Volume 1: Stormy Weather in Kawajima Chapter 7: Decision

  Near the Chashan mountain, in a forest, Takeda Shōryū rode his horse at full speed, with great hatred in his heart, and cursed loudly: What is this Li Xiao? A low-ranking warrior, and his origin is unknown, how dare he criticize the son of our lord.

  He has in his veins the noble blood of the Genji and the Suwa Shrine, how can an outsider insult him so easily.

  Takeda Shōryū tightly grasped the reins, his eyes wide with fear, and his hands fiercely twisted the whip. Just then, the sound of horseshoes echoed beside his ear.

  Takeda Shōryū was shocked in his heart, thinking that he had not brought any samurai attendants when he went out, and wondered if he had encountered the Uesugi army. Immediately, Takeda Shōryū steeled himself, saying to himself, "If I encounter them, so be it," and thought that even if he killed a few of the Uesugi's top generals, no one would dare look down on him when he returned to his army.

  Takeda Shōryū drew his waist sword and charged towards the direction of the horse's hooves with a loud shout. What entered his eyes were five or six mounted warriors, Takeda Shōryū didn't have much thought, he just urged his warhorse to gallop bravely towards them.

  As he charged closer, Takeda Shingen only felt a flash before his eyes, and suddenly a warrior appeared in front of him, dodging his own sword with one hand, then grabbing him with the other and lifting him off his horse, throwing him heavily to the ground.

  Not a single round had passed when Takeda Katsuyori was defeated, and he felt extremely humiliated. Although his eyes were still spinning, he loudly said: "I am Takeda Katsuyori of the Takeda family, I have been defeated now, I have nothing to say, cut off my head and take it back to claim your reward."

  "Are you out of your mind? Can't even tell friend from foe?"

  At this angry shout, Takeda Shōryū finally came to his senses and saw several of the Takeda family's most renowned generals on horseback: Ii Naochika, Sanada Masayuki, and Naitō Masasuke. Behind them was his own older brother, the heir of the Takeda house and future lord, Takeda Yoshinobu.

  Takeda Yoshinobu's face was as white as a woman's, clearly a pampered young master. He looked down at Takeda Katsuyori from horseback and said in a cold voice, "Katsuyori, are you going to assassinate me?"

  Takeda Shōryū's face turned pale and he didn't know how to speak, at this time, suddenly five or six riders rushed from behind, the arrivals were Li Xiao and Takeda Shōryū's personal samurai.

  Li Xiao had heard a few sentences and roughly guessed the situation, so he said to Takeda Shori who was lying on the ground: "Shori, didn't we agree to have a martial arts competition here? How did you suddenly get caught?"

  Takeda Shōren was taken aback for a moment, looked up and saw Li Xiao giving him a wink. He immediately understood the implication, knowing that Li Xiao was trying to shift the blame onto him, but he didn't want to accept Li Xiao's kindness from the bottom of his heart, just as he was about to explain.

  Li Xiao continued, "Is this the young master? I'm really sorry, I had an agreement with Shōrei to engage in a martial arts duel here and we made a wager. Perhaps my words earlier were too arrogant and offended Shōrei, so he might have wanted to launch a surprise attack on me, making things difficult for me. But it seems he mistook his target."

  Takeda Yoshinobu listened to Inafuku no Taichō's whisper, then looked at Li Xiao and said: "You are the great Ming warrior Li Xiao under my father's command, aren't you?"

  "That's right."

  Takeda Yoshinobu hummed softly, seeing Li Xiao knew his identity but didn't dismount to pay respects. He felt displeased in his heart, but he also remembered his father's previous instructions that this person was exempt from following etiquette, so he didn't show any anger on his face.

  Takeda Yoshinobu glanced at Takeda Katsuyori and said, "Shirō, don't be reckless again in the future, got it?" After finishing speaking, he left with his generals.

  Li Xiao dismounted and helped Takeda Shōryū up, seeing that Takeda's face was flushed bright red, his teeth had bitten through his lips, and fresh blood flowed. Li Xiao didn't say a word, ordered someone to lead Takeda's horse over, and together they returned to the main camp.

  That night, a thick fog spread over the Kawachi Island, and Takeda Katsuyori came alone to the camp of Takeda Nobusada, carefully telling his uncle about what had happened during the day.

  After finishing speaking, Takeda Katsuyori felt ashamed and sat down with his knees bent, saying: "Uncle, please teach me. I don't want to spend my whole life under the shadow of my father's prestige. I also want people to know that there is a Katsuyori in the Takeda family."

  Takeda Nobushige shook his head and said, "I don't have anything to teach you."

  "No, Uncle, your wisdom is not inferior to Father's in the Takeda family. There must be a way to teach me, and even if it's a great hardship, I can endure it. If you tell me to die, I won't be afraid."

  Takeda Katsuyori hastily bowed down before Takeda Nobusada and said.

  Takeda Nobushige looked at his nephew and sighed, saying: "Shōryū, your uncle is old. Accompanying your father on a lifetime of battles has exhausted my energy. Even with Nobuhide, I didn't teach him properly. Shōryū, if you really want to achieve something, there's one person who can help you."

  "Who is it?" The eyes of Takeda Shōryū suddenly lit up with hope.

  "Li Xiao."

  When he heard this name, Takeda Shingen's face changed and he hummed heavily, saying: "Uncle, I absolutely will not bow my head to this Ming countryman."

  Takeda Nobushige said in a low voice, "You're not even afraid of death, so why worry about face? As a military general, you must have enough breadth of vision. This Li Xiao won't just be a brave warrior, I won't misjudge him, he's bound to be a man of both wisdom and bravery. In terms of discerning people, who in the world can surpass our lord? He also holds Li Xiao in high esteem, otherwise he wouldn't let him teach you martial arts. Can't you see our lord's intention to cultivate you?"

  Takeda Shōryū was taken aback and hesitated for a moment: "Uncle, this Li Xiaozhen is so capable, can teach me."

  Takeda Nobushige chuckled: "Eight or nine out of ten, at least you praised him before he left, and if I, our lord, and you all think highly of him, I think this person can't be that bad."

  Takeda Shingen sat down heavily and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

  "Who was the first to wake up from a great dream? I have always known myself. The thatched cottage has slept enough in spring, and the sun is slow outside the window."

  After a nap, Li Xiao felt refreshed and invigorated. Just then, Takeda Nobuyuki happened to pass by and heard Li Xiao recite such excellent poetry, and he was instantly deeply impressed.

  Watching Shinpo's eyes full of admiration, Li Xiao didn't know that the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was popular in Japan at this time, so he quickly explained the origin of this poem. Takeda Shinpo listened with great interest, from Zhuge Liang to San Gu Ma Lu.

  Li Xiao casually recited this familiar modern Chinese passage in stiff Japanese, using Japanese because at that moment a number of Takeda clan soldiers had gathered around.

  They listened to Li Xiao's vivid description, and were immediately captivated. After a while, Li Xiao also felt extremely pleased, having satisfied his craving for storytelling. Moreover, Li Xiao also spotted Sheng Lai standing at the outer circle, listening in.

  Because the Japanese did not eat dinner, Li Xiao had to return to his tent early to rest in order to withstand hunger. It was at this time that Takeda Shingen suddenly came into Li Xiao's tent.

  Takeda Shingen saw Li Xiao and immediately knelt down in front of him without saying a word.

  Li Xiao couldn't understand the situation, reached out to touch his chin, thinking about the reason while staring at Takeda Katsuyori's kneeling posture in silence.

  After fifteen minutes, Li Xiao finally spoke up and said: "Victorious thanks to the young master, you're so late arriving at my humble abode, what's the honorable business? It's quite simple here, there aren't any soft seats for you to sit on."

  Takeda Shōryū bowed his head deeply and said, "No need for a cushion, I'll just kneel like this. I've been rude to you these past few days, so I came especially to apologize, please forgive me."

  Li Xiao sat up straight from his bed, looked at Sheng Lai and said: "It's just a small matter, Master Sheng Lai, please get up and speak."

  Takeda Shingen said in a low voice: "Mr. Li Xiao, I have come this time with sincerity and respect to invite you, hoping that you can teach me. Just as you said today, I am willing to imitate Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage, please be my military advisor."

  Li Xiao burst out laughing and said, "All these are fabrications in books. Historically, it's still unclear whether Liu Bei had three visits to the thatched cottage or not. I don't dare compare myself with Zhuge Liang, as I acknowledge a huge gap between us. You've got the wrong person, please leave."

  Takeda Shingen remained seated and said in a calm tone, "Please do not decline, sir. If you doubt my sincerity, I am willing to disembowel myself here to demonstrate my true intentions."

  "What?"

  Li Xiao was shocked and speechless. Indeed, what the online forums said about Japanese people being perverted was true. Was it necessary to resort to seppuku over such a trivial matter?

  Li Xiao spoke up and said: "Sheng Lai Gongzi, I fully believe in your sincerity. What do you want me to teach you? Martial arts?"

  Takeda Shoryu shook his head and said, "Sir, it's not just martial arts. Perhaps most people in the Takeda family think of you as a brave general, but I actually think your true strength lies in your strategic mind, which is what I want to borrow from you."

  Li Xiao sank into thought, thinking that this victory was due to his own cleverness, and he had actually seen through this point. Li Xiao knew in his heart that what he called "wisdom" was not about being smart or stupid, but rather the insight of modern people far surpassing that of this era.

  Li Xiao thought for a moment and asked in return, "Shori, I'm delighted that you hold me in such high esteem, but where is your ambition or aspiration? As far as I know, the current first-in-line heir of the Takeda family is not you, but your older brother. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the one to take over the Takeda family in the future, and at that time, you'll just be his vassal, with a fiefdom of maybe 10,000 koku and a castle lordship. So what's the purpose of recruiting me?"

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