On May 21, the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), after many twists and turns, Imagawa Ujimoto was finally interviewed by the shogun. However, the meeting place was not at the Nijo Imperial Palace, but at a hunting ground in the northeastern suburbs of Kyoto. It seemed that the shogun’s
The hunt is not over yet.
Imagawa Ujimoto looked at the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu in front of him who was seven or eight years older than him. He was wearing a simple military uniform, and the color of the horse he was sitting on was definitely not top-grade. He did not ask for the grand gift that he had seen from a general.
——There is no trace of the lord of the world.
"Do you think you don't have the magnanimity of a pillar of the samurai family?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu saw what Imagawa was thinking and said it bluntly.
"My father-in-law said something harsh, I am ashamed of myself." Imagawa Yuan was sincere and did not refute, but accepted it.
"Ha, now that the shogunate is in such dilapidated state, the general is just like a puppet on a string in the hands of a powerful daimyo. What's the use of all that pomp and grace?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu laughed at himself twice, and then pointed at the
Those serving the public gathering prey in the distance said, "It is better to save some money and raise one more soldier."
"Konghoden is pragmatic." Imagawa Ujimoto said sincerely. Based on this alone, Ashikaga Yoshiharu is much stronger than those last generation dignitaries who still put on airs and pride themselves on their dignity even when their country was in ruins.
"Are you comparing me to the other last masters again?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu once again saw what Imagawa was thinking at a glance. This 25-year-old young general has a really first-rate ability to observe words and emotions, "But I and you
To be honest, the last lord often recognizes the reality just like me, and works hard to revive the family, but in the end he achieves nothing."
"That's not what is written in the history books. The last rulers were all ignorant and unprincipled. If he was as down-to-earth as Gongfangdian, how could the family be overthrown?" Imagawa Shimoto retorted disapprovingly.
"Because the history books are all written by the victors, how can they write a few good words about the lord of the subjugated country? If the lord of the subjugated country is not stupid and unprincipled, how can the victors justifiably replace him?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu's cold words debunked the history books.
Lie, "The monarchs of the past dynasties are not fools. How could they teach such fool-like heirs as in the history books? The family has already fallen into such a state of decline. No matter how you whitewash it, it will not help. How could the last family head not notice it? So what?
Dare you die drunk?"
"If it is true as Gongfangdian said, then how did those families perish?"
"It's just because the opponent is stronger and more ruthless, and more willing to do dirty things." Ashikaga Yoshiharu spoke so directly that Imagawa's Motodu was a little uncomfortable, "It's just that those dirty things are difficult to show off and will not be written down in history.
Since these things can't be written, we have to find some other excuse, right? Either the beauty is a disaster, or the traitor is harming the country, or the last leader is extremely stubborn, choose one of the three."
"Kongfang-den is so straightforward, I don't know how to answer?" Imagawa Shimoto originally thought that when he came to pay homage to the shogun, he would just keep talking in an official tone. He had made some preparations in advance, but at this moment it was completely useless.
, "It's just that Gongfangdian is the lord of the world, why don't he sit in Nijo Imperial Palace? Instead, he came to the eastern suburbs to hunt and didn't come back for many days. If the historians of later generations find out about it, I'm afraid they will say that Gongfangdian, you are indulged in
The way of dogs and horses is to ignore the affairs of the country?"
"Haha, Ai Qing is joking. It has been 26 years since I was born, and the days I have been able to stay safely in Nijo Imperial Palace are less than 6 years. I have long been accustomed to wandering outside." Ashikaga Yoshiharu recalled the past with a smile on his face.
The sadness and pain in the world cannot be concealed:
"I was not born in Kyoto. My late father was in exile in Omi and I was born there. My late father passed away when I was 2 years old, and I was sent to Harima to be raised. When I was 10 years old, there was internal fighting in Kyoto and the former general was replaced.
Without knowing it, I became the new puppet under the deal of various forces. After five years of hard work, I finally managed to gain some strength and restore some dignity to the shogunate. However, I was kicked out of Kyoto by Hosokawa and Miyoshi and went into exile in Omi again.
, I have been wandering for 7 years. Two years ago, in Hosokawa, there was a quarrel between the three good and the two tigers. The Hosokawa family and the Sasaki Rokkaku, an important minister of the shogunate, reached an agreement and just welcomed me back to Kyoto."
"Every time I enter Kyoto, bad troubles come one after another. Even if you go to the toilet in the middle of the night, you will be monitored and reported to the people behind the scenes. This life is not as comfortable as a caged bird. On the contrary, outside of Kyoto,
The sky is high and the clouds are wide, so I have more energy to deal with government and military affairs." Ashikaga Yoshiharu smiled bitterly and pointed to a few followers not far away, who were holding a few stacks of official documents to be reviewed.
"The Gongfang Palace is really not easy." Imagawa's Yuan was deeply moved after hearing this and couldn't help but sigh.
"No matter how difficult it is, at least they can have enough food and clothing. Compared with those refugees in Guizhou who are running around for the next meal in troubled times, those refugees who don't know whether they can survive the harsh winter are much better. How can they dare to blame others?" Ashikaga Yoshi
Qing shook her head, and the expression on her face returned to its former calmness, "Every family has its own sutras that are difficult to recite, and why not the Imagawa family, a famous family in Tokaido? I have already read the letters from Master Xuesai and the Nakamikado clan.
Yes, Aiqing wants to have a righteous reputation that can quell civil strife within the family, right?"
"Exactly, I hope to obtain the royal letter of the title of the governor of Kōhoden, and I dare to go beyond that and want to ask for the word 'haru' in the name of Kōhoden." Imagawa Ujimoto still followed the etiquette and said to Ashikaga Yoshiharu.
A great gift. However, Ashikaga Yoshiharu waved his hands repeatedly, indicating to his subordinates to hand over a pair of bows and arrows, and led a yellow horse.
"My dear, please accompany me on the hunt." Ashikaga Yoshiharu showed a smile that could not be refused to Imagawa Ujimoto, "To please the last shogun who indulges in indulgence, you have to perform some tricks in order to 'buy an official position', right?"
"Haha, then I will be a sycophant for once." Imagawa Ujimoto was quite the same as Ashikaga Yoshiharu, so he also laughed and agreed.
When Imagawa Ujimoto got on his horse, Ashikaga Yoshiharu had already rushed out with the horse's belly, walking on flat ground in the forest densely covered with rocks and broken trees, which surprised Imagawa Ujimoto - although he liked to be lazy when he was a child, he did not
He has worked hard to hone his martial arts, but with his extraordinary talent, he is excellent in both kendo and equestrian skills. He has never seen anyone better than him in more than ten years. But Ashikaga Yoshiharu's equestrian skills are amazingly good.
, there is a faint potential that is not inferior to that of the Imagawa clan.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Imagawa Ujimoto then followed him, and soon he was behind Ashikaga Yoshiharu.
"Ai Qing's equestrian skills are good, and she deserves to be a queen from a famous family." Seeing that Imagawa Shimoto was not far behind, Ashikaga Yoshiharu praised him, but then changed the subject, "But Ai Qing obviously still has some energy left, so there is no need to take care of her.
Follow me for my own sake."
"This time it's really ridiculous." Imagawa Ujimoto raised his voice in the face of the whistling wind.
"I heard that you converted to Buddhism before and recently returned to Buddhism. How can you be so good at riding? There is no trace of a Buddhist at all, but more like a samurai." Ashikaga Yoshiharu asked Imagawa Ujimoto with some surprise.
"The teacher teaches well, and I am also a little smart, so I learn faster." Imagawa Ujimoto responded humbly, "It is incomparable to the equestrian skills honed on the battlefield."
"As the saying goes, a samurai should learn how to bow and horse, and only those who are proficient in bow and horse can serve. Ai Qing's equestrian skills are admirable, but what if you don't know how to bow?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu raised his finger and pointed to the slope in the distance and was startled.
He shouted in a deep voice, "My dear, take this goose for me!"
"It's an order." Imagawa Ujimoto responded while bending his bow and setting an arrow. The movements were so fast that one could hardly see the drawing and aiming. The sound of the sharp arrow leaving the string was already heard. Only the shadow of the arrow was seen.
He dodged and went straight towards the wild goose, accurately piercing the right wing and pinning the wild goose to the tree trunk behind him before it could fly high.
"Good archery skills." Ashikaga Yoshiharu praised and pointed at another wild goose flying by. Before his arm fell, Imagawa Ujimoto's arrow had already shot out of the sky and nailed the right wing of the other wild goose.
On the tree.
The two men galloped forward on horseback, startling countless birds in the forest. I saw Imagawa Shimoto firing his bow from left to right, and he fired arrows in all directions without any hesitation. No one missed, and all of them hit the target.
"A queen from a famous family deserves her reputation." Ashikaga Yoshiharu couldn't help but marvel when he saw this impressive bow skill. "With this kind of bow skill, I'm afraid even the archery instructors in Rokkaku's family are not as good as you. In the Battle of Genpyeya Island,
The bow technique in which Yu Yi stands above the waves, a hundred steps away, and hits the fan with an arrow must be nothing more than this."
"The Gongfang Palace is overly praised. How dare you compare it with the 'Gong God'?" Imagawa's Yuan expressed his gratitude.
"I just have a question, why do you only shoot the wings and not the heart?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu looked at Imagawa Ujimoto meaningfully, "Is it because he can't bear to kill? This is a bit like a Buddhist."
"It's just that my beloved has already shot it, and soon my attendants will pick it up and kill it. The fate of those creatures is the same. What difference does it make if you shoot the wings or the heart? On the contrary, shooting the heart can make
Reduce the pain before death?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu asked a sharp question, and his eyes became sharp and slowly rested on Imagawa Ujimoto's cheek.
"It made Gongfang Dian laugh. I have recently figured out that my self-righteous good intentions for more than ten years are nothing but hypocrisy. I selfishly don't want to get my hands dirty and leave the dirty work of killing to others.
I think I can stay out of the matter and have a clear conscience, but in fact the bystanders are just accomplices of darkness. Just like this hunting, I know that shooting the wing will kill the bird, but as long as the fatal blow is not caused by me, I will
How ironic that you can still deceive yourself and others by saying that you have never killed any living being."
Imagawa Ujihara mercilessly opened up the bad roots in his heart, with a look of shame on his face, "I am really ashamed. But I am not a saint who sacrifices himself for others, and I cannot do anything but put kindness first."
"No, this shameful hypocrisy is enviable. It is much better than those villains of the Wu family who are proud of killing and blood. At least I will be ashamed of hurting others and sad because of the suffering of others. Sacrifice yourself for others.
"The bright and righteousness is nothing more than harsh demands in this troubled world. It is already rare to have a compassionate heart like Aiqing who can distinguish right from wrong."
Ashikaga Yoshiharu looked up at the sky, but the sky was silent, "I don't ask everyone to do good with their own hands, but I ask everyone to have kindness in their hearts. If everyone is like Aiqing and cannot bear to do evil with his own hands, then there will be no evil people in the world, let alone
There will be no desperate situation where we have to do evil in order to survive. If so, how could this world have fallen into such a dark and chaotic world in just a few decades?"
"Yes, in the past few decades, the once powerful shogunate has..." Imagawa Shimoto sighed and let out a long sigh.
"Decades ago, Ai Qing's grandfather (Imagawa Yoshitaka) also went to Luo to meet the ancestors of the generals, and he and his ancestors rode horses to hunt in the eastern suburbs." Ashikaga Yoshiharu rode his horse out of the forest and took a detour to his own camp.
, and at the same time pointed to the ground under his feet, "I wonder what the ancestors talked about with Aiqing's grandfather decades ago?"
"My grandfather was loyal to the shogunate, unswervingly determined to serve the king." Imagawa Shimoto thought of the records about Imagawa Yoshitaka that could only be found in books - because Imagawa Yoshitaka, who died young, had already been with the Imagawa clan.
He passed away when he was young, let alone meeting anyone of Imagawa Ujimoto's generation.
"Not only my grandfather, but also the Imagawa family have been loyal to the shogunate for generations. They have been the vanguard of the generals, and they have sent horses and Fujis to frighten Kanto. Whenever the shogunate is in trouble, the Imagawa family has stepped forward, spilled blood on the battlefield, and made great contributions. 'The word for Miao in the world'
,'Deputy General for Conquering the Barbarians', he is well-deserved." Ashikaga Yoshiharu recalled the past events of the Imagawa family, and his attitude became respectful.
Unknowingly, Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Imagawa Ujimoto had already rode back to the camp. To Imagawa Ujimoto's great surprise, the young man who stayed behind in the camp actually picked up an infant baby and sent it to Ashikaga Yoshiharu.
In front of Imagawa's Genma. Ashikaga Yoshiharu got off his horse, picked up the child with his own hands, and walked towards Imagawa's Gen.
"I have long since looked past the decline of the shogunate, and I think I can accept all the consequences. However, I had this son a few months ago, but I still feel uneasy. My father died young, and I have been homeless for many years, and I am also ill. Kyoto swords and guns
Silent, I don’t know how many years I have left. I only regret the betrayal of my younger brother, and I suffer from the lack of people in my family. If I am unlucky, I will have to trouble my beloved to take care of this young son. I don’t ask him to inherit the throne, and I don’t ask you to be the shogunate.
I serve the public wholeheartedly, and I only ask your beloved to keep him safe for the rest of his life, and that is enough for me. If he encounters a crisis, please ask your beloved to send troops to Luo to rescue him from danger."
Imagawa Shimoto was flattered by Ashikaga Yoshiharu's words that were close to "entrusting an orphan". He didn't know how to reply for a moment. He had to dismount his horse in a hurry and crawl in front of Ashikaga Yoshiharu.
"The letter from your father-in-law and your master said that I want you to receive the word 'Qing' from me, but I feel that this is not enough. How can this small reward express my feelings for the Imagawa family."
Ashikaga Yoshiharu leaned forward slightly, and with a majestic yet loving voice that made people fall to the ground, he said in a deep voice without explanation:
"I will give you the general family name and the character 'Yi', and I will change my name to Imagawa Yoshimoto with immediate effect."
Imagawa Yoshimoto was startled again. He did not expect that the joke he had made with Taiyuan Xuezhai before leaving that day would actually come true. Receiving a letter from the shogun was already an honor envied by the samurai family, but the shogunate gave him a letter.
The Tongzi passed down from generation to generation is a grace that attracts worldwide attention.
Why should such a favor be given?
Imagawa Yoshimoto raised his head and looked at Ashikaga Yoshiharu with great confusion. His eyes had already asked him the doubts in his heart. Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who was good at observing words and expressions, naturally saw it, raised his hand with a smile, and pressed on Imagawa Yoshimoto
On her bun, she replied softly:
"The loyalty of the Imagawa family from generation to generation will be borne in mind by the shogunate."
