Yue China, women's negative county.

It was a clear autumn afternoon, and farmer Ijiro was lying comfortably on his own pile of rice.

But the joy of the harvest made him feel a kind of satisfaction like having eaten enough.

Twenty-eight years old, Ijiro is a typical Echichu farmer, with a stiff material, and his hands and feet are very rough like the bark of a dry old tree after many years of living in the fields.

For Ijiro, who lives in troubled times, there is nothing more to fear and fear than the taste of hunger.

I remember that I used to work hard, but most of the grain I harvested still had to pay annual tribute, and I planted rice all my life, but I never ate rice.

However, this year's harvest was very good, and Ijiro thought that after paying the annual tribute, he could have more surplus food, and he could go to the nearby castle town to exchange some honey and make up for his pregnant wife.

Just as Ijiro was looking forward to this year's harvest, suddenly the sound of horses' hooves was heard outside the farmland.

Slightly surprised, Ijiro climbed up from the pile of rice, but saw three well-dressed men coming on horseback.

"It's Samurai-sama."

Ijiro understood that it was impossible for the bandits to be dressed in such elaborate clothing, only for the samurai in the nearby cities.

The village where Ijiro was located, he knew was under the rule of Lord Terashima Saburo.

The only samurai who came were probably the samurai of the Terashima family.

Ijiro looked at the three samurai and rode his fast horse across the field at the edge of the farmland. actually came to the front directly.

The first samurai, who looked to be in his forties and had several scars on his face, stopped his horse in front of them.

The war horse was spewing white air and spun in circles restlessly, and the samurai pointed his whip at Ijiro and shouted, "Get down." ”

Ijiro didn't dare to slack off, as a common man, he couldn't resist these samurai who had the right to kill and plunder ordinary people.

Ijiro hurriedly rolled down from the straw pile, knelt down in front of the samurai's horse, and kowtowed again and again, "Return to the samurai." What do you have to say? ”

The warrior smiled at the hideous appearance, and the peasant spoke with a bit of crepe, which surprised him.

He didn't know that Ijiro had served in the military once before, and it was in Kurobe Kawachu that he fought with Uesugi Kenshin.

He went into battle as an ashigaru at the time, but he did nothing, did not make meritorious contributions, and fortunately was not injured.

The samurai just laughed. He lowered his face and shouted, "Take me to meet the famous lord of your village immediately." ”

Ijiro shook his head, and with a thud, he stood up and trotted all the way in front of the samurai, while the three samurai rode away.

Soon Inojiro led them to the door of a longhouse in the village.

The sound of horses' hooves has long been alarmed. The people of the village went out to watch, and the owner of the longhouse walked out.

As soon as the other party saw this samurai on horseback, he immediately said, "It turned out to be Nojiri-sama." ”

Nojiri-sama glanced at the lord and said calmly, "The lord has issued a military service order and ordered the lords of each village to check their household registers. Twenty-five stone for one person. ”

"Your village is in the sub-limit tent, which is five hundred and thirty-two stones, and twenty-two people must be recruited to go to the city tomorrow to concentrate."

After the warrior had finished speaking in an unquestioning tone, he immediately turned his horse's head and rode away.

Twenty-five stone for one person. Ijiro thought about it for a while, and the general military service certificate was issued in the form of thirty koku, or fifty koku, and at the highest time, twenty koku per person, which was already a very high proportion.

If you follow this twenty-five stone and one person, it is obvious that there will be a big battle.

The last time he followed the famous lord to the Kurobe River, he gained insight from the battle with the Uesugi family, and he also saw many people who had made military achievements. or the wounded, in the form of a monetary subsidy. …,

For Ijiro, although this year's farming is a bumper harvest, he still saves a little more money for his wife, after all, after the birth of his son, the family's expenses will be greater.

If you can be conscripted for military service, it will definitely not be a problem to eat rice, and the lord is generous, and there is a supplement of fifty wen every month, which is also a small amount of money, at least after the birth of his son, the family life can be more comfortable.

Not to mention any meritorious service rewards, which will immediately be rewarded with several dollars.

If you have this, you can renovate the house, so that your wife, mother, and son who is about to be born can live a little warmer in the winter, and of course you can do as much as you can do with money.

Thinking of this, Ijiro walked towards the famous lord and said, "Lord Ming, I want to serve in the military. ”

After the samurai left, several people in the village had gathered near the lord's house to discuss the expedition.

Hearing Ijiro's words, the famous lord of the village stopped discussing, glanced at him, and said, "Keijiro, your wife is about to give birth, so it's better to be careful about military service." ”

Ijiro is very popular in the village, in addition to the famous owner, a local people said: "Yes, this village is a lot younger, not to mention that the autumn harvest has ended, and many people are idle." There is no shortage of people for military service. ”

Their good intentions are obvious, and they are all worried that if there is a mistake after Ijiro goes into battle, there will be no one to take care of the orphans, widows, and old mothers at home.

Ijiro nodded, told him about the situation in his family, and then said: "I think if I am cautious and careful when I go into battle, it should be fine, everyone knows that Yagata Gong and Toyama Gong are famous generals, and I think there will be a good harvest in the future, so Ah Shui's life can be better." ”

Hearing what Ijiro said, the lord and the people also nodded, and finally agreed to Ijiro's request.

When Ijiro heard this, he immediately ran home happily and told his wife and mother about it.

Hearing that her husband was about to go into battle tomorrow, his wife Ah Shui, who was already with a big belly, couldn't help but cry and worry.

And Ijiro's mother also got up from the small kang by the fire pond without saying a word, immediately washed rice and cooked rice, and prepared to make rice balls for Ijiro to eat on the road overnight.

Ah Shui also wiped away his tears when he saw it. Help your mother-in-law to boil water and make a fire.

Ijiro couldn't help but be moved when he looked at everything warm at home, but after a tired day, he finally went to sleep.

Before dawn the next day, Ijiro had woken up, and his wife, Ah Shui, had already prepared a pair of brand-new straw sandals, and sewed up one of his linen clothes overnight.

Looking at the dense front, Ijiro felt the tenderness of his wife. He smiled at the moment, took dry food, changed his clothes, put on straw sandals, and said goodbye to his mother and wife, and then went out of the gate.

It was dark, and the crescent moon was still hanging in the sky.

Ijiro, who was wearing new straw sandals, was not yet adaptable. When I walked to the longhouse of the famous owner, I saw several people in the village, as well as familiar village names, all ready and standing in front of the door.

In this village, the people are equivalent to homesteaders, and they have quite a lot of land. The status in the village is also higher, and they generally have their own ribs, spears, and even wild knives and armor.

And when fighting in the army. The status of this common man was also relatively improved when he served, and he assisted the samurai in battle as a servant, while Ijiro could only be used as a subordinate ashigaru.

After gathering in front of the longhouse, the group of twenty-two people set out on their way

After walking for a few kilometers, Ijiro and the others came to the bottom of a simple castle.

This is what the samurai called the main castle. It is Nagasawa West Castle in Women's Negative County, and there is also a Nagasawa East Castle nearby.

From the first time he fought in the army, Ijiro knew that the lord of Nagasawa West Castle was the old Terashima Ichijo of the Jimbo family. …,

Ijiro remembered that this Terashima-sama, as an ordinary ashigaru in the formation, only dared to sneak a peek, and the other party looked vicious and strange, and I heard that it was a brave man who was a hundred people.

For Terashima Job. Ijiro was quite in awe.

However, his Terashima position is not the most powerful, and the lord above him is Toyama, the guardian of the more Chinese people, and the governor of the Jimboh family, and above Toyama, it is the Yagata prince who rules the five countries of Kaga, Echichu, Hida, Sado, and Noto.

Of course, for Ijiro, Toyama has only seen it from afar, and he can't see what his appearance is, let alone Yagata Gong.

After arriving at the castle town, Nojiri-sama rode his horse, took a look at them, first counted the number of people, and after verifying it, led them to the castle.

In front of the house of Jochi Gaimaru, Ijiro received his own guzu, a spear, and a banner with two poles.

This piece of equipment is very simple, just a simple layer of bamboo armor, and there is not even a layer of iron in the outermost layer, and the defense of this foot is naturally extremely low, but it is not as good as the armor on Lord Nojiri, and even the armor on the people is not comparable.

But fortunately, the bamboo gun is still relatively sharp and strong.

With the help of his partner, Ijiro put on the mustache, inserted a flag finger on the back of the foot, and put on a hat wrapped in iron sheet, and finished dressing up.

Later, someone came up and asked for Izaro's name, and wrote Izaro's name on the Kasa seal behind the hat.

Ijiro understands this kind of mark, and if you die in battle, your head is taken, and you can only rely on the Kasa seal to mark your share.

Of course, Ijiro would never let this happen, and he still has a gentle wife, an elderly mother, and an unborn child waiting for him at home.

After getting dressed and having another meal, Ijiro followed the team and set off for Toyama Castle.

Ijiro looked at the procession of hundreds of people with flags and fingers, and the fierce-looking samurai who was on his way to ride horses, and knew that the other party was the commander-in-chief of the reserve, Lord Terashima Itocho.

Although the other party looks vicious, there is an inexplicable peace of mind in the bottom of his heart, hoping that he can use his prestige to survive this war, and be able to make war exploits, so that he can change his life, compared to those who chase the world and regard living beings as grass mustard, the dream of ordinary people is nothing more.

With such a simple dream, Ijiro marched with the army.

Ijiro didn't know that at this moment, in Echichu, and even Noto, within the five countries of Hida, tens of thousands of men like him gathered from all sides like moths under the mobilization of the military service order.

The purpose of their trip was Echizen Province.

These people, who are unknown and unrecorded, have their own ideas and can't help but join in this change that changes the world and become one of them. (To be continued)