Chapter 41 Chapter 40 The Heart of a Saint

On the second day of the Chinese New Year in the 19th year of Tianwen, in order to practice calligraphy, Matsudaira Takechiyo followed his grandmother Yuan Yingni to Linji Temple to visit Zen Master Xuezhai early in the morning.Of course, all of this was arranged by Zen Master Xuezhai.When Takechiyo was brought to the simple abbot's room, which couldn't be compared with the gorgeous Sunfu Castle, he looked around in surprise and fell into deep thought.As far as Takechiyo knew, Zen Master Xuezhai was not only Yoshimoto's teacher, but also Yoshimoto's important adviser, and a very important general.However, he was dressed in black, squinting at himself.

"This is Zhuqianyo, please take care of me." Yuan Yingni said to Zen Master Xuezhai, and withdrew. At this time, Zhu Qiandai knew that the person in front of him turned out to be Zen Master Xuezhai, who was known to everyone in the world. "Take Chiyo." "Ok." "Start practicing calligraphy today. Mrs. Yuanying will come to accompany you every day, and I will teach you occasionally. You move the table in the corner." "yes." Takechiyo brought over a simple desk, and the two sat silently facing each other.Same as yesterday, the weather today is very sunny, the shadows of trees are swaying on the window paper, and the shadows of birds appear from time to time.

"Before practicing calligraphy, I have something to ask you. Did you urinate anywhere in Lord Yiyuan's mansion yesterday?" "yes." "Why do you do that?" "I don't know where the toilet is, and it's inconvenient to ask others." "Oh, why don't you ask?" "People who are familiar with it don't know, and those who are not familiar with it are inconvenient to speak." "Oh. Have you thought about the consequences?" Takechiyo shook his head innocently.Obviously, he didn't think about it.Xue Zhai nodded gently. "Master Jibu Daisuke hates rude people very much, he is very angry. However... the other generals saw you being so bold, they all praised you for being great, and even applauded you."

Takechiyo still didn't quite understand. "You are actually using this to challenge the generals present... Are you doing this on purpose?" "No." "Didn't anyone tell you that was rude in Owari?" "Yes, no..." Takechiyo nodded, then shook his head again, "He told me that it's not rude, and you don't have to worry about it no matter where you go." "Oh? Who is he?" "Oda Nobunaga." "Nobunaga..." Yukisai stared at Takechiyo closely and nodded.From Takechiyo's few words, he seems to have seen the whole of Nobunaga, and said with a smile: "Everything is unexpected, he is really an extraordinary person...but he is not without danger."

"Danger?" "You let everyone here know your existence in an instant. From then on, people will think you are a bold and urchin who knows nothing about the sky and the earth. Although you are indeed superior, you will be closely watched by them at all times. As the old saying goes, 'raise Tigers are infesting'." Xuesai seemed to feel that Takechiyo couldn't understand, so he changed the subject: "Do you like Nobunaga?" "Yes. I like it very much!" "Then what about Imagawa-sama?" "He is grateful to his father, and Takechiyo is extremely grateful."

"Oh. You're honest and straightforward by nature. Did you ever learn to read and write when you were in Owari?" "Four Books, Five Classics... The monks of Wansong Temple and Kato Shusuke gave some pointers." Xuezhai seems to have seen a ray of hope in this young man.This is the reason why he insisted on separating the cassock and armor when he served in front of Yoshimoto's account.He wants to use Yoshimoto to find a person holding a light to end the century-old troubled times.But Xue Zhai, who had such a wish, was gradually disappointed with Yi Yuan.He originally thought that if Yoshimoto couldn't succeed, he could also cultivate his son Shizhen—but in fact, Yoshimoto didn't have this ability at all.He doted on his child too much, he did not entrust Shizhen to Xuezhai, but let his son indulge in playing with the women in the inner court.

At yesterday's banquet, Takechiyo shocked all the generals; and Shizhen, it is said that he found a merchant maid named Seji, who refused to attend the banquet on the grounds of having a cold, and had fun with that woman. Xuezhai's expectation for Takechiyo is not only out of love.As a Buddhist disciple, he hoped that Takechiyo would become an unrivaled general.He even hopes that Takechiyo will look down on the world in the future, become a person who saves the troubled times, and bring blessings to the common people in the world with a compassionate heart. "Let's start today's lesson."

"yes." "Do you know the sage Confucius?" "Know. It's Confucius." "Yes. He has a disciple named Zigong." "Zigong..." "Yes. Zigong asked Confucius one day what is meant by great governance. Confucius replied: enough food, enough soldiers, the people believe in it." Takechiyo straightened his body, staring at Zen Master Xuezhai, his eyes were hungry and thirsty.This son had never had any contact with an incompetent teacher before, which made Xuezhai both grateful and sad: "Zigong asked again: If you have to get rid of one item, which one can you give up?"

Takechiyo remained silent. "Food is enough to satisfy one's hunger. Soldiers are used to defend the country. Faith is mutual trust between everyone. Take the Matsudaira family as an example, if members of the family do not trust each other, then they will eventually collapse..." Xue Zhai couldn't help looking at Takechiyo's longing eyes. Laughed, "Let's listen to your thoughts first. What do you think can be discarded first for the three conditions mentioned above?" "Food, soldiers, and faith?" Takechiyo said to himself again, and then answered cautiously: "Soldiers."

Xuesai was greatly surprised and stared at Takechiyo for a long time.Ordinary people must think that military equipment is the most important thing. In this troubled world, military equipment is more important than anything else. "Why did you give up your troops first?" "This..." Takechiyo tilted his head and said, "Takechiyo thinks that among the three, soldiers are the lightest..." He seemed to have thought of something, and said: "People can't survive without food, but they can still live if they throw away their guns." go down." "Oh?"

Xue Zhai opened his eyes in surprise: Confucius' answer was the same as Takechiyo's! Takechiyo nodded with a smile. "But Zigong asked again. If you had to give up one of the remaining two conditions, what choice would you make?" "Food and faith are left... Abandon the faith. Because there is no food, you can't survive." Takechiyo replied confidently. Xue Zhai smiled again: "You seem to be particularly interested in food, did you ever go hungry in Owari?" "Yes. Sannosuke and Zenkurou will feel depressed and irritable when they are hungry." Xuezhai nodded, he seemed to see the difficult life of the three children. "So, if you got food at that time, how did you do it?" "Let Sannosuke eat first." "what's next?" "Me. Because I don't eat, Zenkuro insists on not eating." "Oh, if you don't eat it, Zenkuro won't eat it?" "Yes. But later, Sannosuke stopped eating. He learned from Zenkurou. Therefore, when I got the food, I divided it into three parts, and I took one part first." Xuezhai laughed again, praying secretly in his heart.The scene of Takechiyo thinking seriously when he was hungry is like this. "You are doing well. It is good to do so. But...the sage did not answer that way." "Want to give up food?" "Yes. He won trust and gave up food." Takechiyo wondered, and whispered cautiously: "Throwing away food can rule the world... Could it be that Confucius made a mistake?" "Take Chiyo." "Ok." "I hope you will think about the next question. Why did Confucius say that faith is more important than food?" "Yes. The disciple will consider it." "However, what you said just now actually implies this truth." Takechiyo looked at Xuezhai in puzzlement. "You started by giving food to Sannosuke first, and then to Zenkuro, but Zenkuro refused to eat before you." "yes." "Why doesn't Zenkuro eat? Also, why did Sannosuke learn from Zenkurou?" "they are……" "Why did Sannosuke imitate Zenkuro? Do you understand?" "This……" "You can carefully consider Confucius' choice, and I will talk about my thoughts first." "yes." "Because Sannosuke is young, he may feel that... if you finish the food, he will be gone." Takechiyo nodded vigorously with a very serious expression. "But Zenkuro knows that you will never eat all the food. He trusts you. Because of his faith, if you don't eat, he won't eat either..." Xue Zhai was silent for a moment, he realized that he had forgotten Takechiyo With age, his eyes have also become severe. "Later, Sannosuke also began to trust you. He realized that even if you were silent, even if it was too late to compete for food, you would not eat it alone. Sannosuke did not imitate Zenkuro, but trusted you and Zenkuro. Because of faith, so , that little bit of food can keep you alive. It connects the lives of the three of you into one. But if there is no faith, what will happen..." Xue Zhai regained his gentle eyes: "If Zenkuro swallowed the food alone, you and Sannosuke will starve. In other words, if Takechiyo or Sannosuke swallowed the food alone, the result will be the same. That little food, because of 'faith' can avoid Three people starve, but if trust is lost between people, food will become a source of strife and lead people into the hell of fighting." Takechiyo suddenly realized.His body flung himself on the desk unconsciously, his eyes widened.But Xuesai didn't immediately ask Takechiyo to answer the previous question. "Study is the worst thing to avoid half-knowledge, you have to learn to think carefully about problems." "yes." "Mutual trust, to be more precise, is because people can trust each other, so that people become people. People and people form a family and country. If there is no trust, it becomes a world of beasts... This is my opinion. The world of beasts Although there is food in the world, it cannot last forever because of the constant fighting... Well, that's it for today. Let's go back with Master Yuanying. I salute all the generals." "Yes." Takechiyo replied. Xuezhai clapped his hands and called Yuan Yingni in the next room. "Master, this is the end of today." Zen Master Xuezhai said softly. Yuan Yingni looked at Takechiyo, "According to Master..." She hesitated to speak. Xuezhai laughed silently: "The weather in the first month of this year is good. You can see Mount Fuji on the first and second day of the first day." "The master said..." "Although the monk is busy with affairs every day, he can still spare three days in a month. I will be very happy with those three days." Yuan Yingni nodded, her eyes sparkled. Although she pinned all her hopes on Takechiyo and spared no effort to come here from Okazaki Castle, she was always worried that Xuesai would not look down on her grandson Takechiyo. "Thank you very much, Master." "When the time comes, I will send someone to the nunnery to inform you, let's come here today." "yes." Yuanying gave a salute, and was about to stand up, when Xuezhai stopped him again, "But, you must pay attention to hiding your whereabouts, so as not to attract attention." "Thank you, Master, for your guidance." Takechiyo followed his grandmother out of the abbot's room.After leaving the gate of the temple, Xuesai's face was still lingering in Takechiyo's mind.His head was hot.If there is food but no faith, food will become the source of the struggle... This discovery made his young mind produce various imaginations.In front of me was the vast fields of the Yahagawa River Basin.In a trance, the ears of rice in the field crackled in the flames, and turned into scorched earth in an instant.The scorched earth is no longer the source and object of strife.Thinking of this, the faces of old man Torii and Masaku Sakai suddenly appeared in Takechiyo's mind. They fought when Takechiyo returned to Okazaki to worship his father. "Why fight?" He recalled what they said at the time. "I can't wait for the day when Takechiyo grows up. I want to be Imagawa's retainer and get this land as soon as possible." "Shut up! You must not give this piece of land to you alone. There are also the Ishikawa family and the Amano family! If you have the ability, come and take it." Harvested fields became the object of contention.How can we keep them from competing?Burn the harvested fields to scorched earth?No, rely on faith in people! Takechiyo was completely immersed in thinking, and he had returned to the mansion without realizing it. His grandmother handed him over to Yalesuke, and he passed the door of Sekiguchi Kiyanagi's house and came to the front steps of the house. "Little Lord!" After being reminded by Ya Lezhu, Takechiyo suddenly raised his head and found Ahe standing in front of him.She brought a maid, dressed more beautifully than yesterday, and was staring at him. "I've been waiting for a long time. Mr. Takechiyo, come in quickly." Although Ah He's voice was soft, there was no trace of a smile on his face. Zhu Qianfa hadn't fully woken up yet. "If there is no letter..." "Hey!" "If there is no letter..." he muttered, and suddenly thought that he should not be hated by Miss Ahe, so he laughed.He believes that on this occasion, smiling is the only way to convey sincerity to the other party. But Ah Tsuru didn't respond, but quickly walked down the steps and grabbed Takechiyo's hand vigorously.Her hands were warm and soft, full of longing, and exuded a faint fragrance. "Takechiyo is my younger brother." "Your brother..." "You think so, this is what my father said, starting today." Did she come out to greet me? Takechiyo walked in hand in hand with her. "Are you happy?" Ah He asked in a low voice. Takechiyo nodded obediently, "You are beautiful, I am happy." "What if I'm dirty?" Takechiyo looked at Tsuru silently.He didn't expect Ah He to be so aggressive, he felt a little strange. In the yard, Kiyong and his wife are surrounded by their children, holding a dinner after the New Year's writing test.Ya Lezhu stepped forward to say a few words of blessing, and Kiyong happily stood up, pulled Takechiyo to his side, and sat down. "Remember. His face is really rare, not inferior to Takeda Shingen-sama in Kai...and even Lord Shintora praised him for his courage than his son...the thing about urinating." It looked like Kiyong had drunk too much and couldn't speak clearly.But he seems to have fallen in love with Takechiyo from the bottom of his heart.Then, Kinaga left Yarasuke and led Takechiyo through the corridor to Tsuru's room.Seven or eight women younger than Ahe had already gathered there, eating fruit, and Agui was also present. "This is Takechiyo..." After hearing this, the girls stared at Takechiyo together.One of the women beckoned to give up a seat, but Azuru ignored it and took Takechiyo to another seat. "Does Takechiyo like this girl?" Kinaga asked. Ahe asked Takechiyo to touch Agui deliberately, and then pulled him back to his side.Takechiyo was almost hugged by Ah Tsuru, with his elbow resting on Ah Tsuru's supple knee.He blushed suddenly. Ahe embraced Takechiyo, and said to everyone: "Takechiyo will soon become the number one archer in Kaido." She looked charming, not so much admiration, but rather a show off. "But now you are a distinguished guest in our family. Isn't it, Takechiyo?" Takechiyo nodded without hesitation, but her mind was thinking about other things.He had an incredible feeling, a feeling he had never experienced before.Is it because of the fragrance, or is it because of Azuru's supple knees... In short, Takechiyo had a feeling of softness after bathing, and he let his rationality fade away helplessly. Ahe was completely unaware of Takechiyo's feelings, and told everyone about Takechiyo's various legends to his heart's content.How his grandfather attacked Owari, how he was assassinated in the Battle of Moriyama when he was twenty-five; his father died when he was only twenty-four; Everyone listened with gusto.There were also people with tears in their eyes, watching Takechiyo quietly. Bright sunlight streams in through the windows.The breath of New Year permeates the whole room.Ah He was very satisfied with himself. "Am I right, Takechiyo?" She was almost face to face with Takechiyo, her eyes were fixed on him, and suddenly, she pushed Takechiyo off her lap.Because Takechiyo actually squinted his eyes on her knees, like a kitten in the sun, staring at Agui beside him curiously and blankly... Ah He raised his brows upside down, and his face twitched violently.Jealousy made her suddenly think of what happened at the banquet yesterday.This little urchin actually said unabashedly that he liked Agui better at the grand banquet where everyone gathered!She had hoped to conquer this rude naughty boy with her beauty, and at the same time forgive him; but she didn't want Takechiyo to stare at Agui mercilessly in her arms... Ahe finally restrained her heart-pounding jealousy, and put the just Takechiyo, who pushed down, pulled back suddenly. "Ah, that's right. I have something for Takechiyo." She stood up breathlessly, took his hand and walked to the bedroom. There was a distance to go to the bedroom, and the weather outside was cold, but as soon as he entered the bedroom, Azuru immediately hugged Takechiyo, breathing shortly. "Take Chiyo!" "Ok." "do you like me?" "like." "Then...then...why do you still look at other girls..." Azuru deliberately did not mention Agui's name, and passionately kissed Takechiyo's cheek.Takechiyo opened his eyes wide and let the other party manipulate him.He didn't understand why Ah He kissed his cheek and rubbed his body so passionately.He thought she was angry, but it seemed that she liked him; saying that she liked him seemed to mean reproach. "Take Chiyo..." "what……" "I like you. Here, that's it." Takechiyo was surprised.He had never been caressed so passionately.Ah He's fiery lips moved from his forehead to his cheeks, then his neck... Then she kissed his eyelids and lips again. "What's wrong with me?" He blamed himself secretly, his eyes filled with tears. "Take Chiyo!" "Ok." "do you like me?" "Ok." "Tell me clearly that you like it." "like……" "From now on, I will never praise other girls..." "From now on, I will never praise other girls..." He gradually understood Ah He's heart.Ah He likes him so much, but he says he likes A Gui.Takechiyo regretted his unintentional words, and at the same time gradually understood a small truth: you can't express your heart to the girl at will.It's really sad that a casual sentence makes the other party lose his composure.He doesn't think he's lying when he says he likes it. Ah He frantically kissed Takechiyo, hugged him tightly, and finally said with confidence: "Takechiyo really looks like a man!" "Oh?" "Being brave enough to admit your mistakes." Takechiyo's breath became short of breath.At some point, his nose touched Ah He's breast. "Take Chiyo." "Ok." "Before Ah He gets married, don't forget our agreement today." "Do you want to marry far away?" "Yes... I'm fifteen years old." "Where will it go?" "Probably in Yemaye Castle, or directly into Junfu as a concubine." "Shunfu's concubine?" "Takechiyo doesn't know yet... the young master really treats me..." She hugged Takechiyo tightly tremblingly, "Don't tell anyone about our agreement today, okay?" "Ok." "Just the two of us... the two of us... okay?" Takechiyo leaned against Azuru's chest in confusion.