Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Invite him over for a chat
"Clatter, clatter, clatter..."
The horse-drawn carriage moved forward, and the wheels made a rattling sound as they rolled over the stone-paved road.
The shadow cast by the walls of Kyoto covered the carriage, and in front of them were various groups of people and horses queuing to enter the city.
After a long and tiring journey of thirteen days, they had finally arrived in Kyoto.
Having traveled on all kinds of rocky paths, muddy roads, and mountain trails, Zhou Ming had completely lost hope in the transportation system of this era.
It wasn't until they reached the gate of Kyoto that they finally saw a paved road, and the carriage drove much more smoothly and with fewer bumps.
"Zhou Kun, have you been to Kyoto before?"
Inside the carriage, Oda Hirakura drank sake and asked with a laugh.
"No, I haven't." Zhou Ming replied honestly.
"It's all right. After we enter Kyoto, I'll have Matsui show you around. It's the bustling center of the world, and it's nothing compared to my small castle in Junshan."
Oda Hirakura shook his head and spoke proudly of Kyoto. Even though he was from the far-off castle of Junshan, he felt a great sense of pride when he talked about the "center of the world."
"Okay." Zhou Ming nodded calmly. Even though Oda Hirakura was so proud of the phrase "center of the world," Zhou Ming tried hard to hold back his laughter and not show his contempt.
Just like how a cicada can't understand the concept of ice [1] and a frog in a well is limited by its own environment [2], when you mock others for their lack of knowledge, you might become the object of ridicule yourself.
"Let's go, into the city!" Oda Hirakura ordered, dropping the curtain.
"At least more than half of the daimyos have already arrived at this time. Hmph, we must surprise them when the time comes!"
"But after entering the city, we will have to face the emperor. Ah, I don't know why, but every time I see him, I feel a sense of panic."
"After all the daimyos have gathered, there should be a grand banquet. But before that, hehehe, the so-called World's First Samurai Conference has already begun from the moment we stepped through this city gate!"
Oda Hirakura's words had some hidden meaning, but Zhou Ming had no interest in listening any further.
It was nothing more than open or hidden fighting, assassination, ambush, framing, and bribery. What was there to listen to?
"My lord, shall we order our men to clear the way?" Matsui Kyoushin asked outside the carriage.
"Am I such a showy person?" Oda Hirakura glared. "Just line up and go in, after all, this is Kyoto."
"Yes, my lord." Matsui Kyoushin did not dare ask again, and he quickly instructed his men not to cause trouble.
The convoy moved forward with the crowd, and soon the samurai at the front of the queue entered the city first.
With more than thirty people in the convoy, they couldn't all enter the city at once. Oda Hirakura did not allow them to reveal their identities and clear the way, so they had to enter in batches.
There were samurai in front and behind the convoy, with the carriage in the middle, in case of any sudden situations that would leave the carriage helpless.
Just as the carriage was about to enter the city, there was rolling dust and shouting and yelling from behind at the city gate.
"Get out of the way! All of you, get out of the way!"
As the voice sounded, Zhou Ming opened the curtains of the carriage and saw several riders galloping behind, waving their whips to drive away the crowd blocking their way.
Behind the riders was a luxurious carriage, much more high-end in appearance than the dusty one that Oda Hirakura had been driving for more than ten days.
Behind the carriage were several flatbed carts, each with a cage fixed on top, containing prey such as wild boar, foxes, and deer.
And there were people too.
All of them were women.
There were young girls who looked about seventeen or eighteen, middle-aged women still full of charm, and young girls with terrified faces crowded into the cages.
The whole caravan consisted of six riders, fourteen infantrymen, escorting thirteen women. It was unclear how many people were in the carriage, but the caravan arrived quickly at the city gate.
The soldiers guarding the gate saw the caravan from a distance and stopped everyone who was trying to enter the city. They tried to drive the crowd away and clear the way at the gate.
The warriors of Oda Hirakura are used to being arrogant and domineering on weekdays. They always walked around proudly in Junshan, but for the first time, they were waved at and driven like animals. How could they bear it? They immediately clashed with the soldiers guarding the convoy.
The soldiers guarding the gate drew their swords and threatened them. The samurai in the convoy became even more excited and drew their swords in return. The two sides almost immediately engaged in a confrontation of forces, and the situation became very tense for a while.
At this time, the people in the crowd were driven away by the riders with whips, and they happened to meet the samurai at the back of the caravan.
"You bastards! Where did you come from to dare to act wild in Kyoto!"
"You dare to stop Lord Hori's carriage? You're asking for death. Get out of the way!"
"Get out of the way quickly, or we'll throw you all into prison, you damn idiots!"
The riders at the city gate were oblivious to the scene of the confrontation, cursing loudly at the samurai in the caravan.
"You bastard!"
"Do you know whose carriage you've hit? You scum!"
"Get off your horses and die!"
The samurai didn't back down, returning the insults with equal fervor. They hurled trash talk at each other, each trying to outshout the other and waving their weapons around, but no one made a move to attack. The low quality of their language and insults made Zhou Ming feel drowsy.
If this were Zhou Ming's past life, he could easily find an internet troll to verbally destroy these people and even find a female boxer on Weibo to beat them up until they couldn't take care of themselves.
"Clang, clang..."
At that moment, a slow-moving carriage approached from behind, and a deep, middle-aged man's voice came from within.
"What's going on?"
A rider immediately stopped his trash talk and turned his horse towards the carriage, saying in a low voice, "My lord, there are troublemakers blocking the city gate."
"Are there many people?" the man in the carriage asked.
"Um..." The rider scanned the caravan and hesitated before replying, "There are over a dozen people, and there are some more people inside the gate who seem to be with them."
"Oh? So many people? Go and tell them my name and ask where they come from." The person in the carriage did not dare to give orders easily.
The rider obeyed and rode to the front of the riders, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Listen, the person in the carriage ahead is Lord Horiuchi Soh, the most trusted minister of the emperor! Quickly report your identity and make way!"
In the carriage, Oda Hirakura's face looked somewhat unpleasant as he coldly snorted.
"What's his identity?" Zhou Ming asked curiously.
"Horiuchi Soh? Humph! He is now a red-hot figure in front of the Emperor, the most trusted minister of the Emperor! " Oda Hirakura said it sarcastically.
"You can't do anything to him?" Zhou Ming asked again.
"How could I be afraid of him?" Oda Hirakura exclaimed excitedly. "But as a daimyo, it's not appropriate to quarrel with a government official."
"Heh." Zhou Ming smiled without any change in his tone and said, "I understand. I'll go get him to talk to you."
"Wait..." Oda Hirakura was about to say something, but Zhou Ming had already opened the curtain and rushed out.
Then, Oda Hirakura heard the sound of chaos outside.
"Stop, what are you trying to do... ah!"
"Stop it! Catch him, quickly catch him... ah!"
"Ah! Ah!"
The screams were heard one after another, but their duration was extremely short. Just as Oda Hirakura was about to lift the curtain to see what was happening, all the noises outside suddenly stopped, as if everything that had just happened was just his illusion.
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[1]-Just like how a cicada can't understand the concept of ice-This phrase is a metaphor that means someone who has never experienced something cannot understand or appreciate it. In this context, it means that just as a cicada, which only experiences hot summers, cannot comprehend what ice is, a person who has not experienced or been exposed to something cannot understand it fully.
[2]-a frog in a well is limited by its own environment- This is another metaphor that means a person who is limited to a small or narrow perspective cannot see the big picture or understand the world beyond their immediate surroundings. The phrase "a frog in a well" refers to a frog that lives in a small, shallow well and can only see a limited view of the sky above. Therefore, someone who is described as a "frog in a well" is limited by their own narrow perspective or lack of exposure to the outside world.
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