Chapter 93: Seeing Through
"Haha, your Excellency's hospitality is also the reason why Imamiya Castle Town is prosperous." Yu Qiuping said with a smile, and Imamiya Leding also laughed.
"Hey, hey," Imamiya Leding suddenly lowered his voice, "Did the boss encounter any trouble on his way here this time?"
Yu Qiuping's eyelids twitched and he prevaricated, "It's not a problem, it's just a bit strange. I feel like the atmosphere is different."
"It's true, the road has not been peaceful recently." Imamiya Leting sighed, "It started a month or two ago. I heard that many messengers were intercepted and killed. There were also several villages in the east that were bloodbathed.
In the past few days, even caravans and pedestrians seem to be afraid to come."
"I'm not hiding anything from the boss," Imamiya Rakusei leaned close to Yu Qiupei and whispered: "Boss, this is the first time I have seen people coming from Suruga in the past two days. In the past few days, it has been Sagami and Kai.
The people are going to Suruga."
"Is there anyone coming to Suruga via Imamiya?" Yu Qiuping was surprised, "I didn't see anyone on the way from the grassroots."
"What?" Imamong Leding was also startled, "Then where have all the people who walked west from Imamong these days gone?"
Yu Qiuping and Imamong Leding looked at each other quickly and fell into deep thought.
Could it be that they were all intercepted?
"Sir, speaking of which, on the way here today, I saw that all the villages were almost deserted. Do you know where they went?" Yu Qiuping asked again.
"I know this well." Imamiya Leding said with a smile, "The common people heard that there has been some unrest here recently, and a group of people are robbing villages everywhere, so they all took advantage of the slack time to hide." Imamiya Leding said as he spoke.
He patted his chest and said, "There are several villages of people who have come to seek refuge in my city. The others must have gone to hide with other wealthy families."
"Is that so..." Yu Qiuping sighed, "Is this place already so dangerous?"
"If all the hundreds of people passing by my territory are intercepted and killed," Imamiya Leding's round face was filled with gloom, "it would be really dangerous. There must be a big bandit gang."
Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, and suddenly began to doubt Imamiya Rakuding. How could he think it was a big bandit gang? It was normal for bandit gangs to loot villages and rob pedestrians and merchants. How could they intercept and kill messengers? It should be the Takeda family or the
The Hojo family must be doing something behind the scenes.
Is he testing me? Do I know if he is testing me?
"Yes, there is probably a group of fierce bandits." Yu Qiuping replied casually, and then looked at the subordinates behind him, "But the grassroots didn't hire many guards when they set out. Wouldn't it be dangerous if they encountered them?
A lot of good luck."
"If the boss doesn't mind, why don't you rest in my territory for a few more days," Imamiya Rakusei invited, "wait until the news has passed, or the Imagawa family, the Hojo family or the Takeda family will send troops to clear out the bandits before leaving?"
"How embarrassing is this?" Yu Qiuping declined instinctively, "Wouldn't it trouble you for a long time?"
"How can you call it trouble!" Imamiya Rakuding scolded, "I'm helping the people of Suruga, what's the point of being so polite? Besides, this is a matter of life and death, but you can't be careless. Even the warriors who ordered the order were killed.
We were intercepted and killed, boss, how did your caravan survive?"
Seeing Yu Qiuping's hesitation, Imamong Leding persuaded again: "Anyway, the boss and the others are not in trouble. Hundreds of people have already lived here in Imamiya City, and they have enough food. Boss, don't worry.
"
These are not the things that Yu Qiuping weighs in private. If Imamiya Rakusei also participated in this interception and killing operation, as a wealthy family that favors the Imagawa family, it is impossible for the Imagawa family not to get some news, right? Since Sena Toshi is still with Yu
Qiuping said that the power of this wealthy family can be relied on, so the latter must have no problem.
Besides, he could only summon more than two hundred ashigaru in total, which was probably only a hundred soldiers. His elite warriors should not be helpless to fight back.
If we don't fix it here, wouldn't it be even more troublesome if we meet the person behind the scenes in the wild? Moreover, if the messenger this afternoon is really here to spy on the sneak attack, he can accurately report his name and explain his identity.
The operation has been exposed to evil hands. Without a city as a hiding place, the entire army will be in danger.
After weighing it again and again, Yu Qiuping accepted Imamiya Leding's invitation and set up a small camp in the northwest corner of the castle town as a temporary resting place. After settling down, Yu Qiuping followed Imamiya Leding to look at him.
Imamiya Castle, while waiting for dinner to be cooked. Imamiya Castle is built on the mountain, and the castle town spreads from the mountainside to the plain. Farther away there are more than a dozen villages belonging to the Imamiya family. Follow Imamiya Le
On time, Yu Qiuping has been taking Honda Nanosuke and Yoshioka Katsumasa, the two most powerful people, to keep an eye out in case of unexpected events. After all, a lot of the information Yu Qiuping has now is just Imamiya Rakuding.
One-sided words - such as the hundreds of people who passed through his territory but were missing. After Yu Qiuping reported this situation to the entire army, everyone's minds were filled with a layer of suspicion.
At the foot of the mountain a little further up Imamiya Castle, you can see a large area of ​​tents with smoke curling up from their cooking stoves. They are probably the people who have come to seek refuge temporarily. According to Imamiya Rakada, his Imamiya Castle is blocking the only way up the mountain.
, you can protect these people.
"These people are frightened, so I don't bother them too much." Imamiya Leting said, "They send more than a dozen people down every day to transport the necessary food up. I don't send people up very often."
"The fields below are all over there." Imamiya Leding smiled and pointed to the west side of the foothills. The sky was already a little dark, but Yu Qiuping could still identify the crops on the ground in the setting sun. And his three thousand
Among the many people who lived in the present Miyagi Castle Town, they would farm nearby.
"It's really remarkable that your Excellency is still interested in looking at the crops now." Yu Qiuping asked tentatively, "Aren't you worried about that group of bandits at all? They may have killed hundreds of people in succession. They killed Shang Jin today
Miyagi, what are you going to do?"
The smile on Imamiya Leding's face froze, he was stunned for a moment, and sighed.
"What else can you do if you're worried? If you can beat me, fight. If you can't beat me, let's see if you can spare your life." Imamiya Leding shook his head helplessly, "I'm no better than the boss. I travel everywhere. My whole family, young and old, has been ancestral for generations.
All the family property is here, it is impossible to just walk away." He turned slightly sideways and looked to the southwest, "I just hope that the Imagawa family will send someone to clarify the matter as soon as possible, and bring peace to Fuji County and Jundong County."
"Such a big thing happened. The messengers might have been killed. Those house governors can't just sit back and ignore it." Imamong Leting comforted Yu Qiuping, "I will definitely send someone here. The boss is waiting for them.
It’ll be fine if you come.”
Yu Qiuping sighed. He himself was the person sent, but he could not protect himself at this moment. Ever since the strange forest and the incident with the messenger, Yu Qiuping was now worried about another crisis. It seemed that those black hands would happen at any time.
It's like being killed suddenly.
At this moment, on the path northeast of Imamiya, between Mount Aiying and Mount Fuji, a little light suddenly appeared. When the light came closer, Yu Qiuping could see clearly that it was dozens of people holding torches.
Walking this way.
"The direction of Jia Fei." Yu Qiuping muttered.
Imamong Leding suddenly became nervous, and after saying sorry to Yu Qiuping, he quickly organized people to guard the road up the mountain. The road up the mountain from Imamiya City is facing the southwest. If this group of people wants to attack, they must first attack from the northeast.
Make a circle and go to the southwest before attacking again. There is still plenty of time.
When the group of people came closer, Yu Qiuping noticed that they were also dressed as caravans, pushing ten large carts covered with tarpaulins. Walking in the front were a young man and a tough guy.
Big man.
"Who is coming!" Imamiya Leting personally went to the cliff in the northwest and asked condescendingly.
"We are merchants from Kai!" the young man replied, "all the villages along the way were deserted, and we couldn't find a place to rest. We saw smoke from cooking here, so we came here."
Imamiya Leding seemed to be relieved and shouted again: "What? Are the villages on the other side of Kai also empty?"
"Yes." This time it was the strong man's turn to shout loudly, "I couldn't see anyone along the way. I wonder if you can find a place for us to rest here!"
Imamong Leding hesitated for a moment and turned his attention to Yu Qiuping.
Yu Qiuping looked at the caravan below, which also had more than fifty people, and also came at this time, and a thought flashed in his mind.
"I won't tell you for the time being. Preconceived impressions may affect your judgment," Imagawa Yoshimoto said. "After all, it is very likely that you will encounter the reconnaissance troops of the Takeda family and the Hojo family. The mission is the same as yours.
Let’s find out. If I tell you my guess now, you will have a preference when communicating with them.”
"Are they all coming as businessmen?" Yu Qiuping asked.
"I guess so." Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded, "After all, if the official investigation team encounters an accident, if the master does not respond, it will be difficult to convince the public, and the alliance may be forced to break up. And this kind of informality
Even if our team encounters a problem, they can conceal it and not report it."
Could it be the Takeda family's reconnaissance force?
If the Takeda family is behind the scenes, will it be detrimental to us if these people come in?
Yu Qiuping swallowed.
It shouldn't be the case. I also have fifty people, plus more than two hundred people from Imamiya Leding, so I won't be able to defeat them, right?
Moreover, the main purpose of asking me to come here was to let me have more contact with the masterminds behind the scenes and investigate. If the Takeda family is shut out because of fear of danger, wouldn't that be contrary to the goal?
After making up his mind, Yu Qiuping said: "Sir, I think they are also a caravan. Let us let them in. With more people and strength, we will not be afraid if bandits really come to kill us."
"Then just listen to Boss Saburo." Imamiya Leding smiled with relief. Being hospitable, he had planned to entertain these people. He asked Yu Qiuping just for peace of mind.
After the caravan from Kai arrived at the mountain stronghold, they set up camp southwest of Imamiya Castle. After settling down, it was time for dinner. Imamiya Leding invited Yu Qiuping and the leader of the caravan to come to Imamiya.
Have dinner together in the castle castle tower.
"I wonder what you call this boss?" Imamiya Leding asked the two people who came from Kai.
"Kusamin Taro, this is the third brother of the family, Saburo." The strong man who called himself Taro patted the boy next to him.
"What a coincidence," Imamiya Leding laughed, "our businessman from Suruga is also called Saburo!"
Yu Qiuping and the young man looked at each other and smiled slightly.
"I wonder if this boss Saburo is older than me?" the young man said with a smile.
"Haha, you don't need to ask to know that I'm older than you." Yu Qiuping brought Honda Nanosuke to the meal this time. He pointed to Nanosuke next to him, "You are probably about the same age as me, buddy.
."
"That's not necessarily true. People should not be judged by their appearance." The young man said with a smile, "I am 13 years old. I wonder how old you are."
"Haha, let me tell you," Yu Qiuping said with a smile, "I am 18 this year. This little attendant is also 13 this year, the same age as you."
"Sanlang, don't talk nonsense all day long." Taro scolded in a low voice, "You still haven't apologized to the boss."
"Haha, there's no point in making amends," Imamiya Leding tried to smooth things over, "One of you is from Kai and the other is from Suruga. It's a great fate to meet you once!" He said as he raised his wine glass, "
cheers!"
After drinking all the wine in the glass, Yu Qiuping looked at each other again and smiled slightly.
"Boss Taro, I wonder which one is older, you or me?" Yu Qiuping asked. Sanlang's eyelids twitched and he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say it.
"I'm much older than Boss Saburo. I'm 22 this year." Taro said, "Boss, you are so young, so you must have taken over your father's business."
"Well, well." Yu Qiuping hesitated, but his mind quickly started calculating.
He has a talent for memorizing historical years and is also deeply impressed by the birth ages of famous military commanders. He was particularly interested in the male lead in the game "Warring States Warriors" before. He went to learn about the latter's life.
He also took a look at the birth ages of his relatives. Later, when he was playing the "Nobunaga's Ambition" series of games, because the statistics of the family members were very high, he often counted on his fingers when they could join the original server.
subordinates.
I don't know if it's a coincidence or something, but the two of them are exactly the same age.
One is the third brother and the other is the eldest brother? A member of the Takeda family.
The corners of Yu Qiuping's mouth curled up slightly, and he already had a plan in mind.
After eating, Yu Qiuping asked Honda Nanosuke to quietly return to the camp and take more than a dozen people to the west gate of Imamiya Castle. The west gate has not been closed in order to facilitate the entry and exit of Yu Qiuping and others. But he himself,
After waiting for Imamiya Rakuding to return to his residence, he went to find Boss Taro who had just left the city and had not yet returned to his camp.
"Boss, I heard that things are not peaceful here recently." Yu Qiuping said, "I know something about the group of bandits who intercepted and killed the caravans and residents. Can you lend me a word?" He looked at Boss Tarang.
The guys in the camp whispered to Taro, saying they didn't want too many people to know about it.
Before Boss Taro could speak, Sanlang looked happy, "What a coincidence. We also know something here." As he said this, he motioned for his eldest brother to follow him. Yu Qiuping and them talked calmly.
While exchanging information on how many merchants were missing, he walked towards the west gate. He led them into the west gate, and when he saw Naoe Tadayei nodded quickly to him in the corner, he knew that all his men were in place.
"Boss, we might as well be honest with each other." Yu Qiuping suddenly turned around, took two steps back, and kept a certain distance from the two Jia Fei people. Then he smiled and stamped his feet, and the dozen subordinates who were ambushing around him immediately left the house.
Behind them, people emerged from the alley and surrounded the two people near the west gate. Several Imamiya Ashigaru around the city gate were frightened by this formation for a moment and ran away as if they were running away.
Taro and Saburo were stunned for a moment, but they didn't look too panicked. Instead, they both held the handles of their knives.
"What do you mean, Boss Sanlang?" the strong man asked.
Chapter completed!