After the sun went down, Imagawa Yoshimoto and his party walked into the forest next to Kawadong Village with torches. Since he had played in the mountains and rivers here when he was a child, Imagawa Yoshimoto can probably still remember the mountain road and walked windingly towards the depths. In the middle of the night, every movement in the silent mountain forest can be heard very clearly. The sound of feet stepping on fallen leaves and breathing can be heard one after another.
As the torch team gradually deepened, commotions gradually came from various caves and valleys. It seemed that the hiding people thought that the rebels wanted to enter the mountains and kill them all, and they were avoiding this team. The commotion gradually calmed down after it was discovered that the team carried few weapons and that the flag belonged not to the Takeda family but to the Imagawa family.
"We are the team of the Imagawa family, here to escort the residents back to the village!" Akai Kuro shouted over and over again with a loud voice. Sooner or later, dots of torches began to appear, looking at the team carefully. After repeatedly confirming that the Imagawa Army had no evil intentions, a small group of civilians finally began to leave their hiding places one after another and came to the Imagawa Army on the mountain road. There were also whispers and conversations in the crowd. :
"Isn't this little master Chengfang? It looks like it, is it him?"
"Shouldn't that be the governor of the Imagawa family? I heard that he went back and became the governor."
"Really? The young master has returned to secular life?"
"Admit your mistake, how could this happen?"
·
"I am Seiyoshi Kanzaki." Hearing the discussion in the crowd, Imagawa Yoshimoto took the torch from Nao Hayasaka's hand and walked to the crowd in person, so that the people could see his face clearly, which immediately caused a commotion:
"Is this really little Master Chengfang? He's grown so big."
"I am Your Highness now, Your Highness!"
"I have met His Highness!"
"I have met His Highness!"
"Is this really Young Master Chengfang?" Among the crowd, an older man walked out on crutches. He seemed to have bad eyesight. He came close to Imakawa Yoshimoto's face and looked carefully for a moment before finally recognizing him. He said: "This is really growing up so fast, it's so big in a flash..."
"Uncle Kano? Long time no see, how are you? Where are the other villagers?" Imagawa Yoshimoto also immediately recognized the person in front of him. This was the uncle who used to sell various paintings and calligraphy to him - just a stranger. Of course he didn't call him Kano as a commoner, but he worked as a servant in the Kano family, so Imagawa Yoshimoto was used to calling him that.
"Ah, ah, ah, it's young master Chengfang. He is now His Royal Highness of the Imagawa family, right?" The uncle's face immediately burst into smiles. While saluting Imagawa Yoshimoto, he was about to turn around and go back, "I will take you with you right now. Go to our place."
·
Under the leadership of Uncle Kano, Imagawa Yoshimoto and a few followers carried torches and traveled through the mountains and forests. After a long circle, we finally saw a large residential area in a depression behind a valley - all thatched houses and wooden houses. The conditions were very simple, and the roofs of many houses were even leaking. , I guess it’s hard enough when it rains. There are simply some bamboo sticks clamped in the corner of the village, which seems to be a place to dry clothes. Those clothes were all in tatters, a few could still be patched, and many more didn't even need to be patched.
There was also a stench coming from the same direction, and there was a small thatched hut over there. I didn't know if it was a toilet. Three or five women were walking back from a distance carrying large swinging buckets, and several of them were carrying infant children on their backs. After seeing someone at the entrance of the settlement, they were so frightened that they dropped their carrying poles, turned around, hugged their children and hid. In a wooden house next to Imagawa Yoshimoto, heavy coughing could still be heard - there were probably several sick patients living here, and the house also exuded the smell of inferior herbal medicine.
Young people with torches could be seen scattered around the settlement, driving away wild animals that had been sent back nearby. The bonfire that had been lit seemed to have been extinguished not long ago. Some green smoke could still be seen faintly, and the villagers had no time to eat half of it. Collected rice bran and wild vegetables. When the people hiding here saw a stranger coming, they all huddled in the corner and timidly observed the visitor. It was only after it was confirmed that the person coming was Imagawa Yoshimoto, everyone finally relaxed and walked out of the hiding place. Imagawa Yoshimoto looked closely and found that they were all good-looking. Although they could not be called skinny, they were still hungry.
The wind is over - it seems that not having enough to eat is the norm here.
Uncle Kano introduced Imagawa Yoshimoto into a slightly spacious room in the center of the gathering area. There were also many respected elders who came with him. They all seemed to be the patriarchs and elders of the village. Outside the house, many residents of the village were surrounded by three circles inside and three outside.
Imagawa Yoshimoto used the light from the fire pit in the house and looked around - most of them were familiar faces to Imagawa Yoshimoto. But ten years have passed, and those middle-aged people who were in their prime at that time have now turned gray.
"Why are you all hiding here?" Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed and glanced at the already large-scale settlement, "It seems like you have been living here for a few years?"
"So that Your Highness will know that since the Sagami guys came in ten years ago, all our villages have fled. Wherever the Sagami guys went, they robbed us of nothing, leaving us with nothing." One. The oldest man with a gray beard said tremblingly, "Originally we thought we would just endure it and plant seeds next year. But who would have thought that the Sagami soldiers would come again next year and attack our village fiercely?" They looted the land once and even robbed many people. Life in the village was really unsustainable. We really had no choice. We didn't know when they would come again, so we had to flee to the mountains."
"Is that so..." Imagawa Yoshimoto understood what the war the old man was referring to was. In the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), a battle broke out in the Imagawa family for the family governor, and the Hojo family sent troops to seize Kadong - this was the first time the village encountered military chaos. In the sixth year of Tenmon (1537), the Hojo family once again sent troops to Suruga, and the Imagawa family and the Takeda family jointly recaptured half of Hedong - this was the second time the village suffered military rebellion. After being randomly arrested by passing soldiers for two consecutive years, it is no wonder that the people in the village dare not stay in the village and hide in the mountains no matter what.
"I really suffered... I'm sorry." Imagawa Yoshimoto leaned forward slightly towards the villagers, "But it's okay now. The Hojo Army has been expelled, and the Kadong area has been recovered by the Imagawa Army. The Hojo family We have re-signed a peace agreement, and no more Hojo troops will pass by and plunder, so everyone can go back with peace of mind."
"What? Your Highness, please don't make fun of us." Another old man laughed a little rudely, and the disapproval in his words was obvious even if he tried hard to hide it, "What's the use of Sagami guy going back? Kaibi guy is passing by. They will still rob us. Aren't we running away this time just to hide from Kai? I originally thought that the Imagawa family had fought back and we were going to have a good life, so we came out of the mountains and returned to the village. I never thought that my buttocks would be back. It was not hot yet, but it was robbed by the Jia Fei man again, and he fled back to the mountain in embarrassment. Whenever there is another war in Hedong, Your Highness, you will definitely ask the Jia Fei man to help again. Our village will still not be able to avoid the next bloody disaster. "
"No, I have already negotiated with His Highness Ozen of the Takeda family. The incident of the Takeda army invading the people will never happen again in the future. If it happens again, it will be bound by the military laws of the Imagawa family." Imagawa Yoshimoto solemnly said in front of him The villagers promised: "Neither the Hojo family nor the Takeda family will harm the village again. Please rest assured that the village is already safe."
"Does Your Highness really believe those Kai guys?" Uncle Kano frowned and whispered worriedly. For those natives of the Hedong area, the Kai people from the north have always been a threat to them. "Those Kai people are the most abominable. I can't believe it, Your Highness..."
"His Majesty Ozen is my good friend, my wife is also the princess of the Takeda family, and Kabuto and Shun are close allies. I have already expressed to His Highness Ozen my disgust and determination on this matter, and His Highness Ozen will not do it for some petty gains. Just destroy the relationship between the Imagawa family and the Takeda family, and we will definitely restrain the troops." Imagawa Yoshimoto still patiently persuaded, "It is difficult to live here, and it will be difficult to eat and drink, right? It's not okay to hide here all the time. The solution, now that the village is safe, let’s go back.”
Seeing Imagawa Yoshimoto being so sincere, the worries in the villagers' eyes gradually dissipated. After looking at each other for a few times, they all nodded slowly.
"Your Highness will not lie to us. Young Master Chengfang is reliable." Uncle Kano grinned and said to the others around him, "When he was a child, he came to our village to buy things and sometimes didn't bring enough money to pay on credit. In the end, it didn't always happen. I paid it back as scheduled. I have never "begged for alms", but I always gave it to
It's money. "
"At that time, I didn't know that the young master was the son of the Imagawa family. Otherwise, who would have dared to ask you for money." The villagers all laughed.
"No matter who you are, your concern for the village and fellow villagers is the same. I see that you are living in these deep mountains and forests, with food and clothing being a problem, and there are still patients. In any case, it is better to return to the village as soon as possible." Imagawa Yoshimoto also said softly with relief.
"Damn it, if it wasn't for survival, who would be willing to leave their hometown and hide here?" Uncle Kano smacked his lips and glanced at the mountains and forests under the moonlight, "Escape into this green water and green mountains, but you can't even find a paintbrush. Vice, I haven’t been able to get any paintings done for almost seven or eight years.”
·
Early the next morning, after resting, Imagawa Yoshimoto commanded the soldiers of the Imagawa family to move the villagers who had fled up the mountain, bringing the old and the young back to the village where they had settled. At the same time, Imagawa soldiers from other ministries were also searching the mountains in villages east of the river, responsible for persuading residents who had gone into the mountains to escape the war to return to their hometowns to farm. Before leaving, the villagers of Chuandong Village came to the entrance of the village to bid farewell to Imagawa Yoshimoto. The light was better during the day, and Imagawa Yoshimoto recognized many familiar faces from his childhood memories - those precious memories of him sneaking out of the temple to play.
"It's great... I can finally have a peaceful sleep at home this time." Uncle Kano sighed, leaned on crutches and bowed to Imagawa Yoshimoto, "His Highness, what you are saying is that we We have an armistice with the Sagami people to the east, and we are allies with the Kai people to the north. No one will come to rob us anymore, right?"
"Of course." Imagawa Yoshimoto promised so innocently at the time.
