Zhou Chongzai was worried about the gift to Emperor Zhengtoku, but he had to wait for Ashikaga Kazuki to send a messenger after contacting Ashikaga Yoshisai, so there was still a long time, this time was enough for him to prepare the gift, and he was not in a hurry, but he was a little worried about whether Ashikaga Kazuki could successfully contact Ashikaga Yoshisai, after all, the current Wa Kingdom was in chaos, and the shogun was set up by several major guardian families, and there was no way to protect Ashikaga Kazuki's safety.

Far away in Kyoto, Japan, Ashikaga Kazuki, who was rarely remembered by Zhou, led a caravan and finally entered the city of Kyoto, for this city, Ashikaga Kazuki is both familiar and unfamiliar, when he was young, he and his cousin grew up together in this city, but with the Onin Rebellion, the entire Kyoto was destroyed, the status of the Ashikaga family plummeted, he could not bear this huge status gap, so he left overseas.

When Ashikaga Kazuki left, Kyoto had not been completely rebuilt, and now decades have passed, and the rebuilt Kyoto City has been through several wars, and almost all the buildings he was familiar with were gone, and even most of the familiar people were gone.

Ashikaga Kazuki, who entered Kyoto, kept looking at the buildings on both sides of the street and the pedestrians passing by, hoping to find the familiarity of the city when he was a teenager, but except for the simple clothes of the pedestrians on the street, there was nothing else that could not feel familiar, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

"Your Excellency, this east-west road after we enter the city is the main arterial road to Beijing. At the same time, it is also the busiest street in Xiajing. There are a variety of shops on both sides. My grandfather used to own a shop on this street, but it burned down! Saburo Ishibashi followed behind Ashikaga Kazuki and introduced him to the situation in Kyoto with a smirk.

What happened to Saburo Ishibashi last night touched Ashikaga Kazuki, and it happened that the caravan lacked someone who was familiar with Kyoto, so Ashikaga Kazuki asked him to stay as a guide, although there was no salary, but the food was full, which was for Ishibashi Saburo, who couldn't eat all day. It's already an excellent treatment, so he's also busy agreeing, and since he entered Kyoto, he has been working hard to introduce the situation in Kyoto to Ashikaga Kazuki.

Although the buildings and people in Kyoto City have changed, the customs and customs in the city have not changed much, which also makes Ashikaga Kazuki feel a little relieved, but he is also keenly aware that the current Kyoto City is much more depressed than the Kyoto he remembers, such as the street in front of him, which is known as the most lively street in Xiajing, although there are many pedestrians on the street. But most of them are in rags, and their faces are similar to those of Saburo Ishibashi. At first glance, you can see that Lu Dao is a person who can't eat enough all year round.

After walking along this street for a while, Ishibashi Saburo also introduced Kyoto that he knew about Lu Dao at this time, only to see him hesitate for a moment and ask, "My lord, where are we staying tonight?" If the adults don't arrange it, the villain knows a few good places to live, do you want me to take you to see it? ”

Although Ishibashi Saburo has not been with Ashikaga Kazuki for a long time, he has already felt that the adult next to him is afraid that his identity is extraordinary, and he definitely does not look like an ordinary merchant, not to mention anything else, just the people in their caravan are all armed with weapons, and they are disciplined when they walk, as long as the adult next to him does not command, then other people will never do other things, and even now he does not know the name of Ashikaga Kazuki, and can only be called by the word "adult".

Hearing Ishibashi Saburo ask about the residence, Ashikaga Kazuki smiled and said: "I have already arranged the residence, there should be a place on Higashiyama Street in Xiajing, you can take us there, and someone will naturally arrange a place for us to live at that time!" ”

Ishibashi Saburo was stunned when he heard the place of Dongshan Street, and then he was a little surprised, Dongshan Street is an old street in Xiajing, located in the southeast of Xiajing, the environment there is beautiful and quiet, and there are some rich people living there, I didn't expect them to live there today?

Although he was surprised in his heart, Ishibashi Saburo didn't dare to ask, after all, he also knew that the caravan in front of him must have many unknown secrets, he was just hired to be a guide, and knowing too much about the road was not good for him, so he quickly took Ashikaga Kazuki to Higashiyama Street.

Higashiyama Street is a wealthy residential area in Shimokyo, the environment is very quiet, when Ashikaga Kazuki and his caravan came here, there were no pedestrians on the street, Ashikaga Kazuki walked and looked at the houses on both sides of the street, when he saw a stone Buddha statue carved in front of the gate of one of the houses, he couldn't help but smile a little, and then walked over and knocked on the door.

After a while, I saw that the door of this house was opened, and then an old man with white hair and wearing a coarse cloth kimono was revealed from inside, when this old man saw Ashikaga Kazuki standing in front of the door, a trace of joy suddenly burst out in his cloudy old eyes, but his face was still very calm: "May I ask where the guests are from, and why are you knocking on my door?" ”

Ashikaga Kazuki also recognized the old man, and he couldn't help but show an excited look on his face, but he still held back his excitement and said, "Old man, we came from the sea and were invited by your master to visit!" ”

When Ashikaga Kazuki said the above words, the right hand hidden in his chest pointed to the Buddha statue in front of the door, this operation is very hidden, only he and the old man opposite can see it, this is also the code he agreed with the other party before he came.

The old man in the kimono on the opposite side was not wrong when he saw the person and the code, which made him no longer doubt it, and he opened the door with excitement at the moment and said: "My lord, please come in, the master is not at home now, but after he knows the news of your return, he will definitely come to see you as soon as possible!" ”

Ashikaga Kazuki nodded when he heard this, and then commanded the people behind him to enter the house, speaking of which, although the area of this house is large, but the entire courtyard is only the old man who opened the door, but Ashikaga Kazuki was not surprised, and asked the people of the Chamber of Commerce to find a room to rest by themselves, and he came to the living room with the old man who opened the door.

As soon as he entered the living room, the old man in the kimono immediately knelt down on the ground and said, "My subordinates meet my lord!" ”

"Get up, I didn't expect to see you for many years, Master Pingbe, you are also old." Ashikaga Kazuki saw the old man in kimono kneeling down and saluting, and immediately helped him up. This kimono old man's name is Hirabe Kurashita, and he is the most loyal retainer of their Ashikaga family, and he is also a master of swords, when Ashikaga Kazuki and his cousin Ashikaga Yoshizai were young, they both learned swordsmanship from him, so he called each other a teacher.

Hearing that Ashikaga Kazuki still called himself a master when he was young, this made the old Hirabe Kurashita also very moved, only to see him said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you for your concern, although your subordinates are old, they can still pick up a knife and kill people, as long as the adults and the general give an order, the subordinates will not hesitate to break their bones even for the family!" ”

"Good! If there are still loyal people like Heibe Master in the family, then our Ashikaga family is not in decline, and sooner or later I will help my cousin pacify the daimyo in various places and restore the prestige of our Ashikaga family! Seeing the white-haired Hirabe Kurashita still unwilling to accept old age, and he was also loyal to his family, this made Ashikaga Kazuki proud for a while, and at the same time, he was even more eager to revive the family.

"By the way, my cousin asked Master Heibe to arrange it here, will it attract the attention of others, after all, your Ashikaga family is also a relatively famous retainer?" At this time, Ashikaga Kazuki suddenly remembered something and asked at the moment.

"Don't worry, my lord, Heibe Kurashita has died in battle many years ago, and now there is only one nameless old man guarding this house, and after so many years, the people who knew me back then are almost dead, plus my appearance has changed a lot compared to when I was young, and it is impossible for people who are not particularly familiar to recognize me!" Hirabe Kurashita explained.

This mansion was one of the external contact points of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshisai, and it also had another more important significance, so he arranged for Heibe Kurashita to fake his death and then guard it.

Ashikaga Kazuki also nodded when he heard this, he was a student of Hirabe Kurashita, and the two could be said to be very familiar before, but when they first met, he almost didn't recognize each other, after all, decades have passed, and Hirabe Kurashita has changed from a majestic samurai to a thin old man with white hair, even if he knew him before, I'm afraid it will be impossible to recognize him in a short time.

"Well, that's fine, what's going on with my cousin now, when will he come to see me?" Ashikaga Kazuki then asked, although he and Ashikaga Yoshisai kept writing letters, there were some things that were not clear in the letters, so he was now eager to hear Heibe Kurashita talk about the upper class of Kyoto.

Hearing Ashikaga Kazuki ask about the shogunate, I saw that Heibe Kurasita sighed and said: "Lord Kaiyu, three years ago, the general united Ouchi Yoshiko and Hosokawa Takakuni, although he regained the position of general, but Ashikaga Yoshisumi and Hosokawa Sumito did not die, they went into exile and called up the army, and the two sides were at war from then on, although it was nominally a battle between the shogun and Ashikaga Yoshisumi, but in fact, the shogun and Ashikaga Yoshisumi were just a banner in the hands of others, the real reason was the civil strife of the Hosokawa clan, And the Ouchi clan wants to take the opportunity to expand their influence! ”

When he said this, Hirabe Kurashita also had a sad face, as a retainer of the Ashikaga clan, he saw the main family become a puppet in the hands of others, although it was not his fault, but he also felt a deep shame.

Ashikaga Kazuki also sighed when he heard this, he also knew something about this situation, but now he was still a little uncomfortable to say it from Hirabe Kurashita's mouth, but he quickly adjusted his mood and began to ask about the specific situation in Kyoto. (To be continued......)