Speaking of which, Qingdeng——

From the perspective of modern legal science, Aoto's behavior of violently beating up the ronin who tried to extort money was a very reasonable self-defense. However, in the Edo period, there was a famous law called "Noisy two successes or failure."

"Noisy" in Japanese means disputes and violent conflicts between two people.

This law first appeared in the Muromachi Shogunate era (1336-1573). For those who make noises, regardless of who is right or wrong, both parties to the conflict will be punished.

Both the Muromachi shogunate and the country-dividing laws of the Warring States Period adopted the principle of "noisy success or failure" as the principle of arbitration.

After the Edo shogunate was established, although it was not explicitly stipulated in the royal decree, the law of success or failure still became a customary law and was passed down.

If a police officer really comes to our door and wants to hold Qingdeng and others accountable for "fighting with ronin in the street"... Although they don't want to see this situation arise, Qingdeng and his party will not feel bad about it.

fear.

There is no need for Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzouin to take action. Qingto's own energy and connections alone are enough to settle this minor incident.

However, doing more is worse than doing less.

Therefore, adhering to the concept and mentality of "avoiding trouble if possible", Aomori and others did not stay in Nihonbashi for long.

Where to go next?

Tokugawa Iemo thought for a while and slowly spit out a place name that everyone in Edo knew and knew: Kanda.

To sum it up in easy-to-understand terms...Kanda is the only vegetable wholesale market in Edo.

Most of the vegetable merchants and vegetable vendors throughout Edo first purchase their goods from Kanda and then sell them everywhere.

Every day before dawn, a large number of farmers living in the suburbs of Edo would bring fresh fruits and vegetables to Kanda for sale.

The famous writer Ihara Saikaku, who once wrote "The Erotic Man", which was known as "Japan's Golden Lotus", once described the lively scene of the Kanda vegetable market in the book "The Use of the World's Breasts" (1692). He wrote:

"Every day, horses carry radishes. It looks like the farmland is moving on its own."

Qingden had never been to Kanda, and even in his previous life, he had never visited any fruit and vegetable wholesale market.

Therefore, after entering this lively area where the air was always filled with the fragrance of plants, he was immediately shocked by the novel sight in front of him and his eyebrows jumped slightly.

Looking up, you will see pits full of fresh fruits and vegetables.

"Eggplant! Eggplant! Does anyone want some eggplant?"

"Spinach! Spinach is sold cheaply!"

"Oranges are in season! Come and see! Oranges are in season!"

…

Stalls, large or small, line both sides of the main roads in Kanda.

A dazzling array of vegetables and fruits decorate the inside and outside of Kanda like a large farm.

Countless peasants in simple clothes shuttled back and forth throughout Kanda.

More than half of them can only rely on a stone back and a pair of iron shoulders to carry heavy fruits and vegetables.

Only a few people from relatively wealthy families had the financial resources to use livestock and use oxen and horses to transport goods.

If there are farmers selling vegetables, then there will naturally be merchants who come to purchase goods.

"Tsk...why are these eggplants so stale..."

"Hey! Why are your cabbages getting more and more expensive?"

"Hey, uncle, I didn't mean to lower the price! The recent market conditions are not good, and you know this too!"

…

Crowding, people jostling and horses barking - these two idioms seem to be the most suitable to describe Kanda, which is still bustling even during today's New Year's Day.

However, Tokugawa Iemo, who watched all this quietly, did not show any peace of mind or relief.

"So thin..."

The words Tokugawa Iemo muttered in a low voice formed into particles and passed lightly into Qingnobo's ears.

Qingdeng knew what this meant - because he happened to have the exact same emotion at almost the same time - almost all the farmers who appeared in front of them were too thin.

There is not even one person out of ten who has a ruddy complexion.

There are so many skinny people with few ounces of meat on their bodies.

There are countless people with swollen legs and feet.

Obviously they are the people who grow food.

It was obvious that they were carrying a large amount of delicious food on their shoulders and backs.

As a result, each of them looked hungry, and each one was thinner than the last.

The peasants under the Tokugawa family were thin - this is normal, but it would be abnormal if they were all strong.

The local tax stipulated by the Edo shogunate is "four public and six citizens", that is, 40% of the total annual income must be handed over to the government.

In addition to such high taxes, there are also a wide variety of handymen who weigh on the shoulders of farmers.

All in all, no matter in the shogunate Tenryo or in various feudal fiefdoms, more than 80% of the peasants are shockingly poor due to being exploited, and the economy is extremely fragile. If there is any natural or man-made disaster, they will immediately lose their fortune.

Only landlords and some rich peasants could afford to eat rice, while the rest of the peasants could only survive on tares and red rice.

Tares: Weeds used exclusively for livestock in modern times.

Red rice: A crop that tastes extremely unpleasant. Because the taste is so unpleasant, the government always emphasizes "no red rice" when harvesting grain.

If you eat these two things for a long time, you will have trouble if your body is not weak.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

Tenzōin looked at Tokugawa Iemo in surprise as he suddenly walked straight to a nearby vegetable stall.

"I'm not going anywhere." Tokugawa Iemo replied calmly, "I just... wanted to find someone to ask a few simple questions."

The vegetable stall owner who was patronized by Tokugawa Iemo was an old man around 50 years old. Like most farmers here, he could not afford livestock, so he could only use a pole thicker than his waist.

The two large baskets of green vegetables in the previous circle were brought to Edo from the countryside where I lived.

Ayoto didn't know where this old man lived, but he knew that the nearest rural area to Edo was at least half an hour away no matter how fast he walked.

Lifting vegetables weighing at least 30 kilograms with a pole and walking on a rugged dirt road for half an hour or even longer... Such a difficult life is just the reality of the countless farmers who are bustling in the streets of Kanda right now.

Just a daily portrait.

"Ah! Takeshi, samurai master! Good day!"

Seeing Qingdeng and others approaching his stall, the old man was massaging his slightly swollen calves. He quickly stood up, stammered hello, and looked nervously and doubtfully at Qingdeng and others.

Qingdeng and his entourage were not dressed like businessmen coming to buy goods, so it was no wonder that the old man showed such expressions and eyes.

"Old sir." Tokugawa Iemo asked with a smile, "How is your business?"

As soon as Tokugawa Iemo opened his mouth, the old man was startled.

Good guy, a samurai uncle with a sword on his waist actually called him sir? He also used honorifics? A strong feeling of astonishment surrounded the old man's body.

The nervous look on the old man's face suddenly became exponentially more intense, and he didn't even know how to move his hands and feet.

He struggled to twist his tongue, which seemed to be tied up, and stammered:

"I, I, I, I, my business today is so good, so so, so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so after mysided, I did not sold a lot of vegetables!"

"It's just so-so..." Tokugawa Iemo nodded slightly, then moved his eyes down and glanced at the old man's swollen feet, "Old sir, your body... doesn't look very healthy. Have you eaten well?"

"Ah...?" The old man's eyes were wide open, and he looked suspicious that he had heard something wrong.

Tokugawa Iemo had no choice but to repeat the question just now.

"Eat well...this..." the old man sneered a few times, "Master Samurai, you, you are really joking. I am just a humble farmer. I am very satisfied if I can only have a mouthful of food without starving to death."

, I dare not ask for more..."

"So how is your current life?" Tokugawa Iemo continued to ask further questions.

Tokugawa Iemo's young face and kind attitude made the old man's nervousness disappear a lot.

The old man's demeanor gradually relaxed, and he became less nervous and stuttered when he spoke.

"The current life...is just like that."

The old man sighed heavily.

"It's not much better, but it's not so miserable that I can't go on."

"However, I am not dissatisfied with my current life. No matter how bad the life is... it is still better than the days when there was a natural famine..."

The Tenpo Famine is the great famine that swept across Japan more than 20 years ago and caused countless people to starve to death.

No one can tell how many people starved to death in the Tianbao Famine that lasted for several years.

When the famine was at its worst, not to mention tares and red rice, even the bark of the trees in the mountains were almost eaten up by the victims.

Later, the increasingly corrupt forms of disaster relief and the incompetence of the shogunate aroused the anger of the people, directly triggering the "Oshio Heihachiro Uprising" (1837) that shocked the country and still scares the shogunate to this day.

The brutal fighting between the government troops and the rebels left many traces of the war in Osaka today.

When he uttered the words "Heaven protects famine", the big man seemed to be recalling some unbearable past events. His face turned pale and his body shook hard several times.

After a moment, he sighed again.
To be continued...