After running for more than twenty miles, Imagawa Yoshimoto finally had the opportunity to hold the reins of Taiyuan Xuezhai's horse, and asked in a dumbfounded voice: "Old man, what are you doing? You were scared to death by a few unkempt children. If you run away, won't it ruin half of your reputation if word spreads?"
"What do you know, you brat? Those kids are not simple at first glance." Taiyuan Xuezhai shook his head repeatedly, with a knowing expression.
"I would like to hear the details." Takeda Harunobu also came over and asked calmly, obviously not understanding what Taiyuan Xue Zhai was doing.
"Those children were brought to our door to be arrested, so we chased them openly and disclosed their information without hesitation." Taiyuan Xuezhai replied seriously, but Imagawa Yoshimoto asked with doubts on his face. road:
"Send it to your door? If you are really a child of the Oda family, how could you not know that the Imagawa family and the Oda family are already on the same level? How could you dare to come to the dangerous place in person? What if we really detained them..."
Before Imagawa Yoshimoto finished speaking, Taiyuan Xuezhai had already completed the second half of the sentence:
"If we really capture them, the Oda family's pursuers will chase us no matter how hard they die. No matter where we go, they will chase us even all the way to Kyoto."
"Huh?" Imagawa Yoshimoto was even more confused, "Why do you have to chase us?"
After hearing these words, Takeda Harunobu, who was on the side, seemed to be waking up from a dream. He was stunned for a while, and he didn't even realize that the reins fell off his hands.
"I don't know why they are chasing us. Maybe those children somehow figured out that we are important members of the Takeda family or the Imagawa family?" Taiyuan Xuezai continued to explain to the two of them, "But we I also found out in time that I was exposed, so I evacuated immediately. It was impossible for those children to catch up on their own, so I had to go back to bring in reinforcements, but it certainly didn't attract enough attention from the 'adults' like Oda Danmasa."
Taiyuan Xuezhai paused and looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto with a smile: "Chengfang, I would like to ask you, if one day Goro suddenly came to you and told you that he 'saw the governor of the Hojo family wandering around Imagawa Hall' , please send someone to arrest him immediately, what will you do?"
"How can children's words be taken seriously?" Imagawa Yoshimoto also laughed dumbly when he heard this. "Send a team of ninjas to search briefly. If nothing can be found, we will give up."
After saying this, Imagawa Yoshimoto's expression became the same as Takeda Harunobu's just now - he also realized the meaning of what just happened.
"That's right, those children were also worried that their 'adults' wouldn't believe what they said, and were worried that the ninjas would just search and chase them for a few miles, so they decided to add some ruthless elements." Taiyuan Xuezhai said slowly. Xu raised a finger and said in a cold voice with meaning: "They decided to come to our door and kidnap us. In this way, the ninjas and pursuers of the Oda family will definitely catch up at all costs. Not to mention Oda Danmasa. It’s within the family’s territory, even if we chase him to the boundaries of the Oda Yamato family, to Mino, to Omi, to Kyoto, they will catch up all the way.”
"How sure are those little brats that we are big fish?" When Taiyuan Xuezhai said this, he couldn't help but admired, "You have to risk your life to let your own people hunt us down? Hu Laidi One. If he is really that 'Owari fool', he will definitely be an opponent that cannot be underestimated in the future. Chengfang, be more careful."
"Why are you so obsessed with us?" Imagawa Yoshimoto also thought about it along with Taiyuan Xuezai's words, "Did any of our actions reveal our identity? No, we are just ordinary people sleeping in the city. Then …I went to find that kid Kinoshita, and there was nothing that would reveal my identity.”
"Maybe there is a traitor in the family who has leaked our whereabouts. We need to conduct a strict investigation after we return." Taiyuan Xuezhai scratched his head thoughtfully, as if he was thinking about the suspicious person in the family. Takeda Harunobu on the side was frowning and his face was pale. Imagawa Yoshimoto rarely saw Takeda Harunobu being frightened like this - could it be that he discovered that someone close to his family might leak the secret?
"But teacher, if those children are really so enlightened and want to risk their lives to chase us, they will definitely not give up." Imagawa Yoshimoto turned around and glanced at the horseshoe dust on the way uneasily, "Said Maybe he will pretend to be missing and send someone back to lie about the military situation, saying that he was kidnapped by a group of ninjas. If so, even if we don't really detain them, the Oda family will pursue them resolutely, right?"
"That's right." Taiyuan Xuezhai nodded slightly, then raised his hand and whipped the horse's ass hard, "Let's go! Don't stop to rest, go all the way to the northwest!"
·
The group continued running, and on the evening of January 19, the twelfth year of Tenmon (1543), the group finally reached the border between Owari Province and Mino Province, but was blocked by the Kiso River lying in front of them. In the middle of winter, there was no ferry service at this late hour, but the several bridges on the Kiso River were guarded by Oda family guards.
"Let's charge hard. Our thirty-odd cavalry are already a considerable fighting force on the battlefield. How can we be afraid of just a few dozen guards?" Takeda Harunobu patted the katana on his waist and moved forward boldly. One finger.
"But we don't have the skills, the ninjas are not used to horse fighting, and there are women in the team." Imagawa Yoshimoto looked back at Ginkgo uneasily, but Ginkgo smiled indifferently, spread his hands, and said softly He muttered something, as if to say, "There's really nothing I can do."
"What are you afraid of?" Takeda Harunobu didn't mean to look back at Mrs. Sanjo. He smiled to himself, "It's late at night. They must be unprepared. They will collapse as soon as we rush. This place is at least a few miles away from the nearby Kuroda Castle. On the ground, the samurai have probably gone to bed, and the ashigaru are all at home, so there is no time to support them."
"Hmm..." Imagawa Yoshimoto pondered for a while, and looked at Taiyuan Xuezhai for advice. Seeing that Taiyuan Xuezhai didn't express any objection, he also straightened the katana.
However, at this moment, a large fire suddenly lit up from behind, and smoke could be faintly seen rising. After seeing this signal, Kuroda City, which was originally quiet, suddenly became chaotic. After a burst of noise, a warning bonfire was lit at the top of Kuroda City. Many nearby checkpoints and ferries also raised fires in response.
"The pursuers are coming? About 30 miles away." Takeda Harunobu squinted his eyes and estimated the location of the fire. "This is to warn us to encircle and suppress us. Act quickly."
"It is estimated that there will be casualties." Imagawa Yoshimoto saw that the guards at the ferry had stood up from their resting places to be on guard - they had lost the opportunity for a sneak attack, so he told Ginkgo: "Ginkgo, be more careful later. , Mrs. Sanjo is also begging you."
"Don't worry, sir, just take care of yourself." Ginkgo smiled and spread his hands, but it seemed that Imagawa Yoshimoto was a little sentimental.
"Everyone, please take care. There is no need to pursue killing, just pass safely." Imagawa Yoshimoto took one last look around, lowered his head, and slowly drew his sword out of its sheath. Just when he was about to give the charge order, Kinoshita Tokichiro, who had been following the team quietly, suddenly shouted: "Big...oh no, Your Highness, I have an idea! I have a way to help everyone cross the river!"
"Do you have the right to speak now?" Kira Wei was already concentrating on preparing to attack, but he was upset by Kinoshita Tokichiro's voice, "You little bumpkin from the village, please be quiet! You little idiot What can the child do?"
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry! Sir!" Kinoshita Tokichiro was startled by Kira Usei, and quickly retracted his neck. But after struggling for a moment, he actually gritted his teeth and spoke again, trembling slightly: "But your highness is kind, this villain really has a way!"
"Are you tired of living?" Ji Liang Weicheng yelled angrily, "Can't you understand people?"
"Don't dare!" Kinoshita Tokichiro was frightened out of his wits by Kira Usei's roar, but he still bit the bullet and refused to give up, "It's just me..."
"You might as well listen to him." Takeda Harunobu on the side suddenly interrupted, his words were quite firm.
"Isn't Torachiyo usually saying at this time: 'The situation is critical, there is no time to waste?'" Imagawa Yoshimoto imitated Takeda Harunobu's tone, and then looked helplessly at Kinoshita Tokichiro, "But since Torachiyo you You’ve already spoken... Then Kinoshita, what can you do, but it’s okay to say it.”
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Kinoshita Tokichiro hurriedly kowtowed and agreed, and then he spoke out like a monkey offering treasures: "I have often come here to do business in the past few years, and I have done business for a wealthy family near here. Odd jobs, his family makes a living by running water from the Kiso River. It's right here, behind the forest in front of us, just half a mile away! I know his family well, so I can ask their boat to take us across the river!"
"Time is running out, can you, a kid, convince them in just a few words?" Imagawa Yoshimoto was very doubtful about this, "This wealthy family is located between Owari and Mino, and they need to be able to survive between the Saito family and the Oda family. If he helps us cross the river and offends the Oda family, wouldn't it mean that he will end his own life?"
"Young one is confident, please Your Highness, let me try it out, and treat me as a small one to join the Imagawa family and get a certificate! I will win your appreciation! If I don't succeed, Your Highness, please don't worry about me, just take the others." You can rush!" Kinoshita Tokichiro kowtowed to the ground several times, as if Imagawa Yoshimoto would not get up if he didn't agree.
"Okay, I'll wait for you for two-quarters of an hour. If you need a monetary bribe, it doesn't matter if you agree to any amount." Imagawa Yoshimoto glanced at the firelight rising from behind, estimated the time for the pursuers to arrive, and promised in a low voice.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" After receiving this order from a narrow escape, Kinoshita Tokichiro jumped three feet high as if he had found a treasure.
"Kinoshita doesn't know how to ride a horse, right?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked again, and then waved to Kira Weishi, "Kira, you carry him over with the money. If you still can't do it by the time, come and meet us immediately. Breakout.”
"Why me?" Ji Liang Weicheng looked as ugly as if he had eaten a fly.
"This is an order, go and come back quickly."
