April 1, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), in the castle tower of Huacang Castle.
"Master Lengquan, don't waste your breath." Masashige Fukushima bit the bandage with his teeth and wrapped it around his blood-stained right arm. He said to Lengquan sitting opposite him, "If it weren't for you who is looking at me,
, I have already kicked him out."
"The Fukushima family is an important minister of the Imagawa family. They have served the Imagawa family for many generations. Is it worth burying the whole family for a traitor who killed the master?" Lengquan Weihe seemed to still not give up and continued to persuade.
"I have said many times that the Third Young Master is definitely not that kind of person. I am more familiar with that child than you are. He ambushed the Fourth Young Master in order to seize the family governor, but he will never do anything to assassinate the current family governor."
Fukushima Masashige finished wrapping the bandage and adjusted his sitting posture.
"His Royal Highness the Family Governor has made it clear that as long as the Fukushima family is willing to surrender, the family crest can still be preserved and the territory will not be completely lost..."
"But he is still unwilling to spare the life of the third young master." Fukushima Masashige sneered, "This is the only condition of the Fukushima family. If you don't agree, there is no need to talk."
"His Royal Highness, the Governor, has already relented and was willing to keep his brother alive. It is not easy to be kind-hearted. It was Xue Zhai and Ni Odai who made up their mind to commit suicide by Imakawa Yoshima." Lengquan Weihe truthfully informed the Imagawa family of the situation and did not hide anything.
, "They said that Imagawa Yoshima is talented and ruthless, and he will definitely be able to win over the retainers again in the future and threaten His Majesty the Governor. However, this son has evil intentions. He actually intends to sell out the interests of the Imagawa family and cede the east of the river to the Hojo family. Such a disloyal and talented person
You must not keep these people, otherwise they will become troublesome in the future."
"What do you think of Master Lengquan?"
"The old monk is not as realistic as Xue Zhai and Ni Yudai think. The old monk only knows that Imagawa Yoshizhin murdered the late master, so the old monk naturally wants to cut him into pieces." Lengquan Weihe mentioned his deceased student.
Imagawa Ujiteru's tone became cold again.
"Then there's no need to talk." Fukushima Masashige shook his head, picked up the tea and wanted to send the guests away, but several drops of pus and blood on his arm fell into the cup.
"Are you willing to destroy the Fukushima family's century-old foundation like this? Your Majesty Echizen, you are also a loyal and upright minister of the family. I can't bear to see you die in vain."
"How can a loyal and upright minister betray his master for glory? The Third Young Master is the lord supported by me, Fukushima Masashige." Fukushima Masashige put down the tea cup and said sincerely for the last time, "I was the one who encouraged him to start an army to fight for the family governor. All responsibilities can be taken by him.
I'll take it on, I'm even willing to lead all the Fukushima family samurai to commit seppuku to atone for the third son's sins, please keep an open mind."
"I have already said that Imagawa Yoshizhin must die." Lengquan sighed for Hehe.
"Then I'll trouble you, master, to give a message to the 'current family governor'." Fukushima Masashige drank the bowl of blood tea in one gulp, and then smashed the tea bowl on the table, "The whole Fukushima family, in Hanakang City, for
The Lord was buried with sacrifice in the spirit of loyalty among all warriors. He is worthy of his ancestors and worthy of his ancestors."
After sending Leng Quan away for peace, Fukushima Masashige put his hands behind his back and climbed onto the wall of Hanakura Castle Honmaru. The corpses scattered on the wall made it difficult for him to find much place to stay, and the blood on the wall could almost cover it.
At the feet, the Fukushima family's flags on the wall were in shambles, and the Imagawa army under the city once again set up their positions and launched an offensive again. They had been defending for many days, and now they were finally reaching their limit. Fukushima Masashige was pumping.
Knife in hand, he looked at the scarred remnant behind him but still willing to follow.
However, before he could give the order, a violent noise came from the west gate of Honmaru. Fukushima Masashige didn't have much energy left, so he just slowly turned his head to look - Fukushima Katsunari, the head of the Fukushima family who was guarding the west gate, took the lead.
Surrender, the city gates are being opened to welcome the Sichuan Army into the city.
"It's just something that will happen sooner or later." Fukushima Masashige smiled miserably in the sunset and accepted the outcome of defeat calmly. "In troubled times, not everyone can be a loyal minister. No matter how loyal a minister or a good person, they can't survive.
Yes."
"Esunari, please come and explain my mistake. Arrange people to send Katsu Chiyo to break out and escape." Fukushima Masashige looked at his clan brother Fukushima Esege who was following behind him, another pathetic loyal minister, "Old lord, I'm here to help you.
The Imagawa family has served the public all their lives and feels that they have no regrets in their hearts, so I will come down to see you."
"The castle tower burned down?"
The Imagawa troops who entered the city were shocked to find that the castle tower of Hanakura Castle was already in flames. They thought that since Fukushima Masashige had committed seppuku on the city wall, he would not burn the castle tower again.
"Imagawa Yoshizhin may be inside." Lengquan Weihe, who was accompanying the army, reported to Imagawa Clan Yuanhui, "The old monk entered the city before and has not seen Imagawa Yoshizhin anywhere else. He is most likely on the top of the castle tower."
Before he finished speaking, Okabe Oyatsuna, the vanguard, was seen stepping out of the queue, leading a group of flags and rushing towards the castle tower where the flames were blazing. Okabe Hisatsuna, Okabe Sadatsuna and the people around them could not persuade him.
Unable to persuade him, he had no choice but to follow him with his men. When Imagawa Ujimoto hurriedly came down from the city wall and rushed to the castle tower, he saw Okabe Oyaizuna, who had been burned in many places all over his body and was blackened by smoke.
He ran out of the castle tower. As soon as his front legs came out and he took a few breaths, the castle tower's back legs collapsed in the fierce fire.
"Sakyo Susumu (Okabe Chitsuna)?" Imagawa Ujimoto was frightened by Okabe Chitsuna's actions, and hurriedly approached him and said, "Why is this? Even if it is for Imagawa Yoshima's head, there is no need to do this.
Are you in danger? You almost died in the fire..."
"I'm afraid that the family heirlooms left by our ancestors will be burned." Okabe Otsuna wiped his hands with the burnt clothes, then put his hands that had changed color into his arms and took out the "Ryuumaru"
He came out, then knelt down on one knee and presented his hands to Imagawa Ujimoto, "Please accept it, Your Highness, the Governor of the Household."
"Just for this sword..." Imagawa Ujimoto took the sword very uncomprehensively. Compared with Okabe Oyatsuna, who was smoked beyond recognition, the sword he protected in his arms was in good condition.
"Ryuumaru is the sword carried by Taro Hachiman (Minamoto no Yoshitaka). It has been passed down from generation to generation by the governor of the Imagawa family. It is the proof of the bloodline and glory of the Imagawa family, and it is also the object of the will of the ancestors. I witnessed with my own eyes that my old master used this sword before he died of illness.
I gave it to the late master and told him to respect the sword like his father. The late master cried bitterly and swore to abide by it. When the late master was here, he wiped and maintained the sword every day. When he got up in the morning and went to bed at night, he would kneel down and bow respectfully. He never neglected it for a day."
Recalling the past events of the two deceased masters, the tone of Okabe Okabe, a rough and arrogant samurai, also became rare and delicate. Then he leaned forward and bowed to Imagawa clan Motoichi, "The ancestor is weak, and I have told you many times that if one day he encounters
Unfortunately, I am unable to hand over Ryuumaru personally, so I will ask him to hand it over to the next governor of the family. I also hope that your highness, you will serve this sword as you serve your father and brother, inherit the glory of the Imagawa family, and live up to your trust."
"Serving this sword is like serving your father and brother...?" Imagawa Shigen murmured, but he was filled with sighs in his heart.
But my father and brother don't care about me at all. They have been a monk for more than ten years without a single visit or a single letter. They discarded me like worn out shoes and treated me like a piece of grass. My mother didn't care about my son at all. She didn't even care if I was ambushed.
They want to kill me personally for the sake of the Imagawa family. In their eyes, I am probably just a tool with the blood of the Imagawa family, a tool that they pushed to the position of family governor to stabilize the situation. As for me, Yue Chengfang, myself, I
Why do they care about this living person?
If this is the ruthlessness of the Wu family in troubled times, if this is the glory of this cold-blooded family, if this is the Imagawa family...
Imagawa Ujimoto sighed again and squeezed Ryumaru's scabbard tightly, wishing to crush it into pieces.
How do you want me to serve this sword?
There's really...no way.
On April 1, the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), Hanakura Castle fell, and the entire Fukushima family was wiped out. However, even after searching the whole city, Imagawa Yoshima was still not found, and the important officials of the Fukushima family also expressed concern about Imakawa.
Yoshima's whereabouts were kept secret. Taiyuan Xuezai suspected that Imagawa Yoshima might have even escaped before the siege. The Fukushima family's stubborn resistance to reveal the whereabouts of Imagawa Yoshima also brought an end to the family's history.
On April 3, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), in the wilderness outside Huacang Castle, except for a few escapees, all the men of the Fukushima family were tied up here. Under the orders of Taiyuan Xuezhai, they were about to be executed. And among these
Among the men, there was only one exception - he was Fukushima Katsunari, who opened the city gate to let the Imagawa army enter the city that day. He was the head of the Fukushima family. He could have saved the life of the family by relying on this feat, but his own
However, the bastard took advantage of the surrender and assassinated the Okabe family samurai, finally bringing death to the branch family as well.
In the end, Taiyuan Xuezhai only spared Fukushima Katsunari, his wife and his legitimate son Fukushima Anchiyo, and demoted them as slaves. However, Taiyuan Xuezhai also prepared a different kind of punishment for Fukushima Katsunari - this
Punishment for a samurai is even more painful than death - let Katsunari Fukushima be executed at the scene where the male members of the Fukushima family were executed. At this moment, he was standing beside the execution platform, watching one after another his former relatives.
Tied to the executioner.
Every samurai who passed by him would spit in his face and scold him bloody. Fukushima Katsunari's face was pale at this moment, and there was blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. Among them, the scolding was the most unpleasant.
It was Fukushima Masashige's younger brother, Fukushima Esege. After Fukushima Masashige committed seppuku, Fukushima Esege led the remaining troops and fought a bloody battle with the Imagawa army until the end, and was captured after exhaustion.
"Traitor, Fukushima Katsunari, you are a traitor!" When Fukushima Eunari was escorted from Fukushima Katsunari, he pushed away the escorting personnel, held his head high, raised his neck and faced Fukushima Katsunari.
Cursed:
"Your Highness treats you very kindly, and the Fukushima family treats you very kindly, but as a member of the Fukushima family, you repay kindness with hatred! Kaicheng collaborates with the enemy! You bring shame to the Fukushima family! You bring shame to all our ancestors! You let
Countless Fukushima family samurai who died heroically in this battle have been humiliated! You have made the Fukushima family, who could have died as a family and left a name in history, become a laughing stock! Future generations will only remember you, a beast who forgets his ancestors and is unfaithful and unfilial! Let us forget it.
He will turn into a vicious ghost and haunt you day and night, hoping that you will not have a good death! He will not want your whole family to be well..."
"The whole family cannot be well..."
"No..."
Halfway through the scolding, Fukushima Eunari suddenly stumbled and was speechless. Because among the crowd of onlookers, he saw his elderly mother, his frail wife, and his three-year-old son who was holding his wife's hand.
's daughter.
The white-haired old mother saw her son being pushed to the ground and about to be executed. She suddenly fell to the ground with her mouth open, unable to even cry. The wife covered her face with her hands and did not dare to look.
But the tears couldn't stop rolling down her cheeks. The three-year-old girl didn't understand what was happening, and she didn't know why her grandmother and mother were crying. She seemed to be shouting, "Why is daddy kneeling! Go and help daddy."
Get up!" and so on, and struggled to move forward, but was held tightly by her almost non-human-shaped mother.
"Ah Chun, take your mother and child back, don't stay here! What's there to see?" Fukushima Ese shouted to his family members in the distance at the top of his lungs. The sound of the executioner's knife behind him seemed so harsh at this time.
, "Mom! The child died loyal to the Lord. He died beautifully! Don't cry for the child! Don't cry for the child..."
The sound of the executioner drawing the knife came from behind. Fukushima Eunari's Adam's apple squirmed and his mouth opened, but in the end the sentence was not uttered——
Mom, Ah Chun, baby...you must live a good life in the future.
In this era, it is a shame for samurai to reveal their true feelings before death. On the contrary, speaking of loyalty can win more praise and applause from the world. The world does not care about the orphans and widows behind the deceased, they only care about you.
Can death give them something to talk about after dinner?
Countless warriors are well aware of this, and they praise their predecessors who sacrificed their lives heroically, while scorning those who sacrificed their love for their children. Are they unaware of the weird values that have been shaped, or have they been tamed, or are they?
Knowing this but willing to do so. No one knows.
With one strike of the knife, the fresh life disappeared.