Imagawa Yoshimoto felt that the child looked familiar, so he asked Himura Hiroyuki who was patrolling behind him: "Which family does this child belong to?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, this is Odagiri Hikojiro, the son of Lord Odagiri Shigemori. Lord Odagiri was killed in the previous battle of Azukizaka, and this is his orphan." Himura Umoha recognized him after taking a look, "Odagiri
The Lord joined the army during the time of the First Lord, and lived alone in Suruga. Because of his bravery, he was appreciated by the First Lord and promoted to the position of Hatamoto. However, his wife died of illness after giving birth, leaving only Hikojiro with a child, and Lord Odagiri did not return.
Marry."
"Is it that Odagiri who gave me his horse to escape and cut off his own rear and died in the battle?" Imagawa Yoshimoto recalled the battle situation during the Azozaka battle - he was trapped in a tight siege at that time, and Himura Umoha led the crowd to help.
It was only because a warrior with a white headband gave him his war horse that he was able to fight his way out.
"Exactly." Himura Hiroyuki whispered approvingly, "A martyr will naturally not be treated poorly, and the pension has been paid in full. I hope this child can inherit his father's bravery when he grows up, and not disgrace the Odagiri family.
reputation."
"He is the only one left in the family... It is not easy for such a young child to lose his parents..." Imagawa Yoshimoto let out a long sigh, and his eyes gradually focused on the headband on Odagiri Hikojiro's head——
It was probably his father's relic. The mottled brown marks on the hairband may be the dried blood stained by Odagiri Shigemori when he died in battle.
The child probably took this relic from the body. He didn't even clean the blood, which shows how obsessed he is with his father's death and honor. He definitely wanted to use his own when he brought his father's relic to the game.
The spirit in heaven who bravely came to comfort his father. What a difficult child.
But his opponent happened to be Goro Imagawa, who was also preparing to appear. The young master of the family would definitely not lose the game, otherwise wouldn't it be a huge loss of face in front of the retainers? Any kid of the martial arts family who knows some sense would definitely give in to his young master.
.But this is a bit too cruel for Odagiri Hikojiro - he obviously wanted to show off his martial arts skills to commemorate his father, but in the end it had to become a "tacitly agreed fake match".
Sure enough, when Odagiri Hikojiro stood on the field, he found that the opponent he was facing was Goro Imagawa. A complicated expression immediately appeared on his childish face. Although he was still young, he did not understand the rules.
"Imagawa Goro." Although Imagawa Goro didn't like martial arts, he was still very considerate in etiquette. He bowed his hands respectfully and said, "Excuse me, please give me your name."
"Odagirihikojiro." Odagirihikojiro bowed in fear, "Please give me your advice, young master."
After knowing their names, Oda Kirihiko Jiro and Imagawa Goro took up their postures with smaller bamboo swords. Oda Kirihiko Jiro naturally did not dare to disobey and attack first, so he waited for Imagawa Goro to take the lead. Imagawa Goro did not hesitate, and seemed to be aware of the sensitivity of his identity.
and other children in the family, so he drew his sword forward openly.
Oda Kirihikojiro was originally worried about how he should respond to the challenge in order to bring out his young master's martial prowess and at the same time defeat him skillfully - but he soon discovered that he was overthinking it, and Imagawa Goro's swordsmanship was much stronger than he had imagined -
- He is not the young master who does not practice martial arts all day long and only likes to play Cuju as in the rumors. On the contrary, he is very discerning and spiritual at a young age - no worse than Oda Kirihiko Jiro who has been practicing martial arts hard since he was a child.
Oda Kirihikojiro immediately put all the worldly thoughts in his mind aside, and cognitively began to confront Goro Imagawa - he realized that if he did not treat this opponent well, but thought about letting him because of his noble status - That is disrespectful to this good opponent.
"Goro's swordsmanship is quite remarkable." Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was watching the battle, couldn't help but murmured in admiration as he watched Goro Imagawa's performance. Although it was just a fight between two children, Imagawa Goro's talent and His understanding was clear at a glance. So Imagawa Yoshimoto turned to look at Kentaro Tianchen who was accompanying him behind him: "Didn't he just practice with you Tianchen for a short time? How come he is so mature and proficient?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the young master's talent is extraordinary, and he naturally learns quickly." Kentaro Tianchen nodded slightly, but then frowned, "But from what I can see... the young master..."
"Goro, he didn't use his full strength?" Before Kentaro Tian Shen finished speaking, Ginkgo had already seen the clues and asked softly.
"Madame Mingjian." Kentaro Tian Shen nodded and responded, which made Imagawa Yoshimoto stunned for a moment. However, after having this psychological suggestion, Imagawa Yoshimoto once again observed every move of Imagawa Goro with purpose, and he soon discovered that Kentaro Ginkgo Wada Shen is right.
Goro Imagawa and Oda Kirihikojiro seemed to have an electric fight. You came and went, and it looked good, but in fact, he gave up part of the chance to win in a very covert way - he could have done it with his speed, but he still chose A straight forward attack.
"This child..." Imagawa Yoshimoto was a little surprised, but after thinking for a moment, he understood Imagawa Goro's intention - he must have just heard the conversation about Odagiri's flourishing beside the adults, so he wanted Odagiri to Hikojiro was able to show off his skills to the fullest and comfort the soul of his father.
The question is how to end? The game always has a winner in the end. Although losing against the main force was a good ending for Odagirihikojiro, but he must have wanted to win, right?
Just when Imagawa Yoshimoto was thinking about this, the situation on the court suddenly changed significantly. I saw Goro Imagawa suddenly stepping forward to challenge him. Oda Kirihikojiro did not expect that Goro Imagawa's speed changed so quickly, and hurriedly He blocked but didn't have time to stand firm, and the bamboo sword in his hand was suddenly thrown away. At almost the same time, the bamboo sword in Goro Imagawa's hand also accidentally dropped, and flew out of the field together with Odagiri Hikojiro's bamboo sword, almost hitting the onlookers. .
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Without the bamboo sword, the game naturally ended in a draw. Imagawa Goro felt embarrassed and made a fist towards Odagirihikojiro, and Odagirihikojiro also hurriedly bowed. Until At this time, the spectators on the sidelines who were still enjoying themselves gave belated cheers to the duel between these two little warriors.
"I learned how to 'fake matches' at a young age." Imagawa Yoshimoto felt dumbfounded and tapped his temples with a folding fan, but his smile gradually became filled with relief.
"When you grow up, you will definitely be as gentle a warrior as His Highness." Sena Ujitoshi sighed softly and also laughed.
On January 5, the twelfth year of Tenmon (1543), not long after the end of the Budokai, Taiyuan Xuezai, Imagawa Yoshimoto, Ginkgo and others were ready to set off for Shangluo. However, before they set off, they had to wait for the Takeda who departed from Kai.
Harunobu and Mrs. Sanjo came to Suruga to meet them. Imagawa Yoshimoto wanted to send an envoy to greet them and casually finalize the itinerary, but Hayasaka Nao volunteered again:
"Your Highness, please leave the mission to the Takeda family to me."
"Every time you go on a mission to the Takeda family, Koichiro, you are particularly active." Imagawa Yoshimoto raised his eyebrows curiously, "Why, it's because the first mission you performed for me was to go to the Takeda family, so
Have feelings?"
"Your Highness is joking." Hayasaka Nao's expression was a little stiff and she just nodded dully.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was also stunned when he saw this. He savored the bitterness in Hayasaka Nao's expression and realized after a moment: "Is it because... the road to the Takeda family passes by your former residence? Is your father-in-law buried there?
There……"
"Your Highness...I'm sorry." Tears welled up in Hayasaka Nao's eyes, making Imagawa Yoshimoto a little embarrassed.
"It's my turn to apologize, but I didn't realize..." Yoshimoto Imagawa hurriedly helped Nao Hayasaka up, "Then I will leave it to you to send envoys to the Takeda family from now on. You can also drop by the mausoleum's tomb for a visit. On weekdays,
I have been working at Imagawa Hall, so I probably don’t have much time to go back and see her.”
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Hayasaka Nao bowed deeply, then quickly turned around and left, hiding her tears.
On January 8, the twelfth year of Tenmon (1543), Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga Province welcomed Takeda Harunobu. Takeda Harunobu’s wife Sanjo, the diplomat Hironobu Takeda, his confidant Yamamoto Kansuke and others
Guards and ninjas.
Originally, according to Taiyuan Xuesai's original plan, the group would set off on a sea ship in Suruga and go all the way around Sakai Town. However, the Takeda family's envoy said that Mrs. Sanjo had severe seasickness - so severe that she once suffered from seasickness in Lake Biwa when she was a child.
While traveling by boat, they almost vomited to death - so the group had no choice but to take the troublesome and dangerous land route.
"Why hasn't my sister arrived yet?"
In the motorcade in Imagawadate Castle Town, Takeda Harunobu and Imagawa Yoshimoto chatted wordlessly. After waiting for a long time, they didn't see Ginkgo coming out, so they asked in confusion.
"This morning, Iaji happened to be walking in the Honmaru, and Ginkgo had to find a way to escape from her eyes and ears." Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed dumbfounded, "I've already told her that Iaji doesn't care about us anymore.
Now, her only hope is to devote herself to teaching Wu Lang well. But she just doesn’t feel at ease. She is afraid that Jia Ci will see her and go out secretly, which will inevitably lead to a lecture. "
"Haha, your family is really interesting. Aren't all military families in general respectful of each other? You are like children playing hide and seek. Yes, yes." Takeda Harunobu laughed after hearing this, but there was no envy in his smile.
The meaning is that he obviously doesn't have much yearning for this kind of lifestyle - that smile is not so much envy as it is fun.
At this moment, a woman carrying a large basket on her back and dressed in shabby cloth suddenly emerged from the street and rushed toward the convoy.