Pillars of the Wu family

In the early morning of late summer and early autumn, the cool mountain breeze blows through the Shinano Mountains, and the dense forest is full of silence and tranquility. The Hokushin Five Mountains are located at the junction of Shinano and Echigo. Composed of five high mountains, Mount Iijima and Mount Iijima, with an average altitude of more than 2000 meters, it has been a representative of inaccessibility and mystery since the Middle Ages.

Mount Togakushi, legend has it that the man who built Suzuo was ordered to do anything wrong. As the elder sister, Amaterasu Omikami locked himself in Amano Iwato in anger, so the whole world, the sun and the moon, and the gods held a banquet to solve the problem, singing and dancing. Zhao Ogami curiously peeked through a gap in Tianyando, and was forcibly dragged out of the hole by the god of power, and the world reappeared in light. .

Therefore, there is also a small-scale Togakushi Shrine in Togakushi Mountain. The local mountain people don’t care much about such myths and legends. The gods also require the Buddha to turn into a Buddha, and the simple cognition of worshiping the gods is not as good as worshiping the Buddha is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

There were not many climbers in the early morning, and the mountain people who went down the mountain to fish curiously looked at the two travelers wearing bamboo hats. The older mountain people saw that they had daggers hanging from their waists, and hurriedly pulled the children in the village to turn around. Just leaving, the two travelers turned a blind eye to the performance of the mountain people and walked slowly into the dense forest.

Togakushi Mountain is very large, and the sun rose high after climbing a few ridges. The two came to a river beach to rest for a while, and a woodcutter was sitting by the river. The woodcutter was about 40 years old. A middle-aged man with bronzed skin protruding from his worn linen shirt.The woodcutter smiled kindly when he saw the two men's attire.He lowered his head and sorted out the woodpile.The old height of a pile of firewood is at least two hundred catties less.

The two travelers took a few sips of the clear river water, then suddenly raised their heads and said, "Qiaojia, we are travelers from the north. I heard that Beixin Wuyue Mountain is steep and majestic. I would like to ask what attractions are nearby."

The woodcutter seemed taken aback by the two people's inquiries. He pointed at the ridge for a long time and said, "It's the most convenient way to go up the mountain from there. The Togakushi Shrine is on the other side of the mountain. You can go there before noon. There is nothing else. Yes, hehehe..."

"Oh! Where does the woodcutter live?"

"My family lives in a nearby hut. The small place is relatively secluded and not worth mentioning, hehehe!" The woodcutter seemed unwilling to talk too much, he tidied up the firewood and smiled at them, and walked slowly into the dense forest with the firewood on his back. [

Toda Gohei walked briskly through the dense forests of the mountains very nimbly. It would take at least two hours for ordinary climbers to walk this section of the mountain road. He only took one hour to complete the journey. If you count his back 180 catties of firewood.This speed is absolutely astonishing. Every early summer, he would carry an ax into the mountains to collect firewood.Hitting firewood twice a day continued until the first snow fell in Shinano.

Life in the mountains is difficult. Take advantage of the summer and autumn to gather more firewood and store it up so that you can survive the winter when the mountains are covered by heavy snow. Half of the young and strong in the village are busy in the mountains, either hunting or collecting firewood. For example, he One person has to be responsible for harvesting firewood for dozens of people. The winter in the mountains is too cold. During the months when the mountains are covered by heavy snow, they rely on the stored food and firewood to survive the winter. The more prepared they are, the better they can survive this winter.

After climbing over the mountain ridge and seeing the village in the valley in front of him, he suddenly stopped. He was surprised to find that the two climbers he met an hour ago appeared strangely outside the village. Toda Gohei was very nervous: "This section I have been on the mountain road thousands of times, and I am familiar with every plant and tree here. It is absolutely impossible for anyone to walk faster than me, even if I carry firewood on my back..."

In just a short moment, he completed the thought change of lightning and flint. From the surface, Toda Gohei just saw two familiar strangers subconsciously slow down, and then he walked down the hill with heavy steps. At the entrance of the village, I saw two travelers standing in place and looking at him intently.

"Sure enough, there is a problem!" Toda Gohei's eyes showed vigilance, and the next moment he changed back to a simple and honest woodcutter, and smiled friendlyly at the two of them. He was blocked by two people.

"It turns out that Qiao's family lives here! I knew we would have gone with Qiao's family. We followed the road pointed out by Qiao's family for half a circle before we found this place. Thank you so much!"

A glimmer of gloom flashed across Toda Gohei's face. The two men stopped him with their mouths full of nonsense. It was obvious that the visitor was not kind. Guessing the intention of the two men, they simply stood still and did not speak, but they heard the two men say again: " It turns out that this is Togakui Village! Ordinary people may not find it after walking around the mountains for seven or eight days, and even if there are tens of thousands of troops, they can't even try to get in here. It really is a treasure land of geomantic omen. Now, it’s no wonder that Togakushi lived in seclusion here for more than 300 years.”

Toda Gobei's face was getting darker and darker, and his two sand bowl-like fists were creaking, and suddenly an old voice came from a distance: "Gobei! Since the two guests have come from afar, why don't you come here?" Let them go into the village and talk again! If friends come from afar, if you don’t treat them well, they will say that we don’t understand the rules.”

"Yes!" Toda Gobei muffledly replied, his shoulders swayed lightly and bumped into the shoulders of the two of them, the two of them were knocked back two steps, and Toda Gobei squeezed against their bodies past.

"Good guy, you really have the strength of a bull." The two followed in amazement.

The scale of Togakushi Village is not small. Except for the carefully camouflaged valley, the whole valley is the living area of ​​the village. The strange thing is that their houses are not built together, but are scattered here and there. The huts spread across half of the valley. Obviously, no outsiders have invaded here for many years, so there are no secret sentries outside the village to allow two strange climbers to take advantage of it.

There are very few men in the village, and most of the people who come and go are women and children. Seeing Toda Gohei come back carrying firewood, he greeted him friendly, and at the same time looked curiously at the two strange strangers, Toda Wubingwei led the two of them to the densely packed houses in the center of the village, and saw the talking old man in a thatched house.

The two looked at each other, and took off their bamboo hats to reveal two uncharacteristic young faces: "I am Captain Mochizukizaemon. This is my brother-in-law Captain Mochizukiemon. I have met the leader of Togakushi."

The old man is dry and thin like a piece of rotten wood.Sitting cross-legged on the porch, he seemed to be dozing off. He opened his cloudy eyes when he heard the two announce their names: "Oh! This old man is the leader of Togakushi, Mori Udo Kansai. What are you doing?"

Mochizuki Zaemon Wei said loudly: "I came here by order, and I ask Togakushi ninja to serve my master." [

Toda Wubingwei dropped the firewood and snorted coldly: "I'm afraid I will disappoint you two. I, Togakushi ninja, will follow the ancestral precepts not to be born. If you two have nothing else to do, please go back!"

"Daoxianzhaidian's lesson, the chaos in today's world is just a matter for heroes to show their talents. Togakushi ninja Sora has a whole body of skills but guards the door and is willing to serve the villagers in the mountains. It's a waste! Don't Daoxianzhaidian think about the villagers Is it? When will this bitter day of hunger and food end! Why don’t you come out of the mountain to help my lord, and it won’t be long before Togakushi ninjas can be relieved of their poor lives.”

"Smart words! Get out of here quickly with me!" Toda Wubingwei stretched out his iron palm and went towards the two. If this palm was hit on the body, even an ordinary samurai would stumble a few times, but he didn't want to hide the palm of his way. The Mochizuki brothers dodged slightly, Toda Gohei immediately changed his stance when he saw that he had missed a move, and suddenly stepped forward with a swish sound, he came forward, the five fingers of his left hand turned into eagle claws and grabbed Mochizuki Zaemon's shoulder, and his right hand slowly clapped into a palm For the punch, he smashed it hard.

"Hmph!" Lieutenant Mochizuki Zaemon suddenly disappeared from before him, and suddenly appeared behind him the next moment. Feeling being teased, Toda Gohei was furious.The two fists turned into two hammers and danced quickly, vowing to capture the two thieves.

"The five soldiers and guards don't stop! It's the way to treat guests by shooting and hurting people. Don't retreat quickly!"

Toda Gohei didn't dare to confront the leader and had to retreat. Moriyu Michikansai sighed slowly: "My Togakushi ninja has lived in the countryside for hundreds of years and was forgotten by people. I thought I would live in peace like this forever, but I didn't expect The one who should come is still here, Wu Bingwei said it just now, my ancestors have already established the ancestral precept not to go out of the mountain, let the two of you come here for nothing."

"From Dao Xianzhai's tone and movements, it can be seen that his words are insincere!" Lieutenant Mochizuki Zaemon was very calm in his heart, and he organized his words a little and said: "The ancestors mentioned by Dao Xianzhai hall, I know a little bit about it. The first Daisuke Metogakushi assisted Kiso Yoshinaka in capturing the capital, but in the end he was defeated and died, so Togakushi sneaked back into the mountains to hide from the world, presumably this ancestral precept was established at that time!"

"It can be seen that you have a lot of research on our Togakui ninjas!" Mori Yudao Xianzhai sighed and shook his head with a wry smile: "Since you dare to come to Togakui, you must rely on something. Tell me about your intentions!"

Captain Mochizuki Zaemon knew that the first hurdle was considered a success, he took a deep breath and said slowly: "Since Dao Xianzhai can break our identity with one mouthful, he must also be concerned about the outside world, then you should know this There have been wars and turmoil in the past hundred years, and the people have suffered greatly. Nowadays, people hope that the world will be stable and the world will be peaceful. My master is a descendant of Minamoto's noble family, the Ashikaga family. I don't mention the specific achievements, but the Daoxianzhai Temple should always remember the name Ashikaga Kamisaburo. Bar!"

"Ashikaga Sosaburo? Isn't that the name of the third generation governor of the Ashikaga family in the Kamakura period? Could it be that another Ashikaga Sosaburo has emerged after more than 20 years of hard work?" He smiled and said: "The old man used to dress up as a businessman and traveled around the world more than 20 years ago, and he knew some things about the outside world. The news in this small place has been blocked for many years, and he has not seen outsiders for many years. I don't know what changes have happened to the outside world in the past twenty years. The two will answer for you."

"So that's how it is, so it's easy to handle!" The two Mochizuki brothers looked at each other and smiled, and they talked about a series of great changes from the beginning of astronomy to the third year of Hongzhi. The ins and outs of Xianzhai’s house are clearly described, and the focus is on the name of Ashikaga Kamisaburo. The Kamisaka family rose rapidly like the rising sun. There are allusions such as the name of the general of the government.

"I didn't expect that the general situation of the world has changed so much in the past twenty years. The mighty Hosokawa family is declining, and everything is like the four seasons. Thank you for your enthusiastic answer, but because of the family ancestors It is inconvenient for the old man to give a clear answer as a rule, so please go back first, both of you!"

"...How could this happen!" In the past three days, the two of them also knew something about Senyu Daoxianzhai, and they knew that this person was open-minded and open-minded.Also said that this mission can be easily accomplished.But I didn't want the old man to issue an order to evict the guest in the end.Lieutenant Mochizuki Zaemon held down his angry younger brother and left Togakushi Village as promised. In any case, not refusing on the spot was a good start, and the two of them did not dare to expect more.

Soon after the Mochizuki brothers left, dozens of people, old and young, crowded into Moriyu Shiki’s house. There were old people in their 80s and [-]s as well as teenagers in their teens. He is a rustic ordinary villager, some of whom look like fishermen who have just returned from fishing.Huddled in the hut, listening to Senyu Daoxianzhai retelling what the two said, the old man spoke quickly and briefly, and he finished what they had talked about for three days in just two hours .

The old man dressed like an old farmer smacked his lips and said: "It seems that this noble son of the Ashikaga family is quite powerful! He has conquered such a large territory at such a young age, and half of Shinano has fallen into his hands. When I was so young, I was still running around in the mountain dens of Shinano Kiso Valley!"

"That's right! A ten-year-old boy dared to fight a joint battle, and he really won the battle. We mountain people can't do this. I think he will be successful in the future! Listen to me! Erlang's words are absolutely right!" Ueno Manjiro is a strong man with full beard and full of gangsters, he never leaves his tattered bearskin jacket all year round.When he talked, he ran the train with his mouth full of words, making the few young people who shrank behind him laugh.

Toda Gohei was not as angry as these unscrupulous guys.Angrily shouted: "Don't talk nonsense! Don't forget that we have the teachings of our ancestors! How can we go out to do those things! So don't think about anything, it will snow soon, and our Dongchu still has a business trip. At dawn, all the men will go hunting with me, and the women will gather firewood."

The leader of the Togakushi ninja is a person who is capable. All the old and young people here have either been a Togakushi leader in their ancestors, or they are the mainstay in the village. For example, the father of Kataoka Hirazaemon was the leader of the previous generation of Togakushi. It seems that this old man I don't quite agree with Toda Gohei's attitude either.

"Let me tell you! It's better to go out and see the world! You see, the little dolls in our village are dressed in tatters. They are all wearing the old clothes we wore when we were young! The little dolls will mend the clothes when they grow up." Wash it and put it on for smaller dolls. Many people have never seen new clothes in their entire lives. The mountains are poor!

There is nothing but the forest as far as the eye can see, and the farmland in the valley can only grow some vegetables. The village relies on the hunted animal skins, firewood and fresh fish to exchange some food and salt in the sneaky towns. I still dare not go there, I have to walk more than ten miles of mountain roads in the middle of the night in exchange for things and then move back overnight. The past few years have become more and more difficult, and the weather has become more and more wrong in recent decades. How many people died in our village in the drought a few years ago, It's better to let the children go out to make a living, at least they can subsidize the living expenses of the village!

It's not good for Wubingwei to be so stubborn. Dao Xianzhai was going outside to see the world, but he got the unanimous consent of the village. In the past 300 years, there are not a few ninjas who have gone out of our village one after another. Some come back and some go away. It's gone, you should know this! "

"We in Togakushi Village know that no one will harm our own people. We are bullied and deceived when we go out. What should we do if we are malicious to us?" Toda Wubingwei shouted emotionally: "I will I don't understand why we have to go out, isn't it good for us to live peacefully in Mount Togakushi?

Even if life is more difficult, you can still get through it if you support it. I am not opposed to making a living outside the clan, but this person's request is different. That person wants our entire village to work for him. Don't forget the allusion of the decline of the Hosokawa Jingzhao family. If the person who joined us is defeated, wouldn't everyone be doomed if we were to be recruited into it? "

Tomata Hachiro stood up with a smile and said, "Actually, it's not a big problem. Let's go back to the mountains after that person is defeated. Don't forget that our ancestors hid back to Togakushi Mountain to build our village? I think that People don't seem to be malicious people, with such a famous name and such a big foundation, there is no need to deceive us rural mountain people."

"I heard that there is a saying in Minguo that you should not have the heart to harm others, and you must not have the heart to guard against others! I think what Gobei said is reasonable, and it is better for us to deal with it carefully." Several close friends of Toda Gobei also patiently Couldn't help getting into temper, the quarrel became more and more intense, and the atmosphere in the room was tense for a while.

"Five Soldiers! Originally, this secret was not told to you until after you succeeded the leader. Now that this is an opportunity, I will not hide it!" The secret that only the successor leader can know, if you meet a wise master, you can serve him!"

"How is this possible? I don't believe it!"

Kataoka Hirazaemon said sadly: "The location of our Togakushi village has been exposed, can we still expect that person to show mercy and let us go? Besides, everyone knows what is going on in the village. There is no food for a full meal, and the colorful world outside always attracts the people in the village. They are polite first and then soldiers. They will talk to us about the feasibility of working first. If it doesn’t work out, it will turn into spending money to hire our ninjas. How many people do you think there are in the village? Will you starve and freeze with you?"

"This..." Toda Gohei hesitated. It is true that the mountain people have never seen the world and the folk customs are simple, but he has no reason to prevent the villagers from pursuing a more prosperous life, not to mention that he is the leader of the next generation of Togakushi ninjas, and he can only continue to be stubborn. He will put himself on the opposite side of the villagers, which is completely contrary to the original intention of being considerate of the villagers.

Senyu Daoxianzhai saw that he was still hesitating, so he continued to explain: "We practice ninjutsu handed down from our ancestors to pass on the legacy of our ancestors to future generations. Isn't it for the purpose of being useful one day? What else do the mountain people in Togakushi Village do besides ninjutsu? Brute force or hunting skills? Five soldiers! Your idea is good, but it is time for us to change in Togakushi Village. You understand, old man mean?".

"Understood! Let's work!" Toda Gohei nodded firmly. (to be continued...)

ps: 12w words in two updates, it's a small explosion!The pressure of [-] words a day is very high, so Wu Mei doesn’t have much energy to write outbursts, so she can only try her best. I was too embarrassed to ask for things before, so I took this opportunity to ask for some rewards, thank you!