I like to hunt but I don't have the skills to do it, and I don't have that much physical strength, so most of the people I participate in are the kind of hunts that have a good appearance, which is getting closer to the nature of the ritual.

In this case, my other hobby, fishing, has gradually risen to an important position, and it is easy for me to relax and relax.

There are several rivers around Osaka Castle, and most of them come from the mountains of western Tamba in the north, and there are many large and small rivers, which provides a place for me to fish for a variety of fish. Some areas around the walls were not accessible to the common people, so it became another privilege for me.

If I'm fishing at night, I'd definitely choose a large river south of the city walls, where all kinds of fish are available in the gentle water. It was quite a pleasant pleasure for me, and I once even caught a blackfish that weighed nearly four pounds.

But on a hot summer afternoon, although there was some wind, we still couldn't escape the anxious heat, and the bank of the river in the plain below the city was certainly not so comfortable, so we came to a tree-lined stream in the mountains. However, there are no big fish to be caught here, at most some carp or crucian carp that are just over the length of an adult's palm.

"How did you pick such a place?" Keiji Maeda stood on the shore and looked left and right, and finally came up with such a sentence in surprise.

"What's wrong here, it's just a poetic scenery!" My fingers drew a semicircle around me and took a deep breath of the slightly scented air. "The wild and uninhabited mountains are clear, and I am usually afraid that you don't have such interest!"

As if to prove what I said, a young green kingfisher landed on a branch on the opposite bank, tilted its head and stared at us with round eyes for a long time. It may have finally confirmed that we people would not give up their territory to it, and flew away with a flutter of wings.

"You're weird! Fishing is fishing, enjoying the scenery is enjoying the scenery, why do you have to get involved in one place......" Although his mouth was full of grumbling, he finally made it.

The fishing rod is still the same green bamboo fishing rod as in the past, and there doesn't seem to be much choice in this regard. Sitting on the mazzards that the attendants had set out in the shade of the trees, we began to hang bait on the hooks, which I had been doing for many years.

The hook was thrown out and fell into the water with a pop, and then the float made by the feather stalk came out again, and floated twice on the surface of the water, gradually reaching a kind of equilibrium. "Do you still fish a lot?" Except for the ups and downs caused by the current, there was no movement for a long time, and I couldn't help but ask him.

"Probably...... It's been almost ten years, right? Keiji Maeda shook his head after thinking for a moment, but he still couldn't remember the specific time.

"You used to improve yourself from time to time, why did you give up this hobby now?" I remember that he used to be a person who was very attentive to enjoying life, and I don't know when this changed, so I couldn't help but sigh.

"I fish because I want to eat, and I haven't had to do it myself for a long time!" His tone was flat, and he didn't feel pity at all, and stuck his rod in the crack in the stone and bared his arm at me. "Since the third year of Yonglu, it has often been the case here that I have just finished fighting and then run to another place, even if there is a gap and I am lucky not to be recuperating, I have to keep my eyes wide open and watch out for everyone. Fishing for pleasure is a luxury that you can't imagine! ”

The muscles and flesh on his bare left arm were tangled, and he couldn't tell at all that he was over fifty years old, and a sinuous scar crawled on it, but it suddenly added countless vicissitudes.

The color of the scar is slightly darker than the surrounding muscles, and it turns up to form a brownish-black flesh bud, like a strange snake climbing on the trunk of a tree, which looks very hideous. Judging by the situation, it should be a less sharp weapon that left this scar, and the strength of the human hand is not so calm. On the battlefield, the samurai faced an opponent who was most likely a weakly capable ashigaru, and it was not surprising that such a wound would be left behind.

"I can't imagine that you still haven't adjusted, it seems that the comfortable life in the past few years has not worn out your fighting spirit!" I laughed and joked, but for no reason there was a wave of sadness in my heart.

"My lord, you have brought us glory and wealth, but do you really have no worries?" His eyes were fixed on the fish float again, and his voice became a little muffled. "Now I don't have to fight for the time being, but I still can't let my mind down, and sometimes I feel terrible when I wake up from a dream, as if everyone is planning a rebellion!"

"Glory and wealth are what you have exchanged for your own lives, don't think about it so much!" I felt that the knot in his heart was getting heavier and heavier, so I had to cautiously persuade: "If we can't agree with what we have been doing for so many years, it is better to stay in the countryside of Owari all the time!" Now that we've come to this point, we might as well look at everything a little more openly. ”

"It's really ......" Keiji Maeda suddenly stopped halfway through his words, his eyes fixed on the water in front of him. There the float bobbed up and down slightly, and then jerked underwater.

"Whoa!" With a bang, a crucian carp weighing about seven or eight taels was pulled out of the water, twisting its blue-black back violently in the sunlight reflected from the water's surface, and bouncing a string of water droplets back into the water.

"I'll see where you're running this time!" Keiji Maeda gritted his teeth fiercely, and every word seemed to be a lump of lead. It was just a small fish, and his hand holding the fishing rod was as green as if he were holding a sword.

This size is fine in a crucian carp, but it really doesn't take much effort. The body of the fish arced through the air and fell on the rocks on the shore, constantly slamming its tail against the rocks.

Umechiyo picked up a fish basket and stepped forward, trying to catch it and put it in the basket. But at this moment, Keiji Maeda did a very strange thing, turning the fishing rod upside down and stabbing it violently.

The tail of the stem passed through the crucian carp's body without any suspense, about a finger's width below the head, and blood spilled out of the wound, and the cheeks opened and closed even more violently. The tail was still wagging non-stop, but it had gone from a volley to a spasm.

"Then it won't be able to escape back into the water!" Keiji Maeda pulled out the fishing rod and said in a very flat tone.

"Oh...... Why bother! "I motioned for Umechiyo to continue the work that had not been done, and then sat back in his place." I've heard about you, so I think that's the end of it! My plan was a little inadequate, but this time I didn't have to do it reluctantly. We can continue to prepare for a while and wait until ......."

"I know it's impossible to hide my actions from you, but don't you have to take a certain amount of risk to do anything!" Another bright red earthworm was hung on the hook, and Keiji Maeda suddenly asked me, "My lord, do you remember Tatsuta Desert Island?" ”

"Oh...... Don't remember! "I searched for memories, but I didn't have the impression of the name.

"I really don't remember...... And no wonder! Keiji Maeda probably smiled, but didn't make any sound.

"Who is he?" I thought there should be some article in this, so I followed his words and asked.

"He was a native of Owari who joined the first Celestial Cavalry in the year of Nobunaga's Kamiraku. Later, because of his small contribution to the defeat of Miyoshi Masaysu in the battle of Katryuji Castle, he was accepted by me as a retainer......" Keiji Maeda's tone seemed to be telling a story, while carelessly adjusting the fishing rod in his hand. "He doesn't have any special strengths, and his martial arts are also very average, but he is very diligent and always does his own thing steadfastly. It took him about 15 years to finally become an ashigaru shogun, and he was originally a farmer, but he was afraid that this was already the highest ideal. But four years ago, during the Eastern Raid, he died in Anfang, a place he didn't know why he was going. There are many more such people, and I often see their faces in my dreams! ”

"Oh......" I had a vague impression when he said this, and it seemed that there was such a person. But I'm sure I can't remember his name, and I won't be notified of the death of a samurai of this caliber now.

"They remind me in my dreams every time that I can't let them die in vain!" Keiji Maeda continued, and the rod was stuck in the rock again. "If the Stars can't open the shogunate, then they'll really die in vain. Now the hearts of the samurai in the world are different from more than a hundred years ago, and the high-ranking ministers and ministers of the Zuofu are just farts! Powerful force without a name will inevitably not last, and even after twenty or thirty years, the stars will begin to split and collapse due to improper names, not to mention our current glory and wealth, even the little livelihood that ordinary soldiers exchange their lives for their wives and children will no longer exist. No matter what you say today, you can't convince me: if no resolution can be reached at this meeting, none of those who oppose or even take a stand will want to go back alive! ”

"Don't be so aggressive!" His words made me shudder a little, and it has never been my style to go public with white knives. "Now that we have the economy of the whole country, the longer we drag on, the more obvious our advantage will become. Even if it is dragged to the generation of Xinqing, it is not a big deal, and there are still many people like desert islands who will die if they **** again......"

"Lord, your sharpness is really not good!" He chuckled softly, seeming a little disdainful. "I remember you yourself saying before that the more afraid of loss and looking ahead, the more you lose, the more you end up losing!"

"Even our own side is bound to cause controversy, after all, it is something that will be infamous for the ages. It is possible to lose the current good situation, such as the concept of obsessing with righteousness like Katsumeng...... "I still want to fight for it."

"It's true that there aren't many people who support my approach, but that's just because of your position. If you support it, then our side will be unified! As he spoke, he took out an envelope from his bosom and handed it to me. Check it out! This is Shengmeng's reply to me! ”

I took the envelope and pulled out the letter and unfolded it. There is only a simple sentence on it: For the sake of the world, I will not go to hell, who will go to hell!

"You don't have to do it yourself, I'll take care of all the notoriety, you just don't interfere!" He stared at me and said, "But even if you stop me, you're going to do it unless you kill me now!" ”