On May 15th, the eighth year of Tensho (1580), at the third quarter of Shenshi, Utaki Port of Sanuki Kingdom.
Yu Qiuping climbed down from the hanging ladder with his guards and took a boat to the land of Shikoku Island. Jincaobei and Tianhebei had opened a large probe position, and Yu Qiuping and his party rode horses to the nearby
On a high slope, a maple bird horse print was raised high. Looking at the undulating mountains around him, Yu Qiuping suddenly felt some unreasonable emotions in his heart.
"Now, let me tell you, what do you think 'death' is?" Yu Qiuping asked, and the guards around him were stunned when they heard this.
"Why does Your Highness ask this?" Mori Ranmaru approached Yu Qiuping uneasily and looked at Yu Qiuping's expression.
"I just want to ask your opinion. It's nothing. Just say whatever comes to mind." Yu Qiuping smiled and turned his head to look at Mori Ranmaru.
"Well..." Mori Ranmaru pursed his lips and considered it, not knowing what to say.
"Death means that the heart stops beating and the person is gone." Asahina Taihei interjected matter-of-factly.
"Then after you die, where are you?" Yu Qiuping turned around and looked in the direction of Hina Taihei, and tapped his head with his finger.
"Me?" Asahina Taihei didn't seem to understand what Amakihei's question meant, "I'll die right there, and maybe I'll be buried in the ground."
"That's your body, not 'you'." Yu Qiuping shook his head, obviously not satisfied with the answer, "The body will decay, leaving only the bones. After a few years, the bones will also dissipate. By that time,
'Where are you?"
"Reincarnated, right?" Mori Ranmaru slowly tapped his chin with his finger and replied hesitantly, "Those who believe in Buddhism are reborn in the Pure Land, and those who do evil fall into hell. Samurai like us...should be reincarnated into the human world."
.”
"Then do you remember what happened before you were reincarnated?" Yu Qiuping continued to ask with a smile.
"Of course I don't remember. After crossing the Santukawa River, you will forget about the past life." Mori Ranmaru also laughed, with small dimples showing on his fair cheeks, "How can you remember the past life."
"Since you don't remember, how can you be sure that you have been reincarnated?" Yu Qiuping's smile gradually faded, and his expression became a little confused. He found a stone and sat down, "Maybe there will be nothing after death.
It’s gone, and the soul has also dissipated.”
"How could such a thing happen?" Senchang walked up to Yu Qiuping disapprovingly, put his feet on the stone where Yu Qiuping was sitting, and leaned against the big tree and said, "Where can the soul dissipate? All that will dissipate is...
"
Yu Qiuping glanced at Sen Changke, then at the young faces in his guard, and found that everyone nodded.
"It's good that you think like this, at least you won't be so afraid of death." Yu Qiuping sighed, crossed his hands behind his head, stretched and said, "For me, the soul cannot be reincarnated.
Death is eternal darkness and loneliness. Losing everything is the end of everything. So, I am actually quite afraid of death."
"Let's change the question." Seeing everyone's silence, Yu Qiuping smiled and asked again, "If I told you now that you only have half an hour left to live, what would you do?"
"What are you doing? Hurry up and write a farewell message." Asahina Taihei laughed and patted his chest, "If I didn't leave a farewell message, I would have died like a bastard."
"But what's the point of keeping it? Anyway, you're gone and can't be seen again."
"Although I can't see it, others can." Asahina Yahei took a step forward and blocked Mori Ranmaru's neck, "For example, Ranmaru can see it!"
"What's the use? You're no longer here. I feel like you still don't understand what I'm saying." Yu Qiupei tapped Asahina Taihei's head with the knuckles of his fingers.
"Is your Highness talking about Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind? I've heard of it before." Rihai on the side suddenly said, "I am the world?"
"Well, it's almost, not quite. I can't explain things about brain science to you." Yu Qiuping made an expression that said, "Rotten wood cannot be carved." He helplessly spread his hands towards everyone.
"Your Highness..." Mori Ranmaru's expression became more worried, "Why are you talking about this today?"
"I was just thinking about what would happen if I suddenly died here." Yu Qiuping slowly closed his hands and said something heavy.
"How is that possible?" Sen Changke was annoyed when he heard this, and slapped the ground with his human bones, "In front are 9,000 troops, and there are so many of our guards around, and behind is a safe fleet, even if a hundred thousand troops kill
Come on, His Highness has time to escape! How could he die?"
"It would be too casual if he died like this." Yasuhei Asahina muttered at the side, "If His Highness died in a life-and-death battle like the Takeda family or the Uesugi family, it would be acceptable.
.How can you die in this kind of battle where victory is guaranteed?"
"His Royal Highness, the Governor of the family, thought so too."
Yu Qiuping said this softly.
Honda Tadakatsu, who had been standing aside and did not join the conversation, was slightly startled, and Asahina Taihei was also stunned. As for Morinaga, those who had not stayed at the Imagawa family had no feelings about this topic.
"Have you ever thought about writing a storybook?"
Yu Qiuping's off-topic topics made it difficult for everyone to keep up. After a while, Morinagako smiled and said: "What's wrong? Your Highness? Is that ghost Shihe afraid of the wind demon? What are you talking about?"
"Then have you read the script?" Yu Qiuping ignored Sen Changke's sarcasm and continued to ask.
"The Tale of Genji?" Asahina Taihei raised his hand in embarrassment and shook it towards Yu Qiupei, "Does it count?"
"Yeah, of course." Yu Qiuping laughed after hearing this, and then said, "Let me ask you, if in the book Guang Genshi suddenly slipped and fell to his death when he met Miss Akashi, what would you think?
What ideas would you have for the plot?”
"Is there something wrong with Murasaki Shikibu? How can any writer write like that?" Asahina Yasuhei was also amused by Amakihei's words, laughing so hard, "If she had written like this, The Tale of Genji would not have been passed down to this day."
"Why. No matter what, death is death, why can't you accept such a way of death?" Yu Qiuping tilted his head pretending to be confused.
"Genji Hikari is the protagonist!" Asahina Taihei said matter-of-factly, "How could a protagonist like him die so plainly or even comically?"
"Yes, even if the protagonist in the story is going to die, he should die in a spectacular way. Before death, the meaning of his sacrifice must be laid out for a long time, and a lot of ink should be drawn on the description of death. It is best to use a lot of side descriptions.
To write about other people's shock and grief over his death. Before dying, he should also leave some magnificent farewell words and last words. This way of dying is the protagonist." Yu Qiuping gave a bitter smile, stretched out his palm,
Looking at the lines on his palms under the sun, he said, "It would be too casual if he died at an inexplicable time without leaving a single word."
"But the reality is not a story. How many great men died inexplicably at an inexplicable time." Yu Qiuping changed the topic and stood up slowly. He patted his pants with both hands and shook off the dust. "Those heroes of the generation,
You must have imagined how you will die. Either you will be famous all over the world, your merits will be complete, and you will die peacefully surrounded by your descendants; or you will be ready to give up everything after some impassioned mobilization and strive towards the invincible
The enemy launches a desperate charge; or they are desperate and retreat into the burning castle tower to commit seppuku. In any case, there must be a sense of ritual. In any case, they also need some preparation time, so that
I’ll wake up only after I die a decent death.”
"What I'm curious about is, if death comes suddenly and without warning, can those who died heroically still be so calm? What kind of scene did they see before they died?"
Yu Qiuping looked around at his guards. Everyone looked solemn and didn't know how to answer.
"Let me give you a specific example." Yu Qiuping laughed mischievously, "If you are a powerful name, pacifying Japan is just a matter of day and night. However, one night, when you were in a building
After sleeping peacefully in the safety of the ancient temple, you were suddenly woken up at an unknown time in the middle of the night. The guards told you that the rebels had arrived outside the door and that you were about to die. How would you feel at this time?"
"Not willing?" Mori Ranmaru replied tentatively.
"What the hell." Asahina Taihei smiled with a black line on his face.
"Go all out, rush out and kill the traitor general, one for one." Mori Changke patted the iron cross-shaped spear in his hand and snorted coldly.
"Let's find a way to leave a last message and arrange the succession." Rihai's consideration was more realistic.
"I have thought about many answers, but I don't think they are right. The feeling of despair, the absolute fear of death and the end, cannot be understood without personal experience. The kind of death that comes without warning.
..." Yu Qiuping murmured to himself, not knowing whether he was answering the guards or who he was answering, "But why...there are almost no famous people in the history of the world who panicked before they died? Could it be that they all
Do you have such strong concentration and calmness about life and death?"
What was the scene you saw during the fire at Narumi Castle?
"Your Highness." Mori Ranmaru brought up old things again, the uneasiness in his expression almost overflowing, "Why on earth did you suddenly think of these things today?"
"Oh...I may have guessed an answer." Yu Qiuping put his hand on Mori Ranmaru's shoulder and helped him sit down slowly.
Chapter completed!