I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"Is Toyotomi... the Toyotomi from Toyotomi Hideyoshi?" A-cho asked in a cautious tone.

Lin nodded: "That's right, it's the Toyotomi of Toyotomi Hideyoshi."

"Where should I start..." Lin stretched out her right index finger and scratched the hair on her right temple.

"You all should remember the Shiranui that was destroyed by our joint efforts half a year ago?"

"Shiranui and our Toyotomi family had a very deep relationship more than two hundred years ago."

"In the Warring States Period more than two hundred years ago, Shiranui was just an unknown ninja."

"It wasn't until I got help from my ancestor Toyotomi Hideyoshi that I grew stronger."

"Shiranui grew stronger because of the Toyotomi clan, and the Toyotomi clan survived because of Shiranui."

"After the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, bared his fangs and usurped the power of the country from Toyotomi's hands. Immediately afterwards, he launched the Osaka Winter Battle and the Osaka Summer Battle. Toyotomi attacked and destroyed."

"The base of the Toyotomi Clan—Osaka Castle was burned down."

"Patriarch of the Toyotomi clan: Toyotomi Hideyori committed seppuku suicide when Osaka Castle was broken."

"Toyotomi Hideyori's 8-year-old only son: Toyotomi Kunimatsu, was also beheaded in Rokujo Kawara later."

"Only Toyotomi Hideyori's only daughter: Chiyohime survived, but she also became a nun under the compulsory request of Tokugawa Ieyasu."

"The above is the final outcome of the Toyotomi clan recorded in the official history books."

"But the real history is not like this."

"When Tokugawa Ieyasu launched the second battle of Osaka, that is, the Osaka Summer Battle, and completely destroyed the Toyotomi family, someone risked his life and rushed into the Osaka Castle that had been engulfed by the fire at that time, and rescued Toyotomi. Hideyori's only son: Toyotomi Kunimatsu."

"The person who risked his life to save people——is the ninja in Shiranui who received great favor from the Toyotomi family."

"The 'Toyotomi Kunimatsu' who was beheaded in Liujo Kawahara is just a substitute whose appearance is indistinguishable from the real one."

"After Toyotomi Kunimatsu was rescued, he was taken to the Satsuma domain far away from the ruling center of the Edo shogunate, and changed back to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's original surname - Kinoshita. Since then, he has lived in seclusion in Satsuma under the name Kinoshita, and has multiplied to this day. "

"This is...my uncle and I's family background."

"My uncle and I are both direct descendants of the Toyotomi clan."

As if the "time still button" was pressed, the room became silent as Lin's voice fell, and no one moved.

After a while, A-Machi, with an unbelievable expression on his face, murmured and broke the silence:

"Shiranui... so there was such a history..."

If anyone at the scene was the most shocked by Lin's words just now, it would undoubtedly be A-Machi who was once a member of Shiranui.

Because Ogata saw more storms, his reaction was calm and his expression was calm.

"It's normal if you don't know." Lin said, "More than two hundred years ago, after successfully rescuing Toyotomi Kunimatsu, in order to ensure that the secret of 'Toyotomi's bloodline has not been cut off' would not be leaked, this event was organized and planned. The ninjas in the rescue operation of Toyotomi kept this secret and did not mention it to anyone - including their families and the rest of Shiranui's companions."

"After the ninjas who participated in the rescue of Toyotomi died one by one, no one in Shiranui knew that their companions and seniors had done such a feat."

"The only ones who know about 'Shiranui Rescue Toyotomi Clan' are the descendants of our Toyotomi Clan."

In addition to A-machi, who was once a member of Shiranui, there is another person with a very wonderful expression-that is Shimada.

"My lord, my lord... so you... are the descendants of that Toyotomi Hideyoshi..." Shimada's face flushed slightly due to emotion.

At this moment, Shimada suddenly noticed that the three people sitting next to him, Mamiya, Mucun, and Asai, all had very calm expressions...

A look that seems to have known the background of Lin and Yuanyi for a long time...

"Seniors." Shimada turned his gaze at high speed,

Let his eyes flick across the faces of Jiangong, Mucun, and Asai repeatedly, "Did you all know the secret of the lord?"

"That's right." Mucun said bluntly, with his arms folded around his chest, "We all knew about it a long time ago. After all, the three of us are all old people in the gourd house."

"Shimada, you are a newcomer who just joined." Mamiya showed a slightly apologetic smile at Shimada, "So I can't tell you this important secret. We all joined the Calabash House , I have worked under the lord's command for a long time, and after being tested by the lord and confirmed that he is a trustworthy person, I was told this secret."

"So it's like this..." Shimada raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, "If that's the case, then I can understand... After all, it's really impossible to tell such an important secret to a newcomer ..."

"That is to say...have I been working for the Toyotomi family?"

"I really didn't expect that Shiranui would have such a relationship with the Lord..."

Speaking of this, Shimada paused as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Then... In this way..." Shimada looked at Lin with a strange expression, "Half a year ago, we crusaded Shiranui...is it considered ungrateful?"

"Of course not." Lin said without thinking, "Shiranui helped the Toyotomi family—this is a kindness."

"After all, it was the Toyotomi clan who was first to be kind to Shiranui."

"Without the help of the Toyotomi clan, how could there be Shiranui?"

"So the rescue of Toyotomi Kunimatsu from Shiranui is equal to our Toyotomi clan, and no one owes anyone else."

"So I don't have any psychological burden to crusade against Shiranui."

"...Although we all know the master's life experience..." Asai, who had been silent since just now, said suddenly, "but the master also has an older brother——I didn't know that at all. "

"I don't know either." Mucun agreed.

Mamiya didn't speak.

But he turned his suspicious gaze to Lin.

Judging from their words and actions, none of them knew that Lin had an older brother named "Toyotomi Nobuhide".

Lin's gaze dimmed slightly at this moment.

"...The reason why I didn't tell you that I have an older brother is because...I don't really want to mention about that person."

Genichi, who was sitting next to Lin, glanced at Lin.

Seeing Lin's gloomy expression, Genichi let out a silent sigh.

"Next..." Yuan Yi said, "Let me do the talking."

"Toyotomi Kunimatsu was rescued and sent to a remote village in the Satsuma domain, and Toyotomi's blood continued."

"A few diehard Toyotomi clan members were rescued there together."

"The throne of the people of the world was taken away by the Tokugawa clan—those loyalists who were rescued to the Satsuma clan were all so unwilling to grit their teeth, wishing to crush their teeth."

"So in order to regain the world, they strictly cultivated Toyotomi Kunimatsu, which was renamed Kinoshita Nobuji at that time to deceive people."

"Under the influence of his ears and eyes, Toyotomi Kunimatsu also took restoring the 'Toyotomi Jiangshan' as his highest goal, and worked hard to temper himself."

"However... things like restoring the country... I don't need to go into details. You should all know how difficult it is and how slim the success rate is, right?"

"Toyotomi Kunimatsu also knows that it is almost impossible to succeed in restoring the country with the efforts of his own generation."

"So after having his own heir, Toyotomi Kunimatsu conducted... a brainwashing education on his own heir."

"Tell your heirs the bitter history of how the Toyotomi clan survived tenaciously until now, and educate your heirs: To restore Toyotomi's country, even if it takes hundreds of generations, to take back the throne of the people of the world. "

"This education ... is like a curse that is passed down from generation to generation."

Yuan Yi let out a self-deprecating sneer.

"Every generation of our Toyotomi family has received the education of 'we must overthrow the Edo shogunate and reshape Toyotomi'."

"Just pass it on, pass it on, pass it on until now, and the curse has not ended."

"You should also know, right? Toyotomi Hideyoshi is a person with poor fertility. He has many wives and concubines, but he only gave birth to two children in his life. One of the children died young, and only Toyotomi Hideyoshi lived alone. down and grow into adults."

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi's defect of birth difficulty was unfortunately passed down to the family."

"Although it has been multiplied for two hundred years, our Toyotomi family is still a withered descendant until now. When it was passed down to my generation, there were only two direct descendants in my generation-my brother and I... that is, Lin's grandfather .”

"My father is also a person who suffers from that 'curse' deeply."

"As long as I can remember, I have been taught by my father that 'the Toyotomi family must be revived'."

"But maybe it's because my brain is different from ordinary people."

Yuan Yi shrugged with a smile.

"So even though I have been educated like a 'curse' since I was a child, I have not been harmed by this 'curse'."

"I've always been less interested in the 'revival of the Toyotomi Clan'."

"When I was 13 years old, after I first came into contact with swordsmanship, I was even less interested in 'Fuxing Toyotomi'."

"The reason why I came into contact with swordsmanship so late is also because of my father's 'blessing'. He always felt that swordsmanship and the like can only achieve 'ten enemies' or 'hundred enemies' at most. It's useless, and has been forcing me to learn the military strategy that can be "enemy against ten thousand people", and what kind of emperor's mind."

"I came into contact with swordsmanship only through various chances and accidents." Gu

"After coming into contact with swordsmanship, my interest in swordsmanship completely overwhelmed my interest in 'Fuxing Toyotomi'."

"My father was furious when he saw this."

"Originally, I also tried to argue with reason, and even told my father bluntly: The revival of Toyotomi is completely a dream."

"But my father has been too deeply affected by that 'curse', and he can't listen to me at all."

"So——when I was 16 years old, in order to escape from my bewildered father, and to be able to travel around and further hone my sword skills, I left home and Satsuma Domain."

"At the beginning, when I was leaving home, I tried to persuade my younger brother, Kinoshita Katsuichi, who was 2 years younger than me, to leave too."

"But——Katsuichi is different from me, he was perfectly harmed by the 'curse'."

"Not only does he not plan to leave home with me, but he also plans to report me to his father."

"In desperation, I can only leave alone."

"After leaving home to practice, I have also thought about going home several times to have a look—but for some reason, all kinds of troubles always come to my door."

"Sometimes it's just going to a noodle shop to eat noodles silently, and you can also get involved in trouble for no reason..."

"However, thanks to these successive troubles, my swordsmanship has also improved rapidly."

Hearing Genichi's words, Ogata was taken aback for a moment.

Then, as if he had found a bosom friend, he nodded emphatically with a strange expression full of emotion.

He really empathized with Yuan Yi's words just now.

He will never forget——in the summer half a year ago, he just went to a noodle restaurant in Kyoto to eat noodles, and for no reason, some officials rushed in to arrest him, and then he was involved in trouble for no reason ...and then spent the longest night of his life so far in Kyoto.

"It wasn't until I was 24 years old that I finally had the time and leeway to go home."

"Going home again after 8 years-it's not what I thought it would be."

"The house is still the same house, but the parents are gone."

"There is only Katsuichi left in the family and a strange girl—that is Kinoshita Katsuichi's wife, who is also my sister-in-law: Aruo."

"I'm actually going home this time to take this opportunity to dissuade my father, Shengyi and the others from being harmed by the 'curse' again..."

"I have traveled abroad for 8 years, and my vision has grown a lot."

"It also made me more determined that the idea of ​​'reviving the Toyotomi family is completely a dream'."

"After traveling for 8 years, my eloquence has also made great progress, and I have the confidence to persuade my father and win them."

"Who knows that my father has passed away..."

"Katsuichi, whom I haven't seen for 8 years, has grown up to be extraordinary."

"I thought I'd have a chance to get him sober."

"But who knows that we haven't seen each other for seven years, and he has been poisoned even more deeply."

"Not only did he not listen to my advice at all, but he also called me a traitor, a fool who could only wield a sword, and told me to get out of his sight."

"At that time, I was at the age of fledgling, and Shengyi was so stubborn and rude to me, and my anger also came up."

"I yelled at him, 'Then you can fend for yourself! I don't care about you!', and then slammed the door and left."

"When I slammed the door and left, I really thought that I would never have any contact with Shengyi again, and I would do whatever he likes."

"Not long after I left home, I came to Nagasaki Port, the only port in Japan currently open to foreign countries under various circumstances."

"There, I met a very powerful businessman friend."

"With his invitation and help, I boarded a Dutch merchant ship willing to take me abroad."

"At that time, I had already intended to travel abroad to see a wider world."

"However, because of the lock-up order of the Edo Shogunate, it has been difficult for me to realize this wish."

"The lock-up order stipulates that Japanese nationals are not allowed to leave the country. If a merchant ship assists its nationals to leave the country, the businessman will never be allowed to come to Japan again."

"Because of this troublesome regulation, merchant ships that are willing to take people abroad are rare."

"A merchant ship is willing to take me abroad - this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"I hesitated for a long time, and finally decided - not to let go of this rare and great opportunity."

"The merchant ship that was willing to take me was a Dutch merchant ship. They are going back to Holland."

"So, I left Japan on this merchant ship and went to the continent of Europe in the west."

"Originally, my original plan was to travel to the Netherlands for a year and a half, and then return to Japan."

"But who knows—accidents happen frequently."

"After staying in the Netherlands for one year, I took a ship to Japan."

"However, when this merchant ship first arrived in the English Channel, it encountered a storm, and the whole ship sank directly. I carried a plank and floated to the English country."

"At that time, I could only speak Dutch and a little Chinese, so I couldn't communicate with the English people at all. The time when I drifted to the English country was a difficult time. At that time, I could only communicate with people through movements and momentum. .”

"And then, under all kinds of mistakes, I arrived at the country of France on the other side of the country of England."

"And then because of getting involved in some troubles, I had to run to the Holy Roman Empire in the east."

"After arriving in the Holy Roman Empire, all kinds of troubles continued to haunt me. I went south to the Pope's country, and then went east to the country of Lucia."

"After arriving in the country of Lucia, I couldn't rest. I got on a ship going to the American continent by mistake, and arrived at the American continent which is farther away from Japan."

"In short - since I went abroad, bad luck has been following me. Every time I try to return to China, there will be various accidents and I will be farther and farther away from Japan."

At this moment... the corner of Ogata's mouth twitched.

He can no longer show the expression "I understand you" to Yuan Yi like before.

He originally thought that he and Yuan Yi were the same kind of people, people who were easily entangled in all kinds of troubles.

But now... Ogata was startled - how could he feel that his level of "causing trouble" could be compared with Yuan Yi?

"After arriving in the American mainland, with the help of a friend, I finally boarded a ship to Japan."

Yuan's narration of his "Legendary Adventure" is still not over.

"When I left Japan, I was a 24-year-old young man."

"When I set foot on the land of Japan again, I was already 54 years old."

"I have been away from Japan for 30 years."

"The time spent abroad is longer than the time spent in Japan."

"Because I stayed abroad for too long, it took me a long time to finally speak Japanese fluently when I first returned home."

"On the eve of leaving Japan, I made up my mind—don't care about Katsuichi any more, and let Katsuichi, a stubborn idiot, fend for himself."

"But after 30 years of traveling abroad, my heart has matured a lot, and I am no longer as impulsive and prone to bloody surges as I was when I was young."

"After growing in age and mind, I also understand Sheng's hostility towards me."

"After returning to Japan after 30 years, the first thing I did was to go back to my hometown. I wanted to meet Katsuichi and get back together with Katsuichi."

"After returning to my hometown when I was close to my sixtieth year... I really understood what 'things are right and people are wrong'."

"The house in my hometown has become more dilapidated."

"There is no sign of Katsuichi at home."

"I only saw A Ruo, who was already very old, a strange young woman, and a 9-year-old girl."

"Although we haven't seen each other for 30 years, Ah Ruo still remembers me, and she recognized me as an elder brother at a glance."

"It was only after her explanation that I realized that Shengyi had already passed away."

"The young woman in the family is the daughter-in-law of Shengyi and Aruo."

"And that 9-year-old girl is the granddaughter of Shengyi and Aruo—that is, Xiaolin."

*****

*****

I remember that the author once introduced to you that the rescue of Toyotomi Kunimatsu to Satsuma was not the author’s nonsense. There are related unofficial rumors. According to unofficial records: Toyotomi Kunimatsu was rescued to Satsuma, and then ran to Sunrise Domain , became the ancestor of the Kinoshita family branch of the Hinode Domain, and changed his name to Kinoshita Yanji.

There is an unofficial history about Toyotomi Hideyoshi, that is, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a man whose head was so green that he could run a horse. For details, see "Writer's Words" below.