On May 24, the eighth year of Tensho (1580), the Miyoshi family asked the Oda family to surrender. As an important minister with the power to freely enforce laws, Amekihei agreed to this request. Although Oda Nobunaga was not very satisfied with this, he did not
More interference is required, but the three good things and Changqing must commit hara-kiri.
After the order came down, the Miyoshi family army ambushing in Katsuri Castle in Awa Kingdom broke away from the Oda army as required, gave up the castle, and retreated to Izawa Castle. Yu Qiupei was asked to personally supervise Miyoshi Nagakei's seppuku.
On May 26, the eighth year of Tianzheng (1580), in the castle tower of Shengrui Castle in Awa Kingdom, Miyoshi Changqing, dressed in white, was ready to commit seppuku. At his request, Yu Qiuping came to serve as his intermediary.
"Thank you." Miyoshi Changqing, who was sitting on his knees in the center of the room, bowed to Yu Qiuping when he saw the prepared Yu Qiuping entering the room.
"Your Highness, will you hate me?" Yu Qiuping returned the gift to Sanhao Changqing, "After all...your three younger brothers, including yourself, all died at my hands."
"Do you hate it? Maybe you have, but at least not now." Miyoshi Changqing chuckled softly when he heard this, "When a person is about to die, all kinds of emotions become difficult to understand. But no matter what,
If you hadn't leaked Matsunagahide's conspiracy 20 years ago, the four of us brothers would have been separated long ago. Your appearance has allowed us to spend more time in this world, and I would like to thank you no matter what.
.In a sense, this is a story that you started with your own hands, and it is also up to you to end it with your own hands.”
"Is this why you asked me to explain your mistake?" Yu Qiuping sat down opposite Sanhao Changqing and asked in a low voice.
Miyoshi Nagakei nodded, then raised his head curiously and asked, "I have always wondered, when you were just a pawn in the Imagawa family, why did you know about Matsunagahide's conspiracy that even we couldn't detect?"
Because I am a time traveler——
Yu Qiuping wanted to answer this way, after all, he was also a dying person. But after thinking about it, he decided to forget it.
Seemingly seeing Yu Qiuping's difficulty, Sanhao Changqing laughed a few times in relief and waved his hand to indicate that Yu Qiuping didn't have to force his answer.
"I have a question that I would like to ask His Highness, Repairman. But it's a little abrupt, so I hope His Highness, Repairer, won't be surprised." Yu Qiuping pursed his lips, and finally decided to ask the inexplicable question.
"Your Majesty, please speak." Mihao Changqing said without hesitation.
"What kind of state of mind and emotions will a person have before death? What kind of scene will he see?" Yu Qiuping lowered his voice and asked Miyoshi Changqing, "I asked myself, I estimate that until the last moment before death,
In seconds, you will be struggling with fear and fear. How can you die calmly like Your Highness?"
"I didn't expect His Highness Zhibu to ask such a question." Miyoshi Changqing laughed dumbly, raised his head and looked at Yu Qiuping, "It is indeed a very interesting question, for a dying person like me."
"I am definitely not like this..." Yu Qiuping wanted to explain, but Sanhao Changqing quickly shook his head and told Yu Qiuping that he was not unhappy at all.
"Indeed, compared to being suddenly shot by a cold arrow in a bloody war, leaving before one realizes that death is coming... The feeling of watching death come in before one's eyes is indeed very subtle." Miyoshi Changqing touched it.
The beard on his chin frowned and he thought, "Are you asking about the emotions before death..."
"Yes." Yu Qiuping leaned his body towards Mihao Changqing and whispered, "I always feel that... people have been escaping from the fact that they are destined to die since they were born. They always feel that death is still far away.
Be willing to think about life and death. Just like at the beginning of a banquet, people always drink and mingle, but when the banquet is about to end, the sadness in their hearts cannot be suppressed. How sad would it be if from the beginning, you only thought about the sadness at the end of the banquet? "
"I think I understand what you mean." Miyoshi Changqing nodded slightly and put his hands into fists on his knees. "Death is the end, and all earthly memories will be wiped out at death. If at the beginning of life, you can still manage
Forget about death and immerse yourself in the world. But if death is close at hand, it seems that there is no point in doing anything - there will be nothing anyway."
"Exactly. So I have never understood why so many people can die calmly. Anyway, it is the same as never taking it easy. If you die, you will not remember anything. Who will you leave a good impression on?
Before dying, wouldn't you feel extremely panicked and confused?" Yu Qiuping couldn't help but secretly admired Sanhao Changqing when he saw Mihao Changqing express what he was thinking so concisely.
"Ah...that's a really good question. I've never thought about it before." Miyoshi Changqing pondered for a while, frowned and sighed, "Let me tell you, some people may firmly believe that there is an afterlife or that they can be reborn in the Pure Land.
Then I walked calmly."
"What about those who don't believe this?" Yu Qiuping asked eagerly.
"To be honest, I don't believe it. For me, death is also the end of everything. Before that, even if you have emotions, bonds, dreams, and ambitions, no matter how wonderful your life and sweet memories you have,
Everything ends here." Miyoshi Changqing lowered his head and pondered for a while, then showed a smile, "But if you ask me why I am calm at the moment, I am afraid I can only tell you that I am pretending."
"Pretending?" Yu Qiuping was stunned when he heard this.
"That's right." Miyoshi Changqing spread his hands helplessly, "Because everyone can only experience death once, so no one has the experience of death and doesn't know what to do before death. In this case, just
I can imitate my predecessors and imitate the words and deeds of those who are similar to me in the past and present before their death. Since they were so calm before their death, I can only do the same."
"So you are actually pretending?" Yu Qiuping couldn't help but laugh, "So many people who have calmly died in the past and present, are they also pretending to be their predecessors?"
"Who knows." Mihao Changqing also laughed out loud, "Many people wear masks from birth to death, living like others, and they cannot take them off until they die."
"Speaking of which, I still need to thank His Highness Zhibu." Miyoshi Changqing straightened up and saluted Yuqiu, "allowing me to take off the mask at the end of my life and live a good life for myself."
"Your Highness, Repair...are you referring to the conversation 20 years ago?" Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, and then realized what Sanhao Changqing was talking about. It was a conversation between the uncle and the boy in the casino 20 years ago.
·
"To be honest," the uncle complained while stroking the trump card in his hand, "I have been very fond of gambling since I was a child. When I was a child, I would play with a few brothers, my father who was idle, or other children in the family.
Children, you can play a very simple gambling game all day long, even just guessing the size."
"Because I really like the kind where you don't have to think too much and just wait for God's will to decide the outcome. You don't have to plan carefully, rack your brains, or be exhaustive, but you can just throw in the towel and make the choice you want regardless of the consequences.
!” The uncle seemed to recall his childhood, and actually laughed happily, “That kind of freedom, that kind of excitement when you risk everything, that kind of expectation, anxiety and desire when waiting for God’s will, it is simply the most wonderful thing in the world.
Enjoyed it!”
"I am that kind of person who has no scheming plans. What I long for is to be free and uninhibited in the world. I don't have to worry about the consequences or carefully plan everything. I just do what I want to do boldly and then do it.
The result is left to God's will to decide. Even if I lose, I still enjoy that moment of unwillingness and bitterness!" The uncle's tone was rising, but suddenly he remembered something, and his tone immediately dropped.
"Everything has changed since my father died." The uncle shook his head. "I have become the head of the family, and I am no longer the carefree child."
"The family was in turmoil because of my father's death, and I had to take on the important responsibilities of the family. My brothers, my uncles, the women and children in the family, the senior officials in the family, and the ashigaru subordinates all entrusted everything to me.
They wanted me to be a good housekeeper."
"So, I put on the mask called 'Good Family Governor', and I wore it for more than 20 years. A good family governor must assess the situation and choose the right path for the family. A good family governor must be meticulous in everything he does.
You must make complete plans. A good governor must be wise and courageous, and must always make correct judgments. Every word, every move I make must set an example for the whole family." The uncle looked at Yu Qiuping and sighed heavily.
He took a breath and said, "I have been wearing this mask for more than 20 years, and my own nature has been suppressed for more than 20 years. Sometimes, in the dead of night, when I look in the mirror, I can't even tell which face is the real one.
Is it me? Is that the kid who loves gambling, or is it me, the superintendent?"
"Only in this casino!" The uncle smiled and patted a box of gambling equipment next to him. "Only in this casino can I take off the mask and find my childhood self, my true self! Only in this casino can I
You don’t have to bear the burden of the whole family, and you don’t have to carefully calculate every move, but you can throw out all the bets at will," he said, pushing all the bets to the center of the gambling table, "Stu()ha!"
"I think the most important thing for people is to live their own lives." Yu Qiuping said with a smile, "Wearing a mask all your life, no matter how great your achievements are, it is the mask that succeeds in the end, not the person himself."
"I hope that one day you will not have to hide in the casino, but you can still take off your mask as the house governor and live your true self!" Yu Qiuping smiled and pushed all the chips to the middle: "Shuo ()
ha!"
"Flop the cards, let's compare the big and small!" The uncle's eyes flashed and he shouted in a low voice.
·
"That's right." Mihao Changqing laughed boldly, "I have been walking on thin ice for more than forty years, even though I have exhausted all my agencies. I didn't expect that in my last battle as the governor of the Sanhao family, I would be able to spend a lot of money in the casino like I did when I was a boy. Pick
Under the mask, it turns out to be so joyful."
"You are so brave, but you won the bet." Yu Qiuping said with emotion.
"The Miyoshi family is at the end of its rope, like a gambler with only the last bet left. I once thought about whether I could fight with all my strength to force you to accept the peace, but even if I wipe out all the Oda reinforcements, there is no way I can do it when I look back.
The way to defeat the Red Leaf Army is to negotiate a peace. In this case, we have to make sure that your fate depends on your giving up for the safety of your colleagues."
"His Royal Highness Zhibu asked me just now, what kind of scene will I see before I die?" Miyoshi Changqing slowly took out his ribs from his body. At the same time, he straightened his clothes, exposed his lower abdomen, and was ready.
Preparation for seppuku. Yu Qiuping stood up knowingly and walked to Miyoshi Changqing's side.
"I'm going to take a look now, but after seeing it, my body and head have long been separated, and I can't tell His Highness Jibu." Miyoshi Changqing laughed to himself, and then slowly inserted his ribs into his ribs.
He pulled it hard horizontally and said loudly: "Your Highness Zhibu, please."
Yu Qiuping took a deep breath and swung the knife down fiercely.
·
"Brother, you should come." A rather thin young man shook the copper coin in his hand and watched it spinning up and down.
"Stop arguing, I'm just thinking..." The older boy scratched his head in front of the desk, but his second brother kept urging him beside him. He became impatient with the urging and couldn't help complaining like he was angry.
He said: "Okay, okay, okay, big, big, big, isn't it okay?"
"Brother, big brother, you are going to lose again." Another child standing aside couldn't help but laugh.
"What, third brother, have you seen the second brother's dice?" The young man suddenly stood up anxiously and came to the child's side.
"No, just by looking at the expression on the second brother's face, I knew that the second brother probably won again." The child clasped his hands behind his head and blinked at his elder brother.
Just when the young man was anxious to see the dice in the opponent's hand, the door to the room was suddenly opened from the outside.
To be continued...