8 The Shogun's decision

Chapter 8 The Shogun's decision "Hello again," said the friendly guard, waving Kojima, Sarah, and Jackson through the gate and into the sprawling grounds of Edo Castle. They passed small walled-off areas, which Kojima explained were called citadels, and houses of different sizes, each with its own garden. "Those houses are used by Daimyos when they visit," Kojima explained. He stopped at the entrance to the largest citadel. "This is called the honmaru. It's where the Shogun lives."

“又见面了。”友好的卫兵挥手示意小岛、莎拉和杰克逊穿过大门，进入江户城堡的广阔场地。 他们经过了小块有围墙的地方，小岛解释说这些地方被称为城堡，还有大小不一的房子，每座房子都有自己的花园。 小岛解释说：“这些房子是大名来访时使用的。” 他在最大的城堡门口停了下来。 “这叫做本丸。 那是将军住的地方。”

Once inside, Kojima led the Timekeepers to the palace, and spoke to a guard. Sarah saw him show the inro. The guard took the three friends to a grand hallway. At the other end was a pair of sliding paper doors. These weren't plain like the ones in the Silver Moon. They were painted with countryside scenes of birds, flowers, trees, and streams. On either side of the doors were two huge porcelain vases, decorated in blue, red, and lots of gold.

小岛一进去，就把计时员们带到了宫殿里，和一个卫兵说话。 萨拉看见他展示了介绍。 卫兵把三个朋友带到一个宽敞的走廊。 门的另一端是一对滑动的纸门。 这些不像银月里的那些那么普通。 画上有鸟语花香、树木和溪流的乡村景色。 门的两边各有两个巨大的瓷花瓶，用蓝色、红色和许多金子装饰着。

The doors slid open to reveal four samurai warriors. They bowed at the Timekeepers and Kojima then moved apart to let them enter the room. The Shogun was in the center. He wore black robes and was sitting on piles of colorful pillows. His head was partly shaved, and the rest of his long hair was pulled into a topknot. "Welcome," he said to Kojima. "You have a message for me, young samurai?" Kojima bowed and handed over the inro. Sarah watched anxiously as the Shogun opened it and took out the paper scroll. His eyes moved slowly up and down as he read the columns of Japanese writing. Please believe the message is genuine, Sarah thought. Please don't be suspicious of Daimyo Matsuzo... The Shogun passed the scroll to an attendant and examined the inro itself. Sarah held her breath. She could see that Jackson was twiddling his fingers. He's nervous, too, she thought. "Ah!" said the Shogun. "I know this octopus design well. Daimyo Matsuzo always has it embroidered on his kimonos." He looked up at Kojima, his face serious. "Are things really bad in your province?"

门打开了，露出四个武士。 他们向计时员鞠了一躬，小岛离开，让他们进入房间。 幕府将军在中间。 他穿着黑色长袍，坐在五颜六色的枕头堆上。 他的头发剃了一半，其余的长发挽成一个顶髻。 “欢迎，”他对小岛说。 “你有话要对我说吗，年轻的武士？”小岛鞠了一躬，递上了护照。 萨拉焦急地看着幕府将军打开它，拿出卷轴。 他读着一排排的日文，眼睛慢慢地上下移动。 请相信这个消息是真的，莎拉想。 请不要怀疑松宗大名… 幕府将军把卷轴递给一名随从，并检查了它本身。 萨拉屏住了呼吸。她看得出杰克逊在玩弄他的手指。 他也很紧张，她想。 “啊！”将军说。“我很了解章鱼的设计。 松三大名总是把它绣在他的和服上。” 他抬头看着小岛，一脸严肃。 “你们省的情况真的很糟糕吗？”

The samurai nodded. "The earthquake has destroyed so much. It will take a long time for us to rebuild our homes and replace the paddy fields of rice that have been lost. We fear that many will starve if they don't have help. Daimyo Matsuzo could not leave them." "No one will starve," declared the Shogun. He turned to one of his samurai. "Please arrange for local farmers to pack up rice and food to be sent to Daimyo Matsuzo's people." Kojima bowed and thanked the Shogun for his generosity. "Thank you for bringing me the message," the Shogun said. "Now, we must send building materials for new houses too..." The Timekeepers beamed at each other and high-fived behind their backs. "Mission accomplished!" Sarah whispered. The people will be helped, she thought, and Japan will continue to be at peace! Outside the Shogun's castle, the friends were saying goodbye. Tempo chirruped on Kojima's shoulder. "Cuck- ook-erook."

武士点点头。“地震破坏了很多东西。 我们需要很长时间才能重建家园，恢复失去的稻田。 我们担心如果得不到帮助，很多人会饿死。 松藏大名不能离开他们。” “没有人会挨饿。”幕府将军宣布。 他转向他的一个武士。 “请安排当地农民把大米和食物打包送给松三大名的人。” 小岛鞠了一躬，感谢将军的慷慨。 “谢谢你给我带来这个消息。”将军说。 “现在，我们还必须把新房子的建筑材料也送过去……” 计时员们相视而笑，在背后击掌。 “任务完成!”莎拉低声说。 她想，人民将得到帮助，日本将继续处于和平状态！在幕府将军的城堡外，朋友们正在道别。 Tempo在小岛的肩膀上鸣叫。 “Cuck——ook-erook。”

"Thank you, Sarah and Jackson," Kojima said. "Who knows what awful things might have happened to our people if I didn't deliver that message? I couldn't have done it without your help." "CUCKOO!" Kojima laughed. "Thanks to Tempo, too. I can't wait to tell my friends back home about our adventure." Sarah grinned. "Our friends will enjoy the story as well." To herself, she thought, It has given me lots of ideas for new stories, too! Kojima bowed and wished them well. "I must begin my journey home. Everyone will be so pleased to hear that help is coming. Goodbye, my friends." He adjusted his armor and started off. "Bye, Kojima!" Sarah called. "Safe journey!" Jackson yelled. The young samurai raised a hand, turned a corner, and disappeared. "Time for us to go, too," Jackson said. Tempo flew around them, faster and faster, until... Flash!

“谢谢你们，莎拉和杰克逊，”小岛说。 “谁知道如果我没有传达这个信息，我们的人民可能会发生什么可怕的事情？” 没有你的帮助，我是做不到的。” “杜鹃!”小岛笑了。“也要感谢Tempo。 我迫不及待地想把我们的冒险经历告诉我的朋友们。” 莎拉咧嘴一笑。“我们的朋友也会喜欢这个故事的。” 她心里想，这也给了我很多写新故事的灵感！小岛鞠了个躬，祝他们好运。 “我必须启程回家了。 听到援助来了，每个人都会很高兴。 再见，我的朋友们。”他调整好盔甲，出发了。 “再见,小岛!”莎拉。 “一路平安!”杰克逊喊道。 年轻的武士举起一只手，拐了个弯，消失了。 “我们也该走了，”杰克逊说。 节奏在他们身边飞驰，越来越快，直到…… 闪光!

Sarah blinked. They were back at the History Hub. The other Timekeepers gathered around, eagerly asking questions. "Was the mission successful?" "Did you see any samurai warriors?" "Did you meet the Shogun?" Sarah and Jackson were just finishing their tale, when Hannah cried, "Whoa! Look at that!" She pointed to the Moments in Time pin board on the wall. Among the postcards and other images from the Timekeepers' adventures in history, there was a new picture. It was a beautiful woodblock print of Tempo and

莎拉眨了眨眼睛。他们回到了历史中心。 其他计时员围过来，急切地问问题。 “任务成功了吗？”“你看到武士了吗？”“你见过将军吗？”莎拉和杰克逊刚讲完他们的故事，汉娜叫道：“哇！快看！”她指着墙上的“时光记”图钉。 在计时员历险的明信片和其他照片中，有一张新照片。 那是一幅漂亮的《节拍》木版版画