As the most important traffic artery in Edo, Nihonbashi is naturally one of the places with the largest flow of people in Edo.
The flow of people in Nihonbashi in the afternoon is so high that it can be called "scary".
Nowadays, Nihonbashi is like a filled balloon. If you add a little more air to it, it will burst.
People walking on Nihonbashi can only squeeze each other and squeeze you. When there is a little gap in front, they will get in to fill it. They can only squeeze, squeeze, and move forward bit by bit in this way.
move.
In a certain room in Shinagawa-juku, a young man was kneeling on the tatami, arranging his clothes.
This young man is pretty handsome, about 25 years old, and has long hair.
He obviously looks like a young man in his 20s, but there is not a trace of childishness on his face.
The scabbard of the katana placed on the tatami next to him was ordinary black, but the handle was a very beautiful purple.
This sword is extremely exquisite from the handle to the blade. Even people who don't know anything about swords can tell that this sword is not extraordinary.
An older man, probably around 50 years old, sitting next to the young man showed a faint smile and said to the young man:
"Toyotomi-sama, you look even more heroic now that you have put on formal attire."
"Iwakura." The young man who was called "Toyotomi-sama" by the old man smiled, "Although this formal suit is very handsome, it is also extremely uncomfortable to wear."
The young man...or rather Toyotomi said this as he straightened the feather fabric on his body again.
He doesn't like wearing formal clothes very much, and he has forgotten the last time he wore formal clothes.
Now that he was wearing formal clothes after a long time, Toyotomi felt uncomfortable all over, as if there were a lot of ants crawling on his body.
"Toyotomi-sama." The old man whom Toyotomi just called "Iwakura" continued, "You don't actually need to put on formal clothes. Lin Ziping is not the kind of person who pays great attention to etiquette."
As soon as Iwakura finished speaking, Toyotomi immediately answered:
"That's not okay. Even if the other party is not the kind of person who pays attention to etiquette, you still have to have the etiquette you should have."
Having said that, Toyotomi straightened his haori again.
"Iwakura, you and Lin Ziping are good friends. When Lin Ziping comes later, remember to say a few more nice words to me."
"That's natural!" Iwakura responded without hesitation, "I will definitely try to persuade Lin Ziping to join you!"
"Whether or not to invite Lin Ziping to my command, I have to wait until I meet him and test what kind of person he is before I make a decision." Toyotomi said with a smile.
"Sir Toyotomi." Iwakura's face was full of confidence, "Lin Ziping will never let you down!"
"Although his behavior and personality are a bit weird, he is undoubtedly a great talent!"
"You are so confident in Lin Ziping, I am looking forward to meeting Lin Ziping more and more." The smile on Toyotomi's face became stronger, "It seems that your relationship with Lin Ziping is really good."
Very good, I always highly recommend him.”
"The reason why I strongly recommend him to you is actually because I don't want his talent to be buried." Iwakura smiled bitterly, "He is a great talent that is rare to see in a century. His talent may directly change this situation.
nation."
"I really can't bear it if his talent is allowed to be buried."
"And letting him join your army can also protect him in disguise."
"Including this time this year, this is the third time he has been imprisoned."
"And the seriousness of these three imprisonments is higher each time..."
"If we hadn't rescued him in time this time, he might have been executed in 1 or 2 months..."
After saying that, Iwakura let out a long sigh.
About a year ago, Toyotomi took a fancy to Iwakura's talent in building castles and sent an invitation to Iwakura to join him and become his retainer.
Iwakura, who happened to be depressed at the time and was living a life of poverty and poverty, was naturally overjoyed after receiving Toyotomi's invitation. He accepted Toyotomi's invitation and became the new retainer of the Toyotomi family.
Not long after joining Toyotomi, Iwakura recommended "Lashi Ziping" to Toyotomi.
When Iwakura recommended Hayashi to Toyotomi, he gave Toyotomi a book.
This book is called "Three Kingdoms Comprehensive Illustration",
This is a military topography that describes the hydrology, geography, meteorology and other conditions of Korea, Ryukyu and Ezo.
Just opening the first page of the "Three Kingdoms Comprehensive Illustrated Notes", Toyotomi was full of interest in this military and geographical chronicle.
After presenting this book to Toyotomi, Iwakura immediately explained to Toyotomi that this book was compiled by Lin Ziping in the fifth year of Tenmei (1785 AD).
Because Iwakura and Lin Ziping had a good relationship, after successfully compiling the "Illustrated Notes on the Three Kingdoms", Lin Ziping gave a copy of it to Iwakura.
After Iwakura showed Toyotomi this book of military and geographical records written by Hayashi Ziping, Toyotomi immediately became interested in the character Hayashi Ziping and asked Iwakura to tell him more about Hayashi Ziping.
And Iwakura also informed Toyotomi of all the information he knew about Lin Ziping in detail.
From Lin Ziping's weird character, to his weird ideas, such as: opening the sea ban, reorganizing the military system, developing the Ezo Territory, and using force to curb the Lucia Kingdom's attempt to invade the Ezo Territory...
These ideas of Lin Ziping may be very weird and unreasonable in the eyes of others, but to Toyotomi, these ideas of Lin Ziping are very to his liking.
Toyotomi also became interested in Lin Ziping.
I want to meet this person and see if he meets his expectations.
So Toyotomi spent a lot of effort investigating Lin Ziping's whereabouts.
It took more than two months for Toyotomi to finally find out where Lin Ziping was serving prison food in the Johto Prison in Edo.
The reason why he was imprisoned was that he proposed political ideas to the shogunate that made the officials of the shogunate very angry, and severely criticized some of the policies of the shogunate, which angered the officials of the shogunate.
Therefore, the officials of the shogunate imprisoned Lin Ziping in anger, allowing Lin Ziping to reflect in prison.
According to Iwakura, this should be Lin Ziping's third time in prison.
The three times he was imprisoned were all for the same reason: he made propositions to the shogunate that officials found unreasonable, and severely criticized various policies of the shogunate, including the seclusion policy. He was then arrested by angry officials
Ordered to be imprisoned.
According to Toyotomi's investigation, Lin Ziping's third imprisonment was far more serious than the previous two.
If Lin Ziping is imprisoned this time, not only will he not be able to get out, but he will also most likely be executed.
Toyotomi didn't want this talented person who was finally found and might be of great use to be executed by the shogunate.
So Toyotomi handed over the task of "rescuing Lin Ziping" to his subordinate Shintaro who was lurking in Shiranui.
If you want to rob the prison without making a big fuss, you have to rely on these subordinates who know ninjutsu.
But Joto Prison was, after all, one of the few large prisons in Edo. Without enough manpower, it would not be easy to sneak into it and rob people.
So after receiving the mission of "rescuing Lin Ziping" from Toyotomi, Shintaro has been waiting for the best opportunity to save people.
Then, in the early morning of this morning, they waited for the best opportunity and Shuntaro was controlled by them.
If Shuntaro, the leader of the "Four Heavenly Kings", helps, going to the prison in the east of the city to rob people will be more effective.
So after controlling Shuntaro through Fubell Taifu, the first task Shintaro gave to Shuntaro was to cooperate with Eitaro to rescue Lin Ziping from prison.
Although there were some accidents during the robbery due to Lin Ziping's sudden shouting, overall it went smoothly and Lin Ziping was successfully rescued and brought to Shiranui.
After rescuing Lin Ziping, Shintaro immediately reported to Toyotomi, informed Toyotomi of the great news, and made an appointment with Toyotomi to bring Lin Ziping to see him this afternoon.
That's why Toyotomi put on his long-lost formal attire just to meet Lin Ziping later.
Toyotomi turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window.
"...Why hasn't Shintaro brought Lin Ziping over yet?" Toyotomi frowned slightly.
It has now passed the agreed time to send Lin Ziping over.
Shintaro has always been a capable subordinate whom Toyotomi trusted very much and was always reused by Toyotomi.
He has always been a very punctual person and rarely behaves as unpunctually as he does now.
"Maybe it's because there are too many people in Nihonbashi now," Iwakura said, "so it took a little longer on the road."
"……Maybe."
Toyotomi looked away from the window.
When he looked away from the window, he caught a glimpse of something placed in the corner of the room.
Toyotomi was stunned for a moment, then turned his head and looked directly at the thing he placed in the corner of the room.
It's a gourd worth thousands of dollars.
Looking at this Qiancheng gourd, Toyotomi's face showed some tenderness in his eyes.
It's like looking at his wife.
Toyotomi stood up, walked slowly to the Qiancheng Gourd, and then sat down cross-legged.
After raising his hand and touching the Qiancheng gourd, he moved gently as if touching something fragile that would break at the touch of a touch.
Looking at Toyotomi who was caressing this thousand-year-old gourd with gentle movements, Iwakura let out a sigh of relief, and then said with emotion:
"After 200 years, the Toyotomi family's 'Sensen Gourd' will finally be erected on the battlefield again, and the flag with 'Taiko Tung' will finally fly in the wind again..."
The family crest of the Taiko Kiri Toyotomi clan.
When Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his hegemony of dominating the world, the Emperor not only gave Toyotomi Hideyoshi the surname "Toyotomi", but also gave Toyotomi Hideyoshi the "Tong pattern" and allowed Toyotomi Hideyoshi to use the "Tong pattern" as their symbol of wealth.
Chen family crest.
At that time, many lords were actually using the 'Tong pattern', so in order to show his nobility, Toyotomi Hideyoshi later transformed the 'Tong pattern' he received from the emperor and transformed it into a new one.
Tung pattern'.
And this new ‘Tong pattern’ was called ‘Taiko Tong’.
As soon as Iwakura finished speaking, Toyotomi smiled:
"Yes... the blood debt from 200 years ago..." Toyotomi's hand that was stroking Qiancheng's gourd slowly tightened his grip, "I want to take them back one by one from the Tokugawa Shogunate!"
Toyotomi's hand resting on Qian Cheng's gourd was clenched tightly, as if he was going to tear out the flesh of his palm.
The originally delicate face now turned ferocious due to the surge of energy and blood.
At this moment, a low announcement suddenly sounded outside the room:
"Sir, it's me."
"Come in." Toyotomi said, sitting back down where he had just sat.
After Toyotomi gave permission to enter, a strong man slowly opened the door and walked quickly into the room.
"Takaharu." Toyotomi asked the strong man, "What happened?"
This strong man's name is Gao Qing. He is an old subordinate who has followed Toyotomi for many years and is also a trusted confidant of Toyotomi.
Gao Qing walked slowly to Toyotomi and knelt down on one knee, then said in a deep voice with a dark face:
"Toyotomi-sama, something seems to have happened in Shiranui. Unknown people have attacked Shiranui. Now Shintaro and Eitaro are still alive and dead, and we can't contact them..."
"What?!" Toyotomi's eyes widened with astonishment on his face.
…
…
Edo, Shiranui
Those who have never experienced being exhausted by the "selfless state" will definitely not be able to imagine what it feels like to have all their physical strength drained out by the "selfless state".
Ogata now feels like he doesn't even have the strength to stand up.
The combination of intense fatigue and dizziness caused by losing too much blood made Ogata extremely dizzy and sleepy.
And that magical state seems to have side effects like the "selfless state".
The side effect of the "selfless state" is that the user's physical strength will be rapidly exhausted.
The side effect of that magical state seems to be that it makes the user extremely mentally fatigued.
When he first came out of this magical state, Ogata didn't feel any discomfort. He could still speak and think normally.
But gradually, a strong feeling of discomfort appeared.
Ogata now felt as if he hadn't slept for several days, his mind was in a blur, and he was so tired that he couldn't think at all.
His head hurt as if two armies were fighting in his head.
Ogata knelt on the ground on one knee, clutching his head as he became increasingly dizzy and painful.
As expected, that magical state also has side effects like the "selfless state"...
After Ogata simply sighed in his heart with a slightly bitter and helpless tone, he began to concentrate on fighting against the strong dizziness and pain that kept emerging from the depths of his mind.
But the pain and dizziness became stronger and stronger, and soon their intensity exceeded what human willpower could resist.
Ogata finally felt that his head was getting dizzy and the pain was getting more and more, and his eyelids began to move up and down uncontrollably.
Finally, I fell asleep unconsciously...
…
…
The body is shaking.
Someone shook his body gently.
"……fast."
A voice came from afar.
"……Awake."
The sound gradually approaches.
"...Ittosai."
It's a sound I've heard before.
"Ittosai! Wake up!"
White light shines into the dark world.
"……Um?"
As Ogata regained consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Oufang saw Taifu's beautiful face.
At this time, Ogata was lying on the ground, and Taifu knelt down beside him regardless of the dirt on the ground.
Did I fall asleep just now? How long have I been asleep...?
After taking a nap because he couldn't resist the strong side effects of that magical state, Ogata now felt that the dizziness and pain in his head were slightly relieved.
Ogata glanced at his body. Some wounds on his body had been bandaged with cloth.
When Ogata looked at the wounds on his body that had been simply bandaged, the doctor on the side immediately said:
"I tore off some clean cloth from the bastard who used the short gun and bandaged it for you. I only have a superficial understanding of healing, so I may not have bandaged it very well. Please forgive me."
The bastard who wields a short gun as mentioned by Taifu is undoubtedly Eitaro.
"It's okay." Ogata shook his head gently, "Tafu, thank you for helping me heal my wounds. How did you escape? Where were the hemp ropes that tied you?"
"It's Goryoku...ah, no, it was Shuntaro who helped me untie it." Taifu answered without thinking.
"Shuntaro?" Ogata frowned slightly.
Ogata turned his gaze and looked at the ground not far away.
Eitaro's body was still lying on the same spot, and the blood had almost dried up. The clothes on his body were torn in a mess, and the cloth that was not contaminated by blood and dust was torn off by Taifu and used to bandage Ogata.
But where Shutaro should have been lying, there was no sign of Shutaro.
"Tafu, where is Shuntaro?"
"He ran away."
"Ran away?"
"Well, he still had some strength left. After you fainted, Shuntaro got up, untied me, and escaped by himself."
Taifu's tone was very calm, and he stared at Ogata's eyes the whole time.
It doesn't look like he's lying.
But Ogata still narrowed his eyes slightly and looked straight at Taifu with a gaze that seemed to see through Taifu's body.
Just when Ogata was about to say something to Taifu, a voice that was particularly familiar to Ogata and the voice that Ogata wanted to hear most now came from a distance.
"Ayi! Ha...ha...I finally found you..."
Ogata quickly turned his head and looked.
He saw Amachi limping and running quickly towards him.
Behind her were Lin, Mamiya and others.
Without exception, they all suffered injuries.
Except for Mamiya and Omachi, whose injuries were relatively minor, the injuries on the others were quite serious.
"Are you injured?" Ogata asked him quickly after seeing A-Machi limping when he walked.
"It's okay, it's just a minor injury." After quickly running to Ogata's side and kneeling down on one knee, Amachi looked at Ogata with complicated eyes, "Why did you get yourself covered with bruises again..."
"Although I look bloody now, there are actually no fatal injuries on my body." Ogata comforted him.
Lin, who was slower than Omachi, also came to Ogata's side with the support of Mamiya: "How is Shuntaro? Who is this woman?"
The "this woman" in Lin's mouth refers to Tai Fu Feng Chi, of course, and Lin does not know Tai Fu.
Because she noticed that there was an outsider present, Lin deliberately did not use her usual name for Ogata: Ittousai to address Ogata.
"It's a long story..." Ogata smiled, "Let's talk about your affairs first. How is the attack on Shiranui Ri? If the Shiranui Ri are successfully defeated, I think we should leave quickly.
It's better here, the shogunate may have received news of what happened in Shiranui."
…
…
night
Edo, Nihonbashi, Shinagawa-juku
At this moment, just as the moon was rising, the dark night became darker and darker with the appearance of the moon.
The scattered lights all over Nihonbashi suddenly dimmed due to the appearance of the moon, but the surrounding scenery stood out vividly.
The rubble on the houses, the trees planted on the streets, and the people walking on the Nihonbashi Bridge were all covered with a thin layer of silver frost.
A certain room in Shinagawa-juku did not close the window.
The bright moonlight shined like a white blade into the room along the open window, and shone on the face of Toyotomi who was sitting by the window, illuminating Toyotomi's face.
Toyotomi, who was sitting by the window, crossed his left leg, raised his right leg, put his right hand on the raised right leg, and held a glass full of wine in his hand.
Toyotomi just looked at the wine glass in his hand expressionlessly.
There was no expression or expression on his face, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking right now.
Gao Qing knelt down not far from the young man respectfully, with his head slightly lowered and not daring to express his anger.
Gao Qing has followed Toyotomi for many years, so he knows very well that if his lord behaves like this, it means that he is in a very bad mood now.
Whenever he's in a bad mood, he'll put on the oppressive expressionless look like now.
At the same time, Takaharu also knew very well how terrifying it would be for Toyotomi to get angry.
That's why Gao Qing was like this, even slowing down his breathing unconsciously, for fear that he might accidentally offend Toyotomi, who was currently in a bad mood.
"...Gao Qing."
Toyotomi suddenly called the strong man's name softly.
"Yes!" Gao Qing responded quickly, "Master Toyotomi, what are your orders?"
"Help me ask." Toyotomi's tone was a little impatient, "How long will it take to find out what happened in Shiranui?"
"Tell the people responsible for investigating that I'm a little impatient."
"Yes!" Gao Qing responded without hesitation, "I will do it immediately!"
Takaharu understands very well why Toyotomi is in a bad mood and why he feels impatient now.
In order to bring Shiranui back under the command of the Toyotomi clan, Toyotomi began to make plans 6 years ago.
First, he sent two of his capable subordinates to infiltrate Shiranui, and let these two subordinates gradually gain high positions in Shiranui.
Those two people lived up to Toyotomi's expectations and soon became the top leaders of Shiranui with their strong strength.
One of these two people became Shintaro, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings", and the other became Eitaro, who also had a high status among jounin.
In addition to these two capable subordinates, Toyotomi also successively sent other subordinates to infiltrate Shiranui in the past six years to attack Shintaro and Eitaro.
In the past six years, including Shintaro and Eitaro, there have been a total of nine people sent to infiltrate Shiranui.
He spent so much time and energy just to control Shiranui from the inside and let Shiranui return to Toyotomi's arms.
Toyotomi had already made plans for what the ninjas in Shiranui should do after they returned to Toyotomi's command.
First, let Shiranui continue to be a "good baby" who works hard in front of the Tokugawa Shogunate in order to gain the Tokugawa Shogunate's trust, and then slowly steal some important information from the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The proposal to Enma to lead Shiranui to join the shogunate was actually what Toyotomi instructed Shintaro to do.
The purpose was to allow Satori Shiranui to become a spy placed by Toyotomi in the Tokugawa Shogunate in the future, so that Toyotomi could obtain some important information through Satori Shiranui in the future.
That's how Shintaro successfully persuaded Enma and Shiranui to surrender to the shogunate last year and moved Shiranui's base to Edo.
After 6 years of long preparations, the seizure of power in Shiranui finally started officially last night.
He poisoned Enma, killed Gokutaro, and used Shutaro's relatives and friends to control Shutaro. Everything went so smoothly.
However... this kind of success only lasted for a few hours.
This afternoon, they received news that was like a bolt from the blue to them. Shiranui was attacked by unknown persons and could not contact Shintaro, Eitaro and the others.
After learning the news, Toyotomi quickly sent people to find out what happened.
The investigation continued from this afternoon to night, and still no new information was received.
Not to mention Toyotomi, even Gao Qing felt a little impatient.
Just when Gao Qing was about to get up and walk out of the room, the voice they had been waiting for finally sounded outside the door:
"Sir, it's me."
"Come in!" Toyotomi shouted quickly.
Wow.
The door was opened, and a middle-aged man quickly walked into the room.
This middle-aged man is also one of Toyotomi's cronies, and he is also the person sent by Toyotomi today to investigate what happened in Shiranui.
"Toyotomi-sama, there is news." The middle-aged man said in a deep voice immediately after entering the room, "Shiranui was attacked by unknown people, and now Shiranui has been destroyed. It has been confirmed that both Shintaro and Eitaro are dead.
"
"The shogunate has sent officials into Shiranui this evening to investigate."
"Shiranui was destroyed?" Toyotomi's tone was a little more angry.
It took a full 6 years to lay out the plan, and finally it was almost complete control of Shiranui. However, Shiranui was destroyed by a group of unknown people.
Moreover, Lin Ziping, who had been looking forward to meeting him, must now be missing due to the attack on Shiranui. How could Toyotomi not be angry?
Because he was too angry, Toyotomi tightened his grip on the wine glass in his hand.
The wine glass couldn't bear the huge force and was crushed by Toyotomi.
The crumbs of the wine glass cut Toyotomi's palm into small cuts.
"...Who is the person who destroyed Shiranui?"
"We don't know yet. Officials from the shogunate are also investigating..."
"Check it out for me!" Toyotomi shouted, "Find out which bastard ruined my good deeds!"
"Yes!" The middle-aged man with cold sweat on his face quickly nodded in agreement.
"Go down!" Toyotomi waved his hand.
"yes!"
The middle-aged man hurriedly exited the room.
Only Toyotomi and Takaharu were left in the room again.
"Gao Qing." Toyotomi swept away the crumbs of the wine glass on his right palm and said to Gao Qing, "You also go to help and find out who ruined our good deeds, and also find out the whereabouts of Lin Ziping
, let’s see if he died in Shiranui, or if he escaped while Shiranui was being attacked.”
"Yes!" Gao Qing agreed and quickly exited the room.
Toyotomi was alone in the room.
Because Toyotomi was the only one left in the room, no one saw the next scene that made people widen their eyes and scream: the small wounds on Toyotomi's right palm caused by the dregs of the wine glass.
Recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within a moment, Toyotomi's right palm was intact as before, as if it had never been injured.