Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

The frozen river was shrouded in morning mist.White egrets are everywhere in the green fields.The two horses galloped past like flying arrows.Oda Nobunaga took the lead, followed by Maeda Inuchiyo.Inu Chiyo is no longer the servant boy he used to be.He has become the eldest son of Toshiharu Maeda, the lord of the deserted castle, with a salary of 2,200 guan, and changed his name to Maedaemon Toshiie when he became an adult. The two galloped along the river bank for three miles non-stop.They do this every morning.This has become Nobunaga's daily lesson. As before, Nobunaga's behavior remains elusive.Although he loves Nong Ji deeply in his heart, he married three women, A Lei, Nana and Shen Xue, as concubines at one time, and soon had children with them.The first baby girl was born, and then several boys were born.Seeing the red cheeks of the first baby boy, Nobunaga said, "This face is amazing. Let's name it Wonderball." The second baby boy had long lanugo, so Nobunaga Said: "It's so interesting, you can tie your hair directly, like a tea brush, let's call this guy a tea whisk pill." The third child was born on March 7th. "It's too troublesome to name him, so let's call him Sanqi Wan." He completely ignored the stereotypes and customs, and often went to the village to dance with the people.

Because Nobunaga often mingled among the people in strange attire and carnival with the villagers, people were not used to it at first, but as time passed, they changed their views and said, "This is our master." The head is deeply loved by the people, so even if merchants from various countries are allowed to come and go freely in Owari, there is absolutely no worry about being murdered or attacked. "Left again." After galloping for three miles in one breath, Nobunaga stopped the horse.The morning mist has not completely dissipated, filling the woods. "Let's take a break here. There should be a good harvest this year."

"There will be a good harvest." Mataemon Toshiie's forehead was glowing with youthful brilliance, he didn't care to wipe off the sweat from his forehead, so he got off the horse. "Let's rest on the grass." "We can't rest on the grass at any time... This is what the lord used to ask us." "Sometimes it can be flexible. Sit down!" After finishing speaking, Nobunaga was the first to lie down on the grass.Feeling the coolness of the wet grass on his neck, Nobunaga couldn't help stretching. "Hey!" A voice suddenly came from the woods, and a man with a strange appearance appeared.Matazaemon jumped up in horror. "who is it?"

Nobunaga was still lying on the grass, smiling comfortably. The man who appeared had a crumpled battle uniform on his shoulders, a long sword hanging from his waist, and his beard was rolled up into the air, like a monkey. "Who?" Mazaemon shouted angrily. "I want to see Mr. Nobunaga." The monkey-like man answered loudly without fear.Matazaemon turned his head to look at Nobunaga, only to see him squinting his eyes calmly, looking at the sky. "If you just want to meet, I can't inform you. Report your name." The monkey smiled slyly, "You are Maeda Mataemon Toshiie, right? Shimoginoshita Tokichiro is a wise man who knows astronomy, geography, and everything in the world."

"What bullshit! You know astronomy, but—" Mazaemon snorted coldly, "Absurd! Are you crazy? Don't get close, or you will be killed." "It's too stingy. Master Nobunaga rides out of the city every morning. Do you know why?" "Are you still uttering wild words?" "For the sake of the common people in the world, you have to speak wild words. How does Maeda Matazaemon view the world today? You have to carefully speculate on the thoughts of Lord Nobunaga. Daisuke Yoshimoto, Imagawa Jibu of Junfu, is about to lead the army into the capital. Is the Tian family surrendering or resisting? Don’t you find that Mr. Nobunaga is distressed by this? If you surrender, you will always be under Jibu’s subordinates; but if you defeat the Imagawa clan, Mr. Nobunaga will become the overlord of the world There is only one way to defeat the Imagawa Clan. The generals of the ruling department are all the previous city lords. They have learned the rules of siege, but they don't know the field battle method. Mr. Nobunaga rides a horse every morning The purpose of going out of the city is to find someone who is familiar with this method of warfare. It is a gift from heaven to meet me. With me alone, you can win the world."

Matazaemon was startled, and turned to look at Nobunaga.There is no need to report, this man's wild bragging has clearly reached Nobunaga's ears. "Zuo" Nobunaga opened his eyes, "Let that monkey be the leader of the Ashgaru warriors." "Is it too hasty?" "It's all right. You just say he's in charge of my horses." Hearing this, the monkey smiled slightly. Nobunaga stood up, stretched his waist, and then patted the head of Aiqi Haifeng who was grazing, "Left again, back!" He jumped on the horse's back. Matazaemon Toshiie carefully looked at this strange man in front of him. "Your name is Tokichiro?"

Fujikichiro nodded. "You said you know astronomy at the top and geography at the bottom?" At this time, Fujikichiro had come to Mataemon, and suddenly patted him on the shoulder. "That's a blindfold, Master Quan Yudai." "Don't call me Inuchiyo casually." "So, how do you call you Mazaemon Toshiie-kun? You are also from Owari in Shimomoto, and your father's name is Nakamura Yasuke. He was an footgaru samurai when the former lord Nobuhide, and his feet were cut off in a battle, so he left the samurai. I will definitely do my best to serve the public good." Hearing this, Mataemon Toshika couldn't help but look at the monkey in front of him again.For some reason, his anger had dissipated, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Have you met the lord before?" "No, it's the first time we met. Thanks to the recommendation of your step, I am honored to be a member of the Ashgaru Samurai. Kinoshita Tokichiro is very polite." After speaking, he quickly grabbed the rein from Matazaemon's hand, "I will lead the horse for you, I will go with you." Matazaemon looked up to the sky and laughed.Just now, he was calling other people by their nicknames, bragging about himself, and in a blink of an eye, he called "one step" again.Strangely, he wasn't all that disgusted.To say that this person is a human, yet he does look like a monkey; it seems too arrogant, but he is eager to lead the horse for Mazaemon.

"You might as well talk while walking. Your name is Tokichiro?" "yes." "You just said that you are familiar with the strange tactics of wild warriors." "Yes. I am familiar with the tactics of Masakatsu Koroku of Suga, Kumawakamiya of Nishimikawa, and the monks of Honganji Temple." "It's really shameless." "No, I'm telling the truth. In troubled times, the city lords' regular tactics cannot protect the people. If you don't rely on the city, but choose the method of spreading subordinates in the villages and mountains, once the critical period comes, these people will It can quickly become a combat force; and when it is dispersed in normal times, it becomes ordinary people and hides among the crowd. The power of this kind of power is unimaginable. Being able to focus on this point, and take the initiative to mingle with the people and dance together... ...Nobunaga-sama is really amazing. So, believe me, Tokichiro will be useful someday."

"It's true, relying solely on the city to fight, cannot clean up today's troubled times." "If you still have doubts, you can let me sneak into your territory. Within half a month, I will be able to mess up your territory." "No need. But where will you be recruited?" "First it was arson." "Humph." "People are most likely to be scared when they see a fire. The second is looting." "Oh." "It is to incite the people again. Spread rumors among the people, saying that the lord no longer protects them and has no ability to protect them. In this way, the people will no longer pay the lord."

"Oh." "They will overthrow the lord with me and follow me—on the surface it looks like a civil uprising, but in fact I will replace the Maeda family as the new lord. It will take about half a month." Zaemon was speechless. "Since you know such a superb strategy, why don't you implement it?" Fujikichiro smiled and shook his head, "That's too insignificant, too insignificant. You can only be a bandit who was born as a thief. But if you don't understand that kind of warfare and strengthen your defenses to calm the world, people in troubled times will never be rescued. For To end the troubled times, I will start as an ashigaru samurai and do my duty wholeheartedly. Mr. Maeda, please take care of me." Matazaemon laughed again.Unknowingly, the morning fog has cleared, and under the blue sky, the green fields and the silver river are shining in the sun, reflecting each other. When the two returned to Qingzhou City, it was almost noon.In the eyes of Mataemon Toshiie, Tokichiro has an unimaginable strangeness and freshness.Although he claimed to be born in a common people's family with the surname Nakamura, he was able to describe Suruga, Enjiang, Sanhe, Owari, Mino, and Ise in the Song Dynasty; his evaluation of characters was always different from that of ordinary people. On the contrary, every word touched Mazaemon.Although he was a small official of the Imagawa Clan in Yuanjiang, and once lived under the hedge of Matsushita Kahei, he thought that the future of the Imagawa Clan was not very bright. When Masaemon asked the reason, Fujikichiro immediately looked serious, and said in a training tone: "The general daimyo in the world can't understand this. If the troubled times continue, everyone will speak of danger. Now Imakawa only enjoys comfort contentedly, pursues Fengya does not understand the sufferings of the people. The common people cannot endure the fate of being slaughtered and injured by daimyo forever. One day, they will join hands with the wild warriors, raise the banner of resistance, and join the uprising led by Master Munetsuren Moreover, all daimyos in troubled times regard other daimyo as their opponents. In order to deal with the enemy, they have to oppress and exploit the people of the territory. Come on, no matter how they strengthen their arms, it is tantamount to putting out the fire. But they didn't notice this at all. Nobunaga-sama is very different from their approach. He allowed the merchants to freely enter and leave Owari with a broad mind, and let the citizens They gradually became richer, and they also took the initiative to reduce taxes and taxes. He even mixed among the people and danced with them happily. Therefore, he can go to war without any worries, but the Imagawa family..." Maeda Matazaemon didn't like arrogant people, and it was even more difficult for him to bear the attitude of others, but even if the man in front of him talked arrogantly for three days and three nights, he would not get tired of it. They entered Kiyosu Castle and came to the door of the house of Fujii Mataemon, the leader of Ashgaru next to Erdo Castle. Toshika finally realized that Fujikichiro's behavior today was not so strange.Fujikichiro followed Nobunaga wholeheartedly, and Nobunaga seemed to be ready to use him.Perhaps the two had agreed in advance how to meet today, and Nobunaga had already decided to arrange for him to work under Fujii Mataemon. "Is there anyone?" Matazaemon greeted. "Yes." A clear voice came from inside the door, and Mataemon's daughter Yae appeared at the door. "Is Emmon not here?" "yes." "Then wait for a while." Yae passed Toshiya and looked at Fujikichiro.Yae has a thin face, and her eyes are shining with integrity and intelligence. As the only daughter of the leader of the ashigaru samurai, young samurai often come to propose to her. "This man started serving under your father today..." Li Jia said. That Fujikichiro didn't know what to think, he smiled heartily, and said: "Ah, she is such a soul-stirring beauty. Hahaha..." Yae looked at Fujikichiro again in surprise.Li Jia was surprised and blushed.Fujikichiro took off his battle uniform, and continued: "Master Maeda is a handsome and handsome man, and this young lady is as beautiful as the person in the painting. Please take care of me at Shimoshita Fujikichiro." Yae was even more nervous, "My name is Yae. Please come in." She opened the chaimen next to the gate and led the two of them to the corridor. "Miss Yae, with your temperament and appearance, you probably have to be disturbed by suitors every day." "Yes...ah, no no." "Oh, young people can't be indifferent. Mr. Maeda seems to be blushing with nervousness, and even I feel like standing in front of a fragrant cherry tree. Ms. Yae's father must be very happy too?" "Fujikichi, you talk too much." After Yae ran away shyly, Toshiya couldn't help sullenly, and said, "Miss Yae is definitely not the kind of woman who likes to be praised." "Oh." Fujikichiro sat down in the corridor, smiled slyly, and waved his hands. "Just wait, Miss Yae will definitely bring us barley tea." "How old are you? You have no sense of shame." "Hahaha, although I have a sense of shame, I just didn't show it. I am also a man." Lijia couldn't help laughing.Although the other party was about the same age as him, his forehead was covered with wrinkles.Thinking about it carefully, the nasty compliment just now seems to be this man's little trick.No matter how comical he may appear, whether he is being laughed at or not, this man always leaves a powerful impression of his existence: that he is here. "Master Maeda." "What is it?" "I'm a horse breeder from today, and I can often see Mr. Nobunaga, but I still want to ask you an important question." "Important issues?" "Yes. Do you know about the grandson of Mikawa Matsudaira Kiyoyasu in Junfu?" "Take Chiyo... I know. He was the lord's childhood playmate." "The former Takechiyo...has grown up now and changed his name to Motoyasu. I heard that he will go to war soon." "What, Takechiyo is going on an expedition? Where are you going?" "It must be Marune, Washitsu, Nakajima, Zenshoji or Tange in Lord Nobunaga's territory." Li Jia suddenly opened his eyes wide, "How do you know?" "Haha... I know astronomy at the top, and geography at the bottom..." Just when Fujikichiro was in high spirits, the partition door was gently opened from the inside, Yae put down the barley tea tray, and put his hands on the ground, "Please use barley tea." "Thank you very much. I'm very thirsty. I really have a good understanding. Come on, Maeda-sama." Fujikichiro took the barley tea tray from Yae's hand and said bluntly.The two drank barley tea silently until Yae left. Not far from here, under the big stalk tree in Qulun, Erdao City, the apes are commotioning from time to time.But what is surprising is that the voice is a bit like Fujikichiro's voice. "Fujikichi," Toshiya put down the barley tea bowl after Yae left, "You really seem like a wise man. Yae did serve barley tea. But if Takechiyo really led his troops to attack Owari, it would be completely different from the barley tea. What did you use to understand this point, let’s hear it.” Holding the bowl, Fujikichiro narrowed his eyes and said, "I've already said it." "So you're sure about it?" "This world has its own way of running. Night comes after sunset, and morning comes after night. The prophecy is based on this irreversible way. First of all, I will tell you how to decipher the truth. As we all know, Imakawa Jibu Daisuke has been trying to enter Beijing to replace General Ashikaga in commanding the world." "good." "Since that's the case, you should know that the Imagawa family must pass through Owari when they enter Beijing." "That's natural." "Is Nobunaga-sama surrendering or fighting to the death? If Nobunaga-sama is determined to resist and has prepared for it, then who will the Imagawa clan send to lead the battle?" "You mean to let Takechiyo come?" "No one but him." "Oh." Toshika tilted his head, "Isn't that the case? Asahina Taino, Uden Chosho, and Miura Bingo are all outstanding generals." "If you think so, it's because you don't know how to comprehend things. These few are all the confidantes of the Imagawa family. Even if they pass Owari smoothly, they can't enter Beijing quickly. After Owari, there are Mino and Omi. According to common sense , must choose such a person as the vanguard, even if he is wiped out in the first battle of Owari, it will only be beneficial to Yoshimoto. Only Takechiyo meets the above conditions. The Okazaki people led by Wakamoto Yasushi and Shin After a bloody battle, Daisuke Jibu will only applaud. After all, the Okazaki people are a group of hungry wolves who have lost their city, so let them show their bravery." "Fujikichi!" Toshika's voice was sharp, "It does make sense. So, are you going to open up joints with Matsudaira Motoyasu in advance?" "I can't predict that step yet. For me, feeding horses is the most important thing. I just want you to tell Mr. Nobunaga that if Yuan Yasushi and your lord have a bloody battle, the one who applauds you can only be Daisuke Jibu. Then Then you'll come out on top." "Get ahead!" Maeda Toshiie couldn't help smiling wryly. But Fujikichiro did not stop, and continued to chatter: "The vanguard is undoubtedly Matsudaira Motoyasu. So, what will Daisuke Jibu consider? If the vanguard enters Owari and shakes hands with Lord Nobunaga, it will bring great benefits to Beijing. Difficult. Therefore, we must first observe the movement... If it enters the rainy season, it will be unfavorable for combat. In the past half a month, there will probably be tentative battles." "Who is coming?" "Without a doubt—Matsudaira Motoyasu." Hearing Fujikichiro's decisive answer, Toshiie moved his body.If the owner, Fujii Mataemon, does not come back, Fujii's tongue will undoubtedly not stop turning.He was eloquent, and he forgot his identity as he talked. He unconsciously began to mock and reprimand the senior officials with 2,200 salaries. "A person who is easy to be seen through and guessed by others is not worthy of reuse." Nobunaga has this habit, and Fujikichiro just meets Nobunaga's employment criteria. He is indeed a typical troubled times admired by Nobunaga. "So it's Mr. Maeda." When Fujii Mataemon came back for lunch, the monkey Fujikichiro immediately stopped talking, straightened his kapok uniform, and stood up. "This is Tokichiro Kinoshita, my lord told him to take care of the horses here." After Toshika finished speaking, Tokichiro saluted respectfully.The Toshi family wondered if he was going to talk about that weird talk again, but he said: "My family lives in Nakamura, and I am the son of the ashigaru samurai Yasuke of the previous lord. This time, thanks to the grace of the lord, I came to serve the lord instead of my father. I am very grateful I don’t know anything about this place, so please give me your advice.” "It's the son of Yasuke Nakamura. It does look a bit like him. How is your mother?" "Yes. Mother hopes that her son will be able to succeed." "Then do your best. I will ask my lord to let you live here. Mr. Maeda, I accept this person." Fujii Mataemon said indifferently.Toshika stood up, but he always felt unwilling to leave Tokichiro. "I'll go to the stables right away. I'll introduce you to the lord's mount, and then meet the other samurai in the group. Fujiyoshi, follow me." Fujikichiro lowered his head obediently, followed behind Toshika, and took the rein of the horse in Toshika's hand respectfully. "Fujiro." "exist." "When only the two of us are facing each other, we might as well be friends." "It's down to death. How can it be commensurate with the young city lord's friend who is two thousand and two hundred?" "Although you say so, I'm afraid you don't think so. Didn't you just teach me that your opinion will be the beginning of my success?" "Hahaha... yes. If you understand this, then I will be presumptuous. Mr. Maeda, Fujikichiro will one day be your right-hand man." "I've said that. Have you trained horses before? My lord's mounts are all rare treasures in the world, and they are extremely powerful." "Although I have never trained horses, I have tamed strong people. As long as I jump into the horse's stomach, get familiar with its temperament, and get along with it, I believe it will give me face." Fujikichiro smiled nonchalantly. Nobunaga has a total of twelve favorite horses, which are tied in two rows in the stable, and they are all powerful horses.As long as he heard that there was a famous horse, he would get it no matter how much it cost.Horses and swords are the two hobbies of the young Nobunaga.Tethered to the front was a reed foal with huge markings. It was the horse Fujikichiro had seen this morning.The horse's name is written next to it: "Gallery".Next came a white reed horse named Moonshine.The third merle reed horse is named "Dian Guang".The fourth moonhair horse is named "Dark Cloud". While looking at them in sequence, "Dianguang" suddenly screamed loudly.Fujikichiro jumped away like a frog.Lijia couldn't help laughing, "Hahaha... Fujiyoshi, how can you tame the fierce horse like this?" Fujikichiro wiped the sweat off his forehead with his hands, and slowly approached "Dian Guang". "Your habits are very bad, you dare to scare people. But it doesn't matter. If the other party is a timid person, he will definitely be hurt." He stretched out his hands cautiously, and touched the nose of "Dian Guang". "Dianguang" let Fujikichiro caress meekly. "If it scares people again in the future, treat it like this." Fujikichiro looked back at Toshika in shock.Li Jia burst out laughing.Fujikichiro's behavior is not only an expression of refusal to admit defeat, but also a little childish, and also has an indescribable atmosphere and caution, which seems so funny. "Do you have a penchant for show horses?" "No. Frighten others and frighten myself. I'm just doing what God wants." "Don't make excuses. For my friend's sake, let me tell you. My lord always shouts when he needs it. 'Horse'!" "Horses! Indeed, these fellows are horses." "But you have to understand! When the lord gave the order, which horse did you lead? If you can't accurately judge which horse the lord is calling, you can't manage the horses for the lord." "Just say it. Say it." "Can you choose different horses according to the expression, look and purpose of the lord?" Fujikichiro patted his chest and nodded. "Leave the matter of the horse to me. That way, Fujikichiro will be able to understand the Lord's thoughts every day." At this time, the twelve horses suddenly neighed in unison.Fujikichiro's expression changed drastically, and he looked around in a panic.At the end of the horse's line of sight, stood Nobunaga.It turned out that these horses neighed together when they saw Nobunaga. "Hahaha." The Li family laughed again, "Compared to the horse trainer, the horse welcomes the master more. Hahaha..." "Hayate" was the first to stick out his nose, flattering Nobunaga. "Monkey!" Nobunaga called Tokichiro while slapping "Hayate" on the cheek.