In the third year of Wenjiu (1863), early morning on September 25th——

Qinjin Fan, Dajin—

The sky is clear and the air is crisp in autumn.

Although the surrounding scenery is still lush and green, it does have a sense of seasonal change, and the air is full of the refreshing flavor unique to autumn.

The misty morning light flows across the fields, floating like dewdrops that have settled.

Qingdeng and his party walked among the ridges of the compacted fields.

"Moo~moo~moo~moo~"

The radish swung its tail and made a cheerful cry.

It has been a long time since it took a leisurely walk in the wild like today.

Five days have passed since I received Tokugawa Iemo's warrant.

It was only today that Qingdeng finally found time to come and see his fiefdom with his own eyes.

This is a small-scale patrol operation that will return to Kyoto before dark.

For this reason, there were only a few people accompanying him, including Mai Kinoshita, Yataro Iwasaki, Keisuke Yamanan, and a few bodyguards.

I saw the guard behind Qingdeng carrying a large flag that was fluttering in the wind.

Judging from the condition of the fabric, it is easy to tell that this is a newly completed flag.

The flag with a white background is extremely neat, with only one thing embroidered on it—gentian leaves with elegant lines!

The gentian leaf is Qingden’s family crest.

Qingdeng is already the lord of the Qinjin clan, so he should use the gentian leaf as the new symbol of this land.

"Kingsuke, how far is it from Otsu City?"

Qingden turned to Shannan Keisuke beside him and asked.

Shannan Keisuke looked at the surrounding scenery and replied:

"There are about 10 more towns."

[Note 1 town = 109 meters]

Qing Deng nodded:

"Well, we're almost there."

The destination of their trip was Otsu Castle, the feudal lord.

On the way to Ojin City, they looked left and right, like a group of tourists visiting the mountains and rivers.

Including Qingdeng, it was their first time to set foot on this land.

In the past, they had only briefly glanced at the beautiful scenery here when passing by.

Out of the blue, Kinoshita Mai suddenly shouted excitedly:

"Aoden, look! It's Lake Biwa!"

As she spoke, she pointed to the east.

Qingdeng followed the sound - sparkling waves of light filled his field of vision.

The vast lake reflects the sunlight magnificently.

Even if you look far into the distance, you can't see the edge of the lake. At first glance, you might think it's the sea.

Thin clouds float at the end of the lake, as if they are integrated with the lake.

Even the most skilled painter would have difficulty replicating this beautiful scene on canvas.

Yataro Iwasaki raised his eyebrows and praised:

"It is indeed the largest lake in Japan! It is indeed beautiful!"

Shannan Keisuke nodded and agreed:

“Just seeing this stunning scenery makes the trip worthwhile!”

Kinoshita Mai blinked her beautiful eyes a few times, and then said thoughtfully:

"Lake Biwa is a cornucopia. If we manage it well... we should be able to make a lot of money!"

After Qingdeng heard this, he couldn't help but burst into laughter and half-joked:

"It's not difficult to make money from Lake Biwa. But if you want to make a lot of money from it, it's still a bit difficult."

Currently, there is no concept of "tourism" in Japan.

In order to develop tourism, the following four conditions must be met:

First, it has high-quality tourism resources.

Second, a comfortable accommodation environment.

Third, the people have both leisure and money.

Fourth, convenient transportation conditions.

To sum up, developing tourism in the feudal era is really a wishful thinking.

The first two points are easy to say, tourism resources are not difficult to find, and there is no shortage of comfortable accommodation environments, but the last two points are really difficult to achieve.

How can ordinary people struggling to make ends meet have the spare money and time to travel?

There are no planes, no high-speed rail, just primitive walking and cycling.

When going to a place that is a little far away, it is common to be delayed for ten and a half days on the road.

How can ordinary people withstand this kind of consumption?

Moreover, you may encounter bandits and bandits along the way, and you may end up losing both money and life.

Only wealthy people can afford to travel.

So, just as Seito Shisai joked, it is indeed possible to develop tourism by relying on Lake Biwa, and it is definitely possible to make money.

But expecting to make a fortune from this is undoubtedly a fantasy.

…

…

Qingdeng and others walked forward silently.

After a while, the scenery on both sides of the field began to change.

Looking around, there are densely populated rice fields like a chessboard, interspersed with unique scarecrows, connecting the villages in the distance.

It is now autumn, and the rice has begun to mature and bear plump ears.

Looking at the rice fields that were gradually turning golden, Yataro Iwasaki, who came from a poor family, was filled with joy:

"Not bad! It looks like there will be a good harvest this year!"

Since there are rice fields, there are naturally farmers.

Figures with their faces facing the loess and their backs to the sky, working meticulously can be seen everywhere in the fields.

The sound of "Keng", "Keng", and "Keng" was heard one after another.

The sudden arrival of Qingdeng and others naturally aroused the curiosity of the farmers.

They all stopped what they were doing and cast confused glances at Qingden and others.

"Hey, look, someone is coming."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, maybe they are tourists coming to see Lake Biwa."

"Look, they don't feel like ordinary people."

"Why is that man riding a cow?"

"This is the first time I've seen a nobleman riding a bull..."

"You don't understand this! All noble people are like this. They always do some weird things. I think back then, Confucius rode an ox and went south to Shanhaiguan to preach!"

…

The farmers were all talking and chattering.

The focus of their discussion was naturally Qingden, who was walking at the front, riding a big black bull, and was particularly conspicuous.

Rural areas are not as good as cities and towns, with lack of media channels and limited information.

Therefore, it makes sense that they do not recognize Qingdeng.

They may not know until now that they are no longer the people of the Heavenly Territory.

Since 5 days ago, they have a new identity: the people of Qinjin Fan!
To be continued...