Chapter 4 fourth quarter

The three of them left Qingzhou City under the darkness of night, and headed eastward with the help of small lanterns.After walking for about a mile, Xinding pointed to the temple slightly emerging from the darkness, and shouted, "This is it, this deserted temple is Chengyuan Temple!" Naosuke father and son nodded silently.When Xinding left and they were looking after their home, they received a letter from the monastery, but they didn't know the content.They never dreamed that this small temple was actually the birthplace of the owner. Xinding smiled wryly. This temple has basically no influence now, but in the past—when nearly 500 towns on the north and south sides of the Shonaigawa River were the sites of the Daigoji Temple in Kyoto (the Shingon sect Daigo sect), relying on its rich income, although it is only a mosque temple, it is also a radius A large temple in Jumachi.When I was a child, my late father took the trouble to tell Xin Ding the glorious history of this place.Later, with the implementation of the Zhuangtou system by the shogunate and the rise of the samurai class, the territory of the temple was taken away one after another, and it fell into a slump.

The Oda family believed in the Hokka sect; however, the peasants insisted on believing in the Ichiko sect no matter how they were suppressed, and the Shingon sect was not popular, so the decline of their temples was accelerated. There will be a flood here every few years, and the damage will be huge. The repair of the temple building cannot be done as expected, and the whole temple will be abandoned.Without Xinding's secret funding, I really don't know what this temple would be like. Since there was no one to be the abbot, Xinding had to let his younger brother take charge.He said he was a younger brother, but he was actually just a child born to his father and another woman.Of course, the world hardly knows this.

It is said that when the temple was prosperous, Xinding's grandfather and senior members of the family were all eminent monks here.Before his death, his father even claimed to be a "monk passed down from seven generations" as his only honor, but he himself was poor, addicted to drinking and sex, complaining empty-handed, and became a monk who did not do his job properly. Xin Ding was completely disappointed with his father's life style and the future of the temple. He had no illusions, put aside chanting scriptures, devoted himself to the way of bow and arrow, and finally managed to get ahead.However, his father, who is proud of his monk's family background, never forgave his faith in abandoning his family business and running away from home.

My father passed away very early. When he was dying, he held the family tree in his arms and left his last words: "Burn the family tree with me." This sentence actually refers to Sang scolding Huai - Bushido is the way of animals, and the family tree that is regarded as treasure cannot be given to the son who has fallen into the way of animals. Xin Ding silently obeyed his father's last words.He had secretly investigated it before, and it was just a fake of the "family tree maker".He didn't miss such a family tree at all, but he didn't tell his father this fact.

Afterwards, he became more and more envious of Nobunaga who sneered at his birth and family background. The abbot of the temple—brother Qingyuan—has an honest personality, quite different from his father.Seeing my elder brother coming in the middle of the night under the pouring rain, I gladly welcomed him into the temple. Xin Ding specially told him: "I will disturb you for one night. I have a secret mission this time, I hope you don't tell others. Even your wife and friend Hirazaemon must keep it a secret." Later, he distributed some of the gold and silver tied to his body to his younger brother.

Early the next morning, the sky was as expected, and the rain stopped.Xinding led the two servants into a patriarchal stupa in the temple.It was built when he was fifty, as a future hermitage. They worked alternately. Two people came to the front and back doors of the Patriarch Pagoda and pretended to chant sutras, while the remaining one went into the Buddhist room and dug out five caves.They wrapped five wooden boxes with oiled paper, wrapped them several layers, and sprinkled small stones into the holes, and buried them deep underground one by one. After burying the things, in the evening, they dressed up as monks again.

"Let's go to Beizhuang!" Xinding said to the two of them.It was June 6th.If there is no delay in the middle, if you go directly to Beizhuang, it is time to see Shengjia.Shinsou was a little anxious, but Naosuke was quite cautious in comparison. I just heard Naosuke say: "Although I don't know who the opponent is, there must be some chasing soldiers. Just in case, let's continue to carry the square box on our backs." They put the wooden box containing Buddhist scriptures and small Buddha statues into the square box.If the pursuers were watching, this would serve as a camouflage, showing that they continued to move the crates.

"We randomly chose a mountain on the way to bury these things in a serious manner... By the way, my lord, why don't you say hello to the young masters?" Naosuke was considerate, looked at Xinding and asked. Xinding certainly wanted to meet his sons, and had been thinking about it since last night. Although Qingzhou is very close to here, if he goes there, he will not be able to get out immediately - he is sure to explain the matter of Honnoji to everyone.He thought that would be very troublesome. "Forget it this time, let's go." Xinding made up his mind and left the temple that night.

Naosuke is worthy of being an old Jianghu, and he is very familiar with the road.Under his leadership, Xinding and the three of them passed through Qingzhou City and headed straight to the north.When they came to Mount Kinka, where Gifu City stood, the sky had just turned white.They looked at Jinhua Mountain on the left and headed towards Meinong.Mino area is the fiefdom of Oda Nobutaka, still controlled by the Oda family, but it is quite close to Mitsuhide's hometown, and it is impossible to know whether the people you meet on the road are from Oda's side or Mitsuhide's side.They didn't dare to ask about Antu City's movements rashly, so they had to hear some things from hearsay.

——Mitsuhide occupied Azuchi Castle. ——Singer returned to Beizhuang from the Vietnam-China battlefield. Just these simple rumors.Exactly when it happened is unknown.The news about Oda Nobutaka who went to the four countries and Hashiba Hideyoshi in China is even more unknown. "We need to walk faster on the road from Mino to Echizen Street. Let's throw away the suitcase behind us first. Besides, the three of us are dressed as monks, but it's rather eye-catching now, so it's better to go back to our normal clothes." Shinden accepted Naosuke's suggestion, and the three of them first went to Funabushyama along the way, and came to a certain cave, divided the boxes into three places, covered them with branches, and pasted the Koga Ninja's "charms" serve as an identifier.

Then, Naosuke and his son redressed as servants, and Shinsei continued to dress as a monk.The three of them lost their burdens, and their steps suddenly became more vigorous.They went north along the Nagara River, camped on the river beach that night, and rested alternately. Before noon the next day, the three of them crossed Arisaka Pass, continued westward along Mino Street, and passed Echizen Ono safely in the evening. The night when Beizhuang was vaguely in sight—— When they were about to pass through the narrow Ichijo Valley, Naosuke stopped Shinsada suddenly and whispered, "Please wait a moment, I think some people are coming from the front..." The three hurriedly left the avenue and hid behind the rocks in the miscellaneous woods.If it was Shibata Katsuya's army who came, they would run out immediately. Soon, a legion of about 300 people appeared and hurried past them.By the light of the torches, they saw each other holding the banner of Sakuma's reign. Xinding shook his head, telling Zhisuke and his son not to act rashly.Although Shengzheng is a subordinate of Shibata Katsuie, Xin wants to avoid seeing him. Two years ago (the eighth year of Tensho), in August, Sakuma Nobumori of the Owari Gokki Institute was exiled to Koyasan together with his son Shinei because he was unable to capture the Ishiyama Honganji Temple in the Osaka area.Oda Nobunaga even issued the "Seventeen Rebukes" because of this-for some reason, some people said that Nobunaga would issue this reprimand, which was entirely caused by Ota Nobusada's slander.This kind of statement spread among the generals at once. Pure fabrication.This rebuke was dictated by the depressed Lord Nobunaga himself and recorded in a document.Mr. Nobunaga is not good at writing articles, and this reprimand order is just one of the worst ones. (How could I write such a clumsy article!) Because it is Nobunaga's masterpiece, Xin must not be able to defend himself, so he can only keep silent.As a result, outsiders looked at him with blank eyes. The army in front of him is Sakuma Yoyomasa's subordinates.Shengzheng is the nephew of Shengjia, and he has no direct blood relationship with Sakuma Nobumori of Wuqisuo, but if traced back, they are of the same clan.Someone once warned Xinding, and the descendant of the Sakuma family once shouted in public: "Ota is evil!" Fortunately, there was only one team in Shengzheng's army, and the footsteps gradually faded away. Xin Ding asked, "Are you all right? Let's move on?" "No." Naosuke shook his head fiercely, "Let's be more careful, let Mrs. Miyazaki go and see the situation ahead." Hearing this, Koyata immediately took action and disappeared without a trace.Soon, there was a sudden shouting in the night, and dogs barked everywhere. "Oops, the dog found it!" Even in the darkness, Shinsou could feel Naosuke's pale face. "They seem to have begun to search the mountain. Unfortunately, we seem to be surrounded by the legion that passed just now and the follow-up legion..." Naosuke's words sounded like they were coming out of his throat. "Don't worry about this, is Mita alright?" Xinding felt that as long as he explained his own affairs clearly, there would always be a way to solve them.Therefore, he cared more about Xiaoyata's safety. Naosuke gritted his teeth, restraining his uneasiness. This is not the way.Let's just go out, to ensure the safety of Koyata. They walked from behind the rock to the road, and walked in the direction of the torches. Sakuma's subordinates came running one after another. The two of them did not resist, and their hands were cut behind their backs. "Are you treating Ota Nobusada, Ota's retainer, so roughly? I am the envoy of Gamo Kenhide, the governor of Azuchi Castle. I want to see General Shibata!" No matter how Xinding yelled, the other party remained silent, which made people feel terrible.Not only that, he was pushed to the ground by three people, blindfolded, stuffed into his mouth, and then pushed into a prison van and taken away without knowing where he was going. It is a great shame to be locked in a prison van, but I am sure I am not pessimistic. Believe that they will understand sooner or later. If he is brought before Sheng Zheng, he intends to say only this sentence—— "Let me see General Shibata!" He only intends to tell Katsuya Shibata the specifics.If Shibata agrees to go to war against Mitsuhide, avenge his hatred, and revive the Oda family, he will definitely tell him about those wooden boxes. That night, he was locked in a large warehouse, and the cloth strips on his eyes and the ropes on his hands were untied. He and Naosuke were separated. This seems to be a warehouse for storing soybean paste, and the strong yeast smell is very pungent. (Why did you put me in the bean paste warehouse?) Faith lay down, thinking about the question.If General Shibata ordered him, he would definitely not be imprisoned in the bean paste warehouse—there should be underground cells in Beizhuang City, right? Therefore, this is probably the revenge of the Sakuma clan against him.However, if it's just a personal grievance... why did they know Xinding's trip to Hokuriku so well, so they came to this canyon to wait?Could it be that they are related to the pursuers that Naosuke mentioned? In the dark, Xinding was thinking alone. Perhaps because of the high-intensity rush for the past few days, he soon became tired and his consciousness gradually became blurred. When Shinding woke up, a faint light shone in from above the ceiling.There must be a skylight above the warehouse. (It's already morning? So, it should be nine days...) Faith was restless and restless again.What happened to Antu City after he left?Has Hino Castle survived?What is the fate of Hyun Soo and Jirozaemon... Xin must find it unbearable. "Is there anyone? Is there anyone!" He yelled several times, but no one answered, only the shouts echoed in the warehouse.Xin must have no choice but to sit down again and carefully observe the surrounding situation.He soon saw a small hole for delivering food under an iron door similar to an exit, and there was a small basin there. (Could it be food?) With the help of the faint light, he took a closer look and saw porridge and miso soup on the basin. Xinding picked up the miso soup bowl, poked his finger into it, and licked it. Tongue has not lost taste.After licking it two or three times, Xin Ding brought the miso soup bowl to his mouth, and took a small mouthful of the miso soup.It is an ordinary salty sauce soup, it is estimated to be safe.Then he put the porridge in his mouth again, which seemed equally harmless.Once the food was confirmed to be safe, he immediately felt hungry.However, he is very cautious after all. (Maybe this is the only meal in a day.) Therefore, we must cherish it. He put a small amount of porridge into his mouth, put his tongue against his jaw, swallowed the porridge juice first, and then chewed the rice grains slowly. (A mouthful of porridge needs to be chewed a hundred times.) After Xin Ding decided so, he began to chew until the thick rice on his tongue was chewed into a paste.He swallowed the rice after chewing it all.Otherwise, he won't be able to concentrate on chewing. After eating the porridge, he began to swallow the salty sauce soup. Xinding slowly chewed the salt water. "Chewing salt water" seems a bit weird, but if you chew it slowly with your mouth, it will indeed taste a certain taste.When he was practicing in the temple, because of the lack of food, Xinding had tried this before, and this experience came from this. After filling his stomach a little, Xin Ding stood up intently, groping forward with his hands, ready to measure the size of the room.He walked thirty steps, and when he touched the wall, he picked up a small stone under his feet and rubbed it against the wall to make a mark. Then he walked along the wall to the right, walked eighty steps and touched the wall, and then went right along the wall. Walked ninety steps to the wall, walked ninety steps to the right after touching the wall, and reached the side of the wall where the mark was originally made.After walking forty steps along this wall, I came across the place I had just marked again. (This bean paste warehouse is nearly 30 rooms wide and about 40 rooms deep...) This is definitely a warehouse for storing bean paste, but why was the bean paste empty?Even if it is used as military rations, the quantity is too large. (There should always be a barrel or two left.) Xin Ding suddenly thought of this, and got up again to turn around in the middle of the house. (with!) He was ecstatic. The hoop of a bucket of bean paste was loose, and it seemed that it could not be lifted out.Xin Ding groped, untied the loose barrel hoop, and flipped the sauce in the barrel with his hands, and a scent rushed to his face.The bean paste in this bucket is definitely not poisonous, Xinding couldn't help but started to chew. (Delicious! This is good old California bean sauce!) Military generals from all over the country once dedicated the local high-quality bean paste to Lord Nobunaga, and Xinding naturally became a "soy bean paste taster". (That is to say, this place is not outside the Kaga area, and it is still the territory of the Sakuma family.) Xin Ding raised his vigilance again. However, nothing changed after that.It was so on that day, and so on the next day, and it was very peaceful on the third day.As Xinding expected, there was only one meal a day.When he is hungry, he will taste soybean paste a few times.Then he found a bucket with pickled burdock in it. Xinding can only drink one bowl of bean paste soup every day. Apart from insufficient water intake, there is no need to worry about starvation.The problem is instead peeing.There is no hut in the room.In desperation, Xinding had no choice but to use the corner farthest from the sleeping place as a hut, and went there to relieve himself. He was really "eating, drinking and lazing in one place", and he endured it like this for more than ten days. A few days later, there was some noise outside the room.Xin Ding listened intently, it seemed that several men were arguing. After the noisy movement subsided a little, only the iron door of the warehouse creaked and opened halfway.Several men came in a file with hand lamps. "Here, this is here!" They whispered to each other and ran towards Xinding, and then asked under pressure, "Master Ota?" "It's me, you are..." Xinding hid behind the barrel and replied.Holding a sliver of hope, he felt that the father and son might come to the rescue directly, so he staggered to the barrel. "Is it Koyata?" The letter confirmed it, but no one answered.At this time, two men rushed from the darkness and grabbed his arms suddenly.Although they were thin, they were frighteningly powerful. "What are you going to do?" Faith writhed, trying to break free, but couldn't move at all.At this moment, a third man appeared. "Sorry." As soon as the words fell, Xin Ding received a heavy punch in the chest, and couldn't help but squat down and fell to the ground.Before he could react, he was thrown into a box that looked like a coffin. The box was covered, and there seemed to be a movement of locking on both sides of the body.After a cold "clang" sound, he was lifted up. (Where are they trying to take me?) —Where is that person trying to play tricks on me? In the narrow box, Xinding couldn't turn his body, and could only silently curse the variables that befell him.