In the eighth year of Tensho, in the third month of Yangchun, the smoke of war was ignited again, and the old enemies Takeda clan and Tokugawa clan started a major war again.

Both Ieyasu and Katsuyori racked their brains in an attempt to maintain a strategic advantage. Katsuyori frequently contacted Uesugi Keikatsu in Echigo, and Ieyasu asked the Hojo clan to send troops to Doujun on the one hand, and on the other hand, sought an alliance with the Date clan in Oshu.

The year before, both Tokugawa and Takeda had thrown heavy troops into Takatenjin Castle, intending to fight a decisive battle there.

For Ieyasu, Katsuyori's Takatenjin Castle and the military fortresses of Koyama Castle and Sagara were the key to influencing Enoe's strategy. These military fortresses were once in the hands of Ieyasu, but they were recaptured by Katsuyori on June 17 of the second year of Tensho, which was also the support point of Katsuyori here. For six years since then, Ieyasu has been eyeing it for recapture.

Of course, for Katsuyori, the High Heavenly God City is of great significance. This city, which was once impossible for even his father to conquer, was captured by Katsuyori, and it became his proud hand to boost the morale of the army and show his strength to Nobunaga and Ieyasu. If Takatenjin Castle were to be taken by Ieyasu, not only would the Toe Domain be under Ieyasu's covetousness, but even Suruga would be immediately threatened.

Therefore, although Ieyasu continued to build fortifications around the castle from March of the eighth year of Tensho, by the autumn of the same year, the castle was still in the hands of Katsuyori under the siege of Ieyasu.

In the second year of Tensho, when Katsuyori stormed the castle, it was finally captured because the Tokugawa side did not wait for Nobunaga's reinforcements, and the surrender of the castle's general, Ogasawara Nagatada. This time, however, it was the turn of the Takeda clan to wait for reinforcements here.

In any respect, Ieyasu, who was allied with the Hojo clan, was strategically advantageous, so Ieyasu threw a heavy army here and launched an attack. In this way, on the one hand, Izu and Suruga were threatened by Hojo, and on the other hand, Ieyasu laid siege to Takatenjin Castle with heavy troops, and Katsuyori fell into the predicament of being attacked by the enemy.

Beneath the fiercely contested castle between the two armies, there is a dungeon where the only Mikawa samurai, who swore to die six years ago and who swore not to surrender to the Takeda clan six years ago, is still alive and strong, and is known as Genzaburo Okonochi.

In the past six years, the guards of the city have changed one after another, and each time they have spoken sweet words to persuade him to surrender, no less than dozens of times, or even nearly a hundred times, but this samurai is righteous and stern, and he refuses awe-inspiringly: "My lord Kang is a hero who is unparalleled in the world, he said that he must come to the High Heaven God City to rescue me, the gentleman said, the horse is difficult to chase, how can I surrender!"

Each time, among those who persuaded surrender were not only those who were moved, but also those who were furious, tortured, and beaten.

During his six years in captivity, he slept on a stone bed that seeped water from time to time, and all the ankles were rotting and withering, but he still maintained his fighting spirit. "Hasn't my father-in-law come yet?"

The castle is about 700 feet high, on top of the mountain of Takatenjin, the castle is located in the south of the Kakegawa River in Shizuoka in later generations, eight miles from the sea, and is a military town surrounded by mountains and mountains. At this time, it was already the season of the autumn wind, and Genzaburo Okochi, who was locked in the dungeon, seemed to hear the autumn wind mixed with bursts of shouts and killings from time to time recently. "Could it be that there is something wrong with the ear, I heard it wrong?"

The dungeon is located in the northern corner of the city. Descending from the ground, there is a stone staircase of more than 20 feet, which has been dilapidated, leaving a high ventilation window, which is the only place to communicate with the outside world. Through this window, Genzaburo can feel a slight hint of the season's information. Sometimes the restless cicadas chirp from afar, sometimes the rain and snow, the wind howling, and all kinds of seasonal changes will come to visit Genzaburo through this small window.

Although the numbers may not be accurate, Geniczaburo has probably been here for six cold winters. In the past six years, he has allowed his hair to grow wildly, and his clothes have changed six times, but none of them can be seen in their original appearance. When they come in and see him, they will think that he is a wild beast. The jail delivered only once a day, three small rice balls, water, a little pickles, a little salt, or a bowl of gruel.

Genzaburo felt that this was enough, and the strong will of the Mikawa samurai had long been accustomed to it. What a surrender, submission, he was born to hate. "If it was the shouts of people, it must have been the lord who had come to attack this city......"

Recently, it seems that all sorts of people have entered the city. Genzaburo inquired about the names of the generals from the prison guards, and there were no less than five people. Generals such as Okabe Tanbamori, Aiki Ichibei, Miura Ukon Taio, Morikawa Bizen, Asahina Yarokuro, Ogasawara Hikozaburo, and Kurita Hikobei were all famous generals from Toe to Suruga. These people are probably due to the fierce attack of Ieyasu in Takatenjin Castle, and they rushed here to fight to the death.

The jailers who come to deliver food every day around noon seem to be a long time late today. Ah, it's going to be dark again. Just as I was thinking, the jailer came. The jailer's name seems to be Zang, and he is a man over half a hundred years old and a lot of tongues, and every time he comes, he has to talk enough before he returns. Carrying the dim lantern, Sakuzo fumbled to the window of the cell, "Hey, prisoner, it's time to eat." ”

"Hey, Zuozang. Genzaburo stopped him as he sat on the cold stone.

"What's the matter? I've been very busy today. ”

"No matter how busy you are, you have to tell a little bit of the story of Kai. Is it true that my lord is besieging the city?"

Listening to Genzaburo's words, the jailer was a little surprised, and he stepped back and asked in a low voice, "How did you know?"

Genzaburo nodded silently, "Even if I'm here, my eyes can see outside." In this war, our lord will surely win. ”

"There will never be anything like that. The jailer hurriedly interrupted Genzaburo's words, and lowered his voice again, "In case the city falls, for the sake of your old friendship, you have to pull my old man." ”

Genzaburo nodded briskly, "Of course, you're my old friend." ”

"I'm sorry when you say that, I didn't take care of you before. ”

"No, you're warm enough for me. Hey, I said, is my lord about to attack today, have you heard which generals are?"

"I can't tell you this, I won't let you say it. ”

"Oh, then I won't ask. If you ask, you're in trouble. Genzaburo felt that since he was so resolute and would never surrender, he would not force others.

But the jailer sighed deeply. "When you say that, I can't help but want to tell you. Tell me about it. I've heard that the general who attacked the neighborhood today is called Heisuke Okubo, and the gun is very powerful. ”

"Oh, yes? Even Heisuke Okubo came, and it was a big battle. ”

"Besides, it's a secret. Today, the two leaders, Okabe Obito and Gentaro Nakura, quarreled over the cell. ”

"Oh, what are you arguing about?"

Nagura said that in any case, the Tokugawa side was brave and good at fighting. The wheat and rice in this area were all cut down by the soldiers, and the rations of the common people were provided in a limited amount every day, and no one would help Takeda's side, so Takeda would be defeated, so it would be better to abandon the city and flee as soon as possible. Okabe retorted that if the city was abandoned, it would be pursued by the enemy and the entire army would be annihilated. The general will definitely lead the rescue troops to come to support, so he must hold out until he comes to the rescue. The other retorted that Katsuyori was playing against Odawara and would not come...... In short, the two of them quarreled a lot. ”

After hearing this, Genzaburo Okochi snickered in his heart and said, "Oh, then, the victory will be decided soon." Where is Katsuyori now?"

"Katsuyori Gong is ...... in Izu" Before he finished speaking, Sakuzo broke out in a cold sweat and twisted his mouth fiercely, "You are such a bastard! Why do you ask everything! How can you tell these things to outsiders?"

"Oh, it's not right with me. So, when exactly did the battle begin?"

"It started in March, and it's really annoying that it's dragged on until now! Do you know where there is no war?"

"March...... I don't know. If it had been in March, I would have sat up and prayed for the victory of the Lord. Oh, my lord, I don't know any of this, please forgive me. ”

Genzaburo propped up his rotting legs and tried to sit up, when suddenly there was a scrambled sound of footsteps from the entrance above. He was startled, and the jailer was even more frightened, and was about to run to the exit in a panic, when he was squeezed by the people who came in to the window.

"Light the lamp!" The man who came was a thirty-six or seventeen-year-old general, with four or five retinues. The attendant lit the three large candles he had brought. The dungeon was as bright as day, and the man approached the window and looked inside. "Are you Genzaburo Okochi?"

Genzaburo stretched his shrunken legs forward all at once. As if a different person, he sharply retorted, "Who are you?"

"Sure enough, I have a backbone, I'm Gentaro Makura. Gentaro and Geniczaburo...... It's the same name as a brother. ”

"Shut up!" Genzaburo shivered with his wet body and scolded angrily, "Although Mingyu is similar, the root nature is very different. You always want to abandon the city and run away, and I will not give in even if I stay here for decades. You greedy for life and afraid of death, not to mention that I know the purpose of your coming here. Don't waste your words, get out of here!"

Gentaro was scolded for being a bloody sprinkler, but he still didn't smile, and once again put his face on the window lattice and looked at Genzaburo. "Even though you are friend or foe, I still admire you very much, and I really want to tell Ieyasu what you just said. ”

"Again, I'm not going to answer you. ”

"Okay, if you're not happy, you can stop talking. Listen up. As you might expect, the Tokugawa had come to take the city, and it had been cut off from the outside world for three months. In this way, you will probably understand that regardless of the arrival of reinforcements, we are currently faced with only two choices, one is to live and die with the city and fight bloodily to the end, and the other is to open the city gate and wait for the decisive battle. Therefore, there is a great difference of opinion among us, and those who oppose the opening of the castle say that even if the gates are opened, they will be driven to the end and that it is better to fight to the end. ”

Genzaburo Okochi in prison had his eyes slightly closed, and he remained motionless as if frozen.

"I don't have to hide it, I'll tell you straight. I remembered that you were still in prison. That being said, the Tokugawa side didn't know that you were still alive, so they must have thought that you were already dead...... Since you have survived to this day, I would like to send you as an envoy to Ieyasu's camp, but will you not? I have long heard that you are difficult to walk, so I specially prepared a palanquin for you. When you go to Ieyasu's tent, the city is opened, and only the passage to the valley to the north is empty. In this way, no less than a thousand casualties will be avoided on both sides, and that's what I think. ”

“……”

"How about it, if our side swears to fight to the death, Tokugawa's losses will not be less, you will make a great contribution, you think about it. At this time, Gentaro Nagura suddenly found that Genzaburo had already fallen asleep with a slight snoring sound, "Hmph, don't you even listen? Genzaburo was still snoring, which couldn't help but smack his tongue. "Prison guard, open the door. ”

"Yes...... yes, I wonder what the adults are doing when they open the prison door?"

"What are you doing? Is this what you old thing should ask? Hurry up and open it, don't be verbose!"

The jailer sighed and reached for the key in the keyhole. He knew that when the prison door was opened, he was going to torture Genzaburo Ogawa. He called out to Genzaburo gently: "Prisoner, hey, prisoner, wake up, wake up." ”

Gentaro Nagura glanced at his entourage and asked the two entourages to go in first. Then one of the attendants came in with a candlestick and another with a knife in his hand.

"Call him up!" Nagura motioned to his entourage. I saw the attendant draw a knife and press it on the prisoner's face.

"Get up!"

"It's noisy!"

"This guy is fake sleeping. Nagura nodded. "No need to answer...... So, I'm going to get rid of you. Your old master finally came to save you, but you died without even seeing his face, don't you regret it?"

As soon as he said this, Genzaburo opened his eyes suddenly. "Don't be verbose, I have a heart-to-heart relationship with my lord. Once the Samurai of Mikawa are exported, they will never change their words. If you want to kill, you have to slash the poop. If Lao Tzu is afraid of death, can he endure it for six years?"

"Okay, cut me off!" Nakura's pride seemed to be hurt, "Hmph! I won't let you die like this for nothing." Before I kill you, I'd like to see how endurance the spitting warriors of the Mikawa are. Hey, rip his clothes apart. ”

"Yes. The attendant agreed, the blade pointing outward, and reached under Genzaburo's clothes. With a thud, the clothes were cut in half and slid to the ground, revealing Genzaburo's dirty skin like rotten wood.

"Is it cold? pour some hot candle oil on his back and keep him warm. ”

"Yes. Another attendant turned the candlestick upside down and poured hot candle oil on Genzaburo's head. The wax dripped, dripping from his head to his back, and immediately solidified. Genzaburo still kept his eyes slightly open, staring at the sky fixedly, not even shuddering. Presumably because his body had dried up, or he had long since lost consciousness.