On June 26, the thirteenth year of Tianwen (1544), the son of God was born in Kaiguo.
"Why don't you go directly to Kita Shinano via Saku Valley?" Ginkgo was a little dissatisfied with the route arranged by Takeda Harunobu. "How close is that road? Now you arrange for us to go around Minami Shinano from the west. It will take at least twice as long. .”
"We've been having a bit of a quarrel with Hainokuchi Castle recently." Takeda Harunobu glanced at the direction of Saku-Koshu Street, "If you go through the valley, you must cross Uinoguchi Castle. We're afraid that he will embarrass us."
"Isn't Uenoguchi Castle owned by the Yamauchi Uesugi family?" Imagawa Yoshimoto couldn't remember clearly and thought he was confused.
"Yes." Takeda Harunobu nodded, "The castle lord is Kasahara Shinsaburo Kiyoshige."
"But aren't we going to form an alliance with the Yamauchi-Uesugi family? Why are you still having a conflict with the Yamauchi-Uesugi family at this time?" Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly felt something bad, "Then how can we negotiate then?"
"You can't blame me. It was their people who drove away the people we sent to cut the crops." Takeda Harunobu spread his hands and shrugged very innocently.
"If you go to harvest other people's crops, won't you be evicted?" Imagawa Yoshimoto complained in a fit of laughter and tears.
"No, they must have grudges." But Takeda Harunobu had his own reasons and complained very dissatisfied: "My first battle was against Uinokuchi Castle, and the lord of the city at that time was Hiraga Musashi. Mamoru (Xuan Xin). He was beaten to a pulp by a surprise attack by me, and the city was lost. I led the army to arrest and massacre the city in Hainokuchi City and then evacuated, causing the residents of Hainokuchi City to harbor hatred towards the Takeda Army. That’s why I’m deliberately stirring up trouble now.”
"You massacred the city in the first battle?" Imagawa Yoshimoto's face instantly filled with black lines, "How old were you then?"
"16, maybe 15." Takeda Harunobu counted the years and months.
"When I was that old, I was still eating fast and chanting Buddha in the temple, but you can already massacre the city?" Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyes changed when he looked at Takeda Harunobu, but thinking that he seemed to be such a person, he changed again.
"Hey, I was just ignorant at the time." Takeda Harunobu shook his head in annoyance, his frustration evident in his words, which made Imagawa Yoshimoto quite pleased - it seems that Takeda Harunobu still has some conscience.
But Takeda Harunobu’s next words almost made Imagawa Yoshimoto angry:
"I should have killed all the men at that time. I didn't slaughter them all. I left so many people to cause trouble for me now. It's too late to regret... I won't do it next time. Uinokuchi Castle starts from Nakahara Kiyoshige. , don’t even think about keeping a single man.”
"You really know how to reflect. Hey... you are taking human life so seriously." Imagawa Yoshimoto was speechless and didn't know how to spit it out, so he simply gave up. After spending more time with the samurai around him, he felt that his attitude towards life was alien, so he stopped raising these topics with them.
"The massacre is not as terrible as you think, really." Takeda Harunobu saw the depression in Imagawa Yoshimoto's heart and smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
·
On June 28, the 13th year of Tenmon (1544), a group of people arrived at Uehara Castle, the former residence of the Suwa clan and the largest castle in Minami-Shinano. However, when Takeda Harunobu invaded Minami Shinano in the tenth year of Astronomy (1541), he slaughtered all the residents of Uehara Castle, and only a small number of children were taken back to Suruga by Imagawa Yoshimoto. Now that he is revisiting his old place, Imagawa Yoshimoto seems to still remember the location of the mass graves where people were killed, and he can't bear to look there.
"The place where we were killed last time is right there." But Takeda Harunobu raised his finger and pointed in the distance with great interest, "There are even ghost stories. According to passers-by, every time I pass by here at night, I can tell I heard faint cries coming from the mass grave. Another version says that I could hear a woman shouting "Long live Imagawa". I'm afraid she wasn't thanking you for being such a good person. "
"I don't think it's something worthy of gratitude." Imagawa Yoshimoto ignored Takeda Harunobu's words and looked in the direction of Uehara Castle. To his surprise, Uehara City did not become the dead city he imagined. The city head was well repaired and Takeda Hisi's flag was flying high. And in the castle town, there are actually faint traces of people. It was lunch time, and smoke was rising from many houses.
"Look, I said, massacre the city
Without Goro, as you think, wouldn't Uehara Castle be inhabited again? Takeda Harunobu proudly raised his hand and pointed to the castle town in front, "There are already thousands of people. In another ten years, it will probably be back to what it was before the massacre."
"You killed all the people, where did they come from?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked with some seriousness.
"Some of them were moved by me from Kai, as well as the families of the garrison, and the other part were gathered from various places in Shinano." Takeda Harunobu pointed back at the land under his feet and the rice fields next to the land. The crops in the rice fields were growing well. "Such good fields, such good water, and connected in all directions. This place will never be short of people. After ten thousand people die, ten thousand more will come. So there is no need to feel guilty."
"But the fact is that Jiaxin did die because of your massacre, with more than 10,000 people killed." Ginkgo snorted coldly.
"That's not the case. If I don't kill them, they will naturally grow old, sick and die. It's just that I let them die "slightly earlier". "Takeda Haruyuki rubbed her fingers gently, indicating that "slightly earlier" is really just "slightly":
"In the final analysis, how many people can live depends on how many people can be fed by the crops grown in the ground. If there are too many children, they will starve to death in disaster years. If there are fewer people and there is enough food, everyone will have more children, and more children will be born." Zi Duofu. Even if they are not killed by me, they will die when they encounter other wars and famines. After more than ten years, the population will come back. The population is really not as fragile and stable as you think. It’s true, you can’t burn it all by massacre, it can be replenished in one or two generations.”
"I really envy Tora Chiyo. I can still feel at ease after doing these things. Sometimes I can't sleep when I think of the subordinates I sacrificed." Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed faintly, and I don't know if he was praising Takeda Harunobu or sarcastically.
"That's for sure. People always have to find an excuse to make themselves feel at ease. You can't live in guilt every day, right?" Takeda Harunobu laughed and brought the horse closer to Imagawa Yoshimoto, put his arms around his shoulders and smiled: "Just It’s just that you’re not born to be a bad guy, Goro.”
Takeda Harunobu didn't plan to enter the city, so he took everyone directly around Uehara Castle, and had to pass through the mass grave. Even if Imagawa Yoshimoto was reluctant, he had to ride his horse on the soil of the mass grave. After years of exposure to wind and sun, the terrain here now has no visible undulations. It is as flat as if it has never been disturbed. Green grass has even grown. I wonder if this nutrition comes from the dead bones underneath.
The sound of horse hooves was dull and solemn, and the pleading and crying sounds of countless men, women, and children that day seemed to echo in my ears again. Imagawa Yoshimoto only felt bored and uncomfortable in his heart, but he didn't know how to deal with it - after all, he was just a cowardly spectator, or even an accomplice.
But only those who are alive have the opportunity to think about these things. After death, there is nothing... In order to survive, people in troubled times have to do many things against their will. It's just that some people can find a set of high-sounding excuses to reconcile with themselves, while some people can only live in struggle all the time like Kawakawa Yoshimoto.
·
On July 4, the thirteenth year of Tianwen (1544), Nanmu, Ueno Country.
After a long journey, the group passed through Minami Shinano and Northern Shinano, and after a circuit around the mountain road, they finally entered the territory of Ueno Country. However, the weather was unfavorable, and it rained heavily in Ueno. The road that we originally planned to take encountered a landslide, and it was estimated that it would be impassable for a while - unless we waited for the nearby wealthy family or the leader of the Yamauchi Uesugi family to lead people to repair it.
"What should we do now?" Ginkgo, who didn't agree to take a detour at first, crossed her arms and looked at her brother sideways after seeing the situation in front of her. "Jiaxin here is full of mountains, and the only road is blocked. What are you planning to do?" Will you take us over the mountains?"
"I don't care, I'm just afraid that Goro can't bear it." Takeda Harunobu glanced at Imagawa Yoshimoto, smiled and joked: "This is not the kind of mountain road we walked in Mikawa before, it is a real mountain road. Can you, The pampered Mr. Suruga? It’s true that you are not a true man unless you reach Koshin. Do you have the confidence to conquer the most dangerous mountain road in the world?”
"No." Imagawa Yoshimoto replied simply, "Let's take a detour. You can take a detour wherever you want. Don't let me climb the mountain."
"Then we can only go all the way north from here to Echigo, and then go around from Echigo to Ueno. It will take about a month. Are you serious?
? "Takeda Harunobu casually pointed to the north, "On the way, we will also pass by the territories of the wealthy Northern Shinano clan who were hostile to us before, but it is really unsafe."
"Why didn't we take a boat? Wouldn't it be better to take a boat directly from Suruga and go around to Kamso Anbo to land?" Imagawa Yoshimoto felt annoyed. Why didn't he think of it before? It's not much better than walking on a mountain road.
"I know a small path. Although you still have to climb some mountains, the distance is not far and the walking is easy." Kentaro Tian Shen suddenly stepped forward and said.
"Oh?" Takeda Harunobu was a little surprised, "This Koshin actually has a trail that I don't know about?"
"How did Tian Chen know?" Imagawa Yoshimoto was also curious.
"Because this is my hometown." Kentaro Tianchen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The place where I was kicked out."
