1. In the Nakamura area of ​​my hometown, Owari country, the sky is vast and the plains are vast, and they all extend endlessly to the sea. The only thing that changes the scenery of this hometown is the clouds that day.There are no hills near the village.However, the river ditches are vertical and horizontal, intertwined like a net, and there are many fish media such as clams and crucian carp in them. When Hideyoshi was a child, he used to fish and catch shrimp in the river ditch for food.And his only younger brother, Koichiro, is just like him. When Xiuchang was a child, people in the village called him "Little Bamboo".

His father's name was Takeami, and because he was Takeami's son, he was called Kotake.If it was a child of a samurai family or a wealthy family in the country, his parents would have given him another nickname, but Hidecho had no such memory. Everyone in the village said: "Little bamboo is stronger than monkeys!" Xiaozhu has a gentle temperament, a round face, and a chubby jaw, which is very attractive.The elder brother nicknamed Monkey is simply ugly, but Xiao Zhu is completely different from him.Even the personalities of the two are so different that it is hard to believe that they are brothers.All the people in the village, old and young, wished Xiao Zhu well, saying that he was lucky not to be like his elder brother.

Their mother's name is Ah Zhong. She was originally from the Owari Kingdom Gotokisho village, but due to some fate, she married in this village and became the wife of Yaemon, a farmer.When Yaemon was young, he left his hometown to work as a pawn under Master Oda, earning a small salary to support his family.Unexpectedly, he became disabled on the battlefield and returned to the countryside to farm.Unexpectedly, after letting Ah Zhong give birth to a daughter and a boy, he passed away.This eldest son is Hideyoshi. Ah Zhong was very embarrassed.This was originally a very poor family. Apart from cultivating their own small field, they also got other people's work to make ends meet.And relying on her as a woman, how can she bear such a heavy labor.

Next door to Ah Zhong's house lived a man named Take Ami, who used to be a tea doctor in Mr. Oda's house.It happened that he was a widower. At this time, someone with good deeds in the village came out to make a match, so Ah Zhong married this Takeami by means of recruiting a son-in-law. The young Hideyoshi thought to himself, "Takeami next door is going to be my father!" He didn't like the new stepfather and refused to call him dad.Takeami also doesn't love this unlovable boy, especially after Xiaozhu (Hidecho) was born, Takeami treats the child born to her ex-husband very meanly.For this reason, Hideyoshi finally ran away from home.

Therefore, Xiuchang didn't know this half-brother. "It's a good thing you don't look like a monkey!" the villagers said to him.However, he has no idea what kind of kid Brother Monkey is.I heard people say that my brother is like a beast in the wilderness, very cunning, often taking advantage of people not to guard him, and doing all kinds of mischief-this can no longer be called mischief. Everyone in the village hated him. Xiaozhu sometimes asked Takeami: "What is brother doing now?" Unexpectedly, Takeami said viciously: "This family belongs to me, and you are the eldest son. If you want to have an older brother, then who can bear it!"

From Takeami's point of view, it may be natural to have such thoughts.He works in the fields early in the morning and in the dark, and works tirelessly to manage the family business. If in the end, his own son, Xiaozhu, is not available to him, and all of it belongs to the monkey, how boring it is.This is also a reason why he drove the monkey out of the house. After all, Ah Zhong is the monkey's biological mother. When the monkey ran away, she shed tears sadly, but deep down in her heart, she also breathed a sigh of relief.Because from then on, I can no longer witness the scene of Takeami beating monkeys, and the days when the new husband smiles will gradually increase.

However, Xiaozhu seems quite interested in this elder brother.He once inquired about it privately with his mother and villagers.However, no definite information was obtained.Some said that he wandered to a foreign country with a salesman; some said that he became an apprentice of an eminent monk in Koya Mountain; After a few years, there was another news that he entered the green forest and became a strongman who blocked roads and robbed. When the news that the monkey had become a robber reached the village, Takeami said excitedly, "This is something that boy can do. I expected him to be such a coward. If he dared to sneak back Come to the village, no one else needs to do it, I will definitely lift up the hoe and smash his head to pieces."

However, Xiaozhu hated his father who said such things.Xiaozhu has a kind personality and is not the kind of person who hates people casually.On the other hand, it is also because, from the perspective of his father, Takeami, his elder brother is just another person's child, but to Xiaozhu, he is a half-brother with different fathers, who is related to him by blood.Emotions are not normal.Since then, whenever Xiaozhu heard any news about monkeys, she stopped telling her father, but quietly told her mother. Every time my mother heard these rumors, she always sobbed tearfully, and sometimes said loudly: "It would be better for me to die sooner!"

Although Xiaozhu was still a child, he comforted his mother at this time, saying: "I heard people say that if someone curses someone, it will come true. Mom should hurry up and ask the Kitchen God for forgiveness." Later, when Xiaozhu knew The reason why my father didn't like my brother was that when it came to the inheritance rights of the family property, he said to my mother: "I don't want the land or the house at home, let my brother inherit it." Upon hearing this, the mother became anxious, and stopped him repeatedly, saying: "Don't say such a thing, you are not allowed to say such a thing next time." This is for fear of being overheard by Takeami; secondly, it is for Ah Zhong , Xiaozhu is more likable than monkeys.When I get old in the future, it will be a great blessing in my old age to have a child with a good temperament like Xiaozhu take care of me by my side.

When Xiaozhu was seventeen or eighteen years old (in a poor and busy family like Xiaozhu, even the mother often does not know the exact age of the children), Takeami was no longer alive. Summer came early this year.Xiaozhu was doing part-time work in someone else's house, and when the hot sun was basking on his back, he was opening a canal to release water in the paddy field, when he saw a samurai on horseback running along the road by the side of the village. "What's the matter?" The samurai's appearance was so weird that it attracted Xiaozhu's attention.The horse that sat down seemed most likely to be a plow horse.Moreover, probably because of getting old, the horse's neck is always drooping, like an ear of rice that has blossomed.There was a simple saddle on the horse's back, without even a stirrup, and the rider's feet were stepped on rings made of thick rope.

"It's ridiculous, that's a samurai!" Just thinking this way, after a while, people's eyes and nose can gradually see clearly.I saw that he was a small man with a slightly chubby face, a pointed chin, and his eyes were wide open, looking very airy, but his jaw was loose, and there were many laugh lines gathered at the corners of his eyes.This person looks a bit like a monkey. As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Xiaozhu's heart was shocked: Could it be that he is my elder brother.This isn't just a figment of the imagination.A few days ago, news spread to the village that my elder brother had been promoted from infantry to junior officer at Master Oda's house.Thinking of this, Xiaozhu dropped the shovel in his hand. However, he is a stable character, and he can no longer take more actions to show his surprise.He just held a bamboo hat in one hand and squatted down on the ridge of the field. It's probably because the man on the horse also saw Xiaozhu's posture, and suddenly there was a deafening voice like a thunderbolt from the opposite side: "Who is it?" It is said that the sonorous voice was inherited from the monkey's biological father. "I am Takeami's son!" "You fool!" It was too late to say it, but the monkey rolled over and fell off the horse.The speed of its movements, apart from the word "tumbling", there is really no other suitable adjective.Then, the monkey walked up to Xiaozhu in three steps at a time, and shouted loudly: "Son of Takeami, don't say such oblique words, isn't Takeami's son my younger brother? I am Fujikichiro what!" The name Fujikichiro was given to himself after he became a soldier of the Oda family.His surname is Kinoshita. "'木' for wood, '下' for up and down." While saying this, Fujikichiro picked up a branch from the ground, wrote two large characters "Kinoshita" on the ground, and said, "This is our surname, and our family also has a surname." Fujikichiro pointed to the horse next to him again, and said to Xiaozhu: "Look, I am already in such a status now!" This probably means that he is already able to ride a horse.However, there is no fiefdom yet, just receiving food and salary.However, in the future, one must make meritorious deeds. Once meritorious deeds are achieved, at least a territory of about 300 shi can be entrusted.At that time, you will have to have two or three followers at your disposal. Fujikichiro said, "That's why I came back." On the one hand, he wanted to return to his hometown, and on the other hand, he must also want to find some promising young people in his own village.As one's own followers, people of the same clan are naturally preferred.If the younger brother is willing to do it, then there is nothing to say. "Well, come with me!" Until then, Xiaozhu said: "Are you a warrior?" Becoming a samurai, such a thing, Xiao Zhu never even thought about it. Fujikichiro didn't know how to drink, but he drank a lot that night and got a little drunk.I only heard him say this sentence over and over again: "If I become a daimyo, then you will be the commander of an army. Come and be a warrior with me, and make up your mind!" Xiaozhu said in embarrassment: "I don't have the strength!" What Xiaozhu meant was that to be a samurai, one must be proficient in all aspects of swordsmanship and swordsmanship. Once the two armies fight, one must have the strength to cut off the enemy's head. Hearing what Xiaozhu said, Fujikichiro laughed and said, "What kind of strength does a samurai need?" After hearing this, Xiaozhu felt that it was reasonable.You see, Fujikichiro is a small man, and his strength is not great, and his martial arts seem to be not strong. Fujikichiro went on to say that what a general needs is wisdom, while what a samurai needs is seriousness.If the superior orders not to retreat, then, even if you are trembling with fear and your bones are rattling, you will never retreat a step. This is an excellent warrior.On the contrary, if you are very strong and talk big on weekdays, but retreat at a critical moment in battle, then you cannot be a warrior. "So this is ah!" Xiaozhu was completely attracted by the eloquent words of the half-brother.A thought suddenly flashed in his mind: If this is the case, then I can be one too.And it was this difference of thought that changed his fate. Hearing what his younger brother said, Fujikichiro nodded immediately: "You can call me Koichiro!" He even thought of a name for Xiao Zhu.The reason for taking such a name probably means: the eldest son of Fujikichiro's stepfather-and Ichiro is equivalent to the eldest son. Fujikichiro was in high spirits from beginning to end.He preached with the knowledge he had wholesaled from Master Pipa, a blind artist who traveled all over the rivers and lakes and spoke drums: "Since ancient times, there have been many stories of brothers meeting. The time we met at Kisegawa." That night, Fujikichiro was uncharacteristically happy.He would actually think of the grand meeting between Dong Liang of Genji and his noble son. Early the next morning, he went back to Qingzhou.After this, his mother Ah Zhong frowned more than once and complained: "This kid is really helpless!" Because of giving birth to such a son as him, I don't know how much I have suffered.And now he came to instigate Xiaozhu again, wanting to treat him as his servant and bring him to the battlefield.The only son left beside Ah Zhong is Xiao Zhu. If even Xiao Zhu goes to serve in the army, who will take care of him when he grows old?