Chapter 38 Chapter 38 The Judge

After Okubo Tadayo returned from Okazaki, Ieyasu did not meet him immediately, but asked Imachiyo to pass on a message: "Write down the verification results." He himself still stayed in the bedroom and continued to check the list of soldiers. With Changxiao City as the center of gravity, the fighter plane is gradually maturing.Once the spies who sneaked into Kai bring back new information, the Tokugawa Army will immediately start operations.In this tense atmosphere of preparations for war, the news that Ohgaya Yashiro attempted to rebel was like a bolt from the blue. Ieyasu has a lot of trust in Yashiro.Although Yashiro could not go to the battlefield to fight, his ability to calculate annual tax and military expenditure was almost unmatched.Moreover, he was promoted from a low-level samurai, so he should be full of gratitude to Ieyasu and regard him as his life.Ieyasu has always thought so, and handed over almost all money matters to Yashiro.After Yashiro's incident was revealed, Ieyasu's embarrassment can be imagined.

Ieyasu even thought many times whether someone was jealous of Yashiro and even designed to frame him.But now it seems that his rebellion is solid evidence.Moreover, Yashiro can be regarded as the most rebellious person among the retainers.Am I ignorant of human talent? Ieyasu personally inspected Hamamatsu's rice warehouse, arsenal, and treasury, and ordered Xinyasu and Shinyoshi to inspect Okazaki's warehouse. Fortunately, the account books and inventory were consistent.Strange, how can you manage the rear in an orderly manner, but how can you be the internal response of the Takeda family and want the heads of me and Xinkang?This doubt, after reading the document submitted by Okubo Tadayo, finally disappeared.

A man of righteousness ascends to the sky in one step, and his desires continue to expand, eventually blurring the line between dream and reality, and Ieyasu understands - prematurely reusing him.In this way, those who rise too fast may indeed have unreasonable thoughts.Realizing this, Ieyasu had to re-examine the distribution of troops in this battle. Some people have smooth sailing, while others have struggled, and the two should not be confused.If the two are not strictly distinguished and given the opportunity to show them accordingly, some of them may fail because of pride and complacency, and some may miss the opportunity because of excessive caution.Ieyasu looked through the roster carefully, reviewed the staffing one by one, and found that there was no problem.Finally, he finally closed the booklet, and said to Manchiyo, "Call Shichiro right." Ieyasu has not yet figured out how to deal with Yashiro, and he still has many doubts, so he needs to consult Tadashi before making a decision.

Not yet.The warm sunlight shone on the window of the academy, and the sound of the sea tide was heard in the distance, making Ieyasu feel a little dazed. Zhong Shi hurried over and knelt on the ground.Ieyasu immediately asked: "Regarding this matter, I want to know first, what was Saburo's reaction at first?" Zhongshi responded, and quickly moved to Ieyasu's side: "Actually, the young master was the one who shocked Okazaki Castle the most about this incident." Zhong Shi's rough tone was stinging.Ieyasu showed displeasure on his face, but he quickly controlled his emotions. "San Lang is the most shocked? You mean he is in a mess?"

"Yes. Someone mentioned Yashiro's abnormal behavior in front of him before, but he ignored it at all. The atmosphere in Okazaki Castle was gloomy, and the veterans thought that no matter what they reported, the young master would not take it seriously. They all... all had some Desperate, no longer actively make strategies and efforts." "You want to tell me... Saburo is too self-righteous?" "Yes." Tadashi replied clearly, "But this is all a trap set by that traitor Yashiro. Hiraiwa Takakichi said that Yashiro tried every means to sow discord in front of the young master, deliberately causing discord in the family."

"Is this related to Mrs. Tsukiyama?" "No." Zhong Shi shook his head blankly.He has always been straightforward, but he didn't want to intervene in this matter.Ieyasu understood his thoughts from Zhongshi's expression, since he didn't want to say it, there was no need to ask. "I want to know the reaction of the retainers to what happened to Yashiro." "They hated Yashiro." "Oh. How could he be so hated by everyone? It's incredible." "No, within reason!" Zhong Shi's tone was still very rough, "Only the lord and the young lord have big accidents."

"Our father and son?" "The retainers all said behind their backs that the lord and the young lord were deceived by the fox, Yashiro." "Therefore, they are unwilling to advise Saburo, are they? Yashiro is confident in Takeda's victory?" "He said that, but with the confidence of a madman." "Also, he said that Ieyasu is not as good as Yashiro, when did he say that?" "My lord!" Zhong Shi couldn't bear it anymore, "Actually, that guy is crazy. He thinks that others are always confused, but he is very calm at all times."

Ieyasu suddenly smiled, but the smile seemed a bit awkward: "Yashiro still made bold words, let me deal with it as I like?" "Yes. Not only that, but he also said that if you are not allowed to make the decision alone, and let the lords and junior warriors participate in the judgment, probably no one will agree to kill him." "Hmph! The citizens don't want to kill him?" Ieyasu, who has always been calm and steady, turned serious when he heard this, "You really said that, Shichiro right?" Ieyasu's eyes were sharp, Zhong Shi couldn't help shivering.Did this sentence stimulate Ieyasu so much?Tadashi thought that what made Ieyasu angry was the sentence "Ieyasu is not as good as I, Yashiro". "Yes, he did say that."

"Hmph! Damn thing!" "My lord! Regarding Yashiro's wife and children, before I went to arrest them, they didn't know anything about Yashiro's conspiracy." "Oh." "Because most of them are young people, I hope they can be forgiven by the lord, so I asked A Song to write a letter to plead, but she didn't write." "Oh. Hateful!" "No, that woman is very stubborn. She wanted to keep a festival for that lunatic, she shed tears and said that she would die with Yashiro." "There is no doubt that Yashiro will be sentenced to death."

"What about his family, my lord?" "You want to intercede for them?" Ieyasu finally realized what Tadase was saying. "It's the time of war. Yashiro should have been executed immediately, but since he said that, I'll satisfy him. What did his wife say?" "She will die for Yashiro." "What do you think?" "I think that they can be executed together, this fact is helpless—" Ieyasu interrupted him suddenly: "Leave the two youngest girls." "Two girls?" "Listen, keep them, but don't let them know who their father is for the time being. I will leave this matter to you, and you must arrange it carefully, so that the retainers don't think that I am lax in enforcing the law." After he finished speaking, he said to himself: "That bastard said that?"

What Zhong Shi wanted to say had already been said by Ieyasu, and his heart felt warm.He originally wanted to ask Jiakang to let go of a girl, and then secretly told Ah Song that he didn't want Jiakang, but he already had kindness in his heart.Tadashi was moved by this magnanimity, and was speechless for a long time; he didn't even think about why Ieyasu was so heartbroken by Yashiro's words. "Shichiro, Yashiro is challenging me." Hearing Ieyasu's words, Zhongshi finally came to his senses, and asked in surprise, "What?" "Yashiro thinks his judgment is more correct than mine." Ieyasu said in a reprimanded tone, "Don't you realize this yet? You idiot!" "But he's a traitor—" "No!" Ieyasu interrupted Zhongshi sharply, "He thinks...he betrayed me for the benefit of the people. He only wanted to create peace, while I continued to wage war and bring pain to the people. Hmph, he Still stand by his opinion." Zhongshi took another look at Ieyasu and remained silent.There is some truth to this statement.In Yashiro's arrogant state of mind, rather than the fear of failure lurking, it is better to say that it is full of the pride of the winner. "My lord! You just said that you have already decided what to do with Yashiro?" "Yes, it's decided!" "So... what kind of... method? Is it crucified, or beheaded?" Ieyasu stared at the roof tightly and shook his head: "It's not crucified. I want to meet his request and let the leaders come to interrogate him." "What, let the citizens—" "Yes." Ieyasu nodded slowly, and said again: "Listen, this is not a dispute between me and Yashiro, but I am asking the sky." "what?" "The Great War is about to break out, and Yashiro, who attempted to rebel, will be sawed to death." "Sawed to death?" Ieyasu nodded: "His family members were dragged to Nenshihara outside Okazaki City to be crucified. Prepare for the execution first, and then take Yashiro out of prison." "Execute the family members first?" "Yes, let Yashiro watch them being tortured. Then tie him to the horse, put up a sign with his crimes written on his back, and go from Nianshihara to Hamamatsu." "Send him to Hamamatsu and then saw him dead?" Ieyasu shook his head and said: "Fulfill his wish, let him be judged by the local people on the way from Okazaki to Hamamatsu. After arriving in Hamamatsu Castle, he will be escorted back to Okazaki." Zhong Shi was a little confused.The cruel execution method of sawing people to death has been seen in legends, but it has never been seen or even heard of in reality.The lord is really angry.Jia Kang looked at him again, and said: "You have to remember, then drag him to the field outside Okazaki City, and bury him alive on the spot. Only his head is exposed, and a sign is erected on it, writing: If passers-by hate him, You can saw its neck. Put a bamboo saw next to it." Zhongshi still didn't understand Ieyasu's intention.It sounded chilling, but the lord laughed. "Shichiro, do you understand?" Zhong Shi finally had a sudden realization and slapped his knees: "That is to say, after the sawed-off sign is erected, passers-by will be executed?" "right." "In case someone thinks of Yashiro's kindness..." "Then save his life." Ieyasu smiled again, "Passers-by either save his life or kill him. Either choose Yashiro Ohgami, or I, Ieyasu Tokugawa. Don't let anyone watch him!" "Yes." Zhong Shi kowtowed to the ground.Heaven!Suddenly his throat choked up. "Go back to Okazaki Castle immediately, and act accordingly." On the second day, Yashiro Ohgami was taken out of prison and tied behind his back to a horse. The sky is clear.A sign with Yashiro's crimes was erected on the horse's back. Six servants led the way, surrounded by twenty ashigaru warriors, and they were pulled out of the city from Bujingmen.Onlookers standing on both sides of the road threw stones one after another.But Yashiro still held his head high and looked around without changing his face.After the group arrived at Nian Zhiyuan in the east of the city, they slowed down their pace. On the execution ground on the right side of the pine forest, gleaming instruments of torture have been prepared, and only Ah Song and the four children are waiting to be executed.Five cross trees were quietly erected, and the sun was shining brightly on the winter ground, but the singing of warblers came from nowhere. "Yashiro, did you see that?" Imamura Hikohei, who was full of hatred for Yashiro from the beginning, came over to greet him specially, "Because of your ambition, your innocent family has ended up like this. Look, they were taken from the tent on the left." pulled out." But Yashiro still dismissed it. "Five cross trees, haha..." He murmured to himself, then looked at the five figures, and shouted loudly: "I'll be there soon, you go to the Paradise of Bliss first." "Is that the last thing you'll say to them? Bastard!" "Hmph! My Yashiro's state of mind, how can you understand?" Then, he lowered his eyelids, no matter what Hikobei said, he ignored it. They rested for one night on the way, and on the second day, they arrived in Hamamatsu Castle. The people in Hamamatsu City hated Yashiro more than the people in Okazaki Castle, and threw stones and debris at him one after another. Ieyasu didn't even look at Yashiro. Yashiro, who was still holding his head high in Nianzhiyuan, was completely exhausted when he arrived in Hamamatsu Castle, as if he couldn't bear the bumps on the horse's back.After all, Yashiro had no habit of exercising his body. Although he was strong-willed, he still couldn't stand the long-distance fatigue. Honda Saakuzaemon, who likes to stab people the most, approached deliberately, and said sarcastically, "Yashiro, it's been a hard journey." Yashiro didn't answer. Yashiro was led around Hamamatsu Castle, and when he was about to be dragged back to Okazaki Castle from the execution office, Okubo Tadayo announced how Ieyasu would be disposed of. Yashiro thought that he would be executed in Hamamatsu Castle, but when he heard that he was about to be sent back to Okazaki, he finally let out a mournful cry and cursed: "Such a tossing, the scholar can be killed but not humiliated! The crime of this trip is obvious to the world!" "Yashiro, I have conveyed my lord's will to you." It started to rain lightly this morning, and Tadashi said while covering Yashiro on horseback with a raincoat, "Listen well, you will be dragged back to Okazaki Castle and buried alive at the crossroads outside the city." "Buried alive?" Mishiro's eyes revealed terror. "Exactly. Let only your head stick out of the ground, and execute you with a bamboo saw." "Do whatever you want. You will suffer retribution, and you will definitely suffer retribution!" Zhong Shi couldn't help laughing: "No matter how stubborn you are, you only have three days left." "..." "Do you know, this is to satisfy your wish." "Humph!" "Calm down, nasty guy!" Zhong Shi snapped, "you can talk about it when you get there. You can state your point of view to passers-by. If someone thinks you are right, you can let him dig you out and save your life. " "What, I can speak freely?" "Exactly. You will get the verdict of the people. Isn't this what you wish? The people in the past will make a choice, whether to save your life or cut off your head with a bamboo saw. Moreover, the lord will not be watched. Are you satisfied?" After speaking, Zhongshi ordered: "Let's go!" Yashiro's eyes regained their vitality, and as he sucked the rainwater dripping from his beard, there was a ray of hope in his heart.If he can speak freely, he can negotiate with those who want to cut off his head with a bamboo saw. When it comes to eloquence, I am absolutely confident... Yashiro finally forgot the pain in his buttocks. Probably because of the rain, the number of onlookers was less than 30% of the usual. On the morning of the third day, Yashiro was buried alive at a crossroad called Xiaoqi near Okazaki Castle.A hole was dug, only enough to bury the body, and the wall of the hole was covered with six planks.Although it felt cold underfoot, there was no water in the pit.A square plank was laid on it, and a hole was drilled in the center so that the head could be exposed.The plank was pressed against a large stone.If it weren't for his hands stretching into the air, he could have lifted the plank, but Yashiro's current posture and strength are not enough to save himself.Both ends of the board are nailed with iron nails, and bamboo saws are placed around it.Wooden stakes were laid behind him and on the left and right, and the tall sign with the crime written on it was inserted behind Yashiro, so he couldn't see it. Hikohe Imamura returned to Okazaki Castle after completing this rare job.In the bright sunlight of the morning, people came over one after another. Supported by the idea of ​​survival, Yashiro, who was once in a state of embarrassment, regained his calm.Is what I do good or evil?he thought, but then shook his head hastily. Ieyasu wanted the people to judge, and this way of dealing with it was so unfair and unreasonable, Yashiro thought.There is a tall signboard behind him, in which various crimes of attempted rebellion are written, and his freedom of movement is restricted by wooden boards and stones.Now, the only thing that can fight against Ieyasu is his mouth and his mind.Yashiro believes that this occasion is the time to use his best weapon to fight against people instead of reflecting on good and evil. This morning, as a sinner, he still had food, but now there is none.After the hunger strike, how many days are there left to live?Just thinking of this, a man with the appearance of a business traveler came over. "This villain should be hacked into pieces." The man suddenly took the bamboo saw and was about to saw Yashiro's head. "Wait!" Yashiro yelled, "Who do you call the villain?" The man in his thirties heard Yashiro's voice and stared blankly at the crowd of onlookers. "Do you still think you are a good person when you try to kill your master?" The person who spoke was an old man in his sixties who looked kind and kind. "When you were acting as deputy official, I still thought you were a great person. You watch your innocent wife and children being executed, but you are unmoved. You bastard, you bastard without emotion!" "Yes, that's right! That's why I want your life." The businessman-like man echoed. "Wait, don't you want to hear me explain?" But at this time, the man was already gearing up to walk behind Yashiro. Yashiro gritted his teeth to endure the pain.It was really bad luck for him to meet such a person at the beginning.This kind of fool doesn't understand the principles of the world. Fortunately, the man only sawed through Yashiro's skin, but didn't kill him. "Will anyone continue to come? If this heinous villain is taken advantage of like this, what face will Sanhe people have?" someone shouted.A young man of seventeen or eighteen came out and kicked Yashiro on the head violently with the tip of his shoe. "Bastard! No... disrespectful fellow." "Hmph, you're still stubborn!" The young man turned his head to look at the crowd, his voice gradually became sharper, "You bastard who doesn't know kindness, reason, and affection. What am I being rude to? You bastard!" He stretched out his muddy foot and kicked Yashiro's head hard.The onlookers suddenly boiled up. "Wait, wait a minute, listen to my explanation. The reason I did this is to save Sanhe from the flames of war. If I don't do this, I won't be able to save everyone." "What, are you saying that after you kill the lord and give Okazaki Castle to the Takeda family, there will be no more wars?" "Yes. Because the Tokugawa family is here, the Takeda family will definitely come to attack. I did this to eliminate the root cause of the war. As long as we take the initiative to show favor, the Takeda family will form an alliance with us. Why do we have to go to war with them?" The crowd suddenly burst into laughter. "Speak stupid things." The old man just now said, "In the past, we wanted to form an alliance with the Imagawa clan, but we were always bullied by others; we wanted to form an alliance with the Oda clan, but we were always challenged by Oda. In short, the weaker you are, the easier it is Victims of war." "That's right. We don't want to be ordered by the Takeda family. The people of the Shan family said that the Takeda army not only treated the people brutally, but also imposed heavy taxes and abused women. It is really unbearable." "Wait, wait, just listen to me..." Yashiro roared, but was gagged before he could finish speaking. A young man with the appearance of a craftsman who had been standing silently by the side came out and stuffed a large amount of horse manure into Yashiro's mouth.Yashiro struggled to spit out the dung, and finally realized how miscalculated he was.The people were not on his side at all, they were incomprehensibly stupid mobs!Thinking of this, he suddenly felt extremely angry, and he couldn't keep calm anymore. "Bastard! Pig dog! Beast!" After the onslaught of cursing, swearing, pebbles, mud, and horse dung was over, the crowd dispersed.Seven or eight saw marks had been left on Yashiro's neck.But at night, he regained his composure.He abides by his credo and struggles to survive to this day.Sometimes, he seemed to see the twinkling stars in the sky about to fall, and he opened the board for him to save him, but this dream did not come true in the end. On the fourth day after Yashiro was buried here, Nobuyasu and the Okazaki people rushed past him and rushed to the Yoshida battlefield.The day after Xinkang passed by, that is, at dusk on the fifth day after he was buried here, Yashiro was cut off by the leader who thought he could save his life, and died.