Hirata and Izumi Mamoru's eyes began to change. His left hand rested on the sword involuntarily, and he slowly bowed and said: "...Yes!"
Zhou Hao laughed and said: "It turns out that the new council members of the shogunate saw that the gate of the Imperial Palace opened to the west, and they could enter and exit the sword room that only the generals could enter. What happened to the shogunate? Can Izumi Shoden answer me?"
Hirata and Izumi Mamoru stared at it for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said: "...Sure enough, it was discovered. Zhou Haodian's intelligence and acumen are as amazing as the rumors! It's a pity that you still left Luyuan Yuan."
Zhou Hao chuckled: "If the poor monk can be safe by hiding in the Luyuan courtyard, the poor monk will definitely hide in the temple forever and never come out... Maybe He Quan Shou prepared a last resort, right? Burning the Golden Pavilion Temple?”
Hirata Izumi simply relaxed his mind and responded frankly: "I did not burn down the Kinkakuji Temple due to my responsibilities, and I cannot shoulder this responsibility."
"Maybe! The Sanhao family still has some conscience..." Zhou Hao smiled, turned around and looked at the little monk huddled in the corner, and sighed: "It's just that the poor monk never thought that Jisuke would betray the poor monk. ,Does fame and fortune move people’s hearts?”
"I'm really sorry, it's getting late, I have to ask His Highness Zhou Hao to go on his way." Hirata and Izumi Mamoru shouted: "Yisuke!"
"Yes!" Jisuke trembled, took out a dagger from his sleeve, and walked towards Zhou Hao tremblingly, muttering: "I'm sorry, Your Highness! I, Jisuke, really hate the life in this Luyuan Courtyard. I I want to return to secular life, marry a wife and have children, I want to build a career and pass on my family, I want to be famous and rich, but I can’t spend the rest of my life in this small monastery... I’m sorry!”
Zhou Hao's eyes widened angrily: "Jisuke, how dare you! Have you forgotten the kindness of these ten years and what the poor monk has done to you over the years? Put down your weapons. The poor monk can forget about it and let it go!"
"I..." Jisuke was stunned as he clutched the dagger, realizing that neither left nor right was left. He looked helplessly at Hirata and Izumi Mamoru, who felt sick to death. He shouted angrily: "You haven't done anything yet! You think you can just beg for mercy now?" Are you forgiven? Why don’t you send Zhou Haodian on his way quickly so that you can get your share of the reward?"
"Yes...yes!" Jisuke held the dagger tightly, bowed suddenly and walked over firmly. When Zhou Hao's expression changed suddenly and he retreated, he stabbed the dagger into his chest and shouted: "I'm sorry. Your Highness! I, Kisuke, thank you for your support and love for many years, but please die in peace today! I’m sorry!”
Zhou Hao covered his blood-stained cyan clothes. He slowly retreated and sat down on the ground. Blood gushed out from his mouth and nose. He pointed at Jisuke and said intermittently: "If you do this... you will be punished by the gods and Buddhas... The treacherous people...will fall into eternal hell! You will definitely...pay the price..."
The dying man's hard struggle was very painful, and the fierce breathing like a bellows gradually lost strength. When the last touch of blood disappeared with the last ray of sunset, the young and energetic life passed away quietly. Yin Hong's blood gathered into a path , flows into the Kamo River along the pebbles along the river, and flows down the river into countless trickles and pours into the sea.
"I did it...I killed someone! I got a reward!" Jisuke knelt in front of Zhou Hao's body and cried loudly: "Father and mother in heaven! I, Jisuke, am no longer the cowardly and bullied child. !From today onwards, I will become a glorious warrior, a powerful warrior with a thousand stones of knowledge and practice!"
Jisuke cried and laughed as he lay on Zhou Hao's body, completely ignoring his former benefactor's regretful eyes that were full of nostalgia and gradually lost their luster. In front of the reward, it didn't matter even if the master's family died with eyes closed, as long as he could live a better life, then the master's Death was worth it. Maybe he would be grateful to Zhou Hao for dying bravely. It was safer to be tricked into killing him with his own hands than to poison him.
Hirata and Izumi Mamoru drew out their tachi and walked over gently. In the thick dusk, the white sword light seemed to illuminate the river. The sharp blade gently cut through the weeds by the river, cutting a sloping path through the thigh-high grass. , little dewdrops stuck to the blade and disintegrated in the blink of an eye, and only the hissing sound of cutting faintly spread to the surroundings.
Jisuke seemed to realize something and turned around to look around, and saw Hirata and Izumi Mamoru standing behind him with their backs to the setting sun on the horizon. The setting sun shrouded his whole person in shadow, so that his facial features could not be distinguished. Only the gun in his hand The sharp sword exudes a cold light, as if silently signaling that death is coming.
Jisuke suddenly had an ominous premonition, swallowed quietly, clutched the dagger tightly, and said nervously: "Izumi Shoden...can we...can leave..."
"Well..." Hirata and Izumi's voice was uncertain, and the figure that seemed to be hidden in the shadows still stood still: "Get up! It's time for us to leave. I will deal with the aftermath..."
"Okay! I'll get up right now." Kisuke put down the big stone in his heart, stood up quickly, took a few steps forward, looked around, and said strangely: "How should we go back with only one horse? Could it be that we ride the same horse back to Kyoto? ? That should be no problem! I think it’s no problem.”
"No... you don't need to ride on the same horse... I have a better suggestion." Hirata and Izumi Mamoru walked quietly behind Jisuke and whispered as softly as a mosquito: "I will return to Kyoto to return my order, you go down and serve Zhou Haodian!"
The light of the sword pierced Jisuke's back in a blink of an eye, and then passed through his chest and brought out a ray of blood. The severe pain instantly spread throughout his body. His whole body twitched in pain. Jisuke lowered his head and looked at the blood-stained sword, which was slowly retreating. , slowly retreated into his chest and disappeared without a trace, and the next moment blood spurted out like a spring.
With a "pop" sound, Kisuke knelt on the ground facing the direction of Kyoto like a pilgrim. The severe pain destroyed his reason and made him cry hoarsely. Tears and blood flowed down. Kisuke cried bitterly: "Why are you doing this? For me... why... I just want to go back to Kyoto. I still have a younger sister to take care of... She is only ten years old... She lives on my meager monthly income... If you don't want to give me knowledge... there is no need to kill me. …”
"Because you did something you shouldn't have done and knew something you shouldn't know, so you must die!" Hirata and Izumimomo squatted beside him pitifully, looked at Kisuke and sighed: "I can't help myself either, I hope you can Understand! The above requirement is that only one person can return to Kyoto, so there are only two choices, either you die or I die... You have a sister, and I also have a wife and children. So I'm sorry!"
"Please...save my sister..." Jisuke gasped rapidly, his healthy face was as pale as paper, his eyes that were gradually losing focus were full of begging, and a pool of blood quietly formed in the depression under him, which was obviously already There are not many days to go.
Hirata and Izumi sighed: "I have investigated your family. Your sister is a very cute little girl... If you are willing, I will take her as a concubine. When a boy is born in the future, he will inherit your name. You survive..."
"That's good...that's good...thank you...I can't keep His Highness...waiting for too long...it's time for me to go..." Jisuke's face revealed a hint of joy as he swallowed the last tone.
…
Zhou Hao died without any suspense, and Kakuei was escorted to Koizumi Castle as scheduled. Miyoshi Yoshitsugi refused to take Kakukei on the grounds of physical discomfort. In fact, he was frightened by the murder of Ashikaga Yoshiki under his nose. He was afraid that the direct descendant of the general's family would die in Shengryuji Castle for no apparent reason, so he sent someone to wait at the dock early to prevent Jueqing from disembarking, and directly changed direction to Koizumi Castle on the other side of the river.
The three of them were angry that the governor was irresponsible, but now they had no better choice. They could only welcome Jue Qing to the simple Xiaoquan City. After a few days of good food and drink, Jue Qing relaxed his vigilance. Seeing the humble expressions of Miyoshi, the trio and Matsunagahide, they snorted and turned away in disgust.
Monk Jueqing had not changed into his robes. He was still dressed like a young monk. His face did not look like he was over thirty years old. His lips were red and his teeth were white, his eyes were bright and majestic. He sat cross-legged in the castle tower and silently recited the Buddha's name. He said calmly: "Tell me! What's the point of luring a poor monk outside Kyoto?"
"We want to support His Highness as the general to conquer the barbarians..."
Jueqing raised his head in confusion and said disdainfully: "Huh? How dare you despicable Shikoku warriors depose the shogunate? Don't you know that the current shogunate is my brother-in-law? You want to imitate Hosokawa Masamoto and depose the shogunate? , How audacious! You don’t know whether to live or die! Don’t you know that Hosokawa Masamoto died without a burial place, and you also want to taste the pain of being stabbed randomly? "
Being scolded and despicable in public, the three Miyoshis all turned pale but dared not speak out in anger. In the eyes of the Ashikaga Shogun family, the Miyoshi family is indeed nothing. The Shogun is rich and has the world, and all sixty-six countries belong to the Shogun family. Thousands of samurai are his retainers to drive him. Except for the emperor in Kyoto, who is like a clay body and a wood sculpture, there is no one the general can look up to, not even Ashikaga Yoshitoki, the dragon of Kanto.
Compared with one-sixth of the famous family in the palace, the Ouchi family that dominated the Western Kingdom, and the Hosokawa family that had controlled the shogunate for nearly a hundred years. The Miyoshi family, especially the three Miyoshis in front of them, Matsunagahide and others are nothing, Miyoshi Nagakei He is just the head of the Hosokawa family, and Miyoshi and the others are just retainers of Miyoshi Nagakei.
However, the Hosokawa family has eliminated a position of leader in name only. In the ranking of blood relatives of the Ashikaga clan, it cannot even be ranked in the top ten. Miyoshi Nagakei does not dare to show off in front of the general, and the three Miyoshi dare not show off in front of the future general. Putting a score in front of me? Maybe I don’t know how to write the word “death”.
Sanhao Changyi lowered his head like a dying old man, and said cautiously: "Yes! We know that this trip is against God's will, but we are also forced to have no choice! In recent years, our Sanhao family has lost several British masters. In order to help The family business was in danger of disintegration, and the late lord, Jukoinden, offended the Kanto clan, so that the Kanto clan joined forces with the Kawachi Takaya clan, the Yamato Tsutsui clan, the Omi Rokkaku clan, the Dan "bobo" Tano clan and other clans. , trying to dismember my Sanhao family and collapse the peace and tranquility in Kinei, we have no choice but to take action..."
Jueqing waved his long sleeves and shouted: "It's rare for a poor monk to say these high-sounding and perfunctory words. The poor monks hate you the most, you humble samurai who are just on the surface but vicious on the inside. Ashikaga Yoshitoki's attack on the shogunate was more evil than you." You are a hundred times stronger, so don’t find reasons to frame others!”
Iwanari Tomomichi lowered his head with a grimace and whispered: "Oops! This His Highness is also a difficult character, what should I do?"
Miyoshi and the three others did not expect Jue Qing to be so vigilant. From his words, it could be seen that this gentleman was sober-minded and sharp in thinking. He only showed the slightest signs of it and scolded them until they could not lift their heads. They wanted to convince Jue Qing to treat his brother Ashikaga Yoshi.
Once Hui starts, it becomes a very difficult thing.
Matsuhisa shook his head slightly, and was very dissatisfied with the stupid methods of Miyoshi and the others. He did not believe that Kakuei did not have the idea of becoming a general in his head. Every child of the Ashikaga family harbored the ambition to become a general, just like every child.
It is the same for a prince to dream of becoming an emperor. If he has no ambition, why would he sit here arrogantly and reprimand them with the airs that only a general should have? How despicable and shameless they are.
A monk without ambition should be calm and devoted to the Buddha. Jue Qing's smart, arrogant and ambitious attitude does not look like a monk without ambition. At most, it is because of the presence of his biological brother and biological mother that he is not willing to take it easy.
Committing evil acts of disloyalty and unfilial piety, in other words. As long as they can find a justifiable reason to convince Jue Qing to approve the illegal action of deposing the general.
To be polite is to be sanctimonious, but to be ungentle is to be a "biaozi" and build an archway at the same time. He wants to eat fish but still finds it fishy. Without giving a justifiable reason, he is embarrassed to do the evil thing of betraying his brother confidently.
In short, he has to stand up morally. Being a general cannot be without legitimacy and legitimacy. After all, people in this era are still relatively thin-skinned, and they have not yet fallen into the shameless state of turtles a few decades later.
After clarifying this truth, Matsuzuki Nagahide was full of confidence, bowed slightly and said: "Your Highness, please enlighten me! Since the Onin Rebellion, the world has been in chaos for hundreds of years. Many warriors are changing like blue clouds, but only the general
The prosperity of the palace has changed from generation to generation, and it has not changed since ancient times! Today, His Royal Highness is deeply respected by the public. He has been working hard to revitalize the shogunate for more than 20 years. He appointed the general of the Kanto Gongfang garrison to manage the Eastern Kingdom. In just ten years, he swept across Liuhe and all directions.
More than ten countries were restored in an instant, and their achievements are shining through the past and present. However..."
"Huh? Keep talking!" Jue Qing said with a cold face: "See what the poor monk is doing? Keep talking!"
The corners of Matsunaga's mouth slightly turned up, and he lowered his head and said, "Yes! However, His Highness the Duke has been without an heir for a long time. He is over thirty and has no children to support him, which is a major disaster for the shogunate. And the Duke of Kanto intends to adopt his legitimate son to inherit the clan.
You, your Highness must be aware of the difference between passing on the ancestral legacy of the Ashikaga Shogun family to the Ashikaga family lineage, right?"
Jueqing's face immediately fell. He held his rosary and silently recited the "Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra" several times, and then slowly said: "What's the difference? The poor monk didn't see any difference? They are all from the same lineage as my Ashikaga family.
stop!"
"If Your Highness is not clear about it, I, Jiuhide, will venture to make a guess. If there is anything wrong, please forgive me, Your Highness." Matsunaga Hide smiled faintly, glanced at the excited expressions of Miyoshi and the others, and continued: "Today's shogunate is known in the public as...
It is the Muromachi Shogunate, and its name comes from the Flower Imperial Palace located on Muromachi-koji, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, at Luen-in.
The prestige of Rokuonin shines all over the world. It is the pride of our samurai family, and the supreme pride of the shogunate lineage. However, the Ashikaga family of the Kamizuki family is not the direct descendant of Rokuonin, nor is it a common family. Its origins can be traced back to the Kamakura shogunate period.
The history is so long that we samurai have almost forgotten it. This is probably what we call distant blood relatives..."
Rokuonin Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the only general who enjoys a dignity that surpasses all previous generations. When the name of this ancestor is mentioned, Kakuei's spirit rises to several levels. Before he is happy, he is poured with a basin of cold water on his face. Feeling really cold, the eminent monk from Yichengyuan felt a little unable to pretend on the spot.
The fingers holding the rosary beads kept trembling, and he muttered something: "Commons fighting for heirs... cannot be tolerated, cannot be forgiven! Ashikaga Yoshitoki is simply so audacious that he does not know how to live or die. No wonder Tomojiinden calls him a murderer of the Ashikaga family. There are people behind these people." The rebellious remnants of the Southern Dynasty have such vicious thoughts!"
Foreign ministers are not allowed to intervene in internal disputes within the shogun's family. Kakuei can call out Ashikaga Yoshiki for being rebellious, but the foreign ministers of the Miyoshi family absolutely cannot. There is one meaning stated in "The Meridian of Superiority and Inferiority": Since ancient times, there have been distinctions between superiors and inferiors. For example, in the Central Plains, the king of Zhou Tian was the king of the princes, and the lord of all nations ruled over all nations.
So much so that Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote "Lunheng" and said: During the Zhou Dynasty, the world was peaceful, and the Japanese came to offer pheasants; when he became the king, he wore clothes and offered pheasants, and the Japanese offered pheasants, and the white pheasants served the pheasants, but they could not eliminate the evil.
Respect for superiors and inferiors has run through the history of civilization for thousands of years. This is also the most important article in the Eastern ethical system. By the time of Dong Zhongshu, it evolved into a social theoretical system in which the king is the guide for the ministers, the father is the guide for the son, and the husband is the guide for the wife. Rule is the core. The nobles in the classical feudal era were tribal lords who evolved from large slave owners. This was the case in the Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties of the Central Plains, and it was also the case in Japan from the Asuka Period to the Warring States Period for thousands of years.
He is not the poor official who is homeless and no one dares to take him in. As a direct descendant of the largest feudal lord, Ashikaga Shogun, the young and energetic Kakuei doesn't think there is anything wrong with being so arrogant. He can scold him without hesitation. The world-shaking Hosokawa Masamoto had to die a good death, and he could also curse the prosperous Ashikaga Yoshitoki as a remnant of the Southern Dynasty. Miyoshi, the trio and Matsunagahide hurriedly bowed their heads and did not dare to move rashly. This is the difference between aristocrats and aristocrats. Over the years, feudal customs have penetrated into their bones.
After the death of Hojo Yoshitoshi, a grand funeral had to be held to commemorate the general. Mitsuku Akamatsu only dared to cut off Ashikaga Yoshitsune's head after his death and send him back to Kyoto. Hosokawa Masamoto hurriedly supported Ashikaga Yoshinori and sent troops Ashikaga Yoshitai was expelled and exiled. The general could die or be exiled, but he could never be insulted. No one dared to trample on this iron law. The Miyoshi trio dared to imitate Hosokawa Masamoto and abolished the establishment and exiled the general, but they did not dare to have any objection to Kakuei. The slightest bit of disrespect.
Matsunagahide struck while the iron was hot and said in a low voice: "Although Kanto Kōfō is also from the famous Ashikaga clan, he was powerful in the Eastern Kingdom during the Kamakura period and made great contributions to the Ashikaga clan. However, after all, Kantō Kōfō is not the direct descendant of Luen-in, or even In the Tomochiin lineage, tracing back to the early years of Kamakura..."
Jueqing's face turned livid, and he punched the table with his fist, sending the tea and pastries flying out, scattering them all over the floor. He said gloomily: "He's not... Of course he's not! He's from Ashikaga Naoyoshi's faction, and he's from the same faction as Naoyoshi Ashikaga. The Tojiin is hostile! The rebellious one who supported the Ashikaga family two hundred years ago is hostile to the Tojiin. His clan members, the Kira Sadashi family, killed the direct descendants of the Hatakeyama family, triggering the great chaos of the four Oshu governors fighting for hegemony. Kanto was in turmoil and the world was in turmoil. Nitta Yoshisada's evil descendants Take the opportunity to cause chaos again!
When Tomochiin was forced to send his second son Ashikaga Motoshi to Shimokanto to serve as the Kamakura garrison, the Kamakura Lord was appointed! After all, it was all the fault of Ashikaga Naoyoshi and Kamizuki Ashikaga! If it hadn’t been for this group of traitors, Riki Nanchao would have caused
If you had disturbed Kantō, there would have been no great chaos in Kantō. If Kantō was not in chaos, there would have been no Kamakura Crown Prince, let alone the suffering of the repeated conflicts between the shogunate and Kantō Crown Prince over the past two hundred years! It is all their fault!"
This is called venting anger. The Ashikaga Shogun's family is in such a state of chaos. It's because the remnants of the Kamakura Duke in Kanto are working against the shogunate all day long.
The Kanto samurai were at fault for the Ming'an coup, both internally and externally. Ashikaga Naoyoshi and Kira Mitsuyoshi were further deduced to be the culprits of this situation. As for whether it was reasonable to think so, he didn't care. People who express anger are never unreasonable.
All he needs to do is to say that it's all your fault.
Matsunagahide was overjoyed, and arousing the anger in Kakuei's heart was a great victory, so he continued to slander: "What your Highness said is true! The Ashikaga family of the Kanto Lord is indeed a samurai from the Southern Dynasties, even if the soldiers of the Kinkoji Palace (Ashikaga Naoyoshi)
Defeated at the Battle of Satagawa Pass and forced to surrender to Tomochiin-don (Ashikaga Takauji), the Ashikaga family continued to fight in the Southern Dynasties for many years until Tomochiin-don issued a letter from the emperor and promised to use Mikawa's skills to secure the blockade before surrendering..."
"I didn't realize that you know a lot of secrets! How can these secrets be known by a humble warrior like you!" Jueqing looked back warily. Matsuzaki Nagahide quickly lowered his head humbly, and Jueqing immediately
He snorted coldly: "No matter where you heard the secret from, you must remember your duty and never interfere in the internal affairs of my Ashikaga family. This is not what you should do!"
Matsunaga Hide continued to pretend to be a grandson, bowed his head and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes! We have absolutely no intention of doing so! We are just afraid of the power of the Kantō Lord that shakes the world. If the Lord Kantō is allowed to invade the Eastern Kingdom, even His Highness the Shogunate Lord
As long as he is not allowed to inherit the throne, it will not take three to five years to complete the unified rule of Kanto. By then, it will be possible to follow the old practices of the Genpei era and ascend to Loden!"
"He dares! This is disobedience! This is defeating the superior! This is disloyal and unjust!" Kakuei's face flushed with excitement, and he used intense words to describe his angry mood at this moment. If Ashikaga Yoshitoki was lucky enough to be present at this moment, he would definitely draw his sword.
They chopped him into seventeen or eighteen pieces, then cut off his head and hung it on the Sanjo Bridge to "show his head" as a warning to others.
