Edo, Nihonbashi, Shinagawa-juku——
As the most important transportation artery in Edo, Nihonbashi is naturally one of the places with the largest passenger flow in Edo.
The flow of people at Nihonbashi in the afternoon is so high that it can be called "horrifying".
Right now Nihonbashi is like a balloon that is filled with air. If you add a little more air into it, it will burst.
People walking on Nihonbashi can only squeeze each other, and when there is a little space in front, they will squeeze in to fill it. Only by squeezing and squeezing in this way can they move forward little by little.
In a room in Shinagawa-juku, a young man was kneeling on the tatami, adjusting his clothes.
The young man has a handsome appearance, is about 25 years old, and has long hair.
Although he looks like a young man in his 20s, there is not a trace of childishness on his face.
The scabbard of the katana placed on the tatami next to him was an ordinary black, but the handle was a very beautiful purple.
This katana is extremely exquisite from the handle to the guard. Even someone who knows nothing about swords can tell that this sword is extraordinary.
An elderly man who was about 50 years old and sitting next to the young man smiled and said to the young man:
"Mr. Toyotomi, you look even more heroic in your formal attire."
"Iwakura." The young man, who was called "Lord Toyotomi" by the old man, smiled and said, "Although this formal suit is very handsome, it is also very uncomfortable to wear."
The young man... or rather Toyotomi, said this while adjusting his haori again.
He doesn't like wearing formal clothes very much, and he has forgotten the last time he wore one.
Now that he hadn't worn formal attire for the first time in a long time, Toyotomi felt uncomfortable all over, as if ants were crawling on his body.
"Mr. Toyotomi." The old man who had just been called "Iwakura" by Toyotomi continued, "You don't actually need to change into formal clothes. Lin Ziping is not the kind of person who pays much attention to etiquette."
As soon as Iwakura finished speaking, Toyotomi immediately responded:
"That won't do. Even if the other person isn't the type to pay attention to etiquette, you still have to be polite."
After saying this, Toyotomi straightened his haori again.
"Iwakura, you and Lin Ziping are good friends. When Lin Ziping comes later, remember to say a few good words for me."
"Of course!" Iwakura responded without hesitation , "I will definitely try my best to convince Lin Ziping to join you!"
"Whether or not to invite Lin Ziping to join my team will have to wait until I meet him and examine what kind of person he is before making a decision." Toyotomi said with a smile.
"Lord Toyotomi." Iwakura's face was full of confidence, "Lin Ziping will definitely not let you down!"
"Although his behavior and personality are a bit strange, he is undoubtedly a great talent!"
"You are so confident in Lin Ziping. I am looking forward to meeting him more and more." The smile on Fengchen's face became more intense. "It seems that you have a very good relationship with Lin Ziping. You have been strongly recommending him."
"The reason why I strongly recommend him to you is actually mainly because I don't want his talent to be buried." Iwakura smiled bitterly, "He is a rare talent in a century. His talent may directly change this country."
"I really can't bear to let his talent be buried."
"Also, having him join your team can protect him in disguise."
"Including this year, this is his third time in prison."
"And the severity of these three imprisonments has been higher each time..."
"If we hadn't rescued him in time this time, he would have been executed in a month or two..."
After saying this, Iwakura let out a long sigh.
About a year ago, Toyotomi was impressed by Iwakura's talent in building castles and invited him to join him and become his vassal.
Iwakura, who was depressed and living a poor life at the time, was naturally ecstatic when he received Toyotomi's invitation. He accepted Toyotomi's invitation and became a new retainer of the Toyotomi family.
Not long after joining Toyotomi, Iwakura recommended Hayashi Shiping to Toyotomi.
When Iwakura recommended Hayashi Shihei to Toyotomi, he gave Toyotomi a book.
The name of this book is "A Comprehensive Illustrated History of the Three Kingdoms".
It is a military geography that records the hydrological, geographical, and meteorological conditions of the three places of Korea, Ryukyu, and Ezo.
Just by opening the first page of "A Comprehensive Map of the Three Kingdoms", Toyotomi was already filled with interest in this important military geography.
After presenting this book to Toyotomi, Iwakura immediately explained to him that this book was compiled by Hayashi Shiping in the 5th year of Tenmei (1785 AD).
Because Iwakura and Hayashi Shiping had a good relationship, after successfully compiling the "Three Kingdoms Illustrated Map", Hayashi Shiping gave a copy to Iwakura.
After Iwakura showed Toyotomi the military geography written by Hayashi Shiping, Toyotomi immediately became interested in Hayashi Shiping and asked Iwakura to tell him more about Hayashi Shiping.
Iwakura also told Toyotomi all the information he knew about Hayashi Shiping.
From Lin Ziping's strange personality to his strange ideas, such as: lifting the ban on sea trade, reorganizing the military system, developing Ezo, and using force to curb Russia's attempt to invade Ezo...
These ideas of Hayashi Shiping may seem very strange and unreasonable in the eyes of others, but to Toyotomi, these ideas of Hayashi Shiping are very much to his liking.
Toyotomi also became interested in Hayashi Shiping.
He wanted to meet this person and see if he met his expectations.
So Toyotomi spent a lot of effort to investigate Hayashi Shiping's whereabouts.
It took Toyotomi more than two months to finally find out where Hayashi Shiping was - he was eating prison food in the Joto Prison in Edo.
The reason for his imprisonment was that he proposed political proposals to the shogunate that made the shogunate officials very angry, and severely criticized some of the shogunate's policies, angering the shogunate officials.
So the officials of the shogunate were so angry that they put Hayashi Shiping in jail and asked him to reflect on his actions in prison.
According to Iwakura, this should be Hayashi Shiping's third time in prison.
The reasons for his imprisonment three times were exactly the same - he made unreasonable demands to the shogunate and severely criticized various policies of the shogunate, including the policy of isolation, and was then ordered to be imprisoned by angry officials.
According to Toyotomi's investigation, Hayashi Shiping's third imprisonment was far more serious than the previous two times.
This time, Lin Ziping is in prison and not only will he never be able to get out, but he will also most likely be executed.
Toyotomi didn't want to let this talented person who he had finally found and might be of great use be executed by the shogunate.
So Toyotomi entrusted the task of "rescuing Hayashi Shihei" to his subordinate Shintaro who was lurking in Shiranui.
If he wanted to break the prison without causing any big noise, he had to rely on his subordinates who knew ninjutsu.
But after all, Joto Prison was one of the few large prisons in Edo, and it would be impossible to sneak into it and rob people without sufficient manpower.
So after receiving the task of "rescuing Hayashi Shiping" from Toyotomi, Shintaro has been waiting for the best time to rescue him.
Then, the best opportunity came in the early morning of this day - Shuntaro was controlled by them.
With the help of Shuntaro, the leader of the "Four Heavenly Kings", kidnapping people from the Johto Prison would be much easier.
So after controlling Shuntaro through Furin Tafu, the first task that Shintaro gave to Shuntaro was to work with Keitaro to rescue Hayashi Shihei from prison.
Although some accidents occurred during the kidnapping due to Lin Ziping's sudden shouting, it was generally smooth and Lin Ziping was successfully rescued and brought to the Shiranui.
After rescuing Hayashi Shiping, Shintaro immediately reported to Toyotomi, told him the good news, and made an appointment with Toyotomi to bring Hayashi Shiping to see him - this afternoon.
That's why Toyotomi put on formal clothes after a long time, just for the meeting with Lin Ziping later.
Toyotomi turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window.
"...Why hasn't Shintaro brought Hayashi Shiping here yet?" Toyotomi frowned slightly.
Now it is past the agreed time to send Lin Ziping over.
Shintaro has always been a capable subordinate who is highly trusted by Toyotomi and has always been valued by Toyotomi.
He has always been a very punctual person and rarely behaves as unpunctually as he did now.
“Maybe there are too many people in Nihonbashi right now,” Iwakura said, “so it took us a little longer to get there.”
“…Maybe.”
Toyotomi withdrew his gaze from the window.
When I turned my gaze away from the window, I caught a glimpse of something placed in the corner of the room.
Toyotomi was stunned for a moment, then turned his head and looked directly at the thing he had placed in the corner of the room.
It is a thousand-piece gourd.
Looking at this thousand-piece gourd, a hint of tenderness appeared on Toyotomi's face and in his eyes.
It was like looking at his own wife.
Toyotomi stood up, walked slowly to the Qiancheng Gourd, and then sat down cross-legged.
He raised his hand and touched the Qiancheng gourd, his movements gentle as if he was stroking something fragile that would break at the slightest touch.
Looking at Toyotomi who was gently stroking the Thousand-Series Gourd, Iwakura let out a long sigh and then said with emotion:
"After 200 years, the Toyotomi clan's 'Senjenari Gourd' will finally be raised on the battlefield again, and the flag with the 'Taikoku Paulownia' painted on it will finally fly in the wind again..."
Taiko Paulownia - the family crest of the Toyotomi clan.
When Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his ambition to dominate the world, the emperor not only bestowed upon him the surname "Toyotomi", but also bestowed upon him the "Paulownia Monont", allowing him to use the "Paulownia Monont" as the family crest of their Toyotomi clan.
At that time, many daimyo were actually using the "Paulownia pattern", so in order to show his own nobility, Toyotomi Hideyoshi later transformed the "Paulownia pattern" he obtained from the emperor into a new "Paulownia pattern".
And this new "Paulownia pattern" was called "Taiko Paulownia".
As soon as Iwakura finished speaking, Toyotomi smiled:
"Yes... the blood debt from 200 years ago..." Toyotomi's hand, which was stroking the Qiancheng Gourd, slowly clenched, "I will take it back from the Tokugawa Shogunate one by one!"
Toyotomi clenched his hands tightly on the Sencheng gourd, as if he wanted to tear the flesh on his palms.
The originally handsome face now became hideous due to the surge of blood.
At this moment, a low voice suddenly sounded outside the room:
"My Lord, it's me."
"Come in." Toyotomi said as he sat back down in the seat he had just sat in.
After Toyotomi was allowed to enter, a sturdy man slowly opened the door and walked quickly into the room.
"Takaharu." Toyotomi asked the sturdy man, "What happened?"
The strong man's name is Takaharu. He is an old subordinate who has followed Toyotomi for many years and is also a close confidant of Toyotomi who is deeply trusted by him.
Gao Qing walked slowly to Toyotomi and knelt on one knee, then said in a deep voice with a dark face:
"Lord Toyotomi, something seems to have happened in Shiranui. Unknown people have attacked Shiranui. Now the fate of Shintaro and Keitaro is unknown, and we can't contact them..."
"What?!" Toyotomi's eyes widened, his face full of surprise.
…
…
In Edo, Shiranui——
Those who have never experienced being exhausted by the "state of no self" certainly cannot imagine what it feels like to have all the physical strength in their bodies drained away by the "state of no self".
Ogata now felt that he didn't even have the strength to stand up.
The intense feeling of fatigue and the dizziness caused by losing too much blood combined together made Ogata feel dizzy and sleepy.
Moreover - that magical state seems to have side effects just like the "state of no self".
The side effect of the "state of no self" is that it will cause the user's physical strength to be rapidly depleted.
The side effect of that magical state seems to be that it will make the user extremely mentally tired.
When he just came out of this magical state, Ogata didn't feel any discomfort. He could still speak and think normally.
But gradually, a strong feeling of discomfort began to emerge.
Ogata now felt as if he hadn't slept for days - his mind was a mess and he was too tired to think at all.
His head ached as if two armies were fighting inside his brain.
Ogata knelt on one knee on the ground, holding his head tightly as he felt his head become increasingly dizzy and painful.
——That magical state really has side effects just like the "selfless state"...
After Ogata sighed simply in his heart with a slightly bitter and helpless tone, he began to concentrate on fighting the strong feelings of dizziness and pain that kept emerging from the depths of his mind.
But the pain and dizziness became stronger and stronger, and soon their intensity exceeded the range that human willpower could resist.
Finally - Ogata felt his head becoming increasingly dizzy and painful, and his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably.
Finally, I fell into a deep sleep without realizing it...
…
…
The body is shaking.
Someone swayed slightly.
"……fast."
A voice came from far away.
"……Awake."
The sound is getting closer.
"…Ittosai."
It's a sound I've heard before.
"Ittosai! Wake up!"
The dark world was filled with white light.
"……Um?"
As Ogata regained consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Ofang saw the beautiful face of the lady-in-waiting.
At this time, Ogata was lying on the ground, and Taifu was kneeling beside him regardless of the dirt on the ground.
——Did I fall asleep just now? How long did I sleep...?
After taking a nap because he couldn't resist the strong side effects of that magical state, Ogata now felt that the dizziness and pain in his head had eased a little.
Ogata looked at his body - some of the wounds on his body had been bandaged with cloth.
When Ogata looked at the simple bandaged wounds on his body, the courtesan beside him immediately said:
"I tore some clean cloth from that bastard who used the pistol to bandage you. I only have a superficial understanding of healing, so the bandage may not be very good, please forgive me."
The bastard with the pistol that the lady was talking about was undoubtedly Keitaro.
"It's okay." Ogata shook his head gently. "Taifu, thank you for helping me heal my wounds. How did you get away? Where are the hemp ropes that tied you up?"
"It was Goroku...ah, no, it was Shuntaro who helped me untie it." The lady answered without hesitation.
"Shuntaro?" Ogata frowned slightly.
Ogata turned his gaze and looked at the ground not far away.
Keitaro's body was still lying there, the blood had almost drained out, and his clothes were torn into a mess. The cloth that was not stained by blood and dust was torn off by the tayu and used to bandage Ogata.
But where Shuntaro was supposed to be lying, there was no sign of him.
"Tafu, where is Shuntaro?"
"He escaped."
"Escaped?"
"Well, he still had some strength left. After you passed out, Shuntaro got up, untied me, and ran away by himself."
Taifu's tone was calm, and he stared into Ogata's eyes the whole time.
It doesn't look like he's lying.
But Ogata still narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked straight at the Taifu with a gaze as if he could see through the Taifu's body.
Just when Ogata was about to say something to the lady, a voice that was particularly familiar to him and the voice that he wanted to hear the most came from a distance.
"Ayi! Ha...ha...I finally found you..."
Ogata quickly turned his head to look.
He saw Ating limping towards him quickly.
Following behind her were Lin, Mamiya and others.
Without exception, all of them were injured.
Except for Mamiya and Atachi who had minor injuries, the injuries on the rest of the people were quite serious.
"Are you injured?" Ogata asked Atachi hurriedly after seeing him limping.
"It's okay, it's just a minor injury." After quickly running to Ogata's side and kneeling on one knee, Atachi looked Ogata up and down with a complicated look, "How did you get yourself covered in bruises again..."
"Although I look bloody now, I don't actually have any fatal injuries," Ogata comforted.
Lin, who was slower than Atachi, came to Ogata's side with the help of Mamiya: "How is Shuntaro? Who is this woman?"
The "woman" Lin was referring to was naturally Fuu Ling Taifu, whom Lin did not know.
Because she noticed that there was an outsider present, Lin deliberately did not call Ogata by the name she had always used: Ittosai.
"That's a long story..." Ogata smiled, "Let's talk about your business first. How is the attack on Shiranui going? If we successfully defeat Shiranui, I think it's better for us to leave here quickly. The shogunate may have received the news that Shiranui is in trouble."
…
…
night--
Edo, Nihonbashi, Shinagawa-juku——
At this moment, just as the moon rises, the dark night becomes darker with the appearance of the moon.
The tiny lights scattered across Nihonbashi suddenly dimmed due to the appearance of the moon, and the surrounding scenery stood out clearly.
The rubble on the houses, the trees planted on the streets, and the pedestrians walking on the Nihonbashi Bridge were all covered with a thin layer of silver frost.
The window of a room in Shinagawa-juku was not closed.
The bright moonlight shone into the room through the open window like a white blade, shining on the face of Toyotomi who was sitting by the window, illuminating Toyotomi's face.
Toyotomi, who was sitting by the window, crossed his left leg, raised his right leg, put his right hand on his raised right leg, and held a wine glass full of wine in his hand.
Toyotomi just stared at the wine glass in his hand with an expressionless face.
Because there is no expression on his face, it is hard to guess what he is thinking.
Gao Qing knelt respectfully not far from the young man, with her head slightly lowered, not daring to breathe.
Gao Qing had followed Toyotomi for many years, so he knew very well that if his lord acted like this, it meant that he was in a very bad mood.
Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would put on an expressionless face that was full of oppression, like now.
At the same time, Gao Qing was also well aware of how terrifying Toyotomi could be when he got angry.
That's why Gao Qing is like this now, even her breathing has unconsciously slowed down, for fear that she might accidentally offend Toyotomi who is in a bad mood.
"... Gao Qing."
Toyotomi suddenly called the strong man's name softly.
"Yes!" Gao Qing responded quickly, "Lord Toyotomi, what can I do for you?"
"Go ask for me." Toyotomi's tone was a little impatient, "How long will it take to find out what happened in Shiranui?"
"Tell the guys who are in charge of investigating - I'm getting a little impatient."
"Yes!" Gao Qing responded without hesitation, "I'll do it right away!"
Gao Qing understood why Toyotomi was in a bad mood and why he was feeling impatient now.
In order to bring Shiranui back to the Toyotomi clan, Toyotomi started making plans six years ago.
First, he sent two of his capable subordinates to infiltrate the Shiranui, and let these two subordinates gradually rise to high positions in the Shiranui.
The two men lived up to Toyotomi's expectations and soon became high-ranking officials in Shiranui with their powerful strength.
One of these two people became Shintaro, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings", and the other became Keitaro, who also had a high status among the senior ninjas.
In addition to these two capable subordinates, Toyotomi also sent other subordinates to infiltrate Shiranui over the past six years to assist Shintaro and Keitaro.
In the past six years, including Shintaro and Keitaro, the total number of people sent to infiltrate Shiranui has reached 9.
He invested so much time and energy just to control Shiranui from the inside and let Shiranui return to Toyotomi's arms.
Toyotomi had already made plans about what to do with the Shiranui ninjas after Shiranui returned to their Toyotomi army.
First, let Shiranui continue to be a good girl in front of the Tokugawa Shogunate in exchange for the trust of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and then slowly steal some important information from the Tokugawa Shogunate.
He suggested to Enma that he lead Shiranui to submit to the shogunate - this was actually what Toyotomi instructed Shintaro to do.
The purpose was to let Shiranui become a spy planted by Toyotomi in the Tokugawa shogunate in the future, so that Toyotomi could obtain some important information through Shiranui in the future.
As a result, last year Shintaro successfully persuaded Enma to lead Shiranui to submit to the shogunate and moved Shiranui's base to Edo.
After 6 years of long preparation, the seizure of power in Shiranui finally began last night.
Poisoned Enma, killed Gokutaro, and used Shuntaro's relatives and friends to control Shuntaro - everything went so smoothly.
However... this success only lasted for a few short hours.
This afternoon, they received news that was like a bolt from the blue to them - Shiranui was attacked by unknown persons, and Shintaro, Keitaro and others could not be contacted.
Upon hearing the news, Toyotomi immediately sent people to investigate what had happened.
The investigation lasted from this afternoon to evening, but still no new intelligence was received.
Not to mention Toyotomi, even Gao Qing felt a little impatient.
Just as Gao Qing was about to get up and walk out of the room, the voice they had been waiting for finally rang out from outside the door:
"My Lord, it's me."
"Come in!" Toyotomi shouted hurriedly.
Wow.
The door was opened and a middle-aged man walked quickly into the room.
This middle-aged man is also one of Toyotomi's confidants, and he was also the person sent by Toyotomi today to investigate what happened in Shiranui.
"Lord Toyotomi, there is news." The middle-aged man said in a deep voice immediately after entering the room, "Shiranui was attacked by unknown people. Now Shiranui is destroyed. It has been confirmed that Shintaro and Keitaro are both dead."
"The shogunate has already sent officials to Shiranui to investigate this evening."
"Was Shiranui destroyed?" Toyotomi's tone was a little more angry.
After spending 6 years planning, he was finally on the verge of completely controlling Shiranui, but Shiranui was destroyed by a group of unknown people.
Moreover, Hayashi Shiping, who had been looking forward to meeting him, is probably missing now because of the attack in Shiranui - how could Toyotomi not be angry?
Toyotomi was so angry that he clenched the wine glass in his hand.
The wine glass could not withstand the huge force and was crushed by Toyotomi.
The broken pieces of the wine glass cut tiny cuts on Toyotomi's palms.
"…Who was the one who destroyed Shiranui?"
"We don't know yet. The shogunate officials are also investigating..."
"Go check it out!" Toyotomi yelled, "Find out which bastard ruined my plans!"
"Yes!" The middle-aged man, with cold sweat on his face, nodded quickly in agreement.
"Go down!" Toyotomi waved his hand.
"yes!"
The middle-aged man hurriedly left the room.
Toyotomi and Takaharu were the only ones left in the room again.
"Gao Qing." Toyotomi said to Gao Qing while sweeping the broken pieces of the wine glass on his right palm, "You also go and help, find out who ruined our good deeds, and also check the whereabouts of Lin Ziping to see if he died in Shiranui, or escaped when Shiranui was attacked."
"Yes!" Gao Qing responded and quickly left the room.
Toyotomi was the only one left in the room.
Because Toyotomi was the only one left in the room, no one saw the following scene which was enough to make people open their eyes wide and scream: the tiny wounds on Toyotomi's right palm caused by the broken pieces of the wine glass were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a moment, Toyotomi's right palm was intact, as if it had never been injured.