The news of Yu Qiuhei's safe return from Inabayama Castle made the high-level officials of Owari boil. Everyone was amazed by Yu Qiuping's good luck and admired Shigeharu Takenaka. In order to reward Akihei for his hard work in forging an alliance with the Asai family (he almost lost his life), Oda Nobunaga gave him a 6,000-stone territory in Nakajima-gun, south of Leafuri-gun. He also promised to give him some of the territories in Niwa Prefecture that were immediately adjacent to Oguri Prefecture after quelling Oda Nobukiyo's rebellion. In order to accept the new territory, the rules such as the acting officials, circuit courts, and the banking system were carried out, and Naoe Tadahei, Amano Keitoku and Sena Shiyoshi were busy again.

And Oda Nobunaga also tried to send someone to recruit Shigeharu Takenaka, who served as a teacher for Yu Qiuping, and gave 30,000 stone territory and the position of the elder of the Oda family, but was politely rejected by Shigeharu Takenaka. Oda Nobunaga was also quite generous, and did not stalk anymore - but he was unable to recruit a virtuous retainer, and he obviously held back the fire in his belly - so Ikeda Tsuneko and Maeda Toshiya were unlucky.

Because they disobeyed the order without permission, they took people and Imagawa Kaede to the territory of Mino to rescue Yuakihei, which made Oda Nobunaga angry. The two of them hid in Yuqiuping's territory for half a month, thinking that Oda Nobunaga had lost his anger. However, as soon as they returned to Kiyoshu Castle, they were immediately beaten by Oda Nobunaga and locked up in confinement.

Yu Qiuping originally wanted to find an opportunity to visit these two good brothers, but there were too many trivial matters in the territory, so he couldn't pull away.

The top priority at the moment is the issue of expanding enrollment in Changpanbei. What makes Yu Qiuping feel relieved is that the ashigaru recruited a few years ago has completely integrated into the Yuqiu family at this moment, and is no longer the rookie eggs who complained about being tired and had no loyalty to the Yuqiu family back then.

·

Kanamatsu Masayoshi has a deep understanding of this.

He is 24 years old and was originally a farmer in the castle town of Nakono Castle. Two years ago, he passed the selection of the Yuqiu family, and enlisted in the army to become a foot light of the Yuqiu family. As for why he came to Yuqiu's house to be a soldier, Kanematsu Masayoshi's reason is also very simple: there is a lot of money. He is different from the dozens of peasants from around Narumi, he has not received the grace of Yu Qiuping's life of "sending grain to the enemy", he has no feelings for Yuqiu's family, and even rejects this outsider. However, the settling-in allowance and the Yulu offered by the Yuqiu family are really exciting, far exceeding the Yulu of other wealthy families in Owari to recruit standing troops. It is precisely for this reason that Kanematsu Masayoshi came to Kuroda Castle to serve as a soldier.

However, he soon regretted it.

The training at Yuqiu's training ground is too perverted, to the point of "punishment". Kanamatsu Masayoshi used to see the training of the Ashigaru family of the Sasa family and the Shibata family in the slack time, and it was nothing more than holding a bamboo gun and a machete to pose, where would it be as terrifying as the Yuqiu family. On the first day, Kanematsu Masayoshi and more than a hundred recruits stood in a military posture with the veterans of Tokibanbei for three hours, and Kanematsu Masakatsu's leg was so sore that it was about to break, so he found an opportunity to be lazy - in fact, he just didn't maintain a straight posture and bent his legs slightly. But his actions were immediately discovered by the veteran who supervised him one-on-one, and reported it to the veteran who called the "Raven Judge" Amano Keitoku.

Amano Keedoku was also unceremonious, and immediately punished him for doing thirty push-ups. Kanamatsu Masayoshi, who was tired enough to choke, was asked to stand in a military posture again before he could catch his breath. Within a day, he was punished for doing ninety push-ups. And there are countless people like him who have been subjected to corporal punishment - this is completely training people as animals.

That night, the grumbling recruits gathered together to angrily denounce the training of the Yuqiu family, and many of them even had the idea of escaping. However, they were reluctant to get what they didn't get, so they finally stayed. Although they scolded fiercely, they also had to admit that the food of Yuqiu's family was still very good, and they could eat three full meals every day. However, everyone actually understands in their hearts that providing adequate food is just to be able to train every day.

Standing in a military posture, marching salute, walking in unison, turning the law on three sides... A huge amount of training poured into these recruits, making them miserable, and everyone complained about Yu Qiuping and Yu Qiu's family. Although the military posture is becoming more and more standard day by day, Kanematsu Masayoshi is becoming more and more dissatisfied with the Yuqiu family. He swore that when he arrived on the battlefield, as long as he had a chance to escape, he would never fight to the death for the Yuqiu family. He didn't understand how those veterans who had been prepared for many years could still be loyal to Yu Qiuping after years of hard training.

Until that day, his perception changed.

One day shortly after he joined the army, he and a few friends were walking down the streets of Kuroda Castle Castle when they ran into Yu Qiuhei and his guards. The habit they had developed over the years made them immediately kneel down and kowtow - but this was stopped by Yu Qiuping and his guards.

"Isn't it clearly written in the military regulations, when you see the samurai and the commander of the Yuqiu family, you don't need to kneel and bow, you can just salute," Yu Qiuping complained extremely dissatisfied with the bow of the subordinate Ashigaru to him: "Do you want to be punished for doing push-ups?" ”

Of course, Kanamatsu Masayoshi knew about this military rule, this military rule that was privately teased by their recruits. Everyone thinks that this is just a joke written in the military regulations, who would dare not worship the head of the family if they really met it? And what samurai doesn't like the feeling of being bowed down to by others?

Yu Qiuping really doesn't seem to like it.

After seeing the bewildered eyes of Kanamatsu Masayoshi and several people, Yu Qiuping said solemnly: "Everyone is born equal, no one is born nobler than others, and no one is born inferior to others. The reason why I am the governor and you are ashigaru is just a different division of labor. Positions aside, you and I are just equal creatures. Etiquette like kneeling and bowing to oneself will never be allowed in Yuqiu's family. ”

All beings are equal... Isn't this the Buddha's teaching? Kanamatsu Masakayoshi was a little puzzled. In the world, does it really exist?

"Your parents gave birth to you and raised you for so many years," Yu Qiuping looked at Kanamatsu Masayoshi and said in a deep voice: "Raise you to be a man." It's not for you to go around kneeling for others! ”

"Puff up your chest! Salute! Yu Qiuping suddenly changed his tone and said sharply. The recruits, who had been strictly trained for many days, had long developed the conditioned reflex of carrying out orders, subconsciously standing straight with their left hand close to the seam of their trousers, raising their right hand to point to their temples, and saluting Yu Qiuping.

"Good." Yu Qiuping also smiled and stood up straight, and returned them a military salute, "This is what a good man should look like." ”

Yu Qiuping's big truth that "all people are created equal" has not been very clear until now, and Kanamatsu Masakashi, who has no culture, is not very clear. He couldn't understand why the sons of royal nobles and daimyo who were born with golden keys were born equal to himself and peasants who had been working in the soil for generations, and he still felt inferior.

However, their family governor, their Royal Highness Momiji, never showed that he was superior, always talking to all the recruits kindly, and even telling everyone to have some fun. The instructors who were strict and fierce during training never asked themselves to kneel, and they always got along with them as equals after training.

The heartfelt emotion surged into Kanamatsu Masayoshi's heart.

No one is born willing to kneel, and no one is born willing to endure unequal lowly status. When you can live in the world with dignity, everyone will feel happy and relieved from the bottom of their hearts. However, Kanematsu Masayoshi could not attribute the respect he had gained in the Yuqiu family to those strange "thoughts", but instead regarded it as a blessing from the good lord of Yuqiuping—which was also their supreme honor.

In this hierarchical and unequal world, Yuqiu's home is the most equal place. And in Yuqiu's house, the barracks are the most equal place. No matter what position or status, people meet each other with military salutes. When Kanematsu Masayoshi met Yu Qiuping again on the street a few months later, he proudly straightened up and gave a military salute, and Yu Qiuping also smiled in return. At that moment, all the people around cast envious glances at this recruit who could salute the family governor on an equal footing, and it also gave Kanematsu Masakayoshi a sense of belonging to the Yuqiu family for the first time.

Here, I am no longer a peasant under the fence, but an upright man. This dignity and pride are all given by His Royal Highness Yuqiu. He treats me well, and I can't take him lightly.

Mental changes like this happen quietly in the hearts of every recruit. The instructors were surprised to find that the recruits gradually began to stop complaining and work harder in training.

What shocked Kanematsu even more was the strength of Tokiwabi as a collective.

After almost a year of enlistment and training, he followed Yu Qiuping to fight in all directions. First of all, Mikawa has always been a fight, and their 400 soldiers are facing tens of thousands of people. Kanematsu Masakashi's body couldn't help but tremble at that time, and he felt that Tokiwabei's small army was about to be drowned in the sea of people. But to his surprise, the veterans around him all looked natural, and looked confidently at their commander, Yu Qiuping.

Later, Kanematsu Masakayoshi understood the meaning of that gaze - not only trust in Yu Qiuping, but also trust in the collective of Tokiwabi. He saw with his own eyes that the army of people was helpless in the face of Chang Panbei's array of guns. Maybe two masters of the crowd can besiege and kill a Chang Pan Bei Light. However, when the 400 Tsukiwa Shoba formed a gun formation and supported each other solidly, their strength could withstand thousands of troops. Kanamatsu Masayoshi was also a member of Tokiwabi, and stabbed to death a monk soldier who rushed in front of him. It's really nice to be a member of the collective, to contribute to the collective, that I have to cover my companions, and that my companions will fight to cover me.

For the first time, Masayoshi Kanamatsu was proud to belong to this collective.

And what shocked him the most was the big battle that happened in Mino last year. The entire army of the Oda family was ambushed and fell into chaos. In the chaos, the troops of each family were scrambling to try to adjust, but they were in a mess. Only Tokiwabei quickly completed the formation and launched a counterattack against the invading enemy. Three-sided forwarding, queue change, running march... There are a lot of things that Kanamatsu Masayoshi felt useless during training, but at this moment they are playing a huge role. When he realizes that his usual hard work on the training ground has made such a big difference, he feels extremely satisfied and proud. And when the ashigaru of the other retainers of the Oda family hurriedly adjusted their formation, and looked at Tokiwabi with admiration and amazement, Kanematsu Masayoshi suddenly felt that he had never been so proud of the paper red leaves he wore on his head.

"Don't worry, leave it to us Tokiwa!" Kanamatsu Masakayoshi said proudly to the ashigaru of the Ikeda family, "We are always the strongest!" ”

Yes, we are always prepared. I'm also a member of Tokiwabi. We are the hardest trained in peacetime and the most powerful on the battlefield.

·

When Yu Qiupei issued a call for recruitment to the Owari Commander this time, these ashigaru people from all over Owari immediately asked to return to the territory to promote Yu Qiuping's recruitment policy for Yu Qiuping as a propagandist. The recruits who were extremely dissatisfied with Yu Qiuping finally understood why those veterans who were so loyal and combative.

They vigorously propagandized in their hometown, describing Tokiwabi as a combination of heaven and hell. All the samurai and high-ranking people respected every recruit's egg, plenty of food, and a bungo's money and settling-in expenses! However, the training ground is like hell, as if you will die after a few days.

Relying on the hard work of these volunteer propagandists and the large amount of money they brought home, the Yuqiu family quickly recruited 200 recruits and began to train them as full-time ashigaru. Although these ashigaru were also bitter at the beginning, they were dissatisfied with the Yuqiu family. But at this moment, as a veteran, Kanamatsu Masakashi only laughed at this, and continued to strictly supervise the movements of their recruits, and any small mistakes would be picked out by him.

It won't be long before you, like me, will fall in love with the Yuqiu family, fall in love with Tokibanbei, be proud to be a member of Tokibanbei, and be proud to be able to serve His Highness Momiji.