In May of the 10th year of Tensho, Tokugawa Ieyasu was welcomed into the castle in a relaxed mood, and the whole city was filled with a festive atmosphere.

When the castle abandoned by the Imagawa clan was taken over by Ieyasu, the Matsudaira clan was at a low point when Sansei could not control the three rivers. Today, however, Ieyasu has completely mastered the three kingdoms of Mikawa, Enoe, and Suruga, and has become a hero who surpasses his old master, Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Needless to say, Ieyasu's emotion, even the important ministers and generals who followed to Azuchi, were all beaming with joy and emotion, looking at this, touching that, and thinking about the past, I couldn't help but burst into tears. This time, in addition to the leaders of Sakai Saemon Captain Tadaji, Ishikawa Hakuki Shoshu Sumasa, Torii Hiko Uemon Mototadada, Honda Heihachiro Tadakatsu, and Kamihara Kodaira Yasumasa, there were also Amano Yasukei, Kori Kiyocho, Okubo Tadasa, Okubo Tadashi, Ishikawa Yasutsu, Abe Zenkuro, Honda Momosuke, Einuma Jozo, Watanabe Hanzo, Makino Yasunari, Hattori Hanzo and others, and the rest of the 28 people were also people who owned the territory.

In addition to fourteen people such as Torii Matsumaru and Iiman Chiyo, there were also fourteen people who spent seven days and seven nights convincing the famous Anayama Umeyuki of the Takeda clan to make him finally surrender to Ieyasu - Nagasaka bloody gun Kuro.

As a result, Okazaki Castle is crowded inside and out. Despite this, the various sentry roadblocks are arranged in an orderly manner as usual to prevent accidents.

As soon as Ieyasu arrived in Okazaki on the 10th day of the fifth month, he went to Daishuji Temple to pay homage, and then went to Sandaojo Castle to visit his biological mother, Mrs. Yu.

Yu, who was already 55 years old, saw Ieyasu coming, and immediately got up from his seat and kept saying hello to his son. "My son has finally made the Three Kingdoms Guardian, congratulations!" said his mother's eyes, which were already red.

Ieyasu received Suruga this time, and I am afraid that the mother who felt the deepest emotion was this! When Okazaki was at his poorest, his mother married here and gave birth to Ieyasu. When Ieyasu was six years old, the Matsudaira clan was forced to send him out of Okazaki to Sunfu out of fear of the Imagawa clan. The sadness of that time may never disappear from the mother's heart.

Ieyasu knew his mother's mood very well, sat down on the porch, and set aside the guards Miura Yukame, Torii Matsumaru, and Iman Chiyo, and said, "You go outside first to blow the breeze, cool and cool, and then I will call you later." ”

"Mother, are you okay?" the two of them remained, and Ieyasu stared at his mother, whose gray hair was growing, and his heart was extremely longing.

"It's so strange that when I see you, I can't help but think of your grandmother. ”

Ieyasu nodded silently. The grandmother was the mother's biological mother and the grandfather's wife. His grandmother followed Ieyasu, who was sent to Imagawa's house as a hostage, and traveled thousands of miles to Sunfu, where she became his only relative.

"Yes, it is all because of the grandmother's grace that the child can have today...... So, somewhere on Ieyasu's body, I guess he still retains the mark of his grandmother. ”

When Ieyasu said this, Yu Da couldn't help but laugh. "Your personality is indeed inherited from your grandmother's characteristics compared to your looks. ”

"It should be. I heard that my grandmother was the first beautiful woman in Kaido back then. Even at the time of her death, although she was over half a hundred years old, she was still an elegant nun with great elegance. I was fourteen years old......"

Ieyasu unconsciously remembered the past. The mother quietly took a step forward and gently fanned Ieyasu with a fan. Ieyasu didn't deliberately stop it.

"Your grandmother said that your grandfather and grandfather were the most alike. ”

"Yes, now they are all gone. When it comes to personality, I'm still the most like you. ”

"What nonsense are you talking about. ”

"No, no, this is indeed a rare blessing for children. I heard that from the time I was pregnant to the time I gave birth, my mother insisted on purifying her body and praying every day, hoping to give birth to a son who could calm the troubled times. ”

"Who told you all these things?"

"Grandmother......" Ieyasu looked at his mother with some amusement and smiled slightly, "probably because of this." In this battle, the Takeda Yu Party that I killed was on par with the one killed by Lord Youfu. ”

"Your Excellency!"

"Mother, what's the matter, you won't even keep your hands idle when you speak. You fanned me like this, and I felt uncomfortable. ”

"Good, good. Fan it for a while, and I won't fan it anymore. Yu Da nodded affectionately, and then said, "You must not compete with Lord Youfu!"

"Huh. Does Mother see that we're going to fight?"

Yu Da did not answer directly. "Lord Youfu will order you to send troops to China. ”

"Maybe ......"

"Since you understand this, it is better to take the initiative to tell Lord Youfu that you are willing to send troops to China...... I've been thinking about it. ”

"Yes, it's better for me to take the initiative to ......," Ieyasu said solemnly.

Ieyasu's blood boiled at once. Actually, his mother didn't say it, and he also had this intention, but he didn't expect that the person who gave him such a suggestion was not a retainer, but a mother.

"What my mother said was that it wouldn't be wrong. Ieyasu nodded vigorously again like a child, staring at his mother.

Yu Da suddenly stopped the fan in his hand, and his eyes revealed a more obvious sadness. "This trip to Anland, for some reason, always disturbed me. She lowered her voice and changed to a tone of confiding, "Don't blame the old woman for being too talkative. It seems that Lord Oda Right-fu is no longer the Lord of Right-house. ”

"It does ......"

"Some time ago, Lord Ufu came to live in Okazaki. At that time, I had been secretly hoping that Lord Youfu would be able to visit the daughters of Tengunin (Shinyasu). ”

"They?"

"Yes. The two daughters are the only two granddaughters of Lord Youfu. If it were the old Lord of Youfu, he would have called them in front of him and said a few words like 'what a poor child'. However, no, he left Okazaki without even looking at the child. ”

Ieyasu nodded silently. "Lord Youfu is probably busy with official business, so forget about it. ”

"No!" Yu Da interrupted Ieyasu, "Youfu-sama is not a forgetful person. He clearly remembered it in his heart, but he just didn't want to see it. ”

"Well, I didn't even notice. ”

In the old woman's mind, the right-minded lord who spoke as much as pouring beans from a bamboo tube, for some reason, became such a person...... Whether it is for the sake of the world, even family affection is disregarded. Ieyasu was stunned again and looked at his mother again. Nobunaga's uneasiness was explained by his mother's words. "Mother, that's why, that's why you asked me not to argue with Lord Youfu?"

"Yes, ah, no......" Yu Ban seemed to shake his head and nodded, looking into his son's eyes fixedly.

Looking at things in a big way, he is never limited to a certain aspect, but always peels back the cocoon from the outside to the inside, which is very similar to Ieyasu.

"I also know that you are not the type of person who argues with others without thinking. However, the current Lord Youfu, once the words have been spoken, even if he knows that he is wrong, he will never turn back. He has become such a person. Therefore, you must remember that just like playing chess, you must be the first to move and be cautious. ”

"Thank you, mother!" Ieyasu couldn't help but grasp Yu Da's hand tightly and put it on his forehead, "The child has already decided in his heart. No, it's because of my mother's kind words. ”

"Got it?"

"I see, what my mother said is very true. These are Ieyasu's sincere words, undisguised and unflattering. All Ieyasu was worried about now was how he would answer if Nobunaga asked him how many troops he could send. Of course, Ieyasu didn't want to speak first, saying that he wanted to send troops. In fact, he didn't want to send a single soldier. Now was the perfect time to consolidate the territory left behind by Takeda and spy on the Tokaido, but once Nobunaga asked him to send troops, he would not be able to refuse. What his mother said just now gave the confused Ieyasu a hint of the maze.

"Your Excellency. Yu Da slowly shook his fan again, "I heard that the general who attacked China is called Yu Chai Zhu Qianshou?"

"Yes. He is the right-hand man of Lord Youfu, and he has Hashiba Hideyoshi, who has 560,000 stone of Banshu Himeji. ”

"My opinion is that you took the initiative to send an envoy to Mamoru Chikuzen...... I wonder what you think?"

Although it was his mother who spoke, Ieyasu was awe-inspiring. What his mother said was exactly what he thought! There was nothing else he could do about Nobunaga's plan. When he arrived in Azuchi, Nobunaga was sure to comfort Ieyasu first, and of course, Ieyasu's subordinates were also entertained. Then, Nobunaga would surely seize every opportunity to instigate Ieyasu to send troops. If we do not try to deal with it by then, it will be too late, and as soon as I see Nobunaga, I should first make a request: "Please allow Ieyasu to send troops to China as well." "As for how many men should be sent, we should send an envoy to Hideyoshi to inquire about the situation now. In this way, if Hideyoshi's battle was not particularly hard, he would have said that he did not need to send troops. Because once Ieyasu sent troops, Hideyoshi's exploits would be halved. However, even these subtleties of military strategy, Mother calculated accurately!

"Mother should not worry about these things. Ieyasu smiled faintly, "After listening to his mother's words, the child already has a good idea in his heart. ”

"In any case, don't be careless. ”

"If my mother were a man, she would have been my strong rival. Ieyasu smiled and grabbed his mother's wrist again to prevent her from fanning again. My mother has a vision that even a man can't have, even more than many of the world's famous generals, but it's all out of family affection - incredible family affection, family affection that people have to re-taste.

"Then, Ieyasu is going to visit his granddaughter, who has not been visited. Mothers should also pay attention to their bodies and be careful of heat stroke. Ieyasu stood up.

"Okay, take care of yourself. Yu Da also stood up and reluctantly sent his son to the gate.

"Matsumaru, Manchiyo......" Ieyasu stood on the steps and called out to the guards loudly, shouting and shouting, suddenly surprised: as soon as he came to his mother, he unknowingly became the young Takechiyo. And in Hamamatsu, he is a general who feels depressed everywhere and all the time.

At this time, Yu Da fell to the ground again, restoring the respectful attitude of Mrs. Kumatsu Sato Mamori to the Three Kingdoms. Manchiyo and Matsumaru were enjoying the shade of the pine tree opposite, and when they heard the shout, they hurriedly ran over and fell to their knees. Ieyasu bowed to his mother again and walked out.

Probably because I haven't seen my mother for a long time, I guess it used to be called Hachiman-en, but in the time of my father Hirotada, it was renamed the main castle of Takechiyo Castle, and the smell of the earth, the smell of grass, and the swaying leaves all made Ieyasu deeply nostalgic for his childhood. The delicate face of his father, who died young at the age of twenty-four, still remained in the depths of his memory, and his grandmother's voice seemed to still linger in the valley of the bath. "Takechiyo, grandmother is here. ”

The lush foliage covers the Saburo pine in the arrow tower, and you can still feel the breath of my grandfather when he planted it with his own hands, and the cherry blossom trees on the side of the wine valley still seem to have left the shadows of Ai and Awan who are not around.

From this point of view, Sena Ji is also a poor woman, and the Saburo Nobuyasu she gave birth to is even more poignant. "Saburo ......" Ieyasu stood under the rows of cherry blossom trees and closed his eyes.

Standing here, Nobuyasu appeared in front of him under the pretext of coming to see the fortifications of the city and pestering Ieyasu to tell the state of mind of the general. The round eyes, the immature and angry lips, and the thirteen or fourteen-year-old, like the breath of a young bamboo...... "I am ...... now" Just go and see the two daughters you left behind. ”

Behind Iiman Chiyo and Torii Matsumaru, I don't know when another fourteen or fifteen guards followed. They seemed to understand Ieyasu's feelings, and as soon as Ieyasu stopped, they quietly knelt in the shade of the tree, trying not to make a sound.

“…… Tell your mother that Ieyasu has only taken back Imagawa Yoshimoto's old domain now...... Soon after, you moved to the Sunfu that your mother had been dreaming of for a long time......"

I don't know when Nobuyasu's phantom turned into Ieyasu's own appearance when he was a hostage in Sunfu. At that time, Ieyasu was bullied as soon as he went out: "That's Mikawa's orphan." ”

At that time, he was very fond of eagles, but he didn't get one, so he domesticated the hundred-tongued and let it catch sparrows. It was that hundred-tongued bird that caused a lot of trouble. Because of this incident, Torii Hiko, the father of Matsumaru next to him now, was sneering, and as a result, he was beaten by Takechiyo back then.

"Matsumaru ......" Thinking of this, Ieyasu shouted.

"In. ”

"Your father, Hikoemon, was three years older than me, and when I was ten, he was thirteen. ”

"Yes......"

"One day, I remember losing my temper and scolding Yuan Zhong, who was older than me, and being scolded by my grandmother...... At that time, Ieyasu, thanks to the care of your grandfather Tadayoshi, was able to survive in Sunfu......"

Matsumaru didn't know why Ieyasu said this, and looked at him in confusion.

Ieyasu burst out laughing, the corners of his eyes moistened. "Hahaha...... How do I think of this again? Ah, yes, it's because I think of your grandfather. He's a good guy. I was being scolded, and when he came, he praised me desperately, saying that those who cannot punish their retainers when they are angry are not the weapons of a general. I scolded Yuan Zhong severely. Your grandfather also sighed: It's sunny, it's sunny...... You know, Matsumaru, since then, whenever I've been angry with my retainers, I've quietly looked around and reflected on myself...... Your grandfather is amazing. ”