"What a shame for the fine Mino paper."
On April 28, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), a group of people had trekked through the mountain roads of Higashi Mino and arrived at the castle town of Akechi Castle in Nakaminoko County. After leaving the mountainous area, Imagawa Ujimoto and others spent a lot of money to buy horses, and their journey was much faster. On the road, the fleeing pedestrians looked in a hurry, and many items of clothing and goods were abandoned on both sides of the road. Miaomiao jumped on the goods and rummaged for something to eat with her little paws, but was grabbed back by Ginkgo.
At this moment, Imagawa Ujimoto was squatting next to an overturned broken truck. He picked up a stack of papers that had been soaked in mud and water with some regret, and sighed, "Meinong specialties, with such fineness, if they are used to make green mountains. Painting should be of the highest quality.”
"The battle for the protection of Mino has been going on for almost 20 years, and it's not over yet." Nakasugi Tora Chiyo stood on the stone next to the cart, looking at the people in the distance who had left their homes to avoid the war. As for the two armies that were fighting each other further away, the smoke rising from them could still be clearly seen several miles away. "The two His Highnesses Toqi must have too narrow a vision. They are wasting the country's power for the position of family governor. I really thought there was no one around." Are people spying on Meinong? When they fight for the outcome, Meinong will be left to outsiders. Wouldn’t it bring shame to our ancestors?”
While a few people were chatting, they saw another group of refugees with green faces and dusty faces, walking quickly on the official road in front of them. There were old and young in the crowd. Parents led the stumbling children and followed the group in a hurry. The children supported the old man who could not walk and tried their best to keep up with the pace at the end of the line. These poor refugees didn't carry much as a gift, either because they were too poor or because they were worried that they wouldn't be able to move quickly if they brought too much. Judging from the direction of their escape, their hometown should be on the battlefield where the two armies are fighting.
"Decades of war have made life difficult for the people, and many people have fallen into bandits. This is the border between Owari and Mino, and there are many bandits." Nakasugi Tora Chiyo put his hands behind his back and looked around. Shanlin, "If they encounter bandits, these refugees will probably not be spared. We rush as hard as we can and it will be safer if we run into Owari."
"If Owari is not in the civil war, how can it be better?" Imagawa Ujimoto sighed again, slowly tapping his palms with his folding fan, "Several Oda families have been fighting for many years, but now they are a little more peaceful. Maybe one day there will be another fight. In these troubled times, there are either conquests between guardians, internal fights for family governors, or rebellions from subordinates to subjugate superiors. In such a vast world, I am afraid there will not be a single county where you can enjoy peace and tranquility. Stay out of the action. How many peaceful towns have we encountered along the way?"
"That's why I say that we must use any means necessary to quell the troubled times. It is better to kill hundreds of thousands of people than to let tens of millions of people struggle in hell day and night." Nakasugi Tora Chiyo said to Imagawa Shimoto with a smile, and also learned from him The latter's disapproval could be seen in his expression. Just when Nakasugi Torachiyo was thinking about the words, preparing to raise this topic for the seventh time in the past three days, to convince Imagawa Ujimoto to agree with him - God favorably gave him arguments.
A large group of bandits blocked the road and stopped the group of refugees fleeing south halfway. The bandits were not hesitant either. They rushed forward with crudely made sticks, knives and guns to steal property. The refugees knelt down one after another and begged for mercy, honestly offering the meager allowances that the whole family relied on to survive, and praying that the bandits would leave some for themselves, but it was in vain. A few strong men seemed reluctant to part with the little possessions they had saved through so much hard work. They got up to argue with the bandits, but were stabbed to death in a pool of blood. The weak wives and children cried out in pain and threw themselves on the male master to help him stop the bleeding, but they could only watch helplessly as their lives passed by.
The bandits seemed not to be satisfied after robbing all the money. They picked out a few pretty girls among the crowd and dragged them to the village. A woman was holding an infant baby in her arms, but the bandit snatched it away impatiently and threw it to the ground in the distance. The child cried a few times and then stopped making any sound. He was about to die. The woman almost fainted after seeing this, and was carried away by the bandits on their shoulders.
"These bandits were just good people who couldn't survive before they fell into the grass. Now they have to kill the villagers in order to survive and finance. Goro, you said, you want to turn an honest farmer into a murderous gangster. , How many years will it take? How many times will it be stained with blood? And what kind of desperate situation will it take for him to kill someone for the first time?" Nakasugi Torachiyo looked at the tragedy in front of him and sighed with some regret. On the side, Imagawa Ujimoto couldn't bear it. He put the folding fan back into his waist and held the katana at his waist.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Kira Usei seemed to be unable to bear it any longer. He asked eagerly after seeing Imagawa's Motoyu's action.
"After all, this is Mino territory. If we let the ninjas who are secretly covering us go out, their identity will only be exposed and it will only cause more trouble." Nakasugi Torachiyo poured cold water on Imagawa Ujimoto and Kira Usei, but did not forget to add it again. One sentence, "Or are you two planning to deal with dozens of bandits alone?"
"It's not bad, it's just a mob, I think it can be solved." Imagawa Ujimoto seemed to be very confident in his martial arts.
"The premise is that Goro, you must have the consciousness to kill, and you must have the consciousness to stain your hands with blood." Nakasugi Tora Chiyo said coldly from behind, "When swords and weapons meet, between life and death, even the slightest kindness may kill you. Look at Goro's appearance You must have never killed anyone before. When the time comes and you are besieged by dozens of people, there will be no room for you to 'do it without killing'."
Imagawa Shimoto was stunned, this was exactly his weakness. But when he looked at the sobbing crowd and saw a few half-year-old children dragging their mothers' feet, not wanting to see their mothers kidnapped by bandits, but being kicked and kicked to the ground, he still Made up my mind.
"I'm going, Torachiyo, will you help?" He turned to look at Nakasugi Torachiyo.
"If you don't want to go, lend me the knife and I will accompany you, sir." Ginkgo said sarcastically in a somewhat mean tone.
"Haha, why don't you go? It's so refreshing to risk your life to accompany a gentleman!" Nakasugi Tora Chiyo laughed boldly twice, then strode towards Imagawa Ujimoto and Kira Usei.
"Koichiro, protect Miss Ginkgo." Imagawa Ujimoto told Hayasaka Nao.
"When I encounter danger, I suggest this young man give me the knife, so that I can be safer." Ginkgo seemed to be very confident in her own martial arts, smiling and looking at the suspicious Imagawa Ujimoto, "Hero Sir, sir, please don’t underestimate the women from the mountains.”
"Let's go." Without saying much, Imagawa Shimoto snapped his fingers in the direction of the bandit, and the three of them got on their horses and started to move forward. As a result, at this moment, a group of soldiers suddenly emerged from the thorns and blocked the way the bandits left. This army, under the banner of aqua platycodon, was headed by a young man of about 20 years old who was brave and brave. He sternly ordered his subordinates to kill the bandits.
"Mr. is not the only good person." Ginkgo smiled happily.
"The Platycodon flag, the flag of the Akechi family, who defends the land and has his responsibilities, how can he be called a good person?" Nakasugi Torachiyo obviously dismissed this, "A person like Goro who takes action for justice and meddles in other people's business is a good person."
"There are also people who are obviously one parent, but they tax the people arbitrarily." Ginkgo mentioned her father, and the anger on her face could not be concealed. "Compared with this, wouldn't this wise Lord be a good person?"
During the conversation, the bandits had been driven away by the wise army and fled. Imagawa Ujimoto looked at the small group of cavalry riding towards him and said with a smile. "Look, the good guys are coming."
"Guys, I'm sorry to bother you." The leading knight was the samurai who had just commanded the army. He dismounted in front of a group of people and said politely, "My name is Akechi Mitsuhide, the grandson of the lord of Akechi City. I just saw three people who seemed to have drawn their swords to help. I would like to thank you all on behalf of the people."
"You are so polite, Akechi-sama, but it is human nature to not thank you enough." Imagawa Shimoto also dismounted and bowed respectfully in return.
"Looking at your speech and behavior, you don't look like a small person." Akechi Mitsuhide, who is well versed in etiquette, could see that Imagawa's family was not simple at just one glance. He slightly changed his tone and said: "Why does the accent sound like Togoku but not Togoku, like Kyoto but not Kyoto?" , but the manners and manners are all that of a public minister?"
"Akechi-sama, I admire you for your subtle understanding." Imagawa Shimoto praised sincerely, "To be honest, I am from Kanto. I used to live in Kyoto when I was a child. This trip is to go home to visit my relatives."
"If that's the case, I'm overly concerned." Akechi Mitsuhide bowed again and apologized to Imagawa Shimoto for his doubts. He saw that the Mino paper scattered around Imagawajimoto's feet seemed to have been turned. Imagawajimoto followed Akechi Mitsuhide's gaze and understood what Akechi Mitsuhide was thinking. He said with some regret, "Good paper." ,pity."
"It's good paper, but what's more pity is that Meinong has been in war for years and the people have been displaced. Compared with the suffering of all the people, what are a few pieces of paper?" Mitsuhide Akechi bent down and picked up the papers stained with mud. What he saw in his eyes But it seemed like Meinong was stained with blood, "But fortunately, the war is almost over. I think that within five years, Meinong will be peaceful."
"Five years?" Nakasugi Tora Chiyo heard the words and questioned with some disbelief, "The two Toki Highnesses have been fighting for twenty years. How can the winner be determined in five years?"
"No, it will not be these two ignorant and unscrupulous His Royal Highnesses who are unscrupulous in their efforts to unify Mino." Akechi Mitsuhide shook his head and looked at Inabayama Castle in the north, "I have been working as the guardian of Mino Nagai recently. I found a viper at home, so I thought it might be able to unify Meinong."
"The retainer of the retainer who protects Mino?" Nakasugi Tora Chiyo laughed again, as if he didn't agree with Akechi Mitsuhide's judgment, "You want to defeat the superior three times?"
"That viper is a good man. It would be great if he could rule Mino. As long as he poisons the heads and heirs of the Nagai family and the Saito family, he can usurp the leader without any bloodshed. If we seize the I family, then seize the Saito family, and then continue to evade the Toki family, great things can be accomplished." Akechi Mitsuhide himself has already thought of a way to usurp power for the viper, "These adults have high ambitions but low ambitions, and tend to ignore the dangers around them. Very easy to come by.”
"The murder of the master, the following crime... can this person be considered a good person?" Imagawa Shimoto frowned, and the image of Akechi Mitsuhide, who had given him a good impression just now, instantly became vicious, "Such an unfaithful, unjust and treasonous person Is this person worthy of being the guardian of a country?"
"What you said is wrong. I think this is the greatest kindness." Mitsuhide Akechi shook his head slowly and responded very gently, "If it were like the two Toki Highnesses who fought to seize the throne in an upright manner, after the war spread, Countless innocent people will be affected. The tragedy of Meinong in the past 20 years is the best example. However, if the fatuous master is directly eliminated and replaced from within through conspiracy, assassination and other means, the people will not be harmed at all. This is not based on Can all people be saved at the smallest cost?"
"Your Excellency, do you, more than these 'bad guys' who are inferior to those above, admire those 'good guys' who go about conquering in an upright and righteous manner, but instead involve countless people in the flames of war? You care about the good reputation of 'justice', but you don't care about the lives of the people. Those loyal ministers and good generals are the 'bad guys' to the people, right?"
"As expected of Akechi-sama." Imagawa Ujimoto fell into silence, but Nakasugi Tora Chiyo quite agreed and praised enthusiastically.
