Chapter 96 Chapter 06

"It hurts!" Musashi was hit by Yume Rukonosuke's stick on the diaphragm to the edge of the ribs, and it still hurts. At this time, he came to the vicinity of Kamisuwa at the foot of the mountain, looking for Jotaro and inquiring about Atong, and he was always uneasy. Later he went to the Shimosuwa area.As soon as he thought that there was a hot spring in Shimosuwa, he hurried on his way. There are about a thousand families living in this small town by the lake.In front of an inn, a hot spring hut was set up, with its back facing the main road coming and going, and anyone could go in to soak in the hot springs.

Musashi hung his clothes, swords, and knives on a wooden stake, and soaked his whole body in the open-air bath. "call!" Musashi leaned his head on the stone, closed his eyes and rested. This morning, the injured ribs were hard as leather.At this time, soaking in the hot spring and gently rubbing with his hands, the blood circulated comfortably throughout his body, making him drowsy. The sun was setting. Most of the people who live by the lake are fishermen. Every household is separated by the lake. The lake is covered with a layer of light orange mist, which seems to be the water vapor rising from the evaporation of hot springs.There is a road full of traffic and people's voices outside the field several districts away.

There is a small grocery store along the road selling fish and daily necessities. "Give me a pair of straw sandals." A samurai sits on the shop floor, arranging his leggings and shoes. "By the way, I would like to ask you. It is rumored that a man went down the pine tree at the Ichijo Temple in Kyoto, and single-handedly challenged Yoshioka. Such a wonderful contest is rare these days. I heard that he will pass by here. Have you ever met?" It seems that after the samurai crossed Yanwei Mountain, they kept asking for news about this man. Although the person who was questioned was a little confused, he asked about the man's attire and age.The samurai replied vaguely:

"Well, I'm not too sure about that." Everyone asked the samurai why he wanted such a person?But when the samurai knew that there was no trace of the other party, his expression was a little sad. "I really hope to see his true face in Mount Lu..." After the samurai tied up his straw sandals, he was still talking to himself. Could it be that he is looking for me? Musashi soaked in the hot spring, watching the samurai across a field. The samurai was tanned from the long journey.About forty years old.It seems that it is not a ronin but a member of an official family.

His sideburns were chafed like weeds by the straps of his bamboo hat.On the battlefield, he must be a mighty warrior.If he is naked, he must be muscular and powerful. "Strange... I don't know this person?" Musashi was wondering, the samurai had gone far away. I heard him mention the word "Yoshioka" just now, maybe he is a disciple of Yoshioka! Yoshioka is very large, some disciples are quite backbone, but there are also cunning and cunning, trying to avenge. Musashi dried himself off, got dressed, and walked out into the street.The samurai just now reappeared out of nowhere.

"Excuse me……" The man suddenly stood in front of Musashi, staring at Musashi's face carefully with his eyes wide open. "Could it be that your Excellency is Miyamoto-san!" Musashi nodded with a puzzled look on his face. The samurai immediately cheered. "Wow! It really is you." He was very unhappy with his intuition, and said with infinite nostalgia: "Finally let me find you. It's really worth celebrating... Ever since I started traveling, I had a premonition that I would meet you." He enjoyed himself, and before Musashi replied, he invited Musashi to stay at the same inn with him tonight.

"I am by no means a bad person. This statement sounds ridiculous. When I go out, I always have fourteen or five followers and spare horses. Let me introduce myself first! I am the lord of Aoba Castle in Oshu, and I am Date Masamune His minister's name is Shi Mutian Gaiji." After the introduction, Musashi accepted his kindness and walked with him.Geji chose to stay at a large inn by the lake. After registering at the counter, he asked Musashi: "Would you like to take a bath?" After speaking, he denied himself: "Oh! Your Excellency just took a bath in the open-air hot spring, please allow me to wash up first."

He took off his traveling clothes and walked out easily. This man is quite interesting.But Musashi knew nothing about him.Why is he looking for himself?Still so hospitable and entertaining? "Guest officer, don't you change your clothes?" The maid at the inn brought Musashi the casual clothes provided by the inn. "No, I haven't decided whether to stay here-" "Oh, is it?" Musashi walked to the corridor and looked at the lake as the dusk was getting darker. "I don't know how she is now?" His eyes seemed to reflect the sad and tearful eyes of Atong.Behind him, the sound of the inn maid preparing dinner has gradually died down.The maid lit the lamp, and the water in front of the railing slowly turned from dark blue to pitch black.

"Strange, did I look in the wrong direction? If Atong was really taken away, the gangsters must not have come to such a bustling street!" Just as Musashi was thinking over and over again, Atong's cry for help seemed to come from his ears.Although Musashi has always upheld the attitude of doing his best and obeying the destiny, at this time he felt in a dilemma and didn't know what to do? "Oops! I've been in the bath too long, and I'm being rude." Ishimo Tian Geji returned to the room. "Come on! Eat!" He immediately sat down at the dining table and invited Musashi to have dinner with him, only to realize that he was the only one who had changed into the casual clothes of the inn.

"Why don't you change into casual clothes?" His tone was a little forceful. Musashi refused to be outdone.Explain that I have long been used to sleeping in the wind, eating and sleeping in the open, whether I sleep or travel, I always wear this kind of luggage. If I change into loose clothes, I will feel uncomfortable. "Hey! That's it." Geji clapped his hands and applauded: "What Masamune admires is a person's walking, living, sitting and sleeping, and guesses that you must have a unique style. Hmm! As expected." Wai Ji ecstatically looked at Musashi's side face reflected by the lights, as if he wanted to see through everything about him.

After recovering: "Come on! Let's toast." He washed the wine glasses and treated Musashi hospitablely.It seems that he wants to take advantage of the good night tonight and have a drink. With his hands still on his knees, Musashi asked for the first time after bowing to the other party: "Mr. Waiji, why are you so kind? And why did you inquire about my whereabouts all the way?" When Musashi asked, Geji realized that his actions seemed too wishful thinking. "Oh! My actions will indeed surprise you. But I mean no harm. However, if you ask me why I am so kind to a person I have never met... In short, it is because of my admiration for you .” After speaking—— "Hahaha! This is called heroes cherishing heroes!" He repeated it again. Shimotian Geki expresses his inner feelings nakedly.But Musashi didn't think he had explained the whole story. Even if it is a hero, cherish the hero!Musashi has never met anyone he can admire in his life.If you want to discuss admirable objects, Zean seems to be intimidating; and Guangyue and Guangyue have different worlds; as for Liu Shengshi Zhouzhai, he is too self-important and difficult to get close to. Looking back at the past acquaintances, it seems that there is no one who can have a hero and cherish a hero.However, Shimotian Geji expresses it so naturally: "I admire you!" If this sentence is blurted out casually, it will be regarded as a frivolous person. However, based on Geki's fortitude and demeanor, he is not a frivolous person, and Musashi seems to have a vague understanding of his state of mind. Then Musashi asked again: "What do you mean by admiration?" Musashi asked seriously, and Geki replied in a leisurely manner: "Honestly speaking, ever since I heard about Your Excellency's record at Ichijo Temple, I have completely fallen into a feeling of nostalgia that I haven't met yet." "So you have been staying in Kyoto since then?" "I came to Los Angeles in January and stayed at Date's house in Sanjo. On the second day of the martial arts competition where your Excellency seemed to be in nowhere, when I visited Mitsuhiro Karasuma's house as usual, I heard that All kinds of rumors about you. Guang Guangqing said that he met you, mentioned your age and experience, and deepened my longing for you, and hoped to see you. During this journey, Unexpectedly, I saw your message board on the cliff of Yanwei Mountain." "Message sign?" "Your Excellency once left a message on a sign - waiting for Mr. Daizo in Narai, and hung it on the rock beside the road?" "Ah! So you saw that!" Musashi suddenly felt that the world was so ironic - he couldn't find the person he was looking for, but instead attracted an irrelevant person to pursue him so hard. After listening to Geji's self-disclosure, I feel sorry for this person's true feelings, because I am full of infinite shame and remorse for the martial arts contest at Sanjusangendo and the bloody battle of Invincible, and I have no feeling of boasting at all.And this incident seems to have shocked the world, and rumors have spread all over the country. "No, it hurts my face." Musashi spoke from the bottom of his heart, not at all thinking that he was worthy enough to be admired by the hero. However, the geki says: "Among the Date warriors who receive a salary of one million stones, there are many excellent warriors. I have traveled around the world and seen and heard sword masters are not rare, but people like your Excellency are really rare, and what is even more valuable, Your Excellency is so young, I am even more envious." The waiji was full of praise, and said: "My one-night love has come true tonight. Even if there is something difficult for you, I hope to invite you to spend tonight and have a good time." After speaking, wash the wine glass in your hand. Musashi happily accepted the glass of wine.As soon as he drank the wine, his face flushed as usual. "The warriors in the Snow Country are all heroes in wine. Mr. Masamune is even more powerful. Presumably there are no weak soldiers under a strong general." It seems that Ishimo Tian Geji is not drunk. The maid who brought the wine cut the wick of the candle several times. "Tonight, let's have a drink and talk, and stay up all night!" Musashi also sincerely replied: "it is good." He smiled again and asked: "Your Excellency Geki, just now you mentioned that you often visit Karasuma's mansion. Do you have a deep friendship with Mitsuhiro?" "It's not close enough. Because my master often sends me to run errands, and Guang Guangqing has a bold personality and strong affinity, so I gradually became familiar with him." "Before, Honami Guangyue introduced me to meet him at the fan shop in Liuzhen. In my impression, he is not like a general minister with a full posture, but a cheerful personality." "Cheerful? More than that..." Geji seems to feel that this comment is not enough. "If you have the opportunity to have a long talk with him, you will definitely feel Guang Guangqing's passion and wisdom." "Maybe because the location is in a brothel!" "So that's it. You only saw his worldly side." "So, what about his real side?" Musashi asked casually, Geki straightened up and said seriously: "Having a sense of urgency." After speaking, he added: "His sense of urgency lies in the rampant violence of the shogunate." The candlelight in the room seemed to be flickering with the sound of waves hitting the shore. "Your Majesty Musashi, who do you think you practice your swordsmanship for?" No one had ever asked Musashi that.He answered bluntly: "For myself." Geji nodded vigorously. "Well, that's fine." Asked again: "Then who are you doing it for?" Geiji gets to the bottom of it. "..." "Is it also for yourself? A master of swordsmanship like Your Excellency, wouldn't it be enough to seek the glory of the ego!" The conversation between the two has since led to the topic.No, it should be said that this is a pre-set topic by Geji, expressing what I really want to say. According to him, the current world is under Jiakang's control, and it can be roughly regarded as the peace of the world, the prosperity of the country and the people of the country.But do the people get real happiness? After Hojo, Ashikaga, Oda, Toyotomi and others fought for power for a long time, it was not the people and the royal family who suffered from abuse.The royal family is controlled by them, while the common people suffer from slavery—and the samurai between the two only know how to seek their own prosperity. Isn't it also imitating this samurai government? Nobunaga noticed this shortcoming a little bit, so he built a large inner courtyard to show the public.Later, Hideyoshi also admired the good fortune of Emperor Yosei, and formulated policies that could increase the well-being of the common people.However, when it came to Ieyasu, everything centered on the Tokugawa family, and the happiness of the common people and the royal family were once again sacrificed.The power of the shogunate is growing, and it can be expected that the era of domineering is not far away. "Among the lords of the world, there is no one who can understand this situation of interest and disadvantages, except for my master Date Masamune. And among the princes, there is only Karasuma Hiroyoshi." Ishimota Geki told Musashi so. It's always jarring when we hear other people's boasting.However, this is not always the case when respecting one's own master. This stone mother Tian Geji seems to be quite proud of his master. He clearly stated that among the princes today, the only one who can truly worry about the country and is loyal to the royal family is Masamune. "Oh!" Musashi could only nod. For Musashi, he could only nod in agreement when he heard the topic of integrity.After the Battle of Guanyuan, the distribution map of the world changed a lot.But Musashi only knew—— The world has changed a lot! How did the generals of the Osaka faction centered on Hideyori change?What kind of intentions did the princes of the Tokugawa system have?The ambiguous positions of Shimadzu or Date, etc., how do they maintain dignity and survive among these forces?Musashi has never paid attention to these major situations, and his common sense is even very shallow. In addition, for Kato, Ikeda, Asano, Fukushima and other forces, Musashi only has his opinion of a 22-year-old young man.I have only heard a little about Date. This inland feudal lord claimed to receive a salary of 600,000 shi on the surface, but in fact he enjoyed a salary of a million shi. Other than that, Musashi had no conception of him. Therefore, apart from nodding frequently, Musashi could only show suspicion from time to time, and listen carefully from time to time.He thought to himself: It turns out that Masamune is such a character. Geiji gave many more examples: "My master Masamune must take out the crops in the domain twice a year and present them to the emperor through the Konoe family. Even in times of war, he still does not forget to pay tribute. This time he also personally brought the tribute to Beijing and came to Los Angeles. And it has been presented to the emperor. Only when I have a little leisure on the way home, I can travel along the way alone. Now I am on the way back to Sendai." Then went on to say: "Among all the lords, only our Aoba Castle has an exclusive house for the emperor's seat in the city! The place where the emperor's seat is located was built with ancient timber transported from afar by ship when the imperial palace was rebuilt. Yes. Although the room is furnished plainly, my master still pays homage to the royal family from a distance in the morning and evening. He also takes the history of the Wu family’s political path as a lesson, and whenever there is atrocities in the world, the master will definitely attack the Wu family in the name of the court.” After the geji finished speaking, he continued to say: "By the way, I heard that during the Korean War—" The waiji continued: "During that battle, Konishi, Kato and others fought for power and ruined the reputation of the family. But what about the performance of Masamune? At that time, in the Korean War, only Masamune fought bravely with the sun flag on his back. Someone asked Masamune, why do you need to plant the sun flag when you have your own family emblem? Masamune replied: I led the army to fight overseas, not just for the fame of the Date family, nor for Taihe, but I take the flag of the sun as the symbol of my hometown, and I am willing to sacrifice for it.” Musashi listened with gusto, Geji even forgot to drink. "The wine is cold." Waiji clapped his hands and called the maid, ready to add some food and wine.Seeing this, Musashi hastily declined. "That's enough, I want some hot soup too." "What's the matter? Haven't you started drinking yet?" Geji was a little disappointed, but he didn't want to be too forceful, so he said: "Then bring some food!" He ordered the maid again. Geji continued to boast about his master while eating.Among them, what makes Musashi fall in love is that people under the Date clan headed by Masamune will learn from each other and pursue—— True Bushido. That is to pursue the true meaning of the samurai and "shido". In today's world, does "shido" exist?In the ancient times when martial arts flourished, Shidou did exist.But its definition is vague, and even so, it's ancient morality.Later, due to the turbulent times, morality was shattered.Even people who wield swords have lost this ancient Shido spirit. They probably only hold one idea: I am a samurai. I am a master of archery. With the storm of the Warring States Period, this concept has been strengthened day by day.The new era is gradually approaching, and the new Shido has not yet been formed.Thus the man who prides himself on being a warrior or a good archer gradually falls behind and becomes inferior to the average farmer or merchant.Of course, this kind of low-level generals will eventually kill themselves, and those generals who can awaken and delve into the real "shido" and seek the fundamental way to enrich the country and strengthen the army are rare—even the Toyotomi or Tokugawa factions. Among the princes, there are few such people. before-- Musashi was once influenced by Ze'an, and spent three years in seclusion in a room in the castle tower of Himeji Castle, isolated from the world, and buried himself in the books of hundreds of schools. Among the vast collection of books in the Ikeda family, Musashi remembers seeing a manuscript.The title of the book is - "Mr. Buzhian's Daily Self-cultivation Manual". Bushian refers to Ueyama Kenshin.The content of the book is the experience of self-cultivation and self-cultivation written by Qianxin himself to inform his retainers. After reading this book, Musashi not only understood Kenshin's daily life, but also knew how to make the country rich and strong in Echigo at that time.However, the matter of "Shidou" has not been mentioned in that book yet. Now I have this opportunity to hear what Ishimo Tian Geki said.In addition to believing that Masamune is more outstanding than Kenshin, Musashi also understands that in the troubled times of the entire Date clan, the spirit of "shido" that is not afraid of the power of the shogunate has also been unknowingly nurtured, and they strengthen each other and their morale is vigorous.You can get a glimpse of it just by looking at Shimu Tian Geji in front of you. "Oh! I'm the only one who can talk endlessly... How about it? Your Excellency Musashi, do you want to come to Sendai? My master recruits talents, as long as he is a samurai who holds the concept of Shidao, whether he is a ronin or an unknown boy, he will definitely do it. Receive it in person. Let’s just say it was my recommendation! Please be sure to come. We just take this opportunity to go back together.” After the maid cleaned up the leftovers, Geki lobbied Musashi even more fervently.Musashi simply said: "I'll think about it." Then they parted at the door of the room. After Musashi arrived in another room, he lay on the bed, unable to sleep with his eyes open. ——Shidou. Musashi kept thinking about this question, and suddenly thought of his own sword and realized a truth: --fencing. Not what I want, what I want to pursue is: --kendo. In any case, the sword must stand above the Tao.Most of the Shido advocated by Kenshin or Masamune refers to military discipline; if this principle is applied in a deeper and more thorough way—how should the ego entrust its life to nature and integrate and harmonize with it?How to live and coexist with the universe of heaven, earth and the universe, and achieve the state of being able to settle down?After realizing this, Musashi made up his mind to fulfill this vow to the best of his ability.Carry it out wholeheartedly and elevate the sword to the realm of "Tao". After Musashi made up his mind, he fell into a deep sleep.