"Old man, why are you catering to me? I won't go even if you say anything." Mei Yue Chengfang muttered as soon as Shou Guini left. However, while he was muttering, he carefully picked up the green-edged folding fan that had just fallen to the ground, and painfully checked whether it was damaged - it was a parting gift from his mother when he was sent away from home, with his mother's inscription on it, It has been treasured by him for more than ten years.
"Chengfang, you are also stupid. You don't want this great opportunity. In this world, the leader of a small country is already very popular, and the leader of a city will make countless people compete for his head. And now where is the governor of the famous Imagawa family? Please go and do it, you kid won't go?" Taiyuan Xuezhai took the dragon pill and closed the door behind him, then turned around and smiled at Mei Yue Chengfang.
"It's been more than ten years, old man, don't you understand me? I have no lofty ambitions or ambitions, and I have no interest in fame or fortune. I have absolutely nothing to do with the martial arts family or the world. After decades of life, sooner or later You have to die. After you die, what is the meaning of the fame behind you? Instead of fighting on the battlefield, scheming, killing innocent people indiscriminately, having no rest for the rest of your life, and finally dying a good death. It is better to enjoy life, recite poems and write poems, and visit famous mountains and rivers. Flowers, birds, wind and moon, isn't it wonderful?" Mei Yue Chengfang leaned back very relaxedly, spread her arms, and looked at Taiyuan Xuezhai, "I am also eighteen this year, and a person can only live to be sixty, one-third. One life has passed, and I don’t want to waste the rest of my life pursuing fame. Old man, you are over forty, how many more years do you have left?"
"I just want to spend time with the important people. If I have a family, I will enjoy family happiness. But looking at my mother's appearance, my family is destined to be missed. Without family, I can only make do with the old man. Stay, read Buddhist scriptures, and look at the mountains and rivers." Mei Yue Chengfang said, feeling a little embarrassed herself. She blushed slightly and whistled, then sighed, "This kind of relaxed and leisurely life is what I want. Don’t you think something’s wrong, old man? Why do you have to drag me into the muddy waters of the Imagawa family?”
"Well..." Taiyuan Xuezhai sighed after listening to Mei Yue Chengfang's words. He didn't know what to say for a moment. Because he knew in his heart that Mei Yue Chengfang was right. Compared with those warriors who are blinded by fighting and killing all day long, the views of Buddhists are sometimes more transparent.
"Chengfang, people, sometimes you can't be so decadent, you still have to have some pursuits. The world is so difficult, and without some pursuits, people can't survive."
"Teacher, I understand you. In fact, you are different from me. You have your own ambitions and ambitions." Mei Yue Chengfang changed to a respectful address, and her tone and demeanor also changed, "I actually know that you have your own ambitions and ambitions." You have been secretly reading maps, reading documents, and reading the reports sent by the ninjas. You are full of knowledge, literary skills, and martial arts. You should not be willing to let the years go by, so you should end your life as a monk."
Taiyuan Xuezhai smiled noncommittally when he heard this, but Mei Yue Chengfang mistakenly thought it was a knowing smile. He looked at the wrinkles on Taiyuan Xuezhai's forehead and the white hair on his temples, and remembered the countless nights he had sighed in the direction of Imagawa Pavilion. Finally, he pretended to be cheerful and came to Taiyuan Xuezhai's side and joked: "Let's do this, old man. If it is for your pursuit of world domination, I can reluctantly become the governor of the family. After all, only if I become the governor of the family can you take power, right? Only then can you carry out your grand plans, right? But I have agreed in advance, From now on, I will continue to travel around the mountains and rivers, sing with flowers and birds, and leave all government and military affairs to you, the old man. How about it? Oh, there is another condition, you must return to me the flower and bird pictures that were confiscated from me the day before yesterday! If you If you agree, I will go."
"Haha... How many truths are said in a joking way? If thinking this way can make you feel better, I have no problem with it as a teacher." Taiyuan Xuezhai laughed twice, but Mei Yue Chengfang was confused.
"Silly boy, you don't understand the dangers of politics. Do you think that if you don't fight for the family governor, others will let you go?" Taiyuan Xuezhai changed the subject and looked at Mei Yue Chengfang with meaningful eyes, "You are the legitimate son of the family. It's his crime to have a jade in his arms. Now that your third brother, Xuan Guanghui, is in power, he will definitely regard this non-biological mother as a thorn in his side. Sooner or later, there will be a battle between the two of them. By then, Xuan Guanghui will be in charge. In order to avoid future troubles, I will definitely come and get rid of you, the legitimate son who may have been supported by Ni Yutai to rob the family governor. If you want to live, if you don’t want to implicate your teacher, I will be killed with you, if you don’t want your father-in-law After being eliminated by Xuan Guanghui, the only way is to rob the family governor. Either you will get rid of your third brother, or your third brother will get rid of you. There is no way, you are born in the Wu family, you can't escape. If you don't want to die, just We can only fight. Do you think you have any other choice?"
Taiyuan Xuezhai's words gave Mei Yue Chengfang a chill, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He was silent for a long time, and finally showed a wry smile, "You can't avoid it... well. There's really no way around it."
"Teacher, where did you put the paintings that you confiscated from me the day before yesterday?" Mei Yue Chengfang stood up slowly and asked a different topic. However, Taiyuan Xuezhai, who was familiar with Mei Yue Chengfang, understood that this showed that the former had accepted this arrangement.
"It's all burned. It's a good idea. You can be the governor of the house honestly. I can agree to the first condition you just made as a teacher. You can just be a leisurely governor who travels around and leave all the government and military affairs to me. That's all you need to do as a teacher." Taiyuan Xuezhai laughed twice and looked at Mei Yue Chengfang stomping her feet angrily.
"Then you go to Imagawa Hall now. First, you will be punished by your Majesty, and then you can inherit the throne, His Highness Imagawa Goro Clan. You are no longer a monk, but a warrior." Taiyuan Xuezhai tied the sword Ryumaru to Imagawa Clan clapped his hands on his waist, looked at his beloved disciple in front of him, and gave him a new title.
"What about you, old man?" Imagawa Shimoto asked.
"I'm going to clean up my clothes, gather my subordinates, and I'll be there soon." Taiyuan Xuezhai said as he walked towards his house, but Imagawa Ujimoto laughed from behind.
"Old man, what do you have to pack? It's just your broken box."
"You brat, I'm warning you, unless I die, no one can touch my treasure box."
·
Imagawa Shigen wore a dragon pill on his left waist and a green-edged folding fan on his right waist. He took a few attendants and hurriedly rode on his horse. When he turned the corner of the mountain, he turned back and took one last look at Shande Temple, feeling full of reluctance. However, when he thought that he might be able to see his mother every day after becoming the governor of the family, Imagawa Shimoto felt a little hopeful in his heart - even if his mother cold-bloodedly put Imagawa Shimoto to shame, he was still a mother after all.
After crossing the Fuji River and passing Kabara Castle, ahead is the spacious official road from Kanto to Kinki. If you hurry up, you can arrive at Imagawa Hall in an hour. Before Imagawa could figure out how to get along with her mother, a sharp arrow suddenly struck from the roadside. Caught off guard, Imagawa Shimoto was shot to death while sitting down on his horse. He was also hit in the waist and fell to the ground. When he came back to his senses from the chaos before his eyes, he found that he was already in a pool of blood, and the few attendants who followed him were all dead. The tragedy in front of him was more shocking than the pain in his waist. This young man who had been pampered and pampered for decades was so embarrassed that he didn't spit it out directly.
Only then did he realize that this was an assassination.
Only then did he realize that this was the Wu family.
There is often only a thin line between beautiful longings and a peaceful life, and hellish killings. Imagawa Shimoto, who was just thinking about the future, was about to face a fatal disaster in the blink of an eye.
A middle-aged man dressed as a warrior and a dozen archers emerged from behind the bushes beside the road. The leading samurai strode forward and said in a deep voice: "I'm sorry, Fourth Young Master, but I have ordered you to take your life by my lord's order." He drew his sword in his hand and struck at Imagawa Shimoto. Imagawajimoto hurriedly pulled out Ryumaru from his waist to block, but the impact was not felt. He looked intently and found that the middle-aged man had stopped his hand.
"This is the sword Ryumaru of the former lord and old lord..." The samurai stopped and explained to the surprised subordinates behind him, "It seems that the fourth master has become a samurai."
"What's the difference?" Imagawa Ujimoto covered the wound on his waist and tried hard to pull his legs out from under the horse's body. He knew that he could not survive the ambush - the ambush came so suddenly that he had not fully reacted. He couldn't help but regret that it was only now that he realized what Taiyuan Xuezhai meant by the dangers of politics and the martial arts.
"If you are still a monk and murder my old lord's son for your own son, you only need to commit seppuku and apologize afterwards, so that you can live up to my lord and my old lord." The samurai put the sword back into the sheath on his waist and helped Imagawa Shimoto to stand up. He grabbed the horse that was holding him down and helped him stand up again, "But since the Fourth Young Master has returned to secular life and become a warrior, then killing the warrior with such despicable means as a sneak attack and assassination would be against the moral principles of the warrior family and would become a shame for the family and The laughing stock of all dynasties has no face to see his ancestors and masters sinking into the underworld."
"If a samurai wants to take a samurai's life, he can only kill it through an upright knight. It is a samurai's regret to die in an unknown person. Please exchange names." The samurai stepped back half a step and bowed respectfully to Imagawa Ujimoto, "I'm here The Fukushima family's swordsmanship instructor, Tanuma Tishin, asked the Fourth Young Master for advice."
"Imagawa Gorojimoto." Imagawajimoto touched the wound on his waist, lifted the belt up, and pressed it hastily to stop the bleeding, "What if I win?"
"Of course I'll let you go." Tanuma Dixin responded matter-of-factly.
"My third brother sent you here?" Imagawa Shimoto asked again.
"The Fourth Young Master has a question, and I only dare to answer it truthfully. It is true. In the battle for the governor of the family, everyone is his own master. The sword is ruthless. I hope the Fourth Young Master will accept it. I will commit suicide and plead guilty to my old master." Tanuma Dixin said deeply. He bowed and then took a stance.
"Aren't you afraid of causing trouble? If I win, do you really want to let me go?" Imagawa Shimoto seemed to still be worried, and asked again, "Then you won't be able to complete my third brother's mission? Let me go." , if I win in the end and your third son is defeated and killed, how should you explain it?"
"If only those who succeed can preserve their reputation, then the troubled times with the King's Banner on the city wall are a bit too cruel to the samurai. Wouldn't it be true that most of the samurai will end up ruined? That's why the morality of the samurai family clearly states that failure is not shameful. As long as you practice it If you give your life morally and noblely, you will die beautifully. I will not only repay my old master for knowing you, but also abide by the way of a warrior. Even if your body dies and your family is destroyed, you will still have a bright face." Tanuma Dixin drew his sword out of its sheath and urged. He said in a deep voice: "Fourth Young Master, it's useless to talk too much, please give me some advice!"
"There is really no other way." Imagawa Shimoto had no other choice, so he put the knife in place and said, "As you wish."
"Thank you, Fourth Young Master!" Tanuma Dixin showed a relieved smile, "Four Young Masters have a distinguished status, please attack first."
