On August 11, the twelfth year of Tianwen (1543), the next stop of the private visit in Weifu was Sanhe.
Suruga and Toe, Imagawa Yoshimoto had already changed hands in various ways, and naturally the next destination was Mikawa Country. Suruga has been the territory of the Imagawa clan for hundreds of years; although Toe has changed hands several times
, but after all, it is still inextricably linked to the Imagawa family, and now nearly half of the territory is controlled by the heirlooms of the Imagawa family.
Mikawa is different. It has nothing to do with the Imagawa family since ancient times. It began to try to conquer it during the Imagawa clan era. It was not until the Imagawa Yoshimoto era that it finally established partial rule over Higashi Mikawa and established an alliance with the Matsudaira family in Nishi Mikawa.
. It can be said that the Imagawa family has a relatively limited understanding of Mikawa's intelligence, and has never issued a law against Mikawa. It is necessary to conduct field investigation.
Of course, Imagawa Yoshimoto may just feel that Suruga Etsuo is tired of playing and wants to go to another place. So Imagawa Yoshimoto, Ginkgo, Sena Ujitoshi, Furunoji Yutaka, and Hayasaka Nao continue to visit privately incognito
, went to Sanhe for inspection.
Of course, with the experience of encountering the Okuhira and Kanuma family rebellions in Toe and the Matsudaira branch rebellion in Mikawa last time, Imagawa Yoshimoto has no trust in the people of Mikawa and is very concerned about his own security.
Kokoro. Not only did Tsuchi Atonsune lead a group of ninjas to guard the area, Ohara Jinmi and Yamada Keitaka who were stationed at Mikawa Yoshida Castle also received instructions to assist the guards.
On the evening of August 12, the twelfth year of Astronomy (1543), a village southeast of Okazaki Castle.
"It's so desolate here." Ginkgo sat sideways on the horse, looking listlessly at the equally listless barren fields beside the surrounding fields, "Not even as good as Kai..."
"Suruga has not experienced war and chaos for many generations, so it is much better than Enjie who has to fight a war every three to five years. Mikawa has been fighting almost every day for more than a hundred years, so it is normal to be like this." Na Furuno.
Ujitoyo pointed at the barren fields with his horsewhip, "No one is cultivating such good fields. The nearby residents must have fled long ago. Today is Oda fighting Matsudaira, every day Matsudaira is fighting Imagawa, and the day after tomorrow it is Imagawa fighting
Oda, if nothing goes wrong, there will be a civil war in Matsudaira, with the wealthy families of Higashi Mikawa attacking each other..."
"No matter who loses or wins, burning, killing and looting are inevitable. In the end, the injured are the common people." Toshi Sena also sighed, got off his horse and looked at the weeds in the field.
"The past few years have been relatively peaceful. People who fled may come back one after another." Imagawa Yoshimoto looked around, but he noticed that there seemed to be some smoke from cooking in the village in the distance. "There seems to be still some smoke there."
If there is a place there, go and have a look."
A group of people rode horses to the edge of the village. The sporadic frolicking and chatting on the streets finally made the village a little lively. In the village with dozens of families, only a dozen or so families lived in it, and the others probably fled. In
Not far from the village, there is a small dry field with traces of farming.
"I remember." Imagawa Yoshimoto gradually recalled the surrounding geography, looked to the southeast, and then turned back to look at his feet, looking a little lonely: "Last year, when the Oda family marched into Azozaka to fight with us, they should have
They passed through this area south of Okazaki Castle, arresting people along the way and committing all kinds of crimes. The Oda family burned down villages and villages of houses and plundered a large number of people. The villages here may have been destroyed at that time... It was me
Did you cause the war by yourself..."
"No wonder there are no people..." Sena Toshiya sighed again, and then did not forget to comfort Imagawa Yoshimoto: "But Your Highness, there is no need to blame yourself. After all, the Imagawa family assisted the Matsudaira family in defending their territory, and the Oda family was the one who invaded.
On the one hand, we can’t be blamed for this.”
"This is just an excuse to escape... I feel bad after all." Imagawa Yoshimoto curled his lips and looked away from the village in front of him, instead looking at the way to the village entrance. On the way there, there was a vague sight.
You can see a swaying figure. When you walk in, you find that it is an elderly lady. She is limping along with a cane, but she is carrying a load of firewood on her back that is almost higher than her head.
Every step he took seemed to take a lifetime of effort.
Just when Imagawa Yoshimoto was wondering whether she would fall, his worry became a reality. The old lady suddenly tilted her body and fell heavily to the ground, scattering the firewood on her back all over the floor. Imagawa Yoshimoto
She frowned instinctively, fearing that the old lady's body wouldn't be able to withstand such a shock, but her body was much stronger than expected. After a few moments of relaxation, she struggled to get up. The first thing she did was not to check.
Didn't he feel injured due to the fall? Instead, he went to pick up firewood on the ground, but he lost his balance and fell again.
"Old man, let me do it." Upon seeing this, Imagawa Yoshimoto hurriedly stepped forward to help the old man up. Ginkgo also followed and helped the old lady pick up the firewood back into the basket, and then put the basket on his shoulders.
"Thank you, thank you..." The old lady gasped and hurriedly thanked the young couple in front of her.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was stunned.
This old lady's face has long been ravaged by wind and frost, making her look extremely old, but the outline between her eyebrows and her voice are very much like his mother Shouguini. Although Imagawa Yoshimoto knew that his mother would never be in such an embarrassing situation, but
Just imagining that his mother would end up in such a difficult situation makes Imagawa Yoshimoto feel sour in his heart. The feeling of compassion can no longer be stopped.
"At your age, you should take good care of your health and don't do such physical work." Imagawa Yoshimoto carefully checked whether there was anything wrong with the old lady's body, and helped her move forward slowly, "
Where do you live? I will help you go back."
"Thank you, young man. I live at the entrance of the village." The old lady pointed to a thatched house not far away with a trembling finger, and at the same time said with a cheerful smile: "How about not doing menial work? There are two children at home.
Waiting for dinner."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Then there's no need to go up the mountain to chop firewood." Imagawa Yoshimoto said matter-of-factly: "Can't we just make some handmade fabrics and sell them for money?"
Hearing this, the old lady became happy again. She turned her head and looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto's face and fingers, then looked at his and Ginkgo's clothes, and said with a smile: "Young man must have a well-to-do family, and he doesn't understand the hardships of poor people like us."
Ah. In this poor village, no one has spare money to buy handmade fabrics. They even lack basic necessities... There is not even much 'money', and everyone is exchanging things for other things. Folks in the village
See how pitiful an old woman I am, she will give me some grain in exchange for firewood."
"It's true that I don't eat minced meat anymore..." Imagawa Yoshimoto lowered his head in shame, and quietly winked at Hayasaka Nao. Having been a master and servant for many years, Hayasaka Nao naturally understood it - and was going to give instructions to the accompanying ninjas later.
Buy some food and send it to the old lady's house.
All the way back to the old lady's house, you could hear the sound of two children playing far away. The two children were about three or four years old. They were both wearing rags and looked good, but they were not.
It seems like there is still a lot of energy left.
"My two grandsons." When the old lady saw her grandsons, a smile immediately appeared on her face, and she called the children to say hello to Imagawa Yoshimoto, "These young men are kind-hearted people. They have helped grandma back. Come on.
Invite them to come in and sit down. There is no tea, so we can only serve some water and chaff."
"Is it convenient?" Imagawa Yoshimoto was afraid that the old lady would use the little food left to entertain him, so he was a little reluctant.
"Damn it, young man, just don't think my house is broken." The old lady was so hospitable that she blocked the steps of Imagawa Yoshimoto. "After all, I have helped an old man like me so much and don't give travelers a rest, so I feel really bad.
Ah...how can Sanhe people do such a mean and unkind thing?"
"In this case, being respectful is worse than obeying orders." Imagawa Yoshimoto then responded and motioned to Hayasaka Nao to tie the horse to the tree at the door.
Entering the house, Imagawa Yoshimoto found that the thatched house was larger than expected - although it was still small, considering the living standards of the people of Mikawa, it was still a bit too big for three people.
Seemingly sensing Imagawa Yoshimoto's doubts, the old lady smiled bitterly and said: "There used to be seven people in the family, including two sons and their mothers-in-law. Last year during the war, the Owari man wiped out the whole village.
All four members of the family were taken away, and I was the only one left to escape by hiding behind the stove with her two grandchildren in her arms..."
"I'm very sorry..." Imagawa Yoshimoto obviously didn't expect that he would uncover such painful memories of the old lady.
"It's okay, it's okay. They are usually kind-hearted people. Buddha will bless them and they will definitely come back." But the old lady shook her head repeatedly as if she didn't care and continued to maintain the smile on her lips, "Fu Da
You are lucky... they will come back... Before they come back, I, the old woman, have to look after their grandson for them..."
The optimism of the old man in front of her made Imagawa Yoshimoto speechless for a moment - even though she suffered such a tragedy of family destruction and death, she never gave up hope in life, and so did her two grandchildren... These people have been destroyed over and over again in decades of war.
The people of Mikawa are struggling to live like weeds. This resilience and unyieldingness are probably incomparable to the people of Suruga who live a peaceful life.
The old lady was preparing simple meals at home, but Sena Shitoshi wanted to go to the fields behind to see the crops.
"I feel like there's something wrong with the way they sow seeds. It's different from that of Suruga Enie, so I was wondering if I could help optimize it..." Sena Shitoshi has always been a workaholic, and no small problem can escape him.
Eyes, "I saw it accidentally just now, so..."
"Ah, young man, if you go to the fields at the back, be careful. There are a lot of bandits. We usually hide there." The old lady heard the discussion in the living room from the kitchen.
Finally, he warned loudly, "But they also know that we poor people can't grab anything, so they won't embarrass us. But you guys are so well-dressed and the items on your body look valuable, so be careful not to get targeted."
!”
Imagawa Yoshimoto then nodded to Hayasaka Nao, who walked out of the room knowingly and signaled the ninjas waiting in the dark to follow Imagawa Yoshimoto, Sena Ujitoshi and others to the rice fields to guard the surroundings.
"That old lady... looks a bit like my mother inexplicably. She looks good and has a good voice." After walking far away, Ginkgo quietly spoke to Imagawa Yoshimoto. Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded slightly and did not answer.
"You think so too?" Ginkgo saw what Imagawa Yoshimoto was thinking, "No wonder he was so considerate just now."
"Yeah... talk to the old man more when I go back." Imagawa Yoshimoto pursed his lips, but after all, he still didn't say what was in his heart - because his mother Shouguini would definitely not be like an ordinary person.
She warned her son as gently and kindly as an old mother. Talking to that old lady, it was as if Imagawa Yoshimoto could imagine - if he had not been born into a samurai family, if his mother did not have to become a "Shouguini", what would she have done?
Ask yourself for help.
On the other side, Sena Ujitoshi had rolled up his trouser legs skillfully, stepped his white feet into the muddy water without hesitation, and bent down to carefully look at the transplanting situation. Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at the muddy water and immediately
Frowning, she carefully controlled her shoes to step on the dry and hard field ridge, avoiding the wet mud. Ginkgo rolled her eyes at Imagawa Yoshimoto angrily, and pushed him, trying to push him off the field, but
Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose agility was maxed out, jumped back lightly.
"How are you doing? Do you have any questions?" Imagawa Yoshimoto lowered his head and asked Sena Ujitoshi.
"Well..." Just as Sena Shitoshi was thinking about his words, a shout suddenly came from the distance——
"Your Highness! It's not good!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard the sound, and turned around in unison. Tsuchi Atonsu and the surrounding ninjas also emerged from their hiding places, pulling out kunai and preparing to protect Imagawa Yoshimoto.
"What's wrong?" Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at the ninja who was running towards him while yelling.
"A group of robbers are robbing His Highness's horse tied to that family's house!" the ninja replied anxiously.
