Chapter 16 Juhei Mitsuhide

It was a windy day in late October.When Hiyoshi came out of the wooden rental shop as usual and wanted to do business, "Monkey, here is this for you." Hikoshi, who was standing on the side of the back street, leaned over, holding a circular letter in his hand. "After reading it, just chew it up and spit it into the river." After reminding him, Yan Shi pretended not to know him, turned around and left. "What is this?" Possibly because he had estimated the contents of his companion's letter, Hiji was a little nervous and throbbed strangely.Although Riji considered leaving these people and fleeing this place, compared with being here, running away is obviously more life-threatening.Why do you say that, because although he feels that he lives alone in this wood rental shop, his comings and goings and actions are definitely monitored by members of the Hachisuka clan who are hiding somewhere.There are other people watching the person watching him, just like the links of the chain, which does not allow any link to exist independently of the whole.This is also what he has learned recently.

"Are you finally going to do it?" Although I heard Yanju say it before, but when it was time to do it, Hiyoshi's mood became very dull.It may be because of timidity, Hiji felt that he could not do such things as creating chaos and disturbing the city, turning into a fire demon and setting fires everywhere.First of all, after hearing the ins and outs, Hiyoshi lost respect for Xiaoliu and had no interest in the interests of Saito Michizo Hideryu, and he had no idea of ​​supporting Yoshiryu of Inabayama Castle at all.If he wanted to support anyone, he wanted to support the people in the city.If he sympathized with anyone, he still sympathized with the people who were the first to suffer from the war under such circumstances, especially mothers with children.

"What, I haven't opened it yet, so I'm just worrying about it. Let's read it first." As usual, Riji shouted "Is anyone buying needles? Needles from the capital", while deliberately detouring into a side road with few people.The creek ahead stopped him. "Oh, I can't make it through." He said as if talking to someone.He looked around, good timing, no one.But just in case, he took a leisurely look around while peeing into the creek, and then slowly took out the letter from his pocket to read: At Xu hour tonight, if the wind turns to the west or south, the gathering will be in the woods behind the temple. If the wind is still north or stops, the gathering will be cancelled.

Sure enough, as predicted.After reading it, Hiji tore it up carefully and put it in his mouth to chew. "Needle seller!" A voice came from nowhere.Riji didn't have time to spit the things in his mouth into the river, so he had to spit it into his hands in embarrassment. "Ah, where can I buy needles?" "Here, I will give you a reward if you buy it, come in." Although I could hear the voice, I couldn't find who or where.No matter how I looked, I didn't see anyone.The voice came from the samurai mansion on the opposite bank, from a two-story house with a tiled roof and a mud wall on the embankment.

"Needle seller, needle seller, come around from there." A small door opened on the side of the house, and a man with the appearance of a young warrior stretched out his head and said. "Yes." Although Hiji agreed, he estimated the situation a little bit.The samurai mansion at this location is known without asking, and it is the residence of the Saito family's retainers.It's okay if it's Saito Michisan Hideryu's retainer, but it's a bit bad if it's Yoshiryu's direct subordinate. "Needle seller, we said we want to buy needles, come in from here." It seemed that the young warrior was not the one who said he wanted to buy needles, and he felt more and more that something was wrong, but he had no choice but to go over.

"Thank you." Riji followed behind and went inside.It seemed to be the backyard, and after going around the rockery, I realized that it was a high-ranking official's residence. The main house was divided into several buildings, the building was magnificent, the spring and stone were beautiful, and Hiji shrank his feet.Who is it?Who is going to buy the needle?According to the young samurai, it is the owner, but the lady and lady who live in this kind of mansion cannot buy needles themselves, and they will not let the people who sell outside come close. "Needle sellers."

"exist." "Wait here for a while." The young samurai finished speaking, leaving Hiji in a corner of the yard.When Hiyoshi saw it, it was a house far away from the main house.The lower part of this building is the study, and the upper part is the library. The rough walls divide the interior into two floors.The young warrior raised his head and said to the second floor: "Master Jubei, the person you called has been brought in." There are narrow windows at the four corners of the wall.The bright-eyed, fair-eyed young man named Jubei was looking for books on the bookshelf, and held a few volumes in his hand.He exposed half of his body at the window and said: "Well, go right away, let him wait on the porch below first." Jubingwei said to the young samurai and disappeared.

Riji looked at it from a distance, and it turned out that there were people there, and suddenly realized that if it was there, it could be seen from the outside.He must have seen what he did just now and wanted to ask.Then, if you are not prepared, it may be bad.Hiji made up his mind, and saw the young warrior waving to him, and then said: "You will see my master soon, leave the porch, and wait honestly." According to what he said, Hiji immediately sat down on the porch, of course sitting directly on the ground.Because the man was too busy to come out, Riji looked up.The room is full of books.The same is true around the table, the bookshelves on the wall, the inner room and the second floor, and you can tell it's a library at a glance.It seems that the owner here must be an extraordinary scholar.Riji looked up at the crossbar on the door frame, where a good gun was hung, and looked into the hall, where a musket was hung.Soon, the man came out, sat quietly at the table, stroked his cheek, and stared at Riji sitting in the yard as if he was reading a book.In contrast to him, Hiyoshi has an expression that has nothing to hide.

"Today, thank you! I sell needles. Do you want to buy needles?" Juhei still caressed his face and nodded. "Oh, before buying, I have a question for you. Is your purpose to sell needles or come to the city to inquire?" "Originally, I was selling needles." "Then why did you come to such a remote path?" "I was thinking maybe someone here buys needles." "Lie!" Jubei turned around slightly. "It looks like a slick guy who is used to walking outside. You haven't been in business for a day or two, so you should know whether the samurai mansion can sell needles."

"Not necessarily, maybe occasionally..." "Occasionally? Maybe?" "I just want to try my luck and sell it if I can." "Okay, let's put this away for a while, you ran to a place where no one was around, what did you see?" "what?" "You feel that no one is there, so you secretly take out a piece of paper, but there are gods in this vibrant world. What did you see?" "I read a letter." "What secret letter?" "I was reading the letter my mother wrote to me." It was an unexpected answer, and Hiyoshi looked natural.Of course, in Shibingwei's eyes, he felt that this was just sophistry, and he became even more suspicious.

So he purposely said softly, "Ah, it's a letter from my mother." "yes." "If that's the case, show me the letter. The rule in this city is that anyone who is suspicious is immediately tied up and sent to the official. If you don't know, even though I feel sorry for you, you can only be sent to the official. To prove Your innocence, please show me your mother's letter." "I've already eaten." "what?" "Unfortunately, I ate it after reading it." "Have you eaten?" Hiji was gentle, courteous and very perceptive, and Shibingwei, who was pressing on every step, couldn't help being stunned for a moment. "Yes." Hiji said more seriously, "For me, maybe mother is more worthy of respect than god, so..." "Shut up!" Ten soldiers shouted. "Because it's a secret letter, I chewed it up and threw it away. It really is a suspicious guy!" "No, if you misunderstand, I am very troubled." Hiji waved his hands in a panic and said, "I am more grateful to my mother than the gods. If I keep holding letters from my mother, sooner or later I will use them to wipe my nose or throw them away. Now, it’s not appropriate for people to step on it, and you will suffer retribution. So I have the habit of eating my mother’s letters, not lying, eating the handwriting of my mother who is far away, it is not taken for granted by those who miss their mother Is it?" Lies, deceptions, Jubei saw it.But even though he is a liar, he has some talent for lying.Juhei himself has a mother in his hometown, and an old mother waiting alone in Akechijo, Ena-go, Mino country, his hometown.It's a lie, but it's not entirely a lie.Talking such absurd words as to eat his mother's letter, the little man who looks like a monkey must have a mother. Thinking about it this way, Jubei felt that his uncultivated wildness was a bit pitiful.But if this kind of naive and ignorant person is exploited, he will often become as ferocious as an uncaged wild animal.But there's no need to send him to the official, it's a bit too pitiful to kill him, Shibingwei thought about whether he should just let him go.He watched Hiji's actions with squinted eyes without saying a word, not thinking about how to deal with him. After a while, "you city, you city", he called the young samurai just now. "Is Yaheiji in there?" "I think he is." "I'm sorry, go and tell him to come here." Youshi took the order and left.Soon, Yaheiji and Mataichi came striding from inside together.Yaheiji is a young man younger than Juhei, about twenty years old, he is the direct son of the owner of this mansion, Akechi Mitsuan, and his name is Yaheiji Mitsuharu, and Juhei is a cousin.Shibingwei, also surnamed Zhizhi, named Guangxiu, lived in his uncle Guangan's house and devoted himself to studying knowledge. There is my mother in my hometown, and Zhizhicheng, so I don't have to be a diner.But in any case, in my hometown, it is not so easy to get the books I want to read, and it is too far away from the ever-improving culture.More precisely, Ena's Akechi Castle was too small for the burning desire of the young Jubei, and it was too far away from culture and current affairs.Shibingwei is a person who even his uncle Guang'an often asks his son to learn from him.Before Shibingwei Guangxiu came to live here, he had traveled all over Gyeonggi, Sanyin, Sanyang and other places.He works with today's warriors and practitioners, learning knowledge, observing the current situation, and facing the pain of changes in life.Especially when he stayed in Quanzhou, he learned how to develop firearms and made great contributions to Meinong's national defense and military system.Therefore, headed by Uncle Guang'an, everyone respects this young talent who possesses new knowledge and the style of a general. "Jubingwei, what do you want me to do?" "Oh, Yaheiji, it's not that urgent." "What's wrong?" "There is something I think it would be better for you to deal with it." Jubei also went outside, and then discussed how to deal with him next to the confused Hiyoshi. Yaheiji listened carefully to Juhei's words, then glanced at Hiyoshi and said, "Oh, is that the untouchable? If there is indeed something suspicious, tell Mataichi, take a broken bow and beat him, maybe you will be recruited, and it doesn't take much. What's up." After saying "no", Juhei and Yaheiji looked at Hiyoshi again. "I don't think he can be recruited with a dozen, and he also has pitiful qualities." "If you feel sorry for him, you won't be able to make him speak. If you don't hand it over to me, you'll be locked up in a dark room, and you may starve for four or five days, so I'll say it naturally." "Great." Shibingwei agreed. "Do you want to tie it up?" Youshi immediately walked to Hiji's side and asked, pressing his arm. "Ah, wait." Hiyoshi said anxiously while looking up at Juhei and Yaheiji while struggling. "After listening to what you said just now, I said that I would not recruit even if I was beaten, but if you ask, I will say everything. Please don't lock me in a dark room without asking anything." "Did you say?" "I say." "Then I'll ask you?" "Yes, may I ask?" Yaheiji felt powerless when he saw Hiyoshi's nonchalant expression. "This guy, it's really strange, is he out of his mind, playing tricks on people." He looked at Shibingwei and smiled wryly. But Juhei didn't laugh, or thought Hiyoshi was a bit scary.So Juhei and Yaheiji asked Hiyoshi some questions one after another like coaxing a coquettish child. Riji said: "Then let me tell you that there will be big changes tonight. I have nothing to do with those people. Can you save my life?" "Okay, it's useless to kill you. What's the big change you're talking about?" "Fire. Fire depending on the direction of the wind tonight." "Fire, where is it?" "Then I don't know. The wild samurai who live in the same wooden rental shop as me discussed it secretly. If the west wind or south wind blows tonight, we will gather in the woods of Changzai Temple, and then set fire to the city separately." "Ah?" Yaheiji was stunned, and Juhei also held his breath and looked at Hiyoshi with suspicion.However, Hiyoshi didn't pay attention to the expressions of the two of them at all. He just said that he overheard the private discussion of the wild samurai who lived with him, and didn't know anything else.His wish is to sell the needles as soon as possible, and then return to his hometown of Zhongcun as soon as possible. He just wants to see his mother as soon as possible. When he said this, Hiji’s expression was very serious.Yaheiji and Juheiichi did not speak for a while after recovering. Not long after, "Okay, we will definitely let you go, but you don't want to leave tonight. Youshi, find him a place to stay, don't starve him." Shibingwei ordered. The wind was still blowing, from the southwest. Suddenly, the ear-piercing wind disturbed the two of them.After handing Hiyoshi to Mataichi, and they left, Yaheiji immediately leaned over: "Jubingwei, what are the wild samurai trying to do with this wind?" He looked up at the wind and clouds in the sky with restless eyes.Jubei did not speak, and sat down in the corridor outside the study, as if he was thinking about something seriously, his eyes fixed on one point without moving. "Mi Pingzhi." "how?" "In the past four or five days, have you heard anything special from your uncle?" "Well, nothing special, but..." "What's up?" "It's just that, so to speak, my father said this before leaving for Jiushan Castle this morning. He said that the master Saito Michizane Hidelong and Yoshilong-sama are at odds, and something dangerous may happen recently. Specifically It's hard to predict when and what will happen, but the usual preparations must not be slack, and the samurai at home should also prepare their weapons and horses in case of accidents. Prepare for battle early to avoid being caught off guard." "Is this what your uncle said?" "My father said it." "This morning?" "Exactly." "So that's how it is." Shibingwei patted his knee. "Master Uncle is hinting that you will have a battle tonight, reminding you to pay attention. Originally, even relatives cannot disclose the strategies of military strategists. But Sir Uncle must know the details." "Huh? Is there a fight tonight?" "I think the wild samurai gathered in the woods of Changja Temple tonight was invited by Mr. Saito Michihide Ryu from outside to create chaos. I am afraid it is Hachisuka's party." "Then, have you finally made up your mind to remove Yoshiryu-sama from Mount Inaba?" "Exactly." Shibingwei was very confident in his judgment, nodded heavily, and bit his lip sadly. "However, things will not go as smoothly as Lord Saito Michihide Ryu thought, and Lord Yoshilong has already made preparations. Moreover, father and son meet each other and fight desperately. It is also contrary to human relations and will definitely be condemned by God. No matter who wins who If you are defeated, all the blood of blood relatives and the same clan will be shed. By doing this, the territory of the Saito family will not increase by half, on the contrary, if the neighboring country is allowed to take advantage of it, the country will be destroyed." After finishing speaking, he let out a long sigh. Yaheiji was also silent, just looking at the sky covered with dark clouds.In the dispute between the lord and the lord, as a courtier, there is nothing he can do.Moreover, Yaheiji's father and Jubei's uncle Mitsuan Akechi entered the Tao, and he was the confidant of Saito Michisan Hideryu in Jiushan Castle, and it was the main force to abolish Yoshiryu. "By the way, no matter what, just stop this battle that violates human ethics. This is the only thing you can do as a subject. Yaheiji, you go to Jiushan Castle immediately, risk your life to beg your father, and then the father and son will go to persuade you My lord, Michisan Hidelong Saito." "Yes, I see." "I'll go to the woods of Changzai Temple when the sun goes down, to stop the wild samurai's plan. I must stop them even if I risk my life, you know?"

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