In the Chugoku region of Mimasaka Yoshino Countryside (later the northeastern part of Okayama Prefecture), although the Wa Kingdom was already in the midst of war, it was still quiet and not affected by much war. ◇↓頂◇↓Point◇↓Small◇↓ said,

The quiet Yoshino River flows not far from Shimosho, and the joy of the autumn harvest makes countless people of the Wa Kingdom elated.

Seeing a large amount of grain being received in their granary, every Japanese citizen breathed a long sigh of relief.

At last another difficult year had passed, but the thought of the war that was taking place made them sad again.

I'm afraid that this grain will not be in their hands for a few days, and it will be expropriated by those daimyos.

Miyamoto Musashi knelt in front of his father's grave with a solemn expression, because this battle should be very tragic.

Even Miyamoto Musashi was not sure that he would survive the battle, so he planned to visit his father's grave before going to serve in the Hosokawa family.

"Father-sama, I have killed Yoshioka Matachiro, the last inheritor of the Yoshioka Sect. Even if Yoshioka Matachiro lost his honor as a samurai and entangled hundreds of people to besiege me, I still killed him. The grievances between our Miyamoto clan and the Yoshioka clan have finally come to an end, and you can rest in peace under the nine springs, father. ”

Speaking of this, Miyamoto Musashi's face was slightly proud.

Being able to settle their feud with the Yoshioka clan in his hands made Miyamoto Musashi very proud, proving that he had surpassed his father's achievements.

"In addition, the war between our kingdom of God and the Ming Dynasty has broken out, and I have decided to go to the Hosokawa family to serve, and the Hosokawa family takes care of me a lot, and I owe them a lot of favors. But don't worry, father. I will definitely make a contribution in this big war. Regain the glory of my Miyamoto clan. ”

Speaking of which. Miyamoto Musashi kowtowed heavily.

The ancestors of their Hirata clan (Japanese names are confusing, Miyamoto Musashi's father's original surname was Hirata, called Hirata Takehito, and later changed his surname to Miyamoto, but his father was a retainer of Shinfu Igamori, so he can also use Shinfu as a surname. He is a descendant of the Akamatsu clan, and his family is noble, and he is originally a wealthy family of Harima.

It's a pity that the bet was wrong later. In the Battle of Sekigahara, he joined the forces of the Toyotomi clan against Tokugawa Ieyasu, which eventually led to the final decline of the Hirata clan.

His father was responsible for this, and he Miyamoto Musashi was even more responsible.

Reviving his family is the wish of every samurai, and he Miyamoto Musashi is no exception.

Later, he took refuge in Hosokawa Tadayoshi, and he also reported this kind of thought.

Miyamoto Musashi silently confided in his father about his recent situation over the years, telling his bitterness and joys.

It wasn't long before a woman in her forties, about forty years old, hobbled over.

Seeing this, Miyamoto Musashi couldn't help but quickly stand up.

"Sister, why are you here?"

This woman is none other than Miyamoto Musashi's sister Ah Yong.

Ah Yong's face showed an anxious look.

"Musashi, you'd better hurry home. A group of defeated soldiers came to the house. Among them was a great military attaché. With Uemon and them, they want to be able to meet you. ”

Hear here. Miyamoto Musashi couldn't help but be surprised, and Uemon were one of his few close friends.

How did he get here?

And there are some routs, what's going on? Could it be that the Ming army has already hit here, you must know that this is Honshu.

Thinking of this, Miyamoto Musashi didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly followed his sister back home.

Before entering the village, some cavalry was found patrolling back and forth at the entrance of the village.

It's just that these cavalrymen look a little embarrassed, their faces are full of exhaustion, and their armor is also covered with mud, and it is obvious that they are not having a good time on this journey, which makes Miyamoto Musashi feel even more uneasy.

After seeing the Miyamoto Musashi siblings, they just asked a little and let them in.

Upon entering the village, he found that the village was full of samurai on horseback, and although these samurai were embarrassed, they were all well-armoured, and it was obvious that they were the elite of the Japanese samurai.

Miyamoto Musashi's mind sank even more, the cavalry of the Wa Kingdom has always been the elite of the elite, and the average daimyo will not raise too many cavalry at all.

And these people are so well-armoured, it seems that the identity of this military general is not simple.

But now the behavior of these samurai is extremely arrogant, and the originally peaceful village has become a sea of chickens and dogs because of their arrival.

They forced the civilians to slaughter chickens and sheep to reward them, and made them make some food that they could easily carry on the road.

Some of the samurai were still staring at some of the rather attractive women, and if it weren't for the current conditions, maybe they would have pounced on them.

In the face of these tyrannical and domineering samurai, the villagers did not dare to complain in the slightest, and they were willing to accept even if they were asked to sacrifice their wives and daughters, because they had already known the consequences of going against their will.

It was definitely a scene of heads rolling to the ground, and the Warring States of the Wa Kingdom was definitely an era of moral mourning.

Miyamoto Musashi noticed that his sister's body was trembling a little, so he gently comforted her and walked towards his home.

It is an old-fashioned Japanese mansion, but judging by its traces, it should have been built recently.

Seeing Miyamoto Musashi from afar, a samurai of about forty walked over with an excited face.

"Miyamoto-kun, we're meeting again."

This is Miyamoto Musashi's friend and Uemon.

Miyamoto Musashi was also a little dark, and he greeted him.

"What's going on? Did the Ming army call? ”

Miyamoto Musashi hurriedly asked.

Due to the lack of information, he is now ignorant of the situation in the outside world.

Yoemon smiled wryly, then nodded.

Seeing this, Miyamoto Musashi couldn't help but be surprised.

Introducing Miyamoto Musashi to Miyamoto about the battle situation, he walked in with him.

It turned out that after the outbreak of the Ming War, he, like other wandering samurai, took refuge in the Abe clan, a wealthy clan under the shogunate.

The Abe family, who usually looked down on them wandering samurai, immediately accepted him without hesitation.

This time, they were ordered by Tokugawa Iemitsu to urgently go to Shimonoseki to strengthen the local defenses.

Unexpectedly, before they arrived at Shimonoseki, they got the news that Shimonoseki had been occupied by the enemy.

This made his lord Abe Tadaaki hesitate and didn't know what to do.

But not long after receiving this news, they ran into a large group of enemy cavalry.

Under the onslaught of these cavalry, Abe's troops were routed.

With the exception of this cavalry, the rest of the soldiers were almost completely wiped out.

One of the enemy's cavalry was in hot pursuit, vowing to slay them down.

"We just happened to pass by here, and I remember that this is your hometown, so I persuaded Abe-sama to come and recruit you, hoping that you would be able to join Abe-sama's disciples."

Hearing this, Miyamoto Musashi wanted to refuse.

But at this time, he had already entered the main hall, so he kept his mouth shut for the time being.

"This is my lord, Lord Tadashi Abe."

Yoemon respectfully introduced him to a samurai who looked a little old. (To be continued......)