Chapter 36 Chapter Thirty-Six

After the riot subsided, Matsudaira Ieyasu has been paying close attention to the movements of Oda Nobunaga. Yoshiryu Saito, who killed his father, is dead.It is said that he suffered from epilepsy, and the "magic elixir" to cure the disease is rumored to be given by Nobunaga with a bitter plan.Whether the rumors are true or not, Yilong died shortly after drinking the medicine, and now his son Yixing is stationed at Inabayama Castle.Nobunaga is finally going to send troops to attack Yixing.For this reason, he formed an alliance with the Takeda clan and was planning to marry his adopted daughter to Shingen's son Takeda Katsuyori.

Ieyasu and Nobunaga have always been close since the marriage contract was made for Takechiyo and Tokuhime, but the urgent situation still made him dare not take it lightly.If Nobunaga will indeed attack Mino, Ieyasu can also safely and boldly advance from Higashi Mikawa to Enjiang.After the problem of Awan and Keni is resolved, and Higashi Mikawa's farm work has come to an end, Ieyasu plans to send troops to Yoshida Castle, and personally command the Matsudaira people to attack Ohara Hizen. "In this way, there is no need to worry about famine this year." Ieyasu led the troops out of Okazaki and arrived at Xiawujing on May 14th, the seventh year of Yonglu.The pioneers are Honda Heihachiro Tadakatsu who is just seventeen years old but has already crowned the Tōkaidō, as well as Matsudaira Lord Densuke, Ogasawara Shinkuro, and Hachiya Hannojo.

On the 14th, before dawn, the team set off quietly.Heihachiro who walked out of the tent half-jokingly said to Hanzhicheng: "Let's compete and see who has the best spear?" "You want to compete with me?" "That's right. After the riot, in order to make up for your mistakes, you became more and more brave. You are almost like a hummer. Only you are worthy of fighting with me." "You're too self-righteous, Heihachi." Hanzhi Hachiya rode his horse on the path shrouded in morning mist, and he sneered at Heihachiro's challenge. "How? We don't bet on anything. If you lose, don't take it to heart." Heihachiro laughed.

"Okay, it's a deal." The two planned to set off from Yoshida Castle, and each lead a team to attack the team of Makino Chief Jiro Yasunari. Heihachiro Honda ran to the hill on the right, and Hannojo Hachiya galloped to the field to the left, to see who would attack first. Hachiya Hannojo waited for Honda Heihachiro's team to disappear in the pine forest behind the hill, and galloped towards the ridge of the field.He participated in the riots without being blamed, and for this he always wanted to do something in the battle.He was far away from the young warriors who followed him.Before the sun came out, he had crossed Toyokawa.

After vaguely seeing the flag of the Makino Army on the embankment, Hannojo turned his head to look at the young samurai who had fallen far behind, gripped the spear in his hand, and galloped his horse into the enemy's formation. "Hachiya Hannojo from Matsudaira's family is here. Anyone who is afraid of death will get out of the way..." He shouted and looked towards the depression under the embankment. Enemies in women's coats fight together. "Hanzhicheng, you are late." Heihachiro said with a spear in his hand, "Don't meddle. This guy has something interesting."

Hannojo gritted his teeth.Why is Heihachiro so lucky?The one who went to the battlefield wearing the red bamboo hat and his mother's coat must be the famous Xiaojiang Chengsuke of the Makino family. "Since I am your opponent, how can I make a move?" With a loud roar, Banzhicheng threw away the spear and flew off the horse, "I, Banzhicheng, never want the title of second spear. Look at me." He suddenly pulled out the proud knife from his back, without any hesitation. He rushed towards the enemy without fear, "I am the best swordsman. Come!" Seeing Hannojo's frantic back, Heihachiro threw away Joshosuke and hurried towards the enemy.If Hannojo took the head of Sojiro Makino first because of Josho's help, then even if he won the title of the first spear, the credit would be greatly reduced.

Heihachiro rushed forward, but Cheng's assistant retreated again and again. "Don't retreat, let the horse come over!" "Young people are so impatient." "Pooh!" "It's even faster than me." Heihachiro laughed dumbly, raised his spear, and took another step forward.The spears of the two sides were entangled, inextricably linked. After a few rounds, they found out that they were both wounded.Heihachiro's tiger's mouth in his left hand was shattered, and blood oozes out; and Josuke's right thigh was also injured.The foreheads of both sides were dripping with sweat, but no one was allowed to come to help in the battle.They yelled at their companions: "Don't shoot."

As long as there is one more round, the winner can be determined.Heihachiro never thought about his own life or death.He has always believed that death is very far away.Relying on his youthful vigor, he pushed towards the opponent again. "Wait!" The other party said suddenly. "You're scared." "I'm not Cheng Suo's assistant." "Aren't you a castle?" The opponent held the spear and nodded. "Then who are you?" The other party said with a slight smile, "I am Yasunari Makino Soujirou." His voice was very low, as if he was afraid that the people around would hear him.

"You... Sojiro Makino?" "Go quietly and tell Matsudaira Ieyasu that I am not interested in Imagawa. The reason why I fought you and put on the bamboo hat and scarf of the castle is to convey this intention." "You are Sojiro-kun?" Heihachiro withdrew his spear, "Okay. It's dangerous. If it was Hannojo just now..." Heihachiro was talking when he suddenly heard shouts from near Sojiro's tent. In war, one can best see a person's luck and misfortune. Heihachiro Honda was blocked by Joshosuke, and was very anxious, but in fact his opponent was the general Makino Sojiro he was looking for; Hannojo Hachiya rushed to the enemy's main force without hesitation to find the general, But he encountered an unexpected enemy.

A man was sitting in the tent, which should have been Makino Soujiro's seat. Han Zhicheng chopped down two guards one after another, rushed into the tent, and the man stood up slowly. "I am Masanori Kawai. Are you Hachiya Hannojo?" As he spoke, he slowly pointed the musket in his hand at Hannojo. "Are you Kawai Masatoku?" "Exactly. Since you broke in with great difficulty, I will let you have a taste of fifty consecutive shots. You still have time to escape." Masanori Kawai was formerly known as Xiaosuke.Once when he was retreating from the battlefield, the enemy yelled loudly: "That guy's foot is injured. Hurry up!" He Jing heard the yelling, turned his head and said: "Ani Tudha, I am not injured, I was born with a lame. "

He retreated while staring at the pursuing enemy.When Shi really heard about this, he deliberately chose a new name for him with the homonym of "Niu De". "From now on, you will be called Zhengde." Before Hanzhicheng broke in, Zhengde had loaded his ammunition and waited.Hanzhicheng couldn't advance or retreat, so he couldn't help but clenched the handle of the knife in his hand. "Are you going to come forward, Hannojo?" "Cut the bullshit. I never back down." "Then let the horse come over." Zhengde smiled crookedly.Hannojo suddenly rushed towards him. With a bang, the sound of gunfire was deafening, and Han Zhicheng who was shot and Zhengde who fired the gun fell to the ground at the same time. Hannojo was hit on the forehead, his helmet was shaken off, his hair was in a mess, and blood gushed out from the unkempt hair, while Kawai Masatoku was hit by Hannojo on the knee of the lame leg and collapsed on the ground. "Hahaha!" Zhengde laughed, "You actually cut off my broken leg, it's really for my sake." "Hmph!" Hannojo stood up holding his sword.His eyes were blurred, and he looked like a red-haired ghost, but he replied without showing any weakness: "As expected of Zhengde, you shot very accurately. But your musket can't kill me. Come again..." Zhengde had rolled his eyes and fell into a pool of blood, and the warriors of the Matsudaira family who finally came rushed to support Hanzhicheng.Hanzhicheng muttered "what kind of belongings is this?", and walked out step by step.Seeing such a tragedy, no one dared to chase after him. Hannojo, who was hit on the forehead, walked out of the tent, and when he realized that he was being supported by his subordinates, he felt the ground under his feet tremble violently. "Board!" Someone called out, but it sounded far away. "No need!" Hanzhicheng was stern and stubborn, "Lead the horse..." The blood blurred his vision. Although he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. Only the face of Masanori Kawai holding a musket still appeared clearly in front of his eyes. "Hahaha..." Being supported by someone and walking five or six steps, Hanzhicheng suddenly burst out laughing.Fifty years of life, just halfway through, and half of them stood in front of the gate of hell.Although everyone is mortal, but once we really face death, infinite sadness suddenly floods our hearts. "Hahaha..." He laughed again.Man, it's really unbelievable.If you don't understand in your heart, you have to chant Namo Amitabha Buddha, confused and struggling between the lord and the Buddha... But that kind of wandering and confusion is so pale and powerless in front of this round of ammunition.Even so, he didn't mean to hate Kawai Masatoku at all.He also inflicted heavy injuries on the other party, and he didn't regret it, but he didn't expect the other party to die on the spot.And as long as Zhengde is alive, his Banzhicheng cannot die, otherwise he will lose, how could his Banzhicheng fail? "Board!" The subordinate shouted again, but Hannojo couldn't hear him at this time.The plank was brought up, and two attendants lifted it. "The horse is here." The entourage whispered in Banzhicheng's ear.He stared at the sky with round eyes, holding the rein tightly in his hands: "Zhengde...is Zhengde dead?" "Yes... yes. Dead." "Lead the horse to the lord, and go to him." This is the person Hannojo wanted to see at the last moment of his life.He also has an old mother at home.But his old mother, like Honda's widow, is a strong and aggressive female husband.If she knew that Hanzhicheng died before Zhengde, she would undoubtedly swallow tears and reprimand: "He is not my son. He has no will." When the entourage found that Hannojo's breathing was becoming more and more difficult, they couldn't help speeding up their pace and retreating, and they hurried across Toyokawa.Just after Toyokawa, Ieyasu had already rode his horse to the river bed. "Hachiya Hannojo was wounded and retreated." Kodaira Kanbara reported loudly.Jiakang reined in his horse.The dying Hanzhicheng was carried in front of him. "Hannojo!" Ieyasu got off his horse and strode towards him. "How did you get injured?" He asked loudly, but Hanzhicheng was already staring straight at the sky, motionless. Ieyasu quickly opened Hannojo's eyelids, and tried his pulse again.He is not dead yet.I just don't know what to think.Ieyasu shook his body violently: "Hannojo!" Suddenly, Hannojo made a voice: "Master! Hachiya Hannojo killed Kawai Masatoku and returned in triumph." "it is good!" "Tell my mother... my mother... I'm brave..." These were Hannojo's last words.He grunted, spat out a mouthful of blood, and drooped his head weakly. Ieyasu quietly raised his hand and bowed to Hannojo, but did not close his eyes.The dead Hannojo and the living Ieyasu glared at each other with all the hatred in their eyes. No, Hannojo admires Ieyasu, and Ieyasu loves Hannojo.Even so, Ieyasu had to let his retainers fight the enemy bravely and go to death, and the retainers also had to take the initiative to die. At this time, infinite sorrow seemed to be whispering to the world.After a long time, Ieyasu looked up at the sky and wiped away the tears from his eyes.Crows were calling all around, and the morning sun shone like splintered silver on the surface of the river. "Listen. Hannojo died after his triumphant return. Tell his mother so." "yes." "Okay, take him back and bury him properly." People lifted the planks and retreated. Ieyasu watched them go far away before jumping on the horse in a daze.The vanguard was crossing the river, and the water droplets splashed by the horseshoes were extremely beautiful.At this moment, Honda Heihachiro Tadakatsu and Makino Sojiro wearing a red hat appeared on the opposite river embankment.Honda had a white cloth wrapped around his left wrist, but everyone was in good spirits. Seeing Ieyasu's flag, Heihachiro turned his horse's head and dismounted from the grassy embankment.If Sojiro Makino really came to surrender, then Yoshida Castle is already in his hands.The complacency after defeating Sojiro refreshed the young Heihachiro.He jumped off his horse under the embankment and greeted Ieyasu proudly.But Ieyasu still felt that behind him was the shadow of death. After crossing the river, Ieyasu glanced at Heihachiro who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "Heihachi, Hanzhicheng has gone." "He died in battle?" "It's not death in battle, it's killing the enemy and dying from wounds." Ieyasu pretended to be casual and asked again, "Who is that? I've never seen this person before." His sharp eyes turned to Sojiro suddenly. Makino Soujiro's face pulled down instantly, but he quickly lowered his head. "Makino Chief Jiro Yasunari is here to welcome you." "You?" Ieyasu's words came to his lips, and he swallowed them quickly.He saw that Tadakatsu, who was pure in nature, seemed to have something to say, and wasn't Sojiro's surrender in order to avoid a useless war a very wise and brave choice?Jiakang hesitated in his heart.Sojiro and the dead Hanzhicheng formed a sharp contrast.One side is stubborn, headstrong, and strong; the other side is shrewd, practical, and open-minded. Of course Ieyasu also hated the enemy, but in this way, Matsudaira Makino would inevitably suffer casualties. "Sousujiro, thank you for your kindness. I will definitely reward you later, and go to Ohara Castle immediately." "yes." "Nabe nosuke!" "exist." "Tell Sojiro, let him assist Sakai Chuji." Heibachiro smiled and said: "Yes." He gave a deep salute on purpose, then took up his spear in front of everyone and flew on his horse.He is still young and has not tasted life or death.The kind of arrogance that takes fighting as fun is permeated on the face.But his fearless look hurt Ieyasu's heart instead. After Sojiro and Tadakatsu rode away in the dust, Ieyasu rode forward leisurely again.The food team is already close to the main force, and the chances of victory are in their hands.The dead face of Hachiya suddenly appeared in Ieyasu's mind. "Hanzhicheng." He murmured, "I will definitely create an era as soon as possible, and prevent such a tragedy like yours from happening again." The army left the embankment and advanced towards the plain.Two pillars of black smoke rose in the air ahead, which was the burning of the common people's houses.If there is no war in this world, how peaceful it would be.If there can be a fierce general who unites the warriors of the world, forbids them to start wars at will, but abides by their duties, then the whole of Japan will become peaceful... After entering the village, he completely entered the territory of the Imagawa clan. He had never thought of passing through this land before... Ieyasu couldn't help trembling all over his body, as if he had been shocked by electricity. Everything stems from the long-term idea of ​​​​resting troops in the world.If you are a brave man with a meticulous mind and a deep compassionate heart, all this will no longer be a dream.Hasn't Nobunaga already put his will into action?Is there a god and Buddha to bless him? At this time, two more door panels were lifted from the front. "Who's injured?" Ieyasu asked from his horseback. "Sakaizaemon Chuji's subordinate Ise Gonroku and his uncle Nagazaemon." "How is the injury?" "It's dead..." "Stop, I want to pay homage to them." Ieyasu jumped off his horse and ordered the arrow-proof cloak covering the corpse to be removed. One person seemed to have been stabbed in the side of the abdomen, and the blood that flowed out had turned black and was about to solidify.His right hand clutches the dirt and armor tightly, his eyes are closed, his beard is long, his lips are twisted, revealing a row of white teeth.If his parents saw it, they would never forget this face in their lifetime. "Is this Ise Gonroku?" "yes." "how old are you?" "Twenty-seven years old." "Have you ever seen him die in battle?" "I see. He fought with Imamurasuke who came out of Yoshida Castle. The knife broke, and the two entangled together. Quan Liujun was so strong that he finally held Imamurasuke down. Just as he was about to tie up Imamura, an enemy suddenly Stabbed him from the side." "You just watched from the sidelines and didn't step forward to help?" "Yes. Quan Liu won't let us step forward to help in the battle. He wants to fight alone with the enemy. Unexpectedly, the opponent suddenly attacked from the side..." "After the sneak attack, people escaped?" "yes." Ieyasu put his palms together quietly and recited scriptures to the corpse. The side that refused to let its subordinates assist in the battle was killed, but the side that attacked them escaped.Whether on the battlefield or in real life, those who abide by the rules are often the weak. Why?Ieyasu put the cloak over Gon Roku's body.The faces of Senahime and Takechiyo suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and he couldn't help asking, "Does he have children?" "Three sons." Ieyasu nodded and walked towards the other corpse.The corpse had already attracted flies, and one hit Ieyasu's lips and flew away.Gently lifting the cloth covering the face of the deceased, Ieyasu couldn't help frowning.This is a man with half-white hair and nearly fifty years old, his body is as thin as a shriveled persimmon.Those slightly opened eyes were already white.The knife cut from the shoulder cut off the armor tie. It is hard to imagine how it could be cut like this, revealing the crimson flesh like cherry blossoms.There were already maggots moving in the meat. "Is this his uncle?" "yes." "How was he killed?" "When he saw his nephew was killed, he shouted and rushed up." "He killed the other party?" "No, Imamura Sukesari cut him from the side." Ieyasu sighed while reciting sutras.Could it be that what he did was an unrighteous teacher, which brought their misfortune and pushed them to the road of death?Thinking of this, Ieyasu was frightened and frightened. The cry of crows resounded from the nearby bushes, and Ieyasu looked again at the face of the dead man.The corpse bathed in the morning light was particularly miserable.This is life... A sudden impulse surged in his chest, and he wanted to shout, this is not life! "Does he have any children?" "No." The deceased's companion replied, "Quan Liu was killed, which made him very sad and angry." "Where's his wife?" "He died the year before last..." "Alone?" "Yes. At home, playing with flowers and plants was his only solace." His companion wept.Ieyasu was deeply moved by their sorrow.Ieyasu seems to have seen this shriveled old man arranging flowers and plants in the small courtyard.Who killed this old man who was nearly fifty years old? He is Sakai Zaemon Chuji's subordinate.But it was Ieyasu Matsudaira who ordered Chuji to go out.Ieyasu suddenly covered the dead man's face and said, "Bury him generously." His companion was still weeping with his forehead pressed against the ground. He was thanking Ieyasu for his thoughtfulness on behalf of the deceased. The door panel was raised again.Ieyasu seemed to have forgotten to get on the horse, and he watched them go away quietly.Life and death are the roads that everyone must walk.But it was he who forced the retainers to go this way early.Thinking of this, Ieyasu's heart trembled.Am I being too vulnerable today?With his current status and position, if he would feel sad when he saw a dead body, he and the entire Matsudaira clan would not be able to live for a day. "My lord, please get on your horse!" Seeing that Ieyasu's expression was very different from before, Hikoemon Torii walked over with big strides.But Ieyasu didn't answer. "My lord, even though the chances of victory are within our grasp, we still can't slack off." "Yanyouwei." "Yes. The vanguard has already begun to attack the city. Hurry up!" "Don't worry, Yanyouwei. I seem to see the land under my feet clearly for the first time." "If the lord wants to make a joke, wait until after the victory." "You think it's a joke?" "hurry up!" "Okay. Get on the horse!" Ieyasu realized that his steps were heavy.But he knew that this mental sluggishness was likely to lead to failure, so he immediately adjusted his mentality.For some reason, a statue of Buddha always flashed in front of his eyes. It was the figure of Emperor Shi Tianzun holding the Dharma Protector.I must be reborn here, in order to pave the way for this corpse, and for the sake of the distant Emperor Shi Shitianzun, I must forget everything in front of me...