Shimoyama Village, Jumo County, Kai Fei.

The early morning sun shone obliquely on the Kai Mountains.

Shinsuke opened the door and looked at the light shining on the snow, his eyes were dazzling, and he couldn't help but sneeze, then twisted his nose and stretched his waist.

"Shinsuke, be careful on the road."

His wife's voice came from behind him, and Shinsuke straightened the carpentry box around his waist and said gently, "Got it." ”

Shinsuke is a local craftsman, and the Shimoyama Daiko of Shimoyama Village is a famous Daikoji of Kai.

The craftsmen who went down to the mountain were usually engaged in farming, and generally accepted the lord's invitation to build castle towns, monzen towns, power temple shrines, and castle houses in exchange for tax reductions.

In the past month, it has snowed heavily in Kai, and it is the New Year, and Shinsuke has been recuperating at home for a long time, and there is almost no rice at home to cook.

Fortunately, at this time, the nearby lord Anayama-sama sent out a general request to help repair the castle town, although there was no salary to be paid for working for the lord, but he could eat two meals a day.

So Shinsuke received an invitation from Dagong and immediately packed up and hit the road.

Just as Shinsuke was about to go out, there was a rustling sound of snow outside the door, and three men dressed like locals were slowly walking towards his house.

Shinsuke suddenly became suspicious, these people are all very tall and burly, and they are all fresh faces, and it is very strange that they suddenly appear in the mountains in the countryside on this snowy day.

The most suspicious thing is that when the other party was walking, there was also the last person who was responsible for sweeping away the footprints left by the three people in the snow when they walked, obviously to hide the traces.

And the other party obviously saw him too, and was walking in this direction.

Could it be a bandit? Thinking of his wife who stayed at home, Shinsuke quickly turned around and knocked on the door.

His wife's soft voice came from inside the room: "Shinsuke, did you forget to take something?" ”

Shinsuke wanted to remind his wife, but he couldn't make a sound at the moment, but he couldn't show too anxious gestures, so he could only bang on the door vigorously, although the sound was not loud, but the frequency of one hit was faster.

"Shinsuke, what's wrong with you?"

When the door opened, Shinsuke was slightly relieved to see his wife's face, but at this time, he felt as if he had a thousand pounds on his shoulder, and a palm was pressing on his shoulder.

"Hey, how do you go to Fanfu Township?"

The other party asked unceremoniously.

Shinsuke secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking that the target didn't seem to be himself, so he turned his head and was about to speak.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves sounded on the mountain path in the mountains.

These people suddenly dodged into the house, and the person who had just spoken to them held his wife hostage with a handful of ribs.

"Little Bow!"

Shinsuke was taken aback, and was about to get the carpentry file on his waist, when a man reached out to restrain him and said, "If you want your wife to live, don't say we've been here for a while." ”

The person who spoke was the most burly and tall of the three, and the remaining one had not spoken since he entered the door, and he had handed over the work to the other two, obviously the highest status of the three.

Shinsuke glanced at his panicked wife, then nodded and said, "Okay, everything is up to your orders, but don't embarrass my wife." ”

The other party obviously saw that he and his wife were very affectionate, nodded at him, and said, "As long as you don't say it, you and your wife will be fine." ”

Watching the three escort their wives into the house to hide, Shinsuke calmed down his panicked expression and closed the door again.

Soon after, the sound of horses' hooves did stop in front of his door, and there was a rude knock on the door.

Shinsuke glanced at the way his wife was hijacked by the other party holding a knife in the house, took a deep breath, threw the carpentry box aside, and then opened the door.

Shinsuke pretended to be lazy and hadn't woken up yet, and said unhappily: "What kind of person, I'm arguing to kill my uncle." ”

As soon as Shinsuke finished speaking, he immediately felt that his body was light, and he was actually lifted up by someone.

The other party, a powerful samurai, asked rudely, "Do you see anyone passing by?" ”

Shinsuke rolled his eyes and said, "Yes! ”

"Where?"

"That's you, aren't you human?"

As soon as Shinsuke spoke, the samurai's expression was slightly stunned, and then he said angrily, "You dare to tease me." ”

Immediately, Shinsuke felt his body hit the ground heavily, and then rolled in pain.

The samurai on the other side laughed when they saw it, and then one of them said: "There are no footprints here, so no one will come, so let's go search elsewhere." ”

After saying that, the group of samurai remounted their horses and immediately left the place.

Shinsuke got up in pain, and after closing the door again, he turned around and said, "I've done what you said, please let go of my wife." ”

The tall man on the other side said: "I didn't expect Your Excellency, you are still a little smart, very good, we are people who keep our promises, and you and your wife's surnames have been saved." ”

After saying that, the man took out a bag of money from his body and threw it to Shinsuke.

Shinsuke took the money bag in his hand and entrusted it, which was at least a few hundred dollars, which was enough for the two of them to live for a while.

Shinsuke thought that since the other party was willing to give money, his surname must have been saved, otherwise he didn't need to do more, but then he saw on the surface of this money bag that the family crest of the Takeda family was painted.

How can this be used by a bandit.

At that moment, Shinsuke was taken aback, and hurriedly knelt down and said, "I don't know that the adult will come in person, forgive the sins, forgive the sins." ”

The three of them glanced at each other, still the tall man, and said, "If you forgive your sins, you don't need to say it, let me ask you how to go to Fanfu Township?" ”

Shinsuke sighed and explained the journey in detail.

The other party hesitated for a while, and then discussed it privately with each other.

In the end, the person who seemed to be the highest-ranking of the three said, "Your name is Shinsuke, isn't it?" ”

Shinsuke hurriedly bowed his head and said, "Yes, my lord." ”

"There is one thing left to you to do right now, this matter is very dangerous, it may make you lose your surname, but the reward is that it can give you the opportunity to become a samurai, are you willing?"

Shinsuke rolled his eyes, he was still hesitating, but suddenly thought that his wife was still in the other party's hands, and suddenly replied in the bottom of his heart: "Don't dare to ask for a return, please ask for orders." ”

"Good. What we want you to do is very simple, that is, send us to Fanfu Township, and find us a suitable identity as a cover, so as to avoid the pursuers and the interrogation on the road. ”

Shinsuke thought to himself, what are these three people going to do in Iitomo Township? These three people should all be samurai, and they were hunted down and killed in the territory of Kai, so they were the annihilation of the enemy country.

Thinking of this, Shinsuke knew what the guilt of the inner pass was, and he would be punished with beheading.

However, thinking of his wife, Shinsuke still said in a sigh: "The villain must swear to fulfill the adult's entrustment." ”

Shinsuke didn't know about his and his wife's fate, and he walked around before the ghost gate closed before coming back.

If Shinsuke showed the slightest hesitation just now, these three people would have to kill the two people in the house in order to keep their whereabouts secret.

Hearing that the person in front of him called Shinsuke Farmer agreed, the three of them all smiled, and they naturally escaped overnight, Li Xiao, Takeda Katsurai, and Shigang Yiyu, who escaped overnight.

And before asking Shinsuke to disguise them and lead the way, it was just for one side of consideration, and the other purpose was to take him away and hold him hostage, so that the other party would not tell people and expose their identities after they left.

Of course, there is no need to kill these two people, this is also for the sake of preserving the lives of these two people.

The road to Suruga from the Kosakikan through Koshu Kaido is called Sunshu round trip by the Koshu population, and by the mouth of the Suruga people, it is called Koshu round trip.

On this street, there are people coming and going, and there is an endless stream.

The reason is that tomorrow, the Kuenji Temple in the body of the mountain in Jumo County will hold a royal head lecture, so it attracts believers from all over the world to listen to the lecture.

Speaking of Jiuyuan Temple, it is the position of the believers of the Lotus Sect, but it is the supreme existence, because this is the main mountain of the Lotus Sect.

It is equivalent to the existence of a believer in the sect and the Great Imperial Workshop of the Stone Mountain in his mind.

Therefore, in the streets, all the believers of the Lotus Sect who came to Yanshan to listen to the lectures.

This gave Takeda Katsuyori and Li Xiao a good cover for the flow of people and the opportunity to avoid the encirclement and suppression of Iifu Huchang.

At the exit level, a team of ashigaru is checking the belongings of pedestrians.

Takeda Shenglai Li Xiao and they were dressed as local peasants, covering their heads with turbans, tying knots in front of their foreheads, and then tying cross knots behind their backs with cloth straps, wearing coarse linen clothes on their bodies, and straw sandals on their feet, and they could not wear socks yet, otherwise they did not conform to the identity of the people, so they could only cut straw and wrap them outside to keep out the cold.

Li Xiao squinted his eyes and looked at the ashigaru in front of the checkpoint, and whispered to Takeda Katsuyori: "It's not a samurai from Chibei, it looks like the ashigaru of the local cave mountain family." ”

Takeda Katsuyori glanced at it, nodded and said, "Yes, this leads to Kuenji Temple, and the Anayama family usually sets up checkpoints outside the Mozen Town to collect the passage money from merchants and visitors who come to Kuenji. However, since we meet the people of the Cave Mountain family, do we identify ourselves? ”

"No, first, they are too few to stop the pursuers for us, and secondly, the attitude of the Cave Mountain family is unclear, and they can't be trusted, so let's move on." Li Xiao said in a deep voice, and then he glanced at Shinsuke again, and he couldn't stop trembling at the moment.

Li Xiao couldn't help but reprimanded in a low voice: "Shinsuke, what are you doing?" ”

Shinsuke turned his head and said to Li Xiaoyan with a panicked expression: "My lord, in front of him is the samurai Sano Shibei of the Anayama family, he coveted the beauty of his wife, and he has criticized the villain several times, so the villain is very afraid of him, and he is even more afraid that he will see the flaws." ”

Hearing Shinsuke's excuse, everyone smiled secretly.

Takeda Katsuyori thought for a while and said: "The Sano family is a native of Jumo County, and the heads of the family are all important retainers of the Anayama family, Shinsuke, you don't need to be afraid of him, it's just a checkpoint, you have already said that it's very good, as long as you follow what you did just now, it's okay." As long as we can reach Iitomo Village safely, you will also be a samurai in the future, so you don't have to be afraid of these ten guards. ”

Shinsuke listened to Takeda Katsuyori's comfort, and sighed, his expression softened slightly.

Before the four of them came to the checkpoint, the person dressed as the first samurai in Ashigaru was supposed to be the Sano Jubei in Shinsuke's mouth.

Now he swaggered up to Shinsuke, spat at him, and said contemptuously: "Shinsuke, you lowly subordinate, what are you doing when you come to Uncle Sano, didn't you tell me before, when you see Uncle Sano, you have to go around ten, no, it's a distance of a hundred?" You don't want to live anymore. ”

Shinsuke lowered his head, suppressed the fear in his heart, and said: "Lord Shibei, Shinsuke rushed to the castle to repair the house this time at the behest of Lord Anayama, because the matter is urgent, so I offended the adult, and I ask for your forgiveness." ”

Sano Shibei looked at Li Xiao and his party behind him and asked, "These people are also your companions?" ”

"Yes. Be. Shinsuke replied in a low voice.

Sano Jubei looked at them carefully, but Takeda Katsuyori and the others all hugged their heads with turbans, and their faces were not easy to recognize for a while.

Sano Shibei stretched out his hand and said to Shin Jieyan, "What are you still stunned for?" Hurry up and hand over the toll fee, or don't blame me for embarrassing you. ”

The new interface flashed with joy on his face, and quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes." ”

After speaking, he handed over the toll money to Sano Jubei.

After taking the money and looking at it, Sano Shibei waved his head and signaled for permission.

Just as Li Xiao and his party walked through the checkpoint, Li Xiao suddenly realized that something was wrong, according to the Sano Shibei described by Shinsuke in the past, they should be criticized for how to talk today.

Just when Li Xiaoxin noticed that something was wrong, he saw Sano Shibei quietly pull out the ribs around his waist.

Seeing this scene, Li Xiao's reaction was not slow, and he suddenly stepped forward, holding down the hands and shoulders of the Sano Shibei with both hands open, and shouted, "What are you doing?" ”

Seeing that he was restrained by Li Xiao, Sano Shibei immediately scolded and said: "I just thought that Lord Fanfu sent someone to instruct him today, saying that there are enemy countries in these days, and it is really good." You are so tall, how can you be like an ordinary person, and take it down for me together. ”

As soon as Sano's words fell, the ashigaru under their command had not yet reacted.

Just as he heard a sound on the ground, a bright sword light slashed, and in an instant, the heads of the Sano Jubei were connected to the helmets and flew into the sky.

With a thud, blood spurted everywhere.

When the people on the side saw this scene, they immediately screamed in surprise and fled in all directions.

"Capture the horse."

Li Xiao saw that his whereabouts had been exposed, and he quickly gave an order, and he saw that there were exactly three horses on the stable on the side, one for each person.

Shigang succeeded with a feather and a knife, and then rushed past, his hand rose and fell, and he killed three ashigaru in a row.

The rest of the people saw that Shigang Yiyu's swordsmanship was so superb, and they immediately dispersed in a hurry.

Not good.

Li Xiao said secretly.

At this time, a ashigaru fled to the stable, his purpose was to snatch the horse and escape, and wanted to snatch one.

The chasing army is coming, and there is one less horse, and if it is a double load, it will affect the other party.

Li Xiao threw the katana in his hand, but made the other party dodge, but instead took this opportunity to jump directly on the horse.

The other party slapped the war horse with his hand and fled to the avenue in a hurry.

"Guns!"

Li Xiao shouted.

Shigang Kazuha had already taken out a small-caliber iron cannon that had been filled with ammunition, and lit the fire rope on the torch next to him.

Li Xiao took the iron cannon, then grabbed a horse and chased after it directly.

Soon after, Shigang and the others only heard the sound of an iron cannon, and the neighing of horses in the middle.

After that, Li Xiao sat down with a horse in his hand and came back with another horse.

Seeing this, Shigang Yiyu couldn't help but show joy on his face.

Takeda Katsuyori couldn't help but say in surprise: "Li Xiao, the iron cannon can also be used on horses." ”

Li Xiao nodded and said with a smile: "Exactly, but it can't be shot in a row like a bow and arrow, it can only be shot once, but it can kill with one hit." ”

Li Xiao remembered the hunting ground, Fan Fu Huchang's provocation, if he was armed with an iron cannon, he would naturally be able to bombard and kill the wild boar.

Immediately, Li Xiaoyan said: "Your Highness, we have already exposed our whereabouts, hurry up and leave, otherwise the chasing soldiers will come up." ”

Then Li Xiao looked at it again, stared at Shinsuke with the iron cannon in his hand, and said loudly: "This is His Royal Highness Suwa Katsuyori." ”

Shinsuke hurriedly bowed down when he heard this, and said, "It turned out to be His Royal Highness Shiro, and the villain was honestly afraid." ”

Li Xiaoyan said: "You can flee quickly, you are not allowed to divulge our secrets, and after we are safe and prosperous, you can come to His Highness to serve and officially become a warrior." ”

Shinsuke was happy to hear this, and said loudly, "Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Your Excellency." ”

After Li Xiao finished speaking, the three of them got back on the horse, and from here to Fanfu Township, if they galloped at full speed on a horse, it would only take less than an hour to travel.

Now it's time to try this luck and see if they can kill the pursuers and arrive safely.

At that time, Li Xiao, Takeda Katsurai, and Shigang Yiyu rode their horses and whips, and went at full speed on the road.

Shinsuke was stunned for a moment, and muttered to himself: "I actually met His Royal Highness Shiro, this is a famous general on the same level as His Royal Highness Huihu, if I become his samurai in the future, can't I ......"

Thinking of this, an uncontrollable joy rushed to my mind.

"I'm developed."

Shinsuke danced and danced wildly for a while, then realized something, quickly glanced around, and then escaped by taking the path.

For now, he still went home first to tell his wife that the good news was important, and of course he had to save his life.

Soon after Shinsuke left, hundreds of people arrived on the mountain road, uniformly dressed in red armor, and the imposing samurai on horseback arrived.

One of the leading samurai, looking at the dead corpses and blood stains at the checkpoint on the side, pointed his horsewhip towards Takeda Katsuyori and Li Xiao on the road they were going, and said: "Traitor, in this direction, follow me to chase." Whether you live or die, there is a great reward! ”

"Oh!"

The red cavalry suddenly agreed.

Then they raised their whips and pursued them in the direction of the road.

At the same time.

It is the main castle of the Anayama family.

Nobuyoshi Anayama sat cross-legged in the middle of the pavilion, and across from him sat a monk dressed in black.

Nobukun Anayama frowned, as if he was making some difficult decision.

The black-clothed monk said: "Lord Anayama, with the relationship between the Anayama family and my Imagawa family, as well as the friendship between Lord Anayama and His Royal Highness Yoshinobu, what is there to hesitate about, but in a word, is Your Excellency willing to lend us the Tao and let our Imagawa family send troops from Hanoi to help His Highness Yoshinobu stabilize the situation and put down the rebellion?" ”

(To be continued)