were very docile to begin with, and the strong women who had been managing the camp affairs for the past seven days had already established their authority. After this shout was translated, the Japanese girls all subconsciously agreed.

"Hai."

"Her bullshit!" The strong woman who was speaking suddenly cursed, "Have you forgotten the Chinese you learned? You should say yes!"

So the Japanese girls all said "yes" obediently.

Not far away, the Ming Dynasty soldiers, who were about the same number, were watching with their eyes shining. Some of them were so impatient that they wanted to rush in and knock down anyone.

But they are soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, not bandits, and they must follow the rules in everything they do.

The same is true when I come to choose a wife today.

They were not the first military households on Ezo Island to be given Japanese girls as wives, so the rules had been set long ago - bachelors with higher military ranks would be chosen first; if the military ranks were the same, those with greater merit or older age would be chosen first.

As for anyone who wants to marry a Japanese girl as a concubine, he has to go to the merchant in person and pay money to buy her.

However, there is a rule in the army at present - those below the rank of centurion can only marry one concubine, and those above the rank of centurion can only marry two concubines, and even the commander of the guards is no exception.

The 26-year-old general Yang Huaizhong stood in the front row of the military households, also looking at the hundreds of Japanese girls with a sharp gaze.

Among the soldiers who came to choose wives today, the one with the highest military rank was the general flag, and he had the greatest contribution among the three general flags, so according to the established rules, he would be the first to choose.

To choose a wife from three hundred women, he must open his eyes wide and look carefully.

Seeing this, He Kui, a small flag officer who was familiar to him, jokingly said, "Brother Yang, you've already become a general flag officer, not far from the rank of a centurion. Why don't you marry a Han woman instead of coming here to compete with us for a Japanese girl?"

Without even turning his head, Yang Huaizhong said, "Han girls are few and far between on the island. It's not certain that you'll find one that suits your taste, and you'll need a betrothal gift of several dozen strings of cash."

"Even if I find someone I like and spend dozens of strings of cash to marry her, I still have to take care of her father-in-law and mother-in-law. My own mother is in Shandong and I can't take care of her. I have to find a father-in-law and mother-in-law on this island to take care of. I feel uncomfortable just thinking about it."

"Also, no matter how obedient this Han woman is, she's definitely not as obedient as the Japanese bride from the imperial court. She doesn't need to be filial to her parents-in-law. Apart from the language barrier, how else is she better than marrying a Han girl?"

He Kui chuckled after hearing this, "I used to think that marrying a Japanese girl would be a good idea, at least I could save on the betrothal gift. But now after hearing what Big Brother Yang said, I understand that this is truly a wise move!"

Yang Huaizhong also laughed and said, "Then you better look carefully later. Don't pick a silly woman and go back. It will be too late to regret it."

"If I really pick a stupid woman, can I divorce her?"

"How should I know this? Go back and ask the captain." "..."

The soldiers chatted for a while, and the strong woman in charge of the camp finally finished her words. So the deputy captain in charge of this matter followed the rules and let the soldiers line up to choose wives.

"Is Yang Huaizhong, the chief flag-bearer of the Shihe Thousand Households and the Crescent Lake Hundred Households, available?"

"exist!"

"You'll be the first one to be chosen for military rank and merit this time. Go ahead." The deputy captain smiled a smile that only men could understand. "Don't be dazzled. Hurry up. Many brothers in the army are waiting behind you."

"I understand!"

Yang Huaizhong responded without any fear, and trotted over and walked into a group of Japanese girls.

You know, from a distance, you wouldn't think anything of it. After all, these Japanese girls are young, but most of them look ordinary. But when you get close to them, you get a completely different feeling.

Although Yang Huaizhong was mentally prepared, he was almost dazzled.

Fortunately, he had already decided what to choose and had already picked out a few, so he took a closer look.

Seeing that he was getting a little too close, the strong woman in the official camp reminded him: "You can only look, not touch - if you want to touch anyone, you can only choose her!"

These words immediately caused the soldiers who were watching from the back to burst into laughter.

Although the Japanese girls didn't know what the Ming people were saying, they all felt shy subconsciously, and the timid ones were even afraid.

Yang Huaizhong quickly came to Fujino Sakurako.

He had noticed this girl before - she was quite tall, only half a head shorter than him, with fair skin, and she stood out among the Japanese girls.

Looking at her from a closer distance, he realized that the young lady was probably not very old. Although her facial features were a bit heroic, they were also delicate and even a bit bright.

The most important thing is that her butt is not small and her breasts are pretty big. You can tell at first glance that she is a good fertile woman!

He had already chosen her in his heart, but he still asked the strong woman in charge of the camp, "Can I know how old this girl is?"

The strong woman smiled and immediately asked the translator to ask questions.

The translator exchanged a few words with Fujino Sakurako, then said with a smile, "Sir, Fujino Sakurako is seventeen years old."

"Has she ever married in Japan?" Yang Huaizhong asked again.

Fujino Sakurako had actually been promised by her father to a young man from another samurai family, but they had not yet married.

She saw that the Ming man in front of her was an officer, tall and strong, and not bad looking, so she wanted to seize the opportunity, so she concealed the fact of her engagement and said directly that she was unmarried.

Yang Huaizhong was very happy after hearing what the translator said. He said, "Even though Shiqi is already a grown-up girl, Xu is just the right match for me. I'll take her!"

Although Yang Huaizhong was a novice, he was very brave and immediately took Fujino Sakurako's hand and walked out.

The deputy captain in charge of this matter was also quite capable. Seeing this, he smiled and said loudly, "Come, let's congratulate General Yang Huaizhong on choosing a beautiful wife!"

"Congratulations, General Yang!"

"Hahaha," Yang Huaizhong laughed heartily and clasped his fists to everyone, "My fellow soldiers, please choose too. Let's celebrate together!"

"Hahaha···"

All the soldiers laughed heartily, and the matter of selecting a wife was carried out in a cheerful atmosphere...
After nearly three hundred military households had selected their wives, they held a collective wedding at the Acropolis of Ezo West Guard that night.

The next day, all the generals and soldiers took their brides, as well as practical items such as cloth, ceramics, spinning wheels, looms, etc. rewarded by the court, and boarded the boat back to their respective thousand households.

Ishikawa Senhusho was the Senhusho farthest from Ezo-Nishi-no-Ezo, located where the Southeast Peninsula and most of the Northwest meet (the Ishikari area of ​​Hokkaido in later generations).

Therefore, Yang Huaizhong and others took a boat along the coast for two days before returning to the Qianhu Suo established in Shihekou.

They went to the Qianhu Suo and paid their respects to the Qianhu and other officers, and then went upstream along the Shi River to return to their respective Baihu Suo.

The Baihu Suo is the smallest military camp on Ezo Island where the Ming Dynasty Guards are located.

Each centurion was a small military camp with a hundred regular soldiers and two to three hundred surplus soldiers.

Currently, the camps are all made of earth and wood, but there are plans to build brick and stone military forts in the future, similar to the Guizhou Tunbao.

The Yueya Lake Hundred Households Station is the farthest military camp from the Shihe Thousand Households Station, and one needs to go more than 80 miles upstream along the river.

Therefore, Yang Huaizhong and several other centurions rowed a boat from morning until sunset before they arrived at the Yueya Lake Centurion Office (later Yuexing Town).

Crescent Lake is a large lake in the nearby mountains. It gets its name from its crescent shape.

The Hundred Households Office would not be built in the mountains, but on the river valley plain between the mountains (hills) where Crescent Lake is located and the Stone River.

It is backed by mountains and faces the Stone River, making it a good place for a military settlement.

When getting off the boat, Yang Huaizhong held Fujino Sakurako's hand and looked at the military camp under the setting sun, feeling that the days were full of hope.

In fact, he came from an ordinary military family - his family was originally hunters in the Yimeng Mountains of Shandong, but his father met Zhu Yuanzhang late and had bad luck. Not only did he not gain enough military merit for promotion after fighting for several years, but he died in the Second Northern Expedition.

He has three brothers, he is the second oldest, and he has a younger brother who is ten years younger than him.

Therefore, my eldest brother was appointed as a regular soldier, and a few years later he made great contributions and was awarded a small flag. Although he was strong and courageous since childhood, he could only serve as a soldier, that is, a farmer working in the fields of the garrison.

The male soldiers in the army also train on a regular basis, but the amount of training is far less than that of the regular soldiers, and they receive no treatment at all.

Therefore, when the superiors recruited the remaining men in various Shandong garrisons to serve as regular soldiers to go overseas, he signed up despite his mother's objection.

Anyway, my younger brother is already sixteen, and my eldest brother's son is about ten years old. He will become an adult in a few years, and the family does not need a laborer like him.

On the one hand, he wanted to achieve success and stand out from the crowd, but on the other hand, his family was poor - he had three brothers, two sisters, and two nieces.

There was no shortage of farmland these days, and the whole family worked hard to farm, so they certainly wouldn't starve, but they couldn't save enough money to find him a wife. If not, he wouldn't have been unmarried in his twenties.

The experiences of the past one or two years have undoubtedly proved that his choice was extremely correct - after joining the army, he was first promoted to a small flag when migrating to the island because of his outstanding performance during training; later, he made military achievements in two battles with the Ainu people and was promoted to a general flag!

Moreover, the number of garrisons on the island has been increasing. If he can make more military achievements, he can even be promoted to a centurion - if he can be promoted to a centurion, he will be a real garrison officer, which is much better than his elder brother who is still serving as a small flag officer!
Coming back to his senses, Yang Huaizhong saw Yingzi beside him also gazing at the Baihu camp not far away, so he held her hand tightly and said with a smile: "Come on, wife, I'll take you to see our home!"

After saying that, without caring whether Sakurako understood or not, he pulled her off the boat and strode towards the camp.

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)